Keys to Understanding Prophecy

If you go on the Internet and do a search about prophecy, you will find that almost every nation on earth has some prophecies, or every religion has had a prophet or prophets, and that they have prophecies. I did exactly as I mentioned here, and found out that the Hindus have a number of prophecies. Obviously, Islam does. Christianity does. In fact, there are hundreds and thousands of different groups that have prophecy. They all differ from one another. Even the American Indians had prophecies. I found one interesting prophecy concerning the Mohawk nation.

In fact, there were several listed there, but I quoted one of them here. Let me quote this prophecy to you. It says, According to the prophecies of the seventh generation, seven generations after contact with Europeans, and I'm not going to say I will pronounce this name correctly, but something like, Oekwie, Hoewie, would see the day when the elm tree would die. The prophecy said the strange animals would be born deformed without proper limbs. Huge stone monsters would tear open the face of the earth.

The rivers would burn. The air would burn the eyes of man. According to the prophecy of the seventh generation, the Oekwie, Hoewie, would see the time when birds would fall from the sky.

The fish would die in the water, and man would grow ashamed of the way he had treated his mother and provider the earth. When you begin to investigate some of these prophecies, like this Mohawk prophecy, it's interesting that many of them contain what we would consider certain elements of truth. I mean, are the rivers burning today? I mean, when have we ever seen a time where you light a match instead of a river on fire? But that's exactly what happened in Ohio.

You know, those type of things are taking place today. Rather than when you look at prophecy, you find that there are all kinds of ideas, all kinds of thoughts about prophecy, about what the future holds. And, you know, this is exactly why people study prophecy. They want to know the future. You know, prophetically, if something's going to happen, they want to be prepared for it. And many years ago, many of us, when we first came into the church, we were drawn by prophecy.

We became interested because we likewise wanted to know what the future holds out for us. What are the keys to understanding prophecy? To understand it properly so that you can be able to have a proper, correct, right understanding of it. Again, there are many interpretations of prophecies.

I would say there are probably as many interpretations as there are people sitting here today in this little group when it comes to certain prophecies of the Bible from the Scriptures. Well, what I want to do today is to give you some keys, maybe in a way that you've not thought of before, because they certainly are the foundation of why we are able to understand prophecy and why you can say that we have an understanding that so many lack.

And it's not because of our superior intellect, not because we're greater than anyone else, it's because of God's plan, God's purpose. The first reason why our key to prophecy is God's Sabbath day, the weekly Sabbath. Now, you think, what does that have to do with prophecy? Well, the Sabbath is the test commandment, as we all know. And we realize that if you keep the Sabbath, the world will test you on it, won't they? Many of you here have had to go through a test concerning your job, whether you would put God first, follow Him, or compromise and work on the Sabbath.

The world doesn't want you gumming up its economic system. It wants everybody to go along with it, everybody to do exactly as they say. But let's go back to Psalm 111, Psalm 111, and verse 10. Psalm 111, and we'll begin to read here in verse 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So if you want true wisdom, godly wisdom, you've got the fear of God. And a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. So a good understanding is predicated, found in, on keeping God's commandments. Now that includes understanding prophecy. If you want to understand prophecy, you have to keep God's commandments.

Sooner or later, if somebody is disobedient to God and stops keeping His commandments, they stop obeying and they will begin to lose their understanding. Now Revelation chapter 22 and verse 14 also reveals something about the commandments. Revelation chapter 22 and verse 14 says, Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Outsider dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral murderers and idolaters, whoever loves and practices a lie. So we're told that we are blessed and a blessing comes if we do or we keep His commandments. Understanding comes if we keep His commandments. Now in the book of Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 17, Ephesians 4, beginning to read here in verse 17, we find that those who are unconverted, who have yet to have their minds enlightened, lie in darkness.

Their understanding is darkened in confusion. Verse 17 says, This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind. Having their understanding darkened. To notice about their understanding, their comprehension, their ability, let's apply it to prophecy to understand it, is darkened. Being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. Their hearts are blinded and they're ignorant. Who being past feeling have given themselves over to lewdness and the work of uncleanness with greediness, but you have not so learned Christ.

If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus, that you are to put off concerning the former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.

So you and I, when God calls us, opens our mind, there is a transformation in the way that we think, in the way that we go, the way that we live, and the way that we think presently.

You find that the world begins to think that we are crazy or we're out of step, because they are lockstep and going in a certain direction, and we're moving in a different direction. So the carnal mind's approach to prophecy is an approach that will not understand prophecy, not to the degree that God is able to reveal it to us. Now Hebrews chapter 4, and I'll just reference that, Hebrews 4 explains that the Sabbath is a type of entering into God's rest. It's a type of entering the rest of God. The world will be able in the future to rest from sin, be able to rest from going the wrong way. It's a type of the millennium. Now in Revelation chapter 20, Revelation 20, we read here in verse 4, that there's going to come a time when there will be a judgment set. Those who have been martyrs for God will be resurrected and they'll live and reign with Christ a thousand years. A thousand years, that's what the word millennium means. It refers to a thousand year period. So there is coming a type or time when there will be a rest to the people of God on this earth, when all mankind will enter into a thousand years of being under the government of God, the rulership of God. Now why do I mention that the Sabbath is the key to understanding prophecy? Because the seven-day week is a type of the seven thousand year plan. One types the other. According to Jewish tradition, many of you may not realize, Elijah was attributed with saying that there would be seven thousand years of man's being on the earth.

The Sabbath is a principle to see how long God will deal with mankind.

Is mankind going to go on for hundreds of thousands of years, millenniums, you know, millions of years into the future? Or is there a period of time that God will deal with the human race? And the week being the type of the seven thousand year plan of God shows that God will deal with man over a period of seven thousand years. That man will be deceived by the devil for six thousand of those years. Man will do his own work, his own labor, go his own way, and then there will come the time, the Sabbath, that's the type of the millennium, when God will set his hand to save mankind, and God will give man that opportunity.

So the Sabbath day is a day of rest. It is a day of enjoying spiritual things, and that's a type of exactly what the millennium is going to be like. The millennium, Hebrews 4 again, is a type of the rest to the people of God.

And if you remember, in Hebrews 4 it talks about the rest that God gave to Israel, that they came from Egypt to the Promised Land, and God gave them rest. And that rest was a type of the millennial rest. The weekly Sabbath is a type of the rest of God.

So in the millennium, people will be able to enjoy spiritual things, the spiritual truth of God. The world will be filled with the knowledge of God like the waters cover the seas.

And so there's going to come a time of spiritual teaching that will saturate the earth, just as this day should be a day that we stop from our labors, we stop from all the work we do, we take time to be together with our families, to fellowship with one another, to study the Word of God, come in here at expounded, fellowship, and just enjoy the Sabbath day.

And then it gives us the boost to continue on.

What happens to the Sabbath keepers, though, in today's society? Sabbath keepers in Satan's world will be persecuted, the Bible shows. The Church is persecuted right before the time of the end, right before it goes to a place of safety. And you'll find that those who strive to obey God, keep His commandments in this world, have no peace under Satan's rule. Satan hates you.

I get used to it. There's a being out there who hates you, who despises everything that we stand for. Why? Because we stand for God, for His way of life, His plan, His purpose. And so therefore, the Millennium, the rule of Christ, is going to be a time when that devil is locked up, and he's no longer free to deceive mankind. So, brethren, the understanding of the Sabbath, and I will say the proper understanding of the Sabbath, because there are those who keep the Sabbath day, who believe that what we call the Millennium, that the earth will be desolate for a thousand years. They say the earth will be desolate, and human beings will not be alive during that period of time. And yet, the Bible indicates the exact opposite. So, our understanding of the Sabbath, and the fact that it does type the seven thousand year plan of God, helps to form the basis to understand that God is not going to go on forever, hundreds of thousands of years dealing with mankind. There is a limit. God is creating a family, but He's going to do it within certain parameters, and He's allowed man to go his own way for six thousand years. So, when we look around us, and we see the nations fighting with one another, we see the problems and difficulties about us. We shouldn't be surprised that there will come a time, though, that God will say, enough's enough. He's going to put an end to it, and set up His government on this earth, and finally extend salvation to all mankind. So, that understanding alone helps us to understand prophecy. Now, a second key to understanding prophecy is our understanding of the annual Holy Days of God, the Holy Days. The Holy Days begin to break prophecy down into greater detail.

The Holy Days break prophecy down into a sequence. It breaks prophecy down to where it goes step by step in a given direction to show us from the very beginning how God is going to offer salvation to mankind to its ultimate fulfillment way over here. And so, how is God going to do that?

Back in Isaiah 52, the book of Isaiah, chapter 52, beginning in verse 13, we read a prophecy about the Messiah, Isaiah 52, 13. It says, Behold, my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

And then verse 15, it says, So shall he sprinkle, or sparkle, many nations, and kings shall shut their mouths at him. For what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.

So here's a prophecy that talks about the Messiah coming to the earth.

Verse 14 talks about his visage being marked, the beating, the suffering that he went through.

This is a prelude that leads right into chapter 53, where it talks about the Messiah. In verse 1, Who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. He has no form nor comeliness, and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He's despised and rejected, and we read all of this here recently, describing what Christ went through as our Savior. And it's obviously talking about the Messiah. You'll notice here that verse 6, it says, We, like sheep, have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. So you'll find that our iniquities, our sins, are laid upon this individual here. And then it goes on, verse 8, the last part of verse 8, for the transgression of my people, he was stricken. So why was he stricken, beaten? Why did he go through all of this? It says, For the sins of my people. Verse 10 talks about, you will make his soul an offering for sin.

Verse 11, he's going to justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities.

And the last part of verse 12 talks about how he bore the sins of many.

So we find here that the Messiah would die for the sins of mankind.

Now, when you go to the New Testament, the Apostle John in John 1.29 said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world. When the Israelites killed the Passover Lamb, took its blood, marked it on the doorposts, the death angel passed over their house, they were protected. They came under the blood of the Lamb.

And so you find that the slain Lamb was a type of the Messiah.

It also pictured the deliverance of a nation, a whole nation of people being delivered, protected by God at that time.

The Jews should have expected to see in prophecy this being fulfilled.

They should have been able to read this. When they read Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 52, why was their mind darkened? Because it clearly talks about a child. His child would grow up. He would mature. And it describes the suffering that he would go through.

You see, they always looked at the prophecies concerning his second coming, that he would come back with power as King of Kings, Lord of Lords. He would establish them as the dominant nation. And so therefore, they overlooked this prophecy.

And yet Daniel 9 gives a very clear signal when the Messiah would appear.

I won't go through Daniel 9, but we're familiar with Daniel the 9th chapter that gives an indication when the Messiah would begin his ministry, when that ministry would end, and that he would have a three and a half year ministry to the peoples of Israel, and then he would die. However, in Daniel 11, we will go there, Daniel the 11th chapter.

Daniel the 11th is one of the longest prophecies in the Bible, one of the most detailed prophecies in the Bible. And if you've never read through this, you need to get our booklet dealing with this section of the Bible, because it gives a verse-by-verse account of what the Scripture is talking about. In Daniel 11, beginning in verse 33, we find a duality here of prophecy.

Now let's notice it. For those of the people who understand shall instruct many, yet for many days they shall fall by the sword, by flame, in captivity, and by plundering.

Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help, but many shall join with them by intrigue. And some of those of understanding shall fall to refine them and purify them and make them white until the time of the end, because it is still for the appointed time. You find here that the people of God, who are obedient, commandment-keepers, who have understanding, who understand God's way, His principles, would be persecuted, would be driven into captivity. Now as I said, this is a dual prophecy, because in one sense it was fulfilled back during the time of the Maccabean's, when the Maccabean clan stood up against Antiochus Epithanes, and they fought and they freed the Holy Land at that time.

But you find that many of them were killed. Many of those who tried to obey God were persecuted. And this prophecy, though, goes right down to the very end time, when obviously it's talking about the Church of God, the people of God, who will likewise be persecuted. There is coming a time, a tribulation in the future. So we find that the Passover, what we refer to as the days of Unleavened Bread, also, that that's a period of time that pictures those who have understanding and that we accept the fact, we understand about the Messiah, we understand that the plan of salvation could not begin until Christ came, was willing to offer His life for the sins of mankind.

And so He did. And that those who are true believers of God would follow Him, but they would be persecuted down through the ages, down through a period of time.

And so when you began to keep the Holy Days, they began to tell you in sequence how these prophecies are going to be fulfilled. You can go back in the Old Testament, you read many prophecies, and you wonder, where does this fit in sequence? And with the Holy Days, you began to get a broad sequence of events that began to transpire one after another. Because when you look at it, Pentecost pictures the early harvest taking place. Jesus Christ and many of the parables that He gave talk about the harvest. And He talked about the harvest being a symbol of the character that you and I developed. You and I need to get rid of what doesn't produce fruit. God has called us to produce fruit, some 30-fold, some 60-fold, 100-fold. We're to grow in grace and in knowledge, and we're to get rid of what doesn't produce fruit. So we find that this period of the New Testament Church of our growth, our development, our calling is what Pentecost pictures. And so it pictures that there would be a time after the Messiah came on the scene, died for the sins of mankind, that there would be a group of people who would be called, who would form what we call the church, the called-out ones who would obey God, serve Him, and give in words point to that period of time. In the end time, we have the Feast of Trumpets, as we know. When you go through the Holy Day sequence, this pictures the time of the blowing of trumpets. If you go back to the Book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 6, we find the trumpet plagues being poured out, or the the four horsemen here in Revelation chapter 6.

And then, well, you find the seals mentioned here. And then it talks about with the seventh seal, the day of God's wrath comes, and you find that seventh seal is comprised of seven trumpets that are to sound. And in chapter 8 and 9, those trumpets are sound, but in chapter 11 of the Book of Revelation, the seventh trumpet sounds. And it says, when the seventh angel sounded, there were loud voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. So we find when the seventh trumpet sounds, Jesus Christ returns the earth. And it's at that time that the nations are angry.

The nations of the earth will actually fight against Jesus Christ. The dead are judged and are given their rewards. As verse 18 says, the nations were angry and your wrath has come. The time of the dead that they should be judged, and you should reward your servants, the prophets, and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great. And you should destroy those who destroy the earth. And so you find that here's the time of the resurrection.

Here's a time of a people who have been trained who are going to assist Jesus Christ. So again, you find this harvest period, what we call the firstfruits, that in at the seventh trumpet, the resurrection takes place. And we will be born into the very family of God.

But something else takes place about that time. Revelation chapter 20.

You find that Satan the devil is put away. Verses 1 through 3. Satan and the demons are locked up so that they would deceive the nations no more. It says, for a thousand years. So during what we would call the millennium, they're locked up. They're not free to go out and deceive the nations. Lead them astray. On the day of atonement, you go back to Leviticus 16, you find that there were two goats chosen. One was slain, which is a type of Christ. The other was not. The other was sent away. And one that was sent away is the type of the devil. And that the fact that he is having led man into sin, that he will have his sins placed back on his head for so doing.

And so we find the day of atonement, picturing the time that when Christ comes back, one of the first things he will do will lock the devil up, keep him chained for a thousand years.

Because if he's free to continue to deceive mankind, then you discover that it would be very difficult to have the millennium. Now right after the day of atonement, a few days later, comes the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated the time of the great harvest, the fall harvest. There was a spring harvest, a small harvest of first fruits.

Here we have the fall harvest, so the final harvest. And this is obviously patterned on and after what we would call the Northern Hemisphere. It's completely different in the Southern Hemisphere. You go keep the Feast of Tabernacles in Australia and some of those areas. It's spring!

It's completely different. So it's, you know, talking about the events that would surround the Northern Hemisphere and around Jerusalem. You find that there are hundreds of verses in the Bible that begin to make sense. And they begin to be, aha, I understand where that's going to be. Because you begin to read about prophecies, about God extending salvation to all nations. You ask yourself, when will that be? Well, it's after the devil is locked up. It's during this thousand-year period. Christ is on the earth. And so you begin to see that there are certain scriptures that fall into certain sequence. And understanding the Holy Days and how they fall helped you to understand. You see, the Feast of Trumpets doesn't come before the Passover. Passover comes first. And so there's a sequence to all of this. And then comes the last great day, in Revelation chapter 20, pictures that. As verse 4 and 5, 6 here says, The rest of the dead don't live until after the thousand years are finished.

Who are the rest of the dead? Well, you find, and this is then where certain scriptures in the New Testament begin to take on meaning. You find that mankind is blind. Mankind is deceived. Man has a veil pulled over his eyes. Christ said he spoke in parables so that hearing, they wouldn't understand, seeing, they would not see. Now why? Well, because God was not offering them at that time salvation.

But that he would offer it to them in the future. And so now you begin to understand these scriptures, that they're not lost forever. They've never had their chance or their opportunity. And that God will provide a time when they will be resurrected and given an opportunity. It's at the end of the thousand years. So the Holy Days give a sequence of events when they will happen. From this understanding, we begin to see which scriptures refer to the millennium, which scriptures are before the millennium, and which scriptures are after the millennium. And it gives you a sequence, and you can begin to peg these things. Again, many can read the prophetic books of the Bible and have no idea when these events take place. So the Holy Days help us to understand. So two of the keys to understanding prophecy is the Sabbath day and the Holy Days.

Thirdly, is the true gospel or the good news of the coming kingdom of God. In Mark chapter 1, Jesus Christ came into Galilee. We read here Mark 1 verse 1.

And we read verse 1, in the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the word gospel meaning good news, the good news that He brought. Now, what was the good news all about?

Now, after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel or the good news of the kingdom of God. Say, the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent and believe in the gospel. So we're told to repent and believe it.

So Christ said, repent and then believe the gospel.

You and I, brethren, can't understand and fully comprehend the gospel unless we repent and obey.

We have to repent and change. The first two points I covered with you, the Sabbath and the Holy Days, guess what? Focus on obedience, don't they? Mr. Armstrong, when he first kept the Holy Days, had no idea why he kept them. He just knew they were commanded. He kept them for seven years or so without fully understanding why. And then God revealed it to him. You and I have had the opportunity when you first come to church. You read a booklet, hear sermons on them to explain the meaning of the Holy Days, and we began to comprehend them. But you will not fully understand unless you are obeying. So the first two points focus on obedience. The third one here, the true gospel, is believing. Christ said, repent and believe. Believe what? Well, believe what he says is going to happen will happen. It will take place. There is going to be a kingdom of God come to this earth, set up on this earth, and rule over the earth. Back in Isaiah chapter 9, when you understand this, if you want to understand a number of Old Testament prophecies, I would say read the Gospels. Study the Gospels. What did Christ say? Because in many cases he referred to prophecies in the Old Testament. Stop there, go back to the Old Testament, read the prophecy. Christ gives the explanation and you can begin to understand it. Actually, there are, well, I've got a program that shows every prophecy in the New Testament and where it's mentioned in the Old Testament. And it reverses it. It shows every prophecy in the Old Testament where it's mentioned in the New Testament. So if you wanted to study, to read a prophecy in the book of Hosea, it may be mentioned in five or six places in the New Testament.

You want to understand how it was understood in the New Testament where Christ and the Apostles go back and read what they said about it. And you begin to have a much deeper understanding of prophecy. So our ability to understand the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, what Christ said about it, will certainly heighten our understanding of Old Testament prophecies. Isaiah the ninth chapter is one example of what we're talking about here.

Look for areas in the Old Testament where the Gospel is announced, where it's talked about. Here is one, because verses one through five talk about the state of affairs that you would find when the Messiah would come to the earth. We're talking about His first coming.

Verse one, Nevertheless, the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterwards more heavily oppressed her by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan and Galilee, and the Gentiles, the people who walked in darkness, have seen a great light. What's that talking about? Talking about Jesus Christ, that they saw Him, those who dwelt in the land in the shadow of death upon them, a light had shined. Christ said He was the light of the world.

But all you have to do is go back to the Gospels, and you'll find this is quoted, and it refers to Jesus Christ. I won't read all of this, but let's go on to verses six and seven.

Because verses six and seven show how this will be performed. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end. So once the government of God is set up on the earth, there will be no end. There will be peace. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from this time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform it. So we find that the Messiah was described as a child that would grow up, and he would have the government of God placed upon his shoulders.

But first of all, he had to die before that took place. So when it comes to the Messiah, one thing we find out from these verses is that not all prophecies concerning the Messiah in his message are fulfilled at his first coming. Some prophecies about the Messiah talk about his first coming. Some talk about his second coming. And you can clearly delineate those. Those that talk about him coming as a human being, being beaten, scourged, dying for mankind, preaching, all of those refer to his first coming. Those that talk about his coming back and ruling, taking over the governments of this world refer to his second coming. Now let's go over to Luke chapter 1, verse 31, because when you understand certain prophecies, then you can understand other things. Luke 1, verse 31.

It says, Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son.

You shall call his name Jesus, and he will be great. You will be called the Son of the highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Same thing that we read back in Isaiah, that he would sit on the throne of David over the house of Jacob forever, and he would rule, and there would be no end to his kingdom. So this corresponds to what Isaiah wrote.

So you can read this. You can go back to Isaiah 9, and you can see, aha! It's talking about the same thing. So you can begin to put prophecies together. Now where will the kingdom be set up? What are we going to rule over? Who will rule? Well, in chapter 2 of the book of Revelation, you begin to find out a little more information. Revelation 2.26 says, He who overcomes and keeps my works unto the end, to him I will give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And so you find that Christ is going to come back and rule over the nations on this earth. And that's what Isaiah 9, what Luke 1 talk about. You drop over here to chapter 5 and verse 8, and you find the prophecy, talking about the same thing, where the servants of God, the faithful ones of God, are going to rule. Beginning in verse 8, it says, When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures of twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. So the incense, the Bible interprets, equals prayers of the saints. They sang a new song saying, You are worthy to take the scroll.

Now here you find the words that are being spoken here are the thoughts of the people on earth, what they're praying. And you also find here that no one was worthy to open this scroll, except Jesus Christ. They sang a new song saying, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and you have redeemed us to God by your blood. That's talking about us. Jesus Christ did not come to the earth to redeem the angels, but to redeem human beings. And so you have redeemed us to God by your blood.

So notice, no one knows the secrets of this book, except God. God reveals them to Christ, and guess what? Christ then reveals them to us. So again, there's a sequence of events here.

So Christ understands them, and He reveals them to us.

And it says here, you've redeemed us to our God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. So you find that during the New Testament period of time, that people would be converted of all nations, not just Israel, not just Jews, but all nations, and have made us kings and priests to our God. And we shall reign on the earth. So you find we'll reign on the earth, reign over the nations, and once that government is set up, there will be no end to it, and it will continue to reign forever. So in the New Testament, Christ told His disciples, if you remember, go to all the world and preach the gospel. So the gospel was to go to all nations, not just to Israel or to the Jews. Many prophecies of the Bible make this clear that God was going to call the Gentiles. The book of Hosea is a classic along that line to show that they would be called.

So brethren, what we find then that the gospel or the good news, what Christ taught, is a key component to understanding prophecy. And just simply taking what Christ says, the prophecies as they're mentioned in the New Testament, you go back to the Old Testament, you can begin to interpret, understand a lot of prophecy. Another key to prophecy is simply salvation is creation. The understanding that salvation is creation.

So far, we understand that we have to be commandment keepers. So we've got to do what God says.

This understanding comes from the general and specific understanding of the Sabbath, the Holy Days, the message of that government about the coming kingdom of God. It being set up, salvation deals with the forgiveness of our past sins and being saved from eternal death.

We are saved. Well, we're saved from what? Well, we're saved from death, but we're also today delivered. Salvation is a twofold thing. In this life, we are delivered from Satan. It's like somebody drowning in the water and you come along and save them, pull them into the canoe.

They're saved. Our ultimate salvation comes in the resurrection when we're born again.

Now, let's notice back in Psalm 67, verse 2. Psalm 67, verse 2, about salvation.

It says that your way may be known on earth. So the way of God, Christ said, I am the way.

The book of Acts, this calling is called that way or this way. So your way will be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. So we find that all nations will eventually have that opportunity.

So eventually salvation will be made available to all nations.

When was salvation first offered to mankind? Well, it was offered to Adam. Adam and Eve.

They rejected the offer. God then called individuals. It wasn't just for the children of Abraham. You know, if Adam and Eve had made the right choice, mankind would not be in the predicament they're in today, but they didn't make the right choice. Even the early New Testament church started out among the Jews. But salvation is much broader, as we know, and it's to go to all nations. Salvation has a duality. First is physical salvation. Secondarily is spiritual salvation. Salvation helps us to understand the penalty for disobedience, for breaking God's law, which is death, and also the blessings that come from obeying God. Salvation is a picture of God's activity among the human race. What is God doing on earth? What is God doing with you and with me?

He's creating something in us. He is creating His holy, righteous character.

He is creating within us His very mind and attitude and approach and everything that we do.

So salvation is a picture of how God is accomplishing this.

And He makes known to us His way of life that transforms our character. Salvation is not yet finished. God works with us. We die. We go to the grave. And in the resurrection, guess what? We are made immortal. We're given eternal life. So prophecy tells us how God is doing this, when He will do it, to whom He will do it. It tells us also why God is not trying to convert all the nations. People scratch their heads and they wonder, well, they try to go out there and desperately send missionaries all over the world to try to convert everybody. And yet, many people have come and gone. Whole civilizations have come and gone. Never understood the truth of God. And yet, God will give all nations an opportunity.

If you can be saved without ever hearing the true gospel, why preach the gospel to the world?

You see, there is a necessity of taking that gospel to the world. In Matthew 8, Christ and His teaching to His disciples, if they had caught on to what He was saying, explained to them, Matthew 8, beginning in verse 10 here, that there's going to be this salvation extended to all nations. And so, in verse 10, when Jesus heard it, He marveled and He said to those who followed, assuredly I say to you, I've not found such great faith, not even in Israel, talking about the centurion and the healing of His servant. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west and will sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom, the Jews, will be cast into outer darkness and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

There will be immortal Gentiles, immortal Israelites in the kingdom of God, and then there will be those who will be cast out and die the second death. So, brethren, there is going to be a time of creation. God is doing His spiritual creation in a two-step process. First step is in this life where He's developing His character in us.

He gives us His Spirit and through that Spirit we are being transformed, renewed. We develop and take on His very nature. And then in the resurrection, that will be completed by giving us a spiritual body. And so, you find we will be resurrected. In Daniel 12, it talks about a resurrection taking place. The Holy Days help us to understand the timing of this resurrection.

God is creating a family, and that family, His sons and daughters, will rule with Him forever.

So, one of the clear understandings of how we understand prophecy is to realize that it is a creation. That salvation is a creation. Another key to understanding prophecy is the truth about Israel. Who is Israel? When you read all these prophecies in the Old Testament, it talks about Israel going into captivity. And you read prophecies about Judah, and then you also read prophecies about the house of Israel, the house of Judah. It's very easy to get confused. You might remember the house of Israel went into captivity some 130 years before the house of Judah They'd already gone into captivity, and yet there are prophecies written in the book of Ezekiel and other areas prophetically that talk about long after Israel had gone into captivity that there will be a future captivity of Israel. And yet they're already in captivity. Those prophecies don't seem to make sense unless there is a future captivity. And that captivity, we know when you read many of these prophecies, is staring us in the face. The time of the tribulation is coming, a time when God will begin to deal with the nations.

The identity of the children of Israel, especially today, is a great aid in understanding the Bible.

We also need to understand the relationship with the children of Israel to salvation. Now, when you understand that America is Manasseh, British Commonwealth is Ephraim, many of the nations in Europe are actually the nations, Israelite nations, that settled in those areas. And you begin to read some of these prophecies that obviously reference the end time. You realize that they're talking about modern nations. They're not just talking about what happened back here. There's a duality there, a former fulfillment, but in many cases, some of these prophecies have never taken place, and they will take place in the future.

Now, in the book of Romans, we have three chapters in the book of Romans that explain the relationship of Israel to the Gentiles and what God is doing to offer to all nations salvation. In Romans 9, Paul writes, Paul writes, Paul writes, For I could wish that I myself were cursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen, according to the flesh, who are Israelites, who pertain the adoption, the glory. Now, notice, what advantage was it to be an Israelite, to be a Jew at that time? Well, to them pertains the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises. All of those were given to Israel. In verse 6, But it is not the word of God that has taken no effect, for they are not all Israel, who are of Israel, nor are they all children, because they are the seed of Abraham.

But in Isaac your seed shall be called.

Not everyone who was born of Abraham was the promised seed. It was through Isaac, who was the promised seed. That is, those who are the children of the flesh, they're not the children of God. Just because a person were a Jew, or a monazite, or an ephraimite, does not make that individual a child of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. That is, the promised seed. Galatians 3, verse 29, talks about Jesus Christ.

You and I become sons of Abraham through Christ.

And so here you find that not those who are the physical descendants of Israel are going to be a part of the church, or spiritual Israel, but those whom God places in Israel. The church today is spiritual Israel.

And in verse 13, we read, as it is written, Jacob, I have loved, but Esau, I hate it.

You find that God did not choose Esau, but He chose Jacob.

And in verse 15, for He said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.

So then it's not of Him who wills nor of Him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.

So we find that it is according to God's mercy.

God is not calling everyone today.

He called Jacob. He worked through Jacob and his descendants. He didn't work through Esau and his descendants.

It's all a matter of timing. God had to start somewhere. He had to start with someone.

So God decides upon whom He first shows mercy.

In verse 25, as He also said in Hosea, I will call them my people who are not my people, referring to the Gentiles, and her beloved who was not beloved.

That's Hosea 2, verses 23 through 25.

In verse 26, it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, You are not my people. There they shall be called sons of the living God.

You can tie that in with Hosea 1, verse 10.

The book of Hosea talks explicitly about the call of the Gentiles.

Some not now, obviously, having a chance of salvation, but God extending that to them. Verse 27, Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved.

Not everybody, but a small remnant in this end time.

Verse 31 speaks of the Jew of that day, But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith.

He did not say you don't have to keep the commandments, but you must seek it by faith. It's got to be of faith, as if it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone. So they stumbled over Jesus Christ, and therefore would not accept Him. They rejected Him as a Messiah, and so therefore they rejected the only way, the only means to true understanding.

So we read here in Romans 9, chapter 10, chapter 11. I could go through. We could read all of these chapters. It shows that there is no distinction today, maybe, between the Jew and the Gentile.

Chapter 10 and 11 talk about an olive tree, that the Israelites are the olive tree, and some of them have been cut out. Their branches have been cut out, and others have been grafted in, talking about the Gentiles being grafted in. And then it shows that the Israelites, who were removed, would likewise have to be grafted in to have their opportunity for salvation.

So it doesn't matter what your pedigree is, what nationality you are.

If you're an Israelite or a Gentile, all of us have to be grafted into the church, to be a part of spiritual Israel. And it is by grace, as we read here.

So God, verses 1 through 10 of chapter 11, shows that God is not trying to call everyone now.

These chapters very clearly explain that. Verses 16 through 18 explain that the Gentiles can be grafted in. Let's read that. Verse 16.

For if the first root is holy, in other words, the Israelites, the lump is also holy. And if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you being a wild olive tree were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and the fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. For if you do boast, remember, you do not support the root, but the root supports you. Now, why were they broken off?

Verse 20. Well, say, because of unbelief they were broken off. You stand by faith. So he says, don't be holy, but fear. And again, in verse 22 or 23.

They also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in. For God is able to graft them in again. So eventually God will give to all, all nations, both Israel and Gentiles, the opportunity to understand.

Chapters 9, 10, and 11 are wonderful chapters here in the book of Romans to explain that God is not trying to convert everyone, and that God will eventually allow everyone to be grafted in.

Verse 25 and 26. Let's read verse, well, verse 25 and 26. It says, I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel till the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel shall be saved. So God will give and extend salvation to the Israelites.

Rather, when God finally, in the millennium, uses Israel to the extent that he originally intended, you'll remember in the Old Testament, God called Israel, and they were supposed to set an example before all the Gentile nations. And all the Gentile nations would see the Israelites being blessed with good crops, rain, and dew season. Their children would never die in childbirth. They would have all these blessings. They would be a rich nation blessed by God. They would come and say, why? And Israel would say, because we worship the true God, and we keep his laws. And they would have set an example before all the other nations. And we all know what Israel did. Instead of doing that, they imitated the nations around them, worshiped their gods. But in the millennium, God will start out by using Israel, calling the Jews back to the land of Palestine. They will come under his government. He will begin to bless them. And then all nations will see what God is doing with them. And they will see God's blessing on a grander scale at that time than there would have been anciently. And they will see converted Israel.

And they will begin to follow God. So the real prophetic role of Israel is going to be in the future, when God will use them to help draw the nations. So the truth about Israel is important to understanding prophecy. Another key to prophecy, and we'll wind this down here very quickly, is duality.

That many prophecies are dual. There's the first creation, second creation. There are two atoms, first atom, second atom. First atom didn't make the right choice. The second atom had to come along to make the right choice, which he did. There are two cabinets. The first cabinet had a flaw. The flaw was with the people. They didn't have the heart to obey.

When you talk about duality, there has to be a logical parallel. Some people try to draw all kinds of analogies, parallels that don't fit.

There's not a second Levitical priesthood, but there is a Melchizedek priesthood.

There was to be another Elijah. Elijah came along. There was to be an Elijah.

John the Baptist fulfilled that, and yet there is to be another Elijah in the end time. So that prophecy is intrepicate. Moses and Aaron are a type of the two witnesses at the end time. There are two Exodus. There was a first Exodus. There will be the second Exodus, leading up to the millennium. And it says that that Exodus will be so great because there will be millions of people coming back to Palestine that the first Exodus will be forgotten.

And the new covenant will begin with that second Exodus.

See, some things are dual, some things are not. Moses was a type of the prophet to come. That's a duality. Salvation. Israel had physical salvation in the Promised Land. You and I will have spiritual salvation in the Kingdom of God.

There is a new heavens and a new earth. The reason why prophecy is written down, prophecy was not meant to die of the generation who heard it.

You know, when Jeremiah gave his prophecies, or Ezekiel, it wasn't meant to die, otherwise why write it down? Many of these prophecies, especially concerning Israel, are dual.

Some don't repeat themselves, such as the suffering of the Messiah. He suffered once for a sense. He's not continuing to suffer.

In other cases, the general prophecy will be fulfilled again, but the details might not be fulfilled in the exact same way.

So duality of prophecy, it's important to realize that there are dualities.

And then the last key that I have has to do with understanding the biblical symbols.

The Bible interprets many of its own symbols.

2 Peter 1, verse 20. We are warned here in 2 Peter 1, verse 20.

That knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.

You and I cannot put our own private interpretation on it.

We need to look in the Bible and the Scriptures and see, well, does the Bible itself interpret that?

Many traditional symbols are very clear in the Bible. A woman is a type of a church. We find the true church and the false church.

A mountain is a type of government. The government is exalted above the valleys or above the people.

Marriage, as it was instituted, is a type of Christ and the church.

Fields, picture the world. Reapers, the angels. Stars, also picture angels. Fire, a lake of fire. There are many, many symbols. There are some Bible dictionaries.

If you go check articles out on symbolism, you will find many of them will contain dozens and dozens of symbols that are mentioned in the Bible. Some are good, some are not so good. But it's an interesting study to just go through and maybe compile the list. Sometimes when you are studying with a friend, you get four or five people going through and saying, let's see how many symbols the Bible has that we can find the interpretation. And then the book of Revelation is very good on that. It talks about beasts. And then it tells us a little bit about who those beasts are. And so there are keys to prophecies. So, brethren, God gives us keys to understanding prophecy.

And you and I today can understand more than many generations because we live at the very end of six thousand years of man's rule on the earth. We're here in a period of time when many prophecies have been already fulfilled. We can look back and see how they were fulfilled. Many are yet to be fulfilled. We don't understand a lot of prophecies even today. There are things that we don't understand. There are things that are very clear. The millennium is very clear. White throne judgment is very clear. The return of Christ is very clear. The resurrection is very clear. Some of the prophecies leading up to the return of Christ are clear. Some are not so clear.

And so, you know, we have to understand that. God has not revealed all prophecy at this time. Understanding a prophecy is revealed. And it's revealed, and God gives us His Word to help us to understand it even more. What has been revealed is what we need to focus on.

Obedience, submission, and humility are the major keys to understanding prophecy.

So if we want to understand, we need to work on our obedience, our submission, and our humility.