Prophecy and Evangelism...church pt 15

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:( Isaiah 46:9-10)

Approximately 30 percent of the Bible is prophecy. In the passage above, the God of the Bible challenges humanity, to believe in Him, who alone “declares the End from the beginning” and whose counsel always stands.

How did Peter, Paul and the Apostles of the New Testament often preach Christ? They started in the Synagogues, and shewed their fellow Jews that all of the prophecies of their scripture, had been fulfilled in Jesus.

The Apostles learned this method of Evangelism from Jesus himself, when He evangelized two of his distraught disciples after the crucifixion, on the road to Emmaus.

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.( Luke 24:25-27)

What a Bible Study! What an evangelistic encounter! They later said among themselves, ” Didn’t our hearts burn within ourselves as He read those passages?”. Jesus took these disciples through the Law and the Prophets and simply showed himself as the fulfillment of these predictions.

Peter stood up on Pentecost and preached Jesus from the Psalms, and the book of Joel.

Paul would go into the synagogues and expound the Prophets, to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of their words,

And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre.But God raised him from the dead:And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers,God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.( Acts 13:29-33)

Notice that Paul preaches that the cross was the fulfillment of scripture, ( He could have cited the 22nd Psalm, Isaiah 53, and numerous other passages.), then HE goes on to proclaim Jesus as the fulfillment of the second Psalm, as well as the 16th Psalm. His hearers, having been raised on these scripture were clearly touched, some in acceptance and others rejection of Jesus.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.( Acts 17:1-3)

Much of the preaching in the book of Acts is of this nature, Prophecy and fulfillment. The coming of the Messiah is a major subject of the prophecies, as well as his suffering, death and resurrection. In the last week of Jesus ‘earthly life, God fulfilled hundreds of prophecies and typological predictions alone.

There are precise time oriented prophecies, such as Daniel’s prediction from 530 BC , marking the very day that Jesus would arrive in Jerusalem, present himself to the people of Israel and die as a substitute for them.

In this day and age of cynicism and unbelief, it is wonderful to assure people that they need not check their minds in at the door, in order to believe in Jesus. The Prophecies are God’s calling card to verify the Truth of the scriptures.

There are three major categories of prophecies which we can point people to in evangelism, in order to call on them to repent and believe;

I find it amazing that one of the signature prophecy fulfillment of the modern day, largely is ignored; I speak of the resurrection of the nation of Israel. I point to it in witnessing to unbelievers, for it is a bill board sized sign and wonder performed before the eyes of the whole earth. God is calling upon the earth to take notice, to be warned and even to repent!

Consider this history- Israel was an ancient nation, well known throughout the Mediterranean world, which had a national polity, a temple, Kings and national borders.

But Moses, Hosea and other prophets predicted that she would be removed from her land and scattered and would have no nation for a season of time, as punishment for her persistent idolatry.

For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.( Hosea 3:4-5)

History tells us that this happened, when the Romans razed the temple in Jerusalem, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Jews and then glutted the world’s slave markets with Jewish captives, and renamed the Holy Land of Israel, Provinca Syria Palestina, thus wiping out the name and nation of Israel as a polity.

This happened in the Roman/Jewish wars between 70 Ad to 120 Ad. Thus for almost two millennia, the nation of Israel didn’t exist, the Jews were scattered across the globe, and the prophecies of Moses, Hosea and others were fulfilled. There hadn’t been a nation of Israel until 1948 !

But the Prophets predicted that Israel would be resurrected (Ezekiel 37) , that the nation would be repopulated with Jews, and that they would come back to their land in unbelief, but then God would arrange the events called the great tribulation to eventually bring them back to faith in Him!

Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.( Jeremiah 31:9-11)

Why wouldn’t we proclaim these wonderful deeds of the LORD to this cynical and weary generation? Prophecy is evangelism, it is history written in advance and is a wonderful sign to the reality of God. What other nation was obliterated, scattered, assimilated, but then reconstituted after two thousand years, and brought back to their ancestral lands?

Show whoever will listen the uniqueness of Jesus, how He was prophesied centuries before in detail, how even his death was related in detail, and his resurrection, then tell them that the same prophets of the Bible predicted that he would come again, (in just such a time as this). Tell others of the marvel of Israel, of her punishment and now the beginnings of her re-instatement. Tell them that this portends the second coming of Jesus and the final judgment of the earth.

I’m curious as to how you came up with the “approximately 30% of the Bible is prophecy”?

Prophecy began at Genesis 3:15 and remains through Revelation. That would be about 80% of the Bible.
Acts 3:21: “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN.”

Prophecy is only interrupted with the “Mystery”, revealed to the Apostle Paul.
Romans 16:25. “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to MY gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ , according to the REVELATION of the MYSTERY, which was KEPT SECRET since the world began.”
Paul’s Epistles contain the Mystery, it’s called “my gospel”. It is made up of 13 Books, or less than 20 % of the Bible.

The Bible is divided between Prophecy and Mystery.

Prophecy concerns a kingdom of Believers, Israel, and the building of that Kingdom and the Reign of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Through Peter and the 11 Apostles, as given by Jesus Christ.

The mystery concerns a Body of Believers, and the building of that Body, the One New Man, by Jesus Christ, through the Apostle Paul.

The Kingdom of believers is extended to the whole world

1 Peter 2

9 [e]But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

10 Once you were “no people”
but now you are God’s people;
you “had not received mercy”
but now you have received mercy

The prerogatives of ancient Israel mentioned here are now more fully and fittingly applied to the Christian people: “a chosen race” (cf. Is 43:20–21) indicates their divine election (Eph 1:4–6); “a royal priesthood” (cf. Ex 19:6) to serve and worship God in Christ, thus continuing the priestly functions of his life, passion, and resurrection; “a holy nation” (Ex 19:6) reserved for God, a people he claims for his own (cf. Mal 3:17) in virtue of their baptism into his death and resurrection. This transcends all natural and national divisions and unites the people into one community to glorify the one who led them from the darkness of paganism to the light of faith in Christ. From being “no people” deprived of all mercy, they have become the very people of God, the chosen recipients of his mercy (cf. Hos 1:9; 2:25).

Paul didn’t teach a different gospel

4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Jesus teaches justification by the Law

“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” Mt 19:16,17

Paul teaches justification by the Law

“God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” Rom 2:6–8

Jesus teaches justification by faith

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

Paul teaches justification by faith

“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.” Rom 3:28

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Rom 10:9

Romans 2: 16

This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

Romans 16: 25

Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past.

2 Timothy 2: 8

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel.

In Koine Greek, the word is “euangelion,” which is translated into Latin as “evangelium” (hence English words like evangelize and evangelist). Both words mean “good news.” The English word “gospel” is a translation of the Latin and Greek, from “gud spel” in Old English (and you can see the modern English word spiel in that second word. Thus, most English translations of the New Testament translate the phrase as “my gospel,” but some translated it as “the good news.”

And “good news” is in many ways a more accurate translation, especially in context. In fact, the English word “gospel” literally means “good news.” In these passages, and elsewhere, St Paul is not specifically referring to the written documents containing the four Gospels as we know them today. He couldn’t possibly be referring to those books, since he wrote the Letter to the Romans about 10 years before the first three gospels were written, and about 25 years before St. John’s gospel was written.

In these three instances (and elsewhere), St. Paul is using the word “evangelium” literally, referring to the “good news” about Jesus Christ that he is preaching and teaching. In other words, St. Paul’s gospel — his good news — is not a written book, but the story of Jesus, the same as the four written gospels

There is no separate gospel from Paul

Back in the first century, Gentiles interested in Judaism were afforded a special status as “God-fearers,” meaning that they attended services at the synagogues, prayed, cared for the poor, etc., but they were not expected to undergo circumcision or keep the ordinances required under Levitical law. The earliest Gentile converts to Christianity were among this class of God-fearers, and they embraced Christianity under the same customs that they practiced when the embraced Judaism.

The debate within Christianity came a decade or so after the crucifixion, when converts from among the Pharisees, who were an evangelistic sect at the time, insisted that Gentile God-fearers who converted to Christianity should take the extra step and undergo full conversion to Judaism as well. According to the book of Acts, it was James (the brother of Jesus) and Peter who chiefly opposed that position, and after summoning “the apostles and elders of Jerusalem,” they made their arguments and summoned Paul was a witness. The congregation gathered at Jerusalem agreed, a letter was sent out to the Churches, and Christians haven’t observed Levitical since.

In the last few decades, however, we saw a new theory claiming that there was a giant rift in the early Church between Paul and the disciples of Jesus. According to this mythology, Paul is portrayed as a somewhat obnoxious and antagonist zealot who converted to Christianity on his own, inserted himself into the Christian movement, and started picking fights and causing trouble. The Apostles, unsure what to do with him, decided to keep him busy by sending him off to bother the Gentiles with his crazy new “faith instead of works” doctrines, and Paulene Christianity was born. Then, according to the theory, the early Jewish church was decimated by the war in 70 AD, leaving only Paulene Christianity.

Of course, there is very little evidence to support any of that. Paul converted to Christianity within three years of the crucifixion, and he was baptized and introduced to the Christian community at Damascus. He later went to Jerusalem and met with the chief apostles there, before retiring to his home in Turkey, presumably to live out the rest of his life in obscurity. However, he made such an impression on the early Church, that ten years later, the Apostles summoned him to Antioch to help with relief efforts in Jerusalem, and later commissioned him to evangelize among the God-fearers. And like I said before, the book of Acts tells us that it was Peter and James who opposed the Pharisees at Jerusalem, not Paul.

There are 3 obstacles that make your theories impossible:

1. Galatians, Chapter 2.

2. Matthew 19:28. Jesus Christ told Peter and the 11 that in the regeneration when He shall sit on the throne of His glory, that they also shall sit upon 12 thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel
Where does that leave Paul? Where is his throne in the Kingdom?

3. How are Peter and the 11 going to fit their thrones in the Body of Christ?

The 12 have a different inheritance than Paul, obviously.
Paul will not fit into the Kingdom just as the 12 will not fit in the Body.

If that doesn’t prove to you that these were separate, both founded on Christ, yet different in their commissions and inheritance, then there is nothing more to say. God’s word cannot be made clearer.

Matthew 19

From this passage we learn that Jesus will judge with His disciples; whence He says in another place to the Jews, Therefore shall they be your judges. (Mat. 12:27.) And whereas He says they shall sit upon twelve thrones, we need not think that twelve persons only shall judge with Him. For by the number twelve is signified the whole number of those that shall judge; and that because the number seven which generally represents completeness contains the two numbers four and three, which multiplied together make twelve. For if it were not so, as Matthias was elected into the place of the traitor Judas, the Apostle Paul who laboured more than they all should not have place to sit to judge; but he shews that he with the rest of the saints pertains to the number of judges, when he says, Know ye not that we shall judge Angels? (1 Cor. 6:3.)

When the Son of Man shall come sitting upon the throne of his majesty; but only, In the regeneration when he shall sit, which was from the time that the Gentiles began to believe on Christ; according to that, God shall reign over the heathen; God sitteth upon his holy throne. (Ps. 47:8.

From that time also the Apostles have sat upon twelve thrones, that is, over all Christians; for every Christian who receives the word of Peter, becomes Peter’s throne, and so of the rest of the Apostles. On these thrones then the Apostles sit, parcelled into twelve divisions, after the variety of minds and hearts, known to God only.

For as the Jewish nation was split into twelve tribes, so is the whole Christian people divided into twelve, so as that some souls are numbered with the tribe of Reuben, and so of the rest, according to their several qualities.

God visited Israel (per Matthew 24) to avenge the blood of all the martyrs since Israel’s conception:

[Mat 23:29-39 NASB] (29) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, (30) and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ (31) “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. (32) “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. (33) “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? (34) “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and 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) so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. (36) “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. (37) “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. (38) “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! (39) “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”

This “storing up” of wrath was announced prophetically early on:

[Deu 32:32-35 NASB] (32) “For their vine is from the vine of Sodom, And from the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of poison, Their clusters, bitter. (33) “Their wine is the venom of serpents, And the deadly poison of cobras. (34) ‘Is it not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up in My treasuries? (35) ‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’

Isaiah even referred to the leadership of Israel as “you leaders of Sodom”:

[Isa 1:7-13, 19-21 NASB] (7) Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers. (8) The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. (9) Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah. (10) Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. (11) “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. (12) “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? (13) “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. ... (19) “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; (20) “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (21) How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers.

Revelation also refers to Jerusalem as Sodom - and Egypt - in Revelation, and also describes Jerusalem as a harlot, in bed with Rome:

[Rev 11:8 NKJV] (8) And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

You are hopelessly entangled in The Law v. The Grace of God, a kingdom of believers v. A Body of believers, prophecy v. The Mystery, and theministries of the twelve and Paul.

Why Paul?
After the Lord, in His so-called great commission, had sent the other apostles inoy “all the world” to preach “the gospel” to “every creature” (Mark16:15) and make disciples of “all nations” (Matt. 28:19)- after this, He raised up *another* Apostle, and the twelve, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, entered into a solemn agreement with *this other apostle*, Paul, that HE should go to the Gentiles while they confined their ministry to Israel(Gal.2:7-9)

Don’t you understand the enormity of what happened there at Galatia?

That so called great commission was bound and loosed, by the twelve,and the commission to go to the whole world (Gentiles) was given to Paul.

Why? Peter *perceived the GRACE* given to Paul, he gave Paul the right hand of fellowship, that Paul should go to the heathen, the Uncircumcision(Gentiles), and the 12 the circumcision, The Jews.

I don’t see how 2Peter 3:15-16 is evidence that Paul by wrote Hebrews.
I would appreciate your explanation of this
before we go further down this road. Thanks!

Your next sentence “Paul speaks about the rapture, how is that not prophecy?”

Of course the Rapture is about prophecy. Concerning the Body of Christ. Anything having to do with prophecy in Paul’s epistles has to do with the Body. Being formed, how it began, how it is being established and it’s final destination when the Body is complete and is Raptured out.

Just as Peter had kingdom in prophecy, with its earthly inheritance, Paul had the Body of Christ prophecy, with it’s heavenly inheritance.
Two different are different prophecy for two different prophesy promises of nheritance.

I am very interested about you last segment on the New at
Testament

Am looking forward to read your writings on these subjects

2 Pet 3:15-16 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Peter was speaking to the Jews about something Paul had written to them. All of Paul’s other letters were written to Gentiles. Hebrews is the only book that fits. One more feature that is applicable here is that the New Testament has 8 authors and 27 books. Both are perfect cubes. This is only evidence. The proof comes when you think there is enough evidence. I think that Paul wrote Hebrews

Your statement that prophecy began at Genesis 3:15 does not account for the typical view of scripture nor the prophetic character of history. Genesis 1:1-3 gives us creation, destruction and re-creation beginning with light. This prefigures birth, death, and resurrection. We are dealing with a book written by the creator of all things, imagine opening the book with one of the great lessons.

It turns out that the New Testament divides into a pentateuch with the same structure and the Pentateuch of Moses. Genesis gives the line of Adam and ends in a coffin in Egypt. The Gospels give the line of Christ and end in the ascension. Exodus shows the natural man leaving Egypt and Acts shows the spiritual man leaving that city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified (Rev 11:8). Leviticus takes us into the Earthly tabernacle while Paul's letters take us into the heavenly temple. Numbers is into the desert and the general epistles take us before men. Finally Deuteronomy brings the natural man to the threshold of the Earthly inheritance and Revelation brings the spiritual man the threshold of the heavenly inheritance.

There is a chart on my homepage the shows how the books divide according to the meaning of the numbers. You will be pleased to know that the numerical structure confirms much of what you say about mystery. It is certainly connected to the writings of Paul and it come under the number three.

Genesis Chapter 3 contains 3 prophesies by God:

To and upon Satan:15, To and upon the woman:16, and to and upon man :17.

The reason I have a problem with Hebrews being written by Paul is because Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles. He wrote of and to the Body of believers. Not the Kingdom of and to believers, the Jews, as his salutation 1:1-3 so eloquently states.

Hebrews is about their priesthood. They are to be a nation of priests to all the nations in the Millennial Kingdom. And salvation and blessings to Gentiles will be through Israel. That is the Abrahamic Covenant.

But I’m not at all discounting what you are saying. It’s so interesting! Thank you

MARANATHA!

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