Participants: Ivor Myers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Yvonne Lewis, Jason Bradley
Series Code: SISS
Program Code: SISS000062A
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00:30 So we are right in the middle of the first angel's message
00:33 it is a powerful, glorious message 00:34 because every phrase of the first angel's message 00:37 refers back to the everlasting gospel. 00:40 The everlasting gospel actually defines 00:42 the phrases that we find here, 00:44 because you can take those phrases through the Bible 00:46 and you can define... almost anywhere you want to 00:47 but God has called in us to define them 00:49 according to the everlasting gospel. 00:52 Yvonne: Hmmm... beautiful. 00:53 James: Jason, you want to pray for us? 00:55 Jason: Sure. James: All right. 00:56 Jason: "Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that you would 00:59 please fill the Studio with your Holy Spirit 01:01 and as we study, 01:03 we ask that you would please bring back to our remembrance 01:06 the things we have studied in the past 01:08 and help us to understand the new things 01:10 that are being introduced to us today 01:12 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. " 01:14 All: "Amen. " 01:15 James: There is a beautiful picture that develops 01:18 in relation to this phrase, 01:20 "The hour of His judgment is come" 01:22 in the context of the everlasting gospel, 01:24 and I want us to look at three Bible verses, 01:25 the first one is Romans 14 and I believe it's verse 12, 01:31 Jason, if you could look that one up for us 01:33 and the second verse is found in Matthew 7:21 to 23... 01:40 if you could look those up for us, Ivor, 01:42 and then the third one is found in Revelation 12 verse 10. 01:45 Jason: Romans 14 verse 12. 01:49 James: Romans 14... hold on the verse, 01:51 let me get there and make sure it's that verse, 01:53 it might be verse 10... but it's verse 10 01:58 and read all the way though through... verse 10... 02:03 all the way through to verse 13. 02:07 Jason: Okay, "But why dost thou judge thy brother? 02:11 or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? 02:14 for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 02:17 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, 02:20 every knee shall bow to me, 02:21 and every tongue shall confess to God. 02:23 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 02:27 Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: 02:30 but judge this rather, 02:32 that no man put a stumbling block 02:34 or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. " 02:37 James: Wow! three reasons for the judgment, 02:40 reason number one, 02:41 so we don't have to judge another anymore, 02:43 one another anymore... 02:44 stop judging one another, God... 02:46 we'll all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, 02:48 God has a judgment... the hour of His judgment is come 02:51 He has a judgment, He's going to make... 02:53 take account of every single person... 02:55 we don't need to hold people accountable, 02:57 God is going to hold people accountable, so... 02:59 Jason: Where is that verse... 03:01 like you get the moat out of your own eye or something... 03:07 James: Matthew 5... Jason: Is that where we're going? 03:09 James: No... but it's a good verse to add to it, yeah... 03:11 "Judge not that ye be not judged. " 03:13 Yvonne: But what about "judge righteous judgment?" 03:16 James: "Judge righteous judgment... " 03:17 what's the first thing that we should judge righteously? 03:21 That Christ is Judge... He's ultimately the Judge... 03:25 so, there is a place for us to "judge righteous judgment" 03:29 in the sense of making sure we do things right, 03:32 in our own lives and the lives of others, 03:33 when it comes to salvation... 03:34 when it comes to the everlasting gospel, 03:36 okay, so, if you go to the store 03:39 and you pay four dollars and fifty cents for something 03:41 and you give them a 20 dollar bill 03:42 and they give 50 cents back, so you say, 03:45 "Wait a minute... wait a minute I need 15 more dollars," 03:47 right, that's righteous judgment... 03:48 "I need 15 more dollars... " 03:50 Ivor: But they might say, "Don't judge me... " 03:51 James: And you say, "No one's judging you, 03:53 I just need my 15 dollars back... 03:55 if you don't give me my 15 dollars back, 03:56 you are lost in hell. " 03:58 Well, now wait a minute, now that's going one step further, 04:00 you see what I'm saying? 04:01 And that's where we're called as Christians not to judge others 04:04 when it comes to the everlasting gospel... 04:06 when it comes to salvation, 04:07 "We hope all things, we believe all things, 04:09 we do all things... " that's what love does. 04:11 It doesn't mean that we have to let people walk all over us, 04:15 it doesn't mean that we have to live up... live with abuse... 04:18 or allow people to abuse us, 04:19 but it simply means that we hope the best for others 04:23 so the context of this verse... 04:25 I love this because the everlasting gospel 04:27 calls us in the context of Romans 14, 04:29 not to judge one another but rather, 04:31 not to be a stumbling block, 04:33 so that's the reason number one for the judgment, 04:35 reason number two, is in Matthew chapter 7:21 to 23. 04:38 Ivor: All right, Matthew 7:21, 04:40 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, 04:43 shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; 04:45 but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 04:48 Many will say to me in that day, 04:50 Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? 04:52 and in thy name have cast out devils? 04:55 and in thy name done many wonderful works? 04:57 And then will I profess unto them, 04:59 I never knew you: depart from me, 05:01 ye that work iniquity. " 05:03 James: So, here we have a group of people 05:05 who are professing to be followers of God, 05:07 they call Him, "Lord... " 05:08 and Jesus says to them, "I don't know you... " 05:11 and they say, "But we've done all these works" 05:13 So, reason number two for the judgment is, 05:15 we cannot be saved by our wonderful deeds, 05:17 we can't be saved by our works. 05:18 We have to have a relationship with Christ, 05:20 we have to have trust in Christ 05:22 and that's been the emphasis of the everlasting gospel 05:23 so, reason number one, 05:25 "Don't judge one another... God has a judgment... " 05:28 okay, the hour of His judgment is come, 05:30 He's going to take care of all the inadequacies, 05:32 all of the issues, all of the problems, 05:33 all the questions we have, when it comes to salvation 05:36 leave people with God, 05:37 reason number two, 05:38 "Don't trust your own works for salvation" 05:40 and then reason number three is Revelation chapter 12 05:43 and verse 10, and that verse is what Yvonne has. 05:47 Yvonne: "Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 05:50 now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God, 05:53 and the power of his Christ: have come 05:55 for the accuser of our brethren 05:57 who accused them before our God day and night 06:00 has been cast down... " 06:02 James: "Amen. " Yvonne: "Amen. " 06:04 James: Okay, so he's accusing day and night... 06:06 24... 7... 365... 06:09 my wife likes to take vacations she doesn't take any... 06:12 all right, so, when we look at the judgment... 06:15 one of the main reasons for the judgment... I'm going to say, 06:18 "the main reason that comes to the top is, this accuser... " 06:21 see in 1st John 2 it says, 06:23 "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 06:26 Jesus Christ the righteous: 06:27 And he is not only the propitiation for our sins: 06:29 but for the sins of the whole world. " 06:30 Why do we have an advocate with the Father? 06:32 Some people think, 06:33 "Oh because Jesus is more merciful than God 06:37 and God is kind of like, pointing out our problems... 06:38 our sins... our... 06:40 and Jesus is trying to convince God to love us... " 06:42 no, "For God so loved the world 06:43 that He gave His only begotten Son... " 06:45 Jesus said, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father... " 06:48 the reason why we have an advocate with the Father 06:51 is because we have an accuser of the brethren... Satan... 06:54 Jesus is defending us before the Father 06:56 from the accusations of Satan, 06:58 you say, "Well, why does that defend us from the Father?" 06:59 Because the Father is fair... He's righteous... 07:02 He understands sin... He understands the accusations 07:05 but He can silence them based upon the merits of Jesus Christ 07:09 and that's what He does, 07:10 the judgment is all about God vindicating us 07:14 through Christ from the accusations of Satan. 07:17 It's all about our Advocate silencing the accuser, 07:22 Joshua chapter 3 brings this out, 07:24 the Old Testament book of Joshua... no... Joshua? 07:26 What am I thinking? 07:28 Zechariah chapter 3... Joshua and the angel... 07:30 that's what I was thinking of, same thing, 07:33 "The Lord rebuke you... " 07:34 "This is a Brad plucked out of the fire... " 07:36 and we're clothed with the raiment of white, 07:38 this is the picture of the judgment 07:40 so when you look at the judgment 07:41 in the context of the everlasting gospel 07:43 you see, some Christians really struggle with this idea 07:46 of the investigative judgment, "Why is God judging us?" 07:49 Well, the reason why is because we have the accuser 07:51 the reason why is because we are judging one another, 07:54 the reason why is because we're depending on our own works, 07:57 and so God has a judgment to wipe out all of that 07:59 so that we will put our complete trust in Christ as our Advocate, 08:02 that's what the judgment is all about. 08:04 So, in the judgment, 08:06 Christ stands as the One who vindicates us 08:09 from depending on our own works... 08:11 from the accusations of Satan 08:13 and from all this inclination we have 08:15 to judge and measure others. 08:17 Ivor: Yeah, yeah, 08:19 the question that I think a lot of people have is, 08:22 "Okay, judgment... how do I pass it... 08:24 how do I pass it?" 08:26 So, I'll give an Old Testament illustration 08:29 because there was a time... 08:31 when this happens, there's going to come a point 08:33 where the whole world will be filled with wickedness, 08:35 right, the judgment is preparing us to escape 08:38 the coming judgment of God upon this world, 08:41 well, guess what, remember back in the Old Testament? 08:43 There was a guy by the name of Noah 08:44 and he warned for 120 years of a coming flood... 08:50 we're warning that fire is going to fall from the sky, 08:53 that's our warning... "Hey, it's going to rain fire," 08:56 "Come on Man! it's never rained fire before, 08:57 what are you talking about?" You know... 08:59 same thing in the days of Noah, "It's going to rain... " 09:01 "It's never rained before... " 09:02 very interesting... how was Noah saved? 09:05 The Bible says, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord" 09:08 there it is again, the gospel of grace, right, 09:11 Noah was saved by grace 09:13 but watch what happens after Noah preaches, 09:16 um... well... let me phrase it this way... 09:19 in Noah's day... salvation... 09:21 the way that Noah escaped the judgment of God 09:24 was through wood that was lifted up above the earth. 09:30 All: Hmmm... 09:32 Yvonne: Wow... come on... come on... 09:34 Ivor: Wood lifted up above the earth, 09:36 and whoever was in that wood... lifted up above the earth, 09:39 whoever was in that ark, get into the ark... 09:43 right, whoever was hidden in that ark was safe. 09:46 So the gospel message is... the everlasting gospel... 09:50 is doing the same thing... 09:52 it's the same message in Noah's day, 09:53 "Get into the ark... " right, 09:55 but the ark... it is Christ... 09:57 it's the Most Holy Place... 09:59 it is being hidden in Him 10:01 and realizing that it is only through Him 10:03 that we can make it through the judgment 10:06 and so, what happens with Noah? 10:08 The ark takes him from an old world to a new world. 10:12 James: Good... love it... Yvonne: Hmmm... 10:14 Ivor: Yeah, and there's a rainbow that says, 10:16 "Hey, destruction will never come again... in a certain way" 10:19 that whole picture is a picture of what God is doing with us 10:23 and by-the-way in the ark there was only one window 10:25 which means... the only place that Noah could look 10:28 was not around... "Oh Man! look, Sister Betty is lost... " 10:31 no... the only thing he could do was look up... 10:34 look up... look up... right... and so, 10:36 that's what God's calling us to do. 10:39 "Fear God and give Him glory, look up... " right... 10:42 "focus on the Lamb on the cross" and it is through that 10:45 that we're going to be... 10:46 that we will ultimately pass the judgment 10:49 which leads us to... 10:51 James: To trust in Christ, 10:52 I just... I just want to emphasize again 10:55 what Ivor said, I love this 10:56 because what we're discovering here 10:59 in the three angels' messages... 11:01 at least in this first angel... the everlasting gospel, 11:03 we're discovering this emphasis on trusting in Christ, 11:06 which is what the group learned... 11:08 who follow the Lamb wherever He goes 11:10 and that's the answer to 11:11 worshipping the beast and his image. 11:13 Once you start trusting Jesus 11:15 in following Him wherever He goes, 11:17 you can't worship the beast, you can't worship his image, 11:19 you can't receive his mark, you can't do that, 11:21 it's not that it is impossible... 11:23 you just... you incline toward a different path... 11:27 you incline toward God. 11:28 Next phrase... Revelation 14 and verse 7, 11:32 final phrase, "And worship Him that made 11:36 heaven and earth and the seas and the fountains of waters. " 11:38 Now, we've already unpacked this a little bit 11:41 in relation to worship, 11:42 we've looked at the crisis that worship brings 11:45 to Revelation 13 and 14, 11:47 it's worshipping the beast and his image... 11:48 or it's worshipping God... 11:49 and we looked at the Sabbath... the seventh day of the week 11:52 versus Sunday... the first day of the week 11:53 and how those two days pitch two groups of people 11:57 either worshipping earthly kingdoms... 11:59 traditions of man... et cetera, a man's laws... 12:02 or worshipping God according to the Bible 12:03 but there's something more here 12:05 that I want us to just touch on 12:07 in relation to the everlasting gospel 12:08 when God created the Sabbath, He created it on the seventh day 12:15 he worked in creating this world in six days... 12:18 on the sixth day... He created mankind 12:21 and then the first thing that we did... 12:24 when after we were created is we rested on the Sabbath. 12:28 So, when God created this world, 12:30 He did it without us but He did it for us, 12:32 there was nothing we could point to and say, 12:34 "Oh! you see that tree over there... 12:36 well, I did the trunk and God did the branches... 12:39 and then I put the leaves and then He did the fruit... " 12:41 there was nothing you could point to and say, 12:43 you helped God do this, 12:44 God did it all by Himself but He did it for us. 12:47 So the first thing He does is, 12:49 "I want you to rest on Sabbath 12:51 and everything I've done for you without you. " 12:53 That's what the Sabbath reminds us to do, 12:55 to rest in everything He did for us... without us... 12:57 that's before the fall, then we fall... 13:00 Jesus becomes a man... the Bible says, 13:03 "Of the people there were none with Him, 13:05 He trod the winepress alone. " 13:07 He lived a perfect life, no man ever did that 13:09 so He did that... and we never helped Him do it, 13:12 then He died on the cross for our sins, 13:14 now when God created the world, He finished it in six days 13:18 and the sixth day was Friday 13:21 and when He came to the sixth day, 13:24 He said, "It is finished... " 13:27 when Jesus came, He came to recreate man in God's image... 13:31 He did it in Himself, 13:32 He lived a perfect life 13:34 and "He who carried the image of man in Himself... " 13:36 this is what man looks like, 13:37 this is what you were created to be like, 13:39 then He went to the cross and He took upon Himself 13:41 the wages of mankind's sin... all of it... 13:44 what day was it that He went to the cross? 13:46 Friday... 13:48 and what did He say just before He died on the cross? 13:51 Yvonne: "It is finished... " 13:52 James: Yeah, "It is finished... " 13:54 What's finished? The re-creation of mankind 13:56 in the image of God is finished, 13:57 and then what did He do 13:59 after He finished his work of re-creation? 14:01 He rested on the seventh day, 14:03 just like God did when He finished His work of creation... 14:05 Christ did... 14:06 just like God created the world by Himself for us, 14:09 Christ re-created mankind by Himself... for us... as a gift 14:13 and he rested on the Sabbath 14:15 so when we keep the Sabbath, it's to remind us 14:18 of everything God did for us without us. 14:22 It's to remind us... 14:24 the everlasting gospel calls us to remember the Sabbath 14:27 to remind us of everything God did for us... 14:29 so it's not legalism, it's not... 14:31 we're not saved by keeping the Sabbath, 14:33 we keep the Sabbath to remind us to rest in Jesus 14:36 for the gift of salvation, 14:37 that's what the everlasting gospel 14:39 tells us about the Sabbath. 14:41 Ivor: So, this gospel message goes into all the world 14:44 right, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people 14:47 which by-the-way, is a call for us to be able to minister 14:51 to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. 14:53 God is looking to save as many as He possibly can 14:57 right, this first angel's message goes forth 15:00 and it's bringing into light the truth of God 15:03 okay, so the first angel's message 15:05 if we were to summarize it... God's truth... 15:08 that leads us to the second angel's message 15:10 which... if we were to summarize it, 15:11 Satan's error... 15:13 we get to the third angel's message, 15:15 and it's very simple... truth... 15:17 right, first angel... the truth, second angel... error... 15:23 third angel... truth. 15:25 Yvonne: Hmmm... James: Hmmm... hmmm... 15:26 Ivor: That's Revelation 14... 15:29 juiced down to three words, right, 15:31 but let's look at the second angel's message, 15:33 Revelation 14 verse 8, the Bible says, 15:35 "And there followed another angel, 15:38 saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, 15:41 because she made all nations 15:44 drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. " 15:47 So, she is described here as "that great city" 15:52 and in the... in the book of Revelation... 15:56 chapter 17... verse 18... 15:59 James, you want to just read that for me quickly, 16:01 Revelation 17 verse 18. 16:03 James: Revelation 17 verse 18, 16:06 "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, 16:12 which reigns over the kings of the earth. " 16:14 Ivor: Okay, so, this woman 16:15 is actually described in the same chapter verse 5, 16:19 her name is "Mystery Babylon 16:21 mother of harlots and abominations of the earth" 16:23 so, what we have in Revelation chapter 14, 16:27 is warning against Mystery Babylon. 16:30 It's this warning against this woman 16:33 who is called a harlot, 16:36 who is called a prostitute basically. 16:40 So, why is she called a prostitute 16:42 and why is she described as a woman? 16:45 Well, first of all, in the Bible a woman... 16:49 as we have seen in our... in earlier studies 16:51 is symbolic of a church, 16:53 so this is a church that God is warning against, right, 16:58 Mystery Babylon... but she has daughters... 17:00 so there are daughter churches that come out of her 17:02 while the key thing that I want you to remember here is this, 17:06 a harlot is one who does not regard "wedding vows" 17:11 that's what a harlot is, 17:13 she's one who doesn't regard wedding vows, okay, 17:16 she is... she does not regard marriage... 17:19 so, God has... 17:24 the Bible talks about Christ and His bride... the church... 17:27 well, they have wedding vows, what are those wedding vows? 17:31 Pause... 17:33 It's the Law of God, right? 17:35 And, in fact, you're not actually... 17:38 I like to put it this way... Christ came to this world, 17:41 by-the-way, the Bible says, 17:42 "A man shall leave his mother and father 17:44 and cleave unto his wife. " 17:45 So, Christ in heaven was like, 17:46 "You know, Father, there's this girl that I like, 17:49 she's already on earth... " love story right... 17:52 "and, I want her... " 17:54 and so Father says, "You know... you know... 17:56 you have to leave your Father if you want to go... " 17:58 and what does Jesus do? He leaves His father... 18:01 and He becomes... the two become one flesh... 18:04 so, Christ comes down, He proposed to us... 18:08 but that proposal was on the cross. 18:10 "Hey, this is how much I love you... will you marry me?" 18:13 And it's like, "Oh, how romantic... " 18:17 after we spit on Him... and did all this... 18:19 He says, "Hey, this is how much I love you. " 18:21 So the cross is His proposal to us 18:23 but you're not married... just because someone proposes. 18:26 All: Hmmm... hmmm... 18:28 True marriage comes after wedding vows are exchanged 18:31 so what are God's wedding vows? 18:33 They're His commandments. 18:35 So you and the Lord are there at the altar... 18:37 "Do you promise to have no other gods before me?" 18:39 "I do... " 18:41 "You promise not to worship any graven images?" 18:44 "I do... " 18:46 The harlot... is the one who comes to those vows 18:50 and says, "No... no, no, no, no, no, 18:52 I don't want to submit to these vows. " 18:54 Any church that teaches that you can follow Christ 19:00 without obeying His commandments, 19:02 he, therefore, identifies 19:04 as one who is not into wedding vows... a harlot... 19:07 that's what He's warning against... with Babylon... 19:10 it's a warning against... going against his wedding vows, 19:15 "If you love me, keep my commandments. " 19:18 By-the-way, true love... true love... 19:22 when you got married... when I got married... 19:25 when we marry, it's like, you're not thinking 19:29 "Okay, wedding vows... what?" 19:31 "Do you promise to have no other men... 19:33 no other men or women in your life?" 19:34 James: Of course! 19:35 Ivor: "Ah Man! No other women? Are you serious? 19:38 Isn't that being... aren't you being, like, legalistic? 19:40 Come on, seriously?" 19:42 Nah... the woman that you touch, she would be like... 19:45 she'd slap you and walk away, right? 19:46 Laughter... 19:48 Ivor: True love... James: Your wife would do that. 19:49 Ivor: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah... yes... 19:52 right, true love... does not think, 19:54 "Ah, wedding vows... wedding vows... wedding... " 19:57 when you're not in love, the wedding vows are a bondage. 20:01 All: Yes, hmmm... Hmmm... 20:03 Ivor: If the commandments of God are bondage to you... 20:05 James: You're not in love. 20:07 Yvonne: Oh, which is why He said, "If you love me... " 20:10 Ivor: That's right, "if you love me... " 20:12 if you love someone, you're not thinking, 20:13 "Oh yeah, now, what did the wedding vows say again?" 20:15 James: Got a verse... got a verse... 20:17 got a verse, got a verse, Jason? 20:19 Jason: No, I'm just thinking, 20:20 that's also why we have to introduce people to Christ, 20:24 before... we don't just start... like, 20:27 "Here are the wedding vows... take that... " 20:29 Ivor: Prearranged marriage... Yvonne: Yeah, right, right. 20:32 James: "For this is the love of God, 20:33 that we keep his commandments: 20:35 and his commandments are not grievous" 20:36 burdensome... it's 1st John chapter 5 verse 3. 20:39 Ivor: That's right, that's right. 20:40 James: I love that. Yvonne: Me too. 20:42 James: Babylon is fallen... and here's how Babylon falls, 20:44 in this context, Babylon has this false gospel, 20:47 this false doctrine, 20:49 the only way Babylon will fall, 20:51 is this... the gospel is preached... 20:52 that's why the first angel has to go first. 20:54 The first angel can't go second, the first angel has to go first 20:58 because notice, the second angel follows the first angel 21:01 and the second angel announces, Babylon is fallen, 21:04 well, how did Babylon fall? 21:05 The everlasting gospel was preached. 21:07 Ivor: That's right. 21:09 James: Whoa... when the everlasting gospel is preached, 21:11 it produces the fall of Babylon... 21:13 so the second angel is simply following the first angel 21:17 who is pronouncing this everlasting gospel... 21:19 you got to saturate people with Jesus... 21:21 and the everlasting gospel... the Sabbath... 21:23 the judgment... fear God... give glory to Him... 21:25 all of it has to be understood in the context 21:27 of this beautiful gospel message. 21:29 Resting in Christ... trusting in Christ... 21:32 in His righteousness... 21:33 having fear or hope in the Lord, 21:36 giving glory to Him... being saved by grace... 21:39 and that knocks Babylon off its feet. 21:41 Ivor: Hmmm... hmmm... 21:42 James: It demolishes Babylon 21:44 because Babylon is a System that points to creature merit, 21:47 it points to man's glory... it points everything to us... 21:50 and so, Babylon gets knocked out when the gospel is preached 21:53 and then we move to the third angel's message... 21:55 and the third angel's message... we've already covered it... 21:58 but just to summarize it... 21:59 the third angel's message calls us 22:01 not to receive the Mark of the Beast... 22:04 his image, his mark... the number of his name... 22:06 that if we do... 22:08 we're going to be tormented with fire and brimstone 22:11 in the presence of the holy angels 22:12 and the presence of the Lamb, 22:14 now, one little point here that I think is really important 22:16 and that is... in the context of the third angel's message 22:19 the torment takes place in God's presence 22:21 and the reason for that is because 22:23 God Himself is a devouring fire, 22:26 the angels and God... the holiness in the presence of God 22:29 is what consumes or destroys the lost... 22:32 hell's not some place in the Netherlands... 22:35 underneath the earth... 22:37 some place where it burns for all eternity... no... 22:39 it takes place for a certain amount of time 22:42 in the very presence of God and that's it... 22:44 it's over... it's done... it's finished... 22:47 God is not the kind of God 22:48 that torments and tortures people forever and ever 22:51 and ever and ever and ever... 22:52 now, the phrase here, yeah... it says, "forever and ever... " 22:54 but that's because of the condition... 22:57 the experience that they're going through 22:59 I mean, when I pulled up here to the studios, 23:02 I don't know... I don't think our Viewers know this 23:05 but it's cold here... 23:06 I mean, it's snowing outside... 23:08 I mean, I left 60-degree weather to come out here, 23:10 I made some sacrifices 23:11 and it's mostly 60s next week when we leave, right? 23:13 Yvonne: Right. Jason: It's a counterfeit spring 23:15 James: Okay, so it's a counterfeit spring, 23:16 so I pull up in my rental car... get out the door... and it... 23:20 I mean, it was forever to get from my car to the door 23:23 and I wanted that buzzer to be pushed so I could get in, 23:26 then I remember... "Oh, I left my phone in the car" 23:28 so then, I had to go back out in the cold to get my phone, 23:32 when you're in an uncomfortable position, 23:35 a little bit of time feels like "forever... " 23:37 and this position that these guys are going to be in 23:40 in the context of being lost is going to be very uncomfortable 23:42 so it seems like forever... 23:43 Jonah, was in the belly of the whale, 23:45 and he said, "forever... " 23:46 but it was actually for three days and three nights, 23:47 it wasn't forever. 23:49 The Bible uses this phrase to describe an experience 23:52 that is very uncomfortable, so it seems like a long time, 23:55 even eternity, 23:57 "I've been waiting for you... " well... 23:59 this morning, you guys were waiting for me forever, huh? 24:01 Jason: Well, we weren't going to call you out... or anything 24:05 we were going to let you slide. 24:07 James: And, of course, of course, I returned the favor, 24:10 you returned the favor... 24:12 Jason: Right after lunch... 24:13 James: Yeah, I had to wait for you... 24:14 so, but it's... the Bible uses the phrase the same way, 24:17 the same way... 24:18 Ivor: I think it's important to see here as well 24:20 because some people are like, "You know what? 24:21 That this is evidence that the wicked burn forever... " 24:25 but you got to look carefully because 24:27 where are they being tormented? 24:29 In the presence of the Lamb and in the presence of God. 24:32 Well, where is God and the Lamb? 24:34 Where are they going to spend eternity? 24:35 Where are they going to spend eternity? 24:38 In heaven... well if this is true... 24:40 this means that the wicked... guess where they are? 24:42 In heaven... 24:44 James: Hmmm... hmmm... Yvonne: Hmmm... 24:45 Ivor: Huh, wait a minute... that doesn't make sense, 24:47 no, no, no, so this reveals that this... 24:49 the wicked will not spend eternity 24:53 in the presence of the Lamb, only the righteous do. 24:55 James: Right. Ivor: So this... I mean... 24:57 we're not going into this in great detail about it now, 24:59 but, this... 25:01 James: But we will, Revelation 20... 25:02 Ivor: We will, Revelation 20... 25:04 this definitely shows that the wicked do not suffer... 25:07 and in fact, I have a verse here, 25:09 just go with me very quickly... Psalm 37 verse 20... 25:11 because this... says, "And the smoke of their torment 25:14 ascendeth up for ever and ever... " 25:16 and I want you to notice that, it's not... 25:18 it's the smoke of their torment that ascends up forever and ever 25:24 so Psalm 37 verse 20, 25:26 whoever finds that first... go ahead and read it, 25:29 Yvonne: "But the wicked shall perish, 25:30 and the enemies of the LORD 25:32 like the splendor of the meadows shall vanish into smoke... 25:36 shall they vanish away. " 25:37 Ivor: Okay, so the Bible says here 25:39 that the wicked will vanish away into what? 25:42 Into smoke... all right, so where are they? 25:44 They have vanished... 25:46 the only remainder is what? Smoke... 25:48 So, it's the smoke of their torment... 25:51 that ascendeth up forever and ever, 25:54 it's not that they're being tormented... 25:56 think about the Twin Towers when they fell... 25:58 the smoke from the Twin Towers 26:00 hovered over New York for a long time, 26:03 that's just two buildings, 26:05 imagine the whole world going up in smoke... 26:08 you know, who knows... 26:10 there may be some column of smoke throughout the universe, 26:12 you know... the newly created... 26:14 that's all that's left... 26:15 we don't know but what I'm saying is that 26:17 it's not the wicked that are tormented forever, 26:19 it's the smoke, the Bible says, "that ascends forever. " 26:23 All: Hmmm... 26:24 So, this again, points to the fact that God is a God of love, 26:28 you cannot... you cannot... you know... 26:30 say that a God of love 26:32 burns and torments people forever and ever, 26:34 this is against the very character of God 26:36 which we will get into... in another Program. 26:38 Yvonne: Malachi 4... 26:40 James: That was the verse I was thinking of too. 26:42 Yvonne: Verse 3... "Ye shall trample the wicked 26:45 for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet 26:48 on the day that I do this, saith the LORD of hosts. " 26:51 So, ashes means... they're gone... 26:54 James: That's it... Ivor: Absolutely. 26:57 Yvonne: So, they're not going to be burned forever and ever 26:59 because they will be ashes. 27:00 Ivor: That teaching is probably the greatest... 27:05 the single most popularly used reason 27:08 to deny the existence of God. 27:10 All: Hmmm... 27:11 Ivor: "How can God be love if this is what He does?" 27:15 James: This created more Atheists than any other teaching 27:17 I think... that... that... false teaching 27:19 and that is a Babylonian... that's the wine of Babylon... 27:22 that's part of the wine of Babylon... 27:23 and it's going to come down when the gospel is preached. 27:25 It's going to... it's going to... 27:27 Babylon is going to fall when the gospel is preached. 27:29 Babylon is... there are a couple of definitions, 27:32 one of the definitions is, "confusion... " 27:34 getting the Gods... is another one... 27:35 confusion... it's a false presentation of God 27:40 it brings you to the gates of the "gods" of this world 27:44 and it confuses the true gospel, 27:46 we talked about this earlier when we talked about the fact 27:48 that there's... Christianity has one message of grace... 27:51 all the other religions is merit... it's creature merit... 27:54 it's our works... 27:55 so we're out of time 27:57 but we'll continue this in our next Program. |
Revised 2017-07-17