Restoration Discussion

One of the greatest themes of the Old Testament is Israel's Temple. It was built by a great king and was destroyed by Babylon. After a period of exile the people of God were allowed to return and rebuild their temple. In a similar manner the spiritual temple (the church) was built by a great king (Jesus Christ). It was dismantled by leaders who did not have the spirit of the founder. God is calling his people to restore again his temple (church). Worldwide interest in restoring the church is growing. Click on the picture to view.

Shepherds

Shepherds

Jesus is the supreme example of how church leaders should guide the people of God. Click the picture to hear more...

I'm Saved; What's Next!

“If Ye Then Be Risen With Christ”…What’s Next?
(Instructions for new believers taken from Colossians 3)

In the book of Hebrews, Paul said that “He hath forever perfected them that are sanctified.” We were perfectly justified from everything that was a part of our past life.
Paul said in the fifth chapter of Romans in the first verse: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This is about a person who has become justified, whereas prior to this he was guilty. He stood guilty before God because of the fact of his way of life, actions, sins, evil doings and ways. Just like we look out at the ungodly world, we see they are guilty before God. One scripture says, “God is angry with the wicked every day.” The wicked are enemies to God. And we can see that in the fifth chapter of Romans again in the tenth verse. Paul said: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

This lets us see that the word “saved” is used differently than the thought of a person being forgiven of his past sins.It’s right to say that a person is saved from his past sins. But there’s more than one phase to salvation. The initial phase to salvation is a person being saved from his past sins. But this is talking about something beyond that when he said, “We shall be saved by his life. For if when we were enemies…” that means when we were ungodly. If before, when we didn’t know the Lord, we were enemies to God. “…we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son…” In other words, by Jesus having died for our sins.

We, having faith in his blood, we were forgiven of our past sins. We believed upon him for forgiveness of our sins. We ceased to be enemies to God, because we were reconciled unto God. When our sins were put away, God didn’t look upon us any longer as His enemies. The word “reconcile” means brought back into harmony with God.“If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God,” that is, when we were in that unsaved condition in the world, and, therefore, were enemies to God, “we were reconciled to God,” that is, brought back into harmony with God, “by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life.” That lets us see there’s more to salvation than a person just making peace with God. But now let’s go back to the first verse of Romans 5.
“Therefore, being justified by faith…” And that’s how we come to be in good standing with God, having been sinners in this world in an unsaved condition. We have come to be in good standing with God, because we are justified by faith. We stand justified before God, and He exonerates us. He clears us of all the guilt of our past lives. That is done for us through faith in Jesus Christ.Then he says, “we have peace with God,” we make peace with God in that way, “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” But that’s just talking about us receiving the forgiveness of sins. But there’s something on beyond that. There’s the infilling of His spirit.

Receiving the forgiveness of sins is the first part of Peter’s instructions in Acts 2:38, when these asked, saying, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” And Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” So the gift of the Holy Ghost came after them repenting and confessing their sins and being forgiven and then being baptized in water. Then they experienced being baptized with the Holy Ghost, or, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Either one of those expressions refers to the same thing. They are equivalent to each other.Then this happens, our receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost, there’s another way of picturing this for us to understand this. This is given us in the third chapter of Colossians. This is an epistle of Paul the apostle. What a wonderful chapter this is. How many wonderful chapters we do have that were written by the apostle Paul, our apostle, the apostle to the gentiles.We should be thankful when we read through all of these writings of Paul. We should be thankful to God for what God gave through Paul to us through these letters that he has written.

Colossians 3, this is a wonderful and beautiful chapter for a person to read after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. I hear offers made on television, if somebody accepts Christ or they received the gift of the Holy Spirit, then there are offers made to send a booklet to them and tell them how to get started. Well, that’s good for a person to have something to consider. “What next? I’ve come to Christ” or “I have decided for Christ. What do I do from this point?” We’ve got something that surpasses all of those little booklets and pamphlets. It’s right here in the third chapter of Colossians. You want to read something that is of great value? Read these words of the apostle Paul. He tells you what’s next or what to do from here or what to do from that point.Not only that, but this is a good chapter to go back and read from time to time by every child of God to measure themselves by this word of God that’s given us through this apostle Paul to see how we are measuring up to these things.Now, let’s start out the chapter at verse 1.
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above…” Another thing that we can say happens to us when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit is we experience a spiritual resurrection. That is, our souls are made alive unto God.

Every soul has life, but every soul doesn’t have God’s life. It’s not alive unto God. And every child that is born and takes its first breath and then it continues to breathe after that, that child has life. Just like the scripture says, “God formed man of the dust of the earth, and then He breathed into his nostrils, and man became a living soul.” Well, He breathed into his nostrils, it says, the breath of life. We all are breathing the breath of life when we are breathing the air we’re breathing.When a person comes to God, then there is life that is given to the soul that is from Heaven. It’s spiritual life. It makes that person alive spiritually, because prior to that, the soul is dead spiritually until a person receives the gift of His spirit. That is pictured here as a resurrection.
When you read, “If ye then be risen with Christ,” what does it mean to be risen with Christ? It means to have received the gift of the Holy Spirit.I suggest you underline or encircle that phrase, “risen with Christ.” And then mark out the words “Holy Ghost” or abbreviate that, if you’ll remember what you mean by that, capital H, period, capital G, period. In other words, you’re meaning by that having received the gift of the Holy Ghost.
That’s when a person is risen with Christ. It’s not, as somebody says, vicariously when he rose from the dead back there. His rising from the dead was necessary in order for us to have life. But now we can be risen with Christ when we receive of His spirit.

“If ye then be risen with Christ…” That’s a miracle that’s happened for us. Everybody that’s received the gift of the Holy Ghost has had a miracle happen in their life. Wouldn’t you call it a miracle if somebody was raised from the dead right here before our eyes? Somebody that was physically dead? Supposed we’d have a funeral sometime and a person would come up out of the casket, climb out of it and start walking around. Why, we would all be astounded, wouldn’t we? What would we term that? We would say, “Well, my, that’s a miracle.”

Every person that received the gift of the Holy Spirit has had a miracle done for them. Our souls have been made alive unto God. We’ve risen from the dead state in Adam.
Paul said in I Corinthians 15:22 - “As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.” So here we have been made alive unto God.“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” In other words, seek the things that are of God, the things that are above the way of life of the people of the world or the kind of a life that we knew before we came to God.We know there’s a difference. Nobody has to tell us that. When we receive His spirit into our hearts – if a person is unsaved and God forgives them and he puts His spirit in them, why, there’s no doubt in that person’s mind that he’s undergone a change or she’s undergone a change. There’s something marvelous and miraculous that happens when that takes place in a human life. After that, he said:“…seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the
right hand of God.”

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Set your affection and your mind, let your mind be on things which are above and not on things on the earth.“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
That means that old life, that Adamic life, the life that we lived in the world, the old man and his ways, this has been buried by baptism into Christ.I refer you back to Romans 6, that when he talks about us being baptized into Jesus Christ in the third verse of Romans 6, that is Holy Spirit baptism. That’s not water baptism there.

Notice in the fourth verse, he says:“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life.” In other words, we’ve become new creatures in Christ, so we walk in newness of life. It’s a new life then that we begin to live. It’s not like that old life. This is a different kind of a life that we live now and lead. So he said in verses 5 and 6:“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that
our old man is crucified with him.” When we have that happen to us, we die out to the flesh and its desires, and we, having the Lord in our life, having his spirit, that becomes more important than anything else. So we die out to all of those other things, and that’s how a person gets in a condition to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They want that more than they want anything else. That’s why he says in Romans 6, verse 6:“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Also notice verse 8:“If we be dead in Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.”

Now going back to Colossians 3:3, he says:“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Now, connect the first two verses of Romans 6, where he says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” He said, “God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?” So, see, that’s the same idea here in Colossians 3, “For ye are dead.” That is, ye are dead to sin.The old man is crucified. “Ye are dead” to sin. “And your life,” that is, that old life, that is dead. If you’re dead, there’s something about you, there’s some part of you or something about you that is dead. What is it? It’s the old man that is dead and his ways. Notice Ephesians 4, where he said in the 4th chapter and the 22d, 23d, and 24th verse, he says:“That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” That’s talking about the same thing as in II Corinthians 5:17:“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.”
We can see in Ephesians 4:24 he says:“And that you put on the new man, which after God
is created in righteousness and true holiness.” That’s the new creature that our soul has become when we receive His spirit, the Holy Spirit in our lives.Here in Colossians 3:3 he says, “For ye are dead.” That is, the old man is dead. The old man is crucified. “And your life,” that is, that old life, the life of the old man of the old creature, “is hid now with Christ in God.” That coincides with Paul saying in Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death.” Notice also in Romans 6:3 we “were baptized into his death.” That’s where the life is hid. It’s hid with Christ in God.All right. Then he says:“When Christ, who is our life…” That is, Christ has given life to our souls, he’s come into our hearts to take over the throne of our heart, and he’s in us as our hope of glory. As Paul mentioned in Colossians 1:27, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” by virtue of his spirit, by virtue of having received the Holy Spirit.

Go back to chapter 3:4:“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear…” That is, when he shall appear coming back from heaven, when he comes again:“…then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” So he says in verse 5:“Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth…” That is, mortify the desires of the lusts that are lurking in your members.
“…fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, which is idolatry…”
The word “mortify” means “put to death.” When he says, “Mortify, therefore, your members,” that means put to death these lusts. They’re dormant there, but they’re lurking in your members, and there could be something that could bring that up again, although the old man has been crucified. There is something that can revive the old ways of the old man.
But here he says, “Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth.” When he speaks of fornication, that’s sexual immorality. That covers several different things, different immoral sexual acts, whatever they are. If it’s contrary to God’s law, then that’s fornication.

Even homosexuality is referred to as fornication in the book of Jude. It shows you that fornication covers different kinds of sexual immorality. Jude 7 says:“Even as Sodom and Gomorrha and cities round about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after strange flesh…” That’s what the people of Sodom and Gomorrha did. Why, they were turned over to a spirit like that. There was the committing of homosexuality. It was a terrible thing in the eyes of God. And if you go and read those things in the book of Genesis, you’ll see how that was looked upon by God. We’re not to think that that is just like some do that pass that off as an alternate lifestyle and sexual preference, then seek to justify this in that manner. The scripture says, “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled.” But, he said, “whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” He doesn’t say that homosexuality or fornication is honorable in all or adultery is honorable in all. But he says marriage is honorable in all. That’s found in the 13th chapter of Hebrews. So there is a definite difference that is to be made there.So that’s premarital sex; that’s extramarital sex; that’s living in with somebody, not married to them; that’s somebody getting involved with someone else’s husband or someone else’s wife. That’s homosexuality, whether it’s male or female, because that exists in both sexes. And so these things need to be understood and pointed out. And then that’s different kinds of perverted sex. All of those things come under the heading of fornication. “Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth… Uncleanness.” That’s impurity, of course, there’s other ways that a person can have impurity in their lives. There’s things that can affect a person’s spirit and their heart, things that can get into a person’s heart and their spirit is affected, and that can make them impure. “Inordinate affection.” That’s lust. Something that is inordinate is something out of the bounds or it’s extreme. It’s not well ordered. It’s inordinate affection.“Evil concupiscence” refers to evil or unholy desires.“Covetousness,” that’s greed. That’s the meaning of the word covetousness.” It’s called greediness in one place in Paul’s writings. And he says, “which is idolatry.”
A person given over to greed, a spirit of greed, why, that sin is akin and falls under the category of idolatry, because usually it’s a love for money. That’s what’s meant by Hebrews 13 when he says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness.” That is, let your lives be without a love of money. Don’t let a love of money take over your life. That’s covetousness. That’s greed. And so he says, “Which is idolatry.” Because of a love for money, money can become an idol and can become a god to a person. He says that that is evil. That’s wrong. We’re to mortify those members upon the earth. He says:
“For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.”
God will judge all such as that. We’ve got it right here in the scriptures. We have it right here in Paul’s writings. He says:“For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Didn’t God pour out of his wrath upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha? I tell you that he did.

Then he said:“In the which ye also walked sometime, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy…” We’re talking about reading a little booklet or a little pamphlet of “What’s Next?”. I guarantee you that none of them covers all of these things that Paul covers here in this third chapter. This is the best information we have right here. That’s superior to any of these little booklets or pamphlets that you might send off for. “Now you also put off all these: anger, wrath…”
Of course, by “wrath,” it means losing your temper and going into a rage about something. And: “…malice, blasphemy…” Blasphemy is slander, to slander somebody, slander other people.“…filthy communication out of your mouth.” That is, filthy language, profanity, using curse words and saying or telling stories, telling jokes that are unclean stories and unclean language. We’re all to watch our language. Let’s all watch ourselves. Just because something is common around us, that doesn’t mean that we’re to talk the way other people talk. And be careful what you talk about. There’s some things that we’re not to talk about openly. I’m compelled to talk about some of these things as plain as I am on account of the condition that have come to exist. I’m careful about that, because I want to set the right example before you. Whether it’s privately or publicly, I have endeavored to set the right kind of example in all of these things which Paul refers to. So, “Put off all filthy communication out of your mouth.” That brings him to another thought. Talking about things that come out of your mouth, he says:“Lie not one to another…”
Stop lying when you come to God and you’re going to serve the Lord. You are no longer serving sin, but you’re going to serve the Lord. How are you to do when you serve the Lord? He says, “Stop lying.” Don’t be lying anymore. Don’t be telling any more lies. Tell the truth. “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds…” Those kind of deeds belong to the old man. That is not a part of the life of the new man. That’s the old man that’s coming back to life when a person is lying after having come to God. And he says in verse 10:“…And have put on the new man, which is renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created him…” You put on the new man now, and this new creation is made and fashioned after him that created him. It’s fashioned after Christ. This is the way Christ was when he was here in the flesh. Verse 11: “…where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” In other words, don’t be blaming it on your nationality by saying, “Well, that’s the Indian in me” or “That’s the Irish that’s coming out in me.” Don’t blame some action that you know is unseemly or improper or it’s wrong or it’s out of line on your nationality. The Irishman and the Dutchman is to have been buried in Christ.

I know that there are nationalistic traits with different nationalities. But that’s to be buried in Christ. That’s what he means when he says, “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew.” Because Jews and Greeks were different in their actions and their nationalistic traits. They were different from one another. The Jew was to be put to death in Christ. When we were baptized into his death, the Jew was to be baptized into his death. It is the same with the Greek and any other nationality.

Paul continues:“…but Christ is all and in all.” I might emphasize that Christ is all and in all. Christ is in us as a result of us receiving the gift of his spirit. So this is telling us how to keep Christ in us, help us to be walking pleasing in his sight and keep Christ in us after he’s come in to abide. Verse 12: “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy…” By “bowels of mercy” he just means to have a heart for other people, a heart of compassion. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness longsuffering…” We put on kindness. That is, cease to be unkind. Unkindness is the way of the old man. That’s the deeds of the old man. But there’s something about the Holy Spirit working in our lives just that causes us to want to be kind to people where before we may have been unkind. Then “humbleness of mind.” Let’s always keep in mind that because of the way our lives have been in the past or when we were in the world, we’re not really and truly worthy to be here, but God showed favor to us. If we would always keep that in mind, that will help us to have humbleness of mind and not ever get the big head but just know that we’re nothing. If we amount to anything, it’s because He took nothing and made something out of it. We don’t have anything to boast about.

Then “meekness.” Cause us to be meek in our spirit. “Longsuffering.” Willing to suffer and bear with other people.“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any
man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you,so also do ye.” Can’t we see just as far as we’ve read in this chapter how valuable these things are to us as children of God? We can see the importance of these things in our lives daily and let this be part of the things that we refer back to. Go back and read this over and over again and see how we’re standing, how we’re measuring up. How does our life stack up with these things? A person can depart from the Lord and gradually get away from the Lord and get away from the righteous path and something go dead in his life. The Lord has given us a new life. We’ve got to protect that new life and watch over that and take care if we’re to stay alive in the Lord. Paul said in Romans 8:13:“If you live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, then shall ye live.” Again he said in Galations 5:16-17: “If we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these two are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would.”
You can’t go ahead and do the things that the flesh would cause you go do or natural desires would lead you to do. You can’t go ahead and still be walking in the Spirit.
He said, “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” and still be able to walk in the Spirit. A lot of men have tried that, but it just simply doesn’t work. It will not work. You’ve got to crucify the flesh with the affections and lusts in order to walk in the Spirit (Galations 5:24) The word of God helps us to see whether or not we’re living the way that we should or whether or not we’re doing the right thing.

The Parables of Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Rich Man

Cornelius J. Mears

In the fifteenth chapter of Luke there are three parables. In the sixteenth chapter, there are mainly two parables. In the fifteenth chapter, there is the parable concerning the one lost sheep. The second parable, the woman that lost the coin. Which is the parable of the lost coin. Then the last one out of the chapter is the parable of the prodigal son.

The word prodigal does not appear in the account. It’s just a name that it’s come to be known by, that’s been handed down through the years. But it’s all right to refer to it as that. In prodigal son, the word prodigal means wasteful. And the son, in this parable the story is told around, wasted all of his substance with riotous living. But I wanted to point some things out concerning the parable first.
These parables, in both chapters -- but particularly these in the fifteenth chapter -- Jesus is inspired to give, on account of a situation that he is confronted with that is mentioned here, just very briefly. Now, this is what inspired Jesus to tell these stories. They all, each one, have a powerful point in them. And we’re told of these incidents in the first part of the chapter; the fifteenth chapter. And it’s important that you notice that, in order to receive what it is that Jesus is talking about in the parables that he tells. It starts out by saying, Then drew near unto him
all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and Scribes murmured saying, This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, (immediately he gets to the point that he wants), and in answer to this attitude that the Pharisees and the Scribes have toward the publicans and the sinners.

Now, let me point out first that the publicans and sinners were Jewish themselves. That is, they were of the nation of Israel. These publicans and sinners; he’s not talking about Gentiles. When the writer makes mention of publicans and sinners, they were themselves among the Jews. And they also, themselves, were Israelites. And the sinners were those that were just guilty of gross sins and things that were transgressions of the law. They did these things knowingly. They were just living a life of sin. The publicans were men that were in the employ of the Gentiles; particularly the Roman Empire, in the collecting of taxes. And they were looked upon as traitors. Offerings from a publican were not acceptable in the treasure of the Lord. Their witness was no good in a court of law. That’s how despised the publicans were by those making up the Jewish nation. They were looked down upon. Yet Jesus chose one to be one of his disciples; Matthew, who was a publican. Jesus cut through all of these restrictions and repulsions, in doing some of the things that he did. And, here, he had been eating with publicans and sinners. This, the Pharisees are condemning and taking as a fault with Jesus. Why, this man receiveth publicans and sinners, they said.

So Jesus proceeds, then, inspired by these things that they were saying, to tell these stories: The parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin and the parable of the prodigal son. And if you keep this in mind as a setting, as the background, then it’s easier for these things to fall into place. What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if you lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep, which was lost. I say unto you that, likewise, joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. And here this was spoken against the Pharisees there, to shame them for murmuring against Jesus receiving the publicans and the sinners. And he’s holding up to them the angels of God, and God Himself, who rejoiced at conversion of sinners. He’s contrasting this joy of the angels in heaven with God with the narrow, envious attitudes of people here in the world. And in this instance, the one lost sheep is how Jesus is picturing the publicans and sinners. And the ninety and nine sheep, he by that pictures the Pharisees and the Saducees; referring to them as ninety and nine just persons.

Remember, he did that in the ninth chapter of Matthew and, I think, also in the book of Luke here somewhere, where that on another occasion they condemn him. And Jesus answered like this: He said, They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. In other words, when he was ministering to the publicans and sinners, the Pharisees were condemning him for doing that. He said, Why, the son of man is not come to call the righteous. He’s come to call the sinners unto repentance. And they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. In other words, all of you are content with your own condition and your own spiritual state. So you don’t need me. You don’t believe that you need my help. They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. These men are sick. That’s why that I’m ministering to them, unto their needs. So that’s what Jesus is saying. And this is something very similar then, in the next one. However, like I say, these parables or these stories are inspired by this situation. Yet, there is something projected farther on into the future, and other applications that these stories had.
The second one is very similar to it. Yet, there are some little differences in the two stories, and the points that are made in them.

Either what woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? And when she hath found it, she calls her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me for I have found the piece, which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Here, it’s a very similar thing; the same study as the background for it. Jesus is picturing the publicans and sinners as a lost coin. And just like a woman would sweep the floor and diligently seek until she had found the coin, he is picturing the seeking love of God that seeks out the sinner, and the person that is in need in this world. As the example was, there, in the publicans and sinners of his day. Yet, like I say, we may see something slightly different in these two stories because the shepherd that leaves the ninety and nine and goes after the one lost sheep in the first story would be a picture of the Lord, himself; a picture of Christ. And concerning the sheep that he refers to; my sheep which was lost. And then, of course, he brings the sheep to his home. Rather, he leaveth the ninety and nine in the wilderness, he says, which, there is a little something in that. That’s where the Pharisees and the Scribes and the Saducees were, so to speak. Even though they professed to know God, they were, in a sense, in the wilderness. Jesus left them in the wilderness when he found the lost sheep. The lost sheep was brought nearer to him than what they were. In him bringing it to his home, bringing it into the house or into the church; into the kingdom that Jesus was establishing. That was what the publicans and sinners were invited to. They were invited into the kingdom.
Then, in the second story, the woman, in this instance, stands for the church that he does proceed to establish. Like I say, it projects on into the future. Though there was this primary intention of the parable. But the woman here stands for the church. And if she lose one piece, she lights a candle. The candle there is the word of God that she makes use of. And she sweeps the house. She sweeps diligently until she finds it. And when she hath found it, she called her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me for I have found the piece, which I have lost.

That lets us see just a little different aspect of this, showing that there is such a thing as a person wandering away, like a silly sheep, which the love of God and the love of Jesus the Savior, the shepherd, reaches out for such a one as that. But then there’s the case where maybe there is some amount of negligence on the part of the church. And that someone might go astray or get off balance, that the church would be to some extent at fault in. And he’s showing the concern that will be present there, and that should be present there then with the church, in lighting the candle and sweeping the floor. And in seeking till she finds it. See, she stays in the house. She sweeps the floor and seeks diligently in the house concerning somebody that gets out of the way or off balance, that she should feel a responsibility.

Likewise, I say unto you, There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. We all have had experiences along these lines. When we see somebody that has been astray, had gone astray, or they’d gotten out of the way. And we’ve seen the Lord open a door for them, open the way for them to return again. Hasn’t it always been such a warm and good feeling that we would have in our hearts, when we knew that God had really received somebody? He really opened the way for them to come in again. What a warm and wonderful feeling that was that would sweep over us. And what a joy would be in our own hearts. So, we know by experience something about what the Lord refers to here when he says there is joy in heaven over such as these, because we’ve felt the same thing. Not only for somebody that comes right in out of the world -- there’s joy in heaven over that kind of a sinner; an ungodly sinner that repents -- but then, there’s a joy, too, over somebody that has gotten out of the way, they got all entrapped. And here, the Lord opened the door, he opened the way for them, and we saw them restored. We could see, we had the witness in the Spirit that the Lord had received them, he had brought them there. Wasn’t that a good feeling that we had, when we’ve experienced seeing somebody come back again? So, we know by experience something about what the Lord is referring to that takes place in heaven.

Now, in the next parable, there’s something just a little different. In the first two parables of chapter fifteen, there’s set forth many examples to us in these parables of the seeking and searching love of God that reaches out for somebody that goes astray, or gets off balance. Whereas, in the third parable, in the parable of the prodigal son, there is set forth what happens in the heart of the person that the love of God seeks out in this world, and when they are restored to his favor. Again, keep in mind that the setting, the background of this, and what inspired this was the Pharisees murmuring against Jesus receiving the publicans and the sinners. And primarily, this is what he is answering here in all three of these parables. Whereas, in this one, there is this difference: There is described here the rise and the growth of repentance in the heart of man, which repentance was responsive to this love of God that seeks such an one as this out.

So, let us read this story. That would be the best, in case some have not familiarized themselves with it. Luke 15:11. And Jesus said, A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that fall unto me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in the land. And he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. And he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine would eat. That means he would gladly have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat. And no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. And I am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight. I am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. And bring him the fatted calf, and kill it. Let us eat and be merry. For this, my son, was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to be merry.

Now, his elder son was in the field. And as he came and drew nigh into the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called all of his servants and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come and thy father has killed the fatted calf because he had received him safe and sound. And he was angry and would not go in. Therefore, came his father out and entreated him. And the elder son said to his father, All these many years have I served thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment. And yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might have made merry with my friends. But as soon as this, thy son, was come and hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry and be glad. For this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. Can’t you see the Pharisees in this story that Jesus tells? And can’t you see the publicans and the sinners in this story?

Here, the publicans and sinners are pictured as this younger son, who had his father to give unto him his living. And he went into a far country. And there he wasted all of his substance with riotous living. And he devoured his living in sin; living a reckless and loose and sinful life. And that is what is pictured here, primarily. That’s what has inspired this. Jesus is picturing the publicans and the sinners by this younger son. And then the attitude of the Pharisees who murmur against them, and against Jesus receiving publicans and sinners. When it says that he journeyed into a far country, that just means into a land where God is not, or that is away from the Lord, away from God. And, of course, in describing the mighty famine that arose there, it’s a famine of truth and love and all by which the soul lives. And that’s what is described here. That he began to be in want describes the attitude of the publicans and sinners, who also came unto Jesus and were desirous of something. They were wanting something that he was able to feed them with. But he, having joined himself to a citizen of the country that sent him into his fields to feed swine, described the occupation of the publicans, and their being joined unto the heathen and in their employ, working for them. But when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. Remember, that’s what Jesus described one time. He said, a Pharisee and a publican went into the temple together. Let me see…the eighteenth chapter of Luke, and the thirteenth verse, isn’t it? And he describes the contrast in their attitudes. The Pharisee, when he prays, he says, Father, I thank thee that I’m not an extortioner and a thief and a drunkard and so on, as other men are. And I’m not even as this publican here. I thank thee, Father, that I’m not. In his pride and in his heart, being lifted up with pride and exalted, and self-righteous in these things that he is praying. But, he said, the publican hung his head and he smote himself on the breast. And he said, God be merciful to me a sinner. See, that is the attitude that Jesus is describing here in this younger son. This younger son, he said, humbled himself. When he came to himself and he saw what his condition was, then he was penitent of heart. And he recognized that he’d sinned. He humbled himself before his father. This was his attitude. I have sinned against thee and in thy sight. And I’m not even worthy to be called thy son. Let me be as one of thy hired servants. See, that was the attitude of the publican in the temple. He said, God, be merciful to me a sinner. And he smote himself on the breast in saying these things. So, here we have this primary application in this. When the elder son heard all these things, he knew that this feast was prepared and his father had killed the fatted calf, received his younger son who had wasted his substance with riotous living. Jesus is here describing the attitude of the Pharisees, that said, Why, this man receiveth publicans and sinners. They resented that. They didn’t like it. And here, Jesus, in the story, he said that this older son was angry. And he would not go in. Therefore, came his father out and entreated him. He would not go in. See, Jesus makes a statement like that over in the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, when he said, concerning the Pharisees. He said, The publicans and the harlots, I believe he said, go into the kingdom before you. You remember that in the twenty-first chapter of Matthew, the thirty-first verse. He said the publicans and the harlots go in before you. Because they were angry and they would not go in, like this elder son in the story. And then also, in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew, Jesus says that. He says, Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! He said, Who shut up the kingdom of heaven against men. You neither go in yourselves, and neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. You won’t go in. The older son, in this story, would not go in. He was angry and would not go in. That’s what is described mainly here, in this story.

However, there is a hint, in the way that this is set forth here, of the attitude of the Jews as a whole toward the Gentiles, when God received them into the kingdom. The Jewish nation, as a whole, took the attitude of the elder son, who stands for the Pharisees here. And then, of course, in these last days, all of the conditions of the parable will be reversed from what they were back then. And all the parts will be so shifted. That is, the Gentile church is going to play the part of the elder brother. Because here the Jew has been cut off. And for these nearly two thousand years, he has wasted his substance with riotous living. He’s been cut off from the favor of God. And here, God’s name has been great among the Gentiles for these two thousand years. And if we would just study it from that standpoint,then, we can see that this younger son that’s wasted his substance with riotous living, he’s going to come to himself one of these days. And he’s going to realize the real facts of the matter. And he fain would fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat. That is, where that he’s had any connection or any contact with this Gentile church world, he will have become so hungry. There arose a famine in the land. There was a famine that arose back in the days of Joseph and his brethren. When Joseph was in Egypt, there arose a terrible famine. And the brethren of Joseph had to come to Egypt to be fed. And so, when this famine arises in the parable here, the younger son or the prodigal son, the Jew, will be in want. And he’ll come in that humble attitude, seeking the Lord. And his attitude will be this: I have sinned against thee. Father, I have sinned against thee. Praying to his God, he’ll acknowledge his offense, as Hosea tells us in the fifth chapter. The LORD said, Lo, I will return unto my place until they acknowledge their offense. And in their affliction they shall seek me early. So here the Jew has joined himself to a citizen of this far country. Or, that is, in this condition, where that he’s far away from the law.

Then, of course, in the book of Romans, we can see the condition of the Jew, how that he is cut off. Paul describes him there as being cut off from the Lord. And then, too, I wanted to give you a verse of scripture. In the book of Hosea, the third chapter, and the fourth and fifth verses, they go very well with this story and this parable of the prodigal son. Do all of you have that? Hosea, the third chapter, where he says, And the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. The children of Israel shall abide many days without all these things. And the prophecy concerns Israel for these two thousand years. They have been abiding these many days without a king, without a prince, without a sacrifice, without an image, without an ephod, and without teraphim. But the next verse says, And the children of Israel, and afterwards shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord, their God, and David their king. Then men shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days. See, that is a promise. That is a prophecy concerning the prodigal son, the Jew. That afterwards, he will return and will seek the Lord and David his king. That is, David there stands for Christ. That he will seek. There are places in the Old Testament that David, sitting upon the throne; the promise of David sitting upon the throne, being a shepherd unto the sheep, is actually a reference to Christ. This is one of those places. And therefore, when it says that he arose and came to his father, afterwards, the children of Israel shall return unto his Lord and to David, the king. The prodigal son will return.

And when it says that the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe: The best robe that is given to the prodigal son is the gift of the Holy Ghost. In fact, that’s what it is in the reference to the publicans and sinners. The best robe given unto them is the gift of the Holy Ghost. Paul said, Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. See, we’ve put on Christ. The best robe, to be clothed with the best robe, is to have put on Christ -- which we put on in the receiving of the gift of the Holy Ghost. And put a ring on his hand. The ring signifies armor that is given unto him in the one sense. A ring is also a token of an endless love. And that is to say that they are to be restored to the favor of God, never to be severed from his favor again.

Somebody get me Jeremiah 31:3 and Isaiah 62:4. Would you look up those verses? Let’s read them right here in connection with this ring that is a token of an endless love. Jeremiah 31:3. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. See, that’s the attitude of God the Father, toward the Jew, the prodigal son, when he returns to him. I have loved thee with an everlasting love. The ring is a token of an endless, or an everlasting love that the Father has, God the Father has, toward the Jewish people, who have played the part of the prodigal son for these two thousand years.

Now, the next verse is the sixty-second chapter of Isaiah and the fourth verse. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. See, that is what is indicated here in the giving of a ring to the son. One other little point about that is in the story of Esther, in the book of Esther, where we had the story of the queen, the ten sons, and Esther the queen and Ahasuerus the king. And all of these incidents in this story, all of these principals in this story; Esther is a type of the bride of Christ. Mordecai, her kinsman, who is a Jew, is a picture of the Jewish nation. It’s a picture of the nation of Israel. Haman is a type of the man, that is, the man of sin in The Vatican. The ten sons that he had, the ten sons of Haman are a type of the ten kings, or the ten dictators. And if you remember, Haman was right next to the king. This fellow was a culprit. He had evil in his heart. And he planned some evil for Mordecai. He was causing a persecution against the Jews. But Esther was akin to them. See, the bride of Jesus Christ is ‘kinfolk’ to the Jewish nation. There’s really a kinship that exists between them. Just like Esther and Mordecai were akin to each other. And Haman, he had an evil thought in his heart. He prepared a gallows upon which Mordecai was to be hung. And when everything turned about in the end, it was Haman himself that was hung on these gallows that he had had erected to hang Mordecai. And that is just exactly what is going to take place. Haman and his ten sons are going to meet death in the battle of Armageddon. And here it is said that he had this ring on his finger that was given to him of the king. And so, before he was hung -- he was in disfavor in the eyes of the king, all of a sudden -- why, the king took the ring off of Haman’s hand. And he put it on the finger of Mordecai. Again, we have a connection in the ring, putting a ring upon his finger. Did all of you follow that? Did you get that? You might want to read the book of Esther again. That is something even in the book of Esther. I think it’s the book that the name of God isn’t even mentioned in, isn’t it? In the Old Testament. It’s in the book of Esther. But there’s something in there for us, even so. The name of God does not occur one time in the book of Esther. Just the same, it’s got something for the people of God, for the people of the Lord.

All right, getting back to this then. Bring forth the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. Putting the shoes on his feet is calling him to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which will be accomplished through the Gentile church and the ministry in that church that God uses to bring the gospel back again unto the Jew. Then, of course, there is a feast that is called for on such an occasion as this, when the Jew is restored to God’s favor as the prodigal son. So, now, just like the Pharisees were murmuring against the publicans and sinners, and just like the Jews, then, could not accept immediately the Gentiles coming into the favor of God; the conditions of the parable are reversed in these last days, so that the elder son is the Gentile. It is the Gentile that plays the part of the elder son. That is, I’m talking about the Gentile, as in this false religious system among the Gentiles. I’m talking about this pharisaical, Gentile Christian ‘set up’ in this world. This proud, starchy, hypocritical, exalted and puffed up religious world that we have in existence at the
present time, described by the things that are spoken of concerning the Laodicean church. It’s the Gentile church, then, that will not go in in these last days. They will be angry and will not go in.

I hope I didn’t confuse you. I put that into more than one setting. See, I showed what inspired Jesus to say it at first. I showed how the publicans and sinners were pictured by the prodigal son. But I showed that yet here, in these last days, all the conditions of the parable of the prodigal son are reversed from how it was back there, so that the Jew today is the prodigal son. He’s been the one that’s the wayward boy, away from home, wasting all of his substance with riotous living, joining himself unto the citizens of the country. And he would fain to fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat. And here he is getting ready to come back to God. The Jew is near to the time that he’s going to come to himself. And he’s going to realize that he’s sinned against heaven and in the sight of God. He’s sinned against heaven in that he has rejected heaven’s representative, Jesus Christ, the Son of God that came into this world. He’s been rejected. So the Jew has sinned against heaven and in the sight of God. And he’s going to be humbled, humiliated by all of this that’s happened. He’s going to be broken in spirit when he comes back to the Lord. He’s not going to be proud and exalted and puffed up. He’s not going to be like this. But he’s going to be broken in spirit. He’s going to be humbled. He’s going to acknowledge his offense. He’s going to remember what he has done. He’s going to repent of all of that. And he’s going to call upon God for mercy. And the Lord will extend this mercy unto him and receive him, just like this father ran and greeted his son, fell upon his neck and kissed him. So will God, the Father, be toward the Jew, the prodigal son. When he says, this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to be merry. In the eleventh chapter of Romans, it says that of the Jews. It says that if the casting away of the Jew be the fullness of the Gentiles, what shall the receiving of them be for the life and the death? In other words, when God will seize him again, what will that be like any more than the life from the death? It will be like a dead son that has been resurrected from the dead and come alive again. Do all of you have that? Did you get it? Does everybody understand that? The parable of the prodigal son. It’s a very outstanding parable.

There are many good things in this parable. We ought not to tire of this. We ought not to let these things get old with us. Something that is stimulating about this, just to have this refreshed in our minds. To have our hearts and minds stirred up about it all. To go through that and to ponder on and to study, to meditate upon the goodness of the Lord. Where it says that he called to his servants, and said to them, Bring forth the best robe and put it on, put a ring upon his hand. Those are the servants of God, the ministry of Jesus Christ, whom he uses to do that. They’re the ones that put the best robe upon the Jews and they put a ring on his finger and they put shoes on his feet. That’s the Gentile ministry of the restored church of Jesus Christ. Whereas, the false church, the church world as a whole, they will constitute, that is, they’ll play the part of the elder brother who will not see all of that. Like the Lord said in the book of Revelation, 3:14, reading down. He said, because thou says I am rich and increased with goods, and I have need of nothing. That’s the attitude of this present day religious world. But the Lord said, in reality, that, really, they were poor and blind and wretched and miserable and naked. That’s the condition of this Laodicean church. That’s what’s described right there. The church of the Laodiceans are this big, puffed up and exalted, pharasaical, stiff and starchy, self-righteous religious element that’s in the world right now. That’s the Laodicean church. And they’re not going to go in. As a whole, they’re not going to go in. The Jew is going to come right on into the kingdom of God, and be received of the Lord. But here, this exalted and puffed up, self-righteous element making up the majority of this religious world, they’re going to refuse to go in.

Read Revelation 3:14, reading down. It’s good to refresh your mind, from time to time, with that anyhow. Because that describes this present day religious world. Well, like I say, I have several good questions here. Are all of the Old Testament types and pictures of something in the New Testament? Please explain Acts 15:20. Several other good questions that somebody put in here. Explain Isaiah 11:6-8.
Will all the churches join the beast? Will the Jews join, too? Well, I can just put something in here. Since I’ve been talking about the Jews. The Jews, as a whole, will not join the beast. But rather, the Jew is going to be in the fiery furnace. When we read of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being cast into the fiery furnace; that’s natural Israel, natural Judah and spiritual Israel. Israel and Judah, and the other one is the church; The church of Jesus Christ. So the body of Christ and the natural Jew are going to be in the furnace together. That’s where they’re going to be, because they will accept the gospel. And, of course, to accept the gospel means to renounce any connection with that beast system. They’re making overtures to them right now. I just heard, last night, and possibly some of the others of you heard, that this new Pope Paul has made some concessions. Now, I think it’s for this coming conference, this coming Ecumenical Council, that’s to be resumed here the last of this month, that he has lowered the restrictions and the bar, so to speak, to welcome and to allow non-Christians to be there. Which includes the Jew. It includes the Jewish Rabbis that will be allowed to come and take part. Here he’s making an overture. One man just rejected him flatly. Didn’t he? Did you read that in the paper, or hear that this week? This head of, what was it, the Greek Orthodox Church? He said, why, the world will never accept the Pope as being infallible. And he rejected this overture to try to get them together with him. But he’s making these overtures. And there was a Jewish Rabbi telling this story, not long ago, in San Diego. He reported how that there was a delegation of Jewish religious leaders, Rabbis and so on, who went and had an audience with Pope John. And all of them being Jewish, this was something that didn’t come out in the news, this Jewish Rabbi was telling this down in a synagogue a few months ago in San Diego. And he said that this delegation of Jews, Rabbis and religious leaders, they went and paid a call on Pope John. And they had an audience with him. And so here they were waiting for him to come out, and finally, when he did come out and present himself to them, he walked out to them like this, with his arms open, and he welcomed all these men. And he said, “I’m Joseph, your brother.” And these Jews, instead of reacting warmly to that, I tell you, they went away from there talking to themselves, and saying, My brother, my foot -- or something to that effect, as they went on their way. So, those overtures are not getting anywhere in that direction yet. And they’re not likely to because the memory is still too fresh with the Jews of persecution that they have suffered at the hands of Catholicism. That’s why they don’t have any use for Christianity today. They can’t believe in Christianity because their idea of Christianity is the Roman Catholic Church. They’ve suffered at the hands of these down through the years. And that’s still fresh in their memory. There may be a measure of getting together here or there, on some small scale, just some small group. But it never will amount to anything because the Jews are going to hear the gospel. They’re going to see God working in his people. They’re going to, Jesus said, say blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. That’s referring to the body of Christ, that will have the blessing and the favor of God upon them in the pouring out of the latter rain in this world. They’re going to see that that people,
coming in the name of the Lord, are blessed, and that God is with them as he was with Israel in Old Testament times and brought great deliverances for them. With an high arm he brought them out of Egypt. And there were other great deliverances that they experienced. Praise God. All right.

We don’t really have time to go into the parable of the rich man and Lazarus today. But you might get that refreshed in your mind. I’d like for us to go through that right quick, while you have that fixed in your mind. Another parable is one that is interesting also; the parable of the unjust steward, in the sixteenth chapter of the gospel of Luke.

Some things that I might just point out to you concerning the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and its connection with this very thought that I have just referred to. Because in the sixteenth chapter of Luke is this story found that Jesus told. And first of all, it is a good thing for us to realize that it is a parable. And just like these other things that Jesus has been saying, he just got through giving the parable of the lost coin, the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the prodigal son. And then, here, he gives the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. It’s the parable that he has spoken. And seeing that the Pharisees were in the company of people that were hearing all of these things that Jesus was mentioning, then we know that it was the multitude that was hearing him that day. And according to Mark 4:34, and Matthew 13:34, we’re told that all of these things Jesus spake unto the multitude in parables. And without a parable spake he not unto them. So this is a parable that Jesus spoke. And it’s a parable that covers a two thousand year period. That’s a good little point to remember about it right at the very first. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable that covers a two thousand year period. And here, beginning in the nineteenth verse, in the sixteenth chapter of Luke, is where this story begins, or this parable begins. There was a certain rich man, Jesus said, which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fed sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table, moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us, that would come through thence. And he said, I plead you therefore, father, that thou would ascend him to my father’s house. For I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham, that if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. And it ends with that. There’s no further comment or explanation of Jesus. He just gave that to the disciples and if there was something else that he said about it or later explained about it, that is not recorded in the scriptures. But, in light of the foregoing parables Jesus had been speaking of and what he had been dealing with, he was first of all, showing how the Pharisees, Scribes and the religious elements of Israel fell into one category, while the publicans and the sinners fell into the other category. This, we can see, when we read through the fifteenth chapter of Luke, in the parable of the lost sheep, and the parable of the lost coin, and also the parable of the prodigal son; which things I spoke some on. And then, of course, even in the parable of the unjust steward, there are similar things that are mentioned there. So Jesus is dealing with classes of people. And the different categories that they fall into. And so it is in this parable.

Again, this is a parable that covers a two thousand year period. And realize that he’s dealing with the Jews as a nation, and what he has been saying to them, and the comments that he would make from time to time. Just like somebody asked me, for example, concerning a passage of scripture that I was talking on earlier today, in the nineteenth chapter of Matthew, and the thirtieth verse. Jesus said the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Well, primarily, the reference is to these disciples who had been called from out of those ranks of the publicans and the sinners, so many of them. There was Matthew, the publican. And here were these other disciples that were men of no particular note or position, or place in that religious element. But Peter was just a ‘roughian’ on the waterfront. And these other men; they were not religious. They were not thinking about that so much. They were following their own particular walk of life, and were not engaged in religious matters. And therefore, Jesus called to them. They became his disciples. And the first; that is, the last right there became first, as far as the attitude of the religious rulers. These men were last in their estimation. And, of course, it was the comparison that was made in the story that Jesus told of the Pharisee and the sinner that went into the temple to pray. The publican, he hit himself on the breast. And he hung his head in shame. And he said, God, be merciful to me a sinner. But he said, the Pharisee, he lifted his head high. And he stood over, making sure that he didn’t get too close to that publican, lest he become defiled by being too close to his presence. And he said, I thank thee, Father, that I am not as other men, an extortioner, and a thief, and a drunkard, or even as this publican here. I thank thee Father, that I am not as this publican. And Jesus said, Which of these went down to his house, rather, justified? And of course, they had to answer it was the publican, who, in his humility, hung his head in shame. And he said, God, be merciful to me a sinner. So, these that were considered last in the eyes of the religious rulers, Jesus made them first in his kingdom. And he told them in Matthew, isn’t it 21? He said, The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom before you do. And so it was. Jesus had mercy upon them. They chided him. They found fault with him. They said, Well, this man receiveth publicans and sinners. And Jesus answered them and said, They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. In other words, you’re not, or, you don’t acknowledge that there’s anything wrong with you, or that you’re in need of a physician. But these recognize their need. And therefore, then, I am come unto them. For, he said, The son of man is not come to bring the righteous, but rather the sinners unto repentance. The son of man is come to bring the sinners unto repentance. So when he said the first shall be last, and the last shall be first, the primary application of that is that these that were looked down upon by the religious rulers, right in their own nation, the publicans and the sinners; they became first in the kingdom of God. Whereas, these proud and hypocritical and self-righteous Pharisees and religious rulers; they became last, as far as the kingdom of God was concerned. And there is an application beyond that. Because these that have formed the leadership of the Jewish nation, they actually, in a sense, represent the nation as a whole. And so it was to come about, in due time, that this people, who was first in God’s sight, the nation of Israel, was going to become last. And the Gentiles that they looked down upon, and were dogs, and that they put the publicans and sinners in the same category with; these Gentiles were going to come into the kingdom. They were going to be first. I’ve often times used a little thought like this, and I think it’s a good thing for us all to know this. We’ll hear these radio programs by a converted Jew, and we’ll hear converted Jews lean heavy on this verse of scripture, Romans 1. In which Paul said, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, unto the Jew first. Let’s see, it’s the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, unto the Jew first, and also to the Greek. We’ll hear that emphasized, stressed, that the gospel is to the Jew first. Well, here, let’s put that in its proper setting.

Now, the gospel was to the Jew first back then, when Jesus came to this world. He said, I am come only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And, you remember, he told a Gentile woman that. She came for him to heal her daughter. And he said, It’s not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs. As much as to say, I’m only come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And in John 1, it says that Jesus came unto his own and his own received him not. Jesus came to the Jewish nation. And he said to the woman in John 4, isn’t it, he said, Salvation is of the Jews. So that’s what this scripture means when it says the gospel is to the Jew first, and also then to the Greek or to the Gentile. But that’s a scripture that, the setting of which, is two thousand years old. The Jewish nation was cut off. The Gentiles accepted the gospel. Paul said to the Jews, in Acts 13, he said, Seeing then that you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, he said, having been cut off, the Gentiles, having accepted the gospel and having come into the favor of God, the gospel is to the Gentile first now. And it has been for two thousand years. The gospel has been to the Gentile first, then to the Jew. So, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. The Jews, who were the head, became the tail. They were first in God’s sight, in estimation. But they’re last now. And the Gentiles that were last have been first for two thousand years. All of these, my, there are many scriptures that coincide with this concerning the Lord going and visiting the Gentiles, to take out from among them a people for his name’s sake. The fifteenth chapter of Acts speaks of this. So, with these things in mind, let’s go down through this parable now. I’ll not try to hurry too fast. But yet, I’ll try to just cover it briefly.

There was a certain rich man. Keeping in mind that this is a parable that Jesus is speaking, and then, keeping in mind all of these other facts. And these other things that I have just spoken to you briefly concerning. Let me say this to you, then, in interpreting this parable. The rich man here stands for the Jew. This is the Jew, as opposed to the Gentile, which is pictured to us by Lazarus in this parable. There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen. That is, he was clothed in the purple of the king and in the fine linen of the priests. According to Exodus 19, the Lord said to the people of Israel, he said, Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So this rich man, the Jew, was clothed in the purple of the king and the fine linen of the priests. And he fared sumptuously every day. That is, he was furnished to the full with all things necessary for life and for godliness. Just like Jesus said, in John 4:22, when he said, Salvation is of the Jews. Then, in the ninth chapter of Romans and the fourth verse, I believe it is Romans 9:4, Paul said, Who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the getting of the law and the service of God. And what else does he mention there? You see that? Are you all looking at these verses? What is that in Romans 9:4, the last one; the promises? That’s the last one, isn’t it? Who are Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the service of God and the promises. So, that’s what it meant for this man to have fared sumptuously every day. That is, being furnished to the full with all things necessary for life and godliness.

And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate, full of sores. That is, we could say, he’s laid at his gate, and he was laid without the gate, too. He was on the outside of the gate. Because, according to Ephesians, Paul said that they were without God, having no hope in this world. And they were aliens and they were strangers to the covenants of promise. So, when it says that he was laid at his gate, full of sores, it means that he was without the gate also. And the sores, there, are just a way of picturing the idolatry, and the pagan customs, and the heathenish ways, and the sins and the miseries of the Gentiles, as opposed to the Jews. For they were without God, having no hope in this world. And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. That is, it’s pictured to us right here, the hope that was held out to the Gentiles, which was manifest in God making exception, as he’d done down through the centuries. He’d allowed people that were Gentiles, at times, to be included in the righteous line. That is, in that lineage of Christ even. There, if you’ll search that closely, you’ll find a Gentile here and there. You’ll find Ruth, the Moabitess. You’ll find Rahab, the harlot. And so, you see, here and there, are Gentiles. And then, even after Christ had come, and though he held that as a rule, he said, I’m only come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Yet, here was the Roman Centurion, in Matthew 8, that came to Jesus. And the Roman Centurion said, I am not worthy that you come under my roof. Remember, this man is a Gentile. And Jesus said, I have not seen such great faith, after this man had spoken. He said, I have not seen such great faith, no, not in Israel. As much as to say, let alone among the Gentiles. This man is a Gentile. I haven’t seen this much faith, even among Israel. See, this Roman Centurion is a Gentile. And Jesus makes exception with him, and he healed his servant.

Then in Mark 7, the Syrophenician woman, that was a Greek, came to Jesus. I mentioned it already. She was desiring that her daughter should be healed. Jesus protested. He said, Why, it isn’t right, it isn’t proper to take the children’s bread and to cast it unto dogs. The children there are the Jews, in Mark 7:27. He said, It’s not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it to the dogs. The children are the Jews and the dogs are the Gentiles. This woman was a Gentile. He said, It’s not right to take the bread that belongs to the children and to cast it to dogs. She said, Yea, Lord, but dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs. And he said, For this saying, thy daughter is made whole. He recognized something in this individual Gentile. So, these then served as a comfort. And to the Gentiles as a whole, these experiences held out hope to the Gentiles as a whole here in this world. And that’s what it means when it says, moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.

And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. Now, the beggar here, of course, is still Lazarus, and his dying, this has to do with him dying in Christ, or being baptized by baptism into his death. As Paul said, in Romans 6, Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Christ, were baptized into his death. Therefore, we are buried by baptism into his death. So when the beggar died, it just simply means that he died out to the flesh. And because of that, then, he was carried by angels into Abraham’s bosom. That
is, he came into the favor of God. Abraham’s bosom is just a term referring to the body of Christ, or to the favor of God.

In John 1:18, it says he that is in the bosom of the father. See, Abraham, father Abraham here, stands for God. For God the Father. Abraham’s bosom is the favor of God, or the body of Christ. And we could use thoughts such as Paul used in Galatians 3 and Galatians 4. If you want to take these verses of scripture. Galatians 3:29 and Galatians 4:28. These would be two good verses. Because it’s where that Paul says, if you be Christ’s seed, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. So it gives us a connection with this thought of Abraham. That’s Galatians 3:29, isn’t it? And in Galatians 4:28, he said, Therefore, we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of the promise. See, Isaac was the son of Abraham. To be in the bosom of Abraham would be having the blessing upon us, like Isaac, as a son of Abraham. Abraham standing for God. That is, Abraham being the father of the faithful. And we, then, Paul said, as Isaac was, are the children of the promise. We have come into the favor of God. We have received the promise of the Father, the gift of the Holy Ghost.

And the rich man also died, and was buried. The rich man dying there is a way of picturing the Jewish nation being cut off, which is shown to us in the eleventh chapter of Romans. Where Paul said that the Jew, as a natural olive branch, was cut off. And he said, You Gentiles, as a wild olive branch, you’ve been grafted in. So, when the branch is cut off, what happens to it? It dies, doesn’t it? Because it’s cut off from its source of life. So, when we’re told that the rich man also died, this simply means like Israel died when they were cut off from God as a nation. And in hell, he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off. The Jew was cut off. And he went into hell. Jesus kept warning them of that, all the way through the scriptures. He said it would be better…I have a question on that, too. Somebody said, What does it mean in Matthew 18, verses 8 and 9, where Jesus said, Wherefore, if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. For, he said, it would be better for thee to enter into life maimed, or without that member, than for the whole body to be cast into hell, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And, in this instance, we get the setting there.

First of all, notice the verse just above this, where Jesus said, Woe unto the world because of offenses. It must needs be that offenses come. But woe unto that man, he said, from whom the offense cometh. Now, first of all, let’s notice that Jesus is talking about men in that verse. He said, It must needs be that offenses come. But woe unto that man from whom the offense cometh. Wherefore -- see, just a continuation of his same thought now -- he says, Wherefore, if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It isn’t so much talking about this (natural/physical) hand. It isn’t talking about this (natural/physical) eye, when he says, If thine eye offend thee. For the scripture says, thy right eye. He said, All right, if he’s talking about these eyes, I’ll just cover up my right one because he said if thy right eye offend thee. And I’ll just look all I want to with my left eye. That isn’t really the thought. Are all of you following this and getting what I’m saying on this? He’s talking about their leaders. He’s talking about these religious leaders. Their pastors and their shepherds; their religious leaders, when he said, If thy hand offend thee... That was the hand that fed them spiritual things. He’s addressing the nation of Israel as a whole. He’s talking to the Jews as a nation when he says, If thy hand offend thee, cut it off. The hand that fed them. If thine eye offend thee is referring to their seers, their prophets. Job, in one place said, Feet was I to the lame and eyes was I to the blind. So, a prophet was a seer. They’re called seers in the scripture. S e e r. One that sees for the people. What he meant is, it would be better for Israel -- as a whole, as a company -- for them to accept what he had brought unto them, what he, as the Son of God was bringing unto them. It would be better for them to accept that and cut off these members that had become an offense to them. For, he said, These be blind leaders of the blind. And, he said, If the blind lead the blind, then they shall all fall into the ditch. So, when he said that it would be better for them to go into life maimed, he meant that it would be better for the whole body, or the majority of the people of Israel, to go into life minus a few of these members, rather than for the whole body to be plunged into hell, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And the hell that he was speaking of there, and also here, in Luke sixteen, is the judgment that came upon Israel.

I’d have to take more time than I’m intending to take right here, concerning the subject of hell. Because the word hell has more than one meaning in the scriptures. And we must recognize that. In the Old Testament, there is a hell that is spoken of as the lowest hell. Well, if there’s a lowest hell, then there must be some other hells that are not quite that low. Isn’t that so? And then, what Jonah said, when he was in the belly of the whale. Did you ever notice that? He said, Out of the belly of hell cried I. When he’d been swallowed by the whale, he calls that hell there. So, you bear with me if this doesn’t sound exactly right at first hearing. Consider all of these different verses and phases of this subject. So, here, in this place, when he said, And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, he is talking about the judgment; the vengeance of God. These be the days of the vengeance of God, we’re told, in Luke 21, concerning what happened unto Israel, when they were cut off. And also, in the nineteenth chapter of Luke, when he said, If thou hadst known, even thou in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace. He said, Now, they are hid from thine eyes. For, he said, Behold, an enemy shall cast a trench about thee and shall compass thee round, and shall keep thee in on every side, and shall lay the evil at the ground, and thy children within thee, and shall not leave within thee one stone left standing upon another. He said, Because thou knewest not the days of thy visitation. You see, Jesus wept when he said these things. He was weeping when he poured out his heart concerning Israel. And he could foresee what was going to come upon them. Because they, as a nation, were to lose their national existence. Here they’d been in the favor of God for all these hundreds of years. Now they were going to be cut off. They were going to go into outer darkness.

The question was asked, What is outer darkness? The children of the kingdom shall be thrust into outer darkness. Matthew 8. He said, There shall come many from the east and the west and the north and the south. It means, many Gentiles. If you want to, look at that in Matthew 8. There shall come many Gentiles from the east and the west and the north and the south, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. And, he said, you, the children of the kingdom, shall be thrust out into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The outer darkness was to be on the outside of God. John said, In God is light. And in him there is no darkness at all. But when the Jews were cut off, and when they rejected Christ, then because of that they were rejected by God. Why, they found themselves blinded. Paul said, blindness in part hath happened unto Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. The Jews had their eyes put out. And they have been stumbling in the dark now, for two thousand years, in outer darkness, because they’re cut off from God. In God is light. And in him is no darkness at all. And a person is in the dark when he is blind. I don’t know if you saw that little advertisement. I think it’s in the Reader’s Digest. It’s some organization for better vision here in this country. And what it suggests, it shows a picture of a girl. And she’s closed her eyes, and has her fingers over them. It says, Close your eyes and put your fingers over them for five minutes. Hold them there for five minutes. In other words, to realize what it would be like to be without your vision, or to be without your sight. A terrible thing, isn’t it? I tell you, it’s a terrible thing to be blind. You’re in the dark. When a person is blind, he’s in the dark. And so it is when people are blinded by the Lord. There was a remnant that was saved, according to the election of grace, out of Israel. But he said the rest were blinded.
Paul makes a statement in Romans 11. He said, Blindness in part is happened unto Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And the blindness there is the darkness. It’s the outer darkness that they were thrust out into. And it’s pictured also to us by Samson of old. Remember, after the Philistines discovered the secret of his strength, and they shaved his head. And he was shorn of all of his locks, wherein was the secret of his strength. And he was weak then. And the first thing they did was put out his eyes. He was blinded. Israel is a type of the Jewish nation, right there in that passage. When you read this, concerning Samson, he was blind then. But there came a day in his life when his hair grew back. And his locks became long again. And the Philistines and the leaders and the rulers, they’d forgotten about that. But he called for a little lad to lead him to the two main supporting pillars of this great temple, where a host of the Philistines had gathered and were there observing some great feast. And his strength had come again to him. That just means that the strength is coming again to Israel. Two thousand years have gone by. There’s a little lad now that he will turn to, to meet him. The little lad there is a type of the Gentile ministry that he’ll be willing to be led of. That is, Samson, the Jewish nation, will be willing to be led of this lad, the Gentile ministry. And when he flexed his muscles there, against those two main supporting pillars, he put his hands up against them and he made them to crumble right there. And all of these Philistines were plunged to their deaths, right there in just a few moments of time. Just in a matter of seconds. It said there were more Philistines that were slain by Samson right then, than all of the days of his life previous to that. And he warred against them all of his life. That just means that the Jew, when he has his strength to come to him again -- his locks are grown out, and he has the covering of God upon him again -- it means that what he will do in this next day, this next thousand years, will be greater. He’ll have greater things to his credit, in what he accomplishes for God as a nation in this next thousand years, than he did all that other time prior to the coming of Jesus Christ into this world. Praise the Lord. Amen.

So many passages deal with this. I wouldn’t have time to go into them all. But coming back to this. And in hell, he lift up his eyes, being in torments. That’s where the Jew has been, from the time that he was cut off until now. He’s been in hell. And he has lift up his eyes, being in torments. See, the word torments is giving us a definition of hell right there. Being in hell, he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off. He’s afar off now. That’s the condition of the Jews. That is the condition that the Gentiles were in. Ye, who sometimes were afar off, Paul said to the Ephesians; meaning the Gentiles. He said, Now you’re made nigh by the blood of Christ. So the Jew that was nigh, near to God, he’s now afar off. He’s looking at God from way off in the distance. He’s not near to God. Because he rejected God’s son. And Lazarus. He sees Lazrus in his bosom. And this simply pictures what the Jew is to see in the latter part of this two thousand year period. He’s going to begin to be allowed, he’s going to begin to come to himself. He’s going to begin to think on God and what has happened to him as a nation down through the centuries. He’s going to recognize that Lazarus is in his bosom. For Lazarus represents the Gentiles, who are in the favor of God. Of course, it doesn’t apply to all Gentiles today. Because a lot of things have happened to the Gentile world as a whole, and to the Gentile church as a whole. But there will be a faithful people that will still stand for Lazarus right down to the very end of this age. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. It’s just a way of telling us that the Jew will be aware of his great thirst for God at the close of this age.

And the Jews are like Samson again, on another occasion, after he had slain all of these Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. The jawbone of an ass there, again, is a way of picturing the Gentile ministry. And the ass, as I showed you the other night, stands for the Gentiles. The jawbone is a part of the structure of the head that has to do with the mouth and the speaking. The jawbone of the ass is the Gentile ministry. And here, afterwards, Samson was so exhausted that he was nearly to die of thirst. And it says that God clave a place in the jawbone of this ass, and out of this jawbone of the ass, there came water. And so Samson began to drink this water. And it’s a picture of the Jew, exhausted and nearly to die of thirst, thirsting. As Jesus said, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. It pictures the longings of the soul for a satisfaction. The thirst is used like that in the scriptures. The only complaint that Jesus made, the nearest thing to a complaint that Jesus made when he was hanging on the cross was, he said, I thirst. It’s what a boy, dying on the battlefield, when he’s been shot in war, and is dying from his wounds, what he’s crying for most is water. He wants a drink of water. There’s nothing that he would rather have than to have a drink. It pictures the longings of the soul of man for the waters of heaven. The waters of the Spirit to 33
refresh his soul. Jesus uses that, all the way through the scriptures, that is, through the gospels. So, that’s the condition of Israel.

Won’t you send Lazarus, he said, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things. Likewise, Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted. It’s interesting to see how the word comforted is used in this connection. Since the Holy Ghost is referred to as the comforter. He’s comforted. He’s in the favor of God. He has received the Spirit and is in the bosom, now, of Abraham. Likewise, Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted. And thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. That is, it speaks of the breach that’s between God and the Jews. You have scriptures several places about it. Isaiah 30:26. Hosea 6:1. And Lamentations 2:13. You ought to take those scriptures down. Paul is speaking of this breach, or of this gulf. There is a great gulf fixed. Thy breach is great, like unto the sea, he says in Lamentations 2:13. In Hosea 6, he said, Come and let us return unto the Lord. For he hath torn, but he will heal us. He has smitten, he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us. And the third day he shall raise us up and we shall live in his sight. There is a two thousand year gulf fixed, that was already fixed by the prophecies of the word of God. So that the Jews, as a nation, have not been able to come to God until these two thousand years would be fulfilled. Blindness in part has happened unto Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Jesus said, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. So this is a period that is fixed. It’s a gulf that is fixed. A gulf of time. A period of time for two thousand years. So that they which would pass from hence to you cannot. Neither can they pass to us that would come from thence. But he said, I pray thee,therefore, father, that thou would ascend him to my father’s house. For I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them. Lest they also come into this place of torment. The five brethren there refer to those that are in God’s house. Jesus inserted this here as a warning to the Gentile church in these last days. It’s the Gentile church, when it sins, is what is pictured to us by these five brethren. Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the death, they will repent. He’s speaking of Lazarus now, one that would go unto him from the dead. See, Lazarus, the beggar, died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And that is who is referred to when he says if one went unto them from the dead. That is, Lazarus, that’s who he’s been calling for. Won’t you send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded by one rose from the dead. And it’s the warning that is given to the Gentile church. Which warning is expressed in Romans 11:22.

When he said, Behold, the severity and the goodness of God. On them which fell, severity, the Jews, see. But on thou, goodness, he said, If thou continue in my goodness, or in his goodness, lest thou also shall be cut off. Send him unto my father’s house, for I have five brethren that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Lest thou also be cut off, Paul says, in Romans 11:22. So those are the five brethren that are referred to here. And when Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them, of course, at the time Jesus spoke this parable, all that was in existence was the scriptures of the Old Testament. But what it means is the five brethren, they have their deposit of truth. They have enough to remind them of their duty. And he
said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto them, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded by one rose from the dead. Do you know what that means? For us today, that just means that, even though God would deal with our hearts, and would make us a part of this Lazarus in these last days -- that Gentile ministry and the restored church of Jesus Christ -- though Lazarus goes unto these five brethren and this church world, and declares the testimony of Jesus -- as one that is risen from the dead and has the power of God upon his life -- they’re not going to hear us. They’re going to turn us down. They’re going to reject what we would have to say unto them. What a sad commentary it is on this Gentile church world that’s in the condition that it’s in right now. They’re not going to repent. And because they won’t repent, it means that they’re headed for that very same hell that the Jews went into two thousand years ago. This Gentile church is going to be plunged into that very same hell. Now, I’ve covered that about as fast as I could, and to do justice to it. And it takes a little time to cover all the details of the parable, to really be fair in the dealing with it.