We are in the final week of the
life of Jesus.
He is now in Jerusalem.
This is the week in which pilgrims are
coming from all over the world to celebrate
the Feast of the Passover.
He has made his triumphant entry, that is
on Sunday.
He was officially rejected.
He did cleanse the temple, driving out the
money changers, taking authority in his father's house.
And he taught daily in the temple.
We read in verse 47 of chapter 19.
So it came to pass that on one
of those days, the days that he was
teaching in the temple from Sunday through Wednesday
or Thursday, one of those days as he
was teaching in the temple and preaching the
gospel, proclaiming to man God's good news, the
chief priests and the scribes came upon him
with the elders.
So this august body of religious authority, the
chief priests who were mainly Sadducees, the scribes
and the elders, and they spake unto him
saying, tell us by what authority do you
do these things?
And who is he that gave you this
authority?
They're probably still a little upset over the
fact that he cleansed the temple.
He drove out the money changers.
He came in and took over and said,
this is my father's house, and he took
over.
And they were upset because the high priest
was in league with the money changers.
They made a rake off of the money
changers and those that sold the doves and
the oxen and all there in the temple
grounds.
And so what authority?
Now they were expecting, or at least hoping,
you see, they're looking now for charges whereby
they might put him to death.
And they were hoping that at this point
he would say, I am the Messiah.
God is my father.
He gave me the authority.
He referred to the temple as my father's
house.
And so they were hoping that he would
make the claim of messiahship in order that
they might accuse him of blasphemy and immediately
try him.
But his hour was not yet come.
So he did not answer them directly, but
he answered them indirectly saying, I will ask
you one thing and you answer me.
The baptism of John, was it from heaven
or of men?
And they reasoned with themselves saying, if we
shall say from heaven, he will say, why
did you not believe him?
If we say of men, all of the
people will stone us for they're persuaded that
John was a prophet.
And they answered that they could not tell
whence it was.
And Jesus said unto them, neither tell I
you by what authority I do these things.
Now, John had testified concerning Jesus Christ that
this is he that was.
Before me or was after me, but who
was preferred before me, the latchet of who
shoes I'm unworthy to unloose.
John had declared concerning Jesus Christ, behold, the
lamb of God that taketh away the sins
of the world.
So John, who the people had had accepted
as from God, they recognize that John's authority
was from the Lord.
And John being recognized by the people as
a prophet of God had declared that Jesus
was indeed the lamb of God to take
away the sins of the world.
So had they said, well, John was of
the Lord, then Jesus would say, all right,
that's the authority that I have, the same
authority of John.
And basically he was saying this.
I came with the same authority that John
came.
Now, it is interesting to me how that
so often there is that challenge today concerning
authority for men have set up their systems
by which they recognize authority.
If you go to our college and graduate
and then attend our seminary, then we will
recognize your authority.
To teach the word of God or to
proclaim God's truth and the authority that man
bestows upon man.
I would like to offer my opinion that
men have ordained many men to the ministry
who have never been ordained by God.
They've been ordained to the ministry purely on
the basis that they have fulfilled a certain
requirement of studies, but there is absolutely no
anointing of God upon their lives or upon
their ministries.
And they'd be better off selling shoes or
I should say, maybe repairing shoes.
And that's a better way that they could
save souls.
We have made it a policy here at
Calvary Chapel in the ordination board to
observe a person's ministry and to see if
their ministry bears witness that God's anointing is
upon their life.
For we are convinced that only God ordains
a man for the work of the Lord.
And the best we can do is ratify
what God has done.
So basically we haven't ordained anybody to the
ministry, nor do we ordain anybody to the
ministry, but we like to recognize those that
God has ordained and ratify that work of
God in their lives.
So recognizing that God has ordained this man,
God's anointing is upon his life.
God is using him.
We give to them that recognition that they
need by the state.
But it is interesting also how that so
many of these young men who have gone
out with the obvious work of God in
and through their lives are challenged.
Who gave you the authority?
Greg Laurie has been challenged so many times.
Raul Reese has been challenged so many times.
Where did you go to seminary, you know?
Who gave you the authority?
It's sort of disconcerting and upsetting to these
men with their doctrines and theology that some
young kid can come into town and start
a Bible study that grows into a church
of over 5,000 members when with all
of their degrees and learning and knowledge of
the Greek and Hebrew and so forth, they
have a hard time through pushing and programming
and every guise and device that you can
think maintaining, you know, four or five hundred
people.
It's just not fair.
After all, I've been trained the authority.
Now, the Mormons quite often ask this question
because they believe that God has restored the
authority to the church through Joseph Smith and
that the 12 apostles of the Mormon church
are the only ones who can actually bestow
authority upon a person to minister the gospel.
And so they do not recognize the authority
of anyone who has not been sanctioned by
the 12 apostles of the Mormon church for
everybody knows that they are the only true
church.
And so they quite often challenge by what
authority.
So Jesus went through the same thing.
Then he began to speak to them a
parable, a certain man planted a vineyard and
he let it out to husbandmen and he
went into a far country for a long
time.
Note, Jesus is now giving a parable that
relates to his going away, letting out.
It's a twofold, actually, interpretation because it also
is a parable against these Pharisees at the
season.
He sent a servant to the husbandmen that
they should give him of the fruit of
the vineyard.
But the husbandmen beat him and sent him
away empty.
And again, he sent another servant and they
beat him also and then treated him shamefully.
And they sent him away empty.
And again, he sent a third and they
wounded him also and cast him out.
Then said the Lord of the vineyard, what
shall I do?
I will send my beloved son.
It may be that they will reverence him
when they see him.
But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned
among themselves, saying, this is the air.
Come, let us kill him that the inheritance
may be ours.
So they cast him out of the vineyard
and killed him.
And what, therefore, shall the Lord of the
vineyard do unto them?
He shall come and destroy these husbandmen and
shall give the vineyard to others.
And when they heard it, they said, God
forbid.
And he beheld them and said, what is
this then that is written?
The stone which the builders rejected, the same
has become the head of the corner.
Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be
broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it
will grind him to powder.
Now, in the fifth chapter of Isaiah, the
Lord speaks there a parable through Isaiah of
a vineyard and the vineyard was the nation
of Israel.
How that this man planted a vineyard, he
put the choicest vines in it.
He built a hedge around it and he
put a wine press in the middle and
when the time came to gather fruit from
the vineyard, there was nothing but wild grapes
on the vine.
And so he let the vineyard go.
And the prophet was speaking about how that
God had set apart the nation Israel that
it might bring forth fruit unto God.
But their failure to bring forth that fruit
that God was desiring from them would bring
actually a rejection by God or just being
let go by God and their demise.
So when Jesus began to speak the parable
of the vineyard, aware of the prophecy of
Isaiah, their minds flip back and they realize
that he's talking now about the nation of
Israel, God's vineyard.
The servants that were sent to the vineyard
were the prophets who were rejected by the
people.
Some of them were stoned.
Others of them were killed.
Isaiah was actually sought into.
And so these are the prophets that God
sent to the nation.
Finally, God sent his only begotten son.
Surely they will reverence him.
But the husband, when they saw him, said,
this is the heir.
Let's kill him that the inheritance may be
ours.
And so Jesus here is predicting his death
at their hands.
Now, the result of their rejection of the
son, the commandment of the Lord, destroy the
husband man.
The nation of Israel was destroyed by Titus.
Josephus said that he killed 1,100,000
Jews and they carried 97,000 away as
slaves to Rome.
When they heard this, they said, God forbid,
for they recognize that Jesus was speaking about
them.
And so then he asked them, what does
this parable mean?
That which is written, the stone which the
builders have set up, not the same has
become the chief cornerstone.
Psalm 118.
Now, Peter, in the fourth chapter of Acts,
when he was standing before the elders and
the scribes and the high priest, this same
group that was challenging Jesus here, when Peter
stood before them in Acts, the fourth chapter,
they were asking Peter, by what authority did
you work this miracle on this lame man?
By what name or by what power have
you done this?
So they were giving him much the same
business as they gave to Jesus.
We want to know by what power did
you do this?
By what name?
And Peter said, Amen of Israel.
If we have been examined this day because
of the good deed that has been done
to this lame man, you judge for yourselves
on that.
But be it known unto you that it
is by the name of Jesus Christ that
this man stands here before you whole.
And this is the stone which was set
up, not by you builders, but he has
become the chief cornerstone and neither is there
salvation in any other.
For there is no other name given among
men whereby we must be saved.
So Peter was here when Jesus was challenged
concerning authority.
He remembered the answer of Jesus to these
men.
He remembered this parable that Jesus ended by
saying unto them, what does this mean?
The stone that was set up, not by
the builders, the same has become the chief
cornerstone.
And so Peter brings it right back to
them very forcibly, declaring of Jesus, this is
the stone which was set up, not by
you builders, but the same has become the
chief cornerstone.
Now Jesus declaring concerning that stone said, whosoever
shall fall upon that stone shall be broken.
But upon whomsoever that stone shall fall, it
will grind him to powder.
You have one of two relationships to Jesus
Christ.
Either that of submitting to him, falling upon
the stone, or resisting him and ultimately being
ground to powder.
Woe unto him who strives with his maker.
Many people are so foolish as to fight
against Jesus Christ.
Fall upon the stone, fall upon Jesus Christ.
You'll find you'll be broken.
Better that you do that than in judgment
have him fall upon you and be ground
to powder.
Now the chief priests and the scribes the
same hour sought to lay hands on him,
but they feared the people for they perceived
that he had spoken this parable against them.
They got the message.
They knew that he was referring to them
and so they were actually wanting desperately to
arrest him at this point.
And yet because of the popular acclaim of
the people, they did not do it.
And so they watched him and they sent
forth spies which should feign themselves to be
just men.
That they might take hold of his words
in order that they might deliver him to
the powers and authorities of the governor.
They're now going to try and trap him
so that they can accuse him of sedition
or of rebellion against Rome and turn him
over to the governor.
And so they asked him saying, Master, we
know that you say and teach the truth
and you do not accept the person of
any, but you teach the way of God
truly.
In other words, you're no respecter of man's
persons.
You are a straight shooter.
We know this.
We know that you don't bow to man.
That you tell the truth.
You speak the truth.
Therefore, is it lawful for us to give
taxes to Caesar or not?
If Jesus says no, it is not lawful
for you to give taxes to Caesar.
Immediately, they'll run to the Antonio fortress, call
for the Roman centurion, and have him come
down and arrest Jesus for advocating a tax
rebellion against Caesar.
If Jesus says, yes, it is lawful for
you to pay taxes to Caesar, these zealots
who would not recognize the power of the
Roman government, who hated these taxes that were
levied by Rome.
And there was a certain tax that was
levied upon every man just for the privilege
of living.
This is the tax they were referring to.
It wasn't much of a tax, but it
was just to show the Roman authority.
And so they felt that they had Jesus
cleverly trapped.
Either way, he's wrong.
And so he said, show me a coin,
show me a penny.
And he said, whose image, superscription does it
have on it?
And they answered and said, Caesar's.
And he said unto them, render therefore unto
Caesar the things that are Caesar's.
And unto God, the things that are God's.
It's got Caesar's image on it, give it
to Caesar.
But he added, you should be rendering unto
God the things that are God's.
And they could not take hold of his
words before the people, and they marveled at
his answer and they held their peace.
And then there came certain to him who
were Sadducees, who deny that there is any
resurrection.
And they asked him saying, Master Moses, now
the Sadducees were materialist.
They accepted as authority, as authoritative, only the
five books of Moses.
They rejected the prophets.
They would not accept them as a part
of the scriptures.
Only the five books of Moses did they
consider to be divinely inspired.
And so if you would get into an
argument with them, and you would quote from
the Psalms or quote from the prophets, they
would reject it.
As not being authoritative, only the five books
of Moses.
So they said, Moses wrote unto us, if
any man's brother die having a wife and
he die without children, that his brother should
take his wife and raise up a seed
unto his brother.
Now there were therefore seven brothers.
And the first took a wife and he
died without children.
And the second took her to a wife
and he died childless.
And the third, and in like manner, the
seven also.
And they left no children and they all
died.
Last of all, the poor woman died too.
Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of them
is she?
For all seven had her as their wife.
Now, the endeavor was to make the resurrection
seem so ridiculous that people say, well, that's
that's stupid.
That's foolish, you know.
And thoroughly discount the idea of the resurrection.
There have been those who have done the
same thing today, only a little different way.
They hypothesize that back in the days of
the Wild West, when a man was shot
in a gun battle and they went out
and just dug a shallow grave and buried
his body, that as his body decomposed, we
know the body is made up of chemicals
and elements.
And as the body decomposed, these chemicals just
actually went into the soil, became a part
of the soil.
And the prairie grass, its little roots went
down into the soil and the chemicals of
this decomposed body were picked up in the
roots of the prairie grass.
And, of course, came up through the root
system and into the grass itself, nourishing the
grass.
And the cows came and ate the prairie
grass that has the chemicals of the decomposed
body of this man who was shot in
the gun battle.
And the cows gave their milk that contained
a part of the chemicals from the decomposed
body.
And I drank that milk.
And thus, those chemicals have become a part
of my body now.
So that in the resurrection, in what body
are these chemicals going to go?
Because they've been a part of many bodies.
And they've tried to make the idea of
the resurrection seem ridiculous by these hypotheses that
they have created.
Now, Jesus said, you err because you do
not know the resurrection or the power of
God.
In the resurrection, there will be no marrying
or giving in marriage.
But we will be as the angels who
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
As I understand God's purpose for marriage, it
is to establish a beautiful, healthy environment for
children to be raised, to be brought into
the world.
The basic plan for marriage that we might
reproduce, that we might be fruitful and multiply
and replenish the earth.
Now, in heaven, the angels do not reproduce.
Thus, no need for marriage.
We will not be reproducing.
Thus, no need for marriage.
We will be as the angels are.
A lot of questions.
Will we know each other then in heaven?
Of course we will.
We're not going to be more stupid there
than we are here.
The Bible says we will know even as
we are known.
Well, what kind of relationships will we have?
Deeper, richer than any we could ever experience
on the earth.
Now, just how in all of these relationships
God has not really gone into details with
us.
He just told us that we'll be as
the angels.
Now, there are some poor people that feel,
well, if I can't be married, I don't
want to go there.
Well, the alternative is not so pleasant.
There's nothing that says you're going to be
married there either.
You say, but what about that milk I'm
drinking?
I'm not going to have this body in
heaven.
We know that when the earthly tent, this
body is dissolved, we have a building of
God, not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens.
I'm going to get a new body.
A building of God, not made with hands.
So, whatever happens to this body, I could
care less.
Some say, well, what about cremation?
They can do what they want.
We know that when this earthly tent is
dissolved, and if they do it by cremation,
it'll be dissolved in 37 minutes.
If they let the natural processes go, it'll
take a little longer.
But I will have moved out and have
moved in to my new house.
The building of God, not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens.
Jesus said, in my father's house are many
mansions.
If it were not so, I would have
told you, I'm going to prepare a place
for you.
You say, oh, but what about the resurrection
of our bodies?
Well, what about them?
Paul the Apostle said, some will say, how
are the dead raised and what kind of
a body will they have?
And he said, don't you realize that God
teaches resurrection in nature?
For when you plant a seed into the
ground, the seed does not come forth into
new life until it first of all dies.
And then the body, and listen carefully, the
body that comes out of the ground is
not the body that you planted.
I feel sorry for you who are so
in love with your body that you want
to carry it on into the new kingdom.
For the body that comes out of the
ground is not the body that you planted
because all you planted was a bare grain
and God gives it a body that pleases
him.
And if it pleases God, you can be
sure it's going to please me.
So is the resurrection from the dead, Paul
asserts.
For we are planted in corruption.
We will be raised in incorruption.
We are planted in weakness.
We'll be raised in power.
We are sown in dishonor.
We'll be raised in glory.
We are planted as a natural body, but
we'll be raised as a spiritual body where
there's a natural body.
And there is a spiritual body in the
glory of the terrestrial differs from the glory
of the celestial.
And even as we have borne the image
of the earth and have been earthy, so
shall we bear the image of the heavens.
So the body that comes out is not
the body that was planted.
All we planted was a bare grain.
God gives it a body that pleases him.
So I'm really quite interested in that new
model and all of the gadgets, the capacities
of that new body.
Probably just fantastic as this corruption puts on
incorruption and this mortal puts on immortality where
you see.
God created this body out of the earth
for the earth of the earth, earthy.
Designed it for the environmental conditions of the
earth.
The earth is made up of 79 parts,
the atmosphere on the earth, the 79 parts
of nitrogen, 20 parts of oxygen and one
part of neon and other gases.
Now, when God made my body, he designed
it so that it needed this 79 20.
Ratio in the atmosphere operates well under it.
If he put more oxygen in my heart
would beat faster and I would die sooner.
More nitrogen, I would have the opposite effect,
but I'd still die sooner.
My heart would go slower.
If he put equal parts of nitrogen and
oxygen in the atmosphere, we'd all go around
like a bunch of laughing maniacs, because that's
nitric oxide, which is laughing gas in the
dentist chair.
So we'd all go around with uncontrollable laughter.
So he designed the body for the conditions
of the environment of the earth.
But to come into the heavenly scene, I
need a body that's designed for that environment.
So God has a new body prepared for
me.
And one day my spirit and soul are
going to move out of this body into
the new body that God has.
And with Paul, I'll say, oh, death, where
is your sting?
Oh, grave, where is your victory?
We have been caused to triumph over them
through Jesus Christ.
Thanks be unto God who gives us that
continual victory through Jesus our Lord.
So they did not understand.
And so Jesus said, the children of this
world marry.
That is in this age, in this time,
they marry and are given in marriage.
But they which shall be accounted worthy to
obtain that age or that world and the
resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are
given in marriage.
Neither can they die anymore.
My new body is indestructible, eternal in the
heavens.
The building of God not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens.
So you better like your new one because
that's where you're going to be.
For they are equal unto the angels.
And are the children of God being the
children of the resurrection.
Oh, wait a minute.
You said something, Jesus.
These guys don't believe in the resurrection.
Now that the dead are raised, even Moses
showed at the bush.
You see, these men only accepting the first
five books of the Old Testament.
Held the position that there was no resurrection.
And though there were many arguments prior to
the time of Christ, as others were seeking
to prove the resurrection to them, because they
only accepted Moses as authoritative, no one had
ever offered them from the writings of Moses
any proof of the resurrection.
So Jesus goes right back to Moses.
Now that the dead are raised, even Moses
showed at the bush.
When he calleth the Lord, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God
of Jacob.
Jacob at the time that Moses stood before
the bush had been dead for 400 years.
Isaac and Abraham even longer.
And yet God, when he spoke to Moses
out of the bush, said, I am the
Lord.
I am the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
And Jesus adds, he is not the God
of the dead, but of the living.
Declaring that 400 years after their recorded deaths,
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were still alive in
another dimension, another sphere, but still alive because
God is the God of the living, not
the God of the dead.
And the scribes, when they heard that, they
said, hey, that's all right.
They had never been able to argue their
case with the Sadducees.
But when they heard that argument, they were
really pleased with that.
That, hey, that's all right.
You nailed them, you know, you got them.
And so they answered Jesus saying, master, you
have said, well, that's good.
And after that, they dared not to ask
him any more questions.
And so he said unto them, how say
they that Christ is David's son?
Now, one of the titles for the Messiah
was son of David.
Last week, you remember when we were in
Jericho and Jesus was entering the city, there
was the blind man who cried out, Jesus,
thou son of David, have mercy on me.
Son of David was a messianic title because
they were looking for some descendant of David
to arise in power and in authority to
establish the kingdom and to overthrow the Roman
rule.
Thou son of David, a common title of
the Messiah.
So he said unto them, how is it
that you say that the Messiah and the
word Christ is the Greek for the Hebrew
Messiah?
So how is it that you say the
Messiah is David's son?
And David himself said in the book of
the Psalms, that is in Psalms 110, The
Lord, that is Yahweh, said unto my Lord,
my Adonai, sit thou on my right hand,
till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
David therefore called him Lord.
How then could he be his son?
You are dealing with a culture that is
a very strong patriarchal culture.
The father rules.
No matter how old he is, as long
as he's living, he rules over the household.
You can be married and have your own
grandkids.
But if your dad's still alive, he rules.
No son would ever call his, or no
father would ever call his son Lord.
That was a title for the father, for
the patriarch of the family.
He ruled.
So no father would ever say to his
son, Lord, using that title.
So Jesus said, look, if he's the son
of David, how is it that David called
him Lord?
If he's his son.
And of course, they had no answer.
And then in the audience of all the
people, he said to his disciples, you know,
this is, he turns to his disciples now,
all the people listening in.
He said, beware of the scribes, which desire
to walk in long robes and love greetings
in the markets and the highest seats in
the synagogues and the chief rooms in the
feast, which devour widows' houses and for a
show make long prayers.
The same shall receive greater damnation.
Beware of those who seek to make a
public show for a pretense, make long
prayers, devour widows' houses, send out computerized letters
filled with deceit and fraud to the little
women and so on social security, ask him
to go down to the bank and borrow
some money to send to them to help
them out of this emergency.
Who love the honor and the greetings and
the palavering of man.
Pray for them because Jesus said they will
receive the greater damnation.
And he looked up and he saw the
rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
And he saw also a certain poor widow
casting in thither two mites, a mite was
one sixteenth of a penny.
In other words, it took 16 mites to
make a penny.
Two mites would be an eighth of a
penny.
Now, here are these rich people putting in
their great gifts.
And this certain poor little widow goes up
and they're in the temple there, the offering
things were sort of like a horn and
they would drop them in.
Poor little widow casting in her two mites
and he said of a truth I say
unto you that this poor widow has cast
in more than all of them.
For all of these have of their abundance
cast into the offerings of God, but she
of her penury hath cast in all of
the living that she had.
So, an interesting thing in God's economy is
not the amount that you give, but what
it costs you to give.
So, many who are giving less in God's
economy are giving more.
The amount is immaterial.
What's the sacrifice?
What's it costing you to give?
When David was wanting to buy
the threshing floor of Arunah because the angel
of the Lord had stopped the plague, it
stopped there at the threshing floor of Arunah
and David wanted to buy it and to
offer a sacrifice unto God.
Arunah says, take it, man, it's yours.
And David said, no, I will not give
to God that which cost me nothing.
And David insisted on buying it.
He wouldn't take it as a gift because
he wanted to give it to God.
And he said, I won't offer to God
that which cost me nothing.
What does it cost you to give?
That's what God measures the gift by.
And as some of them speak of the
temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones
and gifts.
In the Wars of the Jews by Josephus,
book number five and chapter five, he gives
an interesting description of the temple in Jerusalem.
Of these great white columns of solid marble,
each column, a single stone of solid white
marble and how along the fascia.
All of these gold shields so that if
you would look at the temple, the reflection
of the gold was so tremendous that it
was like looking at the sun itself.
And you couldn't you couldn't just look at
the temple because of these gold plates when
the sun was reflecting off of it.
It would be hard in your eyes like
looking in a mirror.
And he describes the beauty and the glory
of this temple that was built by Herod.
Describing some of the stones as weighing as
much as 180 tons.
And so some of them were speaking to
Jesus of the temple, how it was adorned
rather with these goodly stones, these beautiful marble
towers and the gifts, the gold and the
silver and the brass gates and all that
were around it.
And he said, as for these things which
you are looking at, the days will come
in the which there shall not be left
one stone upon another that shall not be
thrown down.
Today, when you go to Jerusalem, as you
go up the walk next to the western
wall that leads on to the Temple Mount
area, they have excavated the area to the
right side of this walk.
They have excavated down to the pavement that
was the Roman street that went through the
bottom of the Turopian Valley.
And as they have excavated down to this
Roman street, street level at the time of
Christ, down there on the pavement, which was
made of great huge stones, there are these
huge stones that have been pushed over the
wall and that cracked the pavement down below.
And you see them as they are just
lying there in disarray as they fell and
were pushed over the wall and crashed into
the valley several hundred feet below, breaking the
pavement down below.
I've climbed down in to that area and
I've touched these big stones and I've marveled
at them because as I looked at them,
I realized I was seeing the fulfillment of
the prophecy of Jesus Christ.
Not one stone was left standing upon another.
They filled the Turopian Valley with stones that
they pushed over from the temple.
Watching them crash below.
When we were up in the Grand Canyon,
there was one area that I had a
bunch of kids and they were starting to
push stones over this canyon cliff because there
was about a 3,000 foot drop before
they hit.
And it was terrifying to see the momentum
that these stones would develop before they hit
the bottom and the crash and of course
coming echoing up the canyon.
But here were the Roman soldiers when they
destroyed the temple pushing the stones over and
that whole Turopian Valley was filled with the
debris and the stones that they pushed over
the wall at the time of the destruction
of the temple.
But it fulfilled literally the prophecy of Jesus
as he said, you look at these stones,
but there shall not be one left standing
upon another that will not be thrown down.
Thus, as you go up on the Temple
Mount, there is no evidence anywhere of where
the Temple of Solomon stood.
The Temple Mount that he built is there.
But there is no evidence at all of
the place of the temple because not one
stone was left standing on another.
And so they asked him saying, Master, when
shall these things be?
What things?
When the temple is destroyed and the stones
are thrown down.
And what sign will there be when these
things, that is the destruction of the temple
in Jerusalem, what will be the sign when
these things come to pass?
And so he said unto them, Take heed
that you be not deceived.
For many shall come in my name saying,
I am.
And that the time is drawing near, but
go ye not therefore after them.
But when you shall hear of wars and
commotions, don't be terrified.
For these things must first come to pass
and the end is not yet.
Then he said unto them, Nation shall rise
against nation, kingdom against kingdom.
And there will be great earthquakes in different
places and famines and pestilences and fearful signs
and great signs shall there be from heaven.
But before now these he's going on to
the times of the end with these signs
of the great earthquakes in different places, the
famines, the pestilences, the fearful signs in heaven
and the worldwide state of wars.
But before all of these.
They shall lay their hands on you coming
back to the destruction of the temple.
And they will persecute you, delivering you up
into the synagogues and into the prisons.
And you'll be brought before kings and rulers
for my name's sake.
And it shall turn to you for a
testimony.
Jesus said, look, you're going to get arrested.
You're going to be hauled before the kings
and all for my name's sake.
But that's all right.
It's going to give you a chance to
witness.
And I find it fascinating.
That every time Paul was brought before a
judge or before the king.
He took the opportunity to give a witness
for Jesus Christ.
Oh, King Agrippa, I counted a privilege to
be able to share with you what's happened
to me, because I know that you've studied
the law of the Jews and you understand
these things.
And the things that Jesus did weren't in
a corner.
Now, I myself was like you.
I thought, you know, to be against this
man.
And I was commissioned to arrest him and
so forth.
And and he went on and he gave
a heavy witness to King Agrippa.
King Agrippa, do you believe?
I know you believe.
And oh, wait a minute, Paul, wait a
minute.
You know, your much learning has made you
mad.
And Agrippa said, hey, wait a minute.
Hold on.
You think that you're going to persuade me
to be a Christian?
But Paul was trying.
Jesus said, hey, they're going to bring you
before kings.
But don't worry, it's going to give you
a chance to witness.
And Paul used it every time he got
before the king.
Now, Paul was taken before Nero.
There is nothing in the biblical account that
tells us what Paul said.
But as we study secular history, it would
seem that Nero wasn't too bad a fellow.
He was actually very anxious to leave his
mark upon Rome and to build some monuments
in Rome.
His castle is a great monument in itself
that has been uncovered recently.
But Nero wasn't really too awful a fellow
until in history, until he met this fellow,
Paul the Apostle.
The first time that Paul was imprisoned in
Rome, he had his opportunity.
You remember when he was before Festus, he
appealed to Caesar.
And so he was sent to Rome, placed
there in prison, where he wrote his Philippian
epistle, and he had his chance to go
before Nero.
Now, you think that the witness he laid
on Agrippa was heavy.
You can be sure that Paul thought, man,
if I can convert this pagan to Christianity,
what that would do.
And I'm sure that Paul laid on Nero
a witness second to none in the history
of the church.
Secular history records this dramatic personality change of
Nero right after the time that Paul laid
the witness on him.
It was at that same period of time
in history that Nero went through a drastic
personality change and became a beast.
He burned Rome because he wanted to rebuild
a new glorious Rome for his credit.
And then he blamed the Christians for it.
But he became almost a man possessed, insane.
I feel that personally, that he became demon
possessed after Paul's witness and his rejection of
Paul's witness.
I believe that he opened his heart and
life to demon possession.
And I believe that the things that he
did can only be ascribed to a man
possessed by an evil spirit.
But up until that time of Paul's witness,
he wasn't that bad of a fellow historically.
So Jesus said, now, don't worry about it.
It's going to give you a chance to
witness.
And Paul took that chance every time he
got it.
And he said, don't make up a little
speech in advance in your own heart what
you're going to say.
Well, now I'm going to say this and
that and the other.
But he said, for I will give you
a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries
shall not be able to gain, say, nor
resist.
Now, don't worry about what you're going to
say because I'll give you the words in
that time and you can wipe them out.
And you will be betrayed both by your
parents and your brothers and your kinfolk and
your friends.
And some of you, they will cause you
to be put to death.
Fox's Book of Martyrs relates to us that
sad portion of the history of the church.
And you shall be hated of all men
for my name's sake.
But there shall not a hair of your
head perish.
They may kill your body.
But after that, they have no power.
And in your patience, possess ye your souls.
What an important bit of instruction.
In patience.
God, help us.
We're so impatient when it comes to the
things of God.
In your patience, possess ye your souls.
God, give me patience.
And when you will see Jerusalem encircled with
armies, which happen within forty years, then know
that the desolation is near.
Let them which are in Judea flee to
the mountains.
And let them which are in the midst
of it depart out.
And let them that are in the countries
enter in thereto.
For these are the days of vengeance.
Rome is going to take out her vengeance
upon the rebellion.
And all of the things which are written
may be fulfilled.
But woe unto them that are with child
and to those that are nursing in those
days.
For there shall be great distress in the
land and wrath upon this people.
And they shall fall by the edge of
the sword.
And they will be led away captive to
all nations.
And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be
fulfilled.
So, in 70 A.D., when Titus came
with the Roman troops and besieged Jerusalem, killed
1,100,000 Jews, carried away the remaining
97,000 as captive, Israel ceased to be
a nation.
They were carried away captive into all nations.
And the prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled.
And Jerusalem from that day have been trodden
down by the Gentiles until June of 1967.
Now, as I understand prophecy, in June of
1967, the time of the Gentiles came to
an end.
You say, well, what are we in now?
Just a space gap.
I believe that the Lord is going to
begin a very special work with the nation
of Israel very soon.
There is a seven-year period of prophecy
that has not yet been fulfilled.
Daniel's 70th week.
And that seven-year period of God's Spirit
upon the nation of Israel and dealing with
them and their restoration must come.
That period has not yet begun.
But in 1967, for all practical purposes, when
Jerusalem became again the territory of the nation
of Israel, when they drove out the Jordanian
troops and they took the city of Jerusalem.
At that point, according to the words of
Jesus, Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the
Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be
fulfilled.
Since that time has just been a short
period of God's grace, giving others that opportunity
to become a part of God's kingdom before
he gathers his church together unto himself.
So we're just living in a period of
God's extended grace to man.
But even as God said in the time
of Noah, my spirit will not always strive
with man.
I believe that God's striving with men has
just about come to an end.
The time of the Gentiles fulfilled.
And now Jesus goes ahead to give signs
of his return.
And he said, there shall be signs in
the sun and in the moon and in
the stars and upon the earth, distress of
nations with perplexity, signs in the heavens.
We know that the comet known as Halley's
Comet will be returning into our area of
the solar system in just a couple of
years.
And with the advent of the return of
Halley's Comet, there's been a lot of writing
in the astronomy magazines and a lot of
speculation about asteroids and about comets and the
possibilities of a comet or an asteroid striking
the earth.
And it is interesting that a large part
of the physical makeup of comets is cyanide.
And it is also interesting that in the
book of Revelation, he saw a star fall
from heaven and strike the earth.
That is, and all of the fresh waters
became bitter.
They were called wormwood because they were bitter.
It sounds like it could almost be a
comet striking the earth and that cyanide poisoning
the fresh water systems, turning them bitter.
The cyanide taste, of course, is a bitter
taste.
You might pick up the astronomy magazine.
I think it was December's issue.
It had an interesting article on comets and
their makeup.
And of course, a lot of, as I
say, because Halley's is returning, there's just a
lot of things that you can read now
in the astronomy journals and all about asteroids
and comets.
And there is always that likelihood that an
asteroid is going to strike the earth.
In fact, our government is making contingency plans.
If there seems to be some threat of
a large asteroid striking the earth, of sending
a rocket out with a nuclear warhead to
try and explode it in space so that
it won't get to the earth.
And these kinds of things are things that
are being thought of by the scientists.
Signs in the sun, in the moon, in
the stars.
On the earth, there'll be distress of nations
with perplexity.
That means that the distress of nations is
problems that nations will be facing.
The word perplexity in the Greek is no
way out.
Now the government is searching for a way
out.
We're going to cut taxes and we're going
to, you know, balance the budget.
Government has become burdensome.
In fact, government has become so expensive, we
can't afford it anymore.
And that's the problem that we've hit.
There's no way that we can afford government
any longer.
It's a monster that has just continued to
grow, gobbling up everything until it has grown
to such an extent that there are not
enough people left to support the government workers.
I read a statistic someplace and this, I
don't know the accuracy of it, but it
said some 49% of the people are
on the government payroll somewhere or other.
Either through welfare or through jobs that are
related to the government.
So 51% of the people are productive
and the rest are working for the government,
supporting the 49.
What are we going to do?
What's the answer?
There is none.
So what shall we do?
Well, have heart failure.
I thought that this was interesting that it
came this week.
The sea and the waves roaring.
Any of you live at Sunset Beach?
Seal Beach?
Men's hearts failing them for fear and for
the looking after of those things which are
coming upon the earth and the powers of
the heaven will be shaken.
And then, of course, he's describing events of
the Great Tribulation period here.
And then, after this Great Tribulation, shall they
see the Son of Man coming in a
cloud with power and great glory.
And when these things begin to come to
pass, then look up and lift up your
head for your redemption is drawing close.
Now, last October,
in one of the shopping malls, towards the
end of October, I saw them putting up
Christmas decorations.
And I said, well, Thanksgiving must be getting
close.
Why?
Because I know that Thanksgiving comes before Christmas.
And if they're putting up Christmas decorations and
Thanksgiving hasn't come yet, then Thanksgiving must be
getting close.
Because it's got to come before Christmas.
Now, Jesus is giving you signs of his
return.
Signs that will happen before his second coming.
But if the rapture of the church is
to precede the second coming by seven years,
then when we see the signs of the
coming of the Lord, we have to say,
hey, the rapture must be getting close.
I see the signs of the Lord's return.
That makes the rapture that much closer.
So, when you see these things beginning to
come to pass, then you look up and
lift up your head for your redemption is
drawing nigh.
And he spake to them a parable.
Behold, the fig tree and all of the
trees, when they now shoot forth and you
see and you know of your own selves
that summer is now near at hand.
And Jesus is basically saying the same thing.
You see the trees start to blossom out
and leaf out.
You say, oh, summer must be getting close
because I see the trees leaving out.
I see the blossoms.
Summer must be getting close.
Verily, I say unto you, this generation shall
not pass away till all is fulfilled.
Now, heaven and earth shall pass away, but
my words shall not pass away.
We have the solid word of Christ.
Now, even as Jerusalem was destroyed and not
one stone was left standing upon another and
the Jews were decimated and the remainder were
made slaves throughout the earth and Jerusalem went
under the hand of the Gentiles.
Just as all of that was fulfilled, you
can be sure that Jesus is coming again.
The rest of the prophecies will be fulfilled.
God didn't bring it along this far to
drop it now.
We are moving towards the end.
The whole system is moving towards this climax,
return of Jesus Christ in power and glory.
But when we see the signs of that
return, we know that our redemption is so
close.
And Jesus affirms.
He said, now look, heaven and earth will
pass away, but not my words.
So, take heed to yourselves.
Now, this is a message for you.
Take heed, be careful, lest at any time
your hearts are overcharged with surfeiting, drunkenness, partying,
the cares of this life and that they
overtake you unaware.
Unaware.
There is a party spirit in the world
today.
Be careful you're not caught up in it.
And that day of the Lord catch you
by surprise.
Be careful of these things.
Jesus warned you that these things are going
to be like a trap for men.
Drunkenness, surfeiting, gourmet type of eating, cares of
this life.
So that that day is coming will come
on you unaware.
For as a snare is a trap, shall
it come upon all of them that dwell
upon the face of the whole earth.
Watch ye therefore.
The Lord's command to his church to watch
and pray always that ye may be accounted
worthy to escape all these things, all what
things.
These things of God's judgment that will be
coming to pass upon the earth as there
are the signs in the sun and the
moon and the stars and the heavens shaken
and the earthquakes and the pestilences and famines.
Pray that you'll be accounted worthy to escape
all of these things.
That shall come to pass and to stand
before the Son of Man.
Now in the book of Revelation chapter five,
John saw a scroll in the right hand
of him who was sitting upon the throne
sealed with seven seals and it had writing
both within and without.
And he heard an angel proclaim with a
loud voice who is worthy to take the
scroll and loose the seals.
And when no one was found worthy in
heaven or earth, John began to sob compulsively
until the elder said, don't sob.
John behold, the lion of the tribe of
Judah hath prevailed to take the scroll and
loose the seals.
And I turned and I saw him as
a lamb that had been slaughtered.
And he took the scroll out of the
right hand of him who sat upon the
throne.
And when he did, the twenty-four elders
came forth with their golden vials full of
odors, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they offered them before the throne of
God.
And they sang a new song saying, worthy
is the lamb to take the scroll and
to loose the seals.
For he was slain, but he is redeemed
by his blood out of every nation and
tribe and kindred and tongue and people.
And he has made us unto our God,
kings and priests, and we shall reign with
him upon the earth.
Listen to the lyric of the song in
heaven.
Worthy is the lamb.
He was slain.
He has redeemed us by his blood.
Out of all of the nations, tribes, tongues
and people made us under our God, kings
and priests, and we shall reign with him
upon the earth.
These are those who are standing before the
son of man.
And the great tribulation does not begin until
the beginning of chapter six.
And when he loosed the first seal, the
angel said unto me, come.
And I saw a white horse coming forth
upon the earth, conquering and to conquer with
his rider and begins the great tribulation period
when after the book is opened.
But while the book is there in the
right hand of the father, and when Jesus
steps forth to take it, that glorious song
of the church worthy is the lamb sung
by those who are standing before the son
of man.
Jesus is saying, look, you pray always watch
and pray always that you'll be accounted worthy
to escape all of these things that are
going to be happening upon the earth, that
you'll be standing before the son of man.
It is my prayer and anticipation that I
will be accounted worthy to be standing with
the company of God's redeemed saints in heaven,
singing of the worthiness of the lamb to
take the title deed to the earth and
to lay claim to it.
I want to be standing before the son
of man.
I surely do not want to be down
here on this earth when God's wrath is
poured out as Jesus has described a portion
of it here, but you find the full
description in Revelation chapter six through 18.
And in the daytime, that's the end of
the message.
Now in the daytime, he was teaching in
the temple and in night he went out
and stayed at the Mount, which is called
the Mount of Olives.
So he crossed the Kidron Valley and went
in up into the Mount of Olives in
the evening.
And all of the people came early in
the morning to him in the temple to
hear him.
So there was a popular movement towards Jesus
by the common people as the chief priests
and the scribes and the elders were plotting
his death.
And so we move into the final chapters
as we get into chapter 22 and Judas's
betrayal, the last supper, and we're moving into
the final events of Jesus' life, which we
will complete next Sunday night as we finish
the book of Luke.
Shall we pray?
Father, as we look around the world in
which we live and as we look at
your word and as we see these things
beginning to come to pass, we see the
nation of Israel existing once again.
We see the city of Jerusalem under the
control of the nation of Israel, and we
see the distress of nations and the perplexities.
We see the nation against nation, kingdom against
kingdom, the increased earthquakes, these pestilences and famines.
Oh Lord, help us that we will be
accounted worthy to escape all of these things
that are going to come to pass.
Oh God, we want to stand in that
heavenly throng around the throne of God, proclaiming
the worthiness of Jesus, our Lord and Savior,
who died for us, who redeemed us by
his blood and has made us unto our
God, kings and priests.
Thank you, Jesus, for that redemption that we
have tonight.
Oh Lord, may we be worthy to be
in that throng.
In Jesus' name, Amen.