In this sermon, Derek Prince discusses the uniqueness of Israel as the nation chosen by God. He emphasizes that God's promises to Israel are not temporary, but permanent, and will be fulfilled in the latter days. Prince highlights four key aspects that set Israel apart: their descendants will return to the land permanently, all the covenants of God were made with Israelites, the giving of the law was exclusive to Israel, and Jesus, who became a Jew for eternity, is the fulfillment of God's promises. He concludes by stating that Israel is blessed as the nation chosen by God.

This is tape number I-4363. Derek Prince speaks on the subject, Israel, Past, Present and Future. This message is entitled, The Uniqueness of Israel, God's Prophetic Calendar. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever. The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. The people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance. And that is the theme of what I want to talk about today. My message today is, The uniqueness of the nation whom God chose as His own inheritance. How many of you know the name of that nation? I didn't hear you. Israel, that's right. That's not popular teaching everywhere. But it just happens to be true. So, as I've said, my theme this morning is the uniqueness of Israel. Now that's something that upsets people today. We live in what I would call a humanistic, egalitarian culture. Where they are obliterating the differences between everything and everybody. No difference between man or woman. No difference between races. We're all alike. That is nonsense. To be different is not to be inferior. But if you're different and you don't recognize the difference. You're making trouble for yourself. And God has made Israel a unique people. That's one main reason why they have been consistently persecuted. For many hundreds of years. Because people object to something that's different. But the fact remains, if you're different, you're different. You can't change it. There's a tendency amongst the people of Israel today to want to escape their difference. The present Prime Minister of Israel said on the day that he took office. We are a people just like all other peoples. It isn't true. And his saying it doesn't make it true. We have to face up to the fact that there are differences. So I'm going to give you a series of Scriptures. That deal with the uniqueness of Israel. The first one is found in 1 Chronicles 17, verse 21. Which is part of a prayer that David prayed to the Lord. And it says, only the first half of the verse. And who is like your people Israel? The one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people. David says there very clearly and specifically. Israel is a unique nation. It's the only nation on the earth that God went to redeem for Himself as a people. And then we turn to Exodus 19. The words that God gave to Moses. As Israel were assembled at the foot of Mount Sinai. And He told Moses to tell Israel His purpose for them. It's found in Exodus 19, verses 5 and 6. God said to Moses, Tell Israel this. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. So there are three things for which God set Israel apart. They were to be a special treasure to Him above all nations. And they were to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Three distinctive destinies. A special treasure, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Now my conclusion from years of experience and study is, that the devil can delay the fulfillment of God's purposes. But he can never ultimately prevent it. And I believe Satan has done everything he can to delay the outworking of God's purpose for Israel. But ultimately he cannot prevent it. Israel will become precisely what God chose them to be. A special treasure, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. And in the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul, we find a number of facts, scriptural facts, which point out various distinctive features of Israel. In Romans chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, Paul raises the question. What advantage then has the Jew? Or what is the profit of circumcision? That's the distinctive mark of God's covenant with Israel. And the answer is, much in every way. Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles or the living words of God. So that's one feature that makes Israel totally unique. The word of God, the scriptures, the Bible, were given to us through one people, Israel. If there had never been an Israel, there would never be a Bible. If that was the only fact, it would make them uniquely important. Now it says in this verse, to them were committed the oracles of God. I prefer to say to them were entrusted the words of God. Because God did not give His word to Israel to be their exclusive possession. But that they might be stewards to administer the word of God to all other nations. And one Israelite certainly saw his responsibility. Again, the words of Paul in Romans chapter 1, verses 14 and 15. Paul says, I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. Paul says, I am under a divine obligation because of what God has done for me and my people. So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. Paul recognized his responsibility. He didn't possess the scriptures, he didn't possess the gospel. It was entrusted to him as a steward. And thank God for the faithful stewardship of the Apostle Paul. And let's consider what it cost him. It cost him absolutely everything. But for the sake of other nations, because he was the Apostle to the Gentiles. He gave up everything and devoted his whole lifetime energy. And eventually died the death of a martyr. That other nations might receive what had been entrusted to his people, Israel. Now I'm not Jewish, I need to say that clearly. But I thank God for Paul's faithfulness. I thank God for the faithfulness of all the Jewish people. Who provided the scriptures for us. From Genesis through Revelation. There's only one author in the Bible who was possibly or probably not actually Jewish. That was Luke. But it's highly probable that he was a proselyte. In other words, he had a spiritual inheritance through Israel. Otherwise, without question, every author of every book in the Bible was Jewish. Are you grateful for the Bible? Then you have to be grateful for the Jewish people. It's totally inconsistent to appreciate the Bible and depreciate the Jews. And then again in Romans 9, Paul points out eight distinctive features of Israel. Romans 9, verses 4 and 5. And I'll try and count them on my fingers. I only have five fingers so I have to go over onto the second hand. And I'm not very good at this but I'll do my best. All right. He says at the beginning of the verse, my kinsmen who are Israelites. And then he says, to whom pertain the adoption. God adopted them as His people. Secondly, the glory. Now the word glory means the visible, sensible presence of God among His people. It's not something intangible, it's something very tangible. Wherever that word glory occurs, it means somehow or other the presence of God impacts human senses. Many times when the glory of God filled the temple. The priests could not stand in the presence of God's glory. The impact was so physically powerful. And I happen to have a background in the Greek language, which I studied for about 15 years. The Greek word for glory is doxa. And I don't want to go into the background of it. But in the philosophy of Plato it was one of his key concepts. And doxa means that which is apprehended by the senses. Now he didn't use it in the sense of glory. But it's retained that significance right down into the New Testament. The glory is that which impacts our senses. It was first manifested in the form of a cloud by day and a column of fire by night. The glory of God came down over Israel after they had been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. The third thing that separates themselves is the covenants belonged to them. From Abraham onwards, all the covenants of God were made with Israelites. Then the giving of the law, number four. The law was given only to one people, Israel. And this may seem controversial, but I don't believe Gentiles were ever expected to observe the law of Moses. We have another law given to us by the Lord Jesus. And it has actually, not ten commandments, but one. A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you. And if we kept that commandment we'd be a different set of people from what we are. Anyhow, the giving of the law. Then, I think this is number five, if I can't rightly, the service of God. The word means the priestly service of God. All the priests of God up to the time of Yeshua were taken from the Jewish people. It was their responsibility to offer praise and worship and sacrifice. It was not given to any other people. And then it says the promises, that's number six. All the promises from Abraham onwards, given to Jewish people. And then number seven, of whom came the fathers, the patriarchs. All the patriarchs were Jewish. Now seven is the number of completeness as I understand it. But we go one beyond seven to number eight, which is the distinctive glory of Israel. Which says of whom, according to the flesh, Messiah came. The ultimate contribution of Israel to all humanity was the gift of the Savior. So there are eight facts that distinguish Israel from all other nations. It is flying in the face of common sense and truth, to fail to recognize the uniqueness of Israel. And then another interesting and vitally important fact is that Jesus, when He was incarnate, became a Jew. I have spoken to quite a number of Jewish people who became believers. And almost all of them have said something of the same. They had been brought up to believe that Yeshua was only for the Gentiles. He was the Gentile Messiah but had nothing to do with the Jews. In fact, you know the Orthodox Jews won't even write His name. They'll write Yeshu, they'll leave out the last letter, instead of Yeshua. But I don't know how many Jewish people I've encountered. They say, when I read the Gospel of Matthew, I realized that Jesus really was a Jew. And the best Jew, a complete Jew, what all Jews should have aspired to be. But what I want to point out is, He became a Jew, not just for 33 years, but for eternity. That's a staggering thought, but I'll show you the Scripture. Revelation chapter 5 takes us up into the presence of God in heaven. And John saw these wonderful things. But there was a scroll which no one could open, because it had seven seals. And John was weeping bitterly, because no one could open the scroll. And one of the elders said to him, verse 5. Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seals. And this is a dramatic moment, and it has such an important lesson for all of us. Doubtless, John expected to see a mighty, roaring lion. But he didn't. And he said, I looked, And behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, in the midst of the elders stood a lamb, as though it had been slain. What a message. The lamb is the lion. It's not strength, it's yieldedness. It's not claiming, it's surrendering. It's laying down life that opens the door to God's sovereign, supernatural power. And there in eternity, at least 50 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And Judah is the word from which we get the name Jew. Some people don't realize that. But in Hebrew, Judah is Yehuda and Jew is Yehudi. There's only one letter difference. So when he's called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is eternally stamped as Jewish. That's a staggering thought. If I had been God, I wouldn't have arranged it that way. But then God, God didn't consult me. And I wonder how anti-Semites are going to do, if they ever make it into the New Jerusalem. Because all the names on all the gates and on all the foundations are Jewish names. And this is so, what would I say, it's so dramatically clear. It's so totally incontrovertible. That God has set apart the Jewish people as a special people for himself. And I'll tell you, if you're not Jewish and you want to be blessed. Just recognize that fact. Because God has blessed my life, beyond my ability to understand. And one fact is, that by the destiny of God, I became father to eight little girls. Of whom six were Jewish. And God has never forgotten that. I often forget it. Sometimes I wonder God, why are you so good to me? And then God makes it clear. Because you took care of my little Jewish believing girls. So you who are not Jewish, don't miss out on a blessing. Don't be stubborn and proud. Humble yourself before the truth of God. Balaam, who was a very reluctant prophet. Prophesied under the pressure of God. But in Numbers 24 and verse 9, speaking to Israel. He said, blessed is everyone who blesses you. And cursed is everyone who curses you. So you can choose. That's the title of the book. Blessing or curse, you can choose. And one way to choose blessing, is to bless Israel. I'm not saying everybody has to do it our way. But every time Ruth and I eat. And normally we have four meals a day, just at the moment. I'm off eating, but that's only temporary, I hope. We have a grace, quite a complicated grace. But in the middle of it we say. In this set time, show mercy and favor to Israel. Because we believe, according to Psalm 102. This is God's set time, to show mercy and favor to Israel. So every time we have a meal, we get a blessing. Because when you bless Israel, God blesses you. Finally, the statement of the Messiah himself. Which is perhaps the capstone of everything that I've been saying. In John chapter 4, verse 22. Speaking to a non-Jew, the woman of Samaria at the well. Jesus said in John 4, 22. You worship what you do not know. We, we who? We Jews, that's right. We know what we worship. Statement four. Salvation is from the Jews. In English, five words. Salvation is from the Jews. Incontrovertible and uniquely important. Let me just say briefly. If there had been no Jews, there would be no patriarchs. No prophets. No apostles. No Bible. And no Savior. So how much salvation would there be for us, without those five things? One of the things that Bible makes plain. Is that to receive good and show evil in return, incurs a curse. And I'm afraid multitudes of Gentiles. Have brought a curse upon themselves. Because they've received good and returned evil. Let us guard ourselves from that. Now I want to point out another unique fact about Israel. Which separates them completely from any other people. It is that their whole history was foretold in advance. Through predictive prophecy. And I'm going to list 16 specific prophecies. All given in advance, concerning Israel. And I'm going to check them off. As to those that were fulfilled. And those that still have to be fulfilled. Number one, their enslavement in Egypt. Was predicted to Abraham in Genesis 15 verse 13. Before it took place. Number two, their deliverance with wealth from Egypt. Was likewise predicted to Abraham in the next verse. Genesis 15 verse 14. And that was a remarkable prophecy. Because they had been slaves. And in 24 hours they were laden with wealth. Very unusual. And their possession of the land of Canaan. Was likewise predicted to Abraham. 400 years before it took place. In Genesis 15 verses 18 through 20. Number four, that Israel would turn to idolatry in the land. Was clearly predicted before they ever entered. For instance in Deuteronomy 22 verses 15 through 21. Number five, that God would establish a center of worship in Jerusalem. Was predicted again before they entered the land. In Deuteronomy 12, 5 and 6 and many other places. Then again, in regard to the northern kingdom named Israel. It was clearly predicted in advance. That they would be taken into exile by Assyria. Many of those prophecies are found in the prophet Amos. Chapter 5 verse 27. Chapter 6 verse 14. Chapter 7 verse 17. Likewise concerning the southern kingdom of Judah. It was predicted in advance, time and time again. That they would be taken into exile. By the empire of Babylon. In many parts of Jeremiah. Particularly Jeremiah 16, 13. And Jeremiah 21, 10. The destruction of the first temple. The one that was built by Solomon. Was clearly predicted in 2nd Chronicles chapter 7. Verses 19 through 22. That's the eighth prediction. Number nine, the return from Babylon of a remnant. Was predicted in Isaiah 6 verses 11 through 13. 48 verse 20 and many other passages. Number nine, the destruction of the second temple. In 70 AD. Was predicted very, very vividly. By Jesus himself. In Matthew 24 verse 2. And Luke 19 verses 43 and 44. And the prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. Jesus said not one stone would be left upon another. And that's exactly how it was. Number 11, the scattering of Israel among all nations. Was predicted in Leviticus 26 verses 33 and 34. Ezekiel 12 verse 15 and many other passages. Number 12, that they would be subjected. To persecution and oppression. While amongst the Gentiles. Was again predicted very vividly. In Leviticus 26 verses 36 through 39. And number 13, their regathering from exile. From all nations back to their land. Was predicted in many places. I will mention just two. Isaiah chapter 11 verses 11 and 12. And Zechariah chapter 10 verses 9 and 10. So that's 13 specific predictions of Israel's history. Were given in advance. And every one of them exactly fulfilled. Not metaphorically. There was no spiritualizing of those prophecies. I don't believe in the spiritualizing of any prophecies myself. I believe all prophecies mean what they say. And will be fulfilled as they were written. Now in my understanding of Scripture. And you could adjust this. You could make one or two additions. But I see three main events in the history of Israel. Still to be fulfilled. Number 14, the gathering of all nations against Jerusalem. Predicted in Zechariah 12 verses 2 and 3. Zechariah 14 verses 1 and 2. And in the next two sessions in this conference. God helping me. I will be dealing with glimpses of the future. And I'll be dealing with a whole series of prophetic pictures. Concerning Israel that have not yet taken place. And going on with this list. Number 15, the supernatural revelation of the identity of Messiah. Predicted very, very vividly in Zechariah chapter 12 verses 10 through 14. And finally, last but by no means least. The coming of Messiah in power and glory upon the clouds of heaven. To establish his kingdom here on earth. Predicted in Zechariah 14 verses 3 through 5. Now I have listed 16 specific prophecies. Of which I say 13 have been fulfilled. Only three remain yet to be fulfilled. Now according to my mathematics. Which never was my major subject. Approximately 81% of those prophecies have been exactly fulfilled. I was before I became a preacher a logician. And I want to suggest to you that it is quite logical. To expect the remaining three prophecies to be fulfilled. Just as exactly as the first 13 have. That's not a guarantee logically that will happen. But I would venture to say. It means we're not unreasonable to believe it will happen. We are not woolly minded fanatics. We are not simply dreamers. We have very solid logical and historical grounds. For believing in the culmination of Israel's destiny. As predicted in the scriptures. I tell people personally. I don't feel intellectually inferior. Because I believe the Bible. Some people would suggest that only the woolly minded. And the uneducated and the simple believe the Bible. Well the simple certainly do believe the Bible. And in that way I want to be simple. But I'm not uneducated. I'm not woolly minded. I held a quite distinctive teaching post in Cambridge University. In logic and philosophy. And you know what happened since I studied the Bible. Which is now more than 51 years. My mind has become sharper and clearer than it ever was. I can tell you there are a lot of woolly minded philosophers. You wouldn't believe how woolly minded some of them are. All right now. I want to go into a little bit of detail. In regard to the predicted restoration of Israel. And I'm going to turn to Jeremiah chapter 30. For my first passage of Scripture. Jeremiah 30. Well, we don't want to be stingy. We'll read seven verses. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying. Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying. Write in a book for yourself all the words that I've spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming, says the Lord. That I will bring back from captivity or exile. My people Israel and Judah. The two are specified. Because when they went into captivity. It was two separate nations, Israel and Judah. And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers. Now I think anybody with a minimal knowledge of the Bible. Will have no difficulty in identifying that land. There is only one land. Of which it could be said that God gave it to the fathers of Israel. The land which today again is called the land of Israel. Mistakenly for a long while it was called Palestine. Most people don't realize that Palestine was a name given to it by the Romans. In order to obliterate the historical association of the Jewish people with the land. Consequently, if I ever say Palestine. My wife jumps down my throat immediately. And it is an error to use the word Palestine. Palestine is connected with the word Philistine. In other words, it's saying it was the land of the Philistines. I don't want to go into that. But it's one of the countless different ways. In which the media are consistently brainwashing people. And obliterating truth when it doesn't suit them. Now we're going on. These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah. For thus says the Lord. We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear and not of peace. Ask now and see whether a male is ever in labor with child. So why do I see every male with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor. And all faces turn pale. Now quite a well-known preacher, who is a friend of mine. Up to a certain point. Wrote some years back in a British magazine. Obviously the return of the Jews to their land. Was not brought about by God. Because if it had been there would be peace. But you see, the Scripture says the exact opposite. Speaking about the return of the Jews. It speaks about a time of fear and not of peace. A time so terrible that even men behave like women in labor pains. And then Jeremiah continues. Alas for that day, so that none is like it. I'm going to deal with this, God help me. When we come to glimpses of the future. But this speaks of a period yet to come. In the history of Israel without precedent. And in the light of the Holocaust. That is a breathtaking statement. Alas for that day is great, so that none is like it. And it is the time of Jacob's trouble. But he shall be saved out of it. Not from it, but out of it. That is a clear prediction of the Word of God. Which is confirmed in countless other passages of Scripture. But my point is that God says there will come a time. When he will cause the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To return to the land that he gave their fathers. And he says they shall possess it. They shall not be there temporarily. But they shall be there permanently. And at the end of that chapter. God, as it were, indicates the time. In verse 24, right at the end of the verse. As a sort of postscript to the whole chapter. The Lord says, in the latter days you will consider it. In other words, this prediction is for the latter days. The period immediately before the close of the age. You do realize that this age is coming to a close, do you? How's your reaction? Do you say praise the Lord? I certainly do. I wouldn't want things to continue the way they are right now. And the Bible makes it very clear. That there's going to be an end to the present age. And it gives innumerable different indications. Which help us to recognize the time. When that is to be fulfilled. And one of the most significant. Perhaps the most significant indication. Is the sovereign return of the Jewish people. After nineteen centuries of exile. To their own land. A lot of other things that are spoken about. Wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes. Have taken place at various times. During the last nineteen centuries. But one thing is without any parallel in that whole period. It is the return of the Jewish people to their own land. And as I said, I think the other night. Somebody has said. The Jews are the minute hand on God's prophetic clock. And it's very near to midnight. What a solemn thought. It's all right to hoop it up. I can do it with the rest. It's all right to get excited. It's all right to be happy. In fact it's a good thing. But let's also be realistic. Let's not live in euphoria. In a dream world that doesn't relate to the realities of life. And of the Bible. Now I want to quote one other scripture. About the place where all this will take place. I understand my wife tells me. Some people had trouble in finding Obadiah the other night. So I don't know how you'll do with Hosea. But it's a little larger than. And it comes immediately after Daniel. If you have any difficulties. And Daniel comes immediately after Lamentations. And Lamentations comes immediately after Jeremiah. And Jeremiah is a long book. You should be able to find that. Now I'm only going to quote part of a verse. I'll give you the whole verse. It's in Hosea chapter 1 verse 10. And the first part of the chapter. There's a pronunciation of judgment upon Israel. And God says to them, Lo Ami. You are not my people. Lo Ruhamah. You have not obtained mercy. And then in the last part of that chapter. God reverses that judgment. It's very important to remember. And so in verse 10 of Hosea 1. The Lord says, Yet, in spite of all that's happened. The number of the children of Israel. Shall be as the sand of the sea. Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass. In the place where it was said to them. You are not my people. There it shall be said to them. You are the sons of the living God. Notice it's going to happen in a place. And it's in the same place. Where the Lord said, You are not my people. What place was that? The land of Israel.