This sermon delves into the theme of God's justice and the importance of waiting on Him, emphasizing the significance of crying out to God in moments of desperation. It explores the future events surrounding Jerusalem, the return of Jesus, and the establishment of His kingdom on earth, highlighting the need for righteousness for true peace. The sermon concludes with reflections on salvation coming through recognizing our desperate need for Jesus.

For the Lord is a God of justice, blessed are all those who wait for Him. Then it goes on, For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. You shall weep no more, He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When He hears it, He will answer you. You know what God is waiting for? The sound of the cry. Now that word cry in Hebrew has the meaning of a desperate cry for help. When you come to the point of absolute desperation and you recognize that you have no other hope, and you cry, God's waiting for that. I think there is a lesson here because God sometimes brings you and me to the point of desperation. And He's waiting to hear our cry. And He recognizes the cry of desperation. And it touches Him as nothing else will do. My first wife Lydia cared for about 70 babies in Israel in the course of 20 years. So she was something of an expert in babies. When she heard a baby cry, she always said, That's just naughtiness. Or, it needs help. She could distinguish. And I think the Lord is not going to respond to the cry of naughtiness. He's only going to respond to the desperate cry for help. So He's waiting. A lot of us think that we're waiting. We may be, but remember that God is waiting, too. He's waiting to bring us to that point of absolute desperation. We've already looked at the passage in Isaiah 31 where it says, As a lion refuses to be intimidated by the shepherds gathered against it, so the Lord will not be intimidated by all the nations gathered against Jerusalem. He will come down and like birds flying, He will deliver it. In other words, He'll come down from heaven above to deliver Jerusalem. Some of you may think this is a little extraordinary. But it is remarkable, isn't it, that more than two thousand years ago God depicted the whole scene with such vividness. I believe He knew what He was saying and doing. Let's look at a passage in Acts... Well, wait a minute. Let's look at Matthew 26 for a moment. This is a scene where Jesus has been arrested and is before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council. And at a certain point, the high priest confronts Him and challenges Him, Are you the Messiah? You find it in Matthew 26, verses 63 and following. But Jesus kept silent and the high priest answered and said to Him, I adjure you by the living God that you tell us if you are the Messiah and the Son of God. Now Jesus respected the authority of the high priest even though he was a wicked man. And it was only at that point that He clearly declared His identity. Jesus said to Him, It is as you say. In other words, I am the Messiah, the Son of God. But He went on. Nevertheless, I say to you, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven. And that was what they condemned Him to death for, because of what He said. The word power in Hebrew is gevurah. And it's a word that's used amongst Orthodox Jews today for the exalted majesty of God in heaven. Jesus says, I will be sitting at the right hand of His majesty. And I'll come again on the clouds of heaven. This is a reference to the prophecy of Daniel. He said He saw the one like the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. And then in Acts chapter 1 we have the actual picture of Jesus being taken away. It says in Luke's gospel this happened at Bethany. That is, on the south end of the Mount of Olives. Then you remember that as He was standing there talking to His disciples, the last thing He did was to bless them. And as He was blessing them, He was taken up into heaven. And they watched Him until He disappeared in a cloud. And then it said, and this is Acts chapter 1, verse 9 and following. Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And they stood there still looking upwards, transfixed. And it says, while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, two angels, who also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. Please note it's this same Jesus. It's not a Messianic age. It's a person, the same person, this same Jesus. Will come in the same way as you saw Him go. He went in the clouds, He will come back in the clouds. He went from the Mound of Olives, He will come back to the Mound of Olives. That's the picture. Now let's look at some of the consequences. We go back to Zechariah 14, verse 6. It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light. The lights or the luminaries will diminish. In other words, the sun, the moon and the stars will not give any kind of bright light. It shall be one day which is known to the Lord, and known only to Him incidentally, neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light. It will be a unique day such as never has occurred up till now. The NIV translation of that is very vivid, I would say. Now, what are going to be the consequences of Messiah's return? Many of them. It says in that day it shall be that living water shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea, that's the Dead Sea, and half of them toward the western sea, that's the Mediterranean. It shall be in both summer and winter. Now this is very interesting, because in all its history, Jerusalem has never had its own water supply. And the first thing that besieging armies did was to cut off the supply of water from out of the city. This happened in 1948. While we were living in Jerusalem in the middle of the siege, the Arabs blew up the water conduit that brought water into Jerusalem. But, in those days, the Arabs, who were very clever builders in stone, always built a cistern in the basement of every house to which the rain water from winter was channeled. And while we were living, as I've described, on the corner of Agron and King George Avenue, kitty-corny across from the King's Hotel, which wasn't there then, our water supply was cut off. And the Jewish civil authorities sealed everybody's cistern. Then they took the water out of the cistern, put it in a cart, and it was drawn through the city. And people were allowed to take just so much water. But, when the cart came to where we were, the men driving it refused to come. They said, It's too close to the front line, we won't risk our lives. So the Jewish authorities did not seal our cistern. So we had an abundant supply of water. I suppose that cistern was at least as big as this section of the church over here, bigger. Cune out of stone. Wonderful water, ladies, for washing your hair. Rain water. But, after Messiah comes, Jerusalem for the first time in history will become a source of living water. That is a little peril, isn't it? Our lives are like that. Till Jesus comes we're dependent on external sources. But when Messiah comes, there's a fountain of living water within each of us. Amen. Incidentally, I want to tell you about that poor horse. A shell exploded in the street and killed that horse. Thank God it didn't kill anybody else but the horse. All right, we're going on. Now you notice it says, half of the water will go toward the Eastern Sea, that's the Dead Sea, and half toward the Western Sea, the Mediterranean, in both summer and winter. It will not depend on any fluctuating seasons. They say, and I don't know whether it's true, that geologists have found that there is a vast subterranean source of water under Jerusalem. I don't know whether this is true but I've heard it said many times. Now if you, we won't turn there, but if you look in Ezekiel 47, you'll see that when the temple is rebuilt in its appointed place, living water flows out from Jerusalem to the east, goes down to what's called the Arabah, and then down to the Dead Sea. And wherever that water comes, there is life, an abundance of life. Fishes, fruit, everything. So that's the eastern flow. The western flow is not described in Ezekiel, but here it says it will flow both ways, east and west. Now going on a little further in Zechariah 14, verse 9, And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day it shall be. The Lord is one and His name one. Does anybody happen to have an NIV here? Could you be kind enough to bring it to me? Appreciate that. You get a little temporary notoriety. Where are we? Verse 9. I'll get it back to you in just a moment. I just wanted to read this 9th verse because it's rather vivid. It says, The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord and His name the only name. That's the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. That's what we were taught to pray for every time we said the Lord's prayer. Thy kingdom come. And don't forget that's the supreme objective of God in history. And everything else is directed toward that end. And we are not in harmony with God's purposes if we have any other ultimate goal but the establishment of the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth. And furthermore, there is no other hope for the earth. The earth will be plunged into ever increasing confusion, disaster and misery. And the only hope of humanity is the establishment of Christ's kingdom on earth. We are not dreamers. We are not unrealistic. The people who are dreamers and unrealistic are believed that man can solve his own problems and bring peace. They've been talking about that for two thousand years and we're probably further away from it today than we ever were. So don't be afraid to declare your confidence that God has the answer. He's going to establish His kingdom on earth. A lot of talk today about peace. And people are being told to pray for peace. But to pray for peace like that is to pray out of ignorance. It's a deception of Satan. Peace is one of the great cries of the... What do they call them? The New Age. The Bible makes it crystal clear that there will never be true peace without justice and righteousness. Righteousness is always the preliminary requirement for peace. The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness. Peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If we want peace and joy, it will only come through righteousness. Any attempt to establish peace on earth without righteousness, without justice, is doomed to disappointment. Going on in Zechariah, chapter 14, verse 10 and 11. All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimon, south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate to the place of the first gate and the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananiel to the king's winepresses. Now, I don't know where all those locations are, but it says Jerusalem is going to be raised up and inhabited in her appointed place. And all the land round about will be a plain. In other words, there are going to be tremendous geological disturbances. And there are many passages in the Bible that indicate that. I'll look again, just one verse, in Isaiah chapter 2. Isaiah chapter 2, verse 2. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow to it. So at this point, the hill on which Jerusalem sits will be elevated above all the surrounding hills. And there will be an area of plain land around it. That demands a tremendous kind of geological upheaval. But that's only a small part of what's going to happen because in Psalm 46 it says the mountains will be carried into the midst of the sea. That's not that mountain. You see, frankly, few of us have any concept of the tremendous upheavals which lie ahead for the human race. And there's only one secure place, the rock of ages. He will never be carried away. Amen. Now let's go on for a little while. This is the last of this passage. Verses 12 through 15 of Zechariah 14. And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall dissolve where they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouth. Now that's similar to some of the descriptions of what happens when there's a nuclear explosion. But I don't think it's going to be a nuclear explosion because its results would affect everybody. This is only going to affect the enemies of God and His people. And let me say, a lot of people are concerned about a nuclear war and nuclear weapons, which we have a right to be. But remember, God has His army, too. And nuclear weapons are child's play by comparison with what God has. All right. And it shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the LORD will be among them. That's the enemies. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor and raise his hand against his neighbor's hand. God will supernaturally turn the enemies of Israel against one another. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together, gold, silver and apparel in great abundance. Now, the surrounding nations, as I pointed out, are the Arab nations. And there's a great deal of gold and silver being stored up. But ultimately, it's being stored up for Israel. Don't tell them I said that. Now one final statement. Such also shall be the plague on the horse and the mule and the camel and the donkey and on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be. Again, the emphasis is on living creatures, not mechanized army. So, to me this is consistent. However you explain it, that's how it will be. Amen. Now, to be complete, I'm going to just deal with one other question. In a way this is a kind of anti-climax, but I have a mind that likes completeness. I don't like to leave things hanging when they don't need to be hanging. Many of you are familiar with Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, which describes an invasion of a coalition of forces into the land of Israel from the north. And until recently everybody was saying that Russia will invade Israel. I've always had serious questions about that statement. Because at any rate, at the moment the situation is not such as it's described. Therefore, my conclusion is that whatever is described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is not what's described in Zechariah chapter 12 through 14. Now you can read the passages for yourself. I say that for the following reasons. Number one, in the war that comes from the north in Ezekiel 38 and 39, Jerusalem is not the focus or scene of battle. Number two, Israel is at peace and secure when the invasion takes place. Very different from the current situation. I've always said to myself, there's no way that this prophecy could be fulfilled at the moment because Israel is anything but secure and at peace. Number three, the attackers will not be all nations, but a coalition of nations from the north. And number four, the attackers will be destroyed by a storm of hail and an earthquake, not by the personal intervention of Christ. So there are four major differences. Additionally, Ezekiel 38 and 39 says that it will take seven months to bury the killed soldiers from the north. Excuse me, I wish I didn't have to do it, but I do. Then another very significant feature is that the weapons of the armies that have been defeated and killed will provide Israel with fuel for seven years. Now if it was tanks and airplanes, you can't burn tanks and airplanes. They won't burn. It must be weapons that have a large proportion of wood. Also, for me the implication is that Israel at that time will not be using electricity nor oil as fuel. I personally believe this follows the return of Christ. It's in the very early stages of the establishment of His kingdom on earth. And I'll tell you one thing I believe about the millennium. There will be no pollution. Men and women will have ways of getting around and keeping themselves warm that don't involve pollution. Now there's another description in Revelation chapter 20 of an invasion of Gog and Magog. And the invading forces in Ezekiel 38 and 39 are specifically called Gog and Magog. However, my opinion is that Revelation chapter 20 does not refer to Zechariah 12, 13 and 14 for the following reasons. Revelation 20 focuses on Jerusalem, so it's not this invasion from the north. Jerusalem is called the camp of the saints, which it wouldn't be before that. The attackers are destroyed by fire from heaven, not by the intervention of Jesus. And this incident is immediately followed by the banishment of Satan and final judgment on all the remaining dead. So as far as I'm concerned, Ezekiel 38 and 39 does not describe Zechariah 12 through 14, does not describe Revelation 20. So, Brother Prince, come up with an explanation. Well, I'll simply offer this. In my opinion, the establishment of the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth is not going to happen with a wave of a wand. It's going to require profound cultural changes amongst all the nations that remain. And that's not going to happen in one minute. Furthermore, it's my impression that the resurrected believers will share with Christ in the establishment of His kingdom and we will probably be given a job of training the nations how to live. There's no way that all of that could happen in just that. It's got to take a considerable period of time. If it took a hundred years, that would only be one-tenth of the millennium. I'm not trying to estimate how long it will take. So, to me it seems probable, that's all I will say, that this invasion in Ezekiel 38 and 39 is one final outburst of anti-Semitism after the establishment of Christ's reign in Jerusalem. It still has to be extended to the whole earth. And the interesting thing is that the nations which provide the armies for the coalition are basically the areas of the earth which have had the most virulent and persistent anti-Semitism. That is, Eastern Europe, the CIS, and some Islamic states. So, I just leave you to ponder that for yourselves. I think, you see, the future is somewhat more complicated than some people anticipate. But it's exciting. There may be times when you feel it's a little too exciting. I say to Ruth from time to time, one thing we have to say is, our life is not dull. Sometimes we wonder whether we can stand the pressure. But up till now, by the grace of God, we have survived. Now I want to close by saying something very serious and very important. I described earlier on in this talk how God will bring Israel to the point of utter desperation, where they will see they have no hope but Jesus. All other hope has been done away. Now I believe that's how God deals with all of us for salvation. Salvation comes at a moment of desperation. When we see that we are lost, hopeless, and helpless without the supernatural revelation and intervention of Jesus in our lives.