Sermon Overview Scripture Passage: Daniel 9:24-27 It is sometimes difficult to wrap our minds around the blueprints of God’s plan for the world. That is because we approach them from our individual “worlds.” However, God’s Word tells us that Israel is the ultimate epicenter of God’s covenant with His people. Israel is the spiritual center of the world. We often refer to it as the “Holy Land,” because it is the city where the stories of the Scriptures took place. It is where Jesus was born, where He lived, and began His earthly ministry. It is where He died, rose again, and ascended into Heaven. Israel is also the prophetic center of the world. It is the only nation whose history is minutely foretold in Scripture. When we add up the number of years recorded in the Bible concerning the nation of Israel’s commencement, construction, and the coming of Christ, we calculate 483 years of the 490 years prophesied in the Book of Daniel. But when Jesus came, that clock stopped, and it has yet to resume. There are 7 more years of biblical prophecy yet to be fulfilled. Israel is the storm center of the world. It will be the warzone of the battle of Armageddon. But just before this last great battle, according to the prophecies found in Revelation, the world will see its darkest days, and the nation of Israel will seem to be at its most vulnerable. The Antichrist will come onto the scene as a charming leader, and he is going to make a treaty with Israel, offering false promises of peace and protection under his reign, yet he will bring more destruction to the nation than ever before, all within the strict confines of the 7-year timeframe known as the Great Tribulation. 7 years. The 490 years prophesied will then see completion. In the end, Jesus will return. He will win the battle with a word, just a word. The tongue that spoke everything into existence will speak His enemies into oblivion! And His church will be complete. Adrian Rogers reminds us, “Jesus came on time, He died on time, He was buried on time, He rose on time, and He is coming on time. You can bank on it.” Apply it to your life As Believers, we cannot deny the significance of the nation of Israel. Today, make a commitment to pray for the Holy Land as the clock ticks on toward the End Times.
