We've been studying the book of Revelation together. We've come through chapter 19, which records the return of Christ to earth at the event we call Armageddon. The opening verses of chapter 20 unfold the establishing of the millennial kingdom, the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, and some events associated with that. For example, the binding of Satan in the abyss. for a thousand years. The resurrection of the martyred saints from the seventieth week of Daniel. Then the final rebellion against the reign of Christ at the end of the millennium, climaxed by the great white throne judgment. That moves us into eternity. We're talking about some of the events that take place in this period of time just before the millennium or earthly kingdom actually begins. Scripture indicates that there is a period of time, 75 days to be precise, between the return of Christ to earth at Armageddon and the establishing of the millennial kingdom. Turn back to Daniel chapter 12. The context of chapter 12 is the tribulation and events associated with it. The chapter begins Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time. Jesus referred to this verse in Matthew 24, verse 15. There will be a great tribulation such as there has never been before. We are at the middle of the 70th week of Daniel. when the great tribulation breaks out. Then, at the end of verse 1, at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. And that refers to the return of Christ at Armageddon which provides deliverance for the elect of Israel. Referred to here as your people, Daniel's people, the Jews. Then he refers to resurrection. We'll talk about that in a moment. Come down to the end of the chapter. Verse 11, And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be twelve hundred and ninety days. How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains the thirteen hundred and thirty-five days! If you've been with us in our previous studies, you remember that the seven-year period climaxing with the return of Christ is divided into two equal periods, three and a half years each, 42 months, or 1,260 days. So, the last half of the tribulation is 1,260 days. But here we are told, from the middle of the tribulation, setting up of the abomination of desolation, to the point he's talking about will be 1,290 days. and then blessed is he who attains to the 1335 days. So we have a period of 30 days and a period of 45 days for a total of 75 days before the millennium begins, the kingdom. That's why verse 12 said, how blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1335 days. Because if you make it through that period, you will be going into the kingdom. Why the breakdown, 30 days and an additional 45 days to make the 75, there's no way of knowing. But we know that within this period of time, several things will be taking place, such as the judgment of the living nations that we've already talked about. The judgment of the living Jews. The resurrection of Old Testament saints that we're going to be talking about in a little bit, along with the resurrection of tribulation saints and the rewarding of those resurrected saints will take place in that period of time. The cleansing of the earth, the purifying of the temple and all those preparations for the coming millennium will be taking place in these days between the return of Christ and the establishing of the kingdom. So here, Daniel, and this is the only place we're given this indication, gives us a glimpse. It's not Christ will return to earth and two days later we will be in the kingdom. Christ will return to earth and then there is evidently a period of 75 days for the completing and dealing with all that has to be done before the kingdom is formally established. We're talking about some of the events. in that period of time. We talked about the judgment of the living Jews and the judgment of the living Gentiles, particularly as it's focused in Matthew chapter 25. I want to talk to you today about the subject of the resurrection of Old Testament saints and tribulation saints and the marriage of Jehovah to Israel again. And it will be a remarriage. As we'll see, it was a marriage that had taken place that was broken by Israel's unfaithfulness and a bill of divorcement. But Israel will be joined to Jehovah again in marriage. I want to first talk about resurrection. Just a reminder of what the Bible says about physical death and life after death. James chapter 2 and verse 26 says, The body without the Spirit is dead. And Scripture indicates that what happens when a person dies physically is they as a person leave their physical body. This has nothing to do with all the foolishness about life after death experiences. And I understand one of the programs this week interviewed a supposed person. who had left their body. And it's a good way to get rich. Somebody has a dream, writes a book, and gets rich. I may put some of my dreams in books. But what we are talking about is a reality from Scripture that when you die physically, you as a person will leave your body. You will not cease to exist. You will be living apart from your body. And you won't be coming back to this body for some time. Now, when you leave your body, you either go to a place of blessing and joy, heaven for the believer, or you go to a place of suffering and torment called Hades for the unbeliever. We'll have more to say about Hades and the unbeliever when we get to the end of Revelation chapter 20. Luke chapter 16. Matthew, Mark, Luke. The 16th chapter. Here Jesus gives an account of two men who die. One is a rich man, one is a poor man. And this is not to say all the poor are going to heaven and all the rich are going to Hades. It's simply to indicate that if you are rich in this life and you die without God's salvation, you have nothing. And if you're poor in this life and you die redeemed by God's grace, you have everything. Verse 19, now there was a certain rich man dressed accordingly and there's a certain poor man. In verse 20, the poor man's name is Lazarus. Verse 22, it came about the poor man died. He was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried and in Hades. He lifted up his eyes being in torment. He cries out for Abraham to send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue. The end of verse 24, for I am in agony in this flame. I see the point. Two men experience physical death immediately following death. One is in the presence of blessing and peace. The other is in the presence of indescribable torment. So awful is the torment that just a wet finger touching his tongue would seem like a world of relief. The point made. by Father Abraham is, no one crosses the divide. No one crosses the divide. He says, no one comes from here to there and no one goes from there to here. Point, without going into any more details, just thus far is clear. At death, your eternal destiny is set. Any doctrine of a second chance is totally contrary to what God has revealed. When you die, you will either be immediately in a place of blessing or immediately in a place of torment. And that is a fixed eternal destiny. There will be coming final judgment that will just settle the destiny. Passages for the believer, like 2 Corinthians 5, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So Paul said, I would greatly prefer to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. For the believer, death is a blessing. That does not mean the experience of dying is pleasant. But actual death itself is simply a believer leaving this body in this life and immediately going into the presence of God's glory. All human beings who have died, Believers and unbelievers alike, those who have been given God's salvation by faith in Christ, and those who have not believed in Jesus Christ and are lost. They are all alive and conscious and aware. The rich man in Hades of Luke 16. Some almost 2,000 years have passed. He has not had one second of relief from the torment of the fires of Hades in all of that time. and he is destined to that suffering for eternity. Now, that is reality. Now, for the believer, he is in the presence of God in glory. Lazarus enjoys the glory of God's presence, has for the last 2,000 years, and will for the millions and billions and trillions of years of eternity. Now, the Scripture indicates that there is going to come a time when these physical bodies will experience a resurrection from the dead. And on that occasion, the person who has left that body will move back into the body. For the believer, that's called the glorification of the body. For the unbeliever, he is resurrected so that he might experience final condemnation to an eternal hell. That's at the end of Revelation chapter 20. I want to talk about the matter of resurrection. When we were in Daniel chapter 12 a few moments ago, in Daniel chapter 12 and verse 2, verse 1 said there'd be a time of great tribulation followed by the return of Christ to bring deliverance to his people. Then in verse 2 of Daniel 12, And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake." So you see, a bodily resurrection. Now that's not teaching soul sleep. That's teaching that there are physical bodies that are going to come back to life. These to everlasting life, the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. So you note here, resurrection is not only for believers, but for unbelievers. Not only for those who are going to experience the joy of God's blessing, but also for those who are going to experience the fullness of God's wrath. Some are raised to everlasting life, but others are raised to everlasting contempt. Now, you'll note here, there is no indication of a time gap between these two resurrections, a resurrection to life, a resurrection to contempt. as is true in much of Old Testament prophecy. Events are put right together that we later realize are separated by a great period of time, like the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ. Here, we have two groups to be resurrected. It takes other Scriptures that unfold further breakdown in this distinction. Look back in the book of Isaiah, about the middle of the Old Testament, Isaiah chapter 26. We're in a section called Isaiah's Apocalypse. Isaiah's Apocalypse covers chapters 24 to 27. They cover much of the material of the tribulation period. In Isaiah chapter 26, look at verse 19. Your dead will live. Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust awake and shout for joy. For your due is as the due of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits." A prophecy of resurrection for Israel. Your dead will live. Their corpses will rise. The ones who lie in the dust will shout. The earth will give birth to the departed spirits. Now, for now, for Israel, come, my people, enter into your rooms, close your doors behind you, hide for a little while until the indignation runs its course. For behold, the Lord is about to come out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and so on. In that context, there's coming a resurrection, but it has to wait until judgment takes place. We've seen that judgment through Revelation 19. Now we're ready for resurrection. The two groups in resurrection, the resurrection to life, the resurrection to judgment. Turn over to Revelation chapter 20, verse 4. We'll be covering this in its context when we move into chapter 20, but we'll do the details of this resurrection now. I saw thrones and they sat upon them. Judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God and those who had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand. and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Now, the first part of verse 5 is a parenthesis, a parenthetical explanation. You could put a little parenthesis mark around it. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. That's a parenthetical explanation. The flow goes from the end of verse 4, they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The end of verse 5, this is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power. But they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. A particular group in view in verse 4 is those who have been martyred in the 70th week of Daniel, the period of time from chapter 6 of Revelation to chapter 19 of Revelation. Those who had been beheaded or martyred in the Tribulation, who had not received the mark of the beast. John doesn't elaborate beyond that for resurrection. His purpose is to focus on the Tribulation as he moves through chapters 6 to 19. and then events associated and flowing out of that tribulation. Particularly, what about believers who have died in that period of time? They get resurrected now. To find out more about others that might be resurrected at this time or other times, you have to go to other places in the Scripture. Old Testament saints aren't mentioned here. The church isn't mentioned here. All that's mentioned in verse 4 are tribulation saints. But he says this is the first resurrection, the end of verse 5, And the one in verse 6 who has part in the first resurrection, over these the second death has no power. That's important. It means when you're part of the first resurrection, you are a saved person. Because we're going to see at the end of chapter 20, all of those who experience the second death are cast into the lake of fire, into hell. But to be part of the first resurrection means that you have been redeemed by God's grace. You are not going to hell. That includes the martyrs of the 70th week of Daniel. But the first resurrection is not limited to that group. Come back to 1 Corinthians 15. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul is talking about resurrection and the importance of the resurrection. Already, the apostle Paul has not died yet, but there was false teaching already beginning to infiltrate the church at Corinth. along the lines of the fact that there will not be a literal bodily resurrection. Paul says such teaching is foolishness. If there is no bodily resurrection, Christ was not raised. If Christ was not bodily raised from the dead, then there is no salvation by believing in Christ. In spite of modern day theologians, neo-orthodox theologians, who teaches that the bodily resurrection is not important. What is important is resurrection experience. Well, Paul didn't believe that. He said if the bodily resurrection of Christ is not true, then there is no salvation in Christ. Verse 13, if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith is vain. Do you see that? There is no value in believing in Christ if he was not bodily raised from the dead. He says in verse 16, if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins. And that means those who have perished, those who have died, believing in Christ, have perished. They had no salvation. They're doomed. For you see, our salvation depends upon the fact that Jesus Christ was the Son of God who became a man, who died on the cross to pay the penalty for sins, who was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead victorious over sins. And if He was not raised bodily from the dead, He did not pay in full the penalty for sin, and there is no purpose in believing in Him. Paul had no place for making yourself feel good by believing something that's not true. But now, verse 20, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who are asleep. Verse 23, But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, after that those who are Christ's that is coming. Then comes the end, when he delivers up the kingdom to God and Father, has abolished all rule and authority and so on. Now this chart is based on 1 Corinthians 15, 23 and 24. And you see at the top of the chart, in dark letters, Christ the firstfruits. After that, those who are Christ's at His coming. Then comes the end. And we're told in verse 23, Christ the firstfruits. That refers to His resurrection recorded in each of the Gospels. And I've given you the chapter in the Gospels there that records the resurrection of Christ. After that, there is an order in the resurrections. Those who are Christ's at His coming. that the second coming of Christ has two phases. He is coming in the air for the church and He is coming to earth to establish His kingdom. And I've broken those down for you. One precedes the 70th week of Daniel. One comes at the conclusion of the 70th week of Daniel. I've given you the passages there for the resurrection of the church that occurs at the rapture. And you're in 1 Corinthians 15. If you go over to verse 50, now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. Then that the perishable would have pulled on the imperishable, the mortal will put on the immortal. For the church, believers in the church today, we cannot go into the kingdom in physical bodies. We saw in our study of the judgment of the living at the end of the tribulation, some Gentiles and some Jews will go into the kingdom in their physical bodies. But the church cannot go into the kingdom in its physical body. It will experience transformation, what we call the rapture. It's a Latin word. The word rapture does not appear in the Bible, but the concept does. Those who will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, 1 Thessalonians 4 is the parallel passage. 1 Corinthians 15 focuses on those who are alive at the resurrection of the church. 1 Thessalonians 4 focuses on the dead at the resurrection of the church. I tell you, Paul says, I don't want you to grieve as those who have no hope. For if we believe that Christ died and rose again, even so Christ will bring with Him those who have died. The dead in Christ shall rise first. So 1 Thessalonians 4 is a parallel passage. On that occasion, all those who were believers in Christ from Acts chapter 2 down until the rapture of the church will have their bodies caught up from the grave. And those who have left their bodies and have been in the presence of God in glory will move back into those bodies. Those bodies will be changed in a moment. The Greek word for Adam, the smallest particle of time. this transformation will occur. Now, some people say, well, how could that be? And what kind of body will it be? Well, Paul had no patience with questions that tended to attack the integrity of Scripture. So back in verse 35, he says, someone will say, how are the dead raised? I mean, it seems foolish, doesn't it? A person whose body's been in the grave. The worms have eaten it. It's gone back to dust. It's no longer in existence. How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come? You fool! That's pretty blunt. That's a stupid question. It ought not to be asked. All you've got to do is look at a seed. That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. That which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps wheat, something else. But God gives it a body. All flesh is not the same. And so when he goes on to say, it's just like the seed. It's that same seed that blossoms into a great beautiful flower. It's the same, but it's different. There's a glory that that seed did not have until it died and came back to life. So it is with this physical body. It'll be this body, but the glory that this body will have in its resurrection goes beyond what you and I comprehend and grasp. You see, something of that overwhelming glory in the resurrection body of Christ as the book of Revelation opens up, the splendor and glory of it that God has provided for it. That will happen for the church at that occasion. Then we come down to the second coming of Christ to earth, seven years later, and you have Old Testament saints resurrected. Now, they're not mentioned in Revelation chapter 20 because all John does is pick up with believers from the tribulation. But Daniel 12 has told us about the resurrection of Old Testament saints at the end of the Tribulation. Isaiah 26 and 19 told us about the resurrection of Israel in preparation for the Kingdom. Now Revelation 20 also tells us about the resurrection of Tribulation saints. They will be raised on that occasion to rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. The first resurrection really includes Christ, because He's the firstfruits. And the firstfruits were the first of the order of that harvest. So the bodily resurrection of Christ, Paul says, is inseparably tied to the bodily resurrection of every believer. And the bodily resurrection of every believer is inseparably tied to Christ. So they are all part of that first resurrection. And so the first resurrection obviously includes at least two groups, Christ and the tribulation saints. But then, as we've seen, it also includes the church. It also includes Old Testament saints. So in Revelation 20, when we talk about the first resurrection, we're talking about a quality of resurrection. The first resurrection includes all of those who will not experience the second death. That would include Christ as the first fruits. It includes the church at the rapture. It includes Old Testament saints and tribulation saints in connection with the second coming to earth. That completes the first resurrection. those over which the second death has no power. So even though there are different points of time for resurrection within the first resurrection, the first resurrection as a group includes all those who will not experience the second death. Then you'll have unbelievers, Revelation 25, who are raised a thousand years later. Some commentators said, well, you can't talk about this as the first resurrection because John never uses the expression second resurrection. But in the first part of verse 5, he talks about, in contrast to the first resurrection, there are those who will be raised a thousand years later. So the context, he talks about a resurrection that is apart from the first resurrection. And then he'll talk about that resurrection more fully, beginning in verse 11 of chapter 20. He'll talk about the second resurrection or the resurrection of unbelievers in connection with that portion. That is the order. Now we have, then at this point in time, after the return of Christ to earth and before the millennium is established, within that 75-day period that we talked about at the end of Daniel 12, the resurrection of Old Testament saints. David will be resurrected. Abraham will be resurrected. And on you go with all the Old Testament saints, along with the Tribulation saints. At this time, we will also have Israel now, resurrected Israel and living Israel that has believed during the tribulation joined to Jehovah as his wife again. Old Testament, I'm going to summarize some of these portions for you, indicates that back in Genesis 12, remember, with the Abrahamic covenant, God called the descendants of Abraham to himself. Now, they were just an individual family until they went down into Egypt at the end of Genesis. And then 400 years later, as Exodus opens up, they come out of Egypt, not as a family, but as a nation. God made them a nation in Egypt. Then in Exodus 19, He entered into covenant relationship with Israel through the Mosaic covenant. And that really is a marriage covenant between Jehovah and the nation Israel. The book of Deuteronomy, which is the second law, the repeating of the Mosaic covenant, is really a marriage covenant between God and Israel. Now, with that as a background, we'll pick up in Ezekiel chapter 16. Ezekiel chapter 16. The first seven verses of chapter 16, if I just summarize them, talks about the time when God picked up Israel when they were just a child. Then you come to verse 8. Then I passed by you and saw you, and behold, you were at the time for love. It means now Israel had matured to be ready for marriage. That's the time when they were a nation that came out of Egypt. So I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. And as was true in the book of Ruth, between Ruth and Boaz, the spreading of the garment over the woman indicated that she was going to be taken as wife. I also swore to you and entered into a covenant with you so that you became mine, declares the Lord. That's referring to the Mosaic Covenant. On that occasion, God entered into covenant relationship with Israel. Israel has a nation now. is formally joined to God as His wife. And He gives her all associated with the wife. The ornaments, verse 11 and so on, bracelets, necklaces, ring and so on. Now, remember God told Israel in Deuteronomy, when you get into the land and you prosper, don't forget the Lord your God who gave you the ability to make money. We see this same tragedy being carried out again and again in the church today. People profess to know and love Christ. Through their difficulty, through their trial, they look to Him. They prosper and somehow there's no room for their God in their life any longer. That's what happened to Israel. Then they turned to other things. They're lured away by other gods and so on. Verse 15, But you trusted in your beauty, you played the harlot. And it goes on to talk about the harlotry of Israel. Israel became involved with other gods. An unfaithful wife. is the picture, and that picture is drawn out rather graphically by the prophets, by the prophet Ezekiel through chapter 16, verse 35. Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord. There's judgment coming for your harlotry, for your adultery. In verse 38, you're going to be punished. You're going to experience wrath. And you've gone through. So go to verse 60. Nevertheless, I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Oh, we have a new covenant. And this is the new covenant we'll see in Jeremiah in a moment. I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed. Verse 62, Thus I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, and He'll have forgiven them, and so on, as the chapter concludes. See the order. God picked up Israel as a child, a nobody. Then when Israel matured, became a nation, He entered into covenant relationship with Israel as His wife. But Israel was unfaithful. So Israel is put away. Jeremiah says, given a bill of divorcement. But there comes a day when God will reestablish his relationship with Israel. That's at the second coming of Christ. After the nation has been purified, the Old Testament saints have been resurrected. Then the new covenant will be implemented. And Israel will be joined to Jehovah again as his wife. Jeremiah, chapter three, just before the book of Ezekiel's, the book of Jeremiah, chapter three, verse one. If a husband divorces his wife and she goes from him and belongs to another man, will he return to her? Will not the land be completely polluted? But you are a harlot with many lovers. The analogy is between a man and his wife, between God and his wife, Israel. Verse two, lift up your eyes to the bare heights. Where have you not been violated? All the high places. Israel is worshiped in every false worship place they could find. Being unfaithful, dawned down. through the description of the unfaithfulness. Then, God cries out, because you see what happens. Jeremiah writes, 150 years earlier, round it off, the northern kingdom was carried into captivity, 722 B.C. Now, Israel will be carried into captivity finally by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Jeremiah is writing in the context of the Babylonian captivity. His point is, the southern kingdom learned nothing. from the lesson of the Northern Kingdom. God gave the Northern Kingdom a bill of divorce, but ended their relationship, sent them into captivity. The Southern Kingdom learned nothing. It continued its harlotry. Verse 8, I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away, given her a writ of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Israel did not fear. She went with the harlot also. Didn't learn the lesson, but you note there the bill of divorce given to the Northern Kingdom. Now, God views the carrying away into captivity as a bill of divorcement. And the Southern Kingdom will experience that when the Babylonians carry them away. In effect, they will never function as the nation that they were before those captivities until the coming of Christ and through that section. Hosea, after the book of Daniel, the book of Hosea, chapter two. Hosea's life is a picture of Israel and her relationship with God. Hosea marries a woman. She becomes unfaithful to him, becomes a harlot. Hosea is instructed to go and take her back to himself as his wife. That picture is what God does with Israel. He married Israel. Israel is unfaithful. But God will bring Israel back to Himself. Hosea 2, for example, verse 2, contend with your mother, contend. And really, it's addressed to individual Israelites who contend with Israel as a nation. For she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her put away her harlotry from her face, her adultery between her breasts, lest I strip her naked, and so on. And it goes on to talk about the harlotry that Israel has been guilty of. And the problem was, verse 8, she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, the oil, lavished on her the silver and gold which they used for bail. What a tragedy! God blessed and prospered Israel. And Israel got caught up with the blessing and prosperity and used it to pursue false gods. The tragedy in our affluence, I fear that often that characterizes us in the church today. that our affluence has not freed us for greater service to the living God, but to pursue the pursuits of the world, multiply our unfaithfulness. So, I will uncover her lewdness, and verse 10, bring judgment. But, verse 14, therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness, speak kindness to her. Verse 16, it will come about in that day. declares the Lord, that you will call me Ishii, no longer call me Ba'ali. Now, Ishii and Ba'ali were two words for husband, used interchangeably for husband. But God is going to even remove the name of the Ba'al, the Baals, from Israel's lips. So that won't even be a name you use to call me husband because it's associated with the worship of Baal. But you'll call me Ishi, my husband. You see, there'll come a day when I am going to be your husband again. And your old lovers will be gone. So, verse 19, And I will betroth you to Me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, in justice, in lovingkindness, in compassion, in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord. And then you'll have the millennial blessings. Verses 21 and following. The earth, verse 22, will respond to the grain, the new wine, the oil, and you'll be called My people and I'll be called your God. So then he tells Hosea, go love a woman loved of her lovers. Back up to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 31. You see, the message in these prophets, whether it's Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, all the same thing. God called Israel to himself. He entered into a marriage relationship with Israel. Israel was a harlot and an unfaithful wife, divorced. But someday God will bring Israel back again. They have to have that complete picture because there are many people, many commentators you read, think the process goes, God called Israel to himself, entered into marriage relationship with Israel. Israel was unfaithful. God divorced Israel. That's the end of Israel. Wrong. Jeremiah 31. Verse 27, Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel, the house of Judah with the seed of man, the seed of beast. Point is, they're going to prosper. There's going to be abundance of people and animals. It will come about that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy, to bring disaster. So I will watch over them to build the plant, declares the Lord. Verse 31, Behold, 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 which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. You see, that's the comparison of the new covenant and the old covenant. The covenant I made with them when I brought them out of Egypt, the Mosaic covenant. My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them. That was our marriage contract. They broke it. But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I'll put my law within them. On their heart I will write it. I will be their God. They shall be my people. They shall not teach each... Again, each man his neighbor, each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least to the greatest. For I will forgive their iniquity, their sin I will remember no more." If you doubt this, God goes on to say, remember, there is no possibility that I would abandon Israel. Divorced for now? Yes. Separated by their idolatry, yes. But someday I will bring them back to myself in a permanent relationship. A lot like the covenant they broke, this new covenant will be an eternal covenant. Fixed forever my relationship with them. Note verse 36, the end of the verse. Then the offspring of Israel also shall cease from being a nation from before me forever. Showing the impossibility out of it. These fixed orders stop. Then you'll know Israel won't be a nation before me forever. That's the point. The pattern is continual. God's relationship with Israel. Two other passages as we close. Isaiah 54. Call for rejoicing for the nation Israel. As the chapter opens up. Verses 4 and following in chapter 54. Fear not, for you will not be put to shame, neither feel humiliated. For you will not be disgraced, but you will forget the shame of your youth, the reproach of your widowhood. You will remember no more. See, Israel is viewed as a wife without a husband. Why? Because she was divorced from him for a while. Romans 11 uses the picture. Israel have been removed from the place of favor while the Gentiles have been grafted in. Your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth. For the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even like the wife of one's youth when she is rejected, says your God. For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In an outburst of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, You see, the contract, the separation is limited, short in duration compared to what the arrangement will be. But with everlasting loving kindness, I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. The pattern is the same. The relationship with his wife, the divorce and separation, widowhood for Israel, but the restoration, which will be permanent. And then Isaiah 62, the restoration of Israel and the rejoicing again that goes with it. Verse two, the nations will see your righteousness, all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will designate. You will be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you forsaken. nor to your land desolate. But you will be called, My delight is in her, and your land married." Married to the land is married to the people of the land. The people of the land, the people of Palestine, the Jews, are called married. For the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you." Isn't that a beautiful picture? See what has happened. God called Israel, entered into marriage relationship with Israel. Israel was a harlot, unfaithful. God gave her a bill of divorcement, separated from Israel. God is now dealing with the nations of the world, the Gentiles. He is creating a bride for His Son, Jesus Christ. The church is the bride of Christ. As Romans 11 develops it, Israel has been removed from the place of favor and blessing, and the Gentiles have been placed into that position of favor and blessing as God forms a bride for His Son. At the rapture of the church, the first stage of the Second Coming, The Bride of Christ is gathered to Him for the marriage of the Lamb, as we saw in Revelation 19. Then God completes His program of discipline for the nation Israel, when they will repent over their sin. They will mourn. And as the 70th week of Daniel draws to a close, the nation is brought to its knees. Then Christ returns to deliver the nation Israel. Then we have the judgment of the living peoples on the earth. Then we have the resurrection of Old Testament saints, the resurrection of Tribulation saints. Then we will have Jehovah enter into new covenant relationship with the nation as a nation. And they are restored as the bride or wife of Jehovah. So we have two peoples of God developed. We have the nation Israel as the wife of Jehovah, and we have the church as the bride of Christ. So people constantly want to blend and blur the two, but the Scripture is clear. And you have to say, as we've read the promises of the Old Testament prophets, that the promises of Scripture become meaningless. If there is no future for a little Israel, God promises, what? In Jeremiah 31, that the same group of people, Israel, that He made a covenant with when they came out of Egypt, the covenant which they broke, those same people, that same nation, He'll enter into new covenant with before He establishes His kingdom. Now to say, oh yes, the first covenant was made with a nation, but they were unfaithful, so now it's a new covenant with spiritual Israel, Gentiles, if you're going to interpret Scripture that way, there is no anchor to keep you on track. Pretty soon you've moved from a literal physical resurrection to a spiritual resurrection. And pretty soon you've moved from a literal hell to a spiritual hell, and from a literal heaven to a spiritual heaven, because how do you put an anchor down? The anchor is you interpret the Scripture literally. When God promises to that same nation that was so unfaithful a restored relationship, that's what He means. That's how great His grace really is. Our problem is we can't imagine such a great grace that would pick up depraved, fallen Israel who has rejected the Messiah, who has rejected their God, and restore them once again. We just can't imagine it. Our concept of God's grace is too small. And you know, we balance that with a limited view of our own sin. And so we end up with a small view of God's grace and a small view of our sin. And everything gets confused. There is a glorious future for Israel. There is a glorious future for the church. And in many ways, those futures come together when we talk about a coming kingdom and the new Jerusalem. And yet they are distinct, even as the Father is distinct from the Son. The church is distinct from Israel. And Israel is married to God the Father, Jehovah, and the church is the bride of Christ, the Son of God. And God's purposes and plans will be accomplished and carried out. There is a future, a glorious future for the people of God. There is a future for all people. There is a future of torment and suffering of condemnation and judgment for those who don't believe. The grace of God is overwhelmingly great. Don't minimize it. But don't presume upon the grace of God either. There'll come a day when the grace of God will cease to be offered to you in salvation. What a tragedy that you should send away the grace of God. God offers to you in grace now forgiveness of sins. He offers to cleanse you and make you new. If you'll bow before Him, acknowledging your sinfulness, believing that His Son died on the cross, was raised from the dead. That's what His grace offers you in love. There will come a day when that grace will no longer be offered. As we saw in Revelation 14, then those who have rejected grace will experience the wrath of God mixed in full strength No grace, no mercy added in what is called the cup of His anger. That will be further dealt with at the end of chapter 20. What a tragedy you should miss so great salvation by not believing in such a wonderful Savior. Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness. Lord, we realize that Israel has been unfaithful. They are experiencing the discipline and judgment that their own unfaithfulness has brought upon them. Lord, we're in awe of Your patience and Your grace that You would put up with it all. That someday You will turn up the heat and Your wrath will intensify. And by Your grace, in Your time, Israel will be brought to its knees. Someday they will be restored as your wife. Lord, we as members of the church sit in awe as that plan is unfolded in Scripture and as it unfolds before our eyes. We are reminded, as those who have believed in Christ today, we are members of the church, the bride of Christ. When Christ returns in glory, we'll return with Him. And we shall be there to witness the wonder of the restoration of Israel the joining of Israel in covenant relationship again to you as their husband. Lord, we realize that there will be someday a resurrection of the just and the unjust. Lord, I pray that your presentation of future events might impact our hearts and lives. That we as your children might be driven and motivated to faithfulness that all the blessings and all the abundant provisions that have been showered upon us might not become obstacles and hindrances to faithfulness and purity in our commitment to You. Lord, I pray for those who do not know You. By Your grace, You have extended another day of opportunity for them. Lord, I pray that the Spirit might convict us in righteousness and judgment They might fall before you in faith, believing in the Savior who has provided redemption. We pray in His name, Amen.