All right, back to Genesis 19, 17 in
your Bibles.
We'll read the verse for a last time,
and I'll rather ad-lib as I read.
In Genesis 19, 17, And it came to
pass, when they had brought them forth abroad,
that he said, Escape, or run for your
life, run for your soul, escape, that is,
out of the plain.
Look not behind thee, don't look back in
the plain, don't stay in the plain, the
escape is to the mountain, get out of
the plain, go to the mountain, and if
you don't, you will be consumed.
Now we're on the last part of this
today, and most of the lesson will not
necessarily be on if you don't, you will
be consumed.
A part of the lesson will be a
summation of what we've been over, and we'll
get into a few other things.
Numerous things, certain individuals are out of place
in the world in which we live.
Of course, we live in that typified by
the plain, but we are to fix our
attention on that typified by the mountain, that
is, the plain having to do with the
present world system, the mountain having to do
with the coming kingdom of Christ.
The Gentile nations, for example, are out of
place.
We're living during the times of the Gentiles.
The Gentiles are presently in power.
When God called the nation of Israel out,
he called them out of Egypt.
Egypt typifies the world through the Red Sea
to Sinai.
There they received the law, the rules, regulations
governing them within what was to exist in
the land, a theocracy.
The tabernacle established at Sinai, the glory filling
the tabernacle, and at that point there came
into existence a theocratic kingdom on the earth,
but it was out of the land.
Then the march was to the land, and
of course they didn't enter until 40 years
later.
But the ideology behind calling the nation into
existence, several things could be said along this
line, but let's stay within the framework of
a theocracy, to establish Israel in the land
within a theocracy, and the nations, the Gentile
nations, be ruled by and blessed through Israel.
And that's why I say the Gentile nations
are out of place today, because they are
ruling over Israel.
Now, I'm not the nation in the Middle
East, though.
The nation in the Middle East, the nation
of Israel, some five million plus strong, has
to give ear to what the Gentiles have
to say today.
They're not out from under Gentile dominion in
all respects, but most of Israel is still
scattered out among the Gentiles, and even the
nation as we know it today in the
Middle East has gone back under a Zionistic
movement, and during the tribulation, in the middle
of the tribulation, they will be uprooted, scattered
among the Gentiles, because it's out among the
Gentiles that God has decreed to deal with
His people relative to repentance, bringing them to
the place of repentance, where things will be
reversed.
They will then no longer be the tail,
they will be the head of the nations,
and God, as He originally decreed through calling
the nation into existence, will then deal with
the Gentile nations through Israel, rather than as
it is today, dealing more so with Israel
through the Gentile nations during the time in
which the Gentile nations are in power.
That's why I say the nations are out
of place.
But God has a reason for the 2600
plus years that this has been occurring.
It's about to end.
Israel is out of place.
I've been talking about Israel during the course
of stating that the Gentile nations are out
of place.
Israel is God's firstborn son.
Israel possesses the rights of primogeniture, that is
a fancy word saying that they possess the
rights of the firstborn.
The rights of the firstborn were three central
rights.
The firstborn within the family was to rule
the house under and for the father.
He was to be priest to the family.
He was to receive a double portion of
all the father's goods.
And this is the way Israel will be
established out in the coming age once this
whole matter has been straightened out and rectified.
They will then not only possess the rights
of the firstborn, but they will realize the
rights of the firstborn.
They're no longer being at the tail of
the nations.
They will be placed at the head of
the nations and God will bless the nations
through Israel.
What does all this have to do with
our subject matter at hand?
Well, it's all beside the point.
We'll work into it.
I just want to show you a number
of things about the current state of affairs
in the plain and why we're told to
look out to the mountain, escape to the
mountain.
The church is out of place today.
The church is in the world awaiting.
Awaiting that time when the spirit of God
who has been sent into the world to
call out a bride for God's son.
Awaiting that day when this work is complete,
the bride will be called out, allowing the
son to rule, allowing Israel to be placed
back at the head of the nations.
Now note that God works in triune, that
is, he works in sets of threes.
He himself is a trinity, father, son, Holy
Spirit.
God has two firstborn sons today.
Jesus is God's only, excuse me, I've got
this upper respiratory infection is not, you get
a little older and things don't heal as
fast as they should.
So I won't say any more about that.
That's the reason you may hear me clearing
my throat or coughing a little bit as
we proceed.
I'll be all right.
Don't worry about me.
If I fall down on the floor, we'll
then start worrying.
But before then, don't give it a second
thought.
God, I was talking about God's firstborn sons.
God today has two firstborn sons.
His only begotten firstborn son, Jesus, his only
created and adopted firstborn son, Israel.
Recall Moses was to tell Pharaoh, let my
son go.
Israel is my son, even my firstborn.
How can an individual have more than one
firstborn son?
Well, you leave that in God's hands.
That's one of those scriptures, one of those
questions that scripture doesn't provide an answer for.
And what I'm alluding to, an individual in
the human race today can only have one
firstborn son.
There's mine sitting right over there.
He's the only son I have.
He's the firstborn, etc.
If we had another son following him, he
couldn't be the firstborn, but God has a
way of bringing forth firstborn sons.
Only one begotten, but more than one created
and adopted, and he is about to bring
into existence a third firstborn son.
Note, Israel is an old creation in Jacob.
We are what?
New creations in Christ.
Israel has already been adopted into sonship, a
firstborn status.
Christians are about to be adopted.
The adoption is out ahead into a firstborn
status.
In that day, God will have three firstborn
sons.
You see, sets of threes.
You find sets of threes, of course, within
rulers placed down under, and that's brought out
in the way the government is presently set
up under the ruler of this, the god
of this age, Satan.
The ruler over the present world, though a
ruler ruling in a fallen state, but he
continues to hold the scepter.
His kingdom originally set up in a triad,
and his kingdom in disarray today because the
triad has been broken.
Two-thirds of the angels refuse to follow
him.
Only one-third with him.
So his kingdom for millenniums has been in
disarray.
But the son coming in one day to
replace Satan, Christians coming in with a son
as co-heirs, following the adoption, following the
placing in a firstborn status, coming in, replacing
the present rulers, then this will all be
rectified, all straightened out.
So the church is out of place today.
The place for the church is seated on
the throne with Christ in the heavenly Jerusalem,
ruling over the earth.
But that's out in the coming age.
Satan, of course, is out of place.
And I've been talking about that incumbent ruler
disqualified, but he continues to hold the scepter.
And a principle of biblical government is that
an incumbent ruler continues to hold the scepter
until his replacement is not only on the
scene, but ready to assume the scepter.
I won't go over the story of Saul
and David.
You can think about two anointed kings in
Israel, Saul with the scepter.
David didn't immediately ascend the throne, but when
he had qualified rulers to rule with him,
then it was time.
Saul was put down, the scepter was given
to David.
It's the whole story of what's happening today,
what is about to happen.
And last of all, but not least, of
course, this should have gone first.
But I wanted to present the whole picture
and then point out that Christ is out
of place.
He's at the right hand of the Father.
He on this earth showed, tempted by Satan,
perfectly qualified to replace Satan.
The first Adam appeared disqualified.
The second man, the last Adam appears, shows
that he's fully qualified to occupy the throne
in the stead of Satan.
Now, I mentioned yesterday at the end of
the toward the end of the lesson that
I wanted to go over Genesis 1 through
11 in a brief survey.
And I really had these on my notes
at the end of the lesson yesterday, the
last lesson, the fourth in the series.
And I said I would go over this
during today's lesson, and this would be an
appropriate point to do it.
We'll just work it into today's study.
And what I want to show you is
continuity through the first 11 chapters of Genesis.
Just a very brief running commentary through these
chapters.
These chapters cover the first 2,000 years
of human history, and we're going to see
over and over as we work our way
through these chapters, different things relative to what
we've been talking about, the plain and the
mountain, and to see the emphasis that Scripture
gives to the plain, the world in which
we presently live, the fact that as in
the cities of the plain during Lot's day,
the cities were destroyed, this system is about
to be destroyed, Gentile world power is about
to come to an end, and on from
there relative to what we've been talking about,
God's three firstborn sons out in the Messianic
era.
But as you begin Genesis, the first chapter
has to do with a creation, a ruin
of that creation, a restoration of the ruined
creation over six days' time.
The Spirit of God moves, God speaks, light
comes into existence.
God shows how he restores a ruined creation
at the very beginning of his word.
And he shows the time in which he
uses to restore the ruined creation.
He rested the seventh day.
Beyond that, the rest of the Bible is
simply commentary back on that which has been
established at the beginning.
That is, man appears on the scene, man
is ruined.
How is God going to restore ruined man
or ruined creation?
Well, he's already told you back in the
first chapter, the Spirit of God moves, the
Spirit breathes life into that which has no
life.
Man is dead spiritually.
And how does God restore life to that
which is dead?
That's also established in the opening chapters.
Here's Adam created, has no life, then God
breathes into man the breath of life.
Man becomes a living soul.
All of these are principles, doctrines established at
the very beginning.
Now, the first 11 chapters cover the first
2,000 years of human history.
The beginning restoration of the ruined creation, the
Spirit of God moves in Genesis 1-2.
God speaks.
You have the written word, you have the
living word.
They're inseparable.
The word became flesh and tabernacled among us
in the person of the Son.
And who is the Son?
He is God manifest in the flesh.
Who is the Spirit that breathes life?
He breathes life on the basis of that
which the Son has done.
The Spirit of God moves, God speaks.
What happens after life is imparted?
Life comes into existence, exactly like in Genesis.
God divided between the light and the darkness
in Genesis.
God divides between man's spirit and man's soul
in the antitype.
You see how it all fits together?
And you look at the whole of the
restoration of man, that's the beginning point.
There's five more days.
You move beyond that, life imparted.
Man is not completely restored.
He has a saved spirit, but he has
an unsaved soul.
Residing in an unsaved body, along with his
saved spirit, residing in a body of death,
in accord with Romans 7.
Who shall deliver me from this body of
death?
But the whole of the six days has
to do with the whole of the restoration
of man, body, soul, and spirit.
Once life is imparted, then God can deal
with man on an entirely different plane, typified
or set forth through symbolism, typology, different things
in the remaining five days.
And at the end of six days, what
happens?
God rests.
God is restoring man over a six-day
period, over a 6,000-year period.
At the end of the six days, at
the end of the 6,000 years, God
is going to rest today, 1,000 years
out ahead.
It's the Messianic era.
Now, it's set forth in an unchangeable fashion
in the opening two chapters of Genesis, which
means that it must come to pass.
The remainder of Scripture is simply a commentary
on the whole of the picture set forth
at the beginning.
But let's not dwell there.
Let's move on into chapter two.
We have Adam created.
Then Adam put to sleep, his side open.
God took a rib.
He built a woman out of that rib.
Then he presented the woman back to Adam
in order that Adam might be complete.
It's a woman who completes the man.
The man does not complete the woman.
And a man without a woman is not
a complete man.
Now, let that sink in.
The woman completes the man.
A man without a woman is really an
incomplete individual.
The man and the woman as it is
established.
Let me say this first.
Man was created for a specific purpose.
He was created to have dominion.
He was created to replace the incumbent ruler.
And it was the man as one complete
person who was to ascend the throne.
Which takes you into chapter three and shows
you why Satan approached the woman to bring
about the fall of the woman.
Why not approach the man?
Well, I mean, I could say something smart
and say, well, the man had more sense,
that type thing.
We're not going to get into that.
I'm going to stay away from that.
I'll have all the women down on me.
But watch.
Satan knew exactly why God had created man.
God does nothing in a corner.
He does it out in the open.
Satan knew why man was on the scene.
Here's my replacement.
I have to do something to bring about
his fall.
I've been disqualified through a fall.
Let's bring man about.
Let's bring about his disqualification through a fall.
That's what Genesis chapter three is all about.
And Satan knew how the woman had been
brought into existence.
The fact that she was a part of
the man and the man could not ascend
the throne, take the scepter, ascend the throne
apart from the woman.
He could not sit on the throne as
an incomplete being.
He had to sit on the throne, one
individual on that throne as a complete being,
though you find the man and the woman.
They're one.
The woman completes the man.
One complete individual to ascend the throne.
Satan approaches a woman, knowing that, brings about
her fall.
Now, there's no way Adam can now ascend
the throne with Eve in that condition.
And this is a great secret behind why
you read in the New Testament, Adam was
not deceived.
He willingly did what he did because, bear
something in mind, man in his unfallen state
had intellectual capabilities we couldn't even begin to
understand, far greater than what we have.
Adam apparently reasoned it out with no problem
at all, knowing that he had to place
himself on the same plane as Eve in
order to redeem her or effect redemption somewhere
down the way, in order that the man
as a complete being might ascend the throne.
Now, look at that over in the Antitype.
Christ became sin for us who knew no
sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him.
Here's the bride in a fallen state.
The man, Christ Jesus, allows himself to be
made sin for us who knew no sin.
Same as Adam, he partook of sin.
See, type and a type.
Now, there's a particular, to give you an
idea of where people get all mixed up
on this, there's a particular commentary out there,
it's a well-known commentary, where the writer
refuses to recognize types and he states that
what Adam did was inexcusable.
Well, if that is true, then what Christ
did by going to the cross is or
was inexcusable.
So, compare the type, compare the antitype, you
can learn certain things from the type relative
to the antitype, and really you can learn
certain things from the antitype relative to the
type.
These are word pictures.
Put them together and you have these paintings.
Here's some paintings up on the wall.
I mean, it's like this.
Jimmy told me that he puts these up
there and he looks at them for a
while to make sure they're complete before he
ever puts them out in a gallery.
He wants to study them for a few
weeks and he might want to touch them
up a little here and there.
Now, in Scripture, we have word pictures and
they're set up along very similar lines.
This type here adds a little, this one
adds a little, the antitype, you put it,
it's a complete overall picture.
And there's some touch up by this type
over here and this one over here and
so forth.
But the more you put the types within
the framework of the picture to which they
point, the more the picture becomes complete and
perfect, etc.
But Genesis 1, 2, 3, and 4, I
haven't gotten into 4 yet.
I want to say a little bit more
about 3.
By the way, we're going to be here
for an hour or so, so just relax
and I don't think you'll mind.
It's just going to be a little bit
of a long lesson and we're here to
study.
And if any of you get a little
thirsty or something, feel free to just go
back and grab you something to munch on
or drink or whatever.
We're friendly about that.
But anyway, Genesis 1 through 4, Calvary, the
work of Christ at Calvary is seen in
every one of these, all of these chapters.
See, 1, the Spirit of God moves and
he does this on the basis of Christ's
finished work at Calvary.
In chapter 2, it's Christ on the cross,
his side opened.
What came out of the open side?
Was it water and blood or was it
blood and water?
See, there's an order.
It's blood first.
I know years ago, Wilson, my former pastor,
some 40 plus years ago, he said, I
was in bed one night and I couldn't
sleep and I was thinking about that verse.
And he said he couldn't remember whether it
was blood and water or water and blood.
He got up, turned the light on, looked
in the Bible and saw that it was
blood and water.
And he said he never forgot it after
that.
Well, that would be the natural order and
that would be the order you would think
it would be in.
But sometimes you need to check these things
and make sure, because even if the order
were reversed, there would be a reason behind
the reversal of the order.
But it is blood and water flowed out
and it is the blood and water that
God uses to bring into existence the bride.
It is Adam's side open, the first man,
the first Adam, a rib taken out and
he built out of that rib a bride.
Now, the blood and water have nothing to
do with the salvation of our spirit, the
salvation we presently have.
They have to do with cleansing following the
bringing into existence, that is, life coming into
existence.
They have to do with cleansing having to
do with Christ's high priestly ministry, having to
do with bringing into existence the bride.
You should be familiar with that, so I
will not go into that further.
It has to do with Christ's present high
priestly ministry.
You might read, I believe it is John
13, relative to Christ, girding himself with a
towel, washing his disciples' feet.
Ephesians 5, presenting himself a glorious church, not
having spot or wrinkle, a number of verses
that would have to do with what we
are talking about within the blood and water
flowing out.
You see, Genesis 2 has to do with
the events of Calvary, Genesis 3, events of
Calvary.
I have already been talking about that.
The first man, the first Adam partook of
sin, the second man, the last Adam was
made sin for us.
So we are again talking about Calvary.
Now, when you get to Genesis 4, you
get into something quite interesting.
You see, all this background before we ever
get into Genesis 4.
In Genesis 4, Cain and Abel both brought
offerings unto the Lord, but Cain was rejected
in the sense that his offering was not
what the Lord had instructed.
Now, it is not necessarily the fact that
Cain did not bring a blood offering.
The blood is seen later in the slaying
when Cain slays Abel.
Abel was expected to bring an offering from
the flock because he was a keeper of
the sheep.
He also was expected to bring a certain
amount, a certain, say, number of sheep to
present.
This seems to be an offering of the
first groups.
Cain was a tiller of the soil.
He would be expected to bring an offering,
not a sheep, not a blood offering, but
from the ground.
And this is where people go astray when
they try to say that, well, Cain did
not bring a blood offering.
That is not the picture.
The blood comes in later.
We will just stay with me.
Cain brought the incorrect.
He brought the right offering, but the incorrect
amount.
Let us put it that way.
The Lord was wroth with Cain.
Then Cain rises up, slays Abel.
Let us move that over into the antitype,
then I will come back to the type
in just a moment.
When Christ came to this earth the first
time, Abel typifying Christ, Cain typifying Israel.
It is Cain who slays Abel.
It is Israel who slays Christ.
Christ came in possession of the correct offering,
the correct amount, any way you want to
put the matter.
The offering was himself.
And God was pleased with the offering Christ
presented when he came.
Israel, what was Israel's attitude toward all of
this?
They were exactly like Cain.
Unbelief, were not doing what God told them
to do, any number of ways you could
put it.
What happened in the type?
Cain rose up against Abel and slew Abel.
What happened in the antitype?
Israel rose up against Christ and slew Christ.
We have the blood of Abel cries out
from the ground.
The blood of Christ speaks better things than
that of Abel.
You see all of these teachings within the
types and how Calvary is set forth throughout
the first four chapters, Christ's finished work at
Calvary and moving beyond this finished work, seeing
not only the saving of the spirit, but
the saving of the soul.
And this is what we've been talking about
in Genesis 19, 17.
Escape for your life.
Get out of the plane.
Escape for your soul.
Same word in the Hebrew text.
Now, we take a little bit larger chunk
as we work our way on through, because
we're getting into a genealogy in Genesis 5.
Then in chapters 6 through 8, we have
the flood.
Then in 9, events after the flood.
Then 10 and 11.
We can somewhat move through these pretty rapidly,
because I've talked about these in other lessons
prior to this for one reason.
In Genesis 5, the seventh from Adam, Enoch,
was removed from the earth alive.
Now, seven is a complete number.
Three is a complete number.
Seven is a complete number.
Ten is a complete number.
Twelve, then forty.
Those are your complete numbers that you find
through Scripture.
At the end of a complete set of
generations, the seventh from Adam, you find a
man removed from the earth alive.
At the end of another complete set of
generations, Noah, the tenth from Adam, you find
a man going through the flood.
And the flood pointing to the same thing
as the destruction of the cities of the
plain during Abraham and Lot's day.
In Genesis 18 and 19, it points to
the destruction of the present world system, the
destruction of Gentile world power.
Noah, typifying Israel, going through this time safely.
Enoch, taken out before, typifying the removal of
the church before.
The church will be removed.
Then Israel will go through the tribulation, the
seven year period out ahead.
The last seven years of the prior dispensation,
we dealt with Daniel's 70th week in one
of the lessons, at least I believe I
did.
That may have been one of the lessons
at Claude.
In fact, I believe I dealt with Israel
on two lessons coming out in Claude.
And I dealt with the 70 weeks up
there, I remember now.
But you should be familiar with the 70
weeks out of Daniel 9.
Seventy-seven is determined upon my people, upon
my city, and so forth.
At the end of 490 year period, at
the end of 483 years, God stops the
clock, puts in the 2,000 year dispensation
in which we're presently living.
Then in the atotype of the removal of
Enoch in Genesis 5, the end of this
dispensation, then God will start the clock relative
to Israel once again, seven more years to
complete the last dispensation, the prior dispensation.
Then the Messianic era can be ushered in.
But the removal of the church in the
atotype of Enoch at the Enoch's removal at
the end of this dispensation, then in the
atotype of Noah going through the flood, Israel
going through this seven year period, during which
time or at the end of which the
Gentile nations, Gentile world power will be put
down, and during which Israel will, through Gentile
persecution, be brought to the place of repentance.
Then God can deal with both the Gentile
nations and Israel, dealing with the Gentile nations
through Israel, blessing the Gentile nations as the
original intent through calling Israel into existence.
But that's what Genesis 5, 6, 7, and
8 are all about in the atotype.
Then you get into Genesis 9, and you
have a new beginning following the flood.
Noah, one of the first things he did
when he came out of the ark was
to make wine.
And guess what?
It made him drunk.
And guess what?
People come down on Noah for going out
and getting drunk, etc.
Apparently, Noah knew nothing about wine making him
drunk.
He apparently had made wine for centuries before
the time of the flood.
Atmospheric conditions totally different during that time with
the water above the atmosphere.
The pressure was probably greater.
The sun's rays not coming through, producing the
actinic rays, producing, I believe it's actinism is
a medical expression if I remember right, producing
wrinkles, skin cancer, that type thing.
But the sun rays, the sun is a
good thing in a way, but if you
stay out in it long enough, it can
cause problems.
You get a certain vitamin through sunshine, perhaps
more than one.
So it has good and bad effects.
But before the time of the flood, the
sun didn't shine directly down as we have
today.
The weather pattern is totally different, a great
number of things.
But what I'm saying is that this wouldn't
have been the first time Noah made wine.
He planted a vineyard, made wine.
He knew how to do these things.
But the wine made him drunk.
It was apparently a totally new experience to
him.
You get on down into the, well, let
me say something about that first.
Really out in the Atatype, or recall what
Christ told His disciples at the Last Supper.
I will not drink henceforth of the fruit
of this vine until I drink it new
with you in my Father's kingdom.
In that coming day, when conditions have been
reversed, the water placed back above the atmosphere,
then a type wine which Christ made, apparently
made this type wine in John 2 at
the marriage festivities in Cana of Galilee.
Because they said, you saved the best wine
for last.
Do you think Christ would have just made
grape juice and called it wine?
Or let's look at that another way.
Do you think He would have made wine
that would have made them drunk?
Apparently He made the same type wine that
Noah could have made prior to the flood
and that He will bring forth in that
coming day when He drinks wine new with
His disciples, with the nation of Israel in
the Messianic era.
This is what seems to be typified by
Noah.
Drink your bringing forth wine right after this.
In a new beginning, though conditions would be
reversed because of the after effects of the
canopy or the water coming down, etc.
The type Atatype, that seems to be what
is alluded to, though a person comparing Scripture
with Scripture would see and understand that before
the flood, conditions different.
Out in the coming Messianic era, conditions different.
And a type wine that would make the
heart merry, not make the individual drunk, would
be that which is alluded to.
Now, the other thing I want to show
you in Genesis 9, right toward the end.
I tell you, this is so important I
want you to read it.
Go to Genesis 9 in your Bible.
Because this is the basis for practically everything
relative to the nation of Israel.
In Genesis 9, verse 26, He said, Blessed
be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan
shall be his servant.
God shall enlarge Japheth, he shall dwell in
the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be
his servant.
Now, you have three sons of Noah, Ham,
Shem, and Japheth.
Note which son had a God.
Japheth did not have a God.
Ham did not have a God.
Only Shem is said to have a God.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem.
The only way that Japheth or Ham could
receive spiritual blessings would be to dwell in
the tents of Shem.
That is, go to Shem.
In a typical fashion as we saw in
Zechariah 8, where in that coming day, the
Gentile nations are going to go to Israel
because they will know that Israel is the
only nation on the face of the earth
having a God.
Ten generations beyond Shem, or ten generations beyond
Noah I should say, Abraham appears on the
scene, a descendant of Shem.
Now, Abraham is the one with a God
through Isaac, through Jacob, through Jacob's twelve sons.
Israel is the only nation on the face
of the earth today with a God.
But, Israel in disobedience is in no position
for God to bless the nations through Israel.
All of these things I began to talk
about at the beginning of this message have
to be turned around, rectified.
Numerous, numerous things are going to happen at
the end of the tribulation immediately preceding the
Messianic era.
There are seventy-five days at the end
of the book of Daniel which seem to
be a period between the end of man's
day and the beginning of the Lord's day
during which numerous things will take place.
To rectify that which is the numerous things
that are out of place today.
To place them in place so to speak.
In order that conditions during the Messianic era
would be as God would have them to
be.
Israel at the head of the nations and
so forth and on we could go.
But you have to understand that Israel is
the only nation with a God.
And if the nations are to be blessed
they have to go to Israel.
Any spiritual blessings we receive today have to
be through Israel.
This is established in Genesis 9.
Blessed be the Lord God, the Lord the
God of Shem.
Now how do we fit into all of
this?
Christ is a descendant of Shem.
He's a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob down
through David.
He's the greater son of David.
If any man be in Christ.
He's a new not creature.
He's a new creation.
He's a new creation in Christ.
If he were a Gentile he's now a
Christian.
If he were a Jew he's now a
Christian.
He's not a Jewish Christian.
He's not a Gentile Christian.
There's no such thing in Christ as a
mixture of any one of the three creations.
There's the Gentiles, the Jews, and the Christians.
Three separate creations.
To illustrate that what would you think about
a Jewish Gentile?
It doesn't make any sense.
Well we hear the expression Jewish Christian, Gentile
Christian all the time.
Now it is true.
You don't outside of Christ, racially you do
not lose your identity.
But we're talking about in Christ.
See Paul could say that he was a
Hebrew, an Israelite, a Jew.
He stated in his epistles all three.
But he's talking about racially.
Just as the old man doesn't change the
race doesn't change.
But we're talking about a new creation in
Christ.
Separate from the prior two creations.
Let me give you a little bit different
rendering of the verse I'm quoting.
2 Corinthians 5 17 is the verse.
But if any man be in Christ.
He is a new creation.
Old things have passed away.
Behold, he has become new.
New what?
A new creation in Christ.
And in Christ there is neither Jew nor
Gentile.
It's out of Galatians 3 right toward the
end of the chapter.
Now when you move into Genesis 10 and
11.
You get into Nimrod the beginning of his
kingdom was Babel or Babylon.
He was the first king of Babylon.
The Lord came down to see this tower
that they sought to build.
Whose top was like unto the heavens.
Apparently a pagan form of worship.
The Lord destroyed that through scattering the people
throughout the earth.
Different languages.
Then he later separated them by a separation
of the land masses.
And if you want to know how individuals
got on certain land masses.
Don't check your history books.
Check the Bible.
It'll tell you.
They were there when God separated the land
masses.
They didn't get out on an island through
this contiki or whatever it is and on
and on.
There was some of that.
But the division generally produced through once that
is God separating them through languages.
And later separating them through.
Separating that is pulling land masses apart.
That was during the days of Pelag.
You can see a perfect illustration of that.
Looking at South America and Africa.
Where the country comes out Africa goes in.
These two countries apparently at one time joined.
Separated today.
And individuals on this land mass separated from
here and they're there.
They don't have to migrate across the Bering
Strait to come across on boats and so
forth.
They were there when God separated them in
all these different languages, etc.
Now when all of this is reversed.
You're going to have a one world system
under Christ.
But that's under Christ.
You can't have a one world system today.
God has separated the nations for a reason.
And it has to do.
One reason has to do with salvation.
It has to do with a separation of
Israel from the nations.
A number of a couple of different things
along that line.
But out ahead when Christ is at the
head of the nations.
With Israel at the head of the nations.
That is Christ and his co-heirs ruling
over the nations from a heavenly sphere.
Israel here upon the earth.
And you have a one world system.
It will be a perfect system.
Something which cannot exist today.
And then you get into the latter part
of Genesis 11.
You have a new beginning in Abraham.
See how through these first 11 chapters covering
the first 2,000 years of human history.
It just keeps repeating over and over until
you get the message.
And an emphasis is placed upon what?
Notice chapters 6, 7, and 8.
The destruction of Gentile world power.
The destruction of the present system.
As we are seeing in Genesis 18 and
19.
What happens when you get to chapter 10?
The first king of Babylon.
The destruction of his system.
What is out ahead?
The last king of Babylon.
The destruction of his system.
And then you have new beginnings.
Then you have the work of Calvary.
Israel rising up against Christ.
Slaying Christ.
Back in the opening chapters.
It is all there.
And then you move on out into the
rest of scripture and find commentary upon commentary
upon commentary relative to that which has been
set forth in the beginning.
So do not overlook the importance of the
first 11 chapters.
I keep looking at these and I want
to do a series on them.
And I may very well do that because
of the importance of the material.
Their interrelationship with one another.
The foundational type.
It is foundational material.
Individuals understanding this.
They have no problem with material out ahead.
But if you get out ahead and seek
to read, try to understand material without having
this foundational understanding.
You will have a difficult time and next
to impossible time.
I had an email the other day from
a man that had been someone had recommended
that he just read through the Old Testament.
Now, there is nothing wrong with that.
It is good to read through.
But he was out in the middle of
the Old Testament.
He said, I am just reading things.
I have no idea of what I am
reading.
I do not seem to be gaining anything.
Well, I suggested he might want to go
back and pick up some foundational material before
he maybe start again.
I said, why do not you just go
to the first 11 chapters of Genesis?
Read through them a number of times.
Maybe stay there a month.
Read through them every day.
It will not take long to read through
11 chapters.
You can sit down and read those in
maybe an hour's time.
I do not know.
It is not that long.
And the more you read, the faster you
will be able to read.
And I said, you can find commentary material
on these.
I have got quite a bit of material
on these 11 chapters.
Study them in the light of this material,
this material in the light of Scripture.
Come to some understanding of the foundation.
Then start reading, and I believe you will
gain far more.
You might keep that in mind.
Get the foundations down.
Pat, understand something about the foundation.
If you do not start building a house
by putting a roof up first, you lay
a foundation.
And the better foundation you have, the more
stable the framework is going to be.
That window there, it was not put in
first.
It is evident.
I mean, you can look at something like
this and understand what I am talking about
relative to spiritual things.
Let us somewhat move on and talk more
about our text.
In Genesis 18 and 19, Abraham had already
separated himself from the cities of the plain.
Recall that he had told Lot, because of
a problem with their herdsmen, cattle, and so
forth, you choose any portion of the land
you want.
You go in that direction, I will take
my herdsmen, cattle, go in the other direction.
Lot lifted up his eyes, saw this well
-watered plain of Jordan, and he said, boy,
that is for me.
You know, we want the best of what
this world has to offer.
That is what Lot wanted.
He wanted the best of what he could
see.
Well, Abraham did not quibble with him.
Abraham said, that is fine.
You go that way.
I will go this way.
Back behind Abraham, the direction in which he
went was the high country.
Abraham went up into the mountain.
Lot down into the valley.
But see, the day came, and the day
is coming right out ahead.
Things went on and on and on.
And things are going on and on and
on now.
But the day arrived when three men appeared
to Abraham in the plains of Mamre.
Abraham had them in, as the Oriental custom
was, to feed them, house them, and so
forth.
And that is one reason that Lot, when
the two angels appeared to him at the
gate, it was an Oriental custom in those
days to invite them in, inside the home,
and so forth.
Though, as I pointed out, there was probably
another reason because of that which was happening
in the streets.
But at any rate, we practice that same
custom today.
We invite people into our homes.
It is just something we do.
And that is what you find Abraham doing,
having food for them, lodging.
But these three men were more than three
men.
Two of them were angels, and one was
the Lord Himself.
And the Lord stayed.
He had come down to see about the
report concerning Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of
the plain.
Now, of course, the Lord knew it was
angels, watchers, say out of Daniel 4.
They regularly report to the Lord relative to
things happening, not only on this province, but
other provinces throughout the universe.
He had heard about what had happened, what
was happening down in these cities.
He came down to see.
And again, this is simply the way the
Lord is presenting Himself in His omniscience.
He already knew.
But He comes down in the company of
two angels.
He sends the two angels on down into
Sodom.
And we have later the resulting destruction of
the cities of the plain.
You see, things had been going on and
on for centuries.
They are going on and on.
They have been going on and on for
centuries now.
But suddenly, the Lord appears.
Suddenly, angelic activity is involved.
Suddenly, there is a destruction.
Right before this, Lot, his family, is taken
out.
Lot does not care about escaping from the
plain.
He does not care about going to the
mountain.
Now, turn back to Genesis 18.
Let us just go over this again.
Two parts of this have to do with
Lot's wife and Lot.
In Genesis 18, it is escape for your
life.
They had to be taken out by force.
Do not look back.
Well, Lot's wife looked back.
Though she was delivered from the cities, removed
from the destruction, she never made it to
the mountain.
Do not stay in the plain.
Now, there is Lot.
He looked down and saw Zohar, and he
bargained with the Lord and said, I do
not know anything about the mountain.
How about letting me go down to that
city still in the plain?
My whole life has been lived in the
plain.
That is the only thing I know.
I do not know anything about the mountain.
And the Lord allowed him to go into
Zohar, not only to teach him a lesson,
but again, that was all Lot knew.
Lot was in no condition to go to
the mountain.
Now, when Lot got to Zohar, he looked
around and saw what was happening in Zohar.
He was afraid to stay there.
He looked at the smoke rising up.
Fire had come down from heaven, destroyed four
cities in the plain.
And Lot, seeing this, seeing this smoke rising
up from these cities, and he knew that
he was still in the plain in one
of the other cities that the Lord had
spared.
And he apparently saw what had been happening,
that is, what had been happening in these
other cities, this homosexual activity was apparently happening
in Zohar.
He was afraid to stay there.
He got out of Zohar, went out into
the mountain.
But note where Lot found himself at the
end of this time, somewhat the end of
the account in Genesis 18 and 19.
He found himself on the mountain, but in
a cave.
And some people want to use this to
point to outer darkness.
It's dark in a cave.
You can follow that line of thought if
you like.
It's one thing to think about.
But he's in a place of another thing
that you would probably want to consider more.
The fact that Lot had relations with both
his daughters, had children by his daughters, which
is somewhat an unnatural thing to do then
or now.
He's in no condition to be on the
mountain, but he's on the mountain, and he's
in a place of shame.
He's separated from the Lord, though on the
mountain.
Now, here's Abraham several times in Genesis 18
and 19.
Abraham is pictured, he's always pictured on the
mount, but several times he's pictured as standing
before the Lord.
See, there are your two contrasting positions.
Seen in the account of Abraham and Lot.
Seen in the account of the destruction of
the cities of the plain.
Abraham separated from this.
Any number of teachings along these lines.
A contrast.
Let's bring this to a close.
Let me look briefly at my notes and
see where I am.
I'm not where I'm supposed to be, but
that's all right.
All right, let me just somewhat stay with
my notes right at the end and bring
this to a conclusion.
There are two differences between two saved individuals
set forth in these chapters.
There's a distinction seen before the destruction of
the cities of the plain.
There's a distinction seen following the destruction of
the cities of the plain.
One individual is removed after one passion.
The other individual is already in a position
that both should have been in.
In the high country, standing before the Lord.
And when you move beyond the destruction of
the cities of the plain, how do you
find these individuals relative to these two positions?
You find them in exactly the same condition,
exactly the same position, though now both are
removed from the plain.
But yet one is in a place that
is associated more with the plain than the
mountain.
And he's not standing before the Lord.
That's a lot.
He's in a place of shame.
And it's Abraham separated from the cities of
the plain.
He never was down there.
That is, he had set his sights on
the mountain.
He had escaped to the mountain.
He had nothing to do with the plain.
And he is seen standing before the Lord.
Now today, Christians can find themselves in one
of two positions.
There's no middle ground.
It's either one or the other.
A Christian can dwell in this present world
system, dwell in the plain.
We're all here.
Or he can live apart from the present
world system, set his sights on that which
is out ahead, on the mountain, typifying the
coming kingdom of Christ.
And it's only in the latter that the
person is seen having a connection with the
Lord, standing before the Lord.
So that which occurs today will be manifested
in that which will occur in that coming
day.
And I'll just bring matters to a close
with that statement.
Our Father, we're thankful again that You've allowed
us to look into Your Word, to study
these things.
I would ask that these messages might be
such that the ones who've heard might be
able to take these things, study them out.
They might be useful in their Christian life,
might be things that will lead them into
a better understanding of the present in contrast
to that which is about to occur, about
to be brought into existence.
For it's in Christ's name, Amen.