We're in Micah in chapter 4 today. And we're going to call it, The Kingdom Shall Come. Aren't you glad that's true? The kingdom shall come. And I'm really happy to be able to share this because last week we shared about the hurt that was going to come upon Israel. And today we're going to talk about the heavenly that is going to come upon the people of Israel. What a good God we have. One who knows what's going to happen, the end from the beginning. And so the kingdom shall come. And when we come to chapter 3, we remember that it said, Hear, O heads of Jacob. Chapter 1 said, Hear, O nations, peoples of the earth. Okay, so we've seen this book really breaks down into three parts. Technically, we couldn't possibly take the second part all in one bite, so we've broken it down. We see that the book breaks down in chapter 1, chapter 3, and chapter 6 with the little touchstone of hear ye, hear. But with that said, we saw the hurt that would come upon Israel because their princes, their priests, and their prophets were altogether corrupted. It was a bad day for Israel. They had no idea the danger they were in. A lot like our country has no idea the peril that it sits in right now. This world in which we live is coming down, and that's by design. God gave us a great land here and a great run here as we've lived in this great country. But in the past number of years, really, not that many, but just a few years, we have seen some pretty remarkable things happening. And it's going to bring the judgment of God on us inevitably. But with chapter 4 before us, it starts with the little word but, the conjunction but. Why? Because God's butting in here. He says, this is bad, but. Aren't you glad God buts in sometimes? When you see in chapter 3 of the book of Romans, the Bible says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Bible says that there's none righteous, no, not one. They've all gone out of the way. It's in their tongues as a poison of aspects, a bad, bad thing. And it says, but God in chapter 3, because God butts in and he says, but God, who is rich in mercy. Oh, he does some great things for us and framing for us salvation. So when you come to chapter 4, it starts with that conjunction, but it says, but in the last days, It shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow into it." This, beloved, is something we need to be familiar with. When I was talking to John last week, and he was telling me how he was cueing in on some of the things I was saying to his in-laws there that day, One of the things that was interesting is that he found purchase in the promises that I had spoken to them. He inadvertently was listening as I had spoken to them, and he found this buoyancy that came from knowing God is good. And guys, listen, if you and I are seeing with the same eyes, we know this nation of ours is in trouble, and we need to see with spirit eyes. Because I tried to make it as quick for him as I could. He said, you know, that day I just felt so much better and I was able to negotiate that with my mind. And he said, and then two days later I went and I got a shot in my knee. And he says, I'm getting my knee back. And he says, and this is when he's starting to cry. He's starting to puddle up. Why? Because, because he was encouraged by the word of God. Now listen, you and I need the encouragement of the word of God when we see this world going sideways. And if we know the truth, I said to him, I said, this is so neat, you've encouraged my heart. I said, it's kind of like if you're parted from the nearest and dearest to your heart and you're just mourning and grieving. You hate that they're away from you. But you know that in two days time, you're going to see them again. You can get past the immediate two days. And that's what it's like for you and me as God's people. The Bible says that the hope that we have is a transforming hope. that He that has this hope, and it's largely laid forth before us here, He that has this hope in Him purifies Himself even as He is pure. See, in the here and now, what we're seeing is God is illustrating in stark colors, really, living color, what's been said all along. You and I are watching it unfold. And so when it says, in the last days, you need to realize that that word is a word that typically refers to the last of the last days. Bible says that we are already in the last days in some sense, but these are the last of the last days. And it says it shall come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains and it shall be exalted above the hills and people shall flow into it. Now, this is huge because this is talking about Israel. He dressed them down because the princes, the prophets and the and the priests were all corrupted in chapter three. But he says, there's going to come a time when all of that's going to be a very dim memory. And he says, it's going to come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains. Now, if you are familiar with your Bible, you know that where the Bible tells us that Abraham offered Isaac became a very sacred piece of land. And it was a place where eventually the temple would be built. But this is not talking about that mountain, because the temple that is to be built is going to be huge. It's going to be too huge for that little parcel of ground. It's going to be higher than all of the mountains there. It's going to be centralized in a way unlike anything we've seen before. And what I want you to recognize is when he's talking about this, Reference you want to put in your margin, which I did not add to your notes is in Ezekiel chapter 40 Just write that over there because it is in Ezekiel 40 that the Bible talks about Ezekiel being taken up into a high mountain and he saw below him a huge panoramic view of the Millennial Temple and he saw it and it was huge there was a man with a reed it was all about how huge this thing was and And subsequently, he was taken on a little tour. The most striking thing to the observer, as you read chapter 40, is that there were no people there. It was this huge temple, no people there. However, the Shekinah glory of God was in its place right inside the Holy of Holies as Ezekiel walks by the door. He's like, whoa, God's there. But why weren't there any people? Because he was seeing with prophetic insight what we're seeing in chapter 4. Verse 1, this mountain of the house of the Lord is going to be huge. It's going to come at a time when, in fact, God is going to allow Israel to once and for all enjoy the full boundaries He set for the people of Israel. Those who study these things understand, Israel is very small, about the size of New Jersey, I'm told, okay? Very small as far as things are concerned, but it was supposed to be huge. It was supposed to be from one river out, way out by the... Persians all the way down to the rivers to Egypt. And what we find in the Scriptures when we read is that this will happen to be the borders of Israel during the Millennial Kingdom. I want to direct your attention over in Isaiah 19. It says, In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria. And the Assyrians shall come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria. And the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third, with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt, my people, and Assyria, the work of my hands, and Israel, mine inheritance." See why I had this written down for you? This is not a passage you're necessarily typically familiar with. What he's saying is Egypt and Assyria are going to be his servants, and Israel's going to be a blessing in their midst, and this is going to be during the millennial kingdom. Why? Well, because God has used these two nations, Egypt and Assyria, to bless his people when Joseph went ahead and preserved Israel during the famines that came. That was a blessing. And even though they turned dark after a season, they had to be spanked for many years, never would come into full You know, bloom again, you know, in sort of a world power scenario. Nevertheless, what we have is we have Egypt is still there and he's called my servant. Assyria is way over there, like think Babylon, think Assyria. They're all up in that area where Babel was first established, the Tower of Babel, Nimrod, all that. This is a huge landmass. Now with that huge landmass, you're beginning to see things coming into a little clearer focus. Because what God is intending to do is He's intending to succeed with Israel. You see, there are those in our day who have written off Israel. They have said that they believe the church is Israel. It's called replacement theology. Those who embrace a covenant theology often go in the direction of this. They believe Israel is an enemy of God for the cross's sake. And it is true in this time they're in a darkened condition. There's a veil over their eyes. The Bible says in Corinthians that that veil though is taken away when they see Jesus. And you know what the Bible says in Zechariah? It says in that day they will see him whom they pierced and immediately they're going to mourn for him as for an only son. This is pretty cool stuff. And the Bible says that the mountain of the house of the Lord is going to be established upon the mountain. It's going to be huge like Ezekiel 40 tells us. And the Bible says, and the people will flow into it. Not just Israelites, but all people of all nations. It says in verse two, and many nations shall come and say, come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us circle the word. He, he will teach us who the God of Jacob, who Jesus, because he's going to be on site. He's going to teach us. The Bible says, of his ways, and we will walk in his paths for the law shall go forth out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Now, something that always troubled me, something that always kind of tickled at the back of my mind when I would read about the millennial kingdom, and it's probably because I live in the technological and wake of the industrial revolution and in the technological information age, we're living in a time where we're bombarded with so many really cool things, you know. I mean, there's cool stuff. If you're bored, there's something wrong with you, because there's something to do, okay? And I'm sorry to say, many times we dive for a covering in the wrong place. Not the Spirit of the Lord, because the Bible says, be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. And sometimes we don't need wine to be intoxicated. We could be intoxicated by food. We could be intoxicated by entertainment. We can be intoxicated by all kinds of musics, all of those things. And we put the covering of the spirit of the Lord at bay. You see, Isaiah chapter 30 in verse one, we need to choose always to dive back into his shadow because when we are abiding under the shadow of the most high, we will have no fear. of the pestilence and so forth by night, Psalm 91 tells us. But what I want you to see here is it says that many nations are going to say, let us go. And the thing that was tickling in the back of my mind was, is what's going to be different about that day than this day? In other words, why? Look at verse 3. It says that he shall judge. Again, he's there. He's teaching. He shall judge among many people and rebuke the strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Verse 4 is where I want to get you to. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid. For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it." The thing that tickled at the back of my brain was, why would I want to sit under a fig tree? Is that flawed? And I think what we're missing here is that Jesus is on site. What we're missing here is that the Bible tells us in Psalm 1611, Thou will show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy. and at thy right hand are pleasures forevermore." Do you know what it is you go after when you turn the music on? You're looking for some pleasure, right? You're looking for a little ease, a little blessing, a little something, a little encouragement. If you're eating chocolate cake like I like to do whenever I can, you're doing it because it tastes good. Now, what I want you to see is the Bible has just laid before us the fact that the kingdom is established. And the people flow into it. And they say, let's go there. They're going to sit under their vine. But the word means to dwell. It means to be content there. Why? Because there's pleasure on the earth. There's blessing on the earth. In the millennial kingdom, we are told that the devil will have been bound for a thousand years. And we're told that the governments will be established in such a way that King Jesus will be on site. And this world will be a place wherein dwells righteousness. Now, part of righteousness is not just about behavior. It's also about rightness. When we're talking about the earth being a place wherein dwelleth righteousness, it's a place where the crooked is made straight, where the streams break forth in the desert. It's a place where the lion lays down with the lamb. It's a place where they learn no war anymore. It's a place where sorrows are kept at bay. The only thing the millennial generation, not the millennials of our day, but the millennialism peoples will have to contend with is their sin nature. How do you think Adam and Eve enjoyed their experience in the garden? It was blissful. It was good. They were shining ones. The moment they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, evidently they lost their shiningness and they saw each other as naked. It wasn't that they couldn't see before, it's that they had sinned, and they immediately looked at each other and they tried to cover their nakedness. It was a different experience for them, and it's going to be different for those in the Millennial Kingdom. The Bible talks a lot about this, and I want to take you through a few things. The Bible says in Isaiah 35, verse 10, it says, And the ransomed of the Lord shall return. And they'll come to Zion with songs and with everlasting joy upon their heads. Why would you want to sit under a vine? Why would you want to sit under a tree? Why would you just sit there? Because you're sitting there in such bliss! Because King Jesus is here! Now, for you and me, we're going to be celestial ones, but for the people who go into the Millennium, having not died, having come out of the Tribulation, go into the Millennial Kingdom, live for a thousand years, they will have children, they will bring children up, it will be a perfect environment, it will be a renewed Eden, the kind of condition it would seem, because the Bible talks about all the things that are going to happen in the desert, and it says here, everlasting joy. Now, we talk about that, don't we? When we're sharing our gospel, because the Bible talks about whoever believes in Christ would not perish, but have everlasting life. We often ask them, when does that end? Well, it doesn't. And then, being saved means we're never going to perish. Should not perish, but have everlasting life. It doesn't end. It starts the moment we trust Christ, and it continues throughout eternity. So it is here, it says, everlasting joy. Have you ever been just so happy? Have you ever had a good day? I don't remember. Some of us might say. But the reality is, is that we've all sensed those moments when we just felt like we were going to pop. We may have to go back to our childhood when we were just so excited. Maybe many of you years ago saw that commercial where these little kids were being wakened up in the early morning hours and told they're going to Disneyland. And the kid gets up and immediately he's awake and he's just sitting there jumping up and down. And he's like, oh, oh, I can't believe it, I can't believe it. Listen, that is the millennium. Everlasting joy will be upon their brow. The most amazing thing about this is that at the end of the millennial kingdom, when the devil is loose for a short season, he's going to find purchase in people's hearts and get them to go against unwalled cities. That's amazing because these people will have been taught and shown and it will have been demonstrated for a thousand years that God is good. It will not be that much unlike when the angels themselves, a third of their number, chose to fall with Satan. Now, the Bible tells us that this house is going to be established. Many nations are going to say, Colin, let us go. And, you know, it's funny because you want to know what the oppression is of our day. The oppression today is, is people get up on a Sunday morning and they don't think they want to go to church. You know what? The best thing going on in the neighborhood is what's going on at church, because that's where we're talking about God. That's where talking about his word. That's where we're making much of Jesus. That's where if you are fighting the good fight, and you're trying to keep your legs under you, and you come in with a few bruises and wounds from the week, you can see other people really do believe like you do. And it gives you buoyancy and lift and encouragement, and you can go back out and fight the battle. But these people, the nations, they're going to say, hey, let's go. It's like moths to the flame. Yeah, they got their fig tree. Yeah, they got their place to sit and hang out. under their fig tree, under their vine tree, they can, but they, they, they, let's go, let's go into Jerusalem. Jesus is going to teach. He's teaching their, they just want to keep getting back. Guys, listen, I don't say that to shame us. I say that to enlighten our minds. I am like you. It's easy to lay down. It's easy to give up. It's easy to lose heart. It's easy to feel like you're fainting. But what? Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on me. And when you look to Him, you will find the buoyancy. You will see the affliction, give way to merriment, and you will sing in His presence. The Bible says be filled with the Spirit, singing and making melody in your heart. You say, I can't sing. It didn't say sing out loud. It said sing in your heart. And you can do that, OK? If you can't sing good, you can sing within, and you can sing to Christ. The Bible says the nation shall come and they shall say, let us go up to the mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob. Back to Isaiah 35. I want to read some more of this because it says everlasting joy shall be upon their head. And it says they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion and everlasting joy. shall be upon their head," it says in Isaiah 51, 11. And it says, they shall obtain gladness and joy, sorrow and mourning, shall flee away. Isaiah 61 says, for your shame, you have double. And it's not talking about double shame. It's talking double joy. He says, for your shame, you shall have double. For your confusion, they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore, in their land, they shall possess the double. everlasting joy shall be unto them. Now, Paul said something along this line where he was getting a glimpse, and he was one caught up to the third heaven. You remember what he said? He says, for I reckon that this light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far greater weight of glory. And so when things are happening on this earth that makes you sigh in sorrow, what did we say last week? It's not a time today for the celebration. It's a time for sighing and crying like they did in Zechariah's day. Our country is being bombarded. But there's coming a moment when the breaking of the day comes and the Lord Jesus is on site. And what ends up happening is those who are here will receive everlasting joy being given to them. It's an everlasting joy. That's a good thing! The world in which we live, they chase drugs and alcohol and sensuality. They trace or chase all kinds of why? Because they're looking for happiness and joy and all they find is disappointment. But in Christ, there is no disappointment. He that believeth in him shall not be ashamed. He that believeth in him shall not be disappointed. You and I have a Christ who is king of the universe, and he's going to establish his mountain of his house in the mountains. and it's going to be a huge boundary area where you have the Egyptians and the Assyrians. You're going to have this pathway that's going to go from one place to the other, and they're going to come back and forth, and all nations are going to flow into this nation of Israel. Jesus is going to be there. And the Bible says in verse 4 that He shall judge, back in Micah 4, He shall judge among many people and rebuke strong nations afar off, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Understand that what this verse is doing is it's telling us a little bit about the establishing of the kingdom This is about the kingdom being established, but he's now looking at this and he's saying he shall judge Many people and rebuke strong nations now when you see him rebuking strong nations You recall perhaps with me the book of Matthew chapter 25 says and before him shall be gathered all nations and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats, and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left." This is talking about the Lord Jesus' return, when He sets down on His throne of judgment, and He has already done the battle of Armageddon, and there are nations now that are in the wings. Not every person was at Armageddon. The armies were at Armageddon, where the blood would flow at the horses' bridles. peoples who didn't get wiped out, who are related many times to these people, are certainly happy they went because they wanted to wipe out Israel. And so after that battle of Armageddon, the Lord Jesus sets up His throne and He brings the nations before Him. And verse 3 in Micah says, He shall judge among many people and rebuke strong nations. Matthew 24 or 25 tells us that He's going to separate them as a shepherd does the sheep and the goats. Now, why? Why does He do that? Because they're His. They're His. The sheep are His and the goats are His. Now, the goats are in His disfavor. He's going to dress them down who are goats. He says, depart into everlasting punishment, everlasting contempt. There will be weeping and pain and gnashing of teeth for those who are goats. The whole earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the Bible tells us. So they are goats and they are sheep and He's going to prop them up and be a blessing and speak blessed words. And he says, enter into the joy of the kingdom prepared for you. What kingdom? The kingdom he's establishing. That's the sheep. And I want to be a sheep, don't you? We sing a song. I just want to be a sheep. I just want to be a sheep. I don't want to be a goat. OK, I want to be a sheep because the Bible tells us that we are the sheep of his pasture who know him. Beloved, that's pretty good. Day's coming. everlasting joy. He's going to be here. The Bible says that in those days the house is going to be established in v. 1. He's going to be there teaching in v. 2. He's going to be judging in v. 3. And everyone's going to sit under his vine and under his fig tree and none shall make them afraid in v. 4. And the Bible says in v. 5, for all people will walk, every one, in the name of his God. And we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. Does that mean there's going to be idolatry? No. What that means is that you and I, who are from the Gentile persuasion, know God as Jesus. We're going to call Him Jesus. They're going to call Him the Lord our God. Jehovah. I am who I am, Moses was told was His name. They're going to own Jehovah for who Jehovah is. They're going to own Yahweh, if you will, and they're going to own him as their very own. You say, well, what's significant about that? Well, they never really did it as a nation. We just recently came through our study in Samuel, and we found that David, just before him being able to go to the throne and become king in Israel, he had 600 men with him. And when they had wrought a great battle, they came back and there was a bunch of sons of Belial in his crowd. Even King David had to walk them away from doing a misstep in the eyes of the Lord. And he says, no, those that went to battle and those that stayed by the stuff will be rewarded equally. My point is this, no matter where you go in the continuum of Israel's history, their hearts were rarely toward God as a group. Their hearts were rarely toward God as a nation. But now, In the kingdom, they will all walk in the name of the Lord our God. The other nations, they're going to say, Jesus. They're going to understand Jesus. They'll know Jehovah like we do. But they will see Jesus. And these people will see Yahweh. And it says they're going to walk in this way forever and ever. So what we've seen is the kingdom established. But now what I want you to see is a calling is given. In verse 6 it says, In that day, saith the Lord, I will assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted." Now, it's interesting that it says, her that I have afflicted. God does not... He's not embarrassed by what He does. He's God! When He catches a goat in the outer darkness, He's not going to blink. He's holy. He's righteous. He's serious. And this life we have is serious. Everything we do is serious. And so God will go to great lengths to get the attention of His people. And He has afflicted them. He did it because they forced Him to. Same thing is with people who end up in eternity in hell. They're going to be forcing God to do it. His Spirit strives with them. The Spirit is in the world convicting them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and they say, we will have none of it. They will begin to turn it on its ear like the Pharisees did, and they will say, he cast out demons by Beelzebub, and he says, you can do anything you want to me, but you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and you're cutting your nose off despite your faith. When you see God working in the affairs of man and you do not buckle the knee and get down on your face and say, Uncle, you don't say, Dear God, forgive me. You're doing it in the face of extreme might. There will be no one who will be able to stand in the day of judgment and say, I have an excuse. The Bible says in no uncertain terms in Romans 1 that they are without excuse. Do you see that? Now, when we see in this passage that the Israelites are going to be assembled. I will gather her that is driven out. He says, I will make her that halted a remnant. And her that was cast far off a strong nation. And the Lord shall reign over them in the mount. So he's talking about his people Israel coming into the mount and he's bringing them into his presence in a way that is supernatural. He's going to call for them and they will in fact be brought back from the farthest ends of the earth. Isaiah 35, verse 3 says, Strengthen ye their weak hands and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come and save you. He's telling the Israelites, He's coming to save you. Who's coming? Jesus is coming. Your God is coming. You missed Him the first time, but He's coming again. And he's going to come and he's going to save you. Verse five says, then the eyes of the blind shall be open. The ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then they that are lame may leap as on heart and the tongue of the dumb saying for in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert. Now, I'll tell you something. Those people who want to take every passage of scripture and turn it into some sort of a allegorical They lose the joy of the future. They lose the hope of eternity that God has placed for us to revel in. These are our truths. This is our King. He has a plan. This is not haphazard. It's not chaos. It is laser-like focused. God sits in the heavens and He laughs at the nonsense that's going on down here. Psalm 2 talks about, why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? They arrange themselves against the Lord of hosts, the Bible says in Psalm 2. He says, kiss the son, literally worship the son, lest he be angry with you. Beloved, this is the day of salvation. Now is the acceptable time, we're told in the New Testament. We're in a day, a period. It's the age of grace. It's the church age. We call people, come to Christ, and they hear, they sense, their heart ruminates, God reveals to them, and they resist. There's an insidiousness about the truth of this world. The truth of this world is though a person might look like a really good person in the day to day, might even feed people and do nice things, if they're not saved, in their heart of hearts, They have chosen, they have chosen to reject Jesus Christ. Now I don't care how good you look on the surface, one of the most insidious lies the devil has is that you can live morally apart from God. You cannot. Every heart is a world of iniquity, is it not? Every heart is full of sin and lasciviousness. Jesus said this, it's not that which goes into the man, that defiles him, but that which comes out of the heart, for from the heart proceeds murders, adulteries, fornications. The Bible says all of these things are in the heart of man. And you know what? God sees every murmur in the heart. And we are responsible for it. He would have us see how exceedingly scrutinizing He sees us so that we would be ashamed, made afraid because of the fear of the Lord. It's the beginning of wisdom and we will be brought to salvation because if you will mourn, if you will become bankrupt in your spirit, poor in spirit, if you will mourn over your sins and hunger and thirst after righteousness, you will light upon Jesus. You will light upon Jesus because he is our righteousness. The Bible says that he is going to call them. Isaiah talks about that as we read. He's going to call them and he says they're going to be brought from far off and gathered from many nations. It says in Matthew 25, we read a moment ago, and we see that he is going to satisfy them with goodness. I want to read this for you. Jeremiah 31 talks a little bit about this. It talks about how the joy is there, but it also talks about them being gathered. Jeremiah 31 says, For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Now it sounds like an individual, but it's talking about where they've gone against them as many nations. It says, he rescued them from the hand of him that was stronger than me. Therefore, they shall come and sing in the height of Zion and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord. And that's what I was saying. What is it that really lights you up for them in the millennial kingdom? It's going to be the goodness of the Lord. They're going to be like, wow. It says for wheat and for wine, for oil, for the young and the flock and of the herd and their souls. Their souls shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together, for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord." What is it that people want? They want to be satisfied. They want to be satisfied. And it's funny, because we've learned some things that are almost like emblematic for us, because in our day, we can have whatever we want, for the most part. If you want sugar, you can have sugar. And for most Americans, we've got a lot of sugar, right? It's like, give me a cookie. No, give me five. I don't want one. I want five. You see, we can keep... And if you've got your Thanksgiving dinner, give me some more. Give me some more of them potatoes and gravy. Give me some more. Give me some more dressing and gravy. Oh, pie. Yeah, bring it, pie. What I'm saying is, we just are never satisfied. And they tell us that if you eat sugar, you're going to want more sugar. You keep eating sugar, you're going to want more sugar. Now listen, in that day, everyone will be satisfied with God's goodness. Do you realize that when you look at the beauty of the sun and the moon and the stars and the greenery, And we've had some beautiful stretch of weather here after having so many rainy, cold, miserable, fall-like days this summer. It's crazy. But man, what about these last two weeks? Can I get an amen? I mean, that's some good stuff out there. If you saw the moon last night, it was big and bright and orange on the horizon because it had that relative effect. God does miracles every day. He dances in the nature that we see. I was riding my motorcycle yesterday, and I'm out taking a little cruise. And I'm listening to some music. Yes, I have that ability to listen to music while I'm writing. It's pretty cool. And I'm hearing the same. And there was a part in the song where it said, amazing grace. And it took an upswing. And as I drove over a hill, all these birds took off. And I'm just taking it in. I'm getting goosebumps and all this. And it's just, oh God, you're so good. Listen, we miss it. But when everlasting joy is upon your head, Remember this, the drug user has nothing on what we have to look forward to. I saw a bumper sticker years ago, and it's been around for many years, I guess. It's still out there periodically. I'll see it. It says this, in search of the eternal buzz. Well, I know where it's at. I know where it's at. It's in his presence. Bible says, we read it a moment ago in Psalm 16, it says, In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. So God's going to gather them. And the Bible says in Micah 4, 7, The Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth even forever. Now it says in verse 8, And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion. Now this is interesting because this verse is complicated for many But as I read it in its context, I believe what we're seeing here is the tower could be a reference to the Lord Jesus. It says, "...and thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion." So I believe when Jesus shows up, they're going to have the entire landmass that God said, here are your boundaries. Then it says, "...the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." You know, when the king comes, the kingdom's coming. It's coming because what he's doing is he's setting up an everlasting kingdom. It's going to start with a thousand year reign. It's going to give way after the final judgment on earth to a new heaven and a new earth in which dwells righteousness forever. He starts it. It's the first reign. It's the first dominion. The kingdom shall come unto the daughter of Jerusalem. And she's the one who's going to reap the benefits. But he's the tower. He's the stronghold. He's the one that will come even to His first dominion. And the Bible says in verse 9, Now, why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee? Is thy counselor perished? For pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail. For now, circle the word now, for now shalt thou go forth out of the city. and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon, and there shalt thou be delivered. There the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies." Now, again circle it, now also many nations are gathered against thee that say, let her be defiled and let our eyes look upon Zion. This passage brings us from the calling that is given, it brings us to the crisis that is inevitable. In order for this kingdom to come, There has to be the crisis. And the crisis is going to come when the Antichrist makes an agreement with Israel to protect them for seven years. In the middle of the seven years, he breaks the covenant. Israel is on the run. The Bible talks about him opening up some floods and coming after him and the earth opening up and saving them and giving them some sort of a refuge. I reckon that to be what he's talking about when he says you're going to flee to the earth. You're going to flee to Babylon. It says. You will go to Babylon, but look what it says in verse 11. Now also many nations are gathered against thee. Let her be defiled. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel. For he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Now, I look at Babylon in verse 10, and I'm going to go out on a limb here, and we're talking about future things, but many people say, well, Babylon's not there. But I'm seeing a whole lot of stuff coming to pass right now. A whole lot of stuff. Babylon's not there. The old Babylon, not rebuilt. It's not there. So if the Lord came today, what's going to make that? Well, I believe personally, you can take this for what it's worth. When you come to Revelation in chapter 18 and you see all the nations mourning over the destruction of Babylon, I believe Babylon is no longer isolated to one geographical location. I believe the whole earth is now spiritual Babylon. Why? Well, because the mysteries of Babylon were a couple of things. One is, let's build a tower and let's throw off God's rain. Let's build a tower. Number two is, God confounded the languages. What do we have now? Do you have a smartphone? You can literally go to a foreign country and talk into your phone and it'll talk to them and it'll translate it on your phone. You have the language barrier that is broken down now. The Bible talks in the book of Genesis where it talks about him confounding the languages. He says this, he says, he saw that the imagination of man's heart was evil continually. And he says, I will not withhold anything that man has imagined to do. What did man imagine to do? Well, they had a one language. So God confounded that. But when it came back around, when everybody could talk and understand each other, what could happen? Then they could accomplish what they imagined to do. What is that? To rise up against God, to throw off and do exactly what he said not to do. He said, spread out and be fruitful. And they said, let's come together and build a city. And it became a Babylonian world. As you would see if you studied, there was a Madonna child before Mary and Jesus were ever superimposed upon those images. Before Christ ever was born, they had Madonna child images to Isis and Horus and Venus and Cupid and various ones throughout. And it was all about sensuality. We have today what we would call the political side of Babylon. And I believe the spiritual side of Babylon is the Catholic Church. Have you heard what's going on with them lately? You should keep your eyes on the news because what's going on with them is they're signing agreements for Palestinian protections and cooperation and they want to come into Jerusalem. There's things happening. Not only that, but they've got all of the evangelicals coming to Rome of late. They've come in and they've got a big green conference so they can all agree that green is important. We need to get everybody on board with something. And so the Pope, this Pope is doing things like that. They're opening the doors on various things to make more and more bridges, and they're cooperating. They're despising the whole issue of capitalism. What I'm saying is Romanism has spread over all the world. It's second only to Islam right now, but if you study it back, Islam was started by Romanism. So there's something there. And there's a cooperation now with the Palestinians and so forth. But then you have the world overwhelmed by Babylonianism as well. And so when that great earthquake comes and all the cities of the earth fall, I believe We're looking at what's going to happen when Babylon falls. He says, you shall go to Babylon. And like I said a moment ago in one of our readings, it talked about that he will bring his people from all nations when he calls them out of the world and brings them back. Verse 11 says, now also many nations are gathered against thee, think Armageddon. Let her be defiled, they're saying in their heart, and let our eye look upon Zion. This is what's happening with the ISIS program that's going on. Even our own president seems to be doing some stuff behind the scenes that makes this more likely to happen with us on board going against Israel. Verse 12 says, But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand his counsel, for he shall gather them as sheaves into the floor. Now, this is a cool verse because this answers to Zechariah 14. Remember when the Bible says the Lord will come? He's going to set his foot on the Mount of Olives. Remember what happens next? Mount of Olives cleaves in two. And the people of God look like all's lost, but Jesus comes, sets foot on the Mount of Olives, it splits, and his people run into the cleft. He's gathering sheaves into the floor. He's getting them out of the way. He says, they think they're here to wipe them out. No, they're here to be wiped out. Because that's what he's going to do. Guys, listen. The narrative is complete. The period has been placed at the end of the page. God has a plan. And it's going to be everlasting joy. It's going to be righteousness forevermore. It's going to be bliss. You're not going to be ramped up thinking, oh, I can't be satisfied. There's going to be satisfaction in that day for the humans that have not been yet translated. The Bible says they don't know the thoughts of the Lord. Verse 13 says, Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion. Now, this is turning the corner. In Revelation 18, 6, the Bible talks about God saying to his people, Come out from amongst her, my people, and deliver double unto her according as she's done to you. It would seem that Israel is somehow going to get implements of war to come back and execute some judgment. It says, Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass, and thou shalt beat in pieces many people, and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. Guys, I've tried to tell you things that I'm just, you know, I read this and I'm just like, whoa, Everlet, I get it. Jesus is coming. And when He comes, it's going to be good for the redeemed. We're going to be raptured out of here. And when we're raptured out of here, the world is going to start to ramp its wickedness up like nobody's business. And it's already ramped up pretty good, right? Low hum right now. He's going to let them have what they've asked for. And what we see is God's going to allow it to ramp up. Antichrist is going to be revealed. And the moment He makes that agreement, the seven-year calendar starts. Can you imagine how bad it's going to be in the tribulation time after the rapture is done, and yet Israel is somehow going to get an agreement? But they don't know the thoughts of the Lord. And this is why this passage is so powerful. He says they're gathered, but they don't know the thoughts of the Lord. And when I said at the outset of this little section from 8 to the end, crisis is inevitable. These people are going to make that agreement. Netanyahu, if he's still here, he's going to sign that. He's going to say, this is great. I'm going to do this. I want to show you something as I conclude, It just always thrills my heart. It's the book of Daniel. Daniel and chapter 12. The Bible says that God has given him amazing revelations. Michael, the archangel, is going to stand up. The people are going to be delivered. Many who are in the dirt are going to rise. But he says in Daniel 12, verse 9, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white and tried. Beloved, we're in that many. A lot of things got to happen. You're being purified, made white by Jesus, but you're going to be tried to. So when you see the world getting hostile toward Christians, think this. It says, many will be purified, made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. Praise God. It's so neat to know this because it helps to know that he could come in just a few days. I bet it's getting he could just come in a few days. So strengthen arms that are laying down and set that limb that's out of joint. He goes back in verse 11. He says, and from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that make a desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. This is very cool, because what's happening is, is that this millennial kingdom is going to dawn, but it's going to dawn in real time. Just like today. You ever sit in your house, you hear that clock? Tick, tick, tick, tick. This is going to happen. 1290 days. Now, what's interesting for the student of the Word of God is we usually hear 1260 days. That's half of the tribulation. Why? Well, because what's happening here is when the Antichrist breaks his agreement with Israel, there's 1260 days. Then Jesus comes. He grabs things. And what happens is for 30 days, he judges the earth. That's where those 30 days go into play. 30 days, he gathers all the nations. He says, this is done. And he just speaks the word, and nations are drawn near. And he separates them as a shepherd does the goats from the sheep, and he brings forth judgment, and he lets those who are sheep enter into the kingdom. Listen to this. He says, from the time of the daily sacrifice that it shall be taken away and the abomination Megadeslet set up, there shall be 1,290 days. This is twelve hundred and sixty days of the Great Tribulation, thirty days for judging. He says in verse twelve, he says, Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. That's thirteen hundred and thirty five days. Understand, there's another forty five days added on here. Why? Because he's done the judging in the first thirty. The last forty five days are for establishing this kingdom we've been talking about. He's going to establish a government. Now, for those of us in the church age, we've been promised this, that if we suffer with him, we will reign with him. He's going to start parceling out. You've been faithful over little, I'll give you authority over much. You've been faithful over one talent, I'll give you authority over five cities. He's going to set up a real time Regime wherein dwells righteousness wherein everybody's going to be cooperative because I'll tell you what when they come out of that great tribulation There's going to have been hailstones and earthquakes and fires There's going to been death and mayhem and blood and rain and it's going to have been a retooling of the entire earth and everybody's going to be up and excited and Then because he's there in his presence his fullness of joy. They're gonna say this is great This is awesome one thing about ryan when he was growing up it was always also everything was always wonderful he'll be so excited about some we were going to be thinking about what's the next thing i'm telling you that's what's going to be in the millennial kingdom We're going to be thinking, when can I get back to Jesus? When can I get back to the kingdom? When can I get back to Jerusalem? Because he's going to teach there. He's going to be there. He's going to bring forth the word there. This is awesome. Man, we'll just sit here a little while longer, but can we go tomorrow? Can we go back and hear him again? Because hearing him is to love him. Beloved, knowing Jesus is to love Jesus. And the real confusion comes when people have learned how to play this game called church. I want to ask you a question as we close, because it's important. Do you do church, or do you love Christ? Because that's a fine line for some of us. We want to be a people who love Jesus. And you may have loved Him once, and today you're thinking, I don't know. Get back on your face. If you're afflicted, with all kinds of nastiness in your head, pray. And when you get a little spark, fan the flame. Sing! And bring it to a fire, because God wants us to be fired up in this day. He wants us to see with spirit eyes. He wants us to know the kingdom shall come.