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FEAST OF TABERNACLES - 2001
DAY 6
Fred Coulter - October 7, 2001
And greetings, brethren. This is Day 6 of the Feast of Tabernacles, 2001.
And it seems as though the theme for this year has been the Feast of
Tabernacles and the Kingdom of God in the New Testament. And it’s really
quite amazing how that those who read and study the Bible just don’t get the
point that the Feast of Tabernacles pictures so many things in the New
Testament that they actually study about and talk about but they don’t even
realize it, and they claim that we don’t have to keep the holy days at all
anyway. So we’ll let them stay in their darkness. And let them stay in their
blindness and we’ll go on and we’ll examine some more in the New Testament
here. And as we’ve been going through the book of John, yesterday we came to
the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7, now we’re going to take
chapter 8 and chapter 9 and we’re going to see that this will apply in
several different ways. 1) to Israel during the Millennium. 2) to Israel
during the great white throne judgment, or the 100 year period. And also the
same to the Gentiles, as we will see.
So let’s come to John 8 and let’s begin right here in verse 1. “Jesus
went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning He came again into
the temple…” Now this is the day portion of the Last Great Day. Because as
the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles was ending at sunset and the Last
Great Day of the feast was starting, they had the ceremony of water where
they poured water around the altar. So they all went to their houses, as we
saw the last verse there in John 7, and now Jesus came back. “…And all the
people came unto Him [at the temple]; and He sat down, and taught them”
(John 8:1-2).
“And the scribes and Pharisees…” Now here’s a very interesting thing
concerning judgment, but also we’re going to see that this woman taken in
adultery is very much like Israel who was accused of being an adulteress.
Now let’s read it. “And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman
taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto
Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in
the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest Thou? This
they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. But Jesus
stooped down, and with His
finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not” (vs. 3-6).
And there has been great speculation as to what He wrote on the ground. Some
think that is was the sins of those who brought her. Some think that it was
something else. I think that what He wrote was a scripture we’ll look at in
just a minute, because to be taken in adultery requires something in
addition to the woman. Let’s continue.
“So when they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said unto
them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard
it, being convicted by
their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest,
even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in
the midst. When Jesus had lifted up Himself, and saw none but the woman, He
said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned
thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn
thee: go, and sin no more” (vs. 7-11). Now let’s examine this whole sequence
of events here.
Let’s first of all go back to Leviticus 20 and let’s see the command
about adulteresses. And let’s see that this probably is what Jesus was
writing because the scribes and Pharisees were such sticklers for the law
that of course that would surely be the thing that Jesus would go ahead and
write on the ground because they could see it. Let’s begin right here in
verse 10. “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s
wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the
adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” So what was
missing was the adulterer. Now how can they catch a woman in the very act of
adultery without catching the man as well. That’s rather strange. You talk
about stacking the deck and impartial judgment.
Now you see, Jesus didn’t give her mercy. Jesus did not judge her. Now
why? Because it says in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall a person
be condemned. Now in this case, not only the person to be condemned being
the woman, but also the man. So then not only were they partial in their
judgment, they were also partial in the evidence. And so they were wanting
to use and manipulate the law to their own end. And the reason that they
wanted to accuse Him would be this. It’s very clever when you think about
it. That if He would have said, “Stone the woman”, they would have done it
and then would have said, “Aha, you didn’t judge properly because it says
here that you’re also to execute the adulterer as well as the adulteress.”
So since there were none to condemn her because they couldn’t condemn her
without having the man, they went and left. So Jesus said, “I condemn you
not. Go and sin no more.”
Now let’s look at this from a prophetic point of view. Let’s come back to
Ezekiel 16 and we will see that Israel was likened unto an adulteress. And
she did adultery in a little different way than other women, as we will see
here, in as much as that she paid her lovers. And of course as a nation
that’s what we’re doing. It’s called today, foreign aid. Now let’s pick it
up here in Ezekiel 16:1 and let’s see the relationship that God had with
Israel, and what happened, and what God did. And then we will see what God
will do.
“Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause
Jerusalem to know her abominations, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto
Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity
is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy
mother an Hittite. And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born
thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee;
thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.” Just kind of an abandoned
baby thrown out. You know today they throw them in the dumpsters. Well then
they would throw them out in the wilderness. “None eye pitied thee, to do
any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out
in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast
born” (Ezek. 16:1-5).
Now God then explains His relationship with Israel and what He did. And
why Israel should have been faithful to the Lord instead of going out and
committing adultery with other nations and other gods. Verse 6, “And when I
passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee
when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou
was in thy blood, Live. I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the
field, and thou hast increased and [grown] waxen great, and thou art come to
excellent ornaments:
thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou
wast naked and bare. Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee,
behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread My skirt over
thee…” Now wherever you have a man in reference to a woman in talking about
a skirt, that means that there is a marriage relationship that has taken
place. “…And covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into
a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest Mine” (vs. 6-8).
Now there is the marriage covenant. The covenant of marriage is always a
covenant. Then we have the covenant that God made with Israel, and that was
likened unto a marriage covenant here. Then we have the New Covenant which
then is also likened unto a marriage covenant.
Now let’s continue, verse 9. “Then washed I thee with water; yea, I
throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.”
Now here comes some of the blessings that God described in adorning Israel
to be His bride. “I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee
with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered
thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon
thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and
earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head” (vs. 9-12).
Now this just as an aside tells us as we’re going here, that number one,
jewelry is not wrong. Because if it were why would God give it to His bride?
Ok, let’s continue. “Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy
raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst
eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and
thou didst proper into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth among the
heathen for thy beauty: for it
was perfect through My comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith
the Lord GOD” (vs. 13-14). Now the fullness of that came during the reign of
king Solomon. And from that time unto the captivity of the children of
Israel it went downhill big time. And from that time forward, of course
beginning with Solomon with 700 wives and 300 concubines, now you talk about
adultery. I mean that’s big time. And that set the whole thing for the
spiritual adultery with other gods through his wives. And his wives turned
his heart away from the Lord into worshipping and serving other gods, and
that set the pattern for Judah, that set the pattern for Israel.
Now let’s finish here. “…For it was perfect through My comeliness
[in other words because God gave the beauty to her], which I had put upon
thee, saith the Lord GOD. But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and
playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications
on every one that passed by; his it was” (vs. 14-16). And then God said you
took everything that I gave to you and gave to them.
Now let’s come over here to verse 26. “Thou hast also committed
fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast
increased thy whoredoms, to provoke Me to anger. Behold, therefore I have
stretched out My hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food,
and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of
the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.” Now for the daughters
of the Philistines to be ashamed of the lewd ways of Israel, you’ve got to
understand how lewd they become. Even worse than the heathen which were cast
out before them. Now verse 28. “Thou hast played the whore also with the
Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; [You just couldn’t stop going after
these other nations and these other gods. Oh, you had to keep at it.]; yea,
thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto
Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied herewith” (vs. 26-29). So then they
build eminent places, as He said. Built themselves up, did all kinds of…it
was absolutely amazing what happened.
Now notice, verse 30. “How weak is thine heart…” Israel had no
resistance. See, once they left God, and once they gave up on God’s way they
became weak. They had no character. Their heart was weak, “…saith the Lord
GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious
whorish woman [now those are strong words]; In that thou buildest thine
eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every
street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire…” In
other words, you weren’t as an ordinary harlot. You were a worse harlot
because you didn’t take the pay for hire. At least an ordinary harlot would
charge. Oh no, you didn’t. You paid. “But as a wife that committeth
adultery, which
taketh strangers instead of her husband! They give gifts to all whores: but
thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come
unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. And the contrary is in thee from
other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit
whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto
thee, therefore thou art contrary” (vs. 30-34).
Now what you need to do today in looking at Israel, especially Britain
and America who are Ephriam and Manasseh, and just see how contrary we are.
Look at the politics. It makes absolutely no sense, see because the heart of
Israel is weak. And Israel is out there taking all the blessings that God
gave, all the blessings that He said He would give to Joseph, and just
pouring them out upon the lovers. And what’s going to happen is that God is
going to use those lovers to destroy Israel because they’ve taken what God
has given and just given it away in their whoredoms.
Let’s come to verse 59. “For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal
with thee as thou hast done, which has despised the oath in breaking the
covenant. Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with thee in the days of
thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.” And that
is when God brings Israel back. Israel is going to have to repent. And God’s
judgment is then going to be lifted from her and they will enter into an
everlasting covenant. Now notice here verse 61. “Then thou shalt remember
thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder
and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by
thy covenant. And I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt
know that I am the LORD: that thou mayest remember, and be
confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I
am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD”
(vs. 59-63). So yes, there will be a lifting of the judgment upon
repentance. And yes there will be forgiveness. But what is it going to be,
just like Jesus told the woman taken in adultery there in John 8. Go and sin
no more. It’s not going to be any more. No longer. And Israel’s going to
have to learn that.
Now let’s come to the book of Hosea because Hosea…you know, if anyone
wants to be a prophet…I’ve heard a lot of people say, “Well, we’re the
watchmen on the wall.” They want to exalt themselves. “Well, I’m Elijah and
he’s Elisha. We’re the two prophets. We have the ministry of Jeremiah. We
have the ministry of Isaiah.” I’ve never heard anyone volunteer to be the
ministry of Hosea. Isn’t that strange? Was not Hosea a prophet too? But
notice what he was required to do.
Now let’s pick it up here Hosea 1:2. “The beginning of the word of the
LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of
whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great
whoredom, departing from the LORD.” Yet he was a prophet of God,
wasn’t he? God wanted to teach a lesson didn’t He? And the best way to do it
was to show to Hosea exactly what God was experiencing in relationship to
Israel. It was whoredoms. She left the Lord to whore after other men, and
had children of whoredoms. For He says, “…for the land hath committed great
whoredom, departing from the LORD. So he went and took Gomer the
daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. And the LORD said
unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will
avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease
the kingdom of the house of Israel. And it shall come to pass at that day,
that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel” (Hosea 1:2-5).
And God did just that.
“And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto
him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house
of Israel; but I will utterly take them away. But I will have mercy upon the
house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save
them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen” (vs.
6-7). And that’s exactly what He did. He saved them through the very power
which He executed during the days of Hezekiah. Now let’s continue on here
because this is a great lesson. I mean you think about it. You know, isn’t
it amazing. It always amazes me how many people want to be prophets, but you
know no one says I want to be a prophet like Hosea.
“Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then
said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not My people [that
is, be gone, no longer mine], and I will not be your God.” Now you
see, when it comes to the point that God has to reject people because they
reject Him, it’s bad news. And so you see what these whoredoms do. “Yet the
number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which
cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in
the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there
it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God” (vs.
9-10). Again showing that God is going to redeem them out of that. But what
He’s doing, He’s exposing and showing them what they have been doing with
their whoredoms. And let’s come to chapter 4 because this shows how it
affects the whole land, the whole people. Even the nature around us. And you
know brethren, they’re talking about global warming. They’re talking about
other natural things which are occurring, and some of them are right here in
Hosea 4. And we need to look for the spiritual causes for it, not the
physical causes. Because the spiritual causes are the things which are
creating these things to be done.
Hosea 4:1, “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the
LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there
is no truth…” Now you think about it today. Is there any real truth? No.
Hardly anything you hear or see or read is true, because the real cause is
way back behind the scenes, and it’s moving and moving and moving and moving
coming to the day of the utter destruction of this nation. “…Nor mercy, nor
knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and
stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall
languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea,
the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away” (Hos. 4:1-3). Now it’s very
interesting. Have you ever wondered, where are the birds? Where are the
fish? They are being taken away. Now why are they being taken away? Because
of sin. Because of the sin of the people.
“Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as
they that strive with the priest. Therefore shalt thou fall in the [one]
day…” And brethren, it’s going to happen in one day. That’s why I keep
saying over and over again, brethren we must really be about doing the
things we need to do, because it’s going to come. And the end is going to
come suddenly, just like it says here, in one day. “…And the prophet also
shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. My people
are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” And we are seeing it right now of this
generation as never, never, never before. They don’t have the knowledge of
God. They don’t have the understanding. We ought to be congratulated for
dumbing down everything so much that we are graduating dunces who don’t even
get D’s. They get 55% on a test and they’re graduated and given certificates
of accomplishing high school. So we’re filling the land with dumb and stupid
people who know nothing but being driven by their music, by their pleasures,
by their entertainment, and by their whoredoms because they have rejected
knowledge. Now God also says, “I will reject you”, so when we come and see
things brethren, we have to realize that when God reaches back and redeems
Israel and brings her into covenant again, and brings her into the
Millennium, that she’s going to learn the causes as to why these things took
place. “…Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget
thy children” (vs. 4-6).
Has God forgotten our children? What’s happening to them? Well, I had an
article given to me sometime back which is, “Heather needs a childhood”,
because children do not know what it is to be a child anymore, because they
are introduced into adult things and sexual things at such an early age, and
the greatest offender is Walt Disney. Now you need to think about that. He
has been the one with all of his…to program all the children to get them
ready for this evil age in which we are living in, and therefore in this
generation God is rejecting them, and God is forsaking them. So that’s
exactly what’s going to happen.
Now let’s come back here to chapter 2 and we’ll see that God is going to
undo all of this. He’s going to bring Israel into the Millennium. And just
like the woman that Jesus let go with no condemnation, they are going to be
forgiven and they are going to be let go with no condemnation and enter
again into covenant again with God.
Now let’s pick it up here in Hosea 2:13. “And I will visit upon her the
days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself
with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat
Me, saith the LORD. Therefore, behold, I will allure her…” Through all the
punishments going to take place, when God then stops the events, as we find
there in Revelation 7, and the heavens roll back and the 144,000 are sealed,
that’s when God begins to allure Israel back to Him. “…And bring her into
the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her
vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she
shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she
came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the
LORD, that
thou shalt call Me Ishi [that is, my husband]; and shalt call Me no more
Baali [which is, my LORD]. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of
her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. And in that
day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with
the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and
I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will
make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto Me forever; yea,
I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in
lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto Me in
faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD” (Hos. 2:13-20). So that’s what’s
going to happen to Israel.
So you see the parallel there in John 8, how that the woman taken in
adultery and brought for judgment on the Last Great Day to Jesus, is a type
of Israel being brought back. Now this can apply to the Millennium and also,
as we will see on the Last Great Day, to the Last Great Day and the 100 year
judgment period.
Now let’s come back to John 8 and let’s see some important things. Some
other important things here in John 8 as related to what will have to take
place during the Millennium and also the 100 year period. Because see, we’re
talking about Israel coming out of captivity and going into the new promised
land. We’re talking about the Kingdom of God filling the whole earth, being
ruled by Jesus Christ and the saints, who will be kings and priests under
Christ, and the whole world coming to the fullness of the knowledge of God
as the seas cover the earth. And so those people that begin it, they’re
going to have some things they’re going to have to learn. And also those who
come up in the great white throne judgment, as pictured by the Last Great
day, they’re going to have to learn some things, and they’re going to have
to have some changes of heart and repentance, and to understand why they did
the things that they did. And to realize that God is going to have mercy
upon them so they can have an opportunity for salvation.
Now let’s continue on right here, John 8:12. “Then spake Jesus again unto
them, saying, I am the light of the world…” And that sure is going to be
true during the Millennium and the great white throne judgment, isn’t it?
“…He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light
of life. The Pharisees therefore said unto Him, Thou bearest record of
Thyself; Thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I
bear record of Myself, yet My record is true; for I know whence I
came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man” (John 8:12-15). Now again, you go
ahead and get the study paper and the tapes that we did on “Judge Righteous
Judgment” if you don’t have them. And it might be an interesting study for
you to do along with the feast to go back and review that again. Because
here they were judging only after the physical things. Christ is judging the
heart after the spiritual things.
Now verse 16, “And yet if I judge, My judgment is true: for I am not
alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. It is also written in your law,
that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of Myself,
and the Father that sent Me beareth witness of Me. Then said they unto Him,
Where is Thy Father?” (vs. 16-19). Now can you imagine what’s going to
happen when these Jews are resurrected in the great white throne judgment
and really find out that Christ was The Christ? And can you imagine what is
going to happen to the Jews today, for those who repent and really
understand that Jesus Christ was and is the Messiah? It’s going to be a
revelation, see. But here they are. Now they’re going to have to unlearn
this, aren’t they? See. So this is the thing we need to understand. What
we’re going to see here is the rejection of Christ, and then He is going to
have to be accepted by them. So that’s going to be quite a thing that’s
going to take place, isn’t it?
“Then said they unto Him, Where is Thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither
know Me, nor My Father: if ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father
also. These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as He taught in the temple:
and no man laid hands on Him; for His hour was not yet come. Then said Jesus
again unto them, I go My way, and ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your
sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will He kill
Himself? because He saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And He said unto
them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not
of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins:
for if ye believe not that I am…” (vs. 19-24).
Now then we need to also understand this in relationship to the beginning
of the Millennium. Those who do not believe in Christ are going to die,
aren’t they? Yes. Those in the great white throne judgement, as pictured by
the Last Great Day, when they’re resurrected back to a second physical life,
or a first opportunity for salvation, if they don’t believe that Jesus is
the I AM, then they shall suffer the second death, and that will be dying in
their sins for their sins.
Now let’s continue on. “Then said they unto Him, Who art Thou? And Jesus
saith unto them, Even
the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to
say and to judge of you: but He that sent Me is true; and I speak to the
world those things which I have heard of Him. They understood not that He
spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted
up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am…” (vs. 25-28) Now in the
Greek, “I am” is in two “I am” verbs. The first “I am” verb is ego,
meaning “I am”. The second one is eme, meaning “I am”. When you put
the two together it is an emphatic “I am”, and almost literally “I AM that I
AM”. So when He said “I am”, that really got to them. We’ll see, because the
argument begins here. And we’re going to see that it’s going to be a thing
of coming out from underneath Satan the devils influence, and that what
they’re going to have to do is not only repent of their behavior, but repent
of all the lies they have believed, repent of rejecting Jesus Christ, and so
many different things are going to have to be done. And so that’s why this
is recorded on the Last Great Day. The great confrontation that they had in
rejecting Christ.
Now you see, when we get to the Last Great Day fulfillment there’s going
to be one thing which will be different. And that will be that Satan the
devil will have been removed. But still they’re going to have to overcome.
Still they’re going to have to repent of this, because they had the Messiah
right in front of them, talking to them, teaching them. Now as we have seen
in the book of Hebrews, the greatest thing that God has done was to come in
the flesh. And here they are, right there arguing with Him.
Now let’s continue here verse 28. “…And that I do nothing of
Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. And He that
sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those
things that please Him” (vs. 28-29). Now there is the key for the whole
proposition of conversion, brethren. Do we do the things that please God?
Now remember, Jesus came and He didn’t do the things to please Himself. He
did the things that please the Father. He did the things that the Father has
commanded Him to do. So here is a good thing for us to understand. Do we
always do the things that please the Father? Well, of course, in the
fulfillment of the Millennium and the Last Great Day, they’ll have to do
that, won’t they? Yes, they will.
“As He spake these words, many believed on Him.” So it’s not just a
matter of belief, as we will see. That belief has to be deep. It can’t be
just a superficial accepting of a man because he says what he is, but you
have to not only believe but you have to believe from the very depths of
your heart and your being. So it says here, “…many believed on Him. Then
said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word,
then are ye My disciples indeed…” Now you see, during the Millennium
that’s what they’re going to have to do, continue in the words that He
taught from being the disciples of Christ in the great white throne judgment
at the Last Great Day. That’s what they’re going to have to do. And they’re
going to have to have a whole lot to overcome, as we will see. “…And ye
shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (vs. 30-32).
“They answered Him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to
any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them,
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of
sin” (vs. 33-34). So in order for those people in the Millennium and the
great white throne judgment to be free of sin, they have got to believe
Christ, they have to obey the truth, and then they will be free of sin. Now
remember in the case of the great white throne judgement, these people that
were involved in the actual literal doing of what is recorded here in John
8, now there are going to be some that are going to have a whale of a lot of
repentance to be doing because of what they said and what they did. And
that’s why God has to give them the repentance.
Now let’s come down here, verse 35. “And the servant abideth not in the
house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall
make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (vs. 35-36). And so this then will
be as what will happen when they are granted salvation. Because He will free
them from sin. He will give them His Spirit. He will give them eternal life.
They will be free of the sinful nature.
And Jesus went on saying, “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek
to kill Me, because My word hath no place in you” (vs. 37). I wonder what’s
going to happen when those who are actively involved in doing that are
resurrected in the great white throne judgment? I wonder how many had
committed the unpardonable sin, and how many had not committed the
unpardonable sin? It makes you wonder. “…But ye seek to kill Me, because My
word hath no place in you.” Boy, a vast repentance is going to have to take
place. So this shows what a great and fantastic thing it’s going to be for
this change to occur.
“I speak that which I have seen with My Father: and ye do that which ye
have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our
father.” Well, now if they’re going to be in the Millennium and in the great
white throne judgment, Abraham is going to stand right there and say, “Yeah,
I’m right here. I am your father. Now let me tell you what you need to do.”
And “Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children…” Now notice, they
say up here “Abraham’s seed”, and now down here they say “Abraham’s
children”. There’s a difference. There were a lot of offspring of Abraham
that were not the children in the sense that they followed God, see. So if
you’re Abraham’s seed then you are heirs according to the promise, you see.
Christ’s - you’re Abraham’s seed and heir according to the promise, and you
are the children of Abraham. So He says, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye
would do the works of Abraham” (vs. 38-39). And what did he do? He obeyed
God. Obeyed His voice. Kept His laws, His statutes, His commandments, His
judgments. And loved God and followed Him wherever He said to go. And that’s
what they’re going to learn. And can you imagine the repentance that’s going
to take place so that these very people who did this can receive eternal
life?
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