Sermon Transcript — June 6, 2002
Well this afternoon we want to take up where we left off last time. We want to say hello to all of those that may be listening to this tape in the future, to those that are taking the Good News magazine, and we appreciate that you’re doing that. And we appreciate all of you that are here for church services today in the United Church of God, Los Angeles.
Last week’s message dealing with Jerusalem’s history and present plight was designed to help all of us understand the biblical admonition as found in Psalm 122:6, which simply encourages us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We came to understand that we’re not only to pray for that city, but that God offers a blessing for those who heed that specific instruction. The Lord of hosts tells you, tells me, in the Bible that those that do pray for the peace of Jerusalem "may they prosper, may they prosper, who love you" speaking of Jerusalem.
I have a question for you this afternoon. Since hearing last week’s message, have you specifically prayed for the peace of Jerusalem?
Amazing to think about it since we were together seven days ago, to think again of the violence, the chaos, the pillage, the terrorism, the bombings that have just occurred over the last seven days in the holy land. Again, my question to you is have you specifically prayed for the peace of Jerusalem?
Another question might be, "Do you desire God’s blessing upon you?" Again, why should you and I pray for the peace of Jerusalem? Why this city? Why this town in Israel? I’ll tell you why, because God loves Jerusalem. God loves Jerusalem. Why does He love Jerusalem?
Because this unique city is a microcosm of the plan of God for all of humanity.
As we came to see last time, the sovereign God, the creator God has brought people into the history of Jerusalem for nearly four thousand years that have implemented qualities that He wants of all of His children. The qualities of faith, the qualities of sacrifice, the qualities of unity, of oneness, and the ultimate quality of the very presence of God, not simply within a physical tabernacle, but a human tabernacle.
Jerusalem’s story is the story of humanity, and it’s the story of the glory of God in advance. It’s the story of redemption; it’s the story of restoration, but to pray for Jerusalem, we must have more than simply head knowledge, and that’s where I want to end up today at the end of this message. We must have more than simply head knowledge, facts and figures and dates concerning this city. We must understand the heart and the mind of God, and hopefully I will lead up to that point by the conclusion of this message.
The last time, for those of you that were not here in this congregation, or those that did not listen to the first tape as it is sent out, last time we concluded by focusing on Zechariah 12:1-3 which describe Jerusalem as a cup of drunkenness, as a stone of stumbling. It describes that the armies of the earth are going to come up against Jerusalem. Today’s Israeli and Palestinian conflict over the holy land and over Jerusalem, which the Israelis claim as the eternal, undivided capital of their country certainly add meaning to this verse. Everybody on earth today knows that Jerusalem is a stumbling block. There is no easy deal; there’s no way of cutting the deck and trying to come up with a peace plan when it comes to this city. It’s an explosive issue, not only simply between Arab and Jew, but also for all the peoples of the earth, because this one city is the host of the three great monotheistic religions of the earth: Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Here’s the big question, that hopefully we can answer in the course of this message today. Will Jerusalem ever be able to stand, ever be able to stand without armies inside or outside of its walls? Well, I have some good news for you this afternoon. Would you please join me over in the book of Joel? Let’s go to the book of Joel and to Joel 3:16.
Joel 3:16 - "The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from. . ." Where? ". . . from Jerusalem;" As a key when you read the Bible, notice where the datelines are. It doesn’t say from New York City. Now they can make some good chili sauce from New York City, and they can play some good basketball in Los Angeles, especially right now, and they can do all sorts of neat things from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and they can do all sorts of things in Moscow, and they can do all sorts of things in London, but what is the big dateline? Where’s the bull’s eye of biblical prophecy, other than this city, the city of Jerusalem. ". . .where the heavens and the earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel."
Verse 17 - And "So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion," Zion is one of the mountains of the city of Jerusalem. ". . .My holy mountain. . ." And then notice, ". . .and then," not now, but "Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again." Now let’s think about this a moment, the book of Joel was written about 800 BC. So this has not yet occurred, because obviously you think of all the aliens and all the conquerors that have come through Jerusalem since; you think of the Chaldeans; you think of the Persians; you think of the Macedonians; you think of the Syrian Macedonians that are in Antiochus Epiphanes; you think of the Romans; you think of the Byzantines; you think of the Arabs, the Marmalukes, the Turks, the British. It says that there is going to be a time when no alien, no foreign force is ever again going to come through the gates of Jerusalem. That hasn’t occurred yet. If it hasn’t occurred yet, it means it is yet to occur. A lot of the Bible is yet to be played out. In fact, right now, many people are asking for multi-national forces to be sent to this troubled region to pacify it’s inhabitants. More aliens, not less.
Today humanity recognizes that Jerusalem is a stone of stumbling. There is tremendous tension. You see it in the world; you see it in the headlines, but I want to direct us, for a moment, to a positive tension that is not going to be talked about in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The L.A. Times, or The Herald Tribune over in Europe.
Come with me, if you would to Isaiah 62. There is another tension that a lot of humanity is not focusing on right now, that the Bible clearly focuses on, and we find that over in Isaiah 62. Somebody else is concerned about what is happening in Jerusalem, somebody that really counts.
Isaiah:62:1 - "For Zion’s sake. . ." Zion is another terminology for Jerusalem, Zion being one of the mountains in Jerusalem. ". . .I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns." That’s not today. Salvation is not today. People are dying in Israel; people are dying on the west bank; there is calamity; there is confusion. The powers of this earth don’t know what to do. They want peace conferences, but a lot of people don’t want to attend it. And if they do attend it, they’re coming with their own agenda. It says here:
Verse 2 - "The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory." And "You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name." Drop down to verse 6:
Verse 6 - "I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem, who shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
Verse 7 - "and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Today Jerusalem is not a praise in the earth. It is a divided city; it is a city that is on a war footing; a city that whenever you visit Jerusalem you cannot but be aghast and amazed at the amount of armament that is on the corners due to the need to protect the citizens. With this reality in mind, the focus of today’s message is to show you how none other than God, Almighty, is going to champion the cause of Jerusalem.
As we heard today in the very fine message, the first message, God is our champion. God fights our battles; God rights the wrongs that are occurring on this earth. You see, Jerusalem has never, ever really lived up to its name - City of Peace. How then, if Jerusalem has never lived up to its name - City of Peace, how then will the prophecy of Isaiah 40:9 ever come about where the prophet with the new mind, the new vision, Isaiah says, "O Zion (Jerusalem,) you who bring good tidings, . . . lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid." Don’t be afraid. How’s that ever going to be fulfilled? It has not been fulfilled for nearly the twenty-seven hundred years since Isaiah. You need to know; you can know. We’ll discuss it today in this message. Let’s learn together.
As mentioned in my last message, the emergence of the nation state of Israel in 1948, and the capture of Jerusalem, all of Jerusalem in 1967, is pivotal in understanding biblical prophecy. The Jews now, for the first time, in our lifetime, have the opportunity to bring about the events that were mentioned in Matthew 24:15, and also over in Daniel 9: 26-27. Now we covered that last time. I’m not going to go there right now. I’ll hope you’ll go back and check out the tape. For those of you that are in the Good News mailing audience, if you’re going to take two, better rewind, no, just take the tape out; go to tape one, because we discussed that last time. But the point I want to make is that it is interesting that everything is in play now; everything is in place now with Israel over Jerusalem, with the Jews having access nearby to the wailing wall, to the western wall near the temple mount. As incredible as it may seem, as we discussed last time, the Bible indicates the reinstitution of the daily sacrifices to God by the Jewish people. We covered last time in Daniel 9 how there are going to be treaties in the future, there are going to be covenants that are broken between the Jewish people and those that will come, aliens into the land, and there will ultimately be desolation.
Now we discussed that biblical term - the abomination of desolation - last time. You say, well, I mean, Jerusalem seems, when you use the word - desolation - that just seems to fit, and that’s occurred again, and again, and again. It goes all the way back to the time of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans and the Babylonians came in, and they desolated the temple, the first temple, the temple of Solomon where we go back to Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century, B.C. He did the same thing. The Syrian Macedonians came in and there was a type, a type of desolation. We can go to the time when Pompeii, the Roman, came in during the first century, B.C., and again came in and there was desolation, much less, Titus, the general, in 70 A.D. So this seems to go on and on and on, so you say, "Wow. What’s new? That’s already occurred, or will always occur."
Let’s understand something about biblical prophecy. Are you with me? Let’s understand something about biblical prophecy. And that is simply this, that oftentimes prophecy is dualistic in nature; you might say comes in twos. If not, sometimes threes, and fours and fives. Just like an onion, building on top of one another. Some people use the term - dualism. Others will use the term, which seems to be more prevalent today, talking about being layered, being layered on top of one another.
The difference between the time of Nebuchadnezzar and Antiochus Epiphanes and Titus, and the difference today, are the events that we covered somewhat last time in the Olivet Prophecy. And that is to recognize that yes, there is going to be again, unfortunately, incredibly another abomination set up, a desolation in the holy place. But that has got to be coupled with the understanding, as it says in Matthew 24:14, "that this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached unto all the world for a witness. . ." and then it says, ". . .and then shall the end shall come."
So this could not have happened until the gospel message came through Jesus Christ and could not come until, in a sense, it could be extant throughout the globe and throughout the world. So that’s one factor that does not play into the abomination of desolation before.
Also, when you go to the Olivet Prophecy in Matthew 24:21, 22, 23, it talks about ". . . That if those days were not shortened, were not shortened, there would be no flesh, no humanity, left alive. So when Jesus speaks about an abomination of desolation, building upon what is out of Daniel, it must be coupled with those other scenarios. You just can’t take one verse out of the Bible. You’ve got to build; you’ve got to understand what is going to occur, and that’s very important.
What is going to happen, what is going to happen to Jerusalem? Let’s go through some scriptures here and explore the future. What is interesting about the Bible is that God allows those who truly do surrender their lives and their will to Him, the sovereign God, the creator God, the loving God will grant His people enough to consider. We may not always totally comprehend until we are at that point. The jigsaw puzzle may not completely come together in full color, in dynamic focus until that moment. But before that time, God gives us enough through His word to consider, to understand, to know where God is going and what He is going to do.
We begin to find that in the book of Revelation. If you’ll join me there. Revelation 12. Join me. Let’s see what sets off, in a sense, the final saga of Jerusalem. In Revelation 12:12 we come to find:
Revelation 12:12 - "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." His time is short. Satan is going to be thrown out of heaven. Seemingly, there is going to be an attempt by Satan, and there is a devil, brethren, and there is an adversary to God’s kingdom.
And he’s going to be repulsed; he’s going to be repelled; he’s going to be thrown back down.
Verse 13 - "And when the dragon. . ." Which is another biblical term for Satan, ". . .saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child." Satan is going to persecute the church, persecute those that do pray for the peace of Jerusalem. He’s going to persecute those who are of Jerusalem, which is above, which is a type of the kingdom of God. It says, his time is short, though when you go through the set of verses it’s kind of interesting, first of all, there’s good news. He’s repulsed from heaven.
That’s good news. But then there’s kind of bad news, especially if you’re down here on earth. He’s down here! That’s not good news for human beings. That’s not good news for Christians, but the great news is the news that I want to share with you at the end.
In the future events are going to heat up even more, and we are going to see the emergence of a power, perhaps in our lifetime, perhaps in the lifetime of your children, we’re going to see the emergence of a power whose ultimate ruler is Satan, the dragon. Join me, if you would, in Revelation 13. Let’s just allow the Bible to read the Bible this afternoon, going through some verses.
Revelation 13:1 - It says, "Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns, ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name." Now when you hear these kind of things, a beast, speaking of a bestial nature; it’s talking about a government that is unlike the government of God, unlike the kingdom of heaven, unlike the kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is a system that is bestial in nature.
Verse 2 - (And) "Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, (and) his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon. . ." This is the most important part. . . ". . .the dragon gave him his power, (and) his throne, and great authority."
Verse 3 - (And) "I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast."
Verse 4 - And "So they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying," Well, " ‘Who is like the beast?’ ’’ And " ‘Who is able to make war with him?’ " We’ve got to recognize friends, brethren, those listening to this tape, that there are things that are happening that we do not always see. There’s a spiritual sphere. We get so locked into the here and the now and what we see and what we hear through the five senses. I’m here to tell you today there is a spiritual world, and there’s a battle that is going on, and the ultimate battlefield that we’re going to find out is going to be right outside of Jerusalem.
Verse 5 - "And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months." Further on down in verse 11, it says:
Verse 11 - "And then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and (but) spoke like a dragon." This voice is going to kind of come two ways. Kind of looks like a lamb, but when it speaks, it speaks like a dragon.
Verse 12 - "And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Verse 13 - "He performs great signs, so that (he) even makes fire (come) down from heaven on earth in the sight of men.
Verse 14 - "And he. . ." speaking of this beast that is mentioned in verse 11, specifically, ". . .he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast," . . .meaning the first beast that was discussed in verses 1-5. ". . .telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived." Well, we come now to understand that ultimately there is going to be a state and church form of government that is going to come up and be contrary to all the ways of God. We need to understand that.
You and I, as Christians that are praying for the peace of Jerusalem, need to understand that there are those who don’t want peace for Jerusalem because Jerusalem is a microcosm. It is a germ; it is a seed of the plan of God of redemption and restoration for all of humanity. No matter how much we have failed; no matter how much we have walked away from God, just as the city of Jerusalem has, God is always anxious to restore us. God is always anxious to love us, to have us come home to be with Him. Satan doesn’t want that. The dragon doesn’t want that.
We find over in Revelation 17 another identification of this system. It kind of builds on one another.
Revelation 17:1 - "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, ‘Come, and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters.’ " Now when the Bible uses the term - harlot - it is normally of a spiritual adulteress. It’s one that has defiled themselves, going with other ways, mixing religion with religion, not being true to the ways of God, as we heard in the message this afternoon about just taking God’s word for what it says when you go through the ten commandments. Notice who she’s been the harlot with:
Verse 2 - ". . .with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication." This harlot, this spiritual system is going to be entangled politically with other systems, other kingdoms, other nations, other rulers. Now notice verse 5:
Verse 5 - "And on her forehead. . ." Whose forehead? Your forehead? No. On the harlot’s forehead. This religious system that is coupled with this other beast. ". . .on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." He tied in that term - abomination - again. We’ll be discussing it a little bit later. We come to see that God calls this system - Babylon. Now it won’t necessarily be called Babylon. As this system develops, The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Washington Post, and I must throw in The Herald Tribune, seeing I did before is not going to say, "Babylon is rising. Here it comes. Here comes the fulfillment of Revelation 13. Here comes the fulfillment of Revelation 17. You’re not going to get that from the newspapers that are on this earth, because it’s not going to be called Babylon. God calls it Babylon; God calls things for what they are. Do you call things for what they are? Are you as honest as God is, or you going to be in denial like those that are underneath this system saying, "Who can fight against the beast? Things are going pretty well, because well, after all, it’s the economy, stupid." And they are going to chuck in their morals and their values to be underneath this system that is coming up.
This system is further identified in Daniel 11. We can use the Old Testament and the New Testament together; they build on one another; they link. In Daniel 11, join me there if you would please. We’ve said that it is called a beast, it is bestial; it is called Babylon. Babylon basically just simply means - confusion - because that is where God confused the tongues at Babel. And then let’s notice Daniel; join me there, please.
Daniel 11:36 - That’s on page 1,214 in my Bible, but we don’t all use the same Bible here, so I hope you found it. Notice: "Then the king shall do according to his own will: and he shall exalt. . ." This is talking about an earthly king. ". . .and he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, (and) shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods." That’s your God, if you are one that is praying for the peace of Jerusalem. He speaks blasphemies against your God, if you’re the one that believes that the prophecy in Isaiah is going to come forth that Jerusalem is once again going to offer forth glad tidings. There’s going to be a time when Jerusalem’s going to be able to raise up its voice, lift up its voice and never be afraid again. This one is against your God.
". . .and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done."
Verse 37 - And "He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify exalt himself above them all.
Verse 38 - "But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.
Verse 39 - "Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain." This is going to be a nation or a conglomerate of nations or systems that is going to be growing and growing and expanding and expanding.
Verse 40 - "At the time of the end. . ." That doesn’t mean the time of the middle; that doesn’t mean the time of the beginning; this is in Genesis. ". . .at the time of the end," Whenever you see that phrase - at the time of the end - or, - in that day - that’s talking about a very specific time. That’s talking about a time that you need to pray about, you need to pray about that God will grant you the fortitude and the strength, if you are alive at that time, to make it through that time. I tell you this, those that pray for the peace of Jerusalem, have you prayed for the peace of Jerusalem this week? Those who pray for the peace of Jerusalem are on the right track. "At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North. . ." Here comes the other name; we’ve talked about the beast, being bestial, Babylon being confused. Now we have another name thrown into the mix: " . . .the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, (and) horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.
Verse 41 - (And) "He. . ." meaning the king of the North, meaning the system of Babylon, meaning the beast, ". . .shall also enter the Glorious Land. . ." What’s the Glorious Land? Now we live in California, but I’m sorry, California is not the Glorious Land even though we get a lot of sunshine here. When the Bible speaks of the Glorious Land, it is speaking of the holy land. It’s speaking of where Israel is today, ". . . he shall enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape, . . . Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon."
Verse 42 - And "He shall stretch out his hand against the countries. . ." Again, this is speaking of that system, ". . .and the land of Egypt shall not escape."
Verse 43 - And "He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt;" and "also the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow at his heels." Sounds just like a blitzkrieg, just on the move; things just falling before this system.
Verse 44 - "But (now) news from the east and the north shall trouble him;" Who? The king of the North, the ruler of the future Babylon shall trouble him. ". . .therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.
Verse 45 - "And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain;" The glorious holy mountain.
Where’s that? In Jerusalem. ". . .(and) yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him." What’s going to happen. Join me if you would in Revelation 17. And there is so much that can be filled in between, I’m just trying to give you an overview, my friends, of what is in the future for Jerusalem. In Revelation 17:12:
Revelation 17:12 - "(And) the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings (there’s that term) with the beast." There’s going to be a conglomeration of nations, of organizations, of alliances, remember God gives us. . . and it’s not in full focus yet at this point. But God will provide that focus. If you’re praying for the peace of Jerusalem; if you want to be like God has brought up people into Jerusalem over four thousand years of history that are faithful, that surrender themselves, that are in unity, that are in oneness, that want peace, that want the presence of God within them, this is profound in that in the future there are going to be armies of men that are going to fight against the Lamb, against Jesus Christ. That just takes my breath away. That makes me recognize that I’d better be close to the Bible. I’d better be reading what this book of inspiration has to tell me. It says that there’s going to come a time when everybody seems that they’re going to follow the beast. They’re going to be in love with the false prophet, and they’re not going to think anything of it, because again, remember, The L.A. Times isn’t going to say: "Babylon’s just doing great!" It’s not going to be that way. How’s it going to be in your mind, and in your heart? Are you prepared? Are you ready? Are you praying for the peace of Jerusalem?
Revelation 16:16 - All of these armies are going to converge on Jerusalem, the armies of the north, the king of the North coming up against the king of the South. Then it talks about people coming from the east and another direction to the north, and it’s all going to be around Jerusalem, and notice what it says in Revelation 16:16: "And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon." Armageddon is another term for the plains of Megiddo, a place of the great battles. Now a lot of people talk about the great battle of Armageddon. Armageddon is not where the battle is going to occur. Armageddon is the gathering place.
Now what I find interesting about this, are you with me? Let’s look at verse 16 again: "And they gathered them together." You know, man always kind of thinks he’s doing his own thing, and he’s in charge and they get altogether, because the king of the North and these other armies seemingly all of a sudden are going to come together to fight against God. So they think that they’re doing it, and look how brilliant we are, so brilliant that the world is probably going to be on the edge of nuclear annihilation. But I want to show you a very interesting verse again. Back in Joel. Join me in Joel, back to the Old Testament again, talking about these very times. Come with me to Joel 3. I think you’ll find this profound.
Joel 3:1 - "For behold in those days and in that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
Verse 2 - "I will also gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them. . ." See, mankind thinks that they’re gathering themselves with all of their plans and all of their abilities and all of their strategy. Notice what it says - God speaking, "I will also gather all the nations." God is in charge. God is sovereign. God is not only the creator of timing, He’s the master of timing. He is not only the creator, He is the judge of the universe. He is your judge; He is my judge; He is going to judge the nations and it’s coming about at that time that He’s going to bring them together, and we notice over here in Joel again. . .the wind just blew Joel out of my Bible. . .in Joel 3:
Joel 3:9 - "Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.
Verse 10 - "Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears;" and "let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’
Verse 11 - "Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord." Where? Where is "there?" You see a word like - there - the Bible will identify it.
Verse 12 - And "Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations." They gather in Armageddon, up in the plains of Megiddo. But then they are going to come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Another term for the valley of Jehoshaphat is the valley of Kidron leading right up into the ravines of Jerusalem. This is all going to be happening, brethren, in the environs of Jerusalem, not Moscow, not London, not New York City, not in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, not down in Tierra del Fuego, in Jerusalem. It is the bulls eye of prophecy. And God is not forced into action. He now takes total control.
Two systems coming together at that time destined for collision. Destined for that collision from the very beginnings of history, from the very beginnings of the Bible. Two forces, the God of heaven versus the god of this age; two ways of life, the way of give versus the way of get, going all the way back to the two trees in the garden of Eden. Two ages, this present evil world versus the world to come without end. Two cities, Babylon, the great, versus Jerusalem which reigns above. Two churches described here as one that is great, that is interlocked, and interlaced with the nations of this earth, and also a small church as described in scripture that is faithful, that does surrender itself, that wants oneness, that desires unity, that desires the ultimate shekinah, the presence of God, not in the physical temple, not in the physical tabernacle, but literally in the flesh and blood tabernacle, as Paul says that we are the temple of God as Christians.
A question: How can a loving God and a fair God and a generous God bring all these nations up, Armageddon, bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and then seemingly He’s going to swat them down like so many flies? Is that how God operates? Join me over in Revelation 11. We need to understand that. How do we understand this as we go to Revelation 11, let’s understand that there is a tremendous ministry that is going to occur in the future, and it is the ministry of the two witnesses. We must understand the role of the two witnesses if we are to in anyway understand Armageddon, the valley of Jehoshaphat, the king of the North, the people of the east coming together, all of this judgment occurring, what is going to occur? It mentions here, Revelation 11:
Revelation 11:3 - "And I will. . ." I? Who’s I? Always identify the pronouns when you’re reading through the Bible; it’s speaking of God. "And I will give power to My two witnesses and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth.
Verse 4 - "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of (the) earth." Now let’s understand something, I don’t know who the two witnesses are, and I’m going to tell you something, you don’t know who they are either. But I will tell you someone who does know - God knows. He claims them. He says, "They are mine." So in a sense, hands off, minds off, don’t worry about it; I will raise up two witnesses. They, in that sense, will be witnesses; it says that they will be lights; it says that they will be olive stands in a sense, what is olive about other than stands, other than they are ministers of peace. They are lights; they are peace; they are witnessing. Later on in the scriptures it says that they are prophets.
Verse 5 - "And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.
Verse 6 - "These (they) have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire."
Verse 7 - And "(Now) when they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
Verse 8 - "And their dead bodies will lie in the street. . ." Now this is where Jerusalem comes in again about these two witnesses. "And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt." Well, what’s that? But then it’s further identified. ". . .where also our Lord was crucified." That’s Jerusalem. But Jerusalem is identified as being "Sodom and Gomorrah."
Sodom and Gomorrah was divinely punished for many, many, many reasons. The ultimate reason was compromise. Here Sodom and Gomorrah were in the salt trade. They were around the aspect of the Dead Sea, and they had interrelationships there with the different nations with the different cities, with many, many different sins, when you go through the section on Sodom and Gomorrah, they were compromised. They were not of God. Jerusalem is going to be even further compromised. Perhaps this is the part where they’re making the treaties and the covenants with the king of the North and the king of the South, wherever that goes, that they will sell out so they can have short-term peace. God calls them "Sodom." Also, "where the Lord was crucified."
Verse 9 - "Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into (the) graves.
Verse 10 - "And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
Verse 11 - "Now after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them," speaking of the two witnesses, "and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on all those who saw them . . ." Yeah, I’d be afraid too if I saw somebody that I knew was dead, and all of a sudden they’re resurrected.
Verse 12 - "And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying (to them), ‘Come up here.’ And they ascended to heaven in a cloud and their enemies saw them."
Verse 13 - And "In that same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell." That moves into other events. What is this all about? Do you want to know? We understand that God is true to His word. God says that in the mouth of two or three witnesses let every fact be established. God said that way back in Deuteronomy. God is true to His word.
In the very end time there is going to be one witness? No. There’s going to be two witnesses. If you had two witnesses against a murderer; if you had two witnesses against a thief, how much more so when you’re bringing the entire armies of this earth, the nations of this world to judgment that you have to have, what, how many? One witness? No. You have to have a least two witnesses; there are going to be two witnesses, and it’s going to be the ultimate fulfillment of Jesus Christ when He says that He sent them out two by two. They are, in a sense, going to imitate the ministry of Moses, who was sent before a secular king and drew blood out of the Nile, and they’re going to be a type of Elijah who was sent to a religious system of Israel that was compromised and called fire down from heaven.. They are going to have aspects of both ministries. They are going to give a witness for three and a half years. God is fair. Humanity is going to know exactly what the will of God is about. Where’s that message going to come from? Is it going to come out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama? No! Is it going to come from Moscow? No! From Jerusalem. From the city in which Jesus Christ was crucified.
That time’s coming up. The good times are ahead. Are you praying for the peace of Jerusalem? What is that ultimately going to bring in, then. Let’s discuss that for a moment. Come with me; let’s understand there is rescue at hand. In Revelation 19:11 That final witness is going to usher in Jesus Christ Himself, the Lion of Judah, the Word, the One.
Revelation 19:11 - And now "(Then) 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 (He) makes war . . ." Remember what we heard in the sermonette? God will avenge His people. ". . .and He who sat on him and was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
Verse 12 - "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 Himself.
Verse 13 - "And He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name was called The Word of God." And notice verse 14:
Verse 14 - "And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses." Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth. He’s not coming as a babe in a manger, even though that was very important in that aspect of His ministry. He’s not coming as a limp figure of a thirty-three-year-old man nailed to a cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem, even though that is a dynamic part of His ministry. There is yet another part of His ministry. He comes as the General of heaven. And you can know exactly where He is coming. He tells us of His plans ahead of time. Zechariah, join me please. Back to the Old Testament. Zachariah 14:
Zechariah 14:3 - And "Then the Lord will go forth. . ." speaking of what Revelation 19 is telling us, ". . .and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle."
Verse 4 - "And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north (and) half of it towards the south." Now what’s very interesting, are you with me? Recently we’ve been hearing a lot about, well, sometimes there’s too much information getting out about where what’s going on around the world right now about where terrorism right now, in Afghanistan, and the news media says, "Well, we’re about to do this; we’re about to do that."
And everybody says, "Well, how can you do that? There won’t be any element of surprise. It’s like we’re. . .the press is almost fifth column agents; they publish everything.
And we’ve had that same feeling sometimes, we say, "Wow, wonder if the enemy knows that?" And it seems everything knows about that. The reality, brethren, in thinking about that, is Jesus Christ is telling everybody that He is coming back to this earth as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He’s coming as the General of the armies of heaven. He’s coming, and humanity is going to put up a fight, and not only that, He says, He tells exactly where He’s coming. He didn’t say Mount Everest; he didn’t say Mount Kilimanjaro; he didn’t say Mount Whitney, and don’t worry about Wilson right above us. He’s coming back down to the Mount of Olives.
The question is this: Not where Jesus Christ is coming; the question is, are you ready for His coming? Is your life changed in any way that you are ready to meet your maker? Are you ready to meet the Lion of Judah? Are you ready to meet the heavenly ministry of Jesus Christ now on earth on the Mount of Olives as He brings His rule and His kingdom to Jerusalem? You don’t have to necessarily know all the facts and the details. Remember when Jesus Christ was talking to the Sadducees and the Pharisees there, and they said, "Well, what about all of those people that Pontius Pilate slew, you know, all those Galileans, all those rabble rousers out of the hills, and what about them?"
And Jesus Christ just looked at him and said, "Have you repented?" And then He came back again and he said, "Well, what about all those people that died in that structure that fell, the tower of Siloam. What about them. Don’t know all about them. Don’t even know what made the tower fall."
The big question, the vital question is, are you ready to meet your Maker? And have you repented? Have you changed your life? Have you and all of the different qualities of Jerusalem, that God wanted for Jerusalem over the centuries, and over the millennium, are you faithful to God? Have you surrendered to God? Do you seek His unity and oneness of spirit? Do you desire His presence in your life? This is what Jerusalem is about. And if you are praying for the peace of Jerusalem, you’re in tune with the plan of God. And there’s a blessing; there can be a blessing upon you.
I just want to take you for a moment, if you do do that, because the best news is beyond all of this. Yes, there is traumatic, dynamic times ahead for humanity. But there’s also a wonderful time ahead. Join me, if you would in Isaiah. I just want to read a couple scriptures of encouragement, what’s going to happen when Jesus Christ is going to come back to this earth. Isaiah 52:7, let’s just read scripture:
Isaiah 52:7 - "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation." I’m proclaiming, in that sense, in type, the salvation of God coming to this earth through Jesus Christ who is going to land on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, "who says to Zion, Your God reigns!
Verse 8 - "Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, (and) with their voices they shall sing together; for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord brings back Zion.
Verse 9 - "Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the Lord has comforted His people, (and) He has. . ." notice, ". . .redeemed Jerusalem." He’s going to make it good. He’s going to bring it back, that which He called Sodom and Gomorrah, that, the place where they crucified the Lord, our Savior, with all of that stated, with all of that done, God is yet going to redeem Jerusalem.
Verse 10 - "The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Where? In and out of Jerusalem, but it’s not only going to be a spiritual renewal, there is also going to be, in that sense, an urban renewal. Join me in Isaiah 60:13
Isaiah 60:13 - "The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautiful the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious.
Verse 14 - "Also the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bowing to you. . ." I mean, Jerusalem is going to be afflicted. When you see some of those battles that are occurring today, like on the west bank, when you see these cities, and you see these old towns how they just turn to rubble, Jerusalem is going to be the same; it’s going to go down into just grinded sandstone and limestone. There’s going to be affliction. ". . . and all those who despised you shall (fall) prostrate at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you the City of the Lord, Zion of the holy one of Israel." Jerusalem is despised; Israel, the people of God, a portion of that remnant of the tribes is despised in many, many corners of the earth. Not only in the Muslim world, but in Europe and in other places.
"Oh, why can’t the Jews just roll over? Oh, why can’t the Jewish situation just go away? Oh, why don’t the Jews. . .Oh, why don’t the Jews. . ." Doesn’t that sound like history. Where do these particular people of God have to go? God is ultimately going to redeem them. Notice down in verse 18:
Verse 18 - "Violence shall no longer be heard in your land. . ." How different than today in Israel? How different today than in Jerusalem is the future that God is going to bring to this city. Zechariah, join me there, Zechariah 8. I’m just going to go over a few minutes here because I’d like to conclude this series. Zechariah 8. And you’re very patient and very enduring. I don’t see anybody walking out, and I don’t see anybody walking towards me, so I guess I’m safe for just a couple more minutes. Zechariah 8:1
Zechariah 8:1 - "Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying,
Verse 2 - ‘Thus, says the Lord of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; with great fervor I am zealous for her.
Verse 3 - "Thus, says the Lord; ‘I will return to Zion," I will return to Zion "and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the Holy Mountain.’ "
Verse 4 - And "Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem.’ " That can’t be done today. It’s not safe in Jerusalem; there are bombs going off; there are gun battles going on. Most of the restaurants, most of the entertainment zones, most of the pizzerias, they all have guards with guns. It’s not safe. It’s not a good place to raise children. Are you praying for the peace of Jerusalem? Do you want God’s blessing?
You know God’s great will in us sometimes just starts over just a small factor of faith in Him that if you and I prayed for the peace of Jerusalem, that God will begin to bless us, that our minds will open, our hearts will open, we’ll begin to think more like God and Jesus Christ. Wouldn’t that be a blessing?
Verse 5 - "The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets."
Micah 4. I’m not going to go there. It talks about all nations are going to come up. . .you look at it later, part of your homework this week, Micah 4:1-2. It says nations are going to come up. To where? To Jerusalem. Nations don’t come up to Jerusalem today. You know that most nation’s embassies are not in Jerusalem, because they don’t want to be caught between the Israelis and the Palestinians? Most of the embassies are in Tel-Aviv. They don’t want to be caught alive in Jerusalem. It would be siding with the Israelis. But there’s going to come a time in the future when all the nations are going to come up to Jerusalem. Why? To see how it’s done.
A really encouraging verse I want to leave you with - Isaiah 19. This is going to occur, brethren. This is going to be a wonderful time. Is there any solving of the Israeli/Arab conflict? Isaiah 19 tells us that there is going to be.
Isaiah 19:23 - "In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and" notice "the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians."
Verse 24 - And "In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria, (even) a blessing in the midst of the land.
Verse 25 - "whom the Lord of hosts shall bless saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria, the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance." Under one God, under one Christ with one capital in Jerusalem with one spirit with the very presence of God on earth. There’s going to come a time when the Arab and the Jew are going to walk hand in hand, heart in heart, purpose to purpose, life to life. I want to tell you something: you want to be there, don’t you? You want to be a part of that picture, don’t you? Are you praying for the peace of Jerusalem? There are going to be good tidings that are going to come out.
Now, we’ve been talking about Jerusalem. What does a city in common with you? We’ve been talking about a lot of the prophecies and a lot of the promises and a lot of the thoughts of God toward Jerusalem. Remember what I said that Jerusalem is a type of what God wants to do for the entire world. Let’s just think of it this way:
#1 - God does not change His mind easily regarding that which He cherishes. I’m going to tell you something. Your life can change if you have heard the last two minutes of this sermon. Does your life need to change? Do you want to be there when Jerusalem is the capitol of the world under Jesus Christ. You hold onto these thoughts; you hold on to these promises; you hold onto this knowledge. #1, God does not change His mind easily regarding that which He cherishes.
You feel lonely today? Have you had trouble this week? Do you feel that God has abandoned you? God holds on to that which He cherishes, whether it’s the city of Jerusalem or the children of His that he calls the children of God. That’s you; that’s me.
#2 - God doesn’t forget His promises even when we are forgetful and led astray by our own human premises. God has tremendous promises concerning Jerusalem. God also has tremendous promises concerning you. God doesn’t forget His promises. Don’t allow your human premises to stand in the way.
#3 - God doesn’t alter His promises or standards even when we would hope that He would bend the rules so that we could be like everybody else. Jerusalem tried that and lost and had to be punished. We do that sometimes. We bend the rules, but like Jerusalem we can be redeemed.
#4 - God does not tolerate disobedience, especially from those who should know better, be it the inhabitants of Jerusalem or those who claim that their citizenship is in heaven today.
#5 - God is incredibly merciful, and He has good news and good tidings for you. He is incredibly long-suffering. Just ask Him. It’s called confession. It’s called prayer.
Jerusalem, past, present and future. Jerusalem, the city of peace. If you’d like to know more, I’d like to encourage you to perhaps write in, or call in, to the United Church of God. I’d like to encourage you, if you haven’t already, to call in at 1-800-55UNITE, and you can have free of charge a booklet entitled "You Can Understand Prophecy." You can understand prophecy, and yes indeed you can by the spirit of God leading you, and at the same time, you can ask for "World News and Prophecy," a second publication that the United Church of God puts out along with the Good News magazine. I hope you’ll do that. I hope you’ll be enlightened, and wherever you are, whoever you are listening to this tape, or those of you who are visiting us today, I hope that you will continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
So until next time, just remember that, specifically that, let’s pray for the peace of Jerusalem and as you do, be assured, be encouraged, as a Christian in the twenty-first century, you can lift up your voice, you do not need to be afraid, for the best is yet to come.