[0:00] Saul is dealing with the wives and husbands and children. He just continues on into another relationship, one that's pretty foreign to us, living in this free capitalist society.
[0:14] It's kind of a demonized thought of servants and masters, and that's really the way I think about it from growing up and being in this land.
[0:26] And yet here it is in the Bible, and the truth is it's all over the Bible. And I tried really the intention, and I want to make this very clear, because I fear I may have misspoken some or been unclear last week, and I don't want that to be the case ever, if possible.
[0:40] My intention was 100% to have us understand that this is real in the Scripture. It's real. It's literal. It's a literal relationship that's not merely just the way it was back then, and we just kind of overlook it today and go past it and move forward into the way we live in this land.
[1:02] That's how we apply everything. And the reason I kind of got hung up on it is because I've always, only, ever heard it just turned right into employee-employee or employer relationships, like making that application to us, which is valid and necessary to have some application to us and to address that relationship.
[1:24] But you don't even need this passage to address that relationship, to be honest with you. The Bible says let your yea be yea. And you're commanded in the Scripture to be a faithful man and to be honest, and to, earlier in chapter 4, work with your hands a thing which is good.
[1:40] But, so, anyway, this exact spot is not necessarily aimed at the way it's always traditionally, in our land at least, interpreted.
[1:51] It's literal to servants, and it's literal to masters. And I would say that because I want us to always take the Bible literally, always, unless it introduces some absurdity, then it's obvious that it's not to be a literal interpretation.
[2:06] But this servant-to-master relationship is a credible one. And, like I said, it's been demonized today in our land, for sure, and by the United Nations trying to just rid the world of it, feeling like we're doing something for mankind.
[2:20] But I want to take you through the Bible a little bit today, and, like I said, backtrack, but try to just be a little clearer on this. First of all, the intention of studying this was to allow us to understand that this is to be taken literal.
[2:33] And then it kind of feels like we're going almost overboard, but that's okay. So, let's turn somewhere. Let's turn back to Genesis 9.
[2:47] I threw this out last week that this is where it's first mentioned in the Bible. Genesis 9, where the term servant first shows up. As far as I know from the Scripture, Adam did not have servants.
[3:10] Cain don't know that he had servants. But we get up into Genesis 9, and after the flood, some years after the flood, I might add, Noah got off that boat with his wife, three sons, and then three wives.
[3:28] So, a total of eight people came off that ark. Well, some time has passed because he's talking about, in this passage, the son of one of his sons.
[3:40] He brings up his grandson. So, there's definitely some time past. Don't know how old this grandson is, but he's not the firstborn of his grandsons. All right. So, in Genesis 9, and I'll just start in verse 24.
[3:55] And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done unto him. That younger son is Ham. The oldest son is Japheth, then Shem, then Ham.
[4:05] And in verse 25, and he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant.
[4:16] God shall enlarge Japheth, and shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant. Now, I want to clarify something because I used, I think I misspoke last week when I said that this, that God put this, and I used the term race.
[4:31] And I'm not sure that that's the accurate way to say that. Because then it's typically taught that the Hamidic race is just nothing more than a slave, and that's all they'll ever be.
[4:44] And that's not the case at all. And I didn't, if I misled in that way, that's not what I meant to say. And so I'm trying to clean that part up. What is true from this text is he curses Canaan.
[4:56] Now, Ham, Noah and his sons are blessed, and he's not going to curse when he's blessed, but he does put the curse upon Ham's seed, upon Canaan. Canaan is one of Ham's sons.
[5:08] He's got four sons. So the curse goes to the Canaanite, if you want to get script, or exact about it. And you can follow that through in Genesis chapter 10.
[5:19] Look at verse number 6. There you see the sons of Ham. There's one, two, three, four of them. Canaan's the last one listed in the four. Genesis 10, verse 6. And then later in this chapter, it begins to give you where Canaan goes in verse 15.
[5:37] His sons, and you see the Jebusites, the Amorites, and all these are the land of Canaan. You see Sodom and Gomorrah, verse 19. And so to clarify some of that was to make the point that the curse of service and servitude to Japheth, to Shem, was on Canaan specifically, not on Ham.
[6:01] And I hope that makes a little bit of sense to you there anyway. Now go to Exodus 21. Beyond just the first mention and showing you that service and servitude begins with a curse in Genesis 9, when somebody's under a curse, it's not just, it's also, I want you to get this and believe this.
[6:27] Believe this because it's in the Bible. And this is our final authority for all matters of what we follow and believe and seek to establish as truth.
[6:38] This book. And there's something in this book that doesn't sit well, or as this whole topic doesn't sit well with the human race or humanitarian efforts today. That is that being a servant is an acceptable practice.
[6:52] And it's valid. Incredible. Look at Genesis chapter 21. And look at verse number 1. Right after the Ten Commandments. This is the first thing.
[7:03] God starts these judgments. Meaning that he's going to give you, if this happens, then this is how you handle it. He's trying to like clarify a whole lot of stuff for man to follow. Verse number 1. Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
[7:15] Number 1. If thou buy, buy with money. And Hebrew servant. Six years he shall serve. So God's okay with his own people, his own redeemed people coming out of Israel to be sold into slavery.
[7:34] Because you can buy one. And if you do that, six years, that's it. And then you're going to let him go free. And that's his judgment on this thing. Now most people would think this is a terrible thing to own a person.
[7:49] And I understand that. I understand why we would think that. But you better understand that God allowed it. He condoned it. And he set up some established rules and parameters about it. And in this case, he's allowing for his own Hebrew children.
[8:03] The ones that, remember in Genesis, or in John chapter 8 when Christ is with the Pharisees. And he talks about them being servants. And they're like, we be Abraham's seed.
[8:14] We've never been in bondage to any man. And he's like, I know you're Abraham's seed. But he's talking spiritual things. Saying, he that commiteth sin is a servant of sin. Now, that's another side note.
[8:27] This service and servitude is used as illustration all over the place. Paul does it. Christ does it. It's so common and understood. All right, so you got that, right, in Exodus 21, that God allows under the law even his redeemed chosen people Israel to be sold as slaves and to serve.
[8:50] Do you remember, let me think here, in, I'm not sure the chapter. It's in 2 Kings with the ministry of Elisha. Elisha, and a woman didn't have anything, and she owed the creditor, and she feared that she's done everything.
[9:06] She's down to the last drop. And she said, you're going to come and take my two sons and make them bondmen. You know what that means? She's going to, in essence, sell them into slavery, her two sons, because she didn't have a husband.
[9:19] She didn't have any means. And she was just owing, owing, owing, owing, and she had to pay a debt. How was she going to pay that debt? Her kids. Sell them. How about Joseph?
[9:31] Joseph got thrown in a pit by his boys, his brothers. And they're about ready to kill him, and Reuben steps up, says, this is not a good idea. And so what did they do? They sold him to some Ishmaelite Midianites.
[9:45] Those Midianites, they came down and bought him with 20 pieces of silver. And they took him down to Egypt. And what do you think they did? I bet you it was 30 pieces that they got for him, just to match the type.
[9:56] You're not going to sell them for 20 down there, are you? So that's my guess on that anyway. But what did Joseph do? He was a slave, a bondman, sold into slavery. It was part of God's plan.
[10:07] Now, all right, so let's move to Romans. Romans. If this makes you think, well, do you condone slavery?
[10:22] Do you think it's a good idea? I'll just answer, no more than God does. No more than God does. That's it. Do I, am I seeking to own or do, or no, no, never, not at all.
[10:34] I have no interest in it. But I do want to make sure that we believe the Bible and take it literal. And I hope that I'm not being confusing and misleading in the teaching here.
[10:47] Romans 14. There's so many references in the Bible to this that it would take us the entire day here and much more to cover them and to flip to all of them.
[11:00] To the allusions to it, to the instances of it, and then even to the commandments about it. But we'll do, we'll take a few. Romans chapter 14.
[11:14] And look at verse number 4. Paul's making a point here. And in this point, he says, Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth.
[11:25] Yea, he shall be holding up. For God's able to make him stand. And he's using that kind of as an illustration or a point to declare something different.
[11:37] But the statement is, you can't judge another man's servant. He only answers to his own master. Why? This is not just first century stuff, though. But that's a given fact and truth.
[11:51] And Paul uses that given fact and truth to make a spiritual point and case to the body of Christ. And so nobody in the Bible is like pushing this aside and saying we need to abolish it.
[12:03] We need to rid the land of it. It's not even brought up like that. Okay, go to 1 Corinthians chapter 7. 1 Corinthians chapter 7.
[12:27] A popular chapter to highlight some husband-wife things. And in the midst of that, he says this in verse 20.
[12:42] Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? He's referring to them trusting Jesus Christ as their Savior.
[12:52] Did you get saved as a servant owned by a master? He said, care not for it. But if thou mayest be free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lord's free man.
[13:09] That's in a spiritual sense. But literally, he's still in bondage on this earth. And he says, don't worry about it. Don't worry about that. Then he says this. Likewise, also, he that is called being free is Christ's servant.
[13:23] You're bought with a price. Be not ye the servants of men. That statement is saying, is not saying that this is an ungodly practice. But rather, he's saying the free men, you're a servant of Christ.
[13:37] You're all servants of Christ. Don't be the servants of men, but rather the servants of Christ. Being, brethren, let every man wherein he is called there abide with God. So nowhere is he talking about being loosed from your servitude or getting out of it.
[13:53] He's telling him, abide it. Care not for it. You're going to serve God either way. Look at, we were in Ephesians. Let's go to Colossians.
[14:03] We've already read the commands to servants in Ephesians chapter 6, where they're told to be obedient to them that are your masters and to serve them not with eye service.
[14:19] Now, Colossians, a sister passage here to Ephesians. I may mention I'm passing over the times that Paul and Jesus Christ used this relationship as ways of teaching other topics.
[14:37] He does it in Galatians at least two times. He does it in 1 Corinthians another time. He does it in Romans chapter 6 as well. And Jesus Christ did it several times in his teachings, mentioning masters, servants, and just no man can serve two masters.
[14:51] He will hold to one level. You know that passage. All right, Colossians 3. And here we are in verse 22. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God.
[15:08] And whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, for there is no respect of persons.
[15:22] Verse chapter 4, masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a master in heaven. So there's where he addresses it in Colossians. Last week we read 1 Timothy chapter 6.
[15:35] And I'm not going to take you there, but go to Titus chapter 2. In 1 Timothy 6, this is where he says, Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.
[15:53] And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they're brethren, but rather do them service. All right, Titus chapter 2, again, he's addressing through Titus, servants.
[16:05] Verse number 9. This is what he tells this preacher, exhort servants. This is what you're supposed to preach to the servants. To be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things, not answering again, not purloining, but showing all good fidelity.
[16:26] You know who's somebody who didn't show good fidelity? Turn the page. Look at Philemon. There's a man named Onesimus, who was a servant. And he ran away from his master Philemon.
[16:41] And it seems, it doesn't say specifically, but it seems like Paul alludes that Onesimus robbed his master or took from him on his way out the door. Because he refers to him, if he owes you anything, then put that on my account, Paul says.
[16:57] Now, what happens with Onesimus? Verse number 10. I beseech you for my son Onesimus. Paul led him to Christ. Onesimus ran from his master. He fled and got himself free.
[17:09] He, some through the course of time, ran into the apostle Paul who led him to Christ and sent him back to his master. How about that? I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, who I have begotten in my bonds, which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me, whom I have sent again.
[17:26] Thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels, whom I would have retained with me, that in thy steady might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel. But without thy mind would I do nothing, that thy benefits should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.
[17:40] So you could let him go if you wanted to, is what he's saying. And he could serve with me in the gospel ministry. And perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him forever, not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, especially to me.
[17:57] And he goes on, if he's wronged thee and this and that and this and that. But he sent him back, didn't he, to his master. Now, we're going to look at two more verses on this.
[18:09] 1 Peter chapter 2. We did look at this passage, I think, at one point when we were first caught this in Ephesians. 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 18.
[18:30] This is Bible commands. And keep all these commands and these thoughts, just let them build up in one hand. And we'll try to make a point out of it shortly. Verse 18. Servants, be subject to your own masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
[18:47] For this is thankworthy. If a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults, you shall take it patiently.
[18:57] But if when you do well and suffer for it, you take it patiently. This is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called. And he turns on to the next passage, talking to wives in verse 1 and the next chapter.
[19:11] And in verse 7, talking to husbands, this relationship stuff. Same as what Paul does. Peter weighs in as well. And he commands the servants to be subject to their masters with all fear.
[19:22] And he commands them, it says, not just to the good. But if they're froward, if they're nasty and mean to you and you're suffering wrongfully, serve them, be subject to them.
[19:33] Now, I say all this and bring all this to light to clarify and to make that point that it's a biblical practice. It's a credible practice. It's something that God allowed and accepted and even gave judgments on during the law.
[19:48] And so never did he just say, this is ungodly. I didn't make you to be this way. It's not just a biblical thing.
[19:59] It's not just back in the first century, but we've evolved. There is, this is a living and a very real thing today. China, go ahead and look it up if you want to, if you don't believe me.
[20:12] China, North Korea, Iran, I think it's Uzbekistan, if I'm saying that right, something like that. The biggest one is India.
[20:27] That's just five that's coming to me off the top of my head that I remember seeing. There was at least a list of a dozen that I saw that had, like, made the list. This is up-to-date current information where it is legal in countries today for masters and servants and men to own other slaves.
[20:44] And there's different categories of the servitude and of the ownership. But it's still a legal practice in this world today. If you live in that country and you have a Bible and you want to know what you're supposed to do, what are you supposed to do?
[21:02] What are you supposed to do in that country? In America, you can appeal to the government and you can get out of it if that's what you choose to do. But in those countries, you're going to submit to the word of God because the government's not going to have anything to do for you.
[21:17] You're either going to run away or you're going to say, servants, be subject to your masters with all fear. Not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
[21:27] In other words, this Bible is not for the church at Ephesus only back in the first century. This book is alive and living for you today.
[21:38] And you can thank God that you're free and you ought to and celebrate that liberty. That's a great thing as long as you don't use your liberty for an occasion to the flesh.
[21:49] Afghanistan was another one. Anyway, one more thing then. Go to Revelation chapter 18. The United Nations has been trying to do away with slavery.
[22:01] They've been putting pressure on these countries that still have it, trying to make laws against it. And trying to rid the world of it.
[22:14] Of course they would. But they won't be able to. Or even if they do, it's going to come back. And that's what I want you to see in your Bible. In Revelation 18, that great city Babylon.
[22:28] The epitome. The apex city of human civilization in this future age. It's not that far away.
[22:40] In verse number... Well, we'll start at chapter 18, verse 1. After these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven having great power. And the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen.
[22:54] No, it was the great. I want you to believe that and see that. Verse number 9 says, And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her. That's Babylon the great.
[23:06] Shall bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning. Saying her far off for the fear of the torment. Saying, alas, alas, that great city Babylon.
[23:16] That mighty city. They're crying and mourning. The kings of the earth. The most powerful men on the earth are just lamenting and mourning. Because this. Their love.
[23:27] The best thing that's ever happened on this earth. Is fallen in judgment of God. And what's going on in that city? Verse 11 says, The merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her.
[23:38] For no man buyeth their merchandise anymore. You can skim through verse 12 and see the merchandise. Gold, silver, precious stone, pearls, fine linen, purple, and go all the way down. Verse 13.
[23:48] Cinnamon. And it ends. Come near the end of the verse. Beast and sheep and horses and chariots and slaves and souls of men. And there in that great city.
[24:00] As this world just gets better and better and better and better. They're selling slaves. And the merchants are mourning. Because they can't have their gold. They can't go in there and get a hold of their fine linens.
[24:13] And they can't buy slaves anymore. Being sold in Babylon. So it's not just going to disappear. According to this Bible. It's going to keep on. And there's instructions in the Bible.
[24:26] How to deal with it. This is not something that you have to deal with. And maybe one day things will change. But I don't. I mean we don't foresee that happening. So come back to Ephesians 6.
[24:37] And that's a synopsis of it. Or some thoughts on it I should say. On this.
[24:48] What Paul's addressing. Servants and masters. And it's a long way around to just say that it's literal. And we don't just spiritualize it.
[24:59] So that we can apply it to us. Realize very literally. What happens if God calls you to be a missionary. And you. And things go wrong in that country with the government.
[25:10] And you can't get out. And America can't get you out. And something happens. And just for the sake of the argument. You get sold into slavery. You're a free man. You're an American. You don't bow to anybody.
[25:22] And there you are. What are you going to do? You got a Bible don't you? You going to obey it? I don't want to deal with that either. But. There's the scripture. And we want to be in submission to the scripture.
[25:34] We want to believe the book. And understand what it says. So that's all. So let's go past this. And we got into verse 12. Then last week. I'll pick it up in verse 10. And we'll kind of just move a little bit forward.
[25:45] Verse 10. Ephesians 6 says. Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord. And in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God. That you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
[25:56] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. But against principalities. Against powers. Against the rulers of the darkness of this world. Against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[26:09] So he tells us to put on the whole armor of God. Remember that. The whole armor. Not just one piece here. One piece there. We can dissect this passage. And look at individual pieces of the armor.
[26:21] But you're always told to put on the whole thing. It's as if it's a one package deal. He says it again in verse 13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God.
[26:33] And this is really I believe just a picture. An object lesson of what we are to do. By putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. In Romans 13. Or in Ephesians 4.
[26:43] Put on the new man. You're putting on the whole armor of God. And in that new man. In Christ. Spiritual things. Of the righteousness that you have in him.
[26:55] In verse 14. Or truth. The faith in verse 16. And salvation. And the sword of the spirit. The word of God. All these things that are of spiritual nature.
[27:07] Given to the new man. Given to the believer. Now. That's the whole armor of God. And what's he. Why are you doing it? So you can stand against the wiles of the devil.
[27:18] So you don't want to go through life. Just. I'm saved now. So everything is going to be super. Life is good. Heaven's real. And I'm going there.
[27:30] And you better. Whoa. You better realize. You've got an adversary. He tells Timothy. To endure hardness. As a good soldier. And he tells him. Not to entangle himself.
[27:40] In the affairs of this world. The soldier's got armor to put on. And if he doesn't put it on. He's never going to be able to stand. Against the wiles of the devil. You know.
[27:50] If you've been saved at all. You know. You can't even stand against your flesh. If you can't. Walk in the spirit. You're. You're. Sitting duck. For that old man. He knows what he wants.
[28:01] And he knows how to get what he wants. And so we need to put on the new man. We need to put on the whole armor of God. And now. I think this is really just a picture. And an object lesson. Of that. In a way that they would very much understand.
[28:14] In their world. In these different pieces of armor. And. To get into the spiritual battle. Let me make one comment. Before we go through this. Look. Look. Look at the action.
[28:26] That's done by the soldier. He's told to stand. And he. And. James says to resist the devil. But look at verse 18. After he covers the armor that you put on.
[28:37] He says. Praying. Praying. Is that what a soldier does? He prays. You might think he's out there. Fighting the devil. Swinging the sword.
[28:47] No. He's not fighting flesh and blood. How do you. Wrestle. Against principalities and powers. The answer is you pray. It's something that's done in a spiritual.
[28:59] Realm. And you enter that realm. Through the spirit of God. And you get on your knees. And you pray. It's been pointed out. That this soldier. In this passage. There's no.
[29:11] Armor. For his shins. And that thought being that. Oh. That's because he's on his knees. That's an interesting thought. Now. He says this in verse 12.
[29:21] We wrestle not against flesh and blood. But against principalities. Against powers. Now he's already mentioned these. Twice. Let's just review that. Look at chapter 1. Verse 21. Ephesians 1.
[29:32] Verse 21. He's talking about Christ. And his resurrection from the dead. And that he was in verse 20.
[29:44] Set. At the end of verse 20. Set him at his own right hand. In the heavenly places. Verse 21. Now far above. All principality. And power.
[29:55] And might. And dominion. And every name that is named. Not only in this world. But also in that which is to come. So there's a mention. Of some other.
[30:06] Entities. Spiritual. In Colossians. They're called invisible. Far above all principality. And power. And might. And dominion. Chapter 3. He mentions again.
[30:17] Chapter 3. In verse. Verse. Number 10. Where he's. Describing a mystery here. And talking about us.
[30:30] As the body of Christ. And receiving the gift. Of the grace of God. The Gentiles. Being made fellow heirs. In verse 6. Of the same body. And then in verse 10. He says.
[30:40] To the intent. That now. Under the principalities. And powers. And heavenly places. Might be known by the church. The manifold wisdom. Of God. And that's something we studied.
[30:52] Quite a bit. Back there. So there's. This is the third mention. Then in chapter 6. Of these principalities. And powers. But take one place. We're going to go back. For a brief second.
[31:02] To Isaiah. I think it's 24. Let me check that quick. Yes. Chapter 24. So to cross reference this.
[31:12] As always. Bible. Scripture with Scripture. The verse said. That we wrestle not against flesh and blood. So no. No nation on this earth. No man that leads them.
[31:23] No soldiers. No special forces. No flesh and blood. That would come in front of you. Is really the battle. That we are in. Our battles in the kingdom of God.
[31:35] A spiritual kingdom. And the battle is over. For that kingdom. And in verse 12. He says. We're wrestling against principalities. Powers. The rulers of the darkness of this world.
[31:46] Against spiritual wickedness. In high places. And. We might think of that as just. High places in government. But it's. It is in a sense.
[31:56] But spiritual. It's somewhere else. Look at. Isaiah 24. For a cross reference here. This is a future reference. To when Jesus Christ comes back. To establish his kingdom.
[32:07] In verse 21. And it shall come to pass in that day. That the Lord shall punish. Two things. The host of the high ones. That are on high.
[32:18] And the kings of the earth. Upon the earth. So there's some. Principalities and powers. That are up higher. And he's going to punish those.
[32:29] The host of the high ones. That are on high. In high places. And he's going to punish. Down here. The kings of the earth. Upon the earth. So I hope you see that. And understand that.
[32:40] Paul's talking about something. In the heavenlies. Or as he said earlier. In Ephesians. The heavenly places. And that's where this fight is. If we could see it. We'd be scared to death. And if we could see it.
[32:51] We'd be praying a whole lot more. We'd be on our faces. Begging God for help. And mercy. And strength. And we wouldn't want. Nothing to do with it. So Paul says.
[33:01] We wrestle not against flesh and blood. But we wrestle against these. Rulers of the darkness. Of this world. Now there is evidence of this. In the Bible. Of some of this. And it's.
[33:12] It's kind of a deeper thought. And it's not an easy one. To just. Just. You know. Take and. You know. As a Sunday school lesson. Quick. It's. It's. Daniel. Let's look at it.
[33:23] Let's just see it. We're going to run out of time. So. We'll at least point it out. Daniel. Chapter 11. This will just be one instance.
[33:34] But it's probably the easiest one. No. Daniel 10. Sorry. It's probably the easiest one. To see. And to recognize. And if you understand this.
[33:50] Then you'll. Probably pick up a few other places. As you read through your Bible. Where there's some mention of these things. So in Daniel chapter 10. We see.
[34:01] That a man. Daniel. Is praying. And he feels like. He's not getting through. It turns out. He got through. And it turns out. That God answered his message.
[34:12] His prayer. Immediately. But some. Some high ones. That are on high. Some principalities. Some spiritual. Beings. Got in the way. So in Daniel chapter 10.
[34:25] And. In verse 2. It says. In those days. I Daniel. Was mourning. Three full weeks. That's 21 days. He's mourning. I ate no pleasant bread. Neither came flesh. Nor wine. In my mouth.
[34:36] Neither did I anoint myself. At all. Till three whole weeks. Were fulfilled. He gives us. Some of the days. There. The times. And he lifts up his eyes. And. Sees a certain man. Clothed in fine linen. And I'm going to.
[34:47] Just skip through some of this. To bring you to verse 11. He said unto me. O Daniel. A man greatly beloved. Understand the words. That I speak unto thee. And stand upright. For unto thee.
[34:57] Am I now sent. This is a spiritual being. Sent to the earth. To Daniel. And he was sent from God. So verse. Where am I at?
[35:08] Verse 11. In the end there. And when he had spoke this word. Unto me. I stood trembling. Then said he unto me. Fear not Daniel. From. For from the first day. That thou did set thine heart. To understand. And to chase thyself.
[35:18] Before thy God. Thy words were heard. And I am come for thy words. But. The prince of the kingdom of Persia. Withstood me. One. And twenty days.
[35:30] Twenty one days. He was withstood. From getting through. To Daniel. To deliver this. Answer or vision. And then he said. In verse 13. Below. Michael. Michael. One of the chief princes.
[35:42] Came to help me. Now pause there. And look at chapter 12. Michael is one of the chief princes. He's the chief prince. Over the. He's known as the archangel.
[35:53] And he's the chief prince. In verse 1. Over Israel. Daniel 12. 1. And at that time. Shall Michael stand up. The great prince. Which standeth up. Or standeth for the children.
[36:04] Of thy people. So Michael's going to stand up. To help out Israel. During this time of trouble. Such as. Such as never was. Since there was a nation. Even at that same time.
[36:16] And they're going to be delivered. As it was found. Written in the book. Without. Not without resistance. So what happens here. Is the messenger. Was sent.
[36:26] To Daniel. Right away. But. What's called. The prince of the kingdom of Persia. Withstood him. For 21 days. And that. Michael was sent then.
[36:36] To come and help him out. And this has taken place. Somewhere in the heavenlies. Above his head. And so he says. I'm going to come and tell you. What's going to happen. And he comes down through this.
[36:48] And when he goes to leave. Listen to what he says. In verse 20. Then said he. Knowest thou. Wherefore I come unto thee. And now. Will I return. To fight. With the prince of Persia.
[36:59] Because he's still out there. Waiting for me. And when I am gone forth. Lo. The prince of Grisha. Shall come. But I will show thee. That which is note.
[37:09] In the scripture. Truth. And there is none. That holdeth with me. In these things. But Michael. Your prince. Now what's going on here. Is there's principalities. And powers. And if you know.
[37:20] That the. Especially in the book of Daniel. It really reveals. These nations. That are yet to come. Those are the. Nations. That are about to take over. This earth. The Persians. And then the Greeks.
[37:30] And that's. That's some of the. Prophecies in this book of Daniel. As he describes. Earlier. And so. There's principalities. And powers.
[37:40] Up there. That are in line. Or something of that nature. To. Have access. To have rule. To have their way. On this planet. And what's taking place.
[37:52] Down here. As it seems. From that passage. And a little bit. Elsewhere. Is that. What's taking place. Down here. Is just. A representation.
[38:02] Or is. Truly being played out. Somewhere up there. In some higher powers. They're. Called principalities. And powers. And rulers.
[38:13] Of the darkness. Of this world. But the rulers. Are up there. In the heavenly places. And that's something. That. When we taught through. Earlier. In the book of Ephesians.
[38:24] That. What Christ. Is going to. Use the body. Of Christ. For it seems. According to his. Eternal purpose. Which he purposed. In Christ Jesus. Was to. Take over that.
[38:35] And to subdue. All of that. Back unto himself. Now. That is. Kind of a heavy thought. I realize that. And it's. It's something. God did not. Put us in touch with.
[38:46] And it doesn't give. A whole lot of light on. And it's not something. We need to really dwell on. We don't need to spend. Our time. Digging into this. And trying to unfold that. And writing books about this. And teaching seminars on.
[38:57] You know. The spirit world. And what's going on out there. It's good to know. What God said. It's good to know. That we have real enemies. They're not flesh and blood. And we have a responsibility. To stand.
[39:08] Against spiritual wickedness. But we don't have to get too crazy. And too far else. Into any of that. Beyond that. We need. We have enough trouble. Just knowing. And reminding ourselves. To stay in the word of God.
[39:19] To spend time on our knees. And fellowship with Jesus Christ. And I'll say this though. On that note. The more you do that. And the more you do that. The other stuff kind of almost starts to.
[39:30] You don't see it. But I mean. You perceive. You understand. There's spirits behind this. There's wickedness behind what's going on down here. And your eyes get opened in a sense. To how vile.
[39:41] And what's driving. The mankind. And the way we're going. Okay. I really thought we were going to finish the book today. And we didn't get anywhere.
[39:52] By way of verse by verse. So we'll stop there. In Ephesians 6.12. Lord willing. We will pick it up and finish next week. And then move on to a new study. So let's take a break.
[40:04] Right there please. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[40:14] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[40:47] Thank you. Thank you.
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[43:47] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.