"Then he said unto them, O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24:25-27.)

"Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days." (Acts 3:24.)

"This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." (Acts 2:16-17.)

These are some of the most instructive statements in the New Testament concerning the prophecies of the Old Testament. We make a grave mistake in interpreting Scripture if we think that the prophets’ words under Moses’ Law have not yet been fulfilled.

Like Joshua of old, we can say that "not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof." (Joshua 23:14.) God’s promises concerning the land of Canaan and a nation had been fulfilled. There are no outstanding promises concerning the land and nation promise, according to Joshua. Likewise, the third part of the promise to Abraham has been kept; the spiritual fulfillment, blessings to all nations through Jesus. Many err in thinking that these promises are yet future.

Jesus cried triumphantly, It is finished! (John 19:30.) The work of redemption, planned of God and foretold by the prophets, had now been fulfilled.

Peter wrote concerning the writings of the prophets, "Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into." (1 Pet. 1:12.)

Here may have been some of the things that Jesus taught the two disciples from Emmaus. (Luke 24:13.)

"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great, and thou shall be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." (Gen. 12:1-3.)

That has been fulfilled; we enjoy its completion today. Peter preached,

"Ye are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning everyone of you from his iniquities." (Acts 3:25-26.)

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither bond nor free; there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:26-29.)

"He believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness." (Gen. 15:6.) ". . . that righteousness might be imputed unto them also. . . who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. . . . And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him. But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification." (Rom. 4:11, 12, 22-25.)

"The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord." (Isa. 2:1-5.)

This has been fulfilled in the establishment of the church. The word did go forth from Jerusalem into all the world. Where believers walk in the light of the Lord, there is war no more. The church will not be like Israel of old, so often at war with her neighbors. This is a spiritual body where peace dwells.

In God’s holy mountain (His spiritual kingdom), this peace is now enjoyed. It is interesting to note that there are two mountains associated with each of the two covenants of Scripture. The Law of Moses was given from Mount Sinai; the place where God placed his name and presence among the people was Jerusalem. The New Covenant came forth from Jerusalem; the presence of God and the place where we face to worship God is the new Jerusalem. (Isa. 2 & Heb. 12, Gal. 4.)

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." (Isa. 9:6-7.)

This son and child now reigns over his kingdom.

"There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek and his rest shall be glorious." (Isa. 11:1-10, similar language in Isaiah 65:17-25.)

"Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him; for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider." (Isa. 52:13-15.)

"Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not.

"Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken and smitten of God and afflicted.

"But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.

"All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted; yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

"He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people was he stricken.

"And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed; he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. For he shall bear their iniquities.

"Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death. For he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:1-12.)

All of this has been fulfilled in Jesus’ offering on the cross. It applies to none other than Jesus.

"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:44.)

"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever. . . Until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces." (7:17-18, 22-23.)

"Many shall be purified and made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand. But the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." (12:10-13.)

All of these words have been fulfilled in the coming kingdom of God to earth. The Roman Empire was the last world kingdom before the establishment of God’s world-wide kingdom. It is a spiritual kingdom which will last forever. World kingdoms cannot destroy that kingdom.

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." (2:28-32.)

Peter said that this was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. (Acts 2:16f.)

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (4:5-6.)

Jesus said that John the Baptist was the "Elijah" which was to come. The angel said to his parents that he would come in the spirit and power of Elijah. (Matt. 11:14, Luke 1:17.)

"Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that ye be not troubled, for all these must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diver places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (24:4-8.)

"Verily, I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." (24:34.)

"And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither, I will show unto thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters. . . . And the woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth." (17:1, 18.) "For true and righteous are his judgments; for he that judged the great harlot which did corrupt the earth with her fornication and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand." (19:2.)

"Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand." (22:10.) Four times the prophet and apostle John says that his message was going to happen soon. The events were at hand. John was a companion with other Christians in what they suffered at the hands of the Roman empire. (Rev. 1:9.)

Contrary to popular opinion, the majority of Revelation is not about coming events. It involved Christians in the first century and Rome.

#1: We live in an extraordinary time

As far as biblical history is concerned, we enjoy a special vantage point. We can span the horizon from the beginning of creation to the completion of biblical revelation. Looking back we can see what has transpired before us; looking forward by faith we can see what God has planned for the future. We know many things about the future that even the prophets did not fully comprehend. We know that the Lord will return; all the dead will be raised; this earth will be destroyed; a new existence for the redeemed will begin; the judgment of the wicked will occur. We know that this is the last covenant of God with man. Even the old pointed to the new covenant.

Imagine the difficulty under which those before the cross lived. Micah wanted so much to know how he could be redeemed. Listen to his words:

"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" (6:6-7.) That last question shows the anguish with which even the prophets lived not knowing the fulfillment of their sacrifices. Will it take the sacrifice of my son for the sin of my soul?, he asked.

Job and Solomon found the matter of death a difficulty that they could not surmount. Job asked, "If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." (14:14.) Solomon searched, "This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion." (Eccl. 9:3-4.)

Peter wrote that the prophets were writing for our benefit, not for themselves. (1 Peter 1:9-12.) All who have lived since the life of Jesus live in an remarkable time as far as revelation is concerned. Only being in heaven will be better as far as understanding God’s will is concerned. There will be no other event on earth that will exceed the life of Jesus fulfilling all that the prophets said before. Those who look for a coming kingdom on earth misunderstand the prophets’ message.

It is blasphemous to say that Jesus did not accomplish what he came to do. Jesus said that he did! "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." (John 17:4.)

#2: Relationship between faith and knowledge

It is important to see the overall picture of God’s revelation. I believe that information is invaluable. It is compelling; so much so that proof of its divine origin resides within it. However, we should never exalt knowledge, especially the desire to satisfy our every curiosity, above faith. Paul wrote about some who were "ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Tim. 3:7.)

In Romanian there was a tendency due to the skepticism under which they had lived to ask hypothetical questions. What if Adam and Eve had not sinned? Could they have lived forever in Paradise with God? Could they have borne children? What we need is faith in God, not an answer to every idle question.

There are many things that we still do not know. John wrote, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (1 John 3:2.) Paul wrote, "For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Cor. 13:12.) He may have been referring to the incomplete revelation which has now been fully revealed. But it is also true that we still look forward by faith with incomplete knowledge.

The Hebrew writer commended those who lived before the New Testament period for their faith in God. They did not understand what we now know, but they lived by faith. What we need is a great faith in God like they had. "These all died in faith not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Heb. 11:13.) "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." (Heb. 11:39-40.)

We need to remember that it is faith that justifies, not knowledge. We are not saved based upon how much knowledge we possess, but on how much that knowledge of God has been translated into a personal faith. One of the great errors of legalism is an undue emphasis upon knowing "the law" and its every detail, while neglecting justification by faith. God counts our faith, not our knowledge, as our righteousness.

Whenever knowledge is compared to love or faith, knowledge comes in second. Love is greater than faith and hope. "The greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:13.) "Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. If any man thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him." (1 Cor. 8:1-3.) In the biblical lists of Christian virtues, love is almost always at the top of the list. (See 2 Peter 1:5-7.) "And above all these things, put on charity which is the bond of perfectness." (Col. 3:14.)

#3: The importance of the old covenant

It is true that there are two covenants. (Gal. 4:24.) The first one has been fulfilled and was given to Israel of old. We are under the new covenant sealed by the blood of Jesus. The old covenant was sanctified by the blood of animals which could not take away sins. After saying all of that, we should understand that there is just one Bible, one complete revelation, one continuous story. It is not possible to understand one testament without the other. The less we know about the old testament, the less we will know about the new.

"Now all these things happened unto them for examples and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come." (1 Cor. 10:11.)

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." (Rom. 15:4.)

#4: God keeps His promises

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations." (Deut. 7:9.)

"I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keeps covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments." (Neh. 1:5.)

". . . not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof." (Joshua 23:14.)

But concerning Jesus, we are not just talking about the keeping of one’s word (which is important enough). In addition, God’s promise was that he would bless all nations through Abraham’s seed. This included the offering of his only son. God keeps his word to that extent, to that degree.