shall we turn in the word of God tonight to the third chapter of Zechariah chapter three in the book of Zechariah reading the ten verses that are written by the Spirit the prophet revealing a continuation of the visions that God gave to him in that one night as we find them in the second section of this great prophecy beginning in chapter one at verse seven and going down through chapter six. We have the fourth vision in chapter three. And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. And he built thee Satan. Even the Lord that had chosen Jerusalem rebuked thee. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of Jehovah, or the angel of the Lord, stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested or charged Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep, or guard my courts, and I will give thee places to walk, among these that stand by. Hear now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows or companions that sit before thee, for they are men wandered at, for behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch, for behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua. Upon one stone, seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. May God bless the reading and the hearing of its precious and holy word. Humbly but descendant upon the Holy Spirit, we trust that we shall have the illumination of this precious portion from the great prophecy. The preceding visions that we have covered in chapters one and two, the first three visions have dealt with the deliverance of Israel from their captivity and the oppression of the nations around them. And they have brought before us also the consequent enlargement and expansion of Jerusalem in that coming day of ultimate prosperity and material blessing that God will bring to the land of Israel. The Spirit of God now occupies the prophet with something that is not external, but rather internal in relation to the nation of Israel. And that is the need of cleansing and the need of the nation's purification from sin. And the fourth vision before us reveals how God will thus purge Israel and will cleanse and reinstate Israel to the place of a priestly kingdom and to the office and the functions of a priestly and kingly people. Some of you may remember that in the nineteenth chapter of the book of Exodus and verses five and six, the purpose of God regarding Israel was declared through Moses. it was to be a holy nation it was to be a kingdom of priests and they were thus to represent and officiate for the glory of God in all of the earth amongst all the nations the purpose of God is declared in that book of Exodus has never been fulfilled but according to the prophetic scriptures the day is coming when Israel will function as an earthly, priestly, kingly people, which we shall see more in detail in later chapters. But the chapter before us tells how God will cleanse, how we will purify the nation to fit the nation for that coming, priestly ministry and the functions of a kingly people. The chapter is divided into two divisions. The first five verses give to us the symbolical act of this purification. And then the remaining part of the chapter gives the explanation as well as the application of the truth in relation to the land and in relation to God's people. May I state that the whole chapter gives three particular facts that are outstanding around which the prophet thus finds God dealing with Joshua the high priest. The first great fact that is brought before us is the unchangeableness or the immutability of God's choice of Israel. Let me repeat the statement. We shall touch upon it in the study in detail. But one of the great facts within the chapter is the fact that God has an immutable, unchanging purpose in having chosen Israel. He has never veered from that purpose. He has never denied that choice. There are those, even amongst evangelical Christians, who would state that God has abrogated his promise and abrogated his choice of the nation of Israel. That is not so according to the word of God. His purpose is immutable and unchanging in having chosen the nation for himself. And then there's a second fact. And this corroborates the character of God. though he is the unchangeable one, yet the second fact reveals that God has given and does give severe punishment to Israel for the nation's sins. May I repeat that truth? It's a solemn truth. It is a divine principle that is true of God's people in every age. But in relation to Israel, You and I must confess from the reading of the Word of God, from the reading of the great prophecies of the major as well as the minor prophets, as well as the historical books of Israel, God has never failed to chastise his people and to punish them as a nation for their sins. And the same principle is true we know in relation to the children of God in this age. the third great fact which we shall certainly see and blessed it is there will be the complete removal of their iniquity the iniquity of the nation the iniquity of the land in one day and the removal of that iniquity will be accomplished by the Messiah the servant the Messiah who is the branch and God will in one day remove the iniquity of the land of Israel and of the nation, just as he removed your iniquities and mine through the precious blood of his dear son. Now let us look at the chapter in detail. In verses one and two we have the high priest Joshua in a judicial trial standing before Jehovah. Let me read the two verses. and he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord or the angel of Jehovah and Satan was standing there literally as an adversary at his right hand to resist him and the Lord said unto Satan the Lord rebuked thee O Satan even the Lord that has chosen Jerusalem rebuked thee is not this a grand plus out of the fire. The careful reading of the book of Haggai as well as the book of Zechariah and the contemporary books of Ezra and Nehemiah revealed to us that Joshua was the high priest in that time of restoration when the captives came back from Babylon. Zerubbabel was the prince of Judah and he will be found mentioned in our study of tomorrow morning in chapter four. And these two men were the representatives of the nation. One the high priest Joshua and Zerubbabel the prince of Judah. And Joshua is standing as the high priest and before the presence of Jehovah He is thus representative of the nation for which he stands. Now may I point out, Joshua is not standing here in a personal relationship, an individual responsibility to Jehovah. Joshua in the vision is particularly as an official representative of the nation, which the high priest of the nation wants. and he is standing before Jehovah, representing the nation. And in the vision, it is the nation that is on trial before Jehovah in the person of the high priest of that day. Along with Joshua in the presence of God, there stands the adversary. And we all know well from the scriptures whether it be in the Old Testament of the book of Job, whether it be in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation in chapter twelve and verse ten, the great adversary of the people of God is none other than Satan. And the nation's adversary is Satan. And Satan is there accusing and dwelling upon the sins of the people of Israel in order that God might cast them out of His sight and from His presence forever. My beloved, let me emphasize a solemn truth. Satan's desire is thus to see that God would cast forever aside the people who belong to Him, and that's true today. He is the great adversary of the people of God. And his desire is to cast the people of God, out of God's sight, that God may condemn them forever. You know, one of the solemn things that troubles my heart is to realize that we have some very good men. I'm speaking of Christian men. who would indeed abrogate all the promises of God for Israel and claim that he's cast them aside forever. Well did Paul write in Romans chapter eleven. Has God cast away his people? God forbid. But that's the purpose of the adversary, that the nation should be cast aside and cast out of his presence forever. But the nation has a defender. Note the words in verse two. And Jehovah said unto Satan, The Lord rebuked thee, O Satan. Even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem. And note this very carefully. Though Joshua representatively is standing before Jehovah and being accused. by Satan, the defender, Jehovah himself, defending that nation does not speak of Joshua's personal condition, nor does he speak of his defense against Joshua personally, but his defense on the behalf of the nation. For note the words, the Lord rebuked thee, O Satan, the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee it is the angel of Jehovah that calls the wrath of God and the rebuke of God upon Satan and my beloved may I state again with joy and confidence the only one who is able to rebuke the adversary is our Lord Jesus Christ who is none other than the angel of the covenant the angel before his face and the angel of Jehovah as he is termed in this book and beloved the rebuke of Satan comes from the angel of the Lord the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God himself there is an occasion in the epistle of Jude where the angel Michael the archangel rebukes Satan But the reason was far different. It was regarding the burial of the body of Moses. And Michael the archangel would not rebuke Satan, a greater angel, in the creation of God. But he said, The Lord rebuke thee. But here before us, tis the question not of a dead body. It is a question of a people whom God claims for himself. And the justification of the rebuke must come, and it does come, from only one who is able to rebuke the adversary, the angel of Jehovah. Now I want you to note the ground of the Equivalent. The acquittal of Joshua, the ground of the forgiveness, the ground of the justification, as God rebukes the adversary. And may I point out a most precious truth. Let me read that second verse again. The Lord rebuked thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee. And may I point out the angel of Jehovah's, and treaty and rebuke is not on the basis of Joshua's merit. Let me reemphasize that again. It is not on the basis of any merit that Joshua possessed, but it is entirely upon God's sovereign choice of Jerusalem. All take in those words. The Lord rebuked thee, O Satan. The Lord rebuked thee who hath chosen Jerusalem. Let him rebuked thee. God's sovereign choice of Jerusalem. Now, beloved, may I say, many centuries had rolled over the history of Jerusalem, even up to this present time of our study in the book of Zechariah in the time that he lived. and many centuries have rolled by since that time, and time still reveals that Jerusalem has not been blessed to Jehovah according to his great promises in their fullness. But may I say, God has never abrogated his choice of Jerusalem, and he has not He is not renewing his choice. He is reasserting it. And claiming that it is a continuous choice that he has made that Jerusalem should be his city. And the glory of all the earth when it shall be. For, oh, God's sovereign choice. You say, why? Why should he choose Jerusalem? Go with me to Deuteronomy chapter seven, please, in your Bible. Let me read two verses from the seventh chapter of the book of Deuteronomy and read the words that Moses has penned in the seventh and the eighth verse. Oh, may I read them? Begin at verse six, if I may, please. reading through verse eight, for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all people. but because the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. There are two great facts that base this choice that God has made. First, it was a thundering choice He chose them for himself. He chose them. And as the prophet Moses writes, He chose you because He loved you. Oh my beloved, you may wonder why He chose them. You may wonder also why He loved them. And all he says, Because I loved you. Now when you and I as a believer think, of what God has done to choose us. Chosen before the foundation of the world and loved. Can you tell me why? The only thing you can say is because. Because he made the choice. Because he loved us. He chose you because He loved you, and He loved you because He loved you. There's no other answer. We sing the song, Why did My Savior to Calvary go? Why did He love me so? My beloved, that's an impossible why. For you and for me to have happened. But because he chose them and because he loved them, he made them his own choice. And Jerusalem to be the place of his glory in all the earth. Let's go back to our chapter and note what Joshua hears the Lord say as he rebukes the adversary at the end of verse two. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? And may I say, when you look at the life of Abraham, which we haven't time to do, when you look at the life of Moses, which we have no time to do, when you read of Abraham, and when you read of Moses, when God speaks to him out of the fiery burning bush, and when you read the prophecies, even as Isaiah chapter forty-eight declares, God says, I brought you, or I brought you as a brand, From the burning I've chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. My beloved, when you look at Israel, it's a brand that's been brought out of the burning. Out of the Babylonian captivity, the remnant was brought back. And out of the ages and centuries that have rolled, God says, I will get, bring them back. And he is bringing them back. And when the fires of the Great Tribulation will have been finished and accomplished this purpose, it will be seen that from the beginning to the end of their history, to the glory of their Messiah, they were as a brand plucked out of the burning. My beloved, you and I that are sinners saved by grace, we often apply the truth to our own souls. And God hasn't forgotten that that lonely thorn bush burning with fire has never yet been consumed. And it will be literally seen that when the glory of Israel comes, will be a nation that has been plucked from the burnings of affliction throughout their history. My beloved, it was prophesied to Abraham that in affliction the nation would thus be brought to its ultimate glory. And to Moses and to the prophets as they succeeded in their ministry. And even the blessed Lord Jesus when he was here declared in Matthew twenty four that they would go through that period of their greatest trial, the great tribulation, and be brought out in the ultimate remnant to be delivered to the glory of God. One of the greatest heartaches that one has today is to realize what's facing the nation of Israel in the ultimate judgment of the Great Tribulation. But let's hasten on in our chapter, please. A grand plot from the burning. Now note verse three. For verse three describes the actual sinful moral defilement, not just of Joshua, but of the nation. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments as he stood before the angel of Jehovah. The meaning of the expression, filthy garments, indicates the filth of the most loathsome character, and denoting the sins of the people, as seen by God. And may I say frankly, the adversary Satan had good grounds to accuse them. He had grounds for his accusation. I know beloved he has the same for you with me. I hear the accuser roar of ills that I have done and know them well and thousands more. But thank God Jehovah findeth not. My beloved the adversary has every accusation to condemn you and me before God. But thank God that the blood of Jesus Christ rebukes the adversary. But Joshua is seen. And take home to your heart. And to your mind, it is the nation that must be cleansed from its defilement. From its sinful path of disobedience. and the land claims before it can shine for Jehovah. You know it's so wonderful to see the sequence of these chapters. Chapters one and two, telling what God is going to do. But chapter three, declaring God will not perform it until he has made that people morally and spiritually fit. to be acknowledged as his own. God never goes contrary to his character. And Joshua had the most filthiest of garments upon him in the vision, indicative of the nation as it is seen before the Lord, that it is the nation. Will you look with me at verse nine for just a moment? I want you to realize again that it is not Joshua alone, not the individual person of the high priest, but in his official capacity he represents the nation. For if you look at verse nine at the end of the verse, Jehovah declares, I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. It is for the cleansing of the nation, the cleansing of the people, the cleansing of the land, that God will work in that coming, soon coming day. We now go back in the chapter, please. And note verse four, and that is the divine command to justify Joshua. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment, all festival garments. Oh, beloved the justifier, beloved, listen, please listen carefully. The only one who justifies is the Lord. It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns? It is God that justifies. And what joy it is to realize justification in the case of the nation of Israel and the godly wind that shall be brought through. The justification comes from the lips of Jehovah himself. and what a justifier. Go with me to Isaiah chapter fifty, will you please? Isaiah chapter fifty, let me read verses eight and nine, I believe. Chapter fifty, verse eight and nine. Note these words. How precious. As thus the nation. Go with me to verse seven. And let's read through verse nine. How prophetical are these words. For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a plinth, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near the justifier of me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let it come near to me. Behold, the Lord God will help me. Who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment. The moth shall eat them up. And I realize from the prophetic words before us, they speak well of the Lord Jesus in his humiliation and in the condemnation of his sufferings in death. But my beloved, the same blessed one who in resurrection glory justifies the person and work of his son is the same blessed one who justifies his people. And the Lord God will help me. He is near the justifier of me. And thus the Lord God will justify. Meaning clear from every charge. the sins of his people. You know, it's a grand thing to be justified, is it not? As even a saint today enjoys the knowledge of justification through faith in the precious blood of Christ. My beloved, I tell you one thing. We have a worthy opponent in our adversary Satan. He is a mighty foe. The beloved plead, may I say, from the very description in Joshua's experience in chapter three of the prophecy of Zechariah. May I say, there was Joshua standing before Jehovah himself in the very presence of its sanctuary. There was Satan accusing him that the one who could indeed justify him was near and and hallelujah. Hallelujah. I think of the words of John as he wrote them in first John two, verse one and two. My little children, these things write unto you that you sin not, and it's any man's sin. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins. And not for hours only, but for the whole world. Hallelujah. I'm glad my saviors nearer to me than the devil. Nearer to the throne of God than the adversary who can point the finger of accusation and condemn even God's people. Oh, beloved, Jehovah himself justified. Am I speaking to someone not saved? Wouldn't you like to be justified? Oh, my sinner friend, that Savior is so near to you, nearer than hands and feet. He is the one who can forgive. and put your sins away forever from the sight of a holy God and justify you, clear you of every charge. Why? Because of the value of his precious blood. Later on in our study when we get to chapter twelve and thirteen particularly, we shall see that great day there will be the national day of atonement when Israel as a nation will find a fountain that cleanses their sins away. For there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sin is plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stain. Hallelujah. And oh, there's joy. Now know what the end of verse four says. Behold, I cause thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment, or festival rose. And may I say, my beloved, that change of raiment indicates the garments of purity, the garments of joy, the garments of glory. Will you go with me to Isaiah chapter sixty-one, please? I'd like you to see in the great prophecy of Isaiah, chapter sixty-one, the great joy that will be Israel's in that coming day. Chapter sixty-one, if you please, and you may I read verse three, as we have these words, as the Lord speaks of the completion of his works, to appoint under them that mourning Zion to give unto them beauty for ashes, the almond oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness. the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Go down to verse six, if you please. But ye shall be named the priests of the Lord or Jehovah. Men shall call you the ministers of our God, and ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. And my beloved, let us not doubt for a moment the coming glory and beauty and joy and purity. That will be Israel. Now if one were to ask what you think of Jews today, we'd get many different answers, would we not? But when you see the grace and the mighty power of the Spirit of God, in that coming day of Revelation, when the Messiah is revealed, and when the nation shall be cleansed, and the remnant, the godly remnant brought through the fires of trouble, to be God's chosen nation, oh, with what purity? with what glory and beauty they shall thus possess their land and the coming day. But do verse five, please. The prophet is undoubtedly a witness to all this going on before him. And it is in verse five that the prophet speaks. Zechariah. For he sees the garment of beauty, the change of raiment, And, oh, beloved, I'm glad I've got that garment. When you think of the prodigal son coming home, he came in all his rants, in all of his filth. He said, I'm not worthy to be called thy son. And the father said, Bring forth the best robe, put it on him. And I tell you, my beloved, you look mighty beautiful to the Lord in that garment of righteousness that is clothed you and me with. dressed in duty, not mine own. Thoughtless to stand before the throne. And oh, the joy of having the righteousness of God in Christ. And that righteousness, the garment of glory and beauty and purity and joy in the very presence of God, But as the prophet looked, oh, he says, finish the picture, finish the act. And in verse five, I said, let them set a fair mitre, a crown upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head and clothed him with a festival garment. And the angel of the Lord stood by. Oh, beloved, this is the crowning diadem, the mitre upon the head. And as you recognize the symbol of the mitre, we're reminded of the high priest in Israel. Upon that mitre upon his head were written the words, Holiness unto the Lord. And when we come to the closing chapter of this great prophecy, holiness will be the character of Jerusalem. Holiness will be the character of the people of God in Israel. Holiness will be the character of the reign of the Messiah in that coming day. And there is the crowning act, as Joshua is thus crowned as it were with a diadem. Look with me in Isaiah chapter sixty-two. Please note these words in chapter sixty-two in verse three. Oh, may I read it? The words that are found in the third verse so precious, and they are written of Israel in the day of its coming glory, Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. My, the heart longs to see Israel glorified. The heart longs to see God's earthly people restored, forgiven, and then lodged and glorified. And the day is coming when they will indeed be glorified. And in beauty and glory shall shine for the Lord as a royal diadem. I want to tell you something. You wouldn't put any royal diadem on a Jew today. You wouldn't do it. My beloved, let me say this. None of us are worthy. May I go further, please? I don't want you to magnify Israel's glory over the glory of the church. And when we contrast even the earthly glory of Israel, with the heavenly glory of the bride, the church, may I say the glory of the bride will shine in greater effulgence from the heavens above than the glory of Israel on the earth below. I want to say this, I'm glad I'm a church saint instead of a Jewish saint. My beloved, listen, please, if God is going to give this glory to Israel, shall not you and I value more than we have done what He will do with that blood-bought bride. The heavenly Jerusalem. Jerusalem which is above. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. for the glory of that earthly Jerusalem will only be the reflection of the glory of that heavenly city shining down upon the millennial earth. I rejoice in the knowledge what God will do with Israel, but I bless him and praise him in worship and adoration that unworthy as I am, he is giving to the saints of the church a greater glory, a more intimate glory, to be the bride, the object of eternal affection through endless ages in a heavenly glory for the church. Hallelujah. You know, if I wasn't in the church, I'd get in it. Now, you know what I mean, I hope. I mean the body of Christ. a believer in the Lord Jesus in this day. Hallelujah. I just feel like I am saved again. Well, I don't have to. But thank God there's glory. Oh, my beloved, if this in the sovereign choice and love of God is for Israel, what shall we say of the bride of Christ? Now let's go on and see the rest of the chapter. For God gives a solemn charge quickly to Joshua in verse six and seven. The angel of the Lord protested, meaning he charged Joshua, saying, Thus hath the Lord of hosts, if thou wilt walk in my ways. Now I want you to know, there was a personal charge. And here you can recognize the ground of that coming blessing, that the people of Israel, in their personal life, as Joshua was charged, in his personal life, walk in my ways. Second, in his official life, thou andest thou wilt keep my charge. And if in his personal life he walks in the ways of God, if in his official life he keeps the charge of God as the high priest, then he said, it will produce wisdom to judge my house. You'll have wisdom to judge my house and my people. And then forth. It will also give you power. You shall also keep. You'll have power to guard my cause and keep them from pollution. And then you'll have continual access into my presence I'll give thee places to walk among these that stand by the suggestion has been given possibly the angels of Jehovah were standing by watching and the angels of God have access into the presence of God and what we have given is a fallen charge that will be the basis of the blessing of the nation in that coming day keeping God's ways keeping his charge judging his house, guarding his court, and they'll have access into the presence of God continually as the angels of God also possess. And then the greater explanation of the vision comes in verses eight through ten. My beloved may I say as we come to this section, we have the thrill of singing. what the prophecy reveals again and again some of the great glories of our Lord Jesus Christ the Blessed Messiah verse eight here now O Joshua the high priest thou and thy fellows that sit before thee or thy companions for these men the companions surrounding you they are meant to be wandered at men of signs they are given to you for a sign which is the meaning for there are greater events in the future that the prophet would bring before, would have brought before him by Jehovah. And what is it? Behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. My beloved may I say, Joshua's deliverance and his salvation was a sign of a greater salvation to come. The foreshadowing of a greater event and the foreshadowing of a greater person, one that is called the branch. God's coming servant, the branch. Those of you that are well acquainted with the scriptures may know that from the prophecies, we have the presentation of the title of the Lord Jesus Christ in this name, the branch. It is one of the many names belonging to our Lord Jesus Christ. And you'll find a four-fold presentation of Christ as the branch in the prophecies. May I just repeat them briefly. In Jeremiah chapter twenty-three, as well as in chapter thirty-three, Christ is presented as the branch of David, the king. and God presents him as the branch who is the king, meaning the king of Israel. And then as we have here in our prophecy, in this eight verse, he is presented as the branch who is the servant of Jehovah. My servant, the branch. And then in Zechariah six, which we shall be in later in verse twelve, he is presented as the man who is the branch. And then we have in Isaiah chapter four in verse two, he is presented as being very God, Jehovah, as the branch. Now beloved, look, you have only to turn to your Gospels and you'll have the floor presentation. The branch who is the son of David the king in Matthew, the branch who is the servant in Mark, the branch who is the perfect man in Luke, the branch who is very God in John. And may I say, my beloved, beyond what Joshua saw and experienced in the vision, God had a testimony revealed of a person who was coming who was greater, who was the branch. Now read on please. For we have in verse nine that same blessed one revealed in another aspect and with another name. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone seven eyes, behold I will engrave the graving thereon, saith the Lord of hosts. Now my beloved, there is only one thing to do, to be true to the interpretation of the messianic prophecies. The stone is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself also. He is God's great stone. And may I give the thought? In relation to Israel, he has become a stumbling stone, a rock of offense. To those who will not trust him, he is a stumbling stone in the rock of offense. To those who trust him, as Isaiah twenty-eight sixteen brings out, he is a refuge, a stone of refuge. Daniel tells in the great prophecy of the vision of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar saw a stone cut out without hands. that smoked the image on its feet, and the image crashed to the floor, and the wind blew it away as the chap of the French Inful. The destruction of the nations. For when that blessed one comes as the stone of destruction, my beloved, may I say, the greatest destruction the world has ever known in all of its international crises is coming at the appearing of the Lord Jesus. and the nations shall be crushed and destroyed in their power. And now, Lord Jesus, don't forget in chapter one, we saw him first of all as the angel of Jehovah standing upon a red horse, the very symbol of his destructive power to thus take vengeance upon the enemies of his people and the enemies that are his. Oh, beloved, I say this solemnly. The world is facing the greatest crisis it shall ever have known. You know I'm glad I'm saved. Bless God for the grace and the mercy that will save a poor sinner who's willing to put his trust and her trust in this stone. For thank God for that stone. That stone is the foundation stone of the church. Upon this rock I will build my church, said Jesus to Peter. And as Paul declared that there is none other foundation that can be laid than that which is laid, Jesus Christ. He is the foundation stone of the church. He is the cornerstone of the church, holding the believers together, Jew and Gentile. He is the topstone of glory, that which is the preciousness of it all. And thank God for the truth of the old hymn. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all over the ground, His sinking sand. Do you know what the Irishmen said? All of the rocks are shamrocks. But the Lord Jesus is the stone. For Israel, for the church, for any individual who trusts them. Oh, and like another Irishman said, he said, I tremble under rock, but he says, the rock never trembles under me. Thank God. My friend, are you on that rock? He's the stone. I know seven eyes on that stone. If you read the book of the Revelation, you have the phraseology of the seven spirits of God repeated again and again. And they indicate They indicate the complete equipment of the Spirit of God in perfection to bring to judgment the enemies of Christ. For the cooperation of the Spirit of God will be the messiahs in that day of judgment to bring to judgment all who should be and will be destroyed. But I want you to notice something. Says the prophet, there was an engraving upon the stone, an engraving upon the stone. And I want you to think of the engraving. You know, engraving is beautiful. When there's an engraving upon a stone, it's a work of beauty. It is a work of art. It is a work of wonderful perfection. When a perfect engraver can inscribe upon the stone that which he desires. My beloved, just let me add this fact. When our Lord Jesus takes this place as the Messiah of Israel, the king of all the earth, He will engrave upon his kingdom. He will have the perfect equipment for his messianic office and mediatorial work of redemption and spiritual beauty and glory and perfection. You'll find no fault with the glory and the beauty and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in that day. What an engraving it will be when the stone with the builders rejected will become the headstone of the corner. And Christ, in the glory of his person and the messianic office of his power, will rule over the earth. Hallelujah. I wish he were here. Now, when he shall reign upon the earth, What glory it will be. Well, go on. Know what happens. Two things take place. At the end of verse nine, and he says, I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Read it in chapter thirteen in verse one. There will be a fountain open for sin and for cleansing in that day. And I will remove the iniquity of that land. And then when the iniquity of the land is removed, then comes the blessing. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall you call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. And all the blessing of that land. Hallelujah. the vine and the thick tree. I remember hearing old William R. knew him many, many years ago. I remember hearing him saying in that millennial day, it's going to be back to the log cabin and the Bible. And I really believe it will be. And may I point out this, one of the most observant things I notice in Israel, Ever since Israel or Judah and Jerusalem were taken into captivity in Babylon, it was not until they were in Babylon they began being merchantmen. Merchantmen. Before they ever were dispersed out of the land, they were a pastoral and a land-loving people. And they produced from the land out of which they needed. But I tell you what, they never went in the banking business until they got to Babylon. And most of them never left it yet. You know that. But they're going to leave it. In that day of millennial glory, as I noticed in my recent visit, it's becoming a pastoral nation. Wherever you go, the productivity of the land is amazing from the mountains even down to the desert. All but a foreshadowing that in that coming day of the nation's resurrection and glory, there'll be the... Well, I tell you, I saw some vines, I saw some fig trees, and I saw plenty of olive trees, and many other precious fruit. They know most of all there's going to be a nation of priests and every Israelite will be in that kingdom, will be a minister of God. And one of the great joys they will have will be to spread the word of God and the knowledge of Jehovah to cover the earth. Bless your heart. If you think you're having good meetings with part of the palms, you haven't seen anything yet till the millennium kingdom comes. And though I confess I'm not coming down to speak though, for I'll be elsewhere. But the knowledge of the Lord is going to cover the earth. Hallelujah. I wouldn't mind being a preacher and a teacher in that day. But I thank God I've got to be in heaven. And when I get to heaven... I read in the scriptures there'll be no night there so you won't have to go to bed and I can preach for a long time. But oh the joy of seeing what blessing God is going to bring through his son to his beloved people Israel. I say again grateful that I'm not an Israelite. I'm grateful I'm a believer in the Lord Jesus, a member of the body of Christ. and of the bride. Hallelujah. You look mighty good tonight. You that have saved, God grant, we shall rejoice not only what he has done and is doing and will yet do for us. Let us bless him for what he's going to do for his earthly people. Shall we pray? Oh, blessed Father, what shall we say? The wonders of thy word the determined purposes of thine heart, and the immutability of thy choice. We acknowledge it. Israel is thy people. And though thou didst find him in a howling wilderness, as we saw last night, thou didst say that he is the apple of thine eye. And we pray tonight for Jerusalem. We pray for Israel. We pray in thy grace and will that even today many of thine earthly people may find Christ as their Savior before the days of trouble come. And we pray that we ourselves may appreciate the Lord Jesus more from what we have heard from thy word and seen within it tonight. And if there be one person who knows not the Savior, please, Lord... Please, Lord, trouble their souls till they rest their soul on the one who is the rock of ages. And know him, and say with thanksgiving, thank God, my hope is built on Christ the solid rock alone for my salvation. Grant this in the name of our Savior for his glory as we separate. Amen.