Participants: James Rafferty
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000111
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00:13 Welcome to Anchors of Truth live from the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:23 Well, this is a beautiful cold night here in southern Illinois. 00:30 And we just welcome every single one of you, 00:33 because it is warm here in this auditorium. 00:36 And we're mostly warmed by the gracious people that 00:40 have come to be with us tonight. 00:42 And by Pastor James Rafferty, who's going to be our speaker 00:46 in this very important series entitled, 00:50 Prophetic Insights Into Current Events. 00:54 Now this is important, because you know, I've heard a lot of 00:57 people say you can take the newspaper and your Bible 01:00 and sit down and just see things being fulfilled. 01:05 I want to tell you something. 01:06 I think that has probably never been truer than today. 01:12 And we are seeing so many things fulfilled in prophecy 01:19 right in our day and in our time. 01:22 And so we're going to look at those tonight. 01:23 We're going to look at some that may be and some that may not be. 01:26 And we're going to have what Pastor James is referring to 01:30 as a prophetic sweep of history. 01:35 Now James Rafferty is the co-director and speaker 01:39 with Light Bearers Ministry. 01:40 He and Ty Gibson are the primary founders and movers and shakers 01:47 of that wonderful ministry that is working around the world. 01:52 Both of them are favorites here at 3ABN. 01:56 And we know that you have enjoyed the ministry of 01:59 both of these men. 02:01 David Asscherick has also worked with them 02:03 and continues to evangelize around the world. 02:08 David is part of that three young men who I believe 02:13 God is using in a very powerful way. 02:17 So we're very happy that James could be with us tonight. 02:22 Before he comes, we're going to have some music. 02:26 And then also I want to offer a word of prayer. 02:31 Shall we bow our heads together. 02:33 Father in heaven, we Thank You tonight for Jesus. 02:37 We thank You for the assurance of salvation 02:40 that comes only through Him and not through anything 02:46 that we can do ourselves, but what He has done for us. 02:50 And by our claiming it and allowing Him to live out 02:54 His life within us, "I'm crucified with Christ," 02:58 the apostle Paul said. 02:59 "Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. 03:04 And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the 03:10 faith of the Son of God, who loved me 03:15 and gave Himself for me." 03:17 Father, we thank You for that experience 03:22 of salvation through Your Son, Jesus. 03:25 And tonight as we look at the Word and we look at the 03:28 prophecies of the Word, we pray that You will send 03:31 Your Holy Spirit to speak to each of our hearts. 03:36 And we thank You in the name of our 03:39 Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 03:42 Amen. 03:43 Just before James Rafferty comes, Celestine Berry 03:49 is going to sing for us, Make My Life A Prayer To You. 04:20 Make my life a prayer to You; 04:24 I want to do what You want me to. 04:28 No empty words and no white lies; 04:32 no token prayers, no compromise. 04:37 I want to shine the light You gave 04:41 through Your Son You sent to save us 04:45 from ourselves and our despair. 04:49 It comforts me to know You're really there. 04:57 But I want to thank You now for being patient with me. 05:05 Oh it's so hard to see when my eyes are on me. 05:14 I guess I'll have to trust and just believe what You say. 05:21 Oh You're coming again, 05:25 coming to take me away. 05:34 I want to die and let You give Your life to me 05:40 so I might live and share the hope You gave to me; 05:46 the love that set me free. 05:49 I want to tell the world out there 05:54 You're not some fable or fairy tale 05:58 that I've made up inside my head. 06:02 You're God the Son; You've risen from the dead. 06:09 Oh I want to thank You now for being patient with me. 06:17 Oh it's so hard to see when my eyes are on me. 06:26 I guess I'll have to trust and just believe what You say. 06:34 Oh You're coming again, 06:38 coming to take me away. 07:00 I want to die and let You give Your life to me 07:06 so I might live and share the hope You gave to me. 07:13 I want to share the love that set me free. 07:35 Amen. 07:37 That was a blessing. 07:40 Well we are going to be studying Bible prophecy this evening. 07:44 And I'd like you to open your Bibles to 07:46 the gospel of John chapter 14. 07:49 We're going to look at a couple of verses 07:50 as we get started tonight. 07:53 And we're going to go over this series. 07:55 It's going to be a five part series. 07:57 You know that, right? 07:59 And by the way, thank you for venturing out 08:02 into the cold this evening. 08:04 It's a blessing to be here with you. 08:05 I left 80 degrees southern California to be here with you 08:11 here in Illinois in February in sub zero weather. 08:19 But praise God. 08:21 It's warm in here. My heart is warm. 08:23 The Word of God is powerful. 08:25 And no matter what our environment is around us, 08:28 we can have hope and courage because we have Jesus, 08:32 who is the center of Bible prophecy. 08:35 John chapter 14 and verse 29, Christ explains to us here 08:40 what Bible prophecy is really all about. 08:43 In John 14 and verse 29, He says, "And now I have told you 08:49 before it come to pass, that when it come to pass 08:55 you might believe." 08:59 Bible prophecy is a revelation of events 09:03 that are going to happen before they come to pass. 09:06 In other words, it's a revelation of future events. 09:09 Things that Jesus is telling us before they actually happen. 09:12 Jesus says, "I'm telling you about things before they happen 09:16 so that when they actually happen you might believe." 09:22 Now we don't have much choice but to believe 09:26 in an event once it happens. 09:28 I mean, we see around us events taking place 09:32 and we can't really deny that they've actually happened. 09:34 But there's more to it than this. 09:36 If you just go back one page... 09:38 Well one page in my Bible. 09:39 I don't know how many pages that is in yours. 09:41 It might just be half a page. 09:42 If you back to John chapter 13 and verse 19, 09:47 Jesus here gives the same idea, but a little bit more detail. 09:54 Notice what it says here, John chapter 13 and verse 19, 09:57 "Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, 10:03 you might believe..." 10:05 That's where we left off in John 14 verse 29. 10:07 "...you might believe that I am He." 10:12 I want to suggest to you this evening that Bible prophecy 10:15 is really all about Jesus. 10:21 I thought about this when I was preparing for these meetings, 10:27 I thought about this question. 10:29 What if we removed the cross from the Bible? 10:34 What if Calvary was actually taken out of the Old Testament 10:38 and out of the New Testament? 10:40 What if there was no Jesus in the Bible? 10:45 Would it make a difference? 10:49 Is it possible that in some preaching and in some sermons 10:53 nothing would change? 10:58 This might be especially true when we think of Bible prophecy. 11:01 There is, perhaps, no other avenue of Bible study 11:06 that seems to contain so much absence of Jesus than prophecy. 11:13 Especially eschatological or end time prophecy. 11:18 Think about that. 11:20 When you watch programs that talk about Revelation, 11:23 talk about prophecy, and talk about the end of time 11:26 and what's going to happen, how much of that focuses on, 11:29 how much of that centers around Jesus? 11:32 You talk about the antichrist 11:33 and the beast and the mark of the beast. 11:35 You talk about the calamities that are taking place, 11:37 the economic situation that's taking place. 11:39 And indeed, we're going to cover all of these things. 11:41 We're looking tonight at a sweep of prophetic history. 11:45 Just a broad picture of what prophetic history 11:48 looks like in the context of the Bible. 11:49 Tomorrow we're going to be looking at, 11:51 The Prophetic Rise of America in Prophecy. 11:54 And then, The Transformation of America, 11:58 according to Bible prophecy. 11:59 And then, The Coming Economic Control. 12:02 And finally, How to Prepare for Final Events. 12:07 So all of this is part of what God is opening to us 12:14 in Bible prophecy. 12:17 Well I want to say, that last meeting is probably 12:19 going to be the most important; 12:20 How to Prepare for Coming Events. 12:22 And we're going to weave that through the entire series. 12:26 Because I think it is vital for us, as we open Bible prophecy, 12:31 to recognize that, primarily, Bible prophecy is 12:36 a development, a revelation, of truth that helps our hearts 12:43 and our minds to understand the true identity of who God is. 12:50 The person of Jesus Christ came to this earth 12:56 to reveal to us the heart of the Father. 12:58 That's why Jesus said to His disciples at one point, He said, 13:00 "You know, if you've seen Me..." 13:02 Because Thomas was saying, "Show us the Father, that'll be good." 13:04 "If you've seen Me, you've seen..." Who? 13:06 "...the Father." 13:08 And in another place, Jesus says, "You know, no one has 13:10 actually seen the Father." 13:11 And we struggle with that at times, because we know 13:13 there have been individuals who have met the Father, 13:16 or at least have met God, or have gone to heaven. 13:19 But Jesus says, "No one has really seen the Father." 13:21 What He means by that primarily is, "No one truly understands 13:26 the heart and character of the Father like I do. 13:30 I'm the only one that has come from the Father. 13:32 I'm the only one that can actually disclose 13:34 what God is like." 13:37 Now I believe that Bible prophecy is God's effort, 13:42 and Satan's counter effort to obscure the Father. 13:48 The character of the Father, the character of God. 13:51 Who He really is. 13:52 What this world is really all about, why we're here. 13:56 I mean, we talk about beasts, and dragons, and judgments, 14:00 and antichrist, and impending doom. 14:02 And yet, in all this talk many times we mention 14:05 little about Jesus, or God's great love. 14:10 This is really not a mystery. 14:13 I mean, the whole idea of being afraid of prophecy, for example, 14:19 or feeling that prophecy is something that is scary, 14:25 all of that actually comes to us from the enemy. 14:31 Someone who doesn't really want us to know what's going on, 14:33 what's going to happen, and the events that are coming upon 14:36 the world like an overwhelming surprise. 14:39 And it's not a mystery, it's not a mystery at all. 14:41 You see, it has always been Satan's effort 14:46 to misrepresent and obscure God, 14:52 so that we would be confused about what He is. 14:56 From Genesis to Revelation we see this taking place. 14:59 And as we look at this broad sweep of prophecy, 15:03 we need to think about it as history. 15:06 Bible prophecy is really history. 15:08 But it's more than just history like man's history. 15:10 Bible prophecy is His story. 15:13 H- i-s, His story. 15:15 It's God's story of history. 15:18 It's an accurate account of history. 15:21 Something that we don't really find in the world today. 15:25 That's why the Bible is so raw sometimes, you know, so real. 15:29 Sometimes we think, "Well, why did God put that in the Bible?" 15:32 Because God is real. 15:33 God is wanting to be real with us. 15:36 And He wants us to recognize that we can be real with Him. 15:40 And so He reveals us as we are. 15:42 He reveals actions that we don't always understand. 15:46 Things that He's doing that we don't always get. 15:48 But as we discover more and more of the heart of God 15:51 and we see Him in Bible prophecy and in the Bible, 15:55 we see Him working out a will that is always 15:58 intending to be good toward us. 16:00 We get more and more of the big picture, 16:02 and all the other pieces come into place. 16:05 Now in order to understand this broad sweep, 16:09 we've got to all the way back to the very beginning. 16:10 And that's what I want to do this evening. 16:11 I want to go all the way back to the very beginning. 16:13 Because Bible prophecy is really about uncovering 16:18 the lie about God. 16:21 The deception about God. 16:23 And in the end of time that deception, that lie, 16:25 is going to become so overwhelming that we're not 16:29 going to know which way to go or what to do. 16:33 It was 1984 when I first started studying Bible prophecy. 16:36 I was, well I was a few years out of high school. 16:39 I did a lot of pre-college before and during high school, 16:44 but I never actually ended up going to college. 16:47 1980 is when I graduated. 16:48 And by 1984, my life was in pretty much a spiral 16:52 going downward. 16:54 You remember those years as the years when, 16:58 well communism was a major threat in the world. 17:01 Remember that? 17:02 I was recently at the Reagan Museum/Library 17:07 last week in Simi Valley. 17:08 They had the 103rd anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birthday. 17:13 And I'd never been to this library museum before. 17:16 It's actually really something that was intriguing. 17:20 And I'm encouraging, if you get the chance 17:21 to go there, if you have opportunity. 17:23 They have Air Force One parked in there and the helicopter. 17:26 And they all kinds of video footage from back in the days 17:30 when I was in high school and moving toward my 20's. 17:36 I was still a teenager when all of that was going down. 17:39 I accepted Christ and got serious about God 17:42 when I was 21 years of age. 17:44 But before that time, I was uncertain about 17:46 anything and everything. 17:47 I just figured that we were all going to get nuked, you know. 17:50 And as I went through this museum, this library, 17:53 as I went through and looked at the video footage, 17:54 I just remembered reading and watching 17:57 all of this stuff unfold. 17:59 It was just like going back in memory's lane. 18:02 There it was. 18:04 And there were some things that they had in there 18:06 that I didn't quite remember and didn't know about at the time. 18:09 But here, it was coming out now, you know. 18:11 All of the different talks and negotiations that 18:13 were taking place. 18:14 And how Ronald Reagan said, "Take this wall down." 18:18 "Tear this wall down," you know. 18:20 And his writers, the editors, took that piece 18:23 out of his speech. 18:24 And then he put it back in again. 18:25 And then they took it out again, and he put it back in again. 18:29 And what a difference it made, what an impact it made. 18:31 But I do remember thinking when he was elected 18:35 that there was no way we were going to survive for very long. 18:39 He was challenging the status quo. 18:43 Placing nukes in western Europe pointed at Russia. 18:47 He was challenging the power that then was 18:52 controlling much of the world. 18:54 Out numbering us two to one. 18:56 And in that context I just thought, "Well, what's the use, 19:00 what's the use, what's the use of even going to college? 19:05 What's the use of getting an education? 19:06 This whole world is just going to be blown to bits. 19:09 One false move and it's over. 19:12 Push too far and it's going to end." 19:14 So that was really a lot of my motivation. 19:16 I didn't have an understanding of the Bible at that point. 19:18 And I remember when I first began to study Bible prophecy. 19:23 And I was, you know, shown this outline of history 19:30 that specifically directed us in a completely different channel 19:36 than the one that I was thinking of, 19:39 and identified end time powers that were different than the 19:47 ones that were now in place. 19:49 At least in the 1980's. 19:52 I was challenged to the core. 19:55 And it was only as I understood some of the principles and 19:57 truths that I want us to look at tonight 20:01 that I had confidence to believe. 20:05 "Okay, alright. 20:07 If this is accurate, if this is really the way it's laid out, 20:11 if the Bible can be trusted, then I believe, 20:15 I have to believe, that communism is going to fall. 20:21 Communism is going to be vanquished." 20:22 That was 1984. 20:27 I accepted the Bible and Bible prophecy as true. 20:31 I gave my heart to Jesus. 20:33 I followed His word. 20:34 I'm making a long story short now. 20:36 And four years later in 1989, well five years later in 1989, 20:43 we all were shocked... 20:45 I wouldn't say every single person, 20:47 but a lot of us were shocked. 20:48 ...by the sudden collapse of the communist power. 20:51 It just happened like overnight. You remember that? 20:55 I talk to young people today who weren't even 20:58 alive when that happened. 20:59 And I just think, "Wow, they missed it all." 21:02 In a sense, we lived through amazing prophetic history. 21:07 We really did. 21:09 And to think back, as I went through this library, 21:12 this museum, to think back that I was living during those days 21:16 when all of this was coming down, and my faith 21:20 in 1984 took a complete about turn, about face, 21:24 and started planting itself on the Word of God. 21:27 And believing, not because of Reaganomics, 21:31 not because of the challenge that we were, Americans, 21:34 putting against communism, but because of Bible prophecy 21:37 that this system was going to come down. 21:39 That it couldn't last much longer. 21:42 And then to see that faith rewarded in 1989. 21:46 It just shot through the roof. 21:48 And this is the point of Bible prophecy. 21:51 The point of Bible prophecy is to help us to understand 21:54 events that are coming before they happen. 22:00 So that when they happen our faith can be strengthened. 22:05 Now we can't understand everything. 22:06 And there are some events that we won't really know in detail 22:10 until they actually happen. 22:11 But there are, according to the Bible, there are 22:13 a lot of things that God can reveal to us, that He is 22:17 revealing to us, before they happen 22:19 so that we won't be caught by surprise. 22:21 So that when they happen, we will be prepared 22:24 rather than scared. 22:26 Now can Bible prophecy be scary? 22:28 Yeah, absolutely. It can be scary. 22:30 But I don't think it can be one bit scarier than what's 22:34 going on in the world today. 22:36 And I was confused back then. 22:37 I didn't know what my future was going to be. 22:39 I wasn't even motivated to participate in anything 22:44 that had me living on this earth more than 10 or 20 years. 22:48 But today, I'm very motivated. 22:51 Because I know that I have a Savior, 22:54 and His Word is sure, and there's a future, 22:56 and there is a hope. 22:58 There is something that we can look forward to, 23:00 and there is something that we can do to prepare 23:01 for that future, and there's something we can do to help 23:04 others prepare for that future and have that same hope. 23:07 And that's really the bottom line of what this is all about. 23:11 We go all the way back now to the book of Genesis, 23:14 and we look here at the very beginning of creation. 23:18 And everything God created at the beginning was good. 23:20 And by the way, Genesis chapter 3 is bookmarked 23:24 by Revelation, specifically Revelation 21 and 22. 23:28 In Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we begin with creation, 23:32 we're in the garden. 23:33 In Revelation 21 and 22, we're back in the garden. 23:37 In Genesis 1 and 2, everything God made was good. 23:40 There was no pain, there was no suffering, 23:42 there was no death, there was no sorrow. 23:44 In Revelation 21 and 22, we've been returned 23:47 to that state of being. 23:48 There's a new heaven, there's a earth. 23:50 There's no more pain, there's no more sorrow, 23:51 there's no more crying. 23:55 In Genesis chapter 3, a change took place because... 24:00 Well let's just read the verses. 24:01 Genesis chapter 3, beginning with verse 1. 24:02 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field 24:07 which the Lord God had made. 24:08 And he said unto the woman, 'Yea, hath God said, 24:11 "You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"' 24:15 And the woman said unto the serpent," verse 2, 24:16 "'We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. 24:19 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst 24:22 of the garden, God hath said, "You shall not eat of it, 24:25 neither shall you touch it, lest you die."' 24:28 And the serpent said unto the woman," listen closely to this, 24:32 "You shall not surely die." 24:37 Now what did God say? 24:40 "You will die." 24:41 What did the serpent say? 24:43 The serpent said, "God is a liar." 24:47 That's what the serpent said. 24:48 "God is a liar." 24:51 And that is why Jesus, in John chapter 8 and verse 44, 24:55 called the devil the father of lies. 25:01 Personal question tonight. 25:04 When was the last time you told a lie? 25:10 Oh I know, we call them white lies. 25:12 But it's a lie, none the less. 25:16 I remember the first time that I was ever devastated 25:20 by a white lie. 25:22 I was 9 or 10 years old. 25:26 It was... 25:29 I'm going to give it away now. 25:31 ...December 25. 25:35 Do you know where I'm going? 25:37 It was December 25, and I learned for the first time 25:41 in my life... 25:43 Remember, I'm 9 or 10 years old. 25:45 I learned for the first time in my life 25:47 that there is no such person... 25:49 I hope there's no young children watching tonight 25:54 who have never heard this. 25:56 But if there is, I apologize. 26:01 I know it devastated me. 26:03 ...there is no such person as Santa Clause 26:09 living in the north pole delivering gifts, 26:11 knows who is naughty and nice. 26:13 All counterfeits of the truth, if you ask me. 26:14 But here's the point. 26:16 My confidence, my faith, in my mother 26:24 was shaken to the core. 26:27 You might think, "Well, that's so ridiculous. 26:29 I mean, you know, you're just a little kid 26:31 and it's no big deal. 26:32 And, you know, everyone... Nobody..." 26:34 No, my confidence was shaken to the core. 26:39 I wondered if I could or should ever trust my mom again. 26:43 In my little kid brain, that's the way I thought. 26:46 Because I believed it. 26:48 And it wasn't true. 26:50 It was a lie. 26:52 There's no such thing as a white lie. 26:56 I don't think there is. 26:58 That's my opinion. 26:59 But I want you to know how serious this is. 27:03 Because when we go to Genesis chapter 3, we find 27:06 that the whole problem begins with a lie about God. 27:12 And when we get to Revelation chapter 22... 27:17 Which by the way, again, is the answer. 27:22 Or chapter 21, we read about this beautiful picture of 27:26 the new heaven and the new earth. 27:27 We read about how pain and sorrow and death 27:30 is going to be done away with. 27:31 And God is going to wipe away every tear. 27:33 And then John continues to describe, in verse 8, 27:39 those who aren't going to be in the kingdom of God, 27:42 in the city of God. 27:43 And he says, "But the fearful, and the unbelieving, 27:46 and the abominable, and the murderers, 27:48 and the whoremongers, and the sorcerers, 27:49 and the idolaters, and all liars..." 27:55 Wow. 27:58 Lying is a serious thing. 28:00 Now there are a number of reasons why we do it. 28:03 And we're going to look at that as we move through prophecy. 28:06 The number one reason, I think, for all of us 28:09 is insecurity. 28:11 We're just insecure. 28:12 We are naturally, in our fallen state, insecure. 28:17 And so we find ourselves in situations where it's difficult 28:20 for us to take the onus, the responsibility, 28:22 for whatever it is in our situation that we need to 28:24 take responsibility for. 28:25 I know that's why I lie. 28:32 And therefore, we go into default mode. 28:34 And default mode is, "Umm, yeah, I said that." 28:40 "No, no. No, I didn't do that." 28:42 "Oh, I didn't mean that." 28:44 "Well, that was an accident." 28:46 "Did I really say that?" 28:52 "Yeah, I have it recorded here." 28:54 You know, living in the world we live in today, 28:56 you have to be careful. 28:57 Because... 29:02 But you really don't have to be careful 29:04 if you relax and recognize your fallenness. 29:08 And then put your trust in Jesus. 29:11 We're getting off track just a little bit here, 29:12 but this is important. 29:13 We're preparing for the end of time. 29:16 How important is this? 29:17 When we get into the midst of current events, 29:23 into Bible prophecy, we're going to find 29:28 that deception is at the center of the game plan 29:32 for our ruin. 29:34 Deception. 29:36 And I believe that the only way that we're going to recognize 29:40 that deception, we're going to be able to identify that 29:43 deception completely and totally, is if we ourselves 29:46 are genuinely connected with the truth. 29:51 And that we will shed every fiber of dishonesty, 29:56 falsehood, and lying from our being. 29:59 If we would be 100% honest with ourselves and with others 30:02 and just shed that, we'll recognize deception 30:04 as soon as it pulls its head around the corner. 30:07 "Whoop, no, no." 30:11 And that is one of the ways God longs for us to prepare. 30:15 Now, here's the devil coming to us, Eve specifically, 30:20 in the garden of Eden. 30:21 "You won't surely die." 30:22 Lie. 30:23 "For God knows that in the day you eat thereof, 30:27 your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, 30:30 knowing good and evil." 30:32 Okay, so first of all, he lies. 30:35 And then the second thing he says basically is, 30:37 "God is withholding something from you." 30:40 Now think about this. 30:41 "God is withholding something from you." 30:42 So that means that God is what? 30:46 Selfish. 30:48 Self-centered. 30:50 "God knows that if you..." 30:56 And then he goes on to say, "You'll be like Him. 30:59 And obviously, God doesn't want you to be like Him." 31:03 Ehnk. 31:04 We were made in His image. 31:06 We were made in the image of God. 31:07 He wants, He longs for us to be like Him. 31:11 So you've got lies, you've got deception, you've got self... 31:14 You've got God being misrepresented. 31:17 Completely misrepresented. 31:18 Now why have we gone all the way back to the book of Genesis? 31:23 Well the reason is because it's really important for us to 31:26 recognize a principle that God has allowed in the context 31:31 of the story, history, that plays into Bible history. 31:35 And that principle is... Or prophetic history. 31:38 And that principle is the principle that's based on love. 31:40 And that is the principle of freedom. 31:42 We could ask the question, well why did God allow 31:45 Adam and Eve to be deceived? 31:46 Why did He allow Satan to go in there and just... 31:48 Why didn't He just pop in there and say, "Hey, wait a minute. 31:50 Don't listen to him. 31:51 Stop right there." 31:54 Because God is love. 31:56 And love requires freedom. 32:00 Which comes with risk. 32:03 God has to allow freedom as the very foundation 32:06 of His government of love. 32:10 If God jumped in, jumped in, jumped in, 32:12 every moment of every time in our lives whenever we were 32:16 faced with a choice or decision, we wouldn't be free. 32:19 If God said, "Don't do this," "Don't do this," 32:20 "Don't do this," "Don't do this..." 32:21 I'm sure you've had people like that in your lives, right? 32:24 They're just control freaks and they just want to make sure... 32:27 Well, I have to be honest with you. 32:30 As a parent of two, one of them is still a teenager now, 32:32 16 and a girl, and the other who is 21, 32:36 I can relate to being a control freak. 32:39 Okay. 32:41 And it is very difficult to love somebody, to love people, 32:46 and not want to step in and control. 32:49 And you know, God is perfect. 32:50 He knows exactly what is the best thing to do and 32:52 what options aren't good. 32:53 I'm an erring parent. 32:55 And I don't always have the best options. 32:57 And yet I want to control. 32:59 And yet, I know the loving thing to do is to leave room 33:03 for that freedom, for that choice. 33:06 That's what God did. 33:07 Now, we believed the lie about God. 33:13 And we still believe the lie about God. 33:15 We've concluded that God cannot be trusted, 33:17 that He's selfish, that He's looking out for 33:18 His own best interest. 33:20 And the fact that we think this way is evident 33:22 in our reaction to Him. 33:23 History records us as hiding from God, being afraid of God. 33:29 And when God comes to us, when we disobey His voice 33:33 and He comes to us, history shows what our response is 33:37 we've developed this tendency to point the finger. 33:40 You know, God came to Adam and He said, 33:42 "Hey Adam, what happened?" 33:43 And Adam said, "It was her." 33:45 And God went to Eve and said, "Eve, what's your take on this?" 33:48 "It was the serpent." 33:50 And we've been pointing the finger ever since. 33:52 That's our tendency, that's our natural inclination, 33:56 if you will. 33:57 We want to avoid blame and responsibility. 34:02 Now this reveals our insecurity. 34:04 We're insecure. 34:06 Our very natures have been shaken to the core. 34:10 We now stand before each other as emotional insecure creatures 34:15 who have lost the sense of our origins in the image of God. 34:19 What does that origin look like? 34:21 What does the image of God look like? 34:24 The image of God is the image of love. 34:26 Love, 1 Corinthians 13, that suffers long and is kind, 34:33 that does not envy, that does not parade itself, 34:37 is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, 34:43 seeks not its own, is not easily provoked, thinks zero evil; 34:53 rejoice not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. 34:56 Bears how many things? All things. 34:59 Believes how many things? All things. 35:01 And here's the big one. 35:04 Hopes all things. 35:06 Endures all things. 35:08 A love that never fails. 35:14 This love is our lost identity. 35:18 And by the grace of God, it will be our recovered destiny. 35:24 If you just want to take a one liner home tonight, 35:26 this is the one liner. 35:28 Our lost identity is our recovered destiny. 35:32 Our lost identity is our recovered destiny 35:35 in Jesus Christ. 35:37 And that, basically, is the essence of Bible prophecy. 35:43 That's what Bible prophecy is all about. 35:44 Look now, fast forward with me to... 35:47 Well before we go there, just one quick look at 35:51 Genesis 3:15. 35:52 What does God do? 35:53 What is the remedy to our fallenness? 35:55 God says in Genesis 3:15, "I will put enmity between 35:59 thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed; 36:03 it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." 36:05 God here is speaking to us and to the serpent, to Satan. 36:10 And He's saying, "I'm going to put hatred between the serpent 36:13 and humankind. 36:15 I'm going to separate you from them. 36:19 I'm going to allow them to develop hatred for you. 36:23 Yes, you're going to bruise the heel, 36:26 but He's going to crush," pointing forward to the Messiah, 36:31 to Jesus, to the Son of God, "He's going to crush your head." 36:35 Friends, this is the first prophecy of the Bible. 36:40 And I want you to notice something really powerful. 36:43 The first prophecy of the Bible centers in Jesus Christ. 36:48 Bible prophecy centers in Jesus Christ. 36:52 Everything that we find in the Old and New Testament 36:57 that we label, "Bible prophecy," centers in Jesus Christ. 37:00 Because Genesis lays the foundation for this. 37:02 Genesis lays the foundation for all Bible truth. 37:06 And this particular Bible prophecy is directing us 37:11 to put our hope in Jesus. 37:13 That's what all Bible prophecy does. 37:15 Fast forward with me to the book of Daniel. 37:17 Daniel chapter 1. 37:19 Now this is a strange prophecy in a sense. 37:22 But I want you to look at a couple things with me here 37:25 that I hope will help us to understand the heart of God. 37:30 Now that's the picture we want to find as 37:31 we look at Bible prophecy. 37:32 We want to look for the heart of God in all of this. 37:37 Daniel chapter 1, and let's just read here a couple of verses 37:42 in Daniel 1. 37:44 "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah 37:47 came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, 37:50 and besieged it." 37:51 Alright, so basically we've got God's people, Jerusalem. 37:55 Judah and I think Benjamin are the last two tribes. 37:58 Israel has already gone into captivity. 38:00 And they're holding out, but their apostasy gets worse 38:02 and worse and worse and worse. 38:04 And Jeremiah predicted this, 38:06 and Isaiah predicted this, and Ezekiel. 38:07 So you've got a lot of warning that God has given. 38:11 And finally, it comes down to the place where 38:13 Jerusalem is being besieged by Nebuchadnezzar. 38:16 The armies of the north, the king of the north. 38:18 Not that he's in the north. 38:19 He's actually east, but he comes down from the north 38:22 as he seeks to invade Jerusalem. 38:24 Now, notice verse 2. 38:27 This is the unusual part. 38:30 "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, 38:36 with part of the vessels of the house of God, 38:39 which he carried into the land of Shinar 38:42 into the house of his god. 38:43 And he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god." 38:49 What? 38:52 This is Jerusalem. 38:54 These are God's people. 38:56 The chosen ones. 38:59 The enemy comes, surrounds them. 39:03 Isn't God suppose to deliver them? 39:06 It says God gave them. 39:09 Maybe God could at least just ignore the situation. 39:11 He could just step out of it and say, "Well, you know, 39:13 I'm going to let you..." 39:14 God gave them. 39:16 And not only that, but it says that there were the very things 39:20 that were part of His worship, His Sanctuary. 39:24 The vessels of the house of God. 39:28 Not only were they given over to Nebuchadnezzar, 39:30 but God allowed them to carry it into Shinar, 39:33 to be carried into Babylon, to be carried into the 39:35 house of his gods and paraded there. 39:39 This idea is this. 39:42 "Our gods are better than your God." 39:45 "Our gods are stronger than your God." 39:48 I mean, really when you think about it, 39:52 from a purely secular, non-religious perhaps... 39:57 There was a lot of religion here on both sides. 39:59 ...mindset, you realize that God has just been 40:03 humbled in the dust. 40:05 God has. 40:07 Sometimes when we read this, we think, 40:08 "Oh, God's people have been humbled in the dust." 40:10 No, God has been humbled in the dust. 40:11 Because if you read carefully the rest of Daniel, 40:14 especially Daniel chapter 9, and you look at the 40:15 history of God's people, specifically Moses delivering 40:19 his people through God's power out of Egypt, 40:21 the whole focus is God. 40:23 What happens to God's people happens to God. 40:27 How God's people fail or are victorious is a 40:30 direct reflection upon God. 40:32 And it's the same today, isn't it? 40:34 You're a Christian, you're a follower of God. 40:36 So explain this, explain that. 40:40 Explain why it is that you are the way you are, 40:42 that these things are happening to you. 40:46 You've been defeated. 40:48 The vessels have been taken. 40:49 "Is your God really such a great God? 40:52 Maybe you've been mistaken about your God. 40:55 Maybe He's not so great after all." 40:59 Could I suggest that this intentional humbling 41:05 of God through His people is the way of the cross? 41:13 That right at the very onset of the book of Daniel 41:17 we have a picture of the self sacrificing humility of God. 41:25 And that He does this primarily to reach the hearts 41:33 of fallen humanity. 41:36 It's not His number one choice to do it this particular way. 41:40 But according to Jeremiah chapter 24 and verse 6, 41:43 this was for His people's good. 41:46 That's what we're told primarily. 41:48 And He also wanted to reach somebody else, 41:51 or a few other people. 41:53 You see, the Bible teaches us that God is not 41:58 exclusive, He's inclusive. 42:00 "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." 42:04 And His people sometimes too often fail to reveal 42:11 that attitude of inclusiveness. 42:14 Sometimes we get very exclusive. 42:15 We're in our own little click, we're in our own little church, 42:17 we're in our own little group, 42:18 we're in our own little sub-group. 42:20 And we think we're better than other people. 42:22 And we forget that God loves the whole entire human race. 42:27 He loves them with an everlasting love. 42:29 And His ideal, His longing, His desire, is that we 42:33 would be vessels through which that love could flow out 42:35 to the entire world. 42:38 I forget this much more often than I would like to admit. 42:48 But I think it's good for all of us to recognize that we've 42:52 fallen short of the glory of God. 42:54 We fail to be the instruments that God wants us to be. 42:59 Daniel saw this and God used him in a mighty powerful way. 43:04 In fact, it's so beautiful when you look at the picture here. 43:06 Because it opens up with this picture of captivity, 43:10 this humbling of God in the sight of the nations. 43:12 And then there's this dream. 43:15 I mean, God could have accomplished His purpose 43:17 in so many different ways. 43:18 And He gives this king, this heathen king, 43:20 this terror of a king, a dream... 43:24 ...that he can't remember. 43:28 A dream. 43:30 That's how God is going to work. 43:33 He's going to humble Himself and He's going to be exalted. 43:35 It's all about Philippians chapter 2. 43:37 You know, it talks there, it outlines there 43:38 if you want to read those verses sometime. 43:40 Not right now. 43:41 Philippians verses 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 43:44 about how Jesus was equal with God and yet He didn't consider 43:48 it something to be held onto, equal with God. 43:50 But He humbled Himself. 43:51 He became a man and He became a servant. 43:54 And there are these seven steps that He takes 43:56 all the way down to death, even the death of the cross. 43:58 And then it says God highly exalts Him. 44:01 And that's what we see taking place here in Daniel. 44:03 The essence of the cross, the essence of the love of Christ 44:06 is revealed here in Daniel chapter 2. 44:09 When this dream comes to a heathen king 44:12 and he can't remember it. 44:13 And Daniel, of course, is put on the chopping block 44:16 along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 44:18 And it's interesting how Daniel prays. 44:20 How Daniel responds. 44:23 He basically says, "Could you give me some time?" 44:26 He says this to the king's guard, Arioch. 44:32 "Could you give me some time to pray about this?" 44:40 Prayer is so powerful, isn't it? 44:45 "Could you give me some time to pray about this?" 44:47 And he goes in to his friends and he says to them, 44:51 in verse 17 of Daniel 2, he says to his companions, 44:55 "We need to desire," verse 18, "mercies of the God of heaven 44:58 concerning this secret, so that we would not perish with 45:01 the rest of the wise men of Babylon." 45:02 And then he goes into this prayer time and 45:04 the secret is revealed to him. 45:06 And he starts praising the Lord and thanking God. 45:08 And then he comes out. 45:09 And as he comes out of that prayer session, 45:11 he says, "I have..." 45:15 Let me just read the verse to you right here. 45:17 Daniel chapter 2 and verse 24. 45:20 "Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had 45:24 ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon. 45:26 And he went and he said unto him, 45:28 'Destroy not the wise men of Babylon.'" 45:34 I love that. 45:35 That is so beautiful, it is so powerful. 45:37 He doesn't say, "I've figured it out. 45:39 I've got the answer. 45:40 Bring me into the king. 45:42 Who cares about the rest of those guys. 45:44 Just me and my friends, we're going to..." 45:46 No, he says, "Don't destroy them." 45:48 You know, prayer changes us. 45:50 Powerfully changes us. 45:53 I wonder if when Daniel was in that dream 45:55 if he saw the whole picture. 45:56 If he saw how God had led, you know, with His desire 45:59 for them to do captive evangelism. 46:01 And this was it, this was what God was purposing. 46:05 God wanted His people to bring the message of His love 46:08 to Babylon. 46:10 God has people in Babylon. 46:12 He's always had people in Babylon. 46:14 And Nebuchadnezzar was one of those people. 46:16 And he sat on the front row that night 46:19 in that Daniel seminar. 46:22 He was the first one to attend a Daniel seminar. 46:25 And he sat on the front row and Daniel explained the 46:27 whole dream and what it meant. 46:30 "You are this head of gold." 46:31 He saw an image all of gold. 46:33 Well, he saw an image with a golden head. 46:34 Excuse me, I almost transitioned to chapter 3 there. 46:39 He saw an image of four different types of metal; 46:42 gold, silver, brass, iron, and clay and iron in the feet. 46:48 And these four different types of metal through this image 46:51 represented four kingdoms, successive kingdoms. 46:54 Babylon being the first, the head of gold. 46:56 Then Medo-Persia, the silver. 46:58 Then brass, Greece. 46:59 And then Rome, the iron. 47:03 And then the iron and clay mingled in the feet, 47:05 the ten kingdoms that came out of Europe. 47:08 And then a stone taken out of the mountain without hands 47:11 hits the image at the feet and crushes it to powder. 47:14 And that stone fills the whole earth. 47:15 Daniel was shown, Nebuchadnezzar was given, 47:18 an overview, a sweep, of prophetic history 47:21 from beginning to end. 47:23 When I say beginning to end, I mean from his time. 47:25 From Babylonian time. 47:28 From the time of Nebuchadnezzar all the way down to the 47:30 return of Jesus Christ. 47:32 This is what the king was given. 47:33 He believed it. It was just overwhelming to him. 47:35 He fell off his chair and said, "Daniel, this is fantastic. 47:41 This is amazing. 47:43 Your God is the God of gods. 47:45 I want to join your church." 47:47 Didn't last long, he was out by chapter 3. 47:49 But he came back in at chapter 4. 47:55 The point is that Daniel's book powerfully reveals 48:02 prophetic history before it takes place. 48:05 We look back now and we say, "Wait, wait. 48:07 There was Babylon, and then there was Medo-Persia, 48:09 and then there was Greece, and then there was Rome." 48:10 We remember, we know about all of these kingdoms. 48:15 Alexander the Great, then his four generals. 48:19 We know about Rome and the Caesars. 48:21 And Augustus Caesar. 48:22 But here's the point. 48:24 All these kingdoms reveal God's plan to us. 48:29 He's the center of all this. 48:31 Now, there's a lot of history, there's a lot of detail history, 48:34 that isn't covered in the Bible. 48:37 If God was to cover all of it, I don't know that I'd 48:40 be able to carry it around under my arm. 48:43 There'd be a lot. 48:46 But it also reminds us of something else that 48:48 I think is very significant. 48:49 And that is, sometimes when we look at Bible prophecy, 48:53 we conclude that God is in control of everything 48:57 that happens on planet earth. 49:02 But we need to recognize that doesn't mean that 49:05 everything that happens on planet earth is God's will. 49:09 You understand what I'm saying? 49:12 The Bible tells us that God overrules, 49:15 that He brings good out of evil. 49:17 Praise God. 49:19 All things work together for good. 49:22 And that's why Bible prophecy is so significant. 49:24 Because Bible prophecy tells us that as kingdoms rise and fall 49:28 in this world, God has a plan. 49:29 And here is God's plan. 49:30 And in the center of that plan is the Messiah. 49:32 That's when you come down through Bible prophecy 49:34 you see these elements that are predictive. 49:38 For example, in Daniel chapter 9 you have the prediction 49:47 of a Messiah that's going to come. 49:51 It says in Daniel chapter 9 and verse 24, 49:53 "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people 49:55 and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, 49:57 to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation 49:59 for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, 50:01 to seal up the vision and prophecy, 50:03 and to anoint the most Holy." 50:08 Seventy weeks; four hundred and ninety years. 50:10 And sin and iniquity and transgression were to be 50:13 done away with. 50:15 You might think at first, "Well wow, that's really something. 50:18 How are they going to do that?" 50:19 Well, they aren't going to do that. 50:21 That's why in the very next verse it says, 50:23 in verse 25 it says, "Know therefore and understand, 50:25 that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and 50:28 rebuild Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince..." 50:32 That's talking about Jesus. 50:33 The anointed One, Messiah, the Prince. 50:35 "...shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks." 50:40 "Seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks." 50:42 A score is 20, so threescore is 60. 50:44 Seven weeks is 67, and two weeks is 69. 50:49 The people of God in this prophecy were given 50:53 70 weeks to do away with sin, iniquity, and transgression. 50:58 But the fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter 51:00 how much time we're given. 51:03 We could be given eternity and we will never be able 51:06 to do away with sin, iniquity, and transgression. 51:08 That's just a fact. 51:10 We are lost, lost, lost. 51:12 And so the next verse explains. 51:13 Now wait a minute, before you get yourselves 51:16 all in a conniption or think that you're going to accomplish 51:20 this somehow by yourselves, before you do that, 51:22 hold on just a second. 51:23 Know and understand that in 69 weeks... 51:27 You've got 70 weeks. 51:28 ...in 69 weeks, Messiah is going to come. 51:33 See, the prophecy is not just about a date that starts here 51:37 and ends here. 51:38 The prophecy centers in a Person who is a Deliverer, 51:41 who is the Messiah, who is the Savior. 51:43 The One who can take care of sin and iniquity and transgression. 51:49 The whole book of Daniel brings us to this beautiful conclusion, 51:53 this picture, this unveiling of the Messiah. 51:57 And He's going to come. He's going to come. 51:59 When the decree goes forth, from that time 52:01 there's going to be 483 years. 52:03 Because you've only got 490. 52:04 So in 483 years, He's going to come. 52:05 And Jesus Christ Himself is going to do away with sin 52:08 and transgression and iniquity. 52:10 He's going to live a perfect life. 52:13 He's going to die the death of the cross 52:15 for your sins and mine. 52:19 He's going to save His people from their sins. 52:22 And that salvation, that good news, is to be given 52:25 to the entire world. 52:27 See, this is the center of Bible prophecy. 52:29 Nothing else will do. 52:32 And of course Satan understands that, he knows that. 52:34 He's still trying to obscure, he's still trying to stop, 52:36 he's still trying to hinder. 52:38 And so in Daniel chapter 10, Daniel is praying. 52:41 He wants to understand this prophecy and 52:43 he's praying earnestly, "Please Lord, help me." 52:44 He's fasting for three weeks. 52:46 "Help me to understand this prophecy, I don't get it." 52:48 And Gabriel comes to him three weeks later. 52:49 It's not that his prayer wasn't heard. 52:51 It was heard immediately. 52:52 But there's a conflict taking place. 52:54 Friends, there are times when we pray 52:57 and we wonder, "Why isn't God hearing? 52:59 Why isn't God answering?" 53:00 God hears our prayers. 53:02 But working out the answer to those prayers 53:04 sometimes takes time. 53:05 Why? Because of the prince of the powers of this world. 53:08 See, Satan has studied Bible prophecy. 53:11 We're going to look at that in more detail 53:13 as we continue this series. 53:15 And he knows what has been predicted. 53:18 And he's going to do everything he can to obscure it. 53:20 So right here in Daniel chapter 10, you have 53:24 the kings of Medo-Persia that are, according to 53:28 Bible prophecy, needing to put forth a decree 53:31 that begins at a certain time and ends with 53:35 the coming of the Messiah. 53:37 And you know what Satan's trying to do? 53:39 He's trying to stop that decree from going forth. 53:44 And so Gabriel is explaining that he was having a 53:47 difficult time prevailing. 53:48 Because we're free human agents. 53:50 And that king of Persia, Medo-Persia, these people 53:53 can be influenced by good and bad. 53:55 So he's having a hard time influencing him 53:57 to make this decree, to go in the right direction, 53:59 until Michael comes. 54:01 You know who Michael is? 54:04 He's that great Prince which stands for the 54:05 children of thy people. 54:07 Michael is another name for Jesus, the Deliverer. 54:12 Don't be confused about that. 54:15 Jesus became a Man, doesn't mean He's a created being. 54:17 He's God. 54:18 Always will be, always has been. 54:19 God came, the Holy Spirit came in the form of a dove. 54:22 That doesn't mean He's a dove. 54:23 He's a creature. 54:25 God is God. 54:26 He showed up to talk to Moses in the form of a burning bush. 54:30 That doesn't mean He's a burning bush. 54:31 God is God. 54:32 And He can come in that form and this form, and He does. 54:35 But notice this, when Michael comes to Gabriel, 54:40 He comes to help persuade the kings of this world 54:46 to initiate a decree that will end in His death. 54:54 That's the point. 54:55 That's the point of Bible prophecy. 54:58 It's to point us to who God really is, 55:00 to what He's really like. 55:02 To His heart that has been obscured and misrepresented 55:06 from the beginning to the end. 55:08 To uncover the lie, to uncover the deception, about God. 55:14 Think about it, just think about it as we close here. 55:16 Just think about this for a second. 55:20 The last book of the Bible, the last message of the Word of God, 55:25 the last part of the canon that was placed in there, 55:29 is a prophetic book. 55:31 We're agreed with that, right? 55:32 It's called, The Revelation of... 55:39 ...of Jesus Christ. 55:41 Now, I just would throw it out just for an estimate. 55:43 I've travelled the world preaching on Daniel and 55:45 Revelation, preaching on prophecy. 55:47 How many people do you think in this world, 55:49 Christian people, have never read the book of Revelation? 55:54 I had a class recently, an ARISE class. 55:56 One third of the students never read the book of Revelation. 55:58 Do you know why? 56:01 Because Satan has represented that book 56:05 as a book that is scary. 56:07 A book of doom and gloom. 56:10 A book that is to be feared. 56:11 God has placed a three-fold blessing on that book. 56:14 Are we still believing the lie? 56:19 Are our hearts still believing Satan instead of God? 56:24 I believe through this series we're going to find that there's 56:27 something powerful in Bible prophecy, 56:30 something powerful in the book of Revelation. 56:32 Not something in the sense of events. 56:33 Because there's definitely events, definitely. 56:36 But something in the sense of a revelation of Jesus, 56:42 of the person of God, that is going to change our lives 56:46 and our hearts... 56:49 ...so that our lost identity will be our recovered destiny; 56:56 the image of God. 56:57 Let's pray together. 56:58 Father in heaven, I just want to thank You this evening 57:00 for Your Word, and especially for the prophetic word 57:04 that has guided and directed so may of the events of history 57:09 and has given us hope amidst all of the deceptions, the lies. 57:13 Father, as we move into this series and look at the 57:17 prophetic sweep of history, we want to recognize that 57:20 the center of that is Jesus. 57:22 And that this is where our hope centers. 57:25 Father, lead and guide our minds throughout this series. 57:30 Help us to unveil Christ. |
Revised 2014-12-17