People often ask why so many prophecies are dual? It is: because making them dual causes a more profound understanding of either the message to be retained or the lesson to be learned. In addition, it is easier to anticipate the fulfillment of a prophecy during our time when you see an example of it in history.
Detailed prophecy generally has to be absorbed by a prophet and then passed on to its intended audience. The Prophet Ezekiel ate a book of prophecy (Ezekiel 2:8-Ezekiel 3:3). The Prophet John ate a book of prophecy (Revelation 10:1-11). The books were sweet in their mouths. But John’s book turned to bitterness when it reached the stomach. This exemplifies the fact that learning what will happen before it happens is fascinating and generally beneficial; however, there are obvious negatives. Most likely, what a real prophet has to say will almost never be politically correct. A true prophet will not always have pleasant things to predict, unlike a fortune teller who will predict just about anything to keep her clients happy.
Prophecies can show us the ultimate in rewards that are gained after endurance, overcoming, and faithfulness. This perspective is, for the most part, timeless. Even though prophecy by its very meaning is predictive, prophecy without the relevant imperatives of character-building is like a play without a moral or a story without a point.
Judas is the disciple who betrayed Jesus for money (Matthew 26:15-16). It would have been better for Judas if he had never been born (Mark 14:21). Afterwards, Judas took a dive off of a high place with a fastener around his neck, exploding at the bottom with his bowels gushing out (Matthew 27:3-5, Acts 1:16-18). One twelfth of the disciples of Christ were replaced. Matthias replaced unfaithful Judas (Acts 1:25-26). By the same token, one twelfth of the potential 144,000 of Revelation chapter 7 will be replaced. The tribe of Dan (that would have had a population of 12,000) will be omitted. To make up the difference, Joseph will be added, resulting in Joseph and his son occupying two tribal positions instead of one (Revelation 7:4-8). One of the meanings of the word “Joseph” is “addition”.
Herod executed James and captured Peter because it pleased the members of the standard religion, consisting of, at that time, the non-Messianic Jews (Acts 12:1-3). Just as faithful Christians were threatened with death by the standard religion during the first century, and a different form of the standard religion during the dark ages, faithful Christians will be threatened with death by the standard religion at the end of man’s rule (John 16:2, Revelation 17:6). God’s people are told to come out of Babylon (Revelation 18:4). One sign of false prophets and false teachers is their willingness to try to make merchandise of God’s people (II Peter 2:1-3). Zechariah looked forward to a time during which there would be the absence of the Canaanite (Zechariah 14:21). The Hebrew for Canaanite is from “Chenaanee”, meaning merchant. Canaanite is a word for merchant just as Caldean is a word for astrologer. John wrote of a time in which merchants will weep and mourn (Revelation 18:11) all because Babylon will have been ruined (Revelation 18:2).
Sodom is representative of extreme wickedness (Genesis 13:13). Egypt, which had enslaved Israel (Exodus 1:13-14), is a symbol of sin. Old Jerusalem at the end of the age of man’s rule will become a combination of Sodom and Egypt, extreme wickedness and enslaving sin (Revelation 11:8). Just as Egypt is a type of sin, Pharaoh is a type of Satan. Pharaoh did not want to let the people of God escape from Egypt, the land of sin. By the same token Satan does not want to let the people of God escape from sin during the end time. Satan will have great wrath, knowing that his time is short (Revelation 12:12). Just as Moses and Aaron were two witnesses to truth as the Children of Israel were led out of Egypt, so also there will be two witnesses at the end time. There will be two witnesses prophesying three and a half years (forty-two months) (Revelation chapter 11). Just as Moses and Aaron were instrumental in seeing to it that the Children of Israel escaped from Egypt, the two witnesses will be instrumental in seeing to it that the people of God escape from sin and from Babylon.
Just as Paul was overcoming (fighting the good fight), finishing the course (enduring to the end), and keeping the faith (II Timothy 4:7), the final headquarters team ruling with Jesus will have been overcoming (I John 5:4-5, Revelation 2:26), enduring to the end (Matthew 10:22, James 1:12) and remaining faithful (Revelation 2:10, Revelation 17:14). The faithful will have been mindful of a future reward and have embraced the promises (Hebrews 11:13-14). Both Isaiah and Paul remind us of a future time of ultimate rewards, which cannot be totally understood by the mind of man, a time so magnificent that eye has not seen and ear has not heard what God has prepared for those who love him and wait for him (Isaiah 64:4, I Corinthians 2:9).
While many will claim that the original creation of the planet occurred 6000 years ago (an absurdity of mammoth proportions), it is a fact that man was created about 6000 years ago. We have the genealogy all the way back to Adam. It is about 6000 years into the past. The time is a rough estimate because, although Genesis and other books of the Bible provide us with genealogies and how old a man was when his son was born, there is the problem of factoring in fractions of years.
For example, Abraham was reported as being 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him (Genesis 21:5). However, what does it truly mean that Abraham was 100 years old? It means he was past his one-hundredth birthday. How far was he past it? We don’t know. He may have been 100 years and 1 month old. He may have been 100 years and 5 months old. He may have been 100 years and 11 months old. And the same is true of many who are listed in the genealogies. And this is the reason the time of the creation of Adam cannot be pinpointed with great accuracy. But we do know it was about 6000 years ago.
To reconcile the fact of the age of the universe (about 13.5 billion years) and the age of man (around 6000 years) go to Gap Theories.
Many Bible scholars would estimate it to be just under 6000 years because of the theory of the Sabbath of millenniums. Just as the re-creation took six days and the seventh was the day God rested, leaving us an example that we should also rest on the seventh day – so also there is six 1000 periods of time that Satan does his dirty work But the seventh 1000 year period will be a forced period of rest for Satan (Revelation 20:2,3,7). Satan will be put into the abyss for 1000 years and then released. He will be forced to rest during that last 1000 years.
Just as the prophet Elijah pointed people to the true God during the time of Jezebel and King Ahab, there will be a modern day Elijah to point people to the real God in today’s world, destroying the influence of the end-time Jezebel.
For some more information about the prophet Elijah, go to 4 Elijahs.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
-wilyelder
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