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Clear proof showing the will of God the Father was delegated to the Lord God
Fred R. Coulter—September 8, 2018
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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to Sabbath services!
We have seen in past history that when false doctrine is being introduced, they nearly always start with the nature of God! Why do they do that? So they can bring in philosophies of men, religious philosophies, and begin to use it in the thought process of understanding the Bible!
The way you understand the Bible is with the Bible interpreting the Bible! This is why everything should be approached with: What does the Bible say? Go back and review The Fourteen Rules of Bible Study:
- Who said it?
- To whom was it said?
- When was it said?
- What does it mean?
Apply it in a way that we understand through the framework of the Sabbath and Holy Days, and understanding of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
So far, we have seen very clearly that there is The Lord God: Yahweh or Jehovah or YHVH. In the book of Exodus we find God speaking so that you understand and realize why this is so important.
The name Yahweh or YHVH was never known by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This becomes important as we'll see a little later on, that to try and give the appearance that the Most High was active in carrying out things in the Old Testament, they try and make apparently equivocal things mean something different! Here's one thing to understand:
Exodus 6:1: "And the LORD… [YHVH] …said to Moses, 'Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he shall let them go, and with a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land.' And God spoke to Moses, and said to him, 'I am the LORD…. [YHVH meaning Lord, Yahweh, Jehovah, and also means the Eternal] …And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty….'" (vs 1-3)—El Shaddai! They didn't know the name YHVH.
Think about that for a minute. All you sacred-namers out there, 'if we are Christ's then we are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise' (Gal. 3).
How then can the sacred-namers claim that they have to have the sacred names of the Old Testament in order to receive salvation, when Abraham—the father of the faithful, and we are of his seed spiritually—never knew God by that name?
"…But I was not known to them by My name JEHOVAH" (v 3). Didn't even know that name!
Whenever you come across the self-righteous sacred-namers, who always have to say that you have to have the sacred names. They desecrate the New Testament by going in there and inserting them there. Don't you think that if God wanted them there He could have inspired the apostles to write them? Why are they not there? We'll explain that a little later on!
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.'…."
Think on that for a minute. How many times in the New Testament, especially in John and Revelation, did Jesus say, 'I AM' signifying Who He was? Remember when the priests and different ones were arguing with him about who was His Father? He told them that God was His Father.
They said, 'We are Abraham's seed.' Jesus said, 'If you're Abraham's children (notice the difference in the wording) then you would do the works of Abraham. You are of your father the devil.' Then they came back at Jesus again, and He said, 'Before Abraham existed, I AM' (John 8). There are a lot of good things in the Gospel of John concerning God.
"…And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."' And God [Elohim] 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).
There are quite a few different things that we can get out of Psa. 110, and Jesus spoke of this on several occasions.
Psalm 110:1: "The LORD…"—YHVH: Lord, Jehovah, Eternal. There's another word 'Lord' here translated that way, which originally should have been YHVH. But the scribes changed it and they made note of it that this is Adonai. They did that because they didn't understand it. If you get Bullinger's Study Bible you will find 34 places that they changed it. They all are marked and known and understood. It's hard for them to understand this, because this was spoken in the ages of time past, as well as being a prophecy for the future!
So, this is a very expansive verse; v 1: "The LORD said unto my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand…"
Where is Jesus? This first LORD has to refer to the Most High! They will say, 'Why then is He called YHVH?'
- Is the Most High eternal? Yes!
- Is the One Who became Jesus eternal? Yes!
- Does this verse show an active participation by the One Who is the Most High in the things of the Old Testament, comparable to what we find in the New Testament between the Father, Jesus Christ and the Church? No, it doesn't!
Verse 1: "The LORD said unto my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies as Your footstool.'"
- Who is the #1 enemy?
- When did that take place?
In Rev. 12 we find the great dragon, the ancient serpent! He caused war in heaven and took a third of the stars with Him, a third of the angels! We find the account of it in Isa. 14. When did this conversation between the LORD and the Lord take place? That's what you have to answer first!
Isaiah 14:12: "How you are fallen from the heavens, O shining star, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart, 'I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne… [that's the rebellion of Satan!] …above the stars of God… [the angels of God] …I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High'" (vs 12-14).
When did the conversation of Psa. 110:1 occur? Probably before men were created! Since this conversation—and there's no other way to say it—undoubtedly took place before the creation of man; this does not show an equality of sharing of work in the Old Testament by YHVH and the Most High! And because they're both called YHVH at that time, does not make the Most High active as was the Lord God with the Old Testament.
We're going to see that again. God the Father, even in the New Testament, is not working with the world. He's working with His Church! We need to understand that.
Hebrews 10:4: "Because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." That why it had to be the One Who created mankind. The God of Elohim:
- Who was the Lord God of the Old Testament
- Who became the Jesus Christ of the New Testament
- Who divested Himself
- Who humbled Himself
- Who became a human being
- Who was born of the virgin Mary
- Who lived a physical life
- Who became our Savior
- Who carried within Him the law of sin and death
So, that in His flesh sin was condemned in the flesh (Rom. 8)! The only flesh that could have been was the flesh of Jesus Christ.
Since He existed before the creation of man, and the rebellion of Lucifer and the angels was before the creation of man, therefore, in the plan of God that conversation in Psa. 110:1 took place before there were men or women. That's why that cannot be used as a proof to say the 'We have two YHVH in the Old Testament and they were both active.' NO! This took place before the creation of man!
Verse 5: "For this reason, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but You have prepared a body for Me. You did not delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. Then said I, "Lo, I come (as it is written of Me in the Scroll of the Book) to do Your will, O God"'" (vs 5-7).
- What is "…the Scroll of the Book…"?
- When was that written there?
That had to be written there before the re-creation of the earth for mankind, and the creation of man and woman through Adam and Eve!
This is part of the covenant between God the Father and Jesus Christ. {Note sermon: Covenant Between God the Father and the Son}
Let's see something very, very interesting in Dan. 10. This tells us that this Scroll of the Book existed before the creation of man. We're going to examine some of the prophecies in Daniel just a little bit later.
Daniel 10:21: "But I will show you that which is written in the Scripture of Truth…." In heaven there is "…the Scripture of Truth…."—or the Scroll of Truth!
What we read in Hebrews 10:7: "…Lo, I come (as it is written of Me in the Scroll of the Book) to do Your will, O God."
When was that written? It had to be before the re-creation of the earth, and the creation of Adam and Eve, and hence all mankind! "…written in the Scripture of Truth…." That means the Scroll of Truth!
Are there scrolls of Scripture in heaven? Yes! (Rev. 5). Remember the Scroll of the Book that had the seven seals in the right hand of Him Who sits on the throne. It was written in front and in back.
When we're resurrected from the dead and enter into a spirit life, we are going to be amazed at how all of these things have so much pre-planning than we ever understood. There it is right here, "…written in the Scripture of Truth….", and that has to do with all the prophecies contained in Daniel.
Let's see how Jesus used it, and let's see that in the Greek equivalent of YHVH is 'kurios"—meaning Lord. That is applied to the Father and to the Son. With the Most High, we find that He above YHVH or the Lord. And the Lord God is the One Who carries out God's plan. 'I came to do Your will, O God'—referring to the Most High!
Answering those who questioned Him about why healed a man on the Sabbath, and so forth; John 5:17: "But Jesus answered them, 'My Father is working until now, and I work.'" That blew the minds of the scribes, Pharisees and priests. God working on the Sabbath! Well, certain works have to continue:
- got to uphold the universe
- got to keep everything moving in the universe
God is working out His plan through Christ and through the different ones: angels, Satan, demons, people; God works through all of them! The Most High—the One Who became the Father—is not actively involved in the things that YHVH is taking care of. Why? Because you can't have two masters! Christ was doing spiritual work on the Sabbath. Carrying His sleeping bag, like Jesus told that man to take, that's not work.
Verse 18: "So then, on account of this saying, the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, not only because He had loosed the Sabbath…" The KJV says 'break the Sabbath'; He didn't break the Sabbath.
Sidebar: Most people don't understand that there are so many critical errors in the King James version—which is far better than most of the other versions—that it clouds the meaning and purpose of God. That's why you need The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version with commentary and appendices. There's one beautiful thing about the book itself, it doesn't need batteries! Think about that!
The Sabbath when I was going to bring this message, the lights went out, everything went out! We couldn't record—either audio or video—it was dark. Sure enough different cell phones worked, but what if the batteries of those went out also? What would you have? That's why if you don't have the physical Bible itself, don't you think that maybe you'd better get one?
Jesus didn't break the Sabbath, He loosed it from the traditional misunderstanding of the Jews that if you carry something like a sleeping bag on the Sabbath it's work, a burden and you're not to carry it on the Sabbath.
"…but also because He had called God His own Father, making Himself equal with God" (v 18). You need to think on that for a tremendous amount of time.
What does it say about the kind of body we're going to have? A glorious body like Jesus' own body! We will see a little later that we are also are called gods! That ought to be enough inspiration for you that if you are in a lackadaisical or an attitude where you haven't been studying and praying, look at what you are not being zealous about.
- Don't you think it's worth being zealous all the time concerning what God is going to give us?
- What is Jesus calling us? The children of God!
Verse 19: "Therefore, Jesus answered and said to them, 'Truly, truly I say to you, the Son has no power to do anything of Himself… [out from His own human nature, of His own thoughts in His own mind] …but only what He sees the Father do. For whatever He does, these things the Son also does in the same manner." Likewise with us! What are we to teach? Paul said, 'Preach the Word!'
As a human being, this applies; v 30: "I have no power to do anything of Myself…" Look at all the things that human beings are doing, and look at all the things that they have made, built, whatever you want to say. Everything that they did had to come because in God they live, and moved, and had their being whether they were righteous or unjust.
As a human being Jesus said, v 30: "I have no power to do anything of Myself, but as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father Who sent Me."
And Jesus says in John 12 that 'what the Father commanded Me to say, I speak!' between the Most High and the Lord God in the Old Testament—because we find that they're both one—did not the same thing apply? Did the Lord God—El Shaddai or I AM of the Old Testament—do anything contrary of what the Most High and He determined previously? No! We have two booklets:
- The Two Jehovahs of the Pentateuch
- The Two Jehovahs of the Psalms
That will help you!
Matthew 22:41: "While the Pharisees were assembled together, Jesus questioned them, saying, 'What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?' They said to Him, 'The Son of David.' He said to them, 'How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet'"? Therefore, if David calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?' And no one was able to answer Him a word…" (vs 41-46).
The point here is that this conversation: "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet'" was spoken before the ages of man! Because who is the greatest enemy? Satan and the demons!
So, no one can take Psa. 110:1 and say that since both of Them are called YHVH or Jehovah, Yahweh, Eternal, or the Lord that that proves that the Most High—the One Who became the Father—was actively working in the Old Testament.
You can't start with the premise that they're both called the same, and if they're both called the same do They not both do the same work? If they both do the same work, therefore, They were both doing it at the same time! Not so!
That's why we read into the record here John 5, to do the will of the Father! In the Old Testament the YHVH was the One Who did the will of the Most High!
Don't let those things come along and start bringing in those kinds of things. Remember what we went through with the sermon series: God the Father Was Not the God of the Old Testament. This is in addition to it.
Sidebar: A comment was made that if the Father was the Lord God of the Old Testament then He would have been married to Israel. Therefore, if He was married to Israel, in order to terminate that covenant—because it takes death to terminate a covenant—God the Father would have had to come to the earth and die and be resurrected from the dead.
So, much for the philosophical thinking of men trying to define God without coming to the Scriptures to find out what the Word of God tells us! If you can't find it right away, don't worry, keep searching. There are Scriptures that I have wondered about for years and years that I didn't fully understand. That came later. Why? Because you need more understanding from the Bible!
How? Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little, there a little, rightly dividing the Word of God and putting it together!
Let's begin where we left off in part one looking at all the Scriptures where it tells us about the Most High, the One Who had to become the Father. If the Father was the God of the Old Testament that means that the Most High would have had to be active in dealing with men and women, exactly as the Lord God was. Do we find that? No!
So far, outside of the rebellion of Satan the devil saying that he would be like the Most High God, every single place where we find the phrases: the Most High, the Most High God, the Highest, is used mainly by David, not by the priests or the general population of Israel. Please remember, they did not have Bibles like we have today.
Psalm 57:1: Be gracious unto me, O God [Elohim], be gracious unto me; for my soul trusts in You; yea, in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge until these great troubles pass by. I will cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me" (vs 1-2).
- Was there a special purpose for David that came from God the Most High? Yes!
- Does that mean that the Most High was actively involved? No!
- Who was David praying to? He references the Most High, he's crying out to the One Who was the Lord God!
Verse 2: "I will cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me. He shall send from heaven and save me; He rebukes him who would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth His mercy and His Truth" (vs 2-3).
- Who decreed that there would be mercy and Truth? The Most High!
- Who dispenses mercy and Truth? The Lord God!
The truth of the matter is that God the Father is not going to be personally with His children until the resurrection, and then not completely until the new heavens and the new earth. In the meantime He works through Jesus Christ.
Verse 5: "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they have dug a pit before me; into the midst of it they have fallen themselves. Selah. My heart is fixed, O God…" (vs 5-7)—Elohim, including Yahweh and the Most High, but that directly to the Lord God.
Verse 8: "Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I myself will awake the dawn. I will praise You, O LORD, among the people; I will sing of You among the nations, for Your steadfast mercy is great even unto the heavens and Your Truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth" (vs 8-11). The Most High is above that!
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Let's examine other places where in the Old Testament where it talks about the Most High.
Psa. 73—here is a complaint by Asaph, one of the priests. He couldn't comprehend why the wicked prospered. Is Satan able to bless those with riches and wealth? Yes! But Asaph couldn't understand it. So, this is kind of a Psalm of complaint, but comes to the right conclusion toward the end of it.
Psalm 73:5: "They are not in trouble like other men…" A lot of the wicked get away without having much trouble, but always remember that it comes upon them!
"…neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore, pride is as a chain about their neck. Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness; they have more than the heart could wish for. They scoff and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore, waters of abundance are drunk by them" (vs 5-10).
They are in rebellion against God! Satan blesses them with his abundance. Did he not offer that to Jesus during His temptation? Yes! Satan said that he would give Jesus all the nations of the world!
Verse 11: "And they say, 'How does God know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?'" That is the supposition if there is a Most High! 'Does he have knowledge of what we're doing, because we're prospering in all that we are doing'!
This does not show that the One Who is the Most High in the Old Testament is actively involved in the events and things as is the Lord God (Yahweh).
This is another Psalm by Asaph; he's doing a lot of complaining; Psalm 77:7: "Will the LORD cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Is His mercy gone forever? Has His promise failed for all generations? Has God [Elohim] forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah. And I said, 'This is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High could change.'" (vs 7-10).
In other words, he's asking if even God—the Most High—could change. The answer is NO! You have to search for the answer of the complaint someplace else. Again, that does not show the Most High actively involved, even with a complaint against the Most High.
Psa. 78—another Psalm by Asaph talking about the children of Israel and what they were doing in the wilderness.
Psalm 78:17: "Yet, they continued to sin still more against Him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness."
Are the Father and the Son doing the same thing? Yes! But it is the Son Who is doing the work! Likewise, Elohim or the Lord is doing the work and the Most High is above that. Nevertheless, did this come from God the Most High? Yes! But Who spoke it?
Verse 18: "And they tempted God in their heart by asking food for their lust. Yea, they spoke against God; they said, 'Can God set a table in the wilderness?'" (vs 18-19).Again, this shows the Most High above.
- Who spoke the commandments? The Lord God!
- Are these not the same commandments that the Most High has? Of course, that's where they originated!
So, the Most High works:
- through the Lord God
- through angels
- through prophets
- through priests
But not directly Himself!
Verse 56: "Yet, they tempted and provoked the Most High God, and kept not His testimonies." Who spoke the testimonies of God? The Lord God to Moses, Moses to the people!
So, again, the Most High God is above, not directly involved. When He does something, He gives it to other to carry it out.
Psalm 82:1: "God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly and respect the persons of the wicked? Selah. Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; save them out of the hand of the wicked. They do not know, neither do they understand; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken out of course" (vs 1-5). When is that? At the return of Christ!
Verse 6: "I have said… [Jesus quoted this in John 10] …'You are gods; and all of you are sons of the Most High.'"
When will that be? At the resurrection! This is a prophecy of the return of Christ and the resurrection. We will all be gods in the Family of God!
Psalm 83:18: "So that men may know that Your name alone is the LORD, that You alone are the Most High over all the earth." It looks like They're working together; however, this is "…the Most High over all the earth."
- Is He over all the earth? Yes!
- Is He actively involved? No, He's not actively involved directly!
We'll see in the New Testament that with the Holy Spirit of God He is involved more directly and personally than in the Old Testament, but not here.
This is how you find out the Truth; you look at every place, look at all the Scriptures and ask: Who? When? What? Why? and take it from there.
Psalm 91:1: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The Most High is above, the Almighty is beneath—the Lord God.
Verse 2: "I will say of the LORD…"—doesn't say to the Most High.
Verse 9 is also a prophecy of all of those who are going to be in the first resurrection. "Because you have made the LORD, Who is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation
Verse 9: "Because you have made the LORD, Who is my refuge, even the Most High, your habitation." When will that be? At the resurrection! This does not necessarily mean that the Most High is right there.
"…even the Most High, your habitation"—you're going to be living with God the Father. When will that be? When New Jerusalem comes to the earth! This is a Psalm for God's protection for all of those who are going to be in the first resurrection!
Psalm 92:1: "It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises unto Your name, O Most High."
But all the rest of it as you go down through Psa. 92 it is the Lord who carries out the actions. Have we found a Psalm yet that says, 'I pray to the Most High'? or you finish your prayer and say, 'In the name of the Most High'? No, you don't find that!
This is talking about the rebellion of the children of Israel. Psalm 107:10: "Some sat in the darkness and in the shadow of death, being chained in affliction and iron because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High" (vs 10-11).
- Is not the Word of God the counsel that comes from the Most High?
- Did we not read the Scripture of Truth is in heaven above?
- Yes, indeed! That's what it's talking about here!
Verse 12: "Therefore, He humbled their heart with labor; they stumbled, and there was none to help. Then they cried to the LORD in their distress, and He saved them out of their troubles" (vs 12-13).
The Most High above and what was carried out was carried out by the Lord with direction from the Most High. Again, the Most High is not directly involved!
We're going to see something really interesting in the book of Daniel. This becomes quite a thing for us to understand, when we put it all together. We're going to see that God made it known to King Nebuchadnezzar. This is very important to understand.
King Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest king on earth. He was, in the image that he saw, the head of gold. The dream that he had was directly from God to him and he couldn't understand it. So, he called all the prognosticators, the magicians, the priests and everyone and said, 'Okay, I had a dream and I want you to tell me what the dream was and it's interpretation.'
Well, they couldn't do it. They said, 'O king, no one can do that.' He said, 'If you don't, I'm going to lop off your heads,' So, Arioch the guard came to Daniel and Daniel asked for a little more time to pray to God for Him to reveal it. So then, Daniel says this concerning the revelation:
Daniel 2:19: "Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. And Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, 'Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. I thank You, and praise You, O God of my fathers…" (vs 19-23).
You read the whole chapter. He told the interpretation to Nebuchadnezzar, that he's the head of gold, Persia is coming next, then Greece, Rome and then you have the feet and the ten toes. Then we find this:
Verse 40: "And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and beats down all things, and as the iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. But there shall be in it the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix themselves with the seed of men. But they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay" (vs 40-43)—threw it at the feet and everything came down and it was all destroyed!
Verse 44: "And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Because you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure" (vs 44-45).
Dan. 4 is the central prophecy that carries down to our day, that lays it out in step-by-step fashion as revealed to Daniel and written in the book of Daniel. We find that the Most High made something known to Nebuchadnezzar. But how did He make it known? Through Daniel!
Very few people understand that Dan. 4 is actually an epistle by Nebuchadnezzar. It goes from that time all the way down to our day, because what's going to happen in our day? Babylon the Great!
Daniel 4:1: "Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth…"—down through time; then he had a dream and he saw a tree grow and it was cut down and stump was left and he didn't know what it was.
Verse 8: "But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god… [Nebuchadnezzar's god] …and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And I told the dream before him, saying"—then Daniel explained it!
Verse 17: "This matter is by the decree of the watchers… [the Most High God and the Lord God have watchers, angels] …and the demand by the word of the Holy ones, so that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He will, and sets up over it the basest of men." So, this great prophecy came from the Most High:
- through the watchers
- through the word of the Holy ones
- through Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar
So, this shows that the Most High is not actively involved personally in carrying out the things in the Old Testament.
Verse 24—Daniel said to the king: "This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king… [How did it come? By the watchers!] … That you shall be driven from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and you shall be made to eat grass like oxen. And you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He will" (vs 24-25).
It didn't say kingdoms, kingdom in the singular means all kingdoms, any kingdom of man. Why? Because He gave them land, life, food, everything that there is:
- through the Lord God
- through the watchers
- through the Holy ones
Verse 26: "And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots, your kingdom shall be sure to you after you shall have known that the heavens do rule." Even if it's decree of the Most High, it's not carried out personally by God the Most High Himself. "…the heavens do rule…" are:
- Satan
- demons
- angels
- archangels
They rule!
Verse 27: "Therefore, O king, let my advice be pleasing to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, so there may be lengthening of your prosperity."
Then what happened? Nebuchadnezzar said, 'Oh, look at this Babylon! I am done!' BANG! He was struck down! Let's see what he said after he went seven years with oxen, eating grass and being insane.
Verse 32: "'And you shall be driven from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills.' The same hour the thing was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar…." (vs 32-33).
Verse 34: "And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him Who lives forever, for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation."
Of course, that's true all the time! But the Most High made it known to Nebuchadnezzar that personally, because 'you, at the start of this, had to understand that it came from the Most High,' carried out by the watchers and the Holy ones, the angels of God. Then his kingdom came back to him and that's how it was carried out.
Again, we will get a little more understanding of the Most High in Dan. 7, and when we do we will see that the Most High in the Old Testament works the same way: there's the command that may come directly from the Lord God, but where did He get everything that He got? From the Most High! But the Most High is up in heaven.
Daniel 7:18: "But the saints… [the children who are gods] …of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever." That's at the resurrection; we're going to rule with Christ, rule the world, and it will go on forever!
Verse 21: "I watched, and that same horn made war with the saints and overcame them… tie that in with Rev. 5 & 12] …until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High. And the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom" (vs 21-22). That's at the resurrection!
Verse 25: "And he… [the final beast of Rev. 13] …shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change the set times and the laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time. But the judgment shall sit, and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and to be destroyed unto the end" (vs 25-26). That goes clear back to the feet of vision that Nebuchadnezzar had of the statue.
Verse 27: "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, Whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And all kingdoms shall serve and obey Him."
Eventually, it's all going to get to there. But this is a prophecy of what is yet in the future. This does not show that the Most High was actively personally involved in these things directly, but that He did through the agencies that He had already established.
Hosea 7:12—talking about Israel: "When they go…'"—to Ephraim, instead of coming back to God. Look at Ephraim today, they are almost in captivity right now by giving so much power to the Muslims within the country.
"…I will spread My net upon them; I will bring them down like the birds of heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation has heard. Woe to them, for they have fled from Me! Destruction unto them—because they have sinned against Me. Though I have redeemed them, yet, they have spoken lies against Me. And they have not cried to Me with their heart, when they howled on their beds; they gather themselves for grain and wine, and they rebel against Me. Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet, they think evil against Me. They return, but not to the Most High…." (vs 12-16).
All of this has come from God! This is talking about New Testament times. They return, but not the Most High Who gave everything through Christ to them!
"…They are like a deceitful bow; their rulers shall fall by the sword from the rage of their tongue. This shall be their scorn in the land of Egypt" (v 16). Where do the Muslims come from? Egypt!
Hosea 11:6—Again, talking about Ephraim and the Israelites: "And the sword shall remain on his cities, and shall destroy his branches, and devour them because of their own counsels. And My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they called to the Most High… [this has to be New Testament times] …none would at all exalt Him." (vs 6-7). Why? Because of the vanity of Ephraim!
Acts 7—where Stephen gave a great witness to the Sanhedrin, to all the Jewish leaders—the high priest, Levites—all gathered there wanting to know about the Christ. So, Stephen explained to them about why there doesn't need to be a temple. The Jews thought that they were worshipping the Most High when they weren't! They had the temple and they thought that as long as they had the temple and as long as there is God 'we're in good shape.'
Acts 7:44: "The tabernacle of the testimony was among our fathers in the wilderness, as He Who spoke to Moses had commanded…"
- Who spoke to Moses? The Lord God!
- Who was above the Lord God? The Most High!
"…to make it according to the pattern, which he had seen; which also our fathers, who received it by succession, brought in with Joshua, when they took possession of the land from the nations whom God drove out before the face our fathers, until the days of David; who found grace before God, and sought to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob; but Solomon built Him a house. However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made by hands, as the Prophet says" (vs 44-48).
- Was the presence of God put into the temple? Yes, called the 'shanika'!
- Who did that come from? The Lord God!
So, this tells us that the Most High was not there! He was still in heaven. You can't take these Scriptures and say that the Most High was active in the Old Testament, and that's comparable to how God the Father's working in the New Testament.
Verse 48: "However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made by hands, as the Prophet says: '"The heaven is My throne, and the earth is a footstool for My feet. What house will you build for Me," says the Lord…'" (vs 48-49). Even though He's called Lord, that's how it was given to be written down.
So, we have clear, clear proof that the One Who was the Lord God of the Old Testament was the One Who became Jesus Christ of the New Testament. God the Father was not the God of the Old Testament! He was there and we know that Melchisedec became Jesus Christ (Heb. 7). Melchisedec was priest of the Most High!
In every case we do not find that the Most High was actively involved in the children of Israel or any of the events going on, even with Nebuchadnezzar, though it came from the Most High, He was not actively involved because it came by the word of the watchers and the Holy ones!
None of that will be completely fulfilled until the new heavens and the new earth.
- What do we find with the new heavens and the new earth? The throne of the Father and the throne of the Lamb side-by-side!
- What do we see coming out from underneath Their throne? Rivers of living water!
When we read the Old Testament and these things, we have to understand when, how, why, who and what, and analyze what the Bible tells us to get the full story.
I hope this helps some of you who are going to be approached by a so-called slight change by saying. 'We no longer want to say that Jesus Christ was the God of the Old Testament because that excludes the Most High.' No it does not! Because the word 'Elohim' includes Them both! But the Most High was not directly active in the Old Testament, not even revealed.
If God the Father were the One Who was active in the Old Testament, then there would be absolutely no need for these Scriptures, because they would have known.
Matthew 11:25: At that time Jesus answered and said, 'I praise You, O Father, Lord… ['kurios'; Yahweh, Old Testament] …of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for it was well pleasing in Your sight to do this. All things were delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father except the Son…" (vs 25-27). Let's use Old Testament terminology here:
The Lord God knows the Most High, and the Most High knows the Lord God!
But only the Lord God was revealed in the Old Testament. The Most High was spoken of, but not active.
Verse 27: "All things were delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son personally chooses to reveal Him.
We will see in part three what that means, and how the Father interacts with us today!
Scriptural References:
- Exodus 6:1-3
- Exodus 3:13-15
- Psalm 110:1
- Isaiah 14:12-14
- Hebrews 10:4-7
- Daniel 10:21
- Hebrews 10:7
- John 5:17-19, 30
- Matthew 22:41-46
- Psalm 57:1-3, 5-11
- Psalm 73:5-11
- Psalm 77:7-10
- Psalm 78:17-19, 56
- Psalm 82:1-6
- Psalm 83:18
- Psalm 91:1-2, 9
- Psalm 92:1
- Psalm 107:10-13
- Daniel 2:19-23, 40-45
- Daniel 4:1, 8, 17, 24-27, 32-34
- Daniel 7:18, 21-22, 25-27
- Hosea 7:12-16
- Hosea 11:6-7
- Acts 7:44-49
- Matthew 11:25- 27
Scriptures quoted, not referenced:
- Galatians 3
- John 8
- Revelation 12
- Romans 8
- Revelation 5
- John 12; 10
- Revelation 13
- Hebrews 7
Also referenced:
- Sermon: Covenant Between God the Father and the Son
- Sermon Series: God the Father Was Not the God of the Old Testament
- Booklets:
- The Two Jehovahs of the Pentateuch by Carl Franklin
- The Two Jehovahs of the Psalms by Carl Franklin
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 9/18/18
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