Kenneth Copeland - Jesus' Victory Over Death
— I'm Kenneth Copeland. This is the Believer's Voice of Victory broadcast. You already know all that. And this is Professor Greg Stephens. And the reason he is the professor is because he'll dig and get all the way down in the weeds on something, which is... and he sees things from God. And anyway, so let's pick up there.
— We left last time talking about the glory and the veil and the glory being revealed now in us. Jesus, when he was crucified, he said, "It is finished". And at that moment, the veil of the temple was rent in two. People might realize that Jesus never entered the Holy of Holies, never went into the holy place.
— I never see that, he has a revelation of that.
— He never went the entire time of his life on earth because he couldn't, wasn't allowed. He's of the tribe of Judah. He's not a Levite. His cousin could have gone, John.
— Yes.
— But he couldn't go. He couldn't even sit in the choice seats in his own synagogue in Capernaum or Bethsaida or Chorazin or Magdala. He couldn't sit in the choice seats. The Pharisees had the choice seats. And he even says so one time in scripture, the Pharisees have the choice seats in the temple. He didn't even have that. So all of you that want the choice seats, the Southwest Believers' Convention, and you don't have them, you're just like Jesus. That's my own thought. He has nothing to do with that. But no, the veil of the temple was rent in two.
— I've been blessed to never miss one. Oh, glory to God. Now, it is finished. Well, what? Now, David wrote it in the 22nd Psalm. And I'm reading it from the Classic Amplified because all of it is there. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me? For words of my groaning, oh my God, I cry in the daytime and You answer not. And by night, I'm not let... and have no rest. But You, O, holy, O, who dwell in the holy place where the praises of Israel are offered. Our fathers trusted You and they trusted and leaned on, relied on You and were confident You'd deliver them. They cried to You and You were delivered and You trusted in and leaned on and confidently relied on You and were not ashamed or confounded or disappointed. But I'm a worm and no man. I'm scorn of men, despised by people. All who see me laugh at me and mock me and shoot out the lip. They shake the head saying He trusted and rolled himself over on the Lord. He could deliver him, let Him deliver him, seeing that He delights in him. Yet You are He who took me out of the womb. You made me hope and trust when I was mother's breast. I was cast upon You from my very birth. From my mother's womb, You have been my God. Be not far from me for trouble is near and there's no help. Many foes like bulls have surrounded me. The strong bulls of Bashan have hedged me in. Against me, they opened their mouths wide like a ravening and roaring lion. I'm poured out like water and my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It's softened and anguish melted down within me. My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay and pottery. With thirst, my tongue cleaves to my jaws and You have brought me to the dust of death. For like a pack of dogs, they have encompassed me. A company of evildoers have encircled me. They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count my bones. The evildoers gaze at me. They part my clothing among them and cast lots from my raiment, long shirt-like garment of seamless undertunic. But be not far from me, O Lord. O my help, hasten to hide me. Deliver my life from the sword, my dear life, my only one. From the power of the dog, the agent of execution, save me from the lion's mouth. For You have answered me kindly from the horns of the wild oxen. I will declare Your name to my brethren in the midst of the congregation. I'll praise You. Oh, you who fear and revere and worship the Lord, praise Him. All the offspring of Jacob glorify Him. Oh, all the offspring of Israel, for He has not despised or abhorred affliction of the afflicted neither has He hidden His face from him. But he cried to Him, He heard. My praise shall be of you in the great congregation. I will pay to Him my vows amid the time of trouble before them who fear and revere and worship Him. The poor and afflicted shall eat and be satisfied. And they'll praise the Lord who diligently seek for and inquire of Him and require Him. May your hearts be quickened now and forever. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord. And all the families of the nations... For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord's, and He is the ruler over the nations. All the mighty ones upon earth shall eat in thanksgiving and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he who cannot keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve Him; they shall tell of the Lord to the next generation. They shall come and shall declare His righteousness to a people... He's done it. It is finished! It had to be prophesied.
— Done on the cross.
— Now, all they heard him say is "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me"? He went into hell with this. He was using the Word of the living God into hell. And he's finished.
— He died in faith.
— Yes.
— So I brought out my new King James with me. And right here in 22, at the start of 22, it says the suffering, praise and posterity of the Messiah. That's what happens. 22 is Jesus on the cross. 23 is when he dies and he's in the grave. I can prove it. Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want him. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me by the side of the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. Listen, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. That's where he is. That's when he's in the grave. 24 is when he comes out of the grave. Because I can prove it to you. The King of glory. Who will ascend into the hill of the Lord or who may stand in the holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, not sworn deceitfully, he shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek his face. Lift up your heads, O you gates.
— Yes.
— Went past the gates of hell. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates. Lift up your everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, Brother Copeland.
— And the word "paradise" is used. Oh, isn't that wonderful? I don't know where it is or not. Where was it? Not in heaven. It was in the upper region of the shoal.
— Yeah. Well, Jesus told us that. Lazarus could see over.
— Yes. Yes.
— Or the man could see over and see Lazarus.
— And the man on the cross, remember he said, "You will be with me in paradise". He wasn't talking about heaven. He was talking about that protected place in the bosom of Abraham.
— That's it.
— And you have to remember they stepped out of time and into the Spirit. And both of them did this. They're conscious again because nothing died but the body. And so Jesus just took him right into the bosom of Abraham.
— Jesus had one more assignment. He had to go take the keys of death and of the grave. So he went, he became sent. So he went past paradise. I believe scripture proves that out. He went and took the keys of death and of the grave. Ended the reign of Lucifer on this planet forevermore. Now he'll come back as that warrior. And in the reign of Lucifer forever. That's when he comes back the next time.
— I was having trouble, you know, in my mind, paradise. And I'm praying over this thing. I said, Lord, well, he said, Kenneth, I mean, I spent days and days and days digging in. And he just said, well, Kenneth, in the Spirit, "I could put the whole state of Texas in your closet". Well, what does that mean? That means he had something he wanted me to see about the state of Texas. And I'm in there in my closet. And my closet is larger than that big. But you close it and all of a sudden I see the state of Texas. And he could point out something to me that there's trouble spots there. You pray and believe God. Or he might say, "Kenneth, I want you to go there. I want you to go to Abilene. I want you to go to Hereford, El Paso". In other words, he could put the whole United States in my closet. But what he said was, paradise was heaven. They were in paradise. So as far as they were concerned, they were totally protected. And it was heaven. And it was working just exactly as it should.
— Jesus went and preached to them, took captivity captive. And they came up.
— And when he was raised, there were some of them raised from the dead.
— That's absolutely right.
— Didn't have to wait for the rapture of the church. And out they went. But then when you go to the book of Hebrews, you find out, class. Now, and I want our online class. When you read that and you see that the heavenly utensils of worship had to be cleansed with the blood of Jesus because Adam's sin polluted everything up to but not including the throne of God. And Jesus said, "Mary, don't handle me". He presented Himself and received the scepter of righteousness as the King of kings.
— He's seated at the right hand,
— Seated at the right hand.
— And the Father, he said, "Who else would I seat here"? Not an angel.
— That's right.
— When Lucifer sinned, it was in heaven. This is why there'll be a new heaven and a new earth. It has to be because he's Jesus said, I saw him fall like lightning. It happened there before it ever happened here. And this is why there's a new heaven and a new earth. You had talked about yesterday that in Mark chapter four.
— Yes, sir.
— In Mark chapter four, if we understand this, we understand all of it. And Jesus is teaching there in the parable that he begins to teach in that. And he came and he sowed. God sowed him. We believed in him. And we follow that exact same pattern. Do you want to go to chapter four?
— Yes.
— Mark. All right. He began to teach.
— And you notice that there's a paragraph marker at the verse 14.
— Okay. So this all changes.
— Where do you want to pick it up? Verse 14?
— Well, he went to the wayside and so forth. And the mystery of the kingdom of God. And that's at any time. This was a multitude by the land. So they seeing them, they see at any time that they converted. And he said unto them, Known ye not this parable? How will you know all parables? Paragraph. And he talked about what he taught out there. The sower sows the Word and these are they by the wayside where the Word is sown. Now we're going to do a class assignment here. By the wayside where the Word is sown. But when they have heard... a little number one there. Satan comes immediately and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise, which are sown on stony ground. When they have heard, number two, the Word immediately receive it with gladness and have no root in themselves. And so endure, but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the Word's sake, immediately they're offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear, mark that one, hear the Word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful. And these are they that are sown on good ground, such as hear... number four, the Word and receive it and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty and some a hundred, paragraph. And he said unto them, is a candle brought forth to be put under a bushel or under a bed and not on a candlestick? For there's nothing hid which shall not be manifested. Neither was it anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, what is that, number eight, let him hear, number nine. And he said unto them, take heed what you hear with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you. And unto you that hear shall more be given for he that hath ears to hear to him shall be given. And he that hath not ears to hear from him shall be taken even that which he has, paragraph. And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground and should sleep night... and this is big, sleep night and day and the seed shall spring and grow up. He knows not how, he doesn't need to know. For the earth brings forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he puts in the sickle because the harvest is come, thanksgiving and praise, paragraph. And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which when it is sown in the earth is less than all the seeds that be in the earth. But when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, shoot forth out great branches so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. And with many such parables spoke he the Word unto them as they were able to bear it. But without a parable spoken out unto them and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. And the same day when evening was come, he said to them, Let's pass over to the other side. All right, let's pass over to the other side. And when they had sent the multitude away, they took him evening as he was in the ship and there were also with him others little ships. And it was a great storm of wind and the waves beaten the ship and now it was full. And he was in the hindered part of the ship asleep on a pillow. And they woke him and said unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great storm. And he said unto them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? They feared exceedingly. He taught them, he taught them, he taught them. You hear it. You listen to it. You let it work. You do it. And they didn't get it. And they had to wake him up. Don't you care? Well, that's a double-minded man. So, and why are you so fearful? They feared exceedingly and said one to another, What manner of man is that the wind and the sea obey him? Right here, nine... faith men, Word men. But he was a man of faith. They heard it nine times. But later, born again and filled with the Spirit, it's a different group.
— Yeah, they're empowered. It brings everything to your remembrance. Here's what's interesting at the very end of it. They're actually afraid of Jesus. It's possible for people to fear God, but when we say fear God, usually when we say that, we're talking about reverence of him, not afraid of him. They were afraid of him. And then the next thing, they're going to run into the demoniac guy, the Gadarenes.
— I just started to say, he's preparing them...
— for that...
— ...for that. And he came over to the other side of the sea. I mean, they're all the way over there. He's getting some rest before they get there. And all the way by the mountains and tombs, crying, cutting himself. So he was a cutter. When he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshiped him and cried with a loud voice and said... now, I've heard the voice of the devil more than once. And the first time I heard it, and I talked about this with Charles Rogers. And he invited me to come to a meeting and sing for him. And so there was a woman who came up to him and she said, "Brother Rogers, I'm not sure where my mother's saved or not. And so after service, would you come and pray for her"? He turned around to me, he said, "Come on. We might learn something here". So I'm standing at the foot of the bed here. They're up here and I'm just standing here listening. She's down here. They're talking up there. All of a sudden that woman said, "Sic boy, sic". And she ran me out the door. God, that little bitty woman ran me out of that room. Well, I'll tell you, it'll never happen again. And then that over the years has happened. Here was one point. He ran and worshiped him. That devil knew who he was. And Jesus shut him down. Amen. And we'll get into some more of this tomorrow because there's some really big, big things here. We'll be back in just a moment.