Feast of Tabernacles 2006 – Day 3

Greetings brethren! Welcome to day three of the Feast of Tabernacles. Now yesterday we covered John 7 [transcriber's correction] and showed the comparison between reading the Law in the book of Nehemiah and then reading the Law and teaching of Jesus Christ in the New Testament for the Feast of Tabernacles.

John 8 continues on into the Last Great Day, as a matter of fact, chapters 8 & 9 are all the things that took place on the day portion of the Last Great Day, and there are some significant things for us to learn from here. What it teaches us is really tremendous, and when we think about it there are also some prophecies concerning Israel and concerning the rest of the people of the world.

John 8:1—after all the rest of them went to their houses: "Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. And at dawn… [this is the day portion of the Last Great Day] …He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them" (vs 1-2). This is what needs to be during the Feast:

• it needs to be a teaching Feast
• it needs to be one to help us draw closer to God
• it needs to be one to understand the Word of God more
• it needs to be one so we can grow
  • in faith
  • in knowledge
  • in love
• it needs to be one that we do the things that God wants us to do
• it needs to be one to give us hope and understanding in the Word of God
• it needs to be one that we read the words of God that Christ gave to us, the words of the Father

This is important for us to really go through and understand and part of the teaching that we have for the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day.

Now beginning here in John 8:3 is quite an interesting thing as to what happened with the woman taken in adultery. This is misconstrued by a lot of people, and yet, there is still a prophetic significance in this event.

Verse 3: "Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought to Him a woman who had been taken in adultery; and after setting her in the center."

In other words, in the midst there was a group of people that Jesus was teaching, and they brought her in through the crowd, put her in the center or in the middle.

Verse 4: "They said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery."

• How did she get caught in the very act of committing adultery?
• How did they arrange that, what kind of entrapment did they use?

We'll have some other questions to ask a little latter on.

Verse 5: "And in the Law, Moses commanded us that those who commit such a sin should be stoned. Therefore, what do You say?" They were setting a trap for Jesus so that He would go against the Law of Moses, that He would render a judgment that would say, 'stone her.' If He would have said to stone her—and we're going to see there were some distinct problems—if He would have fallen into that trap, which He didn't, then they would have come back to Him with a Scripture.

Let's see what God's judgment is concerning adultery. This tells us exactly what Moses said, that God gave to Moses to give to the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 22:22: "If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall put away evil from Israel." Well, that's quite an interesting thing.

What they were saying is correct, that they should die, and they should be stoned. We find that in Lev. 22. Now let's come back and let's analyze this a little bit. You see part of the things that we need to do with the New Testament is learn the whole lesson that is given to us in whatever section of the New Testament that we are dealing with, so we understand what was going on, we put all the facts together, and we do Judge Righteous Judgment, that's the only way that it can be; there has to be a proper judgment.

John 8:6: "Now, they said this to tempt Him, so that they might have cause to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger. And as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them…" (vs 6-7).

What do you suppose He was writing in the sand or in the dirt? A lot of people think that maybe He is listing all the sins of those standing around. I don't think so. What would be the most important thing in this case that He would write on the ground? They had the woman, but in order to do what was said in the Law of Moses to stone them, what do you need? You need the man and the woman! Because if she was caught in the very act of committing adultery, how could they get her and bring her and not bring the man? I think that Jesus was writing, Where is the man?

They wanted to have a lop-sided, eschewed judgment so that they could accuse Him. So, if He said, 'Go ahead and stone her,' they would have said, 'Well now, the man is not here. Why are you going against the Law of Moses?' Because Moses said, both of them shall die! So, I think Jesus wrote in there: Where is the man?

"…He lifted Himself up and said to them, 'Let the sinless one among you cast the first stone at her.'…. [that's quite a statement] …And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground….. [they still had some conscience] … But after hearing this, they were convicted each by his own conscience, and went out one by one, beginning with the older ones until the last…. [at least they had that much of a sense of fairness] …And Jesus was left alone, with the woman standing in the center" (vs 7-9).

Of course, all the people were standing around there watching this, so this must have been quite an event. What a challenge to come up and bring a woman taken in the very act of adultery, and of course very embarrassing for the woman, and didn't bring the man. They weren't judging righteous judgment as Jesus said they ought to do back there in John 7. This is why we are going to do several sermons on Judge Righteous Judgment during the Feast.

Verse 10: "And when Jesus lifted Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, 'Woman, where are your accusers? Did anyone condemn you?' And she said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more'" (vs 10-11).

This was not a matter of forgiveness, this was a matter of judgment, proper judgment, because He recognized that what she was involved in was sin.

Let's look and see perhaps a prophetic understanding of this in relationship to Israel, and Israel being the woman. God talks about Israel as the woman, and of course, remember that Israel was married to the Lord. Ezek. 16 is where God told Israel, 'I selected you out of Egypt; I cleaned you up from your own sin, and I brought you into the wilderness and courted you and married you. After I married you, after cleaning you all up, and blessing you with everything there was to bless you with, and all the nations understood that you are Mine.'

He says, Ezekiel 16:14: "And your name went out among the nations because of your beauty…" You can liken that to the time of Solomon when it went out to all the earth and all the kings of the earth came seeking Solomon's wisdom, bringing him tribute of gold and silver from the worldwide trading combine that he had at that time. This is talking about the beauty, and then the temple being there and the beauty of the temple, and the beauty of the gardens, and the beauty of the king's house. And remember when the queen of Sheba came up, she saw all of that, and she saw how that everyone in his court all drank out of pure gold goblets, and the beautiful setting of all the tables and the beautiful setting of the temple and all of that and it took her breath away! She had nothing left to say. That's when that was fulfilled.

What happens to so many people when God blesses them? They get carried away in their own vanity, and they get carried away in their own selves! This is exactly what happened to Solomon, and happened to all of Israel.

Verse 15: "But you trusted in your beauty, and played the harlot because of your name…" This is fulfilled in a personal way by Solomon, who was king, and is fulfilled in a national way by all the people who followed along and did all the evil deeds of Solomon.

And of course, playing the harlot, well Solomon certainly did that with 300ndred wives and 700 concubines. In addition, he made all of the pagan temples for all of his wives, and then he turned his back on God and worshiped their gods! So, he explained that what they did, they took all the blessings that God gave them and they gave them to their lovers.

"…and poured out your fornications on all who passed by—on any who would have it" (v 15). Now this is something! Normally harlots charge for services, here Israel in its harlotry, gave money for the other nations to commit harlotry with them! It's unheard of.

Verse 17: "And you have taken of your beautiful jewels of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and made images of men, and did commit whoredom with them. And you took your embroidered dresses and covered them, and you have given to them My oil and My incense" (vs 17-18). Remember what happened to Solomon, he burned incense to all the other gods, didn't he?

Verse 19: "Also, My food, which I gave you, fine flour and oil and honey with which I fed you, you have given it to them for a sweet savor. And so it was,' says the Lord GOD. 'And you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to Me…" (vs 19-20).

Remember what it was with Manasseh, how bad he was? He was the worst king of all, and he even caused the children to pass through the fire and offered them to Molech and caused the children of Israel to offer their children in sacrifice to Molech to burn them in the fire.

But notice that God says that these are "…My children…" (v 21). You think about that today in relationship to abortion. All children belong to God! Think about that, because God says that 'children are a gift from the Lord', and God is going to judge for that. We don't pass them through the fire today; we do worse:

• we have the abortion clinic, which is the temple
• we have the abortion table, which is the altar
• we have the doctor who is the high priest
• we the sacrifice to Satan the devil of a live baby from the womb of its mother

The worst and most horrible kind of abortion is the late-term abortion where it is a fully developed baby, and they cause the partial birth abortion and the doctor makes an incision in the head of the baby and sucks out it's brain and kills the baby. Do you know what they do with the brains? They send them off to the gods, the scientists, and they run experiments with them! This is why they want to have their stem cell research, so they can experiment with human beings, experiment with the very fundamentals of life. If God judged these people for that think of what God is going to judge this nation and this world for!

There have been 44-million-plus abortions in America, since abortion became legal. And as I mentioned in the sermon I gave on the Biblical Truth about immigration, there is almost one illegal immigrant for every abortion. Think about that! So you know God's judgment is coming.

He says v 20: "…whom you have borne to Me, and you sacrificed them unto these images to be devoured. Is this, your whoredoms so small a matter? You have slaughtered My children and delivered them up and caused them to pass throughthe fire. And in all your hateful deeds and your whoredoms you have not remembered the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, and squirming in your own blood. Woe, woe to you,' says the Lord GOD! For it came to pass after all your wickedness, that you have also built yourself an eminent place, and you have made for yourself a high place in every square" (vs 20-24).

Yes, churches on every corner, and yet, look what is going on. So we have a great deal to learn here. This woman in John 8 can be likened unto Israel taken in adultery.

Verse 30: "How weak is your heart,' says the Lord GOD, 'since you do all these, the work of a woman, an imperious harlot." Quite an indictment; caught in the very act of adultery!

Verse 31: "In that you build your eminent place at the head of every crossroad, and make your high place in every square. Yet, you have not been as a harlot, in that you scorn any payment to you from your lovers. You adulteress wife, who takes strangers… [that's what we just read about] … instead of her own husband! To all whores men give gifts, but instead you give your gifts to all your lovers, and bribe them to come to you from all around, for your whoredoms. And in you was the opposite from other women in your whoredoms, since no one whores after you, and in that you give payment, and payment is not given to you. Therefore, you are contrary" (vs 31-34).

So, God says, 'I'm going to judge you. I'm going to break you as a woman that breaks wedlock.' That's exactly what happened here. And you read the rest of it. Read all of Ezek. 16 and as you read it compare it to what we have today. Toward the end of it, it says they are worse than Sodom, and don't we have such a homosexual problem in the world today in all the Israelite countries, yes indeed, we really do.

When Israel comes to repentance—Israel is going to repent—when God brings them back as it is in the second resurrection on the Last Great Day, and God gives them a new heart, and gives them a new mind. God is going to do exactly like Jesus did, He is going to give the judgment that in giving them a new life and being resurrected at the second resurrection, as we will see on the Last Great Day, that He is going to remove the judgment against them of being the adulterers.

Ezekiel 36:24: "For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all countries, and will gather you into your own land. And I will sprinkle clean waters upon you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you…" (vs 24-26).

Just image what this is going to be like when this change comes. God is going to fulfill His will and His purpose and this is what we are told through all the Bible. This is why we have John 8 and this event there.

"…And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you… [conversion] …and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My ordinances and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers.…" (vs 26-28).

After He does that what's going to happen? Verse 31: "And you shall remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations." They will repent and God will bring them back and give them salvation. This is the message that we have here in Ezek. 16 as compared to John 8.

It's going to be the same thing then, just like Jesus told this woman, He said, John 8:11: "…Go, and sin no more." Of course, there are going to be a lot of helpers around. We are going to be there to help them, to teach them, to lead them, to guide them, there is going to be everything on their side. But let's understand one thing for sure, God has not given up on Israel, though He must punish because of what He said, and because

• God is righteous
• God is good
• God is true
• God will not be mocked
• God has to have the judgment

But then there will also be the mercy and He will lift it all from them!

Verse 12: "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me shall never walk in darkness…'" That's what it's going to be when Israel is forgiven, they're going to walk in the Light of the Lord.

When they came out of Egypt, they didn't learn that lesson. They had the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of light by night, they didn't walk in the Light of God, which He provided for them. After He gave His Word they didn't walk in the Light of His Word, they didn't walk in the Light of His Truth. And when Jesus came, they didn't walk in the light of His teachings.

"…'I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me shall never walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life'" (v 12).

Now let's look at some Scriptures concerning light, conversion and darkness, because there is a lot of darkness out there in the world today that we need to realize is about ready to consume and awful lot of people.

Christ is the Light of the world, now if we have Christ in us—and this is what He is talking about in Matt. 6—Who is the Light, and enlightens every man.

Matthew 6:22: "The light of the body is the eye…." You can tell an awful lot about a person's character and their purpose and determination by their eyes, the look in their eyes and so forth. You have heard of deceitful eyes, lying eyes, wanton eyes, all of those show and telegraph the meaning of the heart and mind and the attitude of love and obedience or the attitude of lust and self-serving. It's all right there! Christ can discern it better than any other man. We can discern a little bit of it, but every parent knows when their children are lying. Why? Because they know what to look for!

Verse 22: "The light of the body is the eye. Therefore, if your eye be sound, your whole body shall be full of light…. [full of the Holy Spirit, full of truth] …But if your eye be evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. Therefore, if the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!" (vs 22-23).

And then here is another principle that we can apply to John 8 concerning the woman taken in adultery:

Verse 24: "No one is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

• you cannot serve God and be committing adultery
• you cannot serve God and be stealing, lying, cheating and murdering
• you cannot serve God and break His Sabbath
• you cannot serve God and take His name in vain
• you cannot serve God with idols
• you cannot serve other gods and expect the true God to recognize that as something good for you

So you have the same thing here.

If you have Christ and He is in you, you're not going to walk in darkness, but you will have the Light of Life. But as we know from the different parables, you've got to keep the Light going, you've got to keep growing in Spirit, Truth and understanding.

John 8:13: "Therefore, the Pharisees said to Him, 'You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.' Jesus answered and said to them, 'Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, because I know where I have come from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from and where I go. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one" (vs 13-15)—that is of the self. How does He judge? Righteous judgment with Truth of the Word of God!

Verse 16: "Yet, if I do judge, My judgment is true, for I am not alone; but I and the Father Who sent Me. And it is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I AM One Who bears witness of Myself, and the Father, Who sent Me bears witness of Me'" (vs 16-18).

Now from here on it really starts getting into quite a confrontation and quite interesting and very prophetic for our day today.

Verse 19: "Then they said to Him, 'Where is Your Father?' Jesus answered, 'You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would also have known My Father.' Jesus spoke these words in the treasury while teaching in the temple; but no one arrested Him because His time had not yet come" (vs 19-20)—as we already covered. There was the proper time that God had set and determined for it to happen, and it hadn't come, yet.

Verse 21: "Then Jesus said to them again, 'I am going away; and you shall seek Me, but you shall die in your sin. Where I am going, you are not able to come.'…. [have no power to get there] …Therefore, the Jews said, 'Will He kill Himself? Is that why He says, "Where I am going, you are not able to come"?'" (vs 21-22). That's quite something! Yes, indeed! "…but you shall die in your sin."

Notice what He says. Now He begins to really bear down on them and bring out the Truth.

Verse 23: "And He said to them, 'You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.'" And what did Jesus say in the final prayer for us? 'Father, just as I am not of the world, these are not of the world, keep them from the evil one'!

We are not to be part and parcel of this world. They were from the world. If you are from the world, what does that mean? Who are you following? Who is your god? Now we will see that a little later as the confrontation gets a whole lot stronger here.

Verse 24: "That is why I said to you that you shall die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins." He brought out the name of God. When He brought this out, they knew exactly what He was saying, but they didn't understand it completely.

Let's see that those who knew the Scriptures, knew that this was one of the names of God.

Exodus 3:13: "And Moses said to God, 'Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they shall say to me, "What is His name?" What shall I say to them?' And God said to Moses, 'I AM THAT I AM.'…." (vs 13-14).

So when He says, "…I AM…" back here in John 8, they knew what that meant, but they didn't quite grasp the whole significance of it, that He was God manifested in the flesh. They knew that He claimed to be the Son of God, but now to say that "I AM" fulfilled what the Jews were accusing Him of to make Himself equal with God which is true and was not a sin.

"…And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you"' And God said to Moses again, 'You shall say this to the children of Israel, "The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My title from generation to generation"'" (vs 14-15).

I AM: I want you to remember that as we continue on in John 8 because this becomes very important and very meaningful. They didn't understand it the way that they ought to and they didn't realize what it was and what they were doing.

John 8:25: "Then they said to Him, 'Who are You?'…. [to take the name I AM] … And Jesus said to them, 'The One that I said to you from the beginning.'…. [He told them from the beginning] …I have many things to say and to judge concerning you" (vs 25-26).

When He says He doesn't judge over here, that doesn't mean that He's not going to judge at a later time, and that judgment was coming.

"…but He Who sent Me is true, and what I have heard from Him… [as we have gone through and have seen that He only spoke the words of God] …these things I speak to the world.' But they did not know that He was speaking to them of the Father" (26-27)—because the Father wasn't revealed to them.

This is another proof of what Jesus said that He came to reveal the Father that they didn't know the Father. And this also is absolute, conclusive proof that the God of the Old Testament was not the Father, but the One Who became Jesus Christ.

Now then, it starts getting very intense from here through the rest of the chapter. And a lot of the things that we're going to cover here, covers a lot of the experiences that we are going to go through, and some of the confrontations that we have come up against with the religions of this world, and some of the confrontations that come up as it was with the

• Church at Ephesus that tried those who were false apostles
• Church at Smyrna against the synagogue of Satan
• Church of Philadelphia that resisted the synagogue of Satan

Keep that in mind as we are reading this and see the witness that Jesus gave to them.

We are also going to see that a lot of these were His disciples and they were trying to be His disciples, and yet, cling to their satanic ways. You can't do that! You cannot cling to your satanic ways and be a disciple of Jesus Christ! Let me make it plain: You cannot keep Halloween, Christmas, New Year's, Easter, Valentine's Day, Lent and all of those pagan days and say you belong to Christ, because you do not! If you do not keep the Sabbath and Holy Days of God, you do not belong to God!

A lot of people keep the Sabbath, but not the Holy Days so you're only half belonging to God. Those like the Seventh Day Adventists and Church of God Seventh Day had better get their act together, and they'd better get their noses in the Bible, and they'd better understand what the Bible is saying and they better need to realize that a lot of these things that Christ taught, like here on the Last Great Day, have direct relevance to them.

What God is showing is that in the final analysis when we come to the Last Great Day fulfillment, as we will see on the eighth day, Satan is not going to be around. There is never, never going to be an amalgamation of the things of Satan and things of God after Jesus Christ returns to this earth! There is a lot that it says in here. So, He declared Who He was: "I AM".

Verse 28: "Then Jesus said to them, 'When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you yourselves shall know that I AM, and that I do nothing of Myself. But as the Father taught Me, these things I speak. And He Who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone because I always do the things that please Him'" (vs 28-29). This is also a requirement for us.

Let's see that we can do the things that please God. If you keep the Sabbath, if you keep the Holy Days and if you are growing in grace and knowledge and the Spirit of God is that not pleasing to God? Yes, indeed! If you're faithful to the end and you die, and you graduate from this life into the grave, your place of safety, and God says that He delights in the death of His saints that endure unto the end, is that not pleasing to God? Yes, indeed! So, we can do the things that please God.

• Does it not please God when we pray to Him?
• Does it not please God when we yield our heart, and our mind, and our soul, and our being to Him? Yes it does!
• Does it not please God when we love Him with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul and all our being to Him? Yes, it does!
• How many people on the face of the earth do that? Very few!
• Don't you think that that is pleasing to God? Yes, indeed!

1-John 3:18: "My little children, we should not love in word… [that is just mouthing the words or in message or whatever] …nor with our tongues; rather, we should love in deed and in Truth."

Isn't that something? Love has works, and true love is based on Truth. That's why God is love and God is Truth. So, if that is coming to us, then we can love in Truth. "…in deed and in Truth."

Verse 19: "And in this way we know that we are of the Truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him." This is something we are to know. That is something!

Too many ministers condemn the people of God all the time; rather, they should be uplifted and inspired with the Word of God. So, if there is any correction that comes along, they'll be willing, they'll be ready, they'll be anxious to change. Of course, if you are reading and studying the Word of God, and God's Spirit is convicting you of sin so that you can repent, that's the easiest correction that comes. Yes indeed, because God is dealing with you. You can have your hearts assured before God.

Verse 20: "That if our hearts condemn us…" That is because we have sinned, a sin not unto death we can repent of.

"…God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, then we have confidence toward God" (vs 20-21). That's why we need to repent of our sins every day.

• we need the grace of God every day
• we need to walk in faith, believe in hope and live in love every day
• we can have confidence toward God
• we know His Word is true
• we know He lives
• we know He exists
• we know Jesus Christ is our Savior
• we know that whatever He tells us to do when we do that, that it's pleasing in His sight

Verse 22: "And whatever we may ask we receive from Him because we keep His commandments and practice those things that are pleasing in His sight." Just like Jesus said He always did the things that please the Father.

Let's see how this is to be just in the same way as it is with Christ, v 23: "And this is His commandment: that we believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and thatwe love one another, exactly as He gave commandment to us."

That's what all of this is to do. Think about it for a minute. We better learn to love each other the way Christ loves us because that's what we're going to need when we enter the Kingdom of God. If we learn that now, it's going to make it a whole lot easier.

Verse 24: "And the one who keeps His commandments is dwelling in Him… [that is in Christ] …and He in him; and by this we know that He is dwelling in us: by the Spirit which He has given to us."

• we need to know that we have the Spirit of God
• we need to assure our hearts before God
• we need to have confidence in God
• we need to have that steadfast faith, love, belief
• we need to be hoping always in the promise and the blessings of God

John 8:29, Jesus said: "'…I always do the things that please Him.' As He spoke these things, many believed in Him" (vs 29-30). Oh, people love to hear great sounding words.

Verse 31: "Therefore, Jesus said…" Here comes a test! There is always going to be a test isn't there. How many have failed the test? Look at the Protestant world, the Catholic world, the Churches of God that have failed the test. But here is the test:

Verse 31: "Therefore, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him, 'If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples.'" We'll look at that here in just a minute.

(Part 2)

Jesus said, "…'If you continue in My Word…'" (v 31). That's conditional; this means this is a condition for me to understand. God has given us something here conditioned upon what we do. You need to think about this in relationship to being a disciple of Christ or a true Christian. All of those who do not keep the Sabbath or do not keep the Holy Days, you need to ask why don't you do it? The if means that IF you are not doing what Jesus said, you're not His disciple!

"…'If you continue in My Word…'" that's it, and remember as Lord God of the Old Testament where Jesus said, 'If you love Me keep My commandments,' that includes Old and New Testaments as Jesus gave it to us in the New Testament to do. Now you can read that in The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version, Appendix H or in A Harmony of the Gospels, How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law and the Prophets?

Then He says, 'If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples. And you shall know the Truth…'" (vs 31-32).

• the Word of God is Truth
• the commandments are Truth
• the statues are true
• every precept of God is true
• everything that God does is Truth from the beginning
• God is a God of Truth
• God cannot lie
• His Word is true

All of that all ties together to know the Truth!

"…and the truth shall set you free" (v 32). And Jesus said that He was 'the Way, the Truth and the Life,' so Jesus is the One Who sets you free and gives you the Truth.

Now verse 33, now notice how they answered. They were looking to their physical descendant. They were claiming the righteousness of Abraham.

Verse 33: "They answered Him, 'We are Abraham's seed, and have never been in bondage to anyone….'" Yet, at that very time, they were slaves to Rome! Very few people realize it, but at the temple area, and if you've ever seen a picture of the temple, there are the colonnades that come down with a pavement at the top of the colonnades which come from the north from Fort Antonia. And Fort Antonia is where the Mosque of Omar is. What is called the Wailing Wall is part of the foundation of Fort Antonia, Roman property was never part to the temple area. Well anyway, the colonnades come down and guess what, on top of those colonnades and the pavement there always stood Roman troops on guard against rioting. And they said, 'We've never been enslaved to anyone.' Where was He? He was right at the temple! They could look up and see the Roman guards watching them. They were out of touch with reality.

"'…What do You mean by saying, "You shall become free"?' Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a servant of sin'" (vs 33-34). If you are a servant of sin, enslaved to your sins:

• Who is your master?
• Whose child are you?

1-John 3:4: "Everyone who practices sin is also practicing lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness"—or transgressing the Law. That's what Jesus was talking about back there.

Verse 5: "And you know that He appeared in order that He might take away our sins; and in Him is no sin. Everyone who dwells in Him does not practice sin…" (vs 5-6). Jesus wants you to practice the Truth, practice the commandments.

"…anyone who practices sin has not seen Him, nor has known Him. Little children, do not allow anyone to deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil…" (vs 5-8).

I want you to see how closely this ties in with the rest of John 8. Whose child are you? You are either a child of God, or you are a child of the devil! You are enslaved to Satan through sin. There are people who worship him openly who are enslaved to him in a dedicated way to fight and hate all forms of Christianity and to destroy the name of Jesus Christ from under the sun. They'll never get away with it, they will think that they will, but the question is: whose child are you? Whose disciple are you?

Verse 8: "The one who practices sin is of the devil because the devil has beensinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God appeared that He might destroy the works of the devil." That's going to be accomplished; when Christ returns, He is going to destroy all of it!

Verse 9: "Everyone who has been begotten by God does not practice sin because His seed of begettal… [which comes from the Father] …is dwelling within him, and he is not able to practice sin because he has been begotten by God." Therefore, the Spirit of God will prick your conscience and lead you to repentance to put away the sin so that you will obey God and keep His commandments, and love Him.

Verse 10: "By this standard are manifest… [that is made evident] …the children of God and the children of the devil…." We're going to see the confrontation between the children of the devil who profess belief in Christ, but weren't willing to give up practicing sin and were not willing to practice the Truth. This is quite a battle that's going to go on there.

"…Everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God…" (v 10).

• if you don't keep His commandments, you're not of God
• if you don't dwell in the grace of God and have the Spirit of God, you're not of God

If you dwell in Christ and have the grace of God, by the grace of God, you will keep the commandments of God and He will blot out and forgive all your sins.

"…and neither is the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning: that we should love one another" (vs 10-11).

Now let's see how this develops; the one who practices sin, is the slave of sin! Are you a slave of God and Jesus Christ? or Are you a slave of sin? What is your life? If you're a slave of sin, you can repent. If you're a slave of God, you can grow in grace and knowledge and love God and serve Him even more.

John 8:35: "And the servant does not live in the house forever; but the Son lives forever…. [He is telegraphing Who He is] …Therefore, if the Son shall set you free… [free from sin, free from the devil] …you shall truly be free. I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you are seeking to kill Me, because My words do not enter into your minds" (vs 35-37).

Do you let all the words of God enter into your mind? or Is your mind there fighting, saying, 'Oh, I wonder what commandments we can get rid of'? The first test of any teacher is that if he gets up in the pulpit or preaches to you and says, 'God has done away with His Law through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,' is a liar and the Truth is not in him!

Now let's see how this battle develops here. If you truly love God the Father and Jesus Christ, every Word of Christ will enter into your mind, and He is going to write those words in your heart and in your mind with His Laws and commandments and everything.

Verse 38: "I speak the things that I have seen from My Father, and you do the things that you have seen from your father.' They answered and said to Him, 'Our father is Abraham.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has spoken the Truth to you…" (vs 38-40). Sooner or later in speaking the Truth and speaking the Word of God, people are going to seek to kill us. Jesus guaranteed that!

"…which I have heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father…. [it starts really getting hot and heavy] …Then they said to Him, 'We have not been born of fornication….'" (vs 40-41).

They believed all the lies about Jesus. They didn't believe that He was Divinely impregnated in Mary His mother by God the Father, which was not fornication. This tells us that they knew, and even though Joseph tried to keep it quiet, the word got out that Mary was pregnant when they got married, so therefore, they said He was 'born of fornication.'

"'…We have one Father, and that is God.' Therefore, Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I proceeded forth and came from God. For I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why don't you understand My speech? Because you cannot bear to hear My words'" (vs 41-43).

Why? Because their hearts are hardened and their minds and their eyes were blinded! Notice what He says. The reason they can't bear His words is because of v 44. This gets right to the heart and core of it. Let's understand something, these were those who professed to be disciples that believed in Him, but they weren't willing to practice the Truth, and they weren't willing to repent of their sins!

If you believe in Jesus and are not willing to repent and are not willing to quit practicing your sins, you're still of your father the devil! The demons believe in one God and they tremble, because they know their fate! It's no big thing to say, 'I believe in Jesus, I believe in the Father.' No,

• if you don't have any works to back it up
• if you don't have repentance to prove it
• if you don't have the Holy Spirit of God to lead you

whatever your profession is doesn't mean anything and you're still a child of the devil!

Verse 44: "You are of your father the devil… [that ties right in with 1-John 3] …and the lusts of your father you desire to practice. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the Truth because there is no Truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he is speaking from his own self; for he is a liar, and the father of it."

What does Satan like to do more than anything else? He likes to go into the Bible and take out some verses here and some verses there and arrange them in a lying presentation rather than properly divide the Word of God, and then present false doctrines which appear to come from the Bible. The master liar, the master deceiver, the master counterfeiter knows how to do that!

Verse 45: "And because I speak the Truth, you do not believe Me." They wanted to be His disciples, but they didn't want to listen to the Truth, and they didn't want to believe that Jesus was "I AM."

Verse 46: "Which one of you can convict Me of sin? But if I speak the Truth, why don't you believe Me?" Think about that! Why do people have such a hard time in:

• believing God?
• believing His Word?
• keeping His commandments?
• repenting and being able to have their sins forgiven?
• to receive the Holy Spirit of God?
• practice the Truth?

They want to keep their own ways:

• all of the lust
• all of the desire
• all of the power
• all the things that they have
• all the great things that they think they have or are

Well, you cannot crossbreed sin and righteousness; it won't work, and that's what Jesus is saying. You cannot crossbreed and intermingle truth and lies because every time you do, you come up with a lie. And even though the truth of some Scriptures is quoted, it is turned into a lie by a devious turning and twisting of Scriptures that Satan loves to do.

Notice the dividing line. As I said before, there are no tweeners 'you either is or you ain't.'

Verse 47: "The one who is of God hears the words of God.…" and wants more of the words of God, loves the words of God, desires to live by the words of God.

"…For this reason you do not hear, because you are not of God.…" (v 47). Bottom line: anyone who does not come to Christ, the way Christ says to come, is not of God! Anyone who hears what Jesus said, and hears what is written in the New Testament, and in the Old Testament, and does not adhere to the words of God, is not of God! They may be like Israel who loved to profess God, who loved to say 'we're God's people' just like here, and oh, they claim to be His disciples, and they claim to really know the Truth of God, Abraham's children, yes indeed! But Jesus said, 'You didn't do the works of Abraham who believed Me, who loved Me, who kept My commandments and statues and judgments and obeyed My voice.'

The Jews responded to this, v 48: "Then the Jews answered and said to Him, 'Are we not right in saying that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?'" Remember, they even called Him Beelzebub. What did Jesus say? 'If they call the Master of the house Beelzebub, what do you think they will call the servants of the house?' So, you see what's going to happen to us.

Verse 49: "Jesus answered, 'I do not have a demon. But I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. Yet, I do not seek My own glory; there is One Who seeks and judges. Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps My words, he shall not see death forever'" (vs 49-51). That's quite a statement! It doesn't mean that he won't die. That's why in the Faithful Version here it's translated properly, "…shall not see death forever."

This means that they can die, but if they die in the faith, they are going to be resurrected and they won't see death forever. Only the incorrigible wicked will be dead forever, burned up, no longer exist.
Verse 52: "Then the Jews said to Him, 'Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham and the prophets died; yet, You say, "If anyone keeps My words, he shall not taste of death forever." Are You greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets, who died? Who do You make Yourself to be?'"

Any minister who is going to teach the Word of God the right way, the way it should be; that accusation is going to be hurled back to him also, if he preaches the Truth of God.

Verse 54: "Jesus answered, 'If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father Who glorifies Me, of Whom you say that He is your God. Yet, you have not known Him; but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar, like you. But I know Him, and I keep His Word'" (vs 54-55).

Now He really unloaded on them in v 56; so this is quite a crescendo that this comes into. Notice the dividing line that is there, and setting the stage for when it came down to the final Passover of Jesus.

• they hated Him
• they reviled Him
• they couldn't stand Him
• they couldn't stand His words
• they couldn't stand His teaching and preaching

How many Protestants and Catholics do the same thing in a little different way by saying,

• we don't need to keep the Sabbath; it's all right if we keep Sunday
• we don't worship idols; we only venerate them
• we don't need to keep the Holy Days of God; let's keep these things because the church has sanctified them
• Halloween is a wonderful time
• Christmas and Easter are wonderful times
• Lent and Valentine's Day
• all of these are wonderful and they've been blessed

People have everything upside-down, cockeyed, and screwy because they want to crossbreed the name of God with all of their sins and have God put His stamp of approval on their abominations, and God won't do it!

Verse 56: "Abraham your father was overjoyed to see My day… [that means that God probably gave it to him in vision] …and he saw it, and rejoiced.' Then the Jews said to Him, 'You are not even fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.'…. [He told them Who He was, the Lord God of the Old Testament: I AM THAT I AM] … Then they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus concealed Himself… [it doesn't say how He did it, but He did] …and went out of the temple, passing through the midst of them, and in this manner departed" (vs 56-59).

That's quite a confrontation! This a prelude to what the Last Great Day then pictures, getting rid of Satan the devil who starts and foments all of these things that lead the world into sin, deceiving the whole world. This is quite a thing! Now there is probably a whole lot more we can get out of this, but this is the basic fundamentals that we can get out of this chapter.

John 9 is still on the Last Great Day. Here is one of the best chapters, one of my favorites, and it has quite a bit of humor in it for its religious stupidity on the part of the Pharisees. There is such intense hatred for Jesus that they wouldn't believe!

John 9:1: "Now, as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?'" (vs 1-2).

How could a child in the womb possibly sin to be born blind? This is kind of a stupid question on the part of the disciples, but nevertheless, you have to ask the question.

Verse 3: "Jesus answered, 'Neither did this man sin, nor his parents…'" This is going to tell us something about why God does certain things.

"…rather, this blindness came so that the works of God might be manifested in him" (v 3). He was born blind by the will of God for the specific act of healing that Jesus was now going to do on him, and for the very purpose that this would be written in Scripture for our learning. Think about that for a minute!

We're going to understand how this man born blind could also apply to the Israelites who were blind, or also apply to the Gentiles who were also blinded because of their sins:

• born blind
• born into a community without God
• born into a nation without God
• born into a satanic, pagan religion without God

At least Israel and the Jews had available to them the knowledge of God, but the Gentiles didn't. They were born blind, and God is going to have mercy on them and that the works of God can be manifest for them all down during the Millennium and in the Last Great Day.
Verse 4: "I must work the works of Him Who sent Me while it is still day. When the night comes, no one is able to work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world" (vs 4-5).

Now let's understand something, brethren, about the days that we are living: the night is coming, troubles are coming, difficulties are coming! They are mounting, it's coming, coming, coming, and it's not going to stop. And we need to, as individuals work in our lives:

• the work of love
• the work of grace
• the work of submission
• the work of keeping the commandments of God in our own individual lives
• we must work the work that God has given us to do

to get out the things that need to get out for the generation which comes after us.

They are going to enter into a time that is going to slam them right up against the wall and down to the ground, and be enslaved! We've got to provide the things for them now. That's why we are doing the things that we do. I see the night coming just like Jesus said, and we need to work while it is still day.

I think of that everyday; I think about it when I go to bed at night. I think about those poor Jews who were herded into cattle cars and run off to the slaughter camps and the crematoriums to be burned up. I think about lying there in my warm bed after having a nice meal, living in my comfortable house, no one disturbing me. I think about what must it have been for them in those cattle cars herded all together, just crowded together, no place to go to the bathroom, no place to lay down, no place to rest and sleep, freezing to death while you're going along in these cattle cars, and people getting sick with dysentery, and everybody getting sick and vomiting and defecating in the corners, urinating in the corners, crying out for help, and no one was there for help.

So, when the night comes and it falls, it's going to be just like that! I think about that, and I think about what we need to do, and I think about what God has set before us. I think about the inadequacies that we all have, and how we need

• the Spirit of God
• the love of God
• the hope of God
• to work
• to accomplish what God wants us to

because this is true!

Verse 6: "After saying these things, He spat on the ground…" How is this for an anointing? Spit and mud! Today we anoint with oil, but Jesus did this for a special purpose

"…and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to the eyes of the blind man. And He said to him, 'Go and wash in the pool of Siloam' (which is, by interpretation, "Sent"). Then he went and washed, and came from there seeing" (vs 6-7).

Notice how people react, some rejoiced, some were skeptical, some didn't even believe.

Verse 8: "Therefore, the neighbors and those who had seen him before, and knew that he was blind, said, 'Isn't he the one who was sitting and begging?' Some said, 'It is he.' But others said, 'He is like him.' He said, 'I am the one'" (vs 8-9).

Some people can't even believe with the evidence right before their eyes.

Verse 10: "Then they said to him, 'How were your eyes opened?' He answered and said, 'A Man called Jesus made clay, and applied it to my eyes, and said to me, "Go to the pool of Siloam and wash," and after I went and washed, I received sight.' Then they said to him, 'Where is He?' He said, 'I do not know.' They brought him who was once blind to the Pharisees" (vs 10-13).

Now the inquisition begins. You see the Catholics weren't the only ones to have inquisitions. The Jews had inquisitions, Arabs have inquisitions today and Catholics are going to have them again. Didn't even some of the Protestants have inquisitions? Oh yes! The Calvinists who follow John Calvin burned Cervantes at the stake, because he didn't believe in the trinity. So, all of you who think you are Calvinist Christians, you've got another thought coming because Calvin was never a Christian. Anyone who keeps Sunday and the holidays of this world is not a Christian in deed or in Truth, but is a false Christian—period! That's what the Word of God tells us. If you don't like that statement, then you go disprove me.

Verse 14: "Now it was the Sabbath… [the last Holy Day is a Sabbath] …when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Therefore, the Pharisees in turn also asked him how he had received sight. And he said to them, 'He put clay on my eyes, and I washed; and now I see.' Then some of the Pharisees said, 'This Man is not from God because He does not keep the Sabbath'…." (vs 14-16).

Well now, yes, Jesus did keep the Sabbath, but He didn't follow the rules of the Pharisees and scribes and the traditions of the elders in their Sabbath rejecting commandments.

"…Others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner do such miracles?' And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, 'What do you say about Him since He opened your eyes?' And he said, 'He is a prophet'" (vs 16-17).

What else are you going to conclude? And wasn't he called, as we saw earlier, The Prophet'? Yes!

Verse 18: "However, the Jews did not believe this about him, that he was blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the one who had received sight." So the inquisition goes on to the family.

Verse 19: "And they asked them, saying, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?' His parents answered them and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. But how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.' His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed among themselves that if anyone confessed Him to be the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue" (vs 19-22).

How is that for fair true righteous judgment? Already have your mind made up ahead of time!

Verse 23: "For this reason, his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.' Therefore, they called a second time… [here is the second round of inquisition] …for the man who had been born blind, and said to him, 'Give glory to God. We know that this Man is a sinner'…. [they have already judged Jesus] …Then he answered and said, 'Whether He is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that I was blind, and now I see.' And they said to him again, 'What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?'" (vs 23-26).

This sounds like the interrogation at the local police department, trying to wring out a confession.

Verse 27: "He answered them, 'I have already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you desire to become His disciples, too?'" Can you see the reaction of those hateful, judging Jews in this situation?

Verse 28: "Then they railed at him and said, 'You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples." Remember what we read earlier, that 'if you don't believe Moses, you won't believe Me. Moses accuses you' because His Word is still valid today.

Verse 29: "We know that God spoke to Moses. As for this Man, we do not know where He has come from.' The man answered and said to them, 'This is truly an amazing thing, that you do not know where He has come from, yet, He has opened my eyes. Now, we know that God does not hear sinners. But if anyone is God-fearing and is doing His will, He hears him'" (vs 29-31). This is quite an eloquent speech from this man undoubtedly inspired by God.

Verse 32: "From the beginning of the world it has never been heard of that anyone has opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing'" (vs 32-33).

When you take a position and a religious position and you take one built on hatred, and murder, and lies, you never want the Truth. You cannot stand the Truth. You do not want the Truth. And the Truth cuts to the quick and cuts to the heart, just like 'the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword,' and 'cuts to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.' How did they react?

Verse 34: "They answered and said to him, 'You were born wholly in sin, and you are teaching us?' And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He found him, He said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of God?' He answered and said, 'Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?' And Jesus said to him, 'You have seen Him, and He is the One Who is even now speaking to you.' Then he said, 'Lord, I believe.' And he worshiped Him" (vs 34-38). Again, showing that He was God manifested in the flesh.

Verse 39: "And Jesus said, 'For judgment I have come into this world…" now that's something! Before He said He didn't come to judge the world, but because of what He has said and what He has done and in giving His life as a sacrifice for the sin of the world, judgment has come upon the world. Now we'll learn this about judgment when we get into Judge Righteous Judgment.

"…so that those who do not see might see, and those who see might become blind…. [the Pharisees weren't all dumb and stupid] …And those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things; and they said to Him, 'Are we also blind?' Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now you say, "We see." Therefore, your sin remains" (vs 39-41).

Now let's look and see some things concerning about the coming of the Holy Spirit to reinforce this. This is quite a lesson. Now let's look at it this way, all the Gentiles who have been blinded, God is going to open their eyes. He started with Cornelius and those who believed when Peter came to them at Caesarea. Then all the preaching of Paul, all the preaching of all the other apostles going into all the world. When Christ returns and Satan is bound, all the Gentiles are going to have the scales removed from their eyes, just as miraculous as it was with this man. This taking place on the Last Great Day symbolizes all the nations of the world, beginning with Israel who are going to have their sins forgiven.

Now let's see what else Jesus said concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit and concerning what these things would do. This is what He said the night of the Passover before He was arrested and crucified:

John 15:22: "If I had not come and spoken to them…" Also the instance back here of the man born blind and the healing of him

"…they would not have had sin; but now they have nothing to cover their sin" (v 22). Unless you repent to Jesus Christ, accept His sacrifice for full payment of your sins, and unless you repent and give yourself to God the Father and Jesus Christ, and unless you start walking in the Truth, your sin remains.

Verse 23: "The one who hates Me hates My Father also…. [if you don't keep the commandments of God, you hate Him] …If I had not done among them the works that no other man has done, they would not have had sin; but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father. But this has happened so that the saying might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause'" vs 23-25).

That's quite an important thing to understand. How many people have the Bible, but they hate Christ?

• because they don't read it
• because they don't repent
• because they don't believe it

John 16:7: "But I am telling you the truth. It is profitable for you that I go away because if I do not go away, the Comforter… [the Holy Spirit] …will not come to you. However, if I go, I will send it to you. And when that one has come, it will convict the world concerning sin…"  (vs 7-8).

That's what parts of this sermon is intended to do, to convict those who hear concerning their sins, that they may repent and have them forgiven.

"…and righteousness… [to show the Truth and righteousness of God] …and judgment… [proper judgment of God] …concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer will see Me" (vs 8-10).

Because when He went to the Father, forgave their sins, blotted out their transgressions, sent the Holy Spirit to them, then they received the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Verse 11: "And concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged." He hasn't been removed yet, but he is going to be removed when Christ returns.

This tells us the meaning of John 8-9 referring to the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day in the meaning of what it was when Jesus spoke these words, and the prophetic meaning of what it was even down to our time.

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version

Scriptural References

• John 8:1-5
• Deuteronomy 22:22
• John 8:6-11
• Ezekiel 16: 14-15, 17-24, 30-34
• Ezekiel 36:24-28, 31
• John 8:11-12
• Matthew 6:22-24
• John 8:13-24
• Exodus 3:13-15
• John 8:25-29
• 1 John 3:18-24
• John 8:29-34
• 1 John 3:4-11
• John 8:35-59
• John 9:1-41
• John 15:22-25
• John 16:7-11

Scripture referenced, not quoted: Leviticus 22

Also referenced:

• Sermon Series Judge Righteous Judgment
• Booklet: Judge Righteous Judgment by Fred R. Coulter
• Books:
• A Harmony of the Gospels by Fred R. Coulter
• The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version, Appendix H: How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law and the Prophets?

FRC: bo
Transcribed: 7/23/17