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Introduction The Bible is the most popular, bestselling and most widely read book in history. It is a single book made up of many individual parts. It was written over a period of around 1500 years by 40 human authors on three continents, yet it demonstrates a remarkable consistency of theme that shows the Hand of God guiding the writers to say exactly what He wanted. The Bible itself tells us of its origin: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16 As we begin this brief, overarching study of the Bible and God’s plan for His creation, it will be helpful to have a general understanding of the various parts of the Bible. The Old Testament was written between 1400 B.C. and 400 B.C. It includes the description of the beginning of the universe and the creation of humans, but it is primarily the story of God’s Chosen People, the nation of Israel. The Old Testament contains 39 separate books. The New Testament contains God’s revelation to mankind, beginning with the birth of Jesus Christ. It describes the Lord Jesus’ life, teaching, death and resurrection. The New Testament also describes the events that took place after Jesus returned to heaven as His message began to be proclaimed, first to Israel, then to the rest of the world. The bulk of the New Testament consists of letters written to early followers of Jesus describing the teaching of the new faith they had embraced and telling them how to live according to God’s will. The New Testament was written between around 50AD and 90AD and contains 27 separate books. The Books of the Bible Old Testament The Books of Moses (also called the Pentateuch or The Law) The Historical Books Books of Wisdom The Books of the Prophets The New Testament The Gospels (The history of Jesus’ life and teaching) History The Pauline Epistles (Letters written by the Apostle Paul to specific churches and individuals to explain the Christian faith and how to live.) The Jewish Epistles (Letters written generally to Jewish believers in Jesus to explain the Christian faith from the Jewish perspective) Prophecy (Describing the End Times) How to Use This Study Guide This book is a series of short lessons meant to accompany daily scripture readings. There are 30 daily scripture passages, one for each day of the week, Monday to Saturday. On Sunday a message will be given which summarizes the main points of the previous week’s readings. These are carefully selected passages which, when read in order, will give an overarching picture of God’s plan for mankind, from creation to the eternal future. It is recommended that you set aside time each day to first read the designated scripture passage followed by that day’s accompanying lesson. The lessons build upon one another, and the material presented on one day will refer to ideas and events mentioned in earlier lessons. In some cases, the lessons will mention how that day’s passage fits in to things that were revealed by God many years after the passage was written. All Bible references in this study guide are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Individual readers may wish to use versions they find easier to understand or are more readable. Such versions include the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version, the Holman Christian Standard Bible or the English Standard Version. It is not recommended that you read from Bible versions that are paraphrases, as they often contain a great deal of interpretation and personal bias of the people making the paraphrase. Ultimately, the goal of this series of Bible readings and lessons is to help everyone who uses it to have a better understanding of the Word of God, God’s plan for us, and most of all of the need for everyone to have personal faith in the message of Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection which pays the penalty for sin and gives us the hope of eternal life. |
Daily Scripture Readings and Study Lessons
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Week 1 Week 1 Monday Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 The Bible is God’s Word to mankind. It is through the Bible that we learn about the creation of the universe, the creation of mankind, the entrance of sin and suffering into the world, the plan of God to reconcile the world back to Himself, the end of the ages, and the hope God offers for eternal life. Often, we only read parts of the Bible, individual verses that tell us one particular thing about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit or something about His relationship with us. There is nothing wrong with looking at isolated verses to learn something important or to receive encouragement and blessing. However, by only looking at single verses or short passages we cannot get a sense of God’s big-picture plan for mankind. In order to get that overarching perspective, we need to look at what the Bible says from beginning to end, and therefore see how we fit into God’s overall plan for His creation. The first words of the Bible make an important statement. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” There is a great deal of information contained in that sentence. It begins with the fact that there is a God, and He is the One that made everything that exists. The reality of a God makes it necessary for us to learn who He is and what He expects from us. He is the source of all we know about how we should live, about right and wrong, where we came from and where we are going. As we read through Genesis chapter 1, we learn more about the way God created the universe. Everything was made in six days. Day 1: God created light and darkness. Day 2: God created the land, seas and sky. Day 3: God created all types of plants. Day 4: God created the sun, moon and stars. Day 5: God created sea animals and birds. Day 6: God created land animals. Finally, also on the sixth Day God made a man, the crowning glory of all His creation. On the seventh day God rested from His work. There are three very important things that we notice as we read Genesis chapter 1 carefully. First, we see that after each day of creation God looked at what He had made and said it was good. God created and designed the world to be a good, perfect and pleasant place. The second thing we notice is that mankind was said to be created in the image and likeness of God. This concept is extremely important for us to understand. This means that humans are unique from all the animals. We, like God Himself, are moral beings, and we are of infinite value to Him. Humans were commanded to multiply and fill the earth. The third fact we learn in this chapter is that God gave man all the fruits and vegetables on earth as food, but at that point man ate no meat. All those facts will come into play as we continue to examine the drama of history as it is explained in the Bible. Week 1 Tuesday Scripture Reading: Genesis 2 Genesis chapter 2 gives more information about creation, and it focuses on the creation of man. The first man was called Adam. In chapter 1 we learned how God made the world as a perfect and beautiful place. In chapter 2 we read of one especially magnificent place which God made as Adam’s home. That place was called the Garden of Eden. God gave Adam everything he needed. He was given meaningful work, to take care of the garden and to respect it as the handiwork of the Lord. Adam was also given the task of naming all the animals that God had made. We also read that God put two special trees in the Garden of Eden. The first was called the Tree of Life. The next time we read of the Tree of Life is at the very end of the Bible in the book of Revelation. The tree of life symbolized eternal life, and mankind’s access to it. The second tree is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The important point about this tree is that God specifically commanded the man and woman not to eat the fruit of that tree, and if they did, they would die. The death would be both physical and spiritual (separation and alienation from God.) In Genesis chapter 2 we also read that God realized that it was not good for man to be by himself. So, God created the perfect partner for him, formed out of Adam’s body. This partner was called woman, and her name was Eve. God declared that man and woman are to come together in marriage to form their own families. This is the first important command about the relationship between the sexes. One man and one woman are to come together in marriage for life. The chapter ends by saying that the man and woman were naked and not ashamed. This is because there was no evil in the world and there was no reason for shame. Week 1 Wednesday Scripture Reading: Genesis 3 Genesis chapter 3 marks the first great change in the relationship between man and God. It is in this chapter we read about how mankind became separated from God and how sin and suffering entered the world. In verse 1 the serpent begins a conversation with the first woman, Eve. The serpent was possessed by Satan. Later in the Bible Satan, the prince of evil, is compared to a serpent (Revelation 12:9). We read in Isaiah 14 that an angel, Lucifer, rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. He became Satan, and his destiny is to be cast into the Lake of Fire in the last judgement (Rev. 20:10). Satan’s goal is to take as many humans as possible with him into eternal punishment. This diabolical scheme began with Satan, through the serpent, lying to Eve and convincing her that if she disobeyed God’s explicit command to not eat from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil she would not die. Eve believed Satan’s lie, ate the fruit of the tree, then gave it to Adam and he too ate the fruit in direct disobedience to God’s direct command. The man and woman had now both rebelled against God’s will and mankind’s relationship with his Creator would be forever changed. Immediately upon their act of disobedience, they became aware of evil, something which they had never known prior to their sin. That awareness caused them to be ashamed of their nakedness. They tried to hide their shame by making clothes out of fig leaves. Having disobeyed God’s command, Adam and Eve became alienated from Him and they tried to hide. When the Lord came into the garden He called out for Adam. We see that even after Adam’s sin, God still reached out to him. When God asked Adam if he had eaten from the forbidden tree the man responded by blaming Eve. This is the first instance of someone denying responsibility for his own actions. Eve, in turn, blamed the serpent. Adam and Eve’s disobedience was mankind’s first sin, and it was a violation of the perfect, holy and righteous nature of God. A series of curses was pronounced on the serpent, the natural world, Eve and Adam. Because God is holy, and cannot be in fellowship with a sinful creature, man was sent out of the Garden and the intimate relationship Adam and Eve had with God before their sin was broken and lost. Later in the Bible we are told that because of Adam’s disobedience, all of mankind inherited a sinful nature, and the penalty of death was on all the descendants of Adam and Eve (Romans 5:12). Sin is the reason why there is evil, suffering, pain and all that is wrong and disordered in creation. However, in Genesis 3:15 there is the first glimmer of hope. God promised Eve that from her offspring would be born someone who would crush head of Satan. As we continue our study of the Bible, we will see that this was a prophecy that was fulfilled by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Week 1 Thursday Scripture Reading: Genesis 4 Genesis chapter 4 records the impact that sin and disobedience to God’s will had on human relationships. It tells the story of the first two children of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. Since these children were born after the curse was put on creation because of sin, they both inherited a sinful nature from their father Adam, and both were separated from God because of that sinful nature. We are told that Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. One day the two brothers brought offerings to the Lord. Cain brought the finest fruits and vegetables he had grown. Abel brought an offering of the firstborn sheep from his flock. The Bible says that the Lord accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s. At this point we are not told why Cain’s offering was not accepted but later in the New Testament it explains that Abel offered his sacrifice by faith and Cain did not (Hebrews 11:4). It is also possible God had already communicated to the brothers that He expected an offering of a sacrificed animal in which blood had been shed. We are told later in the Bible that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). The Bible also explains that the animal sacrifices and the shedding blood were symbolic of the perfect blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that would be shed on the cross to pay the penalty for sin (Hebrews 10:10). When the Lord did not accept Cain’s offering, he became enraged with jealousy and he killed Abel. This is the first sin recorded in the Bible after the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Certainly, there were other sinful acts committed by Adam and Eve and their children before this, but God chose to record this one showing how serious the rebellious attitude of Adam and Eve was. The act of eating fruit when told not to might not seem like such a serious offence that it required the curse of all creation. However, what the sin of Abel shows is that once at attitude of self-will and disobedience is revealed, all types of wickedness will follow. Eating a fruit when told not to soon led to a man killing his brother because of jealousy. Week 1 Friday Scripture Reading: Genesis 6-9 Genesis chapter 6 tells what happened to mankind after sin had entered the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Because of the curse on creation after the fall, every human inherited a sinful nature that has inclined every person since Adam to disobey God’s will. The scriptures say that as the human population increased so did violence, evil, immorality and all forms of depravity. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The evil of mankind was so great that God regretted creating humans and determined that in order to cleanse the world of such wickedness He would destroy the world with a great flood. However, we read in chapter 3 that God made a promise to ultimately redeem mankind and restore His relationship with us. Therefore, the Lord preserved humanity through the family of one man, Noah. The descendants of this one righteous man would be the bloodline through which the Savior would be born. Genesis 6:13 – 7:24 describe how God instructed Noah to build a huge ship, called an ark, that would save Noah, his family, and two of each kind of animal from the flood. We are told that Noah built the ark and he, his wife, his three sons and their wives along with two of each kind of animal on earth (seven pair of certain animals) entered the ark and God closed the door and the rain came and water covered all the earth. The ark represented how Jesus Christ saved us from death and destruction. God closing the door of the ark shows how He keeps us secure and safe as His children. The scripture says that rain fell for 40 days and the earth was covered with water and every person and animal perished as punishment for mankind’s wickedness. After 150 days the Ark rested on the top of the mountains of Ararat. Noah and his family, along with the animals, emerged safely from the ark and God commanded him to have children and repopulate the world. Immediately when Noah came out of the ark, he offered a sacrifice to worship God. An animal was killed, and its blood was shed, symbolizing that death is the punishment required to pay the penalty for sin. God also allowed people to eat meat, which, until that time had not been permitted. God also gave instructions that humanity would be responsible to administer justice on earth. There is a very important reminder in the verse above, which is that God made man in His image. That is not talking about a physical resemblance, rather it refers to the fact that humans, like God Himself, are beings with personality, the ability to make decisions, thus having moral responsibility. After the flood, mankind had a chance for a brand-new start. Humans still had the sinful nature inherited from Adam but the perverse and depraved behavior that characterized humans before the flood had been eliminated. We will see that we were not able, even after being given a second chance, to create a just and righteous society. Week 1 Saturday Scripture Reading: Genesis 11 Genesis chapter 11 records how, after the flood, mankind settled in one place and attempted to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. In Genesis 9:1 humans, through Noah, were given the command to multiply and fill the earth. God wanted the entire world filled with people so that He could be glorified in every corner of it. However, in chapter 10 we learn how mankind refused to follow those instructions and chose instead to settle in one place. God saw that if left alone, mankind would not seek Him but would be able to make great technological accomplishments. Humanity would become puffed up in its own pride and self-sufficiency instead of being dependent on the loving and merciful Lord of creation. God elected to thwart mankind’s prideful ascent to autonomy and away from reliance on Him. The last straw was when mankind chose to use its creativity to try to usurp the authority of God Himself. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” The Lord caused the people to speak different languages. Consequently, they could not understand one another, and therefore, were unable to work together to create a world in which people believed they had no need for God. The rest of Genesis 11 is the list of descendants of Noah’s son, Shem. This is given to set up the next important development in God’s plan for mankind. It is the record of the genealogy of one of the most important figures in history, Abram, who would come to be known as Abraham. He would be the founder of the nation that would be responsible to maintain the knowledge and worship of the one, true God for all of humanity. Week 2 Week 2 Monday Scripture Reading: Genesis 12 The story of God’s plan to bring mankind back into fellowship with Himself after the separation that we read about in Genesis 3 continues in Genesis 12. In this chapter we are introduced to a character whose influence is seen throughout the Bible, Abraham. At this point he is known as Abram. Romans 1 describes the condition of mankind after the events described in Genesis 11 when the languages were confused, and mankind was scattered throughout the earth. 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Noah and his family knew God when they emerged from the Ark. However, within just a few generations, their descendants had forgotten who God was and their knowledge of the true God was lost. Instead of worshipping the living Creator they began to worship nature and man-made idols. In the midst of this spiritual darkness the Lord chose one man, Abram, to be the recipient of His blessing. In turn Abram would be given descendants who would become a great nation. As we will see, this nation was Israel. Abram was living in a part of the Middle East known as Haran, which is in modern day Iraq and Syria. From there God called him and told him to take his entire household and relocate to the land of Canaan, which is modern day Israel and Palestine. Because Abram believed God and obeyed his command to leave Haran, God made a three-fold promise which would be fulfilled through Abram’s descendants. The three fold promise is that Abram’s descendants would become a great nation (Genesis 12:2); that his descendants would possess the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:7) and through his offspring all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). This threefold blessing of a nation, a land and a blessing to mankind would now become an integral part of God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. Genesis 12 is a crucial turning point in the Bible. At this point God chose the specific descendants of one man to be responsible to receive and proclaim spiritual truth revealed directly from the Lord Himself. Furthermore, the descendants of Abram, the nation of Israel, would be the channel through which the rest of mankind, the Gentiles, would be blessed and receive eternal life. The primary focus of that blessing is Jesus Christ, a physical descendant of Abram (Abraham). In Genesis 15 the Lord confirmed the promise He gave to Abram that he would be the father of a great nation with many descendants and that Abram would possess the land of Canaan. Genesis 15:6 says that “He believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” This statement confirms that Abram was justified in the sight of God because of his faith in God’s promise and not his own works. Week 2 Tuesday Scripture Reading: Genesis 17, 21:1-7 In Genesis 17 we see God repeating his promise to Abraham. The Lord made it clear that He would be the God of Abraham’s descendants. This was in contrast to the rest of humanity which had abandoned the worship of the only true God for idols and other pagan forms of spirituality. Abraham’s descendants would have the special responsibility of keeping the knowledge of the Lord preserved for humanity through the ages. The covenant God made with Abraham included the promise that his descendants would possess the land of Canaan, modern day Israel and Palestine. The Lord emphasized that the land would be an everlasting possession. Genesis 17:9-14 adds another dimension to God’s covenant relationship with Abraham. Those verses describe how all the males in Abraham’s household and his descendants needed to be circumcised as a sign of the special relationship that they had with God. Keeping the commandment to circumcise the male children among Abraham’s offspring brought in a conditional element to the relationship, which, up to that point, was completely unconditional and not based on anything Abraham or his descendants did. God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants that they would be a great nation, be a blessing to mankind, and possess the land remained unconditional. However, with the introduction of circumcision certain added blessings, such as prosperity and protection were linked to obedience, and thus were conditional. Genesis 17:19-22 explains how Abraham’s wife, Sarah, would give birth to a child in her old age, and this son would be the one through whom the promises of the land, blessing and becoming a nation would be fulfilled. Earlier in the story of Abraham we read how he and Sarah (called Abram and Sarai at the time) tried to come up with a scheme to make God’s promise come about rather than trusting the Lord to do it in His way. Abraham followed a common custom in the ancient world of a man having a child with the wife’s handmaid when the wife could not bear children. The handmaid’s name was Hagar and the child she bore was Ishmael. That child would be raised as the child of the wife and become the heir of the family’s fortunes. God did not endorse nor approve of the plan, but rather intervened to give Sarah a child of her own when she was 90 years old. That son was named Isaac, and God told Abraham that it was through Isaac the promises would be fulfilled. Genesis 17:19 reiterates that the covenant relationship was everlasting. Almost 2000 years later the people of Israel were reminded of this truth when the apostle, Peter, preached on the porch of the great Jewish temple in Jerusalem. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ The story of Abraham having a child with Hagar illustrates that Abraham was a flawed and sinful person, like all of us, but God was still able to use him. Despite our shortcomings, the Lord is able to take anyone and make that person a valuable servant for His glory. Week 2 Wednesday Scripture Reading: Exodus 19 - 20 (To better understand this section you may wish to take time to read Genesis 30 – 50 and Exodus 1 – 20. The following is a brief summary of many important events recorded in those chapters of Scripture. If you already know the stories you may wish to skip to the paragraph that begins with **) The next major development in God’s plan for mankind’s redemption took place more than 400 years after Abraham was promised he would be the ancestor of a great nation, that through him the world would be blessed, and his descendants would possess the land of Canaan. We read yesterday how Abraham’s promise was passed on to his son, Isaac. The book of Genesis continues to tell how Isaac had a son, Jacob, to whom the promise for Abraham’s descendants was passed. Jacob, also known as Israel, had twelve sons. The descendants of Jacob’s sons would become the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel. Genesis describes how one of those brothers, Joseph, was the favorite of Jacob. His jealous brothers sold him to slave traders who were passing through, and Joseph ended up as a servant in the house of an important official in Egypt named Potiphar. Joseph was unjustly sent to prison after being falsely accused of trying to seduce Potiphar’s wife. While in prison, Joseph, by God’s power, was able to interpret the dream of the cupbearer of the king of Egypt, the Pharaoh. When the cupbearer returned to the service of Pharaoh he remembered how Joseph was able to interpret dreams. Pharaoh had a dream which bothered him, and he wanted someone to tell him what it meant. Joseph was called, and he told Pharaoh that the dream meant Egypt would have seven years of good harvests and seven years of famine. Out of gratitude, and because of Joseph’s special insight from God, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of distributing the grain that was stored up during the seven bountiful years. When the drought hit, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food so they could survive, not knowing that Joseph, their brother, had risen to great prominence there. Joseph let his brothers know who he was and offered to help his family by having them come to Egypt, where there was plenty of food. Jacob, his sons and their families left Canaan and settled in Egypt for 400 years. However, God’s promise to Abraham was still valid and his descendants needed to get back to the land the Lord had given to them. The Book of Exodus begins after those 400 years had passed. The Pharaoh of Joseph’s time had long since passed, and new rulers came to Egypt who did not remember Joseph or what he had done for the kingdom. During that time the descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, had become slaves of the Egyptians. In their distress they cried out to the Lord God to deliver them. The Pharaoh tried to reduce the number of Israelites by having all male children killed at birth. The Lord preserved the life of one child, Moses, whose mother hid him in a basket and placed him in the Nile River. The daughter of the Pharaoh found the baby and raised him in the royal court of Egypt. God worked it out so that Moses’ mother was his nanny and cared for him as a child. Moses knew that he was an Israelite by birth. One day Moses saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite slave and in anger Moses killed the Egyptian. Moses had to run away to save his life. He went into the desert wilderness and there became a shepherd for 40 years. While Moses was watching sheep, the Lord spoke to him in a burning bush and told him to return to Egypt to lead the nation of Israel out of slavery and to freedom. Reluctantly Moses obeyed and went to the Pharaoh and demanded the Israelites be set free. Pharaoh refused to let them go and God sent 9 plagues to force the ruler to change his mind. With each successive plague the Pharaoh’s heart became harder and he was more determined not to release the Israelites from bondage. The Lord sent one final plague in which the angel of death passed over the entire land of Egypt one night and the firstborn son of every household was killed. However, God told Israel that if they would kill a lamb with no imperfections and put the blood over the doorposts of their home, the angel would pass over that house and spare the life of the firstborn. The Jews (Israelites) would remember that miracle throughout time and it is recognized in the Jewish celebration called Passover. The Pharaoh’s firstborn son was among those killed. In his distress he wanted to be rid of the Israelites, and he allowed them to leave. So, the entire nation, around 2 million at that time, left Egypt that day, never to return. As they were traveling by foot out of the land where they had been slaves for 400 years, they came to the Red Sea and could go no further. At the same time Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army after the Israelites to bring them back into bondage. God saved the Israelites by causing the water of the Red Sea to separate and they were able to walk across on dry land. When Pharaoh’s army tried to pursue them into the dried-up sea, the Lord caused the water to return and the entire army was drowned. **Exodus chapter 19 says that Israel continued to travel through the desert and eventually came to the foot of a mountain called Mt. Sinai. Here the Lord added another dimension to His covenant with the nation of Israel. At Mt. Sinai God promised Israel that if they would obey Him they would be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). Beginning in Exodus 20 there is a series of laws that Israel was to obey to demonstrate their faith in God. These guidelines contained many moral rules (such as the 10 commandments) as well as many regulations that were given to set Israel apart as a chosen people (such as the dietary laws which forbid Jews to eat pork and many other kinds of animals.) The laws are expanded upon in the next book of the Bible, Leviticus. There is a summary and reiteration of many of the laws in the 5th book of the Bible, Deuteronomy. Altogether there are 613 laws. The rules include moral, dietary, social and ceremonial/ religious regulations. If the Jews disobeyed any of the laws, they were required to atone for their sin by offering sacrifices, usually spotless lambs, which would temporarily set them right with God until they sinned again. The Bible says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrew 9:22). As we study further in the Bible it will become very clear that the sacrifices required by the law to atone for sin were symbolic of the perfect sacrifice made by Jesus Christ, the spotless “Lamb of God,” when He died on the cross to pay for our sin. The addition of the Law to God’s covenant with Israel is a major development in the overall plan to restore mankind back into fellowship with the Lord. The Bible explains three primary reasons for the Law given at Mt. Sinai. First, it provides a set of moral and ethical guidelines for mankind. The Law established principles of right and wrong. Without a God-given set of rules, mankind would be left to figure out for itself morality and behavioral standards and that would result in moral relativism and chaos. Second, the Law identified Israel as a special people, holy, and set apart for service to God. There was no other nation like Israel, and that unique relationship was demonstrated by the very distinctive set of rules it followed. This was seen especially through the dietary, social and religious/ceremonial laws. The Jews did not see those laws as a burden, but as a sign of their chosen status and as a blessing and evidence that they were set apart. For Israel, the covenant of the Law was a conditional one, in which the nation was blessed for obedience and judged for disobedience. Throughout the Old Testament Israel went through periods of peace and prosperity and times of destruction and destitution. The physical condition of Israel served as a barometer of its obedience to the Law at any particular time. Third, and most important, the Law established a perfect standard of morality that no human being could follow. Through our disobedience to God’s holy standards, our sinfulness and unrighteousness is evident. Because Israel constantly disobeyed the Law, they were required to make atonement regularly in order to temporarily make themselves right with God. This was done through the offering of animal sacrifices, as described in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. By pointing out our sinfulness, the Law condemned everyone to judgement because it was clear we were not worthy of a relationship with a Holy God. It proved our need for a Savior. That Savior was Jesus Christ, God’s Son, sent to earth to be the perfect and sinless substitute who could satisfy the righteous requirements of God’s holiness. Therefore, the primary purpose of the law is to prove mankind’s sinfulness, the need for a Savior and to point us to that Savior, Jesus Christ. This is clearly explained in the New Testament book of Galatians. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. Week 2 Thursday Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 7 The history of the nation of Israel is a fascinating account of the special relationship that group of people had with the one true God. Much of the Old Testament is the record of that story and how Israel went through cycles of faithfulness and obedience to God, followed by disobedience and neglect of God’s will. When you are able, you will be fascinated to read about all the events that took place and are recorded in the Old Testament. In summary, after the Exodus, which we discussed yesterday, the nation of Israel continued to wander through the wilderness on their way to return to Canaan (modern day Israel and Palestine), which was the land that God promised to give to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. During their journey the Lord miraculously provided food (manna) and water for them. At one point, they had the opportunity to enter the Promised Land. They sent spies to learn about the people they would need to conquer in order to occupy Canaan. Of the 12 spies sent, ten came back saying the people were too powerful and that Israel should not try to go into battle against them. Two spies, Joshua and Caleb, believed that since God promised to give them the land that He would provide the military power to conquer it. The majority of the people lacked the faith to trust God to give them victory, and God punished them for their disobedience. They were forced to wander in the desert around Canaan for 40 years, until the generation that refused to trust God had passed away. We read in the book of Joshua that after Moses died, Israel was ready to enter and take over the Promised Land of Canaan. After several battles Israel controlled most of the land and God had them divide it into 12 territories corresponding to the 12 tribes that came from Jacob’s 12 sons. (Throughout the Bible the number 12 is usually symbolic of Israel.) The book of Judges tells of how Israel had no king to rule over them and they went through a series of cycles of disobedience to God’s will. These cycles were usually characterized by sinfulness, immorality, social injustice and adopting the idolatrous religious practices of the Canaanites, who were in the land before they arrived. Israel would be judged by being oppressed by its neighboring nations. In their distress the Israelites would repent and God would provide a powerful leader to conquer the oppressors. Israel would go through a period of obedience and blessing; only to return to idolatry, sin and disobedience. In the books of First and Second Samuel there is another major development in Israel’s history that impacts God’s overall plan for humanity. As the Israelites looked at the nations surrounding them, they saw that their neighbors were all led by kings. Israel too wanted a human king and the Lord granted that request. The first king, Saul, began as a good monarch, but he eventually became proud and obsessed with his power. The Lord rejected him and chose a young shepherd boy named David to replace him. Most of us probably know about David through the famous story of his battle with the Philistine giant, Goliath. Over many years and a series of conflicts with Saul, David emerged as king. David loved God and the Lord’s favor was on him. Later David too disobeyed the Lord and sinned, but we find that despite his failures, he sincerely loved God and desired to serve Him. David wanted to build a permanent place for God to be worshipped, a temple, in Jerusalem, which became the capitol city of Israel. Because David fought many battles and much blood was shed for him to finally become king, the Lord told David that he would not be the one to build the temple. Instead that job would be done by his son, Solomon. However, God did promise that at some time in the future there would be a king that was a direct descendant of David who would rule the world with righteousness and truth. Second Samuel 7, our reading for today, tells of the promise that the Lord gave to David about that king who would someday rule in Jerusalem. This passage marks another major development in God’s plan for the redemption of mankind. The kingdom, and the King, promised in this chapter would become the great hope and expectation of Israel throughout history. The key verses in 2 Samuel 7 are 12-16. This is a prophecy about the building of the temple, which has a double fulfillment. The first fulfillment was accomplished by Solomon, who built a magnificent temple in which Israel worshipped God. However, we will learn that Solomon only partially fulfilled this prophecy. The most important verse in the passage is verse 16 which says; “And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” This promise of an eternal kingdom in which a descendant of David would rule forever became the primary hope of Israel from this point on. Much of the writings of the prophets give more information about this kingdom and the King who would sit on David’s throne. Most of our study during week 5 will be focused on the coming kingdom, which will be established when God fulfills the promises he made to Israel. With the promise of an eternal kingdom and a king sitting on David’s throne, the basic framework of God’s plan for Israel and the rest of mankind has been revealed. God would redeem mankind through the means of a coming Savior called the “Messiah” or Anointed One. He will be a king who is a descendant of David. He will reign eternally on the throne David. As time went on more was revealed about the coming of the Messiah through a group of men known as the prophets. Week 2 Friday Scripture Reading: Isaiah 9:1-7; Isaiah 7:13-17, Micah 5:2-5, Malachi 3:1-3 In the books of the Old Testament called the “Prophets,” God revealed more information about His plan for mankind. The future earthly kingdom promised to David is described in detail, as well as how the Messiah will rule the world with justice and righteousness. The Messiah will rule from Zion (Jerusalem) and Israel would have the special role of being the intermediary between God and the Gentile nations. We will look in more detail at that future kingdom in week 5 of our study. However, before the kingdom could be established, mankind needed to be made right with God. We have studied how every person born was separated from God because of the curse of sin which entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed in the Garden of Eden. Sin separates mankind from God and every person would be destined to spend eternity in everlasting punishment (Hell.) God loves humanity and He has a plan to offer forgiveness of sin and reconciliation. The plan God devised was for the Messiah, the promised Savior described in the Old Testament, to come to Earth as a man. He would live a perfect and sinless life and then suffer and die, taking upon Himself the penalty for the sinfulness of mankind. The Messiah would come through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the people of Israel. So that Israel would know who the Messiah was, God gave the Old Testament prophets dozens of prophecies which, when fulfilled, would identify Him. Sadly, despite all the prophecies, apart from a small group of close followers, the majority of Israel did not recognize their Messiah, Jesus Christ, when He came. Israel read the prophecies of the Messiah and they focused on those which described His coming as a conquering King who would destroy the enemies of God and establish a kingdom of righteousness. However, they ignored those prophecies that spoke of His first coming in which He would be a humble servant to mankind and would have to die as a sacrifice for sin. Today’s reading is a group of specific prophecies about the first coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Keep in mind that most of these prophecies were written between 500-700 years before Jesus was born. These prophecies could only have been fulfilled through the miraculous intervention of God. These are only a few of the dozens of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus when He was born as a child in Bethlehem, and lived and died as the Savior of mankind. As you read through today’s passages, and the others we find in the Old Testament scriptures, you will be amazed at God’s power to bring about His will through the events of history. Week 2 Saturday Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53 By the time of king David, about 1000BC, God had made it clear that his plan to reconcile mankind would be through a descendant of Abraham. God established a covenant with the nation of Israel and promised that they will occupy the land of Canaan. Israel was set apart from all other nations, and that special relationship was seen through the Law which God gave them. Not only did the Law provide moral guidance, it contained many rules about diet, dress, cleanliness and social interaction that distinguished Israel from the Gentiles (non-Jews). Another important element of the Law was the ceremonial and religious rituals. Most important of all those practices was the system of animal sacrifices that God gave Israel. Anytime a Jew violated the Law he needed to make himself right with God by offering a sacrifice. The animal that was offered could make atonement, which temporarily covered the sin and provided forgiveness for the violation of God’s righteous standards. There were sacrifices brought by individuals, and there were great feast days in which sacrifices would be made by the priests of Israel for the entire nation. The most important feast days were the Passover and the Day of Atonement. The sacrifices involved the death of a spotless, perfect animal, usually a lamb or a goat. The animals were killed in a way so that their blood would pour out of them. The animal’s death was a symbolic substitute which represented the punishment that the sinful human deserved. If the worshipper offered the sacrifice in faith, believing that God would provide forgiveness through that offering, the Lord honored that gift and provided atonement. However, the sacrifices were only symbolic; they could not really pay the penalty for man’s sinfulness. The fact that the animals had no flaws represented the need for a true substitute to be without sin. The symbolism of the sacrifices was to be fulfilled in the Messiah, the promised Savior of Israel. The Messiah would be the true substitutionary sacrifice who could take upon Himself the wrath of God which sinful mankind deserves. The 53rd chapter of Isaiah is a prophecy about the Messiah, identified as God’s servant at the end of chapter 52 (Isaiah 52:13). Just like the prophecies of the birth and ministry of the Messiah, these predictions describing his death as a substitute to provide forgiveness of sin were made over 700 years before they were fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Isaiah 53 describes in very graphic and precise detail how the servant of God would have to suffer, be beaten and die. Isaiah also made it clear that the Messiah’s suffering was for the purpose of paying the penalty which would satisfy God’s righteousness. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, Read through Isaiah 53 several times carefully. Make notes of every reference to the suffering of the servant, his character, and how God would use Him to provide forgiveness for mankind. Week 3 Week 3 Monday Scripture Reading: Matthew 1, Luke 2 Our studies so far have taken us through the Old Testament, which showed how humanity became separated from God because of the disobedience of the first humans, Adam and Eve. Their disobedience required God, because of His justice, to punish them, thus all creation came under the curse of sin. From that point, all of humanity was born alienated from God and, because of our disobedience, deserving of eternal punishment. However, God loved us and immediately put into place a plan to pay the penalty for sin and restore our relationship with the Creator. Humanity in its sinful condition continued to reject God’s will and eventually most people lost all knowledge of the one true Creator and worshipped nature and idols. God called one particular person, Abraham, and promised through his descendants the world would be blessed. The promised passed from Abraham to his son, Isaac and to Isaac’s son Jacob. Jacob had 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel. Israel was the nation that God promised to Abraham, and God’s relationship with Israel is central to the fulfillment of His plan for the redemption and reconciliation of mankind. God’s unconditional promises to Abraham were that he would be the father of a great nation, that he would possess the land of Canaan which God would give to his descendants, and that through Abraham’s descendants would come One who would be a blessing to all humanity. To the unconditional promises given to Abraham, God added a conditional system of laws which set Israel apart from all the other nations on Earth. The Law contained moral codes which were eternal rules of right and wrong that applied to all mankind. The Law also contained social, lifestyle and ceremonial regulations which were meant just for Israel, to identify it as God’s special people. If Israel obeyed the laws they would be blessed and have prosperity and peace, if they disobeyed, they would be punished and judged. The details about the “Blessing” to humanity promised to Abraham began to take shape as God progressively revealed more information during the time of the Old Testament. The Law contained a system of sacrifices to be performed which provided temporary forgiveness for sin. These sacrifices were symbolic of the need for the punishment God required for disobedience to His will. Later it was revealed to Israel’s king, David, that he would have a descendant who would rule over the world from his throne in Jerusalem. God gave the prophets further information about the Kingdom. It would be preceded by a time of testing and tribulation, which would be interrupted by the glorious coming of the promised King who would destroy all the enemies of righteousness, and establish a perfect kingdom on Earth, in which all the nations of the world would worship God. Israel would serve as priests, or intermediaries between the Gentiles and the Lord. The coming King was called the “Anointed One;” in Hebrew “the Messiah,” in Greek “the Christ.” Another important fact about the promised Messiah was that before he came to establish the glorious Kingdom on Earth He had to come as a humble servant, as a man, and He would die as the sacrifice for the sins of humanity. The Old Testament prophets gave very specific predictions about the first coming of the Messiah. He would be a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah. He would be a descendant of King David. He would be born in Bethlehem. The prophet Daniel even predicted the year he would die. Furthermore, the Old Testament predicted that the Messiah’s human mother would be a virgin, an indisputably miraculous sign. All those prophecies, and many more, were fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. He was the promised Messiah of Israel, the one who would come to Earth as the Savior of humanity. Today’s readings from Matthew 1 and Luke 2 tell the story of the birth of Jesus. As you read you will see that there are many references to the Old Testament prophecies about the first coming of the Messiah. If you also read Luke 1 and Matthew 2 you will learn about even more prophecies that were fulfilled by the Jesus at his birth. The advent of the Messiah is the next major development in God’s overall plan to win back humanity and restore our relationship with Him. Week 3 Tuesday Scripture Reading: John 1 What is most remarkable about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He came to Earth as a child, born under the humblest circumstances, but at the same time He is God. God the Son becoming human is called the Incarnation. It is something that we cannot begin to fully comprehend. Yet, the Bible teaches clearly that Jesus was God. The passage for today, John 1, is the clearest statement that God took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. John 1:1 says that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God. Verse 14 says the Word (God) became flesh. While John 1 contains the most direct teaching that Jesus is God, there are numerous passages that confirm the reality of His Deity. Other important verses that teach that Jesus is God include the following: 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 30 I and My Father are one.” The fact that Jesus Christ is both God and man is a teaching that is beyond our ability to understand. It is also a truth that leaves us in awe, to think that the God of the universe would become human so that He could become our Savior. According to God’s plan it required a man to pay the penalty for mankind’s sinfulness, and only God Himself could be that perfectly acceptable sacrifice. The plan of redemption required that the Redeemer be both human and divine. That was accomplished through the unique person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Week 3 Wednesday Scripture Reading: Luke 4 The first 4 books of the New Testament are called the gospels and are titled after the men who wrote them; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They each tell the story of Jesus’ life from a slightly different perspective. Matthew and Luke have short sections about the birth and early childhood of the Lord. John begins with Jesus’ pre-existence as God, before the universe was created. Mark has no background, but opens with the messenger who was predicted by the prophets to precede the first coming of the Messiah, John the Baptist. After brief introductions, and in the case of Matthew and Luke which have short descriptions of Jesus birth and childhood, the gospels focus on Jesus’ life after he began his public ministry when he was baptized by John. John the Baptist was the one predicted in the Old Testament who would announce the arrival of the Messiah and the last days. John called the nation of Israel to repent of its sin and prepare itself to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (not a kingdom in heaven, but a kingdom from the heavens that would come to earth, which was described by the prophets.) Baptism was a symbolic ritual in the Old Testament which represented cleansing and inauguration. The Old Testament priests who served in the temple had to be sprinkled with water to inaugurate them into their office (Exodus 29:4-7.) When the Israelites came to John to be baptized, they were being inaugurated into their office as a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6.) When Jesus was baptized, he was being inaugurated into his role as the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16.) The gospels record how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament through performing miracles and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Today’s reading in Luke 4 gives a good overview of Jesus’ ministry while He was on Earth. The chapter begins with Jesus being tempted by Satan, but never yielding to that temptation. The Bible says that Jesus was without sin (Hebrews 4:15.) He was the sinless sacrifice that payed the penalty for the sinfulness of humanity. In Luke 4:16-30 Jesus preached in the synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth. He read a passage from the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, and told them that he was fulfilling that prophecy before their very eyes. The passage also tells how the people rejected Him and wanted to kill Him, but He was able to walk away. It was neither the time nor the manner in which Jesus was to die, and God the Father prevented the crowd from killing Him. The last verses of the chapter tell how Jesus performed miracles and healed many. This too was in fulfillment of the prophecies about the first coming of the Messiah. There were many who accepted Jesus’ teaching, but the majority of Israel rejected Him. He continued his ministry of preaching and teaching about the Kingdom of God for three years. He escaped death on several occasions because the manner and time of His death was predicted in the Old Testament and it had to be accomplished exactly as the prophets said. Finally, after fulfilling all that was needed, the time came for Him to offer His life as the sacrifice for sin and fulfill the words of Isaiah 53. We read in the gospels of how he went to Jerusalem just before the Jewish celebration of the Passover. Initially the city welcomed Him with shouts of “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, and John 12:12–19.) Within a week, however, the sentiment of the crowds changed, and they were demanding the Roman leaders, who controlled Jerusalem at the time, to crucify Jesus. Week 3 Thursday Scripture Reading: Mark 15, 16 Jesus and His disciples came to Jerusalem. Initially Jesus was welcomed by the people, but the religious leaders felt threatened by His popularity and they plotted to have Him killed. The Jewish leaders were able to change the attitude of the people and by the end of the week the mobs were calling for His crucifixion. Each of the four gospels record the trial, beating, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Each describe the details slightly differently, but the basic facts are consistent in all four. Jesus was arrested the night before He was crucified. He had a trial before the Jewish religious authorities who trumped up charges to create a reason for Him to be executed. The following morning Jesus stood before the Roman ruler of Palestine, Pontius Pilate, because he was the only one who could order a crucifixion. Jesus was beaten and then the crowd was given the choice to free Jesus or to have Him executed. The mob chose crucifixion. Jesus was led out of the city and crucified with two condemned criminals. After Jesus died, His body was taken down from the cross upon which He had been hung. The body was placed in a tomb and a large, heavy rock was rolled in front of the tomb to prevent anyone from stealing the body. On the morning of the third day after the crucifixion, several women who were going to put perfume and oils on Jesus’ body found that the rock had been rolled away and the tomb was empty. An angel announced to the women that Jesus’ body was not there because He had risen from the dead. After that, for 40 days Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at different times and places. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is the focal point of all history. This is what the Old Testament sacrifices all pointed to. The sacrificial death of Jesus was symbolized at the time of the fall when God clothed Adam and Eve with animal skin to replace the fig leaf garments they made for themselves to cover their nakedness. The need for the shedding of blood was being pictured when the Lord accepted Abel’s sacrifice of a lamb and rejected Cain’s offering of fruit and vegetables. When Abraham was told by the Lord to take his beloved son, Isaac, to a mountain and offer him as a sacrifice, it symbolized how God the Father was willing to give His one and only Son to be a sacrifice for mankind. When God provided a goat to be offered instead of Isaac, it represented Jesus as our substitute so we did not have to pay the penalty for our own sin. When the angel of death passed over the homes of the Israelites in Egypt and he saw the blood of a spotless perfect lamb over the doorposts of the homes, it represented how judgement and eternal punishment will pass over all who have trusted the shed blood of Jesus to pay for their sin. The death of the Egyptian firstborn also showed how spiritual death and eternal separation from God is the penalty when the blood of Jesus is not applied to our souls because we choose not to believe. The sacrifice made on the Day of Atonement was symbolic of the need for everyone to have the penalty of sin paid through faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Jesus died he shouted out, “My God, My God why have you forsaken me” (Mark 14:34; Matthew 27:46.) At that moment God the Father had to turn away from God the Son because Jesus, the Son of God, had all the sin, depravity, wickedness, immorality and selfish pride of humanity laid upon Him. He was taking the penalty that we deserved for our disobedience to God’s will. Have you trusted Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection to pay for your sin? If not, you may do so now. Just believe the simple message that you are a sinner deserving of eternal punishment and separation from God and trust the fact that Jesus’ death satisfied God’s wrath. By believing in its power to save you can have eternal life and have all your sins forgiven. Week 3 Friday Scripture Reading: Acts 2; Acts 7 After the death and resurrection of Jesus everything was in place for the next stage in God’s unfolding plan to restore mankind to fellowship and to bring justice and righteousness to the world. Before the Messiah could return there needed to be a time of testing to prove the sincerity of those in Israel who professed faith in Him. Jesus said that there would be many who might say He was Lord, but in reality never truly believed or had genuine faith. There would also be a time of great tribulation on Earth. This would be a pouring out of God’s wrath against all the wickedness and unrighteousness that will be in the world at that time. The very next thing that needed to happen, after Jesus returned to heaven, was that the Holy Spirit would be poured out on the believers in Israel. That was a fulfillment of a prophecy made in the Old Testament by the prophet Joel. If Israel would repent of its sin, the last days would commence, the time of trial and tribulation would begin and after 7 years (the reason for 7 years will be explained in week 5) the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would return to earth and establish His kingdom. It would be a kingdom with its focal point in Jerusalem. The Messiah will sit on a throne as the King who is a descendant of King David. The prophecies of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the call for Israel’s repentance can be seen in today’s reading from Acts 2. The setting was the Jewish feast of Pentecost which took place 50 days after the Passover, which was the day when Jesus died. Jews were required to come to Jerusalem from all over the world to celebrate Pentecost. Acts 2 describes how the disciples of Jesus were gathered together in a room after Jesus had returned to heaven. Suddenly they heard a sound like a rushing wind, and they saw tongues of fire descend on them. They began talking about Jesus, and the people gathered from all over the Roman Empire heard them speaking in their own languages. This too was to fulfill prophecy to prove that the disciples’ message about the Kingdom of God was true and legitimate. Acts 2:22 is clear that Peter while preaching about what was happening that day was speaking directly to the nation of Israel. Acts chapters 3-6 record events that took place after Pentecost, as Peter and the other apostles preached to the Jews in Jerusalem. During that time the apostles were preaching only to Jews and seeking to convince them that Jesus was the Messiah, and calling them to repent of the great sin committed by Israel of their rejection of the Lord. While many believed and embraced faith in Jesus, the vast majority rejected the message. The apostles were persecuted and imprisoned for trying to preach to Israel the truth of Jesus and His resurrection. The culmination of Israel’s rejection of its Messiah is seen in Acts 7. One of the leaders of the Jewish Christians, a man named Stephen, preaching publicly to a large group of Jews in Jerusalem. The sermon recounts Israel’s early history, beginning with the call of Abraham, through Moses and Israel traveling 40 years through the wilderness. Stephen’s sermon continued with references to Israel entering the land of Canaan, and to David and Solomon. This sermon is a good summary of many of the things that have been discussed thus far in this study of Israel’s history. The sermon ends with Stephen accusing Israel of resisting God’s Holy Spirit and disregarding God’s Word. He said that Israel rejected the message of all the prophets and persecuted them for telling Israel the truth. He said that they killed the prophets who told them of the coming of the “Just One” (a reference to Jesus Christ) and they were responsible for His death as well. Israel had been given many opportunities to believe that Jesus was its long-awaited Messiah, promised in the prophecies of the Old Testament. Despite the miraculous signs performed by Jesus and His apostles, the fulfillment of the prophecies, and evidence that Jesus rose from the dead, the nation of Israel as a whole, and the leadership in particular, rejected Jesus. The stoning of Stephen was the last opportunity for Israel to repent of its sin and, as a nation, accept that Jesus was its king and the Messiah. God was about to reveal a surprising change in His plan to bring mankind back into a relationship with Himself. Week 3 Saturday Scripture Reading: Acts 9 The early chapters of the book of Acts present a great dilemma to the spread of the gospel of the Kingdom. God desired that all humans respond in faith to the message of Jesus, Jews and Gentiles alike. But it was Israel’s job to be the light to the Gentiles, and the nation, in the majority, refused to accept Jesus as Messiah. Therefore, the Good News of eternal life, the forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God would never reach the Gentiles. The rest of Acts records the dramatic change that took place in God’s program so that Gentiles and Jews could be saved by God’s grace through faith in the power of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice when He died to pay for our sins. Acts 7:57 mentions that while the mob was stoning Stephen there was a young man watching and encouraging what was happening. This man’s name was Saul. What would soon happen to him would change the world forever. The New Testament gives a good deal of biographical information about this man, Saul. He was born and grew up in the city of Tarsus, located on the southern coast of Asia Minor (Modern Day Turkey). Saul was raised as a devout Jew and was well educated in both Hebrew and Greek. He was familiar with the Old Testament as well as Greek and Roman literature and philosophy. Saul of Tarsus studied under one of the most famous and influential Jewish rabbis of that time, a man named Gamaliel. Saul joined the Pharisees, one of the powerful religious groups in first century Palestine. The Pharisees were some of the most vocal opponents of the Lord Jesus when He was preaching and teaching before His crucifixion. Saul spearheaded a major persecution against the early Jewish followers of Jesus. He did not believe Jesus was the Messiah and he was determined to wipe out the movement of His believers (called “The Way”), whatever it took. After the death of Stephen, the Jewish followers of Jesus were scattered throughout Palestine and beyond. Saul, determined to eliminate the worship of Jesus Christ, set out for the city of Damascus in Syria, about 200 miles north of Jerusalem. His goal was to arrest any followers of Jesus, bring them back to Jerusalem, and put them in prison. Today’s reading from Acts 9 tells the story of Saul’s dramatic conversion. After he saw the vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus, Saul’s life changed dramatically. He went from the most dreaded persecutor of Christians to the greatest proclaimer of the gospel of Jesus Christ the world has known. Only a miracle from heaven can explain such a powerful turnaround in one’s life. Many years later Saul, who came to be known as Paul the Apostle, described his conversion experience with these words. 12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, 13 although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Another very important part of the story of Saul’s conversion is in Acts 9:15. 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” These words were spoken to a man in Damascus, Ananias, who was told by the Lord to help Saul when he arrived there. The verses say that the Lord had a special plan for Saul (Paul) to bring the name of Jesus to Gentiles, Israel and kings. What God was going to reveal to Paul was the next great development in His plan of redemption. We will find out that even though Israel failed in its responsibility to take the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world, God had a secret He would reveal to Paul to make it possible for Jews and Gentiles to believe in Jesus and receive the gift of eternal life. This previously unrevealed secret will be the focus of our readings for next week. Week 4 Week 4 Monday Scripture Reading: Ephesians 3 We have reached a crucial juncture in our study of God’s overall plan for mankind and His creation. To fully understand what this week’s readings will focus on, it will be necessary to review what has been discussed thus far in this study. God created the heavens and the earth, the sun, moon and stars, the plants, the animals, and everything else in the Universe. God created everything as good and perfect. God also created man and woman and gave them instructions to not eat the fruit of one tree in the middle of the garden where He placed them. Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and ate the fruit they were told not to touch. God’s justice demanded punishment for their disobedience, mankind was immediately separated and alienated from God, the entire Universe was cursed, and humans would be destined to spend eternity in Hell as punishment for sin. God however, loved humanity because we were created in His image and likeness. Immediately from the time of the fall, God began to reveal His plan to restore mankind into fellowship; to be reconciled with humanity, to offer forgiveness of sin and to have the hope of eternal life. Humans continued to live in disobedience and rebellion. Mankind’s violence and sinfulness reached a point in which God destroyed every human except Noah and his family. Even after the judgement of the flood, within a few generations, humanity continued on a downward spiral. God then called one individual, Abram, who became Abraham, and promised that his descendants would possess the land of Canaan, modern day Israel and Palestine. The Lord also promised that Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation, and a blessing to all the people of the earth. From that point on, all of God’s revelation to mankind came through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the nation of Israel. God added to the promise He made to Abraham. The promises of the land, the nation and the blessing were unconditional. However, later God added conditional elements to the promise. First, Abraham and all his male descendants were to be circumcised, a symbol of God’s special relationship with Israel. After that, when Jacob’s descendants had spent 400 years as slaves in Egypt and they were freed through the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea, the Lord added the Law, 613 commandments, which set Israel apart from all the other nations. If Israel obeyed the Law, they would receive material blessings, such as peace, prosperity, good harvests, etc. If they disobeyed the Law, they were punished and experienced great hardship. Around 400 years after Moses the Lord gave Israel a king. Israel’s second king, David, received a promise that a ruler, who was his descendant, would sit on Israel’s throne and rule the world. The kingdom set up by that individual, who was called the Messiah, would be Jewish, with the center of power in Jerusalem. All through the Old Testament Israel is the channel through whom the world would be blessed. Before the Messiah would come to Earth to establish His Kingdom, He had to come in humility and as a servant. The Old Testament prophets predicted that the Messiah would suffer as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for sin, that He would rise again, ascend to heaven and then return as a conquering King. Jesus was the Messiah (or in Greek, Christ). He fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament exactly. After Jesus died, rose and ascended into heaven his closest followers, the 12 apostles, preached to Israel about Jesus; that He was the Messiah, that He died on the cross and was resurrected. If Israel repented, Jesus would return and establish the Kingdom on Earth promised to Israel in the Old Testament. The nation, however, rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ and the coming Kingdom. Since Israel was to be God’s messengers to all the world, there was no way for the Gentles to hear about Jesus if Israel would not tell them. At this point God interrupted what He had been doing with Israel for nearly 1800 years, and revealed through one man, the Apostle Paul, a secret program He had not told to the Old Testament prophets. God would resume the program with Israel, but only after an undetermined amount of time in which all of humanity, Jews and Gentiles equally, would have opportunity to respond to the message of Jesus Christ’s death to pay for our sins, his burial and resurrection. This gift of eternal life would be available by grace through faith. Today’s reading from Ephesians 3 explains that Jews and Gentiles can approach God on an equal basis and become part of one group of God’s people, the Body of Christ. This revelation is described as a mystery (literally the word means secret), “hidden in God” and “not made known” until it was revealed to Paul. This secret is called the “dispensation (or administration) of the grace of God.” The idea that Israel was temporarily set aside, and no longer was the intermediary of God’s blessing to mankind was completely unknown before it was revealed to Paul. This new development in God’s plan for humanity’s redemption is one of the most important changes made in how He would reconcile us and restore our relationship with Himself. Recognizing that God has one plan that includes Israel as the channel of blessing and another plan for the Body of Christ (Jews and Gentiles equal without distinction) is crucial to understanding how the Bible is to be interpreted and applied. We need to recognize that there are certain commands and expectations that apply to Israel, and others that apply to the Body of Christ, the collection of God’s people (or Church) today. Other passages that speak about the mystery as a previously unrevealed secret are Romans 16:25, 1 Corinthians 2:7 and Colossians 1:26. Recognizing the difference between those things written to, and about Israel and what is written to the Body of Christ is the key to making sense of the entire Bible. Week 4 Tuesday Scripture Reading: Galatians 1-2; Acts 15 In yesterday’s lesson we learned about a new message revealed to the Apostle Paul. At the center of that message is that all mankind could be saved by grace through faith in the gospel message that Jesus Christ died, was buried and rose again to pay for our sins and give eternal life. This revelation said that once a person trusted in Christ as Savior he or she had the assurance of salvation, and there was no need to obey the Old Testament laws and rituals, nor was it required that males be circumcised, which was the symbolic initiation into the chosen nation, Israel. There was no indication in the Old Testament that such a program would ever exist, in which Israel would not be the favored people of God, that the Law of Moses could be ignored, and that circumcision would not be required to demonstrate faith. Today’s reading from Galatians 1 & 2 gives Paul’s personal story of how he had persecuted the followers of Jesus, and by God’s grace was miraculously converted. Paul stated clearly that the gospel message or “good news” (the literal meaning of “gospel”) that he preached was revealed to him directly by Jesus, and it was not something that had been taught to him by someone else. Paul then told of how he spent two years in Arabia, during which time he received more information about the “mystery” or previously unknown secret that God revealed to mankind through him. Paul and his companion, Barnabas, went throughout the Roman empire and preached that Gentiles and Jews were saved in the same way, that there was no longer any difference between them and anyone who believed was made a member of the Body of Christ, totally equal. Because of that message there was great resistance from the Jewish Christians who had believed the Gospel of the Kingdom. That message emphasized the return of Jesus as the conquering Messiah to establish the Jewish Kingdom ruling from Jerusalem. Furthermore, there was nothing in the Kingdom message about a body of believers with no distinction between Jew and Gentile. In fact, all God’s promises to Israel in the Old Testament are said to be part of an everlasting covenant. What Paul was preaching was inconsistent with all the Jews had known, including the Jewish followers of Jesus. Galatians 2 and Acts 15 record an event that took place in Jerusalem. The controversy about Paul preaching had gotten so heated that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and explain his message to the leaders of the Jewish church. During that meeting the Apostle Peter recounted a single incident in which he was sent to preach to a Gentile household and the listeners received the Holy Spirit. That incident (Acts 10), which happened after Paul’s conversion, was evidence to Peter that Paul’s message of salvation to the Gentiles was legitimate. Paul received the endorsement of Peter and the Jewish leadership to carry on with his ministry. Peter and his group would continue ministering to the Jews (the gospel to the circumcision) and Paul would go to the Gentiles (the gospel to the uncircumcision). This further confirmed that Paul had a message that was distinctive and unique, and not fully understood by the Jewish believers, but endorsed by the leaders. Week 4 Wednesday Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 15 Today’s reading from 1 Corinthians 15 emphasizes two important parts of God’s overall plan for humanity. Verses 1 to 11 emphasize the fundamental message of the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 give the most concise and clear statement about the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection. Paul points out that this was the gospel which he preached to the Corinthians when he was with them, and this was the message which, when believed by them, provided salvation. Simply stated, Paul says that Jesus Christ died for our sins, he was buried and rose again on the third day. Christ’s death and resurrection are the centerpiece of God’s plan to restore creation. The Old Testament looks forward to that event, the New Testament looks back to it. The remainder of 1 Corinthians 15 talks about the importance and nature of the physical resurrection of those who have trusted in Jesus. Some of the believers in Corinth, to whom Paul was writing, were claiming there would be no resurrection of the dead. Paul pointed out that if there was no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus would not have risen, and we would still be in sin. He rightly said that if there was no future after this life, then faith in Jesus would be futile, and believers should be pitied for their willingness to believe a lie. However, because Jesus did rise from the dead, all believers will someday be resurrected as well. In verses 20-28 Paul connects the sin of Adam with the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. Just as Adam brought death to humanity because of his sin, Jesus, because of His obedience to the will of God, brought life to all mankind. Verses 23-25 give a specific order of events. Jesus would be raised first, then the believers at his coming (we will see later this coming is part of the mystery, not the second return of the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament), after which the end times will come, in which Jesus will conquer the enemies of God and establish the Kingdom. Verses 35-49 speak of the nature of the resurrection body that believers will have. It will be eternal and incorruptible; in other words, it will not get old and feeble as our current bodies do. Verses 50 to 58 speak of how death will be destroyed, and all believers will be given perfect bodies in the resurrection. In verse 51 Paul wrote that he was revealing a mystery, a previously unrevealed secret. In verses 51-54 Paul is talking about the resurrection of the members of the Body of Christ. A resurrection and judgement of the dead was revealed in the Old Testament (Daniel 12:2). However, in this passage Paul is telling of a resurrection just for the members of the Body of Christ. We will learn more about this previously unknown resurrection in a few days. The main point of this section is to emphasize that believers have an eternal hope, and that death, sin and suffering will ultimately be destroyed. Week 4 Thursday Scripture Reading: Romans 3 In today’s reading, Romans 3, we learn of the foundational truth about God’s plan to give eternal life to all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Taken in context, Romans 3 is the conclusion of an argument Paul began at the beginning of the letter. After his greetings to the church in Rome in chapter 1, Paul wrote about how the Gentiles had lost connection with the one true God. He pointed out that mankind had knowledge of God in the past, but rather than worshipping Him, the Gentile world forgot Him and began to worship nature, and idols made with their own hands. The result was that humanity sunk into unimaginable depravity; committing all types of unthinkable sexual immorality, violence and injustice. In Romans 2 Paul proved that it was not just the Gentiles that had drifted away from God, but the Lord’s very own chosen nation, Israel, was separated from Him because the Jews believed they could be good enough to somehow earn God’s favor. He pointed out that everyone will get what they deserve. If it were possible for someone to follow God’s laws 100%, He would grant that person eternal life. Paul will prove in chapter 3, however, that there has never been anyone who could obey God’s law completely. Romans 3:9-20 summarizes the first 2 chapters with the conclusion that “There is none righteous, no not one.” Based on God’s righteous standards everyone stands guilty and condemned before a righteous and holy Creator. In our natural condition we are all born alienated from God and headed to an eternity separated from Him. Romans 3:24-26 states that because of Jesus’ death to pay the penalty of sin, God’s righteousness and justice have been satisfied (propitiation). In verses 27-31 it is clearly stated that God’s righteousness is applied to the person who trusts in Jesus’ death. There is no amount of good works that anyone could do to earn a righteous standing before God. We only need to believe what Jesus did, and trust completely that the penalty was paid, and we have been forgiven. That is good news indeed! Salvation is a free gift granted to the person who believes that Jesus died for his or her sin. This is repeated in Romans and throughout the writings of the Apostle Paul. Take a moment to find the following verses and read them carefully. Romans 4:5; Romans 5:1; Galatians 2:16, 20; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5. Week 4 Friday Scripture Reading: Romans 9-11 Today’s reading, Romans chapters 9-11, is longer than usual, but it is one of the most important sections of scripture to understand God’s change in program from working through Israel, to the current program in which there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles. These chapters tell of God’s sovereign choice to use Israel as the channel of His blessings to mankind, and how He, likewise, had the authority to set Israel aside because of unbelief and make the gospel directly available to the Gentiles. Chapter 9 begins with Paul stating that his greatest desire is that the Jews, his countrymen, would come to faith in Jesus. The passage goes on to explain that God chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be the ones through whom His promises would be given. God chose them in His sovereignty and therefore, He has the authority to set them aside temporarily. Verse 18 says, “Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills…” The chapter concludes that the Gentiles, who did not pursue God, were granted righteousness by faith. On the other hand, the Jews who did pursue righteousness through the works of the Law, did not gain it because they were not seeking God through faith. At the beginning of chapter 10 Paul once again repeats his burden for Israel’s salvation. The chapter goes on to state that Jews and Gentiles now have access to God simply through faith. 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Chapter 11 begins by stating that God has not cast away His people forever. Verse 11 states that they have stumbled and fallen so that salvation could be made available to the Gentiles. However, Paul illustrates that the breaking of this special relationship between God and Israel is temporary by using the analogy of grafting branches on to the trunk of an olive tree. He describes the root of the tree (being connected to God). The natural branches were broken off (Israel) and wild branches were grafted in (the Gentiles). Paul then says that just as the natural branches were broken off, so the wild branches can be broken off and the natural branches grafted back onto the tree. Verse 25-27 explain what he means by the olive tree illustration. Israel has been blinded and set aside temporarily, until a certain time in which a full number of Gentiles have been saved, at which time God will restore His promise to Israel, and in the end all Israel, true believing Jews, will be saved. These three chapters are extremely important in understanding God’s overall plan for mankind because they explain why Israel was set aside, because of unbelief, and so salvation could be offered to the Gentiles. It also states that God will restore His special relationship with Israel (by breaking off the wild branches and grafting back in the natural branches). These passages make it clear that God has not abandoned Israel permanently, but rather He has set them aside so that salvation by grace through faith could be made available to all mankind without distinction. Week 4 Saturday Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4 Today’s reading, 1 Thessalonians 4, is crucial if we are to fully understand the nature of the period of time in which we live, and how it fits into God’s overall plan for mankind. After Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah, God interrupted His work directly with the Nation as His special, holy people. God revealed to Paul the Apostle previously unknown information. He was creating a new group of His people consisting of Jews and Gentiles with no difference. Neither group has any special access to God’s blessings; all of humanity faces God equally in need of His grace and that grace is equally available to all. When a person believes that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for sin, he or she is given eternal life and a position as God’s adopted child. That person also becomes a member of God’s people for today, the Body of Christ, the Church. The Body of Christ began after Israel was set aside and it was revealed to Paul. God, in the future, will restore His special relationship with Israel and fulfill the promises made to it from the time of Abraham, David and all the prophets. If He did not, He would not be true to His word, since he called His relationship with Israel “an everlasting covenant. The question remains, “when will that happen?” When will this current program, called the Dispensation (administration) of Grace, end and the prophetic program with Israel resume? (The first 12 verses of 1 Thessalonians 4, though not speaking directly to the topic of this lesson, contain valuable instructions about personal holiness and morality and the importance of demonstrating love to one another.) First Thessalonians 4:13-18 explain how God will bring the Dispensation of Grace to a close. The letter to the believers in the Macedonian city of Thessalonica was probably the first correspondence that Paul wrote which has been preserved in the Bible. These young believers would only have known about the Messiah’s second coming as it was described in the Old Testament and taught by Jesus Himself. They were expecting universal tribulation on Earth (this will be discussed in more detail next week.) followed by the physical return of Jesus to Earth to establish the Kingdom. The Thessalonian believers were suffering persecution (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:14; 2 Thessalonians 1:4.) Because of the local tribulation they were experiencing some were telling them that the time of universal persecution had come and that they were left behind and those who had died missed the resurrection (cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2.) Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to clear up their confusion and to assure them that those who have already died (“fallen asleep”) will be resurrected, and those still alive will have their bodies transformed into glorified ones. All believers will be gathered and taken to heaven to be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. This gathering and catching away before the universal tribulation is often called the “Rapture of the Church.” The English word Rapture is a transliteration of the Latin word used to translate the original Greek word for “caught up.” This event, in which Jesus appears in the air without coming to Earth, raises the dead believers with resurrection bodies (cf. 1 Corinthians 15), gathers and catches up the believers still alive and takes us to heaven, and will bring a close to the dispensation of Grace. After the Rapture, God will resume the prophetic program with Israel, which will usher in the end times. In Titus 2:13 the Rapture is called “the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This will be a wonderful event, when we will be freed from suffering and pain, and no longer will we have to deal with temptation and sin. This event will complete our salvation. Our entire being, body, soul and spirit, will be renewed and forever be in the presence of our loving Savior. What a magnificent day that will be! Week 5 Week 5 Monday Scripture Reading: Daniel 9, 12 If we were to read the Bible without the writings of the Apostle Paul (Romans to Philemon) we will find no reference to the Body of Christ and the Dispensation of Grace, in which the nation of Israel has no special role in God’s dealing with mankind. What we will find is a complete scenario, from beginning to end of how the Lord would bring salvation to humanity by using Israel as the channel of blessing. The prophetic program involves the calling of Abraham (Abram) and giving him a promise that his descendants would become a great nation, that they would inherit the land of Palestine, and all the world would be blessed through his descendants. Four hundred years later God promised that Israel would be a holy people and a nation of priests, serving as intermediaries between God and the Gentile world. Later God told David that one of his descendants would sit eternally on a throne ruling the world from Jerusalem. Later the prophets of Israel told of how the promised Messiah would first come to earth to suffer and die as a substitutionary sacrifice for humanity’s sin, and that He would be raised from the dead. After that, the prophets told of the Holy Spirit coming to earth with miraculous signs which would usher in a period known as the “last days” or the “Day of the Lord.” The last days would be a seven-year period of time, divided into two three and a half year segments. The seven-year period will be a time of testing of believers, especially Jews who come to believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah and Savior. There will be universal persecution of all believers during that time which will be instigated by an evil world ruler who will be empowered and guided by Satan himself. The last three and a half years will be a time in which God’s wrath will be poured out on Earth, judging the wickedness of humanity. At the end of the seven-years Jesus Christ, the Messiah, will return as a conquering King. Satan and the demons who rebelled against God will be thrown into a place described as a bottomless pit where they will be imprisoned for 1,000 years. Those who were martyred for their faith during the time of tribulation will be resurrected and live in a kingdom of peace, justice and righteousness. After the 1,000 years Satan and the demons will be released, and there will be one final battle in which all evil will be eliminated from God’s creation for eternity. Satan will be thrown into his final destiny, a place the Bible calls the Lake of Fire. There will be a second resurrection at which time all who have not been resurrected previously will be judged and if their names are not found written in the Book of Life they will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternal punishment. After that there will be a new Heaven and Earth and Jesus Christ will reign eternally as King of kings and Lord of lords forever. The reason this scenario has not already played out is because God interrupted the prophetic plan when Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah and failed in its role to be a light to the Gentiles. God wanted to give more souls the opportunity to respond to His message of salvation and He suspended the program with Israel and inserted the Dispensation of Grace in which we currently live. During this previously unknown dispensation in which live, anyone can come to God simply by grace through faith in the gospel message of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. However, at some unknown time God will end this age of grace, take away His people, the Body of Christ, and resume the prophetic program. Today’s reading in Daniel 9 and 12 contains the basic outline of the end times scenario described above. Daniel contains several visions received by the prophet of that name while he was with other Jewish exiles around 530 B.C. in Babylon and Persia. God gave Daniel these visions which pictured very specific events that would take place in the near, medium and far future. Many of those prophecies have been literally, and remarkably fulfilled already in history, such as the series of world empires that would follow one another in sequence. The first part of Daniel 9 is a prayer of repentance in which Daniel confesses the sin of Israel pleading with the Lord to withhold the outpouring of His wrath. While he was praying, Daniel received a vision which gave a series of specific prophecies about the rest of world history, culminating in the return of the Messiah and the establishment of His kingdom. Daniel speaks of seventy weeks in which all the necessary parts of God’s plan would come to pass. Reconciliation would take place (Christ’s crucifixion) and everlasting righteousness would be brought in (the Kingdom established). In this case the word “weeks” means a group of seven, which is referring to groupings of seven years. Seventy groupings of seven years are 490 years. The period is divided into three parts, two grouped together and one separate. The weeks are grouped as seven weeks and 62 weeks, totaling 69 weeks, representing 483 years. The beginning of that time is clearly identified as when there is a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. That decree was given by the Persian king Artaxerxes around 450B.C. Daniel’s prophecies say that the Messiah will be cut off after the 483-year period. This was fulfilled when Jesus the Messiah was crucified in 33AD, 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given! The final 7-year period is yet to be fulfilled. The 490-year prophecy was suspended after the first 483 years because of the insertion of the unrevealed secret Dispensation of Grace in which we are currently living. When the Body of Christ is taken away in the Rapture, God will resume the prophetic program and the 70th week will begin. The prophecy speaks of a prince who will confirm a covenant with Israel and in the middle of that time, 3 ½ years. He will break the agreement and forbid sacrifices in the temple. The prophecy ends by speaking of the consummation, or the end of all things. Daniel 12 gives more detail about the final days before Jesus returns during the 70th week. He describes that time by saying; “And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation” (Daniel 12:1). This speaks of the trials and tribulation of that last seven years. Daniel 12:11 describes a period of 1290 days (roughly 3 ½ years) after the sacrifices are ended and the prophecy is completed. Daniel 12:1-2 also refers to a general resurrection and judgement of some to eternal life and others to eternal condemnation. The prophecies of Daniel, particularly chapter 9, provide the basic scheme of how God will bring about the consummation of His plan for humanity. More details are found in the other prophets, the teaching of Jesus, and especially in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. However, the fundamental outline was revealed to Daniel over 500 years before Jesus was born! Week 5 Tuesday Scripture Reading: Zechariah 14 First Peter 1:10-11 says, “10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. Peter is commenting on the fact that the Old Testament prophets were given revelation of God’s plan to bring salvation to mankind in two stages. In week 2 we read through Isaiah 53, which was the prophecy of the suffering servant who would be like a sacrificial lamb that would pay the penalty for sin and take upon Himself the punishment we deserve. This is what Peter meant when he said the prophets saw the “sufferings of Christ.” Peter calls the second stage of the redemptive plan “the glories that would follow.” This refers to the great Kingdom that Jesus Christ will establish on Earth after the Body of Christ, God’s people during this current Dispensation of Grace, has been taken to be with the Lord in heaven. The Old Testament prophets wrote about a period of testing of the believers, and the wrath of God poured out from heaven in dramatic acts of judgement, followed by Christ coming to earth and establishing His Kingdom. Today’s reading from Zechariah 14 is one of many such prophecies throughout the Old Testament that speak of the end times scenario. Verse 1 states that “the Day of the Lord is coming.” The term “the day of Lord” does not mean a single day, but refers to a period of time which encompasses the seven year tribulation, the judgement of God poured out on the earth, the return of Jesus Christ, and the establishment of the Kingdom over which He will reign. Zechariah 14:3 says the LORD will fight against the forces of evil in the world that have gathered against Israel (Jerusalem) and He will defeat them and return to Earth with His feet on the Mount of Olives. This is important, because in Acts 1:11 an angel appeared to the disciples who had just watched Jesus ascend to heaven from the Mount of Olives. The angel told the disciples that Jesus would return in the same way in which He left. Verse 16 tells of how all those left after the judgement (the true believers that went through the Tribulation) will come to Jerusalem to worship the King. Today’s reading reinforces the fact that God laid out in advance His plan to bring salvation to the world through Israel, and that the Messiah will reign in an earthly Kingdom centered in Jerusalem. It must be pointed out these events will take place after the believers of this Dispensation of Grace have been taken out in the Rapture. Week 5 Wednesday Scripture Reading: Matthew 24-25 Our Lord Jesus Christ came to Earth, God became flesh and blood, and lived here for 33 years before He was crucified to pay the penalty for sin, resurrected from the dead and returned to heaven. During the time He spent sharing this world with humanity He was an example of a perfect life, having lived completely within the will of God. He also taught many important lessons about loving one another, being submissive and obedient to the Will of God, humility, our ultimate priorities, and a host of other important spiritual lessons. However, not everything that Jesus taught while on Earth applies directly to our lives today. In week 4 it was pointed out that the information about the current period of God’s overall plan in which we live, the Dispensation of Grace, and the Body of Christ was an unrevealed secret that was kept hidden until it was revealed to Paul, the Apostle. Jesus did not teach about the Body of Christ, the fact that Jews and Gentiles would be members of Christ’s Church with completely equal standing. God the Father was not ready to reveal that information to mankind while the Lord Jesus was still on Earth. Israel needed to be offered the opportunity to repent and accept Jesus as Messiah. If Israel had responded in faith, God’s previously revealed scheme for the end times would have continued. The 70th week, the last seven-year period revealed in Daniel 9, would have begun. Believers would be tested through great tribulation, and in the last half of those seven years God’s wrath would be poured out on the world. After that, Jesus would return and establish His Kingdom. Much of what Jesus taught during His time on the earth was meant to prepare the Jewish believers who would pass through that seven-year time of testing and tribulation. The Lord was getting them ready for the suffering and trials they would face. Today’s reading from Matthew 24-25 is the most complete teaching given by the Lord Jesus about the period of tribulation that His followers will pass through immediately before He returns to Earth to establish His Kingdom. He taught these things on the Mount of Olives a few days before His crucifixion, and this lesson is often called the Olivet Discourse. Keep in mind that everything in these two chapters will take place after the members of the Church today, the Body of Christ, have been taken to heaven. Matthew 24:9-14 says the followers of Jesus will be persecuted, many will fall away from the faith and others will betray the believers. Jesus taught that if they endured to the end of that tribulation they would be saved, others who turn away were never true believers. In Matthew 24:15 Jesus refers to the “abomination of desolation” which is mentioned in Daniel 9:27 , and 12:11. This will be an act that brings an end to the sacrifices (which will be restored at that time), and desecrates the holiest part of the temple (which will be rebuilt.) Matthew 24:29-31 tells of how Jesus (the Son of Man) will come back after the period of great tribulation. Verses 36-44 say that there will be some taken away and others left. In this passage, the ones taken away are being taken in judgement and the ones left will be left to enter the Kingdom. This is not teaching about the rapture, in which the ones taken are caught up to heaven. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus taught that when He returns and is on His throne, He will judge all the nations regarding how they treated those who were the least of His followers. Here he said that those who did not show compassion to the believers during the time of tribulation would be sent away into everlasting punishment. While we will not experience the events recorded in these chapters, it is valuable for us to be aware of what the world will be like after we leave. The pouring out of God’s wrath shows us that He takes sin seriously, and there will be severe judgement for those who fail to believe in Jesus. Likewise, understanding what is in store for those who will not be taken in the Rapture should motivate us to share the good news that Jesus died for our sins now with as many people as possible so they will not experience that awful time of tribulation. Week 5 Thursday Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5, 2 Thessalonians 2 In week 4 we learned about the Rapture, when the Body of Christ, God’s people for today, will be taken away from the world when Jesus appears in the sky. All those who have died as believers, since the beginning of the Body of Christ, will be resurrected, and those alive at that time will be transformed and given new, unperishable bodies. The believers will be taken to heaven and we will always be with the Lord. It was pointed out that the Rapture was an unrevealed secret, just as the Body of Christ and the Dispensation of Grace were. This truth was revealed exclusively to the Apostle Paul, and we only find it mentioned in his writings. At the time Paul was writing, there were many Jews who became Christians who knew the Old Testament and the outline it presented for the end times. They needed to have it explained that the seven-year tribulation had not started, and rather they would be taken out of the world before it began. They needed to know they would not go through that time of persecution and testing and the outpouring of God’s wrath that will take place at the end. There are two passages in Paul’s letters that refer to the end times of Israel’s prophetic program. Those are found in 1 Thessalonians 5 and 2 Thessalonians 2, which are today’s scripture reading. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 that there was no need for him to write about times and seasons, and that they already knew how the “Day of the Lord” would come. The “Day of the Lord” was an Old Testament term that referred to the prophesied end times scenario which included the time of testing, the outpouring of wrath, the coming of the Messiah and the setup of the Kingdom. For these believers, writing about when this would take place was not necessary because they would not experience it. Verse 9 says that we (the Body of Christ) are not appointed to see wrath, but to obtain salvation. The wrath he is talking about is the final outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth, the time of tribulation. 2 Thessalonians 2 gives more information about the coming of the Day of the Lord (some Bibles have “day of Christ,” but ‘Lord” is probably the more accurate rendering.) Some in the Thessalonian church were worried because false rumors were being spread that the Day of the Lord had already arrived, probably because of the local persecution they were experiencing. Paul says that that Day would not come until there is a “falling away.” The word translated “falling away” in other places is translated as “a departure.” That would mean that something would need to depart before the Day of the Lord could come. That “departure” is the Rapture, when the Body of Christ is taken from the world. Paul goes on in verses 5-12 to explain that there is someone (or something) that is restraining the revelation of someone he calls the “lawless one.” That is the Satan-inspired world leader who will have total authority during the 7-year time of tribulation. What is restraining total lawlessness and the ascent of this Satanic ruler is the Body of Christ, which must be first removed. Once the Church is taken out there is nothing to keep total evil from having complete reign over the world. Paul concludes his discussion of the Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4 by saying the following: Therefore comfort one another with these words. Once we realize that we will be spared the horrific events of the prophetic end times in which sin and evil will have control of this world, we can be comforted, and we can offer comfort to others. Week 5 Friday Scripture Reading: Revelation 19-20 Revelation is the last book of the Bible and it tells the story of the end times. It was written in a style called apocalyptic literature, which combines literal descriptions of events with symbols that are often difficult, if not impossible, to interpret. Hundreds of books have been written about Revelation giving various explanations of John’s vision of the end times, and very few of them agree. Despite the disagreement on the details, there is still a clear picture of the general scheme of events, which match those described by the Old Testament prophets and the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Revelation refers to great persecution and tribulation on earth during a 7-period divided into two 3 ½ year parts. An evil world leader empowered by Satan will rise to power who will demand that everyone worship him. Those who trust Jesus Christ as Savior during that time will refuse to accept a mark on their bodies. Everyone without the mark (666) will be hunted down, and many will die as martyrs for their faith. God’s wrath will then be poured out on the earth in the form of various types of plagues and cosmic events. Today’s reading from Revelation 19-20 describes the end of the 7-year Tribulation when Jesus will return to earth and bring God’s judgement on the Satanic ruler and all those who rejected Jesus during the tribulation. The world ruler, the beast, and his lieutenant, the false prophet, are thrown into the Lake of Fire. In chapter 20 we read of how Satan is kept in bondage in a bottomless pit for 1000 years. Following the imprisonment of Satan there is a resurrection for those who died as martyrs during the tribulation. Jesus will reign for 1000 years with righteousness and judgement. After the 1000 years are completed, Satan will be released from the bottomless pit and lead a final rebellion against the Lord. Satan will be defeated and cast for eternity into the Lake of Fire, which is the place of eternal torment and suffering for all who have rejected Jesus Christ. There will be a second resurrection after Satan is defeated in which all those raised will be judged. Those who had faith in what God required of them, at whatever point in history they lived, will have their names found in a record called the Book of Life. Those not found in the book will be judged by their works and cast away into the Lake of Fire with Satan to be punished for eternity. These two chapters explain how God will judge the evil that came into the world as a result of sin. God’s plan to save humanity and bring us back into a relationship with Him was put in place at the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed. Between the fall of mankind and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ God prepared the world, made promises, and arranged history to accomplish His purpose. It is not known how many more years will pass before these final prophecies will be fulfilled, but what is clear is that God does not want anyone to be judged for eternity in the Lake of Fire, and that is why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Reading of the final judgement should motivate us to share the good news of God’s plan of salvation with everyone we can. The thought of eternity separated from God in endless suffering should break our hearts for those who have yet to believe that Jesus is their Savior. Week 5 Saturday Scripture Reading: Revelation 21 Our reading today from Revelation 21-22 describes the conclusion of God’s great plan of redemption for humanity. It is a picture of the glorious future that God is preparing for the end of time. Chapter 21 envisions a new Heaven and a new Earth in which all suffering and pain will be eliminated. There is also a vision of a New Jerusalem descending from heaven. This great city is full of references to Israel. There are 12 gates with the names of each of the tribes of Israel written on them. The city will have 12 foundations with the names of the 12 apostles written on them. There is dispute among Bible teachers about the role that we, the members of the Body of Christ, will have in the new Earth and the new Jerusalem. Some believe we will remain separate, with our dwelling in heaven eternally and we will have no part of the New Jerusalem. Others believe the Body of Christ will have free access to the city, but the Old Testament and early Jewish church believers will be its primary occupants. What is clear, however, is that God will remain true to His promise that His relationship with Israel is an “everlasting covenant.” Israel will have an identity that continues forever. Whether or not the Body of Christ will be on the new Earth is an interesting point to debate and mull over, but ultimately it does not matter. God will bring about His will and we know that whatever our final location is, we will be in a condition of great joy and be able to show our love for Jesus Christ and worship Him forever. |
