A Study of Prophecy - Introduction

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)