Why Israel Must Survive - Part B

The bones have come together. The promise to Abraham fulfilled. And you know it's funny because some people say, man I wish we could live like in Bible times. You are living in Bible times. You're seeing it unfold before your very eyes. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Pastor Skip concludes his message, Why Israel Must Survive, and shows you why you are living in Bible times as we speak.

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Now let's hear what Skip has for us today. We're in Ezekiel 37 as he gets started. It's believed that it's 586 B.C. The news just comes that the city has been destroyed, the city of Jerusalem. The temple has been burned.

It's annihilated. It's bad news. Now he predicts a restoration, a coming back into the land. Something else I just want to give this to you because you have noticed or will notice it in many Old Testament prophecies there is a sometimes a dual fulfillment.

Have you noticed that? There's a prediction is made and it is fulfilled in a few years, a near fulfillment. And then there's a far fulfillment.

It happens with so many different predictions so that the near fulfillment becomes a template of the far fulfillment. And without going through all the weeds of that, that's present in these two chapters. So let's look at a couple of these verses that predict the restoration. Go down to verse 8, Ezekiel 36 verse 8. But you, oh mountains of Israel, he's speaking now to the land itself, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they are about to come. They're about to come back to the land.

Now it's just been destroyed. For indeed I am for you. I will turn to you and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it, and the city shall be inhabited, the ruins rebuilt. I will multiply upon you man and beast. They shall increase and bear young. I will make you inhabited as in former times and do better for you than at your beginnings.

Then you shall know that I am the Lord. God promises to restore fruitfulness to the land so as to sustain increased population that will be there. I told you last week that Israel today has 9.3 million people living in that tiny little country. Almost 7 million are Jewish people. 43% increase due to immigration in the last several years. So a lot of people and the land can sustain them.

Most of their sustenance is all grown in the land of Israel. So the prediction, physical restoration, it happens. 70 years later they went back. 70 years later they went back. But 550 years after that, the Romans came, destroyed their temple, and caused a dispersion for the last 2,000 years. So think of it, for 2,000 years there's a people without a country, a people without a national homeland.

And because it lasted so long, most everybody said, they're not going back. It's not going to be literal. They're not going to ever return to the land of Israel. In fact, there were in-house debates in Christian circles about this. Before 1948, there were enough Christians saying, it's not going to literally happen where the Jews are going back to Israel. I know it says that, I know it says that, but it can't be literal.

In fact, just for fun, I want to show this to you. This is from Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 article in Encyclopedia Britannica that says this, the possibility that we can ever again recover the correct pronunciation of ancient Hebrew is as remote as the possibility that a Jewish empire will ever again be established in the Middle East. So just keep that up there and look at that for a moment. The irony of that statement, what's ironic about it is, number one, today they're speaking revived Hebrew, and they're speaking revived Hebrew in the land that they said is impossible forever to happen. They're there.

It has happened. The nation has been physically restored. But the prediction isn't just a physical restoration, but a spiritual restoration as well. Not to just be restored back to the land, but to be restored back to the Lord, where he would cleanse them and purify them. Let's look at verse 24. Verse 24 says, For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries.

Notice that all countries, not just Babylon, all countries, and bring you back into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness, from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Now Ezekiel was a priest, and the idea of sprinkling to him was very noteworthy, because priests would would sprinkle articles for worship.

They would sprinkle dwelling places where people lived and sprinkle people themselves. All of it was the idea of cleansing from sin, cleansing from defilement. The result is there will be cleansing that imparts new life. God says, I'm going to give you a new heart. Right in the margin of your Bible, if you can do that, if you're okay doing that, or in your notes, Jeremiah chapter 31.

Don't look at it now, but later on look at it, because it's the same language. God promises a new covenant with the people of Israel where he will put within them a new heart. Now God promises that that will happen one day, has not happened yet, but it will happen one day where nationally the Jewish people will recognize, yep, Jesus is indeed our Messiah. Now that's that's someday in the future. What's happening in the meantime?

Answer, you are. The church is. Remember the study we gave the Daniel 70 weeks, between the 69th week of Daniel and the 70th week of Daniel, that last seven year period, is an age, we call it the church age, or the age of grace. So I'm going to throw up this scripture on the screen, because you need to follow along. Romans chapter 11, Paul the Apostle said, For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness, literally the full number of the Gentiles, has come in, and so all Israel will be saved as it is written. Very important text. It's the same chapter where Paul says, Has God cast away his people?

Certainly not. And then he goes, Okay, I want you to know this, this mystery. Blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, then all Israel will be saved as it is written. That word, by the way, blindness is the word porosis, and it could be translated hardening, a callousness, or some translated a spiritual stupor. In other words, a national blindness has come upon the people, but it is partial, it is passing, and it is purposeful. The blindness that Israel is experiencing, spiritually speaking, is partial. Not every Jew is blind.

Paul was Jewish, he believed. It is passing. It's not going to be permanent. It's until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and it's purposeful. God has a purpose in letting them experience this blindness, and what is the purpose? We're the purpose.

He explains it in this chapter. We're the wild olive branch that has been grafted in so that we can grow too. By the way, Jesus predicted this. He said, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them I also must bring that there will be one flock and one shepherd. Blindness in part has happened to Israel till the full number of the Gentiles comes in. So when this present age, church age, age of grace, has run its course, when that last Gentile, whoever he or she is somewhere in the world, says yes to Jesus, at that point, I believe the rapture happens, and the 70th week of Daniel begins. And so I always like to say, so if you're like the last Gentile holding this show up, would you please surrender you please surrender to the lordship of Christ? So that's the plot, the promise, and the prediction.

Let me close with the fourth component. That is the picture, and that is Ezekiel chapter 37. Now chapter 36 is the promise. Chapter 37 is an illustration of the promise. It's the picture.

Look at this. This is one of our favorite stories, right? The hand of the Lord came upon me, brought me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. Then he caused me to pass them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and indeed they were very dry. And he said to me, son of man, can these bones live? So I answered, Lord God, you know. It's a good answer. When God asks you a question, you know he already knows the answer, so it's like back at you. You know. Again, he said to me, prophesy to these bones, and say to them, oh dry bones.

How would you like to have that task? Hey, go to the cemetery and preach this sermon. Oh dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones, surely I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you, and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded. You know, he goes out to the cemetery, starts preaching, and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

The knee bones connected to the leg bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over, but there was no breath in them. Breath is the word ruach in Hebrew. Spirit, wind, breath, same word. And he said to me, prophesy to the breath, prophesy son of man, and say to the breath, thus says the Lord God, come from the four winds, oh breath, breathe on these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath came upon them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. Now this is all in vision that he's seeing this.

Then he said to me, because he's looking at us going, what's all this about? Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, our bones are dry, our hope is lost, we ourselves are cut off, therefore prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord God, behold, oh my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, oh my people, and brought you up from your graves, I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land, and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and performed it, says the Lord. Now when he saw this and said this, 586 BC, the nation just went from bad to worse. Temple just got destroyed, city burned with fire.

It seemed absolutely impossible. They were dead as a nation. So God says, okay, can these bones live? I mean, death has done its work. What potential could there possibly be in these lifeless, unconnected bones? Can these bones live? I suppose you could have asked that question in 1947, before 1948, before the United Nations made the declaration, you could have in 1947 easily asked, can these bones live? Because people were saying, can't happen. Encyclopaedia Britannica, can't happen, happened.

You could have asked, can these bones live? May 15th, 1948, one day after the United Nations recognized Israel. A day later, the 15th, the very next day after statehood, 5 Arab nations simultaneously attacked Israel.

On that day, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, all flooded to destroy this fledgling nation. They didn't win. They're still there. The Jews are still there.

You could have asked this question in 1967, in the Six-Day War, when Israel's civilian army was outnumbered 50 to 1, that's five zero to one outnumbered. Can these bones live? They're living.

The bones have come together. The promise to Abraham fulfilled. And you know, it's funny because some people say, man, I wish we could live like in Bible times. You are living in Bible times. You're seeing it unfold before your very eyes. A few years ago, in 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly, and he refers to the truths we're speaking about.

I want to put part of his speech up. In every generation, there were those who rose up to destroy our people. In antiquity, we faced the destruction from the ancient empires of Babylon and Rome. In the Middle Ages, we faced inquisition and expulsion. In modern times, we faced pogroms and the Holocaust.

Yet the Jewish people persevered. And now another regime has arisen swearing to destroy Israel. That's Iran, and they're still at it.

That regime would be wise to consider this. I stand here today representing Israel, a country 67 years young, but the nation-state of a people nearly 4,000 years old. Yet the empires of Babylon and Rome are not represented in this hall of nations.

Neither is the thousand-year Reich. Those seemingly invincible empires are long gone, but Israel lives. The people of Israel live. So I suppose before 1948, you could scratch your head and argue, yeah, I don't know if it's going to literally happen or not literally happen, but after May 14th, 1948, the argument should be over. Since 70 AD to 1967, the Six-Day War, 40 different nations ruled that land.

Today, it is under Israeli control. Israel in the land today is part fulfillment of the prediction. It's not the total. It's not the total fulfillment.

It's only a partial fulfillment. Because Ezekiel predicted a spiritual restoration, a regeneration spiritually back to God. Today, Israel is largely a secular state. 65% of Israelis are either not religious or self-proclaimed atheists, let alone believe in Jesus. So the bones are there.

It's a body awaiting breath, it's a body awaiting breath, awaiting the Ruach, the Spirit of God. Now, some are believers. In fact, a notable group are believers.

So get this. In 1948, anybody want to venture a guess how many Jewish believers in Israel believed in Jesus? 23. In 1948, in the whole country, there were 23 Jews who believed Jesus is the Messiah.

That's 1948. Today, there are over 30,000 that believe he is the Messiah. So it's a significant increase, but it's not the total promise of a national belief in restoration. That requires a separate act, and the next two chapters of Ezekiel will discuss that.

That's the war of Gog and Magog that is coming in the future. Now, let me bring this back to where we began. Some people want to spiritualize the Scripture, make it say what it doesn't say.

Israel is a spiritualized term, millennium a spiritualized term. I heard a funny little story about a pastor in a small town who was a small church out in the country, and he was visiting all the people in his parish. He came to one house, knocked on the door, sounded like people were home. There was music coming out of the living room. The door was opened. The screen door was shut, so he knocked. No answer. Knocked again. A dog came running out. Knocked again.

No answer. So he left his card on the door handle and wrote Revelation 3.20 on the card, which says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will open the door, I will come in. Well, Sunday rolled around, and one of the deacons came up with the offering plate, and in the offering plate was a card from that homeowner, and on the card was written Genesis 3.10.

Genesis 3.10 reads, I heard your voice, and I was afraid, for I was naked, so I hid. Okay, some people want to spiritualize everything. These promises are simple and straightforward, and there's no need to spiritualize them. God says, I made a deal. My name's on the deal. The deal is Abraham and your descendants, Isaac and your descendants, Jacob and your descendants. I'm making a deal, including the land, for an everlasting covenant, and even if you blow it, I'll spank you by a captivity and a displacement, but I'm not going to replace you. I'm going to bring you back.

So here's three takeaways to walk home with. Number one, God is faithful to keep His promise. God is faithful to keep His promise. He made promises to Abraham. He's not a liar. He is fulfilling them. He made promises to you. He's not a liar.

He'll make good on His promise. Number two, history is going somewhere. It's not random.

It's not haphazard. History is His story. It's His story. He's telling His story, and number three, I love this part, God won't let our failure deter Him from His plan. That concludes Skip Heitzig's message from the series The End is Near. Find the full message as well as books, booklets, and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com. Now we want to tell you about a resource that will help you gain a better understanding of end times prophecy.

Here are some of the titles in The End is Near series by Pastor Skip Heitzig. Israel Must Survive, Rapture Ready, and Russia's Coming Invasion. Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets. So when God is going to do something, He warns His people.

He sends a sign so His people will know that He's going to do something. Skip Heitzig's teaching series now has a companion study guide available to you. The End is Near guide covers all 26 messages that Skip recently presented. We can just look at the chessboard.

The pieces are all lining up in interesting fashion. The End is Near study guide includes notes, summaries, and questions for group or personal study. We need to understand the times, and this study guide will aid in this effort. With your gift of $50 or more to connect with Skip Heitzig, you will receive a copy of The End is Near study guide from Skip's in-depth 26-part series. Your gift will support the production and expansion of the Connect with Skip broadcast. Call 1-800-922-1888 or go online to connectwithskip.com.

That's 1-800-922-1888 or connectwithskip.com. Don't miss tomorrow's program as Skip encourages you with the truth that you can understand biblical prophecy. I want you to know something else going into this. Bible prophecy can sometimes be complicated, but that doesn't mean that it's designed to be unknowable. So don't like throw up your arms and go, okay, this is weird. I can't ever understand this.

Yes, you can. It's why the angel said to Daniel, know and understand. That's why Jesus said, know therefore and understand. Make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast all burdens on his word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever-changing times.