Pentecost 2008 - Day 49 Part 2

Pentecost 2008—Day 49

Part 2

Now let’s continue on with the narrative from Mt. Sinai to Mt. Sion. After David repented of numbering the children of Israel—and that brought about the death of 70,000 of the children of Israel because of the sin of the leader, which is very instructive, which is this: When the leaders sin, the people pay for it, as well. Now, when he repented, and he saw the angel ready to strike even more of the children of Israel, he came to the place that was later called, Mt. Zion—Sion is spelled S-i-o-n. And on Mt. Zion is where he made the first offering that stayed the hand of God from the plague that began when he numbered the children of Israel, when he really didn’t need to number them. And that was the threshing floor of Ornan. And it was at this location that Solomon later built the temple. And so, when Solomon came in, succeeded David—prior to David’s death—David gave him all the plans, that the Lord inspired him to do, for building the temple, because no one’s going to build anything for God unless it’s according to the specifications that God gives.

And that’s why in Ezekiel 40—just as an aside—that has to do with the description of the second temple based upon the first temple, and it has nothing to do with the Millennial temple. Now last year at the Feast of Tabernacles for one of the sermons I gave, What Will the Millennial Temple Be Like?—and it’s not going to be Ezekiel 40 onward to the end of the book of Ezekiel.

So Solomon built the temple. And he reigned over all the country, all the kingdoms from the River Euphrates to the Nile River, and he was tremendous in what he did. God blessed him and the power of God came into the temple. Let’s read it here in 1-Kings 8:10. They had a tremendous ceremony. All of Israel was gathered there. All the leading officials of the kingdom were there. The armies were there. The priests were there. The Levites were there. And they brought the tabernacle from Gibeon down to Jerusalem—not the Ark, the tabernacle—because the Ark was in David’s house. So they brought the Ark from David’s house up and put it in the temple in the Holy of Holies; and they brought all of the things of the tabernacle down to the temple. And I’m sure they took the tabernacle all folded up and put it into a vault under the temple. And that’s just a little conjecture, it doesn’t say what they actually did with it, but I presume that’s what they would do. So they brought it all up and they had the sacrifices.

1-Kings 8:10: “And it came to pass when the priests had come out of the Holy of Holies, the cloud filled the house of the LORD…. [So there it is: worship in Jerusalem at Mt. Zion, because that’s the place where God chose to put His name. And all people would come to worship there. And this was such a tremendous thing that happened.] …And the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD. And Solomon said, ‘The LORD said that He would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built an exalted house for You, a settled place for You to abide in forever.’ And the king turned his face around and blessed all the congregation of Israel. And all the congregation of Israel stood” (vs 10-14). And then he gave his prayer—gave a recital of what happened to the children of Israel and how they came there. Then they had the Feast of Dedication. They had the Feast of Tabernacles shortly after that—which we’ve covered during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Now, let’s come to the book of Luke in the New Testament, and let’s begin here, as we continue our journey from Mt. Sinai to Mt. Sion. Now the intermediate is Mt. Zion. Now later when Christ returns, He’s yet going to choose Mt. Zion for His temple which will be during the Millennium. And then, when New Jerusalem comes to the earth, it says there’s no need of a temple anymore. So, it’s quite a fantastic thing when we understand it.

Now, let’s come here to the book of Luke and let’s see concerning Jesus, and let’s understand something, and here is a great principle that we need to realize, which is this: When there is a prophecy spoken that is going to be fulfilled, absolutely for sure, as God says, it is in the perfect, completed sense. Now we will see that with this blessing that was given to Jesus.

Now, let’s pick it up here in Luke 2:25: “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and reverent, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. Now it had been divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the little child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, He also received Him [Jesus] into his arms, and blessed God, and said… [Now notice this tremendous prayer of thanksgiving and prophecy by Simeon.] …‘Now You may let your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation… [Now, what was he holding? The baby, Jesus. But the fact that He was there in the flesh, and born, was a guarantee that the salvation of God would come to all of mankind. So as far as God is concerned, it was as good as done. And so, he inspired Simeon to say, ‘I have seen Your salvation’—as a completed fact, when hadn’t really even started, but with the birth of Jesus. So we need to understand how God views some of these things. And especially later when we get to the book of Revelation. So we know exactly what is going on and the projection of the prophecy and what it’s telling us.] …my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples; A light for the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel’” (vs 25-32).

You go back and read the prophecies in Isaiah concerning the Gentiles. “And Joseph and His mother wondered at the things that were being spoken concerning Him [Jesus]. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother, ‘Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel… [showing what was going to happen to Him; actually, a prophecy of the crucifixion, as we will see here.] …and for a sign that shall be spoken against… [the whole world rejected Him.] …(And you also… [speaking to the little child] …a sword shall go through your own soul) in order that the imaginations of many hearts may be revealed’” (vs 33-35). Now that’s quite a prophecy. And imagine, this is just upon seeing the baby Jesus.

Now Luke brings out other facts here, which are important for us to have. But I want to come to Luke, the fourth chapter. And we want to tie this in now with the Day of Pentecost. And also that’s known as the Day of the Weeks or the Feast of the Weeks, as it is called in the Old Testament.

Now let’s come here to Luke 4:14—this is after His temptation with the devil _{[transcriber’s
correction]}, and so forth. We won’t go through all of that. “Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee; and word about Him went out into the entire country around. And He taught in their synagogues, and was glorified by all. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and according to His custom, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day… [This ‘Sabbath day’ in the Greek is a special day. It is called the Day of the Weeks. So this has to be Pentecost in the synagogue.] …and stood up to read…. [and here’s what He read]: …And there was given Him the book of the prophet Isaiah; and when He had unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; for this reason, He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal those who are brokenhearted, to proclaim pardon to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth in deliverance those who have been crushed, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ And after rolling up the scroll and delivering it to the attendant, He sat down; and the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him… [because when He read and taught it was with authority.] …Then He began to say to them, ‘Today, this scripture is being fulfilled… [That’s what it means in the Greek: it is being fulfilled] …in your ears’” (vs 14-21).

Now after all the signs and wonders that they had leading up to the birth of Jesus—all the circumstances of it, all the things surrounding John the Baptist, who was to come and prepare the way before Him; and all of the things involved in it; and all the priests and the Levites knew that it was time for Messiah to come. They knew that He would be born in Bethlehem. And so, when these things came out the people should have been ready to receive them, but just like the children of Israel of old they weren’t.

“And all bore witness to Him and were amazed at the words of grace that were coming out of His mouth; and they said, ‘Is not this the son of Joseph?’…. [Yeah, we know him.] …And He said to them, ‘Surely, you will say this parable to Me: “Physician, heal Yourself! Whatever we have heard being done in Capernaum, do also here in Your own country.”’ But He said, ‘Truly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country…. [And it just seems to work that way, doesn’t it? Then He tells them what happened in the days of Elijah and Elisha] …For in truth, I say to you, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up for three years and six months, and there was great famine upon all the land; And Elijah was not sent to any of them, but only to a widow in Sarepta, a city of Sidonia. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them were cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian’” (vs 22-27).

Now then, all of their carnality came out! Because they were expecting Him to say, ‘Oh, you’re lovely people, you’re the children of Israel. Come everything’s going to be fine. Now I’m going to join with all of the Scribes and Pharisees down here and we’re going to go down at the temple and we’re going to get rid of Pilate and we’re going to get rid of the Romans.’ And they would have all cheered and gathered around. But they didn’t like this message. “Now all in the synagogue who heard these things were filled with indignation” (v 28). They were angry!

Just like I read something very interesting. There was a Scriptural contest in Israel and this girl who won it happened to be a Messianic Jew, and she won! And the Orthodox Rabbis were: ‘How dare her! She should not even be here!’ So they’re going to make a rule: You believe in Jesus and you’re a Jew, you can’t come and participate. So we have the same hostility today as back then. Notice what they did: “And they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the edge of the mountain on which their city was built, in order to throw Him down headlong…” (v 29). Nice, loving, Christian people, huh? Yes, it sounds like what’s going on over there in the unholy land today—mistakenly called Israel. He went on and avoided them.

Now let’s see what happened here. Let’s see what happened when He came to the temple. Let’s come here to John, the second chapter. That’s why Satan took Him to a high pinnacle of the temple and said ‘Jump down, because God’s going to save You.’ And if He would have done that, all the priests and the Pharisees and everyone would have come around and said, ‘Oh, yes, You must be the Messiah! You are here to save us!—according to our terms, what we want. NO! God is going to save people according to His terms, the way that He wants: repentance and baptism and so forth.

Now let’s come here to John 2:13: “Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money exchangers sitting there; And after making a scourge of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with both the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money exchangers, and overturned the tables. And to those who were selling the doves, He said, ‘Take these things out of here! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise’…. [That’s far different than what they expected when the Messiah would come.] …Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘The zeal of Your house has eaten Me up.’ As a result, the Jews answered and said to Him, ‘What sign do You show to us, seeing that You do these things?’ Jesus answered and said to them… [He gave them something they couldn’t handle] …‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’…. [What an egomaniac statement.] ...Then the Jews said, ‘This temple was forty-six years in building, and You will raise it up in three days?’ But He spoke concerning the temple of His body…. [They had no understanding.] … Therefore, when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scriptures, and the word that Jesus had spoken. Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed on His name, as they observed the miracles that He was doing. But Jesus did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all men… [That is, He knew the inner-workings of the carnal mind, and the evil that was there.] …And He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man” (vs 13-25). The evil, carnal mind.

So here He comes to the temple on Mt. Zion, the same area in which the first temple was built by Solomon. And this then was rebuilt under the prophet Haggai and Zerubbabel and Joshua, the high priest. Later dedicated and then Ezra came and that temple stood until 46 years before Jesus came, when Herod—who was half Edomite/half Jew decided that, after killing some Jews, he better atone for it. So what he did, he started modernizing and updating the temple to make into a beautiful, kind of after the Greek style more than it should have been. So that’s where we are with this.

Now, let’s come over here to John, the fourth chapter, and we’re going to read something very interesting concerning the worship of God, which then tells us how we are worshipping God today, and Mt. Sion, in heaven above, which Christ is going to bring with Him when He returns. So let’s come here to John 4:9: “Therefore, the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, to give You water to drink? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.’” They hated them. That’s why He gave the parable of ‘who is your neighbor?’ And it wasn’t the priest and it wasn’t the Levite that was the neighbor to help the one who had been robbed, wounded and left dying beside the road; but a Samaritan. And that’s just like going before Orthodox Jews today and say ‘Unless you believe in Jesus you’re going to die.’ Gnashing of teeth! So she was astounded for the Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you had known the gift of God, and Who it is that said to you, “Give Me some water to drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water’…. [She didn’t understand that.] …The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, You have nothing with which to draw water, and the well is deep; how then do You have the living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob… [And that’s what the Samaritans did. They claimed Jacob and that they were descendants of the children of Israel, but they weren’t. They were brought in after the children of the ten tribes of the children of Israel were carried out, they were brought in by the Babylonians and Assyrians to take over that area and live there.] …who gave us the well, and drank from it, and his sons, and his cattle?’” (vs 10-12).

“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; rather, the water that I will give him shall become a fountain of water within him, springing up into everlasting life’” (v 13-14). And that water is the Holy Spirit. Where we find there in John 7:7 where Jesus said that those who believe in Him, ‘out of their bellies shall flow rivers of living water’—of the Holy Spirit.

“The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I will not thirst or need to come here to draw water.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband and come back here.’ The woman answered and said, ‘I do not have a husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You have spoken well in saying, “I do not have a husband”; For you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband. This you have spoken truly.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet…. [Now she gets religious.] …Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, but you say [you Jew] that the place where it is obligatory to worship is in Jerusalem’” (vs 15-20). That was true at that time.

“Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father” (v 21). Because God was going to destroy the temple. Get rid of it. And the Jews were going to go into captivity, never to build the temple again. So now, with the coming of Jesus, we worship God the Father—as we will see here in just a minute—in spirit and in truth toward His throne in heaven above, which is Mt. Sion.

Now He tells her: ““Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You do not know what you worship. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews…. [And it was. It came from Him (Jesus) Who was born of the house of Judah, the tribe of David.] …But the hour is coming, and now is… [And here is the key]: …when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is indeed seeking those who worship Him in this manner…. [Far different. No sacrifices, no animals, no temple between you and God, with His Spirit directly. But in spirit and in truth! That He’s prophesying then of the conversion that the true worshippers will have.] …God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth’” (vs 21-24).

That kind of put the woman back: “The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming, Who is called Christ; when He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I Who speak to you am He’” (vs 25-26). Isn’t that something? God is spirit and those who worship Him must—meaning they are obligated—to worship Him ‘in spirit and in truth!’ That’s the keynote. That’s the foundation for the New Testament, and also has to do with our worship of God today.

Then Jesus said something about the work that He had to finish, to do (34) and then v 35: “Do not say that there are yet four months and then the harvest comes…. [So this has to be around Pentecost time] …I say to you, look around. Lift up your eyes and see the fields, for they are already white to harvest.” And Pentecost is a harvest feast as we have seen, and we’ll reiterate that again tomorrow. But, we need to get Mt. Sion before we can get to Pentecost.

Now let’s come to Acts, the first chapter. Let’s see what Jesus told the disciples. We’ve covered this before, so I’ll just summarize it here, and that is He told them they would be imbued with power from on high, of the Holy Spirit—after ten days, a short time after that He told them, which was ten days because they had seen Him for forty days after He was resurrected, and then they chose a replacement for Judas, who fell. Then we have chapter two, which is the fulfilling of the Day of Pentecost, which we will cover tomorrow.

Let’s come here to Acts 3, and let’s pick something up here that’s important for us to understand in our relationship to God and getting from Mt. Sinai to Mt. Sion. Now, after they healed the man, Peter and John told the crowd that gathered around that they had done it by the name of Jesus Christ. And he also reminded them that they had killed the Author of life Whom God raised from the dead. Now, Acts 3:17: “And now, brethren, I realize that you acted in ignorance, as did your rulers also; But what God had before announced by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He has accordingly fulfilled. Therefore, repent and be converted in order that your sins may be blotted out, so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; And that He may send Him Who was before proclaimed to you, Jesus Christ… [Now, that’s a prophecy of the return of Jesus Christ, but it is also an immediate understanding that the Spirit of Christ will come to them if they repent. So it has dual application here.] …Whom the heaven must indeed receive until the times of restoration of all things, of which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (vs 17-21). So there is this time that is coming. Where it is going to be, they’re worshipping God in spirit and in truth.

Now let’s come to the book of Hebrews. In the new Bible it’s in a different place than it was in your King James Bible, so you have to have a little heads-up on it. I’m preaching to you out of the new Bible here, and I’ve been preaching out of it for some time and I find it very good for reading and so forth. Now let’s come to Hebrews, the fourth chapter, about worshipping God in spirit and in truth, and that we worship toward God in heaven above, where Jesus is at the right hand of God, as we just read here a minute ago.

Hebrews 4:14: “Having therefore a great High Priest, Who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, we should hold fast the confession of our faith. For we do not have a high priest who cannot empathize with our weaknesses, but one Who was tempted in all things according to the likeness of our own temptations; yet He was without sin. Therefore, we should come with boldness to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (vs 14-16). So this is where we come to worship God.

Let’s see how Paul explains it here in Hebrews, the twelfth chapter—and makes the comparison between Mt. Sinai and Mt. Sion, which is in heaven above. So let’s pick it up here in Hebrews 12:18: “For you have not come to the mount [Mt. Sinai] that could be touched and that burned with fire, nor to gloominess, and fearful darkness, and the whirlwind; And to the sound of the trumpet, and to the voice of the words, which those who heard, begged that the word not be spoken directly to them. (For they could not endure what was being commanded: ‘And if even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned, or shot through with an arrow’; And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I am greatly afraid and trembling”.) But you have come to Mount Sion… [So when we come to worship God in spirit and in truth, in prayer or in studying the Word of God, as God gives us understanding of it, we have come to Mt. Sion, which is in heaven above.] …and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem…[which we know is coming to the earth] …and to an innumerable company of angels; To the joyous festival gathering… [and that is in reference to a Pentecost resurrection where we’re resurrected and meet Christ in the air! In the clouds!] …and to the church of the firstborn… [and also the firstfruits, as we will see tomorrow.] …registered in the book of life in heaven; and to God, the Judge of all; and to the spirits of the just who have been perfected” (vs 18-23). And that means that they died in the faith. And now God has that spirit which was in their physical brains, and that spirit must now have a spirit brain which it will be put into at the resurrection. It is not an immortal soul that has a separate consciousness because it is the Spirit that gives life, and when the body is dead, the Spirit then—though it has recorded everything of you and your life and your Christian growth, and all that you are and what will be resurrected—it is basically inert. And when you have been resurrected and given a spirit body then all of that will come back to life.

Now notice—let’s continue on here: “But you have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to an innumerable company of angels; To the joyous festival gathering; and to the church of the firstborn, registered in the book of life in heaven; and to God, the Judge of all; and to the spirits of the just who have been perfected; And to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant; and to sprinkling of the blood of ratification, proclaiming superior things than that of Abel” (vs 22-24). So this is the scene. This is what Paul describes when we come to worship God.

Now let’s also understand something. Let’s come here to Revelation 4, and let’s see John’s description of the throne of God, which is called Mt. Sion, in heaven above. And the activity that goes on around there and then how, we will see tomorrow, then relates to the return of Jesus Christ and the first resurrection.

Let’s pick it up here in Revelation 4:1: “After these things… [This is after the seven churches] …I looked, and behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice that I heard was as if a trumpet were speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you the things that must take place after these things.’ And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one was sitting on the throne. And He Who was sitting was in appearance like a jasper stone and a sardius stone; and a rainbow was around the throne, like an emerald in its appearance…. [Great and fantastic beauty. What a spectacular vision that John had been given to actually see where the third heaven, what it was like, where God the Father and Jesus Christ are. And this is to give us encouragement to know that when we pray and we say, ‘Our Father in heaven above, and Jesus at Your right hand,’ this is where we are praying to. Tremendous to know and understand that.] …And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments; and they had on their heads golden crowns. And proceeding from the throne were lightnings and thunders and voices; and seven lamps of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God, were burning before the throne. And before the throne was a sea of glass, like crystal” (vs 1-6).

Now the argument has been, which we have read, ‘Well, they don’t need a sea of glass because if you’re a spirit being you can just kind of sit out there in space.’ Well, why then does God have a sea of glass under His throne?

“And around the throne and over the throne were four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind; And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second living creature was like a bull, and the third living creature had the face of a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. And each of the four living creatures had six wings respectively; and around and within they were full of eyes; and day and night they cease not saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was, and Who is, and Who is to come’” (vs 6-8). This is the Mt. Sion that we are coming to.

Now, as we are going to see tomorrow, when the resurrection takes place there is going to be a sea of glass so we can meet Christ in the air. Now, I’ve covered that in a series of sermons leading up to this day and Pentecost, but we are going to see it. And then we will see how directly, beginning in Revelation 5, that God begins to intervene in world affairs. And then we are going to see what it’s going to be like with the return of Jesus Christ from that point to the resurrection.

So ya’all come back tomorrow and we’ll finish the rest of the story!

Scripture References:

Deuteronomy 16:10-12
Exodus 15:22-27
Exodus 16:1
Exodus 19:1-8
Exodus 24:1-3
John 12:42-50
Exodus 24:3-11
Deuteronomy 4:10-13, 32-37
Deuteronomy 5:28-29
Deuteronomy 7:7-14
1 Kings 8:10-14
Luke 2:25-32
Luke 4:14-29
John 2:13-25
John 4:9-26, 34-35
Acts 3:17-21
Hebrews 4:14-16
Hebrews 12:17-24
Revelation 4:1-8

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

Ezekiel 40
Acts 1 & 2
Revelation 5

Also referenced:

Sermon series: From the Red Sea to Sinai
What Will the Millennium Temple Be Like?