Participants:
Series Code: BTLP
Program Code: BTLP000172S
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00:38 Hello and welcome to Behold the Lamb presents.
00:40 I'm Chris Shelton your host, 00:42 I want to thank you for joining us. 00:44 Today we have a special guest speaker. 00:47 And I know for many of you, he is not a stranger. 00:50 You've watched him many times on 3ABN. 00:52 He's on the Sabbath School Panel, 00:54 he does your morning Sabbath worships, 00:57 he's on Family Worship. 00:58 He's on the Q and A questions and answers program, 01:01 many programs 01:02 and that is evangelist Ryan Day. 01:05 He's also a wonderful singer. 01:07 The Lord has gifted him in many, many ways. 01:10 But what really impresses us 01:12 here at Behold the Lamb Ministry is that 01:14 he is a man after God's own heart. 01:16 And when he hears 01:18 the Holy Spirit begin to speak to him. 01:20 He follows through, no matter the consequences. 01:23 And you know, right now, 01:25 he is going to be looking over at Israel 01:28 and at the time of this recording, 01:30 there is a lot of things happening. 01:32 They're on the verge of war right now in Israel. 01:34 So Brother Ryan is going to be 01:36 looking at some of the prophecies 01:38 concerning Israel 01:40 as he presents Thunder in the Holy Land. 01:43 But before we hear from Brother Ryan, 01:45 we're going to go to the 3ABN studios 01:48 and listen to a song that is entitled 01:50 "Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone" 01:53 as sung by Sandra Entermann. 02:12 Amazing grace 02:16 How sweet the sound 02:20 That saved a wretch like me 02:28 I once was lost, 02:32 But now I'm found 02:36 Was blind, but now 02:40 I see 02:44 'Twas grace that taught 02:48 My heart to fear 02:52 And grace my fears relieved 03:00 How precious did 03:04 That grace appear 03:08 The hour I first believed 03:15 My chains are gone 03:19 I've been set free 03:22 My God, my Savior 03:26 Has ransomed me 03:30 And like a flood 03:34 His mercy reigns 03:38 Unending love 03:42 Amazing grace 03:50 The Lord has promised 03:55 Good to me 03:58 His word my hope secures 04:05 He will my shield 04:09 And portion be 04:13 As long as life endures 04:20 My chains are gone 04:24 I've been set free 04:27 My God, my Savior 04:31 Has ransomed me 04:34 And like a flood 04:38 His mercy reigns 04:42 Unending love 04:46 Amazing grace 04:50 My chains are gone 04:53 I've been set free 04:57 My God, my Savior 05:01 Has ransomed me 05:04 And like a flood 05:08 His mercy reigns 05:12 Unending love 05:16 Amazing grace 05:25 The earth will soon 05:29 Dissolve like snow 05:33 The sun forbear 05:37 To shine 05:41 But God who called 05:45 Me here below 05:49 Will be forever mine 05:56 Will be 05:59 Forever mine 06:05 You are forever mine 06:17 Hello, my friends, and welcome to Behold the Lamb Ministries. 06:21 It's always a blessing to have you here 06:23 and yes, I'm not usually the face 06:25 that you see here at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 06:27 Pastor Kenny is, he's with us today 06:31 but he invited me. 06:32 My name is Ryan Day. 06:33 Generally I'm on 3ABN Ministries, 06:36 but I think this is my third time 06:38 being here to be able to speak here 06:40 at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 06:41 and we're just so blessed that you're joining us. 06:43 And I want to thank Brother Kenny, 06:45 and all of the wonderful people 06:46 here at Behold the Lamb Ministries 06:48 for inviting me and welcoming here, 06:50 welcoming me here to be able to speak again, 06:53 and to deliver the Word of God today. 06:55 The Lord has a very special message for us today. 06:58 And before we get right into that, 07:00 as always, I like to have a word of prayer. 07:03 And let's just go right on ahead 07:05 and ask the Lord to be with us this morning. 07:07 And get right into our message 07:08 because we're living in the last days, 07:10 and Jesus is coming soon. 07:11 And I think that is becoming more and more relevant 07:14 as we go forward in time. 07:16 So let's go right directly to the Lord 07:18 in prayer at this time. 07:20 Our Father in heaven, 07:22 Lord, we are so blessed, so honored to be here 07:26 in Your house this morning. 07:27 As this recording is going out all around the world, 07:32 as there are people watching at home, 07:33 and there are people here live with us this morning, 07:35 I pray God, that Your Spirit will be 07:37 poured out in a mighty way in our hearts and minds, 07:40 that we will have the spiritual mind of Christ 07:43 to be able to rightly divide Your word of truth. 07:46 We are living in the last days 07:48 that it's clear, that's very evident. 07:49 But, Lord, we don't want to just perceive the times, 07:52 we want to perceive our need more and more 07:55 each day for Jesus Christ. 07:56 And so as we take on 07:58 this special message this morning, 07:59 Lord, may it not be just another sermon, 08:01 may it not just be another message. 08:03 But may it be something that opens our heart 08:05 and our mind to Christ, 08:07 draws us to our uplifted Savior, 08:09 and more importantly, 08:10 into a deeper, deeper relationship 08:12 with Him each and every day. 08:14 We praise You and we thank You, Father. 08:16 Speak through me this morning, not my own words, but Yours. 08:19 We ask in Jesus' holy name. 08:21 Amen. Amen. 08:23 Thunder in the Holy Land. 08:25 That's the title 08:26 of the presentation this morning. 08:28 You say what in the world Thunder in the Holy Land. 08:30 This is not about storms, 08:32 this is not about thunderstorms. 08:34 This is about a spiritual, gradual shaking that 08:38 has happened and occurred 08:39 over a period of time in the nation of Israel. 08:42 And the purpose of this message this morning, 08:44 is to take a look at the role that Israel plays 08:48 in the last days in Bible prophecy. 08:51 And some people might say, 08:52 what in the world does Israel have to do with me? 08:55 And why in the world is this relevant 08:56 to be able to know this? 08:57 Well, I don't know at this time that this is being recorded 09:01 over the past couple of weeks, you know, we have been seeing 09:04 in the news more and more this conflict 09:07 between that little 25 mile strip 09:10 on the south eastern portion of Israel known as Gaza, Gaza, 09:15 and you know, of course, the nation of Israel 09:17 and Jerusalem and all that, they have been warring 09:19 and kind of fighting with each other. 09:20 Of course, this is nothing new. 09:22 This is something that's happened off and on 09:24 over the past few years, two or three different times. 09:27 You just kind of expect it because it's, you know, 09:28 while it's supposed to be known as the Holy Land 09:30 or the Land of Peace, 09:32 there's not much peace that happens over there. 09:34 And, but actually 09:36 that can be a spiritual object lesson 09:37 even to us because oftentimes, 09:39 as just Paul says in his word in 1 Corinthians, excuse me, 09:42 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5, 09:44 he says, "For when they say peace and safety, 09:46 then sudden destruction comes upon them 09:48 as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, 09:50 and they shall not escape." 09:52 You know, we also have a spiritual warfare 09:54 that's happening in our hearts and minds. 09:56 And I think there's some lessons that 09:58 we can learn from this message today. 10:00 I have seen 10:01 just in the past couple of weeks since this, 10:04 this is real, you know, 10:06 battle warfare has been going on. 10:08 More and more people on my Facebook account, 10:10 social media account. 10:12 And I'm hearing kind of some chatter around 10:14 from different Christians from different denominations. 10:16 And they're saying, "Oh, you know, 10:18 well, there's war happening over in Israel. 10:20 Well, that must mean that we're living in the end times, 10:23 or that the end is approaching." 10:25 And then they have this idea that, 10:27 of course, the Antichrist is coming, 10:30 and that he's going to show up soon. 10:32 And, of course, the temple is going to be 10:34 rebuilt in Jerusalem, 10:35 and the apostate Antichrist figure 10:37 is going to sit in the temple, 10:39 and there's going to be, you know, 10:40 it's going to usher in, you know, 10:41 and set us up for the secret silent rapture, 10:43 and then there's going to be 10:45 seven horrible years of tribulation. 10:46 And then at the end 10:48 of the seven years of tribulation, 10:49 Jesus is going to come back 10:50 a second time at His second coming. 10:52 And, you know, you might have known 10:54 it as the pre-tribulation rapture theory. 10:56 Many, many Christians are chattering about that, 10:58 and I'm seeing it on my social media. 11:00 And I thought to myself, you know, 11:02 what better time 11:03 than to bring up the truth of the matter. 11:06 Does Israel play a major role? 11:08 Because again, many, many, many, 11:09 I would say probably more than 90% 11:12 of the Christian denominations 11:14 out there are looking over the seat, 11:17 their attention is affixed on what's happening in Israel. 11:20 And they think that 11:22 all of the final events of prophecy 11:24 are surrounding the events 11:25 and what occurs in the Holy Land or in Israel. 11:28 And so we want to put that to the test. 11:30 Because with how this is relevant to us, 11:32 as we need to make sure that we understand 11:34 what the Bible actually teaches, 11:36 should we be paying attention to the nation of Israel? 11:39 Should we be putting resources and our money and our finances 11:44 and all of that into the nation of Israel? 11:46 I mean, there's entire television networks 11:49 dedicated to, 11:50 you know, supporting and sowing financial seeds 11:53 to Israel, right? 11:55 I mean, this happens all the time, 11:56 you can turn and flip through those, 11:58 you know, those religious channels, 11:59 and you can see it, 12:01 entire networks dedicated to this. 12:03 And so what we want to do is we want to go to the Bible 12:05 and say, okay, Lord, if this is the truth, 12:06 and I want to believe it, 12:07 but if it's not the truth, I'm going to toss it away. 12:09 And I'm going to believe what the Bible says. 12:11 And so let's go to the Bible right now. 12:13 In fact, I want you to go with me 12:14 to Exodus Chapter 19. 12:16 How we're going to do this is I'm going to take you 12:18 on a nice little gentle roller coaster journey 12:22 through the Old Testament through the history of Israel. 12:26 And we're going to lead it up into today's time, 12:28 and we're going to ask the question, 12:29 what does this story tell us? 12:30 And what can we know as what the Bible reveals to us 12:33 about the role that Israel plays in Bible prophecy? 12:36 Exodus Chapter 19 is where our journey 12:40 is going to begin this morning. 12:42 And let's just set the setting real clear, 12:44 we're at the base of Mount Sinai, okay, 12:47 around about 1446 BC, so about 1400 years 12:52 or so before Jesus Christ is even born. 12:55 And the children of Israel 12:56 have come out of the land of Egypt. 12:57 God has used Moses to bring them out. 13:00 Now they find themselves at Mount Sinai. 13:02 And this is what we find Exodus Chapter 19. 13:04 I'm going to start with verse 1. 13:07 Notice what the Bible says. 13:08 It says, "In the third month, when the children of Israel 13:11 were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, 13:14 the same day they came 13:15 into the wilderness of Sinai. 13:18 For they were departed from Rephidim, 13:19 and were come to the desert of Sinai, 13:22 and had pitched in the wilderness, 13:24 and there Israel camped before the mount." 13:27 So get this idea in your mind, all of these tents, 13:30 and you could imagine 13:31 they've all camped out at the round base, 13:33 they round the base of Mount Sinai there. 13:35 And now Moses is about to go up the mountain, 13:38 and he's about to have a personal encounter 13:40 with the Lord. 13:41 And the Lord is going to give him 13:43 a specific message to go deliver 13:45 to these now people 13:46 that He wants to call His people, 13:48 the nation of Israel. 13:49 And so here it is, Exodus 19:3, 13:53 it says, "And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord 13:55 called unto him out of the mountain, 13:57 saying, thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, 14:01 and tell the children of Israel." 14:04 Here it is, this is what we call 14:06 a part of the great covenant 14:09 that God makes with the people of Israel. 14:11 Verse 4, he says, "Ye have seen 14:14 what I did unto the Egyptians, 14:17 and how I bare you on eagles' wings, 14:20 and brought you unto myself. 14:23 Now therefore," what's that next word? 14:26 If, say that with me, 14:29 if, okay, you can't say it enough, it makes, 14:32 this is kind of the clear, well, let's say one more time, 14:34 if, okay, "If you will obey my voice indeed, 14:38 and keep my covenant, 14:40 then ye shall be a peculiar treasure 14:41 unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. 14:46 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests 14:49 and a holy nation. 14:50 These are the words which thou shalt speak 14:52 unto the children of Israel." 14:55 And so now Moses takes that message 14:57 and he's going to walk back down that mountain, 14:59 and he's going to go deliver it to the camp of Israel. 15:01 Here it is. 15:02 In verse 7, it says, "And Moses came 15:04 and called for the elders of the people, 15:06 and laid before their faces all these words 15:08 which the Lord commanded him. 15:10 And all the people answered together..." 15:13 What was their response? 15:14 It says, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. 15:20 And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord." 15:24 Okay, so God makes this covenant. 15:26 He says, if you're going to be My people. 15:27 And let's say that word one more time very clearly, 15:29 so we understand that this covenant agreement 15:32 was based on conditions. 15:33 It wasn't this everlasting, you know, 15:36 just whatever happens, it doesn't matter what happens, 15:38 you're still going to be My people kind of agreement. 15:40 It was very conditional. 15:42 If, if you keep My covenant, if you keep My covenant, 15:47 and obey My commands, and obey My voice, 15:49 then you shall be a peculiar people, 15:52 a peculiar treasure and a special, 15:53 special royal nation 15:55 above all other peoples upon the nation. 15:57 That was the stipulation, those were the conditions. 16:00 Well, yet it's very interesting to me, 16:02 that we live in a world today where more and more and more 16:05 Christians today have this idea that there's nothing that 16:09 Israel has ever done, 16:11 or could ever do against the plan, 16:13 or the will of God, they automatically 16:16 and for forevermore will be known as God's holy, 16:19 peculiar, treasured special people, 16:21 above every other nation in the world. 16:23 But yet, I just read to you, and I'm showing you straight 16:25 from the Scripture, 16:26 all of those who are watching at home, 16:28 please get this very clearly. 16:30 Israel was only to become and remain God's people, 16:34 if they met these conditions, if they obeyed God's voice, 16:37 if they stayed in His covenant, if they remained in His will. 16:41 And so the question is, did they? 16:45 Because if you read the story responsibly, 16:48 and you do what 2 Timothy 2:15, says, 16:51 "And you study to show yourself approved, 16:54 a workman that needed not to be ashamed, 16:56 rightly dividing the word of truth." 16:58 And you will find that the story goes just like this, 17:02 from this moment, all the way through, 17:05 we find that there was more than 17:06 840 years of rebellion 17:11 that followed. 17:14 And you would think yourself, wait a second, 17:15 you know it was a covenant, 17:17 they said that they would agree, 17:18 but yet, you know, they didn't keep that covenant. 17:20 And surely, you know, 17:21 'cause the God being the God that He is, you know, 17:23 He would be able to say, you didn't keep My covenant, 17:25 so therefore you're cut off. 17:26 But yet we find 840 years of rebellion. 17:30 What does that say about our Lord? 17:32 He is a patient, loving God. 17:38 From the moment when he, 17:39 when Moses went right back up the mountain to receive 17:41 because you'll notice, this is Exodus 19. 17:43 What do we find happening in the very next chapter? 17:47 What happens in Exodus 20? 17:49 God verbally speaks that covenant, 17:52 the very heart of that covenant, 17:54 the Ten Commandments verbally for all the people to hear. 17:58 And again, they say, yes, we'll do it. 18:00 Yes, we'll do it. We agree to those terms. 18:02 But yet, before Moses could even 18:03 get down off the mountain, 18:05 to take the tablets to the people, 18:07 God says, you ain't gonna believe this, 18:08 you ain't gonna believe 18:09 what's happening down there right now. 18:11 These people just said that all the data that I told them, 18:13 they're going to do, and now they're down there 18:14 dancing stark naked around 18:16 a golden calf while worshiping it. 18:19 And you know, it's amazing to me, 18:21 my friends, that many, many people 18:23 have this idea in their mind that Israel is still today, 18:25 God's chosen people. 18:27 But if you read the biblical record, 18:28 as we're going to continue to do right now, 18:30 you'll see that while God still loves them, 18:33 and while God still has many, many special, 18:35 wonderful, dedicated people in that nation, 18:39 as a nation, I'm going to say right here, 18:41 very clear, very candid, very transparent. 18:43 They are no longer as a nation, God's chosen people. 18:47 God doesn't determine, don't make mistake, 18:48 God still has a people. 18:51 But I'm going to show you who that people is, 18:53 by the end of this presentation. 18:54 Let's continue on moving through. 18:56 So 840 years of rebellion, can you imagine? 19:00 I mean, if you read the record, 19:02 and let's just put this in terms, 19:03 there are 39 books in the Old Testament, right? 19:07 Thirty three of the 39 books tell a very distinct 19:12 and clear message of the rebellion, 19:15 this on and off, you know, break up and get back together, 19:17 break up and get back together, 19:18 break up and get back together kind of relationship, 19:21 not because God wanted it to be that way, 19:23 but because Israel kept turning away from the Lord. 19:25 They when they would get in trouble and fall into, 19:27 you know, fall into the hands of another nation, 19:29 then they want to call out to the Lord and say, 19:31 "Hello, Lord, save us, you know, save us," 19:32 and the Lord would have compassion on them. 19:34 And they would repent and He would bring them back 19:36 into His fold and back into His will. 19:38 But it wasn't too long before they would either fall 19:40 into the hands of the daughters of Moab 19:41 or fall into the ways of the world 19:43 or they would reach down right in the days of Samuel, 19:46 come right up to the prophet and say, Lord, Samuel, 19:48 we don't want God to be our King anymore. 19:50 We want a man to rule us 19:52 just like all of the other heathen nations around us. 19:54 And God says, looking Samuel, 19:56 they have rejected you, they've rejected me 19:59 and you can see that downward spiritual decline 20:02 from that point forward 20:03 until eventually that powerful nation 20:05 that was once known as United Israel 20:08 became divided into two different kingdoms. 20:10 A house does Jesus said divided 20:12 against itself cannot and will not stand. 20:16 It's a sad story, indeed, 20:17 840 years of rebellion. 20:22 And in case you're wondering how the story ends, 20:25 well, let me make it very clear to you, 20:26 you can read a juiced, 20:29 very concentrated record of this 20:31 if you read the books of 1 and 2 Kings, 20:33 and 1 and 2 Chronicles. 20:35 So let's go right now in our Bibles 20:37 to 2 Chronicles 36:14-16. 20:41 2 Chronicles 36:14-16. 20:44 Notice what the Bible teaches very clear, again, 20:47 we're talking about 20:48 what was the result of this rebellion? 20:51 What happened? 20:52 What was it that brought about the demise of Israel? 20:55 It tells us in those verses, this is the last chapter 20:59 of 2 Chronicles 36:14-16. 21:02 It says, "Moreover, all the chief of the priests, 21:06 and the people, transgressed," how much? 21:10 "Very much after all the abominations 21:13 of the heathen, and they polluted 21:15 the house of the Lord 21:17 which he had hallowed in Jerusalem." 21:20 We're gonna come to that in just a moment. 21:22 "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them 21:24 by His messengers rising up betimes 21:27 and sending them." 21:28 Why did He continue to send His messengers? 21:30 These brothers and sisters 21:32 rebelled from Him from the get go, 21:33 but He continued to send them prophets, 21:35 He continued to send them the major prophets, 21:37 He continued to send them the minor prophets, 21:39 He continued to send them the messengers, why? 21:42 It tells you right here, 21:43 because He had compassion on His people. 21:49 That right there 21:50 when I hear people tell me all the time, 21:51 oh, the God of the Old Testament, 21:53 the God of the New Testament are two different Gods. 21:55 I don't like the vengeful, judgmental, you know, 21:57 harsh God of the Old Testament. 21:59 I like the loving, compassionate, 22:00 peaceful God of the New Testament. 22:02 Let me tell you something, 22:03 my friends, if you believe that garbage, 22:05 then you haven't read the Bible, 22:06 and you don't know the God of the Bible, 22:08 because the same God in the New Testament 22:10 is the same God of the Old Testament. 22:12 And we see here very much evidence from it, as it says, 22:14 "Because He had compassion on His people 22:19 and on His dwelling place." 22:21 But what did they do? 22:23 It says, "They mocked the messengers of God, 22:27 and despised his words, have mercy, 22:32 and misused his prophets, 22:36 until the wrath of the Lord 22:38 arose against his people, 22:40 till there was no more remedy." 22:46 That's powerful to think of this. 22:48 This is how serious this was. 22:49 Let me paint you a clear picture. 22:52 When God called upon His people, 22:54 even after they were down 22:56 there dancing stark naked around that calf, 22:57 yeah, there was some people that were slaying that were 22:59 just straight rebellious that day. 23:01 I think it was somewhere 23:02 around 24,000 people died that day, 23:05 because they refused to be on the side of the Lord. 23:07 But God still had compassion on the rest, 23:09 who were willing to say, Lord, please forgive me. 23:11 And they came to the side of the tribe of Levi. 23:14 So with what was remained and leftover, God said, 23:17 I want you to do me something. 23:18 The only way that this relationship 23:20 is going to work is I need to be among My people. 23:22 I need to be near My people. 23:24 You see, the whole record of the Bible 23:25 is a story of a loving God 23:27 who wants to be with His people. 23:30 And so He says it very, very clear to them 23:32 in Exodus Chapter 25. 23:34 He says, "Let them make 23:35 Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them." 23:39 I want to be close to My people. 23:41 And so they build God the sanctuary directly 23:44 according to His specifications. 23:46 And then here's 23:47 what we find that's interesting. 23:49 There was a move-in day. 23:51 God had a move-in day. 23:52 Have you ever moved? 23:54 Have you ever moved before from one house? 23:55 And you have a move-in day to your new house? 23:58 You know, it's exciting, right? 23:59 We don't like to move. 24:00 You know, we don't like to move out of stuff. 24:02 But we, but it's exciting to go to the new house, right? 24:04 And move all your belongings and organize them right 24:06 where you want them in your new place. 24:08 Well, God had a move-in day 24:10 and the glory of the Lord the Bible 24:12 says filled this sanctuary. 24:14 But as we know, 840 years of rebellion. 24:18 Eventually the Bible says that God had enough. 24:23 His patience ran its course, 24:26 not because He didn't want to continue to love and lead them, 24:29 but because they got to the point 24:32 where they gave God 24:34 an eviction notice to His own house. 24:38 What do we read about that? 24:39 Very clearly, Ezekiel Chapter 11. 24:41 You want to read about all the apostasies of Israel. 24:43 Go read Ezekiel Chapter 8, it got bad. 24:45 It got so bad that we find women 24:47 in the temple of the Lord 24:49 weeping for Tammuz, the god of... 24:52 The pagan god of fertility 24:56 weeping for Tammuz. 24:59 And then even worse than that, God takes him through 25:00 all these different levels of apostasy, 25:03 come son of man, look at this. 25:04 Come son of man, look at that. 25:05 And each and every time I can imagine Ezekiel 25:08 as he's seeing this envision, 25:09 he's going, oh my God, oh, you know, 25:11 he can't believe what's happening. 25:13 And then, of course, the ultimate apostasy of all, 25:15 he brings him to the inner court 25:16 where the altar, where the porch was 25:17 between the altar and this tabernacle, 25:20 and he sees men with their back toward, 25:22 you know, toward the sanctuary 25:24 facing the east of the sun, worshiping the sun. 25:29 So much that by the time you get to Ezekiel 11, 25:31 this is what we find. 25:32 Ezekiel 11: 20, or excuse me, Ezekiel 11:22, starting there, 25:37 notice what the Bible says, 25:39 "Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, 25:42 and the wheels beside them, 25:44 and the glory of the God of Israel 25:46 was over them above. 25:48 And the glory of the Lord went up 25:50 from the midst of the city and stood up on the mountain, 25:53 which is on the east side of the city." 25:56 Picture this in your mind. 25:58 God has to evacuate his own house. 25:59 Why? 26:01 Because they don't want Him there anymore. 26:03 And so He evacuates the temple 26:04 and the glory of the Lord hovers above the sanctuary, 26:07 like a loving God, He's like, 26:09 I don't want to leave My people. 26:10 But yet, you've pushed Me out. 26:12 And eventually he leaves from the tabernacle. 26:13 And notice this, 26:15 we'll come back to this in just a moment. 26:16 In fact, before I leave this sermon, 26:18 if I don't get back to it, Stephanie, 26:19 just give me a shout out. 26:20 So I come back to that point. 26:22 He leaves the sanctuary and comes back 26:24 and he hovers on the mountain 26:26 that's on the east side of the city. 26:27 Do you know what mountain that is? 26:30 It's the Mount of Olives. 26:33 Now, keep that in mind when we come back to that 26:34 in just a moment, the Mount of Olives. 26:36 God is evacuated from His temple. 26:38 And eventually, this leads to the destruction 26:43 and siege of Jerusalem by the year 606 BC. 26:48 And you can read about that in 2 Chronicles 36:17-21, 26:54 where God had to lift His protection. 26:55 Did God want to do that? 26:57 Did God want to lift His protection 26:59 from these precious people? 27:00 No, He loves His people. 27:01 But His people no longer want Him. 27:03 They'd rather serve the Baals. 27:04 They'd rather have a man as their king. 27:06 They'd rather give more allegiance to a man 27:08 than they would rather God. 27:10 And so God says, if that's what you want, 27:11 then that's what you're going to get. 27:12 I'm going to give you like apostasy. 27:14 You like worshipping the sun god, 27:16 you like worshipping all these Baals 27:17 and these false gods, will pity on you. 27:19 I feel so sorry. But guess what? 27:20 I'm going to send you 27:22 to the epicenter of pagan worship. 27:24 And He allows the king of the Chaldeans, 27:25 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon 27:28 to come and siege Jerusalem. 27:31 It's a sad, sad story, my friends, indeed. 27:34 But as we know, 27:36 God still had compassion on His people. 27:38 Because 70 years of Babylonian captivity go by, 27:42 and God still had a special servant 27:44 in Daniel the prophet. 27:45 Now you go read Daniel Chapter 9, 27:47 it's one of the most powerful chapters 27:49 you will ever read, 27:50 because the bulk of that chapter is Daniel in prayer. 27:53 And he's pouring his heart out for his people. 27:55 And he's repenting of the sins of his people, 27:58 and he's repenting of his own sins, 28:00 and he's pouring his heart out to God. 28:01 And he's saying, God, please, 28:03 you know, we know that 28:04 this Babylonian 70 years of captivity, 28:06 just as you spoke from the Prophet Jeremiah, 28:09 we know that this period is coming to an end. 28:11 Lord, have compassion in your people, 28:13 give us a second chance. 28:14 And before Daniel can even finish that prayer, 28:16 you can imagine the Angel Gabriel, 28:18 he says, leaned up against the wall, 28:19 just right there beside him 28:20 just waiting for him to finish, 28:22 because God had already sent him an angel, 28:23 He had already sent an answer to the prayer. 28:26 And, of course, we know that 28:27 the answer came from within the context 28:29 of the 70 weeks prophecy. 28:32 Now, I'm not gonna go too deep into that prophecy, 28:34 because that's not necessarily the point of my sermon. 28:37 But nonetheless, my friends, God sent a message, 28:41 because He had intended that 28:42 He was going to give His people a second chance. 28:45 But in order for Him to give His people a second chance, 28:47 the people had to return to their land 28:49 that God had given them. 28:50 So Cyrus gave a decree, 28:51 the first decree, and that first decree 28:53 was for them to go back 28:54 and they wanted to begin building 28:56 or rebuilding their temple. 28:58 So they did. 28:59 And what's interesting is God sent a message 29:02 to the children of Israel through the Prophet Haggai. 29:05 Powerful message, Go with me to Haggai Chapter 2. 29:09 This is Haggai Chapter 2. 29:11 And this is so awesome. 29:13 So awesome here. 29:15 Haggai Chapter 2, 29:16 it's one of the two or three 29:18 last books of the Old Testament. 29:21 And I'm going to start reading in verses 6 through 9. 29:23 Notice what the Lord said to the children of Israel 29:26 as they were preparing to go back 29:28 and rebuild this temple? 29:29 This is what He said. 29:32 It says, "For thus saith the Lord of hosts, 29:35 yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, 29:40 and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land." 29:43 And the question is, Lord, 29:45 how are You going to shake the world? 29:47 Here it is, there's the answer. 29:48 "And I will shake all nations 29:50 and the desire of all nations 29:53 shall come." 29:57 I'm gonna read that one more time 29:59 because I don't think anybody got that. 30:00 All right, here we go. 30:01 "And the desire of all nations shall come." 30:05 You see the desire of all nations. 30:06 This is a messianic prophecy. 30:07 You say what in the world 30:09 or who in the world is the desire of all nations? 30:10 We're talking about Jesus Christ. 30:12 God was telling that He's going to send the desire, 30:14 but what is the desire of all nations? 30:16 A Savior, someone to come 30:18 redeem the people from this wicked world. 30:21 And God says, "I'm gonna send, 30:23 the desire of all nations shall come." 30:25 But then He says, notice this, 30:26 "I will fill this house with glory." 30:28 Which glow which house? 30:30 The new temple, I mean, this new temple, 30:31 you're going to build, I'm going to fill this house 30:33 with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 30:35 And by the way, 70 years before this, 30:37 Nebuchadnezzar when he ransacked 30:38 and destroyed the temple, he took all the silver, 30:40 he took all the gold, he took all the holy utensils, 30:43 and the Lord said, 30:44 you know what all of that stuff was mine. 30:45 So he reminds us right here, He says, the silver is mine, 30:47 and the gold is mine says the Lord of hosts, 30:50 "The glory of this latter house 30:53 shall be greater than the former, 30:54 saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place, 30:56 I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts." 30:59 And what's interesting is right now today, 31:02 you can take a plane, go over to Israel, 31:04 and you can bring yourself 31:06 among the Orthodox Jewish people 31:08 who still claim to be 31:09 the number one true faith in the world, 31:11 who serve Yahweh, who serve Jehovah, 31:14 the God of the Old Testament. 31:15 And they read this prophecy in Haggai Chapter 2, 31:17 you know what they do? 31:18 They scratch their head, and they go, 31:20 we still don't understand that one. 31:23 Because when this next temple was built, see, 31:25 this was the very temple known as, 31:26 would become known as Herod's temple, 31:28 even though it was supposed to be the temple of the Lord, 31:31 became known as Herod's temple. 31:32 This would be the very temple that Jesus would walk into. 31:36 And when it says here, that the glory of this house 31:39 shall be greater than the former. 31:40 You see, they were confused, 31:42 because when they're thinking of Solomon's temple, 31:44 and all of its grander, and all of its amazement, 31:46 and all of this splendor, 31:48 they're thinking of how God filled that temple 31:50 with the glory, with His glory. 31:51 And it was magnificent. 31:53 It was a sight that no one could possibly behold. 31:55 But that never happened in the same manner 31:57 in Herod's temple as it happened 31:59 in Solomon's temple. 32:01 And so they look at this and they go, 32:02 well, this one doesn't make much sense. 32:03 Of course, it makes sense. 32:06 Because God in the flesh came 32:09 and stood this far from the children of Israel. 32:12 The glory of the Lord filled the temple, 32:14 and He was greater than the farmer. 32:16 But guess what? 32:17 They couldn't perceive it, 32:18 because they weren't ready for it. 32:20 They were not spiritually ready for it. 32:22 And so what's interesting is this, God says, 32:24 I'm going to give you a second chance. 32:26 The glory of the Lord is going to fill this temple. 32:27 I'm going to give My people a probationary time period 32:30 to get their act together. 32:31 We know this to be the 70 weeks of prophecy. 32:33 But here's what's interesting, get this. 32:36 Over in Israel still to this day, 32:38 the governing laws that that govern Israel, 32:41 the highest, the highest spiritual law 32:43 throughout all of the Judaistic faith 32:46 is what is known as the Talmudic law, 32:49 the Talmudic law, the Talmud. 32:53 And within the Talmud, there is something known 32:55 that's famously known as the Rabbinic Curse. 33:02 You can read it very clearly. 33:04 But I'm going to translate it 33:06 from Hebrew to English for you today. 33:07 Okay, here we go, the rabbinic curse. 33:09 And this is what is said within their holiest writings. 33:14 "May the bones of the hands 33:17 and the bones of the fingers decay 33:19 and decompose, 33:21 of him who turns the pages of the book of Daniel, 33:25 to find out the time of Daniel 9:24-27, 33:31 and may his memory rot 33:33 from off the face of the earth forever." 33:37 The Rabbinic Curse, every rabbi, 33:41 Jewish rabbi in the world knows this curse. 33:47 And you may ask yourself, 33:48 why in the world still to this day 33:49 do they refuse to believe that 33:51 Jesus Christ is Messiah, the Son of God? 33:54 Because probably 33:55 while there are many messianic passages 33:57 that confirm who the Messiah is, 33:59 there is no clearer passage, 34:01 no clearer prophecy in all of the Bible 34:05 that makes it more clear that Jesus Christ is Messiah 34:08 than those verses, Daniel 9:24-27. 34:12 And so let me ask you, 34:13 who's behind this Rabbinic Curse? 34:15 Did God give this Rabbinic Curse? 34:18 No, no, who's behind this Rabbinic Curse? 34:19 The devil himself, 34:21 he's got an entire nation of people deceived, 34:23 because he's got them believing that 34:25 if we study to find out 34:26 what in the world verses 24 through 27 34:29 mean in Daniel Chapter 9, then we're gonna be cursed. 34:32 Of course, the devil would comprise that. 34:34 Of course, he would come up with that, 34:35 because if you study those verses, 34:37 and come to understand them, 34:38 there is no other person that he can point to 34:40 than that of Jesus Christ. 34:44 And so he gives them six things 34:47 that they that must be accomplished by the time 34:50 that this Messiah shows up. 34:51 Daniel 9:24, you know it very well. 34:53 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people 34:55 and for your holy city," 34:57 and here's the six things, 34:58 "to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, 35:00 to make reconciliation for iniquity, 35:03 to bring in everlasting righteousness, 35:05 to seal a vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy." 35:10 Six things right there, but you know 35:11 what all of these have in common? 35:13 You see, this is what the hope, 35:14 the people of God were to achieve. 35:15 They were to allow this to have occurred by the time 35:18 that the 70 weeks prophecy had ended. 35:21 But here's what's interesting, the people can't do this. 35:26 There's only one person 35:27 who can accomplish 35:28 all these six individual things. 35:30 The only person who can bring an end to transgression, 35:34 make an end of sin, 35:36 bring reconciliation for iniquity, 35:38 everlasting righteousness, vision and prophecy, 35:40 and to anoint the most holy, 35:41 there's only one person who can do that. 35:43 And that's Jesus Christ. 35:45 They had to receive Jesus as Messiah 35:48 for all of these things to occur. 35:50 And so did that happen? 35:53 Jesus shows up in 27 AD. You know what? 35:56 God couldn't have made it any simpler, 35:57 because He sends John the Baptist, 35:59 the Bible says, he was full of the Holy Spirit 36:01 from the womb. 36:02 This brother shows up and he's baptizing people 36:04 left and right for the remission of sins. 36:06 And then one day, the Lamb of God shows up 36:08 and He stops his work, 36:10 you can imagine the scene, He stops his work. 36:12 I'm sure his eyes got that big around. 36:14 And he pointed and he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, 36:20 who has come to take the sin away 36:23 from the world." 36:24 I'm sure there were people 36:25 there amongst them that did agree. 36:27 They said, whoa, wow. 36:28 But you know, the majority of them 36:29 didn't have a clue. 36:31 Didn't even have a clue. 36:32 Couldn't even perceive. You know why? 36:36 'Cause they weren't studying the prophecies, 36:38 because they weren't studying the Word of God 36:40 for themselves. 36:42 They had not studied to show themselves approved. 36:45 And here, the Son of the living God 36:49 is standing before them. 36:52 The person who needed them together 36:55 in their mother's womb, was standing in their presence. 37:00 The person who nearly 4000 years 37:03 prior to this spoke simple words, 37:07 and the mountains, and the season, 37:09 the birds and the fish and everything else 37:11 just started popping into place, 37:13 just as a painter would be painting on a canvas, 37:16 Jesus spoke and the world came into place, 37:19 powerful, powerful. 37:21 But these people couldn't perceive, 37:26 so that even when He was baptized, 37:30 and the Father's voice came from heaven, 37:32 "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 37:37 A small, few of them probably shook in their boots, 37:41 when they heard that powerful voice, 37:43 when the rest of them couldn't perceive it. 37:48 During this same time, 37:49 and leading up to this same time, 37:52 God had sent additional messengers 37:55 to prepare the people for the way of the Lord. 37:58 Let me just mention a few, Haggai. 38:00 We talked about him earlier. 38:02 Zechariah, Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi, 38:05 John the Baptist. 38:06 Every single one of these messengers, 38:08 just as He sent additional messengers 38:10 to Israel in the days of their apostasy. 38:12 These brothers and sisters 38:14 are blind to their own condition. 38:15 And God said, Look, I need to wake them up. 38:16 I'm going to send them some more messengers 38:18 to shake them up, to wake them up. 38:20 But where they prepared? They were not. 38:23 So that we come to that last 38:25 and final week of the 70 weeks prophecy. 38:27 Jesus has been anointed as Messiah, His baptism. 38:30 He spends three and a half years preaching 38:32 and teaching to these brothers and sisters, 38:34 trying to wake them up, 38:36 preaching the kingdom of God, 38:38 and the repenting, the repenting of sins. 38:42 That's why Daniel 9:26 eventually says, 38:45 "And after 62 weeks, 38:48 Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself." 38:52 You see what was one of the six things 38:54 that they had to do? 38:56 And what's the Most Holy? 39:00 You know what Messiah means? 39:02 Means the anointed one. 39:05 When was Jesus anointed? 39:07 At His baptism in 27 AD. 39:10 Now three and a half years have went by, 39:12 this brother has been preaching, 39:14 raising the dead, healing the sick, 39:16 calming the storms, doing all these powerful signs. 39:19 I mean, I don't know, what else you got. 39:20 I mean, telling people their past, 39:21 present and future. 39:23 I don't know what else this brother, 39:24 what else Jesus could have done to say, 39:26 hey, look, He even told them in Word. 39:27 He says it's me. 39:28 I am the one that the Bible the prophet speak of. 39:31 I am, He even told him before Abraham was I am. 39:34 Do you not know who I am? I am the I Am. 39:37 He told them very clearly 39:38 and multiple times they would reach down 39:40 to pick up stones to try to murder Him. 39:42 But His time was not yet, but it was coming. 39:48 That's why Daniel 9:27 says, and he speaking of Jesus, 39:54 and my goodness, please help me 39:55 this is where a lot of people misunderstand the state, 39:58 end time events pertaining to Israel, 40:00 because a lot of people 40:01 take that last week of the 70th weeks 40:03 and they detach it, 40:05 and they shove it way down at the end of time. 40:07 And they give credit to this last week 40:09 of this powerful prophecy to some Antichrist. 40:13 Lord, have mercy on us. 40:16 When it says, "He shall confirm 40:17 the covenant with many for one week." 40:19 Let me tell you something, my friends, 40:20 only Jesus Christ can confirm a covenant, 40:23 no Antichrist 40:25 and no created man could ever confirm any covenant. 40:28 Only God can do that. 40:30 Only the Son of God can do that. 40:32 It says, "He shall confirm 40:33 the covenant with many for one week." 40:34 But here's the thing. 40:36 "In the midst of that final week, 40:37 it says, he shall cause the sacrifice 40:40 and oblation to cease." 40:43 Did He? 40:48 There came that day... 40:53 Where they would take the Son of God. 40:57 They beat Him, 40:59 spit on Him, smack Him around, 41:03 and hang Him stark naked on top of cross 41:07 on Golgotha's Hill. 41:13 And even after all that 41:15 they've done to Him, He hangs there. 41:17 And He utters the words that still to this day, 41:20 will make the largest skeptic shake in his boots. 41:25 When He said, "Father, forgive them, 41:28 for they know not what they do." 41:33 But why do they know not what they're doing? 41:39 Because they have not studied 41:43 to show themselves approved. 41:45 They do not have the spiritual discernment to understand why? 41:50 Because they're not being led by the Spirit of God. 41:56 And Jesus would take His final breath 41:59 after uttering the words, it is finished. 42:05 And He would bow His head and give up His life. 42:07 And at that very moment, 42:09 a trimmer would strike the ground 42:11 and shake the land so hard that in the very temple 42:15 that Jesus had walked into a week before, 42:20 that veil would tear from top to the bottom. 42:24 And you can read the writings of Josephus, 42:26 the great historian of that time. 42:28 And he describes it 42:29 in great detail on that very day. 42:31 He says as Jesus gave His life at top of Golgotha's Hill. 42:34 Caiaphas, the high priest had the lamb laid out there 42:37 with the knife raised and was about to bring it down 42:39 because it was Passover. 42:41 But yet when that earthquake struck, 42:43 and that veil was ripped between 42:45 from top to bottom, 42:46 he said the lamb escaped and got away, 42:49 and Caiaphas went inside the temple 42:50 and he saw the veil ripped from between, 42:53 and he was able to appear 42:54 and look into the Most Holy Place of 42:56 which he wasn't able to be, 42:57 he wasn't supposed to be able to do that 42:59 for another few months. 43:00 And he comes out of the temple screaming, 43:01 Ichabod, Ichabod, 43:03 which means the glory of the Lord has left us. 43:09 But yet they're still three and a half years 43:11 less in that 70 weeks. 43:13 This is not... 43:14 Tell me how much more does it need to be confirmed 43:18 that we serve a loving, compassionate God. 43:21 You see, most of us that would have been 43:23 the deal breaker as parents, 43:25 that would have been the deal breaker. 43:27 You know what? 43:28 When you kill my kid, when you murder my son, 43:30 when you murder my daughter, that's it. 43:32 That's the straw that breaks the camel's back. 43:34 But the Son of God was murdered. 43:36 God the Father's only Son was murdered. 43:40 And He's still extended that 43:41 extra three and a half year period of probation. 43:46 You know what's interesting? 43:47 There's no questioning here. 43:49 Okay, now we're getting down to this. 43:50 We're asking the question, 43:51 what is the role that Israel plays 43:53 in the last day event wars? 43:54 We showed the historical record here, 43:56 it's not looking too good. 43:57 I'm just gonna tell you, it's not looking too good. 43:59 I don't want to laugh at that or smile at that, 44:01 because I find that funny, 44:02 I find that quite amusing based on how much God 44:05 made Himself available to these people. 44:12 But even Jesus, get this, a week before He died. 44:17 You go, you can read this record 44:20 in Matthew Chapter 21 to 23. 44:23 If you ever have time to sit down, 44:25 and go pour yourself 44:26 into Matthew 21, Matthew 22, and Matthew 23, 44:30 because a week before He's nailed to a cross, 44:32 He's going to walk into that temple for the last time. 44:36 He's going to overturn those money changers 44:37 because what are the people doing there? 44:39 They have defiled the house of God 44:42 with their money changers 44:43 and their wheelings and dealings 44:45 and selling of turtledoves and lambs. 44:47 They just completely defiled the house of God, 44:50 desecrated it. 44:52 When Jesus comes in, now get this. 44:53 In Matthew 21, you can read this. 44:56 Jesus walks in. 44:58 And He says to them, He says, 44:59 He said the beginning of that 45:01 He says, He says, you have made 45:03 My house a den of thieves, My house. 45:06 But the very last verses of Matthew 23 45:10 when He's about to exit that temple, 45:11 you know what He says? 45:12 Your house is left to you desolate. 45:17 You see, the glory of the Lord had went into the temple. 45:21 But on that very day, a week before 45:23 He was nailed to the cross, you know what the people done? 45:25 They evicted the Son of God from His own house. 45:30 And He lingered for a little while 45:33 to leave them a few last rebukes, 45:35 and to tell them that as they did, 45:37 oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem as a hen 45:39 wants to gather her chicks under her wings, 45:41 so have I for you, but you were not willing. 45:45 I can imagine Jesus telling this with tears in His eyes. 45:51 But you know what He done? 45:53 He would walk out of that temple 45:55 for the last time. 45:59 And the disciples in the beginning of Matthew 24. 46:03 You know, you could imagine that was a very powerful, 46:05 very dramatic scene that have taken place there. 46:10 And, Gee, you could imagine disciples, 46:11 they say to Him, oh, Lord, look at the temple. 46:13 Look how beautiful it is. Look how wonderful it is. 46:15 Jesus turns with the sternness. 46:17 I'm sure the sternest, most compassionate rebuke 46:19 He could possibly muster up and He said these words 46:22 that will never be forgotten. 46:23 There is coming a time 46:24 when there will not be one stone left upon another. 46:26 Why? 46:28 Because it's now their house 46:29 and their house will be left desolate. 46:34 You know what the Bible says happened? 46:38 He lingered there for a while. 46:40 For Matthew 24 says, He went 46:42 from there straight to that mountain 46:45 on the east side of the city. 46:49 And He set atop of the Mount of Olives, 46:52 where He would meet privately 46:53 with His disciples and give them 46:55 their last prophetic words. 47:01 That's why in Matthew 21:42, 47:04 again, this is about a week before Jesus was crucified. 47:06 He said these words, Matthew 21:42 and onward. 47:10 It says, He was speaking to the spiritual, 47:13 spiritual leaders of Israel, the Pharisees, 47:15 and He said to them, "The stone which the builders 47:17 rejected has become the chief corner stone." 47:21 Oh, by the way, before this, He said in verse 42, 47:25 "Have you never read in the scriptures?" 47:30 Now, I don't believe that Jesus was sarcastic in a carnal way. 47:35 But I believe that 47:36 there's a little bit of spiritual sarcasm here. 47:38 I believe God has a sense of humor. 47:40 And I could imagine for a moment 47:41 in the most compassion 47:43 that He could muster up at that moment. 47:44 He was completely bumfuzzled. 47:46 I don't know, if that, is that a real word? 47:48 I don't know, bumfuzzled, confused, confuzzled, 47:51 whatever you want to say, 47:53 because these brothers and sisters 47:54 have no clue. 47:57 They were the teachers of Israel. 47:59 And they had no clue that the glory of God 48:02 was standing in their presence. 48:05 And you could just imagine how confused 48:06 and overwhelmed he was 48:07 where he had to say, I can't believe it. 48:09 Have you guys not read the scriptures? 48:13 And then he says those words that 48:14 "The stone which the builders 48:16 rejected will become the chief cornerstone. 48:18 This was the Lord's doing 48:19 and it is marvelous in our eyes." 48:22 And then he says these words, 48:23 "Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God." 48:26 Don't miss this point. 48:27 "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you 48:29 and given to a nation bringing forth 48:31 the fruits thereof." 48:33 If that wasn't prophetic of Israel's role, 48:37 I don't know what it is. 48:40 He wouldn't completely forsake the nation of Israel, 48:42 but He's certainly saying, look, your time is up, 48:45 the third strike and you're out. 48:48 I'm going to move on to a people 48:50 who will bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. 48:53 In fact, you can imagine it right there 48:54 toward the beginning part of Matthew Chapter 21. 48:57 Jesus after leaving the temple, He wakes up the next morning, 49:00 and He's hungry, and He goes to a fig tree, 49:01 and there's no fruit on it. 49:03 And you know what He says to that fig tree? 49:04 He rebukes that fig tree. 49:06 And He says, "Let no more fruit ever grow on you ever again." 49:10 You know what that was? 49:11 That was some imagery 49:13 pointing forward to the results of what would happen in Israel. 49:17 You see that fig tree was Israel. 49:20 Because at this point, 49:22 they had had over 1400 years 49:27 to accept the God who had called them. 49:30 And you go read that, go read the parable 49:32 of the vinedresser in Matthew Chapter 21. 49:35 What does it say in the parable of the vinedresser? 49:39 Jesus says, it was a vinedresser he built it, 49:43 all of the trees bring forth the fruit 49:45 and now came the harvest. 49:47 So he sent some of his, he sent some of his servants 49:50 and you know what the people did that 49:51 were taking care of the vineyard? 49:54 It says they beat one, they murdered one 49:56 and they just killed them all. 49:59 And so then the father says, oh, well, surely, surely, 50:01 they'll receive my next servant. 50:03 So he sends a next wave of servants. 50:04 They murdered all of them. 50:06 And so finally, third and all, He says, I'll send My Son, 50:08 surely they'll receive My Son. 50:12 And what do they do? 50:14 It actually says in that parable, 50:15 by the way, that parable was a rebuke 50:17 and a message straight toward, 50:19 it was a judgment, judgment that was declared 50:22 upon the nation of Israel that day. 50:25 Surely they receive My Son, 50:26 but it says when He sent His Son, 50:28 they took Him outside of the vineyard, 50:30 and they murdered Him. 50:33 But God still had compassion, 50:36 even after they murdered His Son. 50:41 Three and a half years later, a young man 50:45 by the name of Steven is preaching in the streets. 50:49 What is he preaching? 50:50 There's no doubt in my mind, 50:52 he is preaching the 70 weeks prophecy. 50:55 Israel did not know that their last living prophet, 51:00 they were about to murder, 51:03 so much that he's preaching 51:05 so powerful that it starts to upset 51:06 some of the leaders. 51:07 So they go and they arrest him, 51:09 and they take him to the high Sanhedrin court. 51:13 And you go read that, read that chapter. 51:14 Go read Acts Chapter 7, and Chapter 8. 51:18 Acts Chapter 8, it's powerful, Acts chapter 7. 51:23 Stephen stood there, like a spiritual champion. 51:28 And he rebuked every single one of those leaders, 51:30 he says, you people are no different 51:32 than your fathers. 51:34 God had compassion on your fathers, 51:37 and he sent them the prophets, 51:39 but your fathers murdered every last one of them. 51:45 And last but not least, 51:46 God the Father sent His only Son, Jesus Christ. 51:51 And what did you do to Him? 51:52 You took Him up on top of Golgotha's Hill, 51:54 and you murdered Him. 51:57 And you know what the Bible says? 51:58 Well, Acts 7:57-58, it says, 52:01 "Then they cried with a loud voice, 52:03 stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord, 52:07 and they cast him outside of the city 52:09 and stoned him. 52:10 And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet 52:12 of a young man named Saul." 52:14 My friends, that day, 52:16 in 34 AD 52:20 Israel's last prophet 52:23 was murdered by them. 52:27 They sealed up, 52:29 they sealed it up for them ever, 52:32 as a nation, 52:34 being known and being recognized 52:36 as God's chosen people. 52:39 So you know what the Lord did? 52:41 That man named Saul that stood by and watched him, 52:46 stood near the coats of the people 52:49 who stoned Israel's last prophet 52:52 on his way to Damascus. 52:53 You can read it there in Acts Chapter 9, 52:57 where God struck him blind and shook him down. 53:00 And He told him that day, He said, "You will go, 53:04 and you will preach the gospel 53:07 to the house of Israel, and to the Gentiles." 53:11 Did God completely gave up on Israel? 53:14 No, because he still had a remnant in Israel. 53:18 They were, the nation itself might have rejected Him, 53:20 but He still had a remnant people in Israel. 53:24 He told Paul, He said before you go to the Gentiles, 53:27 go back and find those, 53:28 those brothers and sisters and prepare them 53:31 for the kingdom of God. 53:32 And so he went back, and he preached and guess what? 53:34 You go and read the Bible, 53:36 what happened to Paul in his lifetime this brother 53:37 went through that you can't even begin 53:39 to think of all the persecution that this brother went through. 53:44 Stoned three or four different times 53:45 and still lived. 53:47 Whipped and beat with reeds and rods, 53:50 nearly drowned to death. 53:52 I mean, this brother has been through it all. 53:55 But he would take the gospel to the Gentiles. 53:58 And from that time on what my friends 54:00 God opened His kingdom, He now says, you know what? 54:03 I'm going to have a people, 54:05 but My people are going to be all over the world. 54:08 And that's why it says 54:09 there in that famous passage in Galatians 3:26 and 29. 54:14 "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 54:20 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, 54:24 and heirs according to the promise." 54:26 You don't have to be Jewish. 54:28 You could be German, you could be Ang... 54:30 You could be an Anglo Saxon. 54:32 You could be Chinese, you could be Russian. 54:35 You could be from who knows, 54:36 you could be from under a rock on at the North Pole. 54:39 But if you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, 54:42 it don't matter what nation, what blood, 54:44 what dialect you speak, 54:46 it don't matter what kind of people 54:47 or where you come from. 54:49 You are Christ. 54:50 And Jesus says it's no longer about one single nation. 54:53 It's about all the nations. 54:55 And if you receive me as the Son of God, 54:58 as Lord of your life, then you will be My people 55:02 and heirs according to the promise. 55:04 Praise the Lord that we serve a God. 55:07 What's happening in the last days 55:08 in Bible prophecy, not in Israel, 55:13 while people are looking at Israel, 55:16 prophecy is being fulfilled in Rome, 55:19 prophecy is being fulfilled all around the world. 55:22 And we need to get into the book, 55:25 into God's Holy Word. 55:29 And if we know the Word of God, 55:31 and we are led by the Spirit of Truth, 55:34 then we shall know and we shall be prepared 55:37 for what is to come. 55:41 Isn't that wonderful? 55:43 Let's have a prayer as we close. 55:45 Dear Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. 55:50 Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, 55:55 as it is in heaven. 55:58 And we know, Lord, that You are because You promised to give us 56:02 this day our daily bread. 56:04 And, Lord, we know that 56:07 You will forgive us our trespasses, 56:10 because You're a forgiving God. 56:12 If only we will humble ourselves in Your presence. 56:15 And we will simply ask forgiveness of our sins. 56:18 You are there for us. 56:20 And You will cleanse us from the inside out. 56:22 Just as David prayed, create in me a clean heart, 56:26 O God, and renew a right spirit in me. 56:29 Let that be a reality of prayer, 56:32 and a conviction upon 56:34 all the hearts and minds today. 56:36 Thank You, Lord, we praise You for Your goodness. 56:38 Lead us and guide us, and protect us as we go today. 56:42 We ask in Jesus' name. 56:43 Amen. 56:46 Hello, and welcome back, friends. 56:48 There is no doubt in my mind that this is a message 56:51 that you are going to want to listen 56:52 to time and time again 56:54 and make it a part of your study library. 56:57 We are so grateful that evangelist Ryan Day came 57:01 and presented this for us today 57:03 here at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 57:05 and we know that you are too. 57:07 Again the title of today's message 57:09 was Thunder in the Holy Land, an important message. 57:13 Any prophecy, anything about Israel is important to God. 57:17 His people are important 57:19 and we're all part of His family. 57:21 So it is important to us. 57:23 So we would like to send you this 57:25 for a love gift of just $8 or more. 57:27 And when you call in for this message, 57:29 please don't forget the or more. 57:31 It is because of you, friends, it is because of your support, 57:35 it is because of your prayers, your letters, the encouragement 57:40 that you give us that helps us 57:42 here at Behold the Lamb Ministries 57:44 to move forward 57:45 and to continue to bring you timely messages 57:48 such as this one. 57:50 Again, the title is Thunder in the Holy Land. 57:53 And you may order this message by calling us here at 57:56 (618) 942-5044 that is Central Time. 58:02 You may also write to us at Behold the Lamb Ministries, 58:05 PO Box 2030, Herrin, Illinois 62948. 58:09 You may email us at 58:11 Contact@ BeholdTheLambMinistries.com 58:14 or visit our website 58:16 and try to order it off of there. 58:17 It's BeholdTheLambMinistries.com 58:20 Friends, until next time, may our precious Lord 58:24 continue to get you ready and bless you and yours. |
Revised 2021-09-24