The Difficult Sayings of Jesus #5

[0:00] And if you noted, it would be apparent that the reference to the kingdom is found a number of times in the passage that we just shared. And I would emphasize that it is emphasized all throughout the New Testament, particularly in the Gospels and in the book of Acts.

[0:20] It is absolutely key and critical to the plan and program of God, and I trust that we will be able to see that unfolded. While you are here in Matthew's Gospel, would you open your Bible to that portion, please?

[0:36] You've got a responsive reading on the provided page, but we need to be in Matthew's Gospel anyway. And I simply want to point out a couple of things preparatory for the content that is coming.

[0:50] When Christ said, who do people say that the Son of Man is, he, of course, was referring to himself. This is our Lord's favorite designation of himself, and it is utilized frequently throughout the Gospels.

[1:07] If I'm not mistaken, I think in the Gospels he refers to himself as the Son of Man some 80 times. It is the terminology that he uses in reference to himself more than any other.

[1:21] That is really key and critical. Keep it in mind. The Son of Man. The Son of Man. And almost always when Jesus uses the term, he is speaking in the third person. But he is speaking about himself in the first person.

[1:35] He is saying, for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. What he really means and what he is actually saying is, for I am come to seek and to save that which is lost.

[1:50] But putting it in the third person, singular like that, is a frequent literary tool, particularly in the Gospels. And it ought to be recognized as such. And in connection with the subject matter of the kingdom, he says to Peter, and a little later on, he talks about giving Peter the keys to the kingdom.

[2:13] And then the last verse in what we considered this morning from our responsive reading is that there are those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

[2:27] This kingdom is so absolutely all-encompassing in importance and significance.

[2:38] I just cannot overemphasize it. And at the same time, it is one of the most misunderstood subjects in all of Christendom. You will find virtually every kind of interpretation from A to Z as regards what the kingdom is.

[3:00] And as we pointed out to you earlier, in no portion of Scripture where the kingdom is ever referenced, do we ever find it defined.

[3:13] Jesus never says. Now, what I mean by the kingdom is, nor do we have any record that anyone ever asked him or John the Baptist.

[3:23] All of this talk about the kingdom, the kingdom, the kingdom. What are you talking about? What is that? What does that mean? There is a good and very sufficient reason as to why it is never explained or defined.

[3:36] And I told you, it is because everyone already knew. If you were a Jew, you knew what the kingdom consisted of, what it was going to be, who was going to provide it, what the characteristics of it would be.

[3:52] If you were a Jew, you cut your teeth on that information. This goes all the way back to Genesis 3 and the promise that God gave for the redemption of humanity and how it is to come about through the seed of the woman.

[4:10] That is, a descendant of Eve will one day provide God's final solution for the restoration, the restitution of all things.

[4:25] Genesis 3, sin entered the picture. The world came crashing down. And it has been in a mess ever since. The mess today is greater than it has ever been.

[4:40] There is so much wrong, so much injustice, so much inequity, so much violence, so much hatred permeates the globe today. The time is coming when all of that will be reversed.

[4:55] When will that be? It will be when the kingdom of heaven is established on earth. We are not talking about going to heaven.

[5:06] We are talking about God's realm, God's rule, God's reign that is in heaven will be brought to the earth.

[5:17] It will be here on this planet, on this globe. Albeit, it will be a new heaven and a new earth. But it will be this same sphere called planet earth.

[5:33] And it will be established here on the earth. If you look to men, this one or any other, or any group of theologians or commentators, you will find all kinds of ideas, expressions, possibilities about the kingdom.

[5:54] Many people talk about today they are working for the kingdom, they are building the kingdom, etc. Well, I don't want to be nitpicky, and there is a sense in which that is true, because there is a spiritual kingdom.

[6:08] There is a spiritual kingdom that is in existence right now. And if you are a member of the body of Christ, you are in that spiritual kingdom.

[6:19] It is that referred to in Colossians that tells us that we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son.

[6:32] That is true of every believer. But, that spiritual kingdom is not the kingdom of which Christ is speaking. He is speaking of the mediatorial kingdom.

[6:45] And, just how important is it? It is what everything is all about. And I am not exaggerating.

[6:56] The coming and realization of this kingdom, coming to earth, is what the promises of God and all of the prophecies are really all about.

[7:08] It is what the incarnation and the birth of Jesus Christ is all about. It is related to the kingdom. It is what the crucifixion of Christ is all about.

[7:19] It is related to the kingdom. Because it is in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that he paid the full redemptive price that gives God the moral, legal right for reversing the causes and effects of the fall.

[7:38] It is that which procured our redemption. It is what the entire earthly ministry of Christ is all about. The kingdom is what the second coming is all about because that is when he is going to establish it.

[7:52] The kingdom is what Armageddon is all about because that is what is going to climax the end of this age and the time of the Gentiles immediately prior to the establishment of the kingdom.

[8:04] The kingdom is what the millennium is all about. And the millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ, and the kingdom of heaven come to earth are all synonymous terms. It is all speaking of one and the same thing.

[8:16] And the kingdom is what the eternal state and new Jerusalem is all about. But we still haven't defined it. And as we left you in our last session, we were dealing with the passage that is absolutely key and critical to all of this.

[8:34] And it is found in the book of Daniel. But just a few unattended things to care for while we are still here in Matthew. So look, if you will, at Matthew 3. Matthew 3 and verse 1, just to get these on the record.

[8:49] In those days, John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[9:01] For this, referring to Christ, this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, who 700 years earlier said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

[9:18] This message had never been preached before. This was entirely new. No Jew had ever heard this message proclaimed.

[9:29] He knew that according to the promises of God, one day would come when it would be proclaimed. And every generation of Jews that lived, from the time these promises were made up until this time, thought theirs might be the generation that would hear that electrifying message that God is now ready to do his thing and convert this world into a glorious kingdom of righteousness and peace.

[10:07] And as the centuries rolled on, Jews were born and Jews died off, and were born and died off, and were born and died off, generation after generation, century after century, millennia after millennia, and it never happened until one day.

[10:33] This strange looking individual, wearing strange garments and eating strange food, came preaching this message that just set the whole area ablaze.

[10:47] people were absolutely beside themselves. And they were saying, this is it! This is it! And John is proclaiming it!

[10:58] The kingdom is about to come, because the king is about to come! And you can't have one without the other! And when Jesus came on the scene, John makes it clear, at his baptism, when the dove descended upon him, the Spirit of God, John said, this is he who was to come after me, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.

[11:22] He will baptize, I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire. This was the moment.

[11:34] And everybody got caught up in it. Little did they know that this one, whom they viewed as coming to establish a kingdom, would have to first purchase the right to do so.

[11:59] And that would be accomplished only through his death, burial, and resurrection. Because, in the moral, spiritual accomplishment of his death, he was able to effectively undo the works of Adam, instigated by Satan in the garden.

[12:28] He was able to pay the penalty for God being able to justly reverse the effects of the fall.

[12:38] So, why hasn't he? Why isn't it? Two things. Two things. Please understand. There are two prerequisites for the establishment of the kingdom of heaven on earth.

[12:58] Two things have to be realized. Christ. And I will show you how that plays out in just a moment. The first, however, is the death of the Messiah.

[13:13] He has to die. That provides the wherewithal for God to morally, justly reverse the curse and establish the kingdom.

[13:25] The second thing that must occur before the kingdom can be established is the compliance of the nation of Israel.

[13:36] Israel must be on board. They are not now. They never have been. The time will come, however, when they will. Now, let us hasten on through the Matthew passages just to get them on the record.

[13:50] Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8 and verse 5. When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him entreating him and saying, Lord, now I want you to understand, this centurion is not a Jew.

[14:06] He is a Roman army officer. He is given the rank of centurion, which comes from our word century, meaning a hundred. A centurion was a Roman army officer who had under his command one hundred soldiers.

[14:24] And his rank was centurion. not a Jew, of course, but a Roman. However, he obviously was sufficiently impressed with Jesus of Nazareth and what he was doing, and he came to him and said, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home suffering great pain.

[14:45] And he said to him, I will come and heal him. Jesus said that. But the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof.

[15:00] You know, that is really a tacit admission on his part that I know I'm not a Jew, and I know the Jews and Gentiles have no, you know, I wouldn't expect you to lower yourself.

[15:15] He knew how Jews thought of Gentiles. Now, Jesus didn't particularly feel that way at all. That's why he talked to the woman of Samaria at the well, and that's why he was willing to go to this man's home.

[15:27] But the man, respecting the culture of that day, said, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

[15:39] Now, he is exercising enormous confidence in the ability of Jesus to do that. This obviously is a persuaded man.

[15:51] And he goes on and says, For I too am a man under authority with soldiers under me. And I say to this one, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my slave, do this, and he does it.

[16:07] Now, when Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who were following. In other words, Jesus is taken aback by this. Jesus is stunned by this.

[16:20] And he says, to those who were following, truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.

[16:35] Now, that is paying quite a compliment to this centurion, and it is also, by the way, a significant put-down to the people who are in Israel, because who are those who should be most enthusiastically on board in confidence and trust and reliance upon him as the Messiah?

[16:55] Seed of Abraham! Fellow Jews! And Jesus is contrasting them and saying, you know what? Here is a man who is not even the seed of Abraham.

[17:08] Not even a Jew. Not a recipient of the promises, the covenants, and all the rest, that you are as Jews. And yet, it's amazing.

[17:21] He has more faith in me than you do. And I say to you, verse 11, that many shall come from east and west.

[17:39] Of whom is he speaking here when he says many. I cannot gather anything from this other than to say he's talking about other Gentiles.

[17:55] And they are going to come from the east and the west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Now, some are of the impression that there are not supposed to be any non-Jews who have anything to do with the kingdom of heaven.

[18:14] But this clearly realized that, does it not? We've got to keep the context in mind here. He is talking to a non-Jewish person, or about a non-Jewish person.

[18:29] He's talking about this centurion. And the impression I get from the context is what Jesus is saying is the equivalent of this. Yes, and there are going to be a whole lot more centurion type people come from the east and the west who are going to sit down at the table and fellowship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom.

[18:53] This kingdom, while it is principally a Jewish thing, Jewish headquartered, Jewish focused, it's going to be for the whole world.

[19:06] It's going to be for all of the nations, not just Israel. And let us hasten along here. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 5.

[19:18] These twelve, Jesus has just selected them from the cadre of disciples and he has promoted them to the rank of apostle. And these twelve, Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, do not go into the way of Gentiles, do not enter any city of the Samaritans, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and as you go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[19:47] There is another reference, that the kingdom is nearby. And over a couple of pages, in chapter twelve of Matthew, and verse twenty-two, there was brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb, and he healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw.

[20:07] And all the multitudes were amazed and began to say, this man cannot be the son of David, can he? And when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this man, speaking of Jesus, cast out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.

[20:25] In other words, he is in cahoots with the devil himself, and it is the devil who gives him the power to do this. And Jesus said to them, knowing their thoughts, any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.

[20:44] And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then shall his kingdom stand? In other words, he is saying, Satan is about the business of doing evil.

[20:57] He is not going to do good. this is doing good. If Satan is involved in the business of doing good, that's going to cut into his margin of doing evil.

[21:12] He isn't going to do anything that is counterproductive to his own goals. This is just a piece of simple logic that Jesus is sharing here. And he says, and if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out?

[21:25] Implying, of course, that they did. Consequently, they shall be your judges. But now look at verse 28. But, said Jesus, if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God or by the power of the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

[21:54] The kingdom of God cannot be divorced from the king. And wherever he went, he took with him kingdom conditions.

[22:10] Because in the kingdom, there aren't going to be ill, demented, demon possessed people. So, Jesus cast them out and healed them wherever he went.

[22:23] in the kingdom, there are not going to be any injurious storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, that take human life and damage property.

[22:37] That's not going to exist in the kingdom. The kingdom is going to be the way things are supposed to be. That's why Jesus stilled the storm and exercised authority over the very elements of earth itself because with him was the power and the glory of the kingdom and he just let it shine forth in miniature form everywhere he went and every time he did so he was providing more and more validation for claiming who he was and why he came and then if you will come over to Acts chapter 3 this is really a critical passage and it is just wonderful how this ties together I am not giving you Wiseman's interpretation of this I trust because frankly it isn't worthy it isn't all that competent but as

[23:42] I have insisted in the past so say I now again we have to do all we can to allow scripture to interpret scripture in order to rescue us from human interpretations and human ideas which can really get pretty flaky sometimes and mine would be as capable of doing that as anyone else is now I want you to note here in Acts 3 he has already preached this monumental sermon in Acts chapter 2 and here we have a kind of repeat performance in Acts chapter 3 he is at the temple and he is addressing a Jewish constituency and this is in connection with the man who was lame at the temple gate beautiful and Peter and John raised him up and healed this man who had been lame from birth and they are all dumbfounded and wondered what's going on and what's responsible for this and I want you to come all the way down now to verse 13 well verse 13 the

[24:53] God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the God of our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus the one whom you delivered up and disowned in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him but you disowned the holy and righteous one and ask for a murderer Judas to be granted to you but put to death the prince of life the one whom God raised from the dead a fact to which we are witnesses and on the basis of faith in his name it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know and the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all and now Peter says and now brethren I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also now look at this verse it is so powerful verse 18 but the things which

[25:58] God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets what what did they announce they announced that God's Christ God's Messiah should suffer he God has thus fulfilled God promised that his Messiah would come and suffer he did that that's history that's over God's part was in promising such a Messiah to do what Jesus did Peter is saying God delivered he did that that's over and done with now

[27:03] Israel the ball is in your court well Peter didn't exactly say that but that's the meaning this is a two prong thing first it is up to God to provide the remedy he did that now it is up to you the nation to whom he promised it and for whom he provided it it is up to you to accept it to receive it to rely upon it to commit to it to embrace it will you do that God has done his part will you do that notice what he goes on and says repent therefore therefore always speaks of a kind of crisis or a next step or now therefore means in light of what

[28:15] I just said therefore now and the call is for them to repent and return that their sins may be why did they crucify Jesus why did they cry for his blood why did they shout out crucify him crucify him because they were convinced he was not the messiah he didn't meet their qualifications for being a messiah they did not see him as the oh it is true there were a number of jews who did there were the twelve apostles and there were other people who were just mesmerized by Jesus but they didn't know any better they were just taken in by him but we're we're too astute we're too gifted and too learned and too smart to fall for that we knew that he wasn't to cry out crucify him get rid of him get him out of the way and

[29:28] Peter says you know what that was your position back then what you have to do now is completely reverse yourself you've got to do an about face that's the meaning of the word repent means you've got to change your mind and what is always the singular rationale for changing your mind always in formation and that's exactly what Peter just gave them he told them why they needed to repent he gave them information what are you going to do with it now you get this information you hear it you've got to start processing it thinking about this mulling it over in your mind what does this mean this contradicts what I have believed previously what am I going to do you know what the evidence is such that

[30:34] I just have to swallow this bitter pill and say I was wrong I do not think there is anything that is harder for a human being to do than that it does such a job on our ego we just don't want to do it is painful it is emotionally painful to say I have been completely wrong about this it makes us look bad it makes us feel bad it makes us feel stupid it makes us feel anything but adequate I tell you what it takes a really big person to say I really blew it

[31:37] I have been so wrong about this I just completely missed the boat I don't know how I could have been so stupid and so blind do you like talking about yourself that way and do you know what most of these people did and Peter said repent repent God has done his part repent many of these people I won't I won't stubborn clenched teeth clenched fist I won't I won't not going to admit it and they just push on forward that's fallen human ego talking and it's a really tough I've often called this the hard part of the gospel the simple part of the gospel the simple part of salvation is embracing the savior the hard part is embracing your own failure your own blindness and your own sin and owning that that's the hard part so

[32:59] Peter said you repent therefore and return that your sins may be wiped out in order that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus the Christ appointed for send Jesus send Jesus from heaven but he just went back to heaven just a short time before he'd only been there a couple of weeks now they're talking about coming back yes coming back to do what coming back to establish the kingdom but he hasn't come back no he hasn't and there hasn't been a kingdom established no there hasn't and Israel is not on board no they aren't that's the second prerequisite for the kingdom to be established

[34:07] Israel has to be in agreement in compliance in repentance in an acceptance mode of Jesus as their Messiah and they aren't they will be but they aren't that's the second thing that has to occur before the kingdom can be established and as I've told you the kingdom was never defined because everybody already knew what was meant by the kingdom how do I know that because I know that the Jews were very very familiar with the prophecy of Daniel chapter 2 every Jew knew about this Daniel lived 500 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem and we read in

[35:09] Daniel chapter 2 one of the most fascinating favorite of mine accounts in all of scripture it is just an electrifying passage I tell you it is just the book of Daniel is frequently referred to as the book of the revelation of the old testament and I've often said that there is no possibility of understanding the book of revelation apart from the book of Daniel because scripture interprets scripture now look at this if you will in Daniel 2 fascinating account Daniel and his friends are prisoners they've been carried away hundreds of miles to the east in the land of Babylon they are there interned as prisoners and we read this fascinating account in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar had dreams and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him

[36:13] I could just see this old king waking up in the middle of the night unable to sleep tossing and turning getting up pacing the floor a little bit having a servant bring him a cup of hot chocolate or whatever they drank back in those days trying to get back to sleep fitfully sleeping restless tossing and turning and the dreams are bothering him and the king and the con the conjures and if you got to keep in mind this is in a pagan setting these people were steeped in idolatry superstition paganism and all the rest of it and he called in the magicians the conjurers the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams so they came in and stood before the king this must have been quite a coterie here group of these guys who were supposed to have all the answers the wise men of the realm the true scientists the shakers and movers and those who were close to the king influential people and the king said to them

[37:18] I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream this thing has really got me bugged I can't sleep I can't get it off my mind it keeps me awake and when I do sleep I have this same dream over again and it's driving me nuts I can't figure out what it means what's the significance of it it's really disturbing aggravating and the Chaldeans spoke to the king and Aramaic and said oh king live forever tell the dream to your servants and we will declare the interpretation now I want you to understand what is going to transpire here because it's very significant there is good reason to believe that the king already had his suspicions about the ability and the integrity of these advisors and when he says in verse 5 the command from me is firm that means my order to you to interpret the dream is not going to be rescinded it stands you tell me what the dream means if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation you will be torn limb from limb these people specialized in that kind of brutality do you know what you call that in ancient parley you called that quartering and it was a very simple procedure you simply tied strong ropes to each of a man's feet and to each of his hands and spread him eagle like this on the ground and with the other end of the rope to each hand you had a horse and the same with the feet and at the given signal the horses took off this is brutality isn't it this is quartering you'll be torn limb from limb now once the king has explained to them the disadvantages of not telling him what he wants they've really gotten the picture and they are shaking in their boots and he goes on and says your houses will be made of rubbish heap but if you declare the dream and its interpretation you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation and they answered a second time now just a moment your majesty let the king tell the dream to his servants and we will declare the interpretation and the king said oh no no no you don't we are not going there because

[41:07] I know you guys and once I tell you what the dream is you can tell me anything you want by way of an interpretation and I won't be able to prove it or disprove it I'm not going to fall for that my reasoning is thus if you really have the ability to accurately tell me the meaning of the dream you should also have the ability to tell me what I dreamed and it's oh nobody can do that that no that's that's forgive me your majesty but that's completely unreasonable nobody has ever expected anything like that and the king says yeah well I am and the command has gone from me so have it your way you either tell me what

[42:10] I dreamed and the meaning of the dream or we'll bring out the horses you do not take the dream make the dream known to me there is only one decree for you for you have agreed together you have conspired to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation has changed therefore tell me the dream that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation you guys are full of hot air and you're just stalling more over the Chaldeans answered in verse 10 and said there is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king in as much as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician conjurer or Chaldean there has never been a king set on the throne who has ever made a demand like this and what they're trying to do of course is convinced the king that he's being completely unreasonable in this that nobody's ever asked anything like that but the king is not buying it moreover the thing which the king demands is difficult and there is no one else who could declare to the king except gods here their paganism is coming out whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh because of this the king became indignant and very furious he probably picked up something and threw it and these guys are shaking in their boots because they know their life is hanging by a thread and all the king has to do is snap his fingers and point and those guys are taken away and you'll never see them again and they know that so the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain and they looked for

[44:01] Daniel and his friends to kill them what do they have to do with it Daniel and his friends are accorded among the wise men these were the up and coming bright best and brightest of the Hebrew children that were taken as slaves from the land of Israel and they are pressed into the king service they are very intelligent young men and that is recognized and they are elevated to this position they are grooming them for important responsibilities later they are included in this coterie of wise men and they are going to be executed too and Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Ariok the captain of the king's body guard who had come forth to slay the wise men of Babylon who is this guy Ariok the captain of the king's body guard he is the official royal hit man his responsibility to see that they're executed and that's what he's about to do and

[45:09] Daniel appeals to him and he says in verse 15 to Ariok the king's commander for what reason is the decree from the king so urgent and then Ariok informed Daniel about the matter he told him the whole nine yards and Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends Hananiah Mishael and Azariah that's Meshach Shadrach and Abednego about the matter in order that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon Daniel goes to his friends and calls a prayer meeting and he says look guys we've got to take this thing before the Lord because the king has offered this decree and if God doesn't come through for us and give us the interpretation and the meaning of this dream we're dead we're all going to be executed so they hold a prayer meeting and then the mystery was revealed to

[46:28] Daniel in a night vision and Daniel blessed the God of heaven Daniel answered and said let the name of God be blessed forever and ever for wisdom and power belong to him so what happens now Daniel is asleep and God comes to Daniel in a dream and he gives Daniel the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had and he gives Daniel the meaning the interpretation Daniel is a bright boy but he doesn't figure this out on his own this isn't something he came up with this is something that God has revealed to him so Daniel thanks God and in verse 23 he says I give thanks and praise for thou has given me wisdom and power even now thou hast made known to me what we requested of thee for thou hast made known to us the king's matter so

[47:36] Daniel went into Ariok whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon he went and spoke to him as follows Ariok do not destroy the wise men of Babylon take me into the king's presence and I will declare the interpretation to the king Ariok is saying really you can do that Daniel says I can do that wow okay okay let's go let's go so they go into the king's presence and he says to the king I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king the king answered and said to Daniel whose name was Belteshazzar that's the new name the Babylonians gave him are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation and Daniel answered before the king as for the mystery about which the king is inquired neither wise men conjurers magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king however there is a god in heaven who reveals mysteries and he has made known to king

[48:56] Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days this was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed what an incredible statement and I can see everyone in the court standing around eyes open mouths open ears open listening Daniel says this is what you dream and the interpreter I can just see old Neb leaning forward on his throne okay okay let's have it what was it as for you oh king while on your bed your thoughts turn to what would take place in the future and he who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place but as for me this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man

[50:04] Daniel saying I'm not really all that special I'm not that different from anybody else but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king that you may understand the thoughts of your mind you oh king were looking and behold there was a single great statue and the king is thinking to himself yeah yeah yeah there was saw this thing over and over again this huge statue this kid is good that that's right which was large and of extraordinary splendor was standing in front of you and its appearance was awesome yeah go on the head of that statue was made of fine gold its breast and its arms of silver its belly and its thighs of bronze yeah yeah that's that's what it was its legs and iron its feet partly of iron and partly of clay you continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands stone just came right out of this big mountain all by itself it just came from this huge mountain and flew through the air and hit this great statue right on its feet and the whole thing collapsed and came crashing down it became like chaff on the summer threshing floors and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found yet the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth the king is saying wow that's that's just exactly what

[52:36] I saw now what does it mean this was the king this was the dream now we shall tell its interpretation before the king you oh king are the king of kings now we know that there is only one king of kings but at this time Nebuchadnezzar was the only king of kings that was recognized by anyone because Babylon was the only superpower that existed and he was the top dog in the whole area you were the king of kings to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom that you enjoy the power the strength the glory and wherever the sons have been dwell or the beasts of the field or the birds of the sky he has Nebuchadnezzar you are the head of gold in that statue

[53:40] I could just see old Neb puffing up a little bit saying yeah really really I'm the head of gold well that figures I'm a man of substance I'm the head of gold okay and after you I wonder if he winced a little bit at that because nobody likes to think of after me but you're not going to be here forever Nebuchadnezzar you're going to pass on like everybody else and after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you silver is inferior to gold and then another third kingdom of bronze bronze is inferior to silver and it will rule over all the earth then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron in as much as iron crushes and shatters all things iron is stronger than gold or silver or bronze but it is of less value and when you take iron and mix it with clay it doesn't mix it will break in pieces and crush and break all these in pieces feet and toes partly of potter's clay partly of iron will be a divided kingdom but it will have in it the toughness of iron in as much as you saw the iron mixed with common clay and as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery or clay so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle and in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay they will combine with one another in the seed of men but they will not adhere to one another even as iron does not combine with pottery and in those days in the days of those kings the

[55:51] God that's it the kingdom of heaven is at hand this is the kingdom they were talking about this is the kingdom that is never defined because it was always known this was the kingdom every Jewish person had on their heart and mind the God of heaven will set up a kingdom who were these all these other kings they were in successive historic order the first Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonians gone overrun by the Medes and the Persians they are the silver and what happened to the Medes and the Persians gone overrun by Alexander the Great and the

[56:52] Greeks they represent the next increment in the statue going down and the very last one is the Roman Empire which was in place at the time Christ was here on earth and God is going to see to it that another kingdom will be established that will come from heaven and it will bury all of the other kingdoms it will displace all of them and when that kingdom is established the one from God it will last forever all the others were temporary they all come and go this one is coming but it's not going this is the kingdom that they were looking for the time is coming when as surely as

[58:08] God is God this kingdom is going to be realized here on the earth but it is not now why not because that second key ingredient which is a prerequisite for the establishment of the kingdom has never been realized death burial and resurrection of Christ that's all history the compliance and obedience of Israel is not history it is not a reality the time is coming when that second prerequisite will be met and Christ will be embraced by the nation of Israel not just a small minority of Jews Christ will be embraced by the entire nation of Israel so all Israel will be saved and this glorious kingdom will be established now can you not see why these people were so excited when they thought

[59:17] Christ was going to do that when he came oh Jerusalem Jerusalem how oft would I have gathered you together as a hen doth gather her chicks under her wings but you would not that's why we don't have a kingdom today that's why the kingdom is held in abeyance that's why we so anticipate the return of Christ because when he returns he will establish that kingdom do you see why this is so critical and do you see this this whole concept is the backdrop it is the setting against which

[60:20] Christ uttered all of those difficult sayings that we have real problems trying to understand why just go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel because they are the target nation they have to be on board before the other nations will come along but they never have been they never were successful you are to preach the gospel in Jerusalem Judea Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth what happened they were never successful in Jerusalem the Jews shut them down just like they did John the Baptist just like they did Christ they shut down the twelve they persecuted them imprisoned them butchered them exiled them and rejected their message and God has put the whole kingdom program on hold until

[61:21] Israel comes into place this is God's plan for the ages and when you just make these connections in scripture it just falls together it fits like a hand in a glove it's a beautiful thing thank you father for what you have been pleased to reveal it has been here in the book for thousands of years and yet so many millions billions even today have no clue of your plan or your program we are an intensely privileged people to have some access and understanding to this great drama thank you for putting it together in the way that you have we pray for a better more complete facility for understanding and appreciating it and through it all we see your incredible remarkable undeniable faithfulness and power at work we bless you for it in

[62:35] Christ's wonderful name amen