How to Read the Bible & Understand Prophecy
Lesson #11: Past Prophetic Events
Many people today either don’t believe Bible prophecy (because they don’t believe in God), or they believe a different narrative of end-time prophetic events than what is presented in the Bible. In this lesson, we will examine past prophetic events, as presented in the bible. We will focus on the events surrounding the Second Coming of Christ, as this is the event that is often taken out of context.
The idea that the Second Coming of Christ has already been fulfilled in the 1st century is one that is rooted in Jesus’ testimony to His disciples. In His testimony, Jesus told His disciples that all the signs He told them to look out for concerning His return, would take place within their own generation…
Read Matthew 24:34 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jesus’ statement is backed up by numerous additional Bible texts, and by the fulfillment of other prophetic events.
Read Matthew 10:23 KJV
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Matthew 16:28 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Revelation 22:12 KJV
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Still many people don’t recognize what is written in the Bible concerning the Second Coming as being true and accurate. Even if all we had was Jesus’ words concerning the generation that would witness the fulfillment of His return (for the saints), that should be good enough for those of faith.
Read 1 John 5:9 KJV
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Revelation 19:10 KJV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Several events go hand in hand with the Second Coming of Christ: 1) The First Resurrection 2) The judgment on the nation of Israel 3) The end of the Old Covenant world 4) The redeeming of the 144000 saints up to heaven 5) The binding of Satan for 1000 years 6) The banishment of Old Covenant transgressors down to Hell. These are all events that took place during the same time period around 70 AD. This fact is the main reason why Jesus made this statement found in the book of Matthew…
Read Matthew 23:36 KJV
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When scriptural evidence supporting the fulfillment of all those end-time events are compiled, it’s hard not to believe Jesus’ testimony concerning the generation that would witness His return.
The first prophecy we will look at is recorded in the book of Jeremiah, concerning the time of judgment on the subjects of the Old Covenant world (Israel). After Israel was taken by the Babylonians and dispersed into the other nations, this is what was prophesied concerning them…
Read Jeremiah 16:15-17 KJV:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The time of fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy began in the second book of Chronicles. In the book, it is recorded that the king of Persia was inspired by God to aid the people of Israel in returning back to Jerusalem…
Read 2 Chronicles 36:21-23 KJV:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
An interesting fact about Jeremiah’s prophecy is that it also provided information concerning what would take place many generations after the people of Israel returned to their land. In Jeremiah 16:16, it was prophesied that men would be sent out to “fish” or reel in the “lost sheep” of Israel before another traumatic time took place. This was fulfilled in the days that Jesus sent out His disciples to tell the people of Israel that the kingdom of heaven was at hand for them…
Read Matthew 4:19 KJV:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Matthew 10:4-7 KJV
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Notice in Matthew 10:5-6 that the message of the kingdom "being at hand" was not preached to those outside Israel. This is due to the fact that judgment and reward of the kingdom were going to come upon the Old Covenant world (Israel) first; within that generation.
Read 1 Peter 4:17 KJV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The final element of Jeremiah’s prophecy, in chapter 16 verse 16, came to pass when the Roman army hunted and massacred the Jewish people in the war of 70AD. That event was one of the signs that Jesus told His disciples to look out for before His return…
Read Matthew 24:16-21 KJV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This time was also prophesied of in Daniel 7:21 KJV
The next fulfilled prophecy is concerning “the day of the Lord”. In the book of Joel, it was prophesied that certain signs would take place in Israel before the ominous day arrived…
Read Joel 2:28-32 KJV
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the book of Acts, the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy came to fruition, beginning on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to the faithful believers in Christ.
Read Acts 2: 1-21 KJV
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Was the Holy Ghost given to the believers before the day of Pentecost? Read John 7:38 KJV ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy set the end-time events in motion. As things began to unfold, the apostles documented what they had witnessed. In those days, it was a well-known fact that an antichrist would appear before the end of the old covenant world. This prophecy was fulfilled in their generation.
Read 1 John 2:18 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read 1 John 4:3 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Today, many Christians believe that “the antichrist” will come into the world and bring about the final war between good and evil (AKA: Armageddon). This idea is derived from the book of Thessalonians…
2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
The man of sin (the son of perdition) is naturally an antichrist because he is against Christ and working on Satan’s behalf, just like Judas was (read John 17:12). This sinful man that 2 Thessalonians is referring to did indeed make his entrance into the world, in the first century.
A first-century scholar named Flavius Josephus documented that the Jewish people, in the early century, were well aware that the Roman Emperor Nero was the “son of perdition” they were expecting. Due to his actions against the Jewish people and the early Christians, Emperor Nero fits the description like a glove. To top it off, the letters in Nero’s full name, using old Hebrew nomenclature, adds up to 666 (see Revelation 13:18). This is no surprise when you read the accounts of what was done to the Jewish people and Christians under the hand of Nero. They were used as Human torches, during colosseum “games” Jews and believers were used as the bait for lions and other wild beasts, crucifixions were the norm, and state-sponsored beheadings were a common occurrence; all by the orders of Nero.
Read Daniel 8:23-26 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Remember the information presented in the last lesson concerning repeating prophecies. Before each time of judgment, certain signs and events often mirror those of past times of judgment. If you are a believer in the Bible, you are well aware that a final time of judgment is still looming in the future. Before the Final Judgment, another “man of sin” or son of perdition that elevates himself to the level of God, will be present. Many people have different opinions on who this person will be, but what we know for sure is that the Lord knows all things and the Bible never lies.
Read Ezekiel 28:1-10 KJV. Is there someone in the world that holds an elevated position in “the church”, who is regarded as being equal to God to some people? ______________________________________
If you have listened to a sermon concerning the “end times”, you will have heard the preacher talking about a time of tribulation that must occur before the Second Coming. The time placement of the “tribulation” is a highly debated topic in the religious world. But we must always seek out what the Bible has to say about it? In Jesus’ testimony to His disciples, He said that a time of great tribulation would come upon the "world" that was never seen to that degree in the history of the world…
Read Matthew 24:21 KJV
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It is evident that Jesus was talking specifically about the persecution of the Old Covenant “world”, not of people all around the whole literal world. In the words of John, we see that he confirmed in his letter in Revelation that he was indeed going through the time of tribulation with the other brethren, in that generation…
Read Revelation 1:9 KJV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
There have been and will be other times of tribulation, conjured up by Satan to throw people off the truth, but none of them were or will be as far-reaching or pervasive as what the nation of Israel endured in the First Century during the Roman/Jewish war.
As mentioned before, many generations before the great tribulation took place, it was prophesied in the book of Daniel. The prophecy said that the saints of God would be overcome by their aggressors, but then would be redeemed and taken up to heaven…
Read Daniel 7:21-22 KJV
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The reason why God’s people, who worship Him today in spirit and in truth, will not face another time of tribulation to that same degree, is simply because the bible tells us so. Times of trouble will come in the future but believers in the truth need not worry…
Read Psalm 91 KJV
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As mentioned in the introduction, during this same time in history, Satan was bound for a thousand years and then released. The apostles knew that this time was upon them when they taught and encouraged the believers in their generation…
Read Romans 6:20 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We are now living in the times post Satan’s banishment and release back into the world. This prophecy was revealed by Jesus in the form of a parable and later again spoken about in the book of Revelation…
Luke 11:24-26 (KJV)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Revelation 20:1-3, Revelation 20:7-8 (KJV) _________________________________________________________________________________________________
As each generation goes by, the moral state of the world continues to decline. The name of God gets little respect and very few pay any regard to His words. Thankfully the story does not end here. In our final lesson, we will take a close look at what’s to come for those who believe in Christ.
The idea that the Second Coming of Christ has already been fulfilled in the 1st century is one that is rooted in Jesus’ testimony to His disciples. In His testimony, Jesus told His disciples that all the signs He told them to look out for concerning His return, would take place within their own generation…
Read Matthew 24:34 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jesus’ statement is backed up by numerous additional Bible texts, and by the fulfillment of other prophetic events.
Read Matthew 10:23 KJV
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Matthew 16:28 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Revelation 22:12 KJV
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Still many people don’t recognize what is written in the Bible concerning the Second Coming as being true and accurate. Even if all we had was Jesus’ words concerning the generation that would witness the fulfillment of His return (for the saints), that should be good enough for those of faith.
Read 1 John 5:9 KJV
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Revelation 19:10 KJV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Several events go hand in hand with the Second Coming of Christ: 1) The First Resurrection 2) The judgment on the nation of Israel 3) The end of the Old Covenant world 4) The redeeming of the 144000 saints up to heaven 5) The binding of Satan for 1000 years 6) The banishment of Old Covenant transgressors down to Hell. These are all events that took place during the same time period around 70 AD. This fact is the main reason why Jesus made this statement found in the book of Matthew…
Read Matthew 23:36 KJV
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When scriptural evidence supporting the fulfillment of all those end-time events are compiled, it’s hard not to believe Jesus’ testimony concerning the generation that would witness His return.
The first prophecy we will look at is recorded in the book of Jeremiah, concerning the time of judgment on the subjects of the Old Covenant world (Israel). After Israel was taken by the Babylonians and dispersed into the other nations, this is what was prophesied concerning them…
Read Jeremiah 16:15-17 KJV:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The time of fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy began in the second book of Chronicles. In the book, it is recorded that the king of Persia was inspired by God to aid the people of Israel in returning back to Jerusalem…
Read 2 Chronicles 36:21-23 KJV:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
An interesting fact about Jeremiah’s prophecy is that it also provided information concerning what would take place many generations after the people of Israel returned to their land. In Jeremiah 16:16, it was prophesied that men would be sent out to “fish” or reel in the “lost sheep” of Israel before another traumatic time took place. This was fulfilled in the days that Jesus sent out His disciples to tell the people of Israel that the kingdom of heaven was at hand for them…
Read Matthew 4:19 KJV:
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read Matthew 10:4-7 KJV
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Notice in Matthew 10:5-6 that the message of the kingdom "being at hand" was not preached to those outside Israel. This is due to the fact that judgment and reward of the kingdom were going to come upon the Old Covenant world (Israel) first; within that generation.
Read 1 Peter 4:17 KJV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The final element of Jeremiah’s prophecy, in chapter 16 verse 16, came to pass when the Roman army hunted and massacred the Jewish people in the war of 70AD. That event was one of the signs that Jesus told His disciples to look out for before His return…
Read Matthew 24:16-21 KJV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This time was also prophesied of in Daniel 7:21 KJV
The next fulfilled prophecy is concerning “the day of the Lord”. In the book of Joel, it was prophesied that certain signs would take place in Israel before the ominous day arrived…
Read Joel 2:28-32 KJV
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the book of Acts, the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy came to fruition, beginning on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to the faithful believers in Christ.
Read Acts 2: 1-21 KJV
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Was the Holy Ghost given to the believers before the day of Pentecost? Read John 7:38 KJV ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy set the end-time events in motion. As things began to unfold, the apostles documented what they had witnessed. In those days, it was a well-known fact that an antichrist would appear before the end of the old covenant world. This prophecy was fulfilled in their generation.
Read 1 John 2:18 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read 1 John 4:3 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Today, many Christians believe that “the antichrist” will come into the world and bring about the final war between good and evil (AKA: Armageddon). This idea is derived from the book of Thessalonians…
2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
The man of sin (the son of perdition) is naturally an antichrist because he is against Christ and working on Satan’s behalf, just like Judas was (read John 17:12). This sinful man that 2 Thessalonians is referring to did indeed make his entrance into the world, in the first century.
A first-century scholar named Flavius Josephus documented that the Jewish people, in the early century, were well aware that the Roman Emperor Nero was the “son of perdition” they were expecting. Due to his actions against the Jewish people and the early Christians, Emperor Nero fits the description like a glove. To top it off, the letters in Nero’s full name, using old Hebrew nomenclature, adds up to 666 (see Revelation 13:18). This is no surprise when you read the accounts of what was done to the Jewish people and Christians under the hand of Nero. They were used as Human torches, during colosseum “games” Jews and believers were used as the bait for lions and other wild beasts, crucifixions were the norm, and state-sponsored beheadings were a common occurrence; all by the orders of Nero.
Read Daniel 8:23-26 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Remember the information presented in the last lesson concerning repeating prophecies. Before each time of judgment, certain signs and events often mirror those of past times of judgment. If you are a believer in the Bible, you are well aware that a final time of judgment is still looming in the future. Before the Final Judgment, another “man of sin” or son of perdition that elevates himself to the level of God, will be present. Many people have different opinions on who this person will be, but what we know for sure is that the Lord knows all things and the Bible never lies.
Read Ezekiel 28:1-10 KJV. Is there someone in the world that holds an elevated position in “the church”, who is regarded as being equal to God to some people? ______________________________________
If you have listened to a sermon concerning the “end times”, you will have heard the preacher talking about a time of tribulation that must occur before the Second Coming. The time placement of the “tribulation” is a highly debated topic in the religious world. But we must always seek out what the Bible has to say about it? In Jesus’ testimony to His disciples, He said that a time of great tribulation would come upon the "world" that was never seen to that degree in the history of the world…
Read Matthew 24:21 KJV
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It is evident that Jesus was talking specifically about the persecution of the Old Covenant “world”, not of people all around the whole literal world. In the words of John, we see that he confirmed in his letter in Revelation that he was indeed going through the time of tribulation with the other brethren, in that generation…
Read Revelation 1:9 KJV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
There have been and will be other times of tribulation, conjured up by Satan to throw people off the truth, but none of them were or will be as far-reaching or pervasive as what the nation of Israel endured in the First Century during the Roman/Jewish war.
As mentioned before, many generations before the great tribulation took place, it was prophesied in the book of Daniel. The prophecy said that the saints of God would be overcome by their aggressors, but then would be redeemed and taken up to heaven…
Read Daniel 7:21-22 KJV
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The reason why God’s people, who worship Him today in spirit and in truth, will not face another time of tribulation to that same degree, is simply because the bible tells us so. Times of trouble will come in the future but believers in the truth need not worry…
Read Psalm 91 KJV
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As mentioned in the introduction, during this same time in history, Satan was bound for a thousand years and then released. The apostles knew that this time was upon them when they taught and encouraged the believers in their generation…
Read Romans 6:20 KJV
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We are now living in the times post Satan’s banishment and release back into the world. This prophecy was revealed by Jesus in the form of a parable and later again spoken about in the book of Revelation…
Luke 11:24-26 (KJV)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Revelation 20:1-3, Revelation 20:7-8 (KJV) _________________________________________________________________________________________________
As each generation goes by, the moral state of the world continues to decline. The name of God gets little respect and very few pay any regard to His words. Thankfully the story does not end here. In our final lesson, we will take a close look at what’s to come for those who believe in Christ.
|
|