The Invitation (Florence Phillips, 03/01/25)

of God and share the truths that they've been

given. But time after time, they started chasing

their own empire, starting to chase their own

palaces, then building the kingdom of God. What

do I mean by that? Well, the rich kept getting

richer, and the poor kept getting poorer. The

rich would oppress their poor, their cousins,

to maybe start off as their servants, and they

were paying their servants quite well, but then

later and later, they would pay them worse and

worse. And God kept telling guys, If you want

to be my people, I'm calling you to administer

justice, mercy, and compassion and grow my kingdom.

Stop focusing on your own kingdom and your own

empires. And in this time, God would send his

prophets. Prophet by prophet would come and say,

guys, return back to God because these scary

dogs outside want to get us. These scary empires

are coming and they're going to be stronger than

us. And if we don't have the power of God, they're

going to take us over. So time by time, different

people groups would come and they were going

to come to take over the Israelites. And there

in fear, the Israelites would turn back to God

and say, God, we're sorry. We realize we're going

to be taken over. We don't want this. We want

to come back to you. We want your help. And God

in his great compassion, time after time would

forgive his people and they would come back.

And by time again, they would fall again. And

this happened 14 times. 14 times. God sends his

people. Help when they were going to be overtaken.

And finally, with the last prophet, Jeremiah

comes and he says, guys, repent. Stop praying

to your idols. Stop chasing your own dreams.

There's people out here that we have to reach

for the kingdom of God. And when are you going

to stop chasing your own wealth, causing more

oppression? But the people didn't want that.

So finally, Jeremiah gives one of his last. as

you could say to his people. And if you guys

want to turn with me to Jeremiah 25, 8 -9. Therefore,

the Lord Almighty says this. Because you have

not listened to my words, I will summon all the

peoples of the north and my servant, Nebuchadnezzar

of Babylon, declares the Lord. And I will bring

them against this land and its inhabitants and

against... all the surrounding nations. I will

completely destroy them and make them an object

of horror and scorn and an everlasting ruin.

This whole country will become a desolate wasteland

and these nations will serve the king of Babylon

70 years. And just as Jeremiah had prophesied

what happens, the king Zedekiah, the last king

of Israel, it reads in 2 Chronicles 36, 11 through

14. Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became

king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 11 years. He

did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and

did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet,

who spoke the word of the Lord. He also rebelled

against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him

take an oath in God's name. He became stiff -necked

and hardened his heart and will not turn to the

Lord, the God of Israel. Furthermore, All the

leaders of the priests and the people became

more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable

practices of the nations and defiling the temple

of the Lord, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

And that same year, as Jeremiah gives his last

sermon, saying, guys, we're going to be taken

over by Nebuchadnezzar. Surely that happened.

Nebuchadnezzar came over and took the people

back to Babylon. And now this becomes like the

stories that we've grown up with, with Daniel

and his three friends. This is him. So this is

Daniel that's taken over. to Babylon, and they're

there in exile for a long time. Here, as they're

taken over, King Nebuchadnezzar comes and conquers

the city and takes all of the people back with

him. Instead of murdering everyone and causing

them all to be their slaves, like the Israelites

have been doing to their own brothers, what does

King Nebuchadnezzar do? He shows them compassion,

mercy, and justice, what God had been calling

his own people to do. And why do I say that?

We hear the stories of Daniel arriving to Babylon,

and what's waiting for him? Torture? Feasts!

The most beautiful places they've been set in,

the nicest Airbnbs of the town, the best food.

And yes, maybe their theology is different. The

feasts were all the food at the feast were given

to their idols. But it's King Nebuchadnezzar

that God says, my servant, shows the Israelites,

the way that they were supposed to live, administering

compassion, mercy, and justice. And there, 50

years pass, and many Jews become very high up

in the government, and there's good relationships

between the kings. The people are still asking,

God, this isn't our home. We want to go back,

and how are we going to get back? So the people

are there during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar

II, Amal Murdoch. Naraglisar, Labish -Marduk,

and finally, Belshazzar. And as most of us know

the story of Belshazzar, Belshazzar is the king

of Babylon, the most powerful nation on earth.

Nothing could overtake Babylon. They were completely

fortified. Not only were they extremely fortified

and their military was the strongest, they had

the most... Beautiful palaces all around. I mean,

it was gorgeous. We hear about the stories of

Babylon and the streams and the gardens. They

had everything. So as Belshazzar, the king, knows

that the Persians are coming to overtake Babylon,

he feasts. He's not scared. What do the Persians

have against Babylon? I mean, we have the strongest

city. There's absolutely no way they're going

to get through the walls. Impossible. So the

night that he hears that Cyrus the Great and

Darius are outside his city walls, he feasts.

He drinks wine. He has a great time. He has women.

He has food. And he mocks at the face of who

will ever overtake Babylon. And that night, as

we all know, the handwriting on the wall and

what happens, Daniel comes in, interprets, Babylon,

you're going to fall. And what happens that night?

Well, Cyrus the Great, as most of us know, he

was the general of the Persian Empire. The Persian

Empire's king was King Darius. And that night,

I'm sure for a long time they were building this

strategy. But what happens that night? As Belshazzar

is there feasting, nobody could ever get me down

from this kingdom that I've built for myself.

Cyrus the Great has an incredible idea. Babylon.

Babylon was completely fortified except for one

place. There was the river Euphrates that ran

through Babylon. But it wasn't just an open river

where you could take your kayak down and go into

Babylon and then go out of it. No, absolutely

not. There was a massive bridge over, also heavily

fortified. And on top of that, there were even

these big claws underneath the bridge. So people,

you couldn't just swim through and find your

way into Babylon. And that night, Cyrus the Great,

in his greatness, truly, decides that they are

going to build side channels of the Euphrates

River. So that night, over 100 ,000 of his men

trade their swords for shovels, and they create

channels. And in one night, they're able to get

all of the water of the Euphrates out into different

channels, and they walk through Babylon. The

king there, Belshazzar, is completely drunk with

all of his men, and none of his great generals

can fight against the Persians. And in one night,

great Babylon falls. And again, you would think,

well, with a new kingdom, with a new king coming

over and taking over Babylon, of course, they're

going to make everybody their slaves. They're

probably going to torture most people, treat

them horribly. But what happens again? God uses,

again, the Persians. to show the Israelites how

they are to treat their neighbors with compassion,

mercy, and justice. Why do I say that? Well,

we know the stories. Daniel stays in his high

position with the new Persian Empire. And it's

here with this new Persian Empire, with Darius

and with Cyrus the Great, where we hear of the

story of Daniel in the lion's den. And it was

there, it was about between two years, because

Darius, the king of Persia, stays in Babylon

for two years until he passes away, and that's

where Cyrus the Great comes into power. So Cyrus

the Great and Daniel are friends, and some scholars

say it was Daniel that showed Cyrus the Great

his true identity. And what do I mean by that?

Cyrus the Great is not only considered the great,

but also God calls him Cyrus my shepherd and

Cyrus my anointed. What? Where does God say that

about Cyrus? I can just imagine one night Daniel

and Cyrus are there talking, probably around

a lot of food and a feast, and they're sharing

wisdom on how to keep going. How can they make

a great empire together? And Daniel calls them

out and says, Cyrus, do you know that you have

an extremely high calling? Do you know that you

have a God -given anointed calling? And Cyrus

says, I mean, look at me. I'm the ruler of the

greatest kingdom. Of course I have a calling.

And Daniel says, no, you actually have a higher

calling than that. You know, I'm a holy man.

And as this holy man, we have this book called

the Torah, which guides us with wisdom, and we

believe that it's God's words. And over 100 years

ago, your name has been written down in my holy

books. And your legacy has been written down.

And he opens to the book of Isaiah and he reads

it to Cyrus saying, and if you guys want to turn

with me to Isaiah 44, 28. Who says of Cyrus,

he is my shepherd and will accomplish all that

I please. He will save Jerusalem, let it be rebuilt,

and of the temple, let its foundations be laid.

This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to

Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue

nations before him and to strip kings of their

armor to open the gates before him so the gates

will not be shut. And jumping to verse 13. I

will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness. I will

make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my

city and set my exiles free, but not for a price

or reward, says the Lord Almighty. And that day.

The Holy Spirit came over Cyrus and he accepted

the calling of his life. And the next day there

was great rejoicing in Israel. Finally, they

were able to go back. Finally, they would be

able to enjoy the hills, the rolling hills that

they had heard about and the streams that their

grandparents had told them about. Finally, they

would be able to eat their own food in their

own city. And finally, they would be able to

rebuild the temple of God that they so desired.

So Cyrus sends 100 ,000 Israelites back. to Jerusalem.

He not only sends them back, well, go as you

please, he sends them with tons of funds to be

able to rebuild the walls and rebuild the temple.

Not only does he send them with tons, but he

sends with money, but he sends them with military

force that nobody could attack them and that

they would be protected to build the city of

God again. So the Israelites finally get back

to Israel, to Jerusalem, and they're so excited,

finally. God's prophecy is being fulfilled. They

said for 70 years we would be in exile. For 70

years between the time of the old temple to the

new temple, it would be rebuilt. So they're back,

and everybody works together. It's not just the

blue -collared men. It's the women, the children.

Everybody's working together to rebuild the temple

walls and to rebuild the city walls. But slowly

by slowly, they fall back. just like their ancestors,

just like their grandparents. The rich kept getting

richer, and the poor kept getting poorer. They

cared more about, let me make sure that I have

a bigger piece of land than my cousin Larry.

Let me make sure that I have a bigger, nicer

house, so when I invite the family over, they'll

look at me and say, wow. And it started off with,

you know, hiring some servants on their land

to oppression, to slavery, once again. The Israelites

that had just lived through that 14 times had

fallen back to the same thing. And in 16 years,

the only thing that happened back in Jerusalem

was the foundation of the temple. The foundation

of the temple and the altar was built. But there

was no temple itself built. The only thing built

was people's own palaces. So the other exiles

that are still in Babylon cry out to God saying

the same thing. God, how are you going to fulfill

your promise of this 70 -year prophecy that this

temple is going to be rebuilt? Because there's

only four years left for you to do this. And

when are you going to do it? Because we're sitting

here in Babylon. We're ready to go home. So I

was there finals week asking the same question.

God, how? How am I going to get over this person?

How am I going to get over these finals? What's

your answer for me? And as every morning went,

I would open my Bible, have my worship, and then

I would start studying. As I was opening up to

the book of Luke, which I love because Luke is

apparently a doctor. He was a physician. And

most of his stories, if you read through them,

are healing stories. So a lot of times when you

were like reading about... It would be, like,

literally that week I was learning about leprosy,

and I was like, oh, my goodness, this is so cool.

Like, I get it. God, you're so cool. So I was

opening up to Luke, and I just felt the Holy

Spirit saying, Zechariah 5, Zechariah 5, Zechariah

5. I was like, what? Zechariah 5? So I opened

up to the book of Zechariah 5 that morning, and

I'd like you guys to open up with me, too, and

we can read it together. I looked again, and

there before me was a flying scroll. He asked

me, what do you see? I answered, I see a flying

scroll, 20 cubits long and 10 cubits wide. And

he said to me, this is the curse that is going

out over the whole land. For according to what

it says on one side, every thief will be banished.

And to what it says on the other side, everyone

who swears falsely will be banished. The Lord

Almighty declares, I will send it out, and it

will enter the house of the thief and the house

of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will

remain in the house and destroy completely both

its timbers and its stones. Then the angel who

was speaking to me came forward and said to me,

Look up and see what is appearing. I asked, What

is it? He replied, It's an ephah. And he added,

This is the iniquity of the people throughout

the land. Then the cover of lead was raised,

and there in the ephah sat a woman. He said,

This is wickedness. And he pushed her back into

the ephah and pushed its lead cub over onto it.

Then I looked up, and there before me were two

women with the wind in their wings. They had

wings like those of a stork, and they lifted

up the ephah between heaven and earth. Where

are they taking the ephah? I asked the angel

who was speaking to me. And he replied, to the

country of Babylonia, to build a house for it.

When the house is ready, the ephah will be set

there in its place. What, God? Why do you want

me to read Zechariah 5? So I pulled out a silly

little conclusion. I was like, well, this curse

is going out for liars and for thieves, and I

don't feel like I'm either of those. But if there's

not truth in my life, God, reveal to me truth

and help me be a truthful person. And from the

second part of this prophecy, help me not have

any iniquity and evilness in me. But I was like,

okay. So I prayed that prayer, and I kept on

with my day. The next morning, I was like, okay,

back to Luke, back to something more normal.

And as I was opening up to Luke, God says again,

Zechariah 5. Zechariah 5. And I'm like, what?

This cannot be. So I opened up to Zechariah 5

and I was like, well, I'll just read Zechariah

6. Because yesterday I didn't get anything out

of Zechariah 5, so I might as well just read

the next one, right? So I read Zechariah 6. And

God, the whole time as I'm reading Zechariah

6, he's like, Zechariah 5, Zechariah 5, Zechariah

5. And I'm like, okay, God, Zechariah 5. So I

reread it again. And truthfully, I came to the

same conclusion. God. Make me more of a truthful

person. Keep evil away from me. Help me not to

be an evil person. I don't feel like I'm quote

-unquote evil, but, like, help me be more like

you and your character. I close the Bible. I

have the same prayer, and I move on with my day.

And now the third time. The third morning, I'm

opening up again to Luke, and God says, Florence,

I'm not joking. Zechariah 5. And at this point,

I'm like, okay, God. obviously there's a lot

that I'm missing here and I need you to reveal

to me what you're trying to tell me. Zechariah

was a prophet for the Israelites during this

time period where they were finishing up the

temple and it wasn't being finished up. And I

believe the answer that he had for them and what

he had for me and what he has for us today as

God's end time people is crucial to understand.

So we're going to break it down a little bit.

If you're anything like me, I'm a very visual

person. So we're going to kind of break down

these two prophecies. There's Zechariah 1 to

5, 1 to 4, and then 5 to the end of the chapter.

So what we see is a massive flying scroll in

the air, 10 by 20 cubits. And on the scroll,

there's a curse for two people. There's a curse

for the liars and the thieves. And then what's

going to happen to the liars and the thieves?

Well, the scroll is going to enter their house

and completely destroy it. So there's a destruction

of home. For liars and thieves. And then the

second part, the second prophecy, is that there's

this ephah. This ephah is another word for a

basket. And what was used back in the day, it

was a measuring basket. So if you're going to

go and trade, I don't know, you're going to trade

some corn for some rice. They would put it inside

of this measuring basket. And they would say,

okay, this is how much you're bringing. You can

trade this much of whatever. So it was a measuring

basket of judgment. and what was inside of it

was evilness. There was this evil woman found

inside that it was said it was evil, and it was

being carried off to Babylon. And what would

happen? This basket was going to be carried off

to Babylon where a house would be built. So in

one story, there's the destruction of a home

of evilness, and in the second story, there's

the construction of a home to store evilness.

So what? Well, a flying scroll. If you've grown

up in Adventist, if you hear something flying

in the sky, it might ring a bell to you, the

three angels' message, and there was a message

of angels that were flying in the sky, and the

three angels' message has three parts. The first

part, guys, judgment has come. Judgment has come,

and there's an invitation back to worship the

creator God. This judgment, part of this basket.

that weighs evil. And God says, guys, judgment's

coming. But before it comes, there's one last

invitation to follow the creator God. And just

like this remnant message that the Israelites

were given to keep inviting people into the kingdom

of God, we're given the same message to invite

people into the kingdom of God. So the first

one, judgment is coming and a call back to worship

the creator God. And the second angel's message.

Babylon is fallen. Get out of Babylon. This basket

that's being sent to Babylon with evilness. Well,

in the first prophecy, it says it's going to

be completely destroyed. Any house with evilness

is going to be destroyed. And what does God say?

Get the heck out of there. There's forgiveness.

10 by 20 cubits. Why would the Bible say 10 by

20 cubits of this flying scroll? I mean, yeah,

they could say it's a massive scroll or just

a scroll or a small scroll, but 10 by 20. Well,

there's two references of 10 by 20, and it took

me forever to finally find them. The first measurement

of this reference is from the holy place. And

inside of the tabernacle, there was the outer

courts, there was the holy place, and there was

the most holy place. And in the outer courts

is where... the sacrifices were done, where people

would come and confess their sins, say, God,

this is not who I want to be anymore. I'm really

sorry. Would you forgive me? And they would come,

and they would kill a lamb, and then in the holy

place is where God would forgive them. And then

in the most holy place is where sin was finally

eradicated forevermore. So God is telling them,

judgment's coming. Babylon is going to fall,

and if you find yourself in Babylon, You're gone

for. But in the holy place, there's forgiveness.

All you have to do is accept it. The second reference

of 10 by 20 is in Solomon's court. And in the

tabernacle of God, there was, in the temple of

God, sorry, in the temple, there were the four

entrances and there were four different courts.

And so one of the courts is called Solomon's

porch. And here we have the... Famous story of

Jesus. If you can see what I'm doing, you probably

already know what Jesus is about to do in Solomon's

court. He comes and he flips over the tables.

Why? Because there was injustice in his house.

There was oppression. The rich getting richer

and the poor getting poorer. What was happening

in Solomon's court? Where people would be spending

all year long. to get enough money to buy a poor

little lamb to be able to sacrifice the lamb.

And what are they doing? They're making it so

expensive, saying, you have to pay for this forgiveness.

God isn't just going to forgive you if you don't

pay for it. So Jesus walks in, and he flips over

the tables. He says, you're making my house of

prayer into a den of thieves. He's calling out

injustice. He's calling his people to walk with

mercy and compassion. So this was his message

for the people of Israel. There was four years

left for this temple to be done. And in 16 years,

they had just put the foundations down. The foundations

and the little altar. There was nothing else.

And they're asking God, when is this going to

happen? And how is this going to happen? And

God says, when you do justice, love mercy and

walk humbly with your God. And when you start

building the kingdom of God and focusing more

on building my temple and my kingdom, then your

temple and your palace is in your wealth. The

foundation's already built, guys. And maybe our

temples, our kingdoms are going to look a little

different for them back there. I think for my

generation, it's more of our image. Are we building

our image? Are we building the kingdom of God?

Are we building our social media empire so people

can see us in one light? Are we using the tools

that God has given us to build his kingdom and

focus on building his kingdom and his temple?

Maybe for the past generation, it's investing

in more toys. Big boy toys I'm talking about,

not just little Legos. But building your toys,

building your empire. And maybe even for the

past generation before them, It's building this

empire of wealth, big palatial homes, keeping

on to all of our funds. Maybe if the end of the

world comes, I'll have all my cash in hand under

my mattress. And God is saying, guys, the foundation

is built. And in four short years, we can finish

this temple. Are you focusing on building my

temple, my kingdom, or are you focused on building

your kingdom? Dear Heavenly Father, I just pray

that you convict us, you convict me. God, we

believe that we're part of this last day generation

where you want to come so soon. God, and I believe

that just like them, you're telling us the foundation

is built. And as long as you focus on building

your own empire, your own palace, it'll never

get done. But God, you want to use us and we

want to be used by you. So I just pray that.

You convict us on how we can use what you've

given us to build your kingdom. May we be faithful

and may we be more created in the image of God

and his character and having a heart of compassion

and justice and mercy for the people around us.

In the name of Jesus, amen.