Participants: Pastor Stephen P. Bohr
Series Code: SOP
Program Code: SOP000001A
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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. |
Revised 2016-07-20