The idea of the coming Kingdom Age is not absent from the Bible. The coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our time, which some are calling the Kingdom Age, will bring in an unprecedented harvest of souls for the Lord. This was revealed to Daniel (Dn 7:27) and Jesus also spoke of this as well (Mt 24:14). We know he was not talking about the end of time because Jesus then goes on to talk about what will occur after this which we have labeled the Tribulation Period (Mt 24:15-22). Jesus also told his disciples he was conferring a kingdom to them just as God the Father had conferred a kingdom to him (Lk 22:29).

This is likely the kingdom to which both John the Baptist and Jesus himself were speaking of when he first started his ministry. Reason? The Holy Spirit had not yet been given so he asked his disciples to pray for it to come because the Holy Spirit would be able to do more than he himself could do because the Holy Spirit could work within everyone at the same time (Jn 14:12).

Why would there be a coming Kingdom Age and how have so many people missed it? The former is probably easier to explain than the latter. As previously said, both the Church as well as Israel did not fulfill their original calling. This coming Kingdom Age, highlighted by one of the most unprecedented Holy Spirit outpourings in history, is the graciousness of the Lord to allow the Church to fulfill its original mandate: preach the gospel to the whole world (Mt 28:19-20) and to become a united, unblemished, bride for Jesus Christ (Ep 4:13; 5:27).

I see the Church Age divided into four steps:

1.      Early Church: This was when the Holy Spirit was first given and was allowed to work miraculously to reach many who accepted Christ as their Savior and could then go and duplicate what they had seen, heard, and had been given.

2.      Church Decline: Unfortunately, this started not too long after the expansion of the Church throughout the Roman Empire. Greek and Hellenistic thought processes began to infiltrate Biblical interpretation and the Church becoming hierarchical in structure inhibited the working of the Holy Spirit because those in influential seats of power were often not led by the Holy Spirit. Apostles and prophets were suppressed because they showed that individuals had the power of the Holy Spirit to bring others to Christ rather than relying on the Church organization itself to achieve such a feat, and the prophets would preach and reprimand those in clerical power positions which those in power would not want to occur and so would suppress the validity of such individuals.

3.      Church Reformation: This was a reawakening of the Church to many aspects of the Early Church but still with many weights and flaws of the previous hundreds of years by misguided leaders. Satan was quick to jump on this bandwagon to cause doctrinal disputes which split the church into an ever-increasing number of factions. With no belief in prophets to counter the waywardness, it seemed to create more and more factions until, today, there are hundreds of various denominations which cannot get along and which bicker with each other rather than seeing how to unite within Christ.

4.      Kingdom Age: This is a true reawakening of the Church to the Early Church beliefs and practices. So, it is not so much a new thing, but returning to something the Church once was. We will see the Holy Spirit being outpoured in significant ways that will likely jar many who are stuck in church tradition and rites. We will again see many signs and wonders with many being miraculously healed from all sorts of diseases and maladies by the Holy Spirit as a true testament to his power. As in the Early Church, this will lead many to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

This seems to be when the Church will shine for the Holy Spirit will enable believers to impact others with their lives and many will fall under the conviction of the Holy Spirit leading to a tremendous reaping of souls for the Lord. It is unclear how long this time will last, but it seems to come on the heels of much persecution but ends with a time of great glory. Therefore, the rapture event for the Church does not come to rescue believers but to take them out of the world at the peak of their performance so it can have an even greater impact on those who remain.

Doesn’t that sound wonderful? We, the church, as the bride of Christ will be received by Christ in our glory and not our humiliation. What a great God we serve!

It’s no coincidence that the Church had its beginning on Shavuot (Pentecost; Ac 2). Israel became a nation (i.e., became betrothed to God [Yahweh]) fifty-two days after the first Passover (Ex 24:4-8). While Bikkurim (Firstfruit) and Shavuot (Pentecost) were not celebrated as festivals until the Israelites reached their Promised Land (Lv 23:10), the covenant God made with Israel to make them a nation occurred on the same day that Shavuot would normally occur. In the same way, the Church was born or was betrothed to God [Yahweh] on the first Shavuot after Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

The Church did not replace Israel (Ro 11:1-2, 11, 25-29) but the mode of worldwide impact for God was transitioned from a nation to individuals. It was a betrothal because God calls the Church his bride (2Co 11:2; Ep 5:24; Rv 19:7). It is interesting that Shavuot is also known as the First Shofar because the betrothal period is marked by the blowing of a shofar. The sound of the shofar was the very voice of God when Israel was pledged to God at the base of Mount Sinai (Ex 19:18-19; Dt 4:12-13). The sound of a rushing mighty wind, the Holy Spirit himself, occurred when the Church was pledged to God in the upper room in Jerusalem (Ac 2:2) forty days after Christ’s ascension into Heaven (fifty days after his resurrection on Bikkurim, or Firstfruit).

This was the foreshadow (2Co 1:22) of God’s new, more intimate, covenant promised to Israel (Jr 31:31-34). Jesus had fulfilled the previous covenant with Israel (Mt 5:17) and was now making a new blood covenant which would actually forgive sins (Mt 26:28) whereas previously, all the sacrifices just placated sin (Hb 10:1-4).

While the idea of the Church we know of today was alluded to in the Old Testament (e.g. Dt 32:21; Is 65:1), it was not made fully known in how God would use it until God revealed such to the apostle Paul (Ep 3:4-6). The birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ had to first occur before his Church could be established. Why is that? Because the power of sin over humans had to be eliminated (Ro 6:7).

We need to fully understand what Christ did for us on the cross. He became our sin so that we could take on his righteousness (2 Co 5:21). What does that mean? Our past, present, and future sin was placed on Christ; all sin ever committed by anyone. Now, that’s quite the burden. The apostle Paul tells us Christ disarmed the powers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Cl 2:15). This implies that he went to Sheol in our place so that penalty of our sin could be dealt with once and for all. So Christ went to Sheol for three days, proclaimed to those on the unrighteous side why their fate is sealed, and preached to those on the righteous side what he just did for them and gave them the gift of redemption. He then brought the righteous home to the third heaven where they are today and why Paul stated to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2Co 5:8). Because of the disarming by Christ to Satan and his kingdom, he can now bestow on those in his Church gifts for building up his Bride and make her strong and effective.

Christ received back from Satan the power he had stollen from Adam (Cl 2:13-15; Jn 10:17-18; Rv 1:18). What power had God given to Adam? God gave him dominion over all the earth (Gn 1:28) to rule in God’s authority (Ps 8:6-8). Satan deceived that out of Eve and Adam rebelled against God (Gn 3:1-7) so Satan connived Adam’s kingdom from him (Mt 4:8-9; Jn 14:30) and all born afterward are born into sin, Satan’s kingdom (Ps 58:3, Jn 12:46; Ro 5:12); therefore, we do not have to choose Satan’s kingdom because we are born into it and must make a conscious decision to leave it (Jn 3:17-18).

God’s people, his Church has gained that power back. Paul tells us the power we have received is the same mighty strength God exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms (Ep 1:18-23), and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Ep 2:4-10). Therefore, we, God’s Church, have far greater power and authority than we have been led to believe. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you already have this power which comes to us through the Holy Spirit. We can exert more and more of this power as we allow the Holy Spirit to control more and more of us.

The early church was given, and operated, in a five-fold ministry, as some have called it. Paul states that Christ gave the Church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip his people for works of service so that those who come to Christ may be built up in unity of faith and become mature in the knowledge of Christ (Ep 4:11-13). There is much debate about this verse both from a gift classification perspective and from a gift over time perspective. Paul does use a different conjunction between the first three gifts and the last two gifts. Yet, the conjunctions Paul uses in this verse, (de and kai) while different are still translated as the English conjunction ‘and.’ Yet, just because a different conjunction is used (kai) between the last two does not necessarily mean these are one gift but likely mean they are more connected in character and function than the other three. For example, all pastors are teachers but not all teachers are pastors. This same type of mental gymnastics cannot be done for the other three (apostles, prophets, evangelists). So, in the end, it seems there are still five distinct gifts, but some individuals could be pastors and teachers, while others are teachers but not pastors.

Then, there is the controversy over apostles and prophets being for the early church, but not for today. This, I think, comes down to the definition of these terms. Some state there were only twelve apostles so there were no additional apostles after these individuals. While this is a true statement, this does not necessarily exclude others from being called apostles. For example, the original twelve apostles were also called disciples, but this did not mean Jesus had only twelve disciples. After all, the word ‘apostle’ simply means “an ambassador of the Gospel” usually with miraculous powers.

It seems there were apostles Christ had chosen (Ac 1:2) and then apostles which the churches chose (Ac 14:14; Ro 16:7; 1Co 9:2). Paul also uses the word ‘we’ when he mentioned the term ‘apostles’ in his letter to the Thessalonians (1Th 2:6). He is likely referring to not only himself, but also to Silas and Timothy as well (1Th 1:1). Later, Paul also refers to Andronicus and Junia as apostles, two among many others. Therefore, it seems over time, the term apostle came to be applied to other dedicated individuals for God’s service and not just to the original twelve.

In addition, it seems others were posing to be apostles even though they were not (2Co 11:13). It would seem these individuals, whom he sardonically called “super-apostles” were performing some type of miraculous signs as that was one indication of an apostle (2Co 12:12). Yet, their overall intent was not the advancement of the gospel but their own fame. Yet, if apostles were noted to be only Christ’s original twelve apostles, then these individuals would not have been able to feign being apostles.

The other term to consider is ‘prophet.’ Some claim that once all of Scripture was complete, there was no need for prophets as we now have God’s compete word to follow. While that is true, I’m not sure that settles the issue. After all, prophets were not just to deliver a message that would become Scripture but provide messages from God that warned people about obeying God’s Scripture. Granted, there were many prophets in the Old Testament that became part of our canon of Scripture (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachai) but there were many others who delivered a word of warning from God which did not become part of Scripture, but held true to Scripture (e.g., Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, Azariah, Hanani, Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, Jahaziel, Oded, Huldah, and Uriah). In addition, there were prophets mentioned in the New Testament as well (Silas, Judas [Ac 15:32], Agabus [Ac 21:10], and others [Ac 13:1]). So, just being a prophet does not mean words delivered will become Scripture. Yet, their words will never contradict Scripture.

Yes, we have God’s complete Scripture today, but we have so many different interpretations of Scripture today leading to so many different doctrines based upon the same Scripture. Is this what God would want? Would prophets have prevented such from occurring? Just something to consider.

Also, prophets have always popped up when God’s people have gone astray from following his word. That is why so many were persecuted because they warned people they were not in the right. People get very angry when they are spiritually reprimanded. We also see that throughout Scripture.

While prophets are certainly about the future, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are talking about a future not reported in Scripture. But let’s be honest here, we have so many views of our future, how can we know which are truly correct? Would prophets have prevented that from occurring as well? Again, something we should consider.

In addition, if there are no prophets today, then why does Scripture teach there will be prophets in “the last days” (Jl 2:28-32)? So, we had them, then they went away, and then they’ll return? If so, who determines when we should listen to them again?

Also, if prophets were only for the early church until the canon of Scripture was in place, wouldn’t Scripture have been more explicit about that? At what point is the cutoff for prophets? The canon of Scripture occurred over several hundred years. Also, how do we handle what Paul says about prophecy when he said, “Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all” (1Th 5:20)? Because if we are no longer listening to prophets, then we are technically treating them with contempt because we are not following them. So, at what point were we allowed to not follow Paul’s advice in this regard? Would this suggest that we should listen to prophecy as long as they do not contradict the Bible itself?

And, if we look at what many prophets are saying today, then many are talking about a Kingdom Age that is upon us, or a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the earth to bring a great revival. Is this something we should listen to or ignore? If this is upon us, why weren’t those of the early church looking for this future for themselves? Wouldn’t Paul have known about this and would have put this in his writings?

I think the short answer is no. Why? Because they were already operating in the idea of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Paul likely expected the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to continue throughout the Church Age, so he would not be expecting it to wane and then come back again. Therefore, his emphasis was on Christ’s return and not another outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

So, what would have caused this decline of the outpouring of the Holy Spirt to get us where we are today? What some have purported, and what is hard to refute, is that the teaching of the spiritual gifts of apostle and prophet no longer being needed is the reason. If these two gifts were meant to be carried farther, what caused their demise? Politics.

Whether we look at Judaism or Christianity, both have not fulfilled their spiritual destiny God had ordained for them because of politics. Not politics itself, per se, but allowing those not led by the Holy Spirit to lead.

As an example, by the time Eli was Israel’s high priest, the people went through the motions of sacrifice, but their hearts were not in it, mainly because his sons were quite corrupt. Likely when the people saw their corruption, they were not as enthusiastic in following the precepts God had required of them. It was at that time God brought Samuel into play. While he was a judge, he was also a prophet by warning the people as to what God required of them.

By the time of Jesus, the high priest position had become a political position and thereby the person being high priest had lost a lot of their concern about following God’s precepts. They were in the position for the power, prestige, and wealth the position provided them. In addition, it led to nationalistic encouragement rather than Scriptural encouragement. This led to the Jews becoming more exclusionary to other nationalities rather than teaching other nations the ways of Yahweh. The letter of the law became more important than the heart of the law.

This is also true of the Church as well. The early church had the spiritual fervor, ever desired to be led by the Holy Spirit. As the church became larger, it became more organized, and over time, became hierarchical. While there is nothing wrong with such organization, it led to those who were not really Christian to hold high positions, ever looking how to increase their power, prestige, and wealth. This led to the Church becoming more political and less spiritual. It would be easy to see how apostles and prophets would be discouraged in such an environment because they would bring stinging remarks that those in prominence were not in keeping with the heart of Scripture. Religious rites became more important than the true leading of the Holy Spirit.

What about you today? What is leading you? Are you more about the letter of Scripture or the heart of Scripture. God has always stated it is better to obey than sacrifice (1Sa 15:22; Ps 40:6; Ho 6:6). Let’s walk in the light of the Holy Spirit and allow him to guide us.

Next, we’ll look at something wonderful that will be coming. I hope you join me for the next post where we will be discussing that.

Are you, like me, a science fiction buff? I still remember when Star Trek first aired on television. I looked so forward each week for the next episode. Then came Space 1999, then Star Wars, then Dune, and then Battlestar Galactica. Next came the litany of Star Trek and Star Wars movies. Needless to say, I loved them all. There are so many others I could name, but I think I’ve already dated myself. You get the picture though, right?

Of course, I wanted to write a science fiction series. Yet, the question came as to how I would do that when I don’t really believe there are aliens or other occupied worlds because I don’t see that being supported in the Bible. But there is always that inkling in the back of my mind of a what if possibility. One evening when dining with friends, I let that what if hypothesis go forth in my brain and imagination. Our ideas went far and wide and even verged on the ridiculous. Yet, one thing came to light which I agreed with wholeheartedly: if there are aliens and God is the God of the universe, then they, too, would serve the same God as we do.

That became the genesis of my science fiction series the Erabon Prophecy Trilogy. The story is, of course, set into the distant future. In the first book Myeem, an astronaut is flung into the far reaches of the universe due to an interstellar gate accident. He then finds himself on a foreign planet with no hope of getting home. As he tries to understand this new culture, and their anatomical differences being so different from his own, he finds other strange things that shock him. One is that several of their words seem to sound very similar to Hebrew, and second, to his greatest surprise, he is somehow touted to be the prophet these people are expecting to arrive before their deity, Erabon, returns to them.

He then discovers that those in this solar system used to be united on a single planet, but due to a civil war they became divided across six different planets with a moratorium on space travel. Yet, the prophecy indicates that a prophet would come and unite them all once again and usher in the return of Erabon.

Each planet challenges him in many ways and often puts his life in jeopardy. He and the friends he gathers on each planet travel to each subsequent planet to help them know what their deity, Erabon, has left for them and how he wants them all to reunite and usher in his return.

The first book, Myeem is about his experiences on Myeem, a water planet, and on Eremia, a desert planet, where he undergoes several exploits to get individuals on each planet to unite and understand the message their deity, Erabon, has left for them.

The second book, Sharab, is about his travel to Sharab, the fire planet, and to Ramah, the mountainous planet, where he again undergoes many trials to help those individuals unite and understand what Erabon wants from them.

The third, and final book, Qerach, is about he and several of his friends traveling to Qerach, the ice planet, and then to Aphia, the air planet. Again, he must convince those on these planets to also unite so they can prepare themselves for Erabon’s return.

He completes his mission and Erabon does return and sets up a utopian-type planet where they can all live in harmony and unity. The theme of unity through diversity is throughout. While, I feel, this trilogy is a fast-paced, fun-to-read story, there is more to it as well. Just like these followers of Erabon became fractionated, so have the followers of Christ become fractionated as well. Perhaps we need to take a lesson and understand how we can unite in Christ once more like they were in the early church in the book of Acts.

Many people want to believe in God and heaven but have a difficult time believing there is a devil and a hell. My series of four books, The Adversary Chronicles, deals with this topic. It takes several Bible stories and gives the reader a glimpse behind the curtain, so to speak. The biblical stories are told from the perspective of the archangel Mikael. We often read Bible stories like they are just that: stories. We often don’t really see the spiritual side and spiritual significance of what occurred behind the scenes of these biblical stories. My desire was to take the reader behind the scenes and let them see through spiritual eyes. The goal is to give the reader a new and renewed perspective of biblical stories they may have heard many times, but likely not in this way.

The first book of the series, whose title, Rebellion in the Stones of Fire, is a reference to Ezekiel 28:14: “you who walked among the fiery stones.” It covers Lucifer’s rebellion, God’s creation of Adam and Eve, as well as the time of Noah with the Nephilim and the Flood from the archangel Mikael’s point of view. These are stories most Christians have heard, but likely not in the way the book presents them. I think this novel will help people have a new and unique perspective of the God we serve.

The second book of this series, The Holy Grail of Babylon, is presented in a very unique way. While it is based upon the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, it is presented in the backdrop of a very science fiction storyline. I think many will be surprised by the story presented. The storyline is definitely fiction but fits into the story of Nimrod (which some have identified as Gilgamesh) and what his plan was for humanity as he was under the direction of the Adversary, Satan.

The next book, The Defining Curse, tells of the curse the prophet Jeremiah declared on the Judean king Jehoiachin and what that meant for the prophecy of the coming Jewish Messiah. It presents a scenario of what the prophet Daniel likely did not only for Jehoiachin and his family as well as for the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel’s proposed actions also explain many parts of the Christmas story regarding the Magi and who they were and why they traveled to Bethlehem. This story has a tremendous spiritual significance to it.

The fourth book, The Luciferian Plague, is not necessarily a biblical story as it is about modern times, but the spiritual aspect of the story is still there and ties it to the other biblically based stories. We are up against spiritual forces today just as much as people were in biblical times. This story helps to emphasize the scripture Ephesian 6:12 which states we do not struggle against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil. Yet, it is presented in a redeeming way.

All of these stories were written to help readers have a better appreciation and understanding of God and his love for them. I trust these stories will accomplish this for you.

Many people want to understand what happens in the future—especially their future. Believe it or not, the Bible gives us some pretty good clues as to what will occur. It doesn’t necessary give us the ‘when’ but does give us some of the ‘how.’ Interested?

I know there is a lot of controversy about how we get to Christ’s second coming, but I think the Bible is somewhat clear to many of the details of his reign. Yet, there are some things that seem to confuse, like the differences between the reigning Messiah, the identity of the Prince mentioned in the book of Ezekiel, and the future reign of king David which God promised to him during his earthly reign. Are these three different individuals? This is one of the reasons I wrote my series Stele Prophecy Pentalogy.

Although the series of five books are fiction from a storyline perspective, I feel they are really grounded in Scripture. The series provides a rationale as to how these three individuals I mentioned above are distinct in identity and purpose.

The first book of the series, Mercy of the Iron Scepter, starts out toward the end of Christ’s reign and goes on through the release of Satan back into the world. While we read of such in the book of Revelation, it seems almost too sensational to really be true. Yet, I present a scenario that shows how possible it is that all could happen as stated without having to subtract anything the Bible reveals, or any details provided. The book also shows how faith will still be needed to accept the Messiah as the hope for their future (just as we must do today). Although we get the Holy Spirit to guide as once we place our faith in him, my book reveals that this conduit of the Holy Spirit to our spirit will then become much more direct and profound. Our experience today is only a deposit of what we can expect once we are in Christ’s earthly kingdom (2Co 1:22). The next four books are prequels to this first book

The second book of the series, Promised Kingdom (and first prequel to Mercy of the Iron Scepter), tells how Christ’s Promised Kingdom comes about. The trigger is when the Messiah comes for his bride, the Church, which sets the stage for the Tribulation Period which brings all sorts of atrocities on this earth. While these atrocities affect everyone, it is mainly geared to drive all Israelites and Jews back to Israel since they are today living in almost every country of the world. This is the prophetic meaning to the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) as it was originally designed to remind God to remember his covenant with the nation of Israel. The reason for this is that the day of judgment (Yom Kippur) is fast approaching. The Israelites knew they had no righteous standing before a holy God except for the covenant he had made with them with Abraham and with them on Mount Sinai.

The third book of the series, Hope Renewed, is about the beginning of the Promised Kingdom and why sacrifices become a major part of this time of our future history. The storyline is about a priest, Ya’akov, who comes of age and must make a decision whether he will serve the Messiah is the capacity of the first priest born into the Messiah’s Promised Kingdom. He must decide if the destiny that the Messiah has ordained for him is what he believes is best for him. Ya’akov must go through the same mental journey that each of us must face: do we believe God has the best in store for us or do we believe our life is lacking something he has not provided for us.

The next book, Darkness in the Light, occurs about five hundred years later into the Promised Kingdom. This book deals with the Prince who Ezekiel mentions in his prophetic book. This individual is to lead the world into how to worship the Messiah. The story evolves into a love story between the Prince’s daughter, Me’ira, and someone not of royal birth. Both the Prince and Me’ira have tough decisions to make. Sometimes happiness doesn’t occur without heartache being involved in the process. This story will help readers understand who the Prince is in comparison to the Messiah and to King David. This story also helps us see that our Messiah cares for everyone equally.

The final book in this series, Iron in the Scepter, occurs just before the beginning of Mercy of the Iron Scepter. It tells of the story of Janet, one of the characters introduced in the first book, and helps readers understand the choices she made to cause her to be in the place we find her in the first book. She, like we, are the consequence of our choices and our view and acceptance of the Messiah. The Adversary uses our pride as a weapon against us. Some people lose that war while others can see the truth Scripture is trying to tell us. Janet’s journey is the journey of all of us. See if you can see glimpses of yourself in this story.

I hope you enjoy the Stele Prophecy Pentalogy. Hopefully, it will provide some clarity to what Scripture is telling us about this time of our future and its chronology. Plus, I feel the series provides some exciting, fast-paced stories for your enjoyment. I think you will find that these characters, even though they live in a time we all long for, are still people and must make many of the decisions that we today also must make. It’s still a story of decision and how our loving God wishes the best for us and encourages us to make the right decisions for our lives.

Even as the author, I still find these stories amazing and helpful as they remind me that we serve a loving God, and we will be able to serve him for all eternity. Isn’t that a hope to hold onto?

May God bless you richly.

Some say we’re going backwards if we take Ezekiel’s last vision (Ek 40-48) which God gave to him literally. After all, if Christ came and abolished the Law, then why would God say he would go back to a temple with a sacrificial system? Yet, if we look at this more closely, I think we will better understand the why and the need.

We need to understand the following: (1) what Adam’s rebellion caused; (2) the purpose of the Law; and (3) what opportunity Israel failed to fulfill. Understanding these three things help us to understand the need for a Millennium here on this earth, and why a sacrificial system would be re-established. Let’s look at each of these three points.

Did Adam really rebel? Is eating some fruit really that bad? Well, to be honest, any sin is an act of rebellion. What is rebellion anyway? It is knowing what is expected and then doing the opposite. Isn’t that what Adam and Eve did? God only had one rule for them: do not eat of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the middle of the garden (Gn 2:17). Yet, they disobeyed. After hearing the half-truths from the serpent, who was influenced by Satan himself, they believed these lies and doubted God. They doubted that God wanted the best for them and would supply the best for them. Isn’t that at the core of all sin. If we go against what God has told us, then we are really saying we don’t believe he has the best for us in his mind. He’s holding back, and we must take matters into our own hands. That’s what Adam and Eve did. They doubted, which lead to a change in their belief about God and his goodness, which led to actions against God’s will.

So what did Adam lose? Everything. God had established a theocratic kingdom with Adam ruling under God’s leadership. He had given Adam dominion over all the earth and its creatures, had told him and Eve to have many children, and asked them to lead the earth’s inhabitants with God as their ultimate authority. This was lost. Adam turned it over to Satan. How do we know this? We are told that Satan today is the prince of the power of the air (Ep 2:2), and when he tempted Christ in the wilderness, he offered all the kingdoms of the earth to Christ if he would only worship him. If these kingdoms were not his to give, he could not have offered them, and Christ would not have taken his offer so seriously.

So, what was the purpose of the Law? It was to show the wickedness of man. To help mankind understand they were not good on their own. It wasn’t about the sacrifices. God often stated he valued obedience over sacrifice (1Sa 15:22; Ho 6:6). He was always about the heart and not the sacrifice. The sacrifice did not forgive sin. It represented the horror of sin and what it ultimately causes, i.e., death (Ro 6:23). It has always been about faith – not sacrifice. Abraham believed, and it was counted to him as righteousness (Gn 15:6). This was the way before the Law was ever given. Even the prophet Habakkuk stated it had always been about faith (Hk 2:4). The Law pointed to the need of a Savior. It all pointed to Christ. He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill the law (Mt 5:17). Sacrifice also pointed to the fact that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Mt 26:28; Hb 10:18). Sin leads to death. Mankind needed a Savior.

When God created Israel as a nation at the base of Mt. Sinai, he told them they were to be a kingdom of priests to the world (Ex 19:6). They were to lead the world in the worship of God. Yet, they failed in his. They took the meaning of being God’s chosen people to make them feel superior to other peoples and not that they were chosen to be God’s ambassadors to the world. While many did do this, they did not as a nation. They missed a great opportunity.

God’s plans will never fail and nothing mankind does can ever thwart his plans. He has something to prove before he makes Satan and sin disappear forever. He will remove the curse that Satan and the rebellious act of Adam and Eve caused upon the earth and all mankind (Ac 3:19-21). While the earth will become a utopian-type society under his rule, there will still be people born into the kingdom who will be unsaved. While Satan will be removed from the earth for this period of time, man’s propensity to sin will not be removed. This will demonstrate man cannot blame his acts of rebellion on Satan’s influence alone. Therefore, they will need to understand their need for a Savior just like we do today. Why does this mean a sacrificial system will be needed to do this? This utopian society, with the curse lifted, will occur after what is called the first resurrection (where all the righteous will be resurrected from the dead; Rv 20:4-6). There is nothing recorded in Scripture that another resurrection of the righteous will occur. Therefore, it would seem that death has also been abolished, although those who rebel will be removed from the earth. It is not clear if others will actually see them die. So, the sacrificial system will be a demonstration of what death means and how it creates separation. In one sense it is a visual aid—a very graphic one—and will show the seriousness of the consequence of their disobedience. Since Christ will be physically present, there is a need for cleansing for worship of a holy God. The sacrificial system demonstrates this need for holiness and purity in the presence of someone holy (Ek 43:26; Zc 13:1). This will also fulfil God’s promise to Israel that they as a nation will lead the world in worship of the one true God.

And, why will it last for one-thousand years (Rv 20:3)? No one knows for sure, but could it be a way to demonstrate to Satan that Christ can build a kingdom which lasts longer than mankind can last on their own? Because of Satan and his influence, the world had to be destroyed with a flood to restore it (Gn 6:11-13). Adam lived for 930 years (Gn 5:5). Methuselah lived for 969 years (Gn 5:27). By Christ’s kingdom lasting one-thousand years, it shows his kingdom is superior to all that has come before. No sin, no disobedience, no acts of rebellion will be able to thwart God’s plan. God will rule forever. He has given us a chance to be a part of all of this. Are you going to accept what he offers?

Have you noticed in reading Scripture that when God prophesies so much destruction, he incorporates hope and a positive outcome in the end? Ever wonder why? Before we answer this question, let’s look at two of the stranger chapters in the Bible: Ezekiel 38 & 39.

Yet, it’s only strange when we take it out of context. Many biblical scholars discuss this chapter as it relates to future “end time” events. While, that is likely true, it doesn’t “just appear” out of the blue. If you recall what we discussed in the previous post, God had just prophesied much prosperity to Israel. Here, God is backtracking a little to show how they will get to that point, and how he will protect them and ensure them of the future he just promised them.

So, what did God say would happen?

God gives Ezekiel a prophecy of a future time when a league of nations led by a ruler whom he calls Gog, will come against the unified nation of Israel (Ek 38:2). Gog lives in the land of Magog, which seems to be a territory between and above the Caspian and Black Seas. Gog is also called the Prince of Meshech and Tubal, which are likely parts of southern Russia and Georgia. It seems Ezekiel is stating that Gog will form an alliance with Persia (Iran), Cush (Ethiopia), Put (Libya), and Gomer and Togarmah (northern Turkey and Armenia). Opposing these will be Sheba and Dedan (Arabia), and Tarshish (Western Europe).

Let’s take a pause here. Where did all these strange names originate? We can final almost all of them in the genealogy of Noah (Gn 10), who had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Gomer, Magog, Tubal, and Meshech were sons of Japheth. Togarmah and Tarshish were both grandsons of Japheth through Gomer and Javan, respectively. Persia included both Medes (descendants of Madai, son of Japheth) and Elam (son of Shem). Sheba and Dedan were great grandsons of Ham through his son Cush. Therefore, by following the genetic clues of how the population expanded, we get the likely locations of today’s nations from these ancient people. And, believe it or not, it all seems to fit into today’s scenario.

Ezekiel states that Israel will be attacked from the north, south, and east. Those attacking will have a four-fold agenda (Ek 38:11-12): (1) to obtain the wealth of Israel; (2) to control the Middle East; (3) to destroy Israel; and (4) to challenge the authority of the Antichrist. This attack likely occurs in the early reign of the Antichrist after he negotiates a treaty with Israel. It’s likely not later in his rule, because half-way through the Tribulation, the Antichrist himself turns against Israel. When this attack occurs against Israel, the Antichrist, Sheba and Dedan (southern Arabia), and Tarshish (western Europe) will be against the invasion.

It is interesting to note that scripture suggests that this Antichrist will have a ten-territorial kingdom and he will then take over three of them and rule them himself. I bring this up here because it seems to tie very well into what Ezekiel is prophesying here. It seems our United Nations has already had discussions of how to divide our world into ten socio-economic regions. Therefore, without too much imagination, one could envision how such a one could take advantage of this previous work to divide the world into such areas and set up someone to rule these areas under his ultimate control. It is also interesting that the nations mentioned here in Ezekiel all originate from three of the identified territories. So, it would seem very likely that the invasion mentioned here in Ezekiel is the reason these three territories then go under his direct rule (Dn 7:24) as he would have to depose these three leaders of these territories to make himself appear to be a man of peace, even though he is not. Why would he have to do this? Let’s follow on in Ezekiel.

Ezekiel prophesies that God will use several natural disasters to hinder these nations from invading Israel (Ek 38:19-22): (1) a great earthquake; (2) infighting among the troops of these nations doing the invading; (3) disease; and (4) torrential rain, hailstones, and fire with burning sulfur. He then prophesies of four key events as an outcome of the demise of these nations (Ek 39:4-29): (1) birds and beasts are called to gorge on the dead bodies; (2) burying of the dead takes seven months to complete; (3) the weapons left from the invasion of the dead army provide enough fuel to last seven years; and (4) blessings, restoration, and salvation is provided to Israel.

Although it is God Himself who actually saves Israel (Ek 38:21-23), the Antichrist will likely claim credit and get further respect from the other nations of the world who will then see him as one dedicated to peace. This will endear their devotion to him even more. In addition, this information also supports the invasion occurring very early in his reign since the weapons become fuel for seven years and the whole Tribulation period will last for seven years.

We can now go back to the first question asked in this post. God provides hope when he provides doom because he is after the hearts of people and nations. He is showing that his ultimate plan will prevail despite our suffering and what he has to do to get our attention. Through these prophecies, he has given us knowledge, choice, and hope. He gives us the knowledge to see what will be coming, the choice to decide if we are going to believe it and change our perspective, and he gives us hope so that if we do the first two, we will have a blessed future. Don’t you want a blessed future? It’s just a matter of faith. It has always been a matter of faith: in Ezekiel’s time as well as in ours. What do you say? Are you willing to learn from what has been given to us in scripture, choose to believe and put your faith in the only one who has paid our debt of sin to provide us a wonderful future, and receive the hope that is then tangible and so real it is almost palpable? Are you ready?

There is much talk these days about how prosperity is directly correlated to management alignment, but the bigger question is, are we aligned with God – the ultimate management. Ezekiel found himself asking not only his countrymen this question, but other surrounding nations the same question.

Ezekiel made many personal sacrifices, both of himself and his family, to try and get his people back in alignment with God’s plans for them. He used many visuals. The false prophets had given the people a visual of meat in a pot, stating they were protected from harm because they were inside the pot. Ezekiel now uses this same visual to show how that was not the case. Yes, they were the meat in the pot, but in Ezekiel’s visual, the fire boiled out all the water, consumed the flesh in the pot, and even charred the bones which remained. The same day, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem (Ek 24:3-9). This should have validated all that Ezekiel had told them – should have.

Ezekiel’s wife suddenly dies, and God tells him he is not allowed to mourn with the usual mourning customs in order to demonstrate to his people that their joy, their temple, was taken away from them and they would not be able to grieve outwardly either because of God’s judgment on them (Ek 24:17-18). Ezekiel was then struck dumb. He was unable to talk until an escapee from Jerusalem came and told them all that had happened to the city and the temple. Since the siege of Jerusalem lasted for almost two years, this is likely the length of time Ezekiel was unable to speak. God was using Ezekiel’s life as a sign to his people. God was serious and would do anything to get them to turn back to him.

Once Ezekiel got his voice back, he began to speak against nations that surrounded Israel: Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon, and Egypt. All these nations, or cities, had gloated and rejoiced when Jerusalem fell. Some were even distant relatives of Israel. Ammon and Moab were descendants of Lot who was Abraham’s nephew (Gn 19:33-28). Edom (Gn 36:1) was the brother of Jacob (whose name was later changed to Israel). Egypt was the country from which the Israelites came and occupied Canaan to form the nation of Israel and had been an enemy against Israel almost the entire time of its existence. Both Ammon and Moab would also be conquered and would not recover (Ek 25). God had stated that Israelites were not to mistreat an Edomite (Dt 23:7) because they were so closely related. Yet, Edom mistreated Israel. Edom would also be conquered by Nebuchadnezzar but would recover. In later years, it became known as Idumea and was the country from which King Herod who tried to kill the infant Jesus came. All three of these countries are now part of modern-day Jordan.

Philistines were Canaanites who God had told Israel to eliminate when Israel had first come into Canaan, but there were not annihilated and became a thorn to the Israelites. This was also the land from which Goliath came during the time of David. These people often sought revenge upon Israel (Ek 25:15). Ezekiel announced destruction upon the Kerethites, those strong bowmen who were the strength of Philistia, and who had escaped the destruction put upon them by Saul (1Sa 30:13), David (2Sa 8:18), Hezekiah (2Ki 18:8), and Psammetichus king of Egypt, who often made raids into Philistia (this was the son of Necho who encouraged Zedekiah to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar but then did not support him).

Tyre had friendly relations with Israel during the time of David and Solomon (1Ki 5:1; 2Ch 2:11). Apparently, these positive relations deteriorated once the nation of Israel split. Tyre rejoiced in the destruction of Jerusalem (Ek 26:2), so God would now allow Babylon to destroy the city. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city on the coast. Alexander the Great, 260 years later, destroyed the island city by using debris of the mainland city to build a causeway to the island. He used this causeway to bring his military might against the island city and destroyed it in 330 B.C. The destruction of Tyre caused the economy of many other cities to fail (Ek 27).

The ruler of Tyre was Ethbaal III who had so much pride he declared himself a god (Ek 28:2). He had a throne on the island city high on a mountain. Ezekiel then speaks to the one behind Ethbaal’s actions: Satan himself. Ezekiel tells him he had been in Eden, had been adorned with precious stones, had musical abilities, had been specially created for a special position with God to walk up and down in the middle of the stone of fire, and had been perfect before sin destroyed his relationship with God. Apparently, Satan had always wanted to dwell on high as Christ will one day and had used Ethbaal’s prominent palace to try and achieve that. God pronounced his destruction because of his sin of pride and vanity (Ek 28:16-17).

When Ezekiel turned to Sidon, he stated the city would be brought down through pestilence and war (Ek 28:23). Sidon was to originally be the northern part of the tribe of Asher; yet, they never conquered this part of Canaan. Jezebel, who became the wife of king Ahaz and helped corrupt him, came from here. This demonstrates that we never know the consequences of our inaction. It is always best to follow God’s promptings.

Ezekiel prophesied against Egypt over a two-year period (Ek 29-32). Pharaoh was filled with pride and identified himself with the crocodile god Sebek (Ek 29:3). Ezekiel stated Egypt would be humbled for 40 years, beginning with the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar (Ek 29:11).Egypt would recover, but never to prominence: Nebuchadnezzar defeated King Hophra of Egypt, Ahmose II became a vassal king to Babylon, 40 years later the Persians overtook Babylon, Egypt came back into prominence periodically but never as an independent nation (they were dependent upon Greece, then Rome, and later became as Islamic state), today the country is an Arab nation and the original Egyptians are not of prominence.

Ezekiel prophesied about Israel’s future. He stated Israel would no longer have malicious neighbors (Ek 28:25) and the people of Israel would be gathered from the nations where they had been scattered, and they would prosper. This prophesy goes beyond their historical return from Babylon years later (by the decree of the Media-Persian king Cyrus who conquered Babylon) to the Millennial Kingdom that will be set up by their coming Messiah.

The kingdom of Parthia likely had Semitic roots and its people became scattered throughout Europe when the Medes conquered Parthia. In the future, many will likely not even know they are of Israeli descent. This will be the miracle which God will bring about – more profound than the nation coming out of Egypt (Jr 23:7). This will be the celebration of Passover in the Millennium.

When these Parthians of Israeli tribal descents settled into Europe (and beyond), they were not necessarily of pure Israeli descent. Yet, they likely influenced these areas where they settled with their characteristics. They integrated with the people already living there. The longer time passed, the more integrated they became with the people of these areas. This is why this will be such a miracle by God. Those who don’t even know they are Israeli will be driven back to their homeland in Israel by the persecution of the coming Antichrist. Israel will be the only place where they can live with any hope of safety.

Isn’t it amazing how God’s plans always come about no matter the seemingly impossibility? That’s why we can rest in him. What he states is truth and will always be truth. Aligning with him is likely the best thing we can ever do. We will never regret it.

If you read the book of Ezekiel, you may conclude that everything God asked of Ezekiel was an unusual assignment. But, I think the assignments we will talk about today are hard for us to comprehend. There were four signs that God requested of Ezekiel to give to his people. This request came approximately six years before Jerusalem was totally destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, or three years before the siege occurred. During the siege, there was a severe famine within the city (2Ki 25:30). God wanted the people to understand how bad things would be. The signs Ezekiel were to portray are as follows:

Ezekiel was to draw the city of Jerusalem on a block of clay and lay siege against it to demonstrate what Nebuchadnezzar would do to the city (Ek 4:1-3). Think about it. How bizarre would it be to see a grown man taking little soldiers, archers, and catapults and pretending he is making war against a drawing of Jerusalem, your hometown. That would likely draw attention, don’t you think? And make people mad. After all, he is saying your beloved capital is going to fall when all the other prophets are saying their king Zedekiah would have ultimate victory over Nebuchadnezzar. After all, the Jews were God’s chosen people. Surely, he would not let Jerusalem, the place of his Name, go to complete ruin.

Next, Ezekiel took it a step further. While he was doing his simulation of the siege against Jerusalem, he was to lie on his left side daily for 390 days to represent the years (a day for each year) Israel had been living in rebellion against God. This would represent the time in Israel’s history from when the judges ruled Israel to the time Israel was taken captive by Assyria. After that, he was then to lie on his right side for 40 more days to represent the time (again, a day for a year) Judah had been living in rebellion against God (Ek 4:4-8). This time may represent the reign of Manasseh, who God had stated was one of the most wicked kings who lead Judah into many sinful practices (2Ki 21:9-27). Think how long this is—over a year! Imagine seeing Ezekiel day after day after day doing this. I’m sure many asked why he was doing this. You would either just chalk him up to being crazy, or you would start to wonder if his message was true. I’m sure most did the former.

It didn’t end there. Ezekiel was to take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, put them in a storage jar, and use them to make bread. That doesn’t sound so bad, right? Well, get this: he could use only eight ounces per day to make bread and drink on a little over a pint of water each day (Ek 4:9-13). On top of this, the bread was to be cooked using cow dung! I’m sure this got a lot of stares and a lot of ‘yuk’s. This was definitely not kosher. And that was the point. Conditions would get so bad in Jerusalem that people would do anything, and eat anything, to stay alive for as long as possible. Ezekiel was probably lucky the paddy wagon didn’t come for him, or whatever was the equivalent in his day.

Believe it or not, there’s more! Next, Ezekiel was to demonstrate the humiliation and hardships of those who would be left in Jerusalem by shaving his head and beard. Everyone would have found this to be very odd behavior. Men just did not do that in his day and age—especially if they were priests, which Ezekiel was. He didn’t just shave his head and beard, but then divided the hair into three equal portions. One-third he burned in the fire (to represent the disease and plagues which would sweep the land), one-third he further cut with a knife (to represent those who would be slain with the sword), and one-third he threw into the wind (to represent those who would flee in all directions but be destroyed). A few hairs were left on Ezekiel’s clothes. These hairs represented the few who would be spared but would still endure hardship (Ek 5:1-4).

These are strange things. Some say these are too strange to even believe. Yet, God stated these people were very stubborn, so he had to get their attention. Strange tends to do that. For some reason, even though Ezekiel’s audience were already in captivity, they still did not believe their famous, and precious, city of Jerusalem would be destroyed. Ezekiel was trying to get them to see that their turning away from God was the cause, and it would definitely happen. Yet, are we any different today? The Bible tells our future and the direction we are headed. We can either be on his side or not. What happens to us and our country depends on where we ultimately stand. Will we heed Ezekiel?

The book of Ezekiel has a lot to do with us understanding Biblical prophecy. Many think Biblical prophecy only refers to what is in Revelation, but, believe it or not, there is more in the Old Testament about future prophecy than is in the New Testament. Ezekiel is a key book to our understanding of our future.

But first, we need to understand the time in which Ezekiel lived. Both Jeremiah and Daniel were contemporary prophets to Ezekiel, although Ezekiel was the youngest of the three. Daniel was ten years younger than Jeremiah, and Ezekiel was 6 years younger than Daniel. Ezekiel was born during the time of King Josiah, who was the last good king of Judah. Josiah became king when he was only 8 years of age. Over the next 12 years, he started making many reforms and instituted the largest celebration of Passover since the time of the prophet Samuel (2Ch 35:18). When Josiah was about 25 years of age, he started making significant temple repairs and discovered the book of The Law in the temple remains (2Ch 34:8-21). This was the time in which Ezekiel was born.

Ezekiel was born into a time of revival in Judah and Jerusalem. Since he was the son of a priest (Ek 1:3), he likely grew up with a full knowledge of who God was and of God’s significance not only for Judah, but for him personally. He was likely trained to be a priest after his father. When Ezekiel was 13 years of age, king Josiah went to fight King Necho of Egypt (2Ch 35:20). The reason for him doing this is not clear. Yet, the Scythians had ruled Palestine during the time of Josiah and they had good relations and allowed Josiah’s reforms to spread all the way to north of Galilee in Naphtali (2Ch 34:6-7). Because some of the Scythians had plotted with Babylon against the Assyrians, Josiah may have wanted to prevent King Necho from reaching the Assyrians to provide aid. More than likely, Necho wanted the Assyrians and Babylonians to annihilate each other so he could regain control of the area.

Josiah headed off King Necho and his army at Megiddo, the pass through the Carmel mountains as one comes up the Way of the Sea (2Ch 35:22). Yet, Josiah was wounded with an arrow, was taken back to Jerusalem, and died (2Ch 35:23-24). King Necho and his Egyptian army headed to Carchemish where the battle between Assyria and Babylon commenced. While Babylon conquered Assyria, Necho pushed the Babylonians back. Likely to show his dominance, and probably for spite, King Necho took Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz, to Egypt and put Josiah’s eldest son, Eliakim as king and changed his name to Jehoiakim (2Ch 36:1-4).

It seems King Necho went back to Carchemish and was this time defeated by the Babylonians, through the skill of Nebuchadnezzar, and pushed Necho all the way back to the Egyptian border. Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem and captured Jehoiakim. Yet, he was called back to Babylon because of the death of his father Nabopolassar. He therefore left Jehoiakim in charge put imposed taxation (2Ch 36:5-7). He also took many prominent people captive at this time—one of them being Daniel, who was likely 23 years of age at the time.

A few years later, Egypt and Babylon fight in Gaza. Although Babylon wins, they encounter heavy losses by the hand of Egypt. Jehoiakim then decides he will no longer pay taxes to Babylon. Three years later, Nebuchadnezzar returns to Jerusalem to collect his taxes. Before he arrives, Jehoiakim is killed by a raiding party, being thrown over the city’s wall (2Ki 23:2; Jr 36:30-31). His son, Jehoiachin, is made king, but reigns for only three months before Nebuchadnezzar arrives, who deposes Jehoiachin and made Josiah’s other son, Mattaniah, king and changed his name to Zedekiah (2Ch 36:9-10). Jehoiachin is taken to Babylon with about 10,000 other captives—one of whom was Ezekiel, being 25 years of age. So, Ezekiel is taken away from the temple before he was able to become a priest. Priests must be 30 years of age to be a priest (Nu 4:23).

Ezekiel is taken to a Tel-Abib, a place just south of Babylon on the Chebar canal which is a tributary of the Euphrates River. After being in captivity for five years, God gives him a vision and charges him to be a prophet to both those Jews in Babylonian captivity and to those Jews back in Jerusalem.

It is interesting that God revealed himself to Ezekiel when Ezekiel turned thirty, the age he would have begun his priestly duties at the temple if he was still in Jerusalem. God gave him an even greater duty—to be a prophet to the people he was to have served as a priest. He was still going to be serving them and pointing them to God in a way he never would have as a priest.

The same can be true for us as well if we are willing. While we have plans that seem to fail, if we trust in what God has for us, we may find he has something even greater in store for us than we could ever have imagined. Are you looking for that opportunity? That is what God is looking for. Have the right attitude and the willing heart and God will use you mightily. I wish you much success in your walk with the Lord.

There is actually a lot of prophecy concerning Christ’s first coming to the earth. One can debate one or a few, but as the number of prophecies and their fulfillment grows, one must take a mental pause and really think about this. Could one person really fulfill all these prophecies? I think the odds are very low.

As we start toward the holiday season, I think this is an appropriate time to really look and see what Scripture says about his first coming. I have listed several of them below. Take a look.

Prophecy                                                                                                              Fulfillment

Did you count them? I have listed 70 of them, but this is not an all-inclusive list. Do you really think one person could fulfill all of these and manipulate his life and those of others to make them happen? No, no one could do that. After all, many of them were outside his control.

So what do we do with this? I would encourage you to go over this list again, look up the verses, and research this for yourself. Maybe what you’ve been thinking was not quite as accurate as you thought. And, if all of these turned out to be true, then the rest of scripture would also be true. He came once. He’s coming a second time. Will you be ready?

Many feel Biblical prophecy is too controversial and so is not worth studying. Yet, when one looks at Biblical prophecy, there are basically three types of prophecy: 1) things which were supposed to happen immediately [e.g., the prophet Micaiah prophesied against Ahab stating he would die that day in battle (1Ki 22:28); Elijah prophesied of no rain for three years (1Ki 17:1)]; 2) short term prophecy which was to happen relatively soon [e.g., captivity of Israel (Is 8:1-10, Ho 9:1-17; captivity of Judah (Jr 25:1-14)], and 3) long term prophecy which was to happen in the distant future [e.g., reign of Messiah (Is 9:6-7; 60:1-22)]. Also, a prophecy could have a combination of any of these. The reason for this is the understanding of the purpose of Biblical prophecy.

All prophecy had an immediate meaning and purpose for the people of the day in which it was given. Prophecy was never given for prophecy sake. It was never simply to let those who lived in later years to know what was going to happen. While we can certainly benefit from this information which was provided, we must remember that prophecy was first and foremost about changing people’s hearts. God has a future for both individuals and for kingdoms and wants us to be a part of his designed future. Therefore, he has given us glimpses of what that future might be like. Yet, his main goal was to change the hearts of people to respond to him in the right way.

The main purpose of prophecy also answers the question to our post. Prophecy becomes controversial when one tries to view it differently than its original intent. In almost every case where a prophecy of doom was given, it was followed with a prophecy of hope. The hope was usually of a future event. That is why we can be assured these are tangible future prophetic events: for the simple reason they were to instill hope. If hope is not tangible, it is not hope. How can one inspire someone on allegory? It is impossible. Only the promise of tangible events can inspire hope. For example, God showed Ezekiel he was removing his Spirit from the temple before it was to be taken and destroyed by the Babylonians (Ek 10-11). Of course, Ezekiel wanted to know if and when God would return. Therefore, God gave Ezekiel specific details of a new temple which would come where he would dwell with his people (Ez 40-43). If this had been allegory, this would not have produced the hope for which Ezekiel sought.

In order to understand prophecy which is not provided chronologically, there are a few things we must keep in mind. We have already covered one important one: the events are tangible. In addition, one prophecy cannot contradict another. While not provided in chronological order, we can place them in chronological order if we keep the following additional things in mind. First, they all refer or involve the nation of Israel. Second, their fulfillment will follow the pattern of those already fulfilled. For example, the prophetic significance of the feasts of Israel not yet fulfilled (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot) will follow the same pattern as those already fulfilled (e.g., Pesach/Matzah/Bikkurim: death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; Shavuot: gift of the Holy Spirit to all believers, both Jew and Gentile). Third, the prophecy in the New Testament will not contradict the prophecy in the Old Testament. As all ancient Jews knew, the culmination of prophecy was the dwelling of their Messiah with his people forever. Therefore, these prophecies will have a chronological order to them with a Jewish basis but will have tangential benefits for Gentiles as well.

This is also why God included the Sabbath as part of the feasts he mentioned in Leviticus 23 and why he concluded the feasts with Jubilee. As it was in the beginning so will it be in the end. God started with perfection and will end with the same. And the good part is that he has prepared a way for all of us to be a part of his eternal perfection. Isn’t that wonderful. Isn’t God good?

The purpose of the previous posts on the timing of prophetic fulfillment was to illustrate a number of prophecies in the Bible which have come true. Also, the examples were chosen to help emphasize the number of years between the initial prophecy and its fulfillment had little to do with the exactness of the fulfillment. In other words, just the indication that the prophecy was of, or from, God was enough to ensure the prophecy would indeed come true. Because the Bible has so many prophecies which have come true, their fulfillment is supportive to the assurance that the prophecies which have not yet come true will still be fulfilled. As stated, we cannot use the argument of time to suggest they will not be fulfilled since time seems to have had little impact on the prophecies that have so far come true. One reason of this could be that God operates on a timescale different from ours (2Pt 3:8-9) and the rationale for His timescale can probably not be determined (Is 55:9). It essentially boils down to faith. If you can trust God is the author of truth (Jn 14:6, 17) as well as His Word (Jn 17:17), then what has been stated and has not yet been fulfilled is just as valid and binding as that which has been stated and has been fulfilled.

How do we accept Truth? The simple, but important, answer to acceptance is faith. This is very different from a belief in something. Belief does not necessarily lead to truth. After all, many good people have done many bad things in their misguided belief of truth. People used to believe the earth was flat and the center of the universe or solar system, and those who believed otherwise were ‘heretics,’ worthy of punishment—even death. Although their belief was sincere, it did not change the fact that the earth is a sphere and not the center of the solar system, the galaxy, or the universe. Faith on the other hand is as old as time itself and has always led to truth. It was true before the Law was given to the Israelites through Moses: Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (i.e., a correct relationship to the will of God) (Gn 15:6). It was true for those under the Law: Habakkuk stated the just would live by faith (Hk 2:4). It is also true today: both Jew and Gentile are justified (i.e., declared—not made—righteous) by faith (Ro 3:27-31). It will also be true during the Tribulation (after the rapture, or the Receiving, and removal of the restraint of the Holy Spirit [2Th 2:7-8]) since many will have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rv 7:14) indicating their faith and acceptance in what the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ accomplished for them—reconciliation with God (Ro 3:21-26). It is a matter of choice that must be made in this life. There are no second chances once this life is over (Ec 11:3).

So, the time and decision is for now. Will you make it?

Year of Prophecy: 1332 BC (Leviticus 23, 25)

Year of Fulfillment: Still in the future

Time until fulfillment: >3354 years (not yet fulfilled)

As noted in previous posts, there were three feasts which occurred in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. They, too, had practical application to the nation of Israel when they were first instituted, but they also referred to future events that are also in our future today. These are discussed in this post.

Beginning of the Tribulation (the last 7-year period prior to Christ’s 2nd Coming)

The Remembrance of Israel as Foreshadowed by:

Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah (1st day of the seventh month: Lv 23:23-25)

The Feast of Trumpets is also known as the Feast of Remembrance or the Feast of Memorial and is known by modern Jews as the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). The Jewish New Year celebration probably reflects the Jewish civil calendar rather than the sacred one since the month in which the Passover occurs was originally instituted as the first month of the Jewish year (Ex 12:2). This feast occurs on the first day of the seventh month. The times of its celebration recorded in scripture are few (1Ki 8:1-66 and 2Ch 5:1-7:10; Er 3:1-5; Ne 8:1-9:38), but each event was a memorial to remember what God had done for them. Each of these occurrences had the following events in common: the people gathered and acted as a nation, they gathered in Jerusalem near the Temple, they renewed their covenant relationship with God, they began sacrifices, they celebrated the feasts, and God responded to the people on a national level. In each event, the nation of Israel was asking God to remember them and to restore His relationship with them, as Jeremiah pleaded to God for His remembrance of Israel and to “renew our days as of old” (La 5:21).

As mentioned in prior posts, the Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) was the beginning of the Church Age at which time Israel as a nation was temporarily set aside until the required number of Gentiles are saved (Ro 11:25). At that point, the rapture (or The Receiving) occurs, and all Christians are removed from the Earth. God then “remembers” His covenant with Israel (Ro 11:26; Jr 31:33-34) and His main focus is back on Israel as a nation. There is probably an unspecified period of time between the rapture and this “remembrance” of Israel since the first is a focus on the Church and the latter is a focus on the nation of Israel. During this time, 144,000 Jewish people will be saved and act as evangelists to their fellow Jews and to the world at large (Rv 7:4-8, 14:1-5). Therefore, this feast is symbolic of the beginning of what is known as the Tribulation Period.

Christ’s 2nd Coming as Foreshadowed by:

Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur (10th day of the seventh month: Lv 23:26-32)

This feast was different from the others in that it was first for contrition and then celebration (Lv 23:32). This was the day the high priest made a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people (Lev 16). The atonement was a cleansing of both the items used in the ceremony (Holy of Holies, Tabernacle, and brazen altar) as well as individuals (priests, high priest, all the people) indicating atonement was not just a covering of sin, but a cleansing of sin as well.  Today, the focus is on the individual rather than a nation, and during the 10 days prior to the Day of Atonement (called the Ten Days of Penitence), one is strongly encouraged to repent: prayers are said, good deeds are done, and fasting is common.

These actions of the high priest in Leviticus pointed toward what Christ was to do for mankind. Atonement is a process instituted and initiated by God. Christ has redeemed us by addressing the price, penalty, and condemnation of sin which separates us from God (Jn 3:16-18). This action has to be done by a third party. Just as Boaz operated as a kinsman-redeemer to redeem Ruth (Ru 4), Christ operated as our redeemer to pay the debt owed to God to redeem us from sin (Cl 1:14). Christ became our propitiation (appeasement) by addressing the righteous wrath of God, for God is holy and expects us to be the same (Lev 11:44). Christ’s death on the cross satisfied God, appeased His wrath, and allowed us to become clean and useful to God (Ro 3:25, 1Jn 2:2, 4:10). Christ reconciled us by addressing our stand with God. Christ’s death on the cross restored the fellowship between us and God (2Co 5:18-19). The path to be reconciled is now open, yet we must accept it (Ro 6:23; Cl 1:20). Christ cleansed us by addressing the domination of sin. Christ’s death on the cross removed sin’s domination over the old nature (2Co 5:17) and as we confess the sin, God performs the cleansing from the sin (1Jn 1:9).

Since atonement also involves inanimate objects and allows them to be used in service to God, Christ will utilize this aspect of atonement for Israel at a future time and make the nation of Israel useful for God’s service. This will occur at the Second Coming of Christ at which time Christ will reconcile and restore the relationship between Himself and Israel (Zc 12:10 - 13:9).

Tribulation, Great Tribulation and Antichrist

These are not part of the feasts, but occur between the last two sections just mentioned. The chronological time between the “awakening of Israel” after the rapture and the resorted relationship of Israel back to God is the time of the Tribulation. It has its beginning sometime after the rapture when the Antichrist makes a covenant with Israel (Dn 9:27). The Antichrist is the one whom Satan uses to set up a one-world government and attempts to destroy all those who oppose him (Dn 7:15-25). At the end of 3½ years, the Antichrist will revoke his covenant with Israel and desecrate the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem with his own image (Dn 9:27) and seek to destroy all of Israel (Jr 30:4-7; Rv 12). The last 3½ years will be a time of great trouble for Israel (Jr 30:5-7; Zp 1:14-18) with natural calamities never before experienced (Hg 2:6-9; Rv 8:6-13) and is therefore termed “Great Tribulation.” Those in Jerusalem will be pushed to the brink of annihilation (Zc 14:1-2). They have no place to turn but to call upon their Messiah who comes to fight for them (Zc 12:5, 14:3-5), and they recognize the true identity of their Messiah (Zc 12:10-14), the one pierced—Jesus Christ (Jn 19:37; Rv 1:7).

The Millennium Kingdom (1000-year reign of Christ on Earth) as Foreshadowed by:

Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot (15th to 21st day of the seventh month: Lv 23:33-43)

Although this feast had an agricultural connection (Dt 16:13-17), this did not seem to be its main emphasis, and it did not seem to really be about the 40-year wandering of Jews due to the emphasis on celebration (Lv 23:39-41; Dt 16:13-15), and the elements of the booths’ construction (Lv 23:40). Therefore, it was likely more about God’s provision for them rather than their lack during their time of wandering, and pointed to the time of future rest which they did not have in the wilderness.  Although entering the Promised Land served as a type of rest for Israel from their wanderings (Js 23:1), the book of Judges points out the temporary nature of this ‘rest’ (Jd 2:10-19). There was a more permanent rest to which this feast pointed (Hb 4:8-11). After Christ returns to earth and destroys Israel’s enemies at His second coming (Is 63:1-6; Zc 14:3, 12-14), removes the unrighteous (Mt 24:36-51), and sets up His earthly 1,000-year kingdom (Zc 8:3, 14:9; Rv 20:4), Israel will be the one favored of all people and will enjoy the rest they have not had all during the nation’s existence (Zc 8:4-22). This feast will also be celebrated during this time—not only for Israel but for everyone (Zc 14:16-21) since spiritual cleansing will be an emphasis to all those dwelling on the earth during this time (Zc 14:8, 16, 21).

The New Heavens and Earth as Foreshadowed by:

The Jubilee (Lv 25:1-55)

In the seventh month of every 49 years (seven Sabbaths of years, Lv 25:8), on the Day of Atonement, the 50th year was consecrated and liberty was proclaimed (Lv 25:10). All property was to be returned to its original owner, and all people were to return to their own clans (Lv 25:10). One was not to sow or harvest during this 50th year (Lv 25:11-12). Jubilee was to be used to determine the value of land and property that was sold. One was to ascertain when the next Jubilee was to occur and base the price on the number of years until the next Jubilee, because both land and property (including individuals who had sold themselves in order to live) would return to their owners or clans during the year of Jubilee (Lv 25:14-17).

Although this is not a formal feast as were the others, this does tie into the other feasts and to the regular Sabbath (Lv 23:3). Before explaining the feasts in Leviticus 23, God stated to not forget the pattern established back in the beginning (Gn 2:2; Lv 23:3). As the Sabbath of rest of creation pointed to the completion of creation (Gn 2:1), to the rest (or satisfaction) God had in His creation (Gn 2:2), and to the perfect state of God’s creation (Gn 1:31), so the Sabbath year of rest (Jubilee) points to the end of history when all will be returned to the perfect state God had in the beginning and we will be forever with the Lord (2Pt 3:13; Rv 21:4-7).

In Leviticus 25, the Jubilee required all land and people be returned to their original owners and clans (Lv 25:10). This Jubilee also points toward the new heavens and earth where the eternity of rest (Hb 4:9) is entered and the original, perfect state is again attained. The present earth cannot enter because of sin. Just as our spirits groan and wait eagerly for the redemption of our bodies (Ro 8:23), so does all of creation (Ro 8:22) because of the sin imposed upon it by Adam (Ro 8:20). It, too, can be liberated from the bondage of decay to which it is now subjected (Ro 8:21). Knowing God is unique and devoid of sin (Lv 19:2), and demands even inanimate objects of worship to be cleansed from sin (Lv 16:16), the earth cannot enter into eternity in its present state. God will therefore cleanse the earth with fire so that His righteousness can dwell there (2Pt 3:10, 13).

What a rich heritage God gave to the Jews. One day, all of this can be your heritage as well. Everyone wants a bright and promising future. God is providing it, are you going to accept it?

Year of Prophecy: 51 AD (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Year of Fulfillment: Still in the future

Time until fulfillment: >1971 years (not yet fulfilled)

We have been talking about prophecies which have already been fulfilled. Yet, there are several important prophecies which have not yet been fulfilled. One of them is known as the Rapture. Let’s explore it here.

The name “Rapture” comes from the Greek word harpadzo (found in 1Th 4:17) which means “to seize or carry off.” Paul is referring to the translation of the church from earth to heaven. I prefer to call this “The Receiving” because it is tied to the traditional view of a Jewish wedding. The details have already been provided in previous post. Yet, it shows the bridegroom comes to receive his bride unexpectedly; yet she is expected to be found ready. She then goes back with her husband to his father’s house where he has prepared a place for them to live. Doesn’t that sound very similar to these verses in 1 Thessalonians? It is also similar to what Christ told his disciples before he was taken and crucified (Jn 14:1-3). To me, the phrase “The Receiving” sounds more personal and intimate.

From the time of Pentecost in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit was given to each individual believer in Christ until the present day, the Church Age has existed. The initial Christians were Jewish, and it was not until the Jerusalem church started undergoing persecution (Ac 8:1-3) that the Jewish Christians (true Jews or Jewish proselytes) were scattered throughout the known world and continued to talk to others about Christ (Ac 8:4), which eventually led to Gentiles becoming Christians (Ac 10:23-48). God using Paul to become an Apostle to the Gentiles (Ac 9:15). As the Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) represented, the Church (i.e., the believers in Christ) is composed of all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile (Ro 1:16). As a whole, more Gentiles became Christians than did Jews; however, Paul taught that this was by God’s design. This would be true until the “full number of the Gentiles has come in” (Ro 11:25). However, God has not turned His back on the Jews (Ro 11:26). The Rapture, or The Receiving, is the event which will end the Church Age. It occurs somewhat before the Tribulation Period (this is the start of the future prophecy of the Feasts of Israel ). At the time of God’s choosing, those Christians who are dead will rise in an incorruptible body, and those alive will be changed instantaneously into an incorruptible body (1Co 15:51) and will meet Christ in the air to be with Him forever (1Th 4:13-18).

As we have seen earlier, almost all of the prophecies that deal with Israel as a nation have had a timetable given to them, if people were diligent enough to understand them. However, although the rapture is prophesied (1Co 15:51-53; 1Th 4:13-18), its timing is unknown and there is no scripture that gives a timetable for it. Some believe there is reference to this event in Old Testament scripture in poetic terms (SS 2:8-14); however, Paul called the rapture a “mystery” (1Co 15:51). Therefore, it was not a recognized Old Testament teaching. The apostles and the early Church taught the imminency of Christ’s return (e.g. Pp 3:20, 4:5; 1Th 1:10; Tt 2:13; Ja 5:7-9; 1 Jn 2:28; Rv 22:20), implying things may occur before the imminent event, but there is nothing that must occur before it happens.

As stated above, the bride was expected to be ready at all times. Are you ready for your bridegroom? What if he came today? Would you be smiling and ready to receive him or miss him because you weren’t looking for him?

Birth, Death, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension

Year of Prophecy: © 3760 BC (Genesis 3:15)

Year of Fulfillment:  3 BC (birth: Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-7)

Time until fulfillment: 3757 years

There are many prophecies in the Bible regarding the birth of Christ, but Genesis 3:15 is the first. There are too many prophecies with correct fulfillment to be mere coincidence. A few are the following: a descendant of King David and of King Solomon (2Sa 7:12-17, 1Ch 28:4-5; Mt 1:1, 6-7), would be preceded by a forerunner (Is 40:3, Ml 3:1; Mk 1:2-4, Mt 3:1-3), born of a virgin (Is 7:13-14; Mt 1:18-25, Lk 1:26-35), the time of His coming given (Da 9:24-27; Mk 11:1-11, Lk 19:29-38), the place of birth given (Mi 5:2-3; Lk 2:1-7, Mt 2:1-6), and a celestial announcement of His birth (Nu 24:17; Mt 2:1-2). With the birth of Eve’s first son, Cain, there was hope that God’s promise was being fulfilled since his name probably meant ‘acquired.’ However, Cain turned out to be the first murderer! Satan had lost no time. He was at work in the life of Cain (Jn 8:44) and has worked throughout history to try and prevent Christ’s birth and the effectiveness of those serving Christ.

Christ’s death was also foretold. Christ was betrayed by a friend (Ps 41:9; Jn 13:21) for 30 pieces of sliver (Zc 11:12; Mt 26:15, Lk 22:5) which was used to buy a potter’s field (Zc 11:13; Mt 27:9-10), forsaken by friends (Zc 13:7; Mt 26:56), accused by false witnesses (Ps 35:11; Mt 26:60), silent to accusations (Is 53:7; Mt 27:14), spat upon, smitten and scourged (Is 50:6, 53:5; Mt 27:26, 30), was crucified with criminals (Is 53:12; Mt 27:35), was pierced (Zc 12:10; Jn 19:34) but no bones were broken (Nu 9:12, Ps 34:20; Jn 19:33-36), and was buried with the rich (Is 53:9; Mt 27:57, 60). In addition, Christ’s resurrection was foretold (Ps 16:10-11, 49:15; Mk 16:6) as well as His ascension (Ps 68:18, 110:1; Lk 24:51, Acts 1:9).

One event in and of itself may not be convincing, but the sheer number of the events which were prophesied and fulfilled become overwhelmingly persuasive. As we see above, it was almost 4000 years before Christ came after God stated He would come, but the timing of His coming was as God desired (Gal 4:4). During the interval between the prophecy and its fulfillment, God allowed so many prophecies to be stated. This should have been overwhelmingly convincing to everyone when Christ did arrive on the scene. However, doubt is a very effective tool used by Satan (Gen 3:1). We should not allow time to be a factor in our thinking of prophetic fulfillment because the concept of time is a human phenomenon and not God’s (2 Pet 3:8). Our source of belief should be on what God said and not the time it takes for its fulfillment.

Year of Promise: © 1295 BC (Joshua 9:1-27)

Year of Promise Broken: © 1051 (2 Samuel 21:1)

Time until fulfillment: ~ 244 years

As previously noted, God made many prophecies through people He chose to speak for Him. These usually spoke proclaiming their words were directly from God. However, others spoke prophecies that they themselves spoke, although they were God inspired. In addition, God sometimes held people to the promises they made as well. An example of that is presented here.

When Joshua and the Israelite army started their conquests in Canaan, the people from the town of Gibeon decided to try trickery to save their lives. God had told the Israelites to drive out completely all those who lived in Canaan, over time, and not to make any covenants with them (Ex 23:31-33). However, having seen their neighbors being wiped out by Israel, the people of Gibeon, descendants of the Amorites (2Sa 21:2) of whose land was promised to Israel through Abraham (Gn 15:21) and who lived in a nearby section of Canaan, put on old clothes, packed moldy bread, and feigned they had traveled a long distance. They did this so they could make a peace treaty with Israel and would agree to be their servants if Israel agreed to spare their lives (Js 9:1-13). Joshua and the leaders, knowing God’s command to them about the inhabitants of Canaan (Js 9:7), did not trust them at first, but later believed them. Yet, they did not seek the Lord in regard to their decision (Js 9:14). Later, Joshua found out about the ruse, and made the Gibeonites slaves to Israel (Js 9:15-27).

However, during the time of Saul, the first king of Israel (1Sa 11:17-25), Saul tried to annihilate the Gibeonites (2Sa 21:2) and God showed his displeasure by sending a 3-year famine during the reign of King David (2Sa 21:1). The reason God did this is unknown but may be tied to the command God had given Israel, which stated the alien within their land should be treated as native-born (Lv 19:33-34). When David asked the Gibeonites what they wanted for retribution, they replied they wanted seven of Saul’s sons delivered to them for execution (2Sa 21:6). This was done and later, David gathered their remains as well as those of Saul and Jonathan, who had previously died in battle, and buried them in a family tomb within Saul’s family (2Sa 21:7-14), and God again blessed the land (2Sa 21:14).

You may find this a bizarre story. I will admit it is one of the more unusual stories in the Bible. Yet, it does show how seriously God takes his promises and the promises of those who he has placed in charge. Even after 200 years, God still held to what Joshua had promised the Gibeonites. Maybe Saul focused on the deception of the Gibeonites and felt he was being patriotic by taking them out. This is a caution to us to understand carefully the history of an event before we take action based upon our own beliefs without all the facts. God upheld Joshua’s original promise, and Saul should have also. I think we can see time is inconsequential to God. We cannot use it as an excuse.

Year of Prophecy: © 1745 BC (Genesis 49:5-7)

Year of Fulfillment: © 1295 BC (Joshua 19:1-9; 21:1-42)

Time until fulfillment: ~ 450 years

As we have noted, God made many prophecies through people He chose to speak for Him. These usually spoke as their words being directly from God. However, others spoke prophecies that they themselves spoke, although they were God inspired. One example of this was Jacob pronouncing that both Simeon and Levi would have no major inheritance.

When Jacob was on his deathbed, he gathered his sons around him and stated what would happen to them in coming years (Gn 49:1). For Simeon and Levi, he stated the following, “I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel” (Gn 49:7). The reason for this goes back to earlier days of Jacob’s life when he had left his father-in-law, Laban, to return to be near his father. He dwelt in Shechem in Canaan and bought a plot of ground there (Gn 33:18-19). Jacob’s daughter, Dinah (and the sister to Simeon and Levi), started interacting with the local women and became involved with the son of Hamor, the ruler of that area. Hamor’s son wanted to marry her but had already had intercourse with her prior to this request (Gn 34:2-4). Simeon and Levi were enraged at this but kept their anger to themselves—for a time. They told Hamor that in order for his son to marry Dinah, all the males of the city had to be circumcised. While the men were still very sore and unable to fight well, Simeon and Levi killed every male and brought their sister back to their home (Gn 34:13-31). Jacob was very displeased with his sons, and scolded them, but took no further action (Gn 34:30-31).

Hundreds of years passed after Jacob’s prediction. The Israelites were made slaves in Egypt for 430 years (Ex 12:40), they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years (Js 5:6), and they had several years of conquest before each tribe finally had their inheritance provided (Js 13-21). Who remembered what Jacob said by that time? Also, there was no specific attempt in Joshua 13-21 to limit these two inheritances. However, God did not forget. The tribe of Levi became the priests, and they had no specific parcel of land, but had certain cities throughout the land assigned to them (Js 21). Simeon was given an inheritance within the territory of Judah (Js 19:1-9). Therefore, Simeon had no clearly defined area, just a number of cities mentioned. Later, by the time the kingdom of Israel was divided into the Northern (Israel) and Southern (Judah) kingdoms (1Ki 12), Simeon is not mentioned. The Southern Kingdom was stated to be composed of Judah and Benjamin (1Ki 12:21). There is some evidence that some descendants of Simeon migrated east of the Jordan (1Ch 4:38-43) and may have been taken captive with the Northern Kingdom by Assyria.  However, for the most part, it seems that most of Simeon had been absorbed into Judah’s territory. God ensured that Jacob’s prediction came true. The process of time did not change the outcome. Although people forgot, God did not.

I think this helps us to see that we can rely upon what God promises or what is recorded in his Word. We may think time has a way of diluting or dissolving things, but we would be wrong.

Year of Prophecy: © 1462 BC (Leviticus 23)

Year of Fulfillment:  32 AD (Matthew 21:1-11; 27:32 - 28:15; Mark 11:1-11; 15:21 - 16:14; Luke 19:28-44; 23:26 - 24:12; John 12:12-19; 19:16 - 20:18; Acts 2)

Time until fulfillment: ~ 1494 years

The prophecy through the feast of Israel is an example of fulfilled Biblical Prophecy. To show how the amount of time passing between prophecy and fulfillment doesn’t matter, we will cover ten of such prophecies. This is the tenth of the ten examples.

God has a way of interweaving multiple aspects and meanings into events so that they are meaningful for the present, for the past, and for the future. This is especially true for the feasts that He provided to the nation of Israel in Leviticus. They were practically meaningful to the Israelites since God tied many of them to the different harvests times, but also made them memorials to commemorate His appointment with them so they could look back on the events and their original occurrence to see how He had guided and protected them and to give a visual to what He would be doing in their future. Their significance cannot be understated, because they were to be held in perpetuity (Ex 12:14, 17, 24; Lev 23:14, 21, 41). We will briefly look at four of them here since in our “present”, their “future fulfillment” has already occurred.

Feast of Passover (Pesach; 14th day of the first month: Lev 23:5)

Passover is probably the most known feast and the one which most people identify with those being Jewish. It commemorates the exodus of the children of Israel, under the leadership of Moses, from Egyptian slavery (Ex 12). The preparation for the feast began on the 10th day of the first month (Ex 12:3), called Preparation Day, when a lamb was chosen for Passover. The animals were to be examined to be sure they were without defect (Ex 12:5). This Preparation Day has demarcated other significant events in Jewish history. It was the day Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land (Js 4:19), and the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey (Zc 9:9; Mt 21:1-17; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:28-48; Jn 12:12-17). Since Jesus ate with Lazarus six days before Passover (Jn 12:1), being the ninth day of the First Month, this indicates His entry into Jerusalem was on the tenth day of the First Month.

Passover itself was held on the 14th day of the First Month (Ex 12:6, Lv 23:5). Since the day began at sundown (Gn 1:5), the lamb was slaughtered just before sundown (Ex 12:6; i.e., on the 13th day) and roasted over a fire. Therefore, the Passover meal was observed at the start of Passover (i.e., that night, the beginning of Passover). On that first Passover, the people took the lamb’s blood and marked it on the sides and top of the doorframe (Ex 12:7), which, if these marks were connected, would form a cross. The people then ate the meat of the lamb roasted in the fire, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread (Ex 12:8). Each subsequent Passover was observed as a memorial of this ‘passing over’; blood was sprinkled only on this first Passover (Dt 16:1, 3). The Passover sacrifice could only be done in the place God would choose as a dwelling for His Name (Dt 16:5). Jerusalem was the place God chose for His dwelling (2Ch 3:1, 1Ki 8:29), and the place where Christ was later crucified (Mt 27:22-56; Mk 15:12-41; Lk 23:13-49; Jn 19:1-37).

Therefore, Preparation Day marks judgment and Passover marks deliverance. During the exodus, the lamb was secured so that its blood would deliver the Israelites from the judgment of death (Ex 12:12-13). When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they consecrated themselves to the Lord (Js 3:5) and stones were erected to signify God’s fulfilled promise of their deliverance (Js 4:19-24). When Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt, he spoke of judgment as well (Jn 12:30-32) which was a fulfillment of the judgment of which the prophet Isaiah had spoken (Is 6:10, 53:1; Jn 12:38-40) due to their spiritual blindness. Jesus was then crucified on Passover about the same time as when the lamb was slain for Passover (Jn 19:31). Therefore, just as the lamb from the original Passover saved the Israelites from physical death, Jesus, the Lamb of God, saves us from spiritual death (1Co 5:17).

These events are not mere coincidence and are mentioned in the Bible for their significance. The original Passover then pointed to the purpose of Jesus Christ’s first coming. The prophet Daniel even pinpointed the time in history when Christ would be presented to Israel (Dn 9:25-26). The time from the decree of Artaxerxes given to Nehemiah (Ne 1-2) to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls and defenses until Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt was 483 years, as stated by Daniel. Therefore, the end of the 483 years or “until Messiah the Prince” (Dn 9:25) was in 33 A.D. Both Daniel (Dn 9:25) and Zechariah (Zc 9:9) refer to Christ as a Prince or King. Therefore, Christ was presenting himself to Israel as their King as prophesied; however, the Jewish leaders rejected him (Lk 19:47, Jn 12:37). Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they did not recognize him or his significance to them and for the judgment that would befall them (Lk 19:41-44). If the Jewish leaders were such scholars of the Scriptures as they claimed (Jn 9:34), they should have known to have looked for him on that very day since Daniel had prophesied, and recorded, it so many years prior. God had given them many years to understand the prophecy. Besides, they knew of the Magi and their seeking of the Messiah’s birth (Mt 2:3-6). All they had to do was put two and two together; but alas, history records their rejection through spiritual blindness (Is 6:10, Jn 12:37-40) instead.

Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah; 15th - 21st day of the first month: Lv 23:6-8)

This feast followed immediately after Passover with the first and last days of the feast being Sabbaths (or days set aside from normal activities). During the Exodus, unleavened bread (bread without yeast) was eaten because they left Egypt in haste and did not have time to make bread with yeast (Ex 12:34). Leaven (or yeast) symbolizes sin and how its effects readily permeate one’s life (1Co 5:7-8; Ga 5:9). Three commandments were given with this feast: i) to sanctify (or dedicate to the Lord) their firstborn (Ex 13:2), ii) remember the Exodus by eating unleavened bread (Ex 13:6), and iii) to observe the feast when they entered the Promised Land (Ex 13:5, Js 5:11). These commandments symbolized God’s deliverance (God protected their firstborn while those of the Egyptians died), their separation from the moral pollution of Egypt and their separation unto God (Js 5:9), and their recognition of God keeping His promise to Abraham (Gn 13:15). They were to also teach their children of this significance (Ex 13:8) to remind them of the historical appointment the nation had with God on that day as well as the lesson of separation and holiness.

This feast speaks of sanctification, a separation from something/someone and a separation unto something/someone else. The first Sabbath of the feast commemorated the day the Israelites left Egypt (Ex 13:3) and crossed the Red Sea - separating themselves from Egypt. The completion of this feast, the second Sabbath, was not held until they entered Canaan, the Promised Land (Ex 13:5; Js 5:10-11). The five days in between these two Sabbath days then represented the period of time the children of Israel were in the wilderness. Therefore, the first Sabbath was the Israelites separation of Egypt and unto the Lord, after which they grew in their relationship to God during their travels to the Promised Land. The final Sabbath of the feast represented the finality of their Egyptian separation (Js 5:9).

Since Christ’s death occurred just before the beginning of Passover (Mk 15:42-43; Lk 23:54; Jn 19:42), Jesus’ sinless (unleavened) body was in the tomb during the beginning of the feast of unleavened bread. Therefore, this symbolizes his death and the accomplished positional sanctification in those who believe in Him (1Co 6:11; 2Th 2:13; 1Pt 1:2; Hb 13:12). Just as the Jews (slaves) were separated from the Egyptians (masters), the apostle Paul states that through the shed blood of Christ’s death for our sin, we are now separated from our former masters, Sin and Satan (Ro 6:1-7:6). Therefore, the first part has already been accomplished through Christ’s death. However, the prophetic nature of the remainder of this feast is now and future. Those who are believers have the capacity to be conformed to the image of Christ (1Co 2:16; Pp 1:6), and are therefore undergoing progressive sanctification. Final sanctification (or glorification) will occur in the future when Christ makes us like Him (1Th 3:13; 1Jn 3:2).

Feast of First Fruits (Bikkurim; 16th day of the first month: Lv 23:9-14)

The first occurrence of this feast was not until the Israelites entered Canaan (Lv 23:10; Js 5:11-12). As was noted above, the Israelites entered the Promised Land on the 10th day of the First Month. This was the beginning of the harvest season—first barley and then wheat. This six-month period enabled the Israelites to eat off the land during their conquest of the land (Js 5:12).  This demonstrates the appropriateness of God’s timing. After crossing the Jordan River, the Israelites recommitted themselves to God by reinstating the rite of circumcision (Js 5:2) which God has provided as a symbol of His covenant with Abraham (Gn 17:9-14). The Israelites then observed the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of First Fruits (Js 5:10-12). It is noted that they did eat roasted ‘old corn’ (i.e., corn they did not personally gather) on the day after Passover (Js 5:11). They did not eat of the new grain until the wave offering of the new grain was made and presented to the Lord (Lv 23:14). Although this feast occurred at the time of the first harvest, the feast of First Fruits memorialized the event of entering the Promised Land; it did not function as an agricultural or fertility feast as some of the surrounding nations perhaps practiced, and was later expanded to thank God for his provision and acknowledge His supremacy over all.

The apostle Paul interprets the significance of this feast by declaring that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the first fruit of our resurrection to come (1Co 15:20). Therefore, just as Christ was crucified just before Passover and his body was in the tomb on the first day of Unleavened Bread, His resurrection occurred on the day of First Fruits. The idea of “first fruit” is giving the best of something with it being a representative of what is to come. Physically, this represented the coming crops. Spiritually, Christ’s resurrection symbolized the first fruits of resurrection with a whole harvest of resurrected believers to someday follow (1Th 4:13-17).

Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost (Shavuot; 5th day of the third month: Lv 23:15-22)

Pentecost was held 50 days after the Feast of First Fruits (Lv 23:16). During the Exodus, this timeframe put them at the foot of Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:1-2). Although not celebrated until they reached the Promised Land, it is likely that the time of this feast marked the ratification of the Mosaic Covenant by the Israelites.  Once the Israelites entered Canaan, this feast marked the beginning of the wheat harvest, 50 days after the barley harvest. A first-fruit of the wheat harvest was also to be offered to the Lord (Lv 23:16-18). There is a major difference between the two offerings of these two harvests. When presenting the first-fruit of the barley harvest, one unleavened loaf was presented (Ex 12:15; Lv 23:10-11). This offering had to be unleavened because the Feast of First Fruit was held during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lv 23:4-14). However, during the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), two leavened loaves were offered (Lv 23:17). Also, during both harvests, grain was left at the edges of the fields for the poor and for non-Jews (Lv 23:22). This is further demonstrated when Ruth, a Moabitess (a Gentile), was allowed to glean during the barley and wheat harvests from the field of Boaz (a Jew) without reprimand (Ru 1:22, 2:21-23).

Luke refers to the prophetic significance of this feast when he stated in Acts 2:1, “and when the day of Pentecost was fully come,” indicating that a future fulfillment of the feast was about to occur. What occurred at this time was the giving of the Holy Spirit (Ac 2). This was a paradigm shift of how God related to man. After Acts 2, with the nation of Israel temporarily set aside (Ro 11:25), along with the Temple, God began to work with individuals rather than with a nation with each person’s body becoming the Temple for the Holy Spirit (1Co 3:16). Therefore, since the giving of the Law and the establishment of the nation of Israel as the medium through whom God would reveal Himself to man occurred at, or near, the first Pentecost, and was also a significant paradigm shift in God’s relation to man, it would seem logical that this second paradigm shift would also have occurred at Pentecost.

Therefore, the two loaves made of finely ground wheat flour and leaven (yeast) were doubly symbolic of both Jews and Gentiles together to which Jesus alluded to in his teaching the disciples that he had food to which they know not of (Jn 4:32) with his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar (Jn 4), which began with the giving of the Holy Spirit (Ac 2), which God taught to Peter in a vision (Ac 10:15) right before the first Gentile received the Holy Spirit (Ac 10:24-48), and by which God made Paul, a Jew, an apostle to Gentiles (Ac 9:15). This is also to what Paul spoke when he stated that the partition (the Balustrade: the partition in the Temple beyond which a Gentile could no longer go) had been removed by Christ and His death for mankind’s sin (Ep 2:12-16). The apostles also recognized this as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Ac 15:15-18; Am 9:11-2; Ob 17, 19-21).

As we have seen, these four feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost) had national, practical, memorial, and prophetic significance. They are grouped in the first three months of the Jewish calendar and for the most part have been fulfilled in our current past. The next feasts did not occur until the seventh month with the next three also occurring in close proximity to each other. These three are still in our present future.

Year of Prophecy: © 500 BC (Ezekiel 26)

Year of Fulfillment: 356 BC

Time until fulfillment: ~144 years

The prophecy against Tyre is an example of fulfilled Biblical Prophecy. To show how the amount of time passing between prophecy and fulfillment doesn’t matter, we will cover ten of such prophecies. This is the ninth of ten.

When Joshua led the children of Israel into the Promised Land, not all the Canaanites were destroyed (Jd 1:27-36), and although the city of Tyre was part of Asher’s inheritance (Js 19:24-31), it remained a fortified city (Js 19:29). By the time of King David, there was peace between Tyre and Israel (1Ki 5:1), and the king of Tyre helped Solomon build the Temple in Jerusalem by supplying materials and workers (1Ki 5:2-12). This peace ended during the reign of Ahab, king of Israel. Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of Sidon (and Tyre), who brought the worship of Baal to Israel (1Ki 16:31) which included the sacrifice of living children.  Later, the Phoenicians started to sell Jewish captives as slaves to the Greeks to which the prophet Joel prophesied against (Jl 3:4-6).

After Nebuchadnezzar took Zedekiah, king of Judah, and Jerusalem, captive, Nebuchadnezzar also took Palestine, Syria and cities on the coast, including Tyre (after a 13-year siege in 573 BC), captive. The inhabitants fled to an island part of the city about one-half mile offshore. The channel between them and the shore was about 20 miles deep; the walls facing the shore were 150 feet high, and the walls on the other sides stood sheer against the sea; shore-based artillery were useless at such a range. The citizens of Tyre now considered their city impregnable. It stood until the time of Alexander the Great (356 - 323 BC). When Alexander defeated Sidon, Tyre sent him their good wishes and support. However, when Alexander asked to be allowed to sacrifice to the shrine of Heracles inside their city (a god whom Alexander claimed to be of descent), Tyre refused. Wishing to come to amicable terms, Alexander sent envoys to Tyre, but they were killed and thrown over the city walls into the sea. Becoming very angry, Alexander determined to build a causeway into the sea to be able to fight against the city. He used every stone and timber left of the original city and threw them into the sea to build this connection to the new city - 60 feet wide all the way to the island.  Although the citizens of Tyre tried to stop Alexander and his troops, Alexander was much too determined. When the causeway was within artillery range, Alexander used stone throwers and light catapults reinforcing them with archers and slingers for a saturation barrage. During the time it took to build the causeway, Alexander built a fleet from the conquered nations to attack Tyre as well. Alexander succeeded in taking the city after a seven-month siege in 332 BC.

Tyre never recovered to its former glory. Yet, it did manage to recover. Antigonius, a successor of Alexander the Great, later besieged the city. Also, during the Crusades, the Muslims further destroyed the inhabitants and the city. All that remains today is a local fishing village, named Sứr, where fishermen spread their nets to dry and to repair.

Every event which Ezekiel prophesied came true. In Ezekiel 26, God made the following proclamations concerning Tyre:

• Many nations would come against Tyre (Ek 26:3)

• The walls of Tyre would be broken down (Ek 26:4)

• Dust would be scraped from her, and she would be left like a bare rock (Ek 26:4)

• Tyre would be a place for the spreading of nets (Ek 26:5)

• Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would build a siege wall around Tyre (Ek 26:8)

• Nebuchadnezzar would plunder the city (Ek 26:9-12)

• The stones, timber and soil of Tyre would be cast into the sea (Ek 26:12)

• The city would never be rebuilt (Ek 26:14).

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the original city and Alexander used everything left to build the causeway across the channel to the island city. The city on the mainland was never rebuilt. Again, we can trust what God tells us.