Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: PE
Program Code: PE000001S
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00:09 Good evening, friends,
00:10 and a very warm welcome to Prophecy Encounter. 00:13 I'd like to welcome those here in Sanford, Florida. 00:15 Thank you for joining us again 00:17 for this Bible study experience, 00:19 but we're looking at some of the most important 00:21 and fascinating prophecies of the Bible. 00:24 Tonight in particular, we have a very important subject. 00:26 So we're just delighted to have you here. 00:28 And also, for those of you joining us across the country 00:30 and around the world, 00:32 we know we have an international audience 00:34 that's participating in this Bible study, 00:36 a very warm welcome to you as well. 00:39 And it's my privilege 00:41 to introduce our speaker for this series, 00:42 Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:44 He is the president, also the speaker of Amazing Facts. 00:47 And when we travel around and do meetings like this, 00:50 one of the comments that we get quite often 00:53 with reference to Pastor Doug's teaching 00:54 is that he has the ability 00:56 to take some pretty important and complex Bible themes 01:00 and present it in a practical way 01:03 that people go, "Oh, yeah, that makes sense." 01:06 Well, tonight, 01:08 we're gonna need that 01:09 because we're gonna be looking 01:10 at a very important Bible prophecy 01:12 that sometimes can be a little complicated, 01:14 but I think he'll do just fine in helping us understand 01:18 who the Hero of Revelation really is. 01:21 So join me now 01:22 as we welcome Pastor Doug Batchelor, 01:24 speaker for our Prophecy Encounter series. 01:27 Thank you, Pastor Doug. 01:28 Thank you, Pastor Ross. 01:34 Welcome once again, friends, 01:35 and we wanna welcome those 01:36 who are watching our broadcast. 01:38 We know there are people from around the world 01:39 that are watching the live broadcast. 01:42 And our presentation tonight 01:43 dealing with The Hero of Revelation 01:46 is part of our Prophecy Encounter series. 01:48 This is really a new series. 01:52 We call it Prophecy Encounter because we're hoping that 01:54 through the study of prophecy 01:56 that people will encounter the hero of Revelation, 02:00 and I think we all know who that is. 02:02 You can find it in the first verses, 02:04 but I like to start 02:06 with maybe a little amazing fact from history. 02:09 I love history 02:10 and I like delving into some of the personalities 02:13 and the people that became great. 02:15 During the Civil War, 02:17 there was this one individual 02:18 that really surprised everybody. 02:20 His name was Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. 02:24 He was actually from Maine. 02:26 He was a school teacher, English major, 02:27 actually majored in rhetoric and different languages, 02:30 seemed like something of a bookworm, 02:33 but he had very strong convictions 02:35 about slavery. 02:37 And when finally, the Civil War broke out, 02:40 even though his family was very religious 02:42 and he maybe was a pacifist by nature, 02:45 he thought the cause deserves 02:47 that we lay our lives down for this 02:50 and he joined the forces. 02:51 And because of his education, they quickly promoted him. 02:54 And next thing he knew, 02:56 he was involved in the Battle of Gettysburg. 02:59 Some of the soldiers under him 03:00 were a little worried. 03:02 They said, "This guy's always reading. 03:03 He's a bookworm. He's a lamb." 03:05 And he seemed so polite and he seemed so articulate. 03:07 They thought, 03:08 "What's he gonna do on the battlefield?" 03:10 Well, it turned out 03:12 in one of the biggest 03:13 and the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, 03:15 the Battle of Gettysburg, 03:17 50, 000 people died in 1 day. 03:21 It's been the bloodiest battle in American History, 03:24 in any of our wars. 03:27 The South was trying to take this hill 03:29 and they were trying to flank 03:31 around the troops of the North. 03:33 And Chamberlain knew that 03:35 he needed to hold that hill at all costs. 03:38 And for three days the battle raged 03:40 and the South continued to throw soldiers at that hill, 03:44 trying to get behind the troops and to defeat them. 03:48 And they fought, the group from Maine that he was over, 03:52 they fought until they ran out of ammunition. 03:54 And finally, he told them, 03:55 "Fix your bayonets and charge." 03:58 When they were coming up the hill after them, 04:00 he told his men to charge back at them with just bayonets. 04:04 And it so terrified the southerners 04:08 that they turned and they ran. 04:10 They didn't realize they had run out of bullets. 04:12 They later called him, instead of The Lamb, 04:14 they called him, The Lion of Little Round Top. 04:17 Little Round Top was the hill that they were defending. 04:20 Well, you know, Jesus, when He comes again, 04:23 He's coming like a lion. 04:24 When He came the first time, He came like a lamb, 04:27 but He is the central focus of the entire Bible. 04:31 Matter of fact, if you read the first words in Revelation, 04:35 it's not a Revelation of the beast, 04:37 it's not a Revelation of the antichrist. 04:38 People say, 04:40 "Ah, I want to read about the antichrist in Revelation." 04:42 Are you aware the word antichrist 04:44 does not appear in the Book of Revelation? 04:47 It's in the letters of John. 04:49 The Book of Revelation is about Jesus. 04:52 He is the central figure 04:53 but not just the Book of Revelation, 04:56 the whole Bible is about Jesus, 04:58 as you'll discover in our study tonight. 05:00 First verse, Revelation 1:1, 05:02 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 05:05 which God gave to Him 05:07 to show His servants things 05:08 which must shortly come to pass." 05:11 So the Book of Revelation 05:12 and the things we're gonna study in Revelation, 05:15 Bible tells us way back in the time of Christ, 05:17 they were about to come to pass. 05:19 So the prophecy at least begins during the time of Christ 05:23 and carries on until, of course, we're in heaven, 05:25 if you read Revelation 21 and 22. 05:28 So we're gonna go through a series of questions. 05:31 I got a lot of material to cover. 05:33 You may want to have a pen or a pencil handy 05:34 because we're gonna give you some notes. 05:36 We're gonna be looking at prophecies in Revelation, 05:39 in Daniel, and all through the Bible, 05:43 even starting with Genesis, 05:44 that show us who Jesus is 05:47 so we can know that He is the central focus. 05:51 There are over 300 Old Testament prophecies 05:54 that provide 05:55 a number of precise identifying characteristics 05:58 regarding the Messiah. 06:00 A lot of people in the world think that 06:01 Jesus was just one of many religious leaders. 06:04 You cannot really believe that and be a Christian. 06:07 Bible says, 06:09 "There is no other name 06:10 given among men whereby we must be saved." 06:12 Jesus is not just another religious teacher. 06:15 God became a man, 06:17 it's called the incarnation in Christ to save us. 06:22 And we need to know who He is. 06:23 The Christian religion is all about Jesus, 06:26 and you need to know who He is. 06:28 The whole Bible tells us about that. 06:29 We're gonna delve into some of these. 06:31 First prophecy is in the Book of Genesis, 06:35 Genesis chapter 3:15. 06:38 This is after Adam and Eve sinned 06:40 and God then speaking to Adam and Eve 06:43 and because of the serpent was the medium 06:46 through which Lucifer spoke, 06:48 God said, 06:50 "And I will put enmity, " 06:51 that's where you get the word enemy. 06:53 It means there's animosity, there's friction, 06:55 there's polar resistance. 06:58 "Between you and the woman," 07:00 between the serpent and the woman. 07:02 That comes up in Revelation, so I want you to note that. 07:05 "Between your seed," 07:07 the seed of the serpent, 07:08 "and her seed." 07:10 The seed or the offspring of the woman. 07:12 The seed of the woman, 07:14 it's talking about is the Messiah. 07:16 It goes on to say, and, "He," the seed of the woman, 07:18 "will bruise your head." 07:20 Christ would bruise the head of the serpent, 07:22 "And you shall bruise his heel." 07:24 The progress or the walk of the Christian church 07:27 has been impeded, 07:28 slowed by the work of the devil. 07:31 There is a battle in this world between good and evil, 07:33 between the woman and the serpent 07:35 that carries all the way through. 07:38 You read in Revelation 12, 07:39 we don't have to guess who the serpent is, 07:42 "So the great dragon was cast out, 07:44 that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, 07:47 who deceives the whole world." 07:50 How much of the world does he deceive? 07:52 The whole world. 07:54 So where did Jesus come from? 07:57 That's a very important question. 07:59 Is He just a man? 08:01 Was He born like other men? 08:03 Christ made some pretty bold claims. 08:05 For one thing, He said in John 6:38 08:08 "For I have come down from heaven." 08:11 Well, not everybody says that. 08:13 I mean, if you meet somebody that says, 08:14 "I've come from heaven," 08:17 and the Bible, you know, we talked a little last night 08:18 about people who claimed to be Christ. 08:22 And there's some, you know, 08:23 prominent characters that have claimed to be Jesus, 08:26 but there's also some that are locked up here and there. 08:30 And I met somebody once 08:32 that claimed to be Jesus 08:34 that I'll never forget 08:35 because I was by myself up in the mountains. 08:37 I lived in a cave back then. 08:38 I was a hermit for about a year and a half 08:40 and I was all by myself. 08:42 And a hiker came by the cave, and that was not that unusual. 08:44 I'd see people from time to time. 08:46 He stayed and he visited for a little bit, 08:48 and then he said he was Jesus. 08:52 And at first, I thought, 08:53 "Well, I've got some Spanish friends named Jesus. 08:55 Maybe that's..." 08:56 He didn't look Spanish. 09:00 And then he said, "No, I am Christ." 09:03 He said, "My name is Michael David Harper." 09:06 Then he said, "That's my earthly name, 09:07 but I've come from heaven." 09:08 Well, I'll tell you, 09:10 it's a little spooky 09:11 when you're by yourself up in the hills 09:13 and you meet somebody that says, 09:14 "I'm Jesus, and I have come..." 09:15 And I wasn't quite sure what to say because, 09:18 you know, I'd just started reading the Bible 09:20 and I thought, 09:21 "Well, if it Jesus, I got a lot of questions." 09:24 And if it is Jesus, 09:25 I don't wanna show a lack of faith 09:27 and hurt his feelings. 09:28 I mean, all kinds of crazy things 09:29 are going through your head, 09:31 you know, and I didn't wanna make him mad, 09:35 whether he was Jesus or wasn't Jesus, I didn't. 09:38 And so I said, 09:39 "Well, the Bible says that 09:42 when you come that everybody's gonna see you. 09:44 It'll be like lightning." 09:46 He says, "Well, that's true." 09:47 He says, you know, 09:48 but I'm coming specially 09:50 to prepare some other people early. 09:51 And he had, like, an answer for everything. 09:53 He knew the Bible. 09:54 And he stayed with me 09:55 for two or three days and ate all my food, 09:57 so I knew he wasn't Jesus. 09:58 And he didn't clean up. 10:01 And I saw him a week or so later, 10:04 and he actually had found an apostle. 10:05 Some guy was following him around, 10:07 saying, "This is Jesus." 10:09 And then I saw him a few weeks later. 10:11 We lived on the streets back 10:12 then when I wasn't up in the cave 10:14 and he was missing a tooth 10:15 because he had got into a fight. 10:16 I felt so much better because I know Jesus has all His teeth. 10:19 And so, but, you know, 10:20 you meet all kinds of strange people out there. 10:22 Well, so when Jesus said, "I've come down from heaven." 10:25 And then He told Pilate in John 18:36 10:28 "My kingdom is not of this world. 10:30 I am from out of this world." 10:33 Well, what is He, an extraterrestrial? 10:35 Where did Jesus come from? 10:37 He's making some bold claims 10:39 and so we need to evaluate that. 10:40 Number three, did Jesus claim divinity? 10:44 Did He claim to be God? 10:47 In a word, yes. 10:49 And here are some verses that illustrate that. 10:51 John 8:58, 10:52 "Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, 10:56 before Abraham was, I AM.'" 11:00 Now you might be thinking, 11:01 "Well, that doesn't mean He was claiming to be God. 11:04 The Jews who were listening to Him that day 11:06 believed He was claiming to be God 11:08 because God said to Moses, "I am that I am." 11:11 That was a title for God, the self-existent one. 11:13 They took up stones to stone Him for blasphemy, 11:16 claiming to be God, and Jesus did not retract that. 11:20 And, you know, He said, "Before Abraham was." 11:23 He says, "I preexisted." 11:25 And then you can read again in John 17, 18, 11:27 "Therefore My Father loves Me because I lay down My life 11:31 that I may take it again." 11:33 Well, not too many people 11:34 lay down their lives and take it again. 11:36 He says, "No one takes it from Me, 11:37 I am laying it down and I'm taking it up." 11:41 And then He goes on and He says in Mark 2:10, 11:45 "The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins." 11:49 And you can read where it says, 11:50 "God and God only can forgive sins." 11:53 And so there's a lot of ways 11:54 that Jesus explained He had divine prerogatives. 11:59 And so, yes, Jesus is not just another man. 12:01 He said He preexisted before He came to this world, 12:04 had power to forgive sin. 12:06 So the fourth question is, how can we evaluate His claims? 12:11 How do we test to see if this is true? 12:14 C. S. Lewis, the Christian philosopher said, 12:17 "You really only have three choices with Jesus. 12:20 No question that He lived." 12:23 What year is it right now? 12:25 I know I'm just testing. 12:27 2017, 2017 what? 12:30 The whole dating method that the world uses 12:32 is based on the birth of Christ. 12:34 I told you they got that off a little bit, 12:36 but it was ostensibly dated from Christ. 12:40 So you can't deny that He lived. 12:42 History doesn't challenge His existence that He lived. 12:46 So, like C. S. Lewis said, 12:48 "He was either a liar, or He was a lunatic, 12:53 or He's Lord." 12:55 Those are really the only three options 12:57 that we have. 12:58 So how do we determine? 12:59 Where do we go to find out? 13:01 The Bible tells us 13:02 and Jesus Himself said in John 5:39, 13:06 "Search the Scriptures," 13:07 and then if you think you have eternal life, 13:09 He said, "These are they that testify of me." 13:13 Now when Jesus said that, 13:14 how much of New Testament was written? 13:17 None. 13:18 And so let me see if I can illustrate something. 13:20 And I'm glad to see some of you have brought your Bibles Here. 13:23 I'm gonna quickly... 13:24 Oh, good, I found it right away. 13:26 This is your Bible. 13:27 I've divided it just visually so you get a rough idea. 13:30 You know, there's some contents 13:31 and concordance and stuff in the front and the back, 13:33 but approximately three quarters of the Bible, 13:37 Old Testament. 13:38 This is written before Jesus. 13:40 Matter of fact, the last book, Malachi in the Old Testament, 13:43 was written about 400 years before Jesus was born. 13:46 So there's a nice spread between the two, 13:48 and then you get to the New Testament, 13:50 talks about the birth of Jesus Christ. 13:52 First words in Revelation are 13:54 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." 13:55 First words in the New Testament, 13:57 "The genealogy of Jesus Christ." 13:59 So it tells about the coming of the Messiah. 14:02 The Old Testament foretells when the Savior would come, 14:05 when God would become a man. 14:07 And a lot of the Old Testament is talking about Christ. 14:10 There are hundreds of prophecies. 14:12 So we're gonna be looking now 14:13 at a lot of prophecies here 14:15 that were written hundreds, 14:17 in some cases more than a thousand years 14:19 before Christ was born, 14:20 and then we're gonna see here 14:22 that exactly what was foretold happened. 14:26 And this is one reason I think 14:27 this is not just white pages and black ink. 14:30 I believe the Bible 14:31 is a supernatural correspondence with humanity. 14:35 And God has done 14:36 something miraculously to protect this book. 14:39 So we're gonna look in the Bible. 14:40 Furthermore, Luke 24:27, Jesus, 14:45 when He was talking 14:46 to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, 14:49 He said, 14:50 "He expounded unto them beginning at Moses 14:53 and all the prophets, 14:54 He expounded to them in all of the Scriptures 14:57 the things concerning Himself." 14:59 So Jesus gave a Bible study to these two disciples, 15:02 and He showed them through all of the Scriptures 15:04 prior to the New Testament things concerning Himself. 15:07 And you're gonna see that 15:09 Jesus is all the way through there. 15:10 A lot of... 15:12 I've been to churches before 15:13 where they supply a Bible 15:14 and all they have is a New Testament. 15:16 They say, "Well, we're a New Testament church. 15:17 We don't... That's the old covenant." 15:18 You can't understand the New Testament 15:21 without the Old Testament. 15:23 It's the moon that the woman stands on, 15:27 though she is clothed 15:28 with the sun of the New Testament, 15:30 it's the foundation. 15:31 The Old Testament is so important 15:32 to understand the new. 15:34 And again, Hebrews 10:7 said, 15:37 "'Behold, I come, in the volume of the book 15:40 it is written of Me, to do your will, O God.'" 15:43 So the whole Bible is telling us about Jesus. 15:47 All right, the fifth point that we wanna ponder. 15:49 Does prophecy foretell the Messiah's family tree? 15:52 And the answer is absolutely yes. 15:55 For one thing, 15:56 God told Abraham He was calling Him 15:59 from Mesopotamia. 16:01 He said, "Through your descendants, 16:03 the Messiah would come." 16:05 And you find that in Genesis 12:3, 16:07 "In you shall all the families of the earth be blessed, " 16:11 through your descendants, 16:12 that the Messiah would come through the Hebrew line. 16:15 Now you realize, a Jew and a Hebrew is different. 16:18 Abraham had more children than just Isaac. 16:20 And Isaac had more children than just Jacob. 16:22 And Jacob had more children than just Judah. 16:25 The word "Jew" 16:26 kind of comes from the descendants of Judah, 16:28 principally, but we often use it 16:30 to talk about Hebrews in general, 16:32 but the Messiah would come through the descendants 16:35 of not only Abraham but Isaac. 16:37 We read in Genesis 26:4, it says, 16:40 "I will give your descendants these lands, 16:42 and in your seed 16:43 all the nations of the world would be blessed." 16:46 Because Jesus did not just come for Jews, did He? 16:48 He came to save everybody. 16:50 "Whosoever will," the promise is. 16:52 He told the disciples, "Go to the ends of the earth." 16:55 And then not only did it come from Abraham through Isaac, 16:58 see, Abraham also had Ishmael 17:01 and several other children through Keturah. 17:03 Isaac also had Esau. 17:06 But He said the blessing would come through Jacob. 17:09 And Jacob prophesied, 17:11 you see the prophecy in Numbers 24:17, 17:13 "A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter," 17:16 a scepter's what a king holds, 17:17 "will rise out of Israel." There would be this king, 17:20 the King of kings that would come. 17:22 By the way, that's the prophecy, 17:24 probably, that the wise men in the east were reading 17:27 when they came and followed the star, 17:29 this star that said there was a new king 17:31 that would come. 17:32 And then when He was dying, there in Genesis 49, 17:35 Jacob, later called Israel, he prophesied that of his sons, 17:40 and he had 12 sons and 1 daughter, 17:42 the Messiah would then be coming 17:43 specifically through which one? 17:46 Judah, right? 17:49 Y'all with me? You all knew that, didn't you? 17:51 The Messiah would come through, of the 12 sons of Jacob, 17:54 He would come through Judah. 17:56 And He says there in Genesis 49, 17:57 "The scepter will not depart from Judah 18:00 nor a lawgiver from between His feet, 18:02 until Shiloh come," 18:04 that means "The King of peace, " 18:05 "and unto Him 18:07 shall the gathering of the people be." 18:08 So it would come through the tribe of Judah, 18:10 but wait, we're not done yet. 18:12 Get your credit card out, there's more. 18:14 Not only from Judah, it keeps going further down. 18:18 And if you order now, we'll double your offer. 18:21 They always say that, don't they? 18:23 Through the descendants of David, 18:25 "there will come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse." 18:27 Jesse was the father of David. 18:29 "And a branch will grow from his roots." 18:32 So the Messiah would come from the household of David. 18:34 "And the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him." 18:37 Well, why does it say, "The Spirit of the Lord"? 18:40 The very word "Messiah" 18:41 in the Old Testament means "anointed." 18:45 The word "Christ," "Christos," 18:47 it's Greek for "the anointed." 18:50 You know, when they christen a ship, 18:52 they splash a bottle of champagne or wine on it 18:55 and then it's called "a christening." 18:57 "An anointing" means "to shower something." 19:00 Jesus was to be showered with the Holy Spirit of God. 19:04 And they called Him, "The Anointed." 19:06 That came through the descendants of David. 19:09 Now you go to the New Testament and you see was it fulfilled? 19:13 And you can read in Luke 1:26, 19:16 "Now in the sixth month 19:18 the angel Gabriel was sent by God 19:21 to a city in Galilee named Nazareth." 19:23 Where'd the angel go? 19:25 I want you to catch that 19:26 because there's gonna be a problem. 19:28 Here in a moment. 19:29 "To a virgin that was betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, 19:31 of the house of," where? 19:33 "the house of David. 19:35 The virgin's name was Mary." 19:36 Now this all sounds like a Christmas sermon. 19:38 You all know this story, right? 19:40 But both Mary and Joseph were descendants from David. 19:43 You find the genealogy of Mary going through her father 19:48 back to Jesus in Luke, 19:49 and the genealogy follows Joseph in Matthew. 19:52 So either way, they were both descendants of David. 19:57 And furthermore, it says that 19:59 Jesus would come through not just the house of David, 20:01 but the mother would be a virgin. 20:02 Now that certainly is unique, right? 20:05 You read that prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, 20:09 "Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son, 20:12 and they'll call His name Immanuel, 20:15 '" which means "God with us." 20:17 Jump to the New Testament. 20:18 By the way, that's written 700 years 20:21 before Jesus was born, 20:22 foretold that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. 20:25 Now you go to the New Testament 20:26 and you read in Matthew chapter 1:18, 20:29 it says that 20:30 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. 20:33 After His mother Mary was betrothed," 20:35 or engaged, "to Joseph, 20:37 before they came together, 20:39 she was found to be with child." 20:42 And of course, we all know about the virgin birth. 20:45 What about where He would be born? 20:47 Does the Bible talk? 20:49 So we wouldn't have any doubts 20:50 about who the Savior of man would be, 20:52 no doubts about when God became a man, 20:53 who is it? 20:55 It wasn't just one of many wise men 20:57 or prophets through time. 20:58 It was Jesus. 21:00 The place of His birth foretold in the Book of Micah, 21:03 about 600 years before Christ. 21:05 He specifically said, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah. 21:08 Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, 21:12 unto you, yet out of you shall come forth to Me 21:15 The One who is to be the ruler in Israel, 21:17 whose going forth are from old, even from everlasting." 21:22 So it's another prophecy here. 21:23 What does it tell us about Jesus? 21:25 He's from everlasting. 21:26 See, Christ didn't just appear when He was born, 21:29 from everlasting to everlasting. 21:31 You know, Revelation, 21:32 He's referred to as "the Eternal One." 21:36 He's the "I am" there. 21:38 He's the one who is the first and the last, 21:41 the alpha and the omega. 21:43 So Christ is from everlasting to everlasting. 21:46 He was eternal. 21:48 And it says that He'd be born in Bethlehem. 21:50 Did that happen? Now we got a problem. 21:53 When the angel came to Mary, you heard me say a minute ago, 21:56 where was she? 21:58 Galilee. In what city? 22:00 Nazareth. 22:01 I've got a map up here on the screen now. 22:02 You're gonna see Nazareth, as the crow flies, 22:04 is about 70 miles away. 22:07 She's great with child. She's a long way from home. 22:09 How are we gonna get the Messiah born 22:11 as He's supposed to be born 22:13 in the city of David, Bethlehem? 22:15 Well, this is one of the only times in history 22:18 we need to thank a politician for doing a tax increase. 22:23 Caesar Augustus, Luke 2:1, issued a decree, 22:29 "And it came to pass in those days 22:31 that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus 22:33 that all the world should be taxed. 22:36 And they had to go register for the tax in their own city. 22:40 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, 22:44 out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, 22:47 there to be registered, 22:49 to be taxed and registered with His wife Mary, 22:52 or his espoused wife being great with child. 22:55 And so it was, that, while they were there, 22:57 the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 23:00 And she brought forth her firstborn son, 23:03 and she laid Him in a manger." 23:06 And this is, of course, 23:07 fulfilling that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. 23:09 When the shepherds saw the angels, where were they? 23:11 "They were dwelling in those days 23:13 outside Bethlehem shepherds watching their flocks." 23:16 Now, you know, it's always been amazing to me. 23:19 You know what Bethlehem means? 23:22 "Beth" means "house." 23:23 "Bethlehem, " it means "house of bread." 23:27 And Jesus is the bread of life. 23:29 And after He was born, He was placed in a manger. 23:32 A manger is a trough 23:33 for putting grain for the animals. 23:36 So here you've got the bread of life 23:38 born in the house of bread placed in a trough for bread. 23:41 Jesus is the bread of life. 23:44 "And so she brought forth her firstborn son, 23:46 wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, 23:48 and laid Him in a manger 23:50 because there was no room for Him in the inn." 23:53 And again, the angels said, 23:55 "For unto you is born, " 23:57 they told the shepherds, 23:58 "in the city of David, " 23:59 Jesus would be a descendant of David 24:01 born in the town of David 24:02 and it was all foretold by the prophets, 24:05 "a Savior who is Christ," 24:07 the anointed, "the Lord." 24:09 And when Christ was a baby, eight days old, 24:12 they bring Him to the temple to be named and circumcised, 24:16 which was technically the first time He shed blood. 24:19 "When they called His name Jesus, 24:21 He will save His people from their sins." 24:23 "The priest there in the temple, 24:25 Simon, took Him up in His arms and blessed them. 24:27 And He said to His mother, 24:29 'Behold, this child is destined 24:30 for the fall and the rising of many in Israel. 24:33 And for a sign that will be spoken against 24:36 (yes, a sword will even pierce through your own soul)," 24:39 foretelling, of course, 24:41 the sufferings that Jesus would be going through, 24:43 "that the thoughts of many hearts 24:45 might be revealed." 24:46 So even at the very beginning, 24:47 Mary was given a prophecy 24:49 to let her know that 24:51 Jesus was coming not just as a lion, 24:55 but He would first have to come as a lamb 24:57 and suffer for the sins of the world. 25:00 Well, then, when Christ was still a child, 25:03 they're living in Bethlehem, 25:05 Herod the King wanted to exterminate Jesus as a baby. 25:08 You know, there's three times in the Bible 25:11 when the devil made an effort 25:12 try to keep the Savior from coming. 25:15 You can read about the devil thought 25:17 maybe that a Savior was coming 25:18 when the children of Israel were in Egypt. 25:21 So he wanted all the baby boys to be exterminated. 25:25 And yet, Moses was miraculously spared. 25:29 The Savior was spared. 25:30 And then during the time 25:32 of queen Jezebel's daughter Athaliah, 25:35 she killed all of the seed of David. 25:37 Again, the devil trying to keep the Messiah from coming, 25:41 but miraculously, Joash was spared. 25:45 And then, of course, 25:46 during the time when Christ was a baby, 25:48 Herod sent his soldiers to Bethlehem 25:49 to kill all the baby boys once again 25:51 to try to keep the Savior from coming. 25:54 And Joseph was warned in a dream 25:56 to go down to Egypt. 25:57 And you read in the New Testament 25:59 that after he received that warning, 26:00 he said, "He arose, and he took the young child 26:02 and his mother by night, 26:04 and he departed for Egypt." 26:06 Notice what Matthew says, 26:07 "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord 26:11 through the prophet, saying, 26:13 'Out of Egypt I have called My son.'" 26:15 And here he's quoting Hosea. 26:17 And so even the New Testament writers like Matthew 26:21 could often see 26:23 how Jesus was a fulfillment of all these prophecies. 26:26 They all combined and concentrated 26:28 and focused in His life. 26:30 You know, I get excited when I talk about this 26:32 because there's just no question 26:33 that Jesus is who He says He was. 26:36 All right, and then you can say, 26:38 "And He came when He was a child. 26:40 He moved back then after Egypt to Nazareth, 26:42 and He was subject to His parents 26:45 that it might be fulfilled 26:46 that was spoken of by the prophets," 26:48 another prophecy, 26:49 "he will be called a Nazarene." 26:51 Now there they're talking about 26:53 when Samson's parents were told that 26:57 this promised child would be a Nazarene. 26:59 Several of the types in the Bible, 27:01 like Samuel and Samson, 27:03 had the vow of a Nazarite. 27:05 Typically, Jesus is painted with long hair. 27:08 And yet, you know, there's a Scripture that says, 27:10 "It's a shame for a man to have long hair." 27:12 But the Nazarites were not supposed to cut their hair. 27:15 And so some have wondered, 27:16 "Did Jesus' parents have the vow of a Nazarite on Him 27:20 up until He was baptized?" 27:22 'Cause a person could have a Nazarite vow 27:24 for a varying length of time, 27:26 it wasn't necessarily a lifelong vow. 27:29 Nazarites could not eat or drink 27:31 anything from the vine. 27:32 Jesus obviously drank grape juice. 27:35 And so He may have just been a Nazarite 27:37 up until His baptism or followed that vow. 27:39 We're not sure, 27:41 but He's typically painted with long hair 27:43 and that's one of the reasons for that, 27:45 but that was foretold. 27:47 "And then He went down with His parents 27:48 and He came to Nazareth 27:50 and He was subject to them." 27:52 You know, there's all these theories that say, 27:54 "Well, you know, reason Jesus was so brilliant 27:56 is because from the time He was born, 27:59 His parents then took Him 28:01 and He studied under these wise gurus in India." 28:05 Or, "He went to Egypt and He studied there." 28:07 And they've got all these theories 28:08 about where Jesus got His great knowledge 28:10 because it says that He was uneducated in Jerusalem. 28:14 Well, it tells us that He learned the Scriptures 28:16 right there from His parents in home. 28:18 He didn't go off and wasn't secretly taught by any, 28:22 you know, kung fu experts off there somewhere, 28:25 and then come back 28:27 and have this great enlightenment. 28:28 He went to His parents. 28:30 He lived a normal life for 33 or for the first 30 years 28:33 until His baptism. 28:35 When would He appear? 28:36 Now this is gonna get really interesting. 28:38 In a minute we're gonna delve 28:39 into a fascinating prophecy in Daniel. 28:42 If you look in Daniel Chapter 9, 28:45 you'll see in verse 24. 28:47 Matter of fact, 28:48 I wanna open my Bible 28:49 and you may wanna put a piece of paper there 28:51 because we're gonna continue to come back to this prophecy 28:54 in Daniel Chapter 9. 28:56 Daniel is praying, 28:58 let me give you the background for this. 29:00 Daniel is praying. 29:02 God's people are captives in Babylon. 29:05 He is saying, "We've been here 70 years." 29:07 Daniel is reading the prophecy of Jeremiah 29:10 that said after 70 years they would go home. 29:12 So even Daniel read the prophets. 29:14 And He's praying, saying, 29:15 "Lord, we've been Here 70 years. 29:16 How long, how long will you tolerate Your people? 29:19 How long till the Savior, the Messiah comes?" 29:21 While Daniel's praying, the angel Gabriel comes, 29:24 same one that appears to Mary, 29:26 and He hasn't aged a bit 29:28 when he appears to Mary 500 years later. 29:31 And he gives this prophecy, 29:34 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people," 29:36 I'm in Daniel 9:24, 29:39 "for their holy city, 29:41 to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, 29:46 to make reconciliation for iniquity, 29:48 to bring in everlasting righteousness, 29:50 to seal up the vision and prophecy, " 29:54 talking about the visions 29:55 about the coming of the Messiah, 29:57 "and anoint the Most Holy." 29:59 Very clear that this is a prophecy 30:01 that talked about 30:02 the Most Holy being anointed, 70 weeks. 30:06 So what does the 70 weeks represent? 30:11 Now in the Bible a day equals a year. 30:14 First, let's talk about the starting point here. 30:17 It tells us that it says, 30:18 "From the going forth of the commandment," 30:20 if you read in Daniel 9:25, 30:22 what's the starting point for this prophecy? 30:24 "From the going forth of the commandment 30:26 to restore and build Jerusalem," 30:29 Jerusalem had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. 30:32 The Persian king Artaxerxes issued a decree, 30:35 you can find that in your Bible in Ezra Chapter 7, 30:39 that they could go back. 30:41 And he also helps subsidize their mission 30:43 to rebuild the city, to rebuild the temple. 30:46 And the Bible says 30:47 that would be the starting point 30:48 of this 70-week prophecy. 30:51 "From the going forth of the command 30:52 to restore and build Jerusalem 30:54 unto the Messiah the prince there'll be seven weeks, " 30:56 then he breaks up that 70 weeks into 3 parts, 30:59 "There'll be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks, 31:02 then you have your final week," okay? 31:05 And so 7 weeks was the time it took them 31:07 to rebuild the walls 31:08 and the streets in troublous times 31:10 and the temple. 31:11 Then there was 62 more weeks, 31:13 the Most Holy would be anointed, 31:15 then during that last week 31:17 He would confirm the covenant with the people, 31:19 but in the midst of that last week, 31:22 He'd make the sacrifice cease. 31:23 Now I've said it. 31:24 I'm gonna say it several times 31:26 because I know this is a lot of information 31:28 and I want you to have this clear in your mind. 31:29 First of all, 31:31 when you're dealing with a large Bible 31:33 time prophecy like this, 31:34 there's a pretty safe principle 31:37 that you apply a day for a year. 31:40 So when it says, "seventy weeks, " 31:43 how many days are in seventy weeks? 31:46 Four hundred and ninety, seven days in a week, 31:48 seventy times seven. 31:49 It's interesting, Jesus, when Peter said, 31:51 "How often shall I forgive my brother?" 31:54 He said, "Seventy times seven." 31:55 Daniel's praying, 31:56 "Lord, how long are you gonna bear with your people?" 31:58 He says, "Seventy times seven." 32:00 He didn't give them 32:01 another seven years of forgiveness. 32:03 He gave them 490 years 32:06 more mercy for them to present the Messiah to the world, 32:09 which they did at Pentecost. 32:11 And so He says, 32:13 "I've appointed you a day for a year." 32:15 And there's three references 32:16 there you can see that support that principle. 32:19 Now I'm gonna put a chart up on the screen 32:21 and explain this time prophecy. 32:24 You see, the decree is given 457 BC. 32:27 Artaxerxes, you can find it in Ezra 7, 32:29 it's a pretty well-accepted date 32:32 in ancient history. 32:33 Several things were happening then so we can peg that date. 32:37 If you go... 32:39 You got a total of 490 not days, 32:44 but years 'cause a day is a year in prophecy. 32:48 But the Messiah's not anointed 32:51 until a week before that's over, 32:54 okay? 32:56 And so 483 after the command 33:00 is when you would expect to see the Messiah anointed. 33:03 He begins His ministry. 33:04 He then confirms the covenant with God's people 33:06 for the last 7 years. 33:08 In the midst of that last 7 years, 33:10 He makes the sacrifice cease. 33:12 Stay with me. 33:14 All right, Jesus was baptized when? 33:17 You can read in the gospel of John chapter 1:29, 33:19 He came to John the Baptist and it says, 33:22 "John saw Jesus coming to Him 33:24 and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God 33:26 that takes away the sin of the world!' 33:29 " You know, if you read in Luke, 33:30 it tells us that the year that John was preaching 33:32 when Jesus was baptized, 33:33 it talks about Pontius Pilate being in power. 33:36 You've got Tiberius Caesar. 33:37 You've got Herod. 33:39 There's only 1 year in history when these 3 characters, 33:43 their reigns overlapped, and it was 27 AD. 33:47 Twenty-seven AD is exactly 33:49 four hundred and eighty-three years 33:51 after King Artaxerxes' decree in 457. 33:55 That's when the Messiah was baptized. 33:57 What happened at the baptism of Jesus? 33:59 You can read in Acts chapter... 34:01 Well, you can read, first of all, 34:02 in Matthew Chapter 3. 34:03 It says, "He came up out of the water. 34:05 The heavens were open. The Holy Spirit descended. 34:06 A voice from Heaven said, 'This is My Beloved Son.'" 34:10 And then you can read in Acts 10:38 34:13 where Peter said, 34:15 "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, 34:18 " He was the Anointed, the Christ, 34:20 "and with power, 34:21 who went about doing good 34:23 and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, 34:26 for God was with Him." 34:29 And so Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit 34:32 exactly 483 years, 34:35 but now you've got one week left 34:36 still to 490, right? 34:38 Now we're gonna talk about 34:40 what happened during the ministry of Jesus. 34:41 We're parking the prophecy of Daniel. 34:44 So you all with me? 34:45 We're gonna come back to it. 34:46 It said that He would confirm the covenant during this week. 34:49 Question seven, 34:51 what did Jesus do during that time? 34:53 Let's look at the ministry of Christ. 34:55 And are there prophecies about the ministry of Christ? 34:58 So I'm putting layers in here, prophecies in prophecies. 35:01 Isaiah 61:1, 35:04 first sermon Jesus preached He quotes from this in Nazareth, 35:06 His home church, He said. 35:08 "'The Spirit of God is upon Me, 35:10 because the Lord has anointed Me 35:13 to preach the good news to the poor, '" 35:15 Christ is the Anointed and He's telling people, 35:17 "I am the anointed." 35:19 "He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted." 35:20 Did Jesus do that? 35:23 "To proclaim liberty to the captives, " 35:24 people captive by the devil and sin, 35:27 "and the opening of prison to those who are bound, " 35:29 He came to set the captive free, 35:33 "and to proclaim liberty to the captives 35:35 and the great day of the Lord." 35:37 And the people that came to hear Jesus preach, 35:39 you know, spies were sent to arrest Him. 35:41 And they came back and the leader said, 35:43 "Where is He? We told you to arrest Him." 35:45 You know what their answer was? 35:46 "Never man spoke like this Man." 35:51 And I can testify to you 35:52 that was my impression 35:54 because I grew up believing that Jesus was, in our home, 35:58 my mom didn't say very nice things about Jesus. 36:01 Came, like I said, from a Jewish background, 36:04 and we thought Christians were the problem. 36:06 My Jewish relatives, they'd say, 36:08 "Oh, yeah, Jesus was, He was a good man. 36:10 He was a teacher." 36:11 And I would ask my grandfather, I'd say, 36:13 "Now you realize that He said He was the Messiah? 36:15 Do you think He told the truth?" 36:17 "Well, but, but, but..." 36:19 They'd say, "Oh, yeah, He was a good man. 36:20 He was a teacher. He was a prophet." 36:22 Well, He said He was The Son of God. 36:24 He said He was the only one. He's the only door. 36:28 And so they used to kind of stumble over that 36:30 so I was very antagonist about Jesus. 36:32 When I finally started reading the Bible 36:34 so I could argue with Christians, 36:36 I was amazed 36:38 because I had no Bible background. 36:39 I went to public school. 36:41 I even actually went to Catholic school. 36:43 Went to Catholic school here in Florida, 36:44 a couple of different catholic schools here in Florida, 36:46 went to Jewish school in New York City. 36:47 I'm all mixed up. 36:49 So I can relate to everybody here. 36:50 In military school, 36:52 you had to go to services Sunday. 36:53 Well, I didn't know what to do. 36:55 My mother was Jewish 36:56 so I'd sometimes go to the Jewish services. 36:58 My father was Protestant. 37:01 Sometimes I'd go to the Protestant services, 37:03 even though my parents were pretty much atheists. 37:05 And then sometimes they sent me to Catholic school. 37:07 I'd go to the Catholic services. 37:08 So I mean, I just, I kind of got pretty good exposure. 37:11 Who knew back then 37:12 the Lord was preparing me for this, right? 37:14 But I knew nothing about the Bible 37:16 because they never read the Bible. 37:19 And so when I finally started reading the Bible for myself, 37:23 and I'd read where it says, 37:25 "He that is without sin cast the first stone," 37:28 I'd heard that expression all my life. 37:30 I said, "Oh, Jesus said that." "Turn the other cheek." 37:34 "Oh, Jesus said that." "Go the second mile." 37:39 And all of these things, 37:40 I was reading in the Sermon on the Mount, I'm going, 37:42 "I've been hearing these things all my life. 37:43 I had no idea that Jesus said them." 37:46 I said, "Wow, He was really smart." 37:48 I mean, He just said, 37:50 He is the most quoted person in History. 37:51 Nobody ever spoke like this man spoke. 37:55 Now you look at the prophecies and the events 37:57 surrounding the cross. 37:59 Are there some of those in the Old Testament? 38:02 For one thing, 38:03 just the week before He was crucified, 38:05 they call it the "Triumphal Entry." 38:07 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter," 38:08 by the way, this is Zechariah 9:9, 38:10 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! 38:12 Shout, daughter of Jerusalem. 38:14 Behold, your King is coming to you. 38:17 He is just and having salvation, 38:19 lowly and riding on a donkey. 38:22 A colt, the foal of a donkey." 38:24 And then you go to the New Testament 38:25 and then you see the story where Jesus rode into Jerusalem 38:28 through the golden gate on a donkey, 38:31 just as had been foretold, with all the people rejoicing. 38:33 By the way, 38:35 a little amazing fact I'll throw in. 38:36 If you go to Jerusalem today, 38:38 you'll see this picture 38:39 of what they call the golden gate. 38:40 There's something odd about that. 38:42 It's all bricked up. 38:43 That is the gate that Jesus rode through. 38:47 You know why it's bricked up? 38:48 Because when the Muslims took Jerusalem, 38:52 they knew the Jewish prophecy said in Zechariah 38:55 the Messiah would ride through this gate. 38:57 They wanted to prevent that from happening. 38:59 So I think it was Suleiman the Magnificent, 39:01 He had it all blocked off. 39:02 And they put a cemetery in front of it 39:05 to desecrate the ground 39:06 to prevent the Jewish Messiah from coming, 39:09 but they were about 700 years too late. 39:11 Are there prophecies about the betrayal of Jesus? 39:14 Yes, quite a few. 39:16 Matter of fact, you can read in Psalms, 39:17 a thousand years before Jesus was born, 39:20 King David wrote, 39:22 "Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, 39:24 who ate my bread, 39:26 he has lifted up his heel against me." 39:29 After they ate bread together, 39:30 Judas went out and he betrayed Him. 39:34 And then again you read in Zechariah, it says, 39:36 and this is 11:12, 39:37 "Then I said to them, 'if it is agreeable to you, 39:40 give me my wages and if not, refrain.' 39:44 So they weighed out for my wages 39:46 thirty pieces of silver." 39:49 How much was Jesus sold for? 39:51 Thirty pieces of silver exactly, 39:53 and then it goes on to say, 39:55 "And the Lord said to me, 'Throw it to the potter, 39:58 ' that princely price that they set upon me. 40:00 So they took the thirty pieces of silver 40:02 and they threw them 40:04 into the house of the Lord to the potter." 40:05 You know what Judas did with the money 40:07 when he was overcome with guilt? 40:08 He went into the house of the Lord. 40:10 He threw the silver down. 40:11 They did not know what to do with the money 40:13 because it was blood money. 40:14 They used it to by a potter's field 40:16 to bury strangers in. 40:18 What precise details were foretold 40:20 hundreds of years earlier, 40:22 a thousand years earlier, 40:24 no, this one, hundreds of years earlier, 40:26 regarding the betrayal of Christ. 40:29 What about the manner of His death? 40:31 Was that foretold? 40:33 You realize when some of these prophecies were written, 40:35 they didn't practice crucifixion, 40:37 but you look in Psalm 22. 40:39 Do you know 40:40 what the first words are in Psalm 22? 40:42 "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" 40:45 Does that sound familiar? 40:47 That's what Jesus uttered from the cross. 40:48 People think, "Did He say that because He was discouraged?" 40:51 No, Jesus said that 40:53 because later in that Psalm 40:54 you find these other predictions. 40:56 Read in Psalm 22:16, 40:59 "For dogs have surrounded Me. 41:01 the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. 41:03 They pierced My hands and My feet." 41:06 Describing crucifixion. 41:08 It's in that same Psalm, that Messianic Passover Psalm, 41:13 where He says, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" 41:16 Christ had not lost courage. 41:17 He was directing them to the Psalm 41:19 that showed the very thing that was happening that day 41:21 as He hung upon the cross. 41:23 It says, "They divided my garments among them, 41:25 and they cast lots for my clothing." 41:28 What a precise detail. 41:30 And then you read, of course, in the New Testament there, 41:32 Mark 15:24, at the foot of the cross, 41:35 "When they crucified Him, they divided His garments, 41:38 casting lots for them 41:40 to determine what every man should take, " 41:43 gambling there at the foot of the cross. 41:46 "But when they came to Jesus," 41:48 it also says, 41:49 "None of His bones would be broken, " 41:50 in that prophecy in Psalm 22. 41:52 It says, "When they came to Jesus, " 41:54 after breaking the bones of the thief 41:55 on the right and the left, 41:57 "they saw He was already dead, 41:58 and they did not break His legs." 41:59 Notice, John goes on. 42:01 John quotes from the prophecy, 42:03 "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, 42:06 and immediately blood and water came out." 42:08 Talks about Christ, the Messiah, being pierced, 42:11 "blood and water came out." 42:12 But they did not break His bones. 42:14 It says, "For these things were done 42:15 that the Scripture should be fulfilled, 42:17 'Not one of His bones would be broken.'" 42:20 Even the Apostle John says, 42:21 "I am amazed looking back 42:23 at these Old Testament prophecies." 42:24 'Cause when the Apostle John read these things, 42:27 these prophecies were already hundreds, 42:29 if not thousands, of years old. 42:31 You and I are not the first ones 42:32 to read the Bible. 42:34 Now the New Testament was completed 42:35 by the Apostle John, 42:37 and there's been no addition since then to Scripture, 42:40 but they, in Jesus' time, they had a Bible too. 42:43 They had the Old Testament. 42:45 "And again another Scripture says, 42:47 'They'll look on Him whom they had pierced, '" 42:49 quoting again that Scripture. 42:51 Jesus was pierced. His bones were not broken. 42:52 He was crucified. They gambled for His clothing. 42:55 Was He the one? 42:57 Do the prophecies all talk about Jesus? 42:59 Now I told you, don't forget about Daniel. 43:02 We're going back now to Daniel Chapter 9 43:05 and I wanna take you back to that chart again. 43:07 We looked at the ministry of the Messiah. 43:10 We got one week to go. 43:11 And it says, 43:13 "After the sixty-two weeks Messiah will be cut off, 43:16 but not for Himself." 43:19 Was Jesus cut off? 43:21 And when a person dies of old age, 43:23 that's not being cut off, 43:24 but when they're 30 years old, 33 and 1/2, 43:30 He died in His prime. 43:32 He was cut off from the land of the living, 43:33 but not for Himself. 43:35 For who? 43:36 For me, for you. 43:38 He died for you as though you were the only one 43:40 who had ever sinned. 43:41 He loves you that much. 43:43 And then it said, 43:44 "He would confirm the covenant with many for one week." 43:46 So that last seven years from His baptism 43:50 until seven years later, 43:53 He is confirming the covenant with the Jewish people. 43:56 Three and a half years in person, 43:59 three and a half years through the apostles 44:02 until finally, the first Christian martyr, 44:05 which is Stephen, 44:06 he is tried by the Jewish Supreme Court for his faith. 44:09 They do the same thing to him they did to Jesus. 44:11 They bring him out of the city. 44:13 He's falsely accused, 44:15 and then he is executed 44:17 and he prays for the forgiveness 44:18 of those who kill Him, 44:19 the same thing Jesus did. 44:21 In the middle of the week, He pauses, 44:23 He makes the offering and the sacrifice to cease. 44:26 Three and a half years after Jesus was baptized, 44:29 when He dies on the cross, what happened in the temple? 44:32 You read in Matthew 27:50, 44:35 "Behold, the veil of the temple 44:36 was torn in two from top to bottom, 44:39 and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split." 44:42 And the veil of the temple is torn, 44:45 showing that the purpose 44:46 for that sanctuary was complete. 44:50 Jesus said, 44:51 "Destroy this temple made with hands. 44:53 In three days I will make one without hands." 44:54 He spoke of His body, the church. 44:57 Two things were torn. 44:58 The temple was torn 45:00 and the high priest tore His garments. 45:01 We now have a new priesthood. 45:03 If you are a believer in Christ, 45:05 then you are part of that royal priesthood, amen? 45:08 And we also have a new temple. 45:09 If you are a believer in Christ, 45:10 you are a living stone in that building. 45:12 That's what Paul and Peter say. We are the household of God. 45:15 Church is not a building. Church is the people. 45:18 Now go back, I want you to see the chart again. 45:21 And you notice here, 45:22 we got from the decree until the 69 weeks are complete, 45:28 you've got 483 years and 69 weeks, 45:31 or 483 days and a day is a year. 45:34 Christ is baptized 27 AD. 45:37 He confirms the covenant with God's people 45:39 for another week 45:40 before the gospel goes to the Gentiles. 45:43 Three and a half years in person, 45:46 then He dies and He causes the sacrifice to cease. 45:49 Then He does another 3 and 1/2 years 45:51 through those that Heard Him. 45:52 And you'll find this is in the Book of Hebrews. 45:56 We'll talk about that in just a moment. 45:58 When Christ is crucified, 45:59 "He makes His grave with the wicked, 46:01 and the rich in His death." 46:02 That's written by Isaiah 53:9, 46:07 700 years before He is born. 46:10 It foretells what's gonna happen there. 46:12 And it goes on and says, 46:14 "Because He had done no violence, 46:15 neither was there any deceit in His mouth," 46:18 it says, "He would not be left in the grave." 46:20 Psalm 16:10, 46:22 "You will not leave His soul in Hell." 46:24 Three days later, He came back. We know that He rose again. 46:27 I'm rushing along here. 46:29 I wanna go to this next verse in Hebrews 2:3, 46:33 where it says that, 46:34 "How shall we escape," notice this, 46:36 "How shall we escape 46:37 if we neglect so great a salvation, 46:40 which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, " 46:44 27 AD from His baptism, 46:45 began to preach for 3 and 1/2 years 46:48 until He was executed, 46:50 "and was confirmed to us by those that Heard Him." 46:54 For 3 and 1/2 years, 46:55 do you know, the Jews did not go 46:56 when Christ rose? 46:58 They did not go to the world yet. 46:59 He said, "First begin in Jerusalem and Judea." 47:04 Says, "Do not go, 47:05 but first to the lost sheep at the house of Israel." 47:08 The apostles' ministry for the first 3 and 1/2 years 47:10 was exclusively to the Jewish nation. 47:13 At Pentecost, 47:14 when the Holy Spirit is poured out, 47:16 it says, "There were devout Jews 47:17 dwelling in Jerusalem from every nation." 47:19 They preached to Jews. 47:21 In Acts Chapter 3, Acts Chapter 5, 47:22 they're all Jews being baptized. 47:24 It wasn't until Stephen was stoned, 47:26 it says, "A great persecution arose 47:28 and the gospel went everywhere." 47:31 Then Paul is converted following that 47:34 in the next chapter. 47:35 Peter then goes to Cornelius 47:36 and starts to preach to the Gentiles, 47:39 who he had been calling "unclean." 47:40 Finally, the gospel began to go to everyone. 47:43 That was exactly 490 years 47:46 after, as Daniel had said, that prophecy. 47:50 Stephen is stoned in 34 AD, 47:52 3 and 1/2 years after the cross. 47:54 So here you've got that chart. 47:55 I know I've been rushing. 47:57 I wanna just summarize this for you. 48:00 It says here, you've got the decree of 457. 48:04 The baptism of Jesus marks the last week of that prophecy. 48:08 First 3 and 1/2 years He confirms the covenant. 48:11 He then causes the sacrifice 48:12 to cease by His death on the cross. 48:14 Then He says to the disciples, 48:15 "As the Father sent me, 48:17 now you go confirm the covenant 48:19 with the lost sheep for another 3 and 1/2 years." 48:21 Stephen is stoned. 48:22 And He says, 48:24 "Now the gospel goes to the Gentiles and everybody." 48:26 "Whosoever will" 48:27 this is exactly what God said would happen. 48:30 There's no question that Jesus was the Messiah 48:32 that Daniel foretold. 48:34 And I've even got a quote here from Josephus, 48:36 the Jewish historian that, to me, it just blows me away. 48:39 Josephus, Flavius Josephus 48:41 was a contemporary of the apostles. 48:44 And he wrote this from the time of Christ, 48:48 "Now there was about this time a wise man, 48:52 if it be lawful to call Him a man, 48:54 for He was a doer of wonderful works, 48:57 and a teacher of such men 48:58 as receive the truth with pleasure. 49:01 He drew over to Him 49:02 both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. 49:05 He was the Christ." 49:06 This is coming from a Jewish scholar 49:08 who's not writing in the Bible. 49:11 It says, "And when Pilate, 49:13 at the suggestion of principal people among us, 49:17 had condemned Him to the cross, 49:19 those that love Him 49:20 at the first did not forsake Him. 49:22 For He appeared to them alive again after the third day." 49:27 So this is not just the Bible, friends. 49:29 This is history. 49:30 And even this Jewish historian says, 49:31 "Yeah, He was the Messiah. He appeared. 49:35 He rose from the dead." 49:37 "As the divine prophets had foretold these things 49:39 and ten thousand other wonderful things 49:42 concerning Him. 49:43 And the tribe of Christian continues with us. 49:46 And they're not extinct even to this day." 49:48 So I want you to consider what we've looked at Here. 49:50 There are prophecies that tell about the time of His birth, 49:53 that He'd be born of a virgin. 49:56 It tells us that the time of baptism, 50:01 the type of ministry, 50:02 the events of His betrayal, the manner of His execution, 50:06 His resurrection, His ascension. 50:07 This is all foretold in the Old Testament. 50:10 And the people say, 50:11 "Well, Pastor Doug, 50:13 we had a question they didn't read tonight. 50:14 How do you know the Bible's true and..." 50:17 What evidence will you accept? 50:20 What evidence will you accept? 50:21 The book has been supernaturally preserved. 50:23 Everything it says has come true, 50:26 and Jesus is the best evidence of all. 50:29 You start to put the pieces together, friends, 50:31 and you can see Jesus is what the whole Bible 50:33 is talking about, amen? 50:37 So why did He come? 50:39 Three quick reasons we're gonna review. 50:41 One, He came as our example. 50:44 Jesus, He said, 50:45 "I've given you an example 50:47 that you should walk as I've walked." 50:49 Jesus Christ came, and that, by the way, 50:52 is John 13:15, 50:54 "I want you to live as I've lived." 50:56 A Christian is a follower of Christ. 50:59 He came to show us The Father. 51:00 It's the second reason He came. 51:02 He said, "He who has seen Me has seen The Father." 51:06 And then finally, He said, 51:08 "I've come because I want to take your place." 51:11 He is our substitute. 51:13 He died as the sacrifice for our sins 51:15 because He loves us, 51:17 but there's something that we need to do. 51:19 We need to accept that sacrifice in our behalf. 51:24 You know, 51:25 when Jesus was being tried, Pilate said to Him, 51:28 "What am I supposed to do with Jesus, 51:30 who is called the Christ?" 51:32 Everyone really needs to answer that question. 51:34 He is the central figure of human history. 51:37 All of history dated from His birth. 51:40 You cannot just ignore Jesus. 51:42 He said, "If you're not with Me, 51:43 you're against Me." 51:45 There's no middle ground. 51:47 There's no Switzerland in this war 51:48 between good and evil. 51:50 Are you with Him? 51:51 You either accept Him and say, 51:53 "You are the Lord. I am gonna live for You. 51:55 I'm going to trust You to forgive my sins 51:57 and to give me a purpose for living," or not. 52:01 And to say, "I'm gonna wait on making that decision, " 52:04 is really to make a decision. 52:07 And we'd like to encourage people 52:08 to make that decision now. 52:10 God has given an incredible gift 52:13 that we might be forgiven. 52:15 I remember reading a story years ago about this, 52:18 a railway switch keeper in Prussia, over in Europe, 52:23 where they had this span that crossed a bridge, 52:26 a railroad track crossed a river 52:28 and there was a drawbridge. 52:30 And whenever the train was approaching, 52:32 it would toot its whistle 52:34 and he would raise this flag and said, 52:36 "All clear, keep going." 52:38 And one day, while he was at his station, 52:39 waiting for the train, 52:41 it tooted the whistle and he gave the all clear sign, 52:44 but that was also the day 52:46 that he had brought his 4-year-old son 52:47 with him to work, 52:49 and he had taken his eyes off his son 52:50 who had wandered out on the trestle 52:52 and he saw the train coming. 52:54 Knowing the speed of the train, 52:56 seeing how far out on the track his son was, 52:59 he thought, "What do I do? 53:01 If I leave the bridge up, 53:02 the train will go off 53:04 and all those people will perish in the river. 53:06 If I don't switch the train off the track, 53:10 my son's gonna perish." 53:12 And so he shouted out to his son, 53:14 "Lay down now, lay down and do not move." 53:18 And he knew the boy couldn't outrun the train. 53:21 And the boy just laid down. 53:23 The bridge went down. 53:25 The train went across the river, 53:27 and the man never knew, 53:29 and the people went by there, waving at the man in the booth. 53:32 They had no idea that, 53:34 what, the decision he had just made. 53:36 After the train passed, he ran out there, 53:38 expecting maybe to find 53:39 the mangled remains of his children. 53:41 His boy had obeyed and he was alive. 53:43 The whole train went over him. 53:46 Next day, the King of Prussia gave that man a reward 53:49 for being willing to sacrifice his son 53:52 to save all those people. 53:55 His son did not die. 53:57 You've probably heard variations of that story, 54:01 but it is true that 54:02 our Father gave His son and He did die. 54:05 And a lot of the world 54:06 doesn't even know as they go on their merry way 54:08 that they're alive today because of the grace of God 54:10 'cause the penalty for sin is death. 54:12 And why aren't these people all dead? 54:14 Because Jesus, by His sacrifice, 54:16 bought the human race time, 54:19 probation, to make a decision. 54:21 We've got just this life, one life, to make a decision. 54:25 That's why all the prophecies are there, 54:28 that you might have an encounter with Jesus. 54:31 And we wanna give you, and we wanna give you, 54:33 an opportunity to do that right now. 54:35 And those of you who are watching, 54:37 we've got a card. 54:38 We'd like to just pray for you. 54:39 And I'd like to encourage you, 54:41 you can download this card for free online, 54:45 to just make a decision tonight. 54:46 And we have ushers here 54:47 that'll pass out these cards for you 54:49 that are in our Spring Meadows auditorium. 54:52 Have you ever made a decision to accept Jesus? 54:55 We're gonna put some simple questions up there. 54:57 You can do that tonight 54:58 and you can have a personal relationship with Jesus. 55:02 First question is very simply, 55:05 "I believe that salvation comes only by grace 55:08 through faith in Jesus." 55:12 And you'll be getting your cards here, 55:13 but some of you watching 55:15 in your different groups and churches, you have these. 55:17 You can share them with the people attending. 55:19 If you believe that salvation only comes through faith 55:22 through the grace of Jesus, check that mark. 55:25 Make a decision. It does register in Heaven. 55:28 The next question, 55:30 "I want to repent of my sins 55:32 and surrender my life to Jesus." 55:34 If you want to be forgiven of your sins, 55:36 if you want the Lord to change your heart 55:37 and save you from sin, mark that. 55:39 You just come as you are and you ask Him. 55:42 And we'll be praying together. 55:45 Perhaps you're someone who once followed Jesus 55:47 and you've wandered away, 55:49 and we've got a statement there, 55:51 "I once followed Christ, 55:52 but I've drifted and I want to recommit my life to Jesus." 55:55 You know, 55:56 the Bible says you cannot live for the love of the world, 55:59 so mark that there. 56:01 Perhaps you've come, 56:03 you're a Christian and you just have some 56:04 special prayer. 56:05 We will be reading these cards. 56:07 You can write your prayer requests 56:08 on the back of your card 56:09 if you like for those that are local 56:11 or those who are attending with a group. 56:14 Write down your prayer requests. 56:16 Maybe you'd like to know more about what we're studying. 56:19 More of, "What does it mean to be a Christian? 56:21 And would someone please study, 56:22 or do you have some materials you can send to me?" 56:25 There's also information at the "Prophecy Encounter" 56:27 website that you can go to. 56:29 It's very simply prophecyencounter.com. 56:32 And you'll find out more there, 56:34 but the main reason we do these seminars 56:36 is because we want people to know 56:39 that the Bible is all about Jesus. 56:43 When Abraham went up the mountain with Isaac 56:45 and God said, 56:46 "Are you willing to give Me your son?" 56:50 He put the wood on Isaac's back. 56:52 The cross was placed on Jesus' back. 56:55 The father and the son 56:56 went to the mountaintop together. 56:59 Isaac was a willing sacrifice. 57:01 Jesus was a willing sacrifice. 57:04 Abraham was willing to give his son. 57:07 And that's the type of God who did give His son, 57:09 but when you read the Bible, 57:12 you're reading in the story of Joseph 57:13 and in the story of David and the story of Samuel 57:16 and Gideon, 57:18 it's all telling us about Jesus. 57:20 You're seeing shadows and a tapestry of Christ 57:22 all through this book 57:24 because God wants you to know them 57:26 and know Him 57:27 and have a personal relationship with His son. 57:29 You may feel a struggle going on 57:31 in your heart right now. 57:33 That's a battle between your God and your devil. 57:35 You can make a decision right now to say, 57:36 "Lord, I wanna surrender my life to You." 57:39 Matter of fact, before we go off the air, 57:40 would you please let me pray with you? 57:43 Father in heaven, 57:45 I know that people who are listening 57:47 are faced with that decision, 57:48 "What will I do with Jesus?" 57:50 You've shown Your love for us in that You so loved us, 57:53 You sent Your Son. 57:55 Help us to make a decision right now 57:57 to accept that incredible sacrifice, 58:00 to accept the forgiveness that You offer, 58:02 and Your grace to live a new life, 58:04 to be Your witnesses. 58:05 We thank You 58:06 and we pray that in Jesus' name, amen. |
Revised 2020-11-09