1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,800 Well, before I start, let me warn you. 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:08,880 Put on your mental running shoes. 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:14,960 We are going to be covering some ground, a lot of ground, 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,920 and we're going to be covering it quickly. 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:22,760 So get your minds ready to go. 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:30,200 Four men were walking down, making their way down steep mountainside. 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:35,760 In the distance they could hear the river. 8 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:44,120 I guess depending on where you're from, some of us would have called it a big creek. 9 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:48,480 It was also making its way down the mountain. 10 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:57,360 And these men, four men, quiet, thinking, and finally one of them spoke up. 11 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:14,880 Lord, how come the scribes say that Elijah must come first? 12 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:21,440 I'm quoting from Matthew 17. 13 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:26,960 They had just been at the top of the Mount of Transfiguration. 14 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:31,720 If that is indeed the mountain that people say it is over in the Middle East, 15 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,680 kind of flat on top and steep on the sides. 16 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:44,360 As they made their way down the steep trail, the disciples knew that they had just seen Moses 17 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:50,680 and the resurrected Moses and Elijah, who had never seen death. 18 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:56,880 They had seen them both and they'd never seen either one of them before. 19 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:01,440 Right? This was a new experience for them. 20 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:08,680 And yet they also knew that the scribes, the religious leaders of Israel, 21 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:17,240 had long been preaching that before the Messiah came, Elijah would come first. 22 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:25,680 And I might add that the scribes who taught this based their prophecy 23 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:30,680 on the last, very last words of the Old Testament. 24 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:37,720 If you turn to Malachi chapter 4, you will see these words, verses 5 and 6, 25 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:43,280 it's the very last words of the Old Testament. 26 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:50,720 Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 27 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:57,800 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, 28 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:02,600 lest I come and strike the earth with the curse. 29 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:09,240 Now does that sound like Messiah was supposed to come for, or Elijah was supposed to come before the Messiah? 30 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:14,360 It does. And the Jews had developed a number of traditions. 31 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:19,000 How do you have traditions about something that hasn't happened yet? 32 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:25,840 But they had developed traditions about how this was going to happen. 33 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:33,120 One of them was that the Messiah, well, that Elijah would come down from heaven, 34 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:38,640 where he had been taken many hundreds of years before in a whirlwind. 35 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:45,600 He would come down on top of the Mount of Olives and he would cry out in a loud voice, 36 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:56,240 Behold he cometh. And his voice would go rolling around the world and everyone would hear it. 37 00:03:56,240 --> 00:04:05,280 And then he would cry out again, Behold he cometh. And his voice would roll around the world, everybody would hear it. 38 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:10,480 And then a third time he would cry, Behold he cometh. 39 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:15,360 And his voice would go clear around the world and then the Messiah would appear 40 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:23,280 on the pinnacle of the temple and slowly descend into the courtyard of the temple. 41 00:04:23,280 --> 00:04:32,000 By the way, if you know anything about the temptations of Jesus in Matthew 4 and in Luke, 42 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:39,200 that adds a little bit of substance to it. That's the kind of a Messiah that they were looking for. 43 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:45,440 And when Satan said, Cast yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple, 44 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:53,520 yeah, that's just what the people were looking for, right? 45 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:59,600 It hadn't happened. And now the disciples had just seen Elijah. 46 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:09,440 And Jesus responded to them. He said in Matthew 17 verse 12, 47 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:16,480 Oh, well, let's back up. Getting ahead of myself. In fact, way ahead. 48 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:23,600 We won't go there today. He said to his disciples, 49 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:31,200 I tell you truly, Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they wanted to. 50 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:36,400 And they knew at that point he was talking to them of John the Baptist. Why 51 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:44,800 did they not put that together that John the Baptist fulfilled that prophecy? 52 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:54,480 Actually, if you go to, well, Matthew 11, Jesus had told them in so many words 53 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:59,200 that if they would receive it, John the Baptist was Elijah who was to come. 54 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:07,200 He'd been very clear about that. But the disciples who were with Jesus at this point had first 55 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:15,760 been disciples of John the Baptist. And I don't doubt that if you will go with me to John chapter 1, 56 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:25,760 and you will find that a group of delegation we would call them today, 57 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:30,160 or maybe a select committee, we have different names for them. 58 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:39,600 Chapter 1 of John in the first verse 19. Now this is the testimony of John when the Jews 59 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:47,680 sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, who are you? He confessed and did not deny. 60 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:55,760 He confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, what then are you? Are you Elijah? 61 00:06:55,760 --> 00:07:07,760 Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Now this gets kind of fun. I love it when I find something 62 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:15,520 that seems to be a discrepancy in scripture. Jesus said, John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy 63 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:26,000 of Elijah coming first, right? John said, I am not Elijah. Now that's pretty clear, isn't it? Or 64 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:38,000 maybe it's very confusing. It doesn't have to be. If you go to Luke, we find, in fact, whenever I 65 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:43,920 find what appears to be a discrepancy in scripture, I find it's God's way of drawing us to some very 66 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:55,360 important truths of his word. And in Luke, you have the angel Gabriel appearing to Zechariah, 67 00:07:55,360 --> 00:08:04,240 John the Baptist's father. And the angel answered him, Luke 1 verse 19, the angel answered and said 68 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:10,480 to him, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring you 69 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:17,920 those glad tidings. Behold, you will be mute, not able to speak until the day these things take place 70 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:26,400 because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time. Now if you back up, 71 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:33,760 I mean, Gabriel comes from the throne of God and he had something very important to say. 72 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:42,640 He said, you will have joy and gladness for verse 14 and many will rejoice at his birth, 73 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:48,640 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. 74 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:55,680 He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb and he will turn many of 75 00:08:55,680 --> 00:09:04,240 the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before him in the spirit and power 76 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:15,600 of Elijah. What did he say? The spirit and the power of Elijah. To him, the hearts, 77 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:23,600 to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. 78 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:33,040 He's quoting Malachi and for the Jews who were waiting for Elijah to personally and literally 79 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:43,840 appear, they missed the whole point and that was God was going to pour out his spirit on a man, 80 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:50,320 on someone who would do the work of Elijah that Elijah had done so long ago. 81 00:09:50,320 --> 00:10:02,240 Is that important to understand? It certainly was. Now I'd like us to look back at Malachi and look 82 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:10,080 at that prophecy because there is something very important about it. Elijah was a very important 83 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:20,320 man in the Old Testament. Notice this prophecy in Malachi says, Behold I send you Elijah the prophet 84 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:28,000 before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. When Jesus came the first time 85 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:36,240 was his coming great and dreadful. Thank you, you're right. 86 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:42,800 He came as a little baby, didn't he? Is that great and dreadful? No, not really. 87 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:49,120 We all like to see little babies although Herod the Great wasn't so happy about it but 88 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:58,960 when Jesus came the first time he was born in a barn really. Stop and think about it. 89 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:05,520 Even his ministry he went about teaching and preaching and healing the sick and raising the 90 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:12,960 dead and was any of that great and dreadful? I don't think so. Does the Bible tell us about 91 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:21,440 a coming of Jesus that will be great and dreadful? Revelation 1-7, Behold he cometh with clouds and 92 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:29,280 every eye shall see him. They also which pierced him and all the nations of the earth will wail 93 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:37,360 because of him. Does that sound great and dreadful? Yes, Jesus in Matthew 24 said it will be as the 94 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:43,600 lightning shines from the east to the west. We could go on. 95 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:52,160 Is Elijah going to come just before the great and dreadful day of the Lord? Are you looking 96 00:11:52,160 --> 00:12:01,520 forward to seeing Elijah personally? Will he stand on top of Mount Carmel and shout? 97 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:06,800 Maybe we ought to see him. 98 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:16,960 And shout? Maybe we ought to see what the work of Elijah actually was. If you go with me to 1 Kings 99 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:24,400 18 we've spent some time here in recent weeks talking about the work of Elijah and I'd like us 100 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:35,840 to look at it a little more just now. Elijah had called for a famine on Israel for three years. 101 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:45,040 For three and a half years there was neither dew nor rain. How long can we go without dew or rain 102 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:54,240 before we start saying we need a little rain? Two weeks? Yeah, a couple weeks. They had gone for 103 00:12:54,240 --> 00:13:04,560 three and a half years without rain. We know from archaeology that the Palestine was fairly heavily 104 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:13,040 forested up till this time. From this time on it was not. We know from archaeology that it was a 105 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:22,000 very verdant country up until that time. Today it is not. They get plenty of rain over there. They 106 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:30,560 get in Jerusalem they get 37 inches a year give or take. But they had been through a tremendous 107 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:42,880 drought. The nation had been turned into a desert. And Elijah called for a confrontation 108 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:53,920 between himself and the prophets of Baal on top of Mount Carmel. Now we're going to spend a little 109 00:13:53,920 --> 00:14:06,160 bit of time with this but I want us to look at this confrontation. The whole nation was 110 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:10,800 supposed to gather up there and of course the king was there and all the prophets of Baal and 111 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:20,560 400 prophets of Baal, 450 something like that. Just a bunch of them. And Elijah stood up 112 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:34,960 before the people and he said to them, well he said several things. He said all the children of Israel 113 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:45,680 listening, he said how long will you falter between two opinions? King James version puts 114 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:54,640 it very clearly. It says how long will you halt between two opinions? If the Lord is God, 115 00:14:54,640 --> 00:15:01,920 follow him. But if Baal, follow him. But the people answered him not a word. Now 116 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:08,080 we need to get a little background to understand what's happening here. We're not going to read 117 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:14,400 it all because we don't have time to read it all. I'd love to. But if you go to 1 Kings chapter 12, 118 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:20,800 you will find that at one point Israel had been one nation. There were 12 tribes. 119 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:28,240 We won't name them all. But two of the tribes had remained loyal to the house of David. They were 120 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:35,680 Judah and Benjamin. The other 10 tribes had rebelled under a man named Jeroboam. 121 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:44,160 Now the interesting part of this little bit of history is Jeroboam had been living in Egypt 122 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:50,720 because he was afraid of Solomon, the king of all of Israel. When Solomon died, he came up and 123 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:56,880 led the rebellion. He had actually been ordained or anointed of God to do this 124 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:05,600 because of idolatry in the nation. Well after the rebellion, he got worried. He said, okay, 125 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:12,560 my people are going to go down to Jerusalem to worship. They will see the beauty of that temple. 126 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:21,040 They will see all the gorgeousness of Jerusalem, the palaces, the temple, all the other things. 127 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:29,680 They'll end up deciding they want to go back and join Judah. Then they'll kill me and my family. 128 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:39,760 He decided he would set up a religion very similar to what they did in Jerusalem. 129 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:48,960 A different calendar. He followed an Egyptian calendar and he cast two golden calves. Big ones, 130 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:55,600 a lot of gold there. I don't know, maybe they were just coated in gold. I don't know, but that was a 131 00:16:55,600 --> 00:17:01,360 lot of gold. He put one in Dan, way up in the north part of the country, and the other one in Bethel, 132 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:11,600 which was only, it wasn't very far from the border with Judah. He told the people of Israel, 133 00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:17,120 here, oh Israel, are your gods which brought you out of Egypt. 134 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:27,280 It's very interesting. He told them they could come and worship those golden calves from that point on. 135 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:32,880 They found a tax receipt. They had to pay taxes back then, too. 136 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:41,520 A tax receipt from, actually, after the time of Elijah, made out to a man. I don't remember. He 137 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:46,480 paid so many barrels of oil and so much of this and that and the other thing for taxes. 138 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:55,760 The interesting part about the receipt is the man's name. Translated, it means Jehovah or Yahweh, 139 00:17:55,760 --> 00:18:07,680 is a calf. Now, what is your picture of God in your mind? Do you think of God as being a cow, 140 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:19,200 a calf, a bull? Well, bulls were looked upon back then as being a symbol of strength. 141 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:28,800 And, of course, if God is a calf, stop and think about it. He would be a very good God for those 142 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:38,960 who are cattlemen, right? If you have cattle and sheep, if you're a herdsman, Jehovah is just the 143 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:49,200 right God for you. But, of course, they had become more broad-minded. And so, there was another, 144 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:58,320 well, the God of the Canaanites, who was in charge of sending rain, and he's pictured in ancient 145 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:07,440 images of holding lightning bolts in one hand and a hammer in the other because he sent the lightning 146 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:17,200 and the thunder, that was his hammer, and they called him Baal. He was the storm god. Now, these 147 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:25,200 gods were somewhat fluid in the things they could do. Sometimes he was running around in the rain, 148 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:32,080 in the things they could do. Sometimes he was referred to as the sun god. And he had a mistress, 149 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:40,480 and her name was Ashteroth. And she could be represented at times by the moon, but also 150 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:49,680 she was noted for being able to make your wives fruitful, and you could have lots of children to 151 00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:57,920 help you farm your farm. Wouldn't that be a good idea? It was good to have big families. And so, 152 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:04,880 these people had a pantheon. Now, there were other gods, and I won't go into all of them, 153 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:14,080 but Baal was the top of the list, and Ashteroth right there next to him. And Elijah gets up, 154 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:22,160 and he says, if the Lord is God, follow him. If Baal, follow him. And they said not a word, 155 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:30,160 what do you say to a narrow-minded old coot like Elijah? They were broad-minded. They had learned 156 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:38,800 a much broader religion. Now, you know the story, most of you. It's very interesting. 157 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:47,520 He proposes a contest. He says, let the prophets of Baal build an altar. Let them 158 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:57,920 sacrifice a calf on it. Let them pray and ask their God. After all, he had lightning bolts, right? 159 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:08,560 Have him send fire to burn that altar, or the sacrifice. And so, starting in the morning, 160 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:13,760 I don't know how many hours it was exactly. That's exactly what the prophets of Baal did, 161 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:19,520 and Elijah had to watch them very carefully. These guys were slick customers. He didn't want them 162 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:24,720 building a fire under it. So, he watched them. He actually made fun of them, mocked them a little 163 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:30,880 bit. Hey, he's a God. Maybe he's on a journey. Shout louder. These guys were dancing and shouting 164 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:38,080 and making a big noise. And finally, at the time of the evening sacrifice, three o'clock in the 165 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:47,440 afternoon, Elijah said, okay, you guys have had your chance. And you know the story. He repaired 166 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:57,520 the altar to the true God. He sacrificed a bull, cut him in pieces, put him on top of the wood on 167 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:06,960 the altar. And then he had them bring water, 12 barrels full, dug a ditch around the altar, 168 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:17,680 poured the water on there. And he had a very simple little prayer. Now, I'm back in John. It 169 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:29,120 just doesn't read the same. First Kings 18. He had such a simple little prayer. And it's amazing. 170 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:37,680 Some like to have a lot of noise. Certainly, the prophets of Baal, they'd cut themselves. 171 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:50,720 They'd done all kinds of things. And Elijah says, to all the people, come near. So, all the people 172 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:59,360 came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. We've already 173 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:12,880 talked about the sacrifice, the water. And then he had a few words to say, only a few. He said, 174 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:23,200 Lord, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac in Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, 175 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:32,160 and I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, O Lord, 176 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:39,280 hear me that the Lord is with me. And I will do all these things at your word. Hear me, O Lord, 177 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:46,800 hear me that this people may know that you are the Lord God, and that you have turned their hearts 178 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:56,240 back to you again. Sounds like Malachi, doesn't it? Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed 179 00:23:56,240 --> 00:24:04,080 the burnt sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the 180 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:10,640 ditch. Now, when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and they said, the Lord, 181 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:17,760 he is God, the Lord, he is God. Is there going to be some kind of an experience like that 182 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:27,440 before Jesus comes? Well, let me ask you, is our world somewhat similar to ancient Israel? 183 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:37,600 Let me illustrate. The story goes that once upon a time, millions of years ago, the world was 184 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:47,760 covered with what's called a primordial soup. It was full of all kinds of chemicals. The atmosphere 185 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:56,000 was full of carbon and bolts of lightning flashing all around. The world was covered with 186 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:03,360 all kinds of chemicals and bolts of lightning flashing all around. In that primordial soup, 187 00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:12,480 there was, there were a lot of amino acids. And somewhere along the line, a bolt of lightning 188 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:24,320 struck, hit a couple of amino acids, and they formed proteins, and life began. That's the story. 189 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:33,360 You had a one-celled creature, and that one-celled creature began to multiply, and multiply till the 190 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:38,720 earth was full of them. And along the line somewhere, one of them decided, I'd rather be 191 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:45,680 a two-celled creature. And sure enough, it did that. And they continued to grow. Some of them 192 00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:53,360 developed flagella, where they could drive themselves through the water. And they developed 193 00:25:53,360 --> 00:26:03,040 into more and more complex creatures until you had vertebrates, fish, and sea mammals. And some of 194 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:10,320 them started to crawl out on the land, and they decided they needed legs. Or somehow, they developed 195 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:17,200 legs. And all kinds of creatures developed, and they got more and more complex until, 196 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:25,760 voila, you have our great-grandfather, the monkey. 197 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:38,320 Now I hear some of you laughing. If you're not laughing, just make it, let me make it very clear. 198 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:44,000 If you don't believe that tale, most of the world will laugh at you. 199 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:50,800 I'm serious. Now I want to make it clear, there are scientists who don't believe that tale. 200 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:58,960 There are scientists who believe in the creator God. There are scientists, actually, 201 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:06,080 I've been excited in recent times. I just read his book, Trace, Nathaniel Jeanson, who is a PhD 202 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:15,600 biologist, graduate of Harvard University, has come out with a book tracing the genetic history 203 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:22,320 of the human race through the Y chromosome of the man. And he says, we all came from a single 204 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:33,680 ancestor about 45 hundred years ago. Would that be Noah? Very possibly. Very interesting. 205 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:47,920 But if you don't believe that tale, you don't need to have observed science. All you need is 206 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:55,280 a world of unbelief and a broad understanding of lots of ways that things could have happened. 207 00:27:55,280 --> 00:28:10,480 Now, is the message in the last days, the Elijah message, appropriate? And I would say there's a 208 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:22,000 lot of people that would respond and say, well, they wouldn't say anything. What do you say to 209 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:32,720 people who are stuck in the mud of old traditions clinging to their Bibles? 210 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:43,760 I'd like you to look at the message for the last days, Revelation 14, verses 6 through 12. 211 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:53,440 You see, we do not look for the literal Elijah. We look for the message and the work. Then I saw 212 00:28:53,440 --> 00:29:01,040 another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those 213 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:11,760 who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. The work of the final Elijah 214 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:20,720 is not a work of one man. It goes to the whole world. It's represented by an angel in heaven, 215 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:29,520 saying with a loud voice, listen to this, fear God, give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment 216 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:41,840 has come. And now listen to this, worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea, and the springs of water. 217 00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:52,160 Here we see the angel quoting the fourth commandment as it's found in the Septuagint, 218 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:59,360 an ancient Greek translation of the Bible. He's calling people to worship the Creator. 219 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:09,280 Nothing could be more appropriate in this world where people want to forget the Creator 220 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:17,040 than to worship the Creator. And he quotes the Sabbath commandment. And he goes on. 221 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:22,880 The revelator goes on. Another angel followed saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, 222 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:30,400 that great city because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. 223 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:39,120 Babylon has not existed as a nation or a city since the 1200s A.D. Did you know that? 224 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:46,640 There is no ancient city in existence today. I've got to mention Saddam Hussein tried to rebuild 225 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:53,200 Babylon. You can see where he rebuilt parts of it. He wanted to be the new Nebuchadnezzar. 226 00:30:53,200 --> 00:31:01,200 Guess what? Had a big problem, no water. The Euphrates has changed its course and it's 227 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:12,240 some distance away from the ancient city of Babylon. Anyway, we see the angels presenting 228 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:19,120 the situation in the last days. The great religious confederation that we see in Revelation 229 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:31,440 chapter 13. You have this three-part confederation, spiritualism, apostate Protestantism, and 230 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:42,400 Catholicism. Full of traditions, broad-minded in a world where we actually see the pope 231 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:51,440 pandering and making overtures to Hinduism and Buddhism and Islam saying, let's just all get together. 232 00:31:54,320 --> 00:32:02,480 Here we see the angels saying, it's fallen, don't go there. Then a third angel followed them. 233 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:14,000 We could spend days on these three messages, but the third angel contrasts this last day religious 234 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:20,640 alliance. He says in a loud voice, if anyone worships the beast in his image and receives 235 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:27,120 the mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of 236 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:35,040 God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with 237 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:40,400 fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and the presence of the lamb and the smoke 238 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:49,280 of their torment ascends forever and ever. Quoting what happened to Edomia, Isaiah 34 10. 239 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:56,640 And they have no rest day or night who worship the beast in his image and whoever receives the mark 240 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:07,200 of his name. Here is the patience of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God 241 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,520 in the faith of Jesus. We could spend a lot of time talking about the 242 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:18,880 terrible punishment that comes upon Babylon. Yeah, we could. Revelation has a lot to say about it. 243 00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:33,520 You've got Revelation 13, you've got Revelation 15 and 16 and 17. But contrasted with the fallen 244 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:42,720 world, the fallen religious systems, the broad mindedness where religion has been mixed with 245 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:54,400 science so called. You have chapter 12, or verse 12, I'm sorry, verse 12. Here is the patience, 246 00:33:54,400 --> 00:34:06,640 the patient endurance, if you please, of the saints. Here are they that do what? Keep the 247 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:13,840 commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. I'd like to suggest that it's not possible to keep 248 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:18,720 the commandments of God. I'm not going to say that it's not possible to keep the commandments of God. 249 00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:23,520 Jesus, I'd like to suggest that it's not possible to keep the commandments of God. 250 00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:33,920 Unless you have the faith of Jesus. That makes all the difference. What does it mean? By the way, 251 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:40,560 that can be translated faith in Jesus. We'll get to that in a minute. But what is the faith of Jesus? 252 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:48,080 I would like you to go in your mind with me to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is prostrate 253 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:55,520 on the ground and sweating drops of blood. Have you ever been in that much distress? I have not. 254 00:34:56,720 --> 00:35:04,400 I've been in my share of distress, but nothing like that. Carrying the sins of the world on his 255 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:12,880 shoulders. Bearing a weight that for you and me would be intolerable. My own sins, which I'm 256 00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:19,600 grateful to say he's forgiven. The devil tries to remind me of them every once in a while. 257 00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:25,680 I just, they quit embarrassing me. I've been forgiven. The blood of Jesus is sufficient. 258 00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:33,920 But imagine him lying there, prostrate, praying, father, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. 259 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:48,080 And Jesus then added, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. That's the faith of Jesus. 260 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:56,480 Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. That's the faith of Jesus. 261 00:35:57,440 --> 00:36:06,560 That's how much you and me, that's how much we mean to him. Is that pretty interesting? 262 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:16,720 You bet. And he calls on his people to take up your cross and follow me. Now my cross isn't 263 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:25,600 anything like his. It doesn't mean carrying the weight of the sins of the world. But it's the same 264 00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:36,960 kind of faith that calls me to step out. When God calls, Lord, I'd rather be comfortable. Lord, I'd 265 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:47,920 rather just, I'd live in a great neighborhood. I have a wonderful church. I have a wonderful 266 00:36:47,920 --> 00:37:02,320 church. I just, life is so wonderful. What cross does he call you to bear? I don't know. 267 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:09,600 But the faith of Jesus can give you the power to carry it. That's true. 268 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:18,960 How about faith in Jesus? Oh yes. He can come and give me the power to carry the cross. 269 00:37:20,800 --> 00:37:28,080 He can give me the power to keep his commandments. When it would be much easier to tell a partial 270 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:35,440 truth. What's a partial truth? A lie. When it would be much easier 271 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:48,800 to do some other things. Faith in Jesus gives me the power to follow him. And I don't say this to say that I have a right, but he has. 272 00:37:48,800 --> 00:38:01,680 And I can continue having faith in Jesus. How about you? There is a God. He had the power to create this earth. 273 00:38:01,680 --> 00:38:12,400 He had the power to make our first parents from the dust. And he had the power to go to the cross 274 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:22,560 and put to an open shame, make a spectacle of the powers of evil. Colossians chapter one. 275 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:34,000 And two. You see Elijah's message had power because he had a demonstration. 276 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:48,000 God has a demonstration for the final Elijah message. Colossians 1.27. It is Christ in you, the Lord, who is the Lord. 277 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:58,880 Colossians 1.27. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And when you look at the context of that verse in Colossians, it is 278 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:10,320 Christ in you, the hope of glory, is the spectacle that catches the attention of the heathen who need 279 00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:21,200 that Elijah message. Don't ever forget it. We have a God and he's calling everyone in this room 280 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:28,000 to be part of his message and his 281 00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:38,000 proof, his spectacle. Now that's interesting. Doesn't mean everybody will do it, but he's calling us. 282 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:46,960 And I would like to point out he gives us the power. That's what that first angel's message is about. 283 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:57,520 He created the heavens, the earth, the fountains of water, and he can recreate you and me. 284 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:14,800 Father, you are our God and Savior. You have given your only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in him should not perish but have eternal life. 285 00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:28,560 We thank you and praise you. And now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. 286 00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:45,360 To God our Savior who alone is wise be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Amen.