Well, let's take our Bibles, and we're gonna stay in Genesis. This is gonna be Genesis 49, and verse 10 is gonna be my scripture. We just saw where Isaac grew old and went to bless his sons, and now skipping forward, this is Jacob, the one that God had blessed, getting old. calling his sons around him in his last days. And here specifically, I want us to consider verse 10, because we're looking at titles of Christ. We're in the S's, and here it comes to Shiloh. So Christ, the Shiloh, who was to come. It says, Well, it starts up in verse 9, Judah. Well, we go back to verse 8, that's where it all began. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. You stop and think, why Judah? Well, that was the lineage through which Christ was to come. Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies, thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp. from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion, who shall rouse him up?" And then here's verse 10, the key verse I want us to springboard from. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come. And there we could read, until Christ come. And unto him shall the gathering of the people be. And you can read on there, binding his foal unto the vine, his asses colt unto the choice vine. He washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes. How can you read that and not see that it pertains to his coming to lay down his life? His eyes shall be red with wine and his teeth white with milk. Milk being his purity and wine representing his blood that was to be shed. So the scene here in Genesis 49 is really one of great prophetic majesty. I love this particular portion. The patriarch, Jacob, nearing the end of his earthly pilgrimage and gathering his sons and speaking prophetically of things to come. I said, this is an amazing thing. This would have had to have been the spirit of God. He didn't have any script. any former writing to go by. And so as he comes to Judah, who would have been the fourth son, the Spirit of God lifts his eyes beyond time to the coming of Christ. Just like Christ said of Abraham, he saw my day and rejoiced. We don't give these of the Old Testament enough credit, if you will, as to what they knew and believed and saw. even though they had not yet had the full revelation in scripture, going all the way back to Job. It's a proof that where the Spirit is pleased to reveal Christ in the heart, they'll know him. They'll look for him. They may not know everything there is about him, but here Jacob's eyes are lifted by the Spirit to one that he names Shiloh. Now this is not just something he pulled out of the air. The name Shiloh is not found anywhere else in scripture in this form. And so just the name itself is pregnant with meaning because it speaks of peace, of rest, and a rightful ruler. And as I said, when you read this, how can you not see that it pertains to the Lord Jesus Christ? As this message will unfold, I trust the riches of Christ in this prophetic name that we're gonna consider together and reveal how Christ as Shiloh, that's his name, it's a title, fulfilled God's eternal purpose in the redemption of his people. So the context is the first thing we look at here of this prophecy, that Christ is that promised seed through Judah of all these sons. Jacob here declares the scepter shall not depart, verse 10, from Judah. nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come." The scepter, I think we all know what that is. It's a symbol of rule and authority. Kings had scepters. And here it is tied to the tribe of Judah. So a prophecy that traces all the way back to Judah, and through Judah to David, and ultimately to the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's not just here, even though I mentioned that Shiloh is only used here specifically in this form. But when you read some other scriptures that'll have us look at, in Revelation chapter 5, verse 5. The Bible says, let every truth be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. That's what we have here in the scriptures. Here's the Apostle John writing in Revelation chapter 5 and verse 5, he says, and one of the elders saith unto me, weep not. Here was a scroll, it's called a book here, but it was a scroll that was sealed completely within and on the backside with seven seals, and none was found worthy to open the scroll and read it, not even to look into it. I believe this scroll is describing God's providence, that there's only one who can read it and interpret it, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's who's described here in verse five. One of the elders saith unto me, weep not, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof." So very clearly what's set forth here in Genesis 49, John sees as pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then you go to Micah, just start at Matthew, and keep working back, you'll get back to Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk. But Micah chapter 5 and verse 2 says the same thing. As I mentioned, these that were given the Spirit of God, they saw the coming of this promised one. They may not have known all the details as we have them today, because we have complete scripture. Nonetheless, in reading what they prophesied, we can identify and see that they were taught of the Spirit. To look for this one here in Micah chapter 5, in verse 2 it says, but thou Bethlehem Ephrata, Bethlehem meaning the house of bread, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee, notice, shall he come forth unto me. That matches what Jacob said back here in Genesis 49 and verse 10. Shiloh shall come out of Judah to be what? The ruler in Israel. But it says whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting. So even though it was foretold that he would be of the seed of Jacob and of Judah, that ultimately it was one whose goings forth had been from of old, from everlasting, that is eternal. And again, in Isaiah, Isaiah is full of these prophecies concerning Christ, but in Isaiah chapter 11, In verse 1, he declares, there shall come forth, you see the common theme there, come forth, Shiloh shall come. There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse. Think about how long before Jesse, the father of David, had lived. It's as if now all that remains of that particular stock is the stem of Jesse, and yet the Lord said, a branch shall grow out of his roots. And verse two says, the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, that should be a capital S, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. So these particular prophecies establish Again, God's sovereign choice in the line of Christ. It just wasn't left up to the individual that Christ should come from whatever line they chose, no. And again, we see God's sovereignty because remember, I said that Judah was the fourth son. Who was the first son? You can imagine these sons all lined up here. It was Reuben. Reuben would have been the firstborn, sitting there listening to his father giving his blessings on his children. It's kind of like the reading of a will, and everybody's sitting there thinking, well, I want to get the house. I'm going to get the car. Reuben, when you read what he said about Reuben back here in Genesis 49 and three, Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the ecstasy of power. You can imagine him sitting there thinking, oh, this sounds good. And then what's the next statement? Unstable as water. Thou shalt not excel, because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, then defilest thou it. He went up to my couch. We don't know exactly what all happened there. A little bit maybe like with Noah and Ham and Canaan. But the point is that God and his sovereignty passed him by and signified that it should come from Judah. Another logic would think, well, it ought to be at least from Levi. of Joseph, since that would have been the high priestly line, but no, from Judah, that God appointed for this honor. Again, it's not by man's merit. Don't think that Judah was any better than the rest, but it's by God's electing grace. That gives a little context here to this prophecy. But secondly, let's look at the identity of Shiloh. And again, remember Shiloh meaning peaceful, restful, also the rightful ruler. So a picture of Christ, the peaceful and righteous king, the name Shiloh can be translated as he to whom it belongs, or even the peace bringer. That's why it's, when you look it up in the Hebrew, it's just profound with depth. But either way, whether it's he to whom it belongs, being the ruler or the peace bringer, it points us to the Lord Jesus Christ, who's the appointed heir. That's who Judah would have been, the appointed heir. Isn't he called the Prince of Peace and the true King? So in every aspect, Shiloh is the one that we see here as identified with the Lord Jesus Christ. Shiloh is the one to whom it belongs. What belongs? All power and authority and honor and glory. Over in Ezekiel chapter 21, I'm having you look these up, because these are key verses. You can mark them and go back and read them later. But in Ezekiel 21 and verse 27, Ezekiel says here, I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it, and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it to him." Again, overturning who? Earthly kings. Different ones that raised up. Some may have thought, well, maybe this is the Messiah. Nope. They would come and go. They would come and go. He come whose right it is. And that's really what the word Shiloh means, until he come whose right it is. That echoes Genesis 49 10. For Christ alone has the right to reign, not only as the Son of God, but as the appointed heir of all things. He is the heir, as it says there in Hebrews chapter one and verse two. that God has made to be so. That's why when we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, we don't trivialize his name. It's who is he? He's the heir of all things. And therefore the ruler in all authority has been committed unto him. Not this little Jesus buddy that you hear people talking about comes alongside to help you every once in a while and be your friend. No, he's a ruler. the one to whom all glory and honor belongs. But same time, secondly, in that name Shiloh is the idea of him being the peace bringer. If he's gonna rule, then he's going to be one who puts down all enemies. And his reign is that of peace. That's why in Isaiah, chapter nine and verse six, if you look there. Isaiah nine and verse six, this is a familiar verse to us. As to his name and what he shall be called, it says, for unto us a child is born, that's his humanity, and unto us a son is given. Why the son given? That's the son of God. the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called..." And nope, the comment was put in by the editors, it's just Wonderful Counselor, that's the pair. The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, see all those are pairs, and then what, Prince of Peace. That's what the name Shiloh signifies, the bringer of peace. And Paul uses that same language over in Ephesians chapter 2, and verse 14. Again, why are we looking at these different scriptures from Old and New Testament? Because it's one message throughout. One confirms the other. And here in Ephesians 2.14, speaking of Christ, who is the earnest of our inheritance, that's the Holy Spirit that's been given, until the redemption of the purposed possession I'm sorry, that's in 114. Under the praise of His glory, go over to Ephesians 2 and verse 14. Here's where it specifically says, for He is our peace, who hath made both one. In other words, Jew and Gentile. and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, or to make in himself a twain one new man." That's the church. So making what? Peace. That's what the word Shiloh, the name Shiloh means. In Christ, God brings peace between himself and elected sinners. He's the reconciler. And this is not just some temporary truce between God and sinners, but a lasting reconciliation that Christ obtained through his death on the cross. That's how it's put over in Paul's epistle to the Colossians. Any one of these epistles we could cite, but Colossians chapter 1 and verse 20, Paul writes, and having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself. By him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. You say, well, when was that reconciliation? taking place. Well, read on. And you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. It's not when you believe that you're reconciled. Here it says, verse 22, in the body of his flesh, nothing less than the death of the Lord Jesus Christ would satisfy in order to present sinners of God's choosing as holy and unbelievable and unreprovable in his sight. That's how perfect the work is. We could never even begin to think of reconciliation based on our works, but in Christ's work alone, unblameable and unreprovable. So that's the identity of Shiloh, their Christ the peaceful and reigning king. But here, one more point to bring out is the purpose of Shiloh's coming. If you go back there to my text in Genesis 49 and verse 10, every part of this is significant. And here's Jacob prophesying these things. It certainly must have been the spirit of God. But you can see here that He would rule and reign, the scepter would not be removed from his feet until Shiloh come, and what? Unto him shall be the gathering of the people. This gathering is not some universal gathering as some people still think that somehow before Christ comes back, the whole world is gonna be converted to him. There's some that believe that, they're called universalists. But here you can see it's particular, and it's an effectual gathering, sovereign. Unto him shall the gathering of the people be. That's talking about his chosen people. Just like in Matthew 1 and verse 21, thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Christ said there in John 10, as the great shepherd, he said, other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. When he talked about this fold, he was talking about that Jewish fold. Out of that Jewish nation, he did come to save those elected sinners, but they're not all Israel that are of Israel. And so when he said in John 10, 16, other sheep I have are not of this fold, he's talking about the Gentiles. sinners from every tribe, nation, and tongue. And John 6.37 says, all that the Father giveth me shall come unto me. That's who the gathering of this people is. Isaiah says there in Isaiah 11.10, to him shall the Gentiles seek. How can any seek unless it's given them to seek? And that's why Paul wrote in Romans 11, even so then at this present time, also there is what? A remnant according to the election of grace. So Christ, as Shiloh is gathering his people, he came to lay down his life and did it, rose again and set it on high. And it says he is seated there in the heavenlies where he ever lives to intercede. It's not that he's having to still do something to make sure that everyone is brought, that he is bought, but his very presence there is the intercession of that people that he has already bought. So he is gathering this people, even today. And people wonder, well, when will the last Trumpet sound, and as we know this world, it'll be over. Well, it's when the last one's brought in. It won't be beforehand. That's why I say it could go on another 100 million years. We just have been taught to think, oh, it's going to be pretty soon. Paul said people that say that know that there must be a falling away first. And I know we witness a falling away from the truth even to this day. Who knows, it still may get a whole lot worse. Things aren't gonna get better. It's not like summer preaching. If we go out and just keep preaching, then pretty soon the whole world's gonna turn to Christ. We don't find that anywhere in scripture. There'll always only be a remnant according to the election of grace, but I'm okay with it. Because I know that Christ is gonna have every one that he has bought. And so that's what we see here. The purpose of Shiloh's coming is coming first of all, in redeeming and justifying His people, but His coming again by His Spirit. He came again by His Spirit there in Acts chapter 2. His Spirit was poured out upon all flesh. And it's by the power of the Holy Spirit that He is drawing irresistibly sinners to Himself. When I say irresistibly, it doesn't mean that we don't resist. every one of us that the Lord has drawn. We are nature's to resist, but it's the Lord that makes us willing against our will. And so the fulfillment of this prophecy is really twofold. We can say Shiloh has come. Here when it was written, it was until Shiloh come, well, he has come. When Christ was born, the scepter had not yet departed, It was Rome that held sway over Israel, and yet there was a remnant among those even of that day that Christ came to deliver in the appointed hour. Galatians 4.4, when the fullness of the time was come. He came in humility. He died. As a substitute, he rose in power, he ascended in glory. And the scepter, where's the scepter now? Well, it rests in the hands of a risen Christ. It's not back here with Judah. It's not back there with that national Israel. Everybody's idolized Israel, Israel, Israel. The scepter has been removed. Read what scripture has to say about it. It's in Christ's hands who's seated in glory. That's why Christ said before he ascended, everybody knows that verse and quotes it all the time. All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. That means there's no power left on earth where any can claim any kind of authority, not even the nation of Israel, particularly not even a nation of Israel. The only reason that nation still exists because they're God haters, they still would, if Christ came back again, crucify him again. That's how much they hate him. And yet they try to join hands with these so-called Christian groups and call it the Judeo-Christian faith. There's no Judeo-Christian faith. Faith is Christ alone. And I dare say, if anybody would dare stand up and tell any Jews standing there today, that Jesus of Nazareth is that Christ, none other. I'll tell you, you'd have a war break out, but it's because people hide it. No, we can get along. No, we can't. How all things are being gathered under one head, that is as he calls them to himself. And the consummation is that Shiloh shall gather all his own. I love the shalls, don't you? Revelation 7, 9 speaks of a great multitude that stood before the throne, before the Lamb, a number that no man can number. I know that's hard for us to believe because we meet in small numbers here and there, but that's why I say this thing could go on another 100 million years. I just know that in the end, there's going to be a number that no man can number. And Christ as Shiloh is not some failed king. He came to try to say, but alas, man won't let him, that's not Shiloh. And he's not setting up waiting now on plan B, as some say, well, he came first time to be the savior, they rejected him, so now he's got to come back and be king. And they got all this, theory about him coming back to Jerusalem and rebuilding the throne, the temple rebuilt, everything going back to rebuilding the ruins. Anything you read about that, just take and burn it. Because he reigns now. He's gathering his church. And I just know that in the end, when it's all said and done, not one will be lost. He said that in John 6, 39. and that great gathering will be complete. It ought to be of that number. So yes, we ought to marvel at the faithfulness of God, and we ought to rejoice in the sovereignty of Christ as the Shiloh who has come, is reigning, and will come again. And we trust in Him who is our peace. If you're in Christ, You're already gathered by him, he's drawn you to himself and he's your peace. He is your Shiloh. It's not your works or your will, but it's his grace. And therefore we proclaim that name. I know maybe up to this point, Shiloh didn't say a whole lot to us, but I hope it does now. They're still elect sheep to be gathered. And that's why the commission is to preach Christ. that through the gospel Shiloh may draw his own to himself. But the scepter has not departed. It's not like it's over here somewhere waiting for some future fulfillment for Christ to come back and pick it up again. No, Shiloh has come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. But as I said, where's the scepter? He's got it in his hand. He rules and reigns. And that's the only Christ I want, don't you?