“Prophetic Principles: The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy” Class Session #16 Three Stages of Israel’s History Stage #1 (1445 B. C.): From Sinai to the Captivity Exodus 19:1-6: God made a covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai: “In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. 2 For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain. 3 And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 4 'You have seen [God’s goodness should motivate them] what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." Exodus 19:7, 8: Israel responds by promising to obey God’s voice: “So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord.” Exodus 40:34: The Shekinah enters the tabernacle in the wilderness and God dwells with Israel: “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 257 of 669 Solomon’s Temple Around the year 960 B. C. a more permanent house was built for the Lord. Solomon built the temple in the city of Jerusalem and God came to dwell among His people in the Jerusalem Temple. I Kings 8:10, 11: The Shekinah enters the Temple in the days of Solomon: “And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” 800 Years of Rebellion 2 Chronicles 36:14-16: Israel was rebellious for a period of 800 years (see Daniel 9:4-6, 8-10) even though God sent messengers day and night to them. The messengers were the prophets such as Jeremiah: “Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations [key word] of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” Ezekiel 16:15 is a graphic description of the apostasy of Israel: "But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.” Jerusalem Judged 592 B. C.: Ezekiel 1:4: God comes from the north to judge Jerusalem for the abominations (key word) that are being committed in the city. Read Ezekiel 8:16, 17. These abominations would lead to desolation. The word ‘desolation’ means the end of ordered society both politically and religiously as well as the destruction of the city. The reversal of the desolation would not only be to build the physical city but to reestablish its political and religious institutions: “Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.” ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 258 of 669 Ezekiel 9:1-6: The righteous are separated from the wicked in the Temple: “Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, "Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand." 2 And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer's inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar [in the court]. 3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer's inkhorn at his side; 4 and the Lord said to him: "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations [a key word] that are done within it. 5 To the others He said in my hearing, "Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the temple.” The Shekinah Departs Ezekiel 10:19: When the judgment separation is finished the Shekinah glory departs from the temple and lingers at the East Gate of the Temple: “And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.” Ezekiel 11:22, 23: The Shekinah then leaves the Temple and the city and lingers on the Mount of Olives and then leaves. The city and temple are now desolate because of the abominations. This is the abomination of desolation: “So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them. 23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain, which is on the east side of the city.” Desolation of Jerusalem 2 Chronicles 36:17-21: The desolation of Jerusalem comes when the temple, the city and the walls are destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Jerusalem has ceased to function as a religious and political entity: “Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. 19 Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 259 of 669 20 And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons [but this was not the end of the theocracy. After the seventy years the Jewish nation would receive a second chance] until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.” Stage # 2: this is the period of the 70 week prophecy 2 Chronicles 36:22, 23: Israel restored to their land after the 70 years. The Temple, the city and the walls are rebuilt and their political and religious institutions begin to function again. They are now given a second chance: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia [536 B. C.], that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!” Temple Finished Haggai 2:2, 3: The post-exilic temple did not have the glory of the temple that was built by Solomon. In fact, the Shekinah did not enter this temple when it was finished: "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: 3 'Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?” Haggai 2:6-9: Yet prophecy predicted that this latter Temple would far surpass the glory of the temple that was built by Solomon. The Jews are still, even till today, trying to understand this prophecy because the Temple was never physically as glorious as Solomon’s: "For thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and [the Desire of all nations will come] they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,' says the Lord of hosts. 8 'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the Lord of hosts. 9 'The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,' says the Lord of hosts. 'And in this place I will give peace,' says the Lord of hosts." During the period of the seventy weeks God sent many additional messengers to Israel—men like Haggai, Zechariah, Joshua, Zerubabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi and finally John the Baptist. Yet when Jesus came, the leaders of the Jewish nation were oblivious to His mission. They did not really understand why they existed and so they rejected the Messiah. ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 260 of 669 Stage #3: This is the last week of the seventy week prophecy John 1:14: Fulfills the prophecy of Haggai: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt [the word means ‘tabernacled’ or ‘dwelt in a tent’. This brings to mind Exodus 25:8 where God says that Israel should build Him a sanctuary that He may dwell among them. There are three common words between Exodus 25:8 and John 1:14: Tent, dwell and among. And also later the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:35 ] among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Luke 12:27-28: The Jews loved to reminisce about how great Solomon and his temple were but Jesus said: “Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” In the parallel passage in Matthew Jesus said about Himself: “one greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:42). Several times during His ministry, Jesus taught in the temple courts. But He was opposed tooth and nail by the religious leaders. Now we must move to the end of Jesus’ ministry. Luke 19:37, 38: Jesus descends toward the Temple from the Mt. of Olives and enters the city by way of the Golden Gate: “Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying: "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!' Peace [the very word that was used in Haggai] in heaven and glory in the highest!" Luke 19:47-48: The religious leaders tried to destroy Him: “And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.” Matthew 21:12, 13: Then we are told that Jesus entered the ‘temple of God’ and called the temple ‘my house’: “Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 13 And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves." ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 261 of 669 For three chapters (Matthew 21-23), Jesus, the Shekinah in person now teaches in the temple. His main theme was to discuss the history and rebellion of Israel and its result. He does this through a series of parables.  John the Baptist said that every tree that did not bear fruit would be cut down and thrown into the fire.  In Luke 13:6-9 (by this time three years have passed since John the Baptist began his preaching about the tree) the tree has not yet borne fruit but the command is given to allow it to remain for another year to see if it would bear fruit.  A year later, Jesus sees this fig tree that has no fruit. Matthew 21:18, 19: The fig tree episode: “Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away.” Matthew 21:33-43: Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard workers. Notice the three stages of Israel’s history here. Underline that the message now goes to the Gentiles. This is God’s new nation: "Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner [God the Father] who planted a vineyard [the city of Jerusalem] and set a hedge around it [the Law], dug a winepress in it and built a tower [the temple]. And he leased it to vinedressers [Israel] and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants [the first chance, the prophets, Amos 3:7] to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants [the second chance: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, John the Baptist], more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all [the last opportunity, a sense of finality] he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves: 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard [Jesus died outside Jerusalem] and killed him. 40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?" 41 They said to Him: "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons." 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” Matthew 22:1-14: Jesus tells the parable of the great banquet in the Temple again (get the DVD of this in the Robe of Life series). Matthew 23:29-33: Jesus concludes His teaching in the temple with the woes on the Scribes and Pharisees: ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 262 of 669 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say: 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.' 31 "Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt [to fill the cup means that mercy has come to an end—see Genesis 15:16; Revelation 15:7]. 33 Serpents [serpents are born from serpents], brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” Matthew 23:34-36: Even after the death of Christ mercy would linger as if longing to save the nation: “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” Matthew 23:37, 38: Your house is left onto you desolate because you rejected the Messiah: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate [critically important word].” Matthew 24:1: Jesus, the Shekinah leaves the Temple: “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple [just like the Shekinah did at the first temple], and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.” Matthew 24:2, 3: Jesus lingers on the Mt. of Olives, east of Jerusalem [just like the Shekinah did at the first temple] Jesus speaks about the destruction or desolation of Jerusalem: “And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying: "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" Matthew 24:15: When the abomination of desolation was seen then desolation was near. This abomination of desolation is the one spoken of by Daniel the prophet. This connects with Daniel 9: "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand).” Luke 21:20: The abomination of desolation was the Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem: ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 263 of 669 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.” Luke 19:41-44: This was the last chance for the Hebrew Theocracy: “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation." Review of 3 stages: Stage #1: Taken out of captivity in Egypt and make a covenant at Sinai. Apostasy for 800 years (the mingled with the nations and assimilated their evil conduct) and the result was the Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Stage #2: Taken out of captivity and return to temple, walls, city and government. Seventy weeks probation is given to the Jewish nation. This is a second chance. They responded by isolating themselves and becoming legalistic. Stage #3: The Son is sent as the last resort. The parable says: “last of all He sent His Son”. Two sins compared: “The great sin of the Jews was their rejection of Christ; the great sin of the Christian world would be their rejection of the law of God, the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. The precepts of Jehovah would be despised and set at nought.” GC, pp. 22, 23 In church you hear that the law was nailed to the cross, that no one can keep it, that it was for the Jews, that we are not under the law but under grace. That we are not under the letter but under the Spirit, that all you need to do is believe and be saved. But in the political arena you hear a different tune. Just by way of example, you have political candidates wooing evangelicals in Iowa finding out what their agenda is. In the political arena, the religious leaders say that the government must enforce morality—traditional marriage, sanctity of life, anti-pornography, etc. They want to post the Ten Commandments in court rooms and cry out that we need to come back to Judeo-Christian values. This is doublespeak or ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 264 of 669 speaking out of both sides of their mouth. People believe what they hear in church and society reflects it and then the churches want the government to fix what they broke! ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 265 of 669 ANCHOR School of Theology Class: Prophetic Principles The Nuts and Bolts of Bible Prophecy with Pastor Stephen Bohr - Page 266 of 669