Big Batista (2:22)

Oh but it's so great to be able to be back and doing our program you from time to time. We'll take a little break. Right, Nathan? But our audience knows that we'll be right back and just share different things and events. So Nate, the conference that you were just at, if I may ask. So what was your topic?

Nathan Jones (2:41)

My topic was on Satan's long war against the Jews. So it's about the history of anti Semitism in the church. And the church, believe it or not, has a long history of hating the Jewish people. So much so that the Nazis based their holocaust on the teachings of greats like Martin Luther and all. And so this is a call for the church to accept the fact that the Lord is still working among the Jewish people to bring a remnant to salvation. And you know, brother, it burdens me to see so many Christians turning against Israel. Matter of fact, when I was done my sermon, a young couple came up to me furious. They were so upset that, that I was supporting Israel. They said, how can you support them? And they had all these reasons why that, that the Jewish people are, you know, in their minds, evil. And, and it really, it was shocking how openly racist it was and yet approved of by many people that it's okay to be racist against the Jewish people. And so, and this is within the church and we're not talking about, you know, Islamic mosque or something. This is the church. So the anti Semitism is tragically alive and well inside the church, Nathan, and

Big Batista (3:54)

I'm glad you share that. And it's such an eye opening thing what's going on around the world and how ignorant so many individuals are of what the Bible has to say about Israel. So Nate, now these events, these special conferences, how would individuals be able to maybe get a hold of these resources along with the resources in the program that you and I do?

Nathan Jones (4:15)

Oh, they go to our website@christinprophecy.org that's Christin prophecy. We have a wealth of information there. You can find all the archives of this podcast, the truth will set you free as well as our Christ in prophecy TV and radio programs, our Lamplighter magazine, and many, many articles all about proclaiming the soon return of Jesus Christ. We believe the signs of the times indicate that Jesus Christ is coming soon. So check it out. Go to our website, Christin prophecy.org As for this regional conference up in Nineveh Christian Church, I do not yet have the videos from that to post on our website. So you'd have to go to Nineveh Christian Church's website in Lawrenceburg and I hope to get that material from them. And we'll, we'll Repost that. We're going to actually do some Christ in prophecy episodes based on that. But I'd like to invite you on June 12th and 13th here in McKin, Texas, we are holding our where is the promise of his coming conference. It's a Bible prophecy conference. We have Pete Garcia from Revelation 3:10, Dr. Jake Herbert from the ICR, myself and Tim Moore, and we're going to be speaking on the promises that the Lord has for the church. So go ahead and Register now. It's June 12th and 13th and it's here in McKinney, Texas, at Brookhaven Church, which happens to be Both our founder, Dr. David Reagan, and my own personal church where we go.

Big Batista (5:39)

Nathan, what a wonderful opportunity. So I want to encourage any of you that are tuned in, check it out. That's going to be a lot of fun and a great resource. And Nate, that's what. That's the joy of doing what we do. We don't just do programs, but there's also so many other resources that people can get a hold of so that they can grow in their relationship with the Lord.

Nathan Jones (5:57)

Absolutely. Again, check us out christin prophecy.org or go to the Lamb and lion app. Download that.

Big Batista (6:04)

Praise the Lord. Thank you, Nate. And yeah, so a lot of things are happening around the world, Nathan. People, of course, are probably wondering what's going on in the United States. It's a United States in prophecy with a recent constant threat to our president. Even this just recently, another attempt on his life. I think, Nathan, that these are great signs, right? That we need to be ready and prepared. And we're seeing a lot of things taking place right before our eyes.

Nathan Jones (6:37)

Yeah, lawlessness is a sign of the end times. And we're talking about not just lawlessness in the streets, but from the top down. We're talking about countries, leaders, whole governments, institutions. I mean, there's corruption everywhere. It's lawless. And the Bible prophesies that one day a one world ruler will rise out of that lawlessness. Matter of fact, the Bible calls him the man of lawlessness. And he will become the dictator over the planet. So as this world gets more and more lawless, it just points to the fact that the, the. This beast, as Revelation 13 calls him, or we say that his beast system is rising up and at some point will just cover the entire world, but only for a short time.

Big Batista (7:20)

Thank you, Nate. And that's why one of the key things that we could be doing as we see these events unfolding is turn to the Lord in prayer. And as we look at Isaiah, chapter 56. We're going to notice some of that and the importance of that. So, Nate, we've been. It's been a joy going through Isaiah. Can you believe it? We are in chapter 56, Nate. So there is hope. There's light at the end of the tunnel.

Nathan Jones (7:43)

There is, man. We folks, we've been putting off going through Isaiah verse by verse for many years. But over the past year, Vic and I have been going chapter by chapter and verse by verse. And so we're at 56. For those who know, there's 66 chapters in Isaiah, so we probably have about 10 more episodes to go to finish Isaiah, and then we'll just have to figure out what comes next. Right, right.

Big Batista (8:06)

We'll pick another short book like Jeremiah Nathan, you know, or Psalms.

Nathan Jones (8:11)

How about Leviticus?

Big Batista (8:14)

No, no, I think we want to keep our audience for right now, so.

Nathan Jones (8:17)

Yeah, yeah. No, folks, again, being evangelists with Lamb and Lion Ministries, we focus on the 31% of the Bible. That's prophecy. So Vic and I will always approach our studies through prophetic words. But, you know, there are. Dr. David Reagan, our founder, just released a book called the Messiah and the Psalms, and there are 50 of the 150 Psalms that are Messianic in nature. So there is prophecy even throughout the Psalms.

Big Batista (8:44)

Absolutely. And the whole entire Bible is just fun in itself. So we encourage individuals to read it and allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you. But with that, we're going to look at isaiah and chapter 56. They're beginning on verses one through eight. If you have a Bible, you can follow along with us. Nate and I will be reading from the new King James Version. Nate, would you be able to open us up there? Reading verses A1 through 4, and I'll take 5 through 8 in case someone doesn't have a Bible.

Nathan Jones (9:11)

Okay. Isaiah, chapter 56, starting in verse 1. Thus says the Lord. Keep justice and do righteousness. For my salvation is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this and the son of man who lays hold on it, who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and keeps his hands from doing any evil. Do not let the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord speak, saying, the Lord has uttered separated me from his people. Nor let the eunuch say, here I am a dry tree. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths and choose what pleases me and hold fast my covenant.

Big Batista (9:50)

Verse 5. Even to them I will give in my house and within my walls a place and a name better than that. The sons of daughters, I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the foreigner who joins themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love the name of the Lord to be his servants. Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant, even them I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar. For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations. The Lord God who gathered the outcasts of Israel, says, yes, I. I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him. What a joyful passage.

Nathan Jones (10:46)

Nate There's a lot to unpack here because the first off the question is who is the Lord addressing here? And bear in mind that the in the Old Testament, the plan was that the Jewish people would be a priestly people and by their relationship with the Lord, Yahweh, God, the Gentiles would be attracted to that. And then, not to say they become Jews ethnically, but they would become worshippers of the one true God. And unfortunately, the Jewish people, the Israelites failed at that job. And now the Bible here there's a prophecy at the end where the Lord's talking about his millennial temple and how the Jewish people will believing remnant will take up their role again and bring the Gentile nations to see Jesus. But the real crux of this is, is the fact that it's promising Gentile salvation, which, you know, Vic, even up into the New Testament, the, the, the people in the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees and Sadducees, it was a paradigm shift that broke their brains. Even the apostles we read about, say the story with Peter and Cornelius, Peter's like, I'm not going to defile myself with the Gentile by eating with him. And the Lord says, hey, what I call clean is clean. And if the Gentiles want to be saved, then I'm going to give salvation to them. So this is a huge shift and it's actually a mystery because Paul will later call the church, in other words, the Gentiles being part of the church, a great mystery. The very fact that salvation isn't just offered to the Jews, but the Gentiles as well.

Big Batista (12:24)

Nate. And what a great wonderful clarification. It reminds me of Romans, chapter 9, verse 24, much like you're saying where it says even as whom he called not us, not of the Jews, Only, but also of Gentiles, as he says also in Hosea, I will call them my people who were not my people, and her beloved who was not beloved. And it shall come to pass in that place where it was said to them, you are not my people. There they will be called sons of the living God. So, Nate, I love the. What you just said because what a great reminder what the Bible has to say that we, the Gentiles. I'm not Jewish, you're not Jewish, but I'm so glad that God had a plan for us.

Nathan Jones (13:09)

Yeah, I mean, just go back to verse five here. Even to them I will give in my house. In other words, we're talking about heaven here and within my walls. A place and a name better than that as sons and daughters, I'm going to give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off as part of this prophecy that when we go to heaven one day the Lord's going to give us new names. So, Vic, you won't be Victoriano and I won't be Nathan anymore. We'll be given names, likely based on our character. And so, you know, maybe you'll be named after your new truck, Gladiator. I don't know. I don't want to be called Traverse. But anyway, what we have here is a promise to Gentiles. I mean, this. And here you got Isaiah 700 years before Jesus born telling the world that the Gentiles, God's offering salvation to them.

Big Batista (14:04)

It.

Nathan Jones (14:04)

The Jews just couldn't fathom it. And the Gentiles at the time could care less about it. And now we have a church over the last 2000 years, predominantly Gentile. And so the Lord is allowing the Gentiles into his. Into heaven. And praise God because like you said, Vic, you and I would not be going to heaven if it wasn't for the Lord's offer to also bring salvation to the Gentiles.

Big Batista (14:26)

Nathan. And I wish the Jewish people will grab hold of that and many more of them. Actually, see that that's in the scripture, verse six says also the sons of the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, notice the reason why. To serve him and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants. Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath. And, and Nate, that's. We recognize for the Gentiles, our Sabbath doesn't have to be Saturday according to the New Testament, but it's a day that we have set or chosen to set apart to serve God. And what a. What an amazing thing that is. That we have part joined in this amazing salvation plan that the Lord had instituted here. And I just love God's grace.

Nathan Jones (15:12)

Yeah. And I would take the Sabbath even farther in the invitation that it's not particularly a day that he's talking about here, but the, the Bible teaches about a Sabbath rest. In other words, the enmity that we have with God is gone. Once we are saved, we're forgiven. That old nature will be gone when we are resurrected in our glorified bodies. And we will have peace. We will have Sabbath with God. And I, I think that's really more. He's obviously talking in terminology that the Jewish people would understand. They believe the Sabbath was from sundown on Friday to Saturday sundown again. So that was the Sabbath. But in the bigger picture of what the Sabbath represents, and that's really what the Sabbath is. It represents that peaceful rest, that fellowship, that perfect fellowship that the Lord is establishing one day. And you bring up another point in Romans Vic that I thought was very neat is that in Romans 9:11, Paul makes the case that, that the Jewish people haven't been cast aside, but that he has plans for them that they will be grafted in. And so he's making the argument as the, what he called himself, the apostle to the Gentiles, is that the Lord wanted them grafted into his plan of salvation and that the Jewish people be grafted in. And because the Gentiles are being shown the favor of the Lord, that the Jewish people come jealous and want to then accept Jesus and, and come to him. And we're still waiting for that day, though there's a small remnant we long for that day when the, the Jewish people cry out baruch habab hashem Adonai, which is blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Big Batista (16:52)

And Nathan, you know something that was neat as, as far as the conference that you just spoke at your topic having to do with how we're to support Israel, there's so many people that have forgotten that even in the church, the church was chosen. But thank the Lord for the Jewish people that opened the way. And even now where to pray for them, right, Nate? Not to be against Israel or against his people. And it's sad so many people are blinded to that reality.

Nathan Jones (17:19)

Yeah. And that's where you get to verse 8. The Lord God who what Gathers the outcasts of Israel. It says, yes, I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him. So he's making again the promise about gathering the. The Gentiles. But that he hasn't forgotten the Jews. So again and again, it's just been really bad theology where the Gentiles don't want anything to do with the Jews and they think that God has washed his hands of the Jews and he has nothing to do with them. He wants Jewish people to get saved as much as he wants Gentiles to be saved. And so there he's not done with the Jewish people. So that's why when we as Christians say we support Israel, we support the redemptive work that the Lord is doing among the Jewish people. We may not always agree with what their government decides. I mean, you know, brother, we don't agree with anything half the time what our own governments do, but we, we agree with that. The Lord wants us to bless the Jewish people because he's not done working in their hearts to bring them to salvation.

Big Batista (18:18)

That's right. And we support Israel. We thank the Lord for Israel. Nathan, Another important thing here, as we've been looking at this portion of Scripture In Isaiah chapter 56 is, is the, the importance of prayer. How God there, speaking about his house in verse seven, speaks about his house is to be a house of prayer. And In Matthew chapter 21, when Jesus went to the temple and he saw what they had turned the house of God into. According to Matthew 21:12, the Bible says, then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who brought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and seats of those who sold doves. And then verse 13 says, and he said to them, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it into a den of thieves. One of the things that I love is a privilege to pray, Nate. And, and also a reminder what church, what the house of God really needs to be.

Nathan Jones (19:15)

Yeah. You know, I'm thankful you, I'm so glad you brought that up, because, folks, that's a, that's a bona fide prophecy here. You know, you'll hear some of the newer pastors, I think of Andy Stanley, who recently said that the, that the church just ought to divorce the Old Testament from the Bible. Yet if we did that, we'd have to stop the fact that it's the Lord himself who quoted from the Old Testament frequently and looked forward to the prophecies in the Old Testament being fulfilled. So, yeah, this is a prophecy about the Lord's house, that he'd have zeal for his house, and his house would be a house of prayer, and not just for The Jewish people, that's key right there for all nations. So obviously he's. There's no temple up there now. There will be a third temple, but that'll be a Jewish temple that will be desecrated by the Antichrist. He's talking about his millennial temple. When Jesus returns to set up his kingdom, he's going to build this temple, which Ezekiel chapters 40, 48 describes as 20 miles squared. I mean, it's bigger than most cities. It's going to be Jesus throne room, his house, but also his temple. And all the nations will go up to Jerusalem and they will pray to him at that place. So, man, what a prophecy, Nathan.

Big Batista (20:35)

And what a. What a prophecy. And what a beautiful picture. When I envision heaven, when I envision church, this is the picture that I see all people, ethnicities coming together, worshiping God. And I think that's one of the most beautiful pictures. When you enter into a church and you see people of every race, every class, every background, but the main thing they have in common is the Lord Jesus. It's not about what we drive, what we look like, what color we are, but it's about the hearts, the fact that we love the Lord. And when I was pastoring in Miami, we had our church down there for over 15 years. Boy, what a mixture of people, Nathan. It was like a mini little heaven there, just seeing all. And everybody got along, everybody loved one another. So I just thought, you know, the reminder, a house of prayer, not for just some people or some nations, but for all nations.

Nathan Jones (21:26)

Yeah, I love traveling and going to churches and preaching and all sorts of different countries and. And ethnicities and languages and. And you know what? It always feels like going home. Every group, though they might be wearing different clothes or have different cultures or different languages, it's all the same love of Jesus Christ. And so it's like. I agree, man. It's like a foretaste of what it's going to be like in the millennial kingdom and then on into eternity, when the only race that'll ever matter is the fact that we're part of the human race.

Big Batista (21:59)

That's a great point. And again, for those of you that just joined us, you're tuned into A2 to set free Bible Prophecy edition. Vic Batista, Nathan Jones with Lamb Lion Ministry. Again, we're looking at Isaiah 56 with a message called the House of Prayer. So, Nate. Wow. And here we are. We've only covered a few verses in chapter 56, and there's just so much richness there in These verses that it's really astounding how beautiful the word of the Lord is. And then, Nate, as we look at verses 9 through 12, would you be able to read for us 9 and 10 and I'll close us with 11 and 12.

Nathan Jones (22:35)

Right. Pick it up at 9. All you beasts of the fields come to devour. And all you beasts in the forest, his watchmen are blind. They are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs. They cannot bark, sleeping, laying down, loving to slumber.

Big Batista (22:50)

Verse 11. Yes, they are greedy dogs which never have enough. And they are shepherds who cannot understand. They all look to their own way, everyone for his own gain, from his own territory. Come, one says, I will bring wine, and I will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink. Tomorrow will be us today and much more abundant. W. Nate, don't we hear that today?

Nathan Jones (23:17)

Yeah. And so, folks, it. There's a shift here. So remember that. That chapters and verses were added to the Bible much later. So Isaiah is a collection of his prophesying to the leaders of Israel. And so you're getting different messages that come one after another. Fortunately, good Bible expositors have come and found the breaking points. And here we have between verse 8 and verse 9, a change of message. It's a redirection, where Isaiah now is directing his message to his original audience. And that was God's call for him to go and rebuke the leaders of Israel for rejecting God and turning away from him. And that's what he's talking about here. He's comparing the leaders, both religious and political, to greedy dogs who just look after their own. I think of Samuel, you know, Israel asked for a king because Samuel's sons were wicked and evil. Eli's sons were wicked and evil. Aaron had two sons who were priests that gave strange fire, whatever that means, but they were wicked. And so we see that those who stand in leadership and, and are supposedly representing God are actually ones that God condemns and warns the people about. And that's what he's doing in this section.

Big Batista (24:32)

Well, Nathan, and in those four verses, boy, there sure is a lot packed in there speaking about these individuals that can also line up with false prophets and false teachers. But man, the Bible here just continues to call them dogs. And when you consider it, this is not a puppy, a dog that you keep at home, Nathan. This is more like those wild rabbit dogs from the streets.

Nathan Jones (24:55)

Yeah, they're your hyenas or wolves who look greedily at you because they want to eat you. I. I still remember a few years back, I Had a beagle named Molly, and she was out backyard barking her head. I have never heard her bark like this before. And so I went outside to see what all the ruckus was, and she was in battle mode. You know, she's just a little dog. But there was a coyote in our backyard, and the coyote had snuck into her backyard to eat her. And then it quickly dawned on me. There was three coyotes who had come in as a pack. Well, the coyotes saw me, and then the rest of my family came out to hear the noise. And when they saw all these people behind our little dog, they thought, oh, it's time to run. And so they did. And our dog was probably sitting there thinking, man, I made these coyotes back down. Meanwhile, we're all humans are standing behind her. But, you know, I remember the look in the coyotes. They were like licking their chops. They wanted to eat my little dog. And here it's comparing. The leaders of Israel here are like that. You know, they're licking their chops. They're looking for who they can steal from and get all the attention and money. And, you know, that's no different today. We've got false leaders and false teachers who equally are looking to fleece the flock. We have political leaders who nothing more than filled with corruption to take as much money and power as they got. But you know, the Bible prophesies, that's all gonna go away. You know, here they are in verse 12, they're saying, Tomorrow is going to be like today. You know, we're going to get richer. In other words, much more abundant. They think that this will never end, that the party will go on. But God's like, nope, it is coming to an end. You will be judged.

Big Batista (26:30)

That's right. And. And we saw the shift there from dogs to shepherds that do not understand. And that's why, Nathan, absolutely right. God's people, the leaders, pastors, others, we have a great responsibility. And, you know, we cannot take the things of the Lord lightly. Jesus cleaned out the temple. It's not a business. We are to take care of those that he has entrusted into our care. Like the Bible tells us in, in. In Peter, chapter five, as well as Acts, chapter 20, Paul reminded us that there will be wolves, savage wolves that will be creeping into the church also, according to Jude, to try to destroy and hear no difference. So the warning still stands, right, Nate? Over two, 500 years later, that we have to pray and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and to continue to support and love God's people. We believe the time is very short. And seeing all this deception is part of what the Lord said would be in the last days.

Nathan Jones (27:32)

Yeah, yeah. That was the number one sign that the Lord gave that false teachers, false prophets, false Christs would proliferate in the last days. And I mean, there's no doubt that Watchmen Fellowship, the cult watching website, says, reports there's a thousand cults and false religions in the United States alone. So we're being inundated by these false teachers. And so that's one of the jobs of a prophet, wasn't just to tell the future, but. But the prophets were also forth tellers. They called down the evil leaders, the evil people, and called them to repent. And that's what Isaiah was sent to do. He was calling the leaders of Israel to repent before it's too late. And unfortunately, the Lord did give them over 100 years of relenting to give them a chance. But in the end, when you get to Jeremiah and his prophecies as Israel is being carried off into exile, the. The leaders were just as bad as they were in Isaiah's time.

Big Batista (28:28)

Wow. And Nathan, again, it's a sad state when leaders are not doing what they are supposed to. And maybe you're part of this program and you recognize that you've had your share of individuals who maybe turned you off. Televangelists or people that were supposed to be leaders and failed you. But remember, the Lord never fails you. Men might fail you, but Jesus will never fail. Fail you. God loves you, has a plan for your life. And according to the word of God here, He wants you to be part of his family and he wants you to have a relationship with Him. And you are to keep your eyes on Jesus, not on men. And again, we want to encourage you to continue to trust in the Lord. And maybe you're part of this program and you don't have a relationship with the Lord, but even through hearing our program, maybe God has stirred your heart to want to start that relationship with him. So, Nate, in the midst of bad news, it's always good news, right, Nate? And people that really love God and God knows their heart, he gives them an opportunity to come to them while there is still time. And maybe there's someone out there, Nate, who is in that fence. What would you say to them in terms of starting that relationship today?

Nathan Jones (29:37)

Well, to think that we just read a prophecy 2700 years ago where the God is calling Gentiles into the church and then the Jewish people as well are not forsaken in Other words, he wants all people to repent and turn to him. So if you have yet to ask Jesus as your salvation, as your Savior and seek salvation, then today is the day of salvation. Turn to the Lord in faith and repentance. Pray from your heart. Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know I've rebelled against you. Please forgive me. I love you and I want you to be my savior and the Lord of my life. And Jesus promised he will forgive your sins. He will wash that guilt away and you will inherit eternal life forever.

Big Batista (30:18)

Oh, thank you so much for sharing that, Nate. And maybe you pray that prayer for the first time and you meant it from your heart. We would love for you to reach out to us. Text us or call us at 305-992-9537 and let us know that you pray that prayer. And Nathan and I will rejoice with you for making that decision. And we want to say congratulations for coming to Jesus. So again, we ran out of time for this segment of the program. We thank you all for being part of today's program. Big Batista, Nathan Jones. And goodbye. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you. Have a wonderful week.

Vic Batista (30:59)

The good news is finally here. Friends, listen to me. This is serious business. What the world needs today is Jesus. The Bible says in John 3:16, that for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.