Jack Hibbs - Why God Must Judge The Nations (01/23/2026)
Opening Scripture
Well, grab your Bibles and turn tonight to Isaiah chapter 15—Isaiah chapter 15 and 16. In fact, from Isaiah 15 out to about the 23rd chapter of Isaiah, there are messages given to various national players. These nations are being addressed by the prophet Isaiah because of what the God of Heaven, the God of the Bible, has determined. What’s amazing about this is everything that God speaks about—church, listen, this is kind of fun to remember—that everything that Isaiah is speaking about regarding the nations that you’re going to hear of tonight with Moab are all these nations that have had some relationship to Israel.
Nations and Israel
Now, make a mental note of that. These nations that Isaiah will speak to and prophesy to are all nations that have dealt with or had some sort of connection with Israel—good, bad, or ugly—neighborhood, surrounding area, or distant nations. The reason why they’re in the Bible is because they had some dealing with Israel. The second thing is tonight that we’re looking at nations that God judges. The Bible tells us that the God of the Bible will one day judge all nations of the earth—all of them. That’s what the God of the Bible does when he comes in judgment.
Why God Judges Nations
So, we’re looking at a message entitled tonight: Why God Must Judge the Nations—why God must judge the nations. We’ll start in Isaiah chapter 15 to be looking at that. But make a note of this as well: every nation has its history. That’s kind of obvious, right? I mean, every nation has its history, and every nation has its origins. Every nation on earth God has established. The Bible says, and according to the Bible, he has predetermined their rise and their fall. Now, listen, he knows—by the way, this is no surprise to you guys; you’re Bible-savvy—God knew the rise of America, and listen, he knows the fall of America.
Rise and Fall of Nations
Yes, America will fall. Every nation has its beginning and its peak and its failure—every nation. And God knows throughout all of human history how nations come and how they go. Because God dwells in eternity, he knows everything that’s going to happen. Nothing surprises him. He knows everything. In fact, where he lives, it’s all happening in what’s called the eternal now. Everything’s happening to him now. Isn’t that weird? World War II is happening now. The creation happens now. When you live in eternity as God does, everything is the now. There’s nothing past, present, or future to God.
God’s Eternal Perspective
How do you process that? I can’t; you can’t. We just understand what the Bible has to say about that. He lives in the eternal now. But you and I live on a timeline. We’re like an ant walking around on your kitchen table. As far as that ant knows, his world goes that way and that way. Little does that ant know that you’re looking at him on your kitchen table. You can see him; he’s unaware of your presence, and you can let him live or you can squish him with your finger. But if you pick him up and move him somewhere, it’s as though a miracle happened to that little ant because someone has stepped in and interrupted his world.
Human Timeline
You and I live in a timeline, and that’s difficult for us. We think we know so much. I think we only know really what matters if we understand the Bible because that’s what lasts forever—the Word of God. And the study of the Bible is a noble thing because it’s an eternal thing. But tonight, we’re going to be looking at and extracting out of—we hope—these two chapters anyway, the fact that God deals with nations. I think it was Billy Graham—I’m not sure exactly, but I think Billy Graham said something along these lines that regarding the United States of America and God’s ability and God’s appointment to judge nations: that if God doesn’t judge America, he’s going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.
God’s Watchful Eye
Think of that for a moment. Everything that happens nationally in nations, God is watching. So tonight, I hope we touch on some things that will help you and I fathom where we’re going as a nation and how does it affect you as a Christian if the Lord doesn’t come back soon. So, I want to give you a couple of examples though of how things are regarding God. Number one example: if you’ve ever been to England, one of the things that you’re very aware of is how small England is. England is the birthplace of the British Empire, right? You know this.
The British Empire
And I want to show you a map for a moment of the British Empire when it was at its peak. Go ahead and put it on the screen, you guys. If you look right almost in the middle of the map up at the top, you’re actually seeing in the middle what looks like two dots. It’s above Spain; it’s above France and those countries right there. That’s England. In fact, technically, that’s England, Scotland, and Wales. But England is the little red dot to the right. Think about how small that is. It’s smaller than most of our states. The British Empire was born out of that little dot, and it expanded. And then, as you can see, it expanded into North America.
Expansion and Influence
You can see where are the colonies of the British Empire—the 13 colonies that later became the United States. You can see where it made its way into South America, there into Africa, India and that part of the world, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, the South Pacific. The British Empire grew, prospered—by the way, brought Christianity to those nations. British Empire—from a little beginning to a vast influence in the world. And then, of course, it’s waned; it’s gone away predominantly so. But all along the way, God has said in his word that he establishes boundaries and nations, and he judges those nations. And that’s something to keep in mind as we look at this.
People Adopt Gods
Now, as we see that and as we look here in Isaiah chapter 15, and we’ll begin learning about Moab—we’ll explain who Moab is—keep this in mind: people adopt their God or gods. People do; they adopt their God or gods. It’s in the human heart to worship. It’s in the human heart to pay some sort of homage or create God or a god. It’s within us. So a nation or a culture is going to pick its God or its gods, and it’s going to become, interestingly enough, like the god or gods it worships. It’s human nature. The point is that whatever type of God or gods you worship, you become like those gods that you worship.
Becoming Like What We Worship
This is the amazing thing about worship. If you worship the Lord God Almighty, if you worship the God of the Bible, that worship has built into it this desire to be like the God you’re learning about. That’s normal. We want to be like Jesus. We read the God of the Bible, and we see his actions, and we see his mercy and his compassion in his ways, and we want to be a follower of the God of the Bible. Well, nations don’t always follow the God of the Bible. People—there are what’s called pagan nations, godless nations. We say godless—they’re godless when it comes to worshiping the God of the Bible, but they all have gods. Think about it.
Examples of Worship
We think about North Korea right now—the most dangerous place on earth to be a Christian: North Korea. What do they worship? They worship their leader. His pictures are everywhere in the country, and people pay homage to him. And the dangerous thing about that is you’ll become like the despot, or you’ll become like the one that you worship. It’s the way that it is. Joshua 24—just write this in the margins of Isaiah chapter 15—and Joshua chapter 24, the Bible tells us verse 14: «Now therefore, fear the Lord,» says Joshua, «serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord.»
Choose Whom You Serve
He said verse 15: «And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.» Listen, whoever you are here tonight, you serve someone—something that rules over you. Joshua understands that. So Joshua is saying, pick «whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house,» says Joshua, «we will serve"—and there is his name—"Yah,» Yahweh, the Lord—"Yah.» That’s his name, the God of the Bible—Yah.
Judgment on Moab
So, as we look at this, Isaiah chapter 15—I’m going to read a little bit and then extract out, if you would, and make this, I pray, applicable to us today. The judgment of the nation Moab. He says in verse one: the burden or the judgment against Moab. And in your margins, circle the word Moab and put Jordan. You can put Jordan today; that’s where we’re heading. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste and destroyed; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste and destroyed. He has gone up to the temple of Dibon. And I want to park right here for a second, you guys, because Dibon is an amazing geographical place. It’s an actual place, factually found, archaeologically uncovered.
Archaeological Discoveries
In fact, the tablet of the Moabite or the Moabite tablet was unearthed there. And what’s interesting about that is when you read—and I’m going to ask you to do this on your own—there’s a lot of names in this chapter. If you circle those names, number one, note this: that these are actual geographical places that your old Bible makes mention of, but they are actually archaeological discoveries. That’s what I love about your Bible: your Bible is factual. These are real places. And this Moabite stone—you can look it up later on the internet or you can go to the encyclopedia—it’s one of the first alphabets ever discovered on that tablet in human history. Prior to that, people wrote in symbols, but the Moabite stone actually introduced an alphabet.
Ancient Civilizations
Why do we bring this up? Because we’re talking about ancient civilizations. They had access to knowledge; they knew things; they were advanced for their day. But in all of that, they worshiped. And when the Bible tells us in verses 1-9 that this burden is against Moab, what we want to look at this evening is the fact that what God is announcing here is the fact that their departure from the true and living God led them into pagan worship. And when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, they tried to pass through the land of Moab, and they refused them. They said, «No, Israel, you can’t pass this way.» They mistreated Israel. Make a note of that. God never turns his eye away from nations that mistreat Israel.
Treatment of Israel
I’m not going to ask you tonight what your opinion of Israel is. It honestly doesn’t matter to God; he’s not swayed by your opinion of Israel. I’ll come back to that more in the study tonight. But God says, «Strike one against Moab.» And Moab is this area today. In fact, you guys, if you have the map, let’s look at the ancient area of Moab just so you have it in your mind’s eye. Look at the green, the kingdom of Moab—Dibon. You see the star right there. If you look at the Kingdom of Judah, it’s kind of the flesh tone or pink color. So you’re looking at much of the area we would say today central Israel. You look in the blue down at the bottom—the kingdom—the green and that turquoise color from what I can see. You see down in the bottom Petra?
Petra and Jordan
Did you guys see—and help me out here because the movie escapes me—Indiana Jones? He’s riding on the horse; he rides into this amazing red rock canyon. You know what movie it is? Anybody? What movie is it? Last Crusade—the Last Crusade, filmed in Petra. Unearthed—remarkable location. Why is that important? Because that blue and the green is what is Jordan today. And God has plans for Jordan in the future. So when we look at this prophecy, he’s pronouncing judgment upon them because they are going to be attacked by invading nations. God knows about this. But the reason why they’re being disciplined is because they had mistreated Israel.
National Judgment
This is a very, very serious issue in our day today. It always is a serious issue: how do you treat the nation of Israel? God really cares—which brings about national judgment. So out of these two chapters, this is what I want to focus on tonight: what if God were to exercise national judgment today—right now—on the nations of the world? Let’s say time is up, and God begins to judge the nations of the world for how they treat Israel. Think about that for a moment because he’s going to do that someday. Jordan—or this kingdom—was severely dealt with because they mistreated Israel. When the Bible tells us that God says, «I will bless those who bless you"—he’s speaking to Abraham and your descendants—if we mistreat the people of God, God deals with that.
Punishment for Mistreatment
He’s going to punish. And this announcement that Moab is going to be taken captive—they’re going to be brutally dealt with—it’s something that comes upon them because of their mistreatment of the nation Israel. So you stop and you think about Western nations today—right now. You and I are living in a time that is quite unprecedented in our generation where, for the existence of our country, we have been pro-Israel in the defense of Israel. I believe that God actually established the United States of America for a lot of reasons. One of them is to be a covering for the rebirth of the nation Israel.
America’s Role
I believe that May 14th, 1948, the United States had the most major influential role in the birth of the nation of Israel—President Truman specifically. And listen, we were good to Israel. We can’t say that anymore, church. Our present government is against the nation of Israel. And again, I’m not asking you to agree with everything Israel does. I am asking you to agree with God, the God of the Bible. Why is this important? Because God brings national judgment. Question to you tonight: could God bring national judgment to America? Do you think America is somehow exempt from God judging us nationally?
Reasons for Judgment
Not only do I think he’s going to judge the United States nationally, there’s a whole lot of other issues as to why God would judge us: abortion—we’ve perfected it. Just some of our policies—things that we’ve done as a people, as a nation. You see, well, Jack, wait a minute—I’m not to blame for that. Well, this is my point for the message tonight: I know you’re not responsible for that. But when it comes to God judging nations, guess who suffers? God’s people suffer when nations are judged by him. Did you know that? This is a sobering thing. Listen, a lot of people tell me, «Pastor Jack, it’s getting really bad, right? Yeah, it’s getting pretty crazy out there. But the Lord’s going to rapture us out of here, right?»
Suffering Under Judgment
Well, he could rapture us out of here any old minute. But what are you implying? What are you suggesting? I can kind of feel what they’re asking: it’s getting kind of crazy, right? So that means before things get really bad here, we’re not going to see that kind of stuff, are we? We’re not going to see national judgment? Oh no, I would never say that. God’s people have always suffered under the hand of national judgment. Listen, your sins and my sins—we were forgiven at the cross. Our sins were dealt with at the cross. Our sins—your sin, my sin—done at the cross personally—done. But today, for example, there are Christians in nations that are suffering terribly—terribly—because those nations are under the judgment of God.
Historical Examples
Listen, Christians suffered terribly during World War II, for example, in Europe. We know—again, more and more—the terrorist attack of a week ago—a week and a half ago—the first one to die was a Christian. Interesting. Listen, what’s going on? God judges nations. If God begins to judge the United States of America, where does that put you and I as Christians? This is—I’ll tell you where exactly it puts us. Isaiah is a prophet during a time of Judah that is about to fall under the judgment of God’s hands because Judah had forsaken the God of Heaven. Are you with me on this? Watch this: he’s a godly man; he’s called by God; he loves the Lord. But Isaiah’s going to be sawed in half.
Prophets' Suffering
He’s going to be—according to history—he’s going to be put in a log, and he’s going to be cut in half. Did you know that? What about Daniel? Daniel was taken captive into Babylon. Daniel was thrown into the lions' den. Daniel was imprisoned at times. What about Joseph in Egypt? On and on it goes. Listen, we have been so blessed in this country up until late that we as a people—we just expect things to go well. Those days, you people, are gone now. And God’s hand is about ready to deal with this nation for how we’ve treated his people—not to mention the unborn. And he will chastise.
Preparing for Chastisement
If that comes to us in the near future, I want you to be not just surviving such days. I believe—I really believe this—if it doesn’t believe this, then don’t tell me because I want to hang on to this. I believe that if it comes to our nation, then I believe that we are going to be just Spirit-filled, on-fire ministers to those that are hurting, to those that are in a panic over what’s going on. And in this chapter, Isaiah is speaking about all of the devastations. In fact, in verse five, that quote right there is his heart. He’s saying, «My heart will cry out for Moab.» Isaiah is saying it’s going to be really bad for them; they’re going to really, really get hit hard. The Assyrian Empire is going to come and devastate them.
Hope for Jordan
Will it be over for them? Is it the end of Moab? And this is where I think our study tonight gets kind of fun. Even though God will judge the area or the kingdom of Jordan—now watch: we’re talking about something Isaiah’s speaking of what’s about to happen in his age. But here we are right now today—what about Jordan? Jordan is that region of the world. Is there hope for Jordan? Keep that in your mind. National judgment—listen, in Revelation 19:11, we hear of the ultimate national judgment coming to the nations. Revelation 19:11—the Bible says, «Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.»
Jesus' Return
This is Jesus. This is amazing. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no one knew except he himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. Does that blow your mind? That’s not the Jesus you heard about in Sunday school, but this is the Jesus that’s coming in the second coming. Watch this—verse 14: «And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses.» Verse 15: «Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword"—that’s the Word of God—"that with it he should strike the nations. And he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.»
Ultimate Judgment
What are we talking about? National judgments. God not only does it to a nation that has gone rogue against his people locally—I would say a nation locally—but there’s a time coming when Christ will return to judge the nations of the earth. That is absolutely shocking, but he’s going to come, and he’s going to do that. So listen, what do we do? We pray for our country. Do you live here? Now, I understand if you’re visiting from Canada or you’re visiting from Peru, you’re like, «What? This has nothing to do with me.» Yeah, it does. Because listen—this is amazing to me—we often downplay this. In fact, the young generation has kind of pushed this off to the side. We want to be careful. God has placed you in the nation of your upbringing for a reason.
Praying for the Nation
There are boundaries, as we know from the Bible. There are borders that God has established, and he’s placed you there. So assuming all of you in here are Americans tonight, as Christians, what are we to be doing? We’re to be praying for our nation. We not only pray for our nation; we make a difference. We make a statement. We stand up for what is right. We be that salt and light. And so as we do that, we are the ones—perhaps we are interceding for the country. The country needs us to pray. The leaders don’t know that—we know they don’t know that—because listen, California is in a horrific drought. And El Niño—by the way, you know, you’ve heard all about El Niño. Oh, El Niño—how long we’ve been hearing about El Niño? I’m sick of hearing about El Niño.
Drought and Rain
But you know what? If you talk to Oregon and Washington State, they say, «We’re sick of El Niño because we got all the rain.» And then if you talk to Texas and New Mexico, they say, «We’re sick of El Niño because we’re flooded.» Have you noticed California? Have you noticed El Niño has done the El Niño and has gone right around California this entire time? And then now people are saying, «Well, you know, back in the summer they said it’s going to happen in December.» It hasn’t happened yet. And now we’re hearing it’s going to happen in February. And if it doesn’t happen in February, it’s going to—we’re going to get rain in March. Listen, what if God says, «California, you’ve been mean to me»?
God’s Control Over Weather
What if God were to say, «No rain for you»? You know what’s amazing? Have you not read in the Bible when God says to a nation, «If you don’t obey me, I won’t give you rain»? What if you say, «Jack, now what are you suggesting?» I’m just saying the God of the Bible says, «You play nice or you don’t get rain.» Well, droughts come and go, and I’m wondering if there’s something to droughts—how they come and how they go. Did you know that Texas was in a drought—a historic drought? And then—listen, this is cool—go look it up; don’t believe me—go look it up. Texas had a historic drought going on, and people began to vote. There was an election, and the whole power base shifted last year in Texas.
Texas Example
And the first thing they did—within a matter of months of pro-life people being put in power in the state of Texas—guess what they did? They began to ban abortions. And within three weeks after these bans were in place, it started to rain in Texas. Now you say, «Well, that’s a coincidence.» You say that’s a coincidence? I have read my Bible, and I think there’s something to it. What if California—now look—what if California started to see blessings again? I don’t think it’s going to happen until God’s people seek God’s face. He’s not asking Jerry Brown to pray; he’s asking his people to pray, right? Think about it. He has called us to do this.
Delaying Judgment
So judgment will come, but interestingly enough, judgment can be delayed when God’s people pray and intercede on behalf of their country—of their place. National judgment—does it affect God’s people? Yes, it affects God’s people. But I believe that God has placed us here to make a difference—to make an effect. What if—what if the things that are beginning to happen in our nation are warnings to us from God saying, «Pray and seek my face»? The terrorist attack, the economy, the issues—riding. I didn’t get a chance to see the news; I heard about it for a second. You probably know more about it than I do, but I guess there was a decision made in Baltimore about a situation where the court didn’t rule the way the people wanted it to go today.
Lawlessness Increasing
And I guess there’s a problem in Baltimore. So why do I bring that up? Ferguson, other places—what am I getting at? Lawlessness. What if this increases? What if those kinds of things happen? What if the border issues in our country are none other than a result of us having forsaken God? Now, granted, you can go nuts thinking like this—I understand that—but yet everything that we can bring up, we can point to chapters and verses of the Bible where this happened in nations beforehand. So we want to take God’s word seriously and carefully. What’s in store for the United States? Well, this we know from Bible prophecy, you guys: at some point in time—no matter what—even if there’s a revival in the United States of America, this we know for sure.
Nations Turn on Israel
All the nations of the world—the Bible says in the book of Zechariah—will turn their backs on Israel. Did you know that? Doesn’t that bother you? It bothers me because I know that that’s an offense to God. But the Bible says all nations will turn their back on the nation of Israel in the last days. You see, well, Jack, then we’re doomed. I don’t think so, because again, as I said a moment ago, if we pray and seek God’s face, we can hold off his hand of judgment. Whatever we sow, the Bible says, that shall we also reap. It’s true for your life; it’s true for my life; it’s true for this state; it’s true for this nation. Whatever we sow, it’s going to come up. Things can be mitigated by God’s mercy if we cry out to him.
Lamentation for Moab
And so these people that are listed—these locations that are listed here in this chapter—it’s a short chapter. If you take the time to read it, all of this is a lamentation because there’s destruction planned for Moab. The beautiful thing is it’s not going to be total because God has a plan. When it says in verse two, you guys, that he—that is Moab—has gone up to the temple—these temples that are in practice in Moab—these were, in fact—look at the next statement—to the high places to weep. Moab will wail over Nebo. You guys, these were places of pagan worship, and they had gotten into horribly pagan, erotic, violent human sacrifice. All of these things were going on, and they had brought themselves to the place of this national judgment that God’s hand would not be kept back or stayed.
Jordan in Last Days
It had reached that point. But we come to this interesting thing, you guys, regarding now today Jordan. You guys, God’s got a plan for the nation of Jordan in the last days. When you look at the book of Daniel and when you look at Isaiah and the book of Jeremiah, this is what is going to transpire as time goes on. And I don’t think it’s long—I don’t know; I’m not setting a date by no means—but I don’t think it’s long as we see the wheels of the end times rolling, you guys. Jordan in the last days—the Antichrist is going to arise, and he’s going to deceive—listen—many nations. The Antichrist does not deceive all nations. We think he does; he does not.
Antichrist’s Limitations
You guys are looking at me like you don’t—you know, the Antichrist, the guy that’s going to implement the mark—666, book of Revelation—that guy’s coming. But in his attempt to rule the world, the Bible tells us and shows us—both again from the book of Daniel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah—that he will not successfully conquer Egypt or Jordan. He’s going to fail at it. And the Bible tells us that as he deceives the nations and predominantly Israel—it says in Daniel chapter 9 that he’s going to create a peace treaty that has a seven-year contract to it. But you guys know—I think you know—that at the three and a half year point, he breaks that contract with the nation of Israel.
Abomination of Desolation
The Bible says in the middle of that seven years, he goes into the temple in Jerusalem—which means there’s got to be a temple rebuilt in Jerusalem. He’s going to make desolations in that temple. 2 Thessalonians 2 says that this man—this great politician, this world leader—he’s going to declare himself to be God. Doesn’t that sound nuts? But he’s going to declare himself to be God. And the Bible says that the world is going to think that’s great, and they’re going to go after him. But in that declaration, the Bible says that Israel will be awakened. In fact, mark your Bibles—turn to Matthew chapter 24. You see, what does this have to do with Jordan? But watch—it has everything to do with it.
Matthew 24 Prophecy
In Matthew chapter 24, verse 14, it says, «And this gospel,» Jesus says, «of the kingdom will be preached in all of the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.» So he makes that statement. Now in verse 15—in light of what he just says—don’t look at it in a chronological order. Jesus makes this parenthetical insert: we’re right at the end; the gospel is going to be preached to all the world, and then the end comes. By the way, the Bible tells us in the book of Revelation he’s going to do that by sending an angel that flies to the midst of the atmosphere. Isn’t that going to be awesome? How’s that going to look? I have no idea. But an angel is going to proclaim the everlasting gospel in the book of Revelation through the midst of the atmosphere to everyone on the earth.
Great Tribulation
And then the end is only some three and a half years away at most. But look at Matthew chapter 24: «Therefore,» verse 15, «when you see the 'abomination of desolation, ' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place» (whoever reads, let him understand), «then let those who are in Judea"—you guys, that’s in Israel—"flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.» Notice a sense of urgency. «And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight or your escape may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath.»
Israel-Specific Warning
Only Jews think about the Sabbath, ladies and gentlemen. This is very, very Israel-specific. «For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.» Here’s the question—just put it off to the side: when they see the abomination of desolation—that’s the Antichrist displaying himself in Israel as God—the Jews are going to run. Where do they run to? Well, you know that, but maybe others don’t know that in this room. They’re going to run.
Urgent Flight
And so quick are they to run that if they’re farming, they’re not even going to want to go back to get their jacket. It’s such an urgent departure—that is a crisis; that is an emergency; that is like earthquake kind of stuff, right? So you can think about how that’s going to happen. Are they going to be farming? Are they going to be working? And it’s going to be a push notification on their phone—news update? Think about how it’s going to happen: «Whoa, what? That guy that we signed a contract with for peace has just declared himself to be God in the temple.» And they’re going to run. And it’s so graphic; it even says it’s going to be tough if you’re nursing a baby—you can’t run very well if you’re nursing a baby. Flee Judea—where do they go to?
Hosea Prophecy
Now, mark your Bible—go to Hosea 5:15. Hosea 5:15—what’s going to happen during the tribulation period? Hosea 5:15 shows us something. It starts right there—last, I think it’s the last verse of chapter 5—and then we’ll go into chapter 6 for a moment. Hosea: «I will return"—this is God speaking—"I will return again to my place.» This is awesome. «I’m going away, Israel; I’m leaving you.» Do you remember what—remember Jesus—Palm Sunday—declared himself to be king to the nation of Israel: «Hosanna, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.» Remember that? And then by that weekend, they’re rejecting him. He dies on the cross, resurrected—found to be resurrected from the tomb on Sunday morning—witnesses to many—ascends.
God’s Departure
Jesus says in John 14: «I’m going to go away to prepare a place for you.» In Hosea 5:15: «I will return again to my place till they"—who’s they? The Jews—"acknowledge their offense.» This is amazing. See the word «offense» here—in Hebrew, it’s not «offenses» as many sins. He’s holding them guilty for one sin—one major one. Sin is the big deal. That’s a reference to one. «I’m going to be gone until they acknowledge their sin.» What do you think their sin was? Exactly—rejecting the Messiah. That’s, by the way, that’s how you get to hell tonight. Did you know that? Jesus died for your sins at the cross, but to commit blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to reject the offer that Jesus Christ is your Redeemer, Lord, and Savior—to reject him—to push him off.
Unpardonable Sin
Your only hope of salvation is to commit the unforgivable sin—the unpardonable sin. It’s singular: to reject him. Think of that for a moment. Then they—then he goes on to say, «Then they will seek my face; in their affliction"—reference to the perils of the tribulation—"they will earnestly seek me.» Look at chapter 6, verse one—remember, there’s no chapter breaks in the original Bible; it just keeps going: «Come, and let us return to the Lord; for he has torn"—that is, he’s disciplined us—"but he will heal us; he has stricken"—national judgment—"but he will bind us up. After two days"—this is wild, you guys; mark Hosea 6:2—"after two days he will revive us; and on the third day he will raise us up.»
Revival on Third Day
Many scholars believe—many—that when the Jews begin to understand and realize Jesus is the one—call upon the Lord—that they’ll call upon him one day; they’ll call upon him the second day; and on the third day they call upon him—he will appear to them. That’s what many scholars believe regarding the second coming. That’s wild. Is it true? We’ll wait and see. If you want to study that more—this will blow your mind—study Daniel 12 and all the dates that are listed in Daniel 12. Look at those; it’s quite amazing. Daniel 12—keep reading, though, Hosea: «that we may live in his sight.» Verse three: «Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; he will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth.»
Return to Israel
Where is he coming to? Where is he going? To Israel. Hosea is a prophet to the nation Israel. Whoever they are, they rejected him, but they’re going to ask him to come back. Why? They’ve been in national judgment. Now watch—mark your Bible again: Romans 11:25. Romans 11:25—Paul knows this. Paul was—he’s a born-again Jew. Paul—he’s a Jew that got saved—a Jew born anew. He is—he’s a scholar of the Old Testament. Paul knew Hosea; he knew Jeremiah; he knew Isaiah; he knew Daniel. I don’t—I don’t mean he didn’t know Daniel; I’m talking about his books. He’s read—he read all those books—same books you have; same ones in your Bible.
Blindness in Part
Romans 11—Paul writes to the church at Rome. He says, «For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant or uninformed of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until"—look at this—"the fullness of the Gentiles has come in"—or complete; some of your Bibles say. What is that? Right now, there’s a veil over Jewish people’s eyes. Some Jews get saved; most do not. They don’t get it. You can witness to a Jew, and they don’t get it. They don’t understand. Why? The Bible says here in Romans 11, there’s a veil over their eyes. And I hope I remembered to tell you something in a moment. I’m tempted to just say it right now, but it wouldn’t have such an impact.
Veil Over Eyes
So blindness in part has happened until—is unto Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles is complete. And that means however many Gentiles are going to get saved—can you imagine the last one that gets saved? God’s got a stopwatch going. Verse 26: «And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion'"—referencing Christ—"'and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.'» And here’s that thing I wanted to share with you, you guys—this is amazing. The Bible tells us in Second Corinthians that for those who do not understand the gospel, Satan has blinded their eyes so that they cannot believe.
Satan’s Blinding
Have you ever witnessed to somebody, and they don’t believe? Of course you have. Why is that? The Bible says Satan has blinded their eyes. Listen, do you remember someone witnessing to you at some time in your life, and you didn’t believe at that time? You were not a Christian; it didn’t make any sense to you. It’s like, «What? I don’t get it.» Why? Satan had blinded your eyes. You and I would be blind tonight if it wasn’t for the grace of God. God pulls back that veil. Now here’s the catch: the god of this world—the Bible says—is Satan, who has blinded the eyes of those who do not believe. But that’s not true for a Jew. I’m pausing for effect.
God’s Veiling
Corinthians says for those who do not believe, Satan’s blinded them. But nowhere does it say that Satan has blinded the eyes of the Jew. The Bible says that God has veiled the eyes of the Jew because of unbelief. That’s wild. Think about that for a minute. There’s a veil over their eyes, and the Bible says that God is going to lift that veil someday. Who knew that? Paul the apostle knew that. The Bible teaches about that. Why did Paul believe it? Where did he see that in the Bible? Mark your Bible again: Genesis 17:6. It begins there. Genesis 17:6: «I will make you"—Abraham—"exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you.» Man, think of the nations that came from him—not only through Ishmael but Isaac, right?
Abraham’s Covenant
Abraham and Hagar—the Israelites—12 sons. Abraham and Isaac and the 12 sons or the 12 tribes of Israel. That’s a lot of nations—people—from one guy, from one man. «I will make exceedingly fruitful, and will make many nations of you, and kings shall come from you.» Again, he’s speaking to Abraham. «And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations"—read your Bible carefully, everybody; watch this—"for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of"—where? —"Canaan, as an everlasting possession.»
Localized to Canaan
So all of a sudden, this grand promise of multiple nations coming from Abraham is now localized to whoever came out of Canaan—that’s the Jewish people. Jeremiah 31:31—mark your Bible. Jeremiah 31:31: «Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.» Wow.
Unbreakable Covenant
Jeremiah 33:19—Jeremiah 33:19: «And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Thus says the Lord: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then my covenant may also be broken with David my servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister to me.'» What is God saying? God is saying, «I have made a covenant with this particular nation—Israel—that will last forever. It will not be broken.»
Tribulation Period
Even during the tribulation period—getting back to the Antichrist—he’s going to rise up, and he’s going to launch his persecution for the last three and a half year period of the tribulation time against the people of Israel. What is going to happen? Why will Jordan be spared from the wrath of the Antichrist at that time? Revelation—it begins with Revelation 3:7. Watch this. Revelation 3:7: «And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, 'These things says he who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens: „I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength.“» Watch: «You have kept my word, and you have not denied my name.»
Church in Philadelphia
I hope that this—I pray that this church would be that kind of a church, okay? Verse 9 is amazing: «Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan"—synagogue of Satan—who are these people? —"who say they are Jews and are not.» What does this have to do with anything? I believe in this—in this chapter to the church in Philadelphia—Jesus is warning against a scourge that is sweeping the church today at this hour, and that is replacement theology: Gentiles in the church who say the church is Israel; Israel is no more. They look at the covenants that are the verses we just looked at—even though God says, «My covenant with Israel is forever"—they say, «No, you know, Israel—wherever Israel appears, you insert the church.»
Replacement Theology
How arrogant is that? Who gives them the right to say such things? The moment they do that, they are butchering scripture for their own reasons. The moment you do that, now all scripture’s open for butchering. You tamper a little bit with the word of God—what does the Bible say? Both in the book of Revelation and Deuteronomy—God says, «You mess with my word—you take anything out or you add anything to it—and the curses, the judgments of this book will be brought upon you.» You don’t mess with the Bible; you don’t change it. And that’s happening in universities, Christian seminaries, and churches across America and throughout Europe right now: that Israel has no right to their land; Israel is the occupier; turn on Israel; and our church is the new Israel.
Warning Against Antisemitism
There’s names that I could mention that would shock you—some of your kids may even be at their colleges—that believe this trash. It’s called replacement theology. I find it interesting that 2000 years ago, Jesus says, «There are those who say they are Jews and are not.» Be very careful. You say, «Well, how—what does this have to do with anything?» Because I believe that this modern-day antisemitic move within the church is going to bring about the next great—or fuel, help fuel—the next great Holocaust that’s coming. Because it happened in World War II, and it’s going to happen on a bigger scale.
Revelation 12
Now, how does Moab fare in Revelation chapter 12? And we’ll end soon. Revelation 12:13—listen to this. John says in Revelation 12:13: «Now when the dragon"—Satan—"saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman"—if you read the whole chapter, that’s Israel—"who gave birth to the male child"—that’s Jesus. «But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for"—look at—"a time and times and half a time.» Mark it down—don’t trust me; go read it; go find out what that means. You’re going to find that a time, times, and half a time turns out to be 1260 days in your Bible—based upon a Babylonian calendar—360-day calendar. 1260 days is 3 and ½ years: time, times, and a half a time.
Midpoint of Tribulation
Isn’t it interesting? It correlates perfectly with the midpoint of the tribulation period—when the Antichrist declares himself to be God. Israel is going to flee. They’re going to flee to—do you remember how we started tonight out with the map? That little star that was at the bottom of the screen called Petra. Listen, in verse—it goes on—in verse 14 of Revelation 12: he’s going to flee «from the presence of the serpent.» Verse 15: «So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.»
Protection in Wilderness
«And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.» When you look at the Old Testament and what’s going to happen regarding Israel during the tribulation period, the reason why Jordan is going to be spared from the wrath of the Antichrist is because Petra is reserved—is kept—for the Jews to flee into the wilderness, where they’re going to be spared at that period of time. I encourage you: go to Google Earth; go look; go type in Petra and look at the images and see the vastness. Scholars believe—I don’t know if you were with us when we went to Petra; we wound up going through that location—scholars believe that that crack in the earth is so well protected that it could house up to two million people if need be.
Petra’s Capacity
It’s massive, and it’s been kept for thousands of years until it was unearthed—when all the sand was removed. And you saw Indiana Jones ride into the opening door of it, and you saw that what’s called the treasury—that beautifully carved red sandstone. That was Petra in the movie. And we believe that that’s where the Jews will flee because the attempt of the Antichrist to go into Jordan are all thwarted. He will never make it in there. Why? Because the Jews are there. It’s really remarkable; it’s fascinating. In Isaiah chapter—we can’t start chapter 16 now—but very technical stuff, but all of it dealing with national judgments.
Mercy on America
May God have mercy on America. I just—I just don’t think people believe that God’s really going to shake this place up. What’s it going to look like? How’s it going to happen? Sad to say, whenever Israel turned its back on God, God always allowed Israel’s archenemies to invade its borders—to come across its borders—and to begin to attack its crops and its economy, and then eventually take it over. Gosh, could it be the stuff that’s going on right now in America is being perpetrated by an enemy? But could that enemy be allowed to be doing this by the chastising hand of God?
Call to Repentance
You say, «Well, Jack, what’s the answer?» I think you know what the answer is, and I think you know where the answer is not going to come from. I don’t believe the answer can come from political leaders. I’m not putting down political leaders, but I don’t think they can deliver the answer. I believe our country is at the point where the only hope and the only answer is if God’s people who are called by his name will humble themselves, pray, and seek his face—then he will hear from heaven. He’s going to do that if we—if we repent. He says, «Who repents? If Obama repents?» No, he’s not asking Obama to repent. «Oh, you mean Jerry Brown?» Or no—he’s not asking Jerry Brown to repent. He’s asking us to repent.
Prayer
It is incumbent upon us to ask the Lord, «Lord, show me my sin. Show me, Lord, where I have erred.» You guys, we all need the forgiveness of God. But listen, we can’t appreciate his forgiveness until we realize what we have—how and how we’ve offended him. Serious things.
Father, we pray that you’d have mercy on us as a nation. The end times are coming. They’re not out of control; they’re not on some crazy bumper car ride going this way and that as though it’s out of control. Lord, you know it all. Stage is being set. How does this nearly 3000-year-old prophecy speak to our day? God, we ask you in Jesus' name that you’d start with our hearts in this room—that you’d start with our hearts, God, to see, Lord, that we have not ministered, for example—James tells us—we’ve not ministered effectively or enough to the orphans. We have not comforted the fatherless. We have not comforted effectively the widows. We have not visited those who are in affliction. As we—God—your word tells us that we have not gone after, Lord, those that are before us that we could have ministered to. Lord, I just—me myself—I am in great need of your grace and forgiveness. We are people so distracted. And Lord, I just pray right now that you would send your spirit of conviction upon us. We’ve allowed things to come into our lives. We look at the Moabites, and we say, «Well, they had it coming. They had all these pagan shrines. They had these lewd, bizarre statues of gods and goddesses that they performed in front of. Oh, they had it coming.» And yet people naming the name of Jesus—with a cross around their neck—at an altar of pornography, worshiping pleasure and images—idols carved out of pixels on a screen. Would you say to us now, God, «Well, you had it coming»? Fathers having abandoned their homes, their children—well, we had it coming. Moms and wives giving up to go get «me time,» and it has led them down a path of seduction. God, would you say to us, «Well, you had it coming»? Or a church that has failed to honor your word—has relegated your people—people right off the map. And you could say to us tonight, «Why, you had it coming.» We beg of you, Lord, tonight—have mercy. And I pray, Lord God, for anyone here tonight that’s never accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior—never thought about their own personal sin—you would be 100% justified to point at them tonight and say, «You have had it coming.» But in your judgment, Lord, you said it’s your desire to remember mercy. And we ask you, Lord God, that you’d visit us with mercy.
Tonight—to the young man, to the young woman tonight, to the old man, to the old woman tonight—everyone in between—individually, separately. Tonight we’d say:
Lord God, have mercy upon me. Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I believe You were raised from the dead. I choose tonight, dear God in heaven, to come to You—so guilt-ridden—asking You to take my sin from me, to wash me. I confess tonight—friend, whoever you may be this evening—to say: I want Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible, the Jesus where the Bible says He died on the cross, the Jesus who died for me, the Jesus who was buried in a tomb just north of the Temple Mount there in Jerusalem, the Jesus who on the third day rose again from the dead, the Jesus who ascended back to heaven. I want that Jesus in my life. Forgive me, Lord. If that’s your prayer tonight, you tell Him: Lord, forgive me now. Come into my life. Transform me, God. Set me free. Show Yourself to me, Lord.