Turning your Bibles to Daniel
11, if you will. If you don't have your Bible,
you can use your pastor's commentary to follow us. We are in the 11th
and 12th chapter of Daniel. I remember years ago had the
arduous duty of removing the boots from my father's feet.
And I would take great delight in pulling his boots off just
for the specific purpose of flying backwards and landing on my butt. But I thought it was so insightful
that Rick made mention of how we We become just too proud to
pull our daddy's boots off at 13. I wasn't doing it. By 13, I wasn't pulling off nobody's
boots. But then I thought about it as
I was listening to him. I said, now, you know, look,
I'm lagging. My boys have yet to pull my boots
off. So I think I'll start wearing
some boots and see how much love I get from my sons. We try to
keep that tradition going around the house. As he had made mention of Michael
Liguri, for those of you who don't know, he did make it through
his operation, but that does not mean that he's through with
what we know to be a major, major battle of recovery for Michael.
And so we would covet your prayers for him continually. And I was
sharing with the brother earlier today how that God often will
allow some of us to go through very, very serious troubles in
our youth. Because in your youth, you have
a body that can withstand a lot of tension and trouble. And in
your youth, you don't always have the memories of pain and
suffering that you do when you're older. And so in God's wise providence,
he allows young men and young women often and even little children
to go through remarkably difficult times, remarkably difficult times. of which if you and I just thought
about it, we'd have heart attacks and seizures just thinking about
it. And so I said, in God's providence,
in God's wisdom, he allowed Michael to have to endure this time while
he is young so that he has the whole of his life in front of
him. And that really is our hope and prayer. And as he also said,
Rick also said, there are a lot of saints right now among us
and abroad that are going through lots of trouble. So if you are
OK, if you are well, today. If you don't have any burdens,
if you're happy in Jesus, if you are blessed, if you are doing
fine, spend a few minutes to pray for those among us that
are really going through some trouble. My little brother, which
happens to be one year younger than me, I think I was telling
the Saints last week I had a very challenging week with everybody
being sick. His kidneys went out on him for
the second time. So that's very serious for us
too. And And I was just thinking about
a number of us. Boy, we some of us are getting
close to the big five. Oh, and these things become a
reality for us. You young people, you guys are
you guys better enjoy it now because it's coming. And I hope
that you can find a hiding place. In Jesus Christ, when the day
of calamity comes for you, because that's the only thing that's
going to keep your soul in the midst of the storm. when it comes. Just a half a week to go. That's
the title of our message. Just a half a week to go. The angel is instructing Daniel
in chapter 12 and Daniel is experiencing the end or consummation of the
exposition of the visions and dreams that have so troubled
Daniel over the last several months and throughout his ministry
as he was blessed to receive from God insights and prophetic
visions of what would transpire not only in his own day, but
the subsequent generations to follow in the days of his grandchildren
and great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. And we can make application to
ourselves as well. We have learned that Daniel was
a man who was given to two offices with regards to the true and
the living God. He was a prophet, but he also was a priest. He
proclaimed God's Word, but he also mediated on the behalf of
God. Daniel, therefore, serves as
a great type of Jesus Christ, who is our prophet, priest, and
king. But he also serves as a great
type of the church whose job in this world is to hear from
God, obey what we hear, and tell the world that they need a Savior. That's our job as believers in
this world, as Daniel's was. And as I shared with you over
the several messages going through the book of Daniel, one of the
things that was remarkable to me about Daniel was that how
involved he got with the visions. For him, he was troubled by what
he saw. For him, he was burdened by what
he experienced. It bent him over. He became sick.
He became ill. And apparently, God so loved
him that he would come to Daniel revelations and in visions and
even in that theophany of Daniel chapter 11 chapter 10 rather
where the Lord Jesus showed up to comfort Daniel and tell Daniel
you are greatly beloved a lot of lessons in that children of
God when you open your Bible and you read your Bible you can
ask yourself a number of questions what do these things mean to
me what does the Word of God mean to me Not only what does
the Word of God do for me personally, that's still a little bit selfish,
but what does God's purpose, what does God's decree, what
does God's scheme of redemption mean to me with regards to His
whole purpose of bringing glory to Himself? You see, Daniel was
a man who loved the people of God, didn't he? He loved the
people of God so he bent over and prayed in Daniel chapter
9 and you remember how Daniel prayed we have sinned We have
rebelled against you. We have violated your law. We
have not kept your commandments God all of this have come upon
us Because he wouldn't separate himself from God's elect as I
said to us a couple of weeks ago we aren't healed until every
one of God's people are healed and As long as one of God's people
are suffering. We're all suffering And as long
as one of God's elect sheep out there are still lost, the body
has not fulfilled itself. And it's so important for us
to understand that I'm hoping that you can grasp a little bit
of what I'm going to talk about today. I'm hoping you can get
a little bit. If you can't get but a little bit, get the CD
and listen to it 10 times, because that's what you're going to have
to do. Because we're closing out Daniel chapter Daniel today,
and we'll move into the book of Nehemiah. Just a half a week
to go. Just three and a half days to
go. That's good news to somebody that's suffering. Are you hearing
me? See, when you're suffering, being
told that this won't last forever is good news. Have you ever been
in the midst of some kind of trouble and you didn't really
know when it was going to end? All you were hoping was that
it would end. And the question that arose in
your mind, which arose in the mind of the psalmist, which arose
in the mind of Daniel, which arose in the mind of the angel
in the 12th chapter, which arose in the days of John the Apostle
in the book of Revelation was how long? How long? See, when you're in trouble,
that's what you ask. How long? How long? How long will it be
before all these things end? That is a very germane question.
And God's answer to us is just a half a week to go. Look with
me in chapter 12. Verse 10 and 11 and I'm going
to go back and develop this is a very important for us to understand
some of the things that are going on today. Verse 8 of chapter
12 says and I heard but I did not understand then said I oh
Lord what shall be the end of these things and he said go your
way Daniel for the words are closed up and sealed until the
time of the end. Many shall be purified and made
white and tried. But the wicked shall do wickedly
And the wicked shall not understand, but the wise shall understand.
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away
and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall
be 1,290 days. Blessed is he that waits and
comes to the 1,335th day. Back at verse 7, And I heard
the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river,
when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven
and he swear by him that lives forever and ever that it shall
be for a time a times and a half a time and when he shall have
accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people all these
things shall be finished that's why I'm deriving my message from
verse 7 a time a times and a half a times and that phrase simply
connotes and I want you to get this before we get into the technical
terms It simply connotes a short period of time. What Daniel has
heard the Lord Jesus actually say to the angels who are involved
in this vision is this. All the troubles of all God's
people are but for a short period of time. Compared to eternity,
they are but for a short period of time. A half a week is not
a long time, is it, saints? Three and a half days is not
a long time. And you know if you read your
Bible carefully, this is what you'll hear Paul said to the
church at Rome in Romans chapter 16 around verse 20. He says now
the God of peace Isn't that what we want? Now the God of peace
now, you know in order to have peace God's got to give you peace
in this world We talk about peace all the time Do you know since
man failed there hasn't been peace on this planet now the
God of peace now watch this shall bruise Satan under your feet
shortly. You know how long ago it was
that Paul said that? 2,000 years ago. But his word was a word
of comfort to the persecuted church in Rome in the first century.
The Bible tells us again in the book of Revelation, chapter 1,
where Jesus is speaking to the church of Smyrna, that little
bitty band of true believers, one out of seven churches in
the book of Revelation 2 and 3, Two out of seven churches,
when Jesus came to them to examine that church, it was only two
churches that he commended and not admonished or had to correct. And one of them was Smyrna because
they suffered for the gospel sake. Now, they were a small
group of believers. They were poor. They were broke. They were
ostracized. Here's what Jesus said in Revelation
chapter one. He said in Revelation chapter
one, I'm sorry, chapter two, around verse 10 or so, he says,
now, Some of you, Satan is going to cast into prison and he's
going to kill some of you. But listen, it's only going to
be for 10 days. Now, this is the word from our
Savior to the early church. It's only going to be for 10
days. Then he goes on to say, but now if you remain faithful
now, if you remain faithful, there will be a crown of life
laid up for you. You have an opportunity to eat
of the tree of life and you'll partake of what we call paradise
if you can hold on 10 days. Are you hearing what I'm saying?
The church was simply told it will be a short period of time.
And that's what the term a time and a time and a half a time
also means for us, children of God, a short period of time. Now, I'm going to develop this
toward the end of the message, but I want to remind you that
what you and I are dealing with is the last week of the 70 weeks
of Daniel chapter 9. Do you guys remember when we
dealt with the 70 weeks of Daniel chapter 9? There were 7 weeks
and then there were 62 weeks, which constituted 69 weeks. And at the end of 69 weeks, the
Bible says, and Messiah shall be cut off. Once Christ was cut
off, everything that was to transpire over the next umpteen thousand
years until he came, within the framework of that last week.
We learned that he was cut off in the middle of the week. That
means we only have a half a week to go. You and I have been in
the last half of that last week for 2,000 years. Now the only
way you can understand that is to recognize that what Daniel
was dealing with, as we said before, was an Old Testament,
sabbatical, prophetic calendar. He was not dealing with literal
days, he wasn't dealing with literal weeks, and he wasn't
dealing with literal years. And it's the same thing that's
going on in our text in Daniel chapter 11 and 12. Now you and
I have been going through the history, the history of what
took place in Daniel chapters 8 through 12 and we saw how in
Daniel chapter 8 Daniel was told about the Medo-Persian kingdom
and the Grecian kingdom and last week we look real intently at
Antiochus Epiphanes you guys remember that? Antiochus Epiphanes
was raised up in the Grecian kingdom. His reign began in 175
B.C. and it ended in somewhere around
145 B.C. and his terror upon the people
of God began in approximately 169 B.C. and it ended in about
163 B.C. The time span encompassed about
six years. It was a small period of time,
six years. This is why most scholars believe
that Antiochus Epiphany stood as a great model and type of
Antichrist or that Antichrist system of which I'm trying to
explain to us because the Bible talks about a length of period,
a period of time, which encompasses the last week or that set of
seven years, that first three and a half years that Antiochus
was on the scene. We're getting ready to get into
the methodology of the beast here. That first three and a
half years that Antiochus came on the scene, he manipulated,
he deceived, he flattered, he won over everybody, even the
Jewish people. Isn't that what we learned last
week? It was for about three and a half years he did that.
The world thought everything was well. They thought they were
entering in or ushering in the new world order. They thought
we were about to enter into a mode of absolute peace. And then in
the midst of that delusion, Antiochus rises up with hostility because
of some news he heard. And then he started going on
his rampage, acting an absolute fool. And the people of God found
themselves confronted with Antiochus. And we see this over in Daniel
chapter 11. Now, as we look into our text, I want us to deal with
the three main points that are in our outline. There are three
things. There are three things, three reasons for which the Antichrist
system emerges into the world. Three reasons for which they
emerge, and they're all given to us in the model that's set
forth in chapter 11 and chapter 12. Now, I want to make sure
that you understand that the reason why I had our Elder read
chapter 11, verse 36 through the end of the chapter and then
chapter 12, was in order for us to have the final record concerning
that willful king that's spoken about in verse 36. Verses 36
of chapter 11 through 45 is not an advancement on prophetic fulfillment,
but rather a recapitulation of the same events that transpired
in chapters 11, verses 1 through 35. Let me explain. Do you guys remember when we
went through the kings? how we were dealing with the
kings in the divided kingdom, the ten northern tribes and the
two southern tribes. And do you remember what I said
about the distinction between the Book of Chronicles and the
Book of Kings? That the Book of Kings gave us
a primarily but not exclusive historical account of the nation
of Israel while in Palestine before they went into captivity.
Remember that? When you read the Kings, what
you read is a primarily historical account of the life of Israel.
When you read the Chronicles, although it appears that the
Chronicles gives you the same account of the Kings, you get
the perspective from a different viewpoint. The Chronicles speak
to us not from the horizontal and historical perspective, but
from the vertical and divine perspective. When you read the
Chronicles, God is talking to you from a bird's eye view. When
you read the Chronicles, God is interested in the things that
had to do with the temple, not so much with the monarchy. In
the Kings, it was about the monarchy. In the Chronicles, it was about
the temple. Am I making some sense right
now? This is why I'll give you one event to help you understand
this so that you can appreciate The beauty and the subtlety of
the word of God in the kings. It describes that time Our samuel
rather it describes that time where david was bringing the
ark back home. Remember that? And uh, the ark
of the covenant was brought home on two oxen They held the Ark
of the Covenant on two oxen. Now, that wasn't a way to carry
God's Ark. Isn't that right? But what we
are dealing with in that account is the methodology of humanism
as it deals with the Gospel. You know, we think we can peddle
the Gospel any kind of way we want to. But what God taught
us was that you cannot preach the Gospel or peddle the Gospel
or sell the Gospel by human methodology. God will never bless that. The
Ark of the Covenant represents Christ and Him crucified. the
propitiation for our sins, and the only way that a man can come
to God is through Christ. You guys remember that? When
I see the blood, I'll pass over you. And so the ark had to have
the blood placed on it for the sinner to receive remission of
sins. That ark pointed to Jesus. Now, the Levites were told that
when you carry the ark, you are to carry the ark on two staves. Remember that? Two staves. That
means poles were to run through the gold rings on the end of
the ark, There was a priest in front and there was a priest
in back you guys remember that that was in order to teach us
that you can't touch the ark to touch the ark is to contaminate
the ark to touch the ark is to put your hand to the work of
Redemption and as soon as you touch the ark you have contaminated
it. God must reject you Therefore
who's it a high priest as they were headed back home watch one
of the oxen as they were lowing Stumble remember that and he
thought that the Ark of the Covenant was about to fall The brother
ran over there and tried to hold up the Ark and God killed him
Do you guys remember that and David had a fit because he loved
ooza, but he understood more than that He understood that
God wasn't pleased with the manner in which they were taking the
Ark back to Judah. I God's not pleased with the
manner in which the church is trying to preach Christ today
with human methodologies and techniques Am I making some sense? And so what David had to do was
hold up and go back to the scriptures and find out what God required
For carrying the ark and you don't get the answer in Kings
and you don't get it in Samuel You got to go to Chronicles to
get the answer because God's speaking to his people from a
bird's eye view. God's interested in how his people
worship him. And David went back to the priest
and the priest said, now David, you know, we just dusted off
the scriptures because we ain't been reading the scriptures in
a long time. You know, we've just been doing entertainment church. Nobody
read the scriptures at entertainment church. But we didn't dust it
off the scriptures. And we found in the scriptures where it says
that the priest must never touch the ark. Two staves, two poles
are to carry. And when they went back and did
it the way God did it, God blessed it. Are you hearing what I'm
saying? When you deal with Daniel chapter 11 verses 1 through 35,
you are dealing with primarily the history. When you deal with
verses 36 through the end, it is a recapitulation of the history. But from God's perspective, God
now hones in on the heart of the king, not the deeds. Chapter
11 verses 1 through 35 is the deeds. Verse 36 is the heart. Look at it with me now. Verse
36, are we there? And the king shall do according
to his what? His own will. Listen to what
the language says. And he shall exalt himself. Do you see it? And magnify himself
above every god. and shall speak marvelous things
against the God of gods. Do you see that? That's what
I'm getting at. You don't read about that aspect
of the portfolio in chapter 11. All you read in chapter 11 is
about, as we said before, the history of the rise and fall
of the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom and the rise
and fall of the Antiochian family. You read about what Antiochus
does, but you don't read about the motive of his heart. Now
we're reading about the motive of his heart. And we need to
go back and look at some things because he stands for us as a
great type of the Antichrist system that emerges in our day. And I want you to see several
things. Point number one, the purpose for which the emergence
of the Antichrist system occurs is threefold. Threefold when
the Antichrist system emerges. Pastor what are you talking about?
Jesus said in Matthews 24 when you see the abomination that
maketh desolate He was speaking to his disciples to look backwards
to do what see forward and that what we're learning as It was
written in Daniel the prophet therefore the disciples waited
to see what would transpire in terms of the events that occur
from Calvary to the time of the demolishing of the temple in
AD 70 They listened carefully to the Savior. They regarded
everything that he said would begin to occur. You can read
it for yourself in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke chapter 17 through
21. And then the whole of the book
of Revelation tells us about what took place in that first
century. The believer that paid attention to God could interpret
the signs of the time. The believer that didn't, they
walked in darkness. You and I are in that same day
right now. And I've shared with us before, mark this down, you
are at a great disadvantage if you've not been under this ministry
for a long time, I know that. But just mark this down, I've
said this before, the beast that was, that's in the past, and
yet is, that means though you don't see him, he does exist.
And shall yet appear and go into perdition, I said when the beast
once again Reemerges and goes into perdition. It's pretty much
too late for anybody to do anything about it Did you guys remember
me saying that let me say it again? Because I want you to
get this the beast of which the Bible talks about we saw this
in Daniel chapter 7 verses 1 through 7 for beasts right all four of
those beasts are have their reappearance in Revelation chapter 12 and
13, that composite beast of Revelation 13. When he appears again, John
tells us, when he emerges again, by the time we all see him for
who he really is, it's too late. Now, he has always existed in
a spiritual form and in an influential way, surreptitiously working
in the lives of men and women. How do I know that the Bible
tells us in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2? verses 4 through 11
now that Antichrist spirit Already doth work. He's called the the
the mystery of iniquity The mystery of iniquity doth already work.
This is what Paul told the church in the first century around 5253
ad he said now the mystery of iniquity it's already working
What is the mystery of iniquity? It's the spirit of Antichrist
operating both in the political realm and in the religious realm,
deceiving men and women, causing them to buy into false religion,
false doctrine, worldliness, and carnality, destroying the
souls of men. If you need a portfolio, read
it again in Revelation 12 and Revelation 20. He is called Satan. He is called the devil. He's
called that dragon which deceives the whole world Got it. His job is deception His job
is deception. Now when folks are deceived what
that means is the enemy doesn't come through the front door Am
I making some sense? When the enemy comes through
the front door, it's too late. And this is what I shared with
you last week I want to share it again He has called the dragon
that is in a Middle Eastern, Oriental image that really is
more of an elaboration on the serpent principle. The dragon
is nothing but an elaborate serpent. The serpent goes all the way
back to the beginning when he slithered up in the garden between
the first two members of the gospel church, right? And he
divided the man from the woman, separated them, and caused them
to fall. He's called the ancient serpent. Now he's a dragon and the dragon
actually represents that entity or that power that maniacal demonic
power that rules the masses of the world represented by the
seas Go with me in your Bible stay here. Go with me to Daniel
or Isaiah chapter 27. I want you to see it for yourself
Isaiah chapter 27. I want you to see it for yourself
Let me let me make plain who this beast is and who this entity
entity is so that as we go through the scriptures You will have
no doubt that we are dealing with the same entity. I want
us to see him in all of the oriental imagery and I want us to see
him in his methodology and his techniques. And if you see him,
then you'll be able to discern him every day of your life as
you listen to him and watch him on TV and relate to him on your
job and at school. And as you have to deal with
policies and legislation that affect your life every day. Am
I making some sense? Isaiah chapter 27 verse 1 am
I there are we there in that day the Lord With his sword and
great and strong sword See, this is what Paul meant in 2nd Thessalonians
chapter 2 and the Lord Shall come and destroy the great dragon
with the sword of his mouth with the spirit of his mouth and the
Lord with a great sword Shall punish who? Leviathan the piercing
serpent even Leviathan, the crooked serpent, and he shall slay the
what? Dragon. That is in the what? Seas. Now what are the seas? The people, the nations, the
nations, the people, the people, the nations. Am I making some
sense? That's Revelation chapter 17, around verse 14 to 15. We
don't have to go there, but you and I know that the nations of
the world are the seas, are they not? They are the masses of the
world. You and I are like a bunch of
fish in the midst of the sea. Solomon said in the book of Ecclesiastes,
you and I are like fish taken in an evil net at a time when
we don't know. 200, 300,000, 400,000 people die every day. Did you
know that? The judgment comes like a great net and sweeps us
away. But in the midst of the sea,
there is a serpent. That serpent is the dragon. And
he influences the masses of the people through two primary entities,
politics and religion. Politics and religion. These
are the two kingdoms that the Bible talks about from the beginning
of time, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. Babylon,
which started with Nimrod and in Genesis chapter nine, and
the kingdom of God, which God started way back in the days
of Adam. Established in the days of his
son Enos when men began to call upon the name of the Lord in
our world We have two kingdoms. Which one are you in? Are you
in the kingdom of Babylon or in the kingdom of his dear son? See, this is the issue we have
to understand and from this vantage point We have to now try to interpret
what's going on in our world system. So therefore you have
this entity in Isaiah chapter 20 chapter 27 This is the dragon controlling
everything. Go with me back now in your Bible
to Daniel chapter 11, and let's look at his methodology. Let's
look at his methodology briefly. I want you to see this. This
is in your outline. The emergence of the Antichrist
system, as I said, had three purposes. The reason why God
allows you and me to see the beast, the false prophet, Satan
who empowers him we call him we call these three the unholy
Trinity of the book of Revelation The reason why he exposes the
wicked For his malicious and God-hating schemes is in order
for God's people to know how he works and here's his method
It's in our outline. His method is twofold first is
flattery through prosperity It's flattery through prosperity.
Do you remember Antiochus in chapter 11? It starts off in
verse 22 and it goes all the way through verse 35. We won't
go through all the verses, but remember how he rose up from
nowhere. He became prominent and he took
the kingdom, even though he didn't deserve the kingdom. The Bible
uses some very interesting language about how he approached and how
he overcame everyone. And I want you to see this. First
of all, in Daniel chapter 11, I want you to see this. over
in verse 24, are we there? Watch this, now listen to the
language. And he shall enter how? Peaceably. See it? Even upon the fattest places
of the province. And he shall do that which his
fathers have not done. Isn't that interesting? Nor his
father's fathers. Here is what he does that they
did not do. He shall scatter among them,
that is all the people groups, the prey. and the spoil and the
riches. Do you see that? Stop with me
right now. I told you one of the methodologies
that the devil uses in order to manipulate and control and
coerce the masses is flattery. What Antiochus did was something
that his Syrian fathers, the Seleucid kingdom, never did. What he did was go through all
the kingdoms that he had dominion over. He plundered their temples. Didn't we talk about that last
week? Remember long ago, men put their money in the church
instead of in the bank. Do you remember that? I told
you that. Today we put our money in the bank because we think
it's safe in the bank. But you done found another thing out,
haven't you? I'm getting ready to talk about that here in a
moment. But please hear me. They used to plunder the temples
because everybody put the gold and the silver in the temple.
And if you went through the book of Kings with me, you realize
that the wicked kings, the apostate kings even plundered the temple
of the Lord, stripped it of its gold and silver and precious
stones in order. Watch this now to pay taxes. To the dominion of the king that
ruled over them. You guys remember that? And this
is what Antiochus is doing, because while Antiochus represents the
Grecian kingdom, the Roman Empire has already started looming over
the whole thing, and he's got to pay taxes to Rome. So what
he does is he goes through all the different kingdoms that he
has control over and he has control over kingdoms all the way up
from the north. That is Macedonia. That's Syria. That's Babylon. That's parts
of India. That means it's all the way down
to Israel. That means there's parts of Egypt, parts of Ethiopia. He has control. So he goes in,
he plunders those kingdoms. Now here's what he's doing. He's
actually working his political scheme. So as he goes back home,
guess what he does? He starts spreading wealth all
through these kingdoms, spreading the wealth, touching folks, influencing
folks, gaining power with folks. Will you hear what I'm saying?
Guess where he learned this from, folks? He learned it from Rome.
Do you remember what I said? His father was taken into captivity
by the Romans. made to be what they call a sponsor
king in Syria, but his father had taken his son Antiochus back
to Rome as a slave. Remember that? He was in Rome
as a slave for 11 years. His father abandoned Antiochus. Antiochus should have been let
go three years later. That was the protocol among kings,
but he stayed there 11 years. What did Antiochus learn in Rome
in 11 years? Politics. He learned how to do
politics, ladies and gentlemen. because Antiochus had an agenda. He didn't like it that his daddy
abandoned him. He didn't like it that his daddy
died and then his brother took his place. His brother took his
place and his brother still didn't go seek out Antiochus. So we
learned last week that Antiochus was an uncouth, unprincipled
man. He lived a very debauched life. Isn't that what I told
you? That's what the text says. He was a scandalous man. He was
a man given over to promiscuity and a lot of sexual perversions. He hung out with the very seedy
characters of society. And yet he was a prince. And
that was unseemly. Because even in those days, when
kingdoms subdued other kingdoms, they respected the authority
of the kings and the princes and the sons. So that their own
people never disrespected or harmed those particular slave
kings or slave sons. But Antiochus behaved himself
in such an ominous, odious way that even his own people despised
him. But he set up a scheme, because that's how Antichrist
works. He said, you know what? As soon as the opportunity occurs,
I'm getting into the kingdom. Guess what? His brother Philip
dies. Not Philip, I'm talking Seleucid
dies. His brother Seleucid dies. And
now Seleucid's son is set up for the kingdom. Remember that?
But Seleucid's son is only four or five years old. So uncle Antiochus
decides to take care of little Seleucid till he grows up. And
for some reason, they let him do it. He was able to flatter
his way in. But then little King Nabi ends
up what? Dying. How'd he die? Well, I'll
let you figure that out. Now that he's dead, his brother's
dead, his father's dead, guess who takes the throne? Antiochus.
Now I want to remind you once again the influence, the influence
of the Antichrist system on a political level when he is able to flatter
men and women who are unprincipled. Let me remind you of the influence,
the influence of the Antichrist system when he is able to flatter
and deceive the masses that are unprincipled. See we all love
to be flattered, don't you fool yourself. It's all about you
at the end of the day. You love to be flattered. If
you didn't love to be flattered, that wouldn't be the devil's
number one M.O. Are you hearing me? Go with me
in your Bibles now to Daniel chapter 8. I'll show you what
I'm talking about. Daniel chapter 8. Listen to it. This is him.
Antichrist again emerging and we're going to see his methodology
and technique. I want to remind us again of this so that we can
understand what's going on. I'm in Daniel chapter 8 and I'm
going to start at verse 9. And out of one of them, that
is those four kingdoms which Alexander the Great had divided
at his death, shall come forth a little horn. Who is this little
horn? Antichrist. Antiochus Epiphanes. He waxed
exceeding great. He waxed great toward the south.
That's Egypt. He waxed great toward the east.
That's Babylon and Syria. And he waxed great toward the
pleasant land. That's what? Israel. You got it. Somebody
been listening. He waxed gray. He waxed gray. What do you mean he waxed gray?
He became influential. They liked him. He prospered
in his methodology of preaching peace and prosperity, of spreading
out the well, of giving money to folks strategically in the
proper political platforms. This is called flattery. Am I
making some sense? Listen to what the text says.
Please listen to it. The Word of God is so relevant,
it says in verse 10, and it waxes great even to the host of heaven. Now who did we say last week
was the host of heaven? The church. The church is that
one entity that dwells in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that rules
with God Almighty over the inhabitants of the world. Am I making some
sense? We learned in Revelation 12 verse 1 that John had saw
a great, great wonder in heaven, a woman. Who was that woman?
The church. clothed in the sun. Who is the
sun? Christ! Twelve stars upon our
head. Who are the twelve stars? That
is the government of the church. In the Old Testament, it was
the twelve nations, twelve tribes of Israel. In the New Testament,
it's the twelve apostles. The number twelve represents
spiritual government. That's why we have twelve months
in the year. And when you go back to Genesis
chapter one on the fourth day, God made the sun. He made the
moon. He made the stars. And he said,
you have dominion. You are time keepers. You rule
over the day. You rule over the night. You
are for seasons and years and months. Are you guys hearing
me? Therefore, in this world, God has always had a spiritual
authority speaking to men and women as to what the truth is.
That spiritual authority is the church of Jesus Christ. In the
Old Testament, it was the patriarchs. And then it became the twelve
tribes. And then it became Israel as a whole. They were the stewards
of the law. In the New Testament, the spiritual
authority is the church. There are only two women in the
book of Revelation. That heavenly woman who was virtuous
and that harlot woman of Revelation 17. She's mystery Babylon, the
mother of abominations. She's a hybrid of politics and
religion. She is the apostate Christian
church combined with politics called Babylon. Am I making some
sense? I hope I'm being playing with you. I hope I'm being playing
go back and study these things. You'll see for yourself Well
that woman that's in heavenly places having 12 stars. She was
assaulted by that dragon in Revelation 12 Am I am I telling the truth
and the Bible says he was able to use his tail and cast down
a third part of the what stars to the ground We already identified
that tail as what false prophets False teachers, Isaiah chapter
9 verse 15, the ancient and the honorable, he's the head. The
prophet that preaches and teaches lies is the tale. The stars are religious folk,
call themselves Christians. But if you buy into the lie of
the dragon, you'll be cast down to the ground. He'll trod you
underfoot. Look at Daniel chapter 8 verse
11 now. Are we there? I'm at verse 10
I'm sorry and I and he waxed great even to the host of heaven
and he cast down some of the host and of the what stars to
the ground and Stamped upon them. Do you see that? That's what
the devil will do to compromising religion Every time look at verse
12 or verse 11. I'm sorry. Yay, and he magnified
himself even to the what? Prince of the host that's verse
36 of chapter 11. I That's verse 3. Now, you see,
this is what we talked about last week. And this happens all
the time in politics, and it happens in religion as well.
I said this Lord Atkins made it very plain, didn't he? Power
does what? Corrupt! Absolute power corrupts what?
That's just the fact of the matter. And if God's hand is not upon
the man or the leader to restrain him, he will always seek to usurp
God's authority. Always. Tickled pink by a young man that
I happen to know going to a high school here in the peninsula
over in Redwood City. His name is Taylor Santos. He
is Eric Santos's son. And Eric is a board operator
for Brian Sussman, a radio talk show host. Some of you guys know
that I do radio talk show issues, politics and religion and what
have you. The other day I was listening to Brian as he was
talking about what Taylor went through as a junior in high school
the other day. They had an issue in school where
they were promoting same-sex marriage and homosexuality. And
Taylor stood up and said, but everybody in the class doesn't
agree with this. We don't all agree with the position. We at
least need to debate this. We should be able to discuss
this. Teacher, you shouldn't have the right to merely impose
your system upon us. Now, he was kinder than I'm being.
But what they did to Taylor was to kick him out of school. And
what they do, this is part of the policy, is they mock you. You end up having a record for
being a troublemaker, and that record follows you all the days
of your life. Well, Taylor's dad was Eric,
and Eric knew Brian, and Brian knew folks in the legal system,
and they got a big old issue going on now, politically, fighting
for Taylor's record to be expunged, because all Taylor did was say,
hey, there are two sides to this story. There are two sides to
this story. And see, this is what I'm talking
to you about right now. This is the battle that we are
in as Christians in this world system. And you and I have to
know how to deal with this battle righteously and biblically. And
we need to know how to teach our children to deal with it
righteously and biblically. And see, that's what our text
is talking about. See, little Taylor right now is shining.
That's what Daniel chapter 12 verse 3 says. And they that turn
many to righteousness shall shine as the stars of heaven. Am I
making some sense? See, firemen shine if they believe
the gospel. Policemen shine if they believe
the gospel. Doctors and nurses shine if they
believe the gospel. Garbage men shine if they believe
the gospel. Teachers shine if they believe
the gospel. Men and women in every field
of life shine as the stars of heaven when they believe and
stand for the truth of the gospel. That's what the angel tells Daniel
and many Many that turn folks to righteousness shall shine
as the star you and I don't have but one or two options either
to fall from heaven under the deception of the Antichrist system
or to shine or to shine and the Bible says that stars shine in
the darkest of the night Are you hearing what I'm saying?
See you and I can't get away from the trouble. I told you
last week is looming. It's coming But don't be surprised, our brothers
and our sisters have been dealing with this for 2,000 years. We
have brothers and sisters in different third world countries
right now who are saying to us, who are whining and complaining
and moaning and groaning over the little bitty things we're
going through. What are you complaining about? My brother has lost his
life. My sister has lost his life.
My mother lost their life. I watched my children lose their
life for the gospel sake in this antichrist system, which has
dominated our country and has prevailed over the people. You
shouldn't be complaining about a few little things that you're
dealing with in your country, but it's coming to America soon
and it's coming to test you and me. Am I making some sense? So
then let me move on. Antichrist did a couple of things.
Antiochus did a couple of things. He came in, first of all, with
flattery. He was so good at manipulating the people with money. And your
outline tells you about this. Flattery is given to us in several
verses. Chapter 11, verse 24, we saw
it. Chapter 8, look at verse 24 and 25 of chapter 8. I want
you to see this. This here, again, describes Antichrist. Are we there? I'm in verse 23. In the latter time of their kingdom,
when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce
continence and understanding dark sentences shall stand up.
Who is that? That's Antiochus. What does it
say? He has a fierce continence. What
does it mean? He has an agenda to destroy,
but he knows the scriptures. He knows the Bible. I told you
this before whenever politicians go to run for office They always
pick up them a big old black Bible with a big old cross on
it and they start learning Bible verse. Isn't that right? There's
all of a sudden a Christian right before getting in. You know,
why cuz they're deceiving Gullible Christians like you and me to
get them in the office I'm just telling you the truth and you
might as well just hear it because it's so the devil works just
like that The Bible says flattery ruins the soul The Bible says
the man that flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet.
The Bible tells the judges in the Old Testament, the judges
were the politicians and the spiritual rulers. You shall not
take a bribe. Bribes ruin and pervert judgment. Well, now, if our politicians
obeyed that rule, we wouldn't have politics today. Would we? The whole of our system is predicated
upon bribery. Isn't that true? And so the Antichrist
system has bribed them. Listen to what verse 24 says.
And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. This implies a demonic power
influencing Antichrist. I told you this before, when
men or women aspire to political leadership and rulership, all
you have to do is ask the question, what power is influencing them? Are they governed by the power
of God? Are they rooted and grounded
in biblical principles? Do they have a worldview that's
consistent with the Bible? Are they seeking to honor God
as a politician? Or are they driven by the Antichrist
spirit, the spirit of the world, the spirit of the flesh? Are
they uncouth? Do they want to simply have dominion
over the souls of men? That's the only question you
have to ask. And you can answer that by the policies that they
adhere to. Am I making some sense? Listen
to the text. And his power he shall be mighty,
but not by his own. And he shall destroy wonderfully. And he shall prosper and practice
And shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. Isn't that
amazing? Verse 25. And through his policy also he
shall cause crap to prosper in his head. And he shall magnify
himself in his heart. And by peace shall destroy many. And he shall stand up against
the prince of prince. But he shall be broken without
hand. You know who gonna kill him? The Lord Jesus. You and
I not gonna do it. If it went for God's mercy, we'd
buy into his system. Go with me now back to chapter
11. I want you to see the rest of this. Point number 2 in our
outline. The Antichrist came in two modes. He came first of
all with flattery. He came with flattery. He came
with words of peace. And didn't the Apostle Paul warn
us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 3? And when they shall
say peace, peace, then what? Sudden destruction comes upon
them unawares. Well, if you want to read chapter
11 very carefully, what you would find is the first time Antichrist
or Antiochus went through the field, he went through the field
spreading wealth, gaining political positions, establishing uncouth
leadership among his administration in the different regions. Then
when he went back to take Egypt completely, he was upset because
he was met by the general of the Roman Empire, Scipio, and
Scipio stopped him in his tracks. And he drew a circle around Antiochus
while Antiochus was standing there. And he told Antiochus,
now, Antiochus, we know you a big dog. We know that. But there's
a bigger dog than you in the land. If you step outside this
circle, we're going to kill you. See, Antiochus was ready to take
Egypt. And if he could have taken Egypt altogether, he would have
been ready to fight Rome. But God had determined for Rome
to take over the kingdom, as you guys know, in Daniel 7. Isn't
that right? So Antiochus, out of fear, did
not leave the circle. He was smart enough to stay in
that circle. Scipio got on his horse and went on back home.
He said, there, there, there you go. You ain't all that crazy. It ticked him off. And on his
way back home, he had heard that in Jerusalem there was an insurrection. Because what I told you last
week was Antiochus was so influential he was able to buy off the high
priest in Israel He was able to buy off the leadership and
he was able to introduce into Jerusalem all of the Hellenistic
ideology and practices that's tantamount to worldliness being
brought into the church. Isn't that what I told you? It's
tantamount to worldliness being brought into the church and I
share it with you that the hellenization of the whole East Which was first
started by Alexander the Great was perpetuated by Antiochus
Epiphanes and the believers in Jerusalem Realized if Antiochus
has his way our way of worship will be completely destroyed
They were able to discern that everything that this flattering
king wanted to do was not necessarily conducive to the glory of God
or the honor of God. Because the faithful people who
were few at that time couldn't do anything about it, what they
watched occur was this. Antiochus was able to set up
idolatry all throughout Palestine. He was able to go into the temple
and remove the Ark of the Covenant and establish an idol in the
temple. At that time it was Zeus and
it was the goddess Diana. I told you you had to have women
in there too, because you know, you got to justify immorality. And that happens in all pagan
religions. Whenever you are a pagan religionist, you justify immorality. Are you hearing me? You justify
immorality. It happened then, it happened
in the first century in Corinth, and it's happening today. In
all apostate false churches, immorality is justified. Back in the day, they worshipped,
sleeping with the temple priestesses, thinking they were getting revelations
from God. What a perversion! Am I making
some sense? And this is what Paul said in
1 Corinthians 15. Evil communication corrupts good
manners. See, saints, will you hear me
for a moment? A little leaven leavens the whole lump. See,
the saints of old knew If Antiochus has his way, we will be wiped
out as the true and the living God and his people. And they
saw that happening. By the time the Maccabean brethren
rose up in protest, which is what the scripture is talking
about in verses 34 through 36, the temple had already been seized.
It had already been overcome. It had already been encircled
by a fort. Antiochus had a military army
right up adjacent to the temple. to control who came in and out
of the temple. He was able, therefore, after
having given an edict to Israel that no one was to be circumcised. Now we know that circumcision
pointed to who? Jesus. Israel was marked out
by circumcision. To tell Israel you cannot be
circumcised is to destroy Israel's identity. It corresponds to telling
us that we can't preach the gospel. That we can't preach Christ as
the way, the truth and the life. That we cannot preach that unless
you submit to the crown rights of Christ. And unless you look
to Christ in Him crucified as your only hope for glory. If
we can't preach that, we're not Christians. Are you hearing what
I just said? If we are forbidden to preach
the exclusivity of the crown rights and authority of Jesus
Christ, and we yield to it, if we capitulate, we're not Christians.
If we submit to this ecumenical movement, this syncretistic,
this New Age movement of everybody can get to God their own way,
we are not Christian. Are you hearing what I'm saying?
We are not Christian as soon as we are willing to and ready
to sell Jesus out just for political or social peace. Am I making
some sense? You better be ready then to say
to Jesus, lead on, O King eternal. We're going to follow you wherever
you go with the cross of Jesus over our heads, leading us as
you march us forward to glory. Now, that's what the church said,
the church militant all throughout the church age. I'm wondering,
is the church in America ready to stand for the gospel of God's
glory? Are you hearing what I'm saying?
I'm wondering are we gonna be ready when the policies come
down and tell us we can't preach Christ at him crucified We can't
teach what the Bible plainly says. I'm wondering will we be
ready for that? Are you hearing what I'm saying?
Cuz it's coming She is real easy to preach the preach the gospel
in a time of so-called peace Where everybody's kind of doing
what they want to but I'm here to tell you political kingdoms
always become oppressive And it's coming. And so this is the
warning that we have in our book in Daniel. And so the second
time Antiochus came, we look over in Daniel chapter 11. Look
with me now again. I want you to see it as we move
on and develop our points and close out the second time he
came. We are told over in verse. Twenty
eight, then shall he return in his land with great riches and
his heart shall be against the Holy Covenant. Do you see? See,
before he was able to manipulate The priesthood we saw this in
Nehemiah. I'm looking forward to going
through that book But now he's going plundering because he hears
that there are people that are rising up against him Then he
says and his heart shall be against the Holy Covenant and he shall
do exploits and return to his own land That's so interesting
how the Holy Spirit gives us just this short little simple
verse and he shall do exploits Do you know what he did? He killed
off tens of thousands of Jews He slaughtered tens of thousands
of men and women. He wrought havoc amongst the
Israelites. Why? Because they didn't submit
to his edicts. And then we read, because it
moves us on into our next point, going on to our next point. Not
only did he come the first time with flattery and he came the
second time with destruction. I want to make clear for some
of you who need to know this, that there's a distinction between
the phrase and the sacrifices taken away The phrase the sacrifice
ceases if you look over in your Bible chapter 11, it tells us
what he did over in verse 31 Look at verse 31 and arms shall
stand on his part That is he will have a great military force
with him and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength. What's
the sanctuary of strength the temple and Shall take away the
daily. What was that the sacrifice and
Shall take away the daily didn't we talk about this last week?
Watch this now. The Bible said while under the
Old Testament system, Israel was to offer sacrifices in the
morning. And sacrifices in the evening.
The sacrifices were to burn continually. And it was to point to the one
sacrifice that would be accomplished on Calvary's tree when Jesus
came, by which, through that one sacrifice, all who believe
on him would be forever sanctified and made perfect. As long as
that temple stood, as long as those sacrifices were being offered,
what we were saying is we haven't yet received the perfect sacrifice. But under Antiochus' system,
they removed the sacrifices. Now to remove the sacrifices
is tantamount to you going to church week in and week out and
not hearing the gospel preached. Got it? You come to church, you
hear a story, You listen to the music you get riled up you get
some type of anecdotes the anecdotal message you get five points of
application And you go home and you never see the glory of god
in the person of jesus christ You go through this weekend and
week out month in month out year in year out And you don't even
know that the lights have been cut off in your spiritual eyes
Now if you're a child of god and you've been born a god what
happens is over time your soul gets dry Your spirit gets agitated
and you start saying something's wrong. I'm missing something.
I'm hearing things, but they just don't feel me. There's a
problem going on. Am I telling the truth? And then
you look around and the whole form and structure of worship
has been changed from holiness to hilariousness. Am I telling the truth? He will let you laugh your way
to hell. He will let you laugh your way to hell. But the Bible
says, holy and reverent is his name. Let all flesh keep silent
before him, tremble before him. And God looks to the man that
is humble and contrite and of a broken heart and that trembles
at God's word. That's what the Bible says. Am
I making some sense? Listen to me now. Your goal when
worshiping is to worship the Lord Jesus and to hear the gospel
preached. to see the sacrifice in the person
of Christ week in and week out am I making some sense are you're
not born again you're just religious the Maccabean brethren saw this
battle and they fought against it we're told over in verse 36
and 37 look at it I'm sorry verse 32 and such as do wickedly against
the covenant shall be corrupted by flattery He's describing the
Antichrist and his influence over the churches. This is what
we call apostasy. And such as do wickedness against
the covenant shall be corrupted by what? Flatteries. But the
people that do know their God shall what? Be strong, do exploits. They that understand among the
people shall instruct many and they shall fall by the sword
by flame and captivity and by spoil many days. This is what
Daniel is told in chapter 12. You guys are going to go through
it, but it won't be long. Are you hearing me? You're going
to go through it, but it won't be long. But you got to endure
it. You know why you got to endure it? Because Jesus endured it.
Jesus endured it. The Bible tells us for three
and a half years, our master preached the gospel, didn't he?
As he preached, he raised the dead, he healed the sick, he
opened the blind eyes, and he, for the most part, he preached
the gospel of God's glory in himself. Many women were saved,
but folks hated our Savior. Isn't that right? And he preached
for three and a half years, knowing that he was headed to the cross. Are you hearing me? Knowing that
he was headed to the cross. And the Bible tells us in Luke
22, verse 22, he says, And the Son of Man goeth where it was
determined for him to go. That's the phrase that's used
all through the book of Daniel. And that which is determined
shall come to pass. It's a Hebrew phrase that means
God has a purpose. God has a decree. And when God
has accomplished his purpose and his decree, it will end.
Jesus knew his ministry ended after a time, a times and a half
a times. Are you hearing me? So he could
hear the father saying to him as he went about his ministry,
it won't be long, son. It won't be long. Are you hearing
me? As he began to experience the disciples getting fearful
and shaking and wondering because Jesus ministry started becoming
unpopular, he could hear it in his disciples and he had to constantly
reassure his disciples. Listen to me, fellas. Listen
to me. This is not about prosperity. This is not about reaching higher
heights and greater, greater heights. This is all about suffering
for my father's glory. Where I'm going is a hard place. And if you hold on, you will
be blessed if you can hold on. That's what he said to them,
and that's what he's saying to us. Because you and I are going
through what amounts to the last half of the week. Am I making
some sense? The last half of the week. Wherever
you read the time, the times, and the half of times, from Daniel
7 through the book of Revelation, wherever you read it, these things
occur. During this last half of the
week, the gospel is being preached. That's all I care about. Do you
know how wonderful it is to hear the gospel? I don't care what
trouble we're going through as long as I can hear my master's
voice as long as I can see his glory as long as I can be reminded
that Christ all by himself Purged my sin and sat down at the right
hand of God as long as I can be reminded that I am the righteousness
of God in him As long as I can be reminded that Christ is my
justification, my sanctification, my wisdom and my righteousness,
as long as I can be reminded of the sufficiency and the fullness
and the fatness of Jesus Christ, I'm all right. How about you?
I just need to be reminded that my master has already entered
into that which is called the veil as my forerunner, which
means I'm already where I'm going. Did you hear what I said? I'm
going to where I already am. I know that's bad grammar, but
I want you to get it. I'm headed to where I already
am, and I'm guaranteed to get there because Christ is my surety
and my substitute and my representative. He's got to bring me there. But
my course to glory is going to be one of difficulty and yours,
too. And yours too. Are you hearing
what I'm saying? And yours too. But if we hold on, the Bible
says we shall shine as the stars in heaven. We shall shine as
the stars in heaven. So let me make a couple of points
of application is really, really important. Our second point,
which says the second reason for which the Antichrist emerges
and God's folks are finding themselves in trouble is to make manifest
the elect. Do you see that? is to make manifest
the elect for who they are. I don't want no trouble. I like
chicken. I like red beans and cornbread.
I like steak. I like greens. I like sweet potatoes. I like pork chops. I like my
banana pudding. I like my apple pie. I love all
of the amenities of life. I would love to just eat and
drink and be merry and tell the Lord come with you. That's just
not the way it's supposed to be. The other thing is I like
peace. I like physical peace. I like
economic peace. I don't like being broke. I'm
broke a lot, but I don't like it. I love it when I have a few
dollars in my pocket and I love spiritual peace. I love the fact
that I have peace with God through my Lord Jesus Christ. And I really
don't like when my heart is going through trouble. Do you? But
I find in this life, I go through spiritual trouble all the time. Am I making some sense? And so
while I know I have peace with God positionally, I don't always
have peace practically. But listen to me now, when I
am at peace and happy and fat and eating and all of that, I'm
nowhere near as close to God than when I'm in trouble. I'm nowhere near as close to
God as when I'm in trouble. I'm nowhere as near to being
spiritual minded as when I'm in trouble. I'm nowhere as near
to savoring and rejoicing and reflecting and meditating upon
and treasuring and delighting in the Lord Jesus Christ as when
I'm sick. Man, I am so weak. Even when
I get just a sick, a bug, a cold. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. Isn't that true? I hope this
ain't cancer. I hope it ain't killing me. Nothing
but a cold. And I think I'm on the edge of
Jordan. Then I'm examining myself because you know, that's what
you do. Okay, so I need to delete this out of my life and delete
that out of my life. Delete that because this is the
reason why this is happening. That's called legalism. You know that
right? But it gets me back to Christ in a way that carnal freedom
and earthly blessings don't. And this is why God brings trouble. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous and the Lord shall deliver them out of them all
in faithfulness Have you afflicted me that I might learn your precept?
I know oh lord that you have afflicted me that I might that
I might know your Faithfulness and a believer comes to learn
that isn't that true? We come to learn that this is the way
god proves whether or not we are believers See, we don't know
that we are believers until when all hell breaks loose, we start
crying out to the Lord and abandoning all earthly cares. Shut ourselves
up to Jesus. Lord, you and you alone, just
you, Jesus. Am I telling the truth? Just
you. Just you. And not even me, just
you. Just you. I just want you, Lord,
just you. I want you. I love the way David
said, what have I on earth? I have no one on earth but you,
Lord. You know, my mother and father have forsaken me. My sons
have forsaken me. My buddies have forsaken me.
Lord, it's just you, and I want you alone. See, that's the spirit
of adoption whereby we cry, what? Abba, Father. That's how we know. That's how we know. Paul said
in 1st Corinthians 11, heresies must be among you, false doctrine,
false teaching, so that the elect might be made manifest for who
they really are. See, when heresies come and false
doctrine come and trouble come, the elect stand up. They say,
no, I don't believe that. No, I'm not going that way. No,
I'm not trusting that. No, that's not Christ. That's
not after Christ. That don't look like Christ.
That don't sound like Christ. That don't smell like Christ.
And I know that's not Christ. And since it's not Christ, it's
not right. Are you hearing what I'm saying? That's how the elect
talk. My sheep hear my voice, another they will not follow.
I know them, they know me. I give them eternal life and
they shall never perish. That's what the Bible teaches.
That's what's necessary. So when you are hearing about
the judgments coming, and when you are experiencing them, only
thing you're supposed to do is make your calling and election
sure. Quit complaining. Make your calling
and election sure. Quit complaining. Examine yourself
whether you're in the faith or not. Where the Christ being you
of a true it lets you be reformed just examine yourself. Do you
know him? Are you trusting him? Do you believe that Jesus will
get you through the storm? Is he a strong tower? Is he a
hiding place? Is he a shelter from the storm?
Is he your shield? Is he your buckler? Is he your
ark of the covenant? Will he get you through this?
Are you hearing what I'm saying? That's Bible in I just straight
Bible in in Jesus a lot to his people. Man, when you got all
that, you don't need nothing else. When a brother can put
you in his boat and then feed you through the storm, take you
from one end of the trouble to the other end, and him bearing
it all by himself, he's our ark that went through that storm.
Got us out on the other side, and all we did was say, Lord,
I thank you. Lord, I thank you for saving
my hell-bound soul. Lord, I thank you for saving
my hell-bound soul. If it had not been for the Lord,
where would I be? Isn't that what the Bible says?
That's why he takes us through this trouble. So I'm going to
close this way. This is what we are called to
do in this difficult time. The third reason for the trouble
is a time of purging. That's what we're going through
now. The church is being purged. Unbelievers are being exposed
to be unbelievers because they're buying into this ecumenical,
new age, pluralistic ideology and worldview, the new order
of things. Ain't no new order, it's old
as Methuselah. Old. Ain't nothing new. The only thing new is Jesus.
The only thing new is Jesus. Did you know Jesus is the new
world order? If any man be in Christ Jesus, he's a what? New
creature. If you're not in Christ, you're
old, brother. And you're about to wither and die. Do you believe
that? But look at the devil. The devil is going to steal the
Bible terms and use it for himself. We're trying to create a new
world order, a global harmony, a global unity. Listen, first
of all, there's no newness outside of Christ and there's no unity
outside of Jesus Christ either. That's the devil in his usurping
the place of Jesus. Listen to me, no Jesus, no peace.
No Christ, no peace. He's the prince of peace. He
bought peace by his blood and he gave us his peace in his mercy
and grace by his spirit through the preaching of the gospel.
He speaks peace to the hearts of his people. And it doesn't
matter what goes on in this world. All I'm concerned about is knowing
Jesus. Am I making some sense? Therefore,
your battle in mind by way of application. Listen to it. We as believers must know the
ideological and philosophical battles of our age. Don't be
dumb. We're dealing with monotheism versus pluralism. We're dealing
with absolute truth versus relativism. We're dealing with the gospel
versus paganism. We're dealing with the glory
of God in Christ versus the New Age ecumenical movement. We're
dealing with the love of the Father versus the love of the
world. That's what we're dealing with.
Amen.