The Bible, Israel, and the End Times

As you guys know who have been here, we have spent a lot of money on the world's greatest engineers to develop this button right here. It's called our Buy Popular Demand button. So production team, can we get the wheel on the board? Thank you, everybody. And on the count of three, we're all going to say Buy Popular Demand together. Are you ready? One, two, three, Buy Popular Demand. Let's see what it's going to be today. What did you choose as the topic you wanted to hear here at church? End Times, everybody! You won. Everybody here won a preaching on End Times right now. Any Christians brought your Bibles to church? Any Christians brought your Bibles to church? Come on, Christians. All right, here's what I'm going to do. Every verse is going to be up on the screens, but the main passage today is Ezekiel 38. Main passage today, Ezekiel 38. I will start off in Psalm 122 in a moment, and then we will be in Genesis 12 and a few places in Genesis. So Ezekiel 38, you can put a marker in Genesis 12. You guys chose this topic of kind of End Times. I want to start off with this illustration, which I think is going to be very important. Our perception of something depends upon the lens from which we look. I would also say that our perception about something also depends upon the angle of our lens. Let me show you guys a picture, and I want your thoughts. Check out this picture. Check out this picture.

This is Prince William. Prince William. See, by your response, I already got what you think, because what is this, man? This is Prince William. Can you believe it? Let me show you another angle of the same moment. Other angle, same moment. Same moment. He's my three kids. He was responding in that moment. It's a famous picture. So now let's put them side by side. Here's the problem. Some people never see this one. They see this one. And if that's the image you see, your perception, your ideology, your opinion, even your passion, you might even say, I don't want to hear about Prince William ever again. I don't even want to hear it, because this is the lens and the angle that you saw. Is somebody following me? The Holy Spirit told me this was important for a lot of people today. Let me give you another one from the animal world. When you first see this picture, it kind of makes you feel like, how horrible. Look at what this lioness is doing. But then you see the other angle. The other angle. You see the other angle, and it changes. It completely changes when you have a complete true view. Let's put them side by side. You see the complete true view. So are you following me?

Your perception can be skewed by the angle and the lens. As Christians, our lens cannot be media. As Christians, our lens cannot be politically charged positions. Our lens cannot be personal preference or opinion. As Christ followers, our lens and angle comes from the Word of God. Today I've been entrusted by the Lord to bring a very tricky message, especially in these times. And honestly, this is the series by popular demand. We took a look at the survey that you guys all, many of you answered. And this topic of end times, which by the way, can't be spoken about without speaking about Israel, is not an easy topic. And if I'm honest with you, I wrestled internally whether or not to do it or just choose another topic you guys chose. And the Holy Spirit reminded me that this is important. The reason why this is tricky, by the way, is because when something is in the political world and in news, and people seem to be getting one angle, things can be politically charged, especially when there's loss of life, loss of innocent lives, especially if they're caught in crossfire, which sometimes is the strategy of the enemy. People have strong opinions, but they don't realize that the lens or angle that they're viewing from is incomplete. And so I prayed about it, and the Holy Spirit reminded me that these issues that we're talking about with end times and Israel, what's happening even now, they may appear superficially political, but at the core, they are 100% spiritual. And it is my prayer that you would hear my heart today as your pastor, and that we would all open our eyes and our ears and our hearts, not to man's opinion, but to God's word. So the title of today is the Bible, Israel, and End Times. What's the title today? Bible, Israel, and End Times. Let's pray. Lord, we invite you.

I need you, and I pray, God, that your word would shine truth in our lives today. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. I'm bringing a message with a biblical perspective relating to current events, unfolding the world in and around Israel. Now, why is it important for us to keep our eye on Israel? First of all, I don't know if you notice this, but the Bible is a book about Israel. Historically, much of it, the Old Testament, is a record of the nation of Israel. Prophetically, the end time prophecies are all centered around Israel and things yet to happen in and around Israel. Also, we learn from the Bible that God gave us a savior. He sent a Messiah to the world whose name is Jesus, and Jesus was born in Israel. He was crucified, he died in Israel. He rose again in Israel. The Bible says he will come again, and you know where he's coming to? Israel. And so, we need to keep our eye on Israel. The Bible also encourages us in Psalm 122, verse six. Up on the screens, pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. I don't think that verse is a mistake. Psalm 121, verse three, he will not let you stumble. The one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel

never slumbers or sleeps. And so, that's why I'm delving into this to bring a biblical perspective to what we see happening in the Middle East in these times. There has been much conflict and signs of war in the Middle East, and many people are asking, Pastor, are we seeing the end times unfold before our very eyes? And the answer is, maybe. We're not 100% for certain yet, but one thing is for sure, the prophetic pieces are moving into place to prepare the world for the return of Jesus Christ. And so, I wanna help you better understand what's happening in the Middle East through the lens of Bible prophecy. Ezekiel 38 has an alarming forecast about a coming war between Israel and Iran. Five other nations or territories are mentioned who are hostile towards Israel or will be, which God said would happen in the last days right before the return of Christ. I wanna show you this biblical prophecy, not to scare you, but to prepare your heart to understand the spiritual significance of what we're seeing unfold in the news. And so, let me just pause for a moment and say, I know that some of this can be overwhelming, can be emotionally charged, depending on you, people that you know, families, loved ones, friends,

or even current events. As followers of Jesus, we are not to avoid things because they're difficult. We are to approach them through the lens of the word. Also, as Christians, we are people of faith, not people of fear. God has given us a spirit of love and power and a sound mind. And also, I wanna encourage you that prophecy is not meant to scare us, it's meant to prepare us. And ultimately, can I remind us, God is in control. He is sovereign. He is sovereign over history past and he is sovereign over future to come. And ultimately, it's his story. Ezekiel 38. I'm gonna start in verse one. You're gonna hear some names of regions and territories as well, which kind of sound like a movie. Those all are modern day places, which I'll address a little bit ahead. So Ezekiel 38 is a prophetic words written by the prophet Ezekiel. And it says in verse one, this is another message that came to me from the Lord. Son of man, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog. Referring to Gog as a leader that's gonna rise at some point of a land called Magog. The prince who rules over the nations of Meshach and Tubal and prophesy against him.

Give him this message from the sovereign Lord. Gog, I am your enemy. Four, I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with your whole army. Your horses and charioteers in full armor and great horde armed with shields and swords. Persia, Ethiopia and Libya will join you too with all their weapons. Gomer and all its armies will also join you along with the armies of Beth Togarmah from a distant north and many others. Seven, get ready, be prepared. Keep all the armies around you mobilized and take command of them. A long time from now, you will be called into action in the distant future. Another version says in the end times or the last days. You will swoop down on the land of Israel which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. You and all your allies, a vast and awesome army will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud. He's gotta speaking here to the enemies of Israel. 10, this is what the sovereign Lord says. At that time, evil thoughts will come to your mind and you will devise a wicked scheme. You will say, Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages.

I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence. Jump to 15. You will come from your homeland in the distant north with your. vast cavalry, and your mighty army, and you will attack my people Israel, covering their land like a cloud. At that time, in the distant future, the last days, I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you, Gog. Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord. So let's pause there. Stop there. What's the purpose of biblical prophecy? To let every nation know that God has always kept his word and he always will keep his word. This prophecy in Ezekiel 38 describes a coming war between Israel and Iran, ancient name Persia. It's a devastating war that the Lord said will happen in the last days, the end times, right before Jesus returns. When you look on the map, have you guys ever seen Israel on the map? It is a speck. It is tiny and massive, surrounded by massive nations and people groups who are actually against them. When you look on the map, some of the regions that were mentioned in Ezekiel 38, if you do a study of it or you read a study Bible,

you kind of look at and compare the regions today, it's modern day countries like Iran, Russia, Ethiopia, Libya, Sudan, Turkey, Armenia, and likely a few others. Ezekiel 39, by the way, prophesies God's judgment and annihilation of these enemies of Israel and emphasizes God's miraculous intervention on behalf of his people. By the way, if you wanna read a little bit about how Jesus will come back, read Zechariah chapter 14 in the Old Testament. I don't have time to read all this with you, but I'm giving you some references here. Now, keep this in mind. This prophecy, Ezekiel 38, is 2,600 years old. It was given to a Jewish prophet named Ezekiel. He lived 571 years before Christ, BC. He was captive in Babylon, which is modern day Iraq. And when Ezekiel wrote down this prophecy from God, people thought he was cuckoo. He thought he was crazy. There's no way, it's impossible at that time that the people of Israel, they're living as captives in Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar has conquered Israel. He's killed many Jewish people, and he's kidnapped and taken captive many of their young men and young kids to be slaves in his palace. God gives Ezekiel an assignment to be a prophet to Israel. Where do we see that?

Good question. Ezekiel 3, verse 17. I'm gonna read it for you. He says, God says, son of man, I have made you a watchman, pause, a what? A watchman for the people of Israel, so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. In those times, a watchman stood up on the wall of a city and looked out into the distance to see what was coming, and then he would warn the people and sound the alarm if any threats were coming in their direction. God says to Ezekiel, Ezekiel, I have made you a watchman for Israel so you can look out and hear the word I speak. Give them warning about what is ahead. So God spoke to Ezekiel, and he also gave him dreams and visions like he also did to John in the book of Revelation of things that would happen in the future. And then Ezekiel would share God's word with the people to warn them. All right, so if you're taking notes, biblical prophecy is when God writes history before it happens. Biblical prophecy is when God writes history before it happens, because ultimately it's all his story. It's written in advance by a sovereign God who knows the beginning from the end. Our God, we believe, is eternal and is timeless. Therefore, what is future to us is present to him.

God is not shocked or surprised. In fact, we see things on the news and we're shocked and surprised, and God is not shocked. In fact, he wrote this prophecy 2,500 years ago, and God gives prophecy to people for two reasons. First, he wants you to know what's coming, and second, he wants you to know he's in control. So we need to understand this. Biblical prophecy from God is not prediction from man. Predictions can be made by man. If a man makes a prediction, it may or may not happen. When God makes a promise, prophetically, this is a certain guarantee to come true. The only question is, when? And so, did you know that your Bible contains over 2,500 precise prophecies of which 2,000 have already been fulfilled? For example, Bikah 5.2 prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Do you wanna know when that was written? 700 years before Jesus was born. Bikah prophesied it. In Psalm 22, it prophesied about how Jesus would be crucified. Do you wanna know when that was written? 1,000 years before Jesus was even born. Biblical prophecy is when God writes history before it happens. Some prophecies have come true in our lifetime. For example, Ezekiel 36, in Ezekiel 36 God told Ezekiel that in the future he would regather Jewish people from the nations and from the world and bring them back to their ancestral

homeland, which has always been theirs. Ezekiel 36 verse 24, it says, for I will take you out of the nations, I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. Pause. Bring you back into what? Your own land. It's always been Israel's. Ezekiel wrote these words around 571 B.C. when the Jewish people were slaves in Babylon. They had been conquered and dispersed throughout the four corners of the earth. Everybody was convinced this is the end of the Jewish people. There's no way they're ever going to get back together. There's no way they're going to get back to their land. And for 2,600 years, whenever people would read these words written by Ezekiel, these prophecies, they thought it was impossible until 1948 when the state of Israel was reborn and regathered in their land. Some of your parents and or grandparents were alive for this. After the tragedy of the Holocaust, 6 million Jews were murdered by Hitler. God gathered up those dry bones, which it talks about in Ezekiel 37, and he breathed life into the nation of Israel and regathered Jews from around the world back to their ancestral homeland. Okay. Okay. So, as we look throughout history, various leaders and nations and groups have tried to kill and eliminate the Jewish people and Israel. The question is, where does this demonic hatred of Israel come from? Now, if you have a worldly lens, it often seems and feels like a political issue. But when you have a biblical worldview, a biblical lens and angle, you are reminded that there are always two sides to every reality. What we can see with our eyes physically and what we can't see with our eyes spiritually. That's why Ephesians 6, 12 says, for we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies,

but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. I really believe that what we've seen throughout history and even recently in the Middle East is totally 100% spiritual. This is a demonic spirit of violence that has been terrorizing God's chosen people, Israel, for thousands of years. And this spirit is the opposite of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings peace and life. This other spirit brings violence and death. This is spiritual warfare at the highest levels. Just look at history over and over again. 100 times we see anti-Semitism cycling, leaders, nations, rising up to kill who? The Jews. Let's go to the first and second books of the Bible, Pharaoh. What is the decree of Pharaoh? Kill all of the Jewish babies, boys. Fast forward a little bit in the Old Testament to Esther, the book of Esther. Remember the book of Esther? Remember Haman? Haman is plotting with some of the other leaders. And what do they want to do? They want to kill all of the Jews. Let's fast forward to more modern times, Hitler in Germany and the Holocaust. Six million Jews. He says let's kill them all. Let's gas them in Nazi death concentration camps. Modern day today, we have Hamas and Hezbollah who are Islamic jihadists who see it as their mission to eliminate all Jewish people. What's happening? Anti-Semitism is repeating itself over and over.

Why? Because anti-Semitism isn't just racist, it's satanic. Satan is at war with God. Now I want to be clear and I want to be fair and I want to be clear. I'm not talking about the majority of Muslims living in the west who live in peace or want peace or your neighbors or my neighbors who might be Muslims here who live in peace who probably left those places for those reasons. I'm not talking about them. Interestingly, I recently spoke to a good friend from Iran and he told me, Pastor Virg, the reality, the truth, the news doesn't tell you. The outlets here, the media, they don't tell you. The reality is that a large number of people in Iran and in the Middle East, they are for Israel. They are for the U.S. and they are for Trump. But the news doesn't tell you because what's leading is the regime. The extremist, radical regimes and they manipulate the media and the news and unfortunately now days you don't know who you can trust with news and so I'm talking about this radical form of Islamic jihadism jihad is something that they know as a holy war Iran's official name is the Islamic Republic of Iran it's a theocracy their laws are based on the Quran Muslims believe that the Quran is a direct revelation of the Muslim God known as Allah the nation of Iran is 99% Muslim many of them are Shia Muslims now they are led by a regime and they are led by a by a person named the Ayatollah Khomeini have you ever heard of them the Ayatollah Ali Khomeini supreme leader ruler he's been ruling for three decades he enforces very strict Sharia law personally I feel deeply and I pray for people in Iran and family and friends of people that I know who are suffering greatly under the oppression of this regime the Ayatollah Khomeini guards the mission of Iran which he defines this way and this is public he defines the mission of Iran this way it is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map Ayatollah Khomeini

that's the stated mission of Iran to wipe Israel off the map to exterminate Jews as a radical Shiite Muslim the Ayatollah preaches hatred for both check it out Jews and Christians because both are considered infidels the enemies of Islam that's why you can find videos that you're not gonna see them on the news you're not gonna see them on CNN or on Univision or Fox or Telemundo no but you can find videos of the radical groups in Iran shouting death to America the great Satan and death to Israel the little Satan and then they shout we are at your service Ayatollah Khomeini why because they see Jews and Christians as enemies to Islam the Ayatollah has gone on record declaring the following Israel is a cancerous tumor and it will be removed Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world they have supplied money and weapons to three groups of people that are sworn to destroy Israel Hezbollah who fire rockets on Israel from Lebanon Houthis who fire missiles on Israel from Lebanon I'm sorry Hezbollah from Lebanon Houthis from Yemen and Hamas who is responsible for the massacre of over 1,250 men women and children on October 7th 2023 anybody remember that that was two years ago still holding hostages in the terror tunnels under Gaza so Iran gives these the regime gives these radical jihadist groups Hamas Houthis and Hezbollah weapons and money to terrorize the Jewish people but then Iran can deny their involvement and say we didn't have anything to do with it now speaking of the attack on October 7th Hamas terrorists 1,500 Hamas terrorists extreme Muslims broke through the border between Palestine and Israel and they killed about 1,300 almost 1,300 Jews including men women children and even infants they raped women and they beheaded babies in front of their parents okay you don't you're not gonna see this on the news here because they're the lens we're not getting the full picture this was the largest killing of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust people have referred to that day October 7th 2023 as Israel's 9-11 anybody remember 9-11 that's what they refer to it but it's not even fair to refer to it as that because the US we lost 3,000 souls on 9-11 but we're a nation of 330 million Israel lost they

lost 1250 in a nation of 7.1 million so if we were proportioned about it it would be almost like 50,000 people here in the year I would hope that all of this helps you understand why it's a big problem for Iran to build a nuclear weapon and why Israel has found itself in the position like any of us would to defend itself Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel started an operation called Operation Rising Lion based on numbers 2324 after Israel's preemptive strike to take out Iran's nuclear program why did they do that because they were enriching uranium levels capable of producing nuclear bombs so what was the statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement on that day and he said today Israel has shown that we have learned the lesson of history when enemies vow to destroy you believe them when enemies build weapons of mass death stop them this is exactly what Israel has done today we have risen like lions to defend ourselves code name of Israel's strike Operation Rising Lion guess what where that came from the Bible Book of Numbers chapter 23 verse 24 it's a prophetic phrase meant to show Jewish strength and courage and dependence on God in a at a time of national crisis. Netanyahu actually put a handwritten copy of this verse into the Western Wall before they launched Operation Rising Lion. So you have to understand something. Anti-Semitism isn't just wrong, it's satanic. And that may not be politically correct for me to say, but it's biblically correct for me to say. My obligation is to be biblically correct, not politically correct. And that is why, as Christians, we need to support our Jewish brothers and sisters against the demonic ideology that is overtaking many of these nations.

We need to support, by the way, we need to support Persian believers and Muslim people that are peaceful and that are not supporting all of this. And we need to pray for them because they're being oppressed as well, in Iran and different countries as well. Now, don't misunderstand me. This isn't about political warfare or patriotism. This is about spiritual warfare and the Bible. Israel, as any nation would, including our own, has to defend itself. And in doing so, unfortunately, people have been killed being in the crossfire, which again, sometimes is a strategy of the enemy to then try to blame or try to paint things like it's that way. I wanna be clear about this. As Christ followers, we never celebrate when people die. As Christians, we are people of peace. We don't wanna see anybody die, Jewish, Muslim, or anything. In many ways, Israel and America are doing the rest of the world a service because they are ensuring that nuclear weapons don't fall into the hands of a radical regime that is bent on murder and genocide. Now, this is not a new conflict, everybody, and here's where I wanna take you today. This has been a confrontation of 4,000-year-old conflict. This is not about foreign policy. This is about biblical prophecy,

theology, and spiritual warfare. When did all of this start? Let's go to Genesis chapter 12. It all started with a man called Abram. Anybody ever heard of Abram in the Bible? Yeah, let's go to the call of Abram in Genesis chapter 12, verse one. I want you to see this, it's very important. It's gonna be up on the screens as well. Genesis 12, verse one. And it says, the Lord said to Abram, go from your country, in other words, leave your people, your father's household, to the land I will show you. Check this out. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse, and all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you. So God calls Abram out to a land which he's calling him to. By the way, this promised land is still under contention today, 4,000 years later. The Bible says that Abram believed God, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness. Now, if you jump to chapter 15 of Genesis, we're not gonna read it, but if you jump to chapter 15, in Genesis 15, God sees the faith of Abram. God changes Abram's name to Abraham,

and he establishes an unconditional promise to him known as the Abrahamic Covenant. Everybody say Abrahamic. The Abrahamic Covenant, which is an unbreakable, unconditional covenant established by God with Abraham and for the rest of his descendants. Check this out for your notes. Three promises in the Abrahamic Covenant. How many? Three, and they are land, lineage, and Lord. Say it with me, land, lineage, and Lord. These three promises include land, the promised land that God had for them, Israel. Lineage, God says to him, you're gonna have a son, which was crazy because Abraham was old and Sarah was old. You're gonna have a son, and you're gonna have descendants, you're gonna have a nation. And then out of the lineage of your sons will come a future Messiah. Speaking, of course, Jesus. God makes this threefold promise to Abraham. Land, lineage, and Lord. As soon as God makes this threefold covenant to Abraham of land, lineage, and Lord, in that moment, a spiritual war began. God is Father, who is a Holy Spirit. There is also an enemy, Satan, who is an unholy spirit. Whatever God creates, Satan counterfeits. Whatever God starts to build, Satan goes to tear down. Whatever God initiates, Satan opposes.

So, check this out. As soon as God makes this covenant promise to Abraham of land, lineage, and Lord, Satan goes into action throughout the rest of the timeline in the Bible to try to destroy exactly those three things. He wants to take the land, he wants to destroy the lineage, and he wants to set up an opposing Lord. Okay, Genesis 16. Anybody remember the story of Ishmael and Isaac? So, check it out, Genesis 16. God promises Abraham and Sarah that they are going to have a son. That's the promised son. What was the problem with Abraham and Sarah? They were really old. So, God promises them year one, year two, year three, ears go by and nothing. Sarah and Abraham, they decide to do what sometimes you and I do. They decide to help God. So Sarah's like, I'm old, this guy's old. So she goes and she gets her servant, who's a pagan servant, named Hagar. And she says, hey Abraham, I have an idea. And Abraham's like, what do you want, woman? And she says, I want you to sleep with my slave girl, Hagar. And Abraham's like, okay, right? Like, man, we want to listen to our wives,

but in these situations, they try to help God. It's not a good idea. We all know the story. Abraham's like, okay, okay, wife, I'll do what you say. He lies with Hagar, Hagar becomes pregnant, and she has a child, a son named Ishmael. Question, is that the son of the promise? No, that's not the son of the promise that God promised. And so let me read you a Bible verse in Genesis 16, 12 that describes Ishmael and all of the descendants of Ishmael after him. Genesis 16, 12, he will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers. Okay, 4,000 years ago, it was prophesied that the descendants of Ishmael would constantly be in conflict with the descendants of whoever Ishmael's brother, son of the promise, would actually be. We know that that's who, Isaac. Now, their descendants will constantly be at war with each other. So eventually, what happens? God fulfills his promise to Abraham and Sarah, and miraculously, Sarah becomes pregnant, and she has the promised son named Isaac. So check it out, if you follow the story, Isaac has twin sons, Esau and Jacob, Esau and Jacob. If you know the story of Esau and Jacob,

Jacob tricks his father to get the blessing. Who gets the blessing from the father? Jacob, he cheated. In fact, Jacob means cheater. Eventually, God changes his name from Jacob to Israel. Israel has 12 sons who are known as the 12 tribes of Israel. All right, so check it out, check it out. Interestingly enough, Ishmael also had 12 sons. Why, because whatever God creates, Satan counterfeits. So check it out, you have Abraham, you have two wives, you have two sons, you have two sets of 12 grandsons, but only one covenant, only one Abrahamic covenant. The spiritual war that takes place in all of history is a battle over land, lineage, and Lord, which son is gonna get the land, Israel? From which son will the blessed lineage come? And from which son will the one true Lord eventually come? Who did God choose? Who is the son of promise? God chose Isaac, he rejected Ishmael. Fast forward to Genesis 22. Do you remember when God calls Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a sacrifice on the altar? Remember that story? God tells Abraham, sacrifice your son Isaac that you love, your only son, because it was the only legitimate son, on a mountain, Abraham has Isaac carry wood on his shoulders

and Isaac walks up a hill. At the top of the hill, that son, Isaac, is ready to lay down his life in sacrifice to the father. And at the exact moment when the knife is about to go down, God stops Abraham and he provides a substitute sacrifice who will die in the place of Isaac so that Isaac doesn't have to die. Foreshadowing, 2,000 years later, one son, seed of Isaac, named Jesus, would go to Golgotha, the same mountain, and Jesus would have wood on his shoulders, walk up a hill, and would lay down his life to be pierced for our transgressions and cross for our sins. Now, fast forward, 2,400 years later, between 600 and 700 AD, a descendant of Ishmael named Muhammad is born. Muhammad claims that an angel appeared to him with a new gospel. By the way, Galatians 1.8, it warns us about any gospel that's not the gospel of Jesus. I think it wasn't an angel, I think it was a demon. Remember, the satanic war that started all the way back in Genesis 15 was all about three things, land, lineage, and Lord. This marked the birth of Islam. Now, here is Islam's narrative. What is Islam's narrative? They say the Hebrew scriptures were wrong. Actually, God chose Hagar, not Sarah. God chose Ishmael, not Isaac,

and Ishmael went up the mountain to be sacrificed. Islam says that all of the promises of the Abrahamic covenant belonged to Ishmael's descendants, Arabs and Palestinians. not Isaac's descendants, Jews. So now, what does Islam say? Islam says, that is our land, we are the blessed lineage, and our Lord, Allah, is the true Lord, not Jesus. And this, my friends, has resulted in nearly 2,000 years of conflict between the descendants of Ishmael, Muslims, and the descendants of Isaac, the Jews, and it's all over land, lineage, and Lord. And in the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack of Israelis, here's what we find. These are descendants of Ishmael, attacking the lineage of Isaac in a fight over the land. And as they were killing Jews, they were shouting the phrase, Allah Akbar, our God is greater. So they were attacking the lineage of Isaac in a fight over the land, and they were oppressing, or opposing, the Lord Jesus Christ. You wanna read a little more about signs of the last days, or the end times, in the New Testament, you could read Matthew, chapter 24, for homework. Now, all of this is important, because it's happening, the Bible talks about this. And by the way, just a little thing about the attack, it's kind of like, a terrorist attack is never okay. Now, that doesn't mean that, oh, it was a,

they were so holy and doing righteous things. It's kind of like 9-11 on the United States, okay? Can we all agree that a terrorist attack on 9-11 was wrong? Can we agree that it was evil? I would say it was satanic, right? But does that mean that the US is holy and pure and doing everything right? No, the US, we have the blood of millions of babies that are killed over years on our hands, as a nation. So it's not an issue of, are we worthy, and are we holy and deserving of it? It's just an issue of, that's just wrong. So the attack of Hamas on Israel, does it mean that Israel is holy and they're perfect and doing everything right? No, but that attack is wrong. Now, I wanna address this as a close. Why are so many young adults today, on college campuses, and a lot of people, supporting the Palestinian cause? I propose this because they're seeing one lens. They're seeing one angle, but they don't know the full picture. And that's what can lead you to have a strong conviction, but be sincerely wrong. And I commend young adults, and I commend college students who are passionate about justice, who are driven to defend the underdog, and who have compassion for the disadvantaged. I think that's a good thing, we can't lose that.

But here's the caution. Many are jumping on causes without doing their homework. And there's a false narrative, especially with today's media. There's a false narrative that Israel is the colonizer, like they're coming into the land that was the Palestinians. That was Israel's before Palestine was even a word. We're talking about back, we're talking about the beginning. And so, historically, the Jews have never stopped being connected to the land, and the Palestine cause today is often rooted in misinformation. But ultimately, it's hatred, and it's spiritual over land, lineage, and Lord. Many young adults fall into what the world, or what's known, or what's being called moralistic therapeutic deism, coined by Dr. Christian Smith. And it means be good, moralistic, feel good about it, therapeutic, and worship that goodness, worship goodness as God, deism. Instead of pursuing justice without direction, young people need a relationship with Jesus, and they need to read God's word. And the truth sets you free. A few thoughts to end. I want to talk about the church's relationship to Israel. And I want to clarify something today. I want to clarify that Jesus is king of kings.

The Bible also says that he is a Jewish king. He is the king of kings, but he is also a descendant of David, who will fulfill the promise God the Father made to Abraham and to David, where his descendants will sit on the throne forever. God didn't slip up in what he said, because one day this savior will sit on the throne of David forever. And we must understand this part of the Bible, and embrace the Bible, instead of embracing these ideologies influenced by Marxism, influenced by the radical left agenda today, or influenced by the world and the culture. Oh, we don't want to talk about these things because they're complicated and controversial. No, we got to talk about them, but we got to see the Bible's lens on it. And if you haven't noticed already, the gospel can be offensive to many. If you're not used to it, it's very important. Jesus was God in the flesh, and he offended people, because people were offended by the gospel. And you and I, if we preach the gospel, I don't know if it's happening to you, but people will reject you. In fact, some people will be very mad and upset.

because the gospel is offensive to some. Now, we don't, our intent is not let's go offend people, but we have to understand that sometimes the truth offends because the truth can hurt. So we don't need to be offensive on purpose, but we do need to make a stand for the Bible and for the people God calls, his special called people. Why? It wasn't because they were special in comparison to others. He had to come through a lineage. It was the least of these, and he made a choice. Now, that doesn't mean that we are not loved because we're not part of the church. Actually, it's because of the Jews' rejection of Christ that we as Gentiles have the blessing and freedom to come to Jesus. Praise God for that. It simply means that we stand for the word. Now, it doesn't mean that we don't grieve with people when they hurt. We don't grieve with Palestinians when they lose life, that we don't pray for people. It doesn't mean that we don't love people. It doesn't mean that we hate people. It simply means that we stand for God's people, we pray for Jerusalem, and we don't give in to the woke agenda and the anti-God, anti-Bible propaganda. God is not done with Israel. This is the last thing I wanna mention.

There is an error of something known as replacement theology. Replacement theology claims that the church has replaced Israel in God's plan. There's problems with this view. In other words, that Israel's not really important anymore. It's really the church. I don't see that the Bible supports that. Why do the Jewish people still exist? Why was Israel re-established as a nation after 2,000 years, in 1948? The church and Israel are two distinct, not interchangeable entities. God's promises to Israel are not void. Their special role, I think, is on pause. God's promised land and the blessings of Israel have not changed. Jesus revealed himself as the promised Davidic king who would restore Jerusalem, Matthew 11 and Acts 3. Jesus was rejected by the Jews exactly as a Jewish prophet prophesied. Jesus called his disciples to fulfill that Abraham's commission, to bless the nations by preaching the good news to all nations until the end of the age, Genesis 12, Matthew 28. God is faithful and trustworthy to his promises. Now, now, Paul writes about this in the book of Romans and he says that it's good news. Paul teaches that God's faithfulness to Israel is proof that he will be faithful to us.

In fact, in fact, Paul clarifies that if God rejected Israel, in other words, if Israel was not important anymore, if God replaced Israel with the church and discarded Israel completely, that would mean that God no longer was faithful to his word. So for those of you in here today that maybe you have believed replacement theology, that the church has replaced Israel and that every scripture about Israel, we just take it for ourselves because Israel's done and every plan God has for the future of Israel is discarded because they were bad, because they killed Jesus and now God is just dealing with the church. Let me ask you a question, let me ask you a question. If God broke his promise to Israel, what makes you think he will not break his promise to you? What assurance do you have that if God was not faithful to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, that he will somehow be faithful to you? Well, he won't, if that's your view of God. But we believe that God does not break his promises. The United Nations, they can break their promises. Politicians can break their promises. We can break our promises, but God never breaks his promises. God is truth. That's why Paul leads us to understand we are against replacement theology.

We are against the idea that Israel is now completely removed from the end times eschatology and that Jesus is only about the church and Israel no longer has any part in God's plan. Look at Romans 11, verse 25 says, up on the screens. Paul writes, I want you to understand this mystery. It's a mystery. Dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Be careful, getting pride, Christians. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts. Pause, pause. Some of the people, you wanna know why he says that? Because there are some Jewish people who believe in Jesus, the Savior. There are Messianic Jews. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles, non-Jews, come to Christ. And so, all Israel will be saved. As the scripture says, the one who rescues will come from Jerusalem and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them that I will take away their sins. Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the good news and this benefits you Gentiles. The reality nowadays, there are Jewish people who are against the gospel, who don't believe in Jesus, the Savior,

who don't believe in Jesus as Messiah. And like it says there, they have hard hearts or they are enemies of the good news. And you and I might say, that's pretty unfair. And you know what? It does, but you're not God and I'm not God. He is God and he made a covenant. Many of the people of Israel are now. of the good news, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet, they are still the people he loves, because he chose their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. For God's gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. So Israel, some of Israel might oppose the gospel, but they are beloved because they are, they have God's covenant, Abrahamic covenant. And yes, it seems unfair. Thank God he's God and not us. And so, the Bible says that Jesus is coming back. So the question is, why doesn't he just come back now? Why is God waiting? Let me give you the answer. Second Peter, chapter 3, verse 9. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. So why is God waiting? He's waiting for you, who haven't received Jesus yet. Why is God waiting? He's waiting for your brother and sister, who still are from God. He's waiting for your son or daughter, prodigal. He's waiting for your mom and your dad. It's his grace and his mercy. Every day on the earth is his grace and mercy, an opportunity for someone else to come to Jesus. There are parts of the world, including Africa and other continents, where large numbers of people are coming to faith in Christ daily. So as far as I'm concerned, every day is new people coming to heaven. Every day. We just don't know when the last day will come. Every day, hour, and minute that Jesus waits, more people will choose to receive him and receive salvation and eternal life. And so this is the way I see it. Today, God's giving us one more day. And we might as well point people to Jesus towards salvation and eternal life. I hope this message has helped bring

clear angle and lens from the word for many. And if you're challenged or struggling with any of this, I pray that you take it to the Lord in prayer. But I promise you, his word never fails. Lord, thank you for your word. And thank you for your truth, because your truth sets us free. Lord, the truth is we pray for Jews who need to know you, Jesus, as Savior. We pray for Muslims who need to know you, Jesus, as Savior. We pray for Palestinians, Arabs, Jews, Gentiles. We pray for agnostics and atheists, because they all need you, Jesus. Lord, we pray for peace. We do not celebrate death in any way. But Lord, I pray for peace in Jerusalem. I pray for peace in our nation here. Pray for your peace. We pray for your presence. Pray for your salvation. We pray that eyes would be opened to the truth of the gospel. Powerful name of Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for your covenants. Thank you, because you are faithful to your word. You'll always be faithful. Jesus, they may pray. Amen.