Christ will Reign in the Millennium

RV154-02

Tribulation Personalities

The Jewish People

The Tribulation

Time Schedule of the End Times

Daniel

No Planting every Seventh Year

The Jews Violated God's Word

The Babylonian Captivity

Jeremiah

The 490-Year Timetable

This is the way it was presented, and when he listened to this timetable, he discovered that there were breaks in the procedure. Daniel 9:24: "70 weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city." These 70 weeks, historically we have now discovered, were weeks of years. It was a poetic description, as if 70 weeks were to go by, but they were 70 weeks of years. Each week was seven years. There were 490 years total. Each day was one year: "70 weeks (or 490 years) have been decreed for your people and your holy city." "Your people" are the Jewish people. "The holy city" is Jerusalem: "To finish transgression (to cover the sins of the people with the death of a Savior); to make an end of sin (to remove the sin nature and the nation's tendency to do evil); to make atonement for iniquity (to cover their sin); to bring in everlasting righteousness (to bring in the millennial kingdom); to seal up vision and prophecy (to fulfill all the promises – all the predictions); and, to anoint the most holy place" (to finally bring the people of God to God as true believers, and as the true children of God).

So, you are to know and discern that, from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem." And we know that precisely. We know that date to the very day under the Media-Persian king that authorized the going back to rebuild Jerusalem (in 444 BCE) to the very precise day. We have it exactly. We know exactly when this decree historically was put out.

So, we know where the starting point is to count these days: "From the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah, there will be seven weeks and 62 weeks." We are given these two periods, and we will not get into the details of those periods. First, he says that there's going to be a period of 49 years, then the period of 62 weeks of years: "And it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after 62 weeks (that is, after a total of 483 years), something amazing is going to take place. The Jews are now on the verge of having the final seven years of their history (and God's program for them) fulfilled, in order to bring in their millennial glories, and their eternal blessings.

However, something happened at the end of this 483-year period: "After the 62 weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing." Again, historically, scholars and chronologists have come up with the amazing discovery that, counting from the day that the order was given to go out and rebuild Jerusalem and return from that captivity in Babylon, to Palm Sunday, April 6th, 32 A.D., was exactly, to the very day, the end of 483 years. This is how things are in the Bible. Great events, as I've indicated to you before, in the history of the world, including July the Fourth, the founding of the United States, happened on great Jewish holidays. So, when a Jewish holiday comes along, that's a time to hold your breath. That's the kind of a time when God's going to pop you out in the rapture. That's kind of a time when some great world-shaking event is going to happen. And we have scads of them to demonstrate that.

Here was something of great tragedy. They had seven years to go. And when the Messiah came, He came in on that Palm Sunday with the final sign, riding that donkey, and people recognizing Him and shouting, "Hail, Hosanna, son of David." What the people meant by that was, "Hosanna, save us. God save us. Lord save us." They recognized Him. By the end of the week, their leaders had convinced them that they were mistaken, and that Jesus was a fraud, and they murdered Him on the cross.

Well, this prophetic clock, which has been ticking away for 483 years, suddenly came to a stop. But you have seven unfulfilled years, and God is never sloppy in His figures. Therefore, we are told that: "After 62 weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing. The people of the prince who is to come" (the antichrist) were the Romans of the Roman Empire. The people (the Romans) of this prince who is to come, from one of these nations that came out of the Roman Empire, a Western nation: "The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary." In 70 A.D., they did that: "And its end will come with a flood, even to the end, that there will be war, and desolations are determined."

So, God said that as a result of rejecting the Messiah, the people of Israel will pay a great place. Their city will be destroyed by the Romans, and they themselves will be scattered all over the earth, and they will lose their Promised Land. That was done exactly. In the meantime, seven years are unfulfilled of God's program for the Jewish people.

Here is something else that you have to remember about the Bible. In prophetic events, things are telescoped together, Events that actually are separated by a long distance are pressed together. It is like your looking through a telescope, and you think that something is right here in front of you, but it's way out there. And that's what prophecy does. You look through that it like you're looking through a telescope, and things are together, Here, suddenly, in verse 27, we read, "And he (the 'he' refers back up there to the prince who is to come – the antichrist) will make a firm covenant with the many." Here in this context, "the many" is the people of Daniel – the Jews: "For one week."

Aha. Here comes that last seven years. Sometime in the future, a world ruler is going to make a deal (a treaty) with the people of Israel. He is going to have an agreement with them that will be to their benefit. They'll leap to it, and they'll sign it. He is going to put them under his protective care. However, in the middle of the week, after three-and-a-half years, he's going to break the treaty, and he's going to put a stop to the sacrifice and grain offering. This indicates to us that a temple will have been rebuilt in Jerusalem, and the Jews will be doing their Old Testament rituals again. They will believe that they are living in peace under the protective hand of the antichrist, who at that time will be so powerful that he can control the Arab world.

"And on the wings of abominations will come one who makes desolate." This is a little tricky phrase. It says, "On the wings (on one part of the temple), there will come an abomination that causes destruction (makes desolate), even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate." And this is a cryptic description (clarified in other Scripture) that the antichrist is going to walk in; break his treaty; and, put up his own image in the temple (in the wing of the temple), particularly the holy of holies, the innermost part. And sometimes he will sit there himself and decree that he is God, and all the world is to worship him. And all the world will worship him except the Jews. And the result for them is going to be desolation.

That is the background of what we're reading in the book of the Revelation. We'll pick that up a little more in a moment. But I want you to understand that John is looking at these great tribulation personalities. He is looking at them in connection with Jewish history. He is looking at them in connection with the Jews of the world, still hoping for what they hope for this very day – that their Messiah is going to come very soon. Every Jew that's got any sense in the world today knows that there is no protection for him, and that there is no hope for his nation – that little country of three-and-a-half million people on the Mediterranean Sea. There is no possible future for them except with the arrival of their messiah that they think is still coming, because they don't realize that he came and they rejected Him.

Remember that when Jesus came, He came to set up the Davidic Kingdom. When He came to them, He said, "I'm the king of the Jews. I'm here to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant. I'm here to fulfill the extension of that covenant in the Davidic Covenant with an earthly kingdom. I'm here to take over, and to set up a kingdom on this earth where you will be the leading people, but you must come to national repentance. You're a people of sin. You are trying to get into heaven by keeping the Mosaic Law. You're keeping your rituals. You're comparing yourself to one another. You think you're as good as somebody else, so that God is going to have to accept you. You do not understand that you must have God's own righteousness. You must have more than the righteousness of your religious leaders. I'll guarantee you that. You must have more than the righteousness of their rituals and their procedures that the scribes and the Pharisees are teaching you. You must have a righteousness that comes outside of yourself, from God Himself."

The Baptism of John the Baptism

Baptism

So Jesus came to give them a bonafide offer of a kingdom. This is what was so terrible – that they rejected Him when He was on the verge of doing that for them.

Israel

Satan

The Pilgrims

The problem was that the Dutch people were inordinately depraved spiritually. In the spirit of their age, they were a worldly people. These pilgrims saw their children growing up. And as much as they tried to teach them at home, and as much as they directed them in the knowledge of Scripture, these pilgrims had the sense that a lot of Christian parents don't have today – that it's the surroundings of your child in school that is as important as the academics he gets. The environment of your school will etch something into your child that he will never be able to remove from himself. And if it is a worldly, corrosives, satanic quality, it will be etched deep in him. If it is a godly, God-honoring, love with Jesus-Christ, dedicated to biblical morality, that will be etched in him.

Well, when the Dutch government heard that the pilgrims were planning to move to the new world, and were asking the King of England to assign them an area in North America in which they could establish an English colony, the Dutch government went berserk. The leaders said, "We can't let this happen. This is the most stable, qualified, wonderful group of people we have. We don't want them to leave. And they actually sent government emissaries to try to persuade the pilgrims not to leave. They gave them all kinds of inducements. They offered them all kinds of financial support and everything imaginable. They said, "Just don't leave this country," because the government recognized that if you have enough citizens who have a perception of right, it's going to influence other people.

This week, the Irving City Council had another one of its debates about whether to permit the Arkansas owner to bring in booze into Texas Stadium. This has been a running battle. Everything that can be brought into appeal to the sin nature is the name of the game. And can you imagine a human being who lives in our day, who knows the devastation of drugs, and who actually walks up before city council and says, "I want to introduce the drug of alcohol on a widespread level into Texas Stadium, where they hold sporting events that are supposed to deal with sportsmanship. Men who on the field are the ideals of many young people. Children attend these games and are influenced by the environment. They see the people sitting there, boozing it up, and getting crocked, and having a wonderful wild time here. This is athletics. This is sports.

Well, the city council voted to yield. Only three people on that council said, "We'll take a stand of biblical godliness," and they voted against it, and were voted down. Had there been more people oriented to the Word of God (people like the pilgrims), the result for this community and for that stadium would have been vastly different. That's how important it is to have citizens who have some frame of reference of divine viewpoint.

Well, the people of Israel have been deceived by Satan. Since the time of the fall in Eden, Satan has control all governmental agencies, and those are always directed in an evil way. Anti-Semitism is one of the things that he uses governments to promote. Hitler was one of his grandest accomplishments. I want to tell you something else. It's only just beneath the surface. In the tribulation, what Hitler did in one area of the world, it's going to become worldwide. Can you imagine what it's going to be to live in a world where you are associated with a group of people which is under the gun of every government, and every person in those countries is out to get you? Put yourself in that spot. Think what it must have been like to live in Germany, knowing that, if it came out that you were a Jew, your life was forfeited; your family was violated; and, your possessions robbed. Satan is assisted in his work by a whole host of demon angels who worship him. Satan has tried to kill, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has tried to prevent his birth, and he has tried try to kill him since.

Satan then is also a prominent personality that John sees as the tribulation under the symbol of the dragon. John sees the birth of Israel's son, the Messiah Savior, Jesus Christ. This son was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit to produce a humanity without sin nature. The one who was born to the virgin Mary had both a human nature and a divine nature in one person. They were not mixed. They were separate. This is called the doctrine of the hypostatic union, which means one under the other. Under the divine nature came a human nature. The two operated together. Sometimes He acted in His divine nature, and sometimes in His human nature, but He always acted as a person. The two were never mixed. This marvelous person was born. Satan could not stop it. The humanity of Jesus Christ began with the birth in Bethlehem – this Christmas event that we celebrate every year. But the deity did not begin in Bethlehem. That's why we say that Mary is not the mother of God. She is the mother of the humanity of Christ.

Isaiah 9:6 points this out in a prophecy hundreds of years before in a very explicit way. Isaiah, in speaking of this event coming in the future – of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, said, "For a Child will be born." That is humanity: "For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us." Isn't that the beauty of the precision of Scripture? And that's not just an accident. It's always that way. That's the way God the Holy Spirit had to say it: "A child is going to be born to us." His humanity is going to come through this woman. But the Son of God can't be born through her. The Son of God is given to us, and deity and humanity were joined together in that little stable in Bethlehem.

Just before Israel's Son, Jesus Christ, is identified as a future world ruler, the Holy Spirit interjects something that is somewhat startling. Here in verse 5 we read, "And she gave birth to a Son" (this God-man), and then He throws in: "A male child." As we pointed out in the last session, the word for "male" here in the Greek is the word that deals with sexuality – His masculinity. What an odd word to throw in there! But if you look at what is to follow immediately, you'll see the reason for it. This is a male (a masculine person) who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. We're talking about authority being exercised in the society. And God the Holy Spirit points out that He has an order in which men exercise leadership authority in the society. Women rule over men in a society only as an act of divine discipline and of humiliation, in a society where the males have become a bunch of wimps and twits.

We demonstrated that for you in the last session from the experience of Barak and Deborah in the Old Testament. Now, having said that, let me pause to express one thing more. God's subordinate role for women in human relationships does not imply inferiority. That is a bunch of nonsense promoted by the feminist movement. The subordination of women in no way suggests spiritual inferiority.

Galatians 33:26-28 explicitly state that: "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have closed yourselves with Christ." Now, can I ask you, is this water baptism or is this the dry baptism of the Holy Spirit with which you clothed yourself in Christ? Obviously, it would be sheer nonsense to say, "My water baptism is the way I put on Christ." What do you mean it's your nonsense? The whole Church of Christ denomination says, "That's how you get in." The Holy Roman Catholic Church says, "This is how you get in. You become a child of God through baptism. And to be sure that we get you in early, we baptize you as an infant. Well, we don't really baptize you – we sprinkle you, but we call it that."

Seven Baptisms in the Bible

So, you have become a Christian. You have put on Christ. You've become a child of God. Then he makes something else clear about that position. Verse 28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek." Your racial background makes no difference with God: "There is neither slave nor free men." Your social status doesn't make any difference with God: "And neither is there male or female." Your sex makes no difference before God relative to spiritual privilege: "For you are all one in Christ Jesus." They're going to be a lot of women in heaven who are going to have a whole lot more rewards than men – even some men who were in spiritual authority over them. Before God, everybody is equal. But in society, there's an order of authority. That's all God is talking about. If you did not have that, it would give the devil a chance to destroy the human race.

Men and Women

Verse 2 says, "If they observe your chaste in respectful behavior, they may be one by you" without your haranguing words. And don't try to appeal to them externally: "And do not let your adornment be merely external: braiding the hair; wearing gold jewelry; or, putting on dresses. But let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God, and certainly is precious in the sight of a man who esteems you. For in this way, in former times, the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right, without being frightened by any fear."

Peter points out that this is from ancient times. The grandest ladies that have ever graced the face of this earth were women who did not try to act like men. They were not pushy; feisty; and, muscling up for a position of equality. But they said, I'm happy to be in my position of being cared for by you; of having you concerned for my welfare; and, of playing my role within the home: of a mother; a wife; the nurturer; and, the homemaker. I'm very happy with that role, and with all the opportunities that that gives me to serve God, because I have such great freedom, because I have a husband who takes care of me, and who, in our family, is the responsible leader.

This is designed to protect the woman in the devil's world because she is, whether we like it or not, obviously, the weaker vessel of the two. Verse 7 says, "You husband, likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman, and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of God. Recognize that he is your equal in the grace of God, and in spiritual things, so that your prayers may not be hindered." Why would you be a bully to your wife, or why would you do the unspeakable thinking of not providing and caring for her.

This is God's order for maximum human joy and blessing, and (remember) to keep Satan from destroying the human race. The order of subordination is God's order. When this is reversed, there is always trouble. When a woman takes charge, there's always trouble. This is designed to permit a woman freedom to fulfill her role for which God has designed her; created her; and, put her together in a different structure temperamentally, as well as physically.

Titus 2:4-5 says, "That they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the Word of God and not be dishonored."

So, anybody who is fair and honest concerning Scripture will readily recognize that when we have it stressed that this political leader, Jesus Christ, is to be a masculine male, it is God telling us something of His order of authority in society, but it is not an implication of any kind of inferiority.

Now he goes on in verse 5 and says, "About this child who is to rule." This child is about to rule. The word for "rule" is the Greek word "poimaino." And "poimaino," interestingly enough, really means "to shepherd." We're going to have a political ruler who is going to be the world dictator, who is going to be a shepherd, because Jesus Christ is going to be a benevolent dictator. He is going to be a kindly dictator who is going to guide His sheep with concern. He will prevent them from doing wrong.

What kind of a society is that going to be? Well, you cannot have any kind of open evil. He will open doors of green pastures for you to enjoy. There will be scads of things to do in life in the millennium. But you have to do right. And this world ruler, with all of His angels helping Him, and with all of the Christians administering this world, is going to see that it is a world where people do right.

This word "shepherd" is in the present tense, which means that this will be the continual role of Jesus Christ the King. It is active voice, which means that He is going to exercise this authority Himself. It's in the infinitive mood, which tells us that this is the purpose of God.

The Lord of Hosts

God's Army

A lot of Christians don't understand that today. The amillennialists don't understand it. The postmillennialists don't. Only the premillennialists have any insight into Scripture to put it together. Here's what they were talking about. He's going to rule on the throne of David. What does the amillennialist say? That's in heaven. That's a heavenly throne – the Father's throne. That's not what the words say. He's going to uphold it with justice and righteousness. Now, that's going to be a nice world. Everything is going to be right, and everybody is going to be treated fairly. For how long? Forevermore. Who's going to do this? The zeal of God.

I want to tell you, folks, when God gets zealous, things happen. I wouldn't count on these things not coming to pass. Micah 5:2: "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah." This city is so small that when they listed the primary cities of Judah, they didn't even list the city in the Bible: "From you, One will go forth for Me to be ruler of Israel. His time of going forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity," indicating, again, the deity of Jesus Christ.

This is what was quoted in Matthew 2:6. And in Luke 1:26, these verses were the background: "Now, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David, and the virgin's name was Mary." Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of the Davidic line. They had to be for Jesus to be qualified to be the king. But Mary's line came through David's son Nathan. Joseph's line came through David's son Solomon. And Solomon's line, because of Solomon's great sin, and his later descendants on the throne who followed him through his line, was told, "You will not bear the Savior. Your genetics will not be in the Savior." How accurate is the Word of God? Only the genetics of Mary were in the Savior, through Nathan, the godly son of David. It is absolutely precise.

This virgin, Mary, come in: "And the angel says to her, 'Hail, favored one, the Lord is with.' But she was greatly troubled that this statement. She kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be." Here is a young woman. She has become engaged. In Jewish society, that was tantamount to being married. As a matter of fact, once you were engaged, it was a contract that you signed, and to break it, you had to have a divorcement at that state to break the engagement.

"And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus (meaning 'Savior). He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High (that is, He is the Son of God). So, there it is. You will bear in your womb this Child who will have His humanity, and He will be the Son of the Most High (He is deity), and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.'"

Now, could you read that passage and understand what he was talking about (what she would have understood), after what we've read in Isaiah? Your amillennial Christian friends say that the angel Gabriel (when he said he will give him the throne and his father David) was talking about the throne of Christ in heaven. This is the problem, folks, when we talk about literal interpretation against allegorical. I have taught you about Origen, and how he messed things up, at the beginning of the third century, by bringing in the allegorical method of interpreting Scripture, where words not mean what they say, but you looked underneath for symbolic meaning. You see how far afield you have to go to say, "No, this is not a Jewish kingdom on this earth."

Here's the kicker in verse 33: "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Now, who is the house of Jacob? Are any of you folks here today of the house of Jacob? You might act like you are, but you're not. I don't see any Jews here at all. You're all sweet gentiles. The amillennialist says, "This is the church. The house of Jacob is the church." How do they see that? Because they looked under the words: "And His kingdom shall have no end." How long is the kingdom? The kingdom is forever.

Jesus Christ will be the King of the Earth

The Church will Govern the World with Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 6:2: "Or do you not know that the saints (Christians) will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more matters of this life?" Do you realize that you will be the people who be judging Saddam Hussein, and all of his ilk, let alone the demon angels? Yes. The people here are going to be making these decisions. And the Lord said, "Now, act like a judge, will you? Walk around and realize that you're going to make judicial decisions that are going to have consequences.

You're going to be a lot smarter. Your gaps in doctrine are going to be filled in, and you will know exactly how to act. Jesus will be the Supreme Court, and He will make any corrections that may be necessary in your administration. But you are the future of the world's political system.

The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross with a sign over his head of His accusation. What was His accusation? In Matthew 27:37 we read that the accusation was: "Jesus of Nazareth: the King of the Jews." He claimed to be the King of the Jews, and for that, they killed Him. It happened to be true. That's exactly what He was.

So, here, John sees this child born. He's going to be a male who is going to rule all the nations. The word "nations" is this Greek word "ethnos." The word "ethnos" means "gentile." He is going to rule all the gentile nations. This is a reference to all the current gentile nations on earth, including the Arabs. They are also gentiles. These nations are the present day form of the Roman Empire as it existed in Jesus' day. These nations today rule the earth through Satan, and Luke 21:24 calls this time in which we live (this period in history) "the times of the gentiles."

The Jews lost control of the Promised Land to the Babylonians, as I indicated, because they kept violating the sabbatical, agricultural year of rest. So, God took away the land from them, and send them off to Babylon for 70 years. Subsequently, when they did get back, Babylon was, in time, replaced by Media-Persia. They Jews still weren't in control of their land? The Media-Persia empire was replaced by Alexander the Great and the Greek Empire, and the Jews still didn't have control over the Promised Land. When Alexander the Great died, his empire was divided up among his generals. In time, the Romans came along, and they conquered that, and the Jews still did not have their Promised Land. At the time of Jesus, they were under the domination of the Romans. They tried to rebel, and, in 70 A.D., the Roman legions under General Titus came and destroyed Jerusalem. The tore down the wall; they tore down their temple; carried away the valuables; slaughtered a million to a million-and-a-half Jews; and, took the rest of them, and sent them off into captivity.

They never had a spot on the face of the earth that they could call their nation until May of 1948. Are the times of the gentiles over? No. The Jew, to this day, does not control all of the land promised to Abraham in the Abrahamic Covenant. But the royal reign of this Child is going to be a very explicit time. When He reigns, He will reign over all the nation of Israel. He will reign over all of their entitled Promise Land, plus the nations of the world. And it's going to be a rule of a rod of iron. The scepter of the King in the millennium is going to be one of iron. This indicates that the Messiah's reign is going to be very hard on evil. No evil will be tolerated in the worldwide kingdom of Jesus Christ. It's going to be a no-nonsense kingdom where evil is not justified. What kind of a world is that going to be – where evil is not justified?

I saw a program the other day of two very arrogant, cocky teenagers who had murdered their father and grandmother. They were very cocky and proud of it, and you could see that here was an evil set of twins. Here were two evil creatures. The mother, of course, was crushed. Her husband had his brains blown out by these two sons. The grandmother was killed – the grandmother who doted on them, and gave them everything imaginable that they wanted. The interviewer asked the mother, "How do you feel about this toward your sons? Do you still have affection for your sons?" Through her tears, she said, "Oh, yes, I still love them." And he said, "But they shot your husband's brains out! They killed their grandmother who had shown nothing but kindness to them!" Then she said, "Yes, I know, but it's not their fault. It's not their fault." And then she went on about the things in their lives that made this terrible tragedy. Then, finally, to justify it, she said, "They were just trying to rob them, and it was accidental."

That's just a little incident of American society. That's a cameo, but this is just everywhere. This is the common viewpoint of a society that has deserted the Word of God, and the God of that Word.

We're coming to society in the millennium when this child, Jesus Christ, will be on the throne in Jerusalem as a benevolent dictator, ruling with a rod of iron, such that there will be no more spiritually oriented politicians in charge, passing laws to satisfy the lusts of the old sin nature of their constituents. They're not going to have politicians who are passing the majority to have alcohol served in Texas Stadium. That's one of the first things that we're going to repeal in the millennium, incidentally, if not sooner. From Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to govern all nations by God's laws, and by God morality, and by God's principles of human government. Human government will be maintaining freedom for everyone to exercise his unequal abilities, within the context of peace and order.

The gentile nations at the end of the tribulation, of course, will not willingly yield to the rule of Jesus Christ, so He will have to impose it upon them with His rod of iron authority. You may read about how he's going to do that in Revelation 19:11 through Revelation 20:4. In time, we will get to that. But there, in those verses, you have a summary of how Jesus is going to come in with His rod of iron, and how He's going to start smashing, like a potter breaking his pots. He's coming through, and it's going to be a no-nonsense leadership.

We close with Psalm 2:9-12. God warns the rulers of the world, who will be living at this point in time, at the end of human history in the tribulation, as things come to a climax. God gives this advice to the political authorities of the earth, from the president of the United States, to the president of the Soviet Union, to the Arab leaders of the Persian Gulf, all over the world. He is speaking of how Christ will exercise His authority: "You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall shatter them like earthenware. Now, therefore, O kings, show discernment. Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling. Do honor. Do homage to the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way. For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him."

If you are here today, and you have not taken refuge in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, this Scripture applies to you. It would be to your good eternal well-being to trust in Christ, who has already covered all your sins, and to accept His offer of salvation as a free gift – simply admitted to Him that you are incapable of doing anything to take one step toward eternal life, and to thank you for the gift of having done that for you, and the gift which He extends to you, and that you accept it with gratitude, adding nothing of your own to it: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved."

Many of the leaders of this world (most of them) will not heed this good advice in Psalm 2. The Bible tells us that a great campaign will close down the history of the world before the reign of Christ. It's called the campaign of Armageddon, where Jesus Christ Himself (Would you believe it?) will be facing all of the armies; all of the atomic weapons of the world; all of everything that man has been able to do devise for destruction; and, they all meet on the great field of Megiddo. Jesus Christ will be on one side, and Goliath (the armies of the world) on the other side. If you come back for the next session, I'll tell you how that battle is going to turn out, because that's what you call a one-sided battle. I would strongly recommend to you that you place yourself on the side of the winner, Jesus Christ: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved."

Dr. John E. Danish, 1990

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