As we move through the 70th week of Daniel, we need to remind ourselves that one of the main purposes of the 70th week of Daniel is God is completing His plan and program with the nation Israel so that He might establish the kingdom on earth which He promised them through the Old Testament prophets. The 70th week of Daniel, the seven-year tribulation, is primarily Jewish in character. We call it the 70th week of Daniel. That comes out of Daniel chapter 9, verses 24 and following, where Daniel is told 70 weeks, or 77's, are determined upon your people and your holy city, Jerusalem. 77's, 490 years, are what is necessary. to bring Israel to the point of the establishing of the kingdom on earth that God had promised. The first 483 years concluded shortly before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Then there is a gap or a space, now almost 2,000 years. Then there will be the rapture of the church. Then there will be a seven-year, 70th week of Daniel that will complete. that program in preparing Israel for the kingdom. It's important as we move through Revelation that we keep in mind what God is doing with Israel. He's disciplining them for their sin and He's bringing them to their knees so that they will believe in the Messiah. There are many people today, many Christians today, who do not believe that there is any future for Israel. They believe that because of Israel's sin, Because Israel rejected the Messiah, God has discarded the nation Israel. Now the church has taken the place of the physical nation. And all the promises given to Israel, the nation in the Old Testament, are going to be realized spiritually, or figuratively, allegorically, in the church. The church is spiritual Israel. I think that does serious injustice to the word of God. In fact, I do not believe that you can correctly and accurately handle the scripture and come to that conclusion. In fact, if that conclusion is true, I think you and I might be in serious trouble because of the promises of God to Israel are not reliable and dependable than the promises given to us. are also subject to doubt. So I want to look with you at the nation Israel as they fit into the period of time we are in the book of Revelation. God's plan in dealing with them, the Old Testament passages that focus on Israel going through the tribulation, just a sample of those passages. Then Israel's glorious salvation, which is what prepares the way directly for the return of Christ to earth. It is the conversion of Israel and their turning to Christ that enables him to break forth from heaven and return to earth. And he will not return to earth until Israel as a nation is converted to him. So it's a very, very significant event. I want to start back in the book of Genesis with you as we remind ourselves of the background God has established for Israel. His relationship to Israel. The history of Israel really begins in chapter 12. We get some of the background for it in chapter 11 in the genealogies. The family of Abraham is dealt with in the closing verses of chapter 11, verses 27 and following. Abraham's father was named Terah. God appeared to Abraham. while they lived in Ur of the Chaldees and told him to leave that land and go to the land that God would tell him." Now, we don't know much about Abraham's family, or Abram, as he is initially called. The book of Joshua, chapter 24 and verse 2, tells us that Abram's father, Terah, was an idol worshiper. So, we do know that Abram was raised in a family that was devoted to the worship of idols. How Abram came to know God, we're not told. Evidently, in the sovereign plan of God, God directly intervened in that home and sovereignly called out Abram. Perhaps similar to what he did with the Apostle Paul on the Damascus Road. However God did it, we're not told. We pick up with God calling Abraham to leave and Abram responding. So, in Genesis chapter 12, we have what is known as the Abrahamic Covenant. Very important covenant. The Abrahamic covenant provides the foundation and framework for God's dealings with the nation Israel. It has particular relevance to you and I in the church. It also provides the foundation and framework for God providing salvation for you and for me within the church today. In Genesis chapter 12, we read, Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country, from your relatives, from your father's house, to the land which I will show you, and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. And so you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. We call the Abrahamic covenant. This is its first statement. It will be reiterated several times additionally in the book of Genesis, as well as it will be alluded to and referred back to in both the Old and New Testament. We usually note three aspects of the Abrahamic covenant, the land, the seed and the blessing. God promises the land to Abram and his descendants at the end of verse one, to the land which I will show you, as we'll see in further reiterations of this covenant, that promise of the land will be developed further. There is the seed. Verse two, I will make you a great nation. So Abram's descendants will grow and multiply and become a great nation. He's promised a seed, descendants that will be a great nation. And he's promised blessing. I will bless you and make your name great and you will be a blessing. So, he will experience blessing, he will be a blessing. The land, seed and the blessing. The other major covenants of the Old Testament really elaborate parts of the Abrahamic Covenant. So, the Abrahamic Covenant is the basic foundational covenant. The Palestinian Covenant, set forth in Deuteronomy chapter 30, elaborates the promise of the land to Israel and solidifies it with its own covenant. The promise of a seed is elaborated in the Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel chapter 7, where it is promised that David and his descendants will sit on the throne over Israel forever. They will be a nation and a kingdom on the earth. So the Davidic covenant is an elaboration of the promise to Abraham of a seed. And then the promise of blessing is elaborated in the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31. where salvation is the focal point of that blessing. The salvation the Jews would experience and the salvation that would come to all nations. The end of verse 3 of Genesis 12. In you all the families of the earth will be blessed. Now, there are three categories in this covenant. Important to keep them clear. There are individual promises to Abraham. To Abraham as a person, there are promises given. For example, he will be the father of a great nation. There's only one Abraham. He will be the father of a great nation. He's the beginning point of the nation. That's a promise to Abraham individually. He will experience God's blessing. Verse 2, God says, I will bless you. So Abraham, you will be the one who will receive blessings. You will have a great name. At the end of verse 2, I will make your name great. That's true. We're studying about who today? Abraham. To the Jews, he is our father, Abraham. We honor and revere him as a godly man, selectively chosen for a unique position by God. He has a great name. He is Abraham, the father of the faithful, even as we come into the New Testament. And he will be a blessing. In you all the families of the earth will be blessed. And even as Gentile believers in the church today, we trace the blessing we have in salvation back to this promise to Abraham in the Abrahamic covenant. Realize through the descendant of Abraham, Jesus the Christ, who by his death brought salvation not only to Jews, but to Gentiles also. Then secondly, there are not only individual promises to Abraham, there are national promises to Israel. Israel will be a great nation. Verse 2, I will make you a great nation. They will be an innumerable people. God is going to multiply the nation Israel, so they will be a great nation. They will possess the land permanently. We'll see some of these. We're going to read the additional developments of the Abrahamic covenant in a moment. But to the nation Israel, they're going to be a great nation and innumerable people like the sand to the sea. We'll see in a moment. And they will possess the land of Palestine permanently. Thirdly, there are promises to Abraham individually, to the nation Israel as a nation, and then there are universal promises to all nations. The end of verse 3, in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. That's what we're experiencing as Gentiles today. We have been blessed with salvation. How so? Because the Abrahamic covenant focuses in the salvation that has been provided in the death of the Jewish Messiah. You see this? But when we partake of the communion service, the bread and the cup, what do we say? This is the new covenant in my blood. Our Bibles are divided into the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, or the Old Testament and the New Testament. The New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 being an elaboration of the blessing promise of the Abrahamic Covenant. This Abrahamic Covenant is reiterated several times in the following chapters to Abraham. Look in chapter 13, verse 14. Abraham and Lot separate. God says in verse 14 of chapter 13, Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are. He's addressing Abram. Northward, southward, eastward, westward, for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants as long as you're faithful." You know what he said? I will give it to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, your descendants can be numbered. Now, Abraham, get up and walk through the land and see what now belongs to you and your descendants. Chapter 15. You have to understand, at this point, Abram and Sarah still don't have any children. Sarah is barren, and Abram thinks, well, maybe the child of my trusted servant will be the one who realizes all the promises. Verse 3, Abram says to God of chapter 15, you've given me no offspring. The word of the Lord came to him saying, this man will not be your heir, but one shall come forth from your own body. He shall be your heir. He took him outside and said, now look toward the heavens and count the stars. If you're able to count them, he said, so shall your descendants be. Then he believed in the Lord and he reckoned to him as righteousness. That foundational verse, first time in the scripture that it is clearly directly stated. that righteousness is applied to an individual when they believe God. The verse becomes the pattern for salvation because of its direct state. It doesn't mean it's the first time anyone was saved, but it does establish the pattern of God's salvation by faith in the revelation he gives of himself. Now, the covenant will be cut. The Hebrew expression for making a covenant is literally to cut a covenant. What they did when they made a covenant is they took the animals and they split them in two, laid them one on each side and made a path in between. And the two parties to the covenant then walks between those animals. The point being, if either one of us break this covenant, then we should suffer the fate of these animals, be destroyed, cut to pieces. Well, Abram, the command of God, takes the animals, divides them in two, makes the path. Then verse 12 tells us, the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram. You ought to underline that or highlight it in your Bible. A deep sleep fell upon Abram. Verse 17, it came about when the sun had set that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch. The items that represent the presence of God. The smoking oven, the flaming torch, representing God's presence. It passed between these pieces. On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram. Do you know what happened here? Abram didn't walk between the animals. Only God passed through the animals. Abram's asleep. Very important point. The point being made is the fulfillment of this covenant depends on God alone, not upon Abram. It's what we call an unconditional covenant. It is not conditioned upon Abram or what he does. It is conditioned upon God and His faithfulness. That's so important. Will the promises to Abraham and his descendants be fulfilled literally? Well, no, because Abram's descendants weren't faithful. That's not part of the condition for fulfillment of the covenant. God has obligated Himself. to see that the promises of the Abrahamic covenant are fulfilled in the descendants of Abraham. And if they're not fulfilled, it does not reflect Israel's unfaithfulness, it reflects God's failure. Now, God could have had Abram pass through the animals here, but he chose not to. He has obligated himself. Between verses 12 and 17, God tells Abram that his descendants will go down into Egypt. And then they'll come out of Egypt, the great nation. Because remember, when the Jews, the descendants of Abram, Jacob and his family followed Joseph into Egypt, they are still the family of Jacob. But when they come out 400 years later, they are a mighty nation of perhaps 2 million people. So this event is very important for the forming of the nation. At the end of chapters 15, God reiterated his promise of the land to Abram and his descendants. In chapter 17, God changes Abram's name to Abraham, Abraham meaning the father of a multitude. He's going to have a multitude of descendants. Then verse 7 of chapter 17, I will establish my covenant between me and you, your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant. to be God to you and to your descendants after you. That reiterates again what he's going to do. And then he has a sign or mark of this covenant, circumcision. Verse 10, this is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and your descendants after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. The end of verse 11, it shall be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Now, circumcision was practiced among other peoples, we know from archaeological findings. But here, God takes circumcision and gives it special, unique significance to the Jews. It is a sign of their relationship to Abraham and the covenant promises given to Abraham. Then, once again in chapter 22, By now, Abraham has a son with Sarah. His name is Isaac. And in chapter 22, God says, now take Isaac up on the mountain, Mount Moriah, and execute him. Offer him as a sacrifice to Me. Amazing thing is, we don't have any record of an ongoing debate of Abraham trying to give God information. God, You know You've made promises. God, You know You obligated Yourself. God, You know this is the only son I have with Sarah. God tells Abraham, take this child up and offer him as a sacrifice. Abraham bundles up the wood, takes Isaac off, prepares to sacrifice him. What was going through his mind? The book of Hebrews chapter 11 tells us that Abraham believed that if necessary, God was able to raise Isaac from the dead. Now that's faith. It doesn't mean take a knife and slay this son. But all the promises of God center in this son. I guess God will have to raise him back to life. That's faith. Well, God intervenes, as you're aware, in chapter 22, so that Abram doesn't have to kill his son. But then, as a result, down in verse 15 of Genesis 22 and following, God reiterates his covenant promises. Verse 17, I will greatly bless you. I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, as the sand which is on the seashore. Your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. In the mind, we are realizing that promise today. I am a non-Jew, been blessed with eternal salvation in the line of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ. In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed my voice. Now, you know, because there are spiritual blessings to all nations associated with the Abrahamic covenant does not nullify or weaken or cancel the physical promises to Abraham and his descendants. They were given together. They are not exclusive. In addition to Abraham having a physical seed that will be a great nation, that will possess the physical land of Palestine, enjoying the salvation God has provided, there will also be spiritual blessings to many nations through the covenants promised to Abraham. The spiritual blessings through Abraham do not nullify the physical promises to the physical descendants of Abraham. You can't cancel parts of the covenant. They were given by God to Abraham and here while he tells them you will have great descendants, a great nation, they'll possess the land. Also, all nations will be blessed. Somehow we get to the New Testament. Some people forget about the Old Testament promises. Has God cast away his people whom he foreknew? Of course he has. That's not the response that Paul gives. He says, of course not. Impossible. We'll get there. Now, for Israel to realize these promises, they do have to come to believe in the God of Abraham. They do have to come to believe in the descendant of Abraham, Jesus the Messiah, who is the Savior. So Israel, because of their sin and rebellion, is going to be taken through various trials and difficulties. And we see those recorded in the Old Testament. The final climactic trial they will go through is what we call the Tribulation, the 70th week of Daniel. That will break the pride of the nation Israel and prepare the way for the coming of Christ. Look in Deuteronomy chapter 4. Verse 25, verse 23, gives a warning. Watch yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord, your God, which he made with you. You worship other gods for the Lord, your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. When you become the father of children and children's children have remained long in the land and act corruptly and make an idol in the form of anything and do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord, your God, so as to provoke him to anger. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today. You shall surely perish. quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it. You shall be utterly destroyed. The Lord will scatter you among the peoples. You shall be left few in number among the nations where the Lord shall drive you. There you will serve God for the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither hear, eat or smell. But from there you will seek the Lord your God. You will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress, And all these things have come upon you. In the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. For the Lord your God is a compassionate God. He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them." What is the covenant? The Abrahamic covenant, the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. given to Abraham, reiterated to Isaac, reiterated to Jacob. I won't forget that covenant. When you rebel against me and turn against me, I will destroy you. I'll scatter you throughout the world. I'll reduce you to a handful. But then, in your distress, verse 30, when all these things come upon you in the latter days, that's the 70th week of Daniel we've been talking about. You will call. You will return to the Lord your God. You'll listen to his voice. And I'm compassionate. And I won't forget the covenant. You see, the covenant is still in force. And when you, the Jewish nation, are scattered throughout the world and we're reduced to a handful, as they will, as we'll see when you get to the end of the 70th week of Daniel, God still hasn't forgotten his covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. that remnant of Israel will turn in faith to the Messiah and the promises of God will be realized. Turn over to Jeremiah chapter 30. And I have just selectively picked a few passages to make the point on the purpose of the tribulation in God's dealing with Israel. Chapter 30 of Jeremiah. The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, Jeremiah chapter 30, verse 2, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah. The Lord says, I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess it. Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus says the Lord, I have heard a sound of terror and of dread and there is no peace. Ask now and see if a male can give birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in childbirth? Why have all faces turned pale? There is a time of great suffering and pain and agony for men and women alike. It's like they were having a child. They're in great pain. Now, verse seven is key. You ought to have it marked. Alas, for that day is great. There is none like it. It is the time of Jacob's distress. That's the 70th week of Daniel. Sometimes referred to the 70th week of Daniel as the time of Jacob's distress. Jacob, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. And Jacob, as a result of wrestling with the Lord, had his name changed to Israel. So Jacob's distress is Israel's distress. Being one of the fathers, he's used here to refer to Israel. But he will be saved from it. It will come about on that day, declares the Lord, I will break his yoke from off their neck, will tear off their bonds, Strangers shall no longer make them their slaves, but they shall serve the Lord their God and David their King, whom I will raise up for them. And fear not, O Jacob, My servant. Do not be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from afar." Verse 11, "'I am with you,' declares the Lord to save you, "'for I will completely destroy all the nations where I have scattered you.'" That's where we are, at Armageddon. and the judgments that will immediately follow, the fulfillment of this. You see, you've got to come through. Verse 7, Alas, that day is great, none like at the time of Jacob's distress, but the end result of that is the salvation of Israel and the destruction of Israel's enemies. It's a serious situation. Verse 12 and following talk about Israel's wound is incurable. Yet, verse 17 says, I will restore you to health. I will heal you of your wounds, because they have called you an outcast, saying, It is Zion, no one cares for her. Thus says the Lord, I will restore the tents of Jacob, and so on. We flow into chapter 31, verse 27. Days are coming of blessing for Israel, for Judah. In verse 29 and 30. We are like the Israelites in that we like to blame our problems on someone else. The Jews said, our problems are a result of the sins of our parents. God says, I take that personally. I am offended by those kinds of excuses. You see why victimization is so popular today? It is an affront to a holy God. That sinful people blame their sin and its consequences on someone else. God says in verses 29 and 30, I'll put an end to those kind of excuses. And I'll judge everyone for their sin because everyone is personally accountable to me. Behold, verse 31, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, with the house of Judah. Not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. That's not the Abrahamic covenant. That's the Mosaic covenant. Abrahamic covenant was made with Abraham in chapter 12 of Genesis. When he brought Israel as a nation out of Egypt in Exodus 19, he established the Mosaic covenant, the law. That was a temporary covenant, a conditional covenant added until the Messiah would come to keep Israel on track. But it is not an integral part of the Abrahamic covenant as the Palestinian covenant, the Davidic covenant and the New Covenant are. Then they broke the covenant. God was their husband. We'll talk about this in our next study. Israel is the wife of Jehovah as part of our next study. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel. And after those days, declares the Lord, I will put my law within them on their heart. I will write it. I will be their God. They shall be my people. And they shall not teach again each man, his neighbor, each man, his brother saying, no, the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them. I will forgive their iniquity, their sin. I will remember no more. You think God could cast away his people? God says if the sun should stop shining, if the stars didn't exist, verse 36, if this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then the offspring of Israel shall cease from being a nation from before me forever. I will not cast off Israel. They belong to me. So the suffering, the trials of Israel are what? To prepare the way for Israel to be reunited with Jehovah in Firm covenant relationship. Turn over to Zechariah next to the last book of the Old Testament, chapter 13. Verse seven deals with the first coming of Christ, strike the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered. Refer to what happened in his first coming and look at verse eight. Now we move to the second coming. And it will come about in all the land, declares the Lord, that two parts in it will be cut off and perish, but the third part will be left in it. I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name. I will answer them and I will say they are my people and they will say the Lord is my God." We get to the end of the tribulation with all the devastation and the death and the suffering that's taken place. We have two-thirds of Israel suffer destruction. One-third will survive and turn to the Messiah. The suffering of Israel is what? To refine Israel. Verse 9, I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name. I will answer them and say they are my people. They will say the Lord is my God. You see where we're going. You need that time of testing and refining culminating with the return of Christ. We're coming back to talk about the return of Christ and Zechariah in a moment. Jump over to Matthew 24. In the New Testament, at the end of chapter 23, Jesus gave His lament over Jerusalem. Matthew 24, 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate. Note this statement, "'For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Not until Israel turns in faith to the Messiah will they see Him again. We'll see that in Zechariah in a moment. In chapter 24, as Jesus unfolds the coming tribulation, In the midst of the tribulation, great persecution breaks out in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel, verse 15 of chapter 24. Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. If you're on the rooftop, don't go back down to get a coat. But woe to those who are with child, verse 19, those who nurse children in those days. Pray your flight may not be in the winter and the Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall, unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved, but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short." Then we move on to be told what the coming of Christ is like. We considered that at the end of Revelation 19. In the middle of the 70th week of Daniel, intense persecution breaks out against Israel. This is the final refining process, the last three and a half years. of the 70th week of Daniel. The motivation for this, as we saw in Revelation chapter 12, we studied it, is there's war in heaven. Revelation chapter 12, verse 7, Michael and his angels do battle against Lucifer and his angels. And Satan, the dragon, is cast out of heaven. In Revelation chapter 12, we're told, verse 13, the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth. He persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. The woman in chapter 12 is Israel. Christ was born of the nation Israel. Now look at verse 14. Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, to Israel, in order that she might fly into the wilderness to her place. I'm going to pull this all together in a moment. But note, Israel has a place prepared for safety and hiding in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, times, and a half time from the presence of the serpent. So for three and a half years, she'll be preserved from the intention of Satan to destroy Israel as it hides in the wilderness. And God supernaturally preserves this remnant of Israel from satanic wrath during these three and a half years. We note in Revelation 12, 13, that this remnant of Israel in the middle of the tribulation, they don't go down off the rooftops. They flee into the desert regions, into the wilderness, where God has prepared a place to nourish her. Back to the book of Daniel, the eleventh chapter. Verse thirty-six begins a section that carries us to the tribulation period. Then the king will do as he pleases, will magnify himself above every god, will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. That's the taking of power of the Antichrist. We'll move down through this section. You come to verse 40 and there is a battle. Some equate the battle of Ezekiel 38 with Russia and her allies with the conflict of verse 40 of Daniel 11. Verse 41, "...and he also will enter the beautiful land." The he here is the willful king of Daniel 11.36. Not speaking about Christ, he's speaking about the Antichrist. Moving into Palestine, he'll enter the beautiful land. That's Palestine. Many countries will fall, but these will be rescued out of his hand. Edom, Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries. The land of Egypt will not escape. On a note, verse 41. In Revelation chapter 12, Israel, under the persecution of the devil and his antichrist, flees into the wilderness where God's prepared a place. Here we're told that God preserves Edom, Moab, and Ammon. That's the region we know now as the country of Jordan, south of the Dead Sea. That region there, that wilderness desert region, is going to be a haven where some way, supernaturally, God is going to provide a place of refuge for the Jews, a remnant of Israel, to hide and be kept safe. And it is a barren wilderness region with many caves and so on. That alone is not the explanation, because Revelation 12 indicates that God specially protects Israel there. And here we're told that the Antichrist is not able to overrun this region. Whatever God does, it prevents the Antichrist from pursuing his purpose of annihilating Israel by pursuing Israel into the wilderness region. Now, I think this ties to the return of Christ as He comes back to earth. Go back to Isaiah chapter 34. We're talking about events related to Armageddon in Isaiah chapter 34. Verse 1 says, draw near, O nations, listen, O peoples, let the earth and all it contains here. For the Lord's indignation is against all the nations, His wrath against all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out. Their corpses will give off their stench. The mountains will be drenched with their blood. All the host of heaven will wear away. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll." We saw that in reference at the end of Revelation chapter 6. Verse 5, my sword is satiated in heaven. It shall descend for judgment upon Edom, upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood. The end of verse 6, the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Now, obviously what we have described here, the events at the end of Revelation 19, Armageddon, But I think it's important to note, you know, we talk about the battle of Armageddon, the battle of the great day of God, the Almighty, and the word for battle there is the word literally for a campaign. So you read in prophetic books, you often read about the campaigns of Armageddon. Because Armageddon, in referring to particularly Megiddo and the Valley of Megiddo, Valley of Jezreel by the Mount of Megiddo, But it's not just one single battle, but it seems to be a series of battles that climax with the total overthrow of the enemies of God. And it seems that we pick up during the last three and a half years of the tribulation in the region of Edom, God has provided a place of refuge and the hiding for the remnant of Israel. As Christ returns, the destruction and the campaigns of Armageddon begin in the region of Edom. Because, if you remember in previous studies, what happens, like at the end of Revelation 16, spirits, demons, go out from the devil, from the false prophet, and from the beast, and gather all the nations of the earth together to do battle at Armageddon. Evidently, at the heart of this, is an intensity in Satan's intention to annihilate the nation Israel. And as the nations are gathered to do battle in the Middle East, they move out now to bring the destruction of the remnant of the Jews that God has preserved in the region of Edom. So that as Christ returns, the campaigns of Armageddon begin in this region. So verse 5 says, my sword is satiated in heaven, it shall descend for judgment upon Edom, upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. At the end of verse 6, the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozra, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Bozra was a city in Edom. And some prophetic writers equate it with the rock city of Petra, which was a refuge city, very difficult. to get to people who have barricaded themselves in the rock city of Petra. The slaughter is focused in Edom as Armageddon unfolds. Because what happens as Christ returns, the first phase of His campaign is to protect the remnant. Remember Matthew 24? If I didn't intervene, there wouldn't be anyone left alive. But for the sake of the elect, He intervenes. So as the campaign of Armageddon begins, it begins with Christ preserving and protecting the Jews hiding in the wilderness region of Edom. And the destructions of Armageddon start there and roll on into the very center at Megiddo and Jerusalem and the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Look over in Isaiah 63, verse 1. We've seen this passage a number of times in our study at the end of Revelation 19. as Christ descends to earth. Chapter 63, verse 1 of Isaiah, Who is this who comes from Edom with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, this one who is majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why is your apparel red, your garments, like one who treads the winepress? I have treaded the wine trough alone. And so on down through verse 6. You see where he comes from? The Messiah intervenes. He comes from Edom, from Bozrah, and his garments are already stained with blood. Why? The campaigns of Armageddon have begun, and the point of intervention is where the remnant of Israel is being preserved. In the wilderness of Edom, in the destruction of the nations that have moved out in attempt to annihilate this remnant. They are the first to be destroyed as He moves and marches to Jerusalem and to the climax of this conflict. Habakkuk chapter 3. It's about the fourth or fifth book. Fourth book from the end of the Old Testament. So, go to the end and move back. Habakkuk chapter 3, verse 1. A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet according to Shigionos. Lord, I have heard the report about Thee, and I fear. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years, make it known. In wrath, remember mercy." That's our context. In wrath, remember mercy. Now look at verse 3. God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Again, that's Edom. It's the land of Edom. The refuge region. So again, we find what? As God comes on behalf of Israel in the midst of His anger, shows mercy, God comes from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His splendor covers the heavens. The earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight. He is flashing. It reminds you, when I return, Christ said in Matthew 24, it will be like the lightning flashing from the east to the west. And that's exactly as he'll come as he comes and destroys the enemies beginning in Edom to preserve the remnant and moves. Now they see him coming to Jerusalem to bring the final destruction of his enemies and the deliverance of his people. Come back to Zechariah next to the last book of the Old Testament again. Chapter 12. We read this in our scripture reading, but let me just draw your attention to the opening verses of chapter 12 of Zechariah. The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel thus declares the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundations, forms the spirit of man. Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around. And when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will be also against Judah. It will come about in that day. I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the people. All who lift it will be severely injured and all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. See what happens? Jerusalem is going to be overrun. As we prepare for Armageddon, as the nations of the earth have gathered here, that's where it seems that the armies overrun Jerusalem and move out to try to destroy the remnant of Israel hiding in the wilderness region. Jump over to chapter 14. Behold, verse 1, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle. The city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, half the city exiled. The rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when He fights in a day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in the front of Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley. Verse 5, "...you will flee by the valley of the mountain." See what happens? In the initial battles of Armageddon, as the nations have assembled there, they overrun Jerusalem. And they're spreading out to try to wipe out the nation Israel. This is Satan's final, last attempt to annihilate the Jews and frustrate the plan of God in establishing a kingdom for Israel on the earth. As Christ returns, He begins by protecting the remnant in Edom. destroying the armies and he moves into Jerusalem, into the northern region and down into Jerusalem with the destruction that will take place. He plants his feet on the Mount of Olives across the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives is split and there is a way of escape provided for the believing remnant that is left in Jerusalem to escape the carnage as the final destruction. of the enemies of the Lord take place. Come down to verse 9, "...and the Lord will be king over all the earth. In that day the Lord will be the Holy One, His name the only One." And the description, and then verses 12 and following talk about the plague that will sweep over the armies of the world as their flesh rots on them as they are gathered there to battle. Back in chapter 12 of Zechariah, verse 4, and following described that battle as well. Then verse 10 of chapter 12 talked about Israel's turning to the Lord. We noted this in our scripture reading in verse 10 and following. Well, they'll look on him whom they have pierced. At the end of Matthew 23, we're told they won't see him again till they say, blessed who comes in the name of the Lord. Now they are mourning over their sin. They recognize they crucified the Messiah. They are guilty and they repent and mourn and blessed is he who mourns for he shall be comforted. The beginning point in salvation is always an overwhelming recognition of sin. The despair and the hopelessness of my sin causes me to mourn, to repent over my sin and turn in faith to the Savior God's provided. That happens to Israel here. And their conversion takes place in chapter 13, says, In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David, for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. So their cleansing takes place. Romans chapter 11, and we're done. So Paul asks the question in verse 1 of Romans 11, I say then, God has not rejected his people, has he? May it never be. The point of that expression may never be, is such a thought is totally inconceivable, impossible. That's not one of the options. For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. So any concept that there is no future for Israel is a direct Rejection of Scripture. There is always a remnant. In the days of Elijah, verses 3 and 4, God preserved 7,000 men who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Verse 5, In the same way, then, there has come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's election, or to God's gracious choice, as we have it translated literally, to the election of God. In other words, God has chosen among the Israelites some for salvation. If it's by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. There are some Jews being saved. That's a testimony to God's grace. Paul said, I am one of them. To this day, the bulk of this audience is Gentile. But there are, by God's grace, some Jews saved today. They become part of the Church, the Bride of Christ. But as Jews, They also form a remnant which is a reminder and an evidence of God's ongoing, continuing work of salvation, even with His people, that He has rejected for a time and removed from a place of favor. Verse 25, I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery. You have to understand this is something you only understand by revelation from God. It's a mystery. Lest you be wise in your own estimation that a partial hardening has happened to Israel. Not complete. There are Jews saved, like Paul. A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and thus all Israel will be saved. So it happened because of their sin. God has set Israel aside and he is focusing his salvation today upon Gentiles. This is the day of the fullness of Gentiles when Gentiles are given the abundant opportunity to believe in the Savior and be saved. But when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, that time is complete. God will again turn his attention to Israel in his fullness of his salvation and through the events of the 70th week of Daniel, and particularly the last three and a half years, Israel will be brought to its knees as we saw. And thus all Israel will be saved. And at that time, the Deliverer will come from Zion. He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. From the standpoint of the gospel, they are enemies for your sake." So are the Jews the people of God today? One sense yes and one sense no. They are the chosen nation, but they are the enemies of God, so that God in grace might offer salvation to you Gentiles. From the standpoint of God's election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. You go back to the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. From the standpoint of God's work of election, they are still destined to receive and experience God's love, for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. It's an affront to the character of God to say there is no future for Israel. It's an affront to the character of God to say that God has cast away his people. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. All the promises and provisions of the Abrahamic covenant must be fulfilled. I take great comfort in that. That means God's going to keep his word with me and with you, with the church. We're also reminded this is a day of Gentile salvation. What a tragedy that you would miss your opportunity. We read and say, what a tragedy that Israel has missed salvation. The multitudes of Jews have gone out into an eternal hell because they would not believe in the Messiah. The tragedy today is multitudes of Gentiles continue to reject the salvation that God offers. This is the day of the fullness of the Gentiles. The rapture of the church could occur today and the fullness of the Gentiles would be brought to completion. It's an opportunity you have today. Today is the day of salvation. Israel persisted in sinning against God's grace, has paid a terrible price. If you continue to sin against the grace of God and refuse to believe in the Messiah, you too will pay a terrible price. There is only one Savior. There is only one salvation. There is only one way of salvation. You must repent of your sins and believe in the Savior. who died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. When you do, you are washed clean by God's grace. You're purified. You become a child of God. What a salvation. Isn't it amazing that so many people continue to reject it and say no? What an evidence of how sinful we are. Let's pray together. Lord, we're reminded again of how gracious You are. You have not cast away Your people whom You foreknew. No, Israel has a future. They'll come to that glorious future through trial and tribulation and great suffering. But you are a God who is faithful. We praise you for your faithfulness. We praise you for the glorious destiny that the nation Israel has as a nation. Lord, we give you our thanks as Gentile people today that you have used the rebellion of Israel in your glorious plan to extend your grace to fallen Gentiles like most of us are. Lord, I pray for any who are here who have yet to avail themselves of your grace. May today be the day when they mourn over their sin and turn to the Savior in faith, in whose name we pray. Amen.