Adrian Rogers - Why I Love Israel
Take God's Holy Word and open, please, to Revelation chapter 12. We're working our way through this period known in the Bible as, "The Great Tribulation". Today, the subject, "Why I Love Israel". May I tell you, these are dangerous days in which we live, and the storm clouds are gathering. And a storm is about to descend, the lightning is flashing, and the lighting rod is Israel! Now Israel is on the front page of every major newspaper in the world today. And Bible-believing Christians cannot deny or ignore the significance of the nation Israel.
If you pick up your Bible and read Bible prophecy, you will find out that Israel is in 100% of all Bible prophecy concerning the future, if you read it carefully enough. I want to tell you that the eyes of the entire world are upon this tiny state of Israel, and your eyes need to be upon the land of Israel because the Jew and Israel are the people and the land of destiny. As the Jew goes, so goes the world. Israel is God's yardstick. Israel is God's measuring rod. Israel is God's blueprint. Israel is God's program for what He is doing in the world. Now we want to ask this question; Has God turned His back on Israel? Has God forgotten Israel? Has God somehow abrogated the promises that He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Indeed not, absolutely not.
The passage that we have before us deals, therefore, with the nation Israel. And I want us to notice some things about Israel this morning from Revelation chapter 12; the first of which I want you to notice is Israel's special favor; Israel's special favor. Israel is specially favored of God. Begin now in Revelation chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, "And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she, being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered".
Who is this wonder woman, this great sign, this wonder in Heaven? Well, it is not the Virgin Mary. The things that are spoken of here in this passage of Scripture could not speak of the Virgin Mary. In the flesh, Mary gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ, and she is to be honored among all women, but these two verses don't speak of the Virgin Mary. Somebody says, "Well, perhaps this wonder woman is the church? The church is spoken of as the bride of Christ". No, this woman gives birth to Jesus. Jesus gave birth to the church. It is not the church. This wonder woman here is the nation Israel, and I want to show you that we're speaking here of Israel. For example, when God gave Joseph a prophecy back in Genesis chapter 37 and in verse 9, Israel is described with these elements: twelve stars, the sun and the moon.
Let me read it to you. Genesis 37, verse 9. And it speaks of Joseph and it says, "And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, 'Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.'" Now he was the twelfth star, "The sun, the moon, and twelve stars". All of this is Jewish in its significance. Now, in the Old Testament, Israel is spoken off as the wife of Jehovah. Put this verse down, Isaiah chapter 54 verses 5 and 6. God is speaking to Israel, and He says, "For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called". Now God says to Israel, "I am married to you". Jesus came from the nation Israel.
Here's the key verse, Romans chapter 9, write it down, verses 4 and 5. Paul is talking about his concern for the nation Israel, and he talks about the Jews, and here's how he describes them, "Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers," and listen to this, "and of whom, concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever". What is Paul saying? Paul is saying that, "Israel gave us the Messiah". I was talking to some Jewish friends and they said, "You Christians ought not to try to proselyte Jews". I said, "Friend, you proselyted me! I serve a Jewish Messiah"! Israel gave Jesus to this world, and thank God for it. What I'm talking about is Israel's special favor. Listen to me. Israel is a God-ordained, God-called, God-protected, and Godblessed nation.
Now, why did God call and ordain Israel; to make them a blessing alone? No. That through Israel all the world would be blessed. Put this Scripture down, Genesis chapter 12 and verse 3. God is speaking to Abraham. God is saying, "Abraham, I'm going to make a great nation of you," and here's what God said, "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee," Abraham, "shall all the nations of the world be blessed". I stand here today blessed because of Israel. I hold in my hand a Jewish book. I serve a Jewish Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. And God has made Abraham a blessing to all the nations of the world. And I want to tell you, my dear friend, you are very foolish and on shaky and dangerous ground if you pronounce a curse upon Israel. I'll tell you something else.
When you bless what God has blessed, when you love what God has loved, then God is going to bless you. Now put this verse down, Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 6. We're talking about Israel's special favor. Here it is, listen. God said to Israel, "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth". If you would be wise, you would learn to bless and not to curse Israel. Our evangelical, Bible-believing Christians need to pray for and love the nation Israel. Do you hear me? And our Jewish friends need to learn that the best friends they have on the face of this earth are Bible-believing Christians. And may the devil not muddy the water. There, we speak here of Israel's special favor.
Now here's the second thing I want you learn. Not only do I want you to see Israel's special favor, but I want you to see Israel's satanic foe. Now let's continue to read. Read now beginning in verse 3 on through verse 5 of Revelation 12, "And there appeared another wonder in Heaven; and, behold, a great red dragon". So you have a wonder woman and a dreadful dragon. Now this is all symbolism, but listen to me now. "And there appeared a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his head. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of Heaven and didst cast them to the earth; and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne".
Who is this dreadful dragon? Who is this ferocious one who is so strong and so cruel? It is Satan himself. We can see this as we compare Scripture to Scripture. The dragon in the book of the Revelation is the devil himself. He is red because that speaks of his blood lust. He's a murderer. He has heads. He has horns. He has crowns. These are all symbolism. Look again if you will here, that he has seven heads. Seven, you know, is the number of fullness or perfection. It speaks of his diabolical power and his wisdom. He has ten horns. Horns in the Bible are a prophecy of power, so when you put seven, the perfect number, and ten, the complete number, this speaks of the power of this great red dragon. It speaks of his earthly power. And we find out here that Satan is the ultimate rebel. He has a tail so long that that tail sweeps a third of the stars from the Heaven.
Now what are these stars? These are not, ah, literal stars. This is symbolism. Stars are spoken of in the book of the Revelation as persons or personages. These are the angels that rebelled with Satan and fell when Satan fell. Satan led a rebellion in Heaven, and he said, "I'm too wise, I'm too strong, I'm too glorious, I'm too mighty to be anything less than God. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God". And no sooner had he unsheathed his sword of rebellion than the thunders of Jehovah's wrath rolled through Heaven. And Satan was judged, and he fell from Heaven, and when he fell, one third of the angels fell with him. Does that bother you? Well, let me tell you two-thirds didn't fall, and we have two angels for every demon, Amen? But Satan is a rebel. Satan fell. And he took these fallen angels, who have now become demons, and is bringing them to Hell.
That is their destiny. That's what Jesus taught. Put down Matthew 25 verse 41. Jesus speaks of those who are going to be judged in the final day, "Then shall He say unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,'" listen to this, "prepared for the devil and his angels". God did not make Hell for you. God made Hell for the devil and the devil's angels. One-third of the stars of Heaven that fell are going to be brought down to the lowest Hell. Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. That tells me if you go to Hell, and you may, if you go to Hell, friend, you will be an intruder. It was not made for you. But if you chose to follow Satan, that will be your destiny.
Now these fallen angels have fallen and have gone down to the very pit. But now, I want you to notice, while Satan has a war with Israel, his ultimate war is with the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice again in Revelation 12 verse 4, "And his tail," the dragon's tail, "drew the third part of the stars of Heaven and didst cast them to the earth; and the dragon stood before the woman," the woman is Israel now, "which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born". Who is her child? The Lord Jesus Christ. What does Satan want to do? He wants to engulf the Lord Jesus Christ, to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan's ultimate war is with Jesus Christ Himself.
This is why he moved Herod to murder all the little baby boys who were two and under. Why? He's trying to devour the child as soon as the child is born. But he could not stop the plan of God. Look now in Revelation 12 verse 5, "And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God, unto His throne". Jesus Christ came. He was born, lived a perfect life, a sinless life, died upon the cross, was buried, walked out of that grave a victorious Savior, has ascended the high hills of glory. "Living He loved me, dying He saved me, buried He carried my sins far away. Rising He justified, freely forever," and one day, bless God, He's coming again, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we find Satan as a foe. Satan is a foe to Israel.
Now there're two things I want you to learn about Satan. Listen to me carefully. He is anti-Christ and he is anti-Semitic. Satan is anti-Christ and he is anti-Semitic. Satan hates Jesus and he hates the Jew. I love Jesus and I love the Jew. If for no other reason than the fact that Satan hates them. If you were to study the history of God's chosen people, you would find out that they have endured satanically inspired persecution and atrocities: under Pharaoh, under Nebuchadnezzar, under Alexander the Great, under Nero, the Roman emperor, under the Turks and the Ottoman Empire, under Russia, as they have been persecuted, with Arab nations today, sadly, by Christians.
One of the blackest days in Christian history is what we call the Crusades. How we ought to hang our head in shame. And in modern times, anti-Semitism has reached epidemic proportions. Think of Hitler and the death camps and the gas ovens. If the Holocaust doesn't move you to have compassion for Israel, I don't know what would. And think of the little nation today, a few million Jews surrounded by a few hundred million Arabs, most of them wishing that Israel were not there, would be happy to see them driven into the sea, would be happy to see the land of Israel no more. In most of the maps of these Arab nations, you don't even find Israel on the map because they do not recognize Israel. How would you like to live, going into a supermarket wondering if a bomb is about to go off? How would you like to live, getting on a bus and wondering if the next second there's going to be a horrible explosion?
A man named Stanley Fish wrote an article and he quotes a Muslim mother after she'd learned of her son's success in killing himself, blowing himself up and ten Jews. Let me quote you something that's heartbreaking. This mother said, "Because I love my son, I encouraged him to die a martyr's death for the sake of Allah. Jihad is a religious obligation encumbered upon us, and we must carry it out. I sacrificed Mohammad," that's her son's name, Mohammad, "as a part of my obligation. I asked Allah to give me ten Israelis for Mohammad, and Allah granted my request, and Mohammad made his dream come true, killing ten Israelis settlers and soldiers. Our God honored him even more in that there were many Israelis wounded". Here's a mother saying, "I'm so proud that my son was able to kill ten Israelis and injure more".
My heart aches for that mother and her distorted reason. Who inspired all of that? Who is it that has this hatred? It is a diabolical, dreadful dragon, and his name is Satan. And you listen to me. Satan is anti-Christ and he is anti-Semitic. You read it right here in the Word of God. I love Israel because Satan hates Israel. That's one of the reasons I love Israel. Whatever Satan loves, I hate and whatever Satan hates, I love.
Now here's a third thing I want you to see. I want you to see not only Israel's special favor and Israel's satanic foe, but I want you to see Israel's spiritual fight. Israel's real fight is not against flesh and blood. Begin now in Revelation chapter 12 verses 6 through 12, "And the woman fled into the wilderness". Now, who is the woman? Israel. "Where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days". How long is that? Three and a half years. "And there was war in Heaven; and Michael and his angels fought against the dragon".
As you study the Bible, you're going to find out that Michael is the archangel and his special job is to watch over Israel. "Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was their found place any more, neither was their place found any more in Heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan". Remember I told you that we'd just read and we'd find out that the dragon is Satan. Here it is. It is very clear, very plain, "That old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him".
That's the third of the stars we're talking about. "And I heard a loud voice saying in Heaven, 'Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him,'" that is, the dragon, "'by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye Heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe unto the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.'"
Now in these verses that I've just read to you, verses 9 through 12, we see two battles: one in Heaven and one on earth. First of all, there is a war in Heaven. And this war in Heaven on one side is this dreadful dragon. On the other side is Michael and his angels. And we see here the dragon as he's described as a dragon because he's fierce. He's also called a serpent because he's so subtle. He's also called the devil. The word devil means accuser because he's the accuser of the brethren. He's also, in this passage, called Satan. The word Satan means adversary. And so, on this one side you have the dragon with all of these aliases. On the other side you have Michael and his angels. And there is a war, and the war is to cast Satan out of Heaven.
Well, you say, "I thought Satan was already cast out of Heaven". But he still has access to Heaven. Here's a key verse. Job chapter 1 verse 6, "There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them". That's the story of when Satan came before God to accuse Job, "Doth Job fear God for naught"? Now, in the mysteries of God and in the providences of God and in the plans of God, up until this point that we're studying in history, Satan has been allowed access to Heaven, though he has been abolished and disenfranchised, still God allows him to come and accuse you, accuse me, accuse all of the saints before God. He is the accuser of the brethren.
Did you know that Satan is watching you today for anything that you do? He's even watching to see if you're listening to your pastor this morning so that he could accuse you of being indolent and careless in the worship service. He'll accuse you of a lustful thought. He will accuse you of a bad temper. He will accuse you of selfishness. And we're guilty of these things. And so he comes as a prosecuting attorney, and he says, "Look at that Adrian Rogers. He's supposed to be a pastor of that church down there. He's supposed to be this. Did You see what he said? Do You see what he thought? God, how can You honor him? Why don't You cast him into Hell? You claim to be so righteous. You claim to be so just". And Satan is like a prosecuting attorney, accusing the saints. Night and day, day and night, he accuses us. But thank God we have an attorney also, don't we? His name is Jesus. And we have an advocate. That's just a fancy name for an attorney.
First John 2 verse 1 says, "We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous". And Jesus says, "Father, yes, Adrian failed. Yes, he sinned. But Lord, You see My wounded hands. You see My pierced feet. You see My riven side. For those sins I died and the blood of Jesus Christ, Your Son, cleanses from all sin". Hallelujah! Thank God for that. So there's a war in Heaven. First of all, Satan was cast out of Heaven when he sinned. But he now has access to Heaven. But Michael and his angels are saying, "No more are you going to have access. And now you're going to be cast out, and, and you're going to be cast down to the earth. No more will you have access to Heaven, even to accuse the saints".
Now, when I was studying and preparing this message, I thought to myself, "You know, Satan's on his way down". First of all, he is cast out of his lofty mountain where he was the anointed cherub, ministering praise to God, but still given access. And now that limited access is taken from Satan, and he's cast down to the earth. But soon he's going to be cast into the bottomless pit, the abyss. And soon he's going to be taken out of the abyss and put into the lowest Hell, and that's where he will spend eternity in the lowest Hell, and he won't be ruling there in Hell. The one who said, "I will exalt myself above the stars of God," will be brought down into the lowest Hell; Isaiah 14:13. And if you're following him, you'll be there with him. Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. Why follow a loser? Friend, I'm following the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, there's going to be a war in Heaven, but now secondly, there's a war in earth. Look if you will now in chapter 12 verse 11. And it speaks of the saints. And notice what it says about the saints, "And they overcame him," Satan, "by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death". Now, Satan, who is cast out of Heaven once and for all, now is here upon the earth. He is filled with violent rage. He knows that things are closing in on him. He's like a cornered animal. And he begins to fight against the saints with intensity that he's never known before. There's a battle on earth during the tribulation, and there's a three-fold formula for victory. And you can use that formula today in this age, or in any age.
I want you to see what it is. First of all, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. Write down the believer's conquest. In Christ we have victory. Jesus on the cross won the victory over Satan. John 12 verse 31, Jesus, facing the cross, said, "Now is the prince of this world cast out; now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out". At the cross Satan's back was broken. Ever since then, Satan sails a sinking ship. He rules a doomed domain. The blood of Jesus Christ conquers. Do you believe that? And the conquering blood is the cleansing blood. First John 1:7, "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin". How am I going to overcome Satan? I will never, no never, no never have victory over Satan as long as there's unconfessed, unrepented of sin in my heart and in my life.
You might as well be throwing snowballs at Gibraltar, hoping to move Gibraltar, than to get the devil out of your life until your sin is under the blood of Jesus Christ. There's not any reason that any mother's child in this building today should have one shred of unconfessed, unrepented of sin. I would be a fool to stand up here today and preach with any known sin in my heart and in my life, an absolute, unmitigated fool to do it. I can be as clean as the driven snow, for, "The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin". You go to war against Satan; you'd better make certain that your heart is clean.
The Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 27, "Not to give place to the devil". If there's a sin in your heart and in your life, what you've done is to give the devil a campground, an unholy place, a place to do war on the rest of you. Be clean! "Oh God, search my heart! Know me! Try me! And see if there be some wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting". Is there in your heart today a grudge, a lust, a habit? Something you're withholding from God? Whatever it is, it's not worth it. "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb". You have victory in the Lord Jesus Christ, but not as long as you cling to your sin.
Now not only the believer's conquest, but the believer's confession. Revelation 12 verse 11, they also, "Overcame him by the word of their testimony". Did you know that your testimony is a mighty power to overcoming the devil? What is the word of your testimony? Well, you need to testify who Jesus is. Look if you will in Revelation chapter 12 verse 17. It speaks of those who have the testimony of Jesus. Do you know who Jesus is? He is Lord. He is the Lamb who died. He is the Lion who rules.
Remind Satan of Calvary. Testify as to who Jesus is when Satan comes against you. And testify to who you are. Tell the devil, you're not praying to the devil. Remind the devil when he comes against you who you are. Give your testimony. Tell him that when Jesus died, you died. You're co-crucified with Christ. When Jesus was buried, you were buried. You're co-buried with Christ. When Jesus was raised, you were raised and you're co-risen with Christ. When Jesus ascended, you ascended, and you're co-ascended with Christ. And when Jesus is enthroned, seated in the heavenlies, you are in Christ, enthroned with the Lord Jesus Christ. You are redeemed, accepted, empowered by the Lord Jesus Christ. You are now a King and a Priest.
The devil doesn't want you to understand who you are. Give your testimony, your testimony as who Jesus is and who you are. And give your testimony as to who Satan is. Remind Satan that his back is broken. He can come as a roaring lion to intimidate you, or as an angel of light to entice you, but say, "Satan, I know who you are. You're a liar, you're a thief, you're a pervert, you're a usurper, you're a trespasser. I belong to Jesus Christ, my sins are under the blood, I am twice born, I am filled with the Holy Ghost of God. You have no right, no power, no authority in my life. I belong to Jesus Christ. I am His, blood-bought. You're trespassing on my Father's property. And in the name of Jesus be gone"!
Learn your testimony! Learn who you are! And speak the Word of God. "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death". Write down the believer's courage, the believer's courage. You say, "Pastor, can I get hurt"? Yes, you can get hurt, but you can't be harmed. There's a difference. Don't think that the day of martyrs is past. More people have died in this century for Jesus than have died in any other century; more than 100 million persons have given their lives for the Lord Jesus Christ. What does it mean when it says, "They loved not their lives unto the death"?
Does that mean that they kept on loving Jesus until they died? No, it means they kept on loving Jesus if they died. I mean, if it cost their life, they're saying, "I'm going with the Lord Jesus Christ". And so, we see here that there is a spiritual fight. Michael, who is Israel's prince, the archangel, and Satan, and war in Heaven. Satan no more has limited access to Heaven. He comes down to the earth, having great wrath, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death".
Now, here's the fourth thing I want you to see. I want you to see what I'm going to call Israel's strategic flight, Israel's strategic flight. Now we take up again now in Revelation 12 verse 13, "And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child". Now this is in the future. Satan no longer has limited access. When he realizes what has happened to him, he can no longer even accuse before God. Then he turns with intensity to the woman and begins to persecute Israel. Now remember this is the time of the Great Tribulation, and Israel's going to be persecuted in a tremendous way.
Now notice in chapter 12 verses 14 to 16, "He persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child". The woman, Israel; the man child, Jesus. "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she's nourished for a time, and times, and half a time". There you have it again, three and a half years; a time, one year; times, two years; half a time, half a year. "And as she flees from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth". This is going to be a dark time for Israel. But we understand that it is linked to three and a half years.
What happens in three and a half years when the tribulation begins? Over here the Great Tribulation begins, after the rapture of the church. Right in the middle of the Great Tribulation, three and one-half years, what happens? Well, I told you last week that the temple is going to be rebuilt. And when the temple is rebuilt, the anti-Christ, the man of sin, is going to move into that temple, showing himself that he is God. Israel is going to realize she's been betrayed. She's been lied to. Israel's going to realize this is not a Messiah, this is not a deliverer, he is not our protector; he is a fake, a fraud, an imposter, a deceiver, and a double-crosser. And they will refuse to serve him. During this time, Satan is going to be filled with great wrath, and he's going to turn against Israel in a way that he never has before, in the middle of this seven-year period.
Then what happens? How does Jesus describe Satan moving into the temple? I gave it to you last week, but I remind you, Matthew chapter 24 verses 15 through 21, Jesus says that the, "Abomination of desolation". He's quoting Daniel the prophet, "When you see that abomination that will desolate the temple," then Jesus said, "flee to the mountains". "Get out of town". Look at it in Matthew 24 verse 15, "When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place," that is, when the anti-Christ moves into the temple, "whoso readeth, let him understand". Are you understanding?
Listen, "Then let them which be in Judea flee unto the mountains; Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; Neither let him that is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them who are with child, and to them that give suck or nurse babies in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day; For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be". Jesus said, "When you see that anti-Christ come into the temple," He's speaking to Israel now, He's saying, "Flee! Flee! Get out of the city! Because incredibly intense persecution, tribulation is going to come to this time, so flee". We're talking about Israel's strategic flight. Verse 14 says, "The wings of an eagle are going to take them away".
I wonder if this is an American airlift that's going to come. There's going to be, the devil when he sees them flee, is going to send out a flood of persecution. But the Bible says in Isaiah chapter 59 and verse 19, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him". For three and a half years, believing Jews, who understand the Bible, Jesus said in Matthew 24:15, "He that readeth, let him understand," are going to flee for three and a half years till the tribulation comes to a close. What does all of this mean to me as we speak of Israel's strategic flight? I'll tell you one thing. It means that God knows the future. I'll tell you something else. It means that God is still in control, God is still in control. Nobody could write a book like the Bible, apart from divine inspiration, as you see everything that is happening today fitting into the sockets of prophecy.
Now let's come to the final thing, and this is the good part of it all. And I want you to think about Israel's saving faith, Israel's saving faith. Notice in Revelation chapter 12 verse 17 now as we come to the last verses of this chapter, "And the dragon was wroth," or angry, "with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God," now notice this, "and have the testimony of Jesus". We're talking about Jews here. These are believing Jews. There's going to come a time when these Jews will come to Jesus Christ as their Messiah. I'm going to give you some Scriptures in a hurry, so just jot them down. I'll read them to you. We're, we're running out of time. Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10. God says, "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced"!
Now Jehovah God is speaking! How can Jehovah God be pierced? I, the only one way I know is for God to become a man and die upon a cross. "They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son". Oh, what a day that would be. Oh, listen, Zechariah 13 verse 1, "In that day shall a fountain be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness". Oh, hallelujah, thank God. That's what the apostle Paul was talking about when he said in Romans chapter 11 verses 25 and 26, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits," listen to this, "that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in".
What is the fullness of the Gentiles? The church. "Till the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. So shall all Israel, so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, 'There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.'" Oh, Zechariah 13:1, "In that day shall a fountain be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for uncleanness and for sin". Does this bless you? Friend, it makes me shouting happy. It makes me shouting happy to know that God has a plan. God has not forsaken His ancient people. And God has blessed Israel, that Israel might be a blessing to all of the world. And there's going to be a fountain open to them. "There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty sins, stains".
How can we go day-by-day, indolent, careless, living in these pregnant days in which we live without giving everything we have to Jesus Christ? Love Him with a burning, blazing, passionate, emotional love for Jesus Christ. We are to love what God loves, and God loves His Son Jesus, and I do. And God loves His chosen people and I do. And God loves them, made them a blessing they might be a blessing to this whole world. And every son of Abraham, every daughter of Abraham that I see, I say, "Oh, if they only knew their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ". But thank God, there's coming a day, and it may not be far off, when all of this begins to unfold. I'm glad for this book. I'm glad for this book. I'm glad for the truth that He gives us. So I've told you before, I may not have every jot and tittle correct because we're dealing with things hard to see and hard to interpret. But I have this much correct, Jesus is Lord and He's coming again. Praise His name.
Bow your heads in prayer. Now heads are bowed and eyes are closed. Would you begin to pray that those who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ in this place will come to know Him? How sad it would be for them to miss the rapture; go into the Great Tribulation and then go from the Great Tribulation into the lake of fire with the devil and his angels, when Jesus suffered, bled and died for them and invites them to be saved. If you want to be saved, would you pray:
Lord Jesus, I am a sinner! I am a sinner, I don't deny it. And my sin deserves judgment and will receive judgment if I don't get saved. But Jesus, You died to save me and You promised to save me if I would trust You. I do trust You with all of my heart like a child right now. Come into my heart. Forgive my sin. Save me, Lord Jesus. I dethrone Satan. I dethrone self. I enthrone You, Lord Jesus, as the Lord and Master of my life, and I will follow You wherever You will lead me, regardless of the cost, if You'll only help me. Save me, Jesus.
Pray it and mean it. And friend, He'll save you instantaneously, He'll be with you continually, He'll keep you eternally, if you'll trust Him.
Father God, I pray that many today will ask Christ into their hearts. In Your holy name, Amen.