PROPHECY 101
(Discerning the Signs of the Times - Part 2)
In the months before September 11th, 2001, the CIA and FBI had gathered quite a bit of information that pointed towards a massive attack upon U.S. soil. It was even hinted that they would use our own planes as missiles in this attack. Sadly, at that time the theory was just too far out there. It was too unbelievable. Too few in our law enforcement and intelligence communities actually believed that such evil was possible. Whether the President Bush actually knew about this information or not is uncertain, but bottom line, America was caught off guard, and thousands of people died.
In August of 1990, Saddam Hussein moved into Kuwait to take over that small oil rich country. He spoke plainly that he was going to make war with his brothers and neighbors in Kuwait, and yet nobody believed that he would actually do it. Even when he amassed tens of thousands of men and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of military equipment to the Kuwaiti border, still the world looked on and was caught off guard when he actually invaded Kuwait. Up until that time, all the experts and newspapers were predicting that he was saber-rattling and flexing his muscles to get what he wanted, but when he entered Kuwait on August 2nd, 1990, the world watched on in shock and amazement. Why? Didn’t we know ahead of time from what he told us?
World War II was no different. Adolph Hitler arose to power in 1933. He was not shy about revealing his plans of enlarging Germany. Although he made promises to many nations, and secret packs not to invade, every promise he made he quickly broke at the first opportunity. We the civilized world took him at face value and trusted him, and as at result, America and the rest of the world were dragged into a war that left 61 million people dead.
Adolph Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and Osama Bin Laden are men that are pure evil. The thought of killing millions of innocent people to further their cause is something that they do without a second thought. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is cut from the same cloth and thinking as these monsters. The Bible warns of a storm that is brewing that will leave literally millions and millions of people dead. It would be very easy for the world to sit back and just say, “Nah, it will never happen,” like we did on Sept 11th, and in Kuwait, and for WWII, but hopefully we have learned our lesson… Learning the nature of evil that possesses some men.
Many people have gained knowledge of what is going to happen by comparing current affairs that are in our newspapers and on the evening news to certain Bible prophecies. To some, Bible prophecies are set in stone. They are a valuable look into the future from a loving father in Heaven for the faithful among his children. To others, Bible prophecies are a bunch of mumbo-jumbo hogwash. I have included this second part to hopefully give you a testimony to the truthfulness and power of prophecy. If we aren’t aware of prophecies ever coming true, then in all likelihood, we won’t take the Bible seriously. However, if we gain a powerful testimony of prophecy, then hopefully we will take preparing ourselves seriously.
Exactly, how dependable is prophecy, and why should we even consider it? To the first question, I will give you a number of examples and you decide that for yourself. To answer the second question, just know that God has mapped out the end of times through prophecy, and if we believe them, and understand them, we can see how really close we are and therefore prepare ourselves to meet God.
After all, the Lord’s Prophecies are pretty impressive-
Example 1- In Matt 24:2 there is a story of the Savor and some of his followers coming out of the temple. Wanting to find common ground with Jesus the disciple commented on what an impressive building it was. Jesus came back and said, “Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.” To the Jews, this statement would have been absurd, after all, it was the Lord God Almighty’s House. Then there was the fact that it took over 46 years to build. Sadly, the temple was destroyed, just as Jesus had prophesied.
This prophecy was fulfilled by the Roman General Titus as he and his legions, after laying siege to Jerusalem for 3 long years, finally broke through the gates to capture the city. He ordered his men not to touch the temple; for it was his prize and the treasure inside would have been fantastic. But Titus’ men became hungry for destruction and blood. They ran through the streets killing every man, woman, and child that they saw, and torched every thing in sight. In the excitement of it all, a torch was even thrown into the temple. Titus and his men tried in vain to put out the blaze, but it was of no use. So after the temple burnt to the ground, Titus ordered each block to be pried apart so they could retrieve the gold that had melted between the cracks. The amazing thing was that through the entire battle and as the temple burnt, the Jews thought that at any time, the army of God would descend out of heaven and rescue them from their Roman destroyers. After killing the Son of God, and after years of stoning the prophets and killing their fellow Jews who did not hold to their beliefs, the Jews still mistakenly believed that God would come and rescue them. This analogy holds true with us. There are many who claim to believe in Christ, and they say they are saved, and yet they live their lives according to the standards of the world.
Example 2- Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands, and there shall also be heard of wars, and rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers places, yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be a great pollutions upon the face of the earth… (Mormon 8:29)
The fires and vapors of smoke came in 1991 during desert storm when Saddam Hussein started the oil refineries on fire. The fires and smoke burned for weeks before they were put out. Sadly we also have great pollutions over the lands, many of the rivers and lakes are so polluted that even the fish are dying.
Example 3- One of the most impressive prophesies was given by Daniel in the Book of Daniel chapters 10, 11, 12. This prophecy covered the years from 529 B.C. to 164 B.C. To see the impressiveness of this prophecy, we will start in Daniel 11.
V -2- Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer then they all…
- This was Xerxes, the king who married Ester. He was the wealthiest of the four.
V -3- and a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will…
- This was Alexander the Great of Greece.
V -4- his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven…
- Alexander died at age 32 and his kingdom went to his four Generals.
V -5- And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes…
- The general in the south was Ptolemy of Egypt, who became the most powerful of all, while Seleucus did the same in Syria.
V -6- They shall join forces…
- Egypt and Syria made an alliance in 250 B.C. after both generals had died. Ptolemy II gave his daughter Berenice in marriage to the grandson of Seleucus, Antiochus II. Two years later, however, Ptolemy II divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife, Laodice. Laodice then poisoned Antiochus and had Berenice killed. She appointed her son, Seleucus II to the throne.
I could go on and on from Ptomeny III to Cleopatra to Antiochus Epiphanes through out the entire chapter, but the bottom line is, this prophecy was perfectly fulfilled to the letter, even hundreds of years in advance.
Example 4- Prophecy of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
All through the Savor’s ministry, He prophesied of his death and resurrection. “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” John 2:19 He spoke plainly about his death and resurrection to his disciples in Matt. 16:21-22. He explained it further in Matt. 20:17-19. He prophesied, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law” (Jews, his own people) This was no stretch of the imagination because the Scribes and Pharisees had been fighting him throughout his entire ministry. “They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged” (whipped) {this part would have been hard pressed to be believed as by now Jesus had such an amazing following, people by the thousands flocked to Jesus to hear his words. Besides, the people thought that the Messiah would raise up a sword and be their king, and here was Jesus saying that he was going to be tried, mocked, and flogged} and that he would be crucified. (Again, here was Jesus who was raising people from the dead, and healing their sick, and doing all kinds of miracles, and yet He was prophesying that He was going to be crucified like a common criminal. It is amazing that the Savior knew of his own trials and death, yet went ahead anyway knowing that God could send down 12 legions of angels to help him. [72,000 angels] And on the third day, he will be raised to life.
Of course Peter said, “Oh no Lord, this will never happen to you. We will never let it happen.” On another occasion Jesus said that they would all leave him or abandon him, to which Peter said, “No Lord, though all others leave you, I will never leave.” To this Jesus prophesied, “this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times. (Mark 14:30) And just as Christ had said, when the Temple guards came and took Jesus, and beat him and mocked him, fearing that he might receive the same fate, Peter denied Jesus 3 times before the rooster crowed a second time. Wow, what detail! Jesus prophesied that Judas would betray him, and so he did. Matt 26:14-16, 47-50
In the year 680 B.C. Micah prophesied that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2
In 701 B.C. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14
Again, around 701 Isaiah prophesied about John the Baptists coming. Isaiah 40:3-4
In 520 Zechariah prophesied about Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey Zechariah 9:9
Around 980 B.C. David prophesied that Jesus would be rejected. Psalms 118:22-23, Isaiah 28:16
- that Christ would be disbelieved, despised, rejected, wounded and bruised
for our transgressions. He was oppressed and afflicted and yet he
wouldn’t open his mouth, He would die and his soul would be made an
offering for sin, even unto death. Isaiah 53:1-12
- His hands and feet would be pieced and they would divide his clothes
Psalms 22:16-18
- None of his bones would be broken Psalms 34:20
Around 520 B.C. Zachariah prophesied that Jesus would be sold for 30 pieces of silver.
There is some pretty major prophecy here, down to the very detail, even hundreds of years before the deed occurred.
Example 5- My next example that I will give will show the precision and exactness of the Lord’s prophecies. The prophecy in Daniel 2:31-35 comes to Nebuchadnezzar in a dream. This is a parable or code that has to be figured out. The dream was of a large statue. Its head was made of gold, its breast and arms were of silver. Its belly and thighs were of bronze. Its legs were of iron, while its feet were a mixture of iron and clay. Then there is a stone that comes and smashes the entire statue and destroys it completely. The symbolism used in their prophecy was an idol that was made of precious metals. The value of the metals decreased as you went from head to toe, but the strength of each metal increased. Each of these metals represented kingdoms that would rise and fall, all in their own time. Each successive kingdom would become more brutal and would be an even greater enemy to God. All of these kingdoms either conquered or ruled over Israel.
Head of Gold- Babylon (609-539 B.C.) The head represents the single strong nation who would rule and it would not be broken up when it was defeated.
Chest and Arms of Silver- The Medes and the Persians (539-331 B.C.) The two arms are the two empires of the Medes and the Persians who succeeded the neck and head that was Babylon. They progress to the chest which represents the fact that the Persian Empire took control after and were more powerful than the Medes. The heart in the chest was King Cyrus who was called by God to show great kindness to Israel.
Belly and Thighs of Brass - Greece (331-168 B.C.) The Greeks under the leadership of Alexander the Great were the third conquerors. When Alexander died, his army eventually was divided into four and then two major sections at the end, like the two thighs. These two divisions were called the king of the North and the king of the south in prophecy.
Legs of Iron- Rome (168 B.C. - 476 A.D.) Prophetically, Rome was always a nation of two divisions. The two legs of iron represent the northern and southern empires. Even the Roman Church consisted of two different branches.
Feet of Iron and Clay- Europe (476 A.D. to the end of time) The Roman Empire was divided in the eastern (Byzantine) empire and the western empire. The divided kingdom includes all the nations of Eastern and Western empires. The ten toes are the ten European nations that formed the ten divisions in the empire.
Ten Toes - Western leg Eastern leg
1- France 6- Turkey
2- Germany 7- Egypt
3- Italy 8- Iran
4- England 9- Iraq
5- Spain 10- Libya
These nations will be as divided as a mixture of iron and clay. Rome became a divided kingdom around 476 A.D. This is symbolized by the two feet of iron and clay.
Stone cut without hands- The second coming of Jesus Christ (future) the stone comes from a mountain. It is cut from that mountain. This is the kingdom of heaven. From it a new kingdom is established in Christ while all others are totally destroyed.
Through this prophetic dream we can see up close the detail that the Lord puts into His prophecies. On the other hand, you can see that it might take some work to uncover the true meaning of the dream or parable.
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