Let us turn to 1 Peter 1. Last week, we began a study in 2 Timothy 1; but the recording of this is gone. There is no recording of this. Bob said that his dog ate it, a cyber dog. The file was not usable; so instead of doing that over, I began to think that 2 Timothy 1, study one, did not work out. This is very rare. I do not think that Bob has lost any other files. This made me question if this is where we should be studying and that maybe we should be looking somewhere else. I think that we should.
So in 1 Peter 1, we are going to take a look at Peter, Lord willing. If Bob’s dog eats this, I do not know what we are going to do; but, Lord willing, we will go verse-by-verse through 1 Peter. It says in 1 Peter 1:1-7:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
We will stop reading there.
This Epistle is written by Peter. We saw last week that 2 Timothy was written by Paul as God moved Paul to write. Here, this is the same case. God is moving Peter to write and to give us everything that we find in this Epistle as well as in 2 Peter.
This comes from God, in other words. It is from His mouth. It is His Word. Peter, Paul, John, Moses, whoever it was, were only instruments. They were only individuals whom God used to record His Word. This is how we have to look at this. We never say that Peter said this. We can say this because, historically, yes, Peter said these things; but we always understand that God is the One who is saying these things.
When you look at Peter in the Bible, the Bible has quite a bit to say about him. There were a lot of things that God used Peter for, and I would like to look at some of them before we move on. For instance, we read in Matthew 4:18-20:
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
It does not take too much time, does it? When God is dealing with an individual and He is moving in that person’s life, He is drawing him to Himself. Jesus said, “Follow me,” and they put down their occupations. They were fishermen. They put down their nets and immediately they followed Him. There were no questions and no delays. They did not say, “Let me think about this.”
God gives us examples elsewhere in the Gospels where there is a call that goes out and people say, “Well, I have to do this first. I have to take care of this other thing, but I will follow You after that.” But God indicates that those people are not worthy. It is those whom He calls and moves in their hearts who are His people.
God tells us that His people will become “willing in the day of thy power”; that is, their wills will become aligned with God’s will, even though they may not know why they are doing what they are doing. Why did Peter just suddenly quit his job with his father as a fisherman and immediately follow Christ? He did this because God moved in his heart to do this.
We read a little bit more about Peter in Matthew 14. We read in Matthew 14:24-33:
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
This just shows us the incredible experiences that Peter had as an apostle, as someone who followed Christ. Nobody else that we read about in the Bible walked on water except for the Lord Jesus.
We can also begin to get an idea as to why a certain church thinks that Peter was so special. He was often involved closely with Christ and miracles were performed for him and later by him.
So it does seem that Peter was a special apostle; but, of course, we know that he was just a man like anybody else. All of the apostles were just men. Some people try to make them out to be much more than they were, but they were simple men. They were fishermen, tax collectors, etc. They just held common occupations.
Let us turn to Matthew 17. We read in Matthew 17:1-2:
And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them…
We know that Peter is stunned and says in verse 4, Matthew 17:4:
…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.
Elsewhere in the Bible, we read that Peter said what he did “not knowing what he said.” He was so amazed at this sight.
Peter was one of the nearest apostles to Jesus, one of the closest out of the twelve. But this study is not going to cover many things. These are just some of the major instances where Peter was involved in the Gospel history.
We read in Matthew 26:37-40:
And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
They fell asleep, including Peter, but Jesus directs His statement to Peter. Peter is like a representative of the apostles and true believers in this case.
A little further on in Matthew 26, we read in Matthew 26:69-75:
Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth [or betrayeth] thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Here at this point, God removed Himself really from His people, because this was the hour of darkness. This is the time when He had to go to the cross to demonstrate what He had done before the foundation of the world.
We can see within ourselves, any of us, that if God removes His hand from us, we are going to see that we are not all that wonderfully faithful. We will also go away from God.
So, here, Peter denies Christ three times, even with an oath and cursings. He is protecting himself. This is the sinful nature that was still within him, even though he was a child of God. But all of us are still in the body. If God removes His hand of restraint from our lives, we can fall into a sin.
Let us turn to John 20. We read in John 20:1-10:
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
Here Peter is at the scene of the resurrection. Like everyone at this point, they did not know what was happening. Then God opened their understanding and they would recall that Jesus spoke about rising from the dead.
Let us now turn to John 21. John 21 is an unusual chapter, because it is very different from the other three Gospels. The other three Gospels end with Christ resurrecting out of the tomb and with the command, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel.” We find this basically in John 20, but John 21 almost seems like an addition or like an additional chapter to make us wonder why it is there.
The reason that God placed this chapter where He did was to teach us about saving the great multitude during the time of great tribulation, which we just came out of. This is past and behind us. The great tribulation ended on May 21, 2011. We are not experiencing great tribulation right now and neither is the church. The judgment on the church concluded on May 21. That was the end of the 23-year great tribulation, but then what happened was that judgment expanded to the whole world.
So is the church now still under judgment? Yes, because they are part of the world and the whole world is under judgment. But it is not exclusively the church that is under judgment now, like it was for that 23-year period. Judgment is on everyone everywhere. In the church or out of the church, it does not matter. Judgment began at the house of God. It then transitioned on May 21 to include the whole world.
I think that God has given us John 21 to teach us this, as we read in John 21:1-2:
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
So there were seven. There was Simon, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, which would be two. That is five so far, and then there are two other disciples. There were seven of them.
Then we read in John 21:3:
Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
This would be the great tribulation, especially the 2300 evening/mornings when it was a time of darkness where virtually no one in the world was being saved. Absolutely no one was being saved in any church from May 21, 1988, because God’s Spirit left the church and nobody can get saved without the Spirit of God. The Bible tells us that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” but it takes God to open an individual’s ears. It takes His Spirit to bring life to a dead soul as He applies His Word; and so on May 21, 1988, no one – none – were saved in any church and have not been since and will not be; but the world was separate from the church at that time.
So when the Bible says that there was “silence in heaven about the space of half an hour,” and since we understand that this relates to the 2300 evening/mornings, we say that virtually no one was saved, because this word “silence” allows for the slightest bit of noise. If you remember in the book of Acts, there was “a great silence” when Paul began to speak; but when He spoke to them in the Hebrew tongue, it says that they kept “the more silence.” This means that there is silence, but then there is another level of silence; and since God used this particular word to indicate a silence, this allowed for the slightest bit of activity. There was the slightest bit of salvation at that time.
Let us say that there were two people saved at that time, which would be very few, or maybe five, whatever that tiny number was during those 2300 evening/mornings from 1988 to 1994. These people would have been from out in the world. If two people were saved during that period of time, they would not have been saved in the church. They would have been saved out in the world through a ministry like Family Radio, which could still be heard outside of the church. This is because God’s Spirit was not in the church, but He was still in the world. He was still in the world, and so this was the only possible place where anyone could be saved.
Some people try to say that since we now know that the door is shut, which is true, and since God possibly saved a handful of people during that 2300 evening/mornings when there was “silence in heaven about the space of half an hour,” this means that maybe God could possibly save a handful now at this time in the world.
The problem is that God shut the door on the church and they have had no salvation; and on May 21, 2011, He shut the door on the entire world. What God was doing to the churches for 23 years, He is now doing to the whole world.
The door is shut. Therefore, where could someone possibly become saved? They cannot get saved in the church and they cannot get saved out in the world, because the door is shut. And being an astronaut in outer space does not count because they are still basically part of this world, even though they are departed temporarily.
So this is what we really have to look at. We cannot say that virtually no one is being saved today, because there is no place where they can become saved.
Going back to John 21, we read in John 21:4-6:
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
They caught nothing during the night. The day dawned. Jesus instructs them where to fish. They throw their nets and gather a “multitude of fishes.” The “great multitude” that we read about in Revelation 7 is in view. Remember that when Christ called Peter and the other fishermen, He said to them, “I will make you fishers of men,” because God likens men to fish.
So here, yes, “the multitude of fishes” does relate to the “great multitude” of people whom God saved during the second part of the great tribulation that was almost 17 years long while the “latter rain” was being poured out.
Then we read in John 21:7-14:
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
So the number three is really in view. First, the 153 fish breaks down to 9 x 17 or 3 x 3 x 17. It was God’s purpose that these fish, which represent the great multitude, would be brought to Him. Notice that these fish were all brought to Jesus. This indicates that they were safe and that they were secure.
God’s spiritual fishing expedition during these last 23 years is likewise. All of the fish have been brought in. The net did not break. They have all been brought to Christ and now they are perfectly safe in Him, just like Noah was perfectly safe in the ark with his family once the door was shut.
At this time, the great tribulation has concluded. All of the catch of fish is with Christ. This is why God is using the number 3 doubled, 3 x 3. This means that it is His purpose and that He will make sure to bring it to pass, which He did. Then we see that this was “the third time that Jesus showed himself.” Again, we see the number 3.
Following this, we find in John 21:15-17:
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me?…
Why do you think that Peter was grieved? He was grieved because he had denied Christ three times. He denied him three times when people were approaching him and saying, “Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.” This is when it says that Peter “began…to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man.” He did this three times, and so he was grieved because this conversation was bringing what he had done back to him.
Then it goes on to say:
…Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
Three questions, “Lovest thou me?” Three responses, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.” Three times Jesus says, “Feed my sheep.” He said, “Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep.” We continue to see a series of threes. It was the third time that Jesus had shown Himself. There were 153 fish.
God is doing something here that is very similar to when He was on the cross and when we also see many sets of threes. These threes indicate that it was His purpose. This was so we could realize these things and understand these things.
What is happening is that God is letting us know this, because we have entered into another stage. We did not think that there would be another stage. We thought that there was the church age that ended in 1988, and this is true. Then we thought that there would be a 23-year great tribulation period, and this is true. This ended on May 21, 2011. But then we thought that when this ended, that would be it. There would just be those left behind to face judgment.
But here God is letting us know that the rapture is not yet. There is one more thing for us to do. There is one more very important thing for us to do, which is to feed the sheep, “Feed my sheep.” The great catch of fish has already been brought in; and yet following this, Jesus makes a point of saying three times to Peter, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?”
So it is an evidence of Peter’s love for God if he feeds the sheep. If you love Him, here is His command to you: feed the sheep. If you do not love Him, you will not do this. If you do love Him, this is what He wants us to do, just as He says elsewhere in the book of John, the fourth Gospel, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” One commandment was, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel.” This was the commandment of God. God’s people, out of obedience to this command, went forth.
Many of us have been part of this and witnesses to it at the same time. We just saw God use His people to bring the Gospel to all of the world and to warn everyone that Judgment Day would be May 21, and it was Judgment Day on May 21. It just was not everything that we thought it would be.
We thought that there would be a worldwide earthquake, a physical earthquake, and all of the resulting catastrophes that would come from it. This part was not correct, but this does not mean that May 21 was not Judgment Day. It was Judgment Day.
Let us think about this. If an earthquake had occurred, if an earthquake had rocked the whole world and brought destruction to every place on earth, and yet it was not Judgment Day, would this have been the worse thing that could have happened? I guess what I am trying to say is that if the physical destruction happened but God did not bring judgment and it had not been the day of judgment, just a physical catastrophe all over the earth, would this have been worse than Judgment Day?
We told the world that Judgment Day was on May 21. We can tell them that we were incorrect about the earthquake, the physical earthquake; but to them, the earthquake was everything. The earthquake was everything because an earthquake is physical. It is on a level that they could have seen and understood and comprehended and experienced. Without the earthquake, nothing happened as far as they are concerned.
This is because they do not have spiritual eyes. They do not understand the spiritual realm of things. It is the same thing with God’s judgment on the church. There is nothing physical about it, and yet it is over after 23 years and the church never even knew this.
So if the earthquake happened but not the judgment on the world, would this have been worse than if judgment came, which it did, with no earthquake? In other words, which is the major thing and which is the minor thing? Which is the real important and terrible thing, if you would weigh them out? Of course, it would be the judgment.
We see that when God said to Adam and Even, “For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,” that they did not die physically on that day. Yes, a lot of things began to happen. They saw that they were naked. They experienced shame. They tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves, but they did not die physically on that day. Does this mean that nothing happened? To the outward eye or to the outward observer, it looked like Satan was right. They could eat of that tree and they would not die.
We know that death did come in. After 930 years, Adam died. But was it a tragedy that they ate of the tree and that they died spiritually that day? This was the greatest tragedy that mankind has ever known. Look at all of the resulting grief and sorrow that has come on the world because of disobeying God on this one point or on this one command. God brought a judgment and it was an unseen judgment, because their souls died and no one can see their soul. Then all of the curse came upon mankind, and yet what happened to their souls could not be seen.
So we do not see anything change from May 21, but this does not mean that this did not happen. This did happen; we just cannot physically see the judgment of God until the last day.
Here is another example that might go along with this. Do you remember when there was the palsy man who was lying in his bed? Jesus said to him, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Then the scribes sitting there said, “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” Then Jesus said, “Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?”
Which was the greater thing? Which was the easier thing for God to do? Of course, it was easier to say, “Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk.” As a matter of fact, He could have shot him up to the heavens if He had wanted to without lifting a little finger, because this was easy and because this was the power of God. But to say, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee,” this took the Lord Jesus bearing his sins from before the foundation of the world and dying for those sins and paying for those sins. It was not an easy thing at all for him to be qualified and able to say, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee”; and yet this was a spiritual thing.
Salvation is a spiritual thing. It is not something that we can see. It is not something that we can touch. It is not something that we can feel. It is a spiritual thing, and we do not know when God saves a person and whether or not they have been born again. We do not know what is going on in someone’s heart from one day to the next. One day, they are dead in sin. The next day, God saves them and they might not even know because this was a spiritual activity of God.
So here Jesus is speaking to Peter. After the great catch of fish, after the “great multitude” is brought in, afterwards, this is now the command. This is a command of God: “Feed my sheep.”
Who are we to say that this is not a worthy command? It is true that this is not as exciting as what we were just doing for the last couple of years in bringing the Gospel to all of the world, but this is a command of God. This is what we should be busy doing. This is what we need to occupy ourselves with for these 153 days that we are presently in. From May 21 to October 21 is 153 days of our calendar.
I am sorry to say this. I know that people do not want to hear this anymore, and yet we cannot help but notice that everything fits perfectly. We see the darkness of the 2300 evening/mornings. We see that the great catch of fish are brought in that are parallel to those saved during the great tribulation. Now, there is another stage.
Let us take a look at Luke 17. Luke 17:7 says:
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
The field represents the world according to Matthew 13. This is where Jesus explains the parable of the sower. We read in Matthew 13:38:
The field is the world…
This is the spiritual teaching that God gives us concerning the field.
So here is a servant who has been active in the field. He has been plowing and feeding cattle. In other words, spiritually, he was obedient to God’s command to go into all of the world with the Gospel.
We were to put our hands to the plow and not look back. This is what God’s people did. This is why there was all of that activity before May 21. We were to go into the world and bring the Gospel. This had to do with being like a servant in the field.
We read again in Luke 17:7:
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
So the servant was out in the field all day long. We have the parable of the workers who went into the vineyard. There were some hired at the eleventh hour for just one hour, because it was a twelve-hour day. They went out into the field to work, and God likens that one day of their working in the field really to His overall salvation plan.
So here the servant goes out. He accomplishes his task. He does what he was commanded to do. He plows. He feeds cattle. It is now the end of the day and he is tired and weary and beat. Now, it is all over. Now, he can rest. Now, he can relax and enjoy himself. Now, he can experience the blessings of God.
This is really what we were thinking. We had to work, work, work. We had to get the Gospel out as hard as we could. We were to use all of our energy. We were to use everything that we had. We were to use our resources. Every day, people were physically going out. They were using their money to send to Family Radio in order to support the sending forth of the Gospel. Everyone was involved, and we were thinking that the end of the day or the end of the work day would be May 21. Then we could relax.
I remember thinking this. It was only two weeks to go and I was a little tired, but we could not stop then. Every minute and every hour was important. We had to redeem the time, but we could always look to the finish line. This was also parallel to running a race, because the Christian life is likened to a race.
When you are running a race and you come around that last bend and you see the finish line, you put in that extra kick. You are going to expend all of your energy to win that race. This is exactly what God tells us. We were to run like we wanted to obtain the crown, a “crown…incorruptible.”
So there was the finish line, May 21. We just made it across the line and it was as if we collapsed because we had used all of our energy. Then we found out, “Hey, dummy! The race is not over. The race is not over! There is another bend. There is a ways to go.”
I think that this was probably the most troubling thing for the first few days. We were spent. We were weary. We had not planned on anything further.
By the way, if God does not want us to know something, we are not going to know it. It does not matter how much study that we put into something. It does not matter how much God has opened up our eyes to many other things. If He does not want us to know something, we are not going to know it.
How many times did He say to the disciples, “After three days I will rise again”? Did they know this? They did not know this, and yet this was a very plain statement.
We did not have all of the information like we thought we did, but God was in complete control of this. He is in total control of what an individual believer knows and what they do not know.
It could have been placed right in front of our eyes and somebody could have said, “Hey, I think that this is going to be a spiritual judgment,” and we would not have known if God did not grant us understanding.
Continuing in Luke 17, here is this servant who has come in from the field. We know that he has to be tired. Yet God is saying in Luke 17:7:
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
He has just worked out in the field. This is looking at things from the farmer’s perspective or the owner of the farm.
It then says in Luke 17:8:
And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?
There is something else for the servant to do. After he comes in from the field, he is not done. He may want to be done, but he is not.
I think that many of us wanted to be done, but we are not done. We have to serve the Master so that He eats and drinks, and we know that Christ is the Master.
Look at Matthew 25. Matthew 25:31-32 says:
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Here, it is getting into the sheep. We know that Christ is the Good Shepherd. This is a common picture that God uses in the Bible. We read in Isaiah, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” He is referring to His elect. This is a common picture.
So here is Christ seated upon the throne and He is dividing the sheep between the goats. Then it says in Matthew 25:33-35:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered…
He was hungry. This is speaking of the Master. When we come in from the field, we are to serve Him food and drink.
So here, Jesus is saying in Matthew 25:35-40:
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
So, again, after coming in from the field, after bringing the Gospel to the world, there is another stage, a final stage. We are to feed the Master. We do this when we bring the Gospel and when we teach the Gospel, and sheep are being fed. There is spiritual nourishment that the Gospel brings to the elect people of God.
Going back, we were looking at Peter. Let us go back to 1 Peter 1:1-2:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…
There is just one thing that I wanted to mention here before I forget. This word “elect” is a fairly common word that God uses to describe His people whom He chose from before the foundation of the world. You might want to make a note on this. In the Interlinear Bible, the word “elect” is in the first verse. It is not in the second verse.
1 Peter 1:1 should say:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the [elect] strangers…
This is the Greek word eklektos. This is a plural word for the word “elect,” and it actually modifies the word “strangers” in the first verse. It is not in the second verse. I guess for the sake of word order, the translators probably dropped it down to the second verse; but this is in the first verse.
So we read again in 1 Peter 1:1:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ…
I think that most of us are familiar with what the name Peter means. Peter means “rock” or “stone.” Actually, it is like a part of a rock or a piece of a stone. It is not the complete rock. There are two words that are very close. One is Peter and Peter is petros. It is number 4074 in the Strong’s concordance, and it is always used for the name Peter. In every case, Peter is the word petros. But there is another word that is Strong’s number 4073, which is petra. This is a word that is used for the word “rock” in many places, and this would be the full rock, the mass of the rock; and so Peter has a name that points to the rock or to a piece of the rock.
I am bringing this up because of what we read in Matthew 16:13-18:
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona [or son of Jonah]: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [Petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
So here we have a statement that has mislead many in the churches and congregations to think that the church is to be as if it had been handed down through Peter. I think that the Catholic Church believes that Peter was the first pope. They think that God is saying here that it was upon Peter that the church was built; and yet it is not saying this.
We can see why they would focus on Peter. He walked on water. He was a very intimate disciple. Again and again, he was involved. He was on the Mount of Transfiguration. He is the one who cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. We read in the book of Acts that if Peter’s shadow passed by an individual, that individual might have been healed. It is incredible all of the things that God has to say about Peter.
Again, this is a big set up. It is a trap and a snare for individual’s to think super-highly of Peter, especially, as if it goes on to say, that he is handed “the keys of the kingdom of heaven,” as we read in the next verse, Matthew 16:19:
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, this statement was given to Peter. The churches think that through apostolic succession, this has been handed down from Peter to the next bishop or pope, all the way down; and so they believe that the church has the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.
If you want to get to Heaven, they believe that you had better go to church and you had better do everything that they tell you to do. If you follow their advice, they believe that you will end up in Heaven.
This is all wrong. It started out wrong. They have the wrong idea from where the church is built. God says, “Upon this rock I will build my church,” and the “rock” is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not Peter.
We will stop here.