Jentezen Franklin - Israel In Prophecy - Part 1
If you have your Bible, I want you to open it to 1 Chronicles 17, 1 Chronicles 17. And I am preaching this morning on "Israel In Prophecy", Israel In Prophecy. When I talk about Israel, I want you to draw parallel between natural Israel and spiritual Israel. There are two Israel's, there's natural Israel and the Jewish people and the holy land, but the Bible also says there's spiritual Israel which is the church, the body of Christ, you and I, the believers who have been engrafted into the heritage tree by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so, every promise, everything that you read about the nation of Israel and the Jewish people that God promises, He has made even greater promises and covenant, a covenant that is even greater through Jesus Christ for you and I and for your family and my family.
Look with me in 1 Chronicles 17:21, this is David praying and he's pointing out some profound things about the nation and people of Israel, the Jewish people. "And who is like you," verse 21, "And who is like your people, Israel"? See, we're not just called to love the holy land and the land of Israel, but the people of Israel. "Who is like your people, Israel? The one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people. To make for yourself a name by great and awesome deeds by driving out nations from before your people whom you redeemed from Egypt". God said, "I am driving out people to put you in that land". "You have made your people, Israel, your very own people forever and and you, Lord, have become their God".
The uniqueness of Israel, the thing that makes them different from every other nation, and I'm a proud American, I still stand, I still put my hand on my heart, I still believe in my country, and I love it, I'm a proud American, not ashamed to say I'm an American. Proud of it, thank God for it. The greatest, greatest nation, but Israel is like no other nation because God set out to redeem it from other nations. "Who is like your nation, Israel? The one nation God went to redeem for Himself". In Exodus 19:6, God made promises to Moses and He said, "You shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. You're not like the other nations in my mind, you are different. You are a kingdom of priests".
In Romans 9:4-5, the Apostle Paul points out distinctive features of the nation of Israel when he says who are Israelites? And these applied to not only natural Israel, but spiritual Israel, you and I. "Who are Israelites to whom pertain the adoption," we've been adopted, "The glory, the covenants," the nation of Israel, the people of Israel, the Israelites, they have been adopted by God, God has put His glory upon them, they have the covenants that God made, so do you and I. They have been given the law, the commandments of God, they have the service of God which is a reference to the priesthood has been given to them and all the promises of God, they've been given to the Israelites and to the land of Israel and the people of Israel.
Paul was a theologian and scholar and he said, "This is how God sees them," and then he draws that comparison. Through the Jewish people, through the nation of Israel, the savior of the world came, that cannot be said of any other nation. There is no other race of people through which the redeemer would come. When God, who is a spirit, put on human flesh, put on a physical body and came down to us, He said, "I will do it through the lineage of Jewish flesh and bones, I will come in that flesh suit and I will come to a place called Israel, and through a people called the Jews".
In Revelation 5, there is a scene in Heaven and it's so important that it's not just down here that He used the Jewish people and Jesus was Jewish, but even in Heaven, it recognizes Him, He said, "There was a scroll that was sealed with seven seals and no one was able to open the book and break the seals and then I heard a voice as the people were weeping saying, 'Do not weep, behold the lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed to open the book and to break the seal.'" Notice, the lion of the tribe, in Heaven, there is a Jewish redeemer, savior, and God and He says, "I want to be identified with the physical tribe I came from, the Israelite tribe of Judah".
The word "Jude" is where we get "Jew" from, "Duh". That's a revelation right there. And the root of David, see, he's saying, "You can't separate me from the root of David, go back into my lineage," and this is Him speaking in Heaven. So, you have to understand that not only was He a Jew when He was on earth, but He still is a Jew in Heaven in His resurrected position. He's the lion of the tribe of Judah and woe be to His enemies when He begins to roar. Because no one can fight the lion of the tribe of Judah. It was an astounding verse that Jesus, Himself taught in John 4, He was speaking to the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman, and He said, "You worship, and you don't know who you're worshipping".
And He said in the verses before, "Your fathers worshipped in this mountain, and they didn't know who they were looking for". And what He's saying is, "But now, I'm here". Five astounding words you must never forget, you should underline it in your Bible "For salvation is of the Jews". Jesus said that. Jesus was saying, "I am Messiah and I would not be here if it were not for the Jewish people and it were not for the holy land". And when you understand that, where did our salvation come from? No Jews, no salvation. No holy land, no salvation. Why do we make such a big deal about it? Why do we stand with Israel? Why do we stand not just with the land of Israel, but with the people of Israel? Because, "Salvation," breathtaking words, five, "Salvation, but salvation is of the Jews". No Jews, no salvation.
Where did salvation come from? It came from a God who was spirit, who put on a flesh suit, and He chose that people. He can do what He wants to do with who He wants to do it with, anyway He wants to do it, and He doesn't ask for your permission or mine. He said, "I'm not choosing Americans. I'm not choosing British. I'm not choosing Africans. I choose to come through this insignificant little people". He even said in Deuteronomy not because they were strong and mighty and powerful because they were so little and so weak, I'm gon' get glory, and there's the spiritual parallel. He didn't choose you 'cause you had it all together, He didn't choose you 'cause you were smart, He didn't choose you because He could have found somebody so much more worthy than you, but He said, "I choose you, and when I choose you, I can use you and I don't ask other people's permission. Don't care who likes you, who doesn't like you, I'll raise you up and I'll protect you, and I'll bless you, and I'll prosper you and I'll use you".
Thanks be unto God, He chose us, we did not choose Him. Clap your hands and praise Him for that. "Salvation is of the Jews" means my whole spiritual inheritance, I owe to one nation, Israel, and one people, the Jewish people because they gave me my Jewish Messiah, I know all glory, honor, and praise goes to Jesus, but Jesus said, and the Apostle Paul said, "You cannot curse those people". The Bible puts it like this, remember this verse, you can always be real spiritual and quote this verse, one, two, three, everybody say, "One, two, three". In Genesis 12, 1, 2 and verse 3, "I will bless those who bless you, Israel, and I will curse those who curse you".
That's why I don't want nothing to do with smarty little young people out in the streets cursing Israel, cursing, anti-Semitic... It is wrong on the campuses, it is wrong, I'mma stand in the pulpit as long as I got the microphone and I'mma say, "You're as wrong as you can be". If you curse that nation, God will curse you, God will curse your family, God will curse this nation, and if we bless that nation, God will bless you, will bless your family, and He will bless your nation. I say God bless America and God bless Israel. Does that mean we don't love Palestinians? Absolutely not. Does that mean God doesn't love Palestinians? Absolutely not. Should we weep, should we cry, should we pray for the Palestinians? One hundred percent, just like we do everybody else. But what do we do when the whole world is trying to wipe out that nation and that race?
You see, the reason the devil hates 'em so much is because he knows Jesus is coming back and He can't come back if the Jews are not in that land called Israel and in a city called Jerusalem. So, everything He's doing is trying to get the whole world to wipe 'em out so Jesus can't come, but he who... I feel like preaching. But he who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps and I promise you, nobody's gonna move 'em out of that land, I don't care who they are, I don't care how powerful, how rich, how much money, how much prestige, you can't fight with God, your arms are too short to box with God. And every hater of that nation will pass away, but His kingdom will reign forever. Somebody give God a praise. Hallelujah.
Without that nation, without the Jewish people, there would be no apostles, no Matthew and Mark, Luke and John, no Apostle Paul. There would be no patriarchs, there would be no Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, without that group and that nation, there would be no Bible, there would be no Ten Commandments, there would be no prophets and there would be no savior, and there would be no salvation for your soul. Am I a little one-sided about it? Yeah, because the Bible is one sided about it and He said, "Don't ever let the branches start thinking that they're more important than the roots".
The branches need the roots, and the roots need the branches. They don't know us yet, they don't know our Messiah yet, they're blinded, but one of these days, the eyes are gonna open and just like we need our roots... And you say, "What are you talking about"? Romans 11. I thought you were gon' ask that. Romans 11 says that the roots... that the branches can't say the church, the New Testament, new covenant believers can't say, "I don't need the roots". Well, what are the roots? That's Judaism, there it is. Verse 18, "Do not boast against the branches. If you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, 'Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in,'" that's exactly right.
But do not boast, do not say, "We don't need the Jews and we don't need the holy land," it's just anot... This junk has crept into the modern-day church. We don't need our roots? We don't need the holy land? It's not like any other land, it is not just another race of people on the earth, God said, "I have an everlasting covenant with the Jewish people and with that land". All of our spiritual blessings come from one nation, the nation of Israel, and one group of people, the Jewish people, to not acknowledge that is anti-Christian. Israel was unique in that their whole history is foretold in prophecy.
God gave 16 prophecies about the nation of Israel. It was foretold and prophesied that they would go into slavery in Egypt, and it was also foretold that they would be delivered with wealth from Egypt, it happened just like God said. It was prophesied that they would possess the land of Canaan, it was prophesied that they would then turn to idolatry. It was prophesied that God would establish a temple in Jerusalem, and it happened just like it was prophesied. It was prophesied that the Babylonians would invade, and Nebuchadnezzar and his armies would destroy the temple, and it happened, just like the temple that Solomon built, it was destroyed.
The second time it was prophesied even by Jesus that Herod's temple would be destroyed, not a stone left, and that happened just like God said. It was prophesied that Israel would be scattered among the nations, and they would not be in the holy land or have a nation for many, many generations. It was prophesied that they would be persecuted by the Gentiles, and it was prophesied that God would regather all nations. Now, there are 16 prophecies about the nation of Israel, and 13 of those predictions that I just gave you have already been fulfilled, that's an 81% fulfillment of scripture, and there are only three left to be fulfilled.
One is that there will be a gathering of all nations to war against Israel, and you're seeing the beginnings of that even in the news as we speak, there will come an invasion from the north, that's Russia, Gog and Magog, and the kings, and Iran, Persia, these are the major... This isn't just something that you're making up right now, people have been saying this and seeing this in scripture. Iran, China, and Russia, keep your eye, they are behind and are out to destroy with all of the nations around Israel, that little slice of real estate, that's the size of the state of New Jersey. Sixteen prophecies and thirteen out of sixteen have been fulfilled. A book that predicts thirteen right and three not yet have happened, you should take it very, very serious.
God's plan for Israel is found when He said in Jeremiah, "I will bring them back from captivity, I will bring them into the land of their fathers, they shall possess it in the latter days". The return of the Jews from the land all over the world, God said, "I'll bring 'em back from captivity, I'll bring 'em back and there will be a generation that will possess the land, they'll possess it and they'll never be uprooted again". That happened in May 14, 1948, as I preached a few weeks ago, the reestablishment of the nation of Israel. I want you to understand how prophetic and how bigger than the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt, bigger than that is the prophecy concerning Israel that has happened in your generation.
In 1948... Are there any people who were alive in 1948 or born in '48, or before it, raise your hand, I wanna see your hand. There's a lot of hands, there's more hands in this service than I've seen in a lot of services. But the point is, Jesus said, "That generation will not pass away. When you see Israel reborn," Matthew 24, "And you see the fig tree reborn, know that the time is near, my hand is on the door, and this generation shall not pass away". Israel is 75 years old, you're running out of time to get right. You're running out of time to be ready for the rapture. You're running out of time to not be left behind for the anti-Christ in all that is coming.
The "Great Tribulation" is what the Bible calls... The earth will go through tribulation like it has never seen, you're just seeing the tremors of it. When you understand that God said, "I will take from all nations and I'll bring you into your own land, Israel". God said, "I will take from all nations, and I'll give you the land, and you'll drive them out and I'll give you the land". And I'm sorry, God can do what He wants, when He wants, to who He wants and He doesn't have to ask permission, and you ought to rejoice because when God is for you, who can stand against you? When God says you can have it, I don't care how many people try to close the door, God says, "I open doors no man can shut, and I shut doors that no enemy can get in..."
And when the enemy comes in like a flood, God raises up a standard 'cause we are spiritual Israel. Shout if you believe He's a God who can protect His own people. Hallelujah. He said in Isaiah 11:11-12, "It'll come to pass in that day that I, the Lord, shall set my hand again a second time to recover the remnant of His people". The first time was after Babylonian captivity, they went back, but the second time was 1948, and God said, "My hand will make this happen a second time, and once they go back the second time, they will never ever be scattered and leave that land again". The second regathering from all over the world. And then He goes on to say, "And I will set up a banner for the nations". Isn't that amazing?
That's in reference to Isaiah 66, "A nation shall be born in a day". And God said, "I'mma set up a banner for the nation". You know what the banner is? The flag of Israel, the star of David. And He said, "I'm gonna", that the United Nations, he's given us hints that, the United Nations will declare in '48 after World War II and the Holocaust, those people need, they need their own land, and they raised the banner in 1948, May the 14th in Israel, and that is the banner and God said, "That banner, I'm raising not because they're great, not because they're better than any other people, but I'm gon' get glory out of them, they're gonna know that I am their God, and that the whole world and the nations of the world will know by their very existence that I am God". I wanna invite you to give Jesus the number one place in your life. Right where you are, say these words, say:
Jesus, save me, wash me, cleanse me, forgive me. I receive you today. Your blood cleanses me from all sin and I believe in you. You rose from the dead and you give me the power to get up, and I thank you for it in Jesus' name.