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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780594787099 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Worthy Publishing |
| Publication date: | 10/08/2013 |
| Pages: | 272 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d) |
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Read an Excerpt
Four Blood Moons
By JOHN HAGEE
WORTHY PUBLISHING
Copyright © 2013 John HageeAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-61795-300-2
CHAPTER 1
Signs in the Heavens
There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars.... Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.
—Luke 21:25, 27–28
As the jet plane gracefully circled over the majestic beauty of Puget Sound, I looked out of the window at the tall and perfectly shaped spruce trees that surrounded a series of glistening lakes. Along the shoreline stood elegant homes with boat ramps and fishing docks extending from beautifully manicured lawns. It was the American paradise that is the gorgeous state of Washington.
The wheels of the jet touched down on the runway with their familiar screech, which is always music to my ears. Every safe landing is a great landing!
The jet rolled to a stop. I unbuckled my seat belt, climbed down the steps, and was refreshingly jolted by the cool breeze on my face. I knew then we were far from the sweltering Texas heat! I began to focus on the reason I was here and what I was to say to the thousands that were gathering for the statewide Night to Honor Israel rally that evening.
Six years earlier, on February 6, 2006, I had invited four hundred of America's foremost evangelical leaders to join me at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, to form a national organization called Christians United for Israel. The purpose of our organization is to bring Christians and Jews together in an atmosphere of mutual respect and brotherly love, in order to emphasize that what we have in common is far greater than the differences we have allowed to separate us over the centuries.
If you are not currently a member of Christians United for Israel and desire to stand with Israel and the Jewish people, I strongly encourage you to join us today by going to CUFI.org.
King David said, "You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come" (Psalm 102:13 NIV).... The appointed time is now!
Why Should We Support Israel?
If we are to correctly understand heavenly signs and wonders, it's imperative we grasp the full scope of Scripture and history. The following are five biblical reasons why Christians should be grateful to, and show support for, the nation of Israel and the Jewish people:
1. God Promises to Bless Those Who Bless Israel
"I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you" (Genesis 12:3). This is God's pledge to Abraham and the Jewish people for all generations to come. God has promised to bless nations, churches, and individuals who do practical acts of kindness to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
Biblical evidence of God's promised blessing is found in Luke 7, where a Roman centurion who had a sick servant wanted the Rabbi from Nazareth to come into his home and heal his servant. Jesus was an observant Jew; yet He would have to break the laws of Moses to enter the house of a Gentile, who was considered unclean.
The centurion—commander of eighty soldiers—sent the Jewish elders to intercept Jesus. The elders begged Jesus earnestly, saying that the Roman centurion request was deserving of Jesus' healing, "for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue" (Luke 7:5).
Jesus healed the sick servant because a Gentile had performed a practical act of kindness to bless Israel and the Jewish people.
The Bible further supports God's blessing on those who bless Israel with the evidence of Cornelius. Why were Cornelius and his household the first Gentiles to hear the gospel and to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? The answer is found in Acts 10:22, which describes Cornelius the centurion as "a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews."
God performed a miracle to motivate the apostle Peter to go to the house of this unclean Gentile. Peter had a vision of a sheet (a prayer shawl) filled with unclean animals (Gentiles), and God commanded him not to call unclean what God had pronounced as clean (Acts 10:9–16). Peter obeyed the message of the vision and went, against religious tradition, to the house of a Gentile to present the gospel.
When Peter shared the gospel with the household of Cornelius, they all received salvation and were filled with the Holy Spirit, and then Peter commanded them to be baptized in water (Acts 10:44–48).
The Holy Spirit was poured out on Cornelius and his household because a Gentile did practical acts of kindness to bless the Jewish people, and true to His promise, God blessed him beyond measure.
I can testify personally that there is no human explanation for the unprecedented blessing of God on Cornerstone Church and John Hagee Ministries other than the fact that more than thirty years ago we decided to show practical acts of kindness for Israel and the Jewish people. Since that time, God has opened the windows of heaven and blessed us beyond measure.
God's promise is a fact: "I will bless those who bless you."
2. We Are Commanded to Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
Praying for the peace of Jerusalem is not a request—it's a command! "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you" (Psalm 122:6).
From God's perspective, Jerusalem is the center of the universe. Jerusalem is the city David conquered from the Jebusites three thousand years ago, and it became the capital of Israel forever. May it always be the eternal and undivided capital of Israel, and may peace be within her walls and prosperity within her palaces (Psalm 122:7).
Jerusalem is where Abraham offered Isaac on Mount Moriah. Jerusalem is where Jeremiah and Isaiah penned principles of righteousness that became the moral compass for Western civilization. And outside of its gates Jesus Christ, the Son of David, was crucified for the sins of the world.
According to biblical prophecy, Jerusalem is the past, present, and future of the world! From this city, Jesus will rule planet earth with a rod of iron, and of His kingdom there shall be no end (Isaiah 9:7; Luke 1:33).
When you pray for Jerusalem, you are praying for world peace. History proves that when there is peace in Jerusalem, there is peace in the world. When there is war in Jerusalem, the blood flows on planet earth. The universe revolves around Jerusalem. I quote my friend Dr. Graham Lacey, "As long as there is Jerusalem there is God; and as long as there is God there is Jerusalem."
3. We are Commanded to be Watchmen on the Walls of Israel
God commands us through the prophet Isaiah to be watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem (62:6). We are commanded by God, through the prophet Isaiah, to speak up and defend Israel and the Jewish people when they are slandered, attacked by their enemies, and are subjected to any callous act of anti-Semitism. Isaiah writes:
For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace,
And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest....
I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent.
(62:1, 6)
4. We are Commanded to Minister to Israel in Material Things
Another biblical reason we support Israel is given by the apostle Paul: "For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things [the Jewish people], their duty [the Gentiles] is also to minister to them [the Jewish people] in material things" (Romans 15:27).
What are the "spiritual things" Paul is referring to?
• The Jewish people have given to us the written Word of God.
• The Jewish people have given to us the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
• The Jewish people have given to us the Old Testament prophets: Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
• The Jewish people have given to us the first family of Christianity: Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Take Jesus out of Christianity and there is no Christianity.
• The Jewish people have given to us the twelve disciples and the apostle Paul.
Consider the monumental contribution given to us by the seed of Abraham. For this reason Jesus said in John 4:22, "For salvation is of the Jews."
If you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, there would be no Christianity. Judaism does not need Christianity to explain its existence; Christianity, however, cannot explain its existence without Judaism.
When I refer to Christianity I am referencing the teachings of Christ, which were based on the principles of Judaism—not the deeds of polluted historic Christianity.
Historic Christianity has left an evil legacy. It is responsible for the Crusades, in which Jewish people from Europe to Jerusalem were slaughtered in seven major pogroms (crusades). The first crusade was declared by Pope Urban II in 1095. The Crusaders were rapists and thieves, forgiven in advance by the reigning pope for any sins they might commit while on their holy campaign to liberate Jerusalem from the "infidels."
Not one Christian in a hundred today can answer the question: "How is it that Christianity, born through the teachings of a Jewish rabbi named Jesus of Nazareth, could three hundred years later kill Jews in the name of God?"
There is a dramatic difference between historic Christianity and the teachings of Jesus Christ. I publicly state that I am not a follower of historic Christianity; I am a follower of Jesus Christ!
5. Jesus Entreated the Church to Support Israel
We should support Israel and the Jewish people because it was Jesus' final request to His church. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40:
Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren [the Jewish people], you did it to Me.
Jesus never called the Gentiles His brethren until after the cross. Before the cross we were, as described by the apostle Paul, outside the covenants of Israel, without God and without hope, of all men most miserable (Ephesians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 15:19).
Gentile Christians can look at the day of the cross and shout for joy. It was there we were grafted into the original olive tree (Romans 11:17). It was there our sins were forgiven, buried in the deepest sea, never to be remembered anymore (Jeremiah 31:34). It was there that our sicknesses and diseases were removed and we received divine health, for "by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).
It was at the cross that Jesus took our poverty and gave to us the riches of Abraham. We who were "not a people" (1 Peter 2:10) were adopted and became "kings and priests to His God" (Revelation 1:6), "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:20), and have been taken from rags to royalty through the precious blood of the virgin-born, "the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18). The curse of death, hell, and the grave was broken, and we were given eternal life; hallelujah for the cross!
God's Gentile assignment toward the Jewish people is to show them what they have not seen from historic Christianity in two thousand years—the pure and unconditional love of God!
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works [practical acts of kindness] and glorify your Father in heaven.
(Matthew 5:16)
Jesus said, "I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me" (Matthew 25:35–36).
Jesus makes it very clear that it's not what you feel about the Jewish people that is the acid test, for Jesus didn't say, "I was hungry and you felt sorry for Me; I was thirsty and you felt concern for Me; I was a stranger and you felt pity for Me." I often hear pastors, evangelists, and Christians say, "I really like Israel" or "I like the Jewish people." Jesus couldn't care less what you like or don't like; He's looking for action. What will you do? What practical acts of kindness have you or your church done to demonstrate your love for Israel as mentioned in Matthew 25:40? What action have you taken to support Israel?
Stop talking about what you feel ... and start taking action by showing practical acts of kindness toward God's chosen people. Simply put, "Don't tell me you love me. Show me!"
Christians United for Israel
When I stood before those four hundred evangelical leaders at Cornerstone Church on February 6, 2006, asking them to join me in a historic effort to lovingly and unconditionally support Israel and the Jewish people, I fully expected a theological argument that would have made the battle of the Alamo look like a backyard Texas tea party.
But the free-for-all didn't happen! Instead, the most influential spiritual leaders in the nation mutually agreed to stand up and speak up for Zion's sake. No debates. No axes to grind. No pontification on, "One thing we must make clear about our differences is ... blah, blah, blah." Nothing but a divine moment of unconditional unity.
With one voice, we declared that Israel had the right to exist, the right to secure defensible borders, and the right to defend themselves by themselves against any enemy. The blessings that God promised in Psalm 133 has become a reality; as this book goes to print, Christians United for Israel has more than 1.3 million members in America, with nations around the world asking to become a part of this voice of Jewish-Christian unity.
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
(Psalm 133 NIV 1984)
One of the blessings Christians United for Israel has afforded me is the many new friendships with a vast number of pastors who have come together under one banner in support of Israel. As one pastor stated, "Pastor Hagee, this is more than Christians United for Israel; this is Israel uniting Christians!"
On the Road to El Shaddai
Six years after CUFI was born Diana and I got in the waiting black Suburban for the short trip to the church pastored by Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries, where the Night to Honor Israel would be conducted. Spiritual leaders from across the city and state would attend our first event in the state of Washington. The air was charged with excitement and expectation.
As we drove to the church, I could not get over the breath-taking beauty of Puyallup, Washington, and how cool it was in the summer. In Texas, the month of August is so unbearably hot that lizards climb on steam pipes trying to cool off in the one-hundred-plus-degree temperature.
We arrived at the church where Pastor Mark Biltz and his gracious staff met us at the front doors. It was my first time to meet Pastor Biltz, and it's a moment I shall never forget.
Within minutes we were discussing the seven feasts of Israel and their connections to the Lord's first and second coming. I recognized that Pastor Biltz was a Bible scholar par excellence who understood the Jewish roots of Christianity like few people I've ever met.
During our conversation, he asked me if I had ever studied the sun, moon, and stars as a source of prophetic revelation. My answer was quick and truthful.
"No."
Pastor Biltz immediately responded, "You should! I believe God is trying to speak to us, and we're not listening!"
We walked into the church, and I didn't give our conversation about the sun, moon, and stars a second thought. I was more concerned about speaking to the thousands of people waiting in the church's auditorium.
That night, as I walked onstage with Pastor Biltz and Rabbi Daniel Lapin, one of America's celebrated Torah scholars, to celebrate the Night to Honor Israel, I listened to the sound of the shofar, blown with power and clarity. The long blast ... the short blast ... the sweet, thunderous sound reverberated through the auditorium, bringing tears to my eyes—and I am not the weepy type.
As I listened to the divine sound echoing through the packed building, I was reminded of the words of the apostle Paul:
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet [shofar]. For the trumpet [shofar] will sound, and the dead will be raised.
(1 Corinthians 15:51–52)
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Four Blood Moons by JOHN HAGEE. Copyright © 2013 John Hagee. Excerpted by permission of WORTHY PUBLISHING.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments,Section 1: The Signs in the Heavens,
1. Signs in the Heavens,
2. The Star in the East,
3. Warning Comes before Judgment,
Section 2: The Spine of Prophecy,
4. The Spine of Prophecy,
5. When Will These Things Be?,
6. Concerning the Rapture,
7. Land of Promise, Land of Pain,
8. Wars and Rumors of Wars,
9. Famine, Earthquakes, and Anarchy,
10. The Gospel of the Kingdom,
11. The Second Coming,
Section 3: The Four Blood Moons,
12. The Four Blood Moons and Two Feasts,
13. The Four Blood Moons of 1493–94,
14. The Four Blood Moons of 1949–50,
15. The Four Blood Moons of 1967–68,
16. The Four Blood Moons of 2014–15,
Notes,