Let's pray. 00:00:33.96\00:00:34.99 Father in heaven, what a joy it is once again to 00:00:35.02\00:00:38.61 come into Your presence knowing that You are the God who 00:00:38.64\00:00:42.76 knows the end from the beginning. 00:00:42.79\00:00:45.78 And therefore, You can mold history to fulfill Your plan. 00:00:46.54\00:00:51.76 We ask, Father, that as we study this great prophecy of 00:00:52.35\00:00:55.31 Daniel 2 that Your Holy Spirit will be with us to instruct us. 00:00:55.34\00:00:59.91 Help us, Lord, to admire You more each day. 00:01:00.36\00:01:04.14 Because You are the God who knows the end 00:01:04.44\00:01:07.96 from the beginning. 00:01:07.99\00:01:09.02 All wise, omniscient, all powerful, eternal. 00:01:09.05\00:01:14.01 Thank You for being a wonderful Father. 00:01:14.79\00:01:16.78 And thank You for answering our prayer. 00:01:17.08\00:01:19.30 For we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, amen. 00:01:19.58\00:01:23.89 In the next two lectures, we are going to be dealing with 00:01:25.92\00:01:29.56 some foundational material for what we are going to study 00:01:29.59\00:01:33.26 in the rest of our seminar. 00:01:33.29\00:01:35.09 We are now going to begin to transition to the 00:01:35.47\00:01:38.52 Most Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary. 00:01:38.55\00:01:42.23 Now this evening, you're not going to see the connection 00:01:42.91\00:01:47.02 of what we're talking about with the Sanctuary. 00:01:47.26\00:01:49.79 But believe me, what we're going to study tonight 00:01:50.04\00:01:52.77 is foundational for what we're going to study tomorrow, 00:01:52.80\00:01:55.83 and very foundational for understanding Daniel 8 00:01:55.86\00:01:59.86 which specifically addresses the theme of the Sanctuary. 00:01:59.89\00:02:04.64 I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to 00:02:05.26\00:02:08.40 Daniel chapter 2, which will be our chapter of study for today. 00:02:08.43\00:02:13.08 The first thing that I want us to notice is that God knew 00:02:13.85\00:02:19.04 what King Nebuchadnezzar was thinking when he laid down 00:02:19.07\00:02:24.29 on his bed. 00:02:24.32\00:02:25.58 God is able to read our thoughts. 00:02:26.14\00:02:29.36 Here is a biblical evidence that God reads thoughts. 00:02:29.39\00:02:33.04 It says there in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 29, 00:02:33.27\00:02:36.89 here Daniel is speaking to the king... 00:02:37.52\00:02:40.10 What was Nebuchadnezzar thinking about when he went to bed? 00:03:00.33\00:03:03.11 He was thinking about the future of his kingdom. 00:03:03.78\00:03:07.94 Because it says here, "Thoughts came to your mind 00:03:08.44\00:03:11.39 while on your bed about what would come to pass after this." 00:03:11.42\00:03:16.09 Did God know what Nebuchadnezzar was thinking? 00:03:16.25\00:03:19.24 He most certainly did. 00:03:19.55\00:03:20.89 So God says to Nebuchadnezzar, "So you're interested in knowing 00:03:20.92\00:03:24.27 what is going to happen in the future? 00:03:24.30\00:03:26.74 Okay, I'm going to give you a dream 00:03:26.77\00:03:28.60 so that you understand what's going to happen in the future." 00:03:28.95\00:03:31.74 And so in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 1, we have this dream 00:03:32.09\00:03:37.53 or mention of the dream. 00:03:37.56\00:03:39.35 It says there in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 1... 00:03:39.38\00:03:41.65 So Nebuchadnezzar is thinking about the future of his kingdom. 00:03:54.38\00:03:58.03 God knows what he's thinking. 00:03:58.06\00:03:59.98 And so God says, "Okay Nebuchadnezzar, 00:04:00.01\00:04:02.26 I'm going to give you a dream so that you have an answer 00:04:02.29\00:04:06.86 to your concerns about the future." 00:04:07.24\00:04:10.12 And so God gives Nebuchadnezzar this dream. 00:04:10.71\00:04:14.12 But then Nebuchadnezzar wakes up and he can't remember the dream. 00:04:14.51\00:04:18.73 Notice Daniel chapter 2 and verse 3. 00:04:19.21\00:04:22.74 He says to the wise men of Babylon... 00:04:23.03\00:04:26.03 In other words, he woke up and he forgot the dream. 00:04:34.39\00:04:37.27 Now who do you think led Nebuchadnezzar to 00:04:37.49\00:04:39.76 forget his dream? 00:04:39.79\00:04:41.17 It was God. 00:04:41.82\00:04:42.86 You say, "What possible purpose could God have 00:04:43.63\00:04:47.18 in giving the king a dream and then the king waking up 00:04:47.36\00:04:52.04 and God having him forget the dream? 00:04:52.07\00:04:53.92 What possible purpose could there be in this?" 00:04:53.95\00:04:57.28 God had a purpose. 00:04:57.31\00:04:59.25 You see, God knew that the first thing that Nebuchadnezzar 00:04:59.28\00:05:03.05 would do would be to call the experts of Babylon 00:05:03.10\00:05:07.31 to tell him his dream and what the dream meant. 00:05:07.34\00:05:10.01 Is that exactly what Nebuchadnezzar did? 00:05:10.04\00:05:11.97 He most certainly did. 00:05:12.17\00:05:13.49 Notice Daniel chapter 2 and verse 2. 00:05:13.72\00:05:16.39 Which, by the way, were the priestly cast of Babylon. 00:05:26.03\00:05:29.31 Did God know that Nebuchadnezzar was going to call the 00:05:35.24\00:05:38.24 astrologers and the magicians and the sorcerers 00:05:38.27\00:05:41.93 to tell the king his dream? 00:05:41.96\00:05:44.00 God knew it. 00:05:44.25\00:05:45.29 What was God's purpose in leading Nebuchadnezzar 00:05:45.32\00:05:47.89 to forget his dream? 00:05:47.92\00:05:49.24 The purpose was that these individuals should appear 00:05:49.27\00:05:53.63 before the king and they would not be able to 00:05:53.66\00:05:56.92 tell the king his dream. 00:05:56.95\00:05:58.43 And everybody would see that the religion of Babylon 00:05:58.46\00:06:02.52 was bankrupt. 00:06:02.55\00:06:04.26 In other words, God wanted to unmask these so-called experts. 00:06:05.22\00:06:10.14 He wanted to show that magic, astrology, sorcery 00:06:10.17\00:06:15.27 does not work. 00:06:15.30\00:06:17.18 And the only way to do this would be to give the king 00:06:17.95\00:06:20.69 his dream and lead the king to forget his dream 00:06:20.72\00:06:23.84 so the he would call these so-called experts 00:06:23.87\00:06:26.49 so that God could unmask them and show that the religion of 00:06:26.52\00:06:30.76 Babylon was bankrupt. 00:06:30.79\00:06:33.70 And that's exactly what happened. 00:06:34.14\00:06:35.79 Notice Daniel chapter 2 and verse 10. 00:06:36.06\00:06:38.90 Daniel chapter 2 and verse 10. 00:06:38.93\00:06:40.80 In other words, "King, what you're asking is unreasonable. 00:07:03.29\00:07:06.31 If you told us your dream, we would be able to tell you 00:07:06.47\00:07:09.73 what the dream means. 00:07:09.76\00:07:11.10 But you want us to tell you the dream itself. 00:07:11.13\00:07:14.49 There's no individual who could ever do that on earth." 00:07:14.52\00:07:19.21 And then I want you to notice Daniel chapter 2 and verse 11. 00:07:19.60\00:07:23.36 There was only one source that would be able to 00:07:23.39\00:07:26.60 tell the king his dream. 00:07:26.63\00:07:28.31 And what was that source, according to the magicians? 00:07:28.34\00:07:32.56 Daniel 2 and verse 11. 00:07:32.59\00:07:34.39 And there's three key words that I want us to notice here. 00:07:45.63\00:07:48.37 Do you know what they're saying? 00:07:56.02\00:07:57.23 They're saying, "The gods that we serve like to conceal. 00:07:57.43\00:08:03.32 They like to keep secrets. 00:08:04.23\00:08:07.10 And only if they should choose to reveal the dream 00:08:07.91\00:08:11.81 could we know what the dream is." 00:08:11.84\00:08:14.03 In other words, what they're saying is, "Our gods conceal. 00:08:14.36\00:08:18.09 They hide. They keep secrets." 00:08:18.12\00:08:21.26 Let me ask you, is that the picture that you get 00:08:21.76\00:08:24.43 from the God of the Bible? 00:08:24.46\00:08:25.94 Absolutely not. 00:08:26.25\00:08:27.46 Notice Amos chapter 3 and verse 7. 00:08:27.68\00:08:30.54 Amos chapter 3 and verse 7. 00:08:30.57\00:08:33.70 You see, God is not a God who conceals. 00:08:33.73\00:08:36.49 God is a God who reveals. 00:08:36.52\00:08:38.91 God is not a God who keeps secrets. 00:08:38.94\00:08:41.74 God is a God who reveals secrets. 00:08:41.77\00:08:45.07 Notice Amos chapter 3 and verse 7. 00:08:45.10\00:08:47.98 Notice Daniel 2 verse 29, which we already read. 00:09:01.73\00:09:05.01 Let's read it again, Daniel 2 verse 29. 00:09:05.04\00:09:07.58 Is there a contrast between the pagan gods and the biblical God? 00:09:23.22\00:09:27.32 Absolutely. 00:09:27.35\00:09:28.40 The pagan gods, they have this information 00:09:28.43\00:09:31.56 but they conceal it, they hide it. 00:09:31.59\00:09:33.56 They don't want to reveal it. 00:09:33.59\00:09:35.09 But the God of the Bible is the God who reveals the secrets 00:09:35.12\00:09:39.93 to His servants, the prophets. 00:09:39.96\00:09:41.43 Now do you remember the three key words? 00:09:41.46\00:09:43.61 "Except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh." 00:09:44.31\00:09:50.29 Can you think of another verse in the Bible 00:09:50.60\00:09:52.74 that uses those three words? 00:09:52.77\00:09:54.87 John chapter 1 and verse 1, and then verse 14. 00:09:55.52\00:10:01.67 What does verse 1 say? 00:10:02.04\00:10:03.28 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 00:10:03.31\00:10:07.64 and the Word was God." 00:10:07.67\00:10:10.00 There you have one key word. 00:10:10.03\00:10:11.64 And then verse 14 says, "And the Word," who is God, 00:10:11.67\00:10:16.49 "became..." What? 00:10:16.69\00:10:18.58 There's the second key word. 00:10:18.61\00:10:20.18 "...became flesh..." 00:10:20.21\00:10:21.54 And then what does it say? And what? 00:10:21.57\00:10:23.74 "...and dwelt among us." 00:10:23.92\00:10:26.06 Who is the great revealer of God's secrets? 00:10:26.09\00:10:29.73 Jesus Christ in person. 00:10:29.76\00:10:32.19 And so it says... 00:10:32.22\00:10:33.25 Let me ask you, is the devil able to read our thoughts? 00:10:45.92\00:10:50.73 No. 00:10:51.55\00:10:52.62 Do you know how we know that? 00:10:52.65\00:10:53.99 Because the devil was dying to tell the astrologers 00:10:54.02\00:10:56.66 what the dream was so that he could show that the 00:10:56.69\00:10:59.34 religion of Babylon was true. 00:10:59.37\00:11:01.33 And yet he was not able to do it. 00:11:01.36\00:11:03.91 Now the devil, when he sees that God has unmasked his religion, 00:11:04.34\00:11:08.76 he says, "Okay, what I'm going to do now is I am going to 00:11:08.79\00:11:13.17 kill Daniel and I'm going to kill his three friends." 00:11:13.20\00:11:16.48 Because the devil had already seen that these young men 00:11:16.51\00:11:19.68 were a potential problem for him. 00:11:19.71\00:11:22.23 Because in chapter 1 these three young men, along with Daniel, 00:11:22.52\00:11:26.50 had been faithful to God in their eating 00:11:26.53\00:11:29.03 and in their drinking. 00:11:29.06\00:11:30.26 And so the devil says, "These individuals 00:11:30.48\00:11:32.86 are a potential problem for me. 00:11:32.89\00:11:35.77 And so what I'm going to do now, God unmasked my 00:11:35.99\00:11:39.08 religious leaders, but now I'm going to have them killed 00:11:39.11\00:11:41.89 and I'm going to have Daniel and his three friends killed too. 00:11:41.92\00:11:44.74 And the problem is going to be solved." 00:11:44.77\00:11:46.81 Notice Daniel chapter 2 and verse 12. 00:11:47.07\00:11:49.79 Verse 13. 00:12:01.93\00:12:03.25 And whom did they seek? 00:12:08.56\00:12:10.76 But God says to the devil, "Not so quick, buddy. 00:12:18.84\00:12:21.63 You intend to kill Daniel and his three friends. 00:12:23.29\00:12:28.02 But you know what I'm going to do? 00:12:28.05\00:12:29.53 What I'm going to do is I'm going to bring them 00:12:29.81\00:12:32.65 into prominence in the kingdom by your attempt to kill them." 00:12:32.68\00:12:36.65 Is that exactly what happened? 00:12:37.41\00:12:39.07 Notice at the end of this story, Daniel chapter 2 00:12:39.55\00:12:42.55 verses 48 and 49, now Daniel and his three friends 00:12:42.58\00:12:46.05 become famous in the kingdom. 00:12:46.08\00:12:48.03 In other words, instead of being destroyed 00:12:48.06\00:12:50.45 like the devil intended, God allowed them to be 00:12:50.75\00:12:54.05 brought before the king so that they could occupy 00:12:54.08\00:12:56.82 prominent positions in the kingdom and influence 00:12:56.85\00:12:59.76 the kingdom for decades. 00:12:59.79\00:13:02.03 Daniel chapter 2 verses 48 and 49. 00:13:02.06\00:13:04.84 So do you see what's happening here? 00:13:34.52\00:13:36.07 We have a play and a counterplay. 00:13:36.10\00:13:37.98 God knows what the king is thinking and he says, 00:13:38.01\00:13:39.58 "Okay, I know what you're thinking. 00:13:39.61\00:13:40.92 Here's a dream so that you know what's going to happen." 00:13:40.95\00:13:44.57 And then when he wakes up, God says, "Forget the dream. 00:13:45.01\00:13:47.22 Because I want to unmask these charlatans." 00:13:47.25\00:13:49.88 And so the king calls these individuals. 00:13:49.91\00:13:53.53 The religion of Babylon is unmasked so the devil says, 00:13:53.56\00:13:56.19 "Oh yeah, I'm going to kill Your men." 00:13:56.22\00:13:57.86 God says, "No you're not. 00:13:57.89\00:13:59.10 I'm going to bring them to prominence in the kingdom." 00:13:59.13\00:14:01.53 There's a play and a counterplay that is taking place here 00:14:02.05\00:14:05.97 between two forces; the force of good and the force of evil, 00:14:06.00\00:14:09.78 between God and Satan. 00:14:09.81\00:14:11.99 Now let me ask you, what method did God use to show 00:14:12.76\00:14:15.58 Daniel the dream? 00:14:15.61\00:14:17.07 He said to Daniel, "Daniel, wait until it's nighttime 00:14:17.95\00:14:21.90 and you can go out and look at the stars." 00:14:21.93\00:14:25.50 He said, "Daniel, go before the king and tell him to show you 00:14:28.43\00:14:34.66 the palm of his hand." 00:14:34.69\00:14:36.21 No. 00:14:37.99\00:14:39.06 He said, "Daniel, go to a medium and have the medium try to 00:14:39.71\00:14:44.16 conjure up the dead." 00:14:44.19\00:14:45.71 No. 00:14:46.33\00:14:47.36 How did God reveal his secret to His prophets? 00:14:47.71\00:14:51.18 Notice Daniel chapter 2 verses 17 and 18. 00:14:51.74\00:14:54.59 Daniel 2:17-18 00:14:54.62\00:14:56.49 Which are their Hebrew names, by the way. 00:15:02.79\00:15:04.61 Ah, see there's that word, "secret," again. 00:15:17.29\00:15:19.62 What method did Daniel use for God to reveal His secret 00:15:29.52\00:15:34.57 concerning the future? 00:15:34.60\00:15:35.98 He used prayer. 00:15:36.44\00:15:38.62 If we want to know what's in store for our life, 00:15:39.29\00:15:41.60 what do we use? 00:15:41.63\00:15:43.10 We don't go visit astrologers. 00:15:43.26\00:15:46.03 We don't go to a palm reader. 00:15:46.06\00:15:48.43 We don't look at the signs of the zodiac. 00:15:48.46\00:15:51.22 We don't go to consult the supposed spirits of the dead. 00:15:51.25\00:15:55.60 We pray to God that God will reveal His secret to us. 00:15:55.63\00:16:01.44 You know, history is like a game of chess. 00:16:01.74\00:16:05.18 Some of you have heard this comparison before. 00:16:06.12\00:16:08.35 You know, there's this chessboard. 00:16:08.63\00:16:11.00 On one side of the table, God is seated. 00:16:11.03\00:16:14.54 And on the other side of the table, Satan is seated. 00:16:14.95\00:16:18.65 And the movements of the pawns on the board 00:16:18.95\00:16:22.00 are the movements of history. 00:16:22.03\00:16:23.74 And so God says to Satan, "Your move." 00:16:24.37\00:16:29.79 And so the devil moves in history. 00:16:30.26\00:16:32.71 And then God says, "Ha ha, you moved. 00:16:32.74\00:16:35.76 My turn." 00:16:35.79\00:16:37.25 And so God moves to counteract what the devil has done. 00:16:37.48\00:16:41.01 And so history develops as a play and a counterplay; 00:16:41.80\00:16:45.66 Satan trying to interrupt God's plans and God implementing 00:16:45.69\00:16:50.29 His plans. 00:16:50.32\00:16:51.77 Now let me ask you, is the devil playing at a disadvantage? 00:16:52.92\00:16:57.43 He most certainly is. 00:16:58.33\00:16:59.61 If you could play a game of chess where you already knew 00:16:59.81\00:17:03.52 all of the moves that the other player was going to make, 00:17:03.55\00:17:05.75 how much of a chance would there be that you could lose? 00:17:07.47\00:17:10.28 Absolutely none. 00:17:10.47\00:17:11.90 If you knew all of the moves that the other player 00:17:12.11\00:17:14.27 was going to make, there's no way you could lose. 00:17:14.30\00:17:16.30 See, the devil has to guess how God is going to play. 00:17:16.33\00:17:20.09 But God knows every move that the devil is going to make. 00:17:20.47\00:17:24.20 And therefore, He can take measures to counteract 00:17:24.23\00:17:27.10 the moves that the devil wants to make in human history. 00:17:27.13\00:17:30.27 Because God knows the end from the beginning. 00:17:30.30\00:17:33.75 Now let's talk about the dream. 00:17:35.80\00:17:37.49 Daniel chapter 2 and verse 31. 00:17:38.02\00:17:40.23 Daniel 2 and verse 31. 00:17:40.89\00:17:42.78 Here, Daniel says to the king... 00:17:43.31\00:17:44.89 And then you have the dream itself. 00:18:03.10\00:18:06.54 Beginning with verse 32, it says, "The image's head 00:18:07.02\00:18:11.50 was of fine gold." 00:18:11.53\00:18:12.56 Use your imagination. 00:18:12.59\00:18:13.62 You have a handout that has the sequence. 00:18:13.65\00:18:16.67 But use your imagination now. 00:18:16.70\00:18:18.52 So you have gold, silver, bronze, iron, 00:18:36.71\00:18:40.73 and iron and clay. 00:18:40.76\00:18:42.44 And then notice verse 34. 00:18:42.75\00:18:44.79 And so we have several important symbols in this passage. 00:19:20.09\00:19:23.86 We have a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, 00:19:24.17\00:19:28.68 belly of bronze, legs of iron, feet of iron and clay. 00:19:28.71\00:19:34.13 And then you have a stone that is cut out of a mountain 00:19:34.16\00:19:37.29 without hands and it comes and it strikes 00:19:37.32\00:19:40.56 the image on its feet. 00:19:40.59\00:19:41.92 And then the stone becomes a gigantic mountain 00:19:41.95\00:19:45.82 that fills the whole earth. 00:19:45.85\00:19:47.90 Now there's a very important point that I need to underline. 00:19:48.23\00:19:50.91 And that is that there are no gaps in the historical flow 00:19:50.94\00:19:55.94 that we find in Daniel chapter 2. 00:19:55.97\00:19:57.81 Because there are some Christians that are saying, 00:19:58.05\00:20:00.66 in fact many Christians that are saying, 00:20:00.69\00:20:02.63 that there's a gap between the legs and the feet. 00:20:02.66\00:20:06.69 And that gap has lasted 1900 years, so far. 00:20:07.36\00:20:11.44 But there no evidence in this dream that there are any 00:20:11.73\00:20:15.75 parentheses or gaps or lapses in the sequence of powers. 00:20:15.78\00:20:22.40 The sequence of powers flow one right after the other 00:20:22.63\00:20:26.73 without interruption. 00:20:26.76\00:20:28.57 Now I want you to notice the interpretation of this dream, 00:20:29.63\00:20:33.78 because later on in the chapter we have what the dream means. 00:20:33.81\00:20:37.42 Go with me to Daniel chapter 2 and verses 37 and 38. 00:20:37.45\00:20:42.50 Daniel 2:37-38, now we're going to see how Daniel 00:20:42.53\00:20:46.27 interpreted the dream or explained the dream. 00:20:46.30\00:20:49.36 Here, Daniel says... 00:20:50.10\00:20:51.51 Why was Nebuchadnezzar such a great king? 00:20:55.30\00:20:57.81 Well, because he had better weapons than anybody else. 00:20:57.84\00:21:00.50 He had more powerful armies. 00:21:00.53\00:21:02.43 He had more money. He was more intelligent. 00:21:02.46\00:21:05.08 Absolutely not. 00:21:05.11\00:21:06.19 Notice what it says. 00:21:06.53\00:21:07.87 Why was Nebuchadnezzar king? 00:21:27.04\00:21:28.80 Because it was God's will that Nebuchadnezzar be king. 00:21:29.00\00:21:32.88 God placed Nebuchadnezzar there. 00:21:32.91\00:21:36.36 Who is in control of human history? 00:21:36.39\00:21:38.30 God is in control of human history. 00:21:38.60\00:21:41.09 Now notice the last part of this, verse 38. 00:21:41.12\00:21:45.88 It says, "He has given them into your hand 00:21:45.91\00:21:48.96 and has made you ruler over them all." 00:21:48.99\00:21:52.51 And now listen carefully. 00:21:52.54\00:21:54.05 "You are this head of gold." 00:21:54.08\00:21:59.29 Does this prophecy clearly explain what the 00:21:59.32\00:22:03.05 head of gold represents? 00:22:03.08\00:22:04.19 Absolutely. What is the head of gold? 00:22:04.22\00:22:06.34 The head of gold represents Nebuchadnezzar. 00:22:06.37\00:22:09.69 But what was Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom? 00:22:09.72\00:22:11.95 His kingdom was Babylon. 00:22:12.17\00:22:13.73 You see, in prophecy we're going to notice that 00:22:13.76\00:22:17.06 king and kingdom are used interchangeably. 00:22:17.09\00:22:20.14 In fact, let's go to the next verse and you're going to see 00:22:20.17\00:22:22.70 it very, very clearly. 00:22:22.73\00:22:24.03 Daniel chapter 2 and verse 38. 00:22:24.65\00:22:28.28 It has just said in verse 38, the first part of verse 38, 00:22:29.41\00:22:37.16 it says, "You are this head of gold." 00:22:37.19\00:22:40.97 But now notice, I believe it's in verse 39, not verse 38. 00:22:41.44\00:22:45.67 It says, "But after you shall arise another..." What? 00:22:45.70\00:22:52.42 "...another kingdom." 00:22:52.96\00:22:53.99 So is the head of gold a kingdom? 00:22:54.26\00:22:56.55 Sure, because it says, "After you will arise another kingdom." 00:22:56.92\00:23:01.32 So Nebuchadnezzar is the king of a kingdom. 00:23:01.35\00:23:04.33 The head of gold represents the kingdom of Babylon. 00:23:04.36\00:23:08.27 And after the kingdom of Babylon there was going to be what? 00:23:10.09\00:23:13.19 And then notice it says... 00:23:18.22\00:23:20.05 So how many kingdoms so far? 00:23:28.65\00:23:30.27 We have three kingdoms. 00:23:30.66\00:23:32.06 The first kingdom is what? 00:23:32.36\00:23:34.07 Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom. 00:23:34.67\00:23:36.95 The second kingdom is which kingdom? 00:23:37.15\00:23:40.40 The Medes and Persians came immediately after Babylon. 00:23:40.81\00:23:45.18 They conquered Babylon. 00:23:45.21\00:23:46.69 And then after the Medes and Persians, which kingdom rises? 00:23:46.89\00:23:50.52 Greece. 00:23:50.55\00:23:51.58 Now listen to what I'm going to say. 00:23:51.61\00:23:53.00 You don't even have to go to the history books 00:23:53.35\00:23:55.65 to know that the first three kingdoms 00:23:56.17\00:23:57.94 are Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. 00:23:57.98\00:23:59.92 All you have to do is study the book of Daniel. 00:23:59.95\00:24:02.11 Daniel has the names of all three. 00:24:02.14\00:24:04.26 Which means that it's easy to identify kingdom number four. 00:24:05.33\00:24:08.52 You say, "Now how is that?" 00:24:08.94\00:24:10.33 Does the Bible tell us which kingdom conquered Babylon? 00:24:10.73\00:24:13.81 Daniel chapter 5. 00:24:14.64\00:24:16.11 Belshazzar was the king. 00:24:16.14\00:24:18.01 And Darius the Mede, who's also called Darius the Mede, 00:24:18.50\00:24:23.14 came and he conquered Babylon. 00:24:23.17\00:24:25.86 The troops of the Medes and Persians conquered Babylon. 00:24:25.89\00:24:30.05 So we know what the second kingdom is. 00:24:30.08\00:24:32.31 It is Medo-Persia. 00:24:32.34\00:24:33.70 And then in Daniel 8, which we're going to study later on 00:24:34.09\00:24:37.27 in this seminar, after Medo-Persia it says that 00:24:37.30\00:24:40.93 the kingdom that would arise would be Greece. 00:24:40.96\00:24:43.54 Greece is mentioned by name. 00:24:44.17\00:24:46.59 And so in Daniel itself, even without going to the 00:24:47.06\00:24:50.23 history books, you know that the first kingdom is Babylon. 00:24:50.26\00:24:53.15 You know that the second kingdom is Medo-Persia. 00:24:53.18\00:24:55.75 And you know that the third kingdom is what? 00:24:55.78\00:24:58.79 The third kingdom is Greece. 00:24:58.82\00:25:01.61 Is that clear? 00:25:01.64\00:25:02.79 Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. 00:25:02.82\00:25:06.23 You say, "Well, what would the fourth kingdom be?" 00:25:06.57\00:25:08.69 Well if you've identified the first three, 00:25:08.72\00:25:10.79 that come one right after another without parentheses, 00:25:10.82\00:25:13.87 without any interruption, it's easy to identify the fourth. 00:25:13.90\00:25:17.73 Which kingdom conquered the kingdom of Greece? 00:25:18.03\00:25:20.69 It was Rome. 00:25:21.21\00:25:22.44 The Roman Empire. 00:25:22.47\00:25:23.65 Let's read Daniel chapter 2 and verse 40. 00:25:23.92\00:25:26.43 Daniel chapter 2 and verse 40. 00:25:26.46\00:25:28.64 It says here... 00:25:28.67\00:25:29.87 Remember that word, "strong." 00:25:33.49\00:25:34.91 That word, "strong," is a key word. 00:25:39.34\00:25:41.10 Is that a fit description of Rome? 00:25:55.23\00:25:57.22 It most certainly is. 00:25:57.52\00:25:59.15 In fact, the great historian, Edward Gibbon, 00:25:59.38\00:26:04.58 wrote the five volume set called, 00:26:04.61\00:26:07.90 The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 00:26:07.93\00:26:10.45 And he called Rome, "the iron monarchy of Rome." 00:26:10.81\00:26:16.82 Interesting, because he was not a church historian. 00:26:16.85\00:26:19.43 He was secular historian. 00:26:19.46\00:26:20.85 And yet he's calling Rome, "the iron monarchy of Rome." 00:26:20.88\00:26:25.76 So very clearly, the first four kingdoms are 00:26:25.96\00:26:28.61 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and the Roman Empire. 00:26:28.64\00:26:33.47 But now I want you to notice what we come to in the feet. 00:26:33.67\00:26:37.77 This is what I want to dwell on most in our seminar today. 00:26:37.80\00:26:41.91 Daniel chapter 2 and verse 41. 00:26:41.94\00:26:45.33 That is, this fourth kingdom. 00:26:57.11\00:26:58.77 There you have the word, "strong." 00:27:04.92\00:27:06.36 You remember the word, "strong," 00:27:06.39\00:27:07.86 with regard to the fourth kingdom? 00:27:07.89\00:27:09.28 Now it says here... 00:27:09.31\00:27:10.54 Verse 42. 00:27:19.17\00:27:20.38 Which is the strong part, by the way? 00:27:29.51\00:27:31.45 Is it the iron part or the clay part? 00:27:31.90\00:27:34.56 It's the iron part that's strong. 00:27:34.93\00:27:37.05 It says in verse 42... 00:27:37.08\00:27:38.81 What is the fragile part? 00:27:48.94\00:27:50.69 It is the clay part. 00:27:50.72\00:27:53.16 Now let's take a look at these verses. 00:27:53.19\00:27:55.61 Very important verses. 00:27:55.64\00:27:57.56 How many toes do two normal feet have? 00:27:58.60\00:28:01.23 And the reason I use the word, "normal," is because I've 00:28:02.17\00:28:04.50 asked the question, I say, "How many toes do two feet have?" 00:28:04.53\00:28:07.52 Some people say, "Well, it all depends if somebody 00:28:07.55\00:28:09.51 has had a toe amputated or not." 00:28:09.54\00:28:11.75 And so I say, "How many toes do two normal feet have?" 00:28:11.78\00:28:15.12 They have ten what? Ten toes. 00:28:15.15\00:28:18.03 Which means that the fourth kingdom was going to be what? 00:28:18.06\00:28:21.85 The fourth kingdom was going to be divided into ten kingdoms. 00:28:22.85\00:28:26.53 You say, "How do we know that?" 00:28:26.56\00:28:27.70 It's very simple. 00:28:27.73\00:28:28.76 Is there iron in the feet? 00:28:29.39\00:28:31.40 Was there iron in the legs? 00:28:32.48\00:28:34.22 What did the iron in the legs represent? 00:28:34.64\00:28:36.96 The Roman Empire. 00:28:37.32\00:28:38.63 What does the iron in the feet then represent? 00:28:39.19\00:28:41.78 It must represent the fact that the Roman Empire, what? 00:28:42.05\00:28:46.20 Continues. But it continues how? 00:28:46.40\00:28:48.86 In a divided state. 00:28:49.50\00:28:51.15 It's divided into ten nations. 00:28:51.18\00:28:53.85 Are you with me or not? 00:28:53.88\00:28:55.18 It's going to be divided into ten nations. 00:28:55.21\00:28:59.14 In other words, this fourth kingdom was going to fall apart. 00:28:59.34\00:29:02.38 It was still going to be Rome because you have 00:29:02.58\00:29:04.69 iron in the feet. 00:29:04.72\00:29:05.92 But it was going to be a divided Rome. 00:29:05.95\00:29:10.41 But then I want you to notice that to the iron in the feet 00:29:11.54\00:29:15.24 is added another strange element. 00:29:15.27\00:29:17.42 What is added to it? 00:29:17.45\00:29:18.87 A special kind of clay. 00:29:20.42\00:29:22.77 Potter's clay. 00:29:23.60\00:29:25.79 Question, what existed before? 00:29:26.41\00:29:28.48 The iron or the clay? 00:29:28.51\00:29:30.38 The iron existed before. 00:29:31.11\00:29:32.79 So the iron continues in the feet. 00:29:32.82\00:29:35.40 And then what is added to the iron? 00:29:35.43\00:29:37.60 Afterwards, the clay is added to the iron. 00:29:38.00\00:29:41.77 Now let me ask you this. 00:29:43.79\00:29:45.24 Is this a different kind of Rome in the feet? 00:29:47.07\00:29:51.07 Yes it is. 00:29:52.13\00:29:53.35 Because first of all, it is a Rome that is divided 00:29:53.74\00:29:56.72 into many what? 00:29:56.75\00:29:58.15 Into many nations. 00:29:58.18\00:29:59.93 But secondly, it is an amalgamated Rome. 00:30:00.26\00:30:05.10 Do you understand what the word "amalgamated" means? 00:30:06.82\00:30:09.27 It is a Rome that is a mixture, not only of the iron. 00:30:09.95\00:30:16.01 It's not political Rome alone any more. 00:30:16.04\00:30:19.53 There's another element that is mixed or blended, 00:30:19.56\00:30:22.64 or amalgamated, with it. 00:30:22.67\00:30:25.10 Now let me ask you, is this a legitimate or 00:30:26.52\00:30:29.33 illegitimate union? 00:30:29.36\00:30:31.78 It's illegitimate. 00:30:33.47\00:30:34.62 Who in his right mind would actually join iron and clay? 00:30:34.65\00:30:39.83 They're two totally different elements, aren't they? 00:30:40.21\00:30:42.66 Totally different. 00:30:42.69\00:30:43.76 There's no way that you can amalgamate them or mix them 00:30:44.39\00:30:47.86 and have the result be strong. 00:30:47.89\00:30:49.98 The clay is good as clay and the iron is good as iron. 00:30:50.18\00:30:54.67 The problem is when you what? 00:30:54.70\00:30:57.10 Is when you put them together or you mix them. 00:30:57.30\00:31:01.08 Now, are we dealing with symbols in Daniel chapter 2? 00:31:01.87\00:31:06.61 Is the gold a symbol? 00:31:07.78\00:31:09.20 Is the silver a symbol? 00:31:10.01\00:31:11.62 Is the bronze a symbol? 00:31:12.74\00:31:14.45 Is the iron a symbol? 00:31:15.00\00:31:16.62 Is the stone a symbol? 00:31:17.18\00:31:19.09 Is the mountain a symbol? 00:31:19.68\00:31:21.46 But the potter's clay, that's not a symbol? 00:31:22.15\00:31:24.11 It would have to also be what? 00:31:26.75\00:31:28.65 It would also have to represent or symbolize something. 00:31:29.09\00:31:33.01 Because Rome is going to be divided and it's going to be 00:31:34.00\00:31:36.64 a different kind of Rome. 00:31:36.67\00:31:38.00 It's going to be an amalgamated Rome. 00:31:38.03\00:31:40.07 So we need to know what the clay represents. 00:31:40.62\00:31:43.29 Because we already know that the iron represents 00:31:43.32\00:31:45.60 the political power of the Roman Empire. 00:31:45.63\00:31:47.72 The Roman Empire will continue as a political entity divided, 00:31:47.75\00:31:51.81 but there will be clay added to it. 00:31:51.84\00:31:54.08 So we need to know what the Bible means by potter's clay. 00:31:54.11\00:31:58.36 Now let's examine some passages of Scripture that 00:32:00.11\00:32:02.52 explain what the potter's clay is. 00:32:02.55\00:32:06.12 Go with me to Jeremiah chapter 18 00:32:06.64\00:32:09.52 and verses 1 through 6. 00:32:10.69\00:32:12.63 Jeremiah chapter 18 and verses 1 through 6. 00:32:12.66\00:32:15.99 Listen carefully. 00:32:16.29\00:32:17.47 What kind of clay? 00:32:46.32\00:32:47.62 Potter's clay, yes. 00:32:48.13\00:32:50.14 Now what is represented by the fact that this vessel 00:33:05.24\00:33:09.27 was made from potter's clay by the potter, 00:33:09.30\00:33:11.88 it broke, and then the potter made it all over again 00:33:11.91\00:33:15.97 as a new vessel? 00:33:16.00\00:33:17.03 The fact is that Jeremiah is here describing 00:33:17.06\00:33:19.55 the Babylonian captivity. 00:33:19.58\00:33:21.61 And if you want a text that proves that, 00:33:22.50\00:33:24.38 Jeremiah 19 verse 11, which we don't have time to read, 00:33:24.41\00:33:27.47 uses the same terminology of the potter to refer 00:33:27.50\00:33:30.84 to the captivity of Israel when they were taken 00:33:30.87\00:33:33.27 by Nebuchadnezzar. 00:33:33.30\00:33:34.36 In other words, God formed Israel at Mount Sinai 00:33:34.61\00:33:38.97 as His people, but because of the apostasy, they broke. 00:33:39.00\00:33:42.28 And God, after 70 years, what did He do? 00:33:43.35\00:33:46.34 He restored Israel once again to their land. 00:33:46.37\00:33:50.06 Are you with me? 00:33:50.09\00:33:51.14 So He made the vessel what? 00:33:51.40\00:33:53.59 Again. 00:33:53.97\00:33:55.00 Now we don't have to guess at this, because notice the 00:33:55.03\00:33:57.31 explanation is given there in Jeremiah chapter 18 00:33:57.34\00:34:00.71 and verse 5. 00:34:00.98\00:34:02.66 "Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 00:34:02.69\00:34:05.73 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?' 00:34:05.76\00:34:13.27 says the Lord." 00:34:13.52\00:34:14.64 What does the potter's clay represent? 00:34:23.72\00:34:26.18 It represents God's people; God's Old Testament church. 00:34:26.65\00:34:32.26 In other words, it represents a religious institution; 00:34:32.30\00:34:37.70 God's Old Testament church, Israel. 00:34:37.73\00:34:41.87 Now let's go to Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7. 00:34:43.06\00:34:45.63 And you're not going to see the connection immediately 00:34:45.66\00:34:47.60 with this, but you're going to see it in a few moments. 00:34:47.63\00:34:49.83 Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7. 00:34:49.86\00:34:52.16 Speaking about the creation of man. 00:34:53.11\00:34:55.47 And notice what it says. 00:34:56.11\00:34:58.07 What was God? God was the what? 00:35:05.33\00:35:07.15 The potter. I'm going to prove it to you. 00:35:07.85\00:35:09.55 How many of you have ever tried to form anything out of dust? 00:35:14.67\00:35:17.35 You can't. But see, this was wet dust. 00:35:18.03\00:35:20.93 This was really potter's clay. 00:35:21.47\00:35:23.13 We're going to read another text in a moment. 00:35:23.16\00:35:24.71 What faculty of man was made out of dust? 00:35:28.14\00:35:30.88 His physical body, right? His body. 00:35:31.87\00:35:34.50 Did that body have all of its different members; 00:35:34.53\00:35:38.24 arms, legs, heart, lungs, stomach, fingers, nose, mouth? 00:35:38.27\00:35:44.67 Did it have all of the different members or parts? 00:35:44.70\00:35:47.59 Absolutely, it was a perfect body with all of its members. 00:35:47.62\00:35:51.09 But it was a lifeless body. 00:35:51.91\00:35:53.21 Notice I didn't say a dead body. 00:35:53.24\00:35:54.51 It was a lifeless body. 00:35:54.54\00:35:56.12 What was lacking? 00:35:56.15\00:35:57.24 The breath of God, or the spirit of life. 00:35:58.60\00:36:00.82 And so it continues saying, "...and breathed into his 00:36:00.85\00:36:04.47 nostrils the breath of life, and man became a..." What? 00:36:04.50\00:36:09.10 "...a living being." 00:36:09.13\00:36:10.21 Did every member now start functioning? 00:36:10.24\00:36:12.19 Did the heart start beating? 00:36:12.81\00:36:14.39 Did the lungs start breathing? 00:36:14.42\00:36:15.87 Did the stomach start digesting once Adam and Eve 00:36:16.07\00:36:19.38 started eating? 00:36:19.41\00:36:20.44 Of course. 00:36:20.47\00:36:21.50 Did their fingers start moving? Did they start walking? 00:36:21.53\00:36:24.11 Yes, now that the body was all together as one 00:36:24.14\00:36:28.55 with many members, and the spirit entered the body, 00:36:28.58\00:36:31.92 now all of the members functioned in perfect unity. 00:36:31.95\00:36:36.59 Now notice Isaiah chapter 64 and verse 8. 00:36:37.32\00:36:41.18 Isaiah chapter 64 and verse 8. 00:36:41.21\00:36:44.32 Here is where the Bible tells us that God, when He created man, 00:36:44.35\00:36:48.06 He did it like a potter. 00:36:48.09\00:36:49.42 It says there... 00:36:49.45\00:36:50.53 And you might want to write down, this isn't on your list, 00:36:51.13\00:36:53.61 Isaiah 45 verse 9 uses the same terminology. 00:36:53.64\00:36:56.97 Isaiah 45 verse 9. 00:36:57.00\00:36:58.66 It says in Isaiah 64 verse 8... 00:36:58.86\00:37:00.94 So what did God form man out of? 00:37:20.32\00:37:22.29 What kind of clay? 00:37:23.19\00:37:24.57 Potter's clay, right? 00:37:25.20\00:37:27.44 And then what did He do? 00:37:27.47\00:37:28.94 He breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, 00:37:28.97\00:37:31.70 and now man became a living soul. 00:37:31.73\00:37:33.58 In other words, every member of his body started what? 00:37:33.61\00:37:37.78 Functioning. 00:37:38.04\00:37:39.10 Now this is talking about the literal creation of man. 00:37:39.31\00:37:42.69 But this literal creation of man has a symbolic meaning as well. 00:37:43.43\00:37:47.87 You say, "What do you mean a symbolic value?" 00:37:48.40\00:37:50.47 Because in Daniel 2 we're not dealing with the literal, 00:37:50.50\00:37:52.50 we're dealing with what? 00:37:52.53\00:37:53.65 We're dealing with symbols. 00:37:53.68\00:37:55.21 Now let me ask you, what is the body of Christ? 00:37:55.75\00:37:59.33 Symbolically speaking or spiritually speaking? 00:38:00.49\00:38:03.46 The body of Christ is the church. 00:38:04.21\00:38:06.91 Notice Colossians chapter 1 and verse 18. 00:38:07.58\00:38:10.35 Colossians chapter 1 and verse 18. 00:38:10.38\00:38:13.02 Speaking about Jesus it says... 00:38:13.05\00:38:14.78 So what is the body of Christ? 00:38:28.56\00:38:31.19 The body of Christ is the church. 00:38:31.39\00:38:33.59 Who created the church? 00:38:35.85\00:38:37.19 Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build My church." 00:38:38.82\00:38:44.31 So who was it that created His body? 00:38:44.34\00:38:46.66 Jesus created the church. 00:38:47.40\00:38:48.94 He created the body. 00:38:48.97\00:38:50.49 In what condition was that body before the day of Pentecost? 00:38:52.33\00:38:55.14 Did they all come together? 00:38:56.50\00:38:57.86 The Bible says that they were all of one what? 00:38:58.49\00:39:01.01 One accord. 00:39:01.40\00:39:02.43 But what was still lacking? 00:39:02.73\00:39:04.16 What didn't the body have yet? 00:39:05.87\00:39:07.88 The body did not have the breath. 00:39:08.92\00:39:11.23 So what happened on the day of Pentecost? 00:39:12.10\00:39:14.20 Acts chapter 2 and verses 2 through 4. 00:39:14.23\00:39:17.80 By the way, they not only spoke in tongues. 00:39:38.25\00:39:40.13 All of the gifts of the Spirit now came alive in the church. 00:39:40.16\00:39:43.64 Are you catching the picture? 00:39:44.49\00:39:45.73 Now we're dealing with symbols. 00:39:46.24\00:39:48.09 In Genesis 2 verse 7, you have the literal creation 00:39:48.75\00:39:51.21 of literal man. 00:39:51.24\00:39:52.27 But that represents, that's representative of... 00:39:52.30\00:39:54.49 It's symbolic of the church of Jesus Christ which He created 00:39:54.52\00:39:59.00 out of potter's clay, so to speak. 00:39:59.03\00:40:01.34 And then He gave it what? 00:40:01.37\00:40:03.19 The Holy Spirit, the breath of life. 00:40:03.38\00:40:05.36 Let me ask you, did the body now start functioning? 00:40:05.39\00:40:07.99 Did every member of the body start fulfilling its function? 00:40:08.49\00:40:11.53 Yes, and you know what? 00:40:11.75\00:40:13.59 I'm not inventing this illustration. 00:40:13.62\00:40:16.54 The apostle Paul gives this illustration. 00:40:16.86\00:40:19.46 Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and verses 12 and 13. 00:40:19.49\00:40:23.28 Very clear. 00:40:23.63\00:40:24.67 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 12 and 13. 00:40:24.70\00:40:27.18 Question, then. 00:40:52.95\00:40:54.07 What does the potter's clay represent? 00:40:54.10\00:40:57.04 We noticed in Jeremiah that the potter's clay represents what? 00:40:57.44\00:41:01.08 God's people. 00:41:01.11\00:41:02.87 Israel. 00:41:03.28\00:41:04.31 What does the body represent in the New Testament? 00:41:04.58\00:41:07.38 What does the potter's clay represent in the 00:41:07.41\00:41:09.23 New Testament? 00:41:09.26\00:41:10.33 It represents the body of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, 00:41:10.36\00:41:14.01 which is His what? 00:41:14.04\00:41:15.62 His church. 00:41:15.65\00:41:16.80 So what does the potter's clay represent? 00:41:16.83\00:41:19.24 It represents the church. 00:41:19.27\00:41:22.16 Are you with me? 00:41:22.19\00:41:23.31 Now there's one other illustration where you can see 00:41:24.74\00:41:27.68 that the potter's clay represents the church. 00:41:27.99\00:41:32.70 You remember that vision that Ezekiel had 00:41:33.31\00:41:35.80 of the valley of the dry bones? 00:41:35.83\00:41:37.76 And there were body parts strewn all over the valley? 00:41:38.88\00:41:41.59 And then God called upon all of the parts of the body to 00:41:42.47\00:41:45.42 come together through Ezekiel? 00:41:45.45\00:41:47.29 And then what did God give those bodies? 00:41:47.62\00:41:51.36 He gave those bodies what? 00:41:51.72\00:41:53.35 The breathe of life, the spirit. 00:41:54.02\00:41:55.69 And they stood up. 00:41:55.72\00:41:56.75 What is represented by all of the parts of the body 00:41:56.78\00:41:59.41 coming together and the spirit coming into the body? 00:41:59.44\00:42:02.28 Ezekiel 37 makes it very clear. 00:42:03.44\00:42:05.67 Notice Ezekiel 37 verses 10 and 11. 00:42:06.29\00:42:09.19 Are you catching the picture? 00:42:26.88\00:42:28.07 So the potter's clay represents the church. 00:42:35.30\00:42:38.26 So what was going to happen during the period of the feet 00:42:38.29\00:42:40.51 of the image when the Roman Empire was divided? 00:42:40.54\00:42:42.92 There was going to be a union of what? 00:42:42.95\00:42:45.40 Of church and state. 00:42:45.84\00:42:49.67 Are you following me? 00:42:51.51\00:42:52.82 In other words, during the period of the feet 00:42:53.37\00:42:55.49 you were not only going to have an empire. 00:42:55.52\00:42:58.23 It was going to be an empire that united church and state. 00:42:58.53\00:43:03.27 Remember this, because we're going to come back to this 00:43:03.30\00:43:05.19 tomorrow when we study Daniel chapter 7. 00:43:05.22\00:43:07.14 Now listen. 00:43:07.98\00:43:09.06 Revelation 17 presents the same idea, but with 00:43:09.53\00:43:13.28 different symbols. 00:43:13.31\00:43:14.52 Go with me to Revelation chapter 17. 00:43:14.55\00:43:16.76 And this is speaking about the end time. 00:43:16.79\00:43:19.05 Revelation chapter 17 and verses 1 and 2. 00:43:19.49\00:43:22.88 Revelation chapter 17 and verses 1 and 2. 00:43:23.28\00:43:27.42 Different symbols, same meaning; union of church and state. 00:43:28.80\00:43:33.65 It says here... 00:43:34.25\00:43:35.28 What does a woman represent in prophecy? 00:43:48.23\00:43:50.19 It represents the church. 00:43:50.91\00:43:52.06 If it's a pure woman, what kind of church are we talking about? 00:43:52.09\00:43:54.57 A pure church. 00:43:55.17\00:43:56.20 We talked about the woman of Revelation 12, remember? 00:43:56.23\00:43:58.81 It represents God's faithful church. 00:43:58.84\00:44:01.39 Now if it's a harlot woman, what kind of church 00:44:01.97\00:44:03.86 are we talking about? 00:44:03.89\00:44:05.01 We're talking about a church that is apostate. 00:44:05.46\00:44:08.43 Now how did she become a harlot? 00:44:09.51\00:44:11.42 How did the church become a harlot? 00:44:11.71\00:44:13.62 How did she become a fornicating woman? 00:44:13.65\00:44:16.15 Well let's continue reading. 00:44:16.18\00:44:17.67 It says... 00:44:17.92\00:44:18.95 And now comes the explanation of how 00:44:22.87\00:44:25.33 the church became a harlot. 00:44:25.36\00:44:26.85 How did she become an adulteress harlot? 00:44:37.92\00:44:41.08 Because she committed fornication with whom? 00:44:42.08\00:44:45.18 With the kings of the earth. 00:44:45.21\00:44:46.66 Is this a union of church and state? 00:44:46.69\00:44:48.68 It most certainly is. 00:44:48.88\00:44:50.13 A union of church and state. 00:44:50.16\00:44:52.78 Does a church have a right to exist as a church? 00:44:54.40\00:44:56.77 Yes. 00:44:56.83\00:44:57.86 Does the state have its function as state? 00:44:57.89\00:45:00.31 Absolutely. 00:45:00.34\00:45:01.37 Where does the problem come in? 00:45:01.40\00:45:03.55 The problem comes in when the union is illegitimate. 00:45:03.58\00:45:07.45 Because the church is suppose to be married only to whom? 00:45:07.48\00:45:11.05 To Jesus Christ. 00:45:11.35\00:45:12.56 Jesus is the husband and the church is His bride. 00:45:12.59\00:45:15.92 So what happens when the church starts trying to get the 00:45:16.15\00:45:18.90 kings of the earth to do what Jesus Christ should be doing? 00:45:18.93\00:45:22.05 The church becomes adulteress. 00:45:22.40\00:45:24.53 The church becomes a harlot. 00:45:24.74\00:45:26.62 Is that exactly what happened when the 00:45:26.65\00:45:28.48 Roman Empire fell apart? 00:45:28.51\00:45:30.15 Did a church arise that used the political power of Rome 00:45:30.45\00:45:34.81 to persecute those who were not in harmony with the church, 00:45:34.84\00:45:37.37 yes or no? 00:45:37.40\00:45:38.43 Absolutely. 00:45:38.46\00:45:39.50 It can be proven from history. 00:45:39.53\00:45:41.18 Now you knew I wasn't going to go through this 00:45:42.45\00:45:44.09 whole presentation without reading from Ellen White. 00:45:44.12\00:45:46.63 The little old lady knew this all the time. 00:45:48.97\00:45:51.52 And she didn't go through all the study, all the biblical 00:45:51.82\00:45:54.38 study we've gone through. 00:45:54.41\00:45:55.49 See, you know, you can go to the internet and you'll find 00:45:55.52\00:45:58.19 all kind of trash about Ellen White. 00:45:58.22\00:46:00.27 Don't even bother to read it. 00:46:00.88\00:46:02.31 They're the same old rehashed arguments 00:46:02.85\00:46:04.90 that come out all the time. 00:46:04.93\00:46:06.34 Knick picking little things here and little things there. 00:46:06.91\00:46:09.30 Listen, in Scripture you also have little details 00:46:09.33\00:46:12.89 that appear to be discrepancies. 00:46:12.92\00:46:14.55 For example, one gospel says that there was one 00:46:14.58\00:46:16.66 demon possessed man and the other says 00:46:16.69\00:46:18.09 that there were two. 00:46:18.12\00:46:19.15 They say, "Oh, you can't trust the Bible because 00:46:19.71\00:46:21.61 one says one and the other says two." 00:46:21.64\00:46:23.05 Listen, if you're going to let that shake your faith, 00:46:23.08\00:46:26.18 then you're never going to come to believe. 00:46:26.38\00:46:28.61 The fact is that little details like this make no difference. 00:46:29.22\00:46:32.90 It's the big picture. 00:46:32.93\00:46:34.50 And the more I read Ellen White and I see how she's 00:46:35.47\00:46:38.27 in harmony with Scripture, I marvel. 00:46:38.30\00:46:40.70 Not because she's another Bible, not because she 00:46:41.02\00:46:43.84 takes the place of the Bible, not because she knows 00:46:43.87\00:46:46.25 more than the Bible. 00:46:46.28\00:46:47.31 Not because she brings more doctrines 00:46:47.34\00:46:48.95 that are not in the Bible. 00:46:48.98\00:46:50.14 But because she explains and amplifies and simplifies 00:46:50.17\00:46:53.84 what is in the Bible. 00:46:53.87\00:46:55.77 Now listen to this statement. 00:46:56.41\00:46:57.80 It's found in Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, 00:46:57.83\00:47:00.05 volume four, page 1168. 00:47:00.08\00:47:03.16 She said this. 00:47:03.52\00:47:04.66 She says we're now in that time. 00:47:14.24\00:47:16.03 And when she says, "honor the Sabbath," it doesn't mean 00:47:47.14\00:47:49.06 that they legislate to make the Sabbath the day of rest. 00:47:49.09\00:47:51.67 It means that they respect God's right, the people of God's 00:47:51.70\00:47:55.69 right, to keep the Sabbath and guarantee that right. 00:47:55.72\00:47:59.16 Like in the first amendment to the Constitution. 00:47:59.19\00:48:01.37 She says... 00:48:01.40\00:48:02.46 Isn't that a remarkable statement? 00:49:13.08\00:49:14.85 It's an amazing statement in the light of what we've 00:49:15.88\00:49:17.76 studied from Scripture. 00:49:17.79\00:49:19.18 Now we can't end without talking about the 00:49:19.60\00:49:21.49 mountain and the stone. 00:49:21.52\00:49:22.88 What does the mountain represent? 00:49:23.29\00:49:25.57 Let's go back to Daniel chapter 2 verses 34 and 35. 00:49:25.77\00:49:28.69 This is the climax of this dream. 00:49:28.72\00:49:31.16 Daniel chapter 2 verses 34 and 35. 00:49:31.19\00:49:33.86 This is the dream itself. 00:49:34.33\00:49:36.22 In a moment we're going to read the interpretation 00:49:36.25\00:49:38.03 of what this means. 00:49:38.06\00:49:39.30 It says there in Daniel 2:34... 00:49:40.11\00:49:42.05 Now what does this mean, the mountain that 00:50:11.77\00:50:13.74 fills the whole earth? 00:50:13.77\00:50:15.09 In the explanation of this dream, in verse 44 00:50:15.12\00:50:19.99 we have what this means. 00:50:20.02\00:50:22.03 Daniel chapter 2 and verse 44. 00:50:22.06\00:50:24.67 In other words, there's not going to be any more kingdoms. 00:50:39.42\00:50:41.56 So the mountain represents Christ's everlasting kingdom 00:50:50.96\00:50:55.47 that fills the whole earth. 00:50:55.50\00:50:57.84 And now the question is, how is that kingdom established? 00:50:58.24\00:51:03.13 Well, here we come to the stone. 00:51:03.67\00:51:05.91 See, the stone has to do something 00:51:07.15\00:51:09.20 to destroy the kingdoms of the world so that this stone can 00:51:10.17\00:51:16.29 become the mountain that fills the whole earth. 00:51:16.32\00:51:18.67 Go with me to Daniel chapter 2 and verse 45, 00:51:19.14\00:51:21.71 and I want you to notice an interesting detail 00:51:22.10\00:51:24.22 about this stone. 00:51:24.25\00:51:25.47 So you have a stone, and it says that the stone 00:51:50.19\00:51:52.36 is cut out of the mountain, how? 00:51:52.73\00:51:55.77 Without hands. 00:51:55.80\00:51:57.48 Now what does that stone represent? 00:51:57.51\00:51:59.43 Go with me to Matthew 21 verse 42. 00:52:00.32\00:52:03.08 And this is only one verse of many that I could read 00:52:03.11\00:52:06.02 from the New Testament. 00:52:06.05\00:52:07.27 Matthew chapter 21 and verse 42. 00:52:07.81\00:52:09.82 This is the conclusion of a parable that Jesus gives 00:52:09.85\00:52:12.45 of the vineyard workers. 00:52:12.48\00:52:13.58 We'll come back to this parable in our lecture 00:52:13.61\00:52:15.93 this coming Sabbath morning. 00:52:15.96\00:52:18.16 Matthew 21 and verse 42. 00:52:18.46\00:52:20.37 "Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read 00:52:21.03\00:52:25.51 in the Scriptures, "The stone which the builders rejected 00:52:25.54\00:52:31.01 has become the chief cornerstone. 00:52:31.04\00:52:33.56 This was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes."'" 00:52:33.59\00:52:37.30 To whom was Jesus referring when He spoke about the 00:52:37.33\00:52:39.70 stone that the builders rejected? 00:52:39.73\00:52:41.65 He was talking about Himself. 00:52:42.18\00:52:44.27 So what does the stone of Daniel chapter 2 represent? 00:52:44.95\00:52:48.04 It represents Jesus Christ. 00:52:48.61\00:52:50.90 Now notice that we're told here that this stone 00:52:51.45\00:52:55.21 was cut out of the mountain, how? 00:52:55.24\00:52:59.48 Without hands. 00:52:59.51\00:53:00.66 What does that mean, "without hands?" 00:53:00.69\00:53:03.41 Let's go to two verses that explain it. 00:53:03.77\00:53:06.16 Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 11. 00:53:06.53\00:53:08.81 Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 11. 00:53:09.21\00:53:10.91 Let's see what "not with hands" means. 00:53:10.94\00:53:13.79 It says there, speaking about the Sanctuary, 00:53:14.17\00:53:16.69 the heavenly Sanctuary compared to the earthly Sanctuary... 00:53:16.72\00:53:19.58 Which tabernacle is that? 00:53:28.60\00:53:29.96 Which is the greater and more perfect tabernacle? 00:53:30.31\00:53:32.90 It's the heavenly Sanctuary. 00:53:33.20\00:53:35.05 Who build the earthly Sanctuary? 00:53:35.08\00:53:37.02 Moses. 00:53:37.99\00:53:39.19 Was it built by human hands? 00:53:39.22\00:53:41.00 Absolutely. But notice... 00:53:41.03\00:53:42.74 You know, there's this idea among Christians that we need to 00:53:57.59\00:53:59.83 take over the world. 00:53:59.86\00:54:01.07 We need to use the power of the state to establish 00:54:01.92\00:54:04.38 Christ's kingdom in the United States. 00:54:04.41\00:54:06.50 We need to return to the good old days 00:54:06.53\00:54:09.25 when this was a Christian nation. 00:54:09.28\00:54:11.05 You know the best way to make this a Christian nation 00:54:12.84\00:54:15.36 is not by appealing to President Obama to do it. 00:54:15.39\00:54:18.34 It's by having the church go out and under the power of the 00:54:18.96\00:54:21.72 Holy Spirit preach the gospel and the truth of Jesus Christ. 00:54:21.75\00:54:25.19 That's the mission to which God has called the church. 00:54:25.93\00:54:28.33 God has not called the church to go to Washington, D.C. and 00:54:28.36\00:54:31.13 lobby for the state to do what the church should be doing. 00:54:31.16\00:54:34.09 Besides, the state never changes hearts. 00:54:34.73\00:54:37.34 It's the Holy Spirit through the power of the gospel 00:54:37.37\00:54:40.38 preached by the church that brings a change 00:54:40.80\00:54:43.34 to the human heart. 00:54:43.37\00:54:44.49 In other words, the kingdom of Christ will not be established 00:54:45.07\00:54:49.13 by men within history. 00:54:49.16\00:54:50.85 It will be established from outside of human history 00:54:50.88\00:54:53.86 by a miracle of God. 00:54:53.89\00:54:55.32 It is not of this creation. 00:54:55.35\00:54:57.92 Notice one more text. 00:54:59.04\00:55:00.12 Mark chapter 14 and verse 58. 00:55:00.15\00:55:03.08 Mark chapter 14 and verse 58. 00:55:03.48\00:55:05.81 Here, Jesus is talking about His own body. 00:55:05.84\00:55:09.74 You know, who brought the body of Jesus into existence 00:55:10.05\00:55:14.49 when He became incarnate? 00:55:14.52\00:55:16.32 Mary, right? 00:55:17.30\00:55:18.69 He was born from Mary. 00:55:18.72\00:55:20.60 Like we're born from women. 00:55:20.80\00:55:22.71 But what about the resurrected body of Jesus? 00:55:23.11\00:55:25.58 Oh, that body was given by a miracle of God, 00:55:26.25\00:55:31.02 by the Father. 00:55:31.32\00:55:32.40 It says in Mark 14 verse 58... 00:55:32.85\00:55:35.14 That's the temple that they had built and Herod had remodeled. 00:55:40.55\00:55:43.81 That means, without human intervention. 00:55:50.25\00:55:53.57 By a divine miracle of God. 00:55:54.49\00:55:56.82 How is Christ's kingdom going to be established 00:55:56.85\00:55:59.29 on this earth? 00:55:59.32\00:56:00.35 It will not be by men maneuvering within history 00:56:00.38\00:56:04.04 to establish a golden age. 00:56:04.07\00:56:05.90 It will come from outside of human history. 00:56:05.93\00:56:08.59 A miraculous stone, Jesus Christ, that will establish 00:56:08.62\00:56:11.92 His everlasting kingdom. 00:56:11.95\00:56:13.49 Now listen carefully. 00:56:14.19\00:56:15.31 We have a choice that we need to make. 00:56:16.95\00:56:18.64 We can either decide to fall on that stone 00:56:19.84\00:56:23.50 and be converted or that stone will fall on us and crush us. 00:56:23.73\00:56:29.31 See this is all fine and dandy; we're talking about 00:56:30.99\00:56:33.26 empires and kingdoms, but what about us personally? 00:56:33.29\00:56:35.88 Let's finish by reading Matthew chapter 21 and verse 44. 00:56:36.62\00:56:40.05 I believe Jesus is referring here to this prophecy of 00:56:40.81\00:56:44.13 Daniel chapter 2. 00:56:44.16\00:56:45.40 He says there in verse 44, "Whoever falls on this stone..." 00:56:46.30\00:56:50.22 He's talking about Himself. 00:56:50.25\00:56:51.31 Whoever's heart is broken and is converted. 00:56:51.34\00:56:54.46 "...will be broken." 00:56:56.05\00:56:57.20 But now notice. 00:56:57.23\00:56:58.38 "...but on whomever it falls, it will..." What? 00:56:58.41\00:57:03.42 "...it will grind him to powder." 00:57:03.72\00:57:07.03 So the plea of God with us is to receive Jesus Christ 00:57:09.02\00:57:14.28 as our Savior and Lord. 00:57:14.58\00:57:16.10 To fall on the stone so that He breaks our selfish heart. 00:57:16.48\00:57:20.59 And in this way, when Jesus comes we'll be in His kingdom. 00:57:21.34\00:57:24.29 The stone will not destroy us, but the stone will save us. 00:57:25.01\00:57:29.18