John (Program #13) – Life’s Purpose

Let the enemy do whatever he can, but whatever he does would just afford a chance for the Lord to do something more in resurrection.

In the changing of water into wine, we have seen the principle of life, that is to change death into life. Now, in the dealing of the temple, we can see the goal, the purpose of life. That is to build the house of God. This section of the Word is so short, but it has two aspects, which both are quite meaningful.

The first aspect is the cleansing aspect, and the second is the building aspect. With the temple of God, there is a need of these two aspects, the cleansing and the building. God’s enemy, Satan, always tries two things to damage or to frustrate the temple of God. Number one, to contaminate it, dirty with so many sinful things. So, this is why the house of God needs the cleansing. Number two, God’s enemy, Satan, always will try to damage, to tear down the temple of God. Today, with the Church life, it is the same. Satan always tries to get the Church life contaminated, dirtied with so many worldly things, sinful things. And then, Satan will always try to damage, if possible to tear down the Church life.

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Ezekiel (Program #25) – The Holy Land and the Holy City

Clearly the subject and central focus of the last section of the book of Ezekiel is the temple, the house of God. Show the house to the house, the Lord tells Ezekiel and that is exactly what he does in the final chapters. Yet, there’s a very profound postscript to Ezekiel’s vision that is found in the final chapters of the book and that is the land upon which the temple sits. In fact the land and the house are the central focus of the entire Old Testament. Recall Jehovah’s words to Joshua following the death of Moses as the children of Israel were encamped at the border of the good land in Canaan, “Moses My servant is dead; now then arise, and cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the children of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads I have given to you, as I promised Moses…Be strong and take courage, for you will cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give to them.” (Joshua 1:2-3,6). Well if the temple typifies the church as the fulfillment of the house of God, what then does this land typify?

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Ezekiel (Program #24) – The River Flowing from the House

An outstanding feature that appears again and again throughout the pages of the Bible both in the Old Testament and the New is a river. The river was prominent in Genesis and the river appears in the books of history and the books of the prophets in the Old Testament. This river is still flowing in the gospels especially in the Gospel of John where the river flows out of the pierced side of the Lord Jesus. And it continues to flow right through the final chapters of Revelation where it is seen proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem. In all of these mentions the river is a very positive factor, very much related to the matter of the divine eternal life. One of the more striking appearances that this river makes is in Ezekiel 47 where it’s seen flowing out of the house of God. In this chapter it becomes a deep river – too deep and too wide to be passed over. The one that we have no choice but to abandon ourselves to and swim in.

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Ezekiel (Program #22) – The Return of God’s Glory to the House

Early in his ministry as recorded in chapters 9 and 10, the prophet Ezekiel had seen the glory of Jehovah depart from the temple and even from the earth. It was the gross sin of the people, the abominations, the whoredom, the carcasses and the degradation that caused the Lord’s glory to depart. But after receiving the vision of the completion of the building of the temple in chapter 43, Ezekiel saw another vision. This time a vision of the glory of Jehovah returning to the earth and filling the temple. This is Ezekiel 43:1-5, “Then He brought me to the gate, that is, the gate that faces toward the east. And the glory of the God of Israel was there … and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth was illuminated with His glory. And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, that is, like the vision that I had seen when He came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I had seen by the river Chebar. And I fell on my face. And the glory of Jehovah came into the house through the gate which faced toward the east. And the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner court, and just then the glory of Jehovah filled the house.”

Following the vision of the glory of the Lord filling the house, the Lord had many things to say to Ezekiel as He also does to us concerning His house. Question is, do we have ears to hear and eyes to see the house of God?

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Ezekiel (Program #21) – The Building at the Back, the Walls, the Incense Altar, the Holy Chambers, and the Boiling Places

Ezekiel, a book of visions, begins in chapter 1 with the vision of God’s glory. The final vision in chapter 40 is a vision of the house of God or the building of God. Hopefully, we like Ezekiel, have seen both of these great visions in our life – a vision of God’s glory and a vision of His building. But the sad truth is that though Christians speak much concerning the glory of God, there are precious few words spoken concerning His building. Most likely, it’s because this great vision is yet to be seen by the vast majority God’s children.

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Isaiah (Program #35) – What Christ is as the Steward in the House of God, Typified by Eliakim

Sometimes a picture says far more than words.  We’ve all heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  But sometimes we may stare at a picture and not know what it is we are looking at.  For most of us when we visit a great art museum, we would need a guide, a master to show us the real beauty of what we are beholding.  Isaiah is a book of great treasure; pictures of our precious Jesus in all the details.  Can you see Him?  Stay with us today as we again join our guide too see the marvelous Christ unfolded from the pages of the Old Testament prophet of Isaiah on the life study of the Bible.

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Psalms (Program #30) –  The Psalmist’s Love for the House of God with Christ

Psalms 84 is a lovely expression of the Psalmist’s intense love and longing for God’s house.  “How lovely are Your tabernacle.” he writes.  “Oh Jehovah of hosts, my soul longs even faints for the cores of Jehovah.”  As this wonderful Psalm develops it becomes clear just what it is regarding God’s house that draws him so.  For it’s here, in God’s habitation which in His time was the tabernacle but today we realizes it’s the church that we find Christ.  It is Him that we long for and desire above all else.  Of course, this Psalm also shows us that on the way to God’s house, the journey brings us through many stations, like a valley of weeping and eventually to the two altars that reside in the tabernacle,.

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Psalms (Program #15) – The Enjoyment in the House of God

In the Old Testament, God dwelt among His people in the tabernacle and later in the temple.  The tabernacle was the place that God and man could meet.  And in this meeting place God found His delight, His enjoyment.  The New Testament began with this expression in John chapter 1 “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.”  Of course, we all realize now that this refers to Christ in His incarnation.  But the deeper realization is that Christ became the tabernacle, the House, the very place where God and man could meet and eventually mutually enjoy one another.   The book of Psalms unveils the same lovely portrait of the enjoyment of both God and man in the House of God as we will see in today’s program.

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1 Peter (Program #23) -Christian Life and Its Sufferings (11)

1 Peter 4:17 say “For it is time for the judgment to begin from the house of God.”  If first from us, what would be the end of those who disobey the gospel of God?  The judgment spoken of in this verse surely cannot be the judgment for eternal perdition reserved for those who disobey the gospel.  What then does the judgment of the believers spoken of in the New Testament refer to?  We will explore this and the big topic of God’s depositional judgment in our life study of 1 Peter.

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1 Peter (Program #22) -Christian Life and Its Sufferings (10)

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we have received as part of our full salvation, an escape from the eternal perdition that awaits the disobedient and rebellious.  But many believers mistakenly take this to mean that Christians face no manner of judgment at all from the righteous  and holy God.  Regardless of how popular such a thought might be, the Bible does just not support it.  Take for example Peter’s word in his first epistle in chapter 4.  In verse 12 he says “Beloved do not think that the fiery ordeal among you coming to you for a trial, is strange.”  Then in verse 17 he adds “For it is time for the judgment to begin from the house of God;”  These verses made very clear that our righteous and loving Father does judge, discipline and purify His children will never putting our eternal destiny in jeopardy.

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