THE AUTHOR AND
FINISHER OF SALVATION
Lesson 27
page 2 of 2
Jesus Reveals it
before it Happens
Jesus told Isaiah,
“…I am God, and there is no
other; I am God, and there is none
like me {on Earth}. I make known the
end from the beginning, from ancient
time, what is still to come…What
I have said, that will I bring about;
what I have planned, that will I
do.” (Isaiah 46:9-11, insertion
mine.) Jesus also told His disciples,
“I am telling you now before it
happens, so that when it does happen
you will believe that I am He {the
one sent from God).” (John
13:19, insertion mine.)
Contrary to what many
people say, Bible prophecy cannot be
separated from the Plan of Salvation.
Prophecy plays an integral role of
salvation. Even the birth, death,
ascension and return of Jesus to
Earth are expressed in the Bible as
prophesies. The Bible teaches that
salvation comes by faith in Jesus
(Ephesians 2:6-10), but it is
difficult to have faith in someone we
have not actually seen or heard. It
is also difficult to love Someone we
have never met. Therefore, God sent
the gift of the Holy Spirit so we
could come to know and love Jesus.
(John 16:7) The Spirit makes Jesus
real in our minds. Furthermore, Jesus
provides us with enough reasonable
evidence to demonstrate that He is
God. The fulfillment of Bible
prophecy provides this evidence.
Bible prophecy is history stated in
advance. Jesus declares what He will
do and history confirms what He did.
Prophecy is a progressive record and
by studying it, we can observe the
marvelous work of Jesus through many
centuries. History confirms
God’s constant vigil to verify
that His promises are kept. When
understood correctly, Bible prophecy
demonstrates and explains the
character of Jesus in many wonderful
ways. Peter said, “And we have
the word of the prophets made more
certain, and you will do well to pay
attention to it, as to a light
shining in a dark place, until the
day dawns and the morning star rises
in your hearts. Above all, you must
understand that no prophecy of
Scripture came about by the
prophet’s own interpretation.
For prophecy never had its origin in
the will of man, but men spoke from
God as they were carried along by the
Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:19-21)
Present Truth
On or about the time
of fulfillment, Bible prophecy
“suddenly becomes understandable
and applicable.” This is an
interesting phenomenon. For example,
when Jesus was born, the prophecies
surrounding His birth suddenly became
clear to the honest and heart, such
as the wise men. The sudden
understanding and fulfillment of
prophecy is sometimes called
“present truth.” A good
example of “present truth”
is demonstrated by Paul’s
preaching. (Romans 16:25-27) The
arrival of present truth always
centers on some new truth or event
concerning Jesus. Therefore, when
students of the Word understand what
Jesus is about to do, they know how
and when to prepare for his actions!
For example, Jesus told Noah to build
an ark because He was going to
destroy the world with a flood. The
message Jesus gave Noah was present
truth at that time because Jesus was
about to do something He had not done
before! Because Noah lived by faith,
he obeyed Jesus. With great expense
and tremendous effort, Noah built an
ark, thereby saving himself and his
family. (Hebrews 11:7)
Having Ears That Hear
One of the biggest
problems students face with Bible
study is that some elements of the
Bible have to be believed before they
can be understood, and other elements
have to be understood before they can
be believed. It is important to
approach Bible study with both
perspectives in mind. We may have to
stretch our minds to do some
possibility thinking because some
answers are a long time in coming. In
the end, it is reassuring to know
that faith and truth are inseparable
– they are brother and sister.
For this reason, we should not feel
threatened when the big picture does
not snap into focus right away. In
our search for truth, we must have a
humble attitude and teachable spirit.
My prayer for 30 years continues to
be: “Lord, I do not care what
the truth is or where it may lead,
just let me see it!
Jesus said to the
Pharisees, “He who belongs to
God hears what God says. The reasons
you do not hear is that you do not
belong to God.” (John 8:47) In
Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus emphasized
seven times, “He that has an ear
to hear, let him hear what the Spirit
says to the churches.” This
phrase indicates that those people
who honestly listen for God’s
voice will eventually hear and
understand what the Holy Spirit says!
Jesus said, “But when he, the
Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide
you into all truth. He will not speak
on his own; he will speak only what
he hears, and he will tell you what
is yet to come.” (John 16:13)
Afraid of Two Things
The carnal heart is
afraid of two things: the truth about
the future. The born again heart has
nothing to fear because Jesus is the
truth and He stands today where we
will be tomorrow. This is the beauty
of living by faith. If we are willing
to confess our sins and move forward,
truth is not a fearful thing.
Likewise, there is nothing to fear
about the future because our Savior
sees the future and has made every
provision for it. Jesus said,
“Everyone who does evil hates
the light, and will not come into the
light for fear that his deeds will be
exposed. But whosoever lives by the
truth comes into the light, so that
it may be seen plainly that what he
has done has been done through
God.” (John 3:20,21) The Apostle
Paul wrote, “The man without the
Spirit does not accept the things
that comes from the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him, and
he cannot understand them, because
they are spiritually discerned.”
(1 Corinthians 2:14) Even more,
Daniel says of the wicked: “Many
will be purified, made spotless and
refined, but the wicked will continue
to be wicked. None of the wicked will
understand, but those who are wise
will understand.” (Daniel 12:10)
These verses confirm
the complete harmony between the
operation of the Holy Spirit and the
Word of God. One is not antagonistic
toward the other. The members of the
Godhead are in one accord. The Holy
Spirit will never lead a person into
rebellion against a plain “thus
saith the Lord” stated in
Scriptures. Never! The Holy Spirit
always nudges a person to obediently
submit to God’s higher
authority. (Acts 5:29) Whenever we
face a difficult situation where sin
appears to be the best solution, we
are on treacherous ground. Remember
Abraham. He and Sarah concluded that
having a child by Hagar was the only
answer to Sarah’s infertility,
but look at the price of their sin.
Daniel 12:10 also confirms that if we
are not obedient to the leading of
the Holy Spirit, we will not be able
to grow spiritually and understand
even greater truths about God. Even
though we may be honest seekers of
truth, there will always be portions
of the Bible that will be unclear and
challenging to understand. Do not
feel intimidated. We stand on the
shoulders of many honorable men and
women who have experienced the same
dilemma. No person can understand
everything written in the Bible.
However, everyone who seeks truth
will find it and will be able to
understand the basics. (Matthew 7:7)
Even more, everyone who seeks truth
will see God. (Matthew 5:8) And He
will reward everyone who diligently
seeks Him. (Hebrews 11:6; Revelation
1:3) Just as God’s infinite love
is greater than we can ever hope for
to understand, many Bible concepts
are simply too broad, deep and large
to be completely understood in one
lifetime. Jesus reads the mind and
heart of each person and all He
requires is a surrendered heart, an
honest inquiry, a diligent effort and
an open mind. If we cooperate with
the leading of the Spirit each day,
Jesus will produce a spiritually
maturity that is otherwise impossible
to retain. (Ephesians 4:13)
Forever Immature?
Too many Christians
stay on the merry-go-round of basic
elements and never mature into the
deeper and intricate concepts about
Jesus. The Author of our Faith did
not produce a third grade primer on
salvation. He produced a library of
66 books that offers something at
every level of spiritual development.
Paul observed the fact that some
people would not grow up spiritually
and he chastised the Hebrews saying,
“We have much to say about {the
ministry of Christ}, but it is hard
to explain because you are slow to
learn. In fact, though by this time
you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you the elementary
truths of God’s word all over
again. You need milk, not solid food!
Anyone who lives on milk, being still
an infant, is not acquainted with the
teaching about righteousness. But
solid food is for the mature, which
by constant use have trained
themselves to distinguish good from
evil. Therefore let us leave the
elementary teachings about Christ and
go on to maturity, not laying again
the foundation of repentance from
acts that lead to death, and of faith
in God.” (Hebrews 5:11; 6:1,
insertion mine.) Did you notice the
subjects that Paul called
“elementary truths?”
Of course, Paul
believed that we should understand
the basics of salvation first and
then move on to practice them in our
lives. But he did not stop there! He
encouraged all of us to grow up and
continue learning more about the ways
and plans of Jesus. If we are
satisfied with “just enough
religion” to be saved (the basic
truths about salvation), could it be
that we are more interested in saving
ourselves than knowing Jesus? How
foolish! The Plan of Salvation is not
an insurance policy, nor is it a
scheme to obtain eternal life.
Instead, the Plan of Salvation is a
comprehensive way of life. When a
person enrolls in the Plan of
Salvation, he or she wants to grow up
spiritually and reflect Jesus’
character. A hunger for spiritual
food drives a born again person to
the Bible.
“Prophecy is not
Essential to Salvation”
When people insist
that Bible prophecy is not essential
to salvation, they tacitly admit they
are spiritually immature and still
fascinated with the milk of
elementary things. (Remember Hebrews
5:11; 6:1.) Keep in mind that Jesus
is neither mindless nor shallow about
the things He does or says. He is the
Creator of molecular physics, as well
as the Revealer of the mysteries of
God. He would not have included
electrons in atoms or apocalyptic
prophecy in the Bible if these
elements were not important. Jesus
would not have instructed John to
write the Book of Revelation if it
was meaningless and useless. On the
contrary, the Book of Revelation is
the only book in the Bible that
offers a blessing to everyone who
reads it. “Blessed is the one
who reads the words of this prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear it and
take to heart what is written in it,
because the time is near.”
(Revelation 1:3) The Book of
Revelation will become, at the right
time, a marvelous “road
map” of present truth for the
people of Earth. Prior to the Great
Tribulation, the Book of Revelation
will not enjoy preeminence because it
will not be the time for its
fulfillment. But this will suddenly
change overnight; the most
complicated book in the Bible will
become an important roadmap
explaining the actions of Jesus. Do
not lessen the importance of Bible
prophecy simply because you do not
understand what it says. Paul wrote,
“Do not treat prophecies with
contempt.” (1 Thessalonians
5:20) Jesus condemned the Pharisees
for not recognizing the fulfillment
of prophecy right before their eyes!
He said, “Hypocrites! You know
how to interpret the appearance of
the earth and sky. How is it that you
don’t know how to interpret this
present time?” (Luke 12:56)
False Prophets
John warns us to be
aware of false prophets. “Dear
friends, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see whether
they are from God, because many false
prophets have gone out into the
world.” (1 John 4:1) Jesus
warned His disciples, “For false
Christ’s and false prophets will
appear and perform great signs and
miracles to deceive even the elect
– if that were possible.”
(Matthew 24:24) Think about it.
According to these texts, if a person
performs great signs and miracles,
does it necessarily make them a true
prophet? No! (See Deuteronomy
13:1-5.) If a great sign or miracle
is not proof of truth or a true
prophet, then the proof of a true
prophet must be found in the validity
of his message. A prophet’s
message will conform to bible truth
and be a plan “thus saith the
Lord.” A prophet is not a god.
True, prophets sometimes performs
miracles to confirm their testimony,
but a miracle is not enough. There
has to be something external (that
is, a witness) to validate the
testimony of the prophet. (John
8:13-20)
If a person is not
acquainted with the Bible, it becomes
very difficult to use “gold
standards” set forth in the
Bible to test a prophet. If we are
left with nothing but our senses
– he or she looked good, spoke
authoritatively and appeared to know
a lot about the Bible – we
become very vulnerable to deception.
The devil knows the Bible very well
and makes it imperative that we know
God’s Word, too. In days to
come, a great contest will occur
between the prophets of God and the
prophets of the devil. Many people
who currently claim to be “led
of the Spirit” will painfully
discover they were led by their
foolish imaginations. (Ezekiel 13)
The Spirit ever leads us towards
truth – to carefully examine
God’s Word. Then as we discover
more truth, the Spirit confirms it in
our minds by connecting more dots to
form a growing picture of truth.
Wrong Conclusions and
Terrible Consequences
If we interpret
prophecy with faulty presuppositions,
we will produce faulty conclusions.
Notice how faulty presuppositions led
Jewish leaders to a faulty conclusion
in Jesus day. Malachi predicted,
“See, I will send you the
prophet Elijah before the great and
dreadful day of the Lord comes. He
will turn the hearts of the fathers
to their children, and the hearts of
the children to their fathers; or
else I will come and strike the land
with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5,6)
This prophecy was given to Malachi
about 400 years before Jesus was born
and the Jews commonly interpreted
this prophecy to mean that Elijah
would physically come down from
Heaven and introduces the Messiah
when the time came for Him to appear.
(Remember, Elijah was taken to Heaven
in a whirlwind approximately 450
years before Malachi wrote these
words. See 2 Kings 2:11.)
John the Baptist
This prophecy has an
interesting setting. According to
Luke 3:1,15, many Jews anticipated
Messiah would arrive during the 15th
year of Tiberius Caesar. This
anticipation was based on the fact
that 27 A.D. marked the commencement
of the 70th week since the
decree to restore Jerusalem was
issued by Artaxerxes on Nisan 1, 457
B.C. (Ezra 7,8) The Jews were not
alone in their expectations, even the
Samaritans anticipated the appearing
of Messiah! (See John 4:25.)
Interest in the
appearing of Messiah had been fueled
by the appearance of a strange and
powerful man whom many people
regarded as a prophet. His name was
John. It was custom of John the
Baptist (John the Baptizer) to hold
services out in the desert, near the
Jordan River. He preferred the
sobriety of the wilderness to the din
of the city and many curious ventured
into the wilderness to hear him.
John’s preaching created a
sensation for he spoke with power and
penetrating insight. He claimed the
kingdom of God was at hand and many
people believed him. His prophetic
message debunked the teaching of the
religious leaders and superstitions
imbedded in Judaism. People and
priests were “pricked in the
heart” because of their sins. As
they listened to this man of God,
they realized the Messiah would
appear and establish His kingdom very
soon! John made it clear that sinners
with a rebellious attitude could not
be part of God’s kingdom.
“Therefore, “he cried,
“repent of your sins and be
baptizes.” Holy Spirit power
rested on John the Baptist. His words
carried much weight. They deeply
stirred the hearts of his listeners
and as his popularity grew, the
clergy in Jerusalem became
increasingly troubled with him.
“Who Are
You?”
One day, the Religious
Affairs Department in Jerusalem sent
a group of priest to the Jordan River
to question the uneducated
“wild-man “who was causing
such a stir among the people. (See
John 1: 19-23.) Notice the sequence
of the priest’s questions,
because the questions were based on
their understanding of prophecy. They
first question to John was, “Are
you Messiah?” John answered,
“No.” Then, they asked if
he was Elijah. Again John answered,
“No.” They asked if he was
the prophet that Moses had predicted.
(See Deuteronomy 18:15.) John again
responded, “No.” In
desperation, they finally asked,
“Who are you?” John
answered by quoting from Isaiah 40:3,
“I am the voice of one calling
in the desert, ‘Make straight
the way for the Lord.’”
(John 1:23)
Satisfied that John
the Baptist was not the Messiah,
Elijah, or the prophet predicted by
Moses, the priests returned to
Jerusalem with their report. As you
many guess, the problem was their
misunderstanding of whom John
represented. They assumed, based on
their interpretation of Malachi, that
the physical appearing of Elijah was
mandatory fulfillment before Messiah
could appear. This interpretation
helped the Pharisees to reject Jesus
as Messiah because John the Baptist
plainly declared that he was not
Elijah. They concluded that if there
was no Elijah, there could be no
Messiah. Look again at the prophecy
of Malachi 4. How do you interpret
it? If you had been a Pharisee at
that time, would you have doubted
that Jesus was Messiah since Elijah
had not physically appeared?
“Where is
Elijah”?
The only way to reach
an accurate prophetic conclusion is
to combine the harmony of the
Scriptures with the help of the Holy
Spirit. In other words, spiritual
things are spiritually understood. (1
Corinthians 2:14) About two years
after the priests had questioned John
the Baptist, Peter, James and John
went with Jesus to a mountaintop now
called the mount of Transfiguration.
There they saw Jesus visit with
Elijah and Moses. (Matthew 17:1-9)
The disciples thought this was the
Elijah that Malachi had predicted!
But Elijah did not stay on Earth, in
fact, only those men on the mountain
saw him. They must have wondered why
Elijah and Moses made the trip from
Heaven to see Jesus. The Father sent
Elijah and Moses as representatives
of the human race to encourage Jesus,
as He was about to meet His
rendezvous with death. The salvation
of the human race depended on Jesus
obediently going to the cross. Elijah
was a representative of people who be
saved without seeing death and Moses
represented those who will be
resurrected from death and the grave.
Of course, at the time, the disciples
did not comprehend that Jesus was
about to die. In fact, they were
waiting for Him to establish a
glorious kingdom. A short time after
the mountain top experience they
asked Jesus about Elijah and the
prophetic argument the Pharisees used
to negate the possibility that Jesus
was the Messiah. They asked,
“Why then do the teachers of the
law say that Elijah must come
first?” (Matthew 17:10) Jesus
responded, ‘”To be sure,
Elijah comes and will restore all
things. But I tell you, Elijah has
already come, and they did not
recognize him, but have done to him
everything they wished. In the same
way the Son of Man is going to suffer
at their hands.’ Then the
disciples understood that he was
talking to them about John the
Baptist.” (Matthew 17: 17:11-13)
Was John the Baptist
the promised Elijah? The answer is
both no and yes. No, John the Baptist
was not the physical person of
Elijah. Everyone knew that John was
the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth.
But yes, John the Baptist was a
spiritual type of Elijah. Notice what
the angel Gabriel said to John’s
father, Zechariah, before his son was
born, “And he will go before the
Lord, in the spirit and power of
Elijah, to turn the hearts of the
fathers to their children and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the
righteous – to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord.”
(Luke 1:17)
Jesus Applies the
Prophecy
Jesus clearly
understood the importance of
John’s work. He said,
“Among those born of women there
has not risen anyone greater than
John the Baptist; yet he who is least
in the kingdom of Heaven is greater
than he…And if you are willing
to accept it, he is the Elijah who
was to come. He who has ears let him
hear.” (Matthew 11:11,14) There
is that phrase again, “He who
has ears, let him hear.” Notice
that Jesus said,”If you are
willing to accept it, he {John the
Baptist} is the Elijah who was to
come.” (Insertion mine.) In
other words, John the Baptist
fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi.
The fulfillment of the prophecy was
not based on the appearing of Elijah
in the flesh, but the ministry of
John in spirit and power of Elijah.
(Luke 1:17) There is an important
reason for using this particular
example of Bible prophecy. If faulty
presuppositions are used to interpret
Malachi’s prophecy, the prophecy
contributes to the rejection of Jesus
as Messiah. If Elijah does not
appear, Messiah cannot appear. But
according to Jesus, John the Baptist
fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy
because he appeared in the spirit and
power of Elijah. This is an important
lesson. We must be very careful to
use the correct methods of prophetic
interpretation. A wrong turn in
interpretation can have very serious
consequences.
Summary
Jesus is the Word, the
Alpha and Omega in all things
pertaining to the Godhead. He is the
Revealer of love and truth about the
Godhead. There is no other flawless
source. Jesus is the perfect
demonstration of what faith in God is
all about. The role of the Holy
Spirit is also central in the Plan of
Salvation. His mission and work are
to draw each person into a faith
relationship with God. A faith
relationship is defined, as an
obedient surrender to Gods will
– to go where the Spirit
directs, to do as the Spirit convicts
and to become all that the Spirit
urges. When the Holy Spirit is
allowed to live within our heart, He
creates a thirst for knowledge about
God. As we learn more about the life,
teaching and doctrines of Jesus
Christ, we also begin to understand
more about the will, ways and truth
of God. (John 16:14,15) Finally,
bible prophecy is a form of present
truth that becomes understandable and
applicable on or about the time of
fulfillment. When rightly understood
and combined with progressive
historical fulfillment, Bible
prophecy proves that God keeps vigil
over Earth. It also proves that God
has a plan to save man. The good news
is that very soon, the plan will be
completed.
Memory Verse
Luke 1:17 “And he will go before
the Lord, in the spirit and power of
Elijah, to turn the hearts of the
fathers to their children and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the
righteous – to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord.”
Quiz:
1.
What is living faith in God?
2.
Is salvation based on an absolute
knowledge of Jesus? Give an
example.
3.
How important is the work of the Holy
Spirit in a person’s life?
4.
Does our willingness and attitude
have anything to do with our
salvation?
5.
What two things is the carnal heart
afraid of?
Notes:
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