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THE PROPHECIES OF JOEL’ - PART 2
Christian Times Magazine issue 63 | Monthly Magazine
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By Charles Lingerfelt
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When I first began writing this 2 Part Series on ‘The Prophecies of Joel’ I actually thought that I could finish what I wanted to say/write in two parts. But as I was doing my research and making my notes, and writing during this Part Two, I began to realize that there was more I wanted to say in this particular part and that I just don’t need to keep it brief just for the benefit of space.
Then one morning recently I was awakened early by the Holy Spirit and He began to deal with me about some of the pieces and parts in this Part Two. So He, The Holy Spirit is The One who convinced me to take my time in writing this part, saying what I wanted to say and writing what I felt led of Him to write. And that’s just what I’m going to do!
And though I haven’t fully decided what to call this Part, I think I will just go ahead and entitle it:
‘Practical Application and Principles of Prophecy. ’ Prophecies are predictions in Scripture about the future and the end-time; they are ‘special messages’ from God Himself and very often are uttered through human spokesmen. These messages indicate the divine will of God for mankind on earth and in heaven. The focus of all prophetic truth is (Yahweh) Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 1:2; Luke 24:25-27), Who was destined to be the greatest prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). He declared God’s truth in this age (John 3:31-33) and the age to come (Isaiah 2:2-4). As the embodiment of truth(John 1:1), Jesus Christ fully radiated the brilliance of God which the earlier prophets reflected only partially.
Earlier prophets anticipated Jesus Christ by reflecting His person and His message in their own life and ministry
Christian Times Magazine issue 63 | Monthly Magazine
(Exodus 34:29-35; 1 Kings 19:10; 2 Chronicles 24:20,21). Each contributed a portion of the truth, sharing in the Spirit that which would be completely expressed in Jesus Christ (John 6:68).
Prophecy was technically the task of the Prophet. But all truth or revelation is prophetic, pointing to some future person, event, or thing. The full panorama of God’s will takes on many forms; it may be expressed through people, events and objects. Historical events such as the PASSOVER anticipated Jesus Christ (John 1:29), as did various objects in the tabernacle, including MANNA (John 6:31-35;) and the Inner Veil (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:20).
Prophecy may also be expressed in many different forms through the prophet himself, whether by his mouth or some bodily action. The prophets received God‘s messages from the voice of an angel (Genesis 23:15-19), The voice of God, a dream (Daniel 21), or a vision (Ezekiel 40:2). The prophetic speech might range from the somber reading of a father‘s last will (Genesis 49) to an exultant anthem to be sung in the temple (Psalm 96:1, 13). Sometimes a prophet acted out his message symbolically. Isaiah’s nakedness (Isaiah 24) told of the exile of the Egyptians and the Cushites. Hosea’s marriage symbolized God‘s patience with an unfaithful wife, or the nation of Israel. Ahijah divided his garment to foretell the division of the monarchy (1 Kings 11:30, 31). Even the names of some of the prophets are symbolic, matching their message. Hosea means “salvation;“ Nahum means “comfort;“ Zephaniah, “Lord hides;“ and Zechariah, “the Lord remembers. “ Prophecy declared God’s word for all time, so the time of fulfillment of a prophecy is rarely indicated in the Bible. Exceptions to this rule include the timetable assigned to Daniel’sq 70 weeks prophecy (Daniel 9:24–27), the prophecy of Peter’s denial (Matthew 26:34), and predictions of someone’s death (Jeremiah 28:16–17). The common problem of knowing the timeframe for the fulfillment of a prophecy is acknowledged by Peter (2 Peter 3:1–8). This problem is due to several factors. First, some prophecies appear together, as if they would be fulfilled simultaneously. For example, Isaiah 61:1–2 has already been fulfilled according to Luke 4:18–19; but Isaiah 61:2, which adjoins it awaits the
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Christian Times Magazine issue 63 | Monthly Magazine
fulfillment. The same is true of Zechariah 9:9, 10. The prophets saw the mountain peaks of prophetic events but not the valleys of time in between. Another factor that complicates the problem is the ambiguity of tenses in the Hebrew language, which distinguishes ‘type’ of action but not the ‘time’ of action. The prophets focused on the reality of their prophecies and not the time of their fulfillment. In their minds their prophecies were already accomplished, primarily because they knew God was in charge of history.
Finally, since the prophets’ messages had eternal force, it is often difficult to tell whether they applied their messages to their day or to the future. For example, Isaiah 7:14 promised a son who could be a contemporary of Isaiah, (perhaps the prophet’s son in 8:3, and 18 or the son of Hezekiah the king in Isaiah 36 through 39) or Jesus in Matthew 1:23, or both. Several questions come to my mind when I think of the fact that there could be a possible fulfillment for a particular prophecy. Does a primary fulfillment in one passage rule out a secondary application to another passage? Not necessarily. Did the author intend both fulfillments with one as an analogy or illustration for the other? Did the author intend a dual fulfillment for two different audiences at two different time frames? Joel 2:30 speaks of signs on the earth, and was applied by the apostle Peter to the “ tongues of fire“ at PENTECOST (Acts 2:3-4, 18 and 19). But Jesus seemed to apply this prophecy to His SECOND COMING (Mark 13:24; Luke 11:25). In the same way, the destruction of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39 may be fulfilled in Revelation 20:8 after the MILLENNIUM. But similarities of this prophecy to earlier invasions from the north before the millennium seem to allow for its multiple fulfillment. The earlier parallels with Ezekiel 38 and 39 are two invasions from the north in Daniel 11:40, 44 and a third in Revelation 19:17-18, where the birds consume the carcasses as in Ezekiel 39:17-20. The problem of understanding when a prophecy is fulfilled Is compounded if the modern reader has a theological bias about who is to fulfill a prophecy. For example, premillennialists believe that a 1000 year reign by Christ (Revelation 20:2-7) will exalt the nation of Israel and the Jewish people in the future (Romans 11:24-26). But amillennialists believe the promises to Israel in the Old
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Christian Times Magazine issue 63 | Monthly Magazine page 43
Testament have been taken from Israel and transferred to the church (Galatians 6:16). Such a disagreement does not deny that Abraham’s descendants will inherit Palestine from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates river (Genesis 15:18). But the premillennialist looks for/expects a future revival of Israel as a nation (Ezekiel 37:11–28), while the amillennialist claims that the promise of the land was fulfilled in the past in the days of Joshua (Joshua 21:43–44) or Solomon (2 Chronicles 9:26). Prophecy presents volumes about the future kingdom of God, particularly information about the Messiah and his chosen people, Israel. Much of prophecy tells of the destination of nations and their relationship to the kingdom of God. The New Testament identifies Jesus as the King (John 1:49) who spends much of his ministry describing His kingdom and its establishment (Matthew 13:24–25). The battleground is the world; and the arch-foe enemy of Christ is Satan, whose intrigue in the Garden of Eden gave him control of the nations (Matthew 4:9). Most prophecy is concerned with undoing Satan‘s work; it elaborates upon the initial promise of Genesis 3:15, which announced that Christ, the seed of the woman (Galatians 4:4) would “crush” the great Serpent, the Devil (Romans 16:20; Revelation 20:21). All prophecy testifies about/of Jesus (Revelation 19:10).
And now, all that I have written herewith will lead me to the next part: Part 3 in my Topic, ‘The Prophecies of Joel. ’
I am looking forward to sharing with you the third part in this series. Please join me next month as I deal specifically with, ‘The Prophecies of Joel. ’
Sincerely,
Charles Lingerfelt Editor-in-Chief CHRISTIAN TIMES MAGAZINE P. O. Box 360722 Dallas, TX 75336 USA
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