The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Twenty-One - H Aug 30, 2020 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T031_20200830.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Es 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. We will continue to look at Daniel's 70th seven through the types given in the Book of Esther. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday August 30th 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 21H The Remains of the Day 1). Es 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai………8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people's, and they do not keep the king's laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king's treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you.” The Book of Esther, as we have seen, is a Book about the nation of Israel’s transformation from disobedience to regality. a). The end of the matter, Israel in her regal position, is seen from the beginning as Esther is chosen above all the other virgins to replace the disobedient Vashti as Ahasuerus’s queen. And having established the end result in Chapter 2, the account which follows, beginning in Esther Chapter 3, then deals with the events that will take place in the antitype that will bring this about. b). And that which we read Esther 3:11 is also to be found in the Book of Daniel, where the prophecy of the 70 sevens is located – Da 7:25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. In Esther, Haman is told the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you and in Daniel, this is recorded concerning the one whom Haman typifies, the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. Both Esther and Daniel deal with the same thing, but in Daniel we see that a specific time is allocated for the Jewish people to be in the hands of their enemy – a time and times and half a time, 3 ½ years. c). This 3 ½ years is what remains of Daniel’s 70th seven. That which is necessary to bring Israel to repentance, a time bringing to an end the 490 years allotted for this purpose, a time that is unalterable. And it is because of that which God has unalterably set in place for this that in Daniel we are told that the beast will intend to change times and law. d). The aim of the beast is stated through Haman, ‘to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus’. And this is impossible within the timeframe God has set in place. Hence the beast’s intention to extend the times of the Gentiles beyond the limits God has placed on them. Which he cannot do. e). This unchangeable period of time and times and half a time is also seen in – Re 12:6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. [3 ½ years] And this period of time is seen again in – Re 13:5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. [3 ½ years] 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. So then, the Jewish people will be given into the hands of the beast for a set period of time, during which he will attempt to annihilate the entire Jewish race from the face of the earth. f). This will be his intent, but we have already been shown in the Book of Esther that Esther becomes Ahasuerus’s queen, pointing to the certainty of Israel’s future regality. And in the Revelation, in relation to the beast’s worldwide rule, a great sign is given showing Israel’s coming regality. Regality seen in fulfillment in Esther - Re 12:1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Then if we go all the way back to Egypt, God had already declared His ultimate purpose for the Jewish people – Ex 4:22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. And before Egypt, God had promised this to Abraham – Ge 22:17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. And we can take this further back still – Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” And God’s purpose is clear even from the beginning – Ge 1:9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. Ge 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. The fulfillment of God’s purpose and the timeframe He has established to accomplish it has never been in doubt. In the broad picture we are looking at the 6000 years of Man’s Day. Then in relation to His people Israel, we have the 2600 years of the times of the Gentiles. And more specifically the 490 years from the command to restore and build Jerusalem and more specifically still, the 7 years of Daniel’s 70th seven. All of which finds its culmination in the time and times and half a time, the 42 months, the 1260 days, the 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation, ‘such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be’. That which will bring the 6000 years of Man’s Day to its close. What Satan has intended from the beginning and the efforts of his son to bring this about at the end are one thing, but the Scripture is clear as to how it will finish. And nothing can prevent it. g). And then in conjunction with the beast’s efforts in the final 3 ½ years, we have the repeated typology that shows both Israel’s protection during this time, and her deliverance from it, as seen in the flood of Noah Ge 7:23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. 8:1 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. We see the nation’s protection pictured metaphorically during the persecution in Egypt – Ex 3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Israel’s deliverance from that persecution – Ex 14:30 So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. And the same picture is repeated again during the days of Nebuchadnezzar, taking us from the beginning of the times of the Gentiles to their end – Da 3:12 There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” The words of these ‘certain Chaldeans’ who accused the Jews are strikingly similar to those spoken by Haman in Esther 3:8. But despite their attempt to destroy the ‘certain Jews’ who had been set over ‘the affairs of the province of Babylon’, God’s purpose cannot be thwarted – Da 3:19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace……… 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” And once again the picture is of protection and deliverance. Jer 30:11 For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’ And protection and deliverance and ‘a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you’ is exactly what is set out through the type in the historical account recorded in the Book of Esther. Real events that foreshadow the final 3 ½ years of Daniel’s 70th seven and the Kingdom that will follow. 2). Es 3:12 Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded—to the king's satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king's signet ring. 13 And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day. Chapter 3 of the Book of Esther concludes with the king’s couriers taking the decree issued against ‘all the Jews’, to all parts of Ahasuerus’s kingdom with the determination that all the Jews should be annihilated in a single day. a). As we have seen from the preceding types, protection and deliverance for the Jews are certain, but this certainty is based upon one thing – Israel’s repentance. Repentance being the very reason why they were given into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and Haman and will be given into the hands of the beast. The whole purpose for the times of the Gentiles. b). And repentance is exactly what is pictured through the type at the beginning of Esther Chapter 4 – Es 4:1 When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went as far as the front of the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province where the king's command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. Within the historical account in the Book of Esther, so dire was the situation for the Jewish people that direct action by Queen Esther herself was required, action that could have resulted in her own death – Es 4:5 Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king's gate. 7 And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. 9 So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 11 “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.” 12 So they told Mordecai Esther's words. 13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” 17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him. Here in the actions of Mordecai and Esther we have a complete picture of Israel in repentance – Mordecai and the Jews in sackcloth and ashes present to us the picture of Israel in recognition of her sin, acknowledging her need for the only One who can deliver her – and in Esther going before the king, we see the Jewish nation crying out to the God of their fathers, coming into His presence to plead for deliverance – Es 5:1 Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, across from the king's house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house. 2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!” It is Israel alone of the all the nations of the world who will stand before the King on the 3rd Day in a position of regality, and this is what the verses here in Esther Chapter 5 point to. The same picture we have also seen through the great sign in Revelation Chapter 12. c). But before this can be brought to fulfillment, repentance must first take place. In other words, when Israel cries out to God in repentance, so the regality of the 3rd Day will become a reality. And this is what we must see in Esther’s appearance before Ahasuerus at the beginning of Chapter 5. d). Esther is properly prepared as she comes into the king’s presence and as a result Esther ‘found favor’ in the king’s sight and the king held out to her the golden scepter of rulership. e). And in that coming day pictured through this, Israel properly prepared through repentance, will also find favor in the King’s sight and He will hold out to her the golden scepter of rulership and ask the same question as Ahasuerus asked Esther, ‘What is your request?’ f). The answer to the question will be the same in that future day as it was with Esther, deliverance, with a view to regality. g). And this outcome, deliverance and regality, is foreshadowed in Esther Chapter 6 through events concerning Mordecai – Es 6:6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” 7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’” During a sleepless night Ahasuerus was read to from the records of the chronicles and was reminded that Mordecai had warned the king of a plot to lay hands on him but had not been rewarded for his service. Consequently, in a touch of supreme irony the king asks Haman, the enemy of the Jews, ‘what shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?’ h). And Haman in his arrogance cannot conceive that the king would want to honor anyone but him. And out of his own mouth, the mouth of the enemy of the Jews, comes a prophetic utterance concerning exactly what is in store for Mordecai, the man he hates – Es 6:10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king's gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. 13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.” V13 stands as both an epitaph to and a warning for all who have and will yet set their hands against the Jewish people. i). And instantly, following his humiliation before Mordecai, Haman and his plans for the annihilation of the Jews completely unravel – Es 7:3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. 4 For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king's loss.” 5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?” 6 And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and queen. As in the type, so in the antitype. Repentant Israel, as we have seen through Mordecai and Esther, will cry out for deliverance and God’s response will be instantaneous. God the Father will send God the Son back to the earth to deliver His people. And in the presence of the King and repentant Israel the beast will be ‘terrified’ and the centuries of plotting, scheming and murder will unravel in an moment – Es 7:7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” As the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. 9 Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king's behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.” Then the king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath subsided. Da 2:34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth…….. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” Re 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Ezk 36:24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. We will continue next time – If the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Twenty-One - H Aug 30, 2020 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T031_20200830.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Es 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. We will continue to look at Daniel's 70th seven through the types given in the Book of Esther. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday August 30th 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 21H The Remains of the Day 1). Es 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai………8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people's, and they do not keep the king's laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king's treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you.” The Book of Esther, as we have seen, is a Book about the nation of Israel’s transformation from disobedience to regality. a). The end of the matter, Israel in her regal position, is seen from the beginning as Esther is chosen above all the other virgins to replace the disobedient Vashti as Ahasuerus’s queen. And having established the end result in Chapter 2, the account which follows, beginning in Esther Chapter 3, then deals with the events that will take place in the antitype that will bring this about. b). And that which we read Esther 3:11 is also to be found in the Book of Daniel, where the prophecy of the 70 sevens is located – Da 7:25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. In Esther, Haman is told the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you and in Daniel, this is recorded concerning the one whom Haman typifies, the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time. Both Esther and Daniel deal with the same thing, but in Daniel we see that a specific time is allocated for the Jewish people to be in the hands of their enemy – a time and times and half a time, 3 ½ years. c). This 3 ½ years is what remains of Daniel’s 70th seven. That which is necessary to bring Israel to repentance, a time bringing to an end the 490 years allotted for this purpose, a time that is unalterable. And it is because of that which God has unalterably set in place for this that in Daniel we are told that the beast will intend to change times and law. d). The aim of the beast is stated through Haman, ‘to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus’. And this is impossible within the timeframe God has set in place. Hence the beast’s intention to extend the times of the Gentiles beyond the limits God has placed on them. Which he cannot do. e). This unchangeable period of time and times and half a time is also seen in – Re 12:6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. [3 ½ years] And this period of time is seen again in – Re 13:5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. [3 ½ years] 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. So then, the Jewish people will be given into the hands of the beast for a set period of time, during which he will attempt to annihilate the entire Jewish race from the face of the earth. f). This will be his intent, but we have already been shown in the Book of Esther that Esther becomes Ahasuerus’s queen, pointing to the certainty of Israel’s future regality. And in the Revelation, in relation to the beast’s worldwide rule, a great sign is given showing Israel’s coming regality. Regality seen in fulfillment in Esther - Re 12:1 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Then if we go all the way back to Egypt, God had already declared His ultimate purpose for the Jewish people – Ex 4:22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. And before Egypt, God had promised this to Abraham – Ge 22:17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. And we can take this further back still – Ge 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” And God’s purpose is clear even from the beginning – Ge 1:9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. Ge 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. The fulfillment of God’s purpose and the timeframe He has established to accomplish it has never been in doubt. In the broad picture we are looking at the 6000 years of Man’s Day. Then in relation to His people Israel, we have the 2600 years of the times of the Gentiles. And more specifically the 490 years from the command to restore and build Jerusalem and more specifically still, the 7 years of Daniel’s 70th seven. All of which finds its culmination in the time and times and half a time, the 42 months, the 1260 days, the 3 ½ years of the Great Tribulation, ‘such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be’. That which will bring the 6000 years of Man’s Day to its close. What Satan has intended from the beginning and the efforts of his son to bring this about at the end are one thing, but the Scripture is clear as to how it will finish. And nothing can prevent it. g). And then in conjunction with the beast’s efforts in the final 3 ½ years, we have the repeated typology that shows both Israel’s protection during this time, and her deliverance from it, as seen in the flood of Noah Ge 7:23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive.24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. 8:1 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. We see the nation’s protection pictured metaphorically during the persecution in Egypt – Ex 3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. And Israel’s deliverance from that persecution – Ex 14:30 So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. And the same picture is repeated again during the days of Nebuchadnezzar, taking us from the beginning of the times of the Gentiles to their end – Da 3:12 There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” The words of these ‘certain Chaldeans’ who accused the Jews are strikingly similar to those spoken by Haman in Esther 3:8. But despite their attempt to destroy the ‘certain Jews’ who had been set over ‘the affairs of the province of Babylon’, God’s purpose cannot be thwarted – Da 3:19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace……… 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” And once again the picture is of protection and deliverance. Jer 30:11 For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’ And protection and deliverance and ‘a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you’ is exactly what is set out through the type in the historical account recorded in the Book of Esther. Real events that foreshadow the final 3 ½ years of Daniel’s 70th seven and the Kingdom that will follow. 2). Es 3:12 Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded—to the king's satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king's signet ring. 13 And the letters were sent by couriers into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their possessions. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day. Chapter 3 of the Book of Esther concludes with the king’s couriers taking the decree issued against ‘all the Jews’, to all parts of Ahasuerus’s kingdom with the determination that all the Jews should be annihilated in a single day. a). As we have seen from the preceding types, protection and deliverance for the Jews are certain, but this certainty is based upon one thing – Israel’s repentance. Repentance being the very reason why they were given into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and Haman and will be given into the hands of the beast. The whole purpose for the times of the Gentiles. b). And repentance is exactly what is pictured through the type at the beginning of Esther Chapter 4 – Es 4:1 When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went as far as the front of the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province where the king's command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. Within the historical account in the Book of Esther, so dire was the situation for the Jewish people that direct action by Queen Esther herself was required, action that could have resulted in her own death – Es 4:5 Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king's gate. 7 And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries to destroy the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. 9 So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 11 “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.” 12 So they told Mordecai Esther's words. 13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” 17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him. Here in the actions of Mordecai and Esther we have a complete picture of Israel in repentance – Mordecai and the Jews in sackcloth and ashes present to us the picture of Israel in recognition of her sin, acknowledging her need for the only One who can deliver her – and in Esther going before the king, we see the Jewish nation crying out to the God of their fathers, coming into His presence to plead for deliverance – Es 5:1 Now it happened on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, across from the king's house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house. 2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!” It is Israel alone of the all the nations of the world who will stand before the King on the 3rd Day in a position of regality, and this is what the verses here in Esther Chapter 5 point to. The same picture we have also seen through the great sign in Revelation Chapter 12. c). But before this can be brought to fulfillment, repentance must first take place. In other words, when Israel cries out to God in repentance, so the regality of the 3rd Day will become a reality. And this is what we must see in Esther’s appearance before Ahasuerus at the beginning of Chapter 5. d). Esther is properly prepared as she comes into the king’s presence and as a result Esther ‘found favor’ in the king’s sight and the king held out to her the golden scepter of rulership. e). And in that coming day pictured through this, Israel properly prepared through repentance, will also find favor in the King’s sight and He will hold out to her the golden scepter of rulership and ask the same question as Ahasuerus asked Esther, ‘What is your request?’ f). The answer to the question will be the same in that future day as it was with Esther, deliverance, with a view to regality. g). And this outcome, deliverance and regality, is foreshadowed in Esther Chapter 6 through events concerning Mordecai – Es 6:6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” 7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’” During a sleepless night Ahasuerus was read to from the records of the chronicles and was reminded that Mordecai had warned the king of a plot to lay hands on him but had not been rewarded for his service. Consequently, in a touch of supreme irony the king asks Haman, the enemy of the Jews, ‘what shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?’ h). And Haman in his arrogance cannot conceive that the king would want to honor anyone but him. And out of his own mouth, the mouth of the enemy of the Jews, comes a prophetic utterance concerning exactly what is in store for Mordecai, the man he hates – Es 6:10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king's gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. 13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.” V13 stands as both an epitaph to and a warning for all who have and will yet set their hands against the Jewish people. i). And instantly, following his humiliation before Mordecai, Haman and his plans for the annihilation of the Jews completely unravel – Es 7:3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. 4 For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king's loss.” 5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?” 6 And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!” So Haman was terrified before the king and queen. As in the type, so in the antitype. Repentant Israel, as we have seen through Mordecai and Esther, will cry out for deliverance and God’s response will be instantaneous. God the Father will send God the Son back to the earth to deliver His people. And in the presence of the King and repentant Israel the beast will be ‘terrified’ and the centuries of plotting, scheming and murder will unravel in an moment – Es 7:7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?” As the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. 9 Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king's behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.” Then the king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath subsided. Da 2:34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth…….. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” Re 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” Ezk 36:24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. We will continue next time – If the Lord is willing.