NOTES: Have a cappuccino and cannoli and hang out with an old friend and a fellow servant of the Lord.

Tom talks about how he used to believe all the conspiracy stories. Says it can get to extreme and believe everything is conspiracy and don’t believe anything. Need a balance. Says what changed for him was the Sandy Hook story. That happened close to him in Connecticut at a school shooting. From the church he was going to the pastor was one of the first ones there and saw things that scarred him for life. The church had members where some had died. The church put a prayer tent to deal with the suffering. When Tom went on the internet he found  articles that said, the Sandy Hoax. Tom said he realized in the road of conspiracy theory, says no truth anywhere. He says, can get cynical, thinking nothing is as it appears. The danger is that starts leaking into our theology.

Bringing that into today with what is going on with the Jews. Tom says often it is the minority that is correct. We need to look for the truth about Israel that is all over the Bible. God is the truth, He does not lie.

Numbers 23: 19 “ God is not a man, that He should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?”

God’s covenant promise  with Abraham with Israel is eternal. 

Genesis 17: 7-9 “ And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your seed after you. And I will give to you and the your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. And God said to Abraham, you shall keep My covenant therefore, you and your seed after you in their generations.”

God’s covenant is with Israel and the Jews. He keeps that. As He does with us and salvation. 

God has fulfilled prophecies for Israel. 

Isaiah 66: 8 “ Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day?  Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” May 14, 1948, Israel a nation, prophecy fulfilled. 

Ezekiel 36: 24 “ For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.” The Jews gathered to the land of Israel. Gathered after 1948, still gathering. 

Isaiah 43: 5-6 “ Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honorable. And I have loved you, therefore will I give men for you, and people for your life. I will say to the north, give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring My sons from far and My daughters from the ends of the earth.” 

Zechariah 12: 2-3 “ Behold, I will make Jerusalem  cup of trembling to all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people, all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces though all the earth be gathered together against it.” 

Supernatural prophecy, all the nations turn their back on Jerusalem. Israel is the entire plan of God from the beginning. 

Tom says Israel now is not leaning on God but secular government and weapons. That will change in Ezekiel 38, 39. Turn them back to God finally. God’s wrath is shown. What will people say then, shake their fist about God? 

Ezekiel 38: 18-20 “ And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel says the Lord God, that My fury shall come up in My face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath have I spoken. Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.” 

Tom says it is hard to stand with Israel in the last days. Not many stand, worse even is the church. 

We need to stand with God, and His promises. 

Genesis 12: 2-3 “ And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless you and curse him that curses you and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” 

Tom says what is happening today is the separating the wheat from the chaff. Of the Jews, one day they will say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, and they will be saved.” The hatred of the Jews is leading to the 7 year tribulation. Any time then the rapture. 

Comments: 

One asks were the Palestinians the old Philistines? 

A reply: Palestine/ Philistia was given a Greek name who was angry at the Jews in the 12th century. They wanted to insult them and there is no Palestine, no Palestinians. It is Gaza, part of Israel given to the Jews by God. The land outlined in Judges chapter 1. 

Today’s Palestinians are Arabs, from other surrounding nations who are occupying Gaza. They are not Jewish Philistines. 

Says started watching for Jesus in 2020. Telling everyone and kept watching, expecting Him. Says no one stands in the same place as in 2020. There has been attacks, loss, big grief, ailments- hang on. Says he doesn’t expect to be here in 2024. 

Says at age 63 remembers when she was 6 siting on her grandfather’s lap. He said, this is the last generation. Prays for all to be ready. 

Says at age 51, her mom always told her she will be here with the rapture and she is 75 now. 

Tom says some say if someone doesn’t believe in the rapture they won’t be raptured. That is not true. The rapture is a gathering of all who belong to Him . All that have been saved in Jesus and have the Holy Spirit will be raptured, whether they believe it or not! God takes all His children. 

Gospel:

Jesus came, shed His blood for all the sins we commit. To save us for eternal life forever with Him. Believe He died, and rose again, saved and rapture ready! 

Today’s Scriptures:

Numbers 23:19 NKJV

[19] “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?Timestamp: 8:11

Genesis 17:7–9 NKJV

[7] And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. [8] Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” [9] And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 

Timestamp: 9:41

Isaiah 66:8 NKJV

[8] Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children.

Timestamp: 11:25

Ezekiel 36:24 NKJV

[24] For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 

Timestamp: 12:04

Isaiah 43:5–6 NKJV

[5] Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; [6] I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth—

Timestamp: 13:02

Zechariah 12:2–3 NKJV

[2] “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. [3] And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. 

Timestamp: 13:5

Zechariah 12:4 NKJV

[4] In that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 

Timestamp: 14:30

Ezekiel 38:1–23 NKJV

[1] Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, [2] “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, [3] and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. [4] I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. [5] Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; [6] Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you. [7] “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. [8] After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. [9] You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.” [10] ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: [11] You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— [12] to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. [13] Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’ [14] “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? [15] Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. [16] You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” [17] Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them? [18] “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. [19] For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, [20] so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ [21] I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. [22] And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. [23] Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’

Ezekiel 39:1–29 NKJV

[1] “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; [2] and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. [3] Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. [4] You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. [5] You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. [6] “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. [7] So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. [8] Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day of which I have spoken. [9] “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. [10] They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God. [11] “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. [12] For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. [13] Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the Lord God. [14] “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. [15] The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. [16] The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land.” ’ [17] “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: “Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood. [18] You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, Drink the blood of the princes of the earth, Of rams and lambs, Of goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of Bashan. [19] You shall eat fat till you are full, And drink blood till you are drunk, At My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you. [20] You shall be filled at My table With horses and riders, With mighty men And with all the men of war,” says the Lord God. [21] “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. [22] So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. [23] The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. [24] According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.” ’ [25] “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— [26] after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. [27] When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, [28] then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. [29] And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”

Timestamp: 15:46

Ezekiel 38:18–20 NKJV

[18] “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. [19] For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, [20] so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ 

Timestamp: 17:20

Genesis 12:2–3 NKJV

[2] I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Timestamp: 18:57