Well, today what we're doing, we're gonna finish off kind of the thought we were in the middle of last week when we ended, dealing with Satan's influence or as being the god of this world and all the effects that it's had today. And then we're gonna follow it up by something I titled the single mountain mandate, as opposed to the seven mountain mandate, which I'll explain a little bit of as we go through it. And who knows if we're gonna make it through this. As I said before, I was looking at one week of going through the Lord's Prayer or the Disciples Prayer, and it hasn't happened, but I've been enjoying the ride anyway, so I hope you can say the same thing. Let's go to Matthew chapter six. I'll close my hymn book first before I start reading out of that. Matthew chapter number six. We'll read verses 1 through 15 once again. It says, Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thine alms may be in secret, and that thy father, which seeth in secret himself, shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto thee, you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy father, which is in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your father knoweth what things you have need of before you ask. After this manner, therefore, pray ye, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And Lord, we just pray today that you would add your blessing to your word. And may you nourish us. through it as well. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, just a little summary of last week. We looked at the reality of the God of this world being Satan. And he's been in charge of this world. He's been given that power because what happened way back in the Garden of Eden, Adam, Adam sinned, and he gave up that right that he had, not necessarily a right that he had, but God's position for him to be basically the federal head of mankind. Now we know there is another, a new head. That first one was Adam. There is a new head over the church, over Christians, and there will be a new head in the world. That will be Jesus Christ. For us who are saved, it's a present reality that we have Christ as our head, physically and spiritually, but in the world in general, it's under the guise or under the auspices of Satan. We turn today, we look at the effects of that headship. We looked at 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, saying he's the God of this world. We looked at Isaiah 6. And now we turn our attention to a couple well-known passages just to show what is going on. So let's go there. 2 Timothy 3. 2 Timothy 3. Many of you are all familiar with these verses. We're just gonna look at verses one through nine. It says, this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. What are the last days? The apostle John in 1 John chapter two says, these are the last days. The last days technically started when Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. That started the last days, and we know what happened. Paul addressed the Ephesian church in Acts 20. He says, soon after my departing, grievous wolves will come, not sparing the flock. So the last days began, and the rise of apostasy, the rise of false doctrine began, and it's been ramping up more and more and more. It's been in the world, and it's been growing and growing in the church. Today, where much of the church you can't even recognize that it's even Christian nowadays, it's gotten so bad. But this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. Why? Here's the for, is there for a reason. For men shall be lovers of their own selves. No longer is the priority glory to thy name, no longer is the priority the person or work of Jesus Christ, it's with Him. What's in it for me? What do I get by becoming a Christian? I love myself so much. What do I gain? And you can understand why this happens, because it's a natural thing. We are all natural-born sinners, natural-born selfish people that love ourselves. I get in trouble sometimes for saying this, but I'll say it anyways. I often look at the fact of all the rise of drug addiction, suicide, all these things isn't because of low esteem, it's because of high esteem. You're looking at yourself as being so important. But yet, if you only looked at how important and how great God is, that would settle much of the issues. I can't get along because I don't add up to the task. I'm not good enough to take care of my family and friends. Oh, how I'm so loathed. That's not low self-esteem, it's high self-esteem. Thinking of self too much. And what's happened is there's been many different practices that have come in trying to elevate self. I remember back in the 60s and 70s there was something, remember there was a music group, I think they were kind of popular in the 60s. It was the Beatles. You may have heard of them before, but they were involved with something that would become the Self-Realization Fellowship. It's Hinduism. It's so important, they did everything they could do to elevate themselves. It was tragic, another musician this past year, Tom Petty, His memorial service was with the Self-Realization Fellowship. He could sing right along with George Harrison back in the 70s. He could sing, my sweet Lord, Hare Krishna. Whatever God you want to make it, that is your God. That's the reality of that. Lovers of self. so much that you would think yourself so good that nothing can come against you. But the reality is Christ is the one that is great. Lovers of their own selves covet us. With them, what's in it for me? I covet everything. The obvious examples are the people who are on radio and television that covet money, that covet riches. Again, I lurk on a Kenneth Hagen page on Facebook. I trolled there in comment once in a while and it was just this outrageous video that was posted of them jumping around and barking and hollering and rolling around on the floor and everybody was like, wow, this is great, this is a move of the Holy Ghost. My comment still sits there at the top saying this is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. This is foolishness. Don't blame God for these things. But people are looking for everything to satisfy their own needs. They're covetous. Boasters. Look what I have done. Look at how many people that I have attracted. I have an arena full that attracts 20,000 people. Come, look at me. We go on here, proud. That's what happens when you're covetous and boasting and lovers of self. Blasphemers. Notice how it goes in sort of a, it goes in order. Blasphemy comes once you get so full of yourself. that God doesn't matter whatsoever. You will start attributing, as those people following Kenneth Hagin, they start attributing things as being from God, which are absolute foolishness and not from God. Blasphemers, disobedient to parents. We don't have that issue around here, so we can skip right over that. But everyone has had times of disobedient being disobedient to parents. I know I was. I can remember one time I was in an argument with my mother. Yes, it happened. I used to argue with my mother. And I called her a name that I don't think I've called anybody else since. I called her the B word. I didn't think my mother could run, but she chased me out the door. I finally did get away from her because I was only like 18 at the time. But this is the attitude. That was a rare event that I did that, but I go around, just go to a Walmart or any place and listen to the things that kids are calling their mothers and fathers, if they have one, right out in the open. Disobedient. They hate their parents. They're getting so full of themselves as well. It's just going from generation to generation. What comes next? Disobedience to parents? Unthankful? What do you have to be thankful if it's all about you? If it's all about getting all what you think you deserve, why would you be thankful then? As Christians, we have the Again, words aren't coming to me easily. We have the blessing and privilege to be thankful for salvation. We have the blessing and privilege that we're able to look and see the greatness, the mercy, and the grace of God, but if you ever lose sight of that and lose that unthankfulness, you's in trouble. It's trouble, because then we start going back to the beginning. We start trusting ourselves even more without natural affection. Yes, remember there was a day when you knew what you were by your plumbing, but now it's all in question. Everything's up in the air. Men loving men, women loving women, women loving... Add your own imagination there, I won't go there. But it's happening today without natural affection. Truce breakers. I'm so glad that promise keepers broke up because it never worked. Because men are naturally not truce keepers. Fierce or incontinent. Just all over the place. Incontinent. Fierce. despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, all these are pretty self-explanatory, lovers of pleasure. You know what that term there is, pleasure? It's amuse, no think. to where we get the word amusement from. No thinking. You don't have to put any thought in being entertained. And that's so wrong, especially in the context of where Timothy is at, which I'll get to. Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away. If you want to see the power thereof that Paul's talking about, read the first chapter of 1 Corinthians. Read Romans chapter 1. It's the power of God unto salvation. Jesus Christ is the power. He's the only power of the church, and he satisfied God's wrath and given himself on the cross. And by his weakness, he's made strong. By his weakness and our weakness, we're made strong. That is powerful. denying the power from thereof from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts. And Paul, I don't think Phil Donahue and Oprah were around when Paul wrote this. Oh, how much more easily it's been for wrong teachings, wrong things to enter into households since the invention of the radio. than the television and the internet and so on and so forth. Leading captive women laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. There's a lot of smart people around, but they never come to the truth. Or they get to a point where they get get filled up so much with the first part of this that they forget about who Christ is. Never come into the knowledge of the truth. Now as Janice and Johnbury withstood Moses, so do these also. Resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith, but they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be manifest unto all men as theirs was. One thing I know about false teaching and false doctrine and false practice, it always comes to an end. It is exposed, either personally through a personal downfall, or it's exposed eventually and will be exposed by the coming of Christ. Know what the tough part is about these verses here. Paul isn't addressing the world. Paul is addressing the church at that time and warning his beloved his beloved student Timothy, to take heed to these things. It's tragic that today the church has gotten away, by and large, from the person and work of Jesus Christ. I think I mentioned it last week, we can only have so many things, many messages about eliminate and worry. There's only so many messages you can hear about how to be stress-free and out of debt as well. All these are good things. But the cares of this world have taken the place of the person of Jesus Christ in the church. I almost started singing a song when I wrote these words. I said, what the church needs now is Jesus. Remember that 60s song when I was a kid? What the world needs now is love, sweet love. That's a lot of the message of the church, but they don't define love as being the love of God, the love of Christ that was displayed by him laying down his life for his own. Instead of Jesus, much of the church is getting too much of himself and herself. We cannot address all of the felt needs of individuals, because everyone is different. But rather, we must stick with the person of Jesus Christ alone. If you have a computer, Bible and everything, and try to look in the New Testament and look up, see if you can find where Peter or Paul or James addresses relational problems. You won't find it. They preach Christ and Him crucified. They preach the resurrection of Jesus Christ. while the world is into all kinds of psychotherapy and finding different ways and 18 steps to financial stability and the like, the rapture of the church could happen any second. Will we be ready? If we're in the middle of, I don't know, I can't remember if I did this last week, I might have, but I'll repeat it anyways. While much of the church is into motivational speeches and trying to get ready and have your life fulfilled and getting out of debt and relational problems, it could be very well that either the rapture could happen or we could have somebody busted through these doors. How will that take care of those things? It's gonna bring a lot of stress, first of all, I can guarantee that. But where we need to be is anchored in the Lord and focused on the things of God. What I like about looking at the kingdom, we could be focused on the kingdom, which is a good segue to talking about the single mountain mandate. We could be focused on the kingdom, but not on what we can do for the kingdom, but rather that Christ Himself will bring that kingdom in. He will. literally march on to Zion, and he will take his place on the throne of David anytime now. Well, actually, it won't be anytime. It will be seven years of tribulation for us before he does that. But I want to look at something And I did this several weeks ago on a Wednesday night. It might have been several months ago, but that's how time flies. I want to look at something that's very prominent now when it comes under different names and titles, but this is the Seven Mountain Mandate. The Seven Mountain Mandate, it shows the different areas of seven different spheres of influence. You can underline that, you'll see spheres. Rick Warren calls it spheres. The New Apostolic Movement calls them mountains. But they're different areas of life that the church needs to have influence in and take those areas of life in order to usher in the kingdom. It's a revamping, a reworking of the old kingdom now philosophy. And the only thing that's happened now is on top of it have been added these new apostles today. And they're pretty slick as well. They use music to get their philosophy into the church as well. So I'm real careful of stuff like Bethel and Hillsong. You know, Bethel, Jesus culture out of Bethel, Hillsong, stuff like that. Because those churches, they actually believe they are a new breed. Bill Johnson, the pastor of Bethel Church that runs Jesus Culture and all these other things, he believes that he is an apostle and a prophet today, and that he will literally have superpowers that will be better than you and me. And this is the Jesus Culture mentality, being sort of Superman in this world. This is the guise of the Seven Mountain Mandate, which has gone through, it's left that realm There's another word, that mountains, spheres, and realms. It's left that, and it's infiltrating otherwise solid churches. Those seven realms, or seven mountains, or seven spheres are religion. We need to influence religion. And the problem they have there is that they're looking at expanding the kingdom. That's not the duty of Christianity. It's not to expand the kingdom. It's to preach the gospel and teach the gospel. The finished work of Jesus Christ. I have, my printout here I have is from the Reformation Prayer Network, which is, what's her name that found it down in Texas? She's Cindy Jacobs. She is one of the generals. They call themselves generals in the movement. So they have this coalition of generals that meets every year and they get together and they all put their prophecies together and I guess they put them into a bowl and see which ones are going to be right or whatnot. But it's not based on the Bible, it's based on self, just like Timothy, or Paul through Timothy said. But one thing I thought was interesting, this you can write down, does anybody know what the definition of church or ecclesia is in the New Testament? I'll give it to you. It's called out people, or even in its purest form, it's just an assembly as well. Here is how they define it. It says, literally translated, the word ekklesia means governing body. I don't know where they got that from, because see where we're going? The church is the governing body to take over society. It's wrong. It's the church's responsibility to reach the lost with the love. Amen. To reach the lost with the love and gospel of Jesus Christ. and expand the kingdom in ministerial efforts both nationally and internationally. Again, if you're looking at expanding the kingdom, guess what you're going to do? You're going to compromise and expand it in any way that it looks, in any way that seems like it works. That's why these megachurches are what they are. They stray away from the Bible, they stray away from things of God and the things that fit or will answer your felt need you have. Let me move on. There's religion, there's family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business. This is a tricky one here, and you see this rising all over the place. It was an old thing at one time, but you see this combination of churches being involved with communities. Nothing wrong on its face, but they're combining meeting with mayors and city councilors about how they can work together to, as it says, expand the kingdom. It's wrong. It's not what the church should be doing. It's even the role of missions, and I'll leave this here in a second. The end of the business one, the business, mountain, says, we believe it is the Lord's will to make his people prosperous and that he desires for his church to use its wealth to finance the work of the kingdom expansion, simply put, prosperity with purpose. So Christian businessmen are coming together. Nothing wrong, Christian businessmen that use their money towards the church and all that thing, if it's their will to give, fine. But this combination is a lethal combination. One of the other areas too, and this kind of goes along with it, If you look, just sometimes if you're not doing anything, look at some of the churches and you look at the missions they support. There's a high rise of things, social justice being combined with these seven mountains. Your average church today, what they'll have for missions is some group that's there to fight human trafficking. That's a heinous thing going on. It's been going on since the foundation of the world. Slavery and human trafficking have been a reality. But guess what? The church cannot fight human trafficking. or abuse of women, you'll find this, all these things linking towards furthering the kingdom. Let's make the world a better place. Think and then the kingdom can come if we just Christianize enough of the world. It doesn't work. Well, I should say it does work. It brings in lots of people, brings in lots of money, all these things, but is it of God? It's so subtle at times, but the reality, the simple truth is found in the Scriptures and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go to another place in the Scriptures. Let's go right over to 1 Timothy 4. What's 2 Timothy 4, rather, while we're in 2 Timothy? The answer for everything going on? That's a real, I mean, that's a real fast view of what the seven mountains are. And when you see it in action, you can see how it works, how it's actually against the true gospel of Christ. Let's go to chapter 3. Again, let's stay in there. For thou hast fully known my doctrine, verse number 10, but thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, what persecutions I endured, but out of them all the Lord delivered me. By the way, A little bird told me that's Joel Osteen's favorite verse. He wouldn't know that verse if it hit him in the side of the head. "'Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.' I thought it was God's will that everybody prosper in the kingdom." Isn't that what Cindy Jacobs in her writing about the seven mountains said? It's about God's everybody being prosperous in the kingdom. But all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Isn't it? We have the but evil men, then we have another but to erase that but there. But continue thou. It's a good place to stop right there. Continue thou in what? Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. And I always like to point out the scriptures that Timothy had, were not the complete canon. In other words, in the Old Testament, there's enough about knowing who Christ is, even in there, and Paul expanded upon it. So Timothy had the Old Testament. He may have, at this time, he may have had the Gospel of Matthew. So there was ample evidence of Jesus Christ and what he did. Verse number 16 says, is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. See, so if we had these seven mountains and they were for the benefit of someone being saved already and works those things out, that would be well and good. But the reality, they believe by doing these works will bring salvation and the kingdom of God to earth. Works, again, are not what earn you salvation. a fruit of salvation. So all these kingdom now, people, they have it backwards. You need to be righteous enough and holy enough, and then God will bring in the kingdom. Verse 1 of chapter 4 says, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. He's gonna come, He's gonna judge everyone. Jesus Christ is powerful enough. He will bring in the kingdom on His own and He will judge everything according to His righteous judgment. Verse number two says, preach the word. Be instant in season, out of season, reproving, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." See why it's important to stick with the Word of God? It's so important. Denise, I don't think you'll mind sharing. We know somebody we've known mutually for a good 30 plus years now that has just decided that she doesn't believe that Jesus is God. Well, I've come to the conclusion that Jesus isn't God. He's my righteousness, but he's not God. Well, if Jesus is not God, you are still in your sins. See, but this is the kind of things that's growing. I believe she's getting involved with the Hebrew Roots Movement, which is taking all of the, saying that Jesus is not God, and saying that you must keep the law. That's the oldest heresy in the book. Nothing new about that. Paul addresses that through the book of Romans, the book of Galatians, Philippians. Whole chapters and whole letters deal with this. But this is the kind of things Somewhere along the line, people want to hear what they want to hear. Not to steal from Al Gore or anything, but oftentimes the Bible is an inconvenient truth. It's the truth that we just don't want to hear. The Bible, Christianity, doesn't call for us lifting ourselves up. It calls for us oftentimes to take up our cross and follow Him. Sometimes, Scratch that, sometimes, many times, a lot of times, the Christian life is not easy. But the Christian life is an enduring life, it's an endearing life, which, when we walk that life, though hard at times, we see the end result. No matter what we go through, we'll be with Jesus. that can only be buttressed by the Word of God and the work of God. Now I want to take you to the single mountain, Seven Mountains, and I have more. I have a PowerPoint presentation I did, which I won't show in church, but I did on a Wednesday night a while back with many other quotes from different leaders of the Seven Mountains movement, and they're all over. Anybody that you, mostly anybody that you hear that claims they hear from God, they're part of, part of this movement around, and they fill up stadiums, they fill up arenas with this kind of stuff. They literally believe, we're marching to Zion, we're gonna go overtake it, but they don't believe that Jesus is with them, they believe they gotta do it first, and Jesus will come. But I'll stop, because I can keep on going and going and going on that. Turn with me now to Matthew chapter four, while we're in the book of Matthew, and hold your place in Matthew four, And then at the same time, while you're in Matthew 4, go all the way back to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 34, the closing of the book of Deuteronomy. I hope you find this as interesting as I found it anyways. Deuteronomy chapter 34, we saw Deuteronomy 31, dealing with the kingdom being in their midst and the promise of the kingdom coming upon the Israelites. But look at 34. It says, and Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah unto the utmost sea. and the south and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees unto Zoar. And the Lord said unto him, this is the land which I swear unto Abraham, unto Isaac and Jacob. Do you get where we're going at with this here? Noah, yeah, Moses didn't get to go into the land. Let's continue here. And unto Jacob saying, I will give it unto thy seed, I have caused thee to see it with thine own eyes, but thou shalt not go over hither. So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab against Beth Peor, but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day. And Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. I like that. Moses was in perfect health. At 120 years old, he didn't have to have cataract surgery. 120 years old, he was full of life and vigor and energy. He had perfect health. God kept him through the wilderness with that. But, he was buried and nobody knows exactly where he is. Well, nobody knows because Moses will be one of those coming back as one of the two witnesses coming up before Christ returns. But let me finish here, because that's a whole other place, a whole other rabbit trail. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him, and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded. And there arose a prophet, no prophet since, And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, and all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all the servants, and to this land, and all that mighty hand, and all that great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel. I don't have the scripture reference, but it is in Deuteronomy chapter 18, where Moses said, there will be a prophet like unto me, him you will hear. That prophet was not seen until the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know what happened with him. He was rejected by his own people just as Moses was rejected. Back in chapter 32, we find God's reply to Moses that indeed this people would reject. I think Rodney mentioned it, saw it for the first time, says, "...hath rejected him." God knew that his people would reject him. So here is Moses looking over in Nebo, atop Mount Pisgah, and he's looking over that promised land, and then the person that took his place Joshua was able to take him over the river, but they were never to take the full promised land yet. That's coming when the kingdom comes. So Joshua, what is the other name of Joshua? What name is exactly in English and in Greek? Jesus. Joshua, I think it's Hebrews chapter seven, we won't go there. Joshua, Moses couldn't take them into the promised land, but Joshua took them. They were never able to conquer the entire land. Solomon's kingdom didn't go through the entire land, as many amillennialists will tell you. Well, Solomon took the kingdom. The kingdom was realized in Solomon's day. No, it wasn't. So it was Joshua. or Jesus took them over where the law couldn't take it over. That's the application in Hebrew, but yet the physical Joshua was never able to take that, the promised land. That is still to be done. Now, I told you to keep your fingers in Matthew chapter four. I'll start with verse number one in the parallel verses in Luke four. Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterward a hungered. Now let me just kind of set the wilderness here. It's more than likely the same wilderness of sin, or Puran, where Moses brought the people through. And he was hungered, just like the people were hungered in Moses' day, and God provided manna for them. But look what happens here. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward a hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. So there he is in the wilderness where the wandering, I think of plants, the wandering Jews, had rejected the manna, but God still provided for them until they got to the border of the promised land. It says, then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, the holy city is Jerusalem, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple. And saith unto him, if thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, it is written again, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God. Now let's look at verse eight. Here's my parallel that I want to present today. Again, The devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain. I believe this mountain was the same mountain that Moses went into in Nebo, atop Mount Pisgah. We have some songs that have Mount Pisgah in it as well. Atop Mount Pisgah. And showeth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him." So here was the devil, Satan, offering up to the very Son of God the kingdom to him. Just as Moses blew it, here was Satan trying to play on Jesus. Jesus' feelings, instead of the fact that Jesus was the Son of God, say, look, I can offer you this. Moses blew it. He didn't inherit that kingdom, but you can have it. Because why? Because Satan is the god of this world. Satan knew that, man, if I can trip up the Son of God, I am gonna keep this kingdom forever. But we have some good news for you today. One day, the Son of God is gonna tromp Satan. One day, that rascal Satan will be tied up and he'll be sent to the lake of fire forever. Amen? So here he was. Think of that parallel. saying you can have the kingdom here, I'll give it to you. Why? Because he was in control of the physical kingdom of this world. But yet Jesus Christ, he couldn't take it, because he's going to one day have control over that whole thing. And notice it was expanded, all the kingdoms of the world. The promised land will be back to the Jews. Jesus will be sitting on that throne in Jerusalem. And all the world, after the tribulation, will be under his kingship. And it gets better. Let's go to Micah chapter 2. Micah. Chapter two is another tough one to just go with a couple verses here, but I'm gonna go to the end of verse two, of chapter two rather. Micah was prophesying at the same time as Isaiah and Hosea. Their ministry was primarily to Israel and not Judah. Isaiah was a little bit later than two of them, so his, His prophecies concern both and has much more, as we see, much more future-oriented than the others. We see in the book of Isaiah, the whole last half of it deals with the millennial kingdom on this earth. But let's look here in Micah for a second. Verse number 12 says, "'I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee.'" Remember, his whole prophecy was geared primarily to Israel when they were divided. Israel would go first into captivity to Assyria, and Judah would follow just a hundred plus years later and go into captivity in Babylon. It says, I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee. I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah. Bozrah was the capital of Edom. Basra was the cap where the Edomites, the family of Esau, had gone to. And the prophecies of the Edomites would be that they would be thoroughly destroyed. They would be totally annihilated, so it leaves the land empty. Says, I will put them together as the sheep of Barzara, as the flock in the midst of their fold. They shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. Yes, when you have several million billion people assembled in one place, they will make a great noise. So it's talking about a whole assembly of people here in Basra. One of the region's capitals there is also Petra in Jordan. So we have people that believe that people will be assembled in Petra. I believe it'll be in Basra, which is just a general area around there. And it's like me saying, I'm in Millbury, and somebody would say, no, you're not. You're in Massachusetts. It all goes together. It's this one vast wasteland that God is going to lay waste. Read Jeremiah 49. We won't go there just because of time. Deals with the devastation of Edom and the Edomites. Verse number 12, the breaker has come up before them. They have broken up and have passed through the gate and are gone out by it and their king shall pass before them and their Lord on the head of them. The breaker there isn't a breaker anointing like so many people talk about. The breaker there, I believe, to be the very Lord Jesus Christ. He will come. He's going to make a way and he's going to lead those people back into the promised land. Why do I say this? Revelation 12, and we'll close here, Revelation 12. Revelation 12, it goes back and forth between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ here. So the language kind of goes back and forth a little bit, but the primary focus is when he comes again. Revelation 12, verse number one says, And there appeared a great wonder in heaven A woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." These twelve stars are the nation of Israel, the tribes of Israel. This woman is a picture of the nation itself, prophetically. And the being with child cried, travailing in birth and pain to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven. And behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns and seven crowns upon his heads. If you remember back in the book of Daniel, you remember this beast here, Matthew 24 says the stars will fall out of heaven. This says a third of the stars are gonna be, he's gonna drag with his tail. out of heaven. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered to devour her child as soon as it was born. Do you remember what Herod tried to do? He tried to eliminate the Messiah by having all the men, child, children killed. Satan has been trying to rid the earth of the Messiah since day one. And this is what he tried then. And she brought forth a man-child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne. Praise the Lord. Jesus Christ came. He came to rule with a rod. He was rejected. And where is he today? He is at the throne of God, sitting at the right hand of the Father. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Here's the tie-in with Micah. This place for three and a half years in the wilderness that was prepared for that woman would be the remnant of all of Israel that would be drawn from the four corners of the world, would be taken there, a place nourished for that three and a half years. Now we'll continue here and try to put it together. And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragons fought in his angels, and prevailed not, neither was there a place found any more in heaven. He was cast out. This is looking back even before anything else. He was cast out beforehand. And of course, where did Satan end up ruling? He ended up being cast out of heaven to earth. Satan today, he roams the earth as a roaring lion seeking who may devour. He is real. He is the king of this world, the prince of this world, the prince of the power of the air. He's been cast out of the heavens. neither was there any place found in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceived the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." That's a third of the angels were cast out with him. They've been doing their dirty deeds since. Since time immoral, they've been doing this. Verse number 10, and I heard a voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. So this King Jesus is now coming. Satan's been cast down to earth. The King is coming to take care of him, to deliver his nation. We know that happened when He came the first time, the rejection happened. And they overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. How is one overcome? They're overcome by the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, rejoice in heavens, and ye dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast into the earth, he persecuted the woman." See our little leap in time? We go from the woman Israel being protected now, and then their rejection later. We kind of jump back in time here. And when the dragon saw that he was cast into the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child, and to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place. So we see this place in the wilderness that was prepared already for this to happen, and now, miraculously, God is going to transport. It's the two wings of a great eagle, but other places throughout the scripture say that it's just going to be taken from the four winds or four corners of heaven and being brought here to this place in the wilderness. where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the face of the serpent." See, the Antichrist is going to be ruling and reigning. The representative of Satan will be on this earth. The beast and the false prophet and the Antichrist, all together, they'll be ruling, they'll be persecuting the saints that are on the earth who were saved during that time. Those elect from the four corners of the earth will be protected at that time. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood." Clearly a picture, a sign and wonder of the Egyptians being drowned in the sea. And the earth helped the woman, the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." So we see this time of protection, in that same land from whence Mount Pisgah is, where Moses could look from. He was there in Moab on Mount Pisgah, overlooking the kingdom. Jesus was brought to that very same place by Satan, who offered up that very same kingdom, but we see God is gonna have his way in protecting his people beforehand. How's it work for us today? It works for us in the fact that that seed, those elect people, those elect Jews will be literally taken to this place to be protected for that span of three and a half years of the end of the tribulation. Where do we stand? We'll be in that tribulation unless we trust Christ. That's the whole answer. No matter what we do in this, if we could try to build the kingdom, if we try to do all these great things to advance God's cause, and if it's not rooted in the gospel and the saving knowledge of Christ, we have nothing. So we get to look at these things. And sure, I gave a real rough run through this, because it is complicated, but the reality is God protects his beloved. He protects us as believers. Yes, we might face death. Might, that was kind of a weak term for that, wasn't it? We will face death. We will face trials. We will face all that. But God has protected us through giving His Son for us. Or I should say for His Son, willingly laying down His life for us. That's the hope we have for a believer. I know all heaven is going to break out on loose one day. But those of us who are saved, we won't have to take part in that. We can save that for the people that are left. I, for one, I'm looking for that change, for that rapture to come, for that twinkling of an eye, and we'll be changed instantly in being with the Lord. While he's sorting all that stuff on the earth, what he does with those he's elected from the beginning, God has that under control. But for us, we get to partake. in the glorious gift of salvation, and be protected from the wrath of God, without actually having to be whisked from the four winds of heaven, but will be with Him when He calls us. When that trumpet sounds, the dead in Christ will rise first. I love this, that we who are alive and remain will be caught up together in the clouds. What a promise that is. Aren't you glad that Jesus rejected the offer of the kingdom? Because he knew he would be fulfilling that kingdom promise that was given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And because of disobedience, Moses couldn't go into that, but he will be very much a part of that kingdom coming when he comes back as one of the prophets. Amen. It's just too much. It's too much to fathom, but the simplicity of salvation is easy to grasp. Believe the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Amen. That's what it takes. He died on the cross. He shed his blood. was buried and rose again. That's a lot easier than going through half the tribulation, isn't it? Much easier. But it wasn't easier for Christ. He suffered the worst death that could possibly have been suffered, and he did it for those who would believe. Amen, let's go to the Lord in prayer.