The Jewish Final Solution to the World's Problem - Satan's Ongoing Hatred of the Jew

[0:00] Scripture reading this morning, I would ask you to turn to the Old Testament and the book of Judges, chapter 2. Judges, chapter 2.

[0:11] If you do not have a Bible with you, please see if you can look on the Bible of the person perhaps seated next to you. And I noticed not too long ago, although there were Bibles along with hymnals in the backs of these chairs that we are using, the number has been depleted.

[0:34] And I don't know what to account that for other than maybe people have taken them home accidentally. If they took them home accidentally, they can return them.

[0:46] If they took them home because they intended to pilfer it, I really hope they read it. But I don't think that that's the case. At any rate, another case of them is on the way, so we'll be able to resupply that before long.

[1:01] From Judges, chapter 2, we are going to be reading a portion. And I'm tempted to read some extensive portions here, but I know many of you do not have Scriptures to follow along.

[1:15] So I don't want to belabor the point too much, but we need to make the emphasis that the subject at hand is going to be making. And while you're turning to that, if you haven't found it already, listen to this, if you will, please.

[1:32] It's from this morning's handout called The New Wave of Anti-Semitism. It begins with, let's burn the Jew.

[1:46] No, the words were not taken from the yellow pages of a Nazi manual on the mass genocide of innocent people. They were shouted in a Canadian school by a 15-year-old student as he shoved a burning lighter into a Jewish girl's head and set her hair on fire.

[2:10] As one would expect, the attacker was apprehended, charged with assault with a weapon, pleaded guilty, and was later ordered to appear in Manitoba Provincial Court.

[2:20] Jaws dropped in January, however, when the Winnipeg candidate judge ruled the action was one of teen impulsiveness and not anti-Semitism.

[2:36] The incident was refused the status of a hate crime and was handled as an insignificant case of student impropriety. The bully was sentenced to 18 months supervised probation and ordered to perform 75 hours of community service.

[2:55] Besides the obvious question, and how is saying, let's burn the Jew, not anti-Semitic, there is a larger question.

[3:07] What type of environment influenced this young man to use such language? Let's burn the Jew. The words certainly did not merely pop into his head on their own, which raises the issue of why anti-Semitism is gaining ground on so many fronts.

[3:30] Wrote journalist Christine Williams, quote, Today, Today, we ignore a creeping anti-Semitism that singles out Jews unfairly and targets the state of Israel.

[3:45] In addressing the new anti-Semitism, Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, discusses how Israel is being singled out by the international community with over 75% of recent UN resolutions targeting Israel for human rights violations.

[4:10] Far more than for deserving, more deserving countries such as Sudan, Sudan, Congo, or Rwanda, in which millions have been killed in genocides.

[4:25] In answer to the question, why is the international community so anti-Israel? Hanson points to a new sort of fashionable and socially acceptable anti-Semitism that looms large.

[4:46] And this, to me, was a real shocker. On Amazon.com, there are more than 100 versions of Mein Kampf for sale in every conceivable print and audio format, from antique hardbacks to brand new paperbacks.

[5:14] All those 100 iterations, of those 100 iterations, just six are e-books. Yet all six of them rank among the 10 best-selling versions overall.

[5:32] And those are just the ones people are paying for. Mein Kampf. What's that? Mein Kampf is German.

[5:44] For my struggle. And the author was Adolf Hitler, in which, of course, he embraced, endorsed, and even demanded anti-Semitism.

[5:58] And one of his henchmen came up with the saying, the final solution to the Jewish problem. And the final solution to the Jewish problem was simply, eliminate them, gas them, burn them, burn them, shoot them, bury them alive, do whatever you can to get rid of the Jew, because he doesn't even qualify as a full-fledged human being.

[6:23] And the Jew is responsible for the mess that Germany was in. This was Hitler's rhetoric in the 1930s. And we are seeing it being revived in Europe and in other places.

[6:37] How about this? Jew, France is not for you. Radical elements gathered for what has been called a day of anger.

[6:54] What began as a protest against the policies of French President Francois Holland quickly turned into a hate fest aimed principally at the Jewish people.

[7:05] An estimated 17,000 protesters began raising their arms in Nazi salutes. While chanting, Jew, France is not for you.

[7:23] The demonstration turned viciously anti-Semitic, shocking the French Jewish community and others who remembered when such rhetoric routinely filled the streets as Jews were marched to the deportation trains on their way to extermination camps.

[7:43] In the aftermath of the genocidal bloodbath of the 1930s and 40s, few would ever have believed that such hatred would ever surface again.

[7:55] Yet, it has. And, you can expect it to intensify worldwide. Because that is one of the earmarks of the last days.

[8:07] And it is rapidly approaching. So, we have taken the position in the past and continue to do so that despite the anti-Semitism that is rampant throughout the world, God still holds the Jewish people as the apple of his eye.

[8:27] They remain his chosen people. And we deny and decry the common theme that is heard around this country as regarding the subject of replacement theology.

[8:41] And replacement theology simply takes the position that the Jew was at one time God's chosen people. But because they fumbled the ball precisely in rejecting their Messiah, God has cast them off permanently and the Jewish nation has no more future any more than Ireland or Scotland or some other nation like that.

[9:05] In other words, the church, which is the body of Christ, they believe, has replaced the nation of Israel as God's new chosen people.

[9:15] And God is finished with Israel entirely. You need to understand, you here at Grace Bible Church, need to understand, that is the majority position among American denominational churches, particularly the mainline churches.

[9:32] And I'm talking about, that's the position of the Catholic Church, that's the position of the Episcopal Church, that's the position of the Presbyterian Church, that's the position of most of the Methodist churches and of a great many Baptist churches.

[9:50] Those who embrace the idea of Reformed theology or, well, there are certain other names given to it, but Reformed theology or covenantal theology is that which is most prevalent or most commonly known.

[10:06] That's the position that they take regarding the nation of Israel. So we are kind of in a real minority block when we insist that God is not finished with Israel. And the reason he isn't is because God made promises to the fathers of Israel, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that this covenant into which he entered with them would be inviolate and would be sustained and throughout perpetuity and it would never in any wise change and it would not be based upon the behavior or the agreement or the cooperation of the nation of Israel.

[10:46] It was an unconditional promise that God gave to Abraham and he will absolutely fulfill it despite the fact that Israel nationally was often obstinate, disobedient, rebellious, and idolatrous.

[11:02] So I want to take you to the book of Judges and Judges constitutes a kind of bridge between the law of Moses by which they were governed and actually they're still governed by the book, by the law of Moses in the book of Judges.

[11:22] But from the standpoint of the governmental aspect, Israel began under the governorship, if you will, of Moses and the law that he gave and God elevated him to that position.

[11:36] And then after Moses passed off the scene, the mantle was laid upon the shoulders of Joshua and Joshua as the successor of Moses continued the program that Moses had started.

[11:49] But the book of Judges represents a decided change in that they are no longer going to be under the rule of one individual like Moses or Joshua, but it will be a judgeship and principal judges will be appointed and then there will be underling judges to them.

[12:07] So Judges is going to be the next government that Israel will have and that will be the bridge between the first few books of the Bible and the law of Moses and all that accompanied that and the monarchy because they don't have a monarchy yet.

[12:23] That will come when we get into the books of Samuel. So I want you to understand that the nation of Israel has tried the patience of God time and time and time again.

[12:39] No sooner would they be blessed of God because of turning to Him and a revival would break out and they would be under the favor of God until they would slip into idolatry again with the next generation.

[12:53] And this is a pattern that is going to be repeated time and time again. It will be cyclical and Israel is going to as a nation Israel is going to be worshiping God in favor with God blessed with God then their prosperity gets the best of them and they begin feeling independent self-sufficient etc.

[13:16] Then they turn to idols and they begin worshiping idols and all that goes along with it. Then God raises up a judge and they are judged and they go through a period of discipline and then they cry out to God for release as if to say oh God we're sorry please visit us again and God does and He blesses them and He forgives them and then the cycle starts all over again.

[13:39] This is going to be recounted several times not only through the book of Judges but all throughout the Old Testament and it will include in the New Testament. It is all of these accounts of disobedience that have caused a lot of people to say God has had it with Israel.

[13:57] He's written them all finally forever and that's the end of them and He's replaced them with the church and our contention is no He has not because despite their repeated failure and their repeated lapses into idolatry God doesn't cut them off permanently.

[14:16] Right now they are a nation that is set aside they are under divine discipline the time is coming when God will bring them back on track again because of the promises He made to Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

[14:30] I want to give you a taste of this come with me to Judges chapter 2 and let's start reading with verse 1 we'll just cherry pick some of the verses and make our way through Judges. Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim and he said I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers and I said I will never break my covenant with you.

[14:59] Now notice who's speaking here. To whom does this personal pronoun refer? It is the angel of the Lord. Well who is the angel of the Lord? He is a pre-incarnate appearance or revelation of Jesus Christ member of the Godhead.

[15:18] This predates his ever coming to Bethlehem to be born of Mary as is recorded in Luke and Matthew. this is the activity of Christ prior to the incarnation when he existed as father, son and holy spirit and he is here assuming a role the angel of the Lord and the angel, the word angel literally means messenger.

[15:43] He is the messenger of the Lord. This is none other than the third member or the second member of the triune Godhead the person of Jesus Christ before he was enfleshed.

[15:55] So we are talking about several hundred years before Bethlehem. The angel of the Lord said I brought you up out of Egypt. That was the pre-incarnate Christ and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers and I said I will never break my covenant with you.

[16:15] And as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You shall tear down their altars. And their altars of course were erected to pagan deities.

[16:28] But you have not obeyed me. What is this that you have done? Therefore I said also I will not drive them out before you but they shall become as thorns in your sides and their gods, their false gods, their idols, shall be a snare to you.

[16:49] And it came about when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel that the people lifted up their voices and wept.

[17:02] What does that mean? That means they acknowledged what the angel said. They agreed and admitted it and they repented. And their contrition was demonstrated by their tears.

[17:17] This was a regretful kind of situation. And you know, and this I say as an item of information and comfort to anyone here, God has always been a God who reveres repentance.

[17:38] Repentance is God's silver bullet that always brings the erring one back to him. nothing works so well with God as repentance.

[17:51] That means you acknowledge your wrong. You admit it. You admit your wrong. You change your mind and you change your direction.

[18:04] You change your behavior and you do that on the basis of information. You have come to the conviction that the position you have held is wrong and you want to make it right. that's repentance.

[18:15] And there's a verse in Luke's gospel that says there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents. And the good news is there is always a way back to God.

[18:30] He stands with open arms and repentance is the key. And when we repent of our sin, our being wrong and embrace the right, he is more eager to receive you and restore you and forgive you then you are to be received, restored and forgiven.

[18:47] That is a message that is prominent in the Old and New Testament. God is ever the God of a new beginning. You can always start over again. Yes, but this would be the fourth time I've done it.

[19:01] Nevertheless, repentance is always that which brings you back to God. So, let's continue on here. I'm going to have to skip some of these verses for time sake. Come over to chapter three of Judges.

[19:15] Now, these are the nations which the Lord left to test Israel by them, that is, all who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan, in order that the generation of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly.

[19:31] These nations are the five lords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, the Hivites, who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Balherman, as far as Lebo-Hamath.

[19:42] Now, much of this doesn't mean much to us, it's just a bunch of names, but it sets forth very, very important historic truths. Let's continue on. And they were protesting Israel to find out if they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers through Moses.

[19:58] And the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Samurites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, and they took their daughters, for themselves, as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

[20:21] And I must insert here why I'm convinced that they did this and that they were so vulnerable to this, is because this tends to involve, more than anything else, human emotions.

[20:38] and feelings, not the intellect, not logic, not better sense, but emotions. And the reason emotions are involved is because these men of Israel got involved with these pagan women.

[20:58] That brought on the emotional aspects aplenty. You've got human connections, human intermarriage, human involvement, human love, human romance, human affection.

[21:10] And that makes them vulnerable to idolatry because their wives were into that big time.

[21:22] And I'm not going to revisit, because I think we sufficiently covered it in earlier sessions, what precisely was involved and what the motivation was for worshipping idols and getting into that.

[21:34] We were all the way back in Genesis for that in an earlier session, and we answered the question, how could anybody possibly be so stupid as to bow down before an idol and worship it or to make sacrifices to that?

[21:48] That doesn't make any sense. Well, you're right, it doesn't make any sense. But when emotions that are powerful get involved, logic goes out the window.

[22:00] man thinks with a warped intellect anyway, and we become invulnerable to this wrong kind of thinking. This is why God told them, when you come into the land, you are not to associate or take their wives or their daughters and their daughters and their sons to yours.

[22:19] You are not to intermarry with them, because if you do, they will turn your heart away from me. God not only told them why he didn't want them to do it, he told them what the consequence would be if they did it.

[22:31] And do you know what their response was? We can handle it. We can handle it. We're strong enough. No, you're not. You have no idea how weak you are. They didn't, and neither do we.

[22:45] Let me say this as clearly as I can. The intellect, the logic, the common sense, is no match for feelings and emotion and romance.

[23:00] no match. You are outgunned. And, verse 7, the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and forgot the Lord their God.

[23:17] What? Forgot it? You've got to remember, this is a succeeding generation. These are not the people that God led out of Egypt. Egypt. These are the descendants of the people that God led out of Egypt.

[23:31] They are several generations removed. And all it takes, all it takes for a national identity to lose its fervor, its concern, its service, its obedience to the true God, all it takes for them to lose that is for one generation to drop the ball.

[23:54] That is precisely what has happened in the USA. That is precisely what has happened in the USA. And the adversary is always there to take advantage of it.

[24:07] And you know, this is interesting, because I see this so clearly as you go through the Old Testament. Israel, the nation of Israel, we do not have any record that it ever created or established their own brand of idolatry.

[24:30] There doesn't seem to be any idolatry in the scriptures that originated with the nation of Israel. They were all imported from their neighbors.

[24:43] They were all embraced by the pagan, heathen nations around them. They didn't have an original idolatry. They were infected and affected by the neighbors around them, just like God said they would if they intermarried with them.

[24:59] That is precisely what happened. So, they are going to fall into this pit time and time again. They did evil in the sight of the Lord. You see, verse 6, they took their daughters for themselves as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.

[25:21] And the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherah. These were fertility gods and goddesses, pagan deities, to whom they would make sacrifice and bow down, and they were supposed to be, by serving these gods and worshipping these gods, they were supposed to favor you with fertility.

[25:49] Fertility for your own family, that is, your wife would bear many children and your livestock would bear many animals. So, bottom line was, follow the money. It had a lot to do with finances.

[26:01] It had a lot to do with enriching. And the way you enriched yourself in this day wasn't so much gold and silver, although that was used too, but it was livestock, it was animals. Man's wealth was gauged by how many he had in his herd and so on.

[26:15] Then, verse 8, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that he sold them into the hands of Cushon Rishathim, king of Mesopotamia, and the sons of Israel served Cushon Rishathim eight years.

[26:32] That means he just handed them over, allowed these people to overpower them and enslaved them. And God did that as a means of disciplining them. And you know why he did that?

[26:45] Because he loved them. God always chastens and disciplines those who are objects of his love. For what son is he whom the Lord chasteneth not?

[26:56] For if a man endures not chastening, then is he a bastard and not a son? Hebrews makes that quite clear. God takes his own children to the woodshed and he spanks them when they need it.

[27:07] But he doesn't spank the devil's children. He only spanks his own. And that's why he delivers Israel here for judgment. This is why, as Jeremiah prophesied, long before it came to pass, Jeremiah told the people of Israel, not Israel, Israel already gone, the northern ten kingdoms, he told the people of Judah, if you do not repent and return to the Lord, God is going to bring an enemy against you, and he's going to tear down your walls, he's going to ravish your women, and he's going to lead you into captivity, and he will come from the east.

[27:46] He will be a Babylonian. And they said to Jeremiah, you're just blowing smoke, you're just trying to stir up trouble, you're just trying to get everybody scared, you're just trying to make headlines.

[28:01] Christians, and that is exactly what happened. And he gave them to the Babylonians, and he told them, he told them how long they were going to be prisoners. You're going to be in a strange land for 70 years, and God's going to lead you there until this whole generation dies off.

[28:16] And then he'll bring your children back to this land. And that is precisely what happened. What was that called? The 70-year period of captivity for the Jew.

[28:28] Why did God allow that? Is that any way to treat your children? It is if you love them, you spank them. You discipline them. And they remain the apple of God's eye.

[28:41] And they have been disciplined, and they are under discipline right now. And they will be more so before they return to him. Reading on verse 9.

[28:55] When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, oh, why would they do that? That's repentance again. We're sorry. We're sorry. Please forgive us.

[29:06] And look what happened. The Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them. Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

[29:17] And the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan Rishatham, king of Mesopotamia, into his hands, so that he prevailed over Cushan Rishatham. And the land had rest 40 years, and Othniel, the sons of Kenaz, died.

[29:33] When it says the land had rest 40 years, it means things were pretty good. Prosperity had returned, employment was up, national economy was looking good, everything was going along pretty well.

[29:45] And then they started taking too much comfort in their own prosperity. And look at verse 12, and the sons of Israel, again, you see, 40 years, 40 years, that's another generation.

[29:59] New generation. Now the sons of Israel, again, did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.

[30:13] God used Israel's enemies to punish them. And he does that repeatedly. And you know something? He's going to use the Antichrist to punish Israel during the Great Tribulation.

[30:33] And that will continue. It will be an onslaught that will make the Holocaust, the perishing of six million Jews, look minor by comparison, because this will be a greater bloodbath for Israel during this Tribulation period.

[30:55] And do you know what will bring it to an end? The same thing that always does. Israel will repent.

[31:05] There will be a national repentance during the Tribulation period on the part of Israel. And do you know what the repentance will consist of? It will consist of this.

[31:18] Our Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, came to earth, was born in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago, and our forefathers rejected him, and we have been a nation living in disobedience ever since.

[31:33] And now, we repent. We repent of our sin. We are going to do what the 3,000 did on the day of Pentecost, but what the majority of Israel did not do on the day of Pentecost.

[31:48] we are going to repent. And when they do, God will send a deliverer again. And guess who that will be?

[32:02] Zechariah 12, 10 says, And they, Israel, shall look upon him whom they pierced, and they will mourn for him.

[32:16] that's got repentance written all over it. They're going to be saying, God, we're sorry. We blew it, and our forefathers blew it.

[32:30] And Jesus will deliver his people. And we'll be looking at that in detail in future sessions. this in Judges continues on.

[32:46] As you read through the book of Judges, you'll see this cycle going round and around and around. They rebel, they get out of idolatry, God punishes them, they cry out for deliverance, God delivers them, they have peace and prosperity, and then they fall into sin again, and they cry out to God, and God, this goes all the way through the Old Testament.

[33:06] And actually, it's even realized to some degree in the New Testament. So, it is a pattern that Israel has established. And one would think that finally God would say, that's it, I've had enough, I've forgiven you too many times, now I'm going to write you off permanently.

[33:29] But God never does that. And the reason he never does that is because he can't. He made promises that he is obligated by his integrity to fulfill.

[33:42] Promises he made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all of their seed, and that includes all of the Jews born of them since that time. Bear this in mind, if you will, that for the most part, nationally and historically, Israel has been an abject failure in their relationship to Jehovah, the true God.

[34:08] Their history is sprinkled with periods of obedience and blessing, not only in the Old Testament, but in the New as well. Periods of obedience and blessing, yet, vaster periods and more destructive periods of disobedience and rebellion against God.

[34:29] Yet, his connection with them is not dependent upon their behavior, it's dependent upon God's integrity. This is such a critical, important point to note.

[34:40] What's hanging in the balance? Why is this so important? The whole plan and program of God is hanging in the balance. That's why this is so important. When you come to the book of Esther, which I'll not take time to take you to, but let me just say this.

[34:56] The book of Esther recounts another national threat against the children of Israel. And, there is no doubt in my mind, as is always the case with these pagan nations and heathen nations, satanic involvement is always behind it because Satan wants to get at God, yet God is invulnerable to Satan.

[35:22] He cannot get to God. So, the second best thing is to get to those who belong to God. and that, of course, includes the nation of Israel.

[35:33] So, it started way back in Genesis, as we already saw, I'm sorry, in the book of Exodus, with the Pharaoh who knew not Joseph and they tried to eliminate Israel.

[35:44] And then, when you come to the book of Esther, you see the same thing because, as you read it, the uncle of Esther, who was Mordecai, had incensed Haman, the Agagite, and at this time, they were under the rule of the Medes and Persians and Haman refused to bow down and worship and they thought that it was because he was a Jew and the truth of the matter is it was because he was a Jew and he was forbidden by the law of Moses to bow down to any other idol or any semblance and make obeisance to it so he wouldn't bow the knee before Haman and he got ticked and he went to the king and the king issued a decree because the king was out of touch.

[36:28] with his own country and these handlers manipulated him into writing a decree that the entirety of the Jewish population living in Persia at the time were to be eliminated.

[36:46] He literally put out a contract on all of the Jewish people living in the land of Persia. Esther was the queen and she was a Jew.

[37:00] One would think that the queen would be safe from such an order but she wasn't. The order included everybody. And when she through negotiation and through talking with the king succeeded in getting the order, she tried to get the order canceled.

[37:19] But have you ever heard the expression, which thing altereth not because it is the law of the Medes and the Persians? Well that means that when the king issued that decree that all of the Jews were to be destroyed and all of their property and wealth would be confiscated by everyone and anyone who destroyed them, all of the locals, who were just a bunch of pagans, were licking their chops thinking that these Jews, many of whom were wealthy and had property, lands, etc., they were going to kill them and take it.

[37:48] Simple as that. And the edict that the king put out not only permitted it, but ordered it. So they're once again in a real difficult position.

[38:01] And she went to the king and she explained everything about this and about Haman and everything because he was out of touch, as I said, he wasn't in the know and she brought him up to speed and what she wanted him to do was reverse the order or cancel it.

[38:17] And long story short is he says, I can't do that. That would be putting my neck in the noose. Because when the king of Persia issues a decree, it is considered inviolate because the king is supposed to be incapable of any wrongdoing.

[38:35] So if he orders a decree to be canceled, he's saying, oops, excuse me, folks, I was wrong the first time. he would be dead.

[38:47] They'd do away with him. So how do you get out of a dilemma like that? Well, he didn't cancel the decree. He issued another decree.

[38:59] And this decree said, all of the Jews who live in the land are hereby permitted to arm themselves and defend themselves against those who would harm them.

[39:12] they are able to protect their families and protect their assets. He simply empowered them. I guess you would say he gave them the right for concealed carry or something like that.

[39:27] Anyway, there was a great onslaught in the land, but it wasn't of the Jews. It was of those who wanted to kill the Jews and take their assets so they were able to defend themselves.

[39:39] And you look at that whole picture, that is nothing more than one more, instance, wherein Satan is instigating, and by the way, the guy who was behind all of that, Haman the Agagite, who had a super high gallows, 75 feet high constructed upon which he was going to hang Mordecai and make it a public spectacle.

[40:01] Well, you can't let a perfectly good gallows like that go to waste. So who was it that was hanged on it? It was Haman. Just desserts. So we see this kind of satanic animosity and opposition all through the Old Testament and through the New Testament.

[40:18] Each time Satan does what he can to thwart the plan and program of God, and he knows that these people called Jews are a strategic major player in the plan and program of God.

[40:34] And anything he can do to derail that, he's going to do. And he infiltrates the minds and the thinking processes of people who are in influence and power.

[40:46] He influences them. I want you to come for our last consideration before we open this for some Q&A to Romans chapter 10, if you would please, back in the New Testament.

[41:02] Romans chapter 10, because there are some, I'm sure, of the replacement theology persuasion, who would say that God may have been long suffering enough to overlook much of the evil and idolatry of the children of Israel in the past, but one thing is certain, they believe, that with their rejection of the Messiah.

[41:35] That was God's final straw. That was the straw, proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. That's what convinced God that he needed to ditch these people once and for all and permanently.

[41:53] Yet, when you look at this passage in Romans 10, well, actually, Romans 11 says it even more clearly and we haven't time for all three of the chapters, so just take a look at Romans 11.

[42:06] And by the way, be reminded that the one speaking here, of course, is Jew. This is Paul the apostle who's writing this. And after he relates Israel's failure and acknowledges Israel's miserable obedience record for centuries, he asks this parting question in chapter 11.

[42:33] I say then, in other words, what's the upshot of all this? Where am I going with this? What's the bottom line? God has not rejected his people, has he?

[42:49] Rhetorical question. Demanding a negative answer. And the answer, of course, is no. The Greek with which you are familiar, at least with these two words, meganoito.

[43:02] May it never come to be. It is the strongest adversity, the strongest negative in the Greek language. And it is our equivalent and sometimes translated, God forbid!

[43:15] Perish the thought! Don't entertain the idea for a moment. That's the meaning of meganoito. Here it is translated, may it never be. In other words, if at chapter 11, God is still not writing off Israel, years, in fact, probably, probably 32 years after their rejection of the Messiah, is he going to do it now?

[43:50] And Paul says, may it never be. In fact, he says, I am proof positive. I, too, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

[44:03] God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Or do you not know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

[44:15] Lord, he's talking about Israel. He says, they've killed your prophets. He's talking about God's chosen people. And he's saying, listen, God, your chosen people, your chosen people have killed the prophets.

[44:30] Which of the prophets, Jesus asked, which of the prophets did not your fathers, your ancestors? Name one of the prophets that your ancestors didn't persecute.

[44:41] It wasn't the one. And why did they persecute them? Because a prophet of God is under the responsibility to tell the people the truth and to warn them where their actions are going to lead them.

[44:56] And do you know something? People don't appreciate that. They resent that. Or you're just trying to cram your religion down my throat.

[45:07] That kind of thing. They don't like it. They rebel against it. And sometimes they stone them to death. Sometimes they cut them in two.

[45:23] I'm not sure if that would be worse than being beheaded or not. But it ranks right up there. Would you like to be sliced in two for telling people the truth?

[45:37] They've killed your prophets. They've torn down your altars. And Elijah says, I alone am left and they are seeking my life. And what is the divine response to him?

[45:51] God says, Elijah, you are not as alone as you think you are. I've kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Well, I don't know how many there were in Israel at this time.

[46:07] But 7,000 is a pretty small number compared to what the majority must have been. And all the rest of them were given over to political correctness and whatever went along with it.

[46:27] So has anything really changed? No. No. God The same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.

[46:45] But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. So, wow, this is quite a chapter, quite a passage.

[46:57] The whole theme is really remarkable because it is a theme that is in process and it is going somewhere. And it has a final end and we are going to track this developing process right on through.

[47:12] Next week, Lord willing, we will be into the major and minor prophets, picking out a few more examples. Then, following that, we'll be into the New Testament. Before you know it, we will be into the revelation and where we are today and it will be fast and furious.

[47:29] I can promise you that. So will the reality of it be. All right, we have, well, we have more time than we usually do for Q&A. So, if somebody has a question to ask or a comment they'd like to inject, we would entertain that now.

[47:44] Anyone? We've got a roving microphone. Someone with a question or comment. my, my, oh, my.

[48:07] This is remarkable. As I've said before, when there are no questions, I wonder if I've done such a magnificent job I have answered every possible question you could have in advance, or I have done such a miserable job of confusing you that you can't ask an intelligent question.

[48:26] Okay, up here in the front, Ron, thank you. thank you for coming up with a question. Okay, Ron? All right, well, a comment to and a question, but when you were saying, like, before about Esther, the king was so out of touch, it's like, yeah, it does really sound like our government, right?

[48:53] Anyway, concerning Israel and now grace to the Gentiles, do you think that God's going to treat the Gentiles, like, toward the end, apparently, it seems, more severely for, you know, God's well, it will be the Gentiles, it will be the Gentiles that will be the major force against Israel and their persecution.

[49:32] In fact, Gentiles, this is referred to, the scriptures refer to what we are living in right now, as the times of the Gentiles.

[49:45] Gentiles, and that means the times of the Gentiles means the times when Gentiles are in charge. Gentiles and Gentile thinking and Gentile decisions are running the world today.

[50:01] Not Jewish, not Israel, but Gentiles. And of course, that includes the United States, and it includes all of Europe, all of the Gentiles, everywhere, worldwide. and this is going to continue on, we don't know exactly how long, but Paul talks about this too, when he describes the end period of this time, that blindness, he says, blindness in part has happened unto Israel.

[50:33] And that's just a simpler way of saying that Israel as a nation, at least in part, is spiritually blinded.

[50:45] That's where the vast majority of Jews are today. They are spiritually blinded, but not all of them, because we know of Jews who are not blinded, but are very much enlightened, and they have come to see Yeshua HaMashiach as their Messiah.

[51:00] They've embraced him as their Savior. And in fact, Paul the Apostle is one of those. But he says that blindness in part has happened unto Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in.

[51:19] That means the Gentiles are having their heyday right now. The Gentiles are running this world through the UN and through all of the national governments that exist throughout the world.

[51:34] They are Gentile powers and they are running the world. but their time is coming to an end. And when the times of the Gentiles come to an end, then the blindness in part that has happened to Israel is not going to be, the blindness for the majority of the Jews is going to be lifted.

[51:55] And the Jews are going to come to a realization of who they really are and who God really is and who Jesus Christ really is. and they are going to be enlightened in the same way that just a small percentage of the Jews are now.

[52:10] That in part is going to be the whole. And the Jew during this time is going to provide 144,000 Jewish evangelists who have been enlightened.

[52:26] These are Jews who have come to embrace Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, as their Savior. And there will be thousands from each of the 12 tribes, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, 144,000.

[52:45] They will have the seal of God in their foreheads. They will not be subject to death. They will be evangelists. They will encompass the entire world preaching the gospel of the kingdom. It's not the gospel we preach now, but it will be the gospel of the kingdom, which is the gospel of the soon-arriving Messiah.

[53:01] And they are going to be very successful. People don't understand the nature of the tribulation period, even though it will be a time of severe judgment, deprivation, want.

[53:17] It will be the mark of the beast, no one buying or selling. There will be an enormous number of people martyred during the great tribulation. going to be probably hundreds of thousands of people will be martyred for their faith during the tribulation period.

[53:37] And the principal way, Revelation makes this quite clear, the principal way that these people are going to be put to death is by being beheaded. Does that say anything?

[53:49] Or is that just purely a coincidence? It does make you wonder, doesn't it? this too is really quite clearly taught in the passages that we'll be examining.

[54:02] So it is not only going to be a time of great persecution, great deprivation, a cup of drinking water is going to be hard to come by during this time.

[54:13] It's going to be a time of seven years. It's called the time of Jacob's trouble. And the Jew is going to be on the receiving end. The Jew is going to have a big bullseye on his back and everybody's going to be wanting to persecute the Jew.

[54:27] And the only thing that's going to preserve the 144,000 is that they are sealed of God and they can't be. So it's going to be at the same time, time of intense persecution. Jesus himself said it will be a time such as the world has never seen before.

[54:42] Not even with Hitler's gas ovens. And we'll never see again. But it's also going to be a time of incredible evangelization as a result of the 144,000 who are preaching.

[54:57] Just imagine if you will, 144,000 Apostle Pauls turned loose on the world. That's what it's going to be. So there's going to be a lot of people come to faith and many of those who come to faith are going to be martyred for that faith.

[55:11] I wouldn't be surprised if there won't be people who will be martyred as Christians who have not been Christians for any more than 24 hours. John talks about this in the Revelation when he saw the souls of those beneath the altar of God who had been beheaded for their faith.

[55:29] And they cry out saying, how long, oh God, how long before you avenge us? And the upshot is, God is saying, it won't be long now.

[55:40] Just wait a little while and the end is coming. It's going to be something. Other comments or questions? We'll take two and then we'll have to close. Jean and then Ruth in the back.

[55:56] Do you think Netanyahu has any knowledge of the Bible? Is this one reason why he is so patient seemingly?

[56:11] Well, I wish I could give you a good answer to that. I really don't know what is working in the rationale of Benjamin Netanyahu. I can only say from a personal standpoint, from what little I know about the scriptures and what little I know about history, I can't think of anybody I'd rather have in that position right now than Benjamin Netanyahu.

[56:37] I think he is precisely what Israel needs when they need it in the world. And who knows? I don't know if he may pass off the scene and be replaced by somebody else.

[56:51] But these are troubling times that we're living in and they're going to become a lot more troubling. All right, Ruth, and then with that we'll have to close. well, in Revelation, from the north, east, and south come against Israel.

[57:07] Where are we? Where does the United States fit in there? Where does the West fit in there? Do we know anything about that? Well, as best as I can understand, and I recognize painfully so, that my understanding and my perspective is very limited.

[57:22] It is very limited about everything. everything. But to the extent that I'm able to understand the scriptures, and it really pains me to say this, I don't think I get any pleasure out of this because I don't.

[57:38] I do not think the United States is going to be standing with Israel when showdown time comes. I really don't. I think Israel is going to be all alone. It is true, we are now, and we have been since 1948 their greatest ally.

[57:55] And it is true that from a human standpoint, and I say, I emphasize, from a human standpoint, Israel would not be in existence today if it were not for the United States of America.

[58:06] Because we have propped them up militarily, financially, and just about every other way because we recognize them as being the only democracy in that part of the world. And they are.

[58:17] They're surrounded by Arab nations and they certainly have anything but a democracy. So I really hate to say this, but I do think when push comes to shove, I think the ignorant, uninvolved, unaware, greater percentage of the population of the United States is is going to demand that our government turn its back on Israel.

[58:57] And because there will be then, as there are now, a bunch of politicians in charge, they will go with what the public demands rather than going with the right thing.

[59:08] And they do that time and time again. Why do you think they take polls? They want to see which way the wind is blowing. because they're not interested in doing the right thing as much as they are in doing the politically smart thing.

[59:24] That's the way they think. Republicans and Democrats and independents. And it's only on occasion that you get a rare jewel sitting in the halls of Congress who is more committed to the right thing than he is to the politically smart thing.

[59:43] And we've got one of those. You know who of I speak. I won't embarrass him by naming him, but you know who I'm talking about.

[59:56] Well, I said that was our last question, and I really mean it. Yes. I forgot to remind everybody that for the Molly McGee next Saturday, there are some invitations.

[60:10] Okay, thank you. Thank you. So please remember these on your way out. Pick up, if you will, the handouts back there and the Molly McGee information on the bulletin board shelf.

[60:22] And have a wonderful afternoon for what's left of the day. Would you stand with me, please? We'll be dismissed. Father, we are so grateful that despite the machinations of men and all of the efforts of the adversary, you are still the only one who is really in charge.

[60:40] And that provides us with incredible comfort. And we also take great comfort in the fact that once we are willing to admit our wrongness, whether we are a nation or an individual, once we are willing to admit our being wrong, acknowledging our sin, not excusing it, not dismissing it, not blaming it on someone else, but taking full responsibility, you are always standing there with open arms, willing to receive and forgive and restore those who repent.

[61:17] We do take great comfort in that. We thank you for being that God of the second opportunity and the third and the fourth. All part of our growing and maturing process.

[61:29] Thank you for each one here today. And we look forward to what you have for us in the future based upon what we've considered in the past. In Christ's wonderful name. Amen.