Transcription
You know what today is? Palm Sunday. Today is one of the most convincing days, if not the most convincing day, believe it or not, in Bible prophecy, as to why you should be a believer in Yeshua, that is Jesus, as Hamashia, as Messiah. Yeshua Hamashiach. Why do we believe that Jesus is the Messiah? Many, many reasons. Why today is one of those days where it is, listen, it is forensic. You can literally apply scientific investigation to what transpired 2,000 years ago on a Sunday. And we'll give you specifics about that. But it's for the skeptic. You should go and see and study for yourself because you're responsible to do that. So much so, you're going to hear about this in a moment from none other than Jesus himself.
So, we're going to look at Luke chapter 19 on today, this Palm Sunday, and, um, we'll get into the entire meaning of it all. You guys do know, I hope, that today is part two of what we started last week. We are looking at a special Bible prophecy update message, yet at the same time, we are incorporating, which is not a problem, the remarkable, awesome events of Palm Sunday. So, Luke chapter 19, if you would. And I'll begin reading in verse 29. If you pick, pick it up in verse 30, nice and loud, if you would.
"And it came to pass, that when he, that is Jesus, drew near to Bethany at the mount called Olivet, that he sent two of his disciples, saying, 'Loose it, and bring it here. And if anyone asks you, here's the code word, if anyone asks you, "Why are you loosing it?" thus you shall say to him, "Because the Lord has need of it."' Those..." That's awesome. So, uh, wait, verse 33. "Yes, but as they were loosening the colt, the owners of it said to them, 'Why are you loosening the colt?' Then they brought him, that is the colt, to Jesus, and they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on top of them. On. Then as he was drawing near, listen up, everybody. Then as he was drawing near to the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'"
And some of the Pharisees, count on these guys to be the party poopers, called to him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." And said to them, "I you keep silent, stones will immediately cry out." Now, as he drew near and saw the city, that's Jerusalem, and, and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that now they are hidden from your eyes."
Before I keep reading, can you guys just mark that verse you just read? Jesus said to them, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day." There's a reason why he said this, everybody. Verse 43. "For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close you in on every side. And let your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you do not know the time of your visitation." Because you did not know the word in Greek is "recognize." You didn't open your eyes to see the time of your visitation had come.
Father, give us ears to hear what the Holy Spirit would say today with power, that Christ would be glorified, and Lord, that we would make us even more so your disciples today than ever before. And for anyone who doesn't believe in you, doesn't trust you, doesn't have your love, your forgiveness, your peace, your comfort, the security of eternal life through Jesus Christ, we pray, Lord God Almighty, that today would be the day that they would recognize their visitation. We pray in Jesus' name. And all God's people said, amen.
Church, you may be seated. And, um, I have lovingly reminded you that you're not ready for today. I'm going to prove it to you in a moment. But, um, I'm going to ask all of you to take notes. You need to take notes today. You've got to take notes today. There's going to be things that are going to be going by so fast that you're going to want to go back and review, or, uh, you're going to want to remember. Whenever we write notes down, we remember better. And then on top of it, I really encourage you to have a Bible. I know many of you use a device, and that's great if you use it right. Some of your devices, you can write on them and take notes. That's great. Some of you are very clever. By the way, I haven't figured this out yet. Some of you have downloaded my notes this morning before you even come to church, and then on your iPad or tablet, you actually write on the notes that you've downloaded, which is brilliant. Uh, good for you. And then you store them in a file, and you wind up building your own biblical commentary, uh, for future study. What a great thing to do.
Well, mark this down, would you? This amazing day, Palm Sunday, 2,000 years ago, was a day written in scripture. It was one of the great days of biblical prophecy fulfilled. It's not often when you can stand and say, "This is the day that prophecy is coming to pass." But they did that 2,000 years ago. And it was all predicated, by the way, upon four remarkable eyewitness accounts of the Old Testament promises. You can mark it if you would. It's Matthew chapter 21, verses 9 to 10. Mark 11, verses 9 to 1. Luke 19, we just read it, verses 37 and 38. And John 12, verse 16. All of these speak about the quadr-phonic delivery and eyewitness account of what is called Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday comes out of the ancient Psalm, 3,000-year-old Psalm, in the 118th Psalm of the Messiah.
How would Israel ever come to recognize their Messiah? That's the question, friends. If you're Jewish today, if you're watching, if you're Jewish, the question is natural for you to ask. The question: How do I recognize the Messiah? We, we believe a Messiah is coming. How do I recognize him? And the answer is a great answer to the great question. The Bible gives you the very roadmap or characteristics of how to identify the Messiah. Listen up, everyone. All of us. It's how you recognize false Messiahs from true Messiahs. How about that? God gave you the ability to test the spirits, and that testing comes from the Bible.
And so, here we are in Palm Sunday. Why is it Palm Sunday? You're going to want to write this down. On March 14th, 445 BC. See, that's a long time ago. March 14th, 445 BC. Why is that a big deal? Because archaeological evidence has revealed to us that it was on March 14th, 445 BC, that King Artaxerxes gave a passport with a blank check, mind you, to a guy by the name of Nehemiah, his cupbearer. That is in your Bible. That Nehemiah, and Nehemiah was given the safe passage to go all the way back to Jerusalem to rebuild the streets and the walls and to reestablish Jerusalem for the Jewish people. 445 BC. That is a long time ago.
The Book of Daniel tells us, Daniel 9:24-27, that concerning the last days and the ministry of the Messiah, that the Messiah would appear to Israel 173,880 days. You want to write that down. 173,880 days is equal to 483 years, based on a Babylonian calendar. See, why do you tell me that? Because your Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is based on a Babylonian calendar, 360 days to a biblical year. 483 years from March 14th. Are you with me? Are you sure? March 14th, 445 BC. 483 years later, which is 173,880 days, bring you to Sunday, April 6th, 32 AD.
Why is that important? Because Rome, Israel, the Sanhedrin, eyewitnesses, people who were there for Passover week from all over the known world, secular history, all of them record that it was on that day that Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem riding on the back of a donkey and was heralded as king. And it was one of the most remarkable moments in Bible prophecy. So much so, listen up, it has yet to be denied or refuted or debunked from forensics. This is how true and how real God is. And Israel was to know it. You read it a moment ago. Jesus told them, "If you had only recognized this, thy day." Church family, listen, this is dead serious stuff. He held them accountable to know the very day, based upon the very scriptures that they had in their possession, that every synagogue in the world had. They knew that from the going forth of that command to restore and rebuild the walls, given to Nehemiah, to the coming of the Messiah would be 483 years. We knew the exact day. And not only that, we knew the exact year. April 6th, for 483 years after the command, turns out to be April 6th, 32 AD. What a remarkable thing.
Again, write this down. To the nation of Israel, the first coming of Christ is known as Palm Sunday. You say, "Wait, is it the first coming of Christ? Hit the, the baby being born in Bethlehem? Nope. Or how about the first coming of Christ is his crucifixion? Nope." If somebody ever asks you, "When did Christ first come to Jerusalem?" The answer is Palm Sunday. And by the way, did he come physically, everybody? Yes. Did he come riding in the back of a little donkey? Yep. Did everybody shout, "Hosanna, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"? Yep. And the second coming of Christ, guess what? The only thing that's different is that he comes the second time to rule and reign. He rides on the back of a, not a donkey, but a, what? A horse. And he comes as king to, what? Rule Israel. To, what city? Jerusalem. Both second comings are recorded in Daniel 9:24-27. And it's got to be Jerusalem. It's got to be Israel. And they are absolutely two profound bookends to the existence of the nation of Israel.
Notice that when Israel, at the first coming, was in existence, it was under Roman occupation. The second coming of Christ, he will come to liberate Israel and Jerusalem from global occupation and the rule of the Antichrist. One on a donkey, humble, meek, and mild, because he was prophesied that he would go to the cross in the Old Testament. The second coming of Christ, no donkey, but an incredible white horse. And the Bible says that, uh, out of his mouth goes a sharp two-edged sword, that with it is the word of God, that with that he will strike the nations with judgment. That's the Christ that's coming. Listen, by the way, both of those events are physical returns to Earth, to Jerusalem, to Israel. In between, somewhere in between, is what's called the Rapture. It's not a, it's not a coming. The Rapture of the church is not a coming. It's an appearance. Christ never comes to Earth in the Rapture. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and John 14:1, 2, and 3 tells you that he's in the atmosphere to receive his church, and then he goes back to where he came from. And I hope that happens today. Uh, that would be great. I still have a long day ahead of me. I've got buds to do yet, and a hospital visitation going on after that, I believe, now. But come, Lord Jesus.
Church, are you ready for something? Get your phone out. Get your phone ready. I'm telling you, I'm not joking. Do we really know what we're talking about when we talk about this Palm Sunday and Jesus Christ in Bible prophecy? Why are we, think about us right here, right now. We are people from all walks of life, right here, right now. Many Middle Eastern people attend this church for one of the very reasons I'm going to be giving you soon. Why is that the case? Why do we have many Egyptians who attend here? What about Lebanese? What about, listen, why is it that Persians have found a home here in this church in studying the Bible? For the same reason why the Portuguese have? Or what are you? You see, it doesn't matter what pigmentation or what nationality you and I are. What has brought us together is the truth of Almighty God. And this is the truth that we're about to look at. And I need you to take photos because you can never write fast enough. I can barely say it fast enough. Obviously, the topic is the prophecies regarding Jesus Christ in the Bible. And we are going to match them up against the Old Testament scripture prophecy given. Listen, the prophecy given and New Testament prophecy fulfilled. You all see that now? My, before I go any further, now my Jewish friends, you're Messiah. You believe in a Messiah coming. That's good. So do we. The difference is, you believe your Messiah hasn't come yet. You're waiting for him to come. We believe that our Messiah, your Messiah, is going to come again. You see, we believe that today, according to the Bible, what happened in Jerusalem is exactly what was supposed to happen based upon Bible prophecy. But still, to this day, many Jewish people reject Jesus as Messiah, Yeshua Hamashiach. So the question remains before you: Are you expecting the Messiah to come, or are you expecting the Messiah to come again? There's a great difference. Because if you're expecting him to come for the first time, well, Satan knows this, and he's going to create a man who, who is called the anti-Christ. The word "anti" in Greek means one of two things, depends on the context. It means "the instead of" or "the opposite of." The Antichrist operates as both. He is the impostor Christ, and Israel will worship him. And he's the "instead of" Christ, where the world will bow down to him.
Here we go. Why we believe Jesus is Messiah on this Palm Sunday. Number one: The Messiah would be born of a woman. That's prophesied in Genesis 3:15. It's answered in Matthew 1:20, Galatians 4:4. Number two: The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2, fulfilled Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4-6. The Messiah would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22-23 and Luke 1:26-31. The Messiah would come from the line of Abraham. Genesis 12:3, Genesis 22:18, fulfilled in Matthew 1:1 and Romans 9:5. The Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac. Genesis 17:19, Genesis 21:12, recorded in Luke 3:34. Six: The Messiah would be the descendant of Jacob. Numbers 24:17, Matthew 1:2. Number 7: Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10, Luke 3:33, Hebrews 7:14. Number 8: Messiah would be heir to King David's throne. 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Isaiah 9:7, fulfilled in Luke 1:32-33 and Romans 1:3. The Messiah's throne, number 9, will be anointed and eternal. Wow. Psalm 45:6 and 7, Daniel 2:44, fulfilled in Luke 1:33, Hebrews 1:8-12. Number 10: The Messiah would be called Emmanuel, which means "God dwells among us" or "God is with us." Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23 is its fulfillment. The Messiah would spend, number 11, the Messiah would spend time or a season in Egypt. Hosea the prophet 11:1, fulfilled Matthew 2:14-15. Number 12: The massacre of children would happen at the Messiah's birthplace. Jeremiah 31:15, fulfilled Matthew 2:16-18. A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah. Isaiah 40:3-5, Luke 3:3-6. Number 14: The Messiah would be preceded by a forerunner. Malachi 3:1, Matthew 11:10 is its fulfillment. You guys okay? Number 15: Messiah would be rejected by his own people, the Jewish people. Psalm 69:8, Isaiah 53:3. The fulfillment is John 1:11 and John 7:5. The Messiah would be a prophet. Deuteronomy 18:15, fulfilled in Acts 3:20-22. Messiah would be preceded by Elijah. Malachi 4:5-6, fulfilled with Matthew 11:13-14. The Messiah would be declared to be the Son of God. Psalm 2:7, Matthew 3:16-17. Number 19: The Messiah would be called a Nazarene. Isaiah 11:1 and Matthew 2:23. The Messiah would bring light to Galilee. Isaiah 9:1 and 2, fulfilled Matthew 4:13-16. The Messiah would speak in parables. Psalm 78:2 and 4, and Isaiah 6:9-10. The fulfillment of that, Matthew chapter 13, verses 10-15, and verses 34-35. Number 22: The Messiah would be sent to heal the brokenhearted. Isaiah 61:1 and 2, fulfilled in Luke 4:18-19. The Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. That is insanely awesome. Psalm 110:4, the fulfillment of that is Hebrews 5:5 and 6. The Messiah would be called King. Psalm 2:6, Zechariah 9:9, fulfillment Matthew 27:37, Mark 11:7-10. The Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a donkey. That's today, called Palm Sunday. Zechariah 11:12, fulfillment Matthew 21:4 and 5. Number 26: The Messiah would be praised by little children, specifically. Psalm 8:2, fulfilled Matthew 21:16. The prophecy, the Messiah would be betrayed. Psalm 41:9, Zechariah 11:12 and 13. The fulfillment of that prophecy is Luke 22:47-48 and Matthew 26:14-16. Number 28: The Messiah's price money would be used to buy a potter's field. This is what he was betrayed for, 30 pieces of silver. Listen, if you're not a Christian, I'm not talking about joining the church. Just pause here for a second. If you're not a follower of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, what in the world are you doing with your life? What are you thinking? Look at what we're, we are looking at prophecies that were announced and fulfilled. I spare you. There's about 200, 68 of these. We're only going to go through a few of them. This is forensics, ladies and gentlemen. This is why God says he's different. He writes the future down in advance for you to study, then to find out he is the one. Forget about church, forget about people, forget about religion. First things first, is Jesus Lord? This is undeniable evidence. And it is up to us to know it because God himself held Israel responsible to know these things. No gray zone. We are to know these things. And now in the 21st century, with the technology we have, there's no excuse. My goodness.
The Messiah would be falsely accused. Number 29, Psalm 37, Psalm 35:1, Mark 14:57-58. The Messiah would be silent before his accusers. Isaiah 53:7, Mark 15:4 and 5. Number 31: The Messiah would be spat upon and struck. Isaiah 50:6. You know, I could have thrown in there another one too, where the Messiah would have his beard plucked out of his face. That's Isaiah chapter 50 also, but we didn't do that one. Matthew 26:67 is the fulfillment. Number 32: The Messiah would be hated without a cause. Psalm 35:19, Psalm 69:4, and the fulfillment of that is John 15:24 and 25. The Messiah would be crucified with criminals, one on each side. More specifically, the Bible says, "And so it was." Isaiah 53:12, the fulfillment of that prophecy, Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27-28. 34: The Messiah would be given vinegar to drink. Who writes this down? How, how do I identify the Messiah? He'll drink vinegar, or be offered vinegar, excuse me. He'll be offered vinegar while on the cross. Psalm 69:21, written 3,000 years ago, and 2,000 years before Jesus Christ was born. Fulfillment, Matthew 24:34 and John 19:28-30. The Messiah's hands and his feet would be pierced, or crucified. Psalm 22:16, Zechariah 12:10, all recorded by eyewitness account in John 20:25-27. The Messiah would be mocked and ridiculed. Psalm 22:7 and 8, recorded fulfillment, Luke 23:35. Soldiers would gamble for the Messiah's garments. Psalm 22:18, fulfilled in Luke 23:34 and Matthew 27:35-36. Number 38: The Messiah's bones would not or could not be broken. Did you know that? It says "would not." You know, technically, according to Exodus 12:3, the Messiah, the Passover lamb's bones could not be broken. Never moving out from Egypt after that initial Passover, the Passover lamb could never have a broken bone. It would be rejected. So the Messiah's bones would not or could not be broken. Exodus 12:46, Psalm 34:20, the fulfillment that none of Jesus's bones were broken on the cross, John 19:33-36. The Messiah would be forsaken by God. Psalm 22:1, Matthew chapter 27:46. Number 40: The Messiah would pray for his enemies. Psalm 109:4, and Luke 23:34 records that. Number 41: Soldiers would pierce the Messiah's side. It even says his right side. Zechariah 12:10, fulfillment, eyewitness John 19:34. The Messiah would be buried among the rich. Isaiah 53:9, recorded Matthew 27:57-60. Number 43: Messiah would resurrect from the dead. Psalm 16:10, Psalm 49:15, eyewitness accounts Matthew 28:2-7, Acts chapter 2:2, or 22, I should say, to 32. Messiah would ascend, technically back to heaven. Psalm 24:7-10, Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51. Are you guys all right? Messiah would be seated at God's right hand. Psalm 68:18, Psalm 110:1, fulfillment of that, Mark 16:19, Matthew 22:44. The Messiah would be a sacrifice for sins. Isaiah 53:5-12, Romans 5:6-8. The Messiah would return a second time. Daniel 7:13 to 14. You can also throw in there Daniel 9:24-27, fulfillment yet to come, Revelation chapter 19. Number 48: The Messiah would have to be eternal. Proverbs 30:4, John records that he is eternal. Jesus Christ, 1 John 5:20. The Messiah, number 49, would be publicly worshiped. Psalm 118:25-26, and John 12:13. And number 50: Messiah would present himself as the King of the Jews. Zechariah 9:9, on Palm Sunday. This day in history, recorded by Matthew chapter 21, verses 4-7, and all of the other remaining three Gospels. Jesus Christ is Lord, God, Savior, and King.
We've learned this, church family, and that is the fact that last week we learned regarding Israel being the epicenter of the world, more now than ever before, more than last Sunday, still in the news and rising. We saw this: Why Israel Matters and Will Always Matter. I'm going to show you a picture right now, actually a map. I want to have you to see this. Uh, everybody get a good shot of this. You might want to take a picture of this. You will not see this on any news broadcast in the world. You will not see this, even on some of the most conservative. Why? Because what you're looking at is modern-day countries. Their names have been superimposed upon the very exact territory that God gave Abraham as the inheritance to the children of Abraham, otherwise known as the Jews. This is the region that the Jews will occupy during what is called the Millennium, when Christ returns in the second coming. Please note the scope of what the United Nations has no knowledge of. It goes from Egypt through the Red Sea, all of Saudi Arabia, out to the Euphrates River, heads north, northwest, up into the lower part of Turkey, all the way down the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, through Lebanon, into Israel. Ladies and gentlemen, that is the promise that God gave in the Book of Genesis to Abraham. He said it exactly the same thing again to Moses, and listen, it was repeated again to the children under Joshua. And this is the region that when Christ comes in his second coming, the Bible says that he will be the king over Israel. That's Israel's future right there. Take a picture. That's the picture. The future of Israel. Nobody knows this unless you read your Bible.
Next picture. Just to give you a little bit of clarity. Modern-day map superimposed of the promised land. And that's very clear. That's why Israel matters and will always matter. Friends and family, we don't have time to go into this now. You mark that spot right there. Christ will sit upon the throne in Jerusalem for how long? Anybody know? A thousand years. He will introduce his government, the way government was supposed to run, without politics. God invented government. God didn't invent politics. That's what man does. The government God, man ruins government with politics. Jesus Christ will sit and rule and reign for 1,000 years. This will be the epicenter of his global kingdom. It's not just going to be that area in the red. He will rule the world, but that will be the fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham through Jesus Christ on his throne.
Secondly, we saw number two last time together. We saw, "What do Israel's enemies have in common?" There were many things, but few things stand out more, and they even gave us more news this week to report on. It was the fact, remember that Israel must be destroyed. Number one is this: Why Ramadan matters in the Israel-Hamas war? Did you know this? This is news. Am I yelling? Are you got, sorry. This is breaking news now. This right here is a big, big problem to a lot of people because when, when Ramadan comes to an end, the Islamic world this week is promising the bloodiest worldwide end to Ramadan ever. They believe that now is the time. They believe that with the momentum of the nations of the world that's against Israel, now is the time to pounce on the nation of Israel. Israel's up against the ropes, ladies and gentlemen. Do not lose heart about this. You read your Bible carefully. Israel has to be up against the ropes for God to fulfill his word. But mark this down, friends. This is secular news that Ramadan coming to an end, they're predicting that it's going to be the bloodiest ever.
Next slide. This is literally, you could, by the way, did I not tell all of you guys to go to this MRI TV last week? Didn't I tell you to get that? I told you if you would have gotten it, you would have got this alert. This is an Imam in the United States with many other Imams in the United States because Iran has announced that, "I, we want everyone to be saying the same thing." What is the same thing? Say this: Imams across America, it's actually Imams around the world, call for genocide of the Jews for Allah. Why are you quiet? I'll tell you why you're quiet because nobody will say a thing about this. Neither will this be reported on your secular news agencies. In fact, we got this from the Middle East expert, Pamela Geller. You should follow Pamela Geller. You can listen to him. He's speaking in English, by the way. And what is he doing? He's quoting from the Quran where the Quran says, "Find a Jew, find a Christian, and kill them." And a rock will shout out to the, to the Muslim over here, "A Jew and a Christian hides behind me. Come and slay them." That's what he's quoting. You can go watch it after service. The reason why you're quiet right now is because you're a little nervous. How about if we did it this way? It'll go down a lot easier. I think pastors across America call for genocide of the Jews. Oh, that'd be, oh boy, those pastors. Think about it. What if this was referred? Are you guys awake? This is deadly serious. This can be said. This can be preached. This can be printed. No one says a word. Where's the FBI? Where's the NSA? They will not touch them. If I were the one saying that, you would have a prison ministry to come and see me. Do you see how, do you see how skewed things are, ladies and gentlemen? That's what, that's what's going on. That's what's happening. Rather remarkable. Uh, one more. I think that's it. Oh, yes. The, this is the Hamas Covenant from 1988. Want to take a picture of this? Yeah. "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."
I have a question to all of you right now. Joe Biden is asking the Israelis to give up more land and give up half of Jerusalem for peace. Okay, first of all, that's not a new idea. Go back and look at previous US presidents. How many times they've tried to broker a peace treaty with Israel and its neighbors, and it's always the same, same thing. Israel, we know you're just the size of New Jersey, and there's 57 nations that are dedicated to your obliteration that surround you, basically bad neighborhood. But can you give up some land and everything will be peaceful? That's what they said. If you give them some land, they'll be peaceful. I want to remind you of the Hamas Covenant. Israel cannot give enough land to bring peace. In fact, we're spelling the word "peace" wrong. It's not peace like a dove, it's peace like a pie. Hamas cannot allow Israel to exist. These are their words, not mine. They said this, not me.
Number three, here we go. We're diving back in and we'll, um, we'll end on time, believe it or not. Number three is this: As Israel becomes an epicenter of the nations, as Israel, we're talking as, like, as in real time, Israel becomes the epicenter of the nations of the world, you cannot be a national leader today or be in any country where you do not hear about, in some way, shape, or form, Jerusalem or Israel in the news, good, bad, or ugly. The issue is, all nations, the Bible tells us, all nations will have to make a policy decision regarding the nation of Israel. And the God of the Bible will see to it. And I'll prove it to you, friends, from the Bible. Ezekiel chapter 36. You want to mark this down, by the way. This is your homework tonight. Ezekiel chapter 36, 37, and 38. All of us have to read these three chapters. And I'm going to give you, uh, portions of it. You can get it all later in your own reading.
"Thus says the Lord God, 'I have raised my right hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame. But you, oh mountains of Israel, shall I say right now, this is a 2,600-year-old prophecy. We didn't make this up. We didn't change any words. The word here is Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people, who Israel? For they are about to come.'" Well, that's interesting. Wait a minute. Wait, what? This is the Lord God speaking to the mountains of Israel. He's talking to the dirt. Why would God talk to the dirt? And he tells the dirt, "Get ready to have productive fields and get your branches to start sprouting out its fruit." Why? "Imagine the ground speaking back, and the trees, 'What for? Why do I need to grow?'" He says, "Because my people are about to come." That's funny. It means they're not there. Huh? Can you ever think of a time when Israel was a nation, and then it was no longer a nation, and then it becomes a nation 2,000 years later? 1948, May 14th. It doesn't matter what you might think or the opinion you might have regarding Israel. On May 14th, 1948, that's the day they became a sovereign nation, recognized by the nations of the world. So what we're looking at is pure facts here that should cause us to think that it's the God of the Bible saying the Jews will come home someday.
"A second time, for indeed I am for you, and I will turn you, and you shall be tilled and sown. The ground, I will multiply men upon you, that's the ground of Israel, all the house of Israel, all of it. And the city shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt." Think about this for a moment. Who is going to come and rebuild it? He says, "Israel." I have a question for you. Did you ever see Israel in 1947? How about 1940? You should go look. It's not a secret. It's in Encyclopedia Britannica. It's in books. You can see pictures of it. It was an absolute treeless wasteland. I mean, treeless. All the trees had been cut down in the entire nation. There was a reason for that, by the way. "I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall increase and bear young. I will make you inhabited as in former times." He's talking to the dirt. "People, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, my people Israel." That's the men who are going to walk on you, the people, my, my people Israel. "They shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance." Everybody get that? You know more right now than most global world leaders. It's just not comfortable truth. It's not trending. It's not to believe in God's truth. Very important, very powerful truths.
One more verse, uh, maybe two. Isaiah 11:11. Isaiah 11:1. Are you guys okay? Be honest. You all right? You okay? I feel sorry for the people visiting for the first time today because this is like a fire hose. This is God's word. Okay? This is fun. This is written. Um, so this is 2,745-year-old prophecy on your lap, in front of your face. God says, "It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again, uh, again the second time, to recover the remnant of his people who are left." Oh my goodness. Analyze that for a while. "From Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and watch, and to and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." This is the work of God. That's why Israel is a nation today, not because of any politics. It's because God is getting ready to turn the show on. The stages are being put into place. The times of the end are about to begin. And I believe strongly that you'll see it. Pay close attention. Think critically. Don't believe any of this stuff easily. Historically, presently, Israel's enemies have proclaimed that they have a final solution. God's got one of his own.
Zechariah chapter 12, verse 2. Zechariah 12:2. "Behold, I will make Jerusalem." This is a 2,470-year-old prophecy. And the Bible says, "Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples or nations when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples. All who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces." Wow. Though all nations of the earth be gathered against it, including the United States. This is the first time in America's history that we've treated Israel this way. But that's Bible prophecy, ladies and gentlemen. You're sitting in Bible prophecy in this nation right now. Now, this nation is the most hostile it's ever been towards Israel, and we're watching Bible prophecy take place. In the United States is the last, last pin that when it goes down, the nations of the world will be in play. Absolutely remarkable. Verse 9. "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." Wow.
One more. This is very technical, and I hope you're up for it. We still have 20 minutes of this. You going to make it? All right. I'm, hey, I should be applauding you. Nobody gets abused like this in church services except you. Joel or Yael chapter 3. Joel. "For behold, in those days and at that time, what are you talking about, Joel? When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat." Valley of Jehoshaphat. It's the valley of judgment, we would say today. The Kidron Valley is certainly part of that. God says, "I will enter into judgment." Watch this, everyone. This is amazing. God says, "I'm going to enter into judgment with them there on account of my people, my heritage Israel." Well, what happened? "Whom they," that is the world, the nations, "have scattered among the nations." Number two indictment filed is that they have also divided up my land. This is God speaking. Third indictment: They have cast lots for my people. What does that mean? They've used my people in their existence as a political pawn to divide up my land. That's mine, God says. And because they have done this, I will destroy them. God says this, the God of the Bible. Say that's why I only read the New Testament. I don't, I don't read the Old. Read the Book of Revelation, you'll feel better. It's, uh, next.
Listen, let's be honest, man. The next time we see Jesus, it's going to be awesome, and it's going to be terrifying. It's not going to be like pink rainbows and bunnies and green eggs and ham. No, no. The Bible says his eyes, right now, right now in heaven, his eyes are glowing red like a flame of fire. His face is whiter than the sun, or brighter than the sun and whiter than snow. Jesus, right now, the Bible says that when he appears, heaven and earth will flee from his presence. The Bible says out of his mouth will go the word of God, and with it, he will strike the nations in judgment. That's Jesus. Now, you want to make sure, friends, listen. This is all incredible ancient prophecies that are now historical facts and are also things about to be fulfilled. And you're still not a follower of Jesus, are you? Notice how I'm saying that. If you're brand new here, we do not want you to join this church. We're not asking you to join this church. For that matter, we don't even have membership at this church. You can listen, you can come to this church and leave your wallet at home. We just ask you to come, get a Bible, read it. Because listen, Jesus is the one you've needed all of your life to have your sins forgiven, your life loved by the Almighty God. And he gives you the power. He transforms you. You don't do it. Don't reform yourself. He does it. Don't say to yourself, "Don't lie to yourself. I'm going to get better, and then I'll become a follower of Christ." Don't do that. We've all tried it. Doesn't work. Come as you are. He changes you, and you leave like him.
Number four: When Israel's eyes are open. This is a time coming. We don't need to belabor this. Just know this: For 2,000 years, the eyes of Israel, as a nation, have been blinded. The na-, the nation of Israel is blinded to Jesus being their Messiah. You want to get in trouble? Go downtown Jerusalem and shout the name of Jesus. They'll run you out of town. There's going to be a day coming when they're going to turn to him. But as a nation, today, for 2,000 years, they are not for him. That's why God says, "I'm not your God, and you're not my people." God is waiting. I'm waiting. Because then he says, "When they turn to him, he will say to them, 'I am your God, and you are my people.'" By the way, you can do the exact same thing. No matter who you are, you can turn to him, and he can be your God, and you can be his child. But also, in tandem with those 2,000 years of national blindness, for 2,000 years, the Jews have predominantly not come to the gospel. But there have been those here, a little here, a little there, along the way, that understood throughout every generation that Jesus was, in fact, Messiah. They looked at the verses that you saw, those 50 different points, and they figured it out. I have Jewish friends today that are figuring it out. I don't know what's going on. I thank God for what's happening. But whatever is going on, there's enough people in Israel watching these broadcasts. I was asked just last week if I would do a recording to give the gospel on Jewish TV to the people of Israel. Can you believe that? Something's going on, ladies and gentlemen. By the way, as I mentioned last week, if you're a Palestinian, you need Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior too. If you're a Puerto Rican, if you're a Canadian, if you're a Californian, if you're a Texan, especially Texans, they need Jesus. That's, that's a loving joke. It's just, just making fun there with you. He's the answer for all of us.
Ezekiel chapter 37, verse 21. The Bible says, "Then they will say, 'Then say to them, "Thus says the Lord God, 'Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations wherever they have gone and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land.'"'" Notice what the Bible says, "their own land." "And I will make them one nation in the land." Church family, on and on these promises go, sounding like a broken record. Ezekiel 36:4. "For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries and bring you into your own land." He's repeating himself over and over again. That's how sure this is. Then I will, watch this, this is amazing. Verse 24. "That started in about 1890 and has continued all along. It exploded. A world's record was set, by the way, when Ronald Reagan was president, shortly after, remember Mr. Gorbachev, 'Tear down this wall!' and so the Soviet Union broke up, and there was a migration of Russian-born Jews that immigrated to Israel, and it was the largest, uh, block movement. 600,000 Jews born in Russia, never had, never been to Israel before. When the wall came down, they took off and they went home to a home they had never been there before. They went home." So when he says, "For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries and bring you into your own land," that happened. Is happening. You see, the period after the word "land" in, in my notes, I have the word that we're waiting, we're waiting, waiting. Why? Because verse 25 hasn't happened yet. "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean." They're not going to be clean without faith in Yeshua. You got that, everybody? "I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Isn't that amazing? That's awesome. Church, we don't have time. Go ahead and look at it later. It's Jeremiah 31:31. You can read that for more.
Number five is Israel's, this is a biggie. Israel's statehood is a second coming prerequisite. See, what do you mean by that? Well, without Israel being a state, the second coming can't happen. Say what? Without Israel's existence as a sovereign government, the second coming of Jesus Christ cannot happen. He said so that when he returns, just like he came the first time that you and I read today, so he'll come the second time to Israel. Well, the world right now is wanting to dismiss Israel, isn't it? Amazing, right now. Did you see what happened Friday night in Moscow? See what ISIS did? Was it ISIS? I know they're trying to blame Ukraine, but ISIS became furious. It's kind of funny. Sorry, it's terrible. This is tragically funny. A lot of people were killed in Moscow on Friday night, and Putin immediately blamed Ukraine. ISIS became furious, and they came and they made a press release, and they said, "No, it wasn't Ukraine. It was us. We did it." And it's interesting because their comment went on that they did it because they said they're out to kill Christians. And so supposedly, whatever they did was supposed to, I don't know, that's a weird connection. I don't know. But church family, what if hypothetically, now, what if, what if today the United Nations won their argument? What if today the hypocrisy of Russia and China, who demands that the United States, in fact, they vetoed the United States UN resolution to investigate Israel for defending itself against Hamas? Did you know that China and Russia would not sign it because they said it didn't call for stronger restrictions and stronger restraints on Israel? Israel should not be allowed to defend itself. Interesting. Do you think if something happened to China or to Russia, would they be told, "You can't defend yourself"? Of course not. I just lay this out before you. What in the world's going on? You see, Satan believes that if Israel ceases to exist, then the Messiah can't come back. Don't get caught up into politics. Don't get caught up into races and cultures. Think biblically. Satan believes every Jew must die because Christ is the King of the Jews. Then kill the Jews. No Christ. Blow up or take away Jerusalem. Erase Israel from off the earth. The Messiah can't be king. He'll have no land to rule over. You say, "Jack, that's pretty wild." It is pretty wild. But read in the Bible how Satan thinks.
Which kind of leads me to number six. You might ask by the name of the title, "Have you been watching too many Lord of the Rings?" The answer is yes, I have. The dark lords, the dark lords are gathering as we speak, not in Mordor, but all around the world. By the way, you should watch Lord of the Rings if you can handle it, the whole thing, because it was done by a Christian.
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote *Lord of the Rings*. It's how he saw the spiritual world, biblical truth, and the demonic world, and the earthly world of man, and what's at stake. And Peter Jackson did a great job, by the way, uh, with *Lord of the Rings*.
But there are such things as dark lords. The Bible tells us that there are demonic, fallen creatures, and there are fallen angels that rule and wield their power over nations. Did you know that the Bible says that there is a fallen angel that rules his power over the land of Persia? Did you know that the Bible says that there's an angelic angel, a beautiful angel, that wields his power over Greece? Do you know that? I wonder what power rules over America right now. Is it a fallen angel or a heavenly angel? Makes you wonder. Yeah, both. The battle is underway, no doubt.
But church family, going to begin to wrap this up. I want you to look at these things. First of all, when we talk about the dark lords are gathering as we speak, that is not an exaggeration. Your homework today is Ezekiel 38, where there, there'll be a list of nations. And I'm going to streamline this for you. I'm going to show you a flag first of all, show you a flag, and then some maps here. So these nations on the wall right now, on the screens, they're currently in league with one another. This is not all of them, but this is, uh, some of the key players. Now, right now, as of today, we can throw Yemen in there, uh, but there are more. But, um, Russia. It's interesting that Russia, by the way, is the only non-Muslim, uh, nation, not only on the wall right now, but in the Book of Ezekiel chapter 38, beginning at verse one. All the nations listed are Muslim nations today, except one. And the one that is not a Muslim nation is the one that, in Ezekiel 38, is the one that supplies, it says it supplies them all of their weaponry for them to do battle against Israel. This was nearly 3,000 years ago, and that nation is Russia. Hang on to your seats.
Verse 1, chapter 38. This is another message that came to me from the Lord. "Son of man, turn your face, uh, turn and face Gog of the land of Magog." The word, are you guys okay? Still. The word Gog is a person. It's not a place. It's a person. It's a title of a military political leader. It's, you know what a despot is? It's a despotic leader. He is the one and only word. He decides military and politics. He's master of the land of Magog. Where's Magog? Let's see. Let's break away from this. Magog. See the land of Magog? See Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkistan, Afghanistan, kistan. Do you see this? See the stands. So how do we know? Genesis chapter 10 and 11 tells us this is the land of Magog. Whoever Gog is, he's the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. When you look at these regions here, he rules over also Magog. An individual, and he is going to be called upon to come to the aid of a list of nations. As I read, you can go off now. Back to the verses. God says to Gog, God, God says to Gog, with a G, "I am your enemy. 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 a great horde armed with shields and swords. Persia, Ethiopia, Libya will join you with all their weapons. Gomer and all its armies will also join you, along with the armies of Beth Togarmah." Beth Togarmah. There's ancient flags of Togarmah. And guess where Togarmah were? Those who resided in what is called Turkey today. "From the distant north, and from many others. Get ready. Be prepared. Keep all the armies around you mobilized and, and make and take command of them. A long time from now, you will be called into action. In the, the distant future, 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."
Is it possible? Is it possible that after this current war is over, whatever happens, Israel will feel at peace? Why do I say that? Because all of these players are in the region now. This is unconfirmed news breaking. We've only been able to get this from three sources: Israel News Channel 7, uh, the Damascus News Service in Damascus, and the Syrian News Service. But we cannot confirm this that in the last 48 hours, there's been a large Russian military, uh, repositioning to the southern borders of Syria, uh, at Israel's border. What does that mean? We don't even know if it's true. But stay tuned. They're in the region. All of the players, for the first time in human history, are on the board. You can read that later in your, in your time today.
Church, number seven. What should Israel expect from the world? What, what should Israel expect from the world? Nothing. Number eight. We just move on. I mean, why? Because the Bible says that, uh, the, no, that the nations are going to be not helping Israel. That's what we're doing now. Number eight is a growing issue of Israel as a nation. And this is a very powerful reality. I'll paraphrase that. Zechariah 12:1-3 simply tells us that Jerusalem, the existence of it, will become so a problem to the nations of the world that if anybody tries to mess with it, it will be as though it were an immovable rock. It's interesting because the word implies that if you try to pick it up, you know, have you ever tried to pick up something and you're older and you shouldn't have picked it up, and you don't realize it till like two days later? You know what I'm saying? That is what you're going to get if you try to pick up Jerusalem. You'll have to go get some lotion for that. God addresses these nations. We don't have the time to go into it. We end with number nine. It is this: Israel is paramount, my friend, to understanding the end time events. Israel is paramount to this. So for those of you who are brand new to all of this, God help you. You just, you just got baptized into a four-year college course in 55 minutes. So sorry for that. But listen up.
Isn't it, isn't it amazing that here we are in the 21st century, we are 9,000 miles away from Jerusalem. All the headline news, it's all about Israel. It's all Jerusalem. America, did you see that? America is testing a hypersonic missile. Did you hear that? That's nice. The problem is, we're way too late. Did you know North Korea has a hypersonic missile? You know where they got it from? The Iranians, by the way. America's trying to make one right now. You ever heard of the Houthis? Iran gave the Houthis a hypersonic missile. You know what defense there is against a hypersonic missile? Nothing. China's got a hypersonic missile. Russia's got a hypersonic. We're trying to make one. America is behind, and we can never catch up. In fact, the headline news says, "America tests a hypersonic missile, trying to develop one to catch up to China and to Russia." We're not going to catch up. I'm not being, I'm not being a party pooper. I'm just saying that nation that is completely bankrupt cannot catch up. It's not going to happen. America has to move, be removed from the scene, and it's removing itself from the scene. It's unfortunate. It's unfortunate. You hate to see your country die. But then again, you and I are from a far, far away land. We, we haven't, our home is in a different world, and our citizenship is in heaven.
Church, final verse. Let's stand together. I'll read it to you. I understand that you may be here today and you're thinking, "This is just too much." Well, I want to remind you, it's Palm Sunday. Jesus entered, uh, Israel in Jerusalem, and then for 2,000 years, there was no Israel. The Jews have been scattered throughout the world, and now they're back home. Since 1948, and on one day, May 14th, 1948, no, something happened that no nation had ever seen before in the history of man. Seal to this hour, Israel became a nation in a moment. On the screen, Isaiah 66, and we'll leave here. "Who has ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem's birth pains began, her children will be born." Isaiah's speaking about the future. You have already passed, friends. What he was speaking about. God says, verse 9, "Would I ever bring this nation to a point of birth and not deliver it?" Ask the Lord. "No, I would never keep this nation from being born," says your God. "Rejoice with Jerusalem. Be glad with her, all you who love her." Why do we love her? Why do we love Israel? Because God loves Israel, and God has set His name upon Jerusalem. Friends, Jesus Christ is the Risen Lord and Savior, crucified on the cross for your sins and mine, rose again from the dead so that all of us, no matter what you are, Jew, Gentile, anything, might turn your heart toward Him and call upon Him, and He will give you the gift of eternal life as you give Him your sins, and He'll give you a brand new life. Because this very book that is written all about Israel, because He must be King of Israel forever. He must rule from the Throne of David. The Bible says for a thousand years. He is your loving Lord and Savior who delights in you. If you don't know Him now, you have no reason why you should not know Him. There's no, you have no cover. You're on. You've got to come to Him. You saw forensics today, an examination, a discovery, and a publishing of the facts. Our faith is founded upon the facts. In Jesus' name, and all God's people said, amen.