Participants: Jim Reinking
Series Code: LDS
Program Code: LDS000012
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00:34 The prophecy that we are talking about
00:36 is here in Daniel 8:14, where that reads, 00:40 "For two thousand three hundred days, 00:42 then the sanctuary shall be cleansed." 00:45 And there its two basic elements that we see here, 00:48 we see the time element the 2,300 days 00:50 and we see the event the cleansing of the sanctuary. 00:54 But take your Bibles and let's look at Daniel 8. 00:58 It's the Old Testament page 636 or thereabouts. 01:02 We're gonna look at the context. 01:03 Whenever we look at a Bible text 01:05 we always ought to give some consideration to the context. 01:08 And the context tells us something very important 01:11 about the 2,300 day prophecy. 01:13 We are looking at verses 15-17, 15-17. 01:19 And so, very next verse "When I, Daniel, 01:21 had seen the vision and I sought to understood 01:24 to behold standing before me was one who looked like a man" 01:28 actually, an angel " and I hear the voice of a man's 01:31 between the banks of the Ulai, 01:33 and he called out, and said, 'Gabriel.' 01:35 " We know this is the angel Gabriel, don't we? 01:38 "Give this man an understanding" 01:41 an understanding of "the vision. 01:43 And so he came near to where I was standing, 01:45 and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face, 01:48 but he said to me, 'Son of man, 01:51 understand that the vision pertains 01:53 to the time of the end.' 01:55 "That is a clue in the context. 01:58 And we would might, we might suspect 02:01 that this is long is all over the time prophecies would reach 02:04 right on down to the end times, to the last days. 02:08 And that's exactly, what Gabriel said, 02:10 it pertains to the time of the end. 02:13 And you can go on. 02:15 Gabriel has more to say about the vision and by the way 02:18 as it talks about the 2,300 day prophecy it is the end part 02:22 of a larger vision that was given to Daniel. 02:25 We're not taking time to look at the verses previous 02:29 to what we read in verse 14. 02:31 But you will find that he goes on to give a very precise 02:34 and a very exact interpretation of the vision as a whole. 02:41 But there is only a passing reference 02:43 to the 2, 300 day prophecy. 02:47 And we see that as we come down to verse 26 02:49 and verse 26 this is what we find, 02:52 the angel says that "The vision of the evenings and mornings 02:55 which has been told its true but keep the vision secret 02:58 for it pertains the many days and future." 03:01 Now notice here in the American Standards 03:03 is the vision of the evenings and mornings. 03:06 And if you go back in this translation verse 14 03:09 it talks about 2,300 evenings and mornings. 03:12 For some strange unknown reason to me, 03:15 the translators translated the word days, the word day 03:20 in the Hebrew means every morning. 03:23 So they just made a very little translation of it. 03:26 And so in verse 26, when it talks about the vision 03:28 of the evenings and mornings it is the only reference 03:31 to the 2,300 day prophecy. 03:33 And what we gain from it is to be kept secret 03:37 for it may pertain to many days into the future. 03:41 Yes, right on down to the end times. 03:45 And then we come to verse 27, "Then I, Daniel, 03:48 was exhausted and sick for days then I got up again 03:52 and carried on the kings business. 03:54 But I was astounded at the vision, 03:56 and there was none to explain it." 03:58 Its clear when he talks about he was astounded 04:02 and nobody could explain it. 04:04 It is Daniel 8:14 04:07 that he is talking about 2,300 day prophecy 04:09 because as I said every other element 04:11 was given a fairly precise interpretation. 04:14 And this furthermore was of great importance to Daniel 04:18 because, immediately in the vision 04:20 when he saw this reference to the sanctuary 04:22 the sanctuary was laid in ruins. 04:25 The sanctuary, the temple that Solomon had built 04:28 it was in ruins because of the Nebuchadnezzar 04:31 and the evasion by the Babylonian hordes 04:35 that resulted in its destruction 04:37 and its clear the chapter ends, he was seeking, 04:41 we know he was praying about it. 04:43 Obviously, he was praying about 04:45 because he was looking to other godly men and women 04:48 to see if any body had an interpretation. 04:51 If anybody could explain it. 04:54 That's how the chapter ends. 04:56 We're going to find the keys to understanding the prophecy 05:00 in Daniel 8:14, the keys to interpreting it in Daniel 9. 05:05 The keys to interpreting the time elements of it 05:08 we're also gonna find in context as we go other direction 05:11 that is the Daniel 7 we will find an interpretation 05:14 that relates to the event that is referenced here, 05:19 that is the cleansing of the sanctuary. 05:22 So we are to going to go first of all into Daniel 9. 05:25 We were here last Sunday night. 05:26 So I am not going to go through the detail 05:28 that we did that. 05:29 But we do find that Daniel is in intercessory prayer 05:33 for his people. 05:35 He is making confession of the sins. 05:36 He is confessing among other things, 05:38 you know, that they had forsaken the Lord, they had, 05:42 you know, they were in a state of disobedience 05:44 against the commandments. 05:46 He further walking fast that they were guilty 05:48 of not listening to the service of prophets. 05:51 They were ignoring the prophets and their messages. 05:53 And then in verse 6 and verse 16 he is asking 05:57 for a restoration and effect for the city of Jerusalem. 06:00 And verse 17 he is asking for the restoration 06:03 of the temple that was in ruins. 06:06 Because in Jeremiah it predicted that they would return 06:11 and that the city and the temple would be rebuilt. 06:14 There would be restoration. 06:16 And so that's what he is praying about. 06:18 And again, the angel Gabriel shows up 06:21 to give them an interpretation 06:22 notice it as we come to verse 21. 06:26 He says "While I was still speaking in prayer, 06:29 then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen 06:32 in the vision previously" what vision previously? 06:36 Well, there's no vision recorded in chapter 9 06:39 and the previous vision 06:41 would therefore take us back to Daniel 8. 06:43 And remember as Gabriel that came to give them 06:45 interpretation of the vision of Daniel 8 06:48 and immediately when he sees this angel Gabriel 06:51 he is taking back on the vision 06:53 that he was given there in Daniel 8, right. 06:57 Gabriel whom I have seen the vision previously he says, 07:01 "Came to me in my extreme weariness 07:03 about the time of the evening offering." 07:05 What does the evening offering have to deal with? 07:09 Well, if the temple was still in existence 07:11 there were offerings that took place at evening. 07:16 Verse 22 speaking of Gabriel "He gave me instruction 07:21 and talked with me and said, 'O Daniel, 07:23 I have now come forth to give you 07:25 insight with understanding.' 07:28 " Now, remember how chapter 8 ended. 07:31 He was looking for an explanation. 07:33 He is trying to have a deeper understanding 07:37 and certainly he was praying about it. 07:39 And now Gabriel says "I have come for to give you insight 07:43 and understanding about the matter." 07:45 And verse 23 makes it clear 07:47 that he is talking about Daniel 8. 07:49 Daniel 8, he says "At the beginning 07:52 of your supplications the command was issued 07:54 and I have come for tell you, though you are highly esteemed, 07:58 so give he to the message 08:00 and gain understanding of the vision." 08:06 Now that is clear that he has come to give 08:12 an understand the vision there in Daniel 8:14. 08:15 So, what follows is vital to our understanding 08:19 of the 2,300 day prophecy as I already indicated 08:22 to the time elements of it. 08:24 And again, because, we have been through this before 08:28 in the meetings I am just gong to do a review. 08:30 I am not necessarily gonna read each of these verses 08:33 that now follow. 08:35 As the angel Gabriel come to give them 08:37 an understanding of the vision. 08:40 But as we look at verse 24, we have a reference to 70 weeks 08:43 of prophetic time in reference to the people of God. 08:47 Some many weeks happened to create for your people 08:49 to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, 08:52 sin to make a torment for iniquity. 08:57 And if you are with us remember, I asked the question 08:59 what is this about or who is this really about? 09:02 Who is it that would make an end of sin? 09:05 Who is that would finish the transgression? 09:06 Who will make a torment for iniquity? 09:08 And the answer clearly is messianic, 09:11 it is Jesus Christ who alone. 09:14 And so the future prosperity of the people of God the Jews 09:20 are all wrapped up in the coming of Messiah, 09:23 the Savior of the world. 09:25 And 70 weeks of prophetic time had been given to them 09:29 is what we, we find is, 09:31 is an implied probationary period of time 09:35 and speaks of the tremendous patience of God. 09:39 I am gonna come back to that in a moment 09:41 but we here in Ezekiel 4:6 09:43 where we find the principle in interpreting time prophecy. 09:47 It's very simple. 09:48 It says "I have appointed the each day for a year." 09:52 That is in time prophecy. 09:54 One day represents a literal year. 09:57 It really is that simple. 09:59 And so we are looking at the 70 weeks 10:01 we are just gonna break us down. 10:02 This is not advanced math. 10:04 I don't think any of you need your calculators out 10:06 to follow along what we are going to do. 10:09 We are gonna break the week down the 70 weeks into days 10:12 and so 7 days in a week, that's 70 times 7 10:16 which is 490 prophetic days or 790 literal years. 10:23 Given to the people of God 10:25 I come back to this issue of patience. 10:27 How patience was God with his people in the Old Testament. 10:32 I mean to give them 490 years. 10:38 And it compels the coming of Jesus. 10:40 My friend tells me, it tells you, 10:43 how we serve a God that only on tremendous love. 10:46 The God who declares I loved you with an everlasting love. 10:49 But we serve a God a tremendous patience 10:53 and kindness towards us, towards you and towards me. 11:00 Now, we need a starting point for this time prophecy 11:03 and it's given us in the next verse that is a verse 25. 11:06 Where it says "From the issuing of a decree to restore 11:09 and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince 11:12 there will be a total 69 weeks." 11:14 It's a part of the 70 week prophecy. 11:17 So it predicts 69 weeks of prophetic time 11:21 would take us to the coming of the messiah the prince 11:27 from the issuing of a decree and that decree was made 11:31 by King Artaxerxes, he is a Persian. 11:34 King Artaxerxes in 457 BC it is a well established date 11:39 and in fact we have this decree in the Bible 11:41 its recorded in Ezra Chapter 7. 11:43 If you would like to take a look at the provisions 11:46 made by this decree by Artaxerxes. 11:49 457 BC therefore is our starting point 11:53 for the time prophecies that are recorded here. 11:55 And so we worked out to 70 weeks 457, 11:59 490 years takes us down to 34 AD 12:03 and as I mentioned last Sunday night 12:05 as we were looking at this in part 12:08 because our calculation takes us from BC to AD time. 12:13 And because there are two ones 12:15 that is one BC is followed by one AD 12:17 because we have two ones. 12:19 When ever you do your calculation 12:21 you must always add that extra one in. 12:24 Because if we do this per math of it 12:25 you will come up with 26 AD 12:28 but remember you got to add that extra one in 12:30 from one BC to one AD back in to get the correct date 12:33 which is 27 AD. 12:35 It leads down to 34 AD 12:37 the period of time given to God's people. 12:40 But again in verse 25 we have 69 weeks of prophetic time 12:43 that related to the coming of the Messiah. 12:46 And we got all of these wonderful prophecies 12:49 about the coming of Jesus embedded in the Old Testament 12:52 and we're looking at one of those key passages. 12:55 And we are gonna break it down again into days 12:57 and we multiply by 7. 12:59 69 times 7 its 483 days prophetic days or years 13:05 until the Messiah, the prince would come. 13:08 And so as we calculate that out that means from 457 13:12 it takes us down to 27 AD. 13:15 And in fact we know that was in 27 AD 13:19 that Jesus was baptized 13:20 and then began His earthly ministry 13:24 right on time, right in the accordance with prophecy. 13:30 And then as we are looking at this passage 13:32 in Daniel 9 the next verse. 13:36 And the next verse says then, "Then" it says "After 62 weeks 13:42 the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing." 13:45 A reference to the death of Jesus, right here. 13:49 And further more, notice the word the next word 13:51 that follows the word is and. 13:53 That a-n-d that three letter word is a word of connection. 13:57 It connects what preceded 13:59 the death of Jesus to what follows. 14:01 And it goes on say " and the people of the prince 14:03 who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. 14:08 War is determined, desolations 14:10 that would be time of distress" 14:12 is what it tells us here in verse 26. 14:16 And I can well imagine that Daniel just 14:19 you know he could just hardly believe it. 14:22 He had been praying for the restoration of the city 14:24 and the sanctuary and here it's revealed to him 14:28 it was gonna be destroyed again, 14:31 for much the same reasons that it happened the first time. 14:35 And it would be as a result of the crucifixion, 14:39 the death of Jesus these events would unfold 14:42 and the people, the prince who is to come. 14:45 And we know historically that Jerusalem was destroyed 14:49 in accordance with this prophecy 14:51 either, on August 29 or August 30, 70 AD. 14:56 And we know the historical background of this 14:58 I am gonna review it again we went in detail 15:01 when we looked at this before. 15:03 But it was during the time of the emperor Nero 15:06 that the Jews rouse up in a national revolt. 15:10 The Jewish Revolt of 66 AD lasted to 70 AD, 15:14 ended with the destruction of Jerusalem. 15:17 The Jews hated the Romans they were determined 15:19 to throw off the Roman yolk. 15:23 Nero when he received word of the Jewish revolt 15:26 appointed this man right here, Vespasian to put it down. 15:31 And he went to Syria and he picked up 15:33 a bunch of legions that were stationed there. 15:36 They were been prepared for an expedition 15:38 into Persia actually as you look at the secular history here. 15:42 And so, you know, just by coincidence 15:45 they that the forces there 60,000 Roman soldiers 15:48 were entrusted Vespasian to put down the revolt. 15:52 His son Titus have a picture of him 15:54 it's from the museum of Roman Civilization. 15:58 He was a Roman general and he was on the general staff 16:01 of his father Vespasian. 16:03 He was entrusted with a 15th Apollinaris legion 16:07 that came out of the Alexandria. 16:09 A legion has some 5,000 to 6,000 Roman soldiers. 16:12 And Josephus, Josephus we usually think 16:14 of the Jewish historian and he was that 16:17 but in this revolt Josephus was actually a Jewish general 16:22 who was defeated as Vespasian came down from Syria. 16:27 He was defeated and taken prisoner. 16:30 He actually had pro-Roman lenience 16:33 and observed the following campaigns 16:36 ending with the destructor of Jerusalem 16:38 and in great detail describes what happened 16:42 at the destruction of Jerusalem. 16:44 And the city was finally destroyed you can look at it, 16:47 Titus really didn't wanted to destroy the temple. 16:51 But once the Romans broke through the outer breaches 16:54 of the fences of the city 16:58 and what he did was the Romans built an encompassing wall. 17:03 Took them sometime around the exterior 17:06 of the city of Jerusalem 17:07 and when they finished it they shut out off 17:10 all communication with the outside world. 17:13 They could not leave the city, nobody could get in, 17:15 they sealed it. 17:18 And then these, the battles you know Josephus was sent 17:21 by Titus to plea with his countrymen to give up the fight. 17:26 But there were extreme elements under John particularly 17:29 in the city who were I mean they were extremist 17:33 and they were not ready to get them into the Romans 17:35 under any circumstances but the outer breaches 17:38 of the defenses were finally broken through by the Romans. 17:42 And the defendants made their way to the Temple of Mount 17:44 up to the temple which itself was like a fortress. 17:47 It had walls around it. 17:49 And in fact, Herod had built his palace there 17:51 which was also a fortress 17:53 that better right up against the Temple of Mount. 17:55 And as you look at the record of this, 17:58 you know, Titus is called to gather his general staff. 18:01 They are talking about the finishing up of the campaign 18:03 knowing that they had a fight ahead of them. 18:06 And he gave instructions 18:08 that the temple was to remain intact. 18:11 When the Jews came out 18:15 they were not going to just wait on the Romans 18:18 they were going to take the battle to the Romans. 18:21 So they disrupted this general council of war of Titus. 18:27 And Romans found themselves in the heat of battle. 18:30 And in the heat battle somebody threw 18:33 a firebrand into the interior of the temple 18:36 that was lying with those beautiful sieges 18:38 from Lebanon overlay with gold, remember that? 18:41 You know how that burns? 18:42 And Titus tried to give his soldiers to put it out 18:45 but again in the heat of the battle 18:46 nobody listened to him and it is recorded historically 18:50 that Titus and some of his general staff 18:53 went into the interior of the temple 18:55 and they got a number of key things. 18:57 They got all the gold furniture out. 18:59 That's what they did. 19:00 They got the silver trumpets out. 19:03 Like the piece of trumpets, remember that. 19:05 They got the all the seven-branched candlestick. 19:08 They got the Table of Showbread. 19:11 A number of other items they were able to get out 19:14 before the temple fell. 19:17 And at the end of this great victory 19:19 when he returned and triumph 19:22 he erected this Ark of Triumph at the southern repost 19:24 at the city of Rome. 19:26 It still stands today in honor of their great victory 19:30 over the Jews. 19:31 This was a significant event in Roman history. 19:36 And you can see them bringing back some of the booty 19:38 including the seven-branched candlestick 19:41 which bears testimony to the reliability 19:44 of the prophecy that we are looking at. 19:46 Doesn't it? Amen. 19:48 The seven-branched candlestick, 19:50 been pictured been brought back here. 19:52 And by the way Nero died in 69 AD, 19:55 Vespasian left the issue of the city of Jerusalem 19:59 with his son Titus as he went back to secure the emperorship 20:03 for himself and then he appointed Titus 20:05 to reign as co-emperor with himself. 20:08 Just to give you again the historically background 20:10 to the prophecy that we are looking at 20:12 and how this all carried out. 20:14 But there is one other verse that we are looking 20:16 at here in context. 20:19 And the last verse is its speaking of the Messiah. 20:22 He will make it firm coming with a many firm one week 20:26 a prophetic time. 20:27 That's seven days, of course or seven years. 20:31 And someone applied this to the antichrist 20:33 but its not talking about the antichrist 20:35 its talking about Jesus who came to confirm 20:37 the covenant promise is given to God's people 20:40 and to ratify the covenant by His death 20:42 on the cross of cavalry. 20:44 He will make a firm coming with a many for one week. 20:47 And that week fits innately between the 69th and 70th week. 20:53 That's where that week belongs contextually and historically. 20:58 And it says in the middle of that week, 21:00 he will bring a stop to sacrifice and grain offering. 21:03 And my friend, as we studied last night 21:05 when Jesus died on the cross of Cavalry 21:07 the whole Old Testament sacrificial system, 21:11 the sacrifices of those animals 21:12 that prophetically symbolized the death of Jesus 21:15 at the cross of Cavalry came to a sudden end 21:18 and soon after the temple the earthly temple was destroyed 21:22 as predicted right here. 21:24 There was no need of it anymore. 21:26 And so he brought 21:27 in the sacrifices and grain offering 21:30 when he sacrificed Himself on the cross of Cavalry. 21:35 You see that, don't you? 21:37 And it says, He would do this in middle of the week 21:41 and my friend, right in the middle 21:43 of the seven year period of time in 31 AD 21:45 to be the exact Jesus died as our Lord and Savior. 21:50 Prophecy exactly clearly was fulfilled as we have it here. 21:56 Now, we went through quite a little bit 21:58 to establish the time elements as we have it here. 22:01 But the key to understand the 2,300 day prophecy 22:05 is made clear here in Daniel 9, 22:08 for we are given not only the starting point 22:11 for the 70 week prophecy but for the 2,300 day prophecy 22:15 and as you probably already taking through 22:19 those 2,300 prophetic days represent 2,300 literal years. 22:26 That's why it's the longest. 22:27 And the starting point is 457 BC 22:32 which takes us down to 1844. 22:39 Yes, it's true. 22:40 Not cowardly put together it's what is Biblical. 22:45 1844, so we've got the time element 22:48 now we have to get down the event. 22:51 And still deal with the nuts and bolts. 22:54 So let's get into this cleansing of the sanctuary, 22:57 that's where we want to come to next. 22:59 But I do want to make this observation 23:02 because the two time prophecies 23:04 the one we just read of it Daniel 9 23:06 and then the 2,300 day prophecy are linked 23:08 more than just contextually for the time prophecies 23:12 of Daniel focusing on Jesus 23:15 coming to this earth and His earthly ministry 23:19 that ended with His death on the cross of Cavalry. 23:22 So it focuses in on His earthly ministry in contrast 23:26 the cleansing of the sanctuary the 2,300 day prophecy focus 23:30 is in on Jesus high priestly ministry 23:34 in the heavenly sanctuary. 23:37 And since a sanctuary is been destroyed 23:39 and they did away was sacrificing grain offerings 23:41 and we are talking about 23:42 cleansing of the sanctuary in 1844 23:44 there is only one sanctuary that it could be talking about. 23:49 And it is not an earthly system 23:51 it is the heavenly sanctuary or a temple right. 23:55 And again I am connecting with what we studied 23:57 last night in Hebrews 9:11. 24:01 Notice, it says of Jesus, it says 24:03 "But Christ being come an high priest 24:06 by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, 24:10 having obtained eternal redemption for us." 24:14 So when Jesus died and then roused victorious over the grave 24:20 and ascended into heaven He entered into the heaven 24:24 into the heavenly sanctuary as we will see 24:27 to function now as our priest. 24:29 He is both sacrifice and He is both an intercessor. 24:34 That's what the priest is intercessor. 24:37 There He ascended having obtained 24:39 eternal redemption for us." 24:40 It goes on to say "For Christ has not entered the holy places 24:44 made with hands, which are copies" 24:47 symbols would be another word 24:49 "of the true, but into heaven itself, 24:51 now to appear in the presence of God for us." 24:56 Is what it tells us to. 24:58 Appear in the presence of God for us. 25:01 I take you back to the earthly system. 25:04 Oops, if I push the wrong button it goes again. 25:07 I got a little trigger here in the bottom 25:08 not just on the top. 25:11 And I am gonna use this the second time. 25:12 But any way so remember in the earthly system 25:16 when the sacrifice had taken place 25:19 that animal had died. 25:22 The priest then will take the blood 25:24 and it will go into the sanctuary, the temple 25:28 and he will sprinkle the blood before the Lord, okay. 25:32 And in that process and again this ritual is quite foreign 25:36 to our thinking in the western world. 25:39 But you will find it very clearly 25:40 indicating the Mosaic Law it is in the Levitical quote 25:44 as we find it for instance in the Book of Leviticus. 25:47 He became He bore the sin 25:51 and the guilt of the transgressor 25:55 for which the sacrifice of the animal was required. 25:58 He bore the guilt of that sin 26:00 of that individual into the temple. 26:02 This is ritualistic now. 26:05 By taking back in the Hebrews 8:1-2 then further 26:08 as we are talking about Jesus high priestly ministry, 26:12 it says "Now the main point in what has been said is this 26:15 we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat 26:18 at the right hand of the throne 26:19 of the Majesty in the heavens, 26:22 a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, 26:26 which the Lord pitched, not man." 26:29 Oh, my friend, we had been given 26:30 this wonderful Book of Hebrews 26:33 in the New Testament to give us insight 26:36 into what the whole earthly system represented 26:40 and specifically you know the two significant things 26:43 is Jesus is the sacrifice and Jesus is our priest. 26:49 He is our intercessor in heaven. 26:52 It gives us a deeper understanding and comprehension 26:55 of what Jesus means to us now, 26:58 and what He is doing for us now in heaven. 27:02 We have a personal representative there 27:05 in the presence of the God. 27:06 He is our divine ambassador representing our interest 27:12 there in the presence of God. 27:14 And I have got some interest, how about you in all of this? 27:19 And so the priest would represented 27:21 the priesthood of Jesus 27:22 but the temple the earthly temple 27:25 represented the heavenly temple. 27:26 Because we find in Revelation 11:19 it says, 27:30 "And the temple of God which is" where? 27:33 "Which is in heaven was opened 27:36 and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple." 27:39 Last night we discovered that the Ark of the Covenant 27:41 in the earthly system represented the throne of God. 27:45 Because God's presence was right there 27:47 between those golden angels- remember those golden angels 27:50 that were part of the lid of the Ark. 27:52 And His presence was revealed between these angles 27:55 that was called the Shekinah glory. 27:59 God's presence was revealed. 28:00 So here it is the temple of heaven is open and, 28:04 you know, John in vision is looking into the interior 28:07 of this temple and he sees the Ark, 28:09 he sees the throne room of God. 28:13 And it goes on to say "And there were flashes 28:15 of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder 28:18 and an earthquake and a great hailstorm." 28:22 Notice the corresponding things that happen in the earth 28:25 as the temple in heaven is opened. 28:27 In fact, as you study the Book of Revelation 28:31 my friend, every scene that you see pictured 28:34 in the Book of Revelation in heaven 28:36 is in the temple in heaven. 28:39 The opening scene of Revelation 1 28:41 is a picture of Jesus in His priestly garb 28:46 in the heavenly temple as He is standing there 28:49 among the seven-branched candlesticks 28:52 which in the symbolism of the Book of Revelation 28:55 represents the people of God the churches. 28:58 So the opening scene is in the temple and everything 29:01 that is embodied in the Book of Revelation that deals 29:04 with events and pictures and visions of what is happening 29:09 in heaven is right in the temple that is in heaven. 29:13 And then you have corresponding events 29:15 that happen on the earth. 29:16 And you have this ebb and flow between 29:18 what is happened in- happened in the heavenly temple 29:21 and that which is happening on the earth. 29:25 Honestly, tell you this just right came to me 29:29 and I am sure I am not the person one 29:30 who finally saw this but just came to me probably 29:33 about ten twelve years ago after studying years 29:37 of the Book of Revelation. 29:38 I mean, it was there all the time. 29:40 It's the temple and interplayed between 29:42 again what's happening in heaven in the temple 29:44 and what happens on the earth 29:46 and it gives us deeper understanding 29:48 of the Book of Revelation for understanding that. 29:50 But I must move on. 29:53 Of course, I must move on. 29:54 To Leviticus 16, 29:57 the Old Testament page 637. 30:03 Oh, would that be Old Testament page 87, 30:06 I think its more 87. 30:08 Leviticus 16, now, I am not gonna take you 30:11 through all of the deep involved, 30:14 you know, details of the rituals of the Levitical code 30:20 that related to the temple system 30:23 but we must look Leviticus 16:15, 16 30:29 because we want to really comprehend 30:31 what it means, this cleansing of the sanctuary and 1844, 30:35 and what's the connection 30:36 what is that happen or its happening. 30:39 And remember I shared with you 30:41 the priest in the role of a sin bearer 30:44 bore the sins of people into the temple 30:46 where He interceded on their behalf before God. 30:49 Once a year it was called the Day of Atonement 30:51 the sanctuary had to be cleansed ritualistically. 30:56 And that's where we find pictured here 30:58 and the high priest function was central to all of it. 31:01 So Leviticus 16:15, speaking of the high priest 31:05 "Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering 31:08 which is for the people." 31:11 Not individuals, not the ungodly, 31:13 not for the philistines, not for the Amorites, 31:16 this is for the people of God sacrifices that are be- 31:20 who was symbolized in the sacrifices. 31:24 Okay, Jesus you got it, 31:25 the shedding of the blood of Jesus. 31:26 We want to always keep that in mind. 31:28 "So he slaughtered the goat of the sin offering 31:31 which is for the people for the people of God 31:33 and brings his blood inside the veil and do with his blood 31:36 as he did with the blood of the blow 31:38 and sprinkle it on the mercy seat 31:40 and in front of the mercy seat." 31:42 That's what he did. 31:44 That is he went into the most holy place. 31:47 And remember as we studied last night 31:49 the lid of the Ark of the Covenant 31:51 was called the mercy seat. 31:54 The seat of whom? 31:56 Why do you think it was called a mercy seat? 31:58 Representing that seat of the throne of God? 32:00 And who sat on that throne? 32:02 God. 32:04 And in the, in the Ark was what? 32:08 What was placed in it? 32:09 I know there about there main things but 32:12 the commandments that God had written 32:15 on tablets of stone with His own finger 32:17 which represented the righteous principles 32:20 which are the foundation of the divine government. 32:23 And it is the transgression of those divine principles 32:28 that led to the awful mess of sin that we are in 32:32 that required the death of Jesus Christ 32:34 to atone for its transgression 32:37 and so we see pictured here 32:38 the two primary aspects of the character of God. 32:41 He is a righteous God, He is a God of justice 32:44 and living into world of such unrighteousness 32:47 and so much injustice. 32:49 As the people of God we say, hallelujah, 32:53 there is a righteous God. 32:56 But the other chief attribute of God must not be overlooked 33:00 it is pictured by the mercy seat because 33:02 he is a God of incredible mercy and love and compassion. 33:06 Amen. Amen. 33:10 And this is the dilemma that God that had, 33:12 His righteousness because He is just 33:14 He has to deal with the problem of sin 33:17 and the wages of sin is death. 33:21 But He loved us. 33:23 As we have talked about He just can't let us go. 33:25 So what could love do? 33:28 Sacrifice His justice it's all right, 33:30 its just all right. 33:31 We'll just forget about it, couldn't be forgotten. 33:34 What kind of universe where we end up with anyway? 33:37 If God says, all right its not all right, right. 33:44 It's not all right. 33:46 So God couldn't just pass over, it's all right, 33:48 we'll just forget it, you know. 33:50 No, you can't forget this because this is a cancer 33:54 and it is malignant and it is vicious, 33:58 it is fast growing, it has, 34:00 it is engulf the whole of this planet. 34:06 So in love God stepped in and provided 34:09 the means by which he can be just and by which He can be, 34:17 and by which He can save us from the malignancy of sin. 34:22 And He provided a substitution a divine substitution. 34:27 Jesus stepped into the gap 34:29 as we studied last night in Isaiah 53:8. 34:32 And He interceded between us and that death stroke 34:37 that was due to us. 34:40 Took it upon Himself so that now justice is fully 34:44 and completely satisfied at the cross of Jesus, right. 34:49 God did not forfeiture his justice in saving us. 34:57 But in love He reached down to us and by faith in Him 35:01 we can have life eternal. 35:03 That's the beauty of the plan of salvation. 35:07 And so it's a compo sphere the priest, 35:10 you know the goat representing the death, 35:11 it took the blood went into the most holy place 35:14 and he sprinkled it on the mercy seat. 35:16 It was the blood that allowed God to be merciful 35:22 and yet just in dealing with sin. 35:26 Do you see that? 35:28 And then verse 16, he goes on to say, 35:30 "And he shall make a torment for the holy place." 35:33 We don't usually think of the atonement being made 35:35 for a place we think atonement been made for people. 35:40 But well let's read on. 35:42 "For the holy place 35:43 because of the impurities of the sons of Israel 35:46 because of their transgressions in regard to all their sins 35:50 and thus he shall do for the tent of meeting 35:52 which abides with them in the midst of their impurities." 35:54 The sanctuary had to be cleansed 35:56 because of the sins and the guilt of God's people. 36:00 And my friend, though I would assume that most of us today 36:04 are under the love and grace of Jesus Christ, 36:07 nevertheless we would have to confess we have sinned. 36:11 We have come short of the glory of God. 36:14 We are sinners and we need cleansing. 36:18 And of course, if you are under the love and grace of Jesus 36:20 you will experience that cleansing 36:23 that flows from the cross of Cavalry. 36:27 It flows. 36:29 So this is what was being in the earthly system 36:32 this is what was cleansed. 36:34 But again Daniel 8:14, 2,300 years, 36:38 1844 cleansing of the sanctuary. 36:41 What would be its counterpart? 36:44 We know what happened in earthly system 36:45 how does that apply to the heavenly system. 36:48 It's not good a valid question? 36:50 Since obviously the earthly system was prophetic, 36:53 symbolic of Jesus His ministry etcetera, etcetera. 36:56 Well, let's look Hebrews 9 in the New Testament page 173. 37:01 And we want to look at verse 22 and 23 37:05 again the question has to be, 37:06 well how could there be anything in the heaven 37:08 that needs to be cleansed. 37:12 Ah, does it involve the sins of God's people 37:15 that's Leviticus 16, that certainly indicates that, 37:19 the let's pick it up here Hebrews 9 37:23 and again we are looking at verse 22 to begin with. 37:27 And it says "According to the law, 37:29 "according to the Levitical code" 37:30 one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood 37:35 and without shedding the blood there is no forgiveness. 37:39 Therefore, it was necessary 37:41 for the copies of the things in the heavens" 37:44 as form of the earthly system "to be cleansed with these." 37:48 What's the these? 37:50 They were cleansed with the sacrifices, 37:53 the blood of the sacrifices. 37:54 So it was necessary, it says 37:57 for the earthly the copies the earthly 38:00 to be cleansed with the sacrifices. 38:03 "But the heavenly things" by implication 38:07 "cleansed themselves with better sacrifices." 38:12 What better sacrifice? 38:16 You got it the sacrifice of Jesus. 38:20 The sacrifice, the blood of Jesus is what cleanses 38:26 in regards to this prophecy that we are looking at, right. 38:31 So let's, let's get bit specific about this 38:33 let me take you to Philippians 4, 38:34 the New Testament page 156, 156, Philippians 4:3. 38:39 So how does that related to me 38:42 as a prophesying Christian? 38:44 I mean is this some kind of, you know, 38:47 drama that's been played out but really has not any direct, 38:52 you know, implications for me? 38:55 Well, Philippians 4:3 let me put it together. 38:58 It's a lot of part we want to look at 38:59 but let's read the whole of it. 39:01 "Indeed, true companion," Paul writes 39:04 "I ask you also to help these women 39:07 who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, 39:09 together with Clement and also the rest of my fellow workers," 39:13 here it is "whose names are in the book of life." 39:19 We will find out this is in the heavenly temple. 39:21 We will put those texts together. 39:23 In this heavenly temple where Jesus interceding for us 39:27 having spilt His blood on the cross of Cavalry 39:30 there are these records, it's the book of Life. 39:34 In fact, Jesus said in Luke 10:20, "Rejoice" He said, 39:39 "Rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." 39:43 What's in the name? 39:46 A name stands for who you are. 39:49 Your personality, your character. 39:51 The good and bad of it is in the name, okay. 39:55 And it's a perfect record of each one of us. 39:58 Let to us some good things are written in the book of Life too 40:01 for instances when you came to Jesus, 40:06 when you repented when you accepted Him as your Savior 40:12 and He cleansed you of your sins, 40:15 don't you forget that's there in the book of Life as well. 40:19 And by the way, how does one get one's name 40:21 written in the book of Life? 40:23 When one enters into a personal committed relationship with God 40:26 through Jesus Christ by the act of Baptism 40:32 because, Galatians 3:27 says it's by Baptism, 40:35 Baptism that we put on the Lord Jesus Christ. 40:38 And we have an old Advent hymn. 40:41 We should not forget those old Adventist hymns, 40:43 we should keep it a part of the music vocabulary 40:45 in the church and my mind. 40:47 Now we have this old advent hymn based on this it says 40:50 "Is my name written there, On the page white and fair? 40:53 In the book of The kingdom, Is my name written there?" 40:58 So let me ask you how many of you have your name 41:00 written in the book of Life? 41:03 Every one of you that have accepted 41:04 Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior 41:08 and through the act of baptism, your name is there. 41:11 That's a precious thing. 41:13 It's a beautiful thing that we consider 41:16 that our name is written there. 41:17 Now, I am gonna take you Daniel 7, 41:20 the event where in context but we are going for Daniel 8:14 41:24 to previous chapter and it all ties into this 41:27 cleansing of the sanctuary Daniel 7:9. 41:30 Daniel's is vision and he says, 41:32 "I kept looking Until thrones were set up, 41:35 and the Ancient of Days took His seat, 41:38 His vesture was like white snow, 41:41 and the hair of His head like pure wool. 41:44 His throne was ablaze with flames." 41:49 It's a description of His glory. 41:51 "Its wheels were a burning fire." 41:53 It is a mobile throne by the way it's got wheels on it. 41:57 "A river of fire was" can you get consider in your minds " 41:59 a river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him." 42:05 Again this is His glory. 42:07 It's a river of glory that is proceeding 42:10 from the presence of God. 42:12 It's powerful. 42:14 "Thousands, upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads." 42:17 That's the word for ten thousand. 42:20 "Ten thousands upon ten thousands 42:23 were standing before him," in the throne room. 42:27 And who are they? 42:29 The angelical of heaven who had an interest 42:32 in what is happening in that heavenly temple 42:34 and correspondingly it was happening upon this earth. 42:38 They're standing before God by the millions 42:42 and hundreds of millions within the temple in heaven. 42:46 This is a structure on like any think 42:49 that we could ever possibly imagine here on earth. 42:55 As we are looking again by vision 42:57 into the inner recesses of this temple. 42:59 And it says "The court sat and the books were opened." 43:04 Now this is speaking of judgment. 43:07 And in fact, the Daniel 7 it says 43:09 "Judgment is given in favor of the people of God." 43:13 Amen. 43:15 And so we need not fear the judgment. 43:19 In Revelation 3:5 also place into this. 43:22 Jesus is speaking "He who overcomes 43:24 shall be thus clothed in white garments 43:27 and I will not erase his name from the book of life, 43:30 and I will confess his name before My Father 43:33 and before His angels." 43:35 The one who overcomes. 43:38 Well, what is that about? 43:41 Well, who is it that overcame in the first place? 43:45 You got it. I am glad you got that. 43:47 Number one, Jesus is the great over comer, 43:52 evil is defeated. 43:54 His enemies are gonna be made his footstool in the end. 43:58 That is guaranteed in all of this. 44:01 And because He is victorious guess what, 44:05 by His grace we too will be victorious. 44:10 That's the news. 44:12 It's a part of the gospel but do you see 44:15 we are always free to turn back, right. 44:18 But you see not everybody that confesses Jesus 44:20 we will be true to Him to the end 44:22 until those are finding are final counting 44:24 as our book of records are open, okay. 44:28 And those who have turned back, 44:31 who have rejected the grace which once was there's 44:36 my friend, they removed from the book. 44:37 It is not arbitrary, it just recognizing 44:40 what they themselves have done. 44:42 They're no arbitrariness in this. 44:44 And those who remain written in the book of life 44:46 what the Jesus do in His capacity 44:48 as our intercessor in heaven 44:50 He says I will confess their names before the Father. 44:55 Oh, yes, they have had battles, 44:57 yes they have had their failures 45:01 but by My grace I claim them as My very own. 45:05 And that we are. 45:07 Amen. 45:08 We are His, and that confidence and assurance 45:11 should ring sound in the heart of and mind of every one of us. 45:15 We are His. 45:18 And nothing can touch us. 45:22 Daniel 7 and going on into verse 13. 45:25 We got this throne room scene it says in verse 13. 45:28 Daniel said, "I kept looking in the night visions, 45:31 and behold, with the clouds of heaven 45:33 One like a Son of Man was coming, 45:37 and He came up to the Ancient of Days." 45:39 The son of man makes his entrance 45:41 in this heavenly scene before the Father. 45:43 The books are all open there and it is at this point that 45:47 he makes confession of his, okay. 45:51 As for Revelation 3:5 fits in and it says 45:55 "And was presented before Him. 45:57 And to Him was given dominion." 45:59 Dominion over what? 46:01 This planet. 46:02 You serve by the evil one. 46:04 "He was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, 46:10 " So at the end of this scene 46:11 Jesus receives dominion rights over this planet. 46:14 He recede His kingdom. 46:16 And who is gonna be the king? 46:19 The sacrificed, he who has sacrificed for us 46:22 who is now priest an intercede in intercession for us 46:27 then becomes king over us. 46:30 But what is the king and what is a kingdom 46:32 without a citizenry 46:36 and who will comprise this citizenship of this kingdom 46:40 over which Jesus will rule? 46:41 You tell me who are the citizens? 46:44 We are. 46:45 My friend, those whose names are in the book of Life, 46:49 that's you and me who are faith in Jesus. 46:53 We will comprise as citizens of this kingdom. 46:57 And it goes on to say "That all people's, nations, 46:59 and men of every language might serve Him 47:01 His dominion is everlasting dominion 47:04 which will not pass away 47:06 and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. 47:09 But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom 47:12 and possess the kingdom for all ages to come." 47:18 And my friend, in my minds eye I see feverish activity 47:21 taking place in heaven for 47:23 Jesus intercession is coming to an end. 47:27 They removed those robes of His 47:30 intercessory work from Him, His priestly robes. 47:33 The angels- I think they are in incitement. 47:38 They bring that kingly robe and the scepter 47:40 in they place of His hand and then they crown him, King. 47:47 And then and Revelation gives us insights into this 47:50 there's silence in heaven for a period of time. 47:53 For heaven is empty at this point. 47:56 As the King of Kings and Lord of Lords 47:58 with all the angelicals of heaven 48:02 come to this planet to claim the people of God 48:08 as their very own. 48:10 Now isn't that good news, isn't that not exciting? 48:13 Amen. 48:14 Absolutely, this is all of part of it. 48:16 This is- this is the high point of it 48:18 that we are getting we are getting. 48:20 And I'm on tie into this Revelation 11 48:23 and we are gonna be looking at verses 15-19. 48:28 Because we are given we are given insights 48:31 envisioned by John into this very scene 48:34 as it coming to an end in the temple of heaven. 48:36 Here it is verse 15 "Then the seventh angel" 48:39 seventh means the end this hand. 48:42 "Sounded, and there were loud voices" 48:45 picture this, loud voices in heaven. 48:48 And they were saying, notice what they are saying, 48:49 "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord 48:53 and of His Christ and He will reign forever and ever. 48:58 And the twenty-four elders, 48:59 who sit on their thrones before God, 49:01 fell on their faces and worshiped God, 49:04 " it's a powerful scene. 49:05 "Saying, 'We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, 49:09 who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power 49:13 and have begun to reign.' 49:15 " I wonder they are so excited 49:17 and you and I will be excited too. 49:18 Won't we? 49:19 And notice what's happening on earth 49:21 "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, 49:24 and the time came for the dead to be judged, 49:26 and the time to reward." 49:28 The time of rewards has come. 49:30 To reward "Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints 49:33 and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, 49:36 and to destroy those who destroy the earth." 49:39 Time there is a time of judgment. 49:42 And then it says "And the temple of God 49:44 which is in heaven was opened 49:45 and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, 49:48 and there were flashes of lightning 49:49 and sounds and peals of thunder 49:51 and an earthquake and a great hailstorm." 49:54 Remember, that universal earthquake 49:56 that takes place at the coming of Jesus on the earth? 50:00 That's what's pictured here. 50:03 Wow, powerful. 50:06 But those words back in verse 15 where it says, 50:08 there's loud voices in heaven and they're declaring, 50:12 those words are to be familiar to us. 50:13 I am gonna take you there in song in just a moment. 50:16 That decoration, in heaven the kingdoms of this world 50:20 have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of this Christ 50:22 and He will reign forever and ever. 50:37 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah 50:43 Hallelujah Hallelujah, hallelujah 50:50 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah 50:55 For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth 51:01 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah 51:06 For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth 51:13 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah 51:18 For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth 51:23 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah 51:32 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah 51:43 The kingdom of this world 51:50 Is become 51:53 The kingdom of our lord 51:57 And of his Christ, and of his Christ 52:01 And he shall reign for ever and ever 52:06 And he shall reign for ever and ever 52:12 And he shall reign for ever and ever 52:23 King of Kings 52:29 And lord of lords 52:37 King of Kings For ever and ever 52:41 Hallelujah, hallelujah 52:43 And lord of lords For ever and ever 52:47 Hallelujah, hallelujah 52:50 King of Kings For ever and ever 52:54 hallelujah, hallelujah. 52:57 And lord of lords For ever and ever 53:20 Hallelujah, hallelujah. 53:23 And he shall reign for ever for ever and ever 53:29 King of Kings, and Lord of Lords 53:34 King of Kings and Lord of Lords 53:38 And he shall reign for ever for ever and ever 53:48 Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah 53:54 Hallelujah 54:07 Well, they sounded something like that. 54:09 Didn't they? 54:12 But so much better 54:15 and we too when Jesus comes. 54:19 We too will sing as from the earth we are caught up 54:24 to meet the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 54:29 And we too will blend our voices 54:32 with those of their heavenly hosts. 54:35 As we see His praises 54:38 as we enter into that eternity 54:42 that He purchase at such an awful price for us. 54:46 Now we enjoy unspeakable 54:50 to know the darkness is behind us, 54:54 the victory is one 54:57 and at last we will be at rest in peace. |
Revised 2014-12-17