WEBVTT 00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:03.560 Hey there! Is today your first time here? Or 00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:06.160 maybe your first time in a while? If so, maybe 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:08.439 you're wondering exactly who we are and what 00:00:08.439 --> 00:00:11.199 this church is all about. Well, we'd like you 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:13.080 to know that we're a group of ordinary people 00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:15.980 who are on an amazing journey together following 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:19.079 Christ. Our guide is the Bible because it's the 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:21.739 divinely inspired Word of God and it will never 00:00:21.739 --> 00:00:24.500 take us in the wrong direction. Along the way, 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:26.620 we hope you'll see that we are welcoming and 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:29.089 spiritually passionate. and that getting to know 00:00:29.089 --> 00:00:31.969 you is a big deal to us. We know that the road 00:00:31.969 --> 00:00:34.630 is rough sometimes, but we'll work really hard 00:00:34.630 --> 00:00:36.689 to bring you practical and relevant messages 00:00:36.689 --> 00:00:39.210 to equip and encourage you through life's ups 00:00:39.210 --> 00:00:42.289 and downs. We want you to know that we care about 00:00:42.289 --> 00:00:44.329 this community, and we believe that it's our 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:47.329 job to make it a better place. So no matter who 00:00:47.329 --> 00:00:49.450 you are or where you've been, we're glad you're 00:00:49.450 --> 00:00:51.810 here with us today, and we hope that you'll join 00:00:51.810 --> 00:00:54.149 us on our journey, following Christ and living 00:00:54.149 --> 00:01:00.039 out His plan for us. So welcome to church. Thankful, 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:03.539 God. Pray that, Lord, your word would meet us 00:01:03.539 --> 00:01:06.400 right where we're at. We're confident in the 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:09.060 fact that, Lord, it's your desire to talk to 00:01:09.060 --> 00:01:12.400 us and meet with us, Lord. You want to speak 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:15.900 to us, Lord, and minister to our hearts, remind 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:19.079 us of your love, challenge us, warn us, all the 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:21.219 things we need, Lord. So I pray you do that this 00:01:21.219 --> 00:01:24.099 morning, God, that we as a church would have 00:01:24.099 --> 00:01:25.599 an ear to hear what you'd have to say today. 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:39.069 In Jesus' name. We had a whole wall full of baptism 00:01:39.069 --> 00:01:43.569 pictures at one time here. Almost 20 of them, 00:01:43.569 --> 00:01:45.969 20 years of them, plus give or take different 00:01:45.969 --> 00:01:49.650 other times we baptized people. We had men's 00:01:49.650 --> 00:01:54.989 retreats on the Genesee River and several baptisms, 00:01:54.989 --> 00:02:01.200 Silver Lake. Currently, we do it at the Breezeway 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:06.579 Barn at our kind of church anniversary in August 00:02:06.579 --> 00:02:10.479 every year. But I remember looking at them. At 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:14.500 one point, we would look at baptism pictures. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.560 We baptized 20, 25 people at a time every year. 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.979 Great, super encouraging. A lot of people would 00:02:23.979 --> 00:02:26.060 show up. And then as we began to look at those 00:02:26.060 --> 00:02:30.419 pictures, What you'd see is one of the signs 00:02:30.419 --> 00:02:33.639 of the last days is people began to disappear. 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:38.259 The people that were getting baptized, they weren't 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:42.479 just not attending Calvary Chapel. Because it's 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:44.659 great. If you're not attending here and you're 00:02:44.659 --> 00:02:48.939 going to a Bible -believing church, amen. That's 00:02:48.939 --> 00:02:51.860 where you need to be. Find a good, healthy church 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:55.000 that teaches the word of God and find a home, 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:57.680 a family. That's it. It's where you want to be, 00:02:57.699 --> 00:02:59.979 and you want to be connected. You want to be 00:02:59.979 --> 00:03:02.539 part of it. You're part of a family, part of 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:06.340 the church. It's the bride of Christ. It's one 00:03:06.340 --> 00:03:09.280 bride. It's not all these different brides. It's 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:12.900 the church. So plug in. But what we were seeing 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:16.340 is people were just falling off the map, falling 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:19.520 away. And that's the warning in these last days. 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:23.520 One of the earmarks, and we talked about it last 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:27.800 week, is that people would fall away. They would 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:30.259 begin to walk away from God, walk away from the 00:03:30.259 --> 00:03:36.080 Lord. And typically, it's a gradual descent, 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:42.460 right? It starts small, maybe with just becoming 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:47.080 busy, too busy to get together, too busy. We've 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:50.419 got so many things going on, or fears, or finances, 00:03:50.580 --> 00:03:54.439 and then it turns into something else, and pretty 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:57.590 soon, you're gone. You're out of a place of fellowship. 00:03:57.710 --> 00:03:59.810 It's easy not to go to church. It's easy not 00:03:59.810 --> 00:04:02.729 to. But church is the place where you hear the 00:04:02.729 --> 00:04:04.930 word of God. You get stirred up, but you're part 00:04:04.930 --> 00:04:08.210 of a family. You get sharpened, challenged. There's 00:04:08.210 --> 00:04:10.650 accountability. You should have friends at church. 00:04:10.909 --> 00:04:15.030 You should be making friends. That's part of 00:04:15.030 --> 00:04:19.569 it. But slowly, as you get drawn away, pulled 00:04:19.569 --> 00:04:22.290 away, all those things, they begin to crumble. 00:04:23.389 --> 00:04:28.230 And then you're a target. But the devil does 00:04:28.230 --> 00:04:31.050 not want to see you in church, does not want 00:04:31.050 --> 00:04:34.050 you part of a body, wants to pull you away. You 00:04:34.050 --> 00:04:41.230 become a very easy target. It says this, one 00:04:41.230 --> 00:04:46.170 of the most sobering verses in the Bible, a little 00:04:46.170 --> 00:04:49.310 portion as Jesus is talking about kingdom living 00:04:49.310 --> 00:04:54.639 in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. He issues a 00:04:54.639 --> 00:05:01.639 warning at the end of chapter 7. It says in verse 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:05.680 21, you don't have to turn there. But not everyone, 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:08.759 Jesus will say, he's telling his disciples, everyone 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:12.740 who followed him up onto this mountain, not everyone 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:15.220 who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:18.519 the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:21.459 of my Father in heaven. Then he goes on to say, 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:24.420 In fact, many will say to me in that day, Lord, 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:27.420 Lord, haven't we prophesied in your name, cast 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:29.800 out demons in your name, and done many wonders 00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:34.240 in your name? Haven't we done this? We've done 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:39.560 these works. You owe us heaven. I've been a good 00:05:39.560 --> 00:05:42.959 person. I've tithed. I've served. I've done this 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:47.759 and that. That doesn't get you into heaven. It's 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.279 the work of Calvary and what Jesus Christ did. 00:05:54.860 --> 00:05:57.579 And Jesus says, then I will declare to them, 00:05:57.699 --> 00:06:01.540 I never knew you. Apart from me, you who practice 00:06:01.540 --> 00:06:05.639 lawlessness. There was never a relationship. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:10.480 The relationship was based on what you could 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:12.959 do to be good enough and not what Jesus did to 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:17.240 make you good enough. That's the problem. But 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:21.100 I can't imagine being there that Jesus literally 00:06:21.100 --> 00:06:23.899 says people will be standing there someday. Saying, 00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:26.699 Lord, Lord, they're not claiming some other God, 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:29.839 but they're claiming Jesus Christ, the God of 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:32.920 the Bible. Lord, Lord, didn't we do this? Didn't 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:36.420 we do that? To hear those words, the final words, 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:39.420 depart from me, I never knew you. That's it. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:44.060 No do -overs, no second chance. It's here to 00:06:44.060 --> 00:06:49.180 get your chance. Now. And so the Bible, we're 00:06:49.180 --> 00:06:51.319 looking at these signs. One of those signs is 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:56.740 a departure from the faith. I pray that God, 00:06:56.779 --> 00:06:58.500 his spirit would move one more time and there 00:06:58.500 --> 00:07:02.519 would be a great revival again. And I think what 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:06.040 we saw back in, I think it was September, that 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:10.839 God used the seed of another martyr, which God 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:15.240 always does. Charlie Kirk, as he died, it stirred 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:18.560 and ignited faith again in this country. Bible 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.779 sales went up exponentially. Church attendance 00:07:21.779 --> 00:07:30.839 went up. because of what he represented, who 00:07:30.839 --> 00:07:32.740 he represented. And it just started stirring 00:07:32.740 --> 00:07:36.540 hearts in people. Who is this guy? And people 00:07:36.540 --> 00:07:41.620 were looking him up and pretty amazing. And so 00:07:41.620 --> 00:07:44.360 I pray God does do a great revival, but we know 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:47.480 what's going to happen is there'll be a departure 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:51.699 from the faith. There'll be people leaving the 00:07:51.699 --> 00:07:54.800 faith. And so Jesus gave his disciples signs 00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:57.379 of the last days. As we're looking through Matthew 00:07:57.379 --> 00:08:01.399 24, there'll be wars, rumors of wars. There's 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:03.959 always been that, but nothing like we know today. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.600 Today we see wars, rumors of wars. We know what 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:16.519 is going on in Iran today, Persia. Iran is Persia 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:20.750 in the Bible. And they're very significant players 00:08:20.750 --> 00:08:23.649 in the last days. We're going to read in Ezekiel 00:08:23.649 --> 00:08:27.649 38 and 39 because there's one great war that's 00:08:27.649 --> 00:08:29.769 coming. It's not the final war, but there's a 00:08:29.769 --> 00:08:32.970 war coming. And the Bible lists all the players. 00:08:34.350 --> 00:08:38.090 Amazing. These people, some of them that never 00:08:38.090 --> 00:08:41.769 had a relationship before are now coming together 00:08:41.769 --> 00:08:46.750 and very close ties, very close relationship. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:53.120 especially Turkey and Persia, Iran, and Russia. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:57.019 Kind of amazing. And you're hearing threats from 00:08:57.019 --> 00:08:59.940 Russia, right? If you do something, we're going 00:08:59.940 --> 00:09:01.600 to do something. They're threatening nuclear 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:11.559 war on Europe. Nuclear force. It's kind of amazing 00:09:11.559 --> 00:09:15.000 that these guys are in place, that the Bible 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:20.700 says it before. It's never even happened. Calls 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:23.879 these people out hundreds and sometimes thousands 00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:27.559 of years in advance. How could God know? How 00:09:27.559 --> 00:09:30.580 could God know? But the Bible clearly states 00:09:30.580 --> 00:09:35.019 it. And so Jesus gives the earmarks of these 00:09:35.019 --> 00:09:37.899 things. Wars, rumors, rumors of wars, famine, 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:43.899 pestilence, natural disasters, earthquakes, persecution. 00:09:45.299 --> 00:09:49.019 And he begins to talk about this time of tribulation 00:09:49.019 --> 00:09:51.519 that's coming on the earth, which the number 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:54.220 one, and you need to know this because we're 00:09:54.220 --> 00:09:56.980 going to talk about Israel today. But you need 00:09:56.980 --> 00:09:58.960 to know that the tribulation period, there'll 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:01.220 be many people who get saved during the tribulation. 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:05.500 The seven year period on planet earth that God 00:10:05.500 --> 00:10:10.480 pours out finally judges the planet. Kind of 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:12.799 like in the days of Noah. In fact, Jesus is going 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:16.769 to say that. In the days of Noah, when there 00:10:16.769 --> 00:10:19.509 was a global judgment, a flood, there's going 00:10:19.509 --> 00:10:21.710 to come another day of judgment. But God is so 00:10:21.710 --> 00:10:24.169 patient, not willing, the Bible says, that any 00:10:24.169 --> 00:10:26.110 would perish, but that all would come to repentance. 00:10:26.470 --> 00:10:32.850 He's giving people time. A space to repent. Time 00:10:32.850 --> 00:10:35.870 to hear the gospel. Time to understand that, 00:10:35.950 --> 00:10:41.070 yeah, what is life after death? Why are we here? 00:10:41.110 --> 00:10:44.090 How did we get here? Answer all these questions 00:10:44.090 --> 00:10:47.850 that are in the DNA of every person. He's giving 00:10:47.850 --> 00:10:52.769 us time and space and room to answer those questions 00:10:52.769 --> 00:11:00.169 and come to Christ. And so Israel is a key player. 00:11:01.950 --> 00:11:08.929 Ezekiel chapter 36 or 37 and 36. We'll look at 00:11:08.929 --> 00:11:12.509 that. But God has given people a space, a time 00:11:12.509 --> 00:11:17.389 to repent. As the tribulation period, many people 00:11:17.389 --> 00:11:21.629 will get saved during that time. But it is the 00:11:21.629 --> 00:11:26.250 time. And if you remember, Daniel chapter 9. 00:11:27.830 --> 00:11:30.169 People are like, don't say Daniel chapter 9. 00:11:30.690 --> 00:11:32.690 Daniel chapter 9, we're not going to go there, 00:11:32.830 --> 00:11:37.350 but it's something very important. The angel 00:11:37.350 --> 00:11:43.309 gives Daniel this 70 week of years, period. 490 00:11:43.309 --> 00:11:47.490 years. It's going to take place. The first 69, 00:11:47.850 --> 00:11:53.669 God gives Daniel to give the exact day that Jesus 00:11:53.669 --> 00:11:56.070 Christ was going to ride into Jerusalem. And 00:11:56.070 --> 00:11:59.950 he did. But there's a space, an age of grace. 00:12:00.009 --> 00:12:02.450 It's the church age. There's one more week, week 00:12:02.450 --> 00:12:05.299 of years, seven years. We know as the time of 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:08.559 Jacob's trouble, Daniel's 70th week. And it's 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:10.679 a time where God is going to save people in the 00:12:10.679 --> 00:12:13.279 tribulation, but he's going to deal with this 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:19.639 nation, Israel. Israel is key during the tribulation 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:21.779 period. And we have that. You read the book of 00:12:21.779 --> 00:12:27.720 Revelation. It's laid out. Chapters 6 through 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:33.230 19 is the tribulation period. There's no quiz 00:12:33.230 --> 00:12:38.110 on that, so don't worry. But it's important. 00:12:38.850 --> 00:12:43.429 God saves 144 ,000 Jewish people. They're Jewish 00:12:43.429 --> 00:12:47.350 Billy Grahams, evangelists. They're proclaiming 00:12:47.350 --> 00:12:51.830 the gospel to Jewish prophets in Jerusalem. It's 00:12:51.830 --> 00:12:54.090 very Jewish. So as we're going through this, 00:12:54.169 --> 00:12:57.269 we're seeing different signs, looking at them. 00:12:57.970 --> 00:13:03.399 And we get to a verse. In Matthew 24, it says 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:10.740 this. Matthew 24, it says in verse 32, Now learn 00:13:10.740 --> 00:13:14.639 the parable of the fig tree. When its branch 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:17.700 has already become tender and puts forth its 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:21.299 leaves, you know that summer is near. So also 00:13:21.299 --> 00:13:23.159 when you see all these things, you shall know 00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:26.539 it's near even at the door. So he's relating 00:13:26.539 --> 00:13:28.820 this to the signs in the same way you would see 00:13:28.820 --> 00:13:32.000 a tree. In fact, Luke just talks about. Any tree, 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:34.419 the way you see the leaves come on the trees 00:13:34.419 --> 00:13:37.940 or fruit coming, you know, you can tell the seasons 00:13:37.940 --> 00:13:41.299 by what you're seeing in a tree, right? You look 00:13:41.299 --> 00:13:43.980 outside, there's, if you live in New York, there's 00:13:43.980 --> 00:13:46.120 not many leaves on the tree. If there are, they're 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:50.139 shriveled up, right? We're waiting for another 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:53.240 couple months and we start seeing some buds come 00:13:53.240 --> 00:13:56.120 out and everyone starts talking about the crocuses 00:13:56.120 --> 00:13:58.519 that are, oh my gosh, look at this, it's amazing, 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:02.049 right? We want. the warm weather to come. Well, 00:14:02.110 --> 00:14:04.370 that's part of what Jesus is relating this to. 00:14:05.809 --> 00:14:08.690 He says, when you see all these, know this, that 00:14:08.690 --> 00:14:11.769 it's at the doors. Assuredly, I say to you, this 00:14:11.769 --> 00:14:15.730 is important, that this generation will by no 00:14:15.730 --> 00:14:18.210 means pass away till all these things take place. 00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:20.570 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words 00:14:20.570 --> 00:14:23.250 will by no means pass away. Something's going 00:14:23.250 --> 00:14:27.470 to happen. Because the fig tree is also emblematic 00:14:27.470 --> 00:14:33.240 of the nation of Israel. The Bible talks, if 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:37.460 you read the Old Testament, Micah, I think it's 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:40.960 Chronicles, where Israel is looking for a day 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:44.399 where it sits under its vine and its fig tree. 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:48.460 And it's emblematic of this nation, Israel, the 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:52.179 fig tree. And Jesus says something that I think 00:14:52.179 --> 00:14:57.419 is significant here. He says, when you know this 00:14:57.419 --> 00:14:59.799 parable of the fig tree, when its branch is ready 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:02.750 to become tender, and it brings forth leaves, 00:15:02.990 --> 00:15:05.049 you know that summer is near. And something the 00:15:05.049 --> 00:15:07.990 Bible declares and promises, and it's unfortunate, 00:15:08.129 --> 00:15:11.509 and I've talked about it before, Martin Luther, 00:15:11.730 --> 00:15:19.450 unfortunately, John Calvin, and many of our forefathers 00:15:19.450 --> 00:15:24.049 who did not understand or see Israel, the potential 00:15:24.049 --> 00:15:28.590 of them becoming a nation again, created this 00:15:28.590 --> 00:15:31.740 thing. And believed in something known as, and 00:15:31.740 --> 00:15:33.919 I mentioned it before, replacement theology. 00:15:34.299 --> 00:15:37.000 Wherever you see Israel in the New Testament, 00:15:37.299 --> 00:15:40.840 the church replaces Israel. Israel is no more. 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:44.580 They're insignificant. And the church has replaced 00:15:44.580 --> 00:15:47.360 Israel. Well, God doesn't say that. Paul doesn't 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:50.519 say that in Romans. It's very important to know 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:54.379 because it's the super sign of the last days. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.690 Israel becoming a nation again. But it's something 00:15:57.690 --> 00:16:00.149 that most people wrote them off. Lots of people 00:16:00.149 --> 00:16:03.789 wrote Israel off. Like there's no way they can 00:16:03.789 --> 00:16:08.570 become a nation again. It's impossible. Because 00:16:08.570 --> 00:16:10.610 they're out of the land. But Jesus said that. 00:16:11.649 --> 00:16:14.929 We won't go there. But Jesus said that your house 00:16:14.929 --> 00:16:17.330 is left to you desolate. Because they rejected 00:16:17.330 --> 00:16:22.350 their Messiah. And we know 70 AD, it's not overly 00:16:22.350 --> 00:16:25.460 important. It is important. that Titus of Aspasian 00:16:25.460 --> 00:16:27.980 comes into the city and ransacks. It kills over 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:31.940 a million Jews. Cannibalism is part of what they're 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:35.000 doing in the city, and they take 100 ,000 people 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:38.519 captive because they rejected their Messiah. 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:41.720 And the fruit of that was they went back into 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:45.200 this last day's dispersion during the church 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.820 age. But the Bible promises that there's going 00:16:48.820 --> 00:16:51.830 to be a regathering. That Israel is going to 00:16:51.830 --> 00:16:53.710 become a nation again. Most people didn't believe 00:16:53.710 --> 00:16:58.110 that. Most people thought it is impossible that 00:16:58.110 --> 00:17:00.950 that could happen. It says this. I wrote down 00:17:00.950 --> 00:17:04.809 a couple of quotes. Encyclopedia. Anyone ever 00:17:04.809 --> 00:17:07.390 have an encyclopedia Britannica at their house? 00:17:07.509 --> 00:17:09.630 When I was growing up, my grandmother had this 00:17:09.630 --> 00:17:13.490 whole shelf of encyclopedia Britannicas. I would 00:17:13.490 --> 00:17:16.829 just go through them. Well, the one from 1911 00:17:16.829 --> 00:17:20.250 says this. If you look up and. Maybe you could 00:17:20.250 --> 00:17:24.369 look this up online. It says this with the entry 00:17:24.369 --> 00:17:28.950 of the Hebrew language. It says, the dream of 00:17:28.950 --> 00:17:32.289 some Zionists that Hebrew, that is to say a would 00:17:32.289 --> 00:17:34.769 -be Hebrew, will again become a living popular 00:17:34.769 --> 00:17:38.809 language in Palestine has less prospect of realization 00:17:38.809 --> 00:17:42.930 than their vision of a restored Jewish empire 00:17:42.930 --> 00:17:45.369 in the Holy Land. Like, that ain't going to happen. 00:17:45.650 --> 00:17:47.769 There's not going to be a Hebrew language again. 00:17:48.269 --> 00:17:50.029 The Jewish people are not going to be in the 00:17:50.029 --> 00:17:53.049 Holy Land again. It's impossible. I mean, that's 00:17:53.049 --> 00:17:56.529 just over 100 years ago. Mark Twain, on his tour 00:17:56.529 --> 00:18:02.630 to the Holy Land, said this in 1867 in his writings 00:18:02.630 --> 00:18:05.730 called Innocence Abroad. It says, of all the 00:18:05.730 --> 00:18:10.069 lands of dismal scenery, I think Palestine must 00:18:10.069 --> 00:18:15.170 be the prince. Israel is desolate and unlovely, 00:18:15.190 --> 00:18:18.640 a barren wasteland, rich in soil, but wholly 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:23.119 given over to weeds, a silent, mournful expanse. 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:28.099 He remarked that he didn't encounter one single 00:18:28.099 --> 00:18:32.000 human being and hardly a tree or shrub. That's 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:36.240 in 1867. He wrote that. And now we're talking 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:41.759 about a nation that is birthed May 14th, 1948, 00:18:48.290 --> 00:18:53.289 produce goods, distribute goods. They're top 00:18:53.289 --> 00:18:58.329 15 in the world on certain things, but top 25 00:18:58.329 --> 00:19:01.410 in the whole world, which may not seem like a 00:19:01.410 --> 00:19:05.089 lot, top 25. Gee, that's not great. There's a 00:19:05.089 --> 00:19:07.869 lot of countries. There's 15 million Jews on 00:19:07.869 --> 00:19:11.130 the planet, on the whole planet, 15 million Jews. 00:19:11.789 --> 00:19:16.390 Seven and a half million live in Israel. Jews. 00:19:16.450 --> 00:19:18.549 There's 10 million in the whole country, but 00:19:18.549 --> 00:19:21.549 seven and a half million Jews and their top 25, 00:19:21.710 --> 00:19:27.009 in some aspects, in some ways, they cut flowers 00:19:27.009 --> 00:19:30.069 to Holland, who was the number one exporter in 00:19:30.069 --> 00:19:33.250 the world. They sell flowers, cut flowers to 00:19:33.250 --> 00:19:37.470 Holland. Their top five or top 10 in citrus, 00:19:37.809 --> 00:19:42.329 avocados, pomegranates. I mean, Israel has become, 00:19:42.430 --> 00:19:46.160 from what Mark Twain said, to our day and age, 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:50.839 this major superpower. In fact, in terms of military, 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:56.480 they're top 10 or 15 in the world today. Top 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:00.740 five in some instances, their Navy, their Air 00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:05.700 Force, and their tank divisions. Top three in 00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:09.000 terms of secret service. I mean, we're talking 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:12.599 about a nation that was born less than 100 years 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:18.069 ago. And they become a global superpower. That 00:20:18.069 --> 00:20:20.769 at one time, the church itself that had the scriptures 00:20:20.769 --> 00:20:24.769 thought, this is impossible. There's no way they 00:20:24.769 --> 00:20:26.910 can become a nation. And guess what they have? 00:20:27.769 --> 00:20:33.170 May 14th, 1948, to become a nation. It's incredible 00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:38.329 what God has done. And he said it before it ever 00:20:38.329 --> 00:20:43.369 happened. And some people, Christians. Had to 00:20:43.369 --> 00:20:46.390 replace the church with Israel because they were 00:20:46.390 --> 00:21:01.730 in such disbelief. Just kind of amazing. Isaiah 00:21:01.730 --> 00:21:07.269 27, 6 says, in those days, the days that God 00:21:07.269 --> 00:21:09.190 is going to bring Israel back into the land, 00:21:09.349 --> 00:21:14.380 it says, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:24.299 and bud and fill the world with fruit. So I'm 00:21:24.299 --> 00:21:25.720 going to look at my notes for a second and tell 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:29.059 you guys exactly what they're. They're tropical 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:34.539 fruit exports. Avocados, dates, mangoes, citrus. 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:39.160 They're number seven in the world in tropical 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:45.980 fruits. Who would have thought that? They sell 00:21:45.980 --> 00:21:49.859 cut flowers to the Netherlands and Holland. Netherlands 00:21:49.859 --> 00:21:53.680 is the number one exporter in the world, and 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:57.700 they purchase flowers from Israel. This land 00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:05.279 that was barren, desert. The army is top 15 in 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:08.200 the world of 145 countries, but top 10 in their 00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:11.240 air force. Naval fleet, top five in the tank 00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:14.339 fleet. And like I said, they're intelligent agencies. 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:18.920 The Mossad and Chimbat, they're top three behind 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:27.559 the CIA and the UK's intelligent agencies. And 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:29.660 you remember what happened with Hezbollah and 00:22:29.660 --> 00:22:31.819 the pagers. You guys remember that a couple of 00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:34.980 years ago where Hezbollah has all these pagers. 00:22:35.549 --> 00:22:38.609 And Israel convinced them to buy pagers from 00:22:38.609 --> 00:22:41.549 them so they could track them. And then one day 00:22:41.549 --> 00:22:44.930 they have this little bomb in them. And Israel, 00:22:45.009 --> 00:22:49.029 the Mossad ignites them, sets them off. People 00:22:49.029 --> 00:22:52.730 die because these people are constantly attacking 00:22:52.730 --> 00:22:59.410 Israel. Israel, their intelligence is amazing. 00:23:02.859 --> 00:23:05.359 But the Bible declares that people are going 00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:09.640 to go back to Israel. It's called Aliyah. They're 00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:12.380 going to go back to their homeland. And I was 00:23:12.380 --> 00:23:16.000 talking to someone recently who works with Jews 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:18.500 in our area, Jewish people, Jewish community. 00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:20.539 And he was just telling me how much they get 00:23:20.539 --> 00:23:25.640 together and they're in contact with the Mossad 00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:29.319 in their country. They send billions of dollars 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:32.720 back to their country all the time. Like these 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:35.180 groups of Jews, these communities, Rochester, 00:23:35.460 --> 00:23:39.759 Buffalo, New York City, they're in contact with 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:45.200 the CIA, the Mossad. They get updates on alerts, 00:23:45.380 --> 00:23:48.380 things to watch out for, and they're constantly 00:23:48.380 --> 00:23:51.079 sending money back to their homeland. And since 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:55.119 the massacre October 7th, thousands of, tens 00:23:55.119 --> 00:23:58.480 of thousands of people have gone back to Israel 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:01.730 to live, to move. Right? But the Bible says that 00:24:01.730 --> 00:24:03.829 they're going to do that. That they're going 00:24:03.829 --> 00:24:05.930 to go back. That they're going to enter back 00:24:05.930 --> 00:24:08.650 into the land in unbelief. Like they're not Christians, 00:24:08.890 --> 00:24:15.109 but they're God's people. If you turn with me 00:24:15.109 --> 00:24:24.170 for a second to Genesis chapter 12. This fig 00:24:24.170 --> 00:24:34.440 tree is going to blossom. It's a promise. As 00:24:34.440 --> 00:24:37.700 God calls Abraham out of his country and his 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:40.599 nation, it says this in verse 1 of Genesis chapter 00:24:40.599 --> 00:24:43.539 12. It says, now the Lord had said to Abraham, 00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:46.059 Abraham, get out of your country and your family 00:24:46.059 --> 00:24:48.299 and from your father's house to a land that I'm 00:24:48.299 --> 00:24:51.779 going to show you. I'll make you a great nation. 00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:54.740 I'll bless you. I'll make your name great and 00:24:54.740 --> 00:24:57.759 you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who 00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:01.859 bless you and curse him who curses you. He's 00:25:01.859 --> 00:25:05.099 talking about this nation. That he's reestablishing, 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:11.599 not just Abraham. And in you, all the families 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:14.599 of the earth will be blessed, right? Messiah 00:25:14.599 --> 00:25:18.799 is going to come out of this nation, this Abraham 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:24.579 seed. In chapter 15, you turn there with me for 00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:32.190 a second. God reiterates a promise to them. And 00:25:32.190 --> 00:25:40.029 makes a covenant with Abraham. It says in verse 00:25:40.029 --> 00:25:41.890 1, after these things, the word of the Lord came 00:25:41.890 --> 00:25:44.390 to Abraham in a vision saying, don't be afraid, 00:25:44.569 --> 00:25:48.150 Abraham. I'm your shield, your exceeding great 00:25:48.150 --> 00:25:50.869 reward. And then Abraham argues and says, listen, 00:25:50.910 --> 00:25:54.670 I don't have a seed. Only Eleazar in my house 00:25:54.670 --> 00:25:57.589 is my only seed. I don't have anyone from my 00:25:57.589 --> 00:25:59.930 wife and I. What are we going to do? What am 00:25:59.930 --> 00:26:03.440 I going to do, Lord? And God makes Abraham, and 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:05.259 I'm skipping through this because I don't have 00:26:05.259 --> 00:26:07.559 enough time to read the whole chapter and explain 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:10.759 it. But God basically tells Abraham, do this 00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:14.559 for me. Take these animals and cut them in half 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:18.519 and spread them out. One on one side, one on 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:21.359 the other. Kind of a gruesome scene, but it was 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:25.720 the way they would cut a covenant. And then you 00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:28.160 would make this promise to each other and you'd 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:30.339 basically hold hands and walk down the middle 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:32.779 of these animals that were cut in half. And it 00:26:32.779 --> 00:26:36.339 was such a severe thing that, hey, this is what's 00:26:36.339 --> 00:26:38.500 going to happen to you if you don't keep your 00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:42.420 promise. You'll be like these animals. And but 00:26:42.420 --> 00:26:45.500 when Abraham was there and he cuts the animals 00:26:45.500 --> 00:26:47.980 in half, it says that he fell asleep and all 00:26:47.980 --> 00:26:50.079 he was trying to do is keep these birds from. 00:26:50.959 --> 00:26:53.400 from landing on these animals. That's all his 00:26:53.400 --> 00:26:55.240 job was. Then he finally fell asleep and it says 00:26:55.240 --> 00:26:57.680 that God went through the midst of it by himself 00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:00.940 and burned up these animals. And it was a sign 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:03.859 to Abraham that Abraham, listen, I'm not depending 00:27:03.859 --> 00:27:06.279 on you to keep your side of the promise, but 00:27:06.279 --> 00:27:08.640 I'm going to keep my side. You don't need to 00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:11.200 come through the center of these animals, Abraham, 00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:13.740 because I'm going to keep the promise. You're 00:27:13.740 --> 00:27:16.299 going to have a seed and this seed is going to 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:22.210 last forever. This land is yours forever. And 00:27:22.210 --> 00:27:26.009 no nation on the planet has ever been out of 00:27:26.009 --> 00:27:32.109 their country, off their land for 1900 to 2000 00:27:32.109 --> 00:27:36.069 years and gone back to take it over again. But 00:27:36.069 --> 00:27:38.549 that happened to a nation of Israel. They're 00:27:38.549 --> 00:27:42.230 out of their land for almost 2000 years and they 00:27:42.230 --> 00:27:46.250 go back. There's no other nation, country or 00:27:46.250 --> 00:27:49.099 people. that God says that that's my land and 00:27:49.099 --> 00:27:51.559 these are my people and I gave it to them. It's 00:27:51.559 --> 00:27:54.759 the only place in the Bible. Those are my people. 00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:58.619 This is my land and I gave it to them. And God 00:27:58.619 --> 00:28:02.380 brought them back in and gave them land. So turn 00:28:02.380 --> 00:28:08.579 with me to Ezekiel 37 for a second. I'll just 00:28:08.579 --> 00:28:16.549 read this to you, what God says. Ezekiel 37. 00:28:37.670 --> 00:28:40.130 If you're a note taker, you can write down Isaiah 00:28:40.130 --> 00:28:44.440 11, verse 10 and 11. And there's tons of scriptures 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:48.059 in the Bible talking about God bringing his people 00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:53.039 back into the land in unbelief. But it says this 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:58.319 in chapter 36, verse 22. Therefore, say to the 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:02.500 house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, I do 00:29:02.500 --> 00:29:05.500 not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, 00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:09.599 but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned 00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:12.940 among the nations wherever you went. But I will 00:29:12.940 --> 00:29:16.420 sanctify my great name, which has been profaned 00:29:16.420 --> 00:29:18.799 among the nations, which you have profaned in 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:20.880 their midst. And the nation shall know that I 00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:23.980 am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I'm hollowed 00:29:23.980 --> 00:29:27.059 in you before their eyes. For I will take you 00:29:27.059 --> 00:29:29.940 from among the nations and gather you out of 00:29:29.940 --> 00:29:32.700 all countries and bring you into your own land. 00:29:35.330 --> 00:29:38.049 That's God's promise. And we can bounce around 00:29:38.049 --> 00:29:41.670 and spend a lot of time talking about this. Chapter 00:29:41.670 --> 00:29:46.849 37 is pretty profound because these are the last 00:29:46.849 --> 00:29:49.450 days. This is the vision of these dry bones. 00:29:49.910 --> 00:29:54.809 It says this in chapter 37. The hand of the Lord 00:29:54.809 --> 00:29:59.109 came upon me and brought me out in the spirit 00:29:59.109 --> 00:30:02.910 of the Lord and set me down in the midst. of 00:30:02.910 --> 00:30:05.289 the valley, and it was full of bones. So if you 00:30:05.289 --> 00:30:08.309 can imagine this valley full of bones, they're 00:30:08.309 --> 00:30:11.029 dry bones, he's going to say. He caused me to 00:30:11.029 --> 00:30:13.509 pass by them all, and behold, there were very 00:30:13.509 --> 00:30:15.849 many in an open valley, and indeed, they were 00:30:15.849 --> 00:30:18.670 very dry. And he said to me, Son of man, can 00:30:18.670 --> 00:30:20.950 these bones now live? And I answered, O Lord 00:30:20.950 --> 00:30:24.849 God, you know. I don't know, you know. And he 00:30:24.849 --> 00:30:27.349 said to me, prophesy to these bones and say to 00:30:27.349 --> 00:30:30.190 them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 00:30:31.730 --> 00:30:34.690 Thus saith the Lord God to these bones, surely 00:30:34.690 --> 00:30:38.029 I will cause breath to enter into you and you'll 00:30:38.029 --> 00:30:41.089 live. I will put sinew on you and bring flesh 00:30:41.089 --> 00:30:43.829 upon you and cover you with skin and put breath 00:30:43.829 --> 00:30:46.470 in you and you'll live and you'll know that I 00:30:46.470 --> 00:30:48.650 am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded. 00:30:49.230 --> 00:30:51.609 And as I prophesied, there was a noise and a 00:30:51.609 --> 00:30:53.930 sudden rattling and the bones came together bone 00:30:53.930 --> 00:30:56.509 to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and 00:30:56.509 --> 00:30:58.549 the flesh came upon them and the skin covered 00:30:58.549 --> 00:31:01.349 over them, but there was no breath in them. And 00:31:01.349 --> 00:31:04.609 he said to me, prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, 00:31:04.710 --> 00:31:06.549 son of man, and say to the breath, thus saith 00:31:06.549 --> 00:31:09.869 the Lord God, come from the four winds, O breath, 00:31:10.049 --> 00:31:12.869 and breathe on these slain that they might live. 00:31:13.289 --> 00:31:15.569 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath 00:31:15.569 --> 00:31:17.890 came into them, and they lived, and they stood 00:31:17.890 --> 00:31:21.109 there on their feet. Listen, an exceeding great 00:31:21.109 --> 00:31:26.109 army. That's who Israel is today. And he said 00:31:26.109 --> 00:31:29.390 to me, son of man, this is important, these bones. 00:31:29.930 --> 00:31:34.910 are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, 00:31:35.089 --> 00:31:38.490 and this is what they said, our bones are dry, 00:31:38.670 --> 00:31:41.769 our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off. 00:31:41.990 --> 00:31:44.049 And that's what the nation was saying for a long 00:31:44.049 --> 00:31:48.170 time. Therefore prophesy and say to them, thus 00:31:48.170 --> 00:31:50.529 saith the Lord, O my people, I will open your 00:31:50.529 --> 00:31:52.609 graves and cause you to come up from the graves 00:31:52.609 --> 00:31:55.630 and bring you into the land of Israel. You'll 00:31:55.630 --> 00:31:58.250 know that I'm the Lord when I've opened your 00:31:58.250 --> 00:32:01.109 grave. Oh, my people and brought you up from 00:32:01.109 --> 00:32:03.710 your graves. And I'll put this is future. This 00:32:03.710 --> 00:32:06.430 is during the tribulation. Verse 14. I will put 00:32:06.430 --> 00:32:09.809 my spirit in you and you'll live. Right. They're 00:32:09.809 --> 00:32:13.730 going to become a nation that's saved, redeemed, 00:32:13.750 --> 00:32:18.769 born again. You'll live and I'll place you in 00:32:18.769 --> 00:32:21.349 your own land and you'll know that I, the Lord, 00:32:21.390 --> 00:32:23.369 have spoken it and performed it. They're going 00:32:23.369 --> 00:32:25.769 to be in belief during the tribulation. They're 00:32:25.769 --> 00:32:30.920 going to get saved. We don't have time. We're 00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:33.859 not going to look there. Ezekiel 38 and 39. I 00:32:33.859 --> 00:32:35.759 just want to look at a couple of verses. I want 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:40.720 to read more. There's coming a battle that's 00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:44.180 significant. The timing of it is in question. 00:32:44.299 --> 00:32:46.880 When's it going to happen? Ezekiel 38 and 39. 00:32:49.640 --> 00:32:57.859 I believe before the tribulation kicks off. And 00:32:57.859 --> 00:33:03.289 I believe. Maybe in close correlation with the 00:33:03.289 --> 00:33:07.769 rapture of the church. But these players are 00:33:07.769 --> 00:33:11.390 in play. So I'll just read them and then tell 00:33:11.390 --> 00:33:15.529 you what these names are. Verse 2. Son of man, 00:33:15.589 --> 00:33:18.049 set your face against Gog, the land of Magog, 00:33:18.049 --> 00:33:21.329 the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal. That's 00:33:21.329 --> 00:33:28.349 Russia. And the prince of Russia, Gog and Magog. 00:33:29.450 --> 00:33:31.990 And say, thus saith the Lord God, behold, I'm 00:33:31.990 --> 00:33:34.309 against you, God, the prince of Rosh, Meshach, 00:33:34.309 --> 00:33:38.250 and Tubal. I will turn you around and put hooks 00:33:38.250 --> 00:33:40.609 into your jaws and lead you out with all your 00:33:40.609 --> 00:33:44.309 army, horses and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, 00:33:44.309 --> 00:33:47.009 a great company with bucklers and shields, all 00:33:47.009 --> 00:33:49.369 of them handling the sword. And listen, here's 00:33:49.369 --> 00:33:52.470 who he's gathering with them. Persia, that's 00:33:52.470 --> 00:33:57.859 Iran, Ethiopia, Libya. Are with them, all of 00:33:57.859 --> 00:34:00.160 them with shields and helmets. Gomer and all 00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:03.440 its troops, the house of Tagarma from the far 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:06.480 north and all its troops. Many people are with 00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:09.099 you. Prepare yourselves and be ready. You and 00:34:09.099 --> 00:34:11.179 all your companies that are gathered about and 00:34:11.179 --> 00:34:14.260 be on guard for them. And then if you keep reading, 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:18.280 these people come together. I just want to tell 00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:27.480 you who they are. It says this. Gog and Magog, 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:31.039 that's a title. Rosh, that's Russia. Meshach, 00:34:31.219 --> 00:34:38.539 Moscow. Tubal, that's a city of Russia. But that's 00:34:38.539 --> 00:34:41.719 this northern, far north. If you put a line right 00:34:41.719 --> 00:34:44.119 from Israel straight north, that's who it is. 00:34:44.199 --> 00:34:47.739 It's Russia. And they're aligned with Persia. 00:34:48.119 --> 00:34:52.579 And you could follow all their war spending and 00:34:52.579 --> 00:34:55.659 military might. A lot of it comes from Russia. 00:34:56.269 --> 00:34:59.550 and China and these nations that are aligning. 00:35:00.730 --> 00:35:05.349 And Russia is pouring into this nation. Why? 00:35:05.469 --> 00:35:08.630 For money. We're going to see that people question, 00:35:08.769 --> 00:35:10.610 you know, why are you doing this? Why are you 00:35:10.610 --> 00:35:13.329 going to war? As you continue reading the chapter, 00:35:13.449 --> 00:35:15.530 which I encourage you to do, why are you going 00:35:15.530 --> 00:35:18.210 to war? To take a spoil? And yeah, that's exactly 00:35:18.210 --> 00:35:19.949 what they're doing. They're coming down for a 00:35:19.949 --> 00:35:24.650 spoil. They want to take Israel. They want to 00:35:24.650 --> 00:35:28.489 take the land. They want to destroy them. And 00:35:28.489 --> 00:35:30.869 people will question, but nobody's going to step 00:35:30.869 --> 00:35:35.329 in. God has to step in himself, it says, in this 00:35:35.329 --> 00:35:39.250 battle. But it's Iran. Ethiopia and Kush is Sudan 00:35:39.250 --> 00:35:45.809 and Ethiopia. Libya is Algeria, Tunisia. Gomer 00:35:45.809 --> 00:35:48.809 is Poland, the Czech Republic, East Germany. 00:35:49.050 --> 00:35:53.320 Tagarma is Turkey. The people, Sheba and Dedan, 00:35:53.380 --> 00:35:56.500 verse 13, I didn't read it. One of those people, 00:35:56.539 --> 00:35:59.239 that's the Arabian Peninsula. And one of those 00:35:59.239 --> 00:36:02.800 places is Saudi Arabia, where you think of Osama 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:06.559 bin Laden and 9 -11, right? But now with the 00:36:06.559 --> 00:36:09.760 Abraham Accords and the new president, they're 00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:13.980 sympathetic. They're friendly to Israel. In fact, 00:36:14.019 --> 00:36:16.920 they're worried about Iran themselves. They said 00:36:16.920 --> 00:36:21.750 that... Iran and its leadership, it's the next 00:36:21.750 --> 00:36:25.750 Hitler. And they're worried. And they said, no, 00:36:25.829 --> 00:36:28.610 we don't have nuclear weapons. But if Iran has 00:36:28.610 --> 00:36:31.909 them, we have no choice. But we'll have them 00:36:31.909 --> 00:36:34.889 too. Because they're worried. Right? It's all 00:36:34.889 --> 00:36:39.750 shaken up. Zechariah says that Israel is going 00:36:39.750 --> 00:36:42.710 to be a cup of trembling. And the whole world 00:36:42.710 --> 00:36:45.840 is going to tremble. At that one little nation, 00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:47.699 the size of New Jersey, they're going to worry 00:36:47.699 --> 00:36:51.639 about this one little plot of ground on this 00:36:51.639 --> 00:36:54.739 whole planet. Why is it significant and important? 00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:57.679 Because they're God's people and he's not done 00:36:57.679 --> 00:37:01.619 with them. Romans says that. Not done with them. 00:37:02.099 --> 00:37:04.800 Blindness in part has happened to Israel until 00:37:04.800 --> 00:37:07.659 the fullness of the Gentiles. The church comes 00:37:07.659 --> 00:37:09.980 together. God raptures the church out of here. 00:37:10.039 --> 00:37:13.119 We're going to look at that next week. And then. 00:37:14.680 --> 00:37:18.360 Antichrist comes, tribulation starts, and God 00:37:18.360 --> 00:37:21.880 deals with this nation of Israel that came out 00:37:21.880 --> 00:37:24.519 of nowhere, that people wrote off, even people 00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:28.519 in the church wrote that nation off. And they're 00:37:28.519 --> 00:37:32.039 back in the land. They're a major player. They're 00:37:32.039 --> 00:37:36.820 a world power. They're a global influence, financially, 00:37:37.320 --> 00:37:43.079 militarily, intelligence -wise. 15 million on 00:37:43.079 --> 00:37:46.630 the whole planet. Add them all up. There's 15 00:37:46.630 --> 00:37:49.389 million Jews. There's 10 million people in New 00:37:49.389 --> 00:37:53.690 York City. One city in the United States. And 00:37:53.690 --> 00:37:59.789 the whole world is worried about Israel. Every 00:37:59.789 --> 00:38:02.630 Muslim nation around there, many of them, not 00:38:02.630 --> 00:38:04.630 all of them, want to push them into the sea. 00:38:04.869 --> 00:38:08.170 They're not happy with a peace agreement or a 00:38:08.170 --> 00:38:10.389 little more land. They want them dead, wiped 00:38:10.389 --> 00:38:15.949 out. And we could go on and on. There's a lot 00:38:15.949 --> 00:38:18.989 of history here. Track it in your Bible. I challenge 00:38:18.989 --> 00:38:22.929 you. The devil has always attacked this nation. 00:38:23.030 --> 00:38:27.329 Why? Because of the promise of Messiah. God can't 00:38:27.329 --> 00:38:31.429 lie. But if the devil can do something to thwart 00:38:31.429 --> 00:38:34.329 God's plans, that's what he wants to do. He can 00:38:34.329 --> 00:38:38.030 stop it some way. So listen, here's the reality. 00:38:40.170 --> 00:38:42.929 Is if you don't know the Lord, listen, the Bible 00:38:42.929 --> 00:38:47.050 says that God knows the end from the very beginning. 00:38:48.809 --> 00:38:51.329 Your future matters. Where are you going to spend 00:38:51.329 --> 00:38:56.289 eternity? God wrote this not to, and it's fun 00:38:56.289 --> 00:38:59.349 to look up. It's fun to study these things. I 00:38:59.349 --> 00:39:02.489 really enjoy it. But here's the reality. It's 00:39:02.489 --> 00:39:05.190 written there for a reason. It's a warning. God 00:39:05.190 --> 00:39:07.489 knows the future and he knows if you don't receive 00:39:07.489 --> 00:39:10.420 him, guess what? You'll be separated forever. 00:39:11.239 --> 00:39:14.619 For all of eternity. Because the Bible's true. 00:39:17.960 --> 00:39:22.199 God is real and he sent his son. On your behalf 00:39:22.199 --> 00:39:23.340 and mine, he loves you.