The descendants of Noach’s son Yafet (Japheth) show up prominently in Israel’s history, particularly regarding the period leading up to the Day of the LORD.
Tag: prophecy
Like with the previous passages on the design of the temple and Solomon’s palace, the design of the two pillars at the entrance of the temple reveals the prophecy by Ezekiel’s lying on one side and the other. Solomon was prophesying the number of years the temple would stand before being destroyed.
The last two chapters of Deuteronomy contain Moses’ final blessings and prophecies for the 12 tribes of Israel then a description of his death, a passage he didn’t write. There are no curses here. God, through Moshe, is uplifting the people.
God’s severe instruction for dealing with someone who has dreams or receives messages that come true and who performs miracles is sobering. It was not a problem for a prophet or dreamer outside the Levitical community to perform miracles or have visions. This passage also covers God’s actual instructions for what is commonly called the “third tithe.”
Once David had some security in his kingship, he seeks out Jonathan’s kin and discovers that Jonathan’s crippled son Mephibosheth is still alive (and has a son of his own) and has survived the political assassinations and turmoil that were part of the aftermath of Saul’s death.
Chiastic literary structures you find in the TaNaK (Torah, Prophets and Writings) and the Apostolic Scriptures give us prophetic clues in texts that don’t seem to be prophetic at all.
Sometimes we have an idea that the only purpose of prophesy is to predict the future. God is telling us, through a human agent, what He is doing. The true prophet is not guessing or extrapolating from context, he is simply stating a fact. Matthew 24, Revelation 6 and Revelation 12 show us how the “appointed times” are a roadmap for the end of time.
Paul is anxious to return to Yerushalayim for the feast of Shavuot (Pentecost), but on his way he receives dire warnings of what would face him when he gets there. The events that occur in Yerushalayim start the process of Paul’s journey to Rome.