Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: TGCC
Program Code: TGCC000001A
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00:15 Well it's so nice to see all of you here today.
00:17 Today we're going to begin a new series. 00:20 The series is titled, The Great Cosmic Controversy, 00:26 and the subtitle, How God Clears His Name From All False Charges. 00:31 And basically, this is a nine part series. 00:35 And we're going to be producing this series 00:37 during the next couple of weeks. 00:38 And I hope it will be a blessing. 00:40 Before we begin, I think it would be a great idea 00:44 for us to have a word of prayer. 00:46 Never should we open the Word of God without asking 00:49 for divine guidance. 00:50 So I invite you to bow your heads reverently 00:52 with me as we pray. 00:54 Father in heaven, we come before Your awesome throne 00:57 to thank You, because we know that You are a good God. 01:00 You're a God of love, a God of mercy, and a God of justice. 01:04 We know that many of the charges that have been launched 01:07 against You are untrue. 01:08 In fact, all of the accusations are untrue. 01:12 And so we want to study about Your character 01:15 and how You resolve the problem of evil. 01:17 And we just ask for Your guidance, not only in this 01:20 first session, but in every one of the sessions 01:22 that we will meet together. 01:24 And we thank You beforehand for hearing our prayer, 01:27 for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus. 01:30 Amen. 01:33 In this series, we are going to study the worldview 01:38 of the Bible and of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:43 This worldview of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 01:47 which is also the worldview of the Bible, 01:50 is composed of two specific parts. 01:54 Number one, the great cosmic and universal controversy 02:00 between good and evil; that is the problem. 02:04 And the second part of our study will be how the Sanctuary 02:09 service illustrates the method that God uses 02:13 to solve the universal cosmic problem of evil. 02:18 So basically, the problem is the cosmic and universal conflict. 02:23 And the solution is revealed in the Sanctuary that God 02:28 commanded Moses to build, and then later on Solomon. 02:33 Now there are several biblical doctrines that the 02:36 Seventh-day Adventist Church shares in common 02:39 with other churches. 02:41 For example, we believe in baptism by immersion. 02:45 That is no unique. 02:46 We believe in the vicarious substitutionary sacrifice 02:51 of Jesus Christ on the cross. 02:53 We believe that Jesus lived a perfect life; 02:56 a life without sin. 02:57 We believe that Jesus resurrected from the dead, 03:01 that He ascended to heaven, and that He is interceding 03:04 for those who come to God through Him. 03:07 Even some of the distinctive doctrines of 03:09 the Seventh-day Adventist Church are also held in common 03:13 by other churches. 03:14 For example, the idea that the dead are dead 03:18 until the resurrection. 03:19 There is one church, the Jehovah's Witnesses, 03:22 who believe in the same way as Seventh-day Adventists 03:25 on this particular doctrine. 03:27 And then we have the doctrine of the Sabbath. 03:30 Once again, it's a distinctive doctrine of the 03:32 Seventh-day Adventist Church, but it is not unique to the 03:35 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 03:37 Because there are Pentecostal churches that observe 03:40 the Sabbath, there are the Seventh-day Baptist, 03:43 of course the Jews observe the Sabbath as well. 03:46 So even though the Sabbath is a distinctive doctrine of the 03:49 Seventh-day Adventist Church, it is not unique only to 03:53 Seventh-day Adventists. 03:54 And then we have the doctrine of healthful living. 03:57 You know, the Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches 03:59 that we're not suppose to smoke, we're not suppose to drink, 04:02 we're not suppose to be doing drugs. 04:05 And that's not unique to the 04:06 Seventh-day Adventist Church either. 04:08 The Mormons, for example, have very high health principles. 04:13 And so even the distinctive doctrines of the 04:16 Seventh-day Adventist Church are not unique to the 04:19 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 04:21 But there is one theological concept 04:25 that is exclusively and uniquely Seventh-day Adventist. 04:29 And that is the doctrine of the Sanctuary. 04:33 Particularly the work of Jesus in the Most Holy Place 04:38 of the heavenly Sanctuary. 04:40 The Sanctuary is not merely one of the doctrines of 04:44 the Seventh-day Adventist Church or of the Bible. 04:47 It is the worldview of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 04:52 It is the concept that glues together all of the doctrines 04:56 in a beautiful system of truth. 05:00 Each of the doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 05:03 are merely parts of a whole. 05:06 In other words, the Sanctuary brings together 05:10 all of the doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 05:13 in a beautiful Mosaic. 05:16 So the Sanctuary is not one doctrine among many. 05:19 The Sanctuary is the worldview that brings together 05:24 in a unified whole all of the doctrines of the 05:27 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 05:29 Ellen White clearly stated the importance of 05:34 the Sanctuary doctrine. 05:36 In Letter 208, in the year 1906, Ellen White expressed the very 05:45 great importance of the doctrine of the Sanctuary, 05:47 or the concept of the Sanctuary. 05:50 And I read... 06:00 Notice that. Once again... 06:10 And referring to the importance of our belief that 1844 06:14 marks the beginning of the heavenly judgment, 06:17 and speaking specifically about Daniel 8:14, 06:22 in the book, Great Controversy, page 409, 06:25 Ellen White makes this statement... 06:48 So notice Ellen White refers to the Sanctuary doctrine 06:51 as the foundation and the central pillar 06:55 of the advent movement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 06:59 In other words, the Sanctuary is not merely one of the 07:02 building blocks of Seventh-day Adventist theology. 07:05 The Sanctuary is the foundation of the entire building. 07:11 In this series, we are going to follow Jesus 07:15 in the Sanctuary to the camp. 07:18 Then we're going to follow Him to the altar of sacrifice. 07:21 Then we will follow Him to the laver. 07:24 Next we will go with Jesus to the Holy Place, 07:27 then to the Most Holy Place. 07:30 And then at the end of our series, we will go back 07:33 to the court where you have the famous scapegoat ceremony. 07:38 We will notice that each one of those places that 07:40 Jesus moves to is one part of the solution 07:46 to the great cosmic and universal problem of evil. 07:50 We're going to understand each function of Jesus 07:52 and how each of those functions helps solve 07:56 the problem of evil and clear the name of God 08:00 that has been smeared by Satan in the course 08:04 of the last six thousand years. 08:06 Now virtually all Christian churches, if you should ask them 08:11 why Jesus came to this world, they would most likely tell you 08:15 that Jesus came to this world to save human beings. 08:20 And I would say that is one of the reasons why Jesus 08:24 came to this world. 08:26 But there is a much broader and deeper reason why Jesus 08:30 came to this world. 08:32 I would like to read a statement that we find in that classic 08:35 book, Patriarchs and Prophets. 08:38 It's one of my favorite books written by Ellen White. 08:41 It provides the history of, actually not only the world, 08:45 it begins with the origin of evil in heaven. 08:48 And then it traces the history of the Old Testament 08:51 up to the time of the Hebrew kings. 08:54 And in this statement, Ellen White explains 08:57 the tremendous importance of understanding 09:00 why Jesus came to this world in its broadest 09:04 and deepest sense. 09:06 I'm reading now from, Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 68-69. 09:21 Did you catch that? 09:23 Once again... 09:32 Not only to save man. 09:53 That is the broadest and deepest reason 09:56 for the plan of salvation. 09:58 Once again... 10:02 Because His character has been smeared by an enemy. 10:06 She continues writing... 10:33 Now some versions say, "I will draw all men unto Me." 10:36 The word, "men," is not in the original. 10:38 What Jesus is saying, "I will draw all unto Me." 10:42 Heaven and earth, the whole universe, 10:44 would be drawn to Jesus through the plan of salvation. 10:48 And then she ends this statement by saying... 11:18 So the deepest and broadest purpose of the plan of salvation 11:22 is not to save man, but in the process of saving man, 11:27 to vindicate or exonerate the character of God 11:31 before the universe. 11:33 To clear up all of those smears that the enemy has launched 11:37 against God. 11:39 So we are dealing with a much broader problem 11:43 than just sin in this world. 11:45 The great controversy between good and evil 11:48 is not confined to this atom of a world. 11:52 The problem is cosmic and universal. 11:55 That is to say, the entire universe is involved 11:59 in this problem of evil. 12:02 God has permitted what has been happening 12:04 during the last six thousand years because He wants, 12:09 in the process, to exonerate His character. 12:13 You see, the Bible tells us that the conflict 12:15 did not even originate here on this earth. 12:17 The Bible tells us that the conflict between good and evil 12:21 originated in heaven in the very presence of God. 12:25 The purpose of the plan of salvation is to vaccinate 12:29 the universe against the possibility of sin ever 12:33 rising again in the future. 12:37 That is, God has permitted the existence of sin. 12:40 God has allowed Satan to develop the principles 12:43 of his kingdom because God has in mind the eternal security 12:48 of the universe. 12:50 You see, God does not implement quick solutions to problems 12:55 that temporarily solve the problem. 12:58 Us humans usually want quick solutions. 13:01 For example, if we have a headache, we'll take a Tylenol. 13:04 But we don't really deal with what caused the headache, 13:07 which is the real problem. 13:08 Because we want our problem solved quickly. 13:11 God does not do that type of thing with the universal 13:14 and cosmic problem of evil. 13:17 God takes His time. 13:19 Because He is not going to leave any loose ends 13:23 when sin comes to an end. 13:25 Sin will never rise again in the universe because God has 13:29 allowed sin to develop during the last six thousand years. 13:34 When the problem is solved, it will be solved eternally 13:39 and universally. 13:40 And the Bible says that evil will not rise a second time. 13:46 So as we study this, we're going to see that 13:48 God has allowed sin to take its course, to ripen, 13:53 to mature, so that we could understand 13:56 the difference between the character of Satan 13:59 and the character of God. 14:02 Now on Mount Sinai, God showed Moses a scale model 14:08 of the heavenly Sanctuary and told Moses to build 14:12 a copy of the scale model. 14:15 Now God did not show Moses at the top of the mount 14:19 the heavenly Sanctuary. 14:20 Because the heavenly Sanctuary is huge. 14:22 It's much larger than the earthly Sanctuary, 14:24 than any Sanctuary that was built here. 14:26 What God showed Moses was a scale model of the 14:29 heavenly Sanctuary, and told Moses, "I want you to build 14:33 the Sanctuary according to the scale model, 14:35 which is a miniature copy or shadow of the true 14:39 and original Sanctuary in heaven." 14:42 In other words, the earthly Sanctuary is a reflection 14:45 of the heavenly Sanctuary. 14:47 It is a miniature of the heavenly Sanctuary. 14:50 A scale model, if you please, of the heavenly Sanctuary. 14:54 After the author of Hebrews, after the writer of Hebrews 14:58 described the services of the earthly Sanctuary, 15:02 he stated the following... 15:04 This is found in Hebrews 8:5. 15:07 He's just described the ministration in the 15:09 earthly Sanctuary, and then he says this... 15:17 In other words, what happened on earth was 15:20 a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things. 15:35 So he was shown a pattern of the heavenly Sanctuary. 15:38 So basically what this is saying is that the earthly Sanctuary 15:43 has its counterpart in the heavenly Sanctuary, 15:46 which is much larger and much greater 15:49 than the earthly Sanctuary. 15:52 Now this is an important detail in the series of studies that 15:56 we are going to have together in this place. 15:59 I'd like to invite you to go with me to Exodus 25:19-20. 16:04 Exodus 25:19-20 16:08 And we're going to take a look at the description of the 16:11 Most Holy Place of the Sanctuary. 16:15 And we're going to deal, first of all, with 16:16 the earthly Sanctuary. 16:18 Exodus 25:19-20 is describing the ark of the covenant. 16:24 I'm sure that you've all heard about the ark of the covenant. 16:27 And it tells us there, and we're going to read the text 16:30 in a few moments, that at each side of the ark of the covenant 16:37 was what is known as a cherub. 16:40 On one side there was a cherub, and on the other side 16:43 there was a cherub. 16:44 And in the middle at the very cover of the ark 16:49 was what is known as the mercy seat. 16:51 That's where the glory of God descended upon the ark. 16:54 It represented the throne of God, in other word. 16:58 Now let's read Exodus 25:19-20 where this ark of the covenant 17:05 is described with the two cherubs, one on each side. 17:09 It says here, and God is speaking to Moses... 17:28 Now this is an important detail. 17:30 "And the cherubim shall..." 17:33 And what's the next word? 17:36 "...covering..." That's an important word. 17:38 That's why they're called, covering cherubs. 17:41 It's because their wings covered the mercy seat. 17:44 So once again it says... 17:58 So you can imagine what this is like. 18:00 You have the ark of the covenant. 18:02 The cover of the ark of the covenant where the glory 18:04 of God was manifested. 18:06 At each side of the ark of the covenant is one of the cherubs, 18:10 or the two cherubim. 18:12 And between, you have a representation 18:15 of the throne of God. 18:17 You say, "How do we know that?" 18:18 Well go with me to Psalm 80:1. 18:21 Psalm 80:1 tells us where God dwells in the Sanctuary. 18:26 It says there in Psalm 80:1... 18:43 So where does God dwell? 18:45 He dwells between the cherubim. 18:47 And what was between the cherubim? 18:49 The mercy seat. 18:51 And that's where the glory of God descended 18:53 in the earthly Sanctuary. 18:55 It fell on the mercy seat between the two cherubs. 18:59 Now there's another detail that I want us to notice 19:01 about the earthly Sanctuary. 19:04 And that is that underneath the mercy seat 19:08 were the tables that contained the ten commandments. 19:10 Notice Deuteronomy 10:5. 19:14 Deuteronomy 10 verse 5 tells us very clearly 19:17 that beneath the mercy seat... 19:19 And this is why we believe that the ten commandments 19:21 are the foundation of God's throne, 19:24 they're underneath God's throne, in other words. 19:27 It's because the tables of the law were under the mercy seat. 19:31 It says there in Deuteronomy 10:5... 19:35 This is Moses speaking. 19:47 So are you catching the picture of the Most Holy Place? 19:50 Once again, you have the ark of the covenant. 19:52 In the middle, the mercy seat representing God's throne. 19:56 Because He dwelt between the cherubim. 19:58 At each side of the ark there was a cherub. 20:01 And underneath the mercy seat, the foundation of God's throne, 20:05 were the ten commandments of God's holy law. 20:09 Now another important point that we need to realize 20:11 is that inside the Sanctuary there were angels 20:15 embroidered on all of the curtains of the Sanctuary. 20:18 In other words, God's throne is surrounded, 20:21 not only by the two cherubs, but by millions 20:24 and millions of angels. 20:25 I want you to go with me to Job 38:4-7. 20:30 You see, God, before He created this world, 20:32 created millions and millions of angels. 20:35 The Bible refers to them as ten thousand times ten thousand 20:40 and thousands of thousands. 20:41 Because there was no word for million in Greek. 20:44 And so all you could do was multiply thousands. 20:46 But basically, this means that there were millions and millions 20:49 of angels that were created by God. 20:52 Now there's a very important point. 20:54 If you asked some Christians today who the angels are, 20:58 they probably will tell you that they are the spirits 21:01 of the departed that come back to help human beings. 21:05 That is a false idea that is contrary to Scripture. 21:09 Because the Bible tells us that the angels existed 21:11 before this world did. 21:13 Let's read it, Job 38:4-7. 21:17 Job 38:4-7 21:20 Here, God asked Job a series of questions. 21:25 And I want you to notice how verse 7 ends 21:27 after we read the questions. 21:29 It says there in verse 4... 21:42 God is speaking somewhat sarcastically to Job. 21:53 What event is being described in these questions? 21:56 Clearly it is what? 21:58 It is creation. 22:00 But now notice verse 7. 22:02 It says that when God created the universe... 22:12 So did these stars of heaven and the sons of God exist 22:17 when this world was created? 22:18 Absolutely. 22:20 They are not the spirits of departed human beings. 22:23 The angels are a separate class of beings that 22:26 God created long before the creation of this world. 22:31 Incidentally, the stars in the Bible represent angels. 22:35 So when it says the morning stars sang together, 22:39 it's saying that the angels sang. 22:41 You say, "Well, where does the Bible say that?" 22:43 Revelation 1:20 22:44 We don't have time to read all of these verses. 22:47 I hope that you'll write them down. 22:49 Revelation 1:20 clearly says that the seven stars 22:53 related to the churches represent seven angels. 22:57 And of course, Revelation 12:4 says that the devil 23:01 took a third of the stars of heaven with him, 23:04 which represents the angels. 23:06 So the stars of heaven represent the angels, the morning stars. 23:10 What is represented by the sons of God? 23:13 I don't have time to get into the details regarding this, 23:16 but the sons of God are the representatives of the worlds 23:19 that never sinned. 23:21 You say, "Well how do you know that?" 23:22 Well, I'll just give you one inkling. 23:24 You remember once upon a time in the book of Job it says 23:27 that God had a meeting in heaven where He called 23:30 all of the sons of God to come to that heavenly meeting. 23:33 Who came among the sons of God? 23:37 Satan came among the sons of God. 23:39 Now where did Satan come from? 23:42 He says, "I came from the earth." 23:44 So why is he in that meeting? 23:46 Who should have been in that meeting? 23:48 Adam should have been in that meeting because 23:49 he was the father and representative of the race. 23:52 But when Satan conquered Adam, he took the place that Adam had. 23:57 And so Satan goes to that meeting 23:59 representing this planet. 24:00 So let me ask you, if Satan goes there as the representative 24:05 of planet earth, who must the other sons of God be? 24:09 They must be representatives of other worlds. 24:12 And incidentally, we know that these are not common angels. 24:16 Because the Bible tells us that they came to present 24:19 themselves before the Lord. 24:21 The angels are in the presence of the Lord always. 24:23 But these come from some place to present 24:25 themselves before the Lord. 24:26 And after the first meeting they go back to where they came from. 24:30 And then there's a second meeting, and it says 24:32 again they come to present themselves before the Lord. 24:34 They're coming from different parts of the universe. 24:37 So basically, what this is telling us is that all of the 24:41 heavenly universe, the angels, and the representatives 24:44 of worlds that never sinned sang for joy when God 24:48 created this world. 24:51 Now the Bible tells us that there was one angel 24:54 that was above all of the other angels. 24:57 He was beautiful and he was wise. 25:01 Ezekiel 28:12 describes him. 25:04 He's known as Lucifer. 25:06 Ezekiel 28:12, God speaking about this being, Lucifer, 25:11 states the following... 25:20 Notice the description of this being. 25:22 All wise and just absolutely beautiful. 25:27 The Bible tells us exactly what the function of this 25:30 angel above all angels was. 25:33 Notice verse 14 of Ezekiel 28. 25:35 Verse 14 tells us what the position of this angel was, 25:40 this angel which was the leader of the angels. 25:43 In fact, some people think that he was the director 25:45 of the heavenly choirs because musical instruments 25:49 were created for him the day that he was created. 25:52 It says there in Ezekiel 28:14 what the function 25:56 of this angel was. 26:04 Now did we notice something about covering cherubs 26:06 some other place? 26:07 Now we're talking about the original. 26:09 We're not talking about the copy. 26:11 We're not talking about angels that are made out of gold, 26:14 you know, on the mercy seat covering, 26:17 and just the glory of God coming down upon the ark. 26:20 We're talking about the real Sanctuary in heaven. 26:23 And we're told here that this being was one of 26:27 the two covering cherubs. 26:29 It says, "You are the cherub who covers." 26:31 So must there be an ark of the covenant 26:33 in the heavenly Sanctuary? 26:35 Absolutely. 26:36 In fact, the Bible tells us there is. 26:38 In Revelation 11:19 it says the temple of God was 26:41 opened in heaven and the ark of His testament 26:44 was seen in His temple. 26:46 So we know that in heaven there is a temple, 26:49 and there is an ark of the covenant. 26:51 And originally there were two cherubs. 26:53 And one of those cherubs was called Lucifer. 26:58 He's called, the anointed cherub who covers. 27:01 And there, God dwelt between the cherubim. 27:04 Like we read in Psalm 80:1. 27:09 But there came a moment in which this angel 27:12 known as Lucifer was filled unexplainably with jealousy 27:19 and with envy against Jesus Christ. 27:23 Sin raised its ugly head first in heaven, 27:27 not on earth. 27:29 The problem of sin is cosmic. 27:31 It begins in heaven above in the very presence of God. 27:36 The story of the rebellion of this majestic angel 27:40 is sad and astounding. 27:43 You see, Jesus sat at the right hand of His Father 27:46 on the throne and shared all the mysteries of the kingdom, 27:50 including the Father explaining to Him and sharing with Him 27:54 the plan of creation. 27:56 In fact, the Bible tells us that everything in the universe 27:58 was created by the Father through Jesus. 28:01 Jesus had an intimate fellowship with His Father. 28:04 His Father shared the secrets of the kingdom with Him. 28:08 The Bible tells us that Lucifer was filled with jealousy 28:11 because Jesus was consulted and he wasn't. 28:15 Because Jesus had a special intimacy with the 28:17 Father and he did not. 28:18 Because the Father shared secrets with Jesus 28:21 that He did not share with Lucifer and the other angels. 28:24 Ellen White describes this in a magnificent way in, 28:28 Early Writings, page 145. 29:01 You've read that in Genesis, right? 29:03 Now we know who was speaking to whom. 29:05 The Father was speaking to the Son. 29:33 Envious and jealous of Jesus, the position that Jesus had 29:37 at the right hand of the Father. 29:40 And so Lucifer came up with a plan that he was going to 29:43 overthrow God from His throne. 29:46 We find that in Isaiah 14:12-14. 29:50 Isaiah 14:12-14 29:53 Here it says, speaking of Lucifer... 29:59 And notice what his problem is. 30:19 He had a severe "I" problem, didn't he? 30:21 It's called myopia, nearsightedness. 30:23 All he could see was himself. 30:26 So sin in its origin is selfishness. 30:31 So he said, "I'm going to be like the Most High. 30:34 I'm going to occupy the place of the Most High." 30:37 But Lucifer knew that alone he could not accomplish anything. 30:42 So he decided to implant his spirit in the minds 30:46 of the heavenly angels. 30:48 He needed to gain sympathizers or co-conspirators with him 30:52 in order to be successful. 30:54 Because he knew that with just one, just himself, 30:57 it was not going to be possible. 30:59 Now in order to gain supporters and fellow conspirators, 31:04 of course he needed to smear and tarnish 31:07 the reputation of God. 31:09 He needed to make God's government look bad. 31:14 And of course, for this he had to use deceit, 31:16 he had to use lies. 31:18 Because we know that God and His government 31:20 are holy, just, and good. 31:25 And God is love, and God is mercy, and God is justice. 31:28 Everything about God is good. 31:30 But Lucifer had to implant in the ideas of the heavenly beings 31:35 the idea that God's government was despotic, 31:38 that God could not be trusted, that God was not love, 31:41 that God wasn't just, that God keeps secrets, 31:44 that God is selfish. 31:46 He had to tarnish and smear the reputation of God. 31:51 The Bible tells us very clearly that this is exactly 31:54 what Lucifer did. 31:56 Notice John 8:44 where it's speaking about 32:00 the nature of Lucifer at the very beginning. 32:03 By the way, later he becomes the devil or Satan, 32:06 the ancient serpent. 32:08 He has many less than desirable names later on. 32:11 Notice John 8:44. 32:14 Here, Jesus is speaking to the Jews of His day. 32:33 Speaking about Satan. 32:41 So since when is Satan a liar? 32:44 From the very beginning he's a liar. 32:47 From the very time that he was in heaven. 32:49 Now go with me to Ezekiel 28:16. 32:53 Ezekiel 28:16 32:55 This is an interesting verse. 32:56 You know, for a long time I struggled with the meaning of 32:59 one particular word in this verse. 33:01 It says there... 33:03 And by the way, this is speaking about the king of Tyre. 33:06 Tyre was one of the commercial centers in the ancient world. 33:09 There was much commerce on ships at that time. 33:13 Notice Ezekiel 28:16. 33:20 This is speaking about Lucifer. 33:36 So notice, "By the abundance of your trading," it says, 33:40 "you were filled with violence within, and you sinned." 33:43 Now what does that mean, "By the abundance of your trading"? 33:46 What was Lucifer trading in heaven? 33:51 Well, the word, "trading," is a commercial term, isn't it? 33:55 We use it for the world of commerce. 33:58 Now what was Satan trying to trade in heaven? 34:04 Well even today we use figuratively commercial terms 34:08 when we speak about an individual who tries to 34:11 convince us that something is the truth and we don't really 34:14 believe it's the truth. 34:16 Have you ever heard the expression, "I'm not buying it"? 34:20 Somebody tells you something and you have a hard time 34:23 believing it, you say, "I'm not buying it." 34:25 In fact, I looked the figurative meaning 34:28 of the word, "trading," or, "buying," 34:31 and this is one of the definitions: 34:33 "Trying to get someone to believe your story." 34:37 So what was Lucifer doing in heaven? 34:38 He was trading lies. 34:40 In other words, he was trying to sell lies to the heavenly angels 34:44 about God and his character. 34:46 Incidentally, the root word that is used here, "trading," 34:51 is used in two other text which I want us to notice now. 34:54 Ezekiel 22:9 34:56 The very same root word, but it's not translated the same. 34:59 Notice Ezekiel 22:9. 35:02 It says, speaking about Israel, it says... 35:12 That word, "slander," is the same root word. 35:15 What is slander? 35:17 Does slander have to do with lying? 35:19 You better believe it. 35:20 So it says... 35:29 And then Leviticus 19:16 uses the same root word, "trading." 35:35 And it doesn't translate it, "slander." 35:37 It uses another word. 35:39 God is speaking to Israel about not being talebearers. 35:43 It says there... 35:48 The same root word. 35:50 So what does trading mean? 35:52 It means, to slander, and it means to be a what? 35:56 It means, to be a talebearer. 35:59 That's exactly what Lucifer was doing in heaven. 36:02 He was slandering God, he was libeling God, 36:06 he was trying to smear the good character of God. 36:10 And the Bible tells us that a third of the angels 36:12 bought the lie. 36:14 Now, one of the great attacks of Lucifer against God 36:18 was against His holy law. 36:21 Many Christians believe that the law had its 36:23 beginning at Mount Sinai. 36:25 That's not true. 36:27 Notice Ezekiel 28:16 once again. 36:39 Notice, Lucifer what? 36:41 Sinned. 36:51 So it says that Lucifer sinned where? 36:54 In heaven he sinned. 36:56 Now, of course, we need to ask the question, 36:58 if he sinned, what is sin? 37:00 Well the Bible tells us what sin is. 37:02 1 John 3, we will read verse 4 and then we will read verse 8. 37:09 1 John 3:4, 8 37:20 I like the King James translation; "Sin is..." What? 37:23 "...the transgression of the law." 37:25 So was there a law to transgress in heaven? 37:28 Of course, because Lucifer what? Sinned. 37:31 And sin is the transgression of the law. 37:34 So the law did not begin at Mount Sinai. 37:37 Incidentally, you remember that in the earthly Sanctuary 37:41 inside the ark were the tables of the law? 37:44 Now the earthly Sanctuary was a copy of the heavenly. 37:46 Do you suppose that the heavenly also has 37:49 the tables of the ten commandments if the earthly 37:51 is a reflection of the heavenly? 37:53 Of course. 37:54 Notice Revelation 11:19. 37:57 I've mentioned this verse before. 38:04 Do you know why it's called, the ark of His covenant? 38:07 Because the covenant is the ten commandments. 38:09 So in other words, in heaven there's an ark. 38:11 And the ark contains the ten commandments. 38:13 The earth had an ark and the ten commandments were in it as well. 38:18 So this covering cherub on one side of the throne of God 38:23 had a issue with God's commandments. 38:27 Now what were Satan's arguments against God? 38:32 I want you to remember his arguments because 38:34 in a moment we're going to come back to those arguments 38:36 in Genesis 3. 38:37 Do you know the devil used the same method on earth 38:39 to deceive Adam and Eve as he used in heaven? 38:41 The very same methods. 38:43 And we're going to notice that. 38:44 So remember the arguments that I'm going to go through now 38:47 that Lucifer used against God in heaven, because 38:50 we're going to encounter those again when 38:52 Satan comes to tempt Adam and Eve. 38:55 First, "God is a respecter of persons," is what Lucifer said. 39:01 "He plays favorites. 39:04 He consulted His Son, but He does not consult 39:07 all of us, the angels. 39:09 We do not have the same privileges as Jesus does. 39:13 Jesus receives special treatment." 39:16 In other words, God actually is a respecter of persons. 39:22 Another argument which Lucifer used is that God keeps secrets 39:27 that only His Son can know. 39:30 And He doesn't want anybody else to know those secrets. 39:33 So God keeps secrets. 39:36 Another thing that he argued against God is that 39:38 the law of God takes away freedom. 39:40 It restricts our liberty. 39:42 I want to read you a couple of statements. 39:44 One from, Patriarchs and Prophets, 39:46 and the other from, Great Controversy, page 499. 39:50 The one in, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 37, says... 39:53 "He..." That is Lucifer. 40:10 Now listen carefully. 40:14 They didn't need God to tell them what to do. 40:16 Their own wisdom would tell them what to do. 40:19 She continues writing... 40:58 Are you catching the picture? 41:00 An attack against God's law saying it's restrictive 41:04 and wanting to get rid of it. 41:07 Great Controversy, page 499, is the other statement. 41:10 "He..." That is Lucifer. 41:18 Remember that. They should be left to what? 41:21 To follow their own will. 41:24 In other words, "God doesn't have to tell us what's right. 41:27 You know, from inside we'll know what's right and what's wrong." 41:32 She continues writing... 41:45 Are we hearing sermons from the pulpits today where 41:47 they're saying that the law was abolished 41:49 or nailed to the cross? 41:51 Absolutely. Where does that start? 41:53 It starts in heaven. 42:09 Those are almost identical to the words that Ellen White 42:13 describes when she talks about Eve. 42:14 She felt when she ate from the tree that she was entering 42:18 a more exalted sphere of existence. 42:21 But then, of course, she landed. 42:27 Another argument of Lucifer against God is that 42:29 God is selfish. 42:31 He wants everybody to do what He says. 42:34 He wants everybody to be a slave. 42:37 He doesn't want to serve anyone. 42:38 He doesn't lift one finger to serve anyone. 42:41 He wants everybody to serve Him. 42:43 And then finally an argument that Lucifer used is that 42:46 God is absolute justice. 42:48 If you don't obey God's law, His justice will require 42:53 your destruction. 42:55 There's no room for mercy and grace. 42:57 "If you disobey, death is absolutely certain," 43:01 is what Lucifer said to the angels. 43:02 No room for mercy and for grace. 43:05 Now the question is, why didn't God destroy Lucifer right away? 43:09 Why did He allow sin and evil to continue? 43:14 Folks, it was necessary for God to give time for Lucifer 43:19 to develop his plan of government 43:22 so that everybody could see where his arguments 43:26 would ultimately lead. 43:28 Only in this way could Satan's arguments be fully 43:33 and finally answered by God. 43:35 Satan's plan must be allowed to grow to maturity 43:40 so that the universe could see what was the final fruit 43:44 of his ideas. 43:46 You see, if God had destroyed Lucifer right away, 43:49 doubts would have remained in the minds 43:51 of the heavenly beings. 43:53 They would have said, "Lucifer said that whoever 43:55 does not obey God is wiped out. 43:58 Look, He wiped him out." 44:00 There would have been doubts. 44:02 Secondly, the heavenly beings would have served God 44:05 out of fear and not out of love. 44:08 God cannot accept a service of fear. 44:11 And finally, there always would have been the possibility 44:14 of another rebellion to overthrow this individual 44:18 that they might come to conceive of as a despite. 44:22 So finally, Lucifer won a third of the angels. 44:25 And he decided that he would carry out a military coup 44:29 against the government of God. 44:31 That is described in Revelation 12:7-9. 44:35 Revelation 12:7-9 says... 45:03 And so now Satan is cast out of heaven with a third 45:07 of the angels of heaven, the sympathizers 45:10 or the co-conspirators with Satan. 45:15 And so the Bible tells us that Lucifer ended up 45:18 coming finally to planet earth. 45:22 Now God decided to create Adam and Eve 45:25 in spite of the fact that Lucifer had sinned 45:28 and rebelled in heaven. 45:30 And as we know, God told Adam and Eve, 45:33 "You can eat of every tree of the garden, 45:35 but there's one particular tree that you cannot eat of. 45:39 Because is you eat of that tree, you will surely die." 45:44 But Eve, one day, goes astray from her husband. 45:47 Of course, he should have been looking out for her. 45:49 She ends up under the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 45:53 Very dangerous ground. 45:55 And suddenly, the serpent speaks to her. 45:57 And I want you to notice how the same type of argument 46:01 that Lucifer used in heaven he uses on Eve. 46:05 Let's go to Genesis 3:1. 46:07 And we'll go through this very quickly. 46:09 Genesis 3:1-6 46:21 Would it be a miracle for a serpent to talk? 46:24 See, the devil performs a counterfeit miracle, doesn't he? 46:27 Because he gives the serpent the capacity to talk. 46:30 And Ellen White says that Eve knew that the serpent 46:33 had not been given the ability to talk. 46:36 And so now she says, "God told us that serpents 46:39 could not talk, and now he's talking. 46:40 So why did God lie to us?" 46:42 See, the devil is starting to plant doubts 46:44 about the character of God. 46:46 Now notice, "So he says to the woman..." 46:48 This is a talking snake; a miracle. 46:58 Is that what God has said? 46:59 That they couldn't eat of every tree of the Garden? 47:02 No. What is the devil doing? 47:03 Is he misquoting God's word? 47:05 He's misquoting God's word. Right? 47:08 Now what is the purpose of misquoting God's word? 47:11 Listen, there's no better way of starting a conversation 47:14 than to say something that's wrong. 47:16 It'll get a reaction from somebody, won't it? 47:18 For example, if I said to you, "Do you see this coat 47:21 that I have on tonight? 47:22 It's red." 47:25 You'd have to be color blind. 47:27 Immediately your reaction is, "No it isn't. 47:29 What, are you color blind or something? 47:31 That coat isn't red. It's black." 47:34 So the purpose of making this false statement 47:37 and attributing it to God is to get Eve to respond. 47:41 The devil wants to start a conversation with her 47:44 because he knows that once the conversation starts, 47:47 he'll be able to overwhelm her. 47:50 So it says, once again... 47:56 Oh, now she's going to correct him. 48:11 And now she's going to add to God's word. 48:16 So the devil is misquoting God's word, 48:19 and she, to defend the honor of God, is actually 48:22 adding to God's word. 48:25 And now notice verse 4. 48:28 He has her exactly where he wants her. 48:37 You know what the devil is doing here? 48:38 He's planting what is known as cognitive dissonance 48:42 in psychological terms. 48:44 It's another way of saying that he's planting confusion 48:47 in the mind of Eve. 48:48 He's planting a thought in the mind of Eve. 48:52 What is the thought that he's planting in the mind of Eve? 48:55 Well, she says, "God said that if we eat of the tree, 48:59 we're going to die. 49:00 Now the serpent is telling me that we're not going to die 49:04 if we eat from the tree. 49:05 So the big question is, if we're not going to die, 49:08 why did God say that we were." 49:11 Are you following me or not? 49:12 That's the question that he planted in Eve's mind. 49:15 "Why did God say that we were going to die 49:18 if we eat from the tree if we're not going to really die?" 49:21 Do you suppose the devil had the answer to his own question? 49:23 You better believe he did. 49:25 See, he's playing psychological games here. 49:28 And so it says in verse 4... 49:34 In other words, "God knows something He 49:36 doesn't want you to know." 49:37 God keeps what? 49:39 "God keeps secrets that only He wants to know. 49:43 And you really have a right to know as well." 49:46 Did he use that method in heaven? 49:47 He most certainly did. 49:49 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it 49:53 your eyes will be opened..." 49:55 Is this talking about the physical eyes? 49:57 No, because Eve had... 49:59 Well, I was going to say 20/20 vision. 50:02 It's probably better than that. 50:03 But she was seeing with her physical eyes. 50:06 What the serpent is saying to her is, 50:08 "God wants blind service. 50:11 He wants you to simply serve Him because He says so. 50:14 But if you eat from the tree, 50:15 your eyes are going to be opened." 50:17 In other words, you're going to be wise. 50:21 So he says, "...your eyes will be opened..." 50:24 And now notice this, "...and you will be like..." What? 50:29 Had Lucifer said that in heaven, "I will be like the Most High"? 50:32 Yes, he says, "...you will be like..." What? 50:35 "...like God..." Now listen carefully. 50:37 Satan is not telling her, "You'll be little gods." 50:42 You know, the King James Version says, "You shall be like gods." 50:46 No, no. 50:48 What the devil is telling her is, "You are going to be 50:50 on the same level as God." 50:52 "You shall be like God," is what he's saying. 50:56 Now what is the devil really insinuating here? 51:00 What the devil is saying is, "Listen, God told you 51:03 not to eat from the tree because He knew that if 51:07 if you eat from the tree, you're going to be on 51:08 the same level with Him. 51:10 And God doesn't want any competition, 51:12 He doesn't want any rivals. 51:14 He knows that if you eat from the tree, 51:16 you're going to be on the same level. 51:18 And He doesn't want anybody to be on the same level with Him. 51:21 God is selfish. 51:23 God wants blind service. 51:26 God keeps secrets." 51:28 Are you seeing the picture? 51:31 "God lied to you. 51:32 God's a liar because He said you're going to die. 51:35 You're not going to die. 51:36 God is self-serving. 51:38 God wants slaves." 51:39 He's smearing the character of God. 51:42 And Eve is buying into it. 51:44 Now notice the final point in this, verse 5. 51:54 "...and you will be like God," in a particular way. 51:59 In what way? 52:00 "...knowing good and evil..." 52:04 Now let's stop there for a moment. 52:07 Who is it that defines what is good and what is evil? 52:11 Does our heart define what is good and what's evil? 52:14 No. What does? 52:15 God's law. 52:18 So the individual who defines what is good 52:22 and what is evil is God, outside of us. 52:25 It is not our heart, it is not our mind, 52:28 it is not our feelings that define. 52:29 "Oh, I think this is good and I think this is evil." 52:32 No. 52:33 God, because He's the Creator, is the one who defines 52:37 the distinction between good and evil. 52:40 But what is Lucifer, what is the devil telling Eve? 52:43 He's saying, "You will be like God, 52:47 knowing what is good and knowing what is evil 52:50 without God having to tell you what is good and what is evil. 52:54 You will be able to define good and evil for yourself." 52:59 Is that what he argued in heaven? 53:01 Do you notice the two statements from, Patriarchs and Prophets, 53:04 and, Great Controversy? 53:06 Interesting that the devil would use the same methods 53:10 with Eve that he used in heaven. 53:12 Why would he use the same methods? 53:14 He said, "Hey, it worked in heaven. 53:16 So if it worked in heaven, why not try it on earth." 53:19 And he did try it on earth, and he was successful 53:24 in his endeavor. 53:27 Now our time is running out and I have quite a bit of 53:29 material here, so let's go through this 53:31 as quickly as possible. 53:33 All heaven is engaged in observing what is happening 53:39 in the great controversy on a universal level 53:42 as well as on this small earth. 53:46 I want to read, and then in our next lecture I'm 53:49 going to pick up on this. 53:51 I'm going to finish this lecture, and then we're 53:52 going to go also to lecture number two. 53:55 But I want to introduce our next lecture with 1 Corinthians 4:9. 54:00 1 Corinthians 4:9 54:03 This is a significant verse. 54:04 And then we might have time also for 1 Peter 1:12. 54:08 But notice 1 Corinthians 4:9. 54:10 And I'm reading from the New International Version. 54:13 Don't get all bent out of shape over that. 54:16 I believe the King James is a great Bible version. 54:21 And I use King James or New King James most of the time. 54:24 But sometimes, once in a while, there's another version 54:27 that catches the nuance better. 54:29 Notice 1 Corinthians 4:9. 54:31 Here, the apostle Paul says... 54:39 So the apostles, according to Paul, are on what? 54:42 On display. 54:43 The Greek word is, "apodeiknumi." 54:48 It means, to demonstrate, to expose to view, 54:51 or to exhibit. 54:53 In other words, he's saying, 54:54 "Us apostles, we are on exhibit." 55:03 In other words, the apostles are going to die in the arena. 55:06 And they are on what? 55:08 On display. 55:09 Everybody is looking. 55:11 Remember the Colosseum, the Roman Colosseum? 55:12 They were on display and everybody was what? Looking. 55:15 Only this is not talking only about the Colosseum. 55:18 This is talking about the whole universe 55:20 watching what's going on. 55:22 Let's finish reading the text. 55:40 Do you know what that word, "spectacle," is in Greek? 55:43 It's the Greek word, "theatron." 55:46 What word do we get in English from, "theatron"? 55:50 Theater. 55:51 In other words, what is happening in this world 55:54 is like a movie that the universe is watching 56:00 to see who's right and who's wrong, 56:03 whose character is good and whose character is evil. 56:07 So it continues saying here, "We have been made a spectacle," 56:11 and that is the theater, "to the whole universe..." 56:14 And then it explains what the universe is. 56:18 It says, "...to angels as well as to men." 56:24 So is this world on display? 56:28 It's on display to angels, to heavenly beings, 56:31 as well as to men. 56:33 Let's notice one more verse, 1 Peter 1:12. 56:36 We'll pick up on a few of them in our next lecture tomorrow. 56:39 This is speaking about the Old Testament Scriptures 56:42 that were given to the prophets. 56:44 It says, "To them..." That is, to the prophets. 57:01 So in other words, what they wrote 57:03 they didn't write for themselves. 57:05 They wrote it for whom? 57:06 For us, in the times of fulfillment. 57:09 And now notice the last part of the verse. 57:11 The last part of the verse says... 57:19 So the plan of salvation in this world is something 57:23 that the angels desire to look into. 57:26 We are the theater of the universe, 57:28 both to angels and to men. 57:30 Angels and the beings of other worlds are watching 57:33 what's happening in this world to see how God will 57:36 clear His name from the accusations that have been 57:39 launched against Him by this enemy of all enemies. 57:44 In other words, the purpose of the plan of salvation 57:46 is not merely to save man. 57:48 It's in the process of saving man God clears Him name 57:54 from all of the accusations that are launched 57:56 against Him by the enemy. 57:58 And when the conflict is over, God's name will be 58:01 totally cleared of any accusations. |
Revised 2016-10-19