Participants: Pastor Stephen P. Bohr
Series Code: SOP
Program Code: SOP000004A
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00:14 Well, hello everybody.
00:16 Welcome back. 00:17 We continue our study on, The Secrets of Pentecost. 00:21 And this is lecture number four in this series. 00:24 And the title today is, Matthias, Wrong or Right Choice? 00:31 Before we get into our study, however, we want to 00:33 do what we do every time. 00:35 And that is, to bow our heads reverently to ask 00:37 for the Lord's presence as we open His Word. 00:40 So let's bow and pray to the Lord. 00:44 Father in heaven, we come before Your throne this evening 00:46 thanking You for Your many blessings that You pour out 00:49 upon us each day. 00:51 We thank You for life and health and strength, 00:54 and for Your holy Word which is a sure guide 00:57 in a world that is co confused. 00:59 And we ask that as we study this topic tonight 01:02 that Your Holy Spirit will be with us, 01:04 that You will enlighten us, that you will help us 01:06 to understand how much Jesus loves us 01:09 and how much He wants us to be with Him. 01:11 And we thank You, Father, for the privilege of approaching 01:13 Your throne in prayer. 01:15 And we know that You have inclined Your ear to hear us. 01:18 Because we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, amen. 01:25 As we begin our study today, I would like to review 01:28 the chronology of the last days of Christ 01:32 upon this earth. 01:34 And when I say, the last days, we're going to begin 01:36 with the beginning of His earthly ministry. 01:39 You know, He lived many years before He began 01:43 His earthly ministry, which lasted about 01:44 three and a half years. 01:46 So we're going to begin were Jesus began His public ministry; 01:49 three and a half years that Jesus lived on this earth 01:53 before He actually went through His events in Gethsemane 01:57 and on the cross. 01:58 Now why did Jesus come to live in our midst 02:02 for three and a half years before He went to the cross? 02:06 The reason is very simple. 02:08 The Sanctuary actually begins in the camp 02:11 where those who need the Sanctuary live. 02:14 And Jesus came to live in our midst because He had to 02:18 live a perfect life to offer the law the perfection that 02:22 the law requires. 02:23 None of us can offer the law perfection. 02:26 And so because we can't offer the law perfection, 02:29 we needed Jesus to come to this earth and to live the life 02:33 that the law requires from us. 02:35 So the work of Jesus during three and a half years, 02:38 He faced all of the devil's temptations, 02:40 He never gave in to temptation even once 02:45 in thought or in action, and He developed perfection 02:50 in our place. 02:52 But it wasn't sufficient for Jesus to live the life 02:54 that we should live. 02:56 It was also necessary that somebody die carrying our sins. 02:59 Because the wages of sin is death. 03:02 And so after living His perfect life, at the end of His life 03:05 the Lord Jesus went into the court of the Sanctuary, 03:09 the altar of sacrifice, and He died for our sins. 03:13 All of the sins of the world were placed upon Him, 03:16 and He died in place of all. 03:18 So in the camp, He lives for all. 03:20 At the altar, He dies for all. 03:23 And then the next piece of furniture that we have 03:25 in the Sanctuary is the laver. 03:28 And the laver represents the resurrection of Christ. 03:31 In other words, the camp is His life, 03:34 the altar of sacrifice is His death, 03:37 the laver would represent His resurrection. 03:41 And of course, He ministered for three and a half years. 03:44 At the end of the three and a half years 03:47 on a Friday He died on the cross, 03:50 was buried, remained in the tomb on the Sabbath 03:53 according to the commandment, and then early on the first day 03:57 of the week Jesus resurrected from the dead. 04:00 And then after Jesus resurrected from the dead, 04:03 He spent 40 days on this earth before He ascended to heaven. 04:09 And why would Jesus stay upon this earth for 40 days 04:12 after His resurrection? 04:13 Why didn't He go and stay in heaven once for all 04:16 when He resurrected? 04:18 The reason is explained in Acts 1:3. 04:22 Acts 1:3 gives two reasons why Jesus remained on this earth 04:28 for 40 days before His final ascension to heaven. 04:32 It says there in Acts 1:3... 04:47 So the first reason is to appear to many 04:50 to give them proof that He had resurrected. 04:53 And then the second reason is at the end of the verse. 05:00 In other words, Jesus had some instructions 05:03 that He still needed to give His disciples. 05:05 And those instructions involved, first of all, 05:08 explaining the prophecies about His death and resurrection 05:12 that the disciples had misunderstood. 05:14 And then also He explained to them prophecies that were 05:17 going to be fulfilled in Him on the day of Pentecost. 05:21 So during those 40 days, basically Jesus taught them 05:24 the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 05:26 He taught them the meaning of the prophecies that 05:29 had been fulfilled in Him, and the prophecies that 05:32 would be fulfilled in Him on the day of Pentecost. 05:35 And then after the 40 days, the Lord Jesus gathered 05:39 with His disciples on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem 05:43 to ascend to heaven. 05:47 And we find that record in Acts 1:9-11. 05:52 Acts 1:9-11, and I want to read that passage. 06:11 "...two men..." Which are angels. 06:32 And then Jesus disappeared from their sight. 06:35 Now the question is, why did Jesus go to heaven? 06:39 Why didn't He just end sin after He died on the cross 06:43 and He resurrected? 06:45 Why was it necessary for Jesus to go to heaven 06:48 upon His ascension? 06:50 Jesus Himself gave us the reason. 06:53 In John 14:1-3, a passage that is very well known by all of us, 06:59 Jesus was in the upper room with His disciples. 07:01 And I know that you can repeat this from memory. 07:05 This is the marvelous promise about the 07:07 second coming of Christ. 07:09 And I'm going to read it because it explains why 07:11 Jesus went to heaven at the end of the 40 days 07:14 and why He's still there. 07:16 What is Jesus doing in heaven? 07:18 It says there in John 14:1-3... 07:30 Now you know, there's this idea that Jesus went to heaven 07:33 to build mansions for us. 07:36 Well, I have no doubts that, you know, Jesus is building some 07:39 real nice mansions for us. 07:40 But the fact is that this text doesn't say that He 07:46 was going to build mansions in the future. 07:49 He says, "In My Father's house are many mansions." 07:53 In other words, when Jesus spoke these words, 07:55 the mansions were already there. 07:57 Are you understanding my point? 07:58 Now notice what He continues saying. 08:10 Now usually we've understood this to mean that Jesus 08:12 is going to prepare a beautiful home for us in heaven, 08:15 you know, and He's going to plant trees, 08:17 and He's just going to make everything beautiful for us. 08:20 And I'm not denying that might have something to do with it, 08:23 but Jesus doesn't need 2000 years to plant trees 08:26 and to make a place beautiful. 08:28 After all, He made a beautiful world in six days. 08:31 There's something more here than just preparing 08:33 a beautiful place. 08:35 It says here, "I go to prepare a place for you..." 08:48 Now if we read the book of Hebrews, 08:51 and also the book of Revelation, as well as certain portions of 08:55 the book of Acts, particularly Acts chapter 1 and chapter 2, 09:00 we'll see that Jesus went to heaven to prepare a place for us 09:04 by the work that He performs in the heavenly Sanctuary. 09:07 In other words, Jesus, after His death and His resurrection 09:11 in the court, still had to fulfill the function in the 09:14 Holy Place, and later on He had to fulfill the work 09:17 of the Most Holy Place. 09:19 So Jesus prepares the place in heaven for us 09:22 by the work that He does in the Holy Place 09:24 and in the Most Holy Place of the Sanctuary 09:27 Unless He performs those two works, 09:29 Jesus can't come again. 09:31 It's part and parcel of the plan of salvation. 09:34 And so Jesus ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us 09:37 by the work that He performs in the Holy Place 09:41 and in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary. 09:45 Now after Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples 09:48 returned from the Mount of Olives to the upper room, 09:52 and they prepared for the reception of the Holy Spirit. 09:55 Because Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would 09:58 be poured out ten days after His ascension. 10:02 And we notice that in the upper room the preparation 10:06 involved a deep prayer experience. 10:10 It involved studying the prophecies such as they had 10:13 never studied them before. 10:14 It involved ironing out all of their differences 10:18 and being emptied of self, placing all of their possessions 10:22 on the altar of sacrifice so that they could be used 10:25 in the preaching of the gospel. 10:27 And in this way, they prepared themselves for the outpouring 10:30 of the Holy Spirit which was going to take place 10:33 ten days after the ascension of Christ. 10:37 So we know what the disciples did during those ten days. 10:40 They prayed like never before, they studied the prophecies, 10:43 they were emptied of self. 10:45 They ironed out the differences that they had among themselves. 10:49 They took their possessions and they presented them 10:51 on the altar of sacrifice for the preaching of the gospel. 10:54 In other words, they were not centered in themselves. 10:56 Now they were centered in Christ. 10:59 But the big question is this: 11:01 What happened with Jesus during those ten days? 11:04 We know that He ascended at the beginning of those ten days 11:07 after the 40 days on earth. 11:09 But what was happening to Jesus in heaven 11:12 during those ten days? 11:14 That is the primary question that we want to answer 11:17 in our study today. 11:19 What was happening with Jesus during the ten days 11:22 between the ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 11:25 on the day of Pentecost? 11:27 Now let's begin our study specifically by seeing 11:31 who was present there in the upper room. 11:34 Acts 1:13 explains by name those who were present there. 12:11 Now what strikes you about this list? 12:14 Well, it's actually quite simple. 12:17 You only have eleven apostles. 12:20 And we know that Jesus established twelve. 12:22 So immediately the question among those who were 12:25 in the upper room, not so much the apostles, but others who 12:27 were present, is what happened to apostle number twelve? 12:32 What happened with him? 12:33 If there were twelve, why are there only eleven? 12:35 And so Peter now feels like he has to stand up 12:38 and he has to explain why there are only eleven apostles. 12:42 And in Acts 1:18-19, Peter explains what happened 12:48 to apostle number twelve. 12:49 And he expresses it this way. 12:56 Speaking of Judas. 13:14 So basically Peter is saying, you know, Judas fell 13:18 a long distance, and when he hit the ground, 13:21 you know, his belly exploded and his entrails came out. 13:24 Now when we examine this story in Acts about the end 13:28 of Judas, and we look at the story in the gospels, 13:31 there is an apparent contradiction. 13:33 I say, apparent, because there is no contradiction. 13:36 In the gospels, it says that Judas went and hung himself. 13:39 And here in Acts it says that he fell a long distance 13:42 and his belly exploded and his entrails came out. 13:45 So how do you reconcile these two stories, 13:47 the story in the gospels and the story in the book of Acts? 13:51 The answer is provided in a beautiful way by Ellen White. 13:55 In the book, Desire of Ages, page 722, she explains 13:59 and she actually relates these two stories 14:02 so that they don't contradict themselves, 14:04 but they actually compliment one another. 14:07 I want to read that statement, Desire of Ages, 722. 14:11 It's speaking about the procession to the cross. 14:52 So what a beautiful way of reconciling these two stories. 14:55 Judas did hang himself, but the rope with which 14:59 he hung himself broke. 15:01 And because it was a very high branch, he fell a long distance 15:05 and his belly exploded and his entrails came out. 15:08 There's no contradiction. 15:09 The two stories compliment one another. 15:12 And so Peter now says to those who are gathered together, 15:15 "We need to name a successor for Judas." 15:20 Now for many, many years I wondered why it was so urgent 15:25 and important for them to elect a successor for Judas 15:29 before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 15:31 Because this is happening in Acts chapter 1, 15:34 and the Holy Spirit is not poured out until Acts chapter 2. 15:37 So I wondered, why was it so important for them to 15:40 dedicate a period of time to electing a successor for Judas 15:44 before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 15:46 on the day of Pentecost? 15:48 Why would this be the first item of business? 15:51 Well, the fact is that Peter explained that the reason why 15:56 they needed to name a successor is because prophecy required it. 16:01 You see, Jesus had explained prophecy to Peter 16:04 and to the apostles. 16:05 Peter now knew which prophecies to quote 16:09 to prove that what they were going to do 16:11 was in harmony with the prophecies of the Old Testament. 16:14 Notice Acts 1:16 and then we'll jump to verse 20, 16:18 because we already noticed what comes in between. 16:21 The apostle Peter mentioned two prophecies 16:24 from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in Judas. 16:27 Notice what it says in verse 16. 16:29 Here, Peter is speaking to those who are 16:31 gathered in the upper room. 16:32 There's about one-hundred and twenty. 16:34 "Men and brethren..." 16:47 And then we go to verse 20 because we've already 16:49 studied about the end of Judas in verses 17-19. 16:52 Verse 20... 16:58 So now Peter is going to give proof from Scripture 17:01 that what they're about to do is in harmony with 17:04 what God has announced. 17:14 He's quoting Psalm 69:25. 17:18 In other words, Judas was not going to return to his home. 17:22 His home was going to remain desolate. 17:26 So the first prophecy is found in Psalm 69:25. 17:29 "Let his dwelling place be desolate, 17:31 and let on one live in it..." 17:33 And then the apostle Peter quotes Psalm 109:7-8 17:39 by saying, "...and, 'Let another take his office.'" 17:45 So in other words, somebody else had to take 17:47 the office of Judas. 17:48 There had to be apostle number twelve. 17:51 And so Peter is saying, "Prophecy mandates that we 17:56 elect a successor in place of Judas." 18:00 Now, there's this myth that has been passed along 18:04 from generation to generation 18:06 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 18:09 And that is, that it was God's plan that the successor of Judas 18:14 not be Matthias who is actually elected, 18:17 but that it was God's plan that the successor be Saul of Tarsus, 18:22 who later became the great apostle Paul. 18:26 And so they say, you know, what happened is 18:28 that the apostles, you know, they rushed to name a successor 18:31 before God wanted them to and they made a mistake. 18:34 They elected Matthias, and God wanted Saul of Tarsus, 18:40 or Paul, to be the successor of Judas. 18:43 Now allow me to say that this is pure myth. 18:46 This is pure speculation. 18:48 It is an assumption that is not based on fact. 18:52 I'm going to give you now four reasons why the apostle 18:56 that they chose was God's choice. 18:58 And then towards the end of our study I'm going to give you 19:01 the most important reason, reason number five. 19:03 But for now, we're going to give four reasons 19:05 why Matthias was the right choice. 19:09 Notice reason number one. 19:11 The Bible tells us what qualities the successor 19:14 needed to have. 19:15 I'm reading from Acts 1:21-22, and you're going to tell me 19:20 if Saul of Tarsus fits with the specifications. 19:24 It says there... 19:46 Let me ask you, does Saul of Tarsus meet that specification 19:49 of being with the apostles from the times of John the Baptist 19:53 till the ascension of Christ? 19:54 He does not. 19:56 He was converted three and a half years 19:58 after the ascension of Christ. 20:00 And so he does not meet this specification. 20:04 And so we know that Paul was definitely not God's choice. 20:08 The second reason is that Acts 1:24-26 tells us 20:12 that they followed the right process. 20:14 Notice what it says there beginning in verse 24. 20:41 So notice it says that they prayed that the Lord 20:44 would show them whom the Lord had chosen. 20:48 They met the specification that God established; 20:51 to pray for guidance and wisdom to elect the right man. 20:55 Now Ellen White, this is reason number three, 20:57 the confirmation from the spirit of prophecy, 21:00 is that the Holy Spirit was the one who chose Matthias. 21:03 Notice this statement that we find in, Spirit of Prophecy, 21:06 volume 3, and page 264. 21:10 This is categorical. 21:13 She says there... 21:32 Were they careful in their judgment. 21:34 Yes they were. 21:35 Did they distrust their own ability to decide? 21:38 Yes they did. 21:40 Notice what she continues saying. 21:57 So did they make a mistake? 21:59 Was the Holy Spirit wrong in the selection? 22:02 Absolutely not. 22:04 The Holy Spirit made the choice, according to this. 22:07 Now the fourth reason is very clear. 22:09 And that is, that the person who was suppose to take 22:13 the place of Stephen was Saul of Tarsus. 22:17 In other words, Saul of Tarsus was not to 22:18 take the place of Judas. 22:20 He was suppose to take the place of Stephen 22:22 whom he was involved in martyrizing. 22:25 Notice, Acts of the Apostles, page 102, 22:27 where that is made clear. 22:29 Ellen White says... 22:44 So who was Saul of Tarsus suppose to replace? 22:47 Not Judas, but Stephen. 22:49 He was chosen to replace Stephen. 22:52 But we still need to ask the question. 22:54 You say, "Okay, Pastor Bohr, we accept the fact that, 22:57 first of all, prophecy predicted that Judas wasn't going to 23:01 return to his house. 23:02 His house would remain desolate. 23:03 And prophecy predicted that somebody had to take his office. 23:07 But why did this have to happen before the day of Pentecost? 23:11 Why couldn't they wait until the Holy Spirit was poured out, 23:14 and then of course they would have more wisdom 23:15 because they would have the Holy Spirit 23:17 to elect the successor then?" 23:18 Why name the successor before the Holy Spirit was poured out 23:23 on the day of Pentecost? 23:25 The reason, folks, has to do with the significance 23:29 of the number twelve in Scripture. 23:32 Now when you examine Acts chapter 1, 23:34 you find a very interesting expression. 23:37 It says that Judas was numbered with the apostles. 23:42 He was numbered with the apostles. 23:44 And then when Matthias was elected, it says that 23:46 he was numbered with the apostles. 23:48 In other words, there's something significant 23:51 about the number twelve. 23:53 There had to be twelve. 23:55 And so the question is, what is so significant 23:58 about the number twelve that would require us to have 24:02 twelve apostles and not merely eleven? 24:05 The answer to this question is found in Revelation 12:1, 24:09 and several other verses that we are going to take a look at now. 24:12 Revelation 12:1 says this... 24:29 Or a crown of twelve stars. 24:31 So we have a woman, and this woman has a crown on her head 24:36 and the crown has twelve stars. 24:38 So the question is, what does the woman represent? 24:43 Well, we know that in Bible prophecy a woman 24:45 represents what? 24:47 Represents the church. 24:49 Represents God's faithful people. 24:51 Now let's prove that from the Bible itself. 24:54 Go with me to Daniel 7:25, and then we're going to 24:58 compare with that Revelation 12:14. 25:02 Daniel 7:25, first of all, and Revelation 12:14. 25:07 These are two parallel prophecies. 25:11 Notice Daniel 7:25. 25:14 It's speaking about the little horn. 25:16 Of course, we know the little horn represents 25:18 the Roman Catholic Papacy. 25:20 And so it says... 25:25 Notice these details. 25:30 So whom does the little horn persecute? 25:32 It persecutes the saints of the Most High. 25:35 And then it continues saying... 25:46 So let's summarize what this verse contains. 25:48 First of all, it says that the little horn, point number one, 25:53 would persecute whom? 25:55 The saints of the Most High. 25:57 For how long? 25:58 Time, times, and the dividing of time. 26:01 Now let's go to Revelation 12:14. 26:04 Remember, we're trying to interpret what 26:06 the woman represents. 26:07 Revelation 12:14. 26:10 This is a parallel prophecy, but it's expressed 26:13 somewhat differently. 26:15 It says here... 26:24 So who is the persecutor here in Revelation 12? 26:28 It's the dragon who is persecuting. 26:30 And who is he persecuting? 26:32 He's persecuting the woman. 26:33 Now let's continue reading. 26:48 It that the same time period as Daniel 7:25? 26:52 Yes it is. Now let's make the parallel. 26:54 In Daniel 7, the little horn persecutes the saints 26:58 for time, times, and the dividing of time. 27:01 In Revelation 12, the dragon persecutes the woman 27:05 for time, times, and the dividing of time. 27:08 So let me ask you, what does the woman represent 27:10 when you compare these two text? 27:12 The woman represents the saints of the Most High. 27:15 It represents God's faithful people. 27:17 Are you following me or not? 27:19 So in Revelation 12, this woman represents 27:22 God's faithful people. 27:26 But now we need to ask a very important question. 27:29 You know, God has had a people, a faithful people, 27:31 in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament, hasn't He? 27:35 He's had a church in the Old Testament, 27:37 and He's had a church in the New Testament. 27:39 So the question here is, is this woman, 27:43 is this faithful people that is spoken of here 27:46 in Revelation 12:1 God's people from the Old Testament, 27:50 God's faithful people from the Old Testament, 27:53 or it is God's people from the New Testament, 27:55 the faithful from the New Testament? 27:57 Which stage are we talking about here? 28:00 Well the fact is, folks, there's no doubt that in 28:03 Revelation 12:1 the woman is representing God's people, 28:09 God's faithful people, in the Old Testament period. 28:12 And you say, "How do you know that the woman 28:14 represents God's saints, or God's faithful people, 28:18 from the Old Testament in Revelation 12:1?" 28:21 The answer is very simple. 28:22 In the next verse it says that the woman 28:25 has a male child in her womb. 28:27 And the child has not been born yet. 28:30 Who is that child that was in the womb of the woman? 28:33 It's Jesus Christ, right? 28:36 So if Jesus hadn't been born yet, 28:40 this is so obvious, if Jesus had not been born yet 28:43 when the woman is seen, is that talking about 28:46 the New Testament church? 28:48 How can you have a New Testament church 28:49 if Jesus has not been born yet? 28:51 Are you following me or not? 28:52 Now, here's a dumb question. 28:56 Who exists first, the woman or the child? 29:00 The woman, of course. 29:01 Did the Old Testament church exist before Jesus was born? 29:05 Yes. This woman already existed before Jesus was born 29:09 because she has Jesus in her womb, and then He's born. 29:12 But I want you to notice something very important. 29:15 The woman represents, in Revelation 12:1, 29:17 it represents the Old Testament church 29:20 from which Jesus comes. 29:21 Because Jesus is the descendant of Abraham 29:24 and He's the descendant of David. 29:25 He comes from the holy line of the Old Testament. 29:27 So Jesus is born from the faithful Old Testament church. 29:31 But then you notice in this prophecy that the woman 29:35 then flees to the wilderness after the Child is born. 29:38 And she flees for 1260 years. 29:41 Let me ask you, what stage of the church is that 29:44 after the Child is born? 29:46 That's the New Testament church. 29:47 So in other words, you have... 29:49 How many churches does Jesus have? 29:51 You know, today there are many that are teaching, 29:54 most interpreters of prophecy, not in the Adventist church 29:57 but outside the church, they say, you know, 29:59 "God has two peoples: He has literal Israel 30:01 and then He has the church. 30:03 And two different plans. 30:04 You know, He's going to rapture the church 30:05 to heaven, and the Jews are going to be left behind. 30:07 He has two mutually separable peoples." 30:10 Revelation 12 makes it very clear that this is not the case. 30:13 Revelation 12 tells us that God has one woman. 30:17 From Old and New Testament period. 30:20 From before the Child is born and after the Child is born. 30:24 God has only one people throughout the course 30:26 of all of history. 30:29 And so this woman in Revelation 12:1 represents 30:33 the Old Testament church before the Child is born. 30:38 Now we need to understand what the twelve stars 30:40 on the crown of the woman represents. 30:42 So if this represents God's Old Testament people 30:45 in Revelation 12:1, and of course later on it represents 30:48 the New Testament church, then what do the twelve stars 30:52 on her crown represent. 30:54 Well we have to go back to Genesis 37:9-10. 30:58 Genesis 37:9-10 31:02 This is one of the dreams that Joseph had. 31:04 If you remember, Joseph was called, the dreamer. 31:07 He had many dreams that aggravated his brothers 31:10 when he was still at home. 31:12 And I want you to notice that we have sun, moon, and stars 31:15 in one of his dreams. 31:17 It says in Genesis 37:9, "Then he," that is Joseph... 31:32 Do we have sun, moon, and stars in Revelation 12? 31:35 Yes we do. 31:36 So this is reminiscent of Revelation 12:1. 31:40 It says... 31:44 You say, "Ah, but that's not twelve stars. 31:47 That's eleven stars." 31:48 Yes it is eleven stars, but who is star number twelve? 31:51 Star number twelve is Joseph. 31:54 How many sons did Jacob have? 31:56 Jacob had twelve. 31:57 So you have eleven stars bowing to Joseph 32:00 who is star number twelve. 32:02 And so notice it continues saying... 32:23 So the twelve stars represent the twelve sons of Jacob, 32:27 which were the founders of the Old Testament church. 32:32 Notice Genesis 49:28. 32:35 Let me ask you, did those twelve young men then multiply 32:38 and become a great nation? 32:39 Twelve tribes? 32:41 From twelve individuals they multiplied and they became 32:45 a great nation. 32:47 That's very important. 32:48 Notice Genesis 49:28. 32:51 After Jacob has given the characteristics of all his sons, 32:55 then we have this explanation. 33:08 And so you find here that the twelve founders 33:12 of the Old Testament church were the twelve sons of Jacob. 33:15 Twelve individuals that then multiplied and formed 33:19 a great nation. 33:21 Now let me ask you, how many apostles did Jesus establish? 33:26 Jesus established twelve apostles. 33:29 Now why would He establish twelve apostles? 33:31 Do you think that Jesus said, "Now let me see, 33:33 what number can I choose here? 33:35 Seven would be good. That's perfection. 33:38 Four; that's universality. 33:42 No I don't like that. 33:43 Three; the number of the Godhead? No. 33:45 I think I'll choose twelve." 33:47 You think that's what led Jesus to choose the number twelve? 33:50 Of course not. 33:51 He was choosing the number twelve because 33:53 the New Testament church is a continuation of 33:56 the Old Testament church. 33:57 Just like we saw in Revelation 12, 33:59 there's one woman. 34:00 One woman composed of two stages. 34:03 And so the number twelve represents the twelve founders 34:05 of the Old Testament church, but that church is continued 34:08 by twelve founders of the New Testament church. 34:11 Notice Mark 3:14-19. 34:15 Mark 3:14-19 34:55 So Jesus appointed twelve apostles 34:59 because the twelve apostles were going to be the founders 35:01 of the New Testament church. 35:04 Now Ellen White, whom I've always found to be very 35:08 enlightening, a woman who had only two and a half years 35:11 of primary education, understood very well 35:15 the importance of the number twelve and how the number twelve 35:18 represents the founds of the Old Testament church 35:21 and the founders of the New Testament church. 35:23 One church composed of two stages. 35:25 Notice what she says in the book, Acts of the Apostles, 35:28 page 19. 35:44 Is that clear? Absolutely crystal clear. 35:46 Once again... 35:57 Now let me ask you, did those twelve then multiply, 36:00 through their preaching, and become a great church 36:03 or a great nation, so to speak? 36:04 Absolutely. 36:06 And so the New Testament church is a continuation of the 36:09 Old Testament church. 36:11 And I want to underline once again, you know, 36:13 there's a theology today of prophecy 36:16 which is called dispensationalism 36:18 that radically distinguishes literal Israel from the church. 36:23 The fact is, Revelation 12 makes it impossible to separate 36:26 literal Israel from the church. 36:28 Because there's only one woman that represents 36:32 both stages of the church. 36:34 The same woman that has the Child is the woman 36:37 that then flees to the wilderness for 1260 years. 36:41 One church composed of two stages. 36:44 The founders of the Old Testament church: 36:46 twelve representatives; sons of Jacob. 36:49 The founders of the New Testament church: 36:51 twelve apostles. 36:52 Twelve individuals then multiply and become a great nation; 36:55 twelve individuals then multiply and become a global 36:59 or worldwide church. 37:01 Now we must ask the question, come back to our question again, 37:05 why did they feel such an urgency of naming a successor 37:10 in place of Judas before the day of Pentecost? 37:13 You say, "Okay, prophecy said that they 37:15 had to elect a successor. 37:17 We accept that. 37:18 But why did the election have to take place 37:21 before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 37:23 at the day of Pentecost?" 37:25 The answer to that question has to do with what happened 37:29 to Jesus during the ten days between the ascension 37:33 and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 37:35 Do you remember that Jesus ascended 40 days 37:37 after His resurrection, and then ten days passed 37:40 before the Holy Spirit was poured out? 37:42 During those ten days we know what the apostles were doing. 37:44 They were praying, they were studying prophecy, 37:46 they were ironing out their differences. 37:49 They were placing their possessions at the 37:51 service of the work. 37:53 They were being emptied of self. 37:54 We know what they were doing. 37:55 But what was happening to Jesus during those ten days? 37:58 Ah, there are a couple of prophecies 38:00 which are very significant. 38:02 The first of these is found in Leviticus 8:6-12. 38:06 Leviticus 8:6-12 tells us that a very impressive ceremony 38:12 took place in heaven during those ten days. 38:15 Notice what it says beginning at verse 6. 38:23 This is right before the temple service 38:27 or the Sanctuary service is inaugurated 38:29 in the Old Testament. 38:30 Verse 7... 39:05 What is Moses doing here to Aaron his brother? 39:10 He is clothing him to be what? 39:13 High priest. 39:14 You see, before he could begin serving as high priest, 39:17 he had to be clothed as a high priest. 39:21 And Moses is playing the role of God the Father 39:25 in the ultimate fulfillment. 39:27 Moses is a symbol of the Father, 39:29 and Christ is symbolized by Aaron the high priest. 39:34 And so it was necessary for Moses to clothe Aaron 39:37 as the high priest before he could begin serving 39:39 as the high priest in the Sanctuary. 39:41 But that's the first thing that happened. 39:42 There's more. 39:44 Notice what it continues saying in verse 10. 40:05 So what is he doing? 40:07 He's sanctifying the place where the high priest 40:10 is going to serve. 40:11 So he's anointing the place or the Sanctuary 40:15 where the high priest is going to serve. 40:17 So two things are happening here in the Old Testament type. 40:20 Number one, Moses is clothing Aaron with the 40:24 garments of the high priest. 40:25 Then he says, "Well, he's going to serve in the holy Sanctuary." 40:28 So he sanctifies the Sanctuary where Aaron is going to serve. 40:33 But then there's one ceremony that still 40:35 needs to be performed. 40:36 And that's found in verse 12. 40:49 And so the third thing that is happening here is that Moses 40:52 is anointing Aaron with oil. 40:56 So three things. 40:57 Number one, Moses clothes Aaron as high priest. 41:01 Number two, he anoints the Sanctuary where the 41:04 high priest is going to serve. 41:06 And number three, he anoints the high priest with oil. 41:10 And what does oil represent? 41:12 You know very well that oil represents the Holy Spirit. 41:15 Now Psalm 133 describes this same occasion 41:21 when Aaron was anointed with the oil. 41:24 And immediately when you read Psalm 133, 41:27 you're going to see the connection 41:28 with the day of Pentecost. 41:29 It's very, very clear the way it begins. 41:31 Notice Psalm 133, and this is a very short Psalm. 41:36 It has only three verses, so we will be able to 41:38 go through it quite quickly. 41:40 It says there... 41:49 What does that bring to mind? 41:52 When the day of Pentecost had fully come, 41:54 they were all of one accord. 41:58 So this is what you might call, a Pentecostal psalm. 42:01 It's a psalm about Pentecost. 42:03 And so it says... 42:12 Now here comes the amplification of the 42:14 anointing of Aaron by Moses. 42:17 Upon where first? 42:20 The head. 42:21 Are we talking about just one, two, three, four, or five dots? 42:25 No, no, no, no, no. Notice, it says here... 42:35 So we're talking about not a few drops. 42:37 We're talking about an abundance of oil because 42:39 it's running down his beard. 42:42 The beard of whom? 42:43 Ah, this is the same anointing service. 42:46 "...the beard of Aaron..." 42:48 Oh, notice how abundant it is. 42:53 Boy, this is a lot of oil. 42:55 You know, it's poured on his head. 42:57 This is not only sprinkled, it's poured on his head. 42:59 It runs down his beard. 43:01 It's so abundant that it's running to the 43:03 edges of his garments. 43:05 But it doesn't stop there. Notice verse 3. 43:20 The oil was so abundant that it trickled down 43:23 even on the mountains of Zion. 43:25 Let me ask you, who was gathered on the mountains of Zion? 43:28 The twelve apostles. 43:31 You see, the gift of the Holy Spirit, before it was given 43:34 to the apostles, it was given to Christ. 43:36 It was the promise of the Father to Christ. 43:39 And so the Father gave the promise of the Holy Spirit 43:42 to Jesus, and then what did Jesus do? 43:45 Jesus poured out the promise of the Holy Spirit 43:48 upon His followers. 43:50 And what happened on the day of Pentecost, 43:52 the tongues of fire and the mighty rushing wind 43:55 and the fact that they were speaking in tongues, 43:58 was an earthly announcement that Jesus had been anointed 44:02 as the High Priest in the heavenly Sanctuary. 44:06 Now notice Hebrews 8:1-2. 44:09 Hebrews 8:1-2 44:12 Here, the apostle Paul clearly says that when Jesus 44:15 went to heaven, He was installed as our High Priest. 44:17 This is what he says. 44:35 What do we have in the heavenly Sanctuary? 44:37 We have a High Priest. 44:38 Would He have had to have been clothed in order to serve 44:41 as the High Priest? 44:43 Absolutely. 44:44 Would it have been necessary to anoint the Sanctuary 44:47 where He was going to serve? 44:48 Absolutely. 44:50 Would it have been necessary for Jesus to have been anointed 44:53 or receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to then pour it out 44:56 upon His apostles? 44:57 Absolutely. 44:58 Jesus fulfills the Old Testament type. 45:02 Now you say, "Pastor Bohr, you still haven't 45:04 answered the question. 45:06 Why was it necessary to elect a successor for Judas 45:10 before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 45:12 on the day of Pentecost?" 45:14 Well, we weren't ready to understand it before, 45:16 but now we're ready to understand the reason why. 45:18 It had to happen before the day of Pentecost. 45:22 There was a specific reason in Bible prophecy 45:25 why apostle number twelve had to be elected 45:28 before Jesus was clothed as a High Priest. 45:32 Go with me to another prophecy that we find in 45:35 the book of Exodus 28 and we'll read verse 21, 45:39 and then we'll read verses 29-30. 45:42 Exodus 28:21, and then we'll jump down to verses 29-30. 45:47 Actually, I want to encourage you to read verse 21 45:50 all the way down to verse 30. 45:51 But because of the time we can't read the whole passage. 45:55 It says in verse 21... 45:57 It's talking about the breastplate of the high priest. 46:00 Remember, he had a breastplate? 46:02 It was a perfect square on his chest over his heart. 46:06 It says, "And the stones shall have..." 46:24 So the twelve names are really symbolic of what? 46:28 Of the twelve tribes. Of all the people. 46:29 In these twelve representatives was included all of Israel, 46:33 in other words. 46:35 Now let's go down to verse 29. 47:12 Let me ask you, who deserves to fall under the judgment of God? 47:17 We do. 47:18 We deserve to fall under the judgment of God. 47:20 We deserve to be punished for sin. 47:23 Because we are the transgressors. 47:26 But the fact that Jesus wears the breastplate of judgment 47:30 over His heart, notice it says here that He bears 47:34 the judgment of the children of Israel over His heart. 47:38 He bears our judgment. 47:40 Which means that when I sin, and I come to Jesus 47:43 as the High Priest and I say to Jesus, 47:45 "Lord, I've sinned. I deserve to die. 47:49 Because the wages of sin is death. 47:51 But I believe that You lived the perfect life 47:53 and I believe that You died in my place. 47:56 Lord Jesus, would You please accept me? 47:58 I'm repentant, I'm confessing my sin. 48:00 I trust in Your merits. 48:02 Would You please take Your life and Your death 48:04 and place them to my account?" 48:05 Jesus will place them to my account 48:07 and He will look at me as if I had never sinned, 48:10 because He bears my judgment upon His heart. 48:15 Notice Isaiah 53:4-5. 48:17 That same expression, "bear," is used there 48:21 with regards to the Messiah. 48:23 Notice Isaiah 53:4-5. 48:28 It's speaking about the Messiah and it says... 48:33 What has He done? He's borne what? 48:35 He's borne. 48:37 That's the same word, the same Hebrew word. 48:45 Did He bear our judgment upon Himself? 48:47 Notice verse 5. 49:10 He bears the judgment of His people upon His heart. 49:16 Isn't that great news? 49:18 That's wonderful news. 49:20 It's music to my ears. 49:22 Now you say, "What about the number twelve? 49:25 We still haven't answered why they had to elect a successor 49:28 before the day of Pentecost." 49:29 Let me explain why. 49:31 We've already noticed that when Jesus went to heaven, 49:36 the Father clothed Him as the High Priest. 49:38 Is that point clear? 49:40 The Father clothed Him as the High Priest. 49:42 So must Jesus have a breastplate over His heart? 49:45 Does Jesus have a breastplate over His heart? 49:47 How name stones does the breastplate have? 49:49 Twelve. 49:51 With regards to the New Testament, what do those 49:53 twelve stones represent? 49:55 They represent the twelve apostles. 49:57 And who do the twelve apostles represent? 50:01 All of God's people. 50:03 Just like the twelve founders, all of God's people are 50:06 represented in the twelve. 50:08 In the twelve apostles, all of God's people are represented 50:11 in the names of the twelve apostles 50:12 on the breastplate of Christ; on the twelve stones. 50:16 But now here's the problem. 50:18 How could Jesus put on the breastplate with twelve stones 50:23 representing the twelve apostles if on earth there were 50:27 only eleven apostles? 50:30 Are you following me or not? 50:32 There were only eleven. 50:34 So how could Jesus wear the breastplate of judgment 50:37 with twelve stones representing the twelve apostles 50:40 if on earth there were only eleven? 50:43 It was necessary to elect apostle number twelve 50:46 so that Jesus could use the breastplate 50:49 with the twelve stones over His heart. 50:51 There is a reason for everything in Scripture. 50:54 You see, they didn't jump the gun and say, 50:56 "Oh, let's just elect a successor," 50:58 and they did it, you know, rushing and they made a mistake. 51:01 No, no, no, no. 51:02 They did it exactly when they had to do it. 51:05 Because they knew that Jesus was going to be clothed 51:07 as the High Priest, He was going to wear the 51:09 breastplate with twelve stones. 51:11 So they said, "If there's going to be twelve stones on 51:14 His breastplate, there has to be twelve apostles 51:16 on the earth." 51:19 Now do you know what Christ's yearning desire is, folks? 51:22 The yearning desire of Jesus is to have His people with Him. 51:27 That's why He has the breastplate over His heart. 51:32 Because He wants His people with Him. 51:35 You know, that's the passion of Christ. 51:37 We already read in John 14:1-3, when Jesus was in the upper room 51:41 He says to His disciples, you know, that, 51:43 "Where I am, there you may be also." 51:46 "I want you with Me," Jesus said in the upper room. 51:49 That's before He went to the garden of Gethsemane. 51:52 And then in the garden of Gethsemane 51:53 Jesus is praying to His Father. 51:55 I want you to notice John 17:24-25, 51:58 the climax of His prayer in the garden for His disciples 52:02 and for everyone who believes in His name. 52:04 He says... 52:17 "Father, I want My own to be with Me where I am." 52:22 That was His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. 52:26 He had already stated it to His disciples in the upper room. 52:29 And do you know, when Jesus arrived in heaven... 52:31 We've studied this before. 52:33 The war Hero, the victorious war Hero. 52:35 Remember, we studied in lecture number one, 52:37 The Return of the War Hero? 52:39 When He finally appeared before His Father 52:41 in the heavenly Sanctuary. 52:43 And He told the angels, "Don't sing 52:46 until I've talked to My Father." 52:48 I want to read the description in, Desire of Ages, 834. 52:51 What was the passion of Christ? 52:53 Notice... 53:03 This is at His ascension. 53:21 So when He was in the upper room He said it. 53:24 In His prayer in the garden He said it. 53:26 When He ascended to heaven He said it. 53:29 Jesus wants us to be with Him. 53:31 He bears us over His heart. 53:34 In the book, Gospel Workers, page 34, Ellen White 53:39 gives this beautiful description of the 53:41 meaning of the breastplate. 54:21 What a beautiful description of the meaning of the breastplate. 54:25 Now do you know that some day soon, very soon I believe 54:29 by what we see happening in the world, 54:31 Jesus is going to return to take all of His people 54:34 to the New Jerusalem. 54:36 And do you know that in the New Jerusalem 54:37 will be represented the two twelves. 54:40 All of His people will be together in the same city. 54:43 I want you to notice, as we close, how the number twelve 54:47 is encased in the New Jerusalem. 54:50 There's no such thing as God having an earthly city 54:53 for the literal Jews and a heavenly city for the church. 54:56 That just doesn't pan out. 54:57 Scripture doesn't uphold that view. 55:00 There's going to be one city with the redeemed from all ages 55:03 in that city with the Lord. 55:04 Notice Revelation 21:12. 55:09 It's speaking here about the gates of the holy city. 55:14 And it says, "And she," that is the city, "had a great..." 55:29 Are God's Old Testament people represented in the city? 55:32 Absolutely. 55:34 What about the New Testament church? 55:36 Notice Revelation 21:14. 55:50 One city with all of God's people from the Old 55:54 and from the New Testament. 55:56 Isn't that marvelous, the day that all of God's people 55:59 will meet together? 56:00 I end by reading, Acts of the Apostles, page 601. 56:04 What is it that upheld Jesus while He hung on the cross? 56:07 Why was Jesus willing to go through with it, 56:10 even at the risk of being eternally 56:12 separated from His Father? 56:13 Here's the answer. 56:43 In other words, as Jesus hung on the cross, 56:46 He could hear the voices of the triumphant people, 56:49 His followers, in the future who would have been redeemed 56:54 by His blood. 56:55 I pray to God that when that great day arrives, 56:59 that all of us will be present there. 57:02 That none of us will be missing in that great day. 57:05 When all of God's people from all ages 57:07 will meet together in the New Jerusalem. |
Revised 2016-06-30