Okay, it’s good to see
everybody in again this afternoon, which is a beautiful, beautiful spring day
in Tulsa. It’s a beautiful day to have all these people in from out of state.
We’ve got people from Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. It’s a good time of
the year to show off our beautiful city. I love Tulsa. I have ever since I
went through it the first time when I was in service, and I thought what a
pretty city this is. So, we want to welcome all of you, and, again, we just
have to thank you for your prayers, your support, and your financial help. We
never ask for money, because we never have to. It just keeps coming in, and
all we can do is praise the Lord, and thank every one of you that are so
generous and so supportive of what we’re doing. How it thrills our hearts when
we read these letters. And we’re getting letters from a lot of preachers that
are getting their eyes opened. Unbelievable! And we appreciate that. Okay, we’re going to keep right
on going with our “But God” and “But Now’s.” We didn’t finish the
last “But Now” in the last taping. We only got as far as the
Rapture. So, we’re going to turn back to I Corinthians 15, the great
resurrection chapter. I’m going to do like I did at the beginning – work our
way down to the “But Now” in verse 20. I Corinthians 15:14-15 “And if Christ be not
risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15. Yea, and we
are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He
raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.”
In other words, Paul says we are lying if God indeed did not raise up Christ.
But He did! Now, verse 17: I Corinthians 15:17 “And if Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins.” Now, what does
that tell you? What I’ve been stressing over the years. It’s not enough to
believe that Christ died for you. That’s only half a Gospel. You also have to
believe with all your heart that Christ arose from the dead, victorious over
sin and death and Satan and all the principalities and powers! Otherwise, we
still have nothing, now verse 18. I Corinthians 15:18 “Then they also who are
fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” Now, I’d better stop right here
and define the term asleep in Scripture, because we know there are
groups that teach a “soul sleep.” Don’t you ever believe it! I made the
comment when I first started on television years ago, and I’ve repeated it, maybe
not often enough, that when God created Adam and Eve, He created them in His
image. Not in the likeness of a human body, but in His invisible makeup. You remember that I’ve always
pointed out that God Himself, all three persons of the Godhead, have the same
attributes of personality. They all have a mind, they all have will, and they
all have emotion. But they’re all invisible. You know I make a point of it.
You can go into an autopsy, and I used to do quite a few of them when I was in
service, and you can cut that brain every which way possible and you will not
find the will. You will not find the soul. You will not find the seat of
emotions. Why? They’re invisible! But does that mean they’re not real? We
know they’re real! You know you have a mind. You
know you have a will. You know you have a set of emotions. You laugh. You
get angry. But you can’t touch it. All right, that’s God, and He is an
invisible personality. All right, now we were created, then, in that invisible
mode of mind, will, and emotion; and then God merely put that invisible makeup
into this earthly tabernacle. All right, so, that being the
case, if the soul was created in the image of God, can it ever fall away from
activity? Never! So, the soul never sleeps or dies. A soul is always a
living entity. Now, the body will die. And that’s really the King James word
– sleep. The body will die, but on resurrection day, it, too, will be
brought back to life. That’s our glorious hope, that someday that invisible part
of us that’s still in the presence of God as a believer, is going to be
reunited with a new body. And then Thessalonians says it so plain, we’ll be
body, soul, and spirit once again. So, always remember, that when
you see it, especially in the King James Version, the word sleep does
not mean that the soul sleeps. It does not mean that it ever loses its
consciousness, because the soul cannot die. It’s an eternal thing that’s going
to go on into eternity – someplace. The whole teaching of the Word of God is
that you and I in the invisible are going to keep right on living through all
eternity. I’ll never forget, I heard
somebody, and I don’t remember who it was, but we were listening to him preach
in one of our churches or something, and he said, “Our salvation will last as
long as God does.” How long is that? That’s forever! God won’t ever cease.
And that’s how long our salvation is going to last – as long as God lives. But on the other side of the
coin, there is nothing in Scripture to indicate that the lost person is going
to cease to exist any sooner. So, we have to maintain, as awful as it is, that
the lost person is going to spend eternity in their lost estate, like we will
enjoy it in our saved estate. It’s a fact of Scripture that that which God
created, even though it was invisible, was created with no end, because He has
no end. Okay, I didn’t intend to do
that. You got that free for nothing! All right, so now let’s go on, verse 19. I Corinthians 15:19 “If in this life only we
have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Well, what
does he mean by that? Well, you can just about imagine what a disappointment
it would be to suddenly realize that everything that you’ve been hanging on to
was for nothing. It would just be utter disappointment. We all appreciate
disappointments, because we have too many of them in this life. So here we
have the assurance that we won’t be disappointed, because God is eternal. You know, this series has been
interesting. I’ve enjoyed getting ready for it. The other day, we had the
couple who head up the mission to the Ukraine stop by the house. You’ve been
reading and seeing a little more about in our newsletters. They use our tapes
and our books, and they’re putting it all into Russian in the Ukraine. Well, anyway, the president of that mission and his wife stopped by the other day. We had
no more than sat down to our old kitchen table and he was telling us some of
the things, and he said, “But God!” And I said, “Hallelujah. You’ve been
seeing the last programs!” Oh, he says, “I love them.” All right, “But now,” on
this side of His resurrection. I Corinthians 15:20 “But now is Christ risen
from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Or
again, that died physically. But they didn’t die in the realm of the soul and
spirit, because that goes right on into the Lord’s presence. All right, now
then, over these last several programs we took from this “But Now,” and we
started looking at the resurrections of the various groups of people. We pick
that up in verse 23. Here’s where we really get the meat of all this. I Corinthians 15:23a “But every man
(Now, the word man here is generic. It means men, women, boys, and girls.) in
his own order:…” Or group. It’s a military term, I think, in the
Greek, which signified various organizations in the chain of command in the
military. Those of you that have been in, you know what I’m talking about.
You’ve got the platoon and the company and the battalion and the regiment and
division and the army. Well, every address to a man in service is directed to
his particular military organization. All right, now Paul is using
that same analogy, by Holy Spirit inspiration, of course, that in the
resurrections, not everybody is going to be resurrected at once. There’s going
to be various groups, and everyone is going to be in their own designated
group. Now, you remember in our last taping, one of these last four or five
programs, we showed that the first ones to be resurrected were the “firstfruits,”
or the sampling, of the harvest field as Israel practiced the harvest. Let’s
see, we put it on the board. I guess it’s been erased since then. But
remember I put it up here as a little square forty acre patch. And according
to Jewish law, when they came in to harvest the field of barley or wheat, first
they would come in and pick up those earliest ripening stems of grain. They’d
bring them together into a sheaf and take it to the Temple and wave offer it
before the priest and so forth. Well, it was called the offering of the
firstfruits, the sampling of the major crop. Okay, after they had taken the
firstfruits out, and the major part of the crop is now ripe, then they would go
in and they would harvest the whole field, but they had to leave gleanings, and
they had to leave the corners. That was Jewish law. All right, so we covered
all that. So, after the firstfruits were
taken out, we went back to Matthew 27 and showed how that was the group of
Jewish believers, no doubt, that came out of the grave after His resurrection.
They went into the city, and then from there they were evidently taken up into
glory. All right, we’ve been waiting 1,900 and some years for the crop itself
to be taken. And we feel that that’s the Rapture of the Church, the Body of
Christ. That’ll be the major resurrection of the greatest number of believers
of all time. Then, we went on to show that
the gleanings and the corners would be resurrected later. We didn’t get time
to cover all that. So, now we’re going to cover, in this first half-hour at
least, or maybe into the next one, who comprised the corners? Who comprised
the gleanings? Now, I guess I should put the orders up here.
First, we had the firstfruits. The firstfruits were those samplings that came
out of the grave after Christ. The second is the Body of Christ, which is by
far the largest number of believers of any time throughout Biblical history.
Now today, we’re going to be looking at these leftovers, or the corners and the
gleanings. Okay let’s go back, first and
foremost, and pick up the resurrection of those who are not in the Body of
Christ. Go back with me to Daniel chapter 12. Now, I know that there are
those who teach only one general resurrection. Everybody is going to be
resurrected at the same time. Well, I beg to differ. And I’m used to that.
I’m used to sort of being out there in the small minority. I don’t claim to be
alone. Don’t ever think for a minute that I’m the only one that teaches the
way I teach. There are many, many, many, but even in the whole, we’re still a
small percentage. All right, Daniel chapter 12.
Now, this is probably the, what shall I call it? The parallel Old Testament
portion of Scripture dealing with resurrection as I Corinthians 15 is in the
New Testament. So, Daniel 12 and we’ll start at verse 1 to keep it simple. Daniel 12:1 “And at that time shall
Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people:”
Now remember, Daniel is a Jew – who are the “thy people?” Well, Israel. God’s chosen people.) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never
was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy
people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”
In other words, every believing Jew is finally going to escape the horrors of
the Tribulation at the Second Coming of Christ. Now, I guess I should show you
a few of the references that refer to that. I’m debating which one to look at
first. Should I look at Jeremiah 30? I think that’s the one that speaks of
it. Yeah. Now again, you’ve got to realize, I do some of these things without
planning to, so bear with me - Jeremiah 30. This is what Daniel is being led
to write about. This last seven years of human history, the last half of which
will be beyond our comprehension. Now, Jeremiah describes it. Jeremiah 30:6-7 “Ask ye now, and see
whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his
hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into
paleness? 7. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is
even the time of Jacob’s trouble, (Jacob here is referring to the
Nation of Israel.) but he shall be saved out of it.” Now again,
we have to be careful, knowing Scripture with Scripture, that Paul makes it so
plain that the whole Nation won’t experience this being saved but only a small
remnant. All right, now let’s jump all
the way up to Matthew 24, where Jesus is speaking of the very same identical
time that Daniel is. Now, of course, the first fourteen verses all deal with
the first half of these last seven years, which are going to be bad enough, but
they’re nothing compared to the last half. All right, now Jesus picks it up in
His own words, if you’ve got a red-letter edition, it’s in red, starting in
verse 15. Matthew 24:15 “When ye therefore shall
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, stand in
the holy place, (That is in the Temple.) (whosoever readeth let
him understand:)” In other words, when they see the anti-Christ come
into the Temple, to the Holy of Holies, in Jerusalem probably, and that’s
speculation, because we’re going back to a Greek Premier or a General or
whatever he was back in about 300 BC. Anyway, he went into the Temple in the time that Greece was ruling Jerusalem, and he hated the Jew. And just to
cause consternation among the Nation of Israel, he offered a hog on the Temple altar, and it infuriated the Jews, of course. So consequently, it was called an
abomination. Well, no doubt the anti-Christ is going to do much the same
thing. All right, so Jesus is putting his stamp of approval on Daniel’s
prophecy. So, “when you see the abomination of desolation”
desecrating the Temple there in Jerusalem, because the Temple will be rebuilt,
remember, all right, when you see that happen: Matthew 24:16-20 “Then let them who are in
Judea (the area of Jerusalem) flee into the mountains: 17. Let
him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house:
18. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19.
And woe unto them who are with child, and to those who are nursing in those
days! 20. But pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the
Sabbath day:” Which, of course, according to Jewish law, would limit
their walk to a half mile or so. That wouldn’t even get them out of Jerusalem today. Matthew 24:21 “For then (this
midpoint of the Tribulation, this time of Jacob’s trouble) shall be great
tribulation, (The first half is going to be bad, but the last half is
going to be great. Beloved, it’s going to be beyond human comprehension, see?) such
as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall
be.” Now, all you have to do is just use a little common sense
reflecting on human history. Look at the horrible, horrible
days that the human race has experienced in the last 6,000 years. There have
been all kinds of horrible times. Hitler’s holocaust was probably the worst, of
course. But, what’s coming is even going to be worse than the holocaust. And people
can’t get a handle on that. It is going to be beyond human comprehension,
because when you get to the end of those seven years, there’s only going to be
just a sampling of human beings left alive. It’s going to take almost the
whole human race in its wake. All right, so those are all
pictures concerning these final days. Now, come back with me to Daniel who
uses almost the same language in verse 1. That’s what made me think about
these other two portions. That there’s going to be a time such as never was
since there was a nation. Now, that’s back in Daniel chapter 12 verse 1. We
just read it a little bit ago. Daniel 12:1b “…and there shall be a
time of trouble, (Jacob’s trouble) such as never was since there
was a nation, even to that same time:…” Now, even back here in Daniel’s
day, way back at about 550 BC, the Holy Spirit directs Daniel to use the same
time frame that Jesus did. That right up until the end of time as we know it,
there’s not going to be a portion of time so horrendous as this last three and
a half years. Do you see that? Daniel 12:1c “…and at that time thy
people shall be delivered,…” Well, it will be the Second Coming of
Christ. All right, let’s look at another one a minute. Go ahead from Daniel,
go towards the front. Go to Zechariah chapter 14 and we’ve got the same kind of
a picture. We’ll start at verse 1. Now, this is prophecy, and it all fits
with what Jesus said in Matthew 24. It fits with what John writes in the
Revelation. So, we know it’s true. This isn’t just some idea that some men
have dreamed up. This is the Word of God. Zechariah 14:1 “Behold, the day of the
LORD cometh, (That’s the term of those final seven years leading up to
His Second Coming.) and thy spoil (In other words, everything
that has been left for the victorious enemy.) shall be divided in the
midst of thee.” In other words, the Gentile armies are just going to
come in and help themselves to everything that belonged to the Jewish people.
Verse 2, but this is all part of God’s design, so He says: Zechariah 14:2 “For I (This is
God’s design.) will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and
the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, (In other words,
they’ll just be devastated, looting like you have never seen.) and the
women ravished; (That’s just another term for raped. There’s going to
be more rape taking place in Jerusalem, again over time, like the world has
never seen.) and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, (They’re
going to be overrun by these Gentile armies.) and the residue of the
people shall not be cut off from the city.” They’re going to be
trapped. But now verse 3, here is the promise at the last moment possible. Zechariah 14:3 “Then shall the LORD go
forth, (That’s Christ, now, at His Second Coming. He’s going to leave
Heaven, and He’s going to come to the planet with all of His power.) and
fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.”
Now verse 4, we know this is a literal, physical, visible Second Coming. What
does the next verse say? Zechariah 14:4a “And his feet shall stand
in that day upon the Mount of Olives,…” Now, what does that indicate?
Physical. Visible. You who have been to Jerusalem, no doubt like we do, the
first thing we do is go right from the airport up to the Mount of Olives. It gives
everybody a view of the whole city. Well, it won’t have changed one bit by the
time Christ returns. It’s still going to be there, and that’s why it lists it
in that way. Zechariah 14:4b “…the Mount of Olives,
which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave…”
And so on and so forth. Then, I always like to jump on over to verse 9. This
will introduce the final 1,000 years of the planet’s history, when Christ will
set up His Kingdom. He’s going to set up His throne room in Jerusalem. This is
just as plain as English can make it. Zechariah 14:9 “And the LORD (That’s
God the Son, that’s Jesus the Christ.) shall be king over all the earth: (Not
just Israel, but He will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the
whole planet.) in that day there shall be one LORD, and His name one.”
It’s so obvious that this is
the Kingdom that He talked about all the way up through the Old Testament finally
coming into fruition. There is a constant prophetic reference to this glorious
Kingdom over which Christ is going to rule and reign. It’s going to be heaven
on earth. Satan is gone. The curse is lifted. Sin is gone. Death is gone. It’s
going to be a literal heaven on earth, and that’s what we have to understand. All
right, but at the same time, that time as we know it is now going to be
interrupted, and Christ sets up His Kingdom. We have to have the resurrection
of all the believers from day one until that time. Well, now we still haven’t
gotten far enough to get there, but we’ll pick it up in the next half-hour,
where the rest of these believers will be resurrected. Now, let’s go back to our study
of the order of the resurrections. I hope you realize that there were precious
few believers from Adam to Abraham, a period of time covering approximately
2,000 years. In fact, at the time of the flood there were only eight. From
the flood to the Tower of Babel, there is nothing in Scripture to indicate that
there was as much as one believer left. Nothing. Then from the Tower of Babel to the call of Abraham is probably another two hundred years. And how many
believers are on the earth at the time of Abraham? None, that I’m aware of, so
you have precious few all the way from Adam to Abraham. All right, now let’s
go from Abraham all the way on up to the first advent of Christ. How many of
the Nation of Israel became believers during that 2,000 year period of time?
Not many. Now, one verse I always like to
use to back that up, keep your hand in Daniel, because we’re going to come
right back. Turn all the way back to Isaiah chapter 1. Of course, Isaiah is one
of the Major Prophets preaching to Israel at about 760-770 BC, just a couple of
hundred years after King David and Solomon reigned. Now, look at the
spiritual state of Israel. And you know the rest of the world had nothing.
So, the only believers that we’re going to have to look for a resurrection day
are these coming out of the Nation of Israel in that 2,000 year period of
time. All right, Isaiah 1 verse 9, and, again, you don’t have to be a
theologian. This is just plain simple English. Isaiah 1:9a “Except (or
unless) the LORD of Hosts (That’s Jehovah, Israel’s God.) had left unto us…” Now, remember, Isaiah is a what? He’s a Jew writing
to the Nation of Israel. So, when he uses the term “us,” who’s he confining it
to? Well, the Nation of Israel. He’s not talking to the whole human race.
He’s talking to Israel. Isaiah 1:9 “Except the LORD of Hosts
had left unto us a very small remnant, we (the Nation of Israel) should
have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.” So,
what spared the nation from going the route of Sodom and Gomorrah? That small
remnant of believers! Now, let me show you another
point, Jeremiah 44. We used this years and years ago, I know, but most people
have probably forgotten. Now, Jeremiah writes about a hundred years after
Isaiah, and the Nation of Israel has been prospering. God has been blessing
them. They’re about ready to meet their doom when the Babylonians come in,
but, nevertheless, how patiently God dealt with this nation with only a few
believers. Now, this is typical of the
spiritual climate in Israel. Now, I’m out to prove my point that there were
not that many believers all up through the Old Testament, so I can put them in
the category of “gleanings and corners” on Resurrection Day. There weren’t
that many. Jeremiah 44:15a “Then all the men who
knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods,…” Well, they
knew all about it. What’d they do about it? Nothing! They were no better.
They didn’t put up an argument to the women and say, “Don’t so such things.” Jeremiah 44:15b-17a “…and all the women that
stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of
Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, 16. As for the word that thou hast
spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken (or listen)
unto thee. 17. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of
our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, (That was one
of the pagan goddesses, remember?) and to pour out drink-offerings unto
her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes,…” That’s the whole nation that
had now gone under abject idolatry, except that little tiny remnant. Then they
go on to say that all the good things that they thought they were gaining were
from their worship of their pagan gods and goddesses. Well, anyway, I hope I’m
making my point that from the time of Adam until we get to the Apostle Paul,
there were precious few believers. So, I can delegate them to the corners and
the gleanings. Okay, now let’s come back to
Daniel chapter 12. We’re going to see the resurrection of all the people that
will be in that gleanings and corners. Daniel chapter 12 and we’ll read verse
1 once again, even though we did it in the last half-hour. Daniel 12:1 “And at that time
(That is at the end of the Tribulation, and we’re ready for the resurrection of
these Old Testament and Tribulation believers.) shall Michael stand up,
the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people: (the
Nation of Israel) and there shall be a time of trouble, (You
remember, I looked last program where Jeremiah called it Jacob’s trouble?) such
as never was since there was a nation (That is of Israel.) even
to that same time: and at that time (That is the end of the
Tribulation.) thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found
written in the book.” That is the Book of Life. All
right, now verse 2, here comes resurrection. Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that
sleep (or who have died) in the dust of the earth shall awake, (They’re
going to be called forth in resurrection power.) some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” All right, now stop
right there. We’re going to compare Scripture with Scripture. Now, come back up into the New
Testament with me to John’s Gospel chapter 5. Now remember, we’re still dealing
with only the believers of all the ages. We started out with the first fruits
of Matthew 27 and then the main harvest, which is the Rapture of the Body of
Christ, which is still future and contains the greatest number of believers in
human history. Now, we’re looking at the
corners and the gleanings, which consist of the Old Testament believers, believers
from Christ’s earthy ministry, and Peter and the Jerusalem believers in the
early chapters of Acts. In other words, all those that became believers
before Paul comes on the scene and announces what we call the Body of Christ. All right, now Jesus is
speaking in John chapter 5 during His earthly ministry. Drop down to verse
28. Now, remember what we just read in Daniel, that those who have died, some
are going to be resurrected to everlasting life and the rest are going to be
resurrected to eternal condemnation. John 5:28 “Marvel not
(Jesus spoke) at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are
in the graves shall hear his voice,” Now, that doesn’t mean that
everybody’s going to come at the same instant, but there is coming a time when
they are all going to be resurrected, and Paul gives us the clue that we saw in
I Corinthians 15 – “every believer in his own order.” Now, the unbelievers will all
come out at once, because they’re all in the same bucket. But the believers
are going to be raptured first; the first fruits came first, and then will come
the Rapture. Now, we’re talking about the resurrection of the rest. Okay, now
look at it, verse 29. John 5:29 “And they shall come
forth; they who have done good, (And you know I always define that with
“faith,” the people of faith who have taken God at His Word.) unto
the resurrection of life; (just like Daniel said) and they who
have done evil, (Who had no faith, that’s the only way you can fulfill
the true evil in Scripture, is to be destitute of faith.) unto the
resurrection of condemnation.” Now, we’re going to talk about
them in a little bit, but we’re going to stop now and go back to Daniel and
pick up the believing element. Then maybe in the next half-hour, or this one
if we’ve got time, we’ll talk about the unbelievers that are going to be
resurrected. Because after all, what we’re talking about is resurrection, so
that by the time we get to the onset of eternity, we’ve got everybody that has
ever lived resurrected, either to eternal doom or to eternal bliss. Okay,
back to Daniel 12. Daniel 12:2-3 “And many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth (In other words, they’ve died
physically. Their soul hasn’t. The soul is alive somewhere. But this is
speaking of their body; the physical body is lying in the ground.) shall
awake, (Resurrection power is going to call them out.) some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3. And they that
be wise (almost the same language that Jesus used in John) shall
shine as the brightness of the firmament; (That’s a beautiful picture,
isn’t it?) and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever
and ever.” That’s our hope for eternity. We’re going to be something
intensely unique for all of eternity. All right, reading on in verse 4. Now
God comes back to the man Daniel, and He says: Daniel 12:4a “But thou, O Daniel, shut
up the words, and seal the book, (this book of prophecy) even to
the time of the end:…” Now, you know what that means to me? From the
time that these Old Testament prophets were writing, even through Christ’s
earthly ministry and on up into the Church Age, it wasn’t until about the
middle 1860’s that men began to get a little bit of a grasp of end-time
prophecy. It was just never mentioned. They never taught it. They had no
handle on it. And then all of a sudden, like
I said, about the middle of the 1860’s, but especially at the turn of the
century, men began to envision the return of the Jew from their scattered
estate amongst the nations. That, yes indeed, they would be going back to
their homeland. They would once again become a nation. That was unheard of
until about 1900. Well, that was the way that God
really intended, because it was moot. It wasn’t going to happen that soon
anyway. Even though the Church had the doctrine of imminency, the Second Coming
was never taught that way. The Second Coming had to come as prophecy
unfolded. So, you’ve got the same concept here. All right, Daniel closes up
this book of prophecy, and it really meant nothing until we came close to the
end. All right, now reading on in verse 4: Daniel 12:4b “…many shall run to and
fro, (Well, we certainly know that. Oh, maybe not on their feet, but
they’re going through the air and every other which way; mankind is traveling
now by the millions.) and knowledge shall be increased.” Now,
when I taught this verse by verse someplace in the past, we’re not just talking
only about technical knowledge, although that certainly is involved. My goodness, you buy a computer
today and by the end of the month it is obsolete and it is old fashioned.
Knowledge is exploding like never before in human history. But, as I’ve
already mentioned, it would also be an explosion of biblical knowledge. My, we
have an understanding of the Scriptures now that they never even dreamed of
when I was a kid, for a lot of reasons. We’ve got technology around us so that
we can see what the Scriptures were alluding to. We see the Nation of Israel
back in her homeland, so, naturally, we have a better handle on all these
things than they did two or three generations ago when God began to open up the
understanding of the prophetic program. All right, now verse 5 - we’ve got to
keep moving. Daniel 12:5-7a “Then I Daniel looked,
and, behold, there stood two others, the one on this side of the bank of the
river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. 6. And one said to
the man clothed in linen, (That makes me think it was either God the
Son or one of the angels.) who was upon the waters of the river, How long
shall it be to the end of these wonders? (or these miracles?) 7.
And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was upon the waters of the river,
when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by him
who liveth forever (That’s, in other words, an allusion to claiming the
very Word of God and this is what he proclaimed.) that it shall be for a
time, (one year, plus) times (or two, for a total of
three) and a half;…” And all of Scripture refers to the seven
years in two, half segments of three and a half and three and a half. Daniel 12:7b “…and when he shall have
accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be
finished.” In other words, brought to an end. Now verse 8 and
remember Daniel is writing clear back there at 500 and some BC, and by
inspiration again, the Spirit leads him to write. Daniel 12:8 “And I heard, but I
understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?”
All of these prophetic statements - “What shall be the end of these
things?” Now, that makes me feel that it would have to be the Lord that
he was dealing with. Daniel 12:9 “And he said, Go thy way,
Daniel: for the words (In other words, what he’s written in these
twelve chapters.) are closed up and sealed until (What?) the
time of the end.” Now again, we’ve got to be careful how we look at
this. Even though we’re dealing in terms of a hundred years from 1,900 to now,
in the light of the 6,000 years of human history, what’s a hundred? Well, it’s
just nothing. So, yes, I think that God is looking at the very time in which
we now live when he told Daniel that these things would be closed up “until”
our day and time. All right, now look at verse 10. Daniel 12:10a “Many shall be purified,
(In other words, we’re going to see the salvation of probably more people than
almost any time in human history.) and made white, and tried; (or
tested) but the wicked shall do wickedly:…” Is that right on?
Man, I reckon! Otherwise, you’re not reading the same papers that I am. It’s
just getting unreal, and I’m sure that the Star Tribune in Minneapolis and the
Chicago Tribune and all the other big city papers have got just as much of this
as we do in Oklahoma. Child abuse. Sexual immorality of every kind you can
imagine. The papers are full of it. Murder, murder, and more murder. What
are they doing? “Wickedly!” All right, it’s foretold, so we
don’t really have to be too shocked, do we? All right, so: Daniel 12:10b “…the wicked shall do
wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand;” Well, we’re seeing
that everyday, aren’t we? My, they haven’t got a clue of what all this means,
until they find salvation, and then they write and they call and say, “Les, I
never before saw that all the stuff I’m reading in the newspaper is coming
right out of this Book.” It’s all foretold. It’s all prophesied. But the
unbeliever can’t see that. It’s beyond them. All right, reading on in verse
11. Daniel 12:11a “And from the time that
the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,…” Now, we’ve got to be
careful. Come back to Daniel chapter 9. I’ve got to do this slowly or I’m
going to lose 90% of my audience. Back to Daniel chapter 9 and what I always
call the foundation, or the benchmark, of all end-time prophecy. This is where
Daniel is laying out the time frame of “490 years determined upon thy
people.” We know that 483 of those were fulfilled at the cross. Then
when you come down to verse 27, this is what we are dealing with now in the
end-time. Daniel 9:27a “And he (This
prince that shall come, somewhere from out of the Roman Empire. This prince
that shall come--) shall confirm (I feel, will make--) the
covenant (or a treaty) with many…” In other words, with the
whole Arab world and Israel. Yes, they’re going to finally sign a peace
treaty. But, I’ve said it on the
program many, many times - the UN won’t do it. The White House won’t do it.
Blair House won’t do it. The Republicans won’t do it. The Democrats won’t do
it. It’s going to be a God-thing. And miraculously, this man anti-Christ,
this prince that shall come, will be able to bring the Arab world into a peace
treaty with Israel, which will give Israel the peace they’ve been looking for,
and above everything else that’s most unbelievable, they’re going to permit Israel to rebuild a Temple. Now, it won’t be the big, fancy
gold edifice that Solomon built, but they’re going to have a Temple that’s
going to be functional. They’re going to be able to reinstitute Judaism to the
full, the animal sacrifices, and the whole nine yards. It’s coming. They’re
all ready for it. All right, so this man anti-Christ is: Daniel 9:27b “…going to make a treaty
with many for one week: (seven years) and in the midst of the
week he shall cause (A week is seven years, so at the end of three and
a half years of peace and relative tranquility in Jerusalem and that area, this
man in his wicked role will cause--) the sacrifice and the oblation
(which is part of Jewish sacrificial worship) to cease,…” (Well,
I always stop and ask people, can you stop something that hasn’t started?
Well, of course not. So, we know that Temple worship is going to have to be
reinstituted for that first three and a half years, so that the anti-Christ can
bring it to a stop at the middle. So,--) “in the middle of the week, he
shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,” Daniel 9:27c “…and for the
overspreading of abominations he (the anti-Christ) shall make it
(that refurbished Temple.) desolate, (Or useless. And it will
remain that way.) even until the consummation, (That is to the
end of the three and a half years.) and that (or everything) determined
(or prophesied) shall be poured upon the desolator. (the
man anti-Christ)” In other words, his end is going to be
horrendous. All right, so that is the
promise then that Daniel is standing on. Now, come back to chapter 12 when
Daniel gives us the time of the resurrection of all of the saints that we
haven’t already covered. All the Old Testament believers and everybody, I
think, through the New Testament until we get to Paul will be in this
resurrection. When’s it going to take place? Daniel 12:11 “And from the time that
the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, (the middle of the
Tribulation) and the abomination that maketh desolate is set up, there
shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” Now, three and a
half years is a thousand two hundred and sixty days, so we’ve already picked up
an extra thirty days. But now go to the next verse and we get another
forty-five. Daniel 12:12a “Blessed is he that
waiteth,…” Now, remember who he’s talking to. He’s talking to Daniel’s
company of believers who are going to be resurrected. That’s what he’s talking
about. We’ve got to keep that straight. Daniel 12:12-13 “Blessed is he that
waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 13.
But (Daniel, He says) go thou thy way until the end be:
(Until this day comes, just don’t…don’t sweat it!) for thou shalt rest,
(waiting for resurrection) and stand in thy (What?) lot at
the end of the days.” And that will bring in the Old Testament saints. Okay, we’re going to keep on
going with our “But Now’s” and “But…” whatever’s.
And you know, as we were in the “But Now” of the previous three, four, or
five programs, we’ve been talking about the resurrection of all the various
groups of believers: the firstfruits in Matthew 27, the Rapture of the Church
in Paul’s epistles, and in the last few programs we’ve been looking at the
resurrection of the Old Testament saints back in Daniel 12 and so forth. All right, now I’m going to
jump in where we left off in Daniel 12 to pick up the fact that we’re also
going to have a resurrection at the end of everything of the lost of all the
ages. They will come out in one humongous resurrection. Whether it’s Cain
back in Genesis chapter 4, or whether it’s the last of the unbelievers at the end
of the Kingdom, all unbelievers will come out in one massive resurrection call. Okay, so come back with me, if
you will, to Daniel chapter 12. In case someone has missed the previous
programs, here’s our basis for teaching a resurrection of the lost. Now, I
think a lot of people think that when lost people die they go to Hell and
that’s it. Not true. They are also going to be resurrected and given a body.
Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that
sleep (or who have died and their bodies are--) in the dust of
the earth shall awake, (They’re going to be resurrected.) some to
everlasting life,…” We’ve already looked at those. They’re in the lot
that Daniel was part of. They’re all going to be resurrected 75 days after the
Kingdom starts. All the Old Testament saints and all the Jewish believers that
are not in the Body of Christ will all be resurrected 75 days after Christ
returns. Now, I think that gives time
for the Kingdom to be completely established. The Twelve Apostles are going to
be in their twelve thrones, ruling from Jerusalem over the twelve tribes. And
then again, I think it’s almost a picture of the wedding feast in the Old
Testament economy. These Old Testament believers will be resurrected to come
into the Kingdom and celebrate all of the blessings of it. But it won’t be
until 75 days after Christ returns. All right, now back to the lost of all the
ages in Daniel 12 verse 2. Daniel 12:2b “…that sleep in the dust
shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting
contempt.” All right, now let’s go back to the verse we saw in one of
our previous programs, John’s Gospel, and if they can’t read or believe the
words of the Lord Jesus Himself, then I can’t help it. But the Lord Himself is
making it so plain in John’s Gospel chapter 5. That’s why I make no apology
for repeating it. I dare say that most church people don’t even know these
verses are in their Bible. It’s something that is always skimmed over for some
reason or another. They don’t appear in Sunday School quarterlies and so
forth. John 5:28-29a “Marvel not at this: for
the hour is coming, (He doesn’t give any hint of when it will be.) in
the which all that are in the graves (every human being who has ever
lived and died) shall hear his voice, 29. And shall come
forth;…” In resurrection, and resurrection cannot be resurrection
unless it includes the body. So, I feel that these lost people are going to be
reunited with soul and a physical body. They’re going to be brought, as we’re
going to see in a minute, to the Great White Throne. They’re going to have a
body fit for the Lake of Fire. It has to be. And God alone knows how He’s
going to do that. John 5:29 “And shall come forth; they
that have done good, (People of faith, they will be resurrected. We’ve already
covered them.) unto the resurrection of life; and they who have done evil,
(The unbelievers of all the ages. The ones who rejected everything and
anything that God tried to do for them.) unto the resurrection of
condemnation.” All right, now where do we pick up their condemnation?
Go all the way back to Revelation chapter 20. In order to pick up the time
scenario, let’s drop in at Revelation 20 verse 4. Revelation 20:4a “And I saw thrones, and
they sat upon them, and judgment (or rule) was given unto them;
and I saw the souls of them who were beheaded (That ring a bell?) for
the witness of Jesus.” Now, this is looking at the final three and a
half years of the Tribulation. These are Tribulation martyrs. Revelation 20:4-5a “…that were beheaded for
the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and who had not worshipped the
beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads,
or in their hand; (Now, they are believers. They’ve been martyred in
the Tribulation, but in resurrection life--) and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years. (Or, what we call the millennium.) 5.
But the rest of the dead (Now we’re talking about the unbelieving
world. These lost of all the ages) lived not again until the thousand
years were finished.” Or at the end of the millennium, which is the
end of time as we know it. It’ll be the onset of eternity, because we get into
chapter 21 and we see “new heavens and new earth,” and we’re now
set for eternity. But for the lost this is looking forward to the end of the
millennial reign of Christ and the thousand years are finished. Now this is
kind of confusing. Those last closing words-- Revelation 20:5b-6a “This is the first
resurrection. (That is referring to the believers. They are in the
first resurrection. So, verse 6 confirms that.) 6. Blessed and holy is
he who has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power,…” Albeit this first resurrection is in three or four different
segments or companies. They are all part of the first resurrection, the
resurrection of the just. Now, I always have to stop and
define words. We did this years and years ago. What is the definition for
death of any kind? What’s the word? Separation. Ah, some of you are well taught.
Death separates. Physical death separates the soul and spirit from the flesh.
Right? When we die as a believer the soul and spirit take flight to be present
with the Lord. We put the body in the grave. Separation. That’s death. All right, now for the
unbeliever, not only are they going to be separated in physical death when
their soul and spirit go to their waiting place in Hell, but then they will be
brought back into a resurrected body, and that resurrected body with that lost
person’s soul and spirit all intact is going to come to what we call the second
death, and it’s spiritual. Now, how are they going to
suffer spiritual death? They’re going to be separated from God! That’s
spiritual death. You got that? Physical death is the separation of the soul
and the spirit from the physical body. Separated. Spiritual death is when
that lost person is separated from God. Hey listen, you and I cannot imagine
what that alone will do to an individual. Because even the most rank
unbeliever today - he can be an agnostic, he can be an atheist to the hilt -
what is he still enjoying whether he knows it or not? The presence of God. He
still has a chance to find salvation as long as he’s on this planet. But once
they are separated from God at the second death, there is no hope. All
right, so that’s what this Scripture is teaching, verse 6 again. Revelation 20:6 “Blessed and holy is he that
hath part in the first resurrection: (The resurrection of the believers
of all the ages) on such (on the believer) the second death
(Or a separation from God will never touch them. Impossible!) hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years.” All right, now then, we
understand that the lost are going to suffer a separation from God. Now, the
only way we can see this scripturally is to jump across to verse 11, still in
chapter 20. The thousand years are finished. Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire and then verse 11, the onset of eternity. Revelation 20:11a “And I saw a great white
throne, and him who sat upon it, (which will be Jesus the Christ, the
Son of God) from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away;…” All
right, let’s go back and see how other Scripture defines that. Come back just
a little ways in your New Testament to, I think it’s II Peter chapter 3,
dropping in at verse 10. Here the language again is so
explicit and so plain. My goodness, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist or
a theologian to understand it. You know, I always have to come back, I can’t
help it, some things bear repeating. When old Tyndale back at the time of the
Reformation was trying to get Bibles into England, now you’ve heard me refer to
this time and again, because I think it is so basic. What was his final prayer
before they burned him at the stake? That every plowboy in England could have a copy of the Scriptures. Now think a minute. Back in
the 1500-1600’s how much education did the average farm boy in England have? Probably just enough to read. But is that enough to understand the
Scriptures? You’d better believe it! You see what that means? So, I never
put anybody below the ability to understand the Word of God, if they’ll just
keep it simple. But over and over I’ll have to tell my phone callers, why do
you make it so complicated? It’s so simple that a plowboy can understand it.
All right, now let’s look at these verses right here. II Peter 3:10a “But the day of the Lord
(That is those final seven years.) will come as a thief in the night;
in the which (Now you’ve got to remember that scripturally
speaking, that thousand years of millennial reign is nothing more than a day in
the mind of God. So, we’re going to skip right past those thousand years of
millennial reign, and we’re going to go to the onset of eternity.) the
heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements….”
Now, all of you have had enough chemistry, I’m sure, to know that everything we
can touch is comprised of the elements of the chemicals of the earth, aren’t
they? That’s what the elements are. You’ve got your atomic table
that shows all the metals that you can think of and their atomic structure.
Well, that’s the elements. Same word here. Everything that the universe is
comprised of, whether it’s copper or iron or cobalt or you name it, they’re all
elements. II Peter 3:10b “…the elements shall melt
with fervent heat,…” Now goodness sakes, the plowboys didn’t know
this, but you do. What great force do we have today that can melt steel down
to nothing? Well, nuclear fusion. Instantly. Everything can just melt to
nothing. Well, when God pulls the
nuclear glue from the atomic structure of everything, we’re going to have a
universe, I think, of nuclear fusion. It’s going to all melt down, and I
personally think God will just pull it back into Himself. I think it will just
all come back into the very power of God from which it once came out. All
right, but reading on: II Peter 3:10c “…the elements shall melt
with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be
(What?) burned up.” How else would it melt? It’s going to be
melted with fervent heat. The earth and everything in it and I think it’s
going to involve the whole universe. All right, now verse 11. II Peter 3:11a “Seeing then that all these
things shall be dissolved,…” Now again, I don’t think there’s anybody
in this room; I don’t think I’ve got anybody out in my television audience that
doesn’t know that when something is dissolved, what does it lose? Come on
Scott what is it? What does it lose? It loses its character. It loses its
identity. You can no longer see it. If you dissolve something in a bucket of
water, can you look at that water and tell what’s in there? No, because it’s
all diffused through the water. You can’t tell what it was. All right, the
whole universe is going to be dissolved into nothingness. All right, all these
things shall be dissolved. They’re going to lose their identity. Consequently,
Peter says: II Peter 3:11b-12 “…what manner of persons
ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12. Looking
for and hasting (or being in a hurry for) unto the coming of the
day of God, wherein the heavens (See, not just the
planet.) being on fire shall be dissolved, and (again) the
elements shall melt with (What?) fervent heat?” It’s
just going to go up in a puff of smoke and nothingness. Now verse 13, is God
at a loss for what to do? Oh no! He’s in total control. II Peter 3:13 “Nevertheless
(Even though everything is going to burn up and be dissolved and lose its
identity,) we (as believers) according to his
(God’s) promise, (we) look for (What?) new
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Now, why do
you suppose God’s going to have to destroy everything? Well, who has defiled
everything that God ever created? Well, the devil has. It’s all been defiled
with his filthy fingers. So God will just do him one better. He’ll just make
it all new. All right, now let’s jump back
to Revelation, even before we go back to the Great White Throne, to look at the
lost of the ages. Let’s jump ahead to chapter 21, the setting for eternity, and
in perfect accord with what the Spirit caused Peter to write. This is why I
say this with, however you want to put it, with authority or with confidence.
I don’t have to think that maybe I’m seeing this wrong. It’s so plain. It all
fits. Revelation 21 verse 1, now this is John writing. Revelation 21:1a “And I saw a new heaven
and a new earth; (Why?) for the first heaven and the first earth
were (What?) passed away;…” They disappeared. Again, you remember, I’ve
referred to this over the years. A long time ago I read an article in a science
magazine where this guy was trying to promote his theory of the origin of the
universe. He had everything coming out of a single source of light. All the
things that were created came out of that source of light. And at the end of
his article, with all of his exposition of his scientific formulas and all of
that, this is the conclusion. I’ve shared it on the program before - this is
his conclusion, “Since everything came out from a source of light, I can see
somewhere out into the distant future that it’ll all come back into that same
source of light.” Now the believer that I am, I
was just thrilled with that statement, because I can see it happen. I can just
see God pull the whole thing back into Himself and recreate it brand new! All
right, here we’ve got it. He saw, “A new heaven and a new earth; for the
first heaven and the first earth were passed away.” Do you have to be
a Ph.D. to understand that? No, you don’t. The plowboy can understand that.
That the first passed away and in its place came something brand new. That’s
what it says. Okay, now as we’re winding down
the afternoon, let’s back up to Revelation 20 verse 11 and look at the Great
White Throne for those who are going to be resurrected out of Hell and given a
resurrected body fit for their eternal doom. Here they come. Revelation 20:11 “And I saw a great white
throne, and him that sat on it, (The Lord Jesus. He’s going to be the
Judge.) from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
found no place for them.” That is the earth and the heavens and the
planets and the stars and so forth. So evidently we’re having this Great White
Throne out in nothingness of nothing. There’s nothing here now. Where God is
going to keep the believers in the interim? Hey, with Him nothing is
impossible. Don’t worry about it. He’s not going to lose a one of us. Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead,
(The lost of all the ages starting with Cain and clear on up through to the
end.) small and great, (The emperors and the presidents aren’t
going to be any different than the lowliest of the low.) stand before
God; and the books (plural) were opened: and another book (singular)
was opened, (The singular book here is--) which is the
book of life: (Which contains all the names of the believers of all the
ages.) and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books, (plural again) according to their works.” So
again, you’ve got to read between the lines. Are these people’s names in the
Book of Life? No. So, God can just lay that book aside. It’s of no
importance. But, oh, the books,
plural, which are a record of the life and the experiences of every lost
person. For years this just boggled my mind, but you know, when they can put
the whole King James Bible on the head of a pen, and if man can do that, God
doesn’t have any trouble keeping record of the human race. Don’t ever doubt it
for a minute. He has the wherewithal to keep a record of every lost person’s
every deed. And here they come. Now again,
I always have to remind everybody that when we talk about God dealing with
billions of people, one at a time, don’t ever doubt it for a minute. Because
you see, we’re in eternity and in eternity time isn’t even a factor. So, God
can go through ten billion people one at a time in what we might call ten
minutes. They’re going to come before
Him, because He said in His earthly ministry that in that day they will say,
“But, Lord, didn’t I prophesy in your name? Didn’t I cast out demons?”
So, what does that mean? They’re going to have that opportunity. They’re
going to have a period of time before the Judge. And what’s His answer going
to be? “Depart from me. I never knew you” Okay, so don’t ever let a curve
be thrown at you that this can’t happen because it would take eternity for all
this. No, it won’t. This can happen in a matter of minutes or maybe hours as
we reckon time, because this is eternity. Okay, now let’s move on. One
minute left. Wow, I’ve got to hurry. Revelation 20:12b “…and the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their
works.” Every lost person will be judged. That’s his level of
punishment, and it’s going to vary. They’re not all going to suffer the same.
I can take you back to Matthew where Jesus said, “It will be more
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than it would be for Capernaum.” All
right, so they’re going to be judged according to their works. Here come the
lost of all the ages. Revelation 20:13-14 “And the sea gave up the
dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in
them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14. And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” What
did I say? They will be separated from God for all eternity, and then verse 15
makes it as plain as English can make it. Revelation 20:15 “And whosoever was not found
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Now look,
I hate the thought of it as much as anybody. I wish I wouldn’t ever have to
teach it. But the Book does and we can’t throw it out. My reasoning is that
if we could understand how much Christ suffered for all these multitudes that
are going to the Lake of Fire, then we could see He’s just. He suffered and
died for every last one of them, and if they reject it, then it’s not God’s
fault. My, it’s been a good afternoon
of fellowship and teaching. We just love to teach the Word. Again, I just
want to thank our listening audience for everything. We just can’t believe how
you all support us and how we never have to ask for a dime, and yet we pay the
bills every month. We just give the Lord the glory. Okay, again we’re going to
remind our listening audience of a means of saving me a lot of letter writing.
Instead of asking me to write answers to your questions, you can just buy the
book of eighty-eight typical questions. The answers are taken from the program.
I don’t think we’ve had a complaint from anybody that they didn’t enjoy it.
So, if you are looking for something like that, call the girls and they’ll get
it out to you for $11.00 postage paid. Okay, let’s continue on with a
little different take on our “Buts,” as this one is going to be “But
Christ.” Turn with me to Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. While you’re
looking for that, I want to remind our Canadian listeners that since you’re
having trouble using the 800 number, call our regular number at
1-918-768-3218. Hopefully that will help you. All right, here in Galatians
2:20 we have Paul’s tremendous testimony of saving faith. Galatians 2:20a “I am (What?) crucified
with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me:…” Did you get it? Oh, when we become a believer, our old Adamic
nature is put to death – “But Christ!” The God of Creation. The One who went
to that cross and suffered and died for our salvation. “But Christ
liveth in me.” Now, think for a minute. Have you ever heard such a
concept until you get to Paul? Did any of the Old Testament believers have
that kind of an understanding of their God? No. They didn’t have a concept
that God lived in them. Jesus in His earthly ministry never taught such a
concept. But in this Age of Grace, and
let’s see, I think there’s one in Colossians. Let’s turn ahead a minute. It
just came to mind. Yes, Colossians chapter 1 verse 27. This is what I want
people to understand. This is why I spend so much time in Paul’s epistles. It
isn’t that I’m trying to elevate Paul. That’s not the point. But it’s through
this man that we receive so many things concerning God that you won’t find
anywhere else in Scripture. That’s what makes it so unique. Here he’s talking
about you and me as believers. Colossians 1 verse 27. Now listen – don’t miss
this! Colossians 1:27 “To whom God would make
known (complete understanding) what is the riches of the glory of
this mystery (What is the other word for mystery? Secret! And when
was it kept secret? From Adam until Paul! It was never revealed. And here it
is.) among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you,…” Not just in
the Apostle. We’ve got that same testimony that he had! That Christ liveth in
me! Now, that’s not something you arrogantly throw at people and say, “Well,
I’m better than you.” No, that’s not the idea. The idea is that we have such a
fabulous salvation. The Grace of God is so beyond human comprehension that you
and I can take this as a promise. We can claim it, without any arrogance,
without any pride. It’s just a fact of God’s Grace that when we believe Paul’s
Gospel, then Christ enters in to dwell within us – in the person of the Holy
Spirit. We’re going to look at that if we have time yet today in one of our “But
Now’s.” If you’ll come back then to
Galatians chapter 2, let’s go back up, because like we’ve been doing, after
showing you the “But…whatever,” then we go back up a few verses and see
what goes before it. To see what caused the Holy Spirit to move Paul to write
the words of this verse. So, let’s go all the way back up to verse 15. Galatians 2:15 “We who are Jews by
nature, (And, of course, Saul of Tarsus was a Jew’s Jew.) and not
sinners of the Gentiles,” Now again, I just have to stop. I’m afraid
too many Church people do not realize this. What were the kinds of people that
Paul brought into knowledge of salvation? Gentiles. But what were Gentiles in
Paul’s day? They were what we would call the scum of society. The riffraff.
Oh, they may have been living elite. But morally? They were scum. They had
no moral principles. None. So, the Jew looked down at those filthy Gentiles,
not only with their physical inability to keep bodily clean, because that was a
Jewish phenomenon. You’ve got to remember that the
vast majority of the world didn’t take a bath every day, like we do. They lived
filthy. And to the Jew it was just anathema that people could live and be so
dirty. But listen, they did. So this is why he used that term that these Jews
looked down at Gentiles as not just sinners, but actually they were almost the
off scouring of humanity in their eyes. All right, now then verse 16. Galatians 2:16a “Knowing that a man is
not justified by the works of the law,…” Oh, that just flew in the face
of the Jews of Paul’s day. That’s why they hated Paul so. They would put him
to death in a minute, if they could, because he was flying in the face of their
religion. Galatians 2:16b “…but by the faith of
Jesus Christ, (Or in Jesus Christ) even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ,…” Now, I think
to clarify that, I won’t do any injustice to Scripture, but what is really
behind our faith in Christ? His what? His faithfulness! Now, what do I mean by His
faithfulness? Will He ever let us down? Is there any danger that we’ll slip
into eternity and He’ll say, “I’m sorry, but My grace wasn’t sufficient for
you?” You see, there’s always a possibility that you could walk in here some
Wednesday afternoon and some joker has sawed the legs off of one of these
chairs, so that they would break the minute somebody sat on it. Now, that’d be
awful, I know. But it happened. I know. I’ll never forget. I opened up a
lawn chair for somebody a few years ago. I didn’t do it just right, and when
she sat down on it, it collapsed. Well, that’s what you call faithless. That
chair didn’t hold her. Anything that let’s you down, is faithless. Anything that you can rest on,
like these chairs, are faithful. I don’t care what it is. Everything
that you use, you intend it to be faithful. It’s going to do what it’s
supposed to do. That’s Christ! He is faithful! He has done everything
that needs to be done! We don’t have to look for something to garnish it.
We don’t have to look for something to somehow prop it up. He and He alone is
faithful! And when we place our faith in His faithfulness, we’re safe for all
eternity! Nothing can take that from us because of His faithfulness. Now,
reading on in verse 16. Galatians 2:16c “…we have believed in
Jesus Christ, that we might be justified (made totally cleansed of all
our sin by an act of God) by the faith (or the faithfulness) of
Christ, and not by the works of the law:” And listen, the vast majority
of church people today are depending on the Law - their legalism of one sort or
another. And God won’t have it, because He’s done everything that needs to be
done by Himself. All right, so it’s not by the works of the law. Galatians 2:16d “…for by the works of the
law shall no flesh be justified.” Now, we need to turn to Romans
chapter 3. Isn’t it amazing that the Spirit prompted Paul to write almost the
same identical words here that he wrote in Romans? Almost identical! Romans
chapter 3, these are verses that we use quite often. Drop in at verse 19. Romans 3:19a “Now we know (Now
there’s no doubt in that kind of a statement. That is something you can sink
your teeth into.) that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them
who are under the law:…” And who was under the Law? Israel. Nobody else. Israel was under the Law. But the Law didn’t stop at Israel’s borders, it was universal. Still is. The Ten Commandments are just as valid for Indonesia or Japan or China or Russia or any other culture that you can name. Those Ten
Commandments are still God’s guidelines to live by or whatever. Romans 3:19b “…that every mouth may be
stopped, (Not just Jews. Every human being is brought up short by
those Ten Commandments. That’s God’s moral law.) and all the world.
(Not just Israel) may become (Ready for Heaven? That’s what most
people like to think!) may become guilty before God.” Most think
the Ten Commandments are somehow a stairway to Heaven. No, they’re not! They
are God’s means of condemnation! Anybody who cannot keep all ten of those
commandments is forever guilty! Now, verse 20: Romans 3:20a “Therefore by the deeds
of the law (or by the keeping of the Ten Commandments) there
shall no flesh be justified in his sight:…” Nobody! Why? Because
nobody can keep them. The little Book of James says that if you’re guilty of
one, you’re guilty of - how many? All of them!
Boy, now that’s a guilt trip, isn’t it? If you’re guilty of one, you’re guilty
of all. So, we have to get away from this concept that the Ten Commandments
are somehow a means to salvation. No. They’re simply a means of
condemnation. Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds
(or the keeping) of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his
sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Not
life. Sin. And sin’s synonymous word is what? Death! That’s all the Law can
do. Well, then I’ve got another one that I always like to use along with
that. II Corinthians chapter 3 and the reason I like to use it is that so many
times it brings people up short. Because when I say that Paul is talking about
the Ten Commandments in Romans 3, they probably say, well…that’s Les’ idea. I
can’t quite buy that. But, hey, this just puts the frosting on the cake.
There’s no room for argument here. II Corinthians 3:6a “God; (of verse
5) Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament;
(That is this new concept of grace that Christ has finished the work of the
cross.) not of the letter, (That’s Paul’s word for the Law –
the Ten Commandments.) but of the spirit: for the letter (the Ten
Commandments, they do what? They--) killeth,...” Now people
don’t like that. That doesn’t sit with their theology. But that’s what the
Book says. The Ten Commandments kill! How? By condemning! I can’t keep
them. You can’t keep them. Neither can anybody else. So, we’d better quit trying
to make headway, or make points with God, by keeping the Ten Commandments. It
won’t do any good. That’s not what they’re meant for. They’re meant to
convict. All right, read on. II Corinthians 3:6b “…for the letter killeth,
but the spirit (That part we’re going to see when we get back to
Galatians in a minute, the work of the Spirit and the indwelling Christ in the
Spirit’s person.) giveth life.” Eternal life. Now, if you still
doubt that I’m talking about the Ten Commandments, look at the next verse. II Corinthians 3:7a “But if the ministration
of death, written and engraven in stones,…” Do you know of any other
great document in all of human history that was placed in stone? Only the Ten
Commandments. So, these engraven in stone Ten Commandments are nothing but
ministrations of death! They condemn every human being. All right, back to Galatians
chapter 2 verse 17, because I want to get down to our key verse before the
program is over. Galatians 2:17 “But if, while we seek to
be justified by Christ, (That is through our faith in Paul’s Gospel.) we
ourselves also are found sinners, (In other words, we still are prone
to fall.) is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.”
In other words, just because we’re still human and still fail, does that mean
that God promotes sin? Why, heavens no! Galatians 2:18 “For if I build again the
things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.” But that’s
not the name of the game. We’ve been forgiven. We’ve been cleansed. But we
are still human, and we are still going to sin. And the blood of Christ, of
course, is what cleanses us of it. All right, now then verse 19. Galatians 2:19 “For I (Paul
says) through the law, (Because it is a ministration of death.) am
dead to the law, that I might live unto God.” Now think about that for
a minute. There’s only one thing that can set us free from the condemnation of
the Ten Commandments and what is it? Our saving faith. The work of the
cross. That settles it. Now, before we go into Paul’s
testimony in verse 20, come back with me to Romans chapter 7. These are almost
parallel verses. I like to use the whole concept of comparing Scripture with
Scripture, so that we know we’re on solid ground. Romans 7:4a “Wherefore, my brethren,
(See, he’s writing to believers.) ye also are become dead to the law (How?)
by the body of Christ; (the work of the cross) that ye
should be married (or brought into union) to another, even to him
who is raised from the dead,…” We become part and parcel of it. In
other words, let me put it this way. The Christian plan of salvation, when we
become a believer, is not just embracing another religion. It’s just not
another “do good” thing. When we become a believer, we establish a
relationship with God Himself. He is living in us. We are in Him, and it’s a
two-way street. And that’s what makes it so
unique in all the religions of the world. That we are not just a follower of a
religion, we are in a relationship with the God of Creation by virtue of our
faith in the finished work of the cross. All right, read on. Romans 7:4b-5 “…that we should bring
forth fruit unto God. (Just like a marriage relationship is to bring
forth children for the ongoing of the human race.) 5. For when we were in
the flesh, (Lost. Commandment breakers. Condemned by them) the
motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth
fruit unto death.” The same death that we saw in the last program at
the Great White Throne. That’s what he’s talking about. Separation from God
for all eternity. That’s what every lost person is working for. Romans 7:6 “But now (We’ve
come away from that. We’re no longer under that condemnation of the Law.) we
are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; (past
tense) that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness
of the letter.” All right, only got four minutes left, so we’d better
get back to Galatians 2, or I won’t make it. Now, back to Galatians 2 verse
19. Galatians 2:19a “For I through the law am
dead to the law,…” Do you see that? Because of the Law’s condemning
us, when we run to God’s saving grace for salvation, we now become what? Dead
to it! It can’t touch us! The Law can’t condemn you and me anymore, because
we’re dead to it, and it’s dead to us. The Law can only condemn the lost
person, not the believer. The Law does not condemn the believer. Now, we may do the things that
the Law speaks against, but it’s not condemning us as such. We are immediately
under the blood and the forgiveness of Christ. Here’s the reason in verse 20,
Paul’s testimony of saving grace. This should be the testimony of every
believer. Galatians 2:20a “For I am crucified with
Christ:…” What does crucifixion do? Well, it kills. It puts to
death. And the reason I think God used crucifixion for all this was that that
was one death that one human being cannot do to himself. They can fall on the
sword. They can hang themselves. They can shoot themselves. They can do all
kinds of means of putting themselves to death, but they cannot crucify
themselves. It’s impossible. It has to be done by an outside force. All right, so here again, we
can’t crucify ourselves. We can’t do anything to merit salvation, but it put
us at God’s mercy. We recognize that when He died, you died, and I died,
because He died in our place. This is what Paul is saying, “I am
crucified with Christ.” I died when He died. That’s what faith does.
Then he goes on to say: Galatians 2:20b “...nevertheless I
live;…” In other words, he’s not talking about a physical being put to
death. He’s talking about a spiritual thing. All right, now we come back to
the whole concept. When we’re born into the world, we are born with what kind
of a nature? A sin nature. You know, I always give the example, how old does
that newborn have to be before that sin nature flares up? Well, not very old.
The temper shows. Give him a couple of years and he can lie like a rug. Well,
you don’t teach kids to lie. That’s all part of that old nature. Galatians 2:20c “…nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: (Paul isn’t living for himself.
He’s living for the Christ who died for him.) and the life which I now
live in the flesh (day to day, week in and week out) I live by
the faith (Here we have again, I think, the faithfulness.) the
faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me, and (What?) gave
himself for me.” Now what is that all based on? God’s what? God’s
love! Everything concerning Christianity rests on the premise of love. God died for the sins of the
world, because he loved mankind. When we become a believer, at least it
certainly should show forth, we begin to love people that we probably never
thought of loving before. Now, I’m not talking about physical love. I’m
talking about spiritual love. We have a concern for those around us. That’s
what makes the difference between a true child of God and the run-of-the-mill,
everyday person. So, always remember, yes, we’re put to death with Christ, but
we live because He lives in us. It’s good to see everybody back
in again this afternoon on a beautiful spring day. Again, we want to welcome
our television audience, wherever you are, under whatever the circumstances.
Because we realize now our programs are just about going around the world, one
way or another. So, wherever you are, we just want you to be welcome to sit in
with us. Letter after letter comes in that tells us they feel like they’re
sitting right out there at the back row. That just thrills us to pieces.
Again, we always like to thank our listening audience for your support,
prayers, your letters, your financial support, and everything, because without
it we could do nothing. All right, we’re going to
continue yet in these next four programs on the “But God” or “But…whatever.”
Today I found one that I just couldn’t pass up in Galatians chapter 4
verse 4 - “But When.” We’ll read the verse first, and then we’re
going to go back and look at that what goes before. Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of
the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the
law,” Now, just for introductions, if I’m not mistaken, and I could be,
this is the one and only time that Paul refers to Christ’s birth or even His
ministry, except one other verse in II Corinthians 5:16 where he says, “Yea,
I have known Christ in the flesh, yet henceforth we know him no more.” Now, the reason of course is
Holy Spirit inspired. This apostle is kept so completely separated from
everything pertaining to Israel and Israel’s Law. We’ll probably be pointing
it out sometime during the afternoon that, even at the time of His going out
into the desert for His three years of instruction, God didn’t let Paul get
indoctrinated by the Twelve. Because He wanted Paul to be the grace Apostle
for the Gentile world and be completely separated from the Twelve and Israel which were under the Law. So, Paul only preached the salvation message of Christ
crucified and risen again. All of his writing is in that
vein, with only this one exception referring to His birth in Bethlehem. It’s
put in a little different way, in fact, in order to be different. Whenever I
teach over the Christmas period of time, I like to use this verse, because
everybody else uses Matthew and Luke, you know. But what a beautiful way of
putting it that “When the fullness of time was come.” Now, we’re going to back up a
little bit to chapter 4 verse 1, like we’ve done on all these others, and see a
little of the background that leads us up to this particular statement.
Chapter 4 verse 1, still in Galatians: Galatians 4:1 “Now I say, (Paul
writes) that the heir, (Now, he’s speaking of a child in a
family.) as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant,
(or a slave) though he be lord of all;” In other words, he’s an
heir of the father’s business or wealth, whatever the case may be. Galatians 4:2 “But (again
coming back to this child) he is under tutors and governors until
(There’s your time word. Until when?) the time appointed of the father.”
In other words, even in the secular world, the Romans and the Greeks as
well as the Jews, they would hire tutors to teach their kids. They didn’t have public schools
like we do. So, from the time they are old enough to learn how read and write,
the parents didn’t teach them, but they hired tutors. They were to teach those
kids everything concerning manners and discipline and finances, their morals,
everything was under the control of the tutor “until” the day came that the
father had preset when they first started teaching. In other words, they were
working forward to a goal when they could approach the father and say, “Here’s
your son. This is the day that we have set. I am presenting him to you. He
should be ready to come in and be a full heir in the business.” Now, that’s
the word adoption that we usually see in Paul’s letters. All right, so what’s
the purpose? Well, we’re leading up to it now. Galatians 4:3-4a “Even so we,
(Remember, Paul is writing to Gentiles.) when we were children,
(That is spiritually speaking, now.) were in bondage under the elements
of the world:” (Now this is all leading up to this verse.) 4. But
when the fullness of the time was come,…” Do you see what he’s tying
it to? Just like the tutor would bring the kid up to the father when the
fullness of his time of instruction was finished, so also, God has had a time
of preparing the world for the coming of the Son of God. To be, first and
foremost, the promised King of Israel, but so far as the rest of us were
concerned, He was to be the Savior of all mankind. All right, let’s go back and
chase down some of these Old Testament references, because after all, this is
what Paul is alluding to, that God is going to use a period of time to get the
world ready for the coming of the Son of God in the flesh – “the fullness
of time.” All right, go back to Genesis
chapter 3 and this is just after Adam and Eve have eaten of the forbidden
tree. The curse has fallen. We are now entering into the time of every human
being, being born a sinner. But here is the first step in God’s preparing of
the world for the “fullness of the time.” Genesis 3 verse 15,
and of course, God is addressing the deceiver, Satan, the one who prompted the
fall, and He says to Satan: Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it (that
is the seed of the woman) shall bruise thy head, (In other words,
the only place where you can really kill a snake is to crush it on the head,
and Christ would bruise his head.) and thou (Satan) shalt
bruise his heel (the heel of Christ).” This, of course,
is a reference to the suffering that He went through. But always remember that
it was the work of the cross that defeated Satan and sin and death. It was
total, total defeat of everything. All right, so that’s one place. Now, let’s jump up a few
chapters to chapter 12 and the call of Abraham. I’m kind of tempted to fill in
the years between here, but I’m going to save that for a later half-hour when
I’m going to be dealing with a portion in Ephesians. But, you’ve got to
remember, now, that from the Garden of Eden until the call of Abraham is, roughly
speaking, 2,000 years. Approximately. I don’t get dogmatic on these years in
the Old Testament, but about 2,000 years. But never forget what the Lord
promised Satan way back there at the Garden. So, 2,000 years later, this is
still appropriate thinking that God is getting ready to do something to make
salvation possible for the whole human race. Genesis 12 verse 1, these are
verses that we’ve used over and over throughout the years, the Abrahamic
Covenant. Genesis 12:1-3a “Now the LORD had said unto
Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s
house, unto a land that I will show thee: (Which we now know was the land of Canaan.) 2. And I will make of thee a great nation, I will bless thee, and
make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3. And I will bless them
that bless thee, and curse him (In other words, the opposite of
blessing) that curseth thee:…” Now, here comes the promise that’s
not going to be valid until Christ makes His appearance. That’s the verse we’re
looking at in Galatians – “But when the fullness of time.” All
right, now read on in verse 3. Genesis 12:3b “…and in thee (in
Abraham) shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Well,
now goodness sakes, we know that Abraham didn’t do anything specific for our
salvation. But how is he tied to it? It’s through Abraham that the Nation of
Israel makes its appearance in the human experience, and through Israel we have the appearance, then, of the Messiah, who goes to the cross and becomes the Savior,
not just of Israel, but of the whole human race. All right, now here it comes,
all the way from Genesis 3 that the seed of the woman is going to defeat Satan,
looking forward to the cross. And here comes Abraham. He is going to be
uniquely blessed by being the father, or the progenitor, of this nation of
people, through whom will come the Word of God. Every word in this Book, I
maintain, is written by Jews. Then comes the Messiah and then comes the
Apostle Paul. All Jews. And salvation goes to the whole human race. But all right, we’re still
building. Now, let’s jump up a little ways to Isaiah chapter 42. Again, these
are verses that we have used off and on throughout the years, because they are
so simply put and easy to understand. Now, there are a lot of other verses,
but they’re not quite as clearly put as Isaiah 42 and 59 and 60, which we’re
going to use for a minute. All right, we’ve got our timeline up here. I’m
going to roughly divide it from the time of Adam until we get to the call of
Abraham and the Abrahamic Covenant – 2,000 years. Now, I’m not going to divide
the timeline according to scale, because then I run out of space. But stop and
think. How much, that really pertains to an understanding of all this, took
place in the first 2,000 years? What are the words? Not much! Not much. It
was a 2,000-year period of disaster in my book. Because you see, from the time
that Adam fell, until the whole then known world became so wicked, so ungodly
that God had no alternative but to what? Destroy it. That was the flood,
about 1,500-1,600 years after Adam. It’s a long time, and God does nothing.
He just lets them go and lets them go. Until finally it got so bad that He was
going to have to wipe them all off the face of the earth, BUT! That was one of
first “But’s” when we started. “But Noah (What?) found
grace.” Now stop and think, after 1,500 or 1,600 years of this human
experience, how many were still faithful to God? Eight! Eight out of probably
four or five billion people. Now, I always use that number
when people get a little discouraged and say, “Well, why can’t we bring more
people into the truth?” Hey, they never have. It’s not at all unusual for the
believer to be the very small percentage. We learned years ago that whenever
you see the multitudes flock to something, you can just about bet whatever
you’ve got that they’re not flocking to something of the truth. The human race
never has. It’s always the small. All right, so after 1,500-1,600
years, eight people start all over. Well, then in another 200 years, now I
know that compared to 6,000, we look at 200 years like sort of a month or two,
but no, no. Two hundred years is a long time in any point in history. That’s
a long time. That’s since 1800 until now. My goodness, look what the world
has done since 1800. So, when I speak of since the flood to the Tower of Babel, 200 years, don’t think there was just seven, eight, nine hundred people.
My, they were already up to hundreds of thousands, if not millions. But again,
how many of them at the time of the Tower of Babel hang back and say, “No, I
won’t have any part of that. I’m going to stay true to God?” How many? Now,
that’s a tricky question. How many? None! We don’t have a record of a single
one. The whole then known human race gathers in rebellion under old Nimrod.
They’re ready to jump on whatever Nimrod’s got to offer. And what’s he offer?
False religion. The whole human race, then,
within 200 years of the flood, when we only had eight believers left, has
already come full circle. Again, they’re in total rebellion - 100%. But all
God does this time is what? He scatters them by virtue of the changing of all
the languages. All right, we go another 200
years. It’s still a long time. Now we come to the call of Abraham. So far as
I’m concerned, no believers left. They were all steeped in the idolatry that
began with the Tower of Babel. But here we have one man who was willing to
listen to what God had to say. So, he becomes the man of faith, Abraham. All
right, now then, as Abraham continues on, he has the promised son Isaac. And
Isaac has the twins Jacob and Esau. Jacob, in turn, becomes the man of faith.
I hope we’ll look at him a little later on yet this afternoon. That little
flicker of faith was enough to say, “Hey, I’ll buy that birthright. I’ll give
you a bowl of soup, if I can have it.” So, Esau glibly gave up the birthright,
which was a spiritual thing, because he had no faith. But Jacob had enough,
not real faith yet, but he had enough perception that there was something to be
gained by having that spiritual birthright. All right, so out of Jacob come
the twelve sons. Out of the twelve sons comes the Nation of Israel. The Nation
of Israel, after their years in Egypt, comes out under Moses. They’re brought
back to the Promised Land. Now, I’m doing all this hurriedly. We’re coming up
to about 700 BC. Already 1,300 years beyond Abraham, so I’m moving along
pretty fast, aren’t I? All right, now Isaiah is being
written 700 years before Christ, thirteen hundred years after Abraham. Look
what it says, remembering now the promise to Abraham, “through thee shall
all the families of the earth be blessed.” And yet, coming up through
the five Books of Moses and early history going into the land of Canaan, I think you are all aware, what was God’s instruction to the Nation of Israel with
regard to those pagan people around them? Have nothing to do with them. Don’t
intermarry with them. Don’t have a lot of social intercourse with them,
because if you do, you’re going to fall into their idolatry. You’ll become just
as ungodly as they are. That was God’s premise. I think it holds true today.
If a godly person marries an ungodly, which direction will that couple usually
go? Down. Once in a while it’ll go the other way, but nine times out of ten,
it’s down. Well, Israel was no different. And God knew that. So he warned
them. Have nothing to do with those nations around you, which we will now call
Gentiles, because they were all pagan. They were all idolatrous. God knew
that they would take Israel right down with them, which they did. We know that
Israel fell into rank idolatry. All right, so that’s what
Isaiah has to deal with early on in the Book of Isaiah. But this is what I
want you to see now: how that through the blessings of Abraham, God was one day
going to come back and reveal Himself to the non-Jewish world. Now, unless
you’ve been with me a long time, you’re probably not aware that everything
throughout the Old Testament is primarily, not exclusively, but it’s primarily
directed to the Nation of Israel. All the promises, all the prophecies,
salvation, the worship, the temple, the priest, were all directed to Israel. Now, there were some
exceptions, and I always point them out. Rahab on the wall of Jericho was an exception. She was a Gentile, and she came into Israel’s blessing. And on
and on, who were some of the others that were exceptions? Jonah went to Nineveh, a Gentile city. That was an exception. But by and large, God was dealing only
with the Nation of Israel. But, now here’s the point I want to make. He
hadn’t forgotten about the rest of the world. Isaiah 42:1 “Behold my servant, whom
I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my
spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment (Or righteous rule,
benevolent rule. Not dictatorial, not totalitarian, but a benevolent rule.) to
the Gentiles.” The non-Jewish world, drop down to verse 6. Isaiah 42:6 “I the LORD have called thee
in righteousness, (Now, here God is dealing with the Nation. Up in
verses 1 and 2, He’s talking about the Messiah, but now He’s talking about the
Nation.) and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for
a covenant of the people, (In other words, He’s going to have this
agreement between Himself and the Nation of Israel, but for what eternal
purpose?) to be a light of the Gentiles;” Now, never lose sight
of that. Because when the Lord came in, in His earthly ministry, and we’ll be
looking at a verse or two there as well. When He spoke to the Twelve and He
said, “You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth.” That
wasn’t talking to us. He was talking to the Jews, of whom the Twelve, of
course, were representatives. They were to be the light of the world. They
were to be the salt, see? All right, and here it is, read the verse again,
verse 6. Isaiah 42:6 “I the LORD have called
thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and will
give thee for a covenant of the people, (For what purpose?) to be
a light of the Gentiles.” That’s a Jewish promise. So, all the way up through Israel’s history, the preparation is for the coming of their Messiah and King. Now, while
I go to the board I’m going to have you jump on ahead and find Zechariah
chapter 14. I’m going to pursue the timeline a little further. After the call
of Abraham, we go another 2,000 years. Like I’ve just said, it is
predominately Jew only, with a few exceptions. I can’t leave that out or
somebody is going to be calling. Then comes what we’re looking
at in Galatians, leading up to His three years of earthly ministry. But for
these next 2,000 years from Abraham until Christ’s first advent everything is
getting the Nation ready, like we saw those in first three verses in Galatians
chapter 4. He’s getting the Nation ready for this coming opportunity of
having the King and the Kingdom and then to be a light of the Gentiles. That’s
Israel’s prospect. All of this 2,000 year period of time is preparation -
getting them ready. But what was their problem? Boy, they were a tough bunch
to teach! They just didn’t respond! Now, getting ready for some
future programs, I’ve been spending a little time back in Judges and Joshua and
Ruth and so forth. Just like the Lord told them, as soon as they got into the
Promised Land and started defeating all the enemies, they started dipping into
idolatry. Dan, of course, if you know anything about the Tribe of Dan, they
weren’t satisfied with what they were given. So, he leads all of his people
clear up to Northern Israel and sets up their own little conclave of territory,
but what else? An idol. So, All right, here’s the one
that’s about the end of – my, the end of the half-hour too, already! Okay,
here’s Zechariah chapter 14 verse 9, and this sort of encapsulates everything
that’s been prophesied since Abraham. Zechariah 14:9 “And the LORD
(God the Son, Jehovah) shall be king over all the earth: in that day
(When He finally sets up His rule there in Jerusalem.) shall there
be one LORD, and his name one.” He’s going to rule and reign, not only
the Nation of Israel, but the whole planet earth. All right, now in the couple or
three minutes we have left, let’s go back to the verse that we kicked off from
in Galatians chapter 4. After all these years, the patience and trying to
teach the Nation, disciplining them with invading armies, blessing them with
material blessings, He finally brings them to the place where “the
fullness of the time” has arrived. Now, it isn’t just the Nation
of Israel that’s getting ready for the fullness of time, but the whole Gentiles
scenario. Everything is now being made ready for the coming of the Messiah.
We’ve come through the Babylonian Empire. We’ve come through the Mede and
Persian Empires. We’ve come through the Greek Empire. Now we’re well into the
Roman Empire, but the language of the Greeks had become pretty much the
language of even the Roman Empire. It’s the Greek language that has made our
Scriptures what it is, because it is so, what shall I call it? It is so
explanatory. You can pick one Greek word and just expound on it. So, even the
appearance of the Greek language was all preparation for the “fullness of
time” – at the right moment. All right, let’s read the verse. Then
we’ll be ready to close. Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of
the time was come, (Planet earth is now ready for one of the greatest
events that as ever happened.) God sent forth his Son, (A day
late? No. A day early? No. In the exact hour that it was right, God sent
for the Son.) made of a woman, (the virgin Mary) made
(Now here’s the key part.) under the law.” Most of Christendom won’t
recognize it even to this day, that Jesus came and was born from the Nation of
Israel, under the Law. His whole ministry was in accordance with the Law. He
never made any hint that we’re not under Law, you’re under Grace. Everything
He said was in accordance with Israel’s Law. When He healed the lepers, what
did He tell them? “Go present yourself to the priest, according to the
law.” And, oh, why can’t people get that understanding? That
everything He said was under and according to the Mosaic Law. Again, we’re glad to have
everybody back. I see you’ve all gotten your coffee, and we’re ready to hit
another “But Now.” This one is in Galatians chapter 4 verse 9. Again, we’re just an informal
Bible study. My only hope is to help people to study the Word on their own.
You don’t have to just sit there and fold your arms and listen to me or listen
to some preacher. Get into the Book, because after all this is where your
spiritual food lies. I had someone call yesterday, and she said, “I’ve been a
believer for 17 years and off and on I’ll try to read my Bible. I didn’t
understand it. I would just lay it aside. But I caught your program a few
weeks ago, and now I’m learning how to study.” Well, that’s the best news I
could ever hear. So, that’s the whole premise for our teaching. It is to show
you how to take the Word and compare Scripture with Scripture, because the
cults build all their false doctrines on isolated verses. But we want to use
the whole Book cover to cover, because it all fits. It all dovetails together. All right, Galatians chapter 4
going on a little further down the page to verse 8 where Paul writes: Galatians 4:8-9a “Howbeit then, when ye
knew not God, ye did service unto them who by nature are no gods.
9. But now,…” All right, what’s the “But Now?” After you’ve
become a believer. Now, I always have to back up
and give the historical backdrop. Before these people became Christians, or
believers, what were they? Pagans. Idolaters. Gentiles. Galatia is up there in Central Turkey. Like all the rest of Paul’s churches and audiences, it was
predominately Gentile. There might have been a sprinkling of Jews, but it’s
mostly Gentile, and they were pagan. They were idolaters. They followed all
the gods and goddesses and all the immoral and stupid ramifications of it. You know, I can’t help but use
the word, because I remember when I was reading the book by Homer, years and
years ago. The whole thing is just saturated with how these sailors, including
Odysseus, were all hung up on the control of the gods and goddesses.
Everything, the winds that blew and the ocean and the enemy of warfare, was all
resting on their gods and goddesses. Well, that’s the kind of people Paul
dealt with. The same thing. They had no moral standard. They had no
understanding of a One True God. They were steeped in all the foolishness of
gods and goddesses, with an idol to that god, an idol to that female god and so
forth. All right, so this is what Paul is saying here in verse 8 - “back
when you knew not the God of Scripture, the God of Israel.” All they
knew were gods and goddesses of mythology. Galatians 4:8a “Howbeit then, when ye
knew not God, ye did service unto them…” My goodness, do you have any
idea how the pagan worshipped? Why, sacrifices after sacrifices if they could
afford it. I think I shared this on the
program several months ago. You know I love history. So, while I was going
through my hip replacement recuperation, I did a lot of sitting and reading. I
read the whole gambit of Alexander the Great. All the way from when he began
to when he finally died at the age of 33. I was just flabbergasted at how
that young man was constantly sacrificing animals to his gods and goddesses. If
he was ready for battle, he would sacrifice 200-300 of them! Unbelievable!
Now, that was the mentality, then, of these people that Paul brought into the
faith of Christ. So, you have to get an
understanding of that. They were slaves to their religion. They were
constantly making offerings and oblations and everything to their idols.
Whether it was on a high hill, or whether it was in a grove, or whether it was
in their house, they were always worshipping some idol. All right, so he says: Galatians 4:8b “…ye did service unto
them which by nature are no gods.” They’re just wood and stone.
They’re figments of somebody’s imagination. A sorry state of affairs, isn’t
it? Yet the world isn’t all that much different even today. Now, I hate to
say it, but it’s the truth. Now then verse 9, that’s the crux of the thing. Galatians 4:9a “But now, (Since
you’ve become a believer. Since you’ve come out of all that false worship
and--) after that ye have known (the one true) God,
(as a result of trusting Paul’s Gospel) or rather are known of God,...”
You know what I like about that? When we become a believer, we not only know
God, but what? God knows us! He knows us in a way
intrinsically different than He knows the rest of the world. In His omniscience,
sure, He’s aware of everybody. But when we become a believer, we are
intrinsically His! He knows all about us. He knows our yesterday. He knows
our today. He knows our tomorrow. All right that’s what Paul is trying to
show these people, that here as believers now, not only do they know the right
and true God, but God knows them. Now then he says: Galatians 4:9b “…how turn ye again to
the weak and beggarly elements,…” Now, that takes some explanation,
doesn’t it? What was the purpose of the Book of Galatians? Well, his Galatian
believers were being hoodwinked by Judaizers from the Jerusalem Church. They were being told that they couldn’t be completely saved with Paul’s Gospel alone -
of believing in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose again.
The Judaizers told them they had to practice Judaism. Now, I’ve got to show that from
Scripture, otherwise people just look at it. I always go back to a large
church in North Carolina. Several years ago I taught this in their Sunday morning
Sunday School hour. It was a large class, well over a hundred. When I
finished that morning, they just surrounded me. They said, “Les, I never knew
this was in our Bible.” I’m sure that’s typical of most church people. They
don’t even know this is in their Bible. All right, here it is. Acts
chapter 15 and we’ll start at verse 1. Now, this is what was behind Paul
writing the letter to the Galatians. That’s why he said in the verse we looked
at, that now they’ve come out of paganism, yet they’re turning back to the weak
and beggarly elements which were part of Israel’s law. I’m going to make
further comment on that when we get back, if I’ve got time. But anyway, Acts
chapter 15, this was the crux of the problem Paul’s Gentile congregation was
having, verse 1. Acts 15:1 “And certain men who came
down from Judea (that’s Jerusalem) taught the brethren (Paul’s
Gentile converts) and said, Except (or unless) ye
be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye (What?) cannot be
saved.” My, that’s terrible! That would be just like if I would come
in here and tell people unless you do this and unless you do that you can’t be
saved. That’s what they were doing. They were doing this to Paul’s believers.
And they were falling for it. That’s human nature. All right, read on in
verse 2. Acts 15:2 “When therefore
(Because of what these guys were doing.) Paul and Barnabas had no
small dissension (or argument) and disputation with them,
they (The church people up here at Antioch where this is all taking
place.) determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them,
should go up to (What city?) <LESSON ONE * PART I
BUT CHRIST – LIVETH IN ME
I Corinthians 15:20 and Galatians 2:20
LESSON ONE * PART II
BUT CHRIST – LIVETH IN ME
I Corinthians 15:20 and Galatians 2:20
LESSON ONE * PART III
BUT CHRIST – LIVETH IN ME
I Corinthians 15:20 and Galatians 2:20
LESSON ONE * PART IV
BUT CHRIST - LIVETH IN ME
I Corinthians 15:20 and Galatians 2:20
LESSON TWO * PART I
BUT WHEN - THE FULLNESS OF THE TIME
Galatians 4:4; Galatians 4:9;
Ephesians 2:4
Dan was the first tribe that really went whole-hog into idolatry! So, God had
a hard time bringing this Nation along. No doubt about it. But He keeps
moving along, moving along with these promises and these prophecies put out in
front of them to encourage them. LESSON TWO * PART II
BUT WHEN - THE FULLNESS OF THE TIME
Galatians 4:4; Galatians 4:9;
Ephesians 2:4