Learning to Read Prophecy
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Submitted by JStaller on Thu, 2008-09-18 02:43.
The Book of Revelation stands at the end of a very long line of prophetic books. To understand the Revelator's message, it is very handy to understand the patterns and styles he is deliberately following.
These are some brief lessons that will help you orientate yourself in the world of apocalyptic prophecy. These lessons barely touch directly on the actual content of Revelation, but I highly recommend taking a look at the listed scriptures, just to get an idea of some ways the Spirit of God inspires prophecy.
Not everyone will want or need to read these posts, but if you take even just a few moments to skim the brief lessons, you will be well-prepared when we start in with the direct study.
The Unexpected Fulfillment of Prophecy
Prime examples of prophecy fulfilled in unexpected ways are the prophecies concerning God’s kingdom. Upon sending the Israelites into exile, God promised that he would restore their kingdom:
Isaiah 10.26-27 And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him [the Assyrian] according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
Isaiah 11.10-12 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
With language and imagery like that—which is used many times in the book of Isaiah and other books—it is easy to understand why the Jews were fully expecting the Anointed One—the Messiah—to be a military leader that would arrive and destroy the foreign occupants of their land. But God had a different meaning altogether when he said the Messiah would assemble the outcasts of Israel unto his kingdom:
Matthew 9.10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
Matthew 21.31b-32 Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
Yet Jesus made it abundantly clear that, somehow, this unexpected fulfillment was is exactly what the Spirit intended in the first place:
Matthew 21.2-43 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
The kingdom of God was not what Israel expected:
Luke 17.20-21 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within [or, among] you.
While the prophecies concerning the Messiah and the kingdom of God and the restoration of that kingdom were certainly literally true—the Messiah did indeed restore the kingdom of Israel to what God desired it to be—they were literally true in an unexpected way. The masses were expecting one thing—a conquering hero on a white horse and an undefeatable army—while God intended something else entirely. Both positions are present within the scriptures, yet in fulfilling his role as Messiah, Jesus determined and proved which interpretation was the more accurate interpretation.
As we look at Revelation, though, we will come across a white conqueror on a horse, and he will eventually clearly look like Jesus; because Jesus did not look like this kind of Messiah in the flesh the first time around, people assume that he must look like this the second time around. Those of you who participated in our Gospel of John study may recall important lessons like reading scripture with a spiritual eye, a Messiah proclaiming that the appearance of the law and the flesh of the scripture profiteth nothing—the words of the Spirit are life! These lessons may prove profitable as we explore the book of Revelation.
Justin Staller - Moderator
justinstaller@yahoo.com
Search the scriptures--for in them ye think ye have eternal life: They are they which testify of me--and ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. (John 5.39-40)