Participants:
Series Code: TAM
Program Code: TAM000016S
|
00:31 Please bow your heads with me as we pray.
00:33 Our beloved Heavenly Father, it's once again with reverence 00:40 that we come before Your throne, knowing that Your thoughts are 00:44 higher than our thoughts, knowing that we need divine 00:48 wisdom in order to understand the meaning in Your Holy Word 00:53 of what the wrath of God is. 00:58 We know You as a God of love. 01:00 How is it then that the Bible describes the wrath of the Lamb, 01:06 and the wrath that is in the cup? 01:10 I ask, Lord, that You will help us to understand this very 01:14 important subject today; that Your Holy Spirit will be with us 01:17 to instruct us, and to teach us. 01:20 And we thank You, Father, for the privilege of 01:23 approaching Your throne. 01:24 And thank You for hearing our prayer, for we ask it in the 01:28 precious name of Jesus, Amen. 01:31 Once in awhile when I travel, and preach on Bible prophecy, 01:40 I'll have somebody come up to me and say, Pastor, is it really 01:47 that important to know all this stuff? 01:50 Isn't it enough to just love Jesus, and leave the study of 01:56 the prophecies to the experts? 01:58 Well, we're going to notice this evening, that the third angel's 02:03 message contains one of the most dire warnings 02:07 in all of the Bible. 02:08 It's a warning so strong that it appears to be very different 02:14 than what we find in the gospels, for example. 02:18 In fact, the third angel's message tells us that whoever 02:24 worships the beast, or his image, or receives his mark, 02:29 or the number of his name, will suffer the unmitigated, 02:36 and unmixed wrath of God. 02:39 And for that reason it's vitally important for us to know who 02:44 the beast is, and what the image is, and what his mark is, 02:50 and what the number of his name is. 02:53 Because if we don't know who the beast is, or who the image 02:58 is, how are we ever going to protect 03:01 ourselves from this power? 03:03 In other words, it is vitally important for us to understand 03:08 these things, so that we don't end up worshipping the beast, 03:11 and his image, and receiving the mark of the beast, 03:14 and the number of his name. 03:17 I'd like to read the third angel's message as we find it 03:20 in Revelation 14:9-11, Revelation 14:9-11. 03:27 And in our study today we are going to only look at the first 03:33 half of the third angel's message. 03:35 And then in our next lecture we're going to discuss the issue 03:40 of the fire and the brimstone. 03:42 We'll touch upon it in our lecture today, 03:44 but we'll do a full study of it in our next lecture. 03:47 The third angel's message says this: Then a third angel 03:52 followed them... That is the first two angels, saying with a 03:55 loud voice, if anyone worships the beast and his image 04:00 and receives his mark on his forehead, or on his hand, 04:05 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, 04:12 which is poured out full strength into the cup 04:17 of his indignation. 04:18 Now this is the portion that we're going to study today. 04:22 The rest of the verse we're going to take a look at 04:25 in our next lecture. 04:27 I'm going to read it. 04:28 He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence 04:34 of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. 04:37 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever. 04:42 And they have no rest day or night who worship the beast 04:47 and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. 04:53 You tell me, is it important for us to know who the beast is? 04:58 Absolutely! Is it vital for us to know what the image 05:03 to the beast is? Absolutely, because if we don't know 05:07 we probably will end up worshipping these powers. 05:12 Now I'd like to take you, just for a moment, to an event that 05:20 is going to take place after the millennium. 05:22 And a little later on in this lecture we're going to come 05:25 back to this point. 05:26 But I want to introduce our subject by referring to an event 05:31 that will take place after the millennium. 05:33 You see, folks, after the thousand years there will 05:37 only be two groups. 05:38 One group will be the saved. 05:41 They are in the holy city. 05:43 Outside the holy city are the lost. 05:47 Not three groups, but two groups. 05:50 The saved in the city, and the lost outside the city. 05:54 Now let me ask you this question, Those people who are 06:00 in the city, were they sinners? 06:03 Of course they were sinners. 06:06 Those outside the city; were they sinners? Sure. 06:12 In other words, you have sinners outside, 06:14 and you have sinners inside. 06:15 And so my question is, What made the difference between 06:20 the sinners inside, and the sinners outside? 06:23 Does God show partiality towards some, 06:28 while He doesn't favor others? 06:29 Why are the saved in the city, and why are the 06:34 wicked outside the city? 06:36 I'd like to read this verse: Revelation 22, actually two 06:40 verses, Revelation 22:14, 15, where these two 06:45 groups are spoken of. 06:47 It says there, (And I'm reading from the New King James 06:50 Version, which is the version that we've been 06:52 using in our seminar.) 07:05 So there you have one group that do the commandments; 07:08 other the versions say, wash their robes. 07:11 They are inside the holy city, and they have the right 07:14 to eat from the tree of life. 07:16 But then you have another group: verse 15. 07:35 And so you have two groups: one inside the city, 07:40 and the other outside the city. 07:42 Inside are those who keep God's commandments, 07:45 or washed their robes; outside the city you have those who 07:49 disobey God's holy commandments. 07:53 Because the list of things in verse 15 are things that violate 07:58 principles that we find in the ten commandments. 08:02 Now today we're going to talk about wrath of God that will 08:06 fall upon the wicked that will eventually be 08:09 outside the holy city. 08:11 And I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to 08:15 Revelation 15:1, and you're going to see why I started this 08:20 lecture by referring to the two groups: two groups of sinners, 08:23 one saved group of sinners, and one lost group of sinners. 08:27 What made the difference? 08:29 Well, we just read that those inside keep the commandments, 08:32 or they washed their robes. 08:33 Those outside practiced these evil deeds in violation 08:37 of God's commandments. 08:38 But there's more to the story than this, because we're not 08:40 saved by keeping God's commandments. 08:42 Keeping God's commandments, we'll see, 08:44 is a fruit of something else; of a relationship 08:49 with Jesus Christ. 08:50 Revelation 15:1. Here we find a description of the wrath of 08:56 God that is going to be poured out upon the world shortly 09:00 before the second coming of Jesus. It says there: 09:20 The word complete in the Greek is full. 09:23 In other words, the seven last plagues are the fullness of the 09:28 revelation of God's wrath. 09:31 And we're going to notice in the third angel's message that it 09:34 says that the wrath of God is poured out without mixture. 09:39 You see, at this point there's no blending of mercy in. 09:43 It's pure justice when God's wrath is revealed. 09:48 So what I want you to notice here in Revelation 15:1 09:51 is that the plagues contain the wrath of God, 09:56 which is poured out without mixture, 09:59 or totally and completely. 10:01 Now let's go to Revelation 16:1, Revelation 16:1. 10:07 The question is, where is this wrath of God contained? 10:12 What is the container of the wrath of God? 10:15 Well, notice Revelation 16:1. 10:28 That's important. 10:36 By the way, it's the word cups. 10:38 It's the same word that's used in the gospels that translate 10:43 cup. That's important. And so it says: 10:53 What is it that contains the wrath of God? cups. 10:59 You say, That's a strange place; to have 11:02 the wrath of God in cups, in seven bowls. 11:06 By the way, the number seven represents 11:08 totality and completeness. 11:10 This is the total manifestation of the wrath of God. 11:15 But now I want you to notice the third angel's message once again 11:20 with which we began our lecture. 11:22 Revelation 14:9, 10. 11:25 We've noticed that the seven last plagues are the 11:28 outpouring of God's wrath, and this wrath is found in cups. 11:32 And it's the totality of God's wrath. 11:35 But now I want you to notice that the wicked have to do 11:38 something with that wine that's in the cups. 11:40 It says there in Revelation 14: 9, Then a third angel followed 11:46 them saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast 11:50 and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead, 11:54 or on his hand, he himself shall also... 11:58 Now notice an added idea here. 12:08 So the cup contains what? 12:12 It contains wine. And the wine is God's what? is God's wrath. 12:16 And the wicked must drink it, according to this. 12:20 Remember these concepts, because we're going to 12:22 come back to them. Verse 10. 12:34 Without mixture, in other words. 12:41 So are you catching the picture here? 12:44 What does the cup contain? the wrath of God. 12:49 And the wrath of God has to be what by the wicked? 12:53 The wicked have to drink the wrath of God. 12:57 Now I must tell you that the wrath of God does not come 13:02 to an end until the wicked are destroyed after the millennium. 13:06 In other words, the seven bowls, the seven plagues, 13:11 are a fullness of the manifestation of the wrath 13:13 of God, but that wrath is finally terminated with the 13:18 destruction of the wicked after the millennium. 13:20 And you say, How do we know that? 13:22 Because in the third angel's message it speaks about fire 13:26 and brimstone falling from God out of heaven, 13:29 and that is the final manifestation 13:32 of the wrath of God. 13:33 So the plagues, we might say, are the first installment of the 13:37 fullness of the wrath of God, and it culminates eventually 13:41 in the destruction of the wicked by fire after the millennium. 13:45 Because the third angel's message, as we read, 13:48 speaks about fire and brimstone falling 13:51 from heaven upon the wicked. 13:54 Now let's go to Psalm 11:6, Psalm 11:6. 14:00 I want to show you that there's a connection between the cup 14:04 and the pouring out of fire. 14:07 And, by the way, we're going to discuss this more fully 14:09 in our next lecture. 14:11 We're going to talk about the fire and brimstone, 14:12 and burning forever and ever, etcetera, which has been greatly 14:16 misunderstood by the Christian world. 14:18 Psalm 11:6, notice this: 14:40 So let me ask you, Does the cup contain fire and brimstone? 14:44 It most certainly does. 14:46 Now, we must understand then that the seven last plagues 14:49 are the fullness of the manifestation of the wrath 14:52 of God, which means without any mixture of mercy. 14:54 But the last stage of the outpouring of the wrath of God 14:58 takes place after the thousand years, when fire and brimstone 15:02 destroys the wicked. 15:03 That is the final manifestation of the wrath of God. 15:07 Notice Deuteronomy 32:22, Deuteronomy 32:22. 15:14 In scripture the wrath of God is linked with fire. 15:20 And even today we use metaphors. 15:26 We use expressions that connect wrath with warmth, 15:33 or with something that's hot. 15:34 For example we say, That guy's got a hot temper. 15:38 Or we say his temper flared up. 15:41 Or we say he's hot headed. 15:45 Or when we get angry we say, That burns me up! 15:49 In other words, the wrath of God is linked with the idea of fire. 15:55 But let me explain something. 15:56 The wrath of God is not like our anger or our wrath. 16:00 You know, we get angry over things because our precious 16:03 little self is offended. 16:05 But with God the wrath of God is the fact that God, 16:09 and His holiness cannot co-exist with sin. 16:13 Righteousness and holiness cannot be in the 16:16 same room with sin. 16:18 And, therefore, the wrath of God is the outpouring of 16:22 the punishment of God upon those who reject Jesus Christ as their 16:27 Savior and Lord, because they chose to hang onto sin. 16:30 And God and sin cannot co-exist, because God is a Holy God. 16:35 It's kind of like Jesus; do you remember He was in the temple 16:38 one time, and there were some people that were accusing 16:43 Him of Sabbath breaking, because He healed a man 16:45 with a withered hand? 16:47 You might remember that. 16:48 It's Mark 3:1-6. The only time in the New Testament where we 16:53 find the word anger connected with Jesus is in that story. 16:58 When He saw the hardness of their hearts, the Bible says 17:02 that He was angry. 17:03 Now is that the same kind of anger that we have? 17:06 Absolutely not! It's what we call righteous indignation. 17:11 In other words, when somebody's doing something that is totally 17:15 contrary to what we know is right, and true, and good, 17:19 we're filled with righteous indignation. 17:21 That is the sense in which the wrath of God 17:25 is to be understood. 17:26 Now notice Deuteronomy 32:22. 17:35 Sounds kind of strange for God, doesn't it? 17:41 So God's wrath has to do with fire, once again. 17:55 Once again, Is the wrath of God connected with fire? 17:58 It most certainly is. 18:00 That is the final stage of the manifestation 18:03 of the wrath of God. 18:05 And, by the way, do you know that the final thing that has to 18:11 do with the wrath of God, is what the Bible 18:14 calls the second death. 18:16 Go with me to Revelation 20:14, 15, Revelation 20:14, 15. 18:25 The lake of fire where there is brimstone and fire is the final 18:31 manifestation and fulfillment of the third angel's message. 18:34 Notice what it says there. 18:36 This is after the millennium. 18:50 So what is the final manifestation 18:53 of the wrath of God? 18:55 It is called what? the second death in the lake of fire. 18:59 And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast where? 19:06 was cast into the lake of fire. 19:09 Now we need to ask ourselves the question, Why will the 19:15 wicked suffer such a terrible manifestation 19:19 of the wrath of God? 19:20 For how many people did Jesus die? 19:23 Did Jesus die only for those who are found finally 19:28 inside the Holy City? Absolutely not! 19:30 Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. 19:33 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. 19:37 He's the propitiation not only for our sins, but for the sins 19:41 of the whole world. 19:42 So did Jesus die to save all of the people that are also outside 19:47 the Holy City? Absolutely! 19:49 The question is, Why weren't they saved? 19:52 Why were those inside saved, whereas those 19:55 outside were not saved? 19:57 In order to understand this, we have to go back and analyze 20:02 the experience of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. 20:06 Because much of the terminology that we've noticed 20:10 at the beginning of our study today is used in connection 20:14 with the passion of Christ. 20:15 A few years ago, probably all of you will remember, 20:21 Mel Gibson came out with his movie, 20:23 The Passion of the Christ. 20:25 You know, it brought in hundreds of millions of dollars. 20:30 And those who saw it say that the movie majored in the brutal 20:36 physical punishment that was meted out upon Jesus Christ. 20:41 I mean savagely beaten, time, after time, after time, 20:45 until the blood just was in pools on the ground. 20:49 In other words, that movie emphasized the tremendous 20:53 physical sufferings of Jesus, the physical agony. 20:56 But do you know what? it was not the physical agony of Jesus 21:01 that caused Him the greatest pain. 21:03 In fact, I believe that Jesus Christ could hardly feel the 21:08 physical pain, because of the spiritual anguish 21:12 that He was suffering. 21:13 And you say, What do you mean by the spiritual anguish? 21:16 Well, let's study about it in the gospels. 21:19 Matthew 26:38, Matthew 26:38. 21:25 Here Jesus is with His disciples there in the 21:28 garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus says to His disciples 21:32 the following words: 21:42 Notice, not only sorrowful is His soul, 21:46 but exceedingly sorrowful. He says: 21:53 In other words, He had so much sorrow that apparently it was 21:58 going to cause His what? His death. 22:00 And so He says to the disciples, Stay here and watch with Me. 22:04 And what do they do? They go to sleep. 22:07 And later on what do they do? 22:09 They all forsake Him. 22:12 And so Jesus is by Himself. 22:15 Now there's a book that I love. 22:18 Some of you probably have heard about it, if not most of you. 22:22 It's the book, The Desire of Ages. 22:25 There are two chapters in this book that I 22:28 would like to recommend. 22:29 You know, there's no way that you can read these chapters 22:32 and not have your eyes tear up. 22:36 One of those chapters is titled Gethsemane, and the other one 22:41 is titled Calvary. 22:42 You know, this book is the most loved biography of Christ 22:48 in the Library of Congress. 22:49 They did a survey a few years ago. 22:51 They discovered that over and above, The Desire of Ages, 22:54 was the favorite book on the life of Jesus Christ. 22:58 On Page 685 we find this remarkable statement about 23:05 Jesus and this intense sorrow that He felt. 23:16 That is Jesus. 23:28 Why hadn't the Father left Him alone? because Jesus always did 23:33 what? what pleased the Father. 23:36 And then she remarks: 24:33 Why was Jesus sorrowful? 24:34 Because He sensed the wrath of God falling upon Him. 24:42 Notice Matthew 26. 24:44 We'll read verses 39, 42, and 44. 24:48 Jesus is in the garden, and He's kneeling, 24:52 and He's praying to His Father. 24:55 He's pleading with His Father. 24:57 By the way, this is before anybody even 24:59 laid one finger on Him. 25:01 Notice Matthew 26:39. 25:16 Now don't miss this point. 25:32 Notice what we find in verse 42. 25:42 Now you're going to have an added element. 25:55 Do you have the same elements that we found 25:57 in the third angel's message? Absolutely. 26:00 And in the outpouring of the seven last plagues? Yes. 26:04 So He says, 26:13 And verse 44 says: 26:22 Let me ask you, Who gave Jesus that cup to drink? 26:30 In Revelation it says that the cup contains the wrath of whom? 26:34 The wrath of God. The question is, who gave that cup 26:39 that Jesus needed to drink? 26:41 Notice John 18:11, John 18:11. 26:47 This is when Peter took out his sword and cut off 26:49 the servant's ear. 27:03 Who gave Jesus the cup? His Father gave Him the cup. 27:08 You say, That's impossible, Pastor Bohr. 27:10 Do you mean to say that the cup that contained the wine 27:14 of God's wrath; Jesus had to drink that cup, and it was given 27:19 to him by His very own Father? 27:21 That's what Scripture says. 27:24 No wonder when Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane an angel 27:29 had to come and strengthen Jesus or else He probably would have 27:33 died because He said, My soul is sorrowful, even unto death. 27:37 Let's read about it in Luke 22: 43, 44, Luke 22:43, 44. 27:45 It says there: Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, 27:50 strengthening Him. 28:09 How many of you have ever seen anybody sweat blood? 28:12 How much agony must you have? 28:16 How much suffering must you have in order to sweat 28:20 blood instead of water? 28:22 And listen, folks, this is before one single person 28:26 laid a finger on Jesus Christ. 28:27 He's already sweating blood. 28:30 He's already suffering agony long before anybody came 28:35 and started beating Him. 28:36 In other words, His agony was not agony of body; His agony was 28:41 primarily agony of soul. 28:43 In the book, God's Amazing Grace, Page 168, 28:47 we find this statement: 29:00 He would have died in the garden without anyone laying 29:04 one finger upon Him. 29:06 In other words, the agony of Jesus did not have to do 29:11 with the crown of thorns, and with the beating on His back, 29:14 and with all of His physical suffering. 29:17 It had to do with extreme spiritual anguish. 29:21 Because His Father had given Him the cup of His wrath, 29:24 and Jesus had to drink this cup. 29:27 You know, we catch a glimpse into the feelings of Jesus 29:31 in a prophecy that was given about a thousand years before 29:36 Jesus was even born. 29:38 Psalm 22:1, 2. In fact we have the very words that Jesus 29:43 spoke on the cross. 30:05 He says, I cry out and You don't listen. 30:08 Why, Father, have You forsaken Me? 30:10 Do you know why? because Jesus was drinking the cup 30:14 of the wrath of God. 30:16 Because Jesus, as we'll notice, was bearing the sins 30:20 of the whole world upon Himself. 30:23 I'd like to read another couple of statements from this 30:26 magnificent book, The Desire of Ages, 30:28 from the chapter on Gethsemane. 30:30 Notice this statement. 30:33 This is found on Page 686. 31:10 On Page 686, the same page, it says: 31:27 You know, Jesus interceded for other people 31:29 all during His ministry. 31:30 But now the author says: 31:37 Nobody to intercede before the Father for Him, because He was 31:41 bearing the sin of the world. 31:43 I want to read just one final statement. 31:45 This is found on Page... 31:47 Let me just find it here. 31:50 ...693 of The Desire of ages. It says: 32:22 See the reference to the cup? 32:35 Many years later the apostle Paul wrote in the book of 32:42 Hebrews about the anguish of Jesus 32:44 in the garden of Gethsemane. 32:46 It's found in Hebrews 5:7, Hebrews 5:7. It says: 33:11 Notice the expressions: prayers, supplications, 33:13 vehement cries, tears. 33:16 It speaks about the anguish that Jesus felt 33:19 in the garden of Gethsemane as He was drinking the cup 33:23 of the wrath of His own Father. 33:24 You know what made it especially difficult for Jesus is the fact 33:29 that all during His ministry He had felt an intimate 33:32 closeness with His Father. 33:33 As it says in John 8:29, Jesus spoke these 33:38 words during His ministry. He said: 33:49 He says, I'm not alone. 33:51 My Father is always with Me because I do what pleases Him. 33:54 But now, in the agony of Gethsemane, Jesus is saying, 33:58 My Father has left Me alone. 34:00 My God, My God, Why has Thou forsaken Me? 34:04 And, of course, the question comes, Why was Jesus 34:08 drinking the cup of the wrath of God? 34:11 Folks, it was because Jesus was suffering the just punishment 34:19 that all of us deserve. 34:22 I want to read several statements from Scripture 34:24 where this fact is brought out, that the cup that Jesus drank, 34:29 the cup of the wrath of God, of His Father, 34:32 the justice of His Father actually means that Jesus 34:36 was bearing the sins of the whole world upon His shoulders. 34:39 Notice Galatians 3:13, Galatians 3:13. 34:49 Let me ask you, Is the law bad? 34:52 Many Christians think that the law is bad, even though the 34:56 apostle Paul said that the law is holy, and just, and what? 34:59 holy, and just, and good. 35:01 Who's bad? we are. 35:05 Why does the law curse us? because we're sinners. 35:09 The law says, If you live in harmony 35:12 with My principles, I bless you. 35:14 If you violate My principles, the curse will fall upon you. 35:19 The law is not bad; it's sin that is bad. 35:23 And so it says, Christ has redeemed us 35:26 from the curse of the law. 35:28 How did Jesus do this? 35:29 How did He redeem the world from the curse of the law? 35:33 It says, Having become a what? having become a curse for us, 35:40 for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. 35:44 Do you know where that expression, 35:45 that phrase comes from? cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree? 35:49 It actually comes from Deuteronomy 21:22, 23. 35:53 And I'm just going to mention this. 35:55 It's not in your list of texts. 35:56 You know, the enemies of Israel, when they were captured, 36:01 they were slain, and they were hung on trees outside 36:08 the encampment of Israel. 36:10 And they were considered cursed and forsaken by God. 36:14 And after they were dead, actually they were taken down 36:18 from the... They weren't crosses, 36:21 they were actually stakes of wood. 36:23 They were taken down at sundown, and they were placed in a cave, 36:28 and stones were placed at the entrance to the cave. 36:31 Now does that sound familiar? 36:33 Let me ask you, Jesus Christ, was He looked 36:38 upon as cursed by God? 36:40 Absolutely He was. 36:42 When was His body removed from the cross? 36:45 Right around when the sun was going to what? to set. 36:50 And He was hung where? 36:52 He was hung on a tree. 36:55 And where was He buried? 36:56 He was placed in a cave. 36:59 And what was placed in front of the entrance to the cave? 37:03 A stone was placed by the entrance. 37:06 In other words, this punishment was the punishment 37:09 for the worst sinners against Israel. 37:12 And Jesus suffered the worst kind of humiliation, 37:16 and punishment for the human race, because He bore the sin 37:20 of the whole world. 37:21 You know, there are people in the world today who have 37:24 committed... Actually they don't live today, but they lived 37:27 in the world, and they committed suicide because 37:30 they had such a guilty conscience. 37:32 Now can you imagine what it would be like to bear 37:37 upon yourself the guilt of every sin that has been committed, 37:42 is being committed, or will be committed in human history? 37:47 Actually, that is what crushed out the life of Jesus. 37:52 That's what broke His heart. 37:54 Jesus did not die of the wounds that He received. 37:58 Even the soldier was surprised when he came. 38:01 The centurion came and found Him dead, 38:03 and he thrust a spear through His side. 38:05 He was surprised that He wasn't dead, 38:07 because the thieves were still alive. 38:09 Because Jesus did not die from His physical wounds, 38:13 Jesus died of a broken heart, because His Father, 38:18 at least He felt, had forsaken Him. 38:21 He could not see the reconciling face of His Father, 38:24 because He was bearing the guilt of the whole human race. 38:27 Notice 2 Corinthians 5:21, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: 38:35 That is talking about God the Father. 38:39 That is God the Father made Jesus... 38:51 Who made Jesus sin? 38:53 God the Father made Jesus sin that we might be found what? 38:58 that we might be found the righteousness of God in Him. 39:03 I want you also to notice the following statement that we 39:08 find in Isaiah 53:4-6. 39:11 You know, it describes vividly why Jesus was suffering 39:15 this intense agony; what it meant that He was drinking 39:18 the cup of God's wrath. 39:19 It says there: Surely He has borne our grief's, 39:24 and carried our sorrows: yet we esteemed Him stricken, 39:30 smitten by whom? by God. 39:34 Who smote Jesus? His own Father. 39:38 You say, Why is that? 39:39 Why did He get the cup of His Father's wrath? 39:42 He was holy, and righteous. 39:44 He always did what pleased His Father. 39:46 Why did that happen to Jesus? 39:48 Because Jesus was taking our place. Notice: 40:17 And now notice the last part of verse 6: 40:25 Who put on Jesus the iniquity? the Father did. 40:29 Who gave Him the cup? the Father did. 40:32 Can you imagine what that must have been like? 40:36 Do you think the Father suffered as well as Jesus? 40:40 Folks, you know, sometimes we talk about the sufferings of 40:44 Jesus, but sometimes I wonder if the suffering of God 40:47 the Father was not even greater than the 40:49 suffering of Jesus Christ. 40:50 Because both of them were separated from one another, 40:53 because Jesus was bearing the sin of the world. 40:56 Romans 8:32, Romans 8:32, is a beautiful verse. It says: 41:07 God did what? He did not spare His own Son? 41:14 Who delivered Him up? the Father. 41:26 Let me ask you, Does God the Father love us 41:29 as much as He loves Jesus? 41:31 That's what this verse is saying. 41:35 He did not spare His own Son because He loved us 41:40 as much as He loves Jesus, or else He would not have been 41:45 willing to give up Jesus, His Son. 41:47 And so this is comforting to know that He was willing 41:50 to go through this intense agony and suffering, because He wanted 41:56 us to be saved in His kingdom. 41:58 He loves us as much as He loves His Son, Jesus Christ. 42:03 Let me illustrate this point. 42:06 I just arrived in Fresno about going on 131/2 years ago, 42:12 and one evening, one Wednesday night, we had prayer meeting, 42:17 and we sang, and we studied Scripture, 42:19 and we gave testimonies of fantastic experience. 42:22 And after the prayer meeting I was all pumped up and excited. 42:27 And so I got in the car and I went up here to Clinton, 42:31 and I turned right on Clinton, and then I turned left on 42:34 First Street, and I was just, I was walking in the clouds. 42:38 I was so excited about what had happened at prayer meeting. 42:41 And I didn't notice that my speedometer marked 50 mpr, 42:46 actually 55 mpr, and it's a 40 mph zone. 42:51 And I was very, very elevated until I saw that blue and red 42:56 light behind my car. 42:58 And, by the way, this is the only time that I've been stopped 43:01 here in Fresno in 131/2 years. 43:03 And the policeman got out of his car. 43:05 He came to the window. 43:07 He said, Can I have your license, please? 43:08 So I took out my wallet and my license wasn't in there. 43:13 I'd taken it out for some reason. 43:14 So he says, Well, could I have your registration? 43:17 I said, Yeah, I'll give you the registration. 43:19 So I looked in the glove compartment above the visor, 43:21 and couldn't find my registration. 43:23 So he says, Well, do you have proof of insurance? 43:26 I said, Well, let me look. 43:27 And so I looked, and I couldn't find proof of insurance either. 43:30 And so he says, What's your name? 43:32 I said, My name is Stephen Bohr. 43:34 And he said, What is your profession? 43:37 And, you know what, I was kind of embarrassed. 43:40 I actually said, Well, you know, I'm pastor of the church 43:43 right around the corner, Fresno Central Church. 43:46 And he said, Well, let me go back to my car, and you know, 43:50 look in the computer and check things out. 43:51 So he was there for a few minutes and then he came back 43:54 to the window and he said, Pastor Bohr, 43:56 everything checks out. 43:58 I know you have a license, and I know that you're registered, 44:02 and I know that you have insurance, 44:04 because it's all in the computer. 44:06 And I was feeling pretty good. 44:08 I said, Well, but the ticket is coming. 44:10 And so he looked at me and he said, You know, you as a pastor 44:14 of all people should obey the laws of Caesar. 44:18 And I said, You know, I really know that. 44:20 But I explained to him I was in prayer meeting, 44:22 we had testimonies, we sang, and we studied Scripture. 44:25 I was just pumped up. 44:26 I just got carried away! 44:28 I didn't even notice. 44:29 And so he looked at me and he said, You know, I can tell that 44:33 this isn't a thing that you regularly do. 44:35 I'll tell you what I'm going to do. 44:37 I'm going to let you go, but be more careful next time. 44:42 Now let me ask you, Did that policeman do the right thing? 44:49 No, he did not do the right thing. 44:52 You say, Well, you got off the hook. 44:55 Yes, I got off the hook, but he didn't do the right thing. 44:58 Because I had violated the law, and the justice of the law 45:03 demanded that I pay the fine. 45:05 I'm thankful I didn't have to. 45:08 But if he had done his job, he would have given me the ticket. 45:12 Do you know what would have been even better? 45:15 If he'd come to the window and said, Pastor Bohr, the law says 45:20 that if you go 15 miles an hour over the speed limit, 45:24 you have to pay such and such a fine. 45:26 And, you know, so you're liable. 45:30 But he says, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. 45:32 I'm going to go down to the police station. 45:36 I'm going to go to the judge, and I'm going to pay 45:40 this ticket myself. 45:43 You say, Fat chance! 45:45 Of course, that wouldn't happen in real life. 45:47 But let me ask you, If he went to court to the judge, 45:51 and he paid my ticket, would the justice of the law be sustained? 45:56 Yes, because the fine is what? paid. 46:00 But at the same time would mercy be shown? 46:03 Yes, because he paid the fine so that I did not have to what? 46:09 So that I did not have to pay it. 46:11 That's exactly what happened with Jesus. 46:13 You see, we all should die. 46:17 We all should be punished with the sentence of death. 46:20 But Jesus paid the death that we should suffer. 46:26 And because He paid the death that we should suffer, 46:30 justice is satisfied, the demands of the law are 46:33 satisfied, but at the same time, His mercy is shown because 46:38 He suffered the penalty so that I don't have to suffer. 46:42 You all know the verse that we have, the most famous verse 46:48 in the Bible: John 3:16 where it says, For God so loved the 46:53 world that He gave His only begotten Son. 46:57 That includes everyone, right? 46:59 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. 47:02 But there's a second half of the verse. 47:04 Sometimes people forget what that second half 47:07 of the verse says. 47:08 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten 47:11 Son, that whosoever what? 47:13 That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, 47:17 but have everlasting life. 47:22 So let me ask you, Did He die to save everyone? 47:24 Did He pay everyone's debt? 47:25 Well, He didn't pay everyone's debt, but He made provision 47:29 to pay everyone's debt. 47:31 Now I go back to the original question that we 47:35 began our lecture with. 47:36 Why do you have a group in the holy city who are sinners, 47:39 but they're saved? 47:41 And you have another group of sinners outside the holy city 47:46 that eventually will be destroyed by fire and brimstone? 47:51 What made the difference? 47:53 Folks, what made the difference is simply that the group 47:57 who are in the holy city received, or accepted, 48:01 the gift that Jesus purchased at the price of His own blood. 48:06 You see, Jesus, by shedding His blood, paid an infinite price. 48:13 He paid enough to save every single person on Planet Earth. 48:17 But I have to receive or accept that gift. 48:22 And if I don't accept that gift, then I am still in my sins, 48:26 and I must suffer death. 48:29 So we get back to those individuals who are outside 48:32 the holy city, who are going to finally suffer the ultimate 48:35 punishment of the wrath of God. 48:37 Why are they going to suffer this punishment? 48:40 Did Jesus suffer this punishment in their place? 48:43 He most certainly did. 48:45 He suffered the wrath of God. 48:48 He paid the penalty of their sin. 48:50 But what did they do? 48:51 They refused to accept the payment that Jesus made. 48:55 I want to go to Revelation 20: 7-9, Revelation 20:7-9. 49:05 This is speaking about after the millennium, when the wicked are 49:09 gathered around the holy city in the New Jerusalem; 49:12 those who rejected the payment that Jesus Christ offered. 49:15 It says in verse 7: 49:46 Is that what we find in the third angel's message? 49:49 fire falling from heaven, fire and brimstone 49:51 devouring the wicked? Absolutely. 49:53 This is the final manifestation of the wrath of God 49:55 in the third angel's message. 49:57 Now where does this language come from where you have the 50:02 nations of all of the world coming from the four corners 50:05 of the earth, Gog and Magog. 50:07 Where does this come from? 50:08 It actually comes from Ezekiel chapter 39. 50:11 So let's go back to Ezekiel 39: 17-19, Ezekiel 39:17-19. 50:22 And there's a very important point that I 50:24 want to underline here. 50:25 Do you remember that in the Sanctuary there was 50:27 a sacrificial service, right? bulls, and goats, and lambs. 50:31 Different kinds of animals were sacrificed. 50:33 Why were they sacrificed? 50:34 They pointed forward to the death of Jesus 50:37 Christ for sin, right? the fact that He was going to suffer 50:40 the punishment of sinners. 50:41 Now I want you to notice carefully what it says here. 51:00 What is God going to do here? A what? 51:07 Is this a sacrifice? 51:08 By the way, this is the same word that is used 51:09 in the book of Leviticus for the sacrifices of the Sanctuary. 51:16 Again it says: 51:25 And now notice the animals that are mentioned. 51:32 What kinds of animals were these? sacrificial animals. 51:51 Is the death of the wicked portrayed as a sacrifice? 51:56 as a sanctuary sacrifice? 51:58 It most certainly is. 51:59 And you say, Why is it portrayed as sacrificial animals? 52:04 Let me tell you. There's actually two ways that your 52:09 sins can be taken care of. 52:11 The first way is if you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior 52:18 and Lord, and therefore accept the payment that 52:22 He made for your sins. 52:24 Let me ask you, If you received Jesus, are your sins paid for? 52:27 They most certainly are paid for, but you didn't 52:30 have to pay for them. 52:31 He was sacrificed instead of you. 52:35 But I ask you, Is there another way of paying 52:39 the penalty of sin? 52:41 Of course there is. 52:42 What is the other way? that I suffer death. 52:49 Are you understanding why sacrificial 52:52 animals are used here? 52:53 It's because the wicked did not accept the sacrifice of Christ, 52:57 therefore they have to pay the debt for their own sins. 53:03 You see when Jesus died he deposited enough currency, 53:08 if you please, in the bank of the universe, to save every 53:12 single human being. 53:14 But we have to come, and we have to make the withdrawal. 53:17 And if we don't make the withdrawal, then His payment 53:21 will do us no good. 53:23 And, therefore, we must pay for our sins with our own death. 53:27 Are you understanding what I am saying? 53:28 And Ezekiel 39 is talking about this group of people outside 53:34 the holy city, because Ezekiel 38 and 39 are talking about 53:37 Gog and Magog; the same context of Revelation 20:7-9. 53:41 So my question is, Why were those outside the city lost? 53:46 Because they rejected Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, 53:50 and they chose rather to worship whom? the beast, his image, 53:56 and to receive the mark of the beast, 53:59 and the number of his name. 54:00 So is receiving Jesus Christ a matter of life and death? 54:06 It most certainly is. 54:07 You see, either Jesus suffered the wrath of God in my place, 54:12 or I will have to suffer the wrath of God myself. 54:15 Notice once again Revelation 20:14, 15, 54:20 the final manifestation of the wrath of God. It says: 54:33 Do you know what the second death is? 54:35 The second death is that death from which there 54:38 is no resurrection. 54:42 Did Jesus suffer the second death? 54:47 Don't miss the next exciting episode, 54:49 because we're going to address that issue. 54:52 Did Jesus suffer second death? 54:53 If He did suffer second death, why is He not 54:57 separated from God today? 54:58 Why did He see His Father's face again? 55:00 A very important question, which we'll address 55:05 in our next lecture. 55:06 But I want you to notice: Then death and Hades were cast 55:10 into the lake of fire. 55:11 This is the second death. 55:13 And anyone not found where? written in the book of life 55:18 was cast into the lake of fire. 55:21 Whose book is this, the book of life? 55:22 Notice Revelation 13:8. It says: 55:29 That is worship the beast. 55:42 Who is written in the book of the Lamb? the saved. 55:47 And when was that Lamb slain? 55:50 It says here from the foundation of the world. 55:53 The plan was laid in eternity, but it was implemented 55:57 when Jesus Christ came to this earth. 56:00 And so who is it folks, who is going to drink the cup of wine 56:08 of the wrath of God? 56:10 What a waste! Nobody in this world really has to drink 56:15 the cup of the wrath of God, of the wine of the wrath of God, 56:18 because Jesus already drank it. 56:20 What a waste that someone would have to drink that 56:23 cup of wrath themselves when Jesus already drank it. 56:27 The Bible tells us that in the last days those who worship 56:34 the beast and his image, and receive his mark, 56:38 and the number of his name, will drink the cup of the 56:43 unmitigated wrath of God. 56:44 And after the millennium their destruction 56:50 will be sure and final. 56:53 So the big question is, Have we repented of sin, 56:59 and confessed our sin? 57:02 Have we chosen Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord 57:07 instead of the beast? 57:08 Have we committed our lives without any reservation 57:12 to Jesus Christ, and only to Him? 57:15 You see, the issue at the end of time will be 57:18 Christ or the beast? 57:20 And the question is, Who of these two will we worship? |
Revised 2023-04-20