A Sermon by Reverend Hollis Ray Mathis

reetings, holy children of God, in the wonderful name of our lord and saviour Jesus, the Christ. The sermon subject for today is:

Nebuchadnezzar

I PREACH THIS SERMON TO STIR YOU UP TO REMEMBRANCE THAT FREEDOM IS A MOST PRECIOUS PROCESSION, AND IS SO EASY TO LOSE. GOD HAS A HEDGE ABOUT OUR NATION IN THE FORM OF OUR MILITARY, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. IF GOD WERE TO REMOVE THIS HEDGE SATAN WOULD DESTROY US ALL. Dn:1:1: In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. Dn:1:2: And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. ANY NATION THAT WOULD NOT COME UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR, KING OF BABYLON, GOD WOULD PUNISH. JER:27:8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. NEBUCHADNEZZAR, KING OF BABYLON, WAS CREATED BY JESUS CHRIST. Eph:3:9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: NEBUCHADNEZZAR, KING OF BABYLON, DID NOT HAPPEN TO BE KING OF BABYLON BY CHANCE FOR IT IS GOD THAT PUTS KINGS UP, AND TAKES KINGS DOWN. Dn:2:20: Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: Dn:2:21: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: GOD SETS THE BASEST OF MEN OVER THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD. DANIEL SPOKE THESE WORDS TO BELTSHAZZER. Dn:4:17: This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. A PERSON IS NEVER ALONE IN THIS WORLD, HEAVENLY EYES “WATCHERS” ARE WATCHING EVERY MOVE THAT WE MAKE. THE WORD “BASEST” DEFINED IS, VILE, WICKED, SINFUL, DEPRAVED. WHEN NEBUCHADNEZZAR TOOK JUDAH CAPTIVE HE TOOK CAPTIVE GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE, A PEOPLE THAT AFTER THEY WERE FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST LOVED, AND FEARED GOD. BUT, WHEN A NATION BECOMES SO CORRUPT, GOD WILL PUNISH THAT NATION. GOD DROVE OUT THESE NATIONS; THE HITTITES, GIRGASHITES, AMORITES, CANAANITES, PERIZZITES, HIVITES, AND JEBUSITES AND GAVE THEIR LAND TO ISRAEL, NOT BECAUSE OF ISRAEL’S RIGHTEOUSNESS, BUT BECAUSE OF THEIR WICKEDNESS. MOSES’ SPOKE THESE WORDS TO ISRAEL. Dt:9:4: Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee. HERE ARE SOME OF THE SINS THAT THEY DID; THAT WILL CAUSE ANY NATION TO LOSE THEIR FREEDOM. INCEST; Lv:18:6: None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord. DESTRUCTION OF THEIR OWN CHILDREN. Lv:18:21: And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. SODOMY Lv:18:22: Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Lv:18:23: Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. TO GIVE YOU SOME IDEA HOW DEPRAVED WAS THIS RULER NEBUCHNEZZAR; HE MADE AN IMAGE, AN IDOL, OF GOLD AND SET IT UP IN THE PLAIN OF DURA. Dn:3:1: Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. NEBUCHADNEZZAR, GATHERED THE PEOPLE IN AUTHORITY IN BABYLON BEFORE THE IMAGE, AND GAVE THIS COMMAND. Dn:3:4: Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, Dn:3:5: That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: Dn:3:6: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME AN IDOL WORSHIPPER? IT IS THE BOWING DOWN TO AN IDOL OR KISSING AN IDOL . AN IDOL IS A GRAVEN IMAGE. IF A MAN TAKES A BLOCK OF WOOD, AND A HAMMER, AND CHISEL, AND BEGINS TO TAP THAT BLOCK OF WOOD UNTIL IT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING IN HEAVEN OR IN EARTH. HE HAS ENGRAVED THAT WOODEN BLOCK, AND MADE A GRAVEN IMAGE. UNDER THE OLD TESTAMENT LAW GOD GAVE MOSES THIS COMMANDMENT TO DELIVER TO HIS PEOPLE ISRAEL. Ex:20:4: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Ex:20:5: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; IN THE NEW TESTAMENT GOD INSPIRED THE APOSTLE JOHN TO RECORD THIS COMMANDMENT. 1Jn:5:21: Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, THAT CALL THEMSELVES CHRISTIANS, ARE BOWING TO IDOLS EVEN UNTIL THIS VERY DAY. GOD SAID THESE WORDS TO ELIJAH. 1Kgs:19:18: Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. MULTITUDES OF PRIEST ARE CARRYING CROSSES WITH AN IMAGE OF SOME LONG HAIRED MAN CRUCIFIED THERE ON. I DO NOT KNOW WHO THE LONG HAIRED MAN IS, BUT I DO KNOW THAT IT IS NOT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. FOR GOD HAS INSPIRED THE APOSTLE PAUL TO RECORD IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES THAT IT IS A SHAME FOR A MAN TO HAVE LONG HAIR. 1Cor:11:14: Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? IT IS RECORDED THREE MEN, SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND A ABEDNEGO, REFUSED TO BOW TO THE IMAGE THAT NEBUCHADNEZZAR SET UP IN THE PLAIN OF DURA. THIS WAS THEIR ANSWER THEY GAVE TO NEBUCHADNEZZAR WHEN THEY WERE ON TRIAL FOR THEIR LIFE. Dn:3:16: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Dn:3:17: If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. Dn:3:18: But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. THE APOSTLE PAUL RECORDED THESE WORDS CONCERNING THE WORSHIP OF IMAGES. 2Cor:6:14: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 2Cor:6:15: And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? Cor:6:16: And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2Cor:6:17: Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 2Cor:6:18: And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. NEBUCHADNEZZAR HAD A DREAM WHICH DANIEL INTERPRETED. NEBUCHADNEZZAR IN HIS DREAM SAW A GREAT IMAGE WHOSE FORM WAS TERRIBLE. THE IMAGE’S HEAD WAS OF GOLD, HIS BREAST, AND ARMS WAS OF SILVER, HIS BELLY AND HIS THIGHS OF BRASS, HIS LEGS WERE OF IRON, AND HIS FEET PART OF IRON AND PART OF CLAY. Dn:2:30: But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. Dn:2:31: Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. Dn:2:32: This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, Dn:2:33: His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Dn:2:34: Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Dn:2:34: Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces Dn: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. THE IMAGE THAT NEBUCHADNEZZAR SAW WAS MADE UP OF WORLD EMPIRES OF WHICH NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S KING WAS THE GOLDEN KINGDOM. Dn:2:36: This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Dn:2:37: Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. Dn:2:38: And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. Dn:2:39: And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. Dn: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. Dn: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. Dn: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. Dn:2:43: And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. Dn:2:44: And 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 for ever. Dn: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. WHEN ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD NUMBER TEN KINGDOMS , AS THE TOES OF THE IMAGE THAT NEBUCHADNEZZAR SAW IN HIS DREAM, KNOW THAT THE ANTICHRIST IS VERY CLOSE. FOR THE TOES OF THE IMAGE ARE TEN KINGS THAT WILL GIVE THEIR POWER TO THE ANTICHRIST. Rv:17:12: And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. Rv:17:13: These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. WHEN MEN THINK TO HIGHLY OF THEMSELVES GOD CAN AND WILL ABASE THEM. NEBUCHADNEZZAR, WHEN HE LIFTED HIMSELF UP WAS BROUGHT LOW , Dn:4:30: The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? Dn:4:31: While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. Dn:4:32: And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Dn:4:33: The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. AFTER SEVEN YEARS NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S UNDERSTANDING RETURNED TO HIM, AND HE PRAISED GOD, AND GAVE GOD THE GLORY WITH THESE WORDS. Dn:4:34: And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: Dn:4:35: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Dn:4:36: At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Dn:4:37: Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.


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