Okay, it’s good to see
everybody in again this afternoon. For those of you out in television, believe
it or not it’s raining cats and dogs in Oklahoma on Labor Day weekend. That’s
kind of hard to believe, isn’t it? But anyway, we are glad you all braved the
weather. You’re here, and we can fellowship together and study together. For
those of you joining us on television, we always like to invite you to just sit
down and study with us. Compare Scripture with Scripture with us. We don’t stick
to any denominational line. We’re just going to see what the Book says. It’s
between you and the Lord to determine what the message is for you personally. We’re going to do something totally
different for these next few programs. I don’t know where we’ll go or how far
we’ll get, but it just suddenly dawned on me the other day that it’s been a
long time since we’ve done some of these things on the timeline. And these
last two years we have picked up a huge share of our audience, and they’ve
probably never studied this stuff with us. So for those of you who’ve been
with me for twenty years, yeah, it’s old stuff. But if you haven’t been with us
very long, hopefully it’ll be an eye opener. I’ll never forget, and I don’t
know whether you were there at the time, Gary, but we had just finished our
first thirty minute program over there in the old studio. After those four
programs, the camera guys all came up, and we were trying to decide how we
could arrange things so that when I’m at the blackboard the audience wouldn’t
be looking at my backside. And one of the fellows who had been in my class for
about fifteen years down at McAlester, he’s gone to be with the Lord now, was
walking by, and he heard what we were talking about. He stopped and he said, “Look,
fellows, I’ve been looking at that guy’s back for twenty years and all I ever
did was learn, learn, learn.” So we never changed a thing. We’ve never tried
to overcome the fact that when I’m at the board you’re just going to have to
wait until I turn around again. So, we’ll be doing that today sometime. So anyway, we’re going to start
clear back in Genesis chapter 3 with what I call the very first prophetic
statement of Scripture. Adam and Eve have just eaten of the tree. They’ve
fallen, and the curse will immediately follow. They will be out of the Garden
of Eden and starting a whole new concept of life. It’s going to be under the
curse. It’s going to be a whole new relationship with God—not in complete
innocence, but through the process of sins forgiven. We’re going to look at that all
the way from Genesis chapter 3 up until the last verse of Revelation. We don’t
know how long it will take. Maybe we’ll do it in four programs or maybe in two
or maybe in eight or twelve! I don’t know. We’re just going to go as the
Spirit leads. So join with me now in your
Bibles and turn to Genesis chapter 3. I think I’m going to go all the way up
to verse 6, because it may have been a long time since most of you have had
this reviewed. Here Satan has just approached them in the Garden. You remember
the instruction from God was, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil thou shall not eat.” The tree of life was also in the midst of the
Garden, but they partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All
right, we’ll pick that up in Genesis chapter 3 verse 6. Genesis 3:6 “And when the woman saw
(Now this is another point I like to make. She’s not called Eve until sometime
later.) that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof,
and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
So, now they’ve both eaten. Now verse 7, because of that act of disobedience—now
always remember, it isn’t just the fruit that was the problem; it was their act
of disobedience. That was the sin. That’s what caused the fall. Genesis 3:7 “And the eyes of both of
them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves
together, and made themselves aprons.” Now, if you remember when we
taught this, God didn’t tell them to go and sew fig leaves together. They did
that of their own volition. So the point I always like to make is from Proverbs
14:12 that says, if I remember right, “There is a way which seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Well, that’s a perfect example
here of Adam and Eve with their fig leaves. They thought it would be
sufficient. That it would cover their nakedness and God would never know the
difference. But it wasn’t. It was the way of a spiritual death. Always remember
that. They rationalized just like Cain did in chapter 4. Now verse 8: Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the voice
of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his
wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the
garden.” Now think about that a minute. What did they do? They ran
from God and hid. Now, let’s just compare
Scripture with Scripture. Keep your hand here and go all the way up to John’s
gospel chapter 3 verse 18. This is the Lord speaking in His earthly ministry.
John 3:18-19 “He that believeth on him
(That is on God the Son up in verse 17.) is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, (Why?) because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19. And this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil.” Now watch verse 20, this
is Adam and Eve all over again. John 3:20-21 “For every one that doeth
evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be
reproved. 21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may
be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” In other words, Adam and Eve
started the whole ball rolling that men in their sinful condition do not run to
God as God would have them, but what do they do? They go the other direction,
and they hide and they deny. They live a life of denial. All right, come back with me to
Genesis, then. So, this is where it all started. That’s why the book is
called Genesis. Genesis means beginning. This book in the opening part of
your Bible is the book of beginnings—verse 8 again. Genesis 3:8-9 “And they heard the voice
of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam
and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees
of the garden. 9. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where
art thou?” Now that’s another interesting
thing. Do you think the omnipotent God didn’t know where those two people
were? Well, of course He did. But have you ever realized that all through His
earthly ministry, whenever He was confronted by someone; whether it was the
Pharisees, the Sadducees, or whatever; how did He invariably answer? With a
question. He always does. Over and over He would open a conversation with a
question. Well, same way here. He wasn’t asking the question because He
didn’t know where they were. He was asking a question to put them on a
soapbox, as I put it. They had to respond, because He’d now asked the
question, “Where are you?” And what do you suppose they said? Genesis 3:10-11 “And he (Adam) said,
I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked;
and I hid myself. 11. And the LORD said, Who told thee that thou wast naked?
(Now here comes another question. God knew. But the point is to bring Adam up
to the place where he had to respond.) Hast thou eaten of the tree,
whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Now look at
Adam’s answer. The human race is already showing all of its frailties right
here. Just as soon as we’re confronted with guilt, what’s the number one thing
we all do? Find a scapegoat. She did it! I didn’t. It’s her
fault. And she’ll be the first to tell you if I miss an intersection—it
happened again the other day up in Minnesota. We missed an intersection. I
should have turned left, and I went straight. Whose fault was it? Hers!
Because when she should have been watching directions, she was showing me
something that she was fiddling with. And I was looking at what she was doing
and went right on through. So, eight miles down the road I said, “Honey, we’re
on the wrong road.” And she said, “I’ll bet it was back at that intersection
when I was showing you my stuff.” And that’s exactly where it was. But that’s
human nature. We might as well face it, and it started with Adam. Genesis 3:12-13 “And the man said, The
woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13.
And the LORD God said unto the woman, (to Eve) What is this that
thou hast done? And the woman said, (Sorry, it’s all my fault! No!
What does she say?) The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” See,
there always has to be a scapegoat. All right, now here we come to
where I want to take off from Genesis to Revelation over the next several
programs. Genesis 3:14 “And the LORD God said
unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all
cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and
dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:” Now here’s
the verse, verse 15, the first prophecy in Scripture where God is foretelling
something that’s going to take place hundreds, yes, a couple thousand years out
into the future. And what is it? The promise of a coming Redeemer. Genesis 3:15a “And I will put enmity
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed (in other words, all
the demonic forces of Satan) and her seed;…” Now stop right
there. Whose seed? Eve’s. You see that? Most people miss it. We’re already
talking about the Messiah. He’s going to come as a result of the promises made
here to Adam and Eve. Now you say, “Wait a minute. Wait
a minute. I don’t get this.” Okay, let’s jump all the way to the New
Testament. Go up to Galatians. That’s the only way we can understand these
things. Go up to Galatians chapter 3 verse 16. I have to purposely force
myself to wait until you’ve all found it; because that’s the one complaint I
get from the TV audience. Slow down. I can’t find them fast enough. So I try
to remember that. Galatians chapter 3 and we’re going to drop in at verse 16.
Galatians 3:16 “Now to Abraham and his
seed were the promises made. (We’ll be looking at that. I don’t know
whether today or next taping.) He saith not, and to seeds, (with
an “s” on it, plural) as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which
is (Whom?) Christ.” All right, but I said back there
it was the seed of the woman. Jump across the page in my Bible; go to Galatians
chapter 4 verse 4. And those of you who have heard me teach a pre-Christmas
class, this will remind you. I’m always using this verse for Christmas instead
of Luke chapter 2, because nobody else uses it. But here it is. This is the
only time that the Apostle Paul refers to Bethlehem—never a reference to His
birth. That’s what Christendom puts all their emphasis on, you know, Christmas
and the celebration of all that. But Paul doesn’t. All right, now I think
here’s one of the reasons. Galatians 4:4a “But when the fullness of
the time was come,…” Now, what does that mean? That at the exact day
and hour and minute that God had prescribed from eternity past Christ was
born! Not a day late. Not a day early. Right on schedule. That’s what the
fullness of time is. Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of
time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a (What?) woman, (Now
we just got finished with a series of programs on the incarnate Christ.
Remember? And what did we say the incarnate meant? God in human form.
The God-Man in the flesh, and that’s exactly what it was when God sent forth
the Son, Christ Jesus, by means of the woman, so that He would be now the God-Man.)
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,” It went all the way back to
Genesis 3:15. All right, go back there with me now, once again. Genesis
chapter 3 verse 15, now this is prophecy. This is God telling us things that
are going to take place over the next 6,000 years. And it’s accurate to the last
little detail. Read verse 15 again. Genesis 3:15a “And I will put enmity
(a running battle) between thee (Satan) and the woman….” And
I told the class here not too long ago. I think the woman here was
already looking forward to the Nation of Israel, which is always referred to in
the female gender. And it is through Israel that Satan is always trying to defeat God, because Satan knows if he can destroy the
Nation of Israel, he’s the winner. Because in all of God’s prophecy, not just
in His first advent, but all the way up to the second advent, Israel is the key
player. Never forget that. If Satan can destroy Israel—that’s why Satan is
using that guy over there in Iran—oh, Satan would love nothing better than to
have that guy succeed in wiping Israel off the map. If Israel is gone, God’s program falls apart, and Satan’s the winner. So we know it’s not going to
happen. It’s merely a threat. It will never happen, because God will not let
it happen. But all right, it’s going to be a running battle. All right, then
read on. Genesis 3:15b “…and between thy seed
(Like I said, that is the demonic and the wicked hosts of Satan.) and her
seed; (That is the seed of the woman, which is Christ.) it shall
bruise thy head, (In other words, that’s the only place you can defeat
a serpent, on the head. He did that at the cross. That’s where Satan became a
defeated foe.) and thou (Satan) shalt bruise his heel.
(the seed of the woman)” Which, of course, was the suffering and
all that was accompanying at the cross. All right, so now we have the
beginning of the human experience. Adam and Eve will now be cast out of the
Garden. They’re going to have to live under and with the curse. They’re going
to have to battle the sweat of the face. They’re going to have to battle the
insects and the drought and death and everything else that’s associated with
the curse and that is still with us until this day. But we who know our Bible know
the day is coming when it’s going to end. It’s not going to last much longer,
because one of these days Christ is going to show that He is still superior to
Satan. He’s going to come and yet complete His prophetic program. All right,
so here we have the first, that I call, true prophecy here in Genesis chapter
3. Now, for the next eleven
chapters it is nothing but a sad commentary on the race of Adam. Do you know
that? There’s just not much good stuff in the first eleven chapters, except a
record of the down, down, down, down direction of the human race leading up to
the next great event. What was that? The flood. Okay, now I think we’ve
probably got it up on our timeline. No, we didn’t start with that, yet. We
started with Abraham. But the flood, 1,600 years in round figures after the
creation of Adam. Now I’m getting used to saying it over and over so bear with
me. Think! Stop and think. Sixteen hundred years is a long time. That’s a
long time. All right, so from Adam until the flood, sixteen hundred years, and
they’re mostly living to be 800-900 years old. So, only God knows how many
children every couple had. So, you had a tremendous
population explosion. By the time of Noah’s flood I’ve always been comfortable
with the number of four billion people on the then-known world, maybe more.
But out of that four billion people—let’s just look quickly at their behavior
in Genesis chapter 6, so that we get a full understanding of why God was so
severe in His judgment on that generation. Genesis 6:5a “And God saw…” Now
remember, when we were studying the theophanies several months ago God is
invisible until Christ appears at Bethlehem. It’s the invisible Triune God who
would appear from time to time in a temporary human form. But God for the most
part all through the Old Testament was in the invisible realm of the Triune
Holy Spirit, God the Son, and God the Father. All right, so whenever you see
the word God, back here in Genesis especially, it’s the Triune invisible
God. Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his (man’s) heart was only evil continually.”
In other words, what does that mean? Those people could not think a decent
thought even once in twenty-four hours. It was just nothing but a mindset of
continual wickedness. Well, we’re getting there, aren’t we? The world is
getting there. We’re not there, yet, but we’re getting there. All right, now
verse 6. Genesis 6:6-7 “And it repented the LORD
(or God was sorry) that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at
his heart. (So He’s got to do something. He just can’t let it go until
everybody kills everybody else.) 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 (or it
makes me sorry) that I have made them.” But then we know-- Genesis 6:8a “But Noah found grace in
the eyes of the LORD.” But I want to keep on this picture of
wickedness. Come down to verse 11. Genesis 6:11a “The earth (Now
we know the earth then wasn’t as we know it now, because the flood completely
changed the makeup of the planet’s surface. But however much land mass there
was before the flood it doesn’t make any difference. I think it was pretty
much totally occupied by human beings.) The (whole) earth also
was corrupt...” Now, don’t read that word
casually. You know what the epitome of corruption is to me? I did this with a
bunch of Sunday school kids years ago. I hope you’ve got a good stomach. How
many of you have ever raised potatoes in your garden? Come on, raise your
hands. Oh, most of you have. All right, now when you’re digging potatoes,
when the new ones are ripe and ready, and you’re scratching through the dirt,
what will you invariably run into? That old seed potato. To me that’s the
epitome of corruption. Because when I was kid, and I’d hit that thing, I just
couldn’t stand it! Well, that’s the way God felt about planet earth. The
whole thing was just like that old seed potato that was rotten to the core.
What else could He do? Destroy it. He had to get rid of it. Genesis 6:11 “The earth also was
corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” We think Baghdad has been bad. And it has. But you know what? That was just a sampling of the
whole planet just before the flood. They were killing each other over and
over, and that’s what violence meant. It was a society of nothing but murder
and mayhem. Genesis 6:12-13 “And God looked upon the
earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh (not just some of it,
all of it) had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13. And God said unto
Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with
violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
And, of course, that brought in the phenomenon of Noah’s flood. Now I think I’ve got time. Go
all the way back to II Peter. I tell especially high school and college kids,
always be aware that you will never see the secular world, in science or
anything else, they will never admit to a Noahic Flood. II Peter chapter 3 and
always remember this is the mentality of the secular world to this very day.
And in it they totally reject the scriptural account of a Noahic Flood. II Peter 3:4-6 “And (they’re) saying,
Where is the promise of his coming? (We hear that all the time lately,
don’t we?) for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of the creation. 5. For this they willingly are
ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth
standing out of the water and in the water: 6. Whereby the world that then was,
being overflowed with water, perished:” And what does Peter say? “They
are willingly ignorant.” They do not want to believe the account of
Noah’s flood. Okay, once again it is good to
see everybody back. For those of you out in television, when I say to have
them back—they go out and have a coffee break. It takes a little bit to get
this many people served and back in here. We always like to make it known, if
you’d like to come in sometime and visit us for an afternoon of taping, that we
start about 12:30 p.m., and the cameras roll at 1 p.m. We’re usually out about 4:15 - 4:30 p.m. It’s just a nice afternoon. We’ve got a lot of visitors
today. In fact, more than I can take time to point out, but we always like to
welcome out-of-state folks. Okay, we’re going to keep right
on going where we left off in Genesis. We’re just going to make a big picture.
That is the way a gentleman put it one time when I was in a class in Florida. He said, “Les, I love the way you fill in the big picture.” Well, that’s the
first time I’d ever heard it put that way, but that’s so true. You know,
people will call with questions, and I’ll say, “Well, sometimes, you know, God
gives us enough credit that we can fill in some of these things, as long as you
do it scripturally, and just fill in the big picture.” The other one we like
to use is connecting the dots. It all fits if you just compare Scripture with
Scripture. So, we’re going to keep going
on. After the flood the population starts expanding once again. God has
instructed Noah and his three sons and their families to replenish or to fill
up the earth, which meant that they were to scatter. Not stay in one place.
But, man is always rebellious. Isn’t it amazing? Man never does what God
wants him to do. Let’s jump in at chapter 11 verse 1. Genesis 11:1-4b “And the whole earth was
of one language, (Now remember, it isn’t the whole world as we know it,
but for them.) and of one speech. 2. And it came to pass, as they
journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn
them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime for mortar. 4. And
they (the population in general) said, Go to, let us build us a
city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven;…” In other words, it’s going to
be a place of worship. Not that they thought they could build a tower to the
Heaven of the heavens, but it’d be a place of worship where they could make
contact with what they conceived of as God. Genesis 11:4b “…and let us make us a
name, lest we be scattered…” Now, do you see the rebellion? In
casual reading you miss that. But God said, “Scatter and replenish the
earth.” Man says what? We’re not going to. We’re going to stay right
here lest we be scattered. All right, then verse 5: Genesis 11:5-6 “And the LORD came down
to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6. And
the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language;
and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which
they have imagined to do.” Now, don’t just read that casually. On what basis could God say
something like that? That whatever they imagined they could do it. Why?
They’re not that far from the pre-flood civilization, where you’ve heard me say
it once, and I know a lot of people doubt me, but I think they had a technology
almost equal to our own just before the flood. Because remember, they started
out with a super brain at creation. There was nothing that had deteriorated.
And they lived 900 years to use all that brainpower. So when I see evidence
that at some time in the ancient past there is evidence of computers and
internal combustion engines and maps like you can’t believe, then I have to
say, yes, I believe that. I think it was before the flood when they had
tremendous technology. All right, so this just makes
sense. These are only 200 years removed, so enough of that technology would
have been made available and God said it – there’s just nothing to restrain
them that they can’t do, unless He does something drastic, which
was to confuse the languages. Now stop and think! What is one of the major
reasons that we have had such an explosion of technology in the last 50 years?
Well, the whole world has
almost again become one language. Because in the scientific world, whether
it’s Japan or Europe or America, what is the basic language of science?
English. So, we’re just about back full circle. Like here, when they had
the advantage of one language, there was almost nothing to stop their ability
to invent and so forth. And so the Lord said, “There is nothing that
they can’t do.” So He had to interrupt it by confusing the languages. Now remember, time-wise we’ve
got the Flood 1,600 years after Adam, and then 200 years after Noah, we have
the Tower of Babel. All right, now we’re going to skip the next 200 years and
jump all the way down in this same chapter 11 to verse 31. Here we’re at about
2,000 years after Adam and 2,000 years before Christ. Abraham stands at the
midpoint between creation and Christ’s first coming. Genesis 11:31-32 “And Terah (the
father of Abraham) took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran his son’s
son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth
with them from Ur of the Chaldees; (Now the Chaldees, remember, were
the people of Babylon.) to go into the land of Canaan; (Which is
down at the eastern end of the Mediterranean.) and they came unto Haran, (Which is up north of present day Lebanon in present day Syria.) and
dwelt there. (That’s where God stopped them.) 32. And the days of
Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.” All right, before we go any
further, I want you to jump ahead with me to Joshua the last chapter. I think
that’s chapter 24. Because I want you to see what kind of a family this was
before God intervened. Remember now, that the Tower of Babel began 200 years
before. This meant that the whole then-known population had come under the
influence of Nimrod, who was the instigator of paganism. The other names of
Nimrod are probably Zeus and Osiris and some of those other pagan names. They
all referred to Nimrod. He was the beginning of all pagan religions and
idolatry. All right, so this little
family that we’re dealing with was no different. Joshua 24 verse 2 and remember
the setting. This is Israel now after having gone into the Promised Land.
Joshua has helped them occupy it, fought all the battles. It’s time for Joshua
to move on and die and join the forefathers. But look what he says. Joshua 24:2 “And Joshua saith unto
all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers (your
forefathers) dwelt on the other side of the river in old time (I
think that’s the Euphrates River.) even Terah, the father of Abraham, the
father of Nachor: and they (The whole family what?) served
other gods.” Plural. So, what were they? Pagan idolaters. Every
one of them. All right, now naturally,
especially in the Orient, who is the head of the family? Well, the patriarch,
the father. In this case, it was Terah. Now how far do you think Abraham
would have gotten separating from idolatry as long as the old patriarch stood
there with his power over them? Well, it probably wouldn’t have happened. So,
what does God wait for? He waits for Terah to die. All right, now we can move
into Genesis chapter 12. This is the way God works, you know. Sometimes He
moves in miraculously, but on the other hand, sometimes He just lets things
take their course. So now we come into chapter
12. Terah is dead and gone, but they are still living up there in Haran. They’re out of Ur, but they’re in Haran, which is between Ur and Canaan. Chapter
12 verse 1 and now we can pick up our timeline on the board as well. Genesis 12:1 “Now the LORD had said
unto Abram, (back there in chapter 11) Get thee out of thy
country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I
will shew thee:” Now why is God laying down those stipulations? To
separate them from idolatry. From paganism. He doesn’t say take the family with
you, but rather separate from them. Well, what does Paul write?
Same thing. “Be separate.” What does Revelation say? “Come
out from among them.” Why? Because a believer cannot consort with the
unbelieving world day in and day out and have any spiritual growth. It’s
impossible. Now, we’re in the real world. We know that. But you still cannot
mingle with the unbelievers and have any spiritual growth. So the concept is
always the same: separate yourselves from the gross, unbelieving world. Verse
1 again: Genesis 12:1-2a “Now the LORD had said
unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from they kindred, and from thy
father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (Now here come the
promises and the prophecy.) 2. And I will make of thee a
great nation,…” Now we think of Israel today as nothing but just a
little tiny nothing in the affairs of the world. But you’ve got to remember,
back here in antiquity people were still tribal. There were no real national
entities as yet. So, this little Nation of Israel is going to become one of
the greatest tribes in that part of the world, before everything starts
exploding around them, if I can put it that way. All right, so they are going to
become a great nation in the eyes of antiquity. Even though in today’s world
they were pretty small. Genesis 12:2b-3 “… 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, (Now this is a promise that holds today just as
much as it did 2,000 years before Christ.) I will bless them that bless
thee, and curse him that curseth thee; (Now, here comes the prophecy of
all prophecy.) and in thee (in Abraham) shall all families
of the earth be blessed." Well, how can you and I living clear up
here in the 21st century, clear over on the other side of the world,
be blessed by the blessing given to Abraham? Through the work of the
cross. Through this Book. Every word of this Book, yes,
including Luke, is written by Jews (Romans 3:1-2). That’s the role of the
Nation of Israel. Through the Nation of Israel not only came this Book with
all of its prophetic utterances, but though the Nation of Israel came the
Messiah, the Savior of the world. That’s what this prophecy is talking about.
That through Abraham every nation on earth will be exposed to the glorious
gospel of Jesus Christ, because nationally speaking He was a Jew. You see
that? All right, now this is
prophecy. This is what I’m always maintaining, that there is not another book
on this planet that could even come close to this one because of the
prophecies. Oh, I want people to know that. The Koran has no prophecy. The
Book of Mormon has no prophecy. All these other religious books of the world
cannot prophesy events hundreds if not thousands of years before they happen.
But this one does. And it’s not pie in the sky, because at the first advent,
as I’ve said over and over on this program, over 300 distinct prophecies that
were written hundreds of years before were fulfilled at Christ’s first coming. Otherwise, Zechariah—let me
just give you one example. I hope I can find it. Sometimes I feel like I’m
walking into a buzz saw, because I may not find it when I want it. But I’m
thinking it is Zechariah chapter 9. Zechariah chapter 9. Now this is written
almost 500 years before it happened, and this isn’t something that happens
every day that someone would say, well, that’s just a shot in the dark. No.
This was a unique event. Oh, this is so thrilling. And this is just one out of
hundreds that were fulfilled to the last jot and tittle. All got it? Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O
daughter of Zion; (That’s Jerusalem and the Jews.) shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King (We’re going to be talking
about that now. This is the promise in Genesis 12 that out of the Nation of
Israel will come a king and a kingdom.) cometh unto thee: he is just, and
having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, (or a donkey) and
upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Well, when did that happen? On
the Triumphal Entry. Fulfilled to the last jot and tittle that He came riding
into Jerusalem, off the Mount of Olives, across the Valley of Kidron, and up to the Temple Mount on the colt of a donkey. And it was written five hundred
years before. King Cyrus, the king of Persia, was named by a Jewish prophet a
hundred and fifty years before he was born. Now, I can take you back to
Psalm 22, just for an example now, so that you’ll know what I’m talking about
that this is the only Book on earth that can do this. Even the best of the
soothsayers, the best of them, can’t get over 50%. That’s their batting
average. The best of them and that, of course, is guesswork. That’s all it
is. But this is so obvious. Psalm 22 verse 7 and I’ll let you judge for
yourself. Who are we talking about? This, of course, was written by King
David. And when was King David? A thousand years before Christ. Now, look at
these descriptive words in verse 7. Psalm 22:7-8 “All they that see me
laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8. He
trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he
delighted in him.” Who are we talking about? Isn’t that exactly what
they said of Jesus as He was on the way to the cross? Well, if He’s who He
says He was, let Him call ten thousand angels. See, this is all prophesied.
This is what would happen. All right, verse 9: Psalm 22:9-10 “But thou art he that
took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s
breasts. 10. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my
mother’s belly.” What’s David talking about? The Messiah. All right,
now verse 11. Psalm 22:11-12 “Be not far from me; for
trouble is near: for there is none to help. (Now these, of course, are
the mind and thoughts of Christ as He was on the cross or going to it.)
12. Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.”
In other words, all the Roman army and everything that pertains to it.
Psalms 22:13 “They gaped (or
stared) upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.”
Picture the crowds as He was hanging on the cross. Now, if you know anything
about crucifixion, this next verse is a typical description of the suffering. Psalms 22:14a “I am poured out like
water, and all my bones are out of joint:…” See, that’s what
crucifixion did. As they hung there, their bones would literally be pulled
from their sockets. Psalms 22:14b-15a “…my heart is like wax;
it is melted in the midst of my being. 15. My strength is dried up like a
potsherd; (a piece of clay) and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;…”
Okay, stop a minute. What was one of the seven statements from the cross?
Remember when He said, “Behold, I thirst.” This is why. This
is a graphic description of crucifixion one thousand years before it happened.
Psalms 22:16 “For dogs have compassed
me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: (Who are the dogs?
The Romans. Who were the rest of them? The taunting Jews. But now don’t stop
there.) they pierced my hands and my feet.” You see that, all
written a thousand years before it happened. Verse 18: Psalm 22:18 “They part my garments
among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” Did they do it? Well, of
course they did. You know that. They cast lots for His tunic, the one that
was supposedly woven without a seam. They cast lots for it. All prophesied.
Now that’s just a little sampling. The whole Old Testament is scattered with
those kinds of statements. No other book on earth can do that. All right, now let’s go back to
Genesis chapter 12. You got all that free for nothing. I wasn’t planning on
that. But see, this is what we have to understand, that this Book is so
supernatural. There is no way we can doubt that it is inspired of God, even
though men wrote it. All right, back to chapter 12 and the call of Abraham, as
we call it. And I want you to see verse 3 again. Genesis 12:3a “I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee;…” And history supports
that. Any nation or empire that turns on the Jews is going to sooner or later
go down to their doom. I think Germany is still suffering the results of
Hitler’s hatred for the Jewish people. All right, but the best part of all is
this last statement of the verse. Genesis 12:3b “…and in thee (In
Abraham, because out of Abraham would come Israel, and out of Israel would come the Messiah, and the Messiah would become the Savior of the world.) shall
all the families of the earth be blessed.” Now, that’s the beginning of
our timeline as we’ve got it on the board. And now we find that from Abraham
all the way up, all the way through, and we’re going to follow these from
Abraham to the appearance of the Nation of Israel under Moses. Then comes
David and then come the prophets. In between we have the Babylonian invasion,
the destruction of the Temple, the exile to Babylon, and then all the way up
through Christ’s first advent (we’ll be looking at the details in time), then
the crucifixion, then 40 days with the Twelve, and then He ascends back to
Glory. Then, according to all the Old
Testament and including the gospels and the first eight chapters of Acts,
everything was pointing to the next big event in human history, which would be
the seven years of what we call Tribulation and the horrors of it, which would
trigger the Second Coming. And then in would come that glorious heaven on earth
1,000 year kingdom. And that’s something that very
few church people know anything about. I am aghast at how few church people
know anything of this earthly kingdom. You know, I had someone send me a book
awhile back, and I know the fellow meant well. He had written it. He had
signed it and sent it to me, but what a travesty. I don’t remember the exact title,
but the idea of the book was what’s Heaven going to be like? My, a book that
thick. What’s Heaven going to be like? Well, I knew right away it had to be a
lie, because there is nothing in this Book that tells us what our Heaven, the
real Heaven, is going to be like, except for one word. Glorious! You’ve heard
me say it. It’s going to be glorious. That’s all we know. So, what did the guy write
about? The earthly kingdom. Every reference that he used was a reference to
this glorious kingdom, where the lion will lie down with the lamb and so on and
so forth; and tremendous production, with every man living under his own fig
tree. Well, those are all things concerning this earthly kingdom. Yes, it’s
going to be heaven on earth, but it’s not the Heaven of the heavens that we
think of. And this is where people are what I call ignorant of this Book. And
it’s sad. There’s no reason for it. It’s because they don’t read. They won’t
study. They won’t compare Scripture. And like I’m learning to tell them when
they try to make a point of argument, the only reason you don’t see it is
because you don’t want to. And that’s what it’s all down to. They don’t want
to see. No, they’ll never see it. But if they want to, it’s as plain as plain
can be. All right, so let’s just take a
brief run at Abraham and the Nation of Israel coming on the scene, as I always
put it. Then after they become a nation and they get into the Promised Land,
let’s jump up to Exodus chapter 19. Oh, my goodness, this half-hour has gone
already, and I just got started. Exodus chapter 19, now Israel has become a nation. The twelve sons of Jacob have made their appearance. They went down
into Egypt, remember, because Joseph was sold into slavery. He was down there
and became God’s divine appointment. Pharaoh gave him authority to save the
grain through the seven years of plenty to be ready for the seven years of
famine. That’s the setting. All right, because of that the famine came to Canaan, and Jacob and the other sons of the family were about starving to death. When they
hear there is grain in Egypt, old Jacob sent the sons, all but Benjamin, down
to Egypt. Well, when they get to Egypt to draw their grain, unknown to them who is parceling out the grain? Their brother
Joseph. You know, I was reading a book, Carla, yes, I got a good book a while
back. It’s from a secular point of view, but yet it just makes it so
graphically plain how that Joseph was in total control all of Egypt, especially in the parceling out of the grain during those seven years of famine. So, when
the brothers came over from Canaan to Egypt, he was the one that had to deal
with them. Well, he immediately recognized them, if you remember, but they
didn’t know him. Well, out of that situation then, the whole family is moved
into Egypt under the Pharaoh and Joseph as the second man in Egypt. So Israel, as the Scripture says, “became a Nation down in Egypt.” All right, then after 700-800
years, God raises up Moses. You know the story. Moses goes in and confronts
Pharaoh. After the plagues we’ve got Israel coming out of Egypt. All right, they go to Mount Sinai—we’ll pick this up in the next half hour. Remember, God
makes promises to that Nation concerning the next several thousand years of human
history. All prophesied. All legitimate. And even though it hasn’t all
happened yet, we can rest assured that it surely will. Okay, again we’re glad you’re
all back. For those of you joining us on television, we just have to take a
minute and thank you from the depths of our heart for all your kind letters,
your cards, your prayers, and above all that keeps us on the air, your
financial help. We just thank you for that. And we pray that you pray that
we’ll continue to reach more and more hearts, because the kind of people that
catch us on television usually have never heard any of this before. And I guess that’s what hooks
them, because it’s not just what Les Feldick thinks, it is right here in plain
black and white. And why, why does the majority miss it? Well, I guess I know
why. I’ve said it over and over. The world population was 4 - 5 billion at
the time of the flood. How many believers? Eight. That’s a precious small
percentage. Up through Israel’s history what percent of even the chosen people were true believers? One tenth of one
percent. And then you come to the Lord Jesus Himself. He put it plain as
day. One time I told a gentleman who was a member of a great religion, with
probably a billion people on earth, and he was trying to convert me. And I
said, “Now wait a minute, the Scripture tells me that you’re wrong and I’m
right.” He says, “Where?” I said, “When the Lord Himself says ‘broad is
the gate and wide is the way that leadeth to destruction and many go in
thereat. But narrow is the way and straight is the gate that leadeth to
eternal life. And few there be that find it.’” Never forget that. I’ve always
made the statement on this program. When it comes to the things of the Spirit,
the majority is always wrong. Think about it. When the twelve spies went in
to search out the land of Canaan, what was the majority report? Ten – can’t do
it. Wrong! They could have had it without lifting a sword. But the
minority—the two—were right. But it didn’t carry. Well, it’s no different
today. The majority of Christendom is going down the wrong road, because they
will not look at what the Book really says. Okay. We’re going to continue
on now in the big picture of connecting the dots starting from Adam and the
Fall and the curse, the coming about of the Nation of Israel, and now they’ve
come out of Egypt as a Nation of people. Not as a ragtag bunch of
carpetbaggers, as Cecil B. De Mille showed it, but they came out organized.
And it says armies, but it really was by tribes. All twelve tribes had their
own banner. They were all organized. And as they get around Mount Sinai, they
encamp by tribe—total organization. All right, that’s where we’re
going to pick them up now in Exodus chapter 19. They had just recently come
out of Egypt. They’re gathered around Mount Sinai, and God is now ready to do
something totally different once again. He’s going to put the Nation of Israel
under the Law. Exodus 19:1-2 “In the third month,
(Now, in Biblical history the first month was April, so this would be April,
May, June. It would be in the month of June.) when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of
Sinai. 2. For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of
Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the
mount.” Mount Sinai. Now verse 3, here’s where it gets interesting. Exodus 19:3a “And Moses went up unto
God,…” Now remember, God is up in the Mount in much the same kind of a
situation that you had back in chapter 3. Maybe we’d better go back and look at
it. Go back to Exodus chapter 3 so that you see how completely God
communicated with this man Moses. Now you know I teach as I feel the Spirit
leads. I didn’t intend to do this. So, this is back while Moses was spending
his forty years in the wilderness, remember, herding sheep. And one day out
there on the desert, he saw that bush on fire, and it wasn’t consumed. It got
his curiosity aroused. So he goes over and checks it out. All right, then the
voice in verse 3. Exodus 3:3-4a “And Moses said, I will
now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4. And
when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God…” Now, do you see
the terms of Deity in one verse? LORD in one instance and God in the next. Exodus 3:4-5 “And when the LORD
(That’s always the term for God the Son.) saw that he turned aside to
see, God (Now that’s the whole Triune God.) called unto him out
of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5. And God said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the
place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Now watch the language. Exodus 3:6 “Moreover he said, I am
the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob. (See, He’s made His point.) And Moses hid his face; for
he was afraid to look upon God.” Well, you come all the way down to
verses 13 and 14. Verses that I always like to use to show the connecting of
the dots of Scripture. Exodus 3:13a “And Moses said unto God,
(The same person speaking out of that bush is the same one that’s speaking to
him up on Mount Sinai. The same God.) Behold, when I come unto the
children of Israel, (Now remember, this is before he’s gone back to
Egypt.) and shall say unto them, The God of you fathers hath sent me unto
you; and they shall say to me, What is his name?...” And I always have
to stop there. Why would they ask that question? Because every god in Egypt, hundreds of them, all had a name. If you had a god, he had a name. So, how can you
come to us with a God without a name? Moses was right. That’s the first thing
they’ll ask. What’s His name? Exodus 3:13b “…what shall I say unto
them? 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 (That’s His name.) hath
sent me unto you.” Now, we’ve got to compare Scripture with Scripture
to get the impact of it, otherwise you miss it. Go all the way up to John’s
gospel, chapter 8. And here Jesus is being confronted by the religious leaders
as usual. Let’s jump in at verse 48, because this is so foundational. John 8:48-51 “Then answered the Jews,
and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, (Now, you
know the Jews hated the Samaritans, because they were half-breeds. They
weren’t Gentiles. They were half-breed Jews.) and hast a demon? 49.
Jesus answered, I have not a demon; but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonour
me. 50. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
51. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see
death.” Well, boy, that was a strong statement to these religious
leaders. John 8:52-53 “Then said the Jews unto
him, Now we know that thou hast a demon. Abraham is dead, and the prophets;
(They’re dead.) 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?” Who do you think you
are? We’d say today. John 3:54-55 “Jesus answered, If I
honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom
ye say, that he is your God: 55. 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: but I
know him, and keep his saying.” Now stop a minute. Do you
remember what He said in John 14 when Philip said, “…show us the Father…”?
Remember that? What did He say? “Have I been so long time with
you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the (Who?) Father.” Now, that’s beyond us, unless
we take it by faith. But that’s the Trinity. That’s the Triune God—that when
they saw Christ, they saw the whole Godhead. This is what they couldn’t get
through their heads. That He was a member of that Triune Godhead, as we call
it. Now verse 56: John 8:56 “Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.” Now that’s why
I’m glad we read Genesis chapter 12 verse 2. What did the Lord tell him? That
out of you is going to come a nation of people. All right, this is all through
that Abrahamic Covenant. All right, reading on. John 8:57-58 “Then said the Jews unto
him, Thou are not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58. Jesus
said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, (What?)
I AM.” Who did He claim to be? The I
AM of Exodus 3. And who is the I AM of Exodus 3? Jehovah. Who is Jehovah in
the Old Testament? The LORD. Who is the LORD of the Old Testament? God the
Son. Who is God the Son in the New Testament? Jesus Christ. See, it all ties
together—same person, different terminology. All right, now back to Exodus
19, if you will. Here we have Moses confronting the same God that he did in
the burning bush – the same God who appeared unto Abraham – the same God who
would later be born in Bethlehem. Exodus 19:3-4a “And Moses went up unto
God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying,
Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
(Here it comes now.) 4. Ye have seen (you have witnessed, you
have experienced) what I did unto the Egyptians,…” And what did
He do to the Egyptians? He miraculously pulled the
whole Pharaoh army into that cavern of dried Red Sea with walls of water. They
must have been several miles apart, because I can’t comprehend it otherwise.
And those stupid Egyptians came right in and suffered like nobody’s ever
suffered since. And God brings the water back and kills every one of them.
And, you know, that became one of the greatest miracles in all of Scripture. Do you remember what Rahab said
when the Jews were confronting Jericho? What did she say? “We have
heard how your God opened the Red Sea.” All right, always keep those
things in mind. This is what He’s referring to when He talks to Moses. Exodus 19:4 “Ye have seen what I did
unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto
myself.” Now that’s a play on words. They didn’t fly, but it was just
as miraculous that He pulled that whole nation of people through the Red Sea before the Egyptians caught up with them. Israel didn’t lose a man, and
yet the timing was such that the minute the last Jew stepped out on the east
side, the last Egyptian comes in on the west side, and the water comes back.
He gets them all. Boy, don’t you wish you could fish like that? He got them
all. Not a one left. Miracle of miracles. All right, so He says, “I
bare you on eagles’ wings and brought you unto myself.” His chosen
people. Here comes the promise now. Exodus 4:5 “Now therefore, if ye
will obey my voice indeed, (Ring a bell? That was Adam’s problem. He
couldn’t obey God’s voice. And it’s mankind’s problem even today.) and
keep my covenant, (See, it is conditional.) then ye
(the Nation) shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for
all the earth is mine:” What does that tell you? He’s
Sovereign. It’s His world. It’s His universe. He can do whatever He wants to
do. And if He wants to take one little nation of people and set them head and
shoulders above all the rest of mankind, that’s His prerogative. And that’s
what He did. They are the chosen race. Exodus 19:6a “And ye shall be unto me
a (What’s the next word?) kingdom...” Now, what do you
need to have a kingdom? Two entities. You have to have a king, and you have
to have subjects. That makes up a kingdom. All right, this is a promise.
You’re going to be a nation of people with a king ruling over you, and you will
all be– Exodus 19:6b “…a kingdom of priests,
(of God or of Jehovah) and an holy nation. These are the words which
thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” I just had an
interesting conversation the other day because of an article I had read. Turn back with me to I Peter
chapter 1. Now most of Christendom tries to make us in the Body of Christ
priests of God. And the reason they try to do that is because of this little
verse in I Peter. But now here’s where I object strenuously. Peter is not
writing to the Gentile church. This is where what does the Book say
comes into play. Now you want to remember that
our New Testament lays out just exactly the way our timeline would even down in
this dispensation of Grace. Exactly. We’ve got the four gospels. We’ve got
the Book of Acts, and then we’ve got Paul’s epistles. Then as soon as Paul’s
epistles end, we pick right back up with Israel, again, in view of the Kingdom.
So, look what Peter writes. I Peter 1:1-2a “Peter, an apostle of
Jesus Christ, (writing) to the strangers (Not to the
citizens, but rather the non-citizens) scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father,…” Now you know that couldn’t involve Gentiles up there in what
we now know as Turkey. So, who is he writing to? Jews! Fellow Jews who were
believers that Jesus was the Messiah. Now turn over, at least in my
Bible, to chapter 2. Then we’re going to flip right back to Exodus 19, so that
you’re sure to see the identical language of these two portions of Scripture.
I Peter chapter 2 verse 9—now this is what I call Bible study. You compare
Scripture with Scripture and you ask yourself, who is Peter writing to? Well,
it’s obvious. He’s writing to the Twelve Tribes scattered throughout the
then-known world, especially there in Asia, or what we call Turkey. Now look what he says. I Peter 2:9 “But ye (See?
Not they--) are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an
holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:” That’s
Peter writing to Jews thinking that the Tribulation was right out in front of
them. He had no idea that it was going to be 2,000 years of Grace to the
Gentile world. Now go back to Exodus again.
Exercise your brain, now. Turn it on and look at the language. Identical.
Verses 5 and 6. Exodus 19:5-6 “Now therefore,
(God is speaking to Moses up there in Mount Sinai just after the Red Sea.) if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a
peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: (Now
here come the identical words of I Peter chapter 2.) 6. And ye shall be
unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which
thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” All right, now to tie that
together, I’m going to try something that I don’t think I’ve ever done before.
Let’s jump up to Isaiah chapter 42. Keep your hand in Exodus and go to Isaiah
42 so that you can connect the dots. Now, while you’re looking, I have to ask
a question. What’s the role of a priest in any religion? Go-between. So
every Jew was to be a go-between between their God and the people around them.
All right, who were the people around them? Here they come. Isaiah 42, this
is prophecy. Isaiah 42:1 “Behold my servant, whom
I uphold; mine elect, in whom (Now we’re talking about a person, not
the nation. A person) my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him:
he (this person) shall bring forth rule (or government) to
(what people) the Gentiles.” All right, drop down to verse 6. Isaiah 42:6 “I the LORD have called
thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give
thee for a covenant of the people, (Now who is Scripture addressing? Israel, the Nation. The king first, who’s going to establish a government over the
Gentiles, but now the people who, according to Exodus, are to be a nation of
what? Priests. Go-betweens. All right, for what purpose?) for a light
to (Whom?) the Gentiles;” Now we know it never happened.
But it wasn’t God’s fault. The promises held. So why didn’t it happen or
won’t happen? Because of Israel’s unbelief. They’re not going to have this
opportunity to proclaim salvation to the nations during the Kingdom Age,
because only believers are going to go in at the front end of the Kingdom.
That’s John 3. “Unless ye be born again, ye cannot enter the kingdom of
heaven.” So what happened? In Israel’s unbelief, they lost this opportunity to be evangelists during the Kingdom, so God
changed His prerogative, and He said, well, then we’ll only let believers go
into the Kingdom. But God didn’t drop the ball completely either. So
when will Israel have a chance to yet evangelize the nations? They’re going to
fulfill the great commission, which was never given to the church in the first
place. They’re going to fulfill it where and when? During the Tribulation.
By whom? The 144,000. They’re going to circumvent the globe. I had a question the other day,
“Where do you get that?” Well, I can show you. It doesn’t say they’re going
to circumvent the globe, but good land, the language says it. Come back with
me and I’ll answer the person’s question. Maybe I won’t have to write the
letter. Go back to Revelation chapter 7 where the 144,000 are sealed. Chapter
7, now this is really going far off of where I intended to be, but I hope I
don’t lose you. Revelation 7, here we have the beginning of the Tribulation.
And I think the two witnesses are the preachers that these 144,000 young Jews
will be listening to. But anyway, in Revelation 7 verse 4: Revelation 7:4 “And I heard the number
of them who were sealed: and there were sealed 144,000 of all (that
means twelve) the tribes of the children of Israel.” All right,
after they’re sealed, now verse 9, naturally they’re not going to stand around
in Jerusalem and say, well, what do we do next? What are they going to do?
They’re going to go out and begin to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom as
Jesus said they would in Matthew 24. All right, now it doesn’t say they
circumvent the globe, but good heavens, what does verse 9 say? Revelation 7:9 “And after this I beheld,
and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and
kindreds, and people, and languages, stood before the throne, and before the
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands:” What does languages
mean? The whole world! All the languages. All the nations are going to have
representatives of the work of these 144,000. Go on down to verses 13 and 14.
Revelation 7:13-14 “And one of the elders
answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And
whence came they? 14. And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to
me, These are they which came out of the great tribulation, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
So yeah, it doesn’t say they’re
going to circumvent the globe, but we know they did. It just says that they
preached to all the nations and all the languages and all the tribes. What
difference does it make whether I say circumvent or whether the Scripture says all
nations and language? Okay, I’ve got one short minute
left. Back to Exodus chapter 19. The promise in verse 6 is that Israel could be a “kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” In other words,
one set apart for God’s purposes, verse 7. Exodus 19:7-8a “And Moses came and
called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these
words which the LORD commanded him. 8. And all the people answered together,
and said, All that LORD hath spoken we will do.…” And they begin to
get themselves ready for a system of religion that we call Law, a works
religion. Okay, good to see everybody
back for our number four program this afternoon. Again, we want to welcome our
television audience. And we just trust you will, as so many have written, take
your Bible and your pen in hand and study with us, because we’re not going to
be preaching at you, hopefully. I think I’ve only done that once or twice in
thirty years where somebody came up and said, “Les, you did everything but the
invitation.” But I normally claim to just be a teacher. I’m not going to
preach at people. I just want folks to see what the Book really says. And it’s
not that difficult. That’s what we’re trying to do, even in this series of
programs. It is to show how everything fits from Genesis through Revelation.
It’s not that difficult. All right, we’re going to take
this program, now, and continue on the concept that Israel is looking forward
to a coming earthly kingdom, because that’s what God promised Moses on Mount
Sinai back in Exodus 19: that Israel would be a “kingdom of priests.” And,
you remember, I made the point (I think it was on the program) that in order to
have a viable kingdom, you need two entities. What is it? The king and his
subjects. All right, so now we’re going to look at the king aspect. And the
ideal kingship of Israel, of course, was King David. He was a man after God’s
own heart, and, I think, the apple of God’s eye! So, we’re going to jump from
Exodus to II Samuel chapter 7, and we’re going to look at God dealing with King
David. Now on our timeline, remember,
Abraham appears at 2,000 B.C. Then we’ve got almost 500 years between Moses
and Mount Sinai and King David, who rules and reigns about 1,000 B.C. You can
pick that up on the timeline. It’s not up there yet, but it will be in a
moment. Okay, II Samuel chapter 7 and let’s drop down to verse 8 where God is
speaking to David through the prophet Nathan. II Samuel 7:8-10a “Now therefore so shalt
thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from
the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over
Israel: 9. And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all
thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the
name of the great men that are in the earth. 10. Moreover (on top of
all that) I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant
them, that they may dwell in a place of their own,…” Now,
as you read this, think back that since 1948 this has all been fulfilled. They’re
there. By divine appointment. God said it. God promised it. And these
preachers and theologians can pooh-pooh this all they want. They’re lying
through their teeth, because God cannot lie. Man can, but God can’t. And God
has said He’s going to “bring them back and plant them,” and you
and I have seen it. II Samuel 7:10b “…I will plant them, that
they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the
children of wickedness afflict them anymore, as beforetime,” Now, keep
that right between your ears, because we’re going to jump up to Luke in just a
little bit, and you’ll see the same thing repeated. That’s what I like to do by
connecting Scriptures. All right, now verse 11: II Samuel 7:11 “And as since the time
that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to
rest from all thine enemies. Also, the LORD telleth thee that he will make
thee an house.” Now, I have to stop. The first
impression you get of “a house” is a building, right? So I suppose the first
thought is that we’re talking about Israel’s Temple. No. We’re going to talk
about a different house. When you have a royal family anywhere in history,
it’s always called The House of such and such. The House of Togarmah. The
House of Windsor in England. The House of Orange in Holland. The House of
Hapsburg’s in Austria. It was called a house, because it’s a royal bloodline. Out
of that family is where the kings and queens always come. So, the “house” that God is
promising David is not a physical building of wood and stone and rock, it’s a
royal bloodline. It’s the family of David. And we call it the House of
David. Okay? Now read on in verse 12. II Samuel 7:12 “And when thy days be
fulfilled, (In other words, he’s going to die physically like everybody
else.) and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will (Now watch
the I wills that God speaks in the Old Testament. If they haven’t
happened, they will. God’s Word will never fail. So, after you’ve died--) I
will set up thy seed after thee, (in other words, other sons and so
forth) who shall proceed out of thy bowels, (Inner-most being—in
other words, they will be genetically children of David.) and I
(God says) will establish his kingdom.” That is, this coming son
of David. II Samuel 7:13-14 “He shall build an house
for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”
(Who are we talking about? Messiah Jesus – who’s going to be this King of
Israel.) 14. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. (Now
we come back in the language to the Nation of Israel itself.) If he
commit iniquity, (We know God the Son never will, so now we’re talking
about the Nation.) I will chasten him (or punish) with the
rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:” In other
words, God did that, you remember, with the Babylonian invasion. He did it
with the A.D. 70 Roman invasion. He’s going to do it once more in the
Tribulation, but the final end will be Israel’s glorious blessing. II Samuel 7:15-16 “But (in spite of
all the chastisement) my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took
it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16. And thine house (This
royal family starting with King David and ending with King Jesus when He
returns to set up His kingdom.) and thy kingdom shall be established
forever before thee: (Not just for a thousand years, it’s going to slip
right on up into eternity.) thy throne shall be established forever.” All right, now let’s jump all
the way up to Luke chapter 1. And here we’re dealing with Zacharias, the
father of John the Baptist. If you know the account, John the Baptist’s father
was stricken dumb, unable to speak, at the very conception of John in the
mother Elizabeth. For nine months Zacharias had to labor as a priest at the Temple unable to audibly speak. All right, let’s jump in at verse 57. We’re going to take
our time so that there are no gaps for questions. Luke 1:57-58 “Now Elizabeth’s
(That’s John the Baptist’s mother, the wife of Zacharias the priest.)
full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. 58.
And her neighbors and her cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy
upon her; (Because she was beyond childbearing age, remember.) and
they rejoiced with her. Luke 1:59-62 “And it came to pass,
that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him
Zacharias, after the name of his father. 60. And his mother answered and said,
Not so; but he shall be called John. 61. And they said unto her, There is none
of thy kindred that is called by this name. 62. And they made signs to his
father, (See, he couldn’t speak.) how he would have him called.”
Luke 1:63-65a “And he asked for a
writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they all marveled.
(That he and Elizabeth were in full accord that this unusual name would be used
for this child.) 64. And his mouth was opened immediately, (The
minute he wrote John, he got his speech back.) and his tongue was
loosed, and he spake, and praised God. 65. And fear came on all that dwelt
round about them: and all these sayings…” In other words, here is this
elderly couple that has had a special child, evidently. It’s been miraculously
declared by his losing his speech and gaining it back. Luke 1:65b-67a “…and all these sayings
were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66. And all they
that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child
shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him. (That is, the
child.) 67. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit,…” Now, that’s the key, because of
the things he’s going to say. He doesn’t speak, as I’ve said over and over
before, he doesn’t speak as a well-meaning Jew, or somebody who was sort of
exaggerating. Everything he says is directed by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:67b “…Zacharias was filled
with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,” Or spoke forth. It
doesn’t mean that he’s telling future events, as much as he is speaking forth
the Word of God. Now you’ve got to remember, how long has it been since
anybody has written anything to the Nation of Israel? Four hundred years.
From Malachi to the appearance of all this was four hundred years. We call it
the four hundred years of silence, where God never spoke a word to Israel through prophets or through miraculous appearances – nothing. Four hundred years of
silence. And I suppose that was one reason that this caught Israel so off guard. Now, let’s read on. Luke 1:68a “Blessed be the Lord God
of (The human race? Who?) Israel;…” See
how Jewish this is. That’s what I want to emphasize now. This is all Jewish.
This is God dealing with Israel. This isn’t the beginning of Christianity, for
heaven’s sake. This is the fulfilling of the Old Testament. Most have got it
all wrong, and they teach it wrong. They’ve got it all wrong, because this is
not the beginning of the Church Age. This isn’t Christianity. This is just an
extension of the Old Testament promises. And that’s what he’s referring to. Luke 1:68-69 “Blessed be the Lord God
of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, (Israel) 69. And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his
servant (Who now?) David;” See how we’re connecting it?
David is the one that began this whole genealogical line that led us up to the
appearance of the Messiah. All right, now as I emphasize the Jewishness of all
this, I know there are going to be questions out there in television. Now wait
a minute, you mean He didn’t have anything to do with the Gentiles? Not a
thing! All right, now I’m going to use
Scripture to back that up. Keep your hand in Luke. We’re going to jump all the
way up to Ephesians chapter 2. And I’ll make statements, coming up in the next
few programs, that Jesus, nor the Old Testament prophets ever had anything to
do with the Gentiles, with the exception of a few. Precious few exceptions –
Jonah went to Nineveh, the Syrian general Naaman, and Rahab on the wall of Jericho; and then in Christ’s earthly ministry, only two – the Canaanite woman and the
Roman centurion. That’s all. He never had any evangelical
contact with Gentiles. Now, they may have come, and they may have eaten all of
the free food that He gave out, because even the politicians know that if you
want to get a crowd, offer free food. They all like a free lunch. So, there
may have been some Gentiles at the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the
4,000. I won’t deny that. But there was no spiritual contact. None, except
those two. Now look why. In Ephesians
chapter 2 verses 11 and 12, and this is as plain as language can make it. And
why can’t people read it? Ephesians 2:11 and 12 – this is from the pen of the
Apostle Paul writing to his Ephesian believers at the city of Ephesus. Ephesians 2:11a “Wherefore remember, that
ye (Gentiles) being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are
called Uncircumcision by those who are called the Circumcision…” In
other words, Jews referred to Gentiles as Uncircumcised. See that? Now verse
12: Ephesians 2:12a “That at that time…”
While God was dealing with His covenant people Israel, from Abraham in 2,000
B.C. all the way up to the time of Paul’s conversion, the Gentiles had no
access to God’s saving grace. Except the very few exceptions I mentioned. Ephesians 2:12a “That at that time ye
were without Christ, (What’s the other word for Christ? Messiah. They
didn’t have the hope of a coming Messiah. They didn’t even know what the word
meant.) being aliens (or non-citizens) from the commonwealth of Israel,…” Now, of course, we’ve gone
against that in this country. We give just as much rights to the non-citizen
as we do to the citizen, if not more. But that’s not the norm. In any other
nation on earth, the illegal immigrant doesn’t have any rights. He’s not a
citizen. And it certainly was true with Israel. The non-citizen had no
rights. Ephesians 2:12b “…you were aliens from
the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers (In other words, they were
not participants.) from the covenants of promise,…” Now, we have
taught the covenants in days gone by: the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic
Covenant, the Palestinian Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant.
They were all between God and Israel, in which the Gentiles had not one smidgen
of rights. All right, here it is. Ephesians 2:12c “…you were strangers from
the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”
Now, some bleeding-heart liberal will say, well, God was unfair. No! How long
did God deal with the Gentile world before this kicked in? Two thousand
years. From Adam to Abraham God tried
to deal with the whole human race. He made salvation available to anybody that
would just follow His instructions. For 2,000 years He dealt with them. What
did they do with it? Walked it under foot. They scorned it. All right, so
that’s when God set them aside, and said, okay, I’ll bring out another little
nation, and I’ll deal with them. All right, so for 2,000 years God did. He
let the Gentile world go, as Paul writes, and He dealt only with His covenant
people. All right, then when the
Covenant people rejected everything, He turned, once again, to the Gentiles.
Now for 2,000 years, again, He’s been bringing salvation to the whole world.
God’s never unfair! Don’t ever even think it. He’s always fair. In this Age
of Grace that we’re in today, as the Body of Christ is being filled, one can be
saved by believing in our heart for salvation, “that Jesus died for our
sins, was buried, and rose again.” God calls that a free gift. We
find those instructions in I Corinthians 15:1-4 and in several other Scriptures
of the Apostle Paul. All right, coming back to Luke,
now, this is why it’s all Jewish. God is still on covenant ground with His
covenant people, and the Gentiles have no part of it. All right, back to Luke
chapter 1, and we left off at verse 69. Luke 1:69-71a “And hath raised up an
horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; (And that’s
Jew only.) 70. As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have
been with us since the world began: 71. That we (the Nation of Israel) should
be saved from our (Not our sins, yet, but what?) enemies,…”
Now, do you remember what God
told David back there in II Samuel? The very same thing. That they were
spared from all their enemies because of God blessing King David. They didn’t
have to worry about the Philistines and what-have-you when David was ruling.
He was in control of that part of the world. All right, then they lost it
all. Now, here comes the possibility that they can enjoy that same thing once
again, where they wouldn’t have to worry about invading armies of the
Babylonians or the Syrians or the Egyptians or anybody else, because this
coming king would save them. Luke 1:71b “…from our enemies, and
from the hand of all that (What?) hate us;” Now, you’ve
got to remember, the whole Middle East has hated the Jews since day one. And
we wonder—how long are they going to get away with it? Well, now a verse just
comes to mind. We’ve got time. Let’s go back and look at it. I hope I’ve got
the right one. I think I want to go to Ezekiel
35. Some of these come to mind, and I’m not always sure where it is. But here
it is, Ezekiel 35, lest you wonder: is God always going to let the Arabs get
away with it? Huh-un. No, their day is coming, and I don’t think it’s all
that far off. All right, Ezekiel 35, now this is written almost 600 years
before Christ, and we’re seeing it get ripe for fulfillment. Oh, it’s getting
ripe. Their day is coming. Ezekiel 35:1-3 “Moreover the word of the
LORD came unto me, saying, 2. Son of man, set thy face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it, (Who was Mount Seir? Esau. And in the scheme of
things, who is Esau? One of the fathers of the Arab world—Ishmael, Esau, the
sons of Keturah, and so forth. All right, so this is a prophecy against the
offspring of Esau.) 3. And say unto it, (That is, the kingdom of
the offspring of Esau, the Arab world.) Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold,
O Mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand
against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.” Ezekiel 35:4-5 “I will lay thy cities
waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
(Now, look at the next verse) 5. Because (Not because God is
unfair. Not because God is hateful, but because of the opposite. He’s just.) thou
(Remember who we’re talking about now, the Arab world.) hast had a
perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, (or their problems) in
the time that their iniquity had an end:” Now, you want to remember, Israel would have to be chastised from time to time by their enemies. And this is one of
the things I always had a hard time comprehending. He used the Babylonians to
chastise Israel, and then He comes back and He blasts the Babylonians. The
only conclusion I can come to is because they overdid it. Instead of just
simply defeating Israel, they tortured them and murdered them by the millions.
They overdid it, and then God had to come back and punish them. So anyway, I
think it’s the same way today. There are times when God uses instruments to
punish God’s people, and then He has to come back and punish the punisher,
because they take advantage of the situation. All right, back to Luke chapter
1. Reading on, goodness, we’ve only got two minutes left. Okay, verse 71,
again, repeating it. Luke 1:71-73 “That we should be saved
from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us: (In other
words, God’s going to utterly destroy them.) 72. To perform the mercy
promised to our fathers, (The patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and
the Twelve Sons; the beginning of the Nation of Israel all had these promises
given to them.) and to remember his holy covenant; 73. The oath which he
swear to our father Abraham,” That’s why I’m always going
back to Genesis 12. Everything rests on that Abrahamic Covenant, because out
of that covenant came the Nation of Israel. Out the Nation of Israel came the
Word of God. Out of the Nation of Israel came the Messiah, who went to the
cross for the sins of the world. This is all part of that Abrahamic Covenant.
All right, but Israel is only looking at the Kingdom aspect. They’re not
looking at the Cross. They’re looking at the King. All right, come back to
Luke 1, verse 74. Luke 1:74 “That he (this
God of Abraham) would grant unto us, that we (the Nation of
Israel) being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him
without fear,” In other words, living in the midst of peace and
material prosperity, but it’s also going to include the spiritual. Luke 1:75-77 “In holiness and
righteousness before him, all the days of our life. (And now he comes
back to his own son, John the Baptist.) 76. And thou, child, shall be
called the prophet (or the foreteller) of the Highest: (The
Son of God, who will be appearing some 30 years after all this is announced.) for
thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; 77. To give
knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,”
To whom? His people – Israel. Okay, good to see everybody in
again this afternoon. My goodness, I think we’ve got every chair filled.
We’ve got a lot of out-of-state visitors today. We’ve got two up here from Florida. We’ve got six back there from Pennsylvania, and we’ve got several other new ones
from our area. We want to welcome every one of you. For those of you joining
us by television, again we’re just going to open the Scriptures and hopefully
clarify a lot of questions. Because I can tell from the mail and the phone
calls that some of the things we teach are just absolutely new to so many
people. And yet it’s not new. It’s been in here for thousands of years. The
only thing is, so many just can’t see it. But we’re going to do our best to
keep opening the Scriptures. It’s not what I think or what any denomination
thinks, but what does the Book say. All right, for just a little
refreshing of our memory, I’m going to look at a couple of verses we closed
with in our last program, which on television, of course, was just yesterday.
But for those of us in here, it’s been two weeks ago. Turn back with me to
Luke chapter 1. We’ve been looking at this whole concept of “connecting the
dots” of the big picture from Genesis to Revelation. The biggest share
of it, of course, starts in Genesis chapter 12 and the call of Abraham and the
appearance of the Nation of Israel. The first eleven chapters of
Genesis are what I call a disaster. It is pitiful how everything went down,
down, down, from the time of Creation until God called out Abraham. Well, in
the last taping we came up through the Old Testament showing the person of the
coming King and how He had been prophesied all the way up through the Old
Testament. Today, we’re going to look at the physical aspects of the Kingdom
over which this King will one day rule. So, just to pick up a little
mind refresher from our last program, turn back with me where we stopped in
Luke chapter 1, where Zacharias the priest has now had this outpouring of
information from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It’s not just, like I
always say, the wishful thinking of a good Jew, but rather, this was the very
mind of God. All right, I’m going to drop in
at verse 69. This is just part of his speaking forth of what was about to
happen so far as Old Testament prophecies were concerned, and that is that the
Messiah was now in their midst. John the Baptist will soon start announcing
it, but here Zacharias, at the birth of John the Baptist, is letting Israel
know what is about to happen. Luke 1:69-71a “And hath raised up an
horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70. As he spake by
the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71.
That we should be saved from our enemies,…” And I always make the
point: now we’re not talking about sin, yet, we’re talking about their mortal
enemies living all around them, even as they are today. That’s why it’s so
appropriate. Luke 1:71-74 “That we should be saved
from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72. To perform the
mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73. The oath
(or the covenant) which he swear to our father Abraham, 74. That he (God)
would grant unto us (Israel), that we being
delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him (God) without
fear,” Luke 1:75-77a “In holiness and
righteousness before him, all the days of our life. 76. And thou, child,
(Speaking of John the Baptist, who has just been born.) shalt be called
the prophet (or the forth teller) of the Highest: for thou shalt
go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; 77. To give knowledge of
salvation…” Now we’re dealing with the sin problem. Luke 1:77-78 “To give knowledge of
salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, 78. Through the
tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us.” All right, now that’s where we
stopped. I’m going to go back now and pick up the other side of the prophecies
and that is the Kingdom itself and all of its physical properties. We’re going
to take you all the way back to where we’ve been many, many times over the last
many, many years—to Exodus 19. And remember what we’re talking about. The
last programs were the promises concerning this person, the Messiah, who would
be the King over the glorious Earthly Kingdom. Now, I’m going to go back and
start in Exodus and bring along all the prophecies concerning the physical
attributes of the Kingdom. Before we go any further, before I have the guys
turn the board, I’m just suddenly reminded – because of all the questions we
get showing the confusion in all denominations about this Earthly Kingdom. People can’t get it through their heads. Yeah, I’ve got heads nodding. You’ve run across it. They
can’t get it through their head that when time ends as we understand it, and
the Tribulation has run its course, and the earth has been devastated by God
judging the iniquity of mankind; that the earth is going to be totally
renovated, regenerated, and reconstituted. (Those were the words that are used
in Scripture.) It’ll be an earth like the Garden of Eden, and that will bring
in the thousand-year Earthly Kingdom. And they can’t get it through their
head. Well, now I’ve just suddenly
brought to mind, when my youngest son Todd went up to Southern Illinois
University back in the late 80’s. And the first Sunday he was up there in Carbondale, he found a church and he went to a Sunday school class with college kids. He
was up there working on his Masters. And the subject in that Sunday school
that morning was the Kingdom of Heaven. And all they could talk about was the
invisible, spiritual aspect of that Kingdom of Heaven. And he said after about
twenty minutes he just couldn’t hold it any longer, and he interrupted, and he
said, “Now wait a minute. You’ve got it all wrong. This isn’t an invisible
kingdom. It’s a visible, veritable kingdom over which Christ is going to rule
and reign as King.” Now, how I picked it up, we
came in the house from church and the phone was ringing. Todd was on the phone
all shook up because of what he had just experienced at his Sunday school in
church. And I mean he was shook up. Almost, he probably wouldn’t want me to
say this, but almost in tears. Because when he pointed out their error that
this isn’t something invisible and spiritual, but it’s a physical visible
Kingdom, and he said, “Dad, what do you suppose they almost screamed at me?”
And I said, “Tell me.” They said, “You mean it’s a political thing?” And he
said, “Well, if you want to call it that. Yes. But it’s going to be a Kingdom
over which Christ is going to rule and reign.” He said, “They couldn’t get
it.” They just scoffed and scorned him, and he said, “I’ll never go back.” I
said, “I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t either.” But see, that’s the mentality of
Christendom. Because Todd wouldn’t go to some offbeat, liberal church, he went
to what he thought was a rather biblical one. But see, they have no concept of
this earthly, glorious, one thousand year Kingdom over which Christ is going to
rule and reign. But it’s through all of Scripture, as I’m going to show you
today continuing on from the last taping. All right, the first real
mention of this Kingdom is in Exodus 19, so turn with me there. We’re going to
jump in at verse 3. And then we’re just going to do a lot of Bible reading today.
So those of you out in television, bear with me. We’re just going to let the
Scripture speak for itself. I don’t have to comment on it. It’s so plain.
The language is so evident, that we can just let it speak. Exodus 19:3-5a “And Moses went up unto
God, (Up there at Mount Sinai remember, and they’re all gathered around
the mountain. They’ve just escaped from the Red Sea experience.) and the
LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the
house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4. Ye have seen what I did
unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto
myself. 5. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant,…” Which he’s going to give now in chapter 20, the covenant of
Law – the Ten Commandments and all the rest of it. Exodus 19:5-6a “Now therefore, if ye
will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye (Now we’re
talking about the Nation of Israel again.) shall be a peculiar treasure
unto me above all people: (They’re going to be the chosen race. And
God says I can do this, because I’m Sovereign.) for all the earth is mine:
(And now here it comes.) 6. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of
priests,…” Now way back, I haven’t done it
for a long time, I said the Kingdom is the Kingdom is the Kingdom is the
Kingdom. What Kingdom is it talking about? That thousand year reign of
Christ, where the world is going to be totally under His dominion. It’s going
to be Heaven on Earth, and that’s why it’s called the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s going to be completely void of sin and death and disease and all the things
concerning the curse, because the curse will be lifted. Satan will be
removed. He’s locked up in the abyss. So it’s going to Heaven on Earth. Keep that locked in your mind
that we’re talking not about Heaven of the Heavens. The Bible doesn’t tell us
much about that. All we know about the Heaven of the Heavens – it’s going to
be glorious! But we get all these descriptions of this Earthly Kingdom, and we’re going to look at them today. All right, so Israel is given the prospect
that when this Kingdom comes in, and all the nations are going to be
represented. They’re all going to be starting on a population explosion right
along with Israel. But every Jew had the prospect of being a priest. Not just
the tribe of Levi, all of them. But they’re going to have to meet God’s
conditions. If they would be obedient, then God would bring in this glorious
opportunity for every last Jew – verse 6. Exodus 19:6 “And ye shall be unto me
a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. (Now, you see, that’s
exactly the same words that Peter uses in his little epistle when he addressed
the Jews of his day – that they were promised to be priests and a holy nation.
That’s not to us. Paul never ever calls the Grace Age believer a priest.
We’re members of the Body. We’re ambassadors. And we are certainly the
promoters of Truth and all that. But we are never called priests in the Body
of Christ. All right, so every Jew had the prospect to be a priest in this
Kingdom.) These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of
Israel.” All right, now let’s jump all
the way up to where the prophets begin to lay out this Earthly Kingdom in all of its physical and political, if you want to use that word, attributes. Jump
up with me to Isaiah chapter 2. As far as I can tell, this is the real first
prophetic utterance, unless David may possibly have it in the Psalms. But of
the prophets, this is the first instance that we have this Kingdom alluded to.
Isaiah chapter 2, might as well start at verse 1. Isaiah 2:1-2a “The word that Isaiah the
son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2. And it shall come to pass…”
Now, does time mean anything to our God? Nothing. He’s timeless. So even
though Isaiah is writing 700 years before Christ, and this hasn’t happened yet,
don’t you believe this stuff that everything ended in A.D. 70. I can’t, can
you? I just can’t get over it. How in the world they can say this kind of
stuff. But anyhow, this has not happened yet. Does that mean it isn’t going
to? Well, of course not. God is timeless. His wheels grind slowly, and it’s
going to happen! Now we can see the evidence that we’re getting closer and
closer. I still like to go back to my
old cartoon of the caveman. Yeah, every once in a while I pull it on Iris.
You know, the old caveman was sitting in front of his door and he had a big
sign over it -- “The End Is Near.” And then he must have had a second thought and
he put “er” on the end of it. “The End Is Nearer.” Well okay, it’s
nearer now than it was two weeks ago when we were here. It’s getting closer
and closer and closer. And again, I’m always going back to that verse in
Galatians. I did in the last taping. How did Paul refer to the birth of
Christ at Bethlehem? “That when the fullness of the time was come, God
sent forth His Son.” What does that mean? God, in His foreknowledge,
knew exactly what day Christ was going to be born. He knew the hour, but He
doesn’t necessarily reveal it. Now, it is the same way here.
God knows when this is going to come to pass. We don’t. All we know is that
we are getting closer and closer. All right, back to Isaiah chapter 2. Isaiah 2:2 “And it shall come to pass
in the last days, that the mountain (or the Kingdom) of the
LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, (Now
remember, the word mountain in the Old Testament verbiage is a kingdom.)
and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” All
right, so this Kingdom is going to be above all the other kingdoms of this
world. “…and all nations shall flow (Where?) into it.” Now, as we come up through the
Scriptures this afternoon, keep those words uppermost in your thinking. That
everything in that Kingdom is going to flow into the capital city of that
Kingdom, which will be Jerusalem. All right, let’s jump all the way up to
chapter 9. Now, all we’re going to do all afternoon is just look at these
chronologically unfolding Scriptures that are describing this coming Kingdom,
that regardless of how you look at it, has not happened yet. But it’s going
to. Verses 6 and 7: Isaiah 9:6a “For unto us a child is
born, (a reference to Bethlehem) unto us (Israel) a son is given: and the government…” Now, you want to call it
political? The only trouble is, in our understanding of Scripture, if it’s
political, it’s bound to have what go with it? Corruption. Absolutely. But
not in this one! This is going to be a government that is as holy and
righteous as God Himself. So, you can call it political, but leave the
corruption aside. Isaiah 9:6b-7a “…the government shall be
upon his shoulder: (That is, this one who was born in Bethlehem.) and
his name (when this Kingdom comes in) shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. 7. Of
the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, (In
other words, it’s going to slip right on into eternity, and it’s going to be--)
upon the throne of David,…” Now stop. Where was David’s throne?
In Heaven? No. Jerusalem, and in particular, on what mountain? Mount Zion. And that’s where Christ is going to have His headquarters in this thousand-year
Kingdom. On Mount Zion. Isaiah 9:7b “…upon the throne of
David, (where David’s throne was in the past) and upon his
kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” All right, let’s just go a
little bit further to Isaiah chapter 11. I’m just taking these as they unfold
in Scripture. In Isaiah chapter 11 we look at another aspect of this glorious Earthly Kingdom. And I’m going to emphasize that word ‘earthly’ all afternoon; so
that people get it out of their heads that we’re talking about some kind of a
spiritual, invisible entity. No. We’re talking about this planet that’s going
to renovated and made new like the Garden of Eden. It’s going to be beautiful
beyond comprehension, but it also has all of the other attributes of planet
earth, the animal kingdom. And that’s what we see here in this chapter. Okay,
Isaiah chapter 11 starting at verse 1. Isaiah 11:1a “And there shall come
forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,…” Now, that’s just Old Testament
language that out of the family tree as we refer to it, we have Jesse. Out of
Jesse came David, and then down through the hundreds of years of Israel’s history came Jesus of Nazareth, the promised line of David and Solomon and so
forth. Isaiah 11:1b-2 “…and a Branch
(is a reference to Christ) shall grow out of his roots: (This is
what’s going to happen to the Christ, the Messiah, when He returns and sets up
this Kingdom on earth.) 2. And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon
him, (the sevenfold spirits of God) the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the LORD;” In other words, He’s going to have all the
attributes of the Godhead in His Kingdom rule. Isaiah 11:3-4a “And shall make him of quick
understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge
(Or rule—now, we’ve gone over all this before. For a lot of you, I know this
is review. But we have a lot of listeners out there who have never heard this
before, believe me.) he shall not rule after the sight of his eyes,
neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4. But with righteousness (With
all the righteousness of the Godhead remember, because that’s who He is. He’s
God the Son.) shall he rule the poor, and reprove with equity for the
meek of the earth:…” In other words, the beatitudes are going to become
the constitution of this Kingdom. Isaiah 11:4b “…and he shall smite the
earth with the rod of his mouth, (In other words, to prepare it for
this Kingdom economy.) and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the
wicked.” That’s all past. That was done during the Tribulation. Now,
back into the Kingdom again. Isaiah 11:5-6 “And righteousness shall
be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reigns.
(Now we come to the animal kingdom.) 6. The wolf also shall dwell with
the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the
young lion and the fatling together; (No controversy between these wild
animals. No death. No tearing from limb and so forth.) and a little
child shall lead them.” Because these incoming people
at the beginning of the millennium are going to be flesh and blood. They’re
going to be marrying and having families and having children. That’s the whole
idea of the Kingdom. But there’s no sin. There’s no Satan. Everything is
going to be harmonious, as Adam and Eve could have had it had they not eaten of
the tree. Well anyway, how can this happen? I always have to do this, because
otherwise people say, “Well, now this doesn’t make sense.” All right, come
back to Genesis chapter 1. How can all these carnivorous animals: the lion,
the wolf, the tigers, and the leopards—how can they all be cohabiting with
little children and with lambs and goats, which would ordinarily be their
easiest prey? But here’s the reason. Genesis 1 verse 30 and this is
the way it’s going to be again. Now, this is before Adam ate. This is before
the curse fell. This is the way God originally created it. All right, Genesis
1 verse 30: Genesis 1:30 “And to every beast of
the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon
the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food: and
it was so.” Now what does that tell you? Everything. The
carnivorous, as we call them, the lions and the leopards and the goats and so
forth are all going to eat of things that grow naturally. That’s what we mean
by the herbs. Nothing will kill something else for its diet. And that’s why
it’s going to be so glorious. All right, now with that
concept, since the curse will be lifted and Satan is locked up, yes, this
becomes very believable. Back to Isaiah 11 and now verse 7. Isaiah 11:7 “And the cow (the
domesticated cattle) and the bear (That would never happen
ordinarily, but it’s going to because it’s going to revert back to the pre-Fall
and so) shall feed; (that is together) their young ones
shall lie down together: and the lion (of all creatures) shall
eat straw (Or herbs, or grass, or forage, however you want to put it.) like
the ox (cattle).” The lion won’t have to have meat for
its diet. The lion’s full digestive track will be changed again so that it
will be like it was before the Fall, where everything ate those things that
grow naturally. All right, then verse 8: Isaiah 11:8 “And the nursing child
shall play on the hole of the asp, (a poisonous snake) and the
weaned child (See, we’re showing that there are different stages of
children just like today. There’s going to be infants and toddlers and older
kids, and they’re all part of this glorious Kingdom economy now.) shall
put his hand on a cockatrice’ den.” And now verse 9, here’s the
frosting on the cake, as we like to put it. Isaiah 11:9 “They (All these
inhabitants of this glorious, Earthly Kingdom over which Christ is ruling and
reigning.) shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: (There’ll
be no death, no pain, no injury. It’s going to be glorious, and yet they’re
going to be there in flesh and blood bodies.) for the earth (Not
heaven, the earth) shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the
waters cover the sea.” In other words, everything is going to be as
perfect as God can make it! Why can’t people believe it?
Does it stretch their imagination? My goodness, you know, if God could create
the universe with all of its billions and billions and billions of stars and
galaxies, you tell me that He can’t make this possible? Why, this is nothing
compared to what He’s already done. And all He asks us to do is what? Believe
it! That’s why faith is the key. God wants us to believe what He says. And
He’s going to reward us accordingly. Okay, it’s good to see
everybody back. You’ve had your coffee, and again we want to welcome our
television audience and say thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh, I just can’t
thank you enough for your prayers and your letters of encourLESSON ONE * PART I
CONNECTING THE DOTS OF SCRIPTURE
Genesis through Revelation
LESSON ONE * PART II
CONNECTING THE DOTS OF SCRIPTURE
Genesis through Revelation
LESSON ONE * PART III
CONNECTING THE DOTS OF SCRIPTURE
Genesis through Revelation
LESSON ONE * PART IV
CONNECTING THE DOTS OF SCRIPTURE
Genesis through Revelation
LESSON TWO * PART I
CONNECTING THE DOTS OF SCRIPTURE
(Part 2)
Genesis through Revelation
LESSON TWO * PART II
CONNECTING THE DOTS OF SCRIPTURE
(Part 2)
Genesis through Revelation