Sunday
Morning Bible Study
January
6, 2019
Introduction
Quick announcement – somebody left a gift car at church a few weeks
ago. If you know what I’m talking about,
and you can tell me what kind of gift card it is, we’d love to get it back to
you.
Every year we take a Sunday to talk about the future.
I believe it’s a healthy thing for a church to pay attention to the times
we live in.
I believe it’s a healthy thing for each believer to live their lives as if
Jesus could come back tomorrow. Because
He can.
I am not making any predictions, we are not setting any dates, we are just
going to take a few minutes to look at a few headlines in the news and see how
they fit into God’s prophetic timeline.
We’re going to look at three areas in the world:
1. Europe
In the days leading up to the return of Jesus Christ, a world leader will
emerge on the stage.
He will be hailed as a man of peace.
He will rule over an empire that overlays the old Roman Empire, a kind of shaky
union of 10 nations.
He will be hailed as a Messiah, yet in reality he
will be the antichrist.
He will eventually provoke another Jewish holocaust and invade Israel.
(Daniel 7:25 NKJV) He shall speak pompous words against the Most
High, Shall
persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change times and law. Then the
saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.
So from time to time we like to take a peek at
what’s happening in Europe, and especially the European Union.
In 2016, England voted to withdraw from the European Union. The withdrawal has been dubbed “Brexit”. I’m curious what consequences will be for
Europe. It makes for exciting times as Brexit concludes on March 29, 2019.
Europe has also been shaken by the flood of Syrian refugees that have
spread themselves out across Europe.
Last month there were riots across France because of the increase in the
gas tax, which was quickly repealed.
Perhaps the time is ripe for a strong charismatic leader to step into the
spotlight.
In November last year, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the
creation of a “Real European army”. A
few days later Germany’s Angela Merkel seconded the idea.
Macron said that Europe can no longer depend on the U.S. to defend them
from Russia.
That sounds like Europe becoming even more of a single nation.
I’m not saying that either of these leaders is the antichrist. It just makes for interesting times.
2. Temple progress
The Bible says the antichrist will make a treaty with Israel for seven
years, and in the middle of the that seven year period
(3 ½ years), a period also known at the “Tribulation”,
he will stop the sacrifices in the Temple.
(Daniel 9:27 NKJV) Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the
middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the
wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the
consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
We believe that at this time the antichrist will actually
claim to be “god” and demand to be worshipped.
(2
Thessalonians 2:4 NKJV) who opposes and exalts himself above
all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the
temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
This event is known in Scripture as the “abomination of desolation”.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 24:15–16
NKJV) —15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads,
let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains.
All of this requires that before the mid-point of the Tribulation, that a
Temple will need to be built, and sacrifices will be reinstituted.
Neither have been around for two thousand years.
These are not things any Israeli leader can promote without risking World
War III.
The Arab nations surrounding Israel would immediately attack.
It will take a pretty savvy politician to pull off the building of a third
Jewish Temple.
There is a fairly radical group of Jews in Israel
known as the Temple Institute who have been preparing for the third Jewish
Temple.
They have made all the implements for Levitical worship in the Temple.
They’ve made garments for the priests.
They’ve trained the priests.
On December 11 they crossed a new threshold.
They unveiled an altar.
For now, it’s not allowed to be anywhere near the Temple Mount, or even
within the old city walls.
They are not allowed to slaughter animals at this altar.
But they were allowed to bring animals already
slaughtered and put them on the altar.
You don’t need a Temple to start performing sacrifices. Ezra performed sacrifices before the second
Temple was rebuilt.
3. Gog and Magog
In AD 70, the Roman army under Titus conquered the city of Jerusalem and
destroyed the Temple.
In AD 73, the last remaining Jews holding out on top of Masada chose to
commit mass suicide rather than become slaves. This was the official death of
the Jewish nation.
The prophet Ezekiel foresaw a day when the nation of Israel would be
reborn.
In Ezekiel 36-37 you see the description of the physical restoration of the
nation.
Ezekiel 37 in particular can even remind you of
the holocaust the Jews endured during WWII.
Ezekiel sees a valley filled with “dry bones”.
Ezekiel is told by God to speak to the bones …
(Ezekiel
37:7 NKJV) So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I
prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came
together, bone to bone.
The bones become covered by flesh, and they became alive.
God said,
(Ezekiel
37:14 NKJV) I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live,
and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and
performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”
A few years back, the archaeologists working on Masada were digging in the synagogue,
when they uncovered a scroll that had been left opened and was buried in the
synagogue, apparently right before the final Jewish death.
It wasn’t rolled up like scrolls normally are. It was opened to Ezekiel 37:1-14.
Almost like a prophetic thing itself saying that one day the Jews would be
back in their land.
The modern nation of Israel would be born in 1948, a true miracle from God.
No other nation in history has been conquered, scattered, and then come
back to life like this.
While Ezekiel 36-37 speak of the physical birth of the nation, Ezekiel
38-39 speak of a time that would lead to the spiritual birth of the nation.
In fact the chapters end with this:
(Ezekiel
39:29 NKJV) And I will not hide My face from them anymore;
for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”
It is my opinion that this coincides with what we call the “fullness of the
Gentiles”, when God will no longer be primarily working through the Gentile
church on earth, but will once again focus on working
through the nation of Israel. (Rom. 11:25-26)
(Romans 11:25–26
NKJV) —25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part
has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer
will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
I think this could be close in proximity to the Rapture of the Church, when
the restraining work of the Holy Spirit through the church is removed from the
earth and we will be with Jesus.
Before this spiritual rebirth for Israel occurs, there will be a war.
This is not the war described in Rev. 20 where another “Gog and Magog” rise up.
This is not the battle of Armageddon, which takes place at the end of the
Tribulation.
The wars are different.
This battle takes place some time before the
Tribulation. It will take seven years to
clean up after this battle.
(Ezekiel 38:1–6
NKJV) —1 Now the word of the Lord
came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against
Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech,
and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say,
‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold,
I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech,
and Tubal. 4 I will turn you around, put hooks
into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all
splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of
them handling swords. 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with
them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and
all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the
far north and all its troops—many people are with you.
Let’s look at the combatants in the war.
Gog and Magog
Gog seems to be the name of the leader, and Magog is his country.
Josephus connects
Gog and Magog to the Scythians, who lived north of Turkey and would have
covered the modern nations of Ukraine and southern Russia.
Antiquities 1.123
Rosh – I’ve heard too many conflicting things about “Rosh”, so I’m
not going to guess.
Meshech and Tubal – some folks
(including me) used to link these to Russia, but in ancient times these were
places in Asia Minor, or modern Turkey.
Persia – modern Iran
Ethiopia – not just modern Ethiopia, but also includes the modern
country of Sudan.
Libya – just like modern Libya.
Gomer and the house of Togarmah – These
too are places in Asia Minor, now modern Turkey.
It’s interesting to see the relationships between these countries today.
Russia gets along very well with both Turkey and Iran. Their leaders meet on a regular basis.
They met in November 2017, April 2018, Sept. 2018, and will meet in Moscow
early in 2019.
Both Turkey and Iran would like to see Israel destroyed.
The leader of Sudan is wanted by the International Criminal Court for
crimes against humanity, yet Mr. Putin meets with him, and the Sudanese support
all of Russia’s positions in the Middle East.
Sudan and Russia are planning on developing military cooperation as of July
2018
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180716-russia-and-sudan-look-to-develop-military-cooperation/
Libya has been reeling with a civil war, but Russia has stayed friendly
with all sides in the civil war.
Libya and Sudan are the only two African countries that don’t recognize Israel.
In case you’re wondering about Israel’s other neighbors … Israel is at
peace with Jordan and Egypt.
Lebanon and Syria are in their own internal civil wars and are not too
serious a threat at the moment.
These Magog nations will be compelled (hook in the jaw) to come into the
land of Israel.
The land of Israel is described as “unwalled villages”, people living in
peace. (Eze. 38:11)
You might not think that describes Israel right now, but since 1948, Israel
has never been more peaceful than it is now.
Israeli tourism broke records this year with over 4
million people visiting Israel.
The invading nations will be “hooked” to “plunder and take booty”.
There have been many suggestions about this over the years.
Israel is the most prosperous nation in the region, with some of the
leading technologies in the world.
But there’s more…
U.S.
Russia
Iran
For Russia, a large part of their economy comes from exporting natural gas
to Europe. Russia
alone provides 25% of Europe’s natural gas.
Quite a bit of Russia’s natural gas flows through the Ukraine.
Ukraine has been threatening to cut off Russia’s pipelines to Europe.
Iran has a proposal
to run a major pipeline through Syria.
Both Ukraine and Syria have been facing major threats.
To make things more complicated, in 2010 the world’s largest natural gas
field was discovered off the coast of Israel.
Israel is set to start exporting natural gas from their “Leviathan” gas
field to Europe through a pipeline that runs through Greece.
That will have a negative effect on the economy of Russia.
There are several foreign nations that have been involved in the wars in
Syria for the last several years: Russia, Turkey, Iran, and the U.S.
On December 19, President Trump announced that he’s pulling out all U.S.
troops from Syria.
General Mattis has resigned as Defense Secretary over President Trump’s
decision.
On December 31, President Trump clarified that the U.S. would take four
months to withdraw.
In case you haven’t realized it yet, Syria’s neighbor to the south is
Israel.
One opinion writer in Israel suggested that President Trump may have
contacted Israel about the withdrawal, and that Israel suggested the U.S. pull
out before a planned Israeli push north to shut down Hezbollah activity in
Syria. But that was just one man’s
opinion.
Turkey says they will move more troops into Syria to finish wiping out
ISIS, but they are also going to probably try and wipe out the Kurds that have
been fighting alongside the U.S.
But keep in mind, when the U.S. leaves, that will leave Russia, Turkey, and
Iran on Israel’s northern border.
When this war comes, how will it end?
God will fight for Israel. 5/6 of
the invading army will be wiped out.
(Ezekiel
38:22 NKJV) And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence
and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples
who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Some of the sources:
From Joel Rosenberg
The leaders of Russia, Turkey, and Iran have been holding quite a few
meetings together.
They met in November 2017, April 2018, Sept. 2018, and will meet in Moscow
early in 2019.
Libya has been reeling from a civil war, but all the while Russia has been
playing all sides, maintaining it’s influence in
Libya.
The President of Sudan has warrants out for his arrest by the International
Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, yet Russia
has been protecting him and meeting with him.
Sudan has expressed support for Russia’s positions in the Middle East.
Sudan and Russia are planning on developing military cooperation as of July
2018
From Amir Tsirfati –
Gomer and Togarmah – Turkey
Russia, Iran, Turkey are currently in Syria, just to the north.
Luke 21:24 – Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of
the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The recognizing of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The Temple mount is not yet in Israeli hands
Rom 11:25 – blindness in part to Israel until the
fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
-
God has blinded them so we
could hear the gospel.
First came the physical restoration of Israel (Eze.
36-37), then the spiritual restoration of Israel.
Eze. 36:24-25
The spiritual restoration comes as Israel goes through Eze.
38-39
from Jay McCarl
Signs – like a woman in labor – it gets more intense as things go by –
wars, rumors of war, earthquakes, etc.
Eze 37:1-14 – the valley of dry bones – the
scroll left behind at Masada after they had all died.
1948 Israel is back
Six days war – 1967, Jerusalem is back in Jewish hands.
1973 – Yom Kippur war – Israel’s borders expanded
Eze. 38 –
Different than Armageddon.
Predates the Tribulation
The effects of this war lasts for seven years
:1-9 – Asia Minor (Turkey) – Gog – known by people. King Giggu –
invented minted coins?
Josephus connects
Gog and Magog to the Scythians, who lived north of Turkey and would have
covered the modern nations of Ukraine and southern Russia.
Antiquities 1.123
Persia – Iran
Cush – Sudan & Ethiopia
Put – Libya
Gomer – Scythians, the Caucasus mountains
Egypt, Saudi Arabia are not mentioned, Jordan neither
What is the “hook” (Eze. 38:4), the “plunder” (Eze. 38:13)?
One thought might be natural gas.
1)
U.S.
2)
Russia
3)
Iran
For Russia, a large huge part of their economy is exporting natural gas to
Europe. Russia
alone provides 25% of Europe’s natural gas.
Much of Russia’s natural gas flows through the Ukraine.
Ukraine has been threatening to cut off Russia’s pipelines to Europe.
Iran has a proposal
to run a major pipeline through Syria.
Both Ukraine and Syria have been facing major threats.
To make things more complicated, in 2010 the world’s largest natural gas
field was discovered off the coast of Israel.
Israel is set to start exporting natural gas from their “Leviathan” gas
field to Europe through a pipeline running through Greece.
That will have a negative effect on the economy of Russia.
Petra – no evidence found of shuttle landing strip
Rev. 12 – on the wings of an eagle
35 miles from Petra is a large landing strip put in by NASA during the days
of the space shuttle.
Jordan is a nation known for its hospitality. They currently are home to 2.5 million
refugees from Syria.
They are actually on quite good terms with Israel
at the moment.
Syria
U.S. pulls out of Syria.
Trump calls Turkey, pulls out of Syria
This will leave a vacuum for Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
Turkey plans to enter eastern Syria – to fight the Kurds
Iran has nothing keeping it from getting into Syria
Russia has said that the US has just made things more complicated in Syria
Mattis Resigns
Iran
Iran mocks Trump’s rhetoric – if we start the war
they will finish it…
Israel
Israel Company has new method for tumors
Russia – Putin as next emperor
Most Popular Verse
Isaiah 41:10
So what???
Lesson
Get ready for Jesus
Are you ready to meet Jesus?
We read earlier today,
(Matthew
24:50 NKJV) the master of that servant will come on a day
when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,
The coming of Jesus might be a scary thing for you.
You may have heard about the horrible things that will come before Jesus
returns.
You may not be real excited to actually see Jesus.
Yet there’s nobody that loves you more.
He’s the one who came and gave His life for you.
He died a horrible death in order to pay for your sins.
He really wants you to spend eternity with Him.
Let today be the day that you stop running from God and turn to face Him.
Join those of us who will say with Isaiah,
(Isaiah 25:9 NKJV) And it will be said in that day: “Behold,
this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is
the Lord; We have
waited for Him; We will be
glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
Lesson
Stay Occupied
Jesus told a parable about a master who was going away for a long time and entrusted
his servants with taking care of his finances while he was gone.
(Luke 19:13 AV) And he
called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them,
Occupy till I come.
occupy – πραγματεύομαι – to be occupied in anything; to carry on a business
Other translations have “do business” (NKJV), “Invest”
(NLT), “engage in business” (ESV), “put this money to work” (NIV)
Just because Jesus hasn’t returned yet doesn’t mean we should just sit around
on our hands.
Let me suggest four things to keep yourself useful.
Lesson
Pray
Jesus told a story about a poor widow who kept hounding a crooked judge to
hear her case. She kept pestering the
man until he finally gave in and helped her.
Jesus used this story to teach on prayer.
The point is not that God is some crooked judge.
The point is that we need to be persistent in prayer.
Jesus ended the story with this:
(Luke 18:8 NKJV) …Nevertheless, when the Son of Man
comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Jesus is coming back.
Do you have a regular time each day where you pray for the needs of the
people around you, as well as your own needs?
Do you spend time telling God how thankful you are for all He’s done?
Lesson
Study
We need to be men and women of the book.
This world is getting farther and farther from God’s ways and God’s truth.
When the antichrist finally arrives, he will have an easy time deceiving
the world because they are so far from the truth.
(2
Thessalonians 2:10 NKJV) and with all unrighteous deception
among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth,
that they might be saved.
Are you spending time each day immersing yourself in God’s Word?
Do you have a daily Bible reading plan?
Why not join us?
Read through the Bible in a year with us.
We publish each week’s reading online and
on the app.
It takes 15-20 minutes to read or let your app read it to
you.
When the pastors write their weekly “Pastor to Person”
article, we base it from something in that week’s reading.
Think about taking your Bible knowledge a little deeper.
Come out Thursday night and take a class.
Learn God’s Word.
Lesson
Fellowship
You may not think you need people in your life, but the truth is God did
not design you to operate as a Christian on your own.
Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
Illustration
The Lone Ranger and Tonto were camping in the desert, they
set up their tent, and fell asleep. Some hours later, The Lone Ranger woke his
faithful friend. “Tonto, look up at the
sky and tell me what you see.”
Tonto replies, “Me see millions of stars.”
“What does that tell you?” asked The Lone Ranger.
Tonto ponders for a minute. “Astronomically speaking, it
tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.
Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Timewise, it appears to be approximately a
quarter past three. Theologically, it’s
evident the Lord is all powerful and we are small and insignificant.
Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What it tell you
Kemosabe?”
The Lone Ranger is silent for a moment, then speaks.
“Someone has stolen our tent.”
Sometimes we need someone in our lives to bring us back down to earth.
Sometimes we need someone in our life to encourage us.
Sometimes we need someone in our life to pray for us.
The writer of Hebrews connected the Second Coming with fellowship:
(Hebrews 10:24–25
NKJV) —24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good
works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is
the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as
you see the Day approaching.
That’s what church is all about.
I’d encourage you to get involved in a small group.
Come out Thursday night.
Come to the Men’s or Women’s fellowships.
Go out for coffee with someone.
Lesson
Serve
The proof of maturity as a Christian is not measured by how many Bible
verses you’ve memorized.
Maturity is measured by service.
(Mark 10:42–45
NKJV) —42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know
that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become
great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever
of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the
Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many.”
I think we need glasses like that.
Oh if we could only see the needs of those around
us.
One of the greatest ways we can serve others is to bring people to Jesus.
Yesterday at the Men’s Breakfast, Caleb gave a great message about the four
friends who did everything they could to bring their crippled friend to the One
who had what he really needed.
In 1945, Private Desmond Doss found himself in the middle of the bloodiest
battle of the Pacific in World War II. When his battalion was ordered to
retreat, he didn’t. That night it is
estimated he saved 75 men. Listen to the
whisper under his breath…
Are you ready to serve like that?