Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000034S
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00:00 - There's a small piece of real estate,
00:01 just 37 acres that has become one 00:04 of the most disputed plots on the planet, 00:07 so disputed that some people live in perpetual fear 00:10 that this place might even spark a global war. 00:13 That's our subject today on "Authentic". 00:16 [bright music] 00:37 The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is probably 00:39 the most contentious piece of real estate 00:41 anywhere on the planet. 00:44 All three of the world's Abrahamic religions, Judaism, 00:46 Christianity and Islam revere this place, and currently, 00:50 it's under Muslim control and it's home 00:52 to the Dome of the Rock, a shrine erected over the stone 00:55 where Muslims believe Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son 00:59 and where Mohammed is said to have left 01:01 for a journey to heaven. 01:02 The Dome of the Rock is a beautiful building 01:04 and possibly one of the oldest Muslim structures 01:07 in the world, but the problem, of course, lies in the fact 01:11 that also happens to sit on the Temple Mount, 01:14 the place where both the first 01:15 and second Jewish temples once stood. 01:17 This is what makes it contentious. 01:20 A lot of the world's Jews would very much like to build 01:22 a third temple on that same spot, 01:25 and there's a fairly broad swath of Western Christianity 01:29 that believes that Jesus will not return to Earth 01:32 until a third temple is built. 01:35 Today when you visit the location, which is open to Jews 01:38 and Christians at certain times of the day 01:40 and on certain days of the week, there are signs warning 01:43 non-Muslims that they are not allowed to pray 01:46 while they're exploring the grounds. 01:48 It's a prohibition that dates back to the Six-Day War 01:51 when Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan decided 01:54 that the Temple Mount should remain in Muslim control 01:58 for the sake of preventing further conflict, 02:00 and a little later, he forbid Jewish prayers on the mount, 02:04 apparently, for the same reason. 02:08 Of course, there isn't much you can do to prevent people 02:10 from praying because unless it includes the act of kneeling 02:14 or other obvious religious gestures, how in the world 02:18 could you possibly know what's going on 02:20 inside somebody's head? 02:22 So it comes as no surprise that in recent weeks, 02:25 the Jerusalem Post ran a story about Jews who continue 02:29 to pray discreetly where they're not supposed to 02:32 up on the Temple Mount. 02:34 And it's hard to believe that the millions of Christians 02:37 who continue to visit such an important historical site 02:40 haven't also been having the occasional chat with God 02:43 while they're up there. 02:45 The worry that Muslims have, of course, is that non-Muslims 02:49 who pray on the Temple Mount might become emboldened 02:52 to do something about the fact that they 02:54 no longer control it, that their religious fervor 02:57 might escalate, and that could easily spark yet another war 03:03 in the Middle East. 03:05 So do I like visiting the Temple mount? 03:08 Well, the answer, of course, is yes, I do. 03:10 I mean, what Christian doesn't love visiting the site 03:13 where so much of the important stuff from the Old Testament 03:16 and from the life of Jesus took place? 03:19 Overall, I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan 03:22 of visiting Jerusalem itself because, well, it's far 03:26 too crowded and far too touristy for me, 03:29 but the Temple Mount is pretty special. 03:32 Of course, I don't happen to believe that God 03:35 can hear me pray any better while I'm up there, 03:37 but just being there where Solomon prayed 03:41 and the presence of God filled the temple, 03:44 where Jesus actually taught in the courtyard, 03:47 where the Romans finally had enough of Jewish rebellion 03:49 and leveled the building in AD70, Well, let's just say, 03:53 as a huge fan of religious history, 03:55 definitely enjoy visiting the Temple Mount. 03:59 And just the other day as I was reading The Jerusalem Post, 04:02 I was suddenly reminded of a story found 04:05 in the writings of the Roman historian, Tacitus, 04:08 about the day in 63 BC, when the Roman General Pompey 04:12 marched into the city. 04:14 He chose to attack on the Sabbath because he knew 04:17 that the Jews would not fight back on the seventh day 04:20 of the week and the conquest would be much easier. 04:23 Then Tacitus tells us that Pompey just had to know 04:28 what was inside the temple because everybody seemed 04:31 to be willing to die for it 04:32 and it was obviously very important. 04:35 Here's how Tacitus describes what happened. 04:38 He writes, "Roman control of Judea was first established 04:43 by Gnaeus Pompey. 04:45 As victor, he claimed the right to enter the temple, 04:49 and this incident gave rise to the common impression 04:52 that it contained no representation of the deity. 04:55 The sanctuary was empty and the Holy of Holies untenanted." 05:02 Almost 140 years later in AD70, the Romans actually ripped 05:05 this structure down, but Pompey had a deep respect 05:09 for other people's religion so he left the temple standing. 05:13 What baffled him though was the fact 05:16 that the Most Holy Place in that temple had nothing inside, 05:20 and I mean absolutely nothing. 05:23 He was likely expecting a statue of the Jewish deity 05:26 like he would find in a pagan temple, 05:28 but there was nothing there because the Ark of the Covenant 05:31 had been lost after the first destruction of Jerusalem 05:35 when the Babylonian sacked the temple. 05:37 Of course, the empty sanctuary contributed to the idea 05:41 that some Romans had that the Jews must be atheists 05:44 because they didn't have artistic representations 05:48 of their God. 05:50 So a powerful Roman general, one of the most impressive men 05:54 in the world enters the temple in Jerusalem 05:57 and finds nothing. 05:59 Now, the irony of this story is the fact that the temple 06:02 had originally been built along with the entire nation 06:05 of Israel as a light to the Gentiles. 06:08 You find that in Isaiah 42. 06:10 The purpose of the temple was to display the mercy of God 06:14 through the rites and rituals that took place in public 06:17 and in particular, through the sacrifices 06:20 that foreshadowed the work of Messiah. 06:23 It was an invitation to the nations, the Gentiles, 06:26 and the Temple Mount in its original conception 06:29 was supposed to be a multinational affair. 06:33 As the Second Temple was being completed 06:35 after the Babylonian captivity, the prophet Zechariah 06:38 delivered this message from God. 06:40 He said, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, in those days, 06:44 10 men from every language of the nations shall grasp 06:48 the sleeve of a Jewish man saying, 'Let us go with you, 06:51 for we have heard that God is with you.'" 06:54 Here's how the prophet Isaiah said the same thing 06:57 during the days of the First Temple, this is in Isaiah 56. 07:01 "Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves 07:04 to the Lord to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, 07:07 to be His servants, everyone who keeps from defiling 07:10 the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant, 07:13 even them I will bring to my holy mountain 07:15 and make them joyful in My house of prayer. 07:18 Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices 07:20 will be accepted on my altar, for My house shall be called 07:24 a house of prayer for all nations." 07:28 So was it appropriate for a Roman general 07:31 to be on the Temple Mount? 07:33 While the answer biblically speaking, is yes, 07:36 I mean, depending on why he was there. 07:38 Of course, the most holy place wasn't going to be open 07:42 to him, because the only person allowed to go in there 07:44 was the High Priest and only on the Day of Atonement, 07:48 but the simple presence of a Gentile on the Temple Mount? 07:51 Yeah, that was the plan from the very beginning. 07:55 But when Pompey arrived in 63BC, the experience 07:58 was anything but enlightening. 08:01 In fact, he left confused, not exactly sure 08:04 what to make of the Jewish religion. 08:06 One of the most powerful man in the world had approached 08:09 the temple, and tragically left with nothing, 08:13 which is kind of the impression I get sometimes 08:16 with people who read the Bible. 08:18 A lot of really smart and influential people 08:20 have opened this book and come away empty handed. 08:23 In fact, I often get letters from them. 08:26 There are college courses you can take called, 08:28 well, things like the Bible as Literature, 08:30 and every year, thousands of undergrads 08:32 take courses like that, 08:34 and it's a little like Pompey in the temple. 08:37 They see the beautiful structures, they appreciate 08:39 the historical context, but they just don't have 08:42 the same experience that believers have. 08:46 Now, there's one more story from the ancient temple 08:48 that might help explain why this kind of thing happens, 08:52 but I've got to take a break, so don't go away. 08:54 I'll be right back with one of the most fascinating stories 08:57 you're ever gonna hear. 09:00 - [Narrator] Life can throw a lot at us. 09:03 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 09:06 but that's where the Bible comes in. 09:08 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 09:12 Here at the "Voice of Prophecy", we've created 09:14 the Discover Bible guides to be your guide to the Bible. 09:17 They're designed to be simple, easy to use 09:19 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions, 09:22 and they're absolutely free. 09:24 So jump online now, or give us a call 09:27 and start your journey of discovery. 09:30 - When the nation of Israel was first getting started, 09:32 the firstborn son of every family 09:34 was supposed to be dedicated to the priesthood. 09:38 But when the golden calf fiasco took place 09:40 shortly after Israel's departure from Egypt, 09:43 the tribe of Levi remained faithful to God and so they began 09:47 to fill the role of the priest for everybody, 09:50 but at the same time, God continued to lay claim 09:53 to every firstborn son, especially dedicated to him 09:57 as a way of reminding the world that he His own Son 10:00 was going to be specially dedicated to the human race. 10:04 In recognition of that, the firstborn had to be redeemed 10:08 by giving five silver shekels to the temple 10:10 in order to release the boy from his obligation. 10:14 Now, from what I understand, a shackle was a little less 10:17 than 1/2 an ounce, and if we round that out 10:19 to 1/2 an ounce, that would be about, I don't know, 10:21 $67 worth of silver today. 10:24 Of course, silver was probably worth a lot more back then 10:27 because it was a main form of currency, 10:30 but I guess the point is this, you had to redeem 10:33 your firstborn son, at least in part, because God was going 10:37 to give His firstborn Son to save us. 10:41 So now we're gonna turn to the Book of Luke, 10:44 because there's a story there 10:45 that you might find very interesting. 10:48 It's the story of Jesus' dedication in the temple, 10:51 which typically happened about 40 days after birth, 10:54 and after he underwent the Jewish rite of circumcision, 10:57 a rite designed to signify that he was a child 11:01 of the covenant. 11:03 And here's the interesting thing about that. 11:05 We learned by reading 1 Corinthians 10:4 11:09 that it was actually the pre-Incarnate Christ 11:12 who accompanied the nation of Israel through the desert 11:15 on their way to the Promised Land. 11:17 Jesus was the God who dwelt in the pillar of cloud by day 11:20 and the pillar of cloud by night. 11:22 And when the Israelites pitched camp, he was the one 11:26 whose presence would descend into the most holy place 11:29 in the sanctuary, where he would, in the words of Exodus 25, 11:33 commune with Moses from above the mercy seat 11:36 on the Ark of the Covenant. 11:38 So, according to the Bible, Jesus is the God 11:43 of the Covenant, and now he became a human being 11:46 and underwent the rite of circumcision, 11:48 making him a full member of God's covenant people. 11:53 Where the chosen nation had failed, 11:55 Jesus was going to succeed. 11:57 So now to Luke 2, where Joseph and Mary 12:00 are bringing Jesus to the temple for his dedication, 12:04 a ceremony that required an offering. 12:06 In fact, it required a sacrificial lamb, which in this case 12:10 is somewhat ironic, because Jesus is the long awaited 12:14 Lamb of God, the one who would sacrifice himself 12:17 for the sins of the world. 12:19 And in order for Joseph and Mary to present 12:21 this newborn Lamb of God in the temple, 12:23 they also had to present a literal lamb 12:26 like every other parent, except they couldn't afford one 12:31 because they were poor and if you couldn't afford a lamb, 12:34 you were allowed to substitute a pair of doves 12:37 or a pair of pigeons for that Lamb. 12:39 Here's the way the Bible tells the story now in Luke 2. 12:42 It says, "And when eight days were completed 12:45 for the circumcision of the child, 12:47 his name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel 12:50 before he was conceived in the womb." 12:53 Part of the rite of circumcision involved 12:54 the official naming of a child and of course, 12:57 Mary and Joseph used the name that Gabriel had given them. 13:00 It continues, "Now, when the days of purification 13:04 according to the law of Moses were completed, 13:06 they brought him to Jerusalem to present them to the Lord, 13:09 as it is written in the law of the Lord, 13:12 'Every male who opens the womb'", in other words, 13:14 the firstborn son, "'shall be called holy to the Lord, 13:18 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said 13:21 in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, 13:24 or two young pigeons.'" 13:26 Everything about the birth of Christ was done 13:29 according to the letter of the law. 13:31 He was circumcised right on time, and he was dedicated 13:35 right on time. 13:36 This child was going to do everything that God's people 13:39 had failed to do time and time and time again. 13:43 And here's the spectacular thing about this story. 13:46 The baby presented to the priest that day 13:50 was the whole reason the temple had been built 13:52 in the first place. 13:54 He was the God who had been hidden behind the veil, 13:57 and now he'd come out into the courtyard to join us 14:01 as a real human being. 14:03 Even the priests job that day was a prophetic symbol 14:06 that pointed forward to the work that Christ 14:08 was going to do in behalf of all of us, 14:12 and yet the priest who officiated over that dedication 14:15 that day had no idea who this baby was. 14:20 Now, there's an old book from the 19th century 14:23 where the author describes this moment in the temple 14:26 a lot better than I can. 14:27 So I'm just gonna read it to you. 14:29 I mean, listen to this, I'm gonna read you 14:31 the whole paragraph. 14:33 It says this, "The priest went through the ceremony 14:36 of his official work, he took the child and his arms 14:39 and held it up before the altar. 14:41 After handing it back to its mother, 14:43 he inscribed the name Jesus on the roll of the firstborn. 14:47 Little did he think as the babe lay in his arms 14:50 that it was the majesty of heaven, the King of glory. 14:53 The priest did not think that this babe 14:56 was the one of whom Moses had written, 14:58 'A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you 15:01 of your brethren like unto me, Him shall ye here 15:04 in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.' 15:07 He did not think that this babe was he whose glory Moses 15:11 had asked to see. 15:12 But one greater than Moses lay in the priest's arms, 15:15 and when he enrolled the child's name, 15:18 he was enrolling the name of the one who was the foundation 15:21 of the whole Jewish economy. 15:23 That name was to be its death warrant, 15:26 for the system of sacrifices and offerings was waxing old, 15:30 the type had almost reached its antitype, 15:32 the shadow, its substance. 15:35 The Shekinah", now, that's an old word 15:37 for the presence of God. 15:39 "The Shekinah had departed from the sanctuary 15:43 but in the child of Bethlehem was veiled the glory 15:46 before which angels bow." 15:49 Man, imagine the irony of a priest not realizing 15:52 who this baby was. 15:53 Now, I don't know exactly what was going on in his head, 15:56 but over the centuries, the idea of Messiah 15:58 had been built up in people's minds to the point 16:01 that they were expecting something, well, spectacular. 16:05 Messiah would be a conqueror, the one who would drive 16:08 the Romans out of the land and reestablish 16:10 the throne of David. 16:12 So there would be no reason for this priest to think 16:15 that these two people, poor people who had nothing 16:18 but a pair of pigeons, would be bringing the hope of Israel 16:21 right into the temple. 16:24 I mean, just think about this, a handful of decades earlier, 16:28 before the dedication, the Roman General Pompey 16:31 marched into the most holy place and found it empty, 16:34 and now a few decades later, the Son of God, 16:37 the one who used to be in that most holy place, 16:41 he comes into the temple as an infant, 16:44 and again, we kinda find it empty. 16:46 The very people who should have recognized his arrival 16:49 had no idea who he was and the day he was dedicated, 16:53 was just another day, which brings us to the moment 16:57 when somebody prays on the Temple Mount. 17:00 Now, that activity might be forbidden today, 17:02 but 2,000 years ago, somebody suddenly recognized 17:06 this infant in their midst. 17:08 The story continues in verse 25. 17:10 "And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem 17:13 whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, 17:17 waiting for the consolation of Israel 17:19 and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 17:21 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit 17:24 that he would not see death 17:26 before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 17:28 So he came by the Spirit into the temple, 17:31 and when the parents brought in the child Jesus 17:33 to do for him according to the custom of the law, 17:36 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said," 17:40 well, he said something really, really important, 17:43 but to find out what that was, you're gonna have 17:45 to wait until after this break. 17:47 I'll be right back. 17:50 - [Narrator] Here at the "Voice of Prophecy", 17:51 we're committed to creating top quality programming 17:54 for the whole family, 17:55 like our audio adventure series "Discovery Mountain". 17:58 "Discovery Mountain" is a Bible-based program for kids 18:01 of all ages and backgrounds. 18:03 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 18:06 from this small mountain summer camp and town. 18:09 With 24 seasonal episodes every year and fresh content 18:12 every week, there's always a new adventure 18:15 just on the horizon. 18:20 - Okay, we appear to be back from the break, 18:22 so let's pick up again now in Luke 2:29, 18:26 where Simeon thanks God for allowing him 18:29 to see this Christ child. 18:31 He says, "Lord, now You are letting your servant 18:34 depart in peace according to your Word, for my eyes 18:37 have seen your salvation which you have prepared 18:39 before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation 18:43 to the Gentiles and the glory of your people, Israel." 18:48 This was the prayer of an old man who had been quietly told 18:52 by God that he wasn't going to die until Messiah arrived. 18:56 What Pompey had hoped to see behind the veil 19:00 was right there in front of everybody now 19:02 and everybody was missing it. 19:05 So God nudged an old prophet and whispered, "Go right now." 19:09 And Simeon was standing there 19:11 when Mary and Joseph came in. 19:13 The moment when God the Son had stepped out 19:16 from behind the veil of the Most Holy Place 19:18 to join humanity on our side 19:21 was not going to go completely unrecognized. 19:25 And just look at the words of Simeon's prayer. 19:27 This helpless baby, he said, was "a light to bring 19:30 revelation to the Gentiles and the glory 19:33 of Your people Israel." 19:34 You remember that being a light to the Gentiles 19:37 was the purpose of the whole temple in the first place, 19:40 but instead of inviting the world to meet God, 19:43 instead of making it a house of prayer for all nations, 19:46 God's people cloistered themselves 19:48 and essentially caught off the Gentile world. 19:51 Now, in some ways that was understandable, 19:53 at least from a human perspective. 19:56 Before the Babylonian sacked the temple, 19:58 the people of Judah had made the opposite mistake, 20:01 they began to compromise with Gentiles 20:03 and identify with them so completely 20:06 that they abandoned their own faith. 20:08 So now centuries later, it was almost 20:11 as if a lot of the religious leaders 20:12 were being hyper paranoid, obsessively worried 20:16 about sullying themselves by mere contact with non-Jews. 20:20 As a result, they treated the Gentile world 20:22 as if it had leprosy, and once again, the real purpose 20:26 of the temple had been lost. 20:28 So now God Himself had stepped out from behind the veil 20:32 and become one of them, a genuine child of the Covenant, 20:36 a physical descendant of Abraham 20:39 and he was going to be that light to the Gentiles. 20:43 It's fascinating to trace the life of Jesus and compare it 20:46 to the national history of Israel. 20:48 When Jesus was born, he had to flee Egypt 20:50 the same way the sons of Jacob had gone to Egypt 20:53 to escape a famine. 20:55 Then when it was time to begin his ministry, 20:57 Jesus was baptized in the Jordan 20:59 and Israel had to pass through the Red Sea 21:01 in order to move to the promised land, 21:03 an event that Paul calls their baptism in 1 Corinthians 10. 21:08 Then immediately after the launch of His ministry 21:10 at the Jordan, Jesus went out into the wilderness 21:12 for 40 days, where he was tempted. 21:14 And of course, he succeeded, he resisted that temptation. 21:18 But immediately after crossing the Red Sea, 21:20 the children of Israel succumbed to temptation, 21:23 and they ended up wandering in the desert, 21:25 not for 40 days, but for 40 years. 21:28 The parallels between Israel and Christ are unmistakable, 21:31 to the point where in the Book of Hosea, 21:33 God actually says, "When Israel was a child, I loved him 21:37 and out of Egypt, I called My Son." 21:41 The temple had been empty, spiritually speaking 21:43 for a really long time, and now the glory of Israel 21:46 was suddenly there as a baby and almost everybody 21:51 in the room missed it, except for two people, 21:53 Simeon and an aging prophetess named Anna. 21:58 Sometimes this story makes me wonder personally, 22:01 just how often I've missed the presence of God in my life, 22:04 because my attention was focused on all the wrong things. 22:08 I mean, I'm a religious guy and I take my faith 22:10 pretty seriously, but I've got to admit, 22:12 it's entirely possible to become so blinded 22:15 by your own opinion, so blinded by the noise of life 22:18 that you're suddenly building your own system of religion, 22:21 instead of actually hearing from God. 22:24 And if there's one thing that becomes really clear 22:26 when you read the Bible, it's the fact that God 22:29 doesn't behave according to our expectations. 22:32 In fact, He often does things that seem to be 22:34 a deliberate reversal of what we expect 22:37 so that we always remember we're not in charge. 22:41 The presence of God in human history 22:42 is almost always an unexpected surprise. 22:46 I mean, in this story, the creator is a baby lying 22:50 in the temple he instructed his own people to build. 22:53 Let me show you one of the more surprising passages 22:55 from the Old Testament, a passage that speaks 22:57 to this very moment when Jesus was dedicated. 23:00 When the people of Judah came back from Babylon 23:03 and rebuilt the temple, you can imagine the excitement. 23:06 I mean, when Solomon dedicated the building, 23:08 I mean, the first temple that the Babylonians destroyed, 23:11 the presence of God showed up and filled the building, 23:14 and it was such an overwhelming experience 23:16 that the congregation fell on their faces 23:18 and the priests had to step back. 23:20 So of course, they wanted that to happen 23:22 with the Second Temple, but it didn't. 23:26 There was nothing, no fiery presence, 23:28 no cloud of glory, absolutely nothing. 23:30 And it was confusing because the prophet Haggai 23:33 had actually promised that the Second Temple 23:35 would be better than the first. 23:37 He says this, Haggai to 2:9, "'The glory 23:39 of this latter temple shall be greater than the former', 23:42 says, the Lord of hosts. 23:43 'And in this place, I will give peace,' 23:45 says the Lord of hosts." 23:47 So how in the world could the glory 23:49 of the Second Temple be greater? 23:51 It took a long time to get the answer, 23:53 and it seems like Simeon was the first to understand 23:57 this little baby was God in human flesh, 24:00 the glory of Israel. 24:01 He had just made the Second Temple far more glorious 24:05 than the first and now Simeon could finally die happy. 24:11 All right, one last break, and I'll be right back. 24:15 - [Narrator 2] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues, 24:19 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 24:23 If you've ever read Daniel or Revelation 24:26 and come away scratching your head, you're not alone. 24:29 Our free "Focus on Prophecy" guides are designed 24:32 to help you unlock the mysteries of the Bible 24:34 and deepen your understanding of God's plan 24:36 for you and our world. 24:38 Study online or request them by mail 24:40 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 24:45 - Now, I'll be perfectly honest, there might have been 24:46 signs up on the Temple Mount saying that I wasn't allowed 24:49 to pray while I was visiting, but I'd be lying 24:52 if I said I said absolutely nothing to God 24:54 while I was up there contemplating 24:56 2,000 years of history. 24:58 Today that Temple itself is gone except for the remains 25:01 of a wall and I know that a lot of Christians 25:04 really wanna see a third temple on that spot, 25:08 but I have to ask, why? 25:10 Why would we need a third temple? 25:12 I mean, I don't doubt that somebody might build something 25:14 if time should last, but what purpose would that serve? 25:18 Naturally, a new temple would become a focal point 25:20 of faith for an awful lot of people, 25:22 and I guess I can see some practical purpose, 25:25 some potential in that, but is God really gonna bring back 25:29 the whole thing, including animal sacrifices? 25:32 The Book of Hebrews tells us quite pointedly, 25:34 "It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats 25:38 could take away sins." 25:40 Those sacrificial animals never saved anybody. 25:44 They were placeholders. 25:46 They were symbols pointing forward to the Lamb of God, 25:49 the presence who would come out from behind the veil 25:52 and join us on this side, in an authentic human experience. 25:58 And the Bible teaches that that man now serves 26:02 as our Great High Priest, not in an earthly temple, 26:06 but in the heavenly sanctuary, a much greater temple, 26:10 because it was built by God Himself. 26:12 Here's what it says in the Book of Hebrews, 26:15 "Now, this is the main point of the things we are saying, 26:19 we have such a High Priest who was seated 26:22 at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty 26:24 in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary 26:27 and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected 26:31 and not man." 26:33 So is there really a need for another earthly temple? 26:37 The answer, according to the Bible is no, absolutely not, 26:40 because the focal point of our faith 26:43 is now in Heaven's sanctuary. 26:46 Would there ever be a need for more animal sacrifices 26:48 now that Messiah has come? 26:50 No, absolutely not. 26:51 To start that again would be a denial of the cross. 26:55 The real Lamb of God has come, 26:58 and now he's our real High Priest, 27:01 so there's no need for all those symbols 27:03 that pointed forward to him. 27:05 And I guess my plea is this, the Temple Mount is now empty, 27:09 and in some ways, it's been empty for a really long time, 27:12 even before the Romans destroyed the building, 27:15 but there is a heavenly temple and the baby 27:18 who was dedicated 2,000 years ago, the glory of Israel 27:22 is now our High Priest, and he lives for the moment 27:26 that you might reach out to him, and there's no sign 27:29 in the heavenly sanctuary telling you you can't pray. 27:32 There's nobody, absolutely nobody who can stop you 27:36 from talking to your High Priest right now. 27:39 I'm Shawn Boonstra. 27:40 Thanks for joining me. 27:42 This has been "Authentic". 27:43 [bright music] 28:17 [bright music] |
Revised 2022-01-06