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April 17, 1995 - Bill Cooper
57:09
Bible Says - Preacher Says
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Time Text
Look out of the sky.
Let him answer the truth, you will be with your own state.
Let him answer the truth, you will be you will be with your own state.
Let him answer the truth, you will be with your own state.
I'm William Cooper.
We're gonna go right away to Phoenix for a metal report with Gene Miller.
Good evening, Gene.
Good evening, Bill.
How are you today?
Fine.
Long time no hear.
It's been a while.
Well, we had a pretty active day in the markets today.
Gold had a high of $394.70, a low of $391.80, to close at $393.80, up $4.10.
Silver had a high of $5.76, a low of $5.56, to close at $5.72, up $0.34, which is a pretty good size jump in silver.
Gold had a high of $394.70, a low of $391.80 to close at $393.80, up $4.10.
Silver had a high of $576, a low of $5.56 to close at $572, up $0.34, which is a pretty good size jump in silver.
Platinum had a high of $458.40.
a low of $4.53 to close at $4.5650, up $6.20.
And the Dow had a high of $4237.2 and a low of $4189.5 to close at $4195.3, down 12.8 points.
One of the questions that is commonly being asked by people that are calling in, and I do encourage you to call in and talk to the brokers and kind of get a handle of what's going on with this economy, is no doubt you've been hearing about the dollar and the yen and the dollar and the Deutsche is no doubt you've been hearing about the dollar and the yen and the dollar and the Deutsche Mark and how consistently the dollar
In fact, it's been almost a daily occurrence, certainly a weekly occurrence.
I've made several attempts periodically to try and prop it up, but then some people say, well, so what?
I don't live in Japan, or so what?
I don't live in Germany.
Well, let me tell you how it's going to affect you.
Particularly in Japan, most of you listening tonight are listening on some sort of shortwave radio, some of you on your satellites.
Your house is full of Japanese equipment.
That's just a fact of life.
We buy Japanese equipment.
We buy Japanese TVs.
We buy Japanese telephones.
We buy Japanese VCRs and so on and so forth.
Because they create a lot of various equipment.
Many of you probably drive Japanese cars.
And with the dollar falling against Japanese currency, it makes their products more expensive to buy here in the United States.
And so what it means right now, just this year alone, 20%.
Uh, everything that comes out of Japan into the United States will cost 20% higher.
Now that's inflation, folks.
And the sad thing is, uh, let's say a Toyota now costs, uh, 20% higher.
Well, guess what?
We think, well, the Ford's going to be that much cheaper.
Ford will be more competitive.
They'll raise their prices right along with it.
And so you're going to, you can expect higher inflation to be hitting this, uh, nation because of the weak dollar.
And it's amazing to me, they've made several attempts, even the Japanese have tried to step in because this is going to hurt them just as bad because of the higher prices of their goods in our country.
And yet to no avail, the dollar keeps falling.
And it's basically due to the fact that we are so massively steeped in debt in our country, there's no humanly way possible.
The foreign investors, central banks, the currency lenders and exchangers have Looked at us, and they see that we have made no attempt.
They put legislation before Congress and Senate to balance the budget, to get it under control, and yet they never do, and I don't think they ever will.
They're going to let this thing continue to fall, and so they are no longer wanting to or willing to finance our debt.
So they're slowly but surely bailing out of it, and you can expect the dollar to continue to fall.
You know, eventually you're going to see him bailing out of it like rafts to a sinking ship.
And so, what do we do?
Well, you better be protecting yourself one way or another because you're holding on to a currency that, like, you're seeing happening.
And, you know, what's amazing is, well, our currency's doing real good against Mexico and doing real good against Canada.
Well, I'm real proud to be compared to third world countries now.
But that's what it's come down to.
Well, when we were, at one point in our nation, The strongest currency in the world.
That's no longer the fact.
And in June, the G7 is going to be meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
And according to the Journal of Commerce, they're meeting to create a new world monetary system, and the dollar will no longer be the central figure of that currency that they will be coming up with.
So, I guess the choice is ours.
You can hang on to a currency that's falling apart, or you can put it into something that's real.
Call us here at Swiss America, 1-800-289-2646, 1-800-BUY-COIN.
Get the up-to-date, latest information, up-to-date, latest newsletter.
Find out what's going on with the currency, find out the details, and find out what you can do to protect yourself, protect your family, because no one's going to do it for you.
It's a choice that you've got to make, and it's becoming very, very obvious that this system is in trouble.
We've had a tremendous amount of volume of people buying.
And so those of you that have bought, you can expect your products that you have gotten to go up.
Expect gold prices to continue to go up.
Expect silver prices to go up.
Expect $20 gold pieces to go up, and they are.
And so don't put it off.
Don't be a procrastinator.
Get your head out of the sand and start taking charge of your finances because it's a matter of necessity for you and your family.
Give us a call.
Again, 1-800-289-2646.
Thank you, Gene.
Thanks, Bill.
And we'll see you next Monday.
All right, buddy.
Now, if you're not here, all the listeners get to show up in Phoenix on the 4th of July and shoot arrows at an apple in your head.
Okay.
Okay.
All right.
See you Monday.
Bye.
Good night.
Thank you.
Is there any chance that these people could have also been the ones that Christ was talking about in Matthew 24, when he said that there should be no flesh be saved, but for the elect's sake those days should be shortened?
How was it that Paul was so convinced of their election that he knew it?
He knew it!
Paul had read Matthew 24 when Christ said, Behold, I have told you before.
Now there's no doubt in my mind that the elect of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 4 and the elect of Matthew chapter 24 verse 22 are one and the same.
Check 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 9 and 10.
For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering we had unto you And how he turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.
Verse 10, And to wait for his Son from heaven, who he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Now was Paul giving them a lie?
Was he deceiving them?
Was he misguiding them in their hope for the future?
As Christ supposedly misled his disciples in Matthew 24 as we discussed on Friday night.
I don't understand how we can even begin to believe anything other than what is so plainly stated in the Bible.
Now, for those of you who may just be turning in, or tuning in, I've been saying turning in a lot late, haven't I?
Maybe it's because I need to be turning in a little bit earlier.
For those of you who may just be tuning in, on Friday night we begin a discussion about how we are being deceived by our leaders, by our ministers, by our pastors, By our churches, by many people, many organizations, many groups, some intentional, some not so intentional, but all leading us in one direction.
And that is to expect a new heaven and a new earth in the very near future.
The new earth to be ruled by Jesus Christ himself.
A one world government, in fact.
You know, if you consider yourself to be one of the elect, you better listen to me.
And I'm not trying to shove my religion down your throat.
I have questions about these things myself.
The purpose of this is try to reach some feeling of what the truth might be.
I'm looking for the truth and I hope you are too.
I'm not trying to insult anyone or Hurt anyone or tell you that your religion is wrong or that your beliefs are wrong.
Not at all.
And whether you're a Christian, an atheist, a Buddhist, a Jew, doesn't matter who you are, you should pay attention to this tonight, because I think we can all learn something from it.
If not, bring those of us who are Christians a little closer to Christ, Give those who are not Christians a better understanding of what real Christianity really is.
Because I can assure you, ladies and gentlemen, it is not being taught in your churches.
So, give this a hearing.
Don't turn off your radio and don't turn off your ears.
Hear it out.
Think about it.
Look up the verses that we discussed.
And see if there are not some points being made here.
Because if there are, Then there's a lot of people on the wrong track.
And it could affect you for all eternity if you believe that.
Let's look at verses 13 through 20 of chapter 2.
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because when ye received the word of God, which ye have heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, But as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually worketh in you that believe.
Verse 14, For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus.
For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews.
Verse 15, These past few verses, ladies and gentlemen, have to be reckoned with.
prophets and have persecuted us, and they please not God and are contrary to all men.
Verse 16, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might fill up their sins all way, for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
These past few verses, ladies and gentlemen, have to be reckoned with.
Paul has told the Thessalonians that he knows about their persecutions.
He knows about all of the tribulations that they are being put through.
And He says about the ones who have done the persecuting, the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
Can you get any more wrath than the uttermost?
Is not this almost word for word what Christ talked about in Matthew 24?
The wrath is come.
That is present tense.
He said, the wrath is come.
Present tense.
He told them that the wrath is come, and that was 2,000 years ago.
In verse 17, But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored the more abundantly to see your face with great desire.
In verse 18, Wherefore, we would have come unto you, even I, Paul, once and again, But Satan hindered us.
And verse 19, For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?
Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
What?
Paul told them that they would be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
Do you understand what you just heard?
Paul was telling them that their persecutions would end at the coming of Christ.
And this was the hope that the Thessalonian church was looking for.
This was what sustained their faith throughout all of the terrible persecutions that they were going through at that time.
You see, Paul told them that they would be in Christ's presence at His coming.
Now, was this just another in a long line of misrepresentations?
How many did we cover Friday night?
Reading verbatim from the Bible.
Is all of what we've been taught about the New Testament based on lies and misrepresentations?
If the Thessalonians did not go through all that was promised to them, was that not an unbelievably cruel thing for Paul to do to a group of sincere, Christ-loving, God-serving, persecuted people?
People who might be dead the next hour or the next day.
In verse 2, Paul tells them that he sent Timotheus to establish them and to comfort them concerning their faith.
In verse 3, that no man should be moved by these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
Paul said that they knew that that is what they were supposed to go through.
Christ told them in Matthew 24 that they would be delivered up to be afflicted and to be persecuted.
And the words are almost identical to those found in Matthew 24.
In verse 4 he tells them, For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation even as it came to pass, and ye know.
Now it has to be noted that 1 Thessalonians was written during the same generation in which Christ spoke of in Matthew 24 when He said, in verse 34, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.
He was talking to His disciples and He said, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.
Matthew 24 spoke of, and I quote, the end of the world, end quote.
And we discussed the true meaning of that word on Friday night in the original Greek translation.
He also talked about the destruction of the temple and the coming of Christ.
And to this point we have seen the persecutions, afflictions, tribulations, hope of the coming Christ, and the evidence that all of these things happened during the lives of the Thessalonian Christians.
During their lives, in their generation.
So let's continue with chapter 3 to see if there are any more points of special interest related to this subject.
We can see in verse 7 that Paul was happy to note that these Christians were, quote, keeping their faith unto the end, end quote.
They were enduring unto the end.
Now if you'll just look at verses 11 through 13, Now God Himself and our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way onto you.
In verse 12, And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another and toward all men, even as we do toward you.
And verse 13, To the end He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
Do you understand what he's saying?
In verse 13 he says, "...to the end He may establish your hearts, unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." And in chapter 4, "...furthermore, then, we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us How ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
And in verse 13, But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe, "...that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Now how can your ministers be teaching you the truth when those people who lived in that time and wrote these words said this?
Then we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Is this another cruel misrepresentation?
Paul told them that they would witness and be part of this blessed event.
Paul told them that many of them would be alive and remaining and be caught up together with them in clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
Did God keep his word to those Thessalonian Christians 2,000 years ago?
Or was it all a hoax to keep them from falling away under the tremendous persecution that they were under?
You know, a lion can instill dreadful fear.
Why is it so difficult to believe God's word for exactly what it says?
Paul very plainly says that he's doing the talking and they are the ones receiving the letter.
How can we say that those words were really meant for a future generation?
Well, if you can trust Scofield with your eternal soul, then I guess you can believe whatever you want in that the entire scope of what we have read and studied in Matthew 24 and in the book of 1 Thessalonians, Friday night and tonight, was a misguided riddle that was probably designed to keep those early Christians buoyed up above fear and anxiety Giving them a false hope in order to make our generation feel that somehow all of these verses are for us.
To help us through the tremendous sufferings and persecutions that we are going through.
In other words, Paul lied to them, if you believe Schofield.
But you see, if you really believe that the Bible is truth, then Paul could not have lied.
So you're faced with a dilemma.
As we gorge ourselves around the table at dinner time and drive our $20,000 cars and $10,000 cars and $2,000 cars and live in our fancy homes and our church buildings such as the Crystal Cathedral and the
The Mormon Temple are multi-million dollar superstructures with padded pews, air conditioning, heating, and fleets of Greyhound buses to carry us on our tours.
And if I mention your church, folks, I'm not trying to insult you.
I'm trying to bring home a point.
We have state-of-the-art gymnasiums and athletic facilities that rival anything, anywhere.
We're filthy rich.
And yet the teachings of the New Testament regarding persecution and the deliverance received from the second coming of Christ refers to us?
How could we be so deceived?
It couldn't possibly be referring to us.
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
And in verse 2, For yourselves, and this is chapter 5 by the way, verse 2, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Now why did Paul tell them that he really didn't even need to talk to them about the time and the seasons?
And that they knew perfectly well about the day of the Lord?
Paul didn't need to talk about it because Jesus Christ himself gave clear and concise lessons on the subject in Matthew 24.
He said this, Jesus said, When ye, therefore... Now listen to what I'm saying.
When ye, therefore, shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
And in verse 3, For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.
And in verse 4, But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, That that day should overtake you as a thief.
He's talking to the people directly in front of him.
Not to some future generation.
They were not in darkness because they knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they were the fulfillment of Christ's words in Matthew 24.
You see, when those people received the Scriptures, they believed it.
They didn't have the opportunity to listen to religious professionals explain away and tell them that what they were reading or listening to actually applied to some future generation some 2,000 years down the road.
They believed that when Christ spoke to them and said, ye, He was talking about them.
Because they were the ye that He was talking to.
They knew that what they were going through was the fulfilling of Christ's Matthew 24 prophecy.
And these things were not surprises to them.
Because of Christ's own words.
Listen carefully.
Quote.
Behold, I have told you before.
End quote.
And look at verse 9.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul again tries to console these suffering saints.
That they were going to be spared the awful things that were still yet coming.
And in verse 23.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly.
And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, if these people did not see the coming of their Lord Jesus Christ, then truly, ladies and gentlemen, they were the victims of one of the cruelest jokes ever perpetrated on mankind.
A hoax.
A lie.
Wouldn't it just be so much easier to believe that God's Word is true, if you believe it's God's Word?
You see, I don't believe that these churches that call themselves Christian churches are preaching God's Word, or even telling you the truth.
And in fact, because of a lot of these things and many more, I don't even believe that they're Christian churches.
But that's my belief, and you don't have to believe what I believe.
You see, I believe that if the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then the Bible cannot lie.
And if the Bible cannot lie, then what it is telling us is the truth.
And what it is telling us is 180 degrees away from what our preachers and ministers and churches are telling us.
So who is telling the truth?
If the Bible is not telling the truth, then you can throw it all out.
But if the preachers and ministers and churches are not telling the truth, then there's still a chance for salvation, isn't there?
Wouldn't it just be so much easier to believe what you're reading is true?
or Regardless, Of the level of our understanding that Jesus has wonderfully fulfilled all of his promises to that generation?
See, I'd much rather believe that Christ and Paul kept their word to those people and that they were not misled or lived and served Christ their Lord under some false or misguided pretenses, because if that's true, then I can no longer follow Christ.
Nor believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God.
And I don't see how you could either, but that's your decision.
to do that whatever your decision is in this country you have a right to worship and believe at whatever altar and whatever theology you wish to worship at and believe in and I will certainly fight for your right to do that whether I believe it or not.
So let's take a pause here for a short break and come back and continue with this because I think I think that this is extremely important.
Thank you.
in the beginning of Friday's broadcast where I told you that I I'm going to show you where the Old Testament prophecies say that there will be an end of the Jewish age, and that the disciples knew it, based upon the Old Testament prophecy in Malachi.
In the first chapter of Malachi, and in the first verse, we find out who the book is written to.
Remember, not one word was written to us, but every word was written for us.
Every word in God's book can be used, but we must never forget our responsibility to rightly divide the Word of Truth.
Not just accept, but read and study and use our common sense and our brain to determine what this book is trying to tell us.
It is easily seen that when the verse says, quote, "...the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi." End quote.
It is then our responsibility to believe that it was in fact spoken by God to Malachi to Israel hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
You see, it was written to a specific people at a specific time.
And since there are prophetic words in the book, We have to ascertain as to whether or not the New Testament gives us conclusive evidence to its fulfillment, or whether there remains unfulfilled prophecies.
The book of Malachi begins with Israel questioning God's love and devotion for them through the years.
And in verse 2, they begin questioning God because of His choosing Jacob over Esau.
In verse 6, God begins somewhat of a dissertation against Israel, saying that honor and fear that should be due him from Israel is actually polluted and contemptible.
He has lost all pleasure in them, and he will begin rejecting any of their offerings.
He even states in verse 11 that his name is going to be great among the Gentiles and the heathen, and that their offerings will be considered pure by him.
And in chapter 2, a plea goes out to the priests to make a return to God.
He tells them in verse 2 that He has already cursed them because they did not lay His words to heart.
If you continue reading the rest of the chapter, and this is chapter 2, so that you can see that Israel was going to end up with judgment from God for all of the terrible wickedness and the disobedience that they returned to God despite all of His wonderful dealings to them.
And all throughout the Old Covenant, you can see God dealing with Israel with blessing after blessing, only to have them reject His graciousness time and time again.
And verse 1 says, this is Malachi 3, the day of the Lord, verse 1 says, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me.
And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple.
Even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
But who may abide the day of his coming?
And who shall stand when he appeareth?
For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap.
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.
And he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, "...that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." And verse 4, "...then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years."
And verse 5, "...and I will come near to you to judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, So we see, dear listeners, that the day of the Lord is a day of judgment.
It is a day of judgment that will come to His temple.
It is a day of judgment that will take place as a burning fire.
It is also a day where, after it is finished, God will truly have an Israel, Judah, and a Jerusalem that will be a blessing to Him.
He will have a people that love and fear His name.
Chapter 4 begins to give a little more detail as to when this event will take place.
And verse 1 states, For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble.
And the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Malachi tells them that this day of judgment that is coming will burn as an oven.
When it comes, it will leave them with neither root nor branch.
He is talking about complete and utter annihilation.
Not only will the branches burn, but the root will also be burned.
And that is complete destruction.
There will be nothing left of Israel.
But just as God has always provided a way of escape for those who obey His Word before judgment, verse 2 says this, "...but unto you that fear My name shall the Son of Righteousness..." Note the capital letter at Son and note that it is spelled S-U-N.
"...but unto you that fear My name shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings, And ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall.
In verse 3, And ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes unto the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
In verse 4, Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel with the statutes and judgments.
Verse 5, Behold I will send you Elijah, From our readings, folks, in Malachi, we can see the following things.
One, the book was written to Israel.
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
From our readings, folks, in Malachi, we can see the following things.
One, the book was written to Israel.
Two, God tells them that he has rejected them.
3.
He tells them that His name will be great among the Gentiles.
4.
He tells them that He will corrupt their seed.
5.
He tells them that the day of His coming will be suddenly upon the temple.
And 6.
Out of this judgment will come a people that truly honor, fear, and serve Him.
7.
The day will include utter and complete annihilation.
And 8.
Christ will provide the healing. 9.
Now God promised that before this great and dreadful day of judgment would come that He would first send Elijah the prophet to Israel.
This would be a major sign that the end was upon them and that His words should be obeyed.
Now if we go back to the New Testament to see if just like all of the prophecy that we've already seen thus far Both Friday night and tonight, we can find fulfillment within the pages of the Bible.
In Matthew 16, Christ and his disciples are in the middle of another confrontation with the Sadducees, the religious leaders in Israel.
They had asked Christ to provide them with a sign from heaven.
Christ responded that only wicked and adulterous generations seek for signs.
He asked them why they can't discern the signs of the times.
Christ tells His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Christ warned His disciples that the leaven He was talking about was actually the doctrines and teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
And in verse 13, Christ asked His disciples Who people said that he was?
Their response, dear listeners, was that some said he was John the Baptist, Elijah, and others said Jeremiah.
Now let's hold that thought for a minute and go down to verses 24 through 28.
In verse 24, Then Jesus said unto his disciples, Let's stop right there.
Who's doing the talking?
To whom is he talking to?
The Bible said that Jesus said unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
And verse 25, For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Verse 26, For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Now folks, watch this.
Listen carefully.
In verse 27, For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels, "...and then he shall reward every man according to his works."
In verse 28, "...verily I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Christ was clearly speaking And He was clearly speaking to His disciples, and He clearly did this 2,000 years ago.
Now, did the disciples witness the coming of Christ in His kingdom?
Well, if you've listened to my past programs on this subject, you know the answer.
Or did He mislead them into thinking something other than what was actually the truth?
If they didn't have those words fulfilled in their lives, then why did Christ even bother to say it to them?
Why would He mislead them?
Why would He lie to them?
And why don't you understand this?
Was the whole Bible written to people who were completely kept in the dark?
Were they just a bunch of fools?
Were they the scapegoats to provide the martyrs so that you could feel good in your church 2,000 years later?
I don't think so!
Now before you think that we've ventured into something other than finding Elijah, the promised messenger and the forerunner spoken of by Malachi, let's go to chapter 17.
In verse 1 through 7 we find the story of Christ's transfiguration.
The disciples were witnesses of God the Father speaking from heaven that Christ was His beloved Son.
He was the promised Messiah.
He was the Lord's Christ.
He was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy concerning the promised King of the Jews, the Redeemer, the Anointed One, the Most High.
And in verse 9, He tells His disciples that they should tell no man until the Son of Man be risen from the dead.
In verse 10, and his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
In verse 11, and Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come and restore all things.
And in verse 12, but I say unto you that Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed, likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them.
And in verse 13, then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
I Don't you understand?
You've all been fooled the way I see it.
You may not understand it in that manner, but I see it clearly.
Jesus Christ Himself said that John the Baptist was the Elijah spoken of by Malachi in Malachi chapter 4.
The scribes who were teachers of the Old Testament, they knew the teachings of Malachi.
That's why the disciples asked why they were saying that Elijah should come first.
One of the reasons that the religious leaders of Christ's day rejected him is because they were so spiritually illiterate that they were expecting some physical return of the Elijah of the Old Testament.
They could not see that the fulfillment of the prophecy was of a spiritual nature, and their earthly, fleshly appetites just could not be satisfied by a spiritual application of Bible prophecy.
Folks, it absolutely amazes me that religious leaders have never changed their spots from that day till this.
Religion still seeks to satisfy the physical, to impose a tax upon the people already burdened by the tax of the state, and to manipulate them as a body politic, all the while rejecting the trueness of the spiritual.
And if we have time tonight, we'll go back to Scofield to see that Scofield states in black and white that he believes the fulfillment of the Scripture is truly physical and not spiritual.
He actually says it!
There's a statement in his book.
What do the prophets say?
That literally made me sick when I read what Scofield in his own words says about Christ's kingdom and the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant.
And if we don't get to it tonight, which we may not, then we'll talk about it tomorrow night.
Remember, this is not a religious broadcast.
This broadcast is about truth.
And if somebody's teaching us lies about the Bible and what it says, then it's our purpose to reveal that.
Not to tell you what to believe.
Not to tell you what church you have to worship at.
But to try to find the truth.
That's all.
There was something said a few years ago by a Baptist preacher concerning this lesson on John the Baptist being the Elijah of Malachi.
I was talking about Matthew chapter 11 to this preacher when the comment was made to me.
In verse 7 the scripture says that Jesus began to teach the multitudes concerning John.
He says in verse 10, "...for this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before thee." He goes on to say in verse 14, "...and if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." Would you believe that this Baptist preacher said to me that since the people didn't receive it, then John the Baptist was not really the Elijah that was to come?
Incredible!
Unbelievable!
The preachers in this country in this day no more believe the words of Jesus Christ than did the religious leaders who actually heard and saw Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago.
They stand in their pulpit in front of you in your churches every day and tell you lies.
When all you have to do is open up your book and read what Jesus says and he'll clear it right up for you.
I've always said on this broadcast, if you want to know the truth about Christianity, read the words in red and nothing else.
Everything else is just adjectives and adverbs.
Thank you.
The meat of the matter, the subject, is Jesus Christ.
Listen to what he said.
If Christ were here today, Amen.
Amen.
The religious leaders of the organized church, of all the organized churches in all of what is called Christendom, would crucify Him today just the same as they did 2,000 years ago.
I will bet everything I own.
I will bet everything on it.
Examine the message that John the Baptist came preaching out of the wilderness. .
Look at it.
It's in Luke chapter 3 verse 3, And he came into the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
And in verse 4, As it is written in the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
And in verse 5, Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth." And in verse 6, "...and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."
Verse 7, "...then saith he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come." Verse 8, Bring forth, therefore, fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father.
For I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Now watch verse 9.
Listen carefully.
And now Also, the axe is laid unto the root of the trees.
Every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.
Now go back to Malachi chapter 3 and 4 and read again what God told Malachi to tell Israel.
Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me.
That's nearly word for word what is said in Luke chapter 3 and verse 4.
Malachi said that his judgment will be like a refiner or a purifier's fire.
Luke 3 verse 9, John the Baptist says that judgment will be by fire.
Once again, almost word for word.
Malachi chapter 4 and verse 1 says that this judgment will leave neither root nor branch.
Luke 3 verse 9, and now also the axe is laid onto the root of the trees.
It simply cannot get any clearer than this, folks.
Are we so blind to truth that we cannot see even this, the simplest of truths?
Christ told His disciples that He would die.
That what was done to He who had come before, Elijah, John the Baptist, would also be done to Him.
But that He would come back.
He died.
He rose three days later, and He came back.
He then went into his kingdom to sit at the right hand of God, and he has been in his kingdom ever since.
Luke 3, verses 16 and 17 says, John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose.
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire, whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner, but the shaft he will burn with fire unquenchable.
Who is he talking to?
O generation of vipers!
Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
He was talking to the generation whose devious acts included the complete and total rejection of God's only Son.
God's final offer to Israel was rejected, and it was this final act that determined that God's judgment day of Malachi 4 was indeed to be poured out upon that generation.
Do you remember that this brazen generation of evil people were so brassy that they cried, Away with him!
Away with him!
Crucify him!
Crucify him!
His blood be upon us and on our children's blood.
How prophetic!
Indeed, their words were fulfilled.
Remember, these were the Hebrews of Israel.
My friends, if John the Baptist was not the Elijah of Malachi chapter 4, then someone please take the time to be loving enough to me and my family to straighten then someone please take the time to be loving enough to me if If John the Baptist was not the Elijah of Malachi chapter 4, then I need to make a major lifestyle change.
If it can be honestly proven from Scripture that John the Baptist was not the Elijah of Malachi 4, then everything that I believe about God's Word will fall like a stack of dominoes that crumbles when the first piece is knocked over.
I've asked many, many people to do a simple study of the word generation as it's used in the four Gospels of the New Testament.
And it's very interesting to see how it's used and to who the word is spoken to.
Since almost all of the teachings of the Gospels can be found within each other, let's look at the word generation from the book of Matthew.
We began it Friday.
We talked a little about it tonight.
And I hope you can take this serious enough to do your own study.
Not only Mark, Luke, and John, but throughout the rest of the New Testament.
Look who is speaking, and look who is being spoken to!
And then listen to what you're being taught today.
Ladies and gentlemen, and I think your eyes will fly open!
And then finally, you may have some understanding.
Good night.
We'll continue this tomorrow night.
And God bless you all.
Thank you.
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