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(07) The 24 Elders, human or angles?

 

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(07)

(07) The 24 Elders, human or angles?

Well, here we are again this afternoon ,after lunch a very difficult time, it's a tendency to practice "lay activities", but we'll go forward and hopefully we'll be able to stay awake and alert. We are going to begin our study this afternoon on page 81 of your syllabus. So let me just mention to those who are watching the live stream and those who are watching on our SUM TV television channels that you are able to get a copy. If you want a hard copy of the syllabus you can contact us here at Secrets Unsealed if you don't want to purchase the syllabus, you can actually go to our website and find the syllabus there. You'll be able to read it and download it for free. We put all of our syllabus online, so that people can download them for free. It didn't used to be that way. The reason why we do it is because there are many people in many countries of the world that have no way of acquiring the syllabuses, and there's many people even in North America who do not have the means to get the material, and we feel that the material is extremely important and therefore we make it accessible to everyone for free. And people say, "Well don't you lose sales?" Yes we do lose sales, but the ministry is not about sales, the ministry is about sharing the message and the Lord provides, because many people step to the plate and they actually contribute to the functioning of Secrets Unsealed. So we're not sorry that we make these available. And I would also like to mention that basically we put all of our presentations on YouTube as well, so that people can watch them on YouTube. Anyway with that short commercial we will have order prayer and then we'll get into our study. 

        Father in Heaven we thank you for the privilege of being here this afternoon. Thank you for the good lunch that we've been able to enjoy we thank you Father for your word we ask that as we study it they will not return unto you void, but that it will cause an impact in our minds and hearts and make us more like Jesus. We thank you for hearing and answering our prayer for we ask it in the precious name of your son Jesus. Amen.

We begin on page 81 of our syllabus and the question that we are going to answer is this: The Elders, Human or Angelic? You say, "Well we already saw that they're angels." However, there are still some things that we need to take a look at, particularly Revelation 5:9-10. So let's begin, by a process of elimination. Process of elimination simply means, let's try and determine who the 24 elders are not, because if we can discover who they are not, we might be able to discover who they are. So we're going to look at several possibilities and we're going to cross off the ones that are not possible.

First of all the 24 elders are not seraphim or cherubim. You say, "How do we know that?" Well, let's read Revelation 4:9-10. It says there,

"Whenever the living creatures…"

Those are the cherubim and seraphim, right?

…whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives for ever and ever,  the 24 elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne.

Are the 24 elders the same as the living creatures? Are they cherubim and seraphim? No, because in these verses they are distinguished, it mentions the living creatures and it mentions the twenty-four elders. They are not the same thing. So the twenty-four elders are not cherubim or serafim.

Now are the 24 elders part of the vast angelic hosts? Now you say: "How do we know that they're not part of the vast angelic hosts?" Well, let's read Revelation 5:11-12 which is on the next page, page 82.

"…Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders. And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice; ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’…"

So are the 24 elders part of the angelic hosts? No, because you have three groups mentioned here: you have the many angels, the living creatures, and the elders. The elders are not the angelic hosts.

Now the next question is, are the 24 elders part of the unnumbered mixed multitude which is mentioned in Revelation chapter 7, from every nation, kindred, tongue and people? Well the answer is that the elders are not part of that group from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

You say, "How do we know that the elders are not part of that group of the redeemed?"

Well, Revelation chapter 7:13-14 tells us,

"…then one of the elders answered saying to me…"

saying to John that is,

"…who are these arrayed in white robes and where did they come from? And I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’…"

The elder is asking a question about what? About the great multitude from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. So is the elder part of the group that he's asking the question about? Absolutely not. So the elders are not part of the vast multitude.

Now let's read this note which is very important. Revelation 5:9-10 seems to indicate that the elders sing the song of their redemption from every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. However, Revelation 7:13 distinguishes one of the elders from the great multitude that was redeemed from all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues. Are you with me?

This clearly proves that the translation of Revelation 5:9-10 in the King James Version is incorrect, when it says that the great multitude, that the elders ALONG WITH the four living creatures, they sing,

"…You have redeemed us from every nation, tongue, and people, and You have made us kings and priests and we shall reign upon the earth…"

Obviously when you read Revelation 7:13-14 you see that the elders do not belong to that great multitude from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

Now the next point is perhaps the 24 elders are part of 144,000 under different circumstances? Well let's read Revelation 14:3. The 144,000 by the way are those who are going to be alive when Jesus comes, they are the living, those who remain and are alive according to the Apostle Paul. It says in Revelation 14:3,

"…they sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders, and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who were redeemed from the earth…"

So the question is, are the elders part of the group of 144,000? No, because verse 3 speaks of the living creatures, the elders, and 144,000, so they are not members of those who will be alive when Jesus comes.

What about those who resurrected in the special resurrection when Christ resurrected? Could they be members of that group? No, absolutely not. Why not? For the simple reason that the elders were already there before Jesus ascended to heaven with the firstfruits, and we'll come to that point a little bit later.

But there's another special resurrection as well. You're aware that there's going to be a special resurrection immediately before Jesus arrives at His second coming, right? Those who pierced Jesus and the worst enemies of the faith, as well as those who died in the faith of the Third Angel’s Message will resurrect, and then they will see the entire second coming of Jesus from beginning to end. The rest of the dead who died before 1844 they will resurrect when Jesus is above the earth. So those who resurrect in the special resurrection and those individuals who are alive which are the 144,000 they will see the second coming of Christ from beginning to end. The rest of those who died before, they will resurrect in the general resurrection once Jesus is above the earth. Jesus isn't going to touch the earth but He will be above the earth.

So can the elders be members of that group that will resurrect in that special resurrection right before the second coming of Christ? Absolutely not. Let's read Daniel 12:1

"At that time Michael shall stand up, the Great Prince who stands watch over the sons of your people, and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth…"

Not everyone,

"…many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life some to shame and everlasting contempt…"

That's the special resurrection. Can the elders be part of that group that resurrects in the special resurrection? No, because they were already in heaven when Jesus ascended. They went with Jesus to heaven when Jesus ascended. So they can't be part of that special resurrection shortly before the second coming of Christ before He arrives.

Can the 24 elders actually be part of those who will resurrect in the general resurrection when Jesus comes? The resurrection of all of the righteous who lived before 1844, before the Third Angel's Message was proclaimed? No, they can't be. What's the reason why they can't be?

Well, for the same reason that they or all the elders were already in heaven when Jesus ascended to heaven, so they can't be the ones that resurrect when Jesus comes the second time. And of course you can read there 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 where the dead in Christ will resurrect when Jesus comes. They can't be the the elders that were in heaven before Jesus arrived at the moment of His ascension. I already mentioned at the bottom of page 83 that they are not part of those who resurrect in the special resurrection when Jesus came forth from the tomb on Resurrection morning.

So let's review what we've noticed.

• Are they part of the cherubim and seraphim? No.

• Are they part of the vast angelic hosts? No.

• Are they part of the great multitude from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people? No.

• Are they part of the 144,000 those will be alive when Jesus comes? No.

• Are they part of that special resurrection right before the Second Coming, before Jesus arrives? No.

• Will they be part of the general resurrection of the righteous who died before 1844? No.

• Are they part of the firstfruits that Jesus took to heaven? No.

So what is the conclusion that we must reach? We've disqualified every being that we know of except one. They are not members of the regular angelic hosts or of the human family, therefore they must be some other order of being, and what are they? They are the representatives of the worlds that never sinned in the universe.

But now let's deal with the problem. A problem in translation. How then do we explain Revelation 5:8-10 where the 24 elders, and by the way, this the problem is only in the King James and the New King James Version, not any other version in any of the other more contemporary versions. So what do we do to explain Revelation 5:8-10 where the 24 elders appear to be singing the song of their redemption from every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation? Why do these verses seem to say that the 24 elders will reign upon the earth?

Let us consider the passage as it appears in the King James. So we're going to read it first in the King James, then we're going to try to resolve the issue. Verse 8 of chapter 5 reads as follows in the King James Version,

"…and when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints, and they…"

By the way, both the living beings and the elders, are singing this, right? What do the living creatures represent? The cherubim and seraphim, right? So did the cherubim and seraphim, were they redeemed from the earth? See, we begin to detect a little problem here, because both the living creatures and the elders are singing this song. So it says:

"…and they sung a new song, saying, ‘Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof for Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God’…"

Are the cherubim and seraphim redeemed? No. But they're singing the song:

"…You have redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth."

Do you see where the problem is? It gives the impression that the elders who are singing this song besides the four living creatures incidentally, are actually human beings, that were redeemed, human beings that are going to reign upon the earth. Is this possible in the light of what we've studied? No, it's not possible in the light of what we've studied.

So we go to the paragraph on page 84, does not this passage explicitly state that God redeemed the elders from the earth then He made them kings and priests, and that they would rule upon the earth? How could they then be strong angels or the highest of angels that represent other worlds in the heavenly council?

Now before I answer this question I'm going to tread softly, I would like to share a word about the King James Version. I personally believe that the King James Version is a very good version of the Bible, a very good translation. I believe that the manuscript trail, the Textus Receptus is a good manuscript trail, the one that is used to translate the King James Version. However, neither the manuscript trail nor the translation are perfect. The King James Version is a reverent version written in beautiful Victorian English but the translation is not infallible, it is not perfect.

I can give you an example. Daniel says that the Little Horn took away the daily sacrifice, it says in the King James Version. Ellen White says the word "sacrifice" does not belong to the text. So immediately we see that there are some issues. Now, I'm not saying that there are major issues, that the King James Version is not a good version of the Bible, not a good translation. It is a good translation. Sometimes it's difficult to read because the syntax is not the syntax that we use today, and many of the words are not words that we use today, and that's why many people prefer more contemporary versions. Now having said this, having said this about the King James Version, some people who are well intended revere this version so much that they practically give the impression that God verbally dictated the translation of the King James. You know they say if it was good enough for Christ it's good enough for me. However, the King James translation is by no means perfect.

Let me give you an example from the much-maligned New International Version. Now I'm not really pushing for the New International Version, don't get me wrong, there are many passages in the NIV that have been taken out, there are certain words that are mistranslated, there's slanted translations in certain verses, that doesn't mean that the entire NIV is no good. When we study the Bible we have to look at many different versions of the Bible to see if we can determine the meaning of a text. Let me give you one example from the Bible, of where the NIV is better than the King James Version. That doesn't mean that the NIV is better in all respects than the King James Version. You're understanding what I’m saying, right?

By the way, did you know that Ellen White says that it is likely that there are many things that the editors added to Bible text to try and make them clear in Selected Messages volume 1? So ~ and she's talking about the King James Version there ~ so we need to look at the manuscript trail, we need to look at all the evidence.

Now what I want to mention is that the NIV is much better in those texts that speak about the state of the dead. The example I want to give us is from Acts 2:25-27. We're not digressing right now, I just want to show you that sometimes the more contemporary versions are more precise in certain cases than what we find in the King James Version. Acts 2:25-27 here Peter on the day of Pentecost is quoting a passage from Psalms 16,

"…for David speaketh concerning Him…"

David wrote about Jesus, in other words,

"…I foresaw the Lord always before My face, for He is on my right hand that I should not be moved, therefore did My heart rejoice and My tongue was glad…"

This is the King James Version

"…moreover also My flesh shall rest in hope, because Thou will not leave My soul in Hell neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption…"

You see where we have the problem here? You know people who use the King James they'll say when Jesus died He went to hell. His soul went to hell, not Him, His soul went to hell. So when you read this in the King James, immediately you have to explain, well, the "soul" is the person and you know "hell" is, it really represents "the grave", which by the way is the equivalent of the word "hades" which is used twelve times in the New Testament, in the Old Testament is "sheol". "Sheol" is used over fifty times in the Old Testament and almost every single time it can be translated "the grave". It doesn't mean "hell" it means the "grave". And so the King James says,

"You will not leave My soul in hell neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption…"

Now notice how that the "New International Version" translates this verse or these verses,

"I saw the Lord always before Me because He was at My right hand, I will not be shaken, therefore My heart is glad and My tongue rejoices, My body also will live in hope because You will not leave Me to the grave nor will You let your Holy One see decay…"

Is that a better translation? Very clearly it's a better translation. So what is "the soul" in the NIV? "Me". Haven't we always said as Adventist that the soul is the total person, so the NIV is a good Seventh-Day Adventist version in this verse, because it says:

"You will not abandon Me…"

Not to hell but to where?

"…to the grave, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see decay…"

So having said this, the reason why I'm bringing this to view is because just because the that King James Version gives us the impression that the elders are singing the song of their redemption, doesn't necessarily mean that the King James translation is the correct translation.

I want to read now from several modern versions, versions that have been written within the 20th and 21st century. I'm going to read all of them so that you can see how the overwhelming evidence is that the elders are not the redeemed, the elders are singing ABOUT the redeemed.

First of all from the "NIV":

"…and they sang a new song, ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because You were slain and with Your blood You purchased men for God, from every tribe, and language, and people, and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.’…"

Here the elder is not including himself in this multitude, he is singing about the multitude.

Notice Revelation 5:9-10 in "The New American Standard Bible" which is very much appreciated Bible in the Christian world today:

"…and they sang a new song saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals for You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood, men from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth…"

Once again the elders are singing about the redeemed.

Notice "The Revised Standard Version":

…And they sang a new song saying, ‘Worthy art Thou to take the scroll and to open its seals for Thou was slain and by Thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and has made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign upon the earth.’…"

The "New English Bible":

"…and they were singing a new song, ‘Thou art worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals for Thou wast slain and by Thy blood didst purchase for God men of every tribe, and language, and people, and nation. Thou has made them a royal house to serve our God as priests and they shall reign upon the earth.’…"

"The Weymouth Bible" which is more of a dynamic translation reads like this:

"…and now they sing a new song, saying, ‘Worthy art Thou to take the book and break its seals because Thou has been slain and has purchased for God with Thine own blood men out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. And has formed them into a kingdom to be priests to our God, and they shall reign over the earth.’…"

"The Phillips" translation

‘…they sang a new song and these are the words they sang, ‘Worthy art Thou to take the book and break its seals for Thou has been slain and by Thy blood hath purchased for God men from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. Thou hast made them a kingdom of priests for our God. And they shall reign as kings upon the earth.’…"

"The Jerusalem Bible" which is a Roman Catholic Bible:

"…they sang a new hymn, ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break the seals of it, because You were sacrificed and with Your blood You bought men for God of every race, language, people, and nation. And made them a line of kings and priests to serve our God and to rule the world.’…"

The "New American Bible" also a Catholic translation,

"…this is the new hymn they sang, ‘Worthy are You to receive the scroll and break over its seals for You were slain with Your blood You purchased for God men of every race, and tongue, and every people, and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they shall reign upon the earth.’…"

And then finally "The Jewish New Testament", Revelation 5:9-10,

"…and they sang a new song, ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals because You were slaughtered at the cost of Your blood You ransom for God persons from every tribe, language, people, and nation. You made them into a kingdom for God to rule, kō-hă-nîm …"

That's priests,

"…to serve Him and they will rule over the earth.’…"

Overwhelmingly the testimony of the translations is that the elders are not singing the song of their redemption, they are singing about the redeemed. Are you with me or not?

Now why can’t, why is it that the elders cannot be human? Four reasons:

First, because the elders were already there before Jesus ascended to heaven, so they, you know, unless He had a huge group of people that went to heaven. We know that Moses went, and Elijah went, and Enoch went, that's three, but 24 elders? I mean you don't have any groups that went to heaven before Jesus ascended , so they cannot be human. They were already there.

Second, both the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders sang the song of redemption. And the four living creatures are cherubim-seraphim, they were not redeemed from among men, and they are not going to rule over the earth. Are you following me or not? Now having said that, Ellen White does say that the angels will sing the song of redemption although they never had the experience, and so I included this quotation here from "Bible Commentary" volume 7 page 922

"Holy angels will sing in the song of the redeemed, though they cannot sing from experimental knowledge, ‘He hath wash'd us in His own blood and redeemed us unto God’, yet they understand the great peril from which the people of God have been saved. Were they not sent to lift up for them a standard against the enemy? They can fully sympathise with the glowing ecstasy of those who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony."

The third reason why they are not human is because very clearly the elder, and this is a very important point, the elder is distinguished from those who are redeemed from every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. Are you understanding this point? Notice what we find here in Revelation 7:13-17 this is about the great multitude from every nation, tongue, and people, the ones that supposedly are singing, "You redeemed us from the earth…", notice,

"And one of the elders answered saying unto me, what are these?..."

This is the great multitude from every nation,

"…what are these which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they? And I said unto him, ‘Sir thou knowest’. And he said to me, ‘These are they that came out of Great Tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, therefore are they before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them’…"

Notice, and notice all of the things that I put in bracket here, not "we", not "our" not "are we", not "us". Verse 16,

"…they…"

Not "we"

"…shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them…"

Not "us",

"…nor any heat, for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them…"

Not "us", not the elders,

"… and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes…"

Is that clear? The elder is actually speaking about the group of the redeemed, the elder is not one of the members of the group of the redeemed.

Finally as we've already noticed, Ellen White clearly indicates that the 24 elders are strong angels or the highest of angels. So very clearly Ellen White did not understand that the 24 elders are human beings that were redeemed and that are going to reign upon the earth.

Is this clear? Yes, okay, good.

Now, let's talk about the elders in the rest of the book of Revelation, the elders in the rest of the book. And basically in the next couple of pages, you’ll find in the chart on page 91, so I'm just going to go to the chart and the-24 elders are mentioned in these chapters that we have here.

Let's notice the column under Revelation chapter 4.

• Is the Father present in Revelation 4? Yes.

• Are the 24 elders present? Yes.

• Are the four living creatures present? Yes.

• Are the seven spirits who are before the throne present in chapter 4? Yes.

But in chapter 5 you have an addition, don't you?

• Do you still have the Father? Yes.

• Do you still have the elders? Absolutely.

• Do you have the four living creatures? Yes.

• The seven spirits are sent where? They're sent to the earth.

• But who is added now to the picture? The Lamb and the angelic hosts.

But now let's notice Revelation 7 where you have a description of the redeemed already victorious with the Lord, in other words it's after the Second Coming. They're celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles in heaven, they have palm branches in their hands, which were used according to Leviticus 23:40 at the Feast of Tabernacles. And you'll notice and we don't have time to look at all of the verses but you have the chart there:

• the Father is mentioned in Revelation 7:10, in chapter 7,

• the 24 elders are mentioned in chapter 7:11,

• the four living creatures are mentioned also in chapter 7:11,

• the Holy Spirit is not mentioned because why? His work is finished.

• The Lamb is mentioned in verses 10 and 17,

• The angelic hosts is mentioned, there's a 7 missing there in chapter 7:11,

• but now there's an added group. What is the added group? A great multitude which no one could number.

Why wasn't the great multitude that no one could number there present in chapter 4 and chapter 5? Because they were not there yet. Because the great multitude are the redeemed from every nation, kindred, tongue ,and people. Are you with me or not?

And then when you go to chapter 19, by the way you'll notice on the previous page that the 24 elders are also mentioned in Revelation 11:15-16 and the great multitude are not present there because the seventh trumpet is the close of probation, and the great multitude is not yet there physically at the close of probation.

Revelation 19 you also have the same group because the bride has prepared herself and the bride is now victorious.

• God is present chapter 19,

• the 24 elders are present,

• the four living creatures are present,

• Holy Spirit is not mentioned because His work is finished,

• the Lamb is mentioned,

• the angelic host is mentioned

• and once again the great multitude, because in Revelation chapter 19 the great multitude is already there, they have already been rescued from the earth.

So does this help clarify who the great multitude is and when they are going to be in heaven? Absolutely.

Now you can read page 92 it's just an explanation of the chart but I've already given you the explanation. What I want to do is I want to go to page 93 now. Page 93: The Parable of the Lost Sheep describes the final celebration that we find in Revelation 5:12-13. Let's read the parable, this parable is found in Luke 15:4-7.

"What man of you…"

And I've added explanations in brackets,

"…what man of you having a hundred sheep if he loses one of them…"

What would the hundred sheep represent? All of the worlds of the universe. By the way there's not a hundred, it's a round number displays in the parable. It's like there's not the ten virgins, there's not only going to be five wise saved people there are alive at the end, okay? So numbers are given in the parables to fill in the detail so that people can conceive of the story, they're added details to the story. And so the hundred sheep represent the worlds that never sinned.

"…if he loses one of them…"

Which one did He lose? Planet Earth, this sinful world,

"…does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness…"

In other words, safe and sound,

"…and go after…"

What would that represent?

"…go after the one that was lost…"

That's Jesus coming down to this earth, the Good Shepherd,

"…the one which was lost until he finds it. And when he has found it he lays it on his shoulders…"

What? Oh rejoicing! You know, sometimes we focus so much on Him rescuing the sheep that we forget the celebration. Notice what happens now, He takes it back with rejoicing,

"…he lays it on his shoulders…"

And verse 6,

"…and when he comes home…"

What would "home" be? What is the Shepherd's home that he left to rescue the sheep? Heaven. And so it says,

"…and when he comes home he calls together his friends and neighbors…"

Who would the friends and neighbors represent? The angels and the representatives of the worlds,

"…saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance…"

Now the parable sometimes have a limited dimension and they have a broader dimension.

The limited dimension is you know, when somebody from the church goes astray, you know the pastor of the church should go, or the member of the church should go and rescue that person and bring that person back to the fold, and the church should have a party over their coming back, that is a limited application.

But the parables of Jesus as we saw in last year's Anchor, where we studied the parables, we noticed that the parables many times have a broader application, like a story of the Good Samaritan for example.

You know we usually say we're supposed to be good Samaritans. Yes, that's true. Jesus said, "You go and do likewise," like the good Samaritan. But in the story the Good Samaritan really represents Christ. You see, the man who fell into the hands of thieves, his garments were taken away and he was beaten up. Let me ask you, is the human race beaten up and devoid of the garment of Christ's righteousness? Absolutely. Who were the thieves that actually did that to this man in the parable? Who is the thief of all thieves? Satan, he doesn't come but to do what? But to steal, according to John chapter 10. So this man represents the sad condition of the people in the world whom Satan has beat up, he's taken away their righteousness. And so what happens now? There comes a priest walking by there, actually there's a Levite that comes first and he passes by, then there's a priest that passes by, and passes him up. Here comes a Samaritan and the Samaritan has compassion on him, and he binds his wounds with wine and oil.

What does the wine represent? The blood of Christ. What does oil represent? What are the healing agents that Jesus uses to heal people who have been beat up by Satan and they're taken away their righteousness? The Holy Spirit and the blood of Christ. And then the story doesn't end then, he takes this man to the inn. The inn represents the church, because the guy you know, the wine and the oil have been used to heal him, but he's not totally healed yet, so he says to the innkeeper which would be the pastor, he says, "Take care for me," and gives him two denarii, he gives him resources. Has Jesus given resources to the church to take care of those who are in need, who are unsaved? Absolutely. And then he says, "Take care of him, and if you spend any more than what I've given you when I come again, I will repay you." There's a second coming of the Samaritan.

We studied this parable last year, for those of you who were here. The parables are amazing. There's much more there than perhaps we've seen before. The parables have an endtime dimension, that was the name of Anchor last year, "The Endtime Dimension Of The Parables".

But anyway notice Ellen White's explanation of this parable, the broader explanation at the bottom of the page.

"By the lost sheep Christ represents not only the individual sinner but the one world that has apostatized and has been ruined by sin. This world is but an atom in the vast dominions over which God presides, yet this little fallen world, the one lost sheep, is more precious in His sight than are the ninety and nine that went not astray from the fold. Christ the loved commander in the heavenly courts stooped from His highest state, and laid aside the glory that He had with the Father, in order to save the one lost world. For this He left the sinless worlds on high, the ninety and nine that loved Him, and came to this earth to be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. God gave Himself in His Son…"

Now know what the reason is,

"…that He might have the joy of receiving back the sheep that was lost…"

In other words Jesus rescues a world, He not only rescues individuals in that world.

So let's talk about the second coming of Jesus for a few moments. Just before the second coming of Christ, the Father, the cherubim and the seraphim, the representatives of the worlds that never sinned, and the Holy Spirit, will gather in the heavenly room for the arrival of Jesus with all the redeemed from all ages.

Same thing as Revelation chapter 4. Jesus will leave heaven, accompanied by all the holy angels on route to planet Earth to receive His people from all ages, right? 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17. The sampling of the firstfruits that Jesus presented before His Father upon His ascension, will now translate into the abundant harvest of all the redeemed from all ages. When Jesus nears the City with His people, the angels will sing the hymn of Psalm 24 once again, "Open up, ye gates, and the King of Glory will come in!"

Jesus will then enter through the gates with His people in the midst of an explosion of praise. The Father will be present at the gates of the City to welcome His children home. Now you say, "But pastor Bohr, I've heard that when Jesus comes He's coming with the Father also, and heaven is going to be totally empty, because heaven is going to be silent for about a half an hour."

We're going to talk about the seventh seal, that's not what it's referring to, that everybody left heaven is on their way to the earth including the Father. The Father is not coming at the second coming, in Acts 3:20 it says, He shall send forth Jesus at the second coming. Notice this clear statement from Ellen White. This is found in "Review and Herald", September 21, 1886, it couldn't be clearer. See, we developed these traditions in the church that we pass along without reflection, without doing research, without thinking, we say "Oh yeah all of heaven is going to come, the Father's going to come too." No, the Father doesn't come. He's going to be in the City just like when Jesus ascended to heaven, to give the welcome to Jesus when He ascended. The same is going to be with the redeemed. Notice this statement,

"The sacrifice of our Savior has made ample provision for every repenting believing soul. We are saved because God loves the purchase of the blood of Christ, and not only will He pardon the repentant sinner, not only will He permit him to enter Heaven, but He - the Father of mercies - will wait at the very gates of heaven to welcome us, to give us an abundant entrance to the mansions of the blessed…"

So is the Father coming? He's going to be where? At the gates to welcome His people home. Welcome home, children, remember the song?

"O, what love! What wondrous love, the Father has shown in the gift of His beloved Son for this fallen race. And this sacrifice is a channel for the overflow of His infinite love, that all who believe on Jesus Christ may - like the prodigal son - receive full and free restoration to the favor of heaven."

Won't that be a marvelous moment? Wow, Jesus ascending to heaven with all of the angel hosts. He will come with all of His holy angels, the Bible says, and to receive those, the rest of the dead who died in Christ and those who are alive and remain, the 144,000, caught into the cloud then to ascend to the Holy City as Psalm 24 is sung, "Open up, ye gates, the King of Glory will come in!" And then the gates of the City will open wide, and Jesus and the redeemed will come in, and the Father will be there, saying, "Welcome home, children. Welcome back!" Don't miss it for anything in the world.

Now we have about eleven minutes left so we want to go to the next lesson because the next lesson is kind of long, so we want to make sure that we are able to cover this entire lesson # 7 "Future History And Functions Of The 24 Elders".

Now first of all I want to make reference to a chapter of the Bible, actually several chapters of the Bible in the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah 24 through 27, this is called The Little Apocalypse of the Old Testament, the little book of Revelation of the Old Testament, because it contains many common elements with the last book of the Bible. And basically Isaiah 24:1-4 describes the cataclysmic second coming of Jesus Christ. So let's read those verses and you'll see that it's describing the second coming of Jesus. You know the mighty earthquake, when islands disappear, mountain chains disappear, and the sun is darkened, the stars don't give their light, the moon doesn't give its light, there is this catastrophe that happens to Planet Earth. Isaiah 24:1 says,

"Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty…"

Does that sound familiar? Jeremiah said,

"I beheld the earth and it was without form and void…"

The word "void" means "empty", by the way in Spanish the translation is "desordenada y vacia" isn't that beautiful in Spanish?

"…Behold the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, distorts its surface and scatters abroad its inhabitants…"

In addition.

"...And it shall be as with the people so with the priest, as with the servant so with his master, as with the maid so with her mistress, as with the buyer so with the seller, as with the lender so with the borrower, as with the creditor so with the debtor. The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. The earth mourns and fades away. The earth languishes and fades away. The haughty people of the earth languish…"

hat a vivid description of what's going to happen to this earth when Jesus comes.

Frederick Moriarty, a Roman Catholic writer, I wouldn't quote Roman Catholic writers very frequently, but this was a good description of what is being said here in the Book of Isaiah, he comments on these verses in the following way,

"God's Word had once established order in the world. Genesis 1. The picture is that of a return to primeval chaos."

Just like Jeremiah says in Jeremiah chapter 4:

"I beheld the earth, and lo it was without form and void, and I looked at the heavens and there was no light…"

Now the culmination of the second coming is described later in the chapter. In Isaiah 24:18-20 we find a further vivid description of what's going to occur when Jesus comes. It says there:

"And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit. And he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare …"

This reminds us of Revelation chapter 6 where people who are hiding in the caves are running because they want to be hidden from the face of the One who is sitting on the throne. So once again,

"And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit. And he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows from on higher open and the foundations of the earth are shaken. The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut, its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall and not rise again."

What a vivid description of the coming of Christ, what's going to happen with this world at the moment of the seventh plague. These verses bring to mind Revelation 6:15-17 where people are hiding in caves and they're begging for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from the face of the One who is sitting on the throne. It also reminds us of the seventh plague, the same phenomena takes place according to Revelation 16:17-21.

So when this cataclysm comes, when this catastrophe comes at the second coming, the question is, is there anyone left? Isaiah 24:6 tells us:

"Therefore the curse has devoured the earth and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men are left."

So when this destruction comes is there going to be anyone left, yes or no? Yes! It says when this calamity comes, verse 6 comes after the verses that we read about what's going to happen when Jesus comes, it says:

"...few men are left".

So the big question is, who are the ones that are left? Let me ask you, are any of the wicked people going to be left alive when Jesus comes? So who must be the ones, the few men that are left? It must be the righteous!

Now, let's read the note that's very important. You know this has to do with Matthew 24:40-41 where Jesus says:

"One will be taken and the other one will be left."

The traditional view is that the one that is taken, Jesus takes to heaven; and the one that is left, is the one that's left behind, the wicked, dead. But I've written a little book and let's read the note. It says a little bit more about it,

"…It is a common assumption among Adventist interpreters that the few men who are left at the second coming are the wicked, who die and remain on earth during the Millennium. However, an analysis of the terminology and context indicates that those who are left represent the righteous who remain alive when Jesus comes. Whereas those who are taken are overtaken by destruction…"

So if you want a full analysis of this, I wrote a little book called Taken Or Left, I don't know if any of anybody has read that little book Taken Or Left? A few of you have read it. Basically I take into context, I take the terminology, I take the broader context, and I have no doubts whatsoever after having studied these verses very carefully, that those who are left are the ones will remain alive, those who are taken are overtaken or destroyed. Now the passage that I mentioned,

"One will be taken and the other one will be left."

Comes right after Jesus says,

"As it was in the days of Noah so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man."

So what context must we look at to see who is left? Because immediately before "taken and left" is the story of the flood. So where must we look to find out who are the left ones? You would have to go back to Genesis. Now when the flood came, who was left? Well, read Genesis 7:22+23. This is the New King James:

"So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground, both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air, they were destroyed from the earth, only Noah and those who are with him in the ark remained alive."

Now other versions translate like for example the "English Standard Version" and there are others as well, notice the translation,

"…only Noah was left and those who were with him in the ark."

Even when there's a devastating flood, you ask the question, "Wow, that floods swept everyone away, was anyone left?" Right? We use the word "left". The word "left" is a "remnant" word, those who are left after a great destruction or great calamity, that's the way the word is used in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. And so the English Standard Version translates:

"…only Noah was left."

By the way did you notice that in Isaiah 24:6 it says,

"…few men are left."

Few are left, Notice 1 Peter 3:20 speaking about the flood in Noah's day,

"…in which a few, that is eight persons were brought safely through water."

So who are the few that remained alive at the flood? Those who remained alive. Who were the ones that were taken away by the flood? It was the wicked.

So basically Isaiah chapter 24, 25, 26, and 27, these chapters are really describing the cataclysmic second coming of Jesus Christ. The earth will be laid waste, it will be emptied, it will be plundered, all of the wicked will be destroyed, and they will remain dead, we're going to see this in our next class, will remain dead during the thousand years. The righteous would not live here because this planet will be non inhabitable, so the righteous will go to heaven for a thousand years. And this earth will remain without form and void, and the heavens will have no light.

You say, "Why will the heavens have no light?" Well, it's very simple because Matthew chapter 24 tells us that the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Let me ask you, what is the power in the heavens that rules the day? The sun. What is the power that rules the night? The moon. And in "Early Writings" page 41 Ellen White says that at the voice of God, imagine how powerful that voice is, the sun, the moon, and stars, will be moved out of their places. She says they will not disappear, but they will be moved who-knows-where in the universe. So when He makes a new heaven and a new earth He just has to retrieve them and put them where they will benefit the earth. And so in Isaiah chapter 24 we have a description of the second coming.

Now in the next class we are going to go to verses 21 to 23 of Isaiah 24. This is where things are going to get very, very interesting because at the end of chapter 24 we are going to meet the elders again, but this will be the elders when the New Jerusalem descends from heaven. So don't miss the next exciting episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aJARc7zLzM&list=PLsxb9qoUVlhp3zR1ts4t5yT9iB_PZq5_x&index=6