The Return of Jesus Christ, Pt. 1

Wayne Matthews

April 18, 2015

Welcome to this seventh-day Sabbath, brethren.

Over the last 2,000 years many have looked for the return of Jesus Christ. God's plan of salvation, as outlined in the seven annual Holy Days, clearly points to the return of His Son Jesus Christ to this earth on a Pentecost. Jesus Christ Himself often spoke about this very fact, His return to this earth.

The purpose of this sermon series is to explore God's word with regards to the promise of a return of Jesus Christ. The title of today's sermon is The Return of Jesus Christ, and this will be Part 1.

Now, we're in a period of time where we are now "counting fifty" because from that Sabbath in the Days of Unleavened Bread, the first day that we start the count would have been on the first day of the week, which was the Sunday morning, which was day 1. So here we are on this Sabbath, day 14 of the count. So we're counting down to the very return of Jesus Christ. Now, we have been doing this for a long period of time in God's Church and ever since Pentecost 31 AD God's people have been counting fifty. They have been looking for the return of Jesus Christ. Now, we look for that return. And we also understand that we are counting down now to the return of Jesus Christ and we're not far away from it. As this sermon series leads us to the day of Pentecost in this year of 2015 in the Roman calendar, we're actually on a countdown heading towards the very return of Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of scripture as promised by God. So this counting will mean a lot in the year of 2019, in particular, as we count down to the very return of Jesus Christ. And in many ways we are counting down now – not only this "counting fifty," but we have been counting down for some time looking for the return of Jesus Christ. Now, the history of God's Church is they are looking for the return of Jesus Christ. We, called out from this world, understand we need a change of government. We need God to intervene into this world, to send Jesus Christ back to this earth for the purpose of saving mankind, because we need a change of government. We need a change of many things, and this can only take place by the return of Christ.

The main point is God is in control of events and when they will happen. God has prophesied of the coming Kingdom of God to rule over this earth. God is all-powerful. God is the one that has a plan to establish a new government on this earth. God will send Jesus Christ to this earth as King of kings to head up His Government. God is the one who is in control of life and death.

Now, these are key points when we look at the return of Jesus Christ, because all of these things have to be considered as we countdown to the very return of Jesus Christ.

We're going to start the sermon series today in Daniel 2, because in Daniel 2 it outlines a particular event, but it also outlines how God is all-powerful and that God is in control of all things. Now, God has revealed to mankind what is ahead of us, and through Daniel there are prophecies and most of them are to do with God's Government coming to this earth and the background of man's governments and what they would be like up until the very return of Jesus Christ.

So let's look at Daniel 2:1—Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams, so there is more than one dream that has taken place here, and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. So he's in a state where he's had these dreams and they've troubled him so much, they're on his mind that he can't sleep. He's continually thinking about them and he can't get these things out of his mind. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. Now, this is different than most of the other kings. Most of the other kings would explain a dream, and therefore, the magicians and those around his court would actually tell him what the interpretation was, but here it is Nebuchadnezzar now wants the dream explained to him, and then the interpretation. Now, this is a very difficult thing for these types of people to do, the magicians and the astrologers, to actually tell him the very dream itself.

Verse 3—And the king said to them, I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream. So this is "to understand the dream," to work out what the dream was and to actually understand the interpretation of it. Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever! Which was a basic statement that people would make as praising the king. It was a praise to him personally. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation. Well, this is the easy part for mankind, because if somebody tells a dream now-a-days, there are people that will give interpretations based on human reasoning, based on human thinking. Well, this is a bit different here. Now the king wants them to tell him the dream.

But the king answered and said to the Chaldeans, My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made as an ash heap. So here it is, the king is now saying, "Well, no, this is a firm thing that I'm doing. My decision is firm. You're not going to change my mind," is what he's really saying, "and if you don't tell me the actual dream itself and the interpretation of the dream you will actually be killed and your houses shall be made an ash heap." They'll be burned. "Your houses will be actually destroyed."

Verse 6—However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore, tell me the dream and its interpretation. Now, this is very difficult for these people, and they would have been scared straight away. They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation. Because that's what usually happens. And that's what happens in the world today, where people go to people and say, "I've had a dream," and someone will give an interpretation of the dream based on human reasoning and what different things have been worked out about what dreams actually mean. Yet the Bible clearly says what dreams are generally all about. Dreams are from stress and a thought process that hasn't been settled within the mind. Dreams are simply dreams, which is activity within the mind. But this particular dream was from God.

Now, on the Church website there is a statement that covers this very topic about dreams and visions.

Verse 8—The king answered and said, I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm. So he's saying to them, "Well, you're just delaying. You're trying to get the actual dream out from me, and if you wait long enough something will slip out and you'll be able to start to work out some sort of answer. But, no, my decision is firm. You have to tell me the dream and you have to tell me the interpretation. And there is no time; it starts now."

Verse 9—If you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. In other words, "until the situation changes and things are a bit different, then we'll give some sort of answer." Well, he's saying, "No, not going to give you any time. You need to tell me now." Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation. So, "If you were to tell me the dream, I'll listen to your interpretation. But if you can't tell me the dream, obviously you can't tell me the interpretation of it." The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, There is not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter. Therefore, no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such a thing of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requires, it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, it's referring to their own gods, whose dwelling is not with men. In other words, has to come from a higher authority. Now, they're saying, "It can't be done," basically.

Verse 12—For this reason the king was angry and furious, because they've actually told him, "Well, you're asking something that can't be done," and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree of the king so urgent? "It's so harsh! Why is it wanting so much? The punishment is harsh! Why is it so quickly being done? Why isn't this being considered more and what's really happening?" Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions. Now, we understand from scripture that the king, Nebuchadnezzar, had changed their name, and "Hananiah" which means, "God has favored," was actually "Shadrach." And "Mishael," was changed to "Meshach." The word, "Mishael," known to be, "Who is what God is?" That's a great question, "Who is what God is?" Well, nobody is. There is only God, Yahweh Elohim. And "Azariah," his name was changed to "Abed-nego." And "Azariah" means, "Jehovah has helped." So they all point to a relationship with God. Shadrach's original name meant "God has favoured." Mishael's original name meant, "Who is what God is?" And Azariah's name was "Jehovah has helped." So they all have this connection with God. And in this particular event we understand that all of these things God is going to do. God is going to favor them. And who is what God is? Well, nobody, because this is the proof of it. Only God can reveal the dream and interpret it. And "Jehovah," or Yahweh Elohim, "has helped." And that's exactly what God will do. So here we have Daniel now going back to his house and actually making the decision, making the command known to the three of them.

Verse 18—And he did this that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego) might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Because it was God that did it. "Who is what God is?" "God has favoured." "God has helped" by revealing this. So Daniel now is giving praise and glory back to the source of the revelation, which is God, Yahweh Elohim.

Verse 20—Daniel answered and said: Blessed (praised) be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. Because the reality is all knowledge and all wisdom comes from God. And this particular knowledge of the dream and its interpretation has been given by God because God is almighty and God is all-powerful.

Verse 21—And He changes the times and the seasons. He controls the times and the seasons. Now, this can also point to the fact that God is in charge of the timing of when Jesus Christ will return. And God will favor mankind by the return of Jesus Christ. And who is what God is? Well, there is nobody like God, because God is going to establish His government, His kingdom. He is going to be in control of the future. That last 1,100 years, God is going to be in control. He is going to change the seasons. He is going to change things. He is going to change the government. He controls times and seasons. It's God that does it and He's going to do it through Jesus Christ. He removes kings and sets up kings. "He removes kings." Well, that's exactly what's going to happen. He's going to remove the kings of this earth and He's going to set up a new King, Jesus Christ. "And He sets up (raises up) kings." Well, He's going to do that. He's going to send back Jesus Christ as King of kings because there are going to be other kings in the spirit realm, and also kings on this earth, but it is God that is going to do it through Jesus Christ. So it is God that removes kings –and He's going to do that on the day of Pentecost in 2019 – and He's going to set up new kings. It's God that's going to do it. His will, will be achieved. He will achieve what He has planned. What He is demonstrating through His word from the very beginning, He is going to achieve it because God is in control.

He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding because it's about God's way. Now, wisdom comes from the very mind of God. It is God that gives wisdom. It is God's mind in somebody that makes him wise (him or her wise). "And knowledge to those who have understanding," of God's way of life. So all things have to be done the way God states because all things should be done with wisdom. Now, this is talking about the setting up of governments, setting up of government structures, setting up of rulers. It's God that's going to do it. God is going to establish wisdom on this earth through Jesus Christ.

Verse 22—He (God) reveals deep and secret things. So here Daniel is saying it is God that has revealed "deep and secret things," referring to the dream itself, because God gave the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, now God is the one who can tell the dream itself because God gave it. God inspired it and God can give its interpretation because this is about the future. This is all about the return of Jesus Christ, about a change of government.

Well, how blessed are we? "He (God) reveals deep and secret things." God is the one that has revealed truth to us, His thinking – "deep and secret things." God's thinking is a secret thing! To mankind, they can't see it, they don't know it, they don't understand it. Well, God has revealed His secret things, His plan of salvation to mankind through His Church, and therefore, only those who have been called into a relationship with God can "see" these deep and secret things, which is the very plan of God through the Holy Days. So it's been revealed to mankind, but it has only been revealed on a spiritual level to the Church because there are some that understand small aspects of God's plan of salvation, small aspects. But they don't understand it on a spiritual level. They might see things, they've read things, and they keep certain things because that's what God's word has said. So they're doing it all on a physical level. Well, we do these things on a spiritual level. So this revealing of God's thinking, His wisdom, the mind of God, has been revealed to His people, His called out ones. Now, these "deep and secret things" involve the time of Christ's return. Who can know it? How can it be revealed? Only from God through His Church, the way that God works.

He knows what is in the darkness. There is no darkness for God. God sees and knows all things. And light dwells with Him, which is referring to the truth. God is truth. God's glory is who He is because of His character.

Verse 23—I thank You, this is Daniel speaking here, I thank You (Yahweh Elohim) and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, which is this spiritual understanding of the matter that we have been given. Daniel's referring to that he's been given wisdom; he's been given the wisdom to understand what the dream is about because God has blessed him to see what the dream is and then to give the interpretation of it, and this has all been given to Daniel by God. Well, we, brethren, have been given wisdom, spiritual wisdom. We have been given the element of God's very thinking by the power of God's holy spirit because it's God's spirit living and dwelling in us, God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us that gives us the mind of God or access to the mind of God. How incredible is that? Because God has given us wisdom and might. We've been shown favor through a calling and now to take on the very mind of God. What an incredible process! And have now made known to me what we asked of You, which was about the dream, for You have made known to us the king's command. Now, Daniel is saying, "Well, thank you, God, for giving that, because now this is a sign of mercy." Now, we understand what God was really doing. God was preparing Daniel to give a message to Nebuchadnezzar, because, really, this is about a future. This is about revealing God's plan of salvation, revealing God's plan, and the timing of the return of Jesus Christ to mankind through Daniel, because this is about the future, because this is thousands of years before the return of Jesus Christ. So here we have, now, the king having this dream (coming from God), and now Daniel going to be able to give the interpretation because God has shown mercy. "God has favored," which is Shadrach's original meaning of the name. And, "who is what God is?" Well, nobody is. "God," Yahweh Elohim, "has helped." Yes, He had. So all of those three things through the names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are all coming true in this particular event.

Verse 24—Therefore, Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.

Verse 25—Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation. He would have done this quickly because I'm sure that he didn't enjoy going out and destroying his fellow servants, because all of these astrologers and soothsayers, and all of these (so called) wise men, they would have been known by him and he would have known them and he would have known their families, and therefore, I'm sure he didn't want to get too involved in having to fulfill the king's command. And he would have done this really quickly because he would have been able to stop the killing that was taking place.

Verse 26—The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation? Now this is interesting. "Are you," now this is about the fact that he's now saying to Daniel, "Are you able?" Now, this is in the way of giving credit to Daniel, but Daniel, of course was of God, and he's not going to take any personal credit. Now, this goes back to understanding pride. Now, we all have pride, and we all like to take credit to self. That is natural. That's the way man is, but with God's spirit we soon come to understand we are nothing of and by ourselves. Without God, we are nothing. Now, this is that level of humility. The more we see ourselves and what we really are, the more humility that can come from us by the power of God's holy spirit, because of and by ourselves we are nothing. "Are you able to make known to me the dream?" Well, the answer is no. We can't do anything of and by ourselves. We can assume. We can reason. But the reality is these things have to come from God. God gave it and now God is going to demonstrate His great power, because it was God that revealed it to Daniel. And Daniel, now, is going to demonstrate humility.

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, and the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king, because it would be just simply from man. Humans cannot understand or interpret spiritual matters. It requires God's holy spirit to be able to "see" the truth. So this was something from God, and they did not have the capacity. Everything they were going to do would have been of self. Now Daniel continues and He gives the credit to where it belongs: But there is a God, One God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. So this dream is about a time order that's going to take us to the very end, to the latter days, to the return of Jesus Christ. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these…  Now, Daniel is going to give the interpretation. He's going to give the dream and the interpretation. So what we can see from those is we're not to take any credit to self for any knowledge on a spiritual level – any knowledge on a spiritual level. No one is better than anyone else because of what we know on a spiritual level. It is God that reveals spiritual knowledge and it is God that gives truth. So of and by ourselves, we're nothing. And if we do have knowledge or spiritual understanding of a particular matter, we should take no credit to self. It was God in His mercy, for God's will and purpose, that He revealed a particular aspect of a spiritual principle. So if we understand something on a spiritual level no credit can be taken to self. It was God that does it. It was God in heaven who revealed spiritual knowledge to us.

Verse 29—As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He (God) who reveals secrets, which is knowledge and understanding on a physical level, but also on a spiritual level, has made known to you what will be. So it is about a dream that had come from God, and now God is going to give the interpretation because it originated from God.

Verse 30—But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living. Now, this is humility. "I am not better than anybody else. It was only by God's mercy that He has shown this dream to me," to Daniel. So this is about, "God has favored," "who is what God is," and "God has helped." And these are all coming true with this particular event between Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego being involved in part in this very event. So But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who have made known the interpretation to the king, because it's for our sakes that God has done this, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. Because this is about a revelation about the future, that God is using Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-nego for an outcome, and it's all for us. This is about prophecy of the return of Jesus Christ, but it's for the Church. It's for us. It's for our benefit. And for those called in the future, it will be their benefit. Because in the future, once we get to the return of Jesus Christ and the Millennium has been established, people will be able to go back and read this particular event (as we are today) and they'll be able to look back and show the glory and the power of God. How incredible is God that He can control all of these things?! That His will is done?! He can now control the outcome. And the outcome is? The return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords over this earth for 1,100 years and then the end...then the end, the end of evil. How incredible is God?! How almighty is God?! How powerful is God?!

So here it is, God is now telling the future to mankind through Daniel. Verse 31—You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome.  So he's seeing this great image of a man, basically, and it's standing there in front of him. This image's head was fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay, which is referring to different governments, and we're going to get into the interpretation of the dream, because, remembering, it was God that gave the dream, it was God who revealed the dream to Daniel, and it now takes God to give the interpretation of the dream. It's not up for human reasoning. God is going to reveal who is what in this particular dream.

Verse 34—You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, so, in other words, there's no human involved, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. So now we're seeing something that is from God is going to destroy the whole image and it's going to strike the feet, which is this last part of the various governments.

Verse 35—Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, so the whole lot is destroyed, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. So they're completely gone. They're destroyed. They've blown away; there's nothing left. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This is referring to, now, a government. We understand that "mountains" are symbolic of "governments," "and it filled the whole earth." This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. Not the King of kings as Jesus Christ is. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory, so God is in control and He is in control of all times and all seasons. He raises up and He pulls down, because God is almighty.

Verse 38—and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, He (God) has given them into your hand, in other words, "you have control," and has made you ruler over them all—you are that head of gold. Here is the interpretation now coming from God, because it's God giving the interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold. He was that particular government at that time. He was in Babylon, so this is the Babylonian Empire is the head of gold. That is the first part.

Verse 39—But after you shall arise another kingdom (another government) inferior to yours, so it's not going to be as powerful and as dominant, then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. Now, we understand from history that the second one, being silver, was that Medo-Persion Empire, which was based in Iran in the year about 538 BC. And the next one was the Greek Empire, which was dominated by Alexander the Great, which was about 331 BC.

So the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, insomuch that iron breaks in pieces and shatters all things; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, so this is referring now to the Roman Empire. It had a power that was cruel; it was oppressive. And connected to all of this, of course, is the fact that they all were cruel and dominating powers. And what's going to come is not that way. It's the complete opposite. So it was partly of clay and iron, that kingdom shall be divided. So this is talking about the resurrections of the Holy Roman Empire and 10 nations that are going to be united together. Yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, so it's going to be strong, connected to the Roman Empire (which is cruel and hard and harsh), just as you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay. So there's a mixture taking place.  And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. So this is the last uniting of the 10 nations.

Verse 43—As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will be mingle with the seed of men, because this is about control. So this mingling together, it's like a marriage, it's like a mixture, but they will not adhere to one another, they're not going to stay joined together, just as iron does not mix with clay. Because when you get them together and you put iron with clay, well, they don't stick. They don't last. In other words, this isn't going to work. It's only going to work for a short time.

Verse 44—And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed. Now this is God telling Nebuchadnezzar about a Kingdom that is coming. So Daniel knew about a Kingdom coming. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nedgo would have known about this Kingdom coming, and now Nebuchadnezzar is being told about this Kingdom that is coming. It is God that is going to set up the Kingdom of Heaven, God's Government on this earth.

Verse 44—And in the days of these kings, which is talking about the unity that is going to take place with 10 nations out of Europe, that when this happens that God is going to establish Jesus Christ as King of kings, and it will never be destroyed, because this is about a spiritual Government coming to this earth to rule the earth, to rule mankind. Finally, after 6,000 years of man's self-rule, now God is going to intervene through Jesus Christ. ...and the Kingdom shall not be left to another people, so it's not about another people. This is a spiritual government coming to this earth to rule this earth. ...it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms. So all the kingdoms of mankind, all of the governments of the earth will be destroyed. They'll be broken down, as it said previously in the dream, and a wind will come and blow them all away. Well, they're all going to be gotten rid of. There's only going to be the Kingdom of God that is going to rule this earth, and it shall stand forever. So the return of Jesus Christ is the only hope for mankind. So it's an exciting time that we're looking forward to. We are counting down to this very day, because we're going to shortly enter this period where it talks about the iron and the clay being mixed together and it's not going to heed to one another. It's not going to last very long. They're going to be partly strong, but overall it's just simply not going to work. It's not going to work. They're going to join together in a union of one way of thinking for a short time, but it won't work. But "in these days," God (Yahweh Elohim) will send Jesus Christ to this earth to set up the Government of God and it will stand forever from that point.

Verse 45—Insomuch 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… So all of the kingdoms of mankind will be destroyed, every single one of them. The return of Jesus Christ is the stone that was cut without hands, because it's about a Government. It's about the Government of God coming to this earth.  …the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and the interpretation is sure. So this is not going to change. This is God revealing to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel about the future of mankind from the very kingdom starting with Nebuchadnezzar right through to the very return of Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ is going to return to replace all of the governments.

Now, when it talks about "that is going to destroy them all," it's because parts of these governments, really, have continued. The Babylonian system that exists today is this system of confusion, because "Babylon" means "confusion," "confusion by mixing." Well, this is the problem with mankind. We are in a state of Babylon now. We're in a state of confusion now, mixing the thinking of mankind, because mankind works out what is best for him and the mixing takes place on all the different cultures have different views or different opinions, different religions. So we are in a total state of confusion. We are in Babylon today because of the confusion, the confusion by mixing, mixing of man's ideas. Well, all of this is going to be replaced. All of this is going to be gotten rid of. And we wait for this day and we are actually counting down now to the return of Jesus Christ. We are in a countdown now to the very return of Jesus Christ, to get rid of this Babylonian system, "the stone was cut without hands," which is the return of Jesus Christ. This is about a government of God, "and it will break into pieces the iron." This is all this joining together of all this confusion, all of the ideas of religions and governments, "the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold," because God is going to return through Jesus Christ. Isn't this an exciting time?!

Verse 46—Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, so this is a sign of giving credit or honor to Daniel, and commanded they should present an offering and incense to him, trying to give the credit to Daniel when the reality is this was a sign of showing favor to him, because here King Nebuchadnezzar obviously sees that God has revealed it through Daniel and he's giving credit to Daniel because Daniel is a servant of God.

Verse 47—And the king answered Daniel, and said, Truly your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings. Now these words here, "God of gods," it's a term that is used because Nebuchadnezzar worshipped different gods. He's saying, "Your God is the God of gods, of all the others," but he doesn't still know Yahweh Elohim as Daniel does. "And the Lord of kings," and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret, because it was God that did it through Daniel.

Verse 48—Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, so he's second in charge of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Now, they wouldn't, necessarily, have liked this, because he was a Jewish captive and now we have Daniel over all the wise men of Babylon. Some of them, I'm sure, would have been quite grateful, the fact that God intervened through Daniel and gave Daniel the meaning of the dream and also the dream itself because it saved their life.

Verse 49—Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. So he made the decisions and he was basically ruling as the second in charge. And Nebuchadnezzar would have referred to him, and deferred to him on many things because he knew that only Daniel was the one who revealed the dream and its interpretation, and therefore, he would have had a respect to him, and although God was there and God did it, Nebuchadnezzar wouldn't have really understood.

Another point that comes out in the book of Daniel is when Nebuchadnezzar had another dream, a second dream, and the outcome of that dream, which was in relation to Daniel 4:17. We'll just pick up parts of Daniel 4 here because we don't need to go into all of the dream itself. The main key point comes out in Daniel 4:17—This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know—now, this is the key point—that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men—and—gives it to whomever He (God) will,

and sets over it the lowest of men. Because God rules. God is all-powerful. So this is about Nebuchadnezzar, of course, having these seven years where he would actually be like an animal, because it's God that lifts up and it's God that pulls down, so it is God that rules the kingdom of men. Now, we know in the New Testament that it says we have to show respect to authority because it's God that lifts up and it's God that pulls down. So we have to be very careful the way we think towards authority. If we ever find ourselves criticizing an authority – because when we do these things we need to stop and think about this very scripture – that "it is the Most High," it's Elohim, "that rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men," because God can lift up and God can pull down. That is the answer to this particular scripture.

Daniel 4:25—And they shall drive you from men, talking about Nebuchadnezzar, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like the ox. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times (seven years) shall pass over you. So for seven years he was going to be like an animal, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses. God is almighty. God is all-powerful. And God is in control. Now, we need to take this on board within ourselves, because this is all about the return of Jesus Christ. We know that God is in control. He "rules in the kingdom of men." Things will be exactly as God has planned. We don't need to be anxious. We don't need to be worried about things because God is in control. God is almighty and God is all-powerful and "He gives it to whomever He chooses." So it's all according to God's will, and He's going to give the rulership of the earth to Jesus Christ when Jesus Christ returns, when God sends Jesus Christ to this earth on Pentecost of 2019. So prior to that, everything is in order, everything is in control, and things will happen according to God's will. So there's no need to worry about matters.

Daniel 4:34—And at the end of times, or the seven years, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, because during that period he didn't have understanding. He was actually out in the fields and he was like an animal during that period because God did it, because God is almighty. ...and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, so God is in control of all things, and His Kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. We're nothing, really, because God is almighty. He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. God is in control. No one can restrain His hand nor say to Him, What have You done? So we can't challenge God. We can't question God. We can't demand of God. Everything is in God's control. Everything is in God's hands. We can't change what God has established, which is done through the book of Daniel. We know these kingdoms are coming. We know there is going to be a united Europe. We know the return of Jesus Christ. These things are set and established in God's word.

And as we go into this series we're going to look at more of what God has said, what God has actually established, and they will happen exactly as God has established, and this is the point that Nebuchadnezzar came to see. God is almighty. God is all-powerful and God took the lowly and made the lowly great – talking about Nebuchadnezzar. Well, God's done the same for us. He's taken the lowly – we are nothing of and by ourselves— and He is making us great, because to enter Elohim is a great and wonderful thing. To have the mind of God, to have God's thinking live and dwell in us forever is a great and wonderful thing. And we will be great, in the sense of not human greatness, but spiritual greatness. To have the power and authority, to have the mind of God that we're going to have is an incredible blessing, and it's all given from God in His mercy.

So, "no one can restrain His hand," no one can change it. No one can stop what God is going to do, "or say to Him, 'What have you done?'" challenging God saying, "Oh, You've done it all wrong!" No, God is perfect and everything will be according to God's will.

Verse 36—At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles restored to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to abase, He is able to humble. Now, we understand this, brethren, that this is what the tribulation is about. This is about the humbling of mankind, and only God can do it, because it's all done with justice. It's done with mercy, all saving man from himself.

Who is able to bring down somebody that has pride? Only God. He is able to bring down and humble mankind. And that's exactly what He's going to do.

Daniel 7:1—In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts. Daniel spoke, saying, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. And I watched until its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. So this was talking about the first empire. We understand that what Daniel is seeing is about these great beasts, and each different from the other, was four empires that were going to govern this earth, or four main kingdoms that were going to govern this earth. So this is referring to the first kingdom, which was the Babylonian Empire, which went from 625 BC to 538.

Verse 5—And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on its side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: Arise, devour much flesh! This is talking about the Persian Empire, which is the second empire, which basically started at 538 BC to 330 BC.

Verse 6—After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which is not a leopard, but it's "like it" because of what it's actions were, which had on its back four wings like a bird. The beast also had four heads, which is talking about four generals, and dominion was given to it, which is talking about the Greek Empire, which was from 331 BC to 31 BC, talking about Alexander the Great in that period and then the four generals that took over or the four divisions of the Greek Empire.

Verse 7, which is now going on to the fourth empire: After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong, referring to the Roman Empire. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it... because of what it did, which is talking about the 10 revivals of the empire. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little horn coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by its roots. And there, in its horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words, which were things spoken against God. This is referring to the church, the Roman Catholic Church. So the Roman Empire became political in power because now the Roman Empire was involved with the Roman Catholic Church.

Verse 9—I watched till thrones were put in place, now, this is talking about a change of government. So we've seen these four particular governments, as we saw with Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Well, now we're seeing Daniel being given more, a little bit more detail about what they would be, these four empires. Then we see what's going to take place at the return of Jesus Christ. I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated, talking about God the Father. His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, it's wheels a burning wheel, and a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him, talking about the angelic realm at this particular time. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. So we're talking about hundreds of millions of angels. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

Verse 11—I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn (talking about the Catholic Church and the Roman Empire) was saying; I watched till the beast, talking about Satan's empire, was slain, and its body destroyed and given to a burning flame, which is talking about the end of 7,100 years. As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged in a season and a time. This is referring to the fact that those during those periods, various empires, that they're going to be resurrected and they're going to be given life "in a season," because they're going to be brought back to physical life at a resurrection and they're going to live physically for 100-years, "in a season and a time." They're going to be given that opportunity.

Verse 13—I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! Talking about Jesus Christ, He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. They brought Christ before God the Father. Then to Him (Jesus Christ) was given dominion and glory and a Kingdom, the Kingdom of God on this earth, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him, should serve God the Father, because we worship God the Father in spirit and truth. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, because God is the ruler, God is the King. God is all-powerful, almighty. He is in charge of all things and His will, will be done, and it's being done through Jesus Christ. "His dominion is an everlasting dominion," which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom (God's Kingdom) the one which shall not be destroyed, because it's about the Family of God. It's about God's family. So Jesus Christ and the 144,000 are going to return to this earth to establish the Government of God on this earth, "and it shall not be destroyed." In fact, it's going to be added to until the end of 7,100 years when it's complete.

Verse 15—I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all of this. So he's gone now and he's saying he's asking the question. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth. There are four particular governments, same as what Nebuchadnezzar had seen. But the saints of the Most High, talking about the 144,000, shall receive the Kingdom. So they are, actually, going to be with Jesus Christ at His return. They'll be resurrected and be given spirit life to return with Jesus Christ to this earth, and possess the Kingdom forever. They're going to be given eternal life, forever and ever and ever.

Verse 19—Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet, talking about the Roman Empire, and about the ten horns of which were on its head, talking now about the 10 resurrections of the Roman Empire, and about the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous words, referring here to the Roman Catholic Church. So continuing there, which spoke pompous words, who's appearance was greater than his fellow. I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, against God's people, prevailing against them. So this is over time this is exactly what has happened. The church, the Roman Catholic Church has persecuted God's Church. God's people have been persecuted. Now, often the persecution has been physical where they've actually hunted down God's people and killed them. The other persecution has been because of the laws of the land, which they have enforced, or laws that they have made, such as Sunday worship, and lots of jobs that a person can't have because of Sabbath keeping, but also because of Sunday worship, that people were forced not to work on a Sunday. When a person wanted to work, they couldn't. And there's lots of others things that they have implemented – Christmas, Easter and many other things—that have persecuted God's people, because we want nothing to do with them. And because of that, because we want nothing to do with their thinking, there is a persecution that comes automatically from Satan's system, from Satan's society, from those that think differently than we do. So there is a war that is taking place, a spiritual war that is taking place against God's people to this very day, and it will continue until the return of Jesus Christ and the removal of Satan himself.

So this is going to take place until – verse 22—until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the Kingdom. Now, at the return of Jesus Christ this will be fulfilled. That "the Ancient of Days will come," through Jesus Christ, "and judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High," God's people, the called out ones, "and the time came for the saints to possess the Kingdom," which the beginning of that possession starts on the day of Pentecost of 2019 at the very return of Jesus Christ.

Verse 23—Thus he said: The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on the earth, talking about the Roman Empires, which shall be different from all the other kingdoms, and it's different in lots of different ways, and shall devour the whole earth, and trample it and break it in pieces. Because this is about resurrection of an empire, over ten times it's going to happen. The ten horns are ten kings who shall rise from its kingdom. The other shall rise after them, which is the Catholic Church is going to get involved in it, he shall be different from the first ones, talking about the Catholic Church, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, and shall persecute the saints of the Most High, shall wear them out, and shall intend to change times and law, which is what they did. They changed the times, which is from the Sabbath to Sunday worship, and they changed times and the law, which was about Easter, instead of Passover was Easter, and they set up things like Christmas and many other things. So this actually has taken place, that they have done it. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. Now, this was referring to a period of time of 1260 years, from 554 AD to 1814, thereabouts.  But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his domain, to consume and destroy it forever. So it's all going to come to an end. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. Now this takes us to the return of Jesus Christ, because at the return of Jesus Christ, yes, the saints, the 144,000 that have been called and chosen by God to be in His Kingdom will be given dominion over this earth under Jesus Christ. His Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom. God's Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom. It will never stop. And all dominions, all governments, all rulership that exists, shall serve and obey Him, obey God. So everything will now be subdued and brought under the rule of God, under Jesus Christ and the 144,000.

Now, over the next 1,100 years that is what is going to happen, the subduing of mankind, people yielding, choosing to yield to the very Government of God.

This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart.

Daniel 12:1—At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, talking about this resurrection, some to everlasting life, so this is the first resurrection to spirit, some to shame, which is that Hundred-year period, which is talking about the second resurrection, some to shame and everlasting contempt, which is that second death. So it's covering a period of time here from the resurrection of the 144,000 to the destruction of mankind and Satan and his demons to this "everlasting contempt," which is this second death. Those who are wise shall shine, those who are wise, who have God living and dwelling in them (because wisdom only comes from God and is God's mind), so those who have taken on the mind, who have this transformation taking place, shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. Isn't this incredible, that God is now going to fulfill what He set out to Nebuchadnezzar? It's going to be fulfilled just as God has planned.

Psalm 45:1—My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King. Now, this is actually written by the sons of Korah. Now, it can refer to David but it also can refer to Jesus Christ, "concerning the king," referring to King David. Now we can look at this referring to the King of kings, Jesus Christ. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You, we're looking at this from the point of view of Christ, You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips; therefore, God has blessed You forever, because it's God that is going to establish Jesus Christ as King.

Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, it's talking about Jesus Christ, the return of Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is coming back to make war, to stop war. Because the only way to stop it is to be a peacemaker, is to make peace. It's not about "keeping peace." It's about "making peace," and the only way to make peace with mankind is through death (because the sword points to death). Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One. Now, we also know that it's through the Word of God, which is the "sword" symbolically "of God." So it's through what God has said. It's through what God speaks. And in His word He's saying that He is going to stop the rule of mankind. He's going to intervene and He's going to crush the kingdoms of mankind, because that's what He said in Nebuchadnezzar and that's what He's told Daniel. Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty. And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness, so this is about the return of Jesus Christ. "And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth," because truth is coming to this earth. And in "humility" it's going to take place, because God is doing this out of love and concern for mankind, "and righteousness," because God is righteous. So Jesus Christ comes representing God in truth, humility, and righteousness. And Your right hand, referring to power, shall teach You awesome things. Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies; and people fall under You, which is exactly what's going to happen on the day of Pentecost in 2019.

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, because it's going to be a Kingdom set on that day. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom, because the Kingdom of God is about righteousness. It's about righteous rule. Now, what is righteousness really? Righteousness is the thinking of God. It's the way God thinks. And because He thinks a particular way He lives a particular way, the outcome is the actions are righteous because all of His thoughts are righteousness, and therefore, everything that He does is righteousness. "The scepter (rule) of righteousness (God's thinking) is the scepter of Your Kingdom." So that's how God's Kingdom is going to be governed, in righteousness. It's going to be governed with the thinking of God. Now, what is that thinking of God? Well, it's about the best outcome for an individual. Now, what's the best outcome for an individual? Born human, the best outcome is that we transform, we take on the very mind, the very thinking of God. So righteousness, God's way of life, is going to be taught to mankind. Once the return of Jesus Christ takes place the rulership of His Kingdom will be from God's thinking, the thinking of Jesus Christ.

Verse 7—You love righteousness and hate wickedness, because God is love, and therefore, everything that He does is for the benefit of mankind on a spiritual level. And God hates evil. God hates sin because of what it does. Sin destroys. Sin leads to death. So God loves righteousness and hates wickedness. Therefore, God, Your God, has anointed You, referring to Christ, with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.

Psalm 47:1—Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome. He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, talking about the 144,000. So it's God that's going to do it all. It is God that's going to set up these things for the benefit of mankind. God has foreordained it. God has said it in His word in Daniel, and that's what's going to happen. The nations under our feet, referring to the 144,000, He (God) will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves. God has gone out with a shout,

The Lord with the sound of a trumpet, which is talking about the 7th Trump.

Verse 6—Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations; He is the one in charge of all things. He raises up and He pulls down. God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the people have gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God;

He is greatly exalted.

Luke 19:11—Now as they heard these things, He (Jesus Christ) spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the Kingdom of God would appear immediately. Now, this is something that has taken place since that time right through to today. People have looked for the return of Jesus Christ. Well, here the disciples were looking for the return of Jesus Christ in the sense of the Kingdom appearing, something on a physical level. They were looking for the restoration of a physical government over the Roman Empire to rule, and they had felt at this time that they were waiting for this establishment of a physical restoration of a government. They were looking to the Kingdom of God to appear straight away. Then Jesus Christ then explains to them that it's actually going to be much later. Now, they didn't understand the parable to the degree we do today because of time.

Verse 12—Therefore, He (Christ) said: A certain nobleman, this is referring to Jesus Christ but it's done in a parable so they could understand it. But it's really talking about the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on this earth. A certain nobleman went into a far country, referring to heaven, which is Jesus Christ going away at a resurrection to God the Father "to be in a far country," to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So this is now talking about a period of almost 2,000 years. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them (referring to money), Do business till I come (till I return). But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, We will not have this man reign over us. "We won't have this authority. We want to do things our way," which is the natural carnal mind’s way of doing things.

And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, because He's gone off to this far country to receive the power and authority to be able to return with a Kingdom, to receive the Kingdom, then he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Because there was an expectation that the nobleman had given money to them and they were to trade and they were to deliver back more than what they had been given because they were to do business until he returned, but of course, the citizens had set our their own system of ruling. They wanted to rule themselves. They didn't want to be reigned over or ruled, so they did what they felt was best in their own thinking.

Now, some do the right thing and some don't. Then he came to the first, saying, Master, your mina has earned ten minas. Now, we understand this is about talents, which is about money and the trading. But this is talking about something on a spiritual level, that trading must take place. We must grow spiritually. So we've been given a spiritual talent. We've been given spiritual gifts. Well, we're expected to work with it, to trade, to overcome, to conquer ourselves, to be working at overcoming self.

Verse 17—Then he said to him, Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, so this is faithful with what we've been given. Now, each Church era's been given truth to different degrees, to different levels, so each Church was required to be faithful with what was given. Now, we've been given much, really, but in lots of ways it's very little. It's something small in comparison to God and God's thinking, but we've been given much on a spiritual level with 57 Truths, and we are to be faithful with the truth. And that's what it's about. Whether we receive 10 or 2, it makes no difference. It's about being faithful with what we've been given, and because of that, have authority over ten cities. So what will be given back to those that are faithful is rulership; it's authority in the Kingdom of God, to rule.

Verse 18—And the second came, saying, Master, your mina has earned five minas.

Verse 19—Likewise he said to him, You also be over five cities. So there is something that is going to be given in the way of a reward for those that are faithful with what they've been given. And another came, saying, Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are a severe man, "considered hard," is another way to put that. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow. So this is a wrong thinking. This is actually a wrong way of thinking about God and about God's way of life, to actually not grow, to not develop, to not overcome. And he said to him, Out of your own mouth I will judge you, because we sow and we reap, you wicked servant. Now, he's wicked because he hasn't obeyed God. He hasn't done what he was told. You knew that I was a severe man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow, because there was an expectation about gain, about growth.

Verse 23—Why did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest? So something had to happen. There had to be decisions made. There had to be decisions on growth. Now, that's where we stand today, brethren. We have to make decisions about our growth. What will we do? Will we implement change? Will we tolerate sin in our life? All of these things are about growth, what we're doing, whether we're being faithful with what we've been given. Now, we've been given much through the truth and what's in the posts, and God is pouring out His spirit. Now, whether or not we're going to use it, whether or not we're going to ignore it, or whether or not we're going to trade with it, we're going to use it and implement it into our life is our decision, or whether we will just ignore it and just put it away, just bury it – in other words, do nothing at all. Well, God expects us to grow. God requires growth from us. God's spirit demands growth, because if we're yielding to God's spirit there will be growth, there will be "interest," there will be a gain, there will be an increase given to us.

Verse 24—And he said to those who stood by, Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas. Why? Because there will be growth, because it will be used. That one would be multiplied to two, because someone who's implementing change within their life, more will be given to those that are going to do something with it.  Now, this principle would apply to us on a physical level, brethren. We don't give jobs to people that won't do things. If you've got a worker and they don't do anything, they're lazy. Well the one thing is you don't give them more work. Normally someone that is diligent gains more.

I know from various employment positions and experience from life that if you were diligent, you got up early, you went to work and you worked hard and you worked long, normally they gave you more to do. Because? They knew that you would do it. They knew that you would achieve it, that you would make time. So normally, if you were diligent and worked hard, more was given to you because the owner knew that more was going to come back. But a lazy person, things were taken from them. And I know in lots of work environments where you gave jobs to people and they didn't do them, you just didn't give them another job. You actually took duties or responsibilities from them and gave it to someone that would do them properly. Therefore, in the end the person was sacked or gotten rid of or the position was changed because there's no point giving something to someone who won't grow, who won't do something with it.

Well, that principle applies on a spiritual level. There's no point giving spiritual gifts to someone that won't use those spiritual gifts. So we, brethren, have this accountability and responsibility to grow. We have been given much, so let's work with what we've been given. Let's dedicate ourselves to working hard at overcoming self.

Verse 25—(But they said to him, Master, he has ten minas.)

Verse 26—For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him, so this is talking about spiritual character, God's character, God's thinking. So if we have God's thinking powered by God's holy spirit and we're yielding to it, more will be given to us. But if we don't use God's spirit it will be taken away altogether. We will actually have nothing because we're not willing to yield to God and in the end we actually leave God's Church because we're exactly this, we're doing nothing with what God has given us. God expects us to grow spiritually. Now, this is the time to be growing spiritually, to be dedicating ourselves to God, to care for our spiritual condition.

Verse 27—But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me. Now, this is an incredible scripture. "But bring here those enemies of mine." So anybody that is not yielding to God's holy spirit is an enemy of God and Jesus Christ. By not yielding we become enemies. By tolerating sin we become enemies. And we're virtually saying to God, "who did not want Me to reign over them." Well, we require God to reign in our life, to rule, to govern our life. God's spirit can govern, to reign, to rule our life. That's what we desire! But if we don't, well, we will be slain. We will be put to death on a spiritual level. We will be disfellowshipped or we will disfellowship ourselves from God and Jesus Christ, from this relationship. Because? We didn't want it. So, "bring those enemies of mine," anybody who's not yielding to God's holy spirit, "who did not want Me to reign over them," so we can see that on a spiritual level. Well, this same principle will apply for the return of Jesus Christ. IF somebody does not want Jesus Christ to reign and rule over them during the Millennium, they will be brought before God and destroyed, because this is part of committing an unpardonable sin even, because repentance is desiring to have Jesus Christ and God to reign and rule over us. And not repenting is this very thing, being an enemy of God, an enemy of Jesus Christ because we no longer want them to govern our life. We don't want them involved in our life. Well, "the wages of sin (unrepented sin) is death."

In light of what we've read in Daniel, let's turn to Ecclesiastes 3 and we'll read from verse 1. We're going to read this from the point of view of understanding how powerful God is in raising up nations and pulling them down. These four kingdoms that God said would exist from Nebuchadnezzar right through to the end, right through until the revival, the final revival of the Roman Empire. Well, God gave to Solomon a lot of wisdom, and that wisdom was based on physical things, that he could see certain physical things. Well, we're going to go through Ecclesiastes in the light of the resurrection of these various empires and see what these empires were really like, because they all were based on the thinking of mankind. From Nebuchadnezzar onwards, mankind has ruled himself. And of course, there were empires prior to King Nebuchadnezzar. There were governments and there were kings, etcetera, in that time. But God has outlined in the book of Daniel the various governments from Nebuchadnezzar right through to the final government that will be destroyed and the very return of Jesus Christ.

So we're going to now look at what Solomon had to say because he saw things on a physical level. Well, we can look at this also and consider the spiritual component of it.

Ecclesiastes 3:1—To everything there is a season, there is a time, a time for every purpose under heaven. So everything has a purpose. All the physical things that happen have a purpose, which are all according to God's plan, the way God has planned it. Because God planned 6,000 years for mankind, and then 1,100 years of the reign and the rule of Jesus Christ over this earth. So there is "a time for every purpose under heaven." Now, this also can apply to spiritual purpose. There is a spiritual purpose in all things for those that are called according to God's will.

Verse 2—A time to be born, a time to bear children, and a time to die. So we all have a physical life and there's a time to be born, where we are born physically, and there's a time to die. Well, the same on a spiritual level. There is a time to be born, to be begotten by God's spirit, and then to be born, to be born into the Family of God or there is "a time to die." Physically, but also spiritually, that if we aren't going to use God's spirit, if we're not going to yield to God's government, there is a time to die and it's called "the second death."

A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted. So, "a time to plant." Well, this is talking about something physical that would be then harvested, which would be "plucked up what is planted," a time of harvest. The same applies on a spiritual level. "A time to plant." There is a time where a person is called and God places His spirit in a person, which is the planting of God's spirit all for the purpose of a final harvest, to be harvested. So this development of Godly character, the very mind of God, all is for the purpose of a resurrection, "a time to be harvested." How incredible is God?! Now, the first harvest takes place at the return of Jesus Christ. God has planted His spirit in some (144,000) for the purpose of a harvest, and that harvest takes place at the return of Jesus Christ.

Verse 3—A time to kill, or a time to destroy, and a time to heal. Physically, there was a time for battles and war, and there was a time for healing, the healing of the way people think. Well, on a spiritual level, yes, there is "a time to kill." There is a time to destroy sin out of our life, and that can happen in our life by a choice, through repentance. "And a time to heal," a time for the mind to be healed. The healing of the mind is through the process which God has established, which is through repentance, because we are yielding to God's spirit, we're yielding to God's way of thinking. So, yes, there is a time to kill, and that is sin will be destroyed. At a second death sin will be destroyed. And the removal of Satan and his final destruction is a time to destroy, a time to kill, and sin will be gotten rid of forever. And there is "a time to heal." Now, this healing will take place starting with the return of Jesus Christ, because then mankind will have access to God's thinking, God's way of life and that healing process will go over 1,000 years, but in the main the most important part is that last Hundred-years where the healing of the mind can take place. So, yes, there is a time for the destruction of sin and evil, but there is a time of healing, and that main healing is going to take place within the thinking of mankind.

Continuing on in verse 3...A time to break down, and a time to build up. So this "breaking down." Well, we understand there's a time to pull down a building and then there's a time to put a building back up or to renew a building or to renovate a building. On a spiritual level there is a time to break down, and that is during our life; a time to break down pride. We all have pride, and during our lifetime it is a process of a time to break down pride, to break down selfishness, to control self, and that is that breaking down, and this takes place during our life once we are called into this very process. And "a time to build up." Well, what's the "building up?" We are to build up God's humility in us. The very humility of God has to be built in us.

So during this lifetime we're to break down selfishness and we're to build up God's way of thinking in our life, which is to build up God's mind, to develop God's mind, to have this transformation take place.

Verse 4—A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance. So there is "a time to weep," which is on a physical level. And there's a time for joy, a time of laughter, and a time to mourn and a time to dance, which is part of this joyful process. So the weeping and the mourning are going to be joined together, and laughter and dancing are joined together. Now, we look at this on a spiritual level. There is a time to weep. It's not talking about physical suffering; a time to weep about our sins, because sin destroys, sin brings suffering and sorrow. So there is a time to repent, to think differently about what we are, and a time to mourn about our own personal sins, not just the sins of mankind, but our own personal sins. So there is a time to go to God and repent, "a time to mourn," to go before God and repent of sin. Then from that we can get a time of laughter or a time of dance, a time of rejoicing, because that's what it's pointing to, a time to repent of sin and then a time to rejoice for God's forgiveness of sin, His mercy towards us, and the fact that He has called us and shown us such great mercy. This is a time to rejoice.

Verse 5—A time to cast away stones, which is to clear a paddock on a physical level, and a time to gather stones, which is to gather them up. So one is to cast away stones, which is for us to cast away from us the sin and the bondage of sin that occupies our mind. The controlling of the mind by selfishness, it's a time to cast that away. And then there is a time to gather stones. Well, why does one person clear stones? Well, they clear a paddock so they can use it. Then there's a time to gather those very stones so we can build a fence or to build a house. So there is a time to gather stones. So there is a time to gather the truth, to gather more of God's thinking in our life so that we can build holy righteous character through the power of God's holy spirit.

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing. "A time to embrace," which, there is a time to go up to people and to embrace them, to comfort them. And there is a time to refrain from embracing, when we see that that embracing would not help the situation or that particular environment. Different environments require different things. Spiritually, "a time to embrace." There is a time to embrace God's thinking, and that's what a calling is all about, a time to take on the very mind of God and God's way of life. And "a time to refrain from embracing," from embracing man's thinking, the way man thinks. So there are two clear options here. Both are actions. One is about embracing God's way. And there's a time to not embrace things that are against God, man's way of thinking, selfishness.

Verse 6—A time to gain, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to throw away. So "a time to gain," something on a physical level, and there's a time get rid of those things on a physical level. And there's a time to keep something, which is to keep something for ourselves, to support our way of life, etcetera, for example, try to keep a job. And there's a time to throw away, which is to get rid of things because they're impacting our life. Spiritually there's a time to gain character, and that's once we are called. Now is the time to gain spiritual knowledge, spiritual understanding, and to implement change into our life. Now it's time to gain godly character. There's a time to lose. There's a time to get rid of sin, which is now, to lose selfishness, to get rid of selfishness, to get rid of the bondage of the thinking that we have towards others. There is a time to keep. There's a time to keep God's law, to be obedient. There's a time to throw away. There's a time to get rid of our way of thinking, our way of life. Well, let's get rid of it. Let's take on the mind of God. Let's gain and keep God's ways. Let's get rid of, let's lose and throw away our selfishness, to overcome it.

Verse 7—A time to tear, and a time to sew. So one is to tear a particular garment; there's a time to do that, and there's a time to sew, to mend it. Well, on a spiritual level we are to tear ourselves away from sin. We are to separate ourselves from sin and there's a time to sew. It's a time now to implement things into our life, to sew the thinking of God in our life, to sew, to put in, to mend the way we think.

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. So there's a time to keep silent. On a physical level, there's where there's time not to speak and there's a time to actually say something to somebody about a situation. Spiritually, there's a time to keep silent. Now, this is about self-control. There is a time to control our own selfishness, in other words, to control the way we think. Therefore, if we control the way we think we'll control our words. Then there is a time to speak. And the time to speak, of course, is to speak the truth, to speak God's way of thinking, what God's word says, not what we think. It's about what God's word says. There's a time to be silent about certain matters about what God is doing, but there's going to come a time when we're going to be able to speak about the very return of Jesus Christ. We're going to be able to speak about the kingdoms. We're going to be able to speak about the resurrections or the revival of the Roman Empire, and particularly, the Holy Roman Empire, those components where the Catholic Church was joined to it. Well, we're going to be able to speak about those things in the future. We're going to be able to speak about those 10 nations that have come together for a short time. Like clay and iron, they're not going to last long, it's not going to mix together, and there's going to be a fall out. But one is going to dominate and this domination is going to take place. Then that is going to lead to the very return of Jesus Christ and the 144,000. So there will be a time to speak, to speak the truth in love.

Verse 8—A time to love, and a time to hate. So this time of love is to take on the very thinking of God, because God is love. So there is a time once called that we have to put on God's love, the very thinking of God. And there is a time to hate sin, which is once we are called, once we move into a repentance and we are baptized and receive God's holy spirit, now is the time to hate sin, to hate evil within our own life. This is not about saying, "Love mankind" or "a time to hate mankind." No, there is a time where we have to love God and there's a time to learn to hate evil, to hate sin within ourselves.

A time of war, and a time of peace. Well, this is what is coming. There have been times during those four various governments (and one is still coming, of course) where there is a time of war, where that is exactly what happens within mankind. And then there is a time of peace because they settle their disagreements and there is a type of peace...not that there is ever really true peace, but there's a type of peace because not having war means peace to mankind. Well, for us there is a time of war. This is about us, a time to war against the influences of Satan and his demons and our own selfishness. And then there will come a time of peace.

Now, the reality is that there is a time of war coming, and that is about the return of Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is coming back to make war, because He's going to create peace by making war. He's going to destroy pride from off the earth. So there is coming a time of war, and then followed by a time of peace, which is the return of Jesus Christ and the introduction of that 1,100 years where peace will reign.

So we can look at what Solomon went through on a physical level and now apply these things into our life because there's a time for everything. And now is the time, during this Year of Dedication, now is the time to implement change within our life. Now is the time to get rid of sin. Now is the time for the healing of our mind, to take on the very thinking of God.Well, we'll end Part 1 here, brethren, of The Return of Jesus Christ, and we'll pick up Part 2 soon.□

Table of Contents

Chapter 1