#512 – Faith Matters; The Book Of Signs – ISRAEL

Many have been asking the question “Are we living in the end times?” My answer has always been “We are one day closer than we were yesterday”. Any man who tries to predict it is going to be wrong.

Do to all the crazy things going on in the world, we have answered the call. We will be reviewing the book “The Book of Signs” by Dr. David Jeremiah over the next 31 weeks.

Dr. Jeremiah breaks down these signs into 5 parts; International Signs, Cultural Signs, Heavenly Signs, Tribulation Signs, and End Signs.

Why should we study the signs?

There are over 18,000 prophecies in God’s Word concerning the first and second coming of Jesus Christ alone! Obviously, prophecy is important to God, and He desires for us to understand His plans.

What are the signs?

A biblical sign can be an event, symbol, object, place or person whose existence or occurrence indicates something important in God’s plan for history.

This study is by a veteran, vested solid preacher, not some fortune teller. We aren’t trying to scare anyone, but we must be ready. If your decision to follow Jesus hasn’t been made, now is the time!

Jesus told us to keep our eyes open so that we are not fooled by the signs indicating that the end times are near. As we get closer to that time, many people are going to claim to be the Messiah and claim to have the answers for a troubled world.

The end times may be near, but as Christians, our future is secure. Indeed, we live in a chaotic world, but we can be confident and at peace because God is the author of history, and because the return of the Prince of Peace may be closer than we think.
David Jeremiah

This week we will start with International Signs. He names 5 nations that will be integral to foreshadowing the end of times.

5 nations in particular emerge from biblical prophecies – Israel, Europe, Russia, Babylon and America

ISRAEL

May 14, 1948 was a pivotal day in human history when Jewish leader David Ben-Gurion read a statement declaring the State of Israel. President Truman sat in the Oval Office read a statement and signed his approval of the Israel State within a minute of Ben-Gurion statement.

Why is this tiny country, smaller than New Jersey, mentioned on the news more than any other nation? Why Israel? For answers, we turn not to the news, but the Bible.

The Abrahamic Covenant

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.
Genesis:12:1-3

God’s covenant with Abraham consists of four unconditional promises.

God promised to bless Abraham
God promised to bring out of Abraham a great nation.
God promised to make Abraham a blessing to many.
God promised to bless those who blessed Israel and curse those who cursed her.

God’s Covenant Includes Seven Important Features

It was an UNCONDITIONAL covenant.

No provision was made for this covenant to be revoked, and it was not subject to amendment or annulment.

It was a PERSONAL covenant.

God addressed Abraham using the personal pronouns you and your eleven times. All the promises were first made to Abraham personally.

It was a NATIONAL covenant.

God specifically promised He would make Abraham and his descendants a great nation.

It was a TERRITORIAL covenant.

The land promised to Abraham and his descendants was described with clear geographical boundaries. If Israelis were currently occupying all the land that God gave to them, they would control all the holdings of present-day Israel, Lebanon, and the West Bank of Jordan, plus substantial portions of Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

It was a RECIPROCAL covenant.

God’s promise said “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you.” God promised protection to the nation, and He delivered over and over again. But He will also bring His wrath.

It was a UNIVERSAL covenant.

Through Abraham, God gave His written Word to the world. And through Abraham, God gave His Son to the world, blessing all humanity with the means of escaping the grip of sin and death.

It was an ETERNAL covenant.

I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Genesis 17:7

Why Did God Choose Israel?

It had nothing to do with merit. They weren’t more numerous, they were the least. Not because Israel was more sensitive to God or more righteous. It’s because it was His sovereign purpose to do so. God uses the weak to show his glory.

The Return To The God Of Israel

You may be asking “Now that Israel is restored to its land, is this the end?” No, it is just the beginning of the Jews returning to it’s land, but Ezekiel wrote about a spiritual return of God’s people to Him.

‘I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. ‘
Ezekiel 36:24-28

There are still 2 prophecies that have not yet been fulfilled.