In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He [Jesus Christ -Yeshua]
was in the beginning with God.
PURPOSE OF BIBLE PROPHECY
The Holy Bible provides a spiritual and historical accounting of
God’s plan for forgiveness and reconciliation of mankind to Himself. The
main thrust of Bible prophecy points to Jesus Christ, the Messiah. He
is the One who is the Light of the world. Only through Him is
forgiveness and reconciliation possible. There is no other name under
heaven given by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). The prophets
ministered to Israel during times of disobedience and obedience, and
prophesied the first and
second coming of Christ as the One
who would fulfill God’s ultimate plan of redemption. God is just in
judgment and righteousness. Bible prophecy serves to warn and judge
in times of disobedience, and to deliver and bless in times of
repentance.
God chose Israel as His people from whom the Savior would come to
fulfill His ultimate plan of redemption. In the Old Testament, the
prophets pointed to the two advents of Christ. While Israel is the primary focus of God’s prophetic
message, the Gentile nations are also included as
they are an integral part of God’s plan. The New Testament is
witness to the first advent of Christ and prophetic to His
second coming,
which will occur at
the end of our present age. At Christ’s first coming, He became the
final sacrifice and atonement for the sins of the world. God’s gift of
salvation became available to all who would receive Christ as their personal
Savior. The nation of Israel rejected Jesus as the Messiah
while Gentile nations embraced Him. Since the crucifixion and
resurrection of Christ,
mankind has been living in the age of grace
where salvation is available to all, both Jew and Gentile. In the Book
of Revelation, Christ reveals to the apostle John the end time events
in which He will bring Israel to repentance and judge all nations. We are
experiencing some of those events today. The age of grace will soon end at the
rapture of the
church, which is the body of true believers. God will then judge the nations during the
seven-year tribulation for their rejection of Christ. The
tribulation period will culminate
at the
battle of Armageddon when Christ comes the
second time to redeem
Israel and execute final judgment on the
Gentile nations. This will be
followed by 1,000 years of righteousness, peace and prosperity as Christ rules the
world from Jerusalem on the throne of David.