By Amir Tsarfati
The message this morning is a title and a topic that I tried to stay away from, for a quite a long time, "The Deception of the Nations". When you speak of the deception of the enemy, you always have to prepare yourself for trouble when you deal with it.
The media is very much in his hands and I call them the "Medianites." They can brainwash people in a very effective way. The Bible says that Satan's name is “Prince of the air”, which is using the airwaves to broadcast a lot of deception, all over the world, non-stop.
It's very interesting because you are probably asking yourself, "Are you going to talk about the elections in Israel?" No, I'm not. All right. Just one thing... I want you to know that despite of hundreds of millions poured by your administration, by European countries, and by other nonprofit organizations established for that purpose alone.
Against all odds and even with some very, what I will call, false polls published a few days before the elections just to show there was momentum on the other side. Benjamin Netanyahu won the election in what we call a landslide victory. You probably know that he was here in your country, at that time, doing a better job in his campaign than if back in Israel.
He was here, unveiling a big scam, a big deception. He was here unveiling the horrible collaboration of the nations of the world to accept a treaty. That eventually, not only will not prevent any war but will accelerate it. Winston Churchill said, in 1938, just 5 years after Adolf Hitler won his elections. Winston Churchill said to his best friend, Lord Moyne, "Concerning the German problem over the last 5 years, I have a very big concern that before us, we have 2 choices: Shame and war. And I feel that we're about to choose shame and then war will be thrown at our doorpost in a much more adverse term than in the beginning." When something begins in sin and deception, when the truth is not being told to people, then it's not going to last forever.
It's interesting, because people around the world while being brainwashed by the media, are asking themselves, what in the world is going on? We thought Israel is smarter and they would get rid of that hardliner, right-wing, Netanyahu. Don't they want peace and security?" People are asking: Don't they want hope and prosperity? Don't they want to be accepted by the families of the world, by the nations of the world? A lot of Israelis actually...
The slogan of the other camp that was fighting Netanyahu was: Let's have hope; let's have change; let's be accepted by the world. That was it. Quite interesting, isn't it? Adolf Hitler said, (and for me Hitler represents Satan incarnated). He said: "If you tell a big enough lie and you tell it frequently enough, it will be believed." He also said, "Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it. He also continued and said, "By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise." He also said, "It is not truth that matters, but victory."
It's interesting, because all of that, all of that I felt on my skin, in my flesh. I felt it throughout these elections. The Israelis have never been better. They are doing better financially and even security-wise we are stronger than ever. Yet they sold us that there is despair. They sold us that we have no hope. They sold us that we're not secure. That we need to change. That we have to be accepted because someone in the White House is not happy with us.
They sold us so much lies, and deception. And the slogan was "Victory 2015". Doesn't matter the facts, doesn't matter the truth, victory is more important. It doesn't matter that you are doing good... People have a much better life than they had 10 years ago, 15 years ago. No! We're going to paint it as if everything is horrible. We're going to paint it as if heaven will look like hell. Wow! And you see, Satan is the master deceiver.
What is it to be a deceiver, by the way? To be a deceiver is to know the truth, and choose to tell somebody the opposite. Because if you know the truth, (excuse me), if you don't know the truth and tell something wrong, you are just wrong. But when you know the truth, when you know the truth, and yet you tell somebody the opposite, that makes you a deceiver. So, when Satan is called the great deceiver, that means he knows exactly that whatever he tells the world is not true.
There are two types of deceptions that I can see in the world. There's the global deception, the deception of the whole world. And we are going to see it. We are seeing it in talking about: global economy; global religion; global government. We're talking about a world leader that will rise. This will be a worldwide deception, whether Jews or Gentiles, everybody will be deceived. Jews will think he is the messiah. Gentiles will think he is a great leader. Everybody will follow him. It's the deception of the whole world.
Yet, do not be mistaken, there is another type of deception often being overlooked. It's the deception of the nations. What do I mean? The deception of the "Goyim", of the other nations, not of Israel. Wow! "Wait a minute, can you see that in the scriptures?" Of course, I can.
In Revelation 12, when it talks about the battle between Michael and Satan, himself, the Bible says, "...And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought," and then it goes on and it says, "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world". That's what Revelation 12 talks about.
In a very interesting manner, when we're introduced to Satan and how he fell from heaven, how God cast him all the way down, in Isaiah 14, the Bible says, "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!..." Wow! It's not about the whole world, the nations, he weakens the nations.
How can you weaken someone? It's by selling him the lie, deception. When you have the truth, you can decide in a much better way of what your next step is. But when your whole decision-making process is based on deception, and you're not aware of it, you're weak. Satan is weakening nations. Weakening the nations,
How come? When he turned them against his people. Now watch this: If Revelation 12 talks about the deception of the whole world, Revelation 20 says, "...Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit," that is just before the thousand years Millennial Kingdom. Then it says, "and he cast into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him so that he should deceive the nations no more". If you continue in that passage, after a thousand years, Satan will be released for a short time. And the first thing he will do is go out and deceive the nations once again. Quite amazing. That's all he does. That's a 24/7 job, to deceive the nations.
And the nations are not Israel. When he wants to talk about Israel and the nations, he talks about the whole world. When he wants to talk about the nations, he says the nations. The Greek word in the New Testament for nations is "ethne" from "ethnos", ethnic. Many nations, "ethne" in the plural. In the Hebrew, "goy" is a nation; "goyim" is in plural, nations. In Joel, we talk about how God will gather all the nations, "goyim". In Matthew 25, it's how Jesus will gather all the nations, "ethne". And these are exactly the same.
The nations are not Israel. So, when Satan deceives the nations and not Israel, it is because Israel is the object. It's the subject of the deception. The deception is concerning Israel. That may cause you to understand why the Israelis did not buy the lie that the media was trying to sell them. Sometimes they know some things that the rest of the nations cannot see because they're being blinded. The only people among the nations that can see many things, in the same way, the Jewish people can, are the believers in Jesus. The Christians and the Jews, in that manner, are the only ones that can call the bluff, and that can see what is planned.
It's interesting, don't be mistaken because Israel is even blinded. But it's a different blindness. The Bible says that it is God who blinds Israel. He's the one who gives them eyes that cannot see, and ears that they cannot hear, until this very day.
Why is that? Through their disobedience, through their fall, in order to provoke them to jealousy, salvation will be given to the Gentiles. It's amazing, and it's all written in Romans chapter 11.
What is the deception that Satan is trying to pull out and deceive the nations about Israel? First, Israel is not God's people. Some will say, "Israel is not God's people, anymore." They will add that, because maybe they were once, but they're no longer. Second one, the land's real name is not Israel, it's Palestine. You can ask most people on this planet and they'll tell you that this is it.
In fact, your own Bible, in the map section, will show you that Israel in the time of Jesus was called Palestine, which is a big lie. It's in your Bible. The Arabs were there first. We'll examine that. The occupation is the problem. That's something I keep hearing every time I travel. Everybody around says the occupation is the trouble, end the occupation. What occupation? Of what?
Peace in the Middle East is possible. They are selling us the delusion that peace can be achieved. They're telling Netanyahu, if you're not going to admit that the solution of 2 States is the only solution, then we will act upon it in the UN. We will vote for two States for two people. That's what the American administration just made very clear to Netanyahu, 24 hours ago. I don't envy you.
What about Israel not being God's people? The Bible says in Deuteronomy 14:2, "...For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth." I guess that's what the Bible says. I guess this is what God says.
If that's not enough, I can read to you in Zechariah chapter 2:8, "For thus says the Lord of hosts: 'He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.'" Wow! God sent the prophet to the nations, and he's warning them, "He that touches Israel, is touching the apple of my eye."
Do you know what? We are a weak nation when it comes to being hated. Nobody wants to be hated. Everybody wants to be accepted. Everybody wants to have their 10 minutes of fame and glory in their life. Israel wants to be part of the family of the world. And a lot of people were, somehow, convinced that we need to concede, maybe, to all the things the world is telling us in order to be part of it.
The Jewish people in general and my grandparents are part of it because they survived Auschwitz. They thought that God really forsook them. "So, if God is not on our side: we need America on our side; we need Europe on our side; we need some great nation on our side." Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me." And God says, "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely, they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands..." That's what God said. You can say whatever you want, these are the words of God.
And I'm not here to preach politics, we are here to examine the Word of God. In Romans 11, but if you think, okay, but that's Old Testament. Now we are Christians; we believe in Jesus. Jesus is Christian; he's not Jewish. Do you know that God is not Jewish? God is not Jewish, but Jesus is also not Christian. Did you know that? He never, ever preached from the New Testament, even once. Jesus is not a follower of Jesus. A Christian is a follower of Jesus; so, Jesus is not a Christian. If anything, he came to the world as a Jew.
But what I'm trying to say is in Romans 11. When Paul was sent to the Gentiles and was telling them of all the great things that God was doing to the Gentiles. He immediately saw, okay, so now they think that Israel is no longer God's people. Then he said in Romans 11:1, "...I say then, has God cast away His people?". Because they kind of rejected him? "Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew." Period.
If God forgot his people, he can forget you. You need to hold on to this verse. Because if God is faithful to his promises to Israel, he surely will be faithful to his promises to you. If he is able to break his covenant and to break his promises, then he might be able to do it to you, also. That is not my God. What about the land of Palestine and not Israel? Look at your Bible and see, in the map section, it says, "Palestine, in Christ’s time". You'll see that most of the Bibles have it. Just so you know, historically, that it is not true.
In the time of Jesus, the land was not called Palestine. If anything, in Matthew 2:19-21, "Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead.' Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the Land of Israel..." It's a very boring verse, think about it. Not much, "Arise, take the son, and take the mother, and go to the Land of Israel." Okay, so, he arose, took the son, and the mother, and went to the Land of Israel. It's very simple. Yet we see here the truth: the land was called Israel.
That is the name. I apologize if I offend you, but that is the name. Not only in the Old Testament but surely in the New Testament as well. And I want you to know that even much later when the Lord spoke to the prophet about what he's about to do with Israel. When he was about to restore them from the ashes of the Holocaust and bring them back to the land, he said to Ezekiel, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ Therefore, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and I will bring you into the Land of Israel...’"
That's what Ezekiel says about the return of the Jews, 2000 years later, back to their land. He didn't say Palestine. It's not in the New Testament and it's not in the Old Testament. So, where in the world did this name come from? In 135 AD, when Caesar Adrian wanted to completely oppress and suppress the 2nd Jewish revolt against the Romans, "In an effort to wipe out all memory of the bond between the Jews and their land, Hadrian changed the name of the province from Judaea (Judea) to Syria-Palestina (Palestine), a name that became common in non-Jewish literature."
It's actually named after the Philistines, the old foes of the Israelites. But, by the way, the Philistines were not Arabs. The Philistines were people from the Greek Isles if anything. The Philistines were called in Hebrew, Plishtim. Take a look at those three letters: P, L, and S. In the Hebrew, peh-lam-shim, it is the root of the word to invade, the invaders. When you call yourself a Philistine, or when you call your land, Palestine named after the Philistine.
What are you actually testifying of yourself? That you are an invader. It's not yours. By the way, the name Palestine became so often used by the whole world, that Israel's name was forgotten. That was exactly what the enemy wanted, that the name of Israel will be remembered no more. Read Psalm 83.
Why am I saying that? Because for the most part, it is the Jews that were called Palestinians and not the Arabs. I want you to see, this is the Jerusalem Post before 1948, it was called The Palestine Post. I want you to see to the left, the Israeli Philharmonic used to be called the Palestine Orchestra, a Jewish orchestra. The whole program was in Hebrew.
If anything, the Jews who joined the British Army to fight in World War II, Nazi Germany, they were called the Palestinian Brigade. There were Jews, and there were Arabs, and all of them were called Palestinians then. In fact, for every 3 Jews, there was 1 Arab in that military unit. So, if anything, the Jews had more rights to call themselves Palestinians than the Arabs.
But, why is it that they don't call themselves Palestinians? Because that's not the name of the land, and that's not the name of that nation. Okay, but you know what? The Arabs were there first. Really? Well, let me educate you. First of all, in the Book of Nehemiah, chapter 2:20, Nehemiah is leaving Babylon, he's on his way, (excuse me) Persia. He is on his way out to the land of Israel, to the city of Jerusalem, to rebuild the walls and the temple. And the king gave him all the manpower as well the material.
Along the way, he bumped into 3 people: An Ammonite, a Moabite, and an Arab. Geshem, the Arab, Tobiah, the Ammonite, and someone else... Sanballat, the Horonite. Thank you. When they saw him leaving through the main door with everything that was given to him by the king, they thought, ahh, we know your heart. You're going over there because you're going to start a rebellion against the king.
He looked at them, and he said rebellion? I'm not doing that for nothing. I'm leaving all this wealth. I am the advisor to the King; I could be whatever I want. I'm leaving everything, I go to where I belong. I go to the land of my fathers. He said to them, "God of heaven will prosper us; therefore we, his servants will arise and build, but you, (Arabs, Horonites, Ammonites) you, you have no portion, or right, or memorial, (in other translations, heritage) in Jerusalem."
Wow! Nehemiah was a short guy, knee-high. Think about it. The guy just told the Arabs, and all the surrounding nations around Israel, "You have no heritage, no memorial, no right, and no portion in Jerusalem." It's not yours; It's ours. I am going back to rebuild it. Wow!
How many of you have heard of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known as Mark Twain? Funny guy, look at him. Mark Twain visited Israel in 1867. And he published his impressions in the Innocents Abroad, a very famous diary. And he described a desolate country, devoid of both vegetation and human population. In 1867, he walked through the coast of Israel, he didn't even see a living soul. People are telling me that the Arabs were there before. There was no one there. Look at what he says, "A desolate country, whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds... a silent mournful expanse... a desolation... we never saw a human being on the whole route... hardly a tree or shrub anywhere. Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of the wilderness soil, had almost deserted this country." Wow! I will definitely not use him to promote Israel tours. But think about it. The guy saw no one because there was no one there. Think about it.
I don't know if you've heard of Joan Peters? Joan Peters just died two months ago. She was an amazing woman, an American woman, Jewish by birth who was a very liberal media person. Sound familiar? Jewish, liberal, media, I mean, she got it all in one package. She was a CBS News producer of documentaries and an author who served as White House adviser on American Foreign Policy in the Middle East during the Carter Administration. The Carter Administration paid her an advanced payment to go and write a book about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, justifying the Palestinian cause. They dictated to her, "Go, you know exactly that the Jews took the land from the Palestinians, you know exactly that the Arabs were there before. Just write a book. You're a Jewish person, that will give it a great, great credibility."
Well, she took the advanced payment. Hello? And she made it to the land, and she started digging and digging. And she eventually got into the UN archive. And she was shocked when she realized that what she was seeing and finding was completely different than what everybody was singing all around her. She returned the advanced payment and she said, no thank you, I'll write the book myself. The way I see it.
She wrote the book called From Time Immemorial, published in 1984. It's a "must" book for every Christian. She says there that "Prior to massive immigration of European Jews to Palestine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the land was mostly barren and under-populated. The newly arrived Jews brought great prosperity which attracted a large number of Arabs from neighboring lands, who then moved to Palestine to share in the fruit of Jewish ingenuity and wealth.
As a result, many of the people who call themselves Palestinians today are actually descendants of these relatively recent economic immigrants." Think about it. A war between, I don't know, America and Venezuela. All right? Think about it. Prior to that war, people from Venezuela, why do I go that far? America and Mexico, okay? People cross from Tijuana to San Diego, they find a job, never mind if it's legal or illegal. They find a job, a war breaks out, and now they declare themselves as refugees. Refugees from where? From San Diego. Wait a minute, 2 years ago, you just arrived. Yeah, I'm from San Diego now. Interesting.
She found out, that under the pressure of the Arab world, the UN changed the criteria by which someone is called a refugee, and lowered it from time immemorial to two years only. Just to fit the Palestinian agenda, so they will be called refugees. She also found out that the United Nation Relief and Work Association that was founded by the UN was only for the Palestinians, and not for anyone else around the world. It is giving money more than the average salary in Lebanon.
So, hundreds of thousands registered as refugees just to get the money. You see, the whole thing is inflated number-wise, factually, is wrong. You're going to say, well, of course, she's Jewish, she came to Israel and she was influenced. What are you talking about? Of course, it's big Jewish propaganda.
Well, let me tell you about Zuheir Mohsen, the Palestinian leader of the pro-Syria as-Sa’iqa fraction of the PLO, who was there between 1971 and 1979. In March of 1977, he was interviewed by a Dutch newspaper called Trouw. He said, "Between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese there are no differences. We are all part of ONE people, the Arab nation.
Look, I have family members with Palestinian, Lebanese, Jordanians, Syrian citizenship." (Citizenship means they are from there, originally.) And then he said, "We are ONE people. Just for political reasons we carefully underwrite our Palestinian identity. Because it is of national interest for the Arabs to advocate the existence of Palestinians to balance Zionism. Yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity exists only for tactical reasons.
The establishment of a Palestinian state is a new tool to continue the fight against Israel and for Arab unity." Says who? Palestinian leader. So, you're asking me why is it that the Israelis are not buying the idea of two states? We know exactly what's going to happen the next day. Then people say, "well, the occupation is the problem, you came, they were there, you occupied their territory."
Well excuse me, we did not show up just like that. In 1917, Lord Balfour wrote to Edmund Rothschild, the leader of the Jewish Congress. He wrote to him and he said, "Dear Lord Rothschild, I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspiration, which has been submitted to and approved by, the Cabinet. 'His Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.'" Wow! Amazing, 1917 and then World War II ended. In 1922, the League of Nations gives the British, our government, a book called The Mandate. The Mandate for Palestine, the League of Nations. In the Mandate, the British government actually said, "...to include a national home for the Jewish people, under direct British rule." In other words, the British were given an instruction, "Go and prepare Palestine to be the homeland of the Jewish people."
So, when we came, we actually came legally, under the auspices of the whole world, approving that this is the land of Israel, for the people of Israel. In 1948, by the way, Israel was attacked by 5 Arab nations. And we did not have the West Bank, we did not have Gaza, we did not have the Golan Heights or Sinai. None of these disputed territories were part of Israel at that time. Yet, we were attacked.
So, it's not the occupation. It is our very existence. The PLO was not established in 1967. The Palestine Liberation Organization was established in 1964, way before we had the West Bank and Gaza. So, they did not really want to liberate the West Bank. Look at their map, on their emblem, on their logo is the entire State of Israel.
And you know what people are saying? Why can't you just evacuate that piece of land, let them live their lives, and everything will be great. Really? The last time we did it was in 2005 when Israel pulled all the Israelis from Gaza Strip. It was a heartbreaking thing. Look at all of the Israeli soldiers. They were given an order to go to the Jewish homes, get all the people out, and destroy their houses. They cried with them. 8,500 people were uprooted from their homes. Homes that they built there with the approval of the government. What did we get in return? Gaza is clean from Jews, no more occupation in Gaza.
If you say it's the problem, there is no more problem. What did we get in return? Rockets, missiles, mortars, tunnels of terror, wars. We don't get peace; we get more wars. Well, peace in the Middle East is possible. Really? Let me tell you something.
I'm giving you a secret right now but don't tell anyone. Promise? The leader of the Muslim Arab world, in the early 1900s, was named Hussein. He was known as the sharif of Mecca, the leader of the custodian of all the holy sites for the Muslims, Mecca, and Medina. Do you know what he wrote in the Al Qibla? The Al Qibla is the daily newspaper of Mecca.
In 1918 he wrote, "The resources of the country are still virgin soil and will be developed by the Jewish immigrants. One of the most amazing things until recent times was that the Palestinians used to leave his country, wandering over the high seas in every direction. His native soil could not retain a hold on him... At the same time, we have seen the Jews from foreign countries streaming to Palestine from Russia, Germany, Austria, Spain, and America. The cause of causes could not escape those who had a gift of deeper insight. They knew that the country was for its original sons, abna’ihi-l-asliyin, for all their differences, a sacred and beloved homeland. The return of these exiles to their homeland will prove materially and spiritually an experimental school for their brethren who are with them in the fields, factories, trades, and all things connected to the land."
He's actually saying, it's good for the Jews to come back, this is their land. And that will benefit the Arabs that live there. Wow! It is not a surprise then, that a year later, his son Faisal met with a Jewish leader, Chaim Weizmann, who became the first President of Israel, and they drafted a peace agreement. In that peace agreement... the Arabs signed it, " ...the Arabs would recognize the Balfour Declaration and would encourage large-scale Jewish emigration and settlement in Palestine. Freedom of religion and worship in Palestine was set forth as a fundamental principle, and the Muslim holy sites were to be under Muslim control. The Zionist Organization promised to look into the economic possibilities of another Arab state and to help it develop its resources."
The Arabs said, Palestine is Jewish, but we will sign an agreement with you only if you will help us develop our future country also. Which was supposed to be Jordan, and Syria, and Lebanon, and Iraq, a big one. Can you imagine? They actually allowed the Jews, not only allowed, they encouraged the Jews to come back. And they signed the treaty. Look! Chaim Weizmann and, in Arabic, Faisal. Wow!
But guess what happened? When they came to Paris, "Faisal appeared before the peace conference and demanded an Arab state, excluding Palestine." And look what happened under pressure from Arab nationalists, he later retracted, and that's it. We lost it. We almost had an Arab recognition that the entire Israel is Jewish, and their land is Jordan, Syria. Things could have been much better than what they are now.
Golda Meir once said, "We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. But we cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us." It's profound. If you think about it.
How many times was a country, a sovereign country, was offered to them? In 1937 by the Peel Commission; 1939, the British Mandate, the British White Paper, proposed it; 1947, the UN; 1979, the Camp David Accord; 1990s, the Oslo agreement; 2000, Ehud Barak offered them a state; 2008, Ehud Olmert offered them a state. They said no, after no, after no. Our first Foreign Minister once said that the Palestinian never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
But the very sad part is, that according to Daniel, chapter 9:27, even the Antichrist will not be able to produce peace. See, people want peace, they want prosperity. But even the Antichrist will sign a deal for 7 years and will break it 3 1/2 years into it.
The world will sell you that peace is achievable. The world will sell you that there is something on the other side. The world will sell you that a Palestinian state is a solution. That they were there first. That the name is Palestine. The world will sell you everything. But the truth is that there can be no peace in the Middle East until the Prince of Peace will return.
So, what is the conclusion? The conclusion is that supporting Israel is not a political stand, it is a biblical one! The conclusion is also that the deception of the nations started crawling into church doctrines. Did you know that?
I just heard on the radio a pastor of a huge church, who said that Genesis 12:3, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you," is not about Israel. I almost fell off my chair. I couldn't believe it and he's supposed to be very pro-Israel. But you see? The deception crawls into doctrines. Interesting.
Did you know, Donald Barnhouse, a very profound theologist and pastor, who passed away in 1960, wrote, "When the Greeks overran Palestine (he called it Palestine because in his time it wasn't Israel yet) and desecrated the altar in the Jewish temple, they were soon conquered by Rome. When Rome killed Paul and many others, and destroyed Jerusalem under Spain was reduced to a 5th-rate nation after the Inquisition against the Jews; Poland fell after the pogroms; Hitler's Germany went down after its anti-Semitic (never mind); Britain lost her empire when she broke her faith with Israel." All of that, one after the other.
Do you wish to see more countries on the list? No one wants to but people don't listen. People don't learn the lesson. The deception is still going on. But yet, I will say, Hallelujah, anyway. Why? Because, even though the attempt is to wipe out the Jewish people and to destroy them from the face of the earth, God is out there to fulfill his plan. What the enemy meant for evil, God surely can turn it into a good thing.
And the nation was born. Israel was born from the ashes of the Holocaust. Only the Holocaust convinced the world that Israel is the place for the Jewish people worldwide, and they voted, "Yay" in the UN. Last, but not least. If there is one thing, I want you to leave this place this morning with, is the understanding that God will judge the nations of the world that came up against Israel. He will judge them because they came against Israel. Not only in the future but even in the past.
In the Book of Ezekiel chapter 25, I read it and it's quite amazing, he says, "The word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of Lord God! Thus, says the Lord God: Because you say, Aha! against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, indeed, therefore, I will deliver you as a possession to the men of the East, and they shall set their encampments among you.'"
God will punish. He did punish in the past anyone that triumphs over Israel's misery and Israel's judgment and God will judge in the future. In the Book of Joel, chapter 3, the Bible says that he will gather all the nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat and he will enter into judgment with them according to one thing, "What did you do to my people, and what did you do to my land."
That's why Mount of Olives is filled with Jewish graves. All the Jews buried there want to resurrect and be there when God judges all the nations. In Matthew 25, Jesus says, "Behold, all the nations are going to come, and I will separate the sheep from the goats."
What are the criteria by which he's going to separate the sheep from the goats? These are all Gentiles: some will have eternal life, they will be with him, some will not. The criteria are, "What did you do to my brethren, to the least of my brethren? Throughout the tribulation, Gentiles will be tested, not by their faith, but their actions.
As James, chapter 2:14 says, "Faith without works is not really faith." Not that works save, but you cannot say, I'm a Christian, and behead the people of God. So many brave Christians around the world right now are being beheaded. Yet, they do not detract from their belief. They do not deny Jesus and they go all the way, especially in the Middle East.
I'm asking you, "Are you a sheep or a goat?" Most likely, if you sit here, you don't have to be concerned, because you'll be raptured with everyone, and we're not here to be throughout the tribulation. But whatever you teach your relatives will affect them being sheep or goats.
Because when you're up there and they're not ready yet so they are not being raptured.
They're staying here and they go through the tribulation. Maybe, one day they will remember what you said. And maybe many Corrie Ten Booms will be all around the world at that time. These are the sheep that will enter his kingdom after those days.
My prayer is that all of us will understand the schemes of the enemy. Understand the duty of the Christian is to stand up for the truth even though it's not that popular and even though it sounds too political. We're not in politics. This is the Word of God. The politicians will try to make the Word of God irrelevant. Well, they are irrelevant. This is what I trust much more.