Transcript Second Half along with Scriptural References:


Transcript Books and CDs:
·         The Lord God and the Most High
·         God the Father was Not the God of the Old Testament
 
We have lots of studies/Transcript Books; we have a catalog and you can order four series at a time.
 
We had a discussion during the break and of all the details of what is right and wrong and this, that and the other thing, the most important thing is that you:
 
·         love God
·         love Christ
·         love the Truth
·         keep the commandments
·         love your neighbor s yourself
 
Then what you have is the right perspective so you don’t get carried away and run off on junkets of some of these things that come along like we’re discussing now. Some of them are disgusting!
 
We’re going to look at a number of Scriptures that tell us the difference between God the Father and Christ.
 
Hebrews 1:1: “God Who spoke to the fathers at different times in the past and in many ways by the prophets, has spoken to us in these last days by His Son… [that is through the New Testament] …Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the ages” (vs 1-2). That agrees with John 1:1-3!
 
Verse 3: “Who, being the brightness of His glory and the exact image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His own power…” Remember that Jesus said, the last thing He told the apostles in Matt. 28: All power and authority is given to Me in heaven and in earth! That means that God the Father gave it to Him!
 
“…when He had by Himself purged our sins…” (v 3).
 
The reason that Jesus came to purge our sins is that He was the Lord God of the Old Testament. He was the One Who made Adam and Eve. So, the best sacrifice is for the One Who created them to become flesh and never sin. That sacrifice can cover every human being.
 
If it was God the Father Who was working in the Old Testament, the Most High and not the Lord God under the Most High¸ then the Most High would have had to come in the flesh and be the perfect sacrifice.
 
“…sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having been made so much greater than any of the angels, inasmuch as He has inherited a name exceedingly superior to them. For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘You are My Son; this day I have begotten You’?….” (vs 3-5).
 
That goes back to Psa. 2. The Son did not become the Son until He was impregnated into the womb of the virgin Mary.
 
“…And again, ‘I will be a Father to Him, and He will be a Son to Me’? And again, when He brought the Firstborn into the world, He said, ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him’” (vs 5-6).
 
There are quite a few things in John 1 that help us understand. As a matter of fact, I was looking at when I did the Gospel of John series; that will be 30 years ago. Maybe I ought to do it again.
 
John 1:12: “But as many as received Him…”
 
·         to understand that He was the Son of God
·         to understand that He forgives our sins
·         to understand that He is our High Priest in heaven right now
·         to understand that He will be our soon coming King when He returns
But you
·         receive Him
·         believe Him
·         obey Him
·         love Him
 
That’s all in the word receive!
 
“…to them He gave authority to become the children of God…” (v 12). In the Greek there are two words for child:
 
1.       ‘huios’—singular, a son
·         ‘huio’—plural; offspring in general
·         ‘teknon’--children by the Father
 
That’s why you receive the Holy Spirit as a begettal. That’s why Peter said that ‘you have been begotten again.’ (1-Peter 1). Your first begettal was through your mother and father for physical life. Begotten again is receiving the Holy Spirit so you can become a ‘tekna’ child and all of them together are children—‘teknon’—of God.
 
The Protestants have that from the King James as ‘adoption.’ That’s incorrect! It should be sonship!
 
“…even to those who believe in His name; who were not begotten by bloodlines… [doesn’t matter who you are] …nor by the will of the flesh… [that it’s all planned out] …nor by the will of man, but by the will of God” (vs 12-13).
 
·         What is the will of God? His plan!
·         How has He revealed it? Through His Sabbath and Holy Days!
 
Verse 14: “And the Word became flesh…” That’s what they’re going to end up with! He was like God! He was flesh! And they will misinterpret it and go to Luke 1 and try and prove it that way.
 
“…and tabernacled among us (and we ourselves beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten with the Father), full of grace and truth” (v 14). That’s referring to the Transfiguration!
 
“…full of grace…” is the mercy, truth and love of God! God’s love for you to give you the Holy Spirit and all of that!
 
What is the Holy Spirit called? The Spirit of the Truth! We are sanctified, that is made Holy by the Truth. That’s accomplished by the Holy Spirit by writing the laws and commandments in our heart and mind. That’s why it’s so important when we cover all of these nitty-gritty details that we keep in mind the big picture!
 
Verse 52: “And He said to him, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God descending to and ascending from the Son of man.’”
 
·         What was it like with Jesus?
·         Were there always angels all around?
 
It would have to be by this! You know that on the Passover Day every detail had to be worked out by the angels and the part that Satan played with Judas.
 
Verse 18: “No one has seen God at any time…” How did Moses speak to God? He spoke to the one who was God, Who was with God! This is saying that no one has seen God the Father, the Most High, at any time! That covers everything in the Old Testament!
 
“…the only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (v 18).
 
Let’s see that repeated again, and we will look and see exactly what we’ve been talking about here. God’s greatest work is being done with His Holy Spirit in converting our mind. When there is sin, that’s where it is, it’s in the heart and in the mind! It’s quite a thing! The more that you have the Spirit of God in your mind, the more it’s going to reveal to you how much sin is buried in your mind. There’s a lot of it! Why? Because you’ve grown up and have all these other things!
 
Plus, today, we have so much crashing in on us with television, e-mails, iPhones, iPads, Twitter, Facebook, whatever. All of that; everything crashing in on us! There are some people who can’t stand to have it quiet. They get up and they turn on the music. Then they hop in the car and they turn on the music. The ones who are really messed up are the ones who have sound blast through your whole body. When one of those drive by in your neighborhood and it’s booming and the whole neighborhood is vibrating.
 
After Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath and told him to pick up his bed and walk. His bed had to be like a sleeping bag, but the Jews exaggerated with their traditions what it means to not carry a burden. Would it be a burden to carry a knapsack or sleeping bag on your arm. The Jews found the man who was healed and said, ‘Who told you to carry that?’ Well the man who healed me said to ‘pick up your bed and walk.’ ‘Who was it?’ I don’t know. Later he said that it was Jesus, so they found Jesus and here’s the encounter because they wanted to persecute Him:
 
John 5:17: “But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working… [present tense participle] …until now, and I work’”--on the Sabbath Day!
 
·         What work is God the Father doing on the Sabbath Day? Spiritual work!
·         What work was Christ doing on the Sabbath Day? Spiritual work!
·         Was He out building a building? No!
ü  He was healing!
ü  He was forgiving!
 
Verse 18: “So then, on account of this saying, the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, not only because He had loosed the Sabbath…”
 
In other words, the only way to keep the Sabbath is the way the Pharisees say, very strictly! But He loosed it! Some people think that that means destroyed the Sabbath or broke the Sabbath! But that’s no so! He loosed it!
 
Remember the Pharisee, the doctor of the law? He asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment. Jesus said, ‘Love God with all your heart, mind, strength and being, and your neighbor as yourself. The doctor of the law said, ‘You answered correctly. But tell me, who is my neighbor?’
 
Then Jesus gave the parable of the man who was on the way up from Jericho to Jerusalem and beaten up by robbers and left to die. Here comes a priest, ‘Oh, I can’t get near that, because I’m going up to work at the temple. I can be unclean.’ So, he didn’t help the man. Here comes a Levite, ‘I can’t do that, I can’t help him; I’m going to go do great things at the temple.’
 
So, here comes a Samaritan, which the Jews hated with a passion! What did he do? He picked the man up and put him on his beast of burden and took him to what we would call a motel, an inn back then, and told the person—after he had dressed his wound and put oil and wine on it. You might think about that in relationship to when you have a wound. He told the innkeeper, ‘Here’s some money and you take care of him and when I come back if I owe you anymore I’ll pay it.
 
Then Jesus looked at the doctor of the law and said, ‘Tell me, which one loved his neighbor?’ Remember, the doctor of the law would not have gone over to help him. He said, ‘I suppose the one who helped him.’
 
“…but also because He had called God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (v 18). Then He caught them again in John 10.
 
So, after He made Himself equal with God, v 19: “Therefore, Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, the Son has no power to do anything of Himself, but only what He sees the Father do. For whatever He does, these things the Son also does in the same manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing….’” (vs 19-20).
 
That shows you part of the communication they had back and forth. I imagine that they were constantly in touch with each other all the time.
 
“…And He will show Him greater works than these, so that you may be filled with wonder. For even as the Father raises the dead and gives life, in the same way also, the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son” (vs 20-22)--because He came in the flesh and experienced all the temptations that we do!
 
He is the One to make the judgment. To whom do we give an account for our lives? Paul writes that we all come before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for ourselves!
 
Verse 22: “For the Father judges no one…” [they’re going to have trouble with this one!] …but has committed all judgment to the Son so that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father Who sent Him” (vs 22-23).
 
What one problem does this reveal? that’s 2,000 years old? that no one can solve? The problem of the Jews! They have rejected Christ and they think that they’re honoring God and they cannot.
 
Look at how awful it has been. Read the book of Jeremiah, and you read what Jesus said when they rejected Him. So, the only thing you can do is have pity on the Jews. It would be great if many more of them would be converted. Remember how many of them were converted when everything first started? They were all Jews the first 12 years!
 
Verse 24: “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who hears My Word, and believes Him Who sent Me, has everlasting life and does not come into judgment; for he has passed from death into life.”
 
That’s why everyday the daily prayer is forgive us our sins as we forgive others! Sometimes it takes a while to complete the second part.
 
Verse 36: “But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works that the Father gave Me to complete… [to finish] …the very works that I am doing, themselves bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, Who sent Me, has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice nor seen His form at any time” (vs 36-37).
 
What happens when you invent your own religion?
 
Verse 38: “And you do not have His Word dwelling in you… [because they base everything on their traditions] …for you do not believe Him Whom He has sent. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life; and they are the ones that testify of Me. But you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life” (vs 38-40).
 
When we get all the Scriptures together referring to Jesus from the Old Testament to the physical life and testimony of Jesus Christ, it’s going to be overwhelming.
 
Verse 41: “I do not receive glory from men; but I have known you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves” (vs 41-42)--right back to what we’re talking about! All the important details that we have mean nothing unless we have the love of God in us!
 
Verse 43: “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; but if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How are you able to believe, you who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (vs 43-44). That is because Christ could not be called God while He was in the flesh!
 
Verse 45: “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you… [present tense, showing that the Law of Moses apply and are binding] …even Moses, in whom you have hope. But if you believed Moses, you would have believed Me; for he wrote about Me. And if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My words?” (vs 45-47).
 
Those Scriptures can tell you a lot. That means that Moses wrote about the Lord God Who became Christ. That also means that in order to understand the Scriptures…
 
Luke 24—this is after Christ’s resurrection when He suddenly appeared when they were all gathered together and He ate the fish and honeycomb:
 
Luke 24:44: “And He said to them, ‘These are the words that I spoke to you when I was yet with you, that all the things which were written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (vs 44-45). That’s the work of the Holy Spirit!
 
The key action that we have to have to even begin is the Sabbath. That’s the key; that’s where you start. If you’re searching for God, especially on the Sabbath, when you come to the conclusion that it says, ‘Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy, and you start keeping it Holy from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, that’s the first key to begin opening your mind.
 
Why? Because then the seven Spirits of God are looking to those who are seeking God, and will come help open your mind! It doesn’t come because of study or theological degrees. It comes by the Spirit of God!
 
The whole Gospel of John talks more about Jesus Christ and what He Himself did than any of the other Gospels.
 
John 8:12: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me shall never walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.’” What is the Light of Life? It is the enlightenment of your mind with the Truth of God!
 
Verse 13: “Therefore, the Pharisees said to Him, ‘You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, because I know where I have come from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from and where I go’” (vs 13-14).
 
The birth of Christ was in Bethlehem. But the mother and stepfather Joseph[transcriber’s correction] got there just before He was born. They left a little after 40 days later. Gone! When He started His ministry, where did He begin? He did one thing in Jerusalem to fulfill the prophecy that He would ‘suddenly come to His temple’ (John 2).
 
He came in there and what did He do? He made a scourge of cords and chased out all of the animals and threw over the moneychangers! Then He soon left, and most of His ministry was in Galilee and all around there. That’s what bugged the leaders of Judaism more than anything else. He didn’t come to them and align with them.
 
He came to the people whom they neglected. They sent to John to try and find out if it was he. It wasn’t! Then when Jesus came and showed up, they didn’t believe it. When He came back to the temple there (John 5 & 8) it was during the time of a Holy Day. Here in John 8 is right after the Feast of Tabernacles.
 
Verse 15: “You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet, if I do judge, My judgment is true, for I am not alone; but I and the Father Who sent Me. And it is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I AM One Who bears witness of Myself, and the Father, Who sent Me bears witness of Me.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Where is Your Father?’…. [because of all the rumors] …Jesus answered, ‘You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would also have known My Father’” (vs 15-19).
 
Verse 20: “Jesus spoke these words in the treasury while teaching in the temple; but no one arrested Him because His time had not yet come. Then Jesus said to them again, ‘I am going away; and you shall seek Me, but you shall die in your sin. Where I am going, you are not able to come’” (vs 20-21). The Greek there is from dunamis’: you don’t have the power to attain it!
 
Verse 22: “Therefore, the Jews said, ‘Will He kill Himself? Is that why He says, “Where I am going, you are not able to come”?’…. [tie in John 1:1]: …And He said to them, ‘You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. That is why I said to you that you shall die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins’” (vs 22-24).
 
When He said that they knew that was a name of God, v 25: “Then they said to Him, ‘Who are You?’….”
 
1-John 2:20: “But you have the anointing from the Holy One… [the Holy Spirit] …and you have knowledge of all things… [obviously it doesn’t pertain to everything in the world] …pertaining to salvation. I did not write to you because you do not know the Truth, but because you know it, and you understand that not one lie comes from the Truth” (vs 20-21).
 
·         Jesus always told the Truth
·         the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth
·         the Word of God is the Word of Truth
 
Verse 22: “Who is the liar if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?…. [that tells you about all of those false apostles] …He is the antichrist—the one who denies the Father and the Son. Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either” (vs 22-23).
 
That’s the problem of Judaism and false doctrine that God the Father was the One Who was the Lord of the Old Testament. You’re denying that Christ was God before He became a human being.
 
Verse 24: “Therefore, let what you have heard from the beginning dwell in you; if what you have heard from the beginning is dwelling in you, then you will be dwelling in the Son and in the Father.”
 
That’s the problem with Protestantism, very seldom to you hear them talk about the Father. Everything is all about Jesus.
 
It’s important that we cover these things so that we stay grounded! Remember, everything comes back to the fundamentals.
 
·         love God
·         love Christ
·         keep the Sabbath
·         keep the commandments
·         keep the Holy Days
 
That’s the framework on which everything we do is structured! We need to stay close to that!
 
 
Scriptural References:
 
1)      John 1:1-7
2)      Luke 1:30-32
3)      John 1:1
4)      Hebrews 1:1-6
5)      John 1:12-14, 52, 18
6)      John 5:17-24, 36-47
7)      Luke 24:44-45
8)      John 8:12-25
9)      1 John 2:20-24
 
 
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
 
·         Isaiah 45
·         John 14
·         Matthew 28
·         Psalm 2
·         1 Peter 1
·         John 2; 5
 
Also referenced:
 
·         Book: Sanctification of the New Moon by Moses Maimonides
·         Sermon: The Truth About Noah’s Flood
·         Transcript Books and CDs:

• The Lord God and the Most High
• God the Father was Not the God of the Old Testament

Gospel of John

Sermon Transcript...
 
I want to cover one thing that I covered in Pasadena: there are a lot of Messianic groups that keep the Feast of Firstfruits (what they call it), but it’s actually Pentecost. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but the commands for Pentecost contain the greatest number of verses. It begins in v 9, and it ends in v 22; that’s inclusive counting, 13 verse long. Beginning with the Wave Sheaf Offering, this covers a span of right at 2,000 years.
 
Leviticus 23:9: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, “When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring the premier sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest”’” (vs 9-10).
 
When they entered into the land, the barley had already been planted and was ready for harvest. You find in Joshua 5 that the manna ceased after they crossed the Jordan River and got to Gilgal and Jericho was only three miles away. They kept the Passover, and after the Wave Sheaf Offering the manna stopped. Think of that! For 40 years they had manna, so you’d get up in the morning and the wife would say, ‘Honey, how would you like your manna today?’ Raw? Boiled? Toasted? Roasted?
 
Can you imagine how great that first bite of unleavened bread must have tasted to the children of Israel? There’s a Church of God that says that they didn’t have that Wave Sheaf Offering and the eating of the grain until the next year, because that was a crop planted by the Gentiles and their hands were contaminated. They actually believe that! But what did God say?
 
“…When you have come into the land, which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it…” (v 10). If He gives you the land, whose harvest is it? It’s yours!
 
When you plant a seed in the ground, what happens to it? So, any uncleanness, wouldn’t you say that the dirt was unclean as far as just picking it up to eat? So, to say that the seed was unclean and therefore the harvest was unclean, ‘so we’ll wait to the next year.’ No! that’s not how it is!
 
“…then you shall bring the premier sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest” (v 10).
 
·         Who all is involved in this ceremony?
·         Where did they get the premiere sheaf, which was barley?
 
The barley harvest started first and then toward the middle of the barley harvest the wheat was getting ripe, so it says in another place your wheat harvest; it means both.
 
The way that they got this sheaf was when they had the temple they had a special place on the Mt. of Olives. There they would plant the premiere sheaf to be waved. This was to be waved on the first day of the week during Unleavened Bread, because you have to have complete weeks. It could not be waved on a Monday. The day after the Sabbath never falls on a Monday. I don’t care what calendar you use, it never does.
 
So, they would plant the grain there and Edersheim reveals that they had a special service. They had a man at the top of the Mt. of Olives and one of the men next to the one who had the sickle who had the sickle ready to cut that premiere sheaf. The man next to him would say, ‘Has the sun set?’ Why? When the Sabbath ends then you can work!
 
He says, ‘Has the sun set?’ three times! Then he would cut it. Then they would take the sheaf and bind it up and lay it alongside the altar. So, in the morning they had this special ceremony. Let’s look at it.
 
Verse 11: “And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.”
 
There are occasions when the first day of Unleavened Bread occurs on the Sabbath. So, you have a Thursday night Passover, then the Night to be Remembered on Friday night, and then you have the regular Sabbath. The next day is when the Wave Sheaf would be offered in that case. Some people say that you have to wait until the next one.
 
Whenever the first day of Unleavened Bread comes on a Sabbath, the last Day of Unleavened Bread comes on a Friday. Remember that when you count it’s different than adding.
 
They would be a week off. Many times it was said that on the day after the regular Sabbath. That’s true in most cases, but if the regular Sabbath is also the Holy Day, then the day after that Sabbath is the Wave Sheaf Offering Day.
 
·         What participation did the people have?
·         What was their part?
 
They were all out in their fields ready to use the sickle to cut the grain! They cut the grain before it got really dry. Have you ever tried to use a sickle on hard dry stocks? Most of the time it won’t cut! So the way they did it, they cut it while it was still a little green, wrapped them in sheaves and stood them up to dry in the field.
 
So, the only ones who would participate in this, outside of the priests, would be those ready to harvest the barley.
 
·         Was there a special meeting?
·         Was there a special celebration?
·         No, the harvest began; it was work, a work day!
 
Verse 12: “And you shall offer that day when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering to the LORD…. [all of these refer to Jesus Christ] …And its grain offering shall be two tenth parts of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD for a sweet savor. And the drink offering of it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched grain, nor green ears until the same day, until you have brought an offering to your God. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings” (vs 12-14).
 
People read that and some say, ‘We ought to observe it.”
·         Is there a temple? No!
·         Is there a high priest? No!
 
If you live up north, maybe you just planted the barley three or four weeks before, so you would have nothing to wave!
 
·         What is the fulfillment of this? Christ!
·         Who is involved? The priest, who represents Christ! The Wave Sheaf Offering represents Christ!
 
We will see in the New Testament that the disciples on that day weren’t at any particular meeting. They weren’t at the temple. If they were at the temple think about what would happen.
 
Verse 15: “And you shall count to you beginning with the next day after the Sabbath, beginning with the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete.”
 
That means a whole week, each ending in a Sabbath! So it must start on the first day of the week, each week, and end on the Sabbath.
 
Verse 16: “Even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days. And you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.”
 
This new grain offering is entirely different. Here the people are involved, and a ceremony is involved!
 
Verse 17: “You shall bring out of your homes two wave loaves of two tenth parts. They shall be of fine flour….” This is for the 50th day!
 
Since this is the day after the Sabbath this was baked right after the sun went down on the Sabbath so that on Pentecost—because on a Holy Day you can do whatever is necessary for keeping the Holy Day—they could prepare food.
 
“…They shall be baked with leaven…” (v 17). We see in Matt. 13 that there’s a good use of leaven.
 
·         Why two loaves?
·         Why not one?
·         Why not three?
·         How many Testaments do we have? Two; that’s why!
 
We know that Matt. 13 says that ‘the Kingdom of Heaven is likened to a woman who took leaven and put it in three measures of flour until all was leavened.’
 
If leaven was always  a type of sin all he time, then we’re making a sinful offering to God. There’s a good use of leaven, and that is to change the form of the dough. We’re all likened to one lump in Christ. What happens when you put leavening in the dough? The bread rises! You can beat it down a couple of times and it will still rise up. But what happens when you bake it? It’s permanently in its final form! What is this? This is a good use of leaven!
 
Can you see leaven working? No! You can see the result of leaven working! It is gas, unseen! In this case it’s like the Holy Spirit. The working of the Holy Spirit in our mind to change our mind and convert us. When we’re baked, that’s like to unto the resurrection. It’s the finished product! That’s why there are two loaves, one for those in the Old Covenant, and one for those in the New Covenant.
 
“…they are the firstfruits to the LORD” (v 17). What is the Church called? We are the firstfruits! We are the firstborn!
 
Verse 18: “And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year… [a type of each church; we have seven churches in Rev. 2 & 3] …and one young bull, and two rams. They shall be for a burnt offering to the LORD with their grain offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savor to the LORD. Then you shall sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings…. [that must refer to the two Testaments] …And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits, a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be Holy to the LORD for the priest” (vs 18-20).
 
Who is the Head of the Church? Christ our High Priest!
 
This is the keeping of Pentecost; v 21: “And you shall proclaim on the same day that it may be a Holy convocation to you. You shall do no servile work therein. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.” That’s little different than this one here in:
 
Verse 14: “…It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”
 
·         Why do we keep Pentecost and we don’t keep the Wave Sheaf Offering Day?
·         On that day, what did the disciples do?
 
Passover was on a Wednesday, Thursday was the first day of Unleavened Bread, and they rested according to the commandment. Friday was a preparation day. Wednesday, Passover, was the preparation for Unleavened Bread. Friday was preparation for the weekly Sabbath.
 
What did they do on Friday? They went down brought spices, mixed them all up, and then rested again on the Sabbath! But a couple of the women went down just as the Sabbath was ending to look at the tomb and find out what’s going on with the tomb. Then they went back and rested.
 
In the morning Mary Magdalene went down leaving while it was still dark. In other words there was probably just a little light starting on the horizon in the east. She went down to the tomb and she didn’t find Jesus. She ran back and told Peter and John, so they both came running down to the tomb and John writes that he was faster than Peter. He got there first, but Peter went into the tomb first. Then John went into the tomb, and what did he see? He saw the wrapping where the body was!
 
What did that look like? It wasn’t cut! It had to be that Jesus was raised right through the wrapping! The wrappings were there crunching down in the middle showing that the body was gone. Then what else was the phenomena? The napkin was folded up in another place!
 
How many of you women have ever had a napkin fold itself? Wouldn’t that be nice if your laundry all folded itself!
 
Mary Magdalene came back and looked into the tomb. This time she saw two angels, one at the head and one at the foot where Jesus had been lying. She came out weeping, and Jesus automatically appeared and said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She thought He was the gardener! Mary said, ‘Where have you taken the body of Jesus so we can anoint Him?’
 
Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She said, ‘Rabboni!’ She came over to hug Him and Jesus said, ‘Don’t touch Me for I have not yet ascended to My Father.’
 
His ascension to the Father was the fulfillment of the Wave Sheaf Offering. It was between Christ and the Father. None of the disciples participated.
 
They weren’t in a meeting and they weren’t at the temple. They went out to the temple and didn’t have a special service. They just returned back home, and Mary was there. Then Jesus ascended! That was at the exact time that the Wave Sheaf Offering was being waved at the temple, and He presented Himself to the Father.
 
Remember, that must have been quite an emotional and fantastic spiritual experience for Christ and the Father. They hadn’t been together person-to-person since He was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary. Here He ascends to heaven and He’s got the nail marks in His hands and feet and thrust marks in His side.
 
Let’s see what that was like. This was quite a thing. The very fulfillment of what was prophesied in Gen. 3:15 and planned before the foundation of the world was complete. This was between Jesus Christ and God the Father alone. No other human beings were involved. So, here’s the scene when John was told to ‘come up here’:
 
Revelation 4:2: “And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One was sitting on the throne…. [that’s God the Father] …And He Who was sitting was in appearance like a jasper stone and a sardius stone; and a rainbow was around the throne, like an emerald in its appearance. And around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments; and they had on their heads golden crowns” (vs 2-4).
 
This is the scene! Here comes Jesus up to the Sea of Glass in heaven. I imagine the 24 elders are all bowing down at that time, and the four living creatures were saying ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,’ that they were bowing down. And Jesus walked up to the Father, and I can just imagine the embrace that they had, the tears that they had, that the most difficult part of their whole plan was finished! That Jesus succeeded!
 
This is why we don’t participate in it. It was complete fulfillment for Jesus Christ and God the Father.
 
Let’s see what happened after that. What happened before John 20? Jesus came back… We don’t know how close the Throne of God is, and we don’t know how portable it is, but it has to be somewhat close to the earth, because in Rev. 11 it says that John saw the heavens open and he saw the Ark of God right near the throne. When Jesus first came back who did He meet? The two disciples walking to Emmaus! They were all forlorn and saying, ‘What happened? Jesus died! We were expecting Him to be the Messiah!’
 
Jesus walked up to them and said, ‘What are you talking about?’ So, they told Him the things concerning Jesus. It’s been more than three days now since it happened and ‘He said that He would be raised the third day,’ and here it was actually the fourth day since He died. So, Jesus walked with them to Emmaus explaining the Scriptures to them, and said, ‘You’re hard-hearted and don’t believe the Scriptures.’
 
Then they say down to eat, Jesus blessed the bread and immediately they knew it was Jesus and poof He disappeared. They came running back to the disciples, and they were all gathered together. Why?
 
John 20:19: “Afterwards, as evening was drawing near that day, the first day of the weeks…” This is plural because this is the first day of counting toward Pentecost!
 
“…and the doors were shut where the disciples had assembled for fear of the Jews…” (v 19).
 
·         Don’t you think the Jews were looking for them?
·         Where did you take the body?
 
They were afraid that they would be killed!
 
“…Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be to you.’ And after saying this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples rejoiced because they had seen the Lord. Therefore, Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be to you. As the Father sent Me, I am also sending you.’ And after saying this, He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (vs 19-22).
 
Let’s see what else He did. Even though this was evening, do you think any of them could have slept that night? After seeing Him alive, can you imagine the adrenalin? the pounding of the heart? the racing of the mind? Here in this one session Jesus told them more about Himself from the Old Testament than any other time in all of His teachings.
 
Luke 24:41: “But while they were still disbelieving and wondering for joy, He said to them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ Then they gave Him part of a broiled fish and a piece of honeycomb” (vs 41-42).
 
Fish and honey is good, I like it! Sardines and honey is good, and it leaves you with a sweeter taste in your mouth and less fishy!
 
Verse 43: “And He took these and ate in their presence.”
 
I’ve often wondered: how does a spirit being assimilate food? Remember, at the wedding feast, we’re going to eat and drink! How is that going to be?
 
Verse 44: “And He said to them, ‘These are the words that I spoke to you when I was yet with you, that all the things which were written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.’” Every word! Not a syllable will be left out!
 
There’s a man who has done a study through the Psalms and all the things about Jesus. I asked him if he would like to go through the whole Old Testament and do it? He said that he would undertake the project!
 
What he sent me with the Psalms was incredible. Remember that the apostles preached the Gospel from the Old Testament.
 
·         Why was that important? Because the Gospel was to be preached to the Jew first!
·         What did the Jews have? The Old Testament!
·         What was said of the Bereans? That they went to synagogue and searched the Scriptures whether these things were so or not!
 
Sidebar: As you study the book of Acts, what you will find is that all of the elders that were ordained by Paul in the churches that he raised up were Jews! Why? Because they had knowledge of the Old Testament! Very important!
 
You couldn’t have Gentiles coming in to be elders right away, because they didn’t have very much knowledge. Even if they were proselytes. That’s interesting.
 
Verse 46: “And said to them, ‘According as it is written, it was necessary for the Christ to suffer… [Psa. 22] …and to rise from the dead… [Psa. 17, that I will awake with Your likeness] …the third day. And in His name, repentance and remission of sins should be preached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. For you are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but remain in the city of Jerusalem until you have been clothed with power from on high” (vs 46-49).
 
That happened ten days after He had ascended into heaven and hasn’t returned since! That’s why we keep Pentecost but we don’t keep the First of the Firstfruits, because that’s between Christ and God the Father in Their personal relationship!
​

​Advertisement:
 
It says in Ecclesiastes that in the making of books there is no end. Ken knows this well because he’s making books.
 
Transcript Books:
·         Word of God vs Traditions of Men
·         Rewards of God
 
So, if you think overcoming is difficult, remember, there are rewards to come!
 
We have another thing going, which is going to prove to be good because they’re actually teaching children to contact demons. I’ll bring you more on that:
 
This is what they’re doing in Australia, and it is Bible for Kids. We also have this in relationship to Korner for Kidz with the First Christian Fellowship in Florida. So, we’re doing jointly with that and Pam Bruening runs that website:
 
Kidz Korner: Link

Teens' Table: Link
 
In Australia they have 9x12, so when they send it to us it’s reduce to 8-1/2x11. We will have these online and they will be downloadable. 

​Scriptural References:
 
1)      Leviticus 23:9-21, 14
2)      Revelation 4:2-4
3)      John 20:19-22
4)      Luke 24:41-49

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
 
·         Joshua 5
·         Matthew 13
·         Revelation 2; 3
·         Genesis 3:15
·         Revelation 11
·         Psalm 22; 17

Also referenced: Transcript Books: Order
 
·         Word of God vs Traditions of Men
·         Rewards of God
​

​FRC:bo
Transcribed: 11/27/19
 
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