Saturday March 19 730 8pm William Bell Gathering of Israel 3

Hello and welcome once again to the All Things Fulfilled broadcast. This is William Bell and we'd like to thank you for tuning in today. We encourage you to tune in every Saturday evening from 6 30 to 7 p.m central time from 7 30 until 8 p.m eastern time for the All Things Fulfilled broadcast. This broadcast is presented to you by the Rains Row Church of Christ located at 33 East Rains Road in Memphis, Tennessee. So anytime you're in the area and you'd like to stop by and visit us feel free to do so. Also we encourage you to visit our website which is at allthingsfulfilled.com and for additional videos that you can study at your own leisure you can visit our YouTube channel. 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Now we have been talking about the regathering of Israel Israel being regathered to the land and we've looked at certain passages we're going to look at a few more passages as we talk about the subject and and then we will in time to come move on to something different but for now we're still dealing with that and I'd like to begin today starting with a text another text in the Old Testament that we haven't said very much about in terms of the last days and that is from Numbers chapter 24 Numbers chapter 24 the verses are 17 through about 19 the text says I see him but not now I behold him but not near a star shall come out of Jacob a scepter shall rise out of Israel and batter the brow of Moab and destroy all the sons of tumult and Edom shall be a possession seer also his enemies shall be a possession while Israel does valiantly out of Jacob one shall have dominion and destroy the remains of the city and and so it says this was a prophecy concerning the last days as a matter of fact if you will look in verse 14 the text tells us clearly and now indeed I am going to my people come I will advise you what this people you see when we said in the previous video and we talked about the fact that the last days related to the nation of Israel that nation that were the sons of Jacob that had grown and been developed into a nation during the time they were in Egypt etc these were the descendants of Jacob so the last days apply particularly to them because it was the last days of that old covenant people people that existed according to the old covenant and since the old covenant has changed and the priesthood has changed and that old covenant has passed away then that people no longer exist as a covenant people God has a new covenant and therefore has made a new covenant with his people based upon the blood of Christ not the blood of bulls and goats and animals which could never take away sin so in verse 14 the scripture says and now indeed I am going to my people this is Balaam who was prophesying and he says come I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days I'm going to show you what this people are going to do to your people in the latter days and whenever it speaks about the blessing of the people of Israel in the last days it's always talking about that remnant of Israel who were the followers of the Messiah he's not just looking at the whole entire nation and saying that this is going to be a blessing on the entire nation no because remember in Deuteronomy chapter 28 verses 1 through 14 there were blessings and then in verses 15 through 68 there were curses and again in Leviticus chapter 26 think about the same number of verses or so we have the blessings and then we have the curses and when you look in the New Testament and particularly in the book of Revelation you see where God brings those curses upon those who rejected the Messiah so whenever it's talking about the blessings of Israel those fall upon that group of the Israelites who chose to follow the Messiah just like Paul and Peter and James and John etc as Jesus said in John chapter 1 verse 11 he says he came to his owner as John writes of Christ he came to his own well that would be the whole nation Jesus came to the whole nation but his own meaning the whole nation did not receive him but as many as received him to them he gave the authority to become the sons of God who were born not of blood not of the flesh not of the will of man but of God and so it was that element out of Israel who were born again that formed the remnant of Israel they weren't those who were uncircumcised in heart and ears who said we will not have this man to reign over us who were considered Israel no they were considered as the children of Satan the children of the devil and so it's very very important that we understand the distinction that is being made but this prophecy that Balaam speaks of that was going to take place in the last days was a prophecy that had to do with the coming of the Messiah because he says a star is going to come out of Jacob he said a scepter will rise out of Israel and the scepter stands for the king himself it stands for the person uh not just the scepter that he held in his hand etc but uh that's a uh what you would call a um metonymy if you please uh the thing named for what was intended so if the scepter refers to the person shall rise out of Israel and batter the brow of Moab and you know it's the power uh in or exercise in Christ and he says and destroy all the sons of and Edom shall be a possession seer also his enemies shall be a possession while Israel does valiantly out of Jacob one shall have dominion and destroy the remains of the city so when he says out of Jacob one shall have dominion he's talking about the kingdom that was being established in the last days another point that we had made in previous lessons uh according to it will come to pass in the days of these kings that the god of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed and it shall not be left to other people but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever all right so from that perspective then we see this prophecy that focuses on Edom and uh seer etc that would take place in the last days now this is interesting because what we have in the new testament are prophecies that referred to uh the people of Moab and I as I was leaving off in the previous week's lesson when we were talking about the valley of Jehoshaphat what was significant about the valley of Jehoshaphat was that it was the people of Moab and Ammon and Edom who came out to attack uh the Israelites who came out and attacked Jehoshaphat uh where God destroyed them so when we look at this time of the end we are also looking at prophecies that refer to the destruction of Moab and Edom in the sense that they form the enemies of God now here's what's interesting when we talk about the various enemies of God they have Israel had lots of enemies you know Egypt was their enemy at one time Syria was their enemy Assyria was their enemy uh the Babylonians were the enemy or the Chaldeans we had uh Moab and Ammon and Edom and uh Egypt etc all these were former enemies of Israel but see here's what happens in the new testament it's sort of a twist that takes place where those as we said before who were the sons of Satan who were the children of the devil God sort of attached the names of all those former enemies to the national kingdom of Israel so they became Moab they became Ammon they became Egypt they became Sodom and Gomorrah they became all of these other nations and it's very important that when we're studying prophecy we recognize that because what deceives a lot of people they still think that it's the same Israel the whole nation that's going to be delivered against these nations when God has kind of flipped the script and you are is using these names of these other nations in a spiritual sense to refer to his own people who were rejecting the messiah and if you don't see that in the testament you're going to miss it let me just give you a couple of examples out there one he will call Jerusalem Egypt and that's in Galatians 4 25 and 26 when he says that Ishmael was the son of Hagar and Hagar represented the old covenant and her children were in bondage and answers to the Jerusalem which now is so all covenant Jerusalem became Egypt same thing in the city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified that can't be Rome it can't be America etc so that's showing you how the the script was flipped on them to refer to other nations and and it's not just um Egypt where that has occurred it was used in others they are called Gog and Magog in the book of Revelation now we know those were the nations that were against Israel but you see when the old covenant people who rejected the messiah began to fight against the new covenant people who accepted the messiah began to persecute them they became the enemies and thus took on those names of those old covenant nations they were considered as they were so they become the Gog and Magog that you find in Revelation 20 and if I have time I will touch on that just a little bit now having said that we have a prophecy in Amos chapter 9 in Amos chapter 9 and so let us take a look in Amos 9 and look at a prophecy that concerns Moab during the time of the last days in verse 11 of Amos 9 it says on that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David which is fallen down and repair its damages I will raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old that they may possess the remnant of Edom now remember in the prophecy in Numbers he said that Edom would become a possession these people would become a possession of Israel now some people are really uh sort of just tripped out over the fact that Bible says that Edom would become a possession and they even ascribe it to Europeans and say well this is when the Europeans are going to be subservient to the black Hebrew Israelites well ladies and gentlemen that's not what the prophecy is discussing it's not dealing with that at all it's talking about these people who live back in the time of the Bible times dealing with the time of the first century when this battle of Armageddon this battle of Jehoshaphat with all the nations was taking place and we're going to see that but notice he says on that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David which has fallen down and repair its damages I will raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who does this thing now just think about this the text doesn't just simply say that they were going to possess the remnant of Edom it says they were going to possess all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who does these things well again that's a quote from Numbers 24 and verse 18 but I want you to understand that this is going to take place during the time of the regathering of Israel so look at it in verses 13 and 14 behold the days are coming says the Lord when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed the mountains shall drip with sweet wine and all the hills shall flow with it I will bring back the captives of my people Israel they shall build the way cities and inhabit them they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them they shall make gardens and eat fruit from them I will plant them in their land and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land that I have given them says the Lord your God now here's what the interesting point it is when he builds up the tabernacle of David when he raises again the tabernacle of David and repairs its damages and raises its ruins that's when they would possess and that's when they would possess all the Gentiles now unless it is only the Europeans according to the black Hebrew Israelites for example who are the Gentiles and we know that the Zionists consider everybody who's not a Zionist as a Gentile then everybody was supposed to be subservient to them and not just one group of people but when was this going to take place he says the days are coming when the plowman overtakes the reaper etc and the mountains will drip with sweet wine well that's the gospel going forth just like in Isaiah 2 the mount let us go up to the mountain of the house of the Lord to the mountain of the God of Jacob and he will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the that sweet wine is the gospel coming forth and saving people and he says and all the hills shall flow with it but what's happening at the time I will bring back the captives of my people Israel they shall build the way cities and inhabit them plant the vineyards and drink wine from them they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them and I will plant them in their land and they will no longer be pulled up from the land that I've given them says the Lord your God now let's take a look in the 15th chapter of the book of Acts because what has taken place is something that God had prophesied for the last days and what was that it was that he was going to pour out his spirit on all flesh now what that means is you had the flesh of the Jews and you had the flesh of the Gentiles but the gospel was to the Jew first so they were the first ones to receive the Holy Spirit which is what we see in Acts chapter 2 and the following chapters all the way up to Acts chapter 10 and following when the Gentiles themselves receive the Holy Spirit and that's what the text says in Acts chapter 11 and verse 17 then they also as the Bible says in verse 17 what is that verse it is verse 18 when they heard these things they became silent and they glorified God saying then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance and and that's what they were discussing when Peter had gone to the household of Cornelius and the Holy Spirit fell upon them and he was pointing out you know who was I to withstand God who had given them the Holy Spirit just as he gave it to us so in Acts chapter 15 they have this dispute over whether or not the Gentiles should be required to keep the law of Moses and to circumcise their children and there was a great dispute over it they called the apostles and the elders and some had come down from Antioch and so they had this conference to decide what is it going to be and so it says in verse 5 but some of the sect of the Pharisees who believe rose up saying it is necessary to circumcise them meaning the Gentiles and to command them to keep the law of Moses in other words they wanted to do for the Gentiles what was being done for the believing Jews but you see there were Pharisees among them now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter and when there had been much dispute Peter rose up and said to them men and brethren you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should so God who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving the Holy Spirit just as he did to us when was the Holy Spirit to be poured out in the last days what was going to happen in the last days when the Spirit was poured out Israel would be regathered as a matter of fact Isaiah 37 said and 36 said they would be regathered by his spirit so that was a part of the eschatological work of the Spirit to regather Israel and here we see that taking place right here in the new covenant where the Spirit has been poured out but then he says he made no distinction between us and them purifying their hearts by faith now therefore why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear he said look we can't keep the laws why are you trying to force them on the Gentiles but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ you see the Bible says for the law came by Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ so we're dealing with the whole new salvation paradigm when we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ we're not talking about the law we're talking about grace and truth and so we believe that we should be saved by the grace of God even or in the same manner as they so Peter as a Jew is saying look even though we're required to keep the law for a time as long as this temple is standing he said but our faith is one day God is going to save us Jews the same way he's saving these Gentiles without requiring them or commanding them to keep the law or to circumcise their children then all the multitude kept silent I can tell you they you could probably hear a pin drop in the room that day to tell these Pharisees and all these Jews that God was no longer going to command them to keep the law and to circumcise their children and so they kept silent and they listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles and after this or after they had become silent see some people who talk about the law they will never close their mouth every time they open their mouth they're talking about keep the law keep the law keep the law keep the law and sometimes they need to become silent and listen like these people did in the New Testament after they had become silent James answered saying men and brethren listen to me Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name and with this the words of the prophets agree just as it is written now what prophet is that that he's quoting on particularly he's citing Amos chapter 9 after this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen down I will rebuild its ruins and I will set it up meaning after God has called the Gentiles in having given them the spirit he says after that I'm going to rebuild the tabernacle of David I'm going to set it up so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord even all the Gentiles who are called by my name now he had just spoken in verse 14 that God had visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name and so he says so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord even all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who does all these things known to God from eternity are all his works therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols from sexual immorality from things strangled from blood for Moses had throughout many generations those who preach them in every synagogue being read in the synagogues every Saturday now when they wrote the letter this is what they said since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words unsettling your souls saying you must be circumcised and keep the law to whom we gave no such commandment and thus he told them what things to observe and of course those things please the brethren now here's the point remember in amos 9 11 through 14 when this was being fulfilled this is when they were taking possession of edom this is when they were taking possession of moab this is when they were taking possession of all the gentiles but it's not literally ruling over them with um some military warfare or having some militia or anything of that nature or with your foot on their necks no it was through their coming in to obey the gospel which was from or out from the jews they're coming into israel's salvation and so he says but that is also the time because he talks about the mountain dripping with sweet wine that's the gospel going forth and that is when he brings back the captives of his people that's joel 2 when it says for whoever calls on the name of the lord shall be saved and to all the remnant whom the lord our god shall call that's when they're rebuilding the cities not physical cities at the time of israel's destruction they weren't even allowed to go back into the city of jerusalem according to the historical records of rome and some of the so-called church fathers the patristic writers which i refer to as the church sons because they came after the church not before so they couldn't have been the fathers of the church but they say that even in their debates with other jews look you're not even allowed to go back into bethlehem you're not even allowed to go back into jerusalem so they weren't building any cities there from a physical point of view these cities were waste after the destruction by the romans but they were built cities just like the lord tells them rule over 10 cities well he doesn't mean literally to go out and become a civil ruler he was talking about through the influence of the gospel but nevertheless the point is there it's when that prophecy was fulfilled when they had received the holy spirit in fulfillment of amos and joel etc that's when god was gathering them back and it was the time of judgment that was about to come where the valley the judgment in the valley of jehoshaphat was taking place but that's all my time i'm william have a great week and we'll see you on the next week