Secrets of Pentecost

The Return of the War Hero

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pastor Stephen P. Bohr

Home

Series Code: SOP

Program Code: SOP000001A


00:15 Well hello, everybody.
00:17 It's good to see you today.
00:20 Today we're going to begin a new series titled,
00:23 The Secrets of Pentecost.
00:25 It will be a ten part series where we're going to study
00:28 the different aspects of what took place
00:31 on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out
00:34 upon the disciples.
00:35 However, before we begin our study, we want to
00:38 ask for the Lord's presence.
00:40 We should never open God's Word without prayer.
00:43 And so I invite you to bow your heads with me as we ask
00:46 for the Lord to be present with us.
00:49 Father in heaven, we come before Your throne this evening
00:51 thanking You so much for the many blessings that You pour out
00:55 upon us each day.
00:57 We especially thank You for the gift that is above all gifts;
01:01 the gift of the Holy Spirit.
01:03 Because we know that when we have the Holy Spirit,
01:05 all of the other blessings come in His train.
01:08 And we ask that as we begin this series, that Your Holy Spirit
01:11 will be with us to instruct us about the great things that
01:15 took place on the day of Pentecost,
01:18 and what that means for us.
01:20 We thank You, Father, for the promise of Your presence
01:23 and for being with us.
01:24 Because we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, amen.
01:29 The title of our study today is, The Return of the War Hero.
01:34 And as we begin, I would like to say that the law of God
01:39 requires absolute sinless perfection.
01:43 Now if we don't offer the law the sinless perfection that the
01:47 law requires, the law tells us that we must die.
01:52 So basically, human beings have a double whammy.
01:55 Because first of all, we can't offer the law
01:57 sinless perfection.
01:59 Because the Bible says that, "All have sinned
02:01 and come short of the glory of God."
02:03 And secondly, because we cannot offer the law
02:07 sinless perfection, the law tells us that we must die.
02:12 And so basically, all of the human race is on death row.
02:18 Now how could man escape from this predicament?
02:22 There was only one solution.
02:24 And that solution was that Jesus Christ,
02:27 who created all human beings, would come to this earth
02:32 as a human being and would live the life
02:35 that the law requires from us,
02:38 and die the death that the law requires from us.
02:41 In other words, the only solution is if Jesus would
02:45 assume human flesh, live a perfect life that He could
02:50 offer the law in our place, and then suffer the death penalty
02:54 that all of us were under.
02:57 Now after man sinned, and the spirit of prophecy tells us,
03:00 that Jesus appeared before His Father three times.
03:04 And He pleaded with His Father to allow Him to come
03:08 to this earth to save sinful man.
03:12 It was difficult for the Father to consent, because the Father
03:15 knew what Jesus was going to go through.
03:18 He knew what a great sacrifice this would be.
03:21 But the third time, the Father said, "Yes, I give You
03:25 My permission to go to the earth and assume humanity
03:29 and save the human race."
03:31 And then Jesus went out and He announced to the angels
03:35 that a way had been found for man to be saved.
03:39 That He was going to become incarnate and He was going to
03:41 live the life that is required of man and He was going to
03:44 die the death that is required of man.
03:47 The spirit of prophecy tells us that the angels started
03:50 offering themselves and saying, "I'll go," "I'll go."
03:53 And Jesus said, "No, only one who is one with the Father
03:58 is able to come and atone for the sin of man."
04:03 And then Jesus, about 4000 years later,
04:08 gathered the angels together and He said to them,
04:12 "The time has come.
04:14 I am now going to go to the battlefield on planet earth
04:19 to fight the war that man doesn't have to fight
04:23 because I will fight in his place.
04:26 I will fight the enemy, I will defeat him,
04:29 and in 33 years I will be back.
04:33 And so I want you to start preparing the party
04:36 to receive Me back after My great victory over the enemy
04:40 on planet earth."
04:42 And then by a miracle that none of us will be able
04:46 fully to understand, the divine Christ was transplanted
04:52 to this world and was given a human nature.
04:55 And now we have God and man in one person
05:00 on planet earth ready to do battle with the enemy
05:04 and take away from Satan what Satan had taken away from man.
05:09 Now when Jesus came to this earth, His mission involved
05:13 two main things.
05:15 In order to be victorious Jesus, first of all,
05:18 had to live a perfect life that He could offer the law
05:22 in our place.
05:24 Secondly, Jesus had to pay the death penalty
05:27 that the law requires of us because we are all sinners.
05:32 Now in order for the devil to be successful
05:35 in his battle against Christ, the devil had to keep Jesus
05:39 from living that perfect life.
05:41 In other words, the devil had to infect Jesus
05:43 with the virus of sin so that Jesus would fail in His mission
05:48 of living a perfect life that He could offer the law.
05:52 And then the devil also, if he could not infect Jesus
05:55 with the virus of sin, he could try and keep Jesus
05:59 from going to the cross to offer His life.
06:03 Now the devil would use four methods, four basic methods,
06:07 to get Jesus to fail in His mission.
06:11 Number one, he would try to infect Him
06:14 with the virus of sin.
06:16 Number two, he would try to kill Him before the hour came
06:21 for Jesus to give His life voluntarily.
06:24 Number three, the devil would try to distract Him
06:28 down a side road, and in this way keep Him
06:32 from going to the cross.
06:34 And number four, the devil would try and discourage and frustrate
06:38 Jesus to the point that Jesus would say,
06:41 "What's the use of doing this?
06:44 What's the use of going through with this?
06:46 I'm just going to leave and I'm going to go to a place
06:50 where I'm appreciated and where I'm loved."
06:53 And by the way, if you read, Desire of Ages,
06:56 in the chapter titled, Gethsemane, Jesus could have
06:59 chosen to leave before He finished His mission.
07:03 And so basically you had this battle that was going to
07:06 transpire when Jesus came.
07:08 Jesus, intending to live a perfect life
07:11 and offer voluntarily His life in place of the life of sinners,
07:15 and the devil trying to infect Him with sin
07:18 and prevent Him to live the perfect life,
07:21 and preventing Him from going to the cross.
07:26 And then after three and a half years
07:29 of the devil being unsuccessful in his battle against Christ,
07:33 not being to infect Him even once with the virus of sin,
07:37 Jesus was hanging on the cross, still alive,
07:40 about to give His life in place of human beings,
07:44 and Jesus cried out while He was on the cross,
07:47 "It is finished."
07:49 And He was crying out to His Father.
07:51 And then the Bible says that He inclined His head
07:56 and He gave up the spirit.
07:57 He ceased to breathe.
07:59 He had won the victory over the enemy.
08:03 I'd like to read a description of this as we find in,
08:06 The Desire of Ages, page 758.
08:10 Ellen White describes the end of this battle
08:13 and the victory of Christ over the enemy.
08:16 This is what she states.
08:31 And now notice... Sometimes we think that,
08:33 you know, the battle is going to be won someday.
08:36 Notice what she states, "The battle had been won."
08:40 Because Jesus had lived His perfect life
08:42 and He had paid for sin.
08:45 So she says...
08:57 Notice the word that is used.
08:59 The word, "victory," and also the word, "conqueror."
09:22 Not that he was going to lose his kingdom,
09:24 but that his kingdom was lost.
09:27 Not that he was going to be defeated,
09:29 but that he had been defeated.
09:32 At the cross when Jesus said, "It is finished,"
09:35 and then said to His Father,
09:36 "Into Your hands I commend My spirit,"
09:38 and inclined His head, provision for salvation
09:42 had been made.
09:43 But, Jesus then went to the tomb.
09:47 And the devil said, "If I can keep Him in the tomb,
09:50 there still will not be salvation because He has to
09:52 intercede for sinners.
09:54 And for that, He has to be alive."
09:56 And so the devil did his utmost to keep Jesus in the tomb.
10:01 He influenced the Romans to put a huge stone
10:05 in front of the grave.
10:07 He also influenced Pilate to put a Roman guard.
10:10 And then the devil stationed his evil angels
10:13 outside the tomb intending to keep the life-giver
10:17 inside the tomb.
10:19 But very early on the first day of the week,
10:22 two angels descended from heaven.
10:24 One of the angels removed the huge stone like it was a pebble,
10:28 and sat on it.
10:29 The other angel stood in front of the tomb
10:32 and cried out in a loud voice, "Oh thou Son of God,
10:36 Thy Father calls Thee."
10:38 Suddenly out of the tomb came Jesus Christ.
10:42 And Jesus, with a voice that thundered and made the
10:46 earth shake, cried out, "I am the resurrection and the life."
10:52 At that point, Satan knew that his kingdom was doomed.
10:57 And then of course we know that Jesus spent 40 days
11:00 here on this earth first of all to give indubitable proofs
11:06 that He had resurrected, and secondly to teach
11:09 His disciples the meaning of the prophecies
11:12 that they had misunderstood.
11:14 In other words, the Bible tells us that it was explaining
11:17 to them the things concerning the kingdom of God.
11:20 And then after spending 40 days here,
11:23 Jesus gathered on the Mount of Olives with His disciples.
11:27 And He ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives.
11:30 Let's read about that in Acts 1:9-11.
11:34 Acts 1:9-11
12:10 And so Jesus disappeared from the sight of His disciples.
12:14 Now, have you ever wondered how heaven reacted
12:19 when Jesus arrived?
12:21 You say, "Well, I don't think that the Bible has anything
12:24 to say about the end of the ascension when Jesus actually
12:28 arrived in heaven, does it?"
12:30 The fact is, the Bible tells us that all heaven was preparing
12:35 to receive Jesus upon His ascension.
12:38 In fact, Jesus had told the angels 33 years before,
12:42 "You better prepare the party, because in 33 years
12:45 I will be back, and I will be victorious over the enemy."
12:49 Now let's go to Revelation 4 where we have a description
12:53 of the preparation of the heavenly throne room
12:56 to receive Jesus Christ upon His ascension.
13:00 It says in Revelation 4:1...
13:20 So John sees this door opened in heaven.
13:23 It is not the door of heaven.
13:26 It is a door opened in heaven.
13:29 Now the question is, where does this door lead to?
13:32 We're going to come to that in a few moments.
13:34 Let's go on to verse 2.
13:47 So I want you to visualize this.
13:49 You know, there's a door that opens in heaven.
13:52 And then John, in vision, goes through the door
13:54 and he sees a throne, and there is one Person
13:57 who is sitting on the throne.
14:00 Now who is that Person that is seated on the throne?
14:03 As we study along, we're going to see that it's God the Father.
14:06 Now the question is, where was Jesus?
14:09 Well, let's read Revelation 3:21
14:12 and notice something very interesting.
14:13 Revelation 3:21
14:15 Let me ask you, when Jesus ascended to heaven,
14:17 where did He sit?
14:19 The Bible tells us.
14:21 Notice Revelation 3:21.
14:26 Here, Jesus is speaking.
14:38 Where did Jesus sit after He overcame or gained the
14:41 victory over the enemy?
14:42 He sat with His Father on His throne.
14:45 But now we have a problem.
14:47 You say, "What is the problem?"
14:49 The fact is that in Revelation 4,
14:51 how many are sitting on the throne?
14:54 Only one, the Father.
14:56 Where did Jesus sit when He ascended to heaven?
14:58 With the Father on the throne.
15:00 So it must be that in Revelation 4,
15:03 Jesus has not yet ascended to sit with
15:06 His Father on the throne.
15:08 Are you following me or not?
15:09 Because the Father is by Himself.
15:11 If Jesus had already ascended, the Son would be seated
15:15 on the throne with the Father.
15:17 Now let's notice Revelation 4:3.
15:20 It tells us what the appearance of the one
15:23 on the throne is like.
15:31 Now jasper and sardius are red stones.
15:34 And the Bible tells us that God dwells in the midst
15:37 of a consuming fire, which is red.
15:39 And so you have this theme of red coloring
15:43 as God is seen sitting on His throne.
15:46 And so it says...
15:57 And then I want you to notice that God the Father
15:59 is not sitting there by Himself.
16:01 There are other beings present as well
16:03 in this heavenly throne room that is going to receive Jesus.
16:06 Notice Revelation 4:4.
16:21 Now we don't have time to identify who these
16:24 twenty-four elders are.
16:26 You'll have to accept by faith that the twenty-four elders
16:29 are the representatives of the worlds that never sinned.
16:32 And if you're interested, Secrets Unsealed
16:34 has a whole six part series about the twenty-four elders
16:38 where you can find the biblical and spirit of prophecy
16:41 evidence for this particular point.
16:43 But I want you to notice that present there is God the Father,
16:46 and then also are all the representatives
16:49 of the worlds of the universe.
16:51 The heavenly council have been invited
16:53 to the reception of Jesus.
16:55 And then we're going to skip verse 5 for the time being.
16:58 We're going to come back to it in a moment.
17:00 And let's go to chapter 4 and verse 6, and then verse 8.
17:03 Here we have another group that is present.
17:06 It says there in Revelation 4:6...
17:20 And now we'll jump to verse 8.
17:39 Now the question is, who are these four living creatures?
17:43 They are actually seraphim.
17:46 They are six-winged angels.
17:48 You say, "How do we know that?"
17:50 Well, all we have to do is go to Isaiah 6:1-3.
17:54 We already noticed in Revelation 4
17:57 two characteristics.
17:58 Number one, they have six wings.
18:00 And number two, they sing, "Holy, holy, holy."
18:02 Remember those two details.
18:03 Now let's go to Isaiah 6:1-3, which is the call
18:07 of the prophet Isaiah.
18:09 And Isaiah has this vision of heaven
18:12 and God sitting on His throne.
18:13 Just like in Revelation 4.
18:15 And I want you to notice the details beginning with verse 1.
18:30 So you have a throne, and then it says,
18:32 "Above it stood seraphim; each one had..."
18:35 How many wings?
18:36 Ah, six wings.
18:53 So who are the four living creatures?
18:55 Seraphim.
18:56 And incidentally, even though they're not mentioned,
18:58 the Bible describes the cherubim in a very
19:02 similar way to the seraphim.
19:04 So most likely the cherubim were present there as well.
19:08 Now there was another being present there as well.
19:11 Let's go back to verse 5, which is the verse that we skipped.
19:14 Notice verse 5.
19:22 And then we have this interesting detail.
19:33 Now are there seven Holy Spirits?
19:36 No. There's one Holy Spirit, but the number seven
19:38 represents fullness or completeness.
19:41 In other words, the Holy Spirit is present there
19:43 in His fullness in this throne room.
19:47 And so who do you have present there?
19:49 The Father is on the throne, the cherubim and the seraphim
19:52 are present there, the representatives of the worlds
19:54 have been invited, the Holy Spirit in His fullness
19:57 is present there in the throne room.
20:00 Now I want you to notice also Revelation 4
20:04 and we'll see where this scene is taking place.
20:08 It's very important for us to understand
20:10 where this is taking place, in what part of heaven.
20:13 Because this is a door in heaven.
20:15 It's not the door of heaven, it's a door in heaven
20:17 that leads into a building.
20:19 Now the question is, what particular location
20:22 are we talking about here?
20:24 There can be no doubt that this is referring to the
20:27 Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary.
20:29 You say, "How do we know that?"
20:30 Revelation 4:5 tells us...
20:44 Let me ask you, where was the seven branched candlestick
20:48 in the Sanctuary?
20:50 It was in the Holy Place.
20:51 And it was the oil that fed the lamps.
20:53 And the oil represents the Holy Spirit.
20:56 And so symbolically we find here that the Holy Spirit
20:59 is represented by the number seven, the seven lamps.
21:02 So where is this taking place?
21:04 In the Holy Place.
21:06 Because the seven branch candlestick
21:08 was in the Holy Place.
21:09 Now we have another clue.
21:10 Notice Revelation 5:8.
21:13 Revelation 5:8
21:16 And we'll come back to this chapter in a few moments.
21:19 It's in chapter 5, but it's taking place
21:22 in the same throne room.
21:23 It says there in Revelation 5:8...
21:28 That's the Father.
21:43 Let me ask you, in which apartment was the incense
21:46 offered in the Sanctuary?
21:48 It was in the Holy Place.
21:49 So we have two clues that this is taking place
21:52 in the Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary.
21:55 Number one, the seven branch candlestick,
21:58 which represents the Holy Spirit.
21:59 And number two, the altar of incense,
22:02 because incense is being presented.
22:04 So the throne room that is being prepared for the arrival
22:07 of the war Hero, the arrival of Christ, is the Holy Place
22:12 of the heavenly Sanctuary.
22:14 Now I want you to notice the song that is being sung
22:17 by those who are present there in the throne room.
22:20 Revelation 4:9-11
22:23 You're going to notice that this hymn is directed
22:26 to the one who is sitting on the throne.
22:27 It's directed to God the Father.
22:29 And the central theme of the hymn is creation.
22:33 There's no reference to redemption.
22:35 There's a reference only to creation,
22:38 in honor of the one who is sitting on the throne.
22:40 It says there in Revelation 4:9...
22:59 Now notice what the theme of the song is.
23:14 Now you say, "Isn't Jesus the Creator according to the Bible?"
23:18 Yes, Jesus is the Creator.
23:20 Jesus is the Master Builder, but the Father is the Architect.
23:25 Did you notice the last part of this verse?
23:27 It gives us the clue. It says...
23:35 In other words, Jesus implemented the will
23:39 of the Father or the plan of the Father in creation.
23:42 But the Father is the absolute Creator,
23:45 and the one who is being praised here.
23:47 Now who is notoriously absent in chapter 4?
23:51 Number one, Jesus is found nowhere in chapter 4.
23:56 And secondly, there is no reference to the angelic host.
24:01 So you say, "Where were the angelic host in chapter 4?"
24:06 The answer, we're going to find, is that the angelic host
24:09 had left heaven to come and pick up Jesus.
24:14 And there were other angels that were stationed at the gates
24:17 to give Jesus the welcome when He arrived.
24:20 That's the reason why the angelic host were not present
24:23 there in the throne room in the Holy Place.
24:26 It's because they had left to bring Jesus back to heaven
24:30 and to welcome Him into the gates of the city.
24:34 Now let's go to Revelation 5 where this plot develops.
24:39 Revelation 5:1-2
24:56 So I want you to imagine, in the right hand there's a scroll.
24:59 And the scroll is sealed with seven seals.
25:02 In other words, the contents of the scroll cannot be revealed
25:06 unless the seals are broken.
25:08 Then it continues saying in verse 2...
25:16 The word, "worthy," means, who is qualified.
25:23 And now suddenly there's a crisis in heaven.
25:27 Because we're told in Revelation 5:3,
25:30 "And no one in heaven..."
25:32 Let me ask you, could God the Father open the scroll?
25:37 No. The Father was there in heaven, wasn't He?
25:39 It says...
25:49 Cherubim and seraphim couldn't.
25:51 The Holy Spirit couldn't.
25:53 The representatives of the worlds couldn't.
25:55 God the Father couldn't.
25:58 There was no one there,
26:00 there was no one on earth, who could open the scroll
26:03 and reveal its contents.
26:05 There's a crisis in heaven.
26:08 How does John react to the fact that there's no one there
26:11 to open the scroll and reveal its contents?
26:14 Notice Revelation 5:4.
26:17 John says...
26:28 Let me ask you, at this point was Jesus in heaven?
26:31 He could not have been in heaven because
26:33 Jesus is later declared worthy to open the scroll.
26:37 So if He was there, it wouldn't have been said that
26:40 no one was found who was worthy.
26:42 Are you understanding what I'm saying?
26:43 Jesus was not present at that moment.
26:46 Now we need to understand that the word, "wept,"
26:48 that is used here is a very strong word in Greek.
26:52 There are other words that are used to describe
26:54 common ordinary crying.
26:56 But this would probably be better translated,
26:59 wailing or mourning.
27:02 In other words, John is wailing or mourning.
27:04 He's expressing deep grief because no one
27:07 can unfurl the scroll and reveal what the scroll contains.
27:12 You know, this word, "klaió," the Greek word, "klaió,"
27:15 is used, for example, for Peter when he wept bitterly
27:18 after denying Christ.
27:20 That's not common ordinary crying.
27:22 And then it also is used to describe when the daughter of
27:26 the ruler of the synagogue died.
27:28 People were sobbing and they were crying out.
27:31 It's used of the disciples when they mourned
27:33 the death of Jesus Christ.
27:35 And it's used to describe the mourning of Jesus over Jerusalem
27:38 as He descended the Mount of Olives
27:40 for the last time towards the temple.
27:41 In other words, John is filled with anxiety and with grief.
27:45 This scroll must have something extremely important
27:49 for John to cry with such anguish.
27:52 So the question is, what did the scroll contain?
27:56 Well I had a teacher in the seminary who studied extensively
28:01 this particular chapter of Revelation.
28:04 His name was Kenneth Strand.
28:06 And he wrote a book called,
28:08 Interpreting the Book of Revelation, page 55,
28:10 and he explains what that scroll contained.
28:14 He says this...
28:31 What was the scroll? A will or a what?
28:34 Or a testament.
28:35 Let me ask you something, can just anybody open
28:38 a will or a testament?
28:42 What does a will or a testament reveal?
28:45 It reveals who will inherit what.
28:48 And if the will is never opened, people don't inherit.
28:54 This is the will of the human race, if you please.
28:58 And if no one opens the scroll, nobody will inherit
29:02 what was lost by Adam when he sinned.
29:06 Now Kenneth Strand continues explaining...
29:50 See, if a qualified person who has been delegated
29:53 that responsibility doesn't open the scroll,
29:55 no one will inherit the lost inheritance.
29:59 And so that's why John is filled with grief.
30:03 Now the spirit of prophecy adds some interesting details
30:06 that help us understand the contents of this scroll.
30:10 In Manuscript Release, volume 9, page 7,
30:14 Ellen White explains that this scroll has the entire history
30:18 of the human race and the decisions that each person
30:22 has made within the flow of human history,
30:25 which determines whether they're going to inherit life
30:28 or whether they're going to inherit death.
30:30 Notice how she describes it.
31:11 In other words, this scroll contains the entire history
31:14 of the human race and the decisions that have been made
31:18 within the course of history, which will determine
31:21 what your inheritance will be; whether you will inherit life
31:25 or whether you will inherit death.
31:27 It's a will or a testament.
31:29 It's a book of destiny, in other words.
31:32 Now Ellen White has another statement,
31:34 which is very interesting, where she describes
31:37 a specific historical event that was written in that scroll.
31:41 This statement is found in, Christ's Object Lessons,
31:43 page 294.
31:45 Christ's Object Lessons, page 294.
31:49 She's talking about when the Jews said,
31:53 "Let His blood be upon us and upon our children."
31:56 Do you remember that, when they stated that?
31:58 Now notice how Ellen White comments about this decision.
32:16 So do you notice that when they pronounced those words,
32:19 their decision was written where?
32:22 It was written in that scroll at that moment in the year 31 AD.
32:27 And then notice what she continues saying.
32:42 Now let's notice some important details of this statement.
32:47 Number one, when the Jews cried out in AD 31,
32:51 "His blood be on us and on our children,"
32:54 their decision was written in the scroll.
32:56 Is that point clear?
32:57 When they said that, their decision, their actions,
33:00 were written in the scroll.
33:03 Then we must notice also that the scroll had not yet
33:07 been opened when Ellen White wrote this statement in 1900.
33:11 Is that clear?
33:13 Because Ellen White stated in that year, in 1900
33:16 when she wrote this statement, that their decision
33:19 will appear before them when this book is unsealed.
33:24 So was the opening of the book future in 1900?
33:28 It was future in 1900.
33:30 It was written in the year 31, but it remained sealed
33:35 until a future time.
33:37 Future even from the year 1900.
33:39 Now those who cried out, "His blood be upon us
33:43 and upon our children," were all dead in 1900.
33:46 Would you agree with that?
33:48 So the question is, if they were all dead, how could they see
33:52 the result of their decision?
33:54 The answer is that they must what?
33:57 They must resurrect in order to see the
34:00 result of their decision.
34:01 Now let me ask you, when is it that the wicked
34:04 are going to resurrect?
34:05 They are going to resurrect after the thousand years.
34:09 So when is it that this scroll is going to be unfurled
34:12 or this scroll is going to be opened?
34:14 It is going to be opened before those who said these words
34:18 after the millennium when the panoramic view of the entire
34:22 history of the human race is shown above the holy city.
34:26 Are you following me or not?
34:28 So in the year 31 it was written there in the scroll.
34:33 The scroll remained sealed.
34:35 In 1900 it was still sealed, because Ellen White says
34:38 that it's going to be unsealed in the future from that date.
34:41 And we know that those who said those words
34:44 are going to be witnesses of their decision.
34:46 Which means they must resurrect, and they will resurrect
34:49 after the millennium.
34:50 So the scroll is going to be unfurled before them
34:53 after the thousand years.
34:55 Now let's go to verse 5.
35:07 Now notice the tenses of the verbs.
35:10 "...has prevailed..."
35:12 Incidentally, that word, "prevailed," is translated
35:15 differently, but it's the same word, "overcome,"
35:18 that has been used previously.
35:21 "He who overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne,
35:23 as I overcame and sat with My Father on His throne."
35:27 So it says that...
35:33 And what gives Him the right to open the scroll?
35:35 The fact that He's prevailed.
35:36 It says, "...has prevailed..." To do what?
35:45 So this verse tells us what it is that qualifies Jesus
35:49 to open the scroll.
35:51 What is it that qualifies Him?
35:53 The fact that He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
35:57 But then we're going to notice something very interesting.
36:00 And that is that in chapter 5:6 Jesus presents Himself
36:08 before His Father as a Lamb.
36:13 Now is there a difference between a lamb and a lion?
36:16 Absolutely.
36:17 You see, Jesus is presented, when He goes before His Father
36:21 He's the Lamb as though it had been slain.
36:24 But it says that when He opens the scroll, He is what?
36:27 He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
36:29 So when He appears before the Father at the ascension
36:32 He's the Lamb, but when the scroll is opened He's the Lion.
36:36 What does that mean?
36:37 Ellen White has an interesting comment
36:39 in, Acts of the Apostles, page 589.
36:48 By the way, that's after the thousand years they'll see
36:50 what the results of their decision was.
36:58 And so now John hears the words of this powerful being
37:03 that says, "Don't worry about it.
37:04 The Lion of the tribe of Judah will open the scroll.
37:08 He has prevailed as the Lamb,
37:09 and He will open the scroll as the Lion."
37:12 Are you following me or not?
37:14 Now let's go to verse 6.
37:35 And now there's an interesting detail.
37:37 Up to that point, the seven Spirits have been present there
37:42 where the throne room is.
37:43 But now notice there's going to be a change.
37:55 Let me ask you, what historical event is being described here
37:58 in Revelation 5:6?
38:00 When is it that the Holy Spirit was sent out to the earth?
38:04 It was on the day of Pentecost.
38:06 So when Jesus is about to be received in the throne room,
38:11 the seven Spirits are present there?
38:13 After the Lamb comes and presents Himself there,
38:17 then the seven Spirits are sent to the earth.
38:21 In a moment we're going to see a little bit more
38:23 what that means.
38:24 And so Jesus presents Himself as the Lamb
38:27 as though it had been slain.
38:28 Is He coming from the battlefield?
38:30 You better believe it.
38:31 Does He have the wounds to prove it?
38:33 Oh absolutely.
38:34 He's been in a war, in a battle.
38:36 But the good news is, He comes wounded, but He comes alive.
38:41 He's the victor.
38:42 Now notice verse 7.
38:44 This is an important detail.
38:45 There's movement here.
38:47 It says there, "Then He..." What?
38:50 Ah, He came.
38:51 He wasn't there before.
39:00 And so you can visualize this.
39:01 He comes and He takes the scroll out of the hand
39:04 of the Father who is sitting on the throne.
39:07 And in a few moments we're going to see what that means.
39:09 Now when Jesus takes the scroll, suddenly there's this burst
39:14 of praise from the elders and from the living creatures.
39:18 It's found in chapter 5:8-10.
39:39 And there's a translation problem here.
39:40 I'll just mention it very briefly,
39:42 but I won't go into detail.
39:44 It says, "And they sang a new song saying,
39:46 'You are worthy to take the scroll
39:49 and to open its seals...'"
39:50 For what reason?
39:57 So was Jesus there in chapter 4?
40:00 No one was worthy.
40:02 Now is there someone that has arrived who is worthy
40:04 in chapter 5?
40:05 Yes, that's the ascension.
40:07 And the Holy Spirit is sent out.
40:08 This is happening on the day of Pentecost.
40:10 And so it says...
40:20 I'm reading from the New King James.
40:22 All of the other versions other than the King James
40:24 and the New King James say, "You have redeemed people..."
40:29 They're not the redeemed.
40:31 They're singing about the redeemed.
40:39 And every other version other than the King James
40:42 and the New King James says, "...and have made them..."
40:50 In other words, the elders and the living creatures
40:52 are singing about the redeemed.
40:54 They're saying, "Jesus, You redeemed human beings."
40:57 But the twenty-four elders are not those who were redeemed.
41:02 Now in the series on the twenty-four elders,
41:04 I have a whole lecture that deals with this issue
41:07 of the proper version to use in this case.
41:11 Now, then in chapter 5:11-12, the angels join the celebration.
41:18 Suddenly the angels are there.
41:19 Where were they before?
41:20 They weren't there in chapter 4.
41:22 Now they're there.
41:23 The Lamb is there because the Lamb has arrived.
41:25 He's the war Hero who is returning from the battlefield,
41:29 wounded but alive.
41:30 Notice Revelation 5:11-12.
41:55 And then in chapter 5:13, the whole universe
41:59 begins singing about the victory of the Father and the Son.
42:02 It says there in chapter 5:13...
42:22 Isn't this a majestic scene?
42:24 Now the interesting thing is that Ellen White
42:30 saw this scene in vision.
42:33 But she doesn't mention the individuals that were
42:38 present there with the same terminology as Revelation.
42:42 She interprets the terminology.
42:45 In other words, she doesn't speak of living creatures,
42:48 and elders, and Lamb, and simply say, "One was on the throne,"
42:53 and seven Spirits.
42:54 She takes the symbolic language and she interprets the language.
42:58 She gives the meaning of the language.
43:00 Now I want to read a rather extensive passage from,
43:03 Desire of Ages, where if you don't feel goosebumps
43:07 when I'm reading this, there's something wrong with you.
43:10 Notice, Desire of Ages, page 833-835.
43:15 It says there...
43:26 "...and the multitude of captives..."
43:28 This is our next subject in this series.
43:35 "The heavenly host..."
43:36 That's the angels.
43:55 You can just hear them singing.
43:57 You know, they're welcoming back the war Hero.
43:59 He's back after 33 years and He is victorious.
44:03 Now notice, those were inside the holy city.
44:06 Those who stayed behind to give Jesus a welcome into the city.
44:24 Why would He be called, "The Lord strong and mighty;
44:26 the Lord mighty in battle"?
44:28 Because He's coming back from the battlefield.
44:31 And then they say...
44:53 This is not the open door in heaven, by the way.
44:55 This is the door that leads into the city.
45:07 Now we know where the angels were,
45:09 why they weren't there in chapter 4.
45:11 Now notice, "There is the throne."
45:13 You're going to see clearly that Ellen White
45:15 is interpreting Revelation chapters 4 and 5.
45:18 "There is the throne.
45:21 And around it the rainbow of promise."
45:23 Is this the scene of Revelation 4 and 5?
45:25 Absolutely.
45:26 "There are cherubim and seraphim."
45:30 Who would those be?
45:32 The living creatures.
45:34 And then she goes to the other group, the twenty-four elders.
45:36 She says, "The commanders of the angel host,
45:39 the sons of God,
45:41 the representatives of the unfallen worlds, are assembled."
45:45 And some people say, "Well Pastor Bohr,
45:47 that's speaking about three groups.
45:49 Because it says there, 'the commanders of the angel host,
45:52 the sons of God, and the representatives
45:54 of the unfallen worlds.'
45:55 Three different groups."
45:57 Nope.
45:58 Ellen White commonly used this type of terminology
46:01 where she described the same group in three different ways.
46:04 Let me give you three other examples.
46:06 This is from the next page of your material.
46:09 I want you to notice first of all when she speaks about
46:12 revival and reformation.
46:15 Notice what she says.
46:16 This is in, Christian Service, page 42.
46:29 Let me ask you, are those three phrases synonymous?
46:32 They most certainly are.
46:34 Ellen White also speaks about how the wicked are going to
46:36 gather together in unity at the end of time.
46:39 A global apostasy.
46:41 Notice how she describes this in, Selected Messages,
46:44 volume 3, page 92.
46:53 Are those three phrases synonymous?
46:55 They most certainly are.
46:56 Let me give you one other example.
46:58 Desire of Ages, page 530.
47:00 She's speaking about the life that is in Christ.
47:08 See, this is a way in which Ellen White
47:10 emphasized something.
47:12 So when Ellen White says here that,
47:15 "the commanders of the angel host, the sons of God,
47:18 the representatives of the unfallen worlds;"
47:20 those are not three separate groups.
47:21 They are three different ways of describing the same group.
47:24 Now, we go back to the statement.
47:26 She says, "The commanders of the angel host, the sons of God,
47:28 the representatives of the unfallen worlds, are assembled.
47:32 The heavenly council before which Lucifer had accused
47:35 God and His Son, the representatives of those
47:38 sinless realms over which Satan had thought to establish
47:41 his dominion; all are there to..." What?
47:44 Ah, the welcoming party,
47:46 "...to welcome the Redeemer.
47:47 They are eager to celebrate His triumph
47:50 and to glorify their King.
47:52 But He waves them back."
47:54 Do you remember that Jesus had to, in Revelation 5:7,
47:56 He had to come to the Father to take the scroll?
47:59 Notice what it says.
48:00 "But He waves them back.
48:02 Not yet; He cannot now receive the coronet
48:05 of glory and the royal robe.
48:07 He enters into the presence of His Father."
48:11 See, there He is; He comes to the Father
48:14 to receive the scroll.
48:15 And of course, He's going to open the scroll.
48:17 He's going to reveal who are His children
48:19 that are going to inherit with Him.
48:20 He's going to open the will and He's going to say,
48:22 "These will inherit with Me."
48:24 Now notice...
48:25 "He points to His wounded head, to His pierced side,
48:29 the marred feet;
48:31 He lifts His hands, bearing the print of nails."
48:33 How is Jesus presenting Himself? As what?
48:36 As a Lamb.
48:38 Ellen White doesn't use the word, "Lamb."
48:40 She expresses literally the Lamb represents
48:44 the wounds on Jesus.
48:47 She continues saying, "He points to the tokens of His triumph."
48:50 This will be our next study.
48:51 "He presents to God the wave sheaf, those raised with Him
48:55 as representatives of that great multitude who shall come forth
48:58 from the grave at His second coming.
49:01 He approaches the Father,
49:04 with whom there is joy over one sinner that repents;
49:07 who rejoices over one with singing.
49:09 Before the foundations of the earth were laid,
49:12 the Father and the Son had united in a covenant
49:16 to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan.
49:19 They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge
49:22 that Christ should become the surety for the human race.
49:26 This pledge Christ has fulfilled.
49:28 When upon the cross He cried out, 'It is finished,'
49:31 He addressed the Father.
49:32 The compact had been fully carried out.
49:35 Now He declares, 'Father, it is finished.
49:38 I have done Thy will, O My God.
49:40 I have completed the work of redemption.
49:43 If Thy justice is satisfied, "I will that they also,
49:47 whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am."'"
49:50 Isn't that what the scroll reveals,
49:52 who's going to be with Him?
49:53 Absolutely.
49:55 Now notice what it continues saying.
49:56 "The voice of God is heard proclaiming that
49:58 justice is satisfied.
50:00 Satan is vanquished.
50:02 Christ's toiling, struggling ones on earth
50:04 are 'accepted in the Beloved.'
50:06 Before the heavenly angels and the representatives
50:09 of the unfallen worlds, they are declared justified.
50:12 Where He is, there His church shall be."
50:15 In other words, the church will inherit with Him.
50:18 Then say says, "'Mercy and truth are met together;
50:20 righteousness and peace have kissed each other.'
50:23 The Father's arms encircle His Son, and the word is given,
50:27 'Let all the angels of God worship Him.'"
50:30 Do you remember that after the Lamb took the scroll,
50:33 that there was this celebration by the elders,
50:35 and the celebration by the living creatures,
50:37 and by all the heavenly angels,
50:39 and by all the universe actually?
50:40 Now Ellen White is going to quote verse 5:12.
50:43 So you know that she's referring to Revelation 5.
50:47 "With joy unutterable, rulers and principalities and powers
50:51 acknowledge the supremacy of the Prince of life.
50:55 The angel host prostrate themselves before Him,
50:57 while the glad shout fills all the courts of heaven,
51:00 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power,
51:03 and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor,
51:06 and glory, and blessing.'"
51:07 Revelation 5:12
51:09 "Songs of triumph mingle with the music from angel harps,
51:12 till heaven seems to overflow with joy and praise.
51:16 Love has conquered. The lost is found.
51:18 Heaven rings with voices in lofty strains proclaiming,
51:22 'Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him
51:26 that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb
51:29 forever and ever.'"
51:32 What a scene!
51:35 Are you understanding what Revelation 4 and 5 is all about?
51:38 Now the question is, when will this scroll be unfurled?
51:44 We mentioned that those who pronounced the words,
51:46 "Let His blood be upon us and upon our children,"
51:49 are going to see the result of their decision.
51:51 For that, they have to resurrect.
51:53 And they're going to resurrect after the millennium.
51:56 Notice Revelation 20:13-14.
52:00 Revelation 20:13-14
52:04 We're only going to read the verse, and then we're going to
52:07 read the comments made by the spirit of prophecy.
52:09 Because time is flying by.
52:17 Now what does this mean, "The sea gave up the dead,
52:20 and Death and Hades delivered up the dead"?
52:23 It means that they are what?
52:25 They're resurrected.
52:26 And then notice what it says.
52:31 Are the wicked going to see a record of their lives?
52:35 Is it going to appear in the scroll? Yes.
52:38 Now let me read you the spectacular description
52:40 that is given in the book, Great Controversy, pages 666-669.
52:47 All the wicked are gathered around the city,
52:49 and there's this panoramic view above the city.
53:04 Do you see what the scroll is?
53:05 We read in Ellen White, she says the whole history of the world
53:08 is contained there, from the times of Adam till the end.
53:11 She continues saying...
54:07 A scroll is being opened before them now.
54:42 Do you remember?
54:44 Are those who cried out, "His blood be upon us
54:46 and upon our children," going to see that event again?
54:48 Yes.
55:25 And then we're going to skip the next paragraph
55:27 where Ellen White describes events from the early church;
55:30 the book of Acts after the ascension of Christ.
55:33 She mentions Paul, Peter, John.
55:36 She mentions Nero as being outside the city.
55:40 She mentions Nero's mother.
55:43 And then she moves on to describe the Middle Ages.
55:47 In the following paragraph she says...
56:04 And then at the end of this statement she says...
56:21 Now let me ask you, what decisions have we made
56:26 within the course of history?
56:29 What is written in that scroll concerning our thoughts
56:34 and our actions?
56:36 Where are we going to be?
56:38 Inside the city?
56:41 Or are we going to be outside the Holy City?
56:44 The decisions that we make within the course of history,
56:48 either to accept Christ and follow Him or to reject Him,
56:52 will determine our eternal destiny.
56:56 And the sad thing is, that Jesus lived a perfect life
56:59 in our place and died in our place.
57:02 What a waste it would be for us not to be there
57:05 for the great celebration when Jesus returns home
57:09 with all of His people.


Home

Revised 2016-07-20