|
Countdown to 6000
|
| Home | Angels |
Diet
|
Doctrine
|
Family Devotions
|
Happy, Joyous & Free
|
Money
|
Prayer | Prophecy | Spirituality |
Chapter 2: Introduction To
Prophecy
The study of biblical prophecy is an inexact science, before the prophecies are fulfilled. All of the books that have been written about future biblical prophecy, including this one are just "guesstimates" and men's opinions about how God will fulfill his word. We are in a similar position as those who recognized that it was time for God to fulfill his word when Christ was born nearly 2000 years ago. No one knew the particular order of events that God would use to fulfill his word. The scriptures simply said that the Messiah would come out of Bethlehem, be called out of Egypt, and be called a Nazarene. (Nazarene comes from the Hebrew word "nazar" which is translated "branch" in English. Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. " Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Jeremiah 33:15 "'In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land. Zechariah 3:8 "'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. (The Nazarene) There are many ways in which God could have fulfilled these scriptures about Jesus. He could have been born in any one of the three places and lived at various times in the other two. He could also have been named or called the "branch" or "Nazarene" and not have lived in Nazareth at all to fulfill the scriptures. Now we will look at how the verses above actually came to pass. Matthew 2:4-6 When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: "'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'" John 7:40-43 On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet." Others said, "He is the Christ." Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?" Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. Matthew 2:14-15 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." Matthew 2:23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene." The importance of studying biblical prophecy is to learn what the scriptures say will happen just before the return of Jesus Christ, so we will be able to discern the signs of the times. even after the Messiah had come and fulfilled many of the prophecies written about him there was still controversy about whether or not he was the Christ. John 12:37-43 even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: "Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: "He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn--and I would heal them." Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. We need to be careful when studying yet unfulfilled biblical prophecy that our opinions of how we think the Lord will fulfill his word do not prevent us from understanding the actual fulfillment when it happens. The religious leaders of Jesus' time on Earth were unable to receive the truth because they had already made up their minds and hardened their hearts to any new interpretation of God's word that did not agree with their ancient traditions. Luke 11:52 "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering." Matthew 22:29 Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. Mark 7:6-8 He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." Matthew 16:2-3 He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,' and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. Whether or not you agree with the authors opinions about the time that the resurrection of the dead will take place or whether some of the events in the book of Revelation are only figurative is not important. It is the command of Christ to his servants to watch for his appearing, and even if we die while watching and waiting for him, we will still be blessed in this life and in the life to come for obeying his word. Luke 12:37-40 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." |