Further notes on the Ten Toes of Daniel 2

g. Further notes on the Ten Toe (or Ten Horn) stage of Roman Revival.

o   Note that the ten kings rule simultaneously and act in concert with the Antichrist (the little horn, who supplants & displaces three of them; Dan. 7:8). This resists certain postmillennial & amillennial ideas that the 10 kings are successive, or that the image was dealt its death-blow in the days of ancient Rome.

 

o      Amillennialism: The Kingdom is realized in the present Church Age. There will be no literal intervening 1,000 year Kingdom Age between the Second Coming and the Eternal State.

o      Postmillennialism: A progressive view, in which the world will ultimately be Christianized, resulting in a Golden Age which will be capped by the Second Coming of Christ, ushering in the Eternal States.

o      Premillennialism: The Lord Jesus Christ, with His Second Coming, will institute a literal 1,000 year Kingdom, followed by the Eternal State.

The final stage under Antichrist will become a global empire.

Dan. 7:23: "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.”

 

Images of the New Europe, clockwise:

 

1) Statue located outside the Strasbourg European Parliament complex entitled “Europe,” featuring Europa, holding the Greek “e” (symbolic of both European unity and the Euro currency), carried by the masses, of which she is part.

 

2) A controversial poster created by the European Council in the ‘90’s, promoting the European Union.

 

3) The Agora of the European Parliament featuring a large glass orb entitled “United World,” symbolizing the hope and dream for the EU’s ultimate expansion.

 

4) The European Parliament at Strasbourg. Inspired by Roman Amphitheaters, as is often claimed—or by Babel?

Bulletin Insert: 12/20/20 (Valley GBC); "NO VACANCY"

                                                          NO VACANCY

(Dec. 20, AD 2020; Pastor Terry L. Reese, Valley GBC, Armagh)

 

TEXT: Luke 2:1-7. Luke’s emphasis: The Humanity of Christ. This week, we note the humble circumstances of the Man Jesus’ birth.

 

I. God is a Sovereign God, controlling history (Luke 2:1-3).

The Roman tax a cruel reminder of Israel’s subjection to foreigners; this is the “Time of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24)…

 

…BUT a Sovereign God uses earthly rulers (Caesar, Cyrenius, Herod)—mere chess pieces—to fulfill prophecy (Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:6)!

 

II. Joseph & Mary brought to Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-5).

Joseph David’s line: a reminder of the Davidic Covenant & the Messianic Promise! But the Royal House reduced to obscurity.

 

III. The Details of the Savior’s Birth (Luke 2:6-7)...

A simple, terse description of the birth of the Son of God (vv. 6-7)

 

A. He is Mary’s firstborn (ordinary births would follow; Matt. 13:55)

 

B. He is wrapped in swaddling cloths (long strips of linen) by His mother—no midwife—pointing to a lonely birth.

 

A somber scene—His wrapping a single ray of tenderness in His entrance into the world—foreshadowing His departure (John 19:40).

 

C. A manger: perhaps a stone animal trough. 

The cloths & manger a sign to the shepherds: Luke 2:12. 

 

D. No room at the inn...

 

IV. A scene of simplicity, poverty, loneliness, & rejection (Isa. 53:3).

The beginning of the kenosis, or Self-emptying (Phil. 2:5-7).

  Poverty (Luke 9:58)

o         Obscurity (John 1:10-11)

o         Loneliness & abandon—as at Calvary (Matt 26:31, Mark 15:34)

 

The contrast: the birth's commonness vs. the Child's greatness!

o   He leaves Heaven, His Home, that we might have that Heaven as our own dear home (John 14:2-3); 

He becomes obscure that we might have a name (1Jhn 3:1); 

He becomes poor that we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9);

He becomes a weak slave (Matt. 20:25-28) so that we might become powerful governing authorities (1 Cor. 6:2-3, Rev. 20:4); 

He becomes mortal that we might be immortal (1Cor. 15:53);  

He becomes humble that we might be glorified (Rom. 8:30).

Bulletin Insert: "What if Jesus had never been Born?" (12/06/20)

 

An Empty Manger:

“What if Jesus had never been born?”

(Pastor Terry Reese; 12/06/20, Valley GBC of Armagh)

 

Intro: Examining the great & intriguing “What ifs?” of history.

Example: What if Hitler wouldn’t have survived WWI? Or what if the American colonies wouldn’t have rebelled against Britain in 1775? Or what if the atomic bombs wouldn’t have been dropped on Japan to end World War II?

 

The ultimate, and most frightful, “what if?:” How would the world—and thus, our lives—be different if Jesus Christ would not have been born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago?

 

1. If Jesus had never been born… then we would be left to wonder if all of God’s promises of redemption in Messiah, starting with the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15)—and delivered by a thousand years of writing-prophets from Moses to Malachi—have failed! Important Covenant Promises made unto Abraham and David would be held in severe doubt.

 

2. If Jesus had never been born… then the true character and nature of God as most graphically revealed in the Person of Christ Incarnate would be yet to be revealed unto mankind (John 14:8-9, Heb. 1:1-2).

 

3. If Jesus had never been born… then the world would still be in an awesome and terrible darkness, destitute of any special and revealed knowledge of its Creator or His ways, and would not know the softening effects of the Christian Ethic (Isa. 42:6, 49:6; John 1:4-5, 9, 8:12, 9:5, 12:46). Consider Christian influence in the realms of ethics & human rights, politics & economics, the arts & sciences, etc.

 

4. If Jesus had never been born… then we would be utterly lost, without hope, and in our sins (Acts 13:38-39; 1 Cor. 15:14, 17-19; 2 Tim. 1:12).

Bulletin Insert: "That which cannot be Numbered" (Nov. 15, AD 2020)

 

GOD is INFINITE

(Pastor Terry Reese; Valley GBC, Nov. 15, AD 2020)

 

I. Terminologies.

a. The English term: infinite (from Latin); means “without end.”

b. The Hebrew terminology: lit., “no number.” The Infinite cannot be numbered; it is without end, boundaries, or limits.  

 

In that infinity cannot be numbered, there can be no such thing as an “infinite number.” It is endless—as illustrated by the “infinity symbol:” ∞

II. The Doctrine Defined. 

Other than those which are Self-imposed, God is altogether without boundaries and limits.

 

Like perfection, it is a qualifying attribute. e.g., His knowledge and understanding cannot be “numbered;” it has no boundaries or limitations.

 

“We cannot draw a line and say that God’s knowledge ends with this line.” Morey, Battle of the Gods.

 

III. Various Scriptures.

Job 11:7: “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?”

Ps 147:4-5: He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.

Ps 40:5: Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count.

 

IV. Practical benefits to be derived from the doctrine.

A. A source of endless comfort & security, as well as unending discovery & delight for God’s People (John 1:47-50). The thrill of discovering the never-ending wonders of God's own great Being will never end!

B. A grave warning unto the wicked. The Wrath of God abides upon the unrepentant (John 3:36, Heb. 10:30-31, Rev 14:10-11)—namely, that of an infinite God—beyond all limit or human comprehension…

C. A demonstration of the enormity & magnitude of our sin. Our sin has been committed against an infinite God (Ps. 51:4). This is the rationale behind the doctrine of eternal conscious torment as the just due penalty for sin.

D. Thus, a weighty incentive unto personal evangelism. Our debt is very great—but Jesus paid it all (John 19:30)!

Bulletin Insert, Nov. 29, 2020: "Knowing the Incomprehensible"

 

Knowing the Incomprehensible

(Attributes of God Series: God is Incomprehensible)

Pastor Terry Reese, Valley GBC, Armagh, PA, 11/29/2020

 

Intro: Knowledge in an Age of Postmodernism.

Postmodernism: a movement characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism; definite knowledge is held in suspicion.

 

I. God’s Incomprehensibility Defined: 

“God cannot be completely comprehended by any finite mind.” Alva J. McClain, God & Revelation

 

II. Scripture.

Job 5:8-9: “But as for me, I would seek God, and I would place my cause before God; Who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.”

Ps. 139:6: Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. [David, speaking of God’s omniscience]

Ps. 145:3: Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.

Is. 40:28b: His understanding is inscrutable.

Rom. 11:33: Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

 

III. Incompatible with Theological Rationalism.

There is much about God that we cannot comprehend. He cannot be understood through rationalism, intuition, or feelings.

 

Only an incomprehensible God is worthy of worship; any “god” that we can fully comprehend must be smaller than ourselves!

 

IV.  Limitations upon our knowledge of God.

1. Our finite wisdom;

2. Our moral imperfections;

3. Our limited supply of Divine Revelation

 

V. Incomprehensibility  doesn’t mean “unknowable”

a. The claims of Post-Modernism, Existentialism, Neo-orthodoxy, Islam: “God is unknowable.”

b. Response: Because we don’t know everything does not mean that we know nothing. God cannot be known completely or exhaustively by finite minds—but this does not mean that He cannot be known adequately and genuinely.

c. God reveals Himself through various channels—especially through Scripture and through the Incarnate Christ! Through these means, we can have a true—but finite and limited—knowledge of Him (Jer. 9:23-24, 31:34; John 17:3; 1 John 4:7-8, 5:20).