{"id":18414,"date":"2017-10-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/daniel-039-the-prophetic-jigsaw-puzzle-part-2\/"},"modified":"2017-10-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-10-22T05:00:00","slug":"daniel-039-the-prophetic-jigsaw-puzzle-part-2","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/daniel-039-the-prophetic-jigsaw-puzzle-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel 039 – The Prophetic Jigsaw Puzzle (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[72],"series_event":[467],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18414","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-daniel","series_event-daniel","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Daniel 039 - The Prophetic Jigsaw Puzzle (Part 2)","sermon_date":"20171022","sermon_month":"10","sermon_year":"2017","sermon_notes":"","sermon_slides":5054,"sermon_mp3":5057,"sermon_id":"1022179372210","series_or_event":467,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":72,"chapter_and_verse":"9:24-27","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nThe Prophetic Jigsaw Puzzle, Part 2\n\n10-22-17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Daniel 9:24-27\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 39\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0 If we could take our Bibles and open them to the Book of Daniel, chapter 9 and verse 27.\u00a0 You say oh no, not again.\u00a0 I believe this will be our sixth lesson in the seventy weeks prophecy and I\u2019m hoping it will stay at that and won\u2019t grow to seven lessons.\u00a0 And I appreciate everybody diligently tracking with me on this subject of the seventy weeks prophecy and I really haven\u2019t even told you yet what I consider to be the most important part of the whole thing, which we\u2019ll be talking about today.\n\nProphecy is like a jigsaw puzzle.\u00a0 What you have all over the Bible are just scattered prophecies and the Book of Daniel is sort of like the picture on the box top of a jigsaw puzzle that tells you what the puzzle is supposed to look like after you assemble all the pieces.\u00a0 It shows you where all the pieces fit and Daniel 9:27 really needs to be approached in that way.\u00a0\u00a0 I want to thank Gabe Morris for filling in last week, covering the Book of Jude which I\u2019m very excited about; I trust\u00a0 you are enjoying his ministry as well.\u00a0 We have been looking at Daniel 9; we have been spending a lot of time in Daniel 9:24-27 and this prophecy is so detailed I decided to break it down into ten points.\u00a0 We\u2019ve covered points 1-9 and we\u2019re going to cover, by God\u2019s grace, all of point 10 today.\n\nBut just by way of review you\u2019ll notice, number 1, that the prophecy concerns who?\u00a0 The nation of Israel.\u00a0 Now that point is going to come out today very strongly in point 10 so just keep a mental note of point 1.\u00a0 The prophecy specifically says that the seventy weeks were decreed for Daniel\u2019s\u00a0 people in Daniel\u2019s city.\u00a0 It\u2019s very clear here that the prophecy concerns Israel.\n\nNumber 2, the prophecy concerns a time period of 490 years, seventy sevens.\u00a0 Daniel was given a stopwatch back in the sixth century.\u00a0 It\u2019s got 490 years on it; there\u2019s a start button, a pause button and a stop button, as you would have in any ordinary stopwatch.\n\nNumber 3, each year of the prophecy, as we have talked about, consists of 360 days.\n\nNumber 4, at the conclusion of the 490 years (and this too will come out today in our study) will be the establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth, which is described in six clauses sin verse 24.\u00a0 All of that simply means the political and the spiritual restoration of Israel and kingdom conditions will break forth on planet earth.\n\nNumber 5, we have studied how the divine finger was placed on the start button March 5, 444 B.C.\u00a0 It\u2019s related to a decree given to Nehemiah to go back to Jerusalem from Susa and rebuild the walls around the city of Jerusalem.\u00a0 And the moment that decree was entered into by Artaxerxes, the Persian king, is the moment God\u2019s finger was placed on the start button, roughly a century after Daniel had died, and the clock of 400 years began to tick.\n\nNumber 6, we have also studied that exactly 483\u00a0 years, to the day, would elapse between that decree of Nehemiah 2 and Palm Sunday.\u00a0 The prophecy says, until the Messiah, the Prince, comes there will be 7 weeks and 62 weeks for a grand total of 69 weeks or 483 years or 173,880 days (wow, that\u2019s pretty specific, isn\u2019t it) will elapse between Nehemiah 2 and Palm Sunday.\n\nWe\u2019ve studied how that prophecy was fulfilled exactly on time.\u00a0 We\u2019ve also studied number 7, how the moment the nation of Israel, on Palm Sunday, rejected her own Messiah nationally is the moment the divine finger moved from the start button, which it had been on for 483 years, to the pause button.\u00a0 And consequently there is a gap of time at the end of the 483rd<\/sup> year and the beginning of the 484th<\/sup>\u00a0 year.\u00a0 This clock, which ran consistently and exactly for 483 years was paused by God on Palm Sunday.\u00a0 And in the interim period of time is this time period that is sometimes called the gap; I\u2019m not talking about the store, I\u2019m talking about a pause in the activities of God related to the nation of Israel.\u00a0 And we have carefully identified this gap; we, as the church of God, are living in this gap.\u00a0 We\u2019ve given several reasons why this gap exists. We are part of, not Israel today, we are part of a new man called the church and we have specific tasks to do while Israel is on hold, if you will.\n\nThen we studied number 8, there is seven years left on the prophecy.\u00a0 How do we know that?\u00a0 Because 483, the time that\u2019s already transpired, taken away from 490 leaves how many years? 7 years --- 7 years yet future.\u00a0 \u00a0Last time we were together we studied how those seven years, number 9, are described in the verse we just read, Daniel 9:27.\u00a0 [Daniel 9:27, \u201cAnd he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.\u201d]\n\nDaniel 9:27 represents the completion of the clock after the church age has ended.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve looked at this prophecy here in Daniel 9, \u201cAnd he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.\u201d\u00a0 We have studied at how when you look at that prophecy in verse 27 (yet to come) you know exactly how long this period will be, yet future, seven years.\u00a0 This is where the idea of the future seven year tribulation period.\u00a0 You know exactly what\u2019s going to start the clock.\u00a0 After the rapture of the church the antichrist will enter a covenant with unbelieving Israel guaranteeing her security.\u00a0 And you know what\u2019s going to happen exactly in the middle of this time period.\u00a0 The antichrist will betray the Jewish people by desecrating their temple.\u00a0 And then you know exactly how this period is going to end, with the personal return of Jesus Christ to the earth to establish His kingdom.\n\nAnd if all of this is true we have looked at how the world stage today is being set up, much like a chess board, in preparation for this end time drama.\u00a0 There are things that are happening in our world which are virtually undeniable.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very strong indicator, although we can\u2019t set a date it\u2019s a very strong indicator that the church age is rapidly reaching her conclusion; the rapture of the church is imminent and God is setting the stage, if you will, for the final seven years of this clock, if you will, after the church has been removed.\u00a0 So all of that is just review.\n\nAnd now finally this morning we come to fact number 10 in our sermon entitled The Prophetic Jigsaw Puzzle, Part 2.\u00a0 And this may be the most important piece of information that I could give you because if you\u00a0 understand what we\u2019re talking about here you are rescued from so much confusion out there.\u00a0 And the final fact is this:\u00a0 Daniel 9:27 is describing the exact same period of time revealed in the Book of Revelation, particularly chapters 6-19.\n\nYou see, most people when they begin studying prophecy start with the Book of Revelation but they ought to start with this prophecy here, the Book of Daniel because the Book of Daniel gives you the framework in outline form that the Book of Revelation is built on.\u00a0 There is Daniel 9:27 as we have read it and why do I think that Daniel 9:27 is talking about the exact same period of time that is revealed in Revelation 6-19?\u00a0 Well notice all of the similarities. Let me go through these quickly.\n\nThe Book of Revelation, chapter 11, verses 1-2, talk about a rebuilt temple that the antichrist will desecrate.\u00a0 [Revelation 11:1-2, \u201cThen there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, \u201cGet up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. [2] Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.\u201d]\u00a0 Oh my goodness, didn\u2019t we read about that in Daniel 9:27?\u00a0 In the middle of the week he\u201d that\u2019s the antichrist, \u201cwill put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering, and on the wing of abominations,\u201d this takes place in the rebuilt temple, the third Jewish temple and the Book of Revelation in chapter 11:1-2 is talking about that same temple. Interesting!\n\nBeyond that, the Book of Revelation divides the final period of human history before the return of Christ into two distinct three and a half year periods.\u00a0 For example, Revelation 11:2 and Revelation 13:5 mention a time period of forty-two months.\u00a0 How long is 42 months?\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s three and a half years.\u00a0 [Revelation 13:5, \u201cThere was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.\u201d]\n\nRevelation 11:3 and Revelation 12:6 mention a time period of 1,260 days.\u00a0 How long is that?\u00a0 That\u2019s 42 months which equals what?\u00a0 Three and a half years.\u00a0 Revelation 12:14 mentions a time period called a time, times and a half a time.\u00a0 [Revelation 11:3, \u201cAnd I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.\u201d Revelation 12:6, \u201cThen the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.\u201d]\n\nA time is a Jewish\u00a0 year; times (plural) is more than one Jewish year, namely two, and half a time is half a Jewish year.\u00a0 So we add one plus two plus a half and that equals how many years?\u00a0 Three and a half years.\u00a0 Interesting how the Book of Revelation keeps calling us to these different half\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, isn\u2019t that what happened here in the Book of Daniel?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Daniel 9:27 says, \u201cAnd he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week\u2026\u201d So Daniel takes this seven year period and divides it into two three and a half year increments, that\u2019s exactly what you\u2019re going to discover over and over again as you go through the Book of Revelation.\n\nThe Book of Revelation talks about a man named the antichrist; not he\u2019s not called the antichrist in the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 He is called the antichrist in John\u2019s other writings, 1 John, but in Revelation 13 this coming antichrist, who will enter into this treaty with Israel is called the beast.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that interesting that Daniel 9:27, as we have studied it through they pronoun \u201che\u201d is talking about an antichrist.\u00a0 Well if Daniel is talking about an antichrist in the sixth century and John in the first century in the Book of Revelation is talking about an antichrist, maybe Daniel 9:27 is covering the same time period that John is talking about in the Book of Revelation, chapters 6-19.\n\nIt\u2019s interesting that the Book of Revelation describes the destruction of the antichrist.\u00a0 His destruction is described in Revelation 19:20, it says, \u201cAnd the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.\u201d\u00a0 We become very unsettled, do we not, about the progress of evil and\u00a0 yet when we study prophecy we learn that evil is allowed to go only so far under God.\u00a0 God has the whole thing under control.\u00a0 And even the antichrist himself, who seems so horrific and terrible, even his days are numbered.\u00a0 And this gives us hope in a hopeless age.\n\nAnd isn\u2019t it interesting that Daniel 9:27 talks about the destruction of the antichrist?\u00a0 It says, \u201c\u2026 a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.\u201d\u00a0 Who is the one who makes desolate?\u00a0 It\u2019s the \u201che\u201d or the antichrist.\u00a0 So isn\u2019t it interesting that when you study the Book of Revelation it keeps referring to, over and over and over again, the very thing that Gabriel showed Daniel in verse 27, back in the sixth century.\n\nThe Book of Revelation talks about the second coming of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Many people refer to the second coming of Jesus Christ as the Blessed Hope.\u00a0 I agree with that but let me add this-- it\u2019s our only hope.\u00a0 The only hope for this sin-soaked blood-stained world is the personal return of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom upon the earth.\u00a0 And when Christ comes back to establish that kingdom you can read all about it in the Book of Revelation, chapter 19:11-21 and that coming of Christ is alluded to, I believe, here in Daniel 9:27, about the wrath of God being poured out upon the desolater at the end of the tribulation period because we\u2019ve already seen Revelation 19:20, how the antichrist and the false prophet will be thrown alive into the Lake of Fire.\n\nYou see what\u2019s happening here?\u00a0 Even if you didn\u2019t catch every single detail that I went over you can see what the Holy Spirit has done.\u00a0 He is showing us that a relationship clearly exists between Daniel 9:27 and the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 They keep highlighting, they keep talking about the same things over and over again.\u00a0 Let me give it to you this way:\u00a0 Daniel 9:27 is the thumbnail sketch.\u00a0 The Book of Revelation, chapters 6-19, fills in the details.\u00a0 It takes Daniel\u2019s structure and doesn\u2019t alter it but it simply gives more information.\u00a0 It talks about the seal judgments and the trumpet judgments and the golden bowl of wrath judgment.\u00a0 Daniel doesn\u2019t talk specifically about those judgments; he just gives the over\u00adarching framework and John in the first century simply fills in the details.\n\nDaniel 9:27 is like watching the movie in black and white.\u00a0 Revelation 6-19 is like watching the movie in color.\u00a0 It\u2019s the exact same movie but there\u2019s more color, there\u2019s more emphasis, there\u2019s more information, there\u2019s more detail.\u00a0 The content doesn\u2019t change between a black and white movie and a color movie but the colored movie is adding ingredients that you don\u2019t necessarily see in a black and white movie.\u00a0 Daniel 9:27 represents the basement; Revelation 6-19 would represent the ceiling.\u00a0 And thus Daniel 9:27 fits together with Revelation 6-19 like hand and glove.\u00a0 And how critical it is to understand both areas to get a handle or an understanding on the plan and program of God which is\u00a0 yet future.\n\nIt\u2019s interesting that one of the criticisms against the view that I\u2019m giving, a coming seven\u00a0 year tribulation period following the rapture is people say well, it doesn\u2019t mention a seven year tribulation period in Revelation.\u00a0 And\u00a0 you\u2019re right, it doesn\u2019t mention it specifically, it mentions different halves of it.\u00a0 But see, this is a case of people wanting the Book of Revelation to answer a question that\u2019s already been answered by the Book of Daniel.\u00a0 If people were comparing Scripture with Scripture and understanding how John, in the Book of Revelation is building on a scaffolding or a structure already erected they would be able to put the Scriptures together and see okay, Revelation doesn\u2019t mention per se<\/em> a seven\u00a0 year tribulation period, that\u2019s already been outlined in the Book of Daniel.\n\nAnd this, beloved, is how you assemble any doctrine, not just the doctrine I\u2019m talking about here, prophecy, any doctrine has to be assembled this way.\u00a0 Take the doctrine of the Trinity; can you give me one verse that says God is one but he\u2019s expressed Himself in three personages?\u00a0 If you find such a verse let me know about it because I don\u2019t think it exists.\u00a0 So to assemble the doctrine of the Trinity to understand that God is one and monotheistic I can\u2019t just look at one verse.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got to learn to combine Scripture with Scripture.\u00a0 I go into the New Testament which follows the Old Testament.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 The Old Testament is very clear, God is one, Deuteronomy 6:4, multiple passages I could give.\u00a0 [Deuteronomy 6:4, \u201c\"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!\u201d]\u00a0 I go into the New Testament and Christ is claiming to be God, the Holy Spirit is called God, and the Father is called God.\u00a0 Well, I have to combine Scripture with Scripture to understand that God is one\u00a0 yet in the mystery of the trinity He\u2019s expressed Himself in three personages.\u00a0 Not one single verse resolves that issue but the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle must be assembled.\n\nThis is exactly what I\u2019m doing here with this seven year tribulation period and relating it to the Book of Daniel.\u00a0 Why would John come along and repeat everything the Book of Daniel already said?\u00a0 That would be redundant, would it not?\u00a0 That would be repeating information that we already know.\u00a0 John is not repeating everything, he\u2019s taking what Daniel revealed in his writings and he is simply adding color to it, information to it, and detail to it.\n\nWhy is this important?\u00a0 Because there are a lot of people out there that are trying to tell you that as\u00a0 a Christian, as a member of God\u2019s church you are going into the tribulation period.\u00a0 The doctrine which I represent, pre-tribulationalism is the church will be exempted from the tribulation period.\u00a0 It\u2019s under attack today like I\u2019ve never ever seen it in my lifetime.\u00a0 The rapture views, pre-tribulationalism, the church will be raptured the tribulation starts.\u00a0 That\u2019s the correct view we believe.\u00a0 Competing against that is midtribulationalism, the church is going to go through half of the tribulation, followed by postribulationalism, the church will be here for all of the tribulation, followed by the new kid on the block, pre-wrath rapturism which is basically the idea that the church is going to be raptured somewhere during the second half.\u00a0 I call that three-quarters rapturism.\n\nAnd if that weren\u2019t enough you have another competitor called partial rapturism which is the idea that the only people that are going to be taken in the rapture are the ones that are sold out for Jesus Christ.\u00a0 The ones that are carnal, the ones that are backslidden, the ones that are not living for Christ, they are going to be left behind.\u00a0 It\u2019s interesting to me that everybody I know that espouses that view assumes that they\u2019re in the good camp that\u2019s going and then the purpose of the tribulation period becomes straightening the rest of us out, partial rapturism.\u00a0 Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:51, keep in mind he\u2019s talking to the Corinthians, Ray Stedman used to call 1 Corinthians 1 Californians, these people are saved, they are called saved at the beginning of the book but you don\u2019t see a lot of saintly behavior in their lifestyles, as you can go through the Book of 1 Corinthians.\u00a0 Paul to that crowd unfolds the doctrine of the rapture beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:51 and says we will ALL be changed.\u00a0 So if you\u2019re living for Christ\u00a0 you\u2019re going; if you\u2019re not living for Christ and you are a child of God but you\u2019re in a backslidden condition you\u2019re going as well.\n\nI believe some people, when the pretribulational rapture comes they\u2019re going to go up kicking and screaming and yet that kicking and screaming will stop because they\u2019ll be put in a glorified body which cannot sin.\u00a0 What a maze of confusion this is.\u00a0 Some of the time I feel like I\u2019m in the tribulation period itself trying to understand all of these different positions.\u00a0 And\u00a0 your average person says well, man, if it\u2019s this complex and if the theologians can\u2019t get it figured out how can I have hope?\u00a0 But you see, the Lord wants you, in this subject of the rapture, to have hope and optimism.\u00a0 How does Paul end his treatment on the rapture?\u00a0 1 Thessalonians 4:18, \u201cComfort one another with these words,\u201d and you can sit in the church where somebody tells\u00a0 you you\u2019re going into the wrath of God and\u00a0 your head, if it\u2019s not cut off by the antichrist, indicating you\u2019ll most likely be martyred, but if that doesn\u2019t happen you\u2019ll make it to the end and be rescued.\n\n\u201cComfort one another with these words,\u201d does that make any sense at all?\u00a0 And the child of God today is having their hope stolen; the comfort God wants to give them in the rapture [can't understand word] through this confusion of conflicting ideas, and yet a basic study of Daniel 9:27 will rescue you from these ideas and will put you back onto the solid rock of view number 1, and you will not be fearing the return of Christ but looking forward to it.\n\nPeople say well, why doesn\u2019t Andy teach on anything practical?\u00a0 Try to be a Postribulationalists for one day.\u00a0 Try to believe what they think and see what that does to your emotions, your psychology, your mental outlook.\u00a0 Then try to be a pretribulationalist for one day and see what that does to your emotions,\u00a0 your psychology, your mental and emotional outlook.\u00a0 I guarantee\u00a0 you you\u2019re much more joyful as a pretribulationalist than you are as a Postribulationalists.\u00a0 We have today a lot of sad faced saints.\u00a0 We have today the \u00a0prepper movements.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m not necessarily against prepping, having supplies in your house in the case of a disaster like what we just had here with hurricane Harvey.\u00a0 That\u2019s just being wise.\u00a0 I have a little bit of prepping in my house but it has nothing to do with my views on the end times.\u00a0 I don\u2019t prep because I\u2019m thinking I\u2019m going to eyeball it with the antichrist.\u00a0 I prep because I\u2019m living in a fallen world and bad things happen to good people.\u00a0 The power gets shut off, floods happen and it\u2019s just wise to have a little extra storage.\n\nBut you see, there\u2019s a whole movement out there in Christianity where they\u2019re prepping because they think they\u2019re going into the tribulation period.\u00a0 And many of these ministries sell survivalist gear.\u00a0 So they can\u2019t let this pretribulationalist view out of the bag because that will damage their sales.\u00a0 And as you get on Youtube, as you get on the internet you can see all of this hysteria.\u00a0 That\u2019s why this subject of prophecy that we\u2019re going through is such a big deal, it\u2019s so fundamental and it is so foundational.\n\nHere are the four views in graphic form. We believe that the proper view is the top view, that we are raptured before the tribulation period begins.\u00a0 And it is my awareness of how John, in the Book of Revelation is talking about the same period of time as the Book of Daniel that largely gives me the most optimism and the most hope in the pretribulational rapture.\u00a0 Let me see if I can explain that.\n\nThe Book of Revelation chapter 1 and verse 19 gives you an outline for the book.\u00a0 John was told this: \u201cTherefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.\u201d\u00a0 Now what you discover is that is the outline of the entire Book of Revelation.\u00a0 The things that you have seen is chapter 1; it is the vision of the glorified Christ that John in 95 A.D. saw on the island of Patmos.\u00a0 Then he is told to write down the things that are; those are the seven letters to the seven churches found in Revelation 2 and 3.\u00a0 Bob Graper, if you want more information on this is teaching a Sunday School class on this very subject.\u00a0 \u201cWrite down the things that you have seen, write down the things that are,\u201d but notice the rest of the command, \u201cwrite down the things that will take place after these things.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 1:19]\u00a0 The Greek is meta tauta<\/em>, \u201cafter these things.\u201d\n\nWell when does that section start?\u00a0 I\u2019m glad\u00a0 you asked.\u00a0 Revelation 4:1, \u201cAfter these things,\u201d does that sound familiar, \u201cI looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and so forth, and it even says it again \u201cI will show you what must take place after these things.\u201d \u00a0What\u2019s the Greek there?\u00a0 Meta tauta<\/em>, same thing used in Revelation 1:19.\u00a0 \u00a0[Revelation 4:1, \u201cAfter these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, \"Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 1:19, \u201cTherefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.\u201d]\n\nSo we have a three part structure to the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 Now in part 1 and part 2 how many times is the church mentioned?\u00a0 19 times, it\u2019s the Greek word ekklesia<\/em>.\u00a0 In fact, Jesus, in that section is referring to seven churches which are on the earth.\u00a0 Suddenly you get to Revelation 4;1 which gives us a clue that we\u2019re in part three and all the references to the word \u201cchurch\u201d in the Book of Revelation, the word ekklesia<\/em>, stop.\u00a0 If the church is ever alluded to, perhaps the church is the 24 elders, perhaps the church is the 7 lampstands, represented symbolically, the church is always in heaven, never on the earth.\n\nNow isn\u2019t that sort of interesting that you have 19 references to the church on the earth in Revelation 1-3; Revelation 4 through the end of the book the whole references to the church stop.\u00a0 The word ecclesia<\/em> is not even found except one time at the end where John is told to preach these things in the churches, Revelation 22:16.\u00a0 [Revelation 22:16, \u201cI, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.\u201d]\u00a0 Other than that it stops existing.\n\nWhy is it mentioned 19 times in chapters 1-3 but it\u2019s never mentioned in the futuristic section of the book which is prefaced by the expression \u201cafter these things.\u201d\u00a0 The simple reason is the church is not there; the church has been removed, the church has been taken to heaven as the Lord promised He would do before the events of the tribulation period unfold.\n\nIn Revelation 2 and 3 as Jesus is addressing the seven letters to the seven churches He concludes every letter with this expression, \u201cto him who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.\u201d\u00a0 Having said that, look at Revelation 13:9.\u00a0 These are people in the tribulation period itself.\u00a0 Notice what the Lord says to them, Revelation 13:9, \u201cIf anyone has an ear, let him hear.\u201d\u00a0 Sounds familiar doesn\u2019t it.\u00a0 \u201cIf anyone has an ear, let him hear,\u201d this doesn\u2019t just stop.\u00a0 What got omitted that was\u00a0 used 19 times in chapters 2 and 3?\u00a0 \u201cwhat the Spirit says to the churches\u201d got omitted from that sentence.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that interesting?\u00a0 Why would that happen?\u00a0 The church has been taken to heaven.\n\nThis is the doctrine that I would call the doctrine of the missing church.\u00a0 Where is it?\u00a0 It\u2019s not just absent in the Book of Revelation, any end time\u00a0 passage dealing with the tribulation period you\u2019ll never find the church mentioned anywhere.\u00a0 The word \u201cchurch\u201d isn\u2019t there, as I\u2019ll be sharing in just a moment, the concept of the church isn\u2019t there and you get into this third section and let me tell you it starts looking pretty Jewish, doesn\u2019t it, pretty quick.\u00a0 What do I mean by that?\n\nWhat I mean by that is the Lord, in Revelation 7, is working through 144,000 evangelists coming from the twelve tribes.\u00a0 Notice Revelation 7:1, it says, \u201cAfter this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. [2] And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God\u2026.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 And then down in verse 4 it says, \u201cAnd I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed from\u201d what? \u201cevery tribe of the sons of Israel.\u201d\n\nAs\u00a0 you keep reading it talks about twelve thousand from each tribe.\u00a0 [Revelation 7:5, \u201cfrom the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad twelve thousand, [6] from the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,\u201d etc.]\u00a0 You say well what does that mean?\u00a0 Here\u2019s what it means?\u00a0 Twelve thousand from each tribe.\u00a0 The tribe of Gad, twelve thousand; the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand; the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand.\n\nAnd as you get down into verse 9 and following you see an innumerable multitude that no one could count, from across the face of the earth that have responded to the message of the Gospel.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0[Revelation 7:9, \u201cAfter these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;\u201d]\u00a0 What\u2019s happening, Revelation 7:1-8 144,000 Jews have reached; Revelation 7:9-17 a group from amongst the peoples of the earth the earth that are so big it can\u2019t even be counted.\n\nNotice the divisions here of Revelation 7.\u00a0 Revelation 7:1-8 the folks are numbered, but when the conversions are described, 9-17, they\u2019re innumerable.\u00a0 The first part of the book a Jewish group; the second part of the book a group from all nations.\u00a0 The first part of the chapter, they\u2019re sealed; second part of the chapter the folks are slain.\u00a0 The first part of the chapter they\u2019re sealed before the tribulation period; the second part of the chapter they\u2019re converted out of the tribulation period.\u00a0 This is a very peculiar thing to me because God has His hand back on Israel during this time period.\u00a0 Why isn\u2019t God using the church?\u00a0 He\u2019s used the church for the last 2,000 years to reach the world.\u00a0 There\u2019s a very simple answer to that: the church has been taken away.\u00a0 That explains the Jewish nature of the futuristic section of the Book of Revelation.\n\nThen you go to Revelation 11 and you look at verse 6 and it talks there about two witnesses and who do these people sound like to you?\u00a0 Revelation 11:6, \u201cThese have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.\u201d One guy shuts up the heavens so that it cannot rain; another guy turns water into blood.\u00a0 It sounds a lot like Moses and Elijah to me.\u00a0 Now there\u2019s a debate is this actually Moses and Elijah?\u00a0 My personal view is that it is; others say these are Moses and Elijah like characters and that\u2019s okay, we can agree to disagree on that.\u00a0 You can go your way and I\u2019ll go the Lord\u2019s way\u2026 [laughter]\u00a0 The fact of the matter is this looks very Jewish to me, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 It looks as Jewish as Revelation 7.\n\nTake a look at Revelation 12 for just a minute, verses 1-5, it says: \u201cA great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; [2] and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.\u00a0 [3] Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were<\/em> seven diadems.\u201d\u00a0 By the way, this has nothing to do with the rapture that was supposedly to occur September 23.\u00a0 People ask me what is your view of the rapture theory on September 23; my answer was\u2026 my answer is this, September 24th<\/sup> is my answer, because when September 24th<\/sup> comes nothing will happen so what day is it now?\u00a0 October 22.\n\n[4] \u201cAnd his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.\u00a0 [5] And she gave birth to a son, a male child,<\/em> who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.\u201d \u00a0Three characters here, the son, s-o-n; it looks a lot like Jesus, doesn\u2019t it, verse 5, \u201cwho is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron,\u201d right out of Psalm 2:5.\u00a0 [Psalm 2:5, \u201cThen He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,\u201d\n\nThe second character is the dragon.\u00a0 Who\u2019s the dragon?\u00a0 The devil.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Verse 9 tells me that.\u00a0 [Revelation 12:9, \u201cAnd the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.\u201d]\n\nBut who is this woman that verse 1 says is \u201cclothed with the sun. and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.\u201d\u00a0 Who is that?\u00a0 The Bible never, at least in Revelation, never tells me.\u00a0 But you say wait a minute, I\u2019ve studied this in the Book of Genesis, because Joseph, at the age of 17 had a dream, didn\u2019t he?\u00a0 Joseph narrates his dream.\u00a0 It says, \u201cNow he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, \u2018Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun\u201d does that sound familiar?\u00a0 \u201cand the moon\u201d does that sound familiar? \u201cand eleven stars\u201d Joseph being the twelfth \u201cwere bowing down to me.\u201d\u00a0 [Genesis 17:9]\u00a0 It\u2019s a vision that God gave him at the age of 17 about how he would be elevated to a place of authority in Egypt and his brothers would come to him in the midst of famine to find grain.\u00a0 And that prophecy was fulfilled 13 years later in Joseph\u2019s life when Pharaoh appointed him second in command in all of Egypt.\n\nJoseph narrated this dream to his father (who would be Jacob); he related it to his father or his brothers and his father said what a wonderful dream you\u2019ve had son, I love the fact that we\u2019re all bowing down to you.\u00a0 His father rebuked him and said to him, \u2018What is this dream that you have had?\u201d\u00a0 Now in the process of the rebuke his father, Jacob, explains the imagery.\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?\u2019\u201d So the son, s-u-n is Jacob.\u00a0 The moon would be Mrs. Jacob.\u00a0 Now people say that\u2019s Rachael; the problem is Rachael had already died, Genesis 35.\u00a0 Jacob had two wives, not that that\u2019s a good thing to do, that\u2019s just the way it worked out for him.\u00a0 And the moon therefore would be his existing wife, Leah.\u00a0 It\u2019s the patriarch and the matriarch of the nation of Israel.\u00a0 The eleven stars are Joseph\u2019s brother, the twelfth star is Joseph.\u00a0 The twelve stars would represent the twelve tribes of Israel.\n\nSo when I see the identical imagery in Revelation 12:1 about \u201ca woman clothed with the sun, and the moon \u2026 and upon her head a crown of twelve stars\u201d and I understand my Bible and I remember the Book of Genesis, I remember that this is a description, NOT of the church, this is a description of Israel.\u00a0 This is more evidence of the Jewish nature of the futuristic section of the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 So the devil is pursuing the woman; in fact, he hates this woman.\u00a0 He engages in spiritual warfare against this woman, or Israel.\n\nNow I have a question.\u00a0 Here\u2019s my question: why is it that Satan, in the tribulation period, is targeting the nation of Israel?\u00a0 Why isn\u2019t he targeting the church?\u00a0 I mean, doesn\u2019t Ephesians 6 tell us to put on the whole armor of God because we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and rulers of this dark world,\u201d that\u2019s how it\u2019s been for the last 2,000 years. Satan has targeted the church.\u00a0 [Ephesians 6:11, \u201cPut on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.\u00a0 [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.\u201d\n\nNow in The Book of Revelation he\u2019s not targeting the church; he\u2019s targeting Israel.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Answer: because the church isn\u2019t here during this time.\u00a0 The church has been raptured to heaven.\u00a0 You say well, how does this relate to the seventy weeks prophecy?\u00a0 Remember fact number 1, the focus of this prophecy concerns Israel, \u201cSeventy weeks have been decreed\u201d for Sugar Land Bible Church, oh, it doesn\u2019t say that, \u201cSeventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your city.\u201d\u00a0 The whole focus of the prophecy is the nation of Israel.\u00a0 There are seven years of this prophecy yet to come.\u00a0 The Book of Revelation, chapters 6-19 fills in the imagery of that final seven year period.\n\nAnd when you understand that, beginning with the foundation then you start to understand why the church isn\u2019t mentioned, why the word \u201cchurch\u201d disappears, why the church even if is referenced is always in heaven, and why God is working through 144000 Jews and two Jewish witnesses.\u00a0 And He is working through this woman clothed with the sun, the moon and the twelve stars.\u00a0 You see the whole picture starts to make sense if you understand that John, in Revelation, is filling in imagery of the seventieth week. And you recall fact number one, that the prophecy concerns Daniel\u2019s people in Daniel\u2019s city.\u00a0 God is dealing with Israel during this time period, yet future.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the church isn\u2019t there.\n\nNow why start the debate with the Book of Revelation when the Book of Revelation is just unfolding in greater detail what was already given to Daniel.\u00a0 You see how an understanding of the seventy weeks prophecy pushes you very aggressively, very directly in the pretribulational camp, which gives hope and optimism to your life?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it interesting that when you to through the Book of Revelation God\u2019s hand is on a nation again; 144,000 Jews, two Jewish prophets, the Jewish nation represented by the woman clothed with the sun and the moon and the twelve tribes.\u00a0 It\u2019s all about a nation and using a nation to bless the world.\n\nAnd folks, that does not describe the church at all because we are not a nation; we are a new man, a unique body of people from all nations.\u00a0 Galatians 3:28 says, \u201cThere is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 Ephesians 2:14 says, \u201cHe Himself is our peace, who made both groups,\u201d now \u201cboth groups\u201d are believing Jews and Gentiles, \u201cinto one, and broke down the dividing wall.\u201d\u00a0 There are no positionally national distinctions in the church. \u00a0The church is not an American institution (some Americans think so but it\u2019s not).\u00a0 It is a global worldwide institution; the church was doing really fine before America came along and should America disintegrate morally, which looks like it\u2019s happening, God is going to do very fine with His program without America.\u00a0 Now God in His grace has used America, I love America, if you cut me open I would probably bleed red, white and blue, but the fact of the matter is God doesn\u2019t need America. He doesn\u2019t need any nation.\u00a0 He\u2019s at work through all nations taking for Himself a people for His name.\n\nIn fact, Paul says in Romans 10:19 that the church is not a nation.\u00a0 Israel was; Israel, in the tribulation will be.\u00a0 Paul says in Romans 10, \u201cBut I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, \u2018I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION, BY A NATION\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that interesting?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it interesting what God is doing, how He is lavishing and pouring out grace upon this new man called the church to such a degree that even the angels themselves are looking and yet Israel, which has been in timeout for 2,000 years is getting jealous.\n\nWait a minute, I thought we were God\u2019s chosen?\u00a0 I thought we were God\u2019s elect.\u00a0 I thought we were the choice people of God.\u00a0 Why is it that this grace has been poured out on all of these Gentiles?\u00a0 And the Lord, in the last 2,000 years, has been whetting Israel\u2019s appetite to desire her place of prominence back.\u00a0 He is using us to provoke them to jealousy and guess what?\u00a0 One day the church age will be over.\u00a0 The church will be raptured to heaven and jealous Israel will be put back into the place of preeminence.\n\nMy point is simply this: God in the tribulation period is national centric, by definition the church can\u2019t be here because the church, by nature, is not national centric.\u00a0 God is not using a specific nation today, He\u2019s using His people dispersed from all nations.\u00a0 Beyond that, the church is a mystery.\u00a0 The Book of Ephesians, chapter 3 and verses 3-6 clearly tells us that this unique new man, where Jews and Gentiles are co-equal, co-heirs in a new spiritual man, this is a mystery. Paul calls it in Ephesians 3:9 a mystery.\u00a0 [Ephesians 3:9, \u201cand to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;\u201d]\n\nWhat is a mystery?\u00a0 Biblically speaking \u201cmystery\u201d simply means a truth hidden now revealed.\u00a0 The Greek word mystery is musterion<\/em>, and it\u2019s very confusing to people because in our English lexicon we think mystery means a truth that has to be searched out with great diligence to understand it.\u00a0 If you\u2019re watching a mystery movie you don\u2019t even know who the bad guy is, like the Colombo series you don\u2019t even know who the bad guy is until the last five minutes, because there the mystery is revealed and it comes together.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what we think a mystery is.\n\nThe Bible was not written originally in English; God sovereignly chose to have His Word recorded in Greek and in the Greek language \u201cmystery\u201d musterion<\/em> is referring to a brand new disclosure; it\u2019s not revealing that something covered, it\u2019s something uncovered that has never been known before.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why you can read the Old Testament all you want and you\u2019ll never see any reference to the concept of the church.\u00a0 In fact, Christ Himself hardly even makes reference to the church other than in Matthew 16:18.\u00a0 [Matthew 16:18, \u201cI also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 By the time you get to the Upper Room Discourse He\u2019s laying down some germ principles of the coming church but the church is really not started until Acts 2 and we really don\u2019t know much of the church had it not been for God\u2019s hand on the Apostle Paul.\u00a0 A mystery, biblically speaking, as Colossians 1:26 defines it, is that is the mystery which has been hidden from God in the past in generations but now has been manifested to us.\n\nLet me ask you a question; the seventy weeks prophecy, in the first sixty-nine weeks is the church there?\u00a0 No, the church is a mystery; nobody knew the church existed or would exist.\u00a0 Can I ask you a very simple question?\u00a0 In the seventieth week, the final seven years of the prophecy, the final seven years of Daniel\u2019s clock which hadn\u2019t elapsed yet, if the church is a mystery in the first sixty-nine weeks and the seventieth week is part of that package, then guess what?\u00a0 The church is also a mystery where?\u00a0 In the seventieth week.\u00a0 If the church is an unrevealed commodity in weeks 1-69 the church is also an unrevealed commodity in the final seven years or the final seventieth week.\u00a0 And that is why the futuristic section of the Book of Revelation, which simply adds more detail to Daniel\u2019s structure never once mentions the church on the earth, because the church was a mystery when the prophecy started.\u00a0 The church will be a mystery when the prophecy will conclude.\n\nBeyond that how could the church even be here when God is dealing with the nation again, when the church, by definition, consists of multiple nations?\u00a0 I hope this makes you a pretribulationalist.\n\nBeyond that, John reveals even more information.\u00a0 He tells\u00a0 us what will happen before the church age ends.\u00a0 You have a description of that in Revelation 2 and 3; there\u2019s different ways to interpret Revelation 2 and 3 but at the very minimum it\u2019s revealing principles that apply to all churches.\u00a0 Just like I can read the Book of Romans and apply that to my church or your church.\u00a0 So Revelation 2 and 3, depending on how you interpret it, is some sort of description of the age of the church which will conclude with the rapture.\u00a0 And if that weren\u2019t enough, John says let me add another detail; let me tell you want\u2019s going to happen when this seven year period of tribulation ends.\u00a0 When Revelation 19 is studied you move from Revelation 19 to Revelation 20; in Revelation 20:1-10 you have a description of the Millennial kingdom.\u00a0 The expression, a thousand years occurs six times in those verses.\n\nAnd you say well pastor, what does a thousand\u00a0 years means?\u00a0 Here\u2019s what it means; it means a thousand years!\u00a0 Now we\u2019ve already had hints of that, haven\u2019t we, because we saw in fact number four that when the clock reaches its conclusion six events will occur which we defined as the political and the spiritual restoration of the nation of Israel.\u00a0 In other words, the kingdom of God through Israel will break out on planet earth at the conclusion of the seventieth week.\n\nJohn is building on that framework by making a reference to the thousand year kingdom in Revelation 20:1-10.\u00a0 Now John goes on and he gives information that you don\u2019t find in Daniel.\u00a0 He talks about a great white throne judgment for all unbelievers at the conclusion of the kingdom age.\u00a0 Then he talks about the dissolution or the dissolving or the destruction of this earth.\u00a0\u00a0 You say well Pastor Andy, do you believe in global warming?\u00a0 I do believe in global warming, it\u2019s in 2 Peter 3:10, this world is going to be destroyed by fire.\u00a0 So this world will be replaced with a new world called the eternal state, Revelation 21 and 22.\u00a0 What is John doing here?\u00a0 He\u2019s saying you know Daniel\u2019s structure, here\u2019s some things that happened before the seventieth week, here\u2019s some things that have hinted at by Daniel that happened at the end of the seventieth week.\n\nYou know, the evolutionist has the whole thing backwards.\u00a0 They think the Big Bang started the beginning.\u00a0 2 Peter 3:10 indicates it\u2019s at the end.\u00a0 My scientific family members ask me do you believe in the Big Bang thing, I said yes I do, I just think it\u2019s at the end, not at the beginning.\u00a0 That kind of gets their attention.\n\nBut my point is simply this:\u00a0 you see what John is doing here?\u00a0 He\u2019s taking Daniel\u2019s structure and he\u2019s building on it.\u00a0 And as we begin to understand that the Book of Revelation is an unpacking of the seventieth week we begin to build confidence that we could not possible be there for all of the reasons that we have articulated.\n\nSo let\u2019s go through this review one more time and I\u2019ve broken it down this way because I want you to teach it to other people.\u00a0 Do you think you guys could do that?\n\nFact number one, the prophecy concerns who?\u00a0 The Jews in Jerusalem.\n\nFact number two, the prophecy has how many years on it?\u00a0 490.\n\nFact number four, what happens at the end?\u00a0 The kingdom; the kingdom comes at the end of the 490 years.\n\nFact number five, when did the prophecy start?\u00a0 March 5, 444 B.C. which is recorded in which book of the Bible?\u00a0 Nehemiah 2.\n\nFact number six, how many years will elapse between that decree and Palm Sunday?\u00a0 483 years exactly.\n\nFact number \u00a0seven, what takes place between that date and the final seven years of the prophecy?\u00a0 A gap.\u00a0 Who is God working with in this gap?\u00a0 The church.\n\nFact number eight, how many years are left on the prophecy?\u00a0 Seven.\n\nFact number nine, therefore to discover what God is going to do in this final seven year period what part of the Bible do\u00a0 you study?\u00a0 Daniel 9:27, it gives you the whole outline.\n\nAnd then finally fact number ten, Revelation 6-19 is simply an outworking or an unpacking of what verse?\u00a0 Daniel 9:27 which concerns Israel which helps explain the concept of the missing church in the Book of Revelation.\n\nSo there\u00a0 you have it, the seventy weeks prophecy, it did not take me seventy weeks to explain it, only six weeks.\u00a0 So praise the Lord.\n\nPerhaps you\u2019re visiting today and you\u2019re saying what kind of church is this, this is the weirdest thing I\u2019ve ever heard.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible unbelievers can come to a church like this because in the south, in Texas that\u2019s sort of a cultural thing to do, to come to church, so we like to give the gospel every week.\u00a0 The gospel means good news because Jesus did everything.\u00a0 He died on a cross in full payment for our sins; He rose from the dead and He leaves humanity with one responsibility, to receive by faith as a free gift what God through Christ has done in our place.\u00a0 If a person receives that gift, and the only way you can receive that gift is by faith, because \u201cwithout faith it is\u201d what? \u201cimpossible to please God.\u201d\u00a0 [Hebrews 11:6]\u00a0 When a person receives that gift by faith is the moment all of the benefits of the gospel are applied to that person\u2019s life.\n\nSo becoming a Christian is not a matter or praying a prayer, although your faith could be expressed in a prayer, but the prayer is not the important thing.\u00a0 Becoming a Christian does not involve a pledge to give money or to join a church.\u00a0 Becoming a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ does not mean, necessarily raising a hand, walking an aisle, not that those things are bad in and of themselves but they don\u2019t save anybody.\u00a0 What is important is that a person places their personal trust, faith, confidence, in Christ and Christ alone for your eternity and for the safekeeping or\u00a0 your soul.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s important.\u00a0 The Spirit of God has come into the world to convict the world of their need to do this.\u00a0 He comes into the world to convict the world of the only sin that could send a person into hell, which is unbelief.\u00a0 The only sin that\u2019s unpardonable is dying in\u00a0 unbelief.\u00a0 And so what God calls people to do is to trust by way of faith in what Jesus has done, and then you become united to this God who, as we have seen this morning, is very well in control of history and has a specific blueprint yet future.\n\nIf you\u2019re unclear about your salvation then you can resolve that issue right now, not by walking an aisle, raising a hand but just a moment of privacy between you and the Lord as the Spirit gently convicts or perhaps aggressively convicts and we place our confidence completely in not what we do for ourselves, that\u2019s religion, religion is what we do for ourselves, nobody ever got saved through religion.\u00a0 What Christianity is a relationship with God; it\u2019s not us reaching up to God, it\u2019s God reaching down to us through the person of Jesus Christ, highlighting what Christ did and saying stop trusting in yourself, stop trusting in your denomination, stop trusting in your good works and trust in what I have done for you.\u00a0 And that\u2019s something\u00a0 you can do right now, even as I\u2019m speaking.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a matter of privacy between you and the Lord.\u00a0\u00a0 Will you trust in Him and Him alone?\u00a0 If it\u2019s something that\u00a0 you need more explanation on I\u2019m available after the service to talk.\u00a0 Shall we pray.\n\nFather, we\u2019re grateful for the Book of Daniel and what it reveals about the future. We\u2019re grateful\u00a0 in a world that looks like it\u2019s out of control when everything is under control.\u00a0 And we\u2019re grateful for our hope in You, and I pray that we would walk out these principles this week.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t