Participants: Ty Gibson
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000083
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00:13 Welcome to Anchors of Truth from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:17 The Final Revolution with Ty Gibson. 00:22 The Anchors Of Truth series is one of the most popular series 00:26 that we have ever had here at 3ABN. 00:29 We have people asking already, 00:31 "Who's going to be on next time?" 00:33 And we have one nearly every month. 00:35 There are some months that we have other special "lives" 00:39 that prohibit us from actually having an Anchors Of Truth. 00:44 So there will be sometimes when we are off for like an 00:48 ASI weekend, or something of that nature. 00:51 And of course, GYC. 00:54 We're always looking forward to any and all these 00:57 live performances of ministry. 01:01 And each time, they're a blessing to each one of us. 01:06 And this Anchors Of Truth is no exception. 01:10 Ty Gibson has been with us before. 01:13 And over and over again, we have people requesting that 01:17 he come back and that he continue to teach. 01:20 Because he teaches the Bible very clearly. 01:24 And it's very easy to receive a great blessing 01:28 from his teaching. 01:30 After our service each night, those of us that are here, 01:34 we have a little after glow. 01:37 And we have Ty come down and ask him questions. 01:42 We have a little prayer time together. 01:45 And it's a real blessing. 01:46 Those of you that are at home, you have the message 01:51 and you have the music, but you are not able to enjoy 01:56 that particular blessing that we have. 02:00 We call it, the after glow. 02:03 But we're so happy that you can join us by radio 02:06 and by television. 02:07 And tonight, we have Pastor C.A. Murray with us. 02:12 Pastor Murray is going to be singing for us. 02:15 He's going to sing, When We All Get To Heaven. 02:18 But I've invited him to come and to lead us to the 02:22 throne of grace in prayer. 02:25 And shall we bow our heads together. 02:28 Shall we pray. 02:30 Father God, we do praise You and thank You for this 02:32 another opportunity to assemble ourselves in the 02:36 house of prayer and praise. 02:38 We thank You for the sacred Sabbath hours. 02:42 We thank You for the word that has been preached with power. 02:45 We thank You for the presence of the Holy Spirit. 02:49 We thank You for the power in the Word of God. 02:51 We ask, Lord, that You would be the honored Guest. 02:54 That You would speak to and through our speaker. 02:58 That You would use him tonight as You have 03:00 so many times in the past. 03:03 But more than that, Lord, would You please give us 03:07 open and receptive hearts and ears that we may hear this word, 03:13 and then become doers of the word, so that we can be 03:17 more like Christ Jesus. 03:20 We surrender ourselves and this broadcast to You 03:23 and ask that You would bless us one and all. 03:26 And we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 03:39 Sing the wondrous love of Jesus, 03:46 sing His mercy and His grace. 03:53 In the mansions so bright and blessed, 04:00 He'll prepare for us a place, 04:06 a place. 04:11 While we walk the pilgrim's pathway, 04:18 clouds will over spread the sky. 04:25 But when traveling days are over, 04:32 not a shadow, not a sigh. 04:41 When we all get to Heaven, 04:49 what a day of rejoicing that will be. 04:56 When we all see Jesus, 05:03 we'll sing and shout the victory. 05:14 Let us then be true and faithful, 05:21 trusting Jesus, serving Jesus, every day. 05:28 Just one glimpse of Jesus in glory 05:35 will the toils of life repay, 05:41 repay. 05:46 Onward to the prize before us, 05:53 soon His beauty we'll behold. 06:00 Soon the Pearly Gates will open 06:06 and we shall tread the streets of gold, 06:13 of gold. 06:16 When we all get to Heaven, 06:24 what a day of rejoicing that will be. 06:30 For when we all see Jesus, 06:38 we'll sing and shout the victory. 06:44 When we all get to Heaven, 06:53 what a day of rejoicing that will be. 06:58 For when we all see Jesus, 07:07 we'll sing and shout, sing and shout, 07:13 we'll sing and shout the victory. 07:38 Thanks, brother. 07:39 Well good evening, everybody. 07:41 I am thoroughly enjoying our time together in this 07:45 Final Revolution series. 07:47 And we're about midway through. 07:48 This is number three in the five part series. 07:51 If I had to give a title to tonight's presentation, 07:55 well actually I came up with about five different 07:57 options for the title. 07:59 But I think the best title for this message tonight 08:03 would be, Translation Generation. 08:08 So I want you to be thinking in terms of 08:11 the translation generation and what that language might mean 08:15 and how it might apply to you and me. 08:18 But first of all, I just want to draw your attention 08:21 to the fact again, as I mentioned on an 08:23 earlier evening, that children say some crazy stuff. 08:27 Any parents here? 08:29 Raise your hand if you've had children. 08:31 Was it an education? 08:33 Did they say some crazy things when they were little? 08:35 Some of them may still be little in your homes. 08:38 When our children were small, we at one point were trying 08:43 to explain to them where they came from. 08:47 And I was, during one of our little family worship times, 08:50 launching into the explanation and saying, 08:53 "Well, you were procreated." 08:56 And Sue looked at me, "Bring the language down a little bit. 09:01 Procreated? What does that mean?" 09:02 I said, "Oh, mommy had you." 09:05 So we wrapped that kind of language around the phenomenon 09:10 of their births; Amber, Jason, and Leah. 09:13 We have three children; two daughters, one son. 09:15 Leah is the youngest of the three. 09:18 And her wheels were turning. 09:20 I could just see, "Okay, mommy had me." 09:23 Then later on in the day, we were sitting at the 09:25 table having lunch and the subject came up again. 09:29 "Yeah, yeah, you were at one point in mommy's tummy." 09:34 And Amber, the oldest of the three, said, "Yeah, Leah. 09:38 I remember when you were in mommy's tummy. 09:41 You were big. 09:43 And you were causing pain in mommy's back. 09:46 I remember that. 09:47 And then you came out and here you are. 09:50 You were in mommy's tummy." 09:51 And Leah is still thinking, taking bites of her food. 09:55 She looks across the table at Amber. 09:58 She looks at me. 09:59 She looks at Jason, her older brother. 10:02 She looks at me again. She looks at mommy. 10:05 She looks at me. 10:07 And she says, "Daddy, when did mommy have you?" 10:14 And I thought, "Okay, we need some clarification here." 10:18 We need to make a distinction in her mind. 10:22 She had the idea, I guess, that daddy was my name. 10:27 Like her name is Leah, and there's Amber and there's Jason. 10:31 And mommy had me and I was probably the oldest, 10:34 or maybe just the biggest, of the kids. 10:37 That's what she was thinking. 10:38 And I'm hoping that was no reflection on my 10:41 maturity level at the time. 10:42 We will not consult my wife about that. 10:44 But there we were trying to just explain to them who they are. 10:49 And now we had to go into making a distinction, 10:54 "No, I'm your daddy, Leah. 10:56 This is your mom, I'm your dad. 10:58 Together, we had you. 11:01 Although you just came out of mommy's tummy." 11:04 And I just didn't want to get into the details. 11:07 And so we pretty much just left it at that. 11:11 And I said, "Leah, have you noticed that I tell you 11:14 what to do sometimes?" 11:16 And she said, "Well yeah, Amber tells me what to do. 11:19 Everybody in this house tells me what to do." 11:21 She was the youngest and she was right. 11:23 But here's the thing. 11:24 Sometimes it's important and it's helpful 11:27 to make distinctions, to draw a distinction between 11:32 categories or kinds or types. 11:35 And so I began to make this distinction in Leah's mind, 11:39 "There's a difference between you and I. 11:42 There are some ways in which we are alike, 11:45 some ways in which we're the same. 11:46 You're human, I'm human. 11:49 But there are some ways in which we're different. 11:50 I'm your dad and I precede you in the chronology 11:55 of our existence." 11:57 And again Sue looked at me and said, 11:58 "Quit trying to explain it to her." 12:02 And we just left it at that. 12:04 God finds it necessary sometimes to also use 12:10 categorical language; language of kinds and types, 12:14 in order to distinguish for us so that we can comprehend 12:19 the differences between things. 12:21 Although, those same things may be alike in some ways. 12:24 Let me give you an example. 12:27 There was a point in history when God found it necessary 12:31 to communicate with us in such a way as to create 12:36 categories or phases of salvation history 12:41 so that we could wrap our minds around it. 12:43 And so He created a sandbox illustration 12:46 called, the sanctuary. 12:48 He said in Exodus 25:8 to Moses, "Let them," 12:52 the children of Israel, "make Me a sanctuary that I may 12:55 dwell among them." 12:58 And so they went to work and they made the sanctuary. 13:00 And that sanctuary, as God's illustration 13:03 of salvation history, involved a series of phases. 13:09 Three historic phases. 13:11 And we might even say, three experiential phases. 13:17 Phases of salvation history, but also phases of personal 13:21 interaction with God. 13:24 So the Lord instructed Moses and the children of Israel, 13:27 and they built the sanctuary. 13:29 And there was what was called, the Courtyard. 13:32 And in the Courtyard, we have the altar of sacrifice 13:35 made of brass, which would symbolize Calvary 13:39 and the sacrifice of Jesus for our salvation. 13:43 Then you have the laver also in the Courtyard. 13:46 But that was just phase one, because that's not the 13:49 end of the story, according to the illustration. 13:51 Then God said, through the sanctuary service, 13:55 that there would be another phase of salvation history 13:59 that will follow the Calvary phase. 14:03 And it will be represented by piercing or penetrating 14:06 a veil into an apartment, into a room. 14:09 And that's the Holy Place. 14:11 And in the Holy Place, there are three articles of furniture. 14:15 There's the table of showbread, which has symbolism 14:18 pointing forward to Jesus and the fact that He would be 14:21 the bread of life and our spiritual sustenance. 14:24 There would be the altar of incense, which would represent 14:28 the prayer life of the believer and the fact that the incense 14:32 mingles with the prayers of the saints, mingling the 14:36 righteousness of Christ with our prayers as they ascend. 14:39 And then there would be the seven branch candlestick 14:43 that would indicate the illuminating ministry of the 14:46 Holy Spirit in Christian experience and in history. 14:50 And then the story needed to continue. 14:54 That was the Holy Place phase of history 14:59 and of personal experience. 15:02 That Holy Place was, by the ancient Israelites, called 15:06 the Trysting Place. 15:08 Do you know what a tryst is? 15:09 Have any of you had a tryst? 15:12 A tryst is a romantic engagement. 15:15 Anybody here in love? 15:16 Raise your hand if you're in love. 15:18 Oh, a few of you are in love. 15:20 And the ones who are in love have had a tryst. 15:23 They've had a romantic engagement. 15:25 The ancient Hebrews called the Holy Place, the Trysting Place. 15:29 The place where the people would begin to have 15:34 a matrimonial relationship with God. 15:37 They would enter into the courtship phase 15:39 and they would begin to experience God reaching into 15:43 their hearts and minds through the various symbols that 15:46 were indicated there in order to prepare them for marriage. 15:50 So there was another phase, obviously. 15:52 There was another veil to be penetrated. 15:55 And that veil would lead into the Most Holy Place. 16:00 And the Most Holy Place had one article of furniture; 16:04 the ark of the testament, the ark of the covenant, 16:07 with the gold lid; the mercy seat. 16:09 That if you were to lift it, at least in your imagination 16:12 and through Scripture, you would find the Ten Commandment 16:14 law in that ark. 16:16 And then upon that ark were the two covering cherubs, 16:20 representing the two angels that hold the highest ranking 16:25 positions in God's governmental structure. 16:27 Looking with intent interest upon the issues of the 16:31 great controversy dealing with the mercy of God, 16:35 represented by the mercy seat, and the justice of God, 16:37 represented by the Law, and how there would be 16:40 a process of reconciling these two in the salvation of mankind. 16:44 So the angels are looking on. 16:46 This is the Most Holy Place phase of the sanctuary service. 16:51 Now here's the remarkable thing. 16:53 While the sanctuary does and can represent in our study 16:58 the various phases of our personal journey with God; 17:02 encountering Calvary for myself, experiencing the forgiveness 17:08 of my sins at the foot of the cross, and then moving into 17:11 the second phase of my development as an individual 17:14 in the Holy Place. 17:17 Partaking of the bread, being illuminated by the light of 17:20 the candelabra; the Holy Spirit's work in a prayer life. 17:24 And then finally, having been wooed and romanticized 17:29 by God in my experience in the Trysting Place, 17:33 having fallen deeper and yet deeper in love with Him 17:36 through this experience in the Holy Place, 17:39 then God finally invites me as an individual 17:42 to move into the marriage phase and the consummation of the 17:46 marriage where my individual soul and God's heart 17:51 become one in what is called, the final atonement, 17:55 or the final at-one-ment. 17:57 The marriage, the wedding, has now occurred. 18:00 And that's my personal journey. 18:02 All of us are somewhere in the sanctuary, 18:05 at any given time, in our development spiritually. 18:09 You and I, each of us, we're somewhere along the way 18:13 in that sanctuary right now tonight, each of us. 18:17 But here's the remarkable thing. 18:18 The sanctuary, on a whole different level, 18:22 represented not merely my personal journey in its phases, 18:26 but phases of history and what God is doing 18:30 in real time in human affairs down through the ages. 18:37 And you and I, everyone sitting here this evening, 18:39 myself included and everybody on the planet, get this, 18:42 we live, listen carefully, at the Most Holy phase 18:49 of human history. 18:50 We live at the climactic phase of what God is doing 18:56 in redemption history. 18:58 And we are right at that point where He's going to bring 19:02 closure, as we say, to this whole ordeal called 19:07 the great controversy. 19:08 And then we launch into eternity future with no more sin 19:12 or suffering or pain or tears. 19:15 We live there. 19:17 We're the Most Holy Place generation, if you will. 19:21 God is seeking right now at this juncture of history 19:26 to bring closure to the great controversy. 19:29 But more than that. 19:31 To bring a corporate body of people, multiple individuals 19:36 who together compose one people, one living organism 19:41 that Paul calls, the body of Christ, 19:43 a corporate body of people made up of men and women and children 19:49 collectively as a corporate body, to enter into 19:53 matrimonial union and deepest intimacy with the heart of God 19:58 at this phase of history. 20:00 God is inviting you and me into that experience. 20:04 As a group, as a people, we live at the crescendo point 20:09 of human history. 20:10 Now there's another set of categories that come 20:12 into play at this point. 20:14 Not only the categories that are represented by 20:17 Courtyard, Holy Place, Most Holy Place, 20:20 but we live at a time when we need to understand 20:25 that there are two, listen carefully now, two categories 20:30 of redeemed people in history. 20:33 Turn in your Bible now with me to the Gospel of Matthew 20:36 to chapter 16. 20:38 And begin to study this passage with me. 20:41 You're going to find this very fascinating and instructive. 20:45 And defining, I might add, for who you and I are 20:49 at this phase of human history. 20:52 Jesus, in chapter 16 of the Gospel of Matthew, 20:57 the last two verses, is speaking of His second advent and the 21:01 full and final establishment of His kingdom. 21:04 In verse 27, "The Son of Man will come," note the language, 21:08 second coming language, "in the glory of His Father 21:11 and with His angels, and then He will reward 21:14 each one according to their works." 21:16 Now notice verse 28 carefully. 21:18 "Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here 21:23 who shall," notice carefully, "not taste..." something. 21:28 What won't they taste? "...death..." 21:30 "There are some standing here right now with Me," 21:33 Jesus is saying, "who will not taste death until they see 21:38 the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." 21:41 Now lots of scholars down through history have stumbled 21:46 over this text. 21:47 And liberal scholars have jumped on this and said, 21:51 "It's very clear here that Jesus was simply wrong. 21:55 Jesus Himself, as a local historic figure, thought that 22:00 the eschatological events of His second advent would occur 22:03 in His own lifetime. 22:05 That Jesus Himself would perhaps die, as He prophesied, 22:09 be resurrected, and immediately in the lifetime of the apostles 22:14 that the second advent would come and the 22:16 kingdom would be established." 22:17 And they point to this passage and say, "But all this time 22:20 has gone by, it has never happened. 22:22 Jesus prophesied wrongly. 22:25 He was wrong. 22:26 He was a good Man, He was not the Messiah. 22:29 Jesus said, some standing there would see 22:34 the kingdom fully established. 22:35 They didn't. 22:36 Therefore..." 22:38 And they draw their conclusions. 22:39 But listen. 22:41 Jesus had something different in mind. 22:43 If you didn't have the chapter division between 16 and 17, 22:48 you would simply read on and you would see that 22:51 something else is in play here. 22:53 Jesus was teaching them something very specific. 22:57 Look at verse 1 of chapter 17 now. 23:00 The story just picks up and goes on. 23:02 "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, 23:07 and John his brother, and led them up on a 23:10 high mountain by themselves." 23:12 So you got the picture so far? 23:14 Jesus says, "Hey John, James, Peter, come with Me." 23:17 And He takes them to a mountain. 23:19 And once there, what happens? 23:21 Verse 2, "And He was..." What's the word? 23:25 "... transfigured before them. 23:28 And His face shone like the sun," notice this, 23:32 "and His clothes became as white as light. 23:36 And behold..." 23:38 Can you see it? 23:39 There's James, Peter, and John. 23:41 They're on their faces. 23:43 Jesus is just transfigured before them. 23:45 He's radiating glory and light like the sun. 23:50 And as they look up, they see, verse 3, 23:54 "Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, 23:58 talking with Him." 23:59 So as they look over, they see the Savior and they see 24:02 two individuals now having a conversation with 24:04 Jesus in the distance. 24:06 This is astounding. 24:08 Question. 24:10 What did Jesus earlier prophesy to them? 24:13 "There are some standing here who will not taste death 24:19 until you see the Son of Man and the second advent, 24:24 and the kingdom of God. 24:27 You're going to see it." 24:29 Question, did they see it? 24:31 Yes, they saw it in the transfiguration. 24:35 Jesus, as the glorified Christ. 24:39 And then two individuals. 24:40 Why these two individuals? 24:42 Let's visit for a moment the history of these two people. 24:45 Moses and Elijah. 24:48 They're both human beings but they had 24:51 two distinct experiences. 24:53 What was the experience of Moses? 24:56 Why is he there? 24:58 Moses died on the mountain and then was resurrected. 25:04 You remember the story, don't you? 25:06 He had struck the rock in anger. 25:09 He became frustrated with the stiff-necked and rebellious 25:13 children of Israel. 25:15 And he lost his cool. 25:17 They saw this, the children of Israel witnessed their leader 25:21 have this fall, in their eyes, which compromised 25:25 the larger mission that God was trying to accomplish 25:28 in salvation history. 25:30 But Moses and God were tight. 25:32 In fact, Moses was the friend of God 25:36 and had deep communion and intimacy with the Lord. 25:40 But he blew it. 25:41 And the Lord has a meeting with Moses on mountain and says, 25:44 "Moses, Moses, Moses. 25:47 I can't let you enter earthly Canaan. 25:51 Nope, can't let it happen. 25:54 Somebody else is going to have to lead them in. 25:56 I need to make a point here." 25:59 And it's so touching because the Scripture indicates that 26:02 God Himself, on the mountain, performed the burial service, 26:06 dug the grave, laid the body of Moses in the grave, 26:09 and buried His friend Moses. 26:12 "Moses, you can't enter earthly Canaan. 26:15 You're going to have to die." 26:16 Moses submits, no doubt. 26:18 What's the last thing Moses is thinking before he dies? 26:21 No doubt, tears forming in his eyes. 26:24 "Yeah, You're right, Lord. And I'm so sorry. 26:27 You're right, I can't enter earthly Canaan. 26:31 I want to." 26:33 There was nothing he wanted more than to enter 26:36 into the land of Canaan and to lead the people there. 26:40 "No Moses, that's not going to happen at this point." 26:44 And the last thing Moses is thinking is, "Okay." 26:47 And he submits. 26:48 And what do we know about the state of the dead? 26:50 "The dead know not anything." 26:53 It's an unconscious sleep. 26:54 So Moses closes his eyes, he dies, the Lord buries him. 26:58 And then what happens next? 27:00 I don't know, a few moments later? 27:02 A few hours later? A few days later? A few weeks later? 27:04 We don't know exactly the time frame. 27:07 But Moses is resurrected. 27:09 And the Lord says something like, "Hi, Moses. 27:14 Yes, I had to lay you to rest. 27:17 You couldn't enter earthly Canaan. 27:19 But I really like you. 27:21 And so I'm going to resurrect you and take you into the 27:26 heavenly Canaan a little bit early." 27:30 Moses had to be elated. 27:32 Although, no doubt, he would have loved to have lead the 27:36 children of Israel into earthly Canaan. 27:39 Isn't God good? 27:40 What an amazing heart our Lord has for people. 27:46 But here's the thing. 27:47 It wasn't an easy matter to resurrect Moses. 27:50 The book of Jude verse 9 tells us that when Michael, 27:54 the pre-incarnate Christ... 27:56 By the way, parenthetical statement, 27:57 the fastest and easiest way to know that Michael is Jesus 28:02 before His incarnation is by virtue of the fact that in 28:05 two Scriptures, in Daniel chapter 12 and Jude verse 9, 28:11 Jesus represented as Michael... 28:14 Whoever this Michael is. 28:15 Let's say we don't know who He is. 28:16 He possesses resurrection power. 28:18 He resurrects Moses. 28:20 And He resurrects the saints, all of them, 28:23 in chapter 12 of Daniel. 28:25 So this is not just an angel. 28:30 Whoever Michael is, Michael possesses the power to 28:32 resurrect the dead. 28:34 Okay? 28:36 So this is the divine Son of God. 28:38 He's not an angel, but He is designated. 28:41 He is named Michael before His incarnation. 28:46 But Jesus, as Michael, under the name Michael, 28:49 comes to resurrect the body of Moses. 28:52 And Jude says that there was a dispute over his body. 28:57 The devil shows up and says, "No way." 28:59 You need to understand, I need to understand, 29:02 that there is a legal dimension to the great controversy 29:05 between good and evil. 29:06 Now the legal dimension in the great controversy is 29:09 premised on the reality of human freewill. 29:13 God basically is orienting Himself in the 29:18 great controversy according to rules of engagement 29:22 that honor freewill. 29:24 So while God wants access to every life and every heart 29:29 at every moment, and is not willing that any should perish 29:32 but that all should come to repentance... 29:33 Revelation 3 verse 20 represents Him as standing on the outside 29:38 knocking trying to get in. 29:39 Not barging the door down, not kicking it down, 29:41 but knocking wanting entrance. 29:44 This is the courtesy of the divine plan. 29:48 This is God not using manipulation or coercion, 29:51 but wanting access by each of us exercising our freewill. 29:56 Now when we in the great controversy sin, 30:00 sin constitutes moral and judicial leverage for the devil 30:06 in the great controversy. 30:07 This is a hard reality of our freewill. 30:11 Moses, by sinning, had given some degree of legal leverage 30:19 to Satan to claim his body. 30:21 So he comes to the grave of Moses upon the effort of Michael 30:25 to resurrect him and says, "No, Moses is mine." 30:28 Based on what? 30:29 The great controversy ensues in the form of 30:32 argument and dispute. 30:34 The devil doesn't challenge Christ to a duel. 30:37 He doesn't challenge Him to a sword fight. 30:39 They're not throwing grenades. 30:41 They're speaking words. 30:43 It's a legal dispute. 30:45 And the legal dispute, again, is premised on human freewill. 30:49 And Moses had exercised his freewill 30:51 by entering into a rage over the children of Israel's failures. 30:59 And by his sin, the devil then had material to say, 31:05 "He spoke his mind. He's mine. 31:07 You cannot take him." 31:09 And Michael, Jesus, simply says, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan." 31:13 And goes ahead and resurrects Moses. 31:17 But here's the incredible thing. 31:19 Jesus resurrected Moses on the premise of the future victory 31:26 He knew He was intending to gain over the devil and 31:29 his kingdom at Calvary. 31:32 Jesus is basically thinking, when He's resurrecting Moses, 31:36 He's thinking, "Satan, you don't know what's coming your way. 31:40 But I am about to engage you in battle at some future time. 31:44 And according to the prophecy of chapter 3 verse 15 of Genesis, 31:48 I am going to crush your head under My heal. 31:51 That would be you under My heal in the future at the cross. 31:56 You don't know what's coming your way. 31:57 But I'm going to resurrect Moses banking on that future victory 32:02 over the kingdom of darkness." 32:04 So that the victory of Jesus at Calvary is retroactive 32:09 for Moses and all believers down through time 32:12 who have died in faith. 32:14 Are you with me? 32:15 Do you understand what I'm saying? 32:17 So the legal dimension of the great controversy 32:22 is very important and real. 32:25 And this is crucial for us to understand that Moses 32:28 here in the transfiguration vision represents the 32:33 resurrected saints of all the ages. 32:37 Jesus said, "Some of you standing here are going to 32:38 see My kingdom." 32:40 At the transfiguration they saw Jesus, the King of the kingdom, 32:44 and two human beings. 32:45 Moses to represent the resurrected saints of all ages. 32:50 Are you with me so far? 32:52 So who might Elijah represent then in this 32:56 microcosm of the kingdom? 32:59 Well, what was his experience? 33:00 Moses died and entered the kingdom through resurrection. 33:04 Right? 33:06 But how did Elijah enter the kingdom? 33:09 He was translated without tasting death. 33:13 Elijah was levitated from the earth in the sight of 33:17 Elisha, his protégé. 33:19 You remember the story, right? 33:20 There's Elisha and there's Elijah. 33:23 I hope you hear the distinction there. 33:24 And Elijah was taken up in a chariot of fire. 33:30 Transported straight into the kingdom. 33:32 That had to be glorious for him, just soaring through space 33:38 and arriving in the New Jerusalem. 33:40 Certainly, he met Moses there. 33:42 Because Moses was already there, right? 33:45 He also met Enoch there. 33:46 These are the three individuals we have by name that 33:48 we know are already in the kingdom; 33:52 Enoch, Elijah, and Moses. 33:56 So Elijah arrives in the kingdom and has been there ever sense. 34:03 And now when Jesus shows the kingdom, in microcosm, 34:08 in prototype if you will, when He shows what the kingdom 34:11 will be composed of, He shows the kingdom as being 34:14 composed of Himself as the King, Moses representing the 34:18 resurrected saints of all ages who will be resurrected 34:22 on the premise of a future victory that Jesus will gain 34:25 at Calvary, and the translated saints, 34:29 the translation generation, who will literally enter into 34:32 the heavenly kingdom and never pass through the 34:34 valley of the shadow of death. 34:37 And you and I, we just happen to live in the final segment 34:44 of salvation history. 34:46 We just happen to live at the Most Holy Place phase 34:50 of the plan of salvation 34:51 And it is entirely within God's plan and His will 34:55 and His desire, and His passion even, that the second advent 35:00 would occur in your lifetime and mine. 35:03 And that the great controversy would be brought to closure. 35:07 And that you and I by name would, like Elijah, like Enoch, 35:12 feel our feet leave the ground and be joined by the 35:16 resurrected saints to meet them in the air, 35:19 and forever be with the Lord. 35:21 We live in that time. 35:23 And it is a glorious realization. 35:26 It lies within the power of God's translation generation, 35:30 it lies within the great controversy authority, 35:34 the legal ramifications of the exercise of our freewill, 35:38 not only to hope for, not only to look for, 35:40 but to hasten the second coming. 35:43 We have within our freewill capacity the ability 35:47 by God's grace to push, as it were, to use a metaphor, 35:51 to push the eschatological buttons of the end time events 35:57 in order to hurry up, to bring on, the second advent 36:01 and closure to the great controversy. 36:03 I long for, I know you long for, more than anything else 36:07 that the second advent would occur within our lifetime. 36:12 Now these two individuals, Moses and Elijah representing 36:18 the two categories of the redeemed, 36:21 the resurrected saints and the translated saints... 36:23 Very much like I had to communicate to Leah, 36:26 there's a difference between us. 36:28 "Leah, you're the child of your mom and mine, our procreation. 36:35 You're the incarnation of our love and union, Leah. 36:39 That's who you are. 36:40 And then I'm your dad. 36:41 There's a distinction between us. 36:43 There are ways in which we're the same 36:45 and there are ways in which we're different." 36:46 The same with the translation generation, 36:49 the final generation, and the saved of all ages. 36:51 There are ways in which we're the same. 36:53 For example, it doesn't matter when you live in history 36:57 and whether you die and are resurrected or translated, 37:00 all who are saved are saved by grace through 37:04 faith alone in Christ. 37:06 And their works contribute nothing by way of merit 37:11 to salvation. 37:14 All who are saved are saved by the sheer loving mercy 37:20 of a compassionate God who simply loves us 37:23 more than His own existence. 37:25 There is nothing anybody ever contributes 37:29 to salvation beyond the grace of God. 37:35 Saved by grace through faith alone in Christ. 37:36 But here's the distinction. 37:39 While we're the same in that regard, and the final generation 37:42 won't be saved because of some kind of different method 37:48 or mechanism of salvation, they do live at that phase of history 37:53 where the, listen carefully now, maturation process 37:58 will go exponential. 38:00 Listen very carefully. 38:02 God will have a people who move through the entire 38:08 Courtyard, Holy Place, Most Holy Place developmental phases, 38:12 God will have a corporate people whose spiritual development 38:16 will go, as it were, exponential. 38:20 And Revelation 14 describes a point in which 38:24 the harvest, that is, the harvest of human souls, 38:29 is now ripe. 38:31 You and I, right now, we're undergoing a ripening process. 38:36 Everyone in the world, by the way, according to Revelation 14, 38:39 is going through a ripening process. 38:41 There will be the ripening of the wicked. 38:44 They will become, as Paul says, that wicked men will wax 38:49 worse and worse. 38:50 Just pay attention, or don't, to the world around you. 38:54 And you will notice, or prefer not to notice, 38:57 that wickedness is going exponential, off the charts. 39:02 Men will become lovers of themselves 39:06 in the last phase of human history 39:08 on a whole new level, Paul says. 39:10 Lovers of money, lovers of things and material goods. 39:14 People at the final phase in the last days, Paul says, 39:18 they will be narcissistic to the max. 39:23 Self-centeredness will go literally off the charts 39:27 in human history. 39:28 "The love of many," Jesus commented in Matthew 24, 39:32 "will grow cold and sin will abound." 39:36 That is, it will go exponential. 39:38 People will find more and new and different and better ways 39:43 to act out the evil of their natures. 39:47 Technology itself has been employed to make wickedness 39:53 a lot easier to access and to take people to the degradation 39:57 of the depths of immorality faster than any other 40:00 time in human history. 40:02 Just the easy access to moral filth is off the charts 40:08 in our world. 40:09 And at the end time phase of human history, the wicked will 40:14 mature rapidly in their wickedness, 40:17 according to Scripture. 40:18 But simultaneously, and this is the good news, 40:22 God will have a people who will also, to use Paul's language, 40:27 will grow up into Christ in all things. 40:33 They will grow up into, again Paul's language, 40:36 the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ. 40:41 Do you see the symbolism there, the metaphor? 40:43 Jesus is the pattern man. 40:46 Jesus is the new man. 40:47 Jesus is the man that God always intended 40:52 every man and woman to be. 40:55 Every human being is represented in Christ. 40:59 And He formed a relationship and intimacy with God 41:04 in His earthly life that represents the fullness of 41:08 what God intends for all of us. 41:10 And so we're babes in Christ. 41:12 And you can picture, as it were, the full stature of Jesus, 41:17 the spiritual stature of Jesus. 41:19 And now we as babes in Christ are gradually growing up 41:22 until we become, as it were, the spiritual peers of Jesus. 41:26 Growing up, in Paul's language, to the full stature of men and 41:29 women in Christ, Paul says. 41:32 In other words, God's people at the end of time are going to 41:35 move through a rapid maturation process. 41:38 And the Bible pictures them moving from the 41:41 Courtyard phase into the Holy Place phase, 41:44 into deeper and deeper love relationship 41:47 and tryst with the Lord. 41:50 And then finally entering into final and full matrimonial 41:55 union in the Most Holy Place phase. 41:58 Elijah represented that group. 42:01 Enoch represents that group in salvation history. 42:05 And you and I just happen to be at that juncture in history 42:09 where God is seeking to cultivate in His people 42:14 to bring together a corporate body who will become 42:17 that living organism of faith that will bring closure 42:23 to the great controversy. 42:24 Now the apostle Paul, in chapter 11 of Hebrews, 42:30 gives us additional insight into these two 42:33 categories of redeemed. 42:35 Look in your Bible with me at Hebrews chapter 11. 42:38 Now as you're going there, so we don't have to read 42:40 all the verses, I will remind you that Hebrews chapter 11 42:44 is a kind of hall of faith for the redeemed of all ages. 42:49 Right? 42:50 In chapter 11 of Hebrews, we have this delineation 42:56 of stories, individuals, down through history 42:58 who have done monumental acts of faith. 43:00 Right? 43:02 And as the apostle Paul describes their various 43:06 experiences, he comes to the last two verses of 43:10 Hebrews chapter 11. 43:11 And I want you to see what he says here in verses 39 and 40. 43:14 He has just told us about all these individuals 43:17 down through history. 43:18 And then he says this, verse 39, "And all these, 43:23 having obtained a good testimony," or a good report, 43:28 "through faith..." 43:30 "All of these, having obtained a good report through faith, 43:33 did not receive..." What? 43:35 "...the promise." 43:37 What Paul means here is that they, though they lived in faith 43:41 and received a good report, they did not receive 43:43 the full intent and ramifications of 43:47 the covenant promise. 43:50 According to verse 40, watch this, 43:53 they had an experience that was of good report. 43:58 But notice this, verse 40, "God having provided something..." 44:01 What's the word in your version? 44:03 "...something better for us, that they should not be 44:08 made perfect apart from us." 44:11 So you have here, in Paul's language, two categories. 44:14 You have "they" and "us." 44:16 He does this in another place in Thessalonians. 44:19 You remember this passage where he says, 44:21 "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up 44:24 together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air 44:27 with those who have died and they've now been resurrected." 44:30 You remember that passage? 44:31 He says "we," not "they." 44:33 "We which are alive and remain..." 44:35 You find this throughout the Bible. 44:36 Prophets sometimes, in order to be affective in their 44:41 communications, project themselves into the events 44:45 of which they're prophesying. 44:47 Let me say that again. 44:48 Prophets sometimes project themselves 44:51 into the experiences in the future that they will not 44:54 be a part of, but they project themselves into the experience. 44:59 So when Paul says, "Then we which are alive and remain," 45:02 he's including himself, but of course he will not be 45:05 among those who are alive when Jesus comes 45:08 without tasting death. 45:09 He'll be alive by resurrection. 45:11 And here, he speaks of "they" and "us." 45:14 Who are "they" contextually in the passage? 45:17 Who are "they?" 45:19 "They" are the saints of all ages going back in history 45:24 that Paul's just talked about. 45:25 Right? 45:26 "They" without "us." 45:28 Who's "us" then? 45:29 This is the final generation. 45:31 This is the translation generation. 45:33 This is the group who will be alive and remain 45:37 until the coming of Jesus. 45:38 And I want you to notice here what Paul says. 45:42 They obtained a good report, a good testimony through faith. 45:46 There's no other way to be saved except through 45:49 faith in Christ. 45:50 Their faith, in ages past, was projecting which way? 45:54 Forward to the promises regarding the Messiah, right? 45:59 Our faith, at this juncture in history, projects which way? 46:03 Back to Calvary and the Christ event. 46:07 Everything that pertains to the person and work of Christ. 46:11 Our faith looks back, their faith looked forward. 46:14 But in both cases, salvation is by grace through faith alone. 46:20 They died in faith having received a good report. 46:23 But God had provided something better for us. 46:29 Not better as in different in substance, 46:35 but different in degree. 46:37 Do you grasp the difference between the two? 46:39 Those who are alive and remain, the "us" of the second advent 46:44 who are alive and remain and never taste death, 46:46 they're not saved by a different means or mechanism. 46:48 But they do move forward with Christ, spiritually, 46:52 to experience the full ramifications of their faith. 46:56 Whereas those who died in faith in ages past 46:59 didn't run the salvation course all the way through 47:03 to the conclusion. 47:05 And the concept that Paul has here is like a race that is run 47:11 that is a group race, or a team sport, excuse me. 47:16 A baton is passed in a relay race. 47:20 So you've got people like Moses in ages past 47:24 who is running forward, spiritually. 47:27 He's giving a certain amount of information in salvation history 47:32 in the books that he wrote, for example. 47:35 And Moses is moving forward spiritually and he's bringing 47:38 the children of Israel as far as they can go. 47:41 And then you have Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel, 47:43 and they're running, the baton is passed. 47:46 And then passed and then passed. 47:48 And then notice this. 47:51 Jesus then passed the baton in this race to the apostles, 47:56 who passed it to the next generation of believers, 47:59 who passed it to the next generation, 48:01 until the church went underground. 48:02 As Revelation 12 says, the church went into the wilderness. 48:06 And then the baton was passed to the Protestant Reformers, 48:10 who then passed it to future reformers 48:12 like the Wesley brothers, who then passed it 48:15 to the Advent Movement, who then prepare a people 48:21 to be the final group with the baton in hand 48:24 that cross the finish line. 48:25 Are you with me? 48:27 So who wins the race? 48:28 Just the final generation? 48:30 No, this is a team event. 48:32 The believers of all ages, those who are resurrected 48:36 as well as the translated saints, are all one 48:39 composite body. 48:41 And when the final generation comes across the finish line 48:45 at the end, they simply win the race as the final 48:51 representatives of the whole group who have been 48:53 running all along. 48:55 Are you with me? 48:56 So that's the phase of history that we live in. 48:58 So it's not, when he says, "God having provided 49:02 something better for us," that is, the final generation, 49:06 it's not better in substance, but better in degree. 49:11 God is leading His people in the final generation 49:15 to cross the finish line. 49:18 In another Bible version, this text is translated as follows. 49:21 Listen, just a little bit more modern vernacular to help us 49:25 understand what's happening here. 49:27 "All of these people," this version says, 49:31 "All of these people we have mentioned received 49:34 God's approval because of their faith. 49:37 Yet none of them received what God had promised in full. 49:44 For God had something better in mind for those 49:50 who would also benefit them. 49:55 For they," in the past, "can't receive the prize at the end 50:04 of the race until we finish the race." 50:08 You get the idea there of what's happening as I just described 50:12 with the race metaphor. 50:14 So God has a people at the end of time who 50:17 cross the finish line. 50:19 To use the words of Revelation 14, 50:21 which I hope we'll have time to explore in greater 50:23 detail tomorrow, they follow the Lamb wherever He goes. 50:28 Or I think the King James language is really nice here. 50:31 "They follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." 50:34 Doesn't that sound nice? 50:36 These people follow the Lamb through the entire course 50:42 of the salvation experience. 50:44 Jesus, as the Lamb who was crucified at Calvary, 50:48 then His blood was taken by the priests into the 50:52 Holy Place, sprinkled on the veil of the Most Holy Place 50:59 seven times, right? 51:01 And then came the day of atonement. 51:04 Yom Kippur. 51:06 The day of final reckoning and judgment. 51:09 The day of closure. 51:10 The day of final at-one-ment. 51:12 The day of wedding and marriage. 51:14 The day when everything comes to a conclusion, right? 51:17 So the blood of the Lamb, or the Lamb Himself 51:21 by virtue of His shed blood, is represented 51:25 at how many phases of salvation history in the sanctuary? 51:29 Every phase, right? 51:31 The Lamb is slain. 51:33 His blood then is sprinkled throughout the sanctuary. 51:38 So what would it mean, in the language of Revelation 14, 51:41 for a group of believers at the end of time to follow 51:43 the Lamb wherever He goes? 51:46 What would it mean to follow Him wherever He goes? 51:49 Well He did go to Calvary, and we need to follow Him there. 51:53 And then He was resurrected and He ascended into the 51:56 Holy Place, and by faith we need to follow Him there. 52:00 And then finally at a certain juncture of salvation history, 52:04 the end time segment of history, He moved into the 52:06 Most Holy phase to make final atonement, as we said. 52:13 And those people need to follow Him there. 52:16 The question is, are we following Him there? 52:21 Are you and I, are we discerning the times 52:26 in which we live? 52:28 Not just discerning the times in the sense of the world around us 52:35 spinning wildly out of control, but are we noticing, 52:41 are we discerning the times in God's plan 52:45 for the experience of His people in these last days? 52:50 The signs of the times aren't merely happening all around us 52:52 in political affairs, in the upheavals of nature, 52:56 in the moral affairs of the world, 52:58 and the ecclesiastical affairs of the world. 53:00 The signs of the times aren't merely happening all around us. 53:04 The sign of greatest significance is what's 53:07 going on in your heart and mine. 53:10 The sign of greatest significant, I repeat, is; 53:15 where are you, where am I, in following the Lamb 53:19 all the way through to the conclusion 53:22 of the great controversy between good and evil? 53:26 And that probing question that each of us needs to entertain, 53:31 I believe, with sobriety of mind, that penetrating 53:36 question, "Where am I? 53:38 Am I in the Courtyard? 53:40 Am I in the Holy Place? 53:43 Am I in the Most Holy Place? 53:46 Am I, by God's grace, standing before that final 53:49 veil, eager, by the blood of Christ, that is by virtue 53:57 of the self giving love that He displayed at Calvary, 54:01 giving His life for you and me, am I prepared by virtue of that 54:06 sacrifice and that love to take one more step 54:09 through the veil into the Most Holy Place 54:13 into final and full atonement, fully and forever reconciled 54:20 and irrevocably sealed in my loyalty to Christ? 54:26 So that, at least in my experience 54:29 and your experience and all of as a body, 54:32 that we would experience closure for the great controversy. 54:39 The Bible goes so far as to indicate that the intimacy 54:44 that God's people will share for all eternity future in that 54:48 Most Holy Place, if you will, is represented by the whole city. 54:52 It's astounding to realize that in Scripture, there are only two 54:56 perfect cubes. 54:59 Just two geometric shapes that are a perfect cube. 55:03 One is the Most Holy Place. 55:06 The Bible tells us that its length was equal to its width, 55:10 and was equal to its height. 55:13 The Most Holy Place was a perfect cube. 55:16 And it was the place of deepest intimacy with God. 55:22 There's another cube in Scripture, and it is 55:24 described in Revelation as the New Jerusalem. 55:29 And we are told that on a grander scale that its height 55:34 is equal to its width, equal to its depth. 55:38 That it is a perfect cube. 55:40 And God Himself, we're told, will dwell with His people 55:45 forever in the New Jerusalem. 55:48 That is to say, forever and ever into the future, 55:51 you and I and the saved of all ages will take our place 55:54 in the Most Holy Place of the universe in perfect 55:59 and eternal intimacy with our God. 56:03 I invite you, I invite my own heart, tonight 56:08 to follow the Lamb wherever He goes, 56:10 all the way through to the close of salvation history. 56:15 You and I have within our privilege and power, 56:19 by the grace of God, to not only look for, but to hasten 56:23 the second coming of Jesus. 56:26 And so I ask you, I ask myself, let's take that final step 56:32 through the veil into the Most Holy Place, and be that people 56:38 who never taste death, and witness the second advent 56:42 in our very lifetime. 56:44 Would you pray with me. 56:46 Father in heaven, we have discovered incredible things 56:50 in Your Word tonight. 56:53 We are deeply impressed that You have special plans 56:58 for us at this phase of human history. 57:02 Father, please take us by the hand, take us by the heart, 57:07 and move us out of all of our self-centered concerns. 57:14 Lord, please woo our hearts, call us and draw us 57:19 into the Most Holy Place. 57:21 May we find our place with You there 57:24 as the translation generation. 57:28 Lord, keep us in Your care. |
Revised 2014-12-17