Anchor School of Theology: Prophetic Principles

God's Israel: Understood Globally and Spiritually

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Stephen Bohr

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Series Code: ASTPP

Program Code: ASTPP000016


00:15 We're glad you're at Anchor Bible school,
00:18 or School of Theology.
00:20 We are going to study some exciting things this afternoon.
00:25 But I believe that it would be a good idea for us,
00:27 it's such a solemn topic, that we should have a word of prayer
00:31 to ask the Lord to be with us.
00:32 So let's just bow our heads for a moment of prayer.
00:35 Father in heaven, as we study this momentous principle
00:39 this afternoon, principle number nine on our syllabus,
00:43 we ask, Father, for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit.
00:46 Not only in our study here, but I ask that when this series
00:50 is broadcast on television, that it might be useful
00:54 to those who are sincere of heart;
00:57 that they might be willing to hear the truth
01:00 and to receive it into the heart and into the mind.
01:03 We plead for Your presence, and we know that you will be
01:06 with us, because You have promised.
01:09 And we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, amen.
01:14 Okay, let's go in our syllabus to page 22,
01:17 and we are going to look at principle number nine.
01:22 And principle number nine states, "God's Israel today
01:27 is to be understood spiritually and globally."
01:32 In other words, Israel is no longer in the Middle East.
01:35 God's true Israel is worldwide, and it is a spiritual Israel.
01:41 Now in Bible prophecy, God's Israel is to be understood
01:47 symbolically and universally.
01:50 God has only one people in all ages;
01:54 those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
01:59 However, there are two stages to this.
02:01 The Old Testament saints accepted Christ
02:04 who was promised, whereas those of us who live in this
02:09 period of history accept Christ who has fulfilled the promise.
02:13 But Christ is still the center of both periods,
02:17 both Old and New Testament.
02:20 When God chose Abraham, it was with the purpose
02:24 of bringing the blessing to all the nations of the earth.
02:27 Is that true?
02:28 Absolutely.
02:30 In Genesis chapter 12, God says, "In you all the nations
02:35 of the earth will be blessed."
02:37 It was God's plan to bless all of the nations of the earth,
02:40 not only one nation.
02:42 In order to fulfill His plan, God chose
02:46 twelve individual men, who became the founders
02:50 of national Israel.
02:53 These men then multiplied into the twelve tribes
02:58 that became the nation of Israel.
03:01 God placed Israel at the strategic center
03:04 of three continents; Europe, Asia, and Africa,
03:10 so that passers through would learn the gospel,
03:14 and go back to their nations with the light
03:17 that they had received.
03:19 The gospel was preached in literal types and ceremonies
03:24 that pointed to every aspect of the saving work of the Messiah.
03:30 But Israel failed in its mission.
03:34 Before the Babylonian captivity, they embraced the pagan
03:38 practices of the surrounding nations.
03:41 And after the captivity, they isolated themselves
03:45 from the nations.
03:47 When Israel failed to a great degree to fulfill their mission,
03:53 Jesus came anyway and spiritually fulfilled the
03:57 literal types and ceremonies of the Old Testament system.
04:01 He retraced in Himself the history of Israel
04:05 and redeemed the history of Israel.
04:08 Jesus then chose twelve Jewish men as the founders
04:13 of the Christian church, and sent them out to preach
04:17 the good news about the Messiah who had come.
04:22 By their preaching, the twelve then multiplied
04:25 into a great nation.
04:28 And the mission of that nation was to reach the entire world
04:32 with the message of Jesus in order to prepare the world
04:36 for the second coming.
04:38 So God's plan for Israel and God's plan for the church
04:41 is the same plan.
04:43 The only difference is that in the Old Testament,
04:46 the twelve men and the twelve tribes were to prepare
04:49 Israel for the first coming, whereas now the twelve men
04:54 that founded the Christian church, and all of the
04:56 nations that come from them, their role is to prepare
04:59 the world for the second coming of Christ.
05:01 But the bottom line is that both were called
05:04 to bring people to Jesus Christ.
05:08 The purpose for Israel and for the church is the same;
05:13 to preach the gospel so that the world can be saved.
05:17 Revelation 12 clearly reveals that God has only one Israel;
05:23 the woman who exists in two stages,
05:27 but nevertheless is the same woman.
05:31 Now what we want to do next is to take a look
05:34 at the material that is titled,
05:37 Three Stages of Israel's History.
05:42 Three Stages of Israel's History.
05:45 That's what we're going to dedicate the rest of this
05:47 hour to in our study.
05:51 We, of course, have to begin at Mt. Sinai.
05:55 Because at Mt. Sinai is where God contracted
05:58 a covenant with Israel.
06:00 That's where the covenant relationship officially began.
06:04 God announced to Abraham that He was going to make a
06:06 covenant, but the covenant itself was ratified at Mt. Sinai
06:11 between God and Israel.
06:12 Let's turn in our Bibles to Exodus chapter 19
06:15 and verses 1 through 6.
06:17 Exodus 19 verses 1 through 6.
06:20 It says there, "In the third month after the children
06:23 of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day,
06:27 they came to the Wilderness of Sinai.
06:30 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the
06:34 Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness.
06:37 So Israel camped there before the mountain.
06:40 And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him
06:44 from the mountain, saying..."
06:46 So Moses goes up, and now God is going to deliver
06:48 a message to Moses.
06:50 Notice what God says to Moses.
06:52 "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell
06:57 the children of Israel, 'You have seen what I did
07:02 to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings
07:06 and brought you to Myself.'"
07:09 "I took you away from Pharaoh, and now you are Mine,"
07:13 is what God is saying.
07:16 Now I want you to notice something interesting.
07:18 God says, "You are Mine."
07:19 But Israel had to agree, didn't they?
07:22 And so we find in verse 5 God saying,
07:25 "Now therefore, if..."
07:29 Is this a conditional covenant?
07:31 It is a conditional covenant.
07:33 "...if you will indeed obey My voice
07:36 and keep My covenant, then..."
07:39 ...if...then...
07:41 Notice, "'...then you shall be a special treasure to Me
07:45 above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
07:49 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'
07:53 These are the words which you shall speak
07:56 to the children of Israel."
07:57 God is saying, "Israel, I want to make a covenant with you.
08:01 I want to get married with you."
08:03 Jeremiah 31 says that God married Israel at Mt. Sinai.
08:08 God says, "I want to marry you.
08:10 I want you to be My wife."
08:13 Now the question is, how would Israel respond
08:16 to this call of God?
08:18 Exodus 19 verses 7 and 8 tells us that Moses
08:22 came down from the mountain and he delivered to Israel
08:25 the message that God had given him to give to the people.
08:29 It says there in Exodus 19:7-8, "So Moses came and called
08:34 for the elders of the people, and laid before them
08:37 all these words which the Lord commanded him.
08:40 Then all the people answered together and said,
08:43 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do.'"
08:50 Is there a covenant now?
08:51 Yes there is.
08:52 So what does Moses do?
08:54 Moses goes up to God and he says, "The people agree."
08:58 Notice the last part of verse 8.
09:01 "So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord."
09:07 So was a covenant made at Mt. Sinai? Yes.
09:10 God says, "I want to enter a covenant relationship with you.
09:13 Do you accept?"
09:15 And Israel says, "I do."
09:17 This was a marriage covenant between God and His people.
09:21 And then, of course, God gave His law, His moral law.
09:26 And then God gave the ceremonial system to teach Israel
09:30 about the plan of salvation.
09:32 And when the tabernacle had been built and had been established,
09:39 and had been sanctified, in Exodus chapter 40 and verse 34
09:44 we find a momentous event.
09:47 It says there in Exodus 40 verse 34,
09:51 "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting,
09:54 and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle."
09:58 Do you remember that God had said,
10:00 "You shall build Me a Sanctuary that I may..." What?
10:03 "...that I might dwell among them."
10:05 Well, here's the fulfillment.
10:07 Israel made a covenant, so God says, "Now I'm going to come
10:10 and I'm going to dwell in their midst."
10:12 So the Shekinah glory entered the temple;
10:15 a symbol of God's presence with Israel.
10:19 Now after the pilgrimage through the desert,
10:22 when the people had entered the Promised Land,
10:25 a more permanent structure was built.
10:28 Solomon built the temple.
10:32 And I want you to notice...
10:33 By the way, this is happening around the year 960 BC.
10:37 And Solomon said, "God needs to have a more permanent house,
10:41 because now we are permanently settled in Canaan.
10:44 Before, we were a nomadic people wondering in the wilderness.
10:48 But now we're settled in the land, so we have to build God
10:51 a solid temple and a much nicer temple than just a tent."
10:56 And so we find that Solomon built this beautiful temple.
11:02 One of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
11:05 And then I want you to notice what happened when the
11:07 temple was finished.
11:08 1 Kings chapter 8 and verses 10 and 11.
11:12 1 Kings 8:10-11
11:14 "And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the
11:17 holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord,
11:21 so that the priests could not continue ministering
11:24 because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord
11:28 filled the house of the Lord."
11:31 Did the Shekinah enter the temple built by Solomon?
11:34 Yes.
11:35 Had the Shekinah entered the tabernacle in the wilderness?
11:38 Yes, God now says, "We are in a covenant relationship.
11:42 And I will dwell in your midst."
11:44 And so the Shekinah, the visible Shekinah glory,
11:47 dwells in the temple.
11:51 Now the question is, did Israel live up to their
11:55 end of the bargain?
11:57 No.
11:58 The next 800 years, after God chose Israel at Mt. Sinai,
12:05 was a story of constant rebellion
12:09 and disobedience to God.
12:11 In fact, we find this clearly revealed in 2 Chronicles 36
12:15 and verses 14 through 16 where, between the time when
12:19 God made His marriage covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai
12:23 and when the Babylonian captivity took place,
12:27 Israel simply was unfaithful to her husband time and again.
12:32 And she fornicated with the surrounding nations.
12:35 It says there in 2 Chronicles 36 verse 14,
12:39 "Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people
12:43 transgressed more and more, according to
12:46 all the abominations..."
12:47 Remember, that's a key word.
12:49 "...according to all the abominations of the nations,
12:52 and defiled the house of the Lord which He had
12:55 consecrated in Jerusalem.
12:57 And the Lord God of their fathers..."
12:59 Did God warn them and try to call them back
13:02 to their marriage covenant? Yes.
13:04 "And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them
13:07 by His messengers, rising up early and sending them,
13:10 because He had compassion on His people
13:13 and on His dwelling place."
13:14 How did Israel react?
13:16 "But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words,
13:20 and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord
13:24 arose against His people, till there was no remedy."
13:28 Which eventually led to the Babylonian captivity.
13:31 Now notice how this apostasy is described
13:33 in Ezekiel 16 and verse 15.
13:35 Ezekiel 16 and verse 15.
13:38 God is speaking to His people, to His wife, and He says,
13:42 "But you trusted in your own beauty, played..." What?
13:46 "...the harlot because of your fame, and poured out
13:50 your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it."
13:56 And so Israel was unfaithful to her Husband.
14:00 And so God says, "I am going to perform a work of judgment."
14:05 And this work of judgment is described
14:09 in the book of Ezekiel, particularly chapter 9.
14:13 Now in Ezekiel chapter 1 and verse 4,
14:17 we find that God is coming from the north in a chariot.
14:20 This is a symbolic vision.
14:22 And the reason He's coming to Jerusalem
14:25 is because He is going to judge Jerusalem because of
14:28 all of the abominations that they were committing
14:32 at this time.
14:34 In fact, in Ezekiel chapter 8 and verses 16 and 17,
14:39 we find the climax of all of the abominations,
14:43 which was the fact that they were worshipping the sun god.
14:48 In other words, they had assimilated all of the
14:50 pagan practices of the surrounding nations.
14:54 They were committing abominations that would
14:57 eventually lead to desolation.
15:00 Two key words in Daniel chapter 9.
15:03 Now, let's notice how Ezekiel chapter 1 and verse 4 reads.
15:09 Ezekiel says, "Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind
15:11 was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire
15:15 engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and
15:19 radiating out of its midst like the color of amber,
15:22 out of the midst of the fire."
15:24 God is coming in His fiery chariot to Jerusalem.
15:27 He's actually coming to the temple.
15:29 And in the temple, He is going to judge Israel
15:31 for their abominations.
15:33 However, not everyone in Israel was committing the abominations.
15:38 So it was necessary to perform a work of judgment
15:41 to separate the faithful from the unfaithful.
15:44 Let's read Ezekiel chapter 9 and verses 1 through 6.
15:49 "Then He called out in my hearing with a
15:51 loud voice, saying..."
15:52 Incidentally, this is happening around the year 592 BC.
15:57 Jerusalem would be destroyed in 586.
15:59 Just 6 years later, Jerusalem would be destroyed.
16:03 So you have the abominations that led to the desolation
16:07 of Jerusalem just 6 years later.
16:09 So it says, "Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice,
16:12 saying, 'Let those who have charge over the city draw near,
16:16 each with his deadly weapon in his hand.'
16:19 And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate,
16:23 which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand.
16:27 One man among them was clothed with linen
16:30 and had a writer's inkhorn at his side.
16:33 They went in and stood beside the bronze altar."
16:36 That is in the court.
16:38 "Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up
16:41 from the cherub, where it had been,
16:42 to the threshold of the temple.
16:44 And He called to the man clothed with linen,
16:47 who had the writer's inkhorn at his side;
16:49 and the Lord said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city,
16:53 through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the
16:58 foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the
17:02 abominations that are done within it.'"
17:05 So is there a group in the city who is faithful to the Lord?
17:09 Yes, and a judgment of separation needs to be made.
17:13 Because there is a group of faithful individuals
17:16 that will not be destroyed when the city is destroyed.
17:20 But now notice, after it speaks about the separation
17:24 in the temple, we are told in verse 5,
17:28 "To the others He said in my hearing,
17:31 'Go after him through the city and kill;
17:35 do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity.
17:40 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children
17:45 and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark;
17:49 and begin at My sanctuary.'
17:52 So they began with the elders who were before the temple."
17:56 So was there a judgment of separation?
17:58 Did the Shekinah glory come to the temple
18:01 for the work of judgment?
18:02 It most certainly did. Before the destruction came.
18:07 Now I want you to notice that when this judgment
18:09 comes to an end, after the Lord, the Shekinah glory,
18:12 comes to the temple to perform this work of judgment,
18:15 this work of separation, then the Shekinah glory
18:21 departs the temple.
18:24 I want you to remember these details.
18:26 We're going to come back to them again
18:28 with regards to the destruction of Jerusalem
18:31 for the second time in the year 70.
18:33 Notice what we find in Ezekiel 10 and verse 19.
18:38 "And the cherubim lifted their wings..."
18:41 This is the same chariot that came to the temple
18:43 for the work of judgment.
18:44 "And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up
18:47 from the earth in my sight.
18:49 When they went out, the wheels were beside them;
18:53 and they stood at the door of the east gate
18:56 of the Lord's house..."
18:57 That's the entrance to the Lord's house, by the way.
19:00 "...and the glory of the God of Israel was above them."
19:03 At this point, is the glory of the Lord
19:05 still present at the temple?
19:07 It's on the eastern edge of the temple.
19:09 But then something happens.
19:11 The glory departs the temple.
19:14 And for a lingering period of time, it sits upon the
19:20 Mount of Olives east of the city of Jerusalem.
19:23 Notice Ezekiel chapter 11 verses 22 and 23.
19:27 It says, "So the cherubim lifted up their wings,
19:31 with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the
19:34 God of Israel was high above them.
19:36 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city
19:41 and stood on the mountain, which is on the
19:45 east side of the city."
19:47 Which mountain is on the east side of the city of Jerusalem?
19:50 It is the Mount of Olives.
19:53 And so the glorious presence of the Lord
19:56 that has gone into the temple and performed a work of
19:59 separation or judgment now leaves the temple
20:02 and lingers on the Mount of Olives.
20:05 And Ellen White says that after lingering for a period,
20:08 the Shekinah departed and went to heaven.
20:12 The city was now desolate,
20:15 because the presence of God was no longer there.
20:20 And I want you to notice what happened as a result.
20:23 2 Chronicles 36 and verses 17 to 21.
20:28 2 Chronicles 36:17-21
20:31 It says, "Therefore God brought against them the
20:34 king of the Chaldeans, who killed their..."
20:37 Remember what Ezekiel chapter 9 said?
20:40 This is the fulfillment.
20:41 "...who killed their young men with the sword in the house of
20:44 their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man
20:48 or virgin, on the aged or the weak;
20:52 He gave them all into his hand.
20:55 And all the articles from the house of God, great and small,
20:57 the treasures of the house of the Lord,
20:59 and the treasures of the king and of his leaders,
21:02 all these he took to Babylon.
21:04 Then they burned the house of God, broke down the
21:07 wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire,
21:10 and destroyed all of its precious possessions.
21:13 And those who escaped from the sword he carried away
21:15 to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons..."
21:20 Now was the end of the Jewish theocracy?
21:23 No it wasn't?
21:25 Notice that this passage ends with hope.
21:30 Israel was going to receive another chance.
21:34 So let's notice verse 20 again.
21:37 "And those who escaped from the sword he carried away
21:40 to Babylon, where they became servants of him and his sons...
21:44 ...to fulfill the word of the Lord by the prophet Jeremiah,
21:48 until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths.
21:51 As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath,
21:54 to fulfill..." How long?
21:56 "...to fulfill seventy years."
22:00 This is happening...
22:02 By the way, the captivity lasts from 605 to the year,
22:09 let's see, 605 to 536 when the people returned to their land.
22:14 Now God, in other words, gave Israel
22:17 a second chance, didn't He?
22:19 This was not the final end.
22:20 God said, "You're going to spend 70 years captive in Babylon.
22:24 And then after the captivity, I'm going to take you back
22:28 to your land, and I'm going to give you another chance.
22:32 Notice 2 Chronicles 36 verses 22 and 23.
22:36 It says there, "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia..."
22:40 That's 536, by the way, BC.
22:42 That's when the 70 years ended.
22:44 "...that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah
22:47 might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of
22:50 Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation
22:53 throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
22:58 'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia...'"
23:00 Now this is very interesting from a pagan king.
23:05 He says, "All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God
23:08 of heaven has given me.
23:09 And He has commanded me to build Him a house
23:13 at Jerusalem which is in Judah.
23:16 Who is among you of all His people?
23:18 May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up."
23:24 Interesting that a pagan king would say that.
23:28 And so Israel returned.
23:30 In 536 they started, they laid the foundations to the temple.
23:35 But then they had so much opposition that they quit
23:37 building the temple.
23:38 And it remained desolate from the year 536 all the way down
23:43 to the year 520.
23:44 And then in 520, Haggai, Zerubbabel, and Zechariah,
23:49 and others, encouraged the people to once again
23:52 come to the temple to start the rebuilding of the temple again.
23:56 And through the help of the prophets, they rebuilt the
24:00 temple in only five years between 520 and 515.
24:03 In 515 the temple was finished.
24:06 Notice Haggai chapter 2 and verses 2 and 3.
24:10 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
24:15 governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak,
24:20 the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
24:23 'Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory?
24:28 And how do you see it now?
24:30 In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? '"
24:36 You see, they built the temple after the captivity,
24:39 it wasn't even the shadow of what the temple
24:42 built by Solomon was.
24:44 There was no Shekinah in that temple.
24:47 There was no gold and silver.
24:49 It was an ordinary temple compared to the one that
24:53 had been built by Solomon.
24:56 And so Haggai here is saying, "You know, didn't you see the
24:59 temple in its former glory, Solomon's temple?"
25:02 He says, "Isn't this temple nothing in comparison?"
25:06 But now I want you to notice a promise
25:08 that the Jews have never been able to explain.
25:11 Haggai chapter 2 and verses 6 through 9.
25:15 Now comes the promise.
25:17 "For thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Once more,
25:21 it is a little while, I will shake heaven and earth,
25:24 the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and...'"
25:31 What will come?
25:33 "...they shall come to the Desire of All Nations..."
25:40 You know, another way of translating it is,
25:42 the Desire of Ages.
25:44 "...the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill
25:48 this temple with glory."
25:51 Well you know what, that temple was destroyed
25:53 in the year 70 and it never was even the shadow
25:55 of the temple that was built by Solomon.
25:57 So the Jews today are still trying to explain
26:00 how this second temple was going to have
26:03 more glory than the first.
26:04 Let's continue reading.
26:05 It says in verse 8, "'The silver is Mine,
26:08 and the gold is Mine,' says the Lord of hosts.
26:11 'The glory of this latter temple shall be greater
26:15 than the former,' says the Lord of hosts.
26:17 'And in this place I will give peace,' says the Lord of hosts."
26:22 Wow.
26:24 This temple, which was nothing compared to the
26:27 temple that was built by Solomon,
26:29 the Lord says, "This latter temple will be of greater
26:33 glory than the first temple, the temple that was
26:37 built by Solomon."
26:39 So God gave Israel an additional 70 weeks
26:44 of mercy and grace.
26:47 He sent them abundant messengers.
26:49 He had sent messengers before the captivity.
26:51 Now He sends more messengers.
26:54 He sends them Haggai, Zechariah, Joshua the high priest,
26:58 Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi.
27:02 And finally John the Baptist, the twelve, the seventy.
27:07 Yet when Jesus came, they were oblivious to His mission.
27:12 They did not really understand why they existed.
27:16 And so they rejected the Messiah.
27:20 So we've studied two stages of the history of Israel.
27:23 The first stage is between the year 1445 at Mt. Sinai
27:27 and the year of the captivity, 605 BC.
27:32 The second stage is after the captivity in the year 536.
27:38 They go back, they rebuild.
27:39 And then after they've rebuilt the city, the walls, the temple,
27:43 God says, "I'm going to give you another chance.
27:45 I'm going to give you 70 weeks, 490 years more."
27:50 And that's the prophecy that we find in Daniel chapter 9.
27:54 And He says, "This temple which is far inferior in your eyes
27:58 to the temple that was built by Solomon is going to be
28:01 more glorious than that temple."
28:05 Now how are we to understand that?
28:07 Go with me to John chapter 1 and verse 14.
28:10 Here comes stage three of the history of Israel.
28:12 The first stage is Sinai to the captivity.
28:15 The second stage is after the captivity to the
28:18 time that Jesus comes.
28:19 It says in John 1 verse 14,
28:22 "And the Word became..." What?
28:25 "...flesh, and dwelt..."
28:26 That word, "dwelt," is "skénoó," which means, "tabernacled."
28:32 "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."
28:35 Doesn't this bring to mind the book of
28:38 Exodus chapter 25 and verse 8 where God said,
28:41 "Make me a Sanctuary and I will dwell among them."
28:45 Interesting.
28:46 Three common words are used on Exodus 25:8
28:50 and John 1 verse 14.
28:52 The word, "tent" or "tabernacle;"
28:55 second, the word, "dwell;" and third, the word, "among."
28:59 In other words, Jesus was the glory that came to be
29:03 in the temple.
29:05 Now the Jews love to brag about Solomon's temple.
29:11 But it's interesting to see what Jesus said.
29:13 Luke chapter 12 verses 27 and 28.
29:17 Jesus says, "Consider the lilies, how they grow;
29:21 they neither toil nor spin.
29:23 And yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory
29:28 was not arrayed like one of these."
29:31 Now when you look at the parallel passage to this one,
29:34 Matthew chapter 12 and verse 42, you find that Jesus says
29:40 about Himself, it adds to what we found in the gospel of Luke,
29:45 "One greater than Solomon is here."
29:50 So who is that greater glory that was going to
29:53 come into the temple?
29:54 It was none other than Jesus Christ Himself.
29:59 Did Jesus, several times during His ministry,
30:01 teach in the temple courts?
30:04 Yes He did.
30:05 Was He opposed by the religious leaders in those temple courts?
30:09 He most certainly was.
30:12 The Shekinah that came to dwell in that second temple
30:16 was none less than Jesus Christ.
30:19 We saw His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father,
30:24 full of grace and truth.
30:26 He fulfilled the prophecy of Haggai.
30:29 The temple was more glorious because Jesus Himself,
30:33 the Shekinah, came to dwell in the temple.
30:37 Towards the end of His life, Jesus, according to
30:41 Luke 19:37-38, descended the Mount of Olives
30:47 for the last time before His death.
30:50 Let's read about it.
30:51 He's actually advancing for the Mount of Olives
30:54 to the golden gate, which is on the eastern side of Jerusalem,
30:57 to go through the golden gate into the city,
30:59 and then into the temple.
31:00 It says, "Then, as He was now drawing near the descent
31:05 of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples
31:09 began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice
31:12 for all His mighty works they had seen, saying,
31:15 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
31:19 Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.'"
31:24 In verses 47 and 48, we're told that Jesus entered the temple.
31:31 He was the Shekinah in the temple.
31:33 And I want you to notice the response of the
31:37 religious leaders to this glorious Shekinah in the temple.
31:42 It says there in verses 47 and 48,
31:44 "And He was teaching daily in the temple.
31:47 But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders
31:51 of the people sought to..." What?
31:53 "...sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything;
31:57 for all the people were very attentive to hear Him."
32:00 In fact, do you know that many times during this last week
32:05 of the life of Jesus, Jesus went into the temple
32:07 and taught in the temple, and discussed and answered
32:11 questions that people asked, and debated with
32:13 the religious leaders.
32:15 He was in the temple all the time during this last week.
32:18 He was the Shekinah in the temple.
32:22 Let's notice the last time that Jesus entered the temple.
32:24 Matthew 21 verses 12 and 13.
32:27 There's some very important details here that we need to
32:30 take into account.
32:32 It says there, "Then Jesus went into..." What?
32:38 "...the temple of God..."
32:39 At this point, was the temple still the temple of God?
32:43 Yes it was.
32:44 It says, "Then Jesus went into the temple of God..."
32:48 Is He going to do a work of separation now?
32:50 Oh, this is a work of judgment. Absolutely.
32:53 "...and drove out..." He's cleansing the temple.
32:55 He's cleansing the Sanctuary, if you please.
32:58 "...and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple,
33:02 and overturned the tables of the money changers
33:04 and the seats of those who sold doves.
33:07 And He said to them, 'It is written, "My house..."'"
33:11 Was that His house at that point of time?
33:13 You better believe it.
33:15 He went into, according to this, the temple of God
33:18 and He called it, "My house."
33:20 He says, "It is written, 'My house shall be called
33:23 a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"
33:28 And in the next three chapters, Jesus the Shekinah,
33:33 teaches in the temple in person.
33:38 And His main theme in those three chapters
33:41 is discussing the apostasy and rebellion of Israel...
33:46 Interesting.
33:48 ...and what the result would be.
33:50 He actually gave a series of parables.
33:54 Now I'm not going to mention the parable of the fig tree,
33:57 because that's going to be our next study.
33:59 So we're going to skip from where it says,
34:02 "John the Baptist," all the way down to where you find
34:09 Matthew 21 verses 18 and 19.
34:11 We'll come back to that again.
34:12 Let's go down to where it says, Matthew 21 verses 33 to 43.
34:17 How many chances did God give Israel?
34:20 Three.
34:21 The first is before the captivity.
34:24 The second is all of the messengers that He sent
34:26 after the captivity.
34:27 The third is when Jesus Christ Himself comes.
34:31 That is the last resort.
34:33 And you're going to see it in this parable.
34:35 Notice the parable of the vineyard that Jesus gave.
34:38 It's found in Matthew chapter 21 and verses 33 to 43.
34:46 Jesus says, "Hear another parable.
34:50 There was a certain landowner..."
34:52 I'm going to interpret for you.
34:53 This is God the Father.
34:54 "...who planted a vineyard..."
34:57 The vineyard is the city of Jerusalem.
34:59 "...and set a hedge around it..."
35:02 This is the law.
35:03 "...dug a winepress in it and built a tower."
35:06 Which is the temple.
35:08 Ellen White gives all of this interpretation
35:10 of the terminology that is used.
35:12 "And he leased it to vinedressers..."
35:15 Who would the vinedressers be?
35:17 Israel.
35:18 "...and went into a far country.
35:20 Now when vintage time drew near, he sent his servants..."
35:25 This is the first chance that they get.
35:29 "...he sent his servants to the vinedressers,
35:32 that they might receive its fruit.
35:34 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one,
35:37 killed one, and stoned another."
35:41 That's before the captivity. That's stage one.
35:44 "Again..." What does again mean?
35:47 This is a second chance.
35:49 "Again he sent other servants..."
35:51 And by the way, this is Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi,
35:54 John the Baptist, etc.
35:56 "...more than the first, and they did likewise to them."
36:01 That's the second chance, right?
36:02 And now notice, "Then last of all he sent his son..."
36:09 Are you catching the picture?
36:11 The third stage is he sends his very own son.
36:18 And he says, "'They will respect my son.'
36:22 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said
36:24 among themselves, 'This is the heir.
36:27 Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'
36:31 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard..."
36:35 Was Jesus cast out of Jerusalem?
36:37 Did He die out of Jerusalem?
36:38 He most certainly did.
36:39 "They cast him out of the vineyard and killed him."
36:47 And now Jesus asked the question,
36:49 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes,
36:51 what will he do to those vinedressers?"
36:55 They still haven't caught onto what Jesus is teaching here.
36:59 "Oh they said to Him, 'He will destroy those wicked men
37:02 miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers
37:07 who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.'"
37:12 Now Jesus is going to make His point.
37:15 "Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the Scriptures,
37:19 "The stone which the builders rejected has become
37:23 the chief cornerstone.
37:25 This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."'"
37:29 And then He makes a prediction.
37:31 This is a future prediction.
37:33 The tense of the verb is future.
37:35 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God..." What?
37:39 "...will be taken from you and given to a nation
37:45 bearing the fruits thereof."
37:46 The word, "nation," there is the word, "ethne."
37:50 It's the very same word that is translated, "Gentiles,"
37:53 in the book of Acts.
37:55 Unfortunately it's translated, "nations."
37:57 You get the impression that this is some nation
38:00 that God is going to choose like the Jewish nation.
38:02 No, this is referring to the Gentiles.
38:05 The word, "nation," is "ethne."
38:07 And by the way, in the New Testament there are
38:09 two key words for, "people."
38:11 One is the word, "laos," where the word Laodicea comes from.
38:18 And that is the word that is used mostly
38:20 for God's faithful people.
38:22 Laos.
38:24 But when it speaks about the Gentiles,
38:26 those who are outside the covenant community
38:29 of Israel, those are called, "ethne."
38:33 And so Jesus is saying here that the kingdom would be taken away
38:37 from the Jewish nation as a nation and would be given
38:41 to a people, would be given to the Gentiles,
38:44 who would bear the fruits thereof.
38:46 Incidentally, do you know that there's a parable of Jesus,
38:49 the parable of the man who went into the party,
38:55 the wedding party, without a garment.
38:57 Do you remember that?
38:59 He went to the supper without the garment on.
39:02 You know, there you have also the same message.
39:05 You have messengers that are sent out.
39:08 They reject the message.
39:10 Then the fatted calf is killed.
39:12 That represents the death of Christ.
39:15 And then other messengers are sent.
39:18 And they treat them likewise.
39:20 And then the king is filled with anger,
39:25 and he burns their city.
39:26 Which is what?
39:27 The destruction of the city of Jerusalem.
39:31 Now notice Matthew 23 and verses 29 to 33.
39:36 Here Jesus says, "Woe to you, scribes and
39:38 Pharisees, hypocrites!
39:40 Because you build the tombs of the prophets
39:42 and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say,
39:45 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers,
39:48 we would not have been partakers with them
39:50 in the blood of the prophets.'
39:52 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves
39:54 that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
39:58 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt."
40:02 Notice that the measure is being what?
40:04 The cup is being filled up.
40:05 When the cup is full, that's it.
40:09 Remember, the cup of the Amorites is not yet full?
40:12 In other words, their probation had not closed.
40:15 So Jesus is saying, "The cup is filling up."
40:18 And then He says to them, "Serpents, brood of vipers!
40:22 How can you escape the condemnation of hell?"
40:25 But now I want you to notice something.
40:27 Even then probation did not close for the Jews.
40:31 Even after Jesus was crucified, probation did not close
40:35 for the Jewish nation.
40:36 Jesus says, "The cup is almost full."
40:38 Jesus gave them three and a half additional years.
40:42 And you say, "How do we know that?"
40:43 From Scripture.
40:44 Notice Matthew 23:34-36.
40:47 And notice the tense of the verbs.
40:50 Jesus is saying, this is just a few days before His death,
40:54 He says, "Therefore, indeed, I send you..."
40:58 And it's really a future tense.
40:59 "...I send you wise men, scribes.
41:02 Some of them you will kill and crucify,
41:06 and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues
41:10 and persecute from city to city..."
41:13 Let me ask you, who were the prophets that were sent to them?
41:16 Do you know who the last prophet of Israel was?
41:18 Stephen.
41:20 He was the last to receive a prophetic vision;
41:23 of Jesus at the right hand of God.
41:26 Who were the wise men?
41:28 The seven deacons were men full of wisdom.
41:32 Let me ask you, who was beaten, according to this,
41:35 who was beaten in the synagogues,
41:37 scourged in the synagogues?
41:40 How about Peter and John, for starters,
41:42 at the beginning of the book of Acts.
41:45 Who persecuted from city to city?
41:48 Saul of Tarsus.
41:50 So Jesus is saying, "I'm still going to send more messengers
41:54 after I die on the cross."
41:57 But then notice what Jesus says.
41:59 "Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes.
42:02 Some of them you will kill and crucify,
42:03 and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues
42:06 and persecute from city to city, that on you may come
42:10 all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of
42:14 righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah,
42:17 son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the
42:19 temple and the altar.
42:20 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come
42:24 upon this generation."
42:27 So did the punishment come right away?
42:28 Did probation close right away when Jesus was crucified?
42:31 Absolutely not.
42:32 He's saying, "I'm going to send you more messengers.
42:35 But you're going to do the same thing to them."
42:38 And then here comes the interesting part.
42:41 Then Jesus departs the temple.
42:47 I want you to notice what we find in Matthew chapter 23
42:54 and verses 37 and 38.
42:57 This is the culmination of the speech of Jesus in the temple.
43:01 After this, He will no longer enter the temple.
43:04 He says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem..."
43:06 Was He speaking about the city or was He speaking about
43:08 the apostate people in the city?
43:10 The people.
43:11 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the
43:14 prophets and stones those who are sent to her.
43:18 How often I wanted to gather your children together,
43:22 as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
43:26 but you were not willing."
43:29 And now listen to this.
43:30 "See! Your house is left unto you desolate."
43:36 What change do you see here?
43:40 When Jesus went into the temple upon His triumphal entry,
43:45 it was the temple of God, and He called it, "My house."
43:50 And then Jesus teaches in the temple courts,
43:53 and He's rejected.
43:55 And so now Jesus departs the temple and He says,
43:59 "Your house is left unto you desolate."
44:01 And guess where He went next.
44:04 He went and sat on the Mount of Olives.
44:08 Do you remember the Old Testament story?
44:11 This is repeating the Old Testament story.
44:14 Only this is ultimately the fulfillment.
44:16 Notice Matthew 24 and verse 1.
44:19 "Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple..."
44:23 Right after He said those words.
44:25 The Shekinah now is gone.
44:27 "...and His disciples came up to show Him the
44:30 buildings of the temple."
44:31 And now what does Jesus talk about?
44:33 He's rejected in the temple.
44:36 Those people, He pronounces sentence upon those people.
44:40 The Shekinah abandons the temple.
44:42 And then He speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem.
44:46 Because it no longer has a Shekinah.
44:50 Notice Matthew 24:2-3.
44:52 "And Jesus said to them, 'Do you not see all these things?
44:57 Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left
45:00 here upon another that shall not be thrown down.'
45:04 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples
45:07 came to Him privately saying,
45:08 'Tell us, when will these things be?
45:10 And what will be the sign of Your coming,
45:12 and of the end of the age?'"
45:15 Now you remember the word, "abomination and desolation,"
45:18 in the Old Testament?
45:19 What was it that led to the desolation?
45:22 The abominations that were being committed.
45:25 Now notice Matthew 24 and verse 15.
45:28 Matthew 24 and verse 15.
45:30 This verse has a double fulfillment.
45:32 We already studied this at the very beginning of our class.
45:35 The first fulfillment is with literal Jerusalem.
45:38 The second fulfillment, of course, has to do with the
45:40 Sunday law at the end of time.
45:43 You see, with Jerusalem, the Roman standards
45:45 had an eagle with a sun wreath upon them.
45:50 And so when those Christians inside saw them put there
45:54 standards in the ground as a signal that Jerusalem
45:57 was going to be conquered by them, they saw the
45:59 signal of the eagle with outspread wings
46:02 and the golden wreath, which represented the orb of the sun,
46:05 they were to flee.
46:06 At the end of time, it's not a sun wreath at the end of time.
46:11 It is the Sun-day.
46:15 Now notice what it says in Matthew 24 verse 15.
46:19 "Therefore when you see the..." What?
46:22 "...the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of
46:26 by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place;
46:28 whoever reads, let him understand..."
46:30 What was that abomination of desolation?
46:33 Luke 21 and verse 20 explains what the historical
46:36 fulfillment of this was.
46:37 The first fulfillment of this.
46:39 The abomination of desolation was, because of the abominations
46:42 in the city, because of the rejection of the Messiah,
46:45 Jerusalem was going to be destroyed by the Roman armies.
46:49 And so it says in Luke 21 and verse 20,
46:52 "But when you see Jerusalem..." What?
46:55 "...surrounded by armies, then know that its
46:59 desolation is near."
47:01 Are you following me or not?
47:04 Does this have a certain finality to it?
47:06 Is God going to restore the Jewish nation once more?
47:11 No, especially is He going to restore them
47:13 in 1948 in disobedience?
47:17 You know, God always restored Israel to the land
47:21 when they repented.
47:23 In fact, in the chapter in Deuteronomy 28,
47:25 where it speaks about the blessings and curses
47:27 of the covenant, God made it clear that if Israel repented
47:31 when they were in captivity, He would bring them
47:33 back to His land.
47:34 But He does not bring them back to the land in disobedience.
47:38 It has to be a repentant people that would be brought
47:41 once again to their land.
47:43 Is Jerusalem today repentant?
47:45 It is not.
47:46 It has not received Jesus as the Messiah.
47:50 In Luke 19:41-44, we find these words of Jesus.
47:55 Jesus is coming down the Mount of Olives
47:58 and He's coming to the temple for the last time.
48:00 It says, "Now as He drew near, He saw the city
48:03 and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known, even you,
48:07 especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!
48:12 But now they are hidden from your eyes.
48:14 For the days will come upon you when your enemies
48:17 will build an embankment around you,
48:19 surround you and close you in on every side, and level you,
48:24 and your children within you, to the ground;
48:27 and they will not leave in you one stone upon another,
48:30 because you did not know the hour of your visitation.'"
48:36 What does that mean, "You did not know the hour
48:39 of your visitation."
48:40 It means, "You did not know that your Messiah
48:44 was in your midst."
48:45 That's why Jerusalem was destroyed.
48:48 So we have three stages, folks, in the history of Israel.
48:52 Number one, they were taken out of captivity in Egypt.
48:55 They made a covenant with God at Mt. Sinai.
48:58 Apostasy came in for 800 years, and they were taken captive
49:02 to Babylon for 70 years as a result.
49:05 Stage two was when they were restored after the captivity.
49:10 The city, the temple, and the walls, and the government
49:14 were re-established.
49:15 Seventy weeks of probation were given to the nation of Israel.
49:19 Messengers were sent galore.
49:21 This was their second chance.
49:23 But instead of sharing the gospel with the world
49:26 and preparing the world for the coming of Messiah,
49:28 they shut themselves within themselves
49:30 and they became legalistic.
49:32 Stage three is when Israel rejected the last resort.
49:38 You know, in the parable it says, "And last of all,
49:41 he sent his son."
49:43 Does that have a certain finality about it?
49:46 "Last of all, he sent his son."
49:48 What more could He have done for the nation of Israel?
49:52 Now don't misunderstand me.
49:54 There are many Jews within Israel
49:58 that are God's true people.
50:01 Because they have received Jesus.
50:03 So we're not saying that God rejected all of the Jews.
50:07 Far be it from us to say something like that.
50:10 Individually, just like in any other nation,
50:15 the Jews can embrace the Messiah and they can be saved.
50:18 But as God's chosen nation, to share the gospel
50:22 with the world and prepare them to receive the Messiah,
50:27 the plan for the Jewish nation has closed
50:29 because they failed to fulfill their mission.
50:33 One last point.
50:36 Do you know that the sin that was committed by
50:39 the Jewish nation is the same sin that is committed by the
50:42 Christian world at the end of time?
50:45 Let's notice that.
50:47 And I struggled with this for a while.
50:48 I think I mentioned this in one of my previous presentations.
50:53 You know, I said, "Well, this sounds like two different sins."
50:56 But when you look at it, it really is the same sin.
51:00 Ellen White in Great Controversy, 22 and 23,
51:02 says, "The great sin of the Jews was their rejection of Christ;
51:08 the great sin of the Christian world would be their rejection
51:13 of the law of God, the foundation of His
51:16 government in Heaven and earth.
51:17 The precepts of Jehovah would be despised and set at naught."
51:23 What was the great sin of the Jewish nation?
51:25 Its rejection of Christ.
51:27 What will be the great sin of the Christian world?
51:30 The rejection of God's holy law.
51:33 Now you say, how can this be the same sin?
51:35 It's a similar sin in this sense:
51:38 the law is a reflection of the character of Christ.
51:43 So how can you say, "I love Jesus,
51:46 but I don't love His law."
51:49 If the law is a reflection of who Jesus is,
51:52 and Jesus is the embodiment or the incarnation of the law,
51:56 you cannot say, "Oh I love Jesus, but I hate the law."
52:01 So it's the same sin to reject the law, which is the
52:05 reflection of Christ's character, as it is to
52:07 reject Jesus, who is that law in living flesh.
52:11 Are you understanding me?
52:14 In church, not in Adventist churches,
52:18 but non-Adventist churches you hear that the law
52:20 was nailed to the cross.
52:22 That no one can keep it.
52:24 That it was for the Jews.
52:26 That we're not under law, but under grace.
52:29 That we are not under the letter,
52:30 but we're under the spirit.
52:32 That all you need to do is believe.
52:35 That God does not expect you to keep the law.
52:37 But then these people talk out of both sides of their mouth.
52:41 Because they say, "No, not the law.
52:43 The law was nailed to the cross."
52:44 But then they want to legislate the law from Washington.
52:50 In the political arena you hear a different tone.
52:54 Just by way of example, you have political candidates
52:57 wooing evangelicals.
53:00 Trying to get them over to their side.
53:04 You know, people want government to legislate
53:09 traditional marriage, sanctity of life, anti-pornography.
53:12 They want to post the ten commandments in the courtrooms.
53:16 They want to do all of these things by legislation.
53:20 But, folks, legislation will not cut it.
53:24 Because the ten commandments are there in the Bible.
53:26 You can put the ten commandments on a monument in every
53:29 courtroom in the United States, and it will make no difference.
53:33 Because the law needs to be written in the human heart.
53:38 And when it's written in the human heart,
53:41 then it will affect behavior.
53:43 It does not affect behavior when it's legislated.
53:47 It affects human behavior when God takes His law
53:51 and He writes it in our hearts.
53:53 "I delight to do Your will;
53:55 Your law is written in my heart."
53:59 Listen, folks, the difference between the two covenants
54:01 is not that the old covenant had law
54:04 and the new covenant has grace.
54:06 That is a false dichotomy.
54:09 You see, the old covenant had law and grace.
54:15 Israel saw the law only on tables of stone.
54:18 Moses had the law written on his heart,
54:20 because you could see the glory of Christ on his face.
54:23 God wanted for Israel what Moses had.
54:27 But they said, "No, cover the glory.
54:29 We don't want that glory.
54:30 We want Moses, but we don't want the glory."
54:32 They were saying basically, "We want the writings of Moses,
54:36 but we don't want Jesus."
54:39 And the same sin is being committed by the
54:41 Christian world today by rejecting the law of God,
54:45 which is a reflection of the character of Jesus Christ.
54:48 And let me say, what the churches want to do today
54:51 is they want the government to fix what they broke.
54:55 Because the pastors have preached so many times,
54:57 "You're not under law, you're under grace,"
55:00 they've preached so many times that the law was
55:01 nailed to the cross, that people now believe it.
55:05 And they feel like they don't have to keep the law.
55:09 Are you following me?
55:11 So basically, the sin of the Christian world at the
55:14 end of time is going to be the same sin as was committed
55:19 by the Jewish nation.
55:20 But I praise the Lord that in Jerusalem
55:24 there was a faithful remnant.
55:26 And when the city was destroyed, they escaped.
55:31 Just like in the Old Testament, there was a sealing.
55:34 Not all were committing the abominations.
55:37 And they escaped when Jerusalem was destroyed.
55:40 You know, when they saw the signal when Jerusalem was
55:43 destroyed in the year 70, and the Christians, those who
55:47 really embraced Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord,
55:49 saw the sign, we're told that they fled.
55:55 And of course, they prayed that their flight
55:58 might not be in winter...
56:02 Probably because it was going to be terribly cold.
56:05 ...or on the Sabbath day.
56:07 Interesting that in Matthew 24, where it speaks about
56:11 God's people having to flee to the mountains,
56:15 it says, "Pray that your flight will not be on the Sabbath."
56:21 They were to pray that in the times of the apostles.
56:26 And that will be the pray of God also at the end of time.
56:29 Because the Sabbath is still God's day of rest.
56:35 And so God has rejected the literal Jewish nation,
56:40 but He has not rejected His people.
56:42 He has not rejected His spiritual Israel.
56:46 He has not rejected true Israel.
56:49 Because true Israel is composed of those
56:52 who have accepted Jesus Christ.
56:54 "If you are Christ's you are Abraham's seed,
56:58 and heirs according to the promise."
57:00 In other words, a Jew is not defined by the blood they have,
57:04 or by the name that they have, or by where they live.
57:08 It is defined by their personal relationship with Jesus Christ
57:13 as their Savior and as their Lord.
57:17 So let me ask you, where is Israel going to be
57:18 at the end of time?
57:19 In the Middle East?
57:21 No, Israel is going to be where Jesus is.
57:25 And Jesus is where two or three are gathered in His name.
57:30 It's not complicated.
57:33 It's very simple.
57:35 May we be among those of spiritual Israel
57:38 who know Jesus as our Savior and as our Lord.


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Revised 2015-04-09