Monday: Fulfilled Prophecy
Despite some of the error that modern science tries to promulgate as truth (such that our universe by itself arose from “absolutely nothing” or that all life on earth arose by chance from simple chemicals), science has nonetheless given us some astonishing insights into God’s creative power. The harmony, the balance, the precision of many aspects of the natural world, even in its fallen state, continue to astound those who study them.
And if God can be so precise with physical things, He certainly would be precise with spiritual things, as well. Hence, in the opening verses of Deuteronomy, we can see more of God’s incredible precision.
Read Deuteronomy 1:1-6. What is the prophetic significance of the fact that Deuteronomy 1:3 talks about the “fortieth year”?
Image © Justinen Creative Goodsalt.com
After the fiasco, when Moses sent spies from Kadesh Barnea to check out the land, and the people rejected the call to take the land — what happened? They were told that they would not enter into the Promised Land as they had hoped. And for how long would they wait before entering? “According to the number of the 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” (Numbers 14:34).
Hence, Deuteronomy takes up the story of God’s people in the fortieth year, exactly as God had told them. In other words, God’s prophetic Word is as trustworthy as God Himself, and what we see here in the opening verses of Deuteronomy is more evidence of that trustworthiness; that is, God will do what He says and will do it when He says that He will do it.
Of course, this isn’t the only prophetic time period that was fulfilled as God had said. Looking back from our vantage point today, we can find in Daniel 9:24-27, for instance, the time period for Jesus, fulfilled just as the Lord had said. We can see that the “time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25; see also Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:14; Revelation 13:5) has been fulfilled in history, as well as the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14.
And besides the precise time elements, the prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, 8, which so precisely and accurately predicted world history, have given us overwhelming evidence of God’s foreknowledge, control, and trustworthiness.
| We can see that the Lord faithfully fulfilled these past prophecies just as predicted. Why should this give us confidence that we can trust Him on the things He said would come that are yet in the future? |
(30)
I was somewhat surprised to see the lesson jump to the 2300 day/year prophecy this morning. It somewhat reinforces the idea that we have superior knowledge about history and I am not sure that is such a good idea.
I started to read Deuteronomy in earnest this morning. It was cut a bit short because one of my birdwatching friends wanted me to get out of the house and show him where the birds were. But, I did find a theme that I want to explore a bit more.
Moses wrote this:
It is a practical description of judgement for those that were charged with the job of judging in the migratory camp of Israel. The overall issue was the notion of fairness without favour, and it included a specific instruction to be fair to foreigners (people of a different race). The notion of fairness in the matter of justice was firmly laid down in the very roots of the Torah.
The sanctuary services were developed in this environment and represents the process of salvation including final judgement. That should give us confidence that God sees justice without favour as a foundation guiding principle when dealing with sin.
One consequence of this is that our dealings with one another should likewise be just and without favour. I sometimes think that we let the arithmetic of prophecy fulfilment hide a very important principle that God uses and wants to restore in us.
I love where you are going, Maurice, with beginning to re-explore the concept of judgment and justice - or should I say 'justness' - that is raised early within Deuteronomy.
A question for each reader to ponder for themselves. If someone wronged me and I were given the choice of 2 options, which of the following would I choose and why:
1) Have the other person suffer imposition of the punishment of my choosing, or
2) Have the specific wrong actually repaired so that things are returned to their former 'pre-wronged' state?
In reply to Phil - I'm thinking that your #2 option is commonly called 'making amends'. Making amends includes both the specific wrong/righted, and repair of the relationship also = a very good thing to do!
Amy, I agree with you. However, I have learned that many of us, even with the people in our personal lives, do not want to “making amends” because it “includes both the specific wrong/righted, and repair of the relationship also”, which is often difficult work.
For example, a spouse (the man or the woman) can forgive their spouse for infidelity during their marriage, and choose to continue in the marriage. However, they would also have to work on repairing their relationship. The broken hearts, lack of trust and confidence in each other, are all things that would have to be worked on, by both spouses, in order to rebuild the relationship. This is A very hard thing to do; and unfortunately, most people (not all) fail at doing this hard work.
Even within my own family, I see my relatives choosing to avoid each other, the other people that offended them, instead of repairing the relationship. But I do wish that more people would choose to repair their relationships, even if it does call for hard work.
God’s blessings to you.
Maurice, don't "we" have a correct knowledge of prophecy? If not, why are we here? Have you studied with others who do not know these things and realize what a privilege, and therefore, responsibility we bear? John was told "you must prophesy again before many people"(Rev 10:11), which was referring to the Millerite/Advent movement following the great disappointment of 1844. The 1st angel's message is this prophesying "again" isn't it? The subject of the judgment in this prophesying again is clearly revealed in the verse that follows this injunction(Rev 11:1).
Paul, because of his learning of and relation to the gospel considered himself a "debtor" to those who did not know the Truth(Rom 1:14). If we have Truth, "we do not do well" to remain silent while many perish for lack of knowing what we have been blessed to know(2 Kings 7:9). Won't their blood be on our hands(Eze 33:7-9)?
I believe the author/editor of the lesson was focused on the faithfulness of God's prophetic utterances, and the confidence we may have in each fulfillment in regard to what is yet unfulfilled. Nothing wrong with being confident in God's word.
Phil, we are to preach about the judgment(see above), but it is not our place to judge, which we leave to the Lord and righteous Judge. God will judge "the quick and the dead", or the righteous and the wicked. Each soul will have chosen their final reward/wages, and the judgment will demonstrate this. Our message of judgment must highlight the gospel, and the wonderful reconciliation God is offering to every sinner through Christ, the "Lamb of(from) God, which takes away the sin of the world", and offers Life instead. This is a hopeful message, and good news for all who would "repent and believe"(Mark 1:15).
One of the ideas that I try to get across to my grandsons when I tutor them in maths is that the arithmetic is only a mechanism to get to the correct answer. Mikey will work though a problem and tell me that the answer is 5. There is nothing wrong with the arithmetic, but when the question asks, "Given ... How high is the tree? The answer is "The Tree is 5 metres high."
My point is that in prophecy, getting the arithmetic right is often not the answer to the question. I am not denying the arithmetic but sometimes we let the arithmetic appear to be the goal.
Yes Maurice, I would agree that the math by itself is not the goal, but I've not seen that to be the "end" of studying prophecy. The dates/times/events only prove the accuracy and reliability of Scripture and its Author, thus encouraging belief in what it actually means beyond the math. The object of prophecy is the Gospel(2 Pe 1:19), and Christ formed within. Notice how Peter exhorts believers that they would do well to "take heed as a light that shines in a dark place", regarding prophecy. Ellen states that this study(of Daniel and the Revelation)is to "take first place in the minds of God's people".
How else are we to fulfill the command to "prophesy again before many..."(Rev 10:11)?
Good morning Bro Maurice. Let me point out that Deuteronomy 1: 12-17 is the key passage for tomorrow's lesson. So you may have to repeat your point then.
You are quite right Erma. But sometimes a passage sparks off two points. 😀
What I took away from this days lesson was that by reviewing history, it’s not about getting the math right, it’s about seeing that God keeps His promises. Math may be involved, as we see here with Israel. Moses was reciting history, because there were people there that had not been born yet when all this took place. They needed to see that God said 40 years and here we are at 40 years. I see the same thing as equally important with all the time prophecies in scripture. Ellen White and the small group of people left after the disappointment in 1844, surely viewed these time prophecies as very important to understand. By understanding them, we will see that God gives us ample information to know that He will do what He says. When these time prophecies line up with history shows happened, we can trust that He will continue to be trustworthy.
Hi Maurice, like you, I thought the Sabbath school lesson would take us to how Moses organized the camp by appointed judges to judge over the people. Here’s what I wrote on Sunday (before reading Monday’s lesson) about this topic, as I’m preparing to teach this Sabbath:
Ok, back to Moses’ history lessons, I’m not coming to go through the whole first three chapters of Deuteronomy verse by verse, but I am going to touch on the verses that I think is important to us, as we are living I near the end of this age, or on the brink of our Promised Land, eternal life. Deuteronomy 1, starting at verse 9, Moses reminds them of how he was not able to lead all the people; when they first left Egypt, there were over 700,000 men, women, and children. He reminded them that they chose judges from each of the tribes, who were appointed to lead the people, “and made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.(NKJV)”
What lesson can we learn from this part of Moses’ history lesson? It’s giving us the pattern for church leadership. Imagine with me, if all of those 500 households that we give tracts and books to, earlier this year, decided that it is important to come back to God, and they came to our church today. That would probably be little over 1,000 people, if you were counting all of the men, women, children, and the elders (yes, there’s still some elderly people in our neighborhood). Are we ready to receive that large number of people? Yes, we would have to get ready fast; with very little planning, we would have to decide on how we would organize ourselves to fulfill this large task. We could have three services on Sabbath, and two mid week services, and then we would have to decide, from among the church members, who would be available to lead out for all of these added services.
So, now you starting to see the big task that Moses had before him, of getting all those people across into the Promised Land. And all the while knowing that he was not going into the promised Land with them. And on top of all that, he had to train his predecessor, Joshua, to take the reins of leading this large group of people into the Promised Land, a land that is already occupied with other people. And we think that we are offended by the recent Haitian migration into Texas (about 14,000 people), or the over 700,000 people that tried to migrate into America from several South America countries in 2017. They too were trying to come into a country, America, that is already occupied. I’m sorry to some of you for not following the sabbath school as outline in our quarterly, but sometimes, I have allow the Holy Spirit to lead into the direction He wants us to study. I say all this because we still have some lessons to learn from the Israelites’ Promised Land experience.
And the first lesson Moses is telling them, or reminding them, is to organize our leadership; your leadership must be ready to lead you (or our communities) into the Promised Land. Or else, like the recent Haitian migration, where there was no leadership, therefore, they did not succeed. (Also, please don’t add to this topic and turn it into a political debate here in the church over race). However, if you want to discuss it with me personally after church, I’ll be more than happy to listen to you.
Lastly, I’m sure it was weighing heavy on Moses’ mind if Joshua was ready or could he handle this people, to lead them into the Promised Land. They have already troubled Moses so bad that he wasn’t able to cross over into the Promised Land. Would they do the same to Joshua? So, he, Moses, needed to give them a few more last minute history lessons, on how to successfully cross over into the Promised Land. Joshua would have been able to handle the situation regardless, because the Lord God(Jesus) was with them every step of the way (as He still is with us now). But we are human, so we worry.
Sorry about the long post. God’s blessings to you all, and have faith in God.
Which of the following would I choose and why?
3) It would depend on their disposition of #1 and #2. If they were rebellious towards #2 I would say lets notify the authorities of wrong doing. But if they had the mind set to humble themselves, #2 would be a good choice.
#4 The situation may be where I would want to turn it over to God who reads the heart. This correctional situation may not be mine. Deuteronomy 32:35.
In addition I would be prudent in asking for guidence by the Holy Spirit in choice of 1-4.
Brother Ashton,
I believe the author of the lesson is trying to link the "Fortieth year time with other prophecy time in the Bible. That is why he jumped from Deuteronomy 1:3 to the other prophecy like Revelation, Daniel etc. concerning time. It is my humble opinion. Please reply.
You are quite right Ernst. Please read my answer to Robert above. Getting the arithmetic right sometimes obscures the goal. 🙂
Like Maurice and Phil, I also have noticed that Moses starts his history account of the people wandering in the wilderness by retelling the appointment of Judges - Deut.1:9-18; this is significant!
I wondered why he chose to place this account at the beginning of recalling all the other important events, and considered that 'wilderness' can be a stand-in for confusion/imbalance/uncertainty.
I see the work of those judges to be as significant to promote justice through wisdom, as is the work of the Levites in the temple service - one is practical, one is spiritual, but both address the whole of man in his life - the body and soul.
Their crucial work of serving to establish 'justice' in the land lasted until Kings were instituted by request of the people of Israel; with this, Israel became like the 'other nations' around them - more prone to corruption and vice.
If we consider God still changing the heart and mind of those who believe His Way is just, fair, and kind, that he is no respecter of persons, one can see that the conduct of all who seek Him is being changed from unjust/unloving/self-serving to a just/loving/other-serving conduct.
The means with which God redeems mankind have not changed since the beginning - Never ending Love working on the heart and mind of the person. We can trust Christ Jesus and His Way to remain the same yesterday and today and forever - Heb.13:8KJV; Matt.24:35KJV.
I don't really see the connection being made here with the 40th year and prophecy. When God told the people they would wander 40 years in the wilderness, He wasn't making a prediction, He was passing a sentence on them. He determined when they would enter the Promised Land. To see it as a prediction makes no sense as what nation would wander in circles in the wilderness just because they felt like it?
I believe in the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation, but I don't see a connection with Deuteronomy 1 and I don't know why this connection would be made. Why can't we just study a passage for itself rather than trying to link it to proof texts all the time? When we do this, it does make us seem a little arrogant, as Maurice referenced. It also seems strange as most people who study the Sabbath School lesson are pretty firmly grounded in what the church believes. So often I pick up the lesson and feel like I'm getting a lecture about some belief or another. It turns me off a bit.
Also remember, this is Moses’ history lesson to the people that are about to cross over into the Promised Land. It is also a history lesson for us, as we, God’s remnant people (all those that believe in Jesus, and accepted him as their personal Savior), are about to cross over into the Promised Land, Eternal Life. There will be many people that will be saved, that is not of our faith; and many “great lights” within our faith will go out, which is why Jesus said, that there would be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12, Matthew 13:42) in that great day.
We also have to remember that this Bible, the Word of God, was written for those that believe, and/or that will soon believe, in order to strengthen their faith in the Lord (2 Timothy 3:16, Ephesians 4:16). So, I see it as learning, studying and sharing God’s word.
God’s blessings to you
Also, this is Moses’ history lesson to the people that are about to cross over into the Promised Land. It is also a history lesson for us, as we, God’s remnant people (all those that believe in Jesus, and accepted him as their personal Savior), are about to cross over into the Promised Land, Eternal Life. There will be many people that will be saved, that is not of our faith; and many “great lights” within our faith will go out, which is why Jesus said, that there would be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12, Matthew 13:42) in that great day.
We also have to remember that this Bible, the Word of God, was written for those that believe, and/or that will soon believe, in order to strengthen their faith in the Lord (2 Timothy 3:16, Ephesians 4:16). So, I see it as learning, studying and sharing God’s word.
God’s blessings to you
Also, We also have to remember that this Bible, the Word of God, was written for those that believe, and/or that will soon believe, in order to strengthen their faith in the Lord (2 Timothy 3:16, Ephesians 4:16). So, I see it as learning, studying and sharing God’s word.
God’s blessings to you
Yes, Christina, I see and agree with you. However, I’m going to give my Sabbath school class homework this Sabbath (no one ever returns my homework, I hope it’s not because of me): Go through the Bible, and read all the “forty” or “fortieth” references, and you will see that there is almost always a prophetic reference in it.
Also remember , this is Moses’ history lesson to the people that are about to cross over into the Promised Land. It is also a history lesson for us, as we, God’s remnant people (all those that believe in Jesus, and accepted him as their personal Savior), are about to cross over into the Promised Land, Eternal Life. There will be many people that will be saved, that is not of our faith; and many “great lights” within our faith will go out, which is why Jesus said, that there would be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12, Matthew 13:42) in that great day.
We also have to remember that this Bible, the Word of God, was written for those that believe, and/or that will soon believe, in order to strengthen their faith in the Lord (2 Timothy 3:16, Ephesians 4:16). So, I see it as learning, studying and sharing God’s word.
God’s blessings to you