Keep sharing good news without ads.
Sunday school from March 29th, 2020
So, let's pray. Almighty Father, lead us to your word so that we may find healing of heart, soul, mind in the gospel of Jesus. Be near us as we read for ourselves that Jesus has indeed died and risen again for us.
Keep us steadfast in your grace and your mercy so that we may spread your love to those who haven't heard the good news and to those who have heard but have forgotten it. Let us do all we can to win souls for you that they may go out and do the same.
In Jesus' most holy name we pray, amen. Okay, so as is our custom, first thing we usually do when we go into our study is we take a look to see if there were any questions. This is, if you're new to Kongsvinger or new to any of our online services, this is something that I feel strongly about because I've noticed something about false teachers.
They never allow themselves to be asked questions. This is kind of an interesting thing. And so I always make a point of making sure that anybody can ask me any questions. Whether or not I know the answer, that's a totally different thing.
You know, if I don't know the answer, I'll say, I don't know, you know. But I think all pastors should be open to receiving questions, and even if it's a high and inside fastball, which, by the way, I'm definitely missing.
I'm missing baseball right now. The new season was supposed to start, like, this coming week.
Bummer.
Anyway. Anyway, so that's one of the things I miss. But anyway, all of that being said, you know, even if it's a high inside fastball of a question, it still needs to be fielded and needs to be answered properly.
So you get the idea. All right, so I'm going to take a look through our chat window to see if there were any questions that came up as a result of the sermon. Anybody who's willing to ask these things, and if you've listened to any of the audio from the Sunday Schools at Kongsvinger, then you'll note that from time to time that the questions will end up making it so that the whole lesson is based on the answers to the questions.
It just happens. There's a particular member of Kongsvinger who I always blame for this. And he's here today, so I'm really nervous. So okay, so we got people from Alabama, North Dakota, from Kansas, Augusta, Georgia.
Yep.
Oslo. Let's see here. Oslo, Minnesota.
All right.
Snow is melting. Thank God it's melting. Although we're going to have a flood this year.
We have...
Oh, Jorge made it. Did Jorge make it, Sherry?
Yeah.
So South Korea is here today as well. So all right. No questions.
No questions.
I will keep the chat window up so that anybody who would like to ask a question may do so. All of that being said, we're going to do a little bit of a study on two things in particular, and this will be a slightly shorter study.
At least that's my intention. If I go long, like I said, you guys aren't going anywhere, so at least you're not supposed.
To.
And if you sit and go, man, that sermon was long. It's like, yeah, I know. It's like I have a captive audience. It's awesome. So I'm not even repenting.
Okay.
More of God's Word. Yeah, that's right.
So if you've paid any attention to what some of the people in the Charismatic and the NAR movement have been saying, one of the things that they have been pointing to is Psalm 91, as if Psalm 91 is a general promise that you will not die via pestilence, you know, the body of Christ.
Now I'm going to note something here. If that's the case, then we've already got a problem, because I know of Christians who've already died from this. So what are we supposed to say? They just didn't have enough faith?
Did they not properly name and claim Psalm 91? What's the issue here? What are we going to make of this? The answer is that the people who are claiming that Psalm 91 gives a general promise that you can somehow decree and declare that pestilence will not come near your house, or you, or that Christians will not die from the coronavirus, they are mishandling God's Word.
And so let's see here. There we go. Keeping an eye out. Make sure to keep the mute button on for your audio there. All right, all of that being said, we're going to do a quick study on exegesis, all right?
So if you follow me on YouTube or on my podcast, then you'll always note that there are three rules for sound biblical exegesis, and these are your standard rules, context, context, and context. I always crack up when somebody says, well, where do you find that in the Bible, Roseboro?
Where do you find that context is important? It's like, knucklehead, you learned that in fourth grade, okay? It's like, come on, you know, take things out of context. You can make it say whatever you want it to say, you know, and that's not, the Bible is not like a balloon animal where you can take it and just bend it and turn it into whatever you want.
It's like, oh, look, it's the sword of Goliath, haha, you know, you know, no, you can't do.
That.
Okay, so one of the things I will note then is, is that when you, when context, context, context, context doesn't help you, then you're going to have to rely on some other exegetical.
Skills.
Okay, for instance, one of the most important exegetical skills ever is paying attention to who the you is in a biblical text, okay? Because if you ain't the you, then the promise ain't for you, okay?
I'm a poet and didn't know it. I did not intend to do that. That's funny. Okay, so all of that being said, let me give you like one of the most famous out of context you's ever, all right? And the most famous out of context you is from Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah 29 11.
Now we've, we've, if you've been in evangelicalism, you have written this and put it on your mirror or it's been, you know, it's a slogan on the back of your car. And let's read it out of context so you can see what I'm saying here.
Here's what it says. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord's plans for welfare, not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Oh, that's just amazing. And so you know what that means, Sherry, I'm excited to tell you, you're going to win the Superbowl this year.
So you're going to be, you're going to be wealthy, you know, so start planning the layout of your mansion. It's, it's coming, you know, because God, I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans for welfare, not for evil, but give you a future and a hope.
See, there it is. And so all the evangelicals and the prosperity preachers and the charismatic sit there and go, see, you just need to decree and declare Psalm 29 11 and everything's going to go your.
Way.
It's going to be easy street for you. You know, it's no, okay. And here's a failure to understand who the you is there.
So let me explain this. We'll first take a look at the Hebrew real quick. And the Hebrew is up on the screen and it's over here in the, that's my left hand.
Yes.
It's in the left hand. It's way over here. I, when I, when I use this computer, it's like everything is really big and it's like, I want to make it smaller, but that's a different story.
So let me explain this. For, I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans for.
You.
Well, for not to give you a future and a hope.
So let's see if we can figure out who the you is here. And I'm looking for something in the Hebrew here. It is okay. I will explain what this says here. I've got it highlighted. So here we've got the, the Hebrew word.
We'll just say, you know, all, you could say all a, all a, yeah. What does this mean?
For, and here's the last part. And chem means all y 'all. So Sherry, I know you you're down in Georgia.
And you guys drink sweet tea and stuff like that. So that being the case, you're familiar with the phrase all y 'all.
So, you know, bless your heart. You know, I'm glad you know that. But the idea here is, is that this is a plural you. This is I, so you could translate it kind of roughly Georgian style. For, I know the plans I have for all y 'all declares the Lord plans for welfare and not for evil to give all y 'all a future and a hope.
And since it's in the plural, the question is who's the all y 'all.
Who, you know, cause that's a lot of people. That's not a single person. And since it's not a singular, you're going to note here that whatever the promise is, this is not some general promise given specifically to you in context.
These are promises given to a group of people. And by the way, when you apply context, context, context, you figure out who that group is. So who is the group that is being referred to here? Well, these are the words of Jeremiah, the words of the letter that Jeremiah, the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, to the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
That's a lot of all y 'alls.
And notice the circumstance here. So I would note that whatever God is saying in Jeremiah 29, 11, unless you're really old, I mean really old, like if you cannot with your own memory, remember the Babylonian exile, this, whatever promises here are given, these are not really applying to you.
So you got to pay attention to who the you is here. So this is written to them in particular. And so he goes on, this was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem.
The letter was sent by the hand of Elisah, the son of Shaphan, Gamariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, the king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
So note, this is, you're reading somebody else's email here. This was not sent to you, but it's in scripture. It says, okay, thus says Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of armies, the God of Israel to all the exiles, whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Are you ready? Build houses, live in them, plant gardens, eat their produce, take wives, have sons and daughters, take wives for your sons, give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters, multiply there and do not decrease.
Now you have to immediately ask the question, why is God saying to do that? Because it sounds like everybody just assume normal life. Well, here's the reason why is because we learned in just a few verses that there were false prophets among the people of Israel in the exiles who were saying here, don't get comfortable.
We're only going to be here for a few, for a few days. And kind of like Lana Vosser style, they were saying, I'm feeling the Lord telling me right now that there's going to be a breakthrough and there's going to be suddenlies and we're going to suddenly be back in Jerusalem.
And that's not what God is saying. God didn't say that. And so they are lying to these people. God, he's going to make it very clear. You're going to be here for a while. You want to know how long you're going to be there so long you're going to die in exile.
Okay. Because that's how long it's going to be. So build houses, live in them, plant gardens, eat their produce, take wives, have sons and daughters, take wives for your sons, give your daughters in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters, multiply there, do not decrease, seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile.
Who sent them there? Oh, God did. Yeah. And pray to Yahweh on its behalf for in its welfare, you will find your welfare. For thus says Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of hosts, the God of armies, the God of Israel.
Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you. Do not listen to them. Do not listen to the dreams that they dream for it is a lie. They are prophesying to you in my name. I did not send them, declares the Lord.
For thus says Yahweh, when 70 years are completed for Babylon, I'll visit you and I will fulfill to you my promise and I will bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares Yahweh, plans for welfare, not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will hear you. You will seek me and then you will find me. Okay. So you kind of get the idea. Put it all into context. Jeremiah 29, 11 is not a promise that you're going to win the Super Bowl this year.
It's not even a promise that my Dodgers are going to win the World Series this year. They seem to be failing miserably in that regard. Every time we get to the playoffs, it's nothing of the sort. So when you see some famous sports figure, you know, write Jeremiah 29, 11, you know, under the under the writing in the black of his eyes.
Yeah. The guy's twisting the scriptures. Tim Tebow. Anyway, so you get the idea. So lesson number one, then when it comes to exegesis, pay attention to the who the you is. Now, the other bit of all of this when it comes to sound exegesis is pay attention to cross references because cross references will oftentimes give you a proper understanding of a text or at least help you understand some things.
Now, by the way, when it comes to Psalm 91, it is famously quoted in Matthew chapter four. OK, so this is an important cross reference. And then I'm going to introduce you to another bit of all of this when it comes to the Psalms.
We have to be very, very careful what kind of Psalm we're dealing with. So let me explain. So Matthew chapter four, we're all familiar with this text that after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and the voice of the father was heard from heaven saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.
And the Holy Spirit descends on Christ and came to rest on him. You'll note that Jesus receives the Holy Spirit in baptism. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Know what I mean? Know what I mean? Anyway, so you'll note that.
So then Jesus immediately, the text says, was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. I can't even make it 40 minutes.
Anyway, the tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Then temptation number two, the devil took him to the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down for it is written. And watch what the devil does.
He's quoting the Bible. For he will command his angels concerning you and on their hands, they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. Now note, if you were to take a look at the cross reference, the cross reference is Psalm 91 and the devil is misquoting.
He left out a little bit of it, misquoting Psalm 91, 11 and 12. So immediately the question has to be asked is, according to Matthew 4, who is Psalm 91 about? Psalm 91 is about Jesus. Now granted, the devil helps us understand that, but Jesus doesn't say that Psalm's not about me.
Psalm 91 falls into a group of Psalms known as Messianic Psalms, and there are specific details regarding the life of Christ that are being referenced there in the Psalms. And as a result of it, you got to be careful because who the you there is in Messianic Psalms isn't you.
It isn't me. The you being referred to there is Jesus. Now let me give you a great example here, and I think I can do this from memory. Hang on a second here.
So Psalm 22 is a great example of a Messianic Psalm. So David writes in Psalm 22, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Now, wait a second here. That sounds like what Jesus said from the cross. Exactly.
So you'll know that this is a perfect example of a Messianic Psalm. Where he says, why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are a whole, you are holy and thrown on the praises of Israel in you. Our fathers trusted, they trusted in you delivered them to you. They cried and were rescued in you. They trusted and were not put to shame, but I am a worm and not a man scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me. They make mouths at me and wag their heads. He trusts in Yahweh. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him for he delights in him. And you sit there and go, that almost sounds verbatim like what we heard from the people who were at the foot of the cross, mocking Jesus.
Exactly. Yet you are he who took me from the womb. You made me trust you at my mother's breasts on you. I was cast from my birth and from my mother's womb, you have been my God. Be not far from me for trouble is near and there is none to help.
Many bulls encompass me, strong bulls of Bashan surround me. They open wide their mouths at me like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax.
It is welted within my breast. My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death for dogs encompass me. A company of evildoers encircles me. They have pierced my hands and my feet and I can count all my bones.
They stare and they gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and for my clothing, they cast lots.". Now you'll note that no one in the charismatic or NAR movements decree and declare Psalm 22 verses 16 through 18.
No, none of them decree and declare that.
Why?
Because it's clear to them, this is a messianic Psalm and this is a prophecy regarding Christ. But Matthew four teaches us that Psalm 91 is the same. So let me show you then what we're going to do is we're going to go into Psalm 91 and I'm going to go to the end of it first, because I want you to see what's going on here, Psalm 91, I'll start at verse 14 says, because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him.
I will protect him because he knows my name. Now, who's the you there here? Who's this, who's being described? Well, we know from Matthew four, who's being talked about here is Jesus. Does Jesus hold fast to his father?
Does his father deliver him?
Does God, the father know that Jesus knows his name? You betcha.
When he calls to me, I will answer him, but no, because he holds fast to me. So let me ask you, how, how good are you at holding fast to God? I mean, do you do it perfectly like Jesus did? Yeah, I don't either.
So you'll note here. Well, if, if holding fast to God and holding fast here is not some like, you know, feat of the moment, but actually holding fast to God perfectly, which is what this is implying, then I don't qualify as the person being described in Psalm 91 and neither do you.
So you'll note here, what's going on here is something completely different. And so, and then backing up, we're reading this backwards at first, and then we'll read it forwards. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Is, is that what, is that what's promised about you? That to, to guard you in all your ways? On their hands, they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. Is that a promise regarding you?
I can tell you, I I've stubbed my foot, not on, not only on stones, but on the bedpost underneath my mattress. That is the most painful thing on planet earth. Actually, no, it's second most painful. Only to be topped by stepping on a Lego at night.
Angels don't even protect me from Legos.
Anybody who's stepped on a Lego knows exactly what I mean. All right, Peter, you gotta, you gotta mute your, your phone there. There we go.
So if God doesn't rest, if the angels don't rescue me from Legos, I don't think this, this applies to me and it doesn't, this is about Jesus. So note, who's the you here? Jesus is. Psalm 91 is a messianic Psalm.
So let's go back then. So the idea here is, is that the Lord is our refuge, but this is ultimately pointing to a reality that is found in Christ. So here, here's what it says. He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions under his wings. You will find refuge.
I got to back up a little farther. He who dwells in the shelter of the most high will abide in the shadow of the almighty. I will say to Yahweh, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Now this part we can say amen to.
We, cause here's the thing. Even a messianic Psalm will have implications that are benefits because of Christ. Not because of our faithfulness, but because we trust in the Lord, because we have the benefits of faith and being united with Christ and his death and his resurrection.
So note then when we talk about, you know, any promises like this that could kind of secondarily apply to us, they do not apply to us apart from being in Christ. And so you'll note that Christ has not promised us that we will not die.
In fact, our gospel text made it clear that even though you die, yet shall you live. Yet, and everyone who believes in him will never die. That doesn't mean you won't die physically, but that your death is likened to sleep.
That's the point. So he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, from the deadly pestilence. And see, everyone says, there you go. You just got the decree and declare Psalm 91 verse three. Yeah, no.
And this isn't saying that you can decree and declare this anyway. Is this a promise that Christians will not die from pestilence?
No.
If it were, then God's a liar.
That this is just, let's be blunt here. He will cover you with his pinions and under his wings, you will find refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and a buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
Now I'm going to note here, I'm going to point this out. Do not fear the terror of the night. Now we, by faith in Christ, we do not fear death now. And even if we were sent to war, okay. So, you know, Sherry, you served our country in the military.
And, you know, let's say whatever, you know, let's say you were deployed to an active theater during that time and, you know, some kind of a skirmish had broken out and maybe your post had been attacked by the Taliban or something like that.
Had you died in that encounter, would God have not fulfilled his promise to you in Psalm 91 verse 5, that no arrow that flies by day will strike you? That's not what the promise is. You don't have to fear those things.
Because like I said in the sermon, you're already dead. You're already in Christ. So I don't have to fear dying by pestilence. I don't have to fear dying in war. I don't have to fear dying by Lego.
And I'm sure you can die by that. I'm very sure. Or die by coronavirus.
I don't need to fear any of this stuff because God is my strength, my shield. IPhone, you need to, you got to mute you. You got to mute yourself. I don't know who that person is.
Oh, yeah.
What happened when, when Lane, you know, did his thing, he made it so that I don't have control of the media anymore. So I don't have an ability to, to control this. Hello, iPhone. You need to turn off your microphone.
Uh, bummer. There we go.
Coming back. So you don't need to fear anything. So no, the promise is we don't need to fear these things. I don't fear death. I don't fear pestilence or anything like that. You know, that's the idea because I'm in Christ.
Now then here we go. Kind of a restating of one of the promises given to Israel. If they kept the Mosaic covenant, a thousand may fall at your side, 10 ,000 at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
Now the question is, who's the you there? You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Now, in this particular case, it's important to note that sound theology regarding the incarnation makes it clear that Christ is all of Israel squished down into one person.
Jesus fulfills the Mosaic covenant and this promise that a thousand will fall at your right hand and at your side and 10 ,000 at your right hand. That's a promise that God says, if you obey me, and so that's part of the Mosaic covenant.
So who perfectly kept the Mosaic covenant? Answer, Jesus. So again, now we're overtly steering into portions of the psalm that make it very clear this is a messianic psalm because none of us have kept God's law perfectly and none of us have earned the right to have a thousand fall at our right hand and all that kind of stuff.
Because you've made Yahweh your dwelling place, the most high who is my refuge. No evil shall be allowed to befall you. No plague to come near your tent.
And here your note that psalm 91, nine and 10 flow continuously into 11 and 12 and 11 and 12 we know are referring to Christ. So therefore nine and 10 are as well, because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, who's the you there?
The most high who is my refuge. No evil will be allowed to befall you. No plague come near your tent for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. So you'll note the continuous thought between nine, 10, 11, 12 and 11 and 12.
We know from Matthew four are specifically referring to Jesus. So the idea here is, is that when some Yahoo just rips a psalm 91 verse out of context and is saying that means you Christian are not going to have any plague come near your tent.
They don't know how to exegete a text. That's not a general promise that Christians will not die of the Corona virus. And I would note that Christians have died in every plague in human history that has struck the Western world.
And now this pandemic has struck us and there are Christians who have the Corona virus today who will not be with us in two weeks. And it's not because God didn't keep his promises in Psalm 91. And anyone who says that that's a general promise here just doesn't understand how to rightly handle the words, the word of God.
Did so the Skalski family asked, did you see the meme of Isaiah 2620 floating.
Around?
What is the context there? They were sharing all over Facebook. Well, let's take a look. Isaiah 2620. I mean, I haven't seen the mean, but I can only imagine.
Isaiah 2620. Let's see here. Come my people enter your chamber, shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while until the fury is passed by for behold, the Lord is coming out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it and, and will more cover it's slain.
So interesting text. Now, I would say that whoever put that meme together is handling the word of God a little bit better, not perfectly, but not, they're handling it a little bit better than the person who's taking Psalm 91 out of context.
And this actually leads me into the bit where I wanted to talk a little bit about the plagues of Egypt and, and show you their reappearance in the, in the book of Revelation. And when you put the two together, you can kind of see what's going on here because there is a very real sense in which pestilences are a kind of a judgment of God, not for specific sins, but, but, you know, as a means of calling people to repent in general.
And so I'll get to that in just a minute. Let me check some other questions here from the iPhone. Speaking of context, what about Christians who say that we are spiritual Israel, therefore scriptures like Jeremiah 29, 11 apply to us today?
That's spreading the butter really thin. Jeremiah 29, 11 doesn't have, again, unless you're really old.
Like really old that, you know, taking Jeremiah 29, 11 out of context, that sounds like some kind of a weird, you know, flea flicker, Harry may, Hail Mary pass with four seconds left in the fourth quarter to try to win the game.
It's just, you know, but you're going to fumble if you go that direction.
Now here's the idea. The church has been grafted into Israel. There is only Israel will be saved. Let me make this clear. We do not believe in replacement theology. What we do believe is that there is the Christ is the vine.
We're the branches. And that when it comes to that, we who are Gentiles have been grafted into Israel. And that true Israel, according to the new Testament are not those who are genetically Jewish, but true Israel are those who have the same faith as Abraham.
So we're not spiritual Israel. We are Israel.
Genetic Israel has no bearing on whether or not you are truly a Israel or not, or whether or not you are truly a descendant of Abraham. The true descendants of Abraham are those who have the faith of Abraham.
That being the case, even if that being the case, if you properly understand that, you still have a historical context. You're reading somebody else's email. Jeremiah 29 11 doesn't promise some, you know, that you're going to win the Super Bowl next year.
That's not what it does. And so you'll note here, it's the prosperity preachers who rip it out of context to make it appear like it's giving you a promise that it doesn't.
And so what ends up happening is, is that that means that God wants to give you prosperity, wants to give you health, give you divine wealth. And of course, the only people seeming to experience divine wealth and prosperity are the people teaching these false doctrines while the rest of the people are left to languish, you know, suffering from diseases just like everybody else.
Again, I keep pointing out that a Bethel church closed their, their, their healing rooms because of the Corona virus.
When they should be deploying all of the, the Bethel students from this, these supernatural school of ministry or whatever, deploying them all over the world to all the hotspots and healing people. Now, what are they doing?
They're hold, they're hold up and under quarantine like everybody else. So the idea here is, is that Jeremiah 29 11, what is it promising exactly? It's promising that the people who have been in exile, who lost nine, 90 of their relatives, okay.
Only 10 of, of Judah survived the sack of Jew, of, of, of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar. And only the 10 who survived after losing friends, family, you know, loved ones and, and, and, you know, and 90, 90 of everybody they know or knew were killed and then they were taken in exile.
They lost the worship at the temple, you know, because of all of that. You know, when all of that came to a grinding halt, you know, so God's promising them that he means them good, but he, this again, stands in contra distinction to the, the, the claims of the false prophets who were saying that they were going to have a suddenly and a breakthrough and that they weren't going to be there for very long.
And don't unpack your bags because we're going to be heading home soon. They were, that, that was the whole point. So in context, there's, there is no application for today. I would note that the promises that we have in the new Testament are way better than those promises, because what we have been promised is that we do have a hope and we do have a future and it's not in this life, the, the hope and the future that we have is in the world to come, Christ says, behold, I'm making all things new.
And we have been promised by Jesus that we have an inheritance. And here's the other bit. The exile, the Babylonian exile is a type and shadow of the reality we as Christians find ourselves in.
So have you been to the heavenly Jerusalem yet? No, you live in exile. And I, I'll point this out too. One more thing is that the term exile shows up in the new Testament and it's in the epistles, and I want to show you how this is used in this regard here.
Peter writes in his epistle, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, this is first Peter one, to those elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. So note here that he takes the exile concept, the type and shadow of the Old Testament, and he's applying it to us.
We are exiles right now. You haven't been home. You know, you have yet to actually go to the promised land. You live in exile in a pagan world and in pagan country. And so you'll know he, Peter uses the word exile several times in his epistle to those who are elect exiles of the dispersions, first Peter one 17.
And if you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your what? Your exile.
And so you sit there and go, okay. So Jeremiah 29, 11 is a type and shadow. And the whole Babylonian exile is a type and shadow of what? What we find ourselves in here. And then first Peter two 11, beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh.
So Jeremiah 29, 11 is type and shadow of the situation we find ourselves in here. And the idea here is pray for the country you're in. You do live in the United States. Pray for the president of the United States.
Do you live in the Commonwealth? Pray for the queen. Pray for your, your prime minister. Do you live in the Netherlands? Pray for the King and pray for your parliament. Do you live in the European union?
Pray for the European union. Pray for the head of the EU. You live in Russia or whatever. The idea here is, is that don't plan on getting out of here anytime soon. It's going to be a while before Jesus comes back.
That's the idea. So you can kind of apply it in that sense. All right. But that's, that's the idea. So the person who turns it into a prosperity text that you can decree and declare 29, 11 misses the whole point of how the Babylonian exile is used in scripture.
All right. Let's see here. Bruce, you will die in exile. Sometimes God's forgiveness doesn't mean that the consequences of our sins are not lifelong. Yes, indeed, Bruce. That's a great point. Could you illuminate how that is not a sign of God's unforgiveness?
Oh, in fact, far from it.
And so you'll note that in scripture, the simplest way to work this out is, is that God disciplines us as a father.
And there are consequences of our sin and our rebellion, and that is not a sign at all that God doesn't forgive you. In fact, you stop listening to that. This is why Lutherans have a big emphasis on the absolution, because the absolution comes from outside of us and continues to tell us that we are forgiven.
Whether or not you're forgiven does not depend upon your circumstances.
So in fact, I can, I can tell you this definitively. If Jesus decides that he's going to tarry for another hundred years, every one of you who are tuned in today to our service online and who are hearing my voice and seeing my ugly face, that a hundred years from now, we're all dead.
It's just going to happen. And, and, and should we then determine that because you are going to die, some of you might die of cancer, some of you might be in a car wreck, some of you might get some other autoimmune disease.
Some of you might be taken by the coronavirus. Some of you might be murdered by some axe wielding wacko. You, are we to determine that because you've died in any one of these manners that somehow, well, that means that God didn't love you?
No. The voice of the circumstances or the consequences of sin that we all suffer is not where we go to determine whether or not we have a right standing with God. The gospel speaks to us and says that we are forgiven.
That's the place we go. And what Christ has said cannot be overturned by your circumstances. And I would note that Christians for two millennia have been dying.
You know, which of the apostles are still around today to teach us?
None.
So don't look at your circumstances and say, well, that means that God doesn't forgive me. No, not at all. And you'll note that there are real consequences for real sins. And if you are made to suffer those consequences, that's your heavenly father disciplining you.
And that's not a sign of unforgiveness. That's a sign that your father cares about you and doesn't want sin to reign over you. So sometimes he allows consequences of sin to be there for a long time. Perfect example of this from history would be the trials at Nuremberg.
There's a wonderful story. Let's see if I have it in my... I'm looking if I have it over here. I might have it in my Kindle. Uno momento, por favor. I'm going to hunt this down. This is an excellent book worth reading and talking about the consequences of sin.
And let me do this real quick. Let me get my library up and I think it's, let's see here. Nuremberg.
Mission at Nuremberg. That's the name of the book. And give me a second here and voila.
If you have not read this book, this is an extremely good book to take a look at. The name of it is Mission at Nuremberg, an American Army Chaplain and the Trials of the Nazis by Tim Townsend. And so this tells the story of a Lutheran Church, Missouri Senate pastor who was asked by the president himself to stay on after the end of the war to become the chaplain to the Nazi war criminals who were on trial at Nuremberg.
And it's a fascinating account. And let's just say that not all of the Nazis were keen on hearing the gospel from this pastor.
But there were some who for real heard the gospel that Jesus bled and died for their sins, even the sins that they committed as war criminals and Nazis, and they were forgiven in Christ. And one really kind of tear jerking account, one of the prisoners, and I forget his name, is a pretty high profile Nazi war criminal.
He was found guilty for his war crimes, sentenced to death. And prior to his death, he spent time with his pastor and this guy had true faith in Christ for the forgiveness of his sins. And when he was ascending the steps of the gallows, he turned around to his pastor and he said, I will see you later.
And then he went to the gallows and he was hung. Should we determine that God didn't forgive him because he was found guilty of war crimes? No, not at all. Everyone who believes in Jesus, though he died, yet will he live.
And everyone who believes in him will never die, including Nazi war criminals. And you say, that's too much gospel, Rose, bro. I mean, if God's going to be forgiving Nazi war criminals, who's he going to forgive next?
My point would be, if he can't forgive Nazi war criminals, what makes you think he can forgive you? And so, you know, consequences of sin, experiencing them does not overturn the forgiveness of sins by Christ.
So you don't look for your absolution from your consequences, or consequences are the result of sin in our life. You know, you'll despair. Your hope is in Christ who says that he has bled and died for all of your sins.
And you are forgiven, full stop, period, regardless of your circumstances. So that's the idea.
Marilyn asks, yet do we relate Psalm 22 in our trials also? Yes, Marilyn, I would point out that there's a way in which you can do that because look at the way the Apostle Paul points to the sufferings of Jesus and even sees the trials that he's going through, you know, by the persecution of the Jews, the stonings that he's received, he sees in his own persecutions that that is part and parcel of the sufferings of Christ now being played out in his life, not for the forgiveness of his sins, but a participation in the sufferings of Christ because we as Christians are called to do it.
So you could do that, but you're going to have to pull in other biblical texts in the New Testament, which shows them that we also then participate in suffering along with Christ.
So don't ask us how well do we hold fast to God? Yeah, no, here's the thing, the better way of putting it. And if I was confusing on this, I want to make this clear. Christ is the one who holds on to us.
Because my faith at times is just, okay. Christ has got you. It's, you know, and so, you know, you can say you're hanging on to him, but believe me, he's the stronger hand.
So we already did confession, we'd be right back there.
So thanks for your answer. That was my thinking. Also, just had a different way of, with a view of fighting for the faith member online.
Good.
Could you also, could you spiritualize these texts as in 10 ,000 shall fall at their right hand and not come nigh to thee, means he protects our soul. Diane, I would be careful along those lines. There is a way in which you can do that, but spiritualizing the text oftentimes is just bad exegesis.
It's bad exegesis. And I, you know, and so I do make a distinction between looking at types and shadows versus, you know, as opposed to, you know, so types and shadows is not a spiritualizing of the text.
The Bible teaches us to see the Old Testament as types and shadows. But when you see the 10 ,000 falling at your right hand and stuff like that, that's a clear promise given for those who fulfill the Mosaic covenant and Christ has.
And so the better way is to put that, see the Messianic Psalm for what it is, and then see the way in which Christ does fulfill the Mosaic covenant, because he does perfectly, and then how that promise then applies to him.
And since it applies to him, then the idea here is that, well, since you're the guy who's no, who no enemies can touch, well, I got enemies, Lord, please help me. You know, so I like to kind of backdoor it that way, you know, again, see the fulfillment in him and then bring your request to him in that sense.
Now I know I'm running a little bit long and none of you are required to stay, but I want to show you a little bit about the trials, the plagues of Egypt, and I want to show you how they reappear and what plagues like that call for.
So in the book of Exodus chapter seven, and what we're going to do here is we're going to take a look at chapter seven, and in so doing, we're going to just take a look at a few of the plagues, and then I want to show you where they reappear in Exodus 16, so you can kind of see what's going on, because this is a tragic story in so many ways.
More Bible, you know, it's a good point. Yeah, it's my biblical tar baby here. Hopefully you all know what I'm talking about.
So, so the Lord said to Moses, see, I have made you like God to Pharaoh. Your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you. And your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to tell the people of Israel to go out of his land.
But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. So note, then, these plagues are considered signs and wonders. They are signs for the purpose of calling people to repent, but at this point, Pharaoh's heart is going to be hardened, and so there's a sign, there's a bit behind it, so there is a right way in which you can consider that a global pandemic that has destroyed all of our economies, that's a sign, man.
What's the sign? It's a call to all of us to repent. So Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my host, my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.
So note, this is an act of judgment. Plagues are considered an act of judgment. So the Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.
Moses and Aaron did so, and they did just as Yahweh commanded them. Now, Moses was 80 years old, Aaron 83 years old. So we've got two octogenarians, man. Who listens to them?
Okay. Okay.
So notice God doesn't even send like, you know, young men fit and good looking. He sends two dried up raisins, man. Just awesome. So then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, when Pharaoh says to you, prove yourselves by working a miracle, then you shall say to Aaron, take your staff, cast it down before Pharaoh so that it may become a serpent.
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as Yahweh commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Now, remember a little bit of a note here. This is a showdown between God and Pharaoh, who's a false God.
And I pointed this out a couple of weeks ago in one of our midweek services, and I should do that here. And let's see here. I'm going to go to Google. Yeah, there we go. So let's take a look at Pharaoh, Pharaoh snake headdress.
There we go. I want to show you something here.
One of the distinctive features of what Pharaoh wears on his head.
And I, you know, we'll take a look at King Tut here. And so let's put that there. Always fun to see what you find on the internet.
So this bigger picture here, you know, you'll note that a Pharaoh's headdress is designed to make them look like a Cobra.
And sitting on the top of his headdress is what?
A Cobra. Okay.
So pay attention to the types and shadows here. This is a showdown between the one true God and a serpent King.
Huh?
I get it.
So Pharaoh's a stand in for the devil.
Right.
That's kind of the point, how this works in the types and shadows. You kind of, you know, fill in some of the data and you can see this.
So then, then you hear this, you see this idea that Moses' staff has turned into a serpent, but Moses can control it. And Pharaoh had his servants throw down their staffs. So, and this is Janus and Jambres, by the way, those are the two fellows that, that, that were the magicians of Pharaoh.
We learned this from, I think Jude. So then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers and they, the magicians of Egypt also did the same by their secret arts for each man cast down his staff and they became serpents, but Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs, still Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he would not listen to them as Yahweh said.
So then the Lord said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart's hardened. He refuses to let the people go, go. So go to Pharaoh in the morning. And as he's going out in the water, stand on the bank of the Nile to meet him, taking your hand, the staff that turned into a serpent and you shall say to him, Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews sent me to you saying, let my people go that they may serve me in the wilderness.
But so far you have not obeyed. Thus says Yahweh, by this, you shall know that I am Yahweh. Behold, with the staff that is in my hand, I will strike the water that is in the Nile and it shall turn to blood.
All right. Now turning to blood, that is definitely some kind of a plague type of thing here. And we'll, we'll see how in the cross references it works in Revelation 16. The fish in the Nile shall die.
The Nile will stink. The Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile. And Yahweh said to Moses, take, say to Aaron, take your staff, stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over the rivers, over their canals, their ponds, their pools of water, and they shall become blood and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and in the vessels of.
Stone.
So Moses and Aaron did as Yahweh commanded. Now I'm not going to read the whole account here, but you're going to note. So we got just kind of walking through some of the plagues here. So water to blood, then you've got, let's see here.
Then you got the plague of frogs, which is a very interesting one. Again, they'll show up also in Revelation here. So in this particular, in the plague of frogs, Aaron stretched out his hands and the frogs came up and covered Egypt.
So Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, this is at chapter eight, plead with Yahweh to take away the frogs. And so he picks the time, the time is tomorrow, and the Lord did according to the word of Moses, the frog died in the houses.
But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart and he would not listen to them, as Yahweh had said. So note here, the plagues, these signs are being given, not only to show that Yahweh is the true God, but here there is a real sense in which these signs are given for the purpose of calling Pharaoh to repent.
And he continues to harden his heart against these signs of judgment. So then you have the plague of the gnats, and you can translate gnats. I think you can also translate that as fleas. That's another way of translating it.
It's kind of a, it's an interesting word. We're not 100 sure on how to work that one out. And then you've got the swarms of flies, and it just continues to go on. Then you're going to have darkness, boils, and hail, and all these signs of destruction, and then culminating in the death of all the firstborn.
But when you take a look at Revelation 16, okay, so again, Old Testament is type and shadow, New Testament teaches that explicitly. In Revelation 16, these plagues show up again and listen to the call of the plagues, what their intent was.
So Revelation 16 says, Now, by the way, I am in no way saying, oh, guess what? God's pouring out these bowls right now.
No way.
That is not what I'm saying. Okay, but let's pay attention to how these types of acts of judgment on the part of God, what their purpose is. So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth and harmful, painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.
So here, this is one of the plagues of Egypt, which shows up again at the end of the world in Revelation 16 as one of the judgments of God. So the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, it became like the blood of a corpse and every living thing died that was in the sea.
That's the same sign that Moses did, same plague. And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water. They became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the water say, just are you a holy one who is, and who was, for you brought these judgments, for they have shed the blood of the saints and the prophets, and you've given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve. So you'll note that this turning of water into blood is a judgment against the killing of saints. And you'll note that when Moses turned the Nile into blood, or God did through Moses, that I would say that Revelation 16 .6 gives us a way of looking at that because remember in the opening chapter of Exodus, it was Pharaoh who commanded that the children of Israel take their infant male children and kill them in the Nile.
The Nile was the means by which these children were martyred. They, you know, for what? Being born Jewish? Being born Hebrew? And so when God in Revelation causes the waters to turn to blood, it is because they, it is his vengeance, his wrath against how the world has martyred his saints, the Christians.
That's the idea. So then I heard the altar saying, yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and just are your judgments. The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. It was allowed to scorch the people with fire, and they were scorched by a fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.
And there is your operative thing. So note, when God is acting in judgment like this, the call is to repent. The call is, and I'm not talking about them over there, okay? We Christians do something really weird, and that is that when we talk about repentance, usually we're talking about that group over there, you know, the people who vote for the other political party, you know, they're the ones who need to repent.
And it doesn't seem to dawn on you that, no, you're the one who needs to repent. You know, so remember what Jesus said, you know, regarding that tower of Siloam that fell and killed those people, construction accident.
And Jesus says, were those guys any worse sinners than anyone else living in Jerusalem?
So then, you know, you will likewise perish if you don't repent. So when things like this happen, in general, the call is a general call for repentance. But note that when God starts pouring out the plagues of Egypt again a second time in the book of Revelation, people did not repent and give him glory.
Like Pharaoh, they hardened their hearts. And that's what people under the dominion of darkness do. So then, the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.
Same as one of the plagues of Egypt. The people nod their tongues in anguish. They curse the God of heaven for their pain and their sores. And they did not repent of their deeds. You know, and as the North Dakotans around here like to say, oofta, you know, that's a bad thing.
So the reason I'm pointing all of this out is that as we look at, I'm sorry, but I cannot understand the current pandemic any other way than see it as a sign of judgment, because this pandemic has forced us all into our houses, has destroyed our economies, and there's like no end in sight.
Okay?
If this isn't a general call by God for humanity to repent of their deeds and their sins, then I don't know what is. But the thing is, as a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have good news for all who are in anxiety regarding the current pandemic and the fear of death.
And that is that there is forgiveness and mercy for all who call upon the Lord. Everyone who calls upon the Lord will be saved. So we are all called to repent and to trust in Christ. And I have good news for you in the midst of the pandemic, that there is forgiveness and mercy because Christ has bled and died for your sins.
And so the call is for all of us to repent of our own sins, of our own deeds, and to believe, to trust Jesus. And the promises are for you, for your children, for all who are far off. And all of us. So whether or not you're a Nazi war criminal or just a stay-at-home mom doing homeschooling, we're all sinners the like.
And so, you know, and there is forgiveness and mercy in Christ. That's the idea. So think of the pandemic as the law, but we as Christians, we're the only ones who have the gospel and no one else has it.
So, you know, anyway, let's check questions before we sign off. Could you, okay. So, oh no, more Bible. All right, good. No more questions.
They're all sitting there going, Rosemoe, sign off, man. We've been here since like 930.
I love it.
You can't go anywhere. It's like, I know as soon as I sign off, what are you going to do? You're going to sit, you're going to turn on the television, Netflix binge or something, right? Me too. So, all right, we will end there.
Peace to you, brothers and sisters, and may God protect us all. And, and bring us through the valley of the shadow of death into his glorious kingdom of light, because he's making all things new peace.
We'll see you guys next time.
