NT Framework - Duality

If there was a trinity of prophecy, we surely would be even more confused than trying to understand the more simple duality of prophecy; meaning there is a near and future fulfillment and what appears to be a single prophecy can have a split fulfillment. 

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

Transcript

Setting The Framework

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.

Zechariah’s King And Two Comings

SPEAKER_01 0:27

I'll give you a moment. Zechariah is not one we turn to all the time, right? More like John or something like that.

The Prophetic Gap Explained

Isaiah 61 As Messianic Map

SPEAKER_02 0:34

So Zechariah is standing up in heaven right now, excited his book's going to be read. Zechariah 9 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. And everybody here is thinking of the triumphal entry, right? Luke 19. Okay, good, good. This is what you should be thinking, because uh in Luke 19, this is fulfilled at the triumphal entry, right? And verse 10, is it just a continuation? Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey, I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be cut off, and he will speak peace to the nations, and his dominion will be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. Is that the situation today? I think not. So do you see there in verse 9, this is a depiction of what we would call the first coming of the Messiah. But verse 10 is a picture of what we would call the second coming of the Messiah. And you can see why the prophets were confused, because if we're just reading this from their perspective, does anybody see 2,000 years between verses 9 and 10? Or does it look like it all just happens at the same time? See, so they were confused because verse 9, verse 10 are describing very different situations. And they didn't know how all this worked together. Now, in in um in theology, what we call this is the law of double reference. In other words, we ask, in hindsight, we can look back at this, right? And we say, hey, there's not just one prophecy here, there's two prophecies and an undisclosed gap of time between these prophecies. And the first prophecy has been fulfilled. Verse 9. The second prophecy has not been fulfilled. The law of double reference, double reference or double, two references are being made. One to the what we know now is first, now the other as second. Okay, so that's one example. Let's look at another one, Isaiah 61. Turn back. And um, if you if you have time, if you're quick enough, also just grab Luke 4.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

So Isaiah 61 and Luke 4. Isaiah 61 and Luke 4. I think it's Luke 4. Yeah. Luke 4.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

Just hold your place in Luke 4. Let's look at Isaiah 61 first. 611. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. By the way, how many people are mentioned there?

SPEAKER_01 3:52

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. The Spirit, the Lord God and me. How many?

Jesus Reads Isaiah In Nazareth

Why The Vengeance Line Stops

Rejection And Kingdom Postponement

SPEAKER_02 4:06

Three. This is one of the precursors or early pictures of Trinity in the Old Testament, because the Spirit is obviously the third member of the Trinity. The Lord God, this is Yahweh Elohim, this is the first person of the Trinity. And who is the Spirit of the Spirit upon? Me. That's the second person of the Trinity, the Messiah. This is a messianic passage. So the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord God has anointed me, obviously with the Spirit. And this is why when he's in his ministry and you see him doing miracles by the Spirit, and they say, No, you did them by uh Beelzebub, the Lord of the Lord of the demons, you know, that that's the unpardonable sin. I mean, the Old Testament predicted that the Messiah would be anointed by the Spirit to accomplish such things. 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, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 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 planning of the Lord that he may be glorified. Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations, they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations, and so forth. Now, um, some of this has already been fulfilled, and yet some of it has not. Okay? Everything in verse 1, the Lord having anointed the Son with the Spirit, bringing good news to the afflicted, this all happened in the gospels, binding up the heart of the brokenhearted, proclaiming liberty to captives, freeing the prisoners, and proclaiming favorably the year of the Lord. Didn't the Lord Jesus Christ do all those things at his first coming? But how about proclaiming the day of vengeance of our God when he comes to set up his kingdom and restore Israel and rebuild their cities and re-establish them as chief among all the nations? Did that happen? So here's another prophecy where you have double reference. But I mean, as far as the context, if you're an Old Testament prophet and you're reading this, you're thinking, well, this all happens at the same time. But look at Luke 4, because this is where Jesus quotes this passage. He came to his hometown, verse 16, Luke 4, 16, to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and he stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. And he opened the book and he found the place where it was written. Now it's a little bit more difficult to find the place because they didn't have chapters and verses yet. That came later in church history to help us navigate the Bible. So he had to go through a scroll, not a not a bound book like ours, a scroll had to be rolled out, and he had to go and find the place. I think we might know the Bible actually better if we did this, you know. Because you're spending a lot of time just trying to find what you're looking for, which means you're reading other things. But this all helps you find it. Now here's what he found, which we call Isaiah 61:1. And there he quotes it 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, and then to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, he gave it back to the attendant, he sat down, and the eyes of all the synagogue were fixed on him, and he began to say to them, Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. So Isaiah 61, 1 through 2A was fulfilled at his first coming. But was 612B and following fulfilled? Or did Jesus stop and close the book at that point? The point where it says, and to proclaim the day of the vengeance of our God, he did not read. And the reason is because it was not fulfilled at this time. Why was it the question becomes, why was it not fulfilled at this time? And the answer is back, well, it's right here. It's one of the results of the rejection. The nation is rejected. And because of that, the kingdom's arrival in history has been postponed until they accept him.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.