La Biblia, Israel, y los Últimos Dias

♪ ♪ Gracias. Y ahora al punteo de 3. Todos van a decir conmigo fuerte, a petición popular y vamos a ver en que cae la rueda hoy. ¿Están listos? 1, 2, 3. A petición popular. Vamos a ver en que cae la rueda. ¿Qué eligieron ustedes? ¿Qué será, qué será, qué será? A ver, a ver. ¡Los Últimos Tiempos! ¡Un aplauso! Se han ganado todos aquí una predicación sobre los últimos tiempos en el día de hoy. ¿Algún cristiano trajo su Biblia a la iglesia hoy? ¿Trajo su Biblia? Sí, sí, qué bueno. Cristianos armados, eso me gusta. Pueden abrir. Mira, el texto principal de hoy es Ezequiel 38. Eso está en el Antiguo Testamento. Ezequiel 38. Si quieres poner un marcador, puedes hacerlo también. Salmo 122, voy a arrancar ahí en unos minutos. Y más luego Génesis 12. Ezequiel 38. Ahorita arrancamos en Salmo 122 y más adelante Génesis 12.

Todos los versículos van a estar en pantalla. Pero quiero empezar ilustrándoles algo importante. Algo importante. Fíjate algo. Fíjate algo. Tú tienes una percepción de algo y tu percepción, tu opinión, o tu posición, depende del lente por el cual tú miras y del ángulo por el cual está tu lente. ¿Alguien me está siguiendo? O sea, tú formas y yo formo, formamos, una posición y una percepción con base al lente y el ángulo. Voy a mostrarles una foto interesante para ver qué piensan ustedes de esta foto. A ver, miren esta foto conmigo. Este es el Prince William de Inglaterra, ¿verdad? Y uno diría, qué grosero, levantando el dedo del medio. O sea, qué grosero. Pero fíjate algo. Si miramos el otro ángulo de la misma foto, miren, miren. El mismo momento. El mismo momento. Él estaba diciendo, mis tres hijos, en ese momento. Es una foto famosa. Miremos las dos a la vez para que vean. Es la misma, es el mismo momento. El problema, el problema es que si la única imagen que tú ves es esta, tú te vas y ya tú tienes en tu mente una percepción, una posición y una opinión. Y lamentablemente, a pesar de que tú te sientas totalmente en lo correcto, tu visión fue limitada, por lo tanto,

no tuviste una percepción completa. ¿Alguien me está siguiendo? Déjame darles otro ejemplo del mundo de los animales. Aquí hay otro ejemplo del mundo de los animales. Cuando uno ve esto, uno dice, qué horrible. Yo no sabía que las leonas hacen eso, increíble. Pero, ¿qué pasa cuando vemos el otro ángulo? Cuando vemos el otro ángulo, vemos otra cosa. Si las ponemos las dos al lado, vemos que es el mismo momento, es la misma situación, sin embargo, tu opinión o tu percepción depende del ángulo y del lente por el cual tú miras. Como cristianos, nuestro lente no puede ser la prensa, la noticia y las redes. Como cristianos, nuestro lente y nuestro ángulo no puede ser un partido político, no puede ser Univisión, Telemundo. No puede ser nuestra preferencia personal u opinión. Como seguidores de Jesucristo, nuestro lente y nuestro ángulo tiene que ser de la palabra de Dios. Y hoy he sido confiado por el Señor la responsabilidad de traer un mensaje un poquito complicado, especialmente en estos tiempos que estamos viviendo. Honestamente, este tema de los últimos tiempos no se puede tocar sin hablar y abordar Israel, porque este tema hoy en día es complicado. ¿Por qué? Yo, de hecho, luché internamente un poco si hacer o no hacer este mensaje, porque habían otros mensajes más fáciles y menos quizás conflictivos para algunos. Porque siempre que hay situaciones que pueden

aparentar. politics, or where there are issues where there is loss of life, loss of innocent life, that are at the crossfire of the situation. There are people who have very strong opinions, but I have learned, I have learned that sometimes they are seeing only one angle, the lens. And as a pastor, I feel the responsibility of the Holy Spirit, he worked on me and reminded me that these issues, although some seem to be superficially political, in their essence they are 100% spiritual issues. And today I am going to verify that with the word. So my prayer is that today you listen to this message, listen to my heart as a pastor, and that we all open our hearts and minds to what he may want to speak to us. And perhaps today, obtain the view or the angle perhaps that we had not seen biblically. Okay? Shall we pray? Lord, thank you for your word, because your word is truth, and your word says that truth makes us free. I ask you that today the truth of your word may fall on good soil, as good seeds in our hearts. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen. I am going to bring this message today with a biblical perspective, in relation to the events that are happening in the world, including in Israel. Now, why is it important to focus and talk about Israel? First of all, if you did not know, the Bible is a book that was written about Israel. Historically, much of the Old Testament is a record of the nation of Israel, and prophetically, many of the prophecies of the future are centered around Israel and issues that will happen in Israel in the future. We also learn from the Bible that God sent a Messiah, or a Savior, to this world, called Jesus. And guess where Jesus was born? He was born in Israel. He was crucified and died in Israel.

He rose again on the third day in Israel. And one day, the word says that he will return again, his second coming. And guess where he will return? To Israel. So, let's keep our eye on Israel and take good advice from the Bible. For example, in Psalm 122.6, it says, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, that all who love this city may prosper. Psalm 121, verse 3. He will not allow you to stumble, the one who cares for you will not fall asleep. Indeed, the one who cares for Israel never sleeps or falls asleep. So, that is why I want to enter into this biblical perspective of what is happening in the Middle East in these times. Because there have been conflicts, signs of war, and many people ask themselves, Pastor, Pastor, are we living in the last days? And the answer is, maybe. There are some things that are yet to be seen or confirmed, but one thing is certain, the prophetic pieces in the Bible seem to be moving in a position of signs of the last days for the return of Jesus Christ. So, I want to help you understand better and more clearly what is happening in the Middle East through the lens and the angle of biblical prophecy. And Ezekiel 38 specifically has a preview, there is an alarming prediction of a war coming between Israel and Iran and some other nations that are hostile against Israel. And God said that this war will happen the days just before the return of Jesus Christ. I want to show you this biblical prophecy, not to alarm or frighten, but to prepare our hearts and understand the spiritual meaning

of what is happening. So, let me say first, I understand that some of these themes can have an emotional aspect for many people, especially if you have friends or family members who are from there or live there or are close. And as followers of Jesus, we should not be afraid to talk about the things that are happening in the light of the Word. Also, as Christians, we are people of faith, not of fear. Therefore, God has given us a spirit of love, power and self-dominance. My motivation is not to be alarmed, but to be prepared, because, after all, God is in control. He is sovereign. He is over the past and He is over the future. Ezekiel chapter 38, and we are going to start reading, you are going to notice some names of regions that we may not know today, but if you study that, we have easily understood how to identify which regions are there today, these nations or these peoples that we are going to mention later. Ezekiel 38, verse 1, the Lord is speaking and He is prophesying, and He is prophesying against a leader, Gog, and certain nations, and He says,

This is another message that I received from the Lord, writes Ezekiel. Son of man, stand before Gog, from the land of Magog, Magog, a prince who governs the nations of Mesek and Tubal and prophesies against him, against this leader and these nations. Give him this message from the Lord Sovereign. Gog, I am your enemy. God is saying to Gog and to these nations. God says, I am your enemy. I will make you return and I will put claws in your jaws to take you out with all your army, your horses and your chariots with all their armor and an immense multitude armed with shields and swords. They will also accompany you Persia, Ethiopia and Libya with all their weapons. They will also join Gomer and all his armies, along with the armies of Bet-Togarmah from the far north and many more. Verse 7. Prepare, get ready, keep all the armies that surround you mobilized and take command of them. After a long time you will receive the order to enter into battle. Here it says, in a distant future, another version says, in the last days or days, you will fall on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after having recovered from the war and after its people have returned from other lands to the mountains of Israel. You and all your allies, an immense and fearsome army, will descend upon Israel like a storm and will cover the land like a cloud. Verse 10. This says the Lord Sovereign, in that time bad thoughts will come to your mind and you will plot a perverse strategy. You will say, Israel is a country without protection, full of villages without walls.

I will march against Israel and I will destroy its people who live so confident. Verse 15. You will come from your native land in the far north with your immense cavalry and your powerful army. You will attack my people Israel and you will cover its land like a cloud. In that distant future, in the last days, I will bring you against my land before the eyes of all and my holiness will be demonstrated. Gog, through what happens to you, then all nations will know that I am the Lord. Ok, let's stop there. What is the purpose of biblical prophecy? Well, it is to let the nations know that God always keeps his word. This prophecy describes a coming war between Israel and Iran, in that time known as Persia. It will be a devastating war where the Lord says that this will happen in the last days before the return of Jesus. When you look at a map, I don't know if you have seen Israel on a map, Israel is a tiny little thing, less than a small state here in the United States and it is surrounded by similar nations, many larger nations that are enemies. Now, today the names that we see mentioned here, Magog, Mesek, Tubal, Gomer, that connects with these countries. If you do a study of all that, Iran, Russia, Ethiopia, Libya, Sudan, Turkey, Armenia, among others. Ezekiel 39, which is the next chapter, prophesies about the judgment of God and the annihilation of those enemies of Israel and emphasizes the miraculous intervention of God for his people Israel. If you want to read a little more about how it will be when Jesus returns, you can read Zechariah 14. In the Old Testament I give it as homework because there is no time to read it here. Now, keep this in mind, this prophecy of Ezekiel 38 is 2,600 years old. This prophecy was given to the Jewish prophet called Ezekiel. He lived in the year 571 BC. Before Christ, he was captive in Babylon, what today is known as Iraq.

When Ezekiel wrote this prophecy, listen to this, when he wrote this prophecy on behalf of God for the people of Israel, people thought he was crazy, he was crazy, why? Because when Ezekiel wrote this prophecy on behalf of God, it was impossible for this to happen. At that time, the people of Israel were living as captives in Babylon. The queen of Bucodonosor had conquered and killed many Jews, and had captured and kidnapped many Jewish young men to be slaves in her palace. Now, God gives Ezekiel the assignment of being a prophet to Israel. Where do we see this? Ezekiel 3.17, look at the screen. Ezekiel 3.17, God says, son of man, speaking to Ezekiel, I have put you as a sentry for Israel. Sorry, what? Sentry, in English, watchman over Israel. Every time you receive a message from me, warn the people immediately. Okay, a sentry in those times, or a watchman, was a person who stood on the city wall, looked out into the distance to see if something was coming, and alarmed people, or the people and the city, if there was any threat, or people looking in their direction. God says, Esekiel, I have made you a sentry for Israel so that you look out and listen to what I tell you, and communicate the message and the warning to the people of Israel. So God spoke to the prophet Ezekiel and gave him dreams and visions, just as he gave John in the Apocalypse of the things that would happen in the future. And Ezekiel would share the word of God

with the people to warn them. Okay, if you're taking notes. Biblical prophecy is when God writes the story before it happens. I repeat, biblical prophecy is when God writes the story before it happens, because it's his story. The story is written by a sovereign God who knows the beginning and the end. He is eternal, he is not limited by time. What is future for us, is present for him. So you and I see something in the news and we get alarmed and surprised. God doesn't get alarmed and surprised because he actually inspired and wrote this prophecy more than 2,500 years ago. God gives us prophecies for two reasons. First, because he wants us to know what's coming. And second, because he wants us to know that he and only he is in control. We need to understand that God's biblical prophecy is not equal to human prediction. The human can predict, and when there is human prediction, it may happen, it may not. But when God makes a promise and he prophesies, that will always be fulfilled. So, so, did you know that in your Bible there are more than 2,500 precise prophecies, of which 2,000 have already been fulfilled? In fact, there are prophecies like Micah 5.2 that prophesies that Jesus was going to be born in Bethlehem.

Do you know when that was written, Micah? 700 years before Jesus was born. Psalm 22 prophesies about how Jesus was going to be crucified, how he was going to be. Do you know when Psalm 22 was written? 1,000 years before Jesus was born. A millennium. Prophecy. Biblical prophecy is when God writes the story before it happens. Some prophecies have been fulfilled in these times more than now, right? Ezekiel 36, for example. In Ezekiel 36, God tells Ezekiel that in the future there will be a time when the Jewish people will reorganize and reunite from all over the world and nations and they will return to their original land, Israel. Where do we see that? Ezekiel 36, verse 24, which says, I will take you out of the nations, I will gather you from all the nations and I will make you return to your own land. Pause. To your what? Because the land has always been of Israel, okay? Ezekiel wrote these words in the year 570, 571 BC, when the Jewish people were slaves in Babylon and had been conquered and dispersed all over the world. Everyone was convinced,

there is no way that the Jewish people will reunite. They will be extinguished. There is no way they will be able to survive this. And for 2,600 years, when people have read this prophecy of Ezekiel 38, from the book of Ezekiel, they think and have thought that it is impossible. Until 1948, when the state of Israel returned and the Jews returned to their original land in Israel. Some of their parents and grandparents were alive for this event. Now, after the tragedy of the Holocaust, six million Jews killed by Hitler. God raises the dry bones that are in Ezekiel 37 and breathes a breath of life in the nation of Israel and reunites them from all parts of the world once again in their original land, Israel. So, through history, we see leaders, nations and groups who have tried to kill and eliminate the Jewish people and Israel. And the question is, where does this demonic hatred come from? Where does it come from? Because if you have a mundane lens, everything that is happening will seem like a political issue. But when you have a biblical lens, it reminds you that... that there are always two sides to the situation we are seeing. There is the physical that we can see,

and there is the spiritual that we cannot see. That is why Ephesians 6.12 says the following, We do not fight against enemies of flesh and blood, but against evil rulers and authorities of the invisible world, against powerful forces of this dark world, and against evil spirits of heavenly places. I believe with all my heart that what we have seen through history and in the Middle East in these times is totally spiritual in its origin. It is a demonic spirit of violence that has been terrorizing the people chosen and chosen by God, Israel, for thousands of years. And this spirit is the opposite of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings peace and brings life, but this other spirit brings violence and brings death. And what we are seeing, family, is spiritual war at its highest level. Let's look at history. Again and again, in different times in history, anti-Semitism is the cycle of leaders and nations wanting to extinguish and kill whom? The Jews, Israel. In the first books of the Bible, we see Pharaoh. What is the decree of Pharaoh? Kill all the Hebrew babies, all the male babies of Israel. Kill them. We move forward in the Old Testament to the book of Esther. Remember the book of Esther, where there is a leader in that time called Amman who makes a conspiracy to come against whom? Against all the Jews, to kill all the Israelis,

to kill all the Jews. And we all know a little bit of Esther's story. Then, in more modern times, we have Hitler in Germany and the Holocaust, where six million Jews were killed. Where he said, let's kill them all, put them in concentration camps of death with gas and we are going to extinguish them. Until today, we have Hamas, Hezbollah, which are Islamic jihadists who seek to eliminate the Jewish people as a mission. What is happening? History is repeating itself over and over again. Why? Because anti-Semitism is not only racism, it is satanic. Satan is at war with God. Now, I want to clarify for those who say, but Pastor, let me clarify. I'm not talking about most of the Muslims in the West who are living in peace or even Muslims who may be our neighbors who are living in peace, who are the most likely to have fled from all that kind of things on that side of the world. Interestingly, I tell you, interestingly, a brother of our church, who is from Iran, and another friend recently told me, Pastor Virgilio, if you only knew, we are talking about people who already have a family in Iran,

but Virgilio, most people in Iran are in favor of Israel. Most of the people in Iran are in favor of the United States and Trump, but you will not see it in the deserts. Why? Because those who lead are a regime, a regime of extremist Islamists. I'm talking to an Iranian who tells me, Pastor Virgilio, most people, but you will not see that on CNN or Telemundo or Univision or Fox, because they show us an angle, unfortunately. I'm talking about an Islam of Jihad, which are radicals. Jihad means holy war, holy war. Notice something, the official name of Iran is the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is a theocracy where its laws are based on the Quran. Muslims believe that the Quran is a direct revelation of the Muslim god called Allah. The nation of Iran is 99.6% Muslim. Many are Shia Muslims. Now, they are led by a figure called the Ayatollah Khomeini. Have you heard? The Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, who is the supreme leader who has led for three decades, leads with a strong hand, with Sharia law, and I personally pray a lot for the Palestinian people and for the people of Iran, which is under the oppression of this regime. The Ayatollah Khomeini keeps the mission of Iran.

Look how he defines the Ayatollah, how he defines the mission of Iran. It is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map. Ayatollah Khomeini. That is public. That is his mission. It is the mission, written and clear, to erase Israel from the map and exterminate them. to exterminate all Jews, both in Israel and all over the world. And as radical Shiite Muslims, the Ayatollah also preaches hate, both by Jews and by Christians, because both Jews and Christians are considered infidels to them, enemies of Islam. That's why you can find videos, I'm not going to put them on a TV show, or on CNN, or on NBC, I'm not going to put them on, but you can find videos of these extremist Islamists in the streets of Iran, shouting, Death to America, the great Satan, and Death to Israel, the little Satan. And they say, we are at your service, Ayatollah Khomeini. Why? Because they see Jews and Christians as enemies of Islam. The Ayatollah Khomeini declared the following, which is on record, saying, Israel is a cancerous tumor and has to be removed from the earth. Listen to this, Iran is the largest state that sponsors terrorism around the world. They supply with money and weapons to three main groups that want to destroy the Jews. Hezbollah, who launch rockets at Israel from Lebanon, the Houthis, who launch missiles at Israel from Yemen, and the Hamas, who are responsible for the massacre of more than 1,200 children, men, women, and babies on October 7, 2023. Does anyone remember? That was two years ago, that attack.

So, Iran gives these radical Jihadist groups, Hamas, Houthis, and Hezbollah, weapons and money to terrorize Jewish people, but then they deny and say, we didn't do it. Trying to clean their hands. Now, speaking of the attack of October 7, 2023, 1,500 Hamas terrorists, who are extremist Muslims, crossed the border between Palestine and Israel and killed almost 1,300 Jews, including men, women, children, and babies. They raped the women and took the babies' heads off in front of their parents. They don't show us that. They don't show us that lens. Interestingly. Ok, this was the biggest massacre of Jews in one day since the Holocaust. Many refer to October 7 as the 9-11 of Israel. Do you remember September 11? Many refer to it, but it's not fair to do that. Why? Because on September 11, 3,000 Americans died here, from a nation with 330 million people. There, about 1,300 died in a nation of 7.1 million. So, in proportion, it would have been like 50,000 here. I would hope that all this helps us understand why it is a big problem that Iran has the capacity to arm a nuclear weapon. And I think it should help us understand why Israel has found itself in the position of having to defend itself. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently made a strike to be able to cancel Iran's nuclear program. Now, why did they do it? Because they were raising the levels of uranium, producing the capacity for nuclear weapons in Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an operation called the Ascending Lion Operation. It's a term that comes from the book of Numbers, chapter 23 in the Bible. This is what Prime Minister Netanyahu wrote. He said, today, when they did this,

today Israel has shown that we have learned the lessons of history. When enemies commit to destroy you, believe them. When enemies raise nuclear weapons, stop them. This is exactly what Israel has done today. We have risen and we have ascended like lions to defend our nation. And the code name for this was the Ascending Lion Operation. Operation Rising Lion. It comes from the book of Numbers, chapter 23, verse 24. It's a prophetic phrase that means to demonstrate the strength and bravery of the Jews and their dependence on God in times of national crisis. Netanyahu wrote this verse on paper and put it on the Wall of Remembrance before launching the Ascending Lion Operation. So, we have to understand that anti-Semitism is not only wrong, but also satanic. And, perhaps, it is not politically correct for me to say this. But it is biblically correct. And I will choose to be biblically correct before trying to be politically correct. And that is why, as Christians, we must support our Jewish brothers and sisters against the demonic ideology that is happening. We must support believers. Do you know that there are believers in Persia? There are believers in Palestine? There are Christian believers. We must pray for them and also pray so that they are not oppressed as they are doing. Now, don't get me wrong. This is not about politics or patriotism. This is about spiritual war and the Bible.

Israel, like any nation, including ours, has to defend itself when it is attacked and when there is a mission to erase you from the map. So that it is clear here, Israel does not have that in its mission, that we want to erase someone from the map. Their mission is to live in peace. But unfortunately there are these groups and these nations. Now, I want to be clear. As Christians, we do not celebrate the death of anyone. As Christians, we wish, because we are people of peace, we wish for peace. We don't want to see anyone die. Not Jews, not Muslims, not atheists, not agnostics, nobody. We don't want that. But in many ways, we have to understand that Israel and the United States are doing a service to the world because they are making sure that nuclear weapons are not in the hands of a nation and a regime that has as its mission to kill, to kill and to kill. Okay. Did you know that all this conflict that we are talking about today is simply a continuation of 4,000 years of conflict? Okay. This is not about international politics. This is about prophecy, theology and spiritual warfare. Where does all this begin? I want to take you to Genesis 12. I want to show you biblically where all this conflict begins. In Genesis 12, we see the call of a man named Abraham. Does anyone remember Abraham? Well, the father of faith.

Look at God's call to Abraham. Genesis 12, verse 1 says, The Lord said to Abraham, Leave your land, your relatives, and the house of your father, and go to the land that I will show you. In other words, go, go, and I will show you. Look at what God says to Abraham. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name famous, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you. Through you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. God calls Abraham to go to a land that He has called. We understand that this is the promised land, which in fact is the land that is under contention today for 4,000 years. The Bible says that Abraham believed God, and that pleased God. Now, if we go to Genesis 15, there we find something known as the Abrahamic pact. In Genesis 15, God sees Abraham's faith. God changes Abraham's name to Abraham and establishes a pact, an unconditional promise known as the Abrahamic pact. I say Abrahamic. This pact with Abraham is an unbreakable, unconditional pact established by God with Abraham and for all his descendants. Now, I will show you here on the screen three promises in the pact with Abraham. They are land, tribe, and throne. What are the three promises? Land, tribe, and throne. Land, that is, the promised land, Israel, which one day they would have. Tribe is that God told Abraham,

you and Sarah are going to have a son, and from that son you will have a nation, a descendant. Which was a little crazy, because Abraham and Sarah were old. Then throne, God tells him, from that son will come a nation, and from that lineage will come the Messiah, who will come in the future. God makes this tripartite promise to Abraham. Land, tribe, and throne. Now, listen to this. The moment God makes this promise to Abraham, land, tribe, and throne, at that moment a spiritual war begins that our eyes do not see. God is Father and has a Holy Spirit. There is the enemy, Satan, who is a non-holy spirit. And what God creates, Satan wants to imitate. What God builds, Satan wants to topple. What God starts, Satan wants to oppose that. Now, now. The moment God gives this pact, this promise to Abraham, of land, tribe, and throne, Satan gets into action for the rest of the time we see in the Bible, to try to destroy exactly these three things. What does Satan want? To take the land, destroy the lineage, and to put an opposite Lord to the Lord of the Bible. We move forward to Genesis 16. Okay, what did God promise Abraham and Sarah? A son, who we know as the son of promise. Abraham and Sarah were 75 years old.

Can anyone imagine that? When God promises them that they will have a son, Abraham and Sarah are 75 years old. They are 80, 85, 90, the son has not yet arrived. I don't know what year it was because it doesn't tell us, but many years had passed. There is no son. What does Sarah do? She wants to help God. Have you ever wanted to help God? And Sarah says, Sarah says, I'm old. He is old. Abraham, come here. And he brought the slave, who is called Agar, a pagan slave, who was not of the faith. And he said, Abraham, go to bed with Agar. Imagine, Abraham. Forgive me, my love. Go to bed with Agar. Well, if you say so. Husbands, we have to listen to our wives. But when that is the situation, then what do they do? They try to help God. And Abraham says, well, I'll do it, Sarah, if you want.

Abraham goes to bed with Agar. What happens? Agar gets pregnant. Agar has a son. A son who is born, who is called Ishmael. He asks, is that the son of promise? They went ahead and tried to help God. That was not the son of promise. So, let me read to you Genesis 16, verse 12, which describes Ishmael and all the descendants of Ishmael after him. Look, look. This son of yours will be an indomitable man, as indomitable as a wild donkey. He will raise his fist against all, and all will be against him. That's right. They will live in frank opposition to all their relatives. Four thousand years ago, it was prophesied that the descendants of Ishmael would be in constant conflict with the descendants of the brother, or the son of promise, which at that time we did not yet know who it was going to be. It was going to be Isaac. Eventually, God fulfills the promise he gave Abraham and Sarah.

Sarah gets pregnant and is born. Isaac, known as the son of the promise. Now, if you continue in the story of Isaac, Isaac eventually grows up. Isaac has two twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Do you remember the story? And it says that Jacob wanted to win and wanted to steal the blessing. And Jacob played a game with the help of his mother and he won the blessing of his father. Do you remember? He was a cheater. Jacob means cheater. Then, with God, God changes the name of Jacob to Israel. Israel has twelve sons. We know them as the twelve tribes of Israel. Guess something interesting. Ishmael also had twelve sons. Because what God creates, Satan imitates it. Now, look at this. We have Abraham. Two wives. Two sons.

Two sets of twelve grandchildren. But only one pact. Only one promise. The spiritual war that has taken place throughout history until today is a war for land, tribe, and throne. Which son will get the land? From which son will come the blessed lineage? And from which lineage will come the true Lord? Who did God choose? Isaac, the son of promise. And he rejected Ishmael. Genesis 22. Do you remember that God calls Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac? Do you remember the story? Look at something interesting. God says to Abraham, I want you to take your son to such and such place and sacrifice him. Your only son. Take him to that mountain that I'm going to tell you.

Abraham. He makes Isaac carry wood on his shoulders. Isaac has to walk and rise up in a mountain. And on top of the mountain, the son is ready to sacrifice his life for his father. And at that moment, when the knife was about to come down, God stops Abraham and provides a substitute sacrifice to die instead of Isaac so that Isaac does not have to die. Now, we go two thousand years later. A son or a seed of Isaac, Jesus, would go to Golgotha, the same mountain, with wood on his shoulder, rising up in a mountain to be sacrificed for our transgressions and for our sins. We go 2,400 years ahead, between the year 600 and 700 AD, a descendant of Ishmael, called Mohammed, Mahoma, is born. Mahoma says that an angel appears to him with a new gospel. Galatians 1.8 warns us not to have any new gospel outside of the gospel of Jesus. For me, it wasn't an angel, it was a demon.

Remember that this satanic war began in Genesis 15, and it was about three things. Land, tribe, and throne. This marked the birth of Islam, with Mohammed, or Mahoma. And look at the narrative of Islam, look at the narrative of Islam. Islam says that the Hebrew scriptures are wrong, and that God chose Agar, not Sarah. God chose Ishmael, not Isaac. Ishmael was the son who climbed the mountain to be sacrificed to Abraham. Islam says that all the promises of the Abrahamic covenant belong to Ishmael and his descendants, that is, the Arabs and the Palestinians, and not to Isaac and his descendants, the Jews. So what does Islam say today? It always says that this land is our land. We are the blessed lineage, and our Lord, Allah, is the true one, not that Jew, Jesus. Are you seeing this? Are you seeing the lens that I didn't show you before? This resulted in 2,000 years of conflict between the descendants of Ishmael, the Muslims, and the descendants of Isaac, the Jews. And everything is about what? Land, tribe, and throne. The attack of October 7 of Hamas, the terrorists in Israel. What did we find? The descendants of Ishmael attacking the lineage of Isaac in a fight for the land. And they were killing Jews, shouting, Allah Akbar, which means, our God is greater. So they were attacking Isaac's lineage in a fight for the land, opposing the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want to read a little more about signs of the last days, you can read Matthew 24 in the New Testament. Matthew 24, in fact, the subtitle is End Times. I feel it's important to touch on a couple of things before I finish.

I have been surprised in recent times to see many young adults and university students standing up for the cause, saying, wrongly, Free Palestine. The problem is that they have seen an angle of the lens without seeing it completely. And I admire young adults, their passion for justice, their motivation to defend, perhaps, the marginalized, their compassion for the disadvantaged. However, however, that's good. However, many are standing up for a cause without doing their job of knowing what all this represents. There is a false narrative. The false narrative is that this land, Israel, belongs to Palestine. But it's because they don't know the story. And I repeat, that's from Israel before Palestine was a word. In fact, it was a word put by an enemy of Israel, because one of the enemies of Israel were the Philistines, Philistines, Palestine, and they put Palestine to try to offend them. The land has always been theirs. Today, the cause of the Palestinians is due to misinformation and hatred. And that's why the kids, in many of these regimes and these Muslim nations, have been taught since they were little to say, Death to Israel. Little children, death to Israel. They've been indoctrinated since they were little. There is a mistake that many young adults make nowadays because they don't know the story well, which is moralistic and therapeutic theism. They think that by being good or thinking that it's a good cause, that that's enough. The problem is that they don't have the truth.

And that's what we need. The last thing I want to mention is that we have a relationship as a Christian church with Israel. I want to clarify today, Jesus is the King of Kings. And the Bible says that he is the King of Jews. He is the King of Kings and also the descendant of David who will fulfill the promise that the Father gave Abraham and David, where their descendants would be seated on the throne forever. And God did not make a mistake when He said that, because one day the Savior Jesus will be seated on the throne of David forever and ever. And we have to understand this part of the Bible, okay? Instead of being influenced today by narratives of Marxism, or radical influences from the left, or from the world, society today, we have to understand what the Word of God says. And if you haven't noticed, even the Gospel of Jesus can be offensive to many. Jesus said it, the Gospel can be offensive to many. I don't know if it has happened to you that you try to share the Gospel of Jesus with someone and they reject you. Or sometimes they even get angry. I have experienced it a lot, right? Jesus himself, God on earth, that is, God on the land of Jesus was rejected and many were offended by him. Why? Because sometimes the truth hurts. And sometimes the Gospel can still offend. In the same way, we can be sure that sometimes the message will offend. Our intention is not to try to offend. However, we have to know that sometimes the Gospel of Jesus Christ can offend some people in their beliefs. Now, the fact that Israel is the chosen people, chosen by God, does not mean that we are not loved. Because even the Gentiles, we are all loved by God. We must cry when people lose their lives, whether they are Jews or Palestinians. We must pray for people who need Jesus.

We must pray for Jews who do not believe in Jesus to believe in Jesus. We must pray for Palestinians who do not believe in Jesus to believe in Jesus. We must pray for people all over the world to know Jesus. But we cannot fall into the trap of this woke agenda against God and this anti-biblical propaganda that is emerging more and more in the media, in the news, and in society today. God has not finished with Israel. And there is something else. There is a mistake made by some Christians. This is called the Replacement Theology. Replacement Theology. And the Replacement Theology says that the Christian Church has replaced Israel in God's plan. And this has many problems. Because we ask ourselves, why do Jews still exist? First and second, why was Israel reestablished as a nation after 2000 years? The Church and Israel are not the same. We are two different things. God has promised Israel promises that He will fulfill with them. And He has promised us as a Church, promises as well. Jesus has revealed himself as the King of David, says the word, who will restore Jerusalem. Matthew 11, verse 3. Jesus was rejected by the Jews, as was written by a Jewish prophet. Inspired by God. Jesus called his disciples to fulfill with Abraham's commission, to bless the nations, and to preach the good news of the Gospel to all nations, to the ends of the earth, all times. Genesis 12, Matthew 28. God is faithful to his promises. Can someone say Amen?

Now listen to this. Paul writes in the book of Romans. He writes that it is good news. The fact that God is still faithful to his promises to Israel is proof for us that he will remain faithful to his promises to us. In fact, Paul clarifies that if God rejects Israel, as some Christians say today, if God rejects Israel and replaces Israel with the Church, and completely discards Israel, that would mean that God is not faithful to his word. And for those of you who are here today, if perhaps you have come to believe or think that the Church has replaced Israel, and that every scripture about Israel, well, we take it only for the Church, because Israel is already bad, because God's plan with Israel is over, because they were bad, because they were the culprits of crucifying Jesus, then he is only dealing with the Church. Well, let me ask you this question. If God broke his promise to Israel, what makes you think that he will not break his promise to you? What assures you that if he is not faithful to his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David, that he will be faithful to his covenant with you? Well, if we believe, if that is our perspective, well, it will not be, but we believe that God keeps his promises. He fulfills his covenants. The United Nations can break their promises. A politician can break his promises.

You and I can break our promises, but God never breaks his promises. He is true, he is faithful, and that is why Paul says, we are against this theology of replacement. We are against this idea that Israel has already been removed from the eschatology of the ends of time, and that Jesus is only interested in the Church. No! Because it is clear in the word. In fact, let me read this to you. Romans 11.25 Romans 11.25 to 29 Look what Paul writes, he says, Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery so that you do not become proud of yourselves. Be careful with pride. Part of the people of Israel has a hardened heart. Pause. Part of the people of Israel. Why? Because there are some Jewish Israelites who believe in Jesus. They are called Messianic Jews, who believe in the Messiah, Jesus. Part of the people of Israel has a hardened heart. But that will only last until the number of Gentiles who will accept Christ, that is, the Jews, is completed. And then, after that, all of Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, the one who rescues will come from Jerusalem and will set Israel away from evil. And my covenant with them is that I will take away their sins. Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News. Imagine, today there are many Jews who are enemies of the Good News because they do not believe in the Gospel, they do not believe in Jesus. And that benefits you, the Gentiles. However, they are still the people that God loves because He chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as His ancestors.

For the gifts of God and His calling are revocable. Notice that there are some Jews and some in Israel who oppose the Gospel, but even so they are loved by God for the covenant that He has with Abraham for his descendants. And if you and I say, yes, but that seems unfair. Yes, it seems unfair, but neither you nor I are God. And He is the one who made the covenant with them. So, the last question is, well, if Jesus is going to return, why doesn't He come now? Why does God take so long? 2 Peter 3.9, here it is. The Lord does not take long to fulfill His promise, as some understand the delay. Rather, He has patience with you because He does not want anyone to perish, but that everyone should repent. Why is the Lord waiting? He is waiting for you who have not yet accepted Him. He is waiting for your prodigal children who are separated. He is waiting for your mom and dad who have not come to faith in Jesus Christ. He is waiting. Do you know that every new day is an opportunity for more people to know Jesus? There are parts of the world, including continents like Africa, where every day there are large numbers of people who are coming to faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, I imagine Jesus saying, Dad, it's now, it's today, it's today. Not yet. Every new day. A new day is another opportunity for one more soul to repent and reach salvation in Jesus Christ. Every day is an opportunity. Every Sunday here is another opportunity for someone to know Jesus. I hope this message has helped a little bit to understand the lens we have with the Bible and the word of God on a complicated issue. But if you look at it from a complete angle, you can see where all this conflict comes from. From Genesis 15. From Ishmael to Isaac. The conflict, the land, the tribe, the throne. All of this is going to happen.

Ezekiel 38 is coming. And it seems that pieces are moving in that direction. Will Putin be Gog? Will Magog be Russia? Possibly. There are many that are aligning. But you have to know the word and be prepared. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you because your word is true. Your word helps us. Your word guides us. And the truth makes us free. Help us understand your word more and more. To love your word. To be guided by your word and by your Holy Spirit. Lord, today we pray for Israel. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We pray for Jews who do not believe in Jesus, so that they may know Jesus and believe in Jesus. We pray for the salvation of Palestinians and Arabs who do not know Jesus. Just as you have done. Here in our church we have some Muslims who have accepted Jesus and have received him as Lord and Savior. Likewise, let them dream dreams. Let them hear the truth and the good news of the gospel. Let them be saved in the Middle East. In all countries. Let them be saved here in our country. Let them be saved in Latin America. Atheists, agnostics, religious, non-religious in the name of Jesus. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem because your word says that we should pray for that.

We bless Israel because you bless those who bless Israel. And we pray, Lord, for peace. We pray for peace. Understanding that the end times are approaching. Our trust, our lens, and our angle has to be in your word, Lord. Thank you for speaking to us. In the precious name of Jesus. Amen, Amen, Amen.