(Pastors Notes) Israel The Church and Endtime Prophecy

Israel, the Church and End time Prophecy-

Introduction: Did you know that Jesus predicted, earthquakes, deception and apostasy and much of what we are seeing today? Not to panic us but to prepare us for what is to come.  Now when I say prepare I don’t mean digging an hole in the ground and storing up for D Day  and trying to survive a war. No I mean being prepared in our hearts to be unmovable, unshakable in these times and to be ready to share the truth to anyone who would hear it.

Matthew 24:4–22 (NLT)
4 Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. 8 But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

9 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. 10 And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. 12 Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

15 “The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) 16 “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. 17 A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. 18 A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. 19 How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. 20 And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.

World Wide Signs–

• False teachers and false messiahs
• Wars, famine and natural disasters
• The love of many grow cold
• The persecution of believers

“But prophecy doesn’t just speak generally—it speaks specifically to one place: Israel.”

The Role of Israel in Prophecy– specific prophecies tied to the land of Israel. Israel is often symbolized by a Figtree in the Old Testament. so when we see things happen in Israel we should take notice. Jesus said,

Matthew 24:32–33 (NLT)
32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.

The churches relationship to Israel

To understand this in the context of the Bible we need to put away modern politics for a minute at look at the scriptures. The Apostle Paul Addresses this issue in Romans

Romans 11:25–29 (NLT)  I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. 26 And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,
“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,
and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
27 And this is my covenant with them,
that I will take away their sins.”
28 Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.

“Let’s now zoom out to God’s plan for both the Church and Israel…”

• The Church does not replace Israel.– I see a lot of videos on the internet were people think the church has replaced Israel. If you are a Christian please stop this. Here is the scripture you should read
• Romans 11:17–18 (NLT)
  17 But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. 18 But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. 
  • Christians we are not the ROOT. We are only here because of those of Israel who were faithful to accept Jesus as messiah.
  • Israel’s job was to carry the light to the gentile nations
  • although Israel rejected their messiah. One day God will turn their hearts back to him.
  • Until those days are upon us the church must carry the light of the gospel to all nations.
  • The time of the “fullness of the gentiles” will eventually end. many Consider this to be the time of the rapture of the church
  • God’s attention will once again turn back to Israel and their salvation as they finally accept Jesus as savior

What are the signs that this time is nearing?

• Return of Israelites (Jews) to their homeland–
• Deuteronomy 30:4–5 (NLT)
  4 Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the LORD your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. 5 The LORD your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!
  • The Jews ( Israelites from Judea) have lived in their land 3,400 yrs. although they have been ruled over by various kingdoms the last was Great Britain, what we know as Israel and Palestine today was the kingdom of Judah. the tribe that Jesus came from..
  • There has always been a remnant of jews in Israel even after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.
  • many Jews resettled in Israel beginning in the late in the 1200’s and again in the 1800’s
  • Jews finally regained sovereignty over their land in 1948
• A time of great fruitfulness among the nations
• Isaiah 27:6 (NLT)
  6 The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root.
  Israel will bud and blossom
  and fill the whole earth with fruit
  • . and they truly have! Israel produces 150 patents per 1 million people in a country of only 9 million that’s just behind the u.s.  inventions like
  • Drip Irrigation which is used in over 100 countries
  • Water desalinization- That is shared with drought stricken countries.
  • They invented the USB drives and the intel Core I and Core M processors
  • the Israeli bandage is used by our Military and first responders
• A time of peace with their neighbors 
• (What’s Next?)
• The rebuilding of the third temple.
• The Sacrilegious Object that causes desecration –Jesus indicated this was still yet to happen. He quotes Daniels prophecy about the 70th week or final 7 years before the Lords return.
  there have been no sacrifices since the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.
• the temple must be rebuilt for Jews to begin sacrificial system
• preparations are underway for this to happen
• A peace agreement between Israel and their neighbors can eventually lead to that.
• The Great tribulation 3 1/2 year mark is when Jesus warns the Jews to run from Jerusalem.

Prodigal nation– Most of you are familiar with the story of the prodigal son. the younger son asks his father for his inheritance and leaves home and spends all his money on wild living but then experiences great loss and great hardship. but then what happens when the son repents of his ways and returns to the father. the father runs and hugs him and kissed him and is full of joy.

And who of us has not been encouraged by that parable as we have fallen away and then come back into the arms of God. Well expand that now to a prodigal nation who one day will finally reunite with father God. When we support and pray for Israel we are simply interceding for his prodigal sons and daughters to once again turn to him. When we pray for Israel we are praying for His kingdom to Come, His will to be done on Earth as in Heaven.

Personal Application:

• Trust God to keep his promises
• Pray for Israel and the Nations to open their hearts to Jesus
• Spread the message of the Gospel.

Jesus gave us all these signs so that we would not Panic but know that he will fulfill his promise to us just as he did for Israel. We can trust him, we can take him at his word, we can rely on him to do what he said he will do. Don’t let the uniformed opinions around you bring you down or discourage you. hold on to God’s Word and his promises.