Jerusalem

There's a tremendous amount of material that we're going to present here this evening, and you cannot possibly absorb all of that at one time. However, one of the main reasons and one of the main purposes for Bible study sermons is to get you on the road to further and deeper study yourself.

So if you just write down the Scripture in a word or two about it, or some key point, and I might say, well, if you want to know more about this, all you have to do is Google such and such, and all kind of information will come up about that particular topic. Jerusalem, the study of Jerusalem, is one of the most interesting to me studies that you can engage in almost.

Of course, there are other things that would supersede this, but it is quite an interesting study. And so, let's see if we can begin this. I made sure that I would not forget my glasses. I put them on just before I walked out the door. The best I can tell is that maybe I stopped to comb my hair, and in the process I took off my glasses.

So therefore, I have borrowed glasses, but I have 20-20 vision. Anyhow, I can see the red bug climbing up the wall back there. Many of you don't even know what red bugs are, but chiggers, you might call them. In our neighborhood, we had a guy, his son, who were known to be the greatest liars in the county. So they were walking down the road one day, and my daddy says, Leon, do you see that red bug climbing up that power pole?

He said, no, Paul, but I can hear him clawing, and so on. Okay, here we go. Okay, let's locate, first of all, here at Israel on the map. If you can see here the little yellow there above the Sinai Peninsula there, that is Israel. Surrounded to the east by Jordan, so many of the Palestinians in the 1948 war fled into Jordan.

There are over a million Palestinians in Jordan, and just to the north, there's Lebanon and Syria. And of course, you see, joining Jordan is Iraq, and then we've mentioned Syria, and then up there is Turkey. So he gives an idea, of course, Israel has a little sliver there on the Mediterranean Sea, and Gaza, which you've heard so much about in recent times, is there in the southwest corner of Israel.

Here you can see a much bigger area here. This map is bigger. You see Israel. You see Jerusalem is pretty much in the center there. I wanted a laser pointer, but I think you can make this out. You see the Dead Sea. Mr. Keller's on opening night talked about the Dead Sea when price feet stand on the Mount of Olives. The Mount shall cleave into the split from east to west. The north part will move toward the north and the south toward the south, and waters will flow from Jerusalem to the Heinder Sea into the Mediterranean into the Dead Sea.

Here is an aerial view of the Temple Mount. That big dome you see there is the Dome of the Rock. It was built over the place where supposedly Abraham sacrificed Isaac, and that Temple Mount was Mount Moriah. It's about somewhere between 22-23 acres, and it is and will be the most disputed place on the face of the earth. Basically, the main thing that has kept some kind of piece of course from taking place has to do with the control of Jerusalem. We go back here. Way down in the far left corner, you see the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

There are two Islamic mosques on the Temple Mount. The Dome of the Rock, that big one, and then the smaller one down in the corner here, about midway on the left side. You see that dome there. Here's a camel looking over into the Mount of Olives. Looking down onto the Temple Mount. Of course, the Mount of Olives is on the east side of the Temple Mount. Here is a close-up of the Dome of the Rock, the Mosque of Omar, one of the Islamic rulers, Caliphate, who built the Dome of the Rock. We were able to explore that area a few years ago. It is said that this mosque is built over the place where they actually did the animal sacrifices, and that there are conduits there underground that drain back down into the Valley of Hinnom.

Once again, another view of the Temple Mount. A little better perspective of where you can see the Al-Aqsa Mosque here toward the bottom in relationship to the Dome of the Rock, or the Mosque of Omar. The Talmud states that when the Temple was destroyed, all the gates of heaven were closed except for one, and that is the Gate of Tears.

The Western Wall, therefore, also became known as the Wailing Wall because of all the tears that the Jews have shed there. So you'll see there, people have a rope there about midway there that divides the men from the women. In Orthodox Judaism, men and women are still divided in their worship services, and there is a rope that separates the men from the women there at the Wailing Wall.

And then you see back, there's a tunnel that goes under the Temple Mount, and basically, when we were there, only men could go back under that tunnel. I don't know if they've changed it in recent times. I was talking with Mr. Doug Went before the study here this evening. He was able to tour that area in recent months, so I don't know if they...he said they went under the Temple Mount there. Another view of the Wailing Wall.

You can see the men to your left, the women to the right. Here is the Jerusalem Dig of the South Wall for quite a long time. Ambassador College, in concert with Hebrew University, conducted what was called the Jerusalem Dig on the South Wall. The South Wall and to the Southwest is where a lot of people think, maybe now even some scholars think, that the Temple was built there instead of on Mount Moriah.

But that's a big controversy which we're not going to explore in any depth tonight. We do know that there is a place there. This was known as the City of Zion or the City of David. And we'll have scriptures to this effect. We're giving a little bit of an overview up front. The tomb of David is located just to the southwest, a little bit down to the west.

The tomb of David is supposedly where Christ observed the Institute of the Symbols for the New Covenant Passover. The Catholic Church desperately wants to control that building. Because in one sense, when Christ instituted the symbols of the New Covenant Passover, that initiated the birth, in a sense, of the New Covenant Church. I know that we celebrate it on Passover, but Christ, of course, instituted those symbols before he was crucified.

Of course, the Catholic Church would love to gain control of that building, that area, the tomb of David. David supposedly is buried in that building. The meaning of the word Jerusalem, Jerusalem in its dual form, means possession of peace. Of course, just the word Salem, S-A-L-E-M, means peace.

Foundation of peace or possession of peace, the dual form probably refers to the two mountains upon which it was built, Zion and Moriah. There's been so much work done in that area that it's difficult to tell where Moriah begins and ends, and where Zion begins and ends. Or, according to some, the dual name refers to the two parts of the city, the upper and the lower city.

Now, the biblical meaning of Jerusalem in Genesis 14, 18, you see, that Melchizedek, king of Salem, or king of peace, brought forth bread and wine. He was the high priest of the Most High God. There would be no earthly ruler. Of course, scholars debate whether or not this was literally the one who became Jesus Christ. But according to the Bible, it is indeed the one who became Jesus Christ. In Psalm 76, too, in Salem also is his tabernacle and his dwelling place in Zion, identifying the location of God's presence because he dwells in his tabernacle in Zion. For this, Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham, returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being by interpretation, king of righteousness.

And no earthly king would call himself the king of righteousness, once again identifying Melchizedek as the one who became Jesus Christ. And after that also, king of Salem, which means king of peace. The city is also called Ariel. Of course, a lot of people have been named after Jerusalem. For example, one of the recent prime ministers in recent years was Ariel Shorom.

Jabith, the city of God, the holy city. Jerusalem and Zion are used in parallelism in Scripture. Let's look at Isaiah 2. These first four verses in Isaiah 2 are my favorite millennial scriptures, Feast of Tabernacle Scriptures, if you want to call them that. In Isaiah 2, verse 1, The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem shall come to pass in the last days at the mountain, the government of the Lord's house, shall be established in the top of the mount, and shall be exalted above the hills, and the nation shall flow into it.

It will become the capital of the world. Many people shall go and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. To the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, we will walk in his paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law. And this is what I'm talking about, used in parallelism, Zion and Jerusalem, and the word of the Eternal from Jerusalem. He shall judge among the nations, shall rebuke many people, they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

Now, in contrast to that, I read from Joel yesterday in the sermon, Joel 3, 9, and 10, where the nations are now saying, Let's beat our plowshares into swords, and the nations are arming themselves to the hilt. There used to be in the courtyard, the United Nations, a statue of a man beating a sword into plowshares.

But in recent years, they've taken that away because some people complained that this was reflective of the Christian or Jewish Bible, and so they have taken that emblem of the millennium, in a sense, of beating a sword into a plowshare. They've taken it away. I mean, some of the things that are happening in this world today are so crazy. In Lincoln, Nebraska, they've come out in the school district with a pamphlet. I don't know if they're going to try to really enforce this to do away with the term boy and girl, that they will be totally gender neutral.

Of course, that's another topic, but crazy world. Now, by contrast, when I said a city of contrast, Jerusalem is going to not be a very pretty place in years to come, because, as we'll read later in Revelation 11, it's going to be divided and half of it is given over to the nations, and they're going to tread it down for three and a half years. So in Revelation 11 and verse 8, the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified.

Many people shall go and say, come, you, and let us go up. We've read that. Now Zion is symbolic of the church. Mr. Cowan in his sermon today briefly mentioned that. So the study of Zion, if you've never looked up, and of course today with just if you have online Bible or anything like that on your computer, you can look at just Google Zion and every scripture. Well, not Google, but in your Bible software, whatever it is, Zion, and look at every scripture on Zion. I think you'll be quite amazed and inspired because Zion is a geographical place, as we have mentioned, perhaps at the south wall there of the Temple Mount, and it's also symbolic of the church. It is where God said that He has placed His dwelling.

I thought my computer was going to bring up, so I wouldn't have to look back up there, but it's not doing it, so I'll just have to do the best I can. The founding of earthly Jerusalem, but I want to say a few more words about Zion and the church. I want to read the scripture here from Hebrews 12, 22, 23.

Now, here's a note that would be worthy for you to take down if you're not aware of. The book of Hebrews, to some people, is enigmatic. They have some difficulty with it, but if you just write this down, remember what the book of Hebrews is about. The book of Hebrews compares and contrasts elements of the Old Covenant with elements of the New Covenant. Now, what precedes this about Zion is Mount Sinai. In contrast to Mount Sinai, Paul writes this, But you are come unto Mount Zion. So here is Mount Zion in its spiritual symbolism and significance. And unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and the God of judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. So there is no doubt as to what Zion symbolizes. The founding, going back to how Israel, as a nation, came to possess that area, it was taken by David. And here we have it. Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king, to Hebron, or Hebron. David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel. And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jabez. See, here's another name for Jerusalem, Jabez, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. And the inhabitants of Jabez said to David, you shall not come here. Nevertheless, David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. So David was the one who took Zion. Of course, in the exchange and things that went on there, this guy tried to, the king of the Jebusites, tried to give it to David. And David said, no, I'm not going to take a gift from you.

They worked it out, but he took the city of Zion, or the city of Jerusalem.

Now, here's just a little interesting side light about David's alarm clock.

At midnight, I will rise to give thanks to you because of your righteous judgments.

How did King David rise each night at midnight?

Rabbi Shimon Hasidah said, David hung his harp above his bed, and when midnight would arrive, the north wind would blow up on the harp, vibrating the strings, causing music to emanate, and David would immediately rise and begin studying Torah, the first five books.

He would continue his studies even as the first light of dawn appeared in the sky.

And there are pictures of replicas of David's harp.

Continuing with, David makes the tabernacle and moves the Ark of the Covenant to Zion.

Now, remember that the Israelites built a tabernacle in the wilderness.

When they came into the Promised Land, they pitched it at... Somebody say it. They pitched it at Shiloh.

Then when Shiloh was destroyed, the Ark of the Covenant came in possession of the Philistines.

For a short while, it was at a person's house. So David decided to build a dwelling place for God because God placed his presence above the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle.

And so David built a tabernacle on Mount Zion.

So David and all the house of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouting, with the sound of a trumpet.

And as the Ark of the Lord came into the city of David, McCall saw his daughter look through a window and saw David leaping and dancing before the Lord. And she despised him in her heart. Why on earth would she do that, a time of great joy and rejoicing?

But it revealed the contents of her heart and where she really stood.

And they brought in the Ark of the Lord and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it.

And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

Here's a replica of the Ark of the Covenant with the two carob beams facing in over the Ark of the Covenant.

Then, as David, you know the story that David was facing his last days on earth. He wanted to build a house for God. And God said, no, you have been a man of bloods, but your son will be able to build a house.

And so Solomon built a house, the temple called Solomon's Temple.

Solomon's Temple was built on Mount Moriah, the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac.

When Solomon's Temple was dedicated, the Ark of the Covenant was brought from the city of David into Solomon's Temple. And you'll read that very clearly in 2 Chronicles 5, verses 1 through 5.

And then, later, there was a lot of music playing and sultry and harps and all that.

And the glory of God filled that temple, God's presence.

That God's presence appeared above the Ark of the Covenant, above the Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat was on the Ark of the Covenant.

And the Jews called that the Shekinah Glory, or Shekinah Glory, S-A-T-K-I-N-A-H.

Shekinah, Shekinah, S-A-T-K-I-N-A-H.

You might want to look at Shekinah Glory.

Here's a replica of Solomon's Temple. It was a magnificent structure that could be seen from miles away.

The Restoration Temple was nothing in comparison to Solomon's Temple.

Solomon's Temple was destroyed in 587 BC by the Babylonians.

And the Babylonians took some of the vessels. These vessels would come back to haunt King Bel Shazar when he saw the handwriting on the wall. Many, many, Tekel Eufarson, your kingdom has been counted, weighed in the balances.

And it went on to say, tonight it will be removed from you.

The Medes and the Persians later conquered the Babylonians.

And after 70 years of captivity, the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem and build the Second Temple or the Restoration Temple.

On the same, that same site, the Persian king and the Persian king issued a decree that the Jews could return under the high priest Joshua and the governors of Rubabell to build the temple.

That decree was given in 538 BC.

And the Jews spent about 18 years trying to rebuild that Restoration Temple.

There was great turmoil in the Persian Empire during that time.

Some of the Jews were saying it's not time, it's not time to build. The Samaritans didn't want it built.

And of course, some of the governmental officials in the Persian Empire did not want it built.

But it was eventually built.

And they began working in earnest in 520 BC under the inspiration God raised up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah.

Haggai and Zechariah came on the scene and worked with the people. And the people responded, and God stirred up the spirit of the people.

And they got busy and built the house of the Lord.

When they came back to the Holy Land, the altar was built almost immediately.

I talked about the opposition, and then God sent Haggai and Zechariah, which you can read about in Ezra 5.

Then in Haggai, Haggai was inspired to write, Who among you saw this temple as it was? Solomon's Temple, the first temple.

Now, if you compare Solomon's Temple with the temple that we have built now, or are building, by comparison, it is as of nothing.

It was not a very impressive structure as compared to Solomon's Temple.

Now, Herod, starting in about 40 BC, spent about 40 years enhancing and rebuilding and beautifying the temple that Jesus came to. Of course, it was the same temple, but just greatly enhanced and enlarged. Who is left among you that saw the house in her first glory?

By comparison, nothing.

Then Haggai writes, the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former.

And this, of course, shows that that house was symbolic of the spiritual temple that was to come, the Church of God. It says, The Lord of hosts in this place will I give peace, says the Lord of hosts, in that spiritual temple, the Church of God.

Now, that second temple, you can read about the restoration, not the restoration, but the dedication. The dedication of that second temple is described in Ezra 6, beginning about verse 16.

It talks about all the offerings and all the things that they did, but the glory of God, the second of glory, the presence of God, did not fulfill the Holy of Holies in that second temple. In fact, there were five elements mentioned, five elements missing in that second temple.

We have these five elements listed here that were missing.

And in each case, these elements now are fulfilled spiritually in each one of you that has received the Holy Spirit upon repentance and faith in Christ, baptized and laying on of hands. The Shekinah of glory. Today, you are the temple of God. 1 Corinthians 3, 16 clearly says in other places that you are the temple of God, that God dwells in you. And it says in Hebrews 8, verses 1 and 2, that God does not dwell in buildings made by hands. He even had that in his inspired sermon in Acts, chapter 7.

The sacred fire was not present. Of course, it had been extinguished. Today, we offer up spiritual sacrifices.

And one of the main spiritual sacrifices is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks and praise unto God. And it says that in Hebrews 13, verse 15, Hebrews 13, 15, By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God.

The sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name, but to do good and communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased.

So God wants us to talk with him, to walk with him, to have fellowship with him continually.

It is said that the human beings talk to themselves about 70% of their waking time.

And one of the things I've tried to learn to do in that waking time is, sometimes I would say, well, can you at least give one sentence from every chapter out of the Book of Romans? Or can you give one sentence out of every chapter in Revelation?

Or that you're talking, you're carrying on this conversation with God, that you're saying, idle mind is the devil's workshop, and you can fill that vacant time. Paul talks about praying in the Spirit and praying always, that kind of thing. So that continual fellowship and communication with God.

The Urim and Thummim were missing, and of course, they consulted the Urim and the Thummim with regard to making decisions. Today, we have the Word of God to consult.

The Ark of the Covenant was missing in that Restoration Temple. Today, the Law of God is written on our inward parts. It says that in Hebrews 8 and also Hebrews 10.

And then the continuing Word of Prophecy from Malachi. See, Malachi, C. 420 BC, up until the time that Jesus Christ came on the scene, there was no continuing prophet on the scene. But they had the Word of God. They had the Old Testament, though it had not been canonized. And basically, of course, they used all three divisions of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. But today, we have a more sure Word of Prophecy, and we have things that people in the first century there, when the Church began, much of the Bible wasn't even written at that point.

So today, all these dimensions are filled through the terms of the New Covenant.

The Church today is being built by Jesus Christ. Matthew 16, 18 says, And I will build my church upon this rock, the big rock, not on Peter.

Ephesians 2, 20, it's built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, the prophets, the apostles, with Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. Hebrews 8, verses 1 and 2, we're there in Hebrews. We're turning back there to Hebrews 8, verses 1 and 2.

Now the things which we have spoken, this is the sum. We have such an high priest who has said on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, the minister of the sanctuary, on the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man.

See, man built the tabernacle in the wilderness. David built the tabernacle in Mount Zion.

Solomon built the temple. Joshua and Zerubbabel, Haggai and Zechariah oversaw the building of the Restoration Temple, but this spiritual temple is not made by hands.

Now the Second Temple, that Restoration Temple, was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, and eventually the Temple Mount came under the control of Islam. The Temple Mount is under control of Islam to this day, and it's ironic that in the 1967 war, the Jews took control of East Jerusalem, where the Temple Mount is located, and for some reason, I think they wanted to impress world opinion. So this shows, see, there are two great divisions within the nation at the present time, two of the greatest. Now there are a multitude of all kinds of divisions in Israel, but you have the political Zionist, and then you have the religious Jews.

I think the political Zionists wanted to curry world a favor, so they gave control of the Temple Mount to the Islamic world, and Jordan became the protector of the Temple Mount. Jordan is responsible for the maintenance. It's under a committee of sorts. It begins with a W right now. It doesn't come to my mind exactly that word, but anyhow, it's under the control of Jordan. In fact, if you go back several years, the person that Mr. Armstrong visited in Jordan was King Hussein, and before King Hussein was another Jordanian king who at one time he and King Hussein went to the Temple Mount, and the Temple Mount on that particular day, that king was assassinated, and King Hussein's King Hussein's grandfather was assassinated, and then King Hussein became the king.

It's quite a story that you want to read about the miraculous delivery, as it were, of the Hussein at that point. Now, the Hussein son, Abdullah, is the king of Jordan.

I had an opportunity to spend a week in Jordan, and basically we were interfacing with the royal family. We had a project in Jordan at that time, and one evening we were invited down in the Jordan Valley to the house of a man called Abbawodi, who at that time was King Hussein's personal advisor.

He later became Jordan's representative to the UN, and he told us the story of Islam, how it became divided. When Mohammed died, there was a great division over succession. Who is going to succeed, Mohammed? On the one hand, you had those who said the community as a whole. They need to choose the caliph, K-a-l-i-p-h-a-t-e, they call it the principal ruler, and another group said, no, he must be a direct descendant of Mohammed. And so, the two divisions of Islam developed at that time. On the one hand, the majority, the Sunnis, who said it has to come from the community. So, there are many other sub-sex of the Muslim world, of course, but the Sunnis constitute 70-plus percent of the Muslim world, and the other group, the Shi'as, who say that you must be a descendant of Mohammed to be the caliph, the chief ruler over the Islamic world. Well, the kings of Jordan, they are called the Hashemites, and they call themselves the Hashemite Kingdom.

The kings of Jordan claim that their descendants back to Mohammed. At one time, before the Shah came on the scene in Iran, there was a king who claimed that he was a descendant of Mohammed as well. He's in exile somewhere, I think, in Europe.

So, the Temple Mount came under Islamic control, and is under Islamic control to this day.

Satan knows that Jerusalem is a great city of destiny. That is why it becomes this stumbling block that brings on the great and final climatic battle, the battle of the great day of God Almighty.

The great day of the battle of God Almighty is one of the bowls of wrath, the sixth bowl of wrath, plague of wrath, described in Revelation 16 verses 12 through 14, mainly 13 and 14.

The promises God made regarding Jerusalem is why the city becomes the center of world tension as the times of the end approach. Satan is on an insatiable quest to be worshiped, and he knows that God has said that my word shall go out, as we read from Isaiah 2.3, from Zion and the law from Jerusalem. And so, obviously, Satan wants control of Jerusalem. The spiritual capital of the Western world is viewed by the Islamic world as their third most holy site. It is viewed by the Jews as the most holy site. It is viewed by the Christians as the most holy site. And Satan is on this insatiable quest to be worshiped.

So, Jerusalem will more and more become the focal point of the Middle East because it is recognized as a spiritual center for two major religions and the third most holy place in Islam.

No other city has been desired and fought over as has Jerusalem. The empire is described in the Bible. Now, this is so critically important. It's sort of like, and you may not get the connection, but sort of like 1 Corinthians 13, 1 through 3, that though I speak with the tongues of angels and of men and have not charity becoming as God is, it profits me nothing. And though I have all knowledge, understand all mysteries, the gift of prophecy, how faith that I could remove mountains, give my body to be burned, if I have not charity, it profits me nothing. You see, in the Bible, what the Bible is about is about God's plan of salvation and redemption and bringing all humans into His family, which you hear over and over and over again, I think to the point that in the church, it somehow loses its import of how important that really is. The empires described in the Bible are from the same general region of the world, and over the years they have fought over Jerusalem. They were regional empires, but the region they control included the land of God's promise, and this is what makes them important to redemptive history. This means the Bible is not a record of the history of world civilizations or even Western Europe, though there's history in it. It is a record of redemptive history, and redemptive history is centered around Jerusalem and the peoples who impact directly on its history.

Now, let's trace up the promises from Abraham, and this is so vitally important. It's important to understand, keeping in mind, that prophetic events are structured around the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham and his children, not world events or world empires.

It's about redemption and God's covenantal promises, and he's going to fulfill those promises. I will bless them that bless you, curse him that curses you.

Now, the Protestants, John Hagee and those kind of people like to quote this scripture over and over.

John Hagee says there are two paths to salvation. Of course, John Hagee heads the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, one of the megachurches. He's on scores of television stations around the world. That the Jews have a path to salvation and the Christians have another path.

However, what I read is there's only one name given under heaven whereby men must be saved, and that name is Jesus Christ.

I will bless them that bless you, curse them that curses you, and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed. Now, we'll turn to Galatians in just a moment and see how this is fulfilled. Even in the church over the years, we have tended to emphasize the physical, I think, far too much in this because God is not a respecter of persons. God is calling out people from all nations, races, ethnic groups, kindreds, tongues, and on and on it goes, He's not a respecter of persons. Physical versus the spiritual, have we emphasized the physical more than the spiritual?

I think we are learning our lesson on that. The Apostle Paul answers that question. Do you know who the true seed of Abraham are? Well, it's answered here that the blessings of Abraham might come on the nations, not just Israel, that the blessings might come on the nations because it says in Genesis 12 that through him that all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

The blessings of Abraham might come on the nations through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men, though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuls or adds thereunto.

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made, he said, not unto seeds as of many, but as of one, and to your seed which is Christ. So how are all the nations of the earth blessed? It is through Jesus Christ. That's according to the Bible.

Now, of course, we have talked about where the organizational skills and various things that the Judeo-Christian world has brought to various nations has helped them to a large degree. I remember we visited Sri Lanka, the project there.

We built essentially a mini-ambassador college on the top of a mountain, an old tea plantation there in Sri Lanka. You can look out the beautiful green hillsides with the tea plants and the little streams going through 6,000 feet, not a cloud in the sky. It was beautiful. It was graduation day for the students who had come there from Sri Lanka, many of whom, and most, were Buddhists by faith.

And the minister of the interior, Gemini Dissonica, the one that we interfaced with, said, we really appreciate you doing this and the money you have supplied, but more importantly than all of this, is your organizational skills and the knowledge that you have brought to us.

And even after the church withdrew its support and all the things happened in the church, I got a letter from there a few years back that said, well, you remember that commencement address you gave on that day there in Sri Lanka that an ambassador college can be built from the frozen tundra of the north to the lush green mountains and valleys of Sri Lanka.

And we have continued that. And people are selling their inheritances to send their child here for one year. And yet some of us got sidetracked about ambassador college and all kinds of things, not realizing where the lifeblood comes from to a large degree. Our children are our future. And if you be Christ, then are you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Then it goes on to say, there's neither Jew or Gentile, Jew or barbarian, or Jew or Greek, average worded. There is neither bond or free, there is neither male nor female, but you are all one in Christ. See, that's how the promises are fulfilled. It is in Christ.

Now, with regard to Abraham and his family, a great family feud. And we go back to the roots of Islam and the people who developed Islam came from Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah's bond woman, or I guess you could say Abraham's concubine. So there is a family feud between Ishmael and Isaac. Both descendants of Abraham, both claim they have the God-given right to the area. But the strategic importance of Palestine, both in terms of location and natural resources, is not the principal reason for the contention over Jerusalem. It's the spiritual thing that I mentioned somewhat yesterday. I mean, the people who are waging this war in Islam, for them it is spiritual. It is not physical, though it does involve physical, because they claim that if they have ever ruled over an area, that they are entitled to rule over that area forever.

Of course, you know they almost conquered Europe back hundreds of years ago.

The Ishmael and Isaac debate, and the angel the Lord said unto her, Behold, you are with child, shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the turtle hath heard your affliction. He will be a wild man. His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And then the line of Ishmael also married into the line of Esau. And you know about Jacob and Esau. You read Genesis 36, you'll get more about Esau. And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before me.

And God said, Sarah, your wife shall bear you a son. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you, behold, I have blessed him. I will make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly.

Twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

But then this key verse here, if you believe the Bible, of course, the Islamic world, the Arabs want to contend that they are the rightful heirs to the promises of Abraham. But this scripture says different. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac?

The covenant is with Isaac. Why? Because Isaac is the son of promise and faith.

The son of promise and faith. See, Abraham and Sarah tried to work it out physically, not by faith, and it didn't work.

The Jews and Christian fundamentalists tend to view the covenant in physical terms.

But as I've already said, the Israel of God is made of all nations, kindreds, and tongues. The strategic importance of Jerusalem is the center of the world. It is the navel of the world.

It is the crossroads of the world. It is so important because of its religious and strategic location importance. For centuries, it served as a land bridge, caravans between Europe, Asia, and Asia, Africa. Today, it sits adjacent to one of the great sea lanes, the Suez Canal, and its neighbors, which hold 40% of the world's known petroleum reserves. So the battle lines are drawn. The modern-day nation of Israel is involved in a battle on three fronts, one north of Jerusalem on the Lebanese and Syrian borders. We saw the map.

Hezbollah, a terrorist group sponsored by Iran, is basically taking over Lebanon. To the south in Gaza, there is Hamas. Just several weeks ago, there was this bloody war, if you want to call it a war, between Hamas and the Israelis. The Israelis bombed the daylights out of Gaza. Two thousand or more were killed. The infrastructure was riddled.

Of course, it'll start again, probably.

And then to the west, the Palestinians, many of whom have fled into West Jordan.

But when all is said and done, the battle is really over Jerusalem, because the Bible reveals that it is the place where God will rule the earth, and the nations will go to Jerusalem to worship the Great King. We've already read it in Isaiah 2. Satan is going to deceive the nations by setting up the headquarters of the beast and false prophet in Jerusalem.

When I pointed this out one time in a Bible study in Australia, one guy took great exception to this. And I said, all you have to do is read the Bible.

But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, over all the precious things of Egypt. And the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north, of course Russia and China are more and more developing an alliance, shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many. But then, that last verse we need to turn and read, because it is the key. We go now to Daniel 11.45. Daniel 11.45. When people are giving Bible studies and sermons, if you don't most of the time turn to the scriptures and make some kind of little notation, you're depriving yourself of a great learning opportunity. Because in more ways you can get whatever is being said or read into your sensory pathways, eyes, ears, nose, all of that, all of the five senses, touch, smell. The greater the probability that you will at least retain some of it. Verse 45, Daniel 11.

And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, and he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Is this scripture referring to modern-day Israel? Listen to how this scripture goes. It surely sounds like it.

Hear you this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel, the Lord of hosts is his name.

And then you could read the rest of that chapter. You make a little notation.

Is this describing modern-day Israel? It surely sounds like it.

So we have the Palestinians who want to control that area. Secondly, the Palestinians who claim Jerusalem as their capital.

Thirdly, Israel surrounding Arab neighbors in international Arab and Muslim factions.

Some backing the Palestinians, most all of them back the Palestinians.

They claim Jerusalem as a Muslim religious city of high importance, third after Mecca and Medina.

Fourthly, the Roman Catholic Church would dearly love to control Jerusalem.

In fact, they advocate the two-state solution. They advocate the internationalization of Jerusalem, where it becomes the spiritual capital of three religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Capital of two nations, that is Israel and the Palestinians, and three religions.

The United Nations claiming international status for Jerusalem under Resolution 181.

If you want a good lesson about the background of Jerusalem and Israel, modern day, put Resolution 181 in your Google that. Resolution 181. Resolution 181 calls for two states to begin with, one for the Israelis and one for the Arabs and Palestinians, with Jerusalem being internationalized and under international control.

Although most nations do not specifically claim any right to Jerusalem, they do deny the sole right of the Jews to this city and thereby unwittingly support the cause of Jerusalem's declared non-Jewish pretenders and claimants. So if you're keeping up with current events, you know that world opinion has turned against Israel, especially the European Union, and to a large degree, people in the Obama administration. And almost daily, you read something about that he does this for them, but not for Israel.

The Iran Shiite Republic, they're looking for the 12th imam, and that is to the Shia Muslims as Christians. He will come on the scene in a time of great chaos, confusion, and turmoil, and bring peace. And the previous president, Ahmadinejad, before Rouhani came on the scene, gave a speech before the United Nations, in which, in effect, he talked about the coming one, the Yibon. Of course, Ahmadinejad, and those who they call him the 12ers, believe that really Iran should go out and create chaos and confusion in the world, because the sooner you have the world in such a chaotic condition, there's no hope.

The sooner this 12th imam will come on the scene.

The dates for building the Dome of the Rock and now Aksum Mosque. I'm not going to spend a lot of time there. You see how old these things are. The Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, was built in 688, and then the Al-Aksum Mosque in 715. Al-Aksum Mosque literally means the farthest mosque.

It is said that Mohammed, as he ascended to heaven, he came from Mecca on a great white horse to the Temple Mount, and it is from there that quote he ascended to heaven. So that's a part of their lore in the Quran. Another view of the Al-Aksum Mosque. Crusaders from Europe tried to take over Jerusalem. There's a lot in history about the Crusades. They eventually did set up for a short time, did gain control, but it didn't last very long.

Palestine remained basically under Muslim control until the end of World War I.

Beginning in the late 1800s, there was a man named Theodore Herzl, H-E-R-Z-L, Herzl, who began to talk about a homeland for the Jews. He was supported by Benjamin Disraeli.

There was a Jewish prime minister there in the 1800s, and this movement took root.

Eventually, after World War I, there was what was called the Balfour Declaration.

It mandated a homeland for the Jews, then Palestine, in essence, became a British protectorate. In fact, most of the Middle East became a British protectorate, including Iraq and Iran, and Britain had tremendous power and influence during that time over the Middle East.

The Balfour Declaration of 1917, dated November the 2nd, was a letter from British Foreign Secretary author James Balfour to Baron Rothschild, Walter Rothschild, second Baron Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. I'm not going to read the mandate that is given there. You could, of course, Google Balfour Declaration, and you're going to have all kind of information about it.

Then the UN resolution, which I've already mentioned, called for an Arab and Jewish state with Jerusalem under international control.

The Jews went along with this initially, but in May of 1948, the Arabs launched an attack against the Israelis, and in a short war, the Israelis won the war and drove the Arabs mainly out of Palestine at that time into mainly Jordan.

In the 1967 war, Israel recaptured East Jerusalem along with the West Bank and Gaza, and I've already talked about how they gave control of the Temple Mount to Islam, with Jordan being the protectorate. The Temple Mount controversy, the Palestinians have conducted extensive archaeological excavations under the Temple Mount, so extensive that some fear the Temple Mount will cave in, especially if an earthquake or large explosion rocks the area.

Jews claim that the Muslims are trying to destroy any and all archaeological and historical evidence that the Jews have any legal claim to the Temple Mount.

The Mount is considered so sacred that one is an ultra-Orthodox Judaism.

You're not even supposed to fly over the Temple Mount.

And some say this ban will stay in effect. Many believe until the Messiah comes.

Because of the ban, the Jews pray and celebrate at the Western Wall, an area in early times known as the Wailing Wall, which we've shown earlier. The Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem officially banned Jews from setting foot on the Temple Mount.

They claim that the Temple Mount has to be cleansed by the ashes of a red heifer.

Other devout Jews have disputed the reasons of the rabbinical ban claiming that the Temple Mount foundations are indeed defiled and must be ceremonially cleansed.

Until the new Temple is completed and ready to be placed in the service that is permissible for unclean persons to visit there and even to work on the building of the third Temple.

But first, the Temple must be cleansed, then the people is their argument. So, cleansed by the ashes of an acceptable red heifer.

According to tradition, the sacrifice of the red heifer has taken place nine times during the last 2,000 years. The tenth sacrifice, they claim, will precede the rebuilding of the sacred temple in Jerusalem. Allow the purification of the Jewish people and signal the coming of the long-awaited Messiah. They're not looking for the Son of God from heaven because they're monotheists.

They are looking for a man, not the Son of God, as in the case when Jesus Christ came the first time.

Now, the development of an acceptable breed of red heifer is an amazing story that goes by way of Canton, Mississippi.

This Pentecostal preacher you see in the second paragraph there was reading numbers, and he said, you know, I believe that I can supply this red heifer. And so he got in contact with the Chaim Richmond, C-H-A-I-M Chaim Richmond, of the Temple Institute. They began communication. Richmond even came over to Mississippi.

They toured different places in the U.S., raising money. And over the years, they supposedly began to raise an acceptable red heifer.

And that story is chronicled there in the Clare and Ledger and also the Jewish Chronicle, July 31, 1998.

According to the Jewish Chronicle, July 31, 1998, red heifers are being raised in Kefir, Qasidim, and on a farm near Yalat in Israel. The divine promise of purity. Red heifer, not a single white hair or any other hair, has to pass that inspection. Of course, that was about 16 years ago.

The Temple Institute, they are trying to restore temple worship. They claim that they have traced the...and now through DNA testing, they claim they have identified the Kohein priesthood.

They have developed the priestly garments that were used during that time of temple worship.

Certain of the elements, some of the vessels and so on that accompanied the temple worship and collects the blood from the sacrifice into the misrach, then spills the blood into the corner of the altar. The replica of the menorah, religious deception, and pseudo-peace.

So this is what's coming. Great religious deception. You know what it says in Matthew 24. It says that the deception will be so great that if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived.

And you know what it says in 2 Thessalonians, that through signs, wonders, and miracles, it's going to deceive those who love not the truth. If we understand the scriptures correctly, the scriptures that deal with the restoration of temple worship, the Jews are going to be allowed to at least build and offer sacrifices. Thus, some kind of pseudo-peace is coming in the Middle East.

However, this peace is going to be taken away along with the sacrifices as the beast's power is energized by Satan and assumes the role of antichrist.

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5.13, and of course that's one of the things like yesterday in the sermon, trying to get us to understand the urgency of the times, the times in which we live, that we would be ready, that we would not be caught unawares like the five foolish virgins in Matthew 25. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that are right unto you, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night, for when they shall say peace and safety, then said destruction comes upon them as surveil upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. So the world will be so deceived, thinking that this great Messiah has come and peace at last. Then on the other hand, it says in Matthew 24, that you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

So that coming that time in which you have to take a stand, you'll no longer be able to say that because so-and-so said such-and-such, or somebody else did this or that, or they think this or they think that, whatever the excuse may be, but every tongue shall confess, and every knee shall bow. And you will give, and I will give, personal account of where I stand and where I used to be. I tried to communicate this to people in 2010 in Houston, and of course, some writings that appeared on the elders forum and other places, and so did others. Brethren, it is serious business. It is life and death.

The question of whether the Jews will restore temple worship is, of course, a major question.

One of the strongest indicators in the Bible that the Jews will restore temple worship is found in Isaiah 29. I'm not going to read all of this. I don't have time. We're going to quit at 9 o'clock. Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt. Add year to year, let them kill sacrifices. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow. And it shall be unto me as Ariel, and I will camp against you round about. You know, it's Acherite 12, verses 1-3-4, says, Now we'll gather all nations against Jerusalem, and we'll lay siege against you with a mount, and I will raise forts against you. And you shall be brought down, and shall speak out of the ground, and your speech shall be lo out of the dust, and your voice shall be as one that hath the, for be your spirit out of the ground, and your speech shall whisper out of the dust. And it goes on and on, verse 6, You shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts with thunder, with earthquake, great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire, and the multitude of all nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. And it goes on to even a millennial setting. And one of the great things about most prophecies is, though God allows destruction, captivity, whatever, He also has this wonderful promise of restoration.

It is not yet a little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest. And in that day, and when you see in the Old Testament that expression, in that day, that is what is called a prophetic utterance.

And it introduces, it is that period of time when this age merges into the next age, millennial age, in that day, as you merge into the millennium, the deaf shall hear the words of the book, the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness the meek, all shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The present peace plan calls for a two-state solution sponsored by the Quartet of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and Russia. This peace plan is sort of dead at the present time. Israel, at the present time, is in league with some of the Sunni nations because they're so afraid of ISIL, that is, the other Sunni nations, and so they are beginning to develop a different kind of peace plan. Whether or not they'll get back on track with that, of course, Yom Kari, Secretary of the U.S., says that this two-state is still the one that they're going to stand by. According to Revelation chapter 11, the city will be divided.

It'll be given over half of the city, be given over the nations, and they'll tread it down for 42 months.

And Mr. Kellers covered this in his opening night sermon, so I'm not going to spend time there with that. Now, this is a proposed peace plan that calls for Israel retreating to their 1967 borders, returning the West Bank to the Arabs and also returning Jerusalem, Jerusalem being the capital for both states, that is, the Israeli and the Arab. The Beast headquarters, we've already read that and talked about it.

Satan does temporarily realize his goal. Look at Revelation 13.8 at the bottom.

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. This says, all. And we can ask ourselves, is my name written in the Lamb's book of life? The two witnesses give their testimony three and a half years. Eventually, they are killed by the beast that it sends out of the bottomless pit. After three and a half days, they are resurrected and their bodies rise up.

The abomination of desolation, people are so intent on looking for a sign.

The abomination of desolation is one of the great signs that marks the countdown.

So when you read, it says in Matthew 24, 15, the abomination of desolation, let him who reads take heed, and it talks about people fleeing. Then it says, then shall there be great tribulation.

So that marks the beginning of the great tribulation and the countdown.

For then shall be great tribulation, which was not since the beginning of the world, for this time, nor ever shall be. If the days are not shortened, no flesh saved a life. And false christs arise, and if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived.

And Tyve's epiphanies was a type of this. We don't have time for that.

Daniel's description, many shall be purified, made white, and tried, but the wicked shall be wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.

And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred ninety days, twelve hundred ninety days, blessed to see that comes to thirteen hundred and thirty-five days. I don't know how many people have spent so much time speculating on that and trying to figure out what takes place during that forty-five days.

I'm not among those.

There are many other religious and political issues. One of the things that is happening right now is that the Sanhedrin has been restored. The Jews claim that before Messiah can come and the Second Temple is built, that the Sanhedrin has to be restored, and it has been restored. The Sanhedrin has been restored. There's the significance.

The only group that can certify and decree the Messiah in accord with Mosaic law.

It's more about the restoration of the Sanhedrin, the control of Jerusalem. This resolution said that everything that Israel had done in their laws are null and void. That was passed by the UN in 1999. Of course, it didn't really change anything, but the UN is gaining more and more teeth.

The political implications. We can clearly see before a temple can be rebuilt the many grave political questions that surround the disposition of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in particular have to be resolved. So, as never before, the nations of the world are very concerned about the destiny of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Satan, of course, realizes this, and he's on this quest to be worshipped. The political stakes that are being played out are sobering and beyond our ability to really describe the import.

There will be the pseudo-Messiah, one who claims that he is God, as in 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 1-12.

And because they love not the truth, they were sent grand delusion.

Christ is going to come with his saints. Mr. Keller has covered this on opening night.

So, one might ask, what is the problem in the political sense?

One of the things is Christians are being lumped in with fundamentalists of various religions and saying, well, Christians want these events to take place so their Messiah can come. Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us to take up arms and try to hasten the return of Christ.

They'll deliver you up. We've already mentioned that. You shall be hated of all nations for the name's sake. So, we are involved in spiritual warfare, not physical warfare.

We talked about yesterday the five major religions that are looking for the return of Jesus Christ.

So, to avoid deception, you have to love the church. You have to love the truth, the true church and the truth of God.

Now, we want to close this evening with Psalm 87. We sing Psalm 87. I guess some might say that they are hesitant to sing because the music is to a German marching song. Psalm 87. I wanted somebody to play this on the piano and we sing it, but we'll read it because it is so awe-inspiring. Remember what Zion symbolizes? Zion symbolizes the church.

Psalm 87 verse 1. His foundation is in the holy mountains. The eternal loves the gates of Zion. Remember, Zion symbolizes the church. Hebrews 12, 22, 23.

More than all the dwellings of Jacob. Jacob usually refers to Israel in the flesh.

Glorious things of thee are spoken, O City of God.

I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me. Behold, Philistia and Tyre and Ethiopia. This man was born there. Where? This man was born there.

Now, if you go to the Temple Mount and you look over onto the Mount of Olives to the east, there are all these little white specks. So I asked the guide, what are those little white specks?

He said, well, they are tombs of Jews. They believe, based on Zechariah 14, that they'll get a head start on the resurrection if they are buried on the Mount of Olives.

Of course, we have people who have died in the faith. They've been burned to death. They've been drowned at sea. There have been all kinds of things happened to them. Where are they going to be resurrected? Where are they going to be born? This man was born there. Where? And of Zion, it shall be said, this and that man was born in her, and the highest himself shall establish her.

The eternal shall count when he writes at the people that this man was born there, as well as the singers, as the players, on instruments shall be there. All my springs are in you. The springs water represent God's Spirit, His presence.

Good evening. I hope you have a great rest of the feast.