Chapter 1: Introduction and context

Here we are. Israel and endtime alignments, a scriptural guide. Hopefully, not just my opinion, part two. Right, Glenn? Number two. Amen. If uh if you haven’t seen part one, please I encourage you to go back and watch it if for nothing other than the disclaimer at the front so you understand what we’re doing here and what we’re not doing here. Um, we are trying to answer some difficult questions in the course of this lesson. And we’re going to take a look at those questions here again in a moment and do our best at um getting a grip on what it means to stand with andor against Israel and really what that means in light of Yehovah’s promises to Abraham in Genesis 12. Like I said, we’ll look at that again as well. Uh last week we started with Genesis 12. We’re going to keep on with Genesis 12 2-3 where the promises were made to Abraham that he would become a great nation.

Uh so last week we we looked at what who the U was in this verse. Was it Abraham directly or was it his descendants? And if so, which descendants because we discovered that there were quite a few. So we answered that question. We also looked at what it meant to make your name great in kind of a um unorthodox way. Again, that was a lot of conjecture, a lot of opinion floating around there as to what that meant. Um not going to spoil it for you. You have to watch part one to get the answers to that. We also looked at what it meant for him to be a blessing to uh the nations, to the world. So today we’re going to continue through Genesis 12 and we’re going to try to understand this what it means to be a great nation that he will make you a great nation. Has that happened and what did it look like? We’re going to continue on a little bit further with this blessing and curses business.

I will bless those who bless you and curse him who curses you. What does that mean? And then al also we’re going to be looking at the um the meaning of all families blessed on the earth. So that’s what we’re jumping into today. But first, I wanted to start here slide entitled the land of the name

Chapter 2: The land of the name

because in my humble opinion, one man’s opinion, Ed Doss, just me, I believe what we’re going to see in this slide, could potentially for some answer the question about standing with Israel. That’s my thought. But we’re going to look into the rest of it nonetheless. But in Deuteronomy 125 and verses 10- 11, we see, “But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses out of all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling place, and there you shall go. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God has given you to inherit and he gives you rest from all your enemies roundabout so that you dwell in safety, then there will be a place the place where the Lord your God chooses to make his name abide. So here we see this foretelling if you will of the father saying there’s going to come a time very quickly where he chooses a place to make his name abide.

2 Chronicles 6 the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel while all the assembly of Israel was standing. And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who was fulfilled with his hands what he spoke with his mouth to my father David, saying, Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house that my name might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a ruler over my people. Yet I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel. So the selection is made that Jerusalem would be the place where his name may be. First Kings 9 came to pass when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord in the king’s house. All Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time and he as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

And the Lord said to him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before me. I have consecrated this house which you have built that’s that being the temple to put my name there forever and my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually. So this fact alone and this is again just Ed’s thoughts here is sufficient reason for me for any believer to bless and pray for Israel regardless of the actions of its current or former inhabitants. We talked about that last week. We talked about how the inhabitants of this land of the name uh have been less than um holy, godly, upright. We know the history of Israel. We know their sins. We know their abominations. They’re no better today than they were in those days. So the inhabitants that fill this city at any given time is not why we bless Israel is not why we pray for Israel. At the heart of why we do those things is this reason right here.

This is where the father has chosen to put his name forever and his eyes and his heart will be there perpetually. And when Yeshua comes back, he’s coming back and setting his foot down here or there as it may be. So that’s what I wanted to start with because a lot of people have asked the question, well, what as a you know, and we’re going to ask this question again later on in the lesson, but as a believer, what should my attitude be about Israel? and they conflate the geopolitical nature of the state, the current contemporary state of Israel with the things that they read in the Bible and the things that they see in the Bible and the people they read about in the Bible. And so they’re torn. What should my attitude be? Well, let’s start here. I’m not going to tell you what your heart should be. That’s up to you to decide.

But I thought it would be smart if we started here so we understood using this as a baseline if you will. Daniel 6. When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home and in his upper room with his windows open

Chapter 3: Daniel’s prayer practice

toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as was his custom since the early days. Why was this Daniel’s practice, Glenn? Number two, because he wanted to stay connected to Yehovah. He wanted to stay connected to Yehovah. And that that there’s some truth to that. But it says he prayed toward Jerusalem. First Kings 8 29 through30 that your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place in which you said, “My name shall be there.” that you hear the prayer which your servant makes toward this place, Solomon. And may you hear the supplication of your servant and your people Israel when they pray toward this place here in heaven your dwelling place. And when you hear, forgive. First Kings 8:48-49.

And when they return to you with all their heart, with all their soul, and all the land of your enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the temple which I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, their prayer, and their supplication, and maintain their cause, and forgive your people who have sinned against you. So Daniel is praying toward Jerusalem because of this reason probably it was a custom in those days to pray in the direction of where the father’s name rested and where his heart and his desire was perpetually. So it was an important thing this whole idea of the name and where it abides. It was an important thing to Daniel.

It’s an important thing to Solomon and others who treated that place, that city, that choice of the fathers to place his name there as something holy and sacred.

Chapter 4: Creation of a great nation

So let’s talk about this. I will make you a great nation. And by the way, some of you guys on Facebook making your flyby comments. Yes, I know that the star is not a biblical thing. I know the star of David is not a biblical thing. Some of you guys wanted to point that out and I get it. I understand why you would do that. There’s nothing special about this star per se. But we are talking, we are wrestling with this idea of where do we stand with Israel and it involves this flag to some degree. So just be patient. So, where did the creation of this great nation take place? Let me ask you that, Glenn. Let me ask you the question since David’s not here. And David, if you pop up and you’re here, please let me know. But Glenn, number two, where did the creation of this great nation take place? Where did it take place? Well, I can go back to Abraham’s where God having walked the land.

Oh, I’m putting you to the test. I’m putting your feet to the fire. Where did it take? It’s very specific in the Bible. Okay, I got three or four guesses. Let’s take a look at it. That’s what I’m talking about. 1870 BC, Jacob, who was Israel, and his family migrate to Egypt. A clan of about 70 people. In Genesis 46, it says, “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.” Now, as I was thinking about this verse, I couldn’t help but think that this great nation, Israel, was being created within the Egyptian system that they were subject to. They didn’t start out subjected to it, but eventually the more they grew and the more the population grew of of Israelites, they became subjected in the form of slavery. But it was in this system that this great nation was being created. Think of the typology today.

It can be argued that this great nation that God is creating again, recreating is also happening within the Egyptian system. If we equalize the old Egyptian system to the system that we’re living in now, I mean, think about it. Great Babylon in general. Yes. Like great Babylon in general, right? Think about it for a moment. This morning we have, you know, groups of um anywhere from 40 to 60 people that are logging on to here from all over the world. And the only reason that they’re here is because they’ve had some kind of awakening uh to to the truth of scripture. So it could be argued that Yehovah is resurrecting if you want to use that word. Maybe that’s a bad word, but creating this great nation that’s ekklesia of grafted in Israel within the system of the world right under its nose just like it happened in Genesis. So, we’re like this in Genesis 46 where this nation is being created.

1446 BC the Exodus Israel’s deliverance from Egypt under Moses a multitude of over 600,000 Israelite men the scripture says plus women and children depart Egypt fulfilling the pro the promise of the population growth so again think about this it says 600,000 Israelite men plus women and children now in any given point in history uh in any given culture around the world uh it’s well-known fact that women most often outnumber the men in population. So even if we say there was 600,000 men and 600,000 women and maybe a 100,000 children or 200 thou I mean I don’t know I’m just I’m guessing that’s a big number of people you know 1.5 million people perhaps from 70 that migrated or was taken out of Egypt during the Exodus. Exodus 12, the children of Israel journeyed from Ramsey’s to Sukkot for about 600,000 men on foot.

Besides children, a mixed multitude went up with them also flocks and herds a great deal of livestock. So here, this group, this young nation that started with 70, now 1.5 million and we haven’t even counted the mixed multitude that left with them is a big number of people. At Sinai, they finally received God’s law and are constituted officially as a nation, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Exodus 19. You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my commandment, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people. for all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.

So here we see the the formalization, if you will, of this rag tag group of exslaves taken out of Egypt and into the desert at the foot of Mount Si actually being created this formalization of this holy nation that Yehovah was creating. So over the next 430 years, Israel would conquer Canaan and witness the reigns of both Saul and David as kings. Then we get to 970 BC, which was the reign of Solomon. Here, Israel reaches the zenith of its wealth, wisdom, and international renown. Solomon builds the first temple in Jerusalem, making Israel the spiritual center for the worship of Yehovah. Other monarchs visit to admire Solomon’s wisdom and prosperity. We see that in First Kings 10. I thought it would be important for us to read this section of scripture because it gives us some idea of how Israel went from a bunch of slaves to a great nation.

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue. Is that how you say that word? With camels that bore spices, very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. So Solomon answered all of her questions. He was the wisest man on the planet, right? He he God had given him all the the wisdom. There was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. And when the Queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord. There was no more spirit in her.

Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and about your wisdom. However, I didn’t believe it. I didn’t believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes. And indeed, the half was not told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men and happy are these servants who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel. Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore he made you king to do justice and righteousness. Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. Also the ships of Hyram which brought gold from Oir. We should do a lesson on Oir one day.

Brought great quantities of almidwood and precious stones from Oir. And the king made steps of the almwood from the house of the Lord and the king’s house also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again came such alwood, nor has there been seen to this day. So this gives us an idea, snapshot if you will, of the glory of Jerusalem during the reign of Solomon. He had built the most glorious temple that’s ever existed until the new Jerusalem returns. uh the the city itself was just extravagant. It was beautiful. Truly at this moment in time, Israel had reached its zenith. So within just over a thousand years after Israel was taken out of Egypt as slaves, Yehovah fulfilled his promise to Abraham and Israel and had become the greatest nation on the planet. So that’s an important point to make. Abraham was promised that he would make them a great nation and he did.

However, as always, we always have to look at this stuff through the prism of typology. the physical glory of the physical Israel that was raised here in the days of Solomon is a type for what’s going to happen in the future. And so the type always pales in comparison to the anti-ype, its fulfillment. So, we can see this grand nation that had come as a result of Yehovah’s blessing and promises to Abraham. But the true fulfillment of that is yet to come. There’s going to come a time when the new Jerusalem sits on the planet and it will make the this Israel, the Israel of Solomon’s day um look like a slum because of all of its glory. So, we have that to look forward to.

Chapter 5: Blessings and curses

Just a little side note there. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. We we have to understand what that means. And so what I thought I would do here real quickly is kind of look I what I did is I looked for examples of both of these things happening in the course of Israel’s history. Were there people who were blessed because they blessed Israel? And were there people who were cursed because they cursed Israel in the course of the scriptures? And of course we see this blessing Abraham in Genesis 21. He sought a covenant of peace with Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do.” He treated Abraham with respect and seeks peace. Yehovah allows the covenant. Abimelech avoids judgment unlike Pharaoh or other kings who acted wrongly. We see it with Pharaoh’s elevation of Joseph.

Pharaoh blesses the descendant of Abraham who was Joseph and Egypt prospers under Joseph’s rule. So here this particular pharaoh was blessing Joseph and as a result Joseph took the role that he took as we all know and Egypt experienced a great deal of uh success during the time that he was second in command. We see it with Rahab protecting the spies in Joshua 2. Her blessing to Israel results in her own household being spared and she’s grafted into the covenant community. We read about her in the New Testament, right? She blessed Israel and therefore was blessed. What about the curses? Do we see that? Well, hello Abimelech again. Poor guy. He had he he got the blessings and the curses. Abimelech taken Sarah. Uh though Abimelech did so in ignorance, the threat reflects the protect protective covenant under Abraham where God basically told Abimelech, you’re a dead man because of what you did.

So first he’s blessed, then he’s cursed. Which is that’s that’s an interesting thing to to note here as a fulfillment of this promise to Abraham. Amalek’s attack on Israel. Amalek attacked Israel from behind and God promises and initiates their destruction. I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek under the under heaven. We see that in Deuteronomy and 1st Samuel 15. I’m going through this stuff kind of quickly here so we can get to some meaty stuff. We see it with Haman and the Jews. Haman sought to annihilate the Jews. He and his household are destroyed. Esther 3. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. So here we can see in the history of Israel within the scriptures themselves that this promise given to Abraham has actually come to fruition. Men, women, nations, kings have been blessed for blessing Israel and equally have been cursed for cursing Israel.

Okay, here’s where we start getting into the the the deep waters here. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. I asked the question last week as it pertains to them being a blessing. How do we quantify that? Can can we quantify that? Can we see in in human history a time or times when we could as people with spiritual eyes look at a situation and go, “Oh, yeah. That’s that’s definitely a fulfillment of this verse.” I tend to believe that many of those potential situations are opinionated minus one. There’s one that we can look back in history and go that’s absolutely a result of this promise to Abraham and we are going to look at it. Genesis 8, I’m sorry, Genesis 18. The men rose from there and looked towards Sodom and Abraham went with them to send them on a on the way.

And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I’m doing since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” Pay attention to the structure of this sentence because we’re going to break it down. For I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him. I studied these verses for hours because of what I thought I was seeing. And I’m going to try to break it down for you to show you what I thought I was seeing. And you guys can tell me if you see the same thing. Glenn, number two, you ready? I’m ready. I have known him. I have known him. And it goes on to say in order that. So I just put so that I have known him so that. So this is the father saying I know Abraham.

I have chosen to know him for a reason. Right? In order that well what’s that supposed to be? I have known him so that he may command his children. Okay. So him knowing Abraham had a purpose to get Abraham to command his children to do something, right? To keep the ways of the Lord so that so again we we have this purpose so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what was spoken to him. What was spoken to him? Then number two, what was the promise? Great nation in that the na all the nations of the earth will be blessed. So look at this for a moment. I have known him for the reason, for the purpose of getting him to command his children, to keep the ways of the Lord, so that to the purpose of the Lord may bring to Adam, Abraham, what was spoken to him. And what was spoken to him is promised that the nations of the earth will be blessed in him. I I like I said, I stared at this for hours.

Because what I think I’m seeing here is what’s called a a purpose clause. That he may command, that they keep, that the Lord may bring. One thing that leads to another thing that leads to another thing. And what I think I’m seeing is that there’s a direct connection between our obedience to the way and Yehovah’s fulfillment to Abraham as it pertains to the nations of the earth being blessed in him. Can you see how I arrived there? Glenn number two. Yes. Okay. So then I thought, well, is that what the scriptures tell us? And it is Deuteronomy 4. Therefore, be careful to observe them. What’s the them? The statutes, the commandments, the laws. For this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the who? The peoples. That’s nations. Who will hear all these statutes? And they will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

So it’s because of their careful observance to the ways of the Lord that the peoples respond favorably and therefore glorify the father and therefore being blessed in Abraham. Do you see the process? Isaiah 49. Indeed, he says, “It is too is it too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel? I will also give you as a light to who? The Gentiles. So that you you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth.” So again we say them being given as a light to the Gentiles because they are careful to observe his ways and therefore being a salvation to the ends of the earth. Now what does that mean? Well of course the Messiah came from them right? So again we see this connection over and over again. One more here in Matthew 5. You are a light of the world. That’s the nations. That’s the Gentiles.

A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works. What are those good works? Being careful to observe the ways of the Lord. And then what do they do as a result? glorify your father in heaven. So, as we look back up at Genesis 18, we can see the string that connects this blessing of the nations happening as a result of his people keeping his ways. Therefore, being a light to the nations, therefore bringing them into the fold via the grafting in and being blessed. It’s an amazing thing.

And I stood outside in my front yard yesterday afternoon after I had wrestled with with this for some time letting my dog do her thing and uh I just stood there and was talking to the father and I was just telling him how amazing, how intricate, how deep, how unthinkable, how just amazing his sal his plan of salvation is so wondrous, so deep, so many strings, so much depth that we couldn’t even we can’t we can’t know it entirely. We can only get bits and pieces here as we’re studying deeply into his word. And therefore, our own faith exceeds and grows because of these things that we see that we have a hard time getting our our brain wrapped around. We just don’t understand the fullness of everything that he has done and is doing to bring about his salvation to the ends of the earth.

And to and to me I was just in awe of it and I just had to tell him that there as I was standing in my front yard and and uh and thinking about it. So the ultimate blessing for all the families of the earth, what is the ultimate blessing? We

Chapter 6: Defining true Israel

just got a we just got done talking about the blessing or some blessing. But there is a such thing as the ultimate blessing and that’s where we’re all headed to here. Acts 3:es 25- 26 Peter speaking to a Jewish audience says you are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers saying to Abraham and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. to you first. God having raised up his servant Yeshua sent him to bless you. And how was he blessing them? In turning away every one of you from your iniquities. So here we see again a connection to what we just looked at in Genesis 18 about this whole idea of turning away from our iniquities, embracing the way of the Lord and how all of that is connected to Abraham blessing or the the families of the earth being blessed in Abraham and In the next verses, we’re going to answer finally this question. Who is Israel? Right?

Because that question has come up. I started this this discussion talking about some things that people wrestle with as it pertains to today’s Israel. Those same people when they’re confronted with the idea of blessing Israel, the question is who is Israel? Which version of Israel am I to bless? Am I to pray for? Which amalgamation? Well, I think Paul helps us with that in Galatians 3. Therefore, he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore, know stop. Therefore, know understand this that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. That answers the question to me. Who is Israel? Which amalgamation do I stand with? Paul answers it right here. Only those who are of faith, who are justified by faith through Christ are sons of Abraham.

And the scripture for seeing that God would justify the Gentiles by their faith preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.” Wait a minute. We talked about this a few weeks ago, didn’t we? We asked the question, what’s the gospel? Well, here Paul is saying that the gospel was preached to Abraham. The gospel is so much more than just the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. That is absolutely a part of it. It’s a it’s a it’s a part of the equation. But there’s so much more to the full gospel that so many people don’t understand because they reject twothirds of the Bible. Don’t get me started down that road because you won’t get me off of it. But the gospel that was preached to Abraham was what? It’s right there in quotation marks. In you all the nations shall be blessed. Can you see the connection? Can you see the strings tying these things together?

Are you starting to have a broader understanding? Because this is what we looked at a moment ago. We broke this down, didn’t we? We in the last slide, we looked at these equations and we started stringing these things together to have a deeper understanding of it. And here in Galatians 3 again verses 16-18 Paul says now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say and to seeds. Now if you watched or were part of part one we explored Abraham’s descendants. We looked at his wives and the sons that he had by these wives and we asked the provocative question, which of these sons is he talking about? Which of these descendants are receiving this blessing? Right? We ask we ask those questions. So here Paul probably asking these questions provocatively himself does not say two seeds as of many but as of one and to your seed who is Christ.

He is the ultimate blessing for all the families of the earth. And this I say that the law which was 430 years later cannot enol the covenant that was confirmed before by by before before by God in Christ that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise. But God gave it to Abraham by promise. We have to talk about that for a moment because in the previous slide we looked at how our obedience to the ways of the Lord was somehow connected to this promise given to Abraham that would then affect the nations. So there was obedience involved in that scenario. And yet Paul says that in this I say that the law which was 430 years later cannot enol the covenant that was confirmed before by God and Christ.

So the law that we’re all holding to that has an impact on the nations if we fail to keep it cannot therefore make the promise to Abraham of no effect because we talked about last week how it’s a unilateral uh law or not law unilateral blessing for if the inheritance was based on that obedience It’s no longer of promise. So, is it important that his descendants embrace the ways of the Lord and follow them? Yes. But it’s not dependent on whether or not we do that well or poorly. Do you understand when I say that this is deep stuff? This is deep waters. Why am I teaching it? I don’t know. I don’t know. This is where it led me is I was looking at this topic. This is kind of the road that I went down. Call it the spirit maybe. I don’t know. Somebody needs to understand this. Well, I need to understand this always.

But if you’re watching on YouTube, you may need to understand this to understand your faith to understand what you became a part of when you said Yeshua was Lord. The phrase blessing of Abraham in the text does not primarily refer to a land or national identity, but to justification by faith and spiritual inheritance. For those of us who are Gentiles, that’s grafting in the promise of the spirit mentioned is the internalization of the covenant promises. Uh that’s another way of saying the ekklesia, the father dwelling with his people. universal blessing God promised to Abraham is now realized in Christ, not by ethnic lineage or Torah observance. This blessing includes justification and the indwelling spirit given through faith to Jew and Gentile alike. So

Chapter 7: Israel’s prophetic destiny

we have come full circle to the questions that we started with last week and I wanted to break them down one by one. Some of them we’re going to get into in depth and others we won’t have time to. What does the Bible say about Israel’s destiny? Well, we have to look at this in three phases. Before the second coming of Christ, we know that they are a preserved nation despite their disobedience and dispersion. Yehovah promised to preserve Israel as a people forever. And again, here’s the scriptural references that you can go back and check yourself just due to time. The regathering begins. The prophets foretold the regathering of Israel to their land in unbelief. process many believe began in the 20th century. We’re going to look at that a little closer uh as we discuss very briefly 1948.

I could have done an entire lesson on 1948, but there is a regathering happening uh amongst um ethnic Jews uh around the world. partial blindness that Paul talks about in his book to the Romans until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. The promised land, the land promise, a return to the land was prophesied to precede spiritual restoration. That is Ezekiel 37. That’s interpretive. That’s the valley of dry bones. can be argued that this return to the land was prophesied in Ezekiel’s vision there. A purging and time of refinement, which is the time of tribulation, Jacob’s trouble is decreed to purge, refine, and bring a remnant to repentance. I thought we should talk about that last one here for a moment. Again, we’re talking about what happens before the second coming. And Jacob’s trouble obviously happens before the second coming. That is the tribulation.

What happens during that time as it pertains to Israel and by the way will also pertain to many of us national crisis and great tribulation. Israel will face war and betrayal by its surrounding nations. We’re already seeing whispers and echoes of that as we speak today. Partial destruction in the land. Twothirds of the people in the land will perish. One-third will be refined. An invasion. The city will be captured. It’s prophesied. Houses rifled, women ravished, Gentiles trampling the land. This is all foretold. This is all prophecy. So when we see the rifles rattling in the east, that those things are precursors to its eventual reality. That’s what’s going to happen before the second coming. At the second coming is when Israel will look upon him whom they pierced and mourned. there’ll be national repentance. Uh they will finally recognize Yeshua as the Messiah. And then at that time they are delivered.

The Lord will fight for Israel and deliver them from the surrounding nations. Again the scripture references are there. After the second coming, we see a restored kingdom. Messiah will reign from Jerusalem fulfilling the Davidic covenant. The priestly role to the nations begins. Israel will serve as a kingdom of priests and a light to the nations. This will not just include ethnic Israel, but also those of us who are are grafted in will serve in this capacity as well. And then everlasting peace. Israel will dwell securely in their land, never to be uprooted again. Amos 9, Ezekiel 39. And finally, the covenant fulfillment. All covenants, Abrahamic, Davidic, and the new will be fulfilled in full. So those are the things that are going to happen. That’s what the Bible says about their destiny.

Chapter 8: Closing thoughts

As a believer, how should I feel or believe about Israel? Well, I think we’ve shed some light on that during the course of our lesson. I’m going to make a stronger case in my concluding thoughts here in a moment about this question. Uh again, I’m not here to tell you what to believe or what to think. You have to make your own decision, but I hope my concluding thoughts will help you in that regard. Here’s a provocative question. Are they just another Middle East terrorist country? It’s shocking to me that people even think this, that they’re so misled by modern-day media that they would arrive at this conclusion. My answer to this question, if you were to answer me directly, Glenn, number two, is Israel is no more a Middle East terrorist country than the United States is a terrorist country. Amen. That’s how I would answer this question. Great Britain, too. Yeah. It doesn’t really matter.

Does disagreeing with the government of Israel make me anti-semitic? No. Just like me disagreeing with Trump or Obama or Clinton doesn’t make me unAmerican. It’s okay to have a difference of opinion with a political entity without you being anti-semitic, without you, you know, running the risk of not standing with Israel. You have to be able to separate the two. Is there anything biblically special about 1948? Okay, this again we could have spent an entire lesson on. Um I had a great conversation with brother Finley who whom who whose voice you just heard a moment ago and I’m sure you’ll hear again when we’re done. And he reminded me of Ezekiel’s vision in chapter 37. And your argument could be made when you read that vision and take your time to slow down and read it. The argument could be made that this vision of Ezekiel bringing Israel back to life from dead bones could be what we saw in 1948.

I have two slides of historical data about the time period from AD.70 when Jerusalem was destroyed to 1948 and everything that happened during that time and how desolate that part of the world was during that time. They truly were a graveyard until 1948. So, it could be argued that that was Ezekiel’s vision. And again, if we want to look at that in greater detail on a future lesson, just let me know and we can. How does Israel’s restoration relate to the return of Christ? Well, I think we’ve talked about that, didn’t we, just a moment ago in the previous slides. You’ve heard me say many times that the Bible through and through is first and foremost the father’s story, but secondly, it is all about his bride. It’s all about Israel. Yes, the typology is there. Yes, there are a a true flesh and blood people of Israel, but the ekklesia is something entirely different where there is no Jew or Gentile.

There is no blood and everything is tied to the return of Christ. All of it. He came the first time to save the house of Israel from their adultery. And he will come again to save his Israel from the world. The only question is are you a part of the Israel of God? And that’s a question that you have to uh wrestle with yourself. So, as I wrap things up here, let me read the closing thoughts. In light of all that scripture reveals, Israel is far more than a geopolitical name or an ethnic identity. It is a vine calling rooted in covenant, carried through generations, and destined for prophetic fulfillment. To understand Israel rightly is to understand the unfolding of the plan of God, past, present, and future through the lens of his faithfulness and not man’s worthiness. Israel is a vessel through which Yehovah introduced his law, his Messiah, and ultimately his redemption to the world.

To dismiss her is to ignore the very stage upon which God has chosen to display his justice, his mercy, and his glory. Thus, the question is not merely who is Israel, but rather will we honor what God has declared sacred. To go to honor what God has declared sacred is to submit our theology, our emotions, our actions to his eternal purposes. It is to see Israel not through the lens of geopolitics or national morality but through the unchanging covenant spoken by God himself. It is to bless her, to pray for her, to long for her repentance and trust that in the fullness of time she will fulfill her calling. Not because of her faithfulness, but because of his. That’s my closing thought. At the end of the day, when I talk about blessing Israel, I’m not talking about this Israel. I’m talking about this Israel.

That’s who we stand with and that’s who is um the apple, if you will, of God’s eye, as it says in scripture. So, those are my final thoughts. I told you it was meaty. It was deep.

Chapter 9: Discussion and Q&A

Um, thanks for standing by and and uh and listening quietly. I wanted to get your thoughts. Last week we had hands raised before I even finished the lesson. This week, nobody at all. I hope that’s not indicative of my teaching ability. Um, go ahead, Luke. Luke Landis. How about we come back to you, Luke, when you figure out your microphone. Go ahead, Alan. Make sure you’re unmuted. Hey, guys. Uh, thank you, Ed. I just want to speak to your point um on Ezekiel’s vision and the dry bones. Um, my understanding is that Messiah uh is the only way that death is brought back to life. Um, I I feel like more so than in 1948, there we go. What’s happening in our group right now, uh, what’s happening all over the world, uh, with Teshua, the return, um, is that dry bones awakening.

And a lot of those people over there and I don’t want to use those people they feel uh they don’t respect our messiah or his ways or so how how does those two sentences come together where how do we erase that tension if they do not believe in the Messiah they do not respect the ways the rabbitic Judaism is is elevated the man’s teachings above those of of Yehovah. How can we say that that the restoring of a name to me the name Israel is the people like you said, not the land. So it’s just that tension there. I’m I’m having difficulty with that tension. Sorry, I was muted. Of course, you’re having tension uh with it. You’re always going to have tension with it. Paul, what did Paul say? Paul said that they are enemies for your sake because of the gospel. Right? That’s what he said in Romans. Stop and consider for a moment that statement.

We like to sometimes read the first part and say they are enemies and stop there because they don’t believe in Christ because they’re not um they’re not following him. But you have to finish that sentence. They are enemies for your sake. So them being enemies to the gospel is somehow beneficial to you which Paul also explains in great detail in his letter to the Romans. So our responsibility to the nation of Israel currently as it sits, would it not be any different than our responsibility to America, to Uganda, to South Sudan, you know, to pray for that repentance, to pray for the the love to come back to the father. Um and then the it all comes and culminates when Israel the the two sticks become one new man. That that is the the the goal in the ultimate ending. Yes. Indeed. Amen. Brother, I would agree with you wholeheartedly. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Okay, Luke, have you got your microphone figured out? Go, Luke. There you go, Luke. Yeah, there we go. Um, so I I guess the was, you know, in Revelation 2 and three it talks about the synagogue of Satan. Those who say are Jews but are not, they are liars. And this kind of actually kind of changed my perspective a little bit because um, up until today, I I just automatically went with this the the the geopolitical state of Israel. Um, and I think it may be a little bit the I guess the question who who who is is it just people that are not in covenant like we are? We’re Israel. We know that we’re Israel. We know that we’re grafted in as as Gentiles and and so it’s more of a spiritual Israel. So, who is the synagogue of Satan? Is it just those who are are going to refuse no matter what happens? They’re just gonna absolutely refuse to to to to finally repent and and find the truth here. I don’t know.

Sounds like a good lesson. Did you ever thought Glenn number two? Yeah, they’re the tears. They’re the tears. Okay. Glenn Glenn number two said they’re the tears. But that sounds like a a great lesson um topic. Luke. Okay. My dearest friend Leslie Shepard, you’re up. Your hand is raised. Well, for the all of you who don’t know, Lesie and I go way back. We served in the ministry together uh many years ago. She’s a dear friend, and we we hooked up yesterday for the first time in a long time over the phone, and she’s here this morning joining us. But Leslie, you’ve got some thoughts. Do we get to see your your picture or are you afraid of showing us your bed head? Um, yeah. We’re not doing that today. So, thank you. I’ll be more prepared next time. I was out working out in the yard before I I came on here. So, I’m like, “No.”

Um, first of all, I’m really excited to see you guys focusing on things that are more about the word rather than religion. I’m really excited to see people. It was really nice to see these different VO hear these different voices. It sound like an Australian accent almost from the gentleman that spoke earlier. So, that was very encouraging because um I think what you’re saying is absolutely right, Ed. I mean, I’m actually really refreshed by listening to this because these are things that it’s hard to find people who think that way. It just is in today’s world, especially I’m going to say it in the religious world. So, I just want to thank you for that. And then, you know, you were talking about 1948.

Now, I’ve done some quite a bit of studies on it, but and I’m not concluding that I’ve got it narrowed down, but I think it’s important to identify that the Rothschilds were a major part of ushering in that bringing in the um 1948 uh Israel. Matter of fact, they there’s a a letter written. It’s a bow floor um paperwork that shows that basically they were in to the reason this is important. The Rothschilds and the um Rockefellers are the ones that took over the education system in our country in the early 1900s, which means they took over the medical system. They took over everything. They’re the ones running the show right now. They’re they’re puppets behind the scene. So when I hear about Israel and everyone acts like, you know, we have to be okay with Israel, I say, which Israel? The Israel that the Rothschilds made or the one that God established that he gave his blessings to.

So when I look at Revelations 2:9 and Revelations 3:9, that is our savior telling us through John that back then it had already been infiltrated. that what looked to be was people who were the people of God. He warned us they’re not they’re the synagogue of Satan that these are these are fakes that are involved. So when I look at the Rothschilds helping to establish in 1948 Israel and I look at what presidents were involved that were very compromised, I say I I like what you brought up about the uh dry bones and I can see where that can be that thought process without a doubt cuz he said, you know, they would trample the city blah blah blah.

But I’m just very encouraged at the open-mindness of everybody here that it’s not stuck in a structured queue to obey and submit to a leadership that has their mindset on how it should be and questions are considered to be divisive which is a way to bully people into submission. So I’m very grateful by what I’m hearing here today. And that’s the main thing I wanted to say is thank you very much because um like Ed and I were talking yesterday the environment that we met each other under he said he would cons call it kindergarten and I would say to a very good level if you go to a good kindergarten you get a good foundation. So I got some good foundation from that situation but what I realized is eventually we need to graduate to the next level. So, anyhow, thank you so much for what you’re doing and thank you for letting me talk. Oh, thank you. It’s so good to hear your voice, Lesie.

And of course, you’re you’re always welcome here with us. Um, okay. Any other thoughts, Glenn? Number two, did you have any thoughts? Not that’s not going to take us down another rabbit hole. No, I have no thoughts that won’t take us down a lot of the rabbit holes. Okay. So, um, maybe it Glenn or Gavin, did you have a thought? Um, yes. I I think we’re starting to look into the Valley of the Dry Bones with some really good um anatomical See, I’m a physician, right? Sir, we’re looking we’re looking at it from the point of view of an anatomical uh movement of God from the bones upwards. So if we can um dissect down through the body and look at the bones 1 hour, 4 minutes uh and then we can ask ourselves um is there a fivefold operation here in the valley of dry bones?

I think there is and uh we can say well look at the the dry bones uh the rattling of the dry bones um that as um uh Lesie was talking about the um Balfa declaration that very much began in World War I when the u British um pushed the Turks out of the Holy Land and it made an opportunity for a homeland for the Jews. Now, of course, Lord Rothschild got the letter from from Lord Balfur, right? And so, that’s that’s all part and parcel of the story, but is God also involved? Is he sovereign over all these things? Like, he is he is he’s he’s got a court up in heaven, and there’s a few bad angels up there, but is he sovereign over the shenanigans that goes on down here below? Well, yeah, he is. So, uh, that being the case, the rattling of the dry bones, the rattling of machine guns, World War I, um, rattling action was starting to happen.

This is only 12 years after Theodore Herzel wrote the book Judais, uh, um, the idea of a Jewish state. And the British evangelicals were in the land and Lord um, uh, Gordon um, General Gordon had found the the garden tomb. um they were supporting the Jews um in Jerusalem. This is British evangelicals. So things were happening back then. And then the rattling of the bones in 1917 and then um after the bones we have the muscles and sen right. So that would be the movement and that would be the the politics the Zionism which is a mixture right of of Zionist um political Zionism and spiritual Zionism. God is going to use both of those. Um, as far as the ones that have the ultimate destiny, we know that spiritual Zionism is has the ultimate destiny, whereas political Zionism is um will be used for a while and then it’ll it’ll fall fall off just like a foreskin, right? The flesh.

So, um God is moving on with the bones u rattling and then the Zionist movement, the movement of muscle, right? And then we are going to move on to get some skin in the game. Right? So 1948 I would I would put that possibility to you all to think about is 1948 when the skin came on because that’s when the unification of all of Israel started to happen. And it was a nation. It it was it was a unified nation at that at 1948. The skin was on. Right. But is is that the end of the story? Well, obviously obviously not because uh as um somebody was mentioning here about the the breath coming out. It’s the last thing, right? Zechariah chapter 12. Um they’ll look on him whom they have pierced and mourned for him. Um the big revival in the latter days. God has a plan for his future 70th week to do wonders. Uh the the latter rain will fall, the the great harvest.

um the the the sheav bringing in the sheav all these old Sunday school stories we had you know so um here we have um the valley by dry bones it’s a sequence of events uh and we can go boom boom boom boom boom it’s almost like an anatomical um outward moving of God from the inside out and then the last thing is he comes in from the outside with the breath of life just like the the the um the um wise virgins, they have an outside supply of oil, right? So, so it’s it’s a logical sequence when you look at um the Valley of Dry Bones. Well, Amen. Thank you, Gavin. That’s very helpful. And it sounds like we probably should do a lesson on that somewhere down the road. And um draw it out, make it clear as possible. Okay, let’s see. Cynthia had some thoughts.

One thing that yes what I would like to say is before World War I the end of the 19th century late into 18 oh I don’t know the exact date there was already a movement of Jewish people buying land and draining the swamps in Israel that was already happening and the other thing you can’t overlook is the restoration of Hebrew that is profound they restored the Hebrew language was restored and it became the language of Israel. And you have the Dead Sea Scrolls. I almost liken the Dead Sea Scrolls to Daniel being unsealed. That is all I have for y’all to consider. I have a Shabbat. Okay. Well, thank you. Uh I I actually wanted to show you this just based on Cynthia’s comments here. Uh I I had these notes ready, you know, in case we wanted to discuss them. um everything that kind of happened from 70 AD to 1948 basically.

And um you can read through this stuff here and um and see the things that happened uh during this time to the land. Um fourth 7th century Jews were mostly barred from the city. Islamic conquest uh in the middle ages. Dome of the rock gets built. And then um here we see in the Ottoman period a famous quote from Mark Twain um that it was a desolate country. He had visited the land whose country was so whose soil was rich enough but it’s given over to holy weeds a silent mournful expanse. A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action. We never saw a human being on the whole route. Palestine sits in sack sackcloth and ashes. Um so that you know we we it was foretold in Leviticus 26 that the land will be desolate. everyone will be scattered to the nations.

And uh and then we see this British mandate, Zionist immigration, 1917 to 1948, the Balfour Declaration, um the waves of Jewish immigration, Hebrew being brought into the land again for a lot for a long time, people thought Hebrew was a lost language, uh like Latin, you know, uh but it started being spoken again in the land in 1948. So, um, just showing you that just briefly because there’s there’s a lot that we can go into here, uh, if we wanted to continue down this path. But, um, you have to let me know what you guys think you would like to see and what you’d like to study out. But, um, if no one has any other closing thoughts or questions, uh, go ahead, Gavin. I got I got one final final thought. It’ll take about about 30 seconds. Um the Balfour Declaration came in um uh on November the uh 2nd of um 1917 in in the middle of or toward the end of World War I.

Do you know what happened two days before that? Tell us. The Australian lighor took the wells at Beersa. Okay. Uh so that provided u an opportunity for General Alby to skirt around the Gaza. He was having terrible trouble in Gaza because that principality belonged to the um Philistines and in fact Israel was called Palestine after the Philistines. So uh he was having trouble getting up through uh past the Gaza towards Jerusalem. But when the uh when the um beers was taken and the wells were taken then that he was able to move forward up towards Jerusalem and uh he um he cabled the king and he said I don’t want to shell the city. The Turks are in Jerusalem. I don’t want to shell the city. What am I going to do? And the king said pray about it. And uh he got it into his idea that he would drop leaflets over the city of Jerusalem.

I think you probably all heard heard this story that they they dropped leaflets saying General Alani was coming and sounded to the Turks a bit like Alabi like the son of Allah. So that spooked them a bit. So they they they evacuated and when the scouts went up to Jerusalem they found that the city was empty. General Ali walked into Jerusalem on on foot because he didn’t want to ride in like a conqueror. he was a Christian man and he um he um he did that. So that’s just a little bit of an extra historical background. Amen. Well, thank you, Gavin. Love the insight, love the wisdom, love all of your participation this morning and listening. Um I am going to be heading out now to pick up my family from the airport. So listen guys, thanks for coming. Thanks for being a part of this. Have a great Shabbat. have a great weekend and um we’ll see you next time. Okay, thank you so much and thank you Shalom.

Thank you. Shabbat. Thank you everybody. Have a great week. Thank you. Shabbat shalom shalom. Shabbat shalom. Thank you. Blessings to you all. Shabbat shalom. Shabbat shalom. Shabbat shalom.