Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: HWIS
Program Code: HWIS000032
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00:31 Let's bow our heads for prayer.
00:34 Our loving heavenly Father, we come once again 00:38 before Your throne knowing that our prayers are heard, 00:44 because we come boldly in the name of Jesus. 00:47 We thank You, Father, that we do have Jesus as our intercessor 00:52 that we can come boldly to the throne of grace 00:55 knowing that our sins will be forgiven. 00:59 And also that we will receive power from on high 01:02 to overcome in our daily lives. 01:05 Father, as we take a look, just a glimpse, at what heaven 01:11 and the new earth will be like, we ask, Father, that You will 01:15 instill in our hearts that longing desire 01:21 to be there when Jesus comes. 01:23 We ask that You will bless us in our study today. 01:26 And we thank You for hearing our prayer, 01:28 for we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 01:33 As I mentioned in my prayer, today we are going to talk about 01:38 something very practical. 01:41 This is lecture number 32 in the series on the Hebrew sanctuary. 01:48 And I decided that the last lecture would deal with 01:51 what life will be like in heaven during the thousand years, 01:57 and ultimately on the earth made new once sin comes to an end. 02:03 Now the first thing that I would like to say is 02:07 that when Jesus comes, He will be the real Jesus 02:14 and He will take us to a real place. 02:18 I'd like to begin by reading Acts chapter 1 02:21 and verses 9 through 11. 02:24 Acts chapter 1 verses 9 through 11. 02:27 And as you're looking for that passage, I'd like to ask you, 02:32 when Jesus resurrected, did Jesus have a real human body? 02:37 Yes or no? 02:39 He most certainly did. 02:41 When His disciples thought they were seeing a ghost, 02:44 He said, "A ghost does not have flesh and bones 02:48 like you see that I have." 02:51 And when He met Thomas a week later, He said to Thomas, 02:56 "Put your finger here in My wounds; My hands 03:00 and in My side. 03:01 It is I." 03:03 So when Jesus resurrected, He had a real genuine human body. 03:10 Of course, it was a glorified body. 03:13 It was an incorruptible body and an immortal body. 03:17 He had His resurrection body, in other words. 03:20 Now notice Acts chapter 1 verses 9 through 11. 03:37 That is, out of the sight of the disciples. 03:49 See, in the Bible, sometimes angels are called men. 03:53 In other words, they're beings. 04:25 So when Jesus comes again, is He going to come 04:28 as a human being? 04:30 He most certainly is. 04:31 A real flesh and blood human being. 04:35 And He is going to take us to a real genuine place. 04:40 Which, of course, we call heaven. 04:44 Now I'd like to go through several things that will 04:48 characterize the future life. 04:50 Some people ask the question, "Will we know our friends 04:55 and relatives who are saved in that day? 04:57 Will we recognize them?" 05:00 The fact is, the Bible affirms that we will. 05:02 Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 12. 05:06 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 12. 05:10 Here the apostle Paul says, "For now..." 05:12 That is, in the present day. 05:34 So I'm going to know, and I am going to be... What? 05:38 ...I am going to be known. 05:40 People are going to know that this is Pastor Bohr. 05:44 And I am going to know that this is Rick Shepherd. 05:48 Because the Bible tells us that we will recognize people 05:53 when Jesus comes. 05:56 Now let's notice a few things about what the future life 06:00 is going to be like. 06:02 Some of these apply to heaven and some of these 06:04 apply to the new earth. 06:06 Go with me to Isaiah 65 and verse 17. 06:09 Isaiah chapter 65 and verse 17. 06:14 Here we have a wonderful promise. 06:17 And it's repeated, by the way, in the book of Revelation 06:19 as well in the New Testament. 06:21 It says here... 06:35 What does God promise that He's going to do? 06:38 He going to make a new heaven and a new earth. 06:42 And the former things, all of the struggles and the 06:47 difficulties of life, will not come to mind. 06:51 The Bible also tells us that in the future life, everyone 06:54 will be vegetarians, including the wild animals. 06:59 Notice Isaiah chapter 11 and verses 6 through 9. 07:03 Isaiah 11 and verses 6 through 9. 07:06 This is a beautiful promise. 07:08 I don't know if you look forward to the day when 07:09 you'll be able to pet a lion and you'll be able to pet a tiger. 07:15 I look forward to those days. 07:16 And play with snakes, with poisonous snakes, 07:19 and not have them kill you. 07:21 Notice what it says. 07:44 Can you imagine a lion eating straw? 07:47 That'll be the day. 07:48 But that was the original diet of the animals before death 07:51 came into the world. 07:53 Verse 8... 08:08 And then it gives the reason why. 08:10 Why won't they hurt? 08:21 So what is the reason why there will be no ravenous beasts 08:23 and there will be no poisonous snakes there? 08:27 For the simple reason that the earth is going to be full 08:30 of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 08:34 Notice Isaiah 35 verses 1, 2, and verse 7. 08:39 These verses tell us that there will be no deserts 08:43 or parched land in the earth made new. 08:46 And obviously, they won't exist in heaven as well. 08:50 It says there in Isaiah 35 and verse 1... 09:16 Lebanon is a very beautiful place in biblical times. 09:20 So the glory of the new earth is being compared to Lebanon. 09:24 So it says, "The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it." 09:30 Also beautiful places in the Holy Land. 09:39 The Bible also tells us that there will be no 09:41 physical defects or disease in heaven or in the earth made new. 09:47 The medical doctors will be out of a job. 09:50 And there will be no exorbitant fees for medical procedures 09:55 and for hospital charges. 09:57 Notice what we find here in Isaiah 35 verses 3 through 6. 10:21 And then notice verse 5. 10:44 Isn't that a beautiful description of how 10:46 all physical defects will disappear when Jesus comes. 10:51 The Bible also tells us that there's not going to be any 10:54 sorrows, suffering, pain, or tears in heaven 10:57 or in the earth made new. 10:58 Notice Isaiah 25 verses 8 and 9. 11:09 This is repeated in Revelation 21 and verse 4, by the way. 11:19 And then verse 9 is a much quoted verse. 11:39 As I mentioned, a portion of these verses are quoted 11:44 in the book of Revelation chapter 21 and verse 4. 11:47 Let's go there for a moment. 11:49 Revelation chapter 21 and verse 4. 11:52 It says here... 12:10 The Bible tells us that God's people will sing for joy. 12:15 We'll be able to join the heavenly choir. 12:17 Notice what we find in Isaiah 35 and verse 10. 12:20 Isaiah 35 and verse 10. 12:23 This also is a much quoted verse. 12:44 These are just some of the promises that the Bible gives 12:47 about what heaven is going to be like 12:49 and what life on the new earth will be like. 12:54 Now let's talk a little bit about the capital 12:57 of the universe, which is the New Jerusalem; 13:01 the Holy City. 13:03 Go with me to Hebrews chapter 11 and we're going to read 13:07 verse 10, and then verse 14 and verse 16. 13:11 Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 10. 13:15 It's speaking here about Abraham. 13:17 And notice that Abraham was not looking forward 13:20 to that city over in the Middle East; 13:23 to old Jerusalem. 13:24 Now, Abraham and the heroes of Hebrews chapter 11 13:29 were not looking to that city over there in the Middle East 13:32 where there's so much turmoil. 13:34 We're told here in Hebrews 11 verse 10... 13:47 Notice verse 14. 13:55 What is that homeland? 13:56 Verse 16. 14:12 Now, the book of Revelation gives us a 14:14 description of that city. 14:15 Let me just mention some of the highlights of what that city 14:18 is going to be like. 14:21 First of all, it's going to be the capital of the universe. 14:24 Because the Bible tells us that God is going to transfer 14:28 His headquarters to planet earth. 14:31 We're going to notice that in a few moments 14:33 in a couple of verses that we find in Scripture. 14:36 Can you imagine what an honor it will be to have the 14:39 capital of the universe, God's headquarters, 14:42 right here on planet earth? 14:45 That is an amazing thought. 14:47 The Bible tells us that the city is made of pure gold, 14:51 clear as crystal. 14:53 You know, John is struggling for words to describe it. 14:57 Because I've never seen gold that looks like crystal. 14:59 But this gold is so shiny that it looks like crystal, 15:03 even though it's gold. 15:06 The Bible tells us that the gates are made of pearl. 15:09 Each gate is one pearl, in other words. 15:13 That is amazing. 15:15 Have you ever seen a pearl? 15:16 It's absolutely beautiful. 15:18 It's not only white, but it has the colors of the rainbow in it 15:21 when the light shines upon it. 15:24 The Bible tells us that the street of the city... 15:26 By the way, people say, "I'm going to walk 15:28 the golden streets." 15:30 No, no, no. That's not correct. 15:32 The Bible never says that the city has streets of gold. 15:36 Actually, when we studied the 70 weeks, do you remember 15:39 that we said that the word "street" really means, 15:42 the city square? 15:44 That's what it means in Hebrew and also in Greek. 15:47 In other words, the city square is also composed, 15:50 according to the Bible, of pure gold. 15:54 Now there's a river that runs out of the throne of God. 15:57 Clear as crystal, according to the Bible. 16:00 Then we're going to really know what good water tastes like. 16:03 You know, we think that bottled water tastes pretty good. 16:06 But I'll tell you, we have not even imagined what real pure 16:12 water tastes like until we're able to drink that water 16:14 that comes from the throne of God. 16:17 And then there's the tree. 16:19 You know it's interesting, the Bible says that it's on 16:22 either side of the river. 16:24 And so some people have struggled with that. 16:26 They say, "One tree on either side of the river? 16:28 Wouldn't that be two trees?" 16:29 Well, Ellen White explains it in such a simple way. 16:31 She says that there was one trunk on one side of the river 16:34 and there was another trunk on the other side of the river. 16:36 And then they met in the middle, kind of like an arch, 16:39 and it formed one tree above the river. 16:42 And the Bible says that each month this tree produces 16:46 its fruit, and God's people are going to go on a monthly basis 16:51 to eat from the fruit of the tree of life. 16:54 You see, even in eternity, our source of life will 16:57 not be within us. 16:58 Our source of life will be in God's tree. 17:01 We will continue to live forever, not because 17:04 we have an immortal battery that is always going to be 17:07 functioning, but because there's a tree where we go to charge 17:10 our battery every month, according to Scripture. 17:14 The Bible says that the walls of the city have foundations 17:18 of precious stones. 17:20 Can you imagine what it's going to be like to talk 17:22 to some of the heroes that are mentioned in Scripture? 17:25 You know, I'm looking forward to talking to Adam 17:28 and reminiscing about certain things. 17:31 How about Enoch and talking to Noah, 17:33 and Abraham, and Moses, and Elijah, and the apostle Paul, 17:38 and all of these worthies that are mentioned in Scripture. 17:41 It's going to be an exciting event. 17:44 The Bible tells us that we're also going to be able 17:47 to have fellowship with friends and relatives who died 17:51 who will be resurrected when Jesus comes. 17:54 I look forward, for example, to seeing my mother 17:56 who died about three years ago. 17:58 I'm going to tell you a few more things about 18:00 her in a little while. 18:02 I look forward with great anticipation to see my mother 18:07 when my mother comes forth from the grave. 18:09 We'll be able to travel to distant galaxies. 18:12 Imagine, you know, we'll say, "Now let's go to the galaxy 18:16 of Andromeda and pay a visit over there." 18:19 You know, we'll have a whole vast universe 18:22 to visit throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. 18:24 There are going to be so many beautiful things, 18:27 so many benefits. 18:29 But now I want to ask the question, is this what heaven 18:33 and the new earth are really all about? 18:37 No, this is the icing on the cake. 18:41 What I've described is only, if you please, the dessert. 18:46 But there's something much more significant about heaven 18:50 and the new earth than all of these fringe benefits 18:53 that we've talked about so far. 18:57 I want to take us back to the time that Jesus met with His 19:02 disciples in the upper room. 19:04 Right before He went to the Garden of Gethsemane. 19:09 At this time, Jesus had spent three and a half years 19:13 with His disciples. 19:15 His disciples had learned to love Jesus. 19:19 In fact, they could not conceive of one day 19:22 without being with Jesus. 19:24 For them, being with Jesus was more important 19:27 even than their daily food. 19:29 More important than anything on planet earth. 19:32 They could not conceive of the idea of Jesus being gone. 19:37 And Jesus met with His disciples in the upper room. 19:41 And He shared with them some news that shook them 19:44 to their very foundation. 19:46 His first statement to the disciples that shook them 19:51 is that He spoke about His body being broken 19:56 and His blood being spilt. 19:59 That disturbed them. 20:01 "Broken body? Spilt blood? 20:04 Messiah sits on the throne in Jerusalem and reigns. 20:07 What's this about spilling His blood and His 20:10 body being broken?" 20:12 But they were even more disturbed when Jesus 20:15 announced that one of them was a traitor. 20:19 And He said, "One of you this very evening 20:21 is going to betray Me." 20:23 Oh, they were very distressed now and disturbed. 20:26 And each one of them asked with anxiety, "Is it I?" 20:30 But what caused the greatest anxiety for the disciples 20:33 in the upper room was that Jesus told them 20:38 that He was going to leave. 20:42 Go with me to John chapter 13. 20:44 John chapter 13, and I want to read verse 33. 20:48 And then we'll jump down to verses 36 and 37. 20:51 John 13 and verse 33. 20:54 Notice how Jesus addresses His disciples. 20:57 He says, "Little children..." 21:00 Isn't that beautiful? 21:02 "Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. 21:08 You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, 21:12 'Where I am going, you cannot come,' so now I say to you." 21:19 So Jesus is saying, "I'm leaving. 21:21 And where I'm going, you can't come with Me now." 21:24 Oh, now they were really disturbed. 21:26 His body is going to be broken, His blood is going to be spilt. 21:30 Somebody is going to betray Him. 21:32 And He's going to leave. 21:35 And of course the spokesman of the disciples, Simon Peter, 21:40 was especially distressed and disturbed. 21:42 Verse 36. 21:59 In other words, "Where I'm going, you can't go with Me now. 22:02 But later on, you're going to go with me." 22:05 But Peter wasn't satisfied with that. 22:07 He says, "Now wait a minute. 22:08 We can't live one day without being in Your presence." 22:11 And so in verse 37 we find, "Peter said to Him..." 22:15 Undoubtedly, with a sense of urgency. 22:27 Can you hear the urgency in His voice? 22:29 "I don't want to go later. I want to go now. 22:33 We can't live even one day without You." 22:39 And then in the very next chapter, we find the 22:42 famous words Jesus that many Christians have memorized. 22:47 Especially from the King James Version. 22:51 You know, there's a context to John 14:1-3. 22:55 And sometimes we forget the context. 22:56 The context is that the disciples 22:58 are extremely disturbed. 23:01 They're troubled. 23:03 They're saying, "He's leaving and we can't go with Him. 23:07 Yeah, He says we can go later, but we don't want to go later. 23:10 We want to be with Him all the time." 23:13 And so Jesus knows that they are distressed. 23:16 And so in John 14 and verse 1, we find the following words. 23:26 That word "troubled" is very interesting. 23:28 For example, it's used to describe the pool of Bethesda. 23:31 Remember the idea that the person who jumped in first 23:34 when the waters were troubled, that person would be healed? 23:39 Well, when it says that the waters were troubled, 23:42 it means that the water was stirred up. 23:44 In other words, their hearts were churning within them. 23:47 They were like troubled waters. 23:50 It's also used to describe Herod. 23:53 When he heard that the Messiah was born, the Bible says 23:55 that he was deeply troubled. 23:58 It's also used when Jesus came walking on the water 24:02 towards where the disciples were in an evening 24:05 when there was a storm. 24:06 The Bible says that the disciples were deeply troubled. 24:10 And so we catch a picture that they're tremendously troubled 24:14 at the end of chapter 13. 24:15 And so Jesus, in chapter 14, says, 24:19 "Don't be filled with anxiety." 24:22 "Let not your heart be troubled. 24:24 you believe in God, believe also in Me. 24:29 In My Father's house there will be many mansions." 24:35 Ah, some of you are reading. 24:39 Yeah, because there's this idea that Jesus went to heaven 24:42 to build mansions for us. 24:45 Do you really think that Jesus needs 2000 years 24:48 to build mansions? 24:49 Do you think he's been heavenly contracting for 2000 years? 24:53 I rather doubt it when the Bible tells us that Jesus created 24:57 this world in six days and everything in it. 25:01 The Bible doesn't say that He's going to prepare 25:03 mansions for us. 25:05 When Jesus said these words, He said, "In My Father's house 25:10 are many mansions." 25:12 The mansions were there when Jesus spoke. 25:16 By the way, the word "mansions" is not even 25:18 the best translation. 25:19 It's really the Greek word "mone," which means 25:23 permanent dwellings. 25:27 It's not just a dwelling where you go on vacation. 25:30 "Mone" means, to dwell permanently. 25:34 In other words, Jesus is saying, "In My Father's house, 25:37 there are many permanent dwellings." 25:41 Why would there be permanent dwellings up there? 25:46 Because He's expecting a lot of people, right? 25:49 So there are these permanent dwellings. 25:52 Now, notice what Jesus continues saying. 25:57 By the way, where is the Father's house? 26:01 The Father's house is in heaven, right? 26:03 We pray, "Our Father, which art everywhere." 26:07 No, "Our Father, which art..." Where? 26:09 "...in heaven." The Father's house is heaven. 26:12 So is Jesus promising that there are many dwellings 26:14 for God's people in His Father's house in heaven? 26:17 Is He promising to take His people to heaven? 26:19 He most certainly is. 26:21 He said to Peter, "You're not going to go now. 26:24 But you're going to go later where I'm going." 26:28 So notice what He continues saying. 26:29 "In My Father's house are many dwellings," 26:33 or permanent residences. 26:35 "If it were not so, I would have told you. 26:39 I go to..." What? 26:41 "I go to prepare a place for you." 26:46 What did Jesus go to heaven for? 26:49 To prepare a place for us. 26:50 So how does He prepare that place? 26:54 Is He building houses? 26:57 Does He really need 2000 years to build houses? 27:00 Absolutely not. 27:01 How is Jesus preparing a place for us in heaven? 27:05 It's by the work that He is doing in the heavenly sanctuary. 27:11 Does He have a work to perform before He can come to get us? 27:15 Absolutely. 27:17 On earth, He lived His perfect life and He died death for sin. 27:22 But then He went to heaven so that we can claim the benefits 27:25 of what He did on earth through repentance. 27:29 And what does He do? 27:30 He takes our sins and He places them where? 27:33 In the sanctuary covered by His blood. 27:37 Does He also empower the church through His Holy Spirit 27:40 to preach the gospel to the world? 27:42 Must the world hear the gospel before Jesus can come? 27:45 Absolutely. 27:47 Must the sanctuary be cleansed from the record of sin 27:50 before Jesus can come? 27:51 Absolutely. 27:53 So when Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you," 27:57 He's not talking primarily about building houses, 28:01 about, you know, paving streets with gold and things like that. 28:05 He's talking about His work in the heavenly sanctuary, 28:09 that when He finishes that work, then the place will be 28:13 prepared for us. 28:15 Are you understanding this point? 28:17 Now notice verse 3. 28:19 He says, "And if I go and prepare a place for you..." 28:23 Now comes the critical point in this passage. 28:27 "...I will come again..." 28:31 And now listen carefully. 28:33 "...and receive you to Myself; 28:36 that where I am, there you may be also." 28:41 What is important about heaven? 28:45 What's important about heaven is that Jesus is there. 28:50 And He wants to be with us. 28:54 See, it's not the mansions that we should be focusing on, 28:57 or all of the other things that we spoke about. 28:59 Although those are nice. 29:01 Jesus says, "I'm going to prepare the place, 29:04 because then I can receive you to Myself. 29:07 And where I am, there you can be with Me." 29:13 You know, Jesus, a little bit later on, 29:17 was in the Garden of Gethsemane. 29:20 And He prayed that famous prayer of John chapter 17. 29:26 This is a prayer that He uttered in the Garden of Gethsemane. 29:29 He prayed for the unity of His people. 29:31 He prayed that His Father would glorify Him with the 29:34 glory He had with Him before the world was. 29:36 He prayed many things. 29:38 But at the climax of His prayer, I want you to notice what the 29:43 passion of Jesus was. 29:45 Notice John chapter 17 and verse 24. 29:48 John chapter 17 and verse 24. 29:51 Here, Jesus is speaking to His Father in prayer and He says... 30:03 What is the passion of Jesus? 30:05 That those who have been given to Him can be what? 30:08 With Him where He is. 30:18 So in John 14 He says, "So that where I am, 30:21 you may be also." 30:23 Here in John 17 verse 24, He says, "Father, I want those 30:27 You have given to Me to be with Me where I am." 30:31 Notice that famous resurrection passage in 1 Thessalonians 30:35 chapter 4 and verses 15 through 17. 30:38 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verses 15 through 17. 30:43 Here, the apostle Paul speaks about when Jesus comes 30:46 how the dead will be raised and how the living will be changed 30:51 in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. 30:53 But I think that we've missed the main point 30:55 of this whole passage. 30:57 Notice what it says beginning in verse 15. 31:09 In other words, those who are alive are not going to go to 31:11 heaven before those who went to sleep, before those who died. 31:14 Verse 16... 31:35 And now notice the most important part of this passage. 31:50 Same emphasis; being with the Lord. 31:54 Notice Revelation chapter 21 and verses 2 through 4. 31:57 The same theme all over again. 32:00 Jesus wants us with Him. 32:02 That's why He came and He lived His perfect life. 32:04 That's the reason why Jesus came and died. 32:07 That's the reason why Jesus went to heaven to intercede for us, 32:10 to pour out the benefits of what He did on earth. 32:13 That's the reason why Jesus empowers His church to 32:16 preach the gospel, so that as many people as possible 32:19 can hear the message of what Jesus has done. 32:21 That's the reason why Jesus ultimately is going to cleanse 32:24 the sanctuary from the record of sin. 32:26 So that He can some again to get His people, 32:29 because He wants them to be where He is. 32:34 Revelation 21 verses 2 through 4. 33:10 So what is the emphasis here? 33:12 That He is going to be what? 33:14 With us. 33:16 And we are going to be with Him. 33:18 Notice verse 4. 33:31 And then notice Revelation chapter 22 and verses 3 and 4. 33:35 You know, in antiquity, to see the face of a person 33:39 meant to have intimate knowledge concerning that person. 33:43 You remember that God said, "You won't see My face. 33:46 You'll just see My back." 33:48 Now notice what we find in Revelation chapter 22 33:51 and verses 3 and 4. 34:09 They shall see His face. 34:11 You know, my favorite hymn in all the hymnal is, 34:14 "Face to face with Christ my Savior; 34:16 face to face, what will it be." 34:19 Do you know that hymn? 34:21 Beautiful hymn. 34:23 What is it going to be like to behold the face of Jesus? 34:27 By the way, did you know that the New Jerusalem, 34:30 the name of the New Jerusalem is going to be changed? 34:35 You say, "Really?" 34:37 Go with me to Ezekiel 48 and verse 35. 34:41 Ezekiel chapter 48 and verse 35. 34:48 You know, Ezekiel... 34:51 By the way, did I say Isaiah? 34:53 It's actually Ezekiel 48 verse 35. 34:56 If you read Ezekiel 40 through 48, you're going to notice 35:00 a description of the sanctuary, of the temple, 35:05 in the restoration. 35:07 And I want you to notice that the previous verses 35:10 describe the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem. 35:14 Three on the east, three on the west, 35:16 three on the north, and three on the south. 35:19 And then we find this expression in Ezekiel 48 and verse 35. 35:24 It says... 35:41 What is the name of the Holy City going to be? 35:44 The Lord Is There. 35:45 So what's important about the city? 35:48 What's important about the city are not the city square of gold, 35:52 and the river of life, and the tree of life, 35:55 and the foundations and the walls that are precious stones. 35:59 Those are only the icing on the cake. 36:02 The important thing is that God is there. 36:07 Notice Matthew chapter 1 verse 23. 36:09 This is speaking about the first coming of Christ. 36:12 But the principle applies. 36:14 You know, when Jesus was born, a name that was given to Him 36:17 was Emmanuel. 36:20 Do you know what Emmanuel means? 36:23 Let's read it, Matthew 1 verse 23. 36:38 Notice time and again in these verses, God with us. 36:42 Us with Him; that's what heaven and the new earth are all about. 36:47 I want to read you a rather long passage from Desire of Ages, 36:51 pages 25 and 26, where Ellen White describes 36:55 the fruit of the work of Christ. 36:58 She says this. 37:00 "By His life and His death, Christ has achieved even more 37:05 than recovery from the ruin wrought through sin." 37:09 Listen Carefully. 37:11 "It was Satan's purpose to bring about an eternal separation 37:15 between God and man." 37:18 What was the devil's intention? 37:20 To bring about eternal separation between God and man. 37:24 "But in Christ..." Listen carefully. 37:26 "... in Christ we become more closely united to God 37:30 than if we had never fallen." 37:34 Now she's going to explain what she means. 37:37 "In taking our nature, the Savior has bound Himself 37:42 to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken." 37:47 Because some people say, "Oh yeah, He became a man and 37:49 then He went back to heaven. 37:51 And now He's God, He's not man anymore." 37:52 No. 37:54 She says, "The Savior has bound Himself to humanity 37:58 by a tie that is never to be broken. 38:00 Through the eternal ages He is linked with us. 38:05 'God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son.' 38:08 He gave Him not only to bear our sins and to die 38:12 as our sacrifice; He gave Him to the fallen race. 38:16 To assure us of His immutable counsel of peace, God gave 38:21 His only-begotten Son to become one of the human family, 38:25 forever to retain His human nature. 38:28 This is the pledge that God will fulfill His word. 38:31 'Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: 38:34 and the government shall be upon His shoulder.' 38:37 God has adopted human nature in the person of His Son, 38:42 and has carried the same into the highest heaven. 38:46 It is the 'Son of man' who shares the throne 38:48 of the universe. 38:50 It is the 'Son of man' whose name shall be called, 38:53 'Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, 38:55 The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.' 38:58 The I AM is the Daysman between God and humanity, 39:04 laying His hand upon both. 39:06 He who is 'holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from 39:10 sinners,' is not ashamed to call us brethren. 39:15 In Christ, the family of earth and the family of heaven 39:20 are bound together. 39:23 Christ glorified is our brother. 39:26 Heaven is enshrined in humanity, and humanity is enfolded 39:31 in the bosom of Infinite Love." 39:34 What a description. 39:36 In other words, forever we will have 39:38 an elder Brother on the throne. 39:40 We are closer to God than if we never sinned 39:43 because Jesus Christ has become one of us. 39:46 God, in the person of Jesus, has adopted humanity. 39:51 And Jesus is not only our God, Jesus is our brother. 39:56 Now if we hadn't sinned, that never would have happened. 39:58 Jesus would just be God. 40:00 But because of sin, Jesus became our brother; 40:03 to be our brethren forever. 40:08 Now let me ask you this. 40:10 Do you really love the appearing of Christ? 40:15 Do you really, really, in the depths of your soul 40:18 and in your heart, long for the coming of Jesus? 40:23 You know, sometimes our lifestyles don't reveal it. 40:27 You know, we say we believe in the second coming of Christ, 40:30 but we accumulate things in a way that we seem to indicate 40:35 that we're planning to spend a long time here on planet earth. 40:39 The fact is, folks, that if we are going to love the appearing 40:43 of Jesus Christ, we first of all have to love Him. 40:49 Let me give you an illustration. 40:51 I grew up, from the time that I was 5 years old till the time 40:56 that I was 14 years old, in the country of Venezuela. 40:59 I lived in Barquisimeto in western Venezuela, 41:02 and then I lived in Caracas after that. 41:04 And I studied all my primary education in Spanish 41:07 in our Seventh-day Adventist school there. 41:09 So when I was 14 years old I could speak English, 41:14 but I did not know how to read or write English. 41:17 And so my parents said it's time for Steve to go 41:20 up to Wisconsin, where my dad was born and where 41:23 he had lots of relatives. 41:25 "It's time for him to go to Wisconsin Academy, 41:27 Seventh-day Adventist boarding school, 41:29 and you know, study in English so that he learns 41:33 how to read and write English." 41:35 So, you know, I must say that it was a very 41:38 traumatic event for me. 41:40 Because my mom was a stay at home mom. 41:43 You know, while we were growing up, she never 41:45 worked outside the home. 41:47 We were extremely close to my mom, my three sisters and I. 41:51 And I'd never been away from home for maybe more than 41:54 two or three days at the most at a Pathfinder Camporee, 41:58 or something like that. 41:59 And so now they were going to ship me off. 42:01 They were going to stay all the way in Venezuela 42:03 and I was going to be shipped off all the way to Wisconsin. 42:08 And I'll tell you what, when I got to Wisconsin Academy, 42:12 I spent many evenings shedding tears. 42:19 Home sick for my mother. 42:22 It was a very, very, extremely difficult time. 42:26 The first semester... All F's. 42:31 My grades were all F's. 42:33 You say, "Why?" 42:35 Well, if you can't read or write English, 42:36 what do you expect. 42:38 But then after a while, you know, I learned to read 42:40 and write English and I became more proficient. 42:43 And then I became a straight C student, 42:45 with a few B's intermingled in there. 42:49 But anyway, that was a very difficult time for me. 42:53 Spending a whole year at that school with my parents living 42:58 all the way in South America. 43:00 I remember about two months before the end of the 43:03 school year, I got a letter from my mom. 43:05 And my mom wrote in that letter, "I'm coming 43:11 to Wisconsin May 21." 43:15 How do you think I felt? 43:17 Whew, I'll tell you. 43:19 My heart leaped for joy. 43:22 It was beating faster. 43:23 Because my mother was going to come. 43:26 You know, I calendar on the wall. 43:27 Do you know what I did with that calendar? 43:30 I had a marker. 43:31 And every day that passed, I put an X over that day. 43:36 Because it was one day less until my mother came. 43:40 And then the day came. 43:42 I got up early. 43:43 The transportation manager took me to the 43:46 Madison, Wisconsin airport. 43:48 And at that time, you know, I think it was a DC-4. 43:52 A small plane that was flying in from Chicago. 43:55 And the plane, I saw it landing. 43:59 And finally, it came and it stopped. 44:01 At that time, you could go out and you could watch 44:03 the flights come in and go out. 44:05 And I stretched my neck out. 44:08 "I wonder if my mom is on that flight. 44:10 She's got to be on that flight." 44:11 And people started coming out and coming up. 44:14 And she wasn't coming out. 44:16 And so I started feeling anxiety. 44:19 I said, maybe she decided not to come. 44:22 Or maybe she got delayed or maybe she missed the flight. 44:25 And I was filled with anxiety. 44:27 And then as I was getting worried, low and behold, 44:31 my mother's head came out of the airplane door. 44:36 Oh, you don't know how I felt. 44:38 I was just so overjoyed to see my mom. 44:41 And when she, you know... 44:43 At that time you could almost go out on the runway 44:45 to greet people. 44:46 And when she came, we embraced and kissed. 44:50 And it was just such a wonderful experience. 44:52 Let me ask you, why did I love my mother's appearing? 44:58 Because I loved her. 45:00 And why did I love her? 45:02 Because I had spent all my life with her. 45:06 Can we love the appearing of Jesus if we don't love Jesus 45:10 because we have not spent time with Him? 45:14 The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 45:17 and verse 9... 45:32 Not for those who believe in Him. 45:34 For those who... What? 45:36 For those who love Him. 45:41 I like to think of the apostle Paul. 45:43 You know, he was in the prison there in Rome. 45:47 And he knew that he was at the point of death. 45:49 He knew that he was going to be decapitated by the Emperor Nero, 45:53 that savage Emperor. 45:55 And he wrote about his experiences. 45:58 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verses 6 through 8, 46:00 I want to read that. 46:24 "...and not to me only but also to all 46:28 who have believed in His appearing." 46:33 I must be seeing wrong here. 46:35 "And not to me only but to all who have taught His appearing." 46:40 No. 46:41 "Not to me only but also to all who have 46:44 preached His appearing." 46:46 No. What does it say? 46:47 It says, "And not to me only but also to all who have..." What? 46:52 "...who have loved His appearing." 46:54 And why do you love His appearing? 46:56 Because you have loved Him. 46:58 And you love Him because you have spent time with him. 47:04 It makes me think of the apostle John. 47:09 He's known as the beloved disciple. 47:12 Because he was closest to Jesus. 47:14 Not because Jesus had favorites, but because he drew closer 47:17 to Jesus than any of the other disciples. 47:20 He was greatly saddened by the departure of Jesus. 47:25 About 60 years later, he was an exile on the island of Patmos. 47:32 Perhaps working in the sulfur mines. 47:34 There's no clear evidence to that point. 47:36 But he was on Patmos, exiled. 47:40 The Bible tells us that there on the island of Patmos, 47:44 in Revelation chapter 1 we have a description 47:46 of a vision that was given to him. 47:48 And in that vision, he saw Jesus Christ. 47:53 The glorified Jesus Christ. 47:56 And he thought to himself, "Is this perhaps the moment? 48:00 Is Jesus going to come now, my beloved Jesus?" 48:04 Incidentally, John was sitting at the right hand of Jesus 48:08 and he was the one that was laying on the bosom of Christ 48:12 at the last supper. 48:14 So he had a very close relationship with Jesus. 48:17 And so he sees the glorified Christ, "There He is. 48:20 Is He going to come now? 48:23 Could this be it?" 48:25 But then the Bible tells us that Jesus revealed to him 48:29 the book of Revelation. 48:31 He revealed to him Satan's attempt to annihilate 48:38 the Christian church. 48:40 He showed him the final controversy 48:43 between good and evil. 48:45 The final battle of God's people with the beasts 48:48 and with the false prophet and with the dragon. 48:52 And at the end of his book, after he had seen all of 48:55 these things, he ends his book by saying, 49:03 "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." 49:11 What did John desire more than anything in the world? 49:16 He wanted Jesus to come. 49:18 "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." 49:23 He was tired of living in this world of sin and sorrow 49:25 and sickness and suffering and death. 49:28 And he wanted Jesus to come to fulfill His promise, 49:31 because he had spent time with Jesus and he loved Jesus. 49:36 It makes me think about Enoch. 49:38 That great hero whom the Bible tells us walked with God. 49:44 He was the first person to be translated from earth to heaven 49:48 from among the living. 49:50 In other words, he never even suffered physical death. 49:54 But the Bible says that before he was translated, 49:57 he pleased God. 49:59 He walked with God. 50:01 Step by step. 50:03 I like the way that Ellen White describes it in 50:06 the book, Patriarchs and Prophets. 50:07 She has a chapter titled, Seth and Enoch. 50:10 And she has some very interesting details 50:12 there about Enoch. 50:14 And she says that Enoch had such a close walk with Jesus Christ. 50:19 Jesus, of course, at that time was in heaven 50:21 and Enoch was on earth. 50:23 But he had such a close link mentally with Jesus Christ 50:30 that Jesus said to Enoch, "Enoch, you don't have anything 50:34 more to do there on planet earth. 50:37 Your body is there but your heart is here. 50:41 Why don't you just come up here and we'll walk together 50:45 on the street of gold. 50:47 Come up here and we'll spend eternity together." 50:51 The first man to be translated from among the living 50:56 to walk with Jesus in the New Jerusalem. 51:00 It makes me think of that little song, 51:03 "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, 51:06 look full in His wonderful face. 51:09 And the things of earth will grow strangely dim 51:16 in the light of His glory and grace." 51:21 Don't let anything in this world occupy your attention 51:25 or take the place of Jesus Christ. 51:29 "Oh, but I've got a nice house." 51:30 Is it made of gold? 51:34 "Oh, I have a wonderful automobile." 51:38 Does it fly? 51:42 Because we're going to be able to fly. 51:43 Imagine, we're going to fly to distant galaxies. 51:48 That's going to be something. 51:49 That's a velocity that we cannot conceive of. 51:53 That's a different type of transportation than what 51:55 we're acquainted with. 51:59 And so we need to learn to turn our eyes upon Jesus. 52:02 And the more we turn our eyes upon Him, 52:03 the more we love Him, and the more we are changed 52:07 into His image and likeness. 52:10 It makes me think of an experience that I had one time. 52:15 I went to preach at this certain location. 52:18 And there was this lady that came up to me after my sermon. 52:22 And she says, "Uh, Pastor Bohr, do you know so and so?" 52:28 I said, "Yes, I sure do know him. 52:32 A good guy." 52:34 She said, "Well, you preach just like he does." 52:39 I said, "Oh really?" 52:40 And I looked at her and I said, "In what way?" 52:45 She said, "Oh the inflection of his voice, 52:47 the way he moves his arms, the way he moves his body." 52:51 It's just identical." 52:53 I said, "Really?" 52:54 See, I was playing devil's advocate. 52:57 And after a little while, I said, "Do you know why 53:00 he preaches that way? 53:01 Because he was my student for three years." 53:05 She said, "Oh really? 53:07 I'm sorry, pastor. I didn't mean to offend you." 53:09 I said, "Oh, I'm not offended at all." 53:11 I said, "When you spend three years, three college years, 53:15 in a classroom with a teacher, something is bound to rub off." 53:21 And even today, you know, we had him at one of our retreats 53:24 here at Wawona a few years ago. 53:26 And I had several members say, "You know, you preach 53:29 just like he does." 53:32 Why does he preach like I do? 53:34 Because he spent time with me. 53:36 Because he spent time beholding. 53:39 Is that true also in our relationship with Christ? 53:42 It most certainly is. 53:44 The more time that we spend with Jesus, 53:47 the more we become like Him. 53:51 The more time we spend with television and with 53:55 worldly music and with worldly entertainment, 53:58 the more we become like the world. 54:00 It's a divine principle of our psychological makeup. 54:04 We are what we look at and we are what we hear, primarily. 54:09 We are composed of those. 54:11 You know, somebody once said to me, "You know, the problem 54:14 with you Christians is that you're so heavenly minded 54:17 you're no earthly good." 54:19 So I looked at him and I said, 54:21 "That's an interesting statement. 54:22 Is it just possible that you're so earthly minded 54:25 you're no heavenly good?" 54:29 Is it just possible that we are so earthly minded 54:32 that we are no heavenly good? 54:35 See folks, Jesus wants to be with us. 54:39 And He wants us to be with Him. 54:42 That's the passion of His life. 54:45 That's the reason He came; to live for us. 54:47 That's the reason why Jesus came to die for us. 54:50 That's the reason for the last two thousand years 54:52 Jesus has been interceding for us; 54:56 presenting our sins covered by His blood before His Father. 55:00 That's the reason, during the last two thousand years, that 55:02 Jesus has been pouring out His spirit upon His church; 55:05 to preach the gospel to the world so that everybody can 55:08 know what Jesus has done, so that people can have 55:11 an opportunity to be saved. 55:13 That's the reason why Jesus, in 1844, began the process 55:17 with the dead, as we noticed, with Adam, the process of 55:20 cleansing the record of sin from the sanctuary through His blood. 55:25 All of these things that Jesus has done in the sanctuary 55:29 He has done because He wants to be with us 55:32 and He wants us to be with Him. 55:37 The big question is, will we be or will we allow 55:43 this world and the things of this world to focus us so much 55:52 on this earth that really we are no heavenly good? 55:58 It all depends on what we spend our time doing. 56:05 If we pray without ceasing, if we study God's Word daily. 56:13 And I'm not talking about only reading. 56:15 I'm talking about studying God's Word. 56:18 If we go to other people and we share our testimony 56:21 about our relationship with Jesus with a smile on our face, 56:26 then our experience with Jesus Christ will grow. 56:31 And we'll come to the point that Enoch came to. 56:34 We'll say, "There's nothing more that this world has to offer. 56:38 I want to be in heaven. 56:41 I want to be with Jesus. 56:43 And that would mean that all of our time, and all of our 56:46 efforts, and all of our talents, and all of our means, 56:49 will be used for the proclamation of the gospel 56:53 and the finishing of God's work so that we can go home. 56:58 Is it time to go home? 57:00 You better believe it's time to go home. 57:02 The signs in the world show that Jesus is coming soon. 57:07 And the sooner, the better. 57:10 Folks, I want to end with the words of the apostle John 57:15 on the island of Patmos. 57:18 "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." 57:25 Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17