It Is Done!
Pastor George Dronen
Midland SDA Church
March 10, 2012
Text Rev. 18:1-4
Opening Hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus 499
Closing We Have This Hope # 214
Theme: How God finishes His plan for planet earth
Matthew 22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I put thine enemies underneath thy feet? 45 If David then calleth him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
How would we respond to the questions Jesus asked? He truly was God!
His (Jesus) time was almost over. He is about to open the minds of His followers to truths that will get Him killed.
I would like to suggest we stand in the very same position as Jesus did 2000 some odd years ago. I believe when the third angel’s message of Revelation 14:6-12 is preached in its power we too will be in a position as Jesus was. You see we have never really preached the 2nd angels message of Revelation 14 as it is prophesied. We have preached the 1st and 3rd angels message but the 2nd angels message we have been reluctant to preach it because it will no bring on the great time of trouble immediately preceding the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.
Carefully reading the three angels messages in Revelation 14 we discover there is something just a little different about the 2nd angels message. It doesn’t call for the giving of it with a loud cry, but in Revelation 18:1-4 there is a thunderous cry followed by a most urgent direct plea to God’s people who are in the fallen churches of Christendom. Come out of her My people! God has people, many people wonderful people, waiting to hear the call.
Jesus is direct:
Matthew Chapter 23
Seven times He says to the scribes and Pharisees, Woe. He calls them hypocrites. Do you know what that word means: Hypocrite,
The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.
The scribes and Pharisees were great pretenders. Actors, playing the part but not living it.
Matthew 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitudes and to his disciples, 2 saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses seat: 3 all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe: but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not. 4 Yea, they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. 5 But all their works they do to be seen of men: for they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 and love the chief place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called of men, Rabbi. 8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, even he who is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, even the Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.
13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows 'houses, even while for a pretence ye make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves. 16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. 17 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath sanctified the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor. 19 Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. 23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel! 25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also. 27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous, 30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31 Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets. 32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell?
34 Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Luke 19: 41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
There is a marvelous similarity between the Jewish church in Jesus’ day and the Catholic church of today.
What does it mean when some house or building is desolate? deserted of people and in a state of bleak and dismal emptiness:
Jerusalem was desolate during the Babylonian captivity.
Daniel prayed in Daniel 9:17 “Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.”
God’s people where in captivity. God’s house was deserted.
Remember the word that I just used. “Desolate.” It is an important part of our understanding of end time events.
Matthew 24
Four of Jesus disciples Peter & James & John & Andrews asked Him privately (Mark 13:3 And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray.
They Jesus describes signs that we see happening before our very eyes daily. (tree falling not hitting our car). Praise God! Tornado going through the town were we stayed. God is good to us.
Matthew 24:14 – we all know this text, and we can quote it. Can you quote verse 15. This is the key text in this discourse.
Notice the word “therefore,” give attention what I just said so you can understand what I am going to say next. “When ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand).”
Jesus is telling us—read the book of Daniel. It has the key to unlock last day events.
What about the word—desolation, the dictionary again-- a state of complete emptiness or destruction: the stony desolation of the desert.
Again and again this word emerges.
If you compare chapters in the book of Daniel you will discover the way they mirror. Chapters 2, 7, 8, 10, 11 & 12 all have a similar message but use different symbols to describe the point to be made. Daniel 2 we have metals, Daniel 7 beasts of prey, Daniel 8 sacrificial animals.
Daniel 8 does not begin with Babylon but with Persia. Babylon is still in power but very shortly they will fall. Belshazzar was ruler of Babylon when Media-Persia conquered this nation.
Daniel 8:1-8 is the historical setting. Verses 9-12 parallel the 12 & 13th chapters of Revelation.
It is the setting of Daniel 8 and Revelation 12 & 13 that we see the great battle between the forces of evil and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In a military operation the most successful means of operation is to never let your enemy know who you are and how you operate.
Satan the master deceiver has used this method of deception since he defected from the ranks in heaven.
The deceiver fears nothing more than the cloak will be thorn away and people can see clearly how he works and who he is working through.
This is what is called the GREAT CONTROVERSY.
In fact there is a book called the Great Controversy. One of the most controversial books ever written yet it based on history and the Bible. Point by point it traces from history the conflict between Jesus Christ and Satan.
Mr. & Mrs. Stuve in Detroit suburb—I was with Rich Sutton.
Mama this is it! They had been praying. They had asked their minister to explain. The book of Revelation. He told them not to worry about it there were other things in the Bible they could read without having to be concerned about this book.
But Mr. Stuve explained we know that God has something in it for us and then he looked at his wife again and said, Mama this is what we have been praying for.
Daniel 8: 1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first. 2 And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai. 3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself. 5 And as I was considering, behold, a he- goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6 And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran upon him in the fury of his power. 7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8 And the he- goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven. 9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land. 10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them. 11 Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and it took away from him the continual burnt- offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And the host was given over to it together with the continual burnt- offering through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one who spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt- offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Some hard questions: which sanctuary is desolate? The one in Jerusalem?
If it is the one in heaven how can that be made desolate?
Next question: who made the sanctuary in Jerusalem desolate?(Babylon)
When they took the Jews captive the sanctuary was desolate—abandoned.
The sanctuary was torn down in AD 70 when Rome sacked Jerusalem.
Remember Jesus said your house is left unto you desolate. Matthew 23:38.
Pagan Rome made the sanctuary desolate in AD70 but the scribes and Pharisees had made it desolate by their pretentious forms of worship.
Daniel 8:1-14 is not talking about an earthly sanctuary. Daniel is given a vision of the heavenly sanctuary, and he is given a vision of a desolate sanctuary.
Notice the angels in conversation. “How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt-offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
Neither of the angels can answer the question but another being speaks, this time it is Jesus Christ Himself who gives us the answer, Daniel 8:14 “Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
Jack Blanco has captured an inspiring rendition of verse 14.
“After two thousand three hundred prophetic days, (or two thousand three hundred years), God will step in proclaim the truth about Himself and restore the ministry of the Sanctuary in heaven to its rightful place. This is when the judgment will begin, of which the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was a type.”
What caused the sanctuary in heaven to become desolate of which Jesus said was an abomination?
It was when a man set himself up as God on earth and commanded people to come to him and confess their sins rather than going directly to Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary.
You see people where no longer praying to Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary. They were going to men to confess and seek forgiveness.
Hebrews 8: 1 Now in the things which we are saying the chief point is this: We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
When humans confess their sins to men, men with corrupted sinful natures like their own it is degrading. Consequently as this type of service went on this earth settle into a midnight of darkness. History books call it the dark ages. Your Bible calls it the great tribulation, it lasted 42 months, 3-1/2 years or 1260 days all meaning the same. Remember in the Bible prophetic time is a day for a year, see Eze 4:6 and Numbers 14:34. This time period had its beginning when a church state system was set up in AD 538 and if you add 1260 days or years to that date you come up to 1798. This is a significant!
This is the time of the great awakening. It was as if the world was receiving a new birth. Missionaries were sent over all the world. it was if God had sent angels to give the world a special invitation to accept Him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
We are privileged people. We have the knowledge of God’s Word such as no other generation has ever had.
We worked the northeast part of North Dakota as Literature Evangelists.
I was in Park River; I had a couple of lead cards for one family. About 8:00 p.m. I called on the home. The father answered etc. . . .