Okay, it’s good to see
everybody in again this afternoon. For those of you out in television, we’ve
checked and have out-of-state from all over the country with us today. We’re
just praising the Lord for you and for all of you regulars. Again, we just
thank you for your faithfulness. I don’t like to repeat things
unnecessarily, but for benefit of any new listeners, we’re just an informal,
simple Bible study. I don’t try to get deep and get theological, per se, but
on the other hand, a lot of people write and say they appreciate the deeper
things. So, maybe we’re hitting a natural average or something. Anyway, for those of you in the
studio, we’re ready to look at Genesis chapter 2. Again, for the benefit of our
TV audience, we’re going to do something a little different. We’re going to
look at the “Theophanies.” I’ve had several questions over the years on what
is a theophany. Well, it’s a great big Greek word, but it simply means—when
God appeared in human form. He was the invisible God. I should have had Sharon put my circle on the board, but I’m going to have to do it myself. Bear with me. I
still think it’s the easiest way to explain the Triune God is that in the
Godhead. And that’s what it’s called in Colossians chapter 2—the Godhead. We
have the Father; we have the Son; and, of course, the Holy Spirit. Now, they
are invisible until one or the other steps out of that invisible realm. I think the best way we can
explain that is to turn back to Colossians. I’ve done this so often over the
years. I have the studio audience ready to go someplace, and then I think of
something else. So, go back with me to Colossians, so that you’ll know where
I’m coming from when I say that it was the invisible Godhead. Colossians chapter 1—so that
you’ll see it from your own Bible. I usually like to start in verse 12. Now,
we were on this not too long ago, but some of these things can never get
repeated often enough. Here, Paul is praying, of course, on behalf of the
Colossi believers. He comes down to verse 12 and he says: Colossians 1:12-15a “Giving thanks unto the
Father, who hath made us meet (or who hath prepared us) to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13. Who (speaking
of God the Father) hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14. In whom (Now we’re
talking about the Son.) we have redemption through his blood, even the
forgiveness of sins: (Now, that’s not a period; it’s a colon. So the
thought carries right on down to the next verse.) 15. Who…” Now, most of you know I’m a
stickler for grammar. Except, as I’ve shared with the audience, and I shared
with an English teacher again today. I have one glaring error that I can’t get
rid of. I’ll still say that Christ died for you and I. And I know that’s
wrong, and all of you know it’s wrong. But nevertheless, I like to emphasize
grammar and English because otherwise Scripture can be misinterpreted. All
right, so getting back to the rule of grammar, the word “who” is
a pronoun modifying the Son. Not the Father up there in verse 12, it’s
modifying the Son in verse 13. All right, so it’s the Son-- Colossians 1:15 “Who is (Now
watch this carefully.) the image of (What kind of a God?) the
invisible God,...” See that? God the Son became the visible image of
the invisible God. All right, now I just mentioned
a verse since you’re in Colossians anyway, just go over to chapter 2 verse 8
and 9 and then you get the term that I referred to – the Godhead. Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man
spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” You’ve heard me
emphasize over and over that tradition is a bad word in Scripture. Tradition
is sending millions if not billions to an eternal doom. You know, I had one guy call
one time and he said, “Les, I have to believe this way because this is what my
dad believed, and this is what grandpa believed.” I said, “But what if they
were wrong?” Well he says, “I guess then I’m lost.” Well, that’s a horrible
way to look at it. And Scripture is constantly condemning tradition. If
you’re locked into tradition, that’s wrong – break out of it! Get into the
truth of the Scriptures. That’s what Paul is saying—Look out! Beware, lest
you get wrapped up in the tradition after the rudiments of the world and not
after Christ. Now verse 9: Colossians 2:9 “For in him (in
Christ, in God the Son) dwelleth all the fullness of the (What?)…
Godhead bodily.” So, He is like chapter 1 said. He is the visual
manifestation of that invisible God. All right, if I may get back to
the board a minute. We’re going to show how that as time goes by and creation
is now rolling, one of these members of the Godhead, predominately God the Son,
is going to step out, and He’s going to become the communicator. Now, in order
to make that point, since you’re back in the New Testament anyway, drop in at
John’s Gospel chapter 1—God the Son, the Communicator. If you know anything of
Scripture at all, how does God always accomplish what He wants done? In other
words, at Creation what did He do? He spoke the word. And all through
Scripture, the things that have been kept secret, Deuteronomy tells us that
once He speaks it, it’s no longer secret, now it’s for the human race. But it
can’t be applied until it is spoken. All right, so this is my basis for
calling God the Son the communicator. If you’ve got John chapter 1, you all
know the verse. John 1:1a “In the beginning…”
And again, it doesn’t bother with telling us when. It doesn’t matter. You
know, I told someone the other day, you ask a geologist digging for oil or
natural gas if he ever stops to consider whether the world’s a million years
old or ten thousand? Do they care? It doesn’t make a bit of difference where
they drill. But you see people get all hung up on some of these things—is this
old universe millions upon millions of years old, or is it a few thousand years
old? You know what I say? What difference does it make? God knows. And
that’s why He doesn’t see fit to tell us. It doesn’t say ten thousand years
ago. It doesn’t say one million years ago. What does it say? “In the
beginning…,” and leave it at that. John 1:1-3 “In the beginning
(whenever it was) was the Word, (capitalized) and the Word
was with God, (Contrary to the Jehovah’s Witness Bible; keep reading.) and
the Word was God. 2. The same was in the beginning with God. 3. All things
were made (or created) by him; (Now don’t forget who
we’re talking about—the Word.) and without him was not anything made that
was made.” Because He alone would speak the word and things could
happen. Now come down to verse 14, and that just puts the frosting on the
cake, doesn’t it? John 1:14 “And the Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” So, what person of
the Godhead is the Word? Well, God the Son. God the Son stepped out of the
invisible Godhead and became the Communicator representing the whole. He spoke
the word out of which came Creation as we know it and all these other
revelations from Scripture and so forth. Now, we’re not going to ignore
the Holy Spirit. We’re going to touch on Him in, hopefully, a later taping. I
don’t think I’ll get that far this afternoon. But, anyway, in the New
Testament—we have to realize that in the New Testament we do not have
theophanies because it’s no longer necessary, because God the Son has taken on
human flesh never to have that abrogated. But back in the Old Testament
economy, He still has not taken on flesh. He has not become the incarnate Son
of God. So, whenever God the Son had to communicate, like with Adam and Eve
and Abraham, as we’re going to see now in the coming moments, it was through a
theophany. He would appear in human form. And evidently it was such a form
that probably didn’t look the same two times in a row. Because I don’t think
Abraham recognized Him as such, even the second go around. So, whatever we have to take on
this is that He appeared in human form, and then after He finished what needed
to be done, He simply went back into the invisible Godhead. And whenever it
was time for Him to reappear to someone, He would step out and He would be
another theophany. We’re going to look at these
this afternoon throughout the Old Testament, remembering that when He appeared
in the flesh at Bethlehem, no more theophanies. Now, it’s always the
appearance of the incarnate Word, God the Son, who has taken on human form or
human flesh. All right, now if you’ll come
back with me to Genesis chapter 2, and I kind of hedge on calling this a
theophany, because the Scripture lacks the word appeared. But on the
other hand, logic tells me that He must have looked and appeared to Adam first
and then later on to the two of them in a human form. All right, now let’s go
back to Genesis chapter 2 and start at verse 20. Now again, we don’t know the
time element. I don’t even venture a guess as to how long it was from the time
that God created Adam—and then the part that really throws people when I put
Eve in Adam, but it has to be—until He takes Eve out of Adam and brings her to
him. I don’t know how long a period of time. Everybody’s got their own guess,
and I don’t even try. But here in verse 20 we have come far enough beyond
Adam’s creation that he is naming the creation. Genesis 2:20 “And Adam gave names to
all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but
for Adam there was not found an helpmeet for him.” Now don’t forget,
where is Eve? Well, she’s in Adam. That goes back to Genesis 1:26. She had
to be. She had to be because of these next verses, as well as the theological
concept. Because you see, Adam is the Federal Head of the whole human race, not
just the male element. He’s the Federal Head of the whole human race, male and
female. Now stop and think logically.
Had Eve not been created within Adam, back there in Genesis 1, then the female
of the species would need a separate redeemer. It’s just logical, because Adam
would not have been the Federal Head of the women. But he was. Romans tells
us that “by one man sin entered and by sin death.” So we have to
come back and theologically understand that Adam is the Federal Head of the
whole human race, male and female, lest none of them escape the Fall. The same
way as the Second Adam then, Jesus the Christ was capable of bringing
redemption for all. The two offset each other. All right, back here in Genesis
chapter 2 Adam gives names to all the cattle. We don’t know how long even that
took, or how long it’s been since he was created, but—and I always make the
point when I teach this—can you get the mind of Adam? I’m sure God did it just
like He did at the flood. I think every creature came with its mate. I think,
without apology, that everything was coming to be named with its mate. Why
wouldn’t it? All right, so what was within
the mind of Adam? Everything’s got a mate, why haven’t I? And now God
recognizes it. That’s exactly what He said up in verse 18. You’ve got to go to
that. Genesis 2:18 “And the LORD God said,
It is not good that man should be alone; I will make an helpmeet for him.”
Someone who is called alongside to be equal with him. All right, so after
naming all the animals and impressing again, like I said, on his mind, why does
everything have a mate and I’m alone? Now then, verse 21: Genesis 2:21 “And the LORD God caused
a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; (Of course, I call this
the first anesthesia. God put him to sleep and did surgery.) and he took
one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;” So, God took
the Eve that was implanted when Adam was first made. I’d better go back and
show you. Because you know, this has thrown people a curve. They just can’t
get it through their heads that when God created Adam, only Adam appeared. But
on the other hand, Eve was also there. Go back to Genesis 1 verse 26. Genesis 1:26-27a “And God said, Let us
(The Triune God, that’s why it’s a plural pronoun.) make man in our
image, after our likeness: and let them (mankind) have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and
over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27. So God created man in his own image,…” Now we always have to
stop there. Did that mean that God already
had the features of a human being? No. God has been invisible. So, what part
of God was passed on to Adam? The invisible. The personality. I had to go
over this on the phone yesterday. When a lost person dies—don’t you believe
these false teachers who say that’s annihilation. That they don’t—no. Every
human being was created in the image of God, and that human being is going to
live as long as God lives. And how long is that? Forever. No human being
will ever die spiritually. They can’t. They are eternal, because God is. That’s why we have to stipulate
that the Lake of Fire is not just for a short period of time. It’s not
annihilation. The Scripture says over and over that it’s forever and ever. It
has to be, because man is eternal and will last forever. All right, back to Genesis
chapter 1. So, “God created man in his own image.” In the area
of the invisible. That part of us that’s invisible—the mind, the will, and the
emotions. We know they’re real. They’re there. You’ve got a mind or you
wouldn’t be here today. You’ve got a will or you wouldn’t be here today,
because the will has to make you make the move to get where you’re going. And
you’ve got a seat of emotions. I know you do, because some of you smile and
some of you don’t. Why? You’ve got a different set of emotions. But it’s the
human makeup. So has God. In fact, I’ve told people over
and over. You go back through your Scripture and study, and you will find that
God the Father has a mind, has will, and has emotion. God the Son has mind,
will, and emotion. God the Spirit, believe it or not, has mind, will, and
emotion. So, they are all three personalities, and the human makeup is
patterned after that. Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in
his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
But now you’ve got to be logical. How could he create Adam and Eve, both
living beings, when way back later Adam’s already named all the animals and
he’s still alone? Doesn’t add up. So, Eve was not a visible helpmeet until,
now go back to chapter 2, until God puts Adam to sleep. Anesthetizes him, does
surgery on him and brings the female out and makes her a fellow human being.
All right verse 22: Genesis 2:22 “And the rib, (I
like the Hebrew word much better – the Tselaw, which better translated is a
side chamber and so the Tselaw) which the LORD God had taken from man,
made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” Now, is that so hard
to understand? He just took something out of Adam that He had placed there at
the day of creation, and with it He formed the female of the species, the
woman. All right? And this is much later. He has already named all the
creatures of creation. And don’t tell me he did that in a split second of
time. I just won’t buy that. All right, now in verse 23 Adam
wakes up. What’s the first thing he sees? Well, it doesn’t say it, but good
grief, use a little imagination. What’s the first thing he sees? That
beautiful woman! And don’t tell me she wasn’t beautiful. God had a way with
making women beautiful in the Old Testament. Do you know that? There dear old
Sarah was 90 years old and she was still so beautiful that the king of Egypt wanted her in his harem. So don’t ever try and tell me God wasn’t interested in
beautiful women back here. So I know that Eve was something to behold. That’s
the first thing he sees. And now look what he says in verse 23. Genesis 2:23-24 “And Adam said, This is
now bone of my bones, (Why? Because, she was taken out of him.)
and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (Now, do you need any more? That’s so simple a five-year-old can understand
it.) 24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall
cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” All right, now I have to feel
that God did all this in human form. But, I say I shrink from it, I don’t like
to call it a theophany, because the word appear isn’t used here like it
is in the others, so I’m assuming, which normally I don’t like to do. But now
come across, at least in my Bible, to chapter 3 verse 8. Again we still don’t
have the word appear, but logic tells me that He must have been walking
in human form. This is just after they’ve sinned. They’re hiding, and verse 8
says: Genesis 3:8a “And they heard the voice
of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:…” Now
what’s the key word there to establish whether He’s in human form? Walking.
You know where I’ve learned
little things like that? Our Jewish guide in Israel. One time he said to our
tour group, do you know that this happened in the springtime? No, the Bible
doesn’t say it does. Well, he says you have to learn to read between the
lines. Where does he tell them to sit? Down on the grass. Now, he says, in Israel there’s only green grass for just a few months in the springtime. The rest of the
time it’s brown and dry. So, you have to do that with Scripture. You have to
take what you have got along with what you know and you can establish something
that’s pretty solid. All right, so here we’ve got the Lord walking. An
invisible Spirit isn’t spoken of as walking. Genesis 3:8b-9 “and Adam and his wife
hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God, amongst the trees of the
garden. 9. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art
thou?” Now that always raises my
eyebrows. Didn’t God know where they were? Of course He did! Nothing can be
hidden from Him. So, why the question? Well, now I’m going to remind you of
something. Do you realize that almost always in His earthly ministry, if not
always, when He approached someone and opened a conversation, how did He
start? With a question. Always with a question. Well, He started out that
way with Adam. The first thing He says is “Adam, where art thou?”
Not because He didn’t know. So,
what’s the purpose? He had to put Adam on the soapbox. Come on, Adam, tell me
where you are. Speak up. And after he tells him where he is, God says, “Who
told you were naked?” Well, God knew. But He wants Adam to speak it.
Always remember these things. That as the Lord, especially in His earthly
ministry, opens a conversation, He does it with a question. I think it’s a
good lesson for us. Iris and I have learned. You
know, we’re not normally among a lot of people. We’re out there in the
boondocks on the ranch. But yet we meet a lot of people in our seminars, and
you know, we’ve learned. How do you break the ice and get acquainted with
people? You ask a question. Just a simple question. How did you meet your
spouse? When did you get saved? All these things break the ice. Well, I take this as a lesson
from Scripture that the Lord always started out with a question of one sort or
another. Well anyway, here the Lord is confronting Adam and Eve after their
sin. I think I’m going to spend the last two minutes of this half hour on
verses 20 and 21 and 22, when once again I’m sure the Lord appeared in human
form. It doesn’t say it, and I’m careful to remind you of that. But according
to the details, I think He must have been in human form. Genesis 3:20 “And Adam called his
wife’s name Eve; (Now you want to remember, all through these chapters
since she appeared it’s been “the woman.” The woman—but now, all of a sudden
out of the blue, Adam calls her Eve.) because she was the mother of all
living.” Well, how in the world did Adam know that she was going to be
the mother of all living? All they had heard was that the day they eatest thou
shall surely what? Die. Well, dead people don’t have
children. So, how did Adam understand that she was going to live to see the
day of raising children? Now come on, think! God must have told them. When
God tells us something, what does He expect us to do? Believe it. And when
you believe what God says, He calls it what? Faith. Now, I did this not too
many weeks ago. What are the prerequisites for salvation? “Without the
shedding of blood there is no remission,” and “Without faith it
is impossible to please God.” All right, Adam and Eve
fulfilled those right here. Adam shows his faith by believing what God has
said concerning the woman, and he calls her Eve because she is the mother of
all living. All right, now you come over to verse 21. Genesis 3:21 “Unto Adam also and to
his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” Now
goodness sakes, you know God didn’t skin those animals live, so what did He
have to do? He killed them. And in the killing what do you suppose He used?
The blood. Because it was a prerequisite, it was mandatory “that without
the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin.” All right, so now we’ve got
Adam’s faith by calling his wife’s name Eve. We’ve got God supplying the
sacrificial animals; their blood was shed. Then by virtue of their saving
relationship, they’re brought back into fellowship. God clothed
them with what? Righteousness. Exactly. We haven’t got time to look, but you
go to Isaiah 61, and I think it is verse 10, and what does it say? Isaiah 61:10b “…for he hath clothed me
with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of
righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride
adorneth herself with her jewels.” That’s what God has done. Not just
for Adam and Eve, but for every believer. We’re covered. We’re clothed with
His righteousness. And you know, I don’t know about you, but I know how I
feel. I’m glad God doesn’t see me, but only the righteousness of Christ that
covers me. I want to again remind our
audience of the one and only book we’ve ever published, and yet it’s been so
well received. It’s just amazing how they keep going out. We go to seminars
and they go by the box full. If you are interested in that, it’s eighty-eight
questions and answers taken from our program material and covers the whole
gambit, and the cost is only $11. This book saves me a lot of letter writing,
instead of having to answer them all. I do answer questions in long
hand, and you know why? I don’t want people to think that someone like a staff
member is answering my mail. We do it ourselves. And they may have a hard
time reading my handwriting. We thank you so much out there in television for
all your prayers and your letters of encouragement. My, as I’ve said before,
mail time is the best time of the day. And then your financial help, we never
ask for money, never have had to and the Lord provides, but we still have to
thank you for it. And it is the same way with all of you here. All right, we’re going to keep
on with our teaching this afternoon on Theophanies. If we get beyond them,
we’ll go on to some of the appearances of God in the incarnate. But hopefully
we can spend the afternoon on the Old Testament Theophanies. We’re going to
bring you now up to Genesis chapter 12, where we have the next direct spoken appearance
of God the Son. As I mentioned in the last half-hour, whenever you have God
speaking or creating, or doing anything, I think I’m without danger of being in
error when I say it’s always God the Son. God the Son is always the Creator.
He’s always the One who speaks things and they happen. And He’s the One that always
has direct contact with the human race. Now, like I said, in programs
to come we’ll be dealing with the work of the Holy Spirit, but that’s something
totally different. When God the Son speaks and creation happens, yes, the Holy
Spirit is involved; so is the Father. But the Scripture, especially in the New
Testament, gives all the credit for it to God the Son. All right, let’s come back to
Genesis chapter 12 for a moment. We’ll start at verse 1. We’ve jumped several
hundred years now from Adam. We’re up to Abraham at about 2,000 B.C. Genesis 12:1a “Now the LORD…”
Now again the word LORD, capitalized, is Jehovah. And Jehovah is the I AM.
And the I AM is God the Son. So, here we come right back full circle. We’re
dealing with God the Son. Genesis 12:1 “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.” All right, but now
the word appeared still doesn’t come up, does it? And as I said in the last
program, I am a little uncomfortable if I can’t use the word appeared. Now, I’m going to bring you all
the way up to Acts chapter 7, where we have Stephen giving the whole rehearsal
of Israel’s history starting with Abraham. And he uses the word that I’m
looking for. Acts chapter 7, starting at verse 1, I always like to give you
time to look. I had a letter the other day thanking us for giving time,
because I think all of our listeners must use their Bible while they listen to
the program. And that’s the only way we would have it. So we do want to give
you time to find these verses and see them with your own eyes, because most
people just do not know how to read and see what they’re reading. They read,
but they don’t see it. All right, chapter 7 verse 1, and we’ve been dealing
with Stephen up in chapter 6. Acts 7:1-2 “Then said the high
priest, Are these things so? (And Stephen answers.) 2. Men,
brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory (What’s the word?) appeared
unto our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran.” Now the word appeared there is the Greek word optomahei,
from which we get optometry. And it literally is translated—visibly seen. Stephen, by inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, makes it plain that the God of glory appeared visibly, physically,
in a theophany. He did not take on human flesh like Christ did at Bethlehem,
but He merely appeared to Abraham in human form and then went up from Abraham,
as we’re going to see in one of the other accounts in a little bit. He left off
and went up from Abraham. No doubt back into that invisible Godhead that we
pointed out in our last program. All right, now if you’ll come
back with me to Genesis chapter 12, here God appears to this pagan citizen of Ur of the Chaldees, evidently knowing that he had the ability to believe and be obedient to
what He would have done. So Abram then becomes the key player from 2,000 B.C.
right on up through to our present day. Because everything in our Christian
gospel—our Messiah, the Redeemer, the Savior, however you want to refer to
Christ—naturally has to go back to this promise made to Abraham. All right,
chapter 12 verse 1 again. Genesis 12:1-2a “Now the LORD had said
(having had appeared) 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: 2. And I will make of thee a great nation,…” Now, never forget
or lose sight of the fact, who’s making it happen? God is! This isn’t just an
accident of genealogy. This is a particular act of God that brings about the
nation of Israel. Genesis 12:2-3a “And I will make of thee
a great nation, and 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 that
curseth thee:…” And history has proven that over and over. When a king
or a kingdom or an empire turns on the Nation of Israel, in time, not always
immediately, the wrath of God will fall upon them. And that’s why we are so
stressing constantly that you pray for America that we will never turn on His
people, the Nation of Israel. All right, but then the last
part of verse 3 is where you and I come in. Two thousand years before Christ
but already we have the plan of salvation for the Gentile world alluded to. Genesis 12:3b “…and in thee (In
this man Abram, as he’s still called here, in this man Abram.) shall all
families of the earth be blessed.” Now of course, that’s a reference
to the fact that the Messiah would come to the Nation of Israel, and as the
rejected Messiah then became the epitome of the work of the cross. All right,
so here we have God the Son starting the Nation of Israel on its role through
human history by an appearance to this great man of faith, Abraham. All right, now then, if you’ll
go with me to chapter 17. We come over to the birth of Ishmael. Isaac has not
yet been born. Abram thinks, of course, that Ishmael is all he needs to get a
nation of people going. But in Genesis 17 verse 1, we’ve got the word that I’m
always looking for. Genesis 17:1 “And when Abram was
ninety years old and nine, (That’s almost a hundred.) the LORD
(Now what’s the word?) appeared (Visibly. Physically. In human
form. Temporarily.) unto Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty
God; (Now, the Hebrew word there is El Shaddai, the Almighty.) walk
before me, and be thou perfect.” In other words, be upright and be a
mature man of faith. Genesis 17:2-3a “And I will make my
covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
(Now, you see how this has to come from Deity? Nobody but the Creator God
could make those kind of statements. But God can.) 3. And Abram fell on
his face: and God…” Don’t forget, where does God the Son come out of?
The invisible Godhead. In fact, I always have to do
this, can’t help it. Jump up with me to Exodus chapter 3. The burning bush,
it has got to be Exodus chapter 3. Just to make the point how that these terms
of Deity become interchangeable. Even though we’re only dealing with One person
of the Three, and it’s God the Son, all the terms of Deity apply. Exodus
chapter 3 verse 5, it’s when Moses is confronted with the burning bush out
there on the desert. Exodus 3:5-6 “And he said, Draw not
nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou
standest is holy ground. 6. Moreover he said, (Now watch this
carefully.) I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look
upon God.” All right, now as you come down
through the account of Moses dealing with God in the burning bush, you come all
the way down to verse 11. Exodus 3:11-12 “And Moses said
unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring
forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12. And he said,
Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have
sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall
serve God upon this mountain.” All right, now we come to verse 13,
where Moses said: Exodus 3:13 “And Moses said unto God,
Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The
God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is
his name? what shall I say unto them?” Remember when we taught
this not too long ago on the daily program? Why was Moses immediately
interested in His name? Because every god in Egypt had a name. That was just
part of his Egyptian culture. If you’re a god, you’ve got to have a name. So
that is what Moses is anticipating. The children of Israel are going to say,
well, what is His name? Exodus 3:14 “And God said unto Moses,
I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” Now, all the way through here we find this
burning bush voice. I don’t think it was an appearance here. That’s why it’s
not in my list of Theophanies. But here this voice is the voice of God, and
what person of the Godhead? God the Son. Well, now the first question the
doubter may say is, how do you know it’s God the Son? Well, the I AM THAT I
AM. Turn back with me to John’s
Gospel. That’s why we have to go back Old and New, it’s the only way it makes
sense. Now, you come back to John’s Gospel chapter 8, and we’ve done this
before. But repetition is the mother of learning. So, I never really
apologize for repetition. But on the other hand, I sometimes shrink from it a
little. All right, here in John’s Gospel chapter 8 you remember that the
religious leaders of Israel are trying to trap Him one way or another. And
then in verse 48: John 8:48 “Then answered the Jews,
and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a
demon? (What an accusation, just awful.) 49. Jesus answered, I
have not a demon; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.” So,
the conversation carries on up to verse 52. John 8:52-55a “Then said the Jews unto
him, (Now this is Jesus, of course. I trust you know that. This is
His earthly ministry.) Now we know that thou hast a demon. Abraham is
dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall
never taste of death. 53. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is
dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? 54. Jesus
answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my father who honoureth
me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: 55. Yet ye have not known him;…” Boy, now that was quite an
accusation to the Jew, wasn’t it? Because the Jew figured that by being the
child and son of Abraham they had everything they needed. No, they didn’t.
They were still without saving faith, even though they were under the covenant
promises. All right, so Jesus makes it so plain that of “whom you say he
is your God yet you have not known him.” They were religious, but
what? Lost. Lost. Oh, they had all the religion in the world, but they knew
nothing of God. And Jesus makes it plain. John 8:55-57 “Yet ye have not known
him; but I know him; and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar
like unto you: (What a statement! Almost unbelievable, isn’t it?) but
I know him, and keep his saying. 56. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my
day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not
yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?” See how this fits
with our theophany? Of course He did. Face to face! All right, then verse
58, here’s why I know the I AM of the burning bush was God the Son. John 8:58 “Jesus said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, (What?) I AM.”
And what was the name of God in the burning bush? I AM. And so all through
the Book of John, especially, He is constantly referring to Himself as the
great I AM. All right, now if you’ll come
back with me to Genesis once again, to chapter 17. We find that--oh, I knew a
point I was going to make at the beginning of the last program. I mean maybe
that’s where I should make a note or two. That might help. You know a lot of
people question, “Well, doesn’t the Bible say that no man can ever look on God
at any time and live?” Yes, that’s what the Bible
says. Well, then how can you sit up there and teach that here He appeared to
Adam and Eve. He appeared to Abraham, and they looked on God. All right, now
what’s the big difference? No human being has ever looked in on or has seen
the invisible Godhead. And if they were to, it would be instant death. That’s
what the Scripture means when it says that no man has ever seen God. They have
never seen this invisible Godhead. But that doesn’t mean they can’t see God
the Son. Got that? And that’s why we
can take these verses, and you’re going to see more and more. I think the most
obvious one is Jacob, and he names the place Peniel. Why? For I have seen
God. How? Face to face. Well, it didn’t kill him, because he wasn’t looking
at the invisible Triune God. He was dealing with God the Son. Okay, so back
to Genesis chapter 17. And again, God appeared unto him and He said: Genesis 17:1b “…I AM the Almighty God;…”
I AM the El Shaddai. And He promises this covenant promise between God and the
Nation of Israel. And then it’s up here in verse 4. Genesis 17:4-5 “As for me, behold, my
covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 5. Neither
shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a
father of many nations have I made thee.” Now, you want to remember that
He does the same thing with Sarai. He changes her name from Sarai to Sarah,
which brings in the letter ‘h,’ which is the fifth letter of the Hebrew
alphabet. That is the letter of, or the number of, Grace. So, it is God’s
Grace that brings about the promises made with Abram and Sarai. All right, now I think we can
go from Genesis 17 to, let’s see, let’s go to another one. Back up a chapter to
chapter 16. Now we’re going to deal with Hagar, which means that God doesn’t
appear just to the godly men. He sometimes appears to the secular, the
unbelieving. And Hagar, of course, would be in that category. Hagar was the
Egyptian gal from whom Ishmael was born. But nevertheless, God deals with her
on a face-to-face basis. All right, in Genesis chapter 16 we’re going to
take…it’s been a long time since we’ve taught Genesis. Even though you’ve been
seeing it in the reruns, I’m comfortable with going over it again. Here in chapter 16, after
having been promised a son that would bring about a nation of people, Abram
gets impatient, doesn’t he? Well, time is going by. Years are going by and
still no son. So, of his own volition and Sarah of course encouraging it, he
has a child by the slave girl Hagar. All right, now you know the story. I
think I can bring it in up at verse 4, where he and Sarai have connived
together that he would have a child by this slave girl, which was in accord
with the laws of Hammurabi. It wasn’t immoral according to their custom. So,
we can’t put any sinful connotation on it, except that God wasn’t in it. This
is something they did without God’s instructions. Genesis 16:4 “And he went in unto
Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress
was despised in her eyes.” Well, of course that goes back again to
Middle Eastern customs. To have a son is the greatest thing that a woman can
do. All right, verse 5: Genesis 16:5 “And Sarai said unto Abram,
My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid unto thy bosom; and when she saw
that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: Now the LORD
judge between me and thee. 6. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is
in thy hand; (She’s yours. You’re the one that’s in control of Hagar.)
do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she
fled from her face.” Now verse 7: Genesis 16:7 “And the angel of the
LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the
way to Shur.” Now, I’ve got to stop again. I have to be careful,
because there are some of our, what we call cults, who claim that Christ is
nothing more than an angel, and they like to quote a verse like this to back up
their false teachings. So, let’s right off the bat stop and let’s pick up who
the angel of the LORD is, so that there’s no mistaking it. Come ahead with me to Genesis
chapter 48 verse 16. Genesis 48. We have to use these little tidbits of
Scripture to solidify our thinking. Just because He’s now called angel of the
LORD doesn’t mean that He’s less than Deity. It doesn’t mean that He’s part of
the angelic hosts at all, because here Scripture defines it. Genesis 48 verse
16. Jacob is of course on his deathbed, and he’s pouring out his blessing on
the sons, verse 16. Genesis 48:16 “The Angel who redeemed
me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the
name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the
midst of the earth.” All right, but the key part here is, the Angel who
what? Redeemed. How many Redeemers in Scripture? One! There is one Redeemer
in Scripture. So the Angel of the LORD, the Angel who redeemed, is still God
the Son. So, when Hagar—now come back
with me to Genesis 16—we find that Hagar is confronted in a theophany the same
way that Adam and Eve were. The same way that Abraham was. And now she says
it in plain English in verse 8. But first I’ve got to read verse 7 so that you
don’t forget where we came from. Genesis 16:7-11a “And the angel of the
LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the
way to Shur. 8. And he (the Angel of the Lord) said, Hagar,
Sarai’s maid, whence comest thou? (Where’d you come from?) and
whether wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress
Sarai. 9. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and
submit thyself under her hands. 10. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I
will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered
for multitude. 11. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art
with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;…”
Now, who but God could make statements like that? Well, they can’t. So we’re
still dealing with God the Son. All right, now come all the way down to verse
13. Genesis 16:13-16 “And she called the name
of the LORD that spoke unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also
here looked after him that seeth me? 14. Wherefore the well was called
Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15. And Hagar bare
Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. 16.
And Abram was fourscore and six year old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. “ But the point we want to make
is that she says here that, “have I also looked after Him that seeth me?”
She was on a face-to-face confrontation with God the Son. Now we can come back once more,
I think we’ve got a minute of time. If not, we’ll continue it in the next
program. And that’s right on into chapter 18. And once again we come back to
Abraham. Genesis chapter 18, and we start right at verse 1. The word is just
going to jump right off the page, isn’t it? What is it? Appeared! Genesis 18:1-3 “And the LORD appeared
unto him (Abraham) in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent
door in the heat of the day; 2. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo,
three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent
door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3. And said, My Lord, if now I have
found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:” Well, now I haven’t got time to
go any further here in this program. We’ll pick it up in the next one. But I
usually make the emphasis that here in verse 3, when he uses the term “My
Lord,” he’s not using the term Deity, Adonai. He’s merely respecting
these three wayfaring men. So he refers to them like we would say, “sir,” “If
now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away.” Now again, I’m making that
point because I do not think that he recognized the Lord in His theophany here,
as he saw him back in a previous one. But, we’ll cover that in the next
program, maybe to your satisfaction. But always remember, that the Scripture
is so adamant and is so clear that when there were these appearances, it was
Deity who was speaking—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
and the God of Scripture. So, we’ll leave it at that, and we’ll pick it up in
our next program. We want to welcome our TV audience
and thank you for everything that you do on our behalf: the prayers, your
gifts, and everything. We’ve been on a lot of seminars lately. What a joy to
meet people person-to-person. I guess the favorite word we hear is “I watch
you every day.” That word “every” just sort of puts the frosting on the
cake. There’s a gentleman right there, and we like that, that they get
interested in the Word and not Les Feldick, but it’s the Word of God that is
interesting. All right, Genesis chapter 18,
we’ll start back at the beginning, again. We’re still talking about the
Theophanies, where God the Son steps out of the invisible Godhead and becomes a
visible appearance to these men and women in the Old Testament. Remember, that
once we get to His birth at Bethlehem, we call it the incarnate. And I
didn’t realize until the other day that incarnate is not a biblical
word. You know, we’ve got a lot of words we think are biblical and they’re
not. Trinity is one. Sovereign is one. And this is another one. You don’t
find the word incarnate in the Scripture, but all of the things that it
pertains to are. So anyway, once we get to the incarnate Christ after His birth
at Bethlehem, we’ll have no more Theophanies. Don’t need to, because He now
appears in a literal, physical body. All right, so Genesis 18, we have another
theophany in verse 1 where it begins “The LORD.” Now, here it’s
all four letters capitalized, so it’s Jehovah, God the Son, the great I AM. Genesis 18:1 “And the LORD appeared (visibly)
unto him (that is Abraham) in the plains of Mamre: (Which
is down there south of present day Jerusalem toward the area of Beersheba.) and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;” Now this is Middle East. This is desert. And of course Middle Eastern customs have been the same for
centuries upon centuries. And part of the desert culture was hospitality. When
strangers came by, it was only natural to offer food and drink. And this is
what you have here. You have a typical Middle Eastern act of hospitality.
Abram had no idea, or Abraham now, he had no idea who these three men were. Genesis 18:2-3a “And he lift up his eyes
and looked, and, lo, three men (doesn’t say angels) stood by him:
and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed
himself to the ground, 3. And said, My Lord,…” Now, as I mentioned in
the last half-hour, this was merely a term of respect, recognizing a stranger
and giving him welcome. Genesis 18:3-4a And said, My Lord, if now
I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee from thy servant:
4. Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched,…” Now, I don’t have to
tell you that water is the chief commodity in the Middle East. And we find that
out especially during some of the times we’ve been over there. The Sea of
Galilee is way, way down, and we were clear down at Petra. Here was water all the way down
to the far end of Petra and the washrooms and everything were still flushing.
And I asked one of the guides, “Where in the world do you get the water. Here
we are in the middle of the desert?” Where do you suppose? The Sea of Galilee. That was all part of an agreement between Israel and Jordan—that Israel would provide so many millions of gallons, or so many acre-feet, of water from
the Sea of Galilee. And even though it was drying up, they would not
relinquish those contracts. You’ve got to remember that Israel has to put up with an awful lot that the world knows nothing of. But they kept their word
and provided the water. But, my point is made. When you get into the deserts
of the Middle East, water is preeminent. All right, so he says: Genesis 18:4-5 “Let a little water, I
pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
5. And I will fetch you a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after
that ye shall pass on: (He wasn’t expecting anything more.) for
therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast
said.” So he does. Now, I don’t know how in the world he got a calf
dressed and fixed this quickly, but maybe they were there longer than we
thought. But anyway-- Genesis 18:6-8 “And Abraham hastened
into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine
meal, knead it, and made cakes upon the hearth. 7. And Abraham ran unto the
herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he
hasted to dress it. 8. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had
dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree,
(Now this really blows you away.) and they did (What?) eat.”
Now, we know who these three men are. Abraham didn’t. But knowing that they
are angels, doesn’t it kind of throw a curve at you that they ate? But they
did. Well, if I had time, we’d go
all the way up to Christ’s resurrection body. You remember on one of those
mornings the guys had been fishing all night. Yes, heads are nodding. You know
what I’m going to talk about. And He asked them, “Have you caught any
fish?” They answered, “No.” We Okie’s would say
“skunked,” didn’t get a bite. And you know what He did. He said, “Throw
the net on the other side of the boat,” and they came in. But in the
meantime, what did He already have cooking on the fire? Bread and fish. And
then it goes on to say that—what did He do? He ate—in that resurrected body. Now, those are all just little
tidbits of information, you see, that enlighten us on some things. When we get
into the eternal abode, yes, we’re going to be able to eat. There won’t be any
need for sanitation and so forth, because it’s going to be a body that will
totally consume whatever it eats, evidently. But here we have it again, that
even these angels, one of whom, of course, is the Lord Himself in a theophany,
and they ate. That’s what the Book says. Genesis 18:9 “And they said unto him,
Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.” Now again,
I always have to stop because these come from experiences. One of the early
trips we made to Israel was back in about 1975, and we could still go just
about everywhere. There was no intifada in those days. And one of the places
we stopped was an Arab Sheik in his tent clear out there on the desert. Way
out beyond even Beersheba. He had this big tent in the front. I’m sure it was
a tourist trap, but whatever. It made good tourism. We were about 30 people.
We get out and go in this old, big open tent, and the Sheik is fixing coffee,
if you could call it that. But anyway, the amazing thing was, while we were
sitting there in the tent, there were about 30 of us, and about 24 little Arab
kids were all over her (Iris). Just all over her. Picking at her hair and
looking at her ring. Where in the world could 24 kids come from? And the old
man made just one bark after a little while, and they all disappeared. Well you see, after we finished
our coffee and were heading back to the bus, all these kids come back again,
and she was their main target. Then we asked the guide, where do all these
kids from? He said, “Look out behind.” Well, there were four tents. What
were the four tents? Four wives. Between the four wives the old boy had 24
kids. But, you see, that’s Middle Eastern life. It’s still the same. You go
over to Israel today, and you drive between Jerusalem and Jericho, and you’ll
still see the Bedouin tents out there. Black as coal. That’s their
lifestyle. It hasn’t changed a bit in all the millennia of time. All right, so here’s Sarah, no
doubt in her own tent, behind the main tent. So he says, “She’s in the
tent.” Now then verse 10: Genesis 18:10-11 “And he said, I will
certainly return unto thee according to the time of life, and, lo, Sarah thy
wife shall have a son. (Now remember, how old is Sarah? Ninety)
And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 11. Now Abraham and
Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after
the manner of women.” Genesis 18:12-13a “Therefore Sarah laughed
within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord
being old also? (Now the word lord there is used with a small l.)
13. And the LORD (Jehovah again. God the Son. The Theophany.) said
unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh,…” Now, are you picturing this
taking place now, like four ordinary human beings, five now with Sarah? Are
you picturing it that way? Here we have all the appearances of three wayfaring
strangers, men, Abraham and Sarah. Nothing of an angelic aura or anything
about them. Genesis 18:13-14a “And the LORD said unto
Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child,
which am old? 14. Is anything too hard for the LORD?...” Now, I have
to stop again. What do you suppose Abraham is now suddenly realizing? I’ve
talked to this individual before! He must have looked different, or he would
have recognized him. I’ve talked to him before! When? When He appeared at
the time of the Abrahamic Covenant, and when He appeared unto Hagar, and all
these other times. All of a sudden, I’m sure; it dawned upon Abraham who he
was really talking to. All right, now it even gets plainer as we go on. Genesis 18:14 “Is any thing too hard
for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the
time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” Now stop and think. Who but
God can make a statement like that? Well, nobody can. But God can. He knew
what He was talking about, and it happened. All right, verse 15: Genesis 18:15 “Then Sarah denied,
saying, I laughed not; (Can’t you hear her? These people are just as
human as anybody else. Now all of a sudden she’s got to start backtracking.
She’s talking to the Lord of Glory, no, I didn’t laugh.) for she was
afraid. And he (the Lord) said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.” Genesis 18:16-18 “And the men rose up from
thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on
the way. 17. And the Lord said, (one of the three) Shall I hide
from Abraham that thing which I do; 18. Seeing that Abraham shall surely become
a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in
him?” See, there’s a repetition of the Abraham Covenant, again. Genesis 18:19-20 “For I know him,
(the Lord says) that he will command his children and his household after
him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that
the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. 20. And the
LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their
sin is very grievous;” And you all know what that was. Genesis 18:21-23 “I will go down now, and
see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come
unto me; and if not, I will know. 22. And the men turned their faces from
thence, and went toward Sodom: (That is the other two of the three.) but
Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 23. And Abraham drew near, (To
God the Son in a theophany, a human form, face to face.) and said, Wilt
thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” All right, you all know the
account of how God and Abraham are going to discuss the future of these wicked
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And I think it’s a good way to look at America today. We’re getting closer and closer to this whole Sodom and Gomorrah
situation. I know I pray, and I want you to pray, “Well, Lord, if you’d have
spared Sodom for 50, won’t you spare America for a few million?” I’m not
saying He will, but I think it’s a legitimate prayer, that God will spare America for the sake of us believers. But then on the other hand, I
have to remember, and I remember stressing it when we were teaching the Book of
Isaiah. Even though there was a remnant of righteous in Israel when God’s wrath fell, like with the invasion of the Babylonians, were the believers spared?
No. They suffered right along with the rest of the nation. So, we have to
take these things for what they’re worth. But on the other hand, I love these
verses just for that basis that I can go to the Lord and I say, “Now, Lord, as
long as there is a remnant of believers, can you spare America until we hear our trumpet call?” Which we trust is coming close. In fact, I guess I can share
this. When the Virginia Tech thing happened, of course my phone rings off the
wall with, “Well, what is all this?” Well, yes, this is end-time. This is a
sign of the times. That’s the way I’ve been starting most of my seminars
lately. When the Lord confronted the Pharisees, or they confronted Him, what
did He tell them? He said, “You hypocrites. You can look at the sky
this afternoon and foretell the weather tomorrow. You look at the sky in the
morning and it’s red and lowering, and you say, it’s going to be a poor day. But
you can’t discern the signs of the times.” Well now, what was He talking
about? Those religious leaders of Israel should have known, on the basis of
Old Testament prophecy, that they were now in the fourth of Daniel’s empires.
Everything concerning the coming of Christ in His first Advent was in place.
They should have known that this was the promised Messiah. But did they? They
didn’t have a clue. Well, we’re the same way today. My, we should be able to
look at the signs of the times and know that the end is upon us. But do they?
They haven’t got a clue. You know, we’ve got a lady up
in Twin Cities, Minnesota. I’ve been interviewed on her radio program more
than once, and she’s on the same page scripturally with me 100%. And she was
interviewing—I don’ t like to name names, but since it was on the radio and
there was nothing secret about it, he was a Lutheran pastor. In fact, he was
the pastor of the huge church where we always hold our seminars when we’re up
there. She had called him in for an interview, because she had heard that he
had just recently come out of that replacement theology, covenant theology, and
had recognized that indeed Israel was where they belong according to prophecy. Somebody taped it for me. I
can quote from that tape without apology. She asked him, “Now pastor--” (He
was a Ph.D. Now this will be playing in Minnesota, so I’ll probably get feedback.)
She said, “Now, Pastor, when you were in seminary, didn’t you students ever
talk about end-time prophecy?” He said “Never. Never.” “Well,” she said,
“up until just (then) recently, didn’t you ever get together with your fellow
pastors and talk about end-time things?” “Never.” She said, “Well, then what
in the world got you to change your mind?” “Israel.” And that’s the point I’m
constantly making. If ever there is a sign of the times, it’s the Nation of
Israel. They’re there by no human endeavor. They should have never survived
these last 2,000 years, but there they are! A miracle of history! And yet
people cannot see it. But here we have it—that over and over the signs of the
times should tell us something. So anyway, getting back to Virginia
Tech, why do I call this a sign of the times? Well, the Lord Himself says
that, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the coming of the
Son of man.” Well all right, now all people think of as the sign of
Noah is the flood. But go back before the flood a little ways. What was the
picture? The world was filled with what? Violence. You want to see it with
your own eyes? Come back to Genesis chapter 6, because this is what we mean by
the signs of the times. Not just necessarily the flood waters, the
destruction, but what was the moral climate of the world in general just before
the flood. I guess I can find the first
one real easy, verse 13, but I thought there was another one. Verse 5. Yeah,
we can use that one. See, this is the moral climate, that’s the best way I can
explain it. Just before the flood, verse 5, of Genesis 6. Genesis 6:5-7 “And God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6. And it repented (In
other words, it made the Lord sorry.) the Lord that he had
made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7. And the LORD said, I
will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and
beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me
that I have made them.” But then you come all the way down to verse
11. Genesis 6:11a “The earth also was
corrupt…” Oh, you see that word in the paper every day lately, don’t
you? Everybody is corrupt. The corporate big wigs are corrupt. Politicians
are corrupt. Everything is feeding on corruption. And it isn’t just America, it’s all over. My, the traffic in women and children, it’s just sickening. But
what’s at the root of it? Corruption. Men that are nothing but greedy for the
filthy lucre that they can gain. All right, that’s the way it was before the
flood. Genesis 6:11 “The earth also was
corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with (What?) violence.”
What’s violence? Killing each other. All right, then come on down to verse
13. It’s repeated for emphasis. Genesis 6:13 “And God said unto Noah,
the end of all flesh has come before me; for the earth is filled with violence
through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” In
other words, I put it this way. To instantly kill all those innocent, little
children in the opening hours of the flood was an act of mercy. Because had
they kept on living, what would they have finally succumbed to? Murder. And
violence. All right, we’re getting there
fast. So, whenever you see these horrendous acts of violence, whether it’s in Baghdad or whether it’s in Virginia Tech or whether it’s in California, it makes no
difference. It’s just a sign of the times, beloved, that the end is getting
near. Okay, where was I—back in
Genesis chapter 18? And now start at verse 24, and we’re going to pick this
up. Like I said, just picture ourselves in America today. Go before the Lord
and just beg Him, that Lord, for the sake of the believers spare America, because we know that judgment is coming. Genesis 18:24 “Peradventure there be
fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place
for the fifty that are righteous that are therein?” Now, for sake of
time, verse 26. Genesis 18:26-27a “And the LORD said, if I
find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place
for their sake. 27. And Abraham answered…” Now evidently Abraham had a
pretty good idea, don’t you suppose? Or he wouldn’t have kept coming down. Genesis 18:27-32 “And Abraham answered and
said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but dust
and ashes. (Now see, he knows who he’s talking to, remember? He knows
he’s talking to the God of glory.) 28. Peradventure there shall lack five
of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for the lack of five?
And he said, If I find there forty and five I will not destroy it. 29. And he
spake unto him yet again, (Can you just, can you sense Abraham? My,
how he was pleading, and he says:) Peradventure there shall be forty
found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. 30. And he said
unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there
shall thirty be found there? And he said, I will not do it, if I
find thirty there. 31. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak
unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there? And he said, I
will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. (And he still keeps going.)
32. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this
once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy
it for ten’s sake.” Now, isn’t it amazing that in
these cities, now they were not like New York, of course, but they were pretty
good-sized cities for that day and time, and not even ten believers could be
found? Now, the verse that I wanted you to see before we go on from here is
verse 33. Genesis 18:33 “And the LORD went his
way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto
his place.” Of course the Lord went on up into the invisible again,
until it was time to reappear in another theophany. All right, now to pick up the
other two angels, so that we know what we’re talking about, you’ve got to go
into chapter 19 for a moment. Here are the other two of the three in chapter
18. Verse 1: Genesis 19:1a “And there came two
angels…” The same two that ate with Abraham and the Lord back in chapter
18. Those were all three heavenly creatures in what we would call a
theophany. All right, now let’s jump up to
chapter 26. Now we come to the next generation, and it’s Isaac. And still God
is going to appear in human form, temporarily, and then go back up into the
invisible Godhead. Genesis 26:1 “There was a famine in
the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of
Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.”
Now you’ve got to know your Old Testament geography. Gerar, of course, was on
the border between present day, like Gaza and Egypt now, on that neck of the Mediterranean Sea. Genesis 26:2 “And the LORD
(What’s the word?) appeared (Here we have it again, the same
word. All of a sudden, in human form out of the invisible Godhead, He comes
down.) unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land
which I shall tell thee of:” Now, I don’t know how many of you thought
of it anytime all afternoon. How long does it take the Lord to travel from
Heaven to earth. That’s an ambiguous question, isn’t it? But even on
resurrection morning, where did the Lord go after He had told Martha, don’t
touch Me? Well, He went to Glory. He went up to the heavens. And He
presented His shed blood as the atoning blood in the holy of holies in Heaven,
and then before time goes by, He appears again to Thomas and the rest of the
Twelve. Well I wonder, how long did it
take? Must be a split second. And the same way here. I don’t think the Lord
had to travel hours and hours to come down and appear to these people. It’s an
interesting thought, you know, because one of these days we’re going to make
that same trip ourselves. And it’s not going to take long, and we’re going to
be translated from here to there. Well, anyway, we’re not going
to get very far with Isaac. But we’ll do like we did before, we’ll go as far as
we can, and then we’ll come back. He appears to Isaac, because this is an
important change in everything pertaining to God and the Children of Israel. Genesis 26:2-3 “And the LORD appeared
unto him and said, Go not down into Egypt; (Now, that was a specific
instruction to Isaac. Go not down into Egypt. Well, he’s on the border you
see. He’s not very far from Egypt.) dwell in the land which I shall tell
thee of: (That was the Promised Land, the land of Canaan.) 3.
Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee,
and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath
which I swear unto Abraham thy father;”. Again, I want to thank all you
folks for coming in and making this possible. For those of you out in
television, again we never want to forget to thank you for everything. Your
loyalty and your faithfulness—how we appreciate that. All right, we’re going to keep
right on going on the Theophanies today. I think we can finish up most of
them. We’re going to jump back to where we left off in Genesis chapter 26 with
Isaac. And the reason I’m using this is because again the word is used that
the Lord “appeared” to him. Genesis 26:2a “The LORD appeared unto
him, and said, Go not down into Egypt;” Plain language? Can’t get any
plainer, can it? Go not down into Egypt. All right, now here’s where
people get curves thrown at them. They say, “Well, the Scripture contradicts
itself.” Well, on the surface maybe it does. But God changes His program from
time to time. Now come back with me just for comparison sake to chapter 46,
where God doesn’t give us a theophany. He, in a vision, speaks to Jacob. Now
this is interesting. On the one hand, face-to-face with Isaac, He says don’t
you go down into Egypt. You stay back here in Canaan, and I’ll take care of
you. But now 100 years later look at the difference. Genesis chapter 46 and
we’ll start at verse 1, just for comparison sake. Genesis 46:1 “And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices unto the
God of his father Isaac.” This is all down in what today is called the
Negev. This is that area south of Jerusalem, south even of Hebron, which is
due east of Egypt. Genesis 46:2-3 “And God spake unto Israel (that is Jacob) in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob.
And he said, Here am I. (Now watch verse 3.) 3. And he said, I
am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; (For what reason?) for I will there (in Egypt) make of thee a
great nation:” Opposite directions? Just as
opposite as you can get. On the one hand Isaac is told you stay here in Canaan. Don’t even think about going down into Egypt, because Egypt was the world. That’s
where later on the nation in general got in trouble. Because if they heard of a
Babylonian invasion, who would they run to for help? Well, the Egyptians. If
they thought the Egyptians were invading, who would they run to for help? The
Syrians. And God said you don’t need outside help. You rely on Me. But now here
God has the whole plan of the establishment of the Nation of Israel. While
they were under slavery in Egypt is when they really became a Nation. So, if it ever comes up in your
Sunday school class or a discussion about where did the Nation of Israel really
come together – it’s while they were in Egypt. And then when the Nation is now
well on its way, all the tribes are established. Then God raises up Moses. He
sends Moses in to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt. If you noticed in the programs
lately, I made the point that when they came out of Egypt did they come out
like a bunch of ragtag know-nothings? No. They were what. Organized. Every
tribe had its own banner, its own standard. And when they encamped, it was
always in the same order—Judah to the east, and then three tribes and three
tribes and so forth. But just for the sake of comparison now, yes, God told
Isaac go NOT down into Egypt. Then He turns around and He tells Jacob to fear
not, because after all food was down there; Joseph was down there. And God
knows that the Nation will begin to appear under slavery in Egypt. All right, now then, if we can
come back to chapter 26 for a little bit. Reading on in verse 3 the
instructions to Isaac are: Genesis 26:3 “Sojourn (or remain)
in this land, (That is the land of Canaan, up there between the
Mediterranean and the Jordan.) and I will be with thee, and I will bless
thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I
will perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father:” Now to me, the very fact that
He’s standing there before Isaac as one man to another, this makes it all the
more believable than if it would have been a vision or if it would have been a
prophet. This is from God Himself. He means what He says. It’s going to
happen. And it did, see? Exactly as God has promised here to Isaac, the
Nation of Israel received those covenant promises, and they began to grow in
numbers and in occupying the land of promise. All right, now you go on
through these succeeding verses. We won’t take time to read all of them, but
come all the way down to verse 23. Of course, in the meantime he’s had that
run-in with Abimelech over his beautiful wife Rebecca. Much like Abraham and
Sarah. And again God spared the King Abimelech for not having touched
Rebecca. But then, of course, they more or less got booted out of the
country. So verse 17, if you want to stop there a moment. Genesis 26:17 “And Isaac departed
thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.”
He’s still in the border area. He’s not removing too far. But come down to
verse 23. Genesis 26:23-25 “And he went up from thence
(Gerar) to Beersheba. (Now like I said, Beersheba is further inland
from the border of Egypt.) 24. And the Lord (What?) appeared
(In a theophany, in human form once again) unto him the same night, and
said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and
will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. 25 And he
built an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his
tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.” So Isaac then becomes more
obedient, and things begin to move on. They have Jacob and Esau, and then we
have the account of Jacob’s getting the blessing some 37 years later. He gets
the birthright first, and then 37 years later he gets the blessing. So 20
years have gone by. Now jump up to Genesis chapter 32. This will be the last
real theophany of God the Son appearing in human form to one of the
patriarchs. If we’ve got time yet this afternoon, we could go on into Ezekiel
and Daniel where God appears to them in a theophany, but in a vision
experience. Not literal man-to-man like we have here. All right, in chapter 32, if
you remember the story of Jacob and how his family is growing up there, working
for his Uncle Laban up in Syria. Remember he’s up there in Syria because he had to flee for his life, because Esau is mad at him for having stolen the blessing.
And at the same time it fulfilled a statement that Rebecca made when she told
Jacob to flee. She didn’t want to have Esau kill him, and she loses both her
boys at one time. So she made a vow and helped Jacob to escape. But one of
the sad things of Scripture is Rebecca never again saw Jacob in this life.
Those are what I call tragedies in Scripture. Jacob had more than one. All right, as you come into
chapter 32, Jacob is now coming back from his sojourn up with Laban. He’s
established his flocks and herds, but he’s still scared to death, as I put it,
of Esau. What is going to happen when he meets Esau? So he sets apart a great
number of livestock to pacify him, bribe him, or whatever. He’s going to send
that ahead. Then he’s going to put all of his family and his flocks and his
herds across the River Jabbok. Now, we’ll pick it up in verse 19. Genesis 32:19-21 “And so commanded he the
second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, (of animals) saying,
On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when you find him.
(Tell him that these are all his. They’re my present, if we can just have
peace between each other.) 20. And say ye moreover, Behold,
thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the
present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure
he will accept me. 21. So went the present (Or the bribe, whatever you
want to call it.) over before him: and he himself lodged that night in
the company.” In other words, he’s going to be surrounded by all of his
other wives and children and so forth. Genesis 32:22.a “And he rose up that
night, and took his two wives, and his two women servants, and his eleven
sons,…” Now remember, little Benjamin hasn’t been born yet. That’s
going to be another several years later. So, he’s got eleven sons. Genesis 32:22b-24a “…and he passed over the
ford Jabbok. (or the little River Jabbok. And it’s a
beautiful, beautiful, scenic area) 23. And he took them, and sent them
over the brook, and sent over that he had. 24. And Jacob was left alone;…” Now,
that’s the part you’ve got to get down first. He’s all by himself in the dead
of night. Genesis 32:24a “…and there wrestled a
man with him until the breaking of the day.” Now some may try to water
that down, that it was just an imagination or it was a dream. But I don’t buy
that. I think it was a literal knockdown wrestling match. And these two men
went at it for a good portion of the night. Genesis 32:24b-25 “…until the breaking of
the day.” And that’s what it says. “And there wrestled a man
with him until the breaking of the day. 25. And when he (Jacob) saw
that he prevailed not against him, he (the stranger) touched
the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he
wrestled with him.” In other words, he crippled him. Genesis 32:26 “And he said, Let me go,
for the day breaketh. And he (Jacob) said, I will not let thee go,
except thou bless me.” What does that tell you? What does Jacob now
know? That this is a theophany. He now knows that this is another appearance
of God the Son. Now I’ll show you it from Scripture definitely, but
nevertheless, we have to make the assumption that when Jacob demands to be
blessed, he knows who he’s been wrestling with. Genesis 32:27-28 “And he (The LORD
in this theophany, in this appearance in human form.) said unto him,
What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28. And he said, Thy name shall be
called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and
with men, and hast prevailed.” Now, if you know anything about
Scripture, what was the meaning of the word Jacob in the Hebrew language? The
deceiver. The supplanter. And that’s what his life was comprised of all the
way along. He was constantly taking advantage of one person or another, and
that’s why Laban finally got after him. But after this experience,
Jacob was never like that again. Never. It’s a good example of a new birth
when a person becomes a true believer, a child of God, and these people experienced
that. Don’t think for a minute that they didn’t have an experience of a new
lifestyle. They became men of faith. Oh, they still failed. But they were
basically born from above believers. Jacob is the prime example of someone who
has a complete change of lifestyle as a result of their faith. Verse 28 again. Genesis 32:28-29 “And he said, Thy name
shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with
God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell
me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask
after my name? And he blessed him there.” That’s always uppermost on the
ancient’s thinking. And the reason was that every pagan society had gods and
goddesses, and they were all named. My, if you want to get an interesting
read, just read a little bit of mythology. It’s enough to turn your stomach,
but on the other hand it gives you an idea of what these people were up
against. I mean it’s just unbelievable what the multitude of people have been
believing over the centuries. But it shows you over and over what the Lord
meant when He said, “Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and
many go in thereat. But narrow is the way and straight is the gate and
(How many?) few there be that find it.” It’s always been that
way, beloved, and it still is today. All right, now moving on with
Jacob, he asked for His name in verse 29. “…And he said, Wherefore
is it that thou dost ask after my name? (What’s that to you?) And
he blessed him there.” That’s the thing that mattered. All right,
Jacob understood the blessing. I don’t know what it was, but now verse 30. Genesis 32:30a “And Jacob called the
name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God (How?) face to face,
and my life is preserved.” Now, that’s just exactly what we’ve been
seeing all afternoon. Adam and Eve did. Hagar did. Abraham did. Isaac did.
And now Jacob, they see God face-to-face, but only in a temporary human form
that goes back up to the invisible Godhead. Whereas when Christ becomes flesh
in Bethlehem, we no longer need a theophany. We no longer need a temporary
appearance, but rather we now believe in the One who is flesh and blood and
bone, and once He resurrects from the dead, He is still flesh and bone. All
right, so the part I want you to remember is verse 30. Genesis 32:30b-31 “…I have seen God face to
face, and my life is preserved. 31. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose
upon him, and he halted (or limped) upon his thigh.” He
was a marked man, of course, until the day he died. All right, now in the few
minutes we have left, that’s the end of the literal Theophanies that I can find
back here in the Old Testament account, we have to go all the way up to
Ezekiel. Ezekiel and Daniel both see God but in a vision form of a human
being. Ezekiel and I want chapter 40 verse 3. We won’t have time to cover all
these verses, but you can read them in your spare time. But nevertheless, we
know that here we have again the appearance of God the Son to the prophet
Ezekiel while he’s out there during the Babylonian captivity, out there in the
area of present day Persian Gulf. Let’s start at verse 1 so we get the full
flow of it. Ezekiel 40:1-2a “In the five and
twentieth year of our captivity, (Which totals 70 remember? This is
the 70-year captivity down in Babylon.) in the beginning of the year, in
the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was
smitten, in the selfsame day the hand of the LORD was upon me, and brought me
thither. 2. In the visions…” Now we’ve got to realize we’re not
confronting man-to-man like in the past, now we’re in a vision experience. Ezekiel 40:2-4a “In the visions of God he
brought me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by
which was as the frame of a city on the south. 3. And he brought me thither,
and, behold, there was a (What?) man, whose appearance was like
the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed;
and he stood in the gate. 4. And the man said unto me,…” So, we know
now that we have another appearance of God the Son, but it’s in a vision
experience rather than a literal face-to-face. Ezekiel 40:4a “And the man said unto
me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thine
heart upon all that I shall show thee; for to the intent that I might show them
unto thee art thou brought hither:…” In other words, God has a distinct
purpose in bringing Ezekiel all the way up to this mountaintop. But only in a
vision, his body is still back there in Babylon. Ezekiel 40:4b “…declare all that thou
seest to the house of Israel.” Now, beginning at verse 5 all the way
to end of the Book of Ezekiel, God the Son, in this vision experience, is explaining
to Ezekiel this glorious temple that’s going to come on the Nation of Israel
there in Jerusalem during the thousand year reign. I can just hit bits and
pieces of it. Come all the way up to chapter 44, if you will, verse 4. This
gives us a little glimpse of the millennial temple that will be established on
the planet while Christ is ruling and reigning those thousand years. Ezekiel 44:4 “Then he brought me the
way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of
the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.” Can
you imagine what’s that’s going to be like? When the glory of God will come in
and just literally fill that millennial temple? The result of it was that
Ezekiel, even in the vision, had to fall on his face. And, oh again, this is
everything pertaining to the glory that’s awaiting us, and we can take heart
that it is coming. Well, let’s see. I just want
to hit a few of these. Come to Chapter 47, this is all part of this same
vision being described by God the Son in this vision experience with Ezekiel.
You just follow the pronoun all the way through. This comes from the lips of
this same person, the man who we know is God the Son. Ezekiel 47:1a “Afterward he brought me
again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the
threshold of the house eastward:…” Now we’re talking about Jerusalem. And if you understand geography, Jerusalem sits up there on the hills and down
1100-1200 feet to the west is the Mediterranean and down 2500-2600 feet to the Dead Sea. All right, this river is going to flow both directions from underneath this
glorious millennial temple in Jerusalem. If that can help you picture it in
your mind, this glorious river of supernatural water is going to flow both
directions. Ezekiel 47:1b-2 “…and the waters issued
out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the
house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under the right side
of the house, at the south side of the altar. 2. Then he brought me out of the
way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate
by the way that looketh eastward; (toward the Dead Sea) and,
behold, there ran out waters on the right side. Ezekiel 47:3-4a “And when the man
(Here it is again. This is God the Son.) that had the line in his hand
went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through
the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4. Again he measured a thousand,
and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees.” That
sounds like preachers about the flood, doesn’t it? But this isn’t. This is
the flow of the water coming out of this temple complex. Ezekiel 47:5-6 “Afterward he measured a
thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were
risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. 6. And he
said, unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused
me to return to the brink of the river.” Ezekiel 47:7a “Now when I had returned,
behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on
the other. 8. Then he said unto me, These waters issue out toward the east
country,…” Now, that’s desert today. That’s down through the mountains
leading down to Jericho and the Dead Sea. Ezekiel 47:8b-9 “…and go down into the
desert, and go into the sea: (into the Dead Sea) which being
brought forth into the sea, (The Dead Sea, which today won’t even give
life to a shelled-fish, to a mollusk or anything. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea.) the waters shall be healed. 9. And it shall come to pass, that everything
that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the river shall come, shall live:
(It’s going to be a literal river of life.) and there shall be a very
great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they
shall be healed; (In other words, they’ll lose all their minerals and
all their saltiness, and it’ll become a glorious fresh water sea.) and
everything shall live wherever the river cometh.” Now verse 10, for those of you
who have been there, you’ll know exactly what this is talking about. There are
a bunch of hotels and a park now in what is called here En-gedi. Ezekiel 47:10-12 “And it shall come to
pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they
shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their
kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. 11. But the miry places
thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to
salt. 12. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and that side,
shall grow all trees for food, (That’d be the dates and the figs and
you name it.) whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof
be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because
their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be
for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” Here we have, from the Lord
Himself, the description of this glorious Kingdom, whatever you want to call
it. It starts with the sanctuary, the temple, but it will affect everything
wherever the Lord will have His control. So it’s nothing to scoff at. It’s
coming. It’s going to happen. And everything we see coming in the Middle East is going to bring it about. In fact, I like to ask the
doubters once in a while; do you ever stop to think why all the oil is in the Middle East? Was that an accident? Well, of course not. All of these things should
prompt us to realize that everything is coming according to God’s plan. Okay, it’s good to see
everybody in the studio this afternoon. We trust that the Lord will bless you
richly. Again, we want to welcome our television audience in to study with
us. I always like to make it plain for new listeners that we’re just an
informal Bible class, and we don’t have a church service. We don’t have
music. We just simply teach the Book. And again I have to thank all of you
out there, as well as all of you in the studio, for all your letters and
prayers. This last month was a big
month. Most of you across the country know we’ve had some health problems.
But along with that, it was my 80th birthday and our 54th
wedding anniversary, so we’ve been covered up with cards and letters in all
three categories. We just thank you from the
depths of our heart. We do. We read every one of them. Takes a good portion
of the day sometimes, but that’s the way we operate. We don’t slough anybody’s
card or letters aside as unimportant. And the same way with so many of you,
you complain that you can only give $5.00 or $10.00 dollars, well, sometimes I
just write a quick note back – never forget that with God small things become
mighty. Don’t ever apologize for not being able to give more. Okay, now I only have one or
two announcements. Again, we like to keep our people aware of the one and only
book we’ve ever put out. It’s the Question and Answer Book of 88 questions for
a small cost of $11. And if you are not in our computer and getting our
quarterly newsletter, just call the office and give us your name and address.
You will not receive junk mail. You will not receive appeals for money. It’s
simply a quarterly update on our stations and our seminars, and the girls in
the office usually put in a note. Laura usually puts in a note. That’s all
our newsletter really is. It is just to keep you up-to-date with what we’re
doing. Okay, I think that’s all the
announcements. We’re going to look at something a little different today. At
the last taping you’ll remember, the last four programs were on the Theophanies
in the Old Testament – how God the Son stepped out of the Triune Godhead and
appeared temporarily in various times and places up through the Old Testament
and then went back into the invisible Godhead. Now we know that beginning with
Christ’s earthly ministry, of course, He became the incarnate. I had Sharon put it on the board—incarnate. Again, it’s not a word you’ll find in your Bible.
It’s a word that has been coined by the theologians down through church
history. It simply means God became man. We refer to Christ, then, as
the God-Man. You know, that’s one problem
that so many people have. They can’t understand how He can be God and Man. But He was, because He was God. And I always make the point that He never let the
two supersede each other. In other words, when He spoke from humanity, or if
He got in a tight place like at the temptations and He was hungry, He never let
His Deity override His humanity. Always remember that. When He spoke from
humanity, He was totally human. He prayed. He suffered. And we’ll be seeing
all that. But on the other hand, when He acted as God, He was totally God.
And He knew everything from beginning to the end and all in between as God.
And we’ll be looking at that throughout the afternoon. We’re going to look at
the incarnate Christ. But before we look at Him in
the New Testament, we’re going to start back in Genesis chapter 3 and see how
that this old Book is not just a bunch of myths and stories like a lot of
people are trying to tell us, now, but it is the inspired, supernatural Word of
God. And I never get tired of emphasizing that. So, if you’ll go back with me
to Genesis chapter 3. Adam and Eve have just eaten of the forbidden tree. Sin
has entered. Death came by sin Romans tells us, and along with that the curse
fell. Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden. But at the very same moment
that all that took place, God did something tremendous. He promised a “scarlet
thread of redemption” all the way from Genesis 3 to the last book of our Bible. So, if you’ll go with me a
minute to Genesis chapter 3, we’re going to see the first prophetic statement
concerning the incarnate Son of God. How He had to become flesh in order to
bring about mankind’s salvation. All right, Genesis chapter 3 verse 15, and
God is speaking to the serpent. Genesis 3:15a “And I will put enmity
(In other words, a constant line of demarcation between these two forces that
are going to be at enmity from here until the end of time.) between thee
and the woman,…” Now I’m fairly well convinced, although I don’t put it
in concrete, that this is already a reference to the Nation of Israel.
Otherwise, I can’t see why there would be a line of enmity just between the
female of the species. But I think the woman here is a definite forecast of
the demarcation between Satan and Israel, and how there will be a constant,
constant battle between the two. Genesis 3:15a “And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed;…” Now, you say,
well, now that doesn’t fit Israel. Yes, it does. Because after all Mary, even
though this is the woman that it may have been referring to, Mary was a citizen
of the Nation of Israel. She was a Jewess. So, I think it fits all the way
through that here’s the promise that God would put enmity between Satan and the
woman. Genesis 3:15b “…between thy seed…”
And I think that’s just a reference to all his demonic powers. Now we need to
jump all the way up to Ephesians for a moment, because this question comes in
every once in a while. What is the seed of Satan back in Genesis 3:15? Turn with me to Ephesians
chapter 6. This is a series of verses I’m sure just about all of you know. I
think these best answer the question and is probably the best biblical answer
to Genesis 3:15. What is the seed of the serpent? Ephesians 6:12 “For we (Now
remember, Paul always writes to the believer. He never writes to the unsaved
world. Writing to us believers he said,…) wrestle not against flesh and
blood, (not just the ordinary physical opposition) but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Now, all of those
are references to whose underlings? Satan’s. They’re Satan’s powers. This is our main opposition,
and especially as we see today, even in our seminaries and in the tops of our
denominations. That’s where Satan is working overtime. Always remember, if
Satan can bring one rotten professor into a seminary, and that guy influences a
lot of these young men preparing for the ministry, and they go out across the
country filling pulpits, and they pass on the rot that they got from that one
professor, what’s the end result? Satan’s the winner. This is what we’re up
against. I may, if I’ve got time, refer
to something on that order later today. But here is what I think was already
referenced back in Genesis, where there was going to be a running controversy
between the seed of Satan and all of his demonic hosts and the seed of the
woman, because that is what is really referenced. Come back to Genesis a minute.
But since you’re in Ephesians, keep your hand in it. I’m going to go back to
Romans in about ten seconds. But come back to Genesis chapter 3, again. This
is immediately after the fall. Adam and Even have just been expelled, and we have
an immediate response to the spiritual side of it all, where God will put-- Genesis 3:15b “…enmity between thee (Satan)
and the woman, and between thy seed (or Satan’s seed) and her
seed; (or the seed of the woman.) it (the seed of the
woman) shall bruise thy head, (Which, of course, was a reference
to Christ defeating the Satanic powers at Calvary.) and thou shalt bruise
his (the redeemer’s) heel.” This, of course, was the
suffering that He had to endure at the cross. All right, now in view of the fact
that this took place right after the fall, I have to take you back up to Romans
for a minute. I just couldn’t get away from it as I was preparing for this. I
wasn’t going to, and then I’d come back, yeah, got to. So on the way up this
morning, I think the Lord just laid on me—we’ve got to use Romans chapter 8.
The point I want to make is that as soon as the curse fell, God set in motion
the plan of redemption. Immediately! There was no afterthought to it. It was
immediately transacted. All right, Romans chapter 8 and I love these verses.
I could teach them every day. We’ll just start at verse 18. Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in us.” Now when people write or call and say,
what’s our Heaven going to be like? Can I answer them? There’s just not much
in this whole Book concerning the eternal Heaven of the Heavens. There’s a lot of information
concerning the 1,000 year reign. In fact, this is how people can twist the
Scriptures. While I was sick, somebody sent me some books, quite a few in
fact. I got most of them read as fast as they came in. But one was, What
is Heaven Like? What do you suppose he used for all of his Scriptures describing
Heaven? The 1,000 year earthly kingdom, every one of them. That’s all he
could use, because this is as close as we can get to what our eternal abode is
going to be. All we know is that it’s going to be glorious. That’s all. We
don’t know: are we going to be living in homes? Are we going to be having fig
trees to sit under? See, those are all kingdom promises, but we do know it
will be glorious. Well, I just have to do that when I see these things. Romans 8:18-19 “For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which
shall be revealed in (or to) us. (Now, here it comes.) 19.
For the earnest expectation of the creation (Now, I know the King James
has got creature, but I feel creation is a better word, because that’s what
it’s going to involve, the whole creation.) waiteth for the manifestation
of the sons (or the children) of God.” All right, we’ve got to go back
up to verse 14 to explain that verse, don’t we? Go back up to verse 14. We’ve
got plenty of time. Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons (or the children) of
God.” In other words, believers. You and I as believers in the Gospel
have received this position as children of God (although it’s called sons here
in the King James.) All right, but now he says in verse 16. Romans 8:16 “The Spirit
(Capitalized, it’s the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit Himself) beareth
witness with our spirit, that we are the (What?) children of
God.” Now, we don’t become God’s like a lot of New Agers teach, but we
become children of God. All right, verse 17: Romans 8:17 “And if we’re children,
then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; (What’s a
joint-heir? Like a husband and wife, isn’t it? Aren’t husbands and wives
joint-heirs? Sure. That’s going to be our relationship in glory. We’re going
to be joint-heirs with Christ.) if so be that we suffer with him,
(And that’s why he’s speaking of it in verse 18.) that we may be also glorified
together.” All right, now take that
concept of the believers as children of God, and when the kingdom opens up,
it’s going to be the putting under the spotlight this relationship between
Christ and His bought ones, the saved by virtue of the Gospel. All right, so verse
19 again. Romans 8:19 “For the earnest
expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation (or being put
into the spotlight) of the children of God.” And when will that
happen? Well, at the onset at least of the Kingdom, when Christ will return
and set up His Kingdom and the curse will be lifted. Satan is locked up, and
everything reverts back as it was in the Garden of Eden. All creation is
looking forward to that place. Now that’s hard for us to comprehend, but
that’s what the Book says. All of creation is waiting for the day when the
curse will be lifted, because it’s the curse that’s brought in all of man’s and
the ecology’s misery. You know that wild animals
didn’t kill each other before the curse. They all lived in harmony. This is
all precipitated by Adam’s fall. But it’s going to be reverting back to the
beginning. And that’s what all of creation has been looking for. Oh, I could
sit here for another half hour and share some of the things that have upset me
the last week or two of what’s going on in the world, even with regard to the
animal kingdom. How cruel human beings can be to God’s creatures! It just
disturbs me to no end. But anyhow, I haven’t got time to go into that. But
this is the case; all of creation is waiting for this glorious day when the
curse will be lifted. Now the next verse: Romans 8:20a “For the creation
(God’s creation) was made subject to vanity, not willingly,…”
What does that say? What’s the vanity? The curse. The upsetting of
everything that was so perfect. It became corrupt because of the curse. All
right, so the whole creation was subjected to the curse, not willingly. They
didn’t do anything to bring it about. When Adam fell, God dropped the curse,
and everything in creation came under it. Not because they deserved it, but
because of Adam. All right, now here’s the
verse, the part of the verse, that I want you to see—when the creation was
subjected to the curse. Romans 8:20b “…but by reason of him
who hath subjected the same (all of creation. What are the last two
words?) in hope.” So, what’s the hope? That one day it’s going
to end—this suffering, this corruption, this wickedness, and all that’s been
taking place for 6,000 years is going to end. It’s going to be brought into a
glorious, pre-fall existence once again. All right, read it again. Romans 8:20-21a “For the creation was
made subject to the curse, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath
subjected the same in hope. (That one day that curse will be lifted.) 21.
Because the creation itself shall also be (Now watch the language.) delivered
from the bondage of corruption...” Well, what’s the bondage of
corruption? The curse! My, in my seminars a lot of times it’s the younger
people that will come up and say, “Les, if God is such a God of love, why does
He allow war? Why does He allow famine and disease?” Well, that’s all God does, is
allow it. He didn’t precipitate it. What precipitates all of our problems? The
curse. It’s the curse that brings in war. It’s the curse that brings in
sickness and famine and disease. God doesn’t, but, yes, He does permit it.
But it’s the curse that has plagued the whole creation, not just mankind, but
everything in it for the last 6,000 years. All right, our time is going fast.
Now verse 22, Paul writes: Romans 8:22-23a “For we know that the
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23.
And not only they, (The other parts of creation, see, that’s why
I know he’s talking beyond the human race.) but ourselves also,
(and especially those of us) who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
(we who are believers) even we ourselves,…” As we are living and
operating day by day under the curse even as believers, we get sick. We have
accidents. We have pain. We have sorrows. We have death in the family. It’s
all because of the curse. Romans 8:23b “…but ourselves also,
which have the first fruits of the Spirit, LESSON ONE * PART I
THEOPHANIES: GOD THE SON APPEARING
IN HUMAN FORM
Genesis 17:1 and Various Other Scriptures
LESSON ONE * PART II
THEOPHANIES: GOD THE SON APPEARING
IN HUMAN FORM
Genesis 17:1 and Various Other Scriptures
LESSON ONE * PART III
THEOPHANIES: GOD THE SON APPEARING
IN HUMAN FORM
Genesis 17:1 and Various Other Scriptures
LESSON ONE * PART IV
THEOPHANIES: GOD THE SON APPEARING
IN HUMAN FORM
Genesis 17:1 and Various Other Scriptures
LESSON TWO * PART I
INCARNATE CHRIST: GOD BECOMES MAN
Genesis 3:15 and Galatians 4:4