Episode Transcript
Are you ready to embark on a thought provoking journey of discovery, curious to explore an alternative narrative that challenges the theory of evolution? What impact has the in heaven had on our planet? And what are the implications for humanity? What can we learn from this epic battle that is unfolding between good and evil? Here is your opportunity to unlock a treasure trove of spiritual insights from the Bible that will answer these and many other pressing questions, illuminating the path to eternal life, which lies just a choice away. Here is Bill Gates presenting from babylonian captivity to the ascension of Jesus. In our last presentation, I said that we would see just how accurate the maths are in a very long Bible prophecy spanning 2300 years.
This will be the hardest topic of the series, I believe, but it will prove conclusively that there is an allknowing God who loves us and wants us to have eternal life. Among the captives in Babylon was a godly man by the name of Daniel who became a prophet of God. He was visited by an angel who gave him understanding of a very large time prophecy spanning a period of 2300 prophetic days, which converts to 2300 literal years, as you will eventually see.
Let us look at the Bible prophecy. Daniel eight, verse one. In the third year of the reign of King Belshazza, a vision appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel after that which appeared unto me at the first.
Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, how long shall be the vision? That was Daniel 813. And the answer came, and he said unto me, unto 2300 days. Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Now, these verses are extremely important to modern day christians, but are hard to understand. So let me explain. There have only ever been two sanctuaries where God dwelt just the two, one on earth and the original one in heaven.
The Jews were in captivity in Babylon, and their earliest sanctuary on earth had been destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon 70 years earlier as a result of the earthly sanctuary being destroyed. The angel's reference to the cleansing of the sanctuary mentioned in Daniel 814 must refer to the original sanctuary, which is in heaven. If so, what would pollute the heavenly sanctuary and require it to be cleansed? It is the record of every person's sins which pollute the heavenly sanctuary and which eventually needs to be cleansed at an appointed time.
You might be thinking, how did my sins get recorded up there? Well, the Bible tells us as follows. The Bible says that the Messiah, who we know as Jesus Christ, would be our sin bearer, as it says here in Isaiah 53, verse four, surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. So where would he bear those sins to? To the heavenly sanctuary.
And so the record of the world's sins which are kept in the books of heaven would end up polluting the sanctuary in heaven. Therefore, the cleansing of the sanctuary of those sins would be an essential requirement if God was going to end up with a clean universe again. Those who pray for forgiveness have the word pardon placed beside their sins.
Those who do not seek the forgiveness of their sins do not have the word pardon placed beside their sins. Thus the heavenly sanctuary needs cleansing of both the pardoned and unpardoned record of sins in this prophecy in Daniel chapter eight. Daniel unfortunately has in his mind the rebuilding of the sanctuary in Jerusalem that was lying in ruins at this time.
How long will it be for the sanctuary in Jerusalem to be rebuilt? He wasn't thinking about a sanctuary in heaven. Then Gabriel the archangel says to Daniel, unto 2300 days. But Daniel struggled with this.
Therefore, Daniel chapter nine has him praying fervently for more light on this matter. But before we note what the angel did, we need to take an important detour and notice something else here. God gave them a model of the sanctuary in heaven with the building of the earthly sanctuary, and God gave them seven ceremonial services in order to model to them the seven different aspects of a coming Messiah's work to save sinners.
For that Messiah would play all the parts on behalf of mankind, and he would vindicate God's downtrodden law in the process. So the first three Old Testament levitical feast days, called a passover, b unleavened bread, and c the wavesheaf, were a teaching aid and pointed forward to the sacrificial work of a coming messiah, Jesus Christ, on planet earth and not in heaven. And this picture depicts those ceremonies there.
And when accomplished through the ministry of Christ on Earth, the curtain in the temple was ripped from top to bottom, signifying the end of the sacrificial aspects of the plan of salvation. 50 days after Christ's resurrection, the fourth feast, Pentecost, was fulfilled on planet earth and was twofold in intent. Firstly, it was God's signal that Christ was now inaugurated as the high priest in the heavenly sanctuary to minister his own innocent, shed blood on behalf of repentant sinners.
So we don't need to seek forgiveness from an earthly priest. We can seek it directly from Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. Secondly, Pentecost provided the power to the first christians, which enabled them to take God's message of salvation very quickly to the whole world, and not just the jews.
The last three Old Testament levitical feast days, called the feast of trumpets, the day of atonement and the feast of tabernacles, were a teaching aid and pointed forward to the mediatorial and judgement work of the messiah, Jesus Christ in heaven, not on earth. So, to summarise, the first three jewish festivals happened on earth. The fourth one, Pentecost, was the bridge between heaven and earth and was the signal that we now had Christ as our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary.
And the last three ceremonial festivals relate to the judgement scenes and occur in heaven, not on earth. So that is the end of the vital detour. Now we're almost ready to go back to the angel who comes to help Daniel understand the vision of the 2300 prophetic days.
In order to do that, we now need to unlock the Bible's mathematical code. Notice what this slide says. 70 weeks are determined upon thy people and 70 times seven is 490.
So 490 prophetic days gives us 490 literal years. And it's based on the principle of a day for a year. Recorded in ezekiel four, verse six, and numbers 14, verse 34.
It's based on a couple of stories, actually. When God got the children of Israel to the borders of Canaan, he asked moses to send in twelve spies to cheque the land out and bring back a report. God had already promised them this land as he was going to destroy the pagans who were living there and give it to his people.
So twelve israeli spies went in and brought back evidence of lush food. It was indeed a land of plenty, as God had promised. And we've tried to depict it with that artist's painting of the bunch of grapes.
It took two men to carry it. But ten of the spies could only see the problems and they said there were giants in the land and therefore we cannot take it. Two men, however, Joshua and Caleb, brought back a faithful report and said, yes, it is a goodly land filled with milk and honey, as God said.
And guess what? The people chose to believe the false reports of the ten spies instead of the correct report from Joshua and Caleb. And so the people refused to go and take the land of Canaan. So God says in the Old Testament book called numbers 1433, these words, numbers 1433, and your children shall wander in the wilderness 40 years.
So all twelve spies, including the faithful two, Caleb and Joshua, had to wander for 40 years in the wilderness a day for a year representing the time they spent seeking out the land of Canaan, which was 40 days. But all except Caleb and Joshua perished in the wilderness during those 40 years because of their lack of faith in God's promises and in his ability to do for them what they could not do for themselves. We've just discovered a Bible code, our enigma file.
Discovery that in Bible prophecy, a prophetic day stands for a literal year. But there's something else we need to notice here. Don't follow the crowd, because the crowd is not always right.
Think for yourself. Read the Bible and see for yourself eventually. And after much prayer found in Daniel, chapter nine, Gabriel comes back a second time and tells Daniel these words.
They're hard to fathom initially, but I will break it down for us. Daniel nine, verse 23. At the beginning of thy supplications, the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved.
Therefore, understand the matter and consider the vision. What vision? The 2300 year time prophecy of Daniel 814. Then the archangel breaks up the prophecy into smaller parts.
70 weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and the prophecy and to anoint the most holy. Daniel nine, verse 24. Now notice that there will be seven weeks of seven days, which comes to 49 prophetic days.
In fact, we'll read this. Know therefore, and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the messiah the prince shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks. The street shall be built again, and the wall even in troublest times.
So there'll be seven weeks of seven days, which comes to 49 prophetic days, which comes to 49 literal years. Then there'd be a long gap of 62 weeks of seven days per week, which comes to 434 prophetic days, making 434 literal years. So the subtotal of seven weeks and 62 weeks gives us 69 weeks, leaving one final prophetic week to be looked at.
So now we will unpack this so that we can understand what's going on. Firstly, 70 weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city. So who were Daniel's people was the jewish nation.
God had borne long with this stubborn people, and so now he was giving them a final 490 years to get right with him, or they would no longer be his chosen people. And the city referred to here is the city of Jerusalem, which lay in ruins at this time to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity. This is simply a reference to the fact that towards the end of this time frame of 490 years, a messiah will come and he will become the perfect ransom that effectively provides a way of salvation for the repentant sinners.
And this verse also said to bring in everlasting righteousness. The coming messiah would also bring in the everlasting righteousness of his own sinless life. And this he credits to the account of all who repent and believe on him as the promised saviour.
Thus, when the heavenly Father looks upon his children, who have claimed the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, the father sees Jesus in us. And therefore God loves repentant, believing souls as he loves his own son, and for Christ's sake, accepts us into his family. Now, I consider that joyful news.
And isn't it a gracious and merciful act of God to do that? We should be most grateful. This meant that as the various fulfillments within this prophecy leading up to the arrival of the messiah, when they actually happened and on time, this would give repentant people absolute assurance. But the remaining portion of the prophecy, which was to be sealed until 1798, would also happen on time and to anoint the most holy.
Here is a prophecy about the anointing of the coming messiah at a specific time in the prophecy. So this leaves us with one question before I show you how it all panned out. And the question is this, when would this prophecy start? Ezra 614 tells us that, and the elders of the Jews build it according to the commandment of God of Israel.
Ezra 614, according to the commandment of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia. So there were three decrees, and the last one was issued in 457 BC, as recorded in Ezra, seven verses, eleven to 26. This start date is confirmed by history and archaeology.
Clay tablets confirm the starting date. And what you're looking at here is the actual clay cylinder called the Cyrus cylinder. Cyrus became the persian ruler of the Babylonian Empire after defeating the Babylonians, and it was Cyrus who initially commanded the restoration of the city of Jerusalem.
So archaeology confirms the accuracy of this start date of 457 BC. The archangel comes back and explains to Daniel that there are two major parts to the time prophecy of 2300 prophetic days, 457 BC to 34 AD, covers the 490 years allocated to the jewish nation specifically. But then there was another 1810 years, from 34 AD to 1844.
So God, having taught us that the key to unlock time prophecies is the day for a year principle. Let us see how it works out. But today, please remember that I'll only be looking at the first part, the 490 years.
So the first prophetic way mark is the start date of 457 BC. This is when the first lot of Jews returned from Babylon and would begin to rebuild the city and the walls of Jerusalem. But the 70 weeks or 490 year time prophecy is broken up into further way marks, as our next readings will show.
Pillar number two marks the 49 years or seven weeks period that it took to rebuild Jerusalem and the walls of the city. And that fulfilment was right on time. Then there was to be another 62 prophetic weeks, or 434 literal years to the anointing of the promised messiah at the baptism of Jesus and pillar.
Three marks that event that has taken up 69 of the 70 weeks prophecy. It happened exactly in the very year the prophecy said it would happen, and took us from 408 BC to 27 AD. After allowing a one year adjustment for the fact that there was never a year naught, John the Baptist said to the crowd, behold the lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.
John one, verse 29. You'll see in a moment the significance of that statement. Daniel 926.
And after 62 weeks, shall messiah be cut off, but not for himself. So this is a prediction, a prophecy given hundreds of years before it happened, that Jesus would die for our sins after 27 AD. That is why it says that he was cut off, but not for himself.
He died for you and for me, that we might have a ransom who would enable us to have eternal life. But the time prophecy was even more specific. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.
This is the missing week between the 69 weeks and the 70th week. And in the midst of that week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. This is referring to the 70th week now of the time prophecy.
And it was precisely in the middle of that last prophetic week that Jesus died on the cross for you and me. And that is how he confirmed the covenant that he made with Abraham 1700 years earlier. Let us look at that story for a moment.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, my father. And he said, here am I, my son. And he said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? God was testing the faith of Abraham and asking him to slay his son.
But God was doing more than that. He was also trying to teach the jewish people that one day God would in fact allow his own son to die for us. And what faith Abraham had, as we shall see.
And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burned offering. And so they, both of them went, both of them together. Genesis 22, verse eight.
And God did indeed provide the sacrifice right there. And then Genesis 20 213 says, and Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. Now let us go back to the last seven years of the 490 years and the interpretation he gave to Daniel from 27 AD.
After Jesus began his public ministry for the salvation of people, there was to be another three and a half years to the death of the Messiah. Jesus on the cross and pillar number four shows that happening precisely on time. Jesus was the promised Messiah.
And saviour Muslims, once they understand this, suddenly realised that Jesus was more than a prophet. He was the lamb of God, the Messiah that God had promised to Abraham and which Abraham had said to Isaac, his son, that God would provide. In that promise, God also provided a ransom for all of mankind's sins.
Jesus was that Messiah as promised to Abraham. Isaac, Jacob, Hagar and Ishmael. The religion of the Jews came through Abraham and Sarah, who produced Isaac and Jacob.
The religion of the Arabs and Muslims came through the line of Abraham and Hagar, who produced Ishmael. But the promised lamb of God would come through the line of Jacob and the nation of Israel. As our next Bible slide says, isaac's son of promise, Genesis 1719 to 21.
And God said, sarah, thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed, and thou shalt call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him by an everlasting covenant and his seed after him. So there's the promise of the seed coming through Isaac.
But as for Ishmael, I have heard thee, behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. Twelve princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation. So the Arabs were promised by God that they would be a great nation.
But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear at this set time in the next year. So even the very year that Isaac was to be born was named there. But let us look again at the next slide.
We have here the origins of the middle east crisis. You've got Abraham taking Hagar and producing Ishmael. From there came the twelve tribes where we have the Arabs, the Muslims and Islam.
Abraham, then later, through his own natural wife, produced Isaac, which was a miracle from God. That produced Jacob and the twelve tribes of Israel, which led us to Jesus, the promised Messiah. So the offspring of the union between Abraham and the bond woman Hagar were also promised to be a great nation.
But God's promised messiah was to come through the line of Isaac and Jacob. Hence the origins of the Middle east crisis over the centuries. But what love God has for us, his precious creation, as he provided his own son, the lamb of God, Jesus Christ, that mankind have a ransom to pay for their sins.
Then there was to be another three and a half final years to finish the prophecy, or the first part of the prophecy. This would be for the nation of Israel to get right with God, taking us from 31 AD to 34 AD. And pillar five.
This is when Stephen was stoned and God had to say, well, okay, you've rejected my son Jesus. You've rejected my disciple Stephen. Finish.
No more will you be my chosen nation. This longest time prophecy spanning 2300 years, but remember, we only looked at the first 490 years, shows that even mathematics proves the existence of God. For only an allknowing God could have given this prophecy back around 600 BC and predicted the first five intricate and detailed milestones which were all fulfilled exactly on time.
This time prophecy has converted many an atheist. But for those who obstinately stay as atheist, this prophecy has become known as the atheist's nightmare. For no one in their right mind could ever be an atheist after seeing the mathematical evidence for God as you have seen it today.
It was a prophecy written about 600 years before it happened. And praise God, some atheists have seen the light and found true happiness and purpose in living by becoming devout and committed christians. Maths is not every person's cup of tea.
So let us have a look at the math summary. It's okay for me. I was a bank manager.
First, we have the seven weeks of seven days, which equals 49 prophetic days, equals 49 literal years. Second, we had the 62 weeks of seven days, which comes to 434 prophetic days, which equals 434 literal years. Third, we have one week of seven days, equals seven prophetic days, equals seven literal years.
Add up the weeks and we have 70 weeks. Add up the prophetic days, we have 490 prophetic days. Add up the literal years, we have 490 literal years.
And so when the angel said to Daniel 924, 70 weeks are determined upon thy people, that was very, very accurate. Very few people in the world have been shown these mass within the holy Bible. But when seen, it has helped many a person to have no further doubts about the existence of God.
Finally, we need to talk about the nation of Israel, for they fail God on two counts. Firstly, they insisted that the Romans kill the Messiah. And this happened at Calvary in 31 AD.
And secondly, three and a half years later, they stoned one of Christ's disciples to death in 34 AD. That sealed the fate of the literal nation of Israel according to Jesus, for God could not use them anymore. But hold on, Bill.
Doesn't the Bible say that all Israel shall be saved? Yes, it does. So let us notice this in Romans 1126. And so all Israel shall be saved.
As it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. How do we reconcile what appears to be a contradiction? Our next few slides will show how Jesus reconciles the question. You can't get better authority than that.
Ephesians 211 wherefore remember that you being in time past gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision, that's the Gentile's nickname, by that which is called the circumcision, that is the Jews'nickname, that at that time you were without Christ. The Gentiles were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who sometimes were afar off, are made near again by the blood of Christ.
That is because Jesus died for both Jews and Gentiles, not just the Jews. For he is our peace, who has made both Jews and Gentiles one and has broken down the middle wall of petition between us. So Christianity is a unifying and peaceful religion when accepted.
It becomes a problem when it is rejected. Ephesians 218 for through him, that is, through Jesus, we both have access by one spirit into the father. As our next bible slide confirms.
Through a grafting process, Jesus has grafted the Gentiles into the israeli root stock and now looks upon any jew or Gentile who accepts Christ as his saviour and lord with favour, as being part of spiritual Israel. But the literal nation of Israel has no place in God's plans anymore. One.
Corinthians 1213. For by one spirit are we all baptised into one body, that is, spiritual Israel, whether we be Jews or gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. So both Jesus and Paul knew that the literal nation of Israel was no longer the apple of God's eye.
But can an individual jew still be saved? The answer is yes, and I'm happy to say that. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs, according to the promise, Galatians 329, God did not reject the individual jewish people, but said in that reference there in Galatians 329, that the conditional promises made to literal Israel have now been transferred to spiritual Israel, as this verse says. And what is the condition? That we accept Christ as the messiah and saviour of mankind.
So if an individual jew accepts Christ, they can still be saved. That is why we have so many messianic jews in the world today. Some have accepted him, but why not the Jews of Christ today? Well, Daniel chapter nine contained a prophecy about what to look for regarding the signs and the times of a coming messiah.
But why didn't the jewish people of those Old Testament times know that? Well, we're looking about a war between God and Satan. Satan stepped in and he tried very hard to obscure this prophecy and he got his agents in Jerusalem to write the rabbinic curse. What was in that rabbinic curse? It's an incredible statement.
May the bones of the hands and the bones of the fingers decay and decompose of him who turns the pages of the book of Daniel to find out the time of Daniel nine, verse 24 to 27. And may his memory rot from off the face of the earth forever. That comes from talmudic law, page nine, seven, eight, section two, line 28.
To the christian leaders who teach their people that the Old Testament was for the Jews and the New Testament is for Christians, you are deceiving your people. The whole Bible is for all people. No wonder the Jews of Christ's day did not recognise the messiah when he came.
They had been forbidden to read a key passage of the Old Testament. But the wise men of the east, who did not know about the rabbinic curse, knew the clues for the coming Messiah and were waiting eagerly for the event to happen. They knew the times and the seasons.
They were excited that the promised Messiah had arrived. And the shepherds in the field got real interested too. However, when Jesus finally arrived, God's enemy, Satan, was very upset at this intrusion into his plans to rule this world.
When the three wise men from the east were brought before King Herod, he asked them to let him know where the baby king was so that he might honour the new king himself. But really he wanted no competition. And when he learned that the three wise men were not coming back to him, he arranged for all of the babies in Bethlehem, aged two and under, to be killed.
The Bible told us about Satan's plans to kill Jesus. Here it is. It's in revelation twelve, verses four and five.
And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child, that is, Jesus, as soon as it was born. So Satan was the one who organised this plan. Through his proxy, King Herod, the babies in Bethlehem were killed, but through the intervention of God's angel, Joseph was warned to take themselves and the baby Jesus to Egypt.
Matthew two, verses 14 and 15. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of by the Lord through the prophet, saying, out of Egypt I called my son Hosea eleven, verse one. With Jesus now stuck in Egypt and with Satan determined to kill him, would this mean that God's plan of salvation would be thwarted? No.
Look what happened. But when King Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, arise and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead, which sought the young child's life. And he arose and took the young child and his mother and came into the land of Israel.
And upon arriving back in Israel, Joseph, Mary and Jesus spent many years living in Nazareth. And in his upbringing as a devoted son, Jesus had a very rounded upbringing. Although Jesus had the Holy Spirit as the father of Christ's humanity, nevertheless, due to his mother Mary, he inherited a carnal nature just like you and I have.
So apart from having the Holy Spirit with him from birth, Jesus had no advantage over you or me. This was important, for Jesus needed to reach people where they are and not where Adam was, as it says in Hebrews 216. For verily, he took not on him the nature of angels.
So Jesus was not an angel, but he took on him the seed of Abraham. And it's very important that we also notice therefore, in all things he had to be made like his brethren, so he had to be like us, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. For in that he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted.
As a result of these texts, we find that Jesus as a sinless human could be our substitute for saving us from the penalty of sin. And he could be our example for modelling to us how to get victory over the power of sin. Jesus was totally human, just like us and totally God, but hidden inside a normal human body, as we have.
And as we read in those verses, Hebrews 216 to 18. Jesus had the same nature and temptations that you and I have. This is a problem for some of the theologians, even to the extent that in the new king James Bible they have completely changed those two verses.
So stick with the old king James Bible. Our Bible tells us that Jesus parents made sure that he took care of all aspects of life. Luke two, verse 52.
Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man. So Jesus took care of those four aspects. Sadly, today most people are taking care of only three aspects, the mental, the social and the physical.
And then they wonder why they feel that there is something missing in their life. As a result, they turn to booze, drugs, excessive work and eastern philosophy, trying to find what will fill the hole in their heart. Eventually, Jesus knew it was time to begin his public ministry.
How did he know? Using the prophetic day for a literal year. Principle of Bible interpretation the 69 weeks mentioned here on the screen was the exact time it pinpointed 27 AD when he would arrive. And it says here, just we read this earlier on.
Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the messiah, the prince, there it is shall be seven weeks, 62 weeks. That makes 69. And that is exactly when Jesus arrived.
You'll see here, right there, AD 27. That's when Jesus sets out to meet John the Baptist and seeks baptism. Jesus was not a sinner and therefore he did not need baptism for himself, but he was baptised as an example for us to follow.
This is when John the Baptist pronounced these words. John 129 behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Baptism comes from a greek word, baptismos, which means to immerse.
That means that in a proper baptism we go down under the water signifying a death to the old ways of life. Then we stay under for a very short time, like 2 seconds to signify burial, and then we come up out of the water signifying a resurrection to a new way of life under the guidance and power of God. Baptism by sprinkling of water over the head does not convey that message.
Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew four, verse one, quote from the spirit of prophecy which illuminates the scriptures. When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted, he was led by the spirit of God.
He did not invite temptation. He went to the wilderness to be alone, to contemplate his mission and work. And by fasting and prayer he was to brace himself for the bloodstained path he must travel.
But Satan knew that the Saviour had gone into the wilderness, and he thought this the best time to approach him. Desire of ages. Chapter twelve, page one, one four.
And what were those temptations? Matthew four, verse nine. And the devil took Jesus unto a high mountain and said, all these things will I give you if you will bow down and worship me. Here is the biblical proof that Satan is trying to receive worship that he is not entitled to.
He was a created being who turned himself into a devil, whereas Jesus is the creator God, and as such had every right to reply to Satan as follows. Get thee behind me, Satan. For it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
So having successfully withstood the temptation of the devil, Jesus then set about doing good for those whom he came in contact with. As acts ten, verse 38, says, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. For God was with him.
Jesus did many beautiful things for people. He healed the sick. He made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, the blind to see.
He even brought the dead back to life. And he did all of this in the presence of witnesses. The significance of that statement is that for something to be scientific, it must have witnesses.
Jesus had thousands of witnesses. Macroevolutionary scientists have none. But the best thing jesus did for us was to die for us, an innocent substitute, so that mankind could have a second chance of living forever.
I would point out there is no third chance. However, there's no point worshipping a dead saviour, is there? Jesus had made a promise which, sadly, was not understood by the people of his day, including his own disciples. When he said John 219 to 21, Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Verse 20. Then the Jews said this temple was 46 years building, and will you rear it up in three days? Verse 21. But he spoke of the temple, of his body, and sure enough, Christ did raise himself up after his death on the cross.
Exactly on the third day he surely did. And Dr. Luke confirms this.
Then Sunday came beside all this. This is the third day since these things happened. Luke 24, verse 21.
But Jesus did much more than die on a cross for us. He rose from the tomb a victorious conqueror over death and sin, and to signify that he came forth a conqueror. There is a very interesting story about the folded napkin.
John 20, verse seven. And the napkin that was about his head was not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Now, in order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, we need to understand a little bit about hebrew tradition of that day.
The folded napkin was a form of communication between master and servant. When the servant set the dinner table, he made sure that everything was exactly the way the master wanted it. When the table was set, the servant would wait just out of sight until the master had finished eating.
So this told the servant that in terms of the meal just eaten, it is finished. When the napkin was folded, the meal is finished. There's another lesson we can learn from this story.
Desire of ages, page 789. Peter and John saw the shroud and the napkin, but they did not find their lord. Yet even here was a testimony that he had risen.
The grave clothes were not thrown heedlessly aside, but carefully folded, each in a place by itself. John saw and believed it was Christ himself who had placed those grave clothes with such care. For in his sight, who guides alike the stars and the atom, there is nothing unimportant.
Order and perfection are seen in all his work. Therefore, Christ folding the napkin in the tomb was Christ's way of silently saying to his disciples that this aspect of the plan of salvation, conquering death and the grave was also finished. They did not understand the symbolism then, but a little later they did.
Another point to note is this, dead men do not fold anything. So we have a risen saviour and praise God for that. In one corinthians 1512 to 19.
And if Christ has not risen, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins, then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. Why would Paul say that? Well, having perfect blood shed for the sins of mankind is one thing, but you need a perfect priest to offer the perfect innocent blood and make the atonement where it counts.
In heaven, where the record of sins is kept, Christ providing the perfect sacrifice was essential, for it gave Christ the heavenly high priest that he was to become the essential requirement for making an application of the atonement in heaven. So here we have pictured for us, firstly, Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. We have a perfect risen saviour, and thirdly, we have a perfect high priest in the heavenly sanctuary.
But something happened on that Sunday morning that is extremely important. Mary finds the tomb is empty and begins to weep. She hears a voice who says to her, why are you weeping? She not realising that it is Jesus and thinking it is the voice of a gardener, says, sir, if you have borne him hence, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.
Here is the Bible verse. Jesus says unto her, woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, said unto him, sir, if you have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. John 20, verse 15.
Jesus speaks to her and says one word, mary. Instantly. Mary is happy now, for she has recognised the voice of Jesus.
And she goes to touch his feet and he says to her, touch me not, for I'm not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father and your father, and to my God and your God. John 20, verse 17. Why was it important that Mary not touch Jesus at that moment in time? We will let the spirit of prophecy, writings being the torch of illumination, answer the question for us.
Desire of ages, page seven 90 Jesus refused to receive the homage of his people until he had the assurance that his sacrifice was acceptable to the Father. He ascended to the heavenly gel courts and from God himself heard the assurance that his atonement for the sins of men had been ample, that through his blood all might gain eternal life. Now that Jesus knew his sacrifice was acceptable to God, the Father in heaven, Jesus comes back to earth and meets up with two disciples on the road to Emmaus in the afternoon of the same Sunday.
That is a very fast means of travel unknown to man, and in my simple mind I can only conceive of this means of travel as Christ travelling at the speed of thought. After proving to these two disciples that he was the risen Jesus Christ, those two disciples could not get back to the other disciples in Jerusalem quick enough. And as these two disciples raced back to tell the other disciples, didn't they have a story to tell? But after 40 days, Christ went back to heaven.
This is recorded in acts, chapter one, verses one to eleven. So why was it essential for Christ to return to heaven? Well, our next part will answer that question.
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