Please turn your Bibles to Micah 5, and because this is God's holy and infallible word, and the word of authority, we will stand to give honor to God's word as we read, starting at verse 5 of Micah 5. Hear the word of the Lord. This one will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, when he tramples our citadels, then we will rise against him. We will rise against him. Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men, they will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword. the land of Nimrod at its entrances. And he will deliver us from Assyria when he attacks our land and when he tramples our territory. Then the remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples. like dew from the Lord, like showers on vegetation which do not wait for man or delay for the sons of men. The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, among many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which if he passes through, tramples down and tears, and there is none to rescue, your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, and all your enemies will be cut off. Let's pray. Our glorious Lord, we thank you for this your word. We ask that you would give us your grace to help us to understand, to believe, and to receive this, your word, that you would build us up and comfort us. By means of this, your word, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated. Micah is a book of dreadful warnings, dreadful warnings of a coming judgment. God had promised that he was going to lay low his people because of their wickedness and sin. He was going to lower them down even to the very foundations because of their wickedness. But then as we looked earlier in chapter 5, there is a great hope of the gospel founded here in this book. I want us to just give a little review of this beautiful picture of the coming king. It's mentioned in chapter 5, but as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah. from you, one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." There's a promise here of the Messiah who would be born in Bethlehem, whose being, his going forths were from eternity. The pre-incarnate Son of God It wasn't just a ruler to be born, it was the Son of God to be born in Bethlehem. And in today's text, in verse 5, it mentions that this one will be our peace. The Messiah will be the source of peace. Scholars agree that this passage, including the remainder up to verse nine, is fulfilled through Jesus Christ and through his church. But going back to this notion of peace, remember when Jesus came into the world and was born into the world, angels from glory, And a multitude of heaven said, glory be to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom he is well pleased. Jesus Christ coming into the world was the source of gospel peace. That's according to Luke 2. In Isaiah 9, 6, we are told that the Messiah would be also called the Prince of Peace. And the reason he's the Prince of Peace is because he brought us and reconciled us and gave us peace with God. Let's turn to Romans 5, Romans 5, at that great work of reconciliation that's listed there. Romans 5. Starting at verse 6. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, much more having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only this, we exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. To be reconciled is to be made at peace with someone. And that's what Jesus came to do. So, you think about it, when you think of Jesus as the Prince of Peace. What did Jesus accomplish? Reconciliation. Best place to look again is Romans 5. Getting back to Micah 5, this Prince of Peace, it mentions there in verse 5, this one will be our peace. But then there's this radical shift of mentioning the Assyrians here. Let's look at verses 5 to 6 again. This one will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, when he tramples our citadels, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight leaders of men. They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with its entrances, and he will deliver us from the Assyrian when he attacks our land and when he tramples our territory. If you know your history about kingdoms, you might ask yourself, well, I don't see how this could be the Assyrians here, because this is talking about at the coming of the one who brings peace, the Messiah. So how can it be that he's talking about the Assyrians? If you remember, the Assyrians were taken over by the Babylonian Empire. The Babylonian Empire was taken over by the Persian Empire, the Persian Empire by the Greek Empire, and then by the Roman Empire. And when Jesus came on the scene, he came on the scene during the time of the Roman Empire. So how can this be speaking of the Assyrians here? There are some scholars who would say that this represents, the Assyrians here, represents the enemies of Israel, or the enemies of God's people. Now some might say, well, my Bible says Assyrians, this has to be the Assyrians. I do want to, this is probably a long way to go about it, but just because something in scripture mentions a particular name, especially regarding prophecy, it doesn't always mean that it is to be read literally, especially when you're dealing with prophecy. And I want us to keep our place in Micah, but I want us to turn to Revelation 17. Here's an example, a clear example, where we have a sighting of one of God's enemies, and it cannot be the Babylonians, but God sights it here. Let's look at Revelation 17. We'll read three through seven. And he carried me away in the spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman. sitting on a scarlet beast full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having her in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality. And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, Babylon the Great. the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly. And the angel said to me, why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and 10 horns. We'll stop there and I'll read a little bit more in a second. Okay, this is mentioned as Babylon the Great. Okay, this is after, this is the last book of scripture written. This is after all of the gospel accounts. This is after all the epistle accounts. This is the closing book of the New Testament canon. And we read about Babylon the Great. Well, I don't know if you know this, but Babylon has long expired as a kingdom at all, much less an empire. So it can't be talking about the people or the nation of Babylon. It has to be representing someone else. Now, who was drunk with slaying the saints, including, say, Stephen, stoning Stephen? And then, I would argue that this Babylon the Great is representing Jerusalem and the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ. They were meant to be a godly people, the ones who would lead the nations, but instead was a harlot and committed spiritual adultery against God. And writing upon the beast is very reminiscent of what is told when Pilate went up to the Jews and said, behold your king. So they cried out, away with him, away with him. And then Pilate says, well, why would you want me to slay your king? And they said, we have no king but Caesar. They rejected the promised Messiah given unto them, the means of salvation given to them, and they chose Caesar instead, and then riding upon the beast is the imagery there. Now, the great clincher is found, I believe, at the end of Revelation 17, 16. It says there, and the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, These will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire." And that's exactly what happened. The beast whom she rode upon turned and devoured her and burned her with fire. And that's what happened in 70 AD. This book of Revelation is a foretelling of that coming destruction. Of course, in the end of the book, it is talking about the new heavens and the new earth, which has not come to pass yet. But this particular portion is talking about Babylon the Great, who's not actually Babylon the Great, but representing something else. So in the same sense, when we read back in Micah 5, we're reading about Assyria, who I believe represents the enemies of the kingdom of God's people. So what are all these attacks? What is the deliverances mentioned there in verses 5 and 6 that are going to happen? the interpretation that we should have is that that has been fulfilled through Jesus Christ and is currently being fulfilled in the church. One scholar wrote this, the prophecy finds its fulfillment in the church. Christ is raising up elders and gifted people to protect it against evil people. So you read there about there being raised up shepherds, seven shepherds and leaders of men. Ephesians 4 is the text that this man cites. I want us to look at that, Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4. He says there, verse 9, He, that is Jesus, ascended. What does this mean except that he also has descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens so that he might fill all things. And he gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the Head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted together by what every joint supplies according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. I guess you could say that Ephesians 4 passage is a big commentary on God setting up shepherds and leaders among the people in the church yet to come here. Let's look next, after we've seen the identity of Assyria, we want to look next at the victory of the remnant of Jacob. There's victory for the remnant of Jacob, verses 7 and 8. Then the remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples, like dew from the Lord, like showers on vegetation which do not wait for man or delay for the sons of men. The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, among many people, like a lion among the beasts of the forest. Matthew Henry looked at this particular passage of scripture and he says that the remnant of Israel converted to Christ in the primitive times were among many nations as the drops of dew and were made instruments in calling a large increase of spiritual worshipers. So think about it this way. God used who as the foundation of the church. prophets and apostles, all those who were of Jacob, of the remnant of Jacob. He built the foundation of his church upon Jews who converted to Jesus Christ. I don't get anti-Semitism. People, especially sometimes even Catholics or Protestants or even others, or even just, well, especially when it comes from Catholics or Protestants, who are anti-Semites. They're against the Jews. The Jews are those who are the foundation as the remnant of Jacob. They were the foundation and building up the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to pray for their conversion. We are to pray for the blindness to be falling from the eyes of the Jews and for them to come and to receive the Messiah whom they have rejected. Pray for their conversion rather than pray for their destruction. But if you look again at today's passage and it talks about a remnant of Jacob, you can't really read that and say, well, this particular title, remnant of Jacob, only applies to Jews. What about us? Galatians 3.29 says that if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise. So if you are those who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are the seed of Abraham by faith. You're, in a sense, you're of the remnant of Jacob. Verse 8 in today's text goes on to say that this remnant of Jacob will be victorious. Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which if he passes through tramples down and tears, and there is none to rescue, your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, and all your enemies will be cut off. You know, you might wonder, I don't see that in the church. I don't see this kind of victory of the church as victorious lions. Where does that come from? I believe that we find victory because we are part of the victorious body of Christ. Jesus was victorious over sin, death, and Satan. In his great commission, he says, all authority has been given to me on heaven and on earth. But if you want to see Jesus reigning and having dominion and trampling upon enemies, no better place to look at than Revelation 5. Let's look there, Revelation chapter 5. We'll start reading at verse 1. I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals. And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the book or to look into it. Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, stop weeping. Behold, the lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome So as to open the book and its seven seals. First of all, remember this, Jesus has overcome. And because Jesus has overcome, you may overcome by faith. Verses eight, we'll skip to verse eight and following. When he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seal, for you were slain and purchased for God With your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, you have made them to be a kingdom of priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth. Now, you might look around and look at each of us in this church and might say, well, I don't know, it doesn't look like we're reigning right now, does it? Well, scripture says that we shall reign upon the earth. And it might not be fulfilled in this present earth as we see it, but there will be a new heavens and a new earth, and we will reign upon that glorious new heavens and new earth. Those united by faith in Jesus Christ will be victorious over the world, the flesh, and the devil. We're not, we're never gonna have to stop fighting. We'll always be fighting until we go to be with the Lord, but we will be given increasing victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. We can be victorious because we have a victorious Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Lamb of God, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah. He has overcome, so we can overcome. Revelation 5 ends with these words. To him who sits on the throne and to the lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. And the four living creatures kept saying, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped. That's a glorious, victorious savior. unto him, unto the Lord Jesus belong blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. He has overcome, we can overcome, and we as his people will be victorious. He says, and I love this, probably my favorite benediction. I know everyone has favorite benedictions, but I love it in Romans 16. Paul gives that benediction. He says, may you crush Satan shortly under your feet. That's not our job to crush Satan. Well, what are we? We are the body of Christ. He's victorious over Satan, and as his body, his body ultimately will be victorious. Let's pray together. We thank you, our glorious Lord, for our blessed Lord Jesus, to whom belong all blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. We thank you that you have given us a savior who has overcome. He's overcome sin. He's overcome death and the grave. And through him, we thank you that you allow us to overcome. We pray more and more that you would give us victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. And we pray for that day when we shall reign upon the earth, a glorious new heavens and new earth. We thank you for Jesus Christ, the one who is our peace. And we pray that as we go our way, that we would remember these words of truth and that you would build us up to that longing expectation that we have been giving victory and that we shall be increasingly given more victory as we continue on in this life and in the life to come. We ask all these things in the name of Jesus, our Lord. Amen. For our closing hymn, let's turn to 84B, our closing psalm, actually. 84B, O Lord of hosts, how lovely. Let's stand and sing 84B.