Participants:
Series Code: RST
Program Code: RST000020S
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00:14 Welcome to the last session on Friday afternoon.
00:20 Not the last session on Friday, 00:22 because I just want to remind you 00:24 that we have a meeting this evening at seven 00:26 from seven to eight. 00:27 You remember that, right? 00:28 Yes. 00:30 Okay, I had told you that we're going to begin 00:32 our study of the sixth trumpet this evening. 00:35 However, I changed my mind. 00:38 We're going to deal with Chapter 15 now. 00:42 And then we're going to do Chapter 16 this evening, 00:46 which is examining the subjects of the kingdom, 00:48 it all has to do with measuring the temple 00:51 with the investigative judgment, 00:52 taking over the kingdom, etc. 00:55 And I want that point to be absolutely clear. 00:58 And so we'll do number 15 now. 01:02 And this evening, we will do Chapter number 16, 01:06 which is the study of the parable of Matthew 22. 01:09 All right, are you ready? 01:11 Yes. 01:13 Very good. 01:14 The title of Chapter number 15 is the marriage, 01:18 the marriage supper, and possessing the kingdom. 01:23 So first of all, let's take a look 01:24 at the wedding customs in biblical times. 01:28 First of all, you have the betrothal. 01:33 What do we call that these days? 01:36 We call it the engagement 01:39 between the bride and the groom. 01:42 This event of the engagement took place 01:46 at the home of the bride's father 01:49 where the groom paid the dowry. 01:52 Okay, so the groom had to pay a dowry 01:54 to get the father's girl, you know, had to pay something, 02:00 that was the custom back then, 02:01 it might be a cow 02:02 or it might be a horse, you know. 02:05 Sometimes it was gold, sometimes silver. 02:08 But anyway, that's the first point. 02:11 The second point is that then the groom 02:14 would return to his father's house 02:18 to prepare the home, 02:21 where he would live with his bride 02:24 after the wedding, or after the marriage, 02:28 then during the period of preparation, 02:31 the bride would remain in her father's house, 02:34 preparing for the wedding. 02:37 So the groom would go to prepare a place, 02:40 and the bride would be preparing 02:41 for the place 02:43 if you please, does this sound familiar? 02:46 Kind of like John 14:1-3, right? 02:49 Then, when the place and the bride were ready, 02:54 the bridegroom would return to the bride's house 02:58 to take her to his father's house 03:02 where the wedding ceremony would take place. 03:07 Then, by the way, before the wedding took place, 03:11 it was necessary to examine the garments 03:14 of the invited guests. 03:16 Because if they didn't have the special garment 03:18 that was sent out ahead of time, 03:19 which would be the invitation card today. 03:23 Be nice if they gave you a whole garment 03:25 to invite you to a wedding, wouldn't it? 03:27 Especially if it's a nice garment. 03:29 But anyway, there was an examination 03:31 of the garments by the father of the groom, 03:36 to make sure that everybody that was there 03:38 present for the wedding 03:41 was officially invited to the wedding. 03:44 And then, of course, the wedding would take place 03:47 in the wedding chamber. 03:49 And finally after that came, 03:53 and this is a point that's not there, 03:54 but you can add it, 03:56 the reception or the banquet after the wedding. 04:00 By the way, the wedding was a short event, 04:05 but the party lasted a long time. 04:09 So that is basically a summary 04:13 of wedding customs in Scripture. 04:16 And, of course, in the Parable of the Ten Virgins 04:18 you also have bridesmaids 04:20 that if the wedding takes place at night, 04:23 then you know they light the way to the wedding chamber. 04:28 So let's take a look at what the Scripture say 04:32 about the wedding customs. 04:34 We're on page 330 of our study notes. 04:40 We're all acquainted 04:42 with the Parable of the Ten Virgins, right? 04:46 Jesus instructed His individual followers, 04:51 now listen carefully, 04:53 He instructed His individual followers 04:57 to be ready to go with Him 04:59 into the wedding chamber as what? 05:04 As invited guests, that's an important point. 05:08 In other words, 05:10 the bridesmaids are not the bride. 05:15 Are they? 05:17 They actually light the way to the place 05:20 where the wedding is going to take place. 05:22 That's a very important point 05:25 that in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, 05:28 the individual followers are ready to go with him 05:32 to the wedding chamber, and they are not the bride. 05:36 They are invited guests to the wedding. 05:41 And we're going to find what that means. 05:44 The second place in Scripture that we need to take a look at 05:47 for wedding customs is Matthew 22:1-14. 05:51 And we're going to study this parable 05:53 in detail in our session this evening. 05:57 The groom's father sent out an invitation 06:00 to the wedding, 06:02 with a special garment for each guest 06:05 who was invited to the wedding. 06:08 Once in the wedding chamber, 06:10 once all of the guests were in the wedding chamber, 06:13 the father then would come out and examine 06:16 the garment of the guests 06:20 to see if they had a right to be there 06:24 present for the wedding. 06:26 Once again, I want you to notice 06:30 that those who have the wedding garment 06:31 are not the bride. 06:35 Those who have the wedding garment 06:36 are the guests to the wedding. 06:39 They are not the bride. 06:41 Is this clear? 06:43 We're going to study this more, as I mentioned this evening. 06:47 Those that did not had the wedding garment, 06:50 what happened with them? 06:52 They were cast out of the wedding chamber 06:54 into outer darkness, 06:58 where they would wail and gnash their teeth 07:04 for not having been able to remain 07:06 in the wedding hall. 07:08 And we're going to examine some of these verses 07:10 a little bit later on in this presentation. 07:14 Once the father of the groom 07:17 had examined the garments of the guests, 07:22 and the unworthy guests 07:24 had been cast out of the wedding chamber 07:27 into outer darkness, 07:28 then the wedding took place. 07:31 In other words, 07:32 once the separation had been made 07:34 between those who were worthy to be 07:37 in the wedding chamber and those who were not, 07:40 at that moment the door closes. 07:43 And when the door closes, then you have the wedding. 07:48 Are you following me or not? 07:51 Now in Revelation 19:9, 07:55 let's read Revelation 19:9. 07:59 We'll come back to it a little bit later also. 08:02 Revelation 19:9 says, "Then he said to me, 'Write, 08:07 Blessed are those who are called 08:10 to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' 08:13 And he said to me, 08:14 'These are the true saints of God.'" 08:18 So once again, 08:20 an angel pronounces a blessing upon whom? 08:24 The bride? 08:26 No, he doesn't pronounce a blessing upon the bride, 08:30 although undoubtedly she's blessed. 08:32 Who is the blessing pronounced upon? 08:35 Those who are in the kingdom... 08:38 King James, the New King James says 08:40 blessed are those who are called 08:41 to the marriage supper, 08:43 but really, it is those who are what? 08:46 Invited to the wedding supper. 08:50 So an angel pronounces a blessing 08:53 upon the invited guests, 08:55 to the marriage supper of the Lamb. 08:58 The bride, which is the church as a whole. 09:03 There's a little nuance here that is very important. 09:06 Who is the bride? 09:08 The entire church, 09:10 all of those who have been proved worthy 09:13 to be followers of Jesus. 09:16 So the bride, 09:17 the church as a whole was ready, 09:20 clothed in fine linen, bright and pure, 09:24 which are the righteous deeds of the saints. 09:28 And this is an indication 09:30 that they were judged by their what? 09:33 By their works, that were written in the books. 09:37 They know, wait a minute, Pastor Bohr, 09:40 you say that a person is going to be 09:41 judged by their works? 09:44 Yes. 09:46 Well, isn't that salvation by works? 09:49 No. 09:51 You see, we are saved by grace through faith. 09:58 But we are judged by works according to the New Testament, 10:02 because our works show 10:05 if our faith is genuine. 10:09 Words are cheap, in other words. 10:13 So this group is judged by their works. 10:18 Notice verse 8, 10:19 "And to her was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, 10:22 clean and bright, 10:23 for the fine linen is the righteous acts 10:26 of the," what? 10:27 "The righteous acts of the saints." 10:31 Then you have Luke 12:35-37. 10:33 We're going to come back to all of these texts later on. 10:36 And we're going to give a composite picture, 10:37 but I just want you to have in mind the texts for now. 10:42 The Bible makes it clear 10:44 that the wedding takes place where? 10:47 In heaven after Jesus returns. 10:54 Are you there? 10:56 It's been a long day. 10:59 The wedding takes place where? 11:02 In heaven 11:03 before Jesus returns the second time. 11:08 However, many modern versions, 11:12 for example, the NIV and the ESV, 11:15 which is the English Standard Version, 11:17 give us the impression that Jesus will come to earth 11:20 to gather His people 11:22 after the marriage feast has ended. 11:29 Is that true? 11:31 Jesus is going to come and get His bride when, 11:36 according to this, the feast, the wedding feast is ended, 11:39 the reception has ended. 11:42 Well, then the bride missed the feast. 11:44 The bride missed the reception. 11:47 These translations are confusing 11:50 because other texts clearly affirm 11:52 that Jesus will literally sit with His people 11:58 at the supper table in His Kingdom, 12:00 after He has come for them. 12:04 Correct. 12:05 Let's read Matthew 8:11 and 12. 12:09 Matthew 8:11 and 12. 12:13 There it's very clear. 12:16 Says, 12:17 "And I say to you that many will come 12:19 from east and west, 12:21 and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 12:23 in the kingdom of heaven. 12:27 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out 12:30 into outer darkness. 12:31 There will be," what? 12:33 "Weeping and gnashing of teeth." 12:35 So are we going to sit at the table 12:39 with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? 12:41 Yes, we are. 12:43 So the question is this. 12:46 When is the marriage supper 12:48 and does it take place before Jesus comes 12:52 for His own or after? 12:57 Well, we have to look at all of Scripture 13:00 in order to get a clear picture of the chronology. 13:05 You remember we looked at Daniel 7:13 and 14. 13:11 Let's go back there again. 13:13 Daniel 7:13 and 14. 13:18 This is after the work of the little horn. 13:22 So it's after the year, sometime after the year 1798. 13:27 And after you have the lion, the bear the leopard, 13:30 the dragon beast, the ten horns, 13:32 a little horn which ends in 1798. 13:35 So sometime after 1798, 13:37 which Daniel 8 tells us is 1844, 13:40 according to what we've already studied. 13:43 Something happens. 13:45 And instead of going to verse 13 and 14, 13:47 let's go first of all to verse 9, 13:49 "I watched till thrones were put in place, 13:51 And the Ancient of Days was seated, 13:53 His garment was white as snow, 13:54 and the hair of His head was like pure wool. 13:57 His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire, 14:00 a fiery stream issued and came from before Him. 14:03 A thousand thousands ministered to Him: 14:05 ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. 14:08 The court was seated and the books were open." 14:11 So what is going to begin here? 14:13 The judgment. 14:15 So is the judgment sometime after 1798? 14:18 Sure, because Daniel 7 is in chronological order. 14:22 Lion, bear, leopard, dragon beast, ten horns, little horn, 14:26 and then the judgment. 14:29 So why does the Father sit and open the books, 14:36 who is going to be examined? 14:38 All of those who profess the name of Jesus. 14:41 Now notice verses 13 and 14, 14:45 so the father moves into the most holy place. 14:49 And then you'll notice that Jesus follows Him. 14:54 "I was watching in the night visions, 14:55 and behold, 14:56 one like the Son of Man, coming," 15:00 who's the Son of Man? 15:01 "Jesus, 15:02 "coming with the clouds of heaven, 15:04 coming to, " where? 15:05 "With the clouds of heaven." 15:07 See the Millerites, 15:08 they didn't read this carefully. 15:09 They thought that this referred to the Second Coming of Christ. 15:12 But it says, 15:14 "Coming with the clouds of heaven, 15:15 and he came to," where? 15:17 "To the Ancient of Days." 15:19 Where was the Ancient of Days, on earth or in heaven? 15:22 In heaven. 15:23 "And they brought Him near before Him." 15:25 So why does Jesus now come to where the Father sat 15:28 and the books are opened for the judgment? 15:30 What is the purpose of the opening of the books 15:32 for the judgment? 15:34 Verse 14 says, "Then to Him," to whom? 15:38 "To Jesus, was given," who gave it? 15:41 The father. 15:42 "Dominion and glory and a," what? 15:44 "Kingdom." 15:45 What does Jesus go before the Father for? 15:48 To get the kingdom 15:50 which is, by the way, 15:51 the same thing as marrying His bride. 15:53 Two different metaphors. 15:56 Verse 14, 15:58 "Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a," what? 16:04 "Kingdom, that all peoples, nations, 16:06 and languages should serve Him. 16:08 His dominion is an everlasting dominion, 16:11 which shall not pass away, 16:12 and His kingdom 16:13 the one which shall not be destroyed." 16:17 Where does the Son of Man receive the kingdom? 16:22 In heaven, is that clear? 16:26 Crystal clear. 16:28 He goes to the Father in heaven to receive the kingdom. 16:31 In other words, to marry His bride. 16:35 And what is His bride? 16:38 The totality of the faithful 16:40 that have been proved faithful in the investigative judgment. 16:44 Now, Luke 19 helps us understand Daniel 7. 16:48 Luke 19:11 and 12, 16:55 "Now as they heard these things, 16:57 He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem 17:01 and because they thought 17:02 the kingdom of God will appear, " when? 17:05 Does that sound like the Millerites? 17:09 The kingdom is coming now. 17:13 But now He's going to dash their hopes. 17:17 "Therefore, He said, 17:18 'A certain noble man went into a far country," 17:23 where's the far country? 17:25 Heaven. 17:27 Who is the noble man? 17:29 Jesus. 17:31 So the noble man Jesus went into a far country, 17:35 that's heaven, and what was what purpose? 17:39 "To receive for Himself a," what? 17:42 "A kingdom and return." 17:48 So when does He receive the kingdom? 17:51 When He comes and actually takes it? 17:53 No. 17:54 He receives the kingdom and then He what? 17:58 And then He comes, does that square with Daniel 7? 18:02 He goes to the Ancient of Days, 18:04 the Ancient of Days gives Him what? 18:07 Gives Him the kingdom. 18:09 Now because the Lamb's bride is the New Jerusalem, 18:14 the capital and symbol of his kingdom, 18:18 we can know for sure 18:19 that the receiving of the kingdom from His Father 18:22 and marrying His bride 18:24 are two complementary ways of saying the same thing. 18:31 Are you with me? 18:33 Jesus marries His bride, and receives the kingdom when? 18:40 Before His Second Coming. 18:43 Ellen White makes this perceptive statement, 18:47 Early Writings page 280. 18:50 The context is when probation closes. 18:54 What happens when probation closes? 18:56 Every case had been decided for life or death. 19:02 So has humanity been separated into two groups? 19:05 Yes. 19:07 What separates humanity into two groups? 19:11 The judgment. 19:13 While Jesus had been ministering 19:15 in the sanctuary, 19:17 the judgment had been going on for the righteous dead, 19:22 and then for the righteous living. 19:25 So when probation closes has everybody, 19:28 whoever claimed the name of Jesus been judged? 19:31 Yes. 19:34 Now notice, Christ had received His what? 19:40 His kingdom, where? 19:44 In heaven. 19:46 Because it says here, 19:48 while Jesus had been ministering 19:50 in the sanctuary, which sanctuary? 19:53 In heaven, 19:54 the judgment had been going on for the righteous dead 19:56 and then for the righteous living. 19:58 Where does that judgment take place? 20:00 In heaven, 20:02 and what did He, what did He receive in heaven? 20:04 Christ had received His what? 20:06 His kingdom, 20:08 having made the atonement for His people 20:11 and blotted out their sins. 20:13 Now notice what the kingdom is. 20:16 The subjects of the kingdom were made up. 20:21 See, the kingdom is not just something nebulous, 20:24 it's not a thing, it's the people. 20:27 That is the kingdom. 20:30 And now notice what she says, 20:32 "The king, the subjects of the kingdom are made up. 20:35 The marriage of the Lamb was consummated." 20:39 So when he receives the kingdom, 20:41 is that when the wedding takes place? 20:43 Yes. 20:46 And the kingdom, 20:48 and the greatness of the kingdom, 20:49 under the whole heaven, 20:51 was given to Jesus and the heirs of salvation 20:55 and Jesus was to reign as King of kings, 20:59 and Lord of lords. 21:03 Then at the bottom of page 331, 21:06 in 2 Corinthians 11:2, 21:10 Paul stated that he had what? 21:13 That he had engaged the church to Christ as a pure bride. 21:19 So when Jesus comes here, He what? 21:22 You have the engagement. 21:25 And in Ephesians 5:25-27, 21:29 Paul wrote that Christ died 21:30 to make it possible for the church, 21:34 or the bride, eventually to be what? 21:38 Without spot and without blemish. 21:43 Now we've examined the key verses. 21:47 So now we want to look at the composite picture, 21:49 how all of these verses fit together? 21:54 So let's go to page 332. 21:57 Page 332. 22:02 In 1844, 22:04 Jesus came to the Father to begin the process 22:08 that would eventually make it possible 22:10 for Him to receive the kingdom, 22:12 or to marry His bride, 22:14 which is the church as a whole. 22:17 So in 1844, what did Jesus begin to do? 22:21 He began to show 22:22 who are the subjects of His kingdom, 22:24 who belongs to His bride. 22:27 See, the bride is His corporate people. 22:29 The kingdom is His corporate people. 22:32 The guests are the individuals of the people. 22:38 Since 1844, what has been happening? 22:41 The king has been examining the garments of each person. 22:46 What do garments represent? 22:49 They represent character, righteousness, right? 22:53 So what is the purpose of the judgment? 22:55 To examine if people have the righteousness of Christ. 22:59 So since 1844, 23:00 the king has been examining the garments of each person, 23:04 individually, 23:06 who has claimed Jesus as Savior. 23:09 These persons as individuals are what? 23:14 The invited guests to the wedding. 23:17 However, the people as a whole, 23:20 the faithful church in its entirety 23:24 are Christ's betrothed bride or kingdom. 23:27 Is this point clear? 23:30 It's important 23:32 because in the Parable of the Ten Virgins, 23:35 do you have guests to the wedding? 23:38 Yes. 23:40 Did Jesus marry the guests? 23:43 No, the guests are invited to the wedding. 23:46 But who is Jesus going to marry? 23:49 The totality of the church. 23:52 Now notice this statement 23:53 from Christ's Object Lessons, page 307. 23:57 The parable of the wedding garment 23:59 opens before us a lesson of the highest consequence. 24:03 By the marriage is represented what? 24:06 The union of humanity with divinity. 24:10 That's a corporate group. 24:13 The wedding garment represents the character 24:17 which all must possess, 24:19 who shall be accounted fit guests to the wedding. 24:24 Are the guests different than the bride? 24:27 Yes, 24:29 but are the guests individually part of the bride? 24:36 You really don't usually think this way, 24:38 but this is the way it's presented in the Bible. 24:41 Now, not everyone who has claimed 24:44 Jesus as Savior has been true and faithful. 24:52 The purpose of the judgment is to separate 24:54 the genuine from the counterfeit. 24:56 Let me ask you this. 24:58 In the church, are there good and bad fish? 25:04 Yes, some, some smell by their actions, 25:09 by their works. 25:12 You remember Jesus told the Parable of the Fish, 25:15 it's in Matthew Chapter 13. 25:18 And there are several symbols in this. 25:21 First of all, there's the fishermen. 25:23 Who are the fishermen. 25:25 Or as the politically correct say, 25:27 who are the anglers? 25:33 Who are the fishermen? 25:36 We are. 25:39 What is the net? 25:40 The gospel. 25:42 What does it mean to throw out the net? 25:45 You're preaching the gospel, right? 25:48 What is represented by the fish? 25:53 People. 25:54 And what about the sea, 25:56 the place where the fish swim, the world. 26:02 And what does the boat represent? 26:06 The church. 26:09 So the fishermen they go, and they throw the net, 26:13 and when they bring in the net, it has only good fish. 26:21 I wish I could say so. 26:23 But that's not true. 26:24 You know, when I was a kid, 26:26 my parents used to take us on vacation 26:29 to what used to be a pristine island state 26:32 in Venezuela, the island of Margarita. 26:36 And one thing that we would love to do 26:38 was to go to a certain beach 26:42 to see the fishermen come in 26:44 at about 4 o'clock in the morning. 26:47 They would bring in their nets 26:50 and they had 26:51 all sorts of marine animal in the nets. 26:54 They had little sharks, they had starfish, 26:57 they had a fish that they called the frog, 27:03 sapo in Spanish. 27:06 It was this fish that had a kind of brown 27:09 with black spots, 27:11 it had a huge head with whiskers ends. 27:13 And it was like, 27:14 kind of like a catfish that had the little, 27:17 you know, the little prickers, 27:20 you know that will actually sting you. 27:24 And it had a real, real slender, 27:26 short body just look like a pollywog, 27:30 only a great big one. 27:32 And so they brought in 27:33 all different kinds of marine animals. 27:35 And then when they got to the shore, 27:37 they had baskets, 27:39 and they would put the good fish in one basket 27:42 to take the market and the other fish, 27:45 they would put it in in baskets to discard. 27:49 So let me ask you, 27:51 does the church have good and bad fish? 27:53 So what has to happen? 27:55 God is going to take all the bad fish to heaven too? 27:58 No. 28:00 There has to be a work of separation. 28:01 What is that? The judgment. 28:05 Let me ask you, 28:07 does the church have good and foolish virgins, 28:09 wise and foolish virgins? 28:11 Do the foolish virgins claim to serve the Lord? 28:14 Do they claim to belong to Jesus? 28:16 Yes, they have lamps. 28:19 And they're waiting for, 28:20 they're waiting for the groom to come. 28:24 But five are foolish. 28:26 In the church is their wheat and tares? 28:31 Do the tares claim to have a right to be there? 28:34 Do they look like the wheat? 28:36 Yes. 28:38 Is the church filled with people 28:40 who have the form of godliness, 28:42 but don't have true godliness? 28:45 Absolutely. 28:47 Are there in the church those who say, Lord, Lord, 28:52 didn't we prophesy in Your name? 28:54 Didn't we cast out demons in Your name? 28:57 Did we do all kinds of miracles in Your name? 28:59 And Jesus is going to say, 29:01 "Yeah, come right in here." 29:03 No, He's going to say, 29:06 "I don't know you?" 29:08 Did they claim to follow Him? 29:10 Yes. I don't know you. 29:12 Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. 29:16 See the works have something to do with this. 29:18 Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. 29:24 So what does Jesus do in the judgment 29:27 before the Second Coming? 29:28 The purpose of the judgment is to reveal to the universe 29:31 who He has a right to take to heaven. 29:36 Why doesn't He judge the wicked at the same time? 29:38 Very simple, 29:40 because He has to determine who He can take to heaven 29:42 because when He comes, He's going to take them. 29:45 So before that He has to show 29:46 that He has a right to take them. 29:48 He doesn't have to judge the wicked 29:50 because they're going to be left behind. 29:52 They can be taken care of later. 29:56 Are you with me? 29:58 So let's go to the middle of the page. 30:01 Not everyone who has claimed Jesus as Savior 30:04 has been true and faithful. 30:07 Those who are found without a wedding garment 30:09 in the judgment 30:10 will be removed from the Book of Life. 30:14 And when the last case has been examined, 30:18 the bride or the kingdom is purged, 30:21 pure and faithful, 30:23 and ready for what? 30:26 Ready for the wedding. 30:28 The bride, the church in its entirety 30:31 has now made herself what? 30:33 Ready for Him, and Jesus will what? 30:37 Marry her, which is the same as what? 30:41 Taking over the kingdom. 30:42 The moment 30:44 that Jesus receives the kingdom, what happens? 30:47 The door of the wedding chamber is shut. 30:53 In the Parable of the Ten Virgins, 30:54 the shut door 30:56 is not the Second Coming of Christ. 30:58 Because after the door shuts, 30:59 the foolish virgin still have a chance 31:01 to go and try and get oil but they can't find it. 31:04 This is the time of trouble. 31:05 Probation has closed. 31:07 Ellen White says that, 31:08 that during the time of trouble, 31:09 some people will confess their sins with agony. 31:13 All to no avail. 31:17 So the chamber is shut 31:19 and any guests who arrive late 31:21 are found unprepared and unworthy. 31:24 And those who are in the wedding chamber 31:25 without the wedding garment will be cast out. 31:30 Now after the wedding in heaven is finished, 31:33 what's going to take place? 31:35 We've looked at this, the chronology. 31:38 A terrible time of trouble ensues for the bride. 31:44 It looks like 31:47 the wicked are going to destroy the bride. 31:52 Does Jesus take this personally? 31:56 Said, "Don't mess with My wife." 32:00 And so what is Jesus going to do 32:02 at the end of the time of trouble? 32:04 He's going to come to deliver His people. 32:10 Correct. 32:11 He's going to return to the earth 32:14 to rescue her from certain annihilation. 32:19 And then what is Jesus going to do? 32:21 He's going to gather His kingdom or His bride, 32:25 which He has married in absentia in heaven. 32:31 He takes them to where? 32:34 To the Father's house. 32:36 And you know, 32:37 I think sometimes we misunderstand 32:39 John 14:1-3. 32:41 You know, we usually think of Jesus 32:44 making a real beautiful place for us to live. 32:46 And I'm not denying that that could be, 32:49 that could definitely be something 32:51 that Jesus is going to do. 32:53 But there's a deeper lesson here in John 14:1-3. 32:57 Jesus says, 32:58 "Let not your heart be troubled. 33:00 You believe in God, believe also in Me." 33:02 In my Father's house are many mansions, 33:05 better translation is many rooms. 33:08 So is He expecting a lot of people? 33:10 Yeah. 33:11 If it were not so, I would have told you, 33:14 I go to prepare a place for you. 33:18 Notice that He didn't go to make mansions 33:21 because Jesus said, 33:22 "In My Father's house are many mansions." 33:25 Now not that we're not going to live 33:27 in mansion, 33:28 we're going to live in some nice mansions there, 33:30 much better than what we have here. 33:34 So then He says, 33:35 I got to prepare a place for you. 33:38 How does Jesus prepare the place for us? 33:40 Primarily by His work in the sanctuary, 33:43 by His intercession and the work of judgment. 33:46 And if I go and prepare a place for you, 33:48 I will what? 33:49 I will come again 33:51 and receive you to Myself that where I am, 33:54 there you may be also. 33:55 So then He takes His bride home 33:58 and that what is the last point that we have? 34:01 Then you have the party. 34:05 Then you have the reception. 34:08 Let's notice, Adventist Home, page 503. 34:13 Ellen White corroborates this perspective. 34:16 The mind of Jesus... 34:17 To the mind of Jesus, 34:19 the gladness of the wedding festivities, 34:22 pointed forward to the rejoicing of that day 34:26 when he shall what? 34:28 Bring home His bride to where? 34:32 To the Father's house, 34:34 and the redeemed with the Redeemer 34:36 shall sit down 34:38 to the marriage supper of the Lamb. 34:43 Now, Luke 12:35-37, very important passage. 34:49 Here Jesus is speaking to His disciples. 34:53 And He says, 34:55 "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning." 35:00 What does this make you think of, 35:01 be girded and lamps burning? 35:03 The Parable of the Ten Virgins, right? 35:07 Who is He speaking to? 35:09 His disciples. 35:11 And you yourselves be like men who wait for the master, 35:15 when He will return from the wedding. 35:19 What is He saying to His disciples? 35:21 Gird yourselves, have your lamps burning, 35:23 for when I what? 35:25 Return from the wedding. 35:26 So where does the wedding take place? 35:29 In heaven. 35:32 That when He comes and knocks, 35:34 they may open to Him immediately. 35:37 Blessed are those servants whom the master when He what? 35:41 When He comes will find watching. 35:44 So where are God's people going to be watching? 35:46 On earth. 35:49 And where does the Master marry His bride? 35:52 In heaven. 35:53 And then comes the reception. 35:55 Assuredly I say to you, 35:57 that He will gird himself 35:59 and have them sit down to eat, 36:02 and He will come and serve them. 36:04 Imagine that, Jesus becomes the waiter. 36:09 And we become the clients. 36:11 Only we don't have to pay. 36:14 Notice this beautiful statement from Ellen White 36:17 on what the reception is going to be like. 36:19 Councils to the Church, page 36. 36:21 "Soon we heard His lovely voice again, 36:24 saying, 'Come My people, 36:28 you have come out of Great Tribulation, 36:31 and done My will, suffered for Me. 36:35 Come into the supper, 36:38 for I will gird Myself and serve you.'" 36:41 We shouted, 36:42 seeing this envision as if she's there. 36:45 We shouted hallelujah, glory 36:49 and entered into the city. 36:52 I saw a table of pure silver, 36:55 it was many miles in length, 36:58 yet our eyes could extend over it. 37:03 And now she saw all California products. 37:09 I saw the fruit of the tree of life. 37:11 Well, that's not a California product. 37:14 The manna, the almonds, 37:17 figs, pomegranates, grapes, 37:22 and for those of you who like mangoes and papayas, 37:24 she says I saw them, 37:26 she says and many other kinds of fruit. 37:32 That's what it's going to be like. 37:35 And Jesus is going to come and serve us. 37:38 No potato chips. 37:45 A vegan diet. 37:49 Now we need to solve a problem that we have here. 37:55 We're going to read first of all 37:56 from the New King James Version, 37:58 Luke 12:35-37. 38:00 And you're going to immediately see, 38:02 when we compare the NIV that we have a problem here. 38:07 It says there in the New King James version 38:09 of Luke 12:35-37, 38:11 "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning, 38:13 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, 38:17 when he will return from the," what? 38:19 "From the wedding, 38:22 that when he comes and knocks 38:24 they may open to him immediately. 38:27 Blessed are those servants whom the master, 38:30 when he comes, will find watching. 38:32 Assuredly I say to you 38:33 that he will gird himself 38:35 and have them sit down to eat, 38:37 and will come and serve them." 38:40 So in the passage in the New King James Version, 38:43 He returns from the what? 38:45 From the wedding. 38:47 But now notice what, 38:48 how the NIV has it and by the way, 38:50 many other modern versions as well. 38:53 "Be dressed, 38:54 ready for service 38:57 and keep your lamps burning 38:59 like men waiting for their master 39:02 to return from a wedding banquet." 39:06 Are you seeing the problem? 39:08 So that when he comes and knocks, 39:10 they can immediately open the door for him. 39:13 It will be good for those servants 39:15 whose master finds them watching when he comes. 39:18 I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve. 39:22 We'll have them recline at the table 39:24 and we'll come and wait on them. 39:27 Are you seeing the issue? 39:30 It will be noticed that in the NIV 39:33 and many other contemporary versions, 39:35 Jesus returns to the earth 39:38 from the heavenly wedding banquet 39:43 to gather His waiting people. 39:45 In other words, 39:46 the wedding banquet takes place before Jesus 39:49 comes to take His people to heaven, 39:51 according to the NIV. 39:53 However, in the New King James Version, 39:55 Jesus returns from the wedding, 39:58 not the banquet to gather His people. 40:01 Which translation makes more sense 40:04 and fits best with all the biblical evidence? 40:07 Now we're going to do a little bit of a word study. 40:11 In Greek, the words used for marriage, 40:15 which are gamos and gamoe 40:18 include both the wedding and the wedding feast. 40:23 So a New Testament Greek, when it uses gamos and gamoe, 40:26 it includes both, the wedding and the feast. 40:30 In our times, we make a what? 40:33 A mark distinction 40:35 between the wedding and the reception. 40:37 I personally enjoy the reception most. 40:40 There's lots of good food. 40:43 However, in biblical times, 40:46 the covenant vow took very little time. 40:50 While the feast was a major community event, 40:53 that would last hours, 40:55 and even days and in some cases weeks. 40:59 Thus, the wedding was simply a brief ceremony 41:02 with a celebration 41:03 that was a big feast afterwards. 41:07 The Greek language, this is an important point, 41:10 the Greek language did not have a word 41:11 that distinguishes 41:14 between the wedding and the feast 41:15 as we do today. 41:17 Today we say wedding and what? 41:19 Reception. 41:21 The Greek did not have a word 41:23 that distinguishes between these two, 41:26 because people perceive 41:27 both to be phases of the same event. 41:31 Although the Greeks did not have a common word 41:34 for the vow or the wedding, 41:36 as distinguished from the feast, 41:39 they did have a word for the feast alone, 41:43 when that is what they wish to emphasize. 41:46 So there was one for the feast alone. 41:50 That word appears in Revelation 19:9, 41:54 where the saints are invited to the what? 41:57 To the wedding feast. 42:00 Therefore the process is as follows. 42:03 Jesus will marry His kingdom, 42:05 or His or receive His kingdom rather 42:08 and marry His church where? 42:10 In heaven. 42:12 This is what portion of the marriage ceremony? 42:15 It is the vow, or the marriage itself. 42:19 Jesus will then return from the wedding in heaven 42:22 to take His waiting people 42:26 on earth to the heavenly feast or reception. 42:32 This is making sense. 42:35 Let's read the note. 42:37 The bride is the church or kingdom as a whole, 42:40 while the church members as individuals are the guests. 42:44 We'll notice this in our study this evening. 42:47 The bride or kingdom is what? 42:51 The New Jerusalem. 42:52 So Jesus is going to marry brick and mortar. 43:01 What did we say about Jerusalem? 43:03 Jesus said, "Oh, Jerusalem! Jerusalem!" 43:06 Who kills the prophets? 43:08 So brick and mortar killed Jesus. 43:10 I'm being facetious to make a point. 43:13 What is Jerusalem? 43:15 It's not primarily the city, the physical city, but what? 43:19 The people. 43:21 So the bride or kingdom is the New Jerusalem, 43:25 the symbol 43:27 of Christ's entire human kingdom. 43:30 Individual members of the city are not the city itself, 43:33 but the residents who have homes there. 43:38 Ellen White understood this very clearly. 43:41 Notice Early Writings, 279 and 280. 43:46 "I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven, 43:50 an angel with the writers in corn by his side, 43:53 returned from the earth 43:55 and reported to Jesus that His work was done, 43:58 and the saints were numbered and sealed. 44:02 Then I saw Jesus who had been ministering 44:04 before the ark 44:05 containing the Ten Commandments. 44:07 What does He do? 44:09 Is that the second part of the introductory vision? 44:12 Number that, the very, the first couple of lectures 44:15 we dealt with the introductory vision 44:17 that says, 44:19 first the censer is interceding 44:20 and then the censer is slowing down. 44:23 So she says that He saw, 44:26 she saw Him throw down the censer. 44:29 He raised His hands, 44:31 and with a loud voice said what? 44:32 It is done. What does that mean? 44:35 Probation is closed. 44:36 Then all the angelic hosts laid off their crowns 44:39 as Jesus made the solemn declaration, 44:42 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still.'" 44:46 Does that sound pretty final? 44:49 "He which is filthy, let him be filthy still." 44:53 In other words, 44:54 there's no chance here not to get clean. 44:57 "And he that is righteous, 44:58 let him be righteous still 45:00 and he that is holy, let him be holy still." 45:04 What does that describe? 45:07 The close of probation. 45:09 Now, we already read 45:11 the quotation in Early Writings, 45:13 279 and 280. 45:16 Let's read it again. 45:18 Because there're some very important points. 45:20 Every case had been decided for life or death, 45:24 while Jesus had been ministering 45:26 in the sanctuary... 45:28 Is probation open 45:30 when He's ministering in the sanctuary? 45:31 Yes. 45:32 What had Jesus been doing? 45:34 The judgment had been going on, for the righteous dead, 45:37 and then for whom? 45:39 For the righteous living. 45:41 Christ had received His what? 45:44 So when does Jesus receive the kingdom? 45:46 When every case has been decided. 45:49 So Christ had received His kingdom, 45:51 having made the atonement for His people 45:53 and blotted out their sins. 45:55 The subjects of His kingdom were made up. 45:57 In other words, His bride is now what? 46:00 Complete. 46:02 The marriage of the Lamb was consummated, 46:05 and the kingdom 46:06 and the greatness of the kingdom 46:07 under the whole heaven, 46:09 so notice the kingdom is given to Him, 46:11 was given to Jesus 46:14 and the heirs of salvation 46:16 and Jesus was to reign 46:17 as King of kings and Lord of lords. 46:22 Now, in another statement, this is a rather long one, 46:25 Great Controversy 426 and 427. 46:29 The marriage represents the reception by Christ 46:32 of His kingdom. 46:35 Remember, I said that the marriage 46:36 and receiving the kingdom is the same thing? 46:39 Different metaphors, but the same lesson. 46:42 The marriage represents the reception by Christ 46:45 of His kingdom, 46:46 the holy city of the New Jerusalem, 46:48 which is the capital 46:50 and representative of the kingdom 46:52 is called what? 46:53 The bride, the lamb's wife said the angel to join, come, 46:57 either I will show thee the bride, 46:59 the lamb's wife. 47:00 It's the city with the people in it, folks. 47:03 He carried me away in the spirit, 47:05 says the prophet and showed me that great city, 47:07 the holy Jerusalem, 47:08 descending all of heaven from God. 47:11 Clearly then, 47:12 the bride represents the holy city. 47:15 And the virgins that go out to meet the bridegroom 47:18 are a symbol of the what? 47:20 Of the church, more specifically, 47:23 the individuals in the church. 47:25 Notice, in the Revelation, 47:27 the people of God are said to be the what? 47:30 The guests at the marriage supper. 47:33 If guests, 47:35 they cannot be represented also as the what? 47:39 As the bride. 47:41 So what is the bride? 47:43 All of them. 47:45 Who are the guests? 47:47 The individuals. 47:48 She continues, 47:50 "Christ as stated by the prophet Daniel, 47:52 will receive 47:53 from the Ancient of Days in heaven, 47:55 dominion and glory and a kingdom. 47:57 He'll receive the New Jerusalem, 47:59 the capital of His kingdom, 48:00 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, 48:04 having received the kingdom, 48:06 what is the kingdom? 48:08 His people, having received the kingdom, 48:11 He will come in His glory 48:14 as King of kings and Lord of lords, 48:16 for the redemption of His people, 48:19 who are to sit down with Abraham, 48:21 and Isaac, and Jacob at His table in His kingdom 48:25 to partake of the marriage supper 48:28 of the Lamb. 48:30 The proclamation, behold, the bridegroom cometh. 48:33 In the summer of 1844, 48:36 led thousands to expect 48:38 the immediate advent of the Lord. 48:41 At the appointed time, what happened? 48:44 The bridegroom came. 48:47 What happened in 1844? 48:49 The bridegroom came, came to where? 48:55 Is this Daniel 7? 48:58 Where did Jesus go in Daniel 7? 49:00 The father moves to the Most Holy Place, 49:02 sits the judgment seat, the books open, 49:06 then the cloud goes back, picks up Jesus, 49:08 and Jesus comes to where the Father is, right? 49:11 So what she's saying here is, 49:14 at the appointed time the bridegroom came, 49:17 not to what? 49:19 Not to the earth, as the people expected, 49:22 but to the Ancient of Days where? 49:25 In heaven, to the marriage, the reception of His kingdom. 49:31 So is the marriage 49:33 and the reception of the kingdom 49:34 the same thing? 49:36 Yes. 49:37 They that were ready 49:38 went in with Him to the marriage. 49:40 Now wait a minute, 49:41 how could we go in with Him to the marriage? 49:45 As guests because we're written up there. 49:49 We're not there in person. 49:52 We're written in the book. 49:54 So once again, 49:56 they that were ready went in with Him 49:57 to the marriage and the door was shut. 50:01 She makes it so clear. 50:03 Where did she get all this from? 50:05 Lucky guess? 50:07 No, she was a Bible student, she was inspired, folks. 50:12 They were not to be present in person 50:15 at the marriage, 50:17 for it takes place in heaven while they are upon the earth. 50:21 The followers of Christ are to wait for their Lord, 50:25 when He will return from the wedding. 50:28 However, they are to understand His work 50:32 and follow Him how? 50:34 By faith, as He goes in before God. 50:37 It is in this sense 50:39 that they are said to go into the marriage. 50:43 Powerful 50:46 and perfectly in harmony with all of the Bible verses 50:49 that we have noticed. 50:52 Absolutely clear. 50:53 And this evening, we're going to study 50:55 Matthew Chapter 22. 50:57 And we're going to see that this is the scenario. 51:01 Now I want you to notice the last statement, 51:03 Desire of Ages, page 151. 51:07 "In both the Old and the New Testament, 51:10 the marriage relation is employed to represent 51:14 the tender and sacred union 51:16 that exists between Christ and His people. 51:21 To the mind of Jesus, 51:22 the gladness of the wedding festivities, 51:25 pointed forward to the rejoicing of that day, 51:29 when He shall bring home His bride 51:33 to the Father's house. 51:35 What event is that being described? 51:38 The Second Coming, right? 51:40 So notice the key point here. 51:43 To the mind of Jesus, 51:44 the gladness of the wedding festivities, 51:46 that is the reception, 51:47 pointed forward to the rejoicing of that day 51:51 when He shall bring home His bride. 51:54 In other words, His what? 51:56 His kingdom, in its entirety, to the Father's house, 52:01 and the redeemed, 52:03 and the redeemed with the redeemer 52:05 shall sit down to the marriage supper 52:07 of the Lamb. 52:08 He says, 52:10 "As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, 52:12 so shall thy God rejoice over thee. 52:15 Thou shall no more be termed, forsaken. 52:18 But thou shall be called my delight, 52:21 for the Lord delighteth in thee. 52:23 He will rejoice over thee with joy, 52:25 He will rest in His love, 52:26 He will joy over thee with singing." 52:29 We're going to hear God sing. 52:32 Now, I want to hear that. 52:35 I can assure you 52:37 He does not sing like Elvis Presley. 52:41 He's not a rapper. 52:45 Ellen White heard the beautiful music of heaven. 52:48 She said it was melodious 52:50 and harmonious, beautiful. 52:55 Well, let's not go down that road. 52:58 When the vision of the heavenly things 53:02 was granted to John the Apostle, 53:03 he wrote, 53:05 "I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, 53:09 and as the voice of many waters, 53:11 and as the voice of mighty thundering saying, 53:14 'Hallelujah, 53:15 for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, 53:18 let us be glad, 53:20 and rejoice and give honor to Him, 53:23 for the marriage of the Lamb has come, 53:25 and His wife has made herself ready. 53:28 Blessed are they which are called 53:30 onto the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" 53:35 In closing, I remind you of a parable that Jesus told, 53:38 the Parable of the Lost Sheep. 53:42 Do we usually say that that parable teaches 53:45 that we're supposed to 53:46 when somebody goes astray from the church, 53:48 we're supposed to be good shepherds 53:49 and go and rescue them 53:51 and bring them back to the church. 53:53 And that has an application. 53:55 But the parable has a much broader application. 53:59 You'll see, the 99 represent the worlds 54:02 that never sinned, 54:04 safe and secure in God's heavenly universe. 54:08 The one sheep that went astray 54:11 represents this little world 54:13 in the midst of the universe of God. 54:17 The act of the shepherd, 54:19 leaving the flock that is safe in the fold, 54:23 and going to seek for the sheep 54:25 represents Jesus, 54:27 who left the security of heaven 54:30 to rescue the one lost world, planet earth. 54:37 And usually, you know, when we tell this parable, 54:41 we say, well, you know, the shepherd went 54:43 and rescued the sheep. 54:45 Praise the Lord, hallelujah. 54:47 But the best part of the parable 54:48 is the last part of the parable. 54:51 What does the shepherd then do with the sheep 54:53 after he has rescued it? 54:56 Oh, he now takes the sheep and he travels where? 55:02 Home, to the security of home. 55:06 And what does he do? 55:08 He sends out invitations, relatives, friends, 55:14 and he says, folks, come, I have rescued my sheep, 55:20 the sheep that went astray. 55:21 I've rescued the sheep. 55:24 Who is represented by the family and friends? 55:28 The entire universe, the entire heavenly universe, 55:33 the worlds that never sinned, 55:36 the seraphim and the cherubim, 55:39 the angelic hosts will all be there 55:43 for the celebration 55:45 at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 55:49 You know, folks, 55:52 maybe we're a little bit too attached 55:53 to this world and our stuff. 56:00 You know, all we need here is a place to camp 56:04 until the Savior comes. 56:07 What will it profit a man and woman, 56:12 let's be politically correct. 56:15 If he gains the whole world and loses his own soul, 56:21 what will he give as a reward for his soul? 56:26 Our home is not here. 56:28 We are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 56:33 Our home is there. 56:35 Let's not get so attached to our stuff here, 56:39 to our routine and rat race here 56:43 that we don't have time to spend with the Lord Jesus 56:46 to strengthen our relationship with Him 56:49 so that our focus is heaven. 56:53 Incidentally, you've heard the expression, 56:56 you are so earthly minded. 57:00 What? 57:02 You're so heavenly minded, you're no earthily good. 57:06 But I turned that around 57:07 and I say you're so earthly minded, 57:08 you're no heavenly good. 57:11 Because the opposite is also true. 57:15 The Bible says, our citizenship is in heaven, 57:20 from where we expect Jesus to come. 57:24 I don't know about you, 57:25 but I am anxious for Jesus to come. 57:28 I'm tired of all of this Coronavirus stuff. 57:32 And it's time for us to go home. 57:34 It's time for Jesus to finish His work 57:37 in the sanctuary, 57:39 to marry His bride, 57:41 to receive the kingdom 57:44 so that after the time of trouble, 57:46 we can be rescued by Christ, 57:49 taken to heaven 57:51 to partake 57:52 of that wonderful marriage supper 57:55 of the Lamb. 57:57 Don't miss out. |
Revised 2020-10-06