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[0:00] Beautiful fall day. November is here. And look forward to some more beautiful, warm, sunny fall days like this.

[0:15] Hope the weather's decent Tuesday. On the other hand, if it's a little dicey or rainy or whatever it might be, there are people who are so constituted that that will not deter them from getting to the polls and our hats are off to them.

[0:37] Let us pray together for our nation. Tell me. Thank you.

[1:10] Thank you.

[1:40] We pray for upcoming election. We pray for the sanctity of the ballot box. We pray that every vote will be counted. We pray that Americans will assume the responsibility and the privilege that is ours of going to the polls and registering their convictions and their principles and their values.

[2:04] Indeed, it is a precious privilege and one that we want to fulfill in every way that we can. We ask that as the votes are counted and as the decision is made, we recognize that it is you and you alone who raise up kings and bring down kings and you give the kingdom to whomsoever you will.

[2:29] That goes for presidents and nations too. So regardless of the outcome, we know that you are a God who is in charge and that nothing escapes you. We just pray that those who have acts of responsibility will accomplish them with diligence and with purpose and sincerity.

[2:48] Thank you for the meeting that we enjoy here this morning. For other congregations similar to ours who are meeting all throughout this country and even in other parts of the world, because where the word of God is and goes forth, there is always a possibility for real revival, real change, real growth, real development, and we are so grateful.

[3:07] So this time we commit to you in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. Speaking of voting, I read a disturbing statistic this morning that, well, it's kind of depressing too.

[3:25] And it said that only about one-third to one-half of all Americans who are eligible to vote do not vote.

[3:41] Do not go to the polls. And I suspect that it doesn't really trouble them. There probably is no guilt feelings there.

[3:53] And someone said, are you going to try to lay a guilt trip on them? Well, if you're not capable of feeling guilty and don't have anything to feel guilty about, then it won't even faze you. But if you're one of those who hasn't registered to vote and will fulfill your obligation on Tuesday and you feel guilty about it, good.

[4:14] I hope you feel guilty enough about it to do something next time around. No, you can't register now. That's past. You can't. If you're not registered, you can't vote. So you need to keep that in mind.

[4:27] And I know what the common sentiment is among those who don't bother to vote. I've heard it for years. I've never believed it, but I've heard it for years.

[4:37] And it is this. It doesn't make any difference how you vote. They're going to do what they want to do anyway. It doesn't make any difference. Why bother? And that's a typical sentiment.

[4:50] It's a sentiment that is born out of gross ignorance and irresponsibility. And those are the words I choose to use. So trust that that does not belong to anyone here.

[5:03] But if it does and the shoe fits, wear it. And the next time comes time to register to vote, you make sure that you take the steps that are necessary and you get registered and you go vote.

[5:14] Because when I think, when I think of Iwo Jima and Bataan and Belgium and the Battle of the Bulge and the lifeblood that was shed there so that you could go to the polls and vote in a free country and choose those who are going to govern you, when I think of them, frankly, it makes me really peeved about Christians who do not take that responsibility seriously.

[5:48] We have yet bodies that have never been discovered that are buried someplace over there in the islands or in Europe. Men who were left there fighting and dying for their country.

[6:00] and we can't even get off our butt and go out and vote. That's pretty pathetic. So like I say, if the shoe fits, wear it.

[6:14] But now, you could use a little levity, couldn't you? Okay, here it comes. This is a non-partisan joke that can be enjoyed by all parties.

[6:28] Not only that, it's politically correct. How often do you find a combination like that? And, to make sure that no American or even no American politician could be offended by this, this story is about an Englishman, a British member of Parliament.

[6:52] So, Jim, you're off the hook. While walking down the street one day, a member of Parliament is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

[7:05] His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance. Welcome to heaven, says St. Peter. Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem.

[7:18] Well, we seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you. Man says, no problem.

[7:29] Just let me in. Well, said Peter, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven.

[7:42] Then you can choose where to spend eternity. Well, really, I've already made up my mind. I want to be in heaven, says the MP. Well, Peter said, I'm sorry, but we have our rules.

[7:57] And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he went down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he found himself in the middle of a green golf course.

[8:14] In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is happy, dressed in evening dress.

[8:29] They run to greet him, shake his hand and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They played a friendly game of golf and then dined on lobster, caviar, and champagne.

[8:47] Also present is the devil who really is a very friendly and nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it's time to go.

[9:02] Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and wave whilst the elevator rises and the door opens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

[9:14] Now it's time to visit heaven. So 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud playing the harp and singing.

[9:28] They have a good time and before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns. Well then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven.

[9:43] Now choose your eternity. The MP reflects for a minute and he answers, well, I would never have said it before. I mean, heaven has been delightful, but I think I'd be better off in hell.

[10:00] So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. When the doors open, he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

[10:16] He sees all his friends dressed in rags picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

[10:30] The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. I don't, I don't understand, stammers the MP.

[10:41] Yesterday, I was here and there was a beautiful golf course and clubhouse and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, danced, and had a great time.

[10:53] Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened? The devil looks at him and smiles and says, yesterday we were campaigning.

[11:11] Today, you voted. Well, and speaking of voting and you know I'm going to have to do that because Tuesday is the day.

[11:29] I don't know, maybe you've already got this, but this is one of the best written things I've seen and it comes from the pen of Ken Ham and it is not partisan but it is very practical and very sensible.

[11:45] Are you Republican or Democrat? Okay, now I have your attention and you can go and read the article and many of you already have but it's in the literature rack if you haven't gotten it and as is the voter guide and it too is non-partisan but as we mentioned before it includes the positions the platform the planks of each of the parties and each of those candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump and it will help you make up your mind as to which one you care to be identified with and copies of these are available and by all means feel free to take extras we've got plenty of them if you'd like to give one to somebody else you're more than welcome and on the back page there is an interesting article that we've already shared with you and I will not belabor it further but I do want to touch on this because this is very very important it has to do with the electoral college and I'm amazed at how many people have lived in this country as long as they have and they do not understand the principle of the electoral college in fact when you stop and think about it it doesn't on the surface make much sense because it just seems logical that whichever candidate receives the most votes wins

[13:10] I mean that's the way it works just about everywhere else why in the world did our founding fathers come up with an idea that seems so unusual as the electoral college what is that all about why not just have it simple whoever gets the most votes wins sounds logical and there is a movement afoot on the part of some to eliminate the electoral college and make it solely on that basis and their appeal is simply to the logic of it and as I've said on the surface completely logical why shouldn't the one who got the most votes win are you aware you perhaps are that Hillary Clinton got more votes in 2016 than Donald Trump did most people are aware of that but some may be hearing it for the first time well then why didn't she win why didn't she get the office of the presidency because of the electoral college and I'm going to read this

[14:14] I want you to listen to it and yes copies are available and they are in the literature rack the people that put our republic together and wrote the constitution knew how to fix things before they happened consider what this short article is telling us there are give me free stuff types everywhere but 319 miles controls the entire country 319 miles controls the entire country the USA could be another Venezuela 319 square miles it will take you approximately 39 seconds to read this please read it and pass it on take longer than that because I like to emphasize things last month the newly convened democratic controlled house of representatives introduced a bill to eliminate the electoral college it seems that since they couldn't win the last presidential election under the rules that have existed for almost 250 years they won't change the rules below is an excellent explanation of why this is a very bad idea in their infinite wisdom the United States founders created the electoral college to ensure the states were fairly represented why should one or two densely populated areas speak for the whole of the nation the following list of statistics has been making the rounds on the internet it should finally put an end to the argument as to why the electoral college makes sense do share this it needs to be widely known and understood alright here are the numbers log them if you will there are 3,141 counties in the United States you with me?

[16:21] 3,141 counties like Clark County in the United States of the 3,141 Trump won 3,084 Clinton won 57 there are 62 counties in New York State Trump won 46 of them Clinton won 16 but Clinton won the popular vote by approximately 1.5 million votes in the 5 counties that encompass New York City that is the Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Richmond and Queens Clinton received well over 2 million more votes than Trump Clinton only won 4 of these counties

[17:22] Trump won Richmond therefore those 5 counties alone more than accounted for Clinton winning the popular vote of the entire country these 5 counties comprise 319 square miles the United States is comprised of 3 million 797,000 square miles got that when you have a country that encompasses almost 4 million square miles of territory it would be ludicrous to even suggest that the vote of those who inhabit a mere 319 square miles should dictate the outcome of a national election large densely populated democratic cities New York Chicago LA do not and should not speak for the rest of the country and it's been verified and documented that those 319 square miles are where the majority of our nation's problems foment well worth 39 seconds to read however many it took

[18:39] Mark to read it but this is more commonsensical than it is partisan and I trust that it comes across that way to you too I want to look at the announcements if we may briefly and the reason I'm doing this as I mentioned last week is because we have a considerable number of folks who are not here in person because of the COVID-19 thing and they have maybe compromising issues that makes it more wise for them to be at home so they don't get in on anything except the message and I thought it would be a good idea to make them feel like maybe a more complete service if they got in on the announcements too so here they are Tuesday morning will be election day and there will be a polling area right in the back where the folks are sitting back there at the tables and we've been designated as a polling spot for several years now and the men's Bible class usually meets there on Tuesday morning so we're going to move the men's class down to the north end and if you come in at the usual time our men's class begins at 8 o'clock and folks will already be here voting etc but the men come in for the Bible class they'll just come in that door if they wish or the front door and walk right down the hall for the class that will be down there and in an hour an hour and a half we'll be out of here and the voting will continue on all day long so that will simplify things also want to remind you that the annual church business meeting is scheduled for Sunday

[20:14] November 15 that will be two weeks from today at 6 o'clock and we would encourage everybody who is eligible health wise and a member to be here simply because we will need to have a quorum in order to conduct a business meeting and it might be a little more difficult to get a quorum with what's going on in our culture and the COVID-19 thing now so we'll do our best to have things according to schedule and if you will join us on the 15th at 6 o'clock it will probably be I would even say perhaps a shortened business meeting as opposed to those in the past so thank you for keeping that in mind have you an announcement that is not in the bulletin that ought to be noised abroad anyone and you have my sympathy sitting there with those masks all right

[21:16] I'd like you to look at the little sheet that we've distributed in the past some of you I know have it in your Bible and we've arrived at item number five and I want you to consider that which is going to be undertaken today and the contrast between prophecy and mystery and we've selected those two or arrived at those two as being the great dividing factors of the scriptures and everything that doesn't belong to prophecy belongs to mystery and vice versa and today we're going to hone in on item number five and it is one that is extraordinary and sad to say even though it greatly impacts and favors in an extraordinary way the nation of Israel there are probably more Jewish people who do not believe what I'm going to say this morning than there are who do believe it which is rather extraordinary kind of ironic because no one stands to benefit from it more than the

[22:20] Jewish people but in the sheet that has prophecy there are a couple of references and I could give you dozens of them but we'll just take those that are selected here and that is that Israel is to be given supremacy over the nations I want you to think of that concept and how extraordinary that is Israel is a tiny land mass that actually is between three continents Asia Europe and Africa and it's right smack dab in the middle of those three continents and just about anyone that was going anywhere from one of those to the other would pass through Israel I don't know that any territory on the earth has had more foreign armies tromping through it over the centuries than the tiny nation of Israel and it is tiny as I've mentioned in the past if you were to go out in the parking lot and get in your car and drive to Columbus Ohio you have just driven completely across the state of Israel at its widest point lengthwise north and south it's probably 130 150 miles in length it's tiny tiny nation actually not much bigger at all than the state of New

[23:42] Jersey which is one of our smaller states and yet according to the scriptures this tiny piece of real estate is referred to in the bible god calls it my land and it's the only place in all of the bible that god refers to as his land now it's true he owns the cattle on a thousand hills the whole earth is his and as well as the rest of the universe but god has a peculiar thing about Israel and about the Jewish people and it all began when he chose Abraham back in chapter 12 of Genesis and the question has often been asked down through the years why in the world did god choose Abraham and the only answer we can give is if god is going to choose anybody he has to choose somebody and the fact that he did is simply an indication of his grace because it's a testimony to the fact that god delights in working through human and angelic instrumentality god does not need people to accomplish his will and he does not need angels to accomplish his will he can just will any situation that he wants and it comes to pass without the instrumentality of any other party but in his grace and in his condescension god has chosen to utilize angelic and humans to accomplish his work and his will and he does that in a number of ways probably many ways that we don't even understand but one of the most common of course has to do with the bible that we have before us because god could have just dropped this volume out of heaven and it could have just been classified and called the word of god and it could have bypassed all of the human stories all of the human involvement all of the failures all of the successes everything else and he could have just given us his word that way but he chose to do it through human instrumentality and that means we have a book that can more directly speak to us in our psyche because we too are humans and the only way that we can understand anything at all about the deity about god is to the extent that he wishes to make himself knowable and available and this he has done through creation through the scriptures and through his son those are the three principal means of revelation that god has given to us one is called natural or general revelation that's a creation the other is called special revelation and that is the inscripturated word and the living word in the person of christ when the word became flesh so god is pleased to use human instrumentality and he's going to do something really really special in fact already has but he's going to do more things really special through this one significant individual that he chose and understand if you will there is nothing in abraham that made him eligible or worthy or deserving of being chosen so far as we know abraham was an old moon worshipper out of urb the chaldees which is the kind of paganism that he and just about all of his family were steeped in and he had along with the others and their families their children and grandchildren they had their household items the teraphim the phony gods that they carried around as good luck charms that they'd set them on the mantle in their house and they would pray to them all kinds of nonsense like that and god chose one who was so far as we can determine an absolute pagan and he chose to reveal himself to him and this is in the midst of something

[27:42] else that was already taking place and that is the great cosmic conflict was already underway with what is referred to as the fall that set in motion a continuation of a contest between good and evil between God and Satan that actually began even before Genesis 3 and Adam and Eve were brought on the scene it began with the fall of Lucifer who was the most beautiful of God's creation and we are told in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 something about him and he rebelled against God because God had given him the ability to do that God created Lucifer with a thing called volition which meant he could choose of his own will to obey God or disobey

[28:43] God and go his own way well you know what he did he gave the same kind of volition to Adam and Eve and you know what they did and as a result the world that God had created that he was able to pronounce very good at the end of Genesis 1 he can no longer say that about it then it became a fallen world and into the fallen world came death brought on by disease war conflict all kinds of things that have resulted in humans taking the lives of other humans and the thing that we're dealing with right now called COVID-19 is something that came from that fall we do not understand the intricacies of it or exactly how it developed but we do know that all that God created was pronounced very good so now something is going to be necessary to affect the change and

[29:44] God could just say let everything be changed and it would be changed but he didn't do that he chose a man and he gave a promise to that man Abraham that through him that man the entire world would be blessed through you Abraham and your seed the offspring all the world would be blessed and Abraham became the first of what would be known as the fathers there are lots of fathers in the Bible but there's only one set that constitute the fathers and they are Abraham Isaac and Jacob and out of Jacob came the twelve sons and ultimately the twelve tribes of Israel but it all started with Abraham and God is going to do something very special through these people but it obviously is known to the original adversary

[30:48] Satan and that means the contest that is going on at loggerheads between good and evil between God and Satan I describe and I know this is an inadequate illustration but it's the only one I can think of that will really communicate and it communicates to me I think it will to you as well I want you to think of God's activity and Satan's of a cosmic chess game and the way the game is played of course is each one on each side of the board makes a move and then the one on the other side makes a counter move and you go on this way until someone gets to the position where they are checkmated and they have no moves that they can make they lose it isn't obvious to us but there is Satan comes in and attempts to corrupt it change it defeat it and

[31:50] God provides a panacea and Satan comes back with another and this goes on and has gone on for 6,000 years that we know of and however long before creation of the earth we don't know but it was taking place between Satan and God before this was even created so we've got this enormous conflict that is underway Satan works primarily through deception never forget the definition of deception deception is when people are caused to think that things are other than they really are that's the whole basis of fake news nothing new about fake news it's found in Genesis 3 that's where it started it is the lie God is the truth in him is no lie at all Satan is a liar from the beginning and there is no truth in him so

[32:54] Jesus did combat with him in that 40 days and 40 nights of temptation and the struggle went on and Jesus proved victorious simply because he didn't sin because he couldn't sin he is impeccable and he came through that when Satan threw everything he had at him and could not of course corrupt him and that proved that Christ had established his credentials as being the eligible and fit Messiah for the nation of Israel and it was what was established through that that gave him the right to present himself as the son of God and as Israel's Messiah so when John the Baptist came on the scene and introduced Jesus as the Messiah everybody who knew anything and that was most of the Jews who were there because they knew exactly what

[33:54] John was talking about when he said repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand he was addressing that current generation telling these people and they were all Jews of course because it was only Jews to whom this message even meant anything it was like a foreign language to all Gentiles they knew nothing about the kingdom of heaven coming to earth they knew nothing about the Messiah and could care less but it was through Abraham Isaac and Jacob that God promised this deliverer and we know that eventually it would be one of Jacob's twelve sons and his name would be anybody Judah that would be the royal line and he has arrived he's on the scene and John is introducing him and he is saying to Israel get ready get your act together repent of your sin and to demonstrate your repentance you are to be cleansed in water the water of purification and be baptized and we don't know how many people

[34:54] John baptized but it was a lot and then when Jesus called the twelve they followed the same commission of preaching that same gospel of the kingdom only to the Jewish people only to the Jewish people and the name of the game the idea was that Israel as a nation would embrace that message get with the plan and program of God and then the responsibility of reaching all the rest of the world with that gospel would be Israel's long story for short Israel said thanks but no thanks we're not cooperating we don't accept John the Baptist and we don't accept John's message and we don't accept Jesus as the Messiah and we don't accept his message either and they turned thumbs down on the program some think that everything ended with that some think that when Israel was responsible at least partly responsible by way of the chief priest and

[36:01] Judas etc for the crucifixion of the Messiah that God had written them off in the same way that they had written God off and he is finished with Israel that's the majority position in Christendom today that is the official position of the Roman Catholic Church that's the official position of Protestantism that came out of the Roman Catholic Church that's the official position of those who embrace covenant theology and they take that to mean that everything that God promised to Israel is instead being fulfilled in the church and the church is the new Israel that's why it is called replacement theology I want you to turn in your Bible to the passage that is indicated here and it is Isaiah chapter 60 there are other passages as well in fact

[37:01] Isaiah is just loaded with it and you know a beautiful thing about Isaiah for years and years and years I mean for probably a couple of hundred years the more liberal scholars presented what they call the Deutero-Isaiah theory and they were convinced that Isaiah was written by two different individuals and maybe neither one of them was named Isaiah because they just had no confidence in the reliability of scripture and that was a common view for many many years these two authors and they based that on the fact that the first 39 chapters of Isaiah are of a more what shall I say a more judgmental or condemning capacity for the sin and the evil of the nation of Israel and then when you come into chapter 40 where it is comfort you comfort you my people the thing changes dramatically and it is no longer judgment condemnation retribution it is blessing and benefit and fulfillment and graciousness and those two are opposite extremes and this is exactly what led some of them to think that two different authors because these these two writers are too far apart couldn't be the same person that wrote them but for those who are students of prophecy know that the whole pattern throughout human history has been one of judgment upon sin but blessing and benefit when sin is repented of and turned to the Lord the tide turns and it is from the negative to the positive that's what

[38:47] Isaiah is all about it is recounting all of Israel's sin and evil and bad disposition and their rejection of God and their idolatry and everything and then when repentance occurs there's a dramatic shift and everything turns to blessing benefit because repentance is God's coin of the realm nothing delights the heart of God more than an individual who receives information that reveals to himself that the position that he has been holding about whatever it is is wrong and this is the right position and when he forsakes the wrong and embraces the new that's repentance that's a change of mind and it's also a change of conviction because you don't feel about it the way you do the way you did before so this is very much involved in Isaiah in fact in all of the prophets and you know 19

[39:54] I believe it was 1947 or 48 not long ago at all when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and they are on display now you can see them there in Israel and one of them was a complete scroll of the prophet Isaiah beautiful and it pushed the date of the Isaiah scroll a thousand years further back than the latest manuscript that we had the oldest manuscript that we had and when scholars compared that manuscript from way back to what we have today they found virtual identity indicating of course that it was all from one person so let's look if we may at Isaiah chapter 60 because what God is getting at and what he has promised in this this is the way this great chess game is going to work out

[40:55] God is going to checkmate Satan and he will not have a move and this is going to be one of the difficult positions in which he puts him and it has to do with what is described here in Isaiah 16 these are just a few of the passages but I'll just use those because they're in the little brochure that we've got Isaiah 16 arise shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you it's talking about Israel about the nation this is Isaiah the prophet for behold darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples but the Lord will rise upon you and his glory will appear upon you and nations will come to your light and kings and I might add here kings and presidents and prime ministers and whoever else in authority and kings to the brightness of your rising lift up your eyes round about and see they all gather together they come to you your sons will come from afar and your daughters will be carried in the arms then you will see and be radiant and your heart will thrill and rejoice because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you the wealth of the nations will come to you who is the you this is

[42:18] Israel tiny little insignificant Israel that has suffered so much by way of persecution vilification ostracism down through the centuries this is the people that have been referred to as the wandering Jew because they no sooner settled in one place and the persecution would start and they would be uprooted and go to another nation and put down roots and start all over again until the persecution came and they would pull up stakes and move on to another nation the hated isolated Jew soon wore the title the wandering Jew these people have been a minority have been subjected to the most cruel and inhumane treatment that you could ever imagine and the lies that have been perpetrated beginning with the protocol of the elders of Zion and things like that by the way you can still publish today in New York bookstores you can still get this copy it's nothing but a scurrilous lies and it's printed in multiple languages all throughout the world and has existed for several hundred years the protocol of the elders of Israel the elders of Zion and it it just it tells such sordid tales like you have no idea what goes on in these secret meetings of the Jews one of the things that they are most famous for is they sacrifice a Gentile child and they use the blood of that child to make their matzah balls for the

[44:03] Passover service can you imagine anything more horrid or more absurd do you have any idea how many millions of people throughout the world actually believe that and they're not all under Islam either anti-semitism has been rampant throughout the earth from the first century to the present the United States I am satisfied I cannot give you a chapter and verse for this other than the fact I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you United States of America has provided a homeland for the Jew the likes of which no other nation ever has and I'll tell you why this is the concept and the attitude was built into the psyche and the writing of our founding fathers and this non-discrimination thing was a very early gem in our country and it is still one that we are very very proud of today and admittedly we fall far short of exercising it perfectly that's for sure but we have we have a welcome mat out not only for the

[45:21] Jew but for other kinds of people that other nations would not accept the Jew the Jew has been the subject of unbelievable persecution and much of it much of it came from people who claim to be Christians and they actually saw it as their responsibility to punish those whose ancestors were responsible for the crucifixion of the Messiah and they call them the word they use is deicide deicide which means God killers they killed God God was in Christ on the cross and they killed him and they charged him with deicide and it still goes on today so this tiny nation and what is spoken of it here in

[46:22] Isaiah 60 is going to one day rule the entire globe the world headquarters is going to be situated in Jerusalem and you may not be aware of the enormous significance that was involved when President Trump fulfilled one of his many promises in saying that he was going to move Israel's capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem where it belonged there were three or four presidents before him all of whom promised to do that none of them even came close to making good on it President Trump actually did it and I think probably one of the most compelling reasons why he did and was able to succeed was because he was not hamstrung by politics like the previous presidents were he just did it because he was convinced it was the right thing to do politics be damned and that was his attitude and he got it done along with a number of other things too long story short

[47:42] Israel is targeted by God to be the central hub for all the nations of the world Jesus Christ is going to set up his throne right there in Jerusalem and David the vice regent will be right under him and under David will be the twelve original apostles who will be judging the twelve tribes of Israel and the government of God will be implemented throughout the entire world and Jesus Christ will rule and reign with a rod of iron that simply means it will be a no nonsense reign corruption wherever and whenever it appears will be dealt with summarily that's the meaning of the rod of iron it's not a willow stick it's a rod of iron and it will be able to execute whatever needs to be done and it's all going to happen in this tiny little nation of

[48:44] Israel and do you know it's only a tiny percentage of the Jews who even believe this isn't that ironic there are probably far more Christians who believe it than there are Jews who believe it and that's kind of strange but that's the truth and there are other passages and we don't have time for all of them but it's in Isaiah 61 in verse 6 and it's really all dealing about this same thing the spirit of the Lord God is upon me this is what Jesus read in Nazareth when he returned there to his hometown and this was the first message that he preached in Nazareth right after his baptism and the temptation and he quoted from this because he was the fulfillment of it the spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the

[49:44] Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn to grant those who mourn in Zion giving them a garland instead of ashes the oil of gladness instead of mourning the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting so they will be called oaks speaking of the strength and the might and the power in the mighty oak tree they will be called oaks of righteousness the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified then they will rebuild the ancient ruins they will and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion therefore they will possess a double portion in their land everlasting joy will be theirs for

[51:07] I the Lord love justice I hate robbery and the burnt offerings I will faithfully give them their recompense I will make an everlasting covenant with them then their offspring will be known among the nations and their descendants in the midst of the people all who see them will recognize them because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed I will greatly rejoice in the Lord my soul will exult in my God clothe me with the garments of salvation wrap me with a robe of righteousness this is all millennial stuff this is the thousand year reign of Christ coming to fruition this is Israel ruling and reigning the entire globe and when you talk about this it makes the modernists and the Muslims heads explode I mean the anti Semitic people just cannot countenance this for a moment because it speaks greatly of the rejoicing and the blessing of those whom they hate and he goes on to describe this and look at chapter 62 for

[52:11] Zion's sake I will not keep silent for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet and until her righteousness goes forth like bright what's going to bring all of this about how is all of this coming down and when well I can tell you how but I can't tell you when because I just don't know but I do know how and that's found in chapter 63 who is this who comes from Edom I'll tell you who it is it's the one who is going to make all the things that we were just talking about happen he's going to bring them to pass this one who comes from Edom where is Edom Edom is southern Jordan Edom is down where the land of Petra is and we've talked about Petra before we presented it as the most likely place where the remnant of Jewish people referred to as the remnant are going to be holed up and escaped from the antichrist who is going to try to get to them they will there be supernaturally provided for and protected by the

[53:16] God of Israel much the same way he did when he came out of Israel and he is coming when Jesus returns he's coming to Petra and he will present himself to the Jewish people who will be a people in mourning and repentance they will be people who have already embraced the concept of a rejected Messiah and Zechariah tells us in chapter 14 that when they cry out to him Israel is right on the verge of complete annihilation and they cry out to God please send the Messiah they will mourn they will repent they will weep and

[54:19] God will answer and the text tells this in Zechariah and they will look on him whom they pierced and they will mourn this is a radical revival revolution among the Jewish people when they come to faith in Yeshua HaMashiach and embrace him as their savior and Jesus will begin his march from southern Lebanon where he will touch down on earth and he will march a victory march right up to the valley of Jehoshaphat that can be easily seen when you stand on the walls of the city of Jerusalem and look over to the Mount of Olives down in the middle in that ravine is the huge Kidron valley the valley of Jehoshaphat and that's where the conflict will take place and we are told that he is majestic marching in his strength it is

[55:26] I who speak in righteousness this is the Messiah speaking mighty to be saved and the question is put to him why is your apparel red and your garments like the one who treads in the wine press and he answers I have trodden the wine trough alone what does that mean that was his death on the cross that was the treading of the wine alone that was the suffering that he endured and from the peoples there was no man with me I also trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments whose lifeblood is that that is the army the alien armies that have massed in the north in the plain of Megiddo and they have come south and their intent is simply to annihilate Jerusalem just completely do what the

[56:28] Arabs have been threatening to do and trying to do for who knows how long drive them into the sea so that there will not be a Jew left alive that's their dream their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments and I stained all my raiment for the day of vengeance was in my heart remember when Jesus addressed them in Luke chapter 4 and he read that passage that we read earlier from Isaiah he talked about what was coming and he said to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and he stopped he stopped reading there and he closed the scroll why did he stop reading there because the next verse is and the day of vengeance of our God that wasn't then and it hasn't been until now but when you come over to the passage in verse 4 of chapter 63 the day of vengeance was in my heart then it had come and he is acting it out when he came the first time he came as the lamb of

[57:37] God that takes away the sin of the world when he comes again here in Isaiah 63 he's coming as the lion of the tribe of Judah and there won't be any bleeding of the lamb there will be the roar of the lion and it will be something I stained all my raiment the year of redemption has come and as you read on Isaiah finishes up with it and it just outstanding content and it just cycles back and forth from their disobedience to what God will do for them and their ultimate blessing and the prophets are just loaded with this and how in the world can you read Isaiah 63 and say that this isn't Israel this is the Christian church that he's talking about my dear friends that makes absolutely no sense at all you try to put a square pig in a round hole that's exactly what they're trying to do here this is going to be supremacy over the nations and what

[58:50] I've given you is just a few of the references then look across the page at the reference if you will that corresponds to that five Jew and Gentile placed on the same level before God and passages that are given there will not take time to consider but you can look at them at your laser Romans 10 11 and Ephesians 2 verses 16 and 17 what a time and how amazing contrast between these I mean it's just like night and day between what's recorded on the green side and what's on the blue side the prophecy regarding as opposed to the mystery it is just absolutely mind boggling the contrast that is going to take place and the rest of them as you follow on down through I think they're pretty much self explanatory and the verses that rely to each of them I hope you would look them up at your leisure if you want an excellent Bible study that will be some spiritual meat for your bones that will be lasting

[59:52] I would certainly encourage that so this is what's coming and it is all a subject of prophecy it is all predicted the only thing we don't know is the precise time in which it's going to happen by the way Isaiah isn't the only one who talks about this all of the prophets do the minor prophets that were just now finishing up in the men's class and we'll be taking the last one the last of the post exilic prophets that would be Zechariah Haggai Zechariah and Malachi and we'll be looking at Malachi and that too is a post exilic prophet and it is speaking of the time when well in Malachi you find the prediction of John the Baptist he will be the forerunner who will come before Christ to announce him and then you find Christ himself the Messiah predicted by Malachi and it's a beautiful thing so the way all of this is going to come about will be because of what's going to happen in chapter 63 and it will be the return of Jesus

[61:00] Christ and what he will be providing for the nation of Israel and it is glorious and that too is all because God who cannot lie made the promise to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the gifts and the callings of God are irrevocable it's a beautiful thing have you a question or comment someone like make feel free okay okay anyone just raise your hand and he'll be there with the mic if you have a question or something you'd like to add to the study you feel free to do so otherwise I might have to let you go early if you promise not to tell anybody okay thank you would you stand please and I hope you will remember to avail yourself of the handouts that are in the literature rack as you exit out the back door keep in mind if you will our nation's need and the opportunity that each of us have

[62:17] I realize that many of you have already voted and that's a good thing to avoid the lines and the COVID thing and the groups and all the rest of it if you've already voted I know many of you have and others will be going to the polls so exercise due diligence and cast your vote and I know you'll vote your convictions your values and your principles thank you father for this time that we've been able to share and enjoy together thank you for the beauty of the season thank you for the privilege that is ours along with the responsibility for having some small part in the direction of our government we are so blessed by this great land there is none like it we want to see it perpetuated we want to see it improved we recognize it is a nation that is flawed because it's made up of flawed people but our potential is great and as we look to you and turn to you it can be even greater thank you for this time to share together and for the promises you've made to your covenant people in Christ's name amen amen amen amen to your amen

[63:31]  Brahmin abundile groanазarg convey