Why Study Prophecy?
2Pe 1:19
We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable,
and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in
a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your
hearts.
Rev 1:3
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and
blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in
it, because the time is near.
Definition
of Israel
Israel
and Jew are ethnic terms. In scripture they mean the physical
descendants of Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob. It
means the people of the nation of Israel consisting of those physical
descendants. In scripture, Israel is NEVER used to refer to people
who are not Jewish by blood, such as non-Jewish born again Christians
or the church in general.
Daniel's
70 Weeks
The
passage detailing Daniel's 70 Weeks is important because it provides
a high level overview of prophecy from the past Babylonian Captivity
until the future Messianic Kingdom. It is a good outline to place the
rest of scripture into to keep things straight.
Daniel's
"70 Weeks of Sevens" equal to 490 years. It specifies the
number of years to prepare Israel for the Messianic Kingdom.
(Dan 9:24).
The
start of this time period is the building of the wall in Jerusalem
(Dan 9:25,
Neh 2:5-8),
and it ends at the start of the Messianic Kingdom (Isa 2:2-4).
483
years later Messiah Jesus will be crucified (Dan 9:26),
causing a long postponement before Israel was expected to be ready.
The postponement was due to the rejection of the Messianic King and
His crucifixion. (Mat 23:37-39).
At
some future point, the countdown will resume when the Antichrist
confirms a covenant with Israel (Dan 9:27,
Isa 28:14-22).
The Messianic Kingdom will then be 7 years away.
The
Olivet Discourse
The
disciples asked Jesus three different things - "when will this
happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of
the age?" (Mat 24:3,
Mar 13:3-4,
Luk 21:7).
"the
end of the age"
- the sign of the end of the church age prior to the establishment
of the Messianic Kingdom - (Mat 24:4-6),
(Mar 13:6-7,
Luk 21:8-9),
signs it is close - (Mat 24:7-8,
Mar 13:8,
Luk 21:10-11).
"the
sign of your coming"
- the sign of the second coming of Christ after the sign of the end
of the age, 1st half Tribulation events - (Mat 24:9-28,
Mar 13:14-23),
2nd half Tribulation events (Mat 24:15-28,
Mar 13:14-23),
Christ's coming (Mat 24:29-30,
Mar 13:24-26,
Luk 21:25-27),
followed by the regathering of the Jewish people (Mat 24:31,
Mar 13:27).
"when
will this happen"
- the disciples were referring to the destruction of the temple and
Jerusalem in 70AD - (Luk 21:20-24)