The Prophetic Parenthesis

Eschatology 101 - the Prophetic Parenthesis

As we consider Biblical Prophecy from an objective point of view, 
it is clearly the case that concerning eschatology (the study of last things),
that a literal reading of the Bible concludes to Premillennialism. 
In order to avoid this obvious conclusion it is necessary to willfully alter the plain meaning of common 
language, to set aside proper hermeneutics and 
to ignore the clear teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now that I have your attention; let’s think this through together.
Jesus said concerning the Kingdom of God that it was future; and that when it came it would be literal, it would be unmistakably recognizable and that He Himself would be visibly, physically, bodily, that is to say, literally present.

Lk.4: 14-18 – When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.
And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
For I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves;
For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”

Jesus was clearly saying that the Kingdom of God was to be understood as literal and future, and that He will be there in person. Only an agenda driven and willfully obstinate individual would deny this obvious truth.
Jesus’ use of the title “The Son of Man” as His favorite when referring to Himself and His mission is another unmistakable indication that Jesus was a Futurist and a Premillennialist.

Dan.7:13-14 – “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.”
“And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.”

Obviously, when properly taken literally, this must be still future.

Jesus embraced and employed the principle of the Prophetic Parenthesis in His teaching concerning the fulfillment of prophetic passages concerning Himself and His mission.

Lk.4:14-21 – And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written:
“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.
HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,
AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND,
TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus was very intentional in His actions and in His ceasing to read the prophecy in mid verse. He was making the statement that only this first section of the Scripture was being fulfilled at that time and in doing so He was clearly leaving the rest of Isaiah’s prophecy to be fulfilled at a future time; at His second coming when He will reign in His Kingdom and complete the rest of the prophecy.

Is.61:1-9 – The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2. To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD

(Parenthesis; Jesus broke off reading here)

And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3. To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
4. Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
5. And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6. But you will be called the priests of the LORD;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And in their riches you will boast.
7. Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their
portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
Everlasting joy will be theirs.

Jesus taught the principle of the Prophetic Parenthesis in His parables as well, such as in the parable of The Talents found in Mt.25:14-30 (see verse 19 – “After a long time”);
And, again, in the one following; the parable of The Pounds.

Lk.19:11-27 – While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.
So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.
“And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’
“But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
“When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done.
“The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’
“And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’
“The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’
“And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
“Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief;
for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’
“He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow?
‘Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’
“Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’
“And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’
“I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
“But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”

Clearly a duration of time passes between appearances of the King.

When the Disciples questioned Jesus concerning the establishment of the Kingdom, Jesus did not rebuke them for assuming that there would be a literal Kingdom.
He told them that it would take place in God’s time and in the proper season;
That in the mean time they were to be about the business of making disciples, and teaching them all that He had commanded; and they should share all that they had personally witnessed concerning Him with those that they were teaching (Mt.28:19-20; Acts 1:6-8).
The attending angels told the disciples the Jesus would one day return literally, Just as they had seen Him go (Acts 1:11).
Jesus had told them that He would be with them, in Spirit (Mt.28:20; Acts 1:8) even unto the end of the Age; the culmination of the current Dispensation.

Jesus, in a statement recorded for us in Mt.24:15 declared that Daniel, the author of the Old Testament book that bears his name, was a prophet; and that his prophecies concerning the end of days were to be understood and to be expected to come to pass in the future.
I mention this because Daniel is not listed among the prophets in the configuration of the Hebrew Scriptures (The Tanakh).

But, Daniel was indeed a prophet and the significance of his contributions to the overall understanding of the entirety of Biblical prophecy cannot be overstated.
With a clear grasp of the importance of understanding and accepting the principle of the Prophetic Parenthesis in mind; let us take a brief look at some examples of this feature as it is found in Daniels very important writings.

Dan.2:40 - gap – 41- 45 – We know from history that there is a gap in time between the reign of the old Roman Empire and the establishment of the future 10 region confederation of the revived Roman Empire that has yet to come; it will be the last of the gentile kingdoms on earth just prior to the establishment of God’s eternal Kingdom. Obviously, still future.

Dan7:7 – We encounter the same scenario here at the end of verse 7; a gap in time between the description of the historical old Roman Empire and the future rising of the 10 region confederacy that will come up in its place; immediately followed by the events that will take place at the end of days leading up to the establishment of God’s eternal Kingdom on earth (Verses 8 – 14).

Dan.9:24-26 – gap – 27 – This section of Scripture, when properly understood in light of the Christ sanctioned principle of the Prophetic Parenthesis, is one of the most important prophetic passages in the Bible.
Here we discover a detailed outline of future history, complete with historical keys as to starting and stopping points for the prophetic time clock; these are called out for us and can be identified and calculated precisely; and indeed they have been (see Sir Robert Anderson’s fine work “The Coming Prince” for example, among others).
The events of verses 24 – 26 are well documented as having taken place exactly as described by the Prophet.
While some may quibble about the exact dates of the starting and stopping points, it is clear that the culmination of it all took place at "the cutting off of Messiah"; the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; and that that undeniable historical event was shortly followed by the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of God as predicted.
What follows in verse 27 must take place in the 70th week because 7 weeks plus 62 weeks are already completed; as stated within the text, these future events are for the duration of the one week of years remaining; or more simply stated, a period of 7 years (based upon a correct understanding of the previous 69).

Notice that the very event that Jesus referred to in Matthew 24:15 is found within our passage. 
Jesus placed this event in the future from the time that He was speaking, was He confused? 
Paul placed it in the future in II Thes.2:3-5; it will be an unmistakable event.

Anyone who would deny that there is a parenthesis in time between the events of the 69 weeks and the rest of the prophecy as recorded in verse 27 will be forced to abandon the literal method of interpreting the text and must come up with some kind of allegorical or so called spiritual meaning for remaining 70th week, and that is exactly what has been done by men like Augustine and Calvin.
 This is the untenable Amillennial position.
To deny the validity, the proper application and the significance of the principle of the Prophetic Parenthesis, is to remain forever ignorant of the truth concerning the future and the pending fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.

Prophecy

Prophecy
It has been estimated by various Bible scholars that somewhere between 25% – 33% of the entire Bible is prophetic; a few estimate an even higher percentage. 
The main reason that there are differing opinions is that different guidelines for identifying what is a prophecy and different approaches for counting them are employed. 
For one thing, many of the prophecies are repeated more than once and by more than one author (the Greater Son of David motif for example); some people count the individual prophetic theme or event only once, while others include every mention separately.

Also, some prophecies are recorded as types and foreshadows contained within historical incidences (the life of Joseph, the offering of Isaac, the marriage of Isaac and Rebecca, the Bronze Serpent, etc.); while still others are prefigured in rituals (the Passover Lamb, the Scapegoat, etc.).
Prophecy is found in the Law, the Prophets and the in the Psalms (at least 16 of the Psalms are Messianic and still others are prophetic in other ways); again; there are differences of opinion as to what should be counted as prophetic and how.

The “Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy” states that there are 1,817 prophecies in the Bible comprising 8,352 verses out of 31,124 for a total of 26.8%.
One thing is for sure; the Bible contains prophecy; it is filled with claims to be able to predict the future (Is.46:10; etc.) and it makes hundreds of bold predictions.

Secondly; it can be demonstrated that many (if not most) of the predicted events have already come to pass with incredible accuracy (Ezek.26:3-14, 19; etc).
In fact, the Bible sets the required standard of accuracy at 100% for itself (and for others) concerning the fulfillment of prophecy; far above the realm of probability or the capacity of human reason.

No other so called prophet or prophetic source comes close to achieving that level of accuracy; the Bible does.
The Old Testament contains over 1,000 prophecies (some say 1,239). As stated before, a great number of them have already been fulfilled; many concerning ancient Israel and the gentile nations.

The remaining ones, yet to be fulfilled, concern the end of the age and the second coming of Christ. They will be literally fulfilled just as accurately in their time.
Over 300 of the O.T. prophecies were fulfilled at the 1st coming of Jesus Christ; 29 in just one day (Good Friday). This statement is not a matter of opinion; it is documented history.
Contrary to popular anti-christian myth, many of the events and details concerning the life and times of Jesus Christ are recorded by others outside of the Bible.
At least nine secular historical sources can be cited that verify the Biblical outline of the life of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Bible.
They agree with the essential facts concerning His life, His travels, His teachings, His disciple’s beliefs concerning Him, and His crucifixion.

Many of these extra Biblical historians (while they may not accept prophecy or recognize Christ for who He Is), record details of Jesus’ life that were prophesied hundreds of years before His birth (where He lived, His popularity, His death on Passover, etc.).

No other book is like the Bible. Inerrant prophecy is exclusive to the Bible.
The New Testament contains over 500 prophecies (an estimated 578).
As with the O.T. many of the N.T. prophecies have already been fulfilled; more than 50 of which concerning the 1st coming of Christ and the events surrounding His life and death were fulfilled literally during His lifetime (not allegorically or spiritually or in some secret coded kind of way that requires special definitions or re-definitions for common terms; Jesus is Jesus, Israel is Israel, Jews are Jews, the Church is the Church, is is is).

The remaining prophecies, like those yet to come to pass in the O.T., concern the end times and the 2nd coming of Christ; these too will be fulfilled in like manner, literally as predicted.
We will look at these over the next few weeks as we take an overview of prophecy.

The LORD’S Passover - Good Friday

The LORD’S Passover

Good Friday

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                It has been rightly said “The Bible is a book with the answers at the back,” Zola Levitt.

All of the stories, events and rituals that are recorded for us in the Old Testament are there for our instruction, and are explained in the principles and applications found in the New Testament. Also, the “Pictures”, “ Shadows” and “Types” that are portrayed in the Old are fulfilled in the New. 

                Jesus Christ explains and applies the principles and truths that are enfolded in the Law and the Prophets, and He is the fulfillment of many of the foreshadowed Pictures and Types that are represented throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Type and Antitype (fulfillment) that we are considering today, concerning Good Friday, is

“The Passover Lamb.”

John 1:29

John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

1 Cor 5:7

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

1 Peter 1:18-19

knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Heb 10:1-10

 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,

But a body You have prepared for Me.

6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin

You had no pleasure. 

7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come--

In the volume of the book it is written of Me--

To do Your will, O God.' " 

8 Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

1 Cor 10:1-6

                 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.

 1 Cor 10:11

                 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

The Passover

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                The story of the first Passover is recorded for us in Exodus chapters eleven and twelve. It has long been understood that the story of Israel’s bondage in Egypt is a picture of mankind’s enslavement to sin in the world. The symbolism is as follows. Egypt is a type of the world. Pharaoh is a type of Satan.  Israel is a type of mankind. The slavery of Israel under the bondage of Pharaoh is a type of man’s slavery to sin (leaven is a type of sin). The blood of the Passover lamb is a foreshadow of the blood of Jesus Christ. The Exodus from Egypt is a picture of the deliverance from the bondage of sin that is only possible through the “covering “ of the sinner with the blood of Christ.

Ex 11:1

And the LORD said to Moses, "I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether.

Ex 11:4-5

 Then Moses said, "Thus says the LORD: 'About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt;

5 and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals.

Ex 11:7

 But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the LORD does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.'

Ex 12:1-4

Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 "This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: 'On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.

Ex 12:5-8

                 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

Ex 12:11-20

 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat--that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.' "

                Note the specificity with which the LORD instructed Moses regarding the meal and the activities surrounding it. In order to insure that all subsequent generations of Jews in all lands where they have been scattered would be able to follow the order of service correctly, a book of directions was produced in Hebrew. The book is known as The Haggadah. It has  remained virtually unchanged throughout the ages.

               

Ex 12:21-28

 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' 27 "that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.' " So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

                The feast of Passover has been celebrated and kept now for over thirty five hundred years by the people of Israel. The term “Passover” is used in several ways in the scripture and is still today. First of all it refers to the historical event that took place on that momentous night in Egypt those thousands of years ago. As we have read it also refers to the one-day festival, instituted by God, to be held every year by the children of Israel, on the 15^th of Nisan. Next it can mean the entire eight-day festival which includes Passover (Lev.23: 4-5), Unleavened Bread (Lev.23: 6-8) and the Feast of First Fruits (Lev. 23:9-14). These three memorial celebrations all speak clearly of the work of Christ in providing redemption to mankind. The Passover speaks of His sacrificial vicarious death. The Unleavened Bread speaks of His sinlessness. The feast of First Fruits speaks of His resurrection (He is the firstfruits from the dead, 1Cor. 15:20).

He was crucified on Passover, He was buried on Unleavened Bread and He rose on the day of First Fruits!

Next, the term Passover can be used to mean just the ceremonial meal that is eaten in commemoration of that night long ago, which meal has come to be known as “The Seder” which literally translated means “order of service.” This is the meal that our Lord ate with His disciples as recorded in Jn. 13 + 14. It is from this ceremonial meal, the Seder, that the Lord took the emblems of “The Lord’s Supper.”

Lastly, the word Passover can be used to refer to the lamb that was the centerpiece of the feast, whose blood was used to protect the people. This meaning was finally fulfilled as is specifically stated in 1 Cor.5: 7 to mean the true “Sacrificial Lamb”, “The Lamb of God”, Jesus Christ.

One last comment about Passover is in order. Our Lord Jesus Christ indicated in Mt.26: 29 that there would be a time when He will once again partake of “this” festival cup in His Fathers kingdom  (the use of the pronoun this indicates He was not just speaking of wine in general). (By the way, just a mention in passing, obviously Jesus is not an Amillennialist; He believes that the Kingdom of God will be literal and is future).

Matt 26:29

              “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.”

 Luke 22:14-21

              When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." 17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

 

1 Cor 11:25-26

           “This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.