By
The Late Great Evangelist, Dr. Monroe Parker (1909-1994)
This sermon was
the last sermon, I understand, of his long productive life
in the Lord's
Service; he preached this message at Fairbanks, Alaska, on
In
this text passage, note the obstacles Jesus mentions in
Matthew 23:34. Let us hear the Word of our Lord here: "...
behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes:
and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them
shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from
city to city:"
1)Prophets are
people who received the inspired Word of God and faithfully
wrote it down. Sometimes, their message was orally only, like
John the Baptist. However, most of the prophets of the
Scripture wrote their message down so it could later become
canonized and included in our Bible.
2)Wise Men are
persons of "professional or semi-professional status who [are]
regarded as particularly capable of understanding the
philosophical aspects of knowledge and experience".
["Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: based on
Semantic Domains", Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, United
Bible Societies, p. 384]. In other words, Wise Men were able
to take the principles of the Word of God and uniquely adapt
them to the situation of the moment in a local church, for
example. This was a huge part of the ministry of the Apostle
Paul, and you see him performing exactly this task time and
time again in his many epistles.
3)Scribes refers
to the one who preaches the Word of God. These men were
learned in the Mosaic Law and the Prophets [Major and Minor
Prophets].
Therefore, Jesus
told the Pharisees that He was going to send prophets, wise
men, and scribes who would follow Him, and who would attempt
to tell them the truth. Yet, Jesus foretold that the Pharisees
would "climb up over" these obstacles to persist in their
unbelief! The Pharisees would climb over these obstacles that
Jesus Christ was promising to place in their way! Jesus Christ
did not have to send these obstacles to the Pharisees'
unbelief, as they already had the full revelation of God in
their own Hebrew Scriptures, which we call the Old Testament
today. Yet, Jesus in His great love, sent them men like the
Apostle Paul, all His disciples, and James and Jude, to be
huge obstacles to the unbelief of the Pharisees. Yet, the
Pharisees climbed over these obstacles and continued on their
way to Hell. Truly, God is love, so much so that He somberly
declares, "As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure
in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his
way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why
will ye die ..." [Ezekiel 33:11].
Every single
person who ends up in Hell can blame only themselves for being
there; a loving God placed all sorts of obstacles in their
life pathway, which they had to ignore and climb over, or
curse and climb over, to get to Hell.
What are some of
the obstacles which a loving God and Jesus Christ have placed
in our way?
1) Climbing Over
Childhood Influences All young children are very
impressionable. Many of them go to Sunday School at least some
time in their early childhood. Many more go through systematic
programs like Awana. Yet, over 80% of those children are never
saved and later stop coming to church. Quoting Dr. Parker, "It
was not easy for you, as a little child, to put those
impressions aside. It was not easy for your to climb over
those good impressions, to go over that little hill of good
influence. Your feet were tender, your mind was
impressionable, and your heart was tender. It was not easy to
push conviction aside, but you walked over those influences
and you went on toward Hell."
"And God said, 'I
don't want to see that child lost. I'll put another barrier
between him and the pit of Hell."
2) Climbing Over
the Word of God
"And [God] reared up this blessed mountain, the Word
of God ... the 'impregnable Rock of Holy Scriptures' ... you
cannot look upon it without conviction ... it is the
authoritative, infallible, true Word of God", no matter how
hard you may try to deny it, and no matter how long you listen
to today's false teachers telling you that the World of God
cannot be understood nor trusted. At the time of the White
Throne Judgment, God's Word, the Bible, shall stand before you
as Jesus pronounces Divine Judgment and casts you into Hell.
You will have deliberately climbed over God's Word to get into
Hell.
3)Climbing Over
the Prayers of the Saints
"Everyone who goes to Hell is an intruder there. He
climbs over the revelation and the call of God, and he
climbs over the prayers of the saints." Most people in
Western Civilization have had many saved loved ones, praying
diligently for them. In some instances, beloved Moms and Dads
have prayed for their children for several decades. Every
Wednesday and Sunday nights, our church solicits prayer
requests from our members for those people in our life who are
not saved. In most instances, the people for whom we pray are
unsaved loved ones; however, we regularly pray for co-workers,
for bosses, and for people who are mistreating us. You have
got to climb over these mountains of prayers to get to Hell.
4)Climbing Over
Caskets
When I was in Christian college, I walked away from
Jesus Christ, away from His calling in my life, and away from
His great love. My Mom and Dad prayed for me, along with many
others, for 15 long years. Finally, in 1980, in an accident on
the operating table in a major hospital, my Dad went home to
be with the Lord. In the family grieving room, the surgeon
spent several hours with us, crying with us. He kept saying,
"His death was so unbelievable; it was such an accident; I
just cannot believe he died; he is the first I have ever lost
in the many years I have been performing this operation; he
should not have died!" All my other family members voiced some
of the same sentiments. From that moment on, I could not climb
over the reality of my mortality and my sinfulness. Less than
six months later, I came back to Jesus Christ. I knelt on the
slopes of that mountainous obstacle and repented of my sin,
and was wondrously restored to fellowship with my Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ!
Most people who
have lived in a Western Civilization country will have walked
over the caskets of many saved loved ones to continue their
climb to Hell. But, you know, God speaks through the death of
unsaved people to the people still alive, and His message is
almost always the same -- "repent, turn to My Son, Jesus
Christ, before it is too late for you."
5)Climbing Over
The Cross
The Cross on Golgotha -- the place where our dear
Savior, Jesus Christ, died for our sins so we would not have
to -- is the one mountain over which all the unsaved must
climb to get to Hell . "... there is one mountain I know
you'll have to climb. It's not a very high mountain, but it's
a very rugged one. It's in the shape of a skull. And on the
brow of that skull is an old rugged Cross. On that Cross
there's a bleeding Lamb. Nay, thank God, He's on no Cross,
He's in no tomb. But, He died on a Cross, and if you go to
Heaven, you'll go by way of the Cross." We sing this wondrous
truth in this beloved chorus: "God leads His dear children
along. Some thru the waters, some thru the flood, some thru
the fire, but all thru the blood..." {Chorus to "God Leads Us
Along"}All human beings will have to go by the way of the
Cross. The saved will cling to it and love it dearly, while
the unsaved will trample the Lord Jesus Christ as they climb
up over it so they can continue their path toward Hell.
But, you'll also
have to climb over the Cross to get to Hell. "You'll walk over
Jesus, you'll step on His heart, you'll trample in His blood,
you'll spurn His love." [Ibid., p. 53]
6) Climbing Over
"Random" Witnesses --
On so many occasions, when I have been struggling with
something, God has caused someone to cross my path to give me
encouragement, or giving me a particular truth I needed to
hear at that time. Sometimes, I have seen a handwritten sign
that simply told me, "Jesus Saves". The Holy Spirit performs
this work in the life of so many people, saved and unsaved. At
that particular moment in a person's life when they are
struggling with conviction of sin, or of some spiritual
matter, God will cause some message to cross that person's
pathway. Many multitudes of people will lift up their eyes
from Hell, crying out as they remember these "random"
incidences where the Holy Spirit tried to reach them.
Dr. Parker
concluded his sermon on this most important issue with an
eloquence that I need to be share with you.
"Knock, Knock,
Knock. Who is that knocking at your heart's door tonight? It's
Jesus.
'Jesus! Where did
You get those scars?'
'These scars? Put
your finger here in this nail print. Put it here. Thrust your
hand in here. Feel here, where the thorns tore My brow. Feel
here where they plucked out My beard. Feel here, where thongs
of leather tore My flesh. You can't feel the big scar. That's
in My soul. I got these scars when I died for you'."
"And, if you have
any gratitude, if you have any appreciation in your heart, if
you have any backbone, I don't see how you can walk on the Son
of God Who died to keep you out of Hell. Don't climb over
Jesus. Don't climb over this appeal tonight. Don't climb over
the call of God's Holy Spirit in this service. Let us bow for
prayer." [Ibid., p. 54]
UNIQUE
APPLICATION OF THIS PRINCIPLE TO THE END OF THE AGE
But, wait, we are
not concluded with this study yet. We still have some work to
do on this most important subject. You see, the End of the Age
is coming nigh with a rapidity that is causing me to catch my
breath. Like a freight train, God's final judgment upon a
sinful world is bearing down upon mankind. The Apostle Paul's
words of warning almost 2,000 years ago carry even greater
weight in this day and age, and for this people today. Listen:
"Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear
his voice, Harden not your hearts ..." [Hebrew 3:7-8]
We need to study
one more instance where God is going to raise some HUGE,
mountainous obstacles at the End of the Age to prevent people
from going to Hell. You will be shocked when you read the End
of the Age prophecies with this idea in your mind.
7)Climbing Over
End of the Age Events -- In Judgment after Judgment, God is
actually raising up huge obstacles in the path of all mankind,
over which they will have to climb to get into Hell. Consider:
7a)Climbing Over the
Rapture of the Church -- When Jesus Christ calls His Church to
meet him in the air, He will be placing the most shocking
fulfillment of Bible prophecy directly in the lives of all the
unsaved who remain on the earth! Think of the terrible shock
when tens of millions of people suddenly disappear in the
"twinkling of an eye"! How many instances over the earth will
an unsaved person be talking to a saved person, who suddenly
disappears in mid-sentence? How many unsaved people will be
eyewitnesses to this historically unprecedented event? If
Jesus plans on having the clothes of the saved drop to the
ground as they are whisked upward, instantly receiving their
glorified bodies, then we really do have an event which will
shock everyone left behind, like no other event has ever
shocked before.
Consider the
opening of the graves of the saved who have already passed
away. Have you ever stopped to think that Jesus did not have
to open any graves at the Rapture? He could have just given
glorified bodies to the souls of the departed saints in
Paradise, and have them join the Raptured in the air, with
Him! The only reason Jesus will physically open the graves is
to raise up the most powerful sign in world history, of His
reality, of the faithfulness to His Word, and of His
omnipotent power. Can you imagine the scene at a typical
graveyard, with dozens and dozens, perhaps hundreds, of graves
opened with the dirt thrown back and the casket protruding
from the ground?
Remember, the
entire world will soon know that the one common denominator
shared by those Raptured and those whose graves were opened,
was that they were "fundamental" believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and had refused all opportunities to deviate from that
fundamental faith.
The Rapture of
the Church will raise up the most difficult mountain and the
highest mountain over which unbelievers must climb if they are
to get into Hell!
7b)Climbing Over
the Appearance of Antichrist
-- The staged appearance of Antichrist will be another
huge mountain of an obstacle God will throw up to warn men.
The appearance of this Man of Sin has been so thoroughly
covered in prophetic Scripture, both Old and New Testaments,
that when he appears in precise fulfillment of these
prophecies, the peoples of the world will have a huge reason
to suddenly believe in Scripture. Of course, the vast majority
of people will not think according to these lines, but that
will be no excuse when they face Jesus on the day of the White
Throne Judgment. Have you ever stopped to think that
Antichrist could not appear as long as a majority of people
were familiar with the prophecies about his appearing? No,
Satan had to wait to stage the appearance of Antichrist until
the vast majority of people were totally ignorant of Biblical
teachings, especially Biblical prophecy.
This is the
meaning of the Apostle Paul's shocking statement about the
appearance of Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2. Listen: "Let no
man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition;" [Verse 3]. The word
translated, "falling away", here has two meanings; it can mean
a departure from the faith, and it can mean the sudden
departure of something. In this context, I believe it means
both. The Antichrist would have arisen in Paul's time if he
could have, but he was prevented by the Holy Spirit because it
was not yet God's appointed time. But, as God's appointed time
draws near, the Christian Church will begin to depart from the
"Faith of the Fathers", thus opening the door for Antichrist
to appear! In other words, the current apostates of the
Christian Church are opening the door for the Son of Perdition
to appear! But, then, the second part of the meaning of this
Greek word, apostasia" is the Rapture -- the sudden snatching
away -- of the true believers. Then, Antichrist can arise!
Antichrist is
foretold to be able to perform the most wondrous and
miraculous "signs and wonders" mankind has ever seen. He will
do these "lying signs and wonders" in order to convince the
peoples of the world that he is God, so they will fall down
and worship him. However, anyone who sees this guy arising,
claiming to be Jesus Christ returned, and performing all these
signs and wonders, should know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that
they are witnessing Biblical prophecy being fulfilled in their
sight. They will have to climb over this huge mountain of
fulfilled prophecy to continue their march to Hell.
People living in
the time of the prophesied appearance of Antichrist will have
to climb over these several huge mountains God has raised up
to warn them, if they hope to still reach Hell.
7c) Climbing Over
the Fulfilled Prophecies following the appearance of
Antichrist.
-- When Antichrist arises, anyone in the world can
pick up any translation of the Scripture, even the Roman
Catholic translations, and understand the events that are
about to come to pass, very speedily.
1. In Revelation
6:3-4, Jesus tells everyone who cares to listen that the world
will experience a great war, coming from a demon riding the
Red Horse, and carrying a huge sword. If the Bible a person is
reading at this moment has footnotes, that person will
probably be taken to the passage in Daniel 7:20 and 24, where
we see that three (3) of the original 10 Super Nations that
formed just before Antichrist took power are to be totally
destroyed. The people living in the lands not destroyed by
this war should be fully aware that Biblical prophecy is being
fulfilled, and fall to their knees asking for forgiveness
through Jesus' shed blood.
2. In Revelation
6:5-6, we see that huge famines will hit various places in the
world in unprecedented force. Once again, everyone not killed
should be fully aware that God's prophecies are being
fulfilled.
3. In Revelation
6:7-8, we see that enormous plagues will hit the earth
following the appearance of Antichrist. Once again, if the
Bible being read has footnotes, the reader will be taken to
Luke 21:11, where Jesus foretells of deadly, unprecedented
diseases that cannot be cured.
4. People will
have to climb over the witness of the people who will be
martyred for the cause of Jesus Christ during this period. Not
only will unsaved people see the refusal of Christians to
worship Antichrist, they will be able to see prophecy being
fulfilled in front of their very eyes, as untold millions of
Christians are martyred for their faith. [Read in Revelation
6:9-11; 7:9-17; 12:11; 14:12-13]. Jesus Christ has so strongly
proclaimed the coming persecution of the true believers after
Antichrist arises, anyone with any Bible knowledge, or any
Bible to read, will have to climb over this huge mountain of
the witness of these dead bodies to get into Hell.
5. People will
have to climb over the witness of the appearance of the False
Religious Prophet acting on behalf of Antichrist and
performing the same lying signs and wonders. Further, they
will have to climb over the witness of the global effort to
force everyone on earth to take the Mark of the Beast [Rev
13:16-18] or be beheaded [Rev 20:4]. Once again, people will
have to climb up this huge mountain God has placed in their
way in order for them to continue their path to Hell.
6. People will
have to watch the Jews rebuild their Third Temple and resume
the Old Testament animal sacrifices [Matthew 24:15; Daniel
9:27; 11:31; 12:11] People will have to climb up over this
witness to continue their march to Hell.
7. People will
have to ignore the entire sequence of Natural Disasters which
God has promised in the Book of Revelation following the
appearance of Antichrist. God has foretold that He will
provide a series of historically unprecedented earthquakes,
meteors, famines, a Sun that is hotter than normal, so hot it
will scorch men, and the angels holding back the winds at the
four s of the earth [Rev 7:1 -- did you know the Earth really
has four s? Read NEWS1194 to see the probable impact of
holding back the winds which are causing the Four s].
8. People will
have to ignore the 144,000 Jewish evangelical witnesses which
God will raise up to take His Gospel to the farthermost ends
of the earth. These 144,000 supernaturally empowered
missionaries will cause the greatest ruckus possible, as
people will positively hate their sins being exposed as sin,
and will be especially infuriated because they cannot kill any
of these missionaries, until their mission is fulfilled
[Revelation 7:3-8]
Furthermore,
people will be really mad at the two witnesses, foretold in
Revelation 11:1-13. For 3 1/2 years, these two witnesses will
faithfully proclaim the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus
Christ! Whenever anyone, wielding any weapon, tries to kill
these two witnesses, they themselves will be killed. People
will also be treated to the foretold spectacle of these two
witnesses finally being allowed to be killed, of their bodies
lying in the street for 3 1/2 days, and then having global
television networks capture their sudden coming back to life,
and their unbelievable resurrection into heaven!
People will
really have to work hard at climbing over this huge mountain
which God will raise up before them; but climb it they will,
because men really want to spend eternity without God. The
only thing they do not want is to be punished by an Unlimited
God, for an unlimited amount of time, and to an unlimited
degree! But, make no mistake about the fact that most
unbelievers do not want to spend time in eternity with the God
whom they detest. As Charles Haddon Spurgeon says in his
monumental book, The Treasury of David , in a footnote to
Psalm 1, "Sinners cannot live in Heaven. They would be out of
their element. Sooner could a fish live upon a tree than the
wicked in Paradise. The only way they would be able to endure
Heaven is to be born again, and become new creatures with pure
hearts, able to fully enjoy the presence of God, His holy
angels and the redeemed."
People will have
to climb up over these huge mountains of witnesses God will
raise up, in order to reach their goal of Hell.
9) People will
have to climb over the mountain of fulfilled time tables. God
has foretold that, from the time Antichrist confirms the
covenant with the leaders of Israel [Daniel 9:27], Antichrist
has only 7 Jewish years of 360 days each, or 2,520 days,
before Jesus Christ returns at the Battle of Armageddon.
Further, at precisely the half-way mark [1,260 days], the
Bible clearly states that Antichrist will walk into the
rebuilt Temple, and defame the Holy of Holies by declaring
himself to be God, erecting a talking statue there, and
possibly even having swine sacrificed on the altar. [Daniel
9:27; Matthew 24:6-14; and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4]. Thus, when
people see Antichrist being anointed as the Jewish Messiah,
and signing the Jewish national covenant, they can count
forward exactly 1,260 days and know that, on that date,
Antichrist will defame the Holy of Holies. Then, once they
have seen him profane the Temple, they will know that
precisely 1,260 days later, Jesus Christ will return to
destroy the forces of Antichrist, throwing him and the False
Prophet into the Sea of Fire.
Perhaps this is
one of the largest mountain over which people will have to
ignore and climb so they can get to Hell. God has given people
the most precise time table possible in which these key events
will occur. The only reason He gave this precise prophecy is
to turn the hearts of the wicked when they see these events
occurring, so they can repent while "today is still called
today".
MOUNTAINOUS
OBSTACLES LARGER THAN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RANGE
When I consider
all the fulfilled prophecies in the Scripture, which are going
to be fulfilled right in front of people's eyes, I can see a
mountain range greater than the mighty Rocky Mountain over
which people are going to have to laboriously climb in order
to continue to march to Hell.
Now, you can
understand God's amazement in Revelation 9:20-21, when He
mused, "And the rest of the men which were not killed by these
plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that
they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver,
and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor
hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of
their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their
thefts."
At the White
Throne Judgment, Jesus will show each man and woman who lived
at this time the enormous mountain range of fulfilled prophecy
which God raised up to get them to recognize Him as God,
themselves as sinners, and then repent and turn so they may be
saved. Hundreds of millions of people during the Great
Tribulation will have climbed over a mountain range higher and
more rugged than the Rocky Mountains so they could continue
their march toward Hell.
They will be
without excuse. What about you, my friend? Are you
climbing over huge mountains of evidence which God has raised
up, ignoring God's pleas that you turn and repent, in order
that you may get off your path to Hell, and turn on to the
path to Heaven?
Are you
spiritually ready? Is your family? Are you adequately
protecting your loved ones? If you have accepted Jesus Christ
as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your
spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for
forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you,
and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you
need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, but
have come to realize His reality and the approaching End of
the Age, and want to accept His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you
can also do so now, in the privacy of your home.