As we think on this subject,
who is Jesus Christ? In John chapter 4, verse 25,
the woman said unto him, I know, I remember this is a Samaritan
woman, not a Jew, this is to the Jew a heathen,
She said, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ. When he is come, he will tell
us all things. Now the central theme of the
Old Testament prophets was this very thing that the woman just
said, I know that Messiah will come. And when he is come, he'll
tell us all things. That's the theme of the Old Testament.
The Messiah is coming. Even this Samaritan woman talked
of the great day of the Messiah. Everybody knew, expected, talked
about, yearned for the coming of the Messiah. Now it's obvious
and clear to me, and I'm sure to all of you, that Jesus Christ
was that Messiah. Moses said, God will raise up
a prophet like unto me among the brethren, him you shall hear.
And we're convinced that Christ was that prophet. The scripture
tells us that he would be a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek,
and it's perfectly clear that Christ is that priest. The Bible
tells us that he will be a king who will reign forever, who will
sit on the throne of his father David, and we're sure that Jesus
Christ is that king. He fulfilled every promise. He
is the fulfillment, clearly to me, of every type. He is the
fulfillment of every prophecy. It is so obvious. There never
has one before or after fulfilled these prophecies like Christ
fulfilled them. Why didn't the religious people
receive him? Why didn't they believe him?
Why didn't they recognize him? If all the prophets talked about
was the coming of the Christ, of the Messiah, if all the Jewish
people expected him and longed for him and looked for him, if
even a Samaritan woman, a careless, very loose living woman, talked
about the coming of the Messiah, And we see so clear how that
Jesus Christ is that Messiah. Why couldn't they see it? Why
didn't they recognize him? Why didn't they receive him?
If we had been a Jew and lived in that time, if you had been
a Jew and I had been a Jew, would I have believed him? Would I
have recognized him? I think there are two very important
reasons why they did not recognize him and why they did not receive
him. I think there are two obvious
reasons. The first one is this. Now in many passages of the Old
Testament, the Messiah is pictured as a conquering king. In many passages in the Old Testament,
in many prophecies regarding the Messiah, he is pictured as
one who would restore the glory of David and Solomon to Israel,
to the kingdom. In many scriptures it talks about
how he will reign over the earth when he comes. Let me give you
two or three of those. Take your Bible and turn to Isaiah
9. Isaiah chapter 9. Now here's
what I'm saying. I'm trying to give you two reasons
why the Jews did not receive Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
Why they didn't recognize him. Why these, all these prophecies,
over 300 distinct prophecies in the Old Testament fulfilled
by Christ. Obvious to us, every one of them
Christ fulfilled them. Prophecies, types, promises,
and yet he came and they rejected him. The first reason is this,
they were looking for a king. They weren't looking for a savior to die on a cross. They
weren't looking for a submissive, surrendering substitute and sacrifice. They were looking for a powerful,
all-conquering king. who would come in great splendor
and glory and restore to the kingdom of Israel the pomp and
glory and magnificence and riches of David and Solomon. That's
what they looked for. And here's the reason, Isaiah
9, verse 6. Under us a child is born, under
us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, His
name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of
his government and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom to order it, to establish it
with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever,
the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." That's what
they look for. Now then we see in Christ the
fulfillment of verse 6. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given. He is the sovereign, he is the
conqueror, he is the king. But he also must first of all
be the savior. He must be the substitute. He's
our Lord and Savior. He must be the lamb before he
can be the king, and the ruler, and the judge, or acting in that
office work. Turn to Zechariah chapter 14.
In Zechariah chapter 14, listen to this. Zechariah 14, next to
the last book in the Old Testament, beginning with verse 1. Behold,
the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoils shall be divided in
the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations
against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken.
and the houses ruffled, and the women ravished, and half the
city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people
shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go
forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in
the day of battle." That's what they look for. Rome had the heel
of power upon the neck of the Jew, and they were looking for
this Messiah to come take it all. Fight against these Verse
9, look at this, "...and the Lord shall be king over all the
earth. In that day shall there be one
Lord, and his name one." That's the kind of Messiah they were
looking for. I read an illustration some several years ago, how that
in the Old Testament there are passages of Scripture which show
the Messiah, the Christ, as the king. There are others that show
Him as the suffering substitute. The world of prophecies that
show him as the monarch, as the ruler, as the sovereign, as the
king, ruling over the earth, ruling in peace and power and
prosperity. There are other scriptures that
show him coming despised and rejected and crucified and slain. Now then, here are these people
back here, and neither coming has occurred, far as they're
concerned. He hasn't come either way. They're standing off here
at a distance. They're looking at two prophecies. They're looking at the coming
of a Messiah to reign, and at the same time, these prophecies
of him to suffer. And this man writing the illustration
says it's like standing way off looking at two mountain peaks.
You can't see the distance between them. Here's a mountain peak,
and here's a mountain peak, and there's a distance between them.
And you're way over there, and they look like one. You see one
mountain peak and you see the other, and they look like they're
one and the same. But we know how that Christ,
the Scripture said, turned to Isaiah 53. Now here's a prophecy
regarding the Messiah. In Isaiah 52, first of all, Isaiah
52, verse 14. Isaiah 52, 14. many were astonished at thee,
his visage was so marred more than any man, his form more than
the sons of men." And then in verse 1 of Isaiah 53, listen
here, "...who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm
of the Lord revealed? For he, that is, the Messiah,
shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground."
He hath no form, no comeliness, and when we shall see him there
is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. We hear it as it
were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not." That doesn't sound like a king, does it? That doesn't
sound like the Lord coming to fight against the nations who
have made war against Israel. That doesn't sound like one who
is seated on a throne ruling in power His name, one Lord and
one name over all the earth. Verse 4, Surely he hath borne
our griefs, and carried our sorrows. We did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, with his stripes we are healed. Oh, we like sheep
have gone astray, we've turned everyone to his own way, and
the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. The Jews
ignored this aspect of his coming altogether. They looked for a
king. They looked for a political deliverer. In fact, they tried to make him
king. Don't you remember? Jesus Christ. There were some of them who entertained
the thoughts or suspicions that he might be the Messiah. And
so when he rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, they started laying
palm branches in front of him, crying, Hosanna, hallelujah to
the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hail the King of
the Jews. That's what they were looking
for, a political deliverer. And if he would have taken the
throne, they would have given it to him. But all these other scriptures
that talk about His coming as the suffering Savior, they ignore
it. Why? This brings me to the second
reason why they didn't recognize Him. They didn't think they were
sinners. They didn't think they were sinners
like the Gentiles, and they needed no Savior. Didn't they have the
law? Didn't they have the prophets?
Didn't they have the priesthood? Didn't they have the temple?
Didn't they have the sacrifices? Didn't they have the special
favor of God? Weren't they the people of God?
What needed they for a Savior? They had no need for a Savior.
Turn to Acts chapter 1 verse 6, and here's the amazing thing.
Even the disciples were caught up in this. And the amazing thing
to me, it shouldn't be amazing to us knowing human nature, but
even after Christ had taught them and preached to them, even
after Christ had been crucified, buried, and rose again, even
after he appeared to them for several days before his ascension
to the Father, look at Acts chapter 1 verse 6. This is just before
his ascension. When they therefore were come
together, That is, the disciples and the Lord. They ask of him,
saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Is this it? Is this the time
now when Israel's going to have their great deliverance? Is this
the time that the kingdom is going to be restored to Israel?
Even these disciples, they weren't greatly concerned about the lost,
about sinners, about the Gentiles, about foreign missions. They
were concerned about Israel and their king, and their power,
and their prestige over the world. Look at Matthew 20. Let me show
you another scripture here. Matthew chapter 20, verse 20.
They didn't need a Savior. All they needed was a political
deliverer. All they needed was a Messiah
to come and put Israel back where Israel was, on top of the heap,
with all the gold and glitter of Solomon's kingdom and David's
victories. That's what they wanted. In Matthew
20, verse 20, Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children,
James and John, with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring
a certain thing of him. Lord, I sure want you to save
my sons, dwell in their hearts, make them children of God. Above
all things, I want my sons to be like thee, walking with God. That wasn't
what she said. Listen to it. He said to her,
What do you want? She said, Grant that these, my
two sons, may sit one on your right hand and the other on your
left in your kingdom. And Jesus answered and said,
You don't know what you ask. Are you able to drink of the
cup I drink of, to be baptized with the baptism I'm baptized
with? They said, We're able. We're able. The Jews, in their blindness,
ignored over 300 specific prophecies. You say, well, they don't understand
these prophecies. Well, turn to Matthew chapter
2. Let me show you something here. This is quite interesting.
Matthew chapter 2. Begin with verse 1. This is very
interesting. Now, you know, back in the book
of Micah, all of you know how it says, listen, before we read
this other, in the book of Micah, It says, I'll just read it to
you, Thou Bethlehem, though thou be little among the thousands,
yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be born
in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. You say, well, now we recognize
that as being a prophecy of the Messiah coming, being born in
Bethlehem. They did too. Let me show you,
Matthew 2. They saw that. Matthew 2, verse
1, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod
the king. Behold, there came wise men from
the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he, the born king of
the Jews? We have seen his star. Now that king of the Jews, that's
what they were expecting, that's what they were looking for. And
he didn't assume that stature and that character. They crucified
him. They weren't looking for a savior,
a substitute. We've seen his story in the East,
and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard these
things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem was troubled with
him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes,
he went down to the temple, and he got the chief priests and
scribes together, and he demanded of them where the Messiah should
be born. You see that right there? He,
Herod, the king, called the chief priests and the rulers of Israel
and the scribes and the students of scripture, all there, and
he said, all right, I want to know where is this Messiah that's
prophesied in the Old Testament, where is he supposed to be born?
They said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written
to the prophet, in thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not
the least among the princes of Judah, out of thee shall come
a governor that shall rule my place well." Now I want to go back in the
Old Testament and just pick up quickly a few prophecies regarding
the coming of Christ. I won't have time to go into
all of them fully, but just show you a few of them. First of all,
in Genesis chapter 12, we find out that the Messiah, the Christ,
is supposed to be born of the people of Abraham. He's supposed
to be a Jew. That's the first prophecy we
have concerning his coming, is God said to Abraham in Genesis
12, verse 1, The Lord said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy
country, from thy kindred, from thy father's house unto a land
I'll show thee, I'll make of thee a great nation, and I will
bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless
thee, and curse them that curse thee, and in thee, or through
thee, or through thy seed, shall all the families of the earth
be blessed." Now that's when God was telling Abraham that
the Messiah would come through him. And then in Genesis 49,
now the Jews knew that. They knew that the Messiah was
to be of the seed of Abraham. He'd be a Jew, that's clear.
In Genesis 49, it tells us what tribe. There were 12 tribes in
the land of Israel, and it tells us in Genesis 49.10 that the
scepter shall not depart from Judah. That's one of the tribes. It was Dan, and Judah, and Simeon,
and Reuben, and all, you name all the other. But here's Judah.
nor a lover from between his feet, until Shiloh, and Shiloh
is Christ, Shiloh is Prince of Peace, until Shiloh comes. He is to be of the tribe of Judah. And in Chronicles 17, we see
that he is to be of the house of David. Started off with the
race, the Jew, and then he's to come through Judah, the tribe,
and then he's to come through Jesse, who is the father of David,
and he's to occupy, he's to write for heir to the throne of David.
1 Chronicles 17, it shall come to pass, 1 Chronicles 17, verse
11. And he shall come to pass, when
thy days be expired, that thou must go to be my father's, that
I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons,
I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and
I will establish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and
he shall be my son. I will not take my mercies away
from him, as I took it from him that was before thee, but I will
put him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever, and his
throne shall be established for evermore. Isaiah 7.14 tells us
that he's to be a virgin's son. A virgin shall conceive and bring
forth a son. Now turn to Luke chapter 2. Now
Jesus Christ was brought, Matthew chapter 2 it is. In Matthew chapter
2. I'm sorry, it's Luke chapter
2. Matthew, Mark, Luke. Luke the second chapter. Mary
was of the household of David and so was Joseph. He was to
be born in Bethlehem. He was to be of the tribe of
Judah, of the family of David. And it says here in chapter 2
of Luke, verse 4, And Joseph also went up from Galilee out
of the city of Nazareth unto Judea, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage
of David, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great
with child. And it was so it was that, while
they were there, the days were accomplished, she should be delivered,
and she brought forth her firstborn son." Now turn back to Isaiah
chapter 35. Let's look at a few prophecies. Talking about the Messiah now.
Isaiah 35, verse 4. Isaiah 35, regarding his life. Regarding his life. First of
all, it tells us in Isaiah 35 that he will be one who will
work great and unusual miracles. Great and unusual miracles. Now, some of you can get a... I'm just not certain what month
it was. Maybe Martha can tell me. Ronnie
brought me a magazine. Yes, was it McCall's? McCall's
magazine. This month? Last month. Last
month McCall's magazine, there was a physician who went to hear
in Minneapolis, Catherine Kuhlman. Catherine Kuhlman is supposed
to be the Dean of Miracle Workers in this day. You've seen her
on television, you've heard her on radio. And this physician,
who is not a skeptic, he is a Roman Catholic, but he is a believer
in God, He is a believer in faith, he is a believer in miracles.
He talks himself about various types of healing through doctors
and through medical assistance and some through faith, some
psychosomatic healing and all these things. But he went himself
to a meeting And he wrote one of the most revealing articles,
I think, that's ever come off the press in regard to this present-day
healing racket, and that's exactly what it is. He attended the services,
he talked with the people, he even pushed one wheelchair himself,
he was an usher, he got a job as an usher, he went through
the whole thing with them. And after healing supposedly
was done, he called on the people who were supposed to be healed.
and taught them. And it's one of the most revealing
things in the world. Not one single healing took place. Not one single healing. Now there
were people who, because of hypnosis, and not the type of hypnosis
that comes to your mind, but the type of hypnosis that a lot
of us use when we're communing with someone else to persuade
them. use of hypnosis and psychology and the excitement of the moment
and all these things caused the adrenaline flow and gave people
inspiration and ability that they did not have. One woman
with cancer of the spine would have to run back and forth across
the stage. But the next day she was in the
hospital and the running back and forth across the stage put
her down for good. She never got up again. It took
the last ounce of strength she had, but through the motivation
of this woman's talking, and through the motivation of this
woman's power, she was able to do that for a few moments. That
wound her up, that ruined her back, and put her flat on her
back to her death. Others died. who gave up their
medicine, gave up their prison. You need to read it, or get it
from somebody, or we need to reprint it or something if possible,
but it's an outstanding... Christ really performed miracles,
the Messiah did. Now listen to what it says about
him. And I'm not discounting healing. The scriptural way,
there's a scriptural way, if any of you, if any among you
let him sin for the elders of the church, and let them pray
over you, in audience with all, in the name of the Lord, and
he should be healed. Now that's the scriptural way.
It's not to go out here and put on a show, and level up on a
platform to act a fool, and give some human being the credit for
it, and take off the wash tubs to support people to live in
luxury, and you say you're making fun of it. I am. They're hucksters.
They're making merchandise of people. They're crooks. Even
sincere crooks are still crooks. Jesse James was a sincere crook,
but he was a crook. In Isaiah 35, it says in verse
4, Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Fear not, behold, your
God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense. He'll
come and save you. And then the eyes of the blind
shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap as an heart, and the tongue of
the dumb sing. For in the wilderness shall waters
break out, and streams in the desert, and the parched ground
shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.
Now then, you say, is that a prophecy of the Messiah? Yes, sir. Because
in Matthew 11, that's the very one that Christ used to prove
to John the Baptist that he was the Messiah. Let me read it to
you. In Matthew 11, verse 3, John sent word to him, or ye
that should come, or do we look for another? And Jesus answered
and said to these disciples, You go show John again those
things which you hear and see. The blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised, and the poor have the gospel preached." That's
a quotation from that prophecy in Isaiah 35, 5 and 6. I just read to you a moment ago,
Isaiah 53, about his rejection. Now turn to Zechariah again,
and I want you to turn over here. This is so clear. This scripture
you need to look at. In Zechariah chapter 11. You know, when Judas came to
the chief priest and offered to sell Christ And they said,
we'll give you thirty pieces of silver. And he sold him for
thirty pieces of silver, went out and betrayed him. Now they
knew about the birth in Bethlehem, and they knew about miracles,
the healing, the blind, and they knew all these prophecies. And
they knew that he was from the tribe of Judah and the family
of David, because Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem because that
was their county seat, their city, where the family of David
was supposed to be. And they knew all of these things.
And then when Judas came down to the temple and offered to
sell him for thirty pieces of silver, And then after Christ
was tried and sent to be crucified, he came back and threw the thirty
pieces of silver down the floor, and then went and bought the
potter's field, and he hanged himself, and they buried him
there. Listen to here, in Zechariah 11. This is hundreds of years
before this happened. And I said unto them, If you
think good, give me my price, and if not, forbear. So they
weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said
unto me, Cast it into the potter, a goodly price that I would have
as debt of them. And I took the thirty pieces
of silver, and cast them into the potter in the house of the
Lord." You would think that those Jewish leaders, you would think
that they would recognize this. You'd think when all this took
place, when Judas came and sold him and went out and hanged himself,
or came back in and threw the They had money on the floor in
the house of the Lord, and they went out and bought the potter's
field and buried him. You'd think, my, one of them
at least would turn over there and say, that man betrayed the
Messiah. This is written about the Christ. Betrayed in the house
of his friend. Now look at Psalms 22. Psalms
22. Now, here is the death of Christ
on the cross. The very words that were said
on the cross. Look at verse 18 of Psalms 22. They parted my garments among
them, and cast lots upon my vesture. Look at verse 7 and 8. All they
that see me life me to scorn. They shut the lip, they shake
the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver
him. Let him deliver him, seeing he delighteth in him. Look at
verse 1 and 2. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? They heard that. Why art thou
so far from helping me from the words of my roaring? O my God,
I cry in the daytime, thou hearest not in the night season, and
am not silent." Verse 14, I'm poured out like water, all my
bones are out and hanging on this cross. My heart is like
wax, it's melted in the midst of my brows. Now then, The Messiah's
task was not to restore Israel's earthly glory. That was not his
task. The Messiah's task, the task
of the Christ, was not to reform this world. It was to redeem
the people. Look at Matthew chapter 1. When
the Lord sent his angel to announce the birth of Christ to Joseph,
he said in verse 21 of Matthew 1, listen, and she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people." Not from the Roman Empire, not from slavery,
from sin. He said in Luke 19.10, the Son
of Man has come to seek and to save the lost. That's my mission,
that's my task. And every Old Testament Illustration,
every Old Testament type illustrates this point. Look at the bull's
sacrifice. Look at the Day of Atonement as the high priest
goes in the Holy of Holies and puts the blood on the mercy.
Look at the scapegoat over which the high priest confessed the
sins of Israel and sent it out. Look at the Passover where the
blood was put on the door and the Lord passed over and did
not destroy those in the house. Look at the foot lifted up in
the wilderness. Look at the smitten rock out of which the people,
out of which came the water, which satisfied the people's
thirst. The man who misses the redemptive work of Christ misses
the Messiah, and that's exactly what they did. And this is Satan's
religion. Turn to Matthew 16. Now let me
show you this. Sometime I want to get a message
on this subject. Satan's religion, no cross. He's
satisfied for anybody to have any kind of religion except the
cross. In Matthew 16, now watch this,
verse 21. From that time forward, Jesus
began to show unto his disciples how that he must go to Jerusalem,
how he must suffer many things of the elders, chief priests
and scribes, he must be killed and raised again the third day.
They still can't see it. Listen. Then Peter took him,
evidently took him aside, and he rebuked him. And he said,
Fear it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee.
And Christ turned and said to Peter, You get behind Satan. This is satanic religion. Thou
art an offense unto me. Thou savest not things that be
of God, but those that be of men. This is natural man's religion. This is natural man's thinking.
Restore a kingdom. Seat a king. restore the glory
and splendor and pomp and ceremony and power of an earthly kingdom,
and forget man's need, forget his sins, forget his depravity,
forget his corruption, forget the cross, forget the blood,
forget substitution, forget the sacrifice, have a religion without
a cross, and men will take it any day. That's what Catherine
Koon and Oral Roberts and all the rest of these hoaxsters,
religious hoaxsters, have. They have a religion without
a cross. They have a religion without
the blood. They have a religion without
a Savior. And people will follow it by
the multitudes, and that's what these Jews expected. Even these
precious disciples here, these men who had died for Christ,
these men who later died for the message of substitution,
even right here at this point they couldn't understand it. Now the Scriptures teach that
Christ shall come back to earth again. He came the first time
as the suffering Savior, as the silent substitute. He came the
first time as the sovereign Redeemer. He's coming the next time as
the reigning monarch. He's going to set up that kingdom.
He said, I'll come again. And God's not through with the
Jew. You turn to Romans 11. Let me show you something here.
I'm convinced about praying. Now, you can fill in all the
all the details. I can't do it yet. I hope by
the time I get from white-headed or bald-headed, whichever it
may be, that I'm able to fill in some of these details. But
there are three things to know. Number one, I know Christ is
coming back. I know that as well as I know
this Bible is the Word of God. He said, I will come again. The
angel said, This same Jesus which is taken up from you shall so
come as like manners you've seen him go. He's coming back. Secondly,
I know that God's not through with the Jew. I know that God
will yet work in Israel. I know there's going to be something
for the Jew. Romans 11, verse 25. I won't keep you long, but
let's look at this. I would not, brethren, that you should be
ignorant of history, lest you should be wise in your own conceit,
that blindness in part is happened to Israel. Now the fullness of
the Gentile be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved. as
it is written, Thou shalt come out of Zion, the Deliverer, and
you'll turn to ungodliness from Jacob." That hadn't been fulfilled
yet. This is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away
their sin. Concerning the gospel, the Jews
are enemies for your sake. But as touching the election,
they are beloved for the Father's sake, for the gifts and calling
of God are without change. That's what he said. He promised
Abraham that he'd have a hand forever, and he's going to have
it. He promised Abraham that he'd have a people forever. He
promised David that his kingdom would be full. And he promised
Israel that he was going to restore them, and he's going to. That
hasn't been fooled yet. It's going, I believe, those
two things I'm sure of. I don't know about a An earthly
millennium, it might be. I have suspicion that there will
be a thousand years between the two resurrections. I don't know
much about the tribulation and don't know anybody that does
much about it, whether the church will go through it or won't go
through it. I don't know. But I do know that Christ, the
third thing, is going to set up a new heaven and a new earth.
I can read that in the Bible. Turn to 2 Peter, chapter 3. There's
going to be a new heaven and a new earth. 2 Peter 3, verse
10 through 13. Now listen to this. 2 Peter 3, verse 10. The day
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the widths of
heaven shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are
therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy conversation and godliness? Looking far and near unto the
coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall
be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,
let us we, according to his promise, look for a new heaven and a new
earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. I know that what the Messiah
is going to do, set out to do, He's going to do. Let me read
you another scripture here. In Isaiah 65, it says, Behold,
I create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former shall not
be remembered, nor come into mind. Isaiah 66, verse 22, As
the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain
before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name
remain." He's talking to Israel there. And in Revelation 21.1,
John said, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. Now, there's
two comings of the Messiah. The first coming, He came as
the Savior to reach in the dunghill of sin by going there Himself
and taking out a people for His name. The next coming is when
He's coming to set up His kingdom on this earth. and when he's
going to reign forever and ever and ever. And those who are not
ashamed of his first coming are going to reign with him in his
second coming. Our Father, we're grateful for
Thy Word. Every time we open this book,
we realize so many things that we don't know, we don't understand,
but we believe. We accept Thy Word because it
is Thy Word. And we do ask for greater understanding
of Thy Word, that we may grow in grace in the knowledge of
Thy Son. We ask for a deeper understanding
of Thy Word, that we may see ourselves as we are, that we
may be humble and broken-hearted, of a contrite spirit, a will
to do Thy will. We make love for the Lord Jesus
Christ. Thou would reveal unto us Thy
word, O God, that we may be more perfectly conformed to Thy blessed
image. We thank Thee that Christ the
Messiah has come, and He has fulfilled for us in Thy presence
all things, and we are complete in Him. We say with John the
Apostle, Even so come, Lord Jesus, for we know that He will come
again and receive us for Himself that where He is, there we may
be also. Bless the message and use it
for Thy praise and Thy glory. In Thy name we pray, Amen.