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Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Some weeks ago, about six or more weeks ago, on a Thursday evening, I spoke on a little phrase in Daniel chapter seven. Here is the end of the matter. And we thought that evening of certain features that would characterize the end of this age. Now, this last Thursday evening, for all those of you who were present, we finished it off. Well, at least we tried to finish it off. There are five features that I particularly drew out from a large number of features that are going to characterize the end. There were five that we particularly, particularly drew out and underlined. The first was the mystery of lawlessness. We find that in two Thessalonians, chapter two, verse seven and eight, the mystery of lawlessness, this strange disease that is going to hit civilization at the end of the age, according to scripture, and we're not going to go into that this morning. We've already talked quite a lot about it and about this strange man, this strange character called in scripture the man of Sin, the Antichrist, who is described in this chapter two of two Thessalonians and verse eight as the lawless one, the one who, in the end, probably a youngish man who will be raised up at the end of the age and will draw together, sum up in himself, in his policies, in himself, all these aspirations for a new society, for a new way of life, for a new morality, for a new approach to everything. Scripture is quite clear to us that the Antichrist will not be a kind of fearful, horrifying creature, but rather will be a very decent, a seemingly upright and very advanced man, a man who, it will seem, will give to this world all that it needs. Well, we spoke about that as one of the features and dwelt at some length upon it, especially in our own country. We looked at some of the things that are happening, what one have been called the hidden persuaders behind so much of our journalism and radio, television, theatre, much else. Now the hidden persuaders are out to destroy the society we have and to replace it. Many of them are idealists, they're not wicked people, but they're out to replace all the traditional concepts that were based in the word of God and the Lord of God by an altogether new philosophy.
[00:03:28] The second thing that the Bible tells us will characterize the end of the age is a counterfeit church, a worldwide counterfeit church that will have within it, reunited all the varying divided elements, and yet, at the same time, will have really no right to the name Christianity as we know it in scripture. Well, there's a lot to say about that, whether you agree or you don't. Agree. The fact is the scripture clearly predicts that at the end of the age there will be a counterfeit church and it will be worldwide predicted it for 2000 years.
[00:04:10] And that's another factor of the end. Of course, 20 years ago people would never have believed in such a possibility. To even reunite Protestantism with romanism would have been an impossible thing, let alone to conduct a dialogue with Jews or with Islam or with atheists. But all that is coming to pass, the third great factor, which has been for more than 2600 years, predicted in scripture, more than that, I say, is the jewish return and conversion. And we will not dwell upon that. We have said quite enough about it, except to say this, that one of the most extraordinary, the perhaps most remarkable miracle of this century is the recreation of the nation of Israel. And whether we agree with methods used, whether we agree with what has happening, happened and what is happening in the Middle east, there is one thing that every one of us has got to accept, and that is Israel is the focal point of world opinion.
[00:05:34] And this is quite extraordinary when you consider that 21 years ago there was no Israel.
[00:05:43] But for 2600 years, scripture has said that this dispersed nation would once again be drawn back to Palestine and would become a nation again. And this would be the sign of the end of the age also. Of course, the other thing which I think most of us here realize is that Jerusalem, it was said by our Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 21 24, will be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. In June of 1967, for the first time in over 2000 years, Jerusalem came back under jewish sovereignty. So here we have three factors. The mystery of lawlessness and the coming of the lawless one. In the end culminating in that, the coming world counterfeit church, the jewish return and conversion. There's going to be a tremendous movement of the spirit of God in the last part of the final phase of this age, which will result in many, many jewish people being converted. The fourth thing we mentioned as a fact of the end of the age is the building and the completion of the church.
[00:07:09] That top stone, as the prophet Zechariah said, will be brought forth with shouts of grace, grace unto it. The whole building will be built. Now, that's all the more marvelous because in the old days they didn't use cement.
[00:07:26] The stones were shaped and fashioned in such a way that they just simply fitted together. And the whole point of the skill of a master builder was whether the top stone, which was normally right at the apex of the roof could go in without having to come out again to be fashioned afresh.
[00:07:54] In other words, if the whole building could be so built according to plan, could be built almost to a millimeter, then that final top stone could slide into position and the whole thing was complete.
[00:08:11] No messing around with a little bit more cement, a little bit more mortar, as of course, today we can do. I mean, we don't have to worry about being absolutely exact. We just put a little bit more mortar in and that covers up the mistake. But not so in the old days. And so Zechariah, when he had this tremendous vision in chapter four, which he tells us, he wrote down, tells us that the top stone is going to be brought for to this building, the whole thing is going to be built so absolutely according to plan. Now it is our Lord Jesus who himself said, upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And though at times it may seem to us that the gates of hell have prevailed against the church, the fact is, what are we going to believe? We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And somehow, some way, he is going to complete the building of that church upon that rock and it's going to be absolutely finished. According to divine plan. So shall all Israel be saved.
[00:09:23] Now, the last factor we have mentioned is the absolute triumph of God and heavy's Christ.
[00:09:33] Of course, it's the way you look at triumph.
[00:09:37] I don't think most of us, if we had been present at Calvary, would have ever looked upon that dying form of the Lord Jesus as the absolute triumph of God and of his Christ.
[00:09:51] I think if we had gathered around the cross and saw the storm clouds, the sun hiding its faith, heard the hissing and spitting and jeering, saw all hell let loose, saw the body of the Lord Jesus in its final death agony, I think we would have not thought of it as trials. We must have sympathy with the disciples when they felt it was the end and the defeat of everything.
[00:10:22] Disillusioned, disappointed. But it is not so. It is not so. That moment was the greatest triumph God ever has had in the whole of human history.
[00:10:37] When the Lord Jesus finally cried out, finished. It was the work of eternity done in time, the salvation of us all accomplished.
[00:10:54] We must get our ideas straight. I remember some years ago asking that dear old brother, that some of you will recall Mister Oliphant, when we knew he was dying. And he came to speak to us for the last time. And we asked him as he sat in the chair in the library. You have been faithful to the Lord over a long life. What do you see as you look into the future? Is there anything you can see which you can pass on to us? And he thought for a moment and he looked at the floor and then he lifted up his head and he said, in a way which only Mister Oliphant could, he said, I see only one thing.
[00:11:44] They crucified our Lord.
[00:11:48] And in the end they will crucify the church.
[00:11:54] Now, thats precisely what scripture says.
[00:11:58] There will be tribulations such as there has never been on the face of the earth. But it will be precisely at that point that gods greatest triumph in the history of the church will be performed.
[00:12:13] The rapture. The rapture is going to be the most glorious triumph this world has ever seen. Why just see the saints slipping out of their hands, whisked away in a miracle.
[00:12:28] The dead in Christ rising first, and then we which are alive and remain caught up to be with them.
[00:12:40] I say that's absolute triumph.
[00:12:43] Well, now, all I want this morning is to underline four things.
[00:12:52] Now, for those of you who have perhaps not been at these two studies, may not mean such a lot.
[00:13:00] But there are four things which I think in the light of all this and the coming of the Lord, you and I need to understand.
[00:13:13] The first is found in Isaiah, chapter 40.
[00:13:20] Isaiah, chapter 40. I'm going to read from verse 27 to the end of the chapter.
[00:13:29] Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel? My way is hid from the Lord, and the justice due to me is passed away from my God. Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faith and to him that hath no might, he increaseth strength.
[00:14:08] Even the youths shall faint and be weary. And the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.
[00:14:19] They shall mount up with wings as eagles.
[00:14:23] They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.
[00:14:32] Now it seems to me that here we've got a secret for the end of the age.
[00:14:39] It is very interesting that in Daniel chapter seven and in Daniel chapter eleven and chapter twelve, it tells us one of the great methods of Antichrist will be to wear out the saints, to wear them out by changing the seasons, by changing this, by bringing new ideas. Now everyone says, oh, that won't affect me. I don't really mind it too much. You just wait. You parents with children, when you begin to discover that children are being taught things that you don't agree with, well, what can you do?
[00:15:17] It erodes the mind.
[00:15:20] It takes away our rest and our peace. From every angle, the thing is coming at us. It's wearing us out. It's not only that it will be, in the end, a physical thing, physically expressed, as it were.
[00:15:34] But it's much more than it's a spiritual thing. We already surely are feeling it. Every letter. I can call witnesses to that. Those who have to look after the correspondence in this place, every letter we get now from every part of the world tells us of pressure, pressure, pressure.
[00:15:57] How are we to go through? Well, now, listen, it's no good you all taking vitamin tablets, much as that may be of use. And good, you can all take your cough mixtures and your other various things if you wish.
[00:16:17] But the point is this. This is not, is not a physical thing. Merely though we must take note of the physical side. It says, even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.
[00:16:34] In other words, we can't meet this with natural resources.
[00:16:40] But those that wait for the Lord shall renew or change their strength. The Hebrew is, change their strength.
[00:16:50] Their weakness will be changed for his divine strength. Now, that's the secret, isn't it?
[00:17:00] Now, what does the Lord say?
[00:17:03] They shall walk and not faint. They shall run and not be weary.
[00:17:09] They shall mount up with wings. He doesn't say that at all. He says, listen, he starts with this. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. That's his first thought. But if you can't get to that, all right. They shall run and not be weary. And if you can't get there, they shall walk and not faint. Oh, for God's grace to soar with wings as of an eagle.
[00:17:35] Now, isn't the Lord just always like this? You remember when he spoke about the parable of the sower? He said, some bringeth forth a hundredfold and some 60 and some 30.
[00:17:49] His first thought was a hundredfold.
[00:17:53] And God's first thought for you and me is that we should mount up with wings as eagles. The eagle in scripture is always the symbol of divine strength, of the spirit of God at work of the deity himself.
[00:18:13] What is the key?
[00:18:15] They shall wait for the Lord.
[00:18:21] Now, you know what that it means.
[00:18:25] Patience.
[00:18:28] We're back to it again.
[00:18:31] Patience.
[00:18:35] Do you remember once how King Saul couldn't wait long enough?
[00:18:41] The word of the Lord came to him. You shall wait for Samuel.
[00:18:46] But he wouldn't he waited and he waited, and Samuel delayed his coming. So finally, his patience, his natural patience was exhausted.
[00:18:58] And he sacrificed.
[00:19:02] It's just like you and me.
[00:19:04] We can't wait for the Lord. The natural man can't wait for the Lord. Even in spiritual things, he wants the blessing so fast.
[00:19:15] Now, God has a timing, you know. God is like a master builder, like a master craftsman. He absolutely waits.
[00:19:28] He knows just how much pressure to put on just the circumstances. To use just what instruments to bring into play every little bit of it and all. Sometimes we'd like to do without it. But he won't let go. He won't let go until finally, suddenly, he does his work.
[00:19:50] Now, you and I have got to learn this secret. The only way we're going to endure at the end is by divine strength.
[00:20:02] Divine strength. Now, look here. What a promise.
[00:20:09] First of all, the everlasting God, the creator, Jehovah, he giveth power to the faint. Now, what is the condition to be faint?
[00:20:31] So if there's anyone here and you're full of power, we have no word for you.
[00:20:37] But if you feel faint, here is the Lord's word. He giveth power.
[00:20:47] Power to the faint and listen. And to him that hath no might, he increaseth strength.
[00:20:57] I wonder how many of you are faint. God has done such a work in you on your natural resources. That for the first time, you're faint. You wonder what's going wrong with your christian life. You really do. Seems very strange to you. But it's actually strange enough. It's the Lord.
[00:21:13] It's the Lord that's doing it, see, because his promise is to him. He giveth power to him that is faint.
[00:21:21] But do you want increasing, progressively increasing strength? Then you must have no might.
[00:21:30] Now, when I'm faint, I've still got some power.
[00:21:34] Isn't that so? You know, I say, oh, I do feel tired, but I still get on with the job. Because I've still got a bit of power in me. I feel faint, but I cannot say I have no might, nothing.
[00:21:47] But when I have come to that point, nothing.
[00:21:50] Then the Lord increaseth strength.
[00:21:53] Now, I say that this is something you and I have got to learn. Because in these last days, it says, the love of the many shall wax cold. The Lord said, shall I find faith when I cometh to this earth? Oh, the pressures that are being born we have got to overcome. By the blood of the lamb, by the word of our testimony. Because we are loving not our lives unto the death. Then we shall know a way through a clear way through, but it will be by divine strength. Now, the second little thing I want to underline, this one very simply comes out of that, and we don't have to dwell on it for very long. It is in Zechariah, chapter four.
[00:22:28] Zechariah and chapter four. And it is verse 14.
[00:22:37] Then said he, these are the two anointed ones. Now, the Hebrew is sons of oil.
[00:22:47] The two sons of oil.
[00:22:51] Sons of oil. Now, this is linked with what I've just said.
[00:22:58] If you and I are going to go through in the last phase of world history, we have got to become sons of oil.
[00:23:12] Now, my dear friend, don't think for a single moment that that is taking away from the Lord Jesus Christ there. It is perfectly true that there is an altogether false idea of the Holy Spirit which somehow or other puts the Lord Jesus Christ into a wrong place.
[00:23:30] But let me be absolutely clear that there is an altogether right place to be given to the Holy Spirit which gives the Lord Jesus Christ his place.
[00:23:42] And until that right place is given to the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus cannot have his right place. For the Holy Spirit has come to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He has come to take up the things of Christ and make them real to us. He has come to join us to Christ in God, sons of oil. Now, you all know, I think, something of this vision in chapter four. What was it a vision of? It was a candlestick, a great candlestick, seven branched candlestick, all of gold. Well, we all know that was the candlestick that was found in the tabernacle. We all know that. We, I think, also know that this piece of furniture within the tabernacle was the piece of furniture selected to represent, more than any other piece, the heart objective of God.
[00:24:42] We would sum it up in one word. The testimony of Jesus.
[00:24:48] The testimony of Jesus.
[00:24:52] That's the candlestick. All of gold. Now, you will see, if you look in and I can't do it for you this morning, haven't the time. You go home and read this chapter, and you will find that this, first of all, Zechariah sees this great candlestick, this menorah, this great candlestick, the seven branch candlestick, and then suddenly his mind is taken, as it were, from the candlestick to something else, which the candlestick evidently represents. And it's building. Building.
[00:25:26] It's all to do with building. You see, the.
[00:25:32] You will find it, for instance, in verse seven, verse eight, verse nine.
[00:25:40] All about the plummet, the plummet line for building foundation.
[00:25:46] Zerubbabel laid the foundation, he shall finish it, and so on. It's all to do with building. So this testimony of Jesus is all to do with building.
[00:25:59] In other words, the thing I'm trying to say now is this, that if you and I are to hold the testimony of Jesus, we have got to know in our lives the building work of God, the Holy Spirit.
[00:26:14] We have got to know, not just being personally built up. I'm not talking about that. I mean being built together as living stones into a house for the Lord.
[00:26:28] Now, that I say, is all important.
[00:26:31] Isn't it interesting that the first thing that Zechariah sees is this candlestick? And then he immediately says, Lord, what are these two olive trees?
[00:26:43] What are these two olive trees? And the angel completely ignores him and almost says, I'm putting it rather irreverently, Zechariah, do shut up.
[00:26:56] We're not talking about the olive trees. We're talking about the candlestick.
[00:27:01] You see, we're all like this. Oh, my. Get a little bit of prophecy and we're off at a tangent. Get some other little experience and we're off at a tangent. We get things so upside down. Even Zechariah did. We're all the same material.
[00:27:16] But the Lord has to say, no, no. Now listen, Sakura, we're not going to talk about the two olive trees till we've got it clear. What is the objective?
[00:27:25] What is the objective? First, we've got to get that absolutely clear first or otherwise there's going to be trouble.
[00:27:35] And that's why there is such a danger. If you and I begin to see something of the olive trees and we don't see what the olive trees are ministering to.
[00:27:45] Oh, we get so wrapped up with the olive trees and we forget all together what it's all about.
[00:27:51] What it's about is this testimony, this building, this foundation that has been laid being completed, the house upon it completing, the top stone brought forth. It's all to do with the plummet line in the hands of the rubble, our Lord Jesus.
[00:28:10] Then after that, the angel Zechariah again says, now, what about these two olive trees?
[00:28:19] And the angel says, these are the sons of oil, the two sons of oil, and they represent the kingly and the priestly ministry. Well, now, we won't go into all that. But all it does mean is, it means you and me, kings and priests under God. That's what it means. Why have we been saved? Why have we been made kings and priests unto God, that we might be in this testimony of Jesus. We might hold the testimony of Jesus, as John the apostle says again and again in the book of revelation, that this building work may be completed. Oh, that you and I could surrender to the blessed claims of the Holy Spirit, that you and I could just somehow or other allow the Holy Spirit to control and to master us, that the Lord Jesus may get what he wants. Don't you see it?
[00:29:11] You can talk about God and you can talk about Jesus.
[00:29:15] Unless you surrender to the Holy Spirit, there is nothing, nothing at all.
[00:29:22] Sons of oil, the third thing very, very simply comes out of this fellowship.
[00:29:31] Fellowship.
[00:29:33] In one corinthians, chapter one, verse nine, we're told we have been called God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, how can two walk together unless they be agreed?
[00:29:52] Now, first of all, it means fellowship with our Lord, doesn't it? Fellowship of our Lord to have union, communion with him. How can we have union and communion with him and be sixes and sevens with our brothers and sisters?
[00:30:07] It is a lie.
[00:30:08] John the apostle puts it like this. If any man says he loves God and hates his brother, he's a liar.
[00:30:16] Now, that's the principle.
[00:30:18] The way we see whether a person is one with God is whether they're one with one another.
[00:30:25] That's how we find it. And if a person can allow division to come between them and another believer, whoever it is, you can be perfectly sure that they're allowing division between themselves and the Lord.
[00:30:41] It's quite simple. Now, that's a principle. No good arguing with me about it.
[00:30:49] It's a principle in God's word.
[00:30:51] That's why the Lord Jesus said, if you stand up praying and you have ought against someone, go and get it right. Don't pray to me.
[00:31:02] That's why the Lord Jesus taught us forgiving them their trespasses, as thou hast forgiven us our trespasses.
[00:31:13] It was the only thing the Lord underlined. Now, what I'm just trying to point out is there's a principle here. The way we, our union with the Lord Jesus is seen is in this concrete manner of our relationships with one another.
[00:31:35] Oh, we say this is where the rub comes.
[00:31:39] It's one thing to be able to live in a fool's paradise and talk spiritually and pray and sing sweet hymns. It's another thing to live with. Christians have a christian home, christian family, or Christians at work.
[00:31:56] Thats another thing. Another thing. But its precisely there that the real rub comes, and thats where the building work is taking place. So we can sing to our hearts content about being in Zion and being built together and being a temple for the Lord and all the rest of it. But unless this building work is taking place in us with others, it's just a contradiction, we're inconsistent. Now someone says to me, but how can this counterpart, I tell you how it comes to pass.
[00:32:31] You just do the will of God.
[00:32:35] You just do the will of God. Whatever is the will of the Lord, commit yourself to it and you will find it leads you into unity always. It's so simple. John, again, who's a man of principle. John the apostle. He puts it like, if we walk in the light, we have fellowship one with another. He said, God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. Oh, dear brother, dear sister, darkness in us.
[00:33:11] How devious we are at times. What dark corners there are in our lives. Yet in God there is no darkness, only light.
[00:33:24] Now all the word is so simple. Come on, come out of the darkness, walk in the light.
[00:33:32] Just walking is such a natural thing, such an act for swimming. We have to learn how to swim and jumping and we have to train and even running. But walking is a very natural thing.
[00:33:49] Come on, be spiritually natural. Walk in the light. Just bring everything out into the light. It doesn't mean you've got to blab to everyone, you know, sort of put everything in the shop window, let everyone know everything, not at all. Just come out into the light with God, that's all. Because you can be quite sure that what you're hiding from your brothers and sisters, you're hiding from God or trying to simple walk in the light.
[00:34:23] And that leads me finally to say in Daniel seven, it says in verse 27, the saints. Verse 21, I think it is, the saints shall possess the kingdom.
[00:34:38] How do we possess the kingdom? We possess it by executive faith.
[00:34:45] In other words, through faith we take what is ours. Isn't it a wonderful vision in revelation five where it says about all these redeemed ones and they reign upon the earth?
[00:35:00] The authorized version, I believe, says they shall reign on earth, but in actual bad they reign, they reign, theyre in the throne theyre possessing. You see, the amount that you and I possess now will be the amount of glory that theres going to be in our lives in the days to come, everything. But we dont. We just havent got a cheap ticket, were saved by the grace of God. But the infinite resources that God has put at our disposal have got to be possessed.
[00:35:35] We've got to go in and take the land. We've got to go in and put our feet down and say, this is mine in Christ.
[00:35:42] We've got to say, this is ours in Christ. May the Lord help us to possess the kingdom these days in which we live. It's almost hard to believe, isn't it, that we are living in such days.
[00:35:57] My father suddenly went home to the Lord. I do believe, on Tuesday morning at 08:00 and for us, it's very hard to believe.
[00:36:09] It is so hard for us to be still. We are walking the whole family in a somewhat dazed way. We expect to see him. We expect to. He always hummed so that the whole road. Sometimes there were even complaints at one point as to whether there was something wrong with an electricity generator, literally because of the humming that my father used to indulge in.
[00:36:37] We can't believe it. We can't. Do you know, there are many of us christians just like that. We're living in a kind of day.
[00:36:45] Israel is a fact. Jerusalem is under jewish sovereignty. Things are happening all over the world and we just can't believe it. These things which have been predicted in scripture for thousands of years are actually coming to pass. Yet we are in a dazed state, as if we can't take it in. And because of that, there's danger.
[00:37:06] May the Lord help every one of us to wake up out of sleep. It is high time to wake out of sleep.
[00:37:16] May the Lord make his word real to us. Shall we pray?
[00:37:26] Dear Lord, we pray together that we might know what it is to wait for thee and to wait on thee and to know that divine changing of our weakness for thy strength.
[00:37:47] We would all be those who mount up with wings as eagles above it. Above it all, Lord, help us. We don't even want to be those who walk and don't faint or run and are not with. They run before it or walk in it. But, Lord, we would like to be those who are constantly above it by thy grace, through the work of thy Holy Spirit. Oh, to be people like that, Lord. So we bring out cry to thee. Thou has promised it, Lord. It's a costly way, but thou has promised it. We would be sons of oil, those who know what it is to walk in the light, to fellowship with one another in thee, to know what it is to be built together and thus to possess the kingdom. Fear not, little flock. It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
[00:38:39] Death is swallowed up in victory.
[00:38:44] We praise thee and worship thee in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
