A few years back I saw the headline in the news, “Doctors without Borders nurse, killed after launching terror attack.”
It seems such a strange headline that someone committed to an organization meant to bring comfort would resort to being a terrorist.
But truth be told, that is a daily occurrence in the nation of Israel. I watched another video of a father sending his son about 2 or 3 years old to walk at Israeli soldiers and throw stones at them..
One sitting back without knowledge of scripture would have to shake their head and ask what in the world is the problem there, but just a cursory amount of knowledge of the word of God would bring the answer to light.
Few understand the true spiritual nature of the battle between Israel and the Arab world. Most think that Israel somehow stole the land from a peaceful group of Palestinians following WW2.
But we would find it had its origin back in Genesis the 16th chapter.
Now to save time I will skip over a few verses until we come to vs. 11-12
As simple as it sounds the endless hostility in the middle east can be traced back to Abrahams not trusting God, and trying to do things his own way at the advisement of his wife. (EVE) - Tip to guys
Paul in Galations 3 confirms that the future child that God spoke of was Jesus, and that no other child was considered.
15 Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”meaning one person, who is Christ.
Its why all the efforts to bring peace to the Middle East have failed…. There is a base for it.
The Hostility that Genesis 16 foretold is the same hostility that we see in the world today.
So where does that leave us.
It leaves us with an unfolding picture of Gods eternal plan of redemption.
In Galations 4 Paul continues saying this:
1 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.
Paul continues to say the slave woman represents Mt. Sinai or the Law, and no one can fulfill the Law, it can’t save you. But Issac represents salvation through the promised seed, Christ.
That is the battle that has gone on from the Garden till this very day, and will go on until the conclusion where Israel finally comes back to the Lord.
That’s why its important we see things through spiritual rather than natural eyes. Because what is going on around us cant be seen with the natural eye.
In regards to what is taking place in the Middle East today and what will one day happen we need to look at a prophesy of Jeremiah – The 4th chapter.
God issued a challenge over 2500 years ago to Israel that is yet to be realized but will be at the conclusion of time.
4 “If you, Israel, will return, then return to me,” declares the Lord. “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, 2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will invoke blessings by him an in him they will boast.”
In the most simplistic of ways- God began back then calling backslidden Israel back to him.
Return to me – Put away your Idols – Don’t go astray again- be truthful in your relationship with Him.
And he gives the most simplistic of instructions:
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns. Ground that has become to hard to plant. Thorns uncondusive to growth.
All that Israel has been through over the centuries – Captivity, Haman, Herod, the Romans, Hitler, the attacks of their brother via Islam, still they have not broken up their fallow or unplowed ground.
He continues: With a very stern warning. Turn back because no one else can help you.
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it. All the efforts to help Israel apart from God are futile. Even the US. Though it is key.
But the part that is so relevant to us all today comes in what is called - Disaster From the North
You have often heard me speak about the prophecy of Ezekiel found in chapters 38 and 39
Where God prophetically speaks of the army from the North which is universally considered to be Russia, marching down to the Middle East and in the process eyeing the unwalled city of Jerusalem and along with the other nations mentioned, which in modern day language would be Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Libya attacking Gods people Israel. It is there that they will call on the Lord and as a nation turn back to God.
Here in Jeremiah 4 He gives a view in to that very same event. Again, this is future, still to come, and perhaps not as far off as we might wish.
Vs. 5 A call to flee Jerusalem – To run to a fortified place.
5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say: ‘Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!’ 6 Raise the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay! - Israel now has drills when Hamas or the Gaza strip lob in bombs.
Sounds a whole lot like – In Matthew 24 where Jesus says.
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a] spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
In Jeremiah 4 the prophet continued
5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Cry aloud and say: ‘Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!’ 6 Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction.”
7 A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land.
Church that Lion will be Russia – And they will partner with the nations I previously mentioned from Ezekiel 38 and 39.
Russia even now is solidifying its position in Syria, they are partenered with Iran. And are gaining through Iran foot holds in Iraq.
Turkey in the past 10 years has steadily moved away from its former NATO stance, to an Islamic Fundamentalist stand. Ergon has basically seized life long power in Turkey, not unlike Putin in Russia.
Much of the turmoil currently taking place in our world and even in our own nation is a setting of the table.
As much as I love the strength America is currently showing, there is a chance much like in the roll of the dice that it could in the end isolate us, work against us, and unite Nations in a way we never imagined.
I can see Germany siding with Russia, they are buying their natural gas to heat their nation from Russia. I can see the EU betraying us. North Korea, and nations of the same
Without America to defend Israel, the very senerio the prophet spoke of would be well plausible.
Revelations 12 describes the moment of Israels brokenness. The first 9 vs are kind of a summary.
12 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
This is speaking of the nation of Israel. Then John continues
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.
This is a clear picture of Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, and the angels that followed him in the fall.
The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
Here is the clear picture of Christ the Messiah being born, living, dieing, rising and returning to the father. The woman is not Mary, but the promised seed of Abraham. Israel.
Here there is a huge jump forward in time to Israel in the closing days of time.
It speaks of the place in time where the 7 year covenant that has been made is broken, and the wrath of satan, the dragon, in the form of the Anti-Christ is unleashed on the Jews.
6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. 3 and a half years.
Most Biblical Scholars believe the place they flee to is Petra in Jordon.
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Conflict in the heavens isn’t an uncommon occurrence. We wrestle not against flesh and blood…..
Jude 1:19 speaks of one such case –
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
In our Thursday Study this week we see another in Daniel chapter 10
Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”
Jumping down to vs. 13 in Revelation 12 we read:
13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ( Israel)
14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Petra in Jordon
15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ( again Gods supernatural intervention)
17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
Church – You have heard me say over and over – That we must stand with Israel. The day may come when America either chooses to cease to stand with her, or where we wont be capable of it anymore.
But this true can be taken to the Bank National Israel after thousands of years, and endless prophetic warnings, and their refusal to yield. But one day they will, not before they have suffered greatly. But as Paul stated he has ingrafted the Gentile in their years of absence, but He will again restore them.
THE APOSTLE PAUL TOOK THE LAST 3 CHAPTERS OF ROMANS TO DETAIL GODS LAST DAYS PLANS FOR ISRAEL but let me close with this portion from Chapter 11
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and in this way[e] all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is[f] my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now[h] receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
Thousands of years have passed and Israel has continually shaken off the efforts of the Lord, but we are coming to a time when that will all change.
Paul after discussing the fate of Israel in the last days, admonished the believers with these words.
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the LORD Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Church many are asleep, but that’s not a surprise, Jesus said in the last days the love of most will grow cold, that there will be a great falling away.
We read of one being taken and one left, one in the field.
All the signs of the age we live in are here, the question perhaps is will we heed the warning. Will we shake the things that could prevent us from reaching glory. Will we stand with God's people or cave to the views of the majority of the world that they are an enemy.
