BIBLE COLLEGE PASTORS CLASS LESSON 11

Transcription

1 BIBLE COLLEGE PASTORS CLASS THROUGH THE BIBLE 2 ND QUARTER LESSON 11 1

2 THE USE OF PROPHECY LET US TAKE A MOMENT AND REVIEW THE THIINGS WHICH WE HAVE LEARNED FROM THE PREVIOUS LESSONS. 1. THE NATION OF ISRAEL HAS DEMANDED A KING TO BE LIKE THE OTHER NATIONS. 2. THEY USE THE SINS OF THE SONS OF SAMUEL AS THEIR EXCUSE 3. THEY HAVE MUCH LATENT SIN WITHIN AND SAMUEL WON T DIE FOR THEM TO BACKSLIDE. 4. ISRAEL HAS 3 KINGS OVER THE UNITED KINGDOM. SAUL, DAVID, AND SOLOMON. 5. AT THE DEATH OF SOLOMON, REHOBOAM IS TO BE CROWNED 6. THE KINGDOM IS DIVIDED INTO TWO KINGDOMS. 7. ISRAEL WITH JEREBOAM AS THEIR KING AT SAMARIA 8. JUDAH WITH REHOBOAM AS THEIR KING AT JERUSALEM 9. ISRAEL WILL HAVE 19 KINGS. NONE OF THEM RIGHTEOUS 10. JUDAH WILL HAVE 19 KINGS AND ONE QUEEN. THRIEE OF THEM WILL BRING NATIONAL REVIVAL. ASA, HEZEKIAH, AND JOSIAH 11. IT IS DURING THE REIGN OF THE KINGS THAT GIVE RISE TO THE PROPHETS 12. THE PROPHETS REPLACE THE JUDGES 13. THE BIBLE HAS 4 MAJOR PROPHETIC BOOKS A. ISAIAH B. JEREMIAH C. EZEKIEL D. DANIEL 14. THE BIBLE HAS 13 MINOR PROPHETIC BOOKS A. LAMENTATION B. HOSEA C. JOEL D. AMOS E. OBADIAH F. JONAH G. MICAH H. NAHUM I. HABAKKUK J. ZEPHANIAH 2

3 K. HAGGAI L. ZECHARIAH M. MALACHI EACH OF THE PROPHETS WILL TELL YOU WHAT KINGS THEY PROPHESIED UNDER 15. ISRAEL WAS DESTROYED IN 721 B.C. BY ASSRIA AND JUDAY WILL BE DESTROYED IN 587 B.C. BY BABYLON IT IS DURING THE REIGN OF THESE KINGS AND THE EVILNESS OF THEIR WAYS THAT GIVES RISE TO SOME OF THE MOST FABULOUS PROPHECIES IN THE BIBLE. FOR INSTANCE. 1. THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH Isa 7:14 Isa 9: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. 2. THE COMING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST Isa 40:1 3 1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. 3

4 3 The voice of him that crieth.in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God JUST WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF PROPHECY? IT IS LITERALLY HISTORY WRITTEN IN ADVANCE OR BEFORE IT HAPPENS. ONLY GOD WOULD ATTEMPT TO WRITE HISTORY BEFORE IT TAKES PLACE. THE BEST WAY FOR ATHEIST TO DISCREDIT THE WORD OF GOD IS TO PROVE THAT THERE ARE ERRORS IN THE WORD, OR THAT THERE ARE FALSE PROPHECIES IN THE BIBLE. HOWEVER; THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DO IT IN OVER 2000 YEARS. THE ARCHAEOLOGIST S SPADE ONLY UNCOVERS THE TRUTH OF HOW ACCURATE THE BIBLE REALLY IS BUT JUST WHAT PART DOES PROPHECY PLAY IN OUR LIVES TODAY? 1. IT GIVES HOPE TO THE CHILD OF GOD 2. IT VALIDATES THE SCRIPTURE. 3. IT PREPARES US FOR WHAT IS GOING TO TAKE PLACE LET US LOOK AT WHAT THE BIBLE HAS TO SAY ABOUT PROPHECY: 2 Peter 1: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. HE WARNS US AGAINST FALSE PROPHETS 2 Peter 2:1 3 1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 4

5 Rev 22:6 13 THROUGH THE BIBLE 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. 7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. 9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. 10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. I WANT TO DEAL WITH TWO MAJOR PROPHECIES IN THE SCRIPTURE THAT ARE FACINATING. 1. THE REBIRTH OF ISRAEL AS A UNITED KINGDOM. WE HAVE STUDIED THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISRAEL AS A NATION FROM THE CALL OF ABRAHAM TO THE TIME THAT ISRAEL IS DIVIDED INTO TWO NATIONS AND THEN CONQUERED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE ENEMIES. ISRAEL AND JUDAH CEASED TO BE A NATION AFTER NEBUCHADNEZZAR DESTROYED JERUSALEM IN 587 B.C. 5

6 Jer 25: And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. IT WAS PROPHECIED THAT JERUSALEM WOULD BE REBUILT Dan 9: In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. 3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplication, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 6

7 9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. 7

8 20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; 21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Dan 9: Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. THE LORD GIVES TO US THE SCOPE OF HUMAN HISTORY. WRITTEN BEFORE IT HAPPENS. LET US BREAK THIS DOWN: 8

9 1. WHAT IS A WEEK? FROM THE WORD HEPTAD WHICH MEEN WEEK OF YEARS. THAT IS ONE WEEK EQUALS ONE HEPTAD EQUAL 7 YEARS 2. IT IS DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS A. SEVEN WEEKS OR 49 YEARS..THE CITY TO BE REBUILT B. THREE SCORE AND TWO WEEKS OR 434 YEARS THE MESSIAH IS TO BE CRUCIFIED C. ONE WEEK CONFIRM THE COVENANT FOR 7 YEARS DANIEL DID NOT SEE THE CHURCH AGE OR THE TIME OF MERCY THAT WAS GOING TO LAST ABOUT 2000 YEARS. THE ORDER WAS GIVEN TO REBUILD THE CITY IN 445 B.C. Neh 2:1 9 1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. 2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, 3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? 4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. 6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; 9

10 8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. 9 Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. THE ORDER WAS GIVEN IN 445 B.C. AND THE CITY WAS COMPLETED IN 396 B.C. THE LAST WORDS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS PENNED IN 396 B.C. THAT TAKES CARE OF THE FIRST 7 HEPTADS! WHAT ABOUT THE THREE SCORE AND TWO WEEKS OR 434 YEARS. 396 B. C. MINUS 434 YEARS EQUALS SOMEWHERE IN THE VICINITY OF 33 A.D. WHICH WAS THE TIME OF THE DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTIION OF JESUS THE MESSIAH. GOD S TIME CLOCK QUIT RUNNING UPON THE DEATH OF THE MESSSIAH AND GOD USHERED IN THE CHURCH AGE. THE NEW TESTAMENT COVENANT. WHAT ABOUT THE LAST SEVEN YEARS: Matt 24:1 3 1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? THE RAPTURE TAKES PLACE IN REV 4:1 AND THEN THERE WILL BE SEVEN YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH 10

11 Rev 4:1 1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. 11