What About Israel?

Let's pray together Father, thank you for tonight, a chance once again to study your blessed word We pray that the things that we learn tonight would encourage us to live for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ, our Lord Help us to realize, Lord, that time is short before you arrive, and Father, many people need to hear the truth of the gospel It's our responsibility to teach them, and may we learn tonight, Lord, the importance of teaching others the truth about your soon coming again We pray in Jesus' name, amen Tonight we find ourselves in our 15th sermon on the return of the king

We have a few more to go The plan is to finish them before I have knee surgery, which is in July, and so we must rapidly go through them, and that will allow me to be able to stand longer when I preach, so we can preach for two hours every Sunday instead of one Some of you are moaning and groaning

But anyway, this is our 15th sermon, and we have talked about the return of the king, and we introduced that to you, and then we talked about why Jesus must return, and then we talked about the rapture and the biblical reasons behind the rapture of the church, and then we talked about why the church won't go through the rapture, and then we talked about rewards in heaven, and we talked about the terrible trouble of the tribulation

And so it leads us to, as we progressively go through the end times, this whole study on, really it's a study of eschatology and the return of the king, we are looking at what the Bible says concerning what's going to take place with Israel in the tribulation, and we need to understand that because the Bible speaks specifically to what's going to happen to Israel Is Israel going to be around? If so, what's going to happen to them? And there are many theologians, we've told you this weeks ago, that don't believe that there's anything that's going to happen to Israel, that God's done with Israel

Well, if you study Scripture, and you believe that God is done with Israel, then one of three things is true in your life One is this, you must deny the inspiration of Scripture If you believe that God is done with Israel, you ultimately will deny the inspiration of Scripture In other words, when God says something about Israel, you say, well he must have made a mistake or it must not be true So you deny the inspiration of Scripture Number two, if you believe that God is done with Israel, then you destroy the basic principle of biblical interpretation

That is, well, if there's 144,000 Jews in Revelation, and you spiritualize that and say, well it's really not 144,000 and they're really not Jews, well then you are destroying the basic biblical principle of interpretation If you say, well there are, we know that there's a tribulation, but we don't know it's seven years, that's symbolic really And so everything then becomes symbolism, and you end up destroying the basic principles of biblical interpretation If you believe that God is done with Israel, then ultimately you defame the character of God. I believe this is the key point

If you believe that God is done with Israel, if you believe, listen carefully, that the church has replaced Israel, and that's what most theologians teach today, then they defame the character of God They say that God then is a liar God made promises to Israel And now God's not going to keep those promises He's going to redirect those promises and give them to the church And even though all the cursings were true and literal, the blessings are not true and are figurative and will be fulfilled in the church Well that outright denies the character of God

And we don't do that here at Christ's Community Church We believe what the Bible says We believe in the inspiration of Scripture We believe in the biblical interpretation of Scripture We believe in a good hermeneutic We believe that God is true to his word, that if he said something's going to happen with Israel, he means exactly what he says We believe that

So with that in mind, people say, well, aren't we the spiritual offspring of Israel? Aren't we the spiritual offspring of Abraham? And aren't we spiritual children of Abraham? Would that not make us then the spiritual fulfillment of the promises to Abraham? No Not at all Christ is a seed of Abraham We are one with Christ We are the spiritual seed of Abraham But that doesn't mean that the promises given to Israel are now going to be fulfilled in us

We have other things happening with us that Israel doesn't have happening with them because we're called the Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride of Christ So tonight what I want to do is take you through what the Bible says concerning what's going to happen with Israel in the tribulation. I'm going to look at six points with you They're all in your notes and we're going to go through those one by one And we're going to begin with the covenants, the covenants with Israel This is important The covenants with Israel Under two categories One is divine The divine covenants with Israel

And then we're going to look at the satanic covenant with Israel to prove to you that Israel is around in the tribulation and that the tribulation specifically has to do with Israel Remember Jeremiah 30 verse number 6 says that it's called the time of Jacob's trouble So we know that the tribulation specifically is designed for Israel More so than anything else We'll talk about that in a moment But let me talk to you about the covenants with Israel in three categories There is what was called a Davidic covenant There is what is called an Abrahamic covenant

And there is what is called a new covenant If you were with us in our study of the book of Luke, Luke chapter 1, Zechariah's song deals with the Davidic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, and the new covenant And what Zechariah would sing about or speak about would be the fulfillment of those three covenants in the coming of the Messiah Jesus Christ our Lord It's important to understand those three covenants Because God made a promise to Israel God made a promise to Israel about a land That's the Abrahamic covenant Right? He promised them a land

He also promised them a Lord who would rule in that land That's the Davidic covenant And he also promised them that the Lord of that land would love them enough to forgive them And that's the new covenant That's important The Davidic covenant is a universal covenant The Abrahamic covenant is what we will call a national covenant And the new covenant is called a personal covenant The Davidic covenant gives political deliverance The Abrahamic covenant gives a social deliverance The new covenant gives a spiritual deliverance

Because of the new covenant there will be a fulfillment of Davidic and Abrahamic covenant You with me so far? These are the covenants with Israel that are unique to show us about what happens to Israel in the tribulation and what God's going to do with them So the key verse for the Davidic covenant is 2 Samuel chapter 7. 2 Samuel chapter 7 It reads this way Verse number 12 When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom

He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever It says in verse number 16 And your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever Your throne shall be established forever Now there are 40, 4-0, different passages in the Old Testament that refer specifically back to 2 Samuel chapter 7 and the Davidic covenant We know this is a covenant because 2 Samuel 23.5 says it is a covenant that God made with David Over in Psalm 89 it reads this way Verse 30

If his sons forsake my law, and do not walk in my judgments, if they violate my statutes, and do not keep my commandments, then I will visit their transgression with a rod and their nicotine stripes But I will not break off my covenant kindness with him, nor deal falsely in my faithfulness My covenant I will not violate, nor will I alter the utterance of my lips Once I am sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David His descendants shall endure forever, and his throne as a sun before me It shall be established forever like the moon, and as the witness in the sky is faithful

So there is a Davidic covenant It deals with the Redeemer It deals with the King who will rule in Jerusalem forever Key verse, 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 89 But before there was a Davidic covenant about the Lord, there was an Abrahamic covenant about the land Remember that way back in Genesis chapter 12? God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees

In Genesis chapter 12 he says, Now the Lord said to Abraham, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's house, to the land which I will show, to the land which I will show you, and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great And so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed Verse 7, And the Lord appeared to Abraham and said, To your descendants, I will give this land Now that's important

Why? Because there are 8 times in the book of Genesis that this covenant is reiterated to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob Now note, Genesis 15, it's also reiterated And here you get the borders of that land He says, To your descendants, I have given this land From the river of Egypt, that's the Nile River, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates Now listen, the borders of the land of Israel are clearly presented in the scriptures There are 38 different passages and scriptures in the Old Testament that tell us exactly the borders of the land of Israel

They include one half of modern Egypt, all of Israel, all of Lebanon, all of Syria, all of Jordan, and all of Kuwait, three-fourths of Iraq, and three-fourths of Saudi Arabia That is the land of Israel Try telling that to the UN That won't go over very well But that is the land from the borders of the great river, the Nile River, and the great river, the Euphrates, includes the Mesopotamia Valley, includes the Tigris Valley It's a huge land But that land is specifically given to Israel That's important Why? Because we know Ezekiel chapter 37 We're going to look at it in a moment

But in Ezekiel 37, I want you to notice what it says. I will bring you into the land of Israel Israel is called the land of Israel It's not called Palestine anywhere in the Bible We call it Palestine That is a gross, gross error It's called the land of Israel. I want you to notice that in Leviticus 25, 23, God says it's my land Well, if it's God's land, he can do anything he wants with it, can't he? So if it's God's land, he can do whatever he wants And so he says in Ezekiel 37, a vision that we will look at in a moment, a vision about the dry bones that Ezekiel saw

He says, and I will put my spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you, listen carefully, on your own land It doesn't say I'm going to place you on the land It says I'm going to place you on your own land Make no mistake about it The land is the land given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the descendants of those men And that land is called their own land It's called my land by God in Leviticus 25, 23, which makes it a holy land, a distinct land, a separate land In Joshua 23, it's called the good land, and only a good God gives good land to his people

And that land specifically is the land given to the nation of Israel Nobody else. I received an email from somebody not too long ago because of my vehement protest against anybody else having that land And they wrote me this email and tried to get me to repent of my sin because I had with great authority said it's Israel's land and nobody else's land God owned it God gave it to them He called it their own land. I mean, it can't be any clearer than what it's portrayed in Scripture

So if Israel's going to get the land, they have to be around to get the land, right? God can't be done with Israel yet because it's their land And so there's a covenant given, a covenant given about the land to Abraham, a covenant given to them about the Lord of that land, and the only way they're going to obtain divinic and Abrahamic promise is because of a new covenant And that new covenant is clearly stated in Jeremiah chapter 31 and Ezekiel chapter 36 Jeremiah chapter 31 reads this way

Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, while I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord, but this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel

After those days, declares the Lord, I will put my law within them, and on their heart I will write it, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, and they shall not teach again each man his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more That is what is called the new covenant When that happens, they obtain the blessing of the land

They obtain the king who sits on the throne in Jerusalem, ruling and reigning in that land So in order for them to obtain all that, they must be around when the king returns So we know from the divine covenants, Abrahamic, Davidic, and the new covenant, that Israel will be around through the tribulation because they are waiting for the return of the king in order for them to experience new covenant living, a spiritual deliverance that will allow them to experience social deliverance and political deliverance under the king, the redeemer of Israel

Are you with me so far? So there is a divine covenant, but there is also a satanic covenant Oh, by the way, Luke chapter 1 says this Remember the promise given to Mary from the angel Gabriel about the child she would have? He said, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever Who's that? That's not us Who is that? That's Israel The son in your room will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end That's the promise of the Davidic covenant That's the promise that God gave to Israel And I know that Israel has gone through a lot of heartache over the years

You know, Israel is a lot like Jonah, okay? A lot like Jonah Always swallowed, but never digested And they just keep coming back up again They just keep coming back up again That's Israel Because God is not done with Israel But there's also a satanic covenant made with Israel that proves to us that they are around in the tribulation And that's Daniel chapter 9 If you have your Bible, turn with me to Daniel chapter 9 just for a moment. A section of scripture that we've covered in great detail about Daniel's 70 weeks

It begins in verse number 24. 70 weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city This is about Jerusalem This is about the nation of Israel They have been decreed And we know that the 69 weeks of Daniel's prophecy have already been fulfilled And we know that at the end of those 69 weeks, the Bible tells us in Daniel 9, these words, that Messiah will be cut off and have nothing and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary and its inn will come with a flood Even to the end there will be war Desolations are determined

In other words, there's going to be the Messiah He will come after 69 weeks He will die He will be cut off But not for himself But for who? But for Israel And the people of the prince, which is the Antichrist, will destroy the city That is, the followers of Satan will destroy the city That happened with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D Then it says in verse number 27, And he, who's that? That's the prince named in verse number 26 He will make a firm covenant with the many for one week That's the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy

Well, if the Antichrist is going to make a covenant with Israel, they have to be around in the tribulation If it's for one week, for seven years, then we know that that's the fulfillment of the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy And the Bible has already stated there have been 70 years, or weeks of years, decreed for Israel and the city of Jerusalem So we know that God keeps his word But there's going to be a covenant There's going to be the rise of the Antichrist Now, we know that We understand that the Antichrist is going to come In a few weeks, we'll talk about the ruler of the nations

And we'll help you understand who the Antichrist, or how the Antichrist is going to rise to power, and what are the characteristics of that individual But that Antichrist is going to somehow gain the favor of Israel And the Bible says he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week But in the middle of the week, he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering And on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction One that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate

So we know that there is going to be what is called, the Bible calls, Matthew 24, an abomination of desolation Now, you know, when I was growing up as a kid, I liked it when my teacher had object lessons Where she would show us things that were happening So tonight I'm going to do that with you Because we know from Daniel chapter 9, that the Antichrist is going to make a covenant with Israel for one week He is going to make some kind of peace covenant with Israel Israel will buy into it

Now, is the Antichrist going to be a Jew? Is the Antichrist going to be a Gentile? There are myths debated about whether he's a Jew or a Gentile We'll talk about that in a couple of weeks But whoever the Antichrist is, he is going to make sure that they have a temple in which they are able to offer sacrifices Because we know from Daniel 24, also Daniel 9, that he will disrupt their sacrifices He will go into that temple

And we know that from the book of 2 Thessalonians, when it says, For that day shall not come, except there come the falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who is the Antichrist, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God In other words, he will desecrate the temple, he will determine that he himself is God, and demand that all man worships him Now, how is that going to happen? Answer, I don't know But I do know this

There was a plan back in the late 90's by our former president, Bill Clinton It was called the Clintonian Plan In his mind, it was a master plan Ehud Barak agreed, of Israel, agreed with that plan And that plan went this way That there would be a wall built on the northern side of the Dome of the Rock And, listen carefully to what he says The Jews can build a synagogue on the Temple Mount for a place of worship Notice he said synagogue and not temple The reason he did that is because he didn't want to offend the Muslim world He doesn't care if he offends the Jewish world

He just doesn't want to offend the Muslim world Because the Muslims say that there never was a king named David who had a son named Solomon who built a temple on the Temple Mount They all believe that this day It's false, but that's what they believe So, Bill Clinton knowing that says that the Jews would be able to build a synagogue north of the Dome of the Rock And Muslims and Jews could both worship together on the most sacred piece of real estate in all of the world Okay? Now, the Jews were offended by that because they're in synagogues already

It's a reminder of the dispersion, right? They're in synagogues today because there is no temple on the Temple Mount for them to worship and to offer sacrifices So, when we go to Israel, we go to the Temple Mount Okay? Now, on the Temple Mount, we go specifically to a place called the Dome of the Tablets or the Dome of the Spirits This is this place with the black dome here It sits 100 meters or 330 feet from this golden dome, the Dome of the Rock, north of the Dome of the Rock

Okay? Now, there is a Hebrew physics professor named Asher Kaufman who is a passionate Hebrew scholar who has determined, very carefully, that the place where the Dome of the Rock sits today is not the location of the original temple And he's absolutely right Where is it? It's right here over the Dome of the Spirits or the Dome of the Tablets How do we know that? Because the Dome of the Spirits or the Dome of the Tablets is directly in line with what is called the Golden Gate or the Eastern Gate

So, if you were to walk through the Golden Gate, you would directly move right toward the Dome of the Spirits The Dome of the Rock is located over here Now, that's important because the Clintonian plan had it been enacted, would have allowed the nation of Israel to build a synagogue or, as Daniel 9 says, to build a temple on the exact location of the Dome of the Spirits where the original temple was anyway Now, that's important That was the Clintonian plan

Now, we know this Dome of the Rock, we don't go in there, mainly because, number one, you can't, but if you could, we would not go in there anyway because in Arabic it says, God has no son Okay? Which is outright blasphemy It's called the Dome of the Rock because it's put over a huge rock where they believe Muhammad ascended into heaven Okay? The Jews believe and even the Muslims believe that buried under the Dome of the Rock is the Ark of the Covenant Well, that's not true Although, there are many people who say that they have seen the Ark of the Covenant Oh, they're dead now, by the way

But that's what they say We know that the Ark of the Covenant is not there because we know Revelation chapter 11, verse number 19 says, that the Temple of God, which is in heaven, was opened and the Ark of His Covenant appeared in His Temple So we know the Ark of the Covenant is not buried under the Dome of the Rock The Ark of the Covenant is in heaven We know that because we know what the book of Revelation says See? Why do I tell you that? I tell you that because there is a plan Oh, by the way, Clinton still wants that plan to happen Just in case you didn't know that And that's okay with us

That does not mean that Mr Clinton is the Antichrist Okay? So don't leave here saying, our pastor says that Bill Clinton is the Antichrist Granted he is Antichrist He is against the Christ Granted he is that Whether or not he is the Antichrist, we won't know Because we'll be gone before that ever happens But there is a way that that's going to happen So we know from Daniel 9's prophecy there's going to be a covenant made with Israel for one week

In the middle of that week, after three and a half years, Satan then, through the power of the Antichrist, will get up and demand that the world worship him And Israel will have nothing to do with that Which is important Because that leads us to our second point The collecting of Israel You with me so far? The covenants of Israel There's a divine covenant There's a satanic covenant

The divine covenants, Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenant, tell us that Israel will be around because God has promised to put his spirit within them to give them life, that they might have the king in Jerusalem, in the land, promised to them Because it's their land Okay? Then there's a satanic covenant that tells us that Israel will be around in the tribulation because they're going to make a covenant with the Antichrist for seven weeks Or seven years Or one week, seven years

And in doing so, he will break that covenant in the middle of those seven years and demand that all the world worship him And the world does, by the way According to Revelation 13, verse number eight says, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world Okay? Now, let me talk to you about the collecting of Israel This is very important because God has promised the collecting of Israel

Now, we know that as of the statehood of Israel in 1948 that thousands upon thousands of Jews have moved back to Israel Okay? And there is a gathering of Israel, a collection of Israel in the land today The question is, is that the collecting of Israel spoken of in the Bible? That's important Rule of thumb in biblical interpretation Do not use events of the world to interpret the Bible Use the Bible to interpret the events of the world Very important to distinguish between the two If you use events to interpret the Bible, the Bible is subject to events

If you use the Bible to interpret events, events are subject to biblical interpretation to the authority of God So you must understand that We know from the Bible, Jeremiah chapter 31, verse number 8 says this Listen carefully Jeremiah 31, verse number 8 Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, and I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth Among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, she who was in labor with child together, a great company, they shall return here

With weeping they shall come, and by supplication I will lead them, I will make them walk by streams of waters on a straight path in which they shall not stumble For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn Hear the word of the Lord, O nations! Hear the word of the Lord, United States of America! Hear the word of the Lord, Russia! Hear the word of the Lord, Iran! And declare in the coastlands afar off, and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock God says, I want all the nations to hear what I'm about to say

No matter what nation it is, you need to hear what I'm going to say. I will gather my people, and I will shepherd them as a flock That's a promise that God has given to His people Now, when we go to Israel, we do go to the Temple Mount We spend time talking here And by the way, we tell you that biblically this truly is the Garden of Eden And we explain to you why the Bible proves that the Temple Mount is the original Garden of Eden You say, well how do you know that? Well you need to go with us to Israel in March, and we'll tell you that But, another place we go to is a place called Masada

And Masada becomes a very strategic point in our trip to Israel, because it is the most frequented site in the land of Israel More people who visit Israel go to Masada than any other site in Israel Okay? We go there, because we know that in 70 AD, 967 Jews fled Jerusalem and hid on top of Masada They camped at Masada for three years And the Romans pursued them, could not kill them, until they built a ramp up to the top of Masada By the time they got there, everybody had committed suicide There were a group of men who killed their own families

We know that because they were all placed in birth order Okay? If the Romans had killed them, they wouldn't have bothered to place them in any kind of order, let alone birth order But they were all placed side by side in birth order We know that because there were five children and two women who survived that massacre, and they tell the story We go to Masada, because of what took place in the excavations on top of Masada

And, if you turn to me and turn your Bible to Ezekiel chapter 37, we will help you understand that what took place in 1974 under the direction of Yigal Yadin, and what took place on top of Masada, was that when they were excavating the place where the synagogue was on top of Masada, there was found in that synagogue a remnant of scripture And that remnant was Ezekiel chapter 37 Okay, I won't read the whole thing to you, but I will tell you this That when it was found, all excavation on top of Masada stopped And it was read to all who were doing the excavating that day

In great silence swept over all those involved in the excavation project, because they realized that they were part and parcel to the fulfillment of what God said to Ezekiel in the vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones It's quite remarkable to see, God says this The land, or the hand of the Lord was upon me, verse 1, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley and it was full of bones He caused me to pass among around and about and behold there were very many on the surface of the valley, lo they were very dry

He said to me, said a man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest Again he said to me, prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord Thus says the Lord God to these bones, behold I will cause breath to enter you, that you may come to life And I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive and you will know that I am the Lord It says in verse 11, then he said to me, said a man, these bones are the whole house of Israel

Behold they say, our bones are dried up and our hope has perished, we are completely cut off Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God, behold I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, that is out of the nations that have taken you captive

My people and I will bring you into the land of Israel, then you will know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, my people, and I will put my spirit within you and you will come to life and I will place you on your own land, then you will know that I the Lord have spoken and done it, declares the Lord Verse 21 And say to them, thus says the Lord God, behold I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land Verse number 25

And they shall live on the land that I gave to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived and they will live on it and they and their sons and their sons' sons forever And David my servant shall be their prince forever Now when Yigal Yedim and his people involved in the excavating project on top of Masada read that, they realized that they were a part of a national regathering in Israel And the Jews have been gathering in Israel ever since then This is what we call the collecting of Israel But listen carefully to what I'm going to say

This is not the collecting of Israel that we understand the Bible to say Yes, they're going back to their land That is true But they're going back to the land for one specific purpose That they may be chastised and flee that land again That's important to understand They're being gathered back again so there will become a fulfillment of Daniel's 70 weeks While there has been a national gathering of Israel, there is not a spiritual restoration of Israel or a spiritual resurrection of Israel, better said, because they have not yet the breath of God in them

And yes, they are gathering back together in the land, but they are gathering there for one purpose That they might flee again so that there will ultimately be a collecting of Israel when the king returns You with me so far? Remember Revelation chapter 12, verse 13, and when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman That woman is Israel who gave birth to the male child That's the Messiah

And the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman in order that she might fly into the wilderness, to her place where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent In other words, as a result of the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet in Daniel chapter 9, where the Antichrist demands that all the world worship him, Israel will have nothing to do with the false Messiah And they will flee, they will run, and they will go to the wilderness, which in Old Testament language is Moab and Edom

And the Bible says in verse 15, And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood And the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth And the dragon was enraged with the woman, that is Israel, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, that is the Gentiles, who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus

So we know they're going to flee, that's why after the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24 it says, When you therefore see the abomination of desolation, then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains Why? Why? Why is God bringing them back to the land? He's bringing them back for one purpose, that they might be scattered again in order to be collected in his divine timetable So let me show you the collection of Israel Matthew chapter 24 verse number 29

But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory Here you go, verse 31 And he shall send forth his angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other

That is the collecting of Israel We know that Israel will be around at the end because when the Son of Man returns he will gather those elect from the four winds of the earth Let me show you what Isaiah the prophet said in Isaiah chapter 43 He said it this way Isaiah 43 verse number 5 Do not fear for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north give them up and to the south do not hold them back Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth

Everyone who is called by my name and whom I have created for my glory whom I have formed even whom I have made That is the fulfillment of Matthew chapter 24 verse number 31 Or that is the prophecy that's fulfilled in Matthew 24 verse number 31 Read Jeremiah chapter 32 verse number 37 It says these words Behold I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety He's going to make them dwell in safety When will Israel dwell in safety? Tribulation? No

Millennium? Yes That's when they dwell in safety And they shall be my people and I will be their God When do they dwell in safety? When they are his people and he is their God

And I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me always for their own good and for the good of their children after them and I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good and I will put the fear of me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from me and I will rejoice over them to do them good and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all my heart and with all my soul for thus says the Lord just as I brought all this great disaster on this people so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them

There is the word of the Lord As I brought all the disaster upon them so too I will bring all the blessing and all the goodness on them Why? Because I made a promise to them. I keep my word to my people And that is the fulfillment or that's the prophecy that's fulfilled when the sign of the Son of Man appears and he returns with all of his glory and he collects them from all the four winds of the earth the four corners of the world to bring them together from east, from west, from north, from south he collects them all

He puts a new spirit within them and they are able to experience the promise of Davidic, Abrahamic and New Covenant because that's God's promise to them That's the collecting of Israel Point number three the chastisement of Israel Why will Israel be around? Because it's the time of Jacob's trouble That's why The chastisement of Israel We know that the Lord is going to be instrumental in saving Israel We know that But we also know the tribulation is a time of chastisement for Israel We know that from Ezekiel chapter 20

Ezekiel chapter 20 verse number 33 As I live declares the Lord God surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I shall be king over you and I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out and I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples and there I shall enter into judgment with you face to face

Verse 37 And I will make you pass under the rod and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant and I shall purge from you the rebels and those who transgress me and I shall bring them out of the land where they sojourn but they will not enter into the land of Israel thus you will know that I am the Lord There's going to be a chastisement of Israel Why? Because there has to be a purging of Israel There has to be a dealing with those who rebel against God and His authority God has to deal with them And so we know that Israel will be around because God has to chastise them

It's the time of Jacob's trouble Yes, He's going to save them He's going to do that and that's our next point or close to our next point Next comes point number 4 and that's the comfort of Israel Isaiah 40 verses 1 and 2 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people saith the Lord or saith God Speak ye tenderly to Jerusalem and cry unto her and her warfare is accomplished that her iniquity is pardoned for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins Why has Israel or why will Israel receive double for all of her sins? Simply because to whom much is given much is required

And they were given the law of God when nobody else was And they were to be the representatives of God when nobody else was and they didn't do it And they will receive double their punishment, double their chastisement because they refused to do what God told them to do But comfort is coming In order for them to be comforted they have to be around in the tribulation They have to be around when the king returns Why? Because then comes the conversion of Israel The conversion of Israel

That's in Zechariah 12 verse number 10 and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and the spirit of supplication And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem Zechariah 13 verse number 1 says in that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness

There is going to be a day where Israel is saved Romans 11 tells us that all Israel will be saved And we know because God purges out the rebels in the book of Zechariah it says that one third of that remnant will go into the land because the one third is all that's left of Israel at the end So all of Israel will be saved because the two thirds of Israel would have been purged out They would have been destroyed in that rod and chastisement of God in the tribulation and all that's left is that one third remnant which is the definition of the all of Romans 11 when it says all Israel will be saved

There will be the conversion of Israel Not every Jew Some Jews are converted today Marilyn's with us this evening she's a converted Jew She won't be a part of the 144,000 in Revelation 7 Because she's going with the church to heaven at the rapture of the church So there are many Jews saved in the church age and they'll be transferred or translated up into glory at the rapture of the church But there will be millions of Jews that are left But they all won't enter into the land of Israel Oh they'll gather back there They'll gather back because that's what they're doing right now

Only to be scattered at the abomination of desolation So at the end they will be collected And they will be chastised But there's comfort that's coming because of the conversion that will happen to Israel Which leads us to the sixth point and that is the commission of Israel The commission of Israel This is in Revelation chapter 7 In Revelation chapter 7 Remember chapter 6 verse number 17 ends with and the great day of their wrath has come who is able to stand That's the question The answer Revelation 7

And I heard the number of those who are sealed verse number 4 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel This is the commission of Israel in the tribulation There are 144,000 Jewish evangelists. 12,000 from every tribe And they will be marked by God It says in verse 9

After these things I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could count from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the Lamb clothed in white robes and palm branches were in their hands and they cry out with a loud voice saying salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. 144,000 Jewish evangelists do their job and there comes a great multitude of Gentiles who are in heaven because they heard the message of the 144,000 Jews They were commissioned by God to go and preach the gospel And that's what they did

And when you read further in Revelation 7 you see a countless number of Gentile nations, a great multitude that no one could count because there were so many of them because the 144,000 preached the gospel and the tribulation and they understood their commission before God And when you come to Revelation chapter 14 it says this in verse number 1 And I looked and behold the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion and with him 144 thousand having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads

And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps and they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth When you come to Revelation 14 they stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion

Who was able to stand in Revelation chapter 6 verse number 17? 144,000 Jews who are marked and branded by God that Satan could not kill will stand at the end of that tribulation on Mount Zion and with the Lamb of God And why would they stand? Not only because they were protected by God but listen to this verse number 4 These are the ones who themselves chased These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes These have been purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb and no lie was found in their mouth They are blameless

You have 144,000 Jewish evangelists marked by God. 144,000 undefiled men, undeterred men because they follow the Lord wherever He goes The Lamb wherever He goes Unequaled among men Uncompromising men because no lie was found in their mouth Unblemished men That's why so many people are saved Because the testimony and the character of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists And that's a reminder to us about our testimony and how we portray the gospel to people today Yes, there is great terror in the tribulation. there's the abomination of desolation where the Antichrist demands to be worshipped

Yes, lawlessness increases during the tribulation Yes, there is much disaster throughout the tribulation But you have 144,000 Jewish evangelists. 144,000 men Men Because they were undefiled They were chaste They knew not a woman They were pure They were holy Unequaled Undefiled Unblemished Undeterred Nothing stopped their mission Nothing kept them from proclaiming the gospel Nothing got them off track And that's why they were used in such a powerful way by God Because those character qualities should be the character qualities that exemplify our lives as well

That we might stand strong with the Lamb Follow Him wherever He goes Live lives that are unblemished, unequaled, uncompromising, undefiled, undeterred, because we want to follow the Lamb wherever He goes People need to know the truth Israel will go through the tribulation Two-thirds of them will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved They will be saved

He has warned them all through Deuteronomy, all through Daniel chapter seven, Daniel chapter nine He's warned them about impending judgment He tells them it's going to come It's going to come just like He said, because He's the God of truth But God is not done with Israel by no means It is just going to begin for them once again in that 70th week of Daniel's prophecy That's why you hear, comfort ye, comfort ye my people Comfort them in spite of all the chastisement, in spite of all the difficulty Comfort them Why? Because they're going to be saved

They're going to be converted. I will breathe into them. I will give them new life. I will write my words upon their hearts and they will follow, follow me And throughout that tribulation, there will be 144,000 of them who will preach the truth of the gospel, so other Gentile people will hear, believe, and be saved That's what's going to happen with Israel Let's pray Father, thank You, Lord, for tonight, a chance to be into Your Word You truly are a great God We praise You and bless You for all that You have done

May we be like those 144,000 Jewish evangelists by keeping our lives pure and holy, never waving to the right or to the left, always seeking to fulfill Your blessed Word We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.