Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Reading)
The Implications of the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact
(Book Installment 13)
The Scope of the Second Coming
Chapter 1 – References to the Second Coming
References to the Second Coming in Other Prophets
Isaiah and Daniel provided us a good grounding in what the Old Testament has to say about the Second Coming of Christ (which, keep in mind, is the coming of the kingdom of God). To finish our survey, we’re going to now pull together selections from about ten different prophets, beginning with Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 13:5 “You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD.
Ezekiel 30:1 The word of the LORD came again to me saying,
Ezekiel 30:2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,
“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’
Ezekiel 30:3 “For the day is near,
Even the day of the LORD is near;
It will be a day of clouds,
A time of doom for the nations.
Like Isaiah, Ezekiel uses the longer expression “the day of the Lord” as well as a shorter one “the day.” Other prophets in the Old Testament, and the apostles in the New Testament, do the same. It was understood to be “a day of reckoning” (Isaiah 2:12), which meant “a day of wrath” (Zephaniah 1:15) and “a day of salvation” (Isaiah 49:8). The shorter versions – whether “the day” or “that day” – were understood to convey the same meaning as the longer ones. This kind of phrasing and vocabulary is consistent across both testaments.
Hosea is the first of the twelve minor prophets that are found at the end of the Old Testament. The word “minor” is not a reference to the men themselves but rather to their writings which are, generally speaking, noticeably shorter than those of the “major” prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The major and minor prophets, Isaiah through Malachi, lived from roughly 800 BC (e.g. Jonah, Amos) to 400 BC (e.g. Zechariah and Malachi).
Hosea 3:5 Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.
Quotes like this don’t, technically speaking, reference the Second Coming, but do imply it. They prophesy the church age, which would run from the resurrection of Jesus to the Second Coming. This is the period immediately after the four Gospels, and it’s recorded in remaining books of the New Testament – that is, Acts through Revelation. This time period is consistently called “the last days” by the prophets (in the Old Testament) and the apostles (in the New Testament).
Early in the book of Acts, the apostle Peter quotes the prophet Joel – next after Hosea among the minor prophets. Peter is announcing, on the day of Pentecost, that “the last days” announced by the prophets had begun with Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
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Acts 2:14 …Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words.
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Acts 2:16 …this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
Acts 2:17 ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says,
‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;
Acts 2:18 EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,
I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
And they shall prophesy.
Acts 2:19 ‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE
AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW,
BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE.
Acts 2:20 ‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS
AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD,
BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.
Acts 2:21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’
This day commenced the greatest of times and the worst of times for ancient Israel. The greatest of times would be experienced in the church of Jesus Christ – which was spiritual Israel. The worst of times would be experienced under the Jewish government led by the Sadducees and Pharisees – political Israel. This was the wrath and salvation taking place simultaneously…just as the prophets had said.
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