Participants: Pr. David Asscherick
Series Code: DP
Program Code: DP000023
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00:15 Our message is entitled what?
00:20 Kind of a play on words there, Who Is Real Israel, 00:23 and this is a very important question. 00:25 Basically what we're going to discover, 00:27 and what many of you have already determined 00:29 through this seminar is that there are two very different 00:32 systems, two very different what everyone? 00:34 Systems for understanding Bible prophecy, 00:38 and one of those systems is oriented primarily at Israel 00:42 a national Israel, and you have hundreds of thousands 00:45 millions of people today, who are looking to the 00:48 literal middle east for the literal descendants of Abraham 00:51 for God to fulfill all of His Old Testament, old covenant 00:53 promises to them in a literal fashion. 00:56 Well, anybody can look around and see that it's likely 00:58 that, that is not going to happen, at least in the current 01:01 political climate, and so what's happened is an invention 01:06 called the rapture, an invention called the what everyone? 01:09 Rapture, has basically been manufactured by religionists 01:12 that says something like this: 01:14 The only way that God is ever going to be able 01:16 to fulfill all of His promises to literal Israel, 01:19 is if the church gets out of the way, and so what's 01:22 happened is this manufactured artificial non-biblical doctrine 01:26 called the rapture, the secret rapture has been invented 01:29 and more or less what is going to happen is [whoop] the whole 01:32 church is just going to disappear in a moment and 01:35 as we have already talked about in the Left Behind movie, 01:38 which sort of popularized this view. 01:39 Their clothes will be neatly folded, ect., ect., 01:42 and then God with the church out of the way 01:45 can fulfill His Old Testament, Old Covenant promises, 01:49 that He is duty bound to fulfill to Israel. 01:51 That's sort of the picture that hundred's of thousand's 01:54 million's of Christians have, but what I want to show you 01:57 today, is that that at it's core is fundamentally flawed. 02:01 That at it's core is fundamentally flawed, 02:04 God does have an Israel, and who that Israel is 02:08 is very clear and very plain, from a Biblical perspective. 02:12 From a what kind of perspective everyone? 02:14 A Biblical perspective, and so we're going to do a good 02:17 Old Fashioned Bible study this morning, 02:19 can you say Amen to that? 02:20 We're going to try to answer the question: 02:24 That's the question we're going to answer, 02:25 and to put it even more succinctly, and to the point. 02:29 Who and what is Israel today? 02:32 Is modern day Israel, still the Israel of God? 02:36 I know when we use the term modern day Israel, 02:37 we're talking about those people that live in the geographic 02:40 area of ancient Palestine, modern Israel, Jerusalem, ect. 02:45 Those people, the literal genealogical descendants 02:48 of Abraham, is that Israel on earth today? 02:52 What we are going to do is take a look from a Biblical 02:55 perspective, and I would like to start in what you might 02:58 consider to be somewhat of an unusual place, Genesis 1. 03:01 Just a little bit of background here, Genesis 1, 03:05 we're going to look at marvelous parallel, between the experience 03:10 of Adam, the experience of Noah, and the experience of Israel. 03:15 Follow that, the experience of Adam, the experience of Noah, 03:18 and the experience of Israel. 03:20 Beginning in Genesis 1:1, I need you to stay right with me, 03:24 Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the 03:29 earth, now notice verse two. 03:30 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was 03:34 on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering 03:37 over the face of the waters. 03:40 So when God being to create what He basically has is 03:43 a large blob, basically a vacuous void, 03:48 and it must have been covered in water, because it says, 03:51 the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 03:53 So you see in your mind's eye here, just this large sort of 03:57 fluid mass. 03:59 The spirit of God is hovering over this large fluid mass, 04:02 of course God begins to create, let there be light! 04:04 and there was light, and all of the various things. 04:06 And then it comes time to create man, 04:08 to create what everyone? 04:10 Man, and we pick that up in Genesis 1:26, 04:13 this was of course the sixth day of creation. 04:14 Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, 04:19 according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the 04:21 fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, 04:23 over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps 04:27 on the earth. So God created man in His own image; 04:29 in the image of God He created him; male and female 04:31 He created them. Then God blessed them, 04:33 and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; 04:37 fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish 04:39 of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every 04:40 living thing that moves on the earth. 04:42 So I want you to get this picture in your mind, 04:44 first there was a large fluid mass, 04:47 and then God separated, the fluid mass from waters 04:51 that were below and waters that were above 04:54 something He call the firmament. 04:56 The what everyone? 04:57 Firmament, the word just means space. 04:59 So look at that in Genesis 1, back to Genesis 1, 05:03 and notice it says in verse 5, God called the light Day, 05:06 and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the 05:08 morning were the first day. Then God said, 05:12 Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, 05:15 and let it divide the waters from the waters. 05:17 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which 05:23 were under the firmament from the waters which were 05:25 above the firmament; and it was so 05:26 So let's get the picture in our mind here, 05:28 Here's this large fluid mass, and then God creates a firmament 05:31 or a space, just imagine a hand of God reaching into that 05:35 firmament there, into that fluid mass, 05:38 and he separates like this 05:39 the waters that were below the firmament, 05:42 the waters that were what everyone? 05:43 Below, and then the waters that were above, 05:46 and that firmament is called heaven or space. 05:49 And then He goes through all the rest, he creates the land, 05:52 and then He creates the creatures on the land, 05:54 and He creates the sea, and creatures in the sea, 05:56 and finally He creates mankind, He creates what everyone? 05:59 Mankind, and He makes man named Adam, and He makes him out of 06:03 the dirt, He forms him out of the dust of the ground, 06:05 you can pick that up out of Genesis 2. 06:07 Look with me at Genesis 2:7, And the LORD God formed man 06:14 of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils 06:17 the breath of life; and man became a living being. 06:21 What was this man's name? 06:22 Adam, and the word Adam means earthy or of the earth, 06:26 because he was taken out of the earth. 06:29 Now if this makes sense everyone say Amen! 06:31 So far so good, so what God is looking for here, 06:34 is a person that is created in His image, that will 06:38 faithfully, dutifully, consistently, obey His word, 06:41 and thus be a representative to others of God and 06:44 His goodness and His character if that make sense say Amen! 06:47 Ok, but did Adam fail or succeed in this mission? 06:49 He absolutely failed, and of course Adam failed, 06:53 and they had Cain and Abel, and Seth, and of course Cain 06:56 ended out slaying who? Abel, and the whole thing 06:59 just went to hell in a hand- basket so to speak. 07:01 Down, down, down, so what happens in Genesis 6:7, 07:05 you basically find God saying that the world had become so 07:08 debauched, so degenerated, so terrible, that the thoughts 07:12 of their minds were only on evil continually. 07:14 God said I'm going to start over, 07:18 I'm going to start over, so we go to Genesis 6, 07:21 Genesis 6 beginning in verse 1, Now it came to pass, 07:25 when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, 07:27 and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw 07:29 the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; 07:31 and they took wives for themselves of all whom 07:33 they chose. And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not strive 07:36 with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; 07:39 yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years. 07:42 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great 07:45 in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his 07:48 heart was only what? Evil How often? continually. 07:53 So God looks out at this beautiful world that He had 07:55 created, and what had happened basically Adam was disloyal, 07:58 Adam had failed, and then right down the line 08:00 every descendant of Adam got worse, and worse, and worse. 08:04 Until God looked out and finally He said everyone 08:08 is thinking about evil only continually, except He had a few 08:13 faithful and God said I'm going to start over, I'm going to hit 08:17 control, alt, delete, I'm going to re-set the hard drive, 08:20 and begin again. 08:21 So He sends this thing called the flood, 08:25 called the what everyone? 08:27 Called the flood, now we're there in Genesis 7, 08:29 I want you to notice the similarities, Genesis 7, 08:33 and I'll pick it up in verse 11, Genesis 7:11, 08:36 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, 08:39 in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, 08:41 on that day the fountains of the deep were broken up, 08:45 and the windows of heaven were open. 08:47 Now it begins to rain, look at verse 12, 08:49 the rain was on the earth for how many days and nights? 08:52 Now get this picture in your mind, 08:53 it's actually quite a fascinating one. 08:55 It says here when the rains came, they not only came from 08:59 above, it says the fountains of the deep were opened 09:03 or loosed. 09:04 Now let's get the picture in our mind here, when God originally 09:07 created planet earth, he had this fluid mass, 09:10 He had a what everyone? 09:11 And then He reached His hands in, and He separated the waters 09:14 that were above from the waters that were underneath, 09:16 does that make sense everyone? 09:17 So there's water up here and there's water down here 09:19 if that makes sense say Amen! 09:20 But look at what's happening in the flood, 09:22 in the flood it says that the windows of heaven were opened 09:25 so now the waters are coming down, and it says the fountains 09:28 of the deep were opened and so now the waters coming up 09:30 and the whole earth, once again is covered by what? 09:34 Do you see the similarity, yes or no? 09:35 So God is basically undoing creation, in creation He began 09:39 by inserting His hands so to speak, and He brought a 09:42 separation, in the flood he brings those same waters 09:44 right back together, from above and from beneath, 09:47 if that makes sense say "Amen!" 09:48 Now you're still there in Genesis 7:19, 09:54 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, 09:57 and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered. 10:01 So the earth was covered in what? 10:04 Water, so it was a giant fluid mass, just exactly what you had 10:10 in Genesis, a giant fluid mass, except in Genesis He separated 10:15 the waters, Genesis 1 and 2, He separated the waters, 10:18 in Genesis 6 and 7, He brings the waters back together, 10:21 are we all together yes or no? 10:22 Fascinating look at verse 20, The waters prevailed fifteen 10:25 cubits upward, and the mountains were covered. 10:27 So the whole earth was a giant fluid mass, 10:31 Now remember, go back, just so we can see the similarity 10:33 here, look at Genesis 1, keep your finger right there, 10:36 look at Genesis 1 and notice with me verse 2, Genesis 1:2, 10:40 The earth was without form, and void; 10:43 and darkness was on the face of the deep. 10:46 And what was hovering over the face of the waters? 10:49 The Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters 10:52 in creation. 10:53 Now look at Genesis 8:1, Then God remembered Noah, 10:59 and every living thing, and all the animals that were 11:01 with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over 11:06 the earth, and the waters subsided or disappeared. 11:10 That word wind is the word breath, it's the same word that 11:13 is frequently translated spirit, and so it is very fascinating 11:16 here, and in Genesis 1 and 2 you have this fluid mass, 11:19 the Spirit of God hovering over it, and the waters 11:22 are separated. 11:23 In Genesis chapters 6 and 7, the waters come back together, 11:26 God puts His Spirit over them and they begin to subside, 11:29 so what God is doing here, is He is re-starting creation, 11:33 He's re-starting what everyone? 11:35 Absolutely fascinating! 11:37 So in the beginning God's intention was that Adam 11:41 would live a faithful life, that Adam would live an 11:44 obedient life, that Adam would live a righteous life, 11:46 and thus be a legitimate representative of God's 11:50 character, if that make sense say "Amen!" 11:52 But Adam failed, isn't that true Adam failed. 11:55 So God is going to re-start, He's going to re-set the 11:59 hard drive, and He's got a new man, and that new man's 12:02 name is Noah, that's exactly right, so you are there 12:05 in Genesis 9, and we will pick it up in verse 18, 12:11 Genesis 9:18, Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark 12:16 were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 12:17 And Ham was the father of Canaan. 12:19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the 12:22 whole earth was populated. Now look at verse 20. 12:26 It's absolutely amazing, And Noah began to be a farmer, 12:31 and he planted a vineyard. 12:33 Noah worked the soil. 12:36 Question, what did Adam do in the garden? 12:39 That's exactly right, his job was to tend the garden 12:44 to take care of the garden, to have dominion over the garden, 12:46 and it say too, here's Noah, he's a tender or keeper 12:51 of the soil, fascinating, now look at verse 21. 12:53 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became 12:58 uncovered in his tent. 12:59 So it's actually quite fascinating here, God began 13:02 in the beginning there with a man in a garden who fell 13:06 because of fruit! 13:07 And He re-starts the creation process, and here we have 13:11 God has this new man Noah, and he begins..., 13:14 Noah's going to be His guy, Noah's going to be His 13:16 representative, but right out of the gates, 13:18 he plants a vineyard, 13:19 he harvests of those vineyard, he becomes what? 13:22 Drunk, and let's the plan down. 13:24 Fascinating! Absolutely fascinating! 13:28 Adam lost this whole thing on the issue of appetite, 13:31 Noah here fails on the issue of appetite, and so God begins 13:36 with Adam, Adam is My guy, Adam fails. 13:39 He moves to Noah, re-sets the whole creation process, 13:41 Noah is My guy, Noah fails, if this makes sense say "Amen. " 13:44 Now the next big player to come on the scene is Israel, 13:48 go to Genesis 2, pardon me Genesis 32, God called a man 13:54 and his name was Abraham, what was his name everyone? 13:57 Abraham, Abraham had a son that was the promised son, 14:00 his name was "Esoc" or Isaac which means laughter. 14:03 So God called Abraham out of Babylon, where did He call him 14:08 from everyone? 14:09 Babylon, let's see if we can find that here, 14:11 Abraham was called out of Babylon, in the Bible 14:14 it's called (Ur of Chaldees.) 14:16 God is looking for a representative on earth 14:18 who will truly live righteously, who will truly 14:22 live faithfully, who will be a true representative of God 14:26 on earth, He tried it with Adam, Adam failed, 14:28 He tried it with Noah, Noah failed, and so He calls 14:31 a man named Abraham, and Abraham gives birth to Isaac, 14:34 and Isaac gives birth to who? 14:36 Jacob, but Jacob was a deceiver, the word Jacob means 14:39 deceiver, it means supplanter, one who grabs at the heel 14:43 and you know the story perhaps of Jacob, Jacob ran off 14:47 you remember he went over there to Laban, and he stayed 14:49 a time with Laban and when he returned back it was 14:52 sort of this very difficult conflict, with his brother, 14:56 what was his brother's name? 14:57 Esau, so we pick it up in Genesis 32, 15:01 Genesis 32 and it says there beginning in verse 1, 15:06 So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 15:08 When Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's camp. 15:11 And he called the name of that place Mahanaim. 15:15 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother 15:19 in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 15:21 And he commanded them, saying, Speak thus to my lord Esau, 15:24 'Thus your servant Jacob says: I have dwelt with Laban 15:27 and stayed there until now. 15:28 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; 15:31 and I have sent to tell my lord, 15:33 that I may find favor in your sight. " 15:35 Jacob frankly is scared to death, he had stolen the 15:38 birthright, illegitimately, not the birthright so much 15:41 he had taken the birthright in an illegitimate manner 15:43 definitely, but he had taken blessing of his father 15:45 in an illegitimate manner, he had fled from the place 15:48 of Esau, because Esau was going to kill him, 15:50 and now he's coming back after 20 years, 15:52 how many years everyone? 15:53 Twenty years, and so he sends a messenger out, 15:55 but basically says go out and cool Esau down, cool him down. 15:59 Let him know that we will give him offerings, 16:01 that we will give him whatever he needs, 16:03 just get that guy cooled down. 16:04 So the message is sent out, and Esau, and the camp of Esau, 16:08 and the camp of Jacob are approaching, their approaching, 16:10 and Jacob frankly is scared, and so he takes some time, 16:13 to go off and to seek God, by himself. 16:16 To go seek what everyone? 16:18 God, by Himself, Look at verse 22 of Genesis 3, 16:21 Genesis 32:22, 16:28 And he arose that night and took his two wives, 16:30 his two female servants, and his eleven sons, 16:32 and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 16:34 He took them, sent them over the brook, 16:36 and sent over what he had. Verse 24: 16:39 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him 16:42 until the breaking of day. Verse 25: 16:46 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, 16:49 He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's 16:51 hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. Verse 26: 16:54 And He said, Let Me go, for the day breaks. " 17:00 But he said, I will not let You go unless You bless me!" 17:04 Verse 27: So He said to him, What is your name?" 17:07 and He said, what? Jacob. " 17:10 It's very fascinating to notice that God here says 17:12 what is your name, that is the very question that he had been 17:15 asked 20 years before, when he had walked in here before Isaac 17:18 and Isaac said what is your name, and he said my name is 17:20 Esau, He said what is your name? My name is Esau. 17:24 What is your name? My name is Esau. 17:26 Three times he was asked what his name is, 17:28 because he was trying to take the birthright from his brother 17:31 Esau in an illegitimate surreptitious way, 17:33 what's her name, Esau, what's your name, Esau, 17:35 what's your name, 20 years later God brings him over the same 17:38 ground, and He says what's your name? 17:40 God does the same for us by the way. 17:43 God wanted to see if he learned this hard lesson, 17:47 He said what is your name and notice what he says, 17:49 he said what? Jacob which means deceiver. 17:53 I am a deceiver, I am a thief, I am a liar, I am a sinner, 17:58 I need a Savior is basically what he is saying. 18:00 He said Jacob, and He said your name shall no longer be called 18:04 Jacob, but Israel, that is the first time that the word Israel 18:09 occurs in the whole Bible right there. 18:10 That is the first use of the word Israel in the entire Bible 18:15 right there Genesis 32:28, Your name shall no longer 18:19 be called Jacob, which is a sup planter or deceiver, 18:23 or dishonest person, but Israel, and the name Israel, 18:26 very fascinating here, let's see if we can put it up 18:28 on the screen: 18:34 Israel, one who reigns with God, one who has prevailed 18:39 with God. 18:41 That's what it means, you will find many names 18:42 in the Bible that have that el in it, Daniel, and Nathaniel, 18:47 and Elijah, and Elisha, that el comes from Elohim, 18:51 which is God. 18:52 So here you have the putting together in Israel, 18:56 You have this putting together of one who is overcoming, 18:59 one who is a victor, one who rules, one who prevails, 19:03 and el which is the short of Elohim, with God, or against God 19:07 or for God, and so the name Israel means 19:10 one who has prevailed with God. 19:13 Can you say "Amen," that's what the name means. 19:16 That's the first time in the whole Bible that the word Israel 19:19 is used here, He says your name is no longer Jacob, but Israel, 19:22 for you have struggled with God and with men, 19:25 and have what everyone? 19:26 prevailed, and verse 29, Then Jacob asked, saying, 19:28 Tell me Your name, I pray. " And He said, 19:30 Why is it that you ask about My name?" 19:32 It's basically interesting here because He had said 19:35 what is your name, He is bringing them back over that 19:37 ground, what is your name, what is your name, 19:38 my name is Esau, my name is Esau, and so he says to him, 19:41 what is your name, my name is Jacob, and then Jacob turns 19:43 to him and says, what's your name, 19:44 and it's as if God is saying I'm not the one on trial here. 19:47 It doesn't matter what my name is. 19:50 You know how that is, whenever you are in trouble, 19:52 and someone is asking you hard questions, you try to avoid, 19:56 by asking questions to them, and God basically says hey! 19:59 you are not the one cross examining me, I am the one 20:02 cross examining you, what is your name, my name is Jacob, 20:04 I'm a liar, I'm a deceiver, I'm a sup planter, I'm a sinner, 20:07 and He says your name is no longer that, now your name is 20:10 Israel, one who has prevailed with God, 20:12 and that's what that wrestling symbolizes, that this man 20:16 had gained a spiritual victory when he admitted that he was 20:19 a sinner in need of God's help, if that makes sense say "Amen. " 20:23 This is the very first time that the word Israel occurs 20:26 in all of the Bible. 20:27 So notice this, I want you to grasp on to this: 20:37 I want you to note that, and note that very, very, very well. 20:42 The first time Israel is used in the whole Bible, 20:44 it was when a single man, gained a spiritual victory, 20:48 when a what everyone? Single man gained what kind 20:51 of a victory, a spiritual victory. 20:53 Now of course Israel had children, the 12 tribes, 20:57 and that name Israel, was the name of Jacob, 21:01 came to mean all of the descendants of Jacob, 21:05 and thus a nation called the nation of Israel, but here's 21:10 the important point, in the beginning, in the first original 21:14 use of the phrase Israel, it was one man who gained a 21:18 spiritual victory. 21:19 If that make sense say "Amen. " 21:21 It only became a nation, and you can check that out 21:24 in Exodus, go with me to Exodus. 21:26 Exodus, let's see if we can find it here, chapter 1, 21:30 Exodus 1, Jacob had sons, one of those sons was Joseph, 21:35 Joseph, you know the story, went down into Egypt, 21:37 and the children dwelt in Egypt for a long period of time 21:41 and then they were called out, and that calling out 21:43 was called the Exodus. 21:45 Does that make sense everyone, so that's what we find in Exodus 21:48 chapter one, beginning with verse one: 21:50 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came 21:55 to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: 22:00 Do you see that, so Exodus begins with a listing 22:03 of all of the descendants of Israel, but Israel was the new 22:06 name of Jacob, and the name Israel was a spiritual term 22:10 that applied to a single man, that gained 22:12 what kind of a victory? 22:14 Spiritual Victory, are we all on the same page everyone? 22:16 So now you go to Exodus 4, Exodus 4 and notice with me 22:20 verse 22, Exodus 4:22, and this is the first verse that 22:25 I'm personally aware of where God refers to Israel 22:28 as a national identity, not just the descendants of Israel, 22:32 not just the children of Israel, but here the nation of Israel 22:36 having a national corporate identity, I'm in Exodus 4:22, 22:42 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, God speaking to Moses, 22:45 Thus says the LORD: "Israel is My what? My son, 22:51 Israel is my what? My son and notice what it says after that, 22:55 My firstborn. 22:57 Does everyone see that yes or no? 22:59 Israel is my son, my firstborn verse 23, So I say to you, 23:02 let My son go that he may serve Me. 23:10 But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, 23:14 your firstborn" 23:15 So God here takes Israel, national Israel, 23:20 the descendants of Jacob, the descendants of the one man 23:23 Israel, and He says that they are all my son. 23:27 They are all my what everyone? 23:29 My son, and then he says, they are the firstborn. 23:32 Sometimes we have the misunderstanding that 23:35 the word firstborn means the one that is born first, 23:37 first born does not necessarily mean born first. 23:41 First is not only a chronological term, 23:44 it's also a term of pre-eminence, 23:46 think of it this way, 23:47 George Bush's wife's name is Barbara, right! 23:50 She is the First Lady, does that mean that she is the first lady 23:54 that was ever created? 23:55 No, what it means is she is the most important lady, 23:58 she is the most pre-eminent lady in this country. 24:00 So the first born is not necessarily the one who was 24:03 born first, it's the one who is chiefest and most pre-eminent 24:07 among those who were born, does that make sense everyone? 24:09 So he is my first born, incidentally Jacob was called 24:12 the first born, but Esau was born first. 24:15 Do you follow that line of reasoning everyone, very simple. 24:18 Now God here, calls Israel out of Egypt, God calls Israel out 24:24 of what everyone? 24:25 Egypt, but here is the things that I want you to notice: 24:27 Israel has transitioned from a single man, 24:30 who gained what kind of a victory? 24:32 A spiritual victory, to a national corporate identity. 24:36 Now let's review very quickly here because what we're 24:40 going to move into next is absolutely, totally, 24:43 completely phenomenal, and Biblical, and if you will follow 24:46 it through, you will see with new eyes who Israel really is. 24:50 You will see who is real, Israel. 24:53 Now God began in the beginning with a man named Adam, 24:58 God's plan for Adam was, he will be my representative, 25:01 he will live righteously, he will live faithfully on earth, 25:03 and everyone can look to Adam as my representative, 25:06 Adam failed! Adam what everyone? 25:09 Failed, so God hits Control, Alt, Delete, rewinds the 25:12 whole thing, starts afresh, and He has the flood, 25:15 which was the reversal of creation, and He has a man named 25:17 what? Noah, and Noah failed too. 25:20 Interestingly he failed in the very same way didn't he? 25:22 Because Adam had failed on the issue of fruit, 25:25 the issue of appetite, and Noah failed when his fruit 25:28 made him drunk and he fell. 25:30 So He hits Control, Alt, Delete, He restarts creation, 25:33 Noah, this is my guy, this is my representative, 25:36 this is the one who will live righteously, this is the one 25:38 who everyone can look to, this is my man, and HE fails. 25:41 So God starts over and He calls a man named Abraham, 25:44 and Abraham begot Isaac, and Isaac begot Jacob, 25:47 and Jacob becomes Israel, and so Israel becomes 25:50 God's new representative on earth. 25:53 Israel becomes what everyone? 25:55 God's new representative, so we have Adam, 25:57 and then we have Noah, and then we have Israel, 26:01 so let's say that together, Adam, and then Noah, 26:05 and then Israel. 26:07 Did Adam fail or succeed? He failed, did Noah fail 26:11 or succeed? He failed, now that doesn't mean that these 26:13 people's whole lives were failures, but it does mean 26:16 that they did commit sins, in such a way, that they could 26:19 not be God's supreme representative on earth. 26:22 Because how many times do you have to sin before you have 26:24 misrepresented God? 26:25 One time, because how many times has God sinned? 26:28 None, so one failure disqualifies you to be a 26:31 perfect representative of a perfectly infinite God. 26:34 So Adam failed, and Noah failed, and God calls Israel. 26:40 Now Israel is basically the center of much of the 26:44 Old Testament, ok, but what I want you to understand 26:47 is that national Israel began as a single man, 26:51 who gained what? 26:52 A spiritual victory, you've got it, from a single man, 26:55 to a whole nation. 26:58 From a single man to a whole nation, the word Israel 27:01 means one who has prevailed with God, one who has overcome. 27:06 Are we all together yes or no? 27:08 Now some people say modern Israel today over in ancient 27:13 Palestine, that is still God's Israel on earth. 27:16 I'm going to show you today that is not God's Israel 27:19 on earth, does God have faithful people that live in the 27:21 geographical area of Israel? Sure He does, 27:23 God has faithful people in Jamaica, God has faithful people 27:26 in Russia, God has faithful people in Sweden, 27:29 God even has a few faithful people right here in 27:30 Sterling Heights, can you say "Amen!" 27:32 God has faithful people everywhere, but as a nation 27:36 Israel had a covenant, and they did not satisfy the 27:40 stipulations of that covenant, and we read about that in 27:43 Daniel 9:24 when the angel Gabriel said to Daniel: 27:46 Seventy weeks are what? 27:51 Who were Daniel's people? 27:52 Israel, and what city is being referred to here? 27:56 Jerusalem, and so God gave them seventy weeks, 27:58 490 years and we've already looked at this, 28:00 it began in 457 B.C., here is that time that was especially 28:03 cut off for the Jews right here, it ended in 34 A.D. 28:06 Very, very powerfully here, Jesus was baptized in 27 A.D. 28:10 just as we have already said the end of the 69 weeks, 28:12 He was cut off in the middle of the week, but not for Himself 28:15 can you say Amen to that? 28:16 He caused sacrifice and oblation to cease, how come He cause that 28:19 to cease, because He was the true lamb of God 28:21 and there's no point in bringing these four shadowing 28:23 sacrifices to the temple anymore, 28:25 if that makes sense say Amen! 28:26 God continued that covenant for another 31/2 years 28:29 and finally concluded in 34 A.D. when Steven was stoned 28:33 and the leaders of national Israel plugged their ears 28:36 and said I'm not going to listen to anything that you say 28:39 and then he was stoned, and the gospel then goes to the who? 28:43 Gentiles! And so right out of Daniel 9, 28:46 just as plain as the noon day sun, that God did have 28:49 a covenant with Israel, but that was not an unconditional 28:51 covenant, it was a covenant that was conditioned upon 28:54 their obedience. 28:55 You can read all about that in Deuteronomy, 28:57 there were the covenant curses and the covenant blessings. 29:00 If they were faithful the blessings, 29:01 if they were disobedient the curses. 29:03 So we see in Daniel 9, Matthew 21, and Matthew 24, 29:06 this very consistent, consistent theme: 29:09 In Daniel 9 the Messiah was rejected, the very next thing is 29:12 the city was destroyed. 29:14 Jesus tells a parable in chapter Matthew 21, 29:16 and He said the Messiah will come, He will be rejected, 29:18 and even ask them, what would you do under the similar 29:20 circumstances, and they said, I would miserably destroy 29:22 those people, and He said have you never read... 29:24 Have you never read that the stone that the builders rejected 29:26 has become the chief of the corner. 29:28 This is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes 29:30 and He says there in Matthew 21:43, Therefore, the kingdom 29:34 of heaven will be taken from you and given to a nation 29:37 bring forth the fruits thereof. 29:39 Jesus foresaw that the nation of Israel, 29:42 the what did I say everyone? 29:43 The nation of Israel was sealing their fate, by not receiving 29:47 the Messiah of Israel. 29:48 And then in Matthew 24, the Messiah was rejected, 29:51 Behold your house was left unto you desolate. 29:53 He goes out into Matthew 24, the disciples try to 29:56 cheer Him up, Ah, look at all of the beautiful buildings 29:58 and He say do you see all of this, 29:59 do you see all of these buildings, 30:00 do you see all of this grandeur and glory of these marvelous 30:03 buttress edifice's, they will all be destroyed, 30:06 not one will be left upon another. 30:08 The Messiah was rejected, the city was destroyed, 30:10 that's a consistent theme, Messiah rejected, 30:13 city destroyed, Messiah rejected, city destroyed, 30:15 if that makes sense say "Amen. " 30:18 Very simple, so the Messiah was rejected, Israel did not 30:22 fulfill it's covenant promise, and so God moved to the Gentiles 30:26 and He gave a very powerful, a very sad, very unfortunate, 30:29 very avoidable judgment... 30:33 In 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman 30:37 general Titus, and it was a final judgment upon Israel 30:40 the Jewish Christians perceived that they knew for a fact 30:44 that, that is exactly what had happened, well this raises 30:46 the question, if Adam failed, and if Noah failed, 30:51 and if Israel failed, and they did fail, do we now have to 30:56 believe that modern day Israel, that is Israel over there in 31:00 Palestine, is still God's Israel and God is just waiting for them 31:03 to get their act together, and oops, it is going to be 31:05 difficult for that to happen in the present political climate 31:07 and so we have a "umm" how are we going to do this, 31:09 how are we going to pull this off? 31:10 I've got a great idea, let's manufacture something called 31:12 the rapture so we can get the church out of the way 31:15 and then God can fulfill all of His covenant promises 31:17 to Israel. 31:18 Beloved, there is a much easier way to understand the Bible 31:21 can you say "Amen?" 31:23 I mean beloved we do not have to go through this 31:25 circuitous maze, how are we going to make sense out of 31:29 the Old Testament. 31:30 I'm going to show you right now how to make sense 31:32 out of the Old Testament, and what happens to all of those 31:35 promises that God made to Israel, God has a new Israel 31:39 and that Israel was faithful. 31:42 You say what is he talking about, who is this new Israel 31:44 that was faithful, well let's take a look at who it is. 31:47 I'm going to Matthew chapter 1, 31:51 Matthew 1, you say who is God's new Israel? 31:57 I'll let the cat out of the bag and make it crystal clear 32:00 to you, Jesus Christ is God's new Israel. 32:03 Jesus Christ is Israel! 32:08 Let's go back and remember this, Israel was originally a term 32:13 that applied to what? 32:15 A single man, who gained what kind of victory? 32:19 A spiritual victory, and what was God looking for in Israel, 32:21 what was God looking for in Noah, 32:23 what was God looking for in Adam, a fit representative 32:26 on earth, and He finds it in the man Jesus Christ. 32:30 Now let's just think a little bit about Israel, 32:33 how national Israel came to be. 32:35 A man named Joseph had dreams, a man named Joseph had what? 32:40 Dreams, and the children of Israel were led down into Egypt 32:44 for a time, isn't that true everyone? 32:45 Whoa! Let's think about our own Lord, let's think about 32:47 our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 32:49 His mother's name was Mary, and His earthly father's name 32:52 was Joseph, and Joseph has a dream, and an angel 32:55 appears to him and says someone is going to try to hurt 32:57 the child, take the child to guess where? 33:01 Take the child to Egypt, and just as national Israel 33:05 stayed in Egypt for a time, Jesus remained in Egypt for a 33:08 time, until another dream came to Him. 33:10 He said listen the one who sought to kill Jesus 33:13 has now died, you can bring Him out. 33:17 You can bring Him what everyone? 33:19 Out of Egypt! Absolutely fascinating! 33:21 So a man named Joseph had dreams: 33:31 Now let's think about that for just a moment, 33:33 after the Exodus when Pharaoh finally relented, 33:36 and let the children of Israel go, where was the first place 33:39 that they came to, what was the first major thing 33:42 that happened? 33:43 The Red Sea, that's exactly right, they come to the Red Sea. 33:45 And they so oh, you know we are so confused, 33:47 we have impassable on the right, 33:49 and impassable on the left, impassible on the right and left 33:54 I do know my right and my left. 33:55 That's left, and the armies of Pharaoh are approaching 34:00 very rapidly from behind, and God parts the Red Sea, 34:02 right in front of them, can you say "Amen!" 34:03 So look at this, they go into Egypt, they stay in Egypt, 34:07 they are called out of Egypt, they go to the Red Sea. 34:09 Now it's very interesting, look at 1 Corinthians 10, 34:12 keep your finger here in Matthew because we are going to 34:13 come back, look at 1 Corinthians 10, 34:16 very quickly, see if you can beat me there. 34:18 1 Corinthians 10, and I'm in verse 1, 1 Corinthians 10:1. 34:24 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that 34:27 all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through 34:31 the sea, He's talking about Israel. 34:33 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 34:38 So it's very interesting, Paul takes this passing through 34:41 the Red Sea and he parallels it with a baptism experience 34:44 this is what Scotty talked about in Sabbath school 34:46 this morning, and so he says the Red Sea was like a baptism. 34:49 The Red Sea was like a what everyone? 34:51 Baptism, and it comes from the Greek word Baptiso, 34:54 which means to emerge, and so Paul takes this passing 34:57 through the Red Sea, and he says it was just like a baptism. 34:59 Now after Jesus was called out of Egypt, next thing that we 35:03 basically see Jesus doing in the gospel of Matthew is 35:06 being baptized. 35:08 Are you with me everyone? 35:10 The very next thing we see is Him being baptized 35:13 so I'm in Matthew, you can go back to Matthew with me, 35:15 Matthew 3, picking it up in verse 13, 35:19 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan 35:22 to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, 35:25 saying, I need to be baptized by You, 35:27 and are You coming to me? But Jesus answered and said, 35:28 Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us 35:33 to fulfill, now if you are in the custom of writing in 35:39 your Bible, I'm going to recommend that you take out 35:41 a pen, and you underline that word fulfill right there, 35:44 put a star by it, put something by it, because that word fulfill 35:47 is arguably the single most important word in the gospel 35:52 of Matthew, I'll show you that in just a moment. 35:55 Jesus comes there and He says, hey listen, 35:57 I need you to baptize Me, he says no!, no!, no!, 35:59 I need to be baptized by you and He says listen, 36:00 we've got to do this so we can fulfill all righteousness 36:05 and then is says He allowed Him, and when He had been baptized 36:08 Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold 36:10 the heavens were opened unto Him and He saw the spirit of God 36:12 descending like a dove, and alighting upon Him. 36:14 Now look at verse 17, And suddenly a voice came 36:16 from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, 36:19 in whom I am well pleased. 36:21 "So Jesus it the Son of God. " 36:23 Question, question, question, who was the Son of God 36:27 in Exodus 4? Israel, that's right, 36:30 remember that's what Moses said to Pharaoh 36:32 let my children go, My Son, My Firstborn, Israel! 36:37 And God here, says my Son, and I'm happy with Him. 36:41 Just as national Israel had gone into Egypt because a man named 36:45 Joseph dreamed dreams, they remained in Egypt for a time, 36:48 they were called from Egypt, they passed through the waters 36:51 so to Jesus a man named Joseph has dreams, they go into Egypt 36:53 they stay in Egypt for a time, they are called out of Egypt, 36:55 as He comes out of Egypt He goes to the waters of what? 36:59 Baptism! Fascinating! 37:01 Now where do the children of Israel go after they pass 37:03 through the Red Sea? 37:04 They go to Mount Sinai, ok, in the context of Mount Sinai 37:09 God gives them the law and then they go into the wilderness 37:12 for how many years? Forty years! 37:14 What does Jesus do immediately after His baptism? 37:16 He goes into the wilderness and the Bible says He was led by 37:20 the what? 37:21 Spirit for the purpose of being tempted. 37:24 Now do you see that Jesus here is retracing the high points 37:28 in Israel's national history, yes or no? 37:30 Fascinating! Just as Israel was in the 37:33 wilderness for 40 years, Jesus goes into the wilderness 37:36 for 40 days. 37:37 Why is Jesus walking over step by step the high points of 37:40 Israel's national history? 37:41 Because He is the new Israel and He knows it, 37:44 a single man who gains a what kind of victory? 37:47 A spiritual victory, so He could be God's representative 37:51 on earth. 37:52 Fascinating! Forty days in the wilderness. 37:55 Now let's go to that, you are there in Matthew 4, 37:57 Matthew 4, Satan come to Jesus he gives Him three temptations, 38:02 how many temptations? 38:03 Three temptations, the first one He says hey listen, 38:05 cause at these stones be made into, bread, make these stones 38:09 into bread, but notice what Jesus says in verse 4, 38:11 It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread 38:16 alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 38:19 Do you know where He is quoting from? 38:21 He's quoting from the book of Deuteronomy, 38:24 do you know what the word Deuteronomy means? 38:28 It means the second law, Due is to, nomos is law. 38:33 Deuteronomy is the second rendering of the second reading 38:35 of the law, it's basically Moses, three sermons, 38:39 Moses recapitulates the whole history of national Israel 38:42 and Jesus here is in the wilderness, the devil says 38:44 make these stones into bread, and Jesus actually quotes from 38:48 the very experience of the children of Israel by quoting 38:51 Deuteronomy, He says No! It is written, We don't live 38:55 by bread alone, and we don't live by manna alone, 38:58 but by all of the words that come from God. 39:00 Jesus here is being tempted in the very same area that Adam 39:04 was tempted in the area of appetite. 39:05 Adam failed because of fruit, Noah failed because part of the 39:09 fruit of the vineyard and the devil comes and he says ahh! 39:11 I've been down this road before, God gets this representative... 39:14 Been there done that, here's another control, alt, delete, 39:18 and he says I will trip Him up the same way I tripped up Adam, 39:20 I'll trip Him up the same way I tripped up Noah, 39:22 Hey listen you are really hungry why don't you eat. 39:24 He was totally unprepared for what had came next, 39:29 it is written Satan, and He goes back to the experience of 39:33 Israel in the wilderness and He quotes from Deuteronomy 39:36 where Israel had failed, Christ succeeded. 39:39 And then He was tempted again, look at this, 39:43 absolutely fascinating, 39:44 we pick it up there in verse 7, Jesus said to him, 39:46 It is written again, You shall not tempt 39:50 the LORD your God. That's from Deuteronomy as well 39:52 that's straight out of Deuteronomy. 39:54 Remember what had happened the children of Israel 39:57 were walking out and they were on their way to Mount Sinai 40:00 and they came to this bitter water, and they said oh Moses 40:04 you let us here to die, and this bitter sour tasting 40:08 sulfuric water, and Moses basically said hey listen 40:11 you are tempting God, you are chiding God, you are testing 40:14 God, the name of that place was Mossa and Meribah. 40:17 Mossa means temptation, and Meribah means chiding. 40:20 And it says don't tempt the Lord like you did in Mossa, 40:23 God does not lead you out of the Wilderness 40:24 in a place to die. 40:26 Can you say "Amen?" 40:27 That's true for everyone of you, God might be leading you out 40:29 of somewhere, but God never leads you somewhere just to 40:32 kill you and let you die, someone say "Amen!" 40:35 God leads you with a purpose, and if God has been leading us 40:37 point, by point, by point, we are testing God, 40:40 when we doubt the leading that God has in our lives, 40:43 can you say "Amen!" 40:44 And so Jesus here says No! It is written, you shall not 40:48 test or tempt the Lord your God, He's quoting from the very 40:51 experience in Exodus 17 where Israel had failed, 40:54 Jesus succeeded, and then one more look at this in verse 10: 40:59 Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 41:01 'You shall worship the LORD your God, 41:03 and Him only you shall serve. ' 41:05 Yeah, and guess what book He is quoting from? 41:06 Deuteronomy 6 and 10, that's exactly right, 41:10 and so let's follow it through: 41:11 A man named Joseph has dreams this lead Him into Egypt, 41:14 They remain in Egypt for a time, God calls them out of Egypt, 41:16 They pass through the waters of baptism, and then they go into 41:19 wilderness, where He is basically faced with a series of 41:24 tests, that were exactly like the tests that national Israel 41:29 faced and failed, but where Israel failed, Jesus said 41:32 It is written, I am going to trust the Lord, 41:34 It is written I am going to trust my Father, 41:36 It is written I'm not going to trust God. 41:38 "Amen!" 41:39 He is rehearsing the history of Israel. 41:43 Quotes from Deuteronomy, He overcomes where 41:46 Israel failed, Absolutely fascinating! 41:48 I could give you other parallels but this sort of gets you off 41:50 the ground, now you are still there in Matthew, 41:51 I want to show you something amazing. 41:53 Before I tell you Matthew, go to Luke, I got to show you this, 41:58 I got to show you this, Luke 4, look at Luke as Luke rehearses 42:05 the experience of the baptism he gives us a detail that 42:07 Matthew doesn't, Luke 4, what chapter everyone? 42:09 Luke 4, you have got to see this amazing stuff. 42:14 Luke 4, and it says in verse 12, we'll pick it up in verse 12, 42:19 this is the temptation experience. 42:20 'It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God. 42:22 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, 42:23 he departed from Him until an opportune time. 42:26 Verse 14, Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit 42:28 to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all 42:30 the surrounding region, And He taught in their synagogues, 42:33 being glorified by all. Now look at verse 16. 42:36 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up 42:39 And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue 42:41 on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 42:44 Everyone of you today who is in the church on the Sabbath 42:46 is following the example of Jesus, can you say "Amen?" 42:48 If it's good enough for Jesus it's good enough for me. 42:50 Verse 17: And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. 42:55 And when He had opened the book, He found the place 42:59 where it was written: 43:00 Now I don't know if they had a specific scripture reading 43:03 that day, but they hand the scroll to Jesus, 43:05 and Jesus didn't read whatever was assigned that day, 43:08 Jesus went through that scroll and found a certain passage. 43:12 Are you with me everyone? 43:15 He found a passage that is from Isaiah 61, 43:19 of course there weren't chapters in those days 43:20 but it's the equivalent of chapter 61, and I want you 43:23 to notice, Jesus reads it, this is out of this world 43:26 amazing. Verse 18 43:28 The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me 43:35 To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me 43:37 to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the 43:39 captives And recovery of sight to the blind, 43:40 To set at liberty those who are oppressed 43:42 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. 43:45 If you go back to Isaiah 61, that is a prophecy about the 43:49 servant of Yahweh. 43:51 In Isaiah 61, do you know who the servant of Yahweh is? 43:54 Israel! Isaiah basically beginning in 42 all 44:00 the way to the end of Isaiah's are these fantastic prophecies 44:03 that God had envisioned for Israel, national Israel, 44:06 but which unfortunately they failed, they failed. 44:09 Jesus walks into the temple right after His 40 days 44:12 in the wilderness, right after overcoming? from Deuteronomy 44:15 He goes into the temple, they hand him Isaiah 44:16 he finds this place, and He begins to quote Isaiah 61 44:20 which everybody in the Synagogue knew was a reference to the 44:23 servant of Yahweh, It's Israel! 44:26 But watch what Jesus says, whoa, they were totally 44:31 unprepared for this. 44:32 Verse 20: Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the 44:37 attendant, and sat down, and the eyes of all who were in the 44:40 Synagogue were fixed on Him, there must have been something 44:42 about the way He read it, in my mind's eye, I just see Jesus 44:45 quietly handing the scroll back to the individual there 44:48 and going and sitting down and everybody's going 44:50 pin drop silence. 44:54 It must have been an uncomfortable moment 44:57 in the Synagogue, as these people are thinking, 44:59 "That's it. " 45:00 "That's it!" Notice what Jesus says: Out of this world, 45:05 verse 21: And He said to them, what' the first word? 45:09 Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. 45:17 Whoa, what did He say? 45:21 What did He say? Did he just say that this marvelous prophecy 45:26 about the servant of Yahweh, that definitely refers to Israel 45:29 in it's original context? 45:30 Did He just say that today the scripture is fulfilled in 45:33 our ears, is He telling us that He is the servant of Yahweh? 45:37 Is He telling us that He is God's new Israel? 45:40 That's exactly what He is saying. 45:42 He says today this scripture is fulfilled in your ears. 45:47 That scripture was fulfilled in Jesus, where national Israel 45:56 failed, Jesus Christ, God's Son, His true representative 45:59 the true Israel, the one who has prevailed with God, 46:02 where national Israel failed, Jesus succeeded! 46:05 By the way go back to Matthew now, you thought I was going to 46:11 forget, but I didn't did I. 46:12 Go back to Matthew, phenomenal! 46:15 Do you know what the most important... 46:16 What is the most important word in the whole book of Matthew? 46:18 Ok, get ready, stretch your fingers out, here we go, 46:20 Matthew 1:22, write all of these down, this is going to be fast. 46:26 So hang in there, Matthew 1:22: 46:28 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was 46:32 spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 46:33 Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, 46:35 and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, 46:38 God with us. " That's Isaiah 7:14. 46:39 Matthew says Isaiah 7:14, fulfilled in Jesus! 46:44 Can you say "Amen?" 46:45 Ok, it gets even better, I'm going to Matthew 2, 46:48 Matthew, what chapter everyone? 46:49 Two, and I'm going to pick it up in verse 13. 46:51 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord 46:53 appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the young 46:55 Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, 46:57 and stay there until I bring you word, for Herod will seek 46:59 the young child to destroy Him, When he arose, 47:01 he took the young Child and His mother by night and 47:03 departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, 47:05 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord 47:09 through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son 47:14 That's Hosea 11:1, Look at verse 16: 47:18 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men 47:20 , was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death 47:22 all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the 47:24 districts, from two years old and under, according to the time 47:27 which he had determined from the wise men. Verse 17 47:29 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, 47:33 saying: A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, and 47:35 bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, 47:36 she refused to be comforted because there were no more. 47:39 So here Matthew says this happened to Jesus 47:41 to fulfill what this prophet said. 47:47 You think that's all, no!, no!, no!, the verse 23. 47:48 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might 47:54 be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, 47:57 "He shall be called a Nazarene. " 47:59 Judges chapter 13:5, you know what's happening now 48:01 it's just amazing, Matthew is actually taking not just 48:04 Messianic prophecies, He's taking just random bits of 48:07 history from Israel, and He's saying fulfilled in Jesus, 48:10 fulfilled in Jesus, fulfilled in Jesus, fulfilled in Jesus. 48:12 This is the single most important word in all of 48:16 Matthew, let's look at another one, you are there is chapter 4. 48:18 Matthew 4:14 that it might be fulfilled which 48:27 was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 48:28 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali 48:30 By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, 48:31 Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness 48:34 have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the 48:37 region and shadow of death the Light has dawned, 48:40 he said that was fulfilled, in Jesus, go to Matthew 5:17, 48:44 Jesus says: Do not think that I came to destroy the Law 48:49 or the Prophets, I did not come to destroy them, but to do 48:52 what? I came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, 48:55 that's the Old Testament. 48:56 And then He says in verse 18, For verily, I say unto you, 48:58 not one jot or one tittle shall in any wise removed from the Law 49:01 until all is fulfilled. 49:03 Ok, that's chapter 5, look at chapter 8, verse 17, 49:07 Matthew 8, can you keep up with me yes or no? 49:10 You are doing your best, Matthew 8:17: 49:12 It says that it might be fulfilled which was spoken 49:15 by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He Himself took our infirmities 49:18 And bore our sicknesses, now come on our Bible students 49:21 encourage me, where is that taken from? 49:23 Isaiah 53, so Jesus here says, actually Matthew says 49:27 about Jesus, this happened it was fulfilled, 49:29 fulfilled in Jesus. 49:31 What the Old Testament prophets looked forward to, 49:33 fulfilled in Jesus, fulfilled in Jesus, Look at Matthew 13:35, 49:37 13:35 you are right there with me, 13:35 notice what it says: 49:44 Matthew 13:35: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken 49:50 by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth is parables 49:52 I will utter things kept secret from the foundation 49:55 of the world, are you with me everyone? 49:57 That's what was spoken by one of the prophets, 49:59 look at Matthew 21:4, All this was done that it might 50:07 be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: 50:09 Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming 50:11 to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, 50:13 the foal of a donkey. ' 50:14 Jesus went there marching into Jerusalem, 50:17 they were putting the palm branches down saying: Hosanna 50:20 to the Son of David in the Highest! 50:21 and then Matthew says, do you know why that happened? 50:24 It was to fulfill Zechariah chapter 9. 50:25 Jesus is fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies 50:30 and we could go through so many more, chapter 26, 50:32 chapter 27, again and again, and again in Matthew 50:35 this happened, why did this happen, to fulfill, to fulfill, 50:38 do you know what's happening? 50:40 The New Testament writers are not centering their expectations 50:45 on the future hope, please don't miss 50:46 what I'm about ready to say. 50:47 The New Testament writers did not focus their anticipation 50:51 of God's fulfillment to Israel, on national Israel. 50:54 The New Testament writer said all of those promises were 50:59 fulfilled, yes! In Jesus! 51:03 In fact let me show you one of the most powerful verses 51:07 2 Corinthians 1:2, see if you can get there, 51:09 2 Corinthians 1:2, and you will literally just get 51:15 on the mountain tops here beloved, 51:16 I could spend another hour on this 2 Corinthians 1, 51:20 2 Corinthians 1 and look at verse 20, 2 Corinthians 1:20, 51:26 phenomenal, phenomenal, put a star by it, put an X by it, 51:29 underline it, put a smiley face by it, 51:31 do whatever you got to do, 2 Corinthians 1:20: 51:34 For all the promises of God in Him, Him is Jesus, are Yes, 51:42 all of the promises of God in Him are YES, 51:45 and in Him, Amen to the glory of God through us. 51:47 Do you know what Paul is saying, he is saying not one 51:49 promise of God is going to fail, 51:51 but notice what he doesn't say, he doesn't say all of the 51:56 promises of God are yes! in National Israel. 51:58 Paul believed in Jesus, he said all of God's promises are 52:05 fulfilled, all of God's promises are Yes! 52:07 In Christ! Christ is the new Israel! 52:11 Christ is the true representative of God, 52:14 Christ is the one that God could look down upon and say 52:17 There He Is! there's my Adam, there's my new Noah, 52:20 there's my new Israel, that's my representative, 52:23 my Son in Whom I'm well pleased, her Him! 52:26 "Amen!" 52:28 Now listen, if you want to go back to all those Old Testament 52:30 prophecies, and you want to say, oh, this is going to happen 52:32 in National Israel, and this is going to happen in 52:34 National Israel, do you know what you are really doing? 52:37 You are interpreting the Old Testament as if Jesus 52:40 hadn't come. 52:41 Wow! Beloved, danger of dangers. 52:44 You want to go understand the Old Testament in a way, 52:48 in the very same way that the Jews, who reject Jesus 52:52 understand it? 52:53 Beloved how do the New Testament writers understand the 52:56 Old Testament, fulfilled in Jesus, 52:59 fulfilled in Jesus, fulfilled in Jesus, fulfilled in Jesus 53:03 in fact there are a couple more 53:04 I just absolutely have to show you there in 1 Corinthians, 53:06 or somewhere close to it. 53:07 Look at 1Corinthians 15, amazing 1Corinthians 15, 53:14 what chapter everyone? 15, I'm picking it up in verse 1, 53:17 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I 53:21 preached to you, 1Corinthians 15:1, in which you 53:24 received and in which you stand by which also you are saved, 53:26 if you hold fast that word which I preached to you- 53:28 unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you 53:30 first of all that which I also received: 53:31 now notice this, Paul preached to you what was preached to me, 53:35 that Christ died for our sins, what are the next four words? 53:39 according to the Scriptures, and look at verse 4: 53:43 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, 53:45 what are the next four words? according to the Scriptures. 53:47 Ok, right here, Bible students, every one of you 53:49 show me the verse in the Old Testament, that says 53:52 the Messiah would die according to the scriptures, 53:54 that the Messiah would be raised according to the scriptures. 53:56 Show it to me, does anybody know where it is at? 53:59 No! Where is it? Very fascinating here isn't it. 54:07 I mean he just says it as plain as could be. 54:09 Paul says hey, listen! He was died according 54:12 to the scriptures, He was buried according to the 54:14 scriptures, He was raised according to the scriptures, 54:16 now where is it, where is it, you know where it is. 54:19 Jonah! It's in Jonah! Jesus said a wicked and 54:27 adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and no sign shall 54:29 be given, but the sign of the prophet Jonah, for as Jonah 54:31 was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth 54:33 in the heart of the fish, so the Son of man will be 54:35 three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 54:36 Jesus here takes a random event out of Israel's history 54:40 and He applies it to himself. 54:42 Are you hearing me? 54:45 Oh, it gets even better, look at Hosea, 54:46 there's one other by the way, Jonah 1:17, and look at Hosea. 54:49 See if you can get there before me, Daniel, Hosea 6: 54:53 Hosea, what chapter everyone? 54:54 Hosea 6, and I'm beginning in verse 1, look at this, 54:59 Hosea 6:1, see that Paul is saying that the death, burial, 55:03 and resurrection of Jesus was anticipated by the Old Testament 55:06 prophets, look at Hosea 6:1, this is out of this world 55:11 amazing, Hosea 6:1, are we all there everyone? 55:16 Come, and let us return to the LORD For He has torn us, 55:19 but He will heal us; He has stricken, 55:21 but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; 55:25 On the third day He will raise us up, 55:28 That we may live in His sight. 55:30 Wait a minute, do you know who this is a prophecy about? 55:33 It's a prophecy about Jesus, but in it's original context 55:36 who is it about? 55:37 Israel, who went into Assyrian captivity, Israel had gone into 55:42 a Assyrian captivity and the prophet Hosea when they came out 55:45 said two days we've been down, but on the third day we will be 55:48 raised up, and Jesus took this prophecy about National Israel 55:52 after they had gone into a Assyrian captivity and He says: 55:55 two days in the tomb, raised on the third. 55:58 How is Jesus allowed to do this, 56:01 how is Matthew allowed to do this, 56:02 how is Paul allowed to do this, how are all these people allowed 56:05 to start interpreting the Old Testament, 56:07 in a very radical way, because they saw that all of those 56:10 prophecies were fulfilled, not in national Israel. 56:13 Israel had it's chance, just like Adam, it failed, 56:17 just like Noah it failed, but Jesus was faithful. 56:20 Jesus is the fulfillment of the New Testament, 56:23 and I'm going to be strong here, and I hope you will 56:25 forgive me, I hope we can still be friends. 56:26 But if you insist that God still has to fulfill promises to 56:31 national Israel, you are interpreting the Old Testament 56:34 in a very different way than the New Testament writers did. 56:37 Are you more inspired than Paul, are you more inspired 56:41 than Matthew, are you more inspired than Jesus? 56:44 Jesus understood Himself as the fulfillment of the 56:46 Old Testament, Paul understood Jesus as the fulfillment 56:49 of the Old Testament, Matthew and the other gospel writers 56:51 understood Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament 56:53 and yet we want to come along and say No! 56:55 Israel is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. 56:57 WHO? 57:00 Israel had their chance as a nation and they failed, 57:03 70 weeks were determined upon their people, 57:05 the gospel has gone to the gentiles because God has a new 57:08 representative, and that new representative is Jesus! 57:11 Jesus said in John 5:39, He was speaking to the Pharisee's 57:16 He said you searched the scriptures because you think 57:17 that in them you have eternal life. 57:19 But these are they that testify of Me. 57:26 One last verse, Luke 24, hang in there, one last..., 57:31 just one last passage, Luke what chapter everyone? 57:34 Luke 24, There were two people walking on the road to Emmaus, 57:41 you know the story, they are on the road to Emmaus and Jesus 57:44 pulls up next to them and said why are you sad? 57:46 Haven't you heard what had happened, no!, what happened? 57:48 Well there was a man named Jesus, and we thought He was 57:49 the Guy, but He was crucified, but as always it was a terrible 57:52 situation, now watch this. 57:53 Luke 24 and I am in verse 25, Then He said to them, 57:58 Jesus speaking: 57:59 "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the 58:03 prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have 58:08 suffered these things and to enter into His glory? 58:10 You hear what He is saying, can't you read the 58:15 Old Testament, Jesus is all over the Old Testament. 58:18 Look at verse 32: After He sat down, with them, they turned 58:21 to one another and they said did not our hearts burn within 58:24 us, while He talked with us on the road, 58:26 and while He the scriptures to us. 58:29 What had Jesus done that had revolutionize the way they 58:32 saw the scriptures, why were their hearts 58:34 burning within them. 58:35 Because they began to see Jesus was the focus of the 58:38 Old Testament prophets, Jesus was the focus of the 58:41 Old Testament Psalms, Jesus was the focus of the 58:43 Old Testament wisdom books. 58:44 Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, all over the Old Testament, 58:48 and their heart began to burn, and they said we never 58:50 saw that before. |
Revised 2014-12-17