Amos, Randal: Ramseur Spring Conference 2007-01 ~ Prophecy Chart

Entitled, uh, Biblical Prophecy, the prediction of things to happen, and you're getting a copy for family handed out to you. Did you run out? Uh, see my wife. My wife right there in the red. She solves problems. If anybody owns a colored machine, we can make more. Thank you. I'd like you to open the Word of God as we introduce the series for this spring conference this morning to First Corinthians chapter ten, please. First Corinthians chapter ten. Book of First Corinthians, chapter ten. And, uh, when it comes to the subject of prophecy, I'm reminded of a verse in Second Peter one nineteen which goes like this. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well to take heed, as a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your heart. God looks at prophecy, the prediction of things in advance and as they come true, as able to turn the light on, to put us, give us the reality of God's word, and there is a God through this supernatural miracle of prophecy. Now, we have a verse before us, and that verse is First Corinthians chapter ten and verse thirty two. Verse thirty two says, give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God. God does bless the reading of his word. Reason I read this verse, there are three groupings of people mentioned in it, as you noticed. And when it comes to the way God views earth, his governmental dealings on earth, he does it through three groupings of people. I understand when it comes to heaven and hell, there's only two types, the saved and the lost. In the language of First John five twelve. he that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. You either have life or you don't. But as far as his kingdom and his governmental dealings on earth, there's three groupings of people, and they are mentioned before us here in verse thirty two. and there are the Jews mentioned here. Now, on this particular chart, uh, the Jews are a nation of Israelites, sometimes called Israel, and they were God's chosen earthly servants in the Old Testament to accomplish special service for him on earth as they represented him. Now, on this particular chart, the Jews will be pictured in two colors. It'll be red, and that'll be when they're outside the will of God, not bearing witness to him, and blue when they're restored to God. So you'll see at various times Israel will be red, away from God, or blue, and there it is, red, and the blue and red together, and follow the blue. And so, uh, that is where this entity of people, uh, God's chosen servants called Israel or the Jews. But secondly, there is a group of people we read in verse thirty two called the Gentiles. That is simply non-Jewish. You're non-Jewish, and it means nations. Often it's translated nations. All the other nations of the world, uh, that are non-Israel, Israeli. And they're known as the Gentiles. On this particular chart, they will be pictured in the color teal. And there you'll see right here the Gentiles, and God has a plan for them also. They run through the ages, and there'll be a division of them, and they go in two separate directions. And so there's the Gentiles. But as you get to the New Testament, you come across a third grouping of people, and that is called here in verse thirty two the Church of God, elsewhere called the Body of Christ, sometimes translated the Assembly of God. And so this third grouping of people is really not a national people. They're not bound together by patriotism, by the borders of a country like Israel and like the Gentile nations, but they are a spiritual entity of people who have received the Lord Jesus Christ, and their sins are gone, and they share in common, I can use the language of Colossians one twenty seven— Christ in you, the hope of glory. They each share the indwelling Christ through his spirit, and they're bound together as a spiritual entity, and they are called the Church of God. Now, on this particular chart, the Lord Jesus himself, because they're the body of Christ, they're connected with God's son, the Lord Jesus, uh, they are, uh, the Lord Jesus here is in gold. There you see the cross, there you see his burial, there you see his resurrection and ascension, there you see the Holy Spirit coming down, and there is the church i- in these gold lampstands and in this blue area. So when you see the blue and the gold together on this chart, it is that third entity of people, uh, the Church of God. And you here see the blue uniting with the gold and connected with it here, and throughout the ages, here you see it again. Now, that is that third entity of people. And to understand biblical prophecy correctly, you need to understand the distinctions and the differences and the prophecies concerning the Jews, that is Israel, and the Gentile nations, and the Church of God. What we want to do this week is look at all three. We want to begin today to look at the Gentile nations. Then tomorrow night, Lord willing, we'll look at Israel, which is so much in the news. And then Tuesday night, we'll look at the Church of God. And then, Lord willing, uh, Wednesday night, we'll look at an Old Testament story, uh, that pictures and puts the whole thing together, hopefully. But having said that, as we begin in this morning session, which is one of two today, Lord willing, we'll be back this evening, we're looking at the Gentile nations, the nations and people at large in the world. Now, uh, having said that, I'd like to give you a little, uh, uh, source of the Gentile nations. If you'll start in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy chapter thirty two. Deuteronomy chapter thirty two. Deuteronomy chapter thirty two and verse seven. Verse seven It says, remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask thy father, and he will show thee, thy elders, and they will tell thee. When the Most High divided to the nations, there's that word for Gentiles, divided to the nations their inheritance. When he separated the sons of Adam, as he set the bounds, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. Now it says the Most High, after he divided the sons of Adam, which would have been after the flood, uh, God is concerned about the nations. And why do the Spaniards have Spain, and the French people have France, and uh, South America, Bolivia, and all this? Why do they have that? Well, according to this, God separated the nations and gave them an inheritance, and it would be bound around ethnic nationality, around their different tongues. The Bible speaks of people and tongues and kindreds and so on. And it would be bound against their ethnic nationality and language, and God would give them a country to live in. Israel wasn't the only people that God gave a country to live in. A- and these people are called nations. Now, as we will see tomorrow night, uh, while the nations have their border and their land, uh, does God get anything? Well, that's fine, the people have, so what does God get? Well, did you notice there in verse, uh, nine, for the Lord's portion is his people Jacob, it is the lot of his inheritance. God has an inheritance on earth too, and it's Israel, that's the other name for Jacob. Uh, we'll talk more about that later, but God has an inheritance, but the people's inheritance are, are lands that he gave the various nations. Now, as Acts seventeen will tell us, that he made of one blood all nations, and aforetime determined the bounds of their habitation, and so on. You see, oftentimes we speak of different races. I know what we mean, I do it myself sometimes. Technically, it's not right. The Bible never speaks of different races, for we're only one race. He made of one blood all nations. Though our nationality and ethnic tongue and culture is different, we still share the same blood. We are of Adam's race, the human race, the only race the Bible knows about. Where the differences are, there are different ethnic nationalities and tongues, et cetera, languages. And so God only knows of one race, but he does know of different nations and nationalities, and, uh, he gave them an inheritance. Now, what is the purpose of the nations, you see, the various nations today? It is in Romans thirteen that you get a lot of light on that, where Paul will write by the Spirit of God in Romans thirteen one, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers, for there is no power but of God, for the powers that be are ordained of God. And so they are governmental powers on earth, and as Romans thirteen four goes on to say, speaking of this government, he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. They are there to restrain through punishment and law and order, to restrain evil on earth, so people can live in an orderly society, and of course, seek the Lord and so on. And so, so they're there to restrain evil, as much as you might like, uh, dislike policemen sometimes. Would you want to go out and get on the big highway, maybe even here in Ramser, would you, would you want all policemen to be gone and all authority to be gone? It would be anarchy, wouldn't it? Uh, people would drive any way they wanted, and they'd come into your house and take anything, and there's no way to stop them. You see, the purpose of government is to restrain evil with the execution of wrath. So God has ordained government and the nations to keep some type of an order in society, and so that nations have a purpose, uh, before God. Now, having said that, however, there is a prophetic timetable given in the Bible concerning the nations, what their future will be, and God's plan for them, and so on. And so as we begin this morning to deal with the nations, the Gentiles, we want to begin to look at the prophetic timetable that the Word of God teaches, that God himself reveals, uh, the future of the nations. So go with me, if you would, to the book of Daniel chapter two. Old Testament prophet now, God's prophet, Daniel chapter two. Book of Daniel chapter two. When you get to Da- Daniel two, the situation, he's a Jew, of course, Daniel, and the situation of Israel, they are, they no longer have their nation. Since they weren't faithful witnesses to God, God took it away. And the Babylonian Empire, which is modern day Iraq, uh, has conquered Israel. And now Israel are slaves and and fugitives in other nations. The temple is gone, that there's no king like David in Israel anymore. The whole thing has come to an end. And now these Jewish people don't have God over them directly, uh, through a king. They have Nebuchadnezzar. They got pagan Gentile people in government ruling them. Now, when this situation happens, when God's people on earth, though they believe in God, but they have pagan people who don't believe in God governing them, there's a name for that. You see it on the chart here. It's really a political term. It's called the times of the Gentiles. The Lord Jesus spoke about it in Luke twenty one twenty four. He says, and Jerusalem, that's God's people, shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. So that God's people will be controlled a- and governed and persecuted by the Gentiles, but it's temporary until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. So that the times of the Gentiles are when pagan governments, people who don't even know the Lord, actually have rule over God's people on earth. That scenario is known as the times of the Gentiles. Now, can there be anything to learn from that? Daniel, who knows God, yet he's in Babylon under pagan rule. Isn't that the situation of the church today? You who know the Lord Jesus and God, you believe in him, and yet your government makes rules, not not the Lord Jesus on earth. He makes that you're under pagan rule while believing in God. What practical lessons there will be. But as we come into this scenario here, we find ourselves in Daniel chapter two where Daniel will meet the Babylonian king, the king of Iraq, as we would say today, Nebuchadnezzar. And the way he meets him is God gives Nebuchadnezzar a dream. It was a awful dream that bothered him. And, uh, he wanted to know what this dream meant. They didn't have the whole Bible then, and he wanted to know the interpretation of the dream. However, Nebuchadnezzar, uh, was about to call the magicians, the astrologers of Babylon, and so on, but he know they just might say whatever he wanted them to hear and make up the interpretation. People do that sometimes, you know. So Nebuchadnezzar said to them, you know, the dream I dreamed last night, so to speak, upon my bed, it's gone from me. I, I don't remember the thing. So what I want you to do is not only tell me the interpretation of the dream, tell me what I dreamed. Tell me what went through my head last night, so to speak, before I believe the interpretation of what it means for the future for tomorrow. Well, when the Chaldeans and all those magicians and soothsayers heard that, they were terrified. It was a humanly impossible thing to do that the king was asking. So they reply this way to King Nebuchadnezzar in verse forty six, or rather, I'm sorry, Daniel two and uh, let's get the right verse here in Daniel two verse ten. Daniel 2 and verse ten. It says, the Chaldeans answered before the king and said, there is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter. Therefore, there is no king, lord, nor ruler that asketh such thing at any magician or astrologer or Chaldean. King, you don't realize it. What you're asking is humanly impossible. Uh, sure, we can tell you what happens tomorrow, but we can't tell you what happened yesterday, what you dreamed upon your head. It is humanly impossible. And if a fortune teller ever approaches you and says for five ten dollars they can tell you what will happen tomorrow, you might test them, say, what was I doing last night? And you'll see how real they are. Uh, but this is what is happening here. It is humanly impossible to tell you what already happened in your mind. Uh, uh, so it can't be done. And, well, there is somebody that could do it, but they won't. Look, look at verse eleven, verse eleven. They go on to say, and it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. They believed in the gods and goddesses. You see, it's humanly impossible. It can't be done. Well, the gods could do it, but they don't th- th- they don't speak to us. They they don't dwell with us. They're in a realm of their own, you see. And so while they could do it, they won't because they don't dwell with flesh. And so what you're asking is humanly impossible. You see, the Babylonians saw themselves in what we could call a closed box society. You see, a closed box sealed at the top. In other words, nothing can penetrate through. In other words, if they can't figure it out by observation and by rationalization and by spiritism magicians and that magicians, if they can't figure it out that way, then there's just no way to know. And so there's no way to know anything beyond th- your, uh, observation because men can't know it, and the gods, well, they don't dwell with us. So it's an absolutely impossible thing that you're asking, king. They lived in a closed box society. But now we'll enter Daniel. Daniel will hear about this, and him and his friends will have a prayer meeting, and they will seek, whom Nebuchadnezzar didn't know, the God of heaven. And as they seek the God of heaven, God reveals to Daniel not only the interpretation of the dream, but the very dream that Nebuchadnezzar had. So that Daniel deals with the past, what he dreamed, before he'll tell him what it means. I want to pause there. This is the setting in which the prophetic timetable of the Gentiles will be given, in which prophecy will be given. It's given in the setting that, first of all, the past will be accurately dealt with. And once Nebuchadnezzar hears that Daniel knows the dream he dreamed, he'll have no trouble believing the future and the interpretation of it. Now, this is a key pattern, if you will, for biblical prophecy. As we look at prophecy this week, Lord willing, 90% of what we're going to look at has already been fulfilled historically, literally. You can even check it out in the history books. It's already happened. Probably only about ten percent or so that I'm going to be talking about that hasn't happened yet, but it's a big ten percent. But how can I have confidence? How can you have confidence? When you look at this, you say, is this really going to happen? Is it literal? Does it mean what it says? Well, God dealt with the past. You can check these prophecies out. They've already been fulfilled. They've accurately been handled in history in the past, so I can believe them literally in the future. That is why Nebuchadnezzar will believe the interpretation, not just because Daniel said so, because Daniel proved it by dealing what, what he dreamed on his bed last night, so to speak. What, what happened yesterday proves the credibility of what will happen tomorrow. That's the way God gave prophecy here. And so keep that in mind as we go through these prophecies this week, that many of them are already literally fulfilled. They came exactly true. I can trust the rest of what God says as absolute truth for the future. Having said that, Daniel then stands before Nebuchadnezzar after God gave Daniel the revelation, and look at verse twenty seven of Daniel two. Daniel two and verse twenty seven. And Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, the secret which the king hath demanded, cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers show unto the king. Just rubbing it in a bit. Uh, what's wrong with your system? Can't they do it? Well, they couldn't. It was impossible. But then Daniel says this in verse twenty eight, But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets or mysteries and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. This is a prophecy. Thy dream and the visions of thy head upon the bed are these. Now, notice verse twenty eight. I want to break it down a little slower. Verse twenty eight, Daniel says, there is a God. It's humanly impossible, these mythical gods, well, they don't dwell with flesh. There is a God. The first great thing of our witness that we do not live in a closed box society, what is humanly impossible, there is a God. There is a God. And so believers know something that sometimes unbelievers don't know, and that is there is a God. I'm not shut up to rationalization. I'm not shut up to figuring it by observation. Well, since so many people suffer, God must not love us because look at the people suffering. That's observation. That's rationalization. Not shut up to just demonic spirit guidance and soothsayers and that, because there is a God. But he goes on to say in verse twenty eight, but there is a God in heaven. That tells me he has a locale. He's just not a force. He's just not some misty spirit that I kind of just guess at. He- he's in a certain place. There is a God. In other words, he's a real personality. There is a God in heaven. We know our Lord Jesus, according to Hebrews one three, when he had by himself purged our sin, he sat down on the right hand of the majesty in high. That the Lord Jesus is in heaven. There's not some mystical force. There is a God in heaven. Now look what else he goes on to say to the king in verse twenty eight. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets. He reveals. It is not closed box. As we said, we're not shut up to that. He breaks through and reveals to supernaturally what we can't humanly know. There's a God in heaven that revealeth. You know, this morning, if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus, your whole faith is based on revelation. It's not what you observe. It's not what you rationalize. It's not through spirit guidance, the spirit guides, the demonic spirit guides. It's in revelation. Remember what, uh, happened when the Lord Jesus asked Peter, whom do men say what I wa- am? And in Matthew sixteen seventeen, Peter said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Lord Jesus answered that flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. To understand who Jesus is, is a revelation from God. You know, there's that famous verse in First Corinthians two eight. It is written, eye hath not seen, that's observation, ear hath not heard, that's going to irrigate in the mind, rationalization, neither hath entered into the heart of man, that's emotion, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him. You can't rationalize it, you can't observe it, the things that God has prepared for them that love him. Well, then they can't be known? Yeah. Listen to verse ten, First Corinthians two ten. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit. We don't live in a closed box society. God has spoken through the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit has revealed. Paul could write in Ephesians three three, how that by revelation he made known unto me. Our faith is not the product of some religious assembly council. It is from the revelation of God who has spoken. And Daniel stands before the king. It's not a hopeless matter. We're not shut up to not knowing. There is a God in heaven that revealeth. And from that point on, Daniel goes on first to give him the past, what he dreamed, so to speak, last night upon his bed, uh, to deal with the past, then he'll tell him what it means for the future. And Nebuchadnezzar will believe the future because the past was dealt with accurately. Now, here's what the man dreamed that Daniel went on to tell him. It's somewhat pictured for you upon this chart. It was a great image of a man, uh, a carved statue, something that man carves out, and it was a huge thing, and it was made out of four different materials. Uh, the head that Nebuchadnezzar dreamed was made out of gold. Then the chest area with the two arms were made out of silver. Then the waist or the, uh, uh, that area, the thigh was made out of brass. Then the two long legs, well, they were iron. But by the time you get to the bottom of the legs, where the feet and the ten toes are, they're still iron, but now a new material, clay, and they're kind of put together, clinging together, clay and iron. So he sees this great human statue that, of course, somebody would have to carve and craft, and there it is with these different metals and that. It was terrible to look at, Nebuchadnezzar said. In other words, it was awesome, and he sees that. But then he saw something else. There was a stone that was not crafted by human hands. It was uncut stone, something man did not touch, unlike the statue. And this is pictured way over here in this little spot on the chart for you. This stone cut without hands comes down and hits the statue, not in the head, not in the arms, not in the waist, not up here in the upper legs and thighs and that, or calves. It hits it in the feet. So by hitting it at the feet, it knocks this whole thing over, and the thing, as it hits the ground, just shatters into pieces, we'd say into a million pieces, and it shatters so finely that along comes the wind and just blows it away. And what existed as this great thing is blown away, as they say today, and exists no more. It's gone. But then this stone, and Daniel calls this the time of the end, there's a jump to the time of the end. The stone cut without hands is a, is a different type of stone. It's a live stone, and it starts to grow, and it grows into a mountain that fills the whole earth. So that this stone cut without hands actually replaces this. This, what stood so glorious, man and all his glory of the metals and all that, uh, is blown away, and it exists no more, and this stone cut without hands grows and replaces it. Now, that's what he saw. Now, just as Daniel concludes what he saw, j- j- just look here at verse thirty four. Daniel two and verse thirty four. He says, Thou sawest till that a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the shaft of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them, and the stone that smoked the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. So that's what we were describing to you. Uh, the whole thing is blown away into a million pieces, exists no more, but it is replaced by the stone without hands, which grows into the whole mountain. That's exactly what the man dreamed. Now, Daniel then is going to tell him the interpretation, the meaning of that symbolism. You see, to the Gentile king, God will give the prophetic future through symbolism, through a metaphoric picture. We do that today, don't we? That's why kids can use computers, four and five-year-olds. year olds. It's all symbolism. There's a little trash can or recycle bin for all the mistakes you make. Well, it says a whole lot without ever telling you what to do. You just drag your stuff in the trash can. And so we're, we're, we're a symbol, we're a society who communicates through symbolism. God did long ago, and this is simply a symbolic picture to get across the reality of the truth. So Nebuchadnezzar now is going to hear the meaning, and he'll have no trouble believing it because the past was dealt with accurately. So here's what it means now. Look at verse thirty six, Daniel two and verse thirty six. This is the dream, and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings, for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom and power and strength and glory. And whithersoever the children of men dwell, uh, the beasts of the field, the fowls of the heaven, hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee, uh, ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. So that each section of the carved statue, the image, represents a world empire, not just, it represents a worldwide kingdom, not just some little country, but somebody who bears rule over all the earth. It represents worldwide empire. In Nebuchadnezzar's case, Babylon, modern day Iraq, was the head of gold. Thou art the head of gold. You rule over all people in that, a worldwide empire. So they represent governments, worldwide governments that have control over, uh, their empire and so on. Thou art the head of gold. Now watch what happens here. As far as the value is concerned, everything digresses. Silver is less than gold. Brass is less than silver. Iron is less than brass, and iron and clay together is less than iron. It goes down in value. But at the same time it goes down in value, it goes, progresses in strength. S- gold's not that strong. So, you know, you have a gold ring, you can, I can actually bend it a little if you press it hard enough. Uh, silver is tougher than gold, brass tougher than silver, and of course iron tougher than them all. So it, while it's going down in value, it's increasing in strength and power to destroy. And that, that is the different metals God chose to use in this dream. Now, Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold, but as you can easily see in this metaphoric picture, Babylon will not be the final world empire because a different metal takes over. The two arms and the chest area is silver. So you can expect, according to biblical prophecy, that Babylon won't last forever. Look what it says in the interpretation here in chapter two and verse thirty nine. Verse thirty nine: After thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee. So another kingdom will come after thee. Now you can check in history. It's put up here on the chart for you. But the Medo-Persian Empire, made up of two peoples, like the two arms. Persia, by the way, is modern day Iran. The Medan, oh, Persian Empire defeated Babylon in five thirty six uh, BC, and that became the world empire of that day. It succeeded Babylon. Uh, Babylon wasn't the answer for the world. Another one took over, but that won't be final. Look again at verse thirty nine. And after thee shall another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. This one won't last forever either. There's another one represented by the brass, and it would, and that is known as Greece, and that came into power in three thirty AD. By the way, you can study it on your own. The second and third empire is named for you by name in Daniel chapter eight. Medo-Persia, Daniel eight. Greece, named by names long before it happened. You can read that in Daniel chapter eight. But the third one isn't final. Uh, the plan goes on. Look here at verse forty. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, for as much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things, and iron that breaketh all these shall break in pieces and bruise. So the fourth one is the most powerful one, and it will break in pieces the other. Now we know from history what succeeded Greece in about thirty BC was Rome, the empire of the day when our Lord Jesus Christ walked on earth. The fourth kingdom is Rome. By the way, there is no fifth. There's only four. However, in the end stage, the iron takes on a different form. So what we know is the Roman Empire, by the way, those of you that know history and like history, you do know in the fourth century AD it divided in two, didn't it? The east and the west. See these legs splitting? How did God know that? It divided in two, and then the, what is called the Holy Roman Empire in the west still rules over kings and countries today to this very hour, uh, known as the Roman Catholic Church and so on. Uh, but in its final stage, there's no fifth metal, it just takes on a different form. So let's look at the final stage here, verse, uh, forty one. And whereas thou sawest the feet and the toes of potter, clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided, but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, for as much as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. Now, as it will go on to say, these ten toes represent ten kings or kingdoms. However, just like iron and clay, you can put it together, but they they they don't form one, they don't cleave one to another. So what God is describing here, with this little symbolism of iron and clay around the ten toes, that the reconstituted Roman Empire will be at the end times, will be in a different formation. It will be made up of kings who retain their identity. They don't give up their national kingship. It's not like the United States all in one. They retain their identity, but they work as a coalition together. They mingle themselves together, but they don't cleave one to another. It's not like the United States, we're one nation with one president. The, the Roman Empire will be made up o- o- of, of nations retaining their identity, but as a coalition working together as one. Now, I don't know how it's going to play out, but what's happening now, it's the fiftieth anniversary of the European Union, where different European countries are retaining their presidents, their kings, whatever, but they're in a coalition called the European Union. They even have a common currency called the European Union. They even have a common currency called a euro. I have one in my pocket if you want to see it later. It's a woman riding a beast, one of them. One of them is the image of a woman riding a beast. It might take a different shape before it's all over, but we see the old Roman Empire coming into a new form, and today it's called the European Union. Whether it'll be called that in a month or five years, we don't know, but that's what it's called today. And, and the reason that's so important, as it's taking the very shape of countries working together but maintaining their individual identity, tell you why that's so important. Look at verse forty four. Verse forty four It says, and in the days of these kings, that's those ten kings by the ten toes, shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Verse forty five. For as much as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. And Nebuchadnezzar believed it. So now we know the timing of when the kingdom of God will come. It did not come during this period, nor way up here, nor Medo-Persia. It will come as Europe is reviving into a different type of empire, which we see a form of that even happening today. In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. And what happened? Well, look at the picture. It breaks in pieces. You see, this world is not the answer for God's final government. It's not the answer. Many times, Christians, we get taken up with trying to change our world, Christianize it, bring it back to law, and so on. Notice how it's going to end. It ends by cataclysm. It ends by destruction. The whole thing comes down not by Christians, but by the stone cut without hand. And First Corinthians ten four says that rock was Christ. Speaking of the Lord Jesus, he's not humanly made, is he? And he's coming back, and a- and the end of this present sinful world system, uh, comes to end by none other than the Lord Jesus when he comes back. You see, this worldview now is a world headed for judgment. It ends by cataclysm, as Acts seventeen thirty one says, because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness. This world is under condemnation because of its sin and rebellion. We'll see more about that tonight, Lord willing. But it's headed for judgment. It is under wrath, and it's not going to improve, it's going to get worse, and the whole thing is not going to exist anymore. The governments as we know them today, it's going to be replaced by a stone cut without hand that will grow into a mountain that covers the whole earth. That's the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we know when it's going to happen, i- i- i- in this state right here, when when Rome is in that type of reconstituted, uh, uh, government. Uh, we know what's going to happen. Uh, the governments of this world are going to end. Cataclysm, destruction. And then we know what the Lord Jesus is going to do. Who does it? The Lord Jesus, a stone without hands. Not Christians in politics, but the stone without hands is my hope, and he'll change the whole thing and bring the kingdom of God that fills the whole earth. Now, as we close here, what does that practically mean for you and I? You say, well, that's very interesting information, what's going to happen tomorrow, but I, I got real living to do today. Did you know in the Bible that knowing advanced information affects what you do today? It probably happens down here, happens in Rochester a lot. You get a little forecast of a snowstorm, or maybe here an ice storm. I'll tell you what happens in Rochester. Ah, a foot of snow is coming tomorrow. I go to the store that night, it is packed. Everybody's buying the milk, everybody's buying everything, and they're canceling trips for tomorrow. So there's different things you do today and don't do today because you know what's going to happen tomorrow. And a weather forecast is just one little example. There's all kind of advanced information we get that changes what we do today, things we do and don't do. So now we have advanced information. This world is under wrath. If you're not saved, you need to be prepared today. This coming today is going to end. Uh, First John two seventeen, the world passes away and the lust thereof. He that doeth the will of God abideth forever. It's passing away. Dare I go into eternity without a savior when the wrath of God is coming? But it's cataclysm coming. The wrath of God is revealed, and so men and women need to be saved. We'll talk more about that tonight. But if, but if you're a believer, what does it mean for you? Well, if you know this world's passing away, are you going to invest in this world? I know we got to make a living. Are you going to live for this world and put all your energy and time and investment and live for this world when the whole thing is going to be blown away? I mean, if in Ashbur or the bigger city up the road, you found a mansion for sale, and it was a six-story mansion and, and just twenty-five rooms, and they'd let you have it for four thousand dollars. You say, it's tremendous. I, I got it. What an investment. Then you get some advanced information. Somebody in city council says, well, that, that block is condemned where that mansion is. The bulldozers are coming in next week. We're going to put a bird sanctuary there. Would you invest your money? Would I find you painting the rooms next week? No, no. You say, the thing is gone. I won't invest there. The world passes away, it's blown away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. And the first will of God in First Corinthians two twenty three is this is his commandment, to believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another. Have you trusted Christ? And if you're saved, are we living and investing a- a- and thinking of this world? Prophecy says it's going, and we're living in an age not here. We're not here. We're not, we're somewhere down here. In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. I can have confidence in the future. I can be l- prepared and saved now, a- and as Matthew six thirty three says, the Lord Jesus said, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. May God encourage you in your decisions today, because the Bible has given us a sure word of prophecy, what's going to happen, so to speak, tomorrow. Now, tonight, Lord willing, we want to look in more detail at how it's going to happen and why it will happen. Why will God bring this world to a cataclysmic end? Well, we'll see why and God's solution to the whole thing, but that's tonight, Lord willing. Let's ask God to bless his word in prayer. If you have further questions from the chart or what we've said, uh, you can see me and we can talk. Others can help you too. Our God and Father, we are in thy presence to the Lord Jesus, and we thank thee there is a God in heaven that reveals, and now our Lord Jesus sits on thy right hand, and we have his truth given from thee to him through the Spirit and apostles to us. If there's any here, and they think there's no hope for the future, no answers, may they see, like Nebuchadnezzar, there is a God in heaven, and confess their sin and unbelief, and trust the Lord Jesus Christ who died and rose again, and find out they can be saved and they can know thee, the true God, and have understanding, and that we can live not in darkness as the world, but we can live knowing what's happened, and therefore make right decisions that will please thee. Pray to encourage thy assembly, and the hope is not in this world. It's not going to change, it's going to end, and the Lord Jesus is the answer. We ask thy encouragement in hearts today in a way that we can't, and for the children who heard the word in Sunday school, we commit it now in the name and for the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.