Revelation and Bible Prophecy

598 Pages·2017·2.93 MB·English

Revelation and Bible Prophecy
A Comparison of Eschatological Views:
Dispensationalism and Preterism

Major Keywords: Heaven, Hell, Christ’s Second Coming, End Times, Rapture,
Revelation, Prophecy, Eschatology, Dispensationalism, Preterism, Apologetics

Search for Keywords, Phrases, or Bible Verses in this Book (e.g., “place of the dead”
or “life of Joseph” or “Job 19:25-27” or “Matthew 24:15” or “elohim”) using the PDF
“find” or “search” feature on your computer.

Date of Last Update: February 20, 2023

Author: Ed Knorr, PhD

Table of Contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 2 
Chapter 1: General Topics in Prophecy ............................................................................ 33 
Chapter 2: Supernatural Beings and the Days of Noah .................................................. 196 
Chapter 3: Heaven and Hell ............................................................................................ 251 
Chapter 4: The Mystery of the Church; the Church and Israel ....................................... 318 
Chapter 5: The Rapture ................................................................................................... 333 
Chapter 6: The Bema Judgment Seat of Christ ............................................................... 400 
Chapter 7: The Magog Invasion of Ezekiel 38-39 .......................................................... 417 
Chapter 8: The Temple ................................................................................................... 455 
Chapter 9: The Olivet Discourse and the Upper Room Discourse ................................. 482 
Chapter 10: The Tribulation (the 70th Week of Daniel) and the Antichrist .................... 524 
Chapter 11: Revelation ................................................................................................... 595 
Chapter 12: Babylon ....................................................................................................... 704 
Chapter 13: The Battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming .................................. 721 
Chapter 14: The Millennium ........................................................................................... 738 
Chapter 15: The Eternal State ......................................................................................... 784 
References ....................................................................................................................... 804 

1
Introduction

Eschatology is the study of “last things” or the “end times”; but implicit within that is a
new beginning: the future Millennium and the Eternal State, and both involve people and
the earth. The word “eschatology” is derived from the Greek word eschatos meaning
“last”.

This book is about a fascinating debate going on in evangelical Christian circles
regarding the book of Revelation and other books of the Bible that have eschatological
themes. We will take a big picture approach to see the purpose and goal of Bible
prophecy, but we’ll also go into detail as we explore prophetic passages from almost
every one of the 66 books of the Bible. The pieces of the prophetic puzzle will gradually
snap into place. It will be shown that saved persons will get resurrected (real) bodies, and
will forever enjoy the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21-22). We will learn that
the Millennial/Kingdom reign of Jesus Christ will take place on earth; and during that
time, the world will experience tremendous prosperity, peace, justice, and
righteousness—with no more war. If you’re interested, keep reading! God has a
personal interest in you.

In my opinion, the model of eschatology that is the most consistent with the Bible is the
dispensationalist (futurist) one. This view states that most of the events described in the
book of Revelation are in the future. It interprets Scripture literally, wherever possible.
Furthermore, many future events in the Old Testament including passages from the books
of Daniel, Zechariah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc. line up with key passages in the book of
Revelation. In fact, from Genesis to Revelation, the books of the Bible fit together
wonderfully to provide a complete panorama of human history, including God’s future
plans for mankind.

An opposing viewpoint that has gained some popularity is the partial preterist position.
The word “preterist” in Latin means “past”. Preterists believe that most, or all, of the
events in the book of Revelation have already taken place, with most preterists applying
the fulfillment mainly to 65-70 AD (with 70 AD being the fall of Jerusalem and the
destruction of the Temple); however, a second camp within preterism views prophetic
fulfillments in both the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the fall of Rome in the 5th century
[Pate, 1998]. The preterist viewpoint states that many key prophecies need to be
understood symbolically rather than literally—because many prophecies are written in
apocalyptic language (e.g., a genre that makes use of hyperbole and symbolism).

This book will give the best arguments for both preterism and dispensationalism. I
believe that the evidence greatly favors the dispensationalist position. This view best
harmonizes the Scriptures, facts, and doctrines. It is supported by archeological and
historical evidence confirming past fulfillments of prophecy; consequently, we have
strong reasons to believe that unfulfilled prophecy will also be fulfilled. Just as the first
coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah (i.e., the Anointed One, the Son of God) was literal,
so will be the Second Coming.

2
This book addresses questions about the Bible such as: Is the book of Revelation to be
taken literally? Is Revelation mostly historical—or is it mostly about the future? Is the
Antichrist mentioned in 1 John 2:18 a real human being who will appear on the world
stage prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? Will there be a cashless society? Will
there be a pretribulational rapture? Is the “70th Week of Daniel” that was prophesied
circa 540 BC a literal 7-year Tribulation period immediately preceding the return of Jesus
Christ? Could this happen in our lifetime? On the doctrine of imminence (Latin: “any
moment”): could Christ rapture (remove) and translate (to glorified bodies) the Church at
any time? What does an end times timeline or Revelation timeline look like? Is a
European superpower part of a revived Roman Empire described in the book of Daniel?
Is the Antichrist the world’s final Gentile leader? Will there be a literal, 1,000-year
Millennium, when Jesus Christ physically rules and reigns on Earth, and the earth is
greatly transformed? Is Satan imprisoned during the Millennium, and then released at the
end of the 1,000 years prior to his final attack on Jerusalem? Is hell a real place? Is
Heaven a real place? Will we have real bodies upon resurrection? What happens after
we die?

The word “Revelation” comes from the Greek word meaning “to reveal”. Prophecy is
not written to scare us; but, rather, to prepare us [Hindson, 2012b]. In fact, the book of
Revelation—and the rest of the Bible—is written with the hope that as many people as
possible will accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Jesus paid the penalty for our
sins, on the cross, and He wants to give everlasting life (“Heaven”) to those of us who
believe in Him. It does not matter whether you have passed away by the time He returns
because we know from Scripture that God will raise the dead, and that we will have
physical (“real”) bodies upon resurrection. This, and much more, will be explained in
this book. Be sure that you make a commitment to Jesus Christ by asking Him to forgive
your sins and come into your life. Don’t put off the most important decision in your life,
because you may not make it to tomorrow. The Bible says, “… now is the day of
salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2), and “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be
saved” (Acts 16:31).

A summary of the major definitions used in this book is available below in the section
titled “The Four Major Views of Revelation”. Next, as a preview, the four major views
or models of eschatology related to timeframes are presented and summarized in the
order: (1) future (futurism, and this is where dispensationalism falls), (2) past (preterism),
(3) present (historicism), and (4) timeless (idealism):

1. Futurist (of which the most popular position is that of dispensationalist)—Most
of the events of Revelation are in the future, including these literal events:
Rapture, Tribulation, rule of Antichrist, Battle of Armageddon, Second Coming,
and Millennium. Furthermore, the Jewish people will play a major role in End
Times events; God has a plan for them.

2. Preterist—Most of the events of Revelation are in the past, with most fulfillments
having occurred by 70 AD. The Millennium is not literal, but instead the
3
“Millennium” describes the success of Christianity over the centuries, eventually
bringing in a utopia [Watson, 2015].

3. Historicist—Most of the events of Revelation have been progressing throughout
history. The 2,300 days mentioned in Daniel, and the 1,260 days mentioned in
Revelation are years, not days. There is no Rapture in historicism; however,
Armageddon and the Second Coming are still to come. Historicists believe that
most of the events documented in Revelation—including the seal, trumpet, and
bowl judgments—are symbolic descriptions of historical events from Church
history over the past 2,000 years, with most of the events—not necessarily all—
already fulfilled [Rose, 2013; Ice, 2021c]. It is believed that we are already in the
Tribulation, and have been for most of the past 2,000 years. Historicists think that
the successive Popes represent the Antichrist. Date setting has also been a part of
historicism.

Historicism was the most common view from the Reformation to the mid-1800s;
but, historicists view the Olivet Discourse from a preterist perspective and it is
separate from the “Tribulation” described in Revelation [Ice & Gentry, 1999].
Historicists try to find events in church history that line up with Revelation. Thus,
the “tribulation” actually falls into the church age, which is a different timeframe
than what dispensationalism believes. For example, Steve Gregg summarizes:
“The historicist view has seen the final overthrow of the papacy depicted in these
final judgments [in the book of Revelation]. The language is symbolic, referring
to the French Revolution and subsequent events in European history—as well as
some yet future—which bring the papal power to a complete end.” [Gregg, 2013,
p. 457] In his book, Gregg comments that Martin Luther was one of the first to
view Revelation Chapters 4-22 as a survey of church history.

The Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Seventh-Day Adventists hold to
historicism [Ice, 2021c].

4. Idealist—Revelation is largely symbolic (i.e., ideas and concepts), and represents
the timeless battle between good and evil. The events of Revelation are meant to
be taken symbolically, not literally, and therefore it makes no sense to infer their
timing. Babylon, for example, could apply to literal Babylon, circa 600 BC; or it
could refer to Rome, or even to cities in the US and elsewhere.

This book is primarily an analysis and contrast of the two most popular positions in
Biblical prophecy: dispensationalism and (partial) preterism. We will demonstrate that
the position that most consistently fits Scripture is dispensationalism. Elements of the
other positions may also be present, but when they are, it is usually as a secondary, rather
than as a primary, application. In other words, certain events in Scripture may have: (a)
both a near-term and a far-term fulfillment, (b) both a literal and a symbolic meaning, or
(c) both a current and a historical (e.g., Old Testament) reference. As a general case
concerning End Times prophecies, we believe that the primary meaning or application of
such a prophecy is literally an event looking forward to the physical Second Coming of
4
Christ, rather than simply a symbolic or vague historical reference that may be clouded in
apocalyptic language. The Bible is rich with repeated examples, analogies, and types
(e.g., Joseph as a type or pattern of Christ). A Biblical truth might be played out
numerous times with different circumstances and personalities, so that we understand the
underlying message—not to mention gain a greater appreciation for the depth of
Scripture. We have no doubt that some secondary applications exist, but we don’t
believe that they are the primary or only interpretation. The rest of the book will explain,
in detail, what we mean. We encourage the reader to carefully consider the evidence.

Dispensationalists believe that history is broken into eras or dispensations (Greek:
oikonomia, meaning “administration” or “stewardship”):

1. Innocence (from Creation to the Fall of Adam & Eve, Genesis 1:1 to 3:7)
2. Conscience (from the Fall of Adam & Eve to Noah’s Flood, Genesis 3:8 to 8:22)
3. Human Government (from Noah’s Flood to Abraham, Genesis 9:1 to 11:32)
4. Promise or Patriarchal Rule (from Abraham to Moses, Genesis 12:1 to Exodus
19:35)
5. Law (from Moses to the Day of Pentecost, Exodus 20 to Acts 2:4)
6. Grace (from the Day of Pentecost to the Rapture (or Christ’s Second Coming),
Acts 2:4 to Revelation 20:3)
 The 7-year Tribulation prior to Christ’s Second Coming is sometimes
considered a separate dispensation. This is the 70th Week of Daniel,
which was put on hold, when Christ was rejected by the Jews, circa 30
AD.
7. Kingdom (from the Second Coming to the End of the Millennium, Revelation
20:4-6)

Dispensation (7) is followed by the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 20:6-
22:21)—for all eternity. Here is a good definition of dispensationalism:

The word [dispensational] means “administration” or “stewardship” ...
Dispensationalism teaches that there are successive dispensations throughout history and
each one involves a test or responsibility, which man fails, followed by God’s judgment.
Thus, God’s grace through Jesus Christ becomes the only basis of hope for mankind.
The present dispensation is known as the “age of grace” or the “church age.” The
previous dispensation was called law or Israel. There are two peoples of God, Israel and
the church. However, God’s plan for Israel is not yet finished, and He will return to deal
with them during the seven-year tribulation and the thousand-year millennium.

Dispensationalism is characterized by: (1) a consistent (from Genesis to Revelation)
literal interpretation of the Bible, (2) a distinction between Israel and the church, (3) the
glorification of God as His main purpose for the world. Dispensationalism is a theology
deduced from the Bible that emphasizes the glory and grace of God. [Ice, 2011a]

A dispensation can be viewed as a time of probation that has a distinct beginning and end
[Kilpatrick, 2017a]. It is also a time of testing. Even the Millennial Kingdom represents
a time of testing for the mortals in it.

Classical dispensationalists:
5
 Are pretribulational, meaning that they expect Christ to rapture (or translate)
them to Heaven prior to a 7-year period of chaotic time on Earth called the
Tribulation—a time of God’s wrath on Earth coinciding with the temporary reign
of Antichrist.
 Are premillennial, meaning that they expect Christ to physically return to Earth
(at Armageddon), and then establish a 1,000-year earthly kingdom under His
reign—a time of great peace and prosperity. Thus, classical dispensationalists
hold to two stages in the coming of Christ: a pretribulational rapture, and the
Second Coming of Jesus Christ seven or more years later.
 Apply a consistent distinction between Israel and the Church throughout history.
God made some unconditional promises to Israel, and those still apply today.
God has separate programs for Israel and the church. The doctrine of the
pretribulational Rapture comes out of this. In other words, the church won’t be
here during the Tribulation.
 Use a consistent, literal interpretation of prophecy.

There is a variant of dispensationalism called progressive dispensationalism [Price,
2018]. Although it is mostly pretribulational and premillennial, it does not draw a
distinction between Israel and the Church. In other words, it spiritualizes the Church,
claiming that the Church has replaced Old Testament Israel as the “true Israel”.
Progressive dispensationalists are looking for a future Millennial Kingdom, but believe
that we are already in the first phase of this kingdom. Furthermore, they take prophetic
passages more symbolically than literally. For example, progressive dispensationalists
believe that Christ is ruling on David’s Throne in Heaven right now; whereas, classical
dispensationalists believe that Christ’s reign on David’s Throne will take place on Earth
during the Millennium (i.e., Christ will physically and literally rule during the
Millennium).

In this book, we will use the term dispensationalist as a synonym for classical
dispensationalist.

Hank Hanegraaff (not a dispensationalist) acknowledges:

Dispensationalism is distinctive for its teaching that the Church will be “raptured” from
the earth in the first phase of Christ’s second coming so that God can return to his work
with national Israel, which was put on hold after Israel’s rejection of Messiah. God’s
renewed working with Israel is thought by many dispensationalists to include a seven-
year period of tribulation under the Antichrist in which two-thirds of the Jewish people
will be killed, followed by the second phase of Christ’s second coming in which Christ
and the martyred “tribulation saints” will rule for a thousand years ... [Hanegraaff, 2007,
p. 272]

The term preterism is derived from a Latin word for “past”. Preterism claims that at least
some—if not all—of the prophecies in the book of Revelation were fulfilled during and
before 70 AD. The “last days” started when Jesus was alive on earth, and ended in 70
AD with the fall of Jerusalem [Newton, 2012]. The fall ended after the 3½ years of the
“Great Tribulation”. Also, 70 AD was the end of the “old covenant” era [Newton, 2012].
6
Preterism does not believe in a pretribulational rapture. “The church lives in the kingdom
now. The kingdom of God will be victorious in time and space in the earth. There is no
need for a new temple in Jerusalem; neither will animal sacrifices ever be accepted by
God.” [Newton, 2012, p. 22]

Historically, the label preterism referred to what we would call partial preterism or mild
preterism today [Hitchcock & Ice, 2007]. In some circles, partial preterism is referred to
as postmillennialism, dominion theology, or victorious eschatology [Newton, 2012].

An essential component of preterism is the acceptance of an early writing of Revelation,
that is, somewhere between 64 AD and 70 AD [Gentry, 1998b]. Dispensationalism, on
the other hand, assumes that Revelation was written around 90-95 AD, with 95 AD being
commonly accepted [Hitchcock, 1995]. In fact, “the majority of current scholarship
accepts a late date for Revelation—a date of around A.D. 95” [Gentry, 1998b, p. x]. This
would coincide with the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian. The first preterists were
believed to be Roman Catholics, and the first Protestant preterist was believed to be Hugo
Grotius, circa 1640 [Watson, 2017].

I will try to update this book when corrections or revisions are in order. I believe that
certain aspects of both of dispensationalism and preterism are correct; however, in my
opinion, the dispensationalist position fits much better with the Scriptures (i.e., the books
of the Bible). Prophecy sometimes has a double fulfillment: a secondary fulfillment and
a primary fulfillment—and usually, but not always, the secondary one comes first,
especially if it’s symbolic. Thus, some of the preterist, idealist, or historicist arguments,
especially the symbolic aspects, may have value.

Because of the Bible’s track record regarding the literal fulfillment of prophecy, we can
trust the Bible. Mark Hitchcock writes:

Even the most skeptical person can put the Bible to the test by noting the literal, precise
fulfillment of past prophecies. ... Think about it: If hundreds of biblical prophecies have
been meticulously and accurately fulfilled, then it stands to reason that what the Bible has
to say about other things—such as the nature and character of God, creation, the nature of
man, salvation, and the existence of heaven and hell—are 100 percent accurate as well.
[Hitchcock, 2010, pp. 8-9]

The book of Revelation is highly prophetic, and is relevant to every age—especially to
today! Where I differ from preterists is that I believe that much of Revelation is still
future, and that much of Revelation is to be taken literally; however, the metaphors and
symbolic language are also indicative of various past events. Since the prophecies of
Christ’s first coming were literally fulfilled, it stands to reason that the prophecies of His
Second Coming will be literally fulfilled. Furthermore, often the past event is a
foreshadowing of a much greater fulfillment in the future. God is a genius: I believe
these “complications” (e.g., evidence suggestive of both dispensationalism and preterism;
arguments for literalism and symbolism) are intentionally put there by God because He
wants us to actively study and debate prophecy, without giving everything away, and
7
without having people “influence” the fulfillment of prophecy (which, these days, could
have disastrous global consequences).

Regarding the time in which we live—a time that is getting very close to the return of
Christ, Chuck Missler writes:

We are being plunged into a period of time about which the Bible says more than it does
about any other period of time in history, including the time that Jesus walked the shores
of Galilee or climbed the mountains of Judea. [Missler, 2003a]

By studying various books and listening to various speakers, we learn a lot about the
Bible, and are strengthened with “the blessed hope” of Christ’s imminent return
(Rapture). Hank Hanegraaff often says that “iron sharpens iron”, that is, we learn from
each other: we can agree to disagree on non-essential parts of Christianity, vigorously
debate them, but hold to the essential doctrines of Christianity. Such essential doctrines
include: original sin (Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden), Noah’s Flood, God taking
on human form (i.e., Jesus Christ), Christ being born of a virgin, Christ’s sinless life,
Christ paying the full penalty for our sins through His death on the cross (i.e., God
Himself dying for his creation), Christ’s resurrection on the third day, the future personal
appearance of Christ (“the Second Coming”), the future judgment of all people who have
ever lived, the existence of Heaven and Hell, the restoration of the earth and the rest of
creation, etc.

One may summarize the Bible as a drama in four acts—creation, fall, redemption, and
restoration:

The purpose of Jesus’s coming is to put the whole world right, to renew and restore the
creation, not to escape it. It is not just to bring personal forgiveness and peace, but also
justice and shalom to the world. God created both body and soul, and the resurrection of
Jesus shows that he is going to redeem both body and soul. The work of the Spirit of
God is not only to save souls but also to care and cultivate the face of the earth, the
material world.

It is hard to overemphasize the uniqueness of this vision. Outside of the Bible, no other
major religious faith holds out any hope or even interest in the restoration of perfect
shalom, justice, and wholeness in this material world. [Keller, 2008]

There appears to be substantial evidence for an early rapture (i.e., a rapture that takes
place considerably earlier than a simultaneous event on judgment day). Although some
aspects of prophecy have both a near-term and a far-term fulfillment, the majority of the
prophecies found in Revelation still refer to the future.

Why do Christians have different views on eschatology? Many such individuals truly
love the Lord, genuinely seek the truth, and try to put Christ first in their lives. Perhaps
the Lord has cleverly designed Scripture in the way He did to make us excited about
prophecy, to continue studying it, to debate it, and to avoid having us “cause” Scripture to
be fulfilled in a particular way through our own actions. God knows the future, but that
does not mean He causes it.

8
All Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and is inerrant in the original
manuscripts. About 27% of the Bible is about prophecy (i.e., 8,352 verses out of 31,124
verses in the whole Bible) [House & Price, 2003]. There are 1,845 references to Christ’s
Second Coming in the Old Testament, and 318 such references in the New Testament.
Compare that to the 109 declarations in the Bible about His first coming [LaHaye, 2012].
In the Bible, the doctrine of salvation is mentioned the most in Scripture; then, Christ’s
Second Coming; and in third place, we have the Tribulation, which is mentioned in more
than 60 Scripture passages [LaHaye, 2011a; Hindson, 2021]. The apostle Paul mentioned
the Second Coming 50 times, baptism 13 times, and communion twice.

The Bible was written by 40 authors, supernaturally inspired by God, over a period of
1500-2100 years. Moses wrote the Pentateuch or Torah (“Law”), that is, the first 5
books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—in
approximately 1400-1450 BC; and the last book of the Bible—Revelation—was written
by the apostle John shortly before 100 AD; but, it’s possible that the book of Job was
written around 2000 BC—even before the Pentateuch. Bible prophecy can be used to
confirm that the God of the Bible is the one true God, by tracking the fulfilled prophecies.

The table on the following pages list the “books” of the Bible, and the approximate dates
when these books (scrolls, parchments) were written. There are 39 books in the Old
Testament, and 27 books (some of them as short as a page or two) in the New Testament.
The Old Testament Scriptures are the same as those used by the Jewish people.

The New Testament means “New Covenant”. It begins—and ends—with the story of
Christianity, that is, the life, testimony, and teachings of Jesus Christ the Messiah (also
known as “the Anointed One” or “Savior” or “Son of God”). “Jesus” is the Savior’s
actual name (“Yeshua” in Hebrew). In either Hebrew or Greek, His name means
“Jehovah is salvation”, or more informally, “the Lord saves”. The name “Christ” might
seem like a last name; but, instead, it is His title. “Christ” is Greek for “the anointed one”
(the Savior that had been promised and expected since the days of Adam and Eve).
“Messiah” is Hebrew for “the anointed one”; so, “Christ” in Greek is the same as
“Messiah” in Hebrew.

The Bible teaches that there is only one God, and that He exists in three “persons” (called
“the Trinity”): Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (A weak, natural analogy to this might be
water which exists in 3 different forms: solid (ice), liquid, and gas (water vapor).) Thus,
all three personalities are “God”, and all three are eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, and
all-loving. All three were present at creation time, and at the baptism of Jesus Christ
(Matthew 3:16-17). (a) The Father exists as a Spirit. (b) Jesus is called “the Son of God”
because He is the image of the invisible God, that is, of God the Father (Colossians 1:15-
16; Hebrews 1:2-3). God took on human form when He came to earth, as a baby. His
purpose was to die as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind, that is, as a substitute in our
place. Since eternal beings cannot die; God had to become a man [Heiser, 2018]. In
John 10:30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” Jesus is also called a Prophet, Priest,
and King. When He died on the cross, a sign was placed above Him that read, “Jesus,
King of the Jews”. It was a sarcastic title at the time; however, Jesus will literally be
9
King over the earth at His Second Coming (Zechariah 14:9). The Creator of the universe
died for His creation ... for all who choose to recognize Him as Savior. (c) The Holy
Spirit is sometimes called the counsellor or helper. We cannot see the Holy Spirit, but
like the wind, we can see His effects. The Holy Spirit permanently indwells, seals, and
empowers each believer. Believers still sin and disappoint the Lord; however, that will
change when we receive our resurrected bodies.

“Lord” is a title that is often used as a synonym for “God”. In English Bibles, the name
“Lord” is often written in capital letters: LORD. In that case, it is a translation of
“Yahweh” or “Jehovah” (both are Hebrew words for the one true God (i.e., the God of
the Bible), and one is a transliteration of the other; so, either can be used [Stewart,
2022]). LORD means: the self-existent One (who has no beginning and no end). He is
the covenant-keeping God who created the universe. Yahweh (LORD) is the God of the
Bible, and the only self-existent one; and everything was created by Him. All good
angels, bad angels, Satan, and other created beings were created with choice, and the ones
who rebelled decided to side with Satan. There are only two choices: Yahweh’s side, or
Satan’s side—i.e., Heaven or hell. Despite the many religions on earth, only the God of
the Bible provides the road to salvation and everlasting life.

The New Covenant will apply to Israel upon Christ’s return. In the meantime, the
Christian church has been able to partake in its blessings (e.g., Holy Spirit, Lord’s Supper
(communion), and forgiveness of sins) [Stallard, 2022]. This everlasting covenant is
different than the Mosaic Covenant. Here are some provisions of the everlasting
covenant: it is made with the Jewish people; it is unconditional; and it puts God’s Law in
their minds and hearts, guarantees their salvation, and guarantees that all Israel will know
God [Levy, 2022].

Christ was the fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophets had prophesied about, for
many hundreds of years. The Jewish people largely rejected Christ, and are still looking
for the (first) appearance of the Messiah. Interestingly, it has been said that 30% of the
Jews in the first century accepted Christ, including some of the Pharisees [Ice, 2021d].

Christ made it clear that: (a) He is the Messiah, and (b) He is coming back.

The Hebrew (Jewish) Bible (also called the Tanakh) orders the Scriptures as follows:

 Torah – “The Law”
 Nevi’im – “The Prophets”
 Ketuviw – “The Writings”

The Old Testament in the Christian Bible contains the same Scriptures, but orders them
as follows:

 The Historical Books (17 of them)
 The Wisdom Books (5 of them)
 The Prophets (17 of them)
10