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[Music] So [Music] [Music] what's really happening in the Middle East? That is a great question. It's one that is seemingly on everybody's minds and on news agencies that are providing news around the world. No matter what they're talking about, it seems like they always come right back to what's going on in the Middle East, and what's happening in Jerusalem, what's happening with the nation of Israel and its neighbors. Probably more than ever before, the current unrest in the Middle East and what is called now currently the Arab Spring is actually coming right into revealed Bible prophecy.
How can we know what's going to happen next? Well, the Bible is all about that part of the world and even our lives. In fact, Jerusalem and Israel are mentioned more as nation and city than any other nation or city in the entire Bible, thousands of times. The Bible tells us that is the focal point of God's prophetic calendar, Jerusalem and Israel. And what's happening right now, for those of us who understand our Bibles, maybe for some of you who don't, now is the time to know what's really happened in the Middle East, and it's time to really consider how the Bible is so incredibly relevant to the age in which you and I live. In fact, I'll say this: based upon the consistency of the Bible, what is about to happen in the Middle East, I don't specifically know, but the word of God will address it. That's for sure. And what's going on will cause the nations of the world to sit up and take notice. It's well that we do the same. So, in a moment, we're going to get into a message: What's Really Happening in the Middle East?
[Music] In 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 19, Peter said, "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed." This is the word that goes out, God speaking about the future. It's confirmed, which you do well to take heed to. And you want to ask the question, "Why, Peter? Why do I need to take heed to the prophetic word of God?" As a Christian, as a believer, this is the reason why: because it's as a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. The verse indicates and implies that the believer should know the prophetic word of God. We might know by the Bible's revelation what's coming next. We are to know this as Christians. It is not an option for us to be uninformed. You know that the Bible says in three places that we are not to be ignorant regarding, for example, spiritual gifts. The Bible says that we are not to be ignorant regarding Satan's activities in the invisible realm, the wiles of the devil. And the third thing is that we are not to be ignorant regarding the future or prophetic events. And I'll argue with you this morning that there are those three areas where the church and the world today are the most ignorant: the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the wiles of the devil, and what's next on God's prophetic time clock. I, for the life of me, do not understand that there are believers, there are Christians, who say, "I don't want to know this stuff." The only way I can, the only logical or illogical reason why you might think that is because you've never read the end of the book. Read the end of the book. We win at the end of the book. And our God is the one who sets himself apart from all other gods by this prophetic doctrine, by eschatology, the study of future events. God says in advance that this is what's going to happen, and then he says, "Test me. Watch this and see." And Jesus summed it all up and said, "I've told you these things in advance, that when they happen, you will know that I am." "I am." That is the same one in the burning bush when Moses talked to God. "I am that I am." The eternal God, never having the beginning, never having an ending. He's the God who knows all.
And so, I'm going to ask you to jot this first point down as we look through some things together. I guess before you do, I want to show you something. We're going to be going to the screen, by the way, a lot today. And the first thing I want you to look at is this. We all heard about this, and there it is, Time magazine. I got this out of the airport. Walking through an airport, saw that, had to buy it. I don't usually buy Time magazine. I don't want to give them my money, but even though a friend of mine works for Time magazine, I hope he doesn't hear what I just said. "The Revolution That Wasn't." What do you think they're talking about? Everybody, I just got this recently. Islam. They're talking about the Arab Spring. The revolution that wasn't. If you guys remember, we did a prophetic update announcing that whatever was going on in the Middle East would not be a Jeffersonian revolution. It would not be a revolution like we are accustomed to, where tyranny is offloaded and liberty is unloaded or received. We talked about what was really going to be happening in the Middle East was a destruction or a change of the nations that, according to Islamists, was not radical enough for their views and for their agenda. And so, you saw leaders like Hosni Mubarak be replaced. Why? Because he had a treaty of peace with Israel. And there is an agenda afoot, ladies and gentlemen. I'm not making this up, but you won't hear it in the press. The Muslim Brotherhood has a plan. Ever since 1930, the Muslim Brotherhood has had a plan to destroy two nations because they believe if two nations are destroyed, then we can handle Europe. And those two nations, number one, by the way, originally was Israel and America. That was their agenda. Now that's changed. They believe now all they have to do is disable the United States, get the United States to be preoccupied, and they'll take out Israel. I want you to remember that. I'm not making this up. You can read about it in documentation on websites from the Muslim Brotherhood. They are devoted to the, uh, sterilization of the US's influence in the Middle East and its power, thus rendering Israel, according to their observation, helpless because they don't have America to back them up. The good thing is, Israel is not looking to America to back them up. So keep that in mind. The revolution that wasn't. What has happened in the Middle East right now? You and I sit here in absolute comfort today. And yet, as I've been reporting to you in our announcements week after week, updating you on the Middle East, now another thousands of Christians have died since you and I met last seven days ago in Egypt, in Lebanon, and in Syria. Christians are dying. Not only Christians, but those who are maybe perhaps secular Arabs. They're not Muslims. They're Arabs. They may be Christian, or they may be atheists, but they're Arabs. They've been dying. What's going on? Well, we'll take a brief look because of the time, of course, we won't be able to cover it all. But turn in your Bibles very quickly to Matthew chapter 24. We're going to go quick today. Write down the verses. Get your thumbs and your fingers ready because we'll fly through the Bible together.
What does the Bible say about these things? Is our point number one. We start in Matthew chapter 24. What does the Bible say about these things? Matthew 24:1: "Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to him to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.'" Now, as he sat on the Mount of Olives, that's what, by the way, is opposite of the location he's looking at. Many of you have been there with us. It's beautiful. So they're sitting on the Mount of Olives, their back would be toward the east, their face, their Jesus and his disciples are looking west, and they're looking at the temple mounts. The disciples asked him, "Tell us, three things." They asked these three questions: "When will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the world?" Or the end of the age. Means the end of the world. And Jesus answered and said to them, "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' or they will offer up another Messiah and will deceive many. Not maybe, but they will. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." Okay, then what do we look for? "For ethnos will rise against ethnos." Ethnic groups, as we mentioned even this last week, will war against ethnic groups. And here it is: "Political realms will war against political realms, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines." By the way, the word implies it's not because God is not doing his part by sending rain. They are politically induced famines. People will not be allowed to eat because of political, uh, destabilization. Pestilence, incurable diseases, earthquakes in various places." The word "various places." Earthquakes signifying unusual places. Earthquakes in places that they were not normally earthquakes in. And all these, Jesus said, verse 8, "are the beginning of sorrows." The world, Jesus would be saying, will be a time when we approach the end. There will be a collective, global, massive unhinging of what has been predictable. Things will come untied. Things will become loose. What is normal will become abnormal. The environment will go crazy. The climate will go crazy. Men will go crazy. Nations will war, seemingly to the point of absolute self-annihilation, self-destruction. The Bible warns about this. You may be an unbeliever today and you might say, "That's ridiculous." Really? Tell me, where was Jesus wrong? Where is he wrong when he's saying, as you approach the end of mankind's time on earth, as he knows it, there'll be super quakes in strange places? There'll be incurable diseases that men will be frustrated about. The nations will rage against each other on a global scale. They'll be politically induced famines where people, because of whatever reasons, religious reasons, political reasons, will be kept from eating and be killed. There'll be talk of wars and rumors of wars. And Jesus said, by the way, you guys think that this is all permanent, that what you look at? He says, "I'm telling you, the wake-up call is going to be all these stones at the temple that you see that you think's invincible will someday become a heap of rubble." And in 70 AD, that's exactly what happens.
[Music] What makes the Bible absolutely unique from all other religious writings in the history of man is that the Bible, in absolute perfection, reveals history in advance. That's called prophecy, or in the study of the Bible, it's called eschatology, future things to happen written down in scripture. And right now, I'm going to read you Ezekiel 38, which really speaks to the events of what's happening in the world right now. But remember this: it's nearly 3,000 years old as of today. Ezekiel chapter 38 says, "Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Son of man, set your face against Gog in the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the chief prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.'" I will turn you around. Make note of that. "I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws and lead you with all your army, with horses and great armaments of men clad in warfare, a great company." And he says, "I will draw you down out of the north." What is God speaking to us about? As the Bible warns us, it warns us about a time coming that addresses and incorporates these specific players. Listen, never underestimate how specific the Bible is. In fact, I can tell you that in my Christianity, where I've made mistakes, and what is the Bible saying? It's when I didn't take it literal enough. Why is that important? Because Gog, Gog is an amazing title in the Hebrew language. It means a political and military leader. It refers to a man of high authority who commands over a government and its military. We would today, in the West, consider that a dictator. But just keep that in mind because it gets more, I think, detailed as we look at it. Whoever this man is, he is over the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. These are all tribal names found in Genesis chapter 10, in what is known as the Table of Nations. They all speak of a region that today is north of Jerusalem, in what is now southern Russia. Specifically, if you think of the Soviet Union, uh, those southern nations, predominantly, are the countries today that make up this area that is described in verse 5 of Ezekiel 38. He says, "Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are all with them, and they will be bearing or wearing shields and helmets. They're prepared for battle." Who is? We know that there's this great nation conducted by a leader who presides over its politics and its military, but with it, it has nations that are mentioned here in the scripture. Some of them are clearly obvious. Libya. Libya is in the news today. What about Persia? Today, that's modern-day Iran. When he speaks about areas of Ethiopia, it's, it's more detailed than what you think. Ethiopia is Ethiopia today, but areas of Sudan as well, which is very significant. Why? Because it's an easy read to discover that all the nations mentioned here in Ezekiel are nations that are specifically out away from those nations listed in the battle of Armageddon. This makes this the battle of Ezekiel, or Ezekiel's famous battle. It's different than the battle of Armageddon. Also, it's conducted or led by a political military leader. On top of that, it deals with an amazing attack against the nation of Israel. Israel's surrounding nations, its enemies today, are listed here in scripture, and they're going to come together in a coalition of nations led by a nation that Ezekiel 38 tells us is headed up by a ruler of the uttermost parts, or from the uttermost parts of the north. What do we know about that? And what's happening right now in today's news? Russia has been forming military alliances and trade agreements with every one of the nations that are mentioned right here in this Bible. In fact, Russia has a military agreement to defend the nation of Persia to this moment. That is an amazing thing to consider. What are we looking at here in Ezekiel 38? It goes on to tell us that in the latter days, and the last time before God reappears unto the scene, he says that he will bring his nation, Israel, from all the nations of the world back into their own land. I want you to think about that. The second thing is this: that as God brings his nation, Israel, back into their own land once again in the last days, the Bible says here, an evil thought will arise in the minds of these nations, and they will come against to attack Israel. It says here in Ezekiel, Ezekiel 38, that they're going to be dwelling safely, and it's at that time that they're going to come. And it says, "to take a spoil, to take the wealth, and to take the status of Israel." And all the nations of the world in the Middle East, Israel is the only one surrounded by a radical group of neighbors who unilaterally and universally want to see their absolute destruction. God's word is so remarkably accurate, and you and I are living in the time and the age to see God's word fulfilled. Keep your Bibles open. Stay tuned and watch the news in light of Bible prophecy.
[Music] Your homework today is to read Ezekiel 38 in totality and Ezekiel 39. The Bible says that when they begin to invade and Israel thinks it's over, it says that God will cut, watch this, God will cause their missiles to be launched, and it says that they'll come right back in their own heads. Who would have thought about that until modern technology came into being? Look, I used to, the good old days used to pull out an arrow and shoot somebody with it. There's no, there, you didn't have laser-guided arrows. When David had his sling and he's going after Goliath, he didn't have GPS. You just pulled out your, your weapon and used it. Isn't it interesting the Bible says that their arrows will come back upon them? And you say, "Arrows? Arrows?" Yeah, don't get, don't get too excited. The word in the Hebrew is the word for missile or projectile. You got to remember, Ezekiel sees a missile launched and says, "That looks like an arrow." And the Bible says that it's going to come back on them, and they'll be slaughtered in the mountains of Israel. You guys, the mountains of Israel is to the north, Mount Hermon, 9,000 some odd feet high, Golan Heights. And if you go down south with that, which I, we don't see Jordan involved. Isn't it interesting? You guys, look, I didn't mention Jordan, the land of Edom and Moab, did I? You want to know why? The Jordan, Jordanians are friends with Israel. King Abdullah doesn't want to mess with Israel at all. In fact, King Abdullah had his palace built. Now, if the Israelis and the Jews were such dangerous people, where would you build your palace if you're Muslim? And if you're the, if you're the king of Jordan, where would you build your palace? You would build it as far away from Israel as possible. You would build it near Iraq, wouldn't you? Or maybe up north toward Lebanon or Syria, wouldn't you? No. You know where the king built his palace? Six feet from Israel. I've been there. I mean, I haven't been in the palace, I've been in front of it. He built his palace as close to Israel as he possibly could. And just so Israel would understand that supposedly the world's biggest flag is at his palace. It's the, it's the Jordanian flag. It's almost like King Abdullah is saying, "Israel, this is my palace. Remember where it's at. I gave you a big sign. Don't bomb here. I'm your buddy." By the way, he was US, he was US schooled. You know him and his wife, they're, uh, Ivy League, uh, students and graduates. Interesting. Which, by the way, he's hated right now by the Muslim Brotherhood for his kindness to Israel.
[Laughter] We've heard a lot about the Arab Spring. You've heard all about it. The Arab Spring is happening. We saw in the news where the Arab Spring was sweeping the nations of the Middle East. But what did it bring about? And people are asking the question, "Is the Arab Spring working?" A lot of people are saying it's not working. Wait a minute. The Arab Spring is something that was engineered by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Arab Spring is working perfectly based upon the desires of the Muslim Brotherhood. When you look at it with a Jeffersonian type of democracy, that's what you and I live in. It's not working. But my friends, the Middle East, they do not, they're not looking at their world situation as a Jeffersonian democracy. They're looking at the advent and the implementation of what the Muslim Brotherhood desires regarding Sharia law. It's working perfectly. Don't think for a moment that the news is announcing that it's falling apart and that the Arab Spring, we had such great hopes, but it's all collapsed again. Don't think of the Middle East through western eyes. Know this: Israel's enemies are very, very happy with the outcome and the ongoing advancement of the Arab Spring. In a moment, we're going to be looking at some of the world headlines regarding what's taking place. I think you're going to be pretty much impressed with how the Bible is right now showing us in world history on our screens what it's all about.
[Music] Take a look at this. Muslim Brotherhood crucifies opponents, attacks secular media. What happened this week? The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt literally stormed the media centers. Now, those of you who have, have the most, most basic form of history, when, when you want to control the world, you take control of the media. Ask Karl Marx, Paul Pott, Mao, Hitler, Mussolini. You control the media. The Muslim Brotherhood. Now, remember this: this is our, this is our administration. The United States government, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, said democracies come to the Middle East. This is it. This is the democracy. They seized the secular broadcast system in Egypt this week, and they are crucifying naked Christians this week in Egypt. Did you see this on ABC News? Why not? Because our administration is saying democracy has come to the Middle East. This is what's happening. You got to get your news outside of the American news sources, ladies and gentlemen. Give up on American news sources. Next slide. Arab Spring, yikes. What does that say? I can't even see that. Sees rise in anti-Semitism. Um, again, that should be no surprise. The Muslim Brotherhood charter says that the Jews have to be destroyed. So what do you expect? The Arabs, ladies and gentlemen, the Arab Spring is designed to destroy the Jews. Wake up. Next slide. Obama. I'm just going to stay over here. Obama earmarks $800 million of your dollars for Arab Spring nations. We're funding the Muslim Brotherhood. You are. Next slide. Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa. What were the remarks? It's all about democracy. All of this has happened, and there is overwhelming proof that the Cairo speech that Obama gave, if you've never read it, read it verbatim. Read it. It gave birth to, they're saying this revolution, and it's being hailed as a wonderful thing. Why? What is going on?
[Music] Well, there's no doubt about it. The Bible is absolutely action-packed, and that's the way it should be. Your read of the Bible and your understanding of it should excite you. Bible prophecy has been given by God not to scare you, but to prepare you, and that is an all-important thing to keep in mind. Listen, next time when we get together, we're going to be looking at more of what's happened in the Middle East through the lens of the Bible. The word of God, which never fails. It is quite amazing to realize how certain the future can be when you've got God and his word in the center of it all. So listen, until next time, I hope that you invite others to come and join us right here at Real Life. And you might want to Facebook them, text them, or email them and let them know. But I look forward to seeing you in our next program. We'll find out more about what God is saying. And remember this: it's our hope that through Jesus Christ, you will know Real Life. In the Bible, God is clear. He says to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." The United States, a nation who has historically been a supporter of Israel, is perhaps the greatest example of God blessing a nation. However, as of late, do you feel that the tide is changing? Will our political leaders continue to support Israel? What about our churches? We hear some pretty influential voices stating that God is finished with Israel. Will there be consequences? In this timely, relevant message, Jack Hibbs opens the scriptures to reveal God's heart toward his chosen people and the land of Israel. Order the DVD now, "Stand With Israel," by visiting reallifewithjackhibbs.org or call 877-777-2346. That's 877-777-2346. Or write to Real Life with Jack Hibbs, P.O. Box 1273, Chino Hills, California 91709. Jack Hibbs truly believes we are living in some of the most exciting days in history, which brings some great opportunities to share with the world a powerful, no-nonsense presentation of the gospel to this generation who is searching for answers and truth. Will you stand with us in sharing this message in real and practical ways? We ask that you commit to support Real Life each month with a gift of your choosing. In return, our gift to you for becoming a Real Life partner, we'd like to send you this worldview DVD. It's titled "What You Believe Defines You." Call now, 1-877-777-2346. That's 877-triple-7-2346. Or by mail, P.O. Box 1273, Chino Hills, California 91709. Or simply go to reallifewithjackhibbs.org. Your gift will be faithfully put to work because it's our desire that through Jesus Christ, you will know Real Life.