Participants:
Series Code: ARSS
Program Code: ARSS190005S
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00:15 Well hello, everybody. Welcome to another day.
00:19 I hope you had a good night's rest 00:22 and are ready for a long day of study. 00:24 But I'm sure a very productive study. 00:27 I hope you did your homework 00:29 and you read as many pages as possible 00:32 that we recommended yesterday. 00:34 It's going to be helpful in our study today. 00:38 We want to begin with a word of prayer, 00:39 and then we're going to dedicate all four sessions today 00:42 to the 24 elders. 00:45 And we will not be able to finish the 24 elders 00:48 probably today, so we'll overlap into tomorrow. 00:52 So let's begin with a word of prayer, 00:54 and we'll get right into our study. 00:56 Father in heaven, we thank You for raising us up 00:59 this day and giving us life. 01:02 What a joy it is to be alive. 01:04 Thank You for the fresh air that we breathe, 01:06 and for the good food that we eat, 01:08 and for the fresh water that we drink. 01:11 Thank You, Lord, for all of the things that we just kind of 01:14 take for granted. 01:16 We thank You especially for Your Holy Word, 01:19 which is a sure guide in a world that is so confused. 01:22 We ask that as we study today, that Your Holy Spirit will be 01:26 with us to instruct us, give us clear minds 01:29 and willing hearts. 01:30 We pray in the precious name of Jesus, amen. 01:35 We are going to begin on page 43 of the syllabus. 01:39 The question is, who are the 24 elders? 01:43 And we're going to follow the syllabus quite closely 01:47 because everything that we need to study is found there. 01:53 Now, first of all, we need to understand that the traditional 01:56 view of the 24 elders is that this group are those 02:01 who resurrected with Jesus and went to heaven with Jesus 02:06 when He ascended to heaven after His earthly work. 02:09 That is the traditional view. 02:11 That's what you'll find in most Seventh-day Adventist 02:14 books on Revelation, the Seventh-day Adventist 02:18 Bible Commentary, et cetera. 02:20 We need to study to find out if that idea is correct; 02:26 whether the 24 elders are actually those who 02:28 resurrected with Christ, and Jesus took to heaven 02:31 40 days after His resurrection. 02:34 So let's go to Job 38:4-7 as we begin our study. 02:40 This is on page 43 of your syllabus. 02:43 Job 38:4-7, here God is going to ask Job a series of questions. 02:51 And the questions are relating to creation. 02:54 It says there, God speaking to Job, 02:58 "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? 03:02 Tell Me, if you have understanding. 03:05 Who determined its measurements? 03:07 Surely, you know." 03:09 Speaking somewhat sarcastically. 03:12 "Or who stretched the line upon it? 03:14 To what were its foundations fastened? 03:17 Or who laid its cornerstone..." 03:20 Clearly referring to creation, correct? 03:23 And now notice the question. 03:26 "Or who laid its cornerstone, 03:28 when the morning stars sang together, 03:33 and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" 03:38 So at creation, we're told here that the morning stars 03:42 sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy. 03:47 Now what are the conclusions that we can reach 03:49 from these verses? 03:51 First of all, Job 38:1-7 is describing events that 03:56 transpired during creation week. 04:00 Secondly, the morning stars, the sons of God were present 04:04 as witnesses of creation. 04:07 Very clearly these verses indicate that. 04:10 Now the third bullet point, there are two possibilities. 04:14 And that is that the sons of God and the morning stars 04:19 represent the same group. 04:21 In other words, the expression, "morning stars" 04:25 and "sons of God" is simply a synonymous parallelism. 04:29 There's also the possibility that the stars are the angels 04:33 and the sons of God are the angels that 04:35 represent the worlds. 04:36 I personally believe that the morning stars and the 04:39 sons of God is a parallelism and refers to the same group. 04:44 Clearly, the sons of God and the morning stars 04:47 existed already when God created this world. 04:50 Is that point clear? 04:52 In other words, the morning stars and the sons of God 04:55 existed before human beings existed. 04:59 They existed at creation. 05:01 Now the question is, who are the morning stars/sons of God? 05:07 Well, the Bible explains itself. 05:10 We can know clearly who the stars are. 05:15 In Revelation 12:3 and 9, we find clearly who the stars are. 05:23 And we've read these verses many times before. 05:26 "And another sign appeared in heaven: 05:28 behold, a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and 05:32 ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 05:36 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven 05:40 and threw them to the earth." 05:43 So this is Satan, and his tail... 05:47 By the way, the tail refers to the lies that he told. 05:51 We won't get into that right now. 05:52 But with his tail he stole a third of the angels. 05:56 It says here, a third of the stars. 05:58 Now we know they're angels because verse 9 says, 06:01 "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, 06:05 called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; 06:09 he was cast to the earth, and his angels were 06:13 cast out with him." 06:15 So the very context explains that the stars 06:18 of heaven represent what? 06:20 They represent the angels. 06:24 Now Ellen White confirms this, 06:26 that the sons of God that are mentioned in the book of Job 06:29 were angels. 06:31 Notice this statement from, Great Controversy, page 519. 06:34 She's reminiscing on the story of Job. 06:38 "The Scriptures declare that upon one occasion, 06:42 when the angels of God came to present themselves 06:46 before the Lord, Satan came also among them, 06:50 not to bow before the Eternal King, but to further his own 06:54 malicious designs against the righteous. 06:57 With the same object he is in attendance when men assemble 07:01 for the worship of God." 07:03 So very clearly the sons of God in the book of Job are what? 07:07 Angels. 07:09 Revelation 12 confirms it, and Ellen White also confirms it 07:13 when she says that the angels of God came. 07:16 The book of Job says the sons of God came. 07:18 So the sons of God are angels. 07:22 Now let's do a little parenthesis here on page 45. 07:28 You know, some people say, "Well, you know, if the sons of 07:30 God in the book of Job are angels, then the sons of God 07:35 in Genesis chapter 6 that had sexual relations 07:39 with the daughters of men must also be angels." 07:43 And you'll find that a good number of commentators, 07:47 Protestant commentators today, believe that in Genesis 6 07:51 the angels actually saw these beautiful women, 07:53 they came down and they had sex with them 07:55 and produced the giants that are mentioned in Genesis chapter 6. 08:00 You know, the problem with that view is that we always have to 08:04 look at terms within their context. 08:07 We have to look at what comes before the expression, 08:10 "sons of God," in Genesis 6:1-2. 08:14 In Scripture, terms do not always mean the same thing. 08:18 Symbols don't always mean the same thing. 08:21 A lion can represent different things in different contexts. 08:25 For example, it can represent Christ. 08:27 He's the lion of the tribe of Judah. 08:29 A lion can represent the devil. 08:31 He goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 08:35 The lion can represent Babylon, as in Daniel chapter 7. 08:39 And the lion can also represent Judah, the son of Jacob. 08:43 So just because you find the lion doesn't mean that the lion 08:47 means the same thing in every context. 08:49 The same with leaven. 08:51 Leaven, we say, represents sin. 08:54 But in the parable of the leaven, 08:56 the leaven represents the Holy Spirit. 08:58 When the Holy Spirit is present in the church, the church grows. 09:01 So leaven can represent the Holy Spirit 09:03 as well as represent sin. 09:05 Depending on the context. 09:07 In the Bible, the sword represents the Bible. 09:10 But the sword can also represent the power of the state 09:13 to execute those who violate civil law. 09:17 So we have to take into account the context. 09:20 And what is the context of Genesis chapter 6? 09:23 The immediately preceding context has two genealogies. 09:27 In Genesis chapter 4 you have the genealogy of Cain. 09:30 Three wicked women are mentioned in the genealogy of Cain. 09:33 These would be the daughters of men. 09:35 Then you have in chapter 5 the descendants of Seth. 09:38 That's the descendants of the righteous. 09:40 And then in Genesis 6:1-2 you have the sons of God 09:43 and the daughters of men. 09:45 The context indicates that these are not angels. 09:49 Incidentally, Luke 3:38 states that Adam was a son of God. 09:59 And Adam certainly was not an angel. 10:01 He was a human being. 10:03 So human beings can be called sons of God as well. 10:06 And you'll notice this text, Romans 8:14-15. 10:11 The apostle Paul says, "For as many as are led by the 10:14 Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." 10:19 How many of those who are present consider themselves 10:21 sons and daughters of God? 10:24 You don't look like angels to me. 10:27 You look very human to me. 10:30 Are you understanding the point? 10:31 So in other words, don't conflate Genesis 6 10:36 with the book of Job. 10:38 They're different contexts. 10:39 And the expression, "sons of God," can mean different things 10:42 in different contexts. 10:44 So let's go now to the bottom of page 45, 10:46 The first meeting of the heavenly council. 10:50 This is in Job 1:6-7. 10:53 "Now there was a day when the sons of God..." 10:58 Who are the sons of God? 11:01 Angels. Very well. 11:03 "...came to present themselves before the Lord, 11:07 and Satan also came among them. 11:12 And the Lord said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' 11:16 So Satan answered the Lord and said, 'From going to and fro 11:22 on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.'" 11:27 Now why did I underline certain words that we have here? 11:30 Well, let's notice the details of the conclusion. 11:34 The sons of God do not always dwell in the presence of God. 11:38 At least these sons of God that came to present themselves 11:41 before the Lord. 11:43 Because we are told that they came a certain day. 11:47 Which means that they are not there all the time. 11:50 By the way, this contrast with Job 1:7 11:54 where it says that Job offered sacrifices always. 11:59 There's a contrast, in other words. 12:00 The sons of God come on certain occasions, 12:04 whereas Job offered sacrifices always. 12:08 Another important point is that Satan 12:11 did not come with the sons of God. 12:14 He considered himself one of the members of the sons of God. 12:17 It says he came among the sons of God. 12:20 So he's claiming a right to belong to this select group, 12:24 the sons of God. 12:26 He doesn't come with them, he comes among them. 12:29 So he's claiming to have a right to belong to this group. 12:33 And then the record also tells us that Satan came from where? 12:38 He came from a planet. 12:40 From planet earth. 12:43 So if Satan came to this heavenly meeting representing 12:46 planet earth, who must the other representatives be 12:50 that came to this heavenly meeting? 12:53 It's not too much of a stretch to believe that the other 12:57 sons of God also came from other planets. 13:01 Are you following me or not? 13:02 Because they came to present themselves among the sons of God 13:09 in this heavenly council. 13:12 Now the second meeting confirms this perspective. 13:15 Let's read Job 2:1-2. 13:44 The same remarks that we made concerning the first meeting 13:48 apply to the second meeting. 13:50 Only, there's another important detail. 13:53 And that is the word, "again." 13:56 In other words, this is a second meeting. 13:59 So must the sons of God have left the presence of God 14:03 after the first meeting? 14:04 Of course. 14:06 Because it says they came again. 14:09 Which means that after the first meeting, they left. 14:12 They went somewhere. 14:13 They went to the planets that they represented, 14:17 in other words. 14:19 Now there's another story in the Old Testament 14:21 that illustrates the fact that God has a heavenly council. 14:26 In other words, God has kind of like representatives 14:30 from all over the universe that gather together to deliberate 14:33 about the running of the universe. 14:36 You say, "Well, God can do that all by Himself." 14:38 Yeah, but God is a delegator. 14:40 In other words, God runs a government 14:42 where it is representative. 14:45 He has different functions for different angels 14:49 and beings in the universe. 14:51 Now notice this example from the period of 14:53 Ahab and King Jehoshaphat. 14:57 Ahab was the king of the northern kingdom, 15:00 the ten tribes of Israel, 15:02 whereas, Jehoshaphat was the king of the two tribes 15:07 of the southern kingdom. 15:09 And one day Ahab says to Jehoshaphat, 15:12 "You know, I think we ought to join forces and 15:14 go fight against the Syrians, our enemy." 15:17 And so Jehoshaphat said, "Well, you know, that might 15:21 be a good idea, but shouldn't we get prophetic approval? 15:25 Shouldn't we get a prophet to tell us whether that's 15:27 a wise thing to do or not?" 15:29 Don't you have any prophets around?" 15:31 And Ahab says, "Prophets galore. 15:35 I've got lots of prophets. 15:36 I've got 400 of them." 15:38 And so he calls the 400 prophets and he says, 15:42 "You know, Jehoshaphat and I want to go and 15:45 fight against the Syrians. 15:46 Is that a good idea or not?" 15:49 And of course, the false prophets said, 15:51 "Oh, you go to that battle, you're going to 15:54 gain a signal victory." 15:57 But Jehoshaphat wasn't convinced. 15:59 So he looks at Ahab and he says, 16:01 "Isn't there a prophet of the Lord around?" 16:06 And King Ahab says, "Yeah, there's a prophet of the Lord, 16:10 He's in the dungeon. 16:12 His name is Micaiah. 16:13 Because every time I ask him to prophesy, 16:16 he prophesies evil." 16:19 Now Micaiah was brought because Jehoshaphat requested it. 16:25 So he's brought from the dungeon. 16:27 Now Micaiah is going to say something very interesting 16:32 about what was happening in heaven. 16:34 Let's read 2 Chronicles 18:18-22. 17:00 In other words, who can convince Ahab to go to battle 17:02 so that he gets killed? 17:10 Evidently, nobody wanted to do it. 17:29 Was that a faithful angel? 17:31 Was that an unfallen angel? 17:34 Using lies to entice Ahab to go to battle, 17:38 do you think that the loyal and faithful angels lie 17:43 to get things accomplished? 17:44 Who was this spirit? 17:47 This spirit was Satan. 17:49 Was he there present at the heavenly council? 17:52 Yes, he was. 17:53 This is another example from the Old Testament 17:56 of the heavenly council where Satan goes 17:58 representing planet earth. 18:01 And now God gives him permission. 18:13 And this is not God's causative will, 18:15 this is God's permissive will. 18:16 He's giving Satan permission. 18:18 It's like what happened with Job. 18:20 God did not cause the affliction of Job. 18:23 God allowed Satan to cause the affliction. 18:36 So does God have a heavenly council? 18:39 Yes, He does. 18:40 Where all of the representatives of the universe gather together 18:44 to deliberate about certain issues relating to the 18:47 administration of the universe. 18:49 On the next page, in, Patriarchs and Prophets, 18:52 page 36, we have a clear declaration that 18:54 there is a heavenly council. 18:57 This is when Lucifer was in heaven still 18:59 and he was spreading his lies about God. 19:02 It says, "In heavenly council the angels 19:05 pleaded with Lucifer." 19:08 So you have the heavenly council gathered together 19:10 and the angels in the heavenly council are pleading 19:14 with Lucifer to give up his idea of taking over 19:19 the throne of God. 19:22 The next example is, after God created Adam and Eve, 19:26 Satan gathered his own council to prepare a strategy 19:30 to deceive Adam and Eve. 19:32 In turn, God gathered His own council to deliberate 19:37 on a strategy to frustrate the stratagems of Satan's council. 19:41 So Satan gathers a council and he says, "You know, 19:44 let's plan how we're going to deceive Adam and Eve." 19:47 And God says, "Well, let's call a council to counteract that 19:51 so that he's not successful in deceiving Adam and Eve." 19:55 Notice, Story of Redemption, page 29. 19:57 "God assembled the angelic host to take measures 20:01 to avert the threatened evil. 20:04 It was decided in heaven's council for angels to visit 20:08 Eden and warn Adam that he was in danger from the foe. 20:13 Two angels sped on their way to visit our first parents." 20:18 So does God have a heavenly council where decisions 20:21 are made concerning the operations of the universe, 20:23 the administration of the universe? 20:25 Absolutely. 20:26 And that's what is happening in the book of Job. 20:29 The heavenly council is gathered together to deliberate. 20:32 And of course, present there is Satan 20:36 representing planet earth. 20:38 And we're going to talk about why he represented planet earth 20:41 at that point in a few moments. 20:43 Now let's notice what Ellen White had to say 20:45 on the identity of the 24 elders. 20:49 According to the spirit of prophecy, 20:51 the sons of God are the commanders of the angel hosts 20:57 and the representatives of the worlds that never sinned. 21:02 They are the members of the heavenly council. 21:05 Notice this statement that we read yesterday 21:08 from, Desire of Ages. 21:10 "The commanders of the angel hosts, the sons of God, 21:15 the representatives of the unfallen worlds are assembled. 21:21 The heavenly council before which Lucifer had accused 21:24 God and His Son, the representatives 21:27 of those sinless realms over which Satan had thought 21:31 to establish his dominion, all are there 21:34 to welcome the Redeemer." 21:37 So once again you have here that there is a heavenly council. 21:42 And you'll notice that the heavenly council members 21:45 are called the sons of God, the representatives of 21:49 the worlds that never sinned, 21:50 and the commanders of the angel hosts. 21:53 Would these be the highest of all angels? 21:56 These would be the highest of all angels. 21:59 Now some have wondered whether Ellen White 22:01 is referring to three groups when the states, 22:04 "the commanders of the angel hosts," 22:06 "the sons of God," 22:07 and, "the representatives of the unfallen worlds." 22:09 And the answer is, no. 22:11 These are just three ways of defining the same group. 22:14 Let me give you three examples in the writings of Ellen White. 22:17 I have others, but you know, I didn't want to put all of them 22:21 here in the syllabus, but just to give you an inkling of this. 22:25 Notice Ellen White is speaking about revival, 22:28 this is on page 49, she's speaking about revival, 22:32 and notice how she describes revival in three different ways. 22:36 "Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, 22:42 a quickening of the powers of mind and heart, 22:46 a resurrection from the spiritual death." 22:49 Let me ask you, are, "renewal, "quickening," 22:51 and, "resurrection," synonymous? 22:53 Is she referring to three separate things? 22:55 No, she's using three terms to define the same. 22:59 Here's another example, Selected Messages, volume 3, page 392. 23:03 Speaking about the final union of the world against 23:07 God's remnant, "There will be a universal bond of union, 23:11 one great harmony, a confederacy of Satan's forces." 23:16 Is, "bond of union," "harmony," and, "confederacy," 23:19 are those all synonymous terms? 23:22 Yes they are. 23:23 And then yesterday I mentioned another one 23:25 which is in, Desire of Ages, page 530 23:29 where Ellen White states, "In Christ is life, 23:33 original, unborrowed, underived. 23:38 'He that hath the Son hath life.' 23:40 The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance 23:43 of eternal life." 23:44 "Original," unborrowed," and "underived," 23:47 are three ways of saying the same thing. 23:51 Are you with me or not? 23:53 So they are not three separate groups. 23:57 It is one group. 23:59 And when you go to Revelation 4, you see that 24:01 there are not three additional groups in Revelation chapter 4 24:06 besides the four living creatures. 24:08 There's only one other group, which is the 24 elders. 24:12 Now when Jesus gained the victory over Satan on the cross, 24:17 the heavens and all that dwelt in the heavens rejoiced. 24:23 Are there beings on other planets? 24:25 This is the big question. 24:27 Is this the only world in the universe that is inhabited? 24:31 The answer to that question is no. 24:34 When Jesus resurrected, the angelic hosts sang. 24:38 And I want you to notice carefully what they sang. 24:40 Revelation 12:12. 24:52 Are you catching the nuance here? 24:54 Those who dwell in them. 24:57 So it is, "heavens," plural. 25:00 Those who dwell in them. 25:03 "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth..." 25:06 There's one little world in the midst of the universe of God. 25:20 I put in this quotation from Billy Graham. 25:23 Billy Graham, before he died, believed that there are 25:26 inhabitants on other planets. 25:27 This is not unique to the Adventist church. 25:29 And of course, Billy Graham is known as the dean 25:33 of all evangelists while he was alive. 25:35 I mean, he met with presidents, every president until his death, 25:40 and so on, so he's no slouch when it comes to theology. 25:44 This is his statement. 25:45 "I believe there is life on other planets. 25:48 We have this galaxy, the Milky Way and they now speculate 25:52 that there are millions and millions of galaxies, 25:56 and in each galaxy, a trillion stars, planets, and all that. 26:01 I cannot imagine that we are the only one that has life. 26:04 That would be a terribly egotistical thing 26:07 for us to say as a planet. 26:10 I believe that God is the God of all of it, 26:12 and that's why He's so awesome and so tremendous, 26:16 and why, when I come into His presence, 26:18 I feel that I'm not worthy." 26:21 So there are other worlds with inhabitants on those worlds. 26:27 And each of those worlds has a representative 26:31 that represents those worlds in the heavenly council. 26:34 And those are called, the sons of God. 26:38 Now we've already noticed that the 24 elders 26:42 are angelic beings. 26:44 You say, "Well, how do you know that they're angelic beings?" 26:46 You have the sons of God, we've already seen 26:48 the sons of God are angels, according to Revelation 12 26:51 and according to Ellen White. 26:53 But how do we know that the 24 elders are angels, 26:57 that they're the same as the sons of God? 27:00 Well, let's pursue this. 27:04 In Revelation 5:5 we have this interesting verse. 27:09 This is on the top of page 51 of your syllabus. 27:13 "But one of the elders said to me..." 27:15 Here's an elder that's speaking to John. 27:17 "One of the elders said to me..." 27:32 So who is it that is speaking to John? 27:37 It clearly says one of the elders is speaking to John. 27:43 But now notice this comment from Ellen White. 27:47 She's speaking about the same thing, 27:49 the book, the sealed book. 27:51 "This roll was written within and without. 27:54 John says, 'I wept much, because no man was found 27:58 worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.'" 28:03 Now notice her commentary. 28:04 The vision as presented to John made its 28:07 impression upon his mind. 28:08 The destiny of every nation was contained in that book. 28:12 John was distressed at the utter inability of any 28:15 human being or angelic intelligence to read the words, 28:20 or even to look thereon. 28:23 His soul was wrought up to such a point of agony 28:26 and suspense..." 28:28 And now notice, here's the key. 28:30 "...that one of the strong angels had compassion on him..." 28:36 Hmm. 28:39 "...and laying his hand on him said, 'Weep not. 28:42 Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, 28:46 hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose 28:48 the seven seals thereof.'" 28:49 Are you catching the point? 28:53 It was one of the elders that spoke those words, 28:55 according to Revelation. 28:57 Ellen White says it was one of the strong angels. 29:02 So are the 24 elders those who resurrected with Jesus? 29:05 No. 29:06 And they're not part of the regular angelic hosts either. 29:11 Because Ellen White, in this statement, 29:13 says, "John was distressed at the utter inability of any 29:16 human being or angelic intelligence 29:19 to read the words..." 29:22 So not even an angelic intelligence. 29:24 In other words, the common ordinary angels 29:27 in the angel hosts. 29:29 It had to be one of the strong angels. 29:32 So the elders are angels. 29:36 The conclusion is inevitable. 29:38 According to verse 5, one of the 24 elders spoke to John. 29:42 However, Ellen White identifies the elder as 29:45 one of the strong angels. 29:47 This clearly indicates that the 24 elders are not human, 29:50 but rather angelic. 29:53 Now here's something similar in Revelation chapter 7. 29:57 In the biblical context, God showed John a great multitude 30:02 that no one could number. 30:05 And this great multitude was from all nations, tribes, 30:08 peoples, and tongues who were standing before the throne of 30:12 God and the Lamb. 30:14 Now one of the elders asked John a question 30:18 about this great multitude. 30:20 That's found in Revelation 7:13. 30:23 "Then one of the elders..." Notice the terminology. 30:26 "One of the elders answered, saying to me, 30:29 'Who are these arrayed in white robes, 30:31 and where did they come from?'" 30:33 In other words, "Where did this great multitude from every 30:35 nation, tongue, tribe, and people, 30:37 where did they come from?" 30:39 And John answers the question. 30:41 "And I said to him, 'Sir, you know.'" 30:46 In other words, "You tell me." 30:49 Then the elder says to John, "These are the ones who 30:52 came out of the great tribulation, 30:55 and washed their robes and made them white 30:58 in the blood of the Lamb." 30:59 So the conversation is between John and whom? 31:03 And one of the elders, right? One of the 24 elders. 31:07 Now notice Ellen White's commentary on this. 31:09 Very interesting. 31:11 Very perceptive, I might say. 31:14 "John beholds an innumerable company, 31:17 precious, refined, purified, around the throne 31:20 of the Majesty of heaven. 31:22 The angel inquires of John..." 31:26 Who was it that inquired of John, according to Revelation 7? 31:30 One of the elders. 31:31 Ellen White states, "The angel inquires of John, 31:36 'What are these which are arrayed in white robes? 31:38 And whence came they?' 31:40 And John answers, 'Sir, thou knowest.' 31:43 Then the angel declares, 'These are they which 31:47 came out of the great tribulation, 31:49 and have washed their robes, and made them white 31:52 in the blood of the Lamb.'" 31:53 Once again, the conclusion is inevitable. 31:57 In its original biblical context, one of the elders 32:00 is having the conversation, whereas Ellen White identifies 32:04 the elder as one of the strong angels. 32:08 Now the next paragraph is extremely important on page 52. 32:14 However, there is another vital conclusion that 32:17 we will expand upon later. 32:20 Clearly, the elder was not a member of the great multitude 32:24 from every nation, tongue, and people. 32:28 Are you with me or not? 32:30 Was the elder one of the members of the nations, 32:33 tribes, peoples, and tongues? 32:35 No, he wasn't. 32:37 So when we get to Revelation 5:9-10, 32:40 we're going to find that this is very valuable. 32:44 The elders are not part of the great multitude. 32:48 Keep that in mind. 32:49 We shall find that this is an important point because 32:52 the King James translation of Revelation 5:9-10 32:56 gives us the impression that the elders were redeemed 32:59 from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. 33:02 But they were not. 33:04 Let's take two more quotations from Ellen White. 33:08 Sermons and Talks, volume 1, page 20, 33:10 the top of page 53 in your syllabus. 33:12 "John saw a company standing around the throne of God, 33:16 and the angel asked him..." 33:20 Who asked him? 33:22 Hmm. 33:24 But according to Revelation 7 it was what? 33:28 One of the elders. 33:31 "'Who are these in white robes?' 33:33 He answered, 'Thou knowest.' 33:34 Moreover, the angel said, 'These are they who have 33:38 washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' 33:40 There is a fountain in which we may wash from 33:43 every stain of impurity. 33:44 In addition, says the angel..." 33:47 So it's three times she says, "the angel." 33:49 "'He shall lead them to fountains of living waters, 33:52 and shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.' 33:54 This will be the happy privilege of those that have 33:57 kept the commandments of God in the earth." 34:00 Beautiful promise. 34:01 And then one final statement from Ellen White. 34:04 "As John saw the multitude standing around 34:06 the throne of God, the question was asked, 34:09 'What are these which are arrayed in white robes? 34:12 And whence came they?' 34:14 'These are they which came out of the great tribulation,' 34:17 the angel answered, 'and have washed their robes and made them 34:21 white in the blood of the Lamb.'" 34:25 Now somebody might say, "Well, but Pastor Bohr, 34:28 it says that the 24 elders, you know, they present the prayers 34:34 of God's people in heaven. 34:37 How can they be angels? 34:39 Isn't it Jesus who presents our prayers?" 34:42 Well, let's notice this interesting statement 34:44 from Ellen White. 34:46 Actually, Revelation 5:8 says that the 24 elders play harps 34:51 and present the prayers of the saints before God. 34:55 Let's notice who are these that present 34:57 the prayers of God's people. 34:59 Yesterday I mentioned the ladder that Jacob saw, right. 35:03 Are the angels involved in taking our prayers to God 35:06 and, you know, blending our prayers with the incense, 35:09 Jesus, when the prayers arrive in heaven? 35:11 Absolutely. 35:13 Notice this statement. 35:14 "Heavenly beings are appointed to answer the prayers 35:17 of those who are working unselfishly for the interests 35:21 of the cause of God." 35:23 And who are the ones that do this? 35:25 All of the angels? 35:27 No. 35:28 "The very highest of angels in the heavenly courts 35:33 are appointed to work out the prayers that ascend to God 35:37 for the advancement of the cause of God. 35:41 Each angel has his particular post of duty, 35:44 which he is not permitted to leave for any other place. 35:49 If he should leave, the powers of darkness 35:52 would gain an advantage." 35:55 So if the elders are strong angels, 35:57 or very highest of angels, they cannot be human first fruits 36:02 who resurrected with Jesus. 36:05 Are you following me so far? 36:08 Now here's a question, why was Satan among the sons of God? 36:13 Kind of a discordant note in heaven. 36:16 This pest was up there, 36:19 you know, to kind of spoil the meeting. 36:23 Why was Satan there? 36:25 Well, Luke 4:5-6 has the answer. 36:28 Satan meets Jesus at the mount of temptation. 36:31 And it says there... 36:53 "Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." 36:58 So what is Satan saying? 37:00 He said, "This has been delivered to me." 37:02 Who delivered it to him? 37:04 Adam delivered it to him. 37:06 When Adam obeyed Satan, he became a servant of Satan. 37:11 Because we're servants of the one that we choose to obey. 37:15 And so, Adam lost his position on the throne, 37:19 he lost his territory, and a usurper took over the throne 37:25 and the territory over which he governed. 37:29 And this is very interesting because before Jesus 37:32 died on the cross, Jesus said, "Now is the judgment 37:35 of this world, now the ruler of this world will be cast out." 37:42 So did Jesus recognize that before the cross, 37:44 Satan was the ruler of this world? 37:46 He most certainly did. 37:48 But what did Jesus say He was going to do at the cross? 37:51 He said He was going to cast out the ruler of this world. 37:55 Was Satan cast out at the cross? 37:58 I thought he was cast out at the beginning. 38:01 Well, this was a second casting out. 38:04 He was cast out as the representative of this world. 38:07 After this, he could not go to heaven representing this earth. 38:11 Jesus now represents this earth in the heavenly council. 38:15 Not only that, he was cast out in the sympathies 38:18 of the heavenly beings. 38:19 If you read, Desire of Ages, the chapters, "Gethsemane," 38:21 and "Calvary," the mask was torn off Satan. 38:25 And the last little itty bit of sympathy that the 38:29 heavenly beings had with him was gone. 38:31 He was cast out of the sympathies 38:34 of the heavenly beings. 38:36 So Satan was there in this meeting in the book of Job 38:40 because he was representing planet earth. 38:44 However, at the cross he was cast out, 38:47 and Jesus now is the head and representative of the planet. 38:52 We'll notice that in a little while. 38:56 Now let's talk about God's plan for the human race. 39:00 This is going to be very interesting. 39:03 God's plan for the human race was different 39:07 from that of any other world in His universe. 39:12 Whereas, the other worlds had strong angels, 39:15 called elders in the Bible, representing them in the 39:19 heavenly council, God placed Adam to rule 39:24 and represent this world. 39:27 In other words, the other worlds have strong angels 39:30 as their representatives. 39:32 This world was different. 39:34 God placed Adam, one of the creatures that He made, 39:40 to represent planet earth. 39:43 Notice this statement from Ellen White, 39:44 Sons and Daughters of God, page 7. 39:47 "All heaven took a deep and joyful interest in the 39:52 creation of the world and of man. 39:55 Human beings..." Were what? 39:58 "...a new and distinct order." 40:03 Were they the same as the inhabitants of other planets? 40:06 No. "...a new and distinct order. 40:10 They were made 'in the image of God,' 40:12 and it was the Creator's design that they should 40:16 populate the earth. 40:18 They were to live in close communion with heaven, 40:22 receiving power from the Source of all power. 40:26 Upheld by God, they were to live sinless lives." 40:30 So God's plans for this world was different and distinct 40:34 from His plans for any of the other worlds. 40:37 God created Adam and Eve a little lower than the angels, 40:40 according to Psalm 8:3-5, and it's repeated once again 40:44 in the book of Hebrews. 40:47 If they passed the test and trial, God planned... 40:51 Now listen why the plan was distinct. 40:54 ...God planned to fill the vacancies that Lucifer 40:57 and his angels left in heaven when they fell, 41:00 with the redeemed of the Lord. 41:03 Actually, even before there was a need of redemption, 41:07 God had planned that there would be procreation 41:10 on earth to replace the vacancies that Satan 41:14 and his angels left in heaven. 41:15 Even before redemption became necessary, that was God's plan. 41:19 You say, "How do we know that?" 41:20 Well, notice this statement from, The Truth About Angels. 41:25 "God created man for His own glory 41:28 that after test and trial..." 41:32 That is, if they pass the test, right? 41:34 "...that after test and trial the human family might 41:39 become one with the heavenly family. 41:43 It was God's purpose to..." What? 41:46 "...to repopulate heaven with the human family." 41:51 So what was the purpose of procreation? 41:55 To repopulate heaven. 41:58 The vacancies that were left there 42:00 by Satan and his angels when they were cast out. 42:03 The idea is the redeemed are going to replace them. 42:09 Now this was God's plan before the inception of sin. 42:14 However, was this still God's plan after the inception of sin? 42:20 The answer is yes. 42:22 Notice, Prophets and Kings, pages 588-589. 42:26 "Satan has an accurate knowledge of the sins 42:29 that he has tempted God's people to commit 42:32 and he urges his accusations against them, declaring 42:35 that by their sins they have forfeited divine protection 42:39 and claiming that he has the right to destroy them. 42:42 He pronounces them just as deserving as himself 42:45 of exclusion from the favor of God." 42:48 Now notice, she's quoting Satan's words. 42:51 "'Are these,' he says, 'the people who are to...'" What? 42:56 "...to take my place in heaven, and the place of the angels 43:01 who united with me?" 43:03 Are you catching a view of the plan. 43:07 "They profess to obey the law of God, 43:09 but have they kept its precepts? 43:11 Have they not been lovers of self more than lovers of God? 43:15 Have they not placed their own interests above His service? 43:18 Have they not loved the things of the world? 43:20 Look at the sins that have marked their lives. 43:22 Behold their selfishness, their malice, 43:25 their hatred of one another. 43:26 Will God banish me and my angels from His presence, 43:29 and yet reward those who have been guilty of the same sins? 43:33 Thou canst not do this, O Lord, in justice. 43:37 Justice demands that sentence be pronounced against them." 43:44 Here's another statement. 43:46 "The Father consulted His Son in regard to at once 43:52 carrying out their purpose to make man to inhabit the earth. 43:57 He would place man upon probation to test his loyalty 44:02 before he could be rendered eternally secure. 44:05 If he endured the test wherewith God saw fit to prove him, 44:11 he should eventually be..." What? 44:14 What was God's plan for human beings? 44:16 He would eventually be what? 44:18 "...equal with the angels. 44:22 He was to have the favor of God, and he was to converse with 44:26 angels, and they with him." 44:30 So in other words, the plan was that human beings, 44:33 if they passed the test, they eventually would be 44:35 equal to the angels. 44:37 Because they're going to replace the vacancies 44:39 that were left by Satan and his angels. 44:42 In, The Truth About Angels, page 49, Ellen White 44:45 makes it explicit. 44:47 She stated, "The vacancies made in heaven by the fall of 44:50 Satan and his angels will be filled by the 44:53 redeemed of the Lord." 44:55 Is that clear? 44:57 Crystal clear. 44:59 Now where do we find evidence in the Bible 45:03 that God established procreation for this purpose? 45:07 Where in the Bible do we find the idea that God created humans 45:10 a little lower than the angels, and that if they passed the 45:14 test, they would be as the angels, 45:17 on the same level as the angels? 45:19 There is a biblical basis for that. 45:22 You remember the conversation that Jesus had 45:25 with the Sadducees about the resurrection? 45:28 It's found in Luke 20:34-36. 45:32 Luke 20:34-36. 45:37 Because they presented this imaginary scenario of 45:39 seven marriages, right? 45:43 And so they're trying to put Jesus between a 45:45 rock and a hard place. 45:46 The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. 45:50 The Sadducees believed that you lived your life, 45:52 and once you died, that was it. 45:54 There was no resurrection. 45:56 And they also did not believe in the immortality of the soul. 46:00 They didn't believe that, you know, when a person dies 46:03 their soul continues living on. 46:05 That's why they hated the Pharisees, because 46:07 the Pharisees believed in the immortality of the soul 46:10 and the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. 46:13 The apostle Paul says that in the book of Acts. 46:16 You know, it's interesting that in the times of Christ 46:18 you have all these Jewish sects. 46:21 We could call them denominations. 46:24 And they totally disliked each other. 46:26 You had the Zealots, the Essenes, 46:29 you had the Pharisees, you had the Sadducees. 46:34 All different denominations. They didn't like each other. 46:37 They all claimed to be Jews, but they didn't like each other. 46:40 But the interesting thing is, that when it came to destroying 46:43 public enemy number one, they all came together. 46:46 They set aside their theological differences. 46:49 Does that sound familiar? 46:51 It's exactly the thing that's happening in the world today. 46:54 You know, this pope, this pope is an extremely 46:57 dangerous pope; Francis I. 46:59 He's traveling far and wide to all of the religious leaders. 47:03 And they're trying to draw all Christendom together 47:08 in unity, forgetting the differences in doctrines 47:11 and just saying, "Let's love one another. 47:13 Let's solve the problems of the planet." 47:17 You know, "Let's solve the issue of climate change. 47:20 Let's solve the issue of poverty. 47:23 Let's solve the issue of immigration. 47:25 Let's solve the problem of divisions in the family. 47:28 Let's just all get along. Let's forget about theology." 47:33 But theology is the foundation of life. 47:37 You see, is it important to understand 47:40 the state of the dead? 47:42 Yes? Why? 47:44 Isn't that just an academic thing? 47:48 How important is understanding the state of the dead? 47:52 It's vitally important because if you believe 47:54 that the dead are not dead, Satan is going to deceive you 47:58 by counterfeiting a supposed relative who's going to appear 48:01 to you and is going to teach you things that aren't in the Bible. 48:04 And you're going to believe it because you're going to believe 48:06 your eyes and your ears more than what God says. 48:10 So is the theological position on the 48:12 state of the dead vitally important? 48:14 You better believe it is. The doctrine is important. 48:17 How about the Sabbath? 48:19 Is the doctrine of the Sabbath important? 48:20 You better believe it. 48:22 It's the great test at the end of time. 48:24 The thing is, people today, they say, "Oh, let's just 48:27 get along and love each other. 48:28 Let's just gather together, hold hands, and sing, 'Kum ba ya.' 48:34 Let's just have a good time in the worship service. 48:36 You know, let's just have one hour of praise 48:40 and a ten-minute sermon." 48:42 That's what is common these days. 48:45 Because people don't want theology. 48:47 The post-modern mind, and I'm digressing now from the lesson, 48:50 but the post-modern mind is that there's no absolute truth. 48:54 Your truth is just as valid as my truth. 48:56 So if you want to believe that 2 + 3 is 7, that's fine. 49:00 If you want to believe that 2 + 3 is 5, that's fine too. 49:04 Both are true because truth is relative. 49:07 Because there's no interest in theology today. 49:10 People are only interesting in the sentimental, 49:13 in the existential, what makes me feel good. 49:17 And feelings change. 49:19 I can be happy right now and sad the next second. 49:23 But what does not change is the Word of God. 49:26 The Word of God abides forever. 49:29 Now, I'm preaching. 49:33 Notice Luke 20:34-36. 49:48 So is marriage God's plan in this age? 49:50 Yes. 49:57 That is, the age to come. 50:25 What conclusions can we reach from this? 50:29 The first conclusion, God established marriage 50:31 only for this age for a specific purpose. 50:36 Second, there will be no marriage in the world to come 50:42 because marriage will have fulfilled its purpose. 50:48 Is that point clear? 50:50 Will marriage have fulfilled the purpose of 50:52 filling the vacancies that Satan and his angels left in heaven? 50:56 Absolutely. 50:58 Third conclusion, in the world to come 51:02 the redeemed will be what? 51:05 Equal to the angels. 51:09 Thus, fulfilling God's original plan. 51:13 And finally, like the angels, human beings 51:16 will be called what? 51:19 The sons of God. 51:24 So is there a biblical foundation for Ellen White's 51:28 comments about procreation being established 51:32 in order to fill the vacancies that were left in heaven 51:35 when Satan and his angels fell? 51:37 Absolutely. 51:39 There's a firm biblical foundation, 51:41 and that foundation is found here in the words of Jesus. 51:47 We have this interesting comment from Ellen White 51:50 in the book, Medical Ministry, page 99, 51:54 where Ellen White confirms what we just discussed. 51:58 "There are men today who express their belief 52:03 that there will be marriages and births in the new earth..." 52:10 You know, everywhere I go, and there's young people there, 52:14 they ask the question, "Pastor Bohr, is there going to be, 52:17 is there going to be marriage in the world to come?" 52:21 And I say, "You know, the Bible and the spirit of prophecy 52:25 are very clear that there's not going to be marriage. 52:27 So if you're going to get married, do it here." 52:31 Because it will not happen there. 52:34 And then, of course, I say, 52:36 "But make sure that you do it right. 52:38 Make sure that you don't just get married because 52:40 you want to get married. 52:41 Find the right person. 52:43 If you don't find the right person, 52:44 then just remain single. 52:45 But marriage is only for this life. 52:49 The statement continues. 52:51 "There are men today who express their belief 52:53 that there will be marriages and births in the new earth, 52:57 but those who believe the Scriptures..." 53:00 Like the one that we just read. 53:02 "...cannot accept such doctrines." 53:06 The doctrine that children will be born in the new earth 53:09 is not a part of the 'sure word of prophecy.' 53:13 The words of Christ are too plain to be misunderstood. 53:18 They should forever settle the question of marriages and births 53:22 in the new earth. 53:24 Neither those who shall be raised from the dead, 53:27 nor those who shall be translated without seeing death, 53:31 will marry or be given in marriage. 53:34 They will be as the angels of God, 53:38 members of the royal family." 53:43 So, is this lesson clear? 53:47 Are the 24 elders those who resurrected with Christ? 53:50 No. 53:52 They're angels. 53:53 The highest of angels. 53:55 Strong angels. 53:58 Angels that represent the planets of the universe 54:01 in the heavenly council. 54:03 Now you say, "But 24. Are there only 24 of them?" 54:06 No, the number 24 is a symbolic number. 54:10 And in our final lesson on the 24 elders 54:13 we're going to discuss the issue of the number 24. 54:16 The number 24 has to do with the 24 courses 54:21 in the Sanctuary where the priests served. 54:24 Let me ask you, do the 24 elders perform priestly duties, 54:29 according to what we noticed? 54:30 Do they present the prayers of the saints? 54:32 Yes they do. 54:34 And so what happens is, the 24 courses of the priests 54:38 on earth, and I'm getting ahead of myself here, 54:40 are a shadow of the courses that take place 54:45 in the heavenly Sanctuary because the earthly service 54:47 is a reflection of the heavenly service. 54:51 And so, as you have elders that serve in the church on earth, 54:57 their functions are a reflection of the functions 55:00 of the elders in the heavenly economy. 55:04 Because the church on earth is a reflection of 55:09 the church in heaven, according to the spirit of prophecy. 55:12 So I hope this lesson has been very clear, because 55:17 it's foundational for what we're going to discuss 55:20 in our next class. 55:22 And if you want to go to page 59, 55:23 we'll introduce that next class. 55:27 The title on page 59 of your syllabus is, 55:31 Earth's Two Representatives. 55:37 And you say, "Well, the earth has two representatives?" 55:40 Yes, it had one, and it now has another one. 55:45 And then it will be returned to the original individual 55:49 who had the headship and who was a representative 55:53 of planet earth. 55:55 And then we're going to take a look at 55:58 earth's two representatives. 55:59 That's our next lesson. 56:01 The following lesson is, The Elders; Human or Angelic? 56:07 Because some people, you know, they use Revelation 5:9-10 56:13 where it seems to indicate that the elders 56:16 are redeemed from every nation, tongue, and people, 56:19 and they are going to reign upon the earth. 56:21 And we have to come to terms with that. 56:24 We have to resolve that issue in Revelation 5:9-10. 56:29 And then the last presentation that we're going to have 56:32 on the elders is found on page 95 of your syllabus. 56:36 And that is, The Future History and Functions of the Elders. 56:42 What are the elders going to do throughout eternity future? 56:46 Are there going to be elders in God's economy that are 56:48 going to belong to the heavenly council 56:51 where decisions are going to be made? 56:52 What will their functions be? 56:54 So basically, this is what we're going to take a look at 56:58 in our next few lessons. 57:01 You know, we ended this lesson a lot sooner than I thought. 57:05 We went very quickly, which is nice. 57:08 And so, I think that we can end this session 57:10 with a word of prayer. 57:11 Father in heaven, we thank You for revealing these things 57:14 so clearly in Your Holy Word. 57:17 We thank You that You did have a plan to redeem humanity 57:23 after Adam and Eve sinned. 57:25 We're thankful that You will give us a position 57:28 of leadership in Your kingdom to come. 57:30 Help us, Lord, to be good leaders and to be faithful in 57:33 this life so that when we reach heaven, 57:36 we are able to use all of the gifts that You have given us 57:40 for Your glory and for Your honor, 57:42 and for the growth and prosperity of Your kingdom. 57:46 We thank You, Father, for having been with us in this session. 57:49 We ask that You will continue being with us 57:51 the rest of this day. 57:52 And we ask this in the precious name of Jesus, 57:55 our Lord and Savior, amen. |
Revised 2022-05-03