.jpg)
The Rock Family Worship Center
Taking The Church Outside The Walls
The Rock Family Worship Center
It Is Finished
What if the declaration "It is finished" holds more layers than we've been taught? Explore the profound implications of Jesus's words on the cross as we confront traditional teachings and unravel the complex relationship between grace and judgment. We'll dig into John 17:4 and challenge the notion that the completion of Jesus's work was a singular event, inviting you to consider the multifaceted stages of fulfillment that extend beyond the crucifixion.
Join us on a historical journey as we examine Jesus's profound warnings in Matthew 23 and 24 about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Discover how his dialogue with the Pharisees and his predictions to his disciples hold relevance for us today, beyond the constraints of the "flyaway theory." We'll unravel the symbolism of the fig tree parable and the significance of the 40-year period from crucifixion to the temple's fall, seeking connections that resonate with contemporary faith.
Wrestle with theological concepts like atonement, sin, and forgiveness as we trace their roots back to the Old Testament and explore their transformation in the New Covenant. From the Day of Atonement in Leviticus to the profound shift marked by Jesus's death, resurrection, and ascension, we'll explore how His blood applied to the heavenly mercy seat signifies a new understanding of salvation. Engage with us in questioning traditional interpretations and fostering an open-minded community ready to explore new depths of faith together.
Here's the question this morning. Let's get started. Grace, grace people, how many of you consider yourself a grace person? All of us should raise our hand. Let me wake y'all up. Raise your hand. If you're a grace person Some of y'all are we're grace, we believe in grace. Okay, I hope you do. If you don't, get with somebody that does, and let them tell you about it, because it's an awesome, awesome thing. It didn't cost anything. We didn't have to give anything up for it. He gave it to us free of charge. He supplied us with it.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we're a grace people and because of that, we see the declaration of Jesus from the cross, what he declared on the cross. We sometimes see that as being complete because we, because we, listen to the words that he said and when he said it is finished, he gave up His Spirit and he left. So we look at that as a finished work and we talk about it being a finished work. I told you last Sunday I'm okay with admitting when I'm teaching something, that's not wrong, but it's not completely accurate, which means that I've learned something additional on it. I'm okay with telling you that I have taught the cross and what happened on the cross to this level, but now my studying and learning has moved it up to another level and I'm beginning to rethink some of the things that I used to teach about it, not saying anything. I taught on it was wrong, but it's just moved up to a different level now, and I hope you're going there too. That's what I'm trying to get you to do is see this differently than we've always seen it, because, as grace people, we see what, what he done on the cross, as being complete, while there's others out there who don't consider themselves grace people and and they see that there's still a wrath and a judgment ahead. I'm telling you there's a lot of people right here in this county, in this state, in this, in this, that are hung up on wrath, on judgment, on everything negative that's going to happen when we stand before God one day. That's what they believe in. Okay, so there's grace, and then there's wrath and all this kind of stuff, judgment. So I want to look at a few Scriptures this morning that show really two things that both sides, both of these type of people, are wrong and both of these type of people are right. Now you might say how can that happen? Because it can be wrong on some things and be right on some things and just can't seem to find that middle ground of what the context actually says. Okay, so I want to show you that with Scripture this morning.
Speaker 1:The solution is understanding the significance of the destruction of the temple. We've been talking about this destruction of the temple for a couple of weeks now. We're probably going to continue to talk about it because it's just resonated with me on how important this is in really building on where we're going to with this and our understanding of what we're really trying to say. It's very significant. It's significant also in how our salvation understanding that our salvation listen to that, that your salvation was not truly finished until the destruction of the temple. Now, I know that goes against everything we believe, because we believe when he died and he hung His head on that cross and he said it is finished, that boom, everything was done. I'm going to show you by Scripture this morning that that was not the case. It happened in three different steps. There's more than one. It is finished.
Speaker 1:When we hear those words, we automatically think about the cross, because that is the most important one that we always talk about Most of the time. The meaning of the phrase it is finished really creates more confusion to people than bringing revelation to them. It confuses people on what we really mean when we say it's a finished work. When they look at me and they say, well, what do you really believe? I said I believe in the finished work of Christ. A lot of people don't understand what you're truly saying when you say that. So we've got to get to a point, to where, when we say it's a finished work, I'm pretty much saying in a nutshell, what he done on the cross was sufficient for what he was doing on the cross, but it was not the end of the completion process, and I'll show you that in just a few minutes. So we've got to understand what this phrase means and to do that, I believe we have to ask ourselves a question it is finished when we refer to it.
Speaker 1:Where did we first hear about it? It wasn't the cross, it wasn't the first time. That's the most important one that we look at. But actually, if you look at john 17 and 4, I've got got quite a few verses. I'm going to say that again, but just write them down, jot them down and go back and look at them. But in John 17 and 4, he says I have glorified you. This is Jesus talking to the Father. He said I have glorified you on earth, I have finished the work which you have given Me to do. So he's pretty much saying God Father, you told me to do this, I have finished everything Right here. He has not went to the cross yet. Okay, this is before the cross. He said it is finished before the cross. Okay, jesus said it was finished. And then this was not a prophetic word right here. Think about this. What he's saying right here I have glorified you on earth, I have finished the work. This is not a revelatory word. That's saying he's giving us something to look forward to in the future. This is not revelation. This is past tense. He said I have finished it, it's done. What do you want me to do next, god daddy? Because this part is finished. So let me slow down me, because I want you to. I want you to see this.
Speaker 1:What it reveals to us is that jesus had different tasks, that he was, that was assigned to him. He come here. Nobody is doubting Nobody in this room, I hope, is doubting that Jesus Christ come to this earth for a purpose, for a reason. A lot of times we don't understand what that reason is and we don't really want to get in there and study it out. So we just narrow it down to one simple phrase he died for my sins. That's our get out of jail free card. When I don't understand it, I don't know it, I don't want to study it, I just say he died for my sins. That is correct. That is absolutely correct. But it's not the only thing that he died for. It's not the only thing that he died for, it's not the only reason that he come. That's just part of the reason that he was here. So we want to dig down a little bit deeper and say, yes, he died for my sin. Yes, I no longer have to live in a distorted place with a messed up mindset.
Speaker 1:But there's more to the story than just that and I want to know what's the rest of the story. I want to go into detail on it and really dig and figure it out. So this tells us that there was different tasks for him to finish at different stages until it was completely, completely done. And I say different stages because what happened before the cross and what happened on the cross and what happened after the cross is three different time periods. Okay, it's three different stages in the life of Christianity. You want to look at it like that.
Speaker 1:So no one in this room I don't think no one believes that it was all accomplished right here at this point in John 17. Even though he said, father, I've done everything that you've called me to do, nobody really thinks that everything was accomplished. If you do, if you believe, after reading John 17, that everything was accomplished, then what was the purpose of the cross? There was none. If it was completely done at that point, there was no purpose to the cross. So we have to really look at it and say there had to be stages that he walked through. So what's next? The cross he finished His work on the earth. And now the cross he said it is finished regarding His sacrifice.
Speaker 1:I've tried to break it down to where I can understand it because there was so much information and when I was reading, I was reading so many different articles and books and different things and trying to put this together and make it make sense to me so that I could try to teach it. And when I began to look at this, I said, okay, there's got to be. We've got to name this thing. So when he was over here in John and he says it is finished, what did he say was finished? He said my mission worked on the earth, my mission field work was finished. What does that represent? That represents me laying hands on people, praying for people, doing all these other things for people, raising them from the dead. That was my mission field work. And, father, it's finished. I've done everything on this mission field that You've told me to do. It's finished.
Speaker 1:So now he goes to the cross and you've got to look Mission finished. What's the next step? Sacrifice. Mission cross. And you got to look mission finished. What's the next step? Sacrifice, mission, sacrifice. So then he goes to the cross and he had to. You know the story he had to be beaten and he was beaten within to the point of he wasn't even recognized as a man. That's how bad he was beaten, all the things that happened prior to him getting on the cross. So so all of a sudden he goes through all that and then he said it is finished Again mission finished, sacrifice finished. He cried out it is finished. Regarding his sacrifice, the next stage that was the second stage in the process listen of your salvation, the second stage in the process of your salvation. Okay, that still isn't the last time that this was said.
Speaker 1:Now in Revelation 15 and 1, I want you to look at it. Now I put the New King James up here. It says a little bit different, but it's still. If you go back and look at it, if you look at the American Standard Version, it says finished. Here in New King James Version it says then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous seven angels having their seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. You know what complete means? It means finished. It means there ain't nothing else to do. It's complete. So now we're moving from the mission field the mission work was done, complete Moving to the sacrifice. It was done and complete. But now what we're waiting on is the wrath and the judgment of God. It's complete According to Jesus. It's complete. I'm Jesus. It's complete. I'm not just going to leave that right there. We're going to jump in that in a minute. But for in the wrath of God, for in them the wrath of God is complete. I don't know how to change. You can change that around and it still don't change the meaning of what's being said. We can't take a verse and try to make it fit what we want it to fit. We've got to take it and read it in context and say it means what it's supposed to mean. So, mission finished, sacrifice finished, wrath and judgment finished.
Speaker 1:We identify the book of Revelation as a future event. Anybody who reads Revelation will look at the book of Revelation as a futuristic event. Then, regarding the wrath of God, if you look at it like that and if you want to look at it like that, that's your choice. But listen to me right here If you look at the wrath of God as a future I mean revelation as a futuristic event then you are still waiting on the wrath of God. Why? Because what we just read right here has not occurred yet and it's going to happen somewhere in the future. I mean that's just common sense there. If I say this has already occurred, then it's in my past. But if I'm saying Revelation is one day we don't know when, but one day it's going to happen, then the wrath and the judgment of God is automatically looked at as a futuristic event and I would venture to say I hate to put a number on it, but I would say over 90% of the Christian church believes that that's what they stand on. It's one day this is going to happen.
Speaker 1:Okay, I mentioned last week that the end of the Mosaic Law, the Law of Moses, was still in process of ending when Paul was still here on earth. Paul talked about it, he was preaching about it, and it did not end until the temple was destroyed. Not just the temple, but the priesthood, the sacrificial system, the city of Jerusalem, everything there that was going on during that time period had to be done away with. Okay, and it was all destroyed by Rome. This is history too. This ain't just a bit Bible. Go back and read a history book and you'll see this stuff happened, okay.
Speaker 1:So Jesus described the end of the age in Matthew 23 and 24. These are two very, very important chapters Matthew chapter 23 and Matthew chapter 24. If you begin to read these verses, you will get so much understanding on what we're talking about. Now here's what I've done. I went and looked at a summary of Matthew chapter 23 and Matthew chapter 24. When I was putting this together, I didn't have time to sit there and read the whole chapters, so I stopped in and I said give me a summary of these verses.
Speaker 1:So, in Matthew 23, jesus is warning that the actions of this generation will bring about a significant judgment, most commonly understood as the destruction of the Jerusalem in AD 70. He was talking about the Pharisees and the religious leaders, and call them hypocrites and call them snakes and vipers and all these names he was giving to these people, and he was warning them about what they were doing and what was going to happen because of what they were doing. Go back and study it out for yourself, okay, but I do want you to look at verse 36 in Matthew 23. Look what it says. Assuredly, I say to you all these things will come upon this generation. Now we have to ask ourselves the question who was Jesus talking to? He was talking to the people of this generation that he was there, living in that place. You people that I'm talking to, the people of this generation, that it was they who were living in that place. You people that I'm talking to, this is who I'm referring to this generation, not a generation 2,000 years from now, in 2024. I'm talking to you in this generation. He says that all these things that I'm telling you will come upon this generation. Two more verses I want you to see right here in a minute Matthew 24, verse 3. Look what it says.
Speaker 1:Now, as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. This is His crew, this is the ones that was closest to Him. They come to Him privately. This is His crew, this is the ones that was closest to Him. They come to Him privately saying tell us, when will we see these things, when will they happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Now, most Christians read that verse right there and we think the end of the world. That's not what it's talking about. End of the age. It says the age, okay.
Speaker 1:But His disciples come to Him and said tell us, we heard what you told those folks. We heard about you talking about the destruction and how all this stuff was going to happen. Hey, we're in here with you, we're your guys. Can you tell us, give us a little inside information, when is this going to happen? I would have done the same thing if I would have been a disciple. I'd say hey, dude, you got to give me a little bit of insight here. And then, if you read Matthew 24, verse 32 through 34. Look what it says here.
Speaker 1:Now learn this. This is, on down, what he was still talking to his disciples here. I want you to see this little story. He says now learn this parable from the fig tree. So they ask him a question and he goes on and on and on and on, like Jesus done a lot of times. He didn't give you an answer. He gave you information so that you could figure out the answer. And he got all the way down here and he says let me tell you about a fig tree. He said learn this parable when its branches has already become tender and puts forth leaves. You know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near. It's at the door. He's telling them when it's going to happen. When you start seeing these things happen, the end of the age is knocking on the door. So they ask a question. He gave them an answer.
Speaker 1:From the crucifixion, which happened in AD 30, to the destruction of the temple in AD 70. 40 years. We talked about this last week, but I wanted to remind you of it. That was one generation. Okay, it was 40 years, just as in the Exodus journey. They were there for 40 years, one generation in the desert. Okay, they left and then it took them 40 years to get to the promised land. Therefore, it wasn't finished and complete. This is what I want you to see. Until 40 ad. Jesus died in 30, it was not finished. The whole plan, the whole purpose of what he come for, was not finished when he died in 30. There was 40 years, a generation, all these things that he was saying and telling them. This is going to happen and this is going to happen and this is going to happen. It took 40 years and you can trace that back with the bible and see it. It took 40 years for it all happened. A whole entire generation went by.
Speaker 1:So here's an important question why does the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD? Why does it really matter to a Christian in 2024? That's an important question, because if you go out and you start talking to some of your friends and family about this and I hope you will first of all they're going to do like a lot of y'all do, and then they're going to do like a lot of y'all do, and then they're going to say I'm saved, I'm going to heaven. What does that stuff really matter? That's going to be what they say, because that's what I would have said. I'm going to show you why it matters. I was thinking about this last night. I don't have this in my notes. I was thinking about this last night. I don't have this in my notes, but I was thinking about this, me and Ronnie was talking last night and I thought about this Even if you don't subscribe to what we're teaching, let's say you still subscribe to the flyaway theory.
Speaker 1:One day you're just going to float away into the sky and all this is going to happen. At the end. Let's just say that you agree with that. That's fine. But even then he said I'm coming back for a church without spot or blemish. So understanding what God's ultimate plan really was will get Him back sooner and help you fly away quicker. Think about that. If you believe in the rapture, then let's bring the rapture here quicker. I don't subscribe to that because the Bible don't say that and I'm okay Used to. I wouldn't stand up here and say that. But I'm okay with saying that now because the Bible nowhere describes that. But it is important to say why does this matter to me? Let's look.
Speaker 1:I want to go back to Matthew 24 just a minute and look at this, because this is one of the most important chapters in the Bible. Understanding this, let's look at what we do know about chapter 24. Matthew 24. Jesus was the one speaking. Open your Bible. You will see red. That means Jesus was talking. So we know who the person speaking was.
Speaker 1:Remember, we talked about the exegesis. Exegesis means looking at who was speaking, what was going on, who the person speaking was. Remember we talked about the exegesis. Exegesis means looking at who was speaking, what was going on, who was he speaking to? Context? So, to understand chapter 24, you really got to say who was speaking.
Speaker 1:Jesus, no question about it. Okay, who's he talking to? He's talking to his disciples. If you read any of it, you can see he's talking to the disciples. Jesus speaking he talking to. He's talking to his disciples. If you read any of it, you can see he's talking to the disciples. Jesus speaking, talking to disciples. We know where it happened because the very first paragraph in there talks about him predicting the destruction of the temple. So we know we was in Jerusalem, we was talking about Jerusalem. So we know who was speaking, who he was speaking to and what he was speaking about. That's context.
Speaker 1:Okay, those first few verses in Matthew 24. Can be taken, and have been Taken so far, out of context Because we're looking at them somewhere down the road. That's not context. The context is clear. I'm not making that up. You can go back and read it and ask yourself those questions and you will see in there the context of it. Would everybody agree with that? That? Anything written in red is Jesus, and if he's looking and he's saying, hey, disciples, let me tell you something that he's probably talking to the disciples, pretty clear, pretty clear in there. And he says let me tell you about the destruction of the temple. The temple was in Jerusalem, so we know location. All that's pretty clear. So what I've done is I typed, went in Google and I typed give me a summary of Matthew 24. That's all I put. You can do that too. This is what it said. Listen to this. It said it's about Jesus' teaching on the end of the world and how to prepare for it.
Speaker 1:In this chapter, jesus describes the time of persecution, foretells the appearance of false messiahs, mentions natural disasters, talks about a great tribulation and describes the coming of the Son of God. Now, according to Christians, everything I just said right there has been taught that it's going to happen one day. Would we agree on that? That's a future event, that's going to happen one day. So we basically have two options here. We can see this as a past event, which means it's already happened, or we can see it as a future event, which means it's still to come one day. So let's just look at a couple of verses here that I believe is going to make it very, very clear on how you should look at this Matthew 24 and 21. Got two verses here 21 and 34. Matthew 24 and 21.
Speaker 1:For then look at that talking about the tribulation. All of a sudden, then there will be a great tribulation such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time. There's never been a time like this. There's never been a tribulation until 2,000 years from now. No, until right now. Until 2,000 years from now, no until right now. Nor most important verses right here nor will there ever be again. Nor will there ever be again.
Speaker 1:Why am I pulling this out? Because some people say and I've seen this taught so many times okay, I can grab on to the point of your making that Jesus said this and Jesus said this. So let's say it happened then. It's past, but I still believe there's going to be a future fulfillment. It happened then, but I think it's going to happen again. Jesus said it's never going to happen again. He said it will not. What's happening now will never happen again, it will never be. So there can't be.
Speaker 1:We debunk that theory because there can't be one now. One fulfillment, and I'm talking about everything coming into place the way he said. It was fulfilled here and then it's going to be fulfilled sometime in the future. It can't happen. Why? Because Jesus said it can't. That's His Word. He said it will never happen again. So if we believe it happened in the past, sorry to tell you it ain't happening again. According to Jesus. That's His Word. Matthew 24, 34.
Speaker 1:Assuredly, I love when he says. Assuredly, I say to you this people he's talking to, he's standing out in an open field somewhere talking to them. You, this generation, will by no means pass away until all these things take place. He was talking to the people that were living back then in the first century. He said you will not be gone before you see this. That's just two verses I pulled out of chapter 24.
Speaker 1:So, even after reading these verses, some people still think that it's referring to the future. Again, that ain't what Jesus said. And I'm just showing you these two because this is Jesus talking right here. He's speaking to the disciples. This is His Word. If you were one of the disciples back in the day and you approached Him and you asked Him hey, you said the temple is going to be destroyed and not one stone is going to be left on top of another stone. You said this. We heard you teaching this. Can you tell us when this is going to happen Again? We talked about it a while ago, because that's exactly what the disciples done. When you read through this chapter 24, you'll see that that's exactly what they done. And he started saying this generation this is his answer again this generation will not pass away until all these things that I'm describing take place.
Speaker 1:If that's the case and we believe what Jesus said right there, then there's not much wiggle room to make it say anything other than what it said. I mean, there's just not. We can lie about it and make something up, but if we want to be within context, there's not a whole lot of places we can go with this. So we'll get into this a little more next week because I really want to talk more about this. But let's get back to it is finished. I want to stay on track with this. When was it finished in Leviticus? Let's go all the way back to Old Testament, leviticus.
Speaker 1:How many have heard of the Day of Atonement? You may not know what it is or whatever, but you've probably heard the Day of Atonement, when the sins were taken care of. I was washed clean. I'm no longer that old, dirty person that I was. The atonement happened.
Speaker 1:According to tradition, it was the 40 days that represented when Moses ascended and stayed on the mountain. Some of y'all this is just biblical history. He ascended the mountain, he stayed on the mountain. Some of y'all this is just biblical history. He ascended the mountain, he stayed on the mountain and before His return from receiving the law later, this became a time that Israel would seek God in repentance to confirm their names Listen to this To confirm their names in the book of life, that book that we want to make sure our name's in this is where it comes from.
Speaker 1:It was also believed that if they did not return to the Lord under the old covenant during this time. Listen to this. Their names will be blotted out of the book of life. This is Old Testament. This is the Old Testament. This is back in the day. We start to see where some of this stuff that we say comes from. What does that really mean? Their names be blotted out of the book of life? It means that there was no atonement for them that year, that their sins for that year because they didn't come in the right time their names were blotted out. They were not given atonement for that year. Their sins weren't forgiven. Pretty much what it said. So this blotting out idea is distinctly Jewish, old Covenant concept. And I don't want to mess up because I want to make sure my name is written down in the Lamb's Book of Life and I don't want to be blotted out.
Speaker 1:That's old covenant. It comes from old covenant Jewish tradition. God didn't say it, the Jews. That was their tradition during that time and it was a language and a concept. This is where you can roll your eyes if you want to. And it was a language and a concept. This is where you can roll your eyes if you want to. There was a language and a concept that was never intended to apply to us today. It was not intended to apply to new covenant people. That was old covenant. If it's passed away, we can't bring it over and you can't put it in your backpack and bring it to the new covenant. It don't work anymore. He done away with it. Step into new covenant. Everything old has got to go. It passed away. But think about how many traditions that we want to lug over to the new covenant with us and we want to lug over to the New Covenant with us and we want to stand on them. We want to say but he said this yeah, way back then in the first century to a group of people that does not have anything to do with us today. We've got to understand the context.
Speaker 1:A couple more verses here. I want you to see these. Listen to what David said in Psalm 69 and 28. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living and not be written with the righteous Again. I'm just showing you these because these were talked about in Old Covenant, old Testament time, philippians 4 and 3. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. One more right here Revelation 3 and 5. These are all talking about the book of life. One more right here Revelation 3 and 5. He's all talking about the book of life and being blotted out and all that kind of stuff. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. See, some of these future things we're waiting on. That was talked about back here. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. Just showing you, just trying to get you to see some of these verses and maybe something to spark, and you'll say I want to read that, I want to, I want to go study that more.
Speaker 1:So what's being talked about here in these three verses is the 40-day period of Moses ascending the mountain with God and then coming back down. He went up, he had a visitation with God and then he'd come back down. This is what this is talking about. Then he found them worshiping. When he come back down, this is what this is talking about Then he found them worshiping. When he'd come back down, he found his people worshiping golden calves. Okay, and then think about it. If you know the story, follow along with me. You know what he'd done after that. He smashed the Ten Commandments which he had written while he was up there. He'd come back down and he smashed the Ten Commandments as a sign that they had already broken the covenant. Before he even got back down the mountain, they had already broke the covenant. He then dealt with them by separating. He dealt with them like this he walked in and he says I'm going to separate y'all, those who worship Baal and those who worship God. You get over here. You get over here. He separated them.
Speaker 1:If you study this out, this was a type of Jesus ascending to the Father on the mountain in the new covenant and subsequently coming back down on the clouds with judgment at the end of the 40-year transition period. Because there's so many verses, I'm not even going to go into those verses, but you can look at Matthew 16. It talks about Him coming back on a cloud. It's not talking about coming back on a cloud one day in 2000 years. It's talking about this right here, when he ascended to the Father after the death on the cross. He ascended to the Father and then 40 years, during that 40 year transition of everything happening, he comes back. We agree that he comes back and it says that He'll come back when sin is no longer. When he comes back, was sin still present? No, he just died for it. So he comes back and appears and I'm not going to get into that right now. Me and Ronnie talked about it last night. I said I can't get into that because that will stir people up, because a lot of things that we're expecting, a lot of things we're waiting on, he come back exactly like he said he would, and sin was not an issue at that point. I'll get into that later on. But this was a lot of this stuff you got to look at and this was jesus talking about things in the old testament and showing it. It was as examples of what happened when he went to the father.
Speaker 1:The jewish generation and I want you to see this the jewish generation was supposed to trust jesus christ, that his word. They were supposed to trust in His Word by fleeing to the mountain when they saw the Roman armies approaching. Go back and read the story of when they started to destroy the temple and what he told them to do. He advised the people what to do. He says you are to run to the mountain when they saw the Roman armies coming. Or, by not trusting Him in the new covenant, the Jews that remained in the city would be destroyed by the Romans. I'm telling you, go to the mountain, get away when you see the armies surrounding the city, or either you're going to be killed. So the ones that left lived. The ones that stayed were killed. The Jews that remained in the city would be destroyed by Rome. Those who did not believe, despite Jesus' extraordinary efforts in trying to convince them, those who did not leave, were blotted out. They were blotted out. You want to make that more clear? The Romans killed them.
Speaker 1:Or, to use Jesus' own words, he separated the wheat from the tares. That story actually does have a meaning. He separated the wheat from the tares. But when? We've got to finish this question here, when was the wrath of God finished? Because there's a lot of church people still waiting on it. We're still expecting God to come down with this lightning and thunderbolt and he's going to whip our tails for everything that we've ever done, every mistake we've ever made, and we're going to stand before Him and he's just going to bring up all this stuff on Judgment Day. That's the concept. That's why we see the Father as an angry, vengeful Father, because we think one day he's going to whip us, because everybody in this room has made a mistake, everybody in this room has messed up, and we're going to go to a father that is just waiting with a belt to get us.
Speaker 1:Let me do these. These are short verses. I promise Romans 4, 15. You've got to see this, because the law brings wrath. The law brings wrath, for where there is no law, there is no transgression. Some of them say there's no wrath. Guess what If he did everything that he was supposed to do on the cross? There's no wrath. Guess what If he did everything that he was supposed to do on the cross? There is no law, not just the cross, but the 40 years after the destruction of the temple fell. Why is it important? Because if I truly believe the destruction of the temple done away with the law and we step into a new covenant, then this verse now makes more sense to me. Because where away with the law and we stepped into a new covenant, then this verse now makes more sense to me. Because where there is no law, there is no wrath. The wrath is finished. When did it finish? When the temple fell.
Speaker 1:That's Scripture. There's no way to get away from what Scripture is actually saying right here Luke 21, verse 19 through 23, just to kind of say "by your patience, possess your souls". But when you see Jerusalem remember I was talking about the armies a while ago that he told them. He said when you see the armies coming, run. See. Some of you probably thought I was making that up, but when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you know that its desolation is near.
Speaker 1:Remember, he told His disciples. When you see these things, the end is near. Remember, he told His disciples. When you see these things, the end is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart and let those who are in the country enter her, not those who are in the country enter her, not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days, these, right now.
Speaker 1:I'm talking to the first century church. I'm talking to you, disciples, I'm talking to you people Right now. Today is the days of vengeance. He was talking to them 2,000 years ago. These are the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled, but woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days, for there will be a great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. What people? Those people, not us people, those people. He was talking to them, he was not talking to us.
Speaker 1:So why does it matter? Because it changes your whole viewpoint. Wow, you mean God really ain't going to whip me. You mean he's not angry with me. You mean he's not looking at me in a condemning way. Exactly, exactly Everything I read from now on with that viewpoint. It changes the way I read Scripture. It changes the relationship that I have with a father. I don't have the same relationship with an angry father who wants to whip me that I have with a loving father. Two different relationships there. Listen, if I think you're angry with me and you want to tear me up, I don't want nothing to do with you. But if I know you love me despite myself, I love you too. You really care about me, even though I've done everything. Wow, it changes my whole perspective on relationship.
Speaker 1:Go back to verse 22, just a minute. I skipped. Well, these are the days of vengeance. I didn't skip it, but I want you to hear it again. These are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written, which were written when was that Back in the Old Testament stuff? That was all the revelation. So that's what I'm saying. He didn't come to do away with the Old Testament stuff. That was all the revelation. So that's what I'm saying. He didn't come to do away with the Old Testament and just say, hey, you don't even exist anymore. No, he come to fulfill everything that was written, then Fulfill it, complete it, make it finished. And he did that. I just want to show you these couple of things. It's finished right here. That was when the law was finished, the wrath was finished.
Speaker 1:When was the day of atonement finished? When did your sins really get done away with? Oh, when I was at the altar back in 1988 and this pastor asked me to repeat after him and I repeated it. I didn't really know what I was saying, but I repeated it and I'm telling you. I got up and all my sins were forgiven. No, that's when you come into agreement with it, but that's not when it actually happened.
Speaker 1:Jesus fulfilled the Passover at His death, then fulfilled Pentecost, 50 days later with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. You can go study all that. I don't have time to get into it, but when was the Day of Atonement? It was fulfilled in the earth, just like all the others. It is finished. We can't overlook this. This is a question that needs to be answered in the earth, just like all the others. It is finished. Okay, we can't overlook this. This is a question that needs to be answered.
Speaker 1:When was I forgiven the image of the priest and I want you to see this right here the image of the priest going into the tabernacle or going into the temple was that the priest would enter into the Holy of Holies. Picture this in your mind this dude, all dressed up in his pretty little robes, would go up into the temple, he would enter into the Holy of Holies and he placed the blood on the mercy seat. It wasn't until the priest come back out study this out not when he was in there and placed the blood on the mercy seat. It wasn't complete. He had to come back out, literally come back out and pronounce the blessing that the process of atonement was finished. Because what if he didn't make it back out and you go and read that, and there were things that they put in place If people didn't make it back out, they'd drag them back out.
Speaker 1:So so far, jesus said it was finished regarding his earthly apostolic sent mission, finished over here. He said to John. Then he cried out on the cross and he said it is finished. He was talking about and referring to something totally different. He was referring to the sacrifice that he was making. It's finished, yet it still wasn't finished because he had not yet applied listen to this he had not yet applied the blood to the mercy seat of heaven and he had not come back out of heaven separated from that sin. Yet.
Speaker 1:Just when you read the story of the priest going in, it is exactly it is an example of what Jesus is telling the story about himself that I have to go to the cross, I have to finish the work here. Then I've got to go to the cross and even though I said it's finished, the sacrifice was done. But just like the priest, I have to go, ascend to heaven, apply the blood to the mercy seat, apply the blood to the mercy seat and then I have to return and confess it is finished. That's when it's complete. That's when atonement really occurs. And what did he do? He left.
Speaker 1:Forty years went by, the destruction of the temple happens and then this announcement is made that we are entering into a new covenant. It is important to understand this history and some of it is history. We have to understand it. Last thing his mission was finished before the cross. We have to understand it. Last thing His mission was finished before the cross. His sacrifice was finished at the cross. His blood, applied on the mercy seat, was finished at His ascension. By 70 AD, all the Jewish remnant who would be saved out of the great tribulation would secure their names in the book of life. The wrath of God was finished at the destruction of the temple.
Speaker 1:Jesus came forth out of heaven removing the old covenant system and fulfilling the day of atonement. That process was fulfilled by deciding, by declaring the blessing of the new covenant. So reading the story again, I want people to understand that we're not saying Old Testament is done away with. You won't truly understand the process of atonement of Jesus unless you understand the process that the priest had to go through. So going back, reading that Old Covenant process of atonement gives us the picture of what Jesus is talking about why? Because that was the temple and he's the temple and we're the temple because he's living in us now. So it's the same thing. Old covenant spoke of what's going to happen. It was prophesied how it was going to happen and what happened to Jesus. He come and he fulfilled it. He said whatever was spoken, whatever was written, I will fulfill. And I'm not going to fulfill it in 2,000 years, I'm going to fulfill it in this generation, before any of you disciples pass away, before anything. I'm going to finish it in this generation. 40 years of generation, temple fell. We moved from old to new.
Speaker 1:I hope you have questions, I hope something in you is stirring and you say that don't make sense to me, but I want to understand more about it, because if the question comes up from somebody that says why does this really matter? Now, I hope you can tell them why it really matters, because it brings everything else into context and it puts us on a path of saying I don't have to keep waiting, because everything I'm waiting for Jesus already completed. And I'll be honest with you that won't make a lot of sense to some people, because if you're looking at it as one day, you're still waiting on Jesus to do something that he's already done. That's frustrating. So now, after the mission, after the sacrifice and after the atonement, now we can say it is finished, now we can really say it, now we can understand when we say it. What does it really mean? It makes a difference.
Speaker 1:I said a lot of stuff in here today that I wanted to jump off on and start chasing rabbits on, because there's so much in here and I'm going to get into some of it next week Again. We won't be meeting Wednesday night, but I want to get into some of it next week because there's so much that you can just break down and that's what I've. When I was talking to Ronnie last night, I said sometimes I just want to take a piece of paper and I want to write in the center of the piece of paper sin, write the definition under it True, contextual definition and then just sit there and think about sin and then say condemnation, guilt. And then just sit there and think about sin and then say condemnation, guilt, forgiven, done away with dead. To All these things that the Bible tells us and really look at some of these things in context, it will change. We're not taking nothing away from anybody, nothing, nothing.
Speaker 1:Some people say, well, I want my rapture and sometimes I want to say you already got it. God bless you. You already got what you want. But they don't see it like that, because they're waiting on a day that they're going to appear, just float off into the sky. I forget this thing on video sometimes and I know, believe it or not, some people do listen, other than y'all. You get in trouble quick, not in trouble, but people stop listening real quick, believe it or not. Some people do listen, other than y'all. You get in trouble quick, not in trouble, but people will stop listening real quick if you offend their theology.
Speaker 1:I want us to be a people that's okay to be challenged Again, you don't have to agree, but just listen and at least say I'm going to study this out, I'm willing to hear something different. I'm willing to hear something different. I'm willing to hear something that challenges my thinking. And if I don't agree, okay, I don't agree, but if I got questions I'll ask. That's what I want. I want people to ask questions. I may not have the answer, because I'm learning this stuff right along with you. I'm getting new stuff every day and every time I read something, I'm like man that makes sense, that connects with this and that and it just, it's like all the little puzzle pieces start coming together, and that's what I want for everybody in here, because it will begin to make sense.