Alright, let's take our Bibles. You know, we've been in a study with the minor prophets and there is a reason for that. Largely, it's because of the day in which we live. We are living in a time unlike anything America has ever known. We were founded with a great deal of fear and trepidation before a holy God that created the universe. We understood that at the outset of this country and that means that we've had a long run of blessings. And the blessing has been that the church has not been persecuted, the church has not been harassed. There have been a lot of kinks, there have been a lot of bumps, there have been a lot of difficulties that we've had to overcome. But that's the human condition, no matter how you slice it. But what we have here before us in our day is a time that is completely unlike anything we've seen before. So we've gone to these minor prophets to try to Dig in and get some of the information that was known of those in ages past. And so with your minds around that thought, I want you to go with me to the book of Micah. Find the book of Micah. And as you go there, remember that we have seen this book breaks down into three parts. They're not equal parts. The prophets wrote eloquently, or from the heart, and as God moved them. And the first section was God's message through His prophet to the nations. And then the second is to the nationals, meaning those of Israel. And the third section comes into play in chapter 6 as He brings a message to nature. He calls nature to bear witness to the things because nobody else is listening. Okay? So it's a lot like our day. Our world has got a momentum that's almost unstoppable. And things are getting worse and worse and deteriorating so rapidly that we stand back and try to catch our breath as we try to get our minds around what's going on. Well, the second section is the longest. We've broken it into the three chapters, chapter three, four, and five. Those are chapters that each break down underneath the heading of message to the nationals. And that would be the Israelites proper. And the first chapter dealt with the princes, the priests, and the prophets who had dissembled. God said, I'm going to have to judge you. So you might say that was the message to the immediate circumstance. Last week, we got to look at the millennial kingdom, and we titled that message, The Kingdom Shall Come. That's the ultimate message to the nationals. Get some past the bumps in the here and now. And then we have today before us the intermediate section here. immediate timetable that He dealt with, the ultimate timetable He brought for us in chapter 4, and then in chapter 5, He brings to us that intermediate time. We see that not only will the kingdom come, but the King shall come. We got a glimpse of that last time? All nations would say, let us go to Israel, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, let us go there for the Lord is there and He will teach us. So we got a glimpse, but it is in this chapter. that we see how that is all going to happen. And it is why the prophets were always just befuddled because they would look at it and they'd say, here's some sufferings of the Messiah. And then afterwards, there's this glory that would follow. And they just couldn't get to how can you have sufferings and glory? Well, this is part of what we can see from hindsight, how that unfolds. But they saw almost across a mountain range from one mountaintop to another mountaintop, and it looked like they were all one fell swoop because many times it would be one verse to deal with the one and deal with the other so with chapter 5 before us today I want us to remember the title as I set it forth the king shall come glad are you looking for him somebody said I'm not looking for the undertaker I'm looking for the upper taker let's just get out of here bring the rapture somebody said old Gabriel pucker in his lips he's getting ready There's coming a day, and beloved, we just very well might see that day in our lifetime. So let's look at it. Chapter 5 says this, Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops. He hath laid siege against us. They shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore, will he give them up until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth, then the remnant of his brethren shall turn unto the children of Israel." Oh, beloved, what a lot is being said just in these verses. These first three verses represent for us the reality of what Israel was going to have to go through. It is the intermediate period that is before us. We saw the ultimate, the millennial kingdom. It's going to be awesome. Chapter four. But this is the intermediate. Because when it says in verse one, now gather thyself in troops, the word now could be circled in your Bible because it's telling us that as he sets forth this intermediate time, that what's happening in this verse is going to happen in the very near future for Israel. Micah is preaching to the northern kingdom who will be taken out by Assyria in 720 or so BC. And what we find is that when he is preaching to them, they don't really take his words to heart. It's sort of like we in this room who have heard people talk about September and October and blood moons, and we've heard them talk about Shemitahs and all these things, and we're thinking, what? What's coming? Couldn't possibly. And the world just goes on its merry way. Listen, marrying and giving in marriage, eating and drinking as if nothing could possibly go wrong. Beloved, we're living in a very precarious time. And when a preacher would stand up at those days and say, these things are going to bring the judgment of God, he was not always well received. So it is in our day. If a preacher stands and preaches the word of God and says, or there are principles being violated. God is the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And we understand that these violation of principles are going to bring judgment. It's not always well received. And the Bible tells us in 2 Timothy chapter 4 that men in the last days will heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, not willing to endorse sound doctrine. It's not unlike Israel's time. And so when it says, now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops, he's talking to Israel in real time. And he's saying, listen, this is what's going to have to happen for you. And it's going to have to happen because of chapter 3. The princes, the priests, and the prophets, they've all dissembled. And so there's going to have to be this battle, this chastening time. And this is the heading of this section, verses one to three. It's the chastening from God. And the chastening first begins with this immediate battle action in God's hand called Assyria. They're going to come and they're going to take the northern kingdom down. Now, that's a powerful word because you're standing in the crowd. And you're listening to this man preach, and all you want to do is pick up stones to stone him because it drives you crazy that somebody could say such things would ever happen. Well, you could understand what real-time visceral emotional reactions were being had in that crowd, just like in our day. And so when he says, gather yourself together in troops, O daughter of troops, the reason he refers to them as daughter of troops is because that was where their confidence was. They had long since placed their confidence in something other than God. It was at one time one kingdom, you recall, and Jehovah was the God of Israel, and it was one. But after Solomon went off the scene, Rehoboam and Jeroboam took various parts of the kingdom. Jeroboam got the northern ten kingdoms and set up golden calves and called them Jehovah. So they moved away from God. And now as time has gone on and unfolded, and king came after king, came after king, they're so far removed from the true God that now it's time for them to figure out what do we really trust. And what they trusted was two things. They trusted their prosperity, for they were in a very high time during the prophecies of this man. But they also trusted in their troops. They trusted in their muscle, their strength, their arms. The Bible says some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will trust in the name of the Lord, our God. That was what the psalmist concluded. But man's reflexive reaction in the world is to trust in his own strength happens, especially when we're young as men. The Bible says the glory of a young man is his strength. And that's why we who aren't as young anymore really rejoice when we get to put in a hard day's work, because we can go from that and say, I did it. I still got it. Of course, the next day we're trying to get out of bed, you know, and we're groaning. This past week, I just want to give you a little sidebar glimpse into my home. I was getting up out of a chair and I groaned. And my wife said, no, stop groaning. I said, it's biblical. The Bible says, in this body we groan. We think we want to be clothed upon and get rid of this body. The glory of a young man is his strength. The glory of a nation many times is their military. And what we have is in our day, we feel like we can't be touched because we got a military that's second to none. Although now it's second to China, might've been Russia. But one of those two, we went second in our arms and our ability to put together a militia. It's a crazy time. We're seeing America diminish just like Israel saw their world diminishing. And so when he says, oh, daughter of troops, he's saying, you're the daughter of troops. You think troops are where you came from. It's usually daughter of Zion. OK, usually it's what God has brought forth. And you know what? America was brought forth by God. Now, it wasn't all Christians everywhere, but Christianity had so permeated the fabric of every mind and every person that it was founded with a fear of the Almighty Creator God. And we have forgotten God. And because we have forgotten God, these words ring and resonate for you and me. And He says, now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops. And for you and for me, there are many fronts of battle, and all battles are not necessarily waged with guns and knives and swords and staves and spears and shields. Not all battles are like that. Do you realize the Bible tells us that we actually Do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places." In America, we have forgotten that there is a spiritual dimension to this life. that when you walk into your home alone, you're not alone. God is there, and any kind of spiritual static you've allowed into your life, it goes right with you. If you're walking in the fellowship of God, you may have a rear guard, and there may be great sentries. God says He gives His angels charge over us, lest we dash our foot against the stone. The Bible says, are not his angels even ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of life? Do you realize you may be walking with quite an entourage when you're, as Bartholomew was, a man in whom is no guile, because he had just gotten right with God. And God says, if you will confess me before men, I will confess your name before the angels. And you and I have that kind of Disconnect in our generation that we don't realize that's what's going on And we need to get back to it. They were a daughter of troops. They've forgotten God What are we today as Christians now in the room? What are we? What are we trusting? Is it our is there a social security? Is it our bank accounts? Is it our retirement plan? Is it our pension? Is it our politician is a strength of our arms? Is it a sharpness of our mind because if it goes sideways, I know what I'm gonna do. Listen, we need to be sons of the living God. We need to be walking in fellowship with our Father, understanding that some will trust in chariots, some will trust in horses, but we need to be trusting in the name of the Lord our God. I say that because this is where they are. It says, now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops. If that's what you're choosing, then that's what you're going to have. You've chosen strength of arms. I'm going to bring Assyria. You're going to find out how puny those arms are. in the face of reality. He says, He hath laid siege against us. And that's where he's saying God has laid siege. God has set up a siege. Now, many times a siege would be done in a number of ways. They would have a wall on a city. Sometimes they would begin to throw a bunch of debris up against the wall until they got big enough of a debris mound they could walk right up over the city wall. Sometimes they would lay those ladders you've seen maybe depicted, place them up against the wall. One really interesting way in which things were done back in years past is when one would come against the city. Sometimes they would build a wall. Here would be the city. They would build a wall outside of the reach of the city that was under siege and just pitch camp on the other side of the wall. So they can't reach you with their weapons of war and they would starve them out. Think about that. This is what Babylon did. They built a wall around Jerusalem back in the time of Uzziah. And he had these implements of war that could catapult stones and really do some serious damage to enemies. And their enemies came against them. They built a wall outside of the reach of those catapults and waited. What I'm saying is God has set a siege against Israel in this time. The siege would be undertaken in flesh and blood by those Assyrians. But it was God who brought them. It was God who stirred them up. You got to ask yourself, is America under siege today? 100,000 largest growing immigrant group, Islamic people, 100,000 coming in every year legally, not to mention the illegal ones. They're being placed in cities and towns. Maybe you heard this. Back about 1970 in the state of Virginia, there was one foreign born resident for every 100 residents. Today, there's one foreign-born resident for every nine. And that state now is no longer a conservative state. It is now becoming blue, as in liberalism, because they're not really picking up on the real fabric and foundation of what this country was founded on. I tell you this, that's part of the siege. When you have people coming over from Mexico and raping and killing people, and they send it back and keep coming, that's a siege. When you see the economy begin to diminish, that's a siege. When you begin to see YouTube videos come out with the gruesomeness of abortion clinics, and people are trying to rationalize and saying, oh, it's no big deal, that was fabrication, and people are willing to believe that, that's siege. Because the lie, the deception, is given purchase in hearts that want the lie. And when the multitudes go that way and say amen to all those things as if they're truth, that's problematic. It's indicative of a siege. Look what it says at the end of verse 1. It says, they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. That is the first tipping of the hand that the king shall come. When he comes, what's going to happen? They're going to smite the king upon the cheek. This was written seven centuries before Christ, and it says that they will smite Him upon the cheek. Isaiah 50, verse 6, says this, and it's speaking of Jesus. He says, I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. Matthew 26, verse 67, says this, Then did they spit in His face and buffeted Him, and others smoting with the palm of their hands. Matthew 27 verse 30 says, and they spit upon him and they took the reed and they smote him on the head. Prophesied 700 years before he ever arrived. He gave his cheek to the smiters. He let them pluck out his beard. The Bible goes on to say in those passages that his face was marred. His visage was marred more than any man's. And then it continues. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him. And with his stripes, we are healed. And there are people who get that all convoluted as if somehow this body being healed is the real issue. The real issue is not my body being healed. I like being in health, and you do too. But that's not what Jesus was about. He came to heal our souls. He came to bring us into a place where we could have peace with God. And we get that through the blood of His cross. The Bible says that they are a daughter of troops. As a daughter of troops, God will bring troops against them and set a siege against them. And it says this is because they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. Can you imagine smiting the judge with a rod upon the cheek? Now, there are some judges we'd like to, wouldn't we? I mean, right now, let's just be honest in the room, okay? Truth be told, there are some judges that need a good slap. But Jesus was not one of them. He is the righteous judge. He is the one who will exercise clear judgment and he will do so in the day that he does arrive on the scene. He will rule with a rod of iron. If you want to circle the word now in verse one, that's where we were. He says, you're going to have a daughter of troops because I see where this is going. They're going to smite the judge of Israel upon the cheek. Verse 2 says, but, let's circle that, but thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me, capital M, unto the Father, that is to be a ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. It's talking about that coming of Christ in the nativity. What an amazing God! When Herod inquired, where was this king supposed to be born? Even the Pharisees of his day knew this verse, and they said, he's going to be born in Bethlehem. And when it was reported to him at that time that he was to be born in Bethlehem, he inquired of those magi, those wise men who came from the east, and they said, what time did this star appear? When was this? And when he found out it was like two years prior, He said, I want you to go down to Bethlehem and I want you to kill every single child from two years and younger. The devil has always hated God. He hates them today. And when Jesus was hanging and quivering on a cross and dying, people were still going about their day to day. He was there and he was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not. And they went down the roads with their little carts and they were out plowing in the field and things were going on and God was dying on the cross. That's an amazing truth. Because right now, this world is ramped up with the fervor of foolishness unlike anything we've ever seen. And right now, God is still here. He's still present. He still speaks. whether it be through people bringing to light truth about aborted babies being dissected and put in stark contrast, and women are coming to terms with what happened in their day, and they think, oh, and I want you to know, there's forgiveness at the cross. People get deceived, but right now, there's a wound being made to fester in our country. A million and a half aborted babies every year since 1973. Someone did the math, I think it's like 3,500 per day. In America, 9,000 a year are in the third trimester, I've recently come to understand. That's a baby almost as big as my new little granddaughter. And they're taking those babies. Beloved, what I'm saying is the deception is bad. It's deep. It's dark. And what's happening in our generation is not unlike what was happening in theirs. But God said, I have a plan and I'm going to bring out he that was from of old, even from everlasting. It's Jesus, because He was from everlasting. It's in Zechariah, chapter 12 to 14, somewhere in there. If you go and you read those chapters, you will find that God calls Him His fellow. Why? Because the triune God did not create man because he was lonely. He was a triune God, in perfect harmony with Himself, content, total, complete, absolutely. And you and I, we became what the three in one set his affection upon. And you and I have this privilege of being part of him. The Bible says, as Jesus prayed for us in his high priestly prayer, that God would make us one even as he and his father were one. We have this privilege to be in a very powerful time. The Bible says that he came from Bethlehem, Ephrathah, out of the blue, seven centuries before Jesus was ever born. And in verse three, it says, therefore, Because He came from old and from everlasting, therefore will He give them up." And this goes back to the people. Again, what's the point? Intermediate. We saw the immediate, chapter 3. We saw the ultimate with the millennial kingdom. And what we're seeing in verses 1 to 3, and this whole chapter really, is the intermediate. What's happening in the intermediate time? God has given a darkness, a judicial blindness to them. It says in verse 3, Therefore, and this goes back to the end of verse 1, where it says they're going to smite the judge upon the cheek, it says, therefore, will he give them up? He brings a judicial blinding. Do you know why America is like it is today? It's because God is allowing the darkness to descend upon the hearts and minds of men. You know, years ago, when I was a kid, the biggest group that was reached toward for salvation were teenagers. Do you realize that today teenagers, by the time they hit their teens, have been exposed to pornography? Have been exposed to every kind of video game and every kind of horror movie? Demonic? When I was a kid, the horror movies were green monsters in suits that looked ridiculous to our sensibilities today. But in the day we live in, young people are being exposed to things with exorcisms and demons and spirits and going into other worlds and they think there's nothing to it because at the end of the message of a movie, Everything goes back to normal. And so they're inoculated. So now you have to reach to children. Because a lot of parents at least still have some scruples that they ought not be giving their kids access to so many foolish things. And so their tender consciences are still there. But the teens are pretty much full of their own personal self importance that they just can't see anymore. And it gets really hard to reach them. So it's got to be a work of God, no doubt. The Bible says in verse 3, God will give them up until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth, then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. What he's saying here, really, the way this reads where it says that she that travaileth hath brought forth, it's talking about it in the sense that she will be travailing all along, which Israel's always been a burden to the nations, they've always been hated by the nations and struggling, but what it's talking about is it's almost like she never realizes she had the baby because she's always prevailing. Okay, so from the time God put a judicial blinding on her till the time that he returns in just at the end of the tribulation, right at the dawn of the millennium, she's going to just not even have a clue because there's a darkness upon her mind. When Jesus came, they said, Hosanna, save now, but they were looking for a king to make them to be indeed a daughter of truce. And so that's what they wanted. They wanted to be mighty. They wanted to be valiant. They wanted to be like King David, you know, one who had their fingers taught to war. But he says, no, he says he's going to give them up until the time which she that trevaileth hath brought forth. And it says then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And this is one verse that spans the entire continuum. of the times that Michael was talking about until the times of the millennium dawning. And so we see here this chastening. What is the chastening? He's bringing in Assyria. He's going to have them travailing throughout their history because they would smite the judge with a rod upon the cheek. Powerful. Powerful. These are the prophets. And this is what Israel had to go through. The second section goes from verse 4 down to verse 9. And what we see here is their christening. You know, we don't do that in Bible-based churches. Christening means taking a little baby, perhaps pouring some water on their head, dedicating them. And they call it christening because in some belief systems, they believe that kids get grandfathered in. If mom and dad are Christians and they take their kids down to the local priest, they'll pour some water on their head and they're christened. And now they're Christian. And they just have to confirm that when they get to their 12-year-old age group, and then they confirm it. It's not biblical, but that's what's done. And I tell you, there's a lot of people who think they're going to heaven today who've never trusted Christ. They've trusted their baptism. They've trusted their upbringing. They've trusted their church attendance. Those things do not save. What saves is Christ. He's the only one that saves. And the Bible says that we have to place our faith in Christ. He's the only way. I like what I read recently. Dr. Adrian Rogers said, Jesus didn't come. to show us the way of salvation. He is the way of salvation. That's important to know. Because when you know that, you can own Him as precious. Isn't that awesome? He's precious to us. Whom having not seen, you love. Why? Because He's precious. The Bible says in verse 4, under this heading of their being christened in the truest sense, where they're going to be converted, the Bible says, And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord. Now it's falling back to the judge that they smote upon the cheek. This is talking about his career as King Jesus on site in the millennial kingdom. And it's just telling us what's going to happen. There's going to be a long duration, but this is what's going to happen. Ultimately, it says, and he shall stand and feed. in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord, his God, and they shall abide. For now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. When it says they shall abide, it's talking about Israel. Israel is going to go against Assyria and lose. They're going to go through history and be beaten and bumped and bounced around and cast here and there, always going to maintain their identity somehow miraculously. But nevertheless, there's coming a day when they're going to abide up close to King Jesus. Why? Because He will be great unto the ends of the earth. And they're going to see Him as great. You know, when you read these prophets, you realize this dual reality that's going on. The world's doing all of its dancing and playing and frolicking, and then there's those of us who sigh and cry. There's those of us who see with spirit eyes. There's those of us who see people and think they're not saved, they're going to die, they're going to go to hell one day. We need to try to love them. And there are those of us that when we feel that pressure on our souls that we need to somehow cast them the lifeline which is Jesus, we find in ourselves a world of iniquity, a lack of love, a lack of care. It breaks our hearts. Thinking about how we're going to get to heaven one day, those of us who know Him, And we're going to be the ones who carry the story of the 21st century. We're going to tell our story about all of the mechanics and all of the industrial stuff and the technological. We're going to arrive just up on the lip of heaven. And there's going to be St. Peter and there's going to be all of the saints of ages past. And they're going to say, oh, tell us how it was. And we're going to just sit back and say, no, I want to hear your story. because I messed mine up so bad. We are not what the church was. And we know it. This is where we come to get stirred up in God's Word so that when we go out there as individuals, we're going out there with the Gospel. The church was never meant to be on a TV screen proclaiming it through a box. It was meant to be in person. It was meant to be in the day-to-day workplace Paul was a tent maker and he preached as he made tents and as he did business in an honorable fashion. You and I are not doing church like the New Testament church. And it is only going to be truly by the grace of God that we get there at all. And when we arrive in heaven, we're going to be humbled because all of the all of the nonsense will fall away. The Bible says, but he will be there and they will be lit up and they will abide with them, because for the first time His name shall be great, and He shall be great unto the ends of the earth. Verse 5 says, And this man, and this one, look at this, shall be the peace. Do you know what peace is? Peace is doing it right. And Jesus is the only one who ever did do it right. Have you ever had that situation that I've had? Where you get a new kit, Maybe a little thing you have to put together like a wood shelf or something. How many of you throw the instructions away, right? They're just in the trash right now. I got this. This is no obvious. Recently, I bought one of those lawn swings. And it had these little bent around tubing for the arms on either side. And it had this cross member that went across. And I put that baby together and they messed up at the factory. I literally called them and told them, you sent me the wrong parts. And it turned out that this one thing that goes up the swing, it's supposed to attach, it was two inches off. You know where I'm going. They said, you put the cross member on top, not on the bottom where it's supposed to go. And I said, oh. And I went back to my corner humbly, licked my wounds, and adjusted it, and everything lined up. Do you know I was at more peace when that happened? Because I understood. Beloved, the reason we don't have peace is because we're not doing it right. Isn't that true? The reason we don't have peace is because we're not doing it right. And the Bible tells us that He is their peace. This man, it says, this man shall be the peace. What does the Bible tell us in Ephesians 2.14? It says Christ is our peace. It says in Isaiah nine, six, he's the prince of peace. The Bible says when he was born, it says peace on earth, goodwill toward men. God was demonstrating goodwill toward men. The Bible says in Ephesians again, it says, and he preached peace to you that were afar off and to them that were not. And I write, I like that verse because then that were afar off, that was us. I like looking at pictures and looking for me. I like reading the Bible and finding me. I was a far off. I was not a Jew. I was a Gentile. He is our peace. This man, he is the one who will be unto them peace. He shall be the peace in verse five. And you may remember Jesus as he was readying himself to leave this world in John 14. He says, peace, I leave with you. Not peace like the world gives, but my peace. Beloved, my point is this. We're looking at Christ as the One who is the culmination of all things. He's bringing Israel around. And you know what He's going to do? He's going to give them what they want. His name will be great to the ends of the earth. That's all they ever wanted. And you know what's funny about this? You're going to see He's going to put a sword in their hand and He's going to let them be a daughter of troops. At the beginning of the millennial kingdom, there's going to be a season where he's going to let them go school some of these other nations. But then he's going to have them beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. We're seeing right here, though, that they're being christened. His name will be great. They will abide. This man shall be the peace. When the Assyrians shall come into our land and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise up against him seven. shepherds and eight principal or princely men." This is an interesting verse because there's a lot here. Because when you look at the time in which they lived, if you were reading their newspapers, they would have been talking about, oh, well, you know, there's people coming into the land and they're from Assyria, like we're reading. People coming into the land and they're from Iran or they're from Iraq and they're coming into the land. It's nothing. It's all good. Oh, by the way, there's a play on the city square this week. There's a movie. Reminds us of the Wizard of Oz, doesn't it? Don't mind the man behind the curtain. That's nothing. And the world loves it so. Now, the Bible tells us, no, he is the peace. And when the Assyrians come, the Bible says that God is going to bring them and they're going to come and they're going to tread upon the palaces. But when they do, ultimately, and you can circle the word then in verse five, because this is talking about at the dawn of the millennium. And what he's saying is, he says, then we will raise up seven shepherds. Because when the Assyrians came the first time, they didn't raise up shepherds. They went out with war. This is talking about future tense. And he says they're going to raise up seven shepherds and eight principal men. Why? Because this answers to Isaiah 19 that we saw last time we were together. And it says this, 19 verse 23 and following. It says in that day, and this is a millennial kingdom, there shall be a highway out of Egypt unto Assyria, and the Assyrians shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptians shall go into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. And in that day, verse 24 of Isaiah 19 says, and in that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land. So what you have is this huge scope of Egypt and Assyria and Israel in the middle. They're coming back and forth. They're serving. This is huge. And so when they come to wipe them out in 720 BC, that is not the final amen on the issue because they're coming back and they're going to be brought to heel. OK, not by compulsion, but by revelation of God, by the revelation of Christ, by those who come and get their minds around it. Have you ever wondered why Egypt never stopped to be a people? It's probably because they helped the people of God during the famines in Joseph's time. And God never forgets those who showed mercy and grace to his people. It's very important. But I go back to the passage in Micah. The Bible says that when they come, he's going to answer them with shepherds. Seven of them. That's the perfect number. and with eight princely men." And this word princely, literally, the principled men, it literally has the idea of princes, and it has the idea of being an anointed, humble person. And you know what Israel was always supposed to be? A kingdom of priests. When their nations would come, they were supposed to teach the ways of the Lord. And what ended up happening was they built fences and walls, and the people of God in Israel's time had to go to the priests and ask questions, and that was all they were doing. It was sort of like an enclosed system all unto itself, but it never really opened to the world like it was supposed to. Guess what? Millennium, they're going to open to the world like they were supposed to. They're going to be a kingdom of priests. They're going to be excited about Jesus because His name will be great unto the ends of the earth. And when they come in that day, they're going to answer Him with seven shepherds, lowly fellows, right? Shepherds could say pastors, but shepherds at the very least, they'll be teaching too. And with eight, seven with eight, seven and with eight, eight is beyond what they need. Verse six says, and they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword. And this is where God puts a sword in their hand, because at the dawning of the millennial kingdom, there's going to be some housecleaning needing to be done. There's going to be people who are going to be needing to be herded to the judgment of God. The Bible says, and I beheld in Daniel 7, till thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and his hair was like pure wool, his throne was like a fiery flame, and his wheels as a burning fire. And it says, and I beheld until these thrones were cast down, and in verse 22 it says, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High. And the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. You see, this is pretty cool stuff. God has everything under control and knows exactly how it's going to unfold. And we, we are living on the cusp of that. It's an exciting time. If we get our minds around that, it'll help us shake off the nasty of our day. It'll help us get clearer eyes and look at the world a little clearer. Because he who will come, shall come. And he will not tarry. And when that happens, You're going to want to be on the right side of things. What did I say? He christens them. Why? Because this man is peace. And he brings peace by coming and getting Israel to do what? Be exactly what they were supposed to be. When they come and the Assyrian comes, when they're going from Assyria to Egypt, they're going to go to Israel as the third, and they're going to teach them the ways of the Lord, and guess what? That'll be peace, because that is doing it God's way. God wants us to do life his way. That's why Jesus said, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. It's almost synonymous with peace, isn't it? He says, take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. You say, well, I've been walking with the Lord for some years now and I've never found it easy. Well, the word easy means serviceable. It means it's what you were made for. It means it will be that which will fit perfectly. And if you cooperate with him, the yoke picture makes sense of this. If you cooperate with him, it will be a smoother way for you. Understand, if you're going with a yoke and the lead ox is stronger than you and you're being drugged, you're going to be chafing going on over here on your neck in that yoke. So you can do it the easy way or you can do it the hard way. You know, a lot of people are going to heaven the hard way. They're bumping along. God's just pulling them. It's like every time they turn around, everything's breaking. Everything's falling apart. Life's hard. I just want to say, if that's your experience, praise God that it's hard. We used to sing a song, Oh, love that will not let me go. That's the love of Christ. I'll never leave you, never forsake you. He that comes to me, I will not cast out. He could loosen that yoke and kick you loose, kick you into the curb. Oh, beloved. They're doing it right now. And this is where he is their peace. This is where they are christened. They're seeing Jesus for who he is. They're abiding with him and their shepherds and their eight principal men are answering when the Assyrians come in the future. It says they shall waste the land of Assyria verse six with the sword because there's going to be some time. Look at this. It says Assyria and the land of Nimrod. It's in Genesis chapter 10 where we're told that it was Nimrod who started Babel and he went out and built a city called Nineveh after the confounding of the languages. This is Nimrod. This is a hub of how everything began because that's where man began to rise up against God. But God will save and redeem and sanctify even the Assyrian and the Babylonian areas of the world and utilize it for good. The Bible says when they come, thus shall he deliver us in verse six. And that's important. God's going to let them have a sword in their hand to school the Assyrians and the Babylonian peoples that are in those areas of the world. And the Bible says, thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian. Not only is he going to deliver us from the Assyrian by letting us have a sword, but also by letting us have an answer. They're going to have seven shepherds and eight principal men. These are things God's going to do. And it says, Thus shall the Lord, verse six, deliver us from the Assyrian when he cometh into our land and when he treadeth within our borders. You know what's happening here again? Isaiah 19, that road from Egypt to Assyria, from Assyria to Egypt, when they come in and they're treading in our room, we're going to have to see when these guys come against us with swords in the real time, that there's something farther beyond that we can look forward to when God will make every thing as it should be, thus being peace. He is peace. Verse seven says, and the remnant, you might circle that because the remnant are very important. It was mentioned back in chapter four and verse seven. God's going to assemble people, those that halt, those that are struggling. He's going to take those in the tribulation, convert Israel in a day, bring them into the millennial kingdom. And the Bible says that the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as the dew from the Lord as the showers upon the grass that tarrieth not for man nor waited for the sons of men. What's he saying? He's saying it's coming whether you like it or not. The dew is coming whether you like it or not. The rain is coming whether you like it or not. And the people of Israel are going to be there whether you like it or not. The world may hate Israel today. They're all fixated on Israel. Why? Because the devil stirs up the world to hate that which God loves. The Bible says very clearly, he that touches you touches the apple of my eye. You ever had somebody poke in the eye? My wife won't let me get anywhere near her eye when she's got an eyelash in there. I just want to go in there with a vacuum cleaner. Let's get that baby out. We can get that piece of hair out of your eye. No, I got this. She'll let me get some off her cheek, but not her eye. This is how God is. You touch them, you're poking God in the eye. Do you know America's poking God in the eye right now? Is that part of this chastening, this darkening that God's bringing? Is there a siege God is setting on us that we would have leadership that would do things like this? Beloved, we are under siege and God is allowing it. God is bringing it. And when we see this, we see that God is going to fix everything. He's going to make everything what it should be. The remnant are going to come, and they're going to be in their spot. And you can go against them with all kinds of nuclear weapons, and they will not prosper. No weapon formed against thee shall stand, the Bible says. I love that! Go back and read. Do it! Do it! Do it! Go back and read about the Six-Day War. Look at the miracles that happened. People's machinery, people's airplanes misfiring. a handful of soldiers up against tanks outnumbered by masses, and the guys getting out of the tanks and surrendering. Why? Well, we saw these huge angel-type people right behind you. God is working today. And when you see Muslims getting saved through dreams because God is working today, we need to wake up and get in the fray, just like Jehoshaphat. Remember Jehoshaphat? Oh man, those guys came against them. of the enemy came against him, and he's all panicked. And he says, Lord, I've loved you all my life. I've done everything I know to do. But look at this massive, huge group. God sent the prophet and said, you don't have to worry about them. I got this. And God says, I got this. And so Jehoshaphat said, well, you mean we don't even have to lift a sword? No, you don't have to lift a sword. Well, he said, I'll tell you what, I like that. He got up off the altar, and he went and got his people. And he said, everybody get him a trumpet and a horn. And what we're going to do is tomorrow when that battle breaks, because God said it's going to break. He said, we're going to sing. We're going to blow the trumpet. And we're not only going to do that and watch, we're going to march right down into the crowd. Guys, we need to be on the right side of this. We need to be. Because we are the terminal generation, I believe. And if we're not, it could be the high tide and the low tide. This just may be another one. But I'm telling you this, we want to be on the right side of it. Because God is bringing some stuff. He's bringing a siege. The Bible says in this passage that the remnant's coming, no matter whether you like it or not. And the Bible says, verse 8, and the remnant shall be among the Gentiles. There again, they're going to be in the midst of all of these peoples. And they're going to be like dew, and they're going to be like rain and showers in verse 7. Those are good things, we want those. But in verse 8 it says they're going to be in the midst of the nations. Look at this. as a lion among beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of the sheep, who, if he go through, both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver." You know what the Bible says? Jesus is coming, and he's going to set up a kingdom, and we like that. Oh, you know, we like butterflies and unicorns, as they say. Listen, it's not going to be like that. The Bible says he's going to rule with a rod of iron. Remember that? That means somebody gets out of line, They're gonna be shut down right now. Now, you gotta understand though, there's a lot of humble people going into the Millennial Kingdom. They're walking with limps and with wounds and sores, and they've seen King Jesus. Many of them avoided death by the guillotines or swords, getting their heads chopped off through the tribulation. And what I'm saying is, is that there's coming a time when those people will go in and they will walk with limp and they will honor God, but they will beget children and their children will beget children for a thousand years. And there are going to be some who get up there, and they're like a little two-year-old saying, no! And if the parents don't deal with them, and they grow up and be ornery, you and I will have the opportunity to be judges in this world. He that is faithful over little will be given authority over much. Remember that? There's a system. There's a plan. There's a program. The Bible says that they're going to be as a lion among the flocks of sheep. What would the lion be like among the flocks of sheep? It wouldn't be a pretty picture, would it? You see, my point is this, is it says God's going to put a sword back in their hand. He's going to be a joy. What's happening? He's given them what they want. Okay. This is important. Verse nine says, thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries and all thine enemies shall be cut off. This is important because Israel's got it in their hand, right? This is what they wanted, but look what happens now. It becomes not your cutting off, but I'm cutting off. God says in the end here, verses 10 to 15. It says, and it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will cut off thy horses from the midst of thee. I will destroy thy chariots. They weren't supposed to multiply to themselves chariots and horses. They weren't supposed to do that. Solomon did it, but they weren't supposed to multiply wives. He got 700 wives, 300 concubines. They turned his heart from God, right? These are things they weren't supposed to do. God says, I'm going to fix you. I'm going to make it peace. Why? I'm going to take away your chariots and your horses. You're not going to trust them anymore. You're going to trust me. Verse 11 says, and I will cut off the cities. Now, I remember people saying, oh, we need to move into the cities and witness to them. The cities are cesspools. Look at the voting quotients that are out there. That's where iniquity flourishes, where crime and where all that stuff festers. God never meant for them to have a city. What did he say? He said, spread out and subdue the earth. What did Nimrod say? No, let's get together and let's build a city. Let's make a name. The cities were never God's idea. And when you and I are fascinated by the city, that's a problem. Bible says he's going to cut off their cities off thy land and throw down your strongholds because they trusted in them what God wants. Listen, you want to know what peace is? God wants us to enjoy Jesus. And Bible tells us that when we have fellowship with him and the father, that our joy will be full. First John chapter one. You know what he wants? He wants you to have full of joy. But now I want all the city stuff. Listen, he says, I'm going to cut off the horses and chariots. I'm going to cut off the cities. We're going to jump through this. Verse 12 says, I'm going to cut off the witchcraft and the soothsayers in verse 12. Verse 13, I'm going to cut off the graven image. And he says it again as if to make it clear. Verse 14, I'm going to destroy thy cities. And he says in the end, because he's telling them that's Israel, but he says in this, you need to know, too, because though you're being in some way cleansed, OK, we've gone from chastening the darkness. We've gone from that to christening. They see and they abide in him. Now we're in the cleansing because he's going to cut off all this stuff. And when he says all this, he doesn't end on that note. Verse 15 says, And I will execute vengeance and anger and fury upon the heathen such as they have not heard. Do you know what Armageddon is? That's vengeance and wrath upon the heathen like they've never heard before. They're going to have the biggest, baddest guns the world has ever known and none of them are going to work. They're going to try to go against King Jesus, and He's going to just speak the Word, because the sword of His mouth is going to slay them, and the blood's going to flow to the bridles of the horses. The Bible says in Zechariah 14 that this will be the plague that shall be upon them that come against God, that while they yet stand, their eyes will dissolve in their sockets, their tongues in their mouth, and before they ever hit the ground, they're going to melt, and the swords will fall from their hands. God is coming, and He ain't happy. And we're seeing it come to a head, aren't we? We're seeing the burgeoning of a time unlike the world's ever known. And when I go through these passages, I want you to know, I heard a man say this years ago, and I didn't fully understand it at the time, but he said this. He said to preach. He said to really preach is to die publicly naked, knowing in that humiliation that when it's all over, You're going to have to do it again. You don't die physically naked in front of people, you die emotionally naked. What I'm telling you is what I believe with all my heart, because I've read this book. Jesus is coming. And when he comes, he's coming in glory and power. And he's going to give way to a kingdom. And that kingdom is going to be where righteousness dwells. And he will rule with a rod of iron because there will be some renegade spirits, because the devil is going to be bound The government's going to be good. Everything's going to be perfect, but man will still have his sin nature and he'll have to contend with himself. And when we get to that point, we're going to be there with the blessing. I want to go back as I conclude what I said a little bit ago. When you and I crest that table land, we get up on that top land and there it is. And they're all welcoming us. Say rapture, say death, whatever. When we're there. Have you ever seen somebody who's been infected with something like radioactivity, and they got to get into that shower real quick? What are they doing? Throwing this off. They're throwing that off. And what happens? They get in that shower. When you and I arrive in his presence, there's going to be a lot of stuff you're going to want to be free from, and he's going to cleanse it. And you're going to be so glad he did. And you're going to see it for what it is. Our toys, our vices, our fascinations, they befuddle us. The Bible says in the Galatians, oh, foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? These people were bewitched by everything in verses 10 through 15. And you and I are not unlike them. And as his people, we need to get a grip. Because this is serious. And this isn't the time for the party. But there's coming a day. Everlasting joy. Oh, in his presence, fullness of joy. At his right hand, pleasures forevermore. No sorrow, no pain, no parting. Listen, would you bow with me for a moment? Heads are bowed. Eyes are closed.