In the book of Genesis Jacob the patriarch prophesied:
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh come;
And unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Genesis 49:10
This prophecy finds its fulfillment in Jesus on the cross. Jesus says in John 12:32:
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. John 12:32
The cross is the fullest revelation of God’s love. Throughout the ages Jesus has drawn men and women, boys and girls to Himself through His death on the cross.
Today I would like to focus on that great gathering of God’s people that began when Jesus was crucified. But did you know that the bible says that the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world? Jesus has been drawing men and women from the very first moment when Adam and Eve realized that they their sins had separated them from God. The bible says in Jeremiah 31:3:
The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:
Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Jeremiah 31:3
God has been been drawing men and women to Himself through Jesus’ death on the cross. But while His love draws some many others resist. In the garden of eden just after Adam and Eve sinned God explained that not everyone would respond to His love. Those that love God would respond to the cross while others would reject the grace being poured out on the world through God’s Son. God explained how their would be two camps of people in Genesis 3:15 saying:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15
Like oil and water God’s people and the devil’s descendants were not to mix together. God told the Israelites in Leviticus 20:24:
24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people. Leviticus 20:24
God has been separating His people out from the very beginning. First it was the sons of Seth that for a time remained separated from the daughters of Cain. But after their unholy union God again separated Noah and His family from a fallen world. But after the flood under Nimrod’s reign the people gathered together at the tower of Babel. And the godly line again found itself in danger of being swallowed up by the wicked. So God came down and destroyed the tower, confused their languages and scattered the people abroad. And then he plucked Abraham out of Ur and brought him to the land of promise. God has been separating His people out of the world for all of human history. But as we come to the conclusion of the great controversy God is doing more than just separating out. He is gathering His people. Moses predicted the gathering of God’s people at the beginning of Deuteronomy 30. Please turn there with me starting in verse 1:
1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, 2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 3 That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. Deuteronomy 30:1-3
This past week we heard that God is sealing His character into our hearts and minds. In this prophecy of Moses we learn that when God has caused us to obey His voice He will turn our captivity and have compassion on us. He will return us to the land of promise and gather us from all the nations. This prophecy has its direct fulfillment in the work of the gospel. Isaiah writes in Isaiah 60:4,5:
4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see:
All they gather themselves together, they come to thee:
Thy sons shall come from far,
And thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.
5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together,
And thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee,
The forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. Isaiah 60:4,5
It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that draws men and women from every nation on earth. The apostle James understood that God would gather His people when He wrote in James 1:1-4:
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. 2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:1-4
Through the gospel God has been gathering His people. David wrote about this in 1 Chronicles 16:35 saying:
Save us, O God of our salvation,
And gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen,
That we may give thanks to thy holy name,
And glory in thy praise. 1 Chronicles 16:35
Isaiah writes in Isaiah 11:12:
And he shall set up an ensign for the nations,
And shall assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:12
God is gathering His people together. God is gathering them through the gospel. Jesus told us in Matthew 24:14:
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14
It is the truth about Jesus that warms men’s hearts. Like moths to a flame and flowers to the sun our hearts will be drawn to Christ when we reflect on the infinite love poured out in the gift of heaven. Through the gospel God is gathering His people. He is gathering them to the glorious holy mountain: the place where God’s people worship Him in spirit and in truth. It isn’t a certain land or country. It is a place in time. As God’s people worship Him on His Sabbath throughout the world they are being united in the common cause of Christ. They are being prepared for the great day of God almighty. But they are not alone. Satan too is gathering his followers. He to is preparing them for the last battle. Turn with me to Revelation 16:12-14:
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Revelation 16:12-4
Just as God’s people have been gathered through the gospel to the glorious holy mountain to worship God in spirit and in truth. So too the devil is gathering his followers to destroy those that would follow Christ. Turn with me in your bibles to Daniel 11:40-44:
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him:…
In this passage the king of the south pushes the king of the north. And the king of the north is the papacy. We know this because Daniel 11 follows the same sequence as Daniel 2, 7, and 8. In the visions given in these chapters papal Rome is the last power on earth before Jesus comes back. In Daniel 2 the papacy is represented as the feet of iron and clay that do not mix together. Just as God’s people cannot truly mix with the world. In Daniel 7 the papacy is represented as the little horn that made war with the saints. In Daniel 8 the papacy is represented as the horn that magnified himself and that cast the truth to the ground. And now here at the end of Daniel 11 the papacy is represented as the king of the north that causes many to “fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil.”
While the bible is clear that God is the true king of the north. The papacy is called this because it sets itself up in place of God. The bible predicted this in 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 saying:
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4
It is this man of sin that sits in the temple of God that the bible calls at the end of Daniel 11 the king of the north. And here in Daniel 11:40 the king of the north is attacked by the king of the south. In fact the original language says that he is gored. He is mortally wounded.This happened in 1798 when atheistic France led by Napoleon took the pope captive and put him in prison. But the papacy, the king of the north came back from this mortal wound. As we continue to read in Daniel 11:40 we see that he comes back against the king of the south. The bible says:
…and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and othe Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. Daniel 11:40-44
Last week we studied the tidings from the east. We studied this when we studied the sealing of God’s people. It is this news that causes the papacy to be troubled. Because the sealing of God’s people means that the devil does not have the whole world. It means that there are still some that are loyal to God. These are the ones that God has gathered through the gospel. These are the ones that will follow Him wherever He goes. These are the ones that have been gathered to the glorious holy mountain. They have been gathered to mount of the congregation. And when this happens the devil is furious. And so we we read in Daniel 11:45 how he responds. The bible says:
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. Daniel 11:45
The devil through the agency of the papacy, the false king of the north, plants his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain. In prophetic symbolism the papacy plants his palace between the people of the world represented by the seas and the remnant represented by the glorious holy mountain. The great spiritual battle finally comes and it is decided not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God. The great dividing line between the remnant and the world is not over ethnicity, gender, or political affiliation. It is over who has the seal of God and who has the mark of the beast. The remnant are sealed. They are gathered on the glorious holy mountain. They worship God as the creator and redeemer on the sabbath day. While the rest of the world has accepted the spurious sabbath of Sunday as the mark of the beast.
The climactic events at the conclusion of Daniel 11 elaborated upon in Revelation 16 and predicted throughout God’s word are soon to be upon us. Will you heed God’s call and allow Him to gather you from the nations? Will you submit to His word and obey His voice? God is gathering His people to the mount of congregation and He wants you to be there. In Isaiah God says:
6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord,
To serve him, and to love the name of the Lord,
To be his servants,
Every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,
And taketh hold of my covenant;
7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain,
And make them joyful in my house of prayer:
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar;
For mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. Isaiah 56:6,7
Let us come and gather before the Lord. Let us worship Him on His holy hill. Let God’s people rejoice. He has redeemed us through His Son. He has caused us to walk in His ways. And now He is gathering us to Himself on the mount of the congregation. Amen.
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