A New Beginning presents something for the New Year from Pastor Greg Laurie. We want to help you get stronger in your faith and discover what it really means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. To help you do that, we're offering a book called Discipleship, The Road Less Taken. I explore what the Bible says about discipleship and how we can grow in this area.
And we'll send this book to you for your gift of any size. Get your copy of Discipleship, The Road Less Taken at Harvest.org. Why is there such a hatred for the Jews? Simple answer. They are God's chosen people, and Satan hates what God loves.
Simple as that. God has a special plan, special promises, and a special affection for the Jews. Pastor Greg Laurie points out how that ignites the devil's hatred. Why does Satan hate Christians?
Because we too have been drafted in to the promises of God, and Satan hates what God loves. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.
Again you hear how the angels are singing. This is the day, the day where life begins. Whenever an earthquake occurs, scientists focus immediately on the epicenter.
Where did all this shaking start? It can inform their view of the bigger picture. Well, when it comes to Middle East tension and God's plan for the end times, the epicenter of everything is Israel. And that's our focus today as Pastor Greg Laurie continues his series on the last days called The Future is Written. We'll see what Scripture tells us about the next events on God's prophetic timetable.
This is the day, the day where life begins. Heard about a town in South Dakota, and this little town there is called Wall. And in the tiny little town of Wall is a drug store called Wall Drug, started by a guy named Ted Husted. And he knew he wasn't going to get much traffic in the little town of Wall, population 300, for his little drug store.
So he came up with a very clever plan. He decided to put signs up everywhere telling you how far you were from Wall Drug. So in Memphis, Tennessee, which is a long ways from South Dakota, there's a sign that says Wall Drug, 1,192 miles. There's another sign for it in Paris, France, Wall Drug, 5,961 miles.
He got a sign up in Moscow, even one in Kenya in front of the Taj Mahal. And then when you're in Interstate 90 in South Dakota for the last 45 minutes before you hit the town of Wall, the signs get bigger and brighter. And then the biggest one is saved for last.
Wall Drug. In the same way Jesus told us to look for the signs of His return. As they get bigger and brighter it's saying one thing. Jesus Christ is coming again. And we are seeing that right now. Now when we talk about the end times we hear words like Armageddon, Second Coming, Antichrist, Abomination of Desolation, Rapture, Millennium. The list goes on. And sometimes it's confusing.
Right? And you don't know what happens when. But as I've said before, God wants us to understand Bible prophecy.
It's not His desire to conceal but to reveal. And so let's look at this together. In many ways the events of the end times are like dominoes closely stacked together. Once the first domino falls the others will fall in rapid succession. So we are waiting for the next event on the prophetic calendar which I believe is the rapture of the church. The rapture of the church is that moment when Christ comes for His church like a thief in the night.
And we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Sometime after that the Antichrist emerges. Now the Antichrist is going to be a charismatic world leader. He will come as a peacemaker. But in reality he is a troublemaker. If the devil ever had a son this is him. Anti can actually be translated against.
But it can also be translated instead of. That's what he is. A false Christ. Many will think he is Christ. But he is a false Christ with political solutions. He will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
Appear initially as a friend to the Jewish people and turn on them and reveal his wicked agenda. That inaugurates a seven year period called the Great Tribulation period. It is my firm conviction that we as Christians will not go through the Tribulation period. Because the Bible says God has not appointed us to wrath but to attain mercy from our Lord Jesus Christ. Now some will say, but wait. Jesus said in this world you will have tribulation. True. There is a difference between personal tribulation and trials and the Great Tribulation period.
Ok. So this is a seven year period. The first half of the tribulation starts off peacefully. The Antichrist initially comes with overtures of peace.
In fact the Bible says through peace he will deceive many. But then he reveals his true agenda and the abomination of desolation happens. That is when Antichrist erects an image of himself in the temple and commands people to worship it. Now for the rest of the tribulation period we see various plagues coming upon the world. We see two witnesses that God raises up who many believe will be Moses and Elijah. We see 144,000 converted Jews who have embraced Jesus as the Messiah. Combing the planet.
Preaching the gospel. So the tribulation period culminates with the battle of Armageddon. The word Armageddon comes from the root word Megiddo. So it is talking about the location of the battle.
It will be in the valley of Megiddo in Israel. Then during the battle of Armageddon Christ returns the second coming. There is a difference between the rapture and the second coming. In the rapture he comes for his church. In the second coming he returns with his church.
Ok. So every eye will see him in the second coming. Jesus said, as the lightning shines from the east to the west so will the coming of the Son of Man be. So when we hear Jesus say he will come like a thief in the night then he says every eye will see him.
We just have to understand what he is referring to. When he says he will come like a thief that is the rapture. When he says every eye will see him that is the second coming.
All right. So the second coming now begins the great millennial period. The word millennium means one thousand.
That is the length. This is when the lion lies down with the lamb and we have global peace and they beat their swords into plowshares. And then the new Jerusalem like a bride adorned for her husband comes down from heaven and heaven and earth effectively become one. So that is a quick flyover of prophetic events. Now let's come back and talk about Israel.
And here is point number one if you are taking notes. The nation Israel is the key to understanding the end times. The nation Israel is the key to understanding the end times.
And the Bible makes bold and very specific predictions about her. The people of Israel were attacked by Hamas terrorists. These militants slaughtered 1300 people.
Men, women, and children and did unspeakable things. Plus they took into captivity 250 more people. Many of whom are still in captivity. Now this is in a nation with a population of less than 10 million. So if we were to compare it to here. Let's just say this happened in America and let's extrapolate the number proportionally so we can understand what it would be like. This would be like waking up one morning and opening the paper or going to your favorite news site and reading that Hamas came in and murdered 40,000 Americans.
So you could see how significant and horrific that would be. That is comparably what it was like for Israel to have 1300 of their people murdered. Now you would think in the wake of something this awful and unspeakable that there would be sympathy extended to Israel and the Jewish people.
But instead the very opposite happened. Anti-Semitism exploded around the globe in the aftermath of October 7. Protests happening.
Huge protests in Europe and in America and on our Ivy League universities. People supporting Hamas and calling for violence and death for the Jews. One of the slogans of the signs is from the river to the sea Palestine will be free. And that is just another way of saying we don't want Jews in the Middle East. We don't want a nation Israel in the Middle East because the river would be the Jordan River. The sea would be the Mediterranean. And so anti-Semitism which is hatred of Jewish people has risen 80 percent in Germany since October 7.
Can you imagine it? Germany. Germany which was responsible for the Holocaust under Adolf Hitler resulting in the loss of the lives of six million Jewish people. Even in a synagogue in Los Angeles pro-Hamas terrorists were blocking Jewish people from going into their own synagogue. So the question arises why is there such a hatred for the Jews and for their homeland of Israel. Well by the way anti-Semitism is not unique to our time.
It goes all the way back to the book of Exodus. Well we see the Pharaoh giving the order to kill all the Jewish baby boys. Then fast forward to the book of Esther there in ancient Persia. We see Haman and his wicked plot to have all of the Jewish people exterminated. Interestingly in both of those situations courageous women stepped into the gap and saved the Jews. In the case of Pharaoh the Jewish midwives refused to obey that order and would not kill those little Jewish baby boys.
And in the case of the book of Esther it was Esther herself who was the queen that put it all on the line and spoke up for her fellow Jews. But why this hatred for the Jews? Simple answer. They are God's chosen people and Satan hates what God loves. Simple as that.
There it is. Why does Satan hate Christians? Because we too have been grafted in to the promises of God and Satan hates what God loves. God describes the Jewish people as the apple of his eye.
He says of them whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everybody I want to tell you about a major new ministry initiative that we have here at Harvest called the Harvest Discipleship Platform. So it's a major leap forward in our national ministry and we adapt teachings from the New Believers Bible.
Do you know about that? That's a Bible project I worked on years ago and they're all around the world. Well we have excerpts from the New Believers Bible and also we have an online community of believers who are looking for what's next in their spiritual walk. So at Harvest Discipleship you can find trusted Bible teaching in a community that cares for you and positive encouragement in your spiritual life.
That sounds pretty good right? So become a part of the Harvest Discipleship Platform and you can do that by just going to harvest.org. Well we're learning today how Israel is the key to understanding end times prophecy.
Pastor Greg continues his study now. Now let's talk for a few moments about why there is a nation Israel to begin with. How could such a thing even happen? It really seemed impossible especially in the aftermath of the Holocaust. But Jews began to return to their homeland as if on cue and I think it was on cue because the Lord was prompting them to do so.
And they regathered there in the land bringing me to point number two. A sign of the end times is the regathering of the Jews in Israel. Again a sign of the end times is the regathering of the Jews in Israel. It was to alert us specifically that we're in the last days. In Matthew 24 Jesus foretold the destruction of the temple and the dispersion of the Jews. Remember the disciples said what would be the sign of your coming? And he points to the temple he says I tell you there not be one stone left upon another that will not be taken down. Do you see the size of this temple?
What are you talking about? Well he was foretelling the destruction of the temple which happened in 70 A.D. when Titus and the Roman troops came in and set it all on fire. And it was dismantled stone by stone. And many many Jewish people were slaughtered. And they dispersed from the land of Israel. Fast forward throughout human history and we come to the Holocaust. But then in the aftermath of that a modern day miracle happened and the prophetic clock began to tick. On May 14, 1948 Israel against all odds became a nation again and I'm proud to announce that the United States was the first nation to recognize them as a nation.
So this is very significant. But here's what we need to understand because there's all kinds of false narratives out there. People say well the Jews are colonizers.
Give me a break. The Jews are indigenous to the land. They are the original occupants of the land that God specifically gave to them. To the Jewish people God said in Deuteronomy 1a look I'm giving all this land to you.
Go in and occupy it for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham Isaac and Jacob and all their descendants. Okay so that brings us now to Ezekiel 37 where he predicts the return of the Jews. Are you there at Ezekiel 37? It's right after Ezekiel 36 if that helps.
Let's read it together. I'm reading from the New Living Translation. The Lord took hold of me and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me around the old dry bones that covered the valley floor.
They were scattered everywhere across the ground. Then he asked me son of man can these bones become living people again? Oh sovereign Lord I replied you alone know the answer to that. Then he said speak to these bones and say dry bones listen to the word of the Lord. This is what the sovereign Lord says. Look I'm going to breathe into you and make you live again. I'm going to put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I'll put breath on you and you will come to life and you will know that I am the Lord.
We'll stop there. Now I've spoken to some pretty dead audiences before but this takes the cake. God says to Ezekiel go to the graveyard and preach to the bones. And that's exactly what Ezekiel does.
But what does this mean? What do these dry bones represent? Drop down to verse 11 of Ezekiel 37. He said to me son of man these bones represent the people of Israel.
They're saying we become old dry bones all hope is gone. Now give this message from the sovereign Lord to my people. I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again.
Look at this. I'll bring you back to the land of Israel. Now verse 13. When this happens oh people know that I am the Lord. I'll put my spirit in you and you'll live and return home to your own land.
It's their land. You'll return to your own land and you will know that I am the Lord. You'll see how I've done everything as I promised. I the Lord have spoken. Stop there. This was written 2,500 years ago.
Very specific. So what is Ezekiel telling us? He's telling us a sign of the end times Israel will be scattered. That's happened. Israel will be regathered. That too has happened. Israel will regain Jerusalem. That also has happened. Israel will be isolated. That is happening. And the Bible tells us in the last days the final conflict of man would be centered on Jerusalem. Not in Paris or Rome or London or any other city. On Jerusalem.
Bringing me to point number three. The city of Jerusalem will be a focal point of the end times. City of Jerusalem will be a focal point of the end times. One of the greatest things that President Trump did was moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Very good thing to do.
Why is that a good thing to do? Well because we put an embassy in the capital of a nation. That's what we do and other nations do as well. That's why there's so many embassies in Washington D.C. because that's our capital. But inexplicably we put our embassy in Tel Aviv, which is not the capital of Israel. Jerusalem is and that was done and that was a very important thing to do.
But why does this tiny little city create such a stir? Why this hostility toward Jerusalem? Because she plays a key role in the last days. The Bible says she will be an intoxicating drink, a heavy stone, and a burden for the whole world. Zechariah 12 2 says, God speaking, I'll make Jerusalem and Judah like an intoxicating drink to the nearby nations that send their armies to besiege Jerusalem. On that day I'll make Jerusalem a heavy stone, a burden for the world.
None of the nations who try will be able to lift it. I mean this tiny little country. And in this tiny little country called Israel is this little city called Jerusalem. Did you know that at one point the nation of Israel is only nine miles wide?
It's incredible. But yet this little sliver of land plays such a key role in the end times. Good insight on the uniqueness of Israel on the world stage and the very center of God's plans for the end times. Pastor Greg Laurie has more to come from this message here on A New Beginning. Now one thing is certain, Jesus could come back at any time, and we need to be ready. Are you ready for that day? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?
If you don't or you're not sure, you can take care of that today. Pastor Greg, what would you say to the person who wants to make that change right now? I would say that God is just a prayer away. You know it doesn't take years to become a Christian. It doesn't take months. Frankly it doesn't even take hours.
It can happen so quickly. It just starts with you saying to God, I know I'm a sinner. I know that you love me. I know that you sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and pay for those sins and then to rise again from the dead and I want him to come into my life. So here's my question to you.
Have you done that yet? Because Jesus who did die on that cross and rose again from the dead three days later is alive and standing at the door of your life right now and he's knocking and he's saying if you'll hear my voice and open the door I will come in. Would you like your sin forgiven? Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven?
Do you want Christ to come into your life right now? If so why don't you just stop whatever it is you're doing and pray this prayer with me. You could pray it out loud. You can pray it in the quietness of your own heart but pray this prayer to God. Say Lord Jesus I know that I am a sinner but I know that you are the savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin and I turn from it now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. I ask all of this in Jesus name.
Amen. Listen if you just prayed that prayer the Bible promises that God has heard your prayer and has answered that prayer. The Bible says that we will confess our sin. He's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So God bless you.
You've made the right decision. The decision to follow Jesus Christ. Yeah yeah that's right and as you begin to live this new life we want to send you something to help you get started off right. It's Pastor Greg's New Believers Bible.
It's in an easy to understand translation plus hundreds and hundreds of study helps especially for those who are new to the faith. Millions of people have been helped by this resource literally so get in touch for your own New Believers Bible. We'll send it your way free of any charge. Just call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or you can write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514.
Or go online to harvest.org and click Know God. And Pastor Greg we're so thankful for the work God is doing through this ministry. We're touching lives for eternity and we're really thankful for our friends who see the fruit of this ministry and invest so this work can reach even further.
Isn't that right? Absolutely. When you invest in Harvest Ministries you're investing in the souls of men and women, boys and girls. And what is the value of a soul?
Well let me personalize it. What's the value of your soul? What's the value of the soul of your husband, your wife, your son or your daughter or your mom or your dad or your best friend?
Well I would say you probably couldn't put a price tag on it. It's so valuable. Well listen, God says all souls are mine.
God loves us and sent his son to die on the cross to pay the price for all of our sins so we could be forgiven and come into a relationship with him. I can't think of a better investment of my resources, of my money, than in the work of the kingdom of God. So we would ask you to prayerfully consider investing in Harvest Ministries as we continue on to fulfill the Great Commission. Yeah that's right and you can make your donation right now at harvest.org or write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number 1-800-821-3300. Well next time we'll dig deep into prophecy to see what's coming for the world in general and Israel specifically. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie.
