Verse by verse teaching - Daniel 2:45 "A Stone Cut Out"

We'll be in the book of Daniel this morning, chapter 2. Daniel chapter 2, God willing, we'll be expounding verse 45. If you're new with us this morning, we welcome you. We're so glad you're here. We are a teaching church. We believe you should leave each service, knowing the Bible a little better than when you walked in. And we start at the beginning of a book and we teach chapter 1, verse 1, and we teach every single verse, explaining every verse each Sunday. Until we get through with that book, and then we get another book of the Bible. We explain every verse in that book. The title of the message this morning is A Stone Cut Out, A Stone Cut Out, Daniel chapter 2, verse 45. Which says, For as much as thou sawest, the stone was cut out of the mountain. Now remember, Daniel. Is inter a dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had. King Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler of Babylon, which was a world empire. And he had this dream, and only Daniel could interpret it by the grace of God. And we've looked at the amazing truths in this dream. It showed us exactly when Jesus Christ was going to come and build his church. All you had to do was count down the kingdoms in the image of the dream that Nebuchadnezzar saw, and it would count you down. To the time when Jesus said, On this rock I'll build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And now Daniel is saying, as he finishes, he's been going over the portion of Nebuchadnezzar's dream concerning the Parts of the image, the components of the image, the head of gold, the chest and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of. Brass and the legs and the feet of iron and part of iron and clay. And now, Daniel, by the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, after he finishes explaining to King Nebuchadnezzar what all these Components in this image mean, he now says, for as much I mean, he doesn't just continue. He's been saying, well, now you're the head of gold, and now after you, after your kingdom is going to come the The arms and the chest of silver, another kingdom. And then there's going to come another kingdom after them, and then another kingdom after them. And we counted down Babylon, the head of gold. Then we went to the Medo-Persian Empire, which was the chest and arms of silver. Then we went to the Grecian Empire, which was the The belly and the thighs of brass, and then we went to the Roman Empire, which is where Jesus came and then set up his church. And now he's gone all the way from head to toe on that image. And now he distinctly separates the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in the dream and the stone that Nebuchadnezzar saw in the dream. So he says here, for as much as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain. And when he says, for as much, We would put it this way in these texts. He would say, Now, as far as the stone that was cut out of the mountain is concerned, as if to say the stone cut out of the mountain is another subject altogether. All the components of the image, the head of gold, the chest of silver, etc. were distinct from one another, but they were all part of that same image. They were all part of the kingdoms of this world. Just as our body parts are distinct from one another, but they're all part of the same person, right? But the mountain that the stone was cut from in the image are two different things altogether. The mountain is not part of the image. The image is not part of the mountain. So Daniel now draws a clear line of distinction between the two and lets the king know that the That's a whole other type of kingdom is on its way, King Nebuchadnezzar. It's going to be an eternal kingdom, it's going to be a heavenly kingdom. It is coming, King Nebuchadnezzar. And as Daniel paused to acknowledge the distinction of the stone and his interpretation of the dream, So we, by God's grace, this morning, shall pause to expound on that distinction of that stone here in God's house. The first thing we want to recognize is the stone was part of the mountain, not part of the image. There was a stone, Daniel said, that was cut out of a mountain, and it was cut out of that mountain, it was quarried from that mountain without hands. This stone was part of the mountain, not part of the image. The image represented the kingdoms of this world, as again, we saw last week, Babylon. Persia, Greece, and Rome, but the stone is distinct from the image because its kingdom is not of this world. And Pontius Pilate, the one who ordered Jesus' crucifixion, He was a governor. He was a ruler in the kingdom of iron. You see, the bottom part of that image. He was a ruler in the kingdom of iron. Jesus was the stone that was cut out of the mountain in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. And you know what happened when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate? You had the ruler of the iron kingdom meeting the stone of the mountain kingdom, God's kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. Now I want you to listen to this amazing dialogue between Jesus the stone and Pontius Pilate the ruler. Of the legs and feet of iron. In John chapter 18, verse 33 says, Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again. And called Jesus and said unto him, Art thou the king of the Jews? And that's how come when Jesus came once again, when Jesus came. He preached, rep, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Because Daniel said, before the image, the kingdoms in that image could come to an end. Then the stone would be cut out of the mountain, it would set up its kingdom here on earth. So Jesus had to begin the church before the fall of the Roman Empire. We learned that last week. Now here is Jesus during the time of the Roman Empire, while it's still empire, while it's still the world empire. And he says, on this rock I'll build my church. And he begins building his church on this stone. I'll build my church. He's letting them know I am the stone in Daniel's interpretation in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. It's me, I'm here, just like Daniel said I would be. And on this stone, on this rock, I'm going to build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And now here's Jesus, the stone. Standing before Pontius Pilate, a ruler in this kingdom of iron. And Pilate says, Are you a king? And that's how come the name of king and kingdom is all through the Gospels because it had to fulfill the promise of the book of Daniel. And Isaiah, and the Psalms, and the many other prophecies of the king coming during this time. Verse 34: Jesus answered him, saying, Sayest thou, This thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. See, Pilate's not getting it. Am I a Jew? Jesus came to be king of all nations. Jesus came to be king of every tribe, every tongue, all the four corners of the earth. Pilate's not getting it. Pilate says in verse 35: Am I a Jew, thine own nation, and the chief priest? Have delivered thee unto me. What has thou done? Jesus answered, remember, we just learned that the st was from the mountain. It was from a whole different kingdom altogether. It was not part of the kingdom of this world. That was represented by the image. The stone did not come out of the image, it came out of the mountain. So Jesus answered in verse 36, My kingdom is not of this world. You see, if his kingdom was of this world, it'd been part of that image. But his is part of the mountainous kingdom of heaven. He said, If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight? That I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from hence, as the stone. Cut from the mountain, Jesus' kingdom was not part of the image in Nebuchadnezzar's dream as the Roman Empire was. Jesus wasn't part of the image. He was part of the mountain. Now I want you to listen to what the mountain said about Jesus through the prophet Isaiah. Hundreds of years before Jesus came. Isaiah chapter 28, verse 16. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God. Now, who is the Lord God? That's the mountain. That's the mountain. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone. A stone, you see it? Isn't that good, Brother Doug? Brother Doug, the whole Bible harmonizes together. God, through the prophet Isaiah, is talking about the stone that he gave the dream to King Nebuchadnezzar about in the book of Daniel. And the mountain, through the prophet Isaiah, says, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone. A precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. You know what that make haste means? Oh boy. Oh boy. Oh no no no no. You believe on Jesus? When trouble comes, you won't be crying for the rocks to fall on you. You're going to be. Lord, even so come, Lord Jesus. Man, you're going to be built on the rock. They're not going to be running around looking for some place to hide when Jesus comes. He that believes shall not make haste. Now, languages. Often share the same words with other languages. That'd be like me saying, now, Brother Shepherd's bilingual, it'd be like me saying, Brother Shepherd, how do you say taco in Spanish? They say they're taco. Look at that. See, some words are just synonymous across languages. And now, remember here in the book of Daniel, the particular part of Daniel that we're reading, it's written in the Chaldean language, all right? It's Aramaic. But But the word for stone in the Chaldean language is the same word for stone, like taco and taco. In the Hebrew language, they share that same word. And guess what? The word for stone that God's calling about laying a stone in Zion is the same word. That is first stone in the Chaldean language here that Nebuchadnezzar is dreaming about. The Chaldean word stone is the same Hebrew word stone in Isaiah 28, 16. And of all the things for God in heaven to put on earth. He didn't say, Behold, I lay in Zion an angel. Behold, I lay in Zion some great heap of fire. Behold, I lay in Zion one thing or another of all the things for God to put on earth. God says, He is laying a stone on the earth. And of all the places God is going to put that stone, he says that he's going to put that stone in Zion. Now, Zion was the capital of Jerusalem. That is where King David reigned from. And the Bible promised that Jesus, or well, that it didn't say the word Jesus, but the Bible promised that the coming Savior. Would come and reign on David's throne forever. And so God says, This is what I'm going to do. The mountain says, I'm going take a stone and I'm going to put that stone in Zion. And then he says a few adjectives about that stone. Isaiah describes the stone in greater detail than what Daniel does. Daniel tells us what the stone's going to do. Isaiah tells us what the stone's going to be like. What the stone is going to be. The mountain said this stone is going to be a tried stone. Is that still up there? You see that? A tried stone. Now, do you know what the word tried means? It means it is going to undergo a trial. Is going to under a great temptation, a great trial. And the book of Hebrews, chapter 4, verse 15b says that Jesus. The stone was in all points tempted, that is, tried, like as we are, yet without sin. There's your tried stone right there. Remember, Jesus told Peter, he said, You're Peter, you're a little rock. And on this rock, on this big stone, I'm going to build my church. And now, here we see that Jesus, the stone, was in all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin. God, the mountain, said the stone. And Nebuchadnezzar's dream would not only be a tried stone, but he'd be a precious stone. I don't, he probably can't go back. Oh, look at there. Boy, he's good. He is good. That's lick re up there on the controls, folks. He 's going be a tried stone. He 's going be a precious stone. A precious stone. How about that? The stone of Nebuchadnezzar's dream is going to be precious. And the Bible says in the book of 1 Peter 2, verse 4b, that Jesus is, quote, A living stone, dis indeed of men, but chosen of God and, what's that word? Say it with me, precious. Isn't that amazing? The Bible here, the Apostle Peter, now you understand. The Apostle Peter is the one that Jesus said. Now, you're Peter, your name means a little rock. And on this big rock, I'm going to build my church. And now, Peter goes on to expound on that, and he says, Jesus is a living stone. He's disallowed of men. He's rejected by men, but he's chosen by God and he's a precious stone. Just like the mountain said in the book of Isaiah. And with fascinating detail, God the mountain in the book of Isaiah 28:1, God the mountain said he was going to do what with that stone? He 's going to lay the stone in Zion. Not throw the stone down, not bury the stone. He's going to lay the stone in Zion as a building for, as a foundation, excuse me, for a building. Now look back in Isaiah 28:1. The mountain says, Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation. A stone, you see? The stone, when it comes to Zion, it going to be for a foundation. A tried stone, look here now, a precious cornerstone. What's a cornerstone? It's part of a foundation. And then he says that stone is a sure what? Foundation. Now the stone in Nebuchadnezzar's dream is the same stone in Isaiah's prophecy, which is the same stone in the Gospels, which is the same stone in the epistles. It's all Jesus. And remember, Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar in an earlier verse that the stone Cut from the mountain would set up a kingdom before that fourth empire fell. And we learned last week that the kingdom Jesus set up was the church. We are the kingdom of God. Set up here on earth. The church is a city, and Jesus is her king. The church is a building, and Jesus is her foundation. You see? The church is sheep, Jesus is her shepherd. All of those analogies are with the church. We have to understand the church is a city. Jesus is her king. The church is a building, and Jesus is her foundation stone. Remember what Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16, 18. Through 19. He says, and I say also unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will what build? My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Listen now, and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Aye. Notice those three words there. He's got it split up. Notice those three words. I said unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. Notice the word build. Then he says, And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. You know what those three main words are there? Rock. Build kingdom. The kingdom is going to be built on a rock. The kingdom is going to be a house. Not just a city. Jesus was telling Peter that the kingdom is a building founded upon a stone, and then Peter later explains in 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter 2, verse 5. Peter later explains, telling the church that Jesus is the stone from Daniel and Isaiah, and then adds, ye also. Ye also, not only is Jesus a stone, but ye also as lively or living stones are built up a spiritual house. In holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. That spiritual house is the temple that Jesus built without hands. Remember, Jesus said, You destroy this temple in three days, I'll raise it up. He's going in three days, Jesus rose the temple up, and he's talking about him. But when he rose himself up, he rose himself up as the foundation stone of the church. And now, those of us who believe on him as. Crucified, buried, and risen again for our salvation from sin, we're now like live living stones built up on Him. Because whenever we place our faith. On the gospel of Jesus Christ, we're a stone. Look, just every time you believe on Jesus, another stone's getting added to Jesus. And it builds up a spiritual house. We offer up spiritual sacrifices. When we sing praise to God, it's a spiritual sacrifice. When we believe in Jesus as our Savior, it's a sacrifice. It's the sacrifice of Jesus' cross, and we're believing on him. So he says, we're lively stones built up a spiritual house. That's the temple, again, built without hands. In Isaiah. God the mountain said the stone would be a sure foundation, a sure foundation. Now look with me to the last part of Daniel chapter 2 verse 45. Daniel chapter 2, the last part of Daniel chapter 2, verse 45. Daniel said, The dream is certain, and the interpretation of is what? Sure. We have that on there? No, that's the first part. That's all right. That's my fault. There we go. The interpretation thereof, sure. It's a sure foundation. In Isaiah, God the mountain said he would lay the stone in Zion. But in Daniel we learned that the stone is cut out from the mountain by God. This means God will make the stone separate and distinct from the mountain, yet the stone will be one and the same as the mountain, for it came out from the mountain and is thus one and the same with it. Now look, let's say we've got a big mountain right here, and you were to walk up to the edge of that mountain. And you were to put your hand on that mountain. You're touching the mountain, right? Now, let's say that the same place where your hand is Let's say there's this big square piece that's cut out of that mountain, right where your hand is. It's not cut out yet. It's just part of the mountain. You're touching the mountain, right? Let's say that peace comes out of that mountain. That your hand is on. And now it's separate from the mountain. Your hand's still on it, but now it's separate from the mountain. But it just came out of the mountain. Are you still touching the mountain? Yeah, it's still the mountain. You put it back in the mountain, it's the mountain. You take it out of the mountain, it's the mountain. Why? Because it's part of the mountain. It shares the same nature as the mountain. It's from the mountain. So you touch it, it's the mountain. If I took a A chip of wood from this pulpit, if I touch this corner, I'm touching the pulpit. If I take that chip off right there and I hold it in my hand, it's still part of that pulpit. It's still just as much part of that pulpit as it was when it was in there. It's just been separated and distinct from it. And so when God says, Through the prophet Daniel, that the stone is going to be cut from that mountain without any hands. It's saying that God, the work of God, not the work of man's hands, but God is going to take that stone from the mountain, cut it out from Himself. He's then going to take that stone and lay it in Zion. Do you know what that means? That stone is still part of the mountain. That means the stone was God. And now, when the stone comes down to earth, the stone still is God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. You know what it goes on to say? And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. When God is so accurate, such incredible detail here in the book of Daniel, he's letting us know. That the stone that's coming, the stone that's going to smash the feet of that image, which is what happens in the book of Daniel, it smashes the feet of that image, and it grows into a big mountain. It comes back, and the God is all in all, is how the Apostle Paul words it. And it grows back into a mountain. And his kingdom reigns forever. He's letting them know who that stone's going to be. The mountain from heaven is going to come down to earth. It will be distinct from the mountain as the Son is distinct from the Father. But both the Father and the Son are God. They're the mountain, you see? Oh, wow. Now listen to what the stone said in the Gospel of John chapter 16. The Gospel of John chapter 16, verse 27 and 28. When you understand the Old Testament prophecies, the words of Jesus start to make much more sense. There's a reason he worded things the way he did in the New Testament. John 16, 27, For the Father him love you. Because ye have loved me and have believed, look here now, that I c out from God. Ain 't that good? I came out from God. He was a stone cut out of the mountain without any hands. Why? Because he was conceived of the Holy Ghost in that virgin's womb. Have believed that I came out from God, verse 28, I came forth. From the Father, and I'm coming to the world. He comes forth from the Father. He comes into the world, that is God saying, Behold, I lay a st in Zion. There he is. That 's why Jesus is wording things the way he is. He came from the father of the mountain into the world, namely Zion, where God said he had lay that stone. Being laid in Zion, where David reigned, means the stone would set up a kingdom. And the stone would then build the kingdom on himself as their sure foundation. Now, look back in our text in Daniel now. Daniel said the stone would be cut out. How? Without hands. Remember, that means it would come out from God by the work of God and not the work of man. Now, if the stone is cut out without hands by God, Then we, being lively stones, remember Peter said that Jesus was a stone precious to God, disallowed of men, but chosen of God and precious. And then Peter went on to say, Ye also, as lively stones, are built. Up on that stone. So if Jesus is a stone that's cut out from God without hands, Then we, the lively stones built on the foundation of Jesus, must also be little stones made without hands. And listen to what Jesus' enemies said in Mark chapter 14, verse 58. Mark chapter 14, verse 58. Jesus' enemy said, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands. That's the work of men, the temple. And within three days, I'll build another made without hands. Now, church, we are the new temple that Jesus, the stone, is making without hands right now. It's the work of God. Again, every time we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, another stone is added to that building. Every time we preach the gospel and someone believes on him as their Savior, they are built on Jesus as their foundation and their King. And this great building is the work of God's Holy Spirit, not the work of man's hands. As we close now, Daniel said concerning this stone, if we'll look back in our text in Daniel:, Daniel said concerning this stone, and that it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold. It started down here. The stone hits the image on the feet. It breaks the feet of clay and iron. It breaks the legs of iron. It breaks the. The thighs and the belly of brass, it breaks the chest and arms of silver, and it goes all the way up to the head and breaks the head, grinds it to powder, as we've looked at in our previous verses. That's showing that Jesus Christ, that stone that was cut out of the mountain that was laid down there in Zion, he builds his church, he sets up his kingdom. And eventually, he's going to destroy all the kingdoms of the earth. Remember the book of the Revel? The Bible says, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. That's when everything's smashed, everything's gone. We don't see that yet. The stone has set up his kingdom. And so right now, we are strangers living in a foreign country. We are one kingdom. Living in the midst of the kingdoms of this world, and we're waiting on our kingdom to come, which is why Jesus taught us to pray, Thy kingdom come. Right? So we're the kingdom Jesus has built and set up. We're waiting on our king to come, on the stone to come. When the stone comes, the second time, he's going to grind all those other kingdoms to powder and they're going to be gone. It's only him reigning and ruling on earth forever and ever. But you see, it's a stone. Notice now, it says the stone, watch, the stone break in pieces, the iron. Have you ever seen the stone break iron? I don't think it can, physically speaking. Now you can take iron and you can bust a stone up real good with it. Get you a good old iron sledgehammer, but you take a rock and you try breaking in pieces the head on that sledgehammer, not going to happen. But it broke in pieces the iron, broke in pieces the brass, it broke in pieces the clay, broke in pieces the silver, broke in pieces the gold. Now, church, the stone broke in pieces, all those metals, which is something nobody would ever expect the stone to be able to do. And that means when the stone comes, it's going to do a work that nobody would ever expect. When the stone comes, it's not going to appear to be able to do this. It's going to appear to be beyond its means. The book of Habakkuk, chapter 1, verse 5. This is speaking of Babylon conquering Israel. God told the Jews, Behold ye among the heathen in regard, and wonder marvelously, for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you. I'm going to do something you're not going to believe. I'm going to take some ragtag nation and I'm going to just wear you out with them. Nobody ever expected Babylon to conquer Israel. And nobody will expect the rock to conquer this great image, this fierce image, Daniel described it. And this is why the apostles Took the prophecy in Habakkuk and then repeated it to the Jews in the New Testament book of Acts concerning the work of Christ. Jesus didn't look too powerful compared to the Iron Kingdom of Rome when he came. They spit on him, they mocked him, they put a crown of thorns on him. They nailed him to a cross. When he stood before Pontius Pilate, Pontius Pilate was all in charge. But the stone assured the Jews during that time that he was the stone cut out of the mountain. For in Mark 14, verse 62, it says they asked him if he was the Son of God. And Jesus said, I am. And ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. They didn't believe it. It was a work that they would never believe, looking at him. Now, look back in your text now. Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar, the great God. This is in Daniel. Our text here in Daniel: The great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. He said, That's what this dream was all about. God Is showing you, King, what's going to come to pass hereafter, after your kingdom. And here's what's going to come to pass: The stone. The stone conquers, the stone destroys, the stone builds. And then ultimately, the stone's going to rain, King Nebuchadnezzar. First of all, the stone's going to come. Stone's going to come, stone's going to conquer, stone's going to destroy, stone is going to build, the stone And the dream, he says, in verse 45, is certain. And the interpretation thereof is sure. You can't get around it, King Nebuchadnezzar. You can gather all the armies up you want, you can lay up all the riches you want, you can build your military up all you want, but you're going to fall to the empire of silver. And sure enough, before the close of the book of Daniel, the Medes and the Persians, or the Medo-Persian Empire, destroyed Babylon. They were the nation of silver. It's all recorded in the book of Daniel. It's all recorded in the Encyc Britannica. It's all in history, just like God said it would happen. And then Greece conquered Medo-Persia, and then Rome conquered Greece, and in the end, Jesus will conquer them all. And he shall reign forever and forever. Oh, I'm so glad. Someone is asking, what is an encyclopedia? That's a good question. You know, this is the third time this week. Actually, this is a new week. My wife and I went into H the other day. We were out of town celebrating our anniversary. We went into H. And because we don't have one around here, and sometimes you can get some deals in there. We walked in, there was a young lady in there. I said, Ma'am, do y'all have a cell circular? And she just stared at me. And she said, What's that? I said, Well, ma'am, a a cell circular. I thought she just didn't hear me. She looked at me and she said, Sir, I have no idea what you're talking about. And my wife said, got to be a generational thing. Because used to, you would walk, they'd have a little sale circular when you walk in, and you'd pick it up and find out what all is on sale. I didn't see one. I asked her. She didn't know what it was. Well, in encyclopedia. And there may be some folks who know what encyclopedia is, but they are concerned that others may not know. And so I'll answer it for whatever reason the question was asked. When I grew up, We had encyclopedias. They were books. This is back before Wikipedia. This is back before you could Google any. This is back before we had phones in our cars. This is back when the phone was still stuck on the wall. And in my house, my parents had the Encyclopædia Britannica. And so if you were doing any kind of research about anything for school, Or if you just wanted to look it up and learn about a particular subject, you go, you look at the subject, it'd be like A to D. E to G or whatever, in all those volumes of the encyclopedia, and you'd pull out the volume and you'd look it up alphabetically, then you'd come to the subject you were looking for. And you'd read about it. And that's just how we learned about things back then. I don't know if anybody has a set of encyclopedias. Does anyone have encyclopedias at their house? That's great. That's great. Because you know what? Your electricity ever goes off, you forget looking anything up on Google. I have A set of commentaries at home. The print's so small I can't read it with just my glasses. I'd have to really get some really good light. But I've got them. I don't ever look at them. I just got them in case we ever have war or something and we lose our Internet. I'll still be able to go back to a good old-fashioned book and prepare my messages. For church. So that's what encyclopedia was. So it's all, you can look at it on Wikipedia, you can Google it, whatever, and you can still see. how Babylon ruled, how Gree Med-Persia, and that's Iran, by the way. Remember, that's Iran. Iran conquered Babylon. Greece conquered Iran. That was the Persian Empire. That's why they still speak Persian in Iran. And then Rome conquered Persia. And Jesus was the stone laid down into the Roman Empire in Zion, crucified there. Raised again as king, because what did the Bible say happened to him when he raised again? He ascended up to the right hand of God. He's sitting on his throne. You see? He's our king. And our king's building his church right now. He's building his kingdom. And so you can read all about it online, and you'll see it matching right up with the scripture. But the scripture. Told us before the historian ever did. That's prophecy. Prophecy is history pre-written. And you can only find it right there in God's Word, the Bible. Father, we thank you so much for your precious word. We thank you for these wonderful people who came. We thank you, Father, for the stone that you took out from the mountain, and you laid that stone in Zion. And now, Father, us believing the record of what you did with that stone, we now build our faith. We lay our faith on that stone, and we become part of this wonderful building called the church. The temple that you are making without the work of man's hands, because it's by grace, through faith, in your precious Son who came. And lived and died and rose again, and one day is coming back for us to smite that image on the feet and to reign forever and ever. His precious name we pray. We thank you. Amen.