~~ Birth of John ~~
This is Saturday, May 1, 2004. I rose early this morning at 3a.m. To pray and work on this message. God started giving me this message last night as I was up studying the Word. May His great blessings be upon this message and use it to bless his sheep.
Much more took place at the birth of John the Baptist than has been realized. This is not just the miraculous birth of a child to parents of old age. The events around this birth changed the entire course of this whole world. The very method of getting to God, salvation, eternal life, and the course of the world changed with the birth of John.
Nothing about this conception or birth was normal. It was all supernatural. It was the very heart of God’s dealings with mankind. It changed forever the way of life on earth. It changed forever the spiritual condition of mankind.
Da 2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
The ‘feet�?of the great ‘image�?was part of potters�?clay and part of iron. So, what is this? The potters�?clay is of course human life. But what about the iron? The image had a head of gold. What is that? In the vision Nebuchadnezzar only typed this thing. The real and first ‘head�?of mankind was Adam. This then was the head of gold. This first kingdom extended from Adam to Noah. This was the head of gold. Noah is the second head over mankind. He is the kingdom of silver. Then after Noah came up the third kingdom with four heads. This was the three sons of Noah along with Abraham. From the three sons of Noah, the entire earth was populated and brought up the various languages and different races of people. But Abraham started a new group, which was the Hebrews. This then is those four heads of the third kingdom of mankind on earth.
Then came up the last kingdom to rule the entire earth before the kingdom of Jesus subdues them all and rules forever. This was Moses. Yes the fourth kingdom to rule the earth was LAW. The power and strength of this fourth kingdom was of course the Ten Commandments. These Ten Commandments have full power over the earth. Even to this day, that law has people bound in chains and locked up. This is the ten horns or the ten toes on this great image.
So what is this image? It is mankind of course. The image is your outer man. It is your human flesh. It is the carnal mind. This is what must be destroyed.
Da 2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
See the fourth kingdom was the iron. It is strong, unyielding and bruises. IT must be obeyed fully or it will destroy you. The law changed everything. It did away with freedom and brought mankind into bondage, death. The law demands death and punishment for every transgression. No one could keep the law so all were in bondage and bruised and broken by this law.
Under the law, women were not even permitted into the sanctuary to worship. They were forbidden to even teach the word of God. They were counted as sub-servant members of the human race. They were ruled over by their husbands. Most of the men had no mercy on them. Mercy is not a part of law. This is why the law is iron. It ‘rules�?with an ‘iron�?fist, so to speak.
Da 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
A stone cut out of the mountain... what is the mountain? It is the kingdom of mankind. One member of the human race is set to brake in pieces the kingdom of humanity from the first head, Adam on down through the iron and bring in another kingdom which shall rule the entire earth forever. This kingdom will never have an end.
The first head of Adam ended with a great flood of water. Then came up the bear kingdom of Noah. This kingdom destroyed that first kingdom with the flood. Then came up the four heads of Shem, Ham, Japheth and Abraham. After them came up Moses with law. This fourth kingdom runs to the very end of time. But they are all seven broken by this one stone which came and broke them down.
Da 2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
Why partly strong and partly broken? The strength of the law was made weak by the human flesh. It could never bring salvation. What the law could not do in that it was ‘weak�?through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the LIKENESS or IMAGE of SINFUL FLESH, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.
This sinful flesh then is the great IMAGE, which must be destroyed. The first-man Adam is the man of sin. Our outer man is the image, which we must all destroy or perish eternally.
But man could not accomplish this. They were too weak by the flesh. They could not overcome the law. They were bound by the law and could not get free. So this great IMAGE ruled over all man from Adam until....
Da 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold;
Zacharias, the father of John was an OT Priest. He and his wife were old and had no child. As he was administering his role of the priesthood, an angel came and told him they were to have a son.
Lu 1:14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 1:15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Lu 1:20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
Zacharias was to be dumb until the birth of John. Why? Zacharias was an OT Priest. From the very time the birth of John was announced by the angel, Gabriel, God cut off the OT Priesthood. So, this being dumb by Zacharias is showing the silencing of the OT Law iron kingdom.
The law and the prophets were UNTIL John. So from the moment the birth of John was announced, God cut off that law and prophets, including the OT Priesthood. They went into darkness and silence. But the iron and the clay were MIXED?
Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 2:29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
Your DAUGHTERS shall prophesy. What? This is unheard of isn’t it? No of course not. Had not Hannah, the mother of Samuel given out some very beautiful prophecy? Sure she did, even prophesying of Jesus, his birth and death. Had not Huldah prophesied to King Josiah how things would wind up with him and his kingdom? Of course she did. So what is this? The daughters under that iron law bondage could not even speak. BUT there have always been a few who were free, under grace. If I have found GRACE in thy sight.... Hannah.
But Joel is speaking of a time when all daughters shall be able to prophesy. How can this be? The stone cut out of the mountain without hands brake down that iron kingdom. Glory to God. He brake the other kingdoms also. All of them from Adam to Jesus were broken and blown away. Blown away? How?
Da 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the WIND carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
Jer 51:1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying WIND.
Ac 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty WIND, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
So this mighty wind which came on the day of Pentecost is the wind which blew them (those OT Kingdoms of mankind and law) away. They were to be no more. This mighty WIND destroyed them all. It set up a kingdom, which shall never have an end.
But the IRON AND THE CLAY WERE MIXED.
The two shall grow together until the end. At the end of the world the angels shall come and separate them. Then the iron and the clay shall never be together again. All those kingdoms of gold, silver, brass and iron shall be blown away forever.
Only the clay is not destroyed. This clay is broken and re-made into the image of Christ, who is the IMAGE of God.
But... first he came in the image of sinful man.
Why? Man had fallen. Man had disobeyed God and broken fellowship with God. Only a perfectly obedient MAN could reconcile this broken fellowship. Man broke this fellowship; so only man could fix it. God himself COULD NOT DO THIS. God could not undo what man had done. Only another man could do this. Only another man could please God enough to get God to again fellowship man. God is NOT the one who broke the fellowship; so God could not be the one to reconcile it. It took another man, a kinsman redeemer to reconcile us back to God.
This is why to say Jesus was God is to say we can never be reconciled back to God. God is not the one who broke fellowship; so God cannot be the one to fix it. Man broke it; so man has to be the one to undo the harm which broke the fellowship. This could only be accomplished by one man perfectly obeying the Law and bringing us from under that law which had been added, or placed over man because of his sin.
Once God had locked us down under law, only perfect obedience to the law could set us free. God himself was NOT under that law. Man was. So it took a member of the man kingdom obeying, in order to set us free from the law. By the law shall no one be justified or saved. There had to be another way.
Lu 1:20 And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. 1:21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. 1:22 And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
So, Zacharias, representing the OT Law, could not speak during the time John was forming in the womb of Elizabeth. Why?
Lu 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
A woman was highly favoured by the Lord. Unheard of? Yes, under the law. But under grace, we are all one = the same, or equal. Under grace the daughters shall prophesy. Who can stop them? The law.
Lu 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. Lu 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 1:32 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: 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
A woman found favour with God. She brought forth a Son who was to be given a kingdom, which shall never end. So then, this Son must be the Stone cut out of the mountain without hands. His kingdom then has to be the one, which brake all the other kingdoms and set up a kingdom to rule the earth forever. Glory!
But, the iron and the clay were mixed.
Lu 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 1:40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 1:43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 1:44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 1:45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things, which were told her from the Lord.
Notice something peculiar here-- Mary entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth. She did not salute Zacharias. Why? Zacharias was the OT Priest. Mary, carrying Jesus in her womb, could not go to the OT Priest. She had to go to a daughter of grace. This daughter of grace was carrying the forerunner of the Lord. Jesus came to John right here for the first time!
(cont.)