1 Corinthians 14:1-5 speaks of a need to prophesy to the church for its edification. Let's read it:

Some ministers discourage and shy away from discussing prophesy for fear that what they say may be proven incorrect, but Paul doesn't seem to worry about that, does he?

Today I want to review and discuss some recent and historical events in Israel, including some articles written by prominent authors. We’ll also read some Biblical prophesies, particularly those leading up to the battle for Jerusalem and the return of our Messiah. This will be a different type of sermon, one which dwells mostly upon current and recent events. The scriptures we’ll reference are intended to tie in with the events we’ll discuss.

Let’s start off with a scripture in Zechariah with which we are probably all familiar:

These verses tell us that the whole world will be attacking Jerusalem, that the city will fall, the people will be abused, and their property plundered. How did Israel end up like this? Let’s go back about ninety years and see how this modern era of Israel began.

In 1917, following the defeat of the German-officer led Turks in World War 1, Great Britain, who was given the lands of present day Israel and Jordan by the League of Nations to administer, issued the Balfour Declaration stating that all these lands were to be made available to the Jews of the world as a home. The League of Nations (the forerunner of the UN) represented mainly Christian nations since most other peoples were ruled or controlled by the "Colonial" powers. These Christian nations in the league of nations empowered Britain to rule Palestine in accordance to the Balfour declaration that called for the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish homeland.

The Arabs immediately opposed the British to such an extent that in 1921, Britain acquiesced and gave the land east of the Jordan River to a British installed Arab monarchy headed by King Abdullah. That Arab area became known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Trans-Jordan. In the process, the Jews lost seventy seven percent of the land promised to them. In 1947 the United Nations declared that the British Palestine Mandate should be divided into an Arab and a Jewish State. Britain withdrew in 1948 and Israel declared its independence the same year. Why was this land ever considered Jewish by the British? Because in the Bible certain land east of the Jordan River was assigned to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh. Genesis 15:18, Joshua 1:4 and chapters 12 through 19, and Judges 1:18 all describe the territories to be owned by the Israelites. We won’t read these chapters in this sermon because they are lengthy and contain many names that are not easily identifiable today, but the lands east of the Jordan were assigned to the three tribes I just mentioned. Gaza was given to the tribe of Judah - the Jews. You can confirm that in your own Bible using the above scriptures.

Immediately after Israel declared its independence, all the surrounding Arab nations, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon, attacked Israel. By what had to be a miracle, Israel, using obsolete weapons, defeated the invading armies but lost control over part of the land west of the Jordan River to Jordanian forces. That area became known as the West Bank after that term was used repeatedly in the world press. Jordan destroyed synagogues, killed Jews, occupied east Jerusalem, and otherwise removed all Jewish influence from their occupied territory. In 1953 Jordan annexed the West Bank.

An uneasy truce lasted until 1967 (2x7 or fourteen years later) when war broke out again after Egypt captured Gaza and blocked the sea routes into the Red Sea to Israeli shipping. In that war, Israel recaptured the West Bank from Jordan including east Jerusalem, the Gaza from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and occupied the Sinai Peninsula. Jordan then officially relinquished her claim to the West Bank.

In 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar. In that war Israel drove the Syrians back, liberating the Golan Heights, surrounded the entire Egyptian Third Army in Sinai, and crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt. With the UN’s agreement to police the frontier, the Israelis withdrew from the Egyptian side of the Suez Canal. It was later reported that the UN reported Israeli troop movements but not Egyptian troop movements.

In 1976, Israel freed 103 Israelis in Entebbe, Uganda who had been seized by Arab and German terrorists.

The period from Israel’s independence in 1948 to the Entebbe operation in 1976 can be described as Israel’s golden years. Twenty eight years (4x7) when we saw Israel winning against seemingly impossible odds. But beginning in 1982 and especially after Israel’s fortieth anniversary as a nation in 1988, things began to turn sour.

Following the assassination of the Lebanese President by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the revenge massacre of so-called Palestinian refugees by Lebanese Christian forces in 1982, the PLO, world governments, and the media blamed the massacre on Israel, even though Israel denied having a part in the slaughter.

Who were these so-called Palestinians? Palestine is the name given to the land of Israel by the Romans when they removed everything Jewish from the land and renamed the land Palestine. The so-called Palestinians are Arabs, pure and simple. Read or request our sermon "The Palestinians" for more information about the so-called Palestinians.

During the past twenty-five years, under tremendous pressure from many outside governments including the US, Europe, Russia, the UN, the press, and of course the Islamic world, and internally from Arab bombers, we have seen an enormous shift in the Israeli government’s attitude regarding the giving away of Israeli land to the so-called Palestinians for promises of peace. This is nothing less than extortion. What is the significance of this? The significance is that mostly secular Israelis have decided that their security comes not from God, who gave them the land, but from their adversary, the so-called Palestinians and other Islamists. What have been the results? Keep listening.

In 1989 PLO violence against Israel escalated over Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza strip. In what has been called the first intifada, so-called Palestinian protestors confronted Israeli troops who forcibly resisted. Intifada is terrorism against Jewish civilians. Why would Israel resist? Because Israelis believed that both the West Bank and Gaza belonged to Israel and that the Palestinians were living on Israeli land and therefore were subject to Israeli law. Where would the Israelis get such a notion? As we pointed out earlier, their Bible, the Tanakh, and their religious leaders told them it was their land, a gift from God, covenant land.

In 1992, the Labor party won the Israeli elections under Yitzhak Rabin. As Prime Minister and former Army General, he took a very pro-Israel land position regarding security but he also was willing to discuss land concessions for promises of peace by the "Palestinians." In so doing he was inviting further extortion and compromising God’s word and God’s covenant land. During his administration there were many peace talks with the "Palestinians" and many agreements regarding Israel’s right to exist and the PLO being the representative of the "Palestinian" people. Israel and the world had not yet learned that the PLO made public promises to the Israelis and foreign media that they denied making when talking to their own people and other Arabs. Egyptians are known for their cunning. Arafat was born in Egypt. Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, the new PA leader, founded the PLO. Rabin was assassinated in 1995 by an orthodox Jew.

Rabin’s successor was Shimon Perez, a true liberal. Alarmed by a series of suicide bombings and rocket attacks against Israeli settlements, the people voted in Benjamin Netanyahu, a member of the conservative Likud party in 1998. Prime minister Netanyahu met with Arafat and President Clinton at the White House in 1998 to establish an interim accord giving more West Bank land to the "Palestinians" in exchange for more security guarantees. Full implementation did not begin until 1999 and by that time the people had elected Ehud Barak, the Labor candidate. It seems like every time an Israeli leader discussed giving away portions of their land, the leader was removed.

In 2000, Israel pulled all its troops out of south Lebanon; another win for the Islamic side. Barak’s US meetings with Arafat failed and the second intifada or Oslo war began. Barak called for new elections, but in 2001, lost to Ariel Sharon, formerly a hard-liner from the conservative Likud party. The Israeli people had misgivings about Sharon but knew him to be a successful General who had promised to never give away an inch of Israeli land, including the settlements, and so were forced to place their bets on him over the Labor candidate. The warfare between the "Palestinians" and the Israelis intensified with many suicide bombings within Israel and many retaliatory assassinations of Palestinian terrorists by the Israelis. What happened to the former agreements for recognition of Israel? They were not worth the paper they were written on, as was well known by other Arabs who heard Arafat’s words in Arabic. What happened to Mr. Sharon’s promises not to give away any Israeli land? Mr. Sharon then took the position that Gaza must be given to the Palestinians and that the settlements, small towns and villages formerly approved by the Israeli government but now in land claimed by the Palestinians, must be vacated and destroyed. Regretfully, those have been American State Department positions too. Mr. Sharon is and apparently always has been a secular, pork and seafood-eating Jew. Jeremiah described Israel’s past and present attitude about their land:

Almost the entire world is now convinced that the Israelis are the cause for all the killings in the middle east. Only the former US and the two Pacific Island countries of Kiribati and The Confederated States of Micronesia could be depended upon to support Israel in the United Nations. All the Arab countries, of course, and the European Union and Russia could be counted on to side against Israel at every opportunity. Israel, in essence, became totally dependent upon the United States for its military, economic, and political support.

In 2003, along came President Bush and "his" road map agreement. Mr. Bush gets credit for the agreement but it was really the brainchild of the Saudis who gave it to him in a meeting in Egypt of all interested parties ..... except the Israelis weren’t invited. It was another plan for the exchange of Israeli land for their security. Another pernicious way of taking God-given land away from Israel. But the former Prime Minister of Israel was not a religious man. He did not care about scriptures which describe Israeli land as God-given land. Mr. Sharon cared about the military might of the Israeli army and he knew that he had to please the American government in order to maintain his military. The American government wanted him to give away God-given land so Sharon was willing to do that, even though he had promised his people in his last election that he would never do that.

Again today, the PA polices up to the security fence but hasn’t stopped terrorists. The bottom line is, of course, that the Palestinians need only to temporarily restrain the terrorists until they receive more Israeli land, then renew the terrorism to restart another round of land for peace talks. Their declared ultimate goal is to destroy Israel and all its Jewish and Christian citizens. It’s part of the PLO Charter. This follows the model set by Mohammed when he was faced with a stronger Arabian tribe to subdue. He simply made a peace agreement with them, then increased his own strength until he was strong enough to conquer his enemy ..Then he massacred them.

President Bush showed his love for the Palestinian cause by his defensive remarks and encouragement of Islam while campaigning for the 2004 elections. His celebration of Ramadan in the White House and his disagreement with others’ statements that this country should not allow itself to be so patsy by Islam showed how determined he was to cater to the Palestinian cause. This by a President who promised to attack terrorism wherever it was found following the 9-11 attack. With each public statement and action which supported the Palestinians, natural disasters in this country seemed to follow, but he apparently never got the connection, so assured was he that his policy toward Islam was correct.

His statements indicate no change in his errant policy about Palestinian land but Secretary of State nominee Condoleeza Rice stressed that, "Arab states have responsibilities too." In his inauguration speech, President Bush talked about freedom and how freedom can change the globe. His views mesh with that of Israeli MK Sharansky. Mr. Bush stated that threatening, evil governments could be eliminated by the influences of democratic, free governments. While Mr. Bush’s goals were praiseworthy, they were beyond human reach. Your Bible describes the attainment of freedom a little differently.

The newest hope for peace in Israel lies with Mahmoud Abbas, the replacement for Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The media, many Israelis, and the US government think this man walks on water. What do thinking people think of him?

Some years ago, Charles Krauthammer wrote a moving, thought provoking article describing the replacement for Yasser Arafat. I will read it to you in its entirety. He writes:

Jan. 1: Abbas declares that he will never crack down on Palestinian terrorism.

While President Bush praised the long-standing terrorist Abbas, sent him $10 million, and even invited him to the White House, Abbas announced, "the small jihad is over; the big jihad has begun."

Now I want to read several articles written by several well known authors of their day.

I have an article by Eric Hoffer, which he wrote in 1968, about forty years ago. Some truths never change. Eric Hoffer was a Non-Jewish American social philosopher. He was born in 1902 and died in 1983, after writing nine books and winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His first book, The True Believer, published in 1951, was widely recognized as a classic.

Eric Hoffer, 1968 June.

Forty two years ago and Arab hostility toward Israel hasn’t changed.

The Zionist Organization of America published the following article regarding the pending Israeli withdrawal from Gaza:

ZOA Report: Gaza: The Case Against Israeli Withdrawal

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff:

Gaza is crucial to Israel's security

Here’s what prominent Israelis have predicted about Gaza:

Gaza has been a part of the Land of Israel since biblical times. The borders of Israel specified in Genesis 15 clearly include Gaza, and it is described in Joshua 15:47 and Judges 1:18 as part of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, and in Kings it is included in the areas ruled by King Solomon. The area came under foreign occupation during some periods, but the Jewish king Yochanan, brother of Judah the Maccabee, recaptured Gaza in 145 CE and sent Jews to rebuild the community there.

Throughout the centuries, there was a large Jewish presence in Gaza in fact, it was the largest Jewish community in the country at the time of the Muslim invasion (7th century CE). Medieval Christian visitors to the region mentioned the presence of the Jewish community in Gaza including Giorgio Gucci of Florence (1384), Bertandon de la Brooquiere (1432), Felix Fabri (1483), and George Sandys (1611). So did Jewish travelers, such as Benjamin of Tudela and Meshullam of Voltera (1481).

The Jews of Gaza were forced to leave the area when Napoleon's army marched through in 1799, but they later returned. The Jewish community in Gaza was destroyed during the British bombardment in 1917, but later it was rebuilt again. When Palestinian Arabs threatened to slaughter the Jews of Gaza during the 1929 pogroms, the British ruling authorities forced the Jews to leave. But in 1946, the Jews returned, establishing the town of Kfar Darom in the Gaza Strip, which lasted until 1948, when Egypt occupied the area.

The article continues: Rewarding terrorists is wrong -- and dangerous:

During recent years, Palestinian Arab terrorists have carried out tens of thousands of terrorist attacks against Israel, murdering nearly 1,000 Israelis and maiming many more. The terrorists demanded, among other things, that Israel withdraw from Gaza and expel the Jewish residents. Terrorists, like all criminals, deserve to be punished for their crimes, not rewarded. When Israel withdrew from Gaza and expelled the Jewish residents, it rewarded the terrorists. It also encouraged more terrorism, by demonstrating to the terrorists that additional violence brings about additional Israeli concessions.

The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza actually created a terrorist state because following the first election in Gaza, Gaza elected a Hamas government and the Palestinian Authority government fled to the West Bank. It has not disarmed or outlawed terrorist groups; it has not shut down their bomb factories; it has not closed down the terrorists' training camps. It has rewarded terrorists with jobs in the Hamas police force. In short, Hamas has actively collaborated with and sheltered terrorists. Moreover, Hamas has sponsored thousands of terrorist attacks against Israel by firing missiles into nearby Israeli towns..

Hamas has also created an entire culture of glorification of terrorism and anti-Jewish hatred in its official media, schools, summer camps, and speeches by Hamas representatives. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority school textbooks teach that Jews are "evil racists."

Creating a Palestinian Arab state in Gaza did not lead to peace:

Establishing a state in Gaza did not satisfy the Palestinian Arabs' goals. The aim of a Palestinian Arab state was not to be to live in peace next to Israel, but to serve as a spring board for terrorism and invasions aimed at annihilating the Jewish State. Hamas makes no secret of its goal: The official maps on PA letterhead, in PA schoolbooks and atlases, and even on the patch worn on the uniforms of PA policemen show all of Israel not just the disputed territories labeled "Palestine." As recently as 25 December 2008, Christmas day, over sixty rockets fired from Gaza hit southern Israel and Hizballah (Party of god) aimed rockets at northern Israel. Hamas threatened to increase the attacks if Israel retaliates.

The Hamas Arab state in Gaza became an anti-American dictatorship:

The last thing the world needs is yet another totalitarian, anti-American terrorist state. Yet that is exactly what a Palestinian Arab state in Gaza has become, judging by the behavior of the PA during the years since it was created. The PA and especially Hamas are a brutal Muslim dictatorship thats tortures dissidents, silences newspapers that deviate from the PA/Hamas line, and persecutes Christians. The official PA and Hamas media actively incite hatred against America, and both maintain warm relations with the most anti-American regimes in the world, including Iran, Syria, Sudan, and North Korea.

The Palestinian Authority and especially Hamas continue to push for all of the West Bank and Jerusalem. The Israeli government continues to be willing to exchange God-given Israeli land for promises of peace. The present path that Israel is following is a path toward self-destruction. As I have mentioned in this sermon, given their successes the last twenty years, the Islamists will continually chip away at Israel until all Israel is gone. As they withdraw and give more land to the Palestinians, Israel’s defense gets smaller. What is the conclusion? The conclusion of Israel’s present trend if left up to man, is defeat. But as Zechariah 14 states, when even Jerusalem is gone, the return of our Messiah becomes imminent. Jerusalem will be the last vestige of the present country of Israel. With its impending fall, all of Christianity and especially Judaism will feel hopelessly at risk. But scripture tells us that with Jerusalem’s fall will arise a Leader and a government and all His saints who will destroy the evil which is represented by all the nations who have attempted to come against Jerusalem. Will the United States, under its new president Barack Hussein Obama, be one of these nations? Obama’s insults toward Israeli PM Netanyahu might make this more likely. The Israeli uncertainty with Mr. Obama’s support of Israel increases Israel’s interest in trusting the European Union. The prophesies of Daniel 11:40-45 and Joel 3:2 seem to be becoming more relevant.

Granted, there are a number of events which must occur in the near future, before our Messiah’s return. We must look forward to the coming of the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3 and Zechariah 4 who will warn the nations for three and a half years. But on the negative side we must also see the arrival of the false christ and his idols into Jerusalem and the temple mount, and we must see fulfillment of prophesies which seem to predict dire consequences to all nations which get involved in Jerusalem’s affairs. Let’s look at Zechariah 12 for that entire prophesy:

Russia, North Korea and China are exporting modern weapons to Syria, Iran, Algeria, Egypt, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. Iran, Syria, and Egypt are enemies of Israel.

Even if all the nations of the earth, a term which might signify the United Nations, want to get in on the action or decision of Jerusalem’s destiny, (in our day we would interpret it as other nations who want to decide who will govern Jerusalem) they will hurt themselves by their actions, by their own self-caused penalty of wounding and crushing.

Like a hearth of fire among the wood. God will bring about his triumph in a twofold manner: By depriving the enemies of their strength, and by empowering the Jews to resist their adversaries. The enemies will be consumed as wood and sheaves are devoured by fire.

The Eternal will fight for the Jews first so that any pride of the house of David, whom I suspect, may be Christians in that Christ was a descendent of David, and the pride of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not exceed that of the Jews.

Even the feeble (literally, the tottering or stumbling) among them will become as overpowering as the unconquered David. (Reference 2 Sam 17:8). This is invincible power on earth. The house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. Again, is this God’s army? Are they Christian Saints?

Regarding verse 10: After the invading nations have been destroyed, God will pour out upon the house of David and seemingly the Christians in Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications. The reference is to the Holy Spirit. God will pour out on the nation, high and low alike, the spirit of conviction which will compel them to prayer (See Ezek 39:29; Joel 2:28-29). They shall mourn for him whom they have pierced. They will be heartbroken with grief and contrition as for an only son. The most intense private sorrow is indicated in the death of an only son or a firstborn. Verse 10 teaches plainly that in the not too far distant future Israel will see the pierced Messiah return from heaven. It will be the same Messiah they rejected long ago, bearing signs of the selfsame wounds inflicted on him then.

There are a lot more scriptures which describe these days. Since we are mentioning prophesies involving our Messiah, we need to read Matthew 24, a major New Testament prophesy. It’s long but we all need to be very familiar with this chapter.

These last verses are a warning to all of us, not just those of us who have the responsibility to give His household food for spiritual edification. Additional commentary about Matthew 24 can be found on our website in the Prophecy Section.

Perhaps part of the prophesy of Luke 21 also describes the days in which we are living.

Is there a correlation between "countries of low human development" and the gods they worship? Was the Southeast Asia tsunami aimed at the Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists who live in that area? Was it aimed at people whose religions persecute Christians?

The present intensification of natural and man-made disasters are clear signs of God's final warning to mankind. These disasters tell us that, as in the experience of ancient nations, God will not allow human rebellion and wickedness to continue much longer. Soon Christ and His saints will come to bring an end to the colossal crises that are engulfing our planet. Let’s look at Rom 8:19-22.

Yes, events in Jerusalem are going to get a lot worse before they get better. But when we see the events we have just discussed, we will know that our Messiah’s return is imminent. Keep your eye on Jerusalem and your ears open to prophesied events occurring in Israel and around the world.

And finally, let’s read Psalm 122:6.

(Psa 122:6 NKJV) Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.

Sermon Given By Wayne Bedwell

August 7, 2010

Copyright 2010, Wayne Bedwell