Bible Study Seattle

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.  It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.”  1 Peter 1:10-12

‘Trying to the time and circumstances of the sufferings of Messiah and the glories to follow!’.  The prophets diligently longed to know the plan of God!  Even angels long to know this!  And so do we.  But God has so constructed the prophecies that we cannot know for sure ahead of time.  Many prophecies have multiple fulfillments or are non-sequential.  “Let God be true, and every human being a liar!”  Romans 3:4

“Come now, you rich, cry and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.  Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten.  Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their rust will be a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire.  You have treasured up wrath for the last days.  Look!, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cries out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of the Armies.  You have lived in luxury on the earth and taken your pleasure.  You have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.  You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous person, although he was not opposing you.  Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.  Look!, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it until it receives the early and latter rain.  You also, be patient.  Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”  James 5:1-8 REV

James and the other apostles evidently thought Jesus’ return was near.  But he also hedged and said to be patient.  Fortunately, the REV includes ‘fraud’ in verse 4, otherwise it might read that all rich people are evil.  James 5 is similar to:

“And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.  He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’  “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.  And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”  Luke 12:16-21  Later on, Jesus likely reveals the identity of the rich man:

“Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”  Luke 12:27

“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory.  And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.  For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her.  To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’  For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.”  Revelation 18:1-8

This passage sounds like a cross between Lot and the plagues on Egypt.  Both ended with destruction.

“When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.”  But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the Lord was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city.  When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.”  Genesis 19:15-17

Due to an extreme famine Jacob and his entire family move to Egypt under the care and protection of Joseph.  The Israelites multiply exceedingly.  Later, a different Pharoah comes to power, and Moses comes on the scene.  After ten plagues, the Israelites begin the Exodus out of Egypt.  After three days they are trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army.  Then God delivers the Israelites by a miraculous deliverance.  Could this represent Armageddon?  After this the Israelites are given the law and told how to live.  By their disobedience they are made to wander 40 years in the desert.  Their children will march into the promised land.  Could the 40 years represent the Millennium?  Then Joshua takes them into the promised land.  Could this be the eternal life – the Age to come?  Paul seems to take a different view in Hebrews:

“Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? Was it not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?  And with whom was he provoked forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?   And to whom did he swear that they should never enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?   So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.”  Hebrews 3:16-19

Paul is talking about ultimate salvation as God’s ‘rest’.  He’s goes on to equate this with the seventh day:

“ For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.”  And again in this place he said, “They shall never enter my rest.”  Hebrews 4:4-5  “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later of another day.  So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God;”  Hebrews 4:8-9

And yet, we are in the seventh day from Adam and Armageddon hasn’t occurred yet.  It is interesting to note that the population of Israel barely changed during the forty years wandering in the wilderness.  Could this be birth and death equaling out during the Millennium?  It is also interesting that one sixth of the spies (2 out of 12) entered Joshua’s ‘rest’.

After Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, Jesus has a discussion with Martha (Lazarus’s sister) about the resurrection.  It’s often translated something like this:  “and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”  John 11:26 RSV

This lends support to the idea that only the body dies, but the soul lives on.  The doctrine of the immortality of the soul.  But a more accurate translation is this:

“and whoever lives and believes in me will not ever die in the Age to come.  Do you believe this?”  John 11:26 REV

Obviously Lazarus was going to die again, but in the resurrection he’d have a chance to live forever.

Two passages:

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.  For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.” 1 Timothy 2:12-14

“As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry.  Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.”  1 Timothy 5:11-12

The first passage has often been used to limit women’s role in church.  The second seems to be saying that’s young widow’s who desire a husband are forfeiting Christianity.  But look at the Revised English Version’s translations:

“I do not permit a woman to teach that she is the originator of man, rather she is not to cause a disturbance.  For Adam was first formed, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being thoroughly deceived, fell into transgression.”

“Buy younger women refuse, for when they have sensual desires contrary to Christ, they desire to marry, incurring judgment because the have rejected their first pledge.”

Much more reasonable!

“But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge.”  1 Timothy 5:11

This is an interesting passage, showing that Paul may not always be 100% in God’s will.  It’s understandable to keep young widows off the welfare list since they plan to remarry, and thus have a means of support.  But the desire to marry incurring condemnation?  Paul is implying that true Christians shouldn’t want to marry because it will take away from their devotion to Christ.  But Jesus never said anything against marriage, although it’s true that trying to keep a spouse happy may take away energy that could be devoted to something else.  It’s also possible that he feared the Lord would return soon, and he didn’t want any to become sidetracked by marriage.

Joseph reigned during the seven years of plenty and seven years of famine in Egypt.  It appears that the whole story is prophetic of Jesus’ return.  The seven years of plenty are probably the period of the completion of the church.  Then there is a period of two years, culminating in the exalting of Benjamin, among others things.  Benjamin probably represents the Levites, the Christian household of faith who are the brides’ attendants, whereas the true church is the equivalent of the priests.  At this point, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and father.  This is done with no effect on the Egyptians.  This probably equates to the resurrection of Israelites.  “ For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved;”  Romans 11:25-26  Notice that Paul says all Israel will be saved when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; i.e. when the church is complete. 

Apparently at this point the Israelites are given the best part of the land and start to multiply quickly.  Meanwhile the rest of the world is sinking further and further into desperation.  By the end of the seven year famine, all Egypt and surrounding nations are in complete servitude, having sold all property.  Does this relate to the dryness at the end of Noah’s flood?  Will the common people have died off in a famine in the future while Israel is populating the middle east?  Will then the resurrection of the rest of the world commence?  We can’t know for sure.  In Noah’s account, they can’t get off the ark to repopulate the earth until the earth is completely dry.  Will a similar thing happen in the future?  Will Israelites be the only people for a brief time?  It appears that the last five years of Joseph’s famine see Israel multiplying greatly while the rest of the world is reduced to slaves.  How will this manifest?  In any case, it doesn’t appear that an Armageddon event is possible at the end of the famine – the people are too desperate.  Could we have 185 years of plenty, followed by 53 years that the household of faith is completed, followed by 132 years of vastly multiplying Israelites – all the generations going back to at least Abraham.  Then we might have 157 years till Armageddon, those 157 years being the resurrection of tens of billions of people.  Seems impossible, but who knows?

“Now there came to Him some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection), and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children to his brother.  Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; and the second and the third married her; and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.  Finally the woman died also.  In the resurrection therefore, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”

Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”  Luke 20:27-36

What is this age?  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:19-20

Making disciples of all the nations will require the resurrection, since millions have never really heard the good news.  This age must at least last till the Day of Atonement.  But how can Jesus say there is no marriage in heaven, when he himself is to marry the church?

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”  Revelation 19:7

The age to come Jesus is referring the Sadducees to almost has to be the age after Satan’s final rebellion at the end of the thousand years.  Then death will be no more.

“So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.  That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.”  Genesis 11:8-9

God had commanded them to fill the whole earth and disperse after the flood, but instead they congregated close.  In the future there will be a reverse of the Tower of Babel:

““For then I will give to the peoples purified lips,
That all of them may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.”  Zephaniah 3:9