The Angel of the Lord

When Moses saw the burning bush, he was amazed that it wasn't consumed over not talking about the kind of fire you and I are familiar with Renewing Your Mind with RC Sproul's next buyer has the capacity to destroy the birds whenever he touches to ashes, God appears in the Bible is often linked with five that leads us to think of his wrath and fury, but today Dr. RC Sproul reminds us that while God's presence brings the judgment. It also purifies continuing with our study of Moses and the burning bush, we find in the third chapter of Exodus and I'm going to continue in this session, looking at the manifestation of the glory of God in the Shekinah that we looked at briefly in our last encounter for do that I'm ready relate a narrative of something at me when I was a sophomore in college was a philosophy major and my philosophy professor invited me to go to Philadelphia for a philosophical conference on Dutch philosopher by the name of Herman doing their at Westminster theological seminary. This was in the old days when the original faculty that come out of Princeton. The start that school were in time Russian nation had already died. Hernandez Mantell John Murray EJ Young Ned Stonehouse the other bright stars of that faculty were there for that conference in when I went there and listened to the first session in the morning.

The whole thing was so far over my head. I had no idea what was going on.

I felt very foolish and I didn't want to open my mouth and reveal how foolish I actually was. So I kept my mouth shut and then we had a lunch break and I was sitting across from a professor of philosophy from the seminary and I was eating the soup and he said to me, young man, do you believe God is transcendent or imminent, and I literally split the soap my mouth and because I didn't know what the word transcendent and I didn't know what the word meant. With respect to the things of God. And so here my ignorance was completely exposed. This learning professor and he had mercy on me, and he began to answer the question formation will the answer to the question is yes it is God, transcendent or imminent. Yes, because he is both transcendent and immanent in his transcendence refers to that sense in which God is above and beyond that the created order refers to his exalted Majesty the way in which he is there, or different from all the things that he creates and then at the same time God is not just this remote deity who exist somewhere east of the site and west of the moon outside of our 10 but God also makes himself present with us is also imminent is imminent in his creation by virtue of his on the presidencies and the men historically through the person of Christ and is also imminent through his visitation to this planet in redemptive history and we see this combination of transcendence and immanence in the burning bush because the glory, the fire was a manifestation of the transcendent God of the creator which you don't normally find in bushes, but here he is making himself known by manifesting his presence here in this world by visiting Moses in this encounter in the desk now and our last session we talked about theophany and I want to explore a little bit more of that going beyond the broad category of theophany to another term that we have called Christoph and he Christoph in the refers to a pre-incarnate manifestation of Christ, that is, it addresses the question, do we find Christ the second person of the Trinity anywhere manifested in the old testament and there are several passages in the Old Testament that biblical scholars believe and I certainly believe indicate the presence of Christoph and he let me go back for a moment. First to Genesis this time, the Genesis 14 where we read this brief encounter that Abraham had with this mysterious person whose name was Melchizedek.

We read in verse 18, chapter 14, then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine, for he was the priest of the God most high, and he blessed Abraham and said, Blessed be Abram of God most high possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be God most high, who is delivered your enemies into your hands and Abraham gave him a tie.

Of all that he had. Now this mysterious figure is very important to the author of Hebrews in the New Testament. Why because the Bible teaches that Jesus is not only arcane after the line of David that he is now entered into the heavenly holy of holies as our great high priest and so people raise the question, how can he be a king and a priest of the Betty Kang has to come from the tribe of Judah and Jesus to come from the tribe of Judah, but the priests came through what tribe. The tribe of Levi and Aaron so we speak of the love medical priesthood or the ironic priesthood, and since Jesus did not come from that line questions were arising is how he could legitimately be called the great high priest of his people. Well as you know, the author of Hebrews answers that question by showing that Jesus is a priest, not of the Levitical water not of the ironic priesthood. But a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Referring back to the passage that I just read this Melchizedek, who has no parents, no genealogy, and that Risa question. Is he a real historical character of flesh and blood. It was something else going on here is name Melchizedek means paying Zetta, of righteousness and he is called the King of Salem, which means peace. So this mysterious person is known in the Old Testament is the king of righteousness is the king of peace attributes that the New Testament of course apply to Jesus and Abraham meets this mysterious priest of the most high God and he pays her ties to Melchizedek and receives a blessing from Melchizedek, so the author of Hebrews makes a lot of this is what the greater Blessed is the lesser and the lesser pays hi to the greater so in Hebrew categories is very plain here that's Melchizedek is greater than Abraham and in Hebrew categories.

The father is greater than the son.

The son greater than the grandson and so on down the line, and so the way the author Hebrews reasons. He says Levi is lesser than Abraham lesser than Isaac lesser than Jacob. Now if Levi is subordinate to Abraham and Abraham is subordinate to Melchizedek. What does that mean QED Levi is subordinate to Melchizedek so Melchizedek is the greater priesthood. But again, there are those who think that what we have here in this strange appearance of milk is affected in the Old Testament that this is a pre-incarnation manifestation of Christ of the second person of the Trinity.

Then you look in the book of Joshua. Another strange encounter that takes place where we read in Joshua five this passage in verse 13 it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted his eyes and he looked, and behold a man in my English translation I have man spelled with a M behold, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand and Joshua went and said to him, are you for us or for our adversaries when all of a sudden here's this apparently mighty warrior who shows up that Joshua doesn't know he's never seen them before. He had no military intelligence of a warrior like this that would go to be fighting for the opposing forces and when he sings this warrior is who you are you with us or our enemies notice all the answer, no, no. When he got either before us or for them or if no, I'm not for either one of you, but rather as commander of the Army of the Lord or captain of the Lord of hosts, I have not come from God and with the Joshua do Joshua fell on his face on the earth, and worshiped and said what does my Lord say to his servant, and then the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, take your sandal off your foot for the place where you stand is holy the same instructions that have been given to Moses at the burning bush, take off your shoes off your faith for the ground or understand is holy ground.

In this we see is Christoph and he the second person of the Trinity, appearing in history before the conquest of the promised land. Or let's look further if you will, in the book of Daniel chapter 3 verse 19 the Nebuchadnezzar was full fury. The expression of his face change toward Shadrach me shack and Abednego he spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than was usually needed and he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach me shack, Abednego cast them into the journey fiery furnace. So these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans and their other garments and were cast in the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Therefore, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace was exceedingly hot.

The flame of the fire killed those when who took up Shadrach me shack and Abednego once you threw them into the far, but these three men, Shadrach me shack, Abednego fell down. Bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace and then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and he rose and hastily spoke saying to his concert. Then we cast three men bound into the mist of this for answered and said to him, true.

Okay. And Nebuchadnezzar said look I see four men loose in there walking around in the midst of the fire and they're not hurt in the form of the fourth is like the sun. Christoph and believe second person of the Trinity came in to the fire for his servant, Shadrach me shack and Abednego protected them from all harm.

In the Old Testament, the Shekinah glory.

The burning fire that manifested not only Christoph and David back to theophany occurs.

Also in the episode of the translation of Elijah into heaven. Remember when his servant Elisha went with them begging for a double portion of the spirit that had been upon him and he said will you come along with see if you see me departs and you know that will come to pass at the end of their journey behold cherry fire. And Elisha looked at it and he said to Elijah, Mike, my father, the chariot of God again lecturing fire manifested the divine glory. This was another manifestation of Shekinah that surrounded the presence of God again.

The chariots of fire was God's mobile throw his throne was not seen inert fixed stationary at some corner in heaven, but his throne could go wherever he wanted to go and were very strong. Went his glory went in his glory burst out in this radiance of light are one last looks first chapter of Ezekiel 1 most enigmatic chapters and all of the Bible were Ezekiel speaks of his vision of God it came to pass in the 30th year in the fourth month in the fifth day of the month as I was among the captains by the river T-bar the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. Verse four I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire, the whirling workable the wheels within wheels Ezekiel again a vision of that throne chariot of God surrounded the splendor of his glory, the burning bush, where Moses first glimpses the Shekinah is not the last episode throughout the book of Exodus, God appears again and again as he leaves the people of Israel through the wilderness through the door of clouds by day and the pillar of fire by night of the book of Exodus ends after the tabernacle has been built and established before it is beginning to be used for worship. First, the glory of God comes and descends in to the tabernacle. So when the Shekinah is there Moses knows that God is there and it is time for the people to consecrate themselves for worship. But here's the question I want to talk about this refolded system brilliant Brady blinding light that is so intense. The magnitude of the light so bright the blinds people and causes fear and trembling the come on now.

My question for you is this what causes this like I said earlier that the glory of God comes from his inner being. The Shekinah is the outward manifestation of the inward majesty of God. But what is the flight.

What gives it its you it's transcendent majestic roof alternates work is a conference, the author of Hebrews answers that question when it speaks of Christ where he describes Christ as the brightness of his Christ is the visible manifestation of the eternal glory of God.

Christ in his divine nature is the Shekinah.

He's the one who lights up the light, who gives the fire and the flame to the glory of God's incredible thing you can think about that for the rest of your days and never begin to get to the bottom of the debts that that Christ is the brightness of his glory, the logical would be if there is no Christ. If there is no second person of the Trinity is only darkness.

God one last point, quickly the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria made a connection, not from a Christian viewpoint but from a philosophical viewpoint between the Greek concept of the idea of the logo's low-cost was this transcendent principle that gave water and meaning and purpose to the universe in Greek philosophy and Philo to the concept of the low-cost to the Shekinah and then you come to the New Testament in the Gospel of John. In the beginning was the word the word was with the low costs is the goddess of the very practice and that brightness the Shekinah glory of God brings purity to his people. First John 19 reminds us that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. The heat of God's holiness works to cleanse us your listening to Renewing Your Mind on this Thursday and we just heard Dr. RC scroll from his series, Moses and the burning bush discovering the character of God if he ever thought about why God appeared to Moses in the fiery Bush in the series.

RC explores this life altering encounter with God, showing us some amazing things that he revealed to Moses.

There are 10 lessons contained on two DVDs and is available to you today for your donation of any amount to leader ministries you can make a request@renewingyourmind.org or you can call us at 800-435-4343. As we read on the story of Moses we see a man who was reluctant to accept God's call. He said that the Israelites would never follow it because he was too slow speech. We also see the patience and grace of God in Moses life, this historical account of Moses and the burning bush teaches us about the character of God and gives us confidence that we can trust him with our own lives. So again we might request a series by Dr. scroll Moses and the burning bush card number again is 800-435-4343 and you can also give your gift online@renewingyourmind.org I mention Moses reluctance to lead the people out of Egypt and that will be our focus tomorrow. Here's a preview of what will hear how am I ever going to convince anybody.

The people of Israel and Pharaoh. I am speaking your work. How can I prove that this message is not something I dreamed up in the heat of the afternoon in the desert. We hope you'll join us Friday for Renewing Your Mind