Major Bible Themes

Events preceding the second coming of Christ. Now, to set this up right, the Lord Jesus is going to come back or near to the planet when? In other words, in the future, the first one is the rapture. He's not going to come to the earth, but above it. and all of the believers will go to be with him. And what we're going to talk about is the time between that, pretty much that, and prophecy that Christ talked about in Matthew, and his actual coming the second time.

So, to set this up right, we're somewhere in here. Oh, I got that spotter thing dying. We're somewhere in here. Turn around. Look at that. There's the cross, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. And Pentecost began what we call the Church Age.

And it will continue until the Rapture right here. Now that could be 15 seconds from now, 15 years from now, who knows when. Once that happens, There's a seven-year span between when the rapture happens and then Christ comes to rule and reign. So, as I think it was Verne said one day, we're literally seven years and however many seconds away from the Millennial Kingdom. So, we're going to talk about today, right in here, what's going to happen between the time that the rapture happens, or actually now, and when Christ actually comes to rule and reign. So let's open up your Bibles to Matthew 13.

And these verses are the Lord Jesus Christ talking both to his disciples and to a group who have been following him, and the group is pretty big now, and he's going to talk in parables. Let's talk about parables for a minute. What is a parable? What would you say a parable is? A biblical parable. Up here you'll see it says placing of one thing beside another with a view of comparison. It's an illustration of a truth. We do it a lot today. We, you know, use an example of something that is a truth. It always or usually contains a mystery and a biblical mystery is what?

It's not something that's on TV that somebody created. It's what it is, is something that God has not revealed to us up until that time. So is it blind faith? No, it's not. It's just information that God has not told us about until now. So it's a mystery. It's just unrevealed information. It would not be like prophecy of the Old Testament. It might be. There might be in the prophecy a reference to it, but it would not have been revealed. It's like there wasn't anything in the Old Testament about the church. the body of Christ.

And he's going to talk about the kingdom of heaven. Now when you see that term, what does it mean? It's God's rule on the earth and embraces any sort of empire that God may have on the earth at any given time. We are not talking about the millennial kingdom, although that fits underneath that umbrella. So the kingdom of heaven, and what it means is that as things function in heaven, now they've come to function on the earth that way.

Or Christ is in charge. Now, these parables here, there's seven of them. The sower and the seed and the soil, the tares among the wheat, the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price, and the dragnet. guide to interpreting parables and this comes from down here Dwight Pentecost wrote a book on things to come and he kind of gives an explanation although I think we can expand on it a little bit he said understanding parables one you have to determine the exact nature and the details of the customs the practices the elements that form the material and the natural part of the parable The parable of the seed sower and the seed and where it falls, it's simple.

It's a man who's planting seed, and it falls on different ground. And he does it by hand, and some of the soil is prepared, some isn't. So that's determining customs practice elements. He's not using a tractor. They didn't have tractors in that time.

Okay, then you determine the one central truth that the parable is attempting to teach. That's what you're looking for. Then determine how much of the parable is interpreted by the Lord himself. And you'll see in these parables we're going to go through, he interprets every one of them. He tells us what he means. But then he does a very interesting thing. There are those who believe that the reason the Lord Jesus spoke in parables was to keep the information secret from the Jews. and I'll show you in these verses where I think the person who believes that is probably right.

I'll show you in a minute. Determine if there are any clues in the context as to the parable's meaning. Don't make a parable walk on all fours. In other words, it doesn't fit all things. It says what it says and it doesn't apply to something else. Be careful of the doctrinal use, a clear understanding of the time period that many of the parables are intended for is necessary for a full interpretation.

So that's kind of the setup. Now, the sower and the seed. Starting in verse one. Actually, we'll start in three. Now watch what he says. A sower went out to sow, and he sowed some seed, and some of the seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. And some fell on the stony place where they did not have much earth, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. Some fell among the thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Now, what do you think it means? If you're sitting there listening to him, you're thinking, what in the heck is he talking about?

What represents the seed? Who represents the seed sower? Who is the seed sower? And how about these four places where the seed falls? Those are all the questions you have to answer, right? To understand it? So... Why does he do that? Why is it in the Bible in that type of language? Because at times you're going to think it's this, when in fact it isn't. It's something else. Maybe. No, that's a good question and that's really the question because why would he teach that way? Why isn't he just playing? There's two reasons for it. One is because the audience might have been simple, but I don't think that's the answer either.

But it's really pretty simple when you look at what he's talking about here, but you have to be able to label what the seed is, who the seed sower is, and what the four what the four types of soil are, right? But they were farmers living off the soil, so it would allow them to remember the parable much easier than the direct truth. Okay, now, the seed sower is Christ. The seed is the Word. Okay?

First place, it's beside the road and where anyone can hear it. the word of the kingdom of heaven, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches it away, that what was sown in his heart." That's the explanation of the first one. Happens today, you see it all around you. The word is presented, the seed is sown, and there's just, it isn't long before, boom, it's gone. The next one is in the rocky place, this is a man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet He has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction and persecution arise because of the word, immediately he falls away. When you preach a success-based gospel, that Jesus Christ is a Tylenol, and that's what you come to Christ, supposedly come to Christ on, and the first time it gets a little bumpy, you're out of here.

That's what he's talking about. Second one, the seed is sown among the thorns. This is a man who hears the word and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unfruitful. This is a guy who heard it, but he becomes unfruitful. How come? Why did he become unfruitful? Because the deceitfulness of wealth and the world choked it out. So you have the seed, the wheat seed growing up along with the weeds. and the weeds went out in the end.

Now, but the seed in good soil, this is a man who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and brings forth a hundred times, sixty times or thirty times the seed. Now, we were just talking a minute ago about my sister-in-law and how God, for months before she had brain surgery, had this need in front of her. What was he doing? He was preparing the soil. So sometimes when you see somebody who's not a believer or a believer who is in straits, what God is doing is preparing the soil so that when the seed shows up, it has fertile land to go into.

So sometimes, you know, when we, oh, what can we pray for today? Well, let's pray that so-and-so doesn't have the afflictions in their life that they have. Maybe we shouldn't pray that way. Maybe we just say, Lord, you know, do what you're going to do. And hopefully we're trusting that whatever you're about doing will bear fruit in the end.

My brother-in-law in Washington has a vineyard. And we were out on the vineyard. It's the crappiest looking soil I've ever seen. And they stress the heck out of the grapes. You know why? The plants. Because they want everything to go to the production of the grape. To the sacrificing of the branch. You know?

I mean, it's unbelievable this stuff grows in the ground that it grows in, but that's the way they do it. The best grapes are always grown in a crappie of soil. But when you were saying before that sentence, that maybe we shouldn't ask. Well, in the Bible, though, it says, ask and it shall be given. That's right.

Ask what? The first thing I think we should do before we pray is go talk to the Lord about what He's doing. How would you have me pray about ABC or that person. What would you have me say? I know what I want to say, but what are you doing here? Telling him how to make me out to him.

Yeah. There was a time when another one of my sister-in-laws was pregnant with a baby and she had terrible blood clots in her legs. So she's in the hospital and of course out comes the prayer request. And I'm praying for her at night in bed and the point got real clear to me. that I'm doing something here and I'm not going to take those off of her all that quick. And you need to be comfortable with that. I was afraid to tell her that for years. But that's how I pray. See, I think God will give you, when you bring somebody to Him and say, what do you want me to do here? He'll tell you how He wants you to pray about them. And it's not always, get them well quick. It's not always like, You know, take the thorn out of their flesh right now.

See? So that's what fertile... That's the explanation of the sower and the seed. That's how it works. Now, the part that I wanted to show you here was... Hold on a second. It's towards the end. what he says here and I'll find it as we go through he makes a statement that says that he has they were asking him in 10 he says the disciples came to him and said why do you speak to them in parables and he answers them because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but to them it has not been given what does that mean? that means that they were going to understand it, but them other guys weren't. Isn't that interesting?

It's much like today, isn't it? Sure is. Is that fair? Ah, fair. I love the question, fair. Don't we like fair? Is God fair in doing that? Is God fair in doing that? What do you think? God puts out the word I think so. I mean the point, when it comes to fairness, I think the basic question of fairness is that what God is doing in grace, is he obligated to do it? Or is he just doing it because he's gracious? If you eliminate all of God's characteristics except for fairness, everybody goes to hell. Everybody. See? So fairness, it's interesting. God so loved the world that he gave his son that whosoever will, that's his side.

But the soil, when he says this to the disciples, I mean, they're saying to him what we would say to Christ. What is this with the stories? Why don't you make it nice and clear? He says, okay, fellas, let me explain something to you. Because it's given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. It's been given to you by grace to know what they are. And the parables will explain to you what the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are about. but to them it has not been given for whosoever has to him more is given and he will have abundance but whoever does not have even that even what he has will be taken away from him that's pretty cold isn't it but that's the way of it because every human being that shows up on the planet comes as we've talked before comes in Adam a sinner who deserves only hell. And God in his grace offers that person salvation.

And if they don't accept it, the grace that they even existed eventually is taken away from them. Isn't it? When a person leaves this planet without Christ, what happens? Their chances are over. You see that? They had grace extended to them. But then when they leave the planet, grace is no longer extended. So what they have had is now taken away from them. Interesting, huh? Undeserving. All of it. Yes, sir?

One of the things that I'm trying to figure out is, you know how we talked about Jesus was talking to the Jews? And so when I'm reading through my Bible, and all these red words aren't for me, they're for the Jews. I don't think that's totally true, but I'm confused. Like, I always thought this was very important. It is. It's critical. Yeah. If he's talking only to the Jews, how does that work for the Jews? Okay.

The Bible is set up so that some of it is written specifically to you. the believer, the member of the body of Christ. Primarily Paul's epistles and John, Peter, James and John. Hebrews. But the rest of it is written for you. Even though it may not be written directly to you.

Do you understand that? This is for you. But it has application in the body of Christ. There's no question it does. See that? See that? Okay. I don't know if that answered it. Okay. The tares and the wheat. Let's read that. Go down to 24. And we can spend more time from 12 through 23, which explains the parable and why this principle that it's given unto you to know, but not them? Because they're not going to receive it anyway.

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came to him and said, Sir, do we not sow good seed in your field? How does it have tares?

He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servant said to him, Do you want us then to go out and gather them up? He said, No, lest while you gather up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let them both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, first gather together the tares, bind them in bundles and burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. Who are the players here? The kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who sowed good seed in a field. The enemy came and sowed tares or weeds among the wheat and went away. The wheat sprouted more grain and the tares became evident so.

Do you want us then to go and clear out the weeds? I'll get to that in a minute. No, for while you're gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them, allow both to grow together until the harvest, and then gather up the tares, bind them, and burn them. Gather up the wheat into the barn.

Okay, who are the players? Who's the wheat? Those that accept the word. Believers, yeah. Those that accept the word. Who are the tares? They're the opposers. And who's the enemy? Satan. That's right. And who's the farmer? It's Christ himself. Okay, now watch. The one who sows a good seed is the son of man. The field is the world. The good seed are the sons of the kingdom. The tares are the sons of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is a devil, the harvest at the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.

Interesting, huh? The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out his kingdom, all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace and the fire, and the place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth, the Son of the Kingdom of the Father.

Now, let's see, I don't want to go there. Can we have copies of that? Say that. She's wondering if she can have a copy. We get this. Do you have the disk? Yeah, you have. Oh, I didn't know. Yeah, you haven't. You probably don't have one. I don't. You don't have one either? I don't. Well, you're pregnant. Can I have that one? I know. So I need three? Do you have one? It's the same one that was upstairs at Major Bible Themes. It's Major Bible Themes is what it is. Yeah, we got that. Do you have Major Bible Themes? I'll get you. I'll get some. Is it on the website? I think it is. I think it's on the web.

Now, this, I think you have to understand here that this is not specifically the body of Christ, this is actually the kingdom. Okay? So, but it's at the end, it's at the very end, when there's a resurrection and then there's this, come on my right hand and come on my left hand. Yes sir? What do you mean it's not the believers in the kingdom. Because for the believer, well let me ask you, from this day forward you have always been, from God's perspective, a member of the body of Christ, right?

Right. Is there ever going to be a time in your existence going forward where he's going to have to separate you out from the weeds? No, you're already separated out. See? You already are a son of God, you're already in Christ, you're already, okay? You believe. Yeah. So your position in Christ, so this is more to do with the kingdom and Jews, well and saints, than members of the body of Christ. It has application because of where the seed falls and what happens to it. Do we live in a world where there's lots of opposition? Absolutely we do. But we have a position about us that supersedes this.

So that's the Millennium Reign? Yeah, well it's Millennium Reign and it's, yeah, pretty much. And it's, it's, it's, he says it's, the word of God goes out into the world and now it goes out just to Jews and Gentiles alike and if you believe you've become a member of the body of Christ. So this is kingdom information and a lot of this relates to the seven year period I should have asked this question, how many of you read the chapter? He talked a lot in the chapter about the things that were going to happen in that seven years, a period of preparation and whether you were a Jew or a Gentile, whether you were, when the rapture happened, were you a person who was in a church but weren't saved? and how that expands and blows up and he talked a lot about the Antichrist and Russia and Israel and that kind of thing. This applies more to that time than it does to us as believers. You okay with that? If you read the chapter you'd understand what I just said. If you didn't, you're in the dark. And I'm not going to teach in parables. But Mike, when you say the Kingdom of Heaven, you're talking, that's the big umbrella, right?

That's how it works. Right. And so Jews and Gentiles can be part of the harvest, right? Because there were people that believed God. Before Christ. Before Christ. So they would be considered part of the harvest. Yes, they would. As well as us. Yes. So it's not solely the body of Christ. It's all. That's right.

And the point I was making to Bruce is that there isn't going to be a time with you and I as members of the body of Christ where the weeds grew up beside of us and angels are going to have to come and separate us out. That's not going to happen to us because we've already been separated out. It will happen with millennial kingdom and rapture to millennial kingdom things that happen. And that's the way the kingdom of God functions and fluctuates. We're not going to have to say, are you a wheat or a tare? You look like a wheat to me. So we're in the body of Christ but they are just in the kingdom. That's right. That's right. Okay.

The mustard seed. The kingdom of heaven is, well, I'll read it. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds, and when it was grown it is greater than the herbs and and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nestle in its branches. So the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed, etc. I think you can see that it starts small and ends up the biggest and that it does offer protection and a place for birds and that kind of thing.

I'll show you here in a second. 11 is 33. The kingdom of heaven is like 11 which a woman took and hid in three measures a meal until it was all 11. When you talk about 11 in the Bible, what does it usually refer to? Sin. And what it does is, what does it do when it shows up?

Spreads. We were talking about on Wednesday night, we were studying 1 Corinthians 5 about immorality and Paul talks about leaven there. He said the reason that Paul was so upset with the Corinthians was not so much the sin of immorality. He was upset because they were tolerating the sin of immorality and the reason was leaven. He said if you tolerate it, then it's going to spread. And so we spent the whole time talking about toleration, you know.

And so leaven is always referred to as sin. The kingdom of heaven is leaven like a woman except the hidden treasure, 44. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and hid and for the joy of it he goes and sells all that he has by the field. Again the kingdom of heaven is, well, This has as much application to the church as anything.

Because when you and I come to Christ, the thing is that he is the pearl of inestimable value. And the real issue about spiritual growth is finding out that Christ is enough. That he is more important to me than anything else. Even my ministry. my income, my family. He's the most important thing there is.

And when you discover that, what do you do? This says that he goes and he bought the field in which the treasure was in. It shows you how he sold everything he had. See that? Now, lots of times people become believers and this finding the value of Christ is a lifetime.

You don't go by the field till later on. But you know when you said even your family, I don't think you can compare the feeling you have for God, Christ, and your family. You can't compare it. It's a different thing. What's different about it? I can't explain it. I just think you can't compare it. I mean you care for your family. You wouldn't give them a swift kick goodbye because you care more for God. But we might do that to God.

Yep. Because we're sickos. Huh? Because we're sickos. But when it comes to family, we're not sickos. We put them in front of God. That's because they're standing there in front of you and you don't dare kick them when they're looking, you know? You can hear it. The point is this. We as believers live under this umbrella of grace. And grace is unlimited and unmerited blessings from God based on what Christ already did. And that's the way the system works. It's all blessing coming towards you full on. That is not the way your family works. Your family works in give and take.

As you mature in Christ and you become gracious, What happens? You begin to do what the Lord Jesus does. You begin to, it's full on grace out of you to them, without expecting something in return. See that? They don't function that way, but you will. And so it becomes the same.

There's nobody, cumulatively or individually, that loves you like Christ does. Nobody. Any of your family ever laid down their life for you? Well, some people could say yes they did. But none of them ever got rose again for you. See? And none of them gave you eternal life. And none of them made you a son of God. None of them did that. Never even entered their mind to do something like that. Well, that's why you can't compare it. You can't compare the love of Christ with anything else. That's true. The thing is, is that spiritual growth is involved. Spiritual growth should be the process of becoming so intimate with Christ that he's the most valuable thing to you there is. Surplanting family, bank accounts, whatever your gig happens to be. You know, golf, fly fishing, Phoenix. Phoenix, here's an hour cookie. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and he bought it. Wow, that's kind of cool.

That applies to us. It also applies to the kingdom. What I don't think we realize as believers is that when the Lord Jesus Christ is physically on the planet in glory, that the Jewish nation is going to think this way about him. This is how they're going to behave. He is the one. And the Gentiles are going to be so excited about it, they're going to go to the Jews and say, hey, can you introduce us to Christ?

But will they set aside the law? The law will be written in their hearts. It will be there. I don't realize that the law is not necessary. Oh, I see what you're saying. Well, they will be living based on a life in them that functions through them. Will they be living by faith? I don't think so, because he'll be right there. What do they have to believe that they don't see? It's right there. And the law, they won't have to teach one another anything about the Word of God. It's all built into them.

But the law, I thought they were going to forget about the law. No, no. Of course it's not important. We're talking about the Jewish nation now. Yeah. In the millennial kingdom. Okay, but once they believe, of course with the law, they don't need it. Will they still sacrifice animals? It'll be a memorial. Yeah, they will. Let me show you. Let me go back and show you something. Right here. Right here. When Christ comes to rule and reign, at that very moment, the Jews that are alive, and this is my personal opinion, I think there will only be 144,000 of them and every single one of them will be a believer in Christ. When he comes, there is a major transformation in who they are as people. The law gets written in their hearts. They get a fleshly heart as opposed to a stony hard one.

They get all of the knowledge necessary in all of the scriptures that have to do with them. They all get it. There'll never be a class in Judaism to teach the law to anybody. They'll all have it in them. And they'll behave and function and act spontaneously like that. Do you see that? The whole Mosaic system will be built into them. All of it. It's Ezekiel 35. They'll have to follow all that? It won't be a follow thing. It'll be in them. And so they'll do it. They'll just do it. They don't even have to think about it. They won't have to think about it. They'll just do it.

But why would they want to do it? Because it's part of who they are. Aren't they going to be in Christ? No, they won't. No, they won't. They're not in Christ. So they'll never be in Christ? I don't, not like you and I are. Because what happened? Well, okay. They believe in him, you just said about earlier. From the rapture to the kingdom, where are you and I? What are we doing? What's happening? The first thing that happens is that we meet Christ in the air, right? And how do you show up? In that crummy old body you got? in a Brooks Brothers suit? I don't think so. You show up in a glorified body, no sin nature. No sin nature. And we go to this thing called the Bema Judgment, which is a place of blessing. We're all rewarded for all that Christ did through us while we were here. Everything that was not done through Christ to us gets burned up and is gone. Which means you forget it and so does he. What's the next event? He returns. What's the next event after the Pima?

The Great Tribulation. No. Rewards. No, for us. What's that? It's the wedding feast of the Lamb. So who gets married? We do. What about them Jews on the earth that are suffering at this point? Once the wedding feast is over, we're the bride, Christ comes to rule and reign, we come with him, no more additions to the bride. So now we've got a whole new set of people on the earth which are Jews, which have the law written in their heart.

They're not in Christ. They are righteous, They're holy, they're saints, but you know what? They're not the bride of the Lamb. Excuse me, I thought Christ came to say that he was making one whole man out of the two. Okay, what are the two men? Jew and Gentile. And when did he do that? He did it from the time of the Pentecost to now. Right now, if my last name is Goldberg, And I come from a Jewish family. If I believe in the person and work of Christ today, what happens to my nationality? I'm no more a Jew. I'm not a Gentile. I'm a whole new creature in Christ.

Today. Today? Yes. That is an oxymoron. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. old things have passed away, including Messianic Judaism, including Presbyterianism, including Catholicism, including Irish Catholics. So they won't be with the 144? Let me finish here. So that one new man is what takes place now. So that when going forward now to the wedding feast of the Lamb, those persons who are neither Jew or Gentile, or male or female, or bond or free, they're the bride.

When the Millennial Kingdom starts, we're back to Jews and Gentiles. After Christ's second coming. Yes. The nation of Israel is recreated. Jesus rules and reigns from Jerusalem for a thousand years. And that's where they build that temple. saying with Jews and Gentiles that Goldberg is talked about he's in the church he's died during this and he gets raptured he's gone and once he's gone then God begins to deal with the earth based on the nation of Israel again so read Romans 9, 10, 11 when we were studying Romans that's what happens he restores the nation but this Goldberg is excluded from those Because he's a bride of Christ. So when Christ comes to rule and reign, we come with him. And we rule and reign with him. Okay, but you said you think that the moment Christ returns, the second coming, that you think there's 144,000 Jews.

That's what I think. There could be more or less. And they have the law written on their heart and they just do it because they love the Lord. That's right. What about their children? Yeah, it's interesting. So when their children are born, are they born with the law written on their heart? That's what I want to know. I don't know. I think they have to believe. Just like we do. I think so too. She just said because they love the Lord.

Is that the motivator? The motivator is that they believe during the tribulation that Jesus is the Messiah because there's going to be lots of evangelism going on in the Jewish nation and if you read in a chapter his attitude is that the Jews are spread all over the world and when the tribulation starts and this evangelism starts it's the Jews are going to do it because they're everywhere. They're not all in Israel. and now they've finally accepted him as the Messiah. As the Messiah, that's right.

They have. So the 144 Jewish people during the Millennium Kingdom, they're not going to have glorified bodies like the Bride will. No, they're not. And they're going to marry and have children and that kind of thing, but we're not going to be doing any of that. And so will the Gentiles.

And the Gentiles, in order for them to become saints, are going to have to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that he died, because they're going to be born are we going to, what kind of relationship then will we have? We have glorified bodies, we have earthly bodies, what kind of relationship would we have between us or would we have any kind of relationship? I think we're going to have a relationship, I don't know exactly as a ruling and reigning member of the body of Christ what our activities are going to be, I'm not sure. Again, my personal opinion is this, that sin will be judged instantly You see that?

There won't be any, oh we're going to have a judgment day down. It's going to be right now. I think that's what we're involved in. The restoration ministry. Is that the time when the kings of the earth will go to Jerusalem? Yeah. And you know what else you're going to have? We're going to have glorified bodies. cruising down the street and a carload of those saintly Jews come by, you know what they're going to say?

Wow, there goes a member of the body of Christ right there. I can tell the glory of God's coming out of him. I can see him right there. There he is. What's your relationship going to be with Jesus Christ? They believe he's a Messiah. What kind of relationship will they have with him? Well, I think when they believe, then this law is written in their hearts.

Here's another thing. The earth has been released from its vanity at this time. So everything is just, it's paradise. It's like the Garden of Eden again. The difference between who we are and who the Jewish saints are is the difference between day and night. They're earthly people. Everything they do and everything about them will be on the earth. We're heavenly men. You'll have the capacity to do what Jesus did when he was resurrected. You don't need the door. You don't need to eat, but you can. We will serve him as his bride. I need to ask you something that I've been talking with Christian friends.

Some believe when we get to heaven, we're going to have no recollection of anything here. I disagree. I said, when I get to heaven, I want to be grateful that I'm there for the salvation. Do you think we'll remember? I know this is off the subject. That's alright. I'll answer it and then we'll pray and the rest of you can...

I think this, that the word says that when we see him we will be exactly like him. I think that he is so magnetic and so the center of our very existence that once you leave this planet You get to behold the Lord Jesus unobstructed face to face and he captures all of your attention, focus and meaning.

I don't think I'm ever going to remember my sins because it means I'm thinking about myself. And you might be sad because you did something terrible. I'm not going to be sad. Are we going to see the nails printed? Yes we are. So we have self-memory. picture I have is exactly that. We'll know why we're there.

I don't think that recollection of sin, all of the past, what we came to know... Now I don't know between if we die today and the wedding feast of the Lamb or the Bema Judgment, I don't know how that's going to go. I know that Christ is going to dominate our thought process.

Once the Bema Judgment is over, we will not ever remember sinning. Never. And neither will he. There will be no impediments between full-on occupation with Him and anything else. It's hard to imagine not being self-centered. But we won't be. We'll be Christ-centered. But at the moment of our salvation he no longer remembers our sin because it's no longer I but I in him. Except for the fact that he sees us in Christ and doesn't see us in Adam as a sinner, but he doesn't excuse our sin when we sin now. We lose fellowship and there's your dad's favorite verse. You confess your sins and God is faithful and just to forgive you and restore you to fellowship.

I hate to keep writing on this, but you know like the martyrs under the altar? They were going to say, how long before our deaths are avenged? They remembered. They had a memory of what had happened to them. I can't answer that because I've never studied that about the martyrs under the...

In Revelation. Okay. I'll have to ask Ron about that. He's the master in Revelation. Yeah, he really is. That's a good point. If you and I are martyred for Christ, it's a wonderful thing because we're gone. We're finally out of this cesspool. Let's close. Father, how we thank you for your grace and mercy towards us and the fact that as believers, you let us know what's coming so that we might continue to grow in the knowledge and grace of your dear Son, the Lord Jesus. We pray in his name. Amen.