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| Photo by B Smith from the patio |
601-1 THE COMING MESSIAH-KING
Pastor Henry F. Kulp
Here He comes in Authority
We have before us a very important portion of Proverbs with some important rules for living.
Proverbs 25: 1 - 10 These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable. Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer. Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness. Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen. Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame. Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another: Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.
1/ Verse 5 ...Take away the wicked from before the King.
This, of course, has a broad application. If you want a nation that is going to prosper, and its people are going to be happy, then here are some rules that must be followed, and, of course, the King here speaks of those who are in authority. Again, we must remember that God raises up the authorities in any country.
2/ Take away the wicked. This means remove apostasy, remove false doctrine, remove human viewpoint. Of course, he is speaking of when Bible doctrine was in control.
3/ Romans 13: 1, 2 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
No country has prospered for long that has gotten into sin. You can look down the long avenues of history and you can see this is true. Israel is a great object lesson for all people. When the Word of God was esteemed, and it was honored, they prospered. I don’t know who, but someone said, Israel is the pillar of salt to the nations, crying unto all people, remember.
4/ II Chronicles 14: 1 - 7 So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.
Proverbs 14: 34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
Here we have, Ahijah (Ah By Jab) slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and Asa, his son, reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet for ten years. Asa made many reforms. He took away the altars of the foreign gods, and the high places, the images, and cut down the idols, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandments. The end of the 7th Verse says, ...so they built and prospered.
5/ Anyone who is in authority, and he has authority over a land where wickedness reigns, you will soon find that nation will fall or be in great trouble. As you look about your own nation today, you can see this verse is very true. Of course, we are not a Christian nation, we have never been a Christian nation. People had morals and now they don’t, and we are suffering because of it.
6/ Of course, I believe this verse is Messianic. It looks forward to the coming kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. When the wicked shall be destroyed and all transgressors rooted out of the land when He returns in triumph to usher in that great day.
7/ Luke 1: 30 - 34 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Here we have the announcement of His birth, the promise of His throne, His kingship.
8/ Matthew 19: 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Here He talks about sitting upon the throne of His glory.
9/ Matthew 25: 31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
A wonderful time is coming for this world, and when Jesus Christ rules upon this throne, it will be with law and order.
10/ Revelation 19: 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Here we have the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, He is the Maker of War. This is an important teaching because there has been such maudlin pacifism, teaching that war is wrong in itself. War is not wrong in itself. If it were, Christ would not come making war. The wickedness that we read about in Proverbs, makes war necessary.
Revelation 19: 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
On His head are many diadems. When He was here upon earth, men mockingly put a crown of thrones upon His brow. These thrones were emblems of the curse, put upon the ground in Eden, and He was there being made a curse for us. But here there are many diadems since He is the Lord of lords, and He is the only true POTENTATE.
11/ Verse 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
There is going to be law and order during the Kingdom. I would like to give you just a little summation of what is going to happen during that day of law and order.
12/ Isaiah 34: 1 - 3 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
Here we have a chapter that is truly amazing, and, of course, it is in the future, and we see that God has a controversy with the nations, that is, with the Gentiles, and He will pour out His wrath upon their armies, and, of course, this is the same time as Revelation 19. This is at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
13/ Isaiah 34: 5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is
filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
Here God centers His wrath upon a little country He calls Idumea. Isaiah tells us that God will come down upon the little land with all His fury and judgment. Then in the 6th verse we learn that Bozrah (Baaz Rah), the ancient capitol will suffer a special judgment.
14/ Isaiah 34: 9, 10 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
15/ Isaiah 34: 13, 14 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.
Here it tells us that all kinds of wild animals and fowls shall make their home between the streams, and that no man will pass through this land anymore.
16/ The question naturally arises in the mind of the Bible reader, why does God pick out this one little country for His special wrath throughout the Millennial age? This is very important, for we will see law and order.
17/ To understand what we are talking about, it is well to know that this country is known by several other names in Scripture. Such as Edom, Mt. Seir, Mt. Esau, and the key to God’s great anger against this country can be found in...
Numbers 20: 14 - 22 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers: And when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet. And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him. And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.
18/ This land is about 40 miles wide, and 100 miles long. It lies south of the Dead Sea.
19/ What was the sin? When the children of Israel had left Egypt, because they had spent a long time in Egypt, and they had been made slaves and cried out to God, and God sent an angel and brought them forth out of Egypt. And Moses sent word to those who were in Edom, we are in Cadish, a city in the uttermost parts of thy border, let us pass I pray thee, through thy country. Edom, who was a relative, of course, of Israel, said, thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with a sword. God never forgave the sin of Edom, and He never will. Prophet after prophet predicted the awful judgment and punishment that would come upon this little land.
20/ Isaiah 66: 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.
Here we read of the worship of that glorious age in which we call the Millennium, when God will have Jesus Christ as true King, and He will rule upon the throne of His Father, David. It says, all flesh shall come to worship before me, saith the Lord.
This passage portrays all nations continually and perpetually worshipping the Lord in Jerusalem. This is mandatory, and when the worship is finished, he shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that transgressed against God, for their shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
This is literally a miniature hell on earth. After the worshippers have finished their services, they will go to look upon the dead bodies that have been cast out during their day. It is the unquenchable fire of Isaiah 34.
In that day, the death penalty will be upon all who are rebellious, and they will have their bodies cast into this literal hell on earth. This will be a perpetual reminder of the justice and wrath of God against all ungodliness and all unrighteousness. What more fitting place than Edom could be found for such transgressors.
Psalms 101: 5 - 8 Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.
Here is a Messianic truth, a truth for the Millennium. As Jesus Christ rules with a rod of iron the 8th verse tells us MORNING, BY MORNING WILL I DESTROY ALL THE WICKED OF THE LAND.
He will hold court in the morning and those who disobey will feel His wrath and His judgment. Evil will not be tolerated, there will be swift judgment.
(Editor’s note: This tells you that there will still be sin on the earth even during the Millennium, but there will be no long suffering with the Lord.
Acts 5: 1-11 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
The death / punishment of Ananias and Sapphira is a foretaste of the law and order that will reign during the Millennium. When sin and disobedience raises its ugly head it will be extinguished with His rod of iron. There will be no possibility of rebellion. Remember, Satan imitates every program of God and Communism is Satan’s counterfeit, an imitation of the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.)
21/ Proverbs 25: 5 Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
The last part of that verse tells us, and His throne shall be established in righteousness. The word, established, means STABILIZED, PROSPERED. It is important to see that the only time someone can have a secure, stable government is when wickedness is put down and righteousness is exalted.
22/ Verse 6, 7 Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.
Here we have the fact, that the king’s authority is recognized and no one challenges it. One of the sad parts of our day is that folks don’t want to accept authority. Anarchism is the cry of the hour. Do what I want. I don’t want to be under subjection to anyone else.
23/ HERE WE HAVE A WARNING AGAINST ARROGANCE.
24/ Here the subject is saying, I am just as good as the king. He is no better than I am.
Here is arrogance against anyone in high places or authority.
25/ Luke 14: 7 - 11 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them. When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
In this portion of Scripture, we find that our Lord was invited out to dinner. In this instance, one of the chief Pharisees is His host, and, of course, others were invited to the dinner as well. The other guests were a number of lawyers and Pharisees, and they were watching the Lord in order to find something against Him. The opportunity soon came, for there was a poor distressed man present that Sabbath Day who was afflicted with dropsy. Our Lord’s heart went out to him in pity and compassion. Evidently the sick man was hopeful that the Lord would do something for him, and he, of course, was not disappointed. The Lord turned to the other guests and asked the question, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath Day, for He knew their prejudice. He knew they followed the oral law, rather than the written law. When they did not answer Him, Jesus healed this man, and of course, the Lord knew what was in their hearts.
25/ Since there was no response on the part of the baffled lawyers and Pharisees, the Lord next addresses Himself to the guests as a whole. He noticed how each one sought to obtain the best places at the table, and so He gives them a parable.
When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not in the chief seats, lest a more honorable man than you are has been invited, he who is the host will come to you and say, you’ll have to give your seat to this man, and then you will really begin to know shame as you take a lower seat. But when you are bidden go and sit down in the lowest seat, then he who is host will come to thee and say, Friend, go up higher. For whosoever exalted himself shall be abased and he that humbled himself shall be exalted.
27/ He was merely suggesting that they do what He did. Here is He Who is God in human flesh, He came to this earth, and took the lowest, but in God’s due time, He was given the highest place, where today He sits on the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
Humility is very important, and we have to recognize when God gives authority, and He gives all in authority their place, we must recognize it.
28/ We should always be ready to take the place that God gives us.
Mark 9: 33 - 35 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
Here we have humility, the secret of greatness. And here we have the Twelve, the ones who walked and talked and lived with our Lord, and they had trouble with this matter of human greatness, not being willing to take the place God would give them.
Matthew 10: 35 - 41 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
Ref: 03/08/1981 / 601-1 THE COMING MESSIAH-KING / 06/11/2022
