Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Genesis.  Tonight is study #17 of Genesis, chapter 21.  We are still looking at Genesis 21:8-11:

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

We have spent a good amount of time on this because it relates to the end of the church age.   And it relates to the fact that God is “separating” groups of people.  We know that He does this at the time of the end of the world.  For example, we saw this when we studied Cain and Abel.  It said in Genesis 4:3-5:

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto JEHOVAH.  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And JEHVOAH had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

We looked at the original Hebrew word in verse 3, where it says, “And in the process of time,” and we saw that it clearly says, “In the end of the age,” not “process of time.”  There were two brothers, Cain and Abel, dwelling together, but then God let it be known He required an offering from both, and He had respect for one and not for the other.  Abel was trusting in what his offering pointed to, the Lord Jesus, but Cain was trusting in the offering itself, which represents “works.”  He was a child of the “bondwoman,” spiritually, and Abel was a child of the “freewoman.”  Both lived together as brothers until God required the offering.  Why did God do this?  God knew what would happen in the end of days; in other words, this historical parable points to God’s plan to separate the brothers.  Cain was wroth because his brother’s offering was righteous, but his own was evil.  So, he rose up against his brother and slew him, just as those within the churches and congregations drove out the true believers at the time of the end.  Of course, all this worked according to God’s plan to end the church age and bring His people out from among them, but it does not justify the fact that they drove out God’s true people with their false doctrines, false gospels and persecution. 

That is what we see regarding Ishmael, who is a picture of the unsaved that have a relationship to God.  Ishmael was the son of Abraham, and Abraham is a type or figure of God the Father.  Ishmael had a brother, Isaac, who had a closer relationship with God, which made Ismael envious.  He was jealous.  Then it says in Genesis 21:9:

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

We know that “mocking” is a word that can be translated as “sporting” or “laughing,” as it is used in Genesis 26:8:

And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

The word “sporting” is the same word.  So, Ishmael was joking around at a feast to celebrate the promised son coming off the milk.  This son was born of a man that was 100 years old and “good as dead,” and a woman that was 90 years old whose womb was “dead.”  God gave them a miraculous birth, and now the son of promise was growing up and moving on to meat.  And here was Ishmael sporting, jesting and mocking.  Sarah would have none of it, because she was speaking on behalf of God and His Word.  At the time of the end, it would be the Word of God that would make the distinction between “Cain and Abel” or between “Jacob and Esau.”  God would make the distinction between the elect and the non-elect.  It is at the time of the end that Jacob, representing the elect people of God, would receive the blessing and Esau, representing the unsaved brothers within the churches and in the world, do not receive the blessing of God. 

God raised up a faithful man, Mr. Camping, and a faithful ministry that had a reputation for the “Bible only.”  There were no confessions or creeds.  It was just a man and a ministry that trusted the Word of God, the Bible, and he was extremely careful in searching the Scriptures and arriving at faithful conclusions.  It was through this ministry that God brought to us a great amount of Biblical information that would be widely declared because the ministry had radio stations all over the country and the ability to broadcast all over the world.  These things were declared worldwide, and those within the churches and congregations heard it, but they despised it.  They refused to hearken to it.  Instead of humbling themselves before the Bible and searching the Scriptures to see if these things were so, they rejected it. 

It requires a positive mindset when someone hears a teaching and then goes to the Bible.  But if these people searched the Bible at all, they went to the Bible with the attitude that they were going to search the Bible to show how these things were not so, and to show that the church age was not over.  You see, they search with a negative mindset, just to disprove things and to show that they are not true.   When the Bereans heard things they had not heard before, they went to the Bible to see if these things were so – they had a positive mindset.  Of course, God in His mercy could still open truth to someone searching the Bible with a negative mindset, but normally He lets them go on their way and they find a verse they think disproves that the church age could end: “…I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  Of course, that cannot be referring to the corporate churches because many churches have failed, fallen away and been destroyed.  It can only be the eternal church of God that consists only of the elect that the gates of hell shall not prevail against.  These people cannot grab hold of that idea, so they return to the Bible to find something else they think disproves it.  Amazingly, there are only a handful of verses that could even begin to go against that doctrine because God has not said in His Word that the churches would continue to the end of time.   Conversely, He has said in several places that if they would not repent, He would destroy them just like He destroyed Israel before them.  God gave them space to repent, and He visited them to see if they had repented, but they had not, and He cast them into a bed of great tribulation, according to Revelation 2.  So, these people cannot answer against the Word of God, the Bible, so after a while they do not even bother to look.  They just turn to ridiculing, mocking and reviling.  They say, “These things are obviously of Satan and, therefore, Mr. Camping was of Satan.  And anyone who believes these things is of Satan.”  They blaspheme God’s true church: “Do not pay any attention to them.  Do not listen to them.” 

That is what the natural-minded individual will revert to every time.  They revert to worldly tactics and it becomes just “politics,” as they try to make sure they have the most people on their side: “You know, we have the numbers.  We have hundreds of millions of people that believe us, and all the pastors teach according to what we believe – the church age is ongoing.  And all you have is a handful of ‘oddballs’ that teach contrary to it.  You have just a few people and they do not even go to church.”  There is name calling, as they try to make the Word of God a “democracy,” where the most votes win.  If you get more people on your side, then you must have the truth.

Of course, the Bible will not allow that for a second.  Have they not read of Elijah against the 450 prophets of Baal?  Have they not read of Micaiah the prophet who was the lone prophet that denounced the king of Israel, even though the king’s prophets were lifting him up and telling him, “Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper.”  And, yet, God blessed Elijah, and God blessed Micaiah.  And God blesses the individual faithful man of God who is in line with the Word of God, the Bible, and who has been given the truth, as was Jeremiah the prophet when there were all kinds of prophets denouncing him.  He was even cast into a pit.  And, yet, they knew he was a true prophet.  They knew he was a true man of God, despite all that they did to him.  The king would secretly call him: “Tell me, what is the Word from the Lord?” 

Likewise, the corporate churches knew that Mr. Camping was a true man of God that taught the truth.  They know the condition of the churches.  It is not the church of the Reformers.  It is not a faithful church any longer.  It is an apostate church that has fallen away from the truth.  Just look what they do with the Word of God on almost every point of doctrine. 

And, yet, here they are, standing up and reviling these things as if this teaching is strange and outlandish that God would ever judge their churches.  The strange thing would be if God did not judge churches such as these, and He did judge the churches as judgment began at the house of God.  He condemned all the churches and congregations of the world and all they could respond with was not proof from the Bible, but with insults, mockery, sporting and jesting.  They made light of the things God was bringing forth from His Word.  But, make no mistake about it, these things came from God Himself.  In Mark 13, a chapter that deals with the Great Tribulation and the end of the world, it says in Mark 13:10-11:

And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

And that is what Mr. Camping and all God’s people did during that “hour” of the Great Tribulation.  And that is what we are continuing to do in the Day of Judgment.  We speak, but not in the words that man teaches, but what the Holy Ghost teaches, as we compare spiritual with spiritual.  We speak as the Holy Spirit teaches, as it says: “but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.”

It was God that raised up the corporate church and kept it going.  He was the one in the midst of them for 1,955 years.  And it was God who came to visit at the end to see if they had repented of their evil deeds, but they had not repented.  Therefore, He cast them into great tribulation.  Judgment began at the house of God.  God did this.  The Holy Spirit confirms it, as we compare Scripture with Scripture, and this teaching harmonizes with the whole Bible.

And, yet, they dare to say that this was of Satan.  It came forth from the Holy Spirit.  Remember the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit?  It was committed corporately by the New Testament churches at their end when they dared to do these things.  And they spoke evil of that which God had cleansed.  They spoke evil of that which the Holy Spirit brought forth personally from His Word as He guided His people into all truth.  He handed this information over to His elect children and we shared these things.  And we were despised for it and mocked for it.

This is the reason God ended the church age.  This is the reason He caused Sarah to say, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.”  No longer would they dwell together.  God has made a distinction.  God has chosen Jacob and loved Jacob and now He has bestowed the blessing upon Jacob.  And He hated Esau.  There was no (eternal) blessing for Esau, though he sought it with tears: “Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?”  There was an earthly blessing, but there is no eternal blessing for any that are not children of the “freewoman,” the children of God’s election program.

We can see how this historic account gets involved with so many spiritual things that we have been learning in these last days.  Lord willing, when we get together in our next Bible study, we will continue to look at the mockery and the persecution that Ishmael was doing against Isaac.  The Bible says he persecuted him.