[0:00] Good evening, everybody. Please turn to Psalm chapter 2. I just got a text from Pastor Trent that says I don't have to feel rushed, so I'm not going to feel rushed. I feel kind of bad because we've had a very emotional service up to this point. It's been hard for me to keep myself together, and now you guys get to listen to a lecture, evidently. So I will try to combine a little bit of preaching, a little bit of teaching here. I'm definitely a better teacher than I am a preacher, but just due to the nature of opening up the Word of God, it always preaches to us if we let it. So I pray that you'll do that. You might want to pay attention to the first part of this message more intently than the others because this is where I'm extemporaneous. I'll start looking at my notes here in a minute, and it'll get a little bit more compact, but things could just go off the rails right now, so who knows what's going to happen.
[0:55] I do want to invite you to come to the Institute on Tuesday nights. It is a really great time. We've had a fantastic time going through mission studies with Travis, and that has been a huge blessing.
[1:12] I have been very passionate about eschatology for the past couple years because that's when I've been into it, but the main reason that I wanted to start teaching this in my Sunday school is because, well, you know, I believe all the right things. Of course I do because that's what I believe, right?
[1:30] And that's probably how you consider what you think or what you believe about eschatology. But, you know, the more things that I started looking at, the more I started asking, why is it that I believe the things that I believe? And going through Scripture and looking at these things are incredibly helpful and have really shored up my position on certain aspects and doctrines of Scripture. But it has also just opened my eyes to the overwhelming sovereignty and power of God in Him bringing everything exactly where He wants it to be. And in His timing, everything is perfect.
[2:11] And I'm just really grateful for that. So we're going to talk, if you come and you take the course, we're going to talk about the tribulation. We're going to talk about pre-trib and mid-trib and post-trib.
[2:21] And we're going to talk about the millennial reign. We're going to talk about amillennialism. We're going to talk about post-millennialism. We're going to talk about pre-millennialism. All the isms, okay? But there is something way more important than getting all of those little pieces together. And they are important. And that is seeing the overarching plan of God and what He has for us. And what I am hoping to do tonight with you guys is talk about Scripture's teaching on history. You know, God and Scripture has a view of history. And we want to make sure that as we look at things, that we are looking at things the way God looks at them and the way that Scripture looks at them. And what you find is that Scripture's teaching on history revolves around the kingdom of God.
[3:10] And it revolves around His throne. And I want to demonstrate that to you. So, the lecture part of this will be we're going to look at a lot of Scripture. So, our home base is going to be in Psalm 2. But I really hope, and the guys in the back, if you will throw things up as fast as you can.
[3:28] But I would like for you to flip to things as much as you can while keeping a thumb in Psalm 2. Because we are going to look at several passages here. And it's these pieces, this understanding of the kingdom of God and the throne and what's happening here, that really, that where our faith really distinguishes us. For instance, you know, when you tell someone that God has really helped you find peace, maybe it's helped heal a marriage, or maybe it's given you purpose. You know, you can tell just about anybody that, and they'll be like, hey man, good for you. I'm glad. I'm glad that that has worked for you. But when you say things like this, you know, God is right now reigning over us. And He demands obedience and submission to His rule. And you know, one day, He's going to come back, and He's going to take us with Him, and we're going to rule and reign with Christ. And He's going to create a new heaven and a new earth. And when you start saying things like that, which are a part of your faith, that's when people start looking at you like a crazy person. And it's these kinds of things that really distinguish us. And so we really need to be shored up what's happening here. And this rule of
[4:35] God and His reign and the reign of His kingdom is essential to our faith. And we get a wonderful snapshot of this in Psalm 2. But first, I want to look a little bit about the chronology of this.
[4:47] And the first chronological, first in-time reference that we have to the reign of God is found in the account of the fall of Lucifer. And that's in Isaiah. So if you want to keep your thumb in Psalm 2, but go to Isaiah 14. This is a passage that you've probably seen multiple times.
[5:06] But this is a description of what it was, what was going on when Lucifer fell. In Isaiah 14, verse 12 through 15, it says this, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations? For thou hast said in thine heart, I will, and you have these five I will statements of him, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.
[5:36] I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. What Lucifer says here is that he is going, is that he, what he wants to be is like the Most High God. And just as an aside to this, what I think is incredible about this is like Lucifer doesn't want to be higher than God. Because even Lucifer can't fathom anything greater than that.
[6:06] He just wants to be like the Most High God. But this is what he says, I want to be like the Most High God. And the first time that you actually see this description of God mentioned in Scripture, okay, this was the first time chronologically in time. The very first time you see this in Scripture is in Genesis 14. And you have this very curious event in the life of Abraham. So we're going to put these two together to connect some things. And in Genesis 4, 18 through 19, it says this, So you see that phrase again, the Most High God. And he blessed him and said, blessed be Abraham of the Most High God. And then you have this, it's called an appositatival statement. You have this description that fills out what's happening with the Most High God. And he says, the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth. And so Abraham is returning from dealing with the kings that took Lot.
[7:03] He meets Melchizedek, this mysterious figure, who is a priest of the Most High God. And he says that Abraham is the Most High God. And then he gives this explanatory statement, possessor of heaven and earth. So these two are equating with each other. You have the Most High God and the possessor of heaven and earth. And that's helpful for us because that tells us what is happening when that phrase is used of the Most High God. So go back to that account where we were in time. And what we see here is that the actual fall historically doesn't begin in Genesis 3 time-wise. That's the fall of mankind.
[7:39] But the first fall is that of Lucifer. And his fall began with his desire, his will, to usurp the throne of the Most High God. He wanted to counter. He wanted to take over. He wanted to go up against the throne of the Most High God. Satan's will is to be the possessor of heaven and earth. He wants to rule. Now what is even more curious is that we see later that that same fallen being is called the prince of the authority of the atmosphere, the prince of the power of the air. And right now, that being is energizing the children of disobedience. And those children of disobedience are those among whom we walk. And they are those of whom we were at one time ourselves, these children of disobedience.
[8:32] Ephesians 2 says this, where in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh, energizing, that word worketh, energizing the children of disobedience. And so what's happening here is you have this same being who wanted to usurp the throne of God. What he is doing right now, presently, is energizing all of fallen humanity. How does he energize them? Well, remember what Jesus said to those who were not his followers right after they had condemned him and they were starting to seek to murder Jesus. He said this, he said, you are your father, the devil, and your lust, I'm sorry, and the lust of your father, you will do. The desires of your father, you will do. And so you have this fallen cherub whose ambition was to become like the most high. What he's doing right now is energizing all fallen people to work and lead with that same desire. And that is why Psalm 2 says what it does.
[9:36] It shows us how that plays out when those people are grouped into nations. And so what we have in Psalm 2, and we're going to start walking our way through that, Psalm 2 is the history of the world all the way from the Tower of Babel all the way through the millennium. And so Psalm 2 is going to give us a snapshot of everything that we're going to see from in the past to right now all the way into the end. So let's look at Psalm 2, verse 3 verses here. It says, why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us.
[10:21] The word heathen, that's just the word Gentiles or nations. We're talking about those people groups. And what he's saying here is, what have they always been doing? What have the nations always been doing? They have always been raging against the Mashiach, the Messiah. They've always been raging against him. All the nations began at the Tower of Babel, and they've always been attempting to throw off the rule of God. They want to break his bands. They want to break his cords. And remember that this is right in line with the same will, the same desire that Satan has. And so what this chapter is telling us is that history is little else but the story of all those nations attempting to throw off the government of God. And so, I mean, you think about what else is it if we have these massive fights about where the Ten Commandments can be put up, or whether or not you can choose what gender it is that you want to be at any given time. All of these things go back to God has set this rule.
[11:24] We're not fighting a political battle here. This is not something that has come down from government. This is something that God has decreed, and the nations have always been doing this. They've always been trying to break that rule. And this is going to keep going all the way through Revelation. And even after the tribulation, the millennial reign, there's going to be another attempt from the nations under the leadership of that same fallen being to throw off the rule of God's throne. So this is the desire of the nations. They are always desiring to do that. So what is the throne's reaction to that? This is what they desire. What's the reaction of that throne? And you can see this very plain in the next two verses here. Look at verses 4 and 5. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. So how does God respond to these people that are continuously attempting to throw off his rule? It's laughter. It's utter contempt.
[12:29] And it's this idea of a little child wanting to box with Mike Tyson. It's not going to work. And it's not just silly. It's ridiculous. And this is how God looks at what's happening here. And he also has this other response. In attempt to them throwing off their government, he says to them this one thing. In Psalm chapter 2 verse 6, he says this, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. God already has a king. You are trying to usurp the throne. You're trying to set up yourself as a rule. I already have a king. And then in verse 7, the speaker changes. It turns to that anointed king. And it's now that anointed king doing the speaking. And he says this in verse 7, I will declare the decree. The Lord has said unto me, thou art my son. This day have I begotten thee. And you're going to see an explanation of that later on in Acts 13, 33. But then it says this in verse 8, ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Now remember what Lucifer wanted. He wanted to be the possessor of heaven and earth.
[13:41] Okay? And what do these people who want to throw off the government of God want? All these governments, they vie and they connive for just the, I mean, you think about how hard it is to work for just the smallest vestiges of power. How hard people have to work for that. But this figure, he is simply able to approach God and ask for it. And he gets all of it with just that request. And then what happens once he gets them? Verse 9, thou shalt break them with the rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. And you're going to see the fulfillment of that in Revelation chapter 19.
[14:21] And then in this last section, you see this. And this is, there's not a lot of, I mean, there's some very serious things that are happening here. And this is very serious tone of everything that's taken place here. And there's this shift that comes back in this last section. And it turns back to the nations. And it turns back to the nations with this. And I think it's important that we understand this.
[14:44] It turns back to the nations, not with a plea, not with a request, but with a demand. He says this, be wise now, therefore, O ye kings, be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
[14:58] Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry and you perish from the way when his wrath is kindled, but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
[15:12] So what are we supposed to do? If this is the way that it is, what are we supposed to do? Well, you're supposed to kiss the son. And this is the same thing that Samuel did after he anointed Saul as the sign of respect. No, I will give allegiance to you. I'm going to give allegiance to the one that God anoints. That's who my ruler is going to be. And again, this is not a request. It's not a petition. This is a command. Now there is a choice, but it's the choice of obedience or disobedience.
[15:41] And at the end of that blessing, there's this promise. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. So this psalm was written during the reign of David, but since then, have the nations taken that advice? No, they haven't taken it at all. Maybe, maybe pockets of it, maybe pockets of it partially for small periods of time, but by and large, they have not, and they have certainly not for long. And so again, you have human history all the way through has been a record of attempts to throw off the kingdom of God. When you bring up this idea, and again, this is one of those ideas.
[16:17] When you talk to people, this is, this is where you change into the, the crazy person, the crazy Christian. Because when you start talking about the kingdom of God, and when you start talking to people about the kingdom of God, especially with those that don't believe the Bible, one of the biggest issues that they have with this is simply this. Nobody sees God reigning. They look around, and they see death, and they see destruction, and they see all the different things that are going on, and they say, look, you're telling me that God reigns, but I don't see it. And so the assumption is that because they don't see him reign, that he doesn't. But then there's this, occasionally in history, God decisively demonstrates who is really in charge. And we have a record of that as we go through scripture. When Israel went down to Egypt, they grew and they expanded, and Moses was sent to deliver them. Egypt at that time was the most powerful nation on the planet, and the Pharaoh was the most powerful man in that country. What was the first thing that Pharaoh said when Moses told him that the people needed to go worship? This is so telling. Moses says, look, I got to take these people, and we got to worship. And what does Pharaoh say? Exodus 5-2, Pharaoh said, who is the Lord?
[17:38] Who's the Lord? That I should obey his voice to let Israel go. I know not the Lord. I'm not going to let them go. Now, when it's all said and done, does Pharaoh know who the Lord is? You bet he does. And it's not just him. And this is what's so wonderful about this story. And this is why you have Exodus in your Bible.
[17:58] Because it's not just that Pharaoh knew. Pharaoh knew, but so did everyone that was watching. It was a testimony to all of those other nations. And you see this with Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, when he comes and he starts talking to him in Exodus 18. In Exodus 18-11, Jethro says this, Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods. For in the thing wherein they dealt proudly, he was above them. And so you have this testimony of all those things, all that destruction, all of that terror that came down in Egypt. Now all of those nations, they look and they go, no, I know that the Lord, he is God.
[18:39] And you see this run through rampantly all the way through Scripture. When it goes through the time of the Judges as well. What was the problem with that book? Not really the problem with the book, problem with that time period, right? You have all these people and they have all these different Judges, but it says this twice in that book. This is my Wi-Fi password, by the way. It's at Judges 21-25, because I feel like the internet is the time of Judges, right? Internet is the time of Judges. Because everybody does what?
[19:06] On the internet. What's happening on the internet? Everybody does what's right in their own eyes. Everybody does what's right in their own eyes. And in Judges 21-25, in those days, there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. But Israel did have a king. They did have a king.
[19:24] And they were supposed to understand that they had a king. And they were supposed to understand that it was the Lord. But four centuries passed, where everyone did just whatever they wanted to do. And so they go to Samuel. They go to Samuel and they ask for a king. And the Lord instructs them to give them a king. But did you ever think it was kind of funny when he did that? He says, yeah, go give them a king. I'm going to give them a king. But at the same time you give them a king, say this.
[19:45] You shouldn't have asked for this. You shouldn't have asked for a king. Because it should have been me. And you should know better. And they should have been satisfied and obedient to that.
[19:58] And then from then on, everything that follows falls out in direct connection with whether they submit to God or not. When the king obeys, the people obey. And things are good. And things are right. And things are fitting the way that it's supposed to. But then when the king doesn't obey, the people don't. And it ends in absolute disaster. And I mean absolute and total disaster.
[20:22] And after all that, Israel still doesn't get the point. Egypt got the point. But Israel doesn't get the point. And after two and two different kingdoms are sent to humble them. And then in turn, each one of those kingdoms that are sent to humble Israel are then humbled.
[20:42] Enter Nebuchadnezzar. Now Nebuchadnezzar is an incredible figure because he is a Gentile and he's the king of the Gentiles. And he is set up as the pinnacle king of the Gentiles. And when Nebuchadnezzar is told by God, this is crazy, right? You have a Gentile king that is told by God through Daniel that he is the head of gold. He accepts that without question. I always just think this is incredible, right? Because you have God basically say like, what would you, like if God came and told me, he's like, look, David, you're the head of gold. I would be like, ah, you sure? But Nebuchadnezzar's like, yeah, yeah, I'm definitely the head of gold. It's got to be the head of gold. So much so that he's just like, you know, and this is what's going on. This is conjecture. I'm going to tell you this is conjecture. But this is why I think in the next chapters you have Nebuchadnezzar make an entire statue of gold. Because he wants to say, no, it's not, I'm not, I'm not stopping. I'm going all the way to the end. And God says, no, I got, I got different plans for you. And it's going to be very different. And so what happens is later on, you have this principal Gentile leader and that position goes to his head. And then he gets another vision. And then this next vision, he gets, says that an affliction is coming to him that's going to last for seven years. He's like, look, you're the head of gold, but I'm going to reduce that. I'm going to reduce the head of gold to eating grass like an animal, like a beast. And you're going to learn who the most high is. You're going to learn who really is in control of all these things. And you're going to learn who the possessor of heaven and earth is, and that he rules in the kingdoms of men and gives them to whomever he wills. And then there's this dramatic testimony by the end, by the head of gold, once he realizes that no one can question the dealings with God. And you realize that the most high is infinitely above that head of gold.
[22:31] And then after Nebuchadnezzar, it's all downhill. You have the silver and then the brass and then the iron and then the iron mixed with clay. And the whole point of this is like, look, okay, if, if God is over the head of gold, who else is he over? Everybody else and all of the other nations that come.
[22:50] And if you walk through that, what you find out is that right now we're all the way down to the feet of that statue. And all the while the nations are still doing what the nations were doing in Psalm 2. They are still raging, raging against the rule and the law of God. And they're attempting to throw off his authority. And what is God still doing? He's laughing because he already has his king. And because all of those attempts are absolutely ludicrous to him. They're nonsensical. And ultimately, inconsequential to his purpose. And with the conquering of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar, there has not been a king to sit on David's throne since. And this time is referred to in the New Testament.
[23:35] We'll talk about this from Nebuchadnezzar on as the time of the Gentiles. And at the appointed time, however, God did reveal his king. And you see this in Psalm chapter 2, verse 6. Yet I've set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. When did that happen? Well, turn to Luke. Okay? Luke chapter 1. Remember what Gabriel said to Mary? The angels had it right. Okay? Luke 1, 31 through 33, it says this, And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever. And then this part, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then after that baby is born, Matthew 2 records this from the wise men, Matthew 2, 2, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? We have seen a star in the east, and are come to worship him. And when Jesus starts his public ministry, the main theme of
[24:38] Jesus' preaching is the kingdom of God. When John the Baptist comes in onto the stage, he comes, he's got, he's a one-trick pony. As John would say, there's lots of low-hanging fruit for John. He's like, look, the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. Then he goes to prison, and Jesus starts preaching.
[24:55] And he doesn't change the message at all. He says the same thing that John the Baptist is saying, and he says this, the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. And so that's the main theme of Jesus' preaching. The kingdom of God, that theme is mentioned over 120 times in the gospels. And so how did the people respond to that? They lost the Davidic king when Nebuchadnezzar conquered them.
[25:19] Finally, finally, the greater son of David comes. He preaches that this kingdom has come, and he proves it over and over and over again with miracle after miracle. And he demonstrates his authority over, he demonstrates his authority over demons with the word. He can tell a storm to be quiet and it obeys. His disciples exclaim things like this when they say, what manner of man is this over diseases? And if you wait, he's even going to show that he has power over death, not just other people's deaths, but even his own. And so how did that group of people feel about Jesus reigning over them? They literally say to Pilate, we have no king but Caesar. Can you imagine the kind of vitriol a Jewish person would have to say at that time to say, no, our king is Caesar. We don't want him.
[26:14] But remember what God says, I have my anointed. I have my king. And then those people did the absolute worst thing that you could do to your enemy. They kill him. And the placard above his dying body reads this. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. He dies, but then God raises him from the dead.
[26:38] And he is standing with those men. And he says this, look, I have all authority. I have all the rights. I have all of that. So go and make disciples. And then he rises in the cloud. And Peter tells us what happened to him after he sins in Acts chapter 2 verse 33. Says this, therefore being by the right hand of God, exalted and having received of the father, the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which you now see in here. Now, what about those raging nations? They didn't dissolve. We still have those. And so how did the early church view what was happening? Well, in Acts 4, the apostles are preaching the Lord and they get threatened. And then they go back to their company and they report what was happening and how they viewed what was happening to them with the persecution.
[27:23] And I want you to turn here, okay? Because this really connects to what we were doing in Psalm 2. But in Acts 4 verses 24 through 25 says this, So how did they view what was happening to them in this persecution about what was happening to the Lord? They looked back to Psalm 2 and they said, this is exactly what David was talking about.
[28:00] And then in Acts 4 26, the next verse, he says, the kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. The word Christ, same word as the Messiah, Christ, Messiah, you need the same thing, his anointed. And that's Psalm chapter 2 verse 2.
[28:16] And then they say in their prayer with the ultimate expression, where the ultimate expression of that hatred took place. Acts 4 27 through 28, we're still in that same passage in Acts. For of a truth against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles. So it wasn't just the, it was everybody. Everybody crucified the Messiah.
[28:36] And the people of Israel were gathered together, what? For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And so what that tells us is the climax of the nation's attempt to throw off the nation's, not the nation. The nation's attempt to throw off that rule of God was when they crucified the Lord. And so what does Psalm chapter 2 say next? Well, this is what he said in verse 7, I will declare the decree the Lord has sent unto me, thou art my son, this day I have begotten thee. And this is a very important cross-reference. And so if you don't have what is happening in Psalm chapter 2 verse 7, if you don't have the cross-reference of Acts 13 33, I highly recommend you write this down in your Bible because this really tells us what's happening here.
[29:19] Sometimes some false teachers will use this to talk about Jesus being created. And that's not what's happening here. You have scripture's explanation for how it was that God begot the Son of God. When did that take place? Acts 13 33, God hath fulfilled the same unto us as their children and that he hath raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second Psalm, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. So when did the Father begot the Son? When he raised Jesus from the dead. When he raised him to life. A begetting is simply a raising to life and that is what, that is exactly what took place here. And then what happens after the begetting? We have this in Psalm chapter 2 verse 8 and 9. This is when he says, ask of me and I'm going to give thee the heathen for the inheritance. And this is when you'll break them with a rod of iron. He's given the nations and this is a fulfillment again of what's happening in Psalm 2. These are the kinds of things that Paul was preaching everywhere. And Paul summarizes the content of his preaching as that of the kingdom of God. In Acts 20 25 he says, and now behold I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching, preaching what? The kingdom of God shall see my face no more. In Acts 28 30 through 31, and Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came into him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him. And you see this in the epistles as well. And for time I'm not going to go through all this, but you see this in Ephesians, you see this in Colossians, you see this in Philippians. And this is what happens. Like this is, we have these baptisms here. These baptisms are a celebration of exactly what is taking place as one individual is moving from one kingdom into the, into another. In Colossians 1 13, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son, his Messiah. That's the kingdom that you're a part of now.
[31:28] But all his enemies are not yet under his feet, but they will be. And that's what's coming. And it's the prophetic portions of scripture, including revelation that tell us how all that's going to play out. But there are pieces of it all the way through scripture. First Corinthians 15 26 through 28 says this, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death for he hath put all things under his feet. But when he sayeth all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is accepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
[32:08] God in his time revealed his messianic king to the world. Then the world did the absolute worst thing that could ever be done to any enemy. They killed him. But then God raised him from the dead. And that king is reigning right now. And he demonstrates that reign in the lives of individuals who gladly accept his terms of pardon to guilty people. We may not have that physical representation of it now because we don't see that. But we do see it here. We saw it tonight. And we see it in each one of us as each one of those individual people as moving from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his son.
[32:49] And that's happening over and over and over again. If you will simply, Romans 10 9, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. If you will simply confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he is king. And that kingdom is expanding every time an individual bows to the authority of that king and is declared righteous in that kingdom's court of law.
[33:16] The end of the messages to the churches in Revelation chapter 2 and verse 3, you have these messages that Jesus gives through John to the churches. And at the end of that, in the last church, next to the last verse of chapter 3, it talks about the overcomers that are being granted to sit with him at his throne. In Revelation 3 21, it says, to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my father in his throne. So what are we doing now? We have been moved into that kingdom, but what are we doing now? We are waiting for that next manifestation. We're waiting for that next revealing of his throne so that we can be with him, be with him presently, be with him physically, be with him tangibly. And the book of Revelation is going to tell us what that is going to be like.
[34:07] And so that is why it is such a blessed book to study. That throne in Revelation 4 chapters 4 through 19 is going to do something very similar to what it did in Exodus. But it's going to be longer, and it's going to be much more intense. It's going to rain down seven years of the most awful cataclysmic judgments that have ever fallen on the earth. And what happened in Egypt and Assyria and Babylon and Israel are going to be nothing in comparison to it. You're going to see Jesus come in Revelation 19, 11 through 16. I'll just read this to you. Revelation 19, 11 through 16 says this, and I saw heaven open and behold a white horse. And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true.
[34:52] And in righteousness, he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. And his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which followed in heaven followed upon him. White horses clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth go with a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron.
[35:22] Psalm 2 again. And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
[35:36] Is Jesus your King? Is he your Lord? At this time we see Jesus coming back and he is no longer the meek and mild man who's walking around Galilee with sandals on on dirty feet. He's not riding into Jerusalem on a young donkey. What we see here is him dressed for war in complete battle array. And all he will need for battle is his voice. And those who have not yet voluntarily knelt will be slaughtered by his voice. Revelation 20 you see Satan bound. Once he's bound there's this wonderful time that's blustered in and then Satan's going to be released again. And you have all of the enemies of God at that time just annihilated at the gates. And then in chapter 20 you have this great throne where all the dead are judged. In Revelation 20 12 it says this, and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened. And another book was opened which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to the works. Everyone, everyone, is going to have an encounter with that throne. We all have an appointment. When we look at future events we need to realize that what's taking place is not just the end of something but it's a culmination that's all bringing everything to an intended end. And throughout the history of the world you see people and entire people groups that are raging against the true king. But at the very same time they're giving this open invitation to kneel. And eventually all will kneel. No one walks away from this God without kneeling. But we have this opportunity right now to kneel under our own volition. And we can choose to kiss the son to give him the honor due his name or be crushed under the weight of his majesty completely alone and unprepared for that encounter. And so what do we do? We do what the psalmist beckons us to do.
[37:39] What he desires for us to do and what Christ demands of us. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings, be instructed ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son lest he be angry and rejoice with trembling. And you perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. But this, if you kneel, blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
[38:04] If you wouldn't mind just bowing your eyes and bowing your head and closing your eyes, Trent, if you would come up and help me with this. I know this was a little bit of a lecture and a little bit of a sermon, a little bit of teaching, but I'm firmly convinced that the word of God has power to move the spirit of man. And it could be that God is working in your heart right now.
[38:23] Now, we sing an invitational hymn sometimes that says something like this, softly and tenderly Jesus is calling. And that is so true. He calls that way. He is not going to overwhelm you. He is not going to force you. But make no mistake, the God of heaven, the King of kings demands your fealty. And if you have not yet to make him your Lord, I would ask that you consider the evidence and bow your knee now. And believer, those of you that are already in this kingdom, I would remind you whom you serve. Your God is not quaint. He demands your obedience to you. And if you would take just a moment of introspection and yield to him, it would set the things wrong in your life right. When that throne is made visible, it will set everything right. But right now, to the degree that you or I submit to that throne, it will set us right. And to the degree we rebel against that rule of the throne, we will not be right.