Weekly Bible Study – June 29, 2015

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
We are called the Temples of God.

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Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

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STUDY TITLE:

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
We are called the Temples of God.



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Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible

The Prophecy of Daniel 9.
We are called the Temples of God.

God reveals Himself to mankind in Temples today through the bodies of believers who in this dispensation of the Church-age are called the Temple of God. We are called the Temples of God and we are to be a manifestation of the Shekinah glory or God revealed through mankind. Before we see some analogies this evening, let us begin by noting what the phrase the Shekinah glory means.

Shekinah is derived from the Hebrew noun Shakan meaning to dwell. It refers to the fact that Jesus Christ indwelt certain sacred buildings in Israel. Shekinah was coined by the rabbis who developed the technical word to speak of God as dwelling among His people. It was used to express the invisible presence of God with Israel.

On the other hand, Glory is the Hebrew word Kabodh, used for the visible manifestations of Jesus Christ as a Theophany. Shekinah itself represents the invisibility of Christ, whereas Kabodh represents the visibility of Christ.

Actually, to the Jews, the Shekinah Glory referred to the God of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ, actually indwelling three sacred buildings during the age of Israel. He indwelt the Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple, and Zerubbabel’s Temple. So, make sure you understand that Glory represents the visible manifestation in what is known as a Theophany form.


A Theophany is a manifestation of the person and work of Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state. It is a theological term for the appearances of Jesus Christ before the First Advent. For example, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared as the Angel of the Lord, the primary Theophany in the OT. He appeared to Moses in the burning bush, EXO 3:2 cf. Acts 7:30 35.


EXO 3:2, And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.

Now, who was this? Comparing scripture with scripture, who does ACT 7:30-35 say that it was?

In ACT 7:30, “And after forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush.”

Then in ACT 7:31, And when Moses saw it, he began to marvel at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord. This is the Lord! This is how we know it was the Lord appearing as an angel: ACT 7:32, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ And Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. ACT 7:33-35, But the Lord said to him (Who - the Lord said to him), “Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. the Lord said, I have certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt, and have heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them; come now, and I will send you to Egypt. This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ (is the same one who said) - is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.”

As the Angel of God, the Lord jesus Christ was in the pillar of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night to lead Israel through the desert, EXO 13:21; EXO 14:19; EXO 23:20-23. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night was what we call the Glory of God being seen - it was the visible manifestation of the Shekinah. So what I want you to see is that when you are performing divine good and producing good works, people can see those good works at and that is the part of the “glory” of God that can be seen. Whereas the Shekinah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the invisible power within you that cannot be seen which is what motivated you to produce the good works.

So, the Shekinah is invisible, it is Christ in you. The good works you do are visible, they are the glory of God revealed. Two verses come to mind. First the Shekinah: GAL 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;” Christ living in you is a reality not an emotional experience. This is the Shekinah, the invisible part that cannot be seen. Then there is the glory, the part that can be seen which is called your good works. In other words, in MAT 5:16, “Let your light [the Shekinah in you] shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works [your glory or you glorifying God] , and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

The point is that I could show you many other passages that teach that you and me are now a Theophanies of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church-age! In other word’s to break down the Shekinah Glory as far as we are concerned looks like this:

1. Shekinah = indwelling invisibility of Christ in us.

2. Glory = the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ by means of bearing fruit.

Shekinah refers to the indwelling of Christ whereas glory refers to the manifestation of that indwelling by means of fulfilling EPH 2:10 we have been created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of performing good works.

So, the point is that just like God will anoint the most high place or the Holy Temple when the Millennial reign begins, today God anoints all His spiritual Temples who are the body of Christ, every Church-age believer. So, this is what the phrase “He will anoint the most holy place” connotes. The analogy is simple but profound: The anointing refers to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as Christ living through us. The most holy place or the Temple refers to our Body.

So, let’s look at some of the statements that are made about the real and Jewish Temple which will be in Jerusalem during the Millennium and then put our bodies in the passage and make the spiritual applications more real.

MAT 12:1-5, At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Behold, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did, when he became hungry, he and his companions; how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent?”

1. MAT 12:6, “But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here.”

What is the ‘something greater than the Jewish Temple? Here it refers to the Lord Jesus Christ because He was the first human Temple of God ever to walk the face of this earth. In fact in JOH 1:14, the apostle John writes “And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth”. Notice the two words here, tabernacled and glory.

You and I are in union with the Lord Jesus Christ and we are the spiritual Temple or spiritual Tabernacle that is greater than the Jewish temple that is mentioned in this passage.

2. Our Lord rebuked those in the Jewish Temple who were buying and selling things in the temple which they turned into something like a Flea Market, MAT 21:12, And Jesus entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. Here our Lord rebuked those in the Jewish Temple who were buying and selling things in the Jewish temple which they turned into sought of a Flea Market. However, ever more than that, don’t sell your body to the things of the world or the cosmic system. What does this refer to? It refers those who are the spiritual temple of God who try to make money on the other temples of God that are within the local assembly. And the principle is simply this: It’s alright to do business with other believers but not in the Church building which is to be set aside from the world and for the ultimate purpose of learning doctrine.

3. In MAT 21:12-14, the Temple of our Lord or His body, should never be sold; - As a Temple of God, You don’t sell out or compromise your biblical standards. MAT 21:12-14, And Jesus entered the temple [or when Jesus enters into the believer] and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.” And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

Notice that those who needed healing came to the Temple which you are today. So it means that God desires you to live as a believer who is always ready to help those who are hurt. Also notice that He fed the people and healed them from sicknesses and diseases and did so for no charge. As MIC 3:11 teaches that the religious leaders were condemned by God because it says Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, Her priests instruct for a price, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord saying, “Is not the Lord in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us.” They had a false security because they were making money in the Jewish Temple and called it the blessing of God.

4. As the Temple of our Lord, we should never be hypocritical; MAT 23:16-18. The Pharisees were specialized hypocrites and that is why our Lord rebuked them for being hypocritical in their Temple dealings.

MAT 23:16-17, “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ You fools and blind men; which is more important, the gold, or the temple that sanctified the gold?”

The Pharisees always made an issue out of money and here TLJC is revealing their hypocrisy of using religion as a cover for their love for money.

5. The Temple was where our Lord taught and therefore as the Temple of our Lord we should always be ready to teach those who desire to learn.

MAT 26:55, At that time Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.”

Notice how our Lord had no fear in the temple and spoke the word in the temple Himself though there were those who hated Him an wanted to kill Him. In other words, He taught, even in place where He was not welcomed. As Jesus Christ dwells within us, He desires to use you as the Temple that He speaks through today.

Again You are His Temple that He is indwelling today. You are a walking Temple of God.

As a walking Temple of God you should walk by faith, not by sight (2CO 5:7).

As a walking Temple of God, you should walk in newness of life (ROM 6:4).

As a walking Temple of God you should walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh (GAL 5:16).

As a walking Temple of God you should walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called (EPH 4:1).

As a walking Temple of God you should be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise (EPH 5:15).

As a walking Temple of God you should walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (COL 1:10).

As a walking Temple of God you should walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1JO 1:7).

6. In MAR 11:16, the Temple of our Lord would never condone a business, that is in the church, MAR 11:16 and He would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. We need to be on our God and not let our human temple allow individuals to make a business in the local assembly. As I mentioned many times before, Christians can be the best in the world and also the worse, especially when it comes to money.

7. In MAT 27:51, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom which is analogous to our Lord “opening up the veil that separated man from God” in the Jewish temple, so that nothing separate us from Him now because he dwells in the Temple of our body. Because Jesus Christ indwells us, He desires us to live for Him because of the veil being torn in two which opened up a face-to-face access and opportunity for us to face the Lord personally knowing nothing can ever separate us from the love God in Christ Jesus.

So, by being a Temple for our Lord to indwell, the ripping of the veil means we can have a face to face fellowship with Him. Remember, we are always to pray to the Father, in the name of the Son, being filled with the Spirit. As long as we are filled with the Spirit we can talk to the Father, we can talk to the Son and we can even talk to the Spirit whenever we desire, but that’s fellowship with them not prayer.

8. In LUK 19:47 As there was always opposition and obstacles in the Jewish Temple, there will always be those who try to oppose us and stop our spiritual momentum because we are now the Temple of God. In the literal, Temple there were always legalistic self-righteous individuals preparing to destroy our Lord.

LUK 19:47, And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him,

Under the principle of Satan being an arrogant genius and the fact that he has been around ever since the Church-age began, he knows that all believers in the Church-age is where the lord Jesus Christ now indwells. And just like he did in the Old Testament he now does in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, Satan always attacked the Jewish Temple of God. Therefore, in the New Testament, Satan and his kingdom of darkness always does the same thing, he is always attacking the people of God who are now the spiritual temple where the Lord indwells now .

9. In JOH 2:18-19, the Temple was the place where our Lord taught the doctrine of the resurrection.

JOH 2:18-21, The Jews therefore answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, seeing that You do these things?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews therefore said, “It took forty six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

The resurrection of our Lord is extremely important for us, as living Temples of God, to learn and to teach others.

Why?

Because there are many individuals who say that all you have o is simply believe God, you know faith alone in Christ alone. And that is true! But you have to describe what faith alone in Christ means. It means you have to have faith alone in what the lord says and does. In other words, you have to believe in what the mind of Christ said when He spoke to the apostle Paul who was inspired by God the Holy Spirit in ROM 10:8-13.

ROM 10:8, But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,

Here is where salvation is not based upon the fact that someone says “I believe in God.” Because the Bible says in JAM 2:19, You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. It is not believing in God that saves you, it is believing in what the apostle Paul said known as “Paul’s Gospel” in many circles. You have to believe in ROM 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;

10. The Temple of God was also respected as a place of prayer, so should we be temples gathering together with one another in prayer; ACT 3:1, Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. The analogy is just as the Temple was used for believers to gather together for prayer, today the Temples of God ought to be doing the same. And that could be just a family praying together. You see, one of the most misunderstood principles concerning the doctrine of prayer that I have discovered in the last 35 years is the misconception of numbers and time. It doesn’t matter at all to God how many are praying together and how long one prays. Don’t get in bondage to those books about certain individuals who spend hours and hours on their knees praying which do nothing more but make the average believer feel inferior and insecure concerning prayer.

PSA 138:2b, I give thanks to Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and Thy truth; For Thou hast magnified Your Word according to all Thy name.

JOH 12:47-48, “And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”

11. The born-again believer, as a temple that the Lord indwells is superior to the earthly temple in ACT 17:24, “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

This points to the superiority of the spiritual temples ( us), over the natural Temple which will elevated and cherished by all of God’s people because it will a reminder or a visual aid during the Millennial reign of what God had done in that Temple throughout the dispensation of the Law.

12. As a temple of God, the temple of God should never be used for compromise; 2CO 6:14-18.


13. Being a Temple of God that God can use as He indwells your body, you will be recognized in the Historical Section called the Pillars of History in the eternal state as the Church-age temple is acknowledged , promoted, and blessed is acknowledged as a winner.

14. Ultimately the real meaning and the whole purpose of the Temple is for glorification of God the Father, God the Son, REV 21:22, And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.