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Category: Eschatology

  • A Suggested Timetable of End-time Events

    A Suggested Timetable of End-time Events

    Note: If you’d like a .pdf of the handout for this message, please e-mail Pastor Gene directly @ dontoro@comcast.net

    • Israel was reestablished as a nation in 1948 fulfilling Ezek. 36:24.
    • Israel regained control over Jerusalem in the astonishing Six-Days’ War of 1969.

    Israel not only had to exist as a nation for end-times prophecy to be fulfilled, she also had to have control of old Jerusalem and the Temple Mount (Matt. 24:15-21; Rev. 11:1-2; 2 Thess. 2:4).

    Furthermore, the Gog/Magog prophecy (Ezek. 38-39) says that Israel’s enemies will die on the “mountains of Israel.” The fulfillment of this prophecy has only been possible since the Six Days War of 1967. Before that time, virtually all of the “mountains of Israel” were the “mountains of Jordan” because they were controlled by Jordanian Arabs, not Israelites (Ezek. 39:2).

    • Israel will face mounting opposition from her neighbors. At this time, she will definitely NOT be living securely in peace. She will NOT be a land of “unwalled villages” (cf., the Gog/Magog prophecy of Ezek. 38:10-12). The current Israel/Hamas War, then, is NOT the Gog/Magog War.

    The technologically-advanced Gaza/Israel wall took more than three years to build and ran 40 miles long and 20’ high. Yet, surveillance video shows how the Hamas terrorists simply cut holes in the fence large enough for motorcycles to enter and then bulldozed a section of the fence down. When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 of this year, she was certainly NOT dwelling securely!

    • Israel’s neighbors rise up against her in a 10-nation coalition. The Psalm 83 War begins (83:2-8).

    It is obvious that Israel will defeat all of these enemies, to the shock of the world. We know this because they will be living securely in the land when the next war, Gog/Magog, begins.

    In the Psalm 83 War, Damascus may be destroyed (Isa. 17:1:“Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins”). To this day, Damascus has never ceased to be a city, although she’s been attacked many times. We cannot be sure when this will happen. It could occur during the Tribulation, but it fits the Psalm 83 War scenario very well. I also find the language used to describe the fate of Damascus in Jer. 49:24 interesting: “Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee, and panic seized her; anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in labor.” Jesus, of course, described the days prior to the Tribulation as “the beginning of the birth pains” (Matt. 24:8). So, there’s that.

    Bottom line: we may be witnessing the beginning of the Psalm 83 War in the current Israel/Hamas conflict. This is buttressed by the fact that none of Israel’s neighbors listed in Psalm 83:6-8 are named among the invading forces of the Gog/Magog War.1 Why not? They’ve been subdued.

    • As a result of this victory over her neighbors, Israel may grow into a “greater Israel.”

    Bill Salus and others have suggested that Israel may expand her borders as a result of this victory.2 While it is certainly possible that Israel could control these nations (post-war) as territories of some kind, I DO NOT believe that the Psalm 83 War annihilates Israel’s neighbors; I believe it subdues them and renders them powerless to threaten Israel. Why do I believe this? Because Scripture is clear that Jesus Christ Himself will judge some of these nations at His return.3 4

    • The Third Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem.

    While we can’t be sure of the timing, we know this Temple must be built (Matt. 24:15-21; Rev. 11:1-2; 2 Thess. 2:4). It makes sense to me that it would be rebuilt during the relatively brief season of security between the Psalm 83 and Gog/Magog wars. This Temple, as we all know, is ready to go up tomorrow – priesthood, red heifers and all!

    • Gog/Magog begins:

    The outcome of The Psalm 83 War will be intolerable to Iran. Iran had financially sponsored many of the groups/nations Israel has just conquered: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas & Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the Shi’ite Militia in Syria and Iraq, and the Houthis Militia in Yemen.

    In fury, Iran will instigate the Gog/Magog War among her allies Russia and others (Ezek. 38-39). God will put it in their mind to “go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples” (38:8). They will “devise an evil scheme” and “go up against the land of unwalled villages.” They’ll say, “I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates” (38:10-11). 5

    • God Himself will defeat this coalition and, again, astonish the entire world bringing glory to His name (Ezek. 38:18-23,39:1-13).

    The invaders will fall by the direct intervention of YHWH using several agents of destruction: (1) a great earthquake; (2) confusion and friendly-fire; (3) pestilence; (4) horrific bloodshed; (5) floods or ‘torrential rain’; (6) and storms of hail, fire and brimstone (or sulfur). These agents will annihilate the invading armies (38:19-22).6

    Through this event, God will sanctify His name before both the Jews and the Gentiles (38:23, 39:7). These armies will fall on the “mountains of Israel” (39:4) – the mountains which run through the center of Israel from north to south.

    • The Church may be raptured at this time, although the Rapture may occur a bit sooner or later (1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 4:1).
    • The Antichrist will approach Israel, hot on the heels of their miraculous victory, offering to insure their peace and protection for 7 years. Though Israel has rejected Jesus, her true Messiah, she will receive Antichrist, in accordance with Jesus’ prophecy (John 5:43). This will mark the start of the Tribulation – the “time of distress for Jacob” (Dan. 9:27; Jer. 30:7).
    • Half way through the 7-year Tribulation period, the Antichrist will be killed and resurrected from the dead. The astonished earth-dwellers will wonder after him and worship him (Rev. 13:3-4).
    • In a megalomanic fever, the resurrected Antichrist will establish his throne in the Temple of God in Jerusalem declaring himself to be very God (Matt. 24:15-21; 2 Thess. 2:3-4). Through his proxy the False Prophet, he will demand worship from all the earth-dwellers, insisting they receive his mark and worship his animated image. Unbelievers will receive this mark to their eternal damnation. Believers will not (Rev. 13:8, 12, 14-17, 14:9-11, 16:2, 19:20, 20:4).
    • Jesus will return to put down the Antichrist and his forces at the Battle of Armageddon – the earth’s final battle (Psa. 2; 2 Thess. 2:8; Rev. 16:12-16).
    • The inhabitants of the earth will be judged by the Lord Jesus in two distinct judgements (Gentiles: Joel 3:1–3 & Matt. 25:31-46; Israel: Ezek. 20:35-38). Those found worthy, will enter alive into the Millennial Kingdom. The others will be confined to Torments to await the Great White Throne.
    • The 1000-year reign of Christ begins. Jesus shall rule from Mt. Zion, the earth’s most elevated place at that time (Psalm 48:1; Isa. 2:2-4, 40:1-5; Rev. 20:1-6).
    • At the end of the Kingdom Age, Satan will be released for a short time and will stir up an insurrection against Christ. He will be defeated by Christ, and will be cast once-and-for-all into the Lake of Fire where the Antichrist and False Prophet already are (Rev. 20:7-10).
    • Our Lord Jesus Christ will gather all the unbelievers of all time before His White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15). This is the final judgement. All who appear before this Great White Throne are unsaved and are cast into the Lake of Fire.
    • God will create a “new heavens and a new earth.” The Eternal Day begins (Rev. 21:1-22:4; Isa. 65:17, 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13).

    1 With the possible exception of parts of Turkey.

    2 Bill Salus writes, “Because of this Israeli conquest over the inner circle of the core surrounding Arab populations of Palestinians, Syrians, Saudi Arabians, Egyptians, Lebanese, and Jordanians, Israel’s borders are enlarged, prosperity increases, and national stature is enhanced” (Salus, Bill, Israelestine: The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East). See also, Salus, Psalm 83, the Missing Prophecy Revealed – How Israel Becomes the Next Mideast Superpower, (Prophecy Depot, 2013) chapter 26.

    3 The ultimate judgment of these nations occurs at the return of Jesus Christ: Edom & Moab – Numbers 24:17-19; Edom – Isaiah 34 & 63, compared with Revelation 19:15; Edom – Obediah 1:21; Moab – Isaiah 25, Amos 2 & Zephaniah 2:9; Philistia and Assyria – Zephaniah 2; Philistia and Lebanon (Tyre and Gebal) – Joel 3; Arabia – Ezekiel 30, etc.

    4 However, there are prophecies like Ezekiel 25:13-14 where God judges Edom through Israel: “Thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate … I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath …”

    5 Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum suggests an alternative reading of “securely” in Ezekiel 39:8. He says this of the Hebrew word batach, (“security”): “This is not the security due to a state of peace, but a security due to confidence in their own strength” (Fruchtenbaum, Footsteps of the Messiah, p.121). If this is the correct reading, it would eliminate the need for a political peace prerequisite in Israel before the Gog/Magog invasion to take place. However, I do not think this interpretation sits well with the normal reading of the text. It seems forced, almost as if to explain of why Gog/Magog can occur at a time when Israel is not literally at peace and dwelling securely in the land.

    6 In Ezekiel 39:2, the KJV states that 1/6 of the army survives. This is not found in the Hebrew text. The entire army is destroyed.

  • Read Mark 13:28-37

    1. Christians will often say, ‘We’re definitely living in the last days!’ Do you really believe that we are? Why?
    2. What are the most striking changes that you’ve noticed over the past decade or so? How has the way society thinks about things changed? Is this for the better or for the worse? How has technology changed us? Are we better for it? How have believers in this generation changed? How about the way Christian teaching is received by society? Do you see a change there? How do you think this current generation views matters of religion and faith? Why do you think this is so?
    3. When you consider these times, how does it make you feel? Excited? Anxious? Sad? Hopeful? Something else? Why do you think you feel this way?
    4. In Matthew 24:3-4, Jesus’ disciples went to Him privately and asked, “when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Before listing the signs, Jesus answered, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.” Why do you think Jesus said this first? How can we guard against being led astray?
    5. Why did Jesus warn us beforehand about these signs? Why do you think He is still waiting to return for us?
    6. How important do you think Spiritual Warfare is in these anti-supernaturalistic days? (See Ephesians 6:10-11, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, 1 Peter 5:8-9 & James 4:7.)
    7. Perhaps the most important question of all is this: ‘How should we live in light of the end times?’ Brainstorm this with your group? How should we live? What should we be doing? (see 2 Peter 3:11 & 1 John 3:2-3)
    8. Can we follow God, and still follow culture?
    9. Jesus’ coming will be a wonderful blessing for believers, but a disaster for those who have rejected Him. Paul’s message to believers is crystal-clear:

    “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:5-10).

    What does this tell us about God’s expectations for those whom He’s delivered from death?

    10. Would you say that your heart is on fire for God, or has some ‘luke-warmness’ set in? You may not be asleep to the nearness of the Lord’s return, but are you at times a bit drowsy? What are some of the things that foster spiritual drowsiness? What can you do about that?

    11. Are you actively looking for opportunities to be used by God? If you knew that the Rapture was coming at noon this Sunday, how would you spend the next few days differently than you will?

  • Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 7: The Coming Invasion of Israel

    Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 7: The Coming Invasion of Israel

    “And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords … But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger.”

    1. Speaking about the onset of the Tribulation, Paul says it will come suddenly at a time when there is a false sense of “peace and security.” What brings about this false “peace and security”? Why do people feel secure and at peace? Look carefully at Daniel 7:23-24 (cf., 1 Thessalonians 5:1–3). See any clues there?
    2. Is the Tribulation imminent? Could it begin at any moment?
    3. Why was the rebirth of Israel in 1948 important prophetically?
    4. Look at Zephaniah 2:1–2. It speaks of a regathering of Israel, but what does it tell us about the nation that God is calling to regather? According to 2:2, what is this a regathering to? Why are they being regathered? What is the “decree” it mentions? How does this passage speak to the current regathering of Israel?
    5. What does Matt. 24:15-16 tell us about the land of Israel in the Tribulation? What three things must be true for it to happen?
    6. Do a little internet sleuthing. Read about the Six Day War of 1967. How did God use it to fulfill one of the above three things? How did it help to set the stage for the prophesied Tribulation? Why did Rabbi Menachem Schneerson (‘The Rebbe’) become so famous during the Six Day War? How did he use Deut. 28:10?
    7. Scripture predicts an end-times invasion of Israel by her enemies.  Ezekiel 39:9-10 says it will take Israel seven years to dismantle the military equipment left behind by the invasion and that Israel will use the fuel left behind for seven years. 39:11-16 says it will take Israel seven months to bury the dead invaders who will fall on the “mountains of Israel.” What do these passages tell us about when the invasion will take place?
    8. How will this invasion turn out for the invaders? See Ezekiel 38:18-22. How will they lose and who will defeat them?
    9. According to Ezekiel 38:23 & 39:7-8, what is God’s ultimate purpose in this invasion? What does Ezekiel 38:4 tell us about who’s really behind the invasion?
    10. Why is Genesis 12:2-3 important for America?
  • Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 6: The Rise of Antichrist’s Kingdom

    Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 6: The Rise of Antichrist’s Kingdom

    The Bible predicts that a world ruler will arise in the last days who will ultimately rule over a one-world government. He’s known by many names, but most prominently as the Antichrist. Let’s try to learn all we can about this coming “man of sin.”

    1. Look at 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10. List all the facts you can draw from this passage about this “man of lawlessness.”
    2. Some scholars have argued that the Antichrist will be the literal son of Satan as Jesus is the literal Son of God. They point to Genesis 3:15. Can you see why? Anything here?
    3. How does John 5:43 fit into this study? What is Jesus referring to here?
    4. Revelation 13 describes two ‘beasts.’ The First Beast (13:1-10), is the person we call the Antichrist. List all the facts you can find in these verses about this blasphemous First Beast.
    5. The Second Beast (13:11-18) describes the person we call the False Prophet, who will insist that the whole world worships the First Beast and his ‘image.’ List all the facts you can find in these verses about this Second Beast. (NOTE: This passage also gives us some additional details about the First Beast!)
    6. Consider Daniel 9:27 and Matthew 24:15-22 together. What do they tell us about this coming world ruler?
    7. How will things turn out for these two ‘beasts’? See Revelation 19:19-20 and 20:10, along with 2 Thess. 2:8.
    8. What are some of the ways dictators have consolidated power throughout history? Are we seeing any of these today?
    9. America, a great superpower, is nowhere to be found in the end times scenario of the Bible. How can we explain this?
    10. Leviticus 26 has dire warnings of national discipline for any client nation which refuses to return to the Lord. Consider 26:23-25 especially. How might this be relevant to us?
    11. In Daniel’s prophecy of the last days (12:8-10), who are the ones who “will understand” and what will they have done?
  • Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 5: “Why Do You Not Know How to Interpret the Present Time?” (Luke 12:54-56)

    Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 5: “Why Do You Not Know How to Interpret the Present Time?” (Luke 12:54-56)

    Matthew 24:32-33: “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.”

    1. What really jumps out at you about Matthew 24:32-33?
    2. What does Jesus mean by the phrase the “beginning of the birth pangs” (see Matthew 24:3-14 & Luke 21:5-36)? What are these ‘birth pangs’ specifically? What imagery is Jesus trying to convey by calling them ‘birth pangs’? Are we feeling them now?
    3. What’s so startling about Jesus’ prediction in Luke 21:25-26? How does it speak to the international political discourse of our day?
    4. In Matthew 24:6-7, Jesus warned that in the days before His return “nation [Greek: ethnos] will rise up against nation [Greek: ethnos].” How is this significant to our day? Do you think we’re seeing its fulfillment? Has this tension been recently elevated?
    5. In Matthew 24:12, Jesus said this about the last days: “Because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Consider this prophecy carefully. What is it saying? Has it been realized in our day? How? Considering it in light of 2 Timothy 3:1-5, what might be at the root of this ‘lawlessness’?
    6. The wall in front of the United Nations building in NYC quotes Isaiah 2:4. What’s so preposterous about this?
    7. What does the Bible say about disease in the end times? Does God use it as a form of personal or national judgement/ discipline? How does this speak to our current national/ international situation? (Leviticus 26:23, 25; Revelation 6:8; 1 Corinthians 11:30)
    8. Think about end-times Bible prophecy as a tree with FIVE branches: (1) The Cosmic Week (the present earth has only been allotted 7,000 years – six 1,000-year ‘days’ + a Sabbath, Jesus’ 1000-year reign); (2) The Feasts of Israel (the first four were fulfilled in Jesus’ First Coming; the final three will be fulfilled at the Rapture and at Jesus’s Second Coming); (3) The “birth pangs” Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:3-12 & Luke 21:5-36; (4) The two historical comparisons Jesus made to the days of Lot (Luke 17:28-30) and Noah (Matthew 24:37); & (5) The re-establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948. Do you see a correspondence between these five ‘branches’ and our present time? Where specifically?
  • Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 4: The Great Falling Away (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

    Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 4: The Great Falling Away (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

    12:54-56 [Jesus] said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

    1. Is it significant that the above verses are addressed to the crowds rather than to the Pharisees (as in Matthew 16:1-4)? How?
    2. What really jumps out at you about Matthew 24:32-33?
    3. What does Jesus mean by the phrase the “beginning of the birth pangs” (see Matt 24:3-14 & Lk 21:5-36)? What are these ‘birth pangs’ specifically? Do you think we’re feeling them now?
    4. What character traits does Paul say will characterize people in the “last days” in 2 Timothy 3:1-5? Are we seeing these now?
    5. 2 Timothy 3:5 specifically addresses the state of professing believers in the ‘last days,’ not unbelievers, atheists or agnostics. Where are we seeing a hypocritical, outside only ‘Christianity’ in our society today? How about in our churches? In our politics?
    6. What does Paul mean by ‘the rebellion’ or ‘the apostasy’ or ‘the falling away’ in 2 Thessalonians 2:3? What must this precede?
    7. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 warns that “the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but … will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” Are we seeing this? What ‘myths’ have people bought into? Has this ‘myth-following’ moved into our politics and national policy?
    8. What’s so startling about Jesus’ prediction in Lk 21:25-26? How does it speak to the international political discourse of our day?
    9. Think about end-times Bible prophecy as a tree with three branches (see reverse): (1) The Cosmic Week (the present earth has only been allotted 7000 years – six 1000-year ‘days’ + a Sabbath, Jesus’ 1000-year reign); (2) The “birth pangs” Jesus spoke of in Matt 24:3-12 & Lk 21:5-36; and (3) The two historical comparisons Jesus made to the days of Lot (Lk 17:28-30) and Noah (Matt 24:37). Do you see correspondence between these three ‘branches’ and our present day? Where specifically?
  • Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 3: Jesus and the Fall Feasts of Israel

    Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 3: Jesus and the Fall Feasts of Israel

    Genesis 1:31-2:3, 2 Peter 3:8 & The Cosmic Week

    Definition: The Cosmic Week is the idea that God has prophetically allotted a total of 7000 years for man to live on this present earth. Each of the Seven Days mentioned in Genesis 1 and 2 (6 work/1 rest) prophetically represent 1000 years of human history, for “to the Lord a day is as a thousand years” (2 Peter 3:8). So, for 6000 years (6 prophetic days) man will live under the influence of sin and Satan, to be followed by 1000 years (1 prophetic day) when Christ shall reign over the earth in righteousness. This will be the earth’s Seventh Day, its Sabbath, the Day it will finally ‘rest’ from the influence of sin and Satan (see chart on the reverse side).

    1. We’ve been talking about things that are called “shadows of things to come” in Colossians 2:16-17. How are the things mentioned there ‘shadows’? What are they ‘shadows’ of? How will they be fulfilled?’
    2. Do you see anything that might be symbolic in the story of Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman in John 4:1-45? Anything that might speak to the Cosmic Week theory?
    3. How about Hosea 6:1-2? Consider that this prophecy was spoken at the end of the earth’s 4th prophetic day (see chart). If one were to reject the Cosmic Week theory, what else could this prophecy possibly mean? What’s the alternative interpretation?
    4. There are seven appointed feasts of Israel. Why ‘7’? What does Colossians 2:16-17 tell us about them?
    5. Four of these feasts were fulfilled by Jesus at His First Coming – three ‘Spring Feasts’: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits; and one ‘Summer Feast’: Pentecost. Do a little research. How were these four feasts fulfilled by Jesus? Are there any Bible verses which substantiate your answer?
    6. The final three feasts – the ‘Fall Feasts’ – have not yet been fulfilled, but they will be fulfilled, and by Jesus. These are, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, and The Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:23-44). What do you think each of these feasts symbolizes? How will Jesus fulfill them and when?
    7. Why do you think ALL of the Fall Feasts occur in the seventh month of Israel’s calendar? Why might this be important?
    8. The chief characteristic of the Feast of Trumpets was the blowing of the ram’s horn or ‘Shofar.’ What is important about this sounding of the trumpet? Does evoke any Bible verses?
  • Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 2: Jesus and the Earth’s Coming Sabbath

    Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 2: Jesus and the Earth’s Coming Sabbath

    Genesis 1:31-2:3

    1:31-2:3  And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

    1. In Isaiah 46:8-10, the Lord says, “I am God … declaring the end from the beginning.” Is that true? Has He told is something about “the end” in “the beginning”? If so, what and where?
    2. Biblical ‘types’ are “shadows of things to come.” For instance, the O.T sacrifices were “shadows” of the N.T. sacrifice of Jesus. Can you think of other ‘types’ and their fulfillment?
    3. Colossians 2:16-17 speaks of the Jewish feasts & festivals – and even the Sabbath – as “shadows” which are realized in Christ. How are the feasts and the Sabbath realized in Christ?
    4. Exodus 31:13 calls the Sabbath “a sign.” What does it point to?
    5. What was God’s reasoning behind the Sabbath day? Why did He decide to sanctify it and make it holy? (See Exodus 20:11.)
    6. Seven is the number for completeness in the Bible. Can you think of significant ways that ‘seven’ is used in Scripture?
    7. Six is the number of imperfection in the Bible. Can you think of examples of it being used that way (Dan. 3:1 & Rev. 13:18)?
    8. What is the ‘Sabbath of the Land’ and why do you think it was important (see Leviticus 25:3-5).
    9. What do you think is really going on in Luke 13:31-32? What does Jesus’ answer mean? Is there something symbolic here? How do we square Jesus’ answer with Ecc. 10:20 & Ex. 22:28?
    10. Is there anything symbolic in John 2:1? John 2:6? John 11:6-7?
    11. Is there something significant about the description of Solomon’s throne in 2 Chron 9:17-18? Any symbolism here?
    12. What about in Josh. 6:1-4. Do you see any symbolism relating to the earth’s Cosmic Week here? (Cosmic Week = the idea that earth has been allotted a ‘week’ of seven 7000-year days).
    13. Jesus’ healing of the paralytic man on the Sabbath was the 3rd of John’s 7 Signs. What do you this sign means or ‘signifies’?
  • Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 1: Jesus and the Earth’s Seven Days

    Five-Branch Tree of End-Times Bible Prophecy, Part 1: Jesus and the Earth’s Seven Days

    20:30-31 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

    Questions to consider as we close out John 5:

    1. John 5 begins with the healing of a paralytic man by the pool of Bethesda. This is the 3rd of John’s 7 Signs. The 1st and 2nd are clearly identified as “signs” (John 2:11 & 4:54). But how do we know this one is one of the signs? (Hint: You may have to ‘look around!’)
    2. Signs are more than miracles; they are miracles which SIGNIFY something. What does this 3rd Sign point to? Remember to use John 20:30-31 as the criteria for answering!
    3. Refresh your memory: what did the 1st and 2nd signs signify?
    4. This 3rd Sign is tied to the Sabbath Day in 5:9b & 16. Think of the Sabbath in the larger context of God’s Word and Creation. What does the Seventh Day indicate prophetically (2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 20:2-7)? Why do you think Sabbath Day controversies play such a prominent role in Jesus’ ministry?
    5. Do you think it’s important for we as believers to concern ourselves with signs in these last days? Consider Luke 12:54-56. Notice also the Bible’s emphasis on ‘watchfulness’ in the last days (John 16:13, 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 2:11, Matthew 24:4 & 25:13, Luke 21:8, 1 Timothy 4:16 & 2 John 1:8).
    6. Do you see any indications that the earth is about to enter it’s Seventh Day? What are these? Do they line up with Jesus’ description of the “birth pangs’ that will precede His appearing (see Matthew 24:3-13 & Luke 21:7-19, 25-28)?
    7. Luke 17:26-30 is a remarkable passage. In it, Jesus compares the days just prior to His return to the days of (1) Noah and (2) Lot. Do you see similarities between our own day and theirs?
    8. Do you think that Peter’s prophecy of 2 Peter 3:3-4 has been fulfilled in our day? How?
    9. What should our response to these things be? (1 Peter 2:11, 2 Peter 3:11, 1 John 3:2-3, 1 Cor. 5:7-8, 2 Cor. 7:1).