God on the Spot – Part 9: Fulfilling the Prophecies
March 29, 2019 by Dianne Butts
Filed under Faith, Faith Articles
By Dianne Butts –
There has been silence from God for four hundred years.
As we have seen through the first eight parts of this “God on the Spot” series, God has made many promises, including to bring the Messiah through Abraham’s bloodline, then narrowing down that branch of the family tree to King David’s line.
God made other promises as well: that Messiah would be born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, with a mysterious star, be called “God with us,” and more.
Centuries have passed. When will God honor His promises? And perhaps more importantly, how will people know who His promised Messiah is? How can they (and we) recognize Him?
The answer: The Messiah is the one who fulfills all of God’s promises. That’s why God gave all those promises (prophecies) in the first place: so we could recognize Him when He came.
Every last one of God’s promises, predictions and prophecies must be fulfilled. If they aren’t, what would that mean? God was wrong? God lied? God couldn’t pull it off? If God is all-knowing (meaning He can’t be wrong), and if there is no shadow of darkness in Him (meaning He can’t lie), and if He is all-powerful (meaning He can pull off anything He wants), then every single statement God has made about Messiah must come true. Without exception. 100%. Or else either God is not God, or the one we’re looking at isn’t the Messiah. So, let’s recap God’s promises and see if they are fulfilled:
Messiah would come from the bloodline of Abraham and then David:
Do you ever get bored reading all those “so-and-so was the father of so-and-so” passages in the Bible? When you read the Christmas story, do you skip over Matthew 1:1-17? In Luke, do your eyes glaze over when you hit 3:23-38? Well wake up! This is the very reason genealogies are recorded in the Bible! If God promised Messiah would come through the bloodline of Abraham and then David, then bloodlines had to be traced in order to know who qualified! Or if someone claimed to be the promised Messiah, then the first order of business would be to check his ancestry to see if he fulfilled this prophecy. Matthew and Luke trace Jesus’ genealogy to verify that He qualifies.
Having established His bloodline, the other prophecies given in the Old Testament (at least four hundred years prior to His birth) must be checked as well. There are so many, we don’t have enough room to cover them all here, but here are some:
He would be born of a virgin: Prophesized: Isaiah 7:14. Fulfilled: Luke 1:31-35.
He would be called “God with us”: Prophesized: Isaiah 7:14. Fulfilled: Matthew 1:21-23.
He would be born in Bethlehem: Prophesized: Micah 5:2. Fulfilled: Luke 2:4-7.
There would be a mysterious star: Prophesized: Numbers 24:17. Fulfilled: Matthew 2:1-2, 9-10.
When Herod tried to kill this newborn king, it was God on the spot to protect the life of the infant Jesus, which He did by two dreams: one sent the Magi home without returning to Herod (Matthew 2:12) and the other warned Joseph to flee (Matthew 2:13-17).
When God made promises about the Messiah He would send, He was putting Himself on the spot to fulfill every one of them—and He did.
October: “God on the Spot – Part 10: Providing the Sacrifice.” When Satan connived to have Messiah killed, it was God on the spot to preserve life through His death—Messiah’s life as well as the eternal lives of all who would be redeemed by it.
Dianne has written for over 50 Christian print magazines and seventeen books, including the recently released For God So Loved the World He Created Chocolate (Group, 2010). Her work has appeared in Great Britain, Bulgaria, Poland, Canada, and Korea. When she’s not writing, she enjoys riding her motorcycle with her husband, Hal, and gardening with her cat, P.C. in Colorado. www.DianneEButts.com www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com
Dianne has written for over 50 Christian print magazines and contributed to nineteen books. She is the author of Deliver Me: Hope, Help, & Healing through True Stories of Unplanned Pregnancy. Her work has been published in Great Britain, Bulgaria, Poland, Canada, and Korea. When she’s not writing, she enjoys riding her motorcycle with her husband, Hal, and gardening with her cat, P.C. in Colorado. www.DeliverMeBook.com www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com www.DianneEButts.com
Great truth, just as he fulfilled all prophecies relating to his first advent, so will he fulfill all prophecies relating to his second coming.
This is why it baffles me when people say he is not alive, before his first advent, Jesus speaking through Hosea said that he ended his first coming and returned back to heaven in order for the Jews to repent, Hosea went further to say that Christ will return at the end of the second day of his departure and reign on earth on the third day (Hosea 5:15-6:3).
This was the prophecy Peter explained to silence the scoffers of his second coming, he said a day in this prophecy represents a thousand years on earth, therefore Christ must return after 2000 years of his departure from the earth, to reign for a 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-4 cp. Hosea 6:3).
Although many christians have assumed no one ought to know the date of Christ second coming (Acts 1:7), they forgot that Jesus immediately said: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit empowered us to know the secret things of God (1 Corinthians 2:7-13).
I have heard many people, including the very “wise and influential men” of our society argue that Jesus Christ did not rise from the grave; meaning that his body completely decomposed. One question such people must answer is; can a dead and decomposed body return back to the earth?
Jesus Christ is coming back with the same flesh and bones (body) with which he walked on the streets of the nation of Israel. On the day he returned to heaven, angels said to his apostles: “…Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
Being absolutely certain of his second coming, even before his first advent, the scriptures had declared the time frame for his second coming. Therefore speaking through prophet Hosea, Jesus said he had to return to heaven in order to give the Jews time to repent of their transgression against him; and that it will take them 2 days to do so, at the end of which, he must return to reign on earth the 3rd day (Hosea 5:15-6:3).
Referring to the above prophecy, Peter said that a day in that prophecy represents a thousand (1000) years on earth (2 Peter 3:1-8). Therefore Jesus must return at the end of 2000 years of his departure from the earth and will reign for a thousand years on earth as confirmed by John (Revelation 20:1-4).
Jesus born at about 2 BC, was baptized and anointed as the Messiah the Prince in 28 AD (483 Years or 69 weeks from 455 BC when the decree to restore and build Jerusalem was issued to Ezra after the Babylonian captivity- Daniel 9:24; Ezra 7:11-26).
Thereafter, for 42 months (3 1/2 years) Jesus ministered as the Messiah the Prince, in Israel to 31 AD; when he was crucified, dead and buried. After 3 days in the grave, he rose from the grave and spent 40 days with his disciples before returning back to heaven, where he came from.
Therefore that same Jesus who returned to heaven in 31 AD, shall come back to the earth in 2031 (2000 years after his departure) to reign for a thousand years. All those who believe he decomposed in the grave, will once again see him (Matthew 24:21-30; Revelation 19:11-21).
I can hear some Christians scream: ‘No one ought to know when Christ is coming back’. Such comment is as a result of misinterpretation of Christ’s statement to his apostles, when he said: “..It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power” (Acts 1:7).
A look at the next verse Acts 1:8; Christ said: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” therefore the apostles received power to know the things of the future (John 16:13); and the revelations allowed by the Father (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) when the Holy Spirit came upon them.
This was why Peter was able to authenticate Hosea’s prophecy that Christ will return after 2000 years of his departure (2 Peter 3:8) and John said he will reign for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4).
The day or hour which no one knows is the exact timing for the snatching away of the body of Christ from the earth. The rapture can not be earthly timed, it will occur within a twinkling of an eye at the same time in different time zones of the earth (Matthew 24:36-42; 1 Corinthians 15:50-53).
You see, Christ is alive and he is coming back as planned in the year 2031 (2 days or 2000 years after his departure). This year, coincides with the end of the 42 months third and final captivity of the Jews (the year 2028 to 2031).
Therefore knowing the life span of the Jews restored from the captivity with a flood (Daniel 9:25-26), is a mark of divine wisdom to know when the Lord of glory will return to restore righteousness on earth (Deuteronomy 30:1-5; Psalms 90:3-13; Daniel 9:20-27; Revelation 19:11-20:4).
These Jews gathered from all nations of the earth are the generation that will see the fulfillment of all prophecies relating to the second coming of Christ (Matthew 24:32-35).
So get ready for Christ return! Join me in Twitter@jerryopus as we discuss this great truth.
Thank you, Jeremiah, for your detailed e-mail and thoughtful explanation. I found it very interesting. I’m not going to jump on board with your date for the return of Christ, however, because it is dependent on your thought that He will come again exactly 2,000 years after the first time He came plus pinpointing exactly when He first came–and there is room in that for difference in thought. I do believe, however, that He is coming soon.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Excellent article, Dianne! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Imagine how fat God’s schedule book would be. He works over the span or hundreds and thousands of years to work His plan of love and grace towards us. We can live one day at a time, forgiven and filled with God’s love and power, because of all of His forethought and holy actions on our behalf. Praises to God who loves us with an everlasting love and is faithful down to the smallest and up to greatest details.
Great article Dianne, makes me want to go back to writing for ‘The Christian Pulse’. You are a great writer.
Really good thoughts, well put.