Book of Luke - Ch. 9, Vs. 27-36 (05/24/2020)

Okay, let's begin with a quick word of prayer. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us together over these many miles. Thank you for providing for us the technology that we may meet together, even though we are apart.

Give us time when we can come back together and meet in person. Protect us and bless us. Go through the lesson this morning with me and with Brother David that follows. Protect us and defend us. Give us strength and give us wisdom.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We're looking at Luke chapter nine. And we're going to pick up this morning with verse 27. And I will read that and then I'm gonna ask a question. Verse 27, Luke nine. But I tell you of a truth.

There shall be some standing here which shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God. I'm gonna read that again because I distracted myself. I tell you of a truth. There shall be some standing here which will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.

Well, what about it? Were there some standing there who saw the kingdom of God? I want to begin by telling you there's always those who look for errors in the Bible. And they point to this as one of them.

This promise is made in all three of the synoptic gospels immediately prior to the transfiguration. In Matthew, the statement was made in Matthew 16 verse 28. In Mark it was Mark nine one. And in Luke here it is in nine 27.

Now the word for kingdom, Basilia can be translated as kingdom, but it can also be translated with royal power and dignity or with royal splendor. Therefore, it seems most natural to interpret this promise as a reference to the transfiguration, which some of the disciples, namely Peter, James and John would witness only six days later, according to Matthew and Mark, about eight days in Luke.

So here's the problem. Matthew and Mark say six, Luke says about eight. Now you notice he didn't say six, he didn't say eight, he said about eight. So which account is correct? And does one of them make the other incorrect?

The answer is no, they're both correct. Mark's counting differently. He's counting the part of the day of Peter's confession. Then he's counting the six following days. And after that part of the day of Christ's transfiguration.

We don't know how much of the previous day remained. We don't know how much of the following day was used. So Luke says it's about eight. We know this for sure. It's more than six. It's six and two pieces.

We just don't know the size of the pieces. So Luke says about eight. Well, with that in mind, it could be as much as eight, as little as six days and 15 minutes, somewhere between six and eight. But both can be correct at the same time.

Now, the precise reference to the amount of time elapsed is unusual for Matthew. It seems like he is carefully drawing the connection between Jesus's promise in 628 and the transfiguration which follows.

Here's what he said in Matthew 6. I said six, it's 16. 28, barely I say unto you, there shall be some standing here which shall not taste of his death until they see the Son of Man coming in his glory.

And that event immediately follows. Mark agrees on the figure of six days. He says this, Mark 9, verse one. And he says unto them, barely I say unto you that there be some of them that stand here which shall not taste death till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

And after six days, Jesus taketh with him, Peter and James and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves where he was transfigured. Okay, we're gonna go back to the account in Luke.

And I don't know whether you guys went to the other verses or not, but now we're back in Luke. Luke chapter nine, I'm gonna read 27 again. And then we're gonna start breaking it down. But I tell you the truth, there shall be some standing here which shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.

And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings that he took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray. These were three of his disciples who were in the crowd listening in verse 27.

And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and glistering. Okay, the fashion of his countenance, his face, the appearance of his face changed. And his raiment was white and glistering.

I read that a dozen times. And every time I read it, I read glittering. It's not glittering, it's glistering. It's a word like blistering, but it begins with a G, glistering. It suggests a flashing bright light similar to lightning.

Now, I want you to begin creating a picture of an image of this man, Jesus. To help do that, I want to go to Revelation chapter one, verse 12, and look at John's account years later. I'll give you a second to get there.

Revelation one, verse 12. This is John speaking. And he says, and I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of them, in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one likened to the Son of Man.

Now, I didn't put this in my notes, but I want to ask you a question. How do you think John knew what the Son of Man would look like in his glorified body? Anybody have an idea what John, why John would know what the Son of Man looked like in his glorified body?

David Huber Sr. says, God showed it to him. He had seen him before, says John Karpiak.

And the question I got to ask both of those is, when did John see him before? In that form. He saw him many times in the form of a man walking around on the earth. One would have thought that he would think the Son of Man would look like Jesus walking around on the earth.

But did he? John was there. John is gonna be there at the Mount of Transfiguration. He is gonna see Jesus in his glorified body. That's why he knew that what he was looking at, and when we start describing what he's looking at, it's gonna really look strange.

What he's looking at is Jesus in his glorified body. So start forming a mental picture of this man, Jesus, in his glorified body. Now, we already know from Luke a little bit earlier that his garment was white, and his raiment was white and glistering.

We know that already. So here's what it says in Revelation. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow. So we get a little extra information. His eyes, nothing was said about his eyes.

His eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet likened to a fine brass as they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.

And his countenance was like the sun, shineth in his strength. So let's kind of describe the picture and see what Jesus looked like to John at the Mount of Transfiguration and also in Revelation. He was clad in white garment, head to toe, all the way down to his feet.

We'll get more about him in a minute. His face was glowing like the sun. His eyes were like fire, like a flame of fire. His hair and his head were white as snow. So you see that picture? That's what Jesus looked like, both in Revelation and on the Mount of Transfiguration.

So verse 30, and behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah. Now I want to just make a note here. We know who those two men are. The Bible tells us they are Moses and Elijah. We're certain of the identity of the two men who were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.

That's going to be important a little bit later. Moses represents the law. Elijah represents the prophets. Many commentators, including John MacArthur, believe that this appearance is a foreshadowing of the two witnesses described in Revelation 11.

So we're going to go back to Revelation. We're going to go back to chapter 11, and we're going to look at the two witnesses, and we're going to see if indeed these are, this is a foreshadowing of Moses and Elijah.

So I'm going to start reading, and as I go, we'll make comments, and I'll give you an opportunity to ask questions, or I will ask you questions as we go. Revelation 11, verse three. And I will give power to my two witnesses.

All right, stop a minute. Did it say I have already given power to those two witnesses, and they're carrying it with them as they go? It says I will give power to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy 1 ,203 score year.

That's 1 ,260 days. I said years, days. That's three and a half years, and it's probably most of or all of the last three and a half years of the Great Tribulation. They will prophesy clothed in sackcloth.

These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Now, before we go any further, I'd like to point out a couple of things. Most commentators, in an effort to identify the witnesses, use the gifts of the witnesses, tie them to the gifts given Moses and Elijah, and conclude that the two are Moses and Elijah.

However, Moses and Elijah had their gifts only because God gave each of them the gifts or the tools necessary to complete his assigned task. There's nothing that prevents God from assigning the same gifts to some other person, so that he also might be able to perform his assigned task.

So we might conclude that although it's interesting that God assigned the same gifts to the two witnesses as he assigned to Moses and Elijah, there is no way that it precludes the two from being two other people.

They could be someone else. After all, he did say, I will give power to my two witnesses. Not that I've already given it to them, not that they have it, not that this is something inherent to them, but I will give Moses and Elijah, I'm sorry, I will give my two witnesses power, and they shall prophesy 1 ,203 score days clothed in sackcloth.

Wearing garments made from sackcloth expressed penitence, humility, and mourning. What were their mourning? The witnesses are mourning because of the wretched wickedness of the world at this time, God's judgment on it, and the desecration of the temple and the holy city by the antichrist.

Verse four, these are the olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Olive oil was commonly used in lamps, and together with the olive trees and the lampstand symbolize the light of spiritual revival.

The two witnesses preaching will spark a revival just as Joshua and Jeroboam did in Israel after the Babylonian captivity. Verse five, and if any man will hurt them, the two witnesses, fire proceedeth out of their mouth.

Now that's one of the things that commentators link to Elijah. Remember, Elijah called down fire from heaven and it devoured the sacrifice, even after the sacrifice had been soaked with water. Well, where did the fire come from?

It didn't come from Elijah's mouth, it came from heaven. This fire is coming out of the mouth of the witnesses. And it devoured the enemies. And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

These have a power to shut heaven that it rained not in the days of the prophecy. That's another link to Elijah. Those are the two links that commentators use to say that this is Elijah, that one of these is Elijah.

Now he goes on to talk about two things that are commonly linked to Moses, and have the power to turn them over waters, to turn them into blood. Moses turned the Nile River into blood, and have the power to turn waters into blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will.

So those are the two that are associated with Moses, turning the water to blood and smiting the earth with plagues. And they'll do that as often as they will. And when they have finished their testimony, I'm gonna read that again.

And when they have finished their testimony, they get everything done they need to do, then the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war on them and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

That would, of course, be Jerusalem. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three and a half days, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in the grave.

And they that dwell on the earth shall rejoice over them and make merry and send gifts one to another because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth. And after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood upon their feet and great fear fell upon them, which saw them.

And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, come up hither. And they ascended up into the heavens in a cloud and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was a great earthquake and the 10th part of the city fell.

And in the earthquake were slain of men 7 ,000 and the remnant was affrighted and gave glory to God. Now that might be a harbinger of the beginning of the rapture. And if it's that so, it is very near the end of the last three and a half years.

Okay. Anybody got any comments? Okay. So who are these two witnesses? Most commentators agree that one is Elijah. They use Malachi 4, verse five. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

So most people, most commentators believe that Elijah is one of them. Most say that Moses is the other. So the majority opinion is the two witnesses are Elijah and Moses. Fire associated with Elijah and drought associated with Elijah.

Water turned to blood associated with Moses and plagues associated with Moses. That's one of the things that's used to form the opinion that Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses. The second thing is Jewish tradition expected both to return.

But I might add, both were at the Mount of Transfiguration. So that expectation has already been met. It was in fact met before Christ was crucified. Elijah and Moses were on the Mount of Transfiguration.

One ascended into heaven alive and the other was buried by God so as never to be found. One represented the law and the other represented the prophets. That's the majority opinion. There is a minority opinion.

God can empower any of his servants that he wishes to. Both were taken to heaven without dying. Hebrews 9, 27 says, and as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after that, the judgment. And I understand that that's the generality, not the rule, or that's the rule, not the specific.

There are cases of men that died more than once. The two men that Elijah raised from the dead, they both died again. Lazarus was raised from the dead and he died again. The man that Elijah raised from the dead, he died again.

So several people die more than once. Anyhow, both of these were taken to heaven without dying. One represented the Jews and the other represented the Gentiles. Elijah was a Jew. Enoch was a Gentile. And the fourth thing, Enoch prophesied of the second coming of Jesus.

I wanna go to Jude chapter 10. If you're in Revelation still, you can just back up one chapter. Jude, I said chapter 10, it's not chapter 10. There's not 10 chapters. There's only one. It's verse 10. It's where I'll begin.

But these speak evil of those things which they know not. But what they know naturally as brute beast, in these things they corrupt themselves. Woe be unto them, for they have gone the way of Cain. They have run greedily after the heir of Balaam for reward and perished in the Gansang of Gor.

These are spots in your feast of charity. When they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear, clouds they are without water. Carried about by winds, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice dead.

Plucked up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame. Wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these saying, behold, the Lord cometh with 10 ,000 of his saints.

Now, Enoch didn't add this, but I will. What's he coming for? To judge them. One of the things that's gonna happen is all of these will be judged and they'll be judged by what they did. They will not be judged by the righteousness of Jesus.

They'll be judged by their own lack of righteousness. Now, personally, I tend to favor the view that the witnesses are Elijah and Enoch. But you need to remember two things. In Acts 17, 11, we are warned to receive teaching with all readiness of mind, but to study the scriptures daily to see if those things are true.

And the other thing to remember is, mine is the minority opinion. And being the minority opinion doesn't make it more likely to be correct, it makes it less likely. So I suppose if a push came to shove, I could accept and would accept the fact that the two are Moses and Elijah.

But I don't think so. I think it's Enoch and Elijah. And you can form your own opinion after you consider it a little while. Okay, back to Luke, verse 28, chapter nine. And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter, John, and James, and went up in the mountains.

And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and glistering. And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spake of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

Now, what are they talking about? They're talking about Jesus is going to Jerusalem to be crucified and to be buried and to be raised from the dead. That's what they're talking about. That's gonna happen within a few months.

Now, a couple of things to notice. The appearance of all three, Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were altered. So apparently they were all in their glorified body. Moses and Elijah were there to talk of Jesus, but to talk of his death and resurrection at Jerusalem, not to talk of his second coming.

Now, Matthew says that Jesus' face shone like the sun. And both Matthew and Mark's, I think it's Luke and Mark's, says that the word transfigured is used to describe what happened to Jesus. For this brief time, Jesus took on an appearance more appropriate for the King of glory than for a humble man.

This was not a new miracle, but a temporary pause in an ongoing miracle. The real miracle was that Jesus, most of the time, kept from displaying his glory. After all, all the time that he was on the earth, he was not only a man, he was also the Son of God.

Now, we go to verse 32. "'But Peter and they that were with him "'were heavy with sleep, and when they awake, "'they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him. "'Peter, James, and John were asleep, "'and they missed hearing the prophet speak, "'but they woke in time to be amazed at seeing Jesus, "'Moses, and Elijah, all in glorified bodies.'".

Verse 33. "'And it came to pass, as they departed from him,' that's Moses and Elijah, "'Peter said to Jesus, "'Master, it is good for us to be here, "'and let us make three tabernacles, "'one for thee, and one for Moses, "'and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said.'".

Now, Peter makes what seems to be a reasonable assumption. If they all look the same, they probably are the same. So he equates Jesus with Moses and Elijah. Now, that normally would be a good thing, being equated with Moses and Elijah, as being equated with two of the heroes of the Jewish faith.

But this is not a normal person he's talking about. He's talking about Jesus. He equates Jesus with Moses and Elijah, and suggests making a tabernacle, or dwelling place, for each one, so that they can remain there longer.

"'And while he thus spake, "'there came a cloud and overshadowed them, "'and they feared as they entered into the cloud. "'And there came a voice out of the cloud saying, "'This is my beloved son, hear him.'".

So God rebuked Peter from the cloud. All three had glorified bodies, but only Jesus was the Messiah. Peter should have known this. Those familiar with the Old Testament, as these disciples were, doubtlessly immediately recognized the reference, if not the man.

The references to words listed in Deuteronomy 18, 15, listen to him, with its Messianic prediction of a prophet greater than Moses. Let's go to Deuteronomy 18, verse 15. I'll give you a second to get there.

So it begins, "'The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet "'from the midst of my brethren like unto me, "'unto him you shall hearken.'". Now, it's a singular pronoun, a single, a particular prophet, a prophet unlike any other prophets, not a prophet exactly like Moses.

Moses may not even be a prophet, but a prophet like me. "'Not to me should you listen, "'unto him you should hearken.'". Now, if you go down to Deuteronomy 34, 10, you'll see an interesting comment. I'll just read it.

"'And there arose not a prophet since in Israel "'like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.'". Now, what does that say? There arose not a prophet. Well, what's going on? Well, at least not in the Old Testament.

There was not a prophet like unto Moses raised in the Old Testament. Now, in the New Testament, we have several references. First, go to Acts chapter three, verse 22, and Moses is going to be quoted. Acts 3, 22.

"'For Moses truly said unto the fathers, "'A prophet shall your Lord, your God, "'raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me. "'Him shall you hear in all things whatsoever "'he shall say unto you.'".

I'm gonna read that again. "'For Moses truly said unto the fathers,'' where did he say it? In Deuteronomy. "'A prophet shall the Lord, your God, "'raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me.'". Someone that he knows face to face.

"'Him you shall hear in all things whatsoever "'he shall say unto you. "'And it shall come to pass that every soul "'which will not hear that prophet "'shall be destroyed from among the people.'". That's pretty severe.

"'Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel "'and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, "'have likewise foretold of these days.'". So the day is coming. "'And ye are the children of the prophets "'and the covenant which God made with our fathers, "'saying unto Abraham, "'In thy seed shall all the earth be blessed.

"'Unto you first, God having raised his son Jesus, "'send him to bless you "'in turning everyone away from his iniquities.'". Now go to Acts 7, 34, and you'll see how Moses was received. Verse 35 of Acts 7.

"'This Moses whom they refused, "'this Moses whom they refused, "'saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? "'The same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer "'by the hand of the angel "'which appeared to him in the bush.

"'He brought them out. "'After that, he showed them wonders and signs "'in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea "'and in the wilderness 40 years. "'This is that Moses which said unto the children of Israel, "'A prophet shall the Lord your God "'raise up unto you of your brethren, "'like unto me, him you shall hear.

"'This is he that was in the church in the wilderness "'with the angel, which spake unto him "'in Mount Sinai with our fathers, "'who received lively oracles to give unto us, "'to whom our fathers would not obey.

"'But thrust him from them, saying in their hearts, "'and in their hearts, turn back again into Egypt, "'saying to Aaron, make us gods to go before us. "'For as for this Moses, "'which brought us out of the land of Egypt, "'we want not what has become of him.

"'And they made a calf in those days "'and offered sacrifice unto the idol "'and rejoiced in the work of their own hands.'". This, I believe, is a foreshadowing of the Messiah. Just as the Jewish leaders rejected Moses and set up a religion of their own making, so will the Jewish leaders reject Jesus and set up a religion of their own making.

Now, I, in my notes, highlighted the words leader in both cases. Not every Jew rejected Moses, nor will every Jew reject Jesus. There are plenty of Jews who have already accepted Jesus and there are many more in the future to come.

The disciples also had this in Psalms 2. I'll just read it, you don't have to go there. "'I will declare the decree, "'the Lord hath said to me, "'thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.'". The Messiah is speaking, I will declare the decree, the Lord, the Father, has said unto me, the Messiah, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.

They also had this in Isaiah 42. "'Behold, my servant,' that's the Messiah, "'whom I, the Father, uphold, mine elect, "'in whom my soul delighteth, "'I have put my spirit upon him, "'and he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.'".

So he's not only gonna judge the Jews, he's also going to judge the Gentiles. And now we have in the New Testament, but this is at the beginning of the ministry and all of the disciples either witnessed it or heard about it.

John 1, verse 32. This is John the Baptist that's being spoken of. And John, John the Baptist, bear record saying, "'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, "'and it abode upon him, and I knew not, "'and I knew him not.

"'But he that sent me to baptize with water, "'the same sent unto me, "'upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending "'and remaining upon him, "'the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. "'And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God.'.

And again, the next day after John stood and two of his disciples, looking upon Jesus as he walked, saith, "'Behold, the Lamb of God.'. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned and saw them following and said unto them, "'What seek ye?'.

And they said unto him, "'Rabbi,' "'which is to say, Master, where dwellest thou?'. And he said unto them, "'Come and see.'. And they came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

And one of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first foundeth his own brother Simon, and said unto him, "'We have found the Messiah, "'which is interpreted the Christ.'.

And he brought him to Jesus, and he said, "'Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. "'Thou shalt be called Cephas, "'which is by interpretation, stone.'. The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee and find Philip, and saith unto him, "'Follow me.'.

Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, "'We have found him, of whom Moses in the law "'and the prophets did write, "'Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'.

And Nathanael said unto him, "'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?'. Philip said unto him, "'Come and see.'. And Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith unto him, "'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.'.

Nathanael said to him, "'Whence knowest thou me?'. And Jesus said unto him, "'Before that Philip call thee, "'when thou wast under the big tree, I saw thee.'. And Nathanael said unto him, "'Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, "'thou art the King of Israel.'.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, "'Because I have said unto thee, "'I saw thee under the big tree, believest thou, "'thou shalt see greater things than these.'. And he said unto him, "'Verily, verily, I say unto you, "'Hereafter you shall see the heavens open "'and the angels of God ascending and descending "'upon the Son of Man.'".

Now, here's what John MacArthur has to say about that passage. And I think it's very interesting. "'Verily, verily' is a phrase used frequently for establishing the importance of the truth of the following statement.

"'The heavens open and the angels of the Lord "'ascending and descending.'". In a lot of the context, this verse most likely refers to Genesis 28, 12, when Jacob dreamed about a ladder from heaven and angels going up and down the ladder.

Jesus' point to Nathanael was that just as Jacob experienced supernatural or heaven-sent revelation, Nathanael and the other disciples would experience supernatural communications confirming who Jesus was.

Moreover, the Son of Man replaced the ladder in Jacob's dream. In Jacob's dream, it was a ladder going from heaven to the earth and angels going up and down the ladder. But here, the ladder is replaced by the Son of Man.

It's the Son of Man that the angels are descending upon. That is to signify that Jesus was the means of access between God and man. And he's the only means of access between God and man. And there came a voice out of the clouds saying, this is my beloved Son, hear him.

And when the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone and they kept it closed and told no man in those days of any of those things which they had seen. Now, it's time for the disciples to know that Jesus is the Messiah, but it is not yet time for the general public to know.

Now, I inadvertently clipped off part of my lesson, but that's okay, we'll do that next time.