Looking Beyond the Grave to a Resurrection
GENESIS 22:1-5
1 ¶ And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
(Try to feel the impact of this request from the Lord – if that was your only son that you had waited 25 years to receive)
3 ¶ And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. (He didn’t waste any time to carry out the request of God)
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
Question - Why could Abraham say “I and the lad will come to you again” when God told him to take his son and kill him on the mountain for a burnt offering?
We want to look into this because I believe that there is a secret here that unlocks a faith realm of what we are to also come into in this hour – we are promised to be of this same level of faith in this hour. The message of this hour will turn our faith back, not by your own will power, but by the power of the word that are receiving under this message.
JOHN 6:40.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Looking Beyond the Grave to a Resurrection
***Thorough all the ups and downs of Abraham’s life, Abraham had come to know God in such a way that he knew that whatever happened to Isaac (even if he had killed him upon the mountain), God would still have had to keep his word and bring a nation out of Isaac’s seed – so Abraham knew that somehow he would have to return with Isaac, because the death of Isaac could not stop the promise of God – nothing will stop the promise of God in this hour either.
***So in our scripture reading - if Abraham had killed Isaac (which is what Abraham was certainly intending to do), then God would have had to raise him up again in order to keep his promise – and that was the revelation that God was looking to see in Abraham, a revelation of the resurrection, and that is the same revelation that God is looking to see in us because we are to be of the same faith of Abraham.
Opening scripture
JOHN 6:40
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
**Often, people will sometimes stop believing God at the death of a loved one, especially if they have prayed for their healing and then seen them go to their death, because to many death seems final – but to Abraham, death was not final, he looked beyond death to a resurrection.
*Abraham looked beyond the death of Isaac to the resurrection of Isaac – that is why he could say “I and the lad will return”.
*Job looked beyond his own grave to a resurrection also.
JOB 19:25-27
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. (that is why he came out of his tribulation victorious – it was when he caught that revelation)
*Joseph looked beyond the death of the prison house to a resurrection because God had already shown him that he would end in power and glory.
*Jonah looked beyond the death of being swallowed by a whale to a resurrection.
*Jesus looked beyond the death of a crucifixion to a resurrection because he knew from the beginning of his outcome in that he would also be raised from the dead.
JOHN 2:18-19
18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Jesus endured the cross because he knew there would be a resurrection. When Jesus carried his cross up mount Calvary, he was the reality of what Isaac was only a type of.
**Jesus had the same revelation that Abraham had - a revelation of the resurrection.
So from Abraham to Jesus - All these people had a revelation of the resurrection – a future beyond (to a natural thinking man) of what would seem to be the END.
***So if we look at the lives of Abraham and Joseph and Job and Jonah - At some point along their life’s journey, they had all become convinced of how that God always keeps his word, they had made the journey from a mental faith in God to a real faith in God, and that is the journey that we are also on as followers and believers of Christ – we are to come to the fullness of this same revelation in this hour.
JOHN 16:28-33
28 ¶ I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.
30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. (In other words - all these years as you spoke to us in proverbs we used to get confused and so we could not be fully convinced of who you really were, but now that you are speaking plainly, and that you have opened the word in a way that it has become clear to us, now we are fully persuaded)
31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. (This was being spoken shortly before Jesus arrest and sentencing for crucifixion. They had been following him for all this time just like we have also been following him in this hour for all these years under the message of this hour, but then it came to a place along their journey where the word became clear to them, to their understanding, and then they came into a true and full faith)
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Tribulation comes from the world, but peace comes by the words and the promises of God,
Tribulation – Greek = thlipsis {thlip'-sis}
trouble, anguish, persecution, burdened, to be afflicted
1) a pressing, pressing together, pressure; oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress, straits
*So we see that Job had some tribulation while in the world
*Joseph had to go through some tribulation
*Jonah had to go through some tribulation – he experienced pressure and distress.
*Jesus went through tribulation while he was in the world.
**But it was when they looked beyond the grave to a resurrection – then that is what gave them the victory over their distresses.
REVELATION 7:13-17
13 ¶ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
***So the secret that gave Abraham and Job and Joseph and Jonah and Jesus the level of faith that they had, was because they were looking beyond the grave to a resurrection.
**Remember the story of the boy riding the 12 inch plank on his bicycle, the secret was that he looked beyond the plank to the end, and our end is not the grave but a resurrection to eternal life.
HEBREWS 12:1-3
1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (We must hold to the vision of the joy that is set before us)
I PETER 4:13
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
JUDE 1:24
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, (so there is an exceeding joy that is in store for the believer)
*We know that God always deal with his elect by showing them their end from the beginning of their journey.
- Joseph was shown his end from the beginning by his dreams
- Abraham was told by God at the beginning that he would be the father of many nations.
- William Branham was told at the beginning that his message would forerun the second coming of Christ
- And so the bride of this hour is told from the beginning of the journey of how we are to be victorious at the end.
This is the way that God gives us courage and strength of mind to endure the hardships of the journey – he shows us our end from the beginning.
PSALM 27:11-14 (Rapture chapter)
11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. (In other words - lead me along a safe path, because I have many enemies)
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
(Look at the hardship and the oppression that David was suffering under)
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. (I would not have made it had I not believed in a future place when there would be better times of life)
14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
We are living in an age that people (especially young people) are realising that there is not too much prospect of a bright future if this world stays on the downward pathway that it’s on.
We are living in a world where the politics is corrupt, the monetary system is corrupt, the environment is polluted, and botany life, the animal life, many of these environments have been damaged almost beyond repair in the foreseeable future.
Brief Overview of Global Issues - Article
Half of the forests that originally covered 46%of the Earth's land surface are gone. Only one-fifth of the Earth's original forests remain pristine and undisturbed.
Between 10 and 20 percent of all species will be driven to extinction in the next 20 to 50 years. Based on current trends, an estimated 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species – including one in eight of the world's bird species - face extinction. Almost a quarter of the world's mammal species will face extinction within 30 years. Up to 47% of the world's plant species are at risk of extinction.
60% of the world's coral reefs, which contain up to one-fourth of all marine species, could be lost in the next 20-40years
Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles and marine mammals are entangled and drowned by irresponsible fishing practices every year.
More than 20 percent of the world's known 10,000 freshwater fish species have become extinct, been threatened, or endangered in recent decades. Sixty percent of the world's important fish stocks are threatened from overfishing.
Desertification and land degradation threaten nearly one-quarter of the land surface of the globe. Over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification, and one billion people are at risk.
Global warming is expected to increase the Earth's temperature by 3C (5.4F) in the next 100 years, resulting in multiple adverse effects on the environment and human society, including widespread species loss, ecosystem damage, flooding of populated human settlements, and increased natural disasters.
An estimated 40-80 million people have been forcibly evicted and displaced from their lands to make way for the construction of large dams, resulting in economic and social devastation for these people
The seas are polluted, the atmosphere is polluted, the social and moral lives of the masses are polluted, we are living in a time that things have never been as bad been like this before except maybe for the days of Noah, and yet this is said to be an even worse time such as the world has never seen before – so it is almost like there is little hope for the future, and so this is subconsciously affecting the minds of the people into a mental condition of hopelessness and depression.
And then what about the social and moral environment and the economic environment – all environments are under a curse in this hour.
Article…
Young people confront a radically different social landscape to that of their parents, who stand accused alongside bankers and politicians of bequeathing an economic and environmental mess.
Are young people emerging into a far more hostile and unfriendly world than that which they might have expected?
(Young person responds) Yes, we are. No one tells you when you're growing up that you're going to be growing up in a massive financial crisis. No one tells you the chances are you're going to have to work for longer than any generation before you. No one told you you're going to have to pay more for your education than any generation before you. We're certainly a generation under strain. You just have to look at the recent protests to see that young people themselves are fully aware of the kind of futures now open to them. And they are turning round and saying: "It's not good enough. You're punishing us for a crisis we didn't cause." Why should we have to pay with our futures for a crisis caused by political and financial mismanagement?
What has caused all these things to come upon this world? - Its sin and the rejection of a prophet in this generation that has caused the world to come into this condition, and sin and the rejection of the prophet’s message in our own lives will also bring troubles upon us.
**The answer is not better politicians and better financial management, the answer is found in the scriptures.
This is a part of Jehoshaphat’s prayer, and this holds the answer:
II CHRONICLES 20:9
9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine (sword is war, pestilence is disease, and famine is economic), we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
So we can apply this to our personal lives because God’s name is in the revelation of the word for the age – we are standing in this house of the revealed word of the hour. We have the answer to bring a resurrection from the grave, we can look to a resurrection from the dead because of the promise that God has given to us in this age – we have a hope where the world has no hope.
I THESSALONIANS 4:13-14
13 ¶ But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
***We have hope because of the promise of the resurrection that is promised in this hour – and that is what gave Abraham hope when his only son’s life was in peril.
THE.WORLD.IS.FALLING.APART_ ALBQ.NM FRIDAY_ 63-0412M
253 Our Father, God, we realize that there's no hopes left for the church organization. It's gone, Lord. It was against Your will, in the beginning. There's no hope for the nation. It's gone.
254 We done seen, this nation (America), just a perfect pattern of Israel. How when Israel come into their homeland, and--and drove out the occupants, as we come in and drove out the American Indian. And how they had great men in those days: David, Solomon, Joshua. And so did we come in and drive out the natives, and set up our land, our economy, upon freedom of religion, when we'd been bound by dogmas and things. We had great men, a Washington, a Lincoln. But, finally, as the years went by, they finally elected in a Ahab that had a painted-up Jezebel who set the fashions of the world. So have we done the very same thing. And now we see the same thing take place. In that day, you had an Elijah to stand and condemn it. Oh, how they hated him, but he--he stood. His voice will still be standing at the Day of the Judgment.
255 And, Father, send to us an Elijah. Send to us the Voice of the Bible, the Voice of God, and vindicate It. And prove that You are God, that You do the same yesterday, today, and forever, that the people would know. Without any hesitation, they see that it's the Truth. And may people...
256 Like the little woman at the well, had been mixed up in all kinds of stuff, but when that Light flashed across her little path that she was walking on, she seen something. She was never the same anymore. She came to a Fountain that she had never visit before. (This opening of the word by the message of this hour is that same fountain; it is the same person that this woman at the well met)
257 Grant, Lord, today, that many today will see that there is a Fountain open, and the Word of God is still in effect to everyone that will believe and receive It.
This world and age that we are passing through is like a grave yard with dead people all around us, but as believers like Abraham, we are not looking at the grave but we are looking beyond the grave to the promise of a resurrection, because in all of our ups and downs, we have come to know that God can never fail to keep his promise to us – that was the secret that Abraham knew in his heart, and that is also the secret that we hold in our hearts.