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Good morning, everyone. Morning. Great to be back with you again. We bring greetings from the Saints in Allentown, Pennsylvania. And, uh, my, my son wanted to remind me to bring my Eagles hat with me as I came up to New England, and I did, but I know the Bible says to, as much as possible, be at peace with all men, so I left it in the car all weekend, right? But it's there, so I thought about it, and I thought, well, maybe not. So, yes. Well, you got to give us one. You guys have a- an abundance of riches, so. Tom Brady's running out of fingers. All right. So, uh, and again, it's a blessing to stay with Kevin and Jill, as always.
And, uh, again, we think of our brother, uh, uh, Wade as he's, uh, on the mend, and we lift him up before the Lord. As I thought about what I was going to talk about this morning, we've been talking about the book of Daniel, and, uh, one of the things that we've been thinking about is prophecy and how that points to the future. Now, I would be remiss as a history teacher if I didn't mention that today is Veterans Day, which was originally Armistice Day, and it's the one hundredth anniversary since the end of World War I. So we're a few hours ahead or behind, right? But, uh, they called that the war to end all wars.
It was the Great War, and they didn't realize that in a few short years there would be a war that would dwarf that in scope and number of people killed. And, uh, I have a quote from John Lennox in re- in reference to Daniel, and he says this: As we've seen with Daniel, if we are on a journey in unfamiliar territory and the trail gets so narrow, steep, and difficult that we begin to think we've lost our way, and we wonder about turning back. It's very useful to possess a map that shows we must expect the going to be difficult at this very point, and that we should therefore press on. The Bible is just such a map for the times, and we need to follow its directions in order to navigate through the rough bits of history as well as the smooth.
And we've talked about how accurate Daniel's prophecies are, and that's one of the reasons why the book is attacked by so many critics, because they say there's no way anyone could predict with this degree of accuracy, but God knows the beginning from the end. And so, uh, we talked yesterday about reasons why we can believe that the book of Daniel is very accurate. Now, if you have your Bibles with you, if you just want to turn to chapter seven of Daniel before we get to Daniel chapter nine. And, and actually yesterday we ended with this slide, and we talked about the vision in chapter two. and we talked about this rock that was not cut from human hands, and it's going to come, it's going to destroy these kingdoms that are, were in the future at Daniel's time.
And, uh, in Daniel chapter seven, if you just look at verse thirteen, uh, thirteen and fourteen, and we, we again, we know that the Lord Jesus called himself the Son of Man, and even when he was be- brought before the high priest, he said that you'll see the Son of Man coming in the clouds in power and glory, and they tore their robes and they said, we don't need to hear anything else. This man's blasphemed. He's guilty of death. So verse thirteen: I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, oh, thank you, one like a son of man was coming, and he came up to the ancient of days and was presented before him, and to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. So we know that there's a fifth kingdom coming, and that kingdom is going to be ruled by the Son of Man, it says, and his kingdom is going to be an everlasting kingdom. We read that these kingdoms are going to become like chaff and be blown away by the wind, and his kingdom will fill the whole earth and will last forever. And if you look, continuing in chapter, uh, seven, just look at verse eighteen, But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come. And then look at verse twenty two, It says, until the ancient of days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.
And then verse twenty seven says, then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the d- all the dominions will serve and obey him. That's, that's uplifting to hear, isn't it? Sometimes things get down, but we know that God's word is true, and that kingdom is coming. And so, uh, we, we looked at also yesterday, we looked at Daniel seven, eleven, and twenty five, and it talks about the little horn, and we looked at how that compares to Revelation, and we said that what you get out of that is that not all the things that Daniel talked about have been fulfilled.
There are things that are yet to come that haven't been fulfilled, and there's degrees of fulfillment in prophecy. You know, we w- this morning, our brother read from Genesis three about the seed that's coming, and then it talked about Abraham's seed and then David's seed, but those seeds were just partially fulfilled prophecies in in regard to the seed, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the seed that was promised and would strike the serpent and all the things that we read in, in Genesis three. So let's now look at chapter nine. Uh, this is a fascinating passage, and uh, want to look at the things that are to come. So Daniel chapter nine. So, uh, Daniel is, uh, beseeching the mercy of the Lord.
He, he realizes that, that they're in Babylon for seventy years, and he's asking the Lord, uh, to have mercy on his people. And the angel Gabriel comes to Daniel, and if you just start at verse twenty four, this is what is told to Daniel. It says, seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city. So his people is the Jews, right, the nation of Israel, and the holy city is Jerusalem. So there's seventy weeks for the Jewish people and the nation, uh, or the city of Jerusalem. And within those seventy weeks, here's what's going to happen. He says, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.
And some translations say the most, the holy one, okay? Now, have all those things happened yet? No, they haven't. There's not an end of transgression. There, there is atonement for iniquity, but there's not everlasting righteousness. A lot of that stuff hasn't happened, okay? So it goes on. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Now, if you, and again, there's way more than we're going to have time to cover, so I'm just, this is kind of a drive. We did the drive, the city bus tour of Boston, uh, on Friday.
We came up a little early. That's kind of what this is today, right? It's not like we're getting out and investigating. We're just driving by, right? So if you're like, we didn't cover that, well, it's, I'm hoping to whet your appetite for further study, right? So, but if you look into all of these things, uh, we find out that the seventy weeks are really seventy weeks of years. And so it says from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, we can find that in Nehemiah chapter two, right? So we know the day, the month, the year that that happened, okay? And so there's seven seven weeks there, so it's seven seven years, okay? And then there's going to be another sixty two weeks, so sixty nine weeks in total till we see the Messiah.
And remember, the Jewish year is three hundred sixty days, not three hundred sixty five. So if you actually work this out, it takes you right to the time of Jesus. Interestingly too, uh, and again, it's it's fascinating if you, you, uh, ever watch people talk with Orthodox Jews about this sort of thing, because they say, look, the Messiah is going to come before the temple, the second temple was destroyed. Which says, hmm, because they're waiting for the Messiah, and if the Messiah had to come before the Second Temple was destroyed, that narrows the field. Also interesting as a side note, uh, the genealogies are kind of been d- like destroyed, right, through the dispersion and stuff. So how would you know who's the descendant of David and all that sort of thing, right, which the Messiah is going to be an offspring of David?
So just a side note, but very interesting. But it takes you right up to the time of the Lord Jesus, and it says, it says, uh, then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing. And of course, we recognize what that means now. It- prophecy is interesting because when it's given, it's really impossible to say precisely what it means, but after it happens, it's very evident what it means. The Messiah is cut off. Well, we look back and we say that was the cross. The Messiah was cut off, and we read about that in Isaiah fifty three. So he'll be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, even till the end will come, even, sorry, and its end will come with the flood, even to the end there will be war, desolations are determined.
Now, it's interesting here to note that it says, and he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week. So after the sixty— this is happening after the sixty two weeks, so early the sixty nine weeks, but before the seventieth week. So there's this thing that's happening kind of in between. And it says he'll make a firm covenant with the many for one week, so that's seven more years, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offerings, and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate. Now, uh, if you turn to, you just kind of keep your finger there and turn to Matthew chapter twenty four because the Lord Jesus refers to this in the, uh, Olivet Discourse.
And in Matthew twenty four, we start at verse three. They, they ask him, uh, he's sitting on the Mount of Olives, and his disciples ask him, what will be the sign of your coming in the end of the age? And Jesus says, see to it that no one misleads you, for many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will mislead many. You'll hear so- hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened. You think of war I and World War II and things going on in the Middle East. For those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom in various places, and there'll be famines and earthquakes. All- but all these are things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you, and you'll be hated by all nations because of my name.
At that time, many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many because lawlessness is increased. Most people's love will grow cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, let the reader understand, then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. And what you find as you study history, that, again, there's a, a partial fulfillment, right? So after Daniel wrote these things, there was the, in, in his series of empires, there was the Babylonian Empire that was replaced by the Persian Empire, which was replaced by the Greek Empire.
And then after the Greek Empire, which he foretold that Alexander would be cut off and his kingdom would be divided into four, those four would emerge into two, the Taumaic and Seleucid, and one of those kings from the Seleucid Empire would come and do these things, and that was Antiochus Epiphanes. He, it's Epiphanes, like he thought he was, uh, the glory of God, right? And he, he set up an altar to Zeus in the temple, and he sacrificed the pig and, and tried to force the Jewish people to give up their religion, and that caused the revolt from Judas Maccabee, and again, that's how you get Hanukkah and all those things. But that's not the full revelation, because Jesus says, when you see this. And so they would have said, well, wait, that happened already. Well, no, it didn't.
Now, again, Titus is going to come, the Roman emperor, and going to destroy Jerusalem in seventy AD. But that's not the fullness of. There's going to be something else, because we read in Revelation that there's another one coming. So it's still yet to be fulfilled. Twenty one. For then there will be a great tribulation such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Again, has that happened yet? No. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved, but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, behold, here is the Christ, or there he is, do not believe him. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, behold here, behold, he is in the wilderness, do not go out, or behold, he's in the inner room, do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Now, uh, what I'd like to talk about this morning, because I- I- I- I- yesterday I was very encouraged by the, we had one of the young men give his testimony, and he talked about how he was saved because he thought he missed the rapture. That- that he got ho- he got home and the- the TV was on, right? Nobody was home, and he went out on the sidewalk or in the grass, and he knelt down and he asked the Lord to save him, and then he called the police, and he found out his parents were getting gas, right?
That the, the gas. But I, and I, I shared that I got saved because I watched this, this, if, I don't know if you've seen this. When I was a little kid, I was about four years old at our church. I think it was like New Year's Eve. We used to get together for New Year's Eve, and they showed the movie A Thief in the Night. Anyone ever see that? Oh, shook me up for years, right? That the razor on the counter and you've been left behind, right? So I, I used to, I used to like, I shared a room with my brother, and I would be like, hey, hey. Like, what? Like, all right, just checking to make sure you're still there, right? And then my mom told me that she got saved because the same thing. She woke up from a nap and her parents were visiting the neighbors, and she thought the rapture happened. And I found out from my grandfather that the same thing happened.
So, so, but the rapture is in a, it should be an encouraging thing. So, in Daniel's timeline, what we see is that there, there'll be sixty nine years when all these things are going to b- to happen, but then there's a break before this seventieth year. Okay, there's a break, and then there's, there's seventy more years. Now, all this has to do with the nation of Israel, because remember what Daniel said, for my people and my city. Okay, we are not the nation of Israel, okay? The nation of Israel had seventy weeks, there's still one week to come. So we're essentially, history's on pause now, and we're in what's called the Age of Grace. So the opportunity to join the kingdom is open to everyone, okay?
And there's a lot of people who, uh, want to say that the, the pre-tribulation rapture is not really a, a an accurate doctrine, that it's something, uh, thought up by C. I. Schofield and Nelson, John Nelson Darby and things like that. But I want to, I want to take some time as an encouragement, because I find these things very encouraging, because, uh, like we, we sang those songs. How would it be if all of a sudden, before we finish this message, boom, we're caught up to be with the Lord Jesus? And I think that's what's, I think that's where we stand, right? We don't know the time, but I think that we have good reasons to think that we are going to be saved from this last week of seven because that is for the Jewish people.
And so I want to give you ten reasons for the rapture, okay? This is a little, uh, I feel like, uh, someone told me this is kind of like Randy Amos. We're, we're getting a little, it's a little like my teacher side comes out, right? But this is good. I think it's good, right? So ten reasons for the rapture. Number one, the Bible says that we will be kept from the hour of testing. Okay, so if you have your Bible, turn to Revelation chapter 3 and verse ten. Now, we know that in the beginning of Revelation, he addresses the seven churches, and again, there's some reason to think that there's a little deeper meaning to that, that some of s- some of these churches represent different ages as you go through the age of the history of the church.
And so the last church, uh, he's talking to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, which is the true church at the time of the end. And Jesus says this in verse ten: because you have kept the word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. Okay? So I think that if you take that as meaning that the church at the end of the age, he says that they will be kept from that hour of testing. Furthermore, in Revelation, after chapter three, the church just disappears from the story, from verse, from chapters four to eighteen, There's no mention of the church, okay? It's absent. And it's interesting, uh, it says, uh, in chapter four, verse one, after these things I looked and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, like the sound of a trumpet, speaking with me, said, come up here, and I will show you what must pl- take place after these things.
Right? Which seems to indicate that somebody's being brought up, right? Which would fit in with the pre-tribulation rapture. Reason number three, the restrainer will be taken out of the way. Flip back to second Thessalonians chapter two, if you would. Second Thessalonians chapter two. And Paul says, starting verse one, now we request re- now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or letter, as if it is from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself about- above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do, do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Now notice in verse six it says, what restrains him? And in verse seven it says, he who now restrains him.
And I think that the what that restrains the man of lawlessness is the church, because we're here. We are the salt and light. And who indwells the true church of God? The he, the Spirit of God. So the Spirit of God is, I mean, God is omnipresent, but the Spirit of God lives inside of his believers. We are the temple of God, it says, and we are here as the salt and the light to point the way to Christ. What's going to happen when the salt and light is removed? Who's going to restrain the man of lawlessness? It seems like he would be free to do what he wants to, right?
And so I think that's, that's what that's saying, that the church will be taken out. Number four, the rapture is no c- of no consequence after the tribulation. What would be the reason to catch us up and then immediately return us back to earth when the Lord comes? Think about that, right? Uh, there's no need to catch us away if we're to immediately return. And that goes in conjunction with number five, because what did Jesus say in John fourteen? He's coming to receive us, right? John fourteen verses one through three says, do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many dwelling places.
If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. Where's the kingdom going to be? At least for a thousand. Here, right? He's coming to rule the earth for a thousand years. So there, he said, where I am, there ye may be also. It seems like if he went to prepare a place for us, that's not here, and we're going, he's going to receive us unto himself, that's not here, right? We're going to come down, and we'll get to that, I'm jumping ahead, but we're going to come back with him, but it seems like first we're going up there.
Now, compare this to the second coming at the end of the tribulation. You don't have to turn, but in Revelation nineteen eight it says, it was given to her, that's the bride of Christ, the church, to clothe herself in fine linen, linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And and verse uh fourteen of chapter nineteen, and the armies which are in heaven, clothed of fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses. So, uh, is Jesus, when he comes with the armies of heaven, coming to receive the bride, or is he coming to fight the beast and his armies? And also, notice that the saints are already with him when he comes. So that, that wouldn't make sense, would it?
Number six, This is an interesting question. If all the believers are raptured and glorified after the tribulation, who will populate the millennial kingdom? I mean, if you, Zechariah fourteen. Zechariah is a, a fascinating book, but Zechariah fourteen verse sixteen says, then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of the booths. Hmm. I'll leave that for further study, right? Uh. Somehow I got my papers mangled up here.
Number seven, we have that the body of Christ is not destined for wrath. This morning, when we remembered the Lord, we talked about how God's wrath was poured out on his Son. And if we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, our sins were, it says our sins were nailed to his cross, and we bear them no more. Psalm one o three, it says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he separated our iniquities from us. If you turn to, uh, First Th- Thessalonians chapter five, I want to look at verse nine, but I'll just read from verse one for context. Paul says this, now as to the, to times and epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you, for you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night, when they are saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a, like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of day, nor are we of night or of darkness. So let then, so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and of love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. Here it is. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with him. Now contrast that to Revelation chapter six verses sixteen seventeen.
Okay? So it says in Revelation six, and they said, so the people who are in this seven-year period, they said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who was able to stand? Now, is this how the Lord would treat his bride? If we're still there, that he would pour out his wrath? Is, and and again, it's not that we're free from trials or tribulations, but will we face the wrath of the Lamb? In Revelation fifteen, it says, so they're pouring out those bowls full of wrath on the world, the angels are. And then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever.
And then in Revelation 16, then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God. Then the angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the water saying, righteous are you who are and who were, O Holy One, because you judged these things. Now listen to this. For they, these people, poured out the blood of the saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve it. And I heard the altar saying, yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments. Now, how can that possibly be the bride of Christ? It can't be, right?
Additionally, think about this, most of the church has already been taken up to heaven at death, so they would already have escaped the tribulation. So David Jeremiah heard one time said that, he said, uh, what good purpose could, could God have for a small group who just happened to be left at the end of times to be subjected to this awful tribulation, or Protestant purgatory, he called it, which is an interesting point. 8. What about the judgment seat of Christ and the marriage supper of the Lamb? When will these things take place? Again, more could be said, but... Reason nine, there are biblical precedents. Think about Enoch, caught up to God.
Elijah, caught up to God. And, and other precedents where God, their people avoided God's wrath. So you think of Lot, Noah, Rahab in Jericho. Think of all the firstborn sons of Israel as they left Egypt. They were spared from God's wrath. And then finally, whoop, reason ten, which I didn't put up here, uh, but here, if you turn to Mark chapter thirteen. So this is Mark's version of the Olivet Discourse. So Mark thirteen. And he says, starting in verse thirty three, take heed, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time will come.
It's like a man away on a journey. Who, upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning. In case he should come suddenly and find you asleep, what I say to you, I say to all, be on the alert. Now, if, if you read this in most commentaries, most commentators will say that this exhortation refers to being ready for the second coming of the Lord Jesus, but I, I would take a different approach to this.
So who is the Lord Jesus addressing in this parable? The slaves, he says, right? So the master is addressing the slaves. Who are God's slaves? In Luke seventeen ten, it says, so you too, when you do all these things which are commanded you, say we are unworthy slaves. We have done only that which ought to have, that we ought to have done. And Revelation nineteen five says, and a voice came from the throne saying, give praise to our God, all you his bondservants who fear him, small and great. We're his bondservants. We've been redeemed, we've been bought with a price. Now, if this refers to us, then I'd say we're looking at his second, we're not looking at his second coming, we're looking at the rapture.
And how has he described the rapture? Like a thief coming. We don't know the time that it's coming, it's just going to come upon us. Now, if you turn back to Daniel twelve, this is interesting. So, Daniel twelve, it says this, verse eleven. and twelve. It says, from the, from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be one thousand two hundred ninety days. How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the one thousand three hundred thirty five days. Now we know that from that timeline I showed you that that seventieth year is going to start when there's a peace treaty between the Antichrist, the beast, and the nation of Israel.
That's going to start that last year, and halfway through it, he's going to abolish the regular sacrifice and set himself up as God. And in Daniel twelve, we read that from that time, there will be one thousand two hundred ninety days, and how blessed to him who makes it to the one thousand three hundred thirty five days. And so if all that's true, then do we know when the Lord's coming back the second time? You could, yeah, you would say, okay, this is the day they signed the treaty, and you now you start the count, right? And if we could just make it to thirteen thirty five, we'll be all right. But that doesn't match what the Lord Jesus said about coming like a thief in the night. We don't know. It makes more sense that God has given us the time of his second coming, but we don't know when these things will begin.
And before they do, we'll be taken up to be with him in the air, and so shall we ever be. It's also interesting in Matthew twenty five, if you flip back to Matthew twenty five quickly. So this is coming right after he gives the Olivet Discourse. Here's what the Lord Jesus says. He gives this parable of the ten virgins, and he says in verse twenty five of Math- or sorry, verse one of Matthew twenty five, Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Later, the other virgins also came, saying, Lord, Lord, open up for us.
But he answered, Truly I say to you, I do not know you. Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. And again, on a post-tribulation view, the ones who are left behind would immediately be facing the armies of heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ, right? So they wouldn't be saying, open up, open up, because heaven will be opened and the Lord Jesus will be coming back. So if they're saying, open up, open up, that me- must mean that they didn't make it when the bridegroom came, they weren't ready. And that they, the, the virgins went with the bridegroom, and they're left behind, which would make more sense on a pre-tribulation rapture view. So back to, uh, Daniel and his seventieth week, uh, it's interesting that the first time the Lord Jesus came, he came to redeem us, not to rule as a king.
But the title Messiah and Christ are both identical in meaning. They both mean he's the anointed one. And, and he wasn't, and, and if you think about in history, uh, prophets were anointed, priests were anointed, and kings were all anointed, and the Lord Jesus serves in all three capacities. Yet the prophecy emphasizes his role as the king. Uh, we're not going to turn there, but if you read Psalm two, it's very clear that, uh, the Lord Jesus is the king. In fact, one of the most awesome verses of prophecy in the whole Old Testament, in my opinion, where is Psalm, uh, Two verse twelve, where it says, do homage to the son that he may not become angry and you perish in, in the way.
From a Jewish point of view, you're like, who's the son? Right? Clearly, it's the Lord Jesus. And when the Lord Jesus was born, he wasn't proclaimed to be a prophet or a priest. He was anointed as the king. When the wise men came, he was seen as the king who's born king of the Jews. When he's nailed to the cross, what's the title they put above his head? King of the Jews. So he's coming for a kingdom. Now, you might ask the question, what about Israel? You know, they were promised. They they were the promised people and a light to the world, and what happened? Somehow did they, did they miss out here? And just quickly, and I talked about this yesterday, just flip over to to Romans chapter nine quickly.
And as our brother mentioned this morning, God doesn't change, and the way of salvation doesn't change. It's not changed from the beginning, from the Garden of Eden, from the Garden of Eden, it was, did they trust God? With Abraham and Isaac, did he trust God? Did he have faith in God? And even today, it's, do you accept God's free offer of salvation by putting your faith and trust in his son? And so Romans nine verses fourteen through sixteen, Paul talking about, uh, Israel, he says, what shall we say then? There is no injustice with g- with God, is there? May it never be, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. And who does God have mercy on? The one who puts their faith in God for salvation. That's his plan. That's not our plan. We didn't make it up. He made it up. And so if you read down in verse thirty, he said, what shall we say then, that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith? But Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works, they stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, which we talked about yesterday, behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed.
They tried to do it through the law, that they were going to earn it, and you can't. It's the same. You have to realize that I can't do it, he did it, and you have to trust him. And so now, if we remember that timeline, there's this big period of time between God's finishing dealing with Israel, and anybody who wants to can be part of the kingdom of God. They can come in. And Paul says in chapter ten, verses one through four, Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them, the nation of Israel, is for their salvation, for I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
You can't do it your own way. It doesn't work. There's no other way. And so, in Zechariah chapter twelve, you don't need to turn there, but the Lord is going to deal with them. He says, in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. He's going to protect them, and he says, I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication, so they will, they will look on me, whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over him, like the bitter weeping of a firstborn. And then in thirteen, he says, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd and against the man my associate, declares the Lord of hosts.
And of course, Jesus said, that's me. In Matthew twenty six, he says, that's me, that's what's going to happen. Strike the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. It will come about in all the land, declares the Lord, that two parts in it will be cut off and perish, but the third will be left in it, and I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested, and they will call on my name, and I will answer them, and I will say they are my people, and they will say the Lord is my God. And then, if you would, if, uh, just turn back to Zechariah fourteen, which leads us into this is what we have to look forward to.
The Lord is going to come, literally come. And in verse four of chapter fourteen, it says, in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley. And then it says, verse five, at the end, then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him will be coming with him, and it will be a unique day, verse seven, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light, and in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem. And then verse nine, and the Lord will be king over all the earth in that day. The Lord will be the only one, in his name the only one.
Think about that. There'll be no other religions. The Lord will be king in the whole earth. There's no other options, and he will take his rightful place as the king. And we read in Daniel seven, we'll be inheriting the kingdom with him. We'll be with him. Now, interesting. Again, if you complete the story, he'll rule for a thousand years, but then the sa- Satan, the devil, will be let loose and deceive the nations once more, and then the judgment will come. And we talked in Daniel, who is the judge? The Son of Man, Daniel seven. The Lord Jesus will sit on the judgment throne.
And in Revelation twenty, we have time to read that quickly. Revelation chapter twenty. it describes the great white throne judgment, and it says, then I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose presence the earth and heaven fled away, but no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were written in them, and they were judged according every one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. So, this has been a bit technical, I apologize. But here's the point. We've seen in Daniel that the prophecies that Daniel gave us have come true. And there are prophecies that haven't come true yet. For those of us who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we have a hope every day that we might hear that shout and be caught up together with him, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, and we will reign with him, and he's going to bring his kingdom in, and we'll be part of that. That's fantastic, that our sins are forgiven, we bear them no more, I don't have to to to answer for anything that I've done because it's been laid out on the Lord Jesus, and the the Father looks at the offering of the Son, and he is satisfied one hundred percent.
But if you're here and you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, the prophecies that we've talked about are still going to happen, whether you believe it or not. And you will be standing before the judge, the Son of Man, someday if you have not accepted his offer of salvation. That is going to happen. Daniel's testimony is true. We've seen, like, again, that's why people can't, like, there's no way anybody could do this, but he did it, and it's happened, and I gave reasons why we should believe that the book is authentic. But that's not what God's will is. John three sixteen says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
But it goes on. He said, God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. There's nothing else to do. You have rejected the offer of salvation because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. The, the theme of the conference this week is faith. Faith is, is the one determining factor of where you will spend eternity. That's it. That's God's plan. Salvation by grace through faith. God did it, we just have to accept it.
If you choose not to accept it, then God's not going to drag you kicking and screaming into his kingdom. He's going to say, thy will be done, and you'll be eternally separated from the Lord. And again, my, the Bible says today is the day of salvation, and the Lord Jesus says, behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, that's a glorious thing. I can't wait to see him. I can't wait to see him face to face. I can't wait to throw anything that he gives to me to his feet because I'm not worthy of it. And I just listened to a message from Scott DeGraft not too long ago, and he talked about the judgment seat of Christ, and I never really thought about this, but he said that we're going to do that continually for eternity.
It's not a one-time thing. We'll get it back, and we'll throw it back again, and we'll throw it back again, and we'll throw it back again, we'll throw it back again. Because he's worthy of it. But if you're not a believer, this is a terrifying verse, isn't it? So it's, I ho- hopefully this is an encouragement that every, we don't know when he's coming. Again, if it's the second coming, I think we could figure that out, right? But we don't know. It could be today. It could be before we eat lunch. So my prayer is that if you don't know where you're going to spend eternity, that today would be the day of salvation. The offer is free. God's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Let's pray.
Our God and Father, we just thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for the revelation that he has given throughout his word. We thank you for the messages that you gave to the prophet Daniel and the testimony of his life. We thank you that you are willing to show us, uh, even if in a veiled sense, the things that are going to take place, Lord, that we can have confidence and, and as a, a map through a dark place, Lord, that we can know that despite the, the times being hard, that you are in complete control and that, uh, uh, all things are working together for good to those who know you and are called according to your purpose. Lord, we pray that that would be the case for everyone here today, Lord, that everyone would truly know your son as their savior, and if not before they leave this place, that they would, uh, make that choice.
We just thank you for this time together. We thank you for this food. Pray that you'd bless it to our bodies, and thank you for this conference. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.