Salvation in Symbols and Signs

The Mystery of God

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Ivor Myers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Jason Bradley, Yvonne Lewis

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Series Code: SISS

Program Code: SISS000043A


00:30 Okay, we almost finished Revelation 10,
00:33 I mean, we've spent a couple of sessions on it,
00:36 and I think we finished it but there's one little phrase
00:38 that we talked about in our last session together
00:41 that we really want to highlight and understand
00:43 because I think what it does is
00:45 that it confirms this whole idea these time prophecies,
00:49 and this day-for-a-year principle
00:50 that they have a certain place where they fit,
00:53 they began... they ended... we're done with those,
00:55 the time is no longer... so now what?
00:57 Because if we are still waiting for time to be fulfilled,
01:01 then that's going to be indicated
01:03 in the verses that follow but yet
01:05 there's something in the verse that follows
01:08 that tells us that we're no longer waiting for time,
01:10 we're waiting for something else and that's the mystery of God.
01:12 Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm...
01:14 James: So what is this mystery of God that we're waiting for?
01:16 That's what we want to discover, that's what we want to look at,
01:18 so, we need to begin with a word of prayer, don't we?
01:20 All right, who would like to pray for us?
01:23 Ivor: I'll pray... James: Thanks Ivor.
01:25 Ivor: "Heavenly Father, please guide us as we continue
01:29 to study your Word, we pray Lord
01:31 that what we learn will affect our hearts and our minds
01:36 and would work transformation within us,
01:39 and again Lord, we just ask that you send your Spirit
01:42 to guide us into all truth
01:43 is our prayer in Jesus' name, amen"
01:45 All: "Amen. "
01:46 James: And Ivor, I was just thinking about that...
01:48 that prayer has already been answered
01:50 with the frank confession that you made
01:52 between sessions... you didn't do it on...
01:54 and I won't take it out of your mouth and spill the beans
01:58 but the whole idea of the 1840 and the 1798 dates...
02:03 nailed down to establish the day-for-a-year principle
02:07 that that helped them through that bitter disappointment
02:12 we know the 1844... we know the 1798 date...
02:15 this... these prophetic timelines were established there
02:18 and, therefore, "that helped me get through that disappointment"
02:21 I love that... and so God's already answering your prayer,
02:23 He's leading us into this truth and helping us to see things
02:26 so, just, there they are, like...
02:28 Ivor: Amen, amen... good stuff. James: Yeah.
02:31 Ivor: And this mystery of iniquity...
02:35 I'm sorry... "mystery of God... "
02:37 and... I almost spilled the beans again.
02:39 All: Laugher...
02:44 James: All right, let's start with the mystery of God.
02:47 Ivor: Yeah... yeah...
02:48 James: Shall we? Revelation chapter 10...
02:49 Jason, read for us Revelation chapter 10
02:51 so we can get... so we can get a good start here,
02:53 Revelation 10 verse 7.
02:55 Jason: Verse 7? James: Hmmm... hmmm...
02:56 Jason: "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,
02:58 when he shall begin to sound,
03:00 the mystery of God should be finished,
03:01 as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. "
03:04 James: Okay, so this mystery of God...
03:06 first of all, brings an end to all time prophecies,
03:09 in other words... "time no longer but... "
03:12 means, we're not waiting for time now,
03:14 now we're waiting for the mystery of God to be finished.
03:16 So, God has given us a number of ways
03:20 to know biblically, prophetically
03:24 that those time prophecies have come to an end,
03:25 that they were a day for a year...
03:27 and one of those ways He's given to us
03:29 that confirms this is the mystery of God,
03:31 that's what we're supposed to be looking for now,
03:33 we're not supposed to be looking for time prophecies anymore,
03:36 we're supposed to be looking for the mystery of God
03:37 so what is this mystery of God?
03:40 I've got one verse on it.
03:41 Ivor: Now, I just want to kind of amplify
03:43 a little bit of what you just said just now,
03:45 in the book of Daniel and in the book of Revelation,
03:52 there's really only one time prophecy,
03:57 it's the 2,300 days. James: Really, really?
04:00 Ivor: That's it. Yvonne: Hmmm...
04:01 Ivor: All the other prophecies, right,
04:02 70 weeks... the 1,260...
04:06 in the book of Daniel there's a 1,290...
04:08 there's a 1,335...
04:10 in the book of Revelation, there's the 5 months...
04:14 and there's the 391... along with the other...
04:18 they are all actually part of
04:20 that larger prophecy of the 2,300 days,
04:23 they just fall... these are sub-sections...
04:26 Yvonne: Right, like milestones?
04:29 Ivor: Yeah, they all fall in line so this part of the 2,300
04:31 and they're all actually given to culminate...
04:35 with that 2,300-day Prophecy ending 1844.
04:38 James: Yes... yeah... wow...
04:41 Ivor: So, one of the things
04:42 that's really important to understand is,
04:44 when we talk about the day-for-a-year principle,
04:46 there's another way to look at this,
04:48 I know we're kind of going off...
04:50 but I think it's important to point out here
04:52 that when you look at the 70-week Prophecy
04:54 and you know that well...
04:56 it couldn't be 70 weeks until the coming of Christ...
04:58 it has to be 70 weeks of years
05:00 because if you count that 70 weeks of years,
05:03 it establishes... that's what...
05:05 it's interesting... the beginning of the prophecy
05:07 establishes the veracity of the...
05:10 James: Rest. Ivor: Yeah, and so
05:12 if it's one prophecy... then every sub-section of that
05:17 prophecy must be a day for a year,
05:20 because it's all the same prophecy.
05:22 Yvonne: Right. James: Good point.
05:24 Ivor: Every prophecy... so that prophecy...
05:26 once we've established a day for a year,
05:28 every other part of it must be a day for a year
05:30 and that's what God is doing throughout
05:32 so when He says, "time no longer"
05:34 He's saying, "Look, the prophecy is done...
05:36 I've given you these... I've broken up these prophecies"
05:39 because imagine if this prophecy wasn't broken up,
05:42 there would be no shoulder for us to stand on.
05:45 James: Right. Yvonne: Right.
05:46 Ivor: No... "yeah, this is...
05:47 yeah, we're right... we're moving along... "
05:49 because 1844 is going to be an event
05:52 that could not be seen... in other words...
05:55 there's no verification on earth,
05:58 we can't see Jesus moving into a Most...
06:01 so... what God does this, he says,
06:02 "Look, I'm going to give you these waymarks...
06:04 and these being established will strengthen your faith
06:10 to believe in something that you cannot see"
06:13 because even the disciples could see
06:15 Jesus rose from the dead... right?
06:16 "Oh, 70-week prophecy... okay, we got it wrong...
06:18 but we have evidence, we've seen Him... "
06:20 here... nothing...
06:22 all we have to go on... is faith
06:26 but God said, "I'm not going to let you go on that alone,
06:28 I'm going to give you these prophecies,
06:30 all one prophecy... different sub-sections of that prophecy
06:34 so when He says, "Time no longer... "
06:36 He's saying, "Look, I've given you enough
06:38 to establish the truth of 1844."
06:41 James: Now what we need to look for is the mystery of God.
06:44 That's what we need to focus on. Ivor: That's it.
06:46 James: And the reason I really like this is
06:47 because it really ties in with the two-fold emphasis
06:52 of Revelation 10,
06:53 the first emphasis is intellectual knowledge,
06:55 "Write it, write it, write it, write it, write it"
06:57 okay, so, "The book's open, write it, write this down... "
07:00 the second emphasis is spiritual experience,
07:04 character development, no more writing,
07:06 "eat it... assimilate what's already been written"
07:09 "Thy Word was found... thy words were found... "
07:12 it says in Jeremiah 15:16, "Thy words were found,
07:15 and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me
07:18 the joy and rejoicing of mine heart:
07:20 for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. "
07:23 James: This is character development...
07:25 this is the mystery of God by the way,
07:27 that's the first verse on the mystery of God... Jeremiah 15:16
07:29 Jeremiah is in a sense
07:33 interpreting what it means to eat the words of God,
07:36 to eat the little book,
07:37 they are to become character, we are to...
07:40 we are to assimilate God's words
07:42 and they become the joy and rejoicing of our hearts
07:44 and we are called by His name, we become like Him,
07:47 so that's the first verse we're looking at.
07:49 Yvonne: Was this sanctification?
07:50 James: Yes well, it's righteousness by faith,
07:52 we call it righteousness by faith.
07:54 Yvonne: Okay.
07:55 James: Because sometimes when we separate sanctification
07:57 from the experience of righteousness by faith,
07:59 people can get the idea that
08:01 well, justification is what Christ does,
08:02 and sanctification is what we do...
08:04 no, no, it's all one package. Yvonne: Right.
08:07 James: Those who are
08:08 given the gift of salvation, will live for Jesus,
08:11 that's what they do, they live for Jesus
08:13 and sanctification is the gift that's given to us
08:16 that causes us to live our lives for Him
08:19 just like justification is a gift that's given to us
08:22 justification... sanctification, cannot be separated.
08:24 One of them deals with our past sins,
08:27 the next one deals with our ongoing life, our present life,
08:30 the power of sin in our lives is diminished and destroyed
08:33 by righteousness by faith by the gospel of Jesus Christ,
08:36 so it's one and the same thing
08:37 and because God gives us this gift of sanctification,
08:40 this gift of justification, we desire to live for Him
08:43 and that life that we live for Him... is an evidence
08:45 that we are resting on Him... His righteousness... His gift,
08:49 the gift of salvation, so when we look at this,
08:52 and there's another verse that I want to look at
08:54 and maybe we'll have a few more of it
08:56 but this one for sure is really going to nail it down,
08:59 this one is found in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 26,
09:02 actually, if we can read a few verses here,
09:06 whoever gets there first... but I'm thinking will be Jason
09:09 I'm watching you guys race through the Scriptures and...
09:12 Colossians 1, let's just read, Jason, 26, 27, 28
09:17 26, 27 and 28.
09:21 Jason: Okay, "Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages
09:24 and from generations,
09:26 but now is made manifest to his saints:
09:28 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory
09:33 of this mystery among the Gentiles;
09:35 which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
09:37 Whom we preach, warning every man,
09:40 and teaching every man in all wisdom;
09:42 that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus... "
09:45 James: Did you get that?
09:47 That's a summation of what we just said,
09:48 the mystery twice defined in verses 26 and 27...
09:54 the mystery is: Christ in you... the hope of glory
09:57 that's the mystery...
09:58 we're not looking for time prophecy anymore,
10:00 the time prophecies have all been fulfilled
10:01 all of that... intellectual knowledge,
10:04 let that rest in your mind and heart
10:07 that's good stuff but now we need to assimilate
10:10 the words of God
10:12 so that they become the joy and rejoicing of our heart
10:14 so that we are called by His name...
10:17 we need to have Christ in us, the hope of glory
10:20 this is the mystery... no more time...
10:23 we're waiting for the mystery of...
10:25 by the time the 7th angel sounds and Jesus comes,
10:27 you know what should be finished?
10:29 "Christ in you... the hope of glory"
10:30 so that... and this is the last verse here that we read,
10:33 that Jason read...
10:35 "so that... every man may be presented
10:38 perfect... in Christ... "
10:39 so, the only way we can be presented "perfect in Christ"
10:43 is if we have His righteousness,
10:45 if we have His righteousness,
10:47 we can be presented perfect in Christ
10:49 and the only way that we're going
10:51 to be having His righteousness is if our lives
10:53 are lives that are being lived for Him
10:55 because that's an evidence
10:56 that we have His righteousness, see...
10:58 Jason: Like we can say that
11:00 He's waiting for a purified bride... is that...?
11:03 James: Yes, He's waiting for a purified bride
11:06 and that evidence of a purified bride
11:08 is a people who are living for Him,
11:09 now, let me just put a caveat on that,
11:11 the "living for Him" is not sanctification,
11:15 the "living for Him" is not our ideal or fitness for heaven,
11:19 "living for Him" is not what saves us,
11:21 the "living for Him" is what evidence is...
11:23 that we're resting on His righteousness,
11:25 we're trusting in Him,
11:26 so, when you live a life for Jesus,
11:29 you're sold out for Jesus, you're following Him,
11:31 you're obeying His Word, you're keeping His Commandments,
11:33 that's an evidence
11:34 that you are trusting in His justification... sanctification,
11:37 in the gift of His righteousness.
11:38 Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... hmmm...
11:39 James: That's... that you're perfect in Christ,
11:41 that's the evidence of that,
11:42 without that... there's no evidence.
11:44 "What? You say you're an apple tree... where are the apples?
11:46 You said you were a fig tree, where are the figs?"
11:48 Well, the fig tree is a fig tree
11:51 and the apple tree is an apple tree... without the fruit
11:53 but the fruit... confirms... reveals... testifies to the fact
11:58 and without the fruit... it's not good for anything.
12:01 Ivor: Yeah, yeah, so, let's put this in context...
12:04 what do we have going on?
12:05 We have the mystery of Godliness being announced
12:10 in connection with 1844... okay...
12:14 so, okay, well, how do we get the mystery of Godliness
12:19 which is what? "Christ in you," right?
12:22 Now, we need Christ dwelling in us
12:24 because He wants to justify us and sanctify us...
12:28 righteousness by faith, so, how does that happen?
12:33 Well, God Himself has given us an object lesson
12:38 of what it means to have Christ in you,
12:41 Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life"
12:45 but Psalm 77 verse 13 says,
12:48 "Thy way, O God, is in the Sanctuary... "
12:52 if you look at Exodus 25 and verse 8,
12:55 I'm just looking at you right now,
12:57 if you look at Exodus 25 verse 8, God said,
13:01 "And let them make me a sanctuary;
13:02 that I may dwell among them"
13:05 really meaning... within them.
13:06 Ivor: So, in the New Testament, we are sanctuaries...
13:11 "Know ye not that you are the temple of the Holy Ghost?"
13:15 Right? and so, in the Old Testament
13:17 God was trying to show the Children of Israel
13:19 "Look, the mystery of Godliness is me... dwelling in you...
13:24 and the sanctuary is the object lesson of how this works"
13:28 so, when we see
13:31 that God says, "This is the mystery of Godliness"
13:34 and then we find something really amazing...
13:36 so I want you to turn with me in your Bible
13:37 to 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 and let me ask someone
13:42 to read verses 3 through 7,
13:47 so 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 3 through 7.
13:50 Yvonne: "Let no man deceive you by any means:
13:52 for that day shall not come,
13:54 except there come a falling away first,
13:56 and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
14:00 Who opposeth and exalteth himself
14:02 above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
14:05 so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
14:09 shewing himself that he is God.
14:11 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you,
14:15 I told you these things?"
14:16 You want me to go through verse 7?
14:17 Ivor: Verse 7, yeah. James: You got to hear verse 7.
14:20 Yvonne: "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work:
14:23 only he who now letteth will let,
14:25 until he be taken out of the way. "
14:27 James: Ivor, how can you be so calm right now, buddy,
14:29 what's wrong with you you lost your...?
14:30 Ivor: I don't know... I was trying to understand
14:32 how I am being so calm, right now.
14:35 James: That was cool...
14:37 Ivor: you know... just meditating in my mind
14:40 like, "What's going on?" James: Yeah.
14:41 Yvonne: Okay, pull this together.
14:42 James: Because the first thing we did this whole thing
14:44 and that happened to you, you were just like,
14:46 "Oooh... "
14:48 Ivor: So, the mystery of Godliness... is God in us.
14:51 Yvonne: Right. James: In the temple.
14:52 Ivor: In the temple, right, God in the temple
14:54 and we are the temple and in fact...
14:56 imagine it like this, If you want to know who God is
14:59 He says, "Go to my temple... "
15:00 James: Hmmm... hmmm... Ivor: The Sanctuary...
15:01 James: Which we are about to do. Ivor: That's right,
15:03 that's coming right up... I'm just setting you up...
15:05 James: I can't wait... you're so patient.
15:08 Ivor: Oh yeah, the Sanctuary is like,
15:11 a picture of God...
15:13 so, you know how you carry a picture
15:15 in your wallet, "This is my mom, this is my... "
15:17 Yvonne: Right... right...
15:18 Ivor: The sanctuary is like a picture of...
15:19 you want to know who God is? Go into the Sanctuary,
15:22 it reveals who God is
15:23 and by beholding Him, I become like Him,
15:26 right, God... "Christ in me... the hope of glory"
15:30 but what we just read in 2nd Thessalonians,
15:33 this is the mystery of Godliness,
15:34 what we just read in 2nd Thessalonians is that
15:36 there would be a mystery of iniquity...
15:38 which is the very opposite of the mystery of Godliness,
15:41 this mystery of iniquity would sit in the temple of God...
15:44 James: Just like the mystery of Godliness...
15:46 Ivor: That's right... just like the mystery of Godliness...
15:47 Yvonne: Oh... Ivor: Showing, "Hey, I'm God...
15:49 and as God, let me show you what God is like"
15:51 "Oh, God burns babies forever... "
15:54 "Yeah, and you know,
15:56 God requires payment for the forgiveness of sins,"
15:59 "Oh yeah, God persecutes other Christians
16:03 who don't believe as we believe. "
16:06 The picture of God had been changed
16:09 during the Dark Ages.
16:10 The mystery of iniquity had taken the place
16:14 of the mystery of Godliness.
16:17 Yvonne: Oooooh, now you know that's deep right there.
16:19 Ivor: And so, what you have happening
16:21 in Revelation chapter 10,
16:22 God says, "Listen, the mystery of Godliness,
16:25 which is supposed to go into all the world,
16:28 to every nation, kindred, tongue and then the end will come"
16:30 yeah, that was... that was obscured
16:33 during the Dark Ages by the mystery of iniquity.
16:34 James: Hmmm... hmmm...
16:36 Ivor: Showing a picture... a false picture
16:39 of who God is... now... now...
16:41 James: I'm ready... I'm ready...
16:44 Yvonne: That's the counterfeit about the truth.
16:46 James: Ready... ready... I got the verse.
16:48 Ready, ready, now, now, "Thou must prophesy again,
16:51 you've got to prophesy again before many nations... "
16:55 Revelation 10:11... "before many nations, kindreds, tongues...
16:58 you've got to tell the world about this"
16:59 so here's the Millerite Movement being raised up
17:02 going through this disappointment
17:04 but coming to this full revelation... the mystery of God
17:07 "You've got to tell the world about this mystery of God,
17:09 because there's a counterfeit and this counterfeit...
17:12 I've had him on hold... I've had him under judgment,
17:15 I've tried to get him to repent, he won't repent, he won't repent
17:17 he won't repent... so, next option...
17:20 since I can't get him to repent, I can't get the church purified,
17:22 next option... I'm raising up this new Movement
17:25 and I'm pulling people out of all these different churches
17:27 that have been infected by this misunderstanding
17:29 of my character,
17:30 I'm pulling them out... I'm bringing them together...
17:32 and they're going to go... they're going to be tried...
17:34 because there are a lot of people
17:35 that are just kind of coming with them... that aren't really
17:37 shouldn't be there so they're going out...
17:39 and I'm going to purify this one group,
17:40 tried... purified... and then I want them to prophecy
17:43 they've got to prophecy again because my character
17:46 my character has been distorted before the world. "
17:49 Yvonne: Wow!
17:50 James: And the last message that has to go to the world,
17:52 is a revelation of the character of God
17:53 and that sets us up for Revelation 11:1 and 2.
17:56 Yvonne: Wooo... you know what?
17:58 James: You got to be quiet and still for about 10 minutes.
18:00 Yvonne: "Praise the Lord." This is so rich,
18:04 this is so rich it's giving me chills...
18:06 James: I never made that connection before...
18:08 between 2nd Thessalonians. Ivor: Yeah.
18:09 James: I know you didn't...
18:10 I know, you got no excuse now, but you say that
18:12 you've got to be careful now because you're saying
18:13 that live now... you know what I'm saying?
18:15 Ivor: Yes, we knew that all along.
18:16 Yes, we've been preparing.
18:18 Yvonne: Isn't that amazing when the Holy Spirit
18:21 gives you an insight and an insight on the spot
18:25 and it's just... this is so rich...
18:26 James: Yeah, and the conflict's going to continue
18:28 because when we get into our last prophetic cycle,
18:30 you've got intense conflict now between these two powers
18:34 and the counterfeit is almost overwhelming
18:36 because you've got the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
18:39 and you've got the counterfeit,
18:41 the beast, the dragon and the false prophet.
18:42 Yvonne: Hmmm...
18:43 James: Calling down fire from heaven... doing miracles...
18:46 see, you've got the same back and forth
18:49 worship... worship... then you've got two groups
18:52 that are ripened for the harvest...
18:54 in the end, you've got two groups that are ripe...
18:57 that's Revelation 14...
18:58 "Thrust in thy sickle and reap, the grape...
19:00 those who are going to taste of the wrath
19:02 and then... reap those
19:04 who are going to be taken up with God into heaven. "
19:06 Ivor: And I think it's so crucial because
19:08 what this is showing us is that
19:12 end-time events are not going to be
19:15 overtly wicked against righteous,
19:18 it's going to be
19:20 "false righteous" versus "true righteous"
19:22 you see what I'm saying?
19:24 Yvonne: Ooooh, now that's a great... unpack that.
19:26 Ivor: The mystery of iniquity is not...
19:27 it's not open evil,
19:30 the mystery of iniquity is a counterfeit of who God is.
19:33 Yvonne: Ooooh... James: A very close counterfeit.
19:35 Ivor: A very close counterfeit.
19:37 Yvonne: So that... so that even the very elect...
19:39 Ivor: Elect... if it were possible...
19:42 it's a mystery, if it weren't a mystery,
19:44 then it would just be iniquity...
19:45 just be iniquity... "Oh yeah, that's iniquity"
19:47 no... this is the mystery of iniquity...
19:49 it doesn't look like iniquity on the front,
19:51 it looks like God...
19:53 it's sitting in the temple of God...
19:56 showing itself to be God...
19:58 James: Let's just get some verification on this
20:01 for our Viewers, so,
20:02 number one, this is the way that Satan has worked
20:04 from the very beginning.
20:05 In heaven, angel, Lucifer, light bearer, et cetera,
20:09 coming down to earth... Eve, Adam et cetera,
20:12 going through... but then when you get to, for example,
20:14 and I'm just going to... we'll just look at the references here
20:16 it's in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11
20:19 this is how we're told... this is how Satan works...
20:22 and again... we... we're going to see this
20:25 in our last prophetic cycle, Revelation 12,
20:27 we're going to see it even more
20:28 but here, Paul is calling us back to Genesis
20:32 and making the connection to Genesis
20:33 all the way up until his time in the New Testament
20:37 and he's making the same connection
20:38 that we're talking about, 2nd Corinthians 11
20:42 and Jason read for us verses 2, 3 and 4.
20:45 Jason: Okay, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy:
20:51 for I have espoused you to one husband,
20:54 that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
20:58 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
21:03 through his subtlety,
21:05 so your minds should be corrupted
21:09 from the simplicity that is in Christ.
21:10 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus,
21:14 whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit,
21:18 which ye have not received, or another gospel,
21:21 which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. "
21:24 James: Now verses...
21:26 Yvonne, read verses 13 through 15 of the same chapter.
21:28 Yvonne: "For such are false apostles,
21:31 deceitful workers, transforming themselves
21:34 into the apostles of Christ.
21:35 And no marvel;
21:37 for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
21:40 Therefore it is no great thing
21:43 if his ministers also be transformed
21:45 as the ministers of righteousness;
21:47 whose end shall be according to their works. "
21:49 James: There it is, right there. Yvonne: Wow!
21:52 James: So Paul is telling us just how this is going to work,
21:54 he's the one that wrote 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 also
21:56 "he's going to come as an angel of light...
21:58 he's going to deceive, if possible, the very elect. "
22:01 In the context of 2nd Thessalonians,
22:03 "Those who received not the love of the truth...
22:06 that they might be saved
22:07 and therefore they have pleasure in unrighteousness
22:10 and these are the principles" so the mystery of God is huge,
22:13 we are going to be part of the mystery of God
22:15 or are we going to be part of the mystery of iniquity
22:17 and it's going to be almost impossible for us to tell,
22:19 we've got to examine ourselves.
22:20 I see you're thinking about a question.
22:23 Yvonne: You know, it's so funny, what popped into my mind is,
22:27 just doing like a study on the mystery of God
22:30 and the mystery of iniquity
22:31 because that's... I mean... that sermon.
22:33 Ivor: Hmmm... hmmm... I'm already planning it.
22:37 Yvonne: Good, I'll get your notes, but to me that...
22:41 I mean, God is letting us know,
22:44 the wonderful thing about this is that...
22:46 He didn't leave us in the dark,
22:48 He's letting us know what's going to happen,
22:50 it's up to us to study and find out
22:53 how it's going to play out but He has left it for us.
22:58 Ivor: We need to get to Revelation 11 verse 1.
23:00 James: Let's do it right now because it's...
23:03 it's burning a hole in my pocket.
23:05 Jason: I like what you were saying because I mean,
23:08 even from the very beginning, God has sustained us,
23:11 He created man on the 6th day,
23:13 the plants, animals... all that stuff...
23:16 everything was here for us when we were created
23:19 throughout time... He's just sustained us
23:22 and He's still creating and sustaining.
23:25 James: Creating and sustaining, creating and sustaining,
23:26 that's what it's all about for God.
23:29 Okay, 11 verse 1, let's read those verses, 11:1 and 2.
23:33 "And there was given unto me a reed like unto a rod:
23:37 and the angel stood saying,
23:38 Rise, measure the temple of God... " number one,
23:41 "the altar" number two..
23:43 "and them that worship therein.
23:45 But the court... " verse two...
23:47 "But the court which is without the temple leave out,
23:49 and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles:
23:52 the holy city shall they tread under foot forty two months. "
23:54 Verse 1, that's what I want us to look at,
23:56 three things are being measured, the temple of God,
23:59 the altar and them that worship therein.
24:01 Now this measurement
24:02 is directly connected to the character of God,
24:05 the word "measure" means... to judge,
24:07 to judge... judge God...
24:10 that's just a fact, it's a given...
24:12 and that's why this context is so important
24:14 because this context is coming at a time
24:17 when Dark Ages have just taken place
24:19 when people have totally misunderstood God's character
24:21 and so the whole world is just naturally it...
24:24 in a trajectory to measure God... to judge God...
24:28 "Whoa, I don't want anything to do
24:29 with this God that burns babies... "
24:31 "I don't want anything to do with this God that... "
24:33 "I want nothing to do with that kind of God... "
24:35 and that is the atmosphere
24:36 in which the Millerite Movement was raised up
24:38 and they were raised up with a Movement
24:40 that calls us to the mystery of Godliness
24:41 that's calling us to clarify what God is really like.
24:44 Ivor: It's calling them to actually measure the temple,
24:47 it's calling them... their attention...
24:48 to the temple, why?
24:50 Because that's where the true picture of God is revealed,
24:52 that's where the true character of God is
24:54 "and by beholding... we become changed"
24:57 this is very interesting, it says, "measure the temple"
24:59 is there any other place in the Bible
25:01 where the temple is measured?
25:03 It's in the book of Exodus... Exodus 25, what was measured?
25:07 the articles of furniture in the Sanctuary,
25:09 those articles reveal who God is,
25:12 the Ark of the Covenant reveals that God is a God of justice
25:18 and the Mercy Seat
25:21 points to God as a God of mercy,
25:24 the candlestick points to God as a God of light,
25:26 the Word points to Him as a God who sustains us,
25:30 the Table of Shewbread...
25:32 the Altar of Incense points to Him as a God who is a friend,
25:36 someone that we can talk to and so,
25:38 the Altar... His self-sacrifice, the Laver... His purity
25:43 so God is like... "Look, when the Papacy did this stuff,
25:47 they were... when they began to tamper with these truths,
25:51 they were tampering with my character,
25:53 now I need you to prophesy again,
25:55 tell them about these articles of furniture...
25:57 tell them about the Sanctuary, tell them about my character
26:01 because in doing so, the mystery of God...
26:04 the mystery of God will go into all the world
26:08 which is a revelation, counteract the counterfeit. "
26:11 James: Yes... and the Altar...
26:13 the Altar is also an article of furniture
26:15 that's distinctly brought out here, "so measure the temple"
26:18 but then, the Altar is brought out as something specifically
26:21 to be measured in addition to the temple
26:23 because we'd say, "Well, it's inclusive of the temple?"
26:25 No, see, the Altar is the place where the lamb was sacrificed,
26:28 the Altar is Calvary... Ivor: That's right.
26:30 James: So in order for us to really get an understanding
26:32 of God's character,
26:33 in order for us to really be able to measure the temple,
26:35 we've got to measure the Altar and the sacrifice of God.
26:38 Ivor: We need to point out that in the latter...
26:40 in what we're going to read after... in the next program...
26:43 in Revelation 11... is the rise of Atheism...
26:46 kind of... you know... jumping the gun again
26:48 but it's the rise of Atheism and the key here is that...
26:51 Atheism is a result of a rejection
26:54 of a false picture of Godliness.
26:55 Yvonne: Hmmm...
26:57 Ivor: The true picture of God
26:58 is the only answer to the Atheist argument.
27:01 James: In other words,
27:03 many Atheists reject the very same god that we reject.
27:05 Ivor: Yes... Yvonne: Ah...
27:07 James: Many Atheists reject the very same god that we reject.
27:10 Yvonne: It's the rejection of the counterfeit.
27:11 James: Yes. Ivor: Exactly.
27:12 James: That everyone thinks it's the truth.
27:14 Yvonne: Right... Ivor: They're smart...
27:15 because, "Yeah, why would I accept a God like that?"
27:18 Yvonne: Right.
27:19 Ivor: They just need to see the true picture.
27:21 James: Not just smart but they're also...
27:24 they're also morally sensitive,
27:27 "There's no way that I could serve a God
27:28 that would do that to people. " Ivor: Yeah.
27:30 James: "That's not... that can't be...
27:31 if that's what Christianity is,
27:32 I want nothing to do with it. " Yvonne: Right.
27:34 James: So that makes sense in that context
27:36 and that's why this message is so pertinent... so important.
27:38 Yvonne: Powerful... oooooh!
27:39 James: It is... it's just beautiful...
27:41 and here's another thing, just a few seconds left,
27:44 this comes right after the bitter Disappointment,
27:47 prophecy says that there's a...
27:49 there's this message of judgment right after the Disappointment
27:52 so it fits perfectly in the prophetic cycle.
27:54 We are out of time... out of time...
27:56 Yvonne: Ah, this was so good.
27:57 James: But we'll pick it up in the next session.
27:59 Yvonne: Great.


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Revised 2016-12-14