Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 716. Bible Study: Isaiah 25 (Wedding Banquet? The Cross? Second Coming? Eternity)

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716. Bible Study: Isaiah 25 (Wedding Banquet? The Cross? Second Coming? Eternity) · Faith by annm2705

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Chapter 25 from the book of Isaiah.
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Dear God, please be with us as always to help us gain wisdom
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and insight from this chapter. We ask for this in Jesus name,
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Amen. Starts off with titled Praise to
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the Lord. Lord you are my God.
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I will exalt you and praise your name for in perfect faithfulness
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You have done wonderful things, things planned long ago.
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We see also this is chapter 25 of Isaiah, but in chapter 46,
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verse 10, this is what the Lord says I make known the end from
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the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.
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I say my purpose will stand and I will do all that I please.
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I mean, that's something that we just need to remember is that
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really when we read the Bible from the beginning in the book
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of Genesis all the way to the end, there are a lot of
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prophetic things in there. God revealed what he was going
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to do from the very beginning, from the beginning of when the
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Bible was documented, God has revealed what is coming.
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So we would be wise if we actually study it because there
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are things that are in the Bible that haven't yet happened but
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appear to be coming soon. So going back to chapter 25, it
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says you have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified
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town a rune, the foreigner's stronghold, a city no more.
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It will never be rebuilt. Now there's other verses in
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Scripture that talk about this. I guess the prophecy of it will
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never be rebuilt and it refers to Babylon.
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I know in chapter 24 we did touch on Babylon.
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And so I'm wondering if this city that is made a heap of
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rubble, A fortified town of Rune, the Forders, the
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foreigners stronghold, the city no more.
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It will never be rebuilt. Babylon is also referred to.
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In fact, I might just do a completely separate maybe and
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writing and a podcast just on Babylon alone because there's so
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much about Babylon. And I think it would be
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interesting to just pull all of the different prophecies
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together about Babylon. So maybe we do understand
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because I'm not really sure where Babylon is.
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I am absolutely sure that it is a spirit, and it's a spirit of
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idolatry that is behind it, but I just don't know exactly where
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it is. I haven't concluded that, but
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maybe if we study all of Babylon, we'll get to that
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point. So that might be something I do
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after Isaiah before I get into the next prophetic book.
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Or maybe now. I don't know.
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Therefore it says it the books chapter 25 says therefore strong
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peoples will honor you, cities of ruthless nations will Revere
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you and so this again you know God always has a purpose and his
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purpose is to be made known. You have to remember that he
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created all human beings, even the ones that chose wickedness.
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So there are ruthless nations who are going to Revere God and
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everything that happens. I noticed in the Bible, like
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when miracles were done, that they were all done for the glory
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of God, to show the glory of God, to draw people to God.
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And it's I to draw people to him.
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I guess when they're turned to him and we become children of
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God, then we will receive the inheritance in the Kingdom of
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God for eternity. And that's what God wants.
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But He gave us free will, so we get to choose where we spend
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eternity. You have been a refuge talking
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about God. You.
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You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in
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their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the
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heat for the breath of the roof. Ruthless is like a storm driving
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against a wall, and like the heat of desert, you silence the
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uproar of foreigners. As heat is reduced by the shadow
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of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.
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So God has always been a refuge for his people and we need to
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remember that if we call ourselves children of God, if
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we've surrendered to God and we have made it known that we want
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to serve God, God will be our refuge.
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He will be a place no matter what happens in our life, we can
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always rely on God and we know that his promises are eternal
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and they don't ever go away. And God is faithful.
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It, you know, that's one of the first things this chapter said,
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perfect faithfulness. God is faithful.
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We have to remember that, and he tells us about this from the
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very beginning. When we read Scripture, we see
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God's faithfulness. It's people who turn away from
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God and do horrible things and sin separates us from God.
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So when we're separated from God, then we're not he's, he's
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not, we're not protected by Him, and bad things do happen.
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So if we stay close to God, it it will benefit us in many ways.
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I do know that God has some people that do go through like
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they are his people and they actually go through terrible
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times because many of the great people of the Bible that did a
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lot of things for God actually had to suffer.
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But it seemed like God always told them that that was going to
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happen in advance. He gave them warning or told
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them, and it wasn't because of their unrighteousness, but it
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was that they were, they had a purpose.
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That was the purpose that God intended.
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And these, the people that are written about in the Bible who
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were remained followers of God, they honored God with that
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purpose. And honestly, if you think about
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it, Jesus gave us the example of that when he was about to be put
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to death on the cross. He knew what was coming.
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It wasn't a surprise. He didn't, He didn't say, I
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wonder what's going to happen to me after they capture.
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I mean, he knew his purpose was to die on that cross, but he had
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to keep it quiet from everybody so that he could break the curse
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of death. And we will actually talk about
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that a little bit too. So he knew all of that was going
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to happen. But, and we will talk about this
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too, the cup of God's wrath, like Jesus, really, Jesus
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accepted the cup of God's wrath to be poured out on him as a
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substitute for being poured out on us.
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And it could be poured out on him because he was conceived of
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the Holy Spirit from the Father, and he is the Son of God.
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So a human being could not withstand it.
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We could not. We could not save ourselves.
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But Jesus could because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and
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is the Son of God. And then he, not only that, but
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he was obedient to the Father and did the Father's will even
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though he knew. I mean, it said like when he was
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praying in Gethsemane, I think it was that he was actually
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sweating blood like that. Apparently medically that can
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happen under severe trauma or stress.
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People could literally sweat blood.
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Like that was what Jesus was doing in the garden.
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He knew what was about to come upon him and he did ask God.
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He said, if there's any way that this can be done, you know, let
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it be. If not your will, you know, I'll
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do your will. And he did the will of the
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Father on the cross. And that was the only way that
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we have the opportunity to be in God's Kingdom.
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And we need to think about that. We need to think about like, you
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know, because he's the Son of God.
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He was still he. He gave up his, I don't know,
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his heavenly luxury to be here on earth and live as a human and
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to suffer all the things, feel all the things that that people
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do and have temptations and have all these things.
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But he willingly did all that he did on the cross, the torture
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that happened beforehand and his death on the cross.
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He did that out of love. He did that for us.
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He had a purpose. He knew what his purpose was.
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He knew that his purpose, what he did on the cross would enable
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us to be in God's Kingdom. So it's when you really think
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about it, it has a lot more meaning when you, it's not just
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like a storybook. I mean, this is real.
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Jesus was a real person here on earth.
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He's written about he, you know, he was an actual person.
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It's not like these other religions where their God is
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unknown. It's, you know, it's not a
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historical person. It's I don't know how to other
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how else to explain it. But anyway this is real and we
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need to remember that and not just think this is just some
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like far fetched belief for people.
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So then it says on this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a
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feast of rich food for all the people, a banquet of aged wine,
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the best of meats and the finest of wines.
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On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all
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people, the sheet that covers all nations.
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He will swallow up death forever.
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Now, there's a lot here. So on this mountain I'm not that
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could be, that could be a lot of things.
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The mountain could be a high place.
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It could be it could be heaven. And there's some reason that I
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do say heaven because I think it's in Matthew chapter 8, verse
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11. I'm going to look at that or not
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sure which one it was. Wait, OK, yes, Matthew chapter
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8, verse 11. So this is interesting because
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it says this is Jesus saying, I say to you that many will come
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from the east and from the West and will take their places at
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the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of
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heaven. So in the Kingdom of heaven.
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So it does seem like after the gathering, when Jesus returns
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and there is a gathering, it does seem like there is going to
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be a celebration. And we will see that there were
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often these banquets and feast of kings.
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And this is very much something that happened traditionally.
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And that it, you know, it's, it's important to know that
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tradition because of how kings would host these events.
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And also at the wedding, which the wedding is also talked
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about. So the study Bible says who are
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the people at the feast? These are the people of God who
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join in an unrestrained celebration.
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The picture is of an inaugural banquet for a king.
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Here the Lord is king. It also could suggest a wedding
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celebration with Isaiah hinting about the marriage supper of the
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Lamb. So I looked up a few things to
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talk about different scripture and so I will I will read those.
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I think I don't know if Luke Nope, I have a lot of different
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tabs opened here. So and I didn't quite do all of
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them in order. So anyway, I will go through the
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the banquet in Esther chapter one.
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This is just interesting. Verse 3 it says in the third
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year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his nobles and
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officials. The military leaders of Persia
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and Media, the Princess and the nobles of the provinces were
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present. This is not about Jesus or
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anything, but I do think that the book of Esther very much
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symbolizes a lot of the ultimate story of salvation and I find it
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interesting that it specifies In the third year he gave a banquet
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for all his nobles and officials there.
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May you know, that may be relevant.
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It may not be relevant at all, but I just thought it was
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interesting. And then here's the other part
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too, and Esther one verse 5. When these days were over, the
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king gave a banquet lasting 7 days in the enclosed garden of
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the King's palace for all the people from the least to the
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greatest who were in the citadel of Susa.
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Now again, this is not about about Jesus or about God, but I
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think it it seems very symbolic of it about the the banquet
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lasting 7 days. That's very the number 7 is very
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symbolic in everything about God like the seven days of creation,
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the seven days of the week with the Sabbath being the a day of
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rest, the Feast of Tabernacles, which is celebrated for seven
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days, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is celebrated for
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seven days. All of the numbers of seven like
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the feast of weeks that you count out seven weeks.
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And you know, there's just like the increments of the calendar
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were based on 7, I guess, 7 sevens.
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There were seven weeks that clustered together that broke
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things into a segment of 50 years because then the 50th year
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was a jubilee. So just even keeping track of
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time, the number 7 was really important and it, it had a lot
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of symbolism to God. And then again, the Song of
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Songs, which I, you know, was written I think by Solomon
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perhaps, but I'm not sure. I haven't studied that one.
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But it's, it's very much a story about a wedding and a love lover
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and the person being loved and this wedding.
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And I believe again, that book is very symbolic of the whole
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story of salvation and the wedding, the wedding feast with
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with Jesus and everything. And this is one of the verses
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that said, let him lead me to the banquet hall and let his
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banner over me be loved. Now that's very symbolic of
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God's love over us and the wedding.
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And it was also one of the customary things and the
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Israelites tradition too, was that they would have this
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celebration. They they did weddings a little
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differently than we do with them in the United States.
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I guess maybe Jewish people do it a different way, but I'm not
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familiar with Jewish weddings today.
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But I know that like Galilean weddings were very different and
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there was like a celebration for seven days.
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Then in Matthew chapter 24, I don't even know if I I don't
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think I even had that one called up.
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So now I've got to go and call that one up too, because these
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are all like, really good. Oh, I, I don't know.
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They were. I think I might have it,
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actually. Yeah.
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OK. So Matthew 22, the Kingdom of
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heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for
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his son. So now we're seeing the Kingdom
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of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for
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his son. We're seeing this wedding
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banquet equated to heaven, right?
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And, and so I do think it's interesting that when Jesus
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returns and gathers his people, that his people will be taken
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out like his people, his children are not subject to
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wrath. And remember in this chapter 25
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of Isaiah, it talks about God being a shelter, a refuge.
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And then you we also talked about in the prior chapters
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about the wheat and tares or the wheat and the weeds that are
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actually gathered and put into the barn, But the weeds are
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actually the weeds or the tares are actually bound together and
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they will be put to fire. So that's kind of the same
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thing. We've talked about the harvest,
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about how the harvesters are the angels who will gather the
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people. And then there's references in
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Scripture to Jesus writing on a cloud and sending his angels to
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gather his people. So these are all things that
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when you put it all together, all these different prophecies
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and even like what Jesus said, these are all tying together and
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telling us prophecy and what will happen and when it will
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happen. So in Matthew chapter 22, it
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says he sent his servants to those who had been invited to
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the banquet to tell them, but they refused to come.
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So in this is also symbolic too, but this is like, you know, the
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the King, God the Father, he's preparing a wedding banquet for
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his son Jesus and he sent his servants, whoever they may be.
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They could be angels, they could be other people who to those who
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had been invited, they could be prophets, anybody who shares the
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word of God with someone else, people that were sent out that
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are doing God's will and he goes to those who had been invited to
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the banquet. And that means like us, like two
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different people. If God is inviting you in, if
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somebody you know is trying to talk to you about salvation,
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trying to get you to go to church, trying to get you to
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read the Bible, whatever any of that this is, they're they're
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working on behalf of God. It's not you got to look past
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whatever they're doing and maybe they do it well and maybe they
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don't do it very well, but you have to understand that
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something is happening there. God is influencing that person
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to talk to you about him. It's not about that person.
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That person could be forgotten, but it's about God.
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God is reaching out to you, and don't ignore it if you are.
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If God crosses your path in some manner, accept it, because this
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is the invitation to the wedding banquet, if you want to call it
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that. And it says to tell them to come
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like God calls people. We have the free will to say no,
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we don't want it right now, we don't whatever.
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But you'll see what happens to these people, He said, but they
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refuse to come. Then he sent more servants and
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said to those who had already been, who had, tell those who
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have been invited that I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and
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my fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is
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ready. Come to the wedding banquet.
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Then he said to the servants, The wedding banquet is ready,
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but those I invited did not deserve to come.
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Go out to the streets and invite to the banquet anyone you find.
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This is like showing how God is just opening up His Kingdom to
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all people. The first people that He chose
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were the Israelites, but they rejected him.
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They rejected Jesus. This is for Jesus, you know,
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the, the place, the person of honor and the Israelites
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rejected Jesus when he came. And because they were probably
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idolatry is what it was, is they were, they were blinded.
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They were, they had broken the commandments.
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They weren't, I don't know the reasons, but for whatever reason
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it was something to do with sin. I know that because that's what
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separates people from God. They refused, they refused
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Jesus. Not all of them did, obviously,
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because the the Jews were actually the first Christian.
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So it's not everybody who refused it.
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It was just, you know, some people did just like today.
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But if if somebody is talking to you again, don't even worry
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about who it is that person that's talking to you about it,
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but just think that God is somehow inspiring that person.
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You know, it says like my word goes out and it won't come back
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to me void. Like if he's sending somebody
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out, that's that's something real like you just you know, you
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don't need to go through that person.
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You don't need to go through anybody.
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You just need to go direct to God and get a Bible and learn
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about God, learn about Jesus, learn about all this and have
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that relationship with God. Then let's see where else it
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says in Matthew 25, it says. But while they were on their way
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to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.
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The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding
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banquet and the door was shut. Now this is the parable of the
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10 virgins that Jesus told, and they're these.
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So these virgins are people who are prepared.
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They were prepared to be a wedding, you know, to have to be
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at a wedding to get married. They were somewhat prepared in
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that way, but the one thing they didn't have was the oil.
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Well, the oil is significant of anointing.
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It's like calling. It's having the Holy Spirit.
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And just like Jesus said that you cannot enter the Kingdom of
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God unless you have been born again, meaning born of the
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Spirit, so you need to have the Holy Spirit.
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The Holy Spirit is the anointing oil.
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So there were people that on the surface look like they were
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prepared for the wedding. They were all virgins, but half
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of them had the oil and the other half didn't.
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And so when Jesus arrived, the ones who were really unprepared
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because they didn't have the Holy Spirit, they missed out and
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the door was shut. Now, if you have the Holy Spirit
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and you are considered a child of God, you are not subject to
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God's wrath. Those other five virgins, it
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appears like they are going to go through God's wrath.
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They are going to have to be present during the time of God's
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wrath and they can still be saved because all throughout the
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Bible it talks about, and actually it does say that there
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will be some survivors, but very few.
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But when you read in the Book of Revelation, what happens during
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the trumpets and the bowls of wrath that come from God that
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are going to literally destroy the earth, it I wouldn't really
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I wouldn't want to have to be one of those survivors from the
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wrath of God When you see or read what's going to happen
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during that time, it would be so challenging to get through.
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So anyway, it again, this banquet that is talked about.
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So Luke chapter 12 talks about it too and says like servants
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awaiting their master to return from a wedding banquet so that
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when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door
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for him. So it's just being prepared and
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waiting for the return of Jesus, quite honestly.
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And then in Luke chapter 14, it also talks about, but when you
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give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the
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blind. And then I think I'm going to
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read a little bit more about that, the parable of the great
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wedding banquet banquet. I'll, I'll read this.
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So just to get context of this, so he was telling a parable
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because I'll start here with Luke chapter 14 verse 7.
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When he noticed how the guest picked the places of honor at
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the table, he told them this parable.
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When someone someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take
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the place of honor for a person more distinguished than you may
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have been invited. If so, the host who invited both
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of you will come and say to you, give this person your seat.
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Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important
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place. But when you were invited, take
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the lowest place so that when the host comes, he will say to
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you, friend, move up to a better place.
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Then you will be honored in the presence of all other guests.
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For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and
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those who humble themselves will be exalted.
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Then Jesus said to his host, when you give a luncheon or
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dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or
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sisters, your relatives, or your rich uncle, rich neighbors.
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If you do, they may invite you back, and so you will be repaid.
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When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the
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lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.
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Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
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resurrection of the righteous. So there is a reward for how we
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treat others. And it is important to God that
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we take care of poor, crippled, lame, blind.
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And that could all be spiritual too to those who don't know God,
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because there's often a literal and a symbolic meaning to much
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of what is in the Bible. So here's the parable, the great
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banquet. When one of those at the table
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with him heard it, heard this, he said to Jesus, Blessed is the
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one who will eat at the feast in the Kingdom of God.
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Jesus replied. A certain man was preparing a
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great banquet and invited many guests.
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At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those
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who had been invited come, for everything is now ready.
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But they all alike began to make excuses.
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The first said I have just bought a field, I must go out
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and see it. Please excuse me.
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I mean think about that with us. I mean do we do that to God when
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we've been called? Another one said I have just
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bought 5 yoke of oxen and I'm on my way to try them out.
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Please excuse me like I've got something better to do.
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You know I don't, I don't need to do this right now.
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I'm busy. Still Another said I just got
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married, so I can't come. Of course, you know, having your
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earthly priorities over God. The servant came back and
28:56
reported this to the master. Then the owner of the house
28:59
became angry and ordered a servant go out quickly into the
29:03
streets and the alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the
29:07
crippled, the blind and the lame.
29:10
Sir, the servant said what you have ordered has been done, but
29:14
there is still room. Then he told his servant, go out
29:18
to the roads and the country lanes and compel them to come in
29:22
so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who
29:27
were invited will get a taste of my banquet.
29:31
So that's to turn down God's invitation.
29:35
That's you don't want to do that.
29:39
And yeah, that's just if you feel God is calling you, it's so
29:45
important to respond to that and to not ignore a calling from
29:51
God. It also like in Luke 1329, I
29:56
don't know if I read this, but it says people will come from
29:59
the east and West and North and South and will take their places
30:03
at the feast in the Kingdom of God.
30:06
Indeed, there are those who are last who will be first and the
30:10
first who will be last. So there's a lot to say about
30:16
the feast and about the, you know, being in the presence of
30:21
the Lord. And then it talks about Bible,
30:29
something else that kind of I don't know how I came on this
30:32
part, but it was about the, you know, the the people who are not
30:37
prepared when Jesus returns. And this is another one of those
30:43
chapters that talks about it in Matthew Chapter 7 verses 21
30:47
through 23, it says not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will
30:54
enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will
31:00
of my Father who is in heaven. So we got to think about that
31:03
like Jesus did the will of the Father by dying on the cross.
31:06
Now what is God asking us to do? And are we doing the will of God
31:11
in our day-to-day life? And then this continues in
31:16
Matthew 7. Many will say to me on that day,
31:19
Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name and in your name
31:22
drive out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?
31:27
So think about that. These are people who are
31:31
empowered by the Holy Spirit to do these things.
31:34
They're prophesying, they're driving out demons, they're
31:37
performing miracles. And this is what Jesus said.
31:41
Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you away from me, you
31:46
evil doers. Isn't that like that's shocking
31:51
because you can say that we, you know, what if we have the fruit
31:55
of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit's residing in us, but it's, are we
32:00
doing God's will? That's what it comes down to.
32:03
You know, we can prophecy, we can drive out demons, we could
32:06
do miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit.
32:09
But what about when God tells us to do this, whatever it is, will
32:14
we obey God? Do we, do we get led by God?
32:20
Are we being led by him? Or do we just do, you know, I
32:24
just want to do my own thing and I don't have time for this right
32:27
now. I will do that later.
32:31
I mean, that's when you have an invitation from God.
32:33
You cannot turn it down. I mean, you can turn it down.
32:36
You have free will to turn it down.
32:38
But it's really bad news for us if we do and hopefully it we
32:45
don't turn it down before the day Jesus returns.
32:51
Let's see, there was what else was there in the Chapter 7 it
32:59
said not Chapter 7, verse 7 On the mountain.
33:04
He will destroy the shroud that enthroned all the people, the
33:07
sheep that covers all nations. He will swallow up death
33:10
forever. So these words really kind of
33:13
confused me. I had to look up the original,
33:16
not the original, but the Greek words from the New Testament,
33:20
or, sorry, the Hebrew words from the Old Testament, to understand
33:26
better what this is. So the shroud is like a
33:28
covering. When it says it unfolds the
33:31
people, it's over all the people.
33:32
So on the mountain, he will destroy the covering.
33:35
That's all that's over the people.
33:37
It's kind of like that blindness.
33:39
And it says the sheet that covers all the nations.
33:42
And I was thinking a sheet that covers the nations.
33:44
And I thought about how there was, you know, that that curtain
33:49
that hangs in the at the Tabernacle, but that I don't
33:54
think is what this is referring to.
33:56
So sheet is a very strange, I don't know translation from
34:04
Hebrew because when I looked up the actual word, the sheet means
34:09
a fusion of metal or a cast image and then it referred to
34:15
libation or drink offering. So this is like completely
34:20
different what I would picture in my mind if I see sheet versus
34:24
what the actual Hebrew word is that talks about metal.
34:29
It talks about a cast image and it is libation with a covenant,
34:37
a covenant of sacrifice. So that completely changed the
34:42
understanding of this verse. And it says he will swallow up
34:47
death forever. Then it made me think about the
34:50
cup of wrath and Jesus referring to the cup from the Father and
34:57
before his death on the cross. And so there were there were
35:01
several things that makes this much clearer.
35:05
Like on in John chapter 18 verse 11, Jesus commanded Peter, put
35:10
your sword away. Peter was trying to defend him.
35:14
Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?
35:19
So Jesus knew He had to drink the cup.
35:22
The cup is really referred to as the wrath of God in Revelation
35:27
chapter 14, verse 10. It says they too will drink the
35:32
wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into
35:38
the cup of His wrath. They will be tormented with
35:42
burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the
35:46
Lamb. Now this is about the beast,
35:50
it's image, or if anyone worships.
35:55
OK, so these are the people who worship the beast in his image
35:59
that are going to have the cup of wrath from God, and they will
36:02
be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy
36:07
angels and of the Lamb of Jesus. And it says the smoke of their
36:12
torment will rise forever and ever.
36:14
There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the
36:18
beast and its image or anyone who receives the mark of its
36:22
name. And this calls for patient
36:26
endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his
36:30
commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
36:33
So again, this is like the ones who to do the will of the Father
36:40
to keep his commands. That's the will of the father.
36:43
If we don't have a specific known calling or purpose, then
36:47
the basic is keep his commands. That's the will of God.
36:52
That's how we show God that we love him, so we obey his
36:55
commands. And I think when you start
36:57
talking about that, I think there's a couple other chapters
37:00
that I did. Well, actually I read that one
37:09
already. So this is a, this is really
37:11
important that I found when I was researching again, this is
37:14
in second Peter chapter 2. And it says, I'm going to read
37:20
this whole chapter to you because this is so important.
37:24
But there were also false prophets among the people, just
37:29
as there will be false teachers among you.
37:33
So remember this. You cannot trust everything that
37:36
you hear that's about the Bible or about the teachings from the
37:40
Bible, even if it's in your church.
37:44
Remember that. Go to the Bible and pray to the
37:46
Lord about it so that you get understanding from the Holy
37:50
Spirit, wisdom from the Holy Spirit.
37:53
God will give it to you if you ask.
37:55
So no, I mean, don't even trust what I say if it's my opinion,
38:01
If I'm reading from Scripture, obviously listen to it and
38:04
double check it. But you know, sometimes I give
38:07
my opinions and I might not be right and pray about it.
38:11
So they will. OK, so going back to Scripture,
38:14
they will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even
38:19
denying the sovereign Lord who brought them, bringing swift
38:25
destruction on themselves. So there's going to be prophets
38:31
and teachers who are going to even deny the Sovereign Lord,
38:36
which is really interesting, and they're going to introduce
38:39
destructive heresies. Many will follow their deep
38:45
conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute in their
38:52
greed. So they must be doing this for
38:54
money. These teachers will exploit you
38:57
with fabricated stories. Maybe they're getting paid for
39:01
something and they make up stories.
39:03
Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their
39:07
destruction has not been sleeping.
39:10
For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but he
39:14
sent them to Tartarus or to what we call hell, putting them in
39:19
chains of darkness to be held for judgement.
39:24
If he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood
39:28
on its ungodly people, but he protected Noah, a preacher of
39:32
the righteous, and seven others. If he condemned the city of
39:37
Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, by
39:40
burning them to ashes and made them an example of what is going
39:44
to happen to the ungodly. If he rescued Lot, a righteous
39:49
man who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless.
39:54
For that righteous man living among them day after day, was
39:59
tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and
40:03
heard. If this is so, then the Lord who
40:07
knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the
40:10
unrighteous for on the day of judgement.
40:15
This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of
40:21
the flesh. The Greek word for flesh refers
40:25
to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a
40:28
power in opposition to the spirit who desire of the flesh
40:34
and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not
40:38
afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings.
40:42
Yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful,
40:46
do not heap abuse on such beings when when bringing judgement on
40:51
them from the Lord. So sometimes the angels are
40:54
bringing judgement from the Lord.
40:57
We have to know that too. Just like the Angel of death
41:01
passed through. That's where Passover came
41:04
about. Because anybody who didn't have
41:06
the blood of the Lamb on their doorpost, their first born was
41:10
died as a result. So there's an Angel of death.
41:14
But these going back to scripture in Second Peter
41:17
chapter 2. But these people blasphemy in
41:20
matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning
41:24
animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and
41:28
destroyed. And like animals, they too will
41:30
perish. They will be paid back with harm
41:33
from the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to
41:37
carouse in broad daylight. They are lots and blemishes
41:42
reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
41:46
So they could be, you know, acting like Christians or
41:51
calling themselves Christians, but not be living it.
41:54
And they're just doing their worldly things.
41:57
And it's saying here they're going to be paid back.
42:01
So it continues on with eyes full of adultery.
42:05
They never stop sinning. So this is a big thing for
42:09
people because it gets into grace and people think that they
42:16
have this false sense of security when they hear grace
42:22
and they think that grace is they remember all the things
42:25
that grace is as far as forgiveness, it's undeserved and
42:30
it's given to us. And that is all true.
42:34
The one thing about grace that people often forget about is it
42:38
is actually the power, I think of the Holy Spirit.
42:44
It is power and we, the Holy Spirit gives us power.
42:47
So that's, that's grace. OK, so let me read this again
42:51
with eyes full of adultery. They never stop sinning.
42:55
They seduce the unstable. They are experts in greed and a
43:00
cursed brood. They have left the straightway
43:04
and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam, son of Beezer and
43:10
who loved the wages of wickedness.
43:13
So Balaam loved to get money for his prophecies are.
43:18
Yeah, I guess that was Balaam because Balak is the one who
43:20
called him. OK, but he was rebuked for his
43:23
wrongdoing by a donkey, an animal without speech who spoke
43:27
with a human voice and restrained the prophets madness.
43:31
So that was a wild story. These people are springs without
43:36
water and mist, driven by a storm.
43:39
Blackest darkness is reserved for them, for they mouth empty
43:46
boastful words. By appealing to the lustful
43:50
desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just
43:54
escaping from those who live in error.
43:59
So it's like probably like when somebody first becomes saved,
44:05
they're at a very vulnerable part where they don't really
44:08
know all, all scripture yet. And they could easily be, you
44:15
know, said, oh, you're fine, you're good.
44:17
You don't have to worry about any of this stuff.
44:19
Like, you know, a lot of people say like, thank God that Jesus
44:22
died on the cross because you know, of all of our sins and
44:25
the, the commandments because we, it's, you know, I've heard
44:28
people like I break so many commandments or I sin all the
44:30
time. And I don't think that's
44:32
something to be boastful of, especially when you read this.
44:37
So these teachers, it's a referring to the teachers and
44:40
the leaders. They promise them freedom while
44:43
they themselves are slaves of depravity for people who people
44:48
are slaves to whatever has mastered them.
44:52
If they have escaped the corruption of the world, you
44:55
know, read Galatians chapter 5 talks about worldly things.
44:59
If they've escaped that by knowing our Lord and Savior
45:04
Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are
45:09
overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the
45:15
beginning. So this kind of talks about like
45:18
backsliders to me. If they, if you get out of it
45:22
and you claim Jesus like you, you know, you believe and you
45:27
speak that you are a believer, that you're a Christian and all
45:31
this stuff and you, you get entangled back in it.
45:35
They are worse off at the end that they were in the beginning.
45:39
It would have been better for them not to have known the way
45:41
of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn their
45:45
backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
45:50
Of them the proverbs are true. A dog returns to its vomit, and
45:55
a sow and a sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the
46:00
mud. It's not a very pleasant thing.
46:04
And then here's something that people should probably memorize
46:09
because this is what it says in the Bible.
46:13
First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13.
46:17
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to
46:22
mankind, and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted
46:31
beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempt are tempted,
46:38
He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
46:44
So yes, we when we have the Holy Spirit, we have the power of
46:51
God, we still have a choice. And it says here that we are not
46:56
going to have any temptation that we are unable to overcome.
47:02
If we had the Holy Spirit, we are over.
47:04
We are able to overcome things now if we don't rely on the
47:08
Spirit and we just do it on our own and respond in our worldly
47:13
way, yeah, we can mess up because we aren't going to be
47:16
perfect. And that's when we need to
47:18
immediately go to God and ask for forgiveness for that when we
47:21
realize that we've messed up. But people seem to forget and
47:26
don't seem to teach that the power of the Holy Spirit is how
47:34
we can overcome temptations and that God doesn't test us more
47:38
than what we can tempt us more than what we can bear.
47:44
So that and he provides a way so that we can endure it like we
47:50
can get through it. So we can't make excuses.
47:53
If we believe Scripture and I believe what Scripture says,
48:02
then let's see where else do we have.
48:06
So we talked about the cup of wrath that Jesus did on the
48:09
cross. So the he swallowed up death
48:12
forever. This is really important at in
48:16
second Timothy chapter one, verse 10.
48:19
But it has now been revealed through the appearing of our
48:23
Savior Jesus Christ. So it's revealed because Jesus
48:28
came back from being dead through the appearing of our
48:31
Savior Jesus Christ, who has destroyed death and has brought
48:36
life and immortality to light through the gospel.
48:42
So his death on the cross and his resurrection defeated death
48:48
for all of us. That means we are, we will be
48:52
immortal. It's whether or not we're going
48:54
to be in God's presence or separated from God in torment.
49:00
And the Bible clearly spells that out.
49:03
So if we reject God, we are by default choosing to be in
49:07
torment, even though we'd say, well, we don't want that or we
49:10
don't believe that. It doesn't matter what we make
49:13
up in our mind about what the future holds.
49:16
The Bible tells us it's the truth.
49:18
And who are we? We are not God.
49:22
We didn't make all this up. We can't say, well, I want to
49:26
believe this. Well, it doesn't matter what you
49:28
believe. If you want to believe that you
49:30
are red, white, blue, purple and green and every different part
49:34
of your body is that color, but you're not, it doesn't matter
49:37
what you believe. Reality is reality.
49:40
You can't just change it by what you want to believe.
49:44
So it's better to know the truth and prepare for that and not
49:50
say, well, I don't, I don't believe that.
49:52
Well, it doesn't matter if you believe it because this is the
49:54
truth. So what you're saying is that if
49:57
you just reject this and don't even look into it, what you're
50:00
saying is that you just prefer to be tormented forever.
50:05
And I would seriously think about that.
50:08
If you, if you think you just want to be tormented forever,
50:11
like really think about it because I know people will just
50:14
say it just so they don't have to, you know, as the Bible says,
50:18
take up your cross and become a follower of Jesus.
50:21
They don't want to do that, but you got to weigh it.
50:25
What's better and, and, and think about who God is and
50:30
everything that God did so that you can be in the Kingdom of God
50:35
and think about the love that he had for you to actually go
50:39
through the torment that he did and then die on the cross.
50:43
And it's when you when you read from scripture, maybe people
50:49
don't say it and maybe I'm not saying it very well, but it is,
50:53
believe it or not, a story of love.
50:55
This entire book is a story of love about what God does to show
51:01
us his love and to bring us out of the slavery that we are in
51:09
the blindness that we're in from the evil 1 And it all happened
51:13
because of free will, because he gave us free will.
51:16
But it's so hard. I always think about that like
51:21
you wouldn't want to force somebody to love you because you
51:23
would know that if you force somebody to love you, they don't
51:26
really love you. You're just making them love
51:28
you. So it's, you can't feel real
51:32
love if you force somebody to love you.
51:35
But if Somebody Loves You on their own, then you know that
51:38
they love you by not forcing them.
51:41
So love is never forced. It's either there or it's not.
51:45
And that's what God is looking for with all of us.
51:49
Do we love him? Do we truly love him?
51:52
And if we love him, then we obey his commandments.
51:55
And that's kind of the that's part of our deal with God is
52:00
that are we willing to obey the commandments?
52:03
God is faithful. He's going to do everything he
52:05
said. Now what about us?
52:08
What are we going to do? Another part about Jesus and his
52:13
death on the cross in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14, since the
52:17
children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity.
52:22
This is Jesus being flesh and blood also so that by his death
52:28
he might break the power of him who holds the power of death.
52:35
That is the devil. So did you ever know that the
52:38
devil, Satan is the one who holds the power of death?
52:46
So Jesus, he, you know, he said this before and I don't know if
52:49
I'm like right now. It seems like my eyes are just
52:52
getting opened right now thinking about this because it
52:54
says Jesus says I am the way, the truth, and the life.
52:58
He's all about life. Like I came to bring them life.
53:02
The enemy seeks to kill and destroy.
53:05
We know that the enemy is for death, but when death happens,
53:09
that's the power of Satan. That's the power of Satan
53:15
because in Hebrews that's what it says.
53:17
It says that Jesus died so that by his death he might break the
53:22
power of him who holds the power of death.
53:26
That is the devil and free all the and free those who all their
53:33
lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
53:40
So that's that's like, look at that.
53:43
That is like the enemy's greatest manipulation power
53:49
right there is to make us fear death.
53:53
Like think about this, you only live once Yolo and that's a, you
53:59
know, that's a calling for like do what you want, have fun, do
54:03
all this like live for the day, all that kind of stuff, those
54:05
kind of quotes. That's that's from the enemy
54:09
because we are immortal beings. Jesus made that possible and to
54:14
know who we are, He's the one Satan's the one who had the
54:19
power of death. And and if Jesus didn't die on
54:24
that cross, we would be dead forever.
54:28
I mean, that's apparently what happened would have happened.
54:31
But Jesus did die on the cross. And so he broke that curse, the
54:35
power, he broke that power of death.
54:38
So we are immortal, but the question is where are we going
54:42
to be after our death? Now, since we don't, you know,
54:47
we have until the day of our our death or some of us won't even
54:50
die when Jesus returns, there's going to be those living who are
54:53
actually gathered up to him and won't even experience death.
54:57
But the Bible talks about death as being asleep.
55:01
So there is kind of some resting period.
55:04
I guess it's a period where our we will be present with the
55:07
Lord, but we will not have our immortal bodies until Jesus
55:11
returns. And because that's when it says
55:15
people will be changed. They'll rise from the dead,
55:17
they'll rise from the graves. But that's what Satan does as he
55:22
makes people afraid. Like, Oh my gosh, you, your
55:25
time's getting cut short. You know, when people get older
55:27
and they think, well, I didn't get to do this.
55:29
I didn't go here, I didn't go there.
55:31
I had this on my bucket list. I mean, think about the whole
55:34
bucket list. I mean, who cares about the
55:37
bucket list? You've got an eternity when you
55:40
are in the presence of the Father.
55:41
I mean, you're going to have forever to do of all the things
55:44
that you didn't get to do while you were here in this sinful,
55:49
broken world. And, and people who know this
55:53
and believe this, we are so free because the devil doesn't have
55:58
power. Satan doesn't have power over us
56:01
because we don't fear death because for us who believe the
56:07
the the fear of death is gone because we know that we will be
56:10
with God when we die. And there's no mourning when
56:13
people die, not when you know where people will be.
56:18
Yeah, you might be sad for their physical presence here on earth,
56:24
but there's the the celebration that the joy and the happiness
56:31
that you think about when you're going to see him again in
56:35
heaven. Well, maybe not even in heaven,
56:38
maybe here on earth if it's, you know, coming back to earth where
56:41
Jesus will have his Millennium reign.
56:44
So it wherever it is somewhere with God, with God present, but
56:48
it's not permanent. And and I think a lot of us
56:53
before we know, we feel like death is permanent, like they're
56:57
never coming back because people don't come back to earth from
57:01
after being dead. And if anybody, if you think you
57:04
have been visited by somebody who's died, that is could very
57:09
well be a fallen Angel because it says that Satan can appear as
57:13
an Angel of light. So that's another thing that's
57:16
like part of a deception that can come from the evil 1 to
57:22
deceive people and to lure people away from God.
57:26
So we just need to stay in constant prayer connection with
57:33
God because God is our refuge no matter what we go through.
57:38
And we don't have to fear death. Death is something to not be
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fearful of because we are going to have new bodies and we're not
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going to have to worry about, you know, the broken condition.
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We will be restored and we will be in the presence of God.
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And God I always think about like, I think the world is
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actually beautiful. There are so many beautiful
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places in the world. And I think if this is a broken
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world and this has been destroyed because of sin, how
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beautiful will the Kingdom of God be?
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How much different, how much more beautiful God created all
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of this? And if this is what is still
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present even though there is brokenness, how much more
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beautiful will it be when it's restored?
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I mean, there is so much to look forward to.
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And 1 Corinthians 15 said the verse 26 said the last enemy to
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be destroyed is death. And that's what Jesus did on the
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cross. So it's.
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Yeah, you don't have to. You don't have to.
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Actually, there's more in here. I might read this because it
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talks about our, our spiritual body or the resurrection body in
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this chapter. And this is talks about the
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resurrection of the dead, the resurrection of Christ.
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Maybe I'll read. I don't know how long this
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podcast has gone on. Oh, we're at an hour already.
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OK, well I do need to read the last part of this though.
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Let's go back to chapter 25. The Sovereign Lord will wipe
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away the tears, the tears from all the faces.
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He will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth.
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And so this is also found in the Book of Revelation chapter 21
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verse four. He will wipe away every every
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tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
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mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has
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passed away. He would who was seated on the
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throne said I am making everything new.
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Then he said write this down for these words are trustworthy and
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true. He said to me this is this is
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the vision are Jesus talking to John.
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He said to me it is done. I am the alpha and the Omega,
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the beginning and the end to the thirsty.
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I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of
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life. Those who are victorious will
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inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my
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children. But the cowardly, the
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unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral,
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those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars,
1:00:40
they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
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This is the second death, so that's a warning there.
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Like if we have any of those things that are described in
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Revelation 21 verse 8, we need to ask God for forgiveness and
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ask God for the Holy Spirit so that we can come out of that,
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that we can get away from being a coward, being unbelieving,
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being vile, being a murderer, being sexually immoral, immoral,
1:01:15
practicing magic arts like astrology or whatever that stuff
1:01:20
is. The idolaters.
1:01:23
If if we have idol, if anything is an idol to US, power, money,
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another person. We can't have anybody that is
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more important than God and all liars.
1:01:35
So get rid of lying. Don't even do like the little
1:01:38
white lie or whatever. Just get rid of it all.
1:01:40
It's not worth it. Just be honest with people, be
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straightforward, ask the Holy Spirit in tough situations, how
1:01:47
you speak with someone honestly, but speak honestly about it.
1:01:51
And and that's the best thing that we can do is just rely on
1:01:54
God. Because I think, you know, if
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some people will say like, well, there's little lies or that
1:02:00
didn't really hurt anything. If it's if it's a sense
1:02:03
sensitive subject, we need the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom to
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see how we can talk to somebody and tell somebody the truth in
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love, but not lie to them, just don't lie.
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So anyway, going back to chapter 25, in that day they will say,
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surely this is our God, we trusted in him and he saved us.
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That's Jesus. This is the Lord.
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We trusted in him. Let us rejoice and be glad in
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his salvation. Jesus is the way, the truth and
1:02:32
the life. The hand of the Lord will rest
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on his mountains, but Moab will be trampled in their land.
1:02:39
That's modern day Jordan. As straw is trampled under,
1:02:43
trampled down in the manure, they will stretch out their
1:02:46
hands in it. As swimmers stretch out their
1:02:49
hands to swim, God will bring down their pride despite their
1:02:52
cleverness of their hands. He will bring down your high
1:02:56
fortified walls and lay them low.
1:02:58
He will bring them down to the ground, to the very dust.
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That's the end of chapter 25. I will read the questions and
1:03:07
answers and then and then stop because this has gone too long.
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What covers all the nations? Death, which is portrayed as a
1:03:14
shroud, wraps a corpse. The Hebrew combines rhyming
1:03:19
words with similar meanings and poetic parallelism in which the
1:03:24
second thought repeats the first.
1:03:26
All this emphasizes that death will be destroyed.
1:03:30
The New Testament declares that Christ has brought about the
1:03:33
ultimate destruction of death and He will swallow up death
1:03:39
forever. Paul quoted this to show that
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God's ultimate victory will end death and mourning in the
1:03:45
morning it causes. John linked this with the New
1:03:49
Jerusalem in that verse of Revelation, where He will wipe
1:03:53
away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
1:03:55
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has
1:03:58
passed away. So how involved should
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Christians be in caring for the earth?
1:04:04
I didn't read this. This was actually for chapter
1:04:06
24. When God created human beings in
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his image, he gave them a privileged position above other
1:04:12
creatures. This position also carried the
1:04:14
responsibility of caring for their environment.
1:04:16
God's first mandates to his people were to fill the earth
1:04:19
and cultivate the land. Therefore, human beings are
1:04:22
stewards, are managers of all the good things God has made.
1:04:26
We are accountable to God to care for His world.
1:04:30
Another reason that Christians should be concerned for the
1:04:33
environment is because creation is intended to reflect the glory
1:04:37
of God. The beauty of the northwest,
1:04:40
eastern leaves turning color in the fall, the power of the
1:04:44
Niagara Falls, and the majesty of Mount Rainier all point
1:04:48
people to the beauty, power, and majesty of their Creator.
1:04:52
For this reason, we care for the world as an act of worship,
1:04:56
preserving our environment to bring greater praise to God.
1:05:00
Finally, we care for the earth because as we do, we join God in
1:05:04
His Kingdom agenda. Sin did more than contaminate
1:05:08
human hearts. It also threw physical creation
1:05:11
into chaos. Since that time, God has been
1:05:14
reclaiming, redeeming, and renovating the world.
1:05:17
One day, Jesus Christ will return and make all things new.
1:05:21
Until then, we cooperate. Cooperate with God's great goal
1:05:25
of restoration when we protect, preserve and cultivate the world
1:05:29
around us. So hopefully this, this chapter
1:05:34
is, is good. I mean, there's, there's, you
1:05:37
know, there's a lot in there, but it's an examination of our
1:05:40
lives and making sure that we are ready for the Kingdom of God
1:05:44
and that we turn to God and we give him praise for what he's
1:05:49
done for us. And we think about all the good
1:05:51
things that God has done and provided for us and what good
1:05:54
still remains for us to receive as children of the Most High
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God. So I hope you come back again,
1:06:03
and I hope I make these shorter, but there was a lot of scripture
1:06:06
to cover here. So hope the rest of your day is
1:06:09
good.