How can we know scriptural prophecies will be fulfilled? Simple. Just look at how many prophecies have already been fulfilled! Rabbi Akiva saw the fulfillment of one prophecy: the destruction of the Temple. Therefore, he knew that all the promises about the restoration of Israel would also take place. Today we are witnessing far greater fulfillment of those prophecies than Akiva witnessed. We should have an even greater assurance that every prophecy will be fulfilled.

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Show Notes:

A story about Rabbi Akiva, who lived in the first century, is a lesson for us today. To the surprise if his fellow rabbis, he explained that the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 was a positive sign. He said, effectively, “I have read the prophecies about this destruction. Now I see it with my own eyes. So I know that it has taken place and has been fulfilled. And now I can trust that the positive prophecies about the restoration and redemption of God’s people are also true and will also take place.”

In our day we are seeing things even more clearly than Akiva could because we are seeing the positive events that were prophesied. We are seeing a nation born in a day. We are seeing the return of Israel to the land and the land being fruitful. We are seeing many aspects of the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel happening before our eyes. And because we see these fulfillments of God’s Word, we have the guarantee that
future fulfillments will also take place.

Mockers today, as Peter warned, say that nothing has happened since the days of the fathers—since the beginning of creation. When you say such things, you are denying the truth of history. But I am afraid that history is something that is not being studied in this generation, certainly where scriptural prophecies are concerned. And as people of God, especially as Christians, we need to go back and study the prophecies of Scripture and let them show us what has already happened, what is happening now before our eyes, and where they confirm what will happen in the future.

Key Verses:

• Deuteronomy 30:1–10. “The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed.”
• Ezekiel 37:21–28. “They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant.”
• Isaiah 56:7. “My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
• Isaiah 2:1–3. “The law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
• Jeremiah 31:31–36. “If this fixed order departs from before Me, … then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever.”
• Jeremiah 32:36–42. “I will … faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.”
• Ezekiel 11:16–20. “I will gather you, … and I will give you the land of Israel.”
• Ezekiel 39:25–29. “I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land.”
• 2 Peter 3:3–6. “Mockers will come … saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming?’”
• Matthew 24:1–3. “Tell us, when will these things happen?”
• Acts 1:6–8. “Is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”

Quotes:

• “The real way to tell where we are in the timing of God is by looking at what is going on surrounding the prophetic Word that God has spoken in the Scriptures.”
• “These prophecies are assured, and they will come to pass, and they will be eternal in their fulfillment.”
• “We’re seeing many of the aspects of the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel really happening right before our eyes, and we need to recognize that. And when we do recognize it, then we’re able to look forward to the further fulfillments that should be taking place right before us.”

Takeaways:

1. Yeshua (Jesus) spoke of prophecies that had been fulfilled in His day. These were prophecies that were not necessarily clarified within the Hebrew Scriptures. They told of His suffering, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension to the Father. He then prophesied of future events, like the destruction of the Temple. All these things we know have been fulfilled and are now historical facts.
2. Like Rabbi Akiva, we can rejoice in these things, even though some of them are painful and disastrous. We can rejoice in what has happened because now we know for certain that the prophecies of His return and earthly rule as King of kings and Lord of lords will also happen. Therefore, we can wait with confident expectation as we continue to see the Word of God being fulfilled daily before our eyes, leading to the final day of the Lord, which like all other prophecies will have its complete fulfillment.
3. Our generation right now has a perspective that no other generation has ever had because we can look at what is transpiring and understand that we are in the midst of the restoration of the things that were prophesied. So it is important that we study the prophecies and understand clearly what is yet to take place. We may not understand the timing of it, but we do understand what the fulfillments will be.