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Now let’s come to John 7 and here we find a direct reference to the Feast
of Tabernacles and as a matter of fact Christ keeping the Feast of
Tabernacles. Let’s just touch base here in John 7:1-2, and then we’ll
go on and then we’ll come back to this because this is a central focal point
and has many of the meanings of the Feast of Tabernacles in it, and also the
Last Great Day. “After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for He
would not walk in [Judea] Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill Him.
Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand.” Now we’ll come back
to this because He went up in the midst of the feast and taught.
Then we have chapter 8. Chapter 8 is into the Last Great Day, and
there is great meaning in this and significance of the things that have
taken place. And chapter 9 is into the Last Great Day. Now we’ll
cover both chapter 8 and chapter 9 tomorrow because they are profound.
Then we come here to chapter 10, and chapter 10 does not have a direct
reference to the holy days. It does have a reference to the Feast of
Dedication, which a lot of people claim may be Hanukkah, but I’m more
inclined to believe that the Feast of Dedication really goes back to the
time of Ezra, as we find in Ezra 6 and that was also in the winter.
Chapter 11 has to do with the resurrection, doesn’t it? Lazarus being
raised back to a second physical life is a type of the Last Great Day when
Israel will be raised back to a second physical life. So He said, “I
am the resurrection” (vs. 25). Now we come to the last part of John
11:55, “And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand…”
Then we have chapter 12. And chapter 12 has six days before the last
Passover. Chapter 12 also has the Sabbath of the 10th
of Nisan, the selecting of the Lamb of God, the true Lamb of God when Christ
was selected. Now you can read that in the Harmony, and I’ve
also covered that on other tapes. Chapter 12, Christ gives a
tremendous warning here concerning, as we have covered in the series on
Hebrews, about that you have to believe on Christ.
Now then we come to chapter 13, we have foot washing. Chapter 14, 15,
16, and 17 have to do with the personal covenantal instructions that God
gave to the disciples on the Passover night, and the prayer of Christ before
He was arrested. Then we have chapter 18, 19, and they have all to do
with the Passover day and the crucifixion. Chapter 20 then has to do
with the first day of the week and the ascension into heaven. And you
come to the last chapter, chapter 21 and it doesn’t have a direct reference
to a holy day, but then here is the true commission given to Peter.
Not only are they to preach in all the world and teach everything that Jesus
taught but they are to feed the flock because they love Jesus Christ.
So here you have from chapter 1 to chapter 21 in the book of John, all
built on the framework of the holy days of God. And that is
significant. And as it were right smack in the middle of it, chapter
7, 8, and 9 have to do with the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.
So let’s come back to John 7 and let’s go through it and let’s see the
lessons that we can learn from it, and let’s understand some of the profound
things that are here. Some of the deep things that are there for us to
learn. Some of the things that are precept upon precept, and line upon
line, and here a little and there a little that we can all put it together.
Ok, now let’s begin right here in John 7:2. “Now the Jews’ feast of
tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto Him…” Now
his brothers didn’t believe Him. So they were kind of chiding Him and
sort of cynically saying this. Not mocking Him but just sort of
chiding Him. So they said to Him, “Depart hence [So, why don’t you
leave here], and go into Judea so that Thy disciples may also see the works
that Thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything
in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If Thou do these
things, shew Thyself to the world.” In other words they were saying,
“Look, we know you’ve done miracles, but why don’t you just go up and really
show the whole world this.” Verse 5, “For neither did His brethren
believe in Him” (John 7:2-5). And that also shows the kind of attitude
and the kind of jabs and barbs and also reflective of picky questions which
people have that really don’t believe. See they were trying to provoke
Him just with the same attitude that Satan had back in Matthew 4 and Luke 4
about Satan trying to provoke Christ to do something.
So notice what He said. “Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not
yet come…” Not time to show Himself openly to the world. The real
truth of that is going to come when Christ returns as pictured by Pentecost
and the Feast of Trumpets. “…But your time is always ready. The
world cannot hate you; but Me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the
works thereof are evil” (vs. 6-7). And anyone who testifies that the
works of this world are evil, especially the religious works of this world,
you are going to be hated. And if you’re hated by the world, Jesus
said, “Understand they hated Me and My Father first.”
So He said, verse 8, “Go ye up unto this feast…” Now let’s understand.
Did Jesus command His family to go to the Feast? Yes. If He
commanded His family to go to the Feast, that had to be truth and right,
didn’t it? Yes. If Jesus were here today, would He command us to
go to the Feast? Yes, He would. No question about it. But
He already has because it’s in His word. And it’s here in John 7.
He said, “…I go not up yet unto this feast; for My time is not yet full
come. When He had said these words unto them, He [remained] abode
still
in Galilee. But when His brethren were gone up…” Now, when do you
suppose that they went up to the Feast? Well, they went up in time to
be there for the first holy day, correct. Yes, because you can’t keep
the Feast of Tabernacles completely unless you keep the first holy day.
Now I’m sure that Jesus went up and kept the first holy day, because Jesus
never disobeyed God and completely kept the feasts of God, but He didn’t go
up with His family. Notice, “But when His brethren were gone up [which
was prior to the feast], then went He also up unto the feast, not openly,
but as it were in secret.” Now did Jesus have the ability to make
Himself not visible for the person that He really was when He needed to?
Yes. That’s how He went up in secret. He was there.
So He waited until the middle of the Feast. But until the middle of
the Feast, verse 12, “And there was much murmuring among the people
concerning Him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but He
deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of Him for fear of
the Jews [lest they be cast out of the synagogue, as we’ll see a little bit
later]. Now about the midst of the feast [now yesterday was the middle
of the Feast, so we can say about the fourth day] Jesus went up into the
temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this
man letters, having never learned?” (vs. 12-15). Now I explained that
fully in the Harmony of The Gospels and in the Christian Passover
book that Jesus was taught of God the Father. He was never taught by
the Rabbi’s. Never went to their schools. Never received a
diploma from them. And you can know and understand this for sure, that
by this time in the life of Christ and His ministry, all of the Rabbi’s
checked with each other to find out if He had gone to one of their schools.
And you know that they would all say, “Of course not, he didn’t go to my
school.”
“Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent
Me” (vs. 16). Now the doctrine of Jesus Christ is profound and
important brethren. And it comes from God the Father. And that’s
what we need to understand. All the things that Christ taught and He
brought are from God the Father.
Now hold your place here and come back to 2 John. 2 John is a
profound little book that has great depth and great meaning and great
understanding though it is just a little old book of just a few verses.
We’ll come back to John 7 here in just a minute. So here we have 13
verses in 2 John, but notice what he says here. Let’s pick it up here
in verse 9. “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine
of Christ…”, which Christ said was not His, but God the Fathers. So
any doctrine of Christ is the doctrine of God the Father. So the truth
is if you reject any of the teachings or doctrines of Christ, you are
rejecting the teachings of God the Father.
Now notice, “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ, hath not God. He that abideth [or lives, or dwells] in the
doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” And we will
see how that is brought out by Christ in John 7. Verse 10, “If there
come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is
partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 9-11). Now the only ones who would
come not bringing that doctrine are those who are religious people claiming
that the teachings of Christ, based upon the holy days, are different.
Now let’s come back to John 7. So in essence if anyone comes and
preaches not the salvation through Jesus Christ and the forgiveness through
His sacrifice, and all of these things based upon the holy days of God, and
does not teach the Sabbath and holy days, is not of God. You need to
think on that. You need to understand that. Anyone who comes
along and says that these Jewish, so called, days need not be kept is not of
God because Christ kept them. The apostles kept them. Christ
kept the Feast of Tabernacles and He taught the Feast of Tabernacles.
And He taught the doctrine of God the Father.
Now let’s come back to John 7:16 again. “Jesus answered them, and
said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will
do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or
whether I speak of Myself” (vs. 16-17). Now that is profound, you
see, because the way you understand the teachings of God is by doing them.
You can never understand the Sabbath, you can never understand the holy days
if you say, “Oh well, you know. God looks at the heart and my heart is
right, and so therefore God accepts me.” No, you are not doing the
will of God. You are doing your own will and you are justifying your
own way, and you are saying that your heart is right. And if you
haven’t repented before God and accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and
received the Holy Spirit of God through the laying on of hands, you are
going by your own deceitful heart.
Let’s continue on. “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself.
He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory [and boy have we not seen
that over and over again]: but he that seeketh His glory that sent Him [that
is Christ Who is the one Who is seeking the glory of the Father], the same
is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him” (vs. 17-18). Now what did
Christ teach during the Feast of Tabernacles? To do the will of God.
Now that’s very important and we need to understand that.
Now what happens if you don’t do the will of God the Father? What if
you’re even religious, and what if you can even read and study the Bible?
What if you could even quote and memorize scripture, but you don’t do the
will of the Father? Now is it the will of the Father to have the holy
days? Yes, it is, because Jesus Christ said that it came from Him.
Now let’s come back to Matthew 7:21. We’ll just touch base here
because we’ve gone over this many times, but let’s just refresh our memory
on it. It’s not enough to mouth the words. It’s not enough to
profess that you love God. It’s not enough to say that He is your
Savior, because He is not your Savior unless you do the will of God.
Now let’s see it here in Matthew 7:21. “Not every one that saith unto
Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that [the one
who] doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.” And it’s the
will of the Father to keep the holy days because He gave them to us, see
because the doctrine that we follow, the doctrine and teachings of Christ
are not of Christ alone but of the Father. They belong to both of
Them, you see. So that’s why He said this. And He said in that
day, that is the judgment day, which is what? The Last Great Day when
they’re resurrected in the second resurrection to go into the lake of fire.
They will stand there and say, “Lord, Lord, haven’t we prophesied in your
name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many
wonderful works?” And Christ will say, “I never knew you: depart from
Me, ye that work [lawlessness] iniquity” (Matt. 7:21-23). And
lawlessness is anti-holy day and Sabbath keeping. Do you understand
that? Yes, I’m sure you do.
Ok, let’s come to Matthew 12:50, because the will of God the Father in
heaven above is the most important thing. And even Christ said that
over His own family. Now let’s come here to Matthew 12:46, “While He
yet talked to the people, behold, His mother and His brethren stood
[outside] without, desiring to speak with Him. Then one said unto Him,
Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand [outside] without, desiring to
speak with Thee.” And He said, “Oh everybody, just a minute. My
mother and My brothers are here. Excuse me, I gotta go see them.”
No, notice what He said because He loved God the Father more, and He loved
the brethren and those who were following Him more than His own mother and
His own brothers, and that’s the same requirement, is it not, that God gives
to us when we come to Him and accept Christ? That we are to love Him
more than our father, and mother, and brother, and sister, and lands and our
own life also. Jesus did the same thing. Notice right here.
“But He answered and said unto him that told him, who is My mother?”
Now with her standing outside the door, some people might think that’s a
very insulting statement. I mean after all, didn’t He know His mother?
Yes. “And who are My brethren?” Didn’t He know His own
half-brothers? Yes, indeed. “And He stretched forth His hand
toward His disciples, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren!” Now
notice verse 50. “For whosoever shall do the will of My father which
is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother” (Matt.
12:46-50). Now that comes right back to the Feast of Tabernacles,
doesn’t it, because He taught that during the Feast of Tabernacles, to do
the will of God. So that’s quite a revealing thing, isn’t it?
Now here, let’s come to Psalm 40, and let’s understand something: our
attitude toward the will of God that we need to have. Let’s come to
Psalm 40:7. We’ll see this a little later in Hebrews. Well, we
might not go to Hebrews 10 because we’re going to quote it here, so we won’t
go there. “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is
written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is
within My heart” (Psa. 40:7-8). Now let’s understand something.
We have to come to the point that we delight in doing the will of God, and
that the laws of God are within our hearts, written there and inscribed
there by the power of the Holy Spirit. And that’s why Jesus came.
He came to do the will of God.
Notice verse 9, “I have preached righteousness in the great congregation:
Lo, I have not refrained My lips, O LORD, Thou knowest. I have not hid
Thy righteousness within My heart; I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy
salvation: I have not concealed Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth from the
great congregation” (vs. 9-10). Did not Jesus teach on these holy
days? Did He not reveal the truth on the holy days? And part of
the truth about the Feast of Tabernacles is doing the will of God, and isn’t
that what’s going to happen during the fulfillment of the Feast of
Tabernacles in the 1000 year reign and rule of Christ and the saints of God?
Are we not going to teach people to do the will of God? Yes. Are
we not going to be doing the will of God actively as spirit beings, and are
we not going to be teaching the people the same as Jesus Christ, that “My
doctrine is not my own, but that of Jesus Christ and God the Father.”
Yes, indeed, the same thing. Delight to do the will of God.
Now let’s come back here to the gospel of John, and this time let’s come to
John 5, and let’s look at the will of God again. Let’s understand
something concerning the way Jesus lived His life. And if we’re to
walk in the footsteps of Jesus, which we are, then it’s going to be to do
the will of God. John 5:19, “Then answered Jesus and said unto them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what
He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth
the Son likewise.”
Now verse 30, “I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and
My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the
Father which hath sent Me.” So there it is again. And we saw
where John 5 also has to be involved in the feast days of God, didn’t we?
Yes, so here it is, the will of God. He came not to do His own will
but to do the will of God.
Now let’s come here to Psalm 143 and let’s see something that is important
in order to understand the will of God you have got to be taught the will of
God. And that’s what the whole thing of conversion is all about. And
growing in grace and knowledge and growing in understanding so that you are
taught the will of God. Let’s pick it up here in verse 7. This
is David praying. He says, “Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit
faileth: hide not Thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down
into the pit. Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning; for
in Thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk…” And the
way that we have, brethren, is not a religion. It’s the way of the
Lord. And we have to walk in it. And those are the good works,
as we have seen in Ephesians 2:10 that God has before ordained that we
should walk in them, and that is in the doctrine of God the Father and Jesus
Christ, which includes the holy days. “…For I lift up my soul unto
Thee. Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee to Thee to hide
me.” So whenever you’re in trouble you flee to God, you go to Him in
prayer. Now verse 10, “Teach me to do Thy will…” And that comes over a
process of time of teaching and learning by precept upon precept and line
upon line, and here a little and there a little. “…Thy spirit is
good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for Thy name’s
sake: for Thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of
[from] Thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my
soul: for I am Thy servant” (Psa. 143:7-12). And if you’re
doing the will of God, God will fight your battles for you. Now they
may not be fought exactly in the way that you may think they should be, but
they’ll be worked out the way that God wants them to work out. And
I’ve seen that down through the years. The enemies that have been
against us, God has taken care of in His own time. That’s why we are
to love our enemies and not hate them. We are to put them into God’s
hands for His judgment upon them. And that way then we do not clutter
our attitude with hatred and vengeance toward human beings, but we can have
our attitude of love and doing the will of God on a continuous positive way
so that we can grow in grace and knowledge.
Now let’s continue on. Let’s see how then, in teaching us the will of
God, what we are to do. Let’s come to Romans 12, it tells us exactly
what it is to do. Here we go. Shows not only the action we are
to do, it shows the things that we are not to do, and Paul also tells us how
to do it. Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable [or spiritual] service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2). Now then, if the will of God
includes the holy days, which it does, and if that is good and perfect, what
should we be doing? You see, the whole New Testament is filled with
these things brethren.
Now let’s come back to John 7 and let’s learn some more lessons concerning
the Feast of Tabernacles. Verse 18, “He that speaketh of himself
seeketh his own glory…”, or that is to build up the self, that is
through pride. But we are to glorify God. Even Christ did not
glorify Himself to become a high priest. But God the Father swore by
an oath that He was a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.
“…But he that seeketh His glory…”, that is God the Father’s glory, and
that’s what we need to do. Whatever we do we are to glorify God.
We’ll see that in just a minute. “…But he that seeketh His glory that
sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.”
Now let’s come to 1 Corinthians 1 and let’s learn a very profound principle
which we always need to do, which ties in with what Paul said that we have
nothing that we didn't receive. 1 Corinthians 1:31, “That, according
as it is written, He that glorieth [or he that glorifies], let him glory in
the Lord.” You’re seeking His glory, not your glory.
You’re seeking the glory of the brethren, and the truth of God, not your
own. And that’s why it’s so important that we do not get things all
mixed up and carnalized, if I can put it that way. And if you
physicalize and carnalize it then you’re not doing glory to God.
Now let’s come back to John 7 because we’re sort of running out of time
here for this chapter and there’s still a lot more for us to learn. So
let’s come here to John 7:19. Here’s a profound statement. “Did
not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?”
See, the Scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees with their own traditions,
though they kept the holy days and knew the Sabbath, they did not keep the
law of Moses because they were only in a legal relationship with God and
they were not in a loving relationship with God, you see. You can see
it here. “Why go ye about to kill Me? The people answered and
said, Thou hast a [demon] devil: who goeth about to kill Thee? Jesus
answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel [you
are amazed]. Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision [which is a
small minor little work, you see]; (not because it is of Moses, but of the
fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.” Now let’s
understand something. In the year that Jesus was born the Feast of
Trumpets was on a weekly Sabbath. And the evidence is quite clear that
Jesus may have been born on the Feast of Trumpets. And if He was on
the Feast of Trumpets, being a weekly Sabbath, He was also circumcised on
the weekly Sabbath. So here He’s probably talking about Himself.
Now verse 23, “If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the
law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at Me, because I have made a
man every whit whole on the sabbath day?” See, they were looking to
the physical circumstances. They weren’t looking to the true spiritual
and profound work of God. Because precept upon precept, line upon
line, a little here and a little there became to them vomit and stumbling,
as we read to begin in Isaiah 29. So they didn’t understand.
See, unless your willing to do the will of God the Father, you won’t
understand and you will be void of judgment. That’s why in verse 24
Jesus says, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous
judgment.” Now if you don’t have the tapes in the Feast of Tabernacles
1999, I took day 5 and day 6 to go through “Judge Righteous Judgment”, and
we have those on three audio tapes which you can receive. And that’s
the key thing that we’re going to be doing. That’s why I spent two
days in teaching us how to have righteous judgment. And since this is
an overview, we’re not going to go into that. You can get it in depth.
Just write for the “Judge Righteous Judgment”, the three tapes that we have
and the study paper that goes with it.
Now verse 25, “Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this He, Whom
they seek to kill? But, lo, He speaketh boldly, and they say nothing
unto Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?”
In other words if they’re letting Him speak, do they understand He’s the
very Christ? “Howbeit we know this man whence He is: but when Christ
cometh, no man knoweth [from where He comes] whence He is” (vs. 25-27).
So they’re saying, “Boy, He is probably the Messiah, the Christ.”
“Then cried Jesus in the temple as He taught, saying, Ye both know Me, and
ye know whence I am [from]: and I am not come of Myself, but He that sent Me
is true, Whom ye know not” (vs. 28). Now also, think about this in
relationship to the Feast of Tabernacles. This is exactly the message
that we are going to have when we go out we and start teaching the nations.
When we start bringing them out of their heathen ways we are going to say,
“God the Father has sent us, Who is true, Who you knew not. Now we’re
going to teach Him to you. And you need to repent.”
Verse 29, “But I know Him: for I am from Him, and He hath sent Me.
Then they sought to take Him [that is to lay hands on Him and arrest Him]:
but no man laid hands on Him, because His hour was not yet come” (vs.
29-30). Now this is why in our daily prayers we are asked to be
delivered from the evil one, because we are not going to be delivered into
the hands of those persecutors until the time has come. Just like with
Christ, the time has not yet come.
“And many of the people believed on Him, and said, when Christ cometh, will
He do more miracles than these which this man hath done? The
Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning Him; and the
Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.” Now notice
what happened here. I think this is quite profound. “Then said
Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto
Him that sent Me. Ye shall seek Me, and shall not find Me [no,
and they had to lie and say the disciples stole the body]: and where I am,
thither
ye cannot come. Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will He go,
that we shall not find Him? Will He go unto the dispersed among the
Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? What manner of saying is this
that He said, Ye shall seek Me, and shall not fine Me: and where I
am, thither
ye cannot come?” (vs. 31-36). Quite a thing, isn’t it, because in
reality Christ was going where? Back to God the Father. And when
He was going back to God the Father, guess what’s being worked on in heaven
above? New Jerusalem, right, that God is building? New
Jerusalem, to bring down the fulfillment of the Last Great Day? Yes.
That’s why they can’t find Him. Christ is there like He said to His
disciples. “If I go, I will come again. And if I come again,
which I will, I will prepare a place for you to receive you unto Myself so
that were I am you may also be.” And that’s fulfilling the Feast of
Tabernacles, isn’t it? Yes, indeed.
Now verse 37 is a profound verse, right here. “In the last day…” Now
we’re getting into the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and into the
beginning of the Last Great Day. And right at sunset, at evening, they
had the ceremony of the pouring of the water around the altar. So
Jesus took this to teach about the Holy Spirit given to all in the
fulfilling of the Feast of Tabernacles. Now let’s see it here.
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that
believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said [now that has to do with
repentance, and belief, and baptism], out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water” (vs. 37-38). Now this is anyone. Now this cannot
be fulfilled until the fulfilling of the Last Great Day. So this is
done during the Feast of Tabernacles when many, many people are called and
converted and brought into the Kingdom of God. And this is greatly
fulfilled in the Last Great Day. That’s why Jesus preached this on the
Last Great Day as the Feast of Tabernacles was ending on the seventh day and
going on into the beginning of the Last Great Day, then He taught this.
Then we will see chapter 8 and chapter 9 are the day portions of the Last
Great Day. And we’ll see what He taught there tomorrow.
Verse 39, “(But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him
should receive: for the Holy [Spirit] Ghost was not yet given;
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) Many of the people
therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the
Prophet.” And that Prophet was Christ, and they were right.
“Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out
of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the
seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” And
you see, they didn’t even understand that He was born in Bethlehem. He
was born there but He didn’t live there. So they mistook where He was
born because He didn’t live there. They came up for the taxes and
Christ was born in Bethlehem, but He didn’t live there. “So there was
a division among the people because of Him. And some of them would
have taken Him; but no man laid hands on Him” (vs. 39-44).
“Then came the officers to the chief priest [because they were sent out and
they were watching Him and seeing what He was doing] and Pharisees; and they
said unto them, why have ye not brought Him? The officers answered,
Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are
ye also deceived?” And to this very day the Jew believe that all those
who believe in Christ are deceived. “Have any of the rulers of the
Pharisees believed on Him?” (vs. 45-48). As if that is authority.
Say the same thing today. Have any of the rulers of the churches
today, and religions today, have they kept the feast days? Have they
kept the holy days? No. So therefore since they haven’t, then
you don’t need to. Since none of the rulers here have believed on
Christ, you shouldn’t believe on Christ.
Now notice the attitude. “But this people who knoweth not the law are
cursed.” You’re all a bunch of dumb sheep. {laughter} Now verse
50, “Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being on of
them,) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what
he doeth? They answered and said unto him [see, typical put down], Art
thou also of Galilee? Search, and look [in the scriptures]: for out of
Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house”(vs.
49-53). Well, quite a debate on the Feast of Tabernacles, isn’t it?
Well, what we’ve learned is, the Feast of Tabernacles teaches us the will
of God and teaches us that all that we do is to glorify God. And
teaches that there’s going to be universal salvation given to those all
during the Millennium when the Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh.
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