“that all things which are written may be fulfilled”
(Luke 21:22, NKJV)
In this light all the Old Testament prophecies which apparently tell us what will happen to Israel during the end times, can be explained on different terms. Ezek 38-39, for instance, (subject to suspicious transliteration of the Hebrew words to point out contemporary powers such as Russia and Iraq) is used to explain how events build up to the battle of Armageddon. This is all situated in the future, on account of the Scripture in Ezek 38:16 – “You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days …” The lack of a greater context of God’s encompassing plan, and an irritating hermeneutic tendency to literalize every principle in the Word (we will discuss this in more detail at a later stage) contribute to this gross deception.
We have already shown that the term “latter days” or “end of times” often points to something which is merely being referred to as lying in the future (Deut 4:32; 31:29; Judges 2:20-22; Dan 2:28; Jer 48:47; 49:39). These scriptures just mentioned are all references to “the end of days” which, at that point, was going to happen in the near future, and which were fulfilled. In Heb 1:1, which we spoke about earlier, it is made clear that God, “in the last days” will speak to us through his Son.
In his book His truth is marching on: Advanced studies in prophecy in the light of history, Ralph Woodrow offers clear historical correlations, but it is James Jordan’s Esther in the midst of covenant history which very convincingly points out how the entire history from Ezek 34-39 was exactly fulfilled with the history of the Jews in the time of Esther! This includes the details of names, numbers, places and events. The prophecy has thus, in other words, already been fulfilled.
In Kelly Varner’s revelatory reading of the book Ezekiel, Principles of present truth from Ezekiel, he unambiguously points out how the entire history of Gog and Magog has already been fulfilled. In Whose right it is he employs Scripture to clearly point out that Armageddon will not be a physical battle, and that the Bible states that this battle of Armageddon is a reality which you and I daily have to engage in in our attempts to have the kingdom of God come on earth, as it is in heaven.
We don’t need to take every Old Testament prophecy concerning Israel to show how it has already been fulfilled. The principle is clear – all the so-called prophetic matters concerning Israel have already been fulfilled, as Joshua (21:45) prototypically makes it clear – “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.”
In the “fullness of time”, when the dispensation of Israel had been concluded, “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal 4:4-5). The Amplified Bible specifies that this is explicitly said to “Jewish Christians” (verse 3). It would thus be possible to take one Old Testament prophecy after another, showing that they have all, already come to fulfilment IN CHRIST.
- Sela: Read the history of Ruth and juxtapose this with Ezek 34:39
- Read: Gen 4-6
- Examine how this has been fulfilled: Gen 5:2
- For a deeper understanding: Read the books mentioned in the teaching.
