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 mountain, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow unto it. Now, Micah's prophecy is turning clearly to the day of the Lord, that is, the return of Christ and the inauguration of the kingdom of God. Now, according to the prophet Daniel, that's going to be 75 days after Jesus' return. So the day of the Lord, when Jesus comes back 75 days later, that's going to be the actual inauguration of the kingdom. And we all understand because there's several things Jesus is going to have to do to get everything prepped and ready to go. For example, when he comes back, all of the water, all of the oceans is actually going to have been turned to blood. All of the drinking water, the fountains will have recently been turned to blood. So obviously Jesus is going to have to restore the waters. And there's going to be dead bodies all over the place due to the carnage and the destruction and the campaign of Armageddon and even the battle thereof. Jesus is going to have a lot to do to get everything established before everybody enters into his millennial kingdom. That's going to last a thousand years. Micah chapter 4 verses 1-3 is almost identical with Isaiah chapter 2 verses 2-4. Now the mountain of the house of the Lord will be exalted above all the other mountains of the region. Elsewhere, we know that the topography of Jerusalem and the environs there will be dramatically altered upon the return of Jesus in power and prior to the millennial reign. It may be presumed, as far as we know, that Mount Moriah, where Jerusalem is set up upon, it will be then thrust up even higher than it is today. And there upon that mountain, the millennial temple that's described back in Ezekiel chapters 45 through 47, it will be erected and established right there. That's the one that Ezekiel was told to measure and to go out and to see. When you look at the dimensions of that temple versus the temple that will be erected inside of the tribulation versus the temple that was erected or enlarged by Herod, the dimensions are different. The one in Ezekiel is bigger. So we understand that's not the same temple that John saw in Revelation or that was there when Jesus walked upon the earth. There will be another temple. Verse two, and many nations shall come and say, come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us of his way and we will walk in his path for the law shall go forth of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Now the word translated as many is rab in the Hebrew. It's also rendered as great. It seems incongruous then that some nation would ignore the commanded worship during the millennium. Now the thought may well be that even great gentile nation will probably most likely come to Jerusalem and the millennial temple to worship and to be taught God's way. In that day, God's word, of course, will go forth from Jerusalem, and we have to understand, guys, that just because people are going to be here during the Millennial Kingdom does not mean that they're going to automatically be saved or serve the Lord. They will be given a grace period up to the age of 99, and that will be the so-called understood age of accountability where God will cut off any more grace or mercy, and they will have to make a decision on what they're going to do about Jesus. If they reject Christ, then he will order them executed. If they accept Christ, they will go on living inside of the kingdom. And so, yes, they need, people will have to go to Jerusalem to be taught and to learn the way of God. Verse 3, and 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. Nations shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. Now that right there is actually emblazoned upon a monument of a man beating a sword into a plow, and that statue is right outside the United Nations building up in New York. and World War I. Woodrow Wilson said that that was going to be the war that would basically outlaw all other wars. They believed that after the Allied victory with the establishment of the League of Nations, which we never did join, Wilson wanted that to be the arbiter between all the other countries of the world. They had just went through a war where millions and millions of people, soldiers and civilian alike, had died. the chattering death of the machine gun, the poisonous nature of chlorine and mustard gas, the advent of the aeroplane in dropping bombs, and then the propeller with the new gearing system and the timer that would basically make the propeller spin so that you could shoot bullets through it, and interrupter gear. It had made killing more efficient and more widespread. And millions upon millions of men were dead out of Russia, out of Germany, out of France and Britain. And we didn't lose that many, but we lost hundreds of thousands in the short time we were there. And surely now everyone thought this is going to outlaw and end all other war. The carnage has been so great. But it was nothing but a reprieve, a breathing break of 20 years. And then an even worse war erupted onto the scene in World War II. But during this time, after World War II, with now the advent of the atomic bomb, surely now we will be done with war. But we haven't. But that was the hope of the UN, the United Nations. And so they erected this statue that comes right out of this verb, one of the most important verses inside of the whole Bible, out of the whole Old Testament. And they shall beat their swords in the plows, and their spears in the pruning hooks, and they shall no more learn war. But guys, that's not for now. That's for when Jesus reigns. When Jesus will be the physical King of kings and Lord of lords over his kingdom on this earth, there will be no more war at that time. For a thousand years, there will be peace. So as much as the league, as much as the UN would love to be the fulfillment of this, they're not. I mean, just look at our recent modern history. You'll see that it's not. You have the Korean conflict in the 50s, Vietnam, which started back in the 50s with the French in Indochina. And then they pulled out, and then we saw that we needed to get involved, and we sent advisors. Eisenhower sent advisors. Kennedy was ramping up the advisors. But Kennedy wanted to pull out, we're told, and leave it to them and help South Vietnam. And then LBJ got a hold of it, and he said, well, we're going to really help them out. And he sent troops over. And then he sent more. And then Nixon kept it going afloat until he pulled out. And the fall of Saigon happened, where the helicopter flew away. Look at the Muslim world, how they fought. In the 70s, you saw the Shah deposed. And Khomeini rose in this militant Islamic movement. And our men and women were taken hostage over there. The Russkies, the Russians, they got involved in Afghanistan. And we funneled help to them, not to the Russians, but to the mujahideen. And guess who was there fighting against the Russkies? Osama bin Laden was there. And he was our buddy, he was our friend with the CIA. And we gave him money and we gave him weapons to help fight against the Russians, because the enemy of my enemy is my friend, you know. Huh. And then Iran, since they were the bad guys and had our guys, well, we got our guys back. And since they were the bad guys, well, we saw the Iraqis were attacking the Iranians. And so that was Saddam Hussein. Well, Saddam Hussein was fighting the Iranians. He was our buddy. And so we sent him weapons and money and cash and chemical weapons. And then when they got finished with that, he turned all that stuff on his own people. And then, by the late 80s, he turned south because he wanted oil, more oil. And he went to little old Kuwait. Uh-oh, that got Daddy Bush upset. And Daddy Bush said, you got to get out of there. And he got the UN involved. And Hussein said, I ain't going to do what you tell me to do. I'm the resurrection of Nebuchadnezzar. I'm going to do what I want to do. And I'm going to unite the Muslim world. And he thumbed his nose at the U.N. and us, and well, do you remember, 1990, 1991, I was just a little kid. There went the Persian Gulf War. We fought it for about a month or two. And it was a quick victory. And we won. All around the world, though, guys, whether we've been involved or not, there's been war and rumors of wars all over the place. I don't have to remind you about 9-11. Most of us here saw it. We lived it. Then we went over to Afghanistan ourselves and dismantled the Taliban. And then we went into Iraq and caught Saddam Hussein finally after years. And then we finally got Osama bin Laden and popped him between the eyes. And we buried him respectfully at sea. The war on terror is still supposedly going on. even though major combat operations have said to have been done, it's still out there. If you go back in history, guys, you'll see almost every single year and decade and hundred years, people around the world have been fighting each other. I think one time I looked at it and it was like, it was laughable. It was like we had maybe, I think 70-something years total When you look at the almost 250-some-odd years of American history, we only have had less than 100 years, not even that many, of peace. Yeah. It's crazy that this country has almost continually been at war with another people. I mean, look at the Indian, the Plains War. Nobody hardly remembers that except a little bighorn. You ask a Native American, the Indians, they remember it. That was their land. But finally, finally, the nations, the world, will have peace when Jesus reigns. In that day, God, in the person of Jesus, will judge among the nations as king of the earth. Should strong nations be less than cooperative? Well, guess what? The book of Revelation tells us He will rule with a rod of iron and He will smash them if they will not listen. He will rebuke them. Weapons of war will be converted for domestic use. Moreover, in that day there will not be war anymore. Universal peace will prevail. Verse 4, but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree. None shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it. Clearly implied is universal peace, prosperity in the kingdom of God. Vines and fig trees, you've got to remember, guys, these were the cash crops. You see, whenever you're under duress, whenever you're not doing so hot, what do you do? You plant your own crops. Why? So you can feed your family. All right, now that's a given. But when everything's going good, you got your food over here, but guess what? You don't have to worry so much. You got maybe a bumper crop that you put up and you stored last year. So if things don't go so hot this year, you got your reserve. But you can tend to your food right here, but now all that's kind of taken care of. You ain't gotta worry about all that. So now what do you do? Now you go over here and you plant crops that you don't need. But if you harvest it now, you take it to market and you get money. You get something now that you can line your pockets with. In other words, it's not, okay, I gotta do everything about the food just so we can live. We're doing okay, we're living, but now we're gonna get our bumper crop. Now we're gonna get something we can use to help the family in another way, in a fiduciary way. So the cash crops, Back in the day were these vines and fig trees. Well, God, just as they were back then, so are they still today. They're still cash crop. And so in the millennium, guys, such crops are gonna proliferate. They're gonna begin to bloom and blossom. The Bible teaches us, God, that Israel herself will bloom as the Garden of Eden, essentially. I mean, you look at a lot of it today, it's arid, dry land, but it's going to bloom and blossom and prosper. God vowed upon the integrity of His own Word that these conditions, bless you, are going to prevail. Wow. So, in other words, God said, I've spoken it, it's going to come to pass. Or, let's quote from the Ten Commandments movie, so let it be written, so let it be done. That's what is going to happen. Verse 5, For all people will walk everyone in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. So basically, the idea here is that though all Gentile nations have walked in the name of their own pagan gods, in that day Israel will walk in the name of God. In other words, Israel is going to be God's people. They're going to know the Lord. They're going to understand him. However, he will be known not merely as Jehovah God, he will be known as his name that is above all others, Jesus Christ. Clearly is seen here the worship of the one true God will be all over the whole world. In verse 6, In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted. Now this developing context makes clear what is being foretold here. the future restoration of Israel to their land. The Jews of the diaspora, of the great scattering, they will be gathered back to their land. Though God has chastened and afflicted Israel for their sin, the day is coming when he will restore them to their land. Back in the 1890s, you have the rise of what became called the Zionist movement. They wanted to reestablish a homeland for the Jews. And you know what? Even though they wanted to go to Israel, which at that time was incorrectly, it was called Palestine, or the British Palestina. You know what a lot of them, even the Jews themselves, you know what they were looking at? Where they were looking at? They thought the fulfillment of this prophecy was here, America. A lot of them did. And a lot of the more orthodox Jews, they didn't even believe it. They said, there's no way that we can have a home to ourselves. Look at all the countries of the world. They've hated our guts. They've run us out. Every time we get somewhere, when we begin to prosper, they turn against us, they backbite us, they backstab us, and then they kick us out. People, a lot of times, they poke fun and they make fun of the Jews because, oh, they're rich, greedy Jews. Let me tell you something. God made it where the Jew could make money because he would not have a home of his own for over 2,000 years. Wouldn't you wish God would give you that innate ability that everything you seem to touch begins to prosper and blossom and bless you financially? I wouldn't mind a touch of that, a modest touch myself. But guess what? He gave his people that, and yes, they are still his people, even though they're currently out to lunch under his judgment. They're still his people. And so since he knew they would not have a homeland for years and years and years, he gave them the opportunity to be good with business acumen, no matter how much people would turn against him, and that's why. That's why. It was jealousy, it was pride, a lot of time, that manifested in anti-Semitism. Why? Because here's the native people of the land, and they're not doing too hot, but then there's the foreigner, the Jew in there, and he's making money hand over fist. And they said, look at that dirty old Jew over there. Look how they're being rich, richer than the rest of us. And the people couldn't stand it, so they rose up against him and ordered their leaders to kick him out, and that's what they did. Remember 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue? Ferdinand and Isabella, they also passed an edict to kick the Jews out of the land. When Columbus sailed back on his third voyage, you know who funded that? It wasn't the king and queen of Spain. It was the rabbis that wanted to fund Columbus's third voyage. And it was all for one reason, to find the Jews a homeland. How about that? And more and more as you get into the 17th and 18th and 1900s, you begin to see the Jews are increasingly looking at the United States. So that by the 20th century, there will be, the early 20th century, more Jews will live in the United States than anywhere else in the world. And that will change, begin to change, when Israel is established in 1948. But still, today, the two largest concentrations in the world of Jews is Israel and here. Interesting. So, God is saying He is going to bring His people back to their land. And that's why, again, a lot of people think, well, prophecy all started, this will fulfill in 1948. No, it's not. Even though there is a land and a nation called Israel, that's not the fulfillment of prophecy because everywhere you read about that is saying that all the people there will know the Lord. I mean, look what we just looked at right there inside of verse 5. And we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. They're not doing that right now. The vast majority of Jews over there, one, a lot of them don't believe in God, their God, God the Father. They don't believe in it. They think it's just a bunch of hogwash, well, malarkey, okay, anyway. And if they do believe, they say, well, if God is there, we won't ever know about him to begin with. And they don't believe in Jesus the vast majority. They believe Jesus is the evil preacher who walked the earth over 2,000 years ago. Most Orthodox believe that Jesus is currently in hell burning in liquid excrement. That's a fancy way of saying liquid human waste or poop. That's inside of the Jewish writings of their commentary. Most preachers are not going to tell you that, and I would dare say most preachers do not know that. But that's the truth of what they believe, sadly. That's why they need the Lord, God. Imagine, they know half of the story. They don't know, as Paul Harvey said, the rest of the story. I hope that they'll learn. Well, what else? Verse 7, And I will make her that halted a remnant and her that was cast off a strong nation, and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth even forever." So, the remnant of Israel will be restored in their land, they'll become a strong nation, God in the person of Christ will reign over the earth from Mount Zion, and it will blossom as never before. 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. The kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Now, Jerusalem shall be the tower, since it's now pushed up on this high mountain of Mount Moriah. And that's where the great shepherd, Jesus, will oversee his flock. The kingdom, once occupied by Israel, it'll be restored to them, and that kingdom will be specifically and especially for Israel. the people of God. That's going to be for them, for the Jews. That's where they're going to live. What about us? Well, we're gonna be living in the nations of the same. And you remember when Jesus says, I'm going to prepare a mansion for you, that's where we're gonna live. We're gonna live in our mansion, scattered all over the world, wherever our nation's gonna be. It might be America, it might be somewhere else, I don't know. I don't care, as long as I'm where God wants me to be, and my mansion where God wants me to be, and I'm there on the winning side, that's where I wanna be. And hopefully, Lord willing, all of you will be my neighbors. Verse 9, Now, why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee? Is thy counselor perished? For pains have taken thee as a woman in travail. In the middle of this, notice, in the middle of this, where we're talking about the future glories of the restoration of Israel and this The whole glorious kingdom, there is a warning of the impending Babylonian captivity. The day was coming when Jerusalem was going to cry out in lamentation and pain and suffering. Look at the book of Lamentation. The house of David is going to be cut off. Godly counsel will perish from Jerusalem like a woman going into labor pain. Israel is going to suffer a great pain before giving birth to the coming kingdom of God. So notice how God's doing this. He's talking about the future, thousands of years down the road, and then he comes back to just a little bit down the road. Verse 10, Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail. For now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon. There shalt thou be delivered. There the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemy. So before the glorious kingdom of God will come about, Before it would be born, Israel and Labor pains will go forth into captivity in Babylon. But God in due season would deliver them from their captivity in Babylon and he would one day redeem them from their enemies. Verse 11, now also many nations are gathered against thee that say, let her be defiled, let her eye look upon Zion. Now it seems like the focus is turning to the dark days of the tribulation prior to the birth of that kingdom of God in the millennial kingdom. In the campaign of Armageddon, at the conclusion of the Tribulation, at the tail end, the nations of the earth will be gathered, and there they will gather in force against Israel. In those days, these hostile nations, teeming with anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel, they will call for the destruction of that land. With anti-Semitism in general, and Islamic hatred of Israel particularly, it's not hard to see that developing inside of the near future. Not hard at all. Verse 12. The Gentile nations gathered against Israel in that day are ignorant of God's plans and His intention. Just look at Revelation 16 verses 14 through 16. Chapter 14, verses 2 through 4. God will allow these nations of the earth to be gathered merely for their destruction will be chopped down as wheat before the sight. But they think they can do it. They think they can overcome and conquer the Israelites. But they will see in the tribulation that this campaign and subsequent battle of Armageddon, they will see the king himself, Jesus, riding forth on that white horse. We're going to be coming in hot right behind him. I can't wait for that. That's a glorious day. We're going to have a front row seat. Do you think you've seen things now? Just wait till you see Jesus speak the word and his enemies just fall down dead. and he will conquer. That sword goes out of his mouth. What a day. Verse 13. 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. You see, these people out there that say God is no warrior, God doesn't believe in war and blah, blah, blah and all that, they ain't read that verse. God is calling his people to rise and smite their enemies to death. Don't you tell me God does not believe in a just cause of war. Now he does not believe in unjust warfare, but he does believe in just war when it is proper. So this is a proper place. God promised to give them special help. I mean, think about it. Horns of iron, hoofs of brass. In that day, the enemies of God's people will be destroyed once and for all, and the spoils of that battle will be consecrated to the Lord, and it will be used for work, His work, in that day. So, I don't know about you. I can't wait. Now next week, and then we move forward. We're going to now see the one who's going to help cause all these things to happen. We're going to see about the birth of Jesus. You see, when the wise men came to visit Herod, they got turned aside from going Well, they didn't know where they were supposed to go. They just went to Jerusalem, because that's where all the kings were born historically. So that's why they went there. Well, Herod wanted to find out, so Herod dismissed the wise men and called his wise men, the scribes and so forth, that knew the word. And he asked them, he said, where is the Messiah to be born? And they said, in Bethlehem. Well, why in the world did they know Bethlehem? Because they were quoting the book of Micah. That's why. So we're going to find that out. We're going to see that it is, indeed, Bethlehem. Not like our Mormon friends like to say in the Book of Mormon that Joseph Smith and others called the most perfect book ever to be upon the earth. It says that Jesus would be born in Jerusalem. Bethlehem, Jerusalem, who's right? I think we know. Anyway, all right, I'm gonna.