Allen Jackson - Why Israel Matters? - Part 2
And then there’s this whole notion of prophetic confirmation. And this is really fascinating, we’re gonna do this very quickly because if we get into it, I’d have a hard time getting back out. But the history of the Jewish people from Abraham onward was foretold in the prophets of the Bible. There’s no other group of people about whom that can be said. Thousands of years of their history. And told in anticipation by the prophets. With an accuracy that, it cannot be understood as coincidental. I know we are reluctant often to embrace prophetic passages. And I can tell you what they say in the theology schools that don’t hold the biblical worldview and you should know there are many theology schools that don’t hold the biblical worldview.
I’ll hesitate at saying most, but I will say that in most there are faculty members that don’t hold a biblical worldview. My undergraduate degree was earned at a very high profile Christian university. And one of the distinguished members of the faculty in the history department in a course I sat in said there was no holocaust. I’ll spare you the litany of theology schools I have been in or visited where they deny the authority of scripture, but the way they will take a passage like the prophetic passages and say, «Well, it was all corruptions of the text». All those places, because the Bible, we didn’t have printing presses until fairly recent history.
So, the Bible was copied by hand, and they say it was manipulated, and you can’t trust the text, and they apply the criteria of historical authenticity. And they just obliterate the Word of God, so, they say, «You can’t put any confidence in those prophetic passages». And I assure you that thinking has infected the church far more deeply, far more deeply than COVID affected our culture. If you are in a church and they deny the authority of scripture, and the uniqueness of Jesus, and the power of his shed blood, quietly leave. We can disagree about worship styles, and translations of the Bible, and whether or not we should comment on current events, but we cannot disagree on the uniqueness of Jesus.
The rule of thumb, and I’ve shared it with you many times, is if we can disagree on a point and we can both go to heaven, I will extend a hand of fellowship. If disagreement means one of us will miss the kingdom, then that cannot be tolerated. I’ll give you an example. How am I doing on time? Not very well. Aren’t you surprised? One of the best examples. Critical thinking, long before we had critical race theory, critical thinking, critical theory was the thing in academia. It’s an approach where you break things down into its components and then you can arrange the parts any way you want to. Well, critical theory made its way into biblical studies long before it made it into sociology. Because if you could change the church you can change the culture and the society.
And so, they had to break down the authority of scripture. And they said, «You can’t trust the Bible. It’s not an authentic source. It’s manipulative, it’s filled with myth, yada, yada, yada, yada». And then one of the things they attacked was the prophetic part of the scripture. And for instance, one of the books that got the most academic attention was the book of Isaiah. It is very fashionable in the most high profile schools in this nation. Was to say, you know, «There was no Isaiah». I mean, there might have been an Isaiah, but he didn’t write Isaiah. There was like a school of Isaiah. Whole bunch of them. Kind of a common block of thought. They might have, maybe the original Isaiah had a way with words and they imitated him.
And so, they break it into how many books or I mean. Well, what made that possible was the oldest copy of the Hebrew Bible that we had, the Old Testament, was from about a thousand AD, a thousand years after Jesus. That was the oldest copy we had. And it was kept by a group of scribes who were beyond fastidious, they knew the middle letter of the Old Testament. That kind of attention to detail, but they said, «Because it’s hand copied, the text is corrupt». Isaiah 53 that talks about a Messiah who suffered, who by his stripes we are healed, is quoted in the New Testament frequently. They said Isaiah 53 was inserted by the Christians. They had 1000 years to monkey with the text. And then on, I mean, there’s whole bodies of literature, whole PhD thesis, whole schools of thought, whole academic sections built on this idea.
Then when they found the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1948. Occasionally, God I think just smiles and go, «Here». One book, one book that they found, one of the unique books they found in total was a scroll of the book of Isaiah. And it was a thousand years older than the oldest scroll we had. Back to the first century. So, you’re thinking, «Okay, no Christian corruption. This one is gonna show us what Isaiah really looked like». And it’s almost letter for letter, exactly like the copy they have. But the academic community didn’t raise their hands and go, «Oh, we got that wrong». They didn’t say, «Our approach to biblical authority was so messed up, we humbly repent».
None of that. That’s what I’m saying to you, what we’re watching in the public square today is not new. Folks, there is only, when you make a mistake, when you get it wrong and we all get it wrong, every one of us, me too. The biblical prescription is repentance. It says, «I thought the wrong way, and I behaved the wrong way, and I will change my thought, and I will change my behavior». If you think you can live through sin, just not gonna talk about it, act like it didn’t happen, keep going, people will forget. You will bear the consequence for it. The Bible says Jesus’s message was, «The kingdom of heaven is at hand, repent and believe».
Your stubborn refusal to repent will inhibit your ability to believe. And the church for us to have the future we need to for the sake of our children and our grandchildren needs to be a repentant church. Not just about our theology, about the lives we’ve led, about the places we’ve taken a stand. We may have taken them sincerely, we may have taken them at the moment we think factual. Whatever it may be, we may have had good reason, we may have been swept up in the emotion. I don’t know what it is, repent. It changes the entire future. How did I get their prophecy? That’s a long rabbit trail. Don’t dismiss it. Peter said, «We would do well to pay attention to the prophets». If the fishermen that Jesus recruited, and anchored the church in Jerusalem tells me to pay attention to the prophets, watch me spend time.
So, I brought you a sampling. I gave you 12, we’re not gonna read all the verses, but I’ll give you the statements. The Bible is foretold long before the reality, hundreds of years before the reality, the enslavement of Israel in Egypt. Genesis 15:13, «God said to Abraham, 'You know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they’ll be enslaved and mistreated 400 years.'» And they were. Israel’s deliverance and the plundering of Egypt, God told Abraham about that as well.
It’s most unlikely they were there 400 years, hundreds of those years as slaves. It’s one thing to be delivered, but when they left Egypt, you remember what happened? They left with the gold and silver of Egypt. They said, «Here, if you leave, we’ll give you everything we have left». They plundered the nation of Israel and God foretold it hundreds of years before it happened. Their possession of the land of Canaan in Genesis 13. God establishing Jerusalem as a center of worship in Psalm 132. Israel had a civil war after Solomon and it split into two nations much like our own civil war except there wasn’t a reconciliation.
In the northern kingdom was Israel and the capital of Israel was Samaria and the southern kingdom was Judah and the capital of Judah was Jerusalem. And the prophets anticipated that the northern kingdom would go into captivity by Assyria, it’s in Isaiah 7. A hundred and fifty years later, the southern kingdom, Judah, goes into captivity by Babylon. Jeremiah anticipated that. Solomon built the first temple in Jerusalem, some of you will remember that. The destruction of that temple was prophesized in 1 Kings 9. The return to the land of Israel of a small remnant from Babylon was prophesized in Jeremiah 29.
In Daniel chapter 9, Daniel, who spent his life as a slave in Babylon said, «I discovered by reading the book of Jeremiah that our time for us to go home is at hand». Jeremiah said they would be there for 70 years. And Daniel said, «We get to go home». Jeremiah said, «We’re going home». And I meet Christians who say, «Well, you know, I don’t read my Bible». I’m like, how do you navigate? How do you decide what’s right and wrong, good and evil, up or down? «Well, I think». Well, I’m grateful that you think, but you also need to factor in the truth.
The second temple was built by Zerubbabel. You can spell that you go to the head of the class. But the destruction of that second temple was prophesized by Jesus in Matthew 24. The scattering of the Jews among the Gentile nations. Gentile in the scripture means everybody that’s not Jewish. And it’s difficult to imagine in the Jewish community until today, Gentile is not a compliment. It’s a little bit like in the South when we say, «Bless your heart». We’re not really inviting God’s best to you. That the Jews would be scattered among the Gentiles because of disobedience was all in Leviticus 26. The persecution and oppression of Israel among the nations, Leviticus 26. The regathering of the Jewish people from among the nations, Jeremiah 33.
And that’s just a dozen there are more. But I think it’s worth noting that those dozen have been fulfilled, prophesized in many cases hundreds of years before the actual events. There are at least three, and I say at least because there are more, but there are at least three prophetic passages still to be fulfilled with regard to the Jewish people. The gathering of all nations against Jerusalem in war. Jesus said that in Luke 21. A supernatural revelation of Messiah to the Jewish people is prophesied in Zechariah 12. And the coming of Messiah to establish his kingdom and power and glory in Jude 14. I purposely gave you some of those references from the New Testament because it’s too easy to think, «Well, Israel is an Old Testament story» or «the Jewish people are an Old Testament story».
I got a couple of minutes. Let’s do this last or some portion of this anyway. The best prayer for Israel. I think that’s an important question. In Romans 10 and verse 1 I think is the summary. This is the apostle Paul, he’s a Pharisee, he’s a believer in Jesus. But he was a Pharisee. «My heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved». But I think we need some awareness around that. It’s not a conversion to a different faith, it’s a recognition that Jesus is their Messiah. It’s not an argument about which day of the week to worship on. It’s about how you stand in relation to the person of Jesus. In our own pride and arrogance, we’ve wanted to convert people to our behavior patterns.
What we want to invite people to is the lordship of Jesus of Nazareth. And that prayer, that verse applies to all of us, all people, fit into one of two categories: saved or not. This is where I get so concerned in the contemporary church. We have people we love leading very ungodly lives. And they will say to me, they say to me with some frequency, «You know, pastor, I know they’re living an immoral life, but they’re saved».
Folks, that’s a terrifying position. There is no third option, if a person is not saved, they’re lost. And the fruit of our lives is the best indicator. And there’s a group of people and it’s not a small group, I’ve known a few of them because of some of my choices. They have an excitement for Israel and the Jewish people. It’s a little concerning. It’s referred to in a variety of ways, Jerusalem syndrome. My friend Lance Lambert, before he went to heaven, he used to give a list of how many Isaiahs he’d met because they tend to migrate to Jerusalem. But a predominant characteristic of this group of people is they act as if the only factor is the Jewish heritage and the land that God promised. And that’s an incomplete understanding.
Look at John 8:24. This is Jesus speaking. He said, «I told you that you would die in your sins». This is Jesus speaking to the group in Jerusalem. «I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins». These are Jesus’s words, a Jew to the Jews. There’s no special salvation for the Jewish people. There’s no secret door or alternate plan. They will have to grapple with Jesus of Nazareth. It’s why our representation matters. If we become a part of the stumbling block because of our hatred of the Jewish people, because of our silence in the face of anti-Semitism, because we endorse it, or support it, or promote it, or put people in places of power that do so. And we make it more difficult. For the people God chose as the delivery system for his redemptive purposes to have a revelation of Jesus.
Yes, I believe the judgment for us will be more severe. There’s a prerequisite to Israel’s revelation of Jesus. Something has to happen. Romans 11, «I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited; Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full numbers of the Gentiles has come in». The prerequisite is the harvest of the Gentiles. God showing his mercy to the non-Jews. It’s a seasonal thing. We’re not far from springtime in Tennessee and there’s a lot of things will come in season. One of the first will be strawberries.
In Tennessee, that’s a pretty narrow window. We’ll have a couple or 3 weeks perhaps, but you’re not gonna find fresh strawberries growing in Tennessee in August. Unless somebody’s manipulating mother nature. We understand seasons mean there are unique opportunities. There are different harvests in different seasons. I love fresh tomatoes in Tennessee. You can put those plants out as early as you want. You put them out too early, they’ll meet frost. And if you’ve got fresh tomatoes by July the 4th, you did well. You’re not gonna have very many by the second week of May, it’s not the season. Luke 21 is a very similar passage. This is Jesus, it’s a prophetic passage. He’s speaking of the Jewish people, he said, «They’ll fall by the sword and be taken as prisoners to all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled».
You see, at the end of the age, the Jewish people. The nation of Israel will return to the center of stage of God’s purposes. And one of the things you’ll know is that the time of the Gentiles would have come to a conclusion. We have work to do. The Gospel is to be preached in all the world. We’ve been given that assignment. Have we done… we were very quick to point out the failures of the Jewish people. What they missed and what they didn’t do. We’ve had two millennia to see that the Gospels preached in the whole world. And we’re all over that, we’re up for that. As long as it doesn’t intrude with spring break, or fall break, or Super Bowl weekend, or whatever season’s important to you, you know, as long as we can fit it into the commercials.
Well, not during the Super Bowl we watched those commercials, but normally. We are all… will raise my hand, «I’m for a move of God that will fit in during commercial breaks». God forgive us. So, my last question is the longing of our heart. It’s Isaiah 30. «The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is the God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him! O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you».
What a wonderful prayer to pray. For the people of the land. We are waiting for God to do what? To show compassion. Sometimes the wait is longer than I would prefer it to be in my life. How about yours? I’m not a great waiter. I’ve told you that, microwaves annoy me. We’ve had microwave technology now for what? Four decades? Can we not improve on that? I mean for real, 90 seconds to boil a cup of water, come on. Elon’s gonna send somebody to Mars and we can’t boil water quicker than 90 seconds. Let’s get a move on, it’s time to go, right? And waiting patiently for the Lord. «Weeping will come to an end,» he said. No more weeping, can you imagine? That’s in Revelation too, you know. God said, «I’ll wipe every tear from their eyes». There’ll be no more weeping. But you know, all these promises have an expression in the New Testament. We’ll do that in another session.
But I’ll close with 2 Timothy 4 says there, this is Paul, he’s in prison. His execution seems imminent. And he said, «There’s in store for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day—but not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearing». Just a simple question as we close, what are you longing for? I know we’re in church and we all know the right answer, but I mean really. And the way to identify that is what do you get heated up about if it looks like it’s gonna be delayed, it’s gonna cost enough that you might not realize it. That’s a much closer identification of what you’re longing for than your traditional church answer. You want a prayer to pray for the Jewish people, I think Isaiah 30 is a wonderful one.
If you want one to pray for yourself, pray that the Spirit of God will put a longing in our heart for the Lord. That nothing will satisfy us beyond his presence. No achievement, no accomplishment, no collection of things, no awards, no recognition, a longing for him. Folks, the church in the earth is the best possible hope for the generations who follow us. Do not be ashamed, or embarrassed, or reluctant to be advocates for the Word of God. And if there are places where repentance is appropriate, with enthusiasm begin to repent. «What will people say»? Who cares? If God is pleased.
Let’s close with that prayer from Isaiah 30. I gave it to you as a prayer, but I gave you the reference so you know I didn’t make it up. Stand with me, we’ll read it together. You found it? Will you read it out loud with me? Appreciate the dozen of you that are rowdy. Together:
The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Amen.