Participants: Kameron Devasher
Series Code: 14SCM
Program Code: 14SCM000003S
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00:37 Hello and welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center -
00:40 the Camp Meeting experience - as we take a closer look, 00:43 an in-depth look, at the second coming of our Lord 00:47 and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:48 You will be getting over the next several days 00:51 what we used to get in school called eschatology: 00:54 the study of the end things. Things dealing with the end. 00:58 We were a church born and birthed in the 01:01 matrix of eschatology. It was eschatology that drove us. 01:05 It was part of our name, our fabric. 01:08 We looked towards the end and tried to be prepared 01:11 for the end. And so during these next several days 01:15 we will do what some have accused the church of neglecting 01:18 to do, and that's concentrating on those things 01:21 dealing with the second coming of our Lord and Savior 01:24 Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for our first speaker. 01:27 John Bradshaw did a marvelous job, did he not? 01:30 Were you blessed by that presentation? 01:31 Surely we were. 01:33 And each speaker... You know 01:37 we say if you should have missed any speaker 01:39 it should have been the last one. 01:41 You don't want to miss this one. Our speaker now is 01:44 Pastor Kameron DeVasher. We met him some time ago 01:48 when he was an associate pastor in Florida. 01:50 He is now the pastor of the Muskegon and Fremont churches 01:56 in the Michigan Conference and doing a very, very fine job. 02:00 He's a GYC guy... a young person with energy 02:03 and much stamina. You may not recognize him 02:07 when he comes out. He's added a little something 02:09 to his lower face that he didn't have when last we met him. 02:12 He looks very professorial and very distinguished. 02:15 A little gray hair in there also. 02:17 So he's doing a very, very fine job for the Lord. 02:21 He is married to Emilie. 02:22 He has two sons: Henry and Edward. 02:25 And, of course, many of you know that Edward has had some 02:28 health challenges. We have prayed much for the DeVasher 02:31 family over the last several months. And he may want to 02:33 give you a little update on that. 02:35 I will allow him to do that if he wishes. 02:38 But Kameron is going to be speaking on The Great 02:40 Controversy Second Coming. 02:42 And that, of course, is a very powerful subject... 02:45 one that we want to know more about. 02:49 We invite you to open your Bibles; open your pads and 02:51 pencils; fire up your iPads. 02:53 We don't mind if you take notes. 02:55 In fact, we strongly encourage you to do so. 02:59 We are thankful that these messages will be available 03:02 after this weekend shall have ended. 03:03 But you may want to take some notes even while 03:05 the pastors are speaking for your own study and edification. 03:08 We'd be certainly happy if you would do that. 03:11 Just before Pastor DeVasher speaks, our music is coming from 03:15 our pastor and friend Pastor John Lomacang. 03:18 And he's going to be singing a song which is in the trajectory 03:21 of what we've been talking about. It's from our Pillars II 03:24 album: Don't You Hear My Jesus Coming? 03:28 But before Pastor Lomacang comes and Pastor DeVasher speaks 03:32 would you now bow your heads with me in a word of prayer. 03:36 Gracious Father, again we thank you and praise you 03:38 so very much for Your Word 03:40 which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. 03:45 We are thankful, Lord Jesus, for the power of Your Word 03:48 and for the surety that we have that Jesus is coming soon. 03:53 Help us, Lord, as we learn more about that day 03:56 to prepare our hearts, our minds for that day 03:59 so that we can see You face to face. 04:02 And now, Father, we ask a very special blessing 04:05 on Pastor DeVasher as he speaks to us 04:07 and open our hearts that we may be receptive to the word. 04:11 Bless the music that shall be sung, 04:13 the sermon that shall be preached. 04:15 And we thank you, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. 04:18 Pastor John Lomacang and then Pastor Kameron DeVasher. 04:40 Don't you see my Jesus coming? 04:46 Don't you see Him in yonder cloud? 04:53 With 10,000 angels 'round Him, 04:58 see how they my Jesus crowd! 05:05 I am bound for the kingdom, 05:10 Will you go 05:13 to glory with me? 05:17 Hallelujah! 05:20 O praise ye the Lord! 05:27 Don't you see the saints ascending? 05:32 Hear them shouting thro' the air. 05:38 Jesus smiling, trumpets sounding, 05:44 Now His glory they will share. 05:49 For I am bound for the kingdom, 05:54 will you go to glory with me? 06:00 Hallelujah! 06:03 O praise ye the Lord! 06:07 Hallelujah! 06:09 Hallelujah! 06:12 Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 06:14 Hallelujah! 06:20 Don't you see the heavens open 06:26 and the saints 06:28 in glory there? 06:33 Shouts of triumph bursting 'round them 06:38 glory glory 06:41 everywhere! 06:49 I am bound for the kingdom, 06:53 will you go to glory with me? 06:59 Hallelujah! 07:01 O praise ye the Lord! 07:05 Hallelujah! 07:08 O praise ye 07:11 the Lord! 07:29 And all the people said? Amen! 07:32 Has it been a blessing already this 3ABN Camp Meeting? 07:36 I hope so... in fact, I KNOW so. 07:37 I've been blessed just listening to it 07:39 and now being a part of it myself. I'm glad to be here. 07:41 I want to thank 3ABN for the opportunity to be here 07:43 and I would thank all of you for showing up and making this 07:46 one of the tremendous blessings that we get to experience 07:49 together as a church family. 07:50 The burden of my message this evening 07:53 is, of course, related to the second coming. 07:55 Everything this weekend is related to the second coming. 07:58 But I'm going to be addressing this particular topic from a 08:02 very specific perspective, OK? 08:06 My task - which I'm so excited about - is to present 08:10 the significance of the second coming in the context 08:16 of the great controversy. 08:18 The great controversy is the - as some call it - 08:21 the metanarrative 08:22 that underlies everything else in our understanding of God 08:25 and His work on our behalf. 08:27 And the second coming is a wonderful, awesome event 08:29 in and of itself, but it is an event in a much larger 08:33 spectrum of events or stream of events, 08:35 a process that God is doing to rid the universe 08:38 once and for all of sin and rebellion. 08:42 And so I praise the Lord that we are living so close 08:44 to the second coming where our study is not necessarily 08:48 theory but I have faith that in my lifetime 08:51 we're going to see Jesus come soon and very soon. 08:54 But before we dive into a study of God's Word 08:58 let's begin with a word of prayer. 09:00 Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for so many things 09:03 this evening. Thank you for life at all 09:07 but much more importantly, Lord, thank you for the eternal 09:10 life that is provided through Jesus Christ. 09:13 And as we look forward to and as scripture says 09:15 not only look for but hasten the coming of Christ, 09:19 Lord, help us to be Your people. 09:21 Not just on paper but in person, Lord, 09:24 make us like Jesus so that when we see Him 09:27 we go from this world to the next seamlessly. 09:30 Lord, bless us to that end. 09:32 Bless our minds now. Send Your Holy Spirit to teach us 09:34 as You have promised to do. 09:36 For we pray it all in Jesus' name, Amen. 09:41 The purpose of the great controversy 09:45 is to allow every sentient being in the universe 09:51 opportunity to see in Satan and his principles 09:57 what God has seen all along. 10:01 I'm going to say all that statement again because 10:03 that's going to be the foundation of what we build upon 10:06 in the rest of our time together. 10:08 The purpose of the great controversy 10:11 is to allow every sentient being 10:14 opportunity to see in Satan and his principles 10:19 what God has seen all along. 10:22 Let me demonstrate this to you in scripture. 10:27 Go to the book of Ezekiel... Ezekiel chapter 28. 10:33 There are a couple of passages that show us 10:36 the background to what we see in our world now. 10:41 We see Satan, we see evil, we see all the wake of his 10:46 rebellion in our experience. But before there was all that 10:50 there are a few passages of scripture that pull back 10:52 the veil and show us what we going on before the fall 10:56 and at the time of the fall in heaven. 10:58 Ezekiel chapter 28; we'll start with verse 14 11:01 and I want to bring something specific to your attention 11:03 tonight. When it describes Lucifer it says in verse 14: 11:08 "You were the anointed cherub who covers. " And of course, 11:12 as good Seventh-day Adventists our minds go back to that 11:14 Most Holy Place and the ark of the covenant 11:17 with the covering cherubs. That is a representation of 11:20 the position Lucifer once held. 11:23 "You were the anointed cherub who covers. 11:26 I established you. " Some versions even say 11:28 "I ordained you. " 11:30 You ever think about that? At one point Satan was an 11:32 ordained minister in the courts of heaven. 11:36 But it goes on: "You were on the holy mountain of God. 11:38 You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 11:40 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created 11:44 till iniquity was found in you. " 11:47 Now we'll pause right here for just a moment. 11:50 Iniquity - that is, sin - was found where? 11:52 "In you. " In him. 11:55 Let me ask you a very simple, logical question: 11:58 who is the only being in the universe who can see anything 12:01 in you? That's God. 12:05 Notice this is an internal... We're going to see this in 12:08 Isaiah. We're going to see it in Ezekiel where we are now 12:10 that this is an internal thing that's going on, 12:12 that we're just seeing the outward manifestation 12:15 in our lifetime and our experience. 12:17 But it continues: "Till iniquity was found in you. " 12:21 Verse 16: "By the abundance of your trading you became 12:24 filled with violence... " And here it is again: 12:26 "within... " The violence was within. 12:29 "Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of 12:32 the mountain of God and I destroyed you, 12:33 O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. " 12:36 Notice He did not destroy him from existence... 12:39 just he got fired from his job. 12:42 He got removed from that location. 12:44 Geographically he was displaced, but he was not 12:47 discontinued all together. 12:51 He was cast out instead of being blotted out of existence. 12:55 And I tell you, one of the issues that people have 12:57 with Christianity as a whole: if God knew, why didn't He 13:01 fix it the moment sin came into existence? 13:07 But we have an answer to this question right here 13:09 in scripture. Notice as the passage continues. 13:12 Verse 17: "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. 13:16 You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. " 13:18 And I believe the key is found here: 13:20 "I cast you to the ground. I laid you before kings... " 13:25 For what purpose? "that they might gaze at you. " 13:31 Now, iniquity was already found within, 13:35 but apparently these other people can't see within. 13:39 Let me ask you a question: is it possible that you can have 13:41 something going on within that you don't necessarily express 13:45 without? Perhaps it's even happening right now as we 13:49 speak tonight. A lot of smiles... "Good to see you" 13:50 but inside "I don't know what you're thinking... 13:52 and I'd rather not know. " 13:55 When I see you, I just see what you decide to put out there. 13:58 Right? But Christ sees through. 14:01 He doesn't just see to you... He sees through you. 14:06 And notice the reason he was cast out instead of being 14:09 blotted out is so "they might gaze at you. " 14:14 Fascinating passage... fascinating concept. 14:16 Let's go to the book of Isaiah. 14:18 The parallel passage to what we find in Ezekiel 14:20 is Isaiah chapter 14 and again verse 12. 14:26 This time looking from the perspective after the 2nd coming 14:31 during that millennium of destruction 14:34 where Satan has lost all influence - almost all influence 14:38 in the universe. And the lamentation 14:42 of the prophet Isaiah here in chapter 14 verse 12 is: 14:44 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the 14:47 morning! How you are cut down to the ground 14:50 you who weaken the nations! " 14:52 And he goes on to say what he was saying in his heart: 14:55 "For you have said in your heart 14:58 'I will ascend into heaven. 15:00 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. " 15:02 And he goes on to say: "I... I... I... " 15:04 But it concludes that "I" list in verse 15: 15:07 "Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths 15:12 of the pit. " Notice: "You shall be. " 15:14 He hasn't been destroyed yet but you're on your way. 15:21 Why is it a process instead of an event... 15:25 this destruction of Satan and the quashing of rebellion? 15:30 Verse 16... notice the striking similar language... 15:34 strikingly similar: 15:35 "Those who see you will... " What? "gaze at you... " 15:40 And what's that next word? "and consider you. " 15:44 What are some other words for consider? 15:47 To think about; to ponder; to mull over; 15:50 to debate; to wrestle with; to struggle; 15:52 to think about something. They're going to look at you 15:55 and think about you. 15:58 They need to look and think about you and your principles. 16:04 What you have done. "Is this the man 16:08 who made the earth tremble? Who shook kingdoms? 16:10 Who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed 16:12 its cities and who did not open the house of his prisoners? " 16:16 They're dumbfounded at the thought that is it possible 16:20 that this is what happened. 16:21 Now, I believe it's significant that both Isaiah and Ezekiel 16:26 tell us the reason why Satan was cast out 16:29 instead of being blotted out. 16:30 It's because God can see what man doesn't. 16:33 Imagine in your mind the throne room of heaven 16:36 before the fall or during the time this internal struggle 16:40 is happening with Lucifer, the covering cherub. 16:45 God the Father... you can imagine everyone 16:46 is coming together for a great Camp Meeting in heaven. 16:49 And they're singing the doxology. 16:51 Oh, there's the angel host; there's the unfallen beings; 16:54 there's the different orders... cherubim and seraphim... 16:56 there's the covering cherubs. Everyone is there. 16:58 There's all the members of the Godhead; everyone is around 17:00 and they're singing praises to God. 17:02 And the eye of God sweeps across that great 17:08 assembly, and the outside of everyone there harmonizes 17:13 perfectly with the inside of everyone there. 17:16 Purity; holiness; righteousness. 17:20 All one harmonious chord in praise to the Father. 17:26 You can imagine: "Praise God, from whom... " 17:29 Just really lifting it up. 17:31 Until He gets to the covering cherub. 17:39 And I'm guessing that on the outside 17:42 he was also "Praise God, from whom... " 17:45 But on the inside: "I will ascend... I will exalt. " 17:53 You can imagine God the Father saying: 17:56 "Everybody, hang on just a second. Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. 18:00 Umm, Lucifer, can you step forward please? " 18:05 And again on the outside: "Oh yes, what can I do? 18:07 How can I help? " 18:09 He's like: "You can stop that now. 18:14 Don't even play games any more. 18:19 I see the iniquity within. " 18:23 And he goes: "What are you? Honest... what... ah? Me? " 18:28 "Yes, and the wages of sin is death. " 18:39 And the lifeless form of the covering cherub... 18:44 before the onlooking universe. 18:49 And then God would say: 18:51 "All right... where were we? " "Praise God, from whom all... " 18:58 Now they're not against God 19:01 but is it legitimate to assume that they might have some 19:05 questions for God? 19:08 Absolutely. Absolutely they would. 19:13 Let me illustrate this... from scripture, again. 19:16 Job chapter 1. Job chapter 1 is a fascinating piece 19:20 of scripture. Just before the book of Psalms we have Job. 19:24 In outlines oftentimes people think it's the struggles of Job 19:28 and the issues of Job, but let me tell you something. 19:30 The person on trial in the book of Job is not Job. 19:35 It's God. Let me demonstrate this to you. 19:37 Of course the first five verses of chapter 1 of the book of Job 19:40 describes the goodness of this man Job. He's blameless, 19:44 he's upright... one who fears God and shuns evil. 19:48 And then after verse 5 it jerks us to verse 6 where it says 19:53 "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present 19:56 themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. " 20:02 Which by the way, apparently there are schedules to keep 20:05 in heaven even. And there are perhaps - dare I say it? - 20:09 committee meetings in heaven. 20:12 Somebody somewhere just thought: "Now do I even want to go? " 20:17 Let me tell you: order is not against God. 20:21 Spiritual things are organized for service, OK? 20:24 But here we go: "There was a day when the sons of God 20:27 came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also 20:30 came among them. And the Lord said to Satan: 20:32 'From where do you come? ' 20:34 So Satan answered the Lord and said: 'From going to and fro 20:37 on the earth and from walking back and forth on it. ' " 20:40 Basically, "I was cast out of Your kingdom but I've taken over 20:44 that other kingdom You made in Your image. " 20:49 You can imagine... he's starting his ascendency again. 20:53 "I'm here... I represent the earth. " 20:55 And, of course, who should have been at that meeting? 20:57 Adam as the representative. 20:59 But Adam handed the keys over. And by the way, 21:04 Lucifer admits as much. 21:07 Leave your finger right there in Job. Let me show you something 21:09 in Luke chapter 4. Luke chapter 4. 21:14 When he wrestles with Jesus in the wilderness of temptation 21:18 which, of course, Jesus is victorious. Praise the Lord! 21:21 But you notice what state- ment comes out of Satan's mouth. 21:25 Luke chapter 4 and verse 5. 21:29 "Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, 21:32 showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 21:35 And the devil said to Him: 'All this authority 21:38 I will give You and their glory. ' " Now pause 21:41 right there. Is this a legitimate claim to authority 21:45 over the earth? Yes. Jesus Himself in the gospel of 21:49 John would several times refer to Satan as the ruler 21:53 of this world. 21:54 Notice how Satan at least honestly admits 21:57 how he came by it. Does he say: "I created this world? " 21:59 No, no, no, no, no. He's talking to the Creator. 22:01 That's not going to work. But what does he explain? 22:04 Again, verse 6: "And the devil said to Him: 'All this authority 22:07 I will give You and their glory for this has been delivered 22:11 to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ' " 22:16 So we go back to the book of Job. 22:18 He comes to this meeting as the representative from earth 22:23 saying: "I'm walking back and forth on it to and fro. " 22:26 The implication is "I run that place. " 22:30 And then the Lord says to Satan in verse 8: 22:32 "Have you considered... " Thought about, pondered, 22:37 realized, looked at, considered... 22:39 "My servant Job 22:42 that there is none like him on the earth? " 22:48 Said: "You may claim to run back and forth and run the 22:51 entirety of the earth, but you have a defector in your camp. 22:57 He's on my side. Have you considered that? 23:02 When you make your claim to run the whole world 23:04 I think you forgot about Brother Job. " 23:08 "A blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil. " 23:13 "So Satan answered the Lord and said... " And notice 23:15 the implication: "Does Job fear God for... " What? 23:19 "for nothing? " 23:21 Satan's answer to Christ's bringing up Job 23:24 as a representative of those who fear God and shun evil... 23:28 Satan says: "Yeah, of course he fears God and shuns evil. 23:31 You don't think he's doing it for free? " 23:36 "Of course, look at him. Did you read the first 5 verses 23:39 of the book? You blessed him with children and houses 23:42 and property and all these animals and all this affluence 23:45 and wealth and influence. Sure! Who wouldn't for that price? " 23:52 "Have You not made a hedge around him and his household 23:55 and around all that he has on every side? 23:57 You have blessed the work of his hands 23:59 and his possessions have increased in the land, 24:00 but now stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has 24:03 and he will surely curse You to Your face. " 24:07 And what's amazing about this - this is verse 12- 24:10 "And the Lord said to Satan: 'Behold, all that he has 24:13 is in your power only do not lay a hand on his person. ' 24:17 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. " 24:21 My question about this incident is, though there are many: 24:28 it's fascinating what Christ says and it's fascinating even 24:31 what Satan says and to watch this, but what do 24:34 the sons of God who are assembled at that meeting say? 24:40 Not one word. 24:43 Not one word. 24:45 Now these are loyal to God, yes? 24:47 They're at the meeting in heaven. 24:50 But when Satan comes in with his arguments and his sophistry 24:53 and his accusations they don't raise a remonstrance. 24:59 They don't say: "Hey, get out of here. We're not... " 25:02 It's as if they're saying: "Look, we're loyal to God 25:04 but we need to understand what's all at stake here. 25:09 We need to see this thing play out. 25:11 Let's let him say his piece so we can understand. " 25:14 And that was the purpose of Christ kicking him out. 25:18 So that: "they might gaze at you and consider you. " 25:23 So the Lord allowed this what we read about in the 25:26 rest of the book of Job to unfold not because God 25:29 doesn't know His heart. But the other people need to see 25:34 the contrast between the two competing principles 25:38 for the government of the universe. 25:41 They need to see. 25:43 And when Jesus... Let's go to the other side of the Bible 25:46 in the New Testament in the book of John - 25:48 John chapter 8- Jesus has 25:54 an all-too-familiar encounter with the religious leaders 25:57 of His time. And in John chapter 8 and verse 44 26:00 He makes a stark claim to them. 26:05 And He says in John chapter 8 and verse 44 26:08 to these religious leaders: "You are of your father 26:11 the devil. " By the way, I don't know what kind of 26:15 sharp-pointed preaching you've ever heard 26:17 but I'm doubting you've heard a sermon that pointed 26:21 in a long time. But Jesus had no problem 26:25 calling things out as they were. 26:28 And He said: "You are of your father the devil 26:33 and the desires of your father you want to do. " 26:37 Now what was in the father the devil? 26:39 Self-exaltation. 26:42 Jealousy... envy... 26:44 and murderous intent. 26:47 Remember he was filled with violence within. 26:49 Now let me ask you a question: 26:51 This war in heaven... was it an openly violent, 26:55 there were bodies of angels strewn across the streets 26:58 of gold, kind of conflict? 27:00 No. Remember the iniquity was with... the violence was within. 27:03 The thing that got him cast out you can see is his 27:06 trafficking, his trading, his gossiping, his tale bearing. 27:11 It was a war of words! Right? 27:14 He never openly had an armed conflict with the Son of God 27:18 in heaven... but he wanted to. 27:21 Which by the way, isn't that what Christ defined as murder? 27:27 And He said: "The desires of your father you want to do. 27:30 You are going to accomplish what he wanted to accomplish 27:34 even back then. " We continue reading: 27:37 "He was a murderer from the beginning and does not 27:43 stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. 27:45 When he speaks a lie he speaks from his own resources 27:49 for he is a liar and the father of it. " 27:52 So you have this tension in the great controversy 27:58 where God claims to be love - not just loving and lovely 28:03 but love itself. 28:06 Which... you search all of scripture, love manifest in the 28:08 giving of ones' self for others. It's selflessness. 28:12 And He claims to be love. 28:14 Yet Satan comes along and says: "You're not love. 28:18 You bribe people. Have You ever noticed that all of the songs 28:20 are about You? 28:21 Everything's about You, You, You, You, You. 28:23 You're selfish. " 28:25 And of course God would say: "No, no, no, no, no. 28:27 I'm selfless... you're selfish. " 28:29 "No, no, no, no, no. I'm selfless, You're... " 28:34 "Have You noticed that He's? " "Yes, but he... 28:37 Well... go ahead. " And you can imagine 28:40 from the heavenly unfallen beings' perspective 28:43 "We're loyal to God, but we don't understand all of these 28:48 arguments here. " 28:51 And at some point words just aren't enough. 28:58 For instance, if someone - not when someone 29:01 but if someone - were to ever tell you 29:05 or accuse you of being a liar 29:08 you know what you can't say? 29:12 "No I'm not. " 29:14 You know why? 'Cause that's what a liar would say. 29:20 They're gonna say: "Oh, there you go doin' it again. " 29:23 And you're going to say: "No, no, no. I really promise 29:26 I'm not. " You're just going to intensify the verbiage, right? 29:30 Intensify the... "I really, really, really. 29:33 I promise... I super promise. I'm not a liar. " 29:36 And they're just going to say: "Ah, man, you're just digging 29:38 a deeper hole. " 29:40 At some point when there is a... 29:45 a railing allegation against your character, 29:48 against your word, against your honesty 29:54 words just aren't enough. 29:57 And that, my friends, is why Jesus Christ came here: 30:02 to demonstrate in His person 30:07 the maligned character of God that Satan had been trafficking 30:12 around heaven and now in this earth. 30:15 Let me demonstrate this again from scripture. 30:18 Go to I John chapter 3. 30:20 Not the gospel of John this time but the epistle of I John 30:23 chapter 3 and verse 8. 30:29 "He who sins is of the devil 30:32 for the devil has sinned from the beginning. " 30:35 And notice this sentence: 30:37 "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested 30:42 that He might destroy the works of the devil. " 30:47 The whole purpose according to scripture 30:50 of Christ coming here was to end the things 30:53 that Satan had started there. 30:55 Does that make sense? 30:57 "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested 30:59 that He might destroy the works of the devil. " 31:03 And of course even in His life and ministry 31:05 He demonstrated the character of God. 31:07 He healed people, He taught people, but 31:09 the ultimate manifestation of the character of God 31:12 didn't come until Calvary. 31:17 And then all of that violence that had been within Satan 31:23 was unleashed through his agents 31:27 on the sinless Son of God. 31:32 And in one act 31:36 the entire unfallen universe 31:39 saw two things for the very first time. 31:46 First of all, they saw the character of the enemy of God... 31:49 that he truly was a liar and a murderer 31:53 from the very beginning. 31:55 That all of the things that God had said about him 31:58 were shown to be true. 32:02 And conversely, that all the things that God had claimed 32:07 about Himself - that He is love, that He is selfless, 32:11 that He would give Himself - was shown to be true as well. 32:17 In one act the entire unfallen universe saw for the very first 32:22 time the character of Christ and the character of His enemy. 32:28 What God had seen from the very beginning 32:31 they now saw with their own eyes. 32:34 Desire of Ages page 758. 32:37 "To the angels and the unfallen worlds the cry 32:40 "It is finished! " had deep significance. 32:43 It was for them as well as for us that the great work 32:47 of redemption had been accomplished. " 32:50 Think about the power of that statement. 32:51 We think the reason Christ came to this earth was to save us 32:54 from sin. And yes - praise the Lord - that's part of the 32:57 process... but it's not the entirety. 33:01 Friends, God governs more than this world. 33:03 He governs a universe. 33:06 And He's not going to rest until the universe is pure. 33:11 "They with us share the fruits of Christ's victory. 33:15 Not until the death of Christ was the character of Satan 33:18 clearly revealed to the angels or to the unfallen worlds. 33:21 The archapostate had so clothed himself with deception 33:24 that even holy beings had not understood his principles. 33:27 They had not clearly seen the nature of his rebellion. " 33:33 Continuing on we read: "It was God's purpose to place 33:36 things on an eternal basis of security. And in the councils 33:39 of heaven it was decided that time must be given... " 33:43 Now hang onto that phrase: "time must be given. " 33:47 "for Satan to develop the prin- ciples which were the foundation 33:51 of his system of government. 33:52 He had claimed that these were superior to God's principles. 33:56 Time was given for the working of Satan's principles 33:59 that they may be seen by the heavenly universe. " 34:03 And finally Desire of Ages 761 34:06 speaking of the moment Jesus died victorious on the cross... 34:09 though from all human perspective it was a defeat 34:12 from eternity's perspective Jesus was victorious... 34:17 and we read: "Satan saw that his disguise 34:20 was torn away. His administration was laid open 34:24 before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. 34:28 He had revealed himself as a murderer. 34:31 By shedding the blood of the Son of God he had uprooted 34:34 himself... " Catch this language... 34:36 "from the sympathies of the heavenly beings. " 34:41 Four thousand years at least after the beginning of this 34:44 whole process to some degree there was some level 34:48 of sympathy for Satan amongst the unfallen beings. 34:53 But when they saw Calvary 34:55 no... "We're done. " 35:00 Watch this now: "Henceforth his work was restricted. " 35:05 Now I don't believe that God put a hedge of protection and walls 35:08 so that Satan couldn't get in. No, no, no. 35:10 They're just not listening any more. 35:12 By the way, I'll cut to the end. Christ is looking for 35:15 a generation of people on the earth who aren't listening 35:17 to Satan any more. 35:19 He wants to put things on an eternal security basis. 35:22 He wants all heaven and earth to be reconciled. 35:25 Heaven at Calvary saw the difference 35:28 and they recognized and rejected the rebellion of Satan. 35:32 Again we read: "Whatever attitude he might 35:34 assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came 35:37 from the heavenly courts and before them accuse Christ's 35:40 brethren of being clothed with the garments of blackness 35:42 and the defilement of sin. 35:45 The last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly 35:48 world was broken. " So then the question comes up in my mind: 35:55 If at that point all of those who knew Satan 36:01 when he was still Lucifer - 36:04 the light bearer, the covering cherub - 36:06 now understand what God saw in his rebellion all along 36:11 and they understand the justice of ending his existence, 36:16 the question remains: 36:18 "Why didn't Satan die at Calvary too? " 36:24 Pretty legitimate question, eh? 36:26 If the whole purpose was to destroy the works of the devil, 36:29 and he clearly revealed him as a murderer and a liar 36:32 and deserving of death, 36:35 why 2,000 years later is Satan still apparently 36:39 ruling this world? 36:44 Because, friends, the short answer is this: 36:48 it's not called the plan of destruction. 36:51 It's called the plan of redemption. 36:55 And in order for it to be complete, something has to be 36:59 redeemed. If the only objective 37:04 in the great controversy was ending Satan and any who 37:08 followed him, it could have legitimately been done 37:11 at Calvary. 37:14 But you can imagine from heaven's perspective. 37:16 Gabriel who knew him, who was working beside him, 37:19 who had looked up to Lucifer and seen the whole fall, 37:21 he was one of those who gazed and considered him 37:24 now comes to the Father: "Father, I understand why 37:29 he needs to be ended. " 37:31 And you could almost imagine the Father saying: 37:35 "Good... now let's go to phase two: 37:40 I want to bring some of them - his followers on earth - 37:45 back here. " 37:50 And I would imagine that Gabriel was kind of like 37:55 "Slow down. 37:59 It took us 4,000 years to figure out that this guy 38:02 should die, and now You want to bring some of them here? " 38:06 He's like: "Yes! And I'm going to give Kameron DeVasher 38:09 the apartment right next to you. " 38:14 He's like: "Now I'm still with You, God, 38:20 but I need to see some evidence of the wisdom of Your plan. " 38:27 Friends, when we talk about the second coming oftentimes 38:29 we talk about the beautiful passage. Please go to it 38:32 in the book of John. John chapter 14. 38:35 You likely know it by heart. John chapter 14 verse 1: 38:39 "Let not your heart be troubled. 38:40 You believe in God... believe also in Me. " 38:43 Speaking to humanity - fallen, sinful humanity - 38:46 He gives a beautiful promise: "In My Father's house 38:49 are many mansions. " 38:51 By the way, you notice that when He was speaking that 38:53 the mansions already existed and were in present tense. 38:58 Apparently part of God's plan is that humanity would fulfill 39:02 the vacancies left by the fall. 39:05 "In My Father's house are many mansions. 39:07 If it were not so, I would have told you. 39:10 I go to prepare a place for you 39:13 and if I go and prepare a place for you 39:15 I will... " What are those next two words? 39:17 "come again and receive you to Myself that where I am 39:21 there you may be also. " 39:23 We love those words... I love those words! 39:25 It has brought more comfort and joy than perhaps any other 39:27 scripture save John 3:16: 39:29 that Jesus is coming again and He's going to take us 39:31 all home to heaven. 39:32 But think about it from the angels' perspective. 39:37 "Slow down. You're going to bring all of 3ABN Camp Meeting 39:42 here? " 39:51 "I mean I trust You, yeah... but I need... " 39:54 "How does it work, Lord? " 39:58 Ephesians chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 3. 40:03 The apostle Paul writes these powerful words. 40:07 One of these sentences that's incredibly long. 40:13 I think the apostle Paul can probably go through 40:15 an entire book of scripture 40:17 and maybe have 2-3 sentences. Three periods maybe. 40:21 Lots of commas and all the things. 40:24 But look at chapter 3 and verse 8. 40:26 And we're going to break this down for you. I want you to see 40:27 something critical here. 40:29 He's giving his job description as a missionary, as a minister 40:32 of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And notice what Paul says. 40:35 Ephesians chapter 3 verse 8: 40:37 "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, 40:40 this grace was given 40:43 that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable 40:47 riches of Christ. " 40:49 And we might think: "What was Paul's job description? " 40:53 And we say: "Oh, he was to preach the gospel to the 40:55 Gentiles. " Period. That's not what he stops with. 40:58 Comma... watch this now: 41:00 "and... " verse 9... "to make all see 41:05 what is the fellowship of the mystery 41:11 which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden 41:14 in God who created all things through Jesus Christ. " 41:16 Apparently there's some mystery that has been hidden in God 41:19 that has not been understood, has not been revealed, 41:21 has not been seen, but now, Paul says, 41:24 it's time to show it. 41:26 Interesting. Keep going... verse 10: 41:28 "to the intent that now the manifold wisdom 41:33 of God might be made known by the church to the 41:38 principalities and powers in the heavenly places. " 41:41 Especially let's break down verse 10. 41:44 "To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God 41:47 might be made known. " Now, might be made known 41:50 to whom in this scripture? Who does it say? 41:54 It does not say to the church. 41:56 It says to the principalities and powers in the heavenly 41:59 places. Now... common sense question: 42:04 where does God live? 42:06 In heaven, right? 42:08 And He's trying to teach this great mystery, this deep wisdom 42:11 of His, to people who also live in heaven. 42:16 Wouldn't the easiest way to communicate or teach 42:19 to those people to simply turn to them 42:23 and explain it? 42:26 "Here is My wisdom. You're not lacking for intellect at all. 42:30 Let Me explain it to you. " 42:34 But He doesn't do it that way. 42:36 How does God show His wisdom 42:41 to these heavenly beings? 42:44 By the church. 42:50 Is it possible, friends, that those angel hosts are no longer 42:54 looking for a reason why Satan should die? 42:55 They're looking for a reason 42:56 why any of his followers should live. 43:00 Right? "To the intent that now the manifold wisdom 43:06 of God might be made known 43:08 by the church to the principalities and powers 43:12 in the heavenly places. " 43:16 By the way, immediately after that beautiful statement 43:18 we saw in Desire of Ages 761 where we read: "The last link 43:22 of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world 43:26 was broken" the very next sentence says this: 43:30 "Yet Satan was not then destroyed. " 43:37 Why? It continues: 43:39 "The angels did not even then understand all that was involved 43:44 in the great controversy. 43:46 The principles at stake must be more fully revealed. " 43:51 Now they had some principles at stake. 43:54 Namely, the character of God and the character of Satan 43:56 had been fully revealed. 43:58 But there were some other principles that still needed 44:00 to be fully revealed. Again, why should he die? 44:04 Clearly seen. Why should we live? Mmm, not yet. 44:09 Notice this: "The principles at stake must be more fully 44:15 revealed, and for the sake of man... " 44:21 Going to sound like one of the craziest sentences 44:23 you've ever heard. "for the sake of man 44:25 Satan's existence must be continued. " 44:32 Is it possible that what we see in the world around us 44:35 is actually in our best interest that it play out like this? 44:43 "Man as well as angels must see the contrast between 44:47 the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. 44:49 He must choose whom he will serve. " 44:55 And friends, that's the phase of the great controversy 44:58 we are living in. Basically, Satan's fall 44:59 takes place in four steps. 45:02 Step number one: God recognizes and rejects 45:05 Satan's rebellion the moment it sprang up in his heart 45:07 in heaven and he was cast out. 45:11 That was step number one. Step number two: 45:13 at Calvary the angelic host 45:19 and the unfallen sentient beings of the universe 45:22 saw in Satan and in God what God had known 45:26 from the very beginning. And they recognize and reject 45:29 Satan. The last link of sympathy was severed at Calvary. 45:37 Some day after Christ returns at the end of the 1,000 years 45:43 which we'll touch on in just a moment 45:45 Satan will be finally destroyed. 45:49 But we're not living in step 1, 2, or 4. 45:51 We're living in step 3. 45:54 Those people that Christ died for... will they choose 46:00 whom they will serve? 46:04 Friends, I'm going to tell you something: far too much of our, 46:08 our contemporary theology focuses on simply getting into 46:13 heaven. But there's something far greater than that 46:16 that God has in store. 46:19 Friends, salvation in Jesus Christ is not merely 46:21 a transaction that gets you in. 46:23 It's an entire character transformation 46:26 that fits you into the society of heaven. 46:31 We love... everybody loves... sinners love the idea of 46:33 gettin' into heaven, but Gabriel's saying: 46:36 "Yes, but will they fit in 46:39 because we're not going to go through this again. " 46:42 Am I right? 46:45 Perhaps the biggest promise of scripture is found in 46:48 one of the smallest books of scripture: 46:49 Nahum chapter 1 and verse 9. 46:51 "What you conspire against the Lord 46:54 surely I will make an utter end. 46:56 Affliction will not rise a second time. " 47:01 Friends, when this great controversy comes to a close 47:04 it's never going to reopen. 47:08 There's a reason God's taking His time because He's interested 47:12 in quality and getting the job done right 47:14 so it will never have to be redone. 47:18 So by the way, when Jesus comes 47:21 at the conclusion of this... Christ right now is 47:25 working in the heavenly sanctuary. 47:26 Yes? In the Most Holy Place. 47:32 Reviewing the record of those who claim His name. 47:35 Does it actually match with the society of heaven 47:39 where they will be living? 47:42 And when that process is done Christ will step out of that 47:45 work and take off His priestly robes 47:47 and put on His kingly robes and return to this earth. 47:52 And my question for you saints is what do we actually receive 47:55 at the second coming? 47:58 How changed will we be? 48:04 Let me tell you something: we are going to get new bodies. 48:07 Amen? And I'm not even that old and I'm looking forward to it 48:11 already, OK? I could use a new set of knees. 48:15 A new back would be nice. I could be a little taller... 48:17 I won't lie. 48:20 And I'm going to get a new body 48:22 if I keep my faith in Jesus Christ. 48:24 And so will you. 48:29 But you know what I won't get when Jesus returns 48:31 is a new character. 48:36 What we get when Jesus comes back is a body 48:38 but we don't get new characters. 48:40 Our High Calling page 278: "When Christ shall come 48:43 our vile bodies are to be changed and made like His 48:46 glorious body. But the vile character 48:49 will not be made holy then. 48:51 The transformation of character must take place before 48:54 His coming. Our natures must be pure and holy. 48:58 We must have the mind of Christ that we may behold with pleasure 49:01 His image reflected upon our souls. " 49:04 I love how she puts it so pithily in Signs of the Times 49:07 July 31, 1893. 49:10 "If we would see heaven, we must have heaven below. 49:15 We... " Listen to this: "We must have a heaven 49:19 to go to heaven in. " 49:23 You didn't catch it. 49:24 I'm sorry... there weren't enough amens. 49:26 "We must have a heaven to go to heaven in. " 49:33 Friends, that's what we are living. 49:35 As we talk about preparation for the second coming 49:39 it's not about - you know - enough bottled water. 49:44 Or like: "Oh, we're going to see glory. It's going to be great! 49:47 It's just brightness and loudness. " 49:48 And we know that it's visible and we know that it's audible. 49:50 And other speakers are going to come this weekend 49:52 and talk about the signs of Christ's coming. 49:54 And they're going to talk about the nature of Christ's coming, 49:56 the timing of Christ's coming... all of which are beautiful 49:58 but Christ's coming is simply the culmination 50:01 of a work that had finished at the close of probation. 50:05 The preparation for Christ's coming is character 50:11 preparation. 50:14 And I think there's far too many of us that expect 50:16 that "Oh, when Jesus comes then I'll be changed. " 50:21 But friends, let me tell you something: if you don't like Him 50:23 now, what makes you think you're going to like Him then? 50:28 By the way, the reason for the difference between body 50:30 and character: bodies can be given, right? 50:33 I mean, dust to the earth. 50:36 He made us out of dirt and He's going to do it again! 50:40 Praise the Lord! That's great! 50:42 A body can be given, but a character has to be grown. 50:48 And God will not make your decisions for you. 50:53 And He won't let Satan make your decisions for you. 50:55 You must choose whom you will serve. 50:59 And I've heard it said this way and I love it: 51:01 "Character isn't formed in a day but it is formed day by day. " 51:07 Which brings us to today. 51:09 If we're looking for Jesus to come someday, 51:13 the preparation must happen today 51:16 and day by day as we look forward to that great day 51:21 of the return of our King. 51:23 That's the preparation that we need. 51:27 And of course when Jesus returns 51:30 it simply inaugurates the final phase of the great controversy. 51:36 The wicked who are alive at His coming... which by the way, 51:39 many many people are going to live TO the second coming. 51:42 And I say: "Oh, I'm going to see Jesus come in my lifetime. " 51:45 And I genuinely believe that but I want to do more than 51:47 simply live to the second coming. Friends, I want to live 51:50 THROUGH the second coming. 51:51 There's a lot of people that are coincidentally going to be 51:54 alive at that point and they won't be alive when it's done. 51:58 The wicked will be gathered together in the graves. 52:02 The righteous will be gathered out of the graves and off of 52:06 this earth to be meeting the Lord in the air. 52:10 And during that thousand years 52:13 the wicked have their jury trial... 52:18 a trial by their peers. 52:21 Think about it by the way: if God destroyed the wicked 52:24 but He had never sinned, how could He sympathize? 52:29 Well Jesus Christ came, and He understood what it was like 52:32 to be tempted in all points as we are. 52:34 But just to make sure there is no question that could ever 52:37 be asked of God: "Could You have done more? " 52:41 Christ pulls up a chair for every one of the redeemed 52:44 and says: "You're going to do this work with Me. " 52:46 Revelation chapter 20. 52:50 Revelation chapter 20. 52:54 After Satan is bound to this earth with a chain 52:56 of circumstances we read in Revelation chapter 20 53:00 and verse 4: "And I saw thrones and they sat on them 53:03 and judgment was committed to them. 53:05 I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their 53:07 witness to Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not 53:10 worshiped the beast or his image 53:11 and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on 53:13 their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ 53:15 for a thousand years. " 53:27 Great Controversy page 660 53:29 speaking of this particular moment: 53:31 "At this time the righteous reign as kings and priests 53:36 unto God. In union with Christ they judge the wicked, 53:40 comparing their acts with the statute book, 53:43 the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds 53:47 done in the body. Then the portion which the 53:50 wicked must suffer is meted out, according to their works; 53:53 and it recorded against their names in the book of death. " 53:58 In a very real sense the millennium judgment - 54:00 that final phase of the destruction of Satan - 54:02 serves as a jury trial of the wicked. 54:06 "In assessing the records and assigning penalties 54:09 to those who have fallen and have stayed there 54:12 have chosen for themselves a king other than God 54:16 God does not leave this work to an unfallen creature 54:19 but instead to demonstrate unimpeachable fairness 54:22 Christ entrusts this task to a jury of their peers. 54:26 Thus when justice is finally and fully meted out 54:29 no one can say that there was more that God could have done. " 54:33 I'm going to close with these words from 54:35 The Great Controversy: 54:37 "In the day of final judgment every soul lost will understand 54:40 the nature of his own rejection of truth. 54:44 The cross will be presented 54:48 and its real bearing will be seen by every mind 54:51 that has been blinded by transgression. " 54:53 Which by the way, how phenomenal is that? 54:57 That God raises even the wicked to life 55:01 just so they can have their questions answered too. 55:07 Think about that, friend: God cares what you think. 55:17 "Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious Victim 55:20 sinners will stand condemned. 55:22 Every lying excuse will be swept away. 55:26 Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. 55:29 Men will see what their choice has been. 55:32 Every question of truth and error in the long-standing 55:35 controversy will then have been made plain. 55:37 In the judgment of the universe God will stand clear of blame 55:41 for the existence or continuance of evil. 55:44 It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees are not 55:48 accessory to sin. There was no defect in God's government, 55:52 no cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all 55:55 hearts shall be revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious 55:59 will unite in declaring: 'Just and true are Thy ways 56:04 Thou King of saints. 56:06 Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, 56:08 and glorify Thy name? 56:10 for Thy judgments are made manifest. ' " 56:14 Friends, that's the one point in the universe 56:17 when every being who has ever lived will be alive 56:21 at the same time. 56:23 And in that moment the great prophecy that 56:27 "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess" 56:32 will be fulfilled. 56:34 We're all going to be there, friends. 56:38 My question is: which side are we going to be on? 56:46 Don't think that when Jesus comes: "Oh, that's when I'll 56:48 get right... " Friends, now is the day. 56:52 "Choose you THIS day whom you will serve. " 56:56 Preparation for the second coming begins tonight 56:59 right this moment here today. 57:01 Has the message tonight been clear? 57:04 Praise the Lord! 57:05 I'm looking forward to the second coming, 57:07 but preparation for it begins right now. 57:10 Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 57:12 Heavenly Father, I want to thank you so much 57:15 for promising to come and bring us home 57:18 and to get us into heaven, but even more, Lord, 57:20 for promising to fit us into heaven! |
Revised 2021-08-02