THREE MEN OF THE MOUNTAINS & THE CROSS

May 7, 2006 pm
Mike Blume

  Scripture Text:

 

Mal 4:1-6 KJV  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.  (2)  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.  (3)  And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.  (4)  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.  (5)  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:  (6)  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 Mat 17:1-13 KJV  And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,  (2)  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.  (3)  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.  (4)  Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.  (5)  While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.  (6)  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.  (7)  And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.  (8)  And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.  (9)  And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.  (10)  And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?  (11)  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.  (12)  But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.  (13)  Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.



  Message:



Mal 4 and Matthew 17 correspond to each other perfectly.

  • Jesus took the prime apostles, Peter,  James and John up the mountain where He was CHANGED before their eyes and most notably His face shone like the sun.
  • Moses and Elijah Appeared there with Jesus.

 

Malachi 4 spoke of wrath of God coming to the wicked, but those who fear God's name would experience the sun of righteousness arising with healing in his wings and having them escape.

  • Verse 2 "YE SHALL GO FORTH."
  • Be freed from it all.

 The wicked would be trodden down.

 And Malachi, like Matthew 17, mentions both Moses and Elijah.

 Mal 4:(4)  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.  (5)  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 

 Both of these men appeared on the mountain when Jesus shone like the sun, as Malachi 4 mentioned their names in association with THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

 When the prophet spoke of healing from the WINGS of the sun, he referred to the BEAMS OF LIGHT.

  • This is a common old testament metaphor for beams of light.

 Psa 139:9 KJV  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

 The morning light comes so swiftly.

  •  It's been dark all night long.
  • And though the speed of light is always the same, as modern science can explain, in the days when modern science was unknown, all that the believers understood was that light seemed to FLY SWIFTEST when the MORNING CAME!
  • The darkness would be blasted away by the light in SECONDS after being there all night long.
  • WINGS OF THE MORNING speak of the beams of the sun coming in so swiftly, as though one might take those SWIFT wings and fly to the furthest reaches of the sea so quickly, and find God would still be there.
  • Nothing moves faster than light, except GOD!

 So the LIGHT SHINING FROM JESUS' face speaks of HEALING!

 2Co 4:6 KJV  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

 He shines in our hearts to give knowledge of God;s glory AND IT HEALS US!

  • It restores us.
  • He said this after speaking of his glory like light.

 2Co 3:18 KJV  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

 We are changed into his image as we look at that light.

  • Even chapter 3 compared that light with a lesser light of Moses' face.
  • The same Moses spoken of in Mal 3 and who was on the mount of transfiguration.

 2Co 3:7-13 KJV  But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:  (8)  How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?  (9)  For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.  (10)  For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.  (11)  For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.  (12)  Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:  (13)  And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

 Jesus whole ministry is a ministry of light.

  •  And we have got to heed His ministry and His words.
  • When His light shone in that day, everyone suddenly was divided into two groups.
  • Whose who accepted it and those who rejected it.

 Joh 9:1-41 KJV  

 The whole chapter lays it all out.

  • Jesus heals the man and seemingly steps aside to watch people react.
  • There are those who ATTRACT to light and speak nothing but positively.
  • Others question and fuss and question.

 Joh 3:17-21 KJV  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  (18)  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  (19)  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  (20)  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  (21)  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

 He doesn't condemn.

  •  He just shines and watches people react.
  •  People are already condemned if they do not believe, so he does not condemn them.

 Moses and Elijah both did their most significant things that Malachi mentioned while ON MOUNTAINS.

 Mal 4:  (4)  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.  (5)  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:  (6)  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 Moses received LAW ON MOUNT HOREB.

  • Verse 4 even mentions HOREB, the MOUNTAIN.
  •  And Elijah was on a mountain.
  •  And he was turning the hearts of the children back to the fathers... the Israelites back to the faith of Abraham, and Isac, and Jacob, the FATHERS of Israel.

 1Ki 18:17-20 KJV  And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?  (18)  And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.  (19)  Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.  (20)  So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.

 AND FIRE CAME.

 1Ki 18:30-31 KJV  And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.  (31)  And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:

 REPAIRING an altar whose stones stood for the twelve tribes, is REPAIRING THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE.

  • And notice how we read about this.
  • "Took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:"
  • We read they were sons of Jacob.
  •  In other words, Elijah's twelve stones represented the 12 sons of a man named Jacob, whom GOD TOOK AND CHANGED INTO ISRAEL.
  • CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE.
  • "YOU NEED TO CHANGE NOW.  JACOB'S GOD CHANGED JACOB TO ISRAEL, and now YOU are all Israel's sons and have reverted to JACOB AGAIN.  You MUST CHANGE BACK to ISRAEL."
  • It's like JACOB WAS CHANGED AND THEN WENT BACK TO WHAT HE WAS BEFORE, AND HAS TO CHANGE BACK AGAIN.

 Mal 4:(5)  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:  (6)  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 TURN TURN TURN

 Matt 17:  (10)  And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?  (11)  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.  (12)  But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.  (13)  Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

 Mar 1:4 KJV  John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

 Mat 3:1-2 KJV  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,  (2)  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 REPENT MEANS TURN!!!!

 Then the fire came down on the altar of Elijah ...

 As Elijah TURNED ISRAEL

 1Ki 18:37-39 KJV  Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.  (38)  Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  (39)  And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

 TURN - REPENT.

 John the baptists was that Elijah!

  • But to show all of this, Jesus had this enacted out on the mountain of Transfiguration.
  • Just as MOSES was a prophet and GOT LAW on the mountain, Jesus was the PROPHET God spoke about on that mountain, and WAS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW!!!
  • And just as Elijah turned Israel back to God on that mountain, JESUS was the one to whom Israel must turn!

 And The Father spoke out of GLORY to Peter and said, THIS IS MY SON, HEAR HIM!

 Luke 9:30-35 KJV  And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:  (31)  Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.  (32)  But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.  (33)  And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.  (34)  While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.  (35)  And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

 Peter interrupted the chat about THE CROSS.

  •  Moses, and Elijah and Jesus were talking about the CROSS.
  •  Peter spoke and the Father said HEAR HIM!

 I can see the work that Moses did on the mountain so long ago being finally UNDERSTOOD this day  - for all Moses did way back then, was ALL FOR JESUS WHO WOULD COME, and MOSES REPRESENTED THAT BY SPEAKING ON THE MOUNTAIN OF JESUS' CROSS.

  • Elijah turned all Israel back to God that day on a mountain, and He represented it ON THIS MOUNTAIN BY SPEAKING OF THE CROSS OF JESUS.

 This is the sacrifice upon whom the fire will fall!

  •  He is wellpleasing
  • When Moses told God the people could not stand to hear the trumpet voice in Moses' day, GOD SPOKE IT WAS WELL.

 Deu 5:23-28 KJV  And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;  (24)  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.  (25)  Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.  (26)  For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?  (27)  Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the LORD our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.  (28)  And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the LORD said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.

 

Mal said the Lord will shine as the sun of righteousness.

  • His beams of light will be wings with healing.
  • REMEMBER THE LAW OF MOSES ON HOREB, Malachi said.
  • You will recall a VOICE associated with it that the people could not bear, so God said A PROPHET WILL THEY HEAR.
  •  HEAR YE HIM.

 Elijah turned all Israel to the Lord on a mountain, and here on a mountain he stands speaking of the cross, HEAR HIM, Peter!