Holl-09 Israel in the Cosmic Drama — Art Katz

Lord, we thank you for brother Kerts, that he is in our midst again this morning. We count on you, Lord, that you will again bless him with the Holy Spirit. Lord, we thank you that you have given him a prophetic gift, a prophetic insight to share the Word of God with us.

You say that the community is also being built by apostles and prophets, that they lay a foundation. And I pray that a foundation of God will be laid again this morning. A foundation that we need so much as a community today, to know how we can build on it.

Lord, I thank you that I may bless my brother in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

The Prophetic Burden and the Church’s Calling

Good morning, saints. Shabbat shalom. Well, I'm a privileged man to be called to share with you on this very precious topic. And you need to know how tentative and fearful and trusting I have to be. Virtually word for word.

Word for word I have to trust God. Trusting. And that's a distinctive of prophetic proclamation. In the day that we have reduced this to a formula. And you can predict and anticipate how something will be spoken.

It's no longer prophetic. I appreciate teachers. I admire teachers. Would to God, if it pleased him, I would be one myself. I like the systematic and careful opening of the word. But the prophet, pathetic, weak, dependent, not knowing, trusting, is another mode of communication.

But to the prophet is entrusted a particular distinction. To communicate the mind of the Lord. His present thought. The way in which he perceives something. Often completely in opposition to our own understanding.

Because the prophet is called to see as God sees. That he might be a mouth for that speaking. That's why the son of man in Ezekiel 37 had to be brought out and down and into the valley of dry bones. He would much have preferred to remain where he was charismatically.

He would have probably preferred to be charismatically somewhere else. Who wants to see dry bones? A valley full of dry bones. A valley is a depression. And the flesh shrinks from that. We want to see happier prospects.

So he had to be brought out and down and into. And then pressed in all around. Until the reality of that death penetrated his being. Then God asks him the question. Can these bones live, son of man? After seeing that death.

Pervasive, complete, total death. Is there anything more dead than dry bones? If you pick it up it crumbles in your very hand. Can these bones live? It's not an academic question. Son of man. You piece of palpitating humanity.

Who sweats, who is fearful. Who is limited, who is mortal. God crushes that upon his consciousness. Because God knows that he is incapable of believing that those bones can live. He has ground the prophet's face into the impossible.

Beyond charismatic believing. Beyond even prophetic believing. So that all the prophet could say is. Lord, thou knowest. So you still want to be a prophet? Think it's romantic? Think it's romantic? Well, we're here not because we have an interest in this peculiar calling.

And it might be of a kind of interest. But because it is the church's own call. The church is called to be the prophetic entity of God in the nation. And to be able to interpret for the nation the meaning of its own history.

The present and future events. As God himself sees them. And desires that they be made known. So for example. I was speaking to ministers in Osaka, Japan. And I made this remark. If you think that the atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were only military expediencies.

You're absolutely mistaken. They were the judgments of God. For your historic and continuing rejection of him. And the pastor leaped out of his seat. And he cried out. Publicly. Very unusual for the Japanese.

He said, Lord, make me a prophet. For my nation. What was he saying? I want to be able to interpret for my secular nation. The meaning of its own history. And the judgments that have already come. That are preliminary judgments.

To alert a nation to repentance. Before a final day of judgment. That's the prophetic function. To see and to cry out warning. Because I did not know then. That there were 300 ,000 lives lost in Hiroshima.

The exact number of the deaths in Nanking, China. In the rape of Nanking. Do you know about the rape of Nanking? Do you see how prophetic you are? You thought history was an academic subject. It's your obligation.

For God's hand is in the events of men and of nations. The rape of Nanking is one of the greatest atrocities of modern times. Women were literally raped day and night. From children to grandmothers. There was not a woman spared.

On this flight to Amsterdam. A Chinese woman sitting alongside me. From Jakarta, Indonesia. Was reading in English. The book, The Rape of Nanking. So I looked over her shoulder. And later she gave me the book to look at.

300 ,000 deaths. Of Chinese that were buried alive. Women that were raped and killed. Bamboo shoots were pressed into their vaginas. An unbelievable atrocity. As they rampaged and ravaged this defenseless city.

But God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows. Whatsoever a nation sows. That too shall it reap. Is it merely a coincidence? The exact same number of fatalities in Hiroshima as in Nanking. So we have a distinctive perspective that we need to bring.

For the nations have pushed God out from their consideration. He's a Sunday phenomenon at best. It's even rude of God to insert himself into the affairs of men. Even Christians think that way. Yes, he set the world in motion.

The clock is ticking. But now we are entirely free to determine our own affairs. This is a non-prophetic view. It's a non-Hebraic view. For the prophets and the psalmists cried out. That all the earth shall acknowledge the God of Israel.

The God of Jacob. And give him the praise to fill all the earth. This isn't grandiose biblical rhetoric. This is the definitive Hebraic perspective. The framework of understanding. The conclusion toward which we are tending.

That needs to be consciously understood. And taken into every consideration. For it will change everything. So I ask you to look at Psalms 82 and 83. God has taken his place in divine counsels. In the midst of the gods he holds judgment.

Psalm 82 and the Heavenly Governance of Creation

What divine counsels? Something unknown and unseen of men. Somehow in the realm of the heavenlies. God himself with a body of counselors. Evaluating, judging, making decisions. And things that will affect the earth and of nations.

And in verse 2. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? This is God himself speaking. Give justice to the weak and to the orphan. Maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.

Rescue the weak and the needy. Deliver them from the hand of the wicked. Can you fathom this? God is upbraiding and admonishing those who have responsibility in the governance of creation. They are created entities.

The gods with a small g. These are the gods who have responsibility over the nations. God calls upon the powers of the earth. A whole realm that is invisible to human eyes. But they have received the responsibility, a certain kind of responsibility.

To oversee the creation of God. And to lead with justice. But evidently they are not fulfilling their task. They are in a place of rebellion. They are doing their own thing. They are judging unjustly.

And they are showing favor to those who are wicked in the earth. They are neglecting the weak and the orphan. They are not maintaining the right of the lowly and the destitute. God is charging them to return to the truth of their calling and judge righteous judgment.

Because evidently what they do affects what goes on in earth and in the nations. Rescue the weak and the needy and deliver them from the hand of the wicked. Evidently they are not responding to God's admonition.

And evidently they are not responding to God's call. They have gone too far in their rebellion. Because verse 5 says they know nothing more and they understand nothing. In darkness they walk around. All the foundations of the earth are shaking.

So what do you think of this text? Is this poetry? Some fanciful and imaginative poetic flourish? Or is it a graphic, detailed and accurate statement of an invisible realm of reality? Or is it a graphic, detailed statement of a reality that really takes place?

And that really has an effect on what takes place here on earth. In a realm of government over the earth. Which is evidently failing. And not heeding God's admonition. And needing therefore one day to be replaced.

By those who will rule and reign with Him in justice and in equity and in righteousness. By those who will rule and reign with Him in justice and in equity and in righteousness. Namely ourselves. Who are prepared in this lifetime for that eternal replacement.

And that's why we read in Paul and in other places, speaking to the church Some will rule over five cities and some over ten. Jesus says to Nathaniel You're impressed that I saw you standing under the tree?

I'll show you a greater thing. Angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. Messengers. Functioning governmentally. Between the realm of heaven and earth. Aiding and abetting the oversight of creation.

From the throne of heaven. Not as bureaucrats. Mindless automatons. Officials stuffing their pockets. But in the honor of being involved in divine government. In righteousness. And mercy. And in the spirit and character of the Lamb of God Himself.

There's a whole new surfing angeology. Fallen rebellious angels. That are being addressed here. And they will not recover. Because God tells us what their judgment is. You are God's children of the Most High, all of you.

Nevertheless. You shall die like mortals and fall like any prince. God is already describing what their eternal judgment will be. They have forfeited their heavenly place. They will be extinguished and perish like men.

And who then will replace this vacancy? But overcomers. Whose reward is to rule and reign with Christ. From heavenly places. Ascending and descending. In glorified bodies. That was yesterday's psalm. But it's something that needs to come into our consciousness.

Are you being fitted to rule and reign with Christ? Or is our church a succession of Sunday services? Are we moving toward a conclusion and a consummation? Consciously. Because it will require sacrifice.

We will not all obtain the same reward. It depends on our faithfulness and our stewardship. The wisdom and ability we have obtained in this life. It would change the whole complexion and nature of the church.

If we were conscious of an eternal and heavenly destiny. Will that make us irrelevant in this age and in this world? Because we know that we are moving toward this heavenly conclusion. Not any more than it ruined Paul.

Who had his citizenship in heaven. And for that very reason. Was remarkably valid in the earth. Because the world is dying. It's dying from its secular narrowness. One day is like the other. It's not moving toward anything.

It's life is just the issue of its pleasure. It's materialism. It's well-being. It's satisfaction. It needs the witness of heaven. By those who know they have a destiny from heaven. And are consciously now preparing for it.

Do you see what a strange entity the church is? It's fixed in time and place in the world. But it already anticipates its eternal future. And is consciously preparing for it. It has a perspective. Of a prophetic kind.

That takes eternity into its present consideration. And that affects and changes everything. Probably one of the greatest moments in my own community history. Was the necessity to judge an erring brother.

The son of a distinguished Pentecostal family. Who goes from fellowship to fellowship. Corrupting and sowing sin. And came to us. And we gave him every opportunity. To be restored. With counsel. With prayer.

But it was of no avail. And finally his condition became of such a kind. That we had to bring him before the body. And judge him with righteous judgment. If we would give his body over to Satan to be destroyed.

That his soul might be saved. It was the most solemn three hours of my life. I'll never forget it. It was a heavenly tribunal. In the remote woods of northern Minnesota. And ordinary housewives. Who had no other distinction.

Rose to the occasion. And raised questions and made comments. Of the most profound and searching kind. As the community deliberated the destiny and the future of this one man. I was astonished at the extraordinary rising up to stature on the part of these saints.

And how these simple women rose up as adult saints. And when that tribunal was over. And we had decided to expel him. And give his flesh over for destruction. These housewives did not go back to being ordinary.

They had come to a transcendent place. And maintained it. This life, this church. Is God's framework and preparation. For an eternal destiny. Which we have excluded. And condemned the church. To routine services.

And lost the whole framework of provision. By which we might be brought to transcendent maturity. That we might rule and reign with him. Because we lacked the prophetic perspective. Because we did not have the prophetic perspective.

Which brings eternity into the deepest consideration. Because it reflects the present. And that the things that are not seen. Are as profound and more profound. Than that which is seen. You are called to this.

Church in Holland, I am crying out to you. Wake from your slumber. And your service mentality. Was it a good service? Did you like it? Did you enjoy it? We are called to something much more profound. That will affect eternity.

And the governance of creation. For which this life is preparation. And what does Psalm 83 give us? We go from heaven to earth. The two poles of reality. The psalmist is crying out to God. Do not keep silence.

Psalm 83 and the Cosmic Conflict Against Israel

Don't hold your peace or be still O God. Your enemies are in tumult. Those who hate you have raised their heads. They lay crafty plans against your people. They consult together against those you protect.

They say come let us wipe them out as an enemy. They say come let us wipe out the people. So that the name of Israel is no longer thought of. Because they have conspired against you and made a covenant.

Who are they? Those who have such evil intentions against Israel. The Ishmaelites. Moab and the Hagrites. Jebel, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre. Assyria also has joined them. They are the strong arm of the children of Lot.

What a description of God's classic enemies. Who hate the people of God. Because they hate God. And want to destroy what is God's. You would think that this was written yesterday. This is a description of present reality.

As a fact of matter. There has never been a time till now. In which all of these nations, these Gentile enemy nations have been sided together. As being conspiring against God and against God's people.

It's timeless and yet it's on time. So we have a view of a reality from the heavenly side. And a prophetic view of what is taking place on the earth. Not as a political problem. Or a squabble over land and whose right it is.

But a prophetic seeing. Of a timeless conflict. Of the intractable and unchanged enemies of God. Who hate God. And it's the hatred of God. That is ventilated upon God's people. The psalmist says in verse 2.

Even now your enemies are in tumult. Your enemies. Those who hate you. Verse 5. They conspire with one accord against you. Do you have that? This is prophetic seeing. Beyond the surface phenomenon. This shows the everlasting conflict.

The enemies of God in the earth. Who are actually named. And for which there are corresponding peoples today. Ventilating their rage against Israel. And have called them the days of rage. Saying that this is the result of Israeli injustice.

And there is much justification for that. But it's not as one would see it prophetically. We have an obligation. Not to gain our understanding from Time and Newsweek magazine. But a prophetic perception.

That sees through the immediate conflict. To see what is the ultimate conflict. Ages old. That has raged against God. Your enemies who hate you. And because they cannot directly express that hatred against God.

They express it against Israel. And say let us wipe them out as a nation. That the name of Israel be remembered no more. It's a calculated campaign against God. But finds its expression against that people in the earth who represent God.

Who are the chosen people of God. Even in their unbelief and in their apostasy. The enemy knows the identification. And seeks to destroy them as a nation. What does the psalmist cry for? In verse 9. Do to them as you did to Midian and to Sisera.

He goes on to list events in ancient Israel's history. Who did that to them? Who conquered Sisera and these ancient enemies? The psalmist says as you did to them. Yes you worked your judgments through men, through Israel.

But you did it. And I'm asking you to do it again. Because I understand who you are as God. From the way in which you have acted in the past. Because what is at issue is more than the safety of Israel.

It's your name. It's your honor. It's what you are as God. Rise up oh Lord. How long will you allow these abuses? Do as you did before. For your name is at stake. And your honor. Which the powers of darkness want to extinguish, to depreciate.

This is a very different way of perceiving conflict in the world. The issue is God. And the ancient enemies of God. Who seek to attack Him. And bring down His name. If He is not able to defend those who are His people.

Look at the arrogance of these enemies. Who say in verse 12. Let us take the pastures of God for our own possession. What presumption. What pride. That wants to take to itself what belongs exclusively to God.

Let us take. The pastures of God for our possession. This is the classic conflict. In which the great events of the present time are taking place. We need to understand them prophetically. To pray rightly.

And to cry out to God. Not merely to alleviate the distress of Israel. But to honor His name. To see to His word. To what He is as God. For this is the relentless object of the enemy. Is to destroy the validity of God as God.

By reducing His people. And destroying their reality as a nation. So the rest of the psalm. Asks God to reduce them and to judge them. To terrify them. In verse 16. To fill their faces with shame. So that they may seek Your name, O Lord.

Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever. Let them perish in disgrace. Let them know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High God. Over all the earth. So Lord, give me grace. Just to make an appropriate comment.

For the prophetic way in which the psalmist ends this cry. For this perspective of God. And this appeal to His judgment. Is on the basis of honoring God. That Your name is the Lord. That You alone are God.

The Most High. Over all the earth. This is a prophetic comprehension of reality. And for something as great as this. God's eternal honor and name. And the cry that needs to go up to Him from the earth among His believers.

That He might give answer for His own namesake. For if the validity of God is lost. If He is not able to defend His own name. If His enemies can run riot without correction, without judgment. What is the consequence for the world?

If God has been invalidated. If He is no longer God as God. Whose name is the Lord. The Most High. Over all the earth. See what my prophetic task is? To communicate a perspective. That is not a minority view.

Or a curiosity for those who would have such a disposition. This is a normative framework of understanding. That is Hebraic. That is prophetic. That includes the heavens and the earth. That understands the issue of realities of government and injustice and violence.

Who understands the eternal conflict. Of the hatred of God. That wants to see God reduced and made invalid. In a world that has competing deities. In a world that is full of gods competing with each other.

And the Buddhists and the New Age. There has never been such a plurality of gods. Who then is the real God? And the Creator and Judge. And the soon coming King. This is what needs to be sounded. The only one that really recognizes the issue.

Sees the ages old conflict. And know that it is coming to a close. And that these fallen powers know that their time is short. And will ventilate on the earth a greater wrath. Against God and against His people.

Who do not want Israel even to be acknowledged as a nation. And hate equally the Israel of God which is the church. Polite prayer will not do for this. Or pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I'll give you twenty seconds.

Which is about as much time as we ordinarily take. Our prayer is weak. It's inept. It has no vital force. Because it does not issue from a heart of awareness and concern. It does not recognize what is arrayed against God in the last days.

For which the church is the only presence in the earth. That recognizes what the conflict is. And that it's in the realm of spirit. And that it has to be met and fought by spiritual weapons. That are not themselves mock and imitation things.

That thinks that by choruses we can take cities. But it's a call to come to a prophetic maturity. As a church. Corporately. Whose intercessions are corporate. Because they recognize what is the conflict.

They alone can identify it. And call upon God. And give answer for this age. And interpret it's issues rightly. It brings to the church a degree of high seriousness. Which is God's answer to our prevailing lightness.

God's answer to our prevailing shallowness. That we are a congregation of individualities. And not the integral people of God. Who when we pray the room in which we pray is shaken. So this is a prophetic dimension.

A cosmic view of reality. An understanding of what is taking place in the heavenlies. And how it affects what occurs in the earth. And how it needs to be met through a prophetic intercession. And how it can only be dealt with through prophetic examples.

By which the church becomes the church. Comes to reality. And comes to maturity. When this one thing is inserted. That has up till now been lacking. The understanding of the prophetic call of the church itself.

That the congregation that can't even distinguish between the gift of prophecy. And the service of the prophecy. They will run to hear any man. In the hope that some personal prophecy might be spoken to us.

But who don't have the perspective of God. Who don't even speak about Israel. Who are unable to interpret for us the meaning of these present events. In the light of the prophetic scriptures themselves.

To alert the church and challenge the church. To be the kind of prophetic reality that it must. To actually affect the outcome of these issues. Because it's jealous for the name of the Lord. Who is the Lord over all, the Most High.

Over all the earth. If we lack this prophetic perspective. That must be communicated by men who have the office of prophet. We will not be a factor in the outcome of these last issues. We have no jealousy for the name of the Lord.

No awareness that his honor is at risk. The word God becomes trivial. Cheapens. Loses its reality. Even in the church itself. So that we are reduced to a Christian culture. That is hardly more than just another option.

Along with Islam or Buddhism. And not the apostolic challenging reality. By which men and nations can be saved. This is a suffering. The psalmist is crying out not for personal relief. His jealousy is for God's name and honor.

For God himself is the Lord over all the earth. It's an anguish for his soul. And we find this frequently in the psalms. How long Lord? Why are you waiting? Why don't you stir yourself up? Why don't you rise up in defense of your own name?

Because if that is depreciated. If you become trivialized. It's a world without hope. And root to death. And is already dying. Because God is not understood as God. God is waiting for a cry. He has contained himself.

Waiting for something to take place in the earth. A church to come to a prophetic maturity. To a Hebraic and psalmist cry. For the righteousness of God. And that God will deal with the wicked. And preserve his besieged nation.

That the powers of darkness desire to destroy. The reputation and the name of God. Is at the heart of the psalmist's suffering. At the heart of the prophetic call. Which is a suffering. Which is a conflict.

A struggle. Because the prophetic man has the sense of what is eternal. He knows the rebellion in the heavenlies. He is able to interpret the conflicts in the earth. But he looks out on the church. And on God's people in general.

Who are in another place. Another mentality. Another mode of religious life. Whose purposes are much less. More selfish. More concerned for their own satisfaction and enjoyment. And before them he is a foolish instrument.

And a piece of weakness. And he doesn't know how to speak as he ought. And he is a bundle of trembling. And unimpressive. And foolish. Choked and spluttering. This is the prophetic predicament. The prophetic man sees the end.

The Prophetic Predicament: Suffering Before Glory

He knows that we are moving toward a conclusion and a consummation. That is worth every sacrifice to obtain. And his message to the church is for its willingness to bear sacrifice. Which is contrary to the whole tenor of this age.

The whole mindset and spirit of this age. Suffering is unwelcomed. Pleasure and satisfaction is pursued. His task is to bring a way of seeing and understanding to the church. That invites its participation.

That will require its suffering. That will disturb its comfort. That will upset its convenience. It's an unwelcome word. It's a strange word. And the church wants to keep it from them. The doors are not open.

Pastors don't welcome the prophetic men. The true prophetic men. The false ones are very welcome. For they reinforce your already existing categories. And will bring what you can safely expect. They will reinforce you in your present understanding.

And bring a kind of an enjoyment or a novelty. But the prophetic word uproots. Tears down. Roots out. And destroys before it builds and plants. You know what the great issue of the church is today? Its willingness to hear and to bear the prophetic word.

To welcome the strange men that have these perspectives. Knowing that hearing from them will not be a light thing. Because if the word is truly prophetic. It will bring a requirement. A requirement of sacrifice.

A requirement of suffering. A prospect even of death. And who wants to hear? And who wants to consider? That kind of word. The prophet knows what is the central principle of God. Rooted in reality itself.

Intrinsic to life. And cannot be avoided or circumvented without consequence. What is this great principle? The suffering that precedes the glory. The death that precedes resurrection. From which even God's own son Jesus was not exempted.

This is his principle of interpretation. Everything is filled with this understanding. That's how he knows that present Israel cannot succeed. It must be brought to a place of death. Because the issue of Israel is not the success of a nation.

But the glory of God. The fulfillment of his word and promise. Of a people that will bless all the families of the earth. Who need to be given a new name. A new character. As the servants of the Lord.

The priests of the Most High. Who teach the world the difference between the sacred and the profane. Whose present nation Israel is one of the most profane nations in the world today. And cannot be improved.

It must necessarily even increase and become worse. Because the prophet knows the prophetic scriptures. And believes them. When God says in Jeremiah 3,. When God says in Jeremiah 30 and 31,. Your sins will exceed even that of your fathers.

So he is not shocked or disappointed. When he reads about prostitution rings in Israel. Or the highest rate of abortion in the world. Or the increase of violence. Not only against the Palestinians. But even against their own.

He expects to see the nation be brought down in its failure. And that it is in its last gasp of struggle. And being brought to an end of itself. That it might be brought to a day of new beginning. So he is not disappointed.

He has a prophetic perspective. That centers in the cross. And the necessity for death. In anything that is called to glorify God. It is more than the issue of success. The prophet is not impressed with success.

The center of his being is an intense jealousy. For the glory of God. His name and his honor. The fulfillment of his word. His covenants and his promises. Without repentance. A nation of priests and a light unto the world.

Even by a nation unwilling to be that. He must succeed in that. Well how then is he God? Who cannot fulfill his own word. His own promise. And keep his own covenants. This is the great issue of the last days.

And will you be disappointed in God? If Israel is to suffer a devastating military defeat. One from which it will not recover. That what they thought was to be their homeland is lost. And cast out again in the nations.

And pursued even by persecution. The time of Jacob's trouble. Wherever Jacob himself is. Even again in Holland. No nation will be spared. God says I will sift you through all nations. That not one pebble will fall to the ground.

That is the coming scenario. And we are not prepared for it. Many of us will be shocked and disappointed. And we will say where was God? How did he allow that? We thought the state was the fulfillment of prophecy.

And it has been reduced to nothing. And cast out again. The dispersal of Judah. And the cast off of Israel. Unless you have a prophetic understanding. A prophetic anticipation. And know that these things must shortly come to pass.

And that God will save a remnant out of this last days affliction. Save them how? By the mercy that will be extended to them. That they might obtain mercy. By the only ones who can give mercy. Those who have received mercy.

The church of Jesus Christ in the earth. Will you be able to extend it? When they become the least of these his brethren. You know what happened the last time in Holland. Those who extended mercy and were caught.

Suffered the same fate with the Jew. Went to the same concentration camps. Suffered the same death. So you have learned your lesson. Avoid extending help. That might jeopardize your life. Except that your life is not for yourself.

And you do not hold it as dear unto yourself. And you are willing to expend your life. To redeem the remnant of the Lord. That they might return to Zion. With mourning and sighing fleeing away. And everlasting joy upon their heads.

That they might become the ministers of God. And the priests of the Most High. And that representatives of all nations will come to them. Bringing their treasure. And paying homage and respect. To the nation that God has exalted.

After he has humbled it. In judgment. That is a prophetic view. Do you have it? And how will you obtain it? Except it be communicated. By the prophetic man. Who sees and understands these things. But whose view is unwelcomed.

Even by believers. In Israel itself. Because who wants to consider a hard thing? Who wants to consider a painful thing? We humanly hope for something better. Because we have not the prophetic perspective.

Of a judgment that precedes the glory. That there is an issue greater than success. And a suffering and trial that must come. That Israel might know the Lord. And honor his name. And make him known. To all nations.

So that he might be glorified. As the God over all. The God of Jacob. This is the church's last day's task. To extend mercy that they may obtain mercy. When they will not deserve it. When they will be despised.

Globally hated. Blamed for everything. You will take them in. You will extend mercy at risk to yourself. This is the church's final hour. And how does the Lord reward the church? How does he separate the sheep from the goats?

One by one. In Matthew 25. The king who has now been enthroned. Because of the restored nation. And can rule out of the holy hill of Zion. Makes as his first activity. Judging the nations. And individuals.

One by one. And saying to those who said, Lord, Lord. When did we see you naked, thirsty and hungry? And he will say to them. Because you did not do it unto them. The least of these, my brethren. You did it not unto me.

Be cast into the fire. Reserve for the devil and for his angels. What a fierce and eternal judgment. For the failure of one last day's thing. A response to the Jew. In their final extremity. But to those who have extended mercy.