WE ENDED LAST ISSUE SPEAKING OF THE APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF TIME OF THE GENERATION JESUS SAID WOULD LIVE TO SEE THE END OF ALL WE HAVE BEEN SPEAKING OF; SO THAT IS WHERE WE WILL PICK UP TO CONTINUE ON WITH THE MESSAGE.

A CUP OF TREMBLING A BURDENSOME STONE

As you think about the negotiations that have been taking place between the Jewish leaders and the PLO leaders, you cannot help but think about that scripture in Zechariah 12:2. To me this is one of the keys as to how to look at the time factor involved in all of this. With the Jewish government having agreed to what they have, concerning the Gaza Strip and the Jericho areas, the next thing any group of Arabs within the land can begin to squawk about, is the fate of those Arabs in the old city. Since the Israeli government is not going to let those Arabs leave the old city and go down here where they can have their freedom, (They all have to stay where they are.) Do you think those Arabs in the old city are just going to sit there, with Israeli troops walking the streets patrolling them, keeping them from carrying on their wild escapades like they have been doing in the past? No sir. Those Arabs are going to demand the same freedom that has been given to those in Gaza and Jericho. That is why, in the Jerusalem Post even today, many Israelis are saying that their government has sold them down the drain: that their government has actually brought them that much closer to a war which is inevitable. By doing what they have agreed to do, they have literally lit a fuse to a bomb that will blow things wide open when it goes off. Having said that, let us read this verse in Zechariah 12:2. “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, (That is talking about Arabs.) when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.” Saints, you have to look at it in this sight, It is going to be the Arabs who are going to begin to stage the demonstrations: saying, We want our freedom too. We want our self autonomy like the others. That was even stated by Peres, that they would not even discuss Jerusalem at the same time these other two areas were brought into the peace plan. However the Arabs representing those around about will no doubt begin to create a situation that will bring on something God will use. As I have said many times, He will create an opportunity, or we will say, a condition, that will open up the way for certain other prophecies to come forth in fulfillment. Right from the very area of old Jerusalem, which the scriptures declare is to be the Capital city, conditions will arise that will allow the Jews to reclaim it, renovate it, and build the temple. Right now you have a population of three fourths Arabs that own the property and control its environment. I have to say though, Do not try to picture Jesus coming back to rule and reign from there with three fourths of that old city being Arabs. It is going to be Jews when He comes. The nations can howl, That’s not fair! all they want to; but God will see that His word is fulfilled. Let us just watch this thing unfold. God will cause Jerusalem to become a cup of trembling some time in the near future. I have illustrated it like this, by using a glass of water. It means when the time has come that God wants the entire world to get involved with Jerusalem, this means there is something important about this city. It means when the time has come that God wants prophecies, events and conditions to be fulfilled, the first order of business is, He lets it become a cup of trembling. Did you ever see a person who is extremely nervous try to handle a cup of coffee or something? You cannot help but expect it to be spilled. Imagine the Arab world then, the very minute they begin to inflame the situation, that is exactly what Jerusalem will become. When that time comes, the more they act up, the worse it will get. When God makes Jerusalem a cup of trembling to those round about, it will produce the prophesied results regardless of who wants old Jerusalem to remain in Arab hands instead of Jews’ hands. Therefore having established that much, let us take it beyond that point. (3) “And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” Notice two things. First, to those around about a cup of trembling. That is the Arabs. They are the ones who want complete control of it. Realizing this we say, If it is already the people of the world, politicians, who have more or less put pressure on Israel to do with this Gaza Strip and the area of Jericho what they are doing already, do not think those same world politicians will not say to Israel, Now do the same for the Arabs in Jerusalem. They will say, You can afford to give up territory. Verse 3 therefore, is not talking about the Arabs. This is where God lets it become an international problem. Since the world in general is thumbs down on the Jews, then God is going to make that city a burdensome stone to all of them. Most of the leaders of our nation like to be identified in some way with some system of religion; and I suppose they attend services from time to time if not regularly; but do they go there to hear the Bible preached? Very few do in this present society. They go to hear some kind of sermon based on statistics, world conditions, basically talking about the economic side, the social side, the political side, leaving the Lord completely out of the picture most of the time, yet carrying it all under the name of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The United Nations body has had its nose stuck in everything from the Gulf War and Bosnia, to the Arabs, and the whole process of resolving differences in the Middle East. Well just take another look at this. If God says He will break them to pieces, then keep in mind, In front of us somewhere there has to be something come up that does not just bring Jerusalem into a mild breakfast party relationship between a few leaders of the west and a few politicians in Israel and a few Arab leaders that will all be over with in a certain length of time. No Sir. I am convinced this is where the thing is really ignited. It is God. He has it planned this way. What is a burdensome stone? It sure is something more than just a little pebble. This is symbolic language speaking of something like a huge rock that has to be moved. In the eyes of the world, it will be something that is obstructing progress. That is what it all boils down to. In the political and social realm, until someone decides what we will do with Jerusalem, it is going to be there on the world’s political table. It is going to be a political stone, an obstruction to peace in the Middle East, which they want to see come about; but they want it to favor the Arab population just as much as the Jewish population; and that is contrary to the picture we see in the Bible. They could not care less about the prophetic picture laid out so clearly for those who want to see it. Just imagine a giant rock that has to be moved before progress can be made. Here comes every world leader sending his envoy, his magistrate, this and that, everyone sitting ready to toss his two cents worth into the pot, (so to speak) trying to figure out how to move the thing. Try to imagine a burdensome stone and it is so big you cannot get around it, you cannot get it on your shoulders, but the thing has to be moved. That is exactly what is in front of us. World leaders are going to want to stick their two cents in, but eventually God is going to get tired of their clamoring around, and their fussing and dictating what the Jews can and can not do, and what they must let the Arabs have. Right then is where God is going to create a condition, and though the entire world will absolutely want to do something to try to force Israel to bend and compromise, God said He would break them to pieces. That is not talking about the battle of Armageddon either. That is talking about the fact that God will do something to tear their political agreements all apart, so that when it is all over only the Jews will be left. The Jews will be the only ones who will know exactly what to do with this burdensome stone; because to her, it is the rock of her foundation, and her faith. It is where God placed His name, the place where the Jews are to eventually build a temple, a temple that God has said would be His house. Naturally the Arabs are going to begin to rally together saying, We will not stand for this! They are going to begin to demonstrate, create terrorism as a retaliation against the Jews, and all such like; but I cannot help but believe, God can remove Peres and Rabin when He needs to, in order to make way for that which is prophesied. Politicians will fail; but God’s word will never fail.

WHEN ISRAEL AGAIN DOES VALIANTLY

When I look back at Numbers 24, there are four prophecies in the Bible, that begin to come into focus. Old Balaam, when he was called by Balak to come and curse Israel, tried three times; but God would not let him curse them. Finally he said to Balak, Come, I want to show you what these people are going to do to your people in the later days. He was talking to old Balak’s people, which were the Moabites. Turn to Numbers 24. It will plainly tell you what it would be. Let’s turn there, verse 17. “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. (18) And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.” That takes in this whole area right in here. (pointing to map) They did not take it in the six day war; but I am saying right now, The very minute the world begins to put the finger of pressure on the Israeli people, demanding that they negotiate and give these Arabs in the old city the same domestic, social freedom that they have the others, there is where God no doubt will draw the line. Since it is not going to go the way the world leaders think it is, God uses it to create a condition to disunite the western world in their opinions and decisions. Actually He blows them completely out of the picture. God is definitely going to cause Israel to have to go alone. When she does, Israel is going to see one alternative. She has to put this Arab problem to sleep once and for all. The only way they can do it is to attack it from every area where any military or political opportunities can influence these people. There is no doubt that Israel will be compelled to go much beyond any expectations; because by that time over here is where a lot of the pressure is going to come from. Just keep in mind, as I said before, The Palestinian Arabs that live in the land today, and have for centuries, came from the other side of the river: Not only out of Saudi Arabia, but out of all this region. Eventually Israel is going to be compelled because of circumstances, to put them back there where their ancestors came from. The world will not like it; but they will have God on their side. Keep this Numbers prophecy in mind because it sets the agenda. Then let us go to Jeremiah 48:47 for another. In Jeremiah, we have all these major people that are in the country of Jordan mentioned. “Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab (Notice this.) in the latter days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.” It says, In the latter days. That is why I said earlier, We have been living in the last days ever since these various verses of prophecy have been applicable through time. However as we are now closer to the end we can say, We no doubt are living in the latter days these prophecies point to. From this point to the year 2000 is only seven years. Then if prophetic time figures out so the two days of Hosea 6:2 runs out between 2004 and 2005, as we have every reason to believe it will, many of these things we are talking about will take place at a very rapid pace. Israel will be revived in the first half of the seventieth week of Daniel; so all of this has to take place before then. Israel will not be taking any land after that week starts. Well we have Hosea 3:4-5 to look at next. The same prophet that prophesied about the two days of prophetic time wrote what we are going to read here. “For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim.” That has certainly been fulfilled. From the very beginning, 728 B.C., when the ten tribes were taken into captivity, that ended Israel’s ability to ever have a king. Then we come on through time, and 2000 years ago when the two southern tribes were destroyed, that took away their priesthood. It took away their sacrifice. It brought an end to their temple worship. For almost 2000 years now, Israel has literally abided without having any of these Biblical things for national identity, both religiously and politically; but notice verse 5, what it says.”Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.” That prophecy is for the latter days; so you do not necessarily apply it way back in the B.C. period. It is not a prophecy that speaks of causing national restoration. It is a prophecy that looks through all of this to a precise time. Therefore if these things that have been neglected, are to be gradually restored, then we have to realize they have to have Jerusalem under secure political control, and especially the temple spot; for there and there alone is where they can reconstruct the alter, animal sacrifice, and prepare to build the temple, to get the stage set and ready for the coming of their Messiah. With that in mind, let us try to look at this objectively. As Israel is going to be compelled to do something about taking this land beyond the Jordan, at the same time that opens up the northern regions of Jordan (That is what it is called today.) for the eventual immigration of another influx of Jews to come into the land of Israel. We just have to let the scriptures speak; so open your Bible’s to Zephaniah 2, and notice what it says about Moab, when Israel does that. We are looking at the 9th verse. “Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.” Why is it to be so? Look at verse 10. “This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord of hosts.” None of this matches the notion most of our world leaders have about Jordan. Look at verse 11. “The Lord will be terrible unto them: for He will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship Him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.” Keep in mind as I stress this, that right now the Gentile world is sound asleep. I am talking about the religious realm. I am not talking about the drunk out on the street. I am talking about the religious category of Gentile people that think they know so much about the Bible: They are sound asleep. Naturally if you were to ask some Biblical scholar today, one of the seminary category, What do you think about this verse of scripture? He would probably say something like this, Well, if there is such a thing as the Millennium, I believe that is when He will fulfill that. Then I would have to say, You poor, spiritually blind character, you have prophecy after prophecy that tells how it is going to be; and you seem to think you can just play around with them. If there was any reason whatsoever for these prophecies being written, it was to give the true people of God a picture of what is on out ahead. Therefore there is no room for theories. When the Millennium is set up, the prophetic time factor has ended.

PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE CANNOT FAIL

Well we all know there is going to be a temple built; and if there is going to be a temple built, Israel is going to need money. They may not know where the money will come from; but God knows exactly where it is, and how to put it in the hands of those Jews. He has already told us in His book where much of this money will come from. Right now, the way the political picture looks (to those who do not know the scriptures) those people will say, Well it will sure be a miracle if God gets anything out of there. That is what He is talking about in the 7th chapter of Micah. It is pointing to the same period of time that Numbers 24 is pointing to. God says this, In that day He will show unto Israel great and marvelous things, insomuch that the heathen shall come crawling out of their holes with their hands over their mouth, confounded at all their might. Just think of our own nation, how less than three years ago we were in a war, in the Gulf, fighting a war that Hussein himself said would be the mother of all wars. You know about all the high tech weaponry, and how God allowed that weaponry, and those men and women to obtain such a victory. Hussein referred to us as infidels and said you will wallow in your own blood. What a boast. Yet God reversed it. Only a little over a hundred casualties in the whole thing. Some of them did not die in the desert. Some of them died in a warehouse where they were sleeping when a missile hit. My point of illustration is this, Suppose God had reversed that the other way and all that high tech weaponry would have failed? How many of our troops would have come home from there? Think of it, Micah 7, the heathen. That is not the poor bush man in the African Congo jungle. It is this big man walking on Wall Street with his securities, and with his capacity to trade and invest in stocks and bonds. Politicians and world leaders who like to sit around their conference tables with their high priced liquor and champagne, are the ones God’s word declares He will confound, when they behold what He does for Israel. That is why I have to believe as time is getting shorter, it means the pressure is building up. God is going to honor His word. As He does, and as He begins to turn Israel loose, as it says in Numbers, Israel will do valiantly. Where will that be? On the field of battle of course. Therefore as God begins to show His power on their behalf, in just a few short days of time the world leaders will be astonished. I get excited every time I think about how all of this is going to turn out. Every time I think how God gave us victory in the Gulf War, I just have to rejoice. There were times that tears would come to my eyes and I would think, God, Thank You! When the bombs and rockets began to drop and they began to see on the screen how we could put them right through the front door, some had to take another look at their position. Oh Bro. Jackson, they said they did not all go through the front door. Enough went through the front door that it got the job done; and that is what counts; so do not argue with me. It got the job done a lot quicker than anyone thought it would. At first they thought the thing might last a year or so. At first they thought there would be thousands buried in the desert. Well not a one was buried in the desert. The point is, God has a way of causing mankind on this earth to look toward Him, when He gets ready. I believe that is what He is getting ready to do. He is just getting everything in place, getting everyone interested in the great drama that is about to unfold. When He does turn that little nation loose, I can see the generals sitting back planning the strategy. When God said He will famish the gods of the earth, the number one god of the Middle East is the religion of the Islamic Arab. That is the one religion that is causing all the ruckus over there. Do you know why? Because all these Islamic Arabs are saying the promise of Abraham was not to Isaac, it was through Ishmael. That is why Mohammad was a descendant of Ishmael. They believe in Jesus. They believe in Moses to; but they are saying Mohammad was God’s last prophet and there will never be another one. That is all a lie of the devil. It is a counterfeit to Judaism, just as Catholicism is a counterfeit to true Christianity. Therefore it remains to be seen just exactly how God will deal with those round about Jerusalem, who are of that Islamic belief. I will say again, The Middle East nations are overrun with those who look to Mohammed as their prophet; but they are not all Arabs. Let me explain this. Of those round about, that Jerusalem will become a cup of trembling to, Jordan ranks number one. They are true Arabs. They are the number one opposers who are true Arabs. Then those on down into Saudi Arabia are also Arabs. They are all descendants of Abraham by the other side; but the Egyptians are not Arabs. How many of you know that? It is true they are under the same religion. The Libyans, who Khadafi is the head of, are not Arabs. They are just plain Libyans. The Persians and Iranians are not Arabs. Neither are the Turks, even though they are under the Islamic belief. But as I say that, keep in mind, God knows exactly what He is doing. When He turns Israel loose, and she begins to do these gallant, valiant feats and come out victorious over her enemies, do you know what that is going to cause the Arabs in those regions round about to realize? That there is no way they can resist Israel. He is our brother. One of these days off down in Saudi Arabia, which is one of the wealthiest nations on earth, as you read Isaiah 60, it plainly tells you when the time comes, that Israel will start building their temple, out of that region of Saudi Arabia here comes gold, and incense to be offered upon the alter at Jerusalem. Israel could never get one penny out of Saudi Arabia without some drastic change. The political stage is not set yet. Somewhere in front of us, as God uses Israel to slaps that Islamic belief, it will not take them ten weeks, ten months, nor ten years. They will do in hours what we normally have had to do in months because it is God’s way of showing His mighty power as He shows unto Israel great and marvelous things. I can see Saudi Arabia. I can see the Jordanian Arabs. I can see them all begin to say, You know, it looks like Isaac was the one after all. At that time, out of Saudi Arabia, Dedan and Sheba, here comes gold. Translate that into oil dollars, OPEC dollars is what it is all about. Also out of the regions of another, you read in Isaiah 60, here comes goats, here come camels, here come sheep. Why? For Israel to offer upon the alter. I dare any politician to go to Jordan today, to any of those Bedoin tribes and say, Would you like to donate a few sheep or goats to Israel? She is getting ready to offer sacrifice to Jehovah. They will say, Are you crazy? Who do you think you are talking to? When you read these prophecies, and you see how things are right now, you cannot help but realize it is an impossibility for such a things to be fulfilled, unless something happens to change attitudes and beliefs of those who are included in the prophecies. There has to be a key that unlocks the mystery and changes the heart’s of those who now oppose Israel. It is very obvious that their heart’s are not going to be changed by politics and diplomacy. Their heart’s are going to be changed only as God uses Israel on the field of battle, to show those Arabs one more time, that never again will they bow to your dictates, and to your terroristic tactics. Israel will push her borders back far enough they can get the rest of them with their airplanes. It would not surprise me if they are the ones that will put old mad man Hussein to sleep forever. When it is all over, then Saudi Arabia, the Moabite people and all those regions will no longer be trouble makers. Let me just make a few more comments along this line while we are talking about this. Keep in mind, World leaders today have shown their intelligence, their political power as well as their military initiative; but if for some reason God uses Israel to do marvelous things over there, He is doing it for two strategic things: opening the hearts of the Arab world and these people in these regions to get ready to contribute their part in Isaiah 60, and at the same time, He is also doing it to touch a few heart’s among Gentile nations. Not that He is going to touch everybody, but to touch a few heart’s. When the time does come for the old city of Jerusalem to be rebuilt, and then inhabited by Jews instead of Arabs, Isaiah 60 plainly tells you the sons of strangers, those that actually were enemies of Israel through other decades, will come and help build up her walls. That has to be a reality and not just words we read in the Bible. When in our present world right now, we have no professional architects, nor engineering and construction men that have the capital, the equipment, and other means to look toward Israel and do one earthly thing in connection with renovating that city, we still know God is going to bring it all about somehow. When God gets ready to get them involved, then He will show His hand in present day world event and affairs of mankind. He will cause it to be done in a way that people realize, God is with Israel. Then you are going to see professional tradesmen, and actually people of every walk of life suddenly become very anxious to do something to help Israel. That is why I have said that when that time comes for God to do these things, people of the rest of the world are absolutely going to begin to realize that their religious beliefs are not worth two cents. As I look across into the Orient and can see Buddhism, I see Confucianism and all those kinds of religions, yet think of the Orient: When that hour comes, people to the ends of the earth are made to realize that the God of heaven is with the Jewish nation. I cannot help but see rich, Oriental, professional construction men getting into the picture; because even right now Japanese are bidding against our own construction men for jobs in the country, or anywhere else we have sent them. That is why I have to say, Was it not so when King Solomon built his temple, that help came from all sorts of places? Professional tradesmen of every profession out of all the various nations around about, contributed and volunteered. That is why I have to say, God knows exactly how to set the stage, to get all of this done. In Haggai 2, Haggai prophesied when he looked at the little temple that was being dedicated, and saw how those Jews were very hurt because it was not as large as they remembered the ancient one to be, saying, (3-9) “Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? (4) Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts: (5) According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. (6) For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; (7) And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. (8) The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. (9) The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.” He knows exactly where every OPEC dollar is. He knows exactly where every professional contractor that is a professional tradesman in stone masonry, pile driving and all of those things are. The Jewish society back in the land today, when they lived in their nations of dispersion, did not themselves take up those different trades. They have been teachers, professors of science, doctors, lawyers, bankers, real estate brokers and all such like. That has been their profession; but to be construction contractors that have built big buildings, that was never in their mind. You just have to realize that every one of these prophecies provide us with a window we can look through to an era of time when God begins to gather together everything necessary to put the whole picture together. We are getting close to that time. You can depend on that. Nothing mankind does in the meanwhile, will hinder God’s plan and purpose. He has a time for every bit of it to be fulfilled.

THE SEVENTIETH WEEK OF DANIEL

Let us go to the 12th chapter of Zechariah. We have titled this message, “Looking Through Windows of Prophecy;” and we have prophetic scriptures written in different places that we have been looking at, which finally points us right to the seventieth week of Daniel. This is not to give you the idea that this is where these scriptures are fulfilled; but realizing that they each belong to a certain period of time, it is how we look through these windows of prophecy toward the next episode that really makes the difference. These scriptures here are actually what set the stage for there to be a statehood of Israel in 1948. Then it was these scriptures here, how we see them, that begin to show forth the developing of the state, which has brought it up to the present hour. However all these prophecies are written with certain details that to the average reader seem to be so unimportant. That is why I said when we started out, that you simply cannot write these scriptures out on a sheet of paper, drop them in a container and shake it up, and then draw one out and expect it to be fulfilled just any time. Sure the Lord said He would do thus and so; but each scripture has a time and sequence involved in its fulfillment. You cannot yourself put one scripture in front of the other one because they unfold in a precise order. That is why, by the time the world and nation of Israel has reached the hour that she goes into the week of Daniel, and the world’s antichrist signs an agreement with this nation of Israel, that starts the week, all these scriptures will have been fulfilled, and in place. In place means they are in the process of being fulfilled and the end purpose is then inevitable. Let us notice here in the 12th chapter of Zechariah, starting in verse 2. We have read it already; but notice where the emphasis is. “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.” We brought out already, what verses 2 and 3 pertain to; so let me just say, In 1967, when the six day war was fought, Israel, in six days, took all this area over here and pushed her borders to the Jordan River, to the Dead Sea, and all the way down to the Red Sea toward Egypt. She took the Gaza Strip, which is territory she is supposed to have. When you read the 2nd chapter of Zephaniah, you see that the land of the Philistines, which was the Gaza Strip, is destined to be Judah’s inheritance in these last days. At no other time in biblical times had Israel ever been able to conquer the Philistines to the extent that they could control the land. The Philistines were always there, ready to pounce on Israel and cause her all kinds of problems; but in the last days, God has said she would smite that land and this land would become a possession of the house of Judah. This area down in here is all the actual inheritance of Judah, the tribe of Judah, for these last days. The fact that Israel and the P.L.O. have agreed upon basic principles of peace in connection with areas of Jericho and the Gaza Strip, ought not be a cause for alarm; it may turn out to be only a means of hurrying the process of what these prophecies we have been looking at will require. The entire endeavor has actually brought the anti peace Israelis, and the anti peace Palestinians (who do not want to settle just for autonomy in the land) to the forefront. The anti peace Palestinians want to hold out for the complete destruction of the statehood of Israel. Therefore with those two extremes in the picture, we could very well see this present thing backfire in the near future; and actually be a means of setting these prophesied events in order. We need to notice the wording of some of these prophesies in the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to put a picture in our mind’s of how to look at them. Take verses 4- 6 of the 12th chapter of Zechariah for instance: where it speaks of how God in that day will make the governors of Judah like a fire in a sheaf of grain and a torch in a pile of wood. In other words, somewhere there is an hour of time coming, that these present leaders in the statehood of Israel are going to be replaced by another category of governors who will not be giving their ears to western diplomatic influence every time the sun comes up. They are going to be compelled to do something that will cause them to fulfill these scriptures. “In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. (5) And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. (6) In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.” In 1967, though the army of Israel took old Jerusalem, they did not drive out the inhabitants; and neither did they bring the Mosque of Omar to ruins. As we have already pointed out, three fourths of the old city is inhabited by Arabs; and the Mosque of Omar is sacred to them; so Israel cannot just move in and fulfill these scriptures without something first taking place to make that a necessary measure. Otherwise they would be faced with a holy war; and they would have the whole world against them. We can say this, God just did not permit them to go that far in 1967; but in the near future, maybe the next go around of fulfilling these prophecies, there is definitely going to be something take place that will allow the old city Jerusalem to be inhabited by Jews. That is why you have to read Isaiah 49, and Isaiah 60; because somewhere leading up to the time the week of Daniel is to start, they go together. When the temple is in the process of being built, so will the walls of old Jerusalem be going through a rehabilitation process; and the old city is in the process of being renovated, getting it ready for that Messianic appearance; and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will no longer be Arabs: but Jews. They will be Jews of a lineage that goes back to ancient times. David was of the tribe of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem were basically related to the lineage of King David. Now let us look at the 7th verse. “The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.” In the 1967 war, Israel (basically the tribe of Judah) pressed her borders so that she not only reaches up into Lebanon and over here into the Golan Heights; but also way down south. Well right now they are being pressured to compromise in these certain areas we have been talking about; but God’s word says He will cause the tents of Judah to be restored: which actually means He will restore the territory and the eventual occupancy of the entire area of what Judah occupied in former days. All of the land is to be restored to its original Jewish inhabitants, even every tribe. We just have to understand that God had a reason for Judah being restored first. He said He would save Judah first, then He would bring Ephraim. When He said He would establish the tents of Judah, that means their place of occupancy. He guarantees that, and that is what they have been doing since 1967 as more and more Jews begin to move outward into the various isolated areas of the old area of Judah. It is actually Jews going to various areas they feel like their lineage entitles them to possess. We notice here that is why the world keeps telling the leaders of Israel, you are moving people out into occupied territory. Well it is true: It is occupied in the sense that it is beyond the boundaries the United Nations relegated; but you have to understand that Israel was forced by her attackers to occupy the rest; and we can say this was God’s way of giving Judah her rightful area of occupancy. To rightfully understand that, here is what it all means, if they had taken Jerusalem in the 1967 war as they did all this other area, there would have been many Jews, that out of sentimental longings to see the old city rebuilt, and also to see the temple rebuilt, and to be able to live near where the temple is, that would have made this their primary vision and all their efforts would have been devoted to that. Therefore if that is what they had devoted all their time and effort to, then many of those Jews would have stopped thinking about the rest of what God has ordained for them to do, and would have gone strictly to the city; and we know that is not what God wanted. We can say this, if He is going to use this tribe of Judah to be the beginning of His plan of restoration to the nation as a whole, then she is definitely going to have to have territorial conquests whereby the actual heritage of Judah be given first a primary opportunity to settle in the regions of Judah where they feel they belong. By doing it that way, He avoided this thing of people putting their priorities and personal feelings above His will and purpose. That is what He is actually talking about here. In other words, if people would have gone to Jerusalem first, they would have said, Who wants to think about that wasteland out there? I am glad I live in Jerusalem. You know how people are. People in general are all alike: we always look for the easy way out. That is man’s way of doing things. Therefore God by His own word, has let it be written like this: He will save the tents of Judah first, meaning the area of their ancient occupancy. They have had twenty some years to establish themselves; but the world has not been content with allowing Judah to keep building and building and building. Time and time again they have been forced to promise western leaders they will not press for any more occupancy or tents or dwellings in the occupied areas. Nevertheless if God’s word says He will restore her first, then God means to do exactly that. I just have to believe that in the time that has come and gone Judah and her occupants that are destined to be influential in fulfilling these prophecies have had the opportunity to do it. Now it no doubt is getting close to the time when the Lord is saying, It is time to start working on Jerusalem. Anyhow, regardless of what the situation looks like today, especially in the light of this peace proposal the Israeli’s and Arabs have signed, here is where it all stands presently. When you look at this thing they have signed, this agreement to allow the Palestinian Arabs in the Gaza Strip area, and the Arabs living in the Jericho territory to have self government, it does not mean Israel is giving up her borders there. She will keep her military there; and she will still keep the authority to control that area of land for her own safety. It just simply means those Arabs that are now living there, will have their own city mayors, their own police department, and their own courts to settle their own civil and judicial affairs among the Arab people. But as far as them owning the land and becoming a state, that is out of the question. Israel has not promised anything like that. However it was mentioned in the beginning of this process, that sooner or later Jerusalem will be contested for; and I believe that is a sure thing. If this present thing is worked out and eventually put into force, and things settle down to the point where there is peace among the Palestinian Arabs in those two areas where they are allowed to have self government, there is no doubt whatsoever the Arabs in old Jerusalem are going to begin to demand that they be given equal treatment: so they may also be allowed to govern themselves. Now if that is the way it turns out, and if we are as close to the end as it looks like we are, here is what this would amount to. First that would require the Israeli police force to vacate the old city, so the Arabs could have their own police force and rule themselves in the old city just like the other areas in discussion. Yet right here in these prophecies we have been reading, it plainly tells us, that in that day He (God) will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about. That means when the time comes close that God wants this city to change occupants, so the city can be renovated and become inhabited by Jews to make ready for their Messiah, these particular prophecies like Numbers 24, Zephaniah 2:8-11, Jeremiah 48:47, are going to become activated. No doubt somewhere there will come about such a pressure that Israel will realize she is definitely going to have to take this thing in hand and stop listening to western leaders. Then there will only be one thing she can do: She will make a military sweep across here and she will put this Jordanian country, and all these other people to rest. When I say rest, it means God is going to cause Israel to give them such a military licking, not over a prolonged period of time, but it will be a war of such miraculous proportions these Palestinian and Jordanian Arabs cannot help but realize that God is with the Jewish people. That hour is coming; therefore I would like to stress to every believer, whether you read this or hear it on tape, or view it on video, When Israel reaches that hour when these scriptures are fulfilled, this is going to put Israel in complete control of the whole Middle East, and everything that pertains to her ancient borders. It will not be some long drawn out affair. Not at all. Just one giant sweep and Israel is going to put her enemies to rest. God is going to work and do it in such a way that it will fulfill what it says in Zephaniah, verses 8-11: that in that day He will famish the gods of the earth. Now Bro. Jackson, why do you keep stressing that? All because there is no way this side of heaven you will ever get Saudi Arabia and the people in this part of old Jordan to ever contribute one earthly thing to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, as it says in Isaiah 60, unless God first does something to get that Islamic belief out of the picture. This belief that the Islamic people have today, is not a belief of those people in ancient times. Those people in ancient times had the same belief toward Jehovah that the Jews did. The only thing was, they still held on to the idea that the covenant that God promised Abraham back in Genesis, was to come through Ishmael, and not through Isaac. That is why in the seventh century A.D. after the Christian era had already been in effect for almost seven hundred years, a man by the name of Mohammad, out of the tribe of Ishmael, rose up and started that religion. I will liken it to perverted system of Judaism. It is to Judaism what Catholicism is to the true Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an anti force to antagonize, jeopardize, and stand in the way of what God has ordained; but God has a way of putting it to rest. I have to believe when He fulfills these scriptures right here, He will do it in one giant sweep. He will display His power in such a way that those Arabs will definitely know God is on Israel’s side and definitely not on their side. When you take the prophet Micah in the 7th chapter and read what God would do for Israel in the last days, it did not happen in those other wars; but it will happen here; because in that hour, God says He will show great and marvelous things insomuch that the heathen will come crawling out of their holes with their hands over their mouth. They will be confounded at all they have experienced. With that in mind, let us ask ourselves the question, Why is God holding this thing off for so long? We have to get over here in time: ready for the last week of Daniel to start, before God sets the stage for it.

WHAT RIGHTS DO THE JEWS HAVE

These boxes on our chart are spaced far enough apart for us to print the various scriptures that are to be fulfilled before the last week of Daniel starts; but remember, Each of these boxes just brings you a little closer to that week. Since 1967, when Israel pressed her borders out like she did, she has been constantly, every month, every year contested by those who say, You have no right to be there: You have to give it up. You have to return to your 1948 borders. Time and time again, heads of Arab states have said the same thing. That tells me Israel has not been living back in this land with the inhabitants dwelling safely. They have been living in jeopardy. That is why some time back, when they had that rocket bombardment from Lebanon, thousands of Jews had to quickly go into bomb shelters and stay there for hours. That tells me Israel right now is not living in her land in safety. It is because she does not have secure borders. Up until now, the Jews have been willing to tolerate the presence of Arabs in places they scripturally ought to have: simply because it is not yet time for them to have all of their land. Ezekiel 38 and 39 still have to be fulfilled before the week of Daniel can start; so do you know what that tells me? Some time before those scriptures are fulfilled, something has to take place that allows Israel to be dwelling safely in her own land. Just notice Ezekiel 38:8-12, as God speaks to the leader of Russia and her coharts concerning Israel. (8) “After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. (9) Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. (10) Thus saith the Lord God; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: (11) And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, (12) To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.” That will never be a description of the people of Israel until after something has happened that allows them to get their enemies out of their midst and away from their borders. That is why I said, Do you know what that tells me? That tells me this, that between now and where we will be then, in time, Israel is going to pass through a short interval of time that God is going to cause those leaders to get their heads together, take a good look at their situation and circumstances and say, We will go it alone, without any help from western allies, for our own safety’s sake. When God turns them loose, you rest assured, He will turn them loose in a way that His power will be with them. When they get finished, they will have pushed their potential enemy far enough away from their places of living and dwellings, they will no longer have to worry about these antagonists, these hostile Arabs anymore. Something has to trigger a thing like that though; and that causes me to ask myself, Could that be why God has saved old mad man Hussein from receiving what he deserves? God may want to show this world that He has a little nation that is very capable of taking care of him when He turns them loose. They could very well be the one’s that will put him to sleep. They will not go to within a short little distance of Baghdad and stop short of doing their job. No. They will know exactly where that old boy is, if it comes to that. They will go right in after him and put him to sleep. Most of the Christian people in the western nations do not realize that for many centuries there has been a long existing rivalry between two camps of this Islamic belief. After Mohammad, the first one, died and the next leaders, (sort of like what we call bishops) came along to take over the leadership of the faith, eventually, as it began to spread out into the various territories, there came to be a division. At first, it was preached and proclaimed among mainly Arab people: Those in Saudi Arabia and those in the area we know as Jordan. But later as it began to spread out and go into Egypt, and across North Africa, Ethiopia, and then to Syria, Turkey and those regions, there developed a difference. Those people were not Arabs; and they are not Arabs today. I want to stress that: They are not Arabs; but they do have the same religion the Arabs have. They are Muslims: following the religious practices founded by their prophet Muhammad. Now the people in this region, down in here like this, they are known as the Sunnite Moslems; but those like over here in Persia, Turkey and around over here are the Shiites. They are the ones you hear so much about in the news. The Shiites are the ones ready to press for a holy war. Out of that element of Shiite Moslem comes the terrorist type people. This ought to tell the western Christians why even today, though Saudi Arabia has not been as antagonistic against Israel as Persia and those, she still holds to that faith of Islam. The same way with the regions here in Jordan: they are of the Islam faith. With that in mind, let us try to look at it this way: Here are all the Arabs, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the Edomites. Then from there we go to Saudi Arabia, all of that is actually descendants of Abraham by the flesh. Somewhere if God is to get one goat, one ounce of gold, out of those regions to fulfill the scriptures you read here in Isaiah 60, then you have to understand that between now and that time, God is going to use Israel to do something over here. Not in Saudi Arabia, but right here. Because here are the ones that Jeremiah, Isaiah and those prophets all spoke about, how they had done the Israelis back in the beginning of the Babylonian invasion. God said He remembered them. Because of that, these same areas would become a possession of Israel in these latter times. So that is ahead of us; and not very far away. In all probability we are going to begin to see things start changing in the Middle East. However soon we are to see Jerusalem put in position to eventually be inhabited by Jews and the temple rebuilt, that is how soon we can expect God to turn Israel loose, to do what she will have to do. When He does, there will be miraculous things done on the field of battle once again. That is going to be God’s way. I have to stress this, brothers and sisters, whoever you are, wherever you are, read your Bible! When God does these things, He is doing it for two purposes. To change the heart of these people, who right now are Israel’s hindrance to these scriptures being fulfilled. If Israel is to be living in safe borders and in the land dwelling safely, keep in mind, it means when Ezekiel 38 and 39 is fulfilled, Israel’s enemies who are all in this area, will no longer be her enemies. They will have been put to rest. That is why when Israel does that, Israel will loose that potential hazardous thing of Arabs being constantly harassing her all the time. That does not mean God has destroyed the Islamic belief in all these other nations; but it will definitely put these Arab states to rest. Furthermore as He does this, He will do it in a way that He will be glorified, because this is some of the ways God begins to prepare the heart of people in the world, to cause them to begin to realize He is with Israel. Turn to Isaiah 60. When we read this, I would like for us to read it with the fact in mind that Isaiah 49 goes right with it, and at the same time. Why? Because Isaiah 49 tells us in two different places how the inhabitants of old Jerusalem will be far removed. While Israel is allowing these Arabs to live there self governed, there is no purpose in Israel removing them. When they are allowed over in the Gaza Strip to live there under self government, Israel is not removing them; but as we get closer to the hour when Jerusalem must be put in prophetic position, to be inhabited as it states in the 49th chapter, there is no way that city can be actually renovated and made new, as long as you have three fourths of it occupied by Arabs. That prophecy cannot be fulfilled with Arabs sitting there. That is why we have to realize Israel is going to be compelled by circumstances in that hour, to see what she shall do in order to guarantee this thing to be a success. So as she puts everything to rest, as I have said before, Right there is where they all belong, because that is where most of them came from. A lot of the people in the Gentile world do not even realize that. They say, well they were born there. Sure they were born there, but their ancestors did not come from the land of Israel. They came from across the river. That is why you have to look at it like that. When we look at Jerusalem, and God says He will make her a cup of trembling, just wait until the hour comes that the Arabs lay Jerusalem on the conference table saying, We want our independence. We want self government too: like the others have. You can rest assured, if we are close to the hour this prophecy is to drop in place, there is going to be problems in Jerusalem. There is no doubt it will help set in motion Israel’s necessity to use her military forces. When that time does come, God is going to cause her to go forth in such a miraculous way, He is literally going to strip that Arab world of that old Mohammedan belief that Mohammad was the last prophet. They all believe in Moses. They all believe Jesus was a teacher; but they believe that Mohammad was the last prophet. They deny that there has been a greater One than Mohammad; so God has to strip that belief out of them. He will do it when He causes their eyes to behold how He magnifies Himself before them. Let us read here in Isaiah 60, the 5th verse. From the 5th verse on, I want to move you through time. From the 5th verse on, you are right here somewhere. (pointing to chart) Israel has the city. Israel is ready to build the temple and this whole Arab world knows what she is doing. Among the Gentiles, there is a people here also, who will know what Israel is up to. “Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” The word converted, there, has nothing whatsoever to do with their soul’s salvation. It is talking about material possessions, material things being converted from something they were destined to be used for, and given into the hands of Israel, to be used to help fulfill a prophetic cause. (6) “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.” Let us not forget what it says in Haggai 2, a scripture we used in our other message, how those two prophets stood there when that second temple was dedicated, seeing people standing there that had seen the first temple, and they were saying in their heart, This is such a small place compared to the one I saw when I was a child. The prophet Haggai was anointed to speak these words, The silver and gold is mine saith the Lord. Meaning, when it is time for me to have a larger house, and a better house, I will bring the gold and silver necessary. God knows where all of it is. God is not in the process of trying to find the Lost Dutchman’s Mine somewhere out in our western desert. Even though the western nations are bankrupt, God still knows where all the money is. I have to believe they will talk about how to lower the deficit from now until Jesus comes. Listen to this; and ask yourself a simple question, In the light of the way the Arabs are right now, can you imagine how anything could ever cause these scriptures to be fulfilled? Just notice, “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: (where is that? Saudi Arabia. Mohammad came from this place, Midian.) they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord.” When? When Israel is right here, inhabiting and changing the old city and is in the process of building her temple. That causes me to ask the question, How will the Arab world be persuaded to do that, when presently they feel the way they do about the people of Israel? I challenge anyone, Take a trip to Saudi Arabia today, and say to the king, I am sent as an emissary from Israel: We want to build our temple and wonder if you would like to contribute anything? What do you think his response would be? I say he would call for his body guards and have them escort you right out the door. You know how they feel about Israel today. It would require something out of the ordinary to get them to change their mind’s. Well there is coming an hour, (and we do not want to put it way over here in the Millennium) when they will contribute generously to Israel’s cause. It is going to be right here, (right at the time for the week of Daniel) because, when you read Revelation 11, you plainly see that John was given a reed to measure the temple and the altar and them that worship therein. That goes to show, when those two prophets prophesy in the first part of that week, the temple has been erected and the altar and sacrifice is back in operation. It will be just like it says, out of Midian and Sheba, Saudi Arabia, comes gold and incense to offer upon His altar. Well let us go further, where it mentions the people of these other regions. (7) “All the flocks of Kedar (That is of one of the sons of Abraham by Keturah, his second wife.) shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth (That is another son of Abraham by Keturah.) shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.” Actually, when you put that down in every day language, here comes sheep and goats from these regions, in the far regions of the country of Jordan, way back in Bedouin country, where evidently there are sheep today if you could see them and see the light of the scripture, you can say, One of these days out of these flocks there will be sheep, voluntarily chosen by their owners who will say, I want to take them to Jerusalem, because I want my brethren, the Jews, to have some of these to offer upon their altar. You need to be mindful of the fact that Israel does not even have an animal breeding program yet. They are talking about it. They are talking about getting the red heifer. Yet talking about getting her and actually taking the necessary steps to activate such a program are two different things. That is what they will have to do in order that they might have the red heifers as well as all the sheep and goats they will need. These things are things offered on the altar of sacrifice every day, once that hour arrives. Just think though where these would be coming from. From the very regions where today a Jew could not get enough wool to make an ear muff, let alone what God has said here. I say, That should tell someone something: like, that God intends to strip that bunch of Arabs of that old Islamic belief. In other words, when He can make them look like they have prayed to Allah so long and he hasn’t heard them, maybe they will remember their ancestors prayed to God the same as Abraham did. Anyhow it says, “They shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, (Listen to this: Here comes the silver and gold) and I will glorify the house of my glory.” There is only one house God is talking about there; and that is the temple of Revelation 11, that John saw, and the angel said, “Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.” When you go on down through Isaiah 60, you find other verses like verse 10 for instance: “And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.” In other words you find a description of how God, by the same process, has touched the hearts of Gentile people. Not to the point of making Christians out of them; but He has touched the hearts of Gentile people to make them sympathetic, and cause them to become concerned. When we were building this building in 1967 and that six day war was going on, and it was announced that it was over, more than one voice on the radio and television was saying, That had to be an act of God. It had to be an act of God: is what they were saying. They do not talk like that anymore; but they soon will again. They have forgotten all about how God intervened in that war for Israel: which just goes to show man’s heart is hardened. After twenty some years, man’s heart is so hardened they cannot see God doing anything anymore. They have learned more about the dinosaurs in the last few years than they will ever know about God. What they have found out about dinosaurs has caused some archaeologists and scientists to change their view. Well I have said before, No doubt they will keep on changing until Jesus comes. Then they are going to change a lot more; because He is going to make them see something that will line up with this book. These scriptures sure give us a chance to see that God has a way of touching Gentiles when He gets ready to though. Thinking back through the years, Israel, while they have been scattered among the nations, never did take up the trades of professionals, in the sense of being architects, designers of buildings, construction engineers, and that type of things. No. They have been doctors, scientists, professors, investors in world money, school teachers and all such. Those things have been their professions. Running a department store, running a fruit stand, and you name it: there is where you would find the Jewish people in their every day activities. I ask you though, Have you ever heard of a construction crew foreman by the name of Rubenstein? That is just a name that came to my mind; and I only use it to make my point. I use it to identify it from some Gentile name. You do not find men by that name on a construction job. Why do I say all that? Well when you read verses 9 and 10, which say, “Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee,” it causes you to see some things in a different way. Now this lets me know God has Jerusalem back in hand. The Jews have control of it. They are demolishing everything that looks like run down slums. I have to say it like this, Somewhere across this nation we live in, and somewhere around this world in different nations, whether in Europe or the Orient, by the time God does in the Middle East what He is going to do, and Israel takes that military swing and does valiantly on the field of battle, and God shows wonderful things insomuch that the heathen put their hands over their mouths and are confounded at all they see, Don’t tell me there will not be some wealthy construction investors of different sorts have their heart’s touched and want to help those that God is fighting for. When that war is all over and they begin to hear that Israel is now ready to take Jerusalem and begin to renovate it and renew it, I cannot help but believe there will be some professional contractors, men of architectural trades that knows how to build and get the job done, men who have the equipment and all the means to get to work, that God will just simply reach out and touch their heart’s, like, I need you. Come to Jerusalem. Let us read it again. “And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.” Yes saints, even though the nations are broke, somewhere across this earth there will be certain world leaders that God will touch and cause them to want to do what these scriptures say. Remember, God knows exactly where all the gold and silver is. (Isa. 60:11) “Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, (The word forces, does not apply to military forces, it applies to material forces.) and that their kings may be brought. (12) For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee (in the process of what we are talking about, the rebuilding of the walls and the temple) shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. (Listen to this next verse.) “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, (The only glory Lebanon has is an ancient park. It was a park that was turned into a national park many years ago because they say there are cedar trees there 5000 years old. Out of that same forest, cedar trees were cut in the days when King Solomon had cedar timbers brought from Lebanon. They stated in one article I read, that this park has, according to their estimate, several hundred of these ancient trees. Can you not see why it was turned into a state park. God did not want everyone around cutting all that beautiful timber: He wanted to preserve some of it to go into His house.) the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify (Just listen to these words.) the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.” Do you know what it says in Haggai chapter 2? God says this, The glory of this latter house will be greater than the former. When you read the following verses, they will tell you how God will glorify that house. He will do it by upgrading the types of material. Where they used wood in Solomon’s temple, they will use iron. Where they used iron in Solomon, they will use brass. Where they used brass before, they will use silver. For silver, they will use gold this time, and on and on like that. He will update the beauty and splendor of that temple. That is all to be done by Israel as that week Daniel is ready to become activated.

WHEN WILL THE EZEKIEL 38 WAR BE FOUGHT

We will be going into Ezekiel 38: to take a look at something else that must transpire before the week of Daniel is activated. I realize people will say, Bro. Jackson, I just do not understand: Why does God wait that late to do these things? When He sets these scriptures in motion, that brings us close to the week, Israel is in the process of rebuilding the city and the temple. Brothers and sisters, I refuse to be a fanatic; but if you can see these scriptures like they should be, there is no doubt in my mind that it will take that Ezekiel war being fought just a few short months before the week of Daniel actually is initiated. It is that type of condition being brought on, that causes the western world, out of impatience, to negotiate with Israel for some kind of world peace plan. You have to keep in mind all the miracles that God will have done to bring Israel to her position by the time that Ezekiel war is over that causes many people of the world to begin to realize that God is with Israel for the duration; but none of that will change the devil’s plan. There were a lot of people that heard the same men say what I heard said about the six day war, that did not see one single solitary thing. They would not acknowledge God, no matter what happens. They will always say, Oh, they are all a bunch of fanatics. They always have to bring religion into it. There are people that think like that continually: masses of them. Then there are a lot of people who think this Ezekiel war is something that will be dragged out over a long period of time. When you really read that 38th chapter, it is another war of such miraculous proportions, I can say that the Israeli army is not even in position to defend itself by the time it is over. God does the defending. That is how you have to look at it. Who starts this war in Ezekiel 38? Not the Arabs down here in Jordan and Saudi Arabia: they are at peace with Israel by that time. When you read chapters 38 and 39, you see that it is Gog in Russia, the leader of the land of Magog, Meshech and Tubal and those, that start this thing, this sweep against Israel. Then you see that it is the people down here (the Arabs that are already at peace with Israel) that will say to them, What did you come here for? Did you come to take a spoil, to take a prey? That lets me know those people are at peace with Israel. They are ready to speak in defense of them; because they have already been put in their place prior to that time. It will be this other bunch of Moslems over in Persia, the old Shiite bunch, that will be coming with Gog to fight the Ezekiel 38 war. They are the ones that were behind the bombing of the World Trade Center. They are the same ones that would bomb some of the tunnels underneath the Hudson. They are the ones that even planned to bomb the U.N. building. They have a lot of things in mind. They want to terrorize this western world. It is that old Shiite bunch. God is going to put them to sleep also before very long. Believe me saints, He will do exactly that. That is why you see old Iran (Persia) aligned with Russia. You see Ethiopia. Right now you would not think so. You see Libya, which is on the other side of Egypt. You see the house of Togarmah, which is Turkey. That is where Christianity started out when it came to us Gentiles. However today, there are more Islamic people in Turkey than there are Greek Orthodox “Christians.” That is why it is those Islamic people who are going to say, Now we will show that nation of Israel that they are not so mighty. Well maybe not; but they have a mighty God fighting for them. That is exactly the way God has designed it. Remember saints, The Bible tells us that God Himself will put hooks in their jaws and bring them against Israel. (Ezekiel 38:4) “And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.” You who live to see those two prophetic days of Hosea chapter 6, verse 2, coming to a climax to make way for the last week of Daniel’s seventy weeks will be here to see this Ezekiel 38 war fought. You will see a war that is going to shake this entire world. When I say that, I can just hear my critics say, That Jackson has gone crazy: He is ready to predict this and that. Well as I have said before, Just stick around: Time will tell the story. When you read Ezekiel 38 and 39, just remember, if Israel’s intelligence was good enough back in 1982, that they knew there were caves in Lebanon filled with munitions, supplies ready for some kind of secret attack on Israel, it will still be good enough to meet the next challenge. Israel knew by their intelligence, that ships coming from different parts of the world had been coming through and unloading at Beirut, Lebanon. They were loaded with certain munitions, but their surveillance photography could never spot where they were stored. Why? Because they were underground. When Israeli intelligence found that out, that is why there was a war of 82: They went in after those PLO’s; and you know the outcome. They found rifles, ammunition, mortar, and all kinds of weaponry. They were ready to sell it to help them pay for the war they fought in 82. That was in the Jerusalem Post. Now if their intelligence is that good, that they can know that somewhere there is a bunch of people getting ready to launch an attack against them, and they knew how to take care of that, then think of this Ezekiel 38 thing like this, There will not be big convoys of trucks coming from Russia down through Turkey, and big convoys of infantry and troops coming out of Libya across Egypt toward Israel. Neither is it Ethiopian troops coming across the Red Sea by amphibious landing. Neither is it soldiers from Iran, (which is old Persia) coming through to Syria in a long convoy. The Israeli Air Force would knock them all out before they could get there. Common sense will tell you that. On the other hand let us just say, If Russian technicians have been compelled by conditions at that hour, to realize, If we are to attack Israel like this, then we will have to bring about a surprise attack; and the only surprise attack they can muster up will be a complete air drop. An air drop is none other than bringing in huge airplanes loaded with paratroopers, ready to drop about ten thousand in certain spots, with all the equipment they will need for such an attack. I remember, back some years ago, many of the Trinitarian preachers began talking about the Ezekiel war; and they were telling that Russia was raising horses by the thousands, getting ready for that time, because the Bible tells how he will bring horsemen with the shield and bucklers and all that stuff. Brothers and sisters listen to me: You do not burn metal shields. That is a lot of nonsense. The prophet at that time, portrayed the picture according to the only kind of military things he could see in his day. God uses that kind of language; but for our day, when you talk about horses in a situation like this, convert those horses to horse power. Think of those huge diesel tanks and all that type of stuff. Imagine certain planes set at a certain spot loaded with paratroopers and all kinds of supplies. Every wave of them are planned to cross over Israel in a certain dropping zone. Well God will not keep them from coming against Israel; but He will sure make them sorry they did. Let us take a better look at some of these scriptures here in Ezekiel 38. We do not want to be repetitious; but there are things in this chapter I would like for us to take a serious look at. I am talking mainly to the young people now. Why do I say that? If I could have gone to church when I was inducted into the army, and could have known the scriptures of prophecy that were already hanging over mankind, the scriptures that begin to set the stage for a picture of events that this horrible war is going to help shape when time and conditions are in line for it, I am sure I could have lived with a different picture and concept about the whole thing. During the war, we did not hear much about how many Jews were being killed because there was little accuracy in knowing what was going on, in the information realm. It was not until the war was over and the files of the Germans and things like that began to fall into the hands of the Allied Intelligence, that these things begin to be leaked out to the news media. Even then there were things held back until the intelligence forces felt like everything was secure, the way they wanted. They did not want to picture something that had existed, if it had the possibility of frightening people. I am sure today that intelligence sources in our country, as well as in others, know things, that if they were known to the world we might be sitting here today with a different concept of how to look toward the future. The Bible has been constructed in such a way as to keep hidden certain things until such times a they will soon become applicable. That is because God did not give the individual prophets the whole story from beginning to end, but rather anointed each one to write of certain future events; and that way the Holy Spirit is the only One that can put the whole picture together. Many of the end time prophecies were written hundreds of years apart; and were not given as a continuous thought apart from other things. Various holy men, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost to speak a present tense rebuke to a certain generation, would also speak certain things here and there that would apply only at the end time. That is one reason your intelligent mind’s of this day and hour get things so mixed up: they have nothing inside of them to sort out the verses of scripture and put the picture together. Yes saints, God certainly knew how to hide the revelation of His word from the wise and prudent and reveal it to all who would walk with Him in present day truth down through the ages of time. There was no reason for saints of other ages to have the revelation and understanding of end time prophecies the way God has seen fit to reveal them to us in this hour. That is why many times people can read over these certain verses of scripture without even realizing the depth of what they pertain to. However the closer we get to the end of time, the clearer they become to the true bride people. Certain things just begin to stand out and fit right in with other things you are looking at. The importance of them is for our learning as time moves on. I do not wish to bore people with these things, and especially not the young people who listen to me; but I do feel that since we are so close to two thousand years since the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior and the beginning of the grace age, we need to be aware of the fact that prophesied events pointing to the end time are going to be coming to their climax very rapidly from here on out to the end. Therefore all those who desire to be ready to meet the heavenly Bridegroom when He comes for His bride, ought to earnestly meditate upon these things the Holy Spirit is revealing to the Church in this hour of time and let our time be spent in endeavoring to be pleasing to Him. Let me again say, We are not attempting to set a day and hour for the return of our Lord for His bride Church; but we definitely are saying to you that the scriptures declare very clearly, that after two days (2000 years of the grace age) God will again be dealing exclusively with the Jews in the seventieth week of Daniel, to give them the revelation we have been so blessed to receive: That the Jesus their forefathers crucified, is in reality the Messiah they have all longed to see. Will they all receive the revelation? No. But those foreknown of the Father will. If Jesus would come to the nation of Israel tomorrow, as He came almost two thousand years ago, there are those in Israel right now that would deal with Him the same way their forefathers did. They would get rid of Him somehow. However when He comes back in person, He will be coming as King of kings: to rule this old earth with a rod of iron; and there will not be one single person on the face of the earth that can resist Him. All the forces of heaven will stand with Him as He takes control: the Grace Age Bride Church included. For those who have made themselves ready, there is a glorious event just ahead; but for those who have spurned this revelation, and those who have out rightly rejected the wooing of the Spirit of God, there is much anguish ahead for them.

ALL THINGS ARE FALLING INTO PLACE

When we look at Europe today, the ten horned beast, geographically, is all in place. It is just that a few more diplomatic and economic factors still need to be worked out. Nevertheless all those things will work out precisely the way God wants them to when the hour has arrived that the world’s antichrist in western Europe is definitely to be introduced to the world. Needless to say, There is a precise order for the various events that are yet ahead; and God Himself is the only one that knows exactly when and how they will be brought to pass. We can only project an outline based upon what the Spirit of God has revealed to this date. The little chart we have drawn up will help you follow the chain of events right on into the week of Daniel; but beyond that week you have the wrath of God and the Millennium. I realize this chart may not appear in proportion to the various times represented on the time line; but we had to make it larger in places in order to get in all the scriptures; because we are dealing in a generation here in the end time, a generation that will live to see the end. We have gone back to 1939 in our projection of this generation; because that is when these verses of scripture really began to come into focus; and when God began to set conditions in motion that will eventually bring about the fulfillment of them all. Then we come to this junction in time, 1948, the time we look to as the rebirth of the nation of Israel. Here is how we look at the rebirth of the nation of Israel after the terrible war period. These are verses of scripture that stand out exclusively. Here is a chapter that deals exclusively with the city of Jerusalem itself, something which no doubt is soon coming up. This is an episode we are approaching. Actually it is because of this chapter and prophecy concerning Jerusalem, that we really begin to look at how this will all take place. These are mere windows portraying how you look through time as these verses of prophecy begin to hang over that period of time, to see them in their fulfillment. This line represents 2000 years of calendar time from 33 A.D., the crucifixion of Christ, to the year 2000 A.D. While it is pointing here, we want you to understand when we break this calendar time down, we are looking at 2000 years of prophetic time, and you go to Hosea 6 where it says in verse 2, after two days shall the Lord revive us. That is coming up. When you read that, you have to ask, How could God revive a people if they are still scattered among the nations? Well my point is, we have a fixed scripture that tells us where this revival is going to take place. No other time than in the first half of Daniel’s seventieth week, could this scripture apply. That is why the 11th chapter of Revelation fits right in there, along with the 7th chapter. The 7th chapter will tell you exactly how many certain men will be sealed away with the seal of God (the Holy Ghost). We also have to realize that there is another element of Israeli’s that are portrayed in the 12th chapter of Revelation; and they are portrayed as the woman, having two wings of an eagle. So both the 7th chapter and the 12th chapter must be included all in the same time factor, right in here. In the first half of that week the 144 thousand servants of God are sealed in their foreheads; and in the middle of that week they flee to the nations preaching the everlasting gospel; and the woman element flees into the wilderness, into a place God has already prepared for her, that she may be fed and protected while the antichrist is trying his best to annihilate all who have trust in God. That is why the last 3 1/2 years of that week are commonly referred to by those who have that revelation, as the great tribulation. The Bible speaks of it as a time like there has never been before, and never will be again after that.

THE TWO DIFFERENT CALCULATIONS OF TIME

Let me at this time remind you once again that we are dealing with two different calculations of time from the advent of Christ to the culmination of two thousand years. Calendar time, which is what the world uses, is 365 1/4 days to the year; and that runs from the time of the birth of Christ, in that controversial span of a couple of years that historians have trouble agreeing upon. Some say He was born two years before the death of king Herod, others say three years and so on; but for the sake of expressing what we are looking at, we will just say it is two thousand years of calendar time from the birth of Christ to the year 2000 A.D. Then when we look at prophetic time, which is the time all of God’s prophecies are measured by, a prophetic year is exactly 360 days to the year: which is a difference of 5 1/4 days to the year. Therefore as we look at these prophecies, and at the two thousand years Hosea spoke of as two days, we have to figure that two thousand years from the crucifixion of Christ which was the end of the 69th week of Daniel. Then when you get finished calculating those calendar years and converting them into prophetic years, the two thousand prophetic years will not finish out until somewhere between 2004 and 2005 A.D.; and that will put time at the entrance of the seventieth week of Daniel. It may sound confusing just to hear it; but if you care enough to figure it out yourself, you will see that it is very simple. You will have two thousand prophetic years between the end of the 69th week of Daniel and the beginning of the 70th week. When we do get one of the chart’s we are using into your hands, I believe it will help clarify anything some of you may still be unsure about. It is very unique, how those two thousand years of prophetic time will coincide with two thousand years of calendar time, with such a small margin of difference at the end. That of course would mean, if that revival for the Jews is not to take place until the 2000 prophetic years has reached completeness, that the revival (which is the first half of the week) would not start until around 2004 and 1/2. Naturally we cannot be dogmatic about this: for it could possibly overlap a little: maybe as much as two years. Nevertheless I am persuaded that we are looking at a span of time of no more than 11 or so years from now until the last week of Daniel becomes activated. That means the bride Church has no more time than that to reach her final phase of perfection: for when God turns His attention back to the Jews, the Gentile bride will not be around here much beyond that time. The reason I give a two to three year span there at the transition time is because it says, “And after two days He will revive us.” When you go to Daniel 9:26, where it tells you, (talking about the weeks of Daniel, especially this 69th week which falls in the category of the 62 weeks plus the 7, it says, “And after sixty and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off.” The word after, does not mean much, much later. I In that case it meant exactly, and immediately, the very day that time factor was to terminate, Christ was crucified. Of course we have to agree that it does not take 3 1/2 years to kill a man. Why do you say that Bro. Jackson? Because He was crucified in a day’s time, but this revival is not to take place in a day’s time. It is to take place in a 3 1/2 year period of time. That is why I give you the option of a possible overlap of the two thousand prophetic years into the week of Daniel. In other words, by the time those two prophetic days have terminated, the 3 1/2 years of the first part of the week could already have been set in motion and the revival taking place: which could mean the revival started around 2002 A.D. “After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.” Either way, the reason we are looking at it in this light, if we do not figure this prophetic time as beginning at the crucifixion of Christ, you have to carry it another thirty some years to 70 A.D., when the Roman army destroyed the city and the temple; and if you do that, this generation Jesus said would not pass away until all these things be fulfilled, could not last another thirty some years. That would put the week of Daniel all the way over here to 2035; which obviously would not work out with the other scriptures. It would mean those Jews that endured the Holocaust would have to live to be around one hundred years old, to keep it in that generation. The point is, a generation, as Jesus spoke of it, should really be somewhere around seventy years: not a hundred. Therefore using that as a guideline, we Gentile Christians really need to keep our eye on what takes place in the Middle East. Though they have agreed upon a plan for the Arabs to govern themselves in Jericho and the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem is not yet ready to negotiate with them about doing the same thing in old Jerusalem; so this could very well be what brings Zechariah 12:2-9 to the forefront. We have read some of these verses already; but notice this 9th verse. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” Verse 2, we have talked about, how God said He will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all them that are round about. Again He says, I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all them that are gathered together against her. That means public political opinions. Listen to those world leaders, how they are bragging. With their chest stuck out in a proud way they are saying, We are achieving peace. Well that is what they think. They are only preparing to eventually blow the Middle East into what God wants it to be like. We need not look at what is taking place as though the Jew is ready just to give up: God is behind this thing from beginning to end. He is setting the stage for the next prophesied event. He is moving all the actors and players right in position. That is why I am convinced that Gentile Christians do not have time to play around: like some have in past days. No sir. It behooves every Gentile Christian to begin to live each day like it could be his last. I do not mean to frighten anyone by making some kind of hypothetical picture out of this; but saints, Let’s live for God while we can. Let’s go to work living for God. Let’s go to bed living for God. Let’s go to the cornfield living for God. Let’s drive nails, living for God. If you are going to fish, live for God while you are fishing. One thing is sure, God is going to cause some strange happenings over there pretty soon. In one scripture it says, He will hiss for His people. Do you know what the word hiss, means? It is God’s way of getting attention. He does not yell out, He whispers. It is usually only that sensitive ear that will hear a hiss. The thing is, Those who are supposed to hear the hiss will hear it, and the rest will know nothing at all about it. I just have to say this, He that wrote the book knew the end from the beginning: He knows how to bring every minute detail to pass. When we read over in Numbers, God says Israel will do these things: They are going to possess the Moabites, the Edomites. We brought it out earlier in the message. In Jeremiah 48, it says the same thing. Hosea 3:4-5 says Israel will abide many days without a king, without an ephod, without a prince, without a teraphim, and so forth. Afterward shall they return and seek the Lord their God, in the latter days. That is right in front of them. We are entering that era of time, the latter days. We have been living in the last days all along; but now we are in the latter days. This is where things will speed up. In Micah, which is not up there on the chart yet, in the 7th chapter, verse 12, (which we need to read before we go any further) it fills in something else for us. Let us look at it now. It actually goes along with these other scriptures. That one verse goes with this category of scriptures. When Jerusalem reaches the hour that it becomes an international problem, how are we to look upon it? It means God has allowed time to come around where Jerusalem is going to become the city that Israel will absolutely remove all those Arab inhabitants from. Isaiah 49 plainly says they will be far removed. Therefore what is the purpose of removing them? It is so Israel can set up that prophetic program of renovating the city, tearing down the desolate ruined walls and things that mar the looks of it, and restoring the city to its former beauty, getting it ready for the coming of the Messiah. Do not think when that hour has come, that men will sit around fussing about what ought to be done for another ten long years. God has a way of bestowing His power, getting attention to the type of tradesmen and craftsmen He needs to get the job done. Now as we look to the hour in front of us, you young people might just as well get your eyes wide open to what is taking place. I am not talking amiss. I wish I could have seen something back in the years of WW2 of what you are getting ready to behold in the hour you live in. Listen to this 11th verse. “In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.” It means God’s curse that He placed upon the children of Israel in ancient times, wherein He said as you turn your back on me, I will turn my back on you will no longer be operative. As I took great pleasure in blessing thee, I will take pleasure in cursing thee: He has said also. You read that in Deuteronomy. God gave them their warning while they were coming through the wilderness, what He would do for them; but He also prophesied to them of the last days: showing how merciful He can be. Here, He speaks in this verse specifically that this miraculous display of His power is going to be displayed, leading up to the hour old Jerusalem is definitely to be renovated, being rid of those Arab inhabitants that have made it waste, living there for centuries just letting the city run down and become a desolate slum-like place. That is really what it looks like in many areas, a slum. It stinks like a hog pen. Do you think God is going to allow a beautiful temple to be built on the temple mount while that hog pen around it is allowed to set there like it is right now? No He will not. If we will just look up, there is a picture unfolding before our eyes. You are not going to hear this on Trinity Broadcasting, what I am saying to you in this message. I wish I could preach it on Trinity Broadcasting the way I see it today. (12) “In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, (This is talking about the Jews returning.) and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. (Notice now, how He breaks that thought to take you to another thought as we read verse 13.) Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, (That is talking about the Arab inhabitants in the land.) for the fruit of their doings.” God is looking at every bit of it. Then He tells how He will again display His power in that hour when Jerusalem’s walls are to be rebuilt. Israel will be in the final stages of her immigrants coming home: because old Jerusalem, which is facing renovation and the walls being constructed, is then going to face the opportunity to be inhabited and possessed by Jewish immigrants coming from the ends of the earth.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EZEKIEL 38

Let us now go back to Ezekiel 38. How many times have we read this chapter without really realizing what it is saying, even though in about three or four different places it repeats itself? This lets me know this chapter is not a chapter that can be applied just anywhere in time. It is a chapter that can only apply right at the ending of these latter days: just before time takes Israel into the week of Daniel. While this era of time when Israel is fighting, that is how these scriptures are fulfilled. We might say this, Between this unfolding and that unfolding, could be limited into two or three year intervals, but no more. Many people are wondering, How can Ezekiel 38 be fulfilled the way we have thought, when the Russian empire has already fallen apart? I have to say this, You just simply do not know your geography. No, saints, you do not think like that. It is because you have lived in the 20th century, when the Soviet Union, which we commonly refer to as Russia, ran all the way from eastern Europe to the far East Orients. That is not what God is prophesying to here in this chapter. He is talking about that area that starts in the area of Moscow. Moscow is a name that is derived out of the name of the primary people, the Muscovites. The Muscovites are the descendants of Meshech. That is how you have to look at it. (38:1) “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, (2)Son of man, set thy face against Gog, (Now the word Gog means ruler. I do not know whether it is Yeltsin or who: time will tell.) the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, (There you go, Meshech. So you are looking at a precise area, not all of Communist Russia, but a precise area in and around the Moscow perimeter. That is what God was looking at when His prophet saw this. He brings it right down a strategic line coming right toward Israel.) and prophesy against him, (3) And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (the progenitor of the Muscovites, which is the area of Moscow) and Tubal: (4) And I will turn thee back, (Now He pronounces the end before the beginning, in this verse. The end is, I will turn thee back. But in order to turn them back, they have to be brought forth.) and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.” May I say this, The prophet saw this in the 6th century B.C. He did not know what an armored tank looked like, or a weapons carrier. God let him see a military army coming, as Ezekiel was used to seeing them. That is the way you have to look at this to give it proper application in our day, when weapons of warfare are such as Ezekiel never could have imagined. You have to transpose the language to modern day military technology. I remember some twenty years ago, how you could hear some of these prophetic preachers on Radio and TV, saying, Russia is in a great program raising horses by the thousands. They are buying blood to infuse into these horses because they are getting ready for Ezekiel 38. I would hate to be on a horse coming down through Turkey and Israel’s Air Force coming at me. Brother you had better have something other than a horse carrying you at a time like that. Well Bro. Jackson, you know a horse would not show up on radar. No but they will show up on infrared sights. I hope you have not already forgotten the Gulf War. That should have taught some people something: if they paid attention to what was reported. You simply cannot hide from that. That is how they found some of the army tanks that were camouflaged in sand pits, dugouts, covered over. It plainly said they had to start those motors every so many hours to keep the battery charged, especially in that desert country. That would leave that motor generating heat. Here comes these airplanes in for the kill. All of a sudden on these infrared finders, they see this spot on the ground, heat generating up. They know there is something there that shouldn’t be there. What do you think they are going to do? They blow it to pieces. I have said that, because I know this is going overseas. I want it to go overseas. Brethren, do not look for horses. Look for horsepower, described in every conceivable fashion from jet engines, to diesel engines propelling tanks and trucks and weapons carriers of whatever sort. They are coming on horsepower, modern technology. Where it says, “Even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords,” you just have to convert those swords to modern rifles, automatic weapons and such like. I verse 5, we come to the lineup of nations that will be coming with Gog against Israel, so notice who they are. “Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet.” Persia is way over here, actually to the right of Israel if you look at a map. It is still Islamic. Libya is west of Egypt, Ethiopia is down south of Israel. We have to realize this though, Togarmah and Gomer, is the land of Turkey, so it is north of Israel. Why does the Bible mention those four strategic areas? Because at that time they will all still be under the influence of the Moslem religion. Somewhere as we said earlier, when God fulfills these scriptures and Israel makes her military sweep and takes all this land, which she will do in a few days of time, that is going to put that old Islamic religion in the Arab world to sleep. From right there all the way into Saudi Arabia, you have Arabs. But Persians are not Arabs, and neither are Libyans, Ethiopians nor Turks. They are Islamic in their religious beliefs; but not of the Arab race of people. Therefore it is under these scriptures that Israel is going to put these things to sleep. By the time there is an Ezekiel 38 war, the Arabs will already be at peace with Israel. They will be in harmony with Israel because they will no longer be under old Mohammad’s religious spell. You might say, Bro. Jackson, Are you sure about that? Well if you had been listening, I have repeated it many times: showing how it will come about. That is what Zephaniah 2:11 is talking about, “The Lord will be terrible unto them: for He will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship Him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.” Keep in mind this whole Middle East thing is not merely a racial thing, it is a religious thing. It is religious oriented. All the Arabs right now, along with the rest of the Islamic world together, combined, they are many millions of people strong. Nevertheless God is going to strike them out, we might say. Not all at once: but in sections. Therefore the first thing we look for, is when Numbers and those verses of scripture are fulfilled. That is soon coming up in front of us; and you are going to get an opportunity to see first hand, how Israel is used by God on the field of battle, and really see how God will invest in them wisdom, that will make the battle Gideon fought with 300 men look like kids play in proportion to it. We will go ahead and look at verses 6 and 7, over here in Ezekiel 38. We cannot take time to read the whole chapter; but there are some verses we do need to look at. “Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (That is Turkey.) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee. (7) Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.” The word guard, as used here, means an overseer, an instructor, or an adviser. So when you read these four different areas of people that are going to be in collaboration with Gog and the people of Magog and so forth, you should realize when we leave the area of the Muscovites, and start this trek going south, we begin to come into the areas of old southern Russia, and naturally you come into the midst of a people that are Islamic in belief. They were Islamic when the Communists ruled; and they are still Islamic. That is what you have to see. Then when you come into Turkey, you see there that Islamic belief. Therefore as we look at this lineup and try to picture the whole situation, we just have to come to the conclusion that this war is not a result of Russia getting angry about something and taking it upon herself to punish Israel. No. Because if God said He would put hooks in their jaw, this means no matter whether she wants to participate in the endeavor or not, God is going to force her to play her role, in the precise hour of HIS choosing. Simply because, from these four different areas of the Moslem world, at that hour of time, there will be millions of those Moslems chanting, We want Israel destroyed! We want Israel destroyed! We want Israel destroyed! By that time, they will have seen how the Arabs themselves failed in their attempt to do that very thing, and how they have since changed their attitude about it all, and are in agreement with Israel. I know my critics will say when they hear this, Jackson has gone crazy. Well I challenge them to present their version of the fulfillment of these prophecies and make it line up with the rest of the word of God, and at the same time portray a picture of what is to be the final outcome of all of this. Otherwise they should just be willing to stick around ten more years, and then be ready to come and tell me what they see then. This thing is coming about in a way that will wake the world up and make the world realize, Israel’s God is the God of all gods. He puts up whom He will, and He puts down whom He will, Just like the Bible says. If He can put in the heart’s of men, in the last days, to fulfill His word, then He will see that every verse goes in place precisely in the appointed time. So with this picture in mind, God says,”Be thou a guard,” an adviser, an instructor unto them. Sure Russia is going to furnish these other areas all the high tech military equipment, because they themselves are not manufacturers, that puts Russia in a unique position in the whole endeavor. None of these others are manufacturers of high tech military equipment. Russia is. So that is why we have to understand, this would let us know why Omar Khadafi in Libya, has strutted around in the past number of years, looking for just one chance to get into Israel, thinking he could make a name for himself. The hour will come when he will get his opportunity, if he is still alive; but he will not enjoy the name he makes for himself in doing that. Verse 8 tells us of a visitation. Notice, “After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years (We are living in the latter years. God was not talking about 1939, 1948, nor 1967: He was talking about a later time, here she comes. It is not going to be long after that though, that this will come into focus. We have to separate the two so we can deal with them in their proper setting.) thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.” Yes, In the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword. We should all be agreed upon what land that is talking about; so from here on, is where we will begin to notice how emphatically certain words through the prophet are spoken. God puts emphasis on them. We do not find it worded like that in any other prophecy. Do you know what that tells me? Since 1939, there has been the birth of the statehood of Israel in 1948, and there has been a constant conflict from that time until now. Look at the 1967 war. Did it settle the problem? No. Israel just pushed her borders out a little further than those allotted to her. That is why you see them running on this line. I want you to know, When WW2 was going on, and there was a small segment of Jews beginning to immigrate to the land of Palestine, buying up land, settling in these kibbutz compounds, the Arabs soon came against them. It was a spirit at work. The Arabs began to realize the Jews were coming home to fulfill Biblical prophecy, and they set about to prevent it. Every kibbutz that was built, (and you that have been with us over there, know this) had barbed wire enclosures around it. Is that not true? In the 1967 war, when Israel took the Golan Heights, out there in the desert valleys where they set up those new villages, What did you find around those cities? Chain link fences with gates. We have seen it with our own eyes: we are not guessing about it. You have all no doubt seen what I am referring to, as you watched World News on TV. That lets me know one thing for sure, Israel, at that time, was not dwelling safely. Now it is important that we study the scripture, and pay attention to safely. I emphasize it, because it repeats itself again, safely. Right now they are not dwelling safely. They are trying to establish a period of such; but it will not be that way for them until they have pushed their borders completely out to the extent that they enclose every prophecy related to their borders. In Ezekiel 36:10-11, we find God speaking to the land instead of the people. Listen to it. “And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, (That applies to all of Israel’s ancient borders.) and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.” Saints, that is why it behooves us to watch these various things unfold. As we think about this Ezekiel 38 war, notice the terminology in verse 9: “Thou shalt ascend (What does the word ascend mean? It means to come forth, something like that.) and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.” But remember, That will only take place after the Israeli’s are dwelling safely in all of their land: not even feeling that they need a wall to protect them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm: That was the part I wanted to read. You do not have to watch the horizon six months to know a storm is in the making. Storms do not take that long to materialize. The language is telling us, that when this event finally comes about, it is going to be something put together very quickly. Why? Because that is how God will move upon the scene and the heart of the players who are to enact this and set it in motion: After Israel is dwelling safely in her land. Let us now go back to these prophetic scriptures and rehearse what Israel will do. Not what Gog and Magog will do, it is what Israel will do in this day and hour just ahead. It is right in front of us. We may be closer to it than we even realize. They may sign their little peace proposal with the PLO; but in the weeks and months that follow, total chaos can break out in the Middle East. There are too many of the PLO’s in other places: that if Israel will not let them immigrate to those self governed places, they are going to set up a fuss also, just as those Arabs in old Jerusalem are going to do. We want self autonomy also: will be their cry. They are not going to get it though. The only thing they can look for is a truck to come along, and the Israelis to load them up and haul them somewhere else. Our point is, This present peace effort may be just the thing God is going to use to ignite the fuse on something that is destined to blow wide open.