Links to elsewhere on this Web site:   /apologetics.html   /book.html   /doctrinal.html  /essays.html  /links.html /sermonettes.html  /webmaster.html    Home Page, click here:    /index.html

 

Does Islam cause terrorism?  Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Moral Equivalency Applied Islamic History 0409.htm

Is the Bible God’s Word?  Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Is the Bible the Word of God.htm

Why does God Allow Evil?  Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Why Does God Allow Evil 0908.htm

Is Christian teaching from ancient paganism? /Bookhtml/Paganism influence issue article Journal 013003.htm

Should God’s existence be proven? /Apologeticshtml/Should the Bible and God Be Proven Fideism vs WCG.htm

Does the Bible teach blind faith?  Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Gospel of John Theory of Knowledge.htm

 

 

Does the Old Testament Predict Jesus’ Second Coming?

 

Does the Old Testament ever predict the second coming of Christ?  It’s been said that there are more texts in the Old Testament about Jesus’ second coming than in the New Testament.  So many, many texts about God’s waging war against a recalcitrant humanity (such as in Isaiah 66:14-17) appear here.  Isaiah 9:6-7 is about Jesus’ first and second comings.  Notice the part concerning government in verse 6:  “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father [or better, “Father of Eternity”], Prince of Peace.”  This prophesies that Jesus will be a ruler, or otherwise the government could never rest on his shoulders.  Then verse 7 is more clear about the coming Messiah being an earthly ruler also:  “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.”  So when Jesus returns the second time, He will be a conquering king, not the suffering servant (as is described in Isaiah 52:13-53:12). 

 

Now the Old Testament has a number of verses that describe Jesus’ return and His resulting rule over the earth.  True, some prophecies might seem ambiguous, such as about the return of Israel to the Holy Land, but when the details are examined, they haven’t been fulfilled yet, so they must be about millennial conditions after Jesus’ return.  For example, the attack of Gog and Magog can’t be as Jesus returns since it follows a period during which Israel securely dwelled in unwalled cities, which hardly fits Israel today.  Notice that Zechariah 14:4 mentions the specific location where Jesus will return to, which is Mount Olivet near the old city of Jerusalem, which the New Testament never explicitly states. Zechariah 12:7-10 mentions that every eye will see Jesus when He returns (cf. Revelation 1:7) and that the Lord will wage war.  Jesus’ return is symbolically portrayed in Daniel 2:44, which refers to His kingdom destroying earthly human rule as the stone destroys the statue that the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had viewed in his dream.  The well-known millennial text that describes a peaceful world without war (Isaiah 2:2-4) is more about the results of Christ’s millennial rule rather than the warfare when He returns.  In a Psalm the New Testament cites no less than fourteen times, David begins by proclaiming a "Lord" superior to himself:  "The Lord [Yahweh] says to my Lord [adoni]:  'Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.' . . . The Lord [Yahweh] has sworn and will not change His mind, 'Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek'" (Ps. 110:1, 4).  Notice that this text is also about Jesus’ return, since the Father didn’t make Jesus’ enemies a footstool during His first arrival here.

 

In many cases, the Old Testament telescopes together two events widely separated in time.  For example, Micah 5:2-3 mentions where the Messiah’s birth would occur:  “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.  His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.  Therefore, He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child.”  But then, verses 3-5 describe what ensues after the Conquering Messiah sets up the kingdom of God.  Clearly, the Old Testament's prophets will suddenly change subject midstream, or ignore the time element by telescoping together two events that may be separated by centuries.  When this important theoretical point is ignored, people make a mish-mash out of the correct understanding of prophetic Scripture.  For example, it’s perfectly plausible to find a time jump between the first and last parts of Micah 5:3, although it takes the light of further revelation (the New Testament) to make this crystal clear. 

 

Likewise, in Luke 4:18-19, Jesus quotes from Isa. 61:1-2, but He suddenly stops mid-sentence and mid-verse.  He avoids quoting "and the day of vengeance of our God."  Why?  Because this part of the prophecy wouldn't be fulfilled during His First Coming's ministry, He didn't cite it, while the rest of it would be, so He did.  The same principle applies to Isa. 11:1-9, in which the first three (maybe three and a half) verses Jesus fulfilled during his First Coming, but the rest describe what happens after the Second Coming.  In Ps. 2, v. 7 has to occur at a different time than vs. 8-12.  In Mal. 3:1-2, the first verse was fulfilled in the first century A.D., but the second still lies in the future. Why should anyone believe everything in a given prophecy has to happen all at the same time?  Dan. 11 proves otherwise, since vs. 41+ are unfulfilled at this time, but the rest has already occurred at least preliminarily.  Just because verses 3b-5 following Micah 5:2 are still unfulfilled doesn't mean the whole prophecy must lie in the future.  Micah 5:5 occurs when the Messiah returns to bring peace to the earth between warring nations (assuming mental peace is only a secondary meaning here--John 14:27; 16:33). 

 

Naturally enough, a book could be written while doing a thorough review of all the Old Testament’s Messianic texts about Jesus’ Second Coming.  This essay is just quick tour of a few key texts.

 

Eric Snow

www.lionofjudah1.org

 

Click here to access essays that defend Christianity:  /apologetics.html

Click here to access essays that explain Christian teachings:  /doctrinal.html

Click here to access notes for sermonettes:  /sermonettes.html

 

Why does God Allow Evil? Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Why Does God Allow Evil 0908.htm

May Christians work on Saturdays? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Protestant Rhetoric vs Sabbath Refuted.htm

Should Christians obey the Old Testament law? /doctrinalhtml/Does the New Covenant Abolish the OT Law.htm

Do you have an immortal soul? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Here and Hereafter.htm

Does the ministry have authority? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Is There an Ordained Ministry vs Edwards.html

Is the United States the Beast? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Are We the Beast vs Collins.htm

Should you give 10% of your income to your church? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Does the Argument from Silence Abolish the Old Testament Law of Tithing 0205 Mokarow rebuttal.htm

Is Jesus God? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Is Jesus God.htm

Will there be a third resurrection? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Will There Be a Third Resurrection.htm

 

 

Links to elsewhere on this Web site:   /apologetics.html   /book.html   /doctrinal.html  /essays.html  /links.html /sermonettes.html  /webmaster.html     For the home page, click here:    /index.html

 

QA53