The Purpose for Duality in Prophecy

Many prophecies in the Bible are dual. Prophets speak under inspiration of God, and the first fulfillment of the prophecy comes to pass often in their lifetime or shortly after they die. And then, later, often at the end of the age, before the return of Christ, a final and ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy takes place. Prophetic statements sometimes apply to more than one fulfillment, and this principle we often call duality. A prime example of duality is the first coming of Jesus Christ to atone for our sins, the second coming of Jesus Christ to wrap everything up and make all things under God's rule.

So, what I'd like to do today is explain a little bit about the duality in prophecy so that you understand it a little bit more than you might. You've heard it in the church. Why do we teach it this way? Some people criticize that there's no such thing. I will show you that, yes, indeed there certainly most is. And at the end, we'll talk about why God does it this way because there are some explanations as to why these things take place.

So, let's take a look at a few examples of prophecies that are dual. Now, I won't spend too much time explaining the prophecies themselves, especially the last one because we'll probably do that on the Feast of Trumpets. But I do want to explain that prophecies are dual, and the first one that I'd like to point out shows clearly that there are dual fulfillments in prophecy. And the first one is Elijah to come.

Let's take a look at that. Elijah to come in Malachi 4 and verse 5. The prophet Malachi, the last one in the Bible, said, in Malachi 4 and verse 5, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming great and dreadful day of the Lord. Now, Elijah is going to come before the day of the Lord. And if you've been in the church for a while, you think that that is at the end of the age. However, in Matthew 17, Jesus Christ threw what some people might call a monkey wrench into the works. Matthew 17 and verse 11, Jesus answered them and said, Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.

But I say to you that Elijah has already come. And they did not know him, but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise, the Son of Man is also about to suffer at his hands. Then the disciples understood that he spoke to him about John the Baptist. So Jesus Christ pointed out that John the Baptist was fulfilling what Malachi prophesied. But notice that Jesus spoke of Elijah in the future tense. Clearly, said Elijah is coming and will restore.

The problem is, he also said that John the Baptist had already fulfilled it. But John was already dead when he said this. John the Baptist had been beheaded by the time Jesus Christ had said this in Matthew 17. So clearly, there are two fulfillments of this prophecy. One was fulfilled at the first coming of Jesus Christ or just prior to. The second will be fulfilled when Jesus Christ returns the second time. Because Jesus Christ spoke in the future tense and in the past tense in the same statement.

So clearly, Jesus was referring to Malachi 4 and verse 5. But in Malachi 4 and verse 5, it said that Elijah would come before the great and terrible day of the Lord. John the Baptist did not completely fulfill that. He only fulfilled it in type or in part. And that's an important point to note that most of the initial fulfillments of a prophecy only partially fulfill the prophecy. They do not completely fulfill the prophecy. Why does God do this?

What was John the Baptist to do? Well, what did he do? Let's notice. John the Baptist, before Jesus Christ was born, went around teaching people to repent for their sins, didn't he? He would say, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. And the very first thing that Jesus Christ went out and preached was repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. John the Baptist went before Jesus Christ and turned people to God. And what that does is it tells us what the Elijah to come is going to do.

The initial fulfillment of a prophecy shows us a little bit about in type what's going to happen at the end time. But I wonder why God would do that for us. Why does God give us an initial prophecy? It doesn't quite fulfill the entire prophecy, so we know that there's more to come. But he gives us a little foretaste of the fulfillment so that we can actually see it in action. John the Baptist turned people to the Word of God. The first fulfillment can tell us a little bit about the later fulfillment. So let's leave that question. Why does God do that to the end and jump to a second story?

This is the story of David and a counselor that he had, a trusted friend who betrayed him. His name was, well, I don't know how to pronounce his name, actually, Ah-Hithopel or Ah-Hithopel, or Topel, probably. And he betrayed King David at Absalom's Rebellion. Absalom stood in the courts of the gates where the people of Israel would come in and out, and he would whisper in the leader's ears that King David was unfair. And he gathered popular following to himself until finally he had his own army and had enough power to overthrow his own father. And then Absalom came with that army. And King David's most trusted advisor wasn't his only advisor, just his closest one, his best friend, betrayed him and went with Absalom and told Absalom exactly where to find David so that he could kill him.

And he was correct. But David, before he had left, left another advisor in place and told him to mess up anything that that guy advises Absalom. And he did. The good advisor told Absalom, no way! David wouldn't be so foolish to hide on that plane. It's an ambush waiting for you. And it caused the betrayer to actually go and commit suicide because he knew he had no place in the kingdom anymore. But his advice to Absalom was actually correct. His betrayal was complete. Had Absalom followed his advice, it would have been a completely different story.

David was traveling with women and children. He was out on a plane. He had no time to prepare. Tactically, in a military sort of a way, David was very vulnerable. And Absalom would have absolutely overtaken him and slaughtered him. Slaughter them all. And in Psalm 41, verses 8 and 9, David talked about that betrayal. Psalm 41, verses 8 and 9. An evil disease. And this Psalm is not even purely prophecy. But interestingly enough, it is prophetic. An evil disease, they say, belongs to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more. Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

So David actually talked about his friend. And this was a type of something that was actually fulfilled later, which had much greater meaning. Jesus quoted this when he ate the last Passover with his disciples. And in John chapter 13 and verse 18, Jesus quotes Psalm 41. He says, I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled.

This was a prophecy. King David, even though David may not have even known that he was giving a prophecy, but as he was writing Psalm 41, talking about something that happened in his life that we can read about and learn from and see how David felt about it, we actually gain insight into what happened to our Messiah, Jesus Christ. Because he says in John 13 and verse 18, I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.

Jesus was talking about Judas Iscariot. David wrote Psalm 41 about Judas Iscariot, but it was really, in his mind, about the advisor who had betrayed him. So, let's go through and read Psalm 41 and see what we pick out about how Jesus felt about Judas Iscariot. Psalm 41, verse 1, to the chief musician, a Psalm of David. Blessed is he who considers the poor. The Lord will deliver him in a time of trouble.

The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth. You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. An interesting statement, if we look at this, in the light of the betrayal of Jesus Christ. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed near. Oh, okay, I read that, verse 3. The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness.

You will sustain him on his sick bed. I said, The Lord be merciful to me, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you. Jesus Christ never sinned. Never did. This was King David only. So, it's not an exact parallel, but it does match. The rest of it does match. And then, verse 5. My enemies speak evil of me. Notice how this matches the Pharisees and the counsel of the Sanhedrin council that went against Jesus Christ. My enemies speak evil against me.

When will he die? And his name perish. And that's all they were doing to Jesus Christ.

And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies in his heart, gathers iniquity to itself. When he goes out, he tells it. Speaking of Judas Iscariot. So, he's walking along, teaching his disciples, their energetic young men, learning and trying to draw near to God to go out and preach the gospel and tell the whole world that God is going to save them. Except for one.

There was one among them that pretended to be like them, that looked like them, that none of them knew was a betrayer. This is what he was going through. This is what he, Judas Iscariot, was thinking. Verse 6, And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies with his heart, gathers iniquity to himself. When he goes out, he tells it, All who hate me whisper together against me. Against me, they devise my hurt. An evil disease, they say, clings to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more, speaking about the death of Jesus Christ. But the first fulfillment was speaking about the death of King David. And we can see how literally they pursued David and tried to kill him. And yet, God caused David to have victory. And even though Jesus Christ was crucified, he was later resurrected and is now sitting at the right hand of God. And then, with the famous verse 9, which Jesus Christ quoted, Even my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. So, in this way, we get a little bit of a picture. Since something had already been done and fulfilled, we can see what Jesus Christ would have gone through. The initial fulfillment of the prophecy gives us a better picture of what would happen in the future. So, that's two of the prophecies that I wanted to go through. And the third is the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord had two fulfillments also, such as in Isaiah 13 and verse 6, where it says, Whale for the day of the Lord is at hand. It comes as destruction from the Almighty.

This is another example of dual fulfillment in prophecy. Verse 1 of chapter 13 sets the stage as the Babylonian invasion. Note, this is not the invasion of the northern kingdom by Assyria.

Isaiah chapter 13 is about the Babylonian invasion of Judah, which had not even happened yet when Isaiah wrote this, because Isaiah was writing during the time of the fall of the northern kingdom. Several generations of kings would come and go in Judea long after the Assyrians had fallen. But this prophecy is specifically about Judah. And Babylon did eventually invade Judah and captured Jerusalem in 15, I'm sorry, in 586 B.C. I would like to read from the booklet Revelation Unveiled. Quote, We must carefully examine the context of prophecy to understand their meaning and discern whether the prophecy seems to be incomplete after the first fulfillment.

It's equally important to avoid reading duality into passages that do not support such interpretation.

So, in other words, not every single prophecy has a dual fulfillment. The prophecy of Alexander the Great, that he would be like a super fast cat going across and conquering the land in a very rapid succession, was fulfilled. And it's done. And it's not going to be fulfilled again. His kingdom was to be broken up into four kingdoms, and it happened. And it's done. And it's not going to be fulfilled again. There's another beast that comes after that. So, Alexander the Great, he's done. But the Day of the Lord actually had an early fulfillment and a latter fulfillment, yet to come.

Let me continue on in the quote. We should take great care to properly discern whether duality is a factor in any particular prophecy. Often, we may recognize prophecies fulfillment only after it is well underway or had already taken place. A lot of the prophecies that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote about that were fulfilled were written after Jesus Christ's death. When they had it, 20, 30 years later, did they write these stories and think about it and go, oh, he fulfilled this when he did this. It was only after he had fulfilled it that they actually saw it and reported on it. So, let's jump in and take a look at how the Day of the Lord is actually a dual prophecy. Then, at the end, we'll examine why does God do this? Let's go to Isaiah 13.

Isaiah 2 is the first time when we hear of the mention of the Day of the Lord.

But Isaiah 13 really starts to describe it. Let's pick it up in verse 6.

Whale for the Day of the Lord is at hand, present tense, as though it's about to happen.

It will come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore, all hands will be limp, every man's heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them, and they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth. They will be amazed at one another, and their faces will be like flames. Behold, verse 9, the Day of the Lord comes, cruel with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and He will destroy its sinners from it.

This happened in history. We have a historical account of the land being laid desolate and the people being destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar marched into the land of Judea and destroyed the temple, destroyed Jerusalem. He took all of the artifacts of the temple, and He burned it to the ground, and He laid the land desolate. He destroyed many of the sinning people of Judea, and He took many of the rest of them into captivity, leaving only a very small remnant behind. He took Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He even took Ezekiel. He was taken at that time into slavery. And that's when all of those prophecies about the end time were written, was written after the Day of the Lord had already occurred. But it wasn't completely fulfilled.

Let's continue on in Isaiah 13 and read verse 10. This never happened.

For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. This hearkens to the book of Revelation about the end time. And this did not happen at Nebuchadnezzar's fulfillment. So, Nebuchadnezzar was a type of the Day of the Lord. Isaiah said directly about Babylon, and Babylon coming to destroy the people of God. But it didn't completely fulfill it, did it? It just gave us a foretaste. Verse 11. This certainly didn't happen. I will punish the world for its evil.

That has not yet been fulfilled. The first time the Day of the Lord came about, it did not complete the prophecy. It left it undone. It left it open to happen again. And the wicked for their iniquity, I will halt the arrogance of the proud and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. That's speaking of the entire planet. In its original fulfillment, the Day of the Lord laid low Judea. And it humbled God's people. But it did not humble the Babylonians. They went out with a high hand. In the final fulfillment of the Day of the Lord, according to Isaiah, the entire world will be laid low. Verse 12. I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold and a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. So human beings will be very rare on the earth at this time. That was not the case in the original fulfillment of the Day of the Lord. Especially men. There will be mostly women, is what this is saying. Why would that be? War. War takes the men and kills them.

Therefore, I will shake the heavens and the earth will move out of her place in wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of His fierce anger. All of that, from verse 10 to verse 13, did not take place in the original fulfillment. Also, there are many other prophecies about the Day of the Lord in the Old Testament. We won't read them all today. It's not my intent to explain the Day of the Lord. It's my intent to explain that there's dual fulfillments of prophecies in some cases, and there's a reason for it. In Obadiah chapter 1, verse 15, here is another prophecy about the Day of the Lord that has not yet been fulfilled, and yet the Day of the Lord did already happen in 586 BC. Obadiah chapter 1 and verse 15, For the Day of the Lord is upon all the nations is near.

The Day of the Lord upon all of the nations is near. As you have done, it shall be done to you.

Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. Think about human history. Think about all of the evil. I can barely stand to watch the news. I used to be able to watch history. Those Holocaust movies you watch in history class, they were pretty explicit. I don't know if you've seen some of those shows, but they show some horrific things, and I used to be able to say, I can't do that anymore. It just gets to me. Watching the news, how they'll burn a guy alive in a cage, or behead somebody with a knife, and they'll show that on television, and it just turns my stomach, but there is coming a day when God will give reprisal. He will pay back everything that has been done. And he gave us a type of that when he punished Judea, and there was starvation, and there was cannibalism, and there was desperation, and we get a small taste of what is to come in the initial fulfillment. In the final fulfillment of the Day of the Lord, Satan's end will rule. Satan's rule will end. Can you tell I'm tired? I don't know if you've noticed. I am really tired today. It was a 16-hour day yesterday, and it ended rather late. So, in the final fulfillment of the Day of the Lord, Satan's rule will end. That didn't happen when Babylon took over Judea. Satan was still very much on his throne, but in John 12, verses 30 and 31, when Jesus talks about the judgment to come, it's going to wipe Satan out. Now, John 12, verses 30. Jesus answered and said, This voice did not come to me because of me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of the world.

Now the ruler of this world will be cast out when judgment comes on the world, and the Day of the Lord is the day of his judgment. Satan will be cast out. Satan will be put away.

That had never been fulfilled yet. So, the initial fulfillment of a prophecy is only a type of that prophecy, and it does not completely fulfill it, but it only gives us a foretaste to look at and see what might happen. Just as a side point, some people may not know that in prophecy, a day can mean a year. And a lot of you may not know how we came up with that. And it's right in the Bible, and I want to show it to you. And I know I'm stepping outside of the context of duality in prophecy, but it's a real simple thing to explain, and I want to explain it to make sure that you know, so that you don't think... When you read prophetic articles from the church, you don't think they're just a bunch of wild-eyed, crazy preppers who love to read things into prophecy. It's not that way at all. The church is actually very careful. Now, when a day is mentioned in prophecy, sometimes it means a year, and sometimes it just means a day. How do you know?

Well, prophecy is of no private interpretation. You let the Bible interpret the Bible, and that's how you know. Some prophecies, for example, the 1260 days, which matches the three and a half years, which matches the times, time, and half a time. You let the Bible interpret itself, and you know that those days are literal days. It's not years, right? But other times, when you see the day of the Lord, we know that it is a year. Why? Well, because the Bible tells us it's a year. Okay, so a day equaling a year, or a day can equal a year. Ezekiel chapter 4... Well, let's start in numbers. Let's start at the beginning. Numbers chapter 14 verse 34. When God gives a judgment, and the judgment is in the measure of a day, oftentimes He means a year. Let me say that again.

When God gives a judgment, and the judgment is measured out in days, oftentimes He means years. Numbers chapter 14 and verse 34. According to the number of days in which you spied out the land, forty days. For each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know my rejection. Now, this isn't exactly the day for the year principle. It's just interesting to note that God can take a day and turn it into a year. When He's passing judgment along, He will do that. He's done it more than once. Notice Ezekiel chapter 4.

The first one was before they ever even entered the Promised Land. This second passage is after they have been kicked out of the Promised Land, many, many generations later. They're already in Babylonian captivity. In Ezekiel chapter 4 and verse 6, it says, And when you have completed them, lie on your right side, and then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days.

I have laid on you a day for each year. So, in other words, there's the principle again, that when God passes judgment, oftentimes a day equals a year. So, we'll notice that the day of the Lord is a day of God's wrath and a day of His judgment. And in Isaiah 34, we let the Bible interpret the Bible so that we don't make silly, wild-eyed assumptions. We notice that this principle of a day for a year is applied to the day of the Lord. Isaiah chapter 34 and verse 8. Isaiah chapter 34 and verse 8. For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion. So there, Isaiah draws the lines for us. Day for a year, day for a year. There's the principle. We noticed it back in Numbers. We noticed it in Ezekiel, that God oftentimes, when He makes a judgment, will take a day and He'll turn it into a year's judgment. And here, in Isaiah chapter 34, when God pronounces His day of vengeance, it is actually a year of judgment.

And we take other scriptures and we notice that it is the last year, one year prior to the return of Jesus Christ. One year prior to the return of Jesus Christ is the day of the Lord's vengeance.

So Satan gets two and a half years of vengeance and then it's God's turn.

So what's the purpose? Why does God do this?

You know, the prophets didn't often understand their own prophecies.

Peter noted this in 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 10. The prophets themselves, when they wrote things down, did not always understand what it was they were writing down, at least not completely.

In 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 10, Peter writes, Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of grace that would come to you. Searching what or what matter 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. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us. They were ministering the things which now have been reported to you as those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Things which angels desire to look into. The prophets themselves did not always understand the prophecies that they were writing down. The things that were fulfilled in their day did not completely fulfill the prophecy. Therefore, Peter says, in verse 13, gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ at His return. In other words, 14, as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to former lusts as in your ignorance. I thought this was timely, given the judgments that were handed down by the Supreme Court this week. Two judgments that were blows, one which was a huge blow to the morality of the United States. People giving in to their lusts in their ignorance. Verse 15, But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy for I am holy. Prophecy gives Christians hope and direction. We look in a dark world and prophecy shines a light. It's like a light at the end of a tunnel, that if we did not have that light, we likely would not carry on. And God gives us dual fulfillment in prophecy to make it very clear that He is going to fulfill something in the future, that when He says it, He does it. And when that happens and He says something, we have hope. That's why it's so important that prophecy not be of any private interpretation. That's why it's so important that we do not get off on side issues. And so many of them are coming at us these days, that they're almost dizzying how many conspiracy theories are getting texted to us and emailed to us at such rapid succession. And it's so critical that we don't get caught up in it. Why? Because prophecy is very clear and is of no private interpretation. And if we get off into private interpretation, as I will talk about in just a minute, we will lose this hope, this light at the end of the tunnel.

Second Peter chapter 1 and verse 19. Second Peter chapter 1 and verse 19.

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed.

We're very careful to confirm prophecy. We're very careful when we go through prophecy, not to just make stuff up, not to just fill in the blanks with assumptions. I mean, it's fun to speculate. I do. I speculate all the time. But I encourage all of us to not lean on our speculation. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed.

We rely on confirmed things, brethren, not speculation, which you do well to heed as the light that shines in dark places. The world is becoming very dark once again.

It was dark during the time of World War II. It was dark many, many years in the past, in many, many different times. But it is about to become extremely, extremely dark.

Why do we have dual prophecies? To make them clear and confirmed so that there is no speculation.

So we don't get caught on side points that people just make up. And why do they do that? We'll get into that. So the first reason that there is dual fulfillment and prophecy is to make them clear so that we have hope. Let's finish that passage in 2 Peter. Verse 20, knowing this verse, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.

How many text, messages, or emails do you get in a week?

None of prophecy is of private interpretation. Speculation is nearly useless.

It is really dangerous. Now, I speculate, saying that I don't want to come across as a hypocrite. I have all kinds of speculation. I just don't lean on them. It just makes me wonder, I wonder if this is going to happen. That's going to happen.

I've read about at least seven of the two witnesses that have already come by.

And there's no way the two witnesses have even come to the earth yet. Yet there's always somebody popping up, saying he's one of the two witnesses. No private interpretation. Verse 21, For prophecy never came by the will of man.

And no convincing email or text message is going to make a bit of difference to prophecy. And that's a good thing, because prophecy is the light at the end of the tunnel that is supposed to give us hope.

And the problem with those emails and text messages that we get is they give us the opposite of hope. They give us a bunch of worry and doubt and fear. And it is not the purpose of prophecy.

Like to read from commentary of Jameson, Fawcett, and Brown the opening comments on Isaiah chapter 13.

Isaiah chapter 13, which gives us the beginning explanation of the day of the Lord.

Notice what they took from it. Quote, The predictions as to the foreign nations are for the sake of the covenant people, to preserve them from despair. When they read the prophecy, they realized that the purpose of this prophecy was to preserve the covenant people from despair.

It's to give us hope, not to give us fear, but hope. That's what prophecy is for.

On reliance on human confederacies, to warn us against that, in other words, and to strengthen their faith in God. So there's another purpose. The first purpose is that prophecy gives us light in a dark world.

The second purpose of prophecy, and actually of all prophecies in general, is that prophecy shows God's greatness. Prophecy shows God's greatness.

Why would God need to show His greatness? Is God showing off? Is He being macho?

Is God saying, I'm better than you? Well, He is. Does He need to say it? He does need to say it. Why? Why is that so important? What's the purpose? How does prophecy play a part in that?

To show God's greatness. We often read Isaiah 46, verses 9 and 10, and we pull this out, and we read it only. Isaiah 46, verses 9 and 10. We hear this a lot at the Feast of Tabernacles and other Holy Days, because it's a great passage. It's the context I want to get today.

Isaiah 46, verse 9. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other.

I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do My pleasure. There is no one like God. He's greater than all of us, and that's what prophecy does. He calls the beginning and the end. He calls the end from the beginning, and He shows how great He is. Why does He do that? When you read the verse before that passage, you see why God says that. Let's go back to verse 8. Isaiah 46, verse 8. Remember this, and show yourselves men. Recall to mind, O you transgressors! That's the context. Oh, God is telling sinners to repent, and He uses prophecy, calls the end from the beginning, to show how great He is, so that transgressors who He's talking to will repent. God's not flexing His muscles. God's not being macho.

He's being caring. He's being loving. He's saying, hello, children. Is anybody awake?

Is anybody listening? You're out doing your own thing, finding your own path, trying to make it, and it's not working, is it? And yet, here I am, and I told you from the very beginning, this is the way things work, this is how to live, and this is how you're going to be happy.

And how do you know all of those things will come about? Look at all the prophecies that I foretold that came to pass. Not only did they come to pass, but I fulfilled them once just to show you how it was going to happen, and then I fulfilled it at the end to really make it happen. It's absolutely undeniable that God is the great and only one true God. Prophecy does that. It shuts the mouths of all critics, of all skeptics. At the end, there can be no skepticism that there is one true God, and it gives everybody the best possible opportunity for salvation.

So, there's two really good reasons for duality and prophecy. One, it gives us the picture of what's going to happen. The first fulfillment gives us the picture of what's going to happen, to give us hope.

But then, at the end, it builds huge credibility that no one, even the biggest skeptic on the planet, could possibly deny that there is one great God. So, what is the duality and prophecy? And yes, all are prophecies, not four. What is the one thing that we do with prophecy that we shouldn't be doing? Prophecy is not for watching the clock.

Prophecy is not for watching the clock. A lot of people are going to bristle at this, but you need to hear it. You do. I would like to quote from our Bible study guide online, a really, really good point about a college basketball team.

I think you're going to relate to this. I certainly did relate to it. It's from an article on FreeBibleStudyGuides.org called Prophecy Armageddon Day of the Lord.

This is series 3, lesson 13, by the way, if you want to look it up. I encourage you to use these.

We link from them from our main website, but you can go directly to them at FreeBibleStudyGuides.org.

Following is a well-known story in the history of the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association.

In 1987, NCAA basketball regional finals, underdog LSU was leading top-seated Indiana by nine points with only five minutes left in the game. Put yourself there. We're about five minutes left in the game, or we're getting close to it. We're getting close to the five-minute count down here.

And every single major Supreme Court decision or thing that happens in the world is just moving us one step closer to the end of the game, right? Okay, reading on. But as is often in the case with a team in the lead, LSU players began watching the clock rather than wholeheartedly playing the game. As a result of this shift in focus, the tough Indiana team closed the gap and moved ahead by one point. LSU missed a shot at the buzzer for a heartbreaking defeat.

Indiana went on to become the NCAA champions.

Sorry, Mr. Lockhart.

Continuing on. The lesson for us? While Jesus said we should stay aware of the signs of the times, he made it clear that we should stay focused, like Jesus, on doing the will of Him who sent me to finish His work. John 4, verse 34. As we await the Second Coming of Christ, instead of watching the clock and getting distracted, we should serve God in such a way that Christ, when He returns, will say, Well done, good and faithful servant. Matthew 25, verse 21.

You know, we often read this passage. Luke, chapter 21, verse 36. Luke, chapter 21, verse 36. Please read this with me.

Watch therefore and pray always, that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and stand before the Son of Man. People read this and think, watch, means watch Fox News. You know what? It doesn't mean that at all. This passage doesn't mean that. And I'll show that to you in just a minute. But I'm not saying we're not supposed to watch the news, because we are. In fact, Jesus Christ criticized the Pharisees for not being able to discern the times that they were in. The purpose for watching the news is not so that you will be counted worthy to escape the things that come to pass. That is not what Jesus is talking about in Luke, chapter 21.

So why do we watch the news? Why do we keep track of the times that we are in? Well, because Jesus told us to, just not here. Matthew, chapter 16, verse 1 through 3. Matthew, chapter 16, verses 1 through 3. Then the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Him, and testing Him asked if He would show them a sign from heaven. And He answered and said to them, When it is evening, you will say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrite! You know how to discern the base of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the time. Matthew, chapter 16, is what tells us to watch the news and pay attention to where we're at. Pay attention to the signs of the times. It is important to do that. Luke, chapter 21, is not talking about that. Let's go back, and let's read that in context. Let's go back a couple of verses in Luke, chapter 21, and get the context of what He's talking about. And know that Jesus Christ is making a spiritual point to us, not telling us to watch the news. That's not how we will be counted worthy to escape.

It is not. There's something completely different that we need to be doing to be counted worthy.

And it has nothing to do with how much information and analysis you have stuffed into the gray matter of your brain. That does not make you worthy, not by a long shot. Luke, chapter 21, and verse 34. Luke, chapter 21, and verse 34. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down. With what? Corrousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life. And that day come on you unexpectedly. Oh, what are we supposed to be watching? Our heart, our spiritual health. Verse 35. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the earth, talking about the end times. It's going to snare people. How do you know you're going to be ready? Because your heart will not be weighed down. With carousing. Are you seeking your own pleasure? Do you leave services? And then just go say, the rest of the week, how can I please myself? Like some brute animal. Are we drinking too much? Drunkenness. Brethren, if you have a problem with alcohol, stop drinking alcohol. Just stop. If you don't have a problem drinking alcohol, don't get one by drinking too much. Even in social occasions, when all is a party, I'll have another. Limit yourself. Be counted worthy. This is a spiritual matter. Luke chapter 21 is about the heart. It is not about your news that you read or watch. And then verse 36. Watch therefore and pray always that you were counted worthy to escape these things that will come to pass and stand before the Son of Man. Some people use prophecy to watch the clock. How close are we? Well, this might happen. And then if they put the temple up and they start sacrifices, then they'll set up the yes, yes, that's going to happen. For sure, it's going to happen. And we know that it's going to happen. And we have a little bit of insight into how it's going to happen, because most of those prophecies have already had a former fulfillment that we can look back in history and see that Antiochus Epiphanes, when he went into the temple and he took over Jerusalem, he set up an altar to Zeus, probably an image of Zeus, right in the temple, started sacrificing unclean animals like pigs in the temple, outlawed the Sabbath. Anybody who taught the law was put to death, and not only them, but their entire family, and anybody who was gathered around listening to the preaching of the law. And in that, we got an insight as to what the beast power will be like at the very end, when he sets up the abomination of desolation in the temple. And why do we know that? Because a former fulfillment has already happened, which draws us a very clear, confirmed picture as to what's going to happen in the future. And since we've read the end of the book, and we know how it ends, we have a light at the end of the tunnel. We have hope. And then after else everything is said and done, God will stand before men and say, see, I told you, didn't I? And they'll go, oh, you did.

And it will be so credible to them that it will give everybody the best possible chance to come to repentance. And that's the purpose for having dual fulfillments in prophecy.

It has nothing to do with watching the clock. It has very much to do with us having hope, and with that hope, preparing our hearts spiritually for the kingdom of God, taking those weights off of us that snare us and weigh us down.

Let's pray for God's kingdom. Let's be careful when we get those emails and texts, not to become clock watchers. And let's maintain that hope that we have, that light at the end of the tunnel, that God's confirmed prophecies give to us.