The Jewish Final Solution to the World's Problem - Peter's Post Pentecost Message

[0:00] I'll be reading three different scriptures, all in the book of Matthew. If you will first turn to Matthew chapter 11, and in Matthew chapter 11, we'll be looking at verses 11 through 14.

[0:23] Truly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist.

[0:38] Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence.

[0:52] And violent men may take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

[1:04] And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. Then, please turn to Matthew chapter 17.

[1:24] And here we'll be looking at verses 9 through 13. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has arisen from the dead.

[1:47] And his disciples asked him, Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? And he answered and said, Elijah is coming and will restore all things.

[2:05] But I say to you, Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished.

[2:19] So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

[2:33] Then, please go back to chapter 23. And in chapter 23, we'll be looking at verses 37 through 39.

[2:55] Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together.

[3:11] The way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate.

[3:22] For I say to you, from now on you will not see me until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

[3:35] Amen. I think all of those passages that we have considered, and one more that we'll be looking at in a few moments from Luke chapter 19, pretty much established the fact that a dynamic was taking place during the earthly ministry of Christ that the apostles found very hard to contemplate, and many still do to this day.

[4:07] What did he mean when he said that Elijah is to come, and then when he said, John is Elijah if you will accept it. What does that refer to?

[4:19] Well, let me just briefly give you what I think is the biblical understanding of what that means. The prophet Malachi does predict that prior to the second coming of Christ, Elijah will come and prepare the way.

[4:39] But the time frame is really significant, and I must admit somewhat confusing, when you do not make a distinction between the first and second comings of Christ.

[4:51] The Old Testament prophets say a lot more about the second coming of Christ than they do the first. There is a whole lot more in the Old Testament prophets regarding the time of Jacob's trouble and Armageddon than what there is about Bethlehem and the babe in the manger.

[5:13] They are both there. The tendency of the Jewish people was to see just the one, and that was the glory in connection with the second coming. And I'm sure that the apostles were thinking along this line too.

[5:27] So what John was saying, and what John the Baptist was actually doing, was presenting Jesus as the Messiah to Israel, and were that nation to embrace Jesus as their Messiah, what would have then happened is that everything would have been different.

[5:51] Everything would have been different. Now some look upon this as saying, well, the kingdom that Christ came to offer could not actually have been offered, because if Israel had accepted that kingdom, where would that put Calvary?

[6:12] It would be non-existent. If they had embraced Jesus as their Messiah rather than crucify him, how could he have died for the sins of the world? And this is why we make an important distinction, and it is one that I must be honest with you and tell you that certainly not all of the Bible teachers and scholars make this distinction, and I don't think it's splitting hairs.

[6:36] I think it is very, very important. And I take the position that Jesus did not actually offer the kingdom when he first came.

[6:48] What he told them, and what John the Baptist told them was, the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God, is at hand.

[6:59] That's much different than saying, this is it, here it is, will you embrace it? He never said that. John didn't say that. The message repeatedly was, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[7:13] What does that mean? It means it's near. It's close by. It is available. We've made the point numerous times in the past, and I'm reluctant to make it again, but I must because it is so important it bears repetition, and that is this.

[7:32] There are two things, two things that must occur before the kingdom of heaven, also known as the kingdom of God, can come to earth. And what's that going to involve?

[7:44] It's going to involve everything being fixed. It's going to involve all the wrongs being made right. It's going to involve the cancellation of death, and disease, and war, and poverty, and all of those things, because Jesus Christ is going to fix it.

[8:02] That's what his being the Messiah entails. He is going to restore everything, and make the world the way it's supposed to be, before man messed it all up with the fall.

[8:14] Two things must occur before that can happen. Number one, Christ has to pay the price for the sins of the world.

[8:25] Why? Because he's the only one eligible to do it. And why does that need to be done? Because the moral scales of heaven have to be balanced. Righteousness must prevail.

[8:38] Unrighteousness has to be addressed. And the only one qualified to address it, able to address it, able to overcome the death that was imposed upon us, because of Adam and Eve's sin, is the Messiah.

[8:52] And the only reason that he is qualified, is because he himself is without sin. A spotless lamb of God, without sin and blemish. That made him, and him alone, qualified, to redeem the earth.

[9:08] And this, by the way, is why Christians absolutely must insist upon the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ alone.

[9:21] Where then does that put all other faiths and all other beliefs? It puts them all in error. Now, this is not a popular thing to be teaching in a day of religious pluralism, when many people see all religions on an equal plane, and all of them equally valid, and all of them equally legitimate.

[9:45] But that's the Christian position. And by the way, if ever you are confronted by this, you need to know what I think is the best answer. When people say, you Christians are so narrow.

[10:00] You see your way as being the only way. You think that salvation comes only through Christ, and that nobody can get to heaven any other way. Why do you believe that?

[10:11] Be sure you tell them, it wasn't your idea. That's not something that Christians thought up. That's something that God has revealed.

[10:22] And if you're in disagreement with that, take it up with Him. Because there was a time when I didn't believe that either. But I had to come to that position, because my eternal salvation was hanging in the balance.

[10:39] And so is yours. That's the first thing that has to occur before this age of righteousness, also known as the kingdom of heaven, also known as the millennium, also known as the earthly reign of Christ.

[10:52] That's the first thing that has to happen before that can be realized. Now let me ask you this question. Has it already happened?

[11:04] Yes. Yes. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. That's already taken place. That's a historical fact.

[11:15] Christ died for the sins of the world. You can chalk it up. Number one, out of the two, that's taken place. What's the other? Because God is committed with an unconditional promise that He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that through Him and His seed all the earth should be blessed.

[11:36] That through Him the Messiah would come. That through His seed, which would be the nation of Israel, God would erect this kingdom of heaven coming to earth, and Israel, this little tiny, relatively insignificant nation, at least insignificant geographically, insignificant numerically, but not theologically, or doctrinally, or in the mind of God.

[12:01] This is the spearhead nation. This is the nation that God will utilize to bring about this kingdom of heaven and kingdom of God to earth.

[12:15] Israel is very, very strategic. In fact, among all of the nations of the earth, Israel is the only nation that is really strategic.

[12:27] in the same way that Christ is the only person who is really strategic regarding salvation. It is all vested in Israel and Israel's seed.

[12:40] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Fast forward a thousand years and you arrive at Jesus Christ. From 2,000 years from Abraham. And we are at the 2,000 year mark now since Christ was here.

[12:54] So, it could well be that the return is closer than we know. So, this second thing that must happen is what we are really, really concerned with now.

[13:06] In connection with that, I want you to turn to that other passage in the Gospels and it's Luke 19. Luke's Gospel, chapter 19. And verse 37.

[13:27] Let me set the stage here, if I may. This is the triumphal entry of Jesus. This is just before his crucifixion. But, he is the only one who knows he's going to be crucified.

[13:45] The apostles who are accompanying him are thinking that this is just going to be one grand celebration. Jesus is going to ride into town on Palm Sunday and huge crowds of people are going to come out and shout all kinds of welcoming to him like, Hosanna to the Son of David.

[14:06] Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. The apostles are really looking forward to this. They have no idea what is going to happen to their master in just a few days.

[14:19] We're only three or four days away from the crucifixion. From this event that is mentioned here in Luke 19, let's begin reading with verse 37. And as he was now approaching near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, saying, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.

[14:54] And who were they talking about? They were talking about Jesus. They were accepting him. These were the common people in the crowd that lined the throughway there as he was making his way up toward the city of Jerusalem.

[15:11] Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him. Now the Pharisees were part of the religious establishment.

[15:24] These were the naysayers. These were, for the most part, those who did not embrace Jesus as the Messiah at all. There were some exceptions, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, but they were in a distinct minority.

[15:39] And these said, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. In other words, tell your disciples to stop saying this.

[15:50] Tell them to be quiet. Tell them to stop yelling those things. And he answered, I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out.

[16:04] Take your choice. Talking people or talking rocks? Either way, they are going to proclaim who I am. And then, we are told in verse 41, when he approached, he saw the city and wept over it.

[16:25] This means he sobbed. It wasn't a little tear that trickled down from the corner of his eye. He broke up. He sobbed over the city.

[16:39] And he said, If you, Jerusalem, if you had known in this day, today, right now, Jesus is saying, if you had known today, even you, the things which make for peace, but now, they have been hidden from your eyes.

[17:13] What is he talking about here? What are the things that make for Jerusalem's peace? You know, there is a verse in the Psalms, and it's probably one of the most quoted Psalms among all of the Jews throughout the world.

[17:28] And it's a verse that says, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Hmm. And they've been saying that for thousands of years.

[17:43] The word Jerusalem means city of peace. The last part of the word, the Salem, is also related to Shalom in Hebrew, and it means peace.

[17:57] when the Jews meet each other or leave each other, they don't say hello or goodbye or good day. They say, Shalom! Shalom! That means peace.

[18:07] Peace to you. It's a cessation of any kind of hostilities. It is tranquility. May you be at rest and at peace.

[18:18] Shalom! They say it when they meet, and they say it when they leave. It is a goodbye greeting and a hello greeting. Shalom! Jesus is referred to appropriately as the Prince of Peace.

[18:35] And speaking of the exclusivity of Christ, do you know anyone else who wears the title Prince of Peace? Do you know anyone else who wears the title Savior?

[18:51] Nobody I know, and nobody in the world knows. if you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace.

[19:03] But they don't. And they are rejecting the Prince of Peace, and they are soon going to cry out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him! We'll not have this man to reign over us.

[19:15] And this leads us to the second absolute essential that must occur before the Kingdom of Heaven will come to Earth. And that has to do with the nation of Israel embracing nationally, holistically, embracing Yeshua HaMashiach as their Messiah.

[19:39] They've never done that. Well, to be sure, down through the 2,000 years since Jesus has been here, there have been many sons and daughters of Abraham, true Jews, come to faith in Jesus as their Messiah.

[20:00] We had the privilege of taking a six-week geographical historical study tour of Israel with Arnold Fruchtenbaum, who refers to himself as a completed Jew.

[20:12] He's a Jew who came to faith in Christ. He's still a Jew. He didn't stop being a Jew because he became a believer in Christ. He just accepted Yeshua as his Messiah.

[20:25] And Joel Rosenberg, whom we are going to hear and see shortly in the video presentation, is another Jew who has come to faith in Christ.

[20:37] And Marie and I, at the Cove, at the Billy Graham organization, where we enjoyed a few days of excellent teaching over the past week or so, there was a young man there by the name of Marty Goetz, G-O-E-T-Z, and I thought, that sounds and looks Jewish.

[20:56] Well, sure enough, he's Jewish. And some of the most masterful piano playing and self-accompanying in the music that we have ever heard, it was just a blessing beyond words, and you're going to be hearing some of that from Marty Goetz.

[21:12] He, too, is a completed Jew. I think it is probably safe to say there have been more fully Jewish people come to faith in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior over the last 40 or 50 years than there have been in the previous several hundred years.

[21:36] And all of that indicates more and more that things may be warming up more and more because there is going to be a massive turn of the nation of Israel whereby the entire nation is going to come to believe in Jesus as their Messiah.

[21:54] And this is what Paul was referring to when he mentioned in Romans, I think it's chapter 12, and so all Israel will be saved. And they will not be saved because they are Jews.

[22:06] They will be saved because they are Jews who have come to the conviction that Jesus is their Messiah. and they will embrace him. It's a key passage in Zechariah 12, and eventually we'll get to it in this morning series.

[22:21] That refers to the Jewish people, and it says, and they shall look upon him whom they pierced.

[22:34] When did they pierce him? They pierced him 2,000 years ago on Calvary. And when he comes again, as Matthew 24 and 25 says, behold, he cometh with clouds, and when he comes again, every eye will see him, and they, the Jew, wherever they are in the world, most of whom will be in Israel then, and they will look upon him whom they pierced, and they will mourn.

[23:07] They will mourn for the rejection their ancestors had toward Jesus the Messiah. It's going to be a glorious time in connection with the coming of Christ.

[23:21] So, that's the second event. The first event, it's already occurred. That was the crucifixion. That's when Christ was made sin for the sins of the world.

[23:34] The second event that is absolutely essential before the kingdom of heaven can come to earth, is that Israel must embrace Yeshua HaMashiach as their Messiah.

[23:44] They have not done that. They will. So, in our previous sessions, several things were observed. In Acts 2, we noted the events that transpired on the day of Pentecost were exclusively Jewish in this participation.

[24:03] We noted that Pentecost, the word means 50, literally, and it is 50 days after Passover. We noticed that Pentecost was explicitly declared by Peter to be a fulfillment of Joel 2, so it was God making good on a promise that he made through one of the Old Testament prophets back in Joel, and that's what Peter says that this was all about.

[24:28] Joel's prophecy applied only to the nation of Israel. It does not apply to the United States or France or anybody else. It was exclusively for Israel.

[24:40] Hence, the assembly that was involved on the day of Pentecost was a strictly Jewish assembly. This was a Jewish feast day. Gentiles not only had no business being there, they would have been prohibited from being there, simply because they were not Jews.

[24:58] This was exclusive to them, and that was true of the entire nation of Israel. Hence, this did not constitute the birthday of what we know to be the church, the body of Christ in Paul's letter.

[25:12] That is an entirely different thing, because that which happened on the day of Pentecost was the fulfillment of a prophecy, not the beginning of a church, not the beginning of any church.

[25:23] It was the fulfillment of a prophecy. The body of Christ, which we now enjoy, and of which we are now members, if we are believers in Christ, even if we are not a member of a local church with our name on the membership role, if you are in Christ, you belong to that body.

[25:44] And, it consists of Jew and Gentile in one body, making of the two one new man.

[25:57] That is a concept that is never imagined before, certainly not in the Old Testament. And I must take you briefly to Ephesians chapter 2.

[26:08] We've got to consider that before we come back to the Acts. Ephesians chapter 2. This is a very critical passage, and it, perhaps better than anything else, explains what the church is really all about, that church which is the body of Christ.

[26:25] Ephesians 2, and verse 11, when Paul writes this epistle, he is writing to a bunch of pagans, or former pagans. These were people who were polytheistic.

[26:38] They worshipped many gods. They had all kinds of deities, female and male deities. And when Paul went there and preached the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, many of those pagans came to faith and embraced Christianity and the message that Paul gave them.

[26:54] Now he's writing back to them and telling them things they need to know. And in verse 11 he says, Therefore remember that formerly you Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands, all he's saying is the uncircumcised are Gentiles.

[27:22] That's just another word for Gentiles. They were uncircumcised. And the circumcised were the Jews. That's just another name for Jews. They are the circumcised. If you were a Jew, you had to be circumcised, a male Jew, circumcised on the eighth day.

[27:37] And then he says in verse 12, Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.

[27:57] In other words, you people were really as bad off as you could be. And you didn't even know it. Oh, you were religious all right. But false religion is worthless.

[28:07] In fact, false religion is probably worse than no religion at all. These people were in as dire straits as they could possibly have been in, and they didn't even know it. And when Paul went there and preached the gospel, it was eye-opening.

[28:22] And these people, however many, embraced Jesus as their Savior. And that's the meaning of verse 13. But now, in other words, your state before, no hope without God in the world, but now, but now, the contrast is stunning.

[28:38] In Christ Jesus, you, who formerly were far off, that is, you were distant, removed from God, way far off.

[28:53] But now, in Christ, you are brought near. Now, in Christ, you are in Him.

[29:05] You have been brought near by the blood of Christ. And that expression, the blood of Christ, it's not referring principally to the liquid that surged through Christ's veins when He was here on earth.

[29:20] This is a term that is to be equated with the death of Christ. It wasn't Jesus bleeding that gave us our salvation.

[29:32] It was Jesus dying. He had to die. And the shedding of His blood was the way that came about. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups.

[29:48] What groups? Jew and Gentile. Jew and non-Jew. Listen, these were unmixable commodities prior to this time.

[30:01] If there was anything that separated Jew from Gentile, it was just being Jew and Gentile. That was it. This is what God meant when He said to Abraham and to his seed, I'm making you a peculiar people.

[30:19] You're going to be different from everybody else. Now, that's passé. Now, that's gone. distinction is going to be erased.

[30:33] And let me say this, that was absolutely unthinkable to the Jew. He could never contemplate for a moment that the time of his specialness, the time of his uniqueness, would ever come to an end.

[30:54] I've made you a peculiar people unto me. you're going to be different from all the other people in the world. Now, that's coming to an end. Why so?

[31:05] Because commingled with Jews is going to be non-Jews. What does that make? That makes a whole new entity.

[31:17] It's a whole new thing. Well, where do you find that promised or prophesied? You don't. That's why it's called the mystery.

[31:28] It wasn't previously revealed. Nobody ever thought of this. In fact, to the average Jewish mind, that is the most bizarre, wild thing that anybody could contemplate.

[31:39] But look at what Paul says. He himself is our peace who made both groups, Jew and Gentile, into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.

[31:58] In the Jewish temple, in the courtyard, they had certain areas where people could go and certain areas where they could not go. They had a court of the Gentiles.

[32:09] That was the outer perimeter. if you were a Gentile, you were allowed on the temple mount up to a certain point, and there was a sign posted there that Gentiles must not, under penalty of death, must not move beyond this wall.

[32:29] It was a gate like a fence all along there, and it was clearly posted everywhere. You're welcome here if you are not Jew, but you dare not go beyond this line if you are a Gentile.

[32:44] And Paul is here saying that he has broke down the barrier of the dividing wall. So the distinction is no longer valid. By abolishing in his flesh the enmity which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances that in himself he might make the two and who are the two?

[33:08] Jew and Gentile into one new man thus establishing peace and might reconcile them both into one body to God through the cross by it having put to death the enmity.

[33:30] Through this incredible act of redemption creation that Christ paid he made the way of access to God open to everyone Jew and Gentile alike and when you consider the entire population of the world that's everybody there isn't anybody else except Jew and Gentile that comprises the whole world's population everybody is one or the other if you're not a Jew you are a Gentile doesn't make any difference what your nationality is you're a Gentile if you're not a Jew these are the two classes and that barrier that distinction that dividing line has been broken down obliterated and that by the way ties in with Christ's death on the cross and the veil in the temple being ripped in two from the top to the bottom signifying the way of access to God is no longer through the animal sacrifice and the ritual and the

[34:33] Judaism and all the law keeping the way of Christ the way to God is now open because Christ has become the new and living way through his death amazing distinction is done away this is the meaning there is therefore now no distinction between Jew or Gentile bond or free that means slave or free if you are a slave in the Roman Empire or you are a free person in the Roman Empire in God's sight you're on the same plane doesn't make any difference society will regard you differently society will see you as a slave and you as a free man but God doesn't make that distinction you're all on the same level the cross of Jesus Christ is the great leveler so if you are Jew or Gentile bond or free male or female makes no difference if you are female you have the same rights and privileges you are on the same level as any male in the body of Christ what an incredible equalizer reconciling them both in one body to God through the cross now for my message for this morning

[35:48] I want you to come back to Acts chapter 3 and we'll we'll close with my morning message Acts chapter 3 amazing passage this is the man who was healed lame from his mother's womb hadn't walked a day in his life and we just got to jump in with verse 8 let's jump in with this man up in the air alright 3 8 and with a leap he stood upright and began to walk and he entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God this happened on the temple mount close to the actual temple and it is a huge expanse area the temple mount encompasses square footage of 12 football fields this was not a little place and it was not unusual for there to be thousands multiplied thousands of people there milling around and it wasn't one bit crowded because the area was so huge and when this man who had this choice location that he had dibs on and probably been there for years that was his begging station when he was healed and everybody was used to seeing this man there and they knew that this guy can't walk he never has walked he's been a cripple he's been they have to carry him to this spot and carry him back home again every day when he comes here to beg and now this guy is leaping around jumping up and down walking looking at his legs looking at his feet he grabs

[37:43] Peter and hugs him and he grabs John and he hugs him and he just can't believe it and he's rejoicing and all of these people are standing around saying what is this hey what's going on here he he isn't that so oh yeah that's him well what he can't walk what's going on and it started attracting a huge crowd and people are just thronging in there by the hundreds and we told we read in verse 9 all the people saw him walking and praising God and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the beautiful gate of the temple to beg alms and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him what's going on here how is it that this guy is walking and jumping like this and while he was clinging to Peter and John I don't have a problem understanding that at all this guy never walked a day in his life and he's over 40 years old now he's walking under his own steam I'd hug him too he wouldn't let go of Peter and John all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of

[38:49] Solomon full of amazement this portico of Solomon or the porch of Solomon is a huge expansive area I mean it could easily accommodate thousands of people we don't know how many were there but it wasn't a couple of dozen I mean there's a lot of people there and nothing draws a crowd like a crowd everybody wonders hey what's going on over there and they all run over to see because everybody's nosy and wants to get in on the action and see what's happening and when Peter saw this he replied to the people men of Israel why do you marvel at this or why do you gaze at us as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the God of our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus the one whom you delivered up and disowned him in the presence of Pilate when he decided to release him you disowned the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer

[39:51] Barabbas to be granted to you and you put to death the prince of life the one whom God raised from the dead a fact to which we are witnesses and on the basis of faith in his name it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know and the faith which comes through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all and now brethren I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also you didn't understand that Jesus really was the Messiah but the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ should suffer what's that that's the prophecies regarding the death of Christ they are all predicted from Genesis through Malachi they are found in numbers of places that the

[40:53] Messiah Isaiah 53 would be bruised for our iniquities that his Christ should suffer look at this he God has thus fulfilled what does that mean that means requirement number one is out of the way it's history it's finished two things have to happen before the kingdom of heaven can come to earth one is Christ has to pay the price for the sin of the world that's done that's over with in other words God has done his part he delivered up his son for the sins of the world phase one is out of the way God's part was completed what's your part that's verse 19 repent therefore does this sound like

[41:59] Pentecost and Acts 2 it certainly does this is a continuation of it all Peter is doing is rehashing his Pentecostal message same content essentially and he calls the people to repent you know what you really blew it when you crucified the Messiah now you've got to change your mind are you willing to say we were wrong are you willing to admit that we were wrong we really blew it are you willing to acknowledge that and do you understand how that makes you feel and how it makes you look to acknowledge that you've been wrong it makes you look out of touch it it's embarrassing do that because nobody likes to be wrong and nobody likes to be pointed out that they are wrong but it's the price that needs to be paid repentance means being big enough to admit that you're wrong and that's what some of these people were not able to do but thankfully some of them did repent therefore and return that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the

[43:50] Lord I equate these times of refreshing with the coming of the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of God this old earth is tired worn out this world needs refreshing needs a bath that's what this world needs a moral spiritual bath because it's steeped in iniquity and murder and bloodshed and corruption worldwide there's no place you can go to escape from it needs a time of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and look at verse 20 and that he God may send Jesus the Messiah appointed for you send him he just left he just left 50 days 40 days earlier 10 days early that's all he just left 10 days ago and now he's saying he will send him back the

[44:55] Roman Empire was in control of the entire Mediterranean basin at the time including the nation of Israel that they had invaded dominated controlled exacted taxes from and everything else they were under the Roman boot and no doubt theoretically they would have been the ones who would have been involved in a great conflict that we call the tribulation period had Israel been willing to repent as a nation but they did not the time is coming when that scenario will be repeated in in heaven in heaven this is all part of the same package whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which

[46:07] God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient times So, that's it. And what this passage is saying, and what we're saying is, Israel, Israel, the ball is in your court.

[46:30] You are the one thing remaining for the kingdom of heaven coming to earth. You know what it's going to take for this stubborn nation to do that?

[46:41] And God has referred to his own people as a stubborn and a stiff-necked people. That means they just would not be turned. Israel, when it comes to their Messiah, Israel has been downright mulish.

[46:57] Just will not believe. But you know what it very often takes for us to come to our senses?

[47:11] Adversity. Pressure. Pressure. When you get into a situation that you just can't handle, then you become vulnerable.

[47:27] Vulnerable to the truth. You become open and available in a way that you may never have been before.

[47:38] This is what's going to happen to Israel. And you know what the pressure is going to be? It's going to be the tribulation period. The word tribulation in the Greek comes from a term.

[47:53] It's Hothlipsis. And it means tribulation, the great one. And the word that is used is a word in the Greek that depicts a grape.

[48:09] A grape being between your two fingers and being squeezed. And you squeeze it and squeeze it and squeeze it.

[48:23] And you put that grape under pressure. And pretty soon it breaks. And it squirts. It yields to the pressure. That's going to be the tribulation.

[48:37] And Israel will undergo that time that is called, very significantly, it's called the time of Jacob's trouble.

[48:51] And oh boy, will it ever be. The Jew will be persecuted, hunted, and hounded worldwide. I wouldn't be surprised if there would be a bounty put on Jews.

[49:03] And all the world is going to see the Jewish people the way Adolf Hitler saw the Jewish people during World War II.

[49:15] Desire to exterminate them. And the only thing, the only thing that is going to save them will be Yeshua HaMashiach.

[49:27] And when he comes, they will look on him. And they will mourn. That's contrition. They will say, our ancestors really blew it.

[49:41] Let's not do the same. And that whole nation will embrace Jesus as their Messiah. He will rout the enemies of Israel.

[49:52] Israel, the enemies of the Antichrist, who are gathered there at Armageddon for the express purpose of annihilating Israel.

[50:05] And he will fight for them as he fought for them in days of old. What a time that's going to be. And we're getting closer and closer to it.

[50:15] And we'll be moving into the Olivet Discourse shortly. And we'll be dealing with the second coming of Christ and the events that will transpire during the tribulation period. I think you'll find it very eye-opening and very enlightening.

[50:29] Would you pray with me, please? Father, we recognize that you have a plan. And we are so grateful that you are in charge and you are orchestrating everything after the counsel of your own will.

[50:41] Sometimes it really looks like things are out of control. And very often, they're out of man's control and man's ability to fix.

[50:52] But they're not out of yours. And we see everything as proceeding precisely in accordance with what the Bible prescribes. And we are so grateful to see it verified.

[51:02] We ask that as we continue to engage this series, you will use it to stimulate us and stir us. Because knowing these things that are coming upon the earth, what manner of men and women we ought to be.

[51:17] Help us to have the right response in light of these things. And to order our lives with the right kind of priorities. Stop being so concerned with petty things and minutia that really doesn't matter.

[51:30] And focus upon that which really counts. That which you've revealed. Thank you for the truths that we have seen this morning. We recognize that our speaking and our delivery is far from infallible.

[51:45] And we pray that anything that may have been uttered, not in accordance with this word or of the flesh, that it will pass away and come to naught. But what is of you, may it be sealed to our hearts and minds and used for further building and appreciation.

[52:01] We pray in Christ's name and for his sake. Amen.