Adventist bible commentary pdf download

Some downplay doctrine, reinterpret creeds, and de-emphasize tradition, while others hold to them. Obviously, it is difficult to define precisely what is emerging and what is not. Seeker-sensitive churches are similar to Emerging Churches except that Emerging Churches are sometimes lax doctrinally, where seeker-sensitive churches, which sometimes are lax in presenting the gospel, hold nonetheless to orthodox theology.

Seeker churches tend to focus on people in their thirties and up where Emerging Churches tend to reach people in their teens to thirties. But, some areas of the Emerging Church are so similar to seeker-sensitive churches that it is hard to tell the difference. So how do you distinguish between the two?

Generally, a church is emerging if it seeks to reach those lost in the post-modern culture, rejects doctrinal absolutes, and, of course, proclaims itself to be emerging. Following are some of the common traits I have discovered by reading through Emerging Church material. But please understand that not all Emerging Churches adhere to all the points listed. Hopefully you can see some problems in the list. But, I have to say it again, not all Emerging Church adherents agree with all the points.

There is no official single Emerging Church or Emerging Church doctrine so there is no unified structure to examine. But, there are a lot of Emerging Church writings. The more I read them, the more concerned I become.

They are thus drawn to very casual settings where they can also more easily reject traditional doctrines such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and his physical resurrection. Remember, the Emerging Church is, in part, reacting against the modernistic, absolute structure of stale traditional churches that want people to convert to their style of worship and time-frozen culture. Instead, Emerging Church members believe it is necessary to establish relationships with people, going where they are, meeting them on their level, and then later presenting doctrinal truths after they have become part of their lives.

I must admit, this is what Jesus did. He was involved with the lives of the disciples, interacted with them, grew very close to them and taught them by example, not just propositionally. Even though there are some pastors in the Emerging Church Movement that are true to scripture, the movement as a whole needs to stick to the essentials of the Christian faith, otherwise, in spite of its proclamation to renew Christianity afresh, it will become stale and heretical.

The Emerging Church movement has much good in it, but it also has a good bit of bad already within its doors. Emergent Church Leader, Rob Bell, has lit up the blogosphere with the firestorm he is causing with what many believe to be heretical views on God, Christ, and Salvation in his new book, Love Wins.

The Emerging Church has often been described as being as hard to define as nailing Jell-O to a wall. This is, in part, because the pieces are always moving and emergent leaders are continually redefining themselves. You never seem to get straight answers. During the interview, Bell squirmed and dodged query after query like a belly dancer on speed, as Martin Bashir confronted him with his unscriptural ideas about Hell and universal salvation.

This is what happens when a smarmy postmodernist, who has capitulated and conformed to the world, is confronted with being consistent and telling the truth. How about the wrath of God? Or, the straight gate and the narrow road that Jesus speaks of? According to Bell, who views Hell through rose-colored glasses, Hell is just one last pit stop a person makes before Heaven. Hell is simply what we make it. If you change your mind and want to go to Heaven, all you have to do is find the exit.

If Hell is too uncomfortable, you will have infinite chances to get right with God by accepting his love; which, Bell claims will ultimately melt the heart of every man. Tragically, this deception misleads people into believing that they will be able to escape Hell long after they have been dead and buried. After Bell tersely denied that he was a Universalist, Bashir immediately followed with a scathing indictment:.

At this point, Bell knew he was in deep trouble. He was being exposed before a national audience. On the one hand, he was clearly espousing a version of universal salvation, yet in the same breath he was denying that fact and lying through his teeth! In his effort to appeal to the masses with his watered down version of Hell and the Gospel, Bell became painfully aware that by blatantly admitting Universalism, he would be placing himself completely outside the pale of Christian orthodoxy and be considered a heretic.

Overall, Rob Bell knows if he comes clean he could potentially lose a large segment of his evangelical audience, which has long grown tired of his balancing act on the precipice of orthodoxy and heterodoxy.

He is a Universalist, but knows if he fully leaves the closet and clearly proclaims his heretical views he will severely compromise his following. Martin Bashir was right.

Rob Bell is changing the message of the Gospel for the sake of broadening his audience. Bell wants a story that will make unrepentant rebels against God feel comfortable in their sin. Welcome to our church. Bell claims that by softening the message, the Gospel will become more attractive to non-believers.

What right do we have to change the everlasting Gospel? The truth is Jesus taught that the Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth John To do anything less is to betray the one true God who sent His only begotten Son to save us. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound [ teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Incredibly, it appeared far more as though Martin Bashir was the informed pastor, and Rob Bell the novice. Bashir accused Bell of making deliberate historical errors to support his views on Universalism. He stated that Bell would not admit he was a Universalist even though it is stated as much in Love Wins.

He further stated that if Bell were to have admitted what he was really teaching in his MSNBC interview, his constituency would have run for cover and he would lose his popularity. Love Wins helps us have a biblical imagination that leaves room for the hope of the redemption of all while recognizing humanities free will to continue to reject God….

It has since been updated on their site due to the firestorm caused over the book. Convinced universalists, on the other hand, are certain about this, despite of the fact that Christians have traditionally believed that the Bible clearly teaches that some will be eternally condemned.

However, Bell speaks with a forked tongue. Bell writes:. A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. Where did hundreds of millions of Christians, over the last 2, years, ever get the notion that the way to eternal life was narrow, and that few would enter by the narrow gate to be saved?

That notion, of course, came directly from the lips of our beloved Lord Jesus himself:. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Obviously not! Apparently, it is Rob Bell and other Emergent Leaders who have sought to distort the message of Jesus by telling stories that make the masses feel comfortable in their sin.

After all, if they go to Hell, Bell assures them that he believes God will give them many more opportunities to come to God! Who cares about those who are starving to death around the world and who have not heard the Gospel? Who cares how many lives we destroy? You are misleading the masses and providing them with a false hope that they will one day get to Heaven… eventually.

For Rob Bell, the gate to eternal life is broad. And then he leaves the door way, way open. Contrasting this to the teachings of Jesus, this is an outright lie and a major deception! Such false prophets stand at the cross roads between the broad and narrow road, claiming to represent Christ, while pointing their followers toward the broad road that leads destruction, assuring them that it eventually leads to Heaven. Consider this for a minute. The Lord warned us in His Word that we are to earnestly contend for the faith, for false prophets would come and turn the grace of God into a license to sin Jude Rob Bell is turning the finished work of Christ into an open sesame, a license to sin with impunity in this life while guaranteeing a shot at Heaven after spending time in Hell!

Never mind that Jesus said it would be better for Judas that he was never born Matthew If Bell is right, and anyone and everyone receives more opportunities to come to Christ in Hell, then Jesus was wrong when he warned that the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was an unpardonable sin.

Matthew , Luke , Mark What kind of deterrent would it be to tell a group of potential serial killers, rapists and child molesters that they need not worry about repenting or going to prison for the rest of their lives, or suffering the death penalty because they have already been forgiven?

If this fact holds true, all they would need to do is tell the judge they will receive his love later.

However, if they still end up in prison for some reason, they still can — on their own accord later — change their minds and the judge would freely let them out and even pay for an awesome vacation to the Bahamas or another island paradise!

What a deal! Logically, this kind of mindset would only encourage criminals to continue on with their wicked and perverse thoughts and deeds. However, Rob Bell is offering this same type of counterfeit hope of post mortem salvation, which is absolutely foreign to the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Tragically, this deceiving and licentious doctrine will prove to be a powerful satanic attack that will actually help to swell the population of Hell.

Wrong doctrine leads to wrong living and could potentially lead many straight to Hell for all eternity. Rob Bell is promising his vast audience eternal life, even if they choose to continue in their sin and earthly rebellion against God.

This is essentially the false doctrine that God rebuked the false prophets of spreading in the days of Ezekiel:. In contrast, God warned Ezekiel that he had better be faithful to preach His warnings or the blood of the lost would be on his head:. James warned that not many of us are to be teachers, for teachers will receive a stricter judgment James For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. In his book, Velvet Elvis , Bell had already stated this position:. Ways of living we can enter into here and now. Bell denies the biblical Hell by stripping Hell of all of the fire, wrath, darkness, and torment that Jesus described. Rob Bell takes every possible liberty to deny reality and to either explain Hell away or get everyone into Heaven, regardless of his or her rejection of God and the Gospel.

He also claims that most of the imagery of future judgments in Hell were fulfilled on earth in AD 70 p. Thus, the book of Revelation, for that reason and many others, could not have been describing what happened in AD 70! Ultimately, Rob Bell trivializes what Hell really is. While Bell speculates and redefines Hell in his interview with Martin Bashir, he accuses Christians — who take Jesus at face value — as speculating about what happens after death. Those of us who know God do not have to speculate about the after life.

Jesus declared that one must be born again to enter the kingdom of God John , 5, 7. Jesus also made it clear that those who will not believe will be condemned John Jesus further declares that those who refuse to come to Him would die in their sins John Jesus made it clear that those who reject Him go to Hades upon death Luke At that point, they will be judged by their deeds and cast into the lake of fire along with Hades itself Revelation , , There is no hint or indication that anyone will receive a second chance in Hades or the lake of fire.

Rather, Jesus revealed that there will be no rest, day and night, forever and ever Revelation By claiming that the unrepentant wicked will have a chance to get to Heaven from Hell, Rob Bell has gone beyond that of Edward W. If Hell is merely temporal, then so is Heaven! Would Bell claim that believers will only enjoy temporal life in Heaven and then cease to exist or go to Hell? I think not! Rob Bell is utterly and unconscionably careless with the scriptures on such an important subject as where the lost will ultimately spend eternity.

It is even used to emphasize the unending eternity we will experience as believers, in contrast to the temporal age of the present material world. Biblical Scholar D. Carson, commenting on Matthew , says :.

Sin continues as part of the punishment and the ground for it. Rob Bell is right to point out that God is not partial Romans and that He loves the world and sent His son to die for the sins of the world John , 1 John They are told that those who are on earth need to respond to the revelation given to them on earth or they are without hope Luke Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected.

Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done. The Lord makes it clear that there will be a time when it is too late to repent and even the cries for mercy from the wicked will go unheard by God:. There is hardly any wiggle room for a second chance in hell in these passages or anywhere in Scripture.

That, of course, depends on whether or not you are saved or lost. In contrast, the book of Revelation ends with far greater horrors than blood and violence for the impenitent wicked.

In fact, God warns in the last chapter of the book of Revelation that the time will come when the wicked will go into eternity and continue to be wicked and the righteous will continue to be righteous:. The wicked do not only go into Hell and the lake of fire; but, part of their judgment from God includes the fact that they are left in the wicked state they have chosen! This would point to the fact that they continue to store up wrath for themselves even after entering the lake of fire.

We read that during the tribulation period God will make Himself known though His judgment and the preaching of the everlasting Gospel. However, the scriptures state that in the last days lawlessness will increase Matthew and that the wicked will proceed from bad to worse 2 Timothy , During the tribulation period we read that the wicked, even though they know God is the source of their judgments Revelation , will so harden their hearts that they will refuse to repent and give God glory Revelation ,, Thus, the verdict is that those who are sentenced to Hell never show genuine repentance and have gone beyond the point of no return.

Like that of Judas, it could be said of them, it would have been better if he had never been born. This is hardly something that could ever be said of one who would have an opportunity to be saved in Hell and end up enjoying heavenly life for eternity! He has done this by tickling the ears of the masses, by telling them that they may be able to hold on to their sin, and that they can put off repentance until after they die.

Sadly, Rob Bell is leading more and more people to Hell, all deceptively in the name of love! Jesus did not soften the truth about Hell and eternal punishment in an attempt to make His message more palatable to accommodate culture. Rather, Jesus warned about Hell more than all of the prophets and apostles combined. Jesus did this and gave His life for the sins of the world, because He cares deeply for us and does not will that any would perish Mathew His heart truly does break for those who refuse to follow Him Matthew He warned about Hell because He knew well that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge Proverbs and wisdom Psalm We all deserve to be condemned Romans , 23; and we should all be going there.

However, God is love 1 John , 16 and in His incredible mercy and grace He demonstrated His love for us in His incarnation John and in His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world 1 John God demonstrated His own love to us, that while we were still sinners, He sent His Son to pay the penalty we deserve Romans His heart is that all would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth 1 Timothy Jesus enlightens the heart of everyone who comes into the world John , and convicts the world of sin by His gracious Holy Spirit John He causes the grace that brings salvation to appear to all men Titus He supernaturally makes his covenant known to those who fear Him Psalm , even as He did to Cornelius.

God taught Peter that He is not partial, but extends His grace, without partiality, to all those who truly fear Him Acts Jesus taught that those who desire to do the will of God would come to know who He is John Those who respond to the gracious light God has given to them are given by the Father to the Son John How God does this is at times mysterious, as it was with Cornelius.

Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through Him John There is no indication in scripture that a person has a second opportunity to get right with God in Hell. If we reject the light that leads us to Christ, we will simply get the wrath that we deserve, due to our rebellion and sin against the holy and just God. Thus, we will have no one to blame but ourselves Romans ; Let us not put off today what we will not be able to do after we die.

May God deliver His bride from the cotton candy Christianity that is endemic in Emergent Churches and among false prophets who lead the lost into believing they can put off repentance until after death.

I actually feel sorry for Rob Bell because he is leading countless souls astray, and the Bible clearly states that teachers will receive a greater judgment James I feel even greater sorrow for the poor souls that are following him into perdition.

Please pray with me that Rob Bell would spend more time reading the Bible instead of reading and quoting New Agers and hanging out with the Dalai Lama. Let us pray with the same fervor for Rob Bell and other aberrant Emergent teachers, as Paul prayed for those who fell into heretical teachings in his day:. Let us hit our knees and cry out to God to guard His beloved bride from the ear tickling, flesh inciting, false doctrines that are beginning to permeate the church in these last days!

Dear reader, if you have not yet turned to Christ for salvation in repentant faith, it is critical that you throw yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus and accept the sacrifice He made for your sins. The odds are too great, the stakes are too high, and eternity is far too long! After years of pondering and praying, praying and pondering, he managed to come up with the wrong answer.

How do I know this? Before Tony gets to the point, he shares his personal story and tells how he viewed homosexuality in his early years. I have to commend Tony for admitting he was wishy-washy on the issue of sodomy. But I also knew that the biblical prohibitions to homosexual sex should be taken seriously.

In other words, liberalism. Gresham Machen argued so eloquently in the last century, liberal Christianity has many appealing features, and much to commend it. In many ways it is a quite fascinating and alluring religion. It even uses all the language of Christianity and holds Jesus in high esteem. What he professes is not the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, the ECM has all the earmarks of a cult — what Dr.

Or was he simply pointing out that some Christians think homosexuals are subhuman? But I digress. So out of love for homosexuals, followers of Jesus Christ must gently tell them of the transforming power of Jesus.

For proof of this, visit the ex-gay website, PFOX. See Lev. How could a Bible-believing Christian not know that the scriptures make a strong statement on homosexuality — God forbids it! What he has come to believe is born out of his compassion for those who struggle with same-sex attractions. By disregarding the plain teaching of Scripture, and continuing his leftward slide, Tony Jones has shown himself untrustworthy and a false teacher.

The sad fact is that many who follow the teaching of charismatic religious leaders, speakers and writers, are drowning in a sea of apostasy! Take for example emergent pastor and author Brian McLaren. Much of his teaching is highly unorthodox.

In the meantime:. Get them together in a group though, and I get nervous. I start to twitch and break out in a rash. Thanks to Tony Jones the dialogue on what to think about homosexuality has ceased.

Will Brian and other emergent gurus join forces with Tony, or with orthodox Bible scholars? Time will tell. Somehow they miss the urgency. Sure, Jesus palled around with sinners, but He never condoned their sin, nor did He tell the apostles to listen to the so-called experts, then after five or ten years decide what is, and is not, sin! The One who spoke the universe into existence and remains sovereign over His creation is the real expert on determining what sin is. Thankfully, He did not leave it up to sinful humans, who carry around more baggage than the airlines, to decide!

Would it be better to just ignore these people and pray that the movement will soon fade away? Or should we fight it tooth and nail? Men like Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell, Dan Kimball and Brian McLaren are influencing an entire generation to embrace vain traditions and a re-imagined theology that runs contrary to the historic, orthodox tenets which are fundamental to the Christian faith itself!

This is nothing less than a Counter-Reformation! In every age the church is threatened by heresy, and heresy is bound up in false doctrine. It is the desire of all heretics to minimize the importance of doctrine. When doctrine is minimized, heresy can exercise itself without restraint. Brian McLaren is a prolific writer who is in demand as a speaker and a kind of emerging church spokesman.

His words are packed with deconstruction, reinterpretation, challenging ideas, and even a reluctance to accept historical biblical theology. Many have said his books are inspiring, thoughtful, and deeply insightful regarding culture and the need to integrate Christian theology into it.

Brian McLaren was born in His academic interests included Medieval drama, Romantic poets, modern philosophical literature, and the novels of Dr. Walker Percy. In addition, he is on the board of directors of the emergent village, a kind of think-tank for emerging church promotion. Alright, so what does Brian McLaren teach doctrinally? So far, so good. However, there is a problem in that there is no statement that the Bible is inspired and inerrant. I could not tell if the Church affirms or denies universalism, the false teaching that everyone will eventually become saved.

In addition, I saw nothing that mentioned the final judgment and eternal damnation of those who die outside of Christ. On the church staff page there is a list that includes women pastors. Women pastors are not biblical and it tells me that the church is not taking the word of God seriously, at least in this issue. Instead, it is adopting a non-historical, unbiblical, and liberal position. I have a problem cherishing such sinful things. But such feel-good statements make me cringe.

Perhaps I am being overly critical here, and perhaps they did not mean to include such sinfulness in their statement, but it is not well thought out. It just seems too sentimental to me.

One of the most disturbing I have found is his endorsement of a book by Alan Jones called Reimagining Christianity. McLaren wholeheartedly approves of the book, and yet in this book Alan Jones says that the vicarious atonement of Christ is not a vital doctrine. In my assessment, Alan Jones is not a Christian and no true Christian should ever support the book Reimagining Christianity.

But, what does Brian McLaren actually teach? Some pretty disturbing things! You can go to the first and second articles that list a series of quotes from him.

His acceptance and promotion as a good Christian teacher is evidence of a profound lack of spiritual discernment rampant in the body of Christ today. This is not to say that he does not have some good ideas and some good insights, but he is not properly representing the core teachings of the Bible. Instead, he offers a watered-down gospel, a politically correct assessment of Biblical teachings, and instructions that remind me of New Age philosophy.

The church should be busy about its business of housecleaning, of getting the plank out of its own eye, of removing false teachers from within its doors, of properly articulating the doctrines of Christ for which so many Christians have shed their blood, instead of advocating feel-good, politically correct ideologies to please the bleating of goats.

McLaren is to be avoided because he is leading the goats away from the truth. As you heard from my prayer this morning, we are going to study the message that God has for us in 2 Peter 3. Now before we begin reading at verse 3, allow me to say that this epistle of Peter was written very close to the end of his life. In fact Peter, probably, at this time was imprisoned, and he was about to be crucified with his head down, by his own request.

And so we have, in chapter 3, the last written words from the apostle Peter shortly before his death. Now the last words, I believe, are very important words, and so it would be well for us to listen to what the apostle Peter has to say.

In other words, this is of the utmost importance. You see, people who live according to their own lusts do not really want Jesus to come. They are not anxious about Jesus coming. And so Peter begins by saying that in the last days mockers will come who live according to their own lusts, and they will want to postpone, and delay, the coming of Jesus for that particular reason.

It says in Genesis that God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. That test was found in a tree, and He expected Adam and Eve to live in harmony with the specifications that He had laid down. Now we know from our study, that Adam and Eve failed the test. They ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And as a result they sinned, and the consequences of their sin were death, and suffering, and sorrow.

Now I would like us to just reflect upon the law of God for a moment. The law of God, the ten commandments, demands perfection. It requires perfect conformity to its specifications.

Now if perfect conformity is not given to the ten commandments then they require the death of the individual who transgresses them.

And, of course, Adam and Eve failed the test. They failed to offer a life of perfect obedience to the law, and therefore they became subject to death. Not only do we find the death sentence falling upon man, but also death came into all of creation in consequence of sin.

All nature began to decay and to die. Now the only way in which creation could be restored to the condition that it was in originally, is if man offered a perfect life of obedience to the law, because the law says obey and live. We want to begin our study today by turning in our Bibles to Revelation It says here in Revelation That is the devil. The woman represents the church. Or the remnant of her seed. And now notice that this remnant has two characteristics. It says: Notice that the end time remnant will keep the commandments of God, and will have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Now the question is, what is the testimony of Jesus Christ? We know that the commandments of God means the ten commandments. But the testimony of Jesus; we need to take a look at what the Bible has to say about that. What is the testimony of Jesus? Here we have a clear explanation as to what the testimony of Jesus is, which the remnant will possess in the end of time.

It says there, by the way, a majestic being appears to John, who is the writer of the book of Revelation, and we find these words about the encounter: And I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, That is the angel said to John, See that you do not do that.

I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren, who have the testimony of Jesus. What do the brethren of John have? They have the testimony of Jesus. And then it says, Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. So here we have a definition of what the testimony of Jesus is. It is the spirit of prophecy, which means that the end time remnant is going to keep the commandments of God, the ten commandments, and they are going to have the testimony of Jesus, which is the gift of prophecy, or the spirit of prophecy.

And, by the way, this verse repeats one detail which we already read in Revelation So the end time remnant has faith; not any old kind of faith, but the faith of Jesus, the faith that Jesus had. And so we find three characteristics in these verses, about the end time remnant: they keep the commandments of God, they have the testimony of Jesus, which is the gift of prophecy, or the spirit of prophecy; and they also have an unbreakable faith, the faith of Jesus.

During the course of this seminar we have been studying stories in Genesis which have a prophetic dimension. You have the serpent and the woman. You have Cain and Abel. The sons of God and the daughters of men. Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers. Basically the book of Genesis is an amplification of Genesis The story of Esau and Jacob is actually a microcosm that illustrates the issues in the great controversy between good and evil on planet Earth.

I would like us to notice how this controversy is introduced in Genesis , You see, this story is more than about Jacob and Esau. They represent two worldwide groups at the end of time. Their characters illustrate the characters of two classes of people that will exist till the end of time. And we catch this from the very beginning of the story, from the moment of their birth. Notice Genesis , Was there a great controversy from the womb?

Now we find very clearly from the very beginning that the strong will lose, and the weak will win in this battle, or this controversy. In our last lecture we studied about the story of Jacob and Esau. And we noticed that Jacob and Esau, these two brothers, actually represent two different characters that people on planet Earth will have throughout the course of history, and particularly at the end of time. In other words, Jacob and Esau represent two different types of characters that will distinguish one group from another upon this earth, particularly in the end time.

And, of course, the struggle between Jacob and Esau represents the final struggle in controversy between those people with those two character manifestations: the righteous, and the wicked. First of all I would remind you about the character of Esau.

Esau believed that the law of God was a yoke of bondage, and he actually believed that the law of God restricted his freedom and his liberty. He wanted to proclaim his freedom from rules and regulations. We also notice that Esau had no particular interest in the responsibilities connected with the birthright.

The responsibilities involved being a righteous ruler over his household, being the spiritual leader, the priest of his house, and having the privilege of being the progenitor of the Messiah. He could care less about any of these responsibilities. And we actually noticed that Esau lived for the here and now instead of being forced on the sweet by and by. Now the character of Jacob was different. Even though we know that Jacob sinned against God when he stole the birthright from his brother, and he deceived his father, Jacob was not given over to sin.

In fact, Jacob appreciated the duties of the birthright. He actually understood what it meant to be the ruler, the righteous ruler of the household. He understood what it meant to be a spiritual leader, or priest of the household.

And he understood the awesome responsibility of being the progenitor of the Messiah. In other words, being a member of the holy line which would bring the Messiah into the world. And, of course, we studied last time that Esau was a very hardened and rude person, whereas Jacob is described as being docile and mild. Let me just review some of those elements.

In the Bible there is perhaps no more mysterious figure than an individual called Melchizedek. Throughout the course of Christian history there have been different views about the identity of Melchizedek.

Some people have felt that Melchizedek is actually another name for Michael the archangel. Others actually believe that Melchizedek was another name for Shem the son of Noah. Still others have believed that Melchizedek is really a name for Christ in his preincarnate state and still others have believed that Melchizedek is actually a manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.

I believe that Melchizedek was actually a historical figure who comes on the scene and disappears from the scene very quickly. Actually I would like to begin by reading a statement, a very important statement, that we find in the Review and Herald, February 18 of the year This is written by Ellen White. She says this about Melchizedek: It was Christ that spoke through Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God. Melchizedek was not Christ, but he was the voice of God in the world and the representative of the Father.

And all through the generations of the past Christ has spoken, Christ has led his people and has been the light of the world. And so we find very clearly in this statement that Melchizedek was not Christ. Melchizedek was actually a representative of Christ.

And we want to study about that representative of Christ as the story is found recorded in Genesis chapter 14 and verses Genesis chapter 3 and verse Here God is speaking to the serpent. One Seed is righteous and the other seed is wicked.

Commentary on Daniel and Revelation Book Review:. Seventh Day Adventist Bible Commentary. Bible Exposition Commentary. Author : Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary Book Review:. The Seventh day Adventist Bible commentary. Handbook of Seventh day Adventist Theology. Ellen G White Comments. Author : Ellen G. Andrews Bible Commentary. Cosaert,Greg A. The Bible Students' Source Book was published in The Handbook was published in It was the first systematic expository of the entire Bible made by the Adventist church, the first such to be consistently based on the original languages of the Bible, and the first to consistently incorporate archaeological research to provide a historical context for interpretation.

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