Immortal Flesh and Blood.

 Flesh and blood will not inherit heaven-  our flesh and blood is corruptible- it can decay. How well do we know that our lives on earth are finite and filled with degradation. You don't notice it right away as you're growing up, instead you hear it from your parents and their moans and groans. As we age our bodies just aren't as they were when we were children. Yes, we can be in tiptop shape but aging factors will happen regardless. You'll lose the ability to read fine print, your hair will gray, your flesh will wrinkle even with the best creams and lotions. Your facial features will alter. No matter how much people exclaim that some actors/actresses seem ageless- it's a lie. Yes, they may be aging gracefully and not look their years but if you take a picture of them as a young teen and them at forty, fifty, sixty… they just are NOT going to look that young. Eventually even the most youthful in appearance will succumb to death, if of nothing other than old age. 

We know how our bodies react to time, we know the frailty of flesh and blood. Our flesh and blood HAS to be altered if we are to inherit a kingdom where there is no death, God's kingdom, the kingdom of heaven this is where we will go when our Lord and Savior returns to take us with him.  Corruptible flesh and blood will never, ever make it to heaven.  We don't know how the change will take place- that is the miracle beyond our comprehension that only our Lord knows, but we know it will take place. 

May we be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye…

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever! 

Amen.

*******

THE THRONE OF DAVID

Jesus says he is set down on his Father's throne, and will grant to the overcomer to sit down with him in his throne. Of this latter throne the angel said to Mary:--

"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1:32, 33.

The throne which he now occupies is the throne of the universe, and it can in no sense be called the throne of David. The difference between his occupancy of the two can be readily seen.

1. He inherits this throne as the son of David. On the throne of his Father in Heaven his genealogy is not reckoned. 

2. David had no priesthood; and Christ will have no priesthood on David's throne. In Heaven only, as the antitype of Melchisedec, is he a priest.

3. He shall sit upon the throne of David forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. But he will resign the throne of his Father in Heaven, and of his priestly kingship there will be an end; he will deliver up that kingdom.

Now we may confidently appeal to every reader: To which of these thrones and kingdoms will the promises and prophecies apply, which we have been noticing? Which of these kingdoms will destroy the kingdoms of this world, and fill the whole earth? To which of these thrones will the saints be exalted? Will Jesus destroy his enemies while he sits a priest at his Father's right hand, or after he leaves that position, and takes possession of his own throne? 

He will sometime say to the righteous, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; will he say this while he is on the Father's throne, or when he shall come again, in his own kingdom? See Matt. 25:31-41. 

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 

Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 

Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 

Mat 25:35  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 

Mat 25:36  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 

Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 

Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 

Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 

Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels

James says: "Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?" James 2:5. This describes the present position of the saints, and their relation to the kingdom. They who are rich in faith, and love God, are heirs of the kingdom, and not yet in possession. 

Indeed, they cannot inherit the kingdom in their present mortal state; for if they did they would leave it to other people at their death. Some may doubt the correctness of this, thinking that it conflicts with the words of Paul in Rom. 8:38, 39; but it does not. Death cannot separate us from the love of Christ, for he is Lord both of the dead and the living. Rom. 14:9. He will redeem us from the grave, which is the land of the enemy; for death is an enemy. Jer. 31:15-17; 1 Cor. 15:26. But surely, when we are in the land of the enemy, under the dominion of death and the grave, we are not in the kingdom of

Christ.

On this point we have the most decisive testimony in the words of Paul in 1 Cor. 15:50: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." Flesh and blood is an expression denoting a corruptible state, such as we all possess in this world of mortality. In this state we cannot inherit the kingdom of God. And why not?--

Because the kingdom of God is an everlasting kingdom; of the reign of Christ there will be no end. Being an incorruptible kingdom, only incorruptible subjects can inherit it; otherwise they would die and leave it to other people. From this point the apostle goes on to explain how we may inherit that kingdom. "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

This will take place at the sounding of the last trump, when the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living shall be changed. At that time the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven "with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." 1 Thess. 4:14-17. Then the dead in Christ will arise immortal, and the living will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so be forever with the Lord. 

Of this time the Lord Jesus speaks in Matt. 25:31-34. The Son of man will come in the glory of the Father, and all the holy angels with him. His voice will raise the saints, immortal, incorruptible; and then he will say to them: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." This is "the first dominion," for it was prepared from the foundation of the world. And that will be the first moment that the saints could inherit it, for until that time they are mortal, corruptible, and cannot inherit the incorruptible kingdom of God. The gospel of the kingdom is still being preached, and concerning it the prayer of faith is still ascending: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven."

Here we may emphasize the facts already noticed in regard to the true heirs. For purposes which have been considered, the children of Jacob had especial privileges for a season, and they might have occupied a high place in the fulfillment of the purposes of grace; but, as Jesus said, they would not. Matt. 23:37. For this unfaithfulness, for their oft despising the messengers of God's love and mercy, and finally for maliciously putting to death his only-begotten Son, their house was left desolate, and the kingdom of God was taken from them to be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Matt. 21:33-43. From the first announcement of the gospel, this truth began to be given to them. John the Baptist said to them:--

"Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our Father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."Matt. 3:9.

Do any think this was a hard saying? If so, why? He who could make a living soul of the dust of the ground, and can bring the dead from the earth, and would cause the very stones to cry out if necessary to have the words of the prophet fulfilled (Gen. 2:7; Luke 19:38-40), could make living beings of the stones of the valley of the Jordan, and make them children of Abraham through faith in Christ. And Jesus said that the literal descendants of Jacob, who did not believe in him, were not the children of Abraham, but were the children of the devil. John 8:39-44; compare Matt. 13:38, 39; Rev. 3:9.  

The apostle Paul might have gloried because of his descent, yet he considered it all loss for Christ. Phil. 3:5, 7. How many have lost the treasures of the riches of God's grace in his covenant with Abraham, because of their vain boasting of their birth, proud of the accident of being born in a certain line, never accepting the word made plain to everyone, that they must be born again or they could never see the kingdom of God! Paul emphatically says they are not Jews; they are not the children of promise, and their circumcision is not circumcision (Rom. 2:28, 29); they have been broken off, so that they no longer belong to the stock of Israel, and they can only be restored by being grafted in again by faith in Christ. (Rom. 11:23); while the Gentiles by birth, who have accepted Christ, are no longer strangers; they are no more foreigners, but citizens of the commonwealth of Israel. Eph. 2:11-19.

Having traced the promises of the kingdom of David to their fulfillment, and having seen that it will be as extensive as, and identical with, the inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed, we are prepared to notice a query that has seemed to puzzle many minds. Seeing that the Scriptures declare that. Abraham was the heir of the whole world, why was he taken to the hill country of Palestine to be shown his inheritance? He was led from Mesopotamia to near the present site of Jerusalem, and there the Lord said to him, "Unto thy seed will I give this land." Why was not the promise made in the rich valley of the Euphrates? or why was he not taken to the land of Goshen, in Egypt? Let us illustrate our reply by a supposition. The empire of Russia is very large. Suppose that an individual were taken to some far-away corner of this empire, and told that he and his posterity should possess all the land that he could see, it might prove to be an inconsiderable gift. But take him to St. Petersburg, to a position overlooking the city, its palaces, and all the treasures of the empire; then tell him that all that he can see shall belong to him and his children after him, and that would be quite a different thing. So God took Abraham to the spot where the capital of the earth is to be located; where the city which hath foundations, for which Abraham looked, will come down from Heaven. Here Abraham offered Isaac; here the True Seed of promise died to purchase the inheritance of the children of Adam; and here will the triumphant Saviour descend to redeem the purchased possession. Here will David see his Son sit upon his glorious throne. Here will Adam recover his longlost garden, and again delight in approaching unto the tree of life. There was good reason why Abraham was led to this land, to the seat of the future capital of the whole world, to receive the promises. The great wonders of God's power and grace have been here displayed; and here will the full fruition of his gracious purpose be accomplished. Here Christ suffered; here he will triumph; here he will reign forever and ever.

"To the land where the Saviour of sinners once trod, Where he labored, and languished, and bled; Where he triumphed o'er death, and ascended to God, As he captive captivity led." 

History Is Proof.

 Kings and Queens, Royalty, Movie Stars, Athletic Stars, Educational Stars, Business Stars, Political Stars, Inherited Stardom-- Wealth, Power, Prestige. What do most (not all of course) of these people have in common? They are a minority in a world of too numerous to count- poor. The poor outnumber the wealthy by far. Here is an online quote-

'Income and wealth inequalities significant

The report highlights the extent of global income and wealth inequalities. At a global level the average income for an adult is $23,380 (when adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity or PPP).

However, the report's authors explain that this conceals wide disparities between and within countries. The richest 10% of the global population currently take home 52% of the income. The poorest half of the global population? Well they earn just 8%.

On average, an individual from the top 10% will earn $122,100, but an individual from the bottom half will earn just $3,920.

And, when it comes to wealth (valuable assets and items over and above income), the gap is even wider. The poorest half of the global population owns just 2% of the global total, while the richest 10% own 76% of all wealth.'

From <https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/12/global-income-inequality-gap-report-rich-poor/> 

Why am I bringing this up at all? Because the above is all about temporary, earthly wealth. People envision Income Equality, why? Because they want all people to be treated with the same deference the wealthy are. They want equal respect, equal health care, equal opportunity to live a life of envisioned mental, emotional, physical, financial - calmness, peacefulness and derive some happiness from all that is mentioned. This is a world not where any one group of people dominate another. This is a world without any dictators, without any kings, without any presidents… but rather a world where all are on an equal level. I'm talking fairy tale, unbelievable, impossible things aren't I? And yet, this is the desire of that vast majority who are suffering under the hardship of a life that is incredibly far from equal on any level. People say, work hard and… yet not everyone is capable of working hard- this is TRUTH and not through any FAULT of their own. Oh, how I could go on and on, but the point I'm trying to make here is that WE WILL NEVER HAVE WHAT IS TRULY DESIRED- NEVER WILL THAT SORT OF LIFE EXIST HERE ON EARTH WITH LIFE …continuing on as it has for thousands and thousands and thousands of years…  Right now we live in a world that has one man, one government killing people because he(they) want their land, their subjection to them. And this is just the major war that in May 2022 is taking place. There are many other smaller wars that don't affect the first world countries so they just let them go on, ignoring them for the most part as people are killed for the same reason- land ownership, or ideal enforcement, religious enforcement and so on.  

This world has NO answers to its problems, none, or they would have implemented them long before now, right?

The truth is this world is going to be filled with evil, heartache, pain and suffering and remain so until our LORD and SAVIOR returns and takes all of His people to the Heavenly Kingdom.  OUR hope must be in CHRIST and the good news of the Kingdom of God, salvation, redemption, forgiveness! If we keep our hope in this current world, it's placing our hope in a lost cause. 

Christ will come again. Prophetic History has PROVEN this beyond a doubt! 

Doubt if you choose, you're not forced to believe- love doesn't force.

All in the name of our Lord and Savior, now and forever, Jesus Christ!!!!!!! Amen!

 

*******

TWO THRONES AND TWO KINGDOMS

Listen to what the Lord Jesus says: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Rev. 3:21. Of the present position of the Saviour, read again: "We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens." "Is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb. 8:1; 12:2, and others.

While he is on the throne of his Father in Heaven he is a priest; a priest-king, after the order of Melchisedec. But note this important point: in his priesthood he has no genealogy. See the argument in Hebrews, chapter five to seven. He is a priest after the order of Melchisedec, whose genealogy is not recorded. But the priesthood will have an end. He will leave that position on the throne of his Father. When he comes to take vengeance on his foes, he will no longer plead the power of his blood in their behalf. When the great day of his wrath is come he will no longer be an advocate. His Father called him to sit at his right hand until his enemies are put under his feet. Ps. 110:1. And so the apostle writes: "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." Heb. 10:12, 13.

With these scriptures before us it is easy to correct an error into which many have fallen, namely, that one great object, if not the great object, of the reign of Christ, is to subdue his enemies, or put them under his own feet. 

That is a work that Christ will never do. 1 Cor. 15:23-28, is often quoted to uphold that view, whereas it teaches the very opposite of that. It reads thus:-- "Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that did put all things under him, that God may be all in all." 

This scripture clearly shows that Christ possesses a kingdom which he will sometime resign. The time is located at or near his coming. Then he will have delivered up the kingdom; he will have left the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens, where he is now sitting as a kingly priest. Verse 28 says: "And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." The Son does not subdue all things unto himself; he does not put all things under his own feet. If he did, how could he become subject to him that put all things under him? The Father said: "I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." "Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." And 1 Cor. 15:27 says: "But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted which did put all things under him." Wrong ideas on this text are easily imbibed from overlooking the manner in which the pronouns are applied. "For he [the Son] must reign until he [the Father] hath put all things under his [the Son's] feet." This is not arbitrary; it is necessary. See again: "And when all things shall be subdued unto him [the Son] then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [the Father] that did put all things under him [the Son], that God may be all in all." Notice the several events here brought to view:--

1 The coming of Christ.

2. Then comes the end.

3. Then he shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father.

4. He must reign until all things are put under his feet by the Father.

5. When all things are put under him, he himself becomes subject to the Father,--he resigns that throne, and delivers up that kingdom.

6. The Father then becomes all in all; sole occupant of that throne in the Heavens.

This is the kingdom--that is the throne which he will deliver up at the end of his priestly work. Then probation will have ended; then the saints will have been sealed unto full redemption; and they that are unjust must remain unjust still. Rev. 22:11, 12. Then will the Son break his enemies with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

Then the day of the wrath of the Lamb will have come, the image will be  smitten on the feet, and all the dominions of the earth be destroyed. What has here been stated concerning the throne of the Father in Heaven is well known, and will be readily admitted by all. Let us briefly examine some of the facts of Scripture concerning the throne of David.

To be continued…

Inheritance.

 An inheritance. How many expected inheritances do you imagine are never inherited by those expecting them? Most of the people I know do not have any inheritances of any great worth. I live among the people who mostly live paycheck to paycheck, with very little if any savings, with retirement funds very low if existing at all, and so when I think of inheritances I tend to think of the wealthy. When my own mother passed and her five children inherited her possessions, we didn't have anything to haggle over. There were no lawyers involved when we divided what people consider the assets of a deceased person. My sisters and I sat in a room among all her boxes and storage bins and over the course of a few days, all was said and done- except for a very few things here and there. The money she left behind was divided as per her wishes, and that was that.  That is the only inheritance I have any firsthand partaking of.  Because there wasn't a substantial inheritance there was no thought of it throughout my life. I didn't grow up with the expectation of any inheritance as some children do when they have wealthy or very wealthy parents or grandparents. I imagine most people are like me and not like the wealthy because the poorer people vastly outweigh the wealthy in our world.

So, why all the talk about inheritance? Because there IS an inheritance we ALL have equal opportunity to be a part of should we choose to be.

Like any inheritance it is NOT something fully realized until after the death of the one you are inheriting from.

In this case, the death we await is literally the death of our current world, the death of all of evil humanity. Our inheritance is to be the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus, God's only begotten Son ministered upon earth He taught that He wasn't there to make the current world better. He wasn't there to remove all pain, anguish, heartache, sickness, misery that makes up a lot of our existence. He came to preach the Kingdom of God, a future, an inheritance!  We would suffer now and suffer until the day of redemption.

Jesus said this-- 

Joh 17:1  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 

Joh 17:2  As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 

Joh 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 

Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 

Joh 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 

Joh 17:7  Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 

Joh 17:8  For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 

Joh 17:9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 

Joh 17:10  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. 

Joh 17:11  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 

Joh 17:12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 

Joh 17:13  And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 

Joh 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 

Joh 17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 

Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 

Joh 17:18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 

Joh 17:19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 

Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 

Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 

Joh 17:22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 

Joh 17:23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 

Joh 17:24  Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 

Joh 17:25  O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 

Joh 17:26  And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. 

Mat 6:9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 

Mat 6:10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread. 

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

Mat 6:14  For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 

Mat 6:15  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses

Act 1:11  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 

2Th 1:7  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 

2Th 1:8  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 

2Th 1:9  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 

2Th 1:10  When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. 

Joh_14:2  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Joh_14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

He went to prepare a place for us in the Father's kingdom- our inheritance after the destruction, after the death of all evil humanity. 

There is a very real inheritance waiting for us all, an inheritance worth more than any earthly inheritance in existence. Jesus came to offer us all a chance in the kingdom to come, may we be with Him in the kingdom and may that kingdom come soon.

Even so, come Lord Jesus, come!

*******

CHAPTER IX. HEIRS OF THE KINGDOM

"And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." Dan. 2:44.

Here is presented a strong contrast between this kingdom and its predecessors. The Babylonian empire was mighty and magnificent. Its capital has never been equaled by any city on the earth. But it became exceedingly wicked, and the same Being who gave this dominion to Nebuchadnezzar, declared that it should be utterly destroyed. Belshazzar and his thousand lords, and his hosts of mighty ones, laughed to scorn the efforts of their invaders; they mocked and insulted the true and living God. But the sure word of prophecy was spoken against Babylon, and that word has never failed--it cannot fail. To show how wonderfully the prophecies of God are fulfilled, we will give quotations from two prophets in regard to the destruction of Babylon.

Isaiah spoke of this in the year 712 b. c. This was just about one hundred years before Nebuchadnezzar overthrew Jerusalem, when Babylon was the rising power of the earth. It was one hundred and seventy years before its conquest by Cyrus. Thus said the prophet:--

"And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the island shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged." Isa. 13:19-22. 

When we consider that the city was then becoming the glory of the Chaldees' excellency, exceedingly strong, that the situation was desirable, and the land very productive, it seemed highly improbable that it should ever become so utterly desolate--even a place to be avoided--as the prophet said. But every word has been literally fulfilled. Generation after generation has passed, and the place of the glorious city continues in the very condition described by the prophet. And very wonderful are the words of Jeremiah, spoken in the year 595 b. c. This was eleven years after Daniel was carried captive into Babylon; eight years after the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Therefore the solemn words of this prophecy were sent of God when this mighty monarch was reigning in the greatest pride of his glory. It was fifty-seven years before Babylon fell. The following are a part of the words of this prophecy:-- 

"Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow; for every purpose of the Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to fight, they have remained in their holds; their might hath failed, they became as women; they have burned her dwelling places, her bars are broken. One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end.

"And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, without an inhabitant. 

 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captain, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary." Jer. 51:28-31, 37, 57, 58. 

No one can intelligently read the words of the prophets without becoming convinced of the correctness of the apostle Peter's statement, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:19.

Babylon fell, and the kingdom passed into the hands of the Persians. In like manner was it transferred to the Grecians and then to the Romans. These "masters of the world" thought they had secured a sure supremacy; but they were as vicious as they were powerful, and a rude people became their conquerors. One generation after another passes away, and wars change the boundaries of the kingdoms of the earth. But of the fifth kingdom the word stands sure: It shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. They who possess it shall possess it forever and ever.

Considering that the very intention to make man was connected with the gift of a dominion, and the first gift to man was a dominion, we cannot be surprised that the restoration of the kingdom becomes especially prominent in the promises of God to man. Nor need we be surprised if he who was instrumental in robbing man of his first dominion, puts forth every effort to obscure and pervert this great and important truth. As to its importance and interest, we notice:--

1. The first proclamation of the forerunner of Christ, was concerning the coming kingdom: "Repent ye for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Matt. 3:1, 2.

2. The beginning of the preaching of Jesus Christ was the same proclamation: "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:14, 15.

3. The first of the beatitudes pronounced by the Saviour in the sermon on the mount, was concerning the kingdom: "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." Matt. 5:3.

4. The first petition of the Lord's prayer was for the coming of the kingdom: "Thy kingdom come." Matt. 6:10.

5. When Jesus sent forth his disciples to preach the gospel, this was the burden of their commission: "And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Matt. 10:7.

6. Jesus said: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matt. 24:14. The object of the present dispensation is the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to prepare a people to inherit it when it shall be set up.

7. And finally, when the Saviour comes in his glory, for the full redemption of his people, then will he say to the saints: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matt. 25:34.  

Some have showed their firm belief in the theory that the kingdom has already come,-by saying the Lord's prayer is not appropriate for this dispensation; it was given to the disciples before he had set up his kingdom, but now it is unfitting to pray that his kingdom may come. But as the subject of the prophecy of Daniel 2, and of the promises, it certainly has not come. Nothing has yet come, or been set up, which has restored the first dominion; which has caused the meek to inherit the earth; which has restored the kingdom and the throne of David. The promises remain to be fulfilled. Neither Abraham nor his seed has inherited the earth. Neither David nor his seed has seen the promised restoration and everlasting triumph of his reign. But the question will perhaps be asked: Is not Jesus, the son of David, already exalted to a throne? Is he not on a throne at the present time? Truly, he is; but not as the son of David, because he is not on the throne of David. We must bear in mind that there are two thrones and two kingdoms.

To be continued…

1, 2, 3, 4. 5... Will 6 Come Next?

 1. Head of Gold.

2. Arms and Chest of Silver.

3. Belly and Thighs of Brass.

4. Legs of Iron.

5. Feet of Part Iron Part Clay.

6. Stone Destroying the Entire Statue. 

History has determined the Head of Gold was Babylon, the Arms and Chest of Silver- Medo-Persia, the Belly and Thighs of Brass- Ancient Greece, Legs of Iron- Rome, Feet of Iron and Clay- Rome including what Rome was divided into as it fell apart and no longer ruled.  The Stone- YET TO COME. 

Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, Rome divided into other countries- all this is HISTORY, right?  It is. Provable history. 

So, will predicted Stone also happen?  Yes, beyond all doubt whatsoever. To think that for some unfathomable reason that particular part of the prophecy would be wrong when every single other part has come to pass, is ludicrous, it's absolutely delusional. You'd have to be under the worst kind of deception, blinded by the fiercest of Satanic delusion just as the Jewish leaders in Jesus' day before His death to not believe the rest of that prophecy will come to pass with the utmost certainty. 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5…. And for some reason 6 won't come after 5?   Ludicrous! Insanity! A deception that will have eternal consequences. 

The Stone represents our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ returning and destroying the entire sinful earth and all its sinful kingdoms and setting up His own eternal, everlasting kingdom in its place. No other God, no other entity will do this, Jesus Christ will do this and that is a promise that WILL come to pass, just as all the others came to pass.

God help us to see all Your truth! Break away the deception Satan has captured so many people with! Please, Lord, open the minds and hearts to the truth of all who would be YOURS! Please, all through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR now and forever!!!!!!!

Amen. 

*******

CHAPTER VIII. THE TIME OF SETTING UP THE KINGDOM

Continued….

We come down three centuries this side of our Saviour's advent. 

In Northern Europe there were great numbers of people, restless for new countries in which to settle, or to conquer for spoil. The empire of the Romans was losing its former strength and power. Describing these people of the North who were seeking new countries to inhabit, Machiavelli said:--

"These colonists have destroyed the Roman Empire, by the error of the emperors, who, having abandoned Rome, the true seat of the empire, to dwell at Constantinople, have, by this conduct, rendered the western part more feeble, not being able so well to defend it." 

History of Florence, Book 1., p. 2. 

A certain writer said that when Constantine removed his capital to Constantinople, he virtually left the seat of the Cesars to the bishops of Rome. One thing is certain: the power of the emperors over Rome decreased in exactly the proportion that the power of the bishops increased. 

A history of the "Papal Supremacy," published in Dublin in 1810, says: "It is most certain that if the emperors had continued to reside at Rome, the bishops never would have usurped a supremacy." This is reasonable; it is conclusive. Early in the fourth century, the Northern Barbarians, as they have been called, made inroads upon some of the fairest portions of the empire, in Central Europe and along the Rhine. And before the close of the fifth century the empire was broken up into ten kingdoms, as before noticed. The Ostrogoths took possession of Italy, and ruled in Rome, until they were driven out by the army of Justinian, under Belisarius, in 538.

Now we take our stand near the beginning of the sixth century, and we behold these fragments of the Roman empire, exactly as pointed out by Daniel in the interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. And there the image stands complete, as represented in the engraving. Not before this time could the stone smite the image, for it was to smite it upon the feet, and nowhere else. The stone is not introduced into the prophecy before that time. What then? Was the kingdom set up at that time? It was not. In this and other prophecies, where the history of the world is briefly outlined, the ultimate--the setting up of the kingdom of God--is introduced, without in each instance, filling up all the particulars. As prophecy follows prophecy, we find more and more of these particulars inserted, but the ultimate is always the same,--the establishing of the kingdom of God; the restoration of what

was lost in the fall, closes up this world's history, and introduces the eternal state.

In Dan. 2:47, speaking of the ten kingdoms, it is said: "They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with miry clay." These words plainly indicate that after these kingdoms arise, some time will elapse before they are smitten and destroyed; some time is allotted to their mingling and undergoing changes. How long this time would be, the second chapter of Daniel gives no intimation; it might be very short for all that we can learn in this chapter. But Daniel 7 gives additional facts in the history of the kingdoms of the world, and describes the coming up of another power after the rise of the ten kings, before whom three of the ten were plucked up. And it is shown that this other power wears out the saints, and prevails against them a long time before the kingdom is given to the saints of the Most High. The order of these events is marked out very plainly in Dan. 7:21, 22. 

"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." 

We have seen that the ten kingdoms were not fully developed until the latter part of the fifth century after Christ. The horn that rose after them, which became stronger than they, and that persecuted the saints, was not fully established until the sixth century. For many centuries he wore out the saints; he is still opposing himself to the free worship of God; still declaring that it is his fixed principle not to tolerate freedom of conscience toward God where he has the power to put down every religion that opposes itself unto him. And still the saints are waiting; judgment has not yet been given to them; and the time has not yet come for them to possess the kingdom. The stone has not yet smitten the image. The kingdoms of this world still occupy their places; they are not yet broken and driven away as the chaff; but they are fast filling up the cups of their iniquity. Pride and the love of worldly power fill their hearts. Their greatest ambition seems to be the making of abundant provision for shedding human blood. A slight pretext is sufficient for them to engage in the most unjust and destructive enterprises, if an extension of territory or an increase of power is to be the result; yes, the most mischievous schemes are often carried out to serve the interest of a party. Where is the exception to these declarations? Alas for the world! Peace has flown away; equity and the love of their fellow-men are not found among the great of the earth. And among the professed people of God, with very small exceptions, formality has usurped the place of the power of godliness, and the fear of God is taught by the precept of men. Surely, God will yet visit for these things.

Hope Unseen.

 No. We cannot know the day or the hour of Christ's return. What we can know is that Christ WILL return. 

Will Christ return for those who don't believe in Him? No. 

Christ will return for those who do believe in Him.

Christ WILL return that's guaranteed. 

What isn't guaranteed is Christ returning for us individually. 

There are conditions on who Christ will return for. The condition for Christ returning for us is faith. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED for, the EVIDENCE of things NOT seen.  

A HOPE UNSEEN.  

A belief-- faith is necessary to belonging to Christ. Belonging to the HOPE UNSEEN. 

Many refuse to believe in the HOPE UNSEEN and that will be ultimately tragic on all counts. None are forced or coerced into a belief because it's impossible to force or coerce faith. All some can try to do, wrongly, is force and coerce a façade of faith. Making someone mouth the words of belief so they can live, isn't making them believe in the heart. Only a true belief in the HOPE UNSEEN can come from the heart. And then only from a heart willingly surrendered, a heart made new, a heart cleansed.

Psa_51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

God help us to believe in the HOPE UNSEEN, in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who is returning for those who are HIS, may we be HIS! All in His love, always! Amen!!!!!!!

*******

CHAPTER VIII. THE TIME OF SETTING UP THE KINGDOM

Continued….

'First we have the head of gold, Babylon, which we date from the time that Nebuchadnezzar took captive Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and carried him to Babylon, with part of the vessels of the house of God, and some of the children of Judah, including Daniel and his brethren. 2 Chron. 36:5-8; Dan. 1:1-7. This was before Christ 606. 

The dream of Nebuchadnezzar, and its interpretation, were given in the year b. c. 603, while this king was in the height of his power and glory. Therefore, at the time of this dream, only this much of the image--the head of gold--was fulfilled.

In the interpretation of the dream Daniel said to the king, "Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee." It was another kingdom that was to arise after him,--not merely another king. As the kingdom which was to succeed Babylon did not appear for half a century after this time, of course only the head of gold had an existence in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. But when Belshazzar was slain--when Darius the Median took the kingdom, Dan. 5:30, 31,--the second part of the image appeared in view, namely, the breast and arms of silver. Then two of the great divisions of the image were fulfilled, and the fulfilled parts stood as shown on page 90: the head of gold and the breast and arms of silver. Belshazzar was slain in the year b. c. 538; therefore from the time of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar to the rise of the second kingdom, was sixty-five years. 

And in this manner the first two parts of the image stood for more than two centuries. The first two kingdoms are identified in the clearest manner in the scriptures already noticed. The kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar was expressly declared to be the head of gold (Daniel 2); and the Babylonian kingdom ceased at the death of Belshazzar, and was succeeded by the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. 

Dan. 5:30, 31. These were represented by the gold and silver of the image. "And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth," continued the prophet. And this third kingdom is as clearly revealed in the Scriptures as are the first and second. The first, Babylon, is named in Daniel 2; the second, Medo-Persia, is named in Daniel 8; and the third, Grecia, is also named in Daniel 8, as we have seen. The ram was said by the angel to be the kings of Media and Persia. The kings of the Medes and Persians are counted one kingdom; that which came into power on the death of Belshazzar. The rough goat overpowered the ram, and became very great, and of him the angel said: "The rough goat is the king [or kingdom, see verse 22] of Grecia."

It was in the year b. c. 331 that Alexander the Grecian overthrew the Persians, and thus brought into existence another part of the image. From that time three parts stood in view, as shown on the next page. Thus it stood until the fourth, or strong kingdom, arose, more than a century and a half afterwards. 

We have before remarked that the Romans did not rise to supreme power by one great victory, as was the case with the Persians and the Grecians. The rise of the Roman empire was very peculiar in this respect. It conquered the world by degrees, never yielding what it had gained, and sometimes gaining by the fears of other people, who peacefully resigned themselves into the hands of those who were everywhere triumphant, rather than to risk the chance of a destructive warfare, which they were assured would terminate in their own overthrow. Nothing stood before the people who were so well represented by the legs of iron of the image of Nebuchadnezzar, and by the fourth beast of Daniel 7, which was dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly.

Becker's History of the World, Vol. IV., p. 1, speaks thus of the gradual rise of the Roman power:--

"The Roman people had, through the wars of four centuries, subjected to its authority the most beautiful parts of the then known world; the terrible internal wars, in which, since the bloody days of Glaucia and Saturninus until the time of the battle of Actium, the dying republic had wasted her strength, could not check the competition of the Roman world-wide dominion."

Gibbon presents a feature of the policy of the Romans in extending their dominion, as follows:--

"It was customary to tempt the protectors of besieged cities by the promise of more distinguished honors than they possessed in their native country. By such means they not only conquered their enemies, but turned them into honored citizens, cemented and strengthened the empire where-ever they went."

The Grecian empire was already divided into four kingdoms, which, however, were counted as so many parts of that kingdom. See Dan. 7:6. But these divisions made it necessary for the Romans to carry on their conquests in many directions in order to bring all the world into subjection.

As we count the beginning of the empire of Nebuchadnezzar, not from its foundation, but from the time when the kingdom of Israel was entirely subverted and subjected to it, so we date the beginning of the Roman empire from the time when the Jews, restored by the united action of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes (Ezra 6:14), made a league with the Romans. Nations are brought prominently into prophecy when they are brought into close relations with the people of God.

We therefore take the date of this league, b. c. 161, for the beginning of this empire as related to the prophecy. Here the tribes of Israel were merged into the Roman kingdom, and their land became a Roman province by their own consent. And from this time onward for several centuries after Christ, the image stood thus nearly complete, having the head, breast and arms, body, and legs of iron, in full view.  

And what is the next event in the order of the prophecy? A correct answer to this question is of the greatest importance, for upon it depends a true understanding of all the rest of the prophecy. As the introduction of one wrong figure into an extended calculation makes every part of the process wrong from that point, and renders a correct result impossible, so a mistake in one point in the interpretation of the whole prophecy, leads the inquirer in a wrong direction, and turns the interpretation of the whole prophecy into a wrong channel. Many affirm, and with much apparent confidence, that the next event is the setting up of the everlasting kingdom by the God of Heaven. But this is not the order of the prophecy. That kingdom is represented by the stone; but when did the stone make its first appearance? Not when the legs of iron were developed, but when it smote the image upon the feet. But where were the feet at the time of the advent of the Son of God to this earth? Where were they on the day of Pentecost, when it is affirmed that the kingdom was set up? They were not in existence. 

Look at the representation of the image as far as it was fulfilled up to nearly five hundred years this side of the beginning of the Christian era. The feet and toes did not make their appearance at all for nearly five centuries after the legs of iron were upon the stage of action. The stone did not smite the image upon the legs. Its first appearance was when it smote the image upon the feet; and this, in the interpretation, is explained as meaning that in the days of the kings thus smitten shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom.

And this is confirmed by the further declaration that when the kingdom of God is set up, it shall break in pieces and consume all the preceding kingdoms; and as the clay, the iron, the brass, the silver and the gold, were all broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and they were driven away so that no place was found for them, even thus were all the kingdoms of the earth to be consumed by the kingdom of the God of Heaven. And the image was not fully developed, as is shown, with the feet and toes standing upon the earth, until the Roman kingdom was divided into ten parts, as foretold in Daniel 2 and 7, which was not until near the close of the fifth century.

The difficulty with current interpretations of this prophecy is this: The setting up of the kingdom is confounded with the introduction of the new covenant, or the preaching of the gospel by Christ and his apostles. But that view is very far from being the correct one. The preaching of the gospel is preparatory to the setting up of the kingdom. The gospel is intended to call out of the world and prepare a people who shall be fitted by grace to inherit the kingdom when it is set up. There is nothing in the description of the setting up of the kingdom which can reasonably be applied to the preaching of the gospel. Dr. Barnes clearly saw this difficulty, and stated it as follows:--

"Two inquiries at once meet us here, of somewhat difficult solution. The first is, how, if this is designed to apply to the kingdom of the Messiah, can the description be true? The language here would seem to imply some violent action, some positive crushing force; something like that which occurs in conquests when nations are subdued. Would it not appear from this that the kingdom here represented was to make its way by conquests in the same manner as the other kingdoms, rather than by a silent and peaceful influence? Is this language, in fact, applicable to the method in which the kingdom of Christ is to supplant all others?"

These questions are well calculated to cause the advocates of that theory solemnly to reflect upon the violence that they are doing to the plain language of the Scriptures. We confidently answer the questions put forth by the learned doctor in the affirmative; this language is, in fact, applicable to the manner in which the kingdom of Christ is to be introduced. But it is not at all applicable, as the doctor plainly says, to the theory that makes the kingdom set up by the mildness of the introduction of the gospel. There is not a text in all the Bible which speaks of the kingdom of God supplanting all other kingdoms by mild means; everywhere it is said to break and destroy them. This description can be true,--it is true,--and there is no necessity to force the language to make it mean something entirely contrary to what it says. And this is by no means the only scripture that must be perverted to make that theory appear consistent. Turn to Ps. 2:7-9:--

"Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

Strangely enough, this second psalm has been construed into a prophecy of the conversion of the world! What is the position of the Son during the preaching of the gospel? He is a priest, sitting at the right hand of his Father in Heaven. Heb. 8:1, 2. Now read Ps. 110:1, and there we learn the condition of the world when he leaves that position as a priest, as he prepares to return the second time to this world. "The Lord said unto my Lord, Si t thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." And thus the author of the book of Hebrews says he is seated at the right hand of the Father, from henceforth expecting till his enemies shall be put under his feet. When his priesthood is finished, then he will leave his position at the right hand of the Father; then his enemies will be put under his feet; then he will come to take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel. 2 Thess. 1:6-10. Then will the kings of the earth, the great men, the mighty men, try in vain to hide from the wrath of the Lamb, crying, "The great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6:15-17. Then he will break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces as a potter's vessel; and then will Dan. 2:34 and 44 be literally fulfilled. Rev. 11:16-18 says that when it is announced that the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, then it is also said that the nations were angry, and the wrath of God is come, and the time to judge the dead, and to give  reward to all his people, and to visit with destruction all those who corrupt the earth. And thus the question which appeared so perplexing to Dr. Barnes is easily solved, and the language of the prophecy is seen to apply naturally to the facts in the case. There is nothing in Daniel 2, when most literally construed, at all inconsistent with the other scriptures; and more might be quoted of like import. 

To be continued…

(From Eden to Eden-A Historic and Prophetic Study. By J. H. Waggoner. 1890.) 

Hope That Is Seen Is Not Hope.

 Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 

Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 

Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 

Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 

Rom 8:12  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 

Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 

Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 

Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 

Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. 

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 

Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 

Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 

Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sadness Nips At the Heels of Happiness Now- But Not In the World to Come.

 I make not one but five prophecies. Four of those prophecies come to pass just as I predicted. Would you now believe the fifth will come to pass in the future? You would wouldn't you? Why would the fifth fail, when four have already transpired? Logic would dictate that it would not fail. My fifth prediction would come to pass without doubt. 

Why do we doubt God? All God has predicted has come to pass so far, the rest will happen without doubt. 

God, please, help us to comprehend the truth of Your words. You've given us the future, you've told us what we can look forward to, we need to believe, we need to listen. 

When we purposefully choose not to believe and lean to our own understanding we are doomed to a very dark future, a non-existent future. 

We live in a dark world, filled with a lot of sadness. The sadness lurks around the happiness nipping at its heels because we know how temporary happiness can be. We hold tight to the temporary happiness, we search for temporary happiness as if that short-lived joy is what our lives are lived for. We need to live for the life after this life. We need to live for the life of everlasting joy- IT EXISTS, we have proof! That life -is one of the predictions already made, one of several that have come true, and we know the rest will come to pass!

God help us all, through the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever!!!!!!! Amen! May we be yours LORD, may we believe YOUR TRUTHS! Help us to live knowing where true happiness will be found in YOU now, and in YOU forever!

*******

CHAPTER VIII. THE TIME OF SETTING UP THE KINGDOM

The first words of the revelation of God concerning man are these, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion." Gen. 1:26. Thus the purpose was announced to make man that he might have dominion over the earth. It has been noticed that when Daniel spoke before Nebuchadnezzar of the extent of his dominion which the God of Heaven had given him, he used the same terms that were used in the first declaration of the purpose of God, and in the original gift to Adam, of dominion over all the earth.

When man was created, dominion was given to him in the following words:--

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Gen. 1:28.

We do not find these ideas expressed, or these terms again used, until Daniel reminds the triumphant king of Babylon of the source of his power. Thus he said:--

"Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of Heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all." Dan. 2:37, 38.

The same witness was given by Daniel in speaking to Belshazzar, in the closing hours of this great empire:-- 

"The most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor; and for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him." Dan. 5:18, 19.

We have seen that the parts of the image in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar represented four great kingdoms which should bear rule over all the earth. The interpretation of the dream shows that it was given as a prophecy of the kingdom which the God of Heaven should set up. In other words, it was a prophecy of the restoration of the kingdom and throne of David, in the hands of him "whose right it is." The king in this kingdom, the seed of David, is also the Son of God; he is the seed of Abraham, in whom all nations of the earth were to be blessed; the seed of the woman who should bruise the head of the serpent, and restore what was lost by the sin of our first parents. This kingdom is the same as "the first dominion," spoken of by the prophet Micah,--dominion lost by Adam. Now it seems altogether fitting that, in the prophecy of the restoration of the kingdom of the whole earth, the way should be prepared for a full understanding of the subject, by setting forth the kingdoms upon the same territory, by which the order of succession could be made plain. 

In Dan. 2:44, the characteristics of the kingdom which the God of Heaven should set up are pointed out; but these are prefaced with a declaration concerning the time when the kingdom shall be set up. The exact time is not revealed, either here or elsewhere; only an approximation to the time is given.  

The statement on this subject is very explicit: "In the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom. In the days of what kings? Some authors have assumed that it meant the Roman kings; that is, that the kingdom of Heaven should be set up in the time of the Roman empire. But there are insuperable objections to this view, and not a single good reason can be adduced in its favor. In the preceding verses the immediate antecedent of the expression, "these kings," are the ten kings that shall arise out of the fourth kingdom. If "these kings" did not mean the ten kings, then there is nothing to indicate that it refers to the kings of Rome more than to the kings of Greece, of Persia, or of Babylon. It is an evident truth that each part of the image represents one kingdom or king. In no case is either of them referred to in the plural number. The plural is not used until we come to the ten kings. Therefore if the ten kings are not referred to, it yet remains to be proved that it refers to the Roman kings rather than to those of the others of the four. Then it would mean that the God of Heaven would set up a kingdom somewhere in the days of the four kingdoms--say somewhere between the days of Nebuchadnezzar and Constantine. But such a construction is very far from the truth; it is based on an unreasonable supposition. It is not in harmony with the declaration of the prophecy. The immediate antecedent, and the only grammatical antecedent of the expression, "these kings," are the ten kings which are represented by the feet and toes of the image. And this view is verified by the prophecy in its description of the kingdom of  Heaven. It must be evident to every reader that, as Babylon was represented by the head of gold, and Medo-Persia by the breast and arms of silver, and Grecia by the body of brass, and Rome by the legs of iron, and the ten kings by the feet and toes of the image, so the kingdom to be set up by the God of Heaven is represented by the stone. Every point in the image or in the dream, has a  corresponding fact in the fulfillment. The stone was cut out without hands; and the kingdom was to be set up by the God of Heaven--not by human agency. The stone broke in pieces and destroyed the image in all its parts; so the kingdom was to break in pieces and consume all the kingdoms of the earth. The stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth; so the kingdom was to succeed all kingdoms under the whole heaven. Dan. 7:13, 14, 27. 

The history of the image is a history of the successive powers of the whole earth. Persia succeeded Babylon; Grecia succeeded Persia; Rome succeeded Grecia; the ten kings succeeded the Roman empire; and the kingdom of the God of Heaven succeeds the ten kings. It utterly destroys all the kingdoms of the earth. To show more clearly the proof that lies in this order of succession, we will examine the several parts of the image as they are presented in the successive kingdoms, in the order of their time. 

To be continued…