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Jesus' secret preparation for His final Passover
Fred R. Coulter—March 9, 2019
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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services!
We're getting close, about five weeks away, to Passover and Unleavened Bread! Here is what we're advertising this week, which will be very, very helpful to you for Unleavened Bread: Sermon Series and CD: How to Overcome the Sin Within! That's important, because that's the whole key of Christianity.
Religion is to make you good living in the community one to another. True Christianity is conversion, which is a transformation of the mind and thinking with God's Spirit and His Word. That way your mind is being transformed by God's Spirit will produce good results on the outside.
As we're going to see, this is perfectly described by Jesus in talking to the scribes and Pharisees in exposing them.
Remember, this day—Nisan 11, Sunday April 2, 30 AD—is the day of confrontation and provocation!Jesus comes on them really strong and very hard. Remember, all of this took place at the temple area. There were thousands of people there, and hundreds and hundreds of Levites and probably scores of priests.
from: A Harmony of the Gospels, pg 231
Section 305—A Warning Against the Scribes and Pharisees
This is not like traditional sermons; this is like a Bible study, because we're going through most of the verses. Some of the areas, like in Matt. 24, we're not going to go into detail in great parts of it, because we've had so many sermons on it anyway.
Matthew 23:1: "Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying, 'The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down on Moses' seat as judges'" (vs 1-2).
Why was that translated that way? This is to show that the priests and the Levites—some of scribes were Levites, but not all—"…sat down on Moses' seat…" to make judgments.
But the Pharisees were not of the priestly line. Some may have been, but Pharisee was a political party. What Jesus is saying here is that He wants everything to be conducted in decent order through God's Word.
Verse 3: "Therefore, every judgment…
as judges
"…that they tell you to observe, observe and do…."
Their judgments were based upon the Word of God! They would come to the judgment seat with a problem, or defugalty, get it settled and they would give the judgment based on the Word of God.
"…But do not do according to their works; for they say and do not" (v 3).
Note Mark 7 about the traditions of men. When they kept their traditions, they were rejecting the Word of God! It was sort of a very obtuse thing that they did. Picture the Law of God in the middle; they designed the traditions to go around the Law of God so that if people did these traditions they wouldn't break the commandments. But after having so many of these traditions, the traditions themselves were breaking the commandments of God. This is why Jesus said,
"…do not do according to their works; for they say and do not For they bind heavy burdens and hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of men; but they will not move them with one of their own fingers" (vs 3-4).
Just like all political systems, the elite are never caught and judged. Look at it today right here in America with the Clinton and Obama eras, and they're all getting away with it!
Verse 5: "And they do all their works to be seen by men. They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments."
I thought of that when I saw a hearing with one of the so-called great generals. He had his stars, medals, ribbons on both sides of his chest; he was very impressive.
Verse 6: "And they love… [v 7] the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called by men 'Rabbi, Rabbi.' But you are not to be called Rabbi; for one is your Master, the Christ…" (vs 6-8).
We're going to see that He says this the second time!
"…and all of you are brethren. Also, do not call anyone on the earth your Father…" (vs 8-9).
Very important! Years ago, about 1973, I was on the radio program called Religion Online four Sundays in a row. There was a rabbi, a Catholic priest, and me. I was the so-called Protestant. Every time someone would call in and say to the priest, 'Why you call each other Father when the Bible says to not call anyone your Father?' They never could answer that. They would all stumble and so forth. A lot of people know that.
Verse 11: "But the greatest among you shall be your servant."
Serve the people, that's the whole thing! What was said that was wrong 'way back when' in the Church of God? In order to be in the Kingdom of God you must learn to be ruled over by the ministry! That's not correct! You must be ruled over by God! All of us individually! That's why we have the Spirit of God!
Verse 9: "…for one is your Father…"
Father is the sacred name of God the Father (John 17). All of those who try to bring in Hebrew sacred names, and replace them in the New Testament, are adding to the Word of God, that God never authorized to be!
Don't you think that if Hebrew sacred names were necessary in the New Testament, that the apostles—being those who understood Hebrew and Greek—could have easily written the Hebrew name? Of course!
The Old Testament was more like a 'religion.' You corrected the mistakes that you did, and the sacrifice was given to forgive that action. It never the cleansed the mind! That's the key.
Verse 10: "Neither be called Master; for one is your Master, the Christ.
The word for master in the Greek is 'despotes'—from which we get the English word despot! Master is someone whom you give absolute love and obedience to, and that's Christ and God the Father. After saying all of this, why did He put this here? Because every one of the things He said don't do is what men do to exalt themselves.
Verse 12: "And whoever will exalt himself shall be humbled; and whoever will humble himself shall be exalted."
Our exaltation comes at the resurrection! In the mean time, we're to be brethren, and those who are elders and teachers are to teach the brethren and not rule over them.
The thing that is important with God's Holy Spirit is one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control. Where does self-control come from? Your choosing to do right from your choosing to withhold doing what is wrong. You choose it! We all have certain things that we're working on that are hard to control. I do, you do, everybody does and that will continue until we die or the resurrection, one of the two. There are eight woes to the scribes and Pharisees by Christ.
- every word of God is true
- every word of God is living
- every word of God will take place one way or the other
Verse 11: "But the greatest among you shall be your servant."
Greek is 'diakonos.' What do you suppose the English word is? Deacon! Christ came to 'diakono,' to serve!
- Was Christ a deacon?
- A teacher?
- A minister?
- Yes!
- Savior?
Verse 13: "But [#1]woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!…."
They are looking for the accumulation of things and notoriety in this world, that is good notoriety. But Christ is revealing their evil notoriety here. In the first edition of the Harmony I translated this is 'sanctimonious pretenders.' That is what they were!
"…For you devour widows' houses, and as a pretext you offer prayers of great length. Because of this, you shall receive the greater judgment. [#2]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven before men; for neither do you yourselves enter, nor do you allow those who are entering to enter. [#3]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel the sea and the land to make one proselyte, and when he has become one, you make him twofold more a son of Gehenna than yourselves" (vs 13-15).
What is he saying to him with this? What is Gehenna? Lake a Fire! So, they're making them converts to go into the Lake of Fire. Of course, that would be unless the person repented.
Verse 16: "[#4]Woe to you, blind guides…"
- What makes people blind spiritually?
- What made the scribes and Pharisees blind?
Here is Christ fulfilling all the Scriptures; they had all the Scriptures! They wanted to kill Him because He was a competitor. When you read the book of Acts about the first eight chapters are pretty powerful against them. Did they ever have a witness?
We'll just project to head a little bit; we're going to see that when Judas Iscariot came to them to betray Jesus, they rejoiced and when Christ died they thought they had the problem solved. It wasn't; their problems just began! So, He's doing all of this to provoke them!
"…blind guides…" How does a person become blind? John 9, about the man born blind! The disciples asked Jesus, 'Who sinned? his parents? or him? How can a baby in the womb sin? What is sin? Transgression of the Law? What did Jesus say? He didn't sin, nor did His parents sin, but for the glory of God!
God Himself made that man blind for the very purpose of Jesus healing him. You read John 9. Jesus healed him and then the Pharisees found out about it and they brought him in and said, 'How do you receive sight?' This man told me to put some clay on my eyes and went down Pool Shiloam and washed, and I can see!
'Who was He?' I don't know, He left and I can't find Him! 'We don't believe you, bring in his parents. Is this your son?' Yes, that's our son! 'How does he see?' We don't know, ask him!
Then they said, 'This man, we know He's not from God.' And the blind man who could now see said to them, 'How can someone who is not of God do something that has never been done since the creation of the world to heal someone born blind so that they could see? 'You're altogether unclean' and they disfellowshipped him out of the synagogue! Sound like the experience some of you went through a the Church? The truth is, people become blind when they know the Word of God and avoid it, turn their back on it or walk away from it. Automatic blinding!
Why? Because the deceitful nature within will generate and excuse as to why you're walking away is correct! What that does makes them blind! That's why Jesus said, "…blind guides…" They're the ones who are supposed to guide the people, but they can't see the signs of the times, or the fact that it is Jesus Christ.
"…who say, 'Whoever shall swear by the temple…'" (v 16).
Notice that it's always a picky little point that never amounts to anything.
"'…it is not binding; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is obligated to fulfill his oath'" (v 16).
What is that based upon? The covetous nature! Gold!
Verse 17: "You fools and blind!…."
Greek: 'moranio'—from where we get the word moron! Idiots!
"…For which is greater, the gold, or the temple, which sanctifies the gold? And you say, 'Whoever shall swear by the altar, it is not binding; but whoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is obligated to fulfill his oath.' You fools and blind!…." (vs 17-19).
Here are all these self-righteous officials out there thinking: Who is this coming after us this way? They thought all of these rules are correct. These define righteousness, and Who is this coming in here to knock it all down and say that 'we're fools and blind'?
"…For which is greater, the gift, or the altar, which sanctifies the gift? Therefore, the one who swears by the altar swears by it, and by all things that are upon it. And the one who swears by the temple swears by it, and by Him Who dwells in it. And the one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God, and by Him Who sits upon it" (vs 19-22).
- What's the solution?
- What did Jesus say in Matt. 5 about what you should say?
- Let your yes be 'yes' and your no be 'no'!
Verse 23: [#5]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, but you have abandoned the more important matters of the law—judgment, and mercy and faith.
Luke 11:42: "But woe to you, Pharisees! For you pay tithes of mint and rue and every herb, but you pass over the judgment and the love of God…."
Matthew 23:23: "…These you were obligated to do, and not to leave the others undone"
In other words, the most important things of God are not how much money the organization can bring in. But those who are truly converted and truly love God will tithe and give offerings without having to be 'beaten over the head.' Almost every co-worker letter that went out there was an urgent plea for money. What happened to the whole organization? Not all at once, but where is it today? I'll let you think on that!
Verse 24: "Blind guides, who filter out a gnat, but swallow a camel! [#6]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish…" (vs 24-25).
Outside you look great! Let's use another example of this today. At the Academy Awards they're all dressed up, looking sharp, but within what are they? Most of them nothing but a sexual bunch of animals crawling all over the place! There may be a good actor or two in there.
- What does God want from people? The cleansing of the inside!
- How does that happen? With God's Word and God's Spirit, 'the washing of the water by the Word.'!
Verse 26: "Blind Pharisees! First cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may also become clean."
There's the whole principle stated right here this one verse.
Verse 27: [#7]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful on the outside, but within are full of the bones of the dead, and of all uncleanness."
No telling what you find in there. Think about this: How is God going to resurrect all of those who died at sea; most of them were eaten by sharks or other sea animals. That's why when a man or woman dies, the spirit goes back to God. That's they key. Everything that you are is recorded on that spirit of man. If you're unconverted, everything that you are. If you are converted, your spirit of man within you is what then is the key for resurrection to eternal life!
It doesn't make any difference how many are eaten up by sharks, the spirit of man goes back to God when they die. We know that the spirit of just men are under the altar of God (Heb. 12). Does God have a place for the spirits of those who did not commit the unpardonable sin, but are worthy of the second resurrection? Of course, He would have to!
How about for those who are wicked? We saw 'make him son of Gehenna. How about those who committed the unpardonable sin?
Sidebar: Can someone unconverted commit the unpardonable sin? Yes! Because when they're resurrected in the second resurrection, and there's no repentance, guess where you're going?
Do you think Hitler committed the unpardonable sin? I don't know how bad a person could get! Even to the end sending 12-16 year-olds out to try and save Berlin when it was surrounded by the Russians. They were going building to building, killing everyone they could find. What did Hitler do? He went down 38-feet below the surface and took his poison pill and died along with the others!
Goebbels and his children all took cyanide capsules. Wonderful ending the Great Reich! How about that for a fulfillment of those who exalt themselves? They shall be abased! It doesn't say humbled, but abased!Is that an abasement? Yes, in the basement!
Verse 29: [#8]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!….
Isn't this the way that people always excuse themselves?
"…For you build the sepulchers of the prophets, and adorn the tombs of the righteous; and you say, 'If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'" (vs 29-30).
Who were they going to kill and partake of blood? Christ, the greatest of the Prophets!
Verse 32: "And as for you, you are filling up the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you offspring of vipers…" (vs 32-33).
I remember going the zoo in San Diego, California, Jonathan and David always loved to go to the reptile house where the snakes were, and get up close to the glass and say, 'Dad, come and look!'
We came to the Palestinian Viper and I was astonished at that. I looked at that and said, 'I don't ever want to go to Palestine. I would always walk about six feet away from the glass where all the serpents were. You can't get it any worse than vipers!
"…how shall you escape the judgment of Gehenna?" (v 33).
- How many times did Jesus say 'Gehenna' here? At least three times!
- Where were they headed?
Verse 34: "Because of this, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes; and some of them you shall kill and crucify, and some of them you shall scourge in your synagogues, and some of them you shall persecute from city to city; so that upon you may come all the righteous blood poured out upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous, unto the blood of Zacharias…" (vs 34-35).
In English this is 'from A to Z!
"…son of Barachias, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation" (vs 35-36).
We will see the phrase "this generation" here applies to the current generation that He was speaking to. We will find in Matt. 24 the same phrase, but it has other qualifiers in the context to show that means the last generation.
Verse 37: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who have been sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you refused!"
All the way through here, all of this is based upon choices. That's why it's important for us to know: What do we choose on a daily basis? You can't have a behavior out here that is exemplary but in your mind/heart you have a dual standard. That's called a carnal mind, and that's what we are to overcome.
Verse 38: "Behold, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall not see Me at all from this time forward, until you shall say, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord'" (vs 38-39).
You see these coins (Harmony pg. 233). These are actual temple coins are the temple during Jesus' day. Now, what we did with it was we had the picture of one coin. So we had a photographer, take that one coin and do step and repeat, step and repeat until he came up with this batch of temple coins.
Section 306—A Widow's Mite is More Than Large Donations by the Rich
Now here's something that's always true, and this became a fallacy in the Church of God in the past.
Mark 12:41: "And after sitting down opposite the temple treasury, He observed how the people were casting money into the treasury; and many rich ones were putting in much."
One of the qualifications for someone to be an elder in the Church was the first thing they did was check up on the tithing record. If the person didn't tithe as much as they though he should he couldn't be an elder. That's not necessarily buying an eldership, but that's coming pretty close to it!
I'm going to watch on the TBN and if someone refers to it here on Sunday. 'Now you all come here and look what they did. Those who are rich put in a lot.' They'll stop there. They won't talk about the widow. 'The more you send in the happier you'll be, and the more blessed you will be.
- Can Satan give things to people to make it look like a blessing from God? Yes!
- Didn't Satan offer Jesus the whole world and rulership of it? Of course!
Verse 42: "And one poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins, which is equal to one copper coin. Then He called His disciples to Him and said to them, 'Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of those who are casting money into the treasury'" (vs 42-43).
It's not how much you give; it is how faithful you are to God! That's what counts! The widow was faithful and above and beyond with her two mites.
Verse 44: "For everyone else contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her destitution put in as much as she had, giving all her living."
I don't think that was all her living for the rest of her life, but all her living up to a certain point.
Section 307—Jesus and His Disciples Leave the Temple Area
We're going to just cover a few important points in Matt. 24 so that we understand where we're going with it. I could start almost every letter I write in Matt. 24 today. But we need to understand what happened here.
I was given an article by a man in one of the Churches of God that said that 'getting rid of all the stones did not mean the foundation stones.' He's giving the Jewish presentation where the Mosque of Omar is saying that if that's where the temple was then the foundation stones weren't counted. But that's not where the temple was or will be.
Matthew 24:1: "And after going out, Jesus departed from the temple; and His disciples came to Him to point out the buildings of the temple."
{Fred is describing—see video of this message—the placement of the temple and the Valley of Kidron, and showing that it's real steep up to the temple. Also, showing where the Mt. of Olives is and that it's higher than the temple area.}
On the Mt. of Olives was the Miphkad Altar, which was where they took all the sin offerings, because they had to be burned completely. none of the meat was to be eaten by any person or the priests and Jesus was crucified close to the Miphkad Altar outside the camp.
Verse 2: "But Jesus said to them, 'Do you not see all these things?….'"
Think about this in relationship to what you would think if you were one of the apostles there with Jesus and He said this to you because you were impressed with the beautiful rocks, the beautiful stones and with the building of the temple and the wall and everything like that. They had all of it stone-covered 650-feet.
"…'Do you not see all…" (v 2).
That means every bit of it!
- Why did the area where the Mosque of Omar is remain untouched?
- Who destroyed the temple? The Romans!
- Whose property was area where the Mosque of Omar was? Fort Antonia!
That was Roman property. So, the Romans didn't destroy it. Not because the temple was there, but because it was their own property. They wanted to destroy everything Jewish with the greatest hatred possible.
"…Do you not see all these things? Truly…'" (v 2).
In truth!
"…I say to you, there shall not be left here even a stone upon a stone that shall not be thrown down" (v 2).
That's quite inclusive!
Mark 13:2: "Then Jesus answered and said to him, 'Do you see these great buildings? There shall not be left a stone upon a stone that shall not be thrown down.'"
Luke 21:6: "'As for these things that you now see, the days will come in which there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.'"
Section 308—On the Mount of Olives Jesus Prophesies to His Disciples about the Events Leading up to: 1) The Sign of His Second Coming; 2) The Completion of the Age
We will quickly go through Matthew 24:
- vs 3-5—false prophets
- v 6—wars and rumors of wars
- v 7—nation against nation
- v 9—deliver you up to affliction
- v 10—many will be led into sin
- v 11—many false prophets
Verse 12: "And because lawlessness shall be multiplied, the love of many shall grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, that one shall be saved."
Verse 14 is a prelude to what will happen until Christ returns:
Verse 14: "And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world for a witness to all nations, and then shall the end come."
Think about it today, how that with a cell phone anyone can connect with the Word of God, even the Protestant outlets Catholic outlets and we're seeing like we found with Chancy Normandon how that they searched as a group for eight years.
Mac search for how many years I think it was three years before he came to our first service when we were down at a little hall at the other end of the building. Then shall the end come. Verse 15 is a key. This is the key that tells us plan the end is going to begin.
Verse 15: "Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the Holy place.' (The one who reads, let him understand.)"
That phrase Jesus did not say! If you have King James with red letters, and they put that in red letters, understand that Jesus wasn't writing a thing! John put that there because in 70A.D. the temple was destroyed. There was no abomination of desolation that stood in the holy place as described by Paul (2-Thess. 2), who declared himself to be 'God'! Didn't happen!
So, this is telling us: "…(The one who reads, let him understand)"--because John didn't understand it. He knew of 2-Thess. 2 and he knew the vision given to him of the temple was true, so therefore, he said, 'I know there's go to be another temple built, but I don't understand it, so "…The one who reads, let him understand."
It could not be understood until getting down to our day.
Verse 16: "Then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house" (vs 16-17).
Verse 20: "And pray that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the Sabbath."
(go to the next track)
I wonder what the apostles thought when Jesus said the Gospel is going to be proclaimed in all the world to all the nations? What was their concept of the world? Middle East? Asia Minor? North Africa? That was about it!
The actual earth is gigantic and is covered with more water than land. Of course, they didn't know. How is this going to work?
Imagine what they felt when Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple was destroyed, and Christ hadn't returned. We covered that in the apostasy series: How Apostasy Starts—how that the false teachers would say, 'Look, our interpretations are more correct because Jesus didn't return.'
Matthew 24:21: "For then…"
He said in v 20, 'Don't let your flight be in the winter or on the Sabbath,' which tells you that the time to flee—if you look at the chart of Daniel/Revelation series—it comes out about two weeks after the Feast of Tabernacle while it's still fall and before winter. Not in the summer, because you'd get some of those areas that are so hot that you would die.
What tells us when that fulfill the then? The abomination of desolation (v 15)—the when!
Verse 21: "For then shall there be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until this time, nor ever shall be again."
None this that we're reading now took place at the time of the destruction of the second temple and Jerusalem.
Verse 22: "And if those days were not limited…"
The King James says cut short. The preachers' ideal verse. 'You better get your life in order because God you got to cut the time short.' How many times did we hear that? No! It's limited! What is the limit of time? How long is the Tribulation? Three and a half years! It's limited, not cut short!
"…there would no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be limited. Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or, 'He is there,' do not believe it." (v 22).
Now notice what's ahead of us:
Verse 24: "For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets…
We're going to be flooded with them!
"…and they shall present great signs and wonders…" (v 24).
What's going to happen with the false prophet in Rev. 13? He's going to call down fire! If you see that, 'seeing is believing.'
"…in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect" (v 24).
We haven't even come close to that kind of thing, yet! If the multitude believes it, you say, 'No, that's of Satan!' How could this be of Satan? Let's start with bringing the beast back to life. How could this be of Satan? Look, he's bringing peace to the whole world!
Verse 25: "Behold, I have foretold it to you. Therefore, if they say to you, 'Come and see! He is in the wilderness'; do not go forth. 'Come and see! He is in the secret chambers'; do not believe it. For as the light of day…" (vs 25-27).
Malachi 4:2[transcriber's correction]: "…the Sun of Righteousness shall arise…" Here it is:
Matthew 24:27: "For as the light of day, which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be."
Here's what happens in Bible description: many times it will give you an introduction telling you what's going to come then a little further it defines what it is. This is what we have here.
Verse 28: "For wherever the carcass may be, there will the eagles be gathered together."
That's a hard one to figure except to say that if the eagles are angels and the Church is in a place of safety, that may be define it, possibly, the way it would be interpreted.
Verse 29: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken."
What is that going to do for time based upon the Calculated Hebrew Calendar? It's going to knock it all 'caddy wampus'! That's why only the Father knows the time or the day. It's all out of sequence, out of order. What are you going to do? From new moon to full moon with all this going on, it turns out to be 17 or 18 days. That's why it's not going to happen until that time, because it too confusing for those who are keeping the Feast and Holy Days today.
Verse 30: "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man…"
The sign of the Son of man is:
Verse 27: "For as the light of day, which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west…"
That defines:
Verse 30: "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
There's a gap of time between the sign of the Son of man and when He actually comes to the earth; that time is a little over one year, about 15 or 16 months.
Let's take the Bible and see when the sign of the Son of man appears. I'll direct you to any Day 49 or Day 50—Pentecost—for more details on this to get how the sequence comes about. Rev. 6 is the opening of the seven seals.
Revelation 6:12: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as the hair of sackcloth… [that's what we're talking about in Matt. 24] …and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the heaven departed like a scroll…" (vs 12-14).
A scroll is rolled up in two parts, generally speaking. It's opening up in the heavens. This didn't happen in 70A.D.
"…that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place" (v 14). That's going to be something!
We've got this globe over here, and many people believe that if they can get a nice island in th South Seas 'I'll escape everything.' One tsunami takes care of you, and this is going to bring a lot of tsunamis. Other people think if they just get a cabin up in the mountains, nobody knows where they are. What are you going to do when you find you're down in the valley and not up in the mountain?
Verse 15: "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the powerful men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains."
This is devastation such has never, never, never has been. Isn't that what Christ said? Yes!
Verse 16: "And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of His wrath has come, and who has the power to stand?'" (vs 16-17).
That is introduced one heavens roll back and there looks like a second sun. Think about ancient aliens. Think about everyone believing the world is going to be attacked by aliens. How come they all know it's Christ? Well, there'll be a lot of people who will know that. But if you are told by the leader and the beast and the false prophet that what this represents an existential threat to the world, and it's really not Christ. Did they do that with His first coming? So, what will they do with His second coming?
Things will change. Things will change when it comes to Rev. 7; things change to a terrible calm and the winds are not even blowing. Then the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude are saved, and everybody is in a different posture by time we get to Rev. 8; they start fighting against each other with great intensity and demons join them and so forth.
If you want a real in-depth study on it, get the Daniel/Revelation series.
Matthew 24:31: "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
It goes from His showing Himself with the heavens being rolled back up to the point of the resurrection; but there's a lot in between.
Verse 32: "Now, learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branches have already become tender, and it puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near."
We're going to see a lot of things coming, and a lot of those things are going to look like good things for the world. People getting along with each other, peace! After all we've gone through, won't people want peace? Won't they be told by the false prophet that this is from God?
Verse 33: "In like manner also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
Now, here's this phrase that we saw back in Matt. 23:
Verse 34: "Truly I say to you, this generation shall in no wise pass away until all these things have taken place."
That's the last generation! Who is the last generation? We thought that it was us many times.
Verse 36: "But concerning that day, and the hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."
In Mark it says that not even the Son knows.
Verse 37: "Now, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be at the coming of the Son of man. For as in the days that were before the Flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark" (vs 37-38).
- If the days are like the days of Noah, what do we have today? We have all kinds of things!
- Do you suppose that Noah and his sons had electric power? Power saws? (speculation)
If it was like today, we could say that that would be an assumption. So, think about it! We have decided that there could have been atomic power, or it could have been an explosion of the sun. But there are cities in India that have so much radioactivity that you have to conclude that it's possible that that is because of human warfare. They even have carved toys that look like jet planes. Either way it goes it's a bad situation.
Because we don't know the day or the hour, and the heavens are all going to be shaken, the sun, moon and stars, everything is going to be affected. Nevertheless, this applies down through time from v 42. We even have the record of the Waldensians when they saw everything going on: The crusaders coming down to the Holy Land. They said, 'The Day of the Lord is not far away'—in 1120!
Verse 42: "Watch, therefore, because you do not know in what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have been watching, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready" (vs 42-44).
- Can Christ come upon you at any time?
- How does He come upon you?
- Do you think that Christ came upon WCG to do the things that were done because of their sins?
That doesn't mean His bodily return to the earth!
"…For the Son of man is coming at a time that you do not think. Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his lord has set over his household, to give them food in due season?" (vs 44-45).
Here's what we need to do, and this pretty well takes care of most of Matt. 24:
Verse 46: "Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he comes shall find so doing. Truly I say to you, he will set him over all his property. But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, 'My lord delays his coming,' and shall begin to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, the lord of that servant will come in a day that he does not expect, and in an hour that he does not know. And he shall cut him asunder and shall appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (vs 46-51).
That last verse jumps ahead to the final judgment at the end. So, we must always be:
- moving forward
- doing what is right
- living by the Word of God
Not saying that Jesus' return is a long way off! A lot of us remember when we thought He was coming in 1975. He didn't come! What happened to the Church? Took a while! POOF!
Section 309—Jesus Leaves the City Each Night
Luke 21:37: "And during the day He was in the temple teaching, and at night He went out and lodged on the mountain called the Mount of Olives."
He had a camping place right there on the Mount of Olives!
Verse 38: "And all the people came to Him in the temple early in the morning to hear Him."
He would come there at sunrise and be there all day, go out and come back.
Section 310—The Parable of the Ten Virgins
This is the story of those who are faithful and those who are sleeping and what happens. To show what a vessel/lamp means, we have a picture of an actual oil lamp from that age. They put the oil in and had the wick where it burned the oil.
How long would that last? Not very long! So, the ones who are wise had reserve; they always carried reserves. The ones who were foolish do not have any reserve, which tells you what the story is:
- if you don't study
- if you don't pray
- if you're not preparing
- if you're not taking each day as it comes
Then you may end up going to sleep!
- Have you seen those who've gone to sleep?
- Have you seen those who don't wake up?
- Have you seen those who have been deceived?
This is the whole story of the parable of the virgins! Same way with:
Section 311—The Parable of the Talents
He gives the talents, and those who are successful, what does He say? Well done, faithful servant!
Now here is something is not known very much today: a steward is someone who takes what the master gives them! He gave them five pounds, two pounds and one pound. A steward is to take that money make a profit for the owner of it, and not take anything for himself.
It's likened to those who preach and teach. We are to be stewards:
- of God's Word
- of God's people
We are not to take anything to ourselves to ingratiate ourselves and exalt ourselves. But to teach! Remember where we started with the parable how the Gentiles are ruled over. Their great ones and religious leaders have authority over them. Jesus said, 'It's not to be that way with you.' We are to teach!
An interesting comment was made by a man recently when he was looking for a church that would provide for them—the materials and things like that, in listening to some of them, most of them preach, but 'what we found with Christian Biblical, all the ministers teach!'
Last night in our Go to Meeting, there was an excellent sermon by Roger Kendall and I was very happy to see it because he slowed down in his speaking which was a major thing for him. He did an excellent job! that's what we need to do. All the elders need to teach. And the best thing we can teach is how you can run your own life with the Spirit of God and not have a minister be ruling over you! That can't work! That never works! If you want that join the Catholic Church!
Section 312—The Judgment of the Nations
Section 313—After Two Days the Passover Comes
Matthew 26:1: "Now, it came to pass that when Jesus had finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples, 'You know…'" (vs 1-2).
That tells us that they knew the times and all that sort of thing!
"'…that after two days the Passover takes place, and the Son of man is delivered up to be crucified'" (v 2).
But they didn't understand that last sentence.
Verse 3: "Then the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people assembled together in the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas; and they took counsel together for the purpose of seizing Jesus by treachery, and killing Him. But they said, 'Not during the Feast, so that there will not be a riot among the people'" (vs 3-5).
Mark 14:1: "Now, after two days was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread…"
Luke 22:1: "Now, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called Passover, was approaching."
Luke is showing how the Jews interpreted it, because they kept the Passover on the 15th.
You'll have to read The Christian Passover book to get all the details of it. But I only found one rabbi who wrote and said that 'we do nothing on the 14th because we are in the Diaspora and our sins are following in the footsteps of our fathers.'
What they did in the Diaspora, they took the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and called that the Passover, and instead of observing The Night Much to Be Remembered, they made that the night of the Seder.
When you read Deut. 16, if you misinterpret it, you may think that that authorizes the Passover sacrifice at the temple. Read it carefully and you will see that the offerings are to be from the flock and the herd. I challenge you to show me one place in the Bible that talks about the Passover calf. When you understand Exo. 13 about the redemption of the firstborn, you will see that all those sacrifices of the day portion of the 14th called Passover Offerings were offerings mostly for the redemption of the firstborn of man and beast.
Then they had the Night to be Much Remembered, and the instruction was to 'return to your tent in the morning.' So, they stayed up all night on the Night to be Much Observed!
Section 314—In Bethany, Jesus is Anointed for His Burial
He was anointed twice. Where was the first anointing? Lazarus' house where Mary and Martha were! Mary was the one who was doing Jesus' feet. This one here is in a different place.
Matthew 26:6: "Now, when Jesus was in Bethany, in Simon the leper's house."
That is not Lazarus!
Verse 7: "A woman came to Him with an alabaster flask of ointment, very precious, and poured it on His head…"
The first anointing was on His feet!
"…as He sat down to eat" (v 7).
- How did all of this come about?
- How did we have two flasks of alabaster ointment?
- Who was in charge of making sure that everything was carried out? All the angels!
- Who was in charge of the adversary trying to thwart everything that was being done? Satan the devil and his minions the priests!
- Who was the one who betrayed Jesus? Judas Iscariot!
We need to realize that there were angels, demons, high level demons. This was great, great thing to happen, and it was a combat of the ages, because here's the sacrifice of God in the person of the Son of God, His only Begotten Jesus Christ!
Verse 8: "But when His disciples saw it, they became indignant and said, 'What reason is there for this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for much, and the money given to the poor.' But Jesus knew this and said to them, 'Why do you cause trouble for this woman? For she has performed a good work toward Me. For you have the poor with you always, but you do not always have Me. What this woman did in pouring this ointment on My body, she did for My burial'" (vs 8-12).
After saying this will be preached in all the world (Matt. 26:13) both of them are talked about.
Nisan 12—Monday, April 3, 30 AD
Section 315—Judas Betrays Jesus to the Chief Priests for 30 Pieces of Silver
Luke 22:3: "Then Satan entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went away, and spoke with the chief priests and the captains about a way by which he might betray Him to them. And they rejoiced…" (vs 3-5).
Think about that for a minute!
- Can Satan make people happy?
- Can Satan make people laugh?
- Yes!
I'm going to a couple of Church at Home {churchathome.org} called Satan's Trickery of Children!
There is a new movie coming out by Walt Disney… Think about this: when you understand what comes out of Disney World, everything there is based on satanism! Every single thing! It starts out kind of funny and nice, but they are going to have a movie about a child who has four parents, instilling in children the confusion of gender reality. Is not that evil? But it's going to be presented as funny!
I remember when we first saw Star Wars. Jonathan, David and Stephen were all excited in the car going home. I said to them, 'This is all satanism.' Ah, Dad!
It is! Who was the god that they worshipped? Yoda! That starts with the same letter as Yahweh. Things are getting more and more evil!
They rejoiced! They thought this could never happen. We've been planning and plotting and scheming! Here it 'fall into our lap.' Think about how victorious they felt!
Luke 22:6: "And he promised, and sought an opportunity to betray Him to them away from the multitude."
Mark 14:11: "And after hearing this, they were delighted and promised to give him money…."
Matthew 26:15: "And said, 'What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver Him up to you?' And they offered him thirty pieces of silver."
There again, we took the temple coins and put thirty pieces of silver.
Here's to show you that there was a lot going on with the angels in making everything take place. We're going to see why Jesus did it this way. In order for Jesus to be arrested at the right place, at the right time, and not before hand.
This last Passover, Jesus didn't tell any of the disciples where they were going to keep it. This presented a problems for Judas. If Jesus had told them, Judas could have gone to the chief priest and told him where they were keeping the Passover, 'come over and get Him there, and you can get all the disciples, as well.' Jesus didn't tell them!
Section 316—The Disciples Prepare for the Passover
These are literal translations of the Greek:
Matthew 26:17: "Now, on the first of the unleaveneds…"
No day was there!
"…the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, 'Where do You desire that we prepare for You to eat the Passover?' And He said, 'Go into the city to such a man…'" (vs 17-18).
He didn't tell them who or where!
"'…and say to him, "The Teacher says, 'My time is near; I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house'"'" (v 18).
Mark 14:12: "And on the first day of the unleaveneds…"
There's a footnote I want you to the read. If this were the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, think of the problems that you would have. Passover Day would already be gone! How could Christ be our Passover if this were the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread?
In addition, think on this: Since the Jews kept the Passover a day later, they would have kept their Passover on the 16th and not the 15th. So, what is the answer? Read in the Passover book, the Passover Day is an unleavened bread day in addition to the seven! Josephus writes of eight days of Unleavened Bread.
It used to be in the past that the people would take the Passover on the correct day and they were told they could have a hamburger in the day portion and eat leavened bread on the day portion. If you eat the unleavened bread of Christ, why can you eat leaven after the Passover? They didn't understand the Greek!
Verse 12: "And on the first day of the unleaveneds…"
This is all explained in the footnote in the Harmony and you can get more detail in the Passover book.
"…when they were killing…" (v 12).
That is a literal actual translation; a present tense participle in the Greek. Not when they killed, but "…were killing…"
Where were the disciples? Over in Bethany! Bethany and Bethphage are on this side of the Mount of Olives (referring to map). So, as they're coming down to go into the town, the whole area of the Mount of Olives had tents of pilgrims coming there to keep the Passover and Unleavened Bread. Most of them at that time kept the 14th. You can read that in the Passover book.
It unlocks all the Truth and refutes every Jewish error. So, if you haven't read the Passover book, you get it and we'll send it to you free.
"…when they were killing the Passover lambs…" (v 12).
When were they to kill the Passover lambs according to Exo. 12? Between the two evenings, which Exo. 16 shows is after sunset and before dark!
Get the picture: here's all the disciples there and Jesus didn't tell them where they were going to keep the Passover.
"…His disciples said to Him, 'Where do You desire that we go and prepare, so that You may eat the Passover?'" (v 12).
They could see all the pilgrims killing their Passover lambs right here, right now.
Verse 13: "And He sent two of His disciples…
Peter and John (Luke 22:8).
"…and said to them, 'Go into the city, and you shall meet a man,,,'" (v 13).
How many people were there? Thousands and thousands!
"…carrying a pitcher of water; follow him" (v 13).
How was that made possible? The angels were working it all out to make sure that when the disciples hit a certain intersection the man carrying the water would be coming!
Luke 22:10: "And He said to them, 'Watch, and when you come into the city, you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters.'"
Jesus did not keep a Passover with the temple sacrificed lamb. He did not tell the disciples that they were killing the lambs and 'run over to the temple and get a Passover lamb.' No, He didn't! Who prepared the lamb? The master of the house! So, everything was ready.
Nisan 13—Tuesday, April 4, 30 AD
Mark 14:14: "And whatever house he shall enter, say to the master of the house that the Teacher says, 'Where is the guest chamber, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?'"
What happened? The master of the house was preparing everything and having it all ready to go! Killed the lamb and probably had it beginning to roast. Here comes the man with the water. What was the water to be used for? Washing of the feet! The disciples come in and they don't know the man. The man doesn't know them, and the Master or Teacher says, "…Where is the guest chamber, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"
All of that must have been worked out by the angels. It was so precise!
Verse 15: "And he shall show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. There prepare for us."
All they had to do was put out the unleavened bread and make sure that the lamb was going.
Verse 16: "And His disciples went away: and when they came into the city, they found it exactly as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover."
Reading assignment: Read the commentary that follows in A Harmony of the Gospels, pg. 245-255: Jesus' Last Passover and Crucifixion and 28 prophecies fulfilled on the Passover Day.
If anyone is into odds-making, what are the odds that 28 specific prophecies could be fulfilled in one day? That's why all of this had to be prearranged by prophecy, by the work of the angels, to make it all come together for the most important thing since the creation of man.
Scriptural References:
- Matthew 23:1-10, 12, 11, 13-23
- Luke 11:42
- Matthew 23:23-27, 29-30, 32-39
- Mark 12:41-44
- Matthew 24:1-2
- Mark 13:2
- Luke 21:6
- Matthew 24:12-17, 20-22, 24-27
- Malachi 4:2
- Matthew 24:27-30, 27, 30
- Revelation 6:12-17
- Matthew 24:31-34, 36-38, 42-51
- Luke 21:37-38
- Matthew 26:1-5
- Mark 14:1
- Luke 22:1
- Matthew 26:6-12
- Luke 22:3-6
- Mark 14:11
- Matthew 26:15, 17-18
- Mark 14:12-13
- Luke 22:10
- Mark 14:14-16
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Mark 7
- John 17
- Acts 1-8
- John 9
- Matthew 5
- Hebrews 12
- Matthew 24:3-7, 9-11
- 2 Thessalonians 2
- Revelation 13, 7; 8
- Deuteronomy 16
- Exodus 13
- Matthew 26:13
- Exodus 12; 16
- Luke 22:8
Also referenced:
Sermon Series and CD:
- How to Overcome the Sin Within!
- How Apostasy Starts
- Daniel/Revelation
Books:
- A Harmony of the Gospels by Fred R. Coulter
- The Christian Passover by Fred R. Coulter
Church at Home {churchathome.org} Satan's Trickery of Children! (coming soon)
FRC: po/bo
Transcribed: 3/17/19
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