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 15)
The Scope of the Second Coming
Chapter 1 – References to the Second Coming
References to the Second Coming in Other Prophets (continued)
At this point, it’s worth showing you a couple of lengthy quotes from the prophet Micah. This first one describes “the last days” which were the ones we read about in the New Testament – the church age, the time of Jesus and His apostles. These were glory days for spiritual Israel, but so many Bible readers overlook this and instead think it’s some still-future time period being described.
Micah 4:1 And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the peoples will stream to it.
Micah 4:2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Micah 4:3 And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.
Micah 4:4 Each of them will sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid,
For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.
Micah 4:5 Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
(By the way, Isaiah 2 has a passage very similar to this.)
This next passage from Micah makes it even clearer that he’s describing New Testament times.
Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
Micah 5:3 Therefore He will give them up until the time
When she who is in labor has borne a child.
Then the remainder of His brethren
Will return to the sons of Israel.
Micah 5:4 And He will arise and shepherd His flock
In the strength of the LORD,
In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God.
And they will remain,
Because at that time He will be great
To the ends of the earth.
Micah 5:5 This One will be our peace…
By the way, the miraculous speaking in other languages that occurred on Pentecost, prophesied by the prophet Joel, occurred on a regular basis in the New Testament church – as 1 Corinthians 14 amply attests. I know there are churches today that profess to experience the same phenomenon, but multilingual people can attest it’s not the same thing. The New Testament age was a thoroughly unique period in Jewish and human history. This was another physical sign of spiritual Israel’s glory days.
People who say they believe in Bible prophecy, but who refuse to recognize how “the last days” refers to New Testament times are the ones who end up claiming that modern Israel is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. I’m not taking a political side on the issue of modern Israel; I’m just saying it has nothing to do with biblical prophecy. More to come when we get “Implication: His Church Is Done” and “Implication: His Kingdom Has Come.”
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