Patterns in Prophecy

Prophecy is Pattern

In this section, we will explore and show that from the very first book of the Bible that God established signs in the heaven and earth to communicate greater truths for our benefit. Below in Ecclesiastes, the Lord by His Spirit tells us that there is no new thing under the sun and that what has been shall be.

When God gave Moses instructions for The Tabernacle, He said “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, [after] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make [it].” Exodus 25:9,40, Numbers 8:4

It is my conjecture that there is far more to Gods prophetic pattern than most of us realize. Let’s examine this subject.

Patterns in Prophecy

By Joshua Toupos

Ever wonder why certain things are in the Bible and others are not. Simple, God has placed every single person, event and word in the Bible as a Master Craftsman. The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. We have not yet begun to see the hidden things that are hid in Christ!

We who study the Bible should all clearly see that Christ was in the Old Testament in shadows and types. He is found in the tabernacle, the furniture in the tabernacle, the characters of the Old Testament. Oh, but there is much more also! We recognize a verse here and there on the Tribulation, Antichrist and other events, but I affirm and that by careful examination God has not left us blind to what is coming.

In Amos God tells us through the prophet that He does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to the prophets.

This section is dedicated to looking into this as a Hypothesis of unfolding events. Looking at the past for patterns in Nations, peoples, major events both political and spiritual that will culminate the “Tribulation” Preterists may learn something in this study. I would like people to share and post this as a blog format for all our learning. May God richly bless all us as we study His word together!

Let’s begin:)

The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done: and [there is] no new [thing] under the sun.
Is there [any] thing whereof it may be said, See, this [is] new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
[There is] no remembrance of former [things]; neither shall there be [any] remembrance of [things] that are to come with [those] that shall come after. Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

There is a group called Preterist’s that teach that there is no coming antichrist, no tribulation, and no rapture. They are brothers in the Lord. However, I believe they are ignorant of these mysteries to them. They also seem to fulfill the prophecy of being “scoffers”. For the most part, their position is prophecy is in the past. They think that our theology is pie in the sky and chicken little theology. Just read some of their stuff.
The Bible is rich with prophetic patterns in the Tabernacle, Feasts, Customs, History, People, and Nations to mention a few! What I hope to kindle is too look at our studies and let the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth. There will be a rapture, Jerusalem will be overrun, The Jews will turn to Christ when they meet the requirements set forth by the Lord. Matthew 23:37-39 ye of little faith…

The Error of Preterism

Here is a portion of an article by Jan Markell The Error of Preterism

Preterism is the eschatalogical teaching that all Bible prophecy is history. Most of it took place in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. The Tribulation was the persecution of the saints and Nero was the antichrist. At the heart of the doctrine is that prophecy was declared and destined to be fulfilled within the generation of Christ’s earthly ministry. All references in the Bible to the “last days” refer to the “last days” of Israel, which means that today she has no more relevance than the Canary Islands. The “New Jerusalem” is the Church now and forever. It will “Christianize” the world.

There are “Full Preterists” and “Partial Preterists.” Partial Preterists actually consider much of what Full Preterists teach to be heretical. A Full Preterist says that Jesus returned “in spirit” in 70 AD and NOTHING is future. Good-bye “Blessed Hope.” We’re in “the New Heavens and New Earth” right now and Satan is bound. But to Full and Partial Preterists, hardly anything is taken literally–most all is allegorical or symbolic, particularly the entire book of Revelation. To all Preterists, the Olivet Discourse is not about the coming of our Lord but about the destruction of Jerusalem. Revelation was not written in 95 AD but much earlier according to Full and Partial Preterists.
Partial Preterists do believe in a Second Coming, the resurrection of believers (but not in the Rapture), and Judgment Seat of Christ. They do not believe in a literal Millennium, Battle of Armageddon, literal antichrist, or a role for national Israel. Prominent Partial Preterists include Gary DeMar, R.C. Sproul, Ken Gentry, and “The Bible Answerman”, Hank Hanegraaff.

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Romans 11

Both Jesus and Paul said that they (Israel) are blinded in part UNTIL the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled and they petition Him to come back by name! And they will and the Lord will pour out the Spirit of supplication of Grace and so shall all Israel be saved…

Has The Church Has Replaced Israel?

According to some, the Church has replaced Israel is insane! If you think that God is done with Israel and that Israel has no future. I suggest you buy a plane ticket and go over to a tiny nation called Israel that was born in a day. All your poo poo doctrine should have been tossed out with the spiritualizing of Scripture and start taking Gods word for what it is. Truth. When God means what He says and says what He means. The use of figures of speech which He does and lots of them. The Lord when using language that He created will preface things by saying “like unto fine brass”…and many other such uses of similes make bible study fun:) Pay attention to those things… God gave us patterns, shadows, the structure with mind-blowing precision.

While many people cannot be placed into a couple categories it is the general consensus that Preterism is blind to what is coming. Indeed many good scholars have given us great historical facts and it still remains that which was will be again.

From what I have seen and read many Preterist see the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24 as the same account Luke 21. Not so! I once thought so myself. It was a teaching by Dr. Chuck Missler that opened my eyes to the absolute precision of the Bible. You can read his articles at these links. We don’t usually recommend products, but the audio teaching and slideshow that comes at the end of Dr. Missler’s article is crucial to this issue.

Epistemology, Part 5: Resolving the Olivet Discourse – Chuck Missler – Koinonia House

Pattern, not Just Prediction: Midrash Hermeneutics – Chuck Missler – Koinonia House

He noted that Luke’s briefing was in the Temple by the Treasury. What was in view was the destruction of the Temple which was indeed fulfilled in 70 AD. Matthew’s gospel shows Jesus leaving the Temple and giving details of the coming Tribulation.

Language Structure & The Bible

The structure is very important to God. He gave great detail in many things so that by the time the book of Revelation is given the idea (structure) of signs and patterns has a solid foundation to build this book on. Jesus Christ is the Spirit of prophecy. He is the rock which we are building on. In Genesis God gives signs in verse 14 we have the first mention of signs. The Lord God has built so much into the word of God that careful examination of the structure of biblical history, peoples, feasts, signs we need to pay attention to language structure. The Bible is full of symbolic language, similes, puns, allegories, and many other figures of speech.

Note here in the first verse of Revelation that when it was given it was sent and SIGNIFIED…or rendered into signs. Revelation has 404 verses with over 800 allusions to the Old Testament. Each one of these signs has some meaning some where in the bible. Some of that is in the form of the law, temple, feasts events in biblical history…you get the idea. Signs in general have no meaning if you don’t know what they mean.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John: Revelation 1:1

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, [after] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make [it]. Exodus 25:9

Jesus rebuked the leaders of the days that He walked the shores of Galilee. He held them accountable. Note these two references:

The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, [It will be] foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O [ye] hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not [discern] the signs of the times? Matthew 16

For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Luke 19

I don’t think we live in any different times today. Jesus dropped this little bomb on the elite, by saying. “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18

We will look at some events and some feasts in the coming articles with all these things in mind. May you be fruitful in your studies as we swim in the vastness of what is His prophetic word.

תבנית Tabniyth: 1) pattern, plan, form, construction, figure

a) construction, structure

1) meaning dubious

b) pattern

c) figure, image (of idols)

Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. Hebrews 8:5

For further study on pattern…Word search results: Blue Letter Bible – Search Results for KJV

Shadows

For further study on shadow…Word search results: Blue Letter Bible – Search Results for KJV

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ. Colossians 2

For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. Hebrews 10

Signs

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? Matthew 24

Note what questions the disciples ask Jesus at this private briefing. Luke 21’s account was in the temple and Matthew’s account was on the Mount of Olives. We have a few questions:

When shall these things be,

What shall be the sign of thy coming, (not destruction of temple)

And the end of the world!

He hasn’t come yet and the world has not ended yet, some teach this is fulfilled. If this is the Millennium or what ever then Satan has not been bound.

σημεῖον: sēmeion Greek 1) a sign, mark, token

a) that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and is known

b) a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature

1) of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen

2) of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s

אות: ‘owth 1) sign, signal

a) a distinguishing mark

b) banner

c) remembrance

d) miraculous sign

e) omen

f) warning

2) token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof

For further study on Signs…Word search results: Blue Letter Bible – Search Results for KJV

For further study on Sign…..Word search results: Blue Letter Bible – Search Results for KJV

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: Genesis 1

And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.Exodus 8

Rapture of the Church

Christ comes for the bride of Christ

Study of the Jewish wedding feast and Daniel’s 70th week.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also. John 14

Let’ look at Daniel’s 70th week. Since we do have a great resource I will use Dr. Missler’s article on Daniel 70th week.

By Chuck Missler: The Precision of Prophecy Daniel’s 70 Weeks – Chuck Missler – Koinonia House

Irrefutably Documented

To fully appreciate the remarkable significance of the following article, it is essential to realize that the Book of Daniel, as part of the Old Testament, was translated into Greek prior to 270 B.C., almost three centuries before Christ was born. This is a well-established fact of secular history.1

The Septuagint

After his conquest of the Babylonian Empire, Alexander the Great promoted the Greek language throughout the known world, and thus almost everyone – including the Jews – spoke Greek. Hebrew fell into disuse, being reserved primarily for ceremonial purposes (somewhat analogous to the use of Latin among Roman Catholics).

In order to make the Jewish Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament) available to the average Jewish reader, a project was undertaken under the sponsorship of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.) to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. Seventy scholars were commissioned to complete this work and their result is known as the “Septuagint” (“70”) translation. (This is often abbreviated “LXX” and is so shown on the diagram.)

The Book of Daniel is actually one of the most authenticated books of the Old Testament, historically and archaeologically, but this is a convenient shortcut for our purposes here. It is critical to realize that the Book of Daniel existed in documented form almost three centuries before Christ was born.

Gabriel’s Zinger

Daniel, originally deported as a teenager (now near the end of the Babylonian captivity), was reading in the Book of Jeremiah. He understood that the seventy years of servitude were almost over and he began to pray for his people.

The Angel Gabriel interrupted Daniel’s prayer and gave him a four-verse prophecy that is unquestionably the most remarkable passage in the entire Bible: Daniel 9:24-27.

These four verses include the following segments:

9:24 The Scope of the Entire Prophecy;
9:25 The 69 Weeks;
9:26 An Interval between the 69th and 70th Week;
9:27 The 70th Week.

The Scope (Dan 9:24)

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy Place .

Daniel 9:24

The idiom of a “week” of years was common in Israel as a “sabbath for the land,” in which the land was to lie fallow every seventh year.2 It was their failure to obey these laws that led to God sending them into captivity under the Babylonians.3

Note that the focus of this passage is upon “thy people and upon thy holy city,” that is, upon Israel and Jerusalem. (It is not directed to the Church.)

The scope of this prophecy includes a broad list of things which clearly have yet to be completed.

The First 69 Weeks (Dan 9:25)

A very specific prediction occurs in verse 25:

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Daniel 9:25

This includes a mathematical prophecy. As we have noted in previous articles, the Jewish (and Babylonian) calendars used a 360-day year;4 69 weeks of 360-day years totals 173,880 days. In effect, Gabriel told Daniel that the interval between the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until the presentation of the Messiah as King would be 173,880 days.

The “Messiah the Prince” in the King James translation is actually the Meshiach Nagid, “The Messiah the King.” (Nagid is first used of King Saul.)

Bull’s-Eye!

The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 B.C.5 (The emphasis in the verse on “the street” and “the wall” was to avoid confusion with other earlier mandates confined to rebuilding the Temple.)

During the ministry of Jesus Christ there were several occasions in which the people attempted to promote Him as king, but He carefully avoided it: “Mine hour is not yet come”.6

The Triumphal Entry

Then, one day, He meticulously arranges it.7 On this particular day he rode into the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey, deliberately fulfilling a prophecy by Zechariah that the Messiah would present Himself as king in just that way:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Zechariah 9:9

Whenever we might easily miss the significance of what was going on, the Pharisees come to our rescue. They felt that the overzealous crowd was blaspheming, proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah the King.8 However, Jesus endorsed it!

I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Luke 19:40

This is the only occasion that Jesus presented Himself as King. It occurred on April 6, 32 A.D.9

The Precision of Prophecy

When we examine the period between March 14, 445 B.C. and April 6, 32 A.D., and correct for leap years, we discover that it is 173,880 days exactly, to the very day!

How could Daniel have known this in advance? How could anyone have contrived to have this detailed prediction documented over three centuries in advance? But there’s more.

The Interval (Daniel 9:26)

There appears to be a gap between the 69th week (verse 25) and the 70th week (verse 27):

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Daniel 9:26

The sixty-two “weeks” follow the initial seven, so verse 26 deals with events after 69th week, but before the 70th. These events include the Messiah being killed and the city and sanctuary being destroyed.

As Jesus approached the city on the donkey, He also predicted the destruction of Jerusalem:

For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Luke 19:43-44

The Messiah was, of course, executed at the Crucifixion…”but not for Himself.”

The city and the sanctuary were destroyed 38 years later when the Roman legions under Titus Vespasian leveled the city of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, precisely as Daniel and Jesus had predicted. In fact, as one carefully examines Jesus’ specific words, it appears that He held them accountable to know this astonishing prophecy in Daniel 9! “Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

The 70th Week

There is a remaining seven-year period to be fulfilled. This period is the most documented period in the entire Bible. The Book of Revelation, Chapters 6 through 19, is essentially a detailing of that climactic period.

The interval between the 69th and 70th week continues, but it is increasingly apparent that it may soon be over.

The more one is familiar with the numerous climactic themes of “end-time” prophecy, the more it seems that Daniel’s 70th Week is on our horizon.

Have you done your homework? Are you and your family prepared?

As the holiday season approaches, share with your family and friends this incredible demonstration of just who Jesus really is, and what the significance of all this is to every one of us!

Amazing grace, indeed!

* * *

For a more complete exposition of this amazing passage, see our newly recorded briefing package, Daniel’s 70 Weeks. This briefing is also available for the first time as an automated multimedia slideshow download!

Sources:

Anderson, Robert, The Coming Prince, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1894. The classic work on the Seventy Weeks of Daniel.

Missler, Chuck, Daniel’s 70 Weeks, Koinonia House, 2004. (Also, the newly recorded Expositional Commentary on Daniel, 16-session study with notes.)