Prophecy, Revelation and the Church

The main points of this message are. 1. Prophecy, revelation, and the church are intrinsically linked together. 2. The church is like an incubator for producing sons and daughters of God. 3. There are many false prophets and misleading information in the world. 4. The church is the bride of Christ and will be married to Jesus. 5. The church will continue to exist despite persecution and martyrdom. 6. Jesus gave his disciples the authority to preach the gospel and make disciples. 7. The church is a spiritual body, not just a physical entity. 8. There is a false church system influenced by Satan, known as the synagogue of Satan. 9. The true church is the body of Christ and follows the way of God. Despite false prophets and misleading information, the true church will continue to exist and be married to Jesus. The title of the message we have to present tonight is Prophecy, Revelation, and the Church. And we can ask the question, what have all these got to do? Are they separate issues or are they somehow intrinsically and inexorably linked together? Well, the latter is the case. It's like the horse and the carriage. They go together. You can't separate them. They are so intertwined. In fact, it's like David said when he was being formed in his mother's womb. He said to God, he says, you have put me together so wonderfully. He said, you have knit me together. And that was such an incredible statement by King David because what it did is explain how God formed him and how God forms each one of us in the womb of our mothers. But the church, in the church, all the saints, all the brethren are actually in the womb of the church if we look at it that way. And the church is the perfect incubator for producing sons and daughters of God. It's an incredible process. And when you think of the way God formed each one of us in our mother's wombs, even more so spiritually is God forming us in the womb, which is the church. And God has a lot to say about that. And so we can't cover every prophecy, but we need to in today's world, what do we see? When we turn on the television, what do we get? We get news which is false, distorted, twisted, far from the truth. Occasionally we get a glimpse of the truth. Also when we go onto the Internet, and what do we see? We see prophets claiming that God spoke to me, God told me, I had a vision, I had a dream. Well, did God give them a vision? Did he give them a dream? Did he speak to them personally? Question that the claims and the amount of prophets and those who are prognosticating from their own minds and their own understanding, void of the Word of God, using biblical language, using biblical topics, that there's so many of them, I was thinking that, you know, the false prophets is what they are on the Internet are a dime a dozen. But frankly, isn't that being so kind to them? Is that overvaluing them? Well, yes, in the words of God it is. First of all, let's ask the question, what is the church? And this really isn't anything new for us, but it's good to go over these scriptures over and over again, because God is telling us something. The church we know is the bride of Christ in preparation. The church is going to be married to Jesus Christ who created all things. And prophecy and revelation fit right in to that particular formula, that whole scene. It's so important. It has everything to do with the saints of God being born into the new spiritual body. Then, through a marriage ceremony, be married to Jesus Christ who created all things. We will be his bride. And then we will be his wife. How close is that relationship? It's very close. There is nothing that supersedes that as the relationship of Jesus Christ to his Father, and then God the Father to his Son Jesus Christ, and to us who are to be, in fact, even today, God calls us, the children of God. But in this marriage relationship, we're actually the grandchildren of God. Or, should we say, being the wife of Christ, you know, he is our father-in-law, but he's more than that. Let's not go down that route. So first was the church. Matthew 16, 18 says what? Jesus declared, I will build my church, and the gates of the grave will not prevail against it. So it will continue to exist. Even though many of us may be slaughtered, we may lose our lives, we may be martyred, we know that God is going to preserve a group of people that will remain alive so that the church continues its existence on the earth. And those of us who may lose our lives, and we need to be preparing for that, understanding that that may occur for us. And in the past, the saints who knew this and were living through times of great tribulation, perhaps not as much as the tribulation that's coming on the church, because Satan is after the church, but it was great. And they prepared for that with joy, as some of the history records and some of the letters and the documents they wrote, because they knew what lay beyond that. They knew they were going to sleep in the dust. But they looked beyond that, just like all those we can read about in Hebrews 11. All the saints clear back to Abel. Going to be in the kingdom of God, going to be part of that relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father. And from that point, we know that God is going to carry out the rest of his plan. Let's have a look at Ephesians 2. Before we do that, remember in Matthew 28 and verse 18 through 20, Jesus gave the instruction to his disciples to go out in the world and to preach the gospel, to baptize people. And he said what to his disciples, who became the apostles at that stage? He said that he would be with them even right until the end. So let's turn there first and just have a look at that and read those words just so that we have them in mind. Matthew, the very first book, which really, when you think about it, Matthew is part of the church history. It's the foundation of the church history. The church, we know, begins on the day of Pentecost, as it's expressed or written in Acts, the second chapter. But right here, before the apostles received the Holy Spirit, it says, All authority, Jesus said, in heaven, that's over all the angelic realm, but under God the Father and on earth has been given to me. That's a powerful statement. Jesus Christ has all authority over every situation that you face, that I face. Is he able to bring the solutions? Well, we've just heard in some of the comments before that God certainly does that. He delivers us according to his plan, according to his purpose, and in his timing. Therefore, because I have all authority in heaven and earth, God make disciples in all nations, and of course, that means we have to preach the word, and you can read that in Revelation, sorry, not Revelation, Romans, the 10th chapter, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things. Now, here's the key as to the church. Teaching them all things that I have commanded you. Now, did Jesus teach the apostles about the Sabbath day? Well, he didn't have to, did he? Because they were already keeping it. But what he did is he taught them how to keep it, according to God, and according to the word of God, according to the very words that Jesus Christ himself delivered to us. And lo, I am with you always. There's the statement. I am with you always. For us, it may be till we are martyrs, then we go and sleep in the dusk, and walk in the dust, if that came across correctly, then the next waking moment, we'll know, we'll hear the voice of Christ and an angel, probably the angel assigned to us even today, will take us up onto the sea of glass where we will meet Jesus Christ, the Father, and the rest of the saints clear back to Abel. We'll have a mind and a capacity that will be able to comprehend and take everything that is taking place there because we're going to have a new mind, new thinking, no longer struggling with the flesh, no longer struggling with trying to remember things. We will have that instant ability, just as God the Father and Jesus Christ has, because we're their children, and they're making us exact image of themselves and their likeness, their character, everything about them. Okay, let's head now to that scripture in Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2, verse 19. Now, Jesus said he would build his church, but it is his church, and it goes, he keeps it under the Father's name. As he said, I keep you, I keep all of these that you have given me, Father, I've kept them in your name, and that's why we have the name The Church of God. And, of course, the various fellowships identify themselves by what they say, and, of course, we fellowship as the Christian Biblical Church of God. But God's church is not just a physical body. We meet together physically for fellowship. But the reality is that the church of the living God is a spiritual body. And, as we know from the history in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3, which is part of the history of the churches of that day, also of the conditions within the church of God, the body of Christ, in the various congregations down through time. Some were greatly blessed for their obedience. Some struggled. And a couple of churches were right in the midst of the synagogue of Satan. And that caused them great problems. And I was thinking, you know, when did the synagogue of Satan start? Didn't it start when he rebelled against God, even before the recreation of the heavens and the earth? In fact, his rebellion caused the whole creation of what was the planet Earth, this beautiful planet, which the angels were shouting in joy when God created it. And it went into utter chaos and confusion. I would suggest that the synagogue of Satan had already been set up then. And, of course, we know he got into the garden. But they had to struggle with it. And so today we have in the world this other church system. There's the true church system. There's the true church of God, which is the body of Christ. And there's the false church system, which is psychic. Because the spirit they're following is not the spirit of God. It's the spirit of Satan the devil. And that happens to be the growth of ancient Babylon. And all the false religious practices that were formulated there after the flood. That whole system has never died. Satan's synagogue has existed since before the earth. I fully believe that. Because it continues. He's been in opposition against God, against the way of God. So he had God's way and he had Satan's way. Today we have Satan's churches. The synagogue of Satan, as it's called in Revelation 3. And then, on the other hand, you have the body of Christ, which is the church of God. Collectively, they're called the churches of God or the churches of Christ. So we have that problem. So any church that is not obeying God the Father is not of God. Who would that be? The whole Roman system, the Romanist church and all its daughters, which are the Protestant churches. Those are hard words, but they're the truth. Not because I say, not because you maybe have said to other people, but because God says that. That great poor Babylon existing today, the synagogue of Satan in the Roman Catholic church, and all the Protestant offshoots, the harlot daughters, that's what. Now who is it that's calling them that in Revelation? Is it not Jesus Christ? But even there we know who gave Jesus Christ the book of Revelation so that Jesus could give it to his angels to take to John. It's God the Father that has identified Babylon the Great, who has all those harlot daughters that have rejected the laws, the commandments, the statutes, the judgments, the ordinances, the precepts, and the complete testimony of Jesus Christ. And what is the testimony of Jesus Christ? The testimony of Jesus Christ, that God the Father is God over all, that I am his Son and I have given my blood that has been shed for every single human life that has come into existence and will in future come into existence. So we have that great battle still going on. And that battle is against the church, which is, in that sense, the womb that God is nourishing us, that God is developing us, that God is, as we ask him, to put in the mind, let this mind of Christ be in you, and let the words of Christ dwell richly within you. And hence the need for us to love the word of God, to bury ourselves in the word of God, realizing it is a pearl of great price. It is worth more than all the gold and silver in this earth. I have a statement I like to use. When I first came into the church and packed up everything, sold our family home and junked it from the ship, where we met some other students going to Ambassador back in the early 60s, 1960s, people used to say to me, Whoa, what a great sacrifice you made. And so I used to say, well, I didn't think of it as a sacrifice. I thought that that was an investment in the kingdom of heaven. And God tells us that if we are prepared to give up everything to follow him, Christ is our reward. And we're going to get that reward given out to us when we're on the sea of glass with all our brothers and sisters, hundreds of thousands, millions of them, all part of the bride of Christ. What a celebration. What a part that we can look forward to. And we know everything is going to be done so beautifully and so perfectly. There will be no errors. There will be no problems. And we will have our full capacity, our mental capacities. Sorry, we won't have any physical capacities, but we'll have spirit bodies with all the capacity, with all the glory shining so that we will not be able to appear to human beings once we take on that spiritual body. We won't be able to appear before them in our full glorious form that God is going to give to us. Because as the church of the living God, we knew that his commandments were a major key into the kingdom. Let's get to Ephesians 2. And now it's gone, but for some reason. Here we go. Ephesians 2, let's have a look at 19 and 20. Here's another description of the house of God. And this is why it's so important for us, you know, even here we are meeting online today. We're of one mind and we are of one spirit. We are connected by God's spirit to each other. And right here and now as we're meeting together and as we're listening and reading from the word of God, what's God doing? God is missing each one of us together. That's what he wants. God doesn't want any division. God doesn't want any criticism. God wants meek and humble spirits that will tremble at his word. Why do we tremble at his word? Because we appreciate its value, its price. It's priceless. It can't be purchased with money. But by studying the word of God, by reading the word of God, by talking intimately with God the Father through Jesus Christ, I've always had a little bit of a struggle. And this might help some of you. Who should I pray to when I'm praying? Should I pray to the Father and leave Christ on the sideline? So what I've started to do is, I consider that in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ. And so I will talk to both of them. And I'm just working out, you know, the language to use as I address both our Father and Jesus, our elder brother. And it's working. It's really a wonderful experience. And when we do that and when we're in that close relationship and we read the word, the word just comes off the page. We're excited. We're in love with the word of God because it's coming from the mouth of God. And that tells us that we are members of the body of Christ. We are members of the church. So this is what Paul told Ephesians. So then you are no longer aliens and foreigners but you are fellow citizens with saints. It's all the saints, clear back to Abel and all those saints that we draw together today. We're fellow citizens whom God is knitting together by His Spirit. Just like He knitted your body and my body together in our mother's wombs. He's knitting us together in the bonds of love within the body. That's why we must shun any thought of division, any thoughts of criticism. Yes, we must make righteous judgments. Yes, we must determine those who are creating problems in the church. How do we do that? There's righteous judgments. And how do we do that? We judge their actions, not their conversion, not their hearts, but their actions. What are their fruits? And as Jesus said, out of the abundance of the mouth the heart speaks. We don't judge the heart. Christ is going to judge them. And God the Father. We judge the fruits. And if we're able to, we will try to get up beside that brother or sister and encourage them and help them. Now there are some, like Diotrephes in the third book of John, where he was speaking maliciously against the elders that were sent to administer to and help the church. And he became so implacable. And we think people in the church like this, and we do need to address it. And those are the people we are to avoid. In fact, we're told as members of the church to make note of them and to avoid them. Don't treat them as an enemy. Treat them as a brother, but don't have contact with them. Why? So they will learn. Nobody's talked to me. Maybe I do have a problem, because there are some people we can talk and talk and talk over and over again, but they're so implacable, they just simply will not listen. They will turn around and walk away and blame the church or blame an elder or blame another member that the problem's theirs. And they just refuse. They just, they can't. And we find in Hebrews that Paul gives warnings about that. You know, at least we fall away. It's a problem. So let's move on. But that's another side of the church life. We help where we can, and when we can't help in a physical way, what do we do? We pray. God will break through that implacable spirit so that those people will not lose out on the kingdom of God, that they will come to recognize the nature within. Because clearly they have forgotten what they did when they went before God and were repented and entered into the body of Christ as little children to grow up. Somewhere down the line, something happened, maybe something in the past came up, they just failed to deal with it. When that happens, of course, we know that they will have to come up and face it again, even if they refuse it time again. But God is very loving and very patient. Think of the times, we can think of the times ourselves when we have just been so ignorant or stubborn or self-willed. How merciful our Father has been to us. I suppose we could say, if it wasn't for God's mercy and His love and His grace and His forgiveness and the remission of our sins, some of us may not even be here, not just in the church, but we could be dead, outside of the faith. But God never gives up on us, never gives up. That's wonderful. So, verse 20, Jesus said, You are being built up on the foundation of the apostles. And remember, Hebrews 3 says that Jesus Christ Himself is an apostle, therefore He's got to be the chief apostle, but He's also our high priest whose blood was shed so that we may have our sins forgiven and the remission of sins so that we can eventually enter into the kingdom of God once we have been through the process of building the mind and character of God, which God is doing within us by His Spirit, which is within each one of us. On the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. So this is the household of God, this is the church of God. Let's have a look at another one. We know in 1 Corinthians 10, we won't turn there, but it talks about the Passover, which is the fellowship of the Body of Christ. So important. An event that we look forward to each year because we're renewing that covenant with God. And in the past, we know there were many, hundreds, many thousands who observed that Passover. But when the problems came within the church, what happened? They just fell away. They went back to Egypt. You know, it was mentioned that God has delivered us from in the opening prayer. God has set us on the path, not back to Egypt, but towards His kingdom and towards power and towards glory. But first, God is teaching us to be humble before Him, before Jesus Christ, and even before each other, to humble ourselves to one another. That is so important. Now, if we do that, we can avoid so many problems. And as Jesus said, you know, somebody punches you in the vernacular, on one side, or slaps, you turn your head so he slaps the other. Very interesting principle there for us. What is He saying? Don't retaliate. I had a situation once where I was accused of certain things. I was accused for doing my job as an elder. Somebody thought they were in charge. And I prayed the night before, and it became very clear to me, do not defend yourself. And so I didn't. I put it into God's hands, and He's still working on it. I still pray for those people who walked away from the church. I pray, and I hope they will return. But they, to this day, have not understood their need for repentance and facts. This one person says, he forgives me. He forgives me for doing my job. And that saddens me because there's a brother and a sister who need to return to the body of Christ. Or they can go and attend with other churches, but they still haven't dealt the problem. And that creates a difficulty for them because it puts a stumbling block in their growth. They can't recognize it. Okay, so that's 1 Corinthians, sorry, not 1 Corinthians, Colossians. We want Colossians 1, verse 16-18. We won't turn there, but I'll just mention what it is. It says, and he, Jesus Christ, is the head of the body. He's the head of the body. We are the body. Many parts. And our bodies, unless, of course, we're suffering from some sicknesses, our bodies function perfectly the way God made them. Yes, we can struggle with pain and with health problems and with physical conditions, but the way God made us, the way God intended for us to be, is our bodies work in perfect harmony. And so is the body of the church to do the same. Now, the church also, we can read in Revelation, 17 and verse 14, just make a note of that, have been chosen, they are called, chosen, and faithful. We're called, we respond, repent, and then we also commit to obey the laws and commandments of God. And that is so important. And again, we've already mentioned Revelation 2 and 3, and there are two primary identifications, which I think we've already covered, of the true church. Two primary identifications. The first one is the Sabbath day, and the second one is the Passover. And there are so many scriptures which show that the Sabbath day reveals that you and I, when we're keeping it in the faith of Jesus Christ, that you and I are actually members of the body of Christ, the church, the spiritual church, the spiritual body. And also, the Passover. Those two go together, and they are the minimum requirements to be faithfully observing and faithful in the keeping of those two commandments. They're absolutely ground level, ground zero. The starting point. It's on those that the rest of the building of the faith, the mind of Christ, it all has a foundation in those. Because in those, as we said, you can read it in Exodus, you can read it in Ezekiel, where God says this, that the sign of the Sabbath identifies you to me, because you're keeping the Sabbath in spirit and in truth, not just keeping it because you know that you should, but you're keeping it because you know you're a banned God, and God wants you to do that, and because you love God. And it identifies God, so you know who the true God is, not some other God. And then we go, of course, to the Passover. Now, it's interesting, if you go back to Genesis, the second chapter, what is the first law that God reveals? This now becomes a little bit into the prophetic side of things. Genesis 2 and verse 1, God revealed the Sabbath day, and how did he do that? By resting, and then by sanctifying it, and by blessing it into the ages of eternity. And just like a thought comes to mind, just like Jesus Christ, he's High Priest into the ages of eternity. So, think about that. Jesus Christ's role as High Priest doesn't end after the last completion of what is to take place on the very last great day. Jesus Christ continues as High Priest between the family and whatever else God has in mind for us, and God the Father. He's our constant High Priest. How does that work? We don't know at this point in time. But it's very clear that it says he's High Priest into the ages of eternity after the order of Melchizedek. Now, when we come to Genesis, the third chapter, what do we find? We find in Genesis 3 and 15 that Jesus Christ is going to crush Satan's head, and that Satan is going to get at the heel of Satan, which most commentators know that's a reference to Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. But think about this. That pictures what holy day of God, what feast day of God, rather. The Passover. That's Jesus Christ crushing Satan's Passover. Let me correct that. Satan actually getting at the heel of Jesus Christ, which was the crucifixion. That's the Passover. Then, the next event is Jesus Christ crushing the head of Satan. What does that picture? Does that not picture the Day of Atonement? And consequently, implication there, of course, the rest of God's holy day. But right there, in the first two chapters of the Bible, we have the Sabbath, we have the Passover, and we have the Day of Atonement mentioned in part. But that was not understood, at least until the New Covenant, the full meaning of that. It had a different meaning for ancient Israel. In fact, ancient Israel never had the understanding of the feast days of God that you and I have. They had the physical application of the feast days. And they were all a picture pointing towards Christ. And now the church. God has given these to the very church of God. They're so important. They're so valuable. So that's all contained just in the first couple of chapters of the book of Genesis. The very beginning. Which brings us to a scripture which we'll come to shortly, hopefully. Now, of course, we know that the church of God has a responsibility, and that is to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God into all nations as a witness. Then the end will come. And Matthew 24 is a warning. And it's a warning also against false prophets and false revelations. All these men, all these women claiming to have a revelation from God. It's absolutely poppycock. It's hogwash and all the rest. It has got nothing to do with the truth. And when you listen to some of these prophecies and what men and women are claiming, and because you understand the scriptures, it's absolutely contrary to the word of God. It's on the other side. It's a product of lies. And we can recognize that. Okay, let's have a look briefly. We have a little bit of time, so let's talk about prophecy and revelation. Let's have a look again at Revelation, the, what chapter we want? The 19th chapter. This is very important. Revelation 19, and we'll begin in verse 6. And he has raised us up together as a church and has caused us to sit together in the heavenly places with Jesus Christ. Now, when we're reading scriptures and we get so excited, we get, we just, the love of God and the love towards God, because of what? He's just showing us all these truths. It doesn't matter how long you've been in the church. I think the longer we're in the church, the more we come to love this, the more we come to appreciate God's word. As David said, Oh, how I love I your Lord. And what books did David have? He didn't have the prophets. He may have had a little bit of Samuel, but he only had the books up virtually until the time of his rule. But he loved it. Oh, how I love I your Lord. He thought about it, he meditated on it, and he didn't have the prophets. He didn't have the other historical writings of the Old Testament. He had nothing of the New Testament, and yet that's how much he loved God's word. There's a lot of teaching in that for us, of how much is in those first books of the Bible. Basically, the law, and then of course, the Psalms, and some of what Samuel had maybe already written. And he was so excited about it. So here we are, sitting together in the heavenly places with Christ. Is that not exciting? Even here, we're sitting facing each other. I can't see you, but you can see me. But you know in your mind and your heart, the others that are joined together. We have 73 people on board. But we're sitting together in the presence of God, because with 73 of us, there's more than two or three in the church. There's more than 73. Part of the spiritual body of Christ, listening to the word of God, and it's being explained. So that in the ages that are coming, and this is our thinking on the Sabbath day, that he might show exceeding riches of his grace, and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, talking about our rewards. And even today, we know that there is an overflow into our life today. That God is blessing us day after day. And we don't know the blessings and the prayers that he's answering, that we have never offered as it says in Hebrews. He knows what we need. He knows what we need to ask for also, even though we are unaware of it. And our high priest, Jesus Christ, is taking care of all that. And where we have shortcomings, where we have our ignorance, God isn't. He knows it all. And he's covering it all. Now, if he can control the entirety of the universe, do you think he can control one or two of our little anxieties, which we really shouldn't have, or our little problems? Of course he can. He is so great, so powerful. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this especially not of your own selves, it is the gift of God, a precious, precious gift. For we are his workmanship, the church. His workmanship. He's knitting us together with himself through Jesus Christ. But he's also knitting us together as the church of God. Ontario has done good work, say, Galileo before, in order that we may walk in them. I won't turn there, but just make a note of 1 Corinthians 2, verses 14 through 16, because it says there we have the mind of Christ. And as it says, yeah, we have the mind of Christ, that's it. And you can tie in there Philippians 2, 5, and Colossians 1, 16. I think next I'd like to turn to 1 Peter 1, and then with the time we have we'll close on Isaiah 46, because that really gets in to the matter of prophecy and revelation. You see, because God has given his prophecies. We have the great prophecies of Daniel. What did God tell Daniel? He said shut them up, and close them, and seal them until the end times. Here we have all these false prophets, false teachers, everywhere they can get somebody's ear, and of course the internet is a great place for that. Virtually spewing out all their garbage, which comes out of their own minds, as scriptures will look at another time, and their own hearts. It does not come from God, and as he says, I did not send them. So we have revelation that God, sorry, correction, God gives us the prophecies, but then he also has to give us the revelation. And there are prophecies that God has not yet unfolded. He has yet to unfold them. But what does it say in Amos? It says God will do nothing except he first informs his servants, the prophets. And what are they going to do with it? What are we going to do with it? We are then accountable to God for making sure that we publish that and that we preach it. This is what is so beautiful about what's been happening in the church with all those Bibles and all that literature going out freely, you know, from CBCG, but from all the other churches of God that have valuable literature, which is giving the meaning of the scriptures themselves, as it says in Nehemiah. Israel and the priests, they stood up, they read the word, and then they gave the meaning. And that's the way that we always need to be addressing God's word as those who are speaking, those who are preaching, those who are explaining and helping people to understand. It's the word of God, not our own thoughts. How many times in the past, those who came out of worldwide, how many times in the past did we go to services, and we might have had great fellowship, but we came away spiritually empty. In my time in the church, I only have I think, about three or four sermons that really had an impact on me that I remember and recall. The rest, I don't know, I suppose I have to take blame for some of it for inattention, but I was usually very keen just to listen to what was being said. Now that jangled a lot of those things that were said that were wrong and incorrect. But that's good, that's part of what God does with us. He corrects us so that we can get back on track as he brings us closer and closer to the truth, the way that Christ showed us. So let's see, 2 Peter 1, this is important as we look at the prophets. 2 Peter 1. And we know this so well, but keep this in mind when you're thinking of prophecy, and also the prophecies that are being revealed. And it is only the Spirit of God, it is only his power through the Holy Spirit and his Spirit working within us that reveals the word of prophecy to us. Like with Daniel. We have to wait, or mankind, the church even, had to wait until John was given the book of Revelation before we could understand the prophecies of Daniel. Because God sealed them. God closed them. God shut them up. He says these are for the time of the end, and now we're in the time of the end and we are beginning to understand those more and more. And I must mention the two books, Daniel and Revelation, a series, a must to read, very valuable, but also again, master book of prophecy through the holy days. God's plan for mankind, not just for you, not just for me, but for the entirety of mankind reveals all prophetic, holy days are prophetic, aren't they? Prophesying the death of Christ, the cleansing up of our lives, the receiving of the Holy Spirit was all prophesied. But now these things have been revealed. Ancient Israel and even the Jews today still do not understand the spiritual application of holy days because they reject Christ. You understand it, I understand it. We're the babes in Christ. And what did Jesus say to his father? He said, I thank you that you revealed these truths. You revealed these truths, these prophecies to babes. You've ignored the powerful, the great, the mighty. They don't understand it. All their PhDs, their PhDs, they've got all this information piled higher and deeper, and I remember one and you've probably heard of this one. One is an expert. And we have so many of them in the world today. They know more and more about less and less until they know absolutely everything about nothing. They know nothing about God's word, and yet God's word is spirit. God's word is life. God's word gives you and me, it's giving us eternal life. It's building us up into the very image of Jesus Christ himself. And we're willingly walking in those footsteps. Okay, let's get to the scripture. Well, we have here, for it's written, be holy as I'm holy, that's a whole other beautiful subject, and I'm in first Peter, we're on second Peter. Sorry about that. Second Peter and chapter one. Regarding prophecy, and also we can look at this, the revelation of the prophecies God has given to the church. Who did God reveal the prophecies to? We'll look at this next time. God reveals all prophecy and has done through his servants, the prophets and the apostles. But particularly through the apostles, and Paul says this very profoundly. And he's given it to the church, and the church is to give it to the world. And here we are. To be the bride of Christ. It's an amazing picture. We don't have time to get into that right now, but let's read this. It talks about the voice from heaven, verse 18 of second Peter one. That we heard when we were with him on the Holy Mount, that James, Peter and John together with Christ, Christ was transfigured and they heard the voice of God. So they already had heard his voice. That's so important. Because they were witnesses to the life, ministry, death, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's why he had the twelve witnesses as apostles also. To bring this truth to you and to reveal these prophecies from the Old Testament that took place in the life of Jesus Christ. Prophecies that God has revealed to you. You understand them. The leaders of this world again, in Corinthians, they haven't got the foggiest idea. Somewhere I mentioned, you know, they're floundering around like flounders. And you know where flounders exist? They exist under the water. And all they virtually see is the sand underneath them. They can't see above the water. They may see shadows and so forth. But people are like that. They don't know what's going on in the very realm of the kingdom of God. The very spiritual realm that you are a part of. That you have access to. And God is feeding you. God is showing you His prophecies. He's revealing them to you. And there are prophecies that, as the church, are not ready to be revealed yet. But when that time comes, as Amos says, God will show us. God will teach us. God will reveal it so we know. Verse 19, for we also possess, remember? They heard directly from Christ, the Son of God, the creator of the entire universe. We also possess the confirmed prophetic word to which you do well to pay attention. As to light shining in a dark place. Until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart. Resurrection. Pentecost. Resurrection. Christ. The first of the firstfruits. When? When was He presented to God? Why is He offering? First of the firstfruits. Pentecost is called what? Feast of the firstfruits. Resurrection of the saints. Then comes trumpets. Then comes tabernacles and the last great day. And those two represent the ingathering harvest of the rest of humanity. Those three very important days. That's why Jesus tells us through the Old Testament. You must appear before me three times in the year. Feast of the firstfruits. Sorry. The Days of Unleavened Bread which represents the resurrection of Jesus Christ which took place during those days. Pentecost when we are resurrected. And then the end time when all those God has called, He will call them. Then. Verse 20. Notice that no prophecy of Scripture originated as anyone's own private interpretation. Think of the Scripture, you know, if you happen to be listening to a prophet or any preacher who's asking for money so he can get another airplane. He's probably got two or three jets already parked down in Burbank or wherever it is. But think about that Scripture. They have no knowledge of the truth. They're charlatans and they're fleecing people who don't understand what's going on because God hasn't called them. He hasn't revealed His prophecies, His truth and His knowledge. Because prophecy was not brought at any time by human will but by holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. These people who claim to be prophets and have visions and dreams and so forth has God sent them? No. We'll see that next time. Let's close on Isaiah the 46th chapter. This is a key Scripture regarding all prophecy and I'm sure you will have known but we're just doing a review more than anything else or an overview. Isaiah 46 we can start in verse 1. We're hitting for verse 10 so we'll trim this short because we're out of time. Let's just go straight to verse 10. Yes. Verse 8. Remember this and show yourselves men bring it again to mind O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old for I am God and there is none else. You know that and you are blessed of God and by God because of that. I am God and there is none other like me. People who don't keep the Sabbath and the holy days do not know God and he does not recognize them as his children but he recognizes you. And here verse 10. Here's God saying I am declaring the end from the beginning. So right back in Genesis 2 and 3 God revealed the Sabbath day he revealed the Passover and the day of atonement. We can understand that. They didn't understand it at the time. So God declares the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things which were not yet done saying my counsel all those things that God prophesied shall stand and I will do my Now we've seen and we're seeing those things taking place before our eyes. God has called you, he has called me he has given us his prophecies he is also giving us the revelation of those prophecies. This is why it is so important for us to be studying the prophecies and we mix those prophecies of course with our searching for the riches. Searching for the ways of Jesus Christ. Searching for the ways how every day we can be walking in his footsteps so that the prophecy is not lost on us. But we see the end result and the outcome of all the prophecies of God which God says he declared the end what's the end? Last great day he declared that right from the beginning and even Enoch as it says in Jude understood and had been given obviously the prophecies of God because he had walked with them. Well we'll end there and we'll pick that up again next time and we'll probably do a little bit of a recap and take it on from there.