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Showing posts with the label Prophecy

Linking Noah, Moses, and Jesus

There are several literary terms that apply to the historical events in the Bible, such as foreshadowing. In stories (including movies), people are given hints as to what will happen later. There are also types  involving events and people (e.g., 1 Cor. 10:11, Rom. 5:14). It is interesting that in the Bible, historical events actually happened and people really lived who were paralleling what was to come. (Indeed, there are startling similarities between the sacrifices of Isaac and Jesus .) Strong links between Noah, Moses, and Jesus can be seen. Public domain images of Noah, Moses, and Jesus via Breadsite People who read their Bibles and pay attention to good teaching know that the Scripture has a large number of prophecies. Many have been fulfilled (especially surrounding the birth, death, and Resurrection of Jesus) and others are yet to be filled. Perhaps the parallels between Noah, Moses, and Jesus can be considered somewhat prophetic, since prophecy is not difficult for God. They

The New Creation of the World

People have been fascinated by ideas about the end of the world almost since it began — maybe Adam and Eve speculated on the subject. People lived for decades in terror of nuclear annihilation, and that specter looms again. NASA tells us why the Mayan prophecy of 2012 was wrong, but they  are incorrect because they speak from a naturalistic paradigm. Some consult the vague stuff of Nostradamus and various fortune tellers, others expect a giant rock from space. All wrong. The world will  end, but not in any way these folks expect. End of the World, Pixabay / Geralt (Gerd Altmann) When people say that the Genesis Flood is just an allegory, point out that Peter referred to the Flood as real when he wrote about the coming Big Bang at the end of the world in 2 Peter 3:5-10. Also, Jesus likened the end to the Flood in Matthew 24:37-39. There is a Judgment coming, and people need to be ready. There are people who think that perhaps the world will not be destroyed and remade, but more like i

When the World Ends

A drawback to our instant information age is exposure to fake news and bad news, and often a combination of both. There is anthropogenic climate change , fears that the Apophis asteroid will destroy the world in 2029, exaggerated reports of an asteroid that missed us by a long shot, the Wuhan Coronavirus , earthquakes, and more. Guess we don't need to worry about global warming. Credit: Pixabay / Gerd Altmann People have wondered many times if the world was ending. I lived through the Cold War, and to listen to many songs, they were about fear of nuclear annihilation.  In addition to concerns about nature, add the way people are acting: atheists are becoming increasingly obstreperous, people using political leverage to seize power, the rise in the murder of unborn children, random acts of violence, fanatical evolutionism — it is no surprise that people are wondering if the world is coming to an end very soon. Especially Bible-believing Christians.  Yes, the world

The Gospel of Isaiah

When reading the prophets in the Old Testament, it is easy to feel a mite lost without a guidebook or a pastor telling you what's going on. If I want expository preaching on, say, Zechariah, I can listen to Dr. John MacArthur . He also preaches on Isaiah, but I don't feel quite as lost along the trail when reading Isaiah. The prophets talked about time and events that are baffling to this child, what with kingdoms and people that are mostly lost to history. Prophet Isaiah predicts the return of the Jews from exile , Maarten van Heemskerck, 1560-1565 A reader of Isaiah who is also familiar with the rest of the Bible can see some important things happening. Several times, Isaiah reminds Israel and Judah (and us) that God is the Creator. There are places in his lengthy book where he talks about Immanuel (or Emmanuel). We learn about God the Son, the Creator, and his birth, death, glory, and the restoration of all things at the end. In fact, I thought there were some echoes

The Seventy Weeks Prophecies

Prophecy is an important and prominent component of the Bible , and many of them were specifically and rather dramatically fulfilled already. Others are yet to happen. Many Christians are heavily involved in eschatology (end-times prophecies), and it is a fascinating subject. I'll allow that it's mighty confusing at times, however, and it is not my strongest subject. There are several different viewpoints that I will not go into here, but I'll let you know that I lean toward what is often called the Premillennial view, as I believe its proponents make the most compelling case. Credit: Pixabay / StockSnap I think one reason that there is different schools of thought on prophecy is that God has his own reasons for making some things hidden. Prophecies about Jesus were not known during his earthly ministry, and the fulfillments were not recognized until after his Resurrection. Also, God does not do things according to our demands. Add to this that we need to look at the

Prophecies and the Bible

Something that inspires awe and faith in Christians, but consternation and excuse-making in professing atheists, is biblical prophecy. In simplest terms, a prophet is someone sent by God to proclaim his message. (There are quite a few qualifiers, however.) People think a prophet primarily foretells the future, but that is only a part of his job. Credit: Freeimages / John Harris Pe There are far too many self-appointed "prophets" who contradict Scripture. God made it clear that Scripture is God breathed , and a prophet must be right every time. These modern sidewinders are not only presumptuous in announcing, "God said to me...", but are often vague, and have a terrible record for accuracy. If they tried their shenanigans in ancient Israel, they wouldn't live long (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). God himself prophesied directly about the coming Redeemer in Genesis 3:15. I'll allow that prophesy is a difficult subject, since some were far in the future, such