1 00:00:09,977 --> 00:00:19,650 Our Father and our God, when we approach this subject of your holy character, we 2 00:00:19,830 --> 00:00:28,430 know that we are embarking on an impossible task, that even at this moment 3 00:00:28,610 --> 00:00:35,460 we are standing upon holy ground, ground that were it not for your abiding mercy 4 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:44,020 and grace would open up beneath our feet and swallow us into the pit. And so 5 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:52,250 tonight we ask, nay we beg you for a double measure of your grace and mercy 6 00:00:52,430 --> 00:00:59,000 upon us as we seek to understand these things that are so important to our 7 00:00:59,180 --> 00:01:06,140 understanding of you; and we invoke the presence of the Spirit of Truth, who is at 8 00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:14,360 the same time the Holy Spirit, that He may assist us in this endeavor. For we ask 9 00:01:14,540 --> 00:01:20,438 these things in the name of Christ, amen. 10 00:01:30,510 --> 00:01:35,010 I was a senior in seminary at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 11 00:01:35,090 --> 00:01:40,130 and it was a fall afternoon, and I remember vividly that I 12 00:01:40,310 --> 00:01:46,890 was studying by myself in the library. And I had a stack of books in front of me, and 13 00:01:47,070 --> 00:01:51,370 as you know, a library in a theological seminary is a place that is quiet as a 14 00:01:51,550 --> 00:01:57,040 morgue. No one is ever allowed to talk or chatter. It's a hushed silence. When 15 00:01:57,220 --> 00:02:03,540 suddenly my attention was distracted by this murmuring that started running 16 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:08,360 spontaneously through the stacks and through the open tables in the library, 17 00:02:08,540 --> 00:02:12,850 and people began to disrupt the whole atmosphere of the place, and people were 18 00:02:13,030 --> 00:02:17,410 leaving their seats and their desks and rushing out into the corridors of the 19 00:02:17,590 --> 00:02:21,810 seminary; and I didn't know what was going on until some lady -- somebody said 20 00:02:21,990 --> 00:02:28,520 something out loud that was unmistakable, and they said this: "Someone has shot the 21 00:02:28,700 --> 00:02:35,030 President." You can imagine an announcement like that and what it would 22 00:02:35,210 --> 00:02:44,420 do to people's normal, daily routines. I rushed outside, and like every other 23 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:48,120 American I glued myself to the radio, and I listened to the moment-to-moment 24 00:02:48,300 --> 00:02:52,720 bulletins as President Kennedy was fighting for his life momentarily, and 25 00:02:52,900 --> 00:02:57,510 then of course the announcement came through that he died. And for the next 26 00:02:57,690 --> 00:03:02,220 day, indeed the next weeks, the next month, the people of the United States of 27 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:10,840 America were preoccupied with this tragic moment in our history of the sudden death 28 00:03:11,020 --> 00:03:17,330 of a popular President. And then later a book came out that was entitled "Johnny, 29 00:03:17,510 --> 00:03:24,170 We Hardly Knew You," and it called attention to the fact that his 30 00:03:24,350 --> 00:03:29,430 presidential term was indeed brief; but anytime, ladies and gentlemen, that the 31 00:03:29,610 --> 00:03:36,360 chief executive, the leader, the king, the prime minister of a nation, passes away, 32 00:03:36,540 --> 00:03:47,770 it is a time of solemn, serious trauma for the nation. Well that was true in Israel 33 00:03:47,950 --> 00:03:53,270 as well as in the United States, for in the eighth century a king came to the 34 00:03:53,450 --> 00:03:58,940 throne in Jerusalem and began to reign at sixteen years of age, and he reigned in 35 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:05,000 Jerusalem for over fifty years -- imagine it, over half of a century. And he wasn't 36 00:04:05,180 --> 00:04:09,220 the most famous king in Jewish history or the most important king of Jewish history, 37 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:16,230 but he would certainly rank in the top five. His name was Uzziah, and what Uzziah 38 00:04:16,410 --> 00:04:21,500 accomplished in his reign was to bring the last significant spiritual reform to the 39 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:27,470 people of the land, and when he died -- and he died, incidentally in disgrace 40 00:04:27,650 --> 00:04:32,170 because he was sort of a Shakespearean tragic hero who violated his own 41 00:04:32,350 --> 00:04:39,540 principles of ethics and spirituality in the last year of his life. But when he 42 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:46,310 died, it sort of signaled a turning point, a watershed in Jewish history where from 43 00:04:46,490 --> 00:04:53,990 that day on the spiritual life and vibrancy of the Jewish nation went into a 44 00:04:54,170 --> 00:04:58,660 serious decline from which it never recovered. I think it's significant in the 45 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:09,870 providence of God that four years after Uzziah died the city of Rome was founded 46 00:05:10,050 --> 00:05:14,740 and a cultural change took place that would shape the whole future destiny of 47 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:23,900 history. But in the midst of that struggle of that nation, a man was called of God to 48 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:30,580 the sacred vocation of being a prophet, and some would call him the greatest 49 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:35,360 prophet in Old Testament history, a man who was not only a religious person, but 50 00:05:35,540 --> 00:05:40,590 he also was a statesman in his own right, as he spoke to several kings in the course 51 00:05:40,770 --> 00:05:49,060 of his ministry. He was the prophet who said that someday in the future a virgin 52 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:58,660 would conceive and bring forth a child, and His name would be called Immanuel. 53 00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:04,050 It was the prophet who said that in the future the servant of the Lord would come 54 00:06:04,230 --> 00:06:13,210 and bear the sins of His people. His name, of course, was Isaiah, and the record of 55 00:06:13,390 --> 00:06:19,550 his call to the role of the prophet is found in the sixth chapter of the book 56 00:06:19,730 --> 00:06:28,620 that bears his name, and I'd like to read the first part of that record for you now. 57 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:35,650 It says in chapter six of Isaiah, verse one, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I 58 00:06:35,830 --> 00:06:42,100 saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled 59 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:49,350 the Temple. And above Him were the seraphim, each with six wings. With two 60 00:06:49,530 --> 00:06:53,040 wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they 61 00:06:53,220 --> 00:06:59,550 were flying. And they were calling to one another, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord 62 00:06:59,730 --> 00:07:08,530 Almighty. The whole earth is full of His glory.' And at the sound of their voices 63 00:07:08,710 --> 00:07:17,480 the doorposts and the threshold shook, and the Temple was filled with smoke." Now I 64 00:07:17,660 --> 00:07:22,820 want you to notice in this brief passage that I've read here that Isaiah locates 65 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,760 this experience that he has in the year that King Uzziah dies, and we don't know 66 00:07:27,940 --> 00:07:33,920 for sure whether what Isaiah beheld was an ecstatic vision that took place in the 67 00:07:34,100 --> 00:07:41,320 Temple in Jerusalem or if in fact what Isaiah saw was a glimpse into the inner 68 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:46,970 sanctum of heaven itself. I prefer the latter interpretation. I'm persuaded, for 69 00:07:47,150 --> 00:07:52,080 technical reasons I won't get into here, is that what happened was that God opened 70 00:07:52,260 --> 00:08:01,540 the curtain. He removed the veil from heaven itself, and as John, centuries 71 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:07,960 later on the isle of Patmos, would get a glimpse of the interior of heaven, Isaiah 72 00:08:08,140 --> 00:08:17,140 the prophet saw the Lord enthroned in heaven itself. Now if you see in your 73 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:21,820 Bible, you'll see that it says here, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the 74 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,790 Lord, seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled 75 00:08:26,970 --> 00:08:31,170 the Temple." If you look at your Bible, you see the word "lord," and I'm sure 76 00:08:31,350 --> 00:08:37,550 it's spelled L-o-r-d. Is that true in your Bibles there? If you go down a couple of 77 00:08:37,730 --> 00:08:41,790 verses to where the song of the seraphim, where it says, "Holy, holy, holy is the 78 00:08:41,970 --> 00:08:48,180 Lord Almighty." Do you see that? Do you see that same word "lord" is spelled L-O- 79 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:54,040 R-D? How many of you notice that in your text? Okay, it's a very common thing we 80 00:08:54,220 --> 00:08:58,720 find in English translations of the Bible, and it's not a result of a typographical 81 00:08:58,900 --> 00:09:04,470 error, but rather the translators are trying to signal to us that something is 82 00:09:04,650 --> 00:09:09,630 going on here that is a bit unusual -- that even though the same English word 83 00:09:09,810 --> 00:09:15,440 "lord" is here in the text, the fact that there's -- that they are printed 84 00:09:15,620 --> 00:09:20,890 differently indicates that there are two distinctly different Hebrew words behind 85 00:09:21,070 --> 00:09:29,470 the text. Anytime you see L-O-R-D you can be fairly confident that the Hebrew term 86 00:09:29,650 --> 00:09:37,820 that is being translated is the name Yahweh, the name that God revealed to 87 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:47,790 Moses in the Midianite wilderness when He said, "I Am who I Am." That's the sacred 88 00:09:47,970 --> 00:09:54,440 name of God, the holy name of God -- Yahweh. Earlier when we see this word 89 00:09:54,620 --> 00:10:01,720 "lord" -- L-o-r-d -- it translates now a different word, which is the Hebrew term 90 00:10:01,900 --> 00:10:13,920 Adon-adonai, and that is probably the most exalted title that the Old Testament uses 91 00:10:14,100 --> 00:10:20,710 for God. He's given many titles in the Old Testament. This is the supreme title that 92 00:10:20,890 --> 00:10:26,550 is given to Him. We think, for example, in Psalm eight where we read, "Oh LORD, our 93 00:10:26,730 --> 00:10:33,880 Lord, how excellent is thy name in all of the earth." There it's what? "Oh Yahweh, 94 00:10:34,060 --> 00:10:41,190 our Adonai how majestic is your name in all of the earth." And again in Psalm 110 95 00:10:41,370 --> 00:10:46,350 we read this, "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit down at my right hand'" -- a 96 00:10:46,530 --> 00:10:52,570 fantastic statement to be found in the Old Testament where David now describes Yahweh 97 00:10:52,750 --> 00:10:59,810 talking to someone else and ascribing to that third person the title Adonai, the 98 00:10:59,990 --> 00:11:05,290 title that had always been reserved for God himself. It's no accident, ladies and 99 00:11:05,470 --> 00:11:09,920 gentlemen, that the most quoted and alluded to Old Testament verse in the New 100 00:11:10,100 --> 00:11:19,380 Testament is Psalm 110, where Paul tells us that Jesus is given the name that is 101 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:30,210 above every name -- the title Lord, Adonai, the name that originally belongs 102 00:11:30,390 --> 00:11:39,660 to God and to God alone. Now the meaning of the term "Adonai" simply is this: the 103 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:46,960 sovereign one. So do you see what's happened? The king is dead. There is this 104 00:11:47,140 --> 00:11:52,740 time of uncertainty and mourning in the land and the Jewish people, and Isaiah 105 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:57,820 comes, in the name of his people, and he looks and beholds into the interior parts 106 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:06,060 of heaven itself, and he sees not Uzziah, not Hezekiah, not David. He sees Adonai, 107 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:11,690 the supreme sovereign, enthroned in heaven. I'm convinced, personally, that 108 00:12:11,870 --> 00:12:17,610 what he is seeing here is a preincarnate glimpse of the enthronement of Christ 109 00:12:17,790 --> 00:12:29,240 himself in His full majesty. He said, "I saw the LORD seated on the throne high, 110 00:12:29,420 --> 00:12:35,500 exalted. The train of His robe filled the Temple." Oh, I love that phrase, "The 111 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:42,140 train of His robe filled the Temple." You know in ancient days, the clothing of 112 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:50,160 monarchs was a measure of their status. An international protocol would respond to 113 00:12:50,340 --> 00:12:57,870 the various levels of the magnificence of their clothes. If a king wore ermine, that 114 00:12:58,050 --> 00:13:02,960 was incredible. If he wore sable, that was even better. Mink was sort of second or 115 00:13:03,140 --> 00:13:08,680 third grade level, and those that came with canvas robes, they had to sit in the 116 00:13:08,860 --> 00:13:15,860 back of the summit meetings of the kings. I remember seeing one of the first 117 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:21,840 international television broadcasts that was taken place in America was a viewing 118 00:13:22,020 --> 00:13:29,150 of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, and the commentators went on and on about the 119 00:13:29,330 --> 00:13:35,170 pomp and the circumstance that only the British can bring to such a celebration, 120 00:13:35,350 --> 00:13:41,430 and the magnificence of her gown. As she came to approach the throne in 121 00:13:41,610 --> 00:13:46,840 Westminster, she was -- and before she went to Buckingham palace -- they had 122 00:13:47,020 --> 00:13:55,770 several pages who had to lift the train of her gown as she made her entrance into the 123 00:13:55,950 --> 00:14:03,560 Abbey because that gown traveled for several feet behind her as she processed. 124 00:14:03,740 --> 00:14:07,960 But do you hear what Isaiah is saying here, is that when he saw this vision of 125 00:14:08,140 --> 00:14:14,070 the heavenly King, he saw a King whose splendorous garments billowed out over the 126 00:14:14,250 --> 00:14:20,410 sides of the throne and so went on to furrow back along the sides of the Temple, 127 00:14:20,590 --> 00:14:25,570 around the back entranceway and spilled out and completely filled the entire 128 00:14:25,750 --> 00:14:39,530 building. And what he is seeing here is a visual experience of majesty that is 129 00:14:39,710 --> 00:14:48,810 focused in the magnificence of the garments. And then he said over the throne 130 00:14:48,990 --> 00:14:58,260 and above the Yahweh and Adonai, the Lord, were the seraphim, each with six wings. 131 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:06,240 This is the only reference in Scripture to these creatures who were called seraphim. 132 00:15:06,420 --> 00:15:11,030 Some have tried to identify them exactly with the cherubim, but I think since the 133 00:15:11,210 --> 00:15:15,630 Bible distinguishes, we need to distinguish them. We know very little 134 00:15:15,810 --> 00:15:22,160 about them except that they are part of the heavenly host, those beings that were 135 00:15:22,340 --> 00:15:28,780 especially created by God to serve Him day and night in His immediate presence. And 136 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:33,410 if we read the description that Isaiah gives of them, it seems as though they 137 00:15:33,590 --> 00:15:39,970 appear in almost bizarre fashion, for we are told that they had six wings. Now let 138 00:15:40,150 --> 00:15:50,060 me just stop here for a second and make a comment. When God creates creatures, He 139 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:59,180 does it with a certain creative economy. He doesn't waste material. He has an 140 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:05,060 amazing, extraordinary ability to create whatever He makes in such a way that it is 141 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:10,720 adaptable and suitable for its environment. God makes fish with gills and 142 00:16:10,900 --> 00:16:17,140 with fins because their natural habitat is in the water. He makes birds with wings 143 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:25,040 and feathers because their environment is in the air. And so when He creates angelic 144 00:16:25,220 --> 00:16:30,980 beings, whose specific task and function in creation is to minister to Him in His 145 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:38,440 immediate presence, He constructs them in such a way as to make them fit for their 146 00:16:38,620 --> 00:16:48,900 environment. And hence we are told they are given two extra sets of wings. With 147 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:57,970 two they covered their face. Think of it- that these angelic beings ministered 148 00:16:58,150 --> 00:17:06,310 daily in the immediate unveiled presence of Almighty God, whose glory is so 149 00:17:06,490 --> 00:17:16,680 refulgent, so piercing that even the angels have to shield themselves from 150 00:17:16,860 --> 00:17:27,660 looking directly at His face. Remember the story in the book of Exodus when Moses, 151 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:33,220 representing the people of God, was summoned by Yahweh to Sinai to receive the 152 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:39,300 law of God; and you remember, Moses went up there into the clouds and was sort of 153 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:46,580 swallowed up on that mountain. And the people waited for days after days, and 154 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:52,600 they were apprehensive and stricken with anxiety as they wondered what had happened 155 00:17:52,780 --> 00:17:57,090 to their leader. Had he been swallowed up by the wrath of God on that mountain like 156 00:17:57,270 --> 00:18:02,850 Korah and his people had in the rebellion? Would he retur alive? What would the 157 00:18:03,030 --> 00:18:09,580 message of God be if he did come back? And so they waited in fear and trembling for 158 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:15,470 Moses' return. And while Moses was on the mountain, he spoke with God. Do you 159 00:18:15,650 --> 00:18:20,200 remember the conversation? If I can improvise a little bit, it went something 160 00:18:20,380 --> 00:18:25,560 like this: Moses said to God, "I have seen some magnificent things in my lifetime. 161 00:18:25,740 --> 00:18:31,690 You've shown me the burning bush. I've seen the plagues by which you devastated 162 00:18:31,870 --> 00:18:37,060 the Egyptians. I saw you part the sea and bring a whole nation of people through on 163 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:42,220 dry land. I've seen you provide supernatural, miraculous provisions from 164 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:50,890 heaven for us hungry people, but now let me have the big one. God, please let me 165 00:18:51,070 --> 00:19:02,740 see your face." God said, "Moses, you know better than that. You know it's my 166 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:10,360 word that no man shall see me and live. You can't see my face, Moses. Here's what 167 00:19:10,540 --> 00:19:14,900 I'll do. I'll carve out a little niche in the rock over here, and I'll put you in 168 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:21,230 the cleft of the rock, and then I will cover you, and I will pass by, and I will 169 00:19:21,410 --> 00:19:27,370 let you see my backward parts" -- the Hebrew reads the hindquarters of Yahweh -- 170 00:19:27,550 --> 00:19:35,450 "but my face shall not be seen." And so God put His servant in the cleft of the 171 00:19:35,630 --> 00:19:42,380 rock, and He allowed His glory to pass by, and ladies and gentlemen, for a split 172 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:57,550 second, Moses got a backward glance of the refracted glory of God, and what happened? 173 00:19:57,730 --> 00:20:04,680 When he came down from the mountain, and the people saw this figure approaching in 174 00:20:04,860 --> 00:20:09,180 the distance, they became all excited for the return of their leader, and they 175 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:13,680 rushed forward to greet Moses. And suddenly they shrunk back in horror and 176 00:20:13,860 --> 00:20:18,430 fell on their faces, and they began to plead with Moses saying, "Moses, Moses 177 00:20:18,610 --> 00:20:27,830 cover your face!" They couldn't bear to look at him. Why? Because Moses' face was 178 00:20:28,010 --> 00:20:36,590 shining with such radiance and such intensity that it was blinding the people, 179 00:20:36,770 --> 00:20:42,000 and what the people were seeing, ladies and gentlemen -- think of it -- was merely 180 00:20:42,180 --> 00:20:51,600 a reflection on a human being's face from a backward, instantaneous glance of the 181 00:20:51,780 --> 00:21:06,530 glory of God. The angels themselves must cover their eyes in His presence, and with 182 00:21:06,710 --> 00:21:13,150 two wings, we are told, they cover their feet. Now the Bible doesn't explain to us 183 00:21:13,330 --> 00:21:17,920 why it was necessary for the seraphim to cover their feet. I can only guess, and I 184 00:21:18,100 --> 00:21:22,370 will venture a guess at this point, and that is that the feet, for angels as well 185 00:21:22,550 --> 00:21:30,370 as for men, is the symbol in the Bible of creatureliness. We are told that we are of 186 00:21:30,550 --> 00:21:39,770 the earth, earthy, that our feet are of clay. When Moses met God in the Midianite 187 00:21:39,950 --> 00:21:46,870 desert and wilderness, what was the first thing God said to him? "Moses, Moses take 188 00:21:47,050 --> 00:21:51,960 off thy shoes from off thy feet for the ground whereon thou standest is holy 189 00:21:52,140 --> 00:22:02,020 ground." He asked him to bare his feet, the sign of his creatureliness, the sign 190 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:14,330 of his submission before the holy one. And so even in heaven the angels cover the 191 00:22:14,510 --> 00:22:20,800 sign of their creatureliness. But as fascinated as I may be, ladies and 192 00:22:20,980 --> 00:22:26,660 gentlemen, with the anatomy of the seraphim, these are really minor 193 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:33,580 considerations with the text here. What is really important about this text, as far 194 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:39,970 as I'm concerned, is not the structure of the angels. It's the message of the 195 00:22:40,150 --> 00:22:47,050 angels. Listen to what the Bible tells us. "That with the two they were flying, and 196 00:22:47,230 --> 00:22:58,490 they were calling to one another saying, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. 197 00:22:58,670 --> 00:23:07,970 The whole earth is full of His glory.'" I was standing over there before we began 198 00:23:08,150 --> 00:23:14,050 this series, and those who are watching it by video tape missed some of the things 199 00:23:14,230 --> 00:23:19,130 that we did by way of lead-in, and one of the things that this group of people 200 00:23:19,310 --> 00:23:28,430 enjoyed was the singing of the classical church hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy." And I 201 00:23:28,610 --> 00:23:34,010 was listening to you as you sang that. I cannot hear that hymn without chills 202 00:23:34,190 --> 00:23:40,000 running up and down my spine. It is magnificent, isn't it? And I think about 203 00:23:40,180 --> 00:23:47,370 the angels and everyone casting down their golden crowns beside the glassy sea, that 204 00:23:47,550 --> 00:23:51,960 everything that we have that is worth anything is something we would gladly lay 205 00:23:52,140 --> 00:23:57,150 at the feet of the holy one. And how this church so triumphantly -- or this hymn so 206 00:23:57,330 --> 00:24:03,850 triumphantly -- celebrates the majesty of God. But as I was listening to you sing 207 00:24:04,030 --> 00:24:09,530 it, I thought, "As beautiful as it sounds, imagine how it would sound sung by a choir 208 00:24:09,710 --> 00:24:21,770 of angels." And that's what Isaiah saw: the heavenly host above the throne of God, 209 00:24:21,950 --> 00:24:28,880 singing to each other in antiphonal response a single word, repeated over and 210 00:24:29,060 --> 00:24:44,380 over and over again. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. Heaven and earth is 211 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:52,510 full of His glory." Now friends, there's something here in this text that as 212 00:24:52,690 --> 00:25:01,490 English-speaking people we could read a thousand times and miss every time. 213 00:25:01,670 --> 00:25:10,820 There's something very Jewish about this text. In the English language, when we 214 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:15,580 want to call attention to something that's particularly important, to give it 215 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:20,480 emphasis, there are different ways that we can do that in print. We can underline 216 00:25:20,660 --> 00:25:26,540 words or italicize them, put them in bold face type, put little quotation marks or 217 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:31,210 brackets around them or fill the page with exclamation points -- how I hate 218 00:25:31,390 --> 00:25:35,450 exclamation points when it's not an exclamation. Even my editors do that. I 219 00:25:35,630 --> 00:25:38,800 find it in the final draft. I'll see -- I'll read these things, and they'll put 220 00:25:38,980 --> 00:25:42,680 exclamation points in sentences that aren't exclamations, and please don't 221 00:25:42,860 --> 00:25:46,520 think so poorly of me to think that I don't know any better about the use of 222 00:25:46,700 --> 00:25:51,040 exclamation points. They do that, and it drives me crazy. But that's what we do 223 00:25:51,220 --> 00:25:58,900 with emphasis. Well the Jews did the same thing. They did all of that -- underline, 224 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:05,500 boldface, italicize -- but they had another technique to call attention to 225 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:12,430 something's particular importance, and it was the simple technique of verbal 226 00:26:12,610 --> 00:26:19,540 repetition. I think, for example, of the apostle Paul when he's writing to the 227 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:24,770 Galatians and warning them of the dangers of departing from the gospel that they had 228 00:26:24,950 --> 00:26:32,250 received from Paul. And he said, "I say unto you that if anybody preaches unto you 229 00:26:32,430 --> 00:26:35,450 any other gospel than that which you have received, even if it's an angel from 230 00:26:35,630 --> 00:26:46,640 heaven, let him be anathema, anathema -- let him be damned." That's a strong 231 00:26:46,820 --> 00:26:51,950 statement that comes from the pen of the apostle Paul, but he doesn't stop there. 232 00:26:52,130 --> 00:26:57,300 He immediately goes on to say, "Again I say to you if anyone preaches unto you any 233 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:06,210 other gospel than that which you have received, let him be anathema." Jesus was 234 00:27:06,390 --> 00:27:13,590 fond of using this device of repetition to make His points. Now remember, Jesus was a 235 00:27:13,770 --> 00:27:18,170 rabbi. That meant that He was a theologian. He had a school, and He had 236 00:27:18,350 --> 00:27:23,360 students called disciples, or learners, who enrolled in His school. And He was a 237 00:27:23,540 --> 00:27:27,470 peripatetic rabbi. That meant that He walked around, and as He walked the 238 00:27:27,650 --> 00:27:32,110 disciples literally followed Him. When they -- when Jesus said, "Follow me," He 239 00:27:32,290 --> 00:27:36,270 meant literally, "Walk around behind me." And the way they would do it would be this 240 00:27:36,450 --> 00:27:40,150 way: the teacher would give His recitation. He would lecture as He walked 241 00:27:40,330 --> 00:27:45,470 down the road to Emmaus, or wherever, and the disciples would follow along behind 242 00:27:45,650 --> 00:27:51,690 Him and commit to memory the things that the rabbi taught them. Now ladies and 243 00:27:51,870 --> 00:27:56,080 gentlemen, every teaching that ever came from the lips of Jesus Christ was 244 00:27:56,260 --> 00:28:06,780 important, but even our Lord took time to call attention to things that He regarded 245 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:11,780 as being super important, and whenever He would come to a point like that that He 246 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:16,110 wanted to make sure His disciples never missed, He would preface His teaching by 247 00:28:16,290 --> 00:28:27,070 saying two words. He would say, "Truly, truly I say unto you..." or the older 248 00:28:27,250 --> 00:28:33,450 translation, "Verily, verily." Actually what He said was, "Amen, amen I say unto 249 00:28:33,630 --> 00:28:37,530 you." You recognize that word. It comes directly into English, and we say, "All 250 00:28:37,710 --> 00:28:43,790 the people said" -- what? "Amen." But we say, "Amen." after the teacher teaches or 251 00:28:43,970 --> 00:28:48,930 after the preacher preaches. It means, "It is true. We believe it," and so on. Jesus 252 00:28:49,110 --> 00:28:53,680 didn't wait for His disciples to confirm the truthfulness of what He was saying. He 253 00:28:53,860 --> 00:28:59,540 started His sermon by saying, "Amen, amen." That's like the captain of a ship 254 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:05,850 getting on the intercom and saying, "Now hear this: This is the captain speaking." 255 00:29:06,030 --> 00:29:21,170 When Jesus repeated that word, saying it twice, He was underscoring its importance. 256 00:29:21,350 --> 00:29:32,780 Ladies and gentlemen, there is only one attribute of God that is ever raised to 257 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:38,050 the third degree of repetition in Scripture. There is only one 258 00:29:38,230 --> 00:29:45,460 characteristic of Almighty God that is communicated in the superlative degree 259 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:54,140 from the mouths of angels. Where the Bible doesn't simply say that God is holy, or 260 00:29:54,320 --> 00:30:12,450 even that He's holy, holy, but that He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible doesn't say 261 00:30:12,630 --> 00:30:19,120 that God is mercy, mercy, mercy or love, love, love or justice, justice, justice or 262 00:30:19,300 --> 00:30:31,870 wrath, wrath, wrath, but that He is holy, holy, holy. This is a dimension of God 263 00:30:32,050 --> 00:30:41,600 that consumes His very essence, and when it is manifest to Isaiah, we read that at 264 00:30:41,780 --> 00:30:46,940 the sound of the voices of the seraphim the doorposts, the thresholds of the 265 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:55,090 Temple itself shook and began to tremble. Do you hear that? Inanimate, lifeless, 266 00:30:55,270 --> 00:31:01,100 unintelligible parts of creation in the presence of the manifestation of the 267 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:11,040 holiness of God had the good sense to be moved. How can we, made in His image, be 268 00:31:11,220 --> 00:31:28,500 indifferent or apathetic to His majesty? God alone is holy, and what I want to do 269 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:35,640 in this series is try to describe what that means and what the reaction of Isaiah 270 00:31:35,820 --> 00:31:47,840 and other people historically is when the holy appear. Let's pray. Father, we 271 00:31:48,020 --> 00:31:57,800 rejoice that something and someone in this unholy universe is not only somewhat but 272 00:31:57,980 --> 00:32:07,003 altogether holy, holy, holy. Impart to our hearts the joy 273 00:32:07,003 --> 00:32:13,596 of the seraphim for that truth. Amen.