This morning, if you will turn with me just for a minute to Jude, I would like to read the portion we're referring to and then continue some thoughts I have, especially on Korah and going to some other portions in the Old Testament and also in the New. We're dealing with the second coming of Christ, basically, and we've been dealing in these last several weeks, been discussing three men whom God uses to describe the conditions of the last days and also to warn of the judgments that will befall such type men. He's used three men. He's used Cain. He used Balaam, and he has used Korah. And I am at present finishing a discussion of Korah in the Old Testament. I have just one or two things more left to say about this portion. that are very important. But before I do, let me just read Jude quickly to you before I get back to Korah. 17th and 19th verses giving us the indication of what Jude, which is a very short epistle, just one chapter, is talking about. Beloved, remember the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told you that there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts, and these be they who separate themselves, sensual having not the spirit. This is a description of the last days. It's speaking of the kind of people there will be in the last days. There are mockers, and the world is filled this day with mockers of our God. You don't have to go far to find it. You find it in the organized church. Mockers. Those who really don't believe at all. Those of whom Paul would have said in the portion we read in Galatians this morning, they're preaching another gospel. Has nothing to do with the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15 tells us what the gospel is. that Paul says, I preach unto you the gospel of Christ, which speaks of his death, of his burial, and of his resurrection again. The gospel of Christ is the gospel of salvation. But there are many places, and you may go to them during your vacation period, You would not have to go far from the doors of this church to go into a place you will never hear that Christ died for sinners, that this is a message of salvation. It is not a message of morality. Morality must stem from the new life. We believe in morality with all our hearts, but we do not believe that morality can save any man. For no person is 100% moral, and it requires 100% morality to ever please God. Therefore, our morality which we believe in must stem from the new life which we find in Jesus Christ as we accept him as our personal Savior. And so you would not have to go far from these doors to walk into a church where you would hear nothing about the gospel of Jesus Christ. You would hear a message on morals. You would hear a message possibly on civil rights. You might hear a message on Vietnam. I do not know. On all of these things, beloved, there are answers. But I have to say that the answers begin with Christ. They do not begin in these other areas. They begin with Jesus Christ. There are answers, you see. There are answers for your personal problems. They are found in Jesus Christ. There are answers for your family problems. They are found in Jesus Christ. In Him is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In Him is all wisdom and all knowledge. In Him is all grace. In Him is life. In Him are the answers to the problems of mankind. They're there if there is the desire in the heart to really find the answer. The problem is that lots of people don't want to find the answer. You can put down the formulas. You can say, here, here is the way. Walk ye in it. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. There are answers to be found by man, but they must be seek. Ye is the Lord while he may be found. There must be the seeking heart. And so, beloved, there are answers to man's problems. and they are found in Jesus Christ. Now, here it says, in those last days, there'll be all kinds of sensual men walking after their own lusts, having not the Spirit of God. Now, over in the 11th verse, it says, Word come to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain and ran greedily after the error of Balaam, we've spoken about those two, and have perished in the gainsaying of Korah. Now, maybe for a minute we could turn over to 2 Peter, because 2 Peter gives us another key, I think, to this whole portion. 2 Peter, the second chapter. 2 Peter, second chapter. And here's what Peter has to say. I'll just use the verses 1 to 3. There were false prophets also among the people in those days, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privilege shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them. This is what we're seeing in the church today. God calls these damnable heresies. They're damning to the soul, that's all God is saying. damnable heresies, denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of." You see? The church is evil spoken of. Listen, in 1957 or 58, I believe it was, over 60% of the people in this nation were attending church. It has dropped to 43%. 17% drop attendance to the churches in this country. Why? Because the message of Christ has not been delivered. It has not touched human hearts. There has not been redemption. There has not been that which could have done tremendous things in the church. and brought life into it and vigor into it. And instead of having a church that's vibrant, we have a church that's dead. Here in this very nation we live, we find these things happening. Many shall follow their pernicious ways by reason of whom the way of truth, notice, shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you whose judgment now of a long time lingers not and their damnation slumbers not. And then also notice four to eight. For if God didn't spare the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into the chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. And he spared not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly. And he turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes and condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly. And he delivered just lot vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. Ninth verse, the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished. but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and notice this, and what? Despise government. I want to tell you, if there's ever been a despising of governments throughout the world, it's today. You look at the governments of the world today, and look at the great rebellions against the governments. of the world, in all nations, not just in the United States. But you can look at nation after nation after nation, and there is a tremendous rebellion against government and the power of the magistrates of the courts of the land. Instead of there being a strengthening of the courts, there's been a weakening of the courts of the land. So there is a tremendous rebellion and here God lays it right down and he says, remember, they will despise government. Despise it. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, not afraid to speak evil of dignity. Notice 18th verse, and when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lust of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escape from them who live in error. And while they promise them liberty, that is the promise today, you hear it all over, liberty, that's what we want. They don't use the name as possibly it should be used, libertinism, but liberty. And while they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption, for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. If after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord, not salvation, the knowledge of the Lord, and are again entangled therein and overcome. The latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to sit under the preaching of the word of God. That's what it's saying. It would be better for you if you've never heard the word of God, if you've never been converted. It would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they have known what it is. And I've talked to people about salvation time and again and have them say to me, I don't want any part of it. They know the way. Those of you who have loved ones and friends, you've talked to them about Jesus Christ. You don't have to repeat it. They know the way of salvation. Knowledge is there. And says, and after they have known the way of righteousness and turned from that holy commandment delivered unto them, it's happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again and the sow that was washed to a wallowing in the mire. Now, beloved, these are harsh words. These are harsh words. But God is making sure that we understand that in those last days, there would be those who would cry out liberty. He says, presumptuous are they. He said, they are those who will despise governments. They won't want any part of it. And the great cry will be liberty. But while they cry out liberty, they're going to bring these people down into a deeper bondage than ever before. And so, beloved, I have to cry out to you, be careful of all of the libertine spirit that you see in this world today. May I say this? It shocks me greatly. I don't know whether you read last night in the Long Island Press, They had an article on sex in the Soviet Union. If you had read it, you would have thought this is the Puritan Christian code. In our country, we're talking about no marriage. We're talking about free sex and free love and all the rest. And when I read the code of the Russians last night and how they impressed them, there must be love, no premarital relationships, only in marriage. Children ought to be only for marriages. As I read it, I thought to myself, this sounds like our Christian lives used to be in this nation. And here, I have to read it from the Soviet Union. This is that which has been given to all their youths in the schools now. And they say, we want the highest moral code in this world if we're going to run the world. Imagine. And we, the dupes of the devil, were following the same course that Rome followed when she fell. You can read the history of Rome and you can see the exact same things happening in this nation that happened in Rome. You can look at history and you can see nation after nation failing because of their wickedness. and yet this nation that you and I love so much and care for so much because of the freedom it's given us and our youth here in this congregation today, oh how I pray to God that you'll stand fast for the Lord you love and the Savior you love and don't be caught up and swept up into this delusive thing that is crushing throughout the world while Russia is preparing herself by the highest moral code you could possibly conceive of. They do not. May I say this? The only sex education they have in schools is after the parents have trained the children, then they have the sex education in the schools. And it's at the last grades of high school after parents have been trained to teach their children about sex. And it is expected of children in Russia. Here in our nation, we're going to leave all the responsibility up to the civil authorities. Since when do families leave the training and the things of God that should be of God? And I remind you that sex is of God, every single part of it, that we leave all the training to the school systems instead of Christian parents being able to train their children, to show them the way. And we have to read things about communist Russia to impress us deeply with the fact that over there they're doing that which we should be doing here. Something's happened, really, beloved, that is so tragic it's hard to believe when we read the things that are happening in this nation we love so much. If I were to tell you some of the things that I already know and hear from ministers' meetings and the problems faced in school, you would hardly believe it. And then I have some people who say, you know, well, maybe it doesn't happen in some schools, but I want to tell you that no matter where you go, I've spoken to pastors from little country villages way out in the back country and all the rest, and they still have the same problems as you have right here, not one bit of difference. Human hearts are the same. They've got the problems. Beloved, it's only as we really... God is warning us. He says, remember, they're presumptuous. They are sensitive to hurting governments. They despise them. They don't want government. He says, remember, they're going to cry out to you, liberty. Isn't that what you're all hearing? Let me ask any college young person here, this is what you cry. We want liberty? Let's get released from this whole thing. Let's get away from it. Complete liberty to do what we please. Is this not a return to the Old Testament? Is this not that which says in the Old Testament, every man did as he thought it was right in his own eyes? And nothing but chaos developed. We need government. We need law. We're living in a day when law is being cast aside. And I want to tell you when anarchy reigns, And that's what we're asking for. If we keep up at the pace we're going, the greatest tragedy will be to the church of Jesus Christ. So we'd better begin to stand fast. I can tell you that once it rains, the church is the first thing to go after. First thing to go after to crush it. You know, a few times I've talked to you about taxes on the church. Well, this week, I don't know how many of you get U.S. news and reports, but I couldn't help but as I read the last paragraph of this article, it said this, this is the way every other nation has brought an end to the church in its country, by taxing it unto confiscation of property. Of course, the article says the church's own $110 billion worth of properties untaxed. And I want to say this, any church that owns a business or any other thing should be taxed by the government. I don't believe any church should be in business. I believe if they own stocks and bonds and commodities, I believe if they own large buildings in New York city, which are going tax free, I believe they should be taxed. But I don't believe that the true church that is merely doing that of preaching the gospel and giving to missionaries and seeking no profit should be taxed. We'd better be careful, beloved. You know, we've been saying for a long time it can't happen here. I remember when I was a young fellow when I'd hear people say, you know, it can't happen here, I believed them. Because I thought, well, the United States, nothing like this could ever happen to us. No condition could ever arise in this nation that is so free and so blessed of God. Nothing could ever happen that would in any way affect the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But I have to say this, there are every single sign is on the horizon. And the one thing the article said is there's trouble for the churches in the United States coming up. Now, we'd better be right with God. Let me tell you, beloved, we'd better be right with God. And when it speaks here in Peter, you notice Peter duplicates Jude. Jude speaks of the problems of the last days, and Peter goes into the same thing. Peter says exactly the same thing. In thinking of this, I could not help but think of how the message of Korah filled our hearts as we thought about this man who sought the priesthood of God. He sought to take it from the high priest of God, and how Israel was under terrible judgment because Moses and Aaron called upon God to judge. Korah, the man who sought the priesthood, who had nothing to do with priesthood. He sought to be the high priest. Aaron is the high priest of Israel. Korah cannot have the high priest. He wished it. He desired it. He coveted after it. Remember, that's the word is used. The covetousness of Korah. He sought that which was not his. And God judged Israel for it. And then, as I said last week, the amazing thing was that God, even though He had judged the people, even though Korah had perished, even though He had burned the 250 princes, They had died, even though the earth claved beneath the people and swallowed them up. Yet the next day, they rebelled again against Moses and Aaron and said, you've killed the people of the world. Even though they saw it was the judgment of God, Israel did not discern it. It seems that we're so arrogant, we just don't want to listen to God. You'd say, how could this happen? If it was me, it never would have happened. I would have seen the judgment of God. I would have seen the earth cleave open. I would have seen this judgment and I would have understood. Well, it happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. It happened in the flood. It happened here with Korah. It happens time and again. Tell me something. What have you learned about the history of nations in your reading of the history of nations? Has history really done anything to make us understand that we're on the road downward? Do you see this nation rising up as one and saying we will not let this happen to us? It happened down through history to nation after nation after nation. Family life crumbled. Fathers ceased to be godly men. Mothers ceased to be godly women, and nation after nation became involved in two things, idleness and sensuality. And, beloved, then divorce came. High taxes took away the very places where they worshiped. There was one thing on top of the other. You can read the history of Rome by Cardinal Gibbons and you can list the exact same things happening in the United States as happened in the history of Rome. And yet here we are. We see it all. We see the judgment of God. We know what takes place. And beloved, what do we do? Nothing. We sit idly by. We don't have anything to say for God. We don't bear a testimony for God. We don't testify for Jesus Christ. We don't testify that there is a life to be lived, that we love this nation because we love Jesus Christ and we've had freedom here and the joy of heart that only Christ can give to us. How about you, your individuals? Are you sitting back and just letting it all happen? You say, what can I do? I'm just all by myself. Well, you can stand for Jesus Christ. You can live for Jesus Christ. You say in the scriptures, in him we live and breathe and have our being, and then we don't live for him. Israel saw the judgments of God upon the followers of this man who sought the priesthood that was not his. And yet an amazing thing happened, and I cannot help but think of this. It's a challenge to our hearts today. It's the last thing I want to say about Korah, because it's such a challenge to our hearts today. The New Testament portions are wonderful. But beloved, there's something about Korah that is so precious and so blessed, and the way he was judged, and then the final outcome, and how God undertook. over number 16 and over in verse 47. These are the last things I want to say now. I've read your New Testament portions about what it will be like in the last days. They will despise government. We're not going to have one little excuse in the world for not understanding. I don't care who it is. You can sit here. You can listen to me say, in the last days, they will despise government. In the last days, they would be crying out libertinism to the young people. God says so. God says the leaders in the church are going to be sensual. Be careful of them. We'll have no excuse for not knowing because God has said so in his word. These are the things he points out to us. But notice an amazing thing here. In Aaron, took as Moses' commandment. This is the second time that people obeyed, disobeyed God. This is that day when they said to Moses, now Moses, these people died because of you, not God's judgment. And now notice Moses in his love for Israel. And Aaron took as Moses' commandment, and he ran into the midst of the congregation. And behold, the plague was begun among the people, and he put an incense and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was staged. Now they that died in the plague were 14,700 besides them that died about the matter of Korah. May I say this? I couldn't help but think when I read that. He is the high priest of God. Here is the great judgment of God falling down upon Israel for its wickedness. He has shown them that he has blessed Moses and Aaron, and he has had the earth open up and they fall in. He has judged the 250 men of renown who surrounded Korah to take the priesthood away from Aaron. And they have died and he has taken the shields that they carried He has molten them down and they have become the plates of the altar To remind israel of the judgment of god upon any who might seek to take that which god gives You can't take and grasp that which god only gives to those who believe But here Was an amazing thing You would have thought Moses would have stood back with Aaron and say, go ahead, judge the people. They deserve it. And really they did deserve it, but not Moses. Moses takes Aaron. He's the high priest of God. He says, now stop the plague of death. He says, stand between the living and the dead in the congregation. And I want to say this this morning, Jesus Christ stands between the living and the dead in any congregation. wherever he is, the great high priest of God. And I couldn't help but think this morning as I looked at the sign outside, a living church with a living message. And I couldn't help but think Jesus Christ is the messenger of life. He stands between the dead and the living. Beloved, here is our great High Priest, and the wrath of God is to descend upon a wicked world one day. It's coming. And the only thing that stands between you and the wrath of God falling upon us is the very Son of God, the High Priest of our profession. That's what Hebrew says. Jesus Christ, the High Priest of our profession. And He stands between the living and the dead. So that when the great wrath of God falls, notice what it says, and Aaron stayed the plague. He stayed the wrath of God. When the wrath of God comes finally, beloved, upon this earth that is so sin-cursed, when the wrath of God falls upon an ungodly world, when the wrath of God falls, which God speaks of in Revelation, then in that day our greater Aaron, even Jesus Christ, shall stand between the dead and the living. And the living shall be saved, and the dead shall receive the judgment of God. What does it say of the word of God? Ye who were dead in trespasses and sins, he hath made alive through Jesus Christ. The high priest stands between the dead and the living. And the plague is staying. Listen to me, when that judgment of God comes, which side will you be on? May I ask you that? It's a simple question. Which side will you be on? Will you be on the side of the living? Aaron walked into the congregation on the direction of Moses. Christ is coming. Remember the direction of his Father. No man knoweth when the Son of Man cometh, only the Father which is in heaven. And when the Son of Man comes, he will stand between the living and the dead. The living shall be caught up to be with their Savior forever and ever and ever and see his lovely face. And the dead shall remain dead. And it says, thus is the second death. And those that were not found written in the Lamb's book of life, the living, were cast into the lake of fire, which burneth forever and ever. and these are God's words. Where do you stand this morning? Notice Aaron came into a congregation. I would have you notice that these are all Israelites. You're all at Franklin Avenue. These are all Israelites. Aaron comes into the midst of the congregation, and in that congregation, he stands between the two groups of people, the living and the dead. Now, isn't this the same as the parable of the wheat and the tares? What does the Lord Jesus say? He says, be careful that you don't seek to pull up the tares in the congregation lest you also hurt the wheat. He says, when I come, I will pick out the tares and the wheat shall be gathered into my bones. Same thing, same thing. Now we all sit together here this morning. Suppose Christ, the great high priest, were to walk down the middle of the aisle here, in all of his glory, and he stood as Aaron, the high priest, between the living and the dead. If you were on this side of the church, and this was the side for the living, and splitting the balcony up there, would you stay here? Or would you have to get out of your pew and go over to the dead side? And if you're on this side this morning, you know what I would hope? I would hope that every single soul on this side would get up and pack out that side. And that no one on this side would have to go to that side. And it says, Aaron came into the congregation and stood what? Between. Living and I'm doing this very carefully because you're on my right hand Remember what it says about the Lord Jesus and those on his right hand Were taken into the kingdom and those on his left But you see you don't have to be on my left hand I Don't want you to get up this morning go over to the right side But I'm just saying to you you should know in your heart right now which side of the congregation you would be on this morning. I pray that there'd be an exodus from here, and this side would be left empty, and that this side would be packed out. Because the day is coming when Jesus Christ will make exactly the same decision as our high priest, and the living will be on the one side, and the dead shall be on the other. If you're alive in Christ this morning, if you've received him as your savior, you have the witness in your heart, and you're saying right now, I'm on that side. If you haven't, you'd have to say, I wonder, Right now, I'm afraid I'd have to get over on the other side and be on the dead side of the congregation. How I pray that when that day comes, you'll be on that side, where all the living are. Let us pray. Father, we thank Thee for Thy precious Word, and as we think of that atonement Christ made, We're so thankful that he stands between the living and the dead and has made one eternal atonement for us. Father, we're so thankful that as Aaron of old stood between the congregation, oh, they'd been warned a couple of times. Once before, Moses had to say in the same time, in the same verses, the same chapter, Moses had to once before plead with God and say, Lord, please, because one man has sinned here, Korah, shall the whole congregation perish. And he stayed the hand of God. God said to Moses, just tell the people who really believe on me to come out from among the congregation and be on my side, that's all. And yet within a few short hours, they were crying out again. Only this time, the judgment came. And Aaron, the great high priest, went in. And right in that congregation, as in every congregation throughout the world, Christ could stand today. In some congregations, sad to say, there might be none that are living. In some congregations, there might be half living, half dead. In some congregations, a great majority might be living. Lord, we pray that that would be so here. We make no pretension in thinking that everybody in any congregation is saved because we cannot judge that. We would pray that. We would like to believe that. But Lord, man being man, just because we're Franklin Avenue Baptists has nothing to do with it. This is the personal relationship of the individual to Christ. And so we pray this morning that in this congregation, if Christ would have come at this very moment, his coming again, his coming to receive us unto himself, and he came, which he is the great high priest of our profession, we're told that he ever lives to make intercession for us, that if he walked down the aisle, And on one side, he said, is the living and the other is the dead. There'd be such an exodus to the living side because they knew Christ. But the time for decision will have passed then. There won't be a time to say, well, now will come, Lord, we see you. For faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Now, Father, we pray that no one will leave this morning without Jesus in their hearts. While our eyes are closed, just for one minute, no prolonged invitation. Billy Graham's giving them every day, every night on television. Possibly some of you have even come as you've listened to him. But it may be that there's someone here this morning would like to say, Pastor Guillen, just pray for me. Just pray for me. Just put your hand up, every eye closed. Say, Pastor, pray for me. I want to be on that living side with Jesus as my high priest. Anybody at all? Just say, pastor, pray for me. Pray for me. I really want Christ this morning. Anywhere? Quickly? Just put your hand up. Anyone at all? Mother, dad, boy or girl? One moment and then I close. Quickly? Anyone? Quickly, and then I close with prayer. Put it up high so I can see it, and then just take it down. Anyone? Now Father, in our hearts we just believe that there's no one really wants to be lost this morning. So Father, we pray that everybody might be on that side of which it spoke of Aaron in the congregation, that on one side was a living, and that everybody in this congregation might be on the living side with Jesus Christ. We pray that there'll be no one on the side with the dead. In Christ's name, amen.