Post by Admin on May 8, 2016 8:45:09 GMT -5
Sometimes Prophecy can have more than one fulfillment, or, application, and I think we can see this in the Supper of the Great God.
Consider:
Revelation 19:17-21
King James Version (KJV)
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
This event depicts an event/s which immediately follow the Lord's Return (Revelation 19:11-13), where we see the enemies of God physically destroyed and their carcasses feasted upon by the fowls of the earth. One thing to keep in mind is that this can be distinguished from the destruction of the enemies of God which follows the Millennial Kingdom:
Revelation 20:7-9
King James Version (KJV)
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Christ teaches about the Supper of the Great God here:
Luke 17:26-27 & 30-37
King James Version (KJV)
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot's wife.
33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
The Return of Christ will begin with judgment on the unbelieving population of the world. Those gathered against the Saints will physically die on the battlefield, and their bodies will be feasted on.
Above we see a correlation made by Christ to Noah and Lot, at which time there was destruction of the wicked. Here the disciples ask, "Where, Lord," which is directed at the Lord's statement that one will be taken, one left. We would see this as referring to "Where are they taken?" It would make little sense to ask where they are left, the answer would be "in the bed," and in the field," right? So I think it safe to say the question in view is "Where are they taken, Lord?" Keeping in mind this is a context directly dealing with the destruction of the wicked, the "taking" is in judgment, and the answer correlates to what we just saw in Revelation 19, they are taken in judgment and their bodies left for carrion fodder. Those who are left are the believing population who do not die, but physically live to enter into the Kingdom we see established in the text of Revelation 20.
Matthew also mentions this event:
Matthew 24:27-28
King James Version (KJV)
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
All of these mentions coincide with Christ's Return.
Now, let's back up to Old Testament Prophecy, and see the Supper of the Great God prophesied long before John pens Revelation, and Matthew and Luke pen their Gospels:
Ezekiel 39
King James Version (KJV)
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
Again, we see that there can be more than one application for Prophecy. We will see the enemies of God destroyed both at the Return of Christ as well as at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. One of the reasons why it is important to consider this is determining the events described in Revelation. Those among the brethren who take an A-millennial view, and tend to interpret Scripture with a more metaphorical approach try to negate the Prophecy of the Old Testament and see no need for Prophecy to be fulfilled as it has always been, that is...to the jot and tittle. This is a literal event in which literal men will literally die and be literally eaten.
It is prophesied of by Ezekiel, Christ, Matthew, Luke, and John, all of which are years apart from each other (at the time of the Prophecy.
That there will be a period of time after the Lord Returns and His enemies destroyed is seen clearly as we go on in Ezekiel 39:
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
Here we seem after the destruction of God's enemies, a seven year period into the Millennial Kingdom. We cannot say that at any time in history that the Restoration of Israel has taken place, nor that v.7 has been accomplished for Israel. This restoration was precisely what Israel sat in expectation of, and still does. While it is true that believers are a "spiritual Israel," nothing in Scripture even hints that the Lord changed how He gives and fulfills Prophecy, nor that He will renege on His Promises to the Nation of Israel.
Ezekiel makes mention again of the corpses in the wilderness which shows that we cannot have in view the event seen in Revelation 20:7-9...
10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
Here we see that for seven months the stench of these carcasses will offend the nostrils of travelers, and Israel will have the task of burying the dead.
13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
Again, we see that it is impossible for this to refer to a past event in Israel's History, though we can see a similarity drawn by Scripture to Noah, Lot, and the destruction of the enemies of God (unbelievers) both at the Lord's Return, as well as at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. What we can dogmatically say is that spiritualizing these events fails to distinguish what Scripture teaches, which make it clear that these are separate events, and have a place in history when they shall be fulfilled. Some see the easily understood Timeline of Events given us in Scripture, and particularly in Revelation, as simply metaphor, symbol, or allegory, but, nothing could be further from the truth.
God bless.
Consider:
Revelation 19:17-21
King James Version (KJV)
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
This event depicts an event/s which immediately follow the Lord's Return (Revelation 19:11-13), where we see the enemies of God physically destroyed and their carcasses feasted upon by the fowls of the earth. One thing to keep in mind is that this can be distinguished from the destruction of the enemies of God which follows the Millennial Kingdom:
Revelation 20:7-9
King James Version (KJV)
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Christ teaches about the Supper of the Great God here:
Luke 17:26-27 & 30-37
King James Version (KJV)
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot's wife.
33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
The Return of Christ will begin with judgment on the unbelieving population of the world. Those gathered against the Saints will physically die on the battlefield, and their bodies will be feasted on.
Above we see a correlation made by Christ to Noah and Lot, at which time there was destruction of the wicked. Here the disciples ask, "Where, Lord," which is directed at the Lord's statement that one will be taken, one left. We would see this as referring to "Where are they taken?" It would make little sense to ask where they are left, the answer would be "in the bed," and in the field," right? So I think it safe to say the question in view is "Where are they taken, Lord?" Keeping in mind this is a context directly dealing with the destruction of the wicked, the "taking" is in judgment, and the answer correlates to what we just saw in Revelation 19, they are taken in judgment and their bodies left for carrion fodder. Those who are left are the believing population who do not die, but physically live to enter into the Kingdom we see established in the text of Revelation 20.
Matthew also mentions this event:
Matthew 24:27-28
King James Version (KJV)
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
All of these mentions coincide with Christ's Return.
Now, let's back up to Old Testament Prophecy, and see the Supper of the Great God prophesied long before John pens Revelation, and Matthew and Luke pen their Gospels:
Ezekiel 39
King James Version (KJV)
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.
Again, we see that there can be more than one application for Prophecy. We will see the enemies of God destroyed both at the Return of Christ as well as at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. One of the reasons why it is important to consider this is determining the events described in Revelation. Those among the brethren who take an A-millennial view, and tend to interpret Scripture with a more metaphorical approach try to negate the Prophecy of the Old Testament and see no need for Prophecy to be fulfilled as it has always been, that is...to the jot and tittle. This is a literal event in which literal men will literally die and be literally eaten.
It is prophesied of by Ezekiel, Christ, Matthew, Luke, and John, all of which are years apart from each other (at the time of the Prophecy.
That there will be a period of time after the Lord Returns and His enemies destroyed is seen clearly as we go on in Ezekiel 39:
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord God; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years:
Here we seem after the destruction of God's enemies, a seven year period into the Millennial Kingdom. We cannot say that at any time in history that the Restoration of Israel has taken place, nor that v.7 has been accomplished for Israel. This restoration was precisely what Israel sat in expectation of, and still does. While it is true that believers are a "spiritual Israel," nothing in Scripture even hints that the Lord changed how He gives and fulfills Prophecy, nor that He will renege on His Promises to the Nation of Israel.
Ezekiel makes mention again of the corpses in the wilderness which shows that we cannot have in view the event seen in Revelation 20:7-9...
10 So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
Here we see that for seven months the stench of these carcasses will offend the nostrils of travelers, and Israel will have the task of burying the dead.
13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
Again, we see that it is impossible for this to refer to a past event in Israel's History, though we can see a similarity drawn by Scripture to Noah, Lot, and the destruction of the enemies of God (unbelievers) both at the Lord's Return, as well as at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. What we can dogmatically say is that spiritualizing these events fails to distinguish what Scripture teaches, which make it clear that these are separate events, and have a place in history when they shall be fulfilled. Some see the easily understood Timeline of Events given us in Scripture, and particularly in Revelation, as simply metaphor, symbol, or allegory, but, nothing could be further from the truth.
God bless.