Why I Am Not An Amillennalist

We're coming in this last message tonight. It's part 18 that we've dealt with the Book of Daniel and for 14 parts of this we've expounded, gone through chapter by chapter dealing with the Book of Daniel. Then we dealt with, this will be our fourth message added as an appendix on the end of this series, but we've been concentrating, teaching on Daniel and these four messages that I've added are just things I didn't have room for or time for when we were doing the series and I didn't want to take away from the exposition of scripture, but they've been very, very important. We've already asked, will the Antichrist be a Muslim? Our answer was no. We asked, will the Antichrist be the Pope? And again, we said no. Then last week we looked, will the Antichrist be a Jew? And again, our answer was no. But I want to finish here on this message and my title tonight as we finish this complete series on Daniel is why I am not an amillennialist. And if you don't know what that means, don't worry a bit about it. Before we read the scriptures here in Daniel chapter two, many years ago when I first became engaged to Candice and she maybe didn't know much about me before we got engaged, but she certainly has since. But when she was engaged, she visited my mom's house for the first time, looked up at my shelf, all the books on the shelf and she saw the title of one book and it was on its side and she actually misread it. What she read was why I am not a musician. That's what she thought it said. And she thought, here's the answer because she was so musical, playing so many different instruments and teaching in Cork School of Music. She was head of the strings. And so she thought, well, I'm going to have to settle down to this guy being fully convinced that he shouldn't. Why I am not a musician, obviously had a lot of good reasons for not playing an instrument, but I'm so glad she found out the true title of that book. It was why I am not a Muslim. So I've got nothing against musicians are playing instruments, but I'm against a man being a Muslim. I'll preach to you the gospel. I'm glad if you play an instrument, but I don't want you to be a Muslim. But here tonight, why I am not an amillennialist, I believe this is very important and I'm going to try and confine myself mostly to the book of Daniel here tonight, though we will overspill in the scripture. But reading, first of all, in Daniel chapter two, and please follow with me, Daniel chapter two, verse 44. And it says there, In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms. And it shall stand forever. For as much as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that breaking pieces, the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof is sure. Then please turn with me just to one verse in chapter seven, Daniel chapter seven and verse 13. Daniel seven and verse 13. I saw in the night vision and behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away. And his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed. Will you pray with me here tonight as we come to this Bible study. Father, we praise you. We worship you. We thank you for this entire series over the past four months. My God, the people you've encouraged, the friends that we have made as we have taught chapter by chapter. You've brought many friends to us. Lord God, you've made many people members of this body. You have saved people. You have changed people. You have encouraged people. You've informed people. Lord God, you've turned hearts onto you. And Lord God, I thank you for the power of your word that even as we open it up, it has the power to change lives for all eternity. My God, in this study tonight, Lord God, we're not merely critiquing, but we want to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. We want to make him exalted, central, and precious to every single heart that listens to the word of God tonight. We bless you and we love you. And we desire, oh God, that every eye would see that Jesus Christ is Lord and King in Jesus name. Amen. My message, why I am not an e-millennialist, and our entire series was called The Heavens Rule. And you're going to see tonight, although we're critiquing and looking at some thoughts and testing them with scripture, I promise you tonight, you're also going to see that the heavens do rule. The heavens do rule. I mean throughout history, but even more so in the future when Christ comes to rule upon the earth. Now I'm not going to deal with everything I want to deal with tonight or every scripture. Four years ago, we taught four messages on the millennium in our series Authority and Submission. Three years ago, we dealt with the millennium rewards and reigning with Christ in our series, storing up treasures in heaven. And then one year ago, I taught an entire message called The Millennium just on Revelation chapter 21. So I regularly come back to the millennium. I teach it. I believe it's a precious teaching that we are going to reign on the earth with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ physically, literally, visibly in a thousand year kingdom. I believe that with all my heart. And in fact, in this hour and generation, pre-millennialism, in other words, Christ will return physically and establish a thousand year kingdom reign upon the earth. That's what pre-millennialism is. After Jesus comes, his kingdom is going to come visibly on the earth. And by far pre-millennialism is the most dominant Christian prophetic view in our world today amongst genuine Christians. It is the dominant view, but let's not be relaxed, thinking that we don't need to defend it. I believe we do need to defend every teaching that we hold. We shouldn't become lazy thinking everyone believes this because they most certainly do not. Do you know, it wasn't always this way. It's very unique that this is the dominant view today. But actually in the time of the reformation and for hundreds of years, there was a different teaching that was dominant amongst the reformers, the Puritans, great leaders, and even great revivalists. And I'm going to deal with that tonight. I'm speaking here tonight, why I am not an a-millennialist. Now what is an a-millennialist? The word a-millennial means no millennium. In other words, no literal millennium. They'll say they do believe in it, but in reality for us to believe what we do here, they really don't. They spiritualize everything in an extraordinary manner. Now, John Calvin, who affected so many lives over the past 500 years, he wrote in his Institute on this teaching that I hold and that you believe, and he called it a fiction. And in fact, he wrote in his book that it was too childish either to need or to be worth a refutation. So he didn't even try to refute the teaching of the millennium, a thousand year reign. He said, it's child's play. It's ridiculous. It is mere fiction. And in fact, as I told you before, Calvin did not write a commentary on the book of Revelation. Revelation was a closed book to him. Well, I want to tell you what else was a closed book to him. The teaching of Bible prophecy for the end days. Now, I don't have as great a mind as Calvin or some of these other men. I want to tell you straight out. When I left high school, I done seven GCSEs. Six of them, I got F4 and F did not mean fabulous. I want to tell you. And I got 1A, which was for art. So I failed my English, my maths, but I want to tell you when I left school, God opened my mind remarkably and I've given myself to submission to the word of God, to the study of scriptures and to believe nothing but what I find written in the Holy Bible. I do believe in the word of God. So we are going to address this teaching of amillennialism. I'll explain what it is and I'll address it. I won't deal with everything, but I pulled out three specific points here in relation to the book of Daniel that I believe I've got to deal with it. Why? And you may say, why do I believe in a thousand year reign when so many great men, great teachers, great theologians believe differently? Well, I'm going to show you tonight and having failed six of my GCSEs, you can decide if I believe the scripture and expound it correctly or whether you need to go seek great intellectual teachers of theology. I'm going to give you three points here. My first point, why I do not believe in amillennialism and I am not an amillennialist is number one, because of its hyper spiritualization. I believe this teaching takes the Bible and introduces hyper spiritualization. Let me tell you what they do, because there's a lot of tricks of the trade with amillennialists. They point out holes in our arguments. In other words, when you first meet one of these men, believers, Christians, and many of them are godly men, the first thing they'll do is show you the holes in our arguments. In other words, they attack before presenting what they believe. They begin to show holes in our arguments. They also ask you questions at times that you don't know the answer for. If you're a young believer, that is a terrible thing to be asked Bible questions when you haven't studied everything or know the answers to everything. They'll accuse you, and I particularly, of always taking things too literally. In other words, we read Bible prophecy and we say that's going to happen literally as it's written, and we accept that. They accuse us of taking Bible prophecy and literalizing it far too much. In fact, one of the authors that I'm responding to here tonight, he says the literalist view is extravagant and absurd to take it literally. What I've taught you and Daniel all of these months, basically, they say it is absurd, the view that I've actually given. Also, they point to extremes and excesses of those that teach pre-millennialism. We know at the minute that there's those that teach the vaccine is the actual mark of the beast. Now, that can have a realm of truth, but it is not accurate. They pick these people out, or those who make false claims every year. They use these as an example of those that believe in the literal interpretation of prophecy. One of my family members many years ago, I announced that he'd become a millennialist. I laughed at first. I thought it was ridiculous. I gave no time to it. He had such a pile of theological books, all old books, and he had so many questions. In fact, he handed me a sheet with 100 questions a pre-millennialist needs to answer. That it actually, this is how they approach you with all of these arguments and with much theology, big words, much learning and questions. You know what? This is the first means by which they try to approach you. That's why I want to deal, first of all, I do not believe them because they hyper-spiritualize Bible prophecy. They accuse me that I take it too literally. I deny that. I believe they over-spiritualize Bible prophecy. Let me just take you, one of the main books, The Momentous Event by Greer is one of the most popular. It's printed by Banner of Truth. It is everywhere. It is everywhere in secondhand bookshops. Let me tell you in this book, I'll show not only how they hyper-spiritualize Bible prophecy, but they hyper-spiritualize the teaching of the Bible itself. I'm taking this out of this. You see, sometimes until you begin reading their material, you don't know what they believe. While they're attacking us, we're merely barely defending ourselves. When you read them and begin to study what they believe, suddenly you go, I can't believe anyone holds to this. In this book, listen to what he says. Hosea did not really marry a prostitute. That's what's in this book. He actually says, there's no way God would tell a prophet of God to marry a prostitute. Therefore, it's spiritual. It's symbolic. It has some mystical meaning, but it cannot be literal. You see, these are the men who say that we over-literalize things. I want to tell you, they over-spiritualize it. Anyone who would teach, and I believe Calvin did this as well, taught that Hosea, that it was all symbolic. It was all prophetic language. Well, I want to tell you, Hosea did marry that prostitute, or it makes a mockery of an entire book of the Bible. Also in here, they say Ezekiel did not lie on his left side, literally, for 390 days, or on his right side for 40 days. In fact, what he writes in this book, we must beware of reading this about Ezekiel too literally. Now, we're certainly not going to make 390 days, 390 years. That would be impossible. I believe 390 days mean 390 days. 40 days mean 40 days. But do you know what the emailing list says? It said Ezekiel didn't literally do that. These numbers, these days are spiritual. They're symbolic. They mean something else. Now, they never tell us what 390 means. They just cannot do that. That's utterly impossible. But if you start saying Ezekiel didn't really lie on his side, listen, from chapter 2 of Ezekiel through to chapter 4, it also says that he dug through a wall, that he faced Jerusalem and prophesied, that he baked bread, and he done all of these things as symbols in order to prophesy. Are we going to spiritualize the baking of bread, facing Jerusalem, and breaking a wall through his house? Are we going to begin doing that? Do you see how ridiculous they do? These are the men that tell us that we shouldn't take Daniel literally. Also, these same men in the same book, in Psalm 90, he said the 70 years that have been given to a man. Remember where it says 70 years is a lot of time. And if you reach 80 years old, well, they say that's symbolic. That 70 years, it doesn't mean literally. It's just a symbolic general number. Now, I want to tell you, most people get their 70 years in. The Bible is not playing games in numbers. But see what I'm saying here, and I'm just laying the foundation. I am not an amillennialist, because they hyper-spiritualize the Bible, and specifically, they hyper-spiritualize Bible prophecy until it doesn't mean anything. Let me take you to the book of Daniel here. And in Daniel chapter 7, we read about the 10 kings who are represented as 10 horns. They would have said 7. 10 horns on the fourth beast. Now, those 10 horns on the fourth beast, they are horns. What do they represent? They represent 10 kings. So the symbol is the horns. The meaning of it is 10 kings. That's what Daniel 7 says. But you know these men, and I've got all of their books here. I read them from time to time when I'm relaxing. But do you know what they say? In this book, here's a man called Sam Storms. One of the greatest books, I read it last year on my week off. This is what a preacher does. He has strange, relaxing habits. But I read his book on his defense of amillennialism. He started as a premillennialist and for many years was taught under great premillennialists. But he converted or changed his view as the years passed to be an amillennialist. Well, do you know what he writes in this book about the 10 kings? And I've studied him carefully. He says, well, these 10 horns or 10 kings, they could mean 12 or they could mean 15 kings. The 10 horns and the 10 kings are symbolic. The 10 is an indefinite large number of kings. And I'm telling you what they actually say. 10 represents completeness. 10 is the number of completeness. And so between the fourth beast, the Roman empire, and the rise of the little horn, who some of them believe is the papacy or the last day antichrist, whoever they say that is. But they say during this period, these 10 kings are an unspecified amount of men. So when it says 10, it doesn't mean 10 kings are going to rise on the Roman base. That means it could be 12 or 15 or 20 or 30 or who knows. In fact, there's no specific boundary on it or limitation. Maybe it could even mean nine. Now these same men in their books also teach that on the third Grecian beast that had four horns, notable horns come up on it, they say they are four literal kings and four literal generals that followed Alexander. Do you see what they're doing? In one place, they take it literally. In the other place, they spiritualize it. Now that's someone, I'm not the one that's being inconsistent. I believe a millennialist, when you really go into their teaching, it becomes so radically confusing, contradictory. They contradict themselves constantly. And what they do with Bible prophecy makes it no prophecy at all. So 10 doesn't mean 10. It can mean any number of kings whatsoever. And this is what they teach within their books. Now let's go to Daniel 9 here. I just want to show you how they over-spiritualize Bible prophecy. And I don't, I take it literally, unless it's very evident that it's symbolic. You see, if it's 10 horns, those horns I don't take literally. The beast I don't take literally. That beast, the four beasts are symbolic. The horns that come up are symbolic. But what do the horns mean? Well, the horns mean kings. Therefore, I take them as 10 literal kings. Why? Because the Bible teaches us. Same with Revelation chapter 17, when it mentions the 10 kings again. I don't create my own interpretation. I don't say 10 is a symbol of completeness. Therefore, it's symbolic. In Revelation 17, the angel goes through and interprets the entire vision. Yes, the woman, the beast, the horns are all symbolic, but they're all interpreted in Revelation 17. And guess what? They're exactly the same as we find in the book of Daniel. Well, let's go further here in this hyper-spiritualization. In Daniel chapter 9 in verse 2, it says, in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem. Now, do you know what all these men teach? The 70 years weren't 70 literal years. So when Jeremiah said, you're going into captivity, God's going to judge you and you'll be there for 70 years. They say it wasn't literal. It's symbolic. The number 70 is symbolic. That's what they say. Do you know what that would mean? Daniel misunderstood the text because it says that I, Daniel, understood by books. But here we have to say he didn't understand. He took Jeremiah literally. When he read Jeremiah and the prophecy said 70 years you're going to be in Babylon, 70 years from the God's judgment is going to be, 70 years and Babylon is going to fall. Well, Daniel, when he read it, he took it literally. It says he understood by the books, but there are those that actually say now that you cannot understand by books. You don't say that Daniel was misinformed. He should have made it symbolic. And this is why in the teaching I so emphasized about this 70 years, they were literal 70 years. Jeremiah's 70 years they say was not literal. Let me quote, they were probably not to be taken with chronological precision by the fact that the 70 years of Jeremiah's prophecy were not precisely 70 years. These men in their books say it wasn't 70 years. I taught you clearly and showed you how it was exactly 70 years. There's two different prophecies concerning the 70 years. And when Daniel is writing here, it's another 20 years until the temple will be rebuilt. You know what? It was 70 years from Babylon, from the rise of Babylon to its destruction, the fall, the judgment of Babylon from when Daniel was carried away. And listen, in the book of Zechariah in chapter one in verse 12, Zechariah is prophesying at the end of the 70 years when the temple is rebuilt. Do you know what he does? He mentions the 70 years in his preaching. He stirs the people and they finish the temple. So all these men, Jeremiah believed in 70 literal years. Daniel believed in it. Zechariah believed in it. I certainly believe in it. But these, they spend, they waste an awful lot of ink in their books trying to prove how 70 years does not mean 70 years. They can't give us any definite explanation. In fact, the best they give us, the number 70 years, it's seven times 10. And it actually points to perfection. This multiplying of seven with 10 is pointing to perfection or completeness. That's the most they can do with 70. So it's a prophecy given about something that's going to happen, but they turned the number into a symbolic fluid number that has no definite end, but it did have a definite beginning. You see, Jeremiah prophesied, God is going to judge you. You'll be carried into captivity and you'll be there 70 years. It had a literal, physical time and beginning, and yet they symbolize it. This is very dangerous. And you know what? Very good men have believed this. Very good men have taught this. Great thinkers have taught this. All I am is a flunk at high school, but I want to tell you, I would rather trust to the written scripture. I may not have great intellect like them or great abilities like them, but I believe in the inspired word of God. I'm going to read it the way it's written. I'm going to believe the text. I'm going to hold fast to it. Also in a little bit later in Daniel 9, you'll maybe say, why did they do that with the number 70? They had to do it because of Daniel's 70 weeks that come later in the same chapter. They have to do that to the 70 weeks so that they can cut up the 70th week of Daniel as well. So as we look at the 490 years of prophecy, we dealt with it again very much. And you'll understand there are people who challenge this. They write theologically, they preach, they teach against this. And so I believe we need to answer them. We know that later in Daniel chapter 9, one of the most remarkable prophecies in the Bible, we have a prophecy about 49 sevens or a period of 490 years. And they'll say that isn't literal years. They'll say it's symbolic. They take these 490 years, they believe it's 490 just like we do. And they break it down just like we do. A period of 49 years, then a period of 434 years, and finally a period of seven years. Friends, listen to what they actually do to it in this. They say that the first 49 years, they'll agree it's up to Nehemiah, the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Then they take another period of 434, just like us, which is an entire period of 483 years. And they say it's to Messiah. From the given of the command to the rebuilding of Jerusalem to Messiah, they say it's 483 years. Now listen to what Sam Storm, he's stirring up a storm here, Sam Storms, what he actually taught on this. This is one of the greatest thinker on a millennialism in this generation, I believe. One of the greatest teachers. Listen to what he does in spiritualizing all of this. First of all, he takes this period of 483 years and it's amazing how it goes almost exactly to Christ water baptism. That's what he says. But he says it's not a literal number, it just falls that way. From the given of command, Cyrus, he believes it's Cyrus, all the way through to Messiah is 483 years. They don't believe it's literal. So what do they do with the rest of it then? There's seven years left over. So they say that takes you up to the water baptism. Then you have a further seven years that is going to take place. The next three and a half years is actually taken, it covers the period of Christ's ministry from his water baptism until his crucifixion. And then the last three and a half years, what they do is take it from the cross all the way through to AD 70. So listen for a moment, 483 years is 483 years. The next three and a half years is actually three and a half years. Then the last three and a half years is 40 years. The different ones of these men interpret this differently. Some of them say the first three and a half years actually goes through to AD 70. Now friends, I don't want to boggle your mind here tonight, but all I'm doing is explaining what they do with it. So a period of three and a half years can be 40 years. It could be three and a half years, or it could be 2000 years. A-millennialists teach all of this. They have different ideas, different teachings. Some of them say that this three and a half year period is a literal three and a half year period for the first half of the week. But the second half of the week suddenly becomes 40 years to take you up to AD 70. So what do they do? They have no standard pattern. They are trying to spiritualize this to make it fit a pattern. Do you know what they're trying to do? That the 70 weeks are fulfilled in the first century, that there's no seven years future. They'll say I'm being too literal, that I'm trying to split it up, that my teaching on the 70th week is wrong. I want to tell you, I have studied their teaching carefully. I've looked at their different opinions and nothing could convince me that they are right. What do they do with that one week? In Daniel 9 27, it says, and you know this is the verse given about the Antichrist, and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. Do you know what A-millennialists teach? They teach that he is not the Antichrist, but it's the person of Christ. They actually teach this was fulfilled in the death of Jesus Christ. When it says he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, it means that when Jesus died on the cross, he confirmed the new covenant. It was the beginning of the new covenant. And listen, three and a half year into that period, Daniel's prophecy says that he, the same person, will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease for the overspreading of abomination. What they actually teach, and they have different versions of this, is that Christ's death on the cross brought an end to the blood sacrifices. It finished with the old covenant. It finishes with blood sacrifice. Now Jesus died on the cross, a covenant is signed and sealed here. It is the new covenant in his blood, and it began. Now I want to tell you, this is a very big change. I believe it's Antichrist, and it's in the future, he'll sign a seven-year covenant, that there'll be a third temple. There'll be the starting again of blood sacrifices. You know the interesting thing? A literal view of scripture is coming to pass all around us. Look at Jerusalem at the minute. We're going to see Ezekiel's war happen. It's literally going to happen. The armies are getting lined up right now. Israel is in place as a nation. The email analysts said Israel would never be restored as a nation. Well, they were in 1948. Men like me, a hundred years ago, were teaching Israel will be restored to their nation again. They're going to be in the land before all this happens. The email analysts used to mock that and laugh at it. Well, it happened. It happened. And now Jerusalem and Israel and the Jews getting restored to their nation. You see, they don't believe this. They don't believe this is the fulfillment of prophecy, but I do. I absolutely do. Do you know what the prophecies in Daniel 9 verse 27? It says that abomination of desolation is going to get set up again. Jesus in Matthew 24 said that when you see the abomination of desolation get set up where it ought not to be, then the great tribulation is going to start. That's what Jesus said. But you know what these men say? They say something radically different. Now, listen, I'm going to my second point. Why did I reject this teaching that men like Martin Lloyd-Jones held to, Calvin held to, the Puritans held to, and many, many great writers, even Sam Storms here, a godly, godly man. Why is it I reject it? Because of their hyper-spiritualization. I cannot believe it. It makes these prophecies no prophecies at all. Prophecies that predict nothing in particular or specific, and it makes them everything in general. This leaves us in the dark. How could you know such a prophecy has come to pass? Second of all, why did I not believe this teaching? Why did I believe in a literal thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth? Here's my second point. Their extreme misapplication. I believe they apply the scriptures in an extreme, unbiblical way. Let me prove it from the book of Daniel. And you test it for yourself. In Daniel chapter 2, where we read tonight, in verse 44, it says, and in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and that kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and consume all of these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. For as much as thou saw'st that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof is sure. Look at Daniel speaking to his king. He said, you've had a dream. It's a prophecy, and everything will happen exactly. He said, it's certain, and the interpretation is absolutely sure. And he gives the interpretation about it. You know, a millennial is so spiritualized things, and so apply things, you can never be sure. It is so vague, so broad, so open-ended, that you cannot be sure. But Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, you've received a dream from God. It's got a prophecy of all the kingdoms in world history. It's a remarkable prophecy. It's absolutely sure. Now you remember what we taught in Daniel 2. About the four kingdoms in that statue. It began with Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire, and it went all the way through to the Roman Empire. Those iron legs were the Roman Empire, the fourth empire upon the earth. They were all four kingdoms on the earth. They all reigned over the nations of the world. They were all physical. They were all visible. They were all literal kingdoms, and they had certain time spans. They had a beginning. They had an end. They had a ruler. They had a government. It was seen by the nations of the world. All those nations under their power knew that this was a real and a genuine kingdom. They were world powers. They were physical. Now what does the amillennialists do with this? How do they actually apply it? Now like us, they believe in these four kingdoms. They believe the last was the Roman Empire, the fourth great world empire. But this is what they teach. They take this prophecy in Daniel chapter 2, and they apply it to the New Testament and say that that kingdom, that stone, that mountain actually was established in the first century. They teach that the stone was Jesus Christ, that it was also the kingdom of God that came with the inauguration of the church, and that it brought an end to the kingdoms of this world. In other words, all these kingdoms from Babylon down to the Roman Empire, and then Christ came and set up his kingdom on the earth. You see, if you don't believe in a literal thousand-year reign of Christ, literally, physically on the earth, as is taught in Zechariah 14 and in Revelation chapter 1, if you reject that and spiritualize that, you've got to change Daniel chapter 2. When you get down to the Roman beast in the days of Jesus, you've got to spiritualize all this and say Christ was the stone. He brought his kingdom. And you know what? It hit the feet of this great statue. Let's read this again. For as much as thou saw'st the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold. They say this is what happened when Jesus came, died on the cross, rose on the third day, and sent the Holy Ghost to Pentecost. This was the kingdom of God coming on the earth. And it was symbolically portrayed here. And this was the beginning. In the days of the Roman Empire, the kingdom of God was set up on the earth. And for 2,000 years, it has been spreading on the earth. But listen in Daniel 2 verse 35. Then was the iron and the clay and the brass and the silver and the gold broken to pieces together and became like the chaff and the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away. And no place was found for them. Do you know what this teaching actually teaches? It contradicts what is here. Daniel was prophesying that when the stone comes from heaven, it is a fifth kingdom. It is a heavenly kingdom. It is a spiritual kingdom. It is Christ's kingdom coming on the earth. Do you know when it comes, it is going to come and hit the feet. It doesn't hit the head. It doesn't hit the arms or even the legs. It hits the feet, the two feet of clay and iron. It says in Daniel 2 and 44, in the days of these kings, I believe that means the 10 toes who are 10 kings in the days of these kings, shall the God of heaven set up his kingdom. When you see 10 kings arise on that fourth base, you know God is going to set up his physical kingdom literally upon the earth. You know what's going to happen in those days. Notice that this stone hits the feet, not any other part of it. And when it hits the feet, the entire statue gets destroyed. In other words, those other three kingdoms, they continue their influence. The Persian kingdom today continues its influence. The Medo-Persian empire, the Babylonian, the Grecian, all of their influence continues in our world today. But see that fourth base, the Roman beast, we're actually told that Christ is going to set up his kingdom on the earth in the days of those 10 kings. This is also revealed in Daniel chapter 7. And when he sets up his kingdom, you know what's going to happen? There'll be no place found for them. In other words, if they were true, when Jesus set up his kingdom on the earth, there was all of the influence of these kingdoms was destroyed instantly together at the same time. And also at that same time, there was no more place found for them. Now, if Calvin and Martin Lloyd-Jones was right, and if Sam Storms is right, let's look at this for a second. The problem here is that Rome continued as an empire for 400 years. In fact, it advanced after this point. After the first century, it was advancing, spreading, becoming stronger. And it continued to do that for 400 years. It did find a place. It expanded. It's impossible that they can be right concerning what they do with Daniel chapter 2. In the days of the two, the stone comes. But that didn't happen 2000 years ago. There were not 10 kings on that Roman beast when Jesus came to set up his kingdom on the earth 2000 years ago. There were not 10 horns on that beast. You see why they need to spiritualize these horns. Do you realize why they need to spiritualize all this? Do you understand now why Calvin never actually expounded the book of Revelation? Because they can't be clear or sure about anything. They just have an idea. They teach it. They say Satan is bound for 1000 years spiritually, symbolically at the present. We're in the tribulation now. We're in the millennium now. The devil is in the pit now. All of this comes out of a confusion where they do not take the scriptures literally. You see, I believe there's a second great problem, extreme misapplication, extreme misapplication. Let me give you their most extreme misapplication from the book of Daniel. This will shock you how great thinkers, theologians, doctors of divinity could believe this. In Daniel chapter 7 and verse 9, let's read the scripture. I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the ancient of days did set whose garment was white as snow and the hair of his head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. Thousands, thousands ministered unto him and 10,000 times, 10,000 stood before him. The judgment was set and the books were opened. Do you know what I believe this is? It's the second coming of Jesus Christ. The heavens are going to rule. I assure you in this world, I don't care how dark it gets. I don't care how hard it gets. I don't care how depraved it gets in this generation. The Lord Jesus Christ, the ancient of days is coming again. There's coming a day when the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come in all of his majesty and power. When the books are going to be open and judgment is set. Listen, just after these scriptures, it says in verse 12. Sorry, let me go to verse 13. And I saw in the Ephesians and behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient of days and they brought him near unto me. Now for me and for you, when you read Daniel chapter 7, verse 13, we've looked at the four kingdoms of history. We have seen that that Roman beast, there's going to come up 10 horns and then a final little horn. And then finally in Daniel 7 is a glorious vision of the coming of the son of man on the clouds of heaven. What a remarkable vision. And we see that the saints, the real believers in Christ, those who are about to be rewarded and possess the kingdom. In other words, the saints on the earth really enter into their true inheritance. Daniel chapter 2 shows that that stone, when it comes, will fill the entire earth. It will become the dominant after all empires, all kingdoms are done away with. There's coming a kingdom on this earth saints and the kingdom, the stone, the mountain that we see in Daniel 2 is revealed in Daniel 7. It is the son of man. It is the saints of God possessing the kingdom and literally reigning upon the earth, physically and literally. Now notice in Daniel 7, this scripture about the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven is used by Christ in Matthew 24 when he's teaching about Bible prophecy. The term son of man is used 32 times in the book of Matthew and it always relates to the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe the son of man is the Lord Jesus Christ and when it says that he's going to come in the clouds of heaven, it means literally since it's going to happen. One day Jesus is going to come riding on the clouds of heaven literally and when he does, he's going to instantly establish a kingdom for a thousand years on the earth. But let's look at this prophecy in Matthew 24 and let's look what Calvin, Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Eamon Lainglis, how they interpreted it. In Matthew 24 verse 2, we know that the disciples came and asked a question of Jesus Christ. They were showing him the temple in Jerusalem. In fact, they were boasting on it. They were saying, look at it master. Listen to what Jesus said. See you not all these things, meaning the temple and the stones? Verily, verily, I say unto you, there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. He was given a prophecy about AD 70 that would happen about 40 years later. He was given a prophecy when they wanted him to look at the temple. They were impressed with the temple in Jerusalem. You know what he said? Not one stone is going to be left on another. It happened in one generation. What a warning. He gives a clear prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem. And in fact, in Matthew 24, he refers quotes from Daniel's prophecy at least three times, refers to it about four times. So the book of Daniel is fundamental to Jesus' teaching on prophecy, Bible prophecy. Well, look what they asked him in verse 3. Tell us. This was such a shocking thing that they asked him these questions. Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? What is going to be the sign? Well, Mr. Storms, again, and the AMillennialists, do you know what they teach about Matthew 24? And you know I taught this chapter so many times and expounded it and explained it. But do you know what they believe? They believe from verse 1 through to verse 31 that the entire teaching about signs, remember what we've expounded about the 10 signs, the birth pangs, the beginning of birth pangs, and of the end, the signs of the end, all of that teaching in Matthew chapter 31. Do you know what the AMillennialist teaches? He teaches it was fulfilled by AD 70 in the first century. All of that teaching in Matthew 24. And in fact, they teach that the destruction of the temple in AD 70 was the abomination of desolation. When the Roman general with his army came and marched against the city of Jerusalem, they actually say this was the abomination of desolation. They say that in AD 70, when it was destroyed, that was Christ coming on the clouds of heaven to wreak havoc on the earth. They say it was Daniel chapter 7 being fulfilled, literally being fulfilled, that here comes Christ to judge, to destroy the temple, to scatter Israel. In fact, some teachers go to an extreme level, extreme application, and they say this was the second coming of Jesus Christ. And that period from Jesus' prophecy or his crucifixion through to AD 70, they say that all the 10 signs in the beginning of sorrows were fulfilled. This is what they actually teach, that the great tribulation began at that point, and it was complete by AD 70. Look at Matthew 24 verse 30. It says, and then shall the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Do you know John Calvin said about this, that this happened in the first century. It's not Christ's second coming in the future, but it happened in the past. Now I want to tell you, that is an extreme application. That's my second reason I don't believe this. It is an extreme application to begin to teach this sort of thing, that all of this was fulfilled. And in fact, they say that Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven was fulfilled at that time. But notice in Matthew 24, what does Jesus say when the abomination of desolation is set up immediately after the tribulation of those days. Listen closely, shall the sun be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. They say all of this happened in the first century before AD 70. And then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven and power with great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to other. I really don't need to say much more about this, but you know what, let me quote from them. This has nothing directly to say about the second coming of Christ. That's a quote from them. They teach that the tribulation of verse 29 occurred between verse 33 and verse 70. Then the great tribulation mentioned in verse 21 could maybe continue from AD 70, or sorry, it could be from AD 66 to AD 70 in a four-year period. The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by Cyrus and his armies was the abomination of desolation, was this cosmic chaos. This is what they teach. And in fact, in these books again, they say this is the natural way to understand it. I'm sorry, but this is a very strange application of scripture. Stars fallen from heaven, they say it happened in the first century. But my question is, one of the 10 signs of the beginning of sorrows is the gospel shall be preached in all the earth, then shall the end come. Did that happen before AD 70? Has the end come in AD 70? What about the three warnings about deception in this prophecy? It was the first warning of false prophets doing signs and wonders and deceiving many, many false prophets coming, deceiving many in the church. Did that happen in the first century? No, it didn't. No, it didn't. Not at all. Friends, I can keep going here, but I want to bring you to a third and last application. I haven't covered as much tonight. I'm being very good to you, but I hope I'm shocking you. Here is a teaching that was widely popular for many years. And do you know what? Finally, in this third point, I want to show you how this could be. My third and final point, and believe me, I'm just jumping over notes after note. My third and final point, why do I not believe this? Bad men teaching bad theology to good men. Let me repeat that and listen carefully. Bad men teaching bad theology to good men. Does that happen in the church? Oh yes, it does. Martin Lloyd-Jones was one of the greatest Bible expositors of the last generation, a godly man. The Puritans were some of the greatest preachers of church history that England ever knew. The Reformers set Europe on fire and affected our entire world by preaching the gospel of salvation. These were great men, but somehow they are men of their age and they picked up their ideas from previous men. That's why I said they are good men, but they picked up their bad theology in this point on Bible prophecy. They picked up bad theology from bad men. And I'm going to prove it before I close here. I'm going to mention the two first great teachers of amillennialism. You see, the church started by teaching pre-millennialism. And it's easy for me to actually show that or teach that here tonight. One of the first teachers clearly of pre-millennialism or a literal, physical reign of Christ on the earth was a man called Papias. He was born in the year 60 in the first century. He lived through to about 130 and he was a great teacher of pre-millennialism. He lived in the country of Turkey. He once heard John the Apostle who wrote Revelation. He heard him preach. And in fact, he grew up and knew many elders, godly old elders all across the seven churches in Turkey who had been appointed by John the Apostle and who had sat under the Apostle's teaching. Well, this Papias knew these men and wrote on the millennium that it would be for a thousand years, it would be physical, literal, and it would center on the city of Jerusalem. For the first 200 years of church history until about the year 200, pre-millennialism was dominant all across Asia Minor, all across North Africa, and even all across Egypt. I can trace when the change actually come. One man that was affected by Papias was a man, a famous teacher called Irenaeus. He lived from the year 130 to 202, the year 202. He become a Bishop of Lyon in France. And in fact, his teaching on pre-millennialism spread all through France, Britain, and even into Ireland. And there's many other great teachers, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Methodius, and many others. They actually taught this. So what went wrong? What happened? I believe two key men who were bad men taught a bad theology that later affected great and godly men. I know it's a shocking point, but I'm just giving you history, just telling you what happened in history. We've touched on this subject, but my key thing here is why I don't believe it. First of all, because of their extreme spiritualization of things. Second of all, because of their extreme application. They deny that Christ coming out of the clouds is a second coming and that Matthew 24, they make it no prophecy at all. They say there's no predictions, no signs for you and I in Matthew 24. But this third one, I don't like bad men. I don't believe in reading the theology of bad men. I certainly don't want to receive the theology of bad men. Two men for you as we close, Origen and Augustine of Hippo. These two men were the two greatest first teachers of amillennialism, no millennial reign of Christ. These two men become the greatest writers that turned the tide, that turned the Catholic church to believe in teaching and spreading amillennialism. Yes, amillennialism was a Catholic doctrine, predominantly a Catholic doctrine. First of all, let me point out this man to you called Origen who arose in Alexander in the nation of Egypt. Do you remember I'd mentioned him before when we were talking about the Bible translations and about the text of scripture? You remember how I mentioned about Westcott and Hort and how they rediscovered more than 150 years ago a Greek text that they said had been lost, forgotten, hidden, unused since at least the year 450 AD, being lost for almost 1500 years. They revived this text. This corrupt text is used in all of our modern Bibles, not in mine, thank God. Now, I showed you the man behind that ancient text that come out of Alexander in Egypt was this very man, Origen. Let me remind you who he was. His influencer as an interpreter of the Bible was remarkable in around the year 200. This is when things changed and amillennialism become prominent. He was a teacher of amillennialism. He had a very independent interpretation of scripture. In other words, he departed from those around him. Previous great teachers, he had his own way of interpreting scripture. He used his intellect, his mind to come to the Bible. He wasn't careful to depend on the Holy Spirit. I do not believe he was born again and yet he's affected the church for 2000 years. I believe he was an apostate. I believe he was a false teacher. Now, he had an excessive devotion to allegorical senses or teaching. In other words, he symbolized everything in the Bible. His father was thrown in prison, persecuted for the faith and was a godly, godly man, but this is the son he produced. Fathers, be careful of the sons you produce. They could damage the church of Christ. They could really damage. Well, this Origen actually was grounded and taught in Plato. He was saturated. His thinking and he used it in teaching the Bible. In fact, he had been a pagan Greek philosopher and he brought all of that knowledge. He was a brilliant man. He had a photographic mind. He was very intelligent, highly educated, but he brought all this pagan Greek philosophy to the Bible and began to expound it. He raised up a Bible school in the city of Alexander and he taught there for three years. You know what he taught? He taught amillennialism. He began to spiritualize the prophecies in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, but not only that, let me tell you what else he taught. He taught the perpetual virginity of Mary. In fact, he was one of the first to ever teach that Mary was always a virgin. He was the first to actually teach it. He grounded himself in Gnostic writings and would quote from them. He did not accept Bible as history, the Old Testament, Genesis. He said that the Bible wasn't for common folk like you and me because we couldn't understand it. He, an intelligent theologian, had insight to the Bible. He knew how it was symbolic, how to spiritualize it, how to apply it, but you and I couldn't do that. He taught soul sleep. He also taught baptismal regeneration, that water will save you and wash away your sins. He taught universal salvation, that everybody in the end will be saved eternally. Everyone, even Judas. He denied the divinity of Jesus Christ. He taught purgatory for the cleansing of sins, transubstantiation, also transmigration and reincarnation. All of this was in his teachings origin. He gave us this false manuscript of the Bible, but not only that, he gave us all of the seeds of Catholicism. Not only that, he gave us the seed of amillennialism that was so destructive. He also denied the temptations of Jesus Christ were literal. He didn't believe they literally happened. He denied that Genesis 1 to chapter 3 were literal. He didn't believe it was true history. He taught many other things that if babies weren't baptized, they would go to hell. I could keep going on here, just giving you his heresies one after another, but he taught that you had to spiritualize the thousand years of Revelation 21. He said you had to spiritualize these prophecies in Daniel. Even today, he's considered a great writer, a great teacher, a great proponent of the scriptures. You know what? He affected men like Augustine of Hippo. Let me take you to Augustine of Hippo. Who was he? If you read his story, he's initially a great convert to the faith. He was a terribly immoral man. He lived near the end of the fourth century and he'd become one of the greatest teachers in early church history. Do you know what? When he wrote his testimony, wrote a remarkable book, how his mother had become born again. She was a woman of God, a woman of prayer, and she prayed for her son, Augustine. Augustine, he was an immoral man, ran after many women, was a drunkard, and delved into every sort of sin, was just a pagan, a rebel, a vile, vile man. Do you know what? Through the preaching of the gospel, he got mightily converted and born again and very quickly become a great teacher. He had a remarkable mind and a remarkable ability. Do you know he had to have 10 men, stenographers, men who would write down and he would just give all his teachings books. He left behind much teaching, remarkable teaching. He just flowed like a river. He didn't have enough writers to write down. He didn't write himself. He needed these 10 men to write down all of his teachings. But listen, as the years passed by, he began to listen to other men, read books, read Origen and other men. He began to promote and teach certain doctrines. Listen what they were. He was a bold proclaimer that Mary was sinless. In fact, other teachers taught this, but he was a fundamental man. He's the one that made it the dominant teaching of the Catholic church. Do you notice that all these men are great thinkers, gifted preachers, prolific writers. They were the dominant theologians of their hour. They impress people with their learning and their education. But you know what? They moved men away from the simplicity of the written scripture. Don't you belittle yourself if you think you don't have a great mind or great education, believe the word of God, hold fast to it. Who was this Augustine then? He'd become a great leader, a great church leader, a great Catholic, one of the foremost Catholics. But listen, he initially taught and forged the doctrine of the persecution for genuine Christians. He actually began to teach the state persecution of Christians. If you as a Christian in the fourth century didn't become a Catholic, he taught a doctrine and created it from the Bible that you ought to be persecuted. He also taught from the Bible that the wheat and tares meant tares ought to be church members. They could sit in church, take communion, be a member of the church every week. Even if there are sinners, fornicators, liars, they could stay in that church and still be Christians. Just leave them alone. Leave them in the local church. He also taught that where the scripture said that we ought to compel men to come into the kingdom of God, that meant to force them. We ought to use the sword. And all the other Christian groups of that fourth century, he said they ought to suffer if they're not going to become good Catholics or join the Catholic. He believed in forcing men at sword point into the Catholic church, that they became regenerate through water baptism. And in fact, through the North of Africa, he persecuted Christians in a terrible, terrible way. Finally, in the year 415, under his influence, the death penalty was imposed. And the Roman soldiers or forces began to go into the homes of Christians who refused to become Catholics, to burn their houses down, confiscate the Bible, throw them in prison, and have them murdered. The Donatists or the Christians of North Africa who believed in premillennialism, do you know what they said about him? They said, Augustine wages war with kisses, that he teaches and promotes unity by war. They spoke about him, they said of Augustine that he spoke frequently about love and grace and unity and truth. And yet he militantly supported the persecution of real Christians. See, he, Augustine used to meet with them and debate theology. And he began to lose, he lost against them. And so he moved from arguing doctrine to contend them with the sword. I could tell you an awful lot more about Augustine, but you know what? He became the greatest teacher of church history on a millennialism. He wrote a book near the end of his life called The City of God, about a thousand pages long. And he took all the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, of Zechariah, he spiritualized them. And he said at the end of the Roman empire that the kingdom of God has come on the earth. He was a real a-millennialist. And he said, now we're spreading. That's why he believed that as the Catholic church, they are going to reign, rule, put down all power, that they should have dominant authority over governments and principalities. Do you see what actually happened, friends? And I'm only touching on this tonight, but I've given you my three reasons, my three clear reasons, and I could give you many more as we go on. But they over-spiritualized. They have an extreme spiritualization of scripture. They then apply the scripture in a remarkable, extreme fashion. But you know what? Great men who are a-millennialists today, if you trace back, they got their theology, their bad theology from very bad men. I'm only touching on this tonight. I'm cutting to the chase. I'm going to finish here tonight. But I want to tell you and remind you what it says in Daniel chapter 12 and verse 4. It says, but thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even until the time of the end. What did the angel say to Daniel in the very last chapter of Daniel? Daniel, the prophecies, the visions, the things you've been writing down of all that I've given you, I want you to shut up the words. I want you to conceal it, close it up, protect it for a future time when it's going to be needed. You see, often when it says about shutting the vision up, it means it's for a time. It's for an era in the future. He was told that he was to seal the book or to put a genuine mark of authenticity on it. It's genuine. It is real. To put a seal on it says, don't you add anything. Don't take away from it. And let me just add this, don't spiritualize prophecies that are literal. And things that are come, don't say that they're past. Shut up the book, seal it for a time. When is the book of Daniel to be shut up? The words in Daniel from chapter 12 all the way back to chapter 1, there's many prophecies there. They are shut up for a certain time. It is a book sealed up until the end of time, the very end of time. When is that time? Well, he was told at the end, many shall run to and through and knowledge shall be increased. I know we always apply this to planes, trains, and automobiles. We apply this to the internet, to G5, if you dare have it, and to microchips in our world. But let me tell you, that's not what this prophecy is about. It's saying concerning the prophecy of Daniel, this book is going to open up remarkably in the last hour. And in fact, many shall run to and through. They're going to push forward. They're going to create a great stir or froth upon the sea. They're going to pursue with diligence, with effort, with toil, with labor. There's going to be an increasing rise of energy exerted in understanding the book of Daniel as the end gets closer. I'm going to tell you, for the past 200 years, that's been increasing. And I believe it's reaching the very apex of this. It also says a knowledge shall be increased. What's it talking about? The book of Daniel. It's not talking about knowledge in our world, and that's a very wonderful application. But it's talking about knowledge of the book of Daniel being greatly increased, multiplying, being heaped up high, our insight to it, our understanding of it becoming remarkable. Friends, I believe the book of Daniel is a remarkable book. It's a book for this day. It's going to become very precious to you. Aren't you glad that the Maccabeans took Daniel's prophecy literally and put courage in them? They made a stand against the abomination of desolation in the temple. They stood and rose up against Antiochus and refused to compromise with his global religion. Only a people who take Daniel literally are going to know how to act in this hour. I fully believe it. And as we close, remember what Jesus himself said in Luke chapter 10, verse 21. He said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent. Would you have revealed them unto babes, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. As I close and as we pray here tonight together, we have closed with the entire series of Daniel. And again, we're only touching it lightly. There's so much more to say on it. We've dipped into it, but I can tell you the book of Daniel is for this hour, for the church of this age. It's for every age, for the church of every generation. But I assure you, more so than ever before, it's for our day, our time, and this hour. And I believe there's got to be an opening of this book. It wasn't fulfilled 2,000 years ago. This book is going to become the most amazing book and the church is going to know how to respond today because of what it says. And you know what? These things have been hidden from theologians like Augustine, Calvin, Martin Lloyd Jones, but they've been opened up and revealed to babes, just like I was as a kid. I believe the Lord does that. You can fail all your school exams, but you can learn from the Holy Spirit and the written scriptures. Will you pray with me as we close? Father, we thank you for this wonderful book of Daniel, the prophecies, its challenge. Surely the heavens do rule. My God, we are looking for your kingdom to come on the earth. We know that Jesus is going to reign literally, physically, and visibly on the earth. The kingdoms of this world, the nations of this world, the tribes and peoples of this world are going to worship you. They're going to submit to you. They're going to bow down and acknowledge your reign. All eyes are going to see you coming on the clouds. All nations are going to wail when you come on the clouds of heaven. That didn't happen in the first century. Lord God, Matthew 24 never happened then, but we see the signs. We see everything being set in place. Israel is in her place. Russia is in her place. Iran is in its place. The nations of the world are in their place. Turkey is in its place. The church is experiencing apostasy, but oh God, there's coming a last move of the Spirit of God. Father, we pray, make us ready for this last hour of church history. Lord God, surely the heavens do reign. They've reigned all through history. They reign right now, and they're going to reign one last time when the heavens come down and rule upon the earth. Lord Jesus, Maranatha, we are looking for your coming. Our redemption draws now. We see all the signs around us. We see it all lining up, and my God, our hearts are excited. We are those that read the signs and understand them, and where our eyes are upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, I pray for my friends. Protect them from false teachings, from error, from heresies, from the influence of bad theology, from bad men, from over-spiritualizing and missing the blessing of God. Hide your word in our hearts tonight. In Jesus' name, amen, amen.