What I can say is that since 2023, since October the 7th
2020, third this horrific day and until September 2024, anti
Semitic incidents surged by 360 percentage with over 2000 case
reported threats, assaults, vandalism and intimidation.
In October and November 2023 alone, episodes increased over
700 percentage compared to the previous year, reflecting
incitement by those with extremist views and
misinformation in the media and online.
Now is the time to make sure that anti Semitism will be
uprooted. Sorry, that's the ambassador
from Israel to Australia. Because what we want to look at
today in the Book of Revelation is why Israel?
Why Israel? The small, unique nation born
from Abraham and Sarah has never been out of the world spotlight.
Throughout history, each of the great empires of the past have
had a rendezvous with Israel, this tiny sliver of land in the
middle of the world. One side of the world writes
this way, and the other side of the world on Israel writes the
other way. Egypt powerful empire built by
God, says raised by the Lord. 400 years, 7274 people went to
Israel from Abraham and Sarah and turned into two to three and
a half million people. Slaves for 400 years in Babylon,
Mighty Babylon small nation and it became a great nation under
Nebuchadnezzar. Captured, desecrated Israel,
captured the Israelis and took them back to Babylon. 70 years
in captivity. Then came the Medes and the
Persians, and following the Persians, who would forget a
fellow called Haman, who in the book of Esther, chapter 5, set
out what was going to be the final solution.
Even back as far then on a certain day, certain month, at a
certain hour, to kill every Jew, to kill every Jew.
Then the Greeks came, and lastly the mighty Roman Empire. 70AD
The Romans conquered, invaded Jerusalem.
The Temple was destroyed, the Jews were dispersed.
That survived, but didn't stop there.
This acrimonious action against Israel continued on after that
1938. 45 Germany and after the war, the United Kingdom stopped
the Jews from coming home, refused entry.
Yet in 1948, somehow Israel was reborn.
What happened? The day that Israel was reborn,
war broke out with every Arab nation.
We find ourselves in August of 2025 and the spotlight now is no
never been greater on Israel. It's never being as intense as
it is now. Why?
Let's pray Lord, so we open your word, speak to our hearts, let
our ears be listening ears to your voice, that only your
voice, not the voice of a man be heard, but will.
Let our hearts be deep rich soil to receive the word of God.
Let us grow an understanding and maturity.
Let us grow on our love for you. We pray and ask this in Jesus
name, Amen. Revelation Chapter 12 Today we
are set to begin as our journey through the Book of Revelation.
Chapter 1. John on the Isle of Patmos.
He's in these 90s as a vision sees Jesus and all his glory.
Chapters 2 and three in the vision that he's given, he
writes down the period of the church age.
Chapter 4, John has taken up into heaven, sees the throne of
God, the type of the rapture of the church.
Chapter 5 is the great chorus. We glorify the Lord and the Lord
takes the scroll on the right hand of the Father, 7 seals on
the scroll, the tile deed of the dead, redemption of the earth,
and he begin begins to break the seals.
We had 7 seals and then we had the seven trumpets.
We're in those trumpets now. We're going to get to the 7
balls, but we're in Chapter 11. We're 11 chapters down.
We're in the second half of the Book of Revelation, 11 chapters
ahead. We find ourselves in the second
half of the Tribulation period, often referred to as the Great
Tribulation. In this chapter we are able to
come to the answer as to why Israel.
I remember walking into the Fremantle Football Club, being
the chaplain down there since the year 2000.
I remember the head of Sports Science, PhD in Physiotherapy
was talking to one of the players as I walked in.
They said you, you know as I walked in.
Why? What's the deal about Israel?
Why is everything about Israel? I said, well, you really want to
know, do you? You want me to answer you and
how I believe that what the answer really is.
Yeah. Yeah.
It's a spiritual conflict. It's a war between evil and the
Lord. Yeah.
Anyway, So why Israel? Why is there such a hatred
venomous for this tiny nation, some 8 to 9 million people, 1/8
of them Russian, 2 million of them are Arabs.
Part of what is to believe a total worldwide of some 15.7
million, only remembering that 6,000,000 were murdered between
1938 and 1945 by the Nazis, of which 1.5 million were little
children and babies. Horrific.
Why this vile hatred towards them?
Revelation chapter 12 could easily be entitled A History of
Hatred. Let's read verse one now.
A great sign appeared in heaven, a woman, first character,
clothed with the sun, with the moon and her feet, and on her
head a Garland of 12 stars. 12 was the number of government
then being with child, second person we're introduced to, she
cried out in labour and in pain to give birth.
And another sign appeared in heaven.
Behold a great fiery red dragon, third character, having 7 heads
and 10 horns, 7 diadems of crowns on his head.
His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven angels and threw
them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the
woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child.
As soon as it was born, she bore a male child, Capital C notice,
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.
And her child was caught up to God and his throne.
Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place
prepared by God that they should feed her there 1260 days.
In this passage we are introduced to three main
characters. The woman.
Who is this woman? Well, some say it's the Virgin
Mary because look at the description, you know, no, it's
not the Virgin Mary. She was not in heaven prior to a
birth. And some say, well, it's the
church. No, it's not the church.
The church did not give birth to Jesus Christ.
Mary Baker Eddy, who birthed what's called Christian Science,
which is a cult. Mary Baker Eddy said it's me.
She actually said that that's me.
We find much of the scripture written here by John the
language you go back to Genesis chapter 37.
There is a young boy by the name of Joseph who had dreams 2
dreams and he shared his dreams with his father Jacob and his
mother Rachel and his eleven brothers dreamed.
Remember, they were gathering all the wheat gathered up their
sheaves and and then there was a sun on the moon and and the
sheaves and the sun on the moon all bowed down to him.
And of course, his brothers are when?
Yeah, that's going to happen. Even Dad Jacobson, what are you
going on about? But we know as we read through
Genesis that the sun and the moon were Joseph's father and
mother and that the 12 stars became known as the 12 tribes of
Israel. We remember that God changed
Jacob's name to Israel after that all night World
Championship Wrestling match which our premier paid for the
woman in Israel. The woman is Israel.
Revelation chapter 12. So we find out who that first
person is. Our second character mentioned
here is Jesus. The woman brings forth a child.
Jesus was born a Jew, a descendant of the Jewish tribe
of Judah, through the people and nation of Israel.
We as Christians, believers today, we owe a great debt of
gratitude to the people of Israel.
I, I gave us the word of God. No, they didn't invent it, but
they wrote what God wrote gave to them and they wrote it down
painstakingly. Not a jot or a tiddlers out of
place, not a not a spot, not a grammar.
They painstakingly wrote and gave us the word of God.
And thus we have the word of God on our hands because of the
Jewish people. They gave us the Saviour, they
gave us the prophets. And on the day of Pentecost, as
the Holy Spirit fell, as Jesus said, the promise of the Father
would come, and the disciples were waiting and praying in
Jerusalem, they gave us the church.
The church began with just Jewish believers on a Jewish
holiday, day of Pentecost in a Jewish city, Jerusalem.
In verse 2, the woman gives Israel.
The woman Israel gives birth to our Saviour Jesus.
And he is described as the one who shall reign notice forever
over all nations, verse 5. And he who ascended to heaven.
And we have the third character, a fiery red dragon.
This tells you as you see much in Asian culture, particularly
the dragon and the colour red it comes.
From the source, sadly, verse 3. And another sign appeared in
heaven. Behold, a great fiery red dragon
having 7 heads and 10 horns and seven diadems on his heads.
Now when you read many of the books that try to write these
animals and creatures and scripture, again, that's freaky
and it just blows you away. You know, what is this?
But we all know who this is, and verse 9 clarifies it for us.
Drop down to verse nine. So the Great Dragon was cast
out, that serpent of all. Old called the devil and Satan
who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth.
And his angels. Were cast with him red in
colour. Why the colour red?
It signifies bloodshed. Because he's a destroyer, the
seven heads and the 10 horns a symbolic of his world kingdoms.
We see again mentioned in chapter 13 of this beast and
also Daniel Chapter 7 prophesied.
That these would be the kingdoms and the kings who would give
over their power to the coming Antichrist, the lawless. 1 It
says in verse four he drew a. 3rd of the stars of heaven,
that's not stars like a planets etcetera threw them to the earth
and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give
birth to devour her child capital C as soon as it was
born. This verse takes us back before
the days of Eden to the original fall of Satan and a third of the
angels with him. It says drop down to verse 7 and
a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought
with the dragon Satan and the dragon and his angels a third of
them, but they did not prevail. Nor was a place found for them
in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast
out, the serpent of old called the devil, and Satan, who
deceives the world, he was cast to the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him. This passage tells us that Satan
wanted to be like God. He was created.
And we have this thing, you know, you know of the devil and
the of of you know the pitchfork and the horn feet and.
And the little horns, actually, that's the God Pan.
Lucifer himself was created as a most magnificent creation.
He had instruments built into his actual body.
He was in charge of worship, LED worship.
He was probably a terrorist. And Isaiah chapter 14 verse 12
tells us about what happened with Satan, Lucifer.
It says in Isaiah 1412 how you are fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, He was called the sun of the morning.
How you are cut down to the ground, you who weaken the
nations. For you have said in your heart,
I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the
stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of
the congregation of the farther sides of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.
I will be like the most high I will be.
God, that's his plan, that's why he was cast down.
It's interesting that when Satan tempted Jesus 40 nights or 40
nights on the wilderness, whatever he said to Jesus,
Jesus, you don't have to go to the cross, You don't have to do
any of that rubbish. Just bow down to me, worship me,
I'll give you the world and he, he got the world.
Remember, Adam and Eve forfeited it, gave over the minion to
Satan. Jesus, just bow down and worship
me. That's what he wants and that's
what he's going to do through the Antichrist.
When Jesus was born back in verse 4, chapter 4 that we read
in Bethlehem, we celebrate his Christmas.
Satan was waiting for him. What for?
To kill him. And the dragon stood before the
woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her child as
soon as it was born. How did he go about this?
Well the Magi remember turned up, been over 2 years now.
Jesus as a 2 year old. They turn up and they come to
Herod. OK, we're looking for the king
born. Follow the star.
And he went king, and he's, Herod said to his counsellors,
where is this king? Well, he's to be born, the Jews
say, in Bethlehem. Herod said to the Maggie, when
you find him, let me know when you because I want to go there.
And I worship him too. And So what happened in Matthew
chapter 2, verse 16, the Lord said to the Magi, don't go to
Herod, go back, go where you came, leave.
And So what did Herod do? He got angry and he said, every
Jewish child, Bethlehem two years and under, kill them all.
Kill them all. So the dragon stood before the
woman was ready to give birth to devour her child.
Now jump down to verse 6. Now we find ourselves in the mid
Trib. Then the woman who is it?
Israel fled into the wilderness. What's going on here?
This is the desert where she has a place prepared by God during
the tribulation period that they should feed her.
Look after the people of Israel. 1260 days.
So we're travelling now some 202,000 years on from the time
of Christ's birth, plus to the days of the great Tribulation
period midway. So the Antichrist up to this
place. Remember the first of the seals
broken by Jesus on the scroll was 4 horsemen.
First horsemen. White Horse diadem comes and he
brings what peace. White Horse brings peace.
The following him is is war, death and destruction and and
and famine. So the Antichrist up to this
stage has got the world in his hand and he's got Israel in his
hand. He has set up his rule.
The the 10 horns are 7 heads and 10 horns are nations who will
give over their authority, their government to this man because
they think this guy is. And he will be brilliant.
He'll be the most brilliant political leader, savvy, most
powerful orator the world has ever seen, and he'll be in Rule
at this time he has brought. Peace to the Middle East
situation. And you can imagine every, every
U.S. President is, you know, thought
my man, if I can bring peace to the Middle East, man, I'll be
the greatest president ever. They've tried, they've tried.
They named a place where they're going to meet all the time, Camp
David. They set it up.
They meet, they meet, they meet. Doesn't work, does it?
And today we still have war going on in Israel.
And now? Sadly, our Prime Minister again
made of another step toward another step away from Israel,
away from God, and toward judgement of coming upon our
nation when he spoke strongly. Now he's going to sign the
agreement that Palestine must become a state, and we're
sending $30 million there. And so up to this point, we find
ourselves in the passage of Scripture.
It's been 3 1/2 years. And in that.
Period of time, because how does this man bring peace to the
Middle East? Well, he's got to satisfy the
Muslims and he's got to satisfy the Jews.
And somehow or other he makes an arrangement where the Jews can
rebuild the Temple. They even struggled to go up on
the Temple Mount. I touched on that on Wednesday
night. Israel at this time has
reinstated temple worship. So the priests are going there,
the children of Israel are going there, and they're taking their
lambs, their doves, They're doing this.
The Holy of Holies is there. The priests are going about
their thing. It's happening.
All this is happening in Israel. The priests are all adorned, the
the sacrifices, the lambs, the goats, the calves, all going
through. Because the Antichrist has
allowed this to occur. Suddenly, you can picture this,
the Antichrist flies into Israel, lands at Tel Aviv.
I think he's great because, man, it's just things are going so
great. Worship place, We got peace.
You know, this is just wonderful.
Muslims aren't warring against us.
Look at the Temple Mount. Here we go.
The people are gathering there. It's just, oh, man, you are
awesome. He arrives up to in his limos.
Imagine they're just clapping in, waving flags as he drives
out. Maybe he's just going out the
temple site. He's going to just look at this
magnificent. What's going on?
And he gets out, walks straight up, walks into the holy of
holies and he says everything. Stop right now.
Stop all this. Now you'll worship me.
Now you and all the world will worship me.
And if you don't, I'll kill you. You might be able to eat, sleep,
you'll bear my mark as a mark of who I am.
And Israel goes. What has happened?
Daniel prophesied of this in Matthew 2415.
Jesus said this would occur. He says, therefore when you see
the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet
standing in the holy place, he'll actually walk into the
holy of holies. Jesus said whoever reads this,
let him understand you're going to know this.
Let him understand what this is about.
Then let those who are in Judea, this is Israel, this is talking
to Israel during the time of the mid tribulation.
Those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Run. How desperate.
Let him who was on the housetop not go down to take anything out
of here. Just go run.
Let him who was in the field not go back and get his clothes.
Just leave. Flee, but woe to you who are
pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days.
And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the
Sabbath. Notice the Sabbath has been
reinstituted. 1280 steps on the Sabbath.
That's as far as you can go. Oh, we can't.
We can't run. We'll break the Sabbath.
Now go for them. There will be great tribulation,
Jesus says. Such as has not been seen since
the beginning of the world until this time no nor ever shall be.
And unless those days were shortened, Jesus says no flesh
should be saved. But for the elect's sake those
days will be shortened. So the woman Israel, mid Trib
Antichrist is mighty stand. He's let everyone know really
what's going on. Flee into the wilderness, to a
place God has prepared for her. 1260 days, 3 1/2 years.
The second half of the Tribulation.
Now what's beautiful in this tragic moment for Israel is the
very Greek language that the apostle John uses to describe
this place of safety prepared by God.
Because only in one other place in the Bible are these exact
words used or found in any other passage of Scripture.
John chapter 14, Remember the verse, Let not your heart be
troubled. You believe in God, believe in
me. Also in my Father's house are
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you, I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be
also. So as Jesus prepared a place for
believers in heaven, when we are raptured, we go to that place.
So too, during the Tribulation period, God has prepared a place
for his people, Israel, the woman in the wilderness during
this most savage, traumatic and dangerous time.
But the Jews who stay and don't flee, who remain.
The Antichrist was savagely put to the sword.
More than two. Thirds of them.
The place Daniel Chapter 11, verse 41 he shall also enter the
glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown,
but these shall escape from his hand Edom, Moab and the
prominent people of Ammon. Now, as we go down the the drive
from Jerusalem down to sorry, from the Galilee down to the
Dead Sea, on our left is the Jordan, on our right, all these
cliffs. We're heading down to the Dead
Sea. We're in the bus on the driver.
We're heading down on the left. Here, River Jordan and the
mountains over there, Moab, all along opposite the Dead Sea
where we stay, it's all Moab, it's all Jordan.
Jordan is going to be the place of sanctuary for Israel during
the Tribulation period. Now back to verse 7.
Hang with me. I know you're going.
We'll keep where are we? Verse 7, War broke out in
heaven. Michael and his angels fought
with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought, but they
didn't prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any
longer. Notice that so the great dragon
was cast out, serpent of old called the devil Satan, who
deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth, his
angels were cast out with him. Verse 10 Then I heard a loud
voice saying In heaven now salvation and strength and the
Kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the
accuser is the Satan of our brethren who accuse them before
our God. How often day and night has been
cast down. Take a journey back.
We go to the book of Job. Remember how the book of Job
starts is Job wonderful man? He's doing sacrifices for his
children. He loves God and God says to
Satan, because Satan at this time is going up from the earth
and he's able to go to the courts of heaven.
He says, yeah, but Joe Bunny worships you and loves you
because you protect him. You give him everything.
Let me have a crack at him. He'll turn against you.
No problems. And we know the story.
Well. Satan has been able to do that.
And each time he's gone to heaven, he's had you and I also
on his lips. Keep calmly.
He's an idiot. He's only worshipping you
because you look after Him. But let me have a crack at him.
He'll turn tail on you, it says. And they overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony.
And they did not love their lives to death.
You see, when you apply the cross of Jesus Christ to your
life, when you make Jesus Christ your Lord, when you pray and
repent and say, God, forgive me, I'm a Sinner.
I believe you died on the cross for me.
I believe you died on my sins. For my sins I receive your
grace, your forgiveness. Now be my Lord.
The Bible says you are forgiven of your sins completely.
All of them are gone. That's why we celebrate
communion. We remember and it says and they
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.
You see, there's the devil is a lie.
He's the father of lies. And each and every one of us in
this room had said lies. Every hand would go up if I
said, have you ever felt that you're not a Christian?
Has there ever been a time when you thought, yeah, man, I know
I've been to church, but till I look, look what I said, look
how? Oh yeah.
And felt that we see salvation has nothing to do with you.
We accept salvation. It's all to do with God, what
God has. Done.
That's why we have grace and peace.
It's not like why we don't wake at night and go, oh Lord, I had
an argument with my wife. If the rapture comes now, just
she will go or I've been so cruel and my kids, I've been
terrible. Father, I the, the rapture was
to come. I mean, I'd be home.
I'd just be just just me and they'd go.
That's how the devil plays on. Your mind, doesn't it?
No, because the Bible says and so where we go, you have come in
by the blood of the Lamb. The blood of the Lamb says when
Jesus died on the cross for you there was 1 sacrifice and one
only. It's done, it's finished.
He said it is finished when he arose from the dead the third
day. That's the exclamation mark and
we sang about it. All our sins are paid for, every
one of them. Done and dusted for good.
I'm a Sinner, but I'm saved by grace and that salvation is
forever and ever and ever and ever.
It's eternal life. And since they overcame the
devil by the word of their testimony, you see your personal
testimony of what Christ has done in changing your life.
This is your testimony. People say, well, I don't
believe in God. Well, I don't care whether you
believe in God or not. I know what's happened in my
life. I once was lost, I once was a
savage, stupid, selfish idiot and now God has changed me and
I, I actually care about you. Even though you don't like me
and you abuse me or whatever, I care for you.
I pray for you. I know what God has done in my
life. I'm changed.
I'm no longer the despicable, selfish person that I hated
myself, that I wanted to kill myself.
I want to be rid of myself. That's gone.
And I know I'm not alone anymore.
I know I'm loved. I know I'm cared for.
I know that when I die, I know I'll go to heaven and I'll be
with my Lord. You see, that's your testimony.
And it says they did not love their lives to the dear.
They did not consider their lives more valuable than loyalty
to Jesus. So they are willing to pay the
ultimate price. And many people are doing that
in Africa, in India and Pakistan at this time.
Christians, John 1225 says, do you want to follow me?
Take up the cross, deny yourself.
And so when you come to church and you get saved, it's not
like, well, what do I have to do?
What do I have to give up? Here's the deal.
You got to give up everything. Well, does it cost to follow G?
Yeah, absolutely everything. You can have your own life.
You can have all the toys and all the things and but all the
problems that go with it. Besides, hell comes with that
old life. Loneliness, depression,
heartache, heartbreak, grief, sin.
But you see, I've given that all away, and now God, whatever God
wants to do with my life, it says in verse 12.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them, woe
to the inhabitants of the earth. Notice that we've discovered
that before. Woe to the inhabitants of the
earth. Therefore rejoice, O heaven, and
you who dwell on them. That's the church.
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil
has come down to you having great wrath.
He's been kicked out because he knows that he has a short time.
So there's war in heaven. Satan and his demons were cast
out of heaven thousands of years ago, but Satan had access to the
courts of heaven. We spoke about that with Job.
And he it is here that Satan has brought you and I before the
Lord continuously accusing us. But one John 2 verse one says
each time Satan has accused us before God.
John says if any man sin, we have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous and Jesus.
That's all right, Keith. Keith is mine.
I died for him. My righteousness is on him.
So the devil has no argument. He can't argue with that.
You see, when the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin, he lovingly
uses the Word of God to bring you back to repentance.
When the difference between condemnation and conviction,
conviction by the Holy Spirit is when you know you've done wrong.
You said the wrong thing to your wife, you acted foolishly, you
did the wrong thing. You've done that and you go.
You, you, you feel in your heart you're troubled.
Sin weighs you down. David was troubled and we're
weighed down. And so we go to the Bible and
the Bible tells us if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just
to cleanse us and make us righteous once more by the blood
of Christ, we can go to God. And God will take that away.
So I understand, forgive him. But you see the devil.
And This is why people come to church and then the devil just
gets hold of them and they take off because they're not reading
the Bible, but they don't understand the Bible.
The devil, on the other hand, uses your sin in a hateful way
to drive a wedge between you and God.
You're not going back to church, are you?
He says to you, you're unworthy. You know who's unworthy?
We're all unworthy, aren't we? But the devil just says you're
unworthy. Better not go to church, better
not take communion, better not read the Bible and all that
stuff. And So what happens is the devil
gets you to leave and to walk away from God.
That's the difference between condemnation and conviction.
There is now no condemnation to those who walk in Christ Jesus,
but here we see God pulls the pin on his axis at Satan's and
Satan is far from happy. He's booted out at this time.
What are the inhabitants of the earth and the sea for?
The devil has come down to you having great wrath because he
knows that he has a short time. Israel is that nation that just
won't die. They're the only nation that has
been dispersed, years removed from their lands.
And and you know, you do that with any other culture, any
other people's tribes and they've disappeared.
Israel. Everyone's tried to do that and
they remain Israel. No matter how hard other nations
have tried to wipe them out in the past.
They can their continued existence.
That's why Israel is so important, is one of the
greatest signs to the power and plan of Almighty God and God's
chosen. People, it says in verse 13.
Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he.
Persecuted the woman Israel who gave birth to the male child,
but the woman was given 2 wings of a great eagle that she might
fly into the wilderness. This is during the tribulation
period to her place where she is nourished for a time and times
and half the time from the presence of the serpent.
The word nourished here means feed supernaturally.
Could it be that God once more brings manner from heaven during
this 3 1/2 year period? I don't know.
All I know is that and some say, well, the two wings of the
eagle, is that the is that the US Air Force getting them out?
I don't think so. It's God getting them out of
Judea into Moab Jordan. And there he says, I've got a
place and I got food. This is God.
He's does this. So the serpent verse 15 spewed
water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman.
He's angry as they flee that he might cause her to be carried
away by the flood, but the earth helped.
The woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the
flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Now what is? This for sure.
We don't know. Could it be that he sends his
military might out after all these people fleeing Judea?
Could be. And that as the military might,
this great flood of soldiers and equipment head out after these
people or heading to Jordan. And then God says I open the
earth and close it again. Go on.
This is this is this is amazing stuff.
The 17 the dragon was enraged with.
Women. So he's getting, you know, he's
ticked off. So he's just getting.
Angrier and angrier. With who?
With Israel. And he went to make war with the
rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have
the testimony of Jesus Christ. Believe Jews turning to Christ.
So Satan becomes even more enraged, seeking to kill any
Jewish person or family he can find.
Now during this period, remember the church is in heaven.
So Keith, why do we need to know all this stuff?
If it's got nothing to do with Australia, what's what's it
going to do with us? And what why Israel?
Well, Paul says in One Thessalonians, chapter 5, this
one. But concerning the times and the
seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you,
for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the
Lord, the tribulation period, comes as a thief in the night.
For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction
comes upon them, as labour pains upon a pregnant woman.
They shall not escape. But you brethren, the Church.
Are not in darkness so that this day should overtake.
You as a thief, you are all sons of light and sons of the day.
We are not of the night nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep as others do and all, and not just
carry. Go about my business.
No, but let us watch and be sober.
In other words, live your life for Christ each day, because
He's coming. Paul was in Thessalonica. 3
Sabbaths and in the three Sabbaths Paul loaded on them the
gospel and all the prophetic stuff about the rapture and the
Tribulation period. In just three Sabbath periods,
we're living in what the Bible calls the last days just prior
to the events. These events we're reading about
unfolding. We must be cognizant, aware of
the fact that our world has a spiritual dimension and it's
just not material. It's true, isn't it?
You have a soul, each one of us. You have a spirit as well as the
body. Man basically has 3 needs, one.
We don't want to be alone. Loneliness kills us.
We want the truth. We always wanted to be told the
truth. We hate being lied to.
We want to know what's the truth?
What is the purpose of my being? Where am I going?
What happens after I die? Where do we come from?
And we want peace. We want peace in our soul.
Where we say, if only I can get go on a holiday, if only I can
be on a tropical island somewhere.
If only I can get away from all this.
Isn't that what drives your life?
You see, the struggles in our lives are not just broken bones
and things. Oh, blast price of petrol's gone
up. Oh, that's terrible.
No, the things that cause grief are complex in our lives because
we're complex beings. The Bible tells us that as
Christians we are engaged in a spiritual war.
And behind all the wickedness, the evil, the darkness, is a
figure who is relentless in his hunger to destroy.
Destroy you personally, have you kill yourself, destroy your
marriage to ruin it, destroy your children to bring heartache
and grief. That's his modus operandi and
you and I are living in a world. We come back and forward and we
have all those things going on, phone calls, this happens.
The job, the boss said. That person said a stranger says
something to you, someone breaks into your house.
All these things, these events happen in and around you, in
your family. Someone dies.
All things happen and we're grieved.
We're broken because Paul says we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, powers, against
the rulers of darkness. They're all the ranks of the
three of the third of the stars, the third of the angels that
went with Satan. Both the prophet Daniel and the
Lord Jesus himself tells us we are to know and understand what
life is about and what your future and the future of the
world holds for each of us. Christians should be the most
intelligent people in the world because we actually know what
the world is about, how it exists, how it came into being,
what's going on, who runs the show, who's in charge, and
what's going to happen. Daniel chapter 10, verse 14.
The Angel came to Daniel and said, now I've come to make you
understand what will happen to your people in the latter days.
Daniel, I'm going to tell you, for the vision refers to many
days yet to come. When he had spoken such words to
me, Daniel said, I turned my face toward the ground and
became speechless. He went, What These things are
going to happen? Oh my, Jesus said in Matthew
2415 to the disciples. Therefore, when you see the
abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet
standing in the holy place, whoever reads, let him
understand, know what's going on.
Matthew 2432. Now Jesus says, learn this
parable from the fig tree. Learn when you know when you go
on, I'm going to show you something.
We're going to learn how to do this.
In other words, you ought to know this.
Now learn this parable from the fig tree.
When it's branch has already become tender and puts forth
leaves, you know that summer is near.
So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is
near at the doors. So each of these statements are
directly related to Israel. So why Israel?
Because they are God's chosen people.
If Satan can destroy Israel, then God's ultimate plan for the
nation's salvation cannot happen.
No Israel, no plan, no Jerusalem, no Jesus throne.
If God's plan is not carried out exactly as God has established,
then God's word is proven wrong because the Bible says these
things are going to happen. Satan's out to try and go.
I'm stopping them. Satan hates what God loves, and
the Bible tells us that Israel is the apple of God's eye.
So Satan's plan is simple. Listen to this.
He will make the nations want to get rid of Israel.
Is that happening? It is before our eyes each day,
even our own nation. We had soldiers fight in Israel.
When Australian troops turn the battle, they're the charge of
the 10th Light Horse turn the battle, Battle of Bathsheba, our
men died, shed blood. There's even a War Memorial
there. And now our nation's going no,
we'd rather have Hamas, our soldiers, our nation, our
character. What's happened?
Secondly, he will make Christians think that God is
done with Israel. How many churches today are
saying Israel's finished, we're the spiritual Israel, and that
needs a good because no, you're not.
Israel is Israel. We are the unnatural branch
grafted in. We're going to be taken out, and
Israel will be the nation that God intends them to be.
Lastly, He will set out to make Israel, and He's working on
this. Tired of being persecuted.
How? How?
Long have they been fighting there.
Remember, Yaniv was with us. He'd been six months fighting in
Lebanon. How many soldiers are going back
and forth, back and forth? Fighting in Gaza and he wants
the nation and people of Israel to forsake the things I've got.
Well let's just who needs we don't need.
That's what he's working on. Israel has suffered greatly
throughout history. This vile and growing anti
semitism has been fuelled, promoted and unleashed by Satan
himself. He was the leader of the band of
the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Holocaust is a vivid
memorial memory for many Jewish people.
Yad Vashem. We go and visit it and as we
come out of the main part, and then we wander over into the
Dome and we walk into the Dome and there's all these pictures
of all these little kids everywhere and their names of 24
hours, seven days a week. You hear their names spoken over
over over over 1.5 million children beaten, destroyed,
tortured by the Nazis. The day of Jacob's trouble.
Is yet to fall. The church will be raptured
while Israel remains. 2/3 of the nation of Israel will be wiped
out. Zechariah chapter 13.
They are a sign for you and I to be ready to repent, to watch, to
look up for our redemption draws near.
How do you and I stand against Satan's onslaught, his attacks
on us and upon Israel? Charles hadn't spurred and said
I have a great need for Christ and I have a great Christ for my
name. It's not your hold on Christ
that saves, it's His hold on you.
Let us pray now. Think about this man.
It hit me like never before because I prepared this.
Let us pray for Israel and God's chosen people.
Let us pray for one another for the time is short.
Let me ask you this who else in the world can actually pray to
God? Besides Israel, there's only one
group, there's only one one body, one persons that can do
that. The church, you know, Psalm
A1226 says pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
You know who that's for? It's not for the Muslims, not
for the Baha'i, Confucianist, Taoists, Jehovah Witnesses.
The only people who can respond to Psalm 122 is you and I.
God says pray for my people because that's why you're here.
That's why I'm here, because they have no one else.
They have no one else who can pray or who cares about them.
The most ashamed I have ever been of being an Australian is I
walked into the Yad Bashem, the Holocaust Museum, and there's
this great white sign, huge. And it was the Commissioner of
Australia written out in 1938 when the Jews were trying to get
out of Israel, out of Germany. Sorry.
The Commission of Australia said we will not allow Jews to come
to Australia because we don't want to import a racial problem.
I was discussed so we didn't insect them and Hitler burnt
them. We didn't accept them and Hitler
burnt them. We are the church.
It's time. If you don't know Jesus Christ
as your Lord and Saviour. Today I beg you to turn your
heart today to Christ. I'm not to be a church person,
but to be a godly person. I want you to pray.
I'm going to pray right now. If you're here, you don't know
Christ, I'm going to pray for you.
Repeat this prayer after me. Heavenly Father, I sent you,
Holy Spirit calling me today. I repent of my sins before you.
Now I believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for me.
I believe he rose from the dead, that he's coming soon.
Right now where I sit, I give my heart to you.
I want to follow you. I turn my back on my old life
and I turn to you. Now help me to walk before you.
I pray and ask this in Jesus name, Amen.