Participants:
Series Code: TAM
Program Code: TAM000019S
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00:31 Let's pray. Our Beloved Heavenly Father, what a joy it is to be
00:37 in Your presence once again. 00:39 As we speak today about keeping the commandments of God 00:45 we ask for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. 00:48 We realize that there are many in this world, people who claim 00:53 the name of Jesus even, who believe that it's not necessary 00:59 to keep the ten commandments, or that they were 01:01 nailed to the cross. 01:02 I ask, Lord, that You will help us understand this 01:05 very important subject, and that we might understand that You 01:09 will have a people in the end time who keep 01:12 the commandments of God. 01:13 We thank You for hearing our prayer, for we ask it in the 01:17 precious name of Jesus, Amen. 01:20 The expression, keep the commandments of God, 01:26 appears three times in the book of Revelation. 01:30 It appears in Revelation 12:17, Revelation 14:12, 01:37 and Revelation 22:14. 01:41 I'd like to begin by reading the reference from Revelation 14:12, 01:47 and then we'll read 22:14, and then we'll take a closer look 01:52 at Revelation 12:17. 01:54 Revelation 14:12 comes immediately after the 01:59 third angel's message. 02:00 The third angel's message says, beware of worshipping the beast, 02:04 his image, or receiving his mark. 02:07 And then in the very next verse, Revelation 14:12, 02:11 we find these words: 02:24 So you'll notice that those who keep the commandments of God 02:28 are in contrast to those who worship the beast, 02:30 and his image, and receive the mark. 02:32 Because Revelation 14:11 speaks about those who worship 02:37 the beast, his image, and receive the mark. 02:38 Revelation 14:12, in contrast, speaks about those who keep 02:44 the commandments of God, and have the patience of the saints. 02:47 The second reference that I would like to read is 02:50 Revelation 22:14. 02:53 There is a problem of translation here. 02:57 Some versions read, Blessed are those who wash their robes. 03:02 However, I believe, and I can't get into all of 03:05 the reasons right now, I believe that the best translation 03:08 is the one that I'm going to read now. 03:11 Revelation 22:14. Blessed are those who do His commandments. 03:18 Other versions say, wash their robes, 03:21 but I believe this is the correct translation. 03:27 It's the same expression: keep the commandments. 03:30 I don't know why the New King James uses do instead of keep, 03:34 but it's the same identical expression. 03:44 You'll notice here that we're not told that there's a group of 03:49 people who believe in the commandments. 03:52 It doesn't say that there's a group of people who have the 03:55 commandments, or who teach the commandments, 03:59 or who preach the commandments. 04:01 We're told explicitly in Revelation 14:12, 04:05 and Revelation 22:14, that there will be a group of people who 04:10 keep the commandments of God. 04:13 So I guess that if anybody teaches you that no one can 04:17 keep the commandments, they're lying. 04:19 And not only are they lying, but they're making God a liar, 04:23 because God says that there will be a people who keep 04:26 the commandments of God. 04:28 Those are God's words. 04:30 And if any minister gets up, or any priest gets up and says, 04:34 Nah, the commandments; Jesus kept them. 04:35 They were for the Jews. 04:37 They were nailed to the cross. 04:38 Nobody can keep them. 04:40 Beware, because God says that He will have a people who keep 04:44 the commandments of God. 04:45 Now the third reference where this expression, 04:49 keep the commandments of God, is found is Revelation 12:17. 04:54 I want us to take a closer look at this specific reference. 04:57 It says there in Revelation 12:17, 05:03 Who's the dragon? Revelation 12:9, earlier in the chapter, 05:10 says that the dragon represents Satan. So, 05:15 What does the woman represent? the church. That's right. 05:23 I like better the way the King James says, went to make war 05:27 with the remnant of her seed. 05:28 Now what characteristics do they have? 05:38 Once again, is God going to have a people who keep 05:42 the commandments of God? Absolutely. 05:45 This text is explicit. 05:46 This text is clear. 05:49 God will have a remnant that keep the commandments of God. 05:52 Is the devil going to hate these people because they keep the 05:55 commandments of God? 05:57 This verse says that the Devil hates those who keep 06:00 the commandments of God, which means that he must also hate 06:03 the commandments of God. 06:05 Now in order to understand Satan's hatred for the 06:09 ten commandments, we need to go back to the origin 06:14 of sin in the universe. 06:16 And so we're going to pay a visit to heaven before sin 06:21 entered this world, in fact before this 06:24 world was even created. 06:26 You see, in heaven there was a covering cherub 06:29 whose name was Lucifer. 06:31 And the Bible tells us that he was in the very presence of God. 06:36 Notice Ezekiel 28:14, Ezekiel 28:14. 06:42 It speaks about the function of this being. 06:45 It says there, You were the anointed cherub who covers. 06:49 Now don't forget that: the anointed cherub who covers. 06:53 I established you. 06:55 You were on the holy mountain of God. 06:58 You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 07:02 The fiery stones represent angels. 07:04 So we have here an anointed cherub who covers. 07:08 Now what does that mean? an anointed cherub who covers? 07:11 Covers what? Well, in Exodus 25: 17-20, we have a description of 07:19 the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary, 07:22 and specifically of the ark of the covenant. 07:25 And, by the way, the earthly sanctuary was a shadow of 07:29 the real sanctuary in heaven. 07:30 So if there's an ark on earth, with the ten commandments 07:34 inside, there must also be the originals in heaven. 07:37 Notice what Exodus 25:17-20 has to say about the angels 07:43 that were placed on the ark of the covenant. 07:45 God says to Moses, You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. 07:49 Two and a half cubits shall be its length, 07:52 and a cubit and a half it's width. 07:54 And you shall make two cherubim of gold. 07:57 See there, you have the cherubim of hammered work. 08:01 You shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 08:05 In other words, they were at either end of the mercy seat. 08:08 Make one cherub at one end, and the other 08:11 cherub at the other end. 08:12 You shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece 08:18 with the mercy seat. 08:19 And the cherubim, notice this, shall what? stretch out their 08:25 wings above, doing what? covering the mercy 08:30 seat with their wings. 08:31 And they shall face one another. 08:34 The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. 08:38 So you have cherubim, and they cover. 08:40 What did they cover? 08:41 They covered the mercy seat, which represented 08:44 the very throne of God. 08:47 Now do you know what was inside the ark of the covenant, 08:52 below that which represented the throne of God? 08:56 Do you know what was the foundation of God's government? 08:59 The foundation of any government is its laws. 09:03 Now I want you to notice that after that ark had been made 09:07 God instructed Moses to take the ten commandments 09:10 and place them inside the ark. 09:12 This is the earthly sanctuary. 09:13 But the earthly is a shadow of the heavenly. 09:16 Notice Deuteronomy 10:4, and we'll also read verse 5. 09:21 Deuteronomy 10:4, 5. 09:24 Speaking about God, it says, And He wrote... 09:27 That is God wrote. 09:28 ...on the tablets according to the first writing, 09:31 the ten commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you 09:34 in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the 09:37 day of the assembly. 09:38 And the Lord gave them to me, says Moses. 09:41 Then I turned and came down from the mountain, 09:44 and put the tablets in the ark which I made. 09:48 And there they are, just as the Lord commanded me. 09:53 So where was this majestic being, Lucifer? 09:57 He was in the very presence of God. 09:58 He was next to the ark of the covenant. 10:00 His wings covered the mercy seat. 10:03 And below the seat was the holy law of God, 10:07 just like in the earthly sanctuary. 10:09 The Bible tells us that at some point this majestic being 10:14 shows that he would rebel against the law of God. 10:17 Notice Ezekiel 28:16, and this verse you will find 10:22 here on your list: Ezekiel 28:16. 10:26 We're told there, speaking about Lucifer: 10:31 We'll talk about that in a few moments. 10:38 What? That's important. 10:51 So we find here, according to this passage, 10:54 that this majestic being sinned. 10:57 Now the question is, what is sin? 11:01 Well, before we answer that question, let's emphasize with 11:06 another verse this same point that the Devil sinned 11:10 at the very beginning. 11:11 Notice 1 John 3:8, 1 John 3:8. 11:18 Explicitly, the Bible tells us, that the Devil sinned, 11:21 not from Mount Sinai on, because some people think that the law 11:25 started at Mount Sinai with Moses. No. 11:28 Sin originated in heaven before this world was even created. 11:32 So it says in 1 John 3:8, He who sins is of the devil, 11:38 for the Devil has sinned from Mount Sinai. 11:41 That's not what it says, right? 11:55 But you say, Pastor Bohr, what is sin? 11:57 You say, Okay, it says in Ezekiel, and it says in 1 John, 12:01 that the Devil sinned in heaven. 12:02 Lucifer sinned and he became the Devil. 12:05 What is sin? Notice 1 John 3:4, 1 John 3:4. It says: 12:22 I like the way the King James expresses it. 12:25 Sin is the transgression of the law. 12:29 In other words, sin is breaking God's holy law. 12:32 So let me ask you something, Did the law have to exist 12:36 in heaven in order for Lucifer to sin? 12:39 I mean all you have to do is add two plus two equals four. 12:44 I mean if he's sinned, there must have been a law, 12:47 because sin is the transgression of the law. 12:51 But you know, he didn't sin by himself. 12:54 In fact the Bible says that he started bad mouthing God. 12:59 He started talking to the angels and saying, 13:02 God's laws are unjust. 13:04 We're very developed beings. 13:07 We don't need any law to govern us. 13:10 In fact, notice Ezekiel 28:16 once again. It says there: 13:22 Now what does that word trading mean? 13:24 By the abundance of your trading you were filled with violence 13:30 within, and you sinned. 13:31 Well, we need to look at some other verses that use that 13:35 same root Hebrew word. 13:37 So let's look at a couple of statements in the Old Testament 13:41 that use the same root as that word trading 13:45 that is found in Ezekiel 28:16. 13:48 Go with me a little earlier in Ezekiel to chapter 22, 13:52 and verse 9. Ezekiel 22:9. 13:55 Remember this is the same root word, and it says there: 14:04 That's the same root word, by the way. 14:15 So, notice, God says, In you are men who slander, 14:20 to cause bloodshed. 14:22 That word slander is the same root word that is used for 14:26 trading in Ezekiel 28:16. 14:30 Notice another verse that uses the same root word. 14:32 Leviticus 19:16, Leviticus 19: 16. It says there: 14:39 You shall not go about as a talebearer. Interesting! 14:45 The same root word. 14:47 How is it translated? talebearer. 14:51 You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people. 14:55 Nor shall you take a stand against the life 14:58 of your neighbor. I am the Lord. 15:01 And so what did Lucifer do? 15:04 It says that he began trading. 15:08 He began to slander; he began telling tales, if you please. 15:14 In fact, Jesus alluded to this in John 8:44, if you go with me. 15:20 John 8:44. Jesus is speaking to the Jews who want to kill Him. 15:25 And He says, You are of Your father... 15:47 What is the Devil? a liar. 15:50 From when is he a liar? 15:52 He is a liar from when? from the beginning, 15:55 according to this text. 15:56 Now you say, But Pastor, what does trading have to do with 16:00 tale bearing, and with slander, and with lying? 16:04 Well, you know, we still use, in modern English, 16:08 certain idiomatic expressions that show 16:12 the meaning of this word. 16:13 You know, if somebody tells you something, and you don't believe 16:18 it, we often say, I don't buy that. 16:22 Don't we say it? I don't buy that. 16:25 Or, You can't sell me that one, we say, because it's trying 16:30 to trade in what? in lies. 16:33 Now the question is, Who did the Devil lie to? 16:37 The fact is that the book of Revelation tells 16:40 us who he lied to. 16:42 Go with me to Revelation 12:3, Revelation 12:3. 16:48 It's speaking about the dragon, who represents Satan. 16:51 It says, His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven, 16:57 and threw them to the earth. 16:59 What was it that threw the stars to the earth? his what? 17:03 his tail. You say, Now that's kind of strange. 17:06 What do the stars represent? 17:07 The stars, we're going to notice, represent angels. 17:11 But why with the tail? 17:12 The Bible has the explanation. 17:15 Go with me to Isaiah 9:15, 16, Isaiah 9:15, 16. It says: 17:22 The elder and honorable, he is the head; 17:25 the prophet who teaches lies, he is what? the tail. 17:32 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; 17:35 and those who are led by them are destroyed. 17:39 So what does the tail represent? 17:41 The tail represents lies, according to Scripture. 17:45 Now how many of the angels was he successful in lying to 17:49 and recruiting? The Bible says a third. 17:52 Revelation 12:9, Revelation 12:9. 17:56 It says: So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, 18:01 called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world: 18:04 he was cast to the earth, and his angels were 18:08 cast out with him. 18:10 You know, there's a couple of books that I have alluded to 18:15 before, and I'd like to read just a couple of statements 18:18 from these two books. 18:19 One of them is the book, Patriarchs and Prophets, 18:22 which tells, basically, the history of the world from the 18:27 inception of sin, all the way till the time of 18:31 the Hebrew monarchy. 18:33 And here we have a reference to what happened in heaven. 18:37 I want you to listen carefully. 18:38 This is Patriarchs and Prophets, Page 37. 18:41 Speaking about Lucifer, it says: Leaving his place in the 18:45 immediate presence of the Father, Lucifer went forth 18:50 to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. 18:55 He worked with mysterious secrecy, and for a time 19:01 concealed his real purpose under an appearance 19:06 of reverence for God. 19:07 Is that the way the antichrist is going to do at the end, 19:09 under the appearance of God? 19:11 He's going to do exactly the same thing. 19:13 Because the antichrist is the emissary of the Devil. 19:16 Now notice what she continues saying: He began to insinuate 19:21 doubts concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings, 19:25 intimating that though laws might be necessary for the 19:30 inhabitants of the worlds, angels, being more exalted, 19:34 needed no such restraint, for their own 19:38 wisdom was a sufficient guide. 19:40 In other words, angels don't need laws and restrictions. 19:43 They should know, through their own wisdom, 19:46 what's right and what's wrong. 19:48 Their heart will tell them what's right. 19:50 In another statement in that classic book on Bible prophecy, 19:54 The Great Controversy, Page 499, we find this very significant 19:59 statement speaking about Lucifer: He reiterated his claim 20:03 that angels needed no control, but should be left to follow 20:08 their own will, which would ever guide them right. 20:13 In other words, the source of ethics would be where? 20:16 from outside or from inside? from inside. 20:19 That's important! Don't forget it. 20:20 Now notice: He denounced the divine statutes, that is the law 20:24 of God, as a restriction of their liberty, and declared 20:29 that it was his purpose to secure the abolition of law. 20:33 What did he want to do? 20:34 He wanted to get rid of the law. 20:36 Beware of any minister who wants to get rid of the law of God 20:39 by saying that it was nailed to the cross, 20:42 or it was for the Jews, or Jesus kept it so that 20:45 I don't have to keep it. 20:47 Beware of that, because that's what Lucifer said in heaven. 20:50 And so he said, He denounced the divine statutes as a 20:54 restriction of their liberty, and declared that it was his 20:57 purpose to secure the abolition of law, 20:59 that freed from this restraint, the hosts of heaven might enter 21:04 upon a more exalted, more glorious state of existence. 21:11 Do you know that the Devil used the same temptation on Eve? 21:15 Go with me to Genesis 3, and you're going to see that what 21:20 this author, what Ellen White says in Patriarchs and Prophets, 21:23 and The Great Controversy, is corroborated by Scripture, 21:26 by all of the texts that we already read, plus what we're 21:29 going to notice from Genesis 3. 21:31 Genesis 3:1-5. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast 21:37 of the field, which the Lord God had made. 21:39 And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said,... 21:44 Or as it says in the New International Version, 21:46 Has God really said? 21:48 That's what it means. 21:50 Has God really said, You shall not eat of every 21:54 tree of the garden? 21:56 What is he taking issue with? with what God said. 22:00 He's taking issue with God's word, and he's saying, 22:03 Did God really say this? 22:04 And, of course, he knows that Eve is going to respond. 22:07 Because God did not say they could not eat from every tree 22:10 of the garden, but from one. 22:12 And so he's trying to find Eve to respond. 22:15 And notice what it says in verse 2. 22:20 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit 22:23 of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which 22:26 is in the midst of the garden, God has said,... 22:30 Do you have a controversy here between two words? 22:33 the word of God, and the word of the serpent? 22:36 That's where the issue is. 22:37 Is that going to be the issue at the end of time also? 22:40 Absolutely. And so notice once again verse 3. 22:46 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the 22:49 garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you 22:53 touch it, lest you die. 22:55 Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. 23:00 Let me ask you, When the Devil said that to Eve, 23:06 what was the immediate thought that came to her mind? 23:09 I'll tell you what came to her mind, because the Devil plants 23:12 thoughts because he knows what we're going to think in reaction 23:14 to the thought that he planted. 23:16 God said, If you eat from the tree, the day you eat 23:20 you're going to die. 23:22 Now the serpent says, You're not going to die. 23:24 So the first thought that comes to Eve's mind is, Then why did 23:28 God say we were going to die? 23:29 If we're not going to die, why did God say that we were going 23:34 to die if we ate from the tree? 23:35 And the Devil planted that question in her mind, 23:38 and immediately he tries to answer it. 23:40 Notice verse 5. For God knows... 23:45 Now he says, Do you want to really know? 23:46 It's not because you're going to die. 23:47 You know what God really has in mind? 23:51 Notice: For God knows that in the day you eat of it, 23:57 your eyes will be opened,... 23:59 God wants you to be what? 24:01 If their eyes need to be opened, it's because they're what? 24:04 they're blind. God wants you to be blind. 24:07 He wants blind obedience. 24:09 For God knows that in the day you eat of it, 24:11 your eyes will be opened,... 24:15 Eyes represent wisdom. 24:16 In other words, you'll have wisdom. 24:18 You'll have knowledge beyond what God wants you to know. 24:21 Now what didn't God want them to know? 24:22 Notice what it continues saying. 24:25 For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be 24:28 opened, and you will be like God. 24:30 In a certain sense. 24:31 Notice, You will be like God how? knowing good and evil. 24:36 Who is it that defines good and evil folks? 24:38 God defines what is good and what is evil. Right? 24:44 And what, specifically, is written that 24:46 defines good and evil? It's His law. 24:49 Is it a law outside of man, or is it a law inside man? 24:54 It's actually an objective law outside of man. 24:58 In other words, God lays down the rules. 25:00 But what is the Devil saying? 25:02 The Devil is saying, The day that you eat of the tree, 25:06 your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, 25:08 knowing good and evil. 25:10 In other words, You're not going to need God to define 25:12 what is good and evil. 25:14 You yourself will be able to define what is good, 25:18 and what is evil, without God telling you what is. 25:22 By the way, this was the first post-modern 25:25 argument in human history; the idea that you could be your 25:29 own source of ethics. 25:31 Is that exactly what happened to Lucifer in heaven, 25:33 according to what we read in Patriarchs and Prophets, 25:36 and also in The Great Controversy? 25:38 The identical thing. 25:39 You can be your own source of decisions, 25:41 your own source of ethics, truth is relative, 25:44 right and wrong is just a matter of opinion. 25:47 And that's what the world is teaching today. 25:50 And now the question is, Can we be sure that the expression, 25:57 keep the commandments, in these verses in Revelation, 26:02 refer to keeping the Ten Commandments. 26:05 Well, I want to go to several passages from Scripture to show 26:11 that the expression, keep the commandments, 26:14 keep the commandments of God, refers to the ten commandments. 26:19 Notice Matthew 19:17-22, Matthew 19:17-22, 26:26 because some people just generalize Revelation 12:17. 26:28 They say, Well, God commands us, for example, to go out into all 26:32 the world and preach the gospel. 26:33 That's one of the commandments. 26:35 That is not the commandments that are being 26:36 spoken of in Revelation. 26:39 The expression, keep the commandments of God, 26:41 or keep the law of God, refers to the ten commandments. 26:44 Notice Matthew 19:17. 26:47 This is the story of the rich young ruler. 26:50 Jesus says to this rich young ruler, 27:02 Is that the same expression we find in Revelation? Absolutely. 27:07 Keep the commandments. 27:11 What did Jesus mean when He spoke about 27:14 keeping the commandments? 27:26 Let me ask you, Are those part of the ten commandments? 27:29 They most certainly are. 27:30 So what does the expression, keep the commandments, mean? 27:33 It means to keep the ten commandments. 27:36 And then notice verse 20. 27:41 What? There's the word again. 27:47 We're going to come back to this story in our next subject, 27:50 because we're going to notice that he really wasn't 27:52 keeping the ten commandments. 28:11 So what does the expression, keep the commandments, 28:14 refer to in this story? 28:15 It refers to keeping the ten commandments. 28:19 By the way, the word commandment is used many times in the 28:22 New Testament to refer to specific commandments 28:24 from the ten commandments. 28:26 Notice Luke 23:56. 28:28 It's speaking about the women who prepare the spices, 28:32 and then they do something because the sun is setting. 28:49 Notice Mark 7:9, 10. 28:52 By the way, that's the fourth commandment. 28:54 That's the commandment that says, 28:55 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 28:57 Now we're going to notice a passage where it speaks about 29:01 the fifth commandment. Mark 7: 9, 10. 29:11 Interesting, the same expression: keep the 29:13 commandments of God. Here it says: 29:18 Notice: You reject the commandment of God that you may 29:21 keep, instead of the commandments, what? 29:24 Now which commandment is He referring to? 29:29 Is that one of the ten commandments? Most certainly. 29:36 So the commandment of God here, and the word keeping, 29:40 refers to the ten commandments. 29:42 Notice Romans 7:7-12. 29:45 Here's another commandment. 29:47 This is the commandment that says, Thou shalt not covet: #10. 29:51 It says in Romans 7:7, What shall we say then? 29:54 Is the law sin? Certainly not. 29:57 On the contrary, I would not have known sin 30:00 except through the law. 30:02 For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had 30:06 said, You shall not covet. 30:08 Is this law that Paul is speaking about 30:10 the ten commandments? 30:11 Of course, he's quoting, Thou shalt not covet. 30:13 Now notice verse 8. 30:15 But sin, taking opportunity, by what? 30:18 By the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. 30:22 For apart from the law sin was dead. 30:49 Does the apostle Paul use the word law and commandment 30:53 to refer to the commandment that says, Thou shall not covet? 30:57 He most certainly does. 30:59 Notice James 2:10-12. 31:02 You won't have this verse on your list. 31:04 I added it afterwards. 31:07 James 2:10, 11. Listen carefully to what it says. 31:11 For whoever shall keep the whole law... 31:14 That's a parallel expression: keep the commandments, 31:18 keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, 31:22 he is guilty of all. 31:24 Now what law is James talking about here when he says, 31:28 Keep the whole law? 31:32 For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said do not what? 31:37 Do not murder. Are those two of the ten commandments? 31:40 Most certainly. Now, if you do not commit adultery, 31:44 but you murder, you have become a transgressor of what? 31:48 of the law. So what does it mean to keep the law, 31:51 or to keep the commandments? 31:52 It means to keep the ten commandments, 31:56 according to the New Testament. 31:57 Now somebody might say, Well, Pastor Bohr, are the words law 32:04 and commandments used interchangeably 32:06 in the New Testament? 32:08 And I'm trying to make a point here. 32:09 We're going to come to something very important, 32:11 and what I want to show you is that in the New Testament, 32:14 the word law, and the word commandment, or commandments, 32:17 are used interchangeably. 32:18 Notice Exodus 16:28, Exodus 16:28. It says here: 32:28 This is speaking about the manna episode, where God wanted to 32:31 teach the observance of the Sabbath. 32:42 Notice Exodus 24:12, Exodus 24:12. 32:46 Once again, interchangeable; commandments and law. 32:49 It says in verse 12, Then the Lord said to Moses, 32:53 Come up to me on the mountain and be there: and I will give 32:57 you tablets of stone, and the law, and what? and commandments 33:02 which I have written. 33:03 What was the only thing in the Bible that God wrote Himself? 33:06 It was the ten commandments. 33:08 So are the words law and commandments used synonymously 33:13 in this verse? Yes. 33:15 It says, And I will give you tablets of stone, and the law, 33:19 and commandments, which I have written, 33:22 that you may teach them. 33:24 In fact, we find in Deuteronomy 4:13 that God gave 33:28 the ten commandments. 33:30 Notice what it says there. 33:35 In the covenant it says: 33:41 So it says here that God wrote the ten commandments 33:46 with His own finger on tables of stone. 33:49 But I want you to notice that Deuteronomy 33:2 says that God 33:55 didn't give the ten commandments, although He did, 33:57 but it says rather that He gave a fiery law. 33:59 So commandments and law are interchangeable. 34:02 Notice Deuteronomy 33:2. 34:19 So does the Old Testament use the word law, 34:22 and the word commandments interchangeably? Absolutely. 34:26 The New Testament does also. 34:28 Notice Romans 7:7-12. 34:30 This might all appear to be academic, but I'm going to make 34:33 a very important point in a few moments. 34:35 Romans 7:7-12. What shall we say then? 34:39 Is the law sin? There you have the word law. 34:43 Certainly not. On the contrary, I would not have known 34:47 sin, except through the law: for I would not have known 34:52 covetousness... Is that one of the ten commandments? Certainly. 34:55 I would not have known covetousness unless what? 34:58 the law had said, You shall not covet. 35:02 But sin, taking opportunity by the... 35:05 Oh, now it's the word commandment. 35:07 ...taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all 35:11 manner of evil desire. 35:12 For apart from the law sin was dead. 35:39 Is the word commandment, and is the word law used synonymously 35:43 in the Old and New Testaments? Absolutely! 35:46 Notice Romans 13:8-10, Romans 13:8-10. 35:52 Here the apostle Paul says: 36:06 See, has fulfilled the law. 36:08 And what is in the law? the commandments. 36:32 So, are the words law and commandments used 36:35 interchangeably in the New Testament? Absolutely. 36:38 Now the question is, How did Jesus consider 36:41 the ten commandments? 36:42 Did Jesus believe that He was going to do away with 36:45 the ten commandments when He died on the cross? 36:46 Did He believe that Christians have no need to keep 36:49 the ten commandments? Absolutely not. 36:51 Notice John 14:15, John 14:15. 36:55 Jesus says, If you love Me, keep My commandments. 36:59 And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another 37:02 helper, that He may abide with you forever. 37:05 Jesus says, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 37:08 John 15:10, Jesus says, If you keep My commandments, 37:13 you will abide in My love. 37:15 So what do we need to do in order to abide in His love? 37:19 keep the commandments it says here. 37:21 ...just as I have kept My Father's commandments, 37:24 and abide in His love. 37:26 In fact, in 1 John the beloved disciple of Jesus, he who was 37:31 closest to Jesus, had some very interesting things to say about 37:35 keeping the commandments. 37:36 1 John 2:3, 4. Now by this 37:43 How do we know that we know Him? If we what? 38:01 So if he's a liar, who is he following after? Satan. 38:05 Because the Devil is a liar from the beginning. 38:07 So if you have someone who tells you, Oh, you can't keep 38:10 the ten commandments. 38:11 God doesn't expect you to keep the ten commandments. 38:13 They were nailed to the cross. 38:15 They're impossible to keep, because the flesh is weak. 38:17 Any of those excuses that are given, are making God a liar. 38:22 Because here it clearly says, He who says I know Him, 38:26 and does not keep His commandments is a liar, 38:28 and the truth is not in him. 38:31 1 John 5:3, 1 John 5:3. 38:41 Some people say, Oh the law! 38:43 That was a yoke of bondage. 38:45 Nobody can bear it! 38:46 But we, as Christians, are free. 38:48 The fact is that 1 John says that if we love God, 38:52 we will keep His commandments, and His commandments 38:55 are not burdensome. 38:56 Now I want to tell you why I used the verses that speak 39:01 of the interchangeability of the word law, 39:04 and the word commandments. 39:06 You see, in Bible prophecy, Listen to what I'm going to say. 39:09 The little horn, and the man of sin of 2 Thessalonians 2. 39:17 explicitly the Bible says that they would attempt to tamper 39:22 with God's holy law. 39:23 I want you to notice that in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8. 39:29 The little horn, which represents the papacy, 39:32 despises the law of God, because the law of God was changed. 39:38 You say, Well, they say we're supposed to keep the law of God. 39:42 Yes, but they changed the law of God. 39:45 And that's the reason why this man of sin, who appears in the 39:48 temple of God, which is the church, I want you to 39:51 notice what he's called. 39:53 2 Thessalonians 2:3. 40:01 That is the day of the coming of Jesus. 40:05 That is the apostasy. 40:09 What is sin according to what the Bible says? 40:11 Sin is the transgression of the law. 40:13 So this is a man who is characterized by what? 40:16 by transgression of the law. 40:18 The man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. 40:31 Do you not remember that when I was still with you, 40:34 I told you these things? 40:38 Which we've already discussed was the Roman empire. 40:43 And now notice this: 40:48 Does this man of sin have anything to do with lawlessness? 40:51 Absolutely. 40:58 That is the Roman empire. 41:02 And, by the way, the Roman empire was taken away to give 41:05 place to the Roman Catholic Papacy. 41:08 And then it says: And then the what? the lawless ones... 41:11 See, the antichrist is characterized by being opposed 41:15 to what? by being opposed to the law of God. And so it says: 41:27 Notice what the Bible says about the little horn. 41:30 Daniel 7:25, Daniel 7:25. 41:35 Speaking about the same as the man of sin. 41:38 All theologians are agreed that the little horn, the man of sin, 41:41 and the beast represent the same power. 41:43 I want you to notice what it says about the little horn. 41:46 Once again the idea of tampering with God's holy law. It says: 42:05 For how long was this little horn going to carry on his 42:09 work of attempting to change the times and the law? for time, 42:13 times, and the dividing of time, which, 42:15 by the way, is 1,260 years. 42:20 Now I'm going to tell you why I use those verses to speak 42:25 about the interchangeability of the word 42:27 commandments, and the word law. 42:29 Go with me to Revelation 12, Revelation 12:13, 42:35 Revelation 12, and we'll read only through verse 14, 42:40 and then we'll jump to verse 17. 42:41 It says in verse 13: Now when the dragon saw that he had been 42:45 cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth 42:49 to the male child. 42:51 Who did the little horn persecute? the saints, right? 42:54 Here it says that the dragon persecutes whom? the woman. 42:58 So the woman is what? the saints, or the church. 43:03 And so it says, He persecuted the woman, who gave birth 43:06 to the male child. 43:08 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, 43:20 Is that the same period that the little horn ruled? Absolutely. 43:23 Now let me ask you, Do you think that at the end of this period 43:26 God was going to raise up a people to correct the intended 43:30 change in God's holy law? Absolutely. 43:34 Immediately, I want you to notice, that Daniel 7:25 speaks 43:37 about the little horn, thinking, or intending to change God's 43:41 law for time, times, and the dividing of time. 43:45 Now we're going to notice, immediately after speaking about 43:48 the woman fleeing to the wilderness 43:50 for the same time period. 43:52 At the end of that time period God raises up a remnant. 43:55 And what characterizes that remnant? 43:58 They do the opposite of what the little horn wanted to do. 44:02 The little horn wanted to change God's law, but what does the 44:05 remnant do after the 1260 years? 44:08 Notice verse 17. Very clearly it says: 44:24 Is that the antidote to the intended change in God's law? 44:29 Yes. See the little horn thought that he could 44:31 change God's law, but at the end of that period of the time, 44:35 times, and the dividing of time, God raises up a remnant 44:38 of people who keep the commandments of God; 44:42 a group of people that do not accept this change in the law. 44:46 And as I mentioned at the beginning of our study, 44:48 you remember that the expression, 44:52 keep the commandments of God, in Revelation 14:12 is an 44:56 antithesis to worshipping the beast, his image, 45:00 and receiving his mark. 45:02 In other words, those who worship the beast, his image, 45:04 and receive the mark, are in opposition to those who keep 45:08 the commandments of God. 45:10 Now I want to show you another couple of verses from Revelation 45:15 that speak about keeping the commandments of God. 45:17 We read them at the beginning of our study. 45:22 Revelation 22:14, 15, Revelation 22:14, 15. 45:26 You know, some of you might be thinking, Well, Pastor Bohr, 45:28 what you're preaching is really legalistic: 45:31 keeping the commandments, keeping the commandments. 45:35 Well, folks, take heart. 45:37 In our next lecture we're going to talk about faith in Jesus. 45:41 We're going to talk about the other side of the coin. 45:44 We're going to talk about how we receive the power 45:48 to keep the ten commandments. 45:49 But for this evening we're studying what it means to keep 45:52 the commandments of God. 45:54 Revelation 22:14. Blessed are those who do His commandments, 46:05 Who are the ones who have a right to the tree of life? 46:08 What does God say? not Pastor Bohr, the Bible says. 46:15 It's the same word. 46:24 Is keeping the commandments a prerequisite for eating of the 46:27 tree of life, and entering the gates to the holy city? 46:30 Absolutely. And some people say you're 46:32 annulling God's grace. 46:33 No we aren't. Just don't miss the next lecture, 46:37 because we're going to balance this with the grace of God, 46:41 and what faith means in Scripture. 46:43 Now I want you to notice the following verse. 46:47 I'm going to show you that those who are in the city keep the 46:49 commandments, whereas those who are outside the city 46:52 disobey the ten commandments. 46:53 It says there in verse 15: but outside... 46:57 in other words, inside are commandment keepers, 46:58 those who kept the commandments. It says: 47:13 Are those all violations of the ten commandments? Absolutely. 47:17 Inside are commandment keepers, and outside are those 47:21 who insisted on being commandment breakers. 47:24 Notice also Revelation 21:7, 8. 47:28 Once again the contrast between those inside and those outside. 47:32 It says in Revelation 21:7, He who overcomes... 47:37 That's a key word. 47:39 He who overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his 47:43 God, and he shall be My son. 47:46 Now who are the over comers? 47:48 What did they overcome? 47:49 Notice verse 8. But... See the contrast? those inside 47:54 overcame those outside. 48:13 Is the contrast clear, crystal clear, that those who are inside 48:18 kept God's commandments; those outside refused to keep God's 48:23 commandments and continued committing their sins? 48:27 Now I'd like to end this study today by saying that what we're 48:33 discussing is not legalism. 48:36 In other words, we're not saying here that we keep 48:39 the commandments of God in order to be saved. 48:41 We're talking about keeping the commandments out of 48:45 love for Jesus Christ. 48:46 I want you to notice Revelation 14:1, Revelation 14:1. 48:53 It speaks about the end time generation. 48:55 It speaks about those who follow the Lamb wherever the Lamb goes, 49:00 those who have no lie in their mouth, 49:02 those who are without spot before the throne of God. 49:05 Notice they had a special characteristic. 49:07 Revelation 14:1. Then I looked, and behold a Lamb standing 49:14 on mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 having His Father's 49:21 name written where? in their foreheads. 49:26 What is written in the foreheads of that end time generation 49:30 who keep the commandments of God? the name of God. 49:33 Now the question is, What does the name represent in Scripture? 49:37 I want to read you a statement from the Interpreter's 49:40 Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 3, Pages 500, 501. 49:45 In Biblical thought a name is not a mere 49:50 label of identification; it is an expression of the essential 49:55 nature of its bearer. 49:57 In other words, your name indicates who you are. 50:00 A man's name reveals his character, 50:04 says this Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. 50:07 Adam was able to give names to the beasts and birds because, 50:12 as Milton says, He understood their nature. 50:17 In other words, Adam was able to understand the character of the 50:20 beasts, therefore he was able to name them. 50:22 In fact, in the Bible the name stands for the character. 50:25 Let me give you a couple of verses to illustrate that point: 50:28 Genesis 27:36, Genesis 27:36. 50:34 This is the story of Jacob and Esau. 50:35 And Esau said, speaking about his brother, Is he not rightly 50:40 named Jacob, for he has... 50:44 Jacob means supplanter, by the way. 50:45 ...for he has supplanted me these two times. 50:48 He took away my birthright, and now look, 50:51 he has taken away my blessing. 50:53 In other words, he is rightly named. 50:55 He is the supplanter. 50:56 Notice 1 Samuel 25:25, 1 Samuel 25:25. 51:03 This is speaking about Nabal. 51:07 The name Nabal means fool. 51:10 And so it says, Please let not my lord, regard this scoundrel 51:16 Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. 51:22 Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. 51:25 In other words, he's rightly named fool. 51:28 In other words, his name indicates his what? 51:31 his character. The name represents the character. 51:35 And, by the way, where is the character of God revealed? 51:38 Where is the character of God described in written form? 51:43 The character of God is described in written form 51:48 in the ten commandments. 51:49 The ten commandments show what God is like. 51:52 And, by the way, this is the reason why in the Bible, 51:55 time, after time, after time, sin is against God. 51:58 Breaking the commandments is actually sinning against the 52:02 person; against God. 52:04 The prodigal son says, I have sinned against heaven, 52:07 and against You, and I'm not worthy to be called Your son. 52:11 And you remember that David said, Against You, only You, 52:16 have I what? have I sinned. 52:18 So when we break the ten commandments we're sinning 52:20 against the law, because the law is a reflection of what? 52:24 is a reflection of the ten commandments. 52:30 Notice Exodus 33:18, 19, Exodus 33:18, 19. 52:35 Here Moses is on the mountain and he asks God: 52:45 What was the glory that God showed him? 52:54 God's goodness is His name. 52:56 It's His character. 53:05 You see, folks, when the Bible says that this end time 53:09 generation is going to have the name of God on their foreheads, 53:12 that means that they're going to have God's character. 53:15 And God's character is reflected in His what? 53:18 is reflected in His law. 53:20 They're going to have the law of God, not on tables of stone, 53:24 but they're going to have the law written on the 53:26 tables of their hearts. 53:28 They're going to have the law written in their minds. 53:30 Now listen up, it doesn't do any good to post the ten 53:35 commandments in courtrooms if they're not 53:38 engraved in the heart. 53:40 Because righteousness comes from inside out. 53:44 It does not come from outside in. 53:47 It does no good to legislate morality, because you don't 53:52 change someone from outside. 53:53 In order to make a lump of dough grow, you have to put the leaven 53:57 inside, and then the dough grows. 54:00 You know, I find it interesting that this week in Newsweek, 54:04 there's an article that says that there's less and less 54:09 Christianity in this country, in the United States of America. 54:12 And this has caused an uproar among conservative Christians. 54:15 They say, What do you mean this isn't a Christian nation? 54:18 This is a Christian nation. You think so? 54:22 By looking out there it sure wouldn't appear like it. 54:25 Christians eat what others eat, they listen to what others 54:29 listen to, they watch television and movies that everybody else 54:33 watches, they get divorced on the same level as others, 54:37 they're filled with greed, and accumulating possessions for 54:41 themselves, they dress like the world, everything they do 54:45 is like the world. 54:46 So how is it that we say that we're a Christian nation when 54:50 really, the United States reflects just the opposite? 54:54 And people who are unbelievers, they look at us and say, 54:57 Hey, if that's Christianity, I don't want anything to do 55:01 with Christianity. 55:03 The fact is that if the churches preached the law of God, 55:06 the need to have a conversion experience, and to have God 55:10 write His law on our minds, and in our hearts, you wouldn't have 55:13 all of the social problems that we have in the world today. 55:16 In fact, allow me to read you a statement in Psalm 40:6-8, 55:20 Psalm 40:6-8. After saying that God has loved righteousness, 55:25 and He has hated iniquity, notice what is it that instills 55:29 that hate in the heart? 55:30 It says in Psalm 40:6, Sacrifice and offering You did not desire. 55:35 My ears You have opened. 55:38 Burnt offering, and sin offering You did not require. 55:41 By the way, this is Jesus speaking Messianically 55:43 a thousand years before He was born. 55:46 Then I said, Behold I come. 55:48 In the scroll of Your book it is written of Me. 55:52 I delight to what? I delight to do Your will. 55:56 Why did He delight to do God's will? 55:58 I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is written 56:05 where? within My heart. 56:10 Did Jesus need all kinds of external laws 56:12 to keep Him in line? No, because He had the law of God written 56:16 No, because He had the law of God written where? in His heart. 56:21 And God will have a group of people in the end time who have 56:26 the name of God written in their forehead. 56:30 They will have God's character. 56:32 And God's character is written in the ten commandments, 56:36 in God's law. And the Bible says that they will keep 56:39 the commandments of God, including the fourth 56:42 commandment, the Sabbath commandment that says, 56:44 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 56:46 When the beast and his image are imposing the mark upon 56:50 the world, God's people will say like Shadrach, Meshach, 56:53 and Abednego, No way! 56:55 We obey the God of heaven. 56:58 We keep His holy Sabbath, and we're willing to die 57:01 in order to be loyal to God. 57:03 That's what God's people are going to be 57:06 like in the end time. 57:07 They will serve God because they love God 57:11 with all of their hearts. 57:12 Because the law of God is written upon their 57:15 minds, and their hearts. 57:17 And I pray to God that that will be our experience; 57:20 that God will write His law on our hearts. |
Revised 2023-04-20