Prophecy

The Hope of Prophecy – 1st Sunday of Advent

/ Bob

Advent is that time of year when we look forward to Christmas – as we remember and look forward to the coming of Mashiach – the Messiah – Christ, the Lord. This Sunday we lit our first candle in our Advent Wreath – the Candle of Prophecy and Hope.

In the Old Testament the people who walked in darkness were looking ahead to a great light – one who come to deliver them from their darkness and their oppression – one who would restore God’s Kingdom. There are many prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah; over 300 in fact. The fact that one man could fulfill all of the prophecies is mind-blowing. It is statistically impossible and yet He did. We looked at a few of them and then discussed what the coming of the Messiah would have meant to the Jewish people in Jesus’ time.

Isaiah 53 is known as The Forbidden Chapter in many Christian groups. In it we find “the Suffering Servant.” Messianic scriptures point to a victorious King who would restore the Kingdom of God and throw off the oppression of conquering nations. The followers of Jesus, as well as many Jewish scholars of the day, saw and proclaimed Isaiah 53 as describing the Messiah with the Christ followers seeing it as clearly pointing to Jesus. Jewish leaders responded to the focus on Jesus by asserting that that the “suffering servant” was the nation of Israel. And so it continues today. As we looked at the chapter in class we saw Jesus throughout. He is the Messiah and He is the Suffering Servant.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, November 26, 2023. It is part of an Advent series of lessons that will run through Sunday, December 7, 2023.

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Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .

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Daniel 7 – The World Today as Prophesied in the Bible

/ Bob

Daniel 7 – Prophecy Comes into Focus with World Events

This is the Sunday morning session of the Agape Life Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham. This class session took place on December 6, 2020 and in that session we discussed Daniel 7 in the light of world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 presidential election, and the Great Reset.  The prophecies of Daniel and The Revelation seem to be playing out before us.  We discuss how to respond as believers in the One Who wins in the End.

Our Nation Is in His Hands

/ Bob

5Then the LORD gave me this message: 6“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 7If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, 8but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9And if I announce that I will build up and plant a certain nation or kingdom, making it strong and great, 10but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless that nation as I had said I would.Jeremiah 18:5-10

God spoke these words to the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah. While we should be cautious about taking any prophecy concerning the nation of Israel and applying it to any other nation such as the United States of America, we should take note of the general description of God’s sovereignty as we look at verses 7-10. In fact, we could replace the words “a nation” and “a kingdom” with the informal name, America, and it’s truth remains the same.

5Then the LORD gave me this message: 6“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 7If I announce that America is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, 8but then America renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9And if I announce that I will build up and plant America, making it strong and great, 10but then America turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless America as I had said I would.

We must renounce our evil ways. We must turn away from evil and turn to the One who alone holds us in the palms of His hands . . . before it’s too late.