Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: HWIS
Program Code: HWIS000007
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00:31 Shall we pray.
00:35 Almighty, glorious, and omniscient Father, 00:42 what a joy it is to be in Your presence. 00:46 We thank You, Father, that we can gather together 00:50 as one to open Your holy Word and learn about Your love, 00:57 and also learn what You expect from us as Your children. 01:01 We ask, Father, that as we open the pages of Your holy Book 01:05 that the Holy Spirit will be present through the 01:08 ministry of the angels. 01:10 I ask, Lord, that You will give us understanding 01:13 that we might be able to properly and correctly 01:18 trace the word of truth. 01:21 And we thank You, Father, for hearing our prayer. 01:24 For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 01:29 I just want to review briefly the chronology of the events 01:34 of the life of Christ that we have been studying 01:37 in the Sanctuary service. 01:41 The first point that I would like to review is that Jesus 01:44 came to this earth to live in the camp with us. 01:50 And in the camp, Jesus lived the perfect life 01:55 that the law demands from all of us. 01:59 In other words, Jesus lived the life that we should live. 02:05 And then we noticed that Jesus went from the camp 02:07 into the Court. 02:09 And in the Court at the altar of sacrifice, 02:13 Jesus died for our sins. 02:17 He died for all. 02:20 So in the camp, He lived the life that we should live. 02:23 In the Court, He died the death that all of us should suffer. 02:29 And then we noticed that Jesus resurrected at the laver. 02:33 That's the second item of furniture that was found 02:37 in the Sanctuary Court. 02:39 So He resurrected in the laver. 02:41 And then we noticed in our last study 02:44 that Jesus went from earth and entered which apartment 02:50 of the Sanctuary, of the heavenly Sanctuary? 02:54 He entered the Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary. 02:59 Now between the resurrection of Jesus 03:03 and His ascension, we have a period of 40 days. 03:09 Forty days between when Jesus resurrected 03:13 and when Jesus ascended to heaven. 03:16 After spending those 40 days with His disciples, 03:20 the Bible says, speaking to them about things pertaining 03:23 to the kingdom of God... 03:24 In other words, explaining the Bible prophecies to them. 03:28 ...the Bible tells us that Jesus ascended to heaven 03:33 from the Mount of Olives. 03:35 Let's read the description that the Bible gives 03:38 of the ascension of Jesus 40 days after His resurrection. 03:43 It's found in Acts chapter 1 and verses 9 through 11. 03:48 Acts chapter 1 and verses 9 through 11. 03:52 It says here... 04:25 Notice, "This same Jesus..." 04:38 And so Jesus disappeared from their sight. 04:43 The Bible tells us that the disciples then returned 04:47 to the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives 04:50 and went back to the upper room where Jesus had instituted the 04:56 Lord's Supper with them. 04:58 The Bible tells us that for the next ten days 05:01 after the ascension of Christ the disciples gathered together 05:06 in one accord in the upper room. 05:09 The Bible tells us that they prayed together. 05:13 The Bible tells us that they studied the prophecies together. 05:17 The Bible tells us that they ironed out their differences. 05:21 They emptied themselves of self through the power 05:25 of the Holy Spirit. 05:26 In other words, they prepared during those ten days 05:30 for the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit. 05:35 Meanwhile, during those ten days, Jesus in heaven 05:39 was being invested as the High Priest over His people. 05:44 In other words, Jesus had entered the Holy Place 05:47 of the Sanctuary in order to begin His ministration there 05:52 to pour out the benefits of what He had done on earth. 05:57 Now it's interesting to notice who was present there 06:01 in the upper room during those ten days. 06:04 Go with me to Acts chapter 1 and verse 13. 06:09 Acts chapter 1 and verse 13. 06:13 And by the way, if you have Acts 2 verse 13 06:18 on your list, that is a misprint. 06:20 Now who was present there in the upper room? 06:24 It says there in Acts 1 verse 13... 06:35 And now notice the enumeration of the 06:38 apostles that were present there. 06:42 Peter is always mentioned first on all of the lists. 06:44 Because he was always the first to speak. 06:46 He had leadership abilities. 07:09 Now as we examine this list, it is very interesting that we have 07:14 only eleven apostles. 07:17 How many apostles did Jesus choose? 07:20 Jesus chose twelve apostles, but here we have listed 07:25 only eleven apostles. 07:27 One of the twelve was missing. 07:29 Now the question is, who was missing there in the upper room? 07:35 Well the answer is obvious. 07:37 It was Judas Iscariot. 07:40 In fact, let's read the description that Peter gave 07:44 about what happened to Judas Iscariot 07:47 and why he wasn't there. 07:49 Acts chapter 1 and beginning with verse 16 tells us the sad 07:54 and tragic story of Judas, one of the twelve. 07:59 It says here, Peter is speaking... 08:19 I want you to remember the word "numbered." 08:20 That's a key word. 08:27 Notice, Judas was numbered with the twelve. 08:29 That word "numbered" is very, very important. 08:33 Now notice what it continues saying in verse 18. 08:36 This is a parenthetical description about 08:39 what happened to Judas. 08:53 A pretty vivid description. 09:06 Now the Bible appears to be contradictory 09:09 with regards to the end of Judas. 09:12 Because here it says that he fell headlong 09:15 and his stomach exploded and his entrails came out. 09:21 Other texts say that Judas went off and did what? 09:25 He hung himself. 09:26 So how do you reconcile these two ideas? 09:30 Well, Ellen White explains in a beautiful way 09:34 how both of these statements are true. 09:38 She says that Judas hung himself over a ledge 09:42 on a branch of a tree. 09:43 In other words, he put the rope over that branch 09:50 and he hung himself by throwing himself off the cliff. 09:54 And he was so heavy that the branch broke. 09:59 And he fell a great distance to the ground. 10:01 And when he fell to the ground, his belly burst open 10:05 and his entrails came out. 10:06 And she says that later on when Jesus was coming on the 10:10 Via Dolorosa to die on Mount Calvary, 10:14 the people were horrified because they saw that the 10:17 dogs were eating the entrails of Judas. 10:21 And that's how Judas ended his existence. 10:25 So I want you to notice that there were only eleven apostles 10:29 in the upper room, because Judas had committed suicide 10:33 and he had fallen a great distance. 10:35 And he, of course, was not numbered among 10:40 the twelve anymore. 10:42 Now we need to ask a very important question. 10:45 And it's this. 10:47 After Peter told the tragic story, the sad story, of Judas, 10:53 Peter stated to the disciples that they needed to elect 10:59 a successor for Judas. 11:02 They needed to elect someone to take the place of Judas. 11:06 In fact, Peter said, "This is absolutely mandatory. 11:10 We must elect a successor. 11:13 We must elect an apostle number twelve." 11:17 Now the question is, why did Peter feel 11:20 that they had to elect a successor for Judas, 11:24 or an apostle number twelve? 11:26 The fact is that Bible prophecy made it imperative 11:31 to elect a successor for Judas. 11:34 In other words, Peter and the disciples had 11:36 studied Bible prophecy. 11:38 And they knew that Bible prophecy had predicted 11:41 what was going to happen to Judas, and also predicted 11:44 that somebody needed to take His office, 11:47 somebody needed to take his place. 11:50 Now let's read that in Acts chapter 1 and verse 16. 11:54 Acts chapter 1 and verse 16. 11:57 Here, Peter is still speaking and he says... 12:19 Did prophecy have to be fulfilled, yes or no? 12:22 Peter says this is not optional. 12:24 This had to happen. 12:26 The Holy Spirit spoke it and it had to happen. 12:30 Now let's jump down to verse 20 so that we can see 12:34 which prophecies that David wrote made it mandatory 12:39 to elect a successor for Judas. 12:41 Verse 20... 12:46 See, this is where the prophecies come from. 12:52 Speaking about Judas. 13:01 In other words, that says that he was no longer 13:04 going to come to his house. 13:06 But there was another prophecy. 13:07 By the way, that prophecy is in Psalm 69 and verse 25. 13:12 But another prophecy in Psalm 109 and verses 7 and 8 13:16 states that his place needed to be taken by somebody else. 13:21 In fact it says, "Let another take his office." 13:28 And so the reason why Peter felt that it was indispensable, 13:31 mandatory, for a successor to be named for Judas 13:35 was because prophecy predicted what was going to happen 13:39 to Judas, and prophecy made it mandatory 13:41 to elect someone to take his office. 13:44 Now there's this myth that some Christians have. 13:49 And that is that the disciples in the upper room 13:52 rushed to elect a successor for Judas. 13:57 In fact, they think that it was God's plan 14:00 that they wait awhile and deliberate and pray longer 14:05 about this before the elected whom they elected. 14:09 In fact, many of these Christians think 14:13 that it was the apostle Paul who should have been 14:16 apostle number twelve. 14:18 But the disciples, you know, they rushed and they elected 14:21 Matthias when it was not in harmony with God's plan. 14:24 So the argument goes. 14:27 But I sustain that this is not true, this is a myth. 14:32 In other words, this is an unwarranted assumption 14:36 that God wanted Saul of Tarsus to be apostle number twelve. 14:39 The fact is that the apostle that was elected 14:42 is the one that God wanted to be elected. 14:45 And you say, "How do we know this?" 14:46 For three reasons. 14:48 Let's notice reason number one in Acts chapter 1 14:51 and verses 21 and 22. 14:54 Acts chapter 1 and verses 21 and 22. 14:58 And by the way, where is Jesus while this is happening? 15:01 During these ten days where is Jesus? 15:04 Jesus is in the Holy Place. 15:06 And what's happening there? 15:08 Jesus is being invested and prepared on the day of Pentecost 15:13 to begin His service as what? 15:15 As High Priest to pour out the benefits of His atonement. 15:19 Notice Acts chapter 1 verse 21. 15:22 Here is the qualification that was needed 15:25 for the successor of Judas. 15:26 Peter is speaking. 15:53 What was the qualification that was indispensable? 15:56 It had to be somebody that was with the apostles 15:59 from the preaching of John the Baptist until when? 16:02 Till Jesus resurrected and ascended to heaven. 16:05 Question, does Saul of Tarsus meet that specification? 16:09 Absolutely not. 16:12 There's a second reason. 16:13 There's three that I'm going to share. 16:15 A second reason. 16:16 The fact is that the Bible record tells us that the 16:19 disciples, the apostles, followed the correct process. 16:23 Notice Acts chapter 1 and verses 24 through 26. 16:27 Acts chapter 1 and verses 24 through 26. 16:32 It says here... 16:49 Show us what? 16:50 "...which of these two You have chosen..." 17:03 Casting lots was the way of doing it in biblical times. 17:10 And now notice this very important expression. 17:19 Now notice that we were told that Judas was 17:21 numbered with the twelve. 17:23 Here it says that Matthias, when he was elected, was what? 17:27 Was numbered with the twelve. 17:29 Is the number twelve extremely important? 17:32 Absolutely, according to the biblical record. 17:35 Now there's a third reason why we know 17:38 that Matthias was God's choice. 17:41 And that is a statement that was made by Ellen White 17:45 in confirmation of what we've seen from Scripture. 17:47 See, first we go to Scripture and then we see what 17:50 Ellen White has to say about it. 17:52 Ellen White does not add anything to Scripture 17:54 that is not contained in Scripture in principle. 17:56 She is not another Bible. 17:58 She doesn't add information that is not contained in the Bible. 18:01 She simply amplifies, explains, simplifies, 18:05 and helps us understand better what is already 18:08 contained in Scripture. 18:09 Now notice what she says in "Spirit Of Prophecy," 18:12 volume 3, page 264. 18:16 Listen carefully. 18:27 In the what? 18:29 "...careful judgment of the believers..." 19:09 Who selected Matthias for the office? 19:11 The Spirit of God selected Matthias for the office. 19:16 So was it God's plan that Matthias be numbered 19:20 with the other eleven apostles? 19:21 Absolutely, for the three reasons that I've mentioned. 19:25 Now let's review. 19:26 Two points that we've covered so far, two key points. 19:29 Number one, Old Testament prophecy had announced that 19:33 Judas was going to apostatize. 19:35 And Old Testament prophecy had said that a successor 19:40 needed to be elected. 19:42 Second point is that the disciples followed the 19:45 correct steps in electing the successor for Judas. 19:51 But now we need to ask another very important question. 19:55 We already asked the question why they felt it was necessary 19:57 to elect a successor. 19:59 Well, because prophecy said so. 20:01 But now, here is a very important question. 20:05 Why did the apostles feel like they needed to elect a successor 20:10 for Judas before the day of Pentecost? 20:14 Are you understanding the difference between the 20:16 first question and the second question? 20:18 The first question is, why did they feel like 20:20 they had to elect a successor? 20:22 The answer is, because prophecy said so. 20:24 But the question is, why did they feel it was indispensable 20:28 to elect a successor before the day of Pentecost had come? 20:34 Why not just wait for a while? 20:37 You know, why not just pray and study together 20:40 and wait for God to pour out His Holy Spirit? 20:42 And then after God pours out His Holy Spirit, 20:45 they could take a little while longer, maybe to pray more 20:48 and to find out what God's will was. 20:51 Why would they feel it was urgent to name 20:54 a successor for Judas immediately before 20:58 the day of Pentecost had come? 21:01 Why did they feel it was absolutely indispensable 21:04 to elect apostle number twelve to be numbered with the 21:09 other eleven before the Holy Spirit was poured out 21:13 on the day of Pentecost? 21:16 The fact is that in the next few minutes, you're going to see 21:19 that whenever the Bible has details, 21:21 every detail is vitally important. 21:23 What we're going to study now proves, to me anyway, 21:27 that the Bible doesn't miss any important details. 21:31 The Bible, when you study it carefully, you find a reason for 21:34 everything that it states. 21:36 Why things are done in the way that they're done, 21:38 and when they are done, and why they are done 21:42 in a certain way. 21:43 Now in order to understand why the felt it was absolutely 21:47 urgent to elect a successor for Judas before the Holy Spirit was 21:52 poured out on the day of Pentecost, we need to 21:55 understand the significance in the Bible of the number twelve. 22:01 What do we need to understand? 22:03 The significance of the number twelve. 22:05 See, there had to be twelve. 22:08 Judas was numbered with the twelve. 22:11 Matthias was numbered with the twelve. 22:14 The number twelve is vitally important. 22:16 So what does the number twelve represent? 22:20 Well go with me to Revelation chapter 12 and verse 1. 22:24 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 1. 22:28 This is a verse that we're going to take a look at 22:32 a little more closely later on in the seminar. 22:35 But now I want to underline just two points in this verse. 22:39 Revelation 12 verse 1 says... 22:54 ...and on her head a garland of thirteen stars. 22:59 Thank you, I just wanted to see if you were still with me 23:02 and if you're looking up the verses. 23:04 It says, "...and on her head a garland," that is a crown. 23:07 Of what? "...of twelve stars." 23:10 Now let's ask a question. 23:12 What does this woman represent? 23:16 Immediately the answer is correct. 23:19 The woman represents the church. 23:22 Now the question is, how do we know that in symbolic prophecy 23:27 a woman represents the church? 23:29 And by the way, it's just not any church. 23:31 It's not the entirety of the church. 23:33 It is the true faithful church that is represented 23:38 by this woman. 23:39 You say, "How do you know that?" 23:40 Let's compare two verses. 23:42 One is found in Daniel 7:25. 23:46 And the other is in Revelation 12:13-14. 23:49 We're going to compare these two verses to determine 23:52 what is meant by the woman here in 23:54 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 1. 23:56 You know, whenever I ask what does the woman represent in 23:58 prophecy, the answer is always, "Oh, the church." 24:01 And we usually use Ephesians 5 where it says, 24:04 "Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church." 24:06 And that's a good verse. 24:08 But, you know, we don't even have to go outside of Daniel 24:11 and Revelation to discover what a woman represents in prophecy 24:15 because Daniel and Revelation themselves explain what 24:19 the woman represents. 24:20 Now go with me to Daniel 7 verse 25. 24:23 This is a prophecy we're going to study 24:25 in a couple of lectures. 24:26 It's speaking about a little horn. 24:28 Many of you went through this evangelistic series recently. 24:31 What does the little horn represent? 24:33 The little horn represents what? 24:35 What power? 24:36 It represents the Roman church, the Roman Catholic Papacy. 24:40 Now notice Daniel 7:25. 24:55 The little horn will persecute the saints of the Most High. 25:00 And the question is, how long were the saints going to be 25:03 persecuted by this power? 25:05 Notice... 25:16 Who is it that persecuted the saints 25:19 for time, times, and half a time? 25:21 The little horn, right? 25:23 But now let's go to Revelation chapter 12, 25:25 Revelation chapter 12, and let's read verses 13 and 14. 25:32 This is a parallel prophecy. 25:34 And I want you to notice something very interesting here. 25:37 It says there in Revelation chapter 12 and verse 13... 25:46 Now listen carefully. 25:48 He persecuted whom? 25:52 The woman. 25:55 So in Daniel 7, it's the little horn that persecutes the saints. 25:59 Right? Did you notice that? 26:01 In Daniel 7, the little horn persecutes the saints. 26:05 Here, it's the dragon persecuting whom? 26:09 The woman. 26:11 Now you say, but how do you know that the woman 26:13 is the same as the saints? 26:15 Let's continue reading. 26:38 Are you catching the parallel here? 26:41 In Daniel chapter 7, it's the little horn that 26:43 persecutes whom? 26:45 The saints. 26:46 For how long? 26:47 Time, times, the dividing of time. 26:50 Revelation 12, it's the dragon who persecutes whom? 26:54 The woman for time, times, the dividing of time. 26:57 So the question is this. 27:00 What does the woman represent? 27:03 She represents, according to Daniel 7, the what? 27:07 The saints. 27:09 Did you catch that parallel? 27:11 So the woman represents the saints. 27:13 So is this woman just the church in general? 27:16 Faithful and unfaithful? 27:18 No, it represents the faithful church of Jesus Christ. 27:24 The woman represents what? 27:27 She represents the saints. 27:30 Now we need to ask the question. 27:32 At what stage of the history of God's people 27:39 does this woman of Revelation chapter 12 represent? 27:44 You know, God's people... 27:45 Did God have a people in the Old Testament? 27:47 What was the name of His Old Testament people? 27:50 Israel. 27:51 Does He have a New Testament people? 27:53 Yes. It's called, the what? 27:56 It's called the Christian church. 27:58 And so we have two stages. 27:59 God has His Old Testament people and He has 28:01 His New Testament people. 28:02 Now the question is, in Revelation chapter 12 28:05 and verse 1, which stage is being described? 28:08 The Old Testament faithful church or the 28:11 New Testament faithful church? 28:13 The fact is that Revelation 12 verse 1 is describing 28:16 the Old Testament faithful church. 28:19 And you say, "How do you know that?" 28:22 Well let's go back to Revelation chapter 12 and verse 1. 28:35 And then if you read verse 2 and verse 3, 28:38 it says very clearly that the woman had what in her womb? 28:44 She had what kind of a child? 28:47 A male child in her womb. 28:51 Right? 28:53 And who does that male child represent? 28:55 Who is that male child? 28:57 That male child is Jesus Christ. 28:59 And then it says that the dragon stands next to the woman 29:02 to devour her child as soon as her child is born. 29:07 Let me ask you, does the woman exist before the child is born? 29:12 Of course she does. 29:13 So which church is this? 29:15 Is it the New Testament church or the Old Testament church? 29:18 It has to be the Old Testament church. 29:20 You can't have a New Testament church without 29:21 Jesus being born yet. 29:24 So when John sees her, Revelation chapter 12 29:26 and verse 1, this is the Old Testament church. 29:30 By the way, did the Old Testament church 29:31 bring Jesus into the world? 29:34 Was Jesus a descendent of Abraham, yes or no? 29:37 Was Jesus a descendent of David, yes or no? 29:41 Was Jesus born from the faithful Old Testament church? 29:45 That's why there are genealogies in Scripture. 29:48 The genealogy of the faithful of the Old Testament 29:51 from whom Jesus Christ comes. 29:54 Are you with me so far? 29:55 Now, we find then that this woman in Revelation 12 verse 1 30:01 represents the Old Testament church. 30:05 But we're going to notice a little bit later on 30:07 that later in the story the woman comes to represent 30:10 also the New Testament church. 30:12 Now we've noticed that the woman represents the faithful church 30:18 from where the Messiah is born. 30:21 The woman in Revelation 12 verse 1 represents the 30:23 Old Testament church because the child has not been born 30:26 from the woman yet. 30:28 But you'll notice that the woman has a crown, 30:33 and the crown has how many stars? 30:36 The crown has twelve stars. 30:38 Now the question is, what do the twelve stars represent? 30:41 They help us identify what this woman represents. 30:46 Now you say, "Twelve stars, twelve stars. 30:48 What could that represent?" 30:50 Go with me to Genesis 37:9-10. 30:53 It's amazing how many times you have to go to Genesis 30:56 to find the meaning of Scripture. 30:57 Genesis 37 and verses 9 and 10. 31:02 You remember that Joseph had a dream. 31:06 Actually he had two dream before he was taken captive to Egypt. 31:12 But there's one dream that has sun, moon, and stars. 31:16 Now let's notice Genesis 37:9-10. 31:35 By the way, do we have the sun, moon, and stars 31:38 in Revelation 12? 31:39 We most certainly do. 31:41 So there's a connection. 31:49 You say, "Ah, it doesn't say twelve, it says eleven." 31:51 But let me ask you, who was star number twelve? 31:54 It was Joseph, of course. 31:56 How many sons did Jacob have? 32:00 He had twelve. 32:01 And so he's saying the eleven stars bow to Joseph. 32:05 Now let's continue reading. 32:07 So it says in verse 10... 32:24 Did his father understand very well what the dream meant? 32:28 Absolutely. 32:29 So the twelve stars, Joseph being star number twelve, 32:32 represents what? 32:34 It represents the twelve sons of Jacob. 32:39 Question, were these the founders of the 32:41 Old Testament church? 32:42 Did all of Israel come from these twelve? 32:45 You have twelve individuals, and all of Israel later 32:49 springs from these twelve individuals. 32:52 In fact, let's read Genesis 49 verse 28 32:56 where it speaks now, not only about the sons of Jacob, 32:59 but it also speaks about once they proliferated 33:02 into the twelve tribes. 33:04 Genesis 49 and verse 28 says... 33:17 Because he gives a description of what their character 33:19 is going to be like before this. 33:27 So you have the founders of the Old Testament church. 33:30 How many of them? 33:32 Twelve founders of the Old Testament church, 33:34 twelve literal individuals. 33:36 But from those twelve literal individuals 33:39 comes all of Israel, all of the twelve tribes of Israel. 33:42 In other words, they multiply and they become a great nation. 33:48 Now, the number twelve also represents 33:53 the New Testament church. 33:55 You say, "How do you know that?" 33:57 Well listen up. 33:58 The Bible tells us that after the child is born, 34:01 in Revelation chapter 12, what does the woman do? 34:07 We read it, she flees into where? 34:09 She flees into the wilderness for 1260 years, 34:14 or time, times, and the dividing of time. 34:16 Let me ask you, what church is this when the woman flees? 34:19 Is this still the Old Testament church or is this the 34:21 New Testament church? 34:23 This is the New Testament church. 34:25 Because the child has been born. 34:27 Verse 5 of Revelation 12 says that the child has been 34:30 caught up to God and to His throne. 34:32 In other words, He has ascended to heaven. 34:35 And now the woman has to flee. 34:37 So now the woman represents what? 34:40 The New Testament church. 34:43 Does she still have a crown with twelve stars? 34:46 Absolutely. 34:47 She has a crown with twelve stars all across her history. 34:51 I want you to notice that God has only one people. 34:56 He doesn't have two women; 34:58 one Old Testament people and one New Testament people. 35:01 He has one people composed of His Old Testament church 35:05 and His New Testament church. 35:07 Because one woman represents God's people 35:10 in all of its stages. 35:12 Are you understanding me? 35:13 Because many Christians say that, "God has one plan for 35:15 literal Israel and He has another plan for the church. 35:20 In fact, God has an earthly plan for the Jews and 35:23 He has a heavenly plan for the church. 35:26 God is going to rapture the church to heaven 35:28 and then He's going to pick up with His other people, 35:31 the literal Jews on earth." 35:33 The Bible doesn't teach that. 35:35 The Bible teaches that God has one people; 35:38 Old and New Testament. 35:40 Messiah's people represented, not by two woman, 35:44 but by what? 35:45 But by one woman. 35:47 And in both stages, Old and New Testament, 35:49 she has the crown with twelve stars. 35:52 Because there's no evidence that the crown was taken off 35:54 after the Old Testament church and there's 35:56 no longer twelve stars. 35:57 Now let me ask you, how many apostles were 36:00 appointed by Jesus Christ? 36:04 Of course, that's coincidental. 36:07 Jesus thought, "Oh let's see, how many apostles? 36:10 Oh, twelve is a good number." 36:12 No. 36:13 The number twelve is the number of His people. 36:16 In fact, let's notice Mark chapter 3 36:19 and verses 14 through 19. 36:21 And you're saying, "Pastor Bohr, when are we 36:23 coming back to Pentecost and the successor of Judas?" 36:27 See, we have to have all of this background 36:29 or else we won't understand why the apostles felt it was urgent 36:34 and indispensable to elect apostle number twelve 36:37 before the day of Pentecost. 36:39 There is a biblical reason, a prophetic reason for that. 36:43 Mark chapter 3 verses 14 through 19. 36:47 Notice what it says. 36:49 Speaking about Jesus. 37:38 How many apostles formed the New Testament church, 37:42 the nucleus of the New Testament church, 37:45 from where the whole New Testament church comes? 37:47 Twelve literal individuals later proliferate through 37:53 preaching the gospel and they form the Christian church. 37:57 Just like you have twelve sons of Jacob that proliferate 38:00 and form the twelve tribes of Israel. 38:04 Now listen to what Ellen White had to 38:05 say about the number twelve. 38:07 You know, I never cease to marvel when I study Scripture. 38:09 Because what I do first is I always go and I study Scripture, 38:12 and then after I study Scripture I say, 38:14 "I wonder what Ellen White had to say about this?" 38:17 I want you to notice what she says in the book, 38:18 Acts Of The Apostles, page 19. 38:32 The twelve patriarchs are the twelve sons of Jacob. 38:47 Isn't that simple? 38:49 The twelve sons of Jacob represented what? 38:53 The Old Testament church. 38:55 The twelve apostles represented what? 38:59 The New Testament church. 39:00 But it's one church. 39:02 Because it is represented by a single what? 39:06 It is represented by a single woman. 39:11 Now we need to go back to our original question. 39:14 Why did the disciples feel that it was absolutely indispensable 39:20 and urgent to elect a successor of Judas before the Holy Spirit 39:25 was poured out on the day of Pentecost? 39:28 There is a very important prophetic reason. 39:31 You see, as we studied in our last lecture, 39:34 when Jesus ascended to heaven, during the ten days before the 39:39 Holy Spirit was poured out Jesus was being invested 39:44 as the High Priest over His people. 39:48 In other words, Jesus now, as the Bible says, sat at the 39:52 right hand of God to give what? 39:56 Repentance to Israel. And what? 39:59 And forgiveness of sins. 40:01 In other words, Jesus had begun, at the end of the ten days, 40:05 His intercessory ministry for those who come to Him 40:09 in faith claiming His life and claiming His death 40:13 as their own. 40:15 In other words, they could now receive the benefits 40:20 of the atonement of Christ. 40:22 During those ten days, Jesus was actually being invested 40:27 as the High Priest over His people. 40:30 You see, on earth He had come into the camp to live 40:35 a life as a simple Priest. 40:38 And then Jesus officiated His own sacrifice 40:42 as a simple Priest. 40:44 He resurrected at the laver as a simple Priest. 40:49 But now on the day of Pentecost, He is invested as the what? 40:53 As the High Priest over His people. 40:57 And you say, "Where does the Bible say that?" 41:01 Well go with me to Hebrews chapter 8 and verses 1 and 2. 41:05 Hebrews chapter 8 verses 1 and 2. 41:10 Here, I believe the apostle Paul is behind the book of Hebrews. 41:16 I believe that it's Pauline. 41:18 It says the following. 41:20 "Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: 41:25 We have..." 41:27 He's writing this decades after Jesus ascended to heaven. 41:30 "We have such a..." What? 41:33 "...a High Priest who is seated..." Where? 41:38 "...at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty..." Where? 41:42 "...in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the 41:48 true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man." 41:54 What did Jesus do in heaven when He ascended 41:56 after His ascension? 41:58 He what? 41:59 He became the High Priest. 42:02 In which Sanctuary? 42:04 Not the shadowy copy, but in the original Sanctuary. 42:09 In other words, Jesus, during those ten days, 42:12 was invested as the High Priest over His people. 42:15 And on the day of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 42:19 was the earthly announcement that the Sanctuary was now 42:24 open for business. 42:26 Are you understanding me? 42:28 Now here comes a very important point. 42:32 If Jesus was going to be High Priest, would He have to be 42:39 clothed as a High Priest? 42:45 Yes or no? 42:47 Would He have that miter that says, "Holiness to the Lord?" 42:52 Sure, would He have the multicolored beautiful garment 42:54 of different colors? 42:56 Absolutely. 42:58 Do you know what else He would have? 43:00 He would also have the breastplate. 43:05 Now let me read from Scripture a description of the breastplate. 43:10 Exodus 28. 43:11 Exodus chapter 28 and let's begin our reading at verse 15. 43:16 By the way, for those who say that Jesus went directly 43:19 into the Most Holy Place, here I'm going to read from Scripture 43:24 that He went as High Priest into the Holy Place. 43:27 The Scripture makes it absolutely certain. 43:29 And we also noticed that in Revelation that Jesus was 43:32 walking among the candlesticks and He was also where 43:35 the altar of incense was. 43:36 But now it's explicit in Exodus chapter 28. 43:39 Let's begin reading at verse 15. 43:42 Speaking about the breastplate that a High Priest wore 43:46 over His heart, it says... 43:51 Interesting. The breastplate of what? 43:54 Of judgment. 43:55 Whose judgment did Jesus bear? 43:59 He bore our judgment. 44:01 Did He go to heaven to represent us before the Father and say, 44:03 "Father, I was judged in his place. 44:06 I was judged in her place. 44:08 Please accent him or her in the beloved." 44:11 Absolutely. So it says... 44:38 In other words, it was a square. 44:40 Verse 17. 45:09 So you have this square breastplate that has 45:12 how many stones on it? 45:14 It has twelve, not eleven. 45:16 It has twelve stones. 45:18 What do those twelve stones represent? 45:20 They represent God's what? 45:22 God's people. 45:24 From the Old and from the New Testament. 45:26 Notice what it continues saying in verse 21. 45:41 So what does Jesus wear over His heart? 45:45 The names of the twelve sons of Jacob. 45:48 But also what? 45:50 The twelve apostles of the Lamb. 45:53 In other words, where does Jesus hold His people? 45:57 Dear close to His what? 45:59 To His heart. 46:00 And it's the breastplate of judgment. 46:02 What did Jesus bear in our place? 46:04 He bore our judgment. 46:06 And so it says in verse 21... 46:19 Let's jump down to verse 29. 46:21 Listen carefully. 46:23 What was Aaron, by the way? 46:25 He was the high priest. 46:37 Now listen carefully. 46:47 And by the way, I wondered if that translation, 46:50 "Holy Place," is the right translation. 46:52 I went to every Bible version that I could find. 46:54 And every Bible version says, "Holy Place." 46:58 So where does the high priest wear the breastplate 47:02 of judgment close to his heart? 47:04 Not in the Most Holy, but where? 47:07 In the Holy Place of the Sanctuary. 47:09 Verse 29... 47:26 We won't get into the Urim and the Thummim. 47:45 Now we understand why they had to have apostle number twelve 47:49 before Jesus was invested as High Priest. 47:52 See, there's a biblical reason. 47:55 What would have happened if they had only eleven apostles 47:58 before the day of Pentecost? 48:01 Jesus could not wear the breastplate, 48:03 which had twelve stones. 48:06 Are you understanding me? 48:08 The breastplate had to have what? 48:10 Twelve stones symbolic of God's people. 48:14 But there were only eleven apostles. 48:16 So what did they have to do before Jesus could be clothed 48:20 as the High Priest over His people? 48:22 Apostle number twelve had to be elected. 48:26 In other words, there's a biblical reason for this. 48:29 Isn't the Bible marvelous? 48:31 I mean, it's amazing. 48:34 These are things that show me that the Bible 48:35 is inspired by God. 48:37 It doesn't miss a beat. 48:39 Now notice this comment by Ellen White. 48:42 Gospel Workers, page 34. 48:45 I love this statement. She says... 49:04 And then she makes this comment after writing 49:06 Exodus 28 verse 29. 49:08 She says... 49:29 And then she says to the ministers... 49:31 By the way, all of us are ministers to share the gospel. 49:43 Do you know, there is nothing closer to Jesus Christ 49:46 than His church, than the individuals in His church. 49:51 You see, the twelve sons of Jacob and the twelve apostles 49:54 of the Lamb represent God's people in all ages. 49:59 And the thing that is closest to the heart of Jesus 50:03 are His people. 50:05 In fact, when Jesus was raising up His high priestly prayer 50:11 in the garden of Gethsemane, He was interceding for His 50:14 disciples and those who would believe in Him afterwards. 50:18 He expressed at the climax of His prayer 50:20 what His great desire was. 50:23 He said in John chapter 17 and verse 24, 50:26 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me 50:33 may be with Me where I am..." 50:36 What does Jesus want? 50:38 He wants His people where? 50:39 With Him. 50:41 "...that they may behold My glory which You have given Me. 50:45 For You loved Me before the foundation of the world." 50:47 And you know, sometimes we read that passage, 50:49 which we'll come back to later on in this series, 50:51 in John 14:1-3 where Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled; 50:56 you believe in God, believe also in Me. 50:58 In My Father's house are many mansions." 51:00 And usually we focus on the mansions. 51:03 "Oh, we're going to have a mansion up there." 51:06 "If it were not so, I would have told you. 51:08 I go to prepare a place for you." 51:10 And many people think that Jesus is doing some 51:13 heavenly contracting up there. 51:15 He's building houses. 51:16 Listen, Jesus doesn't need 2000 years to build houses 51:20 when He made this world in six days. 51:23 He can speak and it is done. 51:26 He went to the Sanctuary to apply the benefits of 51:30 His atonement to individuals. 51:31 Are you understanding? 51:33 Is the work of Jesus in the heavenly Sanctuary 51:35 as important as His death on the cross? 51:38 Absolutely, you cannot be saved without administration 51:41 in the heavenly Sanctuary in the Holy Place. 51:43 And later, we're going to talk about His ministration in the 51:46 Most Holy Place that begins in the year 1844. 51:53 John 14 verse 3 expresses what Jesus is really concerned about. 51:58 He said, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, 52:02 I will come again..." 52:03 And now listen carefully. 52:05 "...and receive you to Myself that where I am 52:11 there you may be also." 52:13 What is the passion of Jesus? 52:15 The passion of Jesus is that we are there where He is. 52:19 Listen, the beautiful city and the mansions 52:25 are the icing and the cake. 52:27 They are the dessert. 52:29 But if there was nothing in heaven, none of those 52:32 fringe benefits so to speak, and Jesus was there, 52:36 it would be worthwhile going. 52:39 Notice Ephesians chapter 5 verses 25 to 27. 52:42 You know, I get kind of aggravated when I hear 52:45 people criticizing the church 52:48 and being critical of the church. 52:50 Listen, Jesus loves His church and He takes it personally. 52:54 That doesn't mean that we don't have to correct wrongs 52:56 that are committed in the church. 52:58 But it's Christ's church. 52:59 And there will be wheat and there will be tares 53:02 until probation closes. 53:05 But let's not be critical. 53:06 Let's not shoot our wounded 53:09 like many times happens. 53:11 Notice Ephesians 5:25-27. 53:20 What did Jesus do for His church? 53:22 He what? He gave Himself. 53:24 He didn't give us something, He gave us Himself. 53:53 This is the reason why Ellen White wrote in 53:55 Testimonies To Ministers, page 15... 54:30 Now one final thing that I want to deal with. 54:33 And that is that our home in eternity, both in heaven 54:40 and on the new earth, will be the New Jerusalem; 54:45 the holy city. 54:48 Now let me ask you, is the Old Testament church 54:51 and is the New Testament church, are they both 54:53 represented in the holy city? 54:55 Absolutely. 54:57 Let's finish by reading two verses. 54:58 Revelation chapter 21 and verse 12. 55:03 It's speaking about the gates of the New Jerusalem. 55:05 This isn't old Jerusalem, this is the New Jerusalem. 55:08 And notice the names that are on the gates. 55:12 It says there in Revelation 21 verse 12... 55:32 Is the Old Testament church going to be represented 55:34 in the city? 55:35 Absolute, how about the New Testament church 55:37 in the same city? 55:39 Revelation chapter 21 and verse 14. 55:44 It's speaking about the foundations 55:46 of the holy city now. 55:47 The gates have the names of the sons of Jacob. 55:52 But the foundations have different names. 55:55 Notice Revelation 21 and verse 14. 56:11 One city that contains all of God's people. 56:16 Old Testament saints, New Testament saints. 56:20 Everyone will live in the presence of Jesus Christ 56:24 forever more. 56:26 And the Bible says that we will come from month to month 56:31 to eat from the tree of life. 56:35 And the Bible says that we will come from Sabbath to Sabbath 56:39 to worship our wonderful Creator, Jesus Christ. 56:44 And we shall live with Him forever more 56:47 in that land where there is no sorrow, no crying, 56:52 no suffering, no illness, no death. 56:55 That land where everything is joy forever more. 57:00 And the greatest joy, of course, is the joy of spending eternity 57:06 with our wonderful and beloved Savior, Jesus Christ, 57:10 who did not give us something, but actually gave us Himself. 57:14 He did not lend Himself to us, He gave Himself for us. 57:19 Not for a while, but for eternity we have 57:24 an elder Brethren sitting on the throne. |
Revised 2014-12-17