All right, well, we've got some folks still coming in here. If you would, take your Bibles and turn to Genesis chapter 12. Genesis chapter 12. We've been having a study in our Sunday school time of the things that we will see during the end times and we're kind of wrapping that up now. We've got just this week and next week and then this will be done. And I just wanted to spend some time today talking about the nation of Israel. Talking about what we see in the nation of Israel. Certainly if you have been in church for any amount of time or have been taught at all, you know that the promises that God made to the nation of Israel, he will fulfill, he will make good on all of those promises. We'll have to wait till his the millennial reign of Christ, but he will make good on those promises. The church did not replace Israel. The church did not, you know, take the, you know, Israel's not forever cast out and the church is now the chosen vessel or whatever, however you want to look at it, but God will make good on all those promises that he made to Israel. And we're going to see today the promises that God made to Israel concerning the land. And, you know, in our time, in our day, in the time that we're living right now, there's a lot of controversy about the land of Israel, a lot of controversy about who should actually be possessing that land and who should be dwelling there and who's got rights to it and who doesn't and so forth. And it's interesting that in the scriptures, and you can search the scriptures, there's only been one parcel of land in the Scriptures that has been promised to just one people, and it's Israel, and it's the land of Israel, you know? You're not going to be able to search the scriptures and find out that God gave the borders and the coastlines of America to us, or something like that. But in the scriptures we can see very clearly that God gave a specific portion of land to the Israelites, to the Jewish people. And we're going to just take a little look at that this morning. We're going to take a little look at some of the historical events. and just see what God says about the nation of Israel and the land of Israel. So if you're in Genesis chapter 12, we'll just open with a word of prayer and then get started here. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for our time this morning. Thank you for the ability that we have, Lord, the freedom that we have to have your Bible, to have your word. to be able to freely study it, to gather in a place like this and talk about it. And Lord, I just thank you that we do have that freedom in this land to worship together, that we can come together, that we can open your word, that we can preach, that we can fellowship, We can sing praises to your name. Thank you, Father, for the freedoms that we do still enjoy in this country. And Lord, I pray that we would never take it for granted. Father, thank you for our Sunday school time this morning. We do pray for the different classes that are taking place around this building. And Lord, just please be with each teacher. Give them wisdom. Please be with each student. Give them an attentive hearts. Ears that are open and hearts that are open minds that are open and just Lord, please Just guide and direct this morning. Please be with our class here this morning Lord and just help us to see from your word the very special place that Israel has in your You know with you And Father, help us to always be a friend of Israel, to always be concerned with them, and as your scripture says, to always pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for your time this morning, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen. In Genesis chapter 12, we find a promise being made to the man Abram. We know that from the book of Genesis, we have really quite a bit of the life of Abram. And eventually his name will be changed to Abraham. And then eventually he'll be, you know, he will be the father of a great nation and so forth. And we certainly can study out and learn of Abram and Abraham's life. through the book of Genesis. And in Genesis chapter 12, we're gonna start there, we're gonna look at quite a few scriptures this morning. So Genesis chapter 12, starting at verse number six, it says, And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sihon, unto the plain of Morah, and the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there built he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east. And there he built an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord, And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. If we come over to chapter 13, we'll start reading in verse number 14, Genesis 13 and verse 14. And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, and if you remember the story of Abraham and Lot and and so forth, Lot says that they were so great and the land couldn't contain them. And so he had Lot choose out a portion of land for himself. Lot chose that portion of Sodom and Gomorrah in that area. Abram took the portion that was left. And now in verse 14, the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, lift up now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward. For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. When we're reading these verses, pay attention to those phrases like that, forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord." If we come over to chapter 15, chapter 15, we'll start reading in verse number 7. And I do just ask you to be patient. We are gonna read a lot of verses this morning, but then we'll see how it all ties together. Genesis 15 in verse seven, it says, and he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees and give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And he said unto him, take me a heifer of three years old and a she goat of three years old and a ram of three years old and a turtle dove and a young pigeon. and he took unto him all these and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another, but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge. And afterward shall they come up with great substance, and thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. Thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And it came to pass that when the sun went down and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates, the Canaanites and the Canaazites and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Raphaeans, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. Here we find the covenant that God makes with Abram to give him that land. And he specifically mentions the land from the river of Egypt under the great river Euphrates. And then he talks about the people that are dwelling in that land. Now it's important as we go along in this and we start thinking about this, God gave a specific piece of land to a very specific people, but that piece of land that he gave to those people had people inhabiting it and already living in it. hence some of the problem that we see today, some of the controversy that we see today, and really some of the twisted and warped history that we see propagated today, and we'll get into some of that in a little bit here. But here we see in the book of Genesis, over and over again, where God promises Abraham that this land will be for the Israelite people, will be for his descendants, for his generations. In chapter 17, in chapter 17, verse eight, It says when Abram was 90 years old and nine the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him I am the Almighty God walk before me be thou perfect and I will make my covenant between me and thee and Will multiply thee exceedingly and Abram fell on his face and God talked with him saying as for me behold My covenant is with thee and thou shalt be a father of many nations neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham and For a father of many nations have I made thee, and I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee, and I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in the generation for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, and I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God." Now, we know that as we go along in the history of the Israelite people, we know that God did make a great nation of them. We do know that they went down into Egypt. We do know that they also became slaves under Pharaoh. And eventually, you know, God raised up Moses, and Moses, through the plagues, through the The judging's there. Pharaoh finally agreed to let the people go. We have the account of the crossing of the Red Sea. The sea came in, destroyed Pharaoh and all the Egyptian army that followed them and so forth. And then they were going, God was leading them and bringing them to this promised land. He was gonna allow them to inherit it. He was gonna allow them to finally possess this land. And remember, hundreds of years have gone by now. But now is the time, and God raised up Moses and told Moses, now is the time that we're gonna take them into the promised land. And we know that through their wanderings in the wilderness, through their time of heading there, they finally get there. They decide, instead of just going in and taking the land, they decide to send in the spies. The spies come back. The majority say we can't do it, but we have Joshua and Caleb that say, yes, the Lord promised this land to us, we need to go take it, we need to go possess it. But they murmured, they complained, they decided not to go. In God's anger, he said that they're gonna wander in the wilderness until that generation passed away, and then they would go into the land. Even Moses, through an act of anger and rebellion, he himself was not able to go into the land. Although God did allow Moses to see the land, but he never did get to see the people go in and actually possess the land. But in Joshua chapter 1, Moses has passed away, and Joshua is now taking over, and he's going to lead the people into the Promised Land. And in Joshua 1 verses 3 and 4, it says, Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto thee, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. So he's gonna lead them in and we know that through the book of Joshua there was battles that took place and things were done and the Israelites went in and took the land and so forth. In Genesis chapter 26, Genesis chapter 26, we find in starting in verse number one, it says this, Now, the promise was made to Abraham. Abraham has his son Isaac. We know Isaac then has Jacob. And, you know, from there becomes the nation of Israel. And in Genesis chapter 26, verse one says, And there was a famine in the land beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines, unto Jerar. And the Lord appeared unto him and said, Go not down into Egypt dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of Sojourn in this land and I will be with thee and will bless thee for unto thee and unto thy seed I will give all these countries and I will perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father and And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because that Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. So we see throughout Genesis, and then we can go into Exodus, we can go into Deuteronomy, and then eventually Joshua, we see over and over again the promise to possess that land, the promise to inhabit that land, that that land was indeed given to the nation of Israel. If you come with me to the book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 4, It's always amazing to me how in the scriptures God uses prophecy to prepare his people and to prepare his children for events that shall come to be. And in Deuteronomy chapter four, I'm gonna start reading in verse number 25, but from verses 25 to 31, it's really a prophetic roadmap of Israel from that point in history all the way looking into eternity future, looking to that millennial kingdom when Christ will return and will set up his kingdom here on this earth and will rule and reign on the throne of David. And so in Deuteronomy chapter four, I'm just gonna read verses 25 to 31 and then break it down for you a little bit here But verse 25 it says and thou shall beget children and children's children and ye shall have remained long in the land and shall corrupt yourselves and make a graven image or the likeness of anything and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God to provoke him to anger I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land, whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it. Ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whether the Lord shall lead you, and there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul, when thou art in tribulation, And all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice. For the Lord thy God is a merciful God. He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he sware unto them. Here in Deuteronomy chapter four, he's given reference to that covenant that he made with Abram about them possessing and having the land. We see this verses 25 to 31 broken down. And again, it's a prophetic roadmap of Israel from that point all the way looking into the future with the millennial reign of Christ. In verse 25, we see Israel and her descendants would remain long in the land. In verse number 25, we also see Israel would act corruptly and would slip into idolatry. Israel would be forced out of the land in verse number 26. In verse number 27, the Lord shall scatter them among the nations. Israel would be given over to idolatry during the wanderings in verse number 28. Verse number 29, while dispersed among the nations, Israel will seek and find the Lord when they search for him with all their hearts. And then in verse 30, it says, there will come a time of tribulation said to occur in the latter days, during which time they will turn to the Lord. And then in verse 31, of course, we see this portion, this section ended with, for the Lord thy God is a merciful God. He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he swear unto them. You know, in the millennial reign of Christ, that is when all of the promises of Israel are going to come to be. That's when they're all going to be fulfilled. They're going to possess the land. We know that during the Great Tribulation time, that is when the nation of Israel will turn and and recognize God as the one true God. But it's interesting as we see what's described here in Deuteronomy and we look, if you were to look at Israel right now, we we unless you've had the opportunity to actually go to Israel, But we in our minds we think of Israel as like this what we think of it as the Holy Land I mean, that's really what we think of it. We think of it as the place where Jesus walked we think of it as where all of these things of our Bible took place where the Disciples were where great miracles happened where where God healed the sick He raised the dead where all these things happen, but you know Israel today is a very wicked city It's a very wicked area. There's all kinds of garbage. I remember seeing on the news Gay pride parade happening in Jerusalem, and it blew my mind. I was like not in Israel not in Jerusalem But you know they walked away from the Lord and the Lord said because they did that they were going to lose their land But he also said that he would restore them again, and they would possess the land again I want you to know in the history of the world No nation has ever done that been a nation, possessed a land, been taken over, and then gone back in and possessed the land again and become a nation again. Only the nation of Israel is the ones that are going to do that. And really, it comes down to the promise that God made to them. God is going to make good on that. If we look at Isaiah 35.10, It says, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. One day they're gonna possess that land and they're gonna have all of those promises that God gave them. I want you to see something, if you would, turn with me to Zechariah, Zechariah chapter two. because I want you to understand something about the nation of Israel. Although they have been cast out of the land, although they have been under great conflict and oppression and things like that, God still has a very special place for them in his heart. And he is going to, again, I don't mean to be so repetitive, but he is going to make good on all the promises that he made for them. But I want you to see something about what God says about the nation of Israel. In Zechariah chapter two, We'll start reading and Let's see We'll start reading in verse number 6, Zechariah 2 verse 6. Ho, ho, come forth and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, after the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you. For he that toucheth you, watch this, toucheth the apple of his eye. You know, Israel is the apple of God's eye. I mean, that's an amazing verse. For behold, I will shake my hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day. and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee. And thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah, his portion, in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord, for he is raised up out of his holy habitation. Here it talks about, first of all, that Israel is the apple of God's eye, and that one day God is going to return, and he's going to set up his kingdom, and he's going to shake those nations that have oppressed and hurt and harmed the nation of Israel. We know the battle of Armageddon is going to be a fearsome and bloody battle, and it's going to be God that does the fighting. It's going to be him with a word of his mouth that he's going to send them forth. Then he's gonna not send them forth that he's gonna judge them and that they're going to You know that he's gonna destroy them and then we're gonna enter into that millennial reign if you go over to the book of Ezekiel There's a very interesting portion of scripture there Ezekiel chapter 37 if you'll turn over there with me and In Ezekiel chapter 37, we have the vision of the dry bones, the valley of the dry bones. And I'm not gonna read the whole chapter, I'm gonna read the first 14 verses. But we're gonna talk about the fact that, you know, the people of Israel, they lost the land, they were dispersed throughout, but then there has been these different times where great numbers of Israelites have gone back to the land. And we're gonna, I'm gonna share some of that with you here in just a minute. But in Ezekiel chapter 37, says the hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones and caused me to pass by them round about and behold there was very many in the open valley and lo they were very dry and he said unto me son a man can these bones live and I answered oh Lord God thou knowest I think it's a great way to answer when God asks a question that you're not sure how to answer. Oh, God, you know, you know, I'm not going to I'm not going to even venture an answer in this because I have no idea what's what's about to transpire here. But I think it's interesting. Ezekiel, he says, and I answered, Oh, Lord, God, thou knowest. Again, he said unto me, prophesy upon these bones and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones. Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you. And ye shall live and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a noise. And behold, a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above, but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, thus saith the Lord God, come from the four winds, oh, breathe. and breathe upon these slain that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. And he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, our bones are dried, and our hope is lost. We are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves. all my people and brought you up out of your graves and shall put my spirit in you and you shall live and I shall place you in your own land. Then shall you know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it, saith the Lord. We're just going to stop right there. But we know that the Lord is going to through the tribulation time. The Israelite people are going to turn back to the Lord and they're going to call upon God and In the millennial reign, they're going to possess that land and we know that all these things are going to happen. But we know through history, there have been times when after the Great Dispersion, after they lost the land, there have been times in history when great numbers of Israelites have gone back to the land. In 1881 to 1900, we have the first aliyah, it's the word for assent, and occurred and consisted of some 30,000 Jews under persecution in Russia moving to Palestine. In 1897, the first Zionist Congress convened in Basel, Switzerland, adopted Zionism as a program and stated, quote, the aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine by public law. In 1904 to 1914, the second ascent resulted in 32,000 persecuted Russian Jews moving to Palestine. In 1917, the Balfour Declaration read in part, His Majesty's government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for Jewish people. In 1924 to 1939, the Third Ascent, when 78,000 Polish Jews moved to Palestine. In 1933 to 1939, the Fourth Ascent, when 230,000 Jews fled from persecution in Germany and Central Europe. 1940 to 1948 was the fifth ascent when 95,000 Jews escaped from Central Europe. Many Jews remained in Europe and more than 6 million were killed during the Holocaust led by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. In 1948, the Jewish Agency in what would become the new nation of Israel proclaimed national status. On May 14th, 1948, the United States President Harry Truman administration made this announcement. The United States recognizes the provisional government as the de facto authority of the new state of Israel. In 1967 was the Six-Day War, precipitated by an Arab invasion results in Israel capturing Jerusalem and the West Bank. In 1973, there was another attack by the Arabs and was repulsed with Israeli being the victors. In 1978 to the year 2000, Egypt recognizes Israel. The Arab-Palestine resistance movement begins. Negotiations, agreements, and tensions continue to build. And there's been various wars and different things that have happened since then. I'll read a little bit more on that for you in a minute here. But you know, we have this situation where God promised this piece of land to a very specific people, and He's promised to make them a great nation, and He's promised that they will indeed at one day possess that land again. But what we've got to stop and think about is, as I mentioned earlier, there are people living there. What does that mean when the Jewish people return and they go back to claim this land that God has promised them? What happens to the people that are there? Well, the people that are there, there's a choice to be made, you know? I think about this with Pharaoh and the Israelites back in Egypt there. You know, when the Israelites were slaves under Pharaoh, Pharaoh's kingdom, Pharaoh's Control his power was vast It was vast it was it was far-reaching. He was a he was a very powerful person and all that and and you know the the Israelites there of course they were they were under slavery and they were Being made to do certain things of it God came through Moses talked through Moses to Pharaoh and all he told Pharaoh was let my people go Let him go He never said that he was going to destroy the Egyptians. He never said that he was going to destroy Pharaoh. Never said that he was going to do that. He just simply said, let my people go. What if Pharaoh had said, OK, go? But he didn't. And because of his constant rejection and his constant rebellion against what God wanted him to do, the plagues came. Those things happened. And then even once he did let them go, he changed his mind and went after them. And then we have that great event that took place at the Red Sea. But how much of that could have been avoided if Pharaoh had just gone, okay. I mean, we need to think about that. Here we have a place of land, a parcel of land that God said, this belongs to Israel. It is yours and nobody shall take it away from you. And then we have the people that actually live there. In our time today, we see the war that's going on right now between Hamas and Israel. We know what's going on with Iran and things like that. And we hear this chant from the pro-Palestines, from the river to the sea. And it's a catch-all phrase symbolizing Palestinian control over the entire territory of Israel's borders, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. And you know, what we hear in our mainstream media, what we hear from the political entities that would be and such is, if Israel would just give them some more land, there would be peace. If Israel would just allow them to have more, there would be more peace. You know, it's amazing to me the people that will talk about the fact that Israel is going in and displacing and trying to destroy this people. And you even hear people say that Israel is committing genocide. Israel's not committing genocide They're not and and you know If you if you follow this and if you watch enough stuff, you're gonna see the the foolishness really of the argument I saw I saw one video where somebody asked there was this lady holding a sign and she was doing the chant, you know from the river to the sea Palestine shall be free. And so this guy says to her from what river to what sea? She couldn't answer it And he goes, you're out here making this big disturbance and you can't even answer it. I saw another video where somebody asked them, from the river to the sea? And they, yeah, it's from the river to the sea. He says, okay, what about the Jewish people then? And they won't answer it, because they're going to have to admit it means the destruction of the Jewish people, the outright, just complete annihilation of the Jewish people. You know, the question comes, it's just about land. So why can't Israel just give them some more land? You hear this phrase, a two-state solution. I want to share with you this morning that there has actually been five times in the past that Palestine has been offered a two-state solution and has rejected it every time. If you'll bear with me as I read this. Sorry about that. After the breakup of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, Britain took control of most of the Middle East, including the area that constitutes modern Israel. 17 years later, in 1936, the Arabs rebelled against the British and against their Jewish neighbors. The British formed a task force, the Peel Commission, to study the cause of the rebellion. The commission concluded that the reason for the violence was that two peoples, Jews and Arabs, wanted to govern the same land. The answer, the Peel Commission concluded, would be to create two independent states, one for the Jews and one for the Arabs, a two-state solution. The suggested split was heavily in favor of the Arabs. The British offered them, the Arabs, 80% of the disputed territory, the Jews the remaining 20. Yet despite the tiny size of their proposed state, the Jews voted to accept this offer, but the Arabs rejected it and resumed their violent rebellion. That's rejection number one. This was an article that was written. It was published in October 13th, 2023 by Akena Emihu. I'm probably not saying that right, but I just want you to know where I got this information. Somebody did a study on the two-state solution and what has happened over the years with that. Ten years after that first rejection, ten years later in 1947, the British asked the United Nations to find a new solution to the continuing tension. Like the Peel Commission, the UN decided that the best way to resolve the conflict was to divide the land. In November 1947, the UN voted to create two states. Again, the Jews accepted the offer, and again, the Arabs rejected it. Only this time, they did so by launching an all-out war. Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria joined the conflict, but they failed. Israel won the war and got on with the business of building a new nation. Most of the land set aside by the UN for an Arab state, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, becomes occupied territory, occupied not by Israel, but by Jordan. Twenty years later, in 1967, the Arabs, led this time by Egypt and joined by Syria and Jordan, once again sought to destroy the Jewish state. The 1967 conflict, known as the Six-Day War, ended in a stunning victory for Israel. Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as the area known as Gaza Strip, fell into Israel's hands. The government split over what to do with this new territory. Half wanted to return the West Bank to Jordan and Gaza to Egypt in exchange for peace. The other half wanted to give it to the region's Arabs who had begun referring to themselves as the Palestinians. in the hope that they would ultimately build their own state there. Neither initiative got very far. A few months later, the Arab League met in Sudan and issued its infamous three no's. No peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel. Again, a two-state resolution was dismissed by the Arabs. In 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak met at Camp David with Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman Nasser Arafat to conclude a two-state plan. Barak offered Arafat a Palestinian state in all of Gaza and 94% of the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital. But the Palestinian leader rejected the offer. In the words of the US President Bill Clinton, Arafat was here for 14 days and said no to everything. Instead, the Palestinians launched a bloody wave of suicide bombings that killed over a thousand Israelis and maimed thousands more on buses, in wedding halls, and in pizza parlors. In 2008, Israel tried yet again. Prime Minister Ehad Omar went even farther than Ehad Barak had, expanding the peace offer to include additional land to sweeten the deal. Like his predecessor, the new Palestinian leader, Mohammed Abbas, turned the deal down and war continued. So, you know, you hear in the mainstream media, we hear that, oh, a two-state solution. This is going to do it. You know, if there's just be, you know, Israel's been offering and willing to do that all along. And the Arabs have said no. There's a man, he's a political journalist out there. His name is Dennis Prager. He said this. He said if, if Israel, We're to say, we're done. We want peace. We're going to lay down our arms. We will not fight anymore. Peace is all we want. We're not going to fight back. He says, we'd see the mass genocide of the Jewish people. They would be completely and utterly destroyed. On the other hand, he said, if Hamas, if the Palestinians were to say, we're done. We want peace. We're going to lay down our arms and we refuse to fight. You know what we would have? We'd have peace. You know, the nation of Israel, the people of Israel, the Jewish people, they're the apple of God's eye. God made some very specific promises to them. During that tribulation time, they're going to recognize that there is one true God, and they're going to turn to God, and God's going to set up his millennial kingdom here on this earth, and all the promises that we see for the nation of Israel will be fulfilled in that time. What are we seeing right now? We're just seeing things advancing. We're seeing more things grow. It's incredible the hatred that we, in our time, are seeing towards the Israeli people. You know, I looked it up. How big is the nation of Israel? Just how large is this? In size, it's relatively the same size as New Jersey. You know? It's a relatively small portion of land. And it's so, there's so much controversy, there's so much battle, there's so much fighting about this portion of land. And you know what, we can wrap it up in, really, in just one, in one thought. We battle not against flesh and blood, okay, but against principalities and powers. It's a spiritual battle. God said, this is my people, this is my land, this is where I will set up my kingdom, and Satan's working overtime to try to make sure that that doesn't happen. You know, go all the way to the back of the book, it happens. God will win. God, it will be victorious. and we can have confidence in that. So as you see things unfolding and you see things happening, compare it with scripture, because what we see in the mainstream media and what we hear coming out of our colleges and our whatever institutions is not true. So be careful. Weigh it with scripture, do your homework, check it out. God's gonna make good on all his promises.