Participants: Pastor John Dinzey
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000013A
|
00:31 Say Amen, praise the Lord. "Amen, praise the Lord!"
00:36 It's a pleasure to be with you to speak about God's word, 00:42 and, today, we're going to be doing a Bible study, 00:46 and we're going to be mentioning some things that are 00:49 familiar to you, so I'm encouraged not to 00:52 give as much detail as one would were he in a 00:57 place or with people that are unfamiliar with some things. 01:02 So I hope you follow along, I may give you references 01:05 to look up - that we will not look up because some 01:10 of these things are familiar to you. 01:13 The message is entitled: "The Return of Elijah" 01:18 And I encourage you to either jot some things down 01:22 for reference or further study because we're going to be 01:27 looking at a lot of Scriptures. 01:28 But before we begin, I'd like to go to the Lord 01:31 in prayer once again and I'd like to invite you to 01:33 pray for yourself and for myself. 01:35 I will kneel, but you may remain seated. 01:38 Let's ask the Lord to bless us... 01:44 Our Loving Heavenly Father, How wonderful You are 01:50 to each and every one of us. 01:52 We thank You, Lord, that we can come before Your throne 01:56 of grace and we come in Jesus name... 02:00 And we pray that You will bless each and everyone here, 02:03 and all those that accompany us by internet 02:08 or some other means. 02:10 We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will help us 02:13 to understand something that we need 02:17 for this moment of our lives. 02:19 We ask You, Father, that every word will come from 02:24 Your throne of grace. 02:25 I place myself aside, Lord, and I pray 02:28 that You will speak to Your children. 02:31 In Jesus name... Amen, Amen 02:35 We are living in times when we know and understand 02:40 and sense that Jesus Christ is coming soon. 02:45 I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles to Malachi 4:5-6. 02:52 In Malachi 4:5-6, a prophecy is foretold concerning Jesus 02:59 and the messenger that will come before Him, 03:04 but it is also a message for us at this time because 03:10 there is to be a return of Elijah and I say so now 03:15 not an individual, but a people that identify 03:19 with the message that Elijah had to bring to the world. 03:24 Malachi 4:5: Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet. 03:30 When? Before the coming of the great and dreadful 03:35 day of the Lord and he shall turn the heart of the fathers 03:40 to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers, 03:44 Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. 03:49 Now who is this Elijah? 03:52 Jesus said that in His time, John the Baptist was a 03:56 fulfillment of the Elijah that was to come before the 04:02 first coming of Jesus Christ, but you see, it says that 04:06 "before the dreadful day of the Lord." 04:09 This is a reference to the second coming, to the return 04:14 of Jesus Christ in great glory. 04:18 So I say to you... It is not an individual that 04:21 will show up in the last day, but a people that is 04:24 to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ. 04:29 Irony of those people here, I ask. 04:34 Let's look into some Scriptures to help us 04:37 understand the experience of God's people. 04:41 Revelation 10, in Revelation 10, we're going to look at 04:45 several verses. 04:46 Revelation 10, and if you found it, say Amen. 04:52 Praise the Lord, we begin to read... 05:12 Praise the Lord. 05:13 Now if you look at the words in Revelation 10:1, 05:17 you might recognize some words that identify this messenger 05:24 as Jesus Christ. 05:28 It may be confusing to some that the word "angel" is used, 05:31 but continue listening and you will understand. 05:34 In Revelation 10:2, the Bible says... 05:46 Question... If a book is said to be opened, 05:50 isn't it, at one time, that it was to be closed? Yes 05:55 The book is said to be opened upon this time in Revelation 10, 06:00 and the little book, if you look into the Bible, 06:05 the Holy Scriptures, you can start scratching books 06:09 off that are large and you come 06:11 with a list of books that are small, considered small, 06:16 and when you see that this book is said to be open, 06:20 you must understand that at one time it was said to be closed. 06:23 If you look at the Bible, there's only one little book 06:28 that was said to be closed or sealed 06:31 until the time of the end. 06:34 Anyone know what that book was? Daniel. 06:38 So you see, there are some things that are familiar to you 06:41 that we're not going to dwell too much upon. 06:43 So this little book that this messenger has 06:46 is the book of Daniel. 06:48 It is said to be open because the time reference here 06:51 is that the time would come when God's children will be 06:55 looking into the book of Daniel and God would be helping them 06:59 to understand that book. 07:01 Now something interesting happens 07:04 as the message continues in Revelation 10... 07:09 I'm sorry, I need to mention also a reference in verse 2 07:14 is that also he had his right foot upon the sea 07:17 and his left foot upon the earth and that means that this 07:21 messenger has authority over land and sea. 07:28 Remember the words of Jesus, "All power is given unto Me 07:32 in heaven and in earth," so this is another reference 07:36 that helps us to understand that this messenger 07:39 is none other than Jesus Christ. 07:42 Verse 3: And he cried with a loud voice... 07:45 Why do people speak in loud voices? 07:46 Because they want to be heard. 08:28 Again, this angel that has his foot on the sea 08:31 and his foot upon the earth, he has a message 08:33 for the whole world and this should help us to understand 08:40 that is a message that needs to be heard by the whole world. 08:43 What else needs to be heard by the whole world? 08:45 The everlasting gospel. 08:50 An interesting thing that happens is that 08:53 the end of verse 6 says that there should be time no longer. 08:59 This is not a reference to the end of time, 09:03 but a reference to the prophetic times where you count 09:09 a day for a year - will no longer be applicable 09:13 to the time during the experience described 09:17 in Revelation 10. 09:19 Now John, speaking there with the angel, 09:23 is going to be asked to go through an experience... 09:26 something bitter, something sweet. 09:29 There are several prophets in the Bible that have to 09:32 do things that would be like an experience that would 09:36 happen to God's children. 09:37 You may think of Jeremiah, you may think of Isaiah, 09:41 you may think of Ezekiel, they were asked to do things 09:45 to tell about the experience that was 09:48 coming for God's people. 09:50 Ezekiel was asked to lie down on one side, 09:53 then lie down on another. 09:55 Talking about the experience, Isaiah was asked to put a 09:58 yoke around his neck - talking about the experience 10:01 that the people of God would go 10:02 in the time of the future for them. 10:05 So here, this angel, let's continue reading in verse 7... 10:50 So this, John, was supposed to experience something sweet 10:58 and then bitter. 11:01 He was going to go through an experience that the 11:03 people of God were going to go through in the future. 11:07 What experience was that? 11:08 Revelation chapter 10 is talking to us about the experience 11:13 that God's children went through during the time of 1840s 11:18 when they began to open the book of Daniel and one of them 11:23 that you are familiar with, William Miller, reading 11:28 the prophecies of Daniel read that unto 2,300 days 11:32 equal to years, 2,300 years, then shall the what be cleansed? 11:38 THE SANCTUARY will be cleansed. 11:39 They understood, those people in those days, that the sanctuary 11:44 was the earth, but the Bible does not say that. 11:46 It was a misconception of the time that the earth was a 11:50 sanctuary. 11:52 So what were those people, during those times, thinking? 11:56 They thought that Jesus Christ was coming soon, 12:00 and as they looked at the prophecy of the 2,300 years, 12:06 and they searched and understood 12:09 that this prophecy would begin in 457 B.C., 12:14 and that it would extend to the fall of October 22, 1844... 12:21 They believed that Jesus Christ was coming on October 22, 1844. 12:29 At first, they thought 1843, but as they looked at the 12:32 prophecies and as they looked at feast, they understood 12:35 October 22, 1844. 12:37 Question: Right now, would it be sweet to you 12:42 to know that Jesus Christ is coming at the end of next week? 12:49 OH, it would be sweet! 12:51 Our pains and struggles would be over. 12:53 Gone would be disease and suffering; 12:57 gone would be death; gone would be debts. 13:00 Anybody have debts here? 13:02 A few of you - at least one. 13:06 They would be gone! 13:08 No more suffering and it would be sweet to know 13:12 that Jesus is coming next week. 13:16 Now we have no prophecies that say that, 13:18 but it was sweet to them to believe and understand 13:20 that Jesus Christ is coming. 13:22 They looked at the numbers, 457 B.C. ends in 13:28 October 22, 1844, Jesus Christ is coming - they thought. 13:33 And it was a SWEET experience to think, only a few more 13:37 days and Jesus Christ will come! 13:41 But you see, that was sweet, what was bitter that John 13:45 went through as he ate the book, was that Jesus 13:50 Christ did not come as they thought and they were 13:54 confused about that. 13:56 Some of them were shaken, some of them left the faith, 14:01 but some continued studying the Scriptures and found 14:06 that the event that was to take place was not the 14:08 second coming of Jesus Christ, but that Jesus was going 14:12 from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place in heaven. 14:15 If you understand that, please raise your hand. 14:17 Praise the Lord - see I don't have to dwell too much on that 14:21 because you understand these things. 14:23 And concerning the eating of the little book 14:28 there are several Scriptures that help you with that, 14:30 we don't have to look it up, but you can see in 14:34 Jeremiah 15:16, he says, "I found the words of 14:38 the Lord and I ate them and they were sweet." 14:41 And some people still use the reference - not many young 14:45 people, I think... They say, "Hey, did you like 14:48 that book that you were reading?" 14:49 "Oh, yes, I ate it up." 14:52 So this eating, and when you eat something, don't you look at it? 14:56 Don't you examine it to see if it's good? 14:59 To see if it's rotten, to see it's worthy to eat? 15:02 So the eating is an experience of looking, understanding 15:07 what you're eating and tasting as well. 15:10 And so, brothers and sisters, this is a symbol of what 15:14 John was going through signaling what the people of 15:19 God would go through. 15:20 Now let's continue reading in Revelation 10 15:22 because we have much to cover. 15:24 In Revelation 10:10-11, the Bible says the following... 15:56 There are two things I want to say about this, three maybe. 15:58 "He said, "You must prophesy again." 16:02 So you see, when it says that time should be no longer, 16:05 And he said, "to have to prophesy again," 16:09 you understand it doesn't mean the end of time, 16:13 it means the end of counting day for a year. 16:17 The prophetic day for a year was coming to an end 16:19 during the time of the experience of the people of 16:22 God during the 1840s. 16:24 No more prophetic one day for a year after 1844. 16:29 That's what the message is. 16:31 And notice that these people were coming out of an 16:39 experience - the church was said to be going through an 16:44 experience in the wilderness and we'll look at that in a moment. 16:47 The church was in hiding in the wilderness, 16:50 and because they were hiding in the wilderness, 16:54 they could not preach before nations and kings 16:57 during the 1,260 years. 17:01 They were preaching one on one. 17:03 They were preaching to homes, but the time would come 17:07 when they would preach before multitudes of people... 17:11 Praise the Lord. 17:12 Why? Because the time of probation was still open. 17:17 So this "time will be no longer" is a time of prophetic time 17:22 ending not the end of time for the inhabitants of the earth. 17:28 If you understand that, say "Amen." 17:29 Amen! Praise the Lord! 17:31 Now let's move to Revelation 12. 17:33 There are several verses we need to look at there... 17:36 Just a few pages over and if you found Revelation 12:10, 17:40 please say, "Amen." Great! 17:42 We have at least 2 witnesses, we start and it says... 18:06 Question: When could it be said that "Now is come salvation?" 18:14 Two times... When Jesus dies on the cross, 18:24 the promise is fulfilled that was promised in Genesis... 18:29 That there would come a seed of a woman which would crush 18:34 the serpent's head and it was a promise until Jesus did what? 18:39 Died on the cross - it was fulfilled. 18:43 So then it could be proclaimed, "Now is come salvation," 18:47 it is secured by the death of Jesus Christ. 18:51 So when it says, "Now is come salvation," 18:55 it is a declaration of the victory of Jesus on the cross. 19:00 Look at the next verse: 19:15 And I will say to you, just in passing, 19:17 that it says that, "The devil is cast down and he could 19:23 no longer accuse day and night because at the cross 19:27 the opportunity He had to go before God and accuse 19:30 the brethren day and night was over 19:33 because Jesus died on the cross. 19:36 And no longer did He have a voice that needed to be heard 19:41 because God proved that God is love and that He was 19:45 willing to sacrifice to save His children. Amen to that. 19:52 Verse 12, Revelation 12:12: "Therefore rejoice 19:56 ye heavens... Why is heaven rejoicing? 19:59 Because Jesus was victorious and Satan lost. 20:15 Because he knows that he has but a short time. 20:20 He doesn't think he has a short time, he KNOWS 20:24 that he has a short time. 20:26 And I say, "Praise the Lord." 20:27 But at the same time we say, "Woe to the inhabitants 20:31 of the earth," we need to be concerned, we need to be wide 20:35 awake because "Satan is as a roaring lion seeking whom 20:39 he may devour." 20:45 And I've asked this question in many, many places in the U.S., 20:47 Central America, South America, and nobody raises 20:50 their hand on this question. 20:52 Let's see if somebody here raises their question. 20:56 When you think about Satan looking and roaring about 21:00 seeking whom he may devour, this is the question I ask... 21:03 "How many want to be devoured by Satan?" 21:05 Praise the Lord! Nobody here! 21:08 So this must mean you prefer Jesus Christ. Amen to that. 21:13 Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, 21:17 and in Him is found salvation 21:19 FREE to all who want salvation. Praise the Lord for that! 21:26 Notice - Revelation 12:13... "And when the dragon saw 21:33 that he was cast onto the earth, he sat down and read a book... 21:38 What did he do? He persecuted the woman 21:41 which brought forth the Man-child." 21:45 This has reference to the earlier verses of 21:47 Revelation chapter 12. 21:48 He PERSECUTED the woman! 21:50 Question: What is the symbol of a woman in Bible prophecy? 21:53 A church! 21:55 See, I don't have to dwell on that. 21:56 I don't have to give you Scriptures that bring that out. 22:01 So the woman is the church and the dragon, that is the devil 22:06 working through people, persecuted the woman 22:11 which brought forth the Man-child. 22:13 In Revelation 12:14, the Bible says: "And to the 22:17 woman were given two wings of a great eagle 22:21 that she might fly into the wilderness into HER place... 22:26 She has a place there reserved by God. 22:29 ...where she is nourished for a time, times and half a time, 22:36 from the face of the serpent." 22:41 Question: Why is the woman fleeing into the wilderness? 22:49 Didn't Jesus say, "Go ye into all the world 22:54 and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name 22:57 of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Ghost?" 22:59 Go preach to ALL the world. 23:02 Why is the church going into the wilderness? 23:07 Because persecution had come and because of the 23:11 activity of the persecution and the activities 23:15 of the devil that we're going to read a verse that 23:18 helps you to understand that. 23:20 The woman needed to hide for a while. 23:23 By the way, brothers and sisters 23:25 it's time to come out of hiding. 23:27 It's time to preach the gospel to every nation, 23:31 kindred and tongue and people. 23:33 It's time to come out of hiding and let your light 23:36 so shine before men that they may see your good 23:39 works and glorify your God which is in heaven. 23:43 It's time to come out of hiding. 23:45 It's time to allow Jesus to speak through you 23:48 so that Jesus can be desired by others. 23:55 Amen? Let's go then to the time, times and half a time. 24:02 What is this time, times and half of times? 24:05 This is talking about prophetic time. 24:07 This is still within the timeframe of prophetic time 24:12 because when you're reading Revelation, you have to 24:16 understand that something is discussed and it takes it to a 24:21 certain amount of time, but then you keep reading 24:24 and it takes you back a little further... 24:26 That's why when you get to Revelation 10, 24:28 and then you go to Revelation 12, 24:30 you will notice that it talks about a great war in heaven. 24:34 When did that take place? Way, way back... 24:37 And I would say to you - before Adam and Eve were created. 24:41 If you understand that, say, Amen. Praise the Lord. 24:46 So then, brothers and sisters, we are now at times, 24:49 times and half of times, how much time is that? 24:53 A "time" is considered a day, "times"- two days, 24:56 "half a times" is what? Half a day. 24:59 Prophetic time - a day for a year. 25:02 So we're actually talking here about 1,260 years, 25:09 1,260 years. 25:12 How do we get 1,260 years out of 3-1/2 years? 25:18 You have to reckon it according to the Jewish time. 25:24 Their year was only 360 days long. 25:29 So that's how you get 1,260 years. 25:35 We now think a year is how long? 365 and a little bit... 25:42 And so, 1,260 years, interestingly enough, 25:48 this timeframe of 1,260 years 25:51 is mentioned several times in the Bible. 25:54 It is an important time to understand that God's people 25:59 were going to be persecuted for 1,260 years. 26:02 In Daniel 7:25, you will see this mentioned again, 26:06 and it is mentioned in different ways, times, times, 26:11 and the dividing of time; times, times and half a time, 26:15 and when you get to Revelation 12:6, 26:17 it says, "1,260 years," some of you have "3 score" 26:25 in your Bibles... 26:26 So it is also mentioned as 42 months in Revelation 11:2-3, 26:31 and also in Revelation 13:5 1,260 years... 26:39 some of you are familiar with that. 26:40 We understand that this began in the year 538 B.C., 26:49 538 A.D. - I'm sorry, I know the meaning, 26:54 after the birth of Christ... 538 extending to 26:59 the year 1798- - 1,260 years. 27:07 ... 538 to 1798 during the time when there 27:13 was persecution among God's people led by the church 27:21 that was visible during that time which was the 27:24 Roman Catholic Church - we don't have time to dwell on that, 27:28 but that's what history shows. 27:31 If you understand that, say Amen. "Amen." 27:34 Interestingly enough, it is after 1798- you see that 27:40 the Bible begins to be printed in mass quantities. 27:45 See because, during the 1,260 years, there were limited 27:49 copies of the Bible. 27:51 The Bible was actually suppressed - people were told, 27:53 "Don't read it, you won't understand it; 27:55 only the priest can help you understand this. 27:58 Don't read it, you'll get confused." 28:00 So these 1,260 years reveal a time of dark times, 28:07 dark ages, persecution. 28:10 And the church was said to be in the wilderness. 28:13 Now let's continue reading as we look into Revelation 12, 28:20 and we are now going to finish reading 15, 16 and 17. 28:27 Let's go to verse 15- if you found it, say Amen. 28:29 Are you there? Are you there? Amen! 28:40 What is this "water" that the woman will be carried away with? 28:44 False doctrines and to protect the church, 28:49 God's people that were in the wilderness, 28:53 from false doctrines, they had to go into hiding... 28:58 so they're not swept away by false doctrines. 29:03 And so the Lord blessed and protected the church, 29:07 and the church was not swept away by the flood... Why? 29:11 Because it says in verse 16... 29:21 Praise the Lord! 29:24 Now brothers and sisters, the woman is said to be where? 29:27 In the WILDERNESS. 29:29 Wilderness is a place that is desolate, 29:32 very few people if any. 29:37 Another word in Greek is a "desert place." 29:41 Actually in the Spanish translation 29:43 it uses "desert place." 29:47 So that's where the church was. 29:49 In contrast to where the woman, that is considered the whore 29:56 or a woman that is corrupt where she is... 30:01 Let's look at that in Revelation 17:15, 30:07 very close to where you are now, so it shouldn't 30:09 take you long to find it and if you found it say "Amen." 30:12 In Revelation 17:15, the Bible says... 30:25 So you see, the woman - the true church was in the wilderness, 30:29 but the visible church - that is a corrupt church was said to be 30:33 among the multitudes of people. 30:38 Interesting contrast, but again, the woman after 1798 30:44 was supposed to come out hiding and come out again to what? 30:49 To preach unto them that dwell on the earth. 30:53 So you should see God's people begin to preach the gospel 30:57 in a much more powerful way after 1798. 31:03 Let's finish Revelation 12:17... 31:10 If you found it, say "Amen." Amen! 31:13 "And the dragon - who is that? The devil. 31:26 Praise the Lord. 31:28 I remember one time when I worked in a bank, 31:30 a young man came to me because we would talk about 31:33 spiritual things from time to time, and he said to me, 31:36 "John, I found the true church." 31:39 I said, "Praise the Lord, how did you find it?" 31:43 "The true church has the title the "Church of God on it." 31:51 And I said, "I'm really sorry, but that's not the correct 31:55 way to find the true church, God's true followers 31:58 because any group can say, "The Church of God" 32:01 on the outside of their church. 32:04 This is not to put down those that use the word, 32:07 "Church of God," but that's not 32:08 the way you find the true church. 32:10 How do you find the true church? 32:12 Look at Revelation 12- Who is the dragon, 32:15 the devil, persecuting? 32:17 Those that keep the commandments of God and have the 32:21 testimony of Jesus Christ. 32:24 So those are the true followers of God. 32:27 Those are the ones that Satan is most ardently persecuting. 32:32 He is more active in trying to destroy them than the others 32:37 that don't have the characteristics described 32:41 in Revelation 12:17. 32:43 And if you take a look and research the churches 32:48 that identify with "keep the commandments of God," 32:51 the list of hundreds will dwindle down to a very few. 32:58 And then you ask, "Do you keep ALL Ten Commandments?" 33:02 And the list gets what? Smaller, much smaller. 33:09 So if you want to know how to find the true church, 33:12 look at Revelation 12. 33:14 But there's also another characteristic mentioned 33:18 in Revelation 12:17 which is... 33:20 "And they have the testimony of Jesus Christ." 33:23 What is the "testimony of Jesus Christ?" 33:25 Some of you already know where this is and we are now 33:28 going to Revelation 19:10. 33:30 Revelation 19:10 for those that have not read it. 33:35 The Bible is wonderful in its way that it interprets itself. 33:40 Revelation 19:10 says... "And I 33:42 fell at His feet to worship Him." 33:45 That is the messenger that was before him. 33:47 "And he said unto me, see thou do it not, 33:50 I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the 33:54 testimony of Jesus." 33:56 Isn't it wonderful now he tells us what that is. 33:59 "Worship God for the testimony of Jesus is the 34:02 spirit of prophecy." 34:05 What is the "testimony of Jesus?" 34:07 What does the church that follows Jesus... 34:12 the people that follows Jesus have? 34:14 The testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy. 34:19 Now I'll stop right here and say that some people think that 34:22 Ellen G. White IS the spirit of prophecy. 34:26 Ellen G. White is NOT the spirit of prophecy. 34:30 She had the gift of the spirit of prophecy which is 34:35 the Holy Spirit. 34:37 See, "I am thy fellow servant and of them that have the 34:40 spirit of prophecy." 34:43 So the children of God that were to prophesy again 34:47 were to receive the prophetic gift among their midst again. 34:52 Praise the Lord... Because in Revelation 10, 34:54 we read that you must prophesy again before kings 34:58 and peoples and multitudes. Praise the Lord! 35:01 If you're following me so far, say "Amen." Amen. 35:04 If you're confused, raise your hand? 35:07 Well praise the Lord, we're all on the same page. 35:10 Let's go to a new reading then in Revelation and we now move 35:14 to Revelation 14- we're taking a large picture today 35:19 to help you understand that the people that identify with 35:23 Elijah must wake up and fulfill, that which is prophesied 35:29 to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ. 35:33 Are you in Revelation 14? Let's begin in verse 6... 35:49 Do you hear an echo of Revelation 10? 35:52 That he must prophesy again to multitudes and the gospel 35:56 has to go to all the world, every nation, kindred, 36:02 and tongue and people. 36:05 Question... Who is flying in the midst of heaven? An angel. 36:12 Question... Did God tell the angels to preach the gospel 36:18 to every nation, kindred, tongue and people? 36:19 In Matthew 28, it reveals what? 36:22 That He's talking to His disciples and He said, 36:25 "Go ye into all the world." 36:28 So this angel, in Revelation 14, is a symbol of the people 36:33 that must do this because it is people that have been 36:37 given the privilege to preach the gospel to the world, 36:40 not the angels, and I will say to you, 36:43 that if the angles were given the mission to preach the gospel 36:47 to the world, that would have been done a long time ago! 36:53 But it has been given to us and some people are still 36:57 in the wilderness - they are hiding not coming out 36:59 to let their light so shine before men that they 37:02 may see their good works. 37:04 I remember a young man in our Sabbath School class 37:07 when I was a young man and he had left the church for a while, 37:12 and now was back and he said something that in my youth 37:15 I had done in a public school. 37:18 He said that...I'm ashamed to admit it - what I used to do... 37:23 See in public school, it's not the same as a Christian school, 37:28 and he said that sometimes when he had to pray for his lunch, 37:32 he made it look like he had something in his eye and he 37:36 would be scratching his eyes, but he was actually praying, 37:40 and I had done that - something similar. 37:43 I said, "Oh Lord, forgive me," in public school. 37:48 I don't know what you've done to hide that you are 37:52 a Christian, and instead of letting your light so shine, 37:56 that if it were a little light, you would have done this, 37:59 or put it under your clothing so nobody would see that 38:01 you are a Christian... 38:04 But it is time to let your light so shine that they may see 38:09 your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 38:13 So this angel is a messenger, that's what the word 38:18 "angel" means here in Revelation 14. 38:21 It is "angelos" - messenger. 38:25 This is the same word in Greek used in a very well-known 38:31 passage by you. 38:33 Let's go to Mark for a moment, keep your finger there in 38:36 Revelation 14. 38:39 Let's go to Mark 1, I hear some pages turning. 38:46 Some of you have a digital device and you can get there 38:49 maybe quicker, maybe not. 38:51 Mark 1- if you found it, say Amen. 38:53 Notice the words, we're going to read Mark 1:2-3, it says... 39:09 This word "messenger" is angelos the same word used 39:14 in Revelation 14:6. 39:17 So you see, not every time that it says "angel," it is an angel. 39:20 So this angel, this messenger in Revelation 14 39:24 is not angels flying in the midst of heaven, they are us! 39:29 We are to bring a message from heaven to the world. 39:37 Why is the angel said to be flying? 39:41 Because it is not a work that should be done in idleness. 39:47 He is flying because it has to be done swiftly, 39:51 and he has to bring this to every nation, kindred, tongue 39:54 and people... swiftly the work must be done. 39:59 That's why the angel is said to be flying. 40:01 I was going to read this later, but let me squeeze it in now... 40:05 There is an interesting quote by "Sister Ellen G. White," 40:10 and let me see if I can find... here it is! 40:14 Testimonies to the Church, vol. 5, p. 754, 40:19 it says the following... "The bright light going among 40:24 the living creatures (in Ezekiel)...I'll start again. 40:39 Praise the Lord! 40:41 So how fast is lightning? 40:43 It is the speed of light! Fast! 40:48 In the blink of an eye, a light that you turn on reaches 40:52 into the heavens. 40:56 So with the swiftness of lightning, full of the 40:58 Holy Spirit, we can bring the gospel to the whole world. 41:02 I was going to say this later, but I'll say it now 41:05 because it fits. 41:06 Brothers and sisters, the gospel is being preached 41:10 at the speed of light. 41:12 Have you ever heard of 41:13 "Three Angels Broadcasting Network" 41:17 It is at the speed of light that the signals leave this place, 41:21 and go up to satellites at the speed of light, 41:25 and come down to the earth by the time you finish 41:28 blinking your eyes... 41:30 And the gospel is reaching millions of people, 41:35 we'll come back to that in a moment. 41:37 So brothers and sisters, the messenger in Revelation 14 41:41 is you and I cooperating with the Lord to bring 41:45 the everlasting gospel to the whole world. 41:48 Get on board, get out of the wilderness and come to Jesus, 41:52 and allow Him to use you because the time has come 41:55 that the world should know that Jesus Christ is coming soon. 42:01 Let's go to Revelation 14:7... 42:04 "Saying with a loud voice... Not a whisper... 42:18 Praise the Lord. 42:19 I told you that Elijah would come in the end of time 42:26 to help prepare the world for the 42:28 second coming of Jesus Christ. 42:30 And if we, the people that are to be Elijah, God's children 42:35 in the end of time, if we are to be as Elijah, 42:38 we must live as Elijah did and as John the Baptist did. 42:43 Didn't they eat differently? 42:47 I hear no whispers. 42:49 They ate different - their diet was different. 42:54 They preached a message from heaven, so we are 42:58 the same work that John the Baptist did to prepare 43:03 the way of the Lord, we must prepare the way of 43:06 the Lord for the second coming of Jesus Christ. 43:11 So we must be different than the world. 43:15 We can live in the world, but not love the world 43:18 because this place is not our final home 43:22 in its present condition. 43:24 Jesus Christ is coming soon and if you're not aware of it, 43:29 take a look around, see the signs... 43:33 Jesus Christ is coming soon. 43:35 Now what is this "fear God?" 43:37 We know that we are to reverence God and have respect 43:42 for God and I'll tell you, unfortunately, 43:45 there has been a lot of disrespect for God 43:48 in churches, in schools, in society - God's name is 43:53 used in vain on a daily basis, who knows how many 43:56 hundreds of thousands of times. 43:58 But, let it not come from a Christian's lips 44:02 to use God's name in vain. 44:03 Brothers and sisters, I take you to the Bible 44:07 to speak to us what is the fear of the Lord. 44:11 Proverbs 8:13- What is fear God? 44:15 Proverbs 8:13... If you're ready say "Amen." 44:30 So while "fear God" means to reverence Him, 44:33 it also means to hate evil. 44:37 So this angel, this messenger is saying, "Fear God," 44:41 in other words, "hate evil." 44:43 How in the world can we corrupt human beings learn 44:48 to hate evil? 44:50 The easy answer is... by coming to Jesus, 44:54 by looking at Jesus daily and understanding that He 44:58 died for us and He is in heaven ministering in our behalf. 45:02 But let's go to Psalms 34 that helps 45:05 us further understand this. 45:06 Psalms 34- not very far from where you are. 45:10 Psalms 34 where you began reading in verse 9, 45:15 if you're ready say "Amen." 45:16 Amen! The Bible says... 45:40 Amen. 45:41 Didn't Jesus say: "Come unto Me and learn of Me for I am 45:49 meek and lowly of heart." 45:50 I say to you that Jesus wants us to come so that He can 45:55 teach us to hate evil. 45:59 I'll ask two questions... 46:01 I hope you're awake to answer correctly. 46:07 If you're ready, say "Amen." 46:09 How many of you love evil? Raise your hand. 46:14 Praise the Lord! 46:16 How many, if you don't hate evil, want to learn how? 46:23 Maybe you didn't hear me right, ha ha... 46:25 How many, if you don't hate evil now, want to learn how? 46:29 Would you raise your hand? 46:32 You have to come to Jesus. 46:34 If you're not sure, come to Jesus anyway. 46:38 If you want to learn to hate evil, 46:40 God invites us to come to Him, 46:42 so that we may learn to hate evil. 46:44 How do we learn to hate evil? 46:46 By spending time with Jesus. 46:48 And so when we go to Revelation 14:7... 46:52 "Saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to Him, 46:57 Don't have time to explain it... That means to glorify Him 47:00 in the way that He should be gloried, 47:01 but it also means to characterize God. 47:05 God is love... So characterize God. 47:09 For the hour of His judgment is come and worship Him 47:12 that made heaven and earth, and the sea 47:14 and the fountains of waters." Amen. 47:17 Let's put this together... 47:19 Revelation 10- We talked about the experience that God's 47:23 people will go through during the time of the 1840s. 47:25 Sweet but bitter, but then they were to prophesy again 47:30 before nations and kings. 47:32 So the prophetic gift would come again. 47:34 The church was hiding for 1,260 years, 47:37 but will surface again after 1798. 47:39 Question: Did we see the church surface after 1798? 47:44 Do we have a church that meets the characteristics of 47:49 Revelation 12- that keep the commandments of God 47:53 and have the faith of Jesus? YES we do! 47:56 If you understand that, say "Amen." 47:58 I believe that's the Seventh-day Adventist Church 48:01 primarily, but Jesus said, "Other sheep I have that are 48:07 not of this fold." 48:10 So there are a lot of God's children out there. 48:14 That's why when you read Revelation 18, 48:18 you hear the message, "Come out of her my people." 48:23 God's children are everywhere. 48:26 And I'll say to you... Please remember that there are 48:31 wheat among the tares, so not everyone that saith 48:35 unto Me, Lord, Lord - there may be sheep 48:42 and there may be wolves among the sheep. 48:45 So we have to be wide awake because Satan is seeking... 48:50 trying to find different ways to deceive us and if we keep our 48:54 eyes on Jesus, we will not be deceived. Praise the Lord. 48:58 Let's finish reading... Revelation 14:8 and then 9-12. 49:13 God's people have to preach this message with the power 49:17 and anointing of the Holy Spirit. 49:54 Brothers and sisters, this is the message 49:58 that has to be preached. 49:59 And you see, the Bible is so wonderful - it tells you 50:03 the description and the danger that those people are in 50:07 that worship the beast and his image. 50:08 And then, Revelation 14:12 concludes by showing you 50:14 a difference between those that worship the beast 50:17 and his image and receive their mark and those that don't. 50:20 Who are they? Let's look at Revelation 14:12. 50:32 While the world wants to do away with the Ten Commandments, 50:37 God is saying, "My children are those that keep 50:41 the Commandments. 50:44 You remember the scene? 50:46 Jesus said that in the last days many will come 50:51 to Him and say, "Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? 50:55 And in your name cast out devils and done many 50:59 wonderful works?" 51:01 What does Jesus say to them? 51:02 "Depart from me you workers of? Iniquity. 51:08 So God's children must keep the Commandments - all Ten. 51:14 And follow Jesus with all their hearts. 51:17 Why? Because they're God's children. 51:20 Because they want to identify with God's universe 51:24 to love the Lord their God with all their heart, 51:27 all their mind and all their strength and to love their 51:29 neighbor as themselves. 51:32 Brothers and sisters, the Lord is calling us 51:35 to do what Elijah did. 51:38 I read to you Malachi 4:5-6 again... 52:02 Brothers and sisters, the Bible says and this gospel 52:06 of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness 52:10 unto all nations and then the end will what? Come. 52:14 The gospel must be preached in all the world. 52:17 And while we have "Three Angels Broadcasting Network" 52:21 preaching the gospel to all the world, 52:23 this is to be accompanied by us talking to people 52:27 that we meet! 52:28 It is wonderful today you can send people stuff 52:31 through the mail, "snail mail" as you call it. 52:35 And even, electronically, you can put stuff on the internet 52:39 and preach the gospel that way. 52:40 We used to have a sign in the lobby at 3ABN, it said, 52:44 "Preach the gospel and, if necessary, use words." 52:52 Brothers and sisters, God is using 3ABN in a 52:55 mighty way. 52:56 I rejoice with this experience I had. 53:00 It was about 5:37 p.m., working at 3ABN in the 53:05 Pastoral Ministries Department and I was supposed to leave 53:08 at 5:30 and people linger around 3ABN... 53:11 for some reason - they love 3ABN... 53:13 working, trying to get the job done, but it was 5:37, 53:17 Idalia was not working at that time and I had a date 53:21 with Idalia... Husbands, how many know 53:24 that if you have a date with your wife, 53:25 you should be on time, 6 of you! 53:28 The rest of you are in trouble. Laughter 53:32 So I had this date and the phone was ringing... 53:35 At 3ABN phone calls come for prayer; they want you to 53:40 explain a Bible verse or they have a Bible question, 53:43 but sometimes you get people on suicide - considering suicide 53:47 and they call 3ABN. 53:49 So most of the people in the pastoral staff were gone, 53:52 there was only one person left Joe O'Brien. 53:58 And I looked across my office and he was already on the phone, 54:00 and I said, "If I don't take this call, it may go to 54:03 voicemail and it might be a person on the verge of suicide," 54:06 so I took the call... it was a wrestle - oh, should I go 54:10 or should I stay - should I go, so I took the call. 54:13 "Yes, this is John Dinzey, may I help you?" 54:15 And the person said, "I am calling to congratulate you." 54:21 That was a voice of a woman and I thought 54:23 it's a woman from the church. 54:24 She's calling to congratulate us for preaching the gospel! 54:28 To my surprise, when she said, 54:32 "I'm calling to congratulate you." I said, "Praise the Lord." 54:34 And she said, "I am an atheist." 54:38 Now wait a minute, something is not right here. 54:41 She's calling a Christian television station, 54:44 but she said she's an atheist calling to congratulate us. 54:48 I listened and she said, "I've been watching you for 54:50 3 weeks and I've noticed that you follow the Bible closer than 54:56 any other religious group." 55:00 I was stunned, I didn't know what to say. 55:02 All I could say was, "Praise the Lord," 55:07 and she said, "Well I don't know about that, 55:09 but that's all I called to say, and she said, "Keep it up." 55:14 I said, "Praise the Lord." 55:16 When she hung up the phone, I almost jumped high 55:19 enough to hit the ceiling. 55:21 You see because even atheists know when you're preaching 55:24 the gospel - when you're preaching the word of God, 55:29 and there are people coming to Jesus from all over the world. 55:33 I've met candidates for presidents that are 55:36 watching 3ABN; I've heard of mayors 55:39 in cities watching 3ABN. 55:44 I could tell you stories about a cable general manager 55:48 of a cable station reluctant to put 3ABN on, 55:53 but when she finally did, her life was transformed 55:57 and became a Seventh-day Adventist. 55:59 I could tell you story after story, 56:01 but this is one story that... 56:05 See, there are certain people that you can talk to 56:08 and they'll say, "I don't want to hear it." 56:09 They won't even open the door, but 3ABN goes in 56:13 and they can't say a word, they can't argue with you. 56:16 The only thing they can do is change the 56:18 channel or turn off the T.V. 56:19 This man said, "For over 28 years I preached against 56:28 the Seventh-day Adventist Church and against Ellen G. White, 56:33 and I started watching 3ABN Latino to find more things 56:38 against the Seventh-day Adventists, and this man said, 56:43 "And I'm happy to say that this is the third Sabbath 56:47 that I am a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church." 56:51 He describes that he said he began to make copies 56:54 of sermons by "Stephen Bohr, Mark Finley," and others, 56:59 he said he had hundreds of hours of sermons and the Lord 57:03 convinced him in his own house of the truth presented 57:08 on 3ABN. 57:10 God is doing great and mighty things. 57:12 Have you ever heard of "TMI?" "Total member involvement" 57:17 Recently - Let me, I have to get the number... 57:20 I forget the last 3 numbers... 98,298 people were baptized 57:27 in Rwanda... Praise the Lord! 57:30 I've been to a stadium filled with about 60,000 people 57:36 coming to hear the preaching of the gospel; 57:40 27,100 people were baptized that week. 57:45 See, God is doing great and mighty things, 57:48 and we need to participate in some way to bring 57:52 the gospel to others. 57:57 Would you do it? 57:59 Jesus is calling His people to awake and do the first works, 58:04 to awake and bring the gospel to others. 58:07 To give your heart completely to Him that He may use you 58:10 to bring somebody else to Jesus. 58:13 Question... Are all of your friends Christians, 58:17 all of your neighbors Christians? 58:19 Can you pass by somewhere 58:22 and know that they are not Christians? 58:23 Can you go to Wal-Mart and say, 58:25 "All these people are Christians?" 58:26 The work is not done folks. 58:29 Let us get ready for Jesus to come. 58:32 Let us get ready for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 58:36 because He's coming soon. |
Revised 2017-10-31