Questions to Challenge Your Prophetic Theology Learning Activity # 75
Questions to Challenge Your Prophetic Theology As I have been adding information to this web site I have been receiving numerous email from those who have been studying the materials I have written. It has occurred to me by the content of some of the email that people have difficulty applying the material to their Bible reading as there are references in their email indicating they have still not had their minds renewed to the principles of fulfilled prophecy. Because of these email contacts I decided to re-read the New Testament and attempt to extract key passages of scripture that are indicative of a persons ability to apply fulfilled prophecy to their Bible understanding. By your working through this Learning Activity you may check your understanding of this Bible concept.
In this Learning Activity I have used the Revised Standard Version (RSV) Bible translation.
1. In Matthew 10:22, 23, Jesus told His disciples to “endure to the end,” and that by the time they had finished going through the towns of Israel the Son of man (Jesus) would have come. If this is so, why are there some Christians who are today waiting for the coming of the Son of man?
2. Since Matthew 16:28 states, “Truly, I (Jesus) say to you (Jesus’ disciples, see verse 24) there are some standing here who will not taste death (physically die) before they see the Son of man (Christ) coming in his kingdom.” How can those in the church today say that Jesus has not come back? Why are some Christians still waiting for His kingdom to come?
3. Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:34-36 that all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Able to the blood of Zechariah…would be avenged upon the generation to whom He was speaking. When and by what event did this take place?
4. In Matthew 24:14, Matthew writes that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached in the entire world and then the end would come. What end was Matthew speaking of when he made that statement? Since the Bible states in Mark 16:20, Acts 24:5, Romans 1:8, Romans 10:18, Romans 16:26, Colossians 1:5, 6, and Colossians 1:23 that what Matthew had spoken of was fulfilled, why are many Christians today still trying to fulfill this prophetic Scripture?
5. In Matthew 24:34, Jesus stated that everything He had spoken about (the entire text of Matthew 24 up to the point of His statement) would take place before “this generation (the one He was speaking to) would not pass away till all these things take place.” If that is so, when did all of those things take place?
6. In Matthew 26:64, Jesus told Caiaphas the high priest (see verse 57), that Caiaphas himself would see (in his own lifetime) the Son of man (Jesus) coming on the clouds of heaven! There are some in the church today that are still waiting for Jesus to come on the clouds! How does that make any sense at all to you?
7. In Mark 9:1, Jesus said that there were “some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” If this was so, why are there Christians who are still waiting today for the kingdom of God to come and even pray “thy kingdom come” in their prayers?
8. In Mark 13:30, Jesus is quoted as saying that all of the things that He had spoken about to His disciples in that chapter would take place before the generation to whom He was speaking had passed away. If that is true, when did the things of Mark 13 take place?
9. In Mark 14:62, Jesus told the high priest Caiaphus that he (Caiaphus) would see Jesus (the Son of man) coming with the clouds of heaven. When did this event happen to Caiaphus?
10. In Mark 15:43, it is stated that “Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God…” Why do you think Joseph was looking for the kingdom to come? When did the kingdom finally come in its fullness?
11. In Luke 3:7, John the Baptist asks the following question of the multitudes that came to him to be baptized, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” What wrath was John speaking about and when did the multitudes he was speaking to experience that wrath?
12. In Luke 5:36-38 Jesus uses two parables: the parable of the old and new garments and the parable of the old and new wine. What do you think Jesus is trying to tell the people with these two parables?
13. What does Luke 9:27 tell us about the timing of the arrival of the kingdom of God on earth?
14. What did Jesus mean when He spoke to His disciples in Luke 12:40 and told them that, “You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour?” Was He telling them that even though His coming was not to happen until sometime over 2,000 years in the future they needed to know this fact?
15. What did Jesus mean when He told His disciples in Luke 12:56 that they were hypocrites because they did not know “…how to interpret the present time?
16. What do you think is meant in Luke 13:9 when it states that if the fig tree did not bear fruit the next year that Jesus could then cut it down? In light of the fact that the fig tree in Scripture refers to the Nation of Israel, what do you think was meant by this statement?
17. “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed nor will they say, Lo, here it is! or There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:20). Why do you think the Pharisees would not see the coming kingdom by signs?
18. What does the following passage tell you about the return of Christ? Luke 18:7, 8, “And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will vindicate them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
19. Luke 19:44. There are a number of questions that can be asked about this passage.
Why do you think Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem?
When Jesus states in verses 43 and 44 that the enemy would cast up a bank about Jerusalem and surround Jerusalem and dash the inhabitants of Jerusalem to the ground and not leave one stone upon another, what event was He speaking about?
What do you think Jesus meant by saying that the events He spoke of in verses 41-44 were because “you did not know the time of your visitation?”
20. Luke 21:5-32. This passage has come to be known as the Olivet Discourse and without much controversy describes the circa AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Army under Titus. In a number of places the word “you” is used. See verses 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, and 20. Who do you think is being referred to as the “you” in these places?
21. Luke 21:33. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” Since verse 32 states that this event would take place during the generation of the disciples verse 33 cannot possibly be referring to the literal, physical heaven and earth. What does heaven and earth mean?
22. In Acts 2:16, 17, Peter makes the statement, “…but this (the speaking in tongues) is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh…” What was Peter referring to by the phrase “in the last days?”
23. In Acts 2:20 Peter quotes the prophet Joel and states that “the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes…” When Peter speaks of “the day of the Lord” what is he referring to?
24. The false witnesses who testified against Stephen in Acts 6:14 made the following statement about Stephen: “for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place (referring to the temple), and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” Did Jesus ever destroy the temple? If yes, when did that happen? Did Jesus change the customs that Moses delivered?
25. Romans 13:11. What is Paul talking about when he says the following: “Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” What “hour” is Paul referring to and why does he say that “salvation is nearer now than when we first believed?”
26. In Romans 16:20, the Apostle Paul states that, “…the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet…” When did this event Paul spoke of take place for those in Rome?
27. In 1 Corinthians 1:7, the Apostle Paul writes to believers in Corinth and tells them, “as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When did those at Corinth have the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to them?
28. In 1 Corinthians 1:18, the Apostle Paul said that the word of the cross was “to us who are being saved” the power of God. Why did Paul say that he and those at Corinth who had already believed in Christ were now in the process of “being saved?”
This material is continued in the next Learning Activity, #75A.
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