Participants:
Series Code: TAM
Program Code: TAM000021S
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00:30 Let's bow our heads.
00:32 Thank You, Father, for this wonderful day. 00:35 Thank You for the privilege of coming once again here to this 00:40 place in full freedom to open Your Holy Word, and hear Your 00:45 voice speaking to us. 00:47 We ask that You will be present here through the ministration 00:51 of Your Holy Spirit. 00:52 Give us clarity of thought, and give us willing hearts 00:56 to receive Your Word. 00:57 And we thank You for hearing our prayer, for we ask it 01:01 in the precious name of Jesus, Amen. 01:04 The lecture today, and the next lecture 01:11 are very closely linked. 01:13 In fact the lecture today, The Remnant of Her Seed, 01:19 is absolutely indispensible to understand the next lecture, 01:24 which is on the 144,000. 01:28 So what we're going to study today is basic 01:31 to understand our next lecture. 01:33 And I'd like to begin by going to Genesis 3:15, Genesis 3:15. 01:43 At this point Adam and Eve had sinned, and they were shaking 01:49 in the garden because they felt that God was going to implement 01:54 His Word, and they were going to be destroyed. 01:57 Because God had said, The day that you eat from the tree, 02:00 that very day you will surely die. 02:02 But when they were filled with fear, thinking that the sentence 02:06 was going to fall on them, God came down to the garden 02:10 and He spoke to the serpent. 02:13 And I want you to notice four key elements in this verse. 02:17 Genesis 3:15. God is speaking to the serpent, to the Devil. 02:26 That's the first element. 02:31 That is between the serpent. 02:32 That's the second element. 02:35 There's the third element. 02:39 So you'll notice that there's four elements here. 02:41 We have, first of all, enmity. 02:43 Then we have a serpent. 02:45 Then we have a woman. 02:46 And then the serpent has seed, and the woman has Seed. 02:50 And you'll notice that the enmity runs between the serpent 02:54 and the woman, and the serpent's seed, and the woman's Seed. 02:59 But the real enmity is not serpent versus woman, 03:04 or seed versus seed. 03:06 The true enmity is reflected in the last part of the verse. 03:10 Once again it says, And I will put enmity between you 03:14 and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; 03:18 He, that is the Seed of the woman, shall bruise your head,.. 03:22 That is the serpent's head. 03:24 ...and you shall bruise his heel. 03:27 So the great enmity that we find in Genesis 3:15, is between 03:33 the woman's Seed, and the serpent. 03:35 And the prophecy says that the Seed of the woman would crush 03:41 the serpent's head, and the serpent would be successful 03:44 in wounding his heel. 03:47 Now Revelation 12:17 picks up on this verse, on Genesis 3:15. 03:55 Go with me to Revelation 12:17, which we've read before. 04:00 It says there: 04:03 Let's see if we have the same four elements. 04:06 By the way, the dragon in verse 9 of Revelation 12, 04:09 is called the ancient serpent. 04:11 So the dragon is the serpent. So it says: 04:14 Or the serpent. 04:17 See, there you have the enmity. 04:21 There's the third element. 04:23 So you have a dragon, or a serpent. 04:24 You have enmity, or rage, and you have a woman. 04:28 And then it says: 04:30 That is the serpent. 04:33 There you have the enmity again. 04:36 I prefer the King James, with the remnant of her Seed. 04:45 So do we have seed in this verse also? Absolutely. 04:49 We find the same elements in this verse as we 04:52 found in Genesis 3:15. 04:54 We find a woman, we find a serpent, we find enmity, 05:00 and we find the Seed of the woman. 05:03 But you'll notice here in Revelation 12:17 that it's not 05:09 the Seed that is being spoken of, the Seed of the woman, 05:12 but the Seed's seed. 05:14 Notice the last part of the verse. 05:17 It says once again, He went to make war with the 05:20 remnant of her Seed. 05:23 Now the question is, Who is the Seed of the woman? 05:27 Because this is the remnant of the Seed of the woman, 05:31 the remnant of her seed. 05:33 Now the Seed of the woman, we're going to notice, is Jesus. 05:37 But this is the remnant's seed. 05:41 So, in other words, this is the Seed's seed. 05:44 Now let's notice John 12:23, 24, John 12:23, 24. 05:53 Here Jesus is speaking about His death. 05:57 And notice what He says: 06:03 By the way, that's Him. 06:05 It represents Jesus. 06:18 What happens? it sprouts again; and it produces what? 06:24 So you have one Seed, which is a grain of wheat; 06:28 falls into the ground, dies, and as a result of its death 06:32 it sprouts forth, and it brings forth many seeds. 06:36 Are you understanding? 06:37 In other words, these are the seeds of the Seed, 06:41 of the original seed that died and sprouted up. 06:45 Now the question is, who is this solitary Seed who brings many 06:50 seeds into the world? 06:52 Let's go to Galatians 3:16. 06:57 Galatians 3:16 identifies this solitary Seed, 07:02 this grain of wheat that Jesus spoke about. It says: 07:21 So the question is, Who is that solitary Seed, 07:24 that grain of wheat that Jesus spoke about? 07:27 He's talking about Himself. 07:30 But let me ask you, When Jesus died, and sprouted forth to new 07:34 life, or resurrected, Did He provide the means where He 07:38 could have many other seeds? Absolutely. 07:41 Notice Galatians 3:29. It says: 07:53 In other words, we become the Seed's seed. 07:57 Are you following me or are you not following me? 08:00 So in other words, Revelation 12:17 is saying that the 08:04 serpent, or the dragon, was going to be enraged with the 08:08 remnant of her Seed. 08:10 Her Seed is Jesus, so the remnant of her seed would be 08:14 those who were born from Jesus, the Seed's seed, if you please. 08:19 Now you say, Why do you bring this to view? 08:23 There's a very important reason. 08:26 You see, in the book of Revelation, Babylon is not 08:32 a literal city geographically defined. 08:35 Babylon, according to what we've studied, is a worldwide system 08:40 that is at enmity with the people of God. 08:44 The woman, who is called Babylon the harlot, is symbolic. 08:49 The wine that she gets is symbolic. 08:52 Her fornication is symbolic. 08:54 The river that she sits on is symbolic. 08:58 It represents multitudes, nations, tongues, and peoples. 09:01 In other words, Babylon is not literal Babylon 09:04 over in the middle east. 09:05 Babylon is a worldwide, global, spiritual system. 09:10 Now who is the great enemy of Babylon in Scripture? 09:14 Folks, the great enemy of Babylon in Scripture is Israel. 09:19 Now let me ask you, If Babylon is global, or worldwide, 09:24 and spiritual, that must mean that Israel must also be 09:29 global and spiritual. 09:31 Are you understanding what I am saying? 09:33 The citizens of Babylon in Revelation are not citizens 09:37 of the old city in the middle east. 09:39 They're citizens of a worldwide apostate system. 09:43 And so Israel, the enemy of Babylon, must also be 09:46 a worldwide spiritual system. 09:49 And you say, Why do you bring this to view? 09:51 You see, most churches today, most Protestant churches, 09:55 at least of the conservative brand have a very interesting 09:59 idea about Bible prophecy. 10:01 They teach that God has two mutually exclusive peoples. 10:07 The first people of God are the literal Jews, 10:12 in other words literal Israel. 10:15 The second group that belongs to God, or the second people that 10:20 God has, is the Christian church. 10:23 And they believe that God has two totally different plans 10:27 for literal Israel and for the church. 10:30 They actually believe that the church is going to be Raptured 10:34 to heaven seven years before the glorious coming of Jesus. 10:37 And then after the spiritual people of God are Raptured 10:42 to heaven, then God will begin His plan again 10:45 for the literal Jews. 10:47 And some even teach that throughout eternity God is 10:51 going to have a heavenly people, and He's going to 10:53 have an earthly people. 10:55 He's going to have two peoples: literal Israel, 10:57 and the Christian church. 10:59 Now this has very strong implications for what we're 11:04 going to study in our next lecture. 11:05 Because we're going to notice that, according to Scripture, 11:10 there is only one Seed, who is Jesus Christ. 11:13 And there is only one Seed's seed, which are His 11:17 people from all ages. 11:20 And I want you to notice, in ten specific points, how the Bible 11:25 teaches that God has only one Israel, one true people, 11:29 that are not geographically defined, but they're defined 11:33 by their relationship to Jesus Christ. 11:36 So we're going to study ten points. 11:39 The first point is that God has only one fold. 11:43 Jesus has only one fold. 11:45 Notice John 10:16, John 10:16. Jesus says: 11:59 Who are those other sheep that are not of His fold? 12:02 This fold is Israel. 12:06 Jesus says, I was not sent but to the lost sheep 12:09 of the house of Israel, He says several times in the gospels. 12:12 So it says, He says, 12:24 ...two flocks and one shepherd. 12:26 That's not what it says. 12:28 He's going to bring the Gentiles and there will be what? 12:32 one flock, and one shepherd. 12:35 One people of God represented by sheep. 12:38 Let's go to John 11:51, 52. 12:42 We're still showing that Jesus has only one fold not two. 12:45 He doesn't have literal Israel and the Christian church. 12:48 He has one people, one fold, and there's one shepherd. 12:52 John 11:51, 52. You remember that Caiaphas says it's 12:56 necessary for one man to die, and not that 12:58 the nation disappear? Well notice: 13:03 Caiaphas did not say... 13:11 Which nation is that? for literal Israel. 13:16 But now notice: 13:29 How many folds, and how many shepherds? one fold, 13:33 and one shepherd. 13:35 And the fold is composed of Jews and Gentiles, 13:40 literal Israelites who accepted Jesus, and spiritual Israelites. 13:45 Now the second point that I would like us to notice is that 13:49 God has only one Israel, and that Israel is not 13:53 defined geographically. 13:55 It's not defined ethnically. 13:57 It's not defined genetically. 14:00 It's defined relationally. 14:03 In other words, for you to be Israel, you have to have 14:07 a relationship with Jesus Christ. 14:09 You must become the Seed's seed in order to be true Israel. 14:15 Let's go once again to Galatians 3:16. 14:20 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. 14:23 He does not say, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one; 14:28 and to your Seed, who is Christ. 14:32 Who is the only true Seed, according to the apostle Paul? 14:35 Jesus Christ. Now do we become seed also? Yes. 14:40 We become the Seed's seed. 14:41 How is it that we become the Seed's seed? 14:44 Notice what we find in verse 26. 14:46 For you are all sons of God through how? 14:51 faith in Christ Jesus. 14:53 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ 14:58 have put on Christ. 14:59 How do we become the Seed's seed? 15:01 By being what? By being baptized into His church. Verse 28: 15:16 And now notice: 15:24 What makes us children of Abraham, or seed of Abraham? 15:28 The fact that we are related to whom? to Jesus Christ. 15:32 In other words, those who have not received Jesus Christ 15:36 are not really children of Abraham. 15:39 They are not really Israel. 15:40 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 15:42 Notice Romans 2:28, 29, Romans 2:28, 29. 15:48 Do you know that there are Jews that aren't really Jews? 15:50 Do you know what a real Jew is? 15:53 According to the New Testament definition, it is one who has 15:56 accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, be he Jew, literally 16:01 speaking, or be he Gentile. Romans 2:28, 29. 16:26 Let me ask you, Must you have a circumcised and converted 16:29 heart to Jesus Christ? 16:30 Must you have received the Holy Spirit in order to be a true Jew 16:35 according to the New Testament definition? Absolutely! 16:38 Notice Romans 9:6-8, Romans 9:6-8. 16:44 Here the apostle Paul says, 16:54 That's interesting. 16:55 Paul is saying that not all Israelites are Israelites. 16:58 Now who is an Israelite then? 17:00 Notice what he continues saying, verse 7. 17:07 Let me ask you, Is it possible to be the seed of Abraham 17:09 literally, and not be a child, or a son or a daughter of God? 17:12 Absolutely. So he says: 17:20 Let me ask you, Who was it that came from Isaac? 17:22 Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Verse 8. 17:29 That means literal Jews. 17:34 That is of the promise of the Messiah. 17:39 Do you remember the encounter that Jesus had with Nathaniel, 17:43 who became one of His disciples; one of the twelve apostles? 17:47 I want you to notice how the story is told in John 1:47-49. 17:54 It says here: 18:04 Question: If there are Israelites indeed, must there be 18:11 Israelites not indeed? Absolutely! 18:14 Now what made Nathaniel an Israelite indeed? 18:18 Was it because he had blood of Abraham flowing 18:20 through his veins? 18:21 Was it because he lived in the land of Israel? 18:23 Was that defined genetically, or geographically? Absolutely not. 18:28 Let's continue reading. 18:29 By the way, the word indeed there is a Greek word 18:34 that means genuine. 18:36 In other words this is a genuine Israelite in whom is no deceit; 18:43 the same word that's used about the 144,000: In their mouth 18:47 was found no deceit. 18:49 And then verse 48. 18:51 What made him a Jew indeed? 19:04 Interesting that he was under the fig tree, because the fig 19:07 tree represented Israel. 19:08 So you have an Israelite indeed under the symbol 19:11 that represents Israel. 19:12 And then verse 49 shows what made him a true Jew. 19:26 What made Nathaniel a Jew indeed, or an Israelite indeed? 19:30 the fact that he confessed that Jesus was the Son of God; 19:34 that Jesus was the King of Israel. 19:37 The next point that I want us to notice is that 19:40 God has only one body. 19:43 There's only one body of Christ, composed of Jews and Gentiles. 19:48 You see, God doesn't have two bodies. 19:50 God only has one body. 19:51 Christ only has one body. 19:53 Notice Ephesians 2:13-18, Ephesians 2:13-18. 20:00 Here the apostle Paul says: 20:12 Who were those who were far off? the Gentiles. 20:16 You're going to notice it in a minute. 20:20 That is Jesus is our peace. 20:25 In other words, Jew and Gentile He has made one. 20:39 How many new men? 20:58 That's the Gentiles, by the way. 21:02 That's the Jews. 21:08 How many bodies does Jesus have? 21:10 One body is a Jewish body, and the other body 21:14 is a Gentile body. 21:15 No, Jesus has one body composed of Jews and Gentiles: 21:20 one people, one Israel, one fold. 21:25 Notice 1 Corinthians 12:13, 1 Corinthians 12:13, 21:31 on this same point that Jesus Christ has only one body. 21:34 It says there: 21:45 See, Jews and Gentiles. 21:55 By the way, what is the body of Christ? 21:58 The body of Christ is the church. 22:01 I want you to notice that. 22:03 Ephesians 3:6. It says there in Ephesians 3:6 22:09 Listen to this. 22:12 How many heirs does God have? 22:14 He has Gentile heirs and He has Jewish heirs, 22:17 separated one from the other. 22:18 No, it says here: 22:24 a different body. No. 22:32 How do they obtain the promises? 22:34 How do they become members of one body? 22:36 It says: partakers of His promises, in Christ, 22:39 through the gospel. 22:41 By the way, you say, Well, does the New Testament say 22:43 that the body is the church? 22:45 Are you saying then that God only has one body? 22:47 literal Jews and Gentiles in one church? Absolutely. 22:51 Ephesians 1:18 and then we'll read verse 24. 22:54 It says in verse 18, And he... 22:57 That is Jesus. 22:58 ...is the head of the body... 22:59 And what is the body? the church. 23:02 ...who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 23:05 that in all things he may have the pre-eminence. 23:08 Verse 24: I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, 23:11 and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of 23:14 Christ for the sake of His body, which is what? 23:18 which is the church. 23:20 How many bodies does Jesus have? 23:22 He has two bodies. 23:25 If He had two bodies He would be a monster. 23:27 One head with two bodies? No. 23:30 He's one head, with one body, composed of all of the people 23:34 of God: Jews and Gentiles. 23:37 The next point that I want to make is that God has 23:41 only one chosen city. 23:42 He doesn't have the earthly Jerusalem for the Old Testament 23:47 Jewish saints, and the New Jerusalem for the New Testament 23:50 spiritual Israel saints. 23:53 Absolutely not! There's only one city for both Old and New 23:57 Testament people of God. 23:59 Notice Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:2. 24:16 Which city is this? It's the New Jerusalem. 24:19 One city, right? Now is that city composed of all of God's 24:23 people from the Old and New Testament? Absolutely. 24:27 Notice Revelation 21:12, Revelation 21:12. 24:32 It's speaking here about the twelve gates of the city. 24:35 It says: 24:48 What is it that is written over the gates? 24:50 the names of the what? of the sons of Jacob, 24:54 of the twelve tribes of Israel. 24:56 Which testament would that be? 24:57 That would be the Old Testament, right? 25:00 But I want you to notice that that same city 25:03 has something else. 25:04 Notice Revelation 21:14, Revelation 21:14. 25:10 Speaking about the same city, it says: 25:20 In other words one city. 25:21 The gates have the names of the tribes, and the foundations 25:25 have the names of the apostles. 25:27 In other words, the city is composed of Old Testament 25:30 Christians and New Testament Christians, 25:32 Old Testament Israel and New Testament Israel in one city. 25:36 By the way, go with me to Hebrews 11, and lets pursue this 25:41 a little bit further. 25:42 Hebrews 11:9, 10 and then we'll jump down to verses 13 to 16. 25:47 Let me ask you, which city did the Old Testament 25:49 heroes look forward to? 25:50 Did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob look forward to that little city 25:54 over there in the Middle East, where there's so 25:56 much conflict today? 25:58 None of the great heroes of the Old Testament looked forward 26:02 to the earthly Jerusalem. 26:04 They looked forward to the heavenly Jerusalem, 26:07 just like we look forward to the heavenly Jerusalem. 26:09 Notice Hebrews 11:9. 26:12 Speaking about Abraham. 26:17 Notice, he was in the promised land, 26:19 but it was a foreign country. 26:28 This is Abraham. 26:35 Which city did Abraham look forward to? to that little city? 26:38 Is that what God promised Abraham? that little city 26:41 over in the middle east? Of course not! 26:42 He looked forward to the heavenly Jerusalem, 26:45 just like we do today. 26:46 Notice verses 13 through 16. 26:49 Once again this idea is amplified. 26:51 It says, These... speaking about all these heroes 26:53 of the Old Testament. 27:06 See, they knew that this earth wasn't their home. 27:09 They knew that that little strip of land over in the middle east 27:12 wasn't their real home. Notice verse 14: 27:19 Were these people seeking a homeland, yes or no? Absolutely. 27:22 Verse 15. Which was that homeland? 27:45 Interesting! So how many cities does God have? 27:50 One city composed only of Gentiles, 27:55 if it's the New Jerusalem in heaven. 27:58 Is that what the Bible teaches? 28:00 The Bible teaches that there's one city composed of 28:04 the apostles, and the twelve tribes; 28:08 all of God's people in one city. 28:11 Now there's another point that I want to make, 28:14 and this will be point number 5. 28:15 God's people in the Bible are represented by only one woman. 28:23 Listen, if God has two separable peoples, then He has two wives. 28:29 He has two women, and God would be a spiritual bigamist. 28:33 Excuse me for saying that, but it's true. 28:36 Now notice Revelation 12:1, 2. 28:40 This is speaking about the church of the Old Testament; 28:44 the woman of the Old Testament. Notice verse 1: 29:02 This woman represents the Old Testament church. 29:06 And you say, How do we know that? 29:08 It's very simple, because she's pregnant with a child. 29:11 Who is the child? The child is Jesus. 29:13 It has to be the Old Testament church because the child 29:16 hasn't been born yet in verses 1 and 2. 29:18 So this woman represents the Old Testament church. 29:22 And, by the way, did Jesus come from the Old Testament church? 29:25 Was Jesus a descendent of Abraham? 29:29 Was Jesus a descendent of David? 29:32 He most certainly was. 29:34 Jesus was born from the Old Testament church. 29:37 But now I want you to notice that after the child is 29:40 caught up to God into His throne, notice verse 5: 29:50 In other words, after Jesus ascends to heaven, 29:53 then the dragon goes after whom? 29:55 He goes after the woman. 29:57 Is it a different woman, or is it the same woman? 30:00 It's the same woman. 30:01 Notice verse 6. It says: 30:15 Does the same woman flee into the wilderness as the one who 30:20 brought forth the male child? Yes. 30:22 The woman that brought forth the male child represents 30:25 the Old Testament church from where Jesus was born. 30:28 But then afterwards that same woman now flees 30:31 into the wilderness. 30:32 So much for the idea that God had an Old Testament woman, 30:36 which would be literal Israel, and then He has a separable 30:41 people which are the Gentiles in the New Testament period. 30:44 The Bible says that God only has one woman. 30:48 Jesus Christ has only one wife. 30:51 He does not have two wives: literal Israel 30:53 and spiritual Israel. 30:55 And, by the way, by choosing twelve apostles, 30:59 Jesus Christ was trying to teach that He was continuing Israel. 31:04 Don't you think that Jesus chose twelve apostles just because 31:08 He liked the number. 31:09 He says, Oh, twelve, that's a nice number, isn't it? 31:11 There were twelve tribes, so let's just choose twelve 31:13 twelve apostles, No. 31:14 Jesus chose twelve apostles intentionally. 31:17 How do we know that? 31:19 We know that because before the day of Pentecost, 31:22 in Acts 1, before God could pour out His Holy Spirit, 31:26 it was necessary to elect apostle number twelve 31:29 in place of Judas, because Judas had apostatized. 31:34 There needed to be how many? twelve. 31:36 And let me explain very briefly why there had to be twelve. 31:38 You see, the high priest, in the sanctuary, had twelve stones 31:44 on his breastplate, which represented God's people, 31:47 the twelve tribes of Israel. 31:49 Now Jesus was going to begin His high priestly ministry 31:52 in the heavenly sanctuary. 31:54 He couldn't begin it with only eleven stones 31:57 on His breastplate. 31:58 He had to have all twelve representing 32:01 all of God's people; the nucleus of His New Testament church. 32:04 In other words, the number twelve represents God's people 32:08 from all ages, Old Testament and New Testament. 32:12 The next point that I would like to make, 32:15 and I believe it's number six, is that Christ's kingdom 32:18 is illustrated by only one olive tree. 32:22 Now I'm going to tell you a few things about that olive tree. 32:26 It's found in Romans 11, and in a moment we're going to go to 32:29 the verses, but I want you to have something clear 32:32 before we read the verses. 32:33 This olive tree has natural branches, and those natural 32:39 branches are retained in the tree. 32:41 In other words, those natural branches are never cut off. 32:43 They are retained in the olive tree. 32:46 These represent the Jews who believed in, and accepted Jesus 32:51 Christ as Savior and Lord. 32:53 The literal Jews are the natural branches that were never 32:57 cut off, because they received the Messiah. 32:59 Then you have natural branches who were cut off. 33:02 They represent the literal Jews who rejected Jesus Christ, 33:06 because the tree trunk represents Jesus. 33:09 Then there were natural branches who were cut off, 33:12 but then they were grafted into the tree again. 33:14 That represents the Jews that initially rejected Jesus, 33:17 but then they accepted Him afterwards. 33:20 You see, what is it that determines whether you 33:23 belong to the tree or not? 33:25 What determines it is your relationship to whom? 33:27 to Jesus Christ. But then the olive tree also has some wild 33:33 olive branches grafted into it. 33:35 Now who would the wild olive branches grafted 33:40 into the tree represent? 33:41 They represent the Gentiles. 33:43 But notice that they belong to the same tree. 33:45 It's not a different tree. 33:47 It's the same tree. 33:49 And, by the way, the apostle Paul says, If you don't believe 33:53 in Jesus, then you'll be cut off, too. 33:56 And so you have this idea of one tree with natural branches, 34:02 wild olive branches, and what determines whether you belong 34:05 to the tree or not is your attitude, 34:09 and your relationship to Jesus Christ. 34:11 Let's read Romans 11 beginning with verse 17. 34:14 And it's a rather long passage, but lets go through it. 34:16 The apostle Paul says, 34:18 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, 34:22 being a wild olive tree,... 34:24 This is now speaking about the Gentiles. 34:36 ...He says to the Gentiles. 34:38 Don't think that you're so great because you were grafted in. 34:46 Of course the root represents whom? Jesus. 34:55 ...says the apostle Paul. 34:59 Unbelief in whom? 35:01 The natural branches were broken off because of 35:04 unbelief in Jesus. 35:07 How? You say the reason you're grafted in 35:09 is because you have what? faith. 35:11 Faith in whom? in Jesus. 35:39 See, they'll be grafted into their own tree. 36:07 He's speaking about literal Israel. 36:16 And so some say, See, it says there that all Israel someday 36:20 is going to be saved. 36:21 But they don't take into account what comes immediately before. 36:24 You see, what is all Israel, according to the 36:26 preceding context? 36:28 According to the preceding context, all Israel will be 36:31 saved, means all faithful Israel that has been 36:34 grafted into the tree. 36:36 Natural branches that have remained, 36:39 natural branches that were cut off and grafted in again, 36:42 and wild olive branches that were taken off of a wild olive 36:47 tree and grafted into the natural olive tree. 36:50 In other words, the context indicates that when the apostle 36:54 Paul says, All Israel will be saved, he means all faithful 36:58 Israel, who have been grafted into the tree, 37:00 into the root, Jesus Christ. 37:02 And so it says, And so all Israel will be saved, 37:05 as it is written: 37:17 So how many trees illustrate the people of God? 37:20 Does God have two separable trees? 37:23 Does He have two separable wives? 37:25 Does He have two separable bodies? 37:27 Does He have two separable folds? 37:29 Does He have two separable Israel's? 37:32 Not according to Scripture. 37:33 He has one people; one faithful people who are determined 37:38 by their relationship to Jesus Christ. 37:40 Now our next point is that there is only going to be one banquet 37:44 table in the kingdom for Jews and Gentiles. 37:47 You know, Jesus had just healed the servant of a Centurion. 37:53 You know what a Centurion was, right? 37:55 He was the head of eleven soldiers in the Roman army, 37:59 in the Roman legions, is the way that they were called. 38:03 And Jesus had just healed his servant. 38:05 And I want you to notice what Jesus said to those who were 38:09 watching there and listening to what He had done 38:14 for this Centurion. 38:16 Notice Matthew 8:11, 12. Jesus says: 38:21 And I say to you, that many will come from east and west,... 38:25 Do you know who those are? the Gentiles. 38:28 ...many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, 38:34 Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 38:37 Were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob faithful? 38:41 Were they faithful Israelites? 38:43 Did they look forward to the Messiah? 38:45 Jesus said, Abraham saw My day and what? rejoiced. John 8:56. 38:50 These all saw the Messiah coming in the future. 38:53 They accepted Jesus Christ in promise. 38:56 So it says once again, And I say to you that many will come from 38:59 east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 39:03 in the kingdom of heaven: But the sons of the kingdom... 39:07 Who are those? the sons of the kingdom? the literal Jews. 39:11 ...the sons of the kingdom... 39:12 That reject Jesus, incidentally. 39:14 ...will be cast out into outer darkness: there will be weeping 39:18 and gnashing of teeth. 39:20 How many tables are there going to be in the kingdom? 39:23 How many banquet tables? 39:24 One for the Jews, and the other one on the other side of 39:28 town for the Gentiles? Absolutely not! 39:31 One table, composed of Jews and Gentiles. 39:34 Next point: Jesus Christ has only one spiritual temple. 39:40 Notice what we find in Ephesians 2:19-22, Ephesians 2:19-22. 39:48 Here the apostle Paul says, Now therefore you are no longer 39:52 strangers and foreigners,... 39:54 Speaking about the Gentiles, very clearly. 39:57 Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, 40:00 but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of 40:06 the household of God. 40:07 Does that sound like they're a separable people? 40:10 Absolutely not! So he says, 40:13 Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, 40:15 but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of 40:18 the household of God; having been built on the foundation 40:23 of the apostles and prophets,... 40:25 Is that Old and New Testament? apostles and prophets? Yes. 40:28 ...upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, 40:31 Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone;... 40:36 What determines whether you belong to the temple? 40:39 to the one temple or not? 40:40 Whether you're built on the foundation of the apostles 40:42 and prophets; Old/New Testament. 40:43 But the chief cornerstone that you build on is whom? 40:47 Jesus Christ. Now notice what it continues saying. 40:50 In whom the whole building... 40:52 That is the temple. 40:53 ...being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord: 41:00 In whom you also... 41:02 He's speaking to the Gentiles. 41:04 In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place 41:08 of God in the Spirit. 41:10 How many temples does Jesus have? 41:12 He has one temple with foundations from Old 41:16 and the New Testament, apostles and prophets. 41:18 Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone of the one temple, 41:22 and the temple is composed of Jews and Gentiles. 41:27 So, by the way, when prophecy says that the antichrist 41:31 is going to sit in the temple of God, showing himself to be God, 41:36 what temple is that talking about? 41:38 Is that talking about the literal Jewish temple 41:41 over in the Middle East where a nasty individual is going to sit 41:45 after the rapture of the church? 41:47 Never does the apostle Paul use the word temple in that sense. 41:51 You see, this is a spiritual temple, 41:54 with spiritual foundations, a spiritual chief cornerstone, 41:59 and spiritual stones built up upon the foundation, 42:03 as 1 Peter 2 says. 42:06 The next point that I would like to make is that the 42:10 redeemed from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people 42:13 will sing only one song. 42:17 You say, What's that? 42:18 You mean to say that the Jews aren't going to sing 42:21 The song of Moses? and the redeemed at the end 42:24 are going to sing the song of the Lamb? 42:25 Go with me to Revelation 15: 3, 4, Revelation 15:3, 4. 42:33 It's speaking about the redeemed. It says: 42:41 Is that Old and New Testament, by the way? 42:45 Was Moses in the Old Testament? Yes. 42:47 The Lamb, the New Testament. 42:50 And so it says: They sing the song of Moses, the servant 42:54 of God and the song of the Lamb saying, Great and marvelous are 42:57 Your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Your ways, 43:01 O King of the saints. 43:14 So the redeemed will sing only one song, and it is the song of 43:18 Moses and the Lamb. 43:20 One song that includes Old Testament 43:22 and New Testament Christians. 43:26 Another point that I would like to make, and I believe that 43:29 this is number 10, is that the redeemed will 43:31 have only one father. 43:33 And that one father is defined by your 43:37 relationship to Jesus Christ. 43:38 Only those who have received Jesus are technically sons 43:43 and daughters of God. 43:44 It doesn't matter if you're a literal Jew 43:46 or if you're a Gentile. 43:48 If you receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord, 43:50 you are a brother or sister of Jesus, and therefore a son 43:55 or a daughter of God. 43:57 Notice Galatians 3:26, Galatians 3:26. 44:13 How is it that we become sons and daughters of God? 44:15 through faith in Christ Jesus. 44:18 So let me ask you, What if we don't have 44:19 faith in Christ Jesus, like most of those who are over 44:24 They don't have faith in Jesus Christ. 44:25 Are they sons and daughters of God in the spiritual 44:28 sense of the word? 44:30 By creation, yes, but not by redemption. 44:33 Notice John 1:12, 13, John 1: 12, 13. 44:39 Notice this, very clear. 44:41 But as many as received Him,... 44:43 That is received Jesus. 44:44 ...to them He gave the right to become children of God. 44:49 How do we become children of God? those who what? 44:52 received Him, to them He gave the right to 44:55 become children of God. 44:57 To those who believe in His what? name. 45:01 Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 45:05 nor of the will of man, but of God. 45:09 So let me explain how this works. 45:12 It's very interesting. 45:14 See, the only individual who really deserves to be called 45:18 the Son of God is Jesus Christ. 45:20 We are all, all the rest of us juvenile delinquents. 45:24 In other words, we are alienated. 45:28 We are by nature children of wrath, according to the Bible. 45:31 In sin our mother conceived us, the Scripture says. 45:35 So we're alienated from the covenants of the promise. 45:38 We belong to the family of the first Adam; 45:40 the family of the lost. 45:41 So the question is, How do we join the family of the saved? 45:46 Well, Jesus is the only one who deserves to be called the Son of 45:50 God; the only faithful Son of God. 45:52 So do you know what happens? 45:54 When I receive Jesus Christ as my Savior and as my Lord, 45:57 and I believe and have faith in His name? 46:01 I become His brother, or I become His sister. 46:08 And so now, because I'm a brother of Jesus, 46:12 because I receive Him as my Savior, now Jesus comes before 46:16 the Father and He says, Father, I have a new brother. 46:19 Oh really, what's his name? 46:21 Well, his name is Pastor Stephen Bohr. 46:24 The Father says, No kidding! 46:26 Stephen Bohr is your brother? 46:28 Well, if he's your brother, He's My Son, too. 46:30 In other words, the only way in which we can be sons and 46:36 daughters of God, is become brothers or 46:38 sisters of Jesus Christ. 46:40 That's why we're told in Hebrews 2 that He is not ashamed 46:44 to call us brethren. 46:46 And that's what Jesus meant when He said in John 14:6, 46:49 I am the way, the truth, and the life. 46:52 No man comes onto the Father except by me. 46:56 Only through Him do we become Sons and Daughters of God. 47:00 So if we have not accepted Jesus Christ, we do not belong 47:04 to the family of God. 47:05 And I know that that's not a popular thing to say, 47:08 because everybody's, Oh, we're all God's children. 47:11 We are God's children by creation. 47:15 But we have to become His children by redemption, 47:18 or else we will be eternally lost children. 47:21 Now I want you to notice John 8: 32-44. 47:26 Here Jesus is speaking to a group of literal Jews. 47:29 He says to them, "And you shall know the truth, 47:33 and the truth shall make you free. " 47:36 They answered Him, We are Abraham's descendents. 47:39 Actually in the Greek it says, We are Abraham's seed. 47:42 It's the same word that's used elsewhere. 47:44 We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone. 47:49 How can you say, You will be made free? 47:52 Jesus answered them, Most assuredly I say to you, 47:56 Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 47:58 See, He's speaking spiritually. 47:59 He's not speaking literally. 48:01 And a slave does not abide in the house forever: 48:04 but a what? a son abides forever. 48:07 He's saying, If you haven't received Me, 48:09 you are slaves of sin. 48:11 And if you're slaves of sin, then you're not a son. 48:14 He says, But a son abides forever. 48:18 Therefore if the son makes you free,... 48:21 That is if I make you free, you shall be free what? free indeed. 48:26 And then He says, I know that you are Abraham's seed. 48:29 I know that you're literally Abraham's seed, 48:32 is what Jesus is saying, but you seek to kill Me, 48:35 because My Word has no place in you. 48:37 I speak what I have seen with My Father. 48:40 You do what you have seen with your Father. 48:42 They answered and said to Him, Abraham is our father. 48:46 Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would do 48:50 the works of Abraham. 48:51 Now He's going to say, You're not Abraham's children at all. 48:53 I know that you literally are, physically are, but you really 48:56 are not Abraham's children. 48:58 You're not Abraham's seed. 48:59 Verse 40. But now you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you 49:03 the truth, which I heard from God. 49:05 Abraham did not do this. 49:07 You do the deeds of your father. 49:10 Then they said to Him, We were not born of fornication. 49:13 We have one Father, God. 49:16 Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me: 49:19 for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of 49:23 Myself, but He sent Me. 49:24 In other words, Jesus is saying, Abraham loved Me. 49:28 My Father loves Me. 49:29 You hate Me, so how can you say that My Father is Your 49:33 Father, and that Abraham is your father, 49:36 because your spirit is totally opposite? 49:38 Verse 43. Why do you not understand My speech? 49:42 because you are not able to listen to My Word. 49:47 Jesus did say some politically incorrect things. 50:08 In fact, the apostle Paul in Galatians 4 speaks about Hagar 50:13 and Sarah, and Ishmael and Isaac. 50:17 You know, the Jews claimed to be descendents of whom? 50:21 of Sarah and Isaac. 50:23 But do you know what the apostle Paul says 50:25 in Galatians 4? He says, You folks, the Jerusalem that is 50:29 now, and the Jews that were at mount Sinai, He says, 50:33 You are sons and daughters of Hagar and Ishmael. 50:36 In other words, He's saying, He's to them, You are not 50:42 children of Isaac. 50:44 You are children of the slave woman. 50:47 In other words, what determines whether you belong to the people 50:51 of God is your relationship to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 50:57 Now I want to go through this very quickly, because we have 51:00 a very short period of time left. 51:03 And so I'm just going to synthesize the last part 51:05 of what you have on your sheets. 51:07 In Deuteronomy 28:63, 64 God promised Israel that if they 51:13 were unfaithful to Him, He would scatter them among the nations. 51:17 But then He promised in Deuteronomy 30:3-5 that if they 51:22 repented, and they returned to the Lord, the Lord would gather 51:27 them from where He had scattered them. 51:30 So these are the scattering and gathering prophecies. 51:34 Now it's important to realize that the gathering, and the 51:38 scattering, the important aspect was not the land. 51:43 In other words, what I'm saying is God had chosen the land 51:47 as His dwelling place. 51:49 And so if they had a bad relationship with Him in the 51:52 land, they would be scattered. 51:54 If they had a good relationship with Him in the land, 51:58 they would be gathered. 51:59 In other words, the key was not to be gathered to the land, 52:02 the key was to be gathered to the Lord, who was in the land. 52:06 Now Jesus gave a profound interpretation to the gathering 52:11 and the scattering prophecies. 52:13 In fact Jesus is going to say, Do you know that it's possible 52:16 for you to live in Jerusalem and still be scattered? 52:21 And it's possible for you to live out there among the 52:24 Gentiles and to be gathered. 52:25 You say, Now how is that? 52:27 Go with me to Luke 11, Luke 11: 23. Jesus says here: 52:33 He who is not with me... 52:35 He who is not what? who is not with Me, he is against Me. 52:40 And He who does not gather with Me scatters. 52:44 What was the key? being gathered to the land, or being gathered 52:46 to the Lord? It was being gathered to the Lord. 52:49 And Jesus says, If you don't gather to Me, you what? 52:53 you scatter. Let's go once again to the experience of Caiaphas 52:59 when he said, It's necessary for one man to die, and not that the 53:04 whole nation perish. John 11:51, 52. 53:07 It explains what this means. 53:09 He prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation; 53:12 And not for that nation only, but also that he would what? 53:17 that he would gather in one the children of God who were 53:23 what? scattered. But they were going to be gathered to where? 53:26 Was the key being gathered to Jerusalem the place? 53:29 Or was the key being gathered to the Lord? 53:32 It was to be gathered to the Lord, even though they lived 53:35 all over the Roman empire. 53:37 By the way, when Jesus left the Jewish temple, 53:41 notice what He said: Matthew 23: 37, 38. 53:44 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets, 53:48 and stones those who are sent to her. 53:51 How often I wanted to... 53:53 What's the key word there? 53:55 ...I wanted to gather you as a hen gathers her 54:00 chicks under her wings... 54:01 Who were they going to be gathered to? the city, the land, 54:05 or the Lord? the Lord. 54:08 And then He says, but you were not willing. 54:13 See your house is left to you desolate. 54:16 And, by the way, in another gospel He speaks about them 54:19 being scattered among the nations, because they refused 54:23 to be gathered to the Lord. 54:24 Jesus explains what it means to be gathered in Matthew 18:20. 54:30 He says: For where two or three are what? gathered together 54:41 in My name, I am there in the midst of them. 54:45 Let me ask you then, Where is the holy land? 54:50 The holy land is where Jesus is. 54:53 And where is Jesus? 54:55 He's in heaven, but spiritually He's where? all over the world, 55:01 through the presence of the Holy Spirit. 55:03 So where is Jesus? 55:04 Jesus is worldwide through the ministration of the Holy Spirit. 55:08 And where there are two or three gathered in His name, 55:11 there is the holy land, because present there is the Holy Lord. 55:17 In other words, it wasn't the land that was important, 55:21 it was the Lord in the land. 55:23 If they had a bad relationship with the Lord in the land, 55:26 they were scattered. 55:27 If they repented they were once again gathered. 55:30 But the key was the Lord not the land. 55:32 Now let me as you, When were these prophecies of the 55:36 gathering finally fulfilled? those who were scattered? 55:39 When were these prophecies fulfilled that they were 55:42 gathered into one? 55:44 Acts 2 has the answer, verse 1. 55:48 When the day of Pentecost had fully come, 55:50 they were all with one accord in one place. 55:54 Had these people accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord? 55:59 They were all gathered, right? 56:02 Were they gathered from many different nations? 56:05 Was the place the key part here? 56:07 It wasn't the place. 56:09 They were gathered there. 56:10 They were gathered to the Lord. 56:11 Notice verse 7. They were people from all nations. 56:14 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, 56:17 Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 56:19 And how is it that we hear each in our own language 56:23 in which we were born? 56:24 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and those dwelling in 56:28 Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 56:32 Phrygia, Pamphylia, in Egypt, in the parts of Libya adjoining 56:36 Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans, 56:40 and Arabs, who hear them speaking in our own tongues 56:43 the wonderful works of God. 56:44 Who were they gathered to? 56:46 They were gathered to Jesus Christ from 56:48 all parts of the empire. 56:50 So let me synthesize it. 56:53 What makes you a true Israelite is not that you are gathered 56:57 to the holy land, but that you are gathered to the Holy Lord. 57:02 If you are in the holy land, and have rejected the Holy Lord, 57:06 you are scattered. 57:09 So where is prophecy going to be fulfilled? in the literal land 57:14 of the Middle East, with people who do not receive Jesus Christ? 57:19 No! It will be worldwide Babylon against worldwide Jerusalem. |
Revised 2023-04-20