Participants: Pr. John Lomacang, Pr. John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL130016A
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00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend.
00:02 And sit back as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of House Calls. 00:21 Welcome to House Calls. 00:23 We are trying our best to coordinate the shirt colors. 00:27 And I think today is probably really close. 00:29 But anyway, that's not the point. 00:31 We're glad that you've chosen to tune in today 00:33 to join us for another hour 00:35 or thoughtful hour in Bible study 00:38 and responding to your questions, 00:40 also addressing the topic 00:41 which is something that we find great joy 00:43 and pleasure in. 00:45 And not only that there are many people 00:46 that are watching and listening to this program 00:48 that wants to know what God's Word says. 00:50 So thank you for tuning into House Calls. 00:52 We chose that title 00:54 because God wants to make a call on your house. 00:57 And it's an old term, 00:58 you know that a lot of doctors don't make house calls anymore. 01:01 But we want you to know that our doctor 01:03 and our Savior Jesus still makes house calls. 01:05 So thank you for allowing us to come into your house. 01:08 No pun intended. 01:10 However, before we get to our Bible questions 01:11 and our comments, 01:13 John, it's good to have you here today with me. 01:14 It's great to be here. 01:16 How about you have prayer for us before 01:17 we go any further? 01:18 Let's do that. 01:20 Dear Father in heaven, 01:21 we thank You again for this special hour 01:23 that we get to spend with You from week to week. 01:25 And we pray that 01:26 You would be here with us yet again. 01:28 We depend upon You to guide 01:29 and walk us through Your Word. 01:32 We invite Your Spirit to guide us into all truth. 01:35 Work on our minds and our hearts 01:37 so that we might receive from You that 01:38 what You wish to teach us here today. 01:40 In Jesus' name, amen. 01:42 Amen. 01:43 Now those of you who are tuning in, 01:45 you know that we enjoy this part of the program 01:47 because this is where we get your questions 01:50 and your comments. 01:51 And we thank you for questions and comments. 01:53 But if you have anything that's in your mind 01:55 today that you'd like to share with us, 01:56 you can send those questions to housecalls@3abn.org. 02:00 That's housecalls@3abn.org. 02:03 If for whatever reason you still believe in snail mail 02:05 or you don't have access to the internet, 02:07 which is still acceptable in this modern time, 02:09 send those to PO Box 220, 02:11 West Frankfort, Illinois 62896. 02:15 And attention House Calls or John and John, 02:19 and we will get those questions. 02:21 But, John, what do you have for us today? 02:22 I like that you always lead out, 02:24 it's really good. 02:25 Well, this is a gentleman that's asking a question. 02:27 He's a new Adventist. Okay. 02:29 And really he's excited about the things he's learning. 02:32 He says he agrees with especially our teaching 02:35 on death and soul sleep, 02:39 and says however, though, that he likes us to cover 02:42 a different aspect of it. 02:43 Okay. 02:45 Apparently, some have advocated that 02:47 when Jesus died on the cross, 02:48 He says that that changed the time 02:51 as to when we are allowed in heaven 02:54 that our change would actually come 02:56 as Job talks about it. 02:57 And he references that, 02:58 he says that the cross change 03:02 the time when our change, "comes," 03:06 according to Job. 03:07 And in other words, 03:09 did Jesus dying on the cross possibly change 03:11 when the new covenant people get their glorified bodies? 03:15 And anyway, 03:17 it's a question that clearly is addressed in scripture. 03:19 And we'll just cover a couple of them 03:21 to point out that this is not in fact the case. 03:24 The first thing I would say to though is, 03:26 remember, Christ on the cross was prefigured way back 03:30 and symbolize way back 03:32 during the two altars of Cain and Abel. 03:36 God asked them to bring a lamb. 03:39 And that was a symbol of who? 03:41 Jesus who would die on the cross. 03:43 And so that crucifixion was inevitable, 03:49 from the very time after sin first entered the world 03:52 and symbolized by Abel's, 03:55 especially Abel's altar. 03:58 And so it's been part of His plan 04:00 that people would wait. 04:01 And so Job speaking in this context 04:03 'cause Job is living in a time prior to the cross. 04:05 And I'm just gonna read this passage 04:07 from Job that is being referred to here. 04:12 Verse 12 of Chapter 14, 04:14 "So man lies down 04:15 and does not rise. 04:17 Till the heavens are no more, 04:18 they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep. 04:22 Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, 04:25 that You would conceal me until your wrath is past, 04:30 that You would appoint me a set time, 04:32 and remember me!" 04:34 And so I know. 04:35 And then he goes on the last verse, verse 14, 04:37 "If a man dies, shall he live again? 04:39 All the days of my hard service 04:41 I will wait, till my change comes." 04:43 And that's the word he was using here 04:45 with regard to when the change happens. 04:48 Well, first of all we find that Job 04:50 is talking about when this change happens 04:52 and that is after God's wrath has come. 04:55 Right. 04:56 And that wrath is spoken of 04:58 in many places through the Bible, 05:00 but specifically if you wanna look 05:02 on a chronological basis, 05:03 you'll find that in Revelation Chapter 16, 05:06 with the bowls of wrath. 05:07 That's right. 05:09 These are poured out after the close of probation, 05:11 the period of time where man has a decision 05:13 to make for Christ or against Him. 05:15 That's right. 05:17 So after that time happens, 05:18 we know Jesus comes and the change occurs. 05:21 And this is where I know also that Paul speaks of it. 05:25 You may have the verse from 1 Thessalonians, 05:27 do you have that one? 05:29 And in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 15. 05:30 It tells us when this change... 05:32 1 Corinthians 15. 05:33 What did I say? Thessalonians? 05:35 - Thessalonians. - Okay, 05:36 1 Corinthians 15:51, "Behold, 05:41 I tell you a mystery. 05:43 We shall not all sleep, 05:45 but we shall all be changed." 05:47 What I wanna point out right there 05:49 is this we shall all be changed. 05:50 Together. 05:52 The change happens to all not some, 05:55 then in some later on. 05:58 And when does this change occur? 06:00 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 06:03 at the last trumpet. 06:06 For the trumpet will sound, 06:08 and the dead will be raised incorruptible, 06:11 and we shall be changed." 06:13 You notice the word we, 06:15 we, we, we, we shall all. 06:18 This happens at the same time for everyone, 06:21 and John 5:28-29 06:24 segments those categories into two, 06:27 the resurrection of life, 06:30 the resurrection of condemnation. 06:32 So it's not, it didn't change one of the elements John... 06:36 One of the reasons I'm glad this question 06:38 comes up is because 06:40 there's this floating exegetical concept, 06:43 you know, exegesis where the Bible doesn't say, 06:46 concept that's floating out there in Christianity, 06:49 almost as though there was an alternate route 06:51 added after the crucifixion of Jesus, 06:54 that people can now make their way 06:55 to heaven another way, 06:57 but I wanna point out something that was so repetitively 06:59 talked about in Jesus' time by Christ. 07:03 When He said to His disciples, 07:05 "I go to prepare a place for you 07:07 and I will come again and receive you to Myself." 07:11 That's the statement Jesus made clearly. 07:13 I will receive you to Myself, 07:16 that where I am in heaven, 07:18 there you may be also. 07:20 When does that entrance into heaven happen? 07:22 When he comes again to receive us? 07:25 We don't go to meet Him. 07:28 He comes to get us. 07:29 And when He comes, 1 Thessalonians 4, 07:32 the dead in Christ rise first. 07:34 Those of us who are alive will be caught up together. 07:38 Notice the unity there, 07:40 this is all happening at the same time together 07:42 with them in the clouds to meet the Lord. 07:47 Which again is at the trumpet, 07:49 the sounding of the trumpet of God, 07:50 so connecting these two verses is the same event. 07:52 That's right, the trumpet will sound... 07:54 The trumpet in 1 Thessalonians 4, 07:56 the trumpet in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, 07:59 notice, and I wanna emphasize this word or this phrase, 08:02 we shall be caught up together to meet the Lord. 08:06 We often focus on meeting Him in the air, 08:08 but I wanna emphasize meet Him, 08:10 which means we haven't met Him before. 08:13 And then one more passage, 08:14 John, in Hebrews Chapter 11. 08:17 We often don't use this one here. 08:20 But Hebrews Chapter 11 is another beautiful place, 08:23 which shows that the perfecting of the saints 08:26 is all going to happen at the same time, 08:28 not one then and one later. 08:30 All right? 08:32 Verses 39 and 40. 08:33 Okay, there you go, read that, 08:35 since I just read the other one. 08:37 And all these things, having... 08:40 "All these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, 08:43 did not receive the promise." 08:44 And when it says in all these, is speaking of Abel, 08:47 and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, 08:49 and Sarah, and Isaac, and Jacob, 08:52 all the patriarchs and matriarchs 08:55 in this hall of faith chapter. 08:58 They did not receive the promise, 08:59 it says God, verse 40, 09:01 "God having provided something better for us, 09:05 that they should not be made perfect apart from us." 09:07 In other words, it happens together. 09:09 Happens all at the same time. 09:10 So the making perfect is what event. 09:14 When, Philippians 3:20, look at it. 09:17 Philippians 3:20, 09:19 this is when the making perfect happens, 09:23 okay? 09:26 Okay, here it is, Philippians 3:20-21. 09:30 "For our citizenship is in heaven, 09:33 from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, 09:38 the Lord Jesus Christ." 09:40 We're waiting for Him. 09:41 What are we waiting for? 09:42 "Who will transform our lowly body 09:45 that it may be conformed to His glorious body, 09:49 according to the working by which He is able even 09:53 to subdue all things to Himself." 09:56 So there it is, they're waiting for that. 09:58 We are eagerly waiting. 10:00 And all these are post-resurrection texts, 10:03 all these are post ascension texts. 10:06 These are the things that are being said after. 10:08 And how wonderful it is that they're harmonizing 10:11 with the statements made before the ascension 10:13 with the statements made by job in the Old Testament. 10:16 That's right. 10:18 It all fits together 10:19 what they're saying in the Old Testament. 10:21 The authors of the Old 10:23 is confirmed by the authors of the New Testament. 10:25 It is harmonious, it's not a change 10:27 that suddenly happens at the cross. 10:29 Although the cross made that final event possible, 10:34 it is still prefigured in the Old Testament 10:36 and counted on by faith as if it were a surety. 10:39 So it's a nice argument for someone to try to make, 10:44 it says, Well, now we're in heaven 10:45 because of the cross, 10:47 but we just don't see any validity 10:48 to that from New Testament or Old Testament scripture. 10:51 Right, And unfortunately, 10:53 these statements are being made 10:55 almost in lieu or in, in, in... 11:00 And I want to use the word here, 11:03 almost in the ignorance of the resurrection. 11:05 It's like the resurrection has been a doctrine 11:07 that has been stamped out. 11:08 Yeah. 11:10 The resurrection is not talked about any more. 11:12 The only time you hear the resurrection 11:13 talked about in proper context is in a song. 11:16 "The sky shall unfold preparing His entrance." 11:20 Just hit me. 11:21 What's that? 11:22 You know, we talked about 11:24 what's in honor of the resurrection of Christ. 11:25 You know, what also is gonna honor 11:26 the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of the saints. 11:29 Paul connects that absolutely. 11:32 If Christ wasn't crucified, 11:34 then we've lived and died in vain. 11:37 1 Corinthians 15. 11:38 Let's go there, verse 20 and 21. 11:39 And if He's risen, then we will be risen. 11:42 And it's like, if you eliminate the resurrection, 11:44 look what Satan's doing. 11:46 He's minimizing the resurrection of Christ. 11:48 That's right. 11:50 Matter of fact, John, 11:51 it is inspirational that you brought that point up. 11:53 Thank you, Lord, for tapping John on the back 11:56 because the whole theme 11:58 of the resurrection of the saints 12:00 is based on the theme of the resurrection of Christ. 12:02 If He isn't risen, 12:04 our faith is in vain. 12:05 We are yet in our sins, 12:07 and we are of all men most miserable. 12:09 So if He is risen, we will come again. 12:11 Oh, beautiful, John, let's just go ahead 12:13 and break this down together. 12:15 Start with verse 12. 12:16 You go down to verse... 12:17 Let's spend a little time on this 12:19 because this really hammers the point home. 12:20 Go from verse 12. 12:22 And then to verse 19. 12:25 "Now if Christ is preached 12:27 that He has been raised from the dead, 12:28 how do some among you say 12:29 that there is no resurrection of the dead?" 12:31 Okay. 12:32 Now that's a big thing because you may not say 12:35 that there's no resurrection from the dead, 12:37 but by your belief, 12:38 you're implying that the resurrection 12:41 is not that big of a deal because all you're doing 12:44 at the resurrection is getting your body. 12:46 You're already there. 12:48 God intended a big reunion in the sky 12:50 for all people in this resurrection. 12:53 And you are minimizing that by saying, 12:54 "Well, they're already there." 12:56 Right. And they... It's not a big deal. 12:58 Right, and the point you're making 12:59 the resurrection is not a union. 13:01 The resurrection is not a reunion of body and spirit. 13:05 The resurrection is reunion of the saints and Christ. 13:08 That's right. 13:09 It's not a reunion of the body and the soul. 13:11 It's not a coming back of two entities 13:13 that was separated at death. 13:14 No where does the Bible teach that. 13:16 That's right. 13:18 Go to the next verse, verse 13. 13:19 "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, 13:21 then Christ is not risen. 13:23 And if Christ is not risen, 13:24 then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 13:27 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, 13:30 because we have testified of God that 13:32 He has raised up Christ, 13:34 whom He did not raise up 13:36 if in fact the dead do not rise." 13:38 That's right. 13:39 "For if the dead do not rise, 13:41 then Christ is not risen." 13:42 There you go, right? 13:44 That's the statement you're making. 13:45 Both are hinged on each one. 13:47 They're together, they're connected. 13:48 "And if Christ is not risen, then your faith is futile, 13:52 you are still in your sins! 13:54 Then also those who have fallen asleep 13:56 in Christ have perished." 13:59 Notice, everything is hinging on the resurrection here. 14:02 Christ was raised, 14:03 so will we be raised in the last days together, 14:07 whether you're alive there and raised from the dead, 14:09 or you're alive. 14:11 I mean, you're dead and raised from the grave 14:12 or alive and caught up with Him in the air. 14:14 That's right, and then verse 19, 14:16 and I'll take on 20. 14:17 "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 14:20 we are of all men the most pitiable." 14:23 And so now, pitiable. 14:25 So now look at verse 20. 14:27 "But now Christ is risen from the dead, 14:30 and has become the first fruits 14:33 of those who have fallen asleep. 14:36 For since by man came death, 14:37 by Man also came the resurrection of the dead." 14:40 And by the way, man, the second man, 14:41 there is Christ. 14:43 That's why it's in capital M. 14:45 "For as in Adam all die, 14:46 even so in Christ all shall be made alive." 14:49 Now, this is how it puts it together. 14:51 So we showing you once again, 14:53 it all happens at the same time. 14:55 The next verse, 14:57 verse 23, 14:58 "But each one in his own order." 15:01 Now if you only read that you'll say, 15:03 "Okay, everybody has a turn, they all do it separately." 15:05 But it all links them together in this very, 15:07 the continuation of this passage, 15:09 "But each one in his own order, 15:11 Christ the firstfruits, afterward 15:15 those who are Christ's at His coming." 15:18 Yes. 15:20 So we belong to Christ, 15:21 you're coming forth in the resurrection 15:23 at the coming of Christ, 15:24 and then it shows you clearly, 15:26 "Then comes the end, 15:28 when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, 15:32 when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 15:36 For He must reign till He has 15:38 put all enemies under His feet." 15:41 And this is the reason why it all happens 15:43 at the same time. 15:44 "The last enemy that will be destroyed 15:46 is death." 15:49 And verse 57, "Thanks be to God, 15:52 who gives us the victory. 15:53 'O Death, where is thy sting? 15:54 O grave, where is thy victory?'" 15:56 You know what I also like is verse 44. 15:57 Oh yeah. Go to that. 15:59 Talking about the body. 16:01 "It is sown a natural body, 16:04 it is raised a spiritual body. 16:05 There is a natural body, 16:07 and there is a spiritual body." 16:08 But notice, both are bodies. 16:09 That's right... 16:11 There is no spiritual soul, separate soul. 16:14 It's a natural body which is sowed under sin. 16:17 Full dimensions. 16:19 And we are a spiritual body 16:20 and that we're a body but remade. 16:22 That's right. 16:23 And that is at the coming of Christ. 16:25 Very good point. 16:26 But nonetheless, both are bodies. 16:28 That's right. Very, very, very good point. 16:29 Very good observation. 16:30 Not there's a spiritual spirit and there's a, you know, 16:34 earthly spirit and a heavenly spirit. 16:36 No, there's the natural body and the spiritual body. 16:41 That's very, very vitally important. 16:43 And look at what it says in verse 49. 16:46 "As we have borne the image of the man of dust, 16:50 we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man image." 16:56 Get it. 16:57 So we're talking dimensions here. 16:59 And so an answer to it, 17:01 and a long answer to the question. 17:03 No, there's been no shift 17:04 and when people are made perfect. 17:06 No, there's no shift 17:07 when the resurrection takes place. 17:09 There is no shift when people are ascending to heaven. 17:11 We all ascend together, 17:13 we all are made perfectly together. 17:14 We're all transformed together. 17:16 We are all receiving the immortality together 17:20 at the final trumpet. 17:22 - That's right. - Wow. 17:23 I have a question that's kind of completely 17:25 in a different direction altogether. 17:27 And it brings out the diabolical nature 17:32 of relationships gone bad. 17:35 I married and it tells how many long? 17:38 How many years long? 17:40 Two grown children, 17:41 but our marriage is so crowded with women, 17:46 children, and in-laws. 17:48 The person has children with other women. 17:51 And just when I think it would stop, 17:52 it continues. 17:54 And talks about 17:55 how I stick by this man, 18:00 we're Seventh-day Adventists, 18:02 I found out about a couple of years ago 18:04 that he has another child, 18:05 all of his family knew about it, 18:06 but they hid it from me. 18:09 Part of which is hard to me. 18:10 Part of which is hard for me. 18:13 And I think it goes all the way down, 18:14 the question comes, going through, 18:19 I am going through a lot. 18:20 It is the prayers of those I love is keeping me 18:24 and I also cry out to God, 18:26 please pray for me. 18:28 In other words, the question is, 18:29 should I stay or should I not stay 18:31 with a situation like this? 18:33 And, John, as a marriage counselor, 18:34 I would say you need to both sit down 18:37 before marriage counselor and look at the parameters 18:41 because one of the things I wanna point out here, 18:42 there seems to be a lot of deception, 18:44 a lot of things that have been hidden, 18:46 especially in the case of children 18:48 that are now coming to the surface. 18:50 She's in essence discovering that the man she's married to 18:53 has another child or other children. 18:56 And that's a bombshell to a woman to realize, 19:01 you mean to tell me our children 19:03 are not the only children you have. 19:04 And I'm finding out now that you have another child, 19:08 and "boom," your family all knew about it. 19:12 That's just like, 19:13 that's just one torpedo after the other 19:16 and then he wants to be intimate 19:19 and because of all this strain on the marriage, 19:22 the marriage she's unhappy, 19:24 what do you suggest? 19:27 Marriage counselor. 19:29 You need to go 19:30 to a professional marriage counselor. 19:32 If you can find one of your faith, 19:33 there are many, 19:35 I could just give you this very quick point 19:39 that may be able to help you 19:41 prepare-enrich.com, 19:45 put your zip code in there and it'll tell you 19:48 where you can find Christian counselors 19:50 in your area. 19:51 prepare-enrich.com 19:55 and you go there and put your zip code in 19:57 and it'll tell you how far away, 20:00 you'll find a counselor with your own 20:01 denominational beliefs. 20:04 'Cause you just don't want 20:05 to leave the situation like that. 20:06 Yeah. You've got to do something. 20:08 Right. 20:09 And 'cause it doesn't get better on its own. 20:11 It doesn't. 20:13 And I think it's important that both parties are heard 20:15 before any kind of life transforming 20:18 children impacting decision is made. 20:20 That's right. 20:21 Yeah, it's really not 20:23 we could just say just leave them. 20:25 But that's not... 20:26 And I think one of the reasons why we bring out questions 20:28 like this is that we get them from time to time. 20:30 Right. 20:31 And I think there are many out there 20:32 who are in marriages that are really struggling. 20:34 And you need the influence of somebody or the input 20:39 wisdom of somebody outside of that to really tell you, 20:41 help you find what the deep rooted problem really is 20:45 and to deal with those issues. 20:46 That's right. 20:48 And only when you deal with those issues, 20:49 can you understand, 20:51 if these children were born prior to you being married, 20:54 that's one thing. 20:55 If they were born while you were married, 20:58 that's another whole scenario there. 21:01 But even if these issues can be worked out then, 21:03 I mean, you got to work through this. 21:05 And reconciliation occurs when everything's on the table. 21:08 That's right. 21:09 That's a very important point, when all the issues 21:12 are on the table, they're there. 21:14 And I want to let you know, 21:15 it may be sometimes it may look impossible 21:18 to even come up 21:19 with any kind of viable solution. 21:21 But if both parties are willing, 21:23 if one person expresses I acknowledge, 21:27 like David says, 21:29 I acknowledge my transgression, 21:32 and my sin is ever before me. 21:35 And he finally came to the point where, "Okay, 21:37 I'm done trying to cover it up. 21:38 Here it is. 21:40 It's all out in the open, let's deal with it." 21:41 And the Lord changed his heart. 21:44 Although his first child died, 21:47 the Lord honored his repentance 21:50 and restored him. 21:52 And so we still today look at David 21:54 with a great honor. 21:55 A man after God's own heart. 21:57 So yeah, get counseling. 21:59 That's gonna be very important to make the situation, 22:02 the remedy of it, viable and well thought out. 22:05 John, this last question 22:07 we have for today is from Donna. 22:09 And she says, 22:10 "My husband and I would like to know 22:11 what you think the role of women is in the church? 22:15 All right. "Is there a lot of... 22:17 There's a lot of controversy these days about women, 22:19 priests, pastors, teachers, elders, etcetera. 22:22 We believe that Paul was pretty clear 22:23 in his writings, 22:24 but others say Jesus considers us all equal. 22:28 How do we conclude this subject?" 22:30 The comment was thrown in here also as, 22:32 "How come Jesus did not handpick a woman 22:34 as a disciple?" 22:36 Now interesting there, 22:37 I'm gonna deal with that last question first there, 22:39 how come Jesus didn't pick, handpick a woman? 22:43 What we're finding here 22:45 is writings of scripture that go way back. 22:49 And that also are influenced by the culture of the day. 22:52 And if you have any question as to whether or not 22:55 writing is influenced by culture, 22:57 they really need to study out language 22:59 and writing and things 23:01 because it absolutely is influenced by culture. 23:04 But not just writing 23:05 just events and things that happened. 23:08 Jesus in many ways, 23:10 likely did not choose a woman specifically to be identified 23:13 as one of the 12. 23:15 I believe that's what she means. 23:17 For the most part 23:18 because of the culture of that day, 23:20 they always look to the man. 23:21 Women was typically felt as being subservient 23:24 or servants of men. 23:27 That's not necessarily a God thing, 23:31 that be the case. 23:32 'Cause we read elsewhere in scripture 23:34 that it was never designed for God 23:36 to have any inequality there between man and woman. 23:40 That goes way back to Genesis. 23:43 But we can look to several other books 23:46 and not only books of the Bible, 23:48 but especially the Book of Acts where we find stories 23:51 of women being involved in the work of God's kingdom. 23:54 Right. 23:55 And that helps us to underst and a little bit of the role 23:57 of women in the church. 23:59 And so if you wanna go back far enough, 24:03 you can find Deborah who was a prophetess. 24:07 In Judges 4:4, it says, "Deborah, a prophetess, 24:09 the wife of Lapidoth, 24:11 was judging Israel at that time." 24:14 So included with Samson and Barak, 24:17 who was a contemporary there at same time 24:19 as Deborah was alive, and Gideon and others. 24:23 Deborah was a judge. Right. 24:25 So she was a leader, 24:28 and a judge over all of Israel, which included men. 24:31 So there's no question that God has no problem 24:34 in selecting women to lead His people. 24:37 In key positions, right? 24:39 Here's some other ones. Acts 21:9. 24:41 "Now this man Philip had four virgin daughters 24:45 who prophesied." 24:46 And I added Philip in there because the verse before 24:49 it says that was Philip that had these daughters. 24:51 Well, they prophesied so there are prophetesses 24:54 and they are throughout the Scripture, 24:56 we find also other prophetesses that God called specifically 24:59 to give a message and leadership. 25:02 Let's not forget prophets are leaders, 25:04 leadership to His church. 25:07 Just a few other ones, John, so bear with me, 25:09 it's Acts 18:24-26. 25:12 "Now a certain Jew named Apollos, 25:14 born at Alexandria, an eloquent man 25:16 and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus." 25:18 Here's a man who is considered a leader 25:20 mighty in the scriptures. 25:22 He says, "This man had been instructed 25:23 in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, 25:25 he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, 25:28 though he knew only about the baptism of John." 25:31 So then who steps in to provide additional instruction, 25:34 verse 26, 25:35 "So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. 25:38 When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, 25:40 they took him aside and explained to him 25:42 the way of God more accurately." 25:45 So now we have women involved 25:46 in making sure that we stay on course 25:49 with our doctrine in our truths. 25:53 Many of the women believed, in fact it says Acts 17:12, 25:57 "Many of them believed, 25:58 and also not a few of the Greeks, 26:00 prominent women as well as men." 26:03 So you have prominent women in society now 26:05 that are coming to the church. 26:07 And do they all of a sudden say, 26:08 "Well, I'm not prominent anymore. 26:10 I'm not gonna be influential in society, 26:11 of course, not. 26:13 Right. 26:14 They were use such as Lydia, I think. 26:16 Yeah, Lydia, the seller of purple, 26:17 seller of purple, Strong leader in the... 26:19 She continue to lead... 26:20 Building of the New Testament church. 26:22 And yeah, building of the church and things. 26:24 So women are everywhere here 26:27 in regard to the up building of God's Church, 26:30 they guiding of it, they helping of it 26:32 and making sure that we stick with proper doctrine, 26:36 way back when in judging Israel at that time. 26:39 So if you ask, 26:41 what are the role of women in the church? 26:42 Pretty much I don't find much 26:44 that women weren't involved with 26:47 as far as the work of God's kingdom, 26:50 specifically His church. 26:51 And the Lord speaks about in Acts Chapter 2, 26:55 this is something that we cannot overlook. 26:57 In Acts Chapter 2, 26:58 the Lord makes it clear through Peter's sermon 27:01 on the day of Pentecost, 27:03 that the prophecy of Joel Chapter 2 27:07 had been fulfilled that day, 27:09 strangely enough, that day they talked about 27:12 and there was dwelling at Jerusalem. 27:14 Men, devout men out of every nation under heaven, 27:18 but you find here 27:20 the fulfillment of the prophecy in Acts 2:17, 27:24 "And it shall come to pass in the last days, 27:27 says God, 27:28 that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh." 27:31 It was not gender exclusivity here, 27:33 but God was pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. 27:35 "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 27:38 your young men shall see visions, 27:40 your old men shall dream dreams. 27:43 And on My menservants, and on My maidservants 27:47 I will pour out My Spirit in those days, 27:50 and they shall prophesy." 27:52 So you see, once again, God is not saying, 27:55 I'm gonna just pour out My Spirit on men, 27:57 but I'm gonna include that also on women. 27:59 And one of the challenges here I think, you know, the issue, 28:01 we knows the issue is women's ordination. 28:05 When you begin to hammer that point home, 28:09 I always come back to the bottom line 28:11 and some people look at this as an issue of salvation. 28:14 I don't really, 28:15 I don't have that great a conviction to say 28:18 that whether a woman is ordained 28:20 or not as an issue of salvation. 28:21 That's right. 28:22 But here's where the dichotomy comes in. 28:24 To use the word woman elder, 28:26 the word elder has always meant men. 28:28 So you find that elder, which in the Bible, 28:31 you never find the word elder as it associates to a women, 28:35 but you find women in leadership like deaconess. 28:38 You find them involved in the word there is Dorcas. 28:44 See, she was a leader in the New Testament Church, 28:46 from which now the new word today 28:48 we have community service, 28:50 but it comes from Dorcas society. 28:51 So leadership as far as leadership 28:53 is concerned in the Bible, 28:54 God doesn't have an issue with women being in leadership. 28:56 The big issue is whether a woman should have a term 29:00 that was only applied to men, elder. 29:02 That's where the big issue is. 29:03 Yeah, and I think that's one of the things too, 29:05 that we were distinguishing here 29:06 is that as far as leadership is concerned, 29:09 they are everywhere serving 29:10 in just about every capacity as a leader, 29:12 and you have to ask yourself what did elders do. 29:14 Right. 29:16 Elders were considered the leaders of the church, 29:18 but in the same respect, 29:20 there are many women who were also leaders. 29:22 And it is true that there are no women identified as elders 29:26 because elders were thought of as men. 29:28 So there are facts here that are undisputable. 29:32 But there is no fact that women are not leaders 29:35 in the church. 29:37 That is clearly disproved by what the Bible says. 29:39 Right. So if I say nowadays, Elder Joanne Smith. 29:43 Elder Joanne Smith, 29:45 it sounds like, someone's like saying Deaconess John Stanton. 29:49 Deaconess John Stanton, 29:51 those terms in the Bible 29:52 are exclusive to male and female. 29:54 That's where the big challenge comes in today, 29:57 whether or not a woman should have the title elder. 29:59 And I guess we could say the same thing 30:01 whether a man should have the title deaconess, 30:03 because those are terms linked 30:05 specifically to male and female. 30:07 But it's a good question. Yeah. 30:08 But God believes in women being in leadership. 30:10 Yes, He sure does. 30:11 And this issue is being studied out. 30:13 And as a church we're waiting 30:15 from some actual official decisions 30:18 in regard to a women's ordination and things, 30:20 and I see the Lord is leading His church, 30:23 let Him lead where we go here. 30:24 Right. 30:25 And meanwhile, I would say to the ladies, 30:27 still give Bible studies, still share the gospel, 30:29 still sing, still preach, still be missionaries. 30:32 Still do what God has anointed you to do. 30:34 Preach the word, teach the word. 30:35 Preach the word, teach the word, 30:37 beat in those Sabbath school divisions, 30:38 preach overseas, go and teach as God has given you wisdom, 30:42 like Ellen White, one of the greatest, 30:45 one of the greatest influences of the Advent movement, 30:47 Ellen White. 30:48 In her day, and I think, 30:50 you know, this is a historical fact. 30:52 When she received her certificate 30:54 because of the great pressure in her day, 30:58 she crossed out the word ordination or ordained 31:01 because that would have really been 31:04 a big issue to the church then primarily being 31:06 male dominated in its leadership. 31:09 But so the issue is, does God called you to preach and teach? 31:13 Well, the gifts that are given to the New Testament Church 31:15 are gifts poured out on all of us, 31:17 regardless of our gender. 31:18 Well... 31:20 Now what I find it interesting to just a last note. 31:21 Sure. 31:23 You know, why didn't Jesus handpick a woman as a disciple? 31:26 Well, I believe all disciples are picked. 31:29 I believe God asked them, 31:31 calls them to the gospel when they respond. 31:34 He has picked them to be one of His. 31:36 Hasn't He predestined all of us to salvation? 31:39 So, but the issue here is it's almost ironic. 31:42 You could make that argument but also, 31:45 why didn't God handpick a man 31:48 to be the one to lead his church 31:50 to the last days into the last days? 31:52 Why did He handpick a woman? 31:54 And someone might say, "Well, He did try to pick a man." 31:56 I mean, we can explain this stuff away forever, 31:58 but He had no problem in selecting a woman 32:00 to lead this small movement 32:03 into this great movement 32:05 who would one day finish the work of God 32:07 before Jesus comes. 32:09 I thought it was really instrumental 32:10 that Jesus made a statement 32:11 that was just so profound in His day, 32:13 He really upset the Scribes and Pharisees 32:17 and the Sadducees. 32:19 Maybe this is why they were Sadducee. 32:22 But he said in Mark 14:9, "Assuredly, I say to you, 32:27 wherever this gospel is preached 32:29 in the whole world, 32:31 what this woman has done 32:33 will also be told as a memorial to her." 32:37 He never said anything about a memorial 32:39 to any of His disciples, male disciples. 32:41 Right. 32:43 But He said, wherever the gospel is preached 32:44 in the whole world, 32:46 what this woman has done 32:47 will also be told as a memorial to her. 32:50 It's really instrumental, revolutionary, 32:52 considering the time in which He was. 32:54 And so, yes, the woman who bathe the feet of Jesus, 32:58 the woman who followed Him and stayed by His tomb, 33:03 even though the disciples hid, for fear of the Jews, 33:07 her name was memorialized 33:09 throughout the preaching of the gospel 33:11 and is memorialized. 33:13 But anyhow, you know, we like, we do what we like to do, 33:16 and that is answer Bible questions. 33:17 And maybe we've raised a question 33:19 that you may want further clarification on. 33:21 Or you may want to submit another question to us. 33:24 If you'd like to do one or the other, 33:26 send that question or comment to housecalls@3abn.org. 33:30 That's housecalls@3abn.org. 33:33 And we surely will do our best to get the information to you. 33:36 And thank you again for even expressing confidence 33:40 in this program and also your financial support. 33:43 We're gonna segue now into something 33:45 that we have enjoyed doing together 33:46 on a prior program, we were able to talk about 33:48 some of these end time scenarios. 33:52 I think the term you use is what's next. 33:55 Take us back into our topic, John. 33:57 Well, we finished in our last program 34:00 talking about the battle in the end is tribulation 34:03 that comes as spoken of in Matthew Chapter 24. 34:06 It's not a battle necessarily between the wicked 34:10 or I shouldn't say with the heathen, 34:12 the atheist and Christians, 34:14 but within Christianity itself, at least "Christianity" 34:19 because we find that as this false christ comes 34:22 and false prophets come, 34:24 there will be people that follow them. 34:26 And to follow a false christ, 34:28 you still have to label yourself what? 34:30 A Christian. That's right. 34:32 And those Christians "are persecuting." 34:37 It's a tribulation period. 34:39 They're persecuting the elect of God 34:41 that is God's true people. 34:43 And so when this what we see today happening 34:48 with just distress being caused by these calamities, 34:53 and it seems to be intensifying and we're not sure what to do. 34:57 Scientists are grappling with the issues. 34:58 And more and more we're gonna see nations 35:00 and their leaders 35:02 can't figure out how to solve this problem. 35:04 And then you find in this distress 35:06 someone appear on the scenes claiming to be... 35:08 Christ. 35:10 Jesus, saying, 35:11 "I'm here to deliver you from these things." 35:15 Do you think they're gonna follow him? 35:17 Of course. And he performs miracles. 35:18 He can even call fire down from heaven it says 35:21 in Revelation. 35:22 Right. 35:24 And as he does this will have people 35:25 that are professed Christians who will follow him, 35:28 and he will somehow turn them against 35:31 those who are true followers of God. 35:34 And so this is stuff that has to come 35:36 leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus 35:38 and although we're not spot talking 35:40 about in detail this specific events. 35:42 This is where the trend is hitting. 35:44 This is where we're going next. 35:46 And at least is something to keep in mind 35:48 because Jesus did say in Matthew 24:25, 35:51 "See, I have told you beforehand." 35:55 I want you to know in advance 35:57 what is to come so that you can watch and be ready. 36:03 In fact that he says that here 36:04 somewhere I'm looking for the text. 36:06 Yeah, that's in Matthew 24, when you go down to verse 42. 36:10 "Watch therefore, for you do not know 36:12 what hour your Lord is coming." 36:14 Verse 44, "Therefore you also be ready, 36:17 for the Son of Man is coming at an hour 36:19 when you do not expect." 36:21 There you go. 36:22 And so that day and hour no one knows, no man know, 36:25 not the angels of heaven but My Father only, 36:28 but you know when it is near 36:29 because you see these signs begin to happen in our world. 36:32 Now let's just go ahead and begin to put 36:33 this into practical, repetitive application. 36:36 One of the things that's happening in society today, 36:38 John, is this what I call the numbing process. 36:41 The numbing process, which people are becoming 36:43 more numb to all these end-time scenarios. 36:46 We look at movie makers how they make these 36:48 catastrophic movies look so overwhelming. 36:52 What was the other one? 36:53 2012, you know, massive destruction, 36:56 water flying, coming over the top of mountains 36:59 and earth breaking itself up 37:01 and great caverns splitting the earth 37:03 and cities are being inundated 37:05 in with fire coming down from heaven. 37:08 I mean, the movie makers are able to, 37:10 and it just always fascinates me 37:12 that they could even produce that kind of thing 37:15 in a digital setting 37:17 where it looks so amazingly real. 37:20 But what's happening is, it's numbing people to the idea 37:23 that the world is coming to an end. 37:26 And then you have this new one, I think we talked about this, 37:28 this new blasphemous movie that's actually making light, 37:32 you know, The End, it's called The End, 37:33 making light of the fact that the world is coming to an end. 37:36 So you have as people are numb nowadays to violence. 37:40 That's why violence, in some cases increase 37:43 in certain particular ways. 37:45 Gun violence because we could see a guy 37:47 shot next week he's on another program, 37:49 and children whose minds are not able to differentiate 37:53 between an actual death and a Hollywood death. 37:57 They feel that it's no big thing. 37:59 Like my sister who works for the police department 38:02 in New York City. 38:03 She works at Central booking. 38:05 And if you get arrested, she's gonna process you. 38:08 So she processed this 17-year old boy 38:11 who was arrested for carrying a gun. 38:15 And this is in the city of New York. 38:18 And she said, "What's wrong with you?" 38:21 You've been arrested for, 38:22 you know, shooting to at somebody, 38:25 possibly injuring someone. 38:27 What is your problem? 38:29 And she said, "What do you feel 38:30 that you need a gun for at 17 years old?" 38:33 And his answer was so flippant 38:38 that made it almost appears though. 38:40 "Well, I should have a gun. 38:41 The city is dangerous." 38:44 And we see these kids carrying guns 38:47 and then gun violence, 38:49 violence in schools in Connecticut, 38:52 and Columbine, and Virginia Tech 38:56 and the army base where this soldier 38:59 lost and began to shoot his own comrades. 39:02 You get so desensitized to all this killing 39:05 that you come down to the end. 39:06 And you fail to realize that some of the signs 39:08 that do lead up to the coming of Christ 39:11 were mentioned in the Bible that we often overlook. 39:14 That's right. 39:15 You know, for matter of fact, 39:16 are you at one now you wanna read 39:18 'cause I'm gonna go to Genesis? 39:19 No, no, go ahead. 39:21 You know, we talked about one of the statements 39:23 that Jesus made in the Book of Matthew, 39:24 He says, "As it was in the days of Noah, 39:28 so also will be in the days 39:29 of the coming of the Son of Man. 39:30 One of the signs that I want to point to, 39:33 that is talked about in the days of Noah 39:35 is found in the Book of Genesis Chapter 6. 39:41 Look at Genesis 6:11. 39:46 The Bible says, "The earth also was corrupt before God, 39:51 and the earth was filled with violence." 39:55 Is that a condition we see today, John? 39:58 I mean, violence sells. 40:01 Violence is the box office, violence is the, 40:05 you know, guns blazing, 40:07 you know, seems like hundreds of thousands of rounds 40:11 just flying through the air and we have people slowly. 40:15 It just seems like violence sells. 40:17 And if I could say in a real way, 40:20 we are like it was in the days of Noah. 40:22 Look at verse 13. 40:23 "And God said to Noah, 40:24 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, 40:26 for the earth is filled with violence through them, 40:30 and behold, I will destroy them with the earth." 40:34 So God is not into violence, 40:37 but violence is what sells today. 40:40 And that's what's one of the concerns 40:42 of leading up to some of the signs of the end. 40:44 I'm gonna read from 2 Timothy Chapter 3. 40:47 Okay. 40:48 Kind of following up your thought here. 40:50 Look at verse 1. 40:53 2 Timothy 3:1, "But know this, 40:56 that in the last days perilous times will come. 41:01 For men will be lovers of themselves." 41:03 Notice the commentary, 41:05 you could read this straight out of the newspaper, 41:07 "Lovers of themselves, lovers of money, 41:10 boasters, proud, blasphemers, 41:14 disobedient to parents, 41:17 unthankful, unholy, unloving, 41:20 unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, 41:25 despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, 41:29 lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 41:33 having the form of godliness but denying its power. 41:36 And from such people turn away! 41:39 For of this sort are those who creep into households 41:42 and make captives of gullible women 41:44 loaded down with sins, 41:45 led away by various lusts also learning 41:48 and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 41:50 Always learning. 41:52 "Always learning and never coming 41:53 to the knowledge of the truth." 41:54 Wow. 41:56 This sounds like you said a newspaper. 41:57 And more than that, look at 4:3, 41:59 "For the time will come 42:01 when they will not endure sound doctrine, 42:03 but according to their own desires, 42:05 because they have itching ears, 42:06 they will heap up for themselves teachers, 42:08 and they will turn their ears from the truth, 42:10 and be turned aside to fables." 42:12 Oh, wow, that's good. 42:14 "But you be watchful in all things, 42:16 endure afflictions," 42:18 excuse me, "do the work of an evangelist, 42:20 fulfill your ministry." 42:22 So here not only will we become corrupt 42:25 in our nature even more, 42:27 but even as far as Christians are concerned, 42:30 we will not endure sound doctrine 42:32 but raise up for ourselves, teachers to teach things 42:36 that our itching ears wanna hear, 42:38 so that we feel we're fine. 42:39 Yes. 42:41 And that is another one of those signs 42:44 that are almost at the unobvious sign. 42:47 It's kind of the ones you have to sort 42:48 through in the smorgasbord of end-time events 42:54 because it's not so pointed, 42:57 but Jesus did bring it out because in Matthew 24:4. 43:00 One of the first things He said was, 43:02 "Take heed that no one deceives you." 43:05 That's right. 43:06 You see, so how would a person be deceived? 43:09 They will turn their ears away from the truth... 43:12 The Word of God. And be turn aside to fables. 43:14 So those of you that are listening to this program, 43:18 whatever the media may be, whether radio or television, 43:21 be very careful 43:23 to allow the Word of God to be the guideline 43:26 about things that are transpiring in our world 43:28 because so many things that we talked about 43:30 and ministers that are not allowing 43:32 the Word of God to be their guideline 43:33 will try to come up with their own end-time scenarios. 43:36 A lot of denominations say, we follow the Bible. 43:40 But I'll tell you, not all the denominations 43:42 and those teaching the Bible 43:44 are actually interpreting it correctly. 43:46 That's the issue. 43:47 It's not just reading the Bible. 43:49 It's how they infuse their own interpretations 43:52 into it to spin it in a way that is enticing 43:57 and acceptable to those who are hearing it 43:59 which is what Paul is saying here in the 2 Timothy. 44:01 Now, John, I know, time-wise, 44:04 we don't have a lot of time here. 44:06 If you go to the Book of Revelation, 44:08 we've got the Second Coming that happens right at the end, 44:11 right in the midst of all this turmoil and calamity. 44:15 And Revelation 19 talks about the Second Coming of Jesus. 44:19 Yes, it does. 44:20 And it says here, during this time of calamity, 44:25 that Jesus suddenly appears. 44:28 And John records this in verse 11, 44:31 look at Revelation 19:11, 44:32 "I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. 44:35 And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, 44:38 and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 44:41 His eyes were like a flame of fire, 44:43 and on His own head were many crowns. 44:45 He had a name written that no one knew except Himself." 44:49 Now the reason He comes and judges and makes war 44:52 is because the world is in war. 44:54 And He's saying, "I'm here to take over." 44:57 This is it. 44:59 And it says, "He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, 45:01 and His name is called The Word of God." 45:04 Interesting, how He judges 45:07 and He's called the Word of God. 45:08 What is the standard of judgment then. 45:10 The Word of God. The Word. 45:11 That's right. 45:12 "And the armies in heaven, clothed with fine linen, 45:16 white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 45:20 Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, 45:24 that with it He should strike the nations. 45:26 And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. 45:29 He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness 45:32 and wrath of Almighty God." 45:34 Okay. 45:36 And the last one, of course, "He had on His robe, 45:38 a name that is written King of kings and Lord of lords." 45:42 What's so beautiful about the two references 45:44 to these points made in the references you read 45:47 was the Word of God and the sharp sword, 45:49 both references to the Word of God. 45:51 That's right. 45:52 Hebrew says, "The Word of God is quick and powerful, 45:54 sharper than any two-edged sword." 45:56 So the very Word of God 45:57 that people have chosen to ignore 45:59 is the Word of God 46:01 they will face at the coming of Christ. 46:02 So it's not good to ignore the Word of God and fear 46:04 that in our ignorance 46:06 or in our choosing to be ignorant 46:08 that we're gonna be able to avoid 46:10 facing the bar, facing the judgment. 46:11 And even in reading the Word of God 46:13 and not rightly dividing it, 46:15 as it says, rightly divide the word of truth. 46:18 So you have to interpret it correctly. 46:23 If you're going to be found acceptable 46:25 and favorable in this time where God comes to judge. 46:29 One of the questions I asked, 46:30 "When did truth become a bad word?" 46:34 I just don't understand that people are not gonna be lost 46:36 because they don't love the Lord. 46:38 But this deception that's gonna prevail 46:40 is something that is a part of the end time events. 46:41 You talked about that. 46:43 You know, beware that no one deceive you. 46:44 Jesus says that in Matthew 24:3-4, 46:47 and then false christs and false prophets 46:49 will arise and try to deceive many. 46:51 And the Bible says, many will be deceived, 46:53 but what would they be deceived by? 46:56 If you go to 2 Thessalonians. 46:58 Is that you're turning to? I knew you were heading there. 46:59 Oh, okay, John, I tell you, 47:01 we share the same name and we share 47:03 a lot of things in common. 47:05 I want you to read 2 Thessalonians 47:06 where it talks about one of the reasons 47:07 why there will be so many lost, 47:11 because Satan is working in countless ways. 47:15 He's not always working right in front of our faces. 47:19 But he sometimes work with those 47:20 that we choose to be leaders. 47:22 And what those leaders seek to do 47:24 is to lead us away 47:27 from the validity of God's Word. 47:29 But, and what happens then, 47:31 the very foundation that we believed 47:33 were accepted as the sure foundation, 47:35 all of a sudden begins to fall away, 47:38 and we begin to tread on a very shaky foundation. 47:40 Why don't you? 47:42 You're in 2 Thessalonians, are you? 47:43 I was gonna read 2:1 47:45 just to kind of set the ripple here. 47:46 Okay, great, that's... Okay, go ahead. 47:48 It says, "Now, brethren, 47:49 concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 47:52 So the subject is what? 47:54 The Second Coming. 47:56 "And our gathering together to Him." 47:59 So all of us together are gathered to Him, 48:01 "We ask you, not to be 48:03 soon shaken in mind or troubled, 48:04 either by spirit or by word or by letter, 48:06 as it from us, as though the day of Christ has come. 48:10 Let no one deceive you by any means, for that Day," 48:13 that is the day of Christ coming, 48:14 "will not come unless the falling away comes first, 48:18 and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 48:22 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God 48:26 or that is worshiped, 48:27 so that he sits as God in the temple of God, 48:29 showing himself that he is God." 48:33 So there you have that false christ. 48:36 You not only have systems 48:38 that have replicated this very thing claiming to be God, 48:43 as was the case when I saw the... 48:46 I got a recent magazine. 48:48 The Vicar of Christ 48:49 was on the side of this magazine 48:51 with the installation of the most recent Pope, 48:53 and the Vicar in fact is like God on earth. 48:57 And, you know, 48:58 there's no man qualified to be God on earth, 49:02 through whom many of these things could come. 49:04 But I want you to also point out in verse 7, 49:08 the Lord makes it very clear, 49:10 why the conditions will happen the way they do, 49:12 why people will be deceived. 49:14 Notice what He says, and I'm gonna read verse 7, 49:17 here it says, 49:19 "For the mystery of lawlessness or iniquities already at work, 49:23 only He who now restrains will do so 49:25 until He is taken out of the way. 49:28 And when the lawless one, 49:30 and then the lawless one will be revealed, 49:32 whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth 49:35 and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 49:39 The coming of the lawless one 49:41 is according to the working of Satan, 49:43 with all power, signs, and," what kind of wonders, John? 49:47 Lying wonders. "Lying wonders." 49:48 Who's behind all that? 49:50 Satan is behind all that, 49:51 but now read verse 10 down to verse 12. 49:53 And I want you to bring out 49:55 the point that these verses indicate 49:57 what the only anchor is that we find our safety in. 50:02 "And with all unrighteous deception..." 50:04 Remember, Jesus says, 50:05 I don't want you to be deceived. 50:06 That's right. 50:08 "Among those who perish, 50:09 because why they did not receive 50:11 the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 50:16 And for this reason 50:17 God will send them strong delusion, 50:19 that they should believe the lie, 50:21 that they all may be condemned 50:23 who did not believe the truth 50:26 but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 50:27 What two things are missing? 50:29 They didn't love the truth, 50:30 and they didn't believe the truth. 50:33 It's amazing. 50:34 If you say, this is what's going to happen. 50:37 First of all, I don't believe it. 50:39 And because I don't believe it, I don't love it. 50:41 But here's the other guideline here. 50:43 It is not saying that it's enough. 50:45 It's not enough to have the truth, 50:47 but you have to believe it. 50:48 And even more than that, you have to love it. 50:51 Because then you cut off the possibility 50:54 of the strong delusion coming. 50:56 And the strong delusion, 50:57 which I see the Bible talks about, 50:59 what will be great... 51:00 what would be a stronger delusion 51:02 than somebody coming to claim to be Christ looking the part? 51:07 And as Matthew 24 says, you'll hear the cries, 51:10 Christ has come, Christ has come. 51:12 You see, they'll say He's in the secret chamber 51:14 or He's in the desert. 51:16 And we're told, don't believe it. 51:17 It's not him. 51:19 What other delusion can be stronger than that? 51:21 What kind of persecution can you imagine happening 51:24 when a group steps up and says, 51:26 that's not Christ, that's Satan? 51:30 And those following him, say, 51:31 you're a blasphemer against God Himself. 51:34 I mean, what kind of polarization 51:36 will occur during that time? 51:38 I tell you, Matthew says it. 51:39 "You will be hated of all nations." 51:40 Yes. 51:42 "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, 51:46 you shall be hated of all nations 51:48 for My name's sake," the Lord says. 51:50 Praise the Lord. He shortens the time. 51:53 Jesus comes to deliver His people. 51:56 And what we find then happens is Chapter 20 of Revelation, 52:00 which is called the thousand years. 52:03 Now notice, big point, John, you ready? 52:05 Go for it. 52:06 Chapter 20 happens after Chapter 19. 52:11 And so what you have here is the thousand years occurring 52:15 after the Second Coming of Jesus. 52:18 And not only that, the Second Coming of Jesus 52:20 leaves the earth in desolation 52:22 as described in Chapter 19, from 17-21. 52:26 That's right. 52:28 So the thousand years where it says, 52:30 "The angel begins 52:32 with the angel coming down from heaven, 52:34 having the key to the bottomless pit 52:36 and a great chain in his hand. 52:38 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, 52:40 called the Devil and Satan, 52:42 and bound him for a thousand years, 52:43 and cast him into the bottomless pit, 52:44 and shut him up, and set a seal on him, 52:48 so that he should deceive the nations 52:49 no more till the thousand years were finished. 52:52 But after these things 52:53 he must be released for a little while." 52:55 That is the description of what happens 52:56 at the beginning of the thousand years. 52:57 That's right. 52:59 On this earth with no one here alive 53:02 because the wicked have died 53:04 at the brightness of Christ's coming. 53:06 The righteous had been taken 53:08 caught up by Christ in the air and taken to heaven with Him. 53:12 Where they live with Him for a thousand years, 53:14 not He lived with them, they live with Him, 53:17 for a thousand years. 53:19 And that's what it says in verse 4. 53:20 Look at verse, read verse 4 there of Chapter 20? 53:23 Yeah, and that it says, "And I saw thrones, 53:25 and they sat on them, 53:27 and judgment was committed to them. 53:30 And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded 53:33 for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God, 53:37 who had not worshiped the beast or his image, 53:41 and had not received his mark 53:43 on their foreheads or on their hands. 53:46 And they lived and reigned with Christ 53:48 for a thousand years." 53:50 You know, I like this phrase, 53:51 and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded. 53:54 And it says, now right there, that's the perfect example 53:57 to show you that the word souls there 53:59 is not referring to disembodied spirits 54:02 because as we say, how many people are on board, 54:05 when an airplane manifest is closed? 54:07 We have 4000. We have 350 souls. 54:09 How many on the ship? We have 3000 souls. 54:12 This is the one example here that I love. 54:15 The Bible puts this. 54:16 He says, "I saw the souls of those 54:19 who had been beheaded for their witness 54:20 and for to Jesus and for the Word of God." 54:23 These are the ones who had gone through tribulation. 54:25 These are the ones who had prior to this point 54:27 had been beheaded. 54:29 They had been martyred. 54:30 And they've received their glorified bodies. 54:31 Exactly. And they're still called souls. 54:33 Exactly. There you go. 54:34 See, so this is the terminology here, 54:37 similar to the very same statement 54:39 made in the Ezekiel 18:4, 54:40 "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." 54:42 It's the same contextual sentence. 54:43 It's the same transliteration now but here in the Greek 54:46 as compared to there in the Hebrew, 54:48 so it shows you that souls are disembodied, 54:51 and what, if I saw the souls, where are the bodies? 54:53 That's what people tend to exegetically add to this, 54:56 but this is talking about the complete individual, 54:57 they're there. 54:59 I saw those who had died. 55:00 And then it says in verse 5, 55:02 showing you that all the righteous are in heaven. 55:05 "But the rest of the dead did not live again 55:08 until the thousand years were finished." 55:10 What you're witnessing from verse 1-4, 55:12 this is the first resurrection. 55:14 Powerful. It is. 55:15 In the first resurrection, 55:17 Jesus takes the saints to heaven, 55:19 but the rest of the dead those that died at that event, 55:21 or that sleep not in Jesus, but as wicked did not live. 55:25 That's right. 55:26 They're not alive during the thousand years. 55:28 And this whole teaching today 55:31 about the millennial reign of Christ 55:32 on this earth over, even both the righteous 55:37 and the wicked is just not true. 55:39 Right. 55:40 And then it says, "Blessed 55:41 and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection." 55:45 Friends, there are two resurrections. 55:47 The first one is the one you want to be in. 55:48 That's right. 55:50 That's the one that Jesus calls you 55:51 with the last trumpeting brings you to heaven with Him. 55:54 The second resurrection is this goes on, 55:57 occurs at the end of the thousand years 55:59 when the wicked are raised to judgment. 56:02 But read the rest of verse 6? 56:04 "Over such the second death has no power, 56:07 but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 56:10 and shall reign with Him a thousand years." 56:12 That's right. 56:13 So this first resurrection is the one that 56:17 allows us to put on immortality when you put on immortality. 56:21 Does the second death have any power over you? 56:23 Absolutely not. 56:25 Now when the thousand years have expired, 56:26 Satan will be released from his prison 56:28 and will go out to deceive the nations. 56:30 In other words, the dead 56:31 who are wicked have been raised, 56:34 they're deceived by Satan again. 56:36 It says that they attack the city at that time, 56:39 and that is when the fire from heaven comes down 56:43 and devours them known as the lake of fire. 56:46 This is the event, notice, 56:49 I said we call hell not a place. 56:52 It's an event called hell. That's right. 56:54 Where there will be fire, 56:56 where there will be destruction, 56:57 where people will be destroyed in the lake of fire. 57:00 And so I mean, when people say, is this going to be real? 57:03 What do you say? It's real. 57:05 And it's the final thing that happens at the very end, 57:09 after the thousand years. 57:10 That's right. 57:11 So, friends, you'll see when you study 57:13 the Bible carefully and the concept 57:14 in the sequential understanding of what happens, 57:16 coming of Christ, resurrection, 57:18 the dead are still on the grave, 57:20 that are wicked. 57:21 They come forth after the thousand years, 57:23 and then all are destroyed, 57:25 to make the earth prepared for the saints, 57:29 in their eternal setting with the Lord. 57:31 So, friends, get ready for that event. 57:32 When it comes, it's gonna be amazing. 57:34 God bless you. |
Revised 2019-12-12