Page 8 - Eschatology - Masters revised

Biblical Covenants of God

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvvey71pfy0&t=9s

The Study of Eschatology: Some Basic Ground Rules.

We want to be sure to place every prophetic passage in the context of what is being talked about. One
of the greatest mistakes which many studying prophecies is to take passages out of the Bible and predict
future events without acknowledging the context of the conversation or teaching. For example, many
time “end time prophets” take Matthew 24 and 25 as the conditions for Christ coming in the clouds,
often referred to as the rapture, when in context, this passage refers to the second coming of Christ
when He will come to rule in Jerusalem.

It is clear in Scripture that NO MAN KNOWS the hour or day when any prophetic event will occur. (2
Peter 3:1-18, I Thess. 5:2) and that people are going to be taken by surprise. In this class we cannot
predict when future events will happen. We will be looking at current events that seem to point to the
fulfillment of promises made in Scripture, but as to when, we have no idea.

History is HIS Story. Modern education teaches that history is cyclic. According to this philosophy of
historical studies, history continually repeats itself. People never seem to learn from history and tend to
make the same mistakes repeatedly. Just as past events are uncontrollable, future events are also.

However, contrary to this false presentation of history, the Bible presents history in a linear
fashion…with a start (Genesis) and an end (Revelation). According to the Bible, history is directional,
and God is moving through history to accomplish His will in its unveiling. It has a plan, and it has a
conclusion. And God is sovereign in its course and direction.

God uses individuals to direct the course and flow of history. All are under His control, good or bad.
He places kings on the thrown and removes them just as easily. At the same time, God hears our
prayers, and they move God to reveal Himself to us in our daily lives (our personal history). God can
use you to alter the course of history (man’s vantage point), ex., William Wilberforce in England or
Thomas Macdonough in America.

God’s central focus in history is the nation of Israel. By God’s grace, God chose Abraham and his seed
to be the medium through which all nations of the earth would be blessed. God chose through Israel to
redeem mankind and God has made unconditional promises to this nation of peoples that He intends to
keep. God will bring about an earthly kingdom through Israel, ruling the world from Zion. Therefore,
the nation of Israel is key to understanding future Bible prophecy.

There is a distinction between Israel and the Church.
Some teach that while the promise of the land will no longer be fulfilled to the nation of Israel due to
their disobedience, God has replaced the nation of Israel as His chosen people with the church of Jesus
Christ, which replaced Israel as His new chosen people. This view is called “Replacement Theology” and
has become a very prevalent view in the church today.

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