📖 Zechariah 13:8-9 • Daniel 9:27 • Two-thirds of the Jewish people will perish in the Tribulation — but the remnant will be refined as silver, call on God's name, and finally say: The LORD is my God.

⛪ Preached at Pilgrim Baptist Church • Cookeville, TN • March 8, 2026.

What does it mean for God to refine a nation? In this expository message, Pastor Fortunato walks through one of the most sobering prophecies in all of Scripture — the purification of Israel through the Great Tribulation. Two out of every three people with Jewish heritage will be cut off. The remnant will be brought through a fire so intense it will strip away every form of pride, religious tradition, and self-sufficiency — until all that remains is a people who simply cry out to the living God.

This is not a comfortable message. But it is a necessary one. The tribulation is not random cruelty — it is divine refining. God's name is at stake. His covenant is at stake. And when Israel finally says "The LORD is my God" from a pure heart, history will have reached one of its great turning points.

This expository sermon walks through Daniel 9:27, Zechariah 13:7-9, Numbers 31, Isaiah 43, Isaiah 48, and 2 Timothy 2, showing:

• Why the Antichrist's peace covenant with Israel will shatter at 3½ years

• The staggering population numbers — up to 40 million people with Jewish heritage

• How Zechariah prophesies two-thirds cut off, one-third refined

• What the silversmithing process reveals about God's purpose in suffering

• How Numbers 31 previews the reward that survives the fire

• Isaiah's promise: "When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned"

• Why God's name — not just Israel's survival — is what's ultimately at stake

• The remnant's final cry: "The LORD is my God" and why it matters to God

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 - Daniel 9:27 — The Antichrist's covenant and the 70th week

01:28 - The midst of the week — sacrifice ceases, abomination begins

01:51 - Population numbers — how many are at stake

05:38 - Israel's statehood (1948) — providence, not fulfillment

08:16 - Matthew 24:21 — worse than Noah's flood, worse than the Holocaust

09:51 - Zechariah 13:8 — two-thirds cut off (live illustration with congregation)

15:52 - Zechariah 13:9 — the remnant brought through the fire

16:56 - Numbers 31:21-24 — everything that abides the fire

20:21 - Isaiah 43:1-2 — God walks his people through fire

24:08 - Isaiah 48:9-11 — God's name is at stake

30:03 - 2 Timothy 2:19-21 — depart from iniquity, be a vessel of honor

32:12 - The refining process — dross rises, pure silver remains

38:38 - "The LORD is my God" — the cry God has been waiting to hear

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