30. Providence and Prophecy

LONNIE: We’re glad you could join us for another session of Exploring the Word.

JEANNIE: This is your opportunity to dig a little deeper into the riches of the Bible.

LONNIE: Today we’re going to talk about one of the lesser known prophecies in the Bible, one that has very big implications for life in our day.

JEANNIE: And it was suggested by a Discover student from India named Rumbidzai who wrote us to ask, “What prophecies are in the process of fulfillment right now?” This person has heard about how certain prophecies were fulfilled in history, you know, like the empires of Greece and Rome falling into place. But what about today? Is there something happening today that Bible prophets highlighted?

LONNIE: Good question. Well, as a matter of fact there’s a prophecy in the book of Daniel that actually points to our age as the Earth’s end time. It’s a prophecy that hints at what God is doing right now to prepare for the climax of history.

I’d like us to look at Daniel chapter eight. Daniel was one of the major prophets of the Old Testament. And he was very much an eschatological prophet, that is, a prophet who used symbols to talk about the end time – much like John did in Revelation.

So let’s look over at Daniel eight, verse 14. This is what an angel reveals to him:

And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

Two thousand three hundred DAYS. Now remember, in Bible prophecy, especially end-time prophecy, a day represents a year. (Ezekiel 4:6) So that’s twenty-three hundred YEARS.

Now if you read Daniel eight and nine carefully, you’ll discover that this prophecy is actually part of another 70-week prophecy, and that both prophecies begin with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, which was in 457 B.C.

So, adding 2300 years to 457 B.C. takes us down to 0 and then all the way up to the year 1844.

You can read a much more detailed explanation about this on our Discover Online website. Click on "Focus on Prophecy." Guide number six will have much more information about the prophecy we're studying today.

OK, so what happened at the end of the 2300 years? What happened in 1844? Daniel 8:14 says, “the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
What does that mean? Well, in ancient Israel the day for cleansing the sanctuary was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It was the day of reckoning, the day of judgment for the Hebrew people. It was about a cleansing from sin, cleansing the record of sins.

So what does all that represent when it comes to 1844, the end of the prophecy? What began then? I believe that marks the beginning of the end times, the last epoch of earth’s history. I believe it marks the beginning of a preparation for the final judgment, the final cleansing of this earth from sin.

And what you’re going to see is that this prophecy falls into a remarkable pattern we can trace through all the ages of the Bible. It’s part of a divine plan that we can see unfolding, precisely according to prophecy, from the beginning of time.

You may have a hard time believing that Daniel designates 1844 as the beginning of the end time. So let me go back and show you how this prophecy fits into a divine pattern, a consistent divine pattern. Here’s how prophecy and divine providence work together in a wonderful way.

Now here’s the pattern. Whenever our world is facing some calamity or some crisis at the end of an era, God first sends a redemptive message through a prophet to show us what’s coming, so we’ll be ready.

Not only that but, at the time of the crisis, God sends another prophet with another message. This message shows us how we can escape the crisis and move safely from one era to the next, from one age to the next.

God is remarkably consistent through thousands of years of history. I’m going to prove that to you right now. We’re going to look at the five major epochs of human history. And we’re going to spotlight God’s pattern of providence in each one.

Here’s the first big crisis: the Flood, the Flood that covered the earth. It’s described in Genesis seven. Did God see that coming beforehand? Did he give some warning about that event?

Some thousand years before the Flood, a prophet named Enoch, a prophet who had an eye on the future, named his son Methuselah. What does that name mean? It can be translated, “when he dies it will come,” or “when he is dead it will be sent.”

There we find the suggestion of a coming crisis. METHUSELAH. In his name we can see it coming.

Now let’s move to the crisis itself. Just before the Flood, God raised up another prophet. Who was that? NOAH. He begins preaching passionately: a flood is coming; we must get ready. And guess what, Methuselah was still around. In the pre-flood era people lived hundreds of years. Methuselah lived 969 years.
And when he died, what was the message? “It will come.” Well, Noah built the ark, and it did come. Water covered the face of the earth.

But Noah made it possible for a small remnant, just eight people in this case, to move from one age to the next. The people in the ark moved safely through the deluge to the next age, the age of the Patriarchs. Noah sees us through it.

We’re about to see how each one of the predictions you read about falls into an amazing pattern.

Let’s look at the next big crisis in biblical history. The captivity in Egypt. The time when the Hebrews became slaves of Pharaoh. Did God see it coming? Listen to a prophecy given in Genesis 15. God is speaking to the first patriarch, Abraham. And this is what he says:

“Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.”
Genesis 15:13, 14

What do we have here? ABRAHAM sees it coming. He sees it long before the Hebrews settled in Egypt. God is preparing His people for the crisis.

And then we move to the crisis itself. Does God raise up a prophet to move His people through that crisis safely?

Yes, Moses leads the Hebrews out of Egypt, out from under oppressive Pharaoh. MOSES sees us through. The prophecy is fulfilled precisely. After four hundred years of Hebrew slavery, God does judge Egypt. The Hebrews leave with “great possessions,” actually bribed to leave the country so the plagues would cease. God’s people pass safely through the Red Sea, and they pass safely out of one era and into another: the period of the Judges, the time when the nation of Israel was established in the Promised Land.

So now let’s move to the end of the time of the kingdom of Israel in Canaan. What’s the next big crisis on the horizon?

The captivity in Babylon. The Hebrews would be exiled to this foreign, heathen land. Did God see it coming? Did God raise up a prophet to warn about this calamity?

Let’s take a look at the prophet Jeremiah, at something we find in Jeremiah 25:11,12. Speaking to the people of Judah, he said:

“And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation . . .”

Who sees it coming? JEREMIAH. He predicts a captivity lasting 70 years.

Now let’s move to the crisis itself. The Hebrews were indeed exiled to Babylon, just as Jeremiah predicted. But who do we find in Babylon?

The prophet Daniel. God had another prophet ready to lead His people safely through the crisis and into the next era.

Guess what we find in the first few verses of Daniel nine? He’s reading the prophet Jeremiah! He reads about the 70-year prophecy and he realizes that the 70 years are up. So he begins praying. How is God going to end this captivity?

As it turns out, the emperor Darius issues a decree in 457 B.C. permitting a group of Hebrews to return to the Promised Land and begin rebuilding their temple and their nation. This is the remnant that passes from one era to another. And just to make sure it happens, God sends along two other prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to encourage the people in their work among Jerusalem’s ruins. A new era began after the exile, a new epoch began in salvation history.

Now let’s look at our fourth example. It centers around the time of the Messiah. And the crisis is this: what is the nation of Israel going to do about the Messiah?

Does God see it coming? Does God prepare His people? Well, here Daniel plays another role. He’s the prophet who’s looking toward the next epoch. And this is his prophecy in Daniel 9:25:

“Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince
Shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks . . .”

The prophecy goes on. It reveals more details about the Messiah. In fact it’s so detailed it would require a separate study just to appreciate it.

And you can find one on our website www.exploringtheword.com. Click on Program Archives and check out “On Target, On Time.” That will give you a complete look at this amazing messianic prophecy.

For now let me summarize. Remember, a day often stands for a year in time prophecies. So seventy weeks, or 490 years, takes us right down to the time when Jesus, the Messiah, died on the cross. And other details in this prophecy even point to the time when the leaders of Israel sealed their fate by stoning Stephen.

That was the crisis that opened the door to a new era, the period of the Gospel going to the Gentiles. DANIEL sees it coming.
But what about the time of the crisis itself, the time of the Messiah. Did God raise up another prophet to help His people pass safely from one era to another?

Ever hear of John the Baptist? Of course. He prepared the way for the Messiah. He prepared the nation of Israel to look at Jesus as the Lamb of God, the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy and ritual and ceremony. JOHN THE BAPTIST sees us through it. A remnant of Israel would pass from one era to another.

That’s God’s plan. That’s the way God works. That’s the pattern of providence.

And that, my friends, brings us to the final prophecy, the fifth exhibit. That’s the prophecy we started with, Daniel 8:14, the 2300-year prophecy which began in 457 B.C. and extends to 1844.

What’s the crisis God sees coming? What is God wanting to prepare His people for? The time of the end.

God saw it coming, again in DANIEL. The sanctuary will be cleansed at the end of this 2300-year period. A special time of judgment begins. A cleansing of sins begins, dealing with the record. God is preparing to purify this Earth once and for all of the curse of sin and suffering.

Why do I believe that Daniel’s prophecy points to our day? Why am I convinced we are living in the time of the end – and have been since the 1840s?

Because the pattern of providence here is so clear! The pattern of prophecy is so dramatic! God always sees what’s coming. God always prepares His people for the crisis!

So, wait a minute. What about the time of the crisis itself? What about passing safely from one era into another, in this case into the time of the end? Did God raise up a prophet for that purpose? What exactly happened in 1844?

Well that, my friends was precisely the time of the Advent awakening. It was quite a movement that swept through many churches, many sleeping, complacent churches. In the 1830s and 1840s most churches had pushed the second coming of Jesus Christ far into the background, or far into the future. It wasn’t really a part of the thinking of many Christians.

But then people like William Miller came along and shook things up. He had rediscovered the “blessed hope” of the New Testament: the glorious return of Jesus Christ to this world. His preaching, and that of many others who would be called “Adventists,” made countless people take a second look at the prophecies of Scripture, a second look at where history was headed. Visionary leaders like James and Ellen White gave the Advent movement a distinctive shape and voice.
The Advent awakening forever changed the way many Christians looked at the hope of the Second Coming. It brought that hope into the twentieth century, and has brought it into the twenty-first.

So it’s my conviction that the ADVENT MOVEMENT served as the prophetic voice that prepared God’s people to pass safely from one era into another, the period of the end times.

As we look back over history, and as we look back over prophecy, it becomes clear how consistent God has been in His providential care, how consistent He’s been in taking us from one epoch to another.

It started with the Flood. The very name Methuselah was a prediction; it pointed to when that crisis would come. God saw it coming, over 900 years before.

And then, at the time of the flood, God raised up another prophet, Noah, who could see us through, a prophet who would lead a faithful remnant from one era into the next.

Then we come to the captivity in Egypt. God prepared the Hebrews for it, hundreds of years ahead of time, in the prophecy of Abraham. They could have seen it coming.

When the four hundred years was up, God raised another prophet Moses, who would lead God’s people safely into the next era.

The pattern continued with the captivity in Babylon. God prepared the people of Judah for their exile, ahead of time, through the prophet Jeremiah.

And then at the end of their 70-year captivity, God raised up another prophet Daniel, who would help lead a faithful remnant through the crisis, out of one era and into the next.

God was working in the same way when he prepared His people for the coming of the Messiah through the prophecies of Daniel. The Messiah would create a crisis in the nation of Israel. Some would reject Jesus, some would accept Him.

And again, God sent a prophet at the time of that crisis, John the Baptist, to prepare God’s people to go safely through—from one era to the next.

It’s my conviction that we are standing in the midst of the final era of Earth’s history. We are in the end times. And God pointed to the crisis ages ago. He spoke through Daniel. And I believe God raised up a prophetic movement at the time of the crisis, the end of that 2300-year period, to enable God’s people to pass safely through one era and into the next.

God wants us to be ready for the climax of history. God has prepared the way for our rendezvous with eternity. God wants us paying attention. God wants to make sure we’re right with Him as He prepares to cleanse this world of sin and suffering.
JEANNIE: Lonnie, the prophecies you’ve covered today are a lot to take in, aren’t they?

LONNIE: You’re right, that’s quite a lot of history to digest. But you know, I think it’s so encouraging to grasp the big picture, to see how God has been working on the big stage—for our benefit.

JEANNIE: Yes, when these prophecies come together, it does build up your faith.

LONNIE: When we really understand that God always sees the crisis coming, and that God always sees us through it – that’s pretty encouraging.

JEANNIE: Lonnie, Daniel’s 2300-day prophecy about the cleansing of the sanctuary seems to point to a certain kind of judgment, right?

LONNIE: Right.

JEANNIE: So what does that mean for us? What does it mean to believe, as Revelation says, that “the hour of His judgment has come?”

LONNIE: Let’s try to answer that. There’s a sense in which “the hour of God’s judgment” is really a high calling. And it’s a high calling we all need to heed in our time. It’s saying, God is looking for a people who will represent Him in these last days.

This judgment isn’t to make us worry whether we’re saved or not. Salvation is about our faith placed in Jesus Christ, period. This judgment is about vindicating God’s character before a watching universe. It’s about showing that He’s been fair, showing that His grace has made a difference in this sinful world. And we have a role to play in demonstrating that truth. In a sense we bear witness, not just for ourselves, but for God, in the final judgment.

So I invite you to be part of God’s high calling. I invite you to join God’s prophetic movement in these last days. The awakening is still happening. Christ’s return looms on the horizon. And God is looking for a people who will represent Him when the going gets tough. God is looking for a people who will be cleansing agents in a corrupt society, a people who will be salt and light in the midst of moral decay.

In light of God’s wonderful providence, in light of all God has done down through history, it’s a privilege to stand with Him in this final crisis. And of course it’s the safest place to be on Earth.

Let’s join together. Let’s stand together as a movement of faith, as a people who hear God’s voice calling us higher. Let’s reflect His character in a world waiting to see the light. Let’s make that commitment now as we pray.

Dear Father, thank You for Your marvelous acts of providence. Thank You for drawing a circle around all of history and drawing it toward You. We want to be part of Your End-time Movement. We want to be part of Your remnant church. Please help us to hear that high calling. Enable us to fulfill the role You have for us in these times. Thank You for giving us a secure place to stand in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for taking us safely from this era into the next. In His Name, amen.

JEANNIE: Ready for your homework assignment? Next week we’ll be talking about the assurance of salvation. How do we get it? What’s it based on?

LONNIE: And we’d like you to look at one chapter in the book of Ephesians that pictures the kind of assurance we can have in Christ. Look at Ephesians chapter two and try to figure out what the “position” of the believer is all about. What position do you occupy?

JEANNIE: Remember, read Ephesians chapter two for our next program.

LONNIE: Until then, God bless you. Never stop Exploring the Word. And remember, God really does love you.