Sermon – The Return of Messiah
Introduction:
Today, our focus is on Israel as a nation ― from its beginning, three and a half thousand years ago, to the present day ― No, the sermon won’t take that long!
I believe Israel’s future is dependent on God’s purposes for His ‘chosen’ people; while the timing for The Return of the Messiah is totally dependent on Israel’s repentance ― for their redemption, via the renewal of their relationship with God ― and especially with His Son Jesus Christ, whom they rejected, even though He died for their sins……
My hope is that Israel’s spiritual journey will challenge us to make the right choices in this life, as wait for the Messiah to return.
What I want to say about the 2nd Advent of the Messiah of Israel, is largely extracted from a new book I’m writing with a working title… The Fig Trees of Israel and the last Generation… which I’m trying to get finished… before I am…. !
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First, some explanations about the reading from Deuteronomy…30:15‒20
What we read is a summary of Moses final words to the 12 tribes of Jacob (after their Exodus from Egypt), which are fully recorded in Deut. Chapters 28‒30.
After taking 40 years to navigate the wilderness, the 12 tribes were waiting at the River Jordan, ready to enter ancient Canaan, where they were to defeat the Canaanites and the other multiple ‘…. ites’ living in the land that apparently produced lovely ‘milk and honey.’
Once settled, they would become a great monotheistic nation under God; they would be called Israel because this was the name given to their patriarch Jacob after he wrestled with the angel in Genesis 32:28. Israel means ‘he who struggles with God.’
So what we read is the publicly presentable summary of the two options that Moses presented to the assembled tribes… The first option was life and prosperity, (under God’s favour and protection); the second was trouble, death and destruction (if they disobeyed Him)!
It was either Blessings or curses! It is interesting to note that the ‘blessings’ are recorded in Deut. 28 in 14 verses, while the full-on version of the ‘curses’ takes up 53 verses. We could say that Moses’ sermon was short of blessings, and long on horrors! He spared no details!
Israel’s long term future would be entirely based on their love for God and their obedience to His commandments! Failure would lead to the double troubles of exile and repetitive disasters vividly described by Moses. Unfortunately, Israel has suffered and experienced all of those calamities during their long history; from crossing the River Jordan in early spring in 1406 BC, until recently on October 7, 2023!
Background:
I expect most of you will know that today’s Jewish population is drawn mainly from the descendants of Israel’s two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, plus some from the ten northern tribes who joined them (to worship in Jerusalem), after the death of King Solomon, when the nation was split apart.
Around 732 BC the ten northern tribes known as Ephraim were conquered and dispersed into Assyria. Ephraim was the younger son of Joseph, and this half-tribe would become a multitude of nations, somewhere out there in the world. (Today, 7.6 million Jews live in the USA.)
A hundred years later in 605 BC, the two southern tribes of Judah were conquered by the Babylonians, and exiled. After, they returned to Judaea under Persian rule, they were called Jews. These two divisions of ancient Israel crop up later in the Bible, under the names of Judah and Ephraim.
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My reason for explaining Old Testament history, is to show that the New Testament reading from Mark 13 ― which refers to those days ― had to be connected to ‘some – thing’ previously experienced in Israel’s history, which Jesus’ disciples knew about; so we can know what the starting point is for the events that follow in our 2nd reading.
First we should notice that in Mark, Jesus was answering the questions that His disciples had already asked Him in Matthew 24:3;
When will all these things happen?
What signs will indicate Your return, and the end of the age?
In answering those questions, Jesus’ first words are: But in those days…
So, we know from Old Testament history that those days now refer to the historic invasions of Israel’s sovereign territory by foreign powers.
Jeremiah had specifically used the words ‘those days’ with reference to the Babylonian invasion and Jewish exile, (Jere. 31:33), where he announced… after those days had passed God would make a New Covenant with the whole House of Israel for the forgiveness of their sins. Jesus accomplished this during His 1st Advent. (He confirmed the New Covenant in the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy.)
Therefore, during His talk to His disciples, Jesus used the Jews’ ‘known history’ about those days to warn them about a future repeat of those days! It happened like this:
In AD 66, a rebellion arose in Galilee against Rome, led by Jewish rebels called the Sicarii and Zealots… the Sicarii were the first assassins! The revolt led to a civil war in Jerusalem between the rebels and the supporters of the Jewish Council (the Sanhedrin). After the rebels destroyed Jerusalem’s food stocks, when hundreds of thousands of Jews were starved or killed, Rome intervened by invading Judaea, and besieging and destroying Jerusalem and the Temple. The rebellion didn’t end until AD 73, after the rebels retreated to Masada.
Because of the Babylonian invasion, those days became a ‘collective term’ for Rome’s sacking of Jerusalem and the Jewish ‘Diaspora’ (their dispersion into the world) that lasted for more than nineteen centuries.
As we know, that period came to an end after the Holocaust stung the World’s conscience! Finally, after Palestine was designated ‘a special homeland for the Jews’ by the British, the Nation of Israel was miraculously, born in a day on May 14, 1948, (Isaiah 66:8). Israel was accepted into the United Nations on May 11, 1949…. Ever since, Israel has been endangered by wars with her Arab neighbours! But recently, for first the first time since the 2nd Century, there are more Jews living in Israel than in the rest of the world; largely because the Jews have willingly made Aliyah (ascent to Israel).
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So now that we know that ‘those days’ referred to the historical invasions and cruelty that Israel suffered ― at the hands of her enemies ― when they endured the curses Moses had warned them about; we can look at Jesus’ dissertation on the Mount of Olives in Mark 13:24‒37, to see what He said about the signs of His return.
Jesus had already given them a sign, about when ‘the end’ would come! He said:
And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole World, as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14)
Then He warned them that the next sign would be ‘distress and persecution’ that they would suffer in the future.
(Note that distress and persecution is the true meaning of the word tribulation used in Matthew 24:29. Tribulation does not mean wrath!) These are two totally different occurrences that take place during two quite separate periods of time, which are meted out to different people groups!
So, if we dissect Mark’s record carefully, we find that Jesus really said this:
…Following that distress (i.e., tribulation…), there will be a reoccurrence of those days… (Matthew’s record in Ch. 24:29 confirms that pattern).
Meanwhile, we know that since the 1st Century and Jesus 1st Advent, the Jews suffered those days of invasion, followed by tribulation (distress and persecution) that has been inflicted on the people of God, both Christians and Jews, for two thousand years… occurring in various places at various times.
But, following that distress/tribulation, those days would result in another full scale invasion, forcing Israel to evacuate and seek shelter from the ‘flood’ of hatred directed at her by Satan and his agents (which is previewed in Revelation 12:14‒16) but this has not yet come to pass.
You might remember that the last time I spoke here, I said that it took 80 years of Jewish history after the Jews’ returned from the Babylonian Exile, before the Second Temple was finished, before the Law was introduced, and before the Walls of the city were rebuilt to restore Jerusalem as their capital, largely because of the intense physical and legal opposition from neighbouring nations. (Cf. Ezra, Nehemiah)
In modern times, Israel’s regularly warring Arab and Palestinian neighbours have similarly attempted to thwart Israel’s progress during the 77 years since they returned from the Roman Exile. Now there are just a few more years to go until the Generation that saw Israel’s rebirth, reaches 80 years of age! And I believe that the intervening period will be traumatic for Israel. Also, Jerusalem has not been officially recognised by most nations as the capital of Israel… yet!
In this connection, a long time ago, Jeremiah set out a prophetic warning ― about how the Jews would be regathered to the land ― to show them that their willingness to return via Aliyah (ascent to Jerusalem), would one day be overtaken by an urgent necessity to return to Israel for safety reasons. Jeremiah put it like this…
“But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.
After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.
My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes. And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin… (Jere. 16:16‒18a) The Holocaust?
This passage shows how God will pursue His people and return them to the land, either willingly, or by compulsion (to evade future vicious persecution), so that He can accomplish His will in the end time. Currently, there is plenty of evidence broadcast via the media, to indicate that this latter ‘hunting’ process has begun, via the insistent calls for Global Intifada against Israel, particularly by Arab and pro-Palestine factions whose message is being heard loudly around the world.
So, regarding Mark’s first sentence, you will have to take my research and word for it…… the phrasing of these first few words indicate that FIRST those days would soon occur; then the distressful (tribulation) period will intervene, followed by a repeat of those days in the distant-future. (Therefore, Mark would be better read as… following that distress, in those days…the sun will be darkened… etc.)
As history shows, Jesus foresaw a ‘double whammy’ lying ahead for His disciples and for Israel; having a powerful and unpleasant effect; (like a crusty sandwich with a filling of unpalatable distress enclosed between those days). The bottom layer of those days of invasion would soon occur during the 1st Century via Rome, then tribulation and distress would fill the 2,000 year time-gap until the final layer of those days of invasion occurs in the end time.
Already, long ago, a prophetic and similarly ‘sandwiched’ timeframe ― portraying Israel’s abandoned relationship with God during that time of distress ― had been laid out by a prophet called Hosea who married a prostitute as a metaphor for Israel’s unfaithfulness. Hosea described God’s future dealing with the two houses of Israel, resulting from Israel sin, via the fulfilment of Moses’ curses like this:
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah, I, even I will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek my face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. (Hosea 5:14‒15)
So first, Ephraim, and then Judah will be torn, by foreign invasions; God will take them away to their respective exiles; then God Himself will go away to His place!
This absence of God from Israel, is reminiscent of what happened in AD 30, after the Jews rejected the Messiah during His time of visitation, when He was crucified and afterward Jerusalem was destroyed.
Hosea’s reference to God’s absence, its causes and its repercussions, is echoed in Jesus own actions and words during the last week of His 1st Advent on earth. Remember, after visiting the Temple during His Passion Week to see what was going on there, Jesus cursed the fruitless fig tree growing on the side of the road; it immediately died from the roots up. This was another metaphor for Israel’s unfaithful disobedient relationship with God. That fig tree died, and the SecondTemple that had historically sustained Israel’s spiritual life, would be abandoned by God and destroyed. During that same week, Jesus condemned the Scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites and pronounced eight dreadful woes on them in Matthew 23. Then He said to them…
“Your House is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ (Matt. 23:39…)
The Temple was no longer the House of God. So what did Hosea say about the Jews who were abandoned by God? He said God’s abandonment was for a set time, he indicates in Hosea 6:1‒2 that Ephraim and Judah will be torn, stricken and afflicted for two days! That means two thousand years of affliction for the Jews on God’s calendar (cf. 2 Peter 3:8), while the Gospel was being simultaneously preached to all the Gentile nations, and to the ends of the earth, as a witness to Jesus Christ. Then the end of the Age will come…
Then Hosea says… in their affliction during a final crisis… the Jews will turn to God and be raised up on the third day He will raise them up. Hosea says the day will come when they say…
Come, and let us return to the Lord, For he has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight. Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. (Hosea 6:1–2)
That third day, when the Jews will once again live in God’s sight, may well refer to the one thousand year millennium mentioned in Revelation 20:1‒6, when Christ rules from Jerusalem, and repentant Jews and Gentiles will live in God’s sight. (Ezek. 36:1‒15, 25‒38; 37:1‒28; Dan. 12:1‒3; Hosea 14:4‒7; Joel 2:21‒29, 3:18; Zech. 10:6‒8; Rev. 20:1‒6)
This future third day is also mentioned in the Book of Daniel, which occurs when the war initiated by the King of the North in Daniel 11:45‒50 has ended. Daniel specifically mentions the resurrection of His people in Chapter 12:1‒2, after His people are delivered, when… those who sleep in the dust of the earth… will awake… some will be raised to everlasting life, and some to shame and contempt! Blessings and Curses… again! This judgment still lies in the future for Israel and the people of God.
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Consequent to present-day events, the Bible teaches that this whole Gospel Age will end with an apocalyptic WAR that takes place in Israel; it will be the Jews’ final experience of those days that will cause them to cry out to God in their affliction.
As terrible as it is to think about it; the horrific events in Southern Israel on October 7, 2023 were only a prelude to what will yet take place in Jerusalem, according to Zechariah 14. But we can also think about this…. Because of Israel’s brutal and effective retaliations to that attack during the last two years, Israel has greatly degraded her enemies’ (present-day) capability and capacity to conduct a war of annihilation. Israel has certainly reduced the odds of the nation being totally wiped out of existence, which ― as we all know ― is the well-publicised aim of Iran and its proxy Axis of Resistance Jihadist forces. This has been their aim ever since the Iranian revolution in 1978? However, we shouldn’t be complacent in thinking that Iran’s intention has been dulled or thwarted. Even this week, the media says Hamas is rebuilding its power base in Gaza, and Hezbollah is reinventing itself in Lebanon, while Iran has not given up on its totalitarian dream… of annihilating Israel and ruling the Muslim world, as it replaces and builds thousands of missiles.
According to Revelation 9 and 16, the preparations for those days of Great War begins when the Euphrates River is dried up, to allow the four ‘territorial angels’ bound at the River, to be loosed, so that the Kings from the East can cross over into Western Iraq. This is presuming that these so-called ‘Kings’ are Muslims who come from sovereign states in eastern Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and from neighbouring Muslim states like the other ‘….stan’ countries that lie to the north of Iran.
Their gathering is in response to the invitation issued by the evil, unclean demonic spirits that inhabit the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet, which have gone out to the Kings of the earth. They summon the radical Islamist enemies of the Jews (from across the world) to assemble and gather at the place called Armageddon, in order to make War against the people of God and those who follow the Lamb.
These demonic spirits ‘perform signs’ to impress the radical Muslim terrorists (who hate Israel) living among the nations of the world, encouraging them to rise up in Jihad (Holy War) against the Jews. Muslims refer to this last Great War as Al-Malhama. The signs that are performed are intended to show the world that these agents of Satan are capable and competent to fight Israel… and possess Palestine… from the River to the Sea.
What those signs will be, I don’t know, but I believe there is enough corroborating evidence in the scriptures to show that these signs must have a sudden, overwhelming, effective and devastating effect on Israel (particularly in Rev. 6:12‒13; 9:5‒11; Zech. 14:1‒2; Daniel 11:40‒45, Joel 2:1‒11) while Rev. 9:3‒11 may refer to drone biological warfare, against those Jews who don’t’ have the seal of God on their foreheads. It appears that the subsequent invasion ― simultaneous aerial and ground operation ― by multiple hordes of Muslim Jihads, cannot be prevented from reaching Jerusalem (Zech. 12:1‒9), where the final battle takes place in the Valley of Jehoshaphat that lies between Jerusalem and the Mt. of Olives. Joel 3:1‒2, 12‒16; Zech. 14:3‒5; Rev. 19:19‒21; (cf. Rev. 14:14‒20 when the earth is reaped.)
Israel’s retaliation is described in Zech. 14:12‒15, as a plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem. (cf. cf. seven plagues in Rev. 15:1, 16:1‒21) This plague also affects the horses, mules, camels and donkeys and cattle living in the military encampments associated with these radical and extreme terrorists, which are being set up in isolated rural enclaves around the world now in 2025.
The Bible provides several references to that final war! It takes place in Jerusalem (according to Zechariah 14); and in the nearby Valley of Jehoshaphat (as reported in Joel 3); it is described (in Daniel 11:45-50), as a war in the Glorious Land (Israel), which was started by the King of the North, in retaliation for Israel’s prior attacks.
From here on, I can only give my opinion, about the munitions, armaments and transports used in this war, which have been warily described in archaic terms by the prophets Isaiah, Joel, Daniel, Zechariah and John (in Revelation), whose imaginations have been taxed to explain the swift and noisy weapons that come like a whirlwind, or mighty wind, which they saw in their visions. To my mind, the things described in Isaiah 5:26‒30; Daniel 11:40, and for the ‘locusts’ etc., in Joel 1:15‒2:11 and Rev. 9:3‒10, 17‒19 are applicable and pertinent to the noisy motor-bikes, decoy flares, swarms of drones, helicopters, tanks, bombs and ballistic missiles used in modern warfare, that we have all seen on Television. Now that AI is here, who knows what comes next!
Then, the Bible tells us very clearly who these war-mongering people are, who have been gathered to fight against Israel and the Lamb: They come from the eighth manifestation of a type of Caliphate or large Empire, called the Beast, which has a religious leader called the False Prophet, who wields its power. We are told the eighth iteration of the beast comes from all seven former manifestations of ‘beast empire’ that have risen up from ancient Mesopotamia, Asia and the Middle East, which includes the ten Muslim nations that devolved from the breaking up of the Ottoman Empire after WWI. They also include an eclectic mix of terrorist groups, known as ‘kings without kingdoms’ or the ‘leaders’ of terrorist groups, known as Non-state terrorist Organisations (NTO’s) recognised by the United States; of which there are hundreds scattered around the world).
These war-mongering people are identified in the Bible as:
Those who worship the beast and his image (that we saw speaking and moving on TV with ISIS).
Those who have taken the mark of the beast, as a mark of ownership, (the charagma, ‘Seal of Muhammad’ displayed on the Islamic State’s black flags.
those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads…
those whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb… and those
who do not have His Father’s name written on their foreheads!
(Rev. 7:3–8; 13:8; 14:1; 17:8, 11).
This global conflict ― centred on Israel ― provides the volatile scenario painted by the prophets of God for the events that mark the end of the Gentile Age, as it draws to a close. The final reference is to the battle of the great Day of God (in Revelation 16:12‒14, and 19:19‒21).
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So what happens next? And what happens to Israel?
Unfortunately, it seems that it is only when the Jews are facing enormous odds, right in the middle of their affliction ― when all hope of rescue has gone ― that they finally resort to expressing those important words, recorded in scripture by Hosea, which are waiting to be uttered at the appropriate time… This is when the Jews will cry out in anguish…
Come, and let us return to the LORD AND Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. That we may live in His sight. (Hosea 6:1–2)
These are the words that God has been waiting to hear; He will come to their rescue to ‘heal’ the ‘tears’ and ‘bind’ the ‘hurts’ the Jews have endured for two thousand years. Their enemies will be defeated when Jesus Christ returns in power and glory, accompanied by His heavenly armies and attended by those faithful ones whom He has called and chosen. Hosea further encourages those in Israel, who are suffering this torment:
O Israel, return to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity; take words with you, and return to the LORD, say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. (Hosea 14:1‒2)
So, if the Jews need to take ‘specific’ words with them, to offer the sacrifices of their lips… this may be the ‘fraught moment’ when they confess their sins, their disobedience, and their rejection of Messiah… when they cry out to Jesus, the Messiah, the One they despised…
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ (Psalm 118:26)
These are the simple words that Jesus has been waiting to hear from His Jewish people. Even during the affliction of those days, as they fight an existential battle for survival amongst the fire, smoke and brimstone of war; hoping they survive the stygian gloom and darkness… Jesus said…
The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
At that time people will see the Son of Man coming with great power and glory. And He will send his angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. (Mark 13:24b‒26)
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In closing, I will insert some words from (Luke 21:29‒31) into a selection of verses from our second reading in (Mark 13:24‒37) to remind us, that we all have a choice to make here and now, regarding our eternal future. We can either choose life and prosperity with God, or death and destruction without Him. As in the days of Moses, we have two options… blessings or curses…
Now learn this lesson from the fig tree…
‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they are already budding; as soon as their twigs get tender and their leaves come out, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near, right at the door. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened…. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:29‒36)
But, did you notice, there is no mention of ‘good figs’ on the latter-day fig tree representing Israel, neither is there any ‘fruit’ mentioned on the trees that represent the other nations! The season for fruit to appear, begins in the summer time that is near, right at the door.
Today, here in the southern hemisphere, it is the 1st Sunday of Advent, and this is the last day of Spring. Summer will start tomorrow… pray that it will be a season of fruitfulness for our Lord!
When the ‘good fruit of spiritual revival’ begins to appear in Israel, and in the nations of the world, then we will know that the kingdom of God is near, and the Return of Messiah is imminent! Therefore, keep watch because we do not know when Messiah will come… Jesus said… ‘WATCH’….