Chapters 4-6-PROPHECY-BIBLE PROPHECY-Bible prophecy studies of OT prophecy and NT prophecy-especially the prophecies of Christ

Any foundation for a fruitful study of Scripture must include the fact that the Bible is an open book to some while its pages are closed to others; and this is especially true of its prophetic, end-time portions.

For the Church, in Revelation 22:10, we read where John was told not to close up the book for the time was at hand. (This term "at hand" speaks to major changes on God's prophetic time line and not to the prophesied events leading up to those changes.) But for the seemingly almost always rebellious nation of Israel, there is a different word. It was of these Jews that Daniel was referring when he wrote that the book would be closed until the time of the end (Dan. 12:4). Jesus said when speaking to those Jews who would have Him crucified, that His Father had blinded their eyes lest they see and be converted; and all of the prophets agree with this, declaring that Abraham's posterity will have a veil over their understanding until the day that the end-time generation will see their sign in the heavens. (We should note, though, that this dire prophecy for the Hebrews speaks to the "nation" and not necessarily to the individual Jew who throughout the age has been able to receive Christ as Lord and Savior, just as has anyone else who has been exposed to the Gospel of Christ. After all, the first New Testament Church was comprised mostly of converted Jews.)

And by the way, the Jew's end-time sign will be our Lord's appearing in the clouds with the shout of the archangel and with the sound of the trumpet. The Jew's end-time sign will be our Rapture (See Zech. 12:10-13:1 and Mt 24:30-31). On this day that the end-time remnant of Israel sees their sign, they will mourn for Him whom they have pierced! This will be the day when the end-time remnant will see their deliverance. It will be a day of troublous times for the end-time Jew, to be sure, but a day when Israel's God will again intervene for their nation. It will be a day when God will again move to protect Israel from their enemies on the battlefield. It will be a day that will mark the end of the Jews dispersion among the Gentiles; and prophetically speaking, it will be a day when their sight will be restored and the Book, including the end-time prophecies, will be opened for their understanding. For the Church, though, the day that the end-time Jews receive their sight will be the day the Lord returns for His Bride with all the accompanying end-time events—a day for which the church should be fully prepared. After all, the book has been open to her throughout this age: open, that is, with certain qualifications.

The first qualification has to do with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In I Corinthians 2:10-14 Paul writes that all Scripture must be illumined by the Spirit to be understood; and due to its nature, this is particularly true of end-time prophecy (II Pet. 1:19-21).

The attitude of the heart is also considered. When the angel of the Lord came to give Daniel understanding of the end time, he said, "...for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard" (Daniel 10:12).

Another factor that governed our forefather's efforts to understand end-time prophecy also holds sway over our attempts. In the area of end-time prophecy, for the most part, the Church has understood only those things it has needed to know lest it be cumbered with things that do not concern it. If this thesis holds, then as the prophesied end times draw nearer, the understanding of the Church should increase accordingly.

With this in mind, let's look at the end-time spirit of expectancy that has filled the church during the past two or three decades. Just as at the time of our Lord's visitation, when He was born in a manger of a virgin, when the Jews were asking questions about the end time, so it is with the Church today! "Are these the end-time signs we're to look for?" the Church wonders. "What about the fact that Israel is back in her home land? Could this be the end-time remnant of the Jews? What about the earthquakes we're having in divers places and the strange weather patterns and the horrible famines in the third world countries? Are these end-time signs? What about the way that sin is abounding, the way people are fascinated with evil works and taking pleasure in them that do them? What about the way violence is filling the earth, even saturating the entertainment world? Could Sodom and Gomorrah be any more like we are today? Could we say that we're living in perilous times when a good portion of each daily newscast is given to reporting the day's murders, rapes, home invasions, and the like? Is all this the end-time evil of which we're forewarned? And how often per day do we hear of wars and rumors of wars? " The Clock of the Ages is steadily clicking, and the list of end-time signs being fulfilled continues to grow, as does the expectancy of the Church. The cry comes from more and more pulpits, "Behold, the bride-groom cometh!" More and more church members are shaking their heads, arising from their slumber, and trimming their lamps. The Spirit of end-time expectancy is upon us! Church, it is time for the understanding of the Word of end-time prophecy to come forth in the Body; and as never before, for those who are studying to show themselves approved unto God, this end-time Word is being opened!

As we study end-time prophecy, to be fruitful we need to understand some unique Bible events and facts as well as the usage of types and end-time prophetic language. Just as it helped to refresh our minds on the temples and the dispensations of the Bible, it will also help us to consider some of the methods used in the Scriptures to conceal prophetic truths. First, let's read verse three and then we'll reflect on some of the ways in which end-time prophecy has been hidden.

We cannot overemphasize the fact that the prophetic Word is put together in a manner that tends to mystify the reader. This has been accomplished by the use of many devices. Parables, for example, hide truths in stories. Types—people or events that point forward to people or events in another time—are used quite extensively and can be very meaningful to the Spirit-filled Christian. Also, even though Christ explained some of His veiled teachings in the Scriptures, leaving us some important keys, we must realize that the final understanding of all Scripture is left to the interpretation of the Holy Spirit. Peter gives us to understand that (because of its nature?), this has always been true of prophecy; but for us so far removed from the time of the New Testament Church, this is especially true concerning the end-time word.

So, it's true that God has used many things to make His book a "closed book" to the merely curious or the disputers of this world, but it is also true that He wrote it for His Church to understand. Nevertheless, the mysterious prophetic language that serves to confound the unregenerated mind has often puzzled the Church as well; but as the prophesied end-times loom on the horizon, the understanding of more and more of these camouflaged passages will be given to the Church; and hopefully, this book will play a part in that quickening. So, with this expectancy in mind, let's begin our examination of the Biblical shrouds of end-time prophecy.

It will help us in our study of things destined for the end-times, if we understand that things in nature are used in the Bible to represent entities in the spiritual realm. A classic use of "spiritual vegetation" would be the forest of Judges 9:8-15.

Surely we can't read a passage like this without understanding that the vegetation in the Bible often has special significance! In this passage we can deduce that the cedars of Lebanon, the trees, are the Hebrew children; while the olive trees represent the Hebrews of the Age of Promise with the faith of faithful Abraham. In addition, those of the faith of Father Abraham of any age can be said to be like a green olive tree.

The fig tree, we know from its use in the New Testament, represents Israel under the Law—perhaps the most visible of all the entities of end-time prophecy.

In John chapter 15 we're told that Jesus is the vine of the New Testament Church and we are the branches grafted into that Vine. Of course, the Church will also be a key player in end-time events, being commissioned to carry the end-time Gospel of the Kingdom to the world and its end-time generation being the ones who go up in the Rapture.

The palm tree, the apple tree, and the pomegranate—all of these have significance and represent key end-time players. The palm tree represents the Israelite(s) on the earth during the millennium while the apple tree depicts the millennial believer(s) that will be bringing forth the fruit of the Scriptures. The pomegranate stands for the glorified saint(s) of the Kingdom Age who will be serving Christ and helping Him rule in His kingdom (Jn 12:13; Joel 1:12; Pr. 7:2; Song 6:11).

And then, of course, the bramble is Satan, a busy individual at every increment on the Clock of the Age—but especially so during the end-times.

Also, while we're discussing things of nature representing things of the kingdom, we need to consider the rocks, the hills, and the mountain as well. In Daniel 2:35 we read about a stone that smote the image and became a great mountain that grew and filled the whole earth. In the Scriptures Christ is seen as the "rock" in the wilderness that was smitten to become the source of a spring of living water for the Hebrew children—a Rock that eventually became the cornerstone of the New Testament Church, which has since made its presence known in every corner of the earth. The "hills of Zion" and the "mountain that grew and filled the whole earth" are logical, symbolic names given to the two churches (the Hebrew nation and the Christian Church); for the churches have been elevated by their God and set apart for all to see.

The Mount of Olives in this verse is symbolic of the Grace-Age Church. And how could we ask for a better representation? This particular mountain was known far and wide for its beautiful olive trees. The mount was our Lord's favorite place of prayer—the Garden of Gethsemane lying at the foot of it. He started His royal triumphant entry into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. He taught His disciples often in its cool shade. It was a place of communion with God where He and His disciples would draw inner peace and strength from the Father. We should also note that the disciples came and met with Him privately at the Mount of Olives; and truly the relationship of the Church with its Lord is a private, intimate thing that the world cannot comprehend.

So then, the disciples are meeting privately with their Master at the Mount of Olives, and His comments back at the temple have them thinking in an end-time prophetic vein. Foremost, they are very concerned about when their temple will be utterly destroyed. Also, while the time seems right, there are two other events they are curious about (events that He has apparently previously mentioned); namely, His return and the end of the world. And by the way, all three of these key end-time events have been etched onto the face of the Clock of the Ages.

To help us understand the disciples' three-fold question, the church has adopted a method of illustrating the three remaining main events of end-time prophecy yet to be fulfilled from our Lord's time forward—a method known as the peaks and valleys of prophecy. In illustration # 2 (next page), we have illustrated the three peaks of end-time prophecy. We've done so from the Hebrew perspective because of Matthew's emphasis on those things pertaining to the descendants of Abraham—an emphasis that we'll examine in more detail in our next chapter.

For the sake of continuity, we'll examine the three peaks briefly in their chronological order; and then we'll take the time to look at each in some detail.

(1) The first peak includes the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This is really the last event on the downward side of a major prophetic peak that includes the birth of Christ, His death, His burial, His resurrection, the birth of the Church and, finally, the destruction of Jerusalem. For the Jews the valley that follows has been their period of dispersion among the Gentile nations.

(2) The second end-time peak has to do with those things associated with the Second Coming of the Lord, which will be followed by a valley in time known as the Millennium or the Kingdom Age.

(3) The third end-time peak is located at the end of the Kingdom Age and has to do with all of the important events surrounding the end of the world!

Down through the ages most churches have accepted this general prophetic outline of the end times. True, many suppositions have been weaved in and around these end-time peaks; but, for the most part, any teaching that has been given recognition in the church usually leaves these peaks intact. As a teaching instrument, this simplistic overview has served the Church well for those generations who have gone "by way of the grave." This does not mean, however, that more is not written or that more understanding will not be given. More has been written of the end times and more understanding will come forth for those who need it, for those who must go through the awesome tribulations associated with the remaining end times.

We should also note that even though this is Israel's time line of her prophetic peaks and valleys, it could not have shed any light for backsliding Israel whose eyes have been darkened by God all the centuries of their rebellion. In fact, it has only served to confuse them—hiding the valleys from their view and aligning the end-time peaks of prophecy so that their prophetic vision has been blurred. For example, because they could not see the valleys, they have always had problems resolving a suffering, abused Messiah, stricken of God (This happened at the first end-time peak), with one who would rule Israel and the whole world with a rod of iron in God's stead (This kingdom will be established at the second end-time peak.). From their point of view, the first and second peaks blurred into one. The Church, though, with its hindsight, should have no trouble at all distinguishing the difference. After all, it has been living in the valley that separates the two peaks for some 2,000 years now.

So far, we have only looked briefly at what the three end-time peaks represent. Let's take time now to examine each peak in more detail.

For the first peak of prophecy, we can look at the Bible and the work of historians, and read of the events associated with Israel's visitation. As we do, the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple comes to the fore; so, let's look at a couple of passages that record the incident from our Lord's perspective.

Historians tell us that the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple went something like this.

The Jews in Jerusalem were under such heavy taxation from Rome that they went into rebellion. They massacred the Roman garrison there. The government of Syria tried to put down the revolt, but they were not strong enough; they could only besiege the city—an event that our Lord had prophesied. At this time, Nero had so many problems internally that he could not help Syria; so the siege went on—just as prophesied. Finally, in A.D. 70, General Vespasian was sent from Rome; but he did not make it to Jerusalem because of the death of Nero. He was consequentially called back to Rome and made the new emperor. He then sent his son Titus who did a bang-up job. Josephus the historian tells us that he killed one million, one hundred thousand Jews. He leveled the city in his rage and took so many Jews as slaves that he glutted the market; no one even wanted them as slaves—all as prophesied for this end-time peak by the Old Testament prophets (Deut. 4:24-27; 28:63-68; Jer. 8:12-13).

The passages we just quoted from Luke are primarily reflecting how it will be at the time of the temple's destruction while our text in Matthew 24 is more vague about A.D. 70—focusing instead on the Lord's second coming.

If we'll examine the events associated with each of the peaks of prophecy, we'll observe some similarities; yet we'll see differences with which we can categorize the end-time events by determining which peak they are associated with. The similarities are also key, for they can give us a glimpse into the future by the use of foreshadowing. Let's use the term foreshadowing to illustrate the Scripture's use of one event to represent another event in time—a future event that is usually similar to the one being discussed, yet one of greater magnitude and usually one of more dire consequences! Foreshadowing is something like the artistic use of cinematography in a movie wherein a certain place, time, and scene are shown on the screen that gradually fades from view even as another scene—often of the same place, but of another time—overlays the original view. For a while, both scenes are apparent; but, eventually, the latter totally replaces the first. The temple's destruction in A.D. 70 is such a scene. Those things that happened then can be seen as a foreshadowing of the end-time events that will affect Israel at our Lord's Second Coming. And as we'll see later on, these happenings also foreshadow events that will take place at the end of the Millennium as well.

But this wasn't the only prophesied event to take place at this first end-time peak. Matter of fact, each end-time peak of prophecy includes many foretold end-time events. For Israel the first end-time peak was the time of their visitation, of their rejection of their Messiah, of the destruction of their city and their temple. It was also the beginning of the Jew's dispersion among the Gentile nations. For Christ, the first end-time peak was the appointed time to visit His creation and fulfill His role as the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. As the resurrected Christ, it was time for Him to install His Church, His future Bride. For the Gentiles the first end-time peak was the time when a great light was given, when they that were no people were made a people. For these end-time Gentiles it was the beginning of a long valley in time known as the Church Age or the Age or Grace, which has run concurrently with the Jew's dispersion all these years (Is. 49:6; Ho. 2:23).

The second peak in prophecy will also be full of activity. For Israel it will be a time of great tribulation, a time of intense persecution that will bring to an end the long period of persecution known as their dispersion or wintering period. For the Jews who will endure to the end of this period, it will be a fearful, yet exciting time when again they will see their God performing wonderfully on their behalf. This period will come to an end with the children of Abraham finally possessing all the promised land (the land promised to Abraham and his seed [Is. 11:11-12; Jer. 23:3-8; Ez. 37: 21-28]).

For Christ and His Church, the second end-time peak will be very special as well. For the Church it will be known as the time of our Lord's Second Coming that will actually take place in two end-time events. In the first event, Christ will not touch down on the earth; rather, He'll make His appearance in the clouds and take His Church up to be with Him. We read of this in the following verses:

Just prior to this end-time peak, many things will happen. Israel must be back in Jerusalem and the many end-time signs must come to pass. (We'll deal with these end-time signs in more detail later.) From Daniel's prophecies and from the Olivett discourse here in Matthew 24, we can deduce that this first event of our Lord's return, the Rapture, will take place at the end of an unspecified length of time of end-time tribulation—a time so horrible that if God Himself does not intervene, no flesh would be saved!

When the Church is raptured, many Jews will realize that they have rejected their Messiah and they will repent. This end-time event will kick in the first three and one-half years of Daniel's seventieth week. At this point, the end-time Jews will understand that they have been climbing the second peak for some time. (Chapters 12, 13, and 14 of Zechariah explain what Israel will go through in and around this time. The passage is referred to in Matthew 24:30.) During this time, the raptured Church (the Bride of Christ) and the Lamb (Christ) will take their marriage vows and the marriage will be consummated. Oh, Jesus and His Bride had been sparking during the Church Age—to be sure—but this will be the time of the honeymoon. While the Church is enjoying the festivities in heaven, on the earth below Israel will be sealed and kept by her God during the first one-half of Daniel's seventieth week (Rev. 19:7-10; 12:6-17).

The second event of our Lord's return will take place near the end of this first three and one-half years when He returns from heaven with His holy angels and His glorified saints, to wage war against Satan and those he has deceived. This war will disrupt Satan's rule as the prince of the powers of darkness, for he will be bound and cast into hell for a thousand years (Rev. 19:11-20:3). The judgment of the nations will bring this end-time peak to a close.

This second peak of prophecy will be followed by the valley of the Kingdom Age wherein our Lord will reign in peace for a thousand years. No acts of sin will be permitted during this time. This will be the time for which the whole creation groaneth and travaileth, for it will be the time wherein the curse will be removed from nature. It will be the time when the calf can lie down with the lion without fear for they both will feed on hay. It will be the time when there will no longer be enmity between the serpent and man, and the child can safely play with the adder for its poison will be removed (Is. 11:1-11).

The third peak of prophecy will then follow the Kingdom Age. This final end-time peak will see the release of the devil from his thousand years of confinement. Once again, he'll blight the earth and raise an army of rebellious men to war against their God. This final battle will be followed by the Great White Throne Judgment of all whose names are not found in the Lamb's Book of Life. At this time, Satan will receive his final judgment and he and all who followed his ways will be cast into the Lake of Fire to burn forever and ever. After all this, a new heaven and a new earth will replace the old ones, which will be destroyed by fire. (We read of all this in Revelation, chapters 20 and 21.)

So then, alone with their Lord on the Mount of Olives, the disciples ask their Lord about future times on the Clock of the Ages, times that will encompass the three final major end times of prophecy; and even though these end times will effect the whole world, we'll soon see that our Lord's answer in Matthew 24 and 25 is not nearly so inclusive.

This will be the beginning of sorrows for whom? To whom will all of these things happen?

The students of history are taught to concentrate upon two things as they study historical manuscripts; i.e., content and context. They understand that they need to know who the author is, to whom he is talking, what motivated the writing, when and where it was written, and which time span it was written about. The Bible, among other things, is the greatest historical manuscript on the earth; so in our study, we'll keep these principles in mind. Let's look now at the "who" and the "to whom" of this passage.

Concerning the Old Testament we've already mentioned how that down through the centuries, the Holy Spirit moved upon men of old to write and compile the Scriptures. And this is equally true of the New Testament. The Holy Spirit moved upon those men who penned the Gospels and the Epistles just as he did the Old Testament authors so that the New Testament, too, is presented to mankind as sacred Scripture. So, although Matthew penned the words, it is the Holy Spirit who is the author. But as to who actually spoke these words that Matthew recorded, the passage itself identifies the speaker to be the greatest prophet of all—the Lord Jesus Himself.

The "to whom" is not as easy to identify. True, in this narration our Lord is speaking to those disciples who walked with Him during the time of His visitation, but we're not far into the passage before we see foreshadowing coming to play. And through foreshadowing, we can see Jesus not only talking to His Hebrew disciples of the first century, but to the descendants of Abraham who will be living at the times of the other major peaks of prophecy as well. For the most part, He alludes to those outside of Israel only as what they do affects the Hebrews.

Also, as we approach this passage, we need to be aware that foreshadowing not only applies to people, but to the events and to the inferred atmosphere as well. We see this in verses 4-8 where Jesus is giving the disciples a list of things that they must go though during their lifetime, a list that will be repeated for the Jew at the end of our age, only in a greater magnitude. Similarly, we see in verses 9-12 a sort of visual overlay of things that will happen to Israel intermittently during the valley of its dispersion. And as the hands of the Clock of the Ages move toward the midnight hour, similar things will crop up again at the end of our age—compounding the problems prophesied for Israel at that time.

Now, let's look at verse 9, keeping in mind as we do that foreshadowing can be a great help; for it lets us get the very important feel of the prophetic tenure of the passages we are analyzing.

What a peculiar statement! For the sake of the name of the one they would crucify and steadfastly reject throughout their dispersion, the descendants of Abraham through Isaac shall be hated on a worldwide scale. Perhaps this comes about every time the Jews experience an atrocity, making many to wonder if all of this could be because they indeed crucified the Son of God! Our Lord's statement brings to mind Paul's comment about the Pharaoh who resisted Moses and was swallowed up by the Red Sea, even as he was chasing God's people. "For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh," writes Paul in Romans 9:17, "Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth." Truly, that was so in Pharaoh's day and it's still so wherever the Bible is taught. To be made a gazing stock for the whole world, what a shame that Israel and the infamous Pharaoh could have such a thing in common. "And ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." What an epithet for a nation once the apple of God's eye!

Remember, He's speaking of the Jews; this will be their behavior one with another.

Now, the picture has moved fully into the second end-time peak; and the next verse is about the generation of Hebrews living at the end of the Age of Grace.

Those Jews who endure to the end of this age—through the great tribulation—shall be saved and in a spectacular way as we'll see later.

The rest of this discourse, found in verses 14-31, deals primarily with either the dispersed Jew or the millennial Jew; but we need to lay some more groundwork before we can expound upon the particulars. In other places in the Scriptures, we are told how the end-time events will effect the Gentile world powers, the unbelieving element in the world, the Grace-Age Church, and even our Lord Himself; but, for the most part, Matthew 24 is directed to and deals with the descendants of Father Abraham—they are the "ye" of Matthew 24.

BIBLE PROPHECY: OT prophecy and NT prophecy studied by Don Love Ministries DOWEKNOW. OT prophecy and NT prophecy are compared to the understanding of prophecy in the church. DoWeKnow looks at Daniel's prophecies as well as the prophecies of Peter, the prophecies of John, and the prophecies of Paul re: the latter days, the last days, the Rapture, the tribulation, the beast, the Millenium, the end of the world, etc.