Monthly Archives: September 2020

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 7 of 12

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Micah does say the former dominion given to Zion/Judah, will be restored.

“You, tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion,
To you it will come,
Yes, the former dominion will come,
The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
Mich 4:8.

This also is something else which clearly has not happened yet.

Then it urges the daughter of Zion to be in pain as child birth, Mic 4:9-10

It reminds me of Revelation 12.

“She was with child. She cried out in pain, laboring to give birth.”
Rev 12:2

It is as if what he says is dealing with that new kingdom coming into being, and that is indeed the case. The Jews are pictured as coming to Babylon in the end of Mic 4:10

“For now you will go forth out of the city,
And will dwell in the field,
And will come even to Babylon.
There you will be rescued.
There Yahweh will redeem you from the hand of your enemies.”
Mic 4:10c-g

And that is what happened, and they returned the first time in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. This fits the Old Testament history which we know. Notice this is NOT a strict chronological treatment, for being rescued from Babylon obviously had to happen first.

But then it pictures “many nations” gathering against “Zion,” Mic 4:11

that too is a subject of many prophecies, but it is by no means clear that this has happened to either literal Zion or Spiritual Zion. This is major subject in Psalm 2, Ezekiel chapters 37 to 39, and Zechariah chapters 12 to 14. It appears that there will be two great periods in history when “all the nations” oppose both Christianity and the Jews. This is discussed in detail in my coming book “Jewish Chronicles.”It is also discussed in “Revealing the Christian Age,” and to a lesser extent in “Prophecy Principles.”

The enemies of God do not realize that God is the one who has gathered these nations against Zion.

“But they don’t know the thoughts of Yahweh,
Neither do they understand his counsel;
For he has gathered them like the sheaves to the threshing floor.”
Mic 4:12

And why do these things not fit the Assyrian,
or Babylonian or Roman invasions?

But gather them God will, and daughter of Zion will thresh them, Mic 4:13. God will make Zion’s horns to be of iron, and her hoofs of brass. Now tiny Judah did have some successes against the Greek Seleucid kings of Syria in the second century BC. But this pictures the Jews threshing “many peoples,” and then taking their property, which has never happened to date!

“Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hoofs brass;
And you will beat in pieces many peoples:
And I will devote their gain to Yahweh,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth.”
Mich 4:13

No. This has NOT happened, YET.

We will come back to this later.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 6 of 12

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We are pressing on in our review of Micah to see what he has to say about Bethlehem.

Now Israel is going through bad times, morally,
politically, and internationally.

Micah is protesting all this wickedness in his prophecies, and he has said early that these things will cause Judah and Israel to be destroyed. Then he points out in Mic 4:1-2 that what seems to be a new law (and it was) going forth from Jerusalem. It did in the first century of the Christian age. Then he says that this will lead to end of all wars (but that is really only in the world to come). Then he drops back to talk about what will yet happen to Israel and Judah.

So how will these things turn out for a
Judah and an Israel that is to be
destroyed because
of their sins?

Vivid pictures of a future peace and prosperity are in Micah 4:4. Then it goes on to say that God says,

“6 “In that day,” says Yahweh,
“I will assemble that which is lame,
And I will gather that which is driven away,
And that which I have afflicted;
7 And I will make that which was lame a remnant,
And that which was cast far off a strong nation:
And Yahweh will reign over them on Mount Zion from then on, even forever. ”
Mic 4:6-7

Micah foretold the destruction of both Israel and Judah in Mic 1:6-9. Here then Micah says God will take some of the survivors, the lame, those who have been driven away, those God has afflicted and cast off, and make them a strong nation! Then it says Yahweh Himself will reign over them “even forever.”

Now it is clearly said in more than one prophecy that Jesus will reign forever over Jacob/Israel/Judah.

“33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his kingdom.””
Lk1:33

Without discussing all of the issues of both Jerusalem below and Jerusalem above, it is easy to see thatl a few survivors did come back from the destructions around 586 BC, and we see the survivors in the Bible books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and Haggi and Zechariah and Malachi.

But there are problems here.

This second regathering is a subject dealt with in detail in Fain’s new book, Jewish Chronicles, due for release in the fall of 2020.

You see they never became a really mighty nation with Yahweh Himself ruling over them. Shall we record this as a failed prophecy? Many would and do. Even so, Jesus says, Scripture cannot be broken, Jn 10:35.

So Micah pictures some Jewish survivors of catastrophe that are lame and weak and dispersed, whom God rescues and makes into a nation and reigns over them forever! And it has’t happened yet, so it has to happen.

Zechariah, who was with the survivors in Ezra and Nehemiah, says there will be a second dispersal of the Jews (which clearly happened in 70 AD), and a second regathering Israel, Zech 10:9-10. Also Isaiah, speaking before the first regathering, speaks of a second regathering, Isa 11:1.

So this gathering of the lame and the afflicted, and making them
a “strong nation,” is yet to come.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy Practice: Micah and the Christ, Part 5 of 12

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Please excuse this small aside on some
basics about prophecy.

Time after time we see the prophets turn from the immediate thing they are forecasting, to the end of all things. An excellent example can be seen in Hebrews chapter one.

“10 And, “You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the works of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you continue.
They all will grow old like a garment does.
12 As a mantle you will roll them up,
And they will be changed;
But you are the same.
Your years will not fail.””
Heb 1:10-12

In Hebrew one the author is comparing the role of angels and the role of the Son, Jesus the Christ. In Heb 1:8-9 it quotes Psalm 45 “of the Son,” and then in verse 10 he says, “And,” and then quotes Psa 102:25-27 in verses 10-12 as seen above.

Now what does Heb 1:10-12 say?

Well, in the beginning (how far back is that?) God created the heavens and the earth. Then he points out in verse 11 that the heavens and the earth will grow old, and then in verse 12 the author says the heavens and earth will be rolled up and put away like an old coat that is worn out! Well! That clearly has not happened yet! So how much time is between Heb 1:10 and Heb 1:12? I honestly have no idea, but it is a great deal of time in human terms. Still there is no indication of the passage of time, except perhaps the assumption of time for the heavens and the earth to grow old!

Unfulfilled prophecies

Even so, notice clearly that Heb 1:12 is talking about the end of this present world! As we have noted, that has NOT happened yet. So here is an unfulfilled prophecy in the New Testament, and that is a quoted from Psa 102:26 and that is clearly an unfulfilled prophecy from the Old Testament.

And what does the author of Hebrews
do next?

He goes right back to discussing how things are setup in this world at this present time.

“But of which of the angels has he said at any time,
“Sit at my right hand,
Until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet?””
Heb 1:13

But wait a minute! That was the end of
the world in Heb 1:12!

Right! And then he goes right back to talking about the present in verses 13 and 14, and all the rest of the book of Hebrews. At times he comes back to the subject of the end of the world again, for instance in Heb 12:26-29.

And so do ALL the prophets!

They will talk about the subject at hand, as Mic 4:2 talks about the coming of the gospel, then relates how all of these things will turn out, as when Jesus makes all wars cease, as Micah 4:3, and later talk about other things which must happen before the end.

This is a consistent pattern in prophecy, and you should expect it.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901