World Sign #1. - An Increase of Sin And Lawlessness.

A. 2 Tim. 3:1-5, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!"

B. Luke 17:26-30, "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed."

C. Jude 17-19, "But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit."

D. In December 1994, the Israeli Supreme Court handed down a decision granting Legal Status To Homosexual or Lesbian Couples.

Imagine The Highest Court In The Holy Land Approving The Sin For Which God Destroyed Sodom And Gomorrah!

E. Israel's Military clearly has no regard for God's command to be holy as He is holy.

1. Consider the new Code of Ethics issued by the Israeli military early in 1995.

2. The document called "IDF Spirit --- Values and Basic Rules," ignores the Ten Commandments, and has Little To Do With Morals.

3. Its "11 Core Values" are:

a. Operation persistence,

b. Responsibility,

c. Reliability,

d. Personal example,

e. Human life,

f. Purity of arms,

g. Professionalism,

h. Discipline,

i. Loyalty,

j. Representation,

k. Camaraderie.

 

World Sign #2. - Great National Distress --- In Particular The Fear of Nuclear War, UFO's, etc.

A. Luke 21:25-26, "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken."

B. Matt. 24:3-6, "Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them: Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."

C. There have been only 286 years of peace during the last 4,000 years of human history, despite the signing of more than 8,000 separate peace treaties. (Society of International Law at London)

D. Since 3600 B.C., over 14,531 wars have been waged in which 3,640,000,000 people have been killed. (calculated by a former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, aided by historians from England, Egypt, Germany, and India.)

E. World War II (1939-1945) killed an estimated 54,800,000.

F. Since World War II there have been at least 12 Limited Wars in the world, 39 Political Assassinations, 48 Personal Revolts, 74 Rebellions for independence, and 162 Social Revolutions.

G. However, Nuclear War will Not Destroy This Earth. --- God has reserved this for Himself.

2 Peter 3:10, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up."

H. Not only the fear of Nuclear war, but --- what about UFO's?

World Sign #3 --- Famine, Pestilence And Earthquakes.

A. Matt. 24:7-8, "And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

B. Famines --- Hunger ...

1. About one in every eight people on earth is chronically hungry.

2. The daily death toll from hunger is 35,000 people.

3. Malnourishment afflicts 340 - 370 million people around the world.

C. Earthquakes ---

1. There are now about 6,000 earthquakes detected every year. Of these 15 are serious.

2. On the average 20,000 people die annually as a direct results of earthquakes.

3. The number of earthquakes per decade has roughly doubled since the 1950's.

D. Pestilences ---

1. In 1987 14,000,000 children alone died from plagues including Diarroeal diseases, measles, tetanus, and malaria.

2. As many as 3 million Americans may be infected with AIDS according to a new study from the Hudson Institute.

3. Despite incredible scientific advances, cancer still takes the lives of 300,000 Americans annually.

World Sign #4 --- An Amazing Increase In Travel And Knowledge.

World Sign #5 --- The Amassing of Wealth --- Extreme Materialism.

A. 2 Tim. 3:1-2, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be ... lovers of money."

B. Rev. 3:17, "Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing..."

C. James 5:1-3, "Come now,you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. you have heaped up treasure in the last days."

World Sign #6 --- Much Talk of Peace, --- And Peace Conferences.

1 Thess. 5:1-3, "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape."

A. In contrast to David --- Today's Israel is Giving Land Back To Its Enemies in exchange for the promise of an insincere "Peace".

B. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres recently justified this policy by suggesting that David's Military Victories Were Not "Acceptable To Judaism or To Me."

 

World Sign #7 --- Abnormal Sexual Activities.

A. Luke 17:26, "And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man, --- V. 28, "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot..."

B. God's Greatest Judgments ..... Sexual Sins ...

C. Sexual Depravity was one of the basic characteristics of Noah's and Lot's day.

1. Gen. 6:4-5, "There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

2. Gen. 13:13, "But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord."

3. So shall it be in the last days .....

D. The San Francisco Chronicle, March 25, 1980, reported a summarization of a current program prepared by the Planned Parenthood of the State Department of Education for use in California schools entitled, "Education for Human Sexuality":

Beginning at age 3, the book provides children a study of sexual intercourse. By age 6, the children are discussing family problems such as sexual molestation and physical abuse. "By age 9 they begin to study menstruation, conception, ejaculation and nocturnal emissions. They read Planned Parenthood booklets which say masturbation is a perfectly acceptable, comforting thing to do..."

Children take field trips to family planning clinics and drug stores to learn the methods and availability of contraceptives.

"They learn that the decision for using contraceptives or getting an abortion is their alone to make, requiring no consultation with their parents. They study the law regarding 'emancipated minors' who are making their own decisions."

Mrs. Kasun urged that the local school board be allowed to approve such a program before it is implemented. Her thorough research and analysis brought a delay to the program.

E. Sex Researchers Are Promoting A Pro-Incest Movement.

1. "Time", April 14, 1980, reported that John Money of Johns Hopkins said Incest Between Parent And Child Need Not Be Harmful.

2. Wardell Pomeroy co-author of the original "Kinsey Reports," agree with Money.

3. The SIECUS (Sex Information and Education Council of the United States) Report, referred to the Incest Taboo as another Unreasonable Prejudice.

4. THE SEX ATLAS, printed by a publishing house associated with the Episcopal Church, states that As Long As The Child Is Willing sex crimes such as child molestation and incest Should Not Be Outlawed.

F. In Iowa, a federal judge has ruled that the Iowa Medicaid program must pay for a Sex Change Operation on the grounds that it was "medically necessary."

G. Animal Copulating is Defended by THE SEX ATLAS; the book contends that "As Long As The Animal Is Not Hurt or Mistreated there is No Need For Social Interference in the case of sexual contact between humans and animals."

H. The modern gay liberation movement boasts of 20 million Practicing Perverts in America alone.

1. There are more than 125 Homosexual Churches.

2. In San Francisco, children are afraid to go in nearby public parks to play because of the homosexual activity.

World Sing #8 --- Attempts To Change The Biological Structure of Human Life.

A. Gen. 6:1-5, "Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years. There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the might men who were of old, men of renown. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, ..."

B. These verse are among the most controversial in the entire Bible --- Who were these mysterious Sons of God who married the Daughters of Men? --- there are Two Major View Points:

1. The Sons of God were individuals belonging to the Line of Seth, while the Daughters of Men were Unsaved Girls From Cain's Line.

2. The Sons of God were not human at all --- but Wicked Angels.

C. On what basis could the Descendants of Seth be called the "Sons of God"?

1. No Where does the Bible indicate that Seth's Descendants maintained a "Pure & Holy & Godly" race.

2. Both Seth and Cain were born to parents of a "Fallen Nature".

3. No Where does the Bible indicate that Seth's Descendants lived Apart From the Descendants of Cain until shortly before the flood --- which would make Intermarriage Difficult.

4. How could the Union of these Two Families, with the Same Ancestors, result in the birth of Giants?

D. What about Matthew 22:30, "For in the resurrection they neither [marry], nor are given in marriage, but are as the [angels] of God in heaven."

1. Angels are Created Beings, they do Not Multiply by Procreation (Col. 1:16, Neh. 9:6, Psa. 148:2-5).

2. However, on Many Occasions, they do Materialize In A Human Form.

a. Two Angels (materialized as men) visited Lot in Sodom --- (Genesis 19:1)

b. Today, We should "Be not forgetful to [entertain] strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (Heb. 13:2)

c. When Satan Tempted Jesus and Other occasions may also be mentioned.

3. When angels transgress against God by taking on human bodies, they Operated In All The Functions of Those Bodies, Including Sex!

This was such a Vile Violation of God's Purpose for Angels that God Judgment For This Sin Was Very Great.

E. The Hebrew Language Favors The Fallen Angels Viewpoint:

1. When Moses wrote "The Daughters of Men," he must have meant that the "Sons of God" were Not of Mankind.

2. The Hebrew "Bne-Elohim" (sons of God) Always Refers To Angels in the Old Testament --- (Job 1:66; 2:1; 38:7; Dan. 3:25)

3. The Hebrew "Nephilim" (giants) actually should be rendered "Fallen Ones."

F. According to a book called 1 Enoch:

1. The characters who joined together with women were called "Holy Ones" and "Watchers" before they succumbed to temptation.

2. All sexual perversions originated, or were taught to men by these fallen angels.

3. 1 Enoch is Quoted in the New Testament by Jesus, Peter, Paul and Jude.

4. However, In no way am I suggesting that 1 Enoch is divinely inspired as is the Bible --- it is to be accepted only a book of history.

G. The common opinion of Jewish Scholars was that the sons of God were angels.

H. The Early Church (until the fourth century) and also during the time of the Reformation, held the view that the sons of God were angels.

I. Some believe that the "Men of Renown" may be the Historical Basis for the legends of Hercules and other children of the gods of Mythology.

J. There Are Two Kinds of Fallen Angels --- The Chained And Unchained.

1. The Unchained now Have Access to High Places and to the Bodies of Unsaved Men. --- (Mark 1:23; Luke 8:27; Eph. 6:12; Rev. 12:9-11)

2. The Chained are at present Already Incarcerated --- (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6-7)

K. All fallen angels were Involved In The Original Revolt of Lucifer (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-17).

1. But a certain group Added Insult To Injury by their Sin In Gen. 6, thus resulting in their Present Prison Status.

2. 2 Peter 2:4-5, "..God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;"

3. Jude 6-7, "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain (Acts 17:26), but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

a. "Hell" --- greek "Tartarus" --- lowest abyss of Hades.

b. If these Scriptures refer to All Angels, then who are the Principalities, Powers, Rulers of Darkness today?

c. The Only explanation that Fits All The Facts:

Some Angels Transgressed, Not Only By Taking On Human Bodies, But By Operating In All The Functions of Those Bodies, Including Sex!

L. Jesus Proclaims His Victory!

1. 1 Peter 3:18-20, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah,.."

a. Eph. 4:8-9, "Therefore He says: When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. (Now this, He ascended -- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?..."

b. "Preached to the spirits in prison.." --- Announced, Proclaimed His victory.

c. Col. 2:14-15, "having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."

M. Many Scholars Believe That Noah And His Family Were The Only Human Flesh That Had Not Been Corrupted By Inter-Marriage With Evil Spirits.

1. Gen. 6:9, "This is the genealogy of Noah, Noah was a just man, perfect (un-corrupted) in his generations. Noah walked with God. --- V.12-13, "So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold I will destroy them with the earth." --- 7:21, "And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man."

2. These Demons May Have Done This In An Attempt To Change (By Genetic Engineering) The DNA Code of Future Babies, So That The Prophesied Incarnation of Christ Could Not Take Place!

3. If this is all true, --- and If we are living in the last days --- and If similar conditions that prevailed in Noah's day (Luke 17:26-27) will be repeated in the final days,---

Are We Witnessing Such Actions Today? --- What About:

(1) Test-tube babies,

(2) Surrogate motherhood,

(3) Artificial insemination,

(4) Human cloning!

(5) U.F.O.'s

N. The late Dr. H. J. Muller, a Nobel Prize winner in physiology and medicine, had a plan to carry the concept of AID (artificial insemination by donor) a step further. He called on prospective parents to forego "egotistical" desires to reproduce their own heredities, and instead, to help advance the human race by constructing children from the "best" available egg and sperm...The Muller plan is to store the best sperm and eggs in banks until the political climate permits establishment of experimental farms. A California sperm bank containing the seed of several Nobel Prize winners was recently named for him. (Dr. Lane P. Lester, Cloning, Miracle or Menace?; Wheaton, Ill.; Tyndale House Publishers, pp. 84,85,91).

Dr. Pierre Soupart of Vanderbilt University Medical School is developing a method of starting a new life with two eggs rather than an egg and a sperm. The offspring would have two biological mothers and would be a female. "It's the answer to a number of women's dreams," says Lucia Valeska, co-executive director of the National Gay Task Force. Each woman would donate an egg which would then be treated in such a way as to cause the eggs to fuse into one cell. ..... Dr. Soupart has carried out this procedure at least once with mice and has plans for further improvement of the technique.

Other scientists propose to take a cell from a human and "trick" it into multiplying until it forms a human embryo, completely by passing the normal process of conception. (p.10)

O. Lester goes on to say: ...on a scale of one to ten, I'd say that research biologists are now at eight and approaching nine on their way to cloning a human.

Barring worldwide disaster or unexpected governmental crackdowns on research, most scientists predict a human will be cloned in ten to twenty years.

P. At least one eminent scientist is proposing that several embryos be grown in a laboratory for each couple so that they could choose the one with sex and other characteristics they prefer.

Apparently, the other embryos would be discarded, so parents would not be saddled with a girl, for example, when they really wanted a boy.

(Parents' Magazine, October 1980, p. 84).

Q. Life has already been conceived in a culture dish outside the mother's womb.

R. Does this sound like we are attempting to change the biological structure of human life?

S. What about the Inter-Marriage of the Sons of God with the Daughters of Men --- What About U.F.O.'s?

World Sing #9 --- Abortion:

A. 2 Tim. 3:1-3, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving (without natural affection), unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,..."

1. "Without natural affection" (Greek - "stergein") refers to a special kind of human love.

2. Greek scholar K. Wuest writes:

It is a love that is a natural movement of the soul, something almost like gravitation or some other force of blind nature. It is the love of parents for children and children for parents, of husband for wife and wife for husband, or close relations one for another. It is found in the animal world in the love which the animal has for its offspring. It is a love of obligatoriness, the term being used here not in its moral sense, but in a natural sense. It is a necessity under the circumstances. This kind of love is the binding factor by which any natural or social unit is held together (K. Wuest, By Paths in the Greek New Testament, p. 110).

B. Paul predicts the absence Even of Gravitational-Type Love which is Possessed By The Animal Kingdom for their young.

C. Perhaps the blackest day in our proud history occurred on January 22, 1973, when the United States Supreme Court (Roe vs. Wade) handed down a seven to two decision which declared that, "a fetus is not a person under the Constitution and thus has no legal right to life."

D. There are certain humane laws Protecting Animals from unusually cruel experiments in laboratories.

But since the 1976 Supreme Court decision, a live fetus (regardless of its age) has absolutely no rights whatsoever!

E. There is no doubt that some researchers are Experimenting upon live aborted babies.

1. Bizarre as it may seem, vivisection is being practiced on human fetuses while the same procedure on animals is widely condemned.

2. Experiments varying from the removal of an organ (such as the liver) from a living fetus, to connecting the decapitated head of a living fetus to a heart-lung machine to study the effect of chemicals on the brain, are matters of medical reports .....

F. According to an article in the Washington Post --- Doctors around the country have begun helping some pregnant women kill their unborn babies because the parents wanted a child of the opposite sex.

G. From the AMA Prism, May 1973 ---"There is a need to redefine the legal status of an infant," believes Nobel Laureate Dr. James D. Watson, "so that parents who discover at the birth of their child that it will be abnormal may decide whether or not to allow it to live." Dr. Watson said that parents now have that right before the child is born, by choosing whether or not to abort, but that under the present system, parents do not have the right after birth. Most defects, he noted, aren't discovered until after birth.

"If a child were not declared alive until 3 days after birth, then all parents could be allowed a choice that only a few have under the present system." Dr. Watson went on to explain, "The doctor could allow the child to die if the parents so chose and save a lot of misery and suffering. I believe this view is the only rational, compassionate attitude to have." Dr. Watson is a scientist who won the Nobel Prize for his work as co-discoverer of themlecular structure of DNA, one of the basic building blocks of the human cell.

World Sign #10 --- The Unification of The Systems of The World.

A. The Antichrist Will Someday Successfully Unite The Religious, Political, And Economic Systems of The World.

Rev. 13:7-8, "And it was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

B. In The Political & Economic World.

It Is Amazing How Many Political & Economic Organizations Have Come Into Being Since World War 11:

1. In July of 1944, two brilliant economists, John Maynard Keynes of Great Britain, and Harry Dexter White of the United States, met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to draw up an economic system which would regulate international trade between the nations --- known as "The Trilateral Commission".

2. On March 22, 1945, the League of Arab States was founded.

3. On April 4, 1949, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded.

4. On May 14, 1955, the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact), was founded. It includes Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Russia.

5. In 1960, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), was founded.

6. On May 25, 1963, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was founded. It consists of forty-nine nations.

7. In 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), was founded. It includes: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand.

8. On June 23, 1971, the European Common Market was founded.

C. There Will Also Be A Universal Identification System.

1. Rev. 13:16-18, "And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."

2. The Same Goals as --- The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11:1, "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." --- V. 4-9, "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top <may reach> unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. {5} And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. {6} And the LORD said, Behold, the people <is> one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. {7} Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. {8} So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. {9} Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

3. God had a Purpose For His Judgment --- Tower of Babel!

Acts 17:22-27, "Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, <Ye> men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. {23} For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. {24} God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; {25} Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; {26} And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; {27} That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:"

4. When we are United and Strong, we cease to acknowledge our Need For God.

We do Not Sense Our Need of Him.

Revelation 3:17, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:"

The Jewish Signs:
The Budding of The Fig tree

Jewish sign #1 - The Restoration (Regathering) of Israel.

Matt. 24:32-35, "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When it's branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the very doors. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."

A. The Fig tree and the Olive tree are almost always a Symbol For The Nation Israel.

1. Luke 13:6-7, "He also spoke this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, Look, for three years --- (personal ministry of Christ) --- I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?"

2. Rom. 11:1, "I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." - V. 16-18, "For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you." - V. 23-24, "And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, who are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery,.....so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Deliverer will come out of Zion,....."

B. It was Prophesied that Israel Would Be Dispersed.

1. Deut. 28:64, "Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known --- wood and stone."

2. Luke 21:5-6, "Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, As for these things which you see, the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down." - V. 24, "And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."

a. Jesus said that Israel would soon be destroyed and when she began to bloom again --- the Second Coming would be very near.

b. Many believe that the generation of Israelites born during this blossom-time will be alive at the Second Coming of Christ.

Matt. 24:34, "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled."

C. It was also Predicted that Israel Would Be Regathered From All Nations Back To Their Own Land.

1. Hosea 3:4-5, "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return, seek the Lord their God and David their king, and fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days."

2. Isa. 11:11-12, "It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."

3. Deut. 30:3-5, "that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under (of) heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers."

4. Ezek. 36:24, "For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land." --- 37:21, "Then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land;"

D. Since Jesus ascended back into heaven --- many Important Events have taken place on earth.

1. In A.D. 70, the Roman general Titus completely destroyed Jerusalem.

2. In A.D. 324, Constantine came into power and made Christianity the state religion.

3. In A.D. 476 the Roman Empire fell.

4. In A.D. 1054, the Eastern and Western branches of the Catholic church split.

5. On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail.

6. On July 4, 1776, the American Declaration of Independence was signed.

7. On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.

8. On July 20, 1969, man first walked on the moon.

9. However, the Most Important Date of the past twenty centuries occurred at 4:30 p.m. on May 14, 1948, --- Israel Officially Became A Nation again.

10. On February 1, 1949, the United States recognized Israel as a nation, and in May, Israel became the 59th member of the United Nations!

E. Now, let's examine a few of the Events Which Led Up To This Historical Day In 1948:

1. September 8, A.D. 70 --- The Jewish Temple is destroyed and Jerusalem is burned by the Romans.

2. A.D. 73 --- Masada falls to the Romans, 960 Jews kill themselves.

3. A.D. 135 --- The Bar Cochba revolt is crushed by the Romans.

4. A.D. 325 --- Constantine the Great controls Jerusalem.

5. A.D. 614 --- the Persians control Jerusalem.

6. A.D. 634 --- the Arabs control Jerusalem.

7. A.D. 1099 --- the Crusaders come to Palestine.

8. A.D. 1517 --- the Turks control Jerusalem.

9. 1878 --- Eliezar Ben Yehouda receives a command from God in a "vision" to go to Palestine and re-establish the Hebrew language among the people.

10. 1898 --- The organization of the World Zionist Movement in Switzerland by Theodor Herzl.

11. November 2, 1917 --- the Balfour Declaration was issued, saying that the government of Great Britain "viewed with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people..."

12. December 11, 1917 --- British General Edmund Allenby captures Jerusalem from the Turks.

13. May 17, 1939 --- the White Paper Report was issued --- (a British political about-face) --- promised that Palestine would become an Arab state with a Jewish minority limited to 30% of the population.

14. November 29, 1947 --- The U.N. proposes to create a statehood for Israel.

15. May 14, 1948 --- The Jews declare themselves a state.

F. Israel would be forced to fight Four Wars of Survival from this date through the spring of 1973 --- these wars were:

1. The War of Independence --- began May 15, 1948.

a. Israel was invaded by Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

(1) This pitted some 45 million Arabs against 64,000 Jews.

(2) They closed in from the north, south, and east, while Israel's back was to the Mediterranean Sea on the west.

(3) The Arabs outnumbered the Jews:

(a) In Soldiers 40 - 1;

(b) In Population, 100 - 1;

(c) In Equipment, 1,000 - 1;

(d) In Area, 5,000 - 1.

b. Against this massive and well-armed invasion, Israel had but 10,000 rifles, each with Fifty Rounds of ammunition, Four ancient artillery pieces, and 3,600 sub-machine guns.

c. Just prior to the war, British Field Marshal Montgomery visited Palestine and sadly predicted it would take the Arabs just eight days to drive the Jews into the sea.

d. In spite of this --- Four Exceedingly Important Goals lay before the Jewish Military Leaders:

(1) Defend to the utmost every Jewish settlement.

(2) Create a navy to lift the blockade and bring in men, munitions, & immigrants by way of the sea.

(3) To lift the siege of Jerusalem.

(4) To take the offensive and save Israel.

e. As the war continued, they were Successful In Accomplishing All Four Goals.

(1) They defended their farms and small town settlements.

(2) They created a navy (of sorts), consisting of 5 dismantled refuge ships, an ice-breaker, & a fishing trawler.

On May 27, four Egyptian ships appeared off the coast of Tel Aviv. The only Israeli ship available for any kind of battle was the Elath, equipped with two actual twenty-millimeter guns and two dummy six-inch guns made out of cardboard to deceive the enemy. This fooled and frightened the enemy ships into a hasty retreat.

(3) They lifted the siege of Jerusalem.

(4) They later launched a counteroffensive.

After intense fighting from May 15 to June 11, a four-week truce was effected by the United Nations. During this lull, Israel secretly purchased huge amounts of war weapons from Czechoslovakia. --- When fighting again broke out on July 9, Israel simply stomped the Arabs! --- On October 15, the final phase of the war began, in the Sinai. The newly supplied Israeli troops simply ran over their Egyptian enemies. --- On February 24, 1949, the War of Independence ended.

f. William F. Albright, professor of Semitic languages at John Hopkins University, wrote: --- "No other phenomenon in history is quite so extraordinary as the unique event represented by the Restoration of Israel.....At no other time in world history, so far as it is known, has a people been destroyed, and then come back after a lapse of time and re-established itself.

2. The Sinai War --- Began October 29, 1956.

a. Unlike the 1948 war, Israel did not sit by and await the Arab onslaught, but launched their own attack.

b. G. F. Owen summarized the action:

"Within one week the fast-moving, hard-hitting Israeli forces had overrun and cleared the entire Sinai Peninsula, destroyed or dispersed about one-quarter to one-third of the Egyptian army, and captured vast stores of supplies and Russian-built equipment. They had taken about 5,600 prisoners, and had killed from 2,000 to 3,000 men at a cost of 171 dead, 600 wounded and 4 prisoners. It was so unusual a military campaign that the New York Times styled it one of the most remarkable operations in world history!"

3. The Six Day War --- Began June 5, 1967 - And Ended June 10

Water Price Describes This War:

(( On June 5, 1967, Israel struck at her enemies, and, in one of the most brilliant campaigns in the annals of war, completely defeated them in less than a week. In the first day of the war, Israel gained complete control of the air by virtually destroying the entire air force of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. In rapid thrusts, Israeli troops then overran the entire Sinai Peninsula, including Sharm Al-Sheikh, and drove to the eastern bank of the Sueq Canal. The Gaza Strip was also taken, along with Jordanian-occupied Jerusalem. All the rest of Jordan's holdings on the west bank of the Jordan river were taken, including the major cities of Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah, and Jenin. From Galilee, Israeli forces drove into Syria until her army stood before the gates of Damascus. Israel secured the Golan Heights, from which Israeli fishing on the Sea of Galilee and border villages had been shelled by the Syrians during nearly twenty years of Israel's existence. Egypt suffered the most. Seven (7) divisions totaling 80,000 to 100,000 men were completely routed or destroyed. The entire armored force which Egypt had in Sinai, composed of 600 to 700 Soviet supplied tanks, was destroyed. More than 100 undamaged tanks fell into Israeli hands. Huge quantities of Soviet-supplied equipment were taken from Egypt, including 400 field guns, 50 self-propelled guns, and literally thousands of vehicles, along with large caches of ammunition and provisions of all kinds. Four hundred forty-four Arab planes were destroyed on the ground when Israel attacked airfields in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq.

The major air thrust was against Egypt. Israeli planes, up from fields near Tel Aviv and flying 150 feet above the Mediterranean in order to avoid radar detection, swept into Egypt from the sea and devastated Egyptian air bases from Cairo to Suez and to the Red Sea coast. Soviet-supplied MiG-21s and MiG-19s were lined up neatly in rows; all of them were obliterated by Israeli jets. Sixteen Egyptian airfields were put out of commission during the first hours of the war. Twenty-six Egyptian radar screens were destroyed. During the raids only two MiG-21s got off the ground and they were soon shot down --- but only after they had managed to down two Israeli planes. It is believed the 100 out of Egypt's 350 pilots were killed on the ground during this first Israeli air strike.

Russia had supplied Egypt with several billion dollars' worth of military equipment since 1955 --- most of which was lost to Israel in a matter of hours. When the cease-fire came, Israel had gained the Gaza Strip; the whole of the Sinai Peninsula; all of Jordan's west bank territory, including the Old City of Jerusalem; and the Golan Heights. The Arab states had been delivered a crippling blow, and Soviet Russia received a major setback in the Middle East. (Walter Price, Next Year in Jerusalem, Chicago: Moody Press, 1975, pp.92,93)

4. The Yom Kippur War --- Began October 6, 1973 --- And Ended October 25, 1973.

a. Most of the Jews had been fasting during the previous 24 hours, for Oct. 6th was the most sacred time of their entire year --- the Day of Atonement.

b. At 2:00 p.m., Israel was attacked simultaneously by Egypt in the south and Syria in the north.

c. The raw power and massive troop movements were staggering --- before it ended, this would be the largest conventional war, in terms of armored forces, since the end of World War ll in 1945.

(1) Some 5,000 tanks, 2,000 heavy guns, and 1,000 aircraft.

(2) Over one million men would fight, of which 838,000 were Arabs.

d. At one point in the war, only seven battered tanks stood in the way of the Syrians in the north and less than ninety separated the Egyptians in the south.

For Some Unexplained Reason, Both Enemies --- Egypt And Syria --- Suddenly Stopped Their Advances For A Full Forty-Eight Hours.

e. This gave the hard-pressed Jews the priceless time so desperately needed to complete mobilization.

f. On Friday, Oct. 19, the greatest tank battle in world history was fought in the Sinai desert --- thousands of tanks slugged it out and when the battle smoke had cleared --- Israel had won a decisive battle.

g. On Oct. 25, 1973, the fourth (and by far, the biggest) Middle east war came to an end.

(1) Arab casualties exceeded 15,000 --- in less than three weeks.

(2) Israeli losses were over 4,000.

G. So there you have it --- the beginning of fulfillment of the prophecy that the Jews and their land would be restored.

The Jews and the land! --- these two cannot be separated.

Jewish Sign #2 - The Rebuilding of The Temple.

The history of Israel can be summarized by simply studying the nation's three holy buildings --- a Tabernacle and two Temples.

A. The Tabernacle of Moses:

1. The Instructions were given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai - (Exo. 25:9).

a. The tabernacle was to be patterned after the Heavenly Tabernacle.

Exo. 25:9, 20; Isa. 6:1-8; Heb. 8:2, 5; 9:24; Rev. 11:9; 14:15, 17, 16:1;7

b. Time of construction: --- six months --- Date of completion: --- April, 1444 B.C. - (Exo. 40).

2. Description and size of the Tabernacle:

a. It consisted of Three Sections: - outer court, - inner court, - and Holy of Holies.

(1) Outer Court: - Similar to a picket fence, 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, 7 1/2 feet high.

(2) Inner Court: - The eastern enclosed section of a two-room tent.

(3) Holy of Holies: - The western enclosed section of this tent. The tent was 45 feet long, 15 feet high, and 15 feet wide.

b. The Furniture of the Tabernacle:

(1) In the outer court: - A bronze altar and laver.

(2) In the inner court: - Shewbread table, lampstand, and incense altar.

(3) In the Holy of Holies: - The Ark of the Covenant.

c. The Tabernacle lasted for approximately 400 years.

3. It was Set Up At Shiloh - (Josh. 18:1; 19:51; Judges 18:31; 1 Sam. 1:9; 3:3).

4. It was eventually Destroyed By The Philistines.

(1 Sam. 4; Psa. 78:60; Jer. 7:12-14; 26:6).

B. The First Temple:

1. Construction Began under Solomon in April, 966 B.C., --- and was Completed 7 1/2 years later in October, 959 B.C. --- (2 Chron. 2-7; 1 Kings 5-8).

2. God had given the blueprints to David, who passed them on to his son. --- (1 Chron. 28:11-12, 19).

a. David began gathering vast materials for the Temple while Solomon was still a boy - (1 Chron. 22:5).

b. They consisted of 100,000 talents of Gold (120 million ounces) --- one million talents of Silver (1.2 billion ounces) --- plus untold quantities of Bronze and Wood.

c. David himself personally gave 3,000 talents of Gold (3.6 million ounces) --- and 7,000 talents of Silver (8.4 million ounces).

3. The Construction Crew consisted of:

a. Hiram of Tyre was the main contractor --- (1 Kings 7:13).

b. Under Hiram, 30,000 Israelites served to cut and carry the Lebanese cedars --- (1 King 5:13-14).

c. Also, 153,000 non-Israelites were employed --- (2 Chron. 2:17).

d. These were superintended by 3,600 foremen --- (2 Chron. 2:18).

4. At the Dedication, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep and goats were sacrificed. The celebration lasted 14 days --- (1 Kings 8:62-66).

5. The Temple proper was 90 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 45 feet high. (1 Kings 6:2). The total size of the courtyard was 600 feet long by 300 feet wide.

6. The Temple was built of:

a. Blocks of stone quarried in the nearby hills.

b. The inside was paneled with finely carved cedar wood overlaid with gold.

c. The floors were made of cypress boards --- (1 Kings 6:16, 21-22).

d. All this was done without sound of hammer, axe, or any other tool. -- (1 Kings 6:7)

7. It has ten Lampstands and ten Tables of Shewbread --- (2 Chron. 4:7-8).

8. The Altar of Bronze was 30 feet long by 15 feet high, with a circumference of 30 feet --- (2 Chron. 4:1).

9. The Laver measured 15 feet across, 7 1/2 feet deep, with a circumference of 45 feet. It rested on the back of 12 oxen in 4 groups of 3, facing the cardinal points of the compass - (2 Chron. 4:2-5). This bowl weighed over 30 tons and could hold some 16,000 gallons of water.

10. Two huge Pillars stood at the entrance of the Temple. These were named "Jachin" (sustainer) and "Boaz" (smitten).

11. History of the first Temple:

a. It was sacked by Egypt during Rehoboam's time --- (2 Chron. 12).

b. Joash was hidden there during the bloody reign of Athaliah --- (2 Chron. 22-23).

c. The High Priest Zechariah was stoned there --- (2 Chron. 24)

d. Uzziah became a leper there - (2 Chron. 26).

e. Manasseh set up idols to devil gods there --- (2 Chron. 33)

f. Josiah found a copy of God's Word there --- (2 Chron 34)

12. Both Isaiah (64:10-11) and Jeremiah (7:11-15); 26:6-9) Predicted the Destruction of the Temple because of Judah's sin.

13. Nebuchadnezzar Destroyed The Temple on the ninth of Av, 586 B.C. (2 Chron. 36:16-19; 2 Kings 24:13-14).

14. It had lasted 373 years.

C. The Second Temple

1. Haggai was the prompter God used to get the Temple built. (See his book).

a. Construction was Begun By Zerubbabel in June, 535 B.C. - (See Ezra 3 for the dedication service).

b. It was Completed in February, 516 B.C.

2. Herod the Great began rebuilding and adding to the Temple in 20 B.C..

a. Its dimensions were 90 feet long by 90 feet high - (Ezra 6:3).

b. The dimensions of Herod's Temple proper was 150 feet by 150 feet. The total Temple, including courts,etc., was 750 feet long by 600 feet wide. The bronze altar inside was 48 feet square and 24 feet high.

c. Construction continued after his death. --- In Jesus' day work was still going on - (John 2:20).--- It was finally completed in A.D. 64.

d. On the Ninth of Av, A.D. 70, Titus totally destroyed it.

3. The Glory Cloud of God did Not fill this Temple as it had the Tabernacle and Solomon's Temple - (Exo. 40:34-38; 1 Kings 8:10-11; 2 Chron. 5:13-14).

4. The Temple history between Zerubbabel and Christ:

a. Josephus says Alexander the Great visited the Temple in 332 B.C.

b. On December 15, 168 B.C., Antiochus Epiphanes defiled the Temple by slaughtering a sow on the altar. He then looted the Temple and burned the copies of the Law of Moses.

c. This led to a Jewish revolt, instigated by Mattathias and his five sons, John, Simon, Judah, Eleazer, and Jonathan. --- Judah became nicknamed "the hammer" (Maccabean).

d. On December 25, 165 B.C., the Maccabees captured and cleansed the Temple. - This originated the feast of dedication (also called Lights and Hannakuh). - (John 10:22).

e. In 63 B.C., Pompey took the Temple after a three-month siege on the day of atonement.

5. The Temple history in the time of Christ:

a. The temple was the most beautiful building in the world.

b. Herod had trained 1000 priests in building arts, and had employed 10,000 skilled masons.

c. He then secured 1,000 wagons to have stones brought from the quarries.

d. The Temple was made of beautiful marble and gold --- so gleaming that it appeared from afar as a mountain of snow glittering in the sun.

e. It could easily hold 120,000 worshipers.

6. The Temple Personnel:

a. The High Priest.

b. The Chief Priests (200 highborn Jews who could trace their descent back to Zadok). They had charge of the weekly Temple services, Temple treasury, and maintenance of the sacred vessels.

c. The Regular Priests --- 7,200 in number. They were divided into 24 priestly clans, each serving a week at a time. Their job was lighting the altar fires, burning incense, baking the unleavened bread, and sacrificing the animals.

d. The Levites --- 9,600 in number. They also served one week at a time, as guards, policemen, doorkeepers, singers, musicians, and servants.

e. The Daily Temple Ritual required the services of 1,000 chief priests and Levites. During the Three Great Feast Days (Passover, Weeks, Booths) all 24 clans were required to attend --- thus there were some 18,000 priests on hand.

7. Christ and the Temple:

a. He was dedicated in the Temple --- (Luke 2:27).

b. He asked questions in the Temple at the age of 12 - (Luke 2:4).

c. He was taken to the pinnacle of the Temple by the devil - (Luke 4:9).

d. He taught there - (Matt. 21:23; 26:55; John 7:14) --- and He healed there - (Matt. 21:14).

e. He cleansed the Temple, at the beginning and conclusion of his ministry - (John 2:14-15; Matt. 21:12).

f. He predicted its destruction - (Matt. 24:1-2).

g. Its veil was torn at his death - (Matt. 27:51).

8. The Apostles and the Temple. The twelve met, taught, and worked miracles in the Temple - (Acts 2:46; 3:1; 5:42).

9. The Jews have enjoyed No Temple since September of A.D. 70 when Titus burned Jerusalem.

D. The Third Temple --- Yet Future

1. The Bible Clearly Predicts the future construction of a Third Temple:

a. Dan. 9:27, "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end of sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."

b. Matt. 24:15, "Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand),.."

c. 2 Thess. 2:3-4, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

d. Rev. 11:1, "Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood; saying, Rise and measure the temple of God,the altar, and those who worship there."

2. Where Will This Third Temple Be Built?

a. It will be constructed on the same spot where the first and second Temple once stood --- Mount Moriah!

b. It is the place where Abraham offered up Isaac - (Gen. 22:2).

c. The place where the hand of the death angel was stayed in David's time - (1 Chron. 21:15-29). David then bought this area from a Jebusite named Ornan.

d. The place where Solomon built the first Temple --- (2 Chron. 3:1).

e. The place where the Second Temple was constructed --- begun by Zerubbabel - (Ezra 3) --- greatly enlarged by King Herod - (John 2:20).

f. In A.D. 135 Roman Emperor Hadrian built a statue of Jupiter on this spot.

g. The earliest Christians looked upon Moriah as a place cursed by God.

h. In A.D. 534 Emperor Justinian built a church dedicated to St. Mary.

i. In A.D. 639 Jerusalem fell to Islam and Moriah became a Moslem Shrine.

j. In A.D. 691 the famous Dome of The Rock was completed.

k. In the tenth century the Crusaders captured Jerusalem and worshiped God in this building on Mr. Moriah, believing it was actually the second Temple! They called it the Lord's Temple.

l. A century later the Arabs took it again, this time for keeps.

3. What will happen to the Dome of The Rock, which must be removed to allow the construction of the third temple?

a. No one knows --- earthquake --- bombed --- burned .... etc.

b. It could be that the antichrist himself will relocate it on another nearby site.

4. What will cause the Jews to build the third Temple?

a. There is a Growing Desire in the heart of the Jews to rebuild the Temple.

(1) This desire was fanned to white heat during the days following the Six Day War in June of 1967.

(2) At this time the Jews recaptured the old walled city of Jerusalem, including their beloved western (or wailing) wall.

(3) The western wall is 60 feet high and 200 feet long --- it extends below the ground for 70 feet --- it is the holiest spot in Israel to the Jews.

5. The rebuilding of the Temple may well be connected with that mysterious and missing box known as the Ark of The Covenant --- Description:

a. A 5 feet long, 3 feet high, 3 feet wide box made of acacia wood, --- overlaid with gold.

b. It contained a pot of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the two tablets of the Law of Moses.

c. The lid was called the Mercy Seat --- two golden angels overlooked the Mercy Seat.

6. History:

a. God ordered Moses to build it while he was on Mt. Sinai. --- (Exo. 25:10-22).

b. To be placed in the Holy of Holies --- (Exo. 26:33-34).

c. Was anointed - (Exo. 30:26).

d. Carried by priests, on staves placed through four golden rings on the corners of the ark - (Num. 4:5).

e. God spoke to Moses from the Mercy Seat --- (Num. 7:89).

f. The Ark led Israel Across The Desert --- (Num. 10:34-36).

g. The Ark led Israel and Joshua Across The Jordan (Josh. 3-4).

h. The Ark was carried around the City of Jericho - (Josh. 6:1-17).

i. God spoke to Joshua from the ark after Israel's tragic defeat at Ai - (Josh. 7:6).

j. The Ark resided in Shiloh during Samuel's and Eli's day - (1 Dam. 3:3).

k. It was Captured By The Philistines --- (1 Sam. 4-6).

l. The Ark was returned to Israel --- (1 Sam. 6-7).

m. Saul brought the Ark into Battle against the Philistines - (1 Sam. 14:18).

n. David brought the ark into Jerusalem --- (2 Sam. 6).

o. David planned to build the Temple To House The Ark - (2 Sam. 7:2).

p. It remained, however, in a Tent until the time of Solomon. --- (2 Sam. 11:11).

q. The ark was carried out of Jerusalem and back during Absalom's rebellion --- (2 Sam. 15:24-25, 29).

r. Solomon worshiped God before the ark after receiving his gift of wisdom --- (1 Kings 3:15).

s. Solomon placed the Ark in the Temple --- (1 Kings 8).

t. Solomon then Moved His Pagan Wife (daughter of Pharaoh) away from the area of the Ark - (2 Chron. 8:11).

u. The Ark was placed back in the Temple during King Josiah's reign.

v. The Ark was Not In The Temple of Herod.

7. Theories Concerning Its Whereabouts:

a. Jeremiah carried it with him to Egypt.

b. Jeremiah hid it on Mt. Nebo --- (2 Macc. 2:1-7).

c. It is hidden beneath the Dome of the Rock.

d. It resides in a Church at Aksum in Ethiopia.

8. When David became king over all Israel in 1004 B.C., he did Three Significant Things:

a. He Captured Jerusalem from pagan Jebusites --- (1 Chron. 11:4-9).

b. He Located The Ark of The Covenant.

c. He then decided to Build A Temple to house the Ark.

9. Many Jews Also Link Restoration of The Temple To A Coming Messiah.

(This could make them Gullible in accepting the Antichrist and signing a peace treaty with him.)

 

Jewish Sign #3 - The Revival of The Old Roman Empire & The Rebuilding of Babylon.

A.

 

 

 

 

Questions About Iraq:

The question is often asked: "How important is Iraq in prophecy?" In order to answer that question, I thought that I might ask a few questions, all of which have the same answer?

1. What is the second most mentioned nation in the Bible, after Israel?

2. Where was the Garden of Eden located?

3. Where did the Sumerians, the oldest known civilization, live?

4. What country was Noah and his family from?

5. Where was the Tower of Babel?

6. Babylon, which is literally going to be re-built, is located in the southern part of what country?

7. Where was Abraham born, and from what country was he called out of?

8. The Chaldeans were a tribe in the southern part of what country?

9. The wife of Isaac and Jacob came from what country?

10. Assyria, from which the anti-christ will come, is in the northern part of what country?

11. Ninevah, that Jonah did not want to preach to, was the capital city of what country?

12. What country captured the 10 northern tribes of Israel in 722 B.C.?

13. What country captured Jerusalem in 606 B.C.?

14. What country has never captured Jerusalem since then, but has always wanted to?

15. In what country was Daniel when he was put in the Lion's den?

16. In what country were the three Hebrew children when they were placed in the fiery furnace?

17. The Euphrates River, which is to be dried up, is in what country?

The answer to all of the above questions may not be the same if you use Biblical names. However, check your Bible maps and find the modern names that are used today. You will find the answers to be modern day Iraq. By the way, as most of you already know, Persia is modern day Iran.