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The Beginning and the End - Part Five

Nov 10, 2024 by: John Herbert | Series: The Beginning and the End

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Da 2:32 This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

We will continue today to look at what we can learn from Daniel's account of the times of the Gentiles.

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Sunday November 10th 2024 
The Beginning and the End
Part Five

Da 2:32 This image's head was of fine gold, [1] its chest and arms of silver, [2] its belly and thighs of bronze, [3] 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. [4]

We had seen last time how the number four found in conjunction with the restoration of the material creation and the earth in a more general sense in Genesis Chapter 1, is also used, from a different perspective, with respect to rulership of the earth during the times of the Gentiles. Times that encompass the last two-thousand-six-hundred years of human history. Times that began when the Theocracy, that had continued from the day that the glory filled the Tabernacle in the wilderness at Sinai, until it came to an end the day that the glory departed from the temple in Jerusalem during the Babylonian captivity.

And we had seen last time how the times of the Gentiles is presented through the four kingdoms depicted in the great image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel Chapter 2. An image that is seen standing in Babylon, showing four phases of a Babylonian kingdom. A Babylonian kingdom that began with Nebuchadnezzar and will end with the Antichrist.

The first three of these kingdoms follow a chronological sequence, Babylon, Media/Persia and Greece. But not the fourth. And we should be careful to note that the overall presentation of these kingdoms is not about chronological history, rather it is about a Babylonian kingdom and the Jews. And if we try to look at these kingdoms historically rather than geographically on the one hand and look at them apart from God’s dealings with the Jews on the other, we will be in a mess.

The first form of this Babylonian kingdom and the captivity of the Jews that came with it, had a specific purpose. It was to bring the Jewish nation to repentance, to turn the hearts of the people back to their prophets and acknowledge their sin, through removing them from their land and subjecting them under the hand of a Gentile king. This is how the matter of Israel’s repentance is established foundationally, and this must remain both God’s method and purpose. And that established foundationally will find its conclusion in the final form of the Babylonian kingdom under the Antichrist, the fourth kingdom.  And the horrific subjugation of the Jews under the ultimate ‘Gentile’ king will bring the Jews to national repentance, allowing for their deliverance and restoration – Jer 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Nebuchadnezzar ruled his worldwide kingdom of that day from the city of Babylon. And this Babylonian kingdom, Scripturally, as we have seen, is inextricable from God’s purpose for the Jews. The Medes and the Persians also ruled their version of the same worldwide kingdom from Babylon, as did Alexander the Great.

But after Alexander’s death this kingdom was divided between his four generals. An event prophetically represented through the use of figurative language and metaphor in Daniel Chapter 8 – Da 8:5 And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, [Alexander the Great and the Greeks] across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. [this is Alexander] 6 Then he came to the ram that had two horns, [the Medes and the Persians] which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. 7 And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand. [Alexander conquers the Medo-Persian kingdom] 8 Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, [Alexander dies] and in place of it four notable ones [Alexander’s four generals] came up toward the four winds of heaven. 9 And out of one of them came a little horn [the Antichrist] which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land.

With the division of Alexander’s kingdom, Babylon ceased to be the seat of governance of Gentile world power. The next historical kingdom within chronological time, that of the Romans, did not rule from Babylon but from Rome. And the Romans did not come out of the northern division of Alexander’s kingdom as seen in v9, and nor were the Caesars Assyrian.

And so, it has been with worldwide kingdoms ever since. The times of the Gentiles have continued, but not centered on Babylon. Both Babylon and a Jewish captivity, from a human perspective slipped out of sight. But there has been no slipping in God’s purpose for both – 
Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, [prophetically, this pictures Nebuchadnezzar in the short term and the Antichrist in the long term] The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.

We can conclude then, that the times of the Gentiles, are not defined by the passage of linear time within man’s history, but by the outworking of God’s purpose for the Jewish people through one Babylonian kingdom, seen in four phases.

And the four phases of this Babylonian kingdom are presented again in Daniel Chapter 7, through Daniel’s vision of the four beasts – 
Da 7:2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. [1] [Nebuchadnezzar]……….

5 “And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. [2] Medes and Persians] …………..6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. [3] [Alexander the Great + his 4 generals]

7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. [Antichrist and his 10-nation confederacy]

The ultimate destruction of the great image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, picturing the complete overthrow of Gentile world power, is presented again through the destruction of the fourth beast – 
Da 7:8 I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. 9 “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool.
His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; 10 A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
The court was seated, And the books were opened. 11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.

So then, the slaying of the fourth beast and the destruction of its body, pictures again the complete overthrow of Gentile world power following the Lord’s return to the earth at the end of Daniel’s seventieth week. This is the Rock from Daniel Chapter 2 that struck the image on its feet. An event which is described in its fulfillment in the Revelation, through the battle we have come to call Armageddon 
Re 14:9 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

And just as the Rock cut without hands became a great mountain that filled the whole earth in Daniel Chapter 2, so the same Kingdom is seen again in Chapter 7 – Da 7:13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

And it is because Daniel is dealing exclusively with the Jewish nation, that we see the number four, the four phases of the Babylonian kingdom, brought to conclusion before the coming of the Millennial Kingdom. The four phases of the Babylonian kingdom provide a numerical parallel with the four days, four-thousand years from Adam. And it is following the final two days, two-thousand years of these four-thousand years, which comprise the dispensation of the Jews, that restored Israel will enter the Millennial Kingdom on the third day following.

The complete overthrow of Gentile world power seen through the destruction of the great image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and the destruction of the fourth beast also mark the completion of the redemption of the inheritance, the restoration of the material creation placed under a curse in Genesis Chapter 3. With the terms of this redemption set out in the seven-sealed scroll, and delivered through the seals being opened. And these are events seen in conjunction with the end of the four days, the four-thousand years from Adam, allowing for rulership in the third day following, not only for the Jews, but also for faithful Christians. And not only that, but also on this same third day, the only begotten Son will also be raised up to be King of kings and Lord of lords. Here will be the long-awaited establishment of the Millennial Kingdom in which God’s three firstborn sons will rule together over the redeemed earth.

And this is exactly the same end that was declared from the beginning in the first thirty-four verses of Genesis. Four days completing the restoration of the material creation, with Adam and the Woman to rule together in the third day following. Restored Israel, remarried to Jehovah and the Bride of Christ now His Wife.

So, let’s return once again to the foundational verses in Genesis, where will see that Adam and the Woman were created from the substance of the redeemed material creation – Ge 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

God created Adam from ‘the dust of the ground’, the dust of the restored material creation. And the Woman being in Adam at this point but not yet removed from him, must also be made from that same dust. They both then have an inseparable connection with the restored earth from which they were created and over which they were to rule. This is the foundational picture.

And in a parallel experience to this, we find the last Adam ‘made’ of the same substance as the ruined creation that He is redeeming so that they might rule together in the Seventh Day. Providing an inseparable connection between the two – Heb 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

And this we will keep in mind as we continue in Genesis – Ge 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Knowing that the purpose for God’s creation of the Man and the Woman was to replace him, Satan strategically placed himself in the Garden, at the two trees in its midst, in order to deceive the Woman. Which he did. And this deception took place before Adam and the Woman could fulfill the mandate given to them in - Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion……

And therefore, the deception took place before they could fulfill the purpose for their creation. And as Adam entered into his wife’s sin with her, as the federal head of the human race, so they both became disqualified to rule, ruined by the introduction of sin that came through Satan’s deception of the Woman. A disqualification that has allowed Satan to continue in his position as the earth’s ruler.

And in another parallel experience, knowing the purpose for the Lord’s incarnation, ‘when the fullness of the time had come’, we see Satan strategically placed ‘in the wilderness’ for the same purpose as he had placed himself in the Garden, deception – Mt 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Although this is a parallel experience to that which took place in the Garden, the outcome is markedly different – Mt 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

The Lord Jesus proved Himself, as the Second Man, sharing in the flesh and blood of those He would redeem, to be worthy to replace Satan as the earth’s ruler, and in doing so, He made it possible for those pictured in the Woman in the Garden, the Church, although remaining susceptible to deception, to have the means to see deception for what it is and to resist it, ‘For it is written.’ That which is written is the wisdom brought forth from above. He doesn’t give aid to angels, but He does to the seed of Abraham – 1 Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

To go back to Genesis once more, look at what God had established in the second Chapter - Ge 2:23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Because of what God had set in place here it was impossible for Adam to rule apart from the Woman as they were ‘one flesh’. The Woman completed Adam, remembering that she was built from a part of his body, and only as a complete being, one flesh together, could they rule.

And because of the introduction of sin, not only were Adam and the Woman disqualified to rule, but also the restored material creation over which they were to have ruled, as we have seen, came under a curse because of it. It became ruined as well, just as it had after Satan’s rebellion, but on this occasion, unlike the consequence of Satan’s rebellion, it remained habitable – Ge 3:17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake……

However, the curse placed upon ‘the ground’, for Adam’s sake, was received with expectation – Ro 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 
 
Romans 8:19-22 addresses the curse placed upon the restored material creation seen in Genesis 3:17. And according to the verses in Romans, the material creation accepted this curse placed upon it because it had been given hope.

So, what was the hope that the restored creation had as it was subjected to ruin? According to the Scripture, the hope came because of Him who subjected it. The hope that because of Him, the One who is the Alpha and the Omega, the One who made all things and for whom all things were made, the creation would be delivered from the bondage of corruption when the sons of God are revealed. And the sons of God will be revealed at the time the revealing of the Son begins. The hope that the creation has is certain because of the events at the Judgment Seat, when many sons will be brought to glory, and then fulfilled beyond it as the inheritance is redeemed, just as we have seen today through the events in Daniel and the opening of the seven-sealed scroll in the Revelation.

Those revealed at the Judgment Seat, who have been proven worthy to be adopted as firstborn sons, will also be the ones who will make up the bride for Christ. Those we have seen identified in – 
Eph 5:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

It will be the faithful Christians seen here who will complete the second Man, the last Adam, those who are of His flesh and of His bones, having been taken from His body when the ‘dust of the ground’ is gathered together to meet the Lord in the air. And the identification, the revealing, of the sons of God at the Judgment Seat will then set in motion, so to speak, the redemption of the inheritance, redemption that will bring the deliverance of the material creation from the bondage of corruption. Redemption which will be completed upon the Lord’s return to the earth to finish His dealings with national Israel and the nations at the end of the tribulation - Acts 3:20 …….that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

And these same events have been set in a chronological sequence through the foundational types of the seventh and tenth generations from Adam, Enoch and Noah – Ge 5:23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Enoch we will remember is the foundational type for the resurrection rapture of the church, foreshadowing the time when the sons of God will be revealed at the Judgment Seat. And Noah forms the foundational type for national Israel going through the tribulation, with God’s judgment upon the nations seen through the victims of the flood, events that foreshadow the redemption of the inheritance – 
Ge 6:22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did. 7:1 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation………. 9:1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

And that which we see through the chronological sequence in these foundational types is then further clarified for us through another type presented through the account of Ruth and Boaz – Ru 3:11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman……. 18 Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.” 4:1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there………. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”

This we will have to come back to next time though, if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed.

The Beginning and the End - Part Five

Refresh A Recap from the Sermon

The Beginning and the End - Part Five

Nov 10, 2024

Speaker: John Herbert

Series: The Beginning and the End

Category: Sunday Morning

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A Recap from the Sermon