1. part two: The Israel Connection

3. Land Area Israel: 8,300 sq mi New Jersey: 7,400 sq mi Utah:82,000 sq mi (10 X) ISRAEL New Jersey

4. Why is Israel the geopolitical center of world? Why is Israel mentioned in news almost every night? Why is Israel so important? What impact does it have on my life today?

5. Four keys that connect Israel and the end times…

6. I. God’s covenant with ABRAHAM. Genesis 12:1-3 “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’"

7. I. God’s covenant with ABRAHAM. A. God promised to BLESS Abraham. “...If statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk…

8. I. God’s covenant with ABRAHAM. A. God promised to BLESS Abraham. ”… His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world, in all the ages; and had done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it.” - Mark Twain

9. I. God’s covenant with ABRAHAM. A. God promised to BLESS Abraham. Jews comprise 0.7% of the world’s population. From 1901 - 2007, 777 Nobel Prizes have been given to individuals in recognition of significant contributions to mankind. 176 Noble Prizes have been awarded to Jews – that’s 22.6% of all Nobel Prizes awarded!

10. I. God’s covenant with ABRAHAM. B. God promised to bring out of Abraham a great NATION. There are 13 million Jews in the world today. 6.2 million Jews live in Israel today.

11. I. God’s covenant with ABRAHAM. C. God promised to make Abraham a BLESSING to many.

12. I. God’s covenant with ABRAHAM. D. God promised to BLESS those who bless Israel. “Israel enjoys near record support in US, Gallup finds” 25/02/2010

13. The Six Day War – Modern day miracle June 5, 1967 – June 10, 1967 A cartoon in a 1967 Lebanese newspaper, Al-Farida, Lebanon, shows Nasser kicking the "Jew," Israel, into the sea, with the armies of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq supporting him.

14. The Six Day War – Modern day miracle June 5, 1967 – June 10, 1967 Egypt Syria Jordan Iraq Saudi Arabia Sudan Tunisia Morocco Algeria Combatants Israel Arab League: 547,000 troops 957 aircraft 2,504 tanks Troops Israel: 5,000 troops 300 aircraft 800 tanks

15. The Six Day War – Modern day miracle Troop and equipment comparisons

16. The Six Day War – Modern day miracle Israel’s surprise attack: June 5 @ 8:15 am., 1967

17. The Six Day War – Modern day miracle Results of the war Results- Losses Arab League: 22,000 killed wounded or missing 5,238 captured 400 aircraft destroyed Israel: 850 killed 4,500 wounded 15 captured 46 aircraft destroyed

18. The Six Day War – Modern day miracle Results of the war

19. The Six Day War – Modern day miracle Results of the war

20. II. God’s covenant and the land of ISRAEL. Genesis 12:1 “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.’” A. An EXACT covenant.

21. II. God’s covenant and the land of ISRAEL. A. An EXACT covenant. “The term land … used in the Bible means exactly what it says. It is not talking about heaven. It is talking about a piece of real estate in the Middle East. After all, if all God was promising Abraham was heaven, he could have stayed in Ur of the Chaldees. Why go on the long journey? Why be a pilgrim and a wanderer. God meant land.” -Dr. John Walvoord theologian, pastor, and president of Dallas Theological Seminary

22. II. God’s covenant and the land of ISRAEL. A. An EXACT covenant. “Here, in Beth El, 3800 years ago, the Creator of the World promised the Land of Israel to the people of Israel. It is by virtue of this promise that we dwell here today in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Shilo and Hebron.” Sign found in an in Israeli town

23. II. God’s covenant and the land of ISRAEL. Genesis 17:7-8 “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." B. An EVERLASTING covenant.

24. II. God’s covenant and the land of ISRAEL. B. An EVERLASTING covenant.

25. III. God’s covenant and the JEWS. Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”

26. III. God’s covenant and the JEWS. Deuteronomy 4:27 “The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.” A. The SCATTERING of the Jews.

27. III. God’s covenant and the JEWS. A. The SCATTERING of the Jews. “This people [The Jews] has already made it’s way into every city, and it is not easy to find any place in the habitable world which has not received this nation and in which it has not made its power felt.” - Strabo First century Greek philosopher, born 62 BC; Quoted by Josephus, Antiquities xiv 7.2

28. III. God’s covenant and the JEWS. Deuteronomy 28:64-65 “Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods--gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.” A. The SUFFERING of the exiled Jews.

29. III. God’s covenant and the JEWS. A. The SUFFERING of the exiled Jews. “I know, I know, we are your chosen people. But once in a while, can’t you choose someone else?” - Tevye Jewish milkman from Fiddler On The Roof

30. III. God’s covenant and the JEWS. A. The SUFFERING of the exiled Jews. "...I realized once again that the Jewish race is the most dangerous one that inhabits the globe, and we must show them no mercy or indulgence. This riffraff must be eliminated and destroyed. Otherwise it won't be possible to bring peace to the world.” - Joseph Goebbels minister of propaganda for the German Third Reich under Adolf Hitler. From The Goebbels Diaries, February 18, 1942

31. III. God’s covenant and the JEWS. A. The SUFFERING of the exiled Jews. "The Jew has never been a nomad, but always a parasite, battening on the substance of others." - Adolf Hitler

32. III. God’s covenant and the JEWS. A. The SUFFERING of the exiled Jews. “The Iranian president repeated that Israel was ‘headed for ruin’ and that victory was close at hand, in a possible bid to encourage terror organizations in the area and deepen his government's ties with them as it faces new sanctions from the West for its nuclear program.” - Israel news, February 25, 2010

33. III. God’s covenant and the JEWS. A. The SUFFERING of the exiled Jews. "The Iranian nation supports resistance by the region's people, and if the Zionist regime repeats its mistake and begins a new conflict it must be uprooted in order to save the region from its hostility." - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Speaking with Syrian President Bashar Assad)

34. IV. God’s Covenant and the REBIRTH of the nation of Israel. Isaiah 11:11 “In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people...” Ezekiel 36:24 “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.”

35. IV. God’s Covenant and the REBIRTH of the nation of Israel. Isaiah 66:8 “Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.” A. Born in a DAY.

36. IV. God’s Covenant and the REBIRTH of the nation of Israel. A. Born in a DAY. On May 14, 1948 Israel recognized as a nation! United Nations Resolution 181, a partition plan to divide Palestine between Jews and Arabs, passed on Nov 29, 1947.

37. IV. God’s Covenant and the REBIRTH of the nation of Israel. A. Born in a DAY. On May 14, 1948 Israel recognized as a nation! David Ben-Gurion (First Prime Minister of Israel) publicly pronouncing the Declaration of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948. Tel Aviv, Israel, beneath a large portrait of Theodore Herzl, founder of modern political Zionism.

38. IV. God’s Covenant and the REBIRTH of the nation of Israel. A. Born in a DAY. On May 14, 1948 Israel recognized as a nation! “This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate…and based on the United Nations resolution… Hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in the land of Israel to be known as the State of Israel.” - David Ben-Gurion

39. IV. God’s Covenant and the REBIRTH of the nation of Israel. Luke 21:24 “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” B. The prophetic SIGNIFICANCE this event.

40. IV. God’s Covenant and the REBIRTH of the nation of Israel. B. The prophetic SIGNIFICANCE this event. “You cannot find the ancient neighbors of the Jews anywhere. Have you ever met a Moabite? Do you know any Hittites? Are there any tours to visit the Ammonites? Can you find the postal code of a single Edomite? No! These ancient peoples disappeared from history and from the face of the earth. Yet the Jews, just as promised, returned to their land.” - Gary Frazier “Signs of the Coming…” pg 67

41. IV. God’s Covenant and the REBIRTH of the nation of Israel. C. Future prophetic events in ISRAEL: Spiritual rebirth (pretty secular/political now) The ministry of two witness (Rev 11:3-12) Creation of Temple (2 Thess 2:4) Abomination that causes desolation (Daniel 9) Peace given to Jerusalem, then world through Messiah (Is 32, 33, 66 & Ezekiel 34 & 37) Final war-Armageddon, then New Jerusalem!

42. V. What does it all MEAN? A. God’s promises to Abraham affect US! B. Prophetic events regarding Israel place us in the “LAST DAYS.” C. God’s preservation of the Jews demonstrates his amazing POWER! D. Israel proves FUTURE prophecies will be fulfilled.

43. V. What does it all MEAN? E. The history of the Jews reveals the REALITY of God: Proof of His power Authenticity of promises Certainty of His existence Urgency of His call to us Reminder of His claim on our lives.

44. next week - part three: The Rapture