We've looked at really the fun in the, well I guess these chapters are fun too, but the easy chapters in Daniel. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Daniel in the lion's den. Chapter 1, Daniel and his friends being taken to Babylon from Jerusalem. And this morning we're going to look at the sort of prophetic and apocalyptic chapters. And I think I foolishly said last week that we would look at chapter 2, 7, and 9. That is not happening. We're going to look at chapter 2, part of 7, and sometime in the future when I feel brave enough, we'll look back again at chapter 9. So before we look at chapter 2 and 7, I want to remind you how we are to interpret what's called apocalyptic literature. So apocalyptic literature is a subset of prophecy. And the word apocalypse from the Greek does not mean the end of the world. That's actually what we think of often when we hear the apocalypse. So this is like the end of the world. Though it can refer to that, apocalypse simply means to uncover or to reveal. It shows the true nature of something that was hidden before. And in the Bible it is simply a revelation from God to people. So there is a kind of apocalyptic revelation that Isaiah receives in Isaiah chapter 6. And then there are whole sections of scripture that are called apocalyptic literature. So the whole book of Revelation fits that category. So let's just go over there. I meant to have you go there first, but go to Revelation, hold your hand to Daniel, and notice how Revelation opens. chapter 1. It's the last book in the Bible in case you didn't know if you're looking. Revelation chapter 1 verse 1. Notice what it says. The revelation of Jesus Christ or the apocalypse of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John. who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and notice what it says, even to all that he saw. Even to all that he saw. So an apocalypse is a revelation from God, usually given by an angel, and we're going to see that even in Daniel chapter 7. And it is given by God to give his people a heavenly perspective on an earthly situation. So apocalyptic literature then is full of poetry, it's an imaginative style and it's filled with symbols. And sometimes these symbols, so in Revelation there are sections where you read about these symbols, you move on and it's talking about the same event with different symbols. And so, we've got to pay attention to those things as we're reading apocalyptic literature. And so, I'm going to give you just a few things. These aren't in your notes, but when you're dealing with apocalyptic literature, here's kind of five things you need to pay attention to. First, you need to pay careful attention to the symbols. They're often given in a series of visions and they're not always chronological. And I think that's one of the biggest mistakes people make. And reading a lot of the prophetic books and the book of Revelation, they fail to treat it as apocalyptic and they think it's just being given in a chronology. And that's often not the case. Two, don't forget the original audience. The apocalypse is often given with symbols and imagery that are familiar to the audience that is receiving it, to things that they're familiar with, things that are going on in the world that they live in. Three, we need to make sure we distinguish between symbols and real life events. Four, we're to interpret the symbols in light of the Bible as a whole. This is like put a star, put three stars next to this. This is where probably most interpreters go awry. They begin to take their... I mentioned this in my sermon last Sunday evening. They take their newspaper and they lay it over the Bible and they say, okay, how do I figure out what's going on here? That is not how we read apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic literature is deeply biblical and it is drawing from the whole of the biblical story. So, for instance, in the book of Revelation, there is the sea, and the sea is this terrible picture, and there's these beasts that are coming up out of the sea. And then at the end, in the New Heavens and the New Earth, it says that there is no sea. And there's some biblical imagery, and part of the biblical story that that is drawing from. So, last, don't miss the purpose of the apocalypse. Apocalyptic literature is not given for you to make a chart on every wall in your house to figure out where every single thing happens. It is given to comfort God's people, and in the purpose of Revelation at least, it's given to remind us that Jesus wins. Jesus wins. And rarely do I hear people talk about apocalyptic literature in this way. So Andreas Kostenberger says this, he says, apocalyptic literature is designed to reassure believers that while they may face present suffering and persecution, God will bring history to its final conclusion. And just think about Daniel's context. It appears in Daniel's day that God's kingdom is finished. The temple has been destroyed, there's no king in Israel, God has brought his covenant curses upon the nation, and they are now in exile, and it seems as if God's kingdom is finished. But it's actually in Daniel, first given to King Nebuchadnezzar in a dream in chapter 2, then given in a series of things in the second half of the book to Daniel. It is in this book that Daniel and the people of God are reminded that God's kingdom is not finished. That the kingdom of Israel was but a temporary picture of a greater kingdom that was coming. A greater kingdom that will outlast and outshine and grow far larger than any of the kingdoms of men. So, looking at Daniel chapter 2 and 7, what you're gonna see is really both chapters talk about the same sweep of human events. Chapter 2 gives us a picture from an earthly viewpoint, and chapter 7 gives us a picture of these events from a heavenly viewpoint. So let's look now at Daniel chapter 2. This is this great dream that King Nebuchadnezzar has of this great image. And as he has this dream of this great image, there's this great stone, this great rock that comes and smashes the image to pieces. And so we're going to pick up and read in verse 31 in just a second. But just to give you kind of the overview of what happens before this, King Nebuchadnezzar has this dream. He's terrified by it. He gets all of his wise guys around him. And he says, not only do I want you to interpret the dream for me, but I want you to tell me what my dream was without me telling you. And his wise men are like, they didn't say that's ridiculous, but their response shows the foolishness of such a request. He's finally so angered that they can't give him his dream or the interpretation that he makes a decree that all the wise men in all the land are going to be killed. This guy is a very rational, calm man. And so word reaches Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And they say, let's pray. Let's pray that the Lord would not allow this to happen. That the Lord would show us what this dream is. And then the Lord does. He shows it to Daniel. Daniel blesses the Lord in verses 20 to 23. And then he goes and basically asks, I would like to speak to the king. I would like to tell him his dream. So that then brings us to verse 31. And so here, Daniel is going to tell him his dream, what it is in verses 31 to 35, and then he's going to give the interpretation from verses 36 to 45. He said this in verse 31. You, O king, you saw, O king, and behold a great image. This image, mighty, and of exceeding brightness stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you look, a stone was cut out by no human hands and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold all together were broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone, that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. So I'm going to draw this image for us. This isn't painting time with Bob Ross, so don't make fun of my statue here. But we've got this image. You'll notice that there's another image in Chapter 3 that we talked about. Oh, this is going to be great. There's this other image that we talked about last week in chapter 3. It's interesting that chapter 3 comes after 2, not because 3 comes after 2, but Nebuchadnezzar has this dream of a giant statue, and just the head is made of gold, and then in chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar says, I've got an idea, I'm going to make a statue all of gold, and I'm going to make everyone worship it. Alright, but the head, the head is made of gold, All right, the arms and the chest are made of silver, and then the midsection and the thighs are made of bronze, and then the legs of iron, and then the feet of iron and clay. All right, that's wonderful. I probably could have had one of the kids draw something better than this. So he has this dream of this exceedingly terrifying statue, this image, and it was exceedingly bright. You'll notice that moving from the top to the bottom, the image is made up of different precious metals, and they decrease in value as you move down. And then once he sees this image in his dream, he then sees this stone that is not cut by any human hands. And the stone strikes the image, the whole image crumbles down, and then this stone fills the earth as a great mountain. Hopefully you're already thinking of places in scripture where you hear that kind of imagery, right? And so he says, this is the image. Daniel says, this is what your dream is. And now I'm gonna give you its interpretation. So he begins to give him the interpretation of verse 36. This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, and to whose hand he has given, and wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all, you are the head of gold. So he tells him, you're the head of gold. And in chapter 7, Daniel has a vision, and he has a vision of a lion with wings. This is the first beast that comes up out of the sea in Daniel's vision. And it's a lion with wings and its wings are plucked up and the lion is made to stand upright. And that is also Babylon. That is Babylon. So the lion in chapter seven and the head of gold both refer to Babylon. And then he goes on. And in verse 39, another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you. And yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom. But some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, partly brittle. And you saw the iron mix with soft clay, so that they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. We're gonna stop there, because verse 44 really then shifts and focuses on this stone that's not cut with human hands. But most commentators actually do not, there's not much disagreement over what these remaining parts of the image represent. The silver represents the Medo-Persian empire, which in chapter seven, Daniel sees it as a beast, as a lion, as a bear with three ribs in its mouth and laying on its side. And then the midsection and the thighs of bronze refer to the Greek Empire. And in chapter 7, it's depicted as a leopard with four heads and four wings. Some say that is referring to Alexander the Great. When he dies, he gives the kingdom to his four generals. I don't know, perhaps that's what we could say, but I think it's clear that that's what it refers to. And then the last part, which really these are spoken of together, the iron legs and then the feet of iron and clay refer to the Roman Empire. And we're gonna look at the fourth kingdom, it's the most, airtime, if you will, in chapter 7. He talks about these other three, but in chapter 7, he focuses exclusively on this fourth kingdom, which in chapter 7, the fourth kingdom comes up out of the water. He can't even describe the beast. He can't even describe it. It's something other worldly. It doesn't look like a lion. It doesn't look like a bear. It doesn't look like a leopard. He just says that it's exceedingly frightening and it has ten horns. And so these are these four kingdoms, but Babylon is the head, and it's the head made of gold. And Daniel tells him, then in verse 44, which this is, if you're trying to figure out all this stuff, verse 44 is the key verse of this whole dream. It says this, and in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. Nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms, and break them to an end, and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, a great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain and its interpretation is sure. This uncut stone, he says, is the kingdom of God. And it's in the days of these kings, not there's a gap between the days of these kings and when the kingdom of God will come. But it's in the days of these kings that this stone will come. and it will fill the earth, he says. Now, can you think of any places in the Old Testament prophets that might give us a fuller picture of what this uncut stone is or where this imagery is coming from? Anyone? The cornerstone, okay. So in Isaiah 28, 16 he says, I'm going to lay in Zion a cornerstone. And we talked a lot about that, looked at that verse quite a bit in 1 Peter chapter 2. There's this imagery of, in Isaiah 2, of the mountain of the Lord growing exceedingly high and all the nations of the earth stream to it. This stone, by the way, it's a supernatural stone, right? It's uncut. It's uncut by human hands. Go over to the book of Isaiah. Go to Isaiah. We'll read some of these verses. Go to Isaiah chapter 2. So in Isaiah chapter two, verse one, it says this, the word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains. And it shall be lifted up above the hills and all nations shall flow to it. Flip now to Daniel chapter 11. Sorry, yeah, what did I say? Yeah, don't go to Daniel, stay in Isaiah, sorry. I needed you to come back from your sabbatical for that, Hank, thank you. Yeah, that's right, that's right. Isaiah 11, verse 1, There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his root shall bear fruit. Skip down that same chapter to verses 9 and 10. It then says, they shall not hurt or destroy and all my holy mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as waters cover the sea. In that day, the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples, of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. Go back to chapter nine. There's another great verse here in chapter nine of Isaiah. Verses six and seven. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end. On the throne of David, and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. All right, let's go to one more and then we'll go back to Daniel. Go to Isaiah 28. Isaiah 28 verse 16. This is the verse that Mike just referenced for us. Therefore says the Lord God, behold, I am the one who is laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. Whoever believes will not be in haste. So there are all of these places in the prophets that speak about the knowledge of the Lord filling the earth, the mountain of the Lord growing great, and all the nations streaming to them, that there's coming this Christ whose government, whose kingdom will endure, forever, and this is all in the same context and time of Daniel interpreting this dream for Nebuchadnezzar when he sees this uncut stone that comes and smashes this image, these four kingdoms and the days of these kingdoms, and this stone then grows into a great mountain that fills the whole earth. This stone is indeed the promised kingdom of God that the king of David will bring. This is a kingdom that will endure forever. The greatest kingdoms of men, both in Daniel's day and in our day, are but kingdoms of dust compared to this kingdom. They pale in their glory to this kingdom, they pale in their power to this kingdom, and their kings pale in their majesty compared to this king. Daniel will live through two of these great terrible kingdoms. He'll live throughout the whole remainder of the Babylonian Empire, and he'll remain in Babylon underneath the rule of the Medes and the Persians. And yet the Lord here is showing his people that there is a greater kingdom that is coming, that is more glorious, and that will be victorious over these kingdoms. So go back to Daniel. Before we talk more about this kingdom, I want us to go to chapter seven. I just want to point out what it said there about this kingdom. So it's in chapter seven, verses one through eight, that Daniel has this exceedingly terrible vision of these four different beasts coming up. And the fourth beast is the most terrible of them all. And then Daniel has this vision in chapter seven, starting in verse nine. As I looked, thrones replaced, and the ancient of days took his seat, and his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, and his wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him. A thousand thousands served him, and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him. The court sat in judgment and the books were opened. I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. So there's this little horn that comes up in the midst of the 10 horns of this fourth beast and he's speaking these great things. And as I looked, the beast was killed and its body burned and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, Their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. I saw in the night vision, so he's having these series of visions. I saw in the night visions and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man. And he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. So if there is any question over what this uncut stone is in chapter 2, I think it is made exceedingly clear to us in chapter 7 as Daniel has this vision of this One like the Son of Man who comes up to the Ancient of Days and receives the Kingdom in all of its fullness. So I think one of the things I want to do as we think about this is, how does the things that we see here in Daniel chapter 2 and part of Daniel chapter 7, how are these things spoken of in the New Testament? How does the New Testament speak about the Kingdom of God? What does Jesus say when he begins? His ministry. What does Jesus say? Jesus says a lot of things, actually, about the Kingdom of God in different contexts, in different parts of His ministry, I think, that are helpful to understand. When do we expect this Kingdom? Is this Kingdom already here? Or is it still coming? Alright, you're really taking my thunder here, Rebecca. You're stealing... I'm going to have to start saying, don't answer, aren't I? What's interesting though is Daniel 2.44 says that it's in the days of these kings. It's in the days of these kings. And it's actually interesting that in Jesus' day, the Jews had some very specific expectations of what the kingdom of God would be like. And they actually were wrong, and it actually was part of the reason why they rejected Christ. Because the kingdom that Christ was talking about did not meet the kingdom that they had constructed. The Jews believed that the Christ would bring salvation only for the Jews and judgment to the nations. The Jews in Jesus' day believed that the Christ would sit on a physical throne of David in Jerusalem to rule. The Jews in Jesus' day believed that Christ would liberate Israel from Rome's rule. And the Jews in Jesus' day believed, they expected Jesus to offer a political, national, and economic kingdom. And therefore, the Jews rejected Jesus. Even in Acts 1, verse 6, the disciples are still a bit confused. Jesus is saying He's going to go away, the Spirit's going to come, they're going to go into Judea, Samaria, and the outermost parts of the earth, and they say to Him, When they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? They're still missing the point. They're asking the question the wrong way. The apostles instead should have asked, Lord, when are you restoring Israel to the kingdom? The disciples were still looking for the wrong kind of kingdom. And the first century Jews' expectations of the kingdom were actually wrong and inconsistent with both how the Old Testament speaks of this kingdom, but also how Jesus and the apostles talk about this kingdom. So by the way, if you have a view of the kingdom of God that's different than Jesus and the apostles, I'm going to say that's the wrong side to be on the issue. But the Gospels make clear that the Kingdom of God has come in Jesus Christ at His first coming. His first coming inaugurates the Kingdom, and then His second coming consummates the Kingdom. So Rebecca Kelly stole our thunder here. There's an already and a not yet sense. The Kingdom of God has already come. So Jesus begins His ministry, and what is the very first thing He says? Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. And then in Luke chapter 11 verse 20 says, but if it's by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Well, is Jesus casting out demons by the finger of God? Well, then the kingdom of God had come there in the first century. In fact, in Matthew, Matthew's account of that same conversation, Jesus says, the strong man must be bound before his house can be plundered. And interestingly enough, and I'm just gonna say this and we're gonna keep going, the word there for bind is the same word that is used in Revelation 20, to the binding of Satan. Jesus says elsewhere in John 18, 36, when Pilate is asking him, are you a king? And Jesus says to him, he doesn't say my kingdom's not here. He doesn't say I don't have a kingdom. He says, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting. that I might not be delivered over to the Jews, but my kingdom is not from this world. Or in Luke 17, verse 20, they ask him again about the kingdom, and being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God, they asked him when the kingdom of God would come, and his answer is this, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, look, here it is, or there, for behold the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. And then there's all kinds of other things, by the way, and these are just a few explicit examples. There's all kinds of things that Jesus does in his ministry, like, by the way, forgiving people of their sins, which was closely connected to the kingdom of God coming. So Jesus is quite clear. And then the apostles, in the book of Acts, it says in Acts 8, 12, but when they believed Philip as he preached good news, what did he preach? He preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. And then the book of Acts ends with Paul and Rome. And for two years, at his own expense, what did he do? He proclaimed the kingdom of God, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. So Christ comes in the Gospels proclaiming the arrival of this kingdom. He secures this kingdom through his suffering. Let's go to one place that talks a little bit or gives us a picture of that. Go to John chapter 12. In John chapter 12 and verse 30, Let's actually, let's back up to verse 27. Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. There's some interesting things in John all throughout the first half of the book, John chapter 1 to 11. There's this repeated theme of my hour has not yet come, my hour has not yet come. He did not entrust himself because his hour had not yet come. But there's a shift in the gospel in chapter 12 where now Jesus begins to talk about the hour. It's come. It's here. And so he says, Father, what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. The crowds that stood there and heard it said, that it had thunder, or heard it said that it had thundered. Others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus answered, this voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now listen to what he says. He's speaking about his hour, his hour of crucifixion. Now is the judgment of this world, and now will the ruler of this world be cast out. Do we think about what happened on the cross in those terms? Verse 32, and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. And he said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him, we have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the son of man must be lifted up? Who is the son of man? So Jesus said to them, The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtakes you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. Did you notice the question they asked though? They said what? Who is the son of man? I think that's referring back to Daniel chapter 7 verses 13 and 14. But it is the great paradox, isn't it, in the Gospels that it's the moment in which Christ is raised up on the cross is really the moment of his coronation in a sense as king? Ironically, by the sinful people who put them there, it is a time of mockery that He is not the Christ. He is not the promised King for Israel. He is not the Deliverer that has been promised in the Old Testament for God's people. But Jesus says, it's actually in the moment of my suffering, when I am lifted up, that the ruler of this world will be cast out, and I will draw all people to myself. And so he has secured his kingdom through suffering. And now he is coronated as the King of David, and he is seated now at the right hand of God, ruling in the midst of his enemies. And so in Acts 2, Peter gives this great sermon, and he says, David being a prophet. Referring to and speaking about this promise that one would sit on the throne of David forever, David being a prophet, spoke of Christ and His resurrection and sitting down in glory at the right hand of the Father. I want to close by going to just one final place here. Go to 1 Corinthians 15. These few verses here in 1 Corinthians 15, starting in verse 24, are really, I think, some of the clearest verses that we have on the kingdom of God, the order of all things, what the last days are like, where we're at in God's time clock, if you will, if you want to call it that. And notice what Paul says. He speaks quite plainly here. Let's, just for context, skip back to verse 20. He is making his defense of the resurrection, because apparently there seems to be some who are denying it. And then he says this in verse 20, But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. but each in his own order. Christ, the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ, then comes the end. He doesn't talk about anything else after that. He says Christ must be resurrected. Then at His coming, those who are in Christ will be brought forth. And then comes the end, verse 24, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all of His enemies under His feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. And that enemy is not destroyed until the second coming of Christ. For God has put all things in subjection under His feet, but when it says all things are put in subjection, it is plain that He is accepted who put all things in subjection under Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. So I think what the New Testament shows us is that the kingdom of God, it comes in two stages. Already, not yet. So is the kingdom of God here? Absolutely, yes. Yes, it is. But its fullness does not come until Christ's coming. And where do we see the kingdom of God? Where do we see it? Some trick question. We see it made manifest, not in nations, but in the church. In the church. And as people are being brought to Christ, the kingdom of God grows. And I'd love to, I said that was the last verse. One place I would just encourage you to look is look in Matthew 13, verses 36 to 43 later today. There, there's the parable of the wheat and the tares, and the sower goes and he sows the wheat, and then someone comes and sows tares among the wheat, and the servants of the master says, someone's done this, should we go and try to uproot the tares? And he says, no, no, no, that happens at the end of all things. And the wheat are gonna grow, and the tares are gonna grow. And they're both gonna grow at the same time. And there's this enmity between them. Sounds like Genesis 3.15, right? But then at the end of the age, they will be divided and separated at the judgment. And one will be cast into the fire, and one will be brought into everlasting glory. And so I say that to say, the picture of the kingdom of God that we receive gives us great optimism and hope that the gospel will go forth to the nations and that Christ will build his church. And that while it appears now that the church is often persecuted, and often seems demeaned, and often seems to lack power, and authority, and respectability, and all those things that men love to have, the church is actually glorious right now. And Christ is building His church. And by the way, just for a second, let's just think about this. If the way that Christ secured His kingdom was through suffering, is it then strange that the way that the church often grows? Is through God's people's suffering and remaining faithful, even in the midst of persecution, even in the midst of being cast down by those around them, is it strange to us then that that's how God would build his kingdom? I don't think so. The servant is not greater than his master. And so the kingdom of God is growing, and it is like a mustard seed, and it is growing forth, and Christ is ruling, but these last days are marked by tribulation and suffering, but the kingdom of God is growing by the work of the Spirit, but this age will remain evil until Christ returns. All right, I know that was a lot. We probably could have gotten to chapter 9 if I didn't open up the New Testament when I was studying this week, but I thought there's no way we can see this uncut thing, this uncut stone that fills the earth and not go to the New Testament and see how the New Testament speaks about these things. So, any questions or comments? All right, Pastor Hank. If it's a hard question, then you go back on sabbatical. Good, okay. Mm. Mm. Mm. Yeah, every letter to the seven churches ends with the promise to the one who endures, to the one who endures, to the one who conquers. Yeah, that's great. Anyone else? Come on, I know I talked about eschatology. I know someone's got, okay, Mike, I probably shouldn't. Yes. Yes. Amen. Yeah, I was thinking when you said that, it says in Revelation 11, verse 15, then the seventh angel blew his trumpet and there was a loud voice in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. and he shall reign forever and ever. So, any others? Comments, questions? All right, we all, as I was saying, okay, Johnny? are man-created from power, from all the glory of the man, and from his kingdom of armies and all this, but this mountain cut out without hands is referring to something completely different. It's not a natural man-made kingdom. That's why Jesus said the kingdom of this world, because it's above man. Yeah, as great as the Kingdom of Israel was in the Old Testament, that is but a picture of the Kingdom of Christ. But a picture. Alright, we all agree on our eschatology, that's great. Well, we're going to pray while we're ahead, okay? Father, we thank you for your kindness to us. We thank you that while there's just so many similarities with where Daniel is in Babylon, living as an exile, living in the midst of a godless kingdom, Lord, that you used him in a great way as he was faithful to you. Lord, we thank you for the way that you comforted him, even in allowing Nebuchadnezzar to have this dream in chapter two and for you to use Daniel, and the way that you did to give the dream and the interpretation, and what a great encouragement these things are to us. Because we are on this side of the cross, your son has come, the kingdom has been inaugurated, and you are building this kingdom. And Lord, we thank you for the great hope that we can have in that, that this is a kingdom that cannot be shaken, that our trust in Christ our King will never be put to shame, it will never be misplaced, it will never be fumbled or forgotten or lost, but He is that chief cornerstone. And men trip over Him and stumble over Him, and think of this rock as an offense or a scandal, but in Christ we have seen the power of God and the wisdom of God, and you sending your Son and saving sinners through His suffering for us. So Lord, we thank you for that. And we ask God now that as we gather for corporate worship, Lord, that you would help us to attend diligently to these ordinary means that we would that we would attend them in faith. And Lord, that we would that we would magnify your name this morning and that we would be reminded of our great position of being in Christ and being marked among the beloved. And we ask these things in his name. Amen.