As always, I am humbled and I assume you are as well, to be able to open up the Word of God and submit ourselves to what the Spirit of God has for us this morning. So will you take your bibles and turn once again to Daniel chapter seven, we will be looking at these verses in this amazing book. And we are (audio is not able to be transcribed). This is the fourth and final part of this little series emerging from Daniel seven. Now, before we look at the text, may I just say that our study of bible prophecy is a great encouragement to every believer. And certainly, it was intended to be so in the ancient days of Israel, while those dear people were under exile. And so when we come to the prophetic word, we find our hearts just being animated with joy, because we can see that God has a plan. And he is working it precisely the way he intended. The coming Messiah was the main focus of the Old Testament beginning in Genesis three, following Adam's fall when God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. You will recall in Genesis 3:15, and then all the way through to the last book of the Old Testament (break in audio; not able to be transcribed).

And more than 100 of those promises were literally filled (break in audio; not able to be transcribed) reason that the remaining two thirds will also be literally fulfilled. So how encouraging it is for us to look into the prophetic word and see what God has in store, especially during these days in our culture and around the world today. In fact, Christians today are witnessing biblical values being replaced by laws that impose a godless, immoral, oppressiveness toward conservative values in general, Basically, a war in the country, an ideological war, a civil war that's raging out of control. I was thinking my, here we are in the United States of America, a place that was once that great bastion of freedom and protector of the world and we're just watching it crumble under the weight of out-of-control spending and crippling debt and open borders, incoherent foreign policies. We're watching our country being led by corrupt and incompetent, frankly, totalitarian politicians. We've got a president that's clearly in a state of cognitive decline. We see the rise of, of Neo Marxism all around the country. We're being swept away by a tsunami of immorality, as we drowned, frankly, in the sewage of the LGBTQ w x, y, z, sexual deviancy and the the woke culture that even many evangelical churches are embracing. We are seeing escalating violence because police are afraid to do what they need to do. We're seeing the COVID pandemic with the massive impact that it has had on human life and on the economy. And then the growing threat of totalitarian world powers. It's frightening to read what China and what Russia are creating with respect to their military powers and their plans and so forth. I mean, folks, we all know that our children are being raised in a radically different America than it even was 20 years ago. And I shudder to think what their life is going to be like. We're looking at a godless, immoral idolatry country. And it can be infuriating. It can be disheartening and it's easy for us to start wringing our hands and losing hope as if all is lost, but folks once again God is in control. Yeah, things are probably going to get a whole lot worse, but in the end, Jesus is coming; our hope is in the Lord. It's not in America. It's not in our military powers. It's certainly not in our politicians. We fix our hope completely, as Peter said, "on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ." And in our text this morning, we are given hope, a certain hope, a blessed hope of a coming King, our Redeemer, our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, let me once again, because I know this can be complicated. Let me review a little bit of where we've come thus far in Daniel chapter seven and give you the context. Remember that in the first eight verses of Daniel seven, the Spirit of God gives his servant Daniel, basically a panoramic view of world history, including the rise and fall of four Gentile Empires symbolized by four great beasts that rose up from the sea; empires that would dominate, certainly Jerusalem and God's covenant people. And the fourth beast as we've studied, the Roman Empire, was very different. It had 10 horns on the head of a great monster, of reference we know, to 10 actual kingdoms that will exist simultaneously during Daniel's 70th week of judgment or the future tribulation period, just prior to Christ's return. And as we've studied that has to refer to a revived Roman Empire, yet future, in the New Testament era. And also we saw there that an 11th horn appeared, a little horn that comes up after the others, which is revealed to be the Antichrist. And then later, if you jump over to verse 15, through verse 28, we see that an angelic interpreter gives Daniel a big picture, general interpretation of all that he saw, and he explained how that those beasts represent human kings and their kingdoms, and he also reveals their kingdoms will not last. But they will ultimately be replaced by God's kingdom and ruled by the saints of the highest one. That's us, folks. How exciting. But in between verse 18, and the angelic interpretation that you see in verse 15, and following, there is an abrupt cutaway scene, if you will, in the narrative. Immediately after that terrifying description of that fourth beast, with its blasphemous, little horn, the Antichrist uttering great boasts, Daniel was suddenly transported into the presence of God. And as if to confirm to him that, hey, I'm in control, I will judge and I will establish my kingdom. And in that section, that we began to look at last week, there are two dominant themes that emerge. Number one, God is the omniscient judge. That's what we studied last time. And then today, we're going to see that Christ is the coming King, in verses 13 and 14. So by way of eschatological or end times context, with the pre kingdom, tribulation judgments upon the nations of the world now complete, the Messiah King, the Lord Jesus Christ, has been presented now before God the Father, the Ancient of Days, to receive the father's gift of the worldwide kingdom that is to come.

So in verse 13, we read this, "'I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming."'" Now, the phrase "clouds of heaven" depicts the majesty and the power and the authority of his glorious person. And repeatedly in Scripture, we see that the clouds of heaven are used to depict the revelation of deity. And when it says, "one like a Son of Man was coming," this is in contrast to the beastly character of the other kingdoms. So Christ is being referred to here; he is human-like, he's not beast like, he's like a Son of Man, though God very God, he will come and manifest all the perfections of unfallen humanity and he will reign in human form.

In Matthew 26, you may recall when Jesus was under oath in the high priest court, he prophesied regarding his eschatological coming his "parousia" and he made reference to this very passage there in Matthew 26 beginning in verse 63, we read this, "And the high priest said to Him, 'I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.' Jesus said to him, 'You have said it yourself; nevertheless, I tell you, hereafter, you will see the Son of Man, sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.'" Beloved, this is what was revealed to Daniel; this is what is being revealed to us. This is the one we await. This is the one that the world will witness one day. Luke also records the same details in Acts one verses nine through 11, in the context of Jesus' ascension back into glory, and his promised return. There we read, "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky, while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you've watched Him go into heaven.'"

So back to Daniel, Daniel sees the Messiah coming and in verse 13, he goes on to say, "'And he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.'" Here we witness the sovereign bestow of the eternal kingdom of the self-existent, preexisting, uncreated Creator of heaven and earth, the Lord Jesus Christ. As we read, for example, in John one, the first three verses, astoundingly now, Jesus Christ, will be installed as God's mediatorial kingdom on a renovated earth. He will be given regal authority and he will exercise it by divine grant. I'm reminded of Psalm chapter two and verse six, where God says, "'I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.'" This is what we're seeing here. Beloved, he is the redeemer King. He is the one that has purchased our redemption by his very blood, He is the one that has made us Kingdom citizens. He is the one according to Hebrews two, where "Through death, He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death, were subject to slavery all of their lives." This is the Jesus that we worship.

Back to verse 14, "'And to Him was given," three things, "dominion, glory and a kingdom.'" Dominion is a reference to his ruling authority, glory is obviously a reference to the majesty of his regal authority, and a kingdom speaks of an organized form of his government. Now think about this, unlike the previous four empires that were described, even in Daniel two, as well as in Daniel seven, empires that were ruled by fallen men and destined to fail, Christ's supernatural kingdom, that is coming, will never fail. We read this, where he goes on to say, "'That all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him.'" Can you imagine that day? No more Congress, no more Senate. No more all of that stuff. No more CNN. "All the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him." Folks, I can't tell you how motivating that is to me. I hope it is to you as well. His dominion is an everlasting dominion. It's not waiting for the next voting cycle. It's an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. Dr. Alva J. McClain, the founder and first president of my alma mater, Grace Theological Seminary, wrote this in his book "The Greatness of the Kingdom," which by the way, it is one of the greatest books that I have ever read, I would encourage you to read it, "The Greatness of the Kingdom." Here's what Dr. McClain said, "All the functions of government are centered in the glorious person of this mediatorial king. The prophet Isaiah paints a vivid picture of the political situation in the days of the established kingdom; "Then the eyes of men shall see the King and His beauty, ruling upon the earth as a judge, law giver and King" (reference is out of Isaiah 33). A remarkable forecast of the conventional divisions of modern government; judicial, legislative and executive." He goes on to say, "The chief problem in the operation of government has always been to keep these necessary functions in a state of proper balance, and at the same time to provide some center of unification. This problem has never been wholly solved. Human government therefore always swings between the two opposite poles of regimentation and fragmentation. The former leading to a sacrifice of liberty in the interest of strength, the latter to a sacrifice of strength, in the interest of liberty. And the head of the state tends to become either a dictator or a mere symbol." Sound familiar? But McLain goes on to say, "When God's own glorious king takes over the kingdoms of Earth, it will be safe at last to concentrate all the functions of the state in one Person, capital 'P'. This does not mean that he will do everything, but rather that he will be the directing head and final authority. Thus providing a unifying center, both infinitely wise and good for all of the activities of government, something which no state on earth has ever enjoyed. Under his beneficent rule, it will no longer be necessary to sacrifice political unity and strength in the interest of political liberty." And then he quotes John 8:36. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

So, folks, this is what we have to look forward to, in the second coming of Christ when he establishes his earthly kingdom, and his rule for 1000 years that will eventually merge into the eternal state. The millennial reign of Christ will be the glorious prelude, you might say, of the everlasting kingdom of Jesus Christ. And although good Christians may disagree on certain aspects of eschatology, we must as John Calvin said, quote, "Hunger after Christ, till the dawning of that great day when our Lord will fully manifest the glory of His Kingdom, the whole family of the faithful will then keep this in view that day." End quote.

Now, I want to put what we've learned in Daniel seven, in perspective, as it relates to biblical history, frankly, world history. You know, history has many themes, typically dependent upon the perspective of the historian, and those themes will often focus on the unique background of a specific culture, as we all know, and this has been stated in many ways; whoever wins the war gets to write the history. And many times that history isn't accurate. Typically, the historical narrative will include convenient revisions necessary to promote the agenda of a particular political group, or particular culture, like most Muslims, for example, deny the Holocaust. Many people believe that the Civil War was all about slavery, and that had very little to do with any of it. It had to do with tariffs and states rights and big central government and so forth. But what is missing from virtually every historical record, all of the history books regarding world history, is the big picture that God has revealed to us in His Word. And I want to give you a little flavor of that. This is a history that begins with in the beginning; God created the heavens and the earth. And it ends with the Lord Jesus Christ saying, "Yes, I am coming quickly." To which the apostle John says, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all men."

Now, what I'm about to do in reviewing some of this requires me to go rather quickly. I'm giving you some technical things, and I would encourage you to not take notes because you will get lost. Instead, just listen, get a flavor of this and then if you want to take notes, go back and listen to it online, I think that would probably be helpful. If you want to take notes, that's fine. But I'm just saying that you might get lost because I'm not going to wait for you to write these things down, or I'll never get through this, okay? I want you all to maintain the big picture of God's plan of redemption in history. And in order to do that, think of it this way, there are two dominant themes in Scripture. Number one, we see that God has a plan to redeem his people. And this is pictured as a sacrificial lamb as a Savior, a suffering servant, and so forth. But not only is his intention to redeem the people, but also to restore the kingdom. And there we see emphasis on the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Messiah King. And all through Scripture, you're going to see those two themes being articulated. We see for example, a picture of a promise lamb, in Genesis after the original sin. You will recall when God killed an innocent animal, a substitute had to die, to cover sin, a shadow of a coming Redeemer that would one day make atonement for sin. And we see this Lamb pictured in the deliverance of the Jewish people in Egypt. And the sacrificial system, we see it pictured as well in all the prophecies throughout the Old Testament. And then eventually, when we come to the Gospels, we see Jesus coming in utter obscurity and in humiliation. But at the end of the New Testament, we see him coming in the book of Revelation in exultation. When he arrives in the gospel, he has a lamb that opens not his mouth. The one who died to save sinners. And then all through the New Testament, we learn about his plan of redemption, about the signs that will point to his return as King of kings and how we are to live for His glory, and so forth. And again, in the gospels, you see him in his humiliation as the sacrificial lamb, and then the "Apokalypsis lesou Christos," the revelation of Jesus Christ. You see him in his exultation, the Lion of Judah, the King of Israel, who will return and establish his glorious kingdom. Folks, that's the big picture.

Now, let me take you a little bit deeper into some of the details that I hope will be helpful. If we examine the detailed genealogical record in Genesis, we learn that 1656 years after he created Adam, because of extreme wickedness, God destroyed the whole planet, in a flood. All except eight people who, according to Scripture, found favor in the eyes of the Lord, referring to Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives. Adam saw the world into its ninth generation, and Adam died, literally one generation before the flood. 500 years after the flood, we see that God sent his uninfluenced elective love on a particular ethnic group of people, the Jewish people, later became Israel. And we know according to scripture that he made a unilateral, unconditional, irreversible covenant with Abraham that would further demonstrate his sovereign plan to redeem the people and restore the kingdom; those two themes. That covenant is found, for example, in Genesis 12, and it contains four primary elements. We see that out of Abraham would come number one, a seed, referring to Christ, the Messiah, who would be both Redeemer and King, both the lamb and the lion. But in that covenant, it also included the promises of a land, a specific territory that would be set apart by God as a place for his people, a place where he would one day dwell with them in holy and intimate communion. And also the promise of a nation whereby Abraham's magnificent reputation and legacy would be displayed materially and, and spiritually and socially, and the glory of God's grace would ultimately be put on display. And then also finally, in that covenant, there was a promise of divine blessing, as well as protection. God would curse those who curse them and bless them who bless them. And the great promises that are in the Abrahamic Covenant are reiterated over and over and over again in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.

Then if you jump ahead some 600 years later, God made another covenant with the sons of Abraham, one given to Moses. And that covenant was temporal in nature, one that was bilateral and conditional. And that was the Mosaic Covenant. On Mount Sinai, God gave his law to his chosen people, Israel, to demonstrate that they were sinners, that the sinfulness of sin was rampant even in their heart. To demonstrate to them their utter inability to save themselves and their desperate need for a Savior, and eventually, a king. Moses became therefore, the first mediatorial ruler of a theocratic kingdom in history. And he was authorized to stand before Israel according to Exodus four 16, quote, "instead of God." In fact, Moses is presented in Scripture as a type of Christ, who alone, Christ alone, will be the one who is the perfect embodiment of God's mediatorial ruler in the Messianic kingdom. But this historical kingdom was broadened at Mount Sinai now to include the people of Israel. Exodus 19 Six, God says, "You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." At Sinai, God commissioned Israel to be the ones to mediate blessing to the whole world, to be a witness nation, to be the custodians of divine truth. And during that time, God inspired Moses to frame a civil government to exist upon the earth, that would ultimately illustrate the kingdom of God. And the theocracy of Israel became the greatest model of government in the history of the world. A sample of a future kingdom problem promised to Abraham, where God himself will reign as Messiah, Messiah of Israel.

And then over the course of history we see many other mediatorial rulers being set in place. These were leaders and judges of Israel. We see them from Joshua to Samuel; men chosen directly by God, invested with regal functions empowered by the Holy Spirit. And then God established a monarchial form of government whereby he mediated his rule through various kings, all of which were sinful, but which pointed to the need for a righteous king that would one day defeat Satan, sin and death. All of this is pointing to the one who would redeem the people and restore the Kingdom. The only remedy for this problem, of course, was the promised Messiah, the Savior king. And for this reason, about 1000 years after God made his covenant with Abraham, and about 500 years after he gave his law to Moses, God made another promise to one of his mediatorial rulers, whose name was David. The covenant that God made to David, the Davidic Covenant as it is called, is found in Second Samuel seven. And it was basically a reaffirmation of the regal terms of the Abrahamic covenant, but also with the addition that the ultimate provision of those covenantal rights would be permanently attached to a historic dynasty of King David. In other words, King David's throne would ultimately belong to his descendant, the son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. And although its ultimate fulfillment would be interrupted for a season, it would eventually be fulfilled in a future kingdom, a restored Israel, where finally, the covenant nation would be all that it was intended to be, originally.

Repeatedly the Old Testament prophets spoke of this coming earthly kingdom and its Messiah King. And despite Israel's repeated unfaithfulness, God promises over and over again, how he will remain faithful to them. But eventually because of Israel sin, we know that God transferred world power to the Gentiles as recorded in Daniel two. And ultimately, the presence of God's blessing left them as recorded in Ezekiel 10 and 11. And because of Israel's long trend toward apostasy, God pronounced judgment upon them through the prophet Daniel and the 70 weeks of years, the 490 years we'll get to that in Daniel chapter nine, verses 24 through 27. And this judgment would would span from the Persian Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild the temple in 445 BC to the Messianic Kingdom. The first 69 weeks of that judgment, or 483, years were completed when the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, entered into Jerusalem on nine Nissan AD 30, and was cut off, as was predicted, in other words crucified, just as Daniel had prophesied. And this means as we've studied, and as we will continue to study, that there are seven years of judgment that remain, Daniel's 70th week, seven years of tribulation, the pre-kingdom judgments that will come upon the earth, where finally, the unholy trinity of Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet, will be defeated and the nations of the world will be judged and defeated; all those that hate Christ.

Now, because Israel rejected her Messiah, according to Ephesians, three, the mystery phase of the kingdom was ushered in as the church became the temporary replacement of Israel as the new custodians of truth. The body of Christ where Jews and Gentiles are described as, as heirs together sharers together, in the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ. But I do not believe that Israel is ever absorbed into the church. I believe it remains distinct from the church as an ethnic people. And as a nation, I believe that Israel still has a prophetic future. And we can see this, can we not, in the miracle of the Israeli state today, rising up out of the ash heap of the Holocaust, they're now returning to their land, even in unbelief, as the prophets predicted, they're surviving against all odds. It's amazing. So the present church age, I believe, must be seen as an ongoing fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy that ultimately culminates in the Messianic Kingdom and not merely some disconnected parentheses. The church shares in the promises of Israel, but not in her unique identity as a chosen nation, as Paul described in Romans 11:16 through 24, as the natural branches from a cultivated olive tree, some of which have now been broken off at the present time due to a hardening of heart. And there Paul reminds us that the Gentile church is the wild olive branches that had been grafted into the rich root, he says. Which is the covenant privileges originally promised to Abraham. So we're partakers of all of that, all by God's grace and deed. The church you might say, shares in the promises with Israel, but never takes her place as a nation. Despite the rebellion, God has not abandoned his chosen people. Paul understood this, you will remember, in Romans nine, Romans 10 and Romans 11. In Romans nine Paul describes Israel's election, in Romans 10 he describes Israel's defection and in Romans 11 he describes Israel's salvation when their Messiah King returns. And what an amazing history folks, ultimately, this is his story, right? The one who is going to redeem the people and restore the kingdom. And Israel is just this magnificent object lesson in how God deals with all mankind, saving some, judging others, all to reveal his glory through Christ who is both Lamb and Lion. In Isaiah 59, after describing the multiplied transgressions of Israel and his judgment upon them, that text closes with a message of certain redemption and restoration that we read. And later on in Isaiah 60, but in Isaiah 59, verse 20, let me give you a sample of this, he speaks of, quote, "A redeemer will come to Zion, a redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression and Jacob declares the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord, my spirit which is upon you, and my words, which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, says the Lord from now on and forever." My what a day that will be.

Then the dominating theme of Isaiah 60, that we read earlier in our scripture reading, is the restoration and the world supremacy of the nation of Israel. As we read in the first three verses of Isaiah 60, Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you, nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." We go on and study that chapter, we see that in verses four through nine, how they returned to their promised land after worldwide dispersion, and how all the nations that want to oppress them will come and pay homage to them, as God's chosen people. They will contribute even to the prosperity and the adornment of the sanctuary of God, and the Lord Jesus Christ; days of apostasy and idolatry and destruction and exile will finally be over according to verse 18 of Isaiah 60. Israel will finally function according to its original and intended purpose as a chosen nation. As God said in Isaiah 41, beginning in verse eight, "But you Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, My friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you, and not rejected you.'" Again, Exodus 19 two, “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Only God can bring that to fruition.

So Israel will finally enjoy world supremacy in the coming Kingdom, where it will fulfill its grand purpose of being a blessing to all of the nations as asserted in the original covenant in Genesis 12 and verse three, where we read, "And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed." Now, folks think of this, Daniel is seeing this picture, in his dream, and he's already had to deal with this with Nebuchadnezzar's dream earlier in Daniel two. But here in Daniel seven, Daniel is 67 years old, he's been in exile all of these years, what an encouragement to hear all of this, to see all of this. And what an encouragement it should be to us. You know, man has always dreamed of living in paradise, right? A place far different from the existence that we have now. You know, today we have diseases and death, violence, war, poverty, endless work, a myriad of other problems that remind us that we're really made for something very different, right? Don't we all feel that, especially as things get worse here in our country? I mean, everything culture has dreamed of in a utopian world. Every longing makes us frankly, easy prey to the next politician who's going to come along and say, vote for me, I will give it to you. I remember Obama, Obama's theme was hope and change. Well, that worked out great. And then Trump comes along make America great again.

That's not working out too good either, is it? But now we have Joe Biden, build back better. That's almost laughable, what's happening. But my point is all of these promises, they never come to fruition, right? I mean, think about this, all of the advances we have in technology, in healthcare, science, philosophy, education, and yet all of these things still plague us. All of the problems of the world, ah, but dear friends, our hope is in the Lord. And Scripture describes, shall we say, a divine utopia that is coming, where the Lord Jesus Christ will reign, one that is brought about by God, not by man. That's the point.

So we know according to Bible prophecy that after seven years of cataclysmic judgment upon the earth and the utter destruction and even reconfiguration of the Earth, what was lost in the garden will suddenly be regained for 1000 years. The millennial kingdom will be ruled by the Messiah, a world dominated by truth and holiness and righteousness and judgment. A world that, according to Scripture will be transformed spiritually and socially, morally, politically. I mean, even the geologic structure of the earth and its climate and the animal kingdom, religious life, all of these things are going to be radically altered and maintained by the rule of God Himself. It's going to be a day when the effects of sin on society and the environment will be reclaimed. When all of the social injustices will be reversed, Israel will finally be restored as the witness nation of Jehovah, which was her original purpose; again, to be a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation, proclaiming that there is one who will redeem the people and restore the kingdom. And finally, in Jerusalem, the covenant God of Israel will reign as the mediatorial King according to Zechariah eight three, "Thus saith the Lord, 'I am returned under Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.'" In a day when God Himself will erect a magnificent temple beyond anything that we could imagine. Zechariah 14 verse nine, "And the Lord will be," I love this, "king over all the earth; in that day, the Lord will be the only one and His name the only one."

If we go to the New Testament, we see this as well. The kingdom was promised there. We see it promised in stages, we learn, for example, in Luke's gospel that a new institution, the church, will temporarily replace Israel until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Luke 21:24, In answer to the disciple's question, in acts one six, when they asked, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" You will remember what he said. He replied that it was "not for them to know times or seasons, which the Father has fixed by his own authority," in verse seven. Though he does not answer their question, he used the terms "times and seasons," "chronos and kairos," which seems to indicate two different periods, not one. But then as he departs, the angel gives us a clue about his return and says, "He will come in the same way you saw Him go into heaven," verse 11. Obviously, this will be a time of when the restoration takes place. And God reveals these things through his servant Luke in his Gospel, as well as in the book of Acts; that the kingdom is going to come really in two stages. It is here both already, but also not yet. The kingdom was already there in a spiritual sense, and that God was rebuilding the house of David through his greater son in the raised and the reigning Jesus. In Christ's first advent, the Abrahamic and the Davidic and new covenants all receive an initial, shall we say, partial fulfillment, but obviously, much more was to come. That's what we are awaiting, in fact, in Luke one, remember Mary was promised that her son will be great, that the Lord will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. And after that, you can put, "not yet, not yet; we're waiting for that." In Luke one the Holy Spirit spoke through Zacharias and promised that the Lord God of Israel would, according to verse 72, "To show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days." And after that you can put, "not yet." In Acts two beginning in verse 30, through verse 36, Luke tells us that Jesus is currently right now, sits at the right hand of on the throne of the Father on the throne of David already, that's already happening. But he also adds that he will rule over the house of Israel and make his enemies a footstool for his feet, "not yet." We see this as well in Jesus' promise that he would not celebrate the Passover feast with his apostles again until all of the kingdom promises were fulfilled. In Luke 22 and in Matthew 26, beginning of verse 29, he says, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine, from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." "Not yet." Moreover, the kingdom had not yet come to its fullness in the New Testament, because the apostles were not sitting, according to verse 30, of Matthew 26, "on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel," "not yet." So indeed, we see the already, but "not yet" promise of a messianic kingdom, in the New Testament, where it is referred to by different names. In Matthew 19, verse 28, Jesus called it the regeneration, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne. In Acts three and verse 19, Peter called it the "times of refreshing that will come from the presence of the Lord." And then in verse 21, he goes on to describe it as the "period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient time." And then in Ephesians, one and verse 10, Paul described it as "an administration," which can be translated dispensation, "suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens, and things upon the earth." And we know that at the end of the Messianic age, God will utterly destroy both heaven and earth and create a new heaven and earth that has never been, nor ever will be, polluted by sin. Oh child of God, this is the big picture of history, his story.

Often when I'm in the vault of study, I've got music playing. And it just so happened, that when I came to kind of the end of all of these thoughts, I was listening to our good friend Mo Pitney, Blake, I think you know, your brother. And he was singing Fernando Ortega's, "Give me Jesus." And I was thinking, my what a fitting way to just end my thoughts with you this morning. "You can have all this world. You can have all this world, you can have all this world. But give me Jesus, the one who redeems his people, and restores his kingdom."

Let's pray together. Father, we're always overwhelmed when we immerse ourselves in your word and see how you have revealed things to us that the world does not know, does not want to know to the natural man. The things of the Spirit are foolishness, he cannot understand them because he is spiritually appraised. And Lord, we know that were it not for your grace, we would not understand them either. Certainly, we would not embrace them as the magnificent truths of your sovereign plan to redeem your people and restore your kingdom. So we give you praise for your word, for the indwelling Spirit that causes us to understand it as you illumine our minds. But Lord, we praise you as well, for the Spirit who indwells us, that we might live these truths out in such a way as to bring great glory to the Lord Jesus Christ in great joy to our hearts. May that be the passion of every believer within the sound of my voice. And Father, as always, for those that do not know you as the living Christ, those who have never truly been born again and have really no desire for the things of the Spirit, I pray that you will convict them of their sin, that you will give them no rest upon their pillow until they cry out for your saving grace and experience the miracle of the new life of regeneration. So we commit this to you as always, Father, we thank you We give you praise in Jesus name, and for his sake. Amen.