The Crib, the Cross and the Crown — Leonard Ravenhill

We enter your gates tonight with thanksgiving in your courts with praise. We do not wonder the servant said who is like unto thee glorious in holiness and in power. Lord we see so much that's artificial around us at this time.

But we bless you for the real things. But you've told us that all these human systems human devices human inventions and human Insecurities you've said they're in Hebrews. They're all going to be shaken.

There are things we cannot be shaken may remain. We thank you as the writers of the Hebrews says thy throne Oh God is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is a scepter of thy kingdom. We think of the tyrants who have ruled over nations the Hitler's and the Mussolini's and the Russians.

We think of these men who wrote history in human blood. We think of a proud boast of Hitler when he said the Third Reich would live a thousand years and yet it didn't last a thousand weeks. We see the vanity of man and yet they're still vain.

They still think that somehow they can pull out pull us out of this morass as a drunken sinful Disgusting nation and disgusting generation. It seems all the nations are tarred with the same brush. Their goal is to live move and have their being in the visible live by their five senses.

Live for what they can grasp what they can own. What they can be proud about. We thank you for the meek and lowly Jesus. We thank you for the one who never lifted a sword and yet he's conquered more hearts than all the other warriors put together.

We bless you for his dominion. We thank you for the words of Isaac Watts when he said Jesus shall reign. Where 'er the sun doth its successive journeys run his kingdom stretch from shore to shore. Till moon shall wax and wane no more.

Blessings abound. Where 'er he reigns. The prisoner leaps to lose his chains. The weary find eternal rest and all the sons of want are blessed Lord. I think of a disgusting disastrous Disappointing and despicable situation of millions of people around the world at this moment.

While many of us are talking easily about the second coming they haven't heard about the first coming. They're still in degradation. They may as well live in sewers. They live in such uncleanness. They live in the darkness of sin with all its fearful ghosts with all its terror.

With all its witchcraft with all its superstition. Lord we are not like the men we read of in your word in the Old Testament there who Run out and found a feast. Found the tents deserted and stacks of food and they didn't sit down and have a meal.

They ran back to the city and said we found in it sufficient. Lord, we're all supplied with Bibles in our country oversupplied with oversupplied supplied with preachers. We've all kinds of announcements and texts and books and yet Lord, we're not really a spiritual nation religious.

Yes spiritual. No Lord, what do we have that the world wants? What do they see in the Church of the Living God that would draw them in? Do they see us living a nobler life a holier life a purer life a life with more character a life with more dignity a life with more integrity.

Lord so many of your professed people are so much like the world. The world doesn't admire us or want what we have. But Lord you ordain that we should be a royal priesthood and a holy nation. Lord help us to cleave after thee more than ever we have done before.

As we cross the barrier between this year and the coming year if you tarry Lord, we pray that each or each of us will vow for a closer walk with God. As Cowper said a calm a heavenly flame frame a light that shines along the road and leads us to the Lamb.

Lord I pray again you'll bless your word to our hearts tonight. Whatever men may say Lord your word says that the men who wrote this book were holy men of God as they spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit’s Power and Unction

God bring us to that place where you can trust us with the movement of the Spirit of God a Power that will pull down the strongholds of Satan a power that will illuminate minds as they have not been illuminated for centuries.

Hearts Lord that are yearning for nothing except the anointing of God the mysterious Unction that cannot be bought it cannot be taught it cannot be caught. You'll give it or it can't come. You're the source of it.

I Think of Wesley's word when he said thou of life the fountain art. Freely let me take of thee spring thou up within my heart rise to all eternity. Well, there's not one of us here strong enough in our own righteousness our own goodness to combat the world of flesh and the devil.

It's only when your life springs up in us thou of life the fountain art. And I remember poor John's wonderful word he that hath the son hath life. Well Lord does not many have the son millions go to church.

They partake of communion they get baptized they do all the other things demanded and yet they have no life. And therefore they find church boredom. They find it a ritual they find it an obligation. The Lord I don't know true lovers that never found it difficult to meet each other.

And Lord we want that love to be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. That whether we're here or absent from here. Whether we're sitting in the fellowship of the Saints or walking in a shop that your presence will be so real with us.

The Lord somehow something may shine in us and through us to this dark dark world. Lord I pray that you'll have pardon us have mercy on us as a nation for this foolishness. Another nations that profess your name Lord with all this vanity with all the tinsel and toys and trappings and trees.

People trying to find contentment. Trying to find fellowship with each other instead of fellowship with the Father. Lord we pray for such that seek you tonight. I Know all over the nation Lord there are people gathered.

Not many in twos and threes, but there they're gathered in your holy name. We pray tonight Lord that as we sing sometimes beyond the sacred page I seek thee Lord. Lord reveal as. One of him rider said talk to us Lord by self-reveal while here on earth we rove.

Speak to our hearts and let us feel the kindlings of thy love. With thee conversing we forget all toil and earthly care. Labor is rest and pain is sweet if thou my God out there, but I won't have any precious Christians in Russia tonight.

Starving. Starving for food starving for clothing. And yet, maybe they've honored you and praised you and magnified you and worshipped you more than we have. Lord we use so many seducing things round about us.

As someone said today Lord amidst all the toys and tinsel and trivia. How many people in America today want a broken heart for a lost generation? Lord God, I wonder you undestroyed us never mind the sinners.

We're so slow. We're so lazy. Father again, I pray bless this word to our hearts tonight. Inspire it only you can do that and quicken it to our hearts in Jesus name. Thank you now tell me is it too cool or too warm or what is it?

Some put the coats on some take them off. You better chopped swap chairs. Well, it's good to see you. Most people at Christmas shopping or backsliding. I don't know it maybe both. It's good to see John all the way from Iowa, how are you doing.

John and a row of people there from Waco or Waco, whatever you call it and. Some people from the outermost parts of Decatur. Nice to have them. Anyone here from last days? Oh Good five six seven. Oh, we're growing in grace.

So if you want to buy a chair, you can have one tonight after the meeting. Well, praise God. I've been thinking about three things today well partly during this week because of the So-called celebration we have around.

The Crib, the Cross, and the Crown

Three things about Jesus first the crib. That the world is celebrating the cross and the crown. Oh, I think one or two people got their feathers ruffled or something else last week when I was kind of decrying against Christmas.

I'm gonna go again here. Let me say something else look into right now. Jeremiah chapter 10 in my chapter 10 verse 1. Who either word which the Lord speaketh unto you or house of Israel? Thus saith the Lord learn not the way of the heathen and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven.

For the heathen are dismayed at them for the customs of the people are vain for one cutteth up at out a tree of the forest and workers of. The hands on the workmen with an axe. They deck it with silver and with gold they fasten it with nails and hammers and move it not.

Well, if it doesn't a pretty clear picture of a Christmas tree. They cut a tree out of the forest and they load it with what. Silver with gold with tinsel with trivia. And what's the scripture say the scripture says it's heathen.

We don't think that. My mother used to say we should learn something every day and I try to do that. And I'm still done. But I've been struggling for 80 years now to do that. But I learned something today, you know, it wasn't till where the middle of the 19th century.

That Christmas was celebrated in America. Did not the Puritans did they establish the law if anybody kept this pagan Christmas? They had to be fined a certain sum of money and that's not too far back.

But now we've got to the tinsel and the toys and the trivia. But you know another thing about it is I think the churches are seducing young people about this. How do they do it. I've got a brochure coming to my home every week.

In fact, I get a few from churches. I've been to in the past years. I'm gonna write and ask them not to send them because they make me sick. They trouble me. One of them comes every week come to the church that is different.

Where's the difference? There are five volleyball teams. And they were working for the championship. I Believe it makes the devil happy when they play volleyball. You say what's evil about it? It seduces young people.

They should be praying. We talked about Rome. What was it? Who was it was fiddling when Rome was burning? Nero or some of you remember him good Nero. Fiddling while Rome was way worse than that. We have lights.

We claim we're on the edge of catastrophe. We're heading up for a Holocaust that be worse than any Holocaust. That's been seen and yet we're playing games. Young people tonight could be here. They go to a meeting.

It's supposed to be a fellowship. Meet fellowship with who? First of all, our fellowship is with the father with a son Jesus Christ then with one another. But very often we make fellowship with one another a substitute for fellowship with the father.

I say the devil rejoices in all these volleyball and basketball teams for the simple reason that these young people Could be preparing themselves. How many of our young people could sit down at 15 16 or 17 years of age and and head-on talk with a Mormon.

I'll talk with a Jehovah Witness. Hmm. Do you think you could lick them? Could you out preach them out teach them? What are we here for? Are we here to shine those lights in the world? But we're not doing it.

Few People Await the Savior’s Birth

You see the crib. Around the crib you get how many people to see their Dick good. We got one of our prayer warriors. It's a blessing. He came he get fined if he stays away two weeks. Where's your friend Spencer?

Yeah, he is. We miss him though very much. Will he come you think. Good so do I. Okay. Well, we're talking about the christmas tree here in the 10th chapter of uh, Jeremiah. And saying around the crib when jesus came.

How many were expecting him? A minority. I love to think of anna. We talk about hannah in the old testament. What about i'm in the new testament? Hammer in the old testament. A woman. An intercessor. Why she said god do it through me.

She wasn't praying for israel. She wasn't praying for the overthrow of the philistine. She said do it through me. What did she pray for you say a child. No, she didn't. What did you pray for a man child?

What did she get a man child? No, what did she get a prophet? God did more than she could ask or think but listen, she went up yearly to the temple. Don't you think people mocked her? Here's that barren woman again.

Here she is. Why doesn't she give up? She knows her husband doesn't care for her. He likes the other wife far more than her. And yet she went year after year after and not only that. But when he was born She dedicated him to the temple.

Can you imagine giving a baby four or five to the temple and going every year and taking a new suit of clothes? And not see him again. It's like dear old duncan campbell said that basically the basic fact about christianity is sacrifice.

If you have an experience of god that does not the cost nothing it does nothing and it's worth nothing. It isn't theology that saves people. It's passionate love for jesus christ. It's revelation of what we're here on earth for.

Who was the man that wrote. Come on now you scholarly people. He wrote the book roots and they showed it on tv. Oh, thank you. Alex. Haley good. You'll get full marks tonight. Somebody asked him. What's the next thing you're going to study?

He said I want to know before I die. I want to know why i've been here. Did you ever face up to that? That's an ungodly man. What am I doing in this world? Have I a mission have I commissioned? I have an obligation.

Obligation. You see we take liberty for license. We're free. But we're not free to the uttermost. Free from sin. I hope free from the fear of man free from the dread of death. But around the crib there you've only got few people you've got hannah.

I told you the other week that now the computers are out. They estimate that hannah at this time. No, anna hannah's the old testament. Anna was 106 years of age. So cheer up jb. You have a long way to go.

106 years of age. And yet she continually went to the temple. Don't you think they were? Designated as stupid. This old lady's coming up. She's been coming here for the last 60 years. She goes to the same place.

She prays she cries to god and it's always the same. I'm waiting for the salvation of israel. I didn't want she's in cohorts with a cahoots. Whatever you say with simeon the silly old priest there. But doesn't the scripture say if two of you shall agree as touching anything in my name.

And yes, there were just about half a dozen of waiting for the promise of god to be fulfilled. You know one of the necessary ingredients of the christian life particularly in prayer is patience. Somebody said one night to miss george muller one of the great men of prayer down the centuries.

Said I was in a meeting last night your friend, whatever his name was got saved. Isn't that great? He said yes. He said I thought you've been praying for him for 15 years. I have. Well, aren't you going to celebrate?

He said your prayer was answered last night. He said friend. My prayer was answered the first night. I prayed 15 years ago. God gave me assurance. This is the fulfillment of the prayer. You know, there are times I think when we get assurance we ought not to pray again about a thing.

Blessed assurance. What do you mean? Both for us favorite in blessed assurance perfect submission all is at rest. Is it right? Are we at rest? Today they've kept saying what we want is peace on earth.

They ask famous people. I want peace on earth. Sure, they do they want peace on earth. They don't the prince of peace. Here are the thought they've come. And if you're a shopping mall or somewhere, you'll see a beautiful stable scene with men with crowns on their heads bowing down.

That's totally tommy rott. The wise men never saw him. They saw the young child. They didn't get it. It was the shepherds that went to see the babe. They went to seek a young child. They come for years following that star.

But again, there's only a few there. The initiated are waiting for his coming. You know, we kind of just read it there it goes like that. The first thing jesus did before he could walk or talk was divide people.

Herod was troubled and all jerusalem with him. The minority were not. They were happy. They were thrilled. Can you imagine? Oh dear old hannah going home that i'm going home that night. He's coming. He's coming.

He's coming. He's come. Hey simeon, let's have a celebration. They didn't take a bottle of wine or some other junk. They just magnified the lord. Here. He is a salvation of god. How do you think mary felt.

Again, we I think you can't we pass over the story so easily. Don't you think everybody said, you know that little girl mary? She's a tramp. She's pregnant. And she says she never knew a man. That's a tall story.

You see it's too tall for the average man today. You can't believe the bible you go to school and let the children go to school and her here carl. What's his name? Carl, sagan. He'll tell you when the first star was put there within about four billion years.

And you can't challenge him because he saw it all. He's the supreme authority. You can't believe this written word of the living god that makes men holy. You believe an unbeliever like that and stuff it into children.

Tonight they said on the news that the last news we heard were one of the big cities in alabama. They they had an illuminated cross on top of a church. They asked it to be taken down. We're getting more and more and more an unchristian nation.

We're pumping all this junk into the young people's minds about humanism. Humanism is god-centered christianity is christ-centered. And you can't marry the two. There's no way. So it's a great thing to have assurance in prayer.

I think one of the keys at least to me is Hebrews 11 6 he that cometh to god must believe that he is he is what he is what he says he is. He's who he says he is. He's able to save to the uttermost. He's able to keep you from falling.

He's able to present us faultless before his father's throne. There is no inability with god. There is no ignorance with god. There's no limitation with god. And yet you see we have such a paltry conception.

Brother farrah was talking tonight about Thomas boston. He said it was thomas watson, but you expect an american to say that. It was thomas boston. He wrote the fourfold state. When did he write that.

About 1600 something 1712. I didn't know it was so late. Anyhow, it's a long while ago. Yeah, I I think a connection now. Okay, 1712. He wrote the fourfold state. Uh brother. What's that bishop morrison jack raise your hand so they can see you.

No, come on, don't be half-hearted. There you are. Now he has a book it sells at uh. With mailing it sells at what does it sell at 30? Looking unto jesus. Written in 1591. It has 700 pages on the second verse in hebrews 12.

Why does hebrews 12 begin? None of you know, come on, you have to get a prize again. Good good. You've got three out of three you're doing well. We encompass around with so great a cloud of witness let aside.

Let us lay us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us. And run with patience the race that is set before us. Patience. You don't need patience to run. You sure do. The first time I was at college.

I had a run in the afternoon a marathon. Boy, did I run? Oh, there are two teams the fast ones and the slow ones. Good night. Who's going to go with the slow teams. The old guys. We ran through the college grounds.

A fella nudged me says don't go with the first pack. I said you mind your business. I can run. We got up the road. Oh, I pulled back that was when I got to the gate. I pulled back. They were going so fast.

I was almost exhausted the first mile. We got five miles up the road. All the fast pack was sitting on a wall looking at the river. They were exhausted. Run with patience. And we talk about a man getting a second winding.

Let us run with patience the race that is set before looking unto jesus. The author and this man wrote in 1591. Or was it ambrose? Fun. Was it 1691? 1691. 700 pages on one two on the second verse boy.

I should have lived in those days. I'd have enjoyed preaching. Services went on for nine hours. I have a record on my desk. Now, maybe I told you they asked let's call him Dr. A to pray and he said he opened the meeting in prayer.

He prayed for two hours. They asked dr. B to preach. He preached for four hours. They asked dr. C to close in prayer. He closed after two hours of praying. The meeting lasted nine hours. Good night. We'd have to call the Mortuary and if we had meetings nine hours our folk would die.

Whole meetings are long. I preach a methodist church. Good night. My old family methodist. Some years ago in the carolinas the first sunday morning five to twelve a woman got up and stamped out to the door.

She did a second sunday morning. I said to the pastor what in the world's wrong with her? Oh, she always leaves at five minutes to twelve. She wants to get out before the crowd go out of church the third sunday morning.

She got walked to other I said lady. Hey. So she stopped. I Said you walked out two sunday mornings. You don't like the presence of god. What are you going to do when you go to heaven walk out to hell?

It's the only option you have. Oh, he said you hurt her feelings. I don't care as long as I woke her up. We can't enjoy a nice meeting. It's too long. It's too long. Is it? People go to an opera for three hours.

It's not too long. They go to a football game. Takes them an hour and a half to get to the cowboys a dying team. But anyhow. They go up there and they sit for about three hours and watch it and eat what they do.

Drink soda pop and uh, What what did he eat? Corn, I said corn flakes corn chips or something. I think that's what the team eats corn flakes. But you know to get there an hour and a half come back an hour and a half stay there three hours.

That's not too long. Why they're excited. The holy presence of god should be so real in the sanctuary that has finished said. When god is in residence people are pulled in when he's not the devil pulls them out.

We're not seeing the manifest power of god as we should see that power. And I trust we're going to do that. Well, anyhow, we go back to the to the crib. Again, all this seduction in the churches pulling young people.

I don't know a church I told the lady the other day. I don't know a preacher within 50 miles. She was a bit angry with me. I said well, okay. Get angry. I don't care. Where's the thus saith the lord? When do we tiptoe out of the sanctuary awed with the majesty the holiness?

Of god. We don't. So there's not many there when jesus comes there's the crib and all the Sanctified people around it. No decorations no fancy stuff. You know, I had a book some years ago, I think a preacher borrowed it.

They're the biggest thieves of books I know. It was called english messiahs. And there's a woman there and it describes her southcote, I think her name was johanna southcote a single woman. And suddenly she declared to this big assembly that she was pregnant by the holy ghost.

I've never known a man. You know that I live in seclusion. And she had all the symptoms. Gradually she got larger larger larger. And in those days, they didn't have the tests they have today. And she said i'm going to bring the man child into the world.

What did they do? They made a cradle one of these swinging things, you know, and instead of having brass supports. They had solid gold supports. Everything around the thing was so extravagant. And right until the day before she was supposed to have the child everybody believed in her.

Because she there's nothing happened. There was no preparation like that. What was the first message jesus preached. Come on, matthew 11 28 get four points. Come it starts with. Come unto me all either weary and heavy laden.

For my yoke is easy. I am meek meek. Isn't he meek in all the everything. Why did he come the first time with 10 000 of old testament saints scorching through the sky on the charity. That elijah went to heaven up in he could have captured the world.

He didn't do it like that way. He came in through a back door. I believe all his life. He had the smear over him that he's a bastard. He was never born of god. His mother was a tramp the ignominy the shame right through his life.

But when it comes to the cross you don't get a handful of people. You get a roaring crowd of unbelievers sightseers. As i've said to you when I if I make an altar go which isn't often now I never say bow your heads and close your eyes.

Jesus didn't say to his disciples, you know, this is my greatest humiliation. I'm going to have to go to the cross with a thief in front of me a thief behind me harlots and sinners and all kinds of vile people.

Reproaching me scorning me ridicule me. He didn't do that. He went triumphantly to the cross. We don't like scorn. We don't like reproach. There are very few few people that can say I don't care whether people like me or not.

We like to be appreciated. We like to say who this that and the other is. I was talking the other day about someone saying a nice word for a preacher. I know he said yes, he's all right. But he's a name dropper.

You know when you hear people dropping names to me, it means they're insecure. They're trying to lean on somebody else. As i've said to you, I don't have many friends. I could count them all on two hands on my feet.

Anyhow. Acquaintances. Yes people. I know but friends. No. Jesus was deserted scorned from his birth deserted at the cross. But then you get moved from the cross to the crown. Let's go now over to where am I going to now?

The Cross and the Crown of Christ

Revelation chapter 5. What's a sign of christmas in the world? It begins with m and merry christmas. Christmas to them is jollification. Christmas to us is the incarnation. The next step from the incarnation Is justification of the cross?

And the next step after that is resurrection. As a dear old baptist preacher said in the last century. Without the incarnation the resurrection is impossible. And without the without the without the resurrection.

The incarnation is incomplete. But to people make merry is a jolly time. Merry christmas. Have fun. Get drunk. Have a show. All the world wants is jollification. But what we see in that wonderful babe there is the incarnation.

As wesley put it god contracted to a span incomprehensibly made man. That lovely hymn that half drunk people will sing. In fact half the christians or 90 percent of christians that sing it don't understand it.

Charles wesley's hymn heart the herald angels sing mildly ladies glory by. What do you think the angels thought going back to heaven empty-handed? When they reported he's staying down on earth. Where did you leave him in the palace?

No. But We lived leave him it left him in the lovely place. It had wall to all carpeting. It was manure. It was fragrant with stinking urine. Curtains were made of cobwebs. The heating system was sweating beasts.

And the light was a flickering candle. And there he created the heavens and the earth. There he was born in the darkness of a stinking horrible stable. He was there before the world began before as the scripture says so beautifully before the trees of the field clapped their hands.

Before the morning stars sang together. What do you think heaven was like. I've never yet heard maybe Gabriel farra to preach one day on the loneliness of god without his son for 30 years. Hmm. Ever hear anybody preach on that?

Ever hear anybody preach on the agony of the father? I've never tried to think of the anticipation of mary. Oh, well, it says there's 750 years before jesus came. He will be born of a virgin. Yes. Go a bit further into the chapter.

What does it say you go to the 35th chapter where it says. What will he do when he comes. The eyes of the blind shall be opened the ears of the deaf and stop. It would sound as though the whole world would reach out for him.

Then you go to the 53rd. And the 53rd chapter it says there who hath believed our report to whom is the arm of the lord revealed. He shall grow before him as a tender plant. There is no beauty that we should desire him.

He's like a root out of a dry ground. Then what's he going to say? His soul shall be made an offering for sin. The catholics make a lot of his body, but that's not what he died. That's not what brought his salvation.

It was his soul that was made an offering for sin. So there were a few anticipating his birth. There were more people. When you get to the cross. But then you come to the crown. Let me read this before up again a chapter.

My dear principal drilled some things into my mind he said. Every sunday he got up early in the morning. They had to preach twice. And he said every sunday morning. I read revelation chapter five through.

Every monday morning after a good meeting or bad meetings. He said I read Isaiah 41. And in isaiah 41 and verse 8. I've forgotten how it begins now. It's happening. Thou israel art my servant jacob whom I have chosen the seed of abraham my friend.

He said I need to know that. Thou whom i've taken from the ends of the earth and called thee unto the chief men thereof. And he goes on fear not. I will help thee. I will strengthen thee. I will uphold thee.

But you see that wonderful psalm. I thought of it earlier today. What does it say? The psalmist says the lord of hosts is with us. So what? What do you mean by host. You mean the heavenly host that he speaks of.

Do you mean the hosts of israel? Because he narrows it down from there. He's the god of the host, but he says the god of jacob is our refuge. He's the god of the individual. F .b. Meyer said he preached one sunday morning and an old lady, you know, this old lady turns up everywhere.

And the little old lady waiting for him to come out of the pulpit. She grabbed his hand. She said oh, that was a wonderful sermon. Stepping back a minute. Somebody said that to spurgeon one day a lady said, you know I think that's the greatest sermon ever preached in the world since the apostles.

I want to be the first to tell you. He said you're the second. She said no i'm nobody. Nobody came out of the pulpit except you. He said you're the second. Well, who told her that the devil he said. As soon as I finished preaching the devil said that's the best sermons have been preached.

But f .b. Meyer said the little old lady said to him. Do you know what you revealed to me? I personally have a whole christ to myself. All that he can be to anybody through the ages he can be to me. I'm poor i'm needy.

But I love him with all my heart soul mind and strength and therefore my my degree of yieldedness to god. I believe his degree of his degree of yieldedness to me. He's not going to Cram himself into my life.

He doesn't come. We talk about the holy ghost. Where does the word ghost come from? It's an old english word guest. The holy ghost was in some translations the holy guest. We have a hymn in england singing a lot our blessed redeemer where he breathed his tender last farewell.

A guide the comfort of equies with us to dwell. He came sweet influence to impart a gracious willing guest. Where he may find a humble heart wherein to rest. How long does your guest stay? As long as I want it.

And then they go. You know, we we assume because we've kind of got, you know saved and filled with the spirit my goodness. Look how far up the road we are. Are we? I don't think so. Revelation five. I said the right hand of him that sat on the throne of book written within on the back seal with seven seals.

I saw a strong angel notice. It's an angel. They're proclaiming with a loud voice who is worthy to open the book. Verse three. No man in heaven or in earth. No man in heaven or earth or under the earth was able to take the book.

Remind you again briefly here. He says no man in heaven. Elijah you do it. No Ezekiel you do it. No. Jeremiah you do it. Isaiah you do it abram. You're the friend of god you take the book out of it. I don't then touch it.