Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: HWIS
Program Code: HWIS000030
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00:33 Shall we bow our heads for prayer.
00:36 Father in heaven, we come before You once again 00:40 with open hearts and minds willing to hear Your voice. 00:45 We thank You, Father, for the gift of prophecy 00:48 through which throughout many, many ages 00:52 You have revealed Your will to the human race. 00:56 And as we study a little bit about prophets and their 01:01 relationship to the sanctuary, we ask for the presence 01:04 of Your Holy Spirit. 01:06 We thank You, Father, for the privilege of coming before 01:08 Your throne in prayer. 01:10 Thank You, because as a Father, You listen to our prayers. 01:14 And thank You because You have answered this prayer 01:17 because we have asked in the name of Jesus. 01:20 Amen. 01:24 In the book of 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul compares the 01:30 church to a body. 01:32 A body that is composed of many members, 01:37 with each member fulfilling its own specific 01:41 and particular function. 01:45 In the same way, as the body is one but has many members, 01:50 and those members fulfill different functions, 01:54 so it is with the church. 01:57 The church should be one even though its composed of 02:01 many members and each member has his or her 02:06 own particular function and purpose within the body. 02:13 Now each part of the body has a spiritual meaning 02:18 when it comes to the church. 02:21 For example, the feet represent, according to the apostle Paul 02:27 in the book of Romans, the act of going to preach the gospel. 02:35 The gospel of peace. 02:37 The mouth represents teaching. 02:42 For example, when Jesus taught many times, the Bible says 02:46 that He opened His mouth and taught in parables. 02:49 So the mouth represents teaching. 02:53 The hands, touch, represents kindness and caring 03:01 of church members for others. 03:04 Reach out and touch someone. 03:09 This evening, we want to talk about one of those body parts 03:12 and what it represents, symbolically speaking. 03:17 We're referring to the eyes of the body. 03:22 What do the eyes of the body represent when it 03:26 comes to the church? 03:28 Well, go with me to 1 Samuel chapter 9 and verse 9. 03:32 1 Samuel chapter 9 and verse 9. 03:36 Here, we're going to read about the name that was given to 03:40 prophets before they were called prophets. 03:43 You see, they had an earlier name. 03:46 It says there in 1 Samuel 9 verse 9... 04:08 Now what do you see with? 04:11 You see with your eyes. 04:14 Notice also Isaiah 29 and verse 10. 04:17 Isaiah 29 and verse 10. 04:20 We have once again a reference to the eyes. 04:23 It says there... 04:36 So what does it mean to close the eyes? 04:39 It means that there's no prophetic voice. 04:42 So it says, "...and has closed your eyes, namely the prophets; 04:46 and He has covered your heads, namely the seers." 04:52 So notice that the eyes are identified with 04:56 the prophetic gift. 04:58 Perhaps this is the reason why in Proverbs 29 and verse 18 05:03 we are told that where there is no vision, 05:06 the people perish. 05:08 Notice once again the word "vision" when it refers 05:13 to the prophetic gift. 05:15 Now one of the defects of the end time church, according to 05:19 Revelation chapter 3 and verses 14 through 22, 05:23 is the fact that the Laodicean church is blind. 05:29 What must that mean that the Laodicean church is blind? 05:33 Is it just possible that the church of Laodicea, 05:36 God's last church, is blind because she refuses to listen 05:42 to the prophetic gift that God has given her 05:46 in these last days? 05:50 How can we be certain that in these last days 05:54 God has given the prophetic gift to His church? 06:00 In our study today, we're going to notice that God raised up the 06:03 gift of prophecy in these last days, at the right time, 06:09 with the right message, at the right place, 06:14 and with the right people. 06:17 Now in this study, we are going to take a look at 06:21 several time prophecies. 06:25 Specifically, five time prophecies. 06:29 The first three of these prophecies are fulfilled 06:32 in Old Testament times. 06:35 The last two of these time prophecies are fulfilled 06:39 in New Testament times. 06:42 And we're going to take a look at all five 06:44 to see if we can be certain that in these last days 06:48 God has raised up in His church the gift of prophecy. 06:53 Now as we study these five time prophecies, 06:56 three that were fulfilled in the Old Testament 06:58 and two in the New, we need to understand 07:02 the mode of operation of God, or the modus operandi. 07:08 And so I'm going to share that with you because all of 07:11 these five prophecies have the same common denominators. 07:16 The first thing that God does is that He calls a prophet. 07:20 And He imparts to that prophet, a message. 07:26 That message has to do with judgment. 07:30 Now connected with the message of judgment 07:33 is a time prophecy, a prophecy that has to 07:37 do with a period of time. 07:40 And when God raises up that prophet, 07:44 the message that He gives to that prophet 07:46 is not present truth for that day and age. 07:49 In other words, even though God gives the message 07:51 to that prophet, the message is not for his time 07:55 or for her time. 07:58 Now the interesting thing is that when this time period 08:01 comes to an end, when this time prophecy comes to an end 08:04 or is about to come to an end, God raises up another prophet. 08:11 And He imparts to that prophet the same message that 08:14 He gave to the first prophet. 08:17 It's a message of judgment. 08:20 And God tells that prophet, "The time period that I 08:24 gave to the first prophet has been fulfilled 08:28 or is about to be fulfilled." 08:32 In other words, this second prophet makes the message 08:35 of the first prophet present truth. 08:39 And interestingly enough, each time that the prophet rises, 08:43 the second prophet in the sequence rises, 08:46 he draws out and leads a faithful remnant for God. 08:53 And so, I'll repeat this mode of operation of God 08:57 because it's very important. 08:59 God calls a prophet, He gives a message to the prophet. 09:01 It's a message of judgment. 09:03 Connected with the message of judgment is a time prophecy. 09:06 And that message is not present truth for the first prophet. 09:09 At the end of the time period, God calls another prophet. 09:12 It's a message of judgment just like He gave the first prophet. 09:15 This prophet says the time period has come to an end 09:19 or is coming to an end. 09:20 It's present truth for this day and age. 09:23 And God draws out a remnant. 09:27 Now I must emphasize that these time prophecies 09:30 have to do with the great events of salvation history. 09:34 We're not dealing with measly events. 09:37 We're going to notice that in this process that God follows, 09:43 you have the great events of salvation history. 09:46 We're going to notice, for example, that the first prophet 09:50 that ever arose fits within this method that God uses. 09:55 The global flood, the call of Abraham, 09:59 the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, the Babylonian captivity, 10:05 the baptism and death of Christ and the closing of probation 10:09 for the Jewish nation, and the beginning of the final judgment 10:14 in heaven on October 22, 1844. 10:18 All of these critically important events 10:21 in salvation history are included in this method 10:26 that God uses to operate. 10:29 Now let's begin with our first example. 10:33 Who was the first prophet that the Bible mentions as a prophet? 10:39 It was actually a man called Enoch. 10:44 Go with me to Jude verses 14 and 15. 10:49 Jude 14 and 15. 10:50 That's the little book right before the book of Revelation. 10:54 And it says there, "Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, 10:59 prophesied..." 11:01 Notice, "...prophesied..." 11:03 So he must have been a prophet, right? 11:16 To execute what? 11:19 Ah, it's a message of judgment. 11:40 I think he wants to get across the point that 11:42 this is dealing with ungodly people. 11:46 The word is used continuously in these two verses 11:49 that we find in Jude 14 and 15. 11:53 So God gives this message to Enoch, 11:55 the first prophet of the Bible. 11:57 And it is a message of judgment. 12:00 Now the question is, when was this message 12:03 that God gave to Enoch fulfilled? 12:06 The fact is that it was not fulfilled in the days of Enoch. 12:10 It was not present truth for the days of Enoch 12:13 that God was going to come to execute judgment. 12:17 Actually, it is fulfilled in two specific points of time. 12:26 First of all, the second coming of Jesus Christ. 12:30 But also in an event that prefigures and illustrates 12:34 the second coming of Christ. 12:37 Let's notice Matthew 24 verses 37 to 39. 12:41 Matthew 24 verses 37 to 39. 12:52 So what two events are being compared here by Jesus? 12:55 The destruction of the world by a flood 12:59 and the destruction of the world at the second coming of Christ. 13:03 Right? Very, Very clear. 13:05 Verse 38... 13:22 Two global judgments to punish the wickedness of man. 13:29 The wickedness before the flood and the wickedness immediately 13:33 preceding the second coming of Jesus Christ. 13:37 So, Enoch was actually prophesying two events. 13:41 He was prophesying the ungodliness of society 13:45 before the flood, which would bring the destruction 13:48 of the flood. 13:49 And he was also referring to the wickedness of the world 13:52 immediately before the second coming of Jesus Christ. 13:56 Was the world wicked in the days of Noah? 14:00 Notice Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5, 14:02 and then we'll read verses 11 to 13. 14:05 Because we notice that Enoch prophesied about those who 14:08 were ungodly and wicked. 14:10 Now we're going to notice here Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5. 14:15 And then we'll read verses 11 through 13. 14:56 Does that sound like a description of the 14:58 wickedness that God showed to Enoch, the first prophet? 15:01 Absolutely. 15:03 And so Enoch was referring to two great events 15:06 where God would come to execute judgment. 15:09 First of all, the global flood where all the human race 15:13 was wiped out except for a remnant of eight. 15:16 And the final destruction of the world for its wickedness 15:20 where there will be a small remnant compared 15:24 to the number of people that live on planet earth. 15:28 So God gave Enoch this message. 15:31 And it was a message of judgment. 15:33 Now you're probably wondering where the time prophecy is. 15:37 Is there a time prophecy connected with this message 15:42 that God gave to Enoch? 15:45 The answer is, yes. 15:47 But you'll have to look beneath the surface of Scripture 15:51 in order to find it. 15:53 Now in the book of Genesis, over 75 times God emphasizes 15:59 the importance of names. 16:02 You see, in Genesis, names aren't simply given 16:05 because they're names. 16:06 The names have very important meanings and significance. 16:13 For example, Jacob means supplanter. 16:16 Is that what he did? 16:18 Sure, he supplanted his brother. 16:20 Right? 16:21 But then when he fought with the Angel, 16:24 and prevailed, his name was changed to what? 16:28 Israel; prince of God. 16:32 You have this time and again in the book of Genesis. 16:35 Over 75 times, the importance of names is underlined. 16:41 And so, we come to the name of the son of Enoch. 16:50 What was the name of the son of Enoch? 16:54 Let's go to Genesis chapter 9 and verse 21. 16:58 Genesis chapter 5, excuse me, and verse 21. 17:01 Genesis 5:21 17:04 It says here... 17:13 That's an interesting name. 17:15 It is composed of two Hebrew words. 17:20 One is "muwth" and the other is "shalach." 17:25 Now let me give you the references 17:27 in Strong's concordance, because people write emails 17:30 and call all the time to ask me how I get the meaning 17:35 of the name Methuselah. 17:37 If you want to look up the word, "muwth," 17:40 in Strong's concordance it's number 4191. 17:44 And if you want to look up the word, "shalach," 17:46 it's in Strong's, number 7971. 17:50 Now what does the word "muwth" mean? 17:52 It means, to die. 17:55 And what does the name "shalach" mean? 17:58 It means, to send. 18:01 So in other words, the combination of these 18:03 two Hebrew words in the name of Methuselah 18:06 mean, "when he dies, it will be sent." 18:12 That's a strange name to call your son, 18:15 "when it dies, it will be sent." 18:18 Immediately the question comes up, 18:20 when he dies, what will be sent? 18:23 The answer is very simple. 18:25 When he dies, the flood of which God spoke to Enoch, 18:31 that He would come in judgment, would take place. 18:35 Now interestingly enough, Jewish tradition, 18:38 very ancient Jewish traditions say that Methuselah died 18:44 ten days before the flood. 18:47 Now I can't prove that Methuselah died 18:50 ten days before the flood. 18:51 And we can't rely on everything that Jewish tradition says. 18:54 But I can prove to you that Methuselah died 18:57 the year of the flood. 18:59 "When he dies, it will be sent." 19:02 You say, "How do you prove that?" 19:04 Well, let me give you succinctly how we prove it. 19:08 Let's do a little bit of math. 19:11 Genesis 5 verse 22 tells us... 19:15 And you need to do a little figuring here. 19:17 Genesis 5:22 tells us that from the time that Methuselah 19:22 was born till the time that his son, Lamech, was born, 19:28 there was a period of 187 years that transpired. 19:35 Okay? 19:36 From the time Methuselah was born till the time that his son, 19:38 Lamech, was born; 187 years. 19:42 From the time that Lamech was born until the time that 19:45 Noah was born was 182 years, according to Genesis 5 verse 28. 19:54 And then the Bible tells us in Genesis 7 verse 11 19:57 that Noah, after he was born, lived 600 years 20:03 and the flood came. 20:05 So what do we do? 20:06 We add 187, plus 182, plus 600. 20:15 And then we'll know what year the flood came. 20:22 Now what do you get when you add all these figures together? 20:26 You get 900 and what? 20:29 Nine hundred and sixty-nine. 20:32 From the time that Methuselah was born till the time that 20:36 Methuselah died, there were 969 years. 20:41 Interesting. 20:44 The Bible says this. 20:45 Genesis 5 verse 27. 20:59 When did Methuselah die? 21:02 He died the year of the flood. 21:07 In other words, his names means, "when he dies, it will be sent." 21:12 And when Methuselah died, the flood was sent. 21:16 So the name Methuselah was a time prophecy 21:19 that announced when the judgment was going to take place 21:23 of which God spoke to the prophet, Enoch. 21:28 Are you with me? 21:30 Now at the end of this period, when it was about to end, 21:35 did God raise up another prophet that raised the same issues 21:40 as had been raised by Enoch? 21:43 Absolutely. 21:45 What was his name? 21:47 His name was Noah. 21:50 Did Noah make the message of Enoch present truth 21:56 for his day and age? 21:57 Did Noah say, "Listen, folks. 21:59 Now what Enoch spoke about is going to take place 22:04 in this generation." 22:07 120 years of probation. 22:11 Notice 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 5, speaking about Noah. 22:16 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 5. 22:19 It says here... 22:38 Is that the word that was used repeatedly 22:41 in the message that was given to Enoch? 22:44 Absolutely. 22:45 Notice Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 7. 22:48 Hebrews 11 verse 7. 23:05 See, here's the judgment that was prophesied by Enoch. 23:17 So did God give Noah the same message that He gave to Enoch? 23:21 Most certainly. 23:22 Did Noah make Enoch's message present truth 23:25 for his day and age? 23:27 Absolutely. 23:28 Was it a message of judgment? 23:30 Was it at the end of this time period 23:33 that Scripture speaks about? 23:34 Absolutely. 23:36 Did Noah also, through his leadership, save a remnant 23:41 from destruction and draw them out? 23:44 Absolutely. 23:45 Eight persons. 23:47 So this is the first example from Scripture 23:50 of God's modus operandi when it comes to time prophecies 23:55 and prophets. 23:57 Now let's go to our second example. 24:01 Go with me to Genesis chapter 20. 24:06 And in a moment we're going to read verse 7. 24:10 The Bible tells us that Abraham went to the city of Gerar. 24:14 And there lived a king called Abimelech. 24:19 And it appears that Sarah, Abraham's wife, was a very 24:24 beautiful woman, even though she was up in years at this time. 24:27 And so Abraham says, "You know, if I go and I tell Abimelech 24:31 that she is my wife, he's going to kill me to take my wife." 24:35 So he says to Sarah, "Tell Abimelech 24:39 that you are my sister." 24:41 Which was a half truth. 24:43 But a half truth is a full lie. 24:46 He told him the truth, but not the whole truth 24:50 and nothing but the truth. 24:52 Fortunately that evening, God gave Abimelech a dream. 24:58 Which the story is recorded in Genesis 20 and verse 7. 25:02 Notice what it says. 25:05 God is giving the message to Abimelech. 25:13 We don't usually think of Abraham as a prophet. 25:15 But Abraham was a prophet. 25:31 So here we have Abraham who, according to the Bible, 25:35 was a prophet. 25:37 Now, did God give Abraham a message of judgment 25:43 linked with a time prophecy? 25:46 He most certainly did. 25:48 Go with me to Genesis chapter 15 and verses 13 and 14. 25:53 Genesis chapter 15 verses 13 and 14. 25:57 Here is a message of judgment that God gives to Abraham, 26:00 and it is linked with judgment. 26:04 It says there... 26:07 God is speaking. 26:21 Is that a time prophecy? 26:23 It most certainly is. 26:29 Ah, when the 400 years comes to an end, 26:32 what is God going to come? 26:33 He's going to come in what? 26:35 In judgment. 26:42 So did God give Abraham a message of judgment 26:44 linked with a time prophecy? 26:46 He most certainly did. 26:48 Was this message present truth for the days of Abraham? 26:53 Absolutely not. 26:54 Notice Genesis 15 verses 15 and 16. 26:58 Genesis 15 verses 15 and 16. 27:01 Here, God says to Abraham... 27:22 So was this prophecy for a distant period of the future? 27:26 It most certainly was. 27:28 God gave the message of judgment to Abraham. 27:31 It was linked with a time prophecy. 27:33 But that message was not for the days of Abraham. 27:39 Let me ask you, at the end of this period, 27:42 as it was nearing an end, did God raise up another prophet 27:47 to make the message of Abraham present truth? 27:51 What was the name of that prophet? 27:54 The name of that prophet was Moses. 27:57 Go with me to Exodus chapter 12 and verses 40 and 41. 28:01 Did God come in judgment in the days of Moses 28:05 upon that nation that had afflicted Israel? 28:08 Was the message of Abraham fulfilled 28:10 and were God's people delivered? 28:13 They most certainly were. 28:14 Exodus 12 verses 40 and 41. 28:28 You're saying, "Well, that says 430 and before it said 400." 28:31 One has to do with the time in which Abraham was 28:34 called to leave his home to go to Canaan, and the other time 28:37 is when he actually entered Canaan. 28:38 But we won't get into that right now. 28:41 Now notice what it says. 28:54 Did Moses make the message of Abraham present truth? 29:00 He most certainly did. 29:02 Did Moses bring judgment after judgment through the power of 29:05 God upon Egyptian civilization? 29:07 He most certainly did. 29:09 Just as had been prophesied by Abraham. 29:13 And so, did he make the message present truth? 29:16 Yes. 29:17 Did he lead out a remnant? 29:20 What was the remnant? 29:22 It was God's people. 29:24 He led them out on their pilgrimage 29:26 to the land of Canaan. 29:29 Some of you might be wondering whether Moses was a prophet. 29:33 The Bible says so. 29:35 Notice Hosea chapter 12 and verse 13. 29:38 We usually don't think of Moses as a prophet. 29:40 But Moses was a prophet. 29:42 Hosea chapter 12 and verse 13. 29:55 So we notice in our second example that is fulfilled in 29:58 the Old Testament, once again, God operates in the same way. 30:02 He calls a prophet, He gives him a message. 30:04 Connected with the message is a time prophecy. 30:07 It's a message of judgment and it's not for the 30:10 time of that prophet. 30:12 Then at the end, God calls another prophet. 30:14 gives him the same message of judgment. 30:17 And he says, "The time prophecy has now come to an end." 30:21 And he leads out a remnant. 30:23 Now let's go to our third example that is fulfilled 30:27 in the Old Testament. 30:29 Would you agree that Jeremiah was a prophet? 30:32 Let me just give you the reference, we won't read it. 30:34 Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 5, God says, "I called you to be a 30:37 prophet from the time that you were in your mother's womb." 30:41 Now, did God give Jeremiah a message of judgment 30:46 connected with a time prophecy? 30:47 He most certainly did. 30:49 Notice Jeremiah chapter 25 and verses 11 and 12. 30:53 Jeremiah chapter 25 and verses 11 and 12. 30:56 It says here... 31:03 Speaking about the land of Judah. 31:12 Is that a time prophecy? 31:13 Absolutely. 31:14 Now what's going to happen after the 70 years? 31:16 It continues saying... 31:23 Ah, there you have the judgment again. 31:37 So did God give Jeremiah, the prophet, a message? 31:41 He certainly did. 31:42 Was it a message of judgment? 31:44 Absolutely. 31:45 Was it connected with a time prophecy? 31:48 Certainly. 31:49 Was this message for the days of Jeremiah? 31:53 No. 31:54 Jeremiah died long before this time period came to an end. 31:59 This prophecy was not fulfilled in the days of Jeremiah. 32:05 Question. 32:07 Did God, at the end of this period, raise up another prophet 32:11 to make the message that God had given to Jeremiah 32:16 present truth at the end of the 70 years? 32:20 Absolutely. 32:22 What was the name of that prophet? 32:24 It was the prophet Daniel, that's right, who made the 32:27 message of Jeremiah present truth for that day and age. 32:31 Let's read about it in Scripture. 32:33 Daniel chapter 9 and verses 1 and 2. 32:36 Daniel chapter 9 verses 1 and 2. 32:50 By the way, this is immediately after Babylon has fallen. 33:12 What prophecy was Daniel studying? 33:15 He was studying the prophecy of the 70 years of Jeremiah. 33:18 Because that prophecy was about to come to what? 33:22 Was about to come to an end. 33:23 Babylon fell in 539 and the decree for God's people to 33:27 go back was to be given in the year 536. 33:32 Ellen White describes a very interesting encounter between 33:35 Daniel and Cyrus the Great. 33:37 You know, Cyrus was also with Darius when the 33:42 city of Babylon fell. 33:44 And she says that when Cyrus entered the city, 33:48 Daniel, who was at the banquet hall... 33:51 Remember we talked about that. 33:52 He was in the banquet hall where they used the holy vessels. 33:55 Daniel met Cyrus. 33:58 And he said, "Hey Cyrus, come here. 34:01 Did you know that over a hundred years before 34:04 you were born, your name is mentioned in the Scriptures?" 34:09 And he showed him Isaiah 45 verse 1, 34:13 written over a hundred years before, 34:16 with the name of Cyrus saying, "Cyrus shall deliver My people, 34:20 and give the command for them to go and to build the temple." 34:24 And Daniel says, "You are the man. 34:26 Your name is Cyrus, right? 34:28 God has called you to give that decree." 34:31 And just less than two years later, Cyrus gave the decree 34:35 for God's people to go back. 34:39 So let me ask you. 34:40 Does this follow the same pattern as the 34:43 first two examples? 34:44 Absolutely. 34:45 God calls a prophet, He gives that prophet a message. 34:48 It's a message of judgment. 34:50 It's not present truth for that day and age. 34:52 Connected with it is a time prophecy. 34:55 At the end of the period, God calls another prophet. 34:57 He gives him the same message. 34:59 It's a message of judgment. 35:01 The time period is now coming to an end. 35:04 It's present truth. 35:06 Did Daniel lead in a remnant leaving Babylon 35:11 and going back to their land? 35:13 Yes. 35:14 Israel went out of captivity just the way that God had said 35:20 was going to happen. 35:22 Now let's go to an example that was fulfilled 35:26 in the New Testament. 35:27 Now the prophecy was given in the Old Testament. 35:30 But the events prophesied were fulfilled in the New Testament. 35:35 The prophet Daniel gave a prophecy, which we've 35:39 already studied in this seminar. 35:41 It's the prophecy of the 70 weeks. 35:45 You remember that prophecy that we studied, 35:47 the prophecy of the 70 weeks? 35:49 There are three great events in the prophecy of the 70 weeks, 35:53 if you remember. 35:54 Particularly the last week of the 70 weeks. 35:58 Let's read about it and then we'll review what those three 36:02 main points are. 36:05 Notice Daniel chapter 9 and verse 24. 36:13 This is what the angel is telling Daniel. 36:32 And then verse 25. 36:34 We'll read all the way through verse 27. 36:44 You remember that we studied that "Messiah" means what? 36:48 Anointed, right? 36:51 So the first great event in this prophecy 36:54 is the anointing of the Messiah. 37:06 Here comes the second great event. 37:07 Messiah shall be what? Cut off. 37:10 That's the death of Christ. 37:27 This is the same Prince. This is the Messiah. 37:34 Did Jesus do that literally the day in which He died? 37:38 We studied that, right? 37:39 So the first event is the baptism. 37:42 The second event is the death. 37:45 And what is the third event? 37:46 The close of probation for the Jewish nation. 37:49 Which leads to what? 37:51 To the destruction of Jerusalem. 37:53 Notice what the following verse says. 37:55 "And on the wing of abominations shall be one 37:58 who makes desolate..." 38:05 And who was it that came to Jerusalem and destroyed 38:07 Jerusalem because of the rejection of the Messiah? 38:11 It was Rome. 38:13 Specifically the armies of Titus. 38:15 So, three great events. 38:17 Number one, the anointing of the Messiah. 38:20 Number two, the death of the Messiah. 38:22 And number three, the close of probation 38:25 for the Hebrew theocracy. 38:28 Now let me ask you, at the end of this period... 38:30 Actually, during the last week of this time period, 38:35 did God call another prophet to make this message 38:40 of Daniel present truth for his day and age? 38:44 Did He? 38:45 Of course He did. 38:46 What was the name of that prophet? 38:48 The name of that prophet was John the Baptist. 38:56 When was Jesus anointed? 39:00 We studied this, remember? 39:02 When was Jesus anointed to be the Messiah? 39:05 At the moment of His baptism. 39:07 Let me review here. 39:11 You remember that in Luke 4 verse 16, Jesus begins 39:15 His ministry in Nazareth and He says, 39:17 "The Lord has anointed Me." 39:19 This is immediately after His baptism. 39:22 When Jesus was baptized, what fell upon Him? 39:27 The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended upon Christ. 39:32 And when you go to Acts chapter 2 and verse 38 39:36 and verse 39, it says that God anointed Jesus 39:41 with the Holy Spirit. 39:44 And so the anointing of Jesus took place at the moment 39:47 of His baptism when He received the Holy Spirit. 39:51 So did John address, did John the Baptist address 39:54 the issue of the anointing of the Messiah? 39:56 Yes. 39:58 He was involved in the anointing of the Messiah. 40:01 Let me ask you another question. 40:04 How did John the Baptist introduce Christ? 40:11 He said, "Behold..." What? 40:14 "...the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." 40:18 What happened to lambs in the sanctuary service? 40:22 Lambs were killed in the sanctuary service. 40:25 Did Jesus die on the cross as the Lamb of God? 40:28 Was He the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world? 40:32 John the Baptist didn't understand all of the 40:33 implications of this. 40:35 But when he introduced Jesus as the Lamb, he was saying, 40:37 "He is going to..." What? 40:40 "He is going to die." 40:42 So did John the Baptist announce, even though 40:45 he didn't understand that the death of Jesus Christ? 40:48 He most certainly did. 40:49 Did John the Baptist also warn the Jewish nation that if 40:53 they didn't shape up, that their probation would close? 40:57 Notice Matthew chapter 3 and verses 7 through 12. 41:01 This is an extensive passage, but I'm going to 41:02 read the whole thing. 41:04 Because John the Baptist proclaimed 41:05 a message of judgment. 41:07 Incidentally, was the death of Jesus Christ on the cross 41:10 a judgment? 41:12 Ooh, it was a judgment of the devil and it was a 41:15 judgment against sin. 41:16 Isn't that right? 41:17 Now, did John the Baptist also proclaim a word of judgment 41:21 about the Jewish nation if they rejected the Messiah 41:24 and they did not bear fruit? 41:25 Absolutely. 41:27 Notice what we find in Matthew 3 verses 7 through 12. 41:38 The same name that Jesus gave to them in Matthew 23. 42:04 Is he warning them that just because they're children of 42:06 Abraham, literally speaking, that they don't have the 42:08 special favor of God? 42:10 Absolutely. 42:11 Is he saying, "Bear fruit." 42:14 Absolutely. 42:15 Now notice. It continues saying... 42:23 Oh, so now he's going to compare the Jewish nation 42:27 to a what? 42:28 To a tree. Interesting. 42:42 What did that tree represent, according to the context? 42:45 It represented the Jewish nation. 42:48 What happened to Jerusalem in the year 70? 42:52 It was burned. 42:53 Just like John the Baptist said. 42:56 And then he says... 43:09 And now notice the message of judgment. 43:27 Is this a message of judgment that God is going to separate 43:29 the righteous from the unrighteous? 43:31 Those who produce fruit and those who don't produce fruit? 43:33 Absolutely. 43:35 And notice that he compares the Hebrew nation with a tree. 43:38 And if the tree does not produce fruit, 43:40 it's cut down and thrown into the fire. 43:42 Do we meet this tree later on in the ministry of Christ? 43:46 Yes we do. 43:48 During the last week of His life. 43:50 Notice Matthew chapter 21 and verse 19. 43:54 Matthew chapter 21 and verse 19. 43:57 And I wish we had time to go to Luke chapter 13, 44:00 but we just don't have the time to go there. 44:02 That's a whole sermon in itself. 44:04 So let's go to the last week. 44:06 Matthew 21 verse 19. 44:08 Remember, John the Baptist said that the tree 44:11 needs to produce fruit. 44:12 If it doesn't produce fruit, it's cut down 44:14 and it's thrown into the fire. 44:15 Matthew 21:19 44:35 Everybody agrees that the fig tree represents 44:37 the Jewish nation. 44:39 Even dispensationalist scholars, futurist scholars, believe 44:43 that the fig tree represents Israel. 44:46 But now I want you to notice something very interesting. 44:49 Mark 11:20-21 44:51 He cursed the fig tree. 44:53 And Mark tells us in chapter 11 verses 20 and 21... 45:05 What happens when a tree dries up by the roots? 45:07 That is it. 45:18 So let me ask you, did John the Baptist make the message 45:21 of the 70 weeks present truth, particularly 45:23 the last three events in the last week? 45:26 Absolutely. 45:28 He was the one who baptized the Messiah 45:30 when the Messiah was anointed. 45:33 He was the one who announced that Jesus was the Lamb of God 45:37 who takes away the sin of the world. 45:39 And he announced that if the Jewish nation did not 45:41 bear fruit, it would be cut down and thrown into the fire. 45:45 Which is exactly what happened in the year 70. 45:48 The Jewish nation was destroyed. 45:49 And Jerusalem was burned with what? 45:53 Was burned with fire. 45:54 Now let me ask you. 45:55 Did John the Baptist, through his work, 45:58 bring out a remnant? 46:01 Yes he did. 46:02 Do you know, most of the disciples of Jesus 46:06 had previously been the disciples of John the Baptist. 46:10 I don't know whether you were aware of that or not. 46:13 And those disciples who became disciples of Christ, 46:17 who had been disciples of John the Baptist, 46:20 they became the nucleus and the founders of what? 46:23 Of the Christian church. 46:26 They were the remnant that founded the Christian church. 46:29 But they were first of all drawn out by John the Baptist. 46:35 Now let's go to our last example. 46:38 We studied the prophecy of the 2300 days, right? 46:42 The 2300 days are the larger prophecy, and the 70 weeks 46:47 are the first part of the 2300 days. 46:50 Is that clear in your mind? 46:52 So is the prophecy of the 2300 days divided into two parts? 46:56 Absolutely. 46:58 Now the interesting thing is that Daniel, not only gave the 47:06 prophecy of the 70 weeks, which applied to the 47:08 literal Jewish nation, but he also spoke about the 2300 days 47:13 that would be fulfilled way down the course of Christian history. 47:19 Let's read that prophecy as it's found in 47:21 Daniel chapter 8 and verse 14. 47:24 Daniel chapter 8 and verse 14. 47:28 "And he said to me, 'For two thousand three hundred days; 47:34 then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.'" 47:38 Question. 47:40 To whom is God giving this message? 47:43 To Daniel, right? 47:46 Was Daniel a prophet? 47:48 Yes he was. 47:49 Is God connecting with the message a time prophecy? 47:53 Yes. 47:54 Is it a message of judgment? 47:56 We've studied that the cleansing of the sanctuary refers to what? 48:00 Refers to the beginning of the judgment 48:03 in the heavenly sanctuary. 48:05 Was this message of judgment for the days of Daniel? 48:09 Absolutely not. 48:11 Notice Daniel chapter 12 and verse 4, 48:13 and then we'll read verse 9. 48:15 Daniel chapter 12 verse 4 and verse 9, 48:18 and we'll actually go also to verse 13. 48:21 God says to Daniel, He gave him this time period; the 2300 days, 48:25 and the cleansing of the sanctuary will take place. 48:28 Which is the beginning of the judgment. 48:30 And then He says to Daniel... 48:38 So is this book for the days of Daniel? 48:41 No, it's sealed until the time of the end. 48:46 Notice verse 9. 48:56 And then verse 13. 49:05 So this message was not present truth in the days of Daniel. 49:10 Now here's the million dollar question. 49:12 Would we expect, at the end of the 2300 days, 49:16 God to raise up a prophet that would proclaim the same 49:20 message that Daniel proclaimed and make it present truth 49:25 for his or her day and age? 49:28 Yes or no? 49:29 Yes, because it's the way that God operates. 49:33 At the end of the 2300 days, we would expect God also to 49:37 raise up a prophet that would explain that the prophecy 49:42 of the 2300 days had come to it's what? 49:46 To its end and explain this prophecy explicitly. 49:53 I'd like to say that leading up to the year 1844, as we've 49:57 studied before, God raised up an interdenominational 50:02 and intercontinental movement. 50:05 Known as the Great Second Advent Awakening. 50:09 Also known as the Millerite Movement. 50:13 Do you know what was the central verse that they preached 50:16 leading up to October 22, 1844? 50:19 "Unto 2300 days, and the sanctuary shall be..." What? 50:25 "...shall be cleansed." 50:27 When are the 2300 days fulfilled? 50:29 They're fulfilled in 1844. 50:32 Would you expect a movement to arise that would proclaim 50:36 that the 2300 days were about to come to an end? 50:39 Absolutely. 50:41 Because that is the way that God operated in every single case. 50:46 Now, William Miller... 50:48 Listen carefully. 50:49 William Miller did not fully understand one thing. 50:56 He did not understand the event that was going to take place. 51:01 Was he correct as to the timing of the event? 51:04 He was. 51:05 Was he wrong about the event? Yes. 51:08 Now before you're too hard on him, you need to remember that 51:12 John the Baptist, who was the prophet that arose at the 51:16 end of the 70 weeks, was in the same boat. 51:20 Because he did not understand either. 51:22 It was afterwards, after the disappointment, 51:25 at the triumphal entry, that the disciples further 51:27 studied and understood. 51:29 And Peter, on the day of Pentecost, God's prophet, 51:33 explained what had happened. 51:35 Are you with me or not? 51:37 William Miller and the Millerites, they had 51:39 the timing right, but they had the event wrong. 51:44 But after the disappointment, specifically in December 51:47 of 1844, God raised up a woman named Ellen White. 51:52 And do you know what the burden of Ellen White was? 51:56 If you read her early writings, her burden was to explain 52:00 what happened on October 22, 1844. 52:03 Before she talked about health, before she talked about 52:06 church organization, before she talked about education, 52:09 before she talked about all of these things that she 52:12 wrote about proliferously, her main point at the 52:16 very beginning after the disappointment was to explain 52:20 what had happened on October 22, 1844. 52:23 Her early visions had that specific purpose. 52:26 And you can read them in the book, Early Writings. 52:29 Now let me ask you, why would she focus 52:31 on this specific point? 52:33 There are so many things that she could have written about 52:35 and she could have talked about. 52:37 Why the 2300 days? 52:39 Because she was the prophet that made present truth 52:42 what Daniel spoke about. 52:45 Are you understanding me or not? 52:47 Now, what if Ellen White had talked about many other things? 52:50 Maybe if she had talked about the Trinity or about health 52:53 or about the importance of establishing an 52:55 educational system or so on? 52:57 You know, those would be beautiful and wonderful truths, 52:59 but they would not make the 2300 day prophecy present truth. 53:03 She had to address the same issue, the identical issue that 53:07 Daniel had addressed. 53:09 Are you with me or not? 53:10 And that's exactly what she did. 53:13 Now listen carefully. 53:15 Ellen White gathered a small remnant. 53:18 In fact, her first publication was, A Word To The Little Flock 53:23 Scattered Abroad. 53:25 And in that booklet, she tries to explain what happened 53:28 in 1844 and the reason for the Great Disappointment. 53:32 Now do you know that New England, where this movement 53:34 primarily took place, there were many religious 53:38 movements at this time. 53:39 That's why New England was known as the 53:41 Burned-Over District. 53:43 Because they had so many different religious movements. 53:47 For example, let me mention some of those movements 53:49 that arose in that same area. 53:52 Mormonism with its prophet, Joseph Smith. 53:57 Christian Science with its prophetess, Mary Baker Eddy. 54:01 Theosophy; New Age theology. Helena Blavatsky. 54:08 The Baha'i Faith originated at that time 54:11 with its prophet, Abdu'l-Bahá. 54:14 Spiritualism originated in that same general area; 54:18 the Fox sisters and Andrew Jackson Davis. 54:23 Pentecostalism had its origin with a woman name 54:27 Margaret McDonald. 54:29 The Jehovah's Witnesses within that time frame 54:32 had their origin. 54:34 Futuristic interpretation of Bible prophecy 54:37 had its origin then with John Nelson Darby 54:42 and Edward Irving. 54:44 Evolutionism had its origin in that time frame. 54:51 Marxism, which is the philosophy of Communism, 54:55 had its origin during that time frame. 54:58 What do you suppose the devil was trying to do? 55:03 With so many religious movements rising in the same general 55:07 geographical area, people would wonder, "Where is the truth?" 55:14 "Where shall we turn?" 55:17 Do you know how you can know where the truth is? 55:20 None of those that I mentioned addressed, "unto 2300 days, 55:25 and the sanctuary shall be cleansed." 55:28 Only Ellen White and William Miller addressed, 55:33 "unto 2300 days, and the sanctuary shall be cleansed." 55:36 Would you expect that to happen at the end of the 2300 days 55:40 in harmony with God's mode of operation? 55:42 Absolutely. 55:44 And you can check it out in history. 55:47 Now, there are different attitudes towards Ellen White. 55:51 There are those who openly attack 55:52 her ministry and writings. 55:55 And I say, basically, those who attack the writings 55:57 of Ellen White either they haven't read the 55:59 writings of Ellen White, or they read them with an agenda. 56:03 Every prophet in the Bible was hated by the people 56:06 to whom the prophet was sent. 56:09 So if Ellen White is disliked in many circles, I would say 56:12 she was probably a true prophet. 56:14 Because Jesus said that the prophets who were liked 56:17 were false prophets. 56:18 Because prophets tell the truth. 56:20 And people can't handle the truth. 56:24 There are other people who ignore Ellen White 56:28 by not reading her counsels. 56:29 They're not benefited. 56:31 There are others that try to undermine Ellen White by 56:35 selective use of Ellen White; when it's convenient 56:38 for them to use her. 56:41 And there are people who use Ellen White 56:43 to hit people over the head. 56:47 And that's why many people don't want anything to do with her. 56:51 And then there are those people who love to read 56:55 and obey her counsels that God has given through her. 57:00 Allow me to say, Ellen White does not say anything 57:02 weird or wacky or off the wall. 57:05 Her counsels are magnificent. 57:08 They deal with many different areas. 57:10 Health, education, church organization, 57:13 theology, pious living. 57:16 Just read for yourself. 57:18 You'll be amazed at how God used this remarkable woman 57:23 to share the truth for these last days. 57:27 Thank God for this wonderful gift. |
Revised 2014-12-17