The Fulfilling of The Times of the Gentiles (1987)

[00:00:00] If you will turn with me to the Gospel of Luke. [00:00:07] The Gospel of Luke. [00:00:09] In chapter 21, the 21st chapter. [00:00:20] I want to read the words of the Lord Jesus, as they are contained here in this chapter from verse 20. Luke, chapter 21. Reading from verse 20. [00:00:38] But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. [00:00:47] Then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains, and let them that are in the midst of her depart out. And let not them that are in the country enter therein. [00:01:00] For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. [00:01:08] Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. [00:01:13] For there shall be great distress upon the land and wroth unto this people, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations. [00:01:29] And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the gentiles until the times of the gentiles be fulfilled. [00:01:40] And there shall be signs in sun and moon and star stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity. For the roaring of the sea and the billows, men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [00:02:07] But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption dworth nigh. [00:02:19] And he spake to them a parable. Behold the fig tree. And all the twhen they now shoot forth, ye see it. And know of your own selves that the summer is now nigh. Even so ye also when ye see these things coming to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh? [00:02:39] Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away till all things be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and that day come on you suddenly as a snare. For so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth. But watch ye at every season, making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the son of man. [00:03:32] I have been asked to speak upon this subject entitled the fulfilling of the times of the Gentiles. [00:03:45] Of course, this whole subject of prophecy has attracted every known christian, lunatic and nutcase. In the world. [00:03:56] It has drawn them irresistibly like a magnet to itself. [00:04:03] And upon this whole question of the times of the Gentiles, some of the most extraordinary theories have been propounded. [00:04:15] But it is very important for us to understand, first, what the phrase the times of the Gentiles denote and define and secondly, if we can honestly and genuinely say that they have been fulfilled and thirdly, to learn if they have been fulfilled, to learn what is the significance of the fulfillment for us, the challenge and the significance now we have this phrase, the times of the Gentiles, used only once in the whole Bible, and it was used by the Lord Jesus himself, as it is recorded here in this gospel of Luke, chapter 21 and verse 24. He said, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down underfoot of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. [00:05:32] We have another phrase in the New Testament which carelessly has often been used as if it was the times of the Gentiles that was in mind, and we find it in romans 1125. It is the words of the apostle Paul, where he said, for I would not brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved, even as it is written there shall come out of Zion the deliverer he shall turn away ungodliness in Jacob. [00:06:22] The fullness of the Gentiles is not the times of the Gentiles the fullness of the Gentiles may well be connected with the times of the Gentiles, but the fullness of the Gentiles is the full number of those who will be brought out of the gentile nations to be added to Israel, as those who are the elect people of God. [00:06:49] Paul says by inspiration, that when that full number of the Gentiles is near to completion, then the hardening which has befallen Israel in part will be done away, and so all Israel shall be saved. [00:07:07] The phrase that the Lord Jesus used was not to do with the number of the elect, but with the periods of time that we have in world history. [00:07:23] You will notice that it is in the plural it is the times of the Gentiles, not the time of the Gentiles. [00:07:34] It is very often misquoted as the time of the Gentiles, as if it is only one period. But this phrase in the plural the times of the Gentiles, denotes every single phase in history, when the jewish people have been subjugated by non jewish forces. [00:08:00] And it can, in fact refer to a number of periods in history. The egyptian period, as well as the assyrian time in the captivity of the northern kingdom of Israel, as well as the more commonly understood time from Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, right through the persian period, the greek period, the roman period, until our own day and generation. So it is the times of the Gentiles. That is, let me repeat again, every period in history, long or short, when the jewish people have been subjugated by non jewish forces or powers or ideologies. These are the times of the Gentiles. In particular, it refers to a period that Daniel saw in Babylon when he was in the royal employ in the administration. You will remember he had two visions. The first vision we find in Daniel chapter two. And the second vision is in Daniel chapter seven and runs through Daniel chapter eight. And these visions, very simply, are actually two sides of one coin. The first vision he saw, well, actually, he didn't see it, but King Nebuchadnezzar saw it. And the interpretation was given to Daniel. You remember the king had a dream. The emperor had a dream. And he saw a magnificent statue, a colossus. [00:09:56] And he said it was exceedingly beautiful. [00:10:02] The head was of gold, the breast was of silver, the loins were of bras, and the feet were of iron. [00:10:17] And the king asked all the wise men for an interpretation, and none could give it. [00:10:23] And then the king got a bit annoyed and I think threatened them, if I remember rightly, with the possibility of a shortening of their lives. And Daniel went to the king and said, give us time before you take this extreme action concerning your counselors and advisors. Give us a little time, because I am a servant of the living God, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, and I will inquire of him. And God gave to Daniel an understanding of that enormous colossus which King Nebuchadnezzar saw in that dream. [00:11:08] He said, you, o king, you are the head. [00:11:13] In other words, the head of that great statue represented history, and it represented first and foremost, babylonian history. Then he said, after you, there will come another great empire. The silver was Persia. And following that there will come another great empire. And that, he said, was the loins of brass. It was Greece. And that will be followed by another great empire. And that empire is of iron. It is the roman empire. If we follow the succession of the empires in the ancient world. Then he said, you saw a stone cut out, but not by hand, and it hurtled from heaven towards the statue and struck it not at the head, not in the breast, not in the thighs, but in the field, and the whole thing crumbled. That, he said, is the kingdom of God. [00:12:27] Now, it is very interesting for us because traditionally, and I think quite rightly, theologians and Bible scholars have said the times of the Gentiles were seen by Nebuchadnezzar began with the babylonian period, and basically followed right the way through these different empires. Later on, Daniel himself had a dream, and in this dream he saw four wild beasts. [00:13:02] The four wild beasts were very interesting, and he got the interpretation again that they were four different empires that would be successive. [00:13:15] In other words, Daniel saw the same vision of world history that Nebuchadnezzar saw, but Nebuchadnezzar saw it as a magnificent statue, a human creation without a heart. [00:13:37] Daniel saw the same thing as having the heart of a savage and wild beast. [00:13:48] Now, I won't bore you with history, but the fact of the matter is that, generally speaking, these two visions are understood to define and describe the times of the Gentile. [00:14:07] In the New Testament, in the book of Revelation, we have exactly the same thing, only this time we are told of a great beast that comes out of the sea. And this beast is diverse and exceedingly strong, and it has all the characteristics of the four beasts that Daniel saw. This we find in revelation, chapter 13. [00:14:32] Now, I dont want to bore you this evening, but it has very much to do with these times of the Gentiles, because the phrase, as I have said, denotes every time the jewish people have been subjugated by non jewish forces. [00:14:54] Now, the interesting thing about this statement of our Lord Jesus is that he clearly specifically limited the times of the Gentiles and gave us the key to their fulfillment. [00:15:15] I have never been able to understand the christian interpretation of this statement of Jesus, that he said, jerusalem will be trodden down underfoot of the heathen or the unsaved until the son of man returns. [00:15:33] If Jesus had meant that, why didn't he say that? [00:15:38] Why didn't he say, and Jerusalem will be trodden down by people who hate me or rejected me or are against me until the son of man returns. He never said anything of the kind. He said, and there shall be great distress to this land and great wrath to this people, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and they shall be led captivity into all nations, and Jerusalem will be trodden down under foot of the Gentiles that is of non Jews until the times of the non Jews be fulfilled. [00:16:15] Now, that is to me quite specific and quite clear that Jesus said there would be a time limit. Limit to the times of the Gentiles. In other words, he was saying that at some point before he returned, the subjugation of the jewish people by non Jews would be forever over. [00:16:44] He gave us the key. [00:16:47] Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the key. [00:16:53] In other words, for those who have ears to hear and a heart to understand. [00:17:02] Jesus said, the only way you will ever know that the times of the Gentiles is in operation is that Jerusalem will be in the hands of non Jews. [00:17:16] But when that time is finally fulfilled, when that time has finally run its course, Jerusalem will come back under jewish sovereignty. [00:17:35] Now, it is a fact of history. [00:17:38] However much people might argue about the interpretation that I am giving you, it is a fact of history that but for a few months in the year 135, 136 AD, in the rebellion of Bakochva, Jerusalem has never been under sovereign jewish government at any single time in the last 1900 or or so years from the destruction, its destruction in 70 ad. [00:18:13] It is also as incontrovertible that for the first time in 1900 years, on the 6th and 7 June 1967, Jerusalem came back under jewish sovereign government. [00:18:37] However much people might argue about the political pros and cons, the fact remain. At the time, there was a great uproar everywhere. Half of the african nations broke relations with us. There was an uproar. And the United nations, the Vatican went crazy talking about internationalizing Jerusalem. Even the president of the United States, they spoke about the possibility of internationalizing Jerusalem. And everybody had a solution for Jerusalem. And most of us were very nervous about it. What's going to happen? I was asked again and again by phone, by letter, by people saying to me, do you think the times of the Gentiles are over? You have always said it would be so. Is this the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles? And I very wisely said to them, wait. [00:19:32] I'm not jewish for nothing. [00:19:42] I said, wait, wait. [00:19:45] If Jerusalem goes back under non jewish control, under jordanian control, under United nations control, if it becomes an internationalized city, or whatever else, the times of the Gentiles are not fulfilled. But if Jerusalem remains under sovereign jewish government, then we know without any shadow of a doubt that the specific statement of the Lord Jesus has been fulfilled in our day and generation. [00:20:23] Now, my dear friends, 20 years have gone by and Jerusalem is now a jewish city in an act to Knesset, which must be unique almost in parliamentary history on the 30 July 1980, the Knesset passed the Jerusalem law in which it described Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel and of the jewish people. [00:21:07] Now we come to a conclusion which, in my estimation, for all Bible students, all who believe in the authority and inspiration of God's holy word, is incontrovertible. [00:21:28] The times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. [00:21:38] People can go into spiritual and theological acrobatics, but they can't get out of it. [00:21:46] They can explain the words of Jesus in all kinds of ways. Let them. [00:21:52] If Jesus had meant it to be so complex. That you have to have a guide to go through the maze of his theology, to understand that he didn't say what he said, but meant something else that he didn't say, I leave it to them. The theological mind has never ever been understandable to me. [00:22:20] But as far as I can see, Jesus made a clear, plain, simple statement. [00:22:30] Jerusalem is the key to the times of the Gentile. [00:22:34] When a time comes when Jerusalem will come back miraculously to jewish sovereign control and government, then the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. [00:22:59] That leads me to say that we have passed out of the times of the Gentiles. Into another era or epoch of history according to God's word. [00:23:19] What is the period we have passed into? [00:23:23] That is a good question. [00:23:25] Into what period have we now been ushered by the return of Jerusalem to the jewish people? [00:23:34] By the way, I might just add one little point on this. [00:23:39] I do not think that in the whole enormous debate that is going on in Israel and in jewish circles. [00:23:50] As to whether Jerusalem should in some way have another form of government or in this international peace conference, there should be some solution found to the status of Jerusalem. I do not know anybody, even from the radical left, that would ever consider, on the jewish side, Jerusalem being returned to its previous status. [00:24:19] Everybody is unanimous, at least on this, that Jerusalem must remain a unified city and under overall jewish government. [00:24:34] So whatever the Vatican feels, or the United nations feels, or whatever else feels, the fact remains something has happened, and it is to do with Jerusalem. [00:24:49] Now, how shall we call the period that we've passed it into? [00:24:59] Is there any phrase that can describe it? I personally prefer the rabbinic phrase, the threshold of the Messiah. [00:25:10] This we find actually, in the words of the Lord Jesus. We find it, for instance, here in Luke, chapter 21 and verse 31. Even so, ye also, when ye see these things coming to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh? [00:25:38] Or again, if you turn to Matthew and chapter 24 and verse 33, even so, ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, even at the doors, the threshold of the messiah, even at the doors. He's not on the outskirts, as it were, of London, he's not at Hyde Park Corner, hes not even at Buckingham palace. He is in the foyer. [00:26:22] Thats what jesus said. When these things come to pass, know ye that he is nigh, even at the door? [00:26:35] Then if we have passed into this period that we conclude, describe, or call in the rabbinic term the threshold of the Messiah, how long will it last? [00:26:47] That is the million dollar question. [00:26:53] Now I know I'm going to upset a number of people now, so you'll just let me have a cup of water. [00:27:09] As most of you know, I and my sister were brought up in the pagan atmosphere until we were captured by the Christians at the tender age of twelve years. [00:27:21] Ever since I was saved and my sister, we have heard the phrase that this is the last generation. [00:27:38] I remember an old swedish aunt, she wasn't a real aunt, but we knew her as aunt and she certainly behaved like an aunt. [00:27:46] And she used to take both myself and my sister under her wing. And I remember her saying as clearly as if it was this morning, mark my words, when the Jews go back to the land and the jewish state is reborn, that will be the last generation. [00:28:09] And I remember saying to her, how come it will be the last generation? Because she said, Jesus said, this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. [00:28:23] Now we have this in all three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke. [00:28:29] And I must tell you quite honestly, we have a problem. [00:28:36] It is not my job to sow doubt in your hearts and minds about the divine record. But the fact of the matter is I can't accept some of the interpretations and I will proceed to explain why Jesus said, this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. The modernist or liberal explanation of this is that Jesus was a man just like the rest of us and had limited knowledge like any of us. He thought that he was coming back in the lifetime of the people who were listening to him. So he said, this generation shall not pass away till all these things people filled. He said it quite in a quite well meaning way, but he was mistaken. [00:29:23] Now you know that the bishop of Durham and others such as this would accept this interpretation completely. [00:29:31] This is the normal modernist way of explaining a scripture. Jesus was just like anybody else. He thought he was coming back. So to comfort them he said, this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. He must be very surprised now because he didn't come back. [00:29:53] Now the evangelicals and charismatics have always rushed forward to defend God's work. [00:30:08] They forget the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, that you don't have to defend a lion. [00:30:15] All you have to do is let him out of his cage. [00:30:22] But the evangelicals and charismatics, that is the believing section of the christian church, they believe, they feel, they feel that somehow or other they've got to defend God's word. So they, this is how I was brought up. They said, this does not mean this, this means that. [00:30:47] And this is how they explain it. Jesus didn't mean this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. He meant that generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. He was referring to the fig tree, the fig tree that, that the generation that sees the fig tree blossom. That generation will not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. [00:31:15] Now in Greek you can as easily say that generation as this generation. So the question comes, why didn't Jesus say that generation shall not pass away? That would have cleared up the whole problem. [00:31:30] No one would have had any misunderstanding at all. But he never did. He said, this generation. [00:31:47] Ive always felt there was something funny about this statement of the Lord Jesus. [00:31:54] I mean, again, I can't understand it that he would say something so complex. [00:32:04] When I came to study the gospels more deeply, there was within the wing of friends that I had a very fine greek scholar Cambridge trademark. [00:32:22] And I always used to go with all my problems to him. [00:32:26] And I went with this problem and I said, look, what does this mean, this generation? Could you look up this word generation? I remember even now quite clearly how he reacted. Oh, he said, I do believe that's an interesting word. I believe it's one of these genetic words. He said it has a whole sort of family of meanings. But I'll look it up for you. Give me a day or two. [00:32:50] And as good as his word. He came back in a couple of days and he said, yes. He said, that's a very interesting word. I've had a very interesting study. [00:32:58] He said the word in Greek comes from a root meaning to beget. [00:33:04] And it has a whole family of meaning. It can mean a family, all those born of the same parents. It can mean all those born of the same great grandparents, that's kinship. It can mean those born of the same patriarchs, the same tribe or nation. It can mean those born of the same forefathers, the same race, or it can mean those born at the same time a generation. [00:33:36] Now he said any one of these could have been used here in the statement of Jesus but for some reason the 1611 authorized version translators used the word generation and it has been followed ever since. [00:34:02] So he said it could be this family shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. Or this tribe shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. Or this kinship kith and kinship shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. Or this race shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. Or this generation shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. I am very interested to see that for the first time in the new american standard bible version and in the new international version in the margin you have alternative rendering. This race shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. [00:34:41] Now my dear friends, why do I make so much about this? Very very simply I'm thinking of you younger people not the older ones. I'm not being rude to those who are old but what I'm. I want to just explain to you younger people that you be not disillusioned. It was all very well in 1860 to speak about the last generation. That would be the generation that saw the jewish people set up a sovereign jewish state. It was even possible in 1920 to say that. It was even possible in 1948 when it happened on the 14 May to say this is the last generation because a biblical generation is 40 years, give or take a few years. [00:35:32] It was even possible in 1960 to speak of this as the last generation. But my dear friends, in 1987 it is very dangerous. Why? [00:35:47] Because from 1948 to 1988 is a span of 40 years. So evidently we can't see take any away. But we could say add another five years which means that with every year Jesus does not come we can determine his coming more accurately. [00:36:06] Which is exactly what he said in the same message we could not do. [00:36:13] He said no man knows the hour or the day when the son of man comes oh, some clever. When they've heard me speak others have said he never said the year. He said no man knows the hour or the day when the son of man comes oh, some clever people when they've heard me speak others have said he never said the year. [00:36:39] That's why we've had these cranks that go up on the top of mountains on such and such a date. He's coming. [00:36:46] I noticed just before I came from Jerusalem a week ago that the whole city had been plastered with notices as notices bill posters in blue and white saying the Messiah comes. [00:36:59] And then it said on the 14 June, which was last Monday, the Messiah will come to Jerusalem. [00:37:07] He will first go to the western wall, then he will go to the Knesset. [00:37:13] Well, apparently he didn't come. Something way lady moan, somewhere something happened, because I waited. [00:37:24] I, I wanted to see who he was. [00:37:36] No, the fact of the matter is this. [00:37:39] We are in very grave danger if we understand this word, this generation as mean, the generation that sees Israel come into being, that this generation will not pass till the whole purpose of God for world history is concluded. [00:38:02] Then if we pass into the 1990s and nothing has happened, and we move to the very end of the century and nothing has happened, thousands of young people in the fellowships and churches will become disillusioned and disappointed and open to some very erroneous forms of teaching. [00:38:28] Jesus said, no man knows the hour or the day when the son of man comes. Not even the son of man, not the angels, nor the son of man, but the father only. In other words, he was making it quite and explicitly clear that his coming would be unexpected and sudden. [00:38:54] What then can we say? How long will this period last? Well, obviously its not going to last that long. [00:39:01] We dont know. [00:39:05] For all I know, the Lord may come tonight, or he may come next year, or it may be a decade, or it could be a hundred years. [00:39:16] But what we know is we have passed into the last phase of world history. According to the words of the Lord Jesus, the times of the Gentiles have irreversibly passed away. [00:39:37] This does not mean that the jewish people will not suffer, that there will not be much more war and conflict. But it does mean the land will never again be occupied by non jewish forces. And Jerusalem will never fall until the very final battle. And then only half of the city will fall. And that battle will be won by the appearance of the Messiah. According to the prophet Zechariah, in that day, his feet shall stand upon the mount of Olives. [00:40:14] And the battle for Israel and for Jerusalem will be forever one. [00:40:21] Now, dear friends, we must finish. What is the significance and the challenge of this time into which we have passed? How exciting. [00:40:32] If it is true, how exciting it is that you and I have been privileged to live in such a period of history as this. There are some who are very afraid. They say all dreadful things are described for the last period of world history. There are things about beasts and antichrists and false prophets and the harlot and 666 and all that. [00:41:02] But of course, really, it depends on where your heart is. [00:41:11] It's what you're waiting for. [00:41:19] The first thing about this period is very simple. [00:41:23] The king is coming. [00:41:26] It is as simple as that. [00:41:29] The king is coming. There are only two communities of faith, both covenant peoples in this whole world who have this concept of the messiah. [00:41:42] That is, the Jewish people and the true Christian church. The true Christian church. [00:41:48] These are the only two communities in the whole world that have this concept of a messiah who would come and would bring peace. [00:42:02] The Christian believes Jesus was the messiah and that he's coming again. The Jew still awaits the messiah's coming. [00:42:14] My dear friends, this can unite every one of us. [00:42:20] This period into which we have passed this threshold of the Messiah. [00:42:27] It signifies the messiah is coming. The king is comIng. Then there's something else that follows out of there. If the king is coming, so is the kingdom. [00:42:41] Now, I have never been able to understand certain christian interpretations. This is how they go. [00:42:51] All this business about the millennium is nonsense. [00:42:56] They say it is only once mentioned in the whole Bible, in revelation, chapter 20. And upon this one verse, they say a whole great superstructure of doctrine has been built. [00:43:14] Then they conclude that if you do not believe in a millennium, you cannot believe in a future for the jewish people. [00:43:25] Since the jewish people are going to occupy, they say, such an especial place in the millennium. Once you have disposed of the millennium, there is no point in talking about a future for the jewish people. [00:43:40] I have never been able to understand this thing. Where do they think we are all going to be in the ages to come? [00:43:48] Are we going to be saints? Spirits pickled in ether, floating around without spacesuits, suspended between the heavens and the earth in some kind of glorified dampness, playing harps. [00:44:20] I can't understand a God who would be interested in people forever singing, especially when I've heard some christian choirs. [00:44:32] Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. They're going to and strum their harps and play. I mean, what kind of God can he be? [00:44:46] Has he so little intelligence that he can be satisfied with that kind of music forever and ever and ever and ever and ever? [00:45:02] But this is not in the Bible. [00:45:05] It speaks of a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. [00:45:14] It speaks of the glory, the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covering the earth as the waters cover the sea. [00:45:24] Even job put it in the most magnificent words when he said, yet in my flow flesh shall I see God, and I shall stand up on this earth. [00:45:39] In other words, it seems to me that even if you don't believe in a millennium there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. [00:45:48] And if there is a new earth, then there must be some kind of vegetation and some kind of flora and fauna. [00:45:56] And if that is so, there has to be some kind of located headquarters. [00:46:06] So what is all this talk about? Dispose of the millennium and you've disposed of this whole business of Israel. [00:46:15] I think it's rubbish if you believe your Bible. [00:46:22] The fact of the matter is, if there is a millennium or if there is not a millennium, there is still going to be a new heaven and a new earth. I personally believe in a millennium, but it will take too long to explain why this evening. But I believe in the millennium. [00:46:43] There is something deep down within the human spirit that has always believed that in the end there will be a golden age. [00:46:54] And in that golden age, truth will be vindicated and wickedness will be done away with and righteousness will be exalted. [00:47:15] Now, my point is this. It is so simple. [00:47:21] Why is Jesus, according to this book, why is Jesus returning to Jerusalem if there is no future for the jewish people? [00:47:35] If Israel is a political accident? Why in the world does Jesus come back to Jerusalem? Is he a lover of antiques? [00:47:48] Has he some kind of regard for his childhood memories and wants to go back to sea? [00:47:58] What in the world? I mean, all these christians who pour scorn upon this whole idea of a millennium or of a new heaven and a new earth, they all say he's coming back to Jerusalem because it's in the book. [00:48:12] Why does he come back to Jerusalem? Why doesn't he come back to Washington? [00:48:19] Well, someone says he was never there in the first place. That's a good point. [00:48:26] But still, he could come to Washington or Moscow or Peking, but he doesn't. Nor does he come back to Rome. [00:48:42] He comes back to Jerusalem. [00:48:46] This surely indicates that this kingdom is centered in Israel and that Israel has some mission to the nation. [00:48:59] And it is for that mission she is being prepared. [00:49:06] And in this mission, all those who have been born of God have a part from every nation and every tribe and every tongue. They have come saved through the work of a jewish messiah, joined to the God of Israel, the living God of the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. It has been fulfilled what Zechariah said of ten nations, ten men of ten gentile nations will take hold of the skirt of him who is a jew and will say, we will go with you. For we have heard that God is with you from all over the world, from the Arctic north to the Antarctic south, from the far east to the far west. Men and women have come to know the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. They have tasted of his salvation. [00:50:06] My dear friends, this means so much as I see it, because the king is coming and the kingdom is coming, and we must always keep our eye on that. But also there comes a period of enormous unrest and shaking, and we must be prepared for it. It has started already, but we must be prepared for this because this will be a period of unparalleled opportunities for the child of God. [00:50:42] During this period, Christian and the observant Jew will be forced together. [00:50:50] Theyve come from the same roots and they have the same destiny, and in the end, they will be fused together. [00:51:03] Now, my dear friends, that leads me finally to say this. [00:51:08] You have two things that will happen in this pit. The bride will make herself ready. That is the term used in the New Testament for the church of God, the true church of God, those who know the Lord. And secondly, Israel will be divinely preserved and in the end, gloriously redeemed. [00:51:36] Israel is the time clock of God. [00:51:40] This nation, dispersed to the ends of the earth and brought back to the very place from which they were dispersed is the evidence that God is the God of history, that the history of the nations is not some tangled jumble mass, but is being worked out according to a program. [00:52:10] Israel is the key to redemption, the key to the redemption of the earth. [00:52:18] I remember some years ago hearing Derek Quince say something that stuck with me and has become such a blessing to me, God will leave neither a hoof nor a horn to the devil. [00:52:33] In the end, even the earth itself will be redeemed. [00:52:41] And Israel is the key to this redemption of the earth. That's why it speaks in acts chapter three about the restitution of all things. [00:52:54] Puzzled about that little phrase, the restoration of the restitution of all things, it is connected with the coming of the Lord Jesus. I could go on and on, but time has gone and I don't think it would be so good. But the key is Israel. Israel is the key to this. So we have two things. We have the bride of Christ, the church, and we have the Israel of God, and these two peoples, the only two peoples with whom God has made specific eternal covenants. [00:53:35] These two people, in the end, will be fused together. I do not believe it can ever be brought about by christian organizations or jewish organizations trying to convert one or the other. [00:53:52] God will do this work, and we must leave this work to God. [00:54:01] But Jerusalem is the key to this whole thing. Anyone who thinks that peace is going to descend upon the Middle east has another think coming if they leave Jerusalem out of the calculations. [00:54:16] Jerusalem in the end is the key to the whole conflict in the Middle east and it will become increasingly clear that that is so in the years that come to pass immediately ahead. [00:54:35] That leads me to end where Rey ended this afternoon. The call is to watch and pray. Jesus said, but pray ye, watch ye and pray ye at every season that ye may escape these things that are coming upon the face of the earth. There is a call to be watchmen on the part of every one of us who loves Israel and who loves the jewish people. [00:55:17] My dear friends, I can't think of anything more exciting than to have passed into the last period of world history. [00:55:26] There are people who are so afraid of it because they say nuclear bombs are going to be chucked around and I don't know what else. And they're afraid of bombs or terrorisms and it is only natural for us to be a little afraid. But my dear friends, as I've so often said to people, do you really want. Think of it this way. Do you really want to die on some sick bed in which you linger in a pale green yellow state for six months with weeping relatives around you and all the grapes and the peaches and chocolates eaten by everybody else that comes in to visit you? [00:56:05] Wouldn't it be better to have one big bang and be found in the presence of the Lord? [00:56:14] It's the way we look at these things. [00:56:17] If we look at the dark side, of course we will be fearful because if we look at the light side we shall be joyful. What did Jesus say? He said, when you see these things beginning to come to pass, look down and be depressed. [00:56:31] Your end is coming. [00:56:35] He said nothing of the kind. He said, when you see these things beginning to come to pass, look up, lift up your heads. Your redemption doth nigh. [00:56:46] Dear friends. It's where our hearts are that matter and where our vision is focused that matters. [00:56:57] I believe it is an inestimable privilege to be alive in this period of world history, even if one, if it is longer than one thinks. And we have, we have been ushered into it and we die in faith, not seeing the coming of the Lord. My dear friends, it will make no difference when he come. [00:57:25] For the dead in the Messiah will rise first and then we which are alive and remain will be caught up to be forever with the Lord. Dear friends, I believe we have a call to pray. [00:57:43] And if this sinks into our hearts, the significance of this. Then there will come the divine challenge. [00:57:53] What are you going to do? [00:57:58] How are you going to respond? [00:58:02] In what way are you going to handle this man? [00:58:07] My friends, you and I have lived through miracles that, in my estimation caused the miracle of the exodus to pale into insignificance. [00:58:20] Then it was a million people that went from one portion of the earth over 20 miles through the sea to another portion of the earth. In our day and generation, people from 87, seven different nations, from the far east to the far west, from the far north to the far south, have been miraculously brought back to the land where the dispersion of the nation took place. [00:58:44] We have seen the recreation of the jewish state and its preservation when every economic and military and political expert said it would be strangled at birth. [00:58:58] It was not strangled at birth. It had a good healthy birth and its grown up. And next year it will be 40 years of age. [00:59:18] They told us that Jerusalem would never become the capital of that state because there would be a holy war and the whole of Israel would be liquidated. [00:59:27] But on the 6th and 7 June, it happened and Jerusalem was reunited to its mother and has now been declared the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel. And of the jewish people, it has happened. [00:59:50] All these things are miracles. People say they wish they saw the walls of Jericho fall down. I think the recreation of the jewish state was far greater than the walls of Jericho falling down. [01:00:03] People say they wish they saw the sun and the moon stand still in the valley of Eolon and over Gibeon. I think it pales into insignificance next to the reunification of Jerusalem in June of 1967. These are miracles. So if you are asleep, wake up. [01:00:26] You need to wake up. You are living in a generation of miracles. And if you will notice this, the miracles are connected with a certain people. [01:00:37] I have always said all the ultimate miracles of world history take place within the boundaries of the promised land and in connection with the jewish people, here are the miracles. [01:00:53] Are we going to fall into the category of those of whom the Lord said, I work a miracle in their midst of which they will not see and will not understand, happening right beside us, right in front of us, all around our, round us, and we don't even know? [01:01:17] Dear friends, it's time to wake up, and it's time to get on with the job. [01:01:27] And it's time for God to turn us into watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem. We have a job to do that nobody else can do under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and with the power of the Holy Spirit to pray the purposes of God for this last phase of world history concerning both the church of God and Israel into being. [01:01:57] And more surely than I stand here, here this evening, it will all come to pass.