Category Archives: Nature of Bible Prophecy

Prophecy Practice: Out of Egypt, Part 12

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And the Christian is called out of Egypt

“1 Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.”
1Cor 10:1-4

In such symbolism then Pharaoh represents the god of this world, this age, 2Cor 4:4. He has indeed held in us bondage. Christ came and took part of flesh and blood,

“14 … that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
Heb 2:14-15

The fear of death has kept us in line with “those who by nature are not gods.” Gal 4:8. Egypt represents the world system which is so corrupt.

“We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
1Jn 5:19

“… If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him.”
1Jn 2:15

Baptism is our separation from this world.

“3 Or don’t you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism to death, that just like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.”
Rom 6:3-4

“7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him;”
Rom 6:7-8

We do our own wandering in a wilderness in the Christian life.

Just as ancient Israel did, we often lose our bearing when things do not go as expected. As they often fell apart and blamed God, and reject their faithful leaders in the Lord, so do we very often when things seem to go wrong, when it seems things are beyond even God’s control. Of course things never are beyond God’s control.

It would be a blessing to enter the promised land early.

It would have been a blessing if Israel had been willing to enter Canaan when they were first instructed. But ancient Israel was intimidated by their worldly adversaries, as we also often are, and then fell into sin, as we frequently do.

Sometimes, like ancient Israel, we may just wander around
in our desolate places until we perish.

We were delivered from Egypt, but loved our bondage to sin so much we perished in it, after being delivered to where we could live. Israel’s sins are warnings to us.

It doesn’t have to be that way!

“Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.”
1Cor 10:11

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

Prophecy Practice: Out of Egypt, Part 11

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And Jesus is called out of Egypt

There were attempts from the first by Satan to have Jesus killed. Herod heard about this King of Israel who was born from the wise men, evidently from Persia. He feared the overthrow of his kingdom by another pretender to the throne of God’s people. Revelation says that when the child was born, of the dragon (Satan, Rev 12:9),

“The dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.”
Rev 12:4

This took the form of Herod the Great sending the wise men to find the child. An angel of God appeared then,

“… to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.””
Mtt 2:13

And so Joseph and Mary did.

Herod had learned where the Christ
was to be born.

When the wise men failed to return, he took counsel with his men concerning the times they had learned from the wise men,

“… and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, …”
Mtt 2:16

Herod the Great died a terrible death of cancer
on April 1, 4 BC

Which means our calendar is off by four or more years. Then Joseph was told they could now return to Israel, Mtt 2:19.

“… that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.””
Mtt 2:15

God’s son Israel, was symbolic of His true Son, Jesus of Nazareth.

When physical Israel was called out of Egypt,
they were never to go back

“… You shall henceforth return no more that way.”
Deut 17:16

Jesus for sure never returned that way. He never accepted or overlooked the worldliness of the Jewish leaders to make himself acceptable to them. In Revelation it describes in one place the great city where the bodies of the two witnesses lay dead for three days.

“Their dead bodies will be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”
Rev 11:8

Paul said,

“… For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.”
Gal 1:10

Jesus definitely never tried to please men. “… the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children,” Gal 4:25, He never flattered nor tried to please. He was indeed a servant of God. The Christ, having come out of the Egypt of this world as a child, never endorsed it. He gladly would have helped Jerusalem below. As He said toward the end,

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!”
Mtt 23:37

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

Prophecy Practice: Out of Egypt, 5 of 15

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God often lets the wicked balk and bluster for a while

David talks about those who oppose God in Psalm 37. The whole psalm is good in this respect.

“12 The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord will laugh at him,
For he sees that his day is coming.”
Psa 37:12-13

We need not worry. God will ALWAYS win in the end.

“No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Yahweh, and their righteousness which is of me, says Yahweh.”
Isa 54:17

Pharaoh had his time.

Moses and Aaron do some minor signs of God’s work before Pharaoh, and then Pharaoh has his magicians do the same and it says

“Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.”
Ex 7:13

God had explicitly said earlier that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart, and that is what happened. Even so, it also clearly says at times that Pharaoh hardened his own heart.

“Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he didn’t let the people go.”
Ex 8:32

There seems to be a little of both. Again it says.

“When Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.”
Ex 9:34

The same may be with us. If we do not want to listen God, we want to harden ourselves against Him, so God may say to you and I, Okay, you want to harden your heart? I will help so you will do it good! So, it says,

“But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he wouldn’t let them go.”
Ex 10:27

There is a time to listen for all of us.

Even the beast of Revelation is given time to listen

It is illustrated in more than one passage. It seems that Ahab King of Israel is also a type of that final man who opposes God, and whom all the world worships. The drought on Israel is for 3-1/2 years, Jas 5:17, and the beast himself rules for 3-1/2 years. When Ahab is faced with his sins by Elijah in 2Kings 21, for a while he is repentant. It says

“27 It happened, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 28 The word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 See you how Ahab humbles himself before me? because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days; but in his son’s days will I bring the evil on his house.”
1Kgs 21:27-29

The word of the Lord had its effect on Ahab, and it brought a response from the Lord, but his repentance didn’t last.

We are all given perhaps more time than we deserve. It is important to seize that time while we can.

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

Prophecy Practice: Out of Egypt, 1 of 15

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Egypt was the big metropolis of safety

early in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 12 there was a famine in Palestine, and Abram went to live in Egypt with his entire family, Gen 12:10 ff, Gen 31:1. Later God promised Abram,

… “To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:”
Gen 15:18

A promise yet to come to its full.

There were many connections with Egypt. Hagar, Sari’s handmaid, was an Egyptian. It was by Hagar of course that Abram had Ishmael, the forefather of the Ishmaelites. In one later famine in Palestine, God told him to NOT go down into Egypt, Gen 26:2.

Then Joseph was kidnapped and sold as a slave, and ended up in Egypt. That was the lead-in to all of the descendants of Jacob going to live in Egypt in a super famine which affected both Egypt and evidently all of the eastern Mediterranean world. There it was that the Israelites grew into a nation, a separate people living among the Egyptians. Also there it was that Israel came to be distrusted by the Egyptians and enslaved. God promised Abram,

“13 … “Know for sure that your seed will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years. 14 I will also judge that nation, … Afterward they will come out with great substance.””
Gen 15:13-14

So Egypt came to symbolize both worldly safety
and prosperity, and cruel bondage.

The bondage was severe in those days. Taskmasters were set over them for the very purpose to “afflict them,” humiliate them, Ex 1:11. “and they made their live bitter with hard service … in which they ruthlessly made them serve,” Ex 1:14. Also genocide was planned, but it didn’t work. All of the male babies were to be killed. During a very severe period, Moses was born. By a series of events he escaped death, and was adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter.

So Moses was raised as royalty,

but was a given a sense of who he was and his true heritage, and started his work of delivering his own people, killing a cruel Egyptian guard. He seems to have assumed the Hebrews would understand and allow him to lead them. Such was not the case. A cantankerous Israelite would not allow anyone to rule over him.

“He said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses was afraid, and said, “Surely this thing is known.””

So Moses fled to a far country, Midian, where he lived for 40 years.

So Moses is called from this far country,
to lead Israel to safety.

Of course Moses is a type of the Christ, Deut 18:15. So it was that another worldly ruler, Herod the Great, attempted to kill Jesus at his birth. Jesus also was of royalty, the Son in His Father’s house. He also came from a far country, heaven, to save His people.

The story is part of the prophecy.

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

The Jews Coming to Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth will NOT be heaven on earth!

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Not ALL Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled with the coming of the Christ in the first century of our age. For instance, many New Testament prophecies of the end of this present universe are quotes from the Old Testament. For instance Heb 1:10-12, and 1Cor 15:54-55, and much more. So it is with many things concerning the Jews. Their conversion will be in a time of severe stress on both Christians (first), and then the Jews. Of the Jews it says,

“11 He will pass through the sea of affliction, …
12 I will strengthen them in Yahweh;
And they will walk up and down in his name,” says Yahweh.”
Zech 10:11

Jesus will NOT be on earth again.

Instead we will meet Him in the air, 1Thes 4:16-17.

“If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; ‘Behold, he is in the inner chambers,’ don’t believe it.”
Mtt 24:26

You may or may not believe that, but that IS what Jesus says. In fact, Jeremiah tells us that no descendant of Jeconiah/Coniah will ever rule “in Judah.”

“Thus says Yahweh, Write you this man childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; for no more shall a man of his seed prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling in Judah.”
Jer 22:30

However, Jesus is a descendant of Jeconiah/Coniah, Mtt 1:11-12. Now that fits 1Thes 4:16-17, but not premillennialism.

Jesus has NOW “ALL authority … in heaven
and on earth,” Mtt 28.18

Jesus NOW rules over the kings of the earth, Rev 1:5, from heaven!

In prophecy there are often subtle shifts in subject.

Prophecy commonly ties the immediate things talked about, with the ultimate things which will happen. A prophecy of Israel’s sins of old will often jump from ancient Israel’s punishments by Assyria and Babylon, to the ultimate punishments at the end of this universe. Also many prophecies of the good that will come from the church or the Jews being faithful to God, jump from temporal benefits in this world to eternal benefits in “the world to come” (Heb 2:5).

An example is Isaiah 65.

Jewish Chronicles, to be released Friday November 6, 2020, described how Ezekiel 37 (pictured from an engraving by Dore, on the book cover) will be fulfilled in world history, and the glorious results that will have. See your book seller.

God speaks of the new heavens and new earth, Isa 65:17-19. There will be no weeping or crying, Isa 65:19. That is only in heaven itself, Rev 21:4. But a child will die at age 100, and the sinner dying at age 100 will be considered cursed, Isa 65:20. But that does not fit heaven -or- this world so far. A shift of subject matter.

The faithful Jews will cause an astonishing extension of human life on earth. This will be the golden age of the church in this world, but it will not quite be heaven. The Jews will still just be men, converting to Jesus. Jew and gentile will truly be one in Christ, Eph 2:18-22. Even so, “evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse,” 2Tim 3:13. Mystery Babylon the Great (Revelation 14 to 18), and the Mystery of Lawlessness (2Thessalonians 2) will still be biding their time.

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 8 of 12

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Now the nationS gather aginst Israel in Micah 4, she defeated them, and took their profits, and dedicated them to the Lord God of Glory. Remember it said,

This distress in which most of the Jews perish, and those left both win the conflict and turn to Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah of Israel, is within history! This is discussed in detail in Jewish Chronicles., to be released in the fall of 2020.

“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.”
Mic 4:13

But there are evidently TWO giant assemblies of the nationS against BOTH the Jews and Christians, that are discussed in Scripture.

One of these is the great distress of the Jews in which they turn to the Lord as a group, Deut 4:30, Deut 30:6, Zech 10:11-12, and so on. This time evidently also includes a major assault on Christianity world-wide. This happens within history, and seems to be the assault described in Micah 4.

The second great assembly of the nationS against both the Jews and all Christians is, of course, at the end of this universe, as described in the Gospels, and Revelation 20, and all through the Old Testament. It is addressed in all three of my books on prophecy and especially in Revealing the Christian Age.

But first comes the rejection of their own Messiah by the Jews,
AS FORETOLD IN SCRIPTURE!

It is a broad subject in Scripture. Isaiah says, speaking of the Lord,

“14 He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 Many shall stumble thereon, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.”
Isa 8:14-15

Certainly that is exactly what has happened over the last two thousand years.

Now you can say that this is just about Yahweh, the Lord God Himself, but it is in the grand context of the Messiah, all the way from being born of virgin in Isaiah 7, to again speaking of the Messiah’s birth as a “child” in Isaiah 9, and saying of this “child,”

“… and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ”
Isa 9.6

The son, the child is called Mighty God, and Everlasting Father! The child … even in the Old Testament … is clearly God. As the apostle John put it,

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.”
Jn 1:1-5

And again,

“10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him.”
Jn 1:10-11

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 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 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