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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
December 23, 2007
Prophecies of Return & a Future Kingdom
Ezra, Nehemiah & Prophets
Introduction
The period of the kings of Israel came to an abrupt end when Israel was conquered and its people carried away to captivity by Assyria in 722 B.C. The kingdom of Israel only lasted 209 years because everyone of its kings was evil. The nation of Judah lasted longer because there were some good kings in the course of its history. However, their evil also eventually became so great that the Lord had Babylon conquer it in 605 B.C., reconquer it again in 597 B.C. and plunder the temple and deport the leaders and skilled workers. Babylon put down Judah’s last rebellion in 586 B.C. when it burned Jerusalem and the temple. Judah had lasted only 345 years as a separate nation and the total period of kings starting with Saul was only 465 years. (See: Of Kings & Prophets)
There are those that believe that this was the end of Israel as a nation. There are those that also believe that this was the end of Israel as God’s chosen people. I want to be kind, but in claiming such things those who advocate those ideas only show their ignorance of the Pentateuch (books of Moses), the prophets and history itself. This morning I want to emphasize the hope of future redemption given to Israel throughout its history. This will be seen in both the historical reality of its return and establishment after the exile as recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and in the promises of the prophets of a future redemption that goes much beyond that return.
Prophecies of Destruction
Remember that the destruction of both Israel and Judah had been forewarned and foretold by Moses, Joshua and the various prophets during the period of the kings. All the way back in Leviticus 26 Moses had warned the first generation out of Egypt that if they obeyed Him they would be blessed and prosper in the land the Lord was giving them, but if they did not then there would be increasing curses upon them. The final curse upon them would be that the Lord would lay waste their cities, make their sanctuaries and land desolate, and scatter them among the nations. Moses gave the same warning and prediction to the second generation in Deuteronomy 4:25-28 and 28:64-68. Joshua gave that same warning and prediction to the generation following him in Joshua 23:15-16.
As the various kings did turn away from the Lord, He sent prophets to warn them again about the consequences. Among the prophets the Lord sent to Israel were Ahijah, Elijah, Elisha, Amos & Hosea. Amos 3-8 and Hosea 8-10 specifically condemns the nation for her sin and prophecies the coming judgement. Among the prophets sent to Judah were Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk and Jeremiah. Each of them carry warnings and prophecies of God’s judgement.
Prophecies of Hope
The prophets brought messages of judgement, but they also brought messages of hope. They are consistent in this. The general formula began with a description of the sins for which God would judge them which would then be followed by the consequences of those sins, and this would in turn be followed by a message of hope for future restoration and redemption. The messages of hope often included elements that would be fulfilled near in time and elements that were distant in time. This goes back even to the warnings given by Moses and Joshua.
Leviticus 26 warns about severe judgement that would include making the land desolate because of their abominations and iniquities, but then verse 44-45 add, “Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. 45 ‘But I will remember for them the covenant with their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 4 does the same thing. After explaining that they would be scattered among the nations and serve false gods, verses 29-31 adds, “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find [Him] if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. 30 “When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. 31 “For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.”
The same is true throughout the writings of the prophets. Though the nation would be severely punished for their sin resulting in their exile, they would not remain in exile. There would also be a future return. Again, some of those prophecies would come true near in time and some are still in the future yet.
Prophecies of Return
Jeremiah was a prophet at the time of Judah’s final days. He began ministry the 13th year of godly king Josiah’s reign when there was revival in the land. He continued in his ministry throughout the conquest of Judah by Babylon and after. He had a difficult ministry because God called him to preach to a people that would not listen (Jeremiah 7:27). Even when he became so frustrated by it that he tried to quit he could not because the word of the Lord became as fire in his bones and he had to proclaim God’s truths (Jeremiah 20:9f). Much of his ministry was warning and condemnation, but he also had a message of hope.
In Jeremiah 25 he proclaimed that because of their evil and many sins the Lord would bring the whole nation into desolation and that Judah would serve the king of Babylon for seventy years (vs. 11). Verse 12 then says, “Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.” After 70 years Babylon would be punished for their iniquity. Then Jeremiah 29:10 gives further explanation and hope saying, “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 ‘And you will seek Me and find [Me,] when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 ‘And I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.'”
It was this very prophecy that Daniel was reading in the first year of Darius the Mede. Daniel was a Jewish exile who was taken to Babylon in 605 B.C. as a teen. He then served in key positions of the Babylonian government under several kings and then later in the Medo-Persian empire which conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. ( Ezekiel is another prophet living among the exiles during this same time period). As Daniel read this prophecy he became excited because he realized that the seventy years were nearly completed. His great prayer of confession and petition concerning God fulfilling this prophecy is recorded in Daniel 9.
While many of the prophecies are somewhat general in nature, another very specific prophecy concerning the return from exile is in Isaiah. He is prophesying 150 or more years prior to the event, but here is what the Lord says through him in Isaiah 44:28-45:7, “[It is I] who says of Cyrus, ‘[He is] My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.'” 45:1 Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him, And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: 2 “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze, and cut through their iron bars. 3 “And I will give you the treasures of darkness, And hidden wealth of secret places, In order that you may know that it is I, The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. 4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen [one,] I have also called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have not known Me. 5 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; 6 That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, 7 The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.” The prophesy continues and verse 13 adds regarding Cyrus, “I have aroused him in righteousness, And I will make all his ways smooth; He will build My city, and will let My exiles go free, Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.” The prophecy continues with Isaiah 48:20 calling on them to “Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim this, Send it out to the end of the earth; Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob.”
The book of Ezra records the fulfillment of this prophecy. Ezra 1:2-4 gives the decree, 2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 ‘Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 ‘And every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.’ ”
Cyrus made this decree in 538 B.C. and Ezra 1-6 recounts the story of the first return under Zerubbabel. Though whoever wanted to return could do so, and 49,697 people did. When they arrived they resumed the sacrifices and the various feasts. In their second year they began work on rebuilding the temple. They had already laid the foundation when the Samaritans, the people who had been brought by the Assyrians to live in the land, began to oppose the rebuilding. By 534 B.C. they had managed to stop the work. The Lord sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the people to resume the work and after a series of messages by Haggai in 520, the work was resumed. The hand of the Lord was seen in that this came about when Darius the king found the record of Cyrus’ early decree. This resulted in Darius directing Tatenai, the governor of the region who was the key official that was keeping the temple from being rebuilt, to not only stay away from Jerusalem, but to also pay for everything out of that province’s taxes and supply anything needed. Anyone violating the decree was to be executed by being impaled upon a timber taken from his own house. The work on the temple went forward quickly after this and was completed in 516 B.C. which was 70 years after the destruction of the first temple. The vessels from the first Temple which they had brought back with them by Cyrus’ decree were again in proper use.
Ezra 7-10 recounts the return of a second group in 458 B.C. under Ezra by the authority of Artaxerxes who provided for it out of the royal treasury. Again, anyone that desired to return could do so, but only 1,758 returned. Ezra was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, and upon his arrival he brought about some needed reforms. The key reform was having those from the earlier group that had taken foreign wives put them away. The evil influence brought about by intermarriage with the pagan people of the land had been a main cause of the nation being taken into captivity. Under Ezra’s influence the people returned to following the law of Moses.
Between the first and second returns is the story of Esther, a Jewish woman that ends up becoming King Xerxes’ queen. God’s gracious providence is seen through out the book as the plan by evil Haman to destroy all the Jews in the Persian empire is thwarted and Haman is executed instead. The Jewish feast of Purim is a celebration of this deliverance and victory over their enemies.
A third return occurred in 444 B.C. under Nehemiah who had served as King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer. Artaxerxes authorized him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls. Though he was opposed by the officials from the surrounding regions, Nehemiah organized and motivated the people to rebuild the walls in only 52 days. Along with rebuilding the walls, Nehemiah brought additional reforms. He abolished usury by which some of the government officials had been oppressing the people. He also had Ezra come to read and explain the law to the people resulting in the people confessing their sins and a celebration of the Feast of Booths. It also resulted in the expulsion of Tobiah, an Ammonite official that had married into a Jewish noble family of priests. They had actually prepared rooms for his use in the courts of the Temple. Nehemiah kicked him out. Nehemiah also restored the tithes going to the Levites and restored the observance of the Sabbath by locking the temple gates to keep the merchants out. Malachi was the probably the prophet during this time since many of the evils he denounced are also found in Nehemiah.
The prophecies of the nation returning to the land had been fulfilled even to the smallest detail including the exact number of years of the captivity and the name and position of the person who would make the decree. The nation was back in the land and would remain so through the time of the coming of Messiah which had also been foretold.
Between the period of Nehemiah and Malachi and the coming of John the Baptist, the Lord did not send any more prophets or give any more special revelation. During that period of time Alexander the Great had made his sweeping conquest placing the land under his authority in 332 B.C. Following his death his empire split into four factions and Israel was subject to the constant wars between the Seleucids, who controlled the regions to the north, and the Ptolemies who controlled Egypt. Though Israel had periods of independence such as under the Maccabean revolt in 164 B.C. (which is the basis for the celebration of Hanukkah when the Temple was cleansed), the Roman General Pompey conquered the region in 63 B.C. All of this was foretold to Daniel and is recorded in Daniel 7, 8, 9 & 11. The details of chapter 11 are so precise that liberal theologians reject Daniel as the author because they do not believe such things can be predicted. However, the Lord declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), so it should not be amazing to those that believe in the God of the Bible that He can give Daniel such precise details about future events. Those who deny it only reveal that they have a different god from us. The fulfilment of precise prophecy is one of the reasons that we have confidence that it is God that has communicated to us in the Bible.
But the prophets said a lot more than just foretelling the restoration of the nation to the land following the exile. They also prophesied of a particular person that would come that would sit on David’s throne.
Prophecies of Messiah
I pointed out previously that the Lord made a covenant with King David that is recorded in 2 Samuel 7. Among the elements contained in that covenant are these detailed in verses 12 & 13, “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” There were many other prophecies concerning the coming king. The first one was all the way back in Genesis 3:15 with the promise of one that would crush the serpents head. He is foretold in the covenants with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that there would be one coming through them that would be a blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:1-3; 17:19; Numb. 24:17). He would be from the line of Judah and the ruler’s staff would not depart from between his feet (Genesis 49:10). He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) at a particular point in time (Daniel 9:25). He would redeem mankind from their sin by paying the penalty for them (Isaiah 53). There are many prophecies concerning more details about His life, death, character and nature and what He would accomplish. We will examine many of those prophecies in the next sermon on The Arrival of the Messiah.
Prophecies of a Still Future Kingdom
In 70 A.D. the Roman General Titus captured and destroyed Jerusalem after a long siege. There are many who say that this was the final end of Israel as a nation. There are those that also believe that this was the end of Israel as God’s chosen people and that they have been replaced by the church. I want to be kind, but again, those who proclaim such ideas only show their ignorance of the Pentateuch (books of Moses), the prophets and history itself. The very fact that Israel has existed again as a nation since 1948 shows that God is still at work in fulfilling all the ancient prophecies. The great tragedy is that those who deny a future for Israel are also making an accusation against God’s character. If Israel has no future, then either God does not keep His promises, or the prophecies do not mean what they say for God cannot communicate clearly.
People tend to become confused about the future of Israel for two major reasons. First, the prophecies themselves are confusing because many of them contain elements of not only the restoration after captivity, but also of the Messiah and a future kingdom that transcends anything that has yet to happen historically. I will point out some examples of this in a minute.
Second, many confuse the church and Israel or erroneously think the church has replaced Israel. While Paul uses the analogy in Romans 11 of branches being broken off to describe Israel and the church being grafted in (vs. 17), he also clearly states that the broken branches will be grafted back in again if they do not continue in unbelief (vs. 23-24). He then states that there has only been a partial hardening that has happened to Israel until the time of the Gentiles has come in (vs. 25). He then supports Israel’s hope of future salvation by quoting from Isaiah 59:20-21 that “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” “And this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins” (vs. 26-27).
By going back to the Old Testament prophets we learn not only God’s faithfulness to Israel and her future, but also about the future events that are still to come that will have an effect on us. I must understand the Old Testament in order to properly understand and interpret the New Testament. Let me point out just a few of the many prophecies given to Israel that will be fulfilled in the future.
I already pointed out that the covenant the Lord made with David was that the throne of the kingdom of his descendant would be forever (2 Samuel 7:13). There are no conditions in that covenant.
I already pointed out the prophecy from Jeremiah 25 & 29 that the captivity would last for seventy years and that Ezra recounts the fulfilling of those prophecies. Jeremiah 30-33 contains prophecies with elements that would be fulfilled in the return from exile and elements that will not be fulfilled until a time still yet in the future. For example, Jeremiah 31:27-37 describes a new covenant the Lord would make with them that would not be like the covenant which they broke. In this covenant the Lord says, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” They would not need to teach each other “know the Lord” for they would all know the Lord and He would forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 33:15 & 16 add “In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16 ‘In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety; and this is [the name] by which she shall be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’ 17 “For thus says the Lord, ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to prepare sacrifices continually.’ “ The passage goes on to describe that this covenant could not be broken unless man was able to break God’s covenant that keeps day and night at their appointed times. Other prophets have similar elements in their prophecies.
Amos not only predicts the captivity and restoration of Judah, but Amos 9:15 includes this promise that is still future, “I will also plant them on their land, And they will not again be rooted out from their land Which I have given them,” Says the Lord your God.
Micah’s prophecies of restoration include not only the prophecy of a ruler in Israel who would be born in Bethlehem whose goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2), but also what will happen in the “last days.” Elements within that section of the prophecy include many nations seeking the Lord in Zion and Him judging many peoples, the nations turning their weapons of war into farm implements so that “Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war,” so that they live without fear for “the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken” (Micah 4). These are still events that are in the future.
The prophecies of Joel contains elements that were fulfilled in his lifetime and other elements that are for a future “day of the Lord” which would be accompanied by signs in the heavens that have not yet happened. In addition, Judah is described as being blessed and living with abundance and in safety (Joel 3). The book concludes in Joel 3:20,21, “But Judah will be inhabited forever, And Jerusalem for all generations. 21 And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, For the Lord dwells in Zion.” These are still to be fulfilled in the future.
The book of Isaiah has 66 chapters and so contains many prophecies about different things. Included among them are many prophecies concerning the Messiah (Isaiah 49-57) and prophecies concerning a future kingdom of Israel beyond the nation’s return from exile. This includes future prosperity and safety in which “violence will not be heard again in your land” (60:18) and “all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever, the branch of My planting” (60:21). That future generation would be called “the offspring whom the Lord has blessed” and “He will make an everlasting covenant with them” (61:8 & 9). Isaiah 62:8 describes the security of that time saying, “the Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, ‘I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies; Nor will foreigners drink your new wine, for which you have labored.” Isaiah 65:19-25 describes a future Jerusalem in which “there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. 20 “No longer will there be in it an infant [who lives but a few] days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Shall be [thought] accursed . . . 23 “They shall not labor in vain, Or bear [children] for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord, And their descendants with them . . . 25 “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.
This has been brief, for there are more extensive prophecies about Israel’s future in Daniel, Ezekiel, Zephaniah and Zechariah, but it is easy to see even from what we have looked at that what the prophets described is beyond anything that has occurred in the past or present. Their prophecies contain elements of things that are still to come. The Jews are still God’s chosen people and He still has promises that He will fulfill concerning their nation.
Conclusions
Why is this important to understand in an overview of the Bible? Because the character of God is demonstrated by His fulfillment of His prophecies. If God does not fulfill His promises to Israel, then He would not be faithful or trustworthy. He would be a liar. If He could not foretell the future, He would not be omniscient or transcendent. In short, He would not be true God. The fulfillment of prophecies in the past demonstrate that the Lord is God and that He is faithful and true. We can trust Him for the prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled including all those related to our own salvation from sin by His grace through faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In short, because Israel has a future, so do we, for it is the same God that has made promises to both.
KIDS CORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help.
Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the sermon and look them up later. 2) Count how many different prophets are mentioned. Talk with your parents about the importance of fulfilled prophecy in your own trust of God.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Why were Israel and Judah taken captive and deported? What warnings had been given to them? What hope did Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 4 give to Israel after they would be scattered? What specific prophecy of Jeremiah did Daniel read that caused him to pray (Daniel 9)? When was that prophecy fulfilled? Who else was a prophet during the Babylonian exile? What specific prophecy did Isaiah (44) make about the return from exile? Who led the first return from exile and how many returned? What did they accomplish the first year? What happened to stop the rebuilding of the temple? What caused it to start again? When was it completed? Why is that date significant? When did the second group return? Who was the leader? What did he do after returning? What Biblical story occurs between the time period of the first and second return? What is the story about? When did the third return occur? Who led it? What did he accomplish? Give a brief overview of the major events that occurred in the land of Israel from the time of Malachi to John the Baptist? Why does Daniel 11 cause liberal scholars to reject Daniel as the author of that book? What does that chapter prove to true Christians? Why is it wrong to believe that God is through with Israel as a nation? What each of the following prophecies say about Israel’s future: 2 Samuel 7:13; Jeremiah 31:27-37; 33:15; Amos 9:15; Micah 4 & 5:2; Joel 3:20-21; Isaiah 60:18; 62:8; 65:19-25. Why is it important to believe that the Jews are still God’s chosen people and that He still has a future plan for Israel?
Sermon Notes – December 23, 2007
Prophecies of Return & a Future Kingdom: Ezra, Nehemiah & Prophets
Introduction
The kingdom of Israel was conquered by the ____________ in 722 B.C.
The kingdom of Judah was conquered by ____________ in 605, 597 & 586 B.C.
Prophecies of Destruction
Israel and Judah were destroyed & deported because of their _______________
Moses, Joshua and the many prophets warned the nations of the ____________of continued disobedience
Prophecies of Hope
Leviticus 26:44-45 assure them that God would not break His ____________ with them.
_____________________ assure them that if they sought the Lord, they would find Him
Prophecies of Return
Jeremiah 25:11-12 & 29:10 predicted the captivity would only last for ______________
Daniel was carried into captivity in ___________ and became a key official in the Babylonian government
After reading ________________ prophecies, Daniel prayed for their soon fulfillment
Ezekiel was a prophet during the time of the _________________
Isaiah predicted ___________ would decree the return from exile more than 150 years before it happened.
____________ the Great decreed the return in 538 B.C.
Ezra 1-6 records the first return under ________________ with 49,697 people
They resumed the ________________ and laid the foundation of the temple in the first year of their return
Opposition caused the work to stop by _________ B.C.
The Lord sent ___________ as the prophet of that time to encourage them
King Darius found Cyrus’ decree and work resumed in ___________ B.C.
The Temple was completed in 516 B.C. – _________ years after the first temple had been destroyed.
Ezra 7-10 recounts the return of a second group in 458 B.C. under ___________
_________ was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses and he brought moral reforms among the exiles
The story of __________ occurs between the first and second returns.
_____________ is queen to King Xerxes and is used of God to deliver the Jews from their enemies
A third return occurs in 444 B.C. under ______________
Nehemiah organized and motivated the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in only ____________
He brought additional reforms including abolishing _____________
____________ was probably the prophet during this time
The prophecies about the return from exile were _______________ to the smallest detail
There were no more prophets or revelation from God from the time of ___________ to John the Baptist.
Alexander the Great conquered Israel in _________ B.C.
Israel was variously under either Seleuced or Ptolomy control until ___________ B.C.
__________ conquered Israel in 63 B.C.
Daniel 7, 8, 9 & 11 foretell the intertestamental events with chapter 11 being very ____________
Prophecies of Messiah
2 Samuel 7:12-13 – God would establish the throne of the kingdom of an heir of David ___________
The Old Testament if full of ___________concerning the life, death, character, nature & work of Messiah
Prophecies of a Still Future Kingdom
The Roman General Titus captured and destroyed Jerusalem in ________ A.D.
Israel became a functioning nation again in __________
Prophecies are confusing because many of them deal with _____________ just one time period / event
People confuse prophecy because they confuse or replace Israel with the ___________ .
Romans 11 gives Israel a future hope based on the prophecies of ____________
Jeremiah 31 speaks of a new _____________ in the future
___________ prophesied a time when Israel will not again be rooted out of their land
Micah prophesied the coming of Messiah and the end of _________ among the nations
Joel’s prophecies include blessing, safety and an ___________ inhabited Jerusalem
Isaiah has many ____________ that have not happened yet, but will happen in the future
Conclusions
Fulfilled prophecies attest to the nature of God and His _______________ .
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