Prayer for children

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We pray for children who sneak Popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can’t bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never go to the circus, who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.

And we pray for those who never get dessert, who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can’t find any bread to steal, who don’t have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser, whose monsters are real.

We pray for children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food, who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed, and never rinse out the tub, who get visits from the tooth fairy, who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool, who squirm in church and scream into the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime, who will eat anything, who have never seen a dentist, who aren’t spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must be.

For those we never give up on and for those who don’t get a second chance.

For those we smother… and for those who will grab the hand of anyone kind enough to offer it.

Ina J. Hughes

Prayer for unity (Joh 17)

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Christ’s great intercessory prayer, recorded in John 17, is the most intimate outpouring of the Son’s heart to the Father that is recorded in all of the Bible. The apostles heard the words as they followed their Master, but the thoughts were too deep for them at that stage. In a way, perhaps, we today are just as unprepared for the crystal clarity, the uncompromising perfection implicit in his words:

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

Elaborating on the request first uttered in Joh 17:11 (“that they may be one”), Christ repeats this wonderful prayer four more times (vv 21 — twice, 22, and 23). It must be to the great embarrassment of strict separationists that this particular aspect is so emphasized in this place. But never mind how difficult, how humanly impossible it appears, this unity is an achievable goal, with Christ’s help.

” ‘That they all may be ONE.’ Here the word ‘one’ is not masculine, but neuter, and probably presupposes ‘one Spirit’ (1Co 12:13) or ‘one Body’, for both of these are neuter nouns. No matter. ‘That they all may be one… that the world may believe that thou hast sent me’ (v. 21). Instead they are not all one, not by any means as much as they might be. And if the world quizzically comments: ‘How these brethren in Christ love one another!’ it is certainly not helped to believe in the Christ they all honour” (HAW, “Block Disfellowship”, Tes 43:343).

“The only way that believers can show that they dimly perceive the immensity of what Jesus sought from his Father, is to make this harmony of love and consideration so real in their individual and ecclesial lives that people of the world recognize it as the practical manifestation of the life and teaching of Jesus — even though they themselves may not always respond to it. Particularly in this way is the Master glorified in his household.

“The conscious and deliberate effort of every member of an ecclesia is needed to preserve this divine unity: it has to be a community effort. The joy of it is that Jesus is part of this cooperation. He knows that difficulties will arise in ecclesias; he knows that it is only by ‘getting together’ that ecclesias can solve difficulties; that is why he promised, in case of dispute, to be ‘in the midst of them’ (Mat 18:20). Why do we so frequently forget, or ignore this?” (JM, “The Living Ecclesia”, Xd 108:54).

Preaching mission

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“Our community has all too often separated doctrine from practice. We have not seen that doctrine is intended to bring forth living and love towards others. The doctrines of the one faith are not merely empty theological statements devised as a test of our understanding and obedience. They are what they are so as to inspire in each one of us a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

“We Christadelphians have analyzed some aspects of doctrine, especially relating to the atonement, to an extent that is inappropriate; and we have virtually — and sometimes actually — divided over these matters. And yet the pseudo-intellectual minutiae over which there has been such strife contain no power to enable the believer to live the new life. It is the basic Gospel itself which has the power to bring forth the new man after the image of Christ.

“It is crucial to true ‘theology’ that it not be separated from the call of doctrine to be the vital force for the transformation of human life. After 150 years of ‘holding the Truth’ and not really preaching it very much nor living it very deeply, western Christadelphia has developed a complex intellectual system that is very much in need of a focus for application and practice. That focus should be in the preaching of the Gospel to the poorer world, and within the more desperate parts of Western society. In such areas there is plenty of opportunity for practicing what we believe: especially in developing an adequate doctrinal underpinning. People do not know their Bibles, do not know doctrine, and yet they so want to be taught.

“Things are coming together, slowly, as western Christadelphia starts to see its need to reach out, and is encouraged by the successes the Lord has granted. We are starting to realize that the true theological cannot avoid the challenge of knowing personally life in its most traumatic forms. It has been truly observed: ‘theology cannot but have a mission.’ Unless ‘theology’ is put to the service of our mission, to save men and women and glorify the Lord, then there can only be an ever-increasing gap between the ‘theologians’ and the grass-roots ecclesia, especially in the mission field. The two halves must come together, or else the new converts will wander, and the ‘theologians’, shocked at the lack of perception in the converts, will likewise go their own way, into ever-increasing abstraction and theory.

“It is worth observing the very simple fact that the New Testament is essentially a missionary document — all the expressions and articulations of doctrine and theology found there are in the context of the preaching of the Gospel and the immediate problems of men and women who respond to it. That is why we are not given a cold statement of faith or catechism in the New Testament, but rather the history of the mission of Christ at its very beginning.” (DH)

Preaching the gospel

In various places, and with varying degrees of success, Christadelphians undertake elaborate, advertised, public gospel proclamation. Often it seems that the degree of success — humanly speaking — leaves us disappointed. But, oddly enough, the one method of gospel proclamation which outdoes all others in efficiency, which costs exactly nothing, and which can be done by absolutely everyone, suffers serious neglect. Personal witness for the faith, which built up the struggling Christadelphian body at a remarkable rate in the last quarter of the last century, is now often passed over for the “flashier” methods.

Yet this is how the gospel was first proclaimed:

“One of the two which… followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah” (Joh 1:39-41).

And then a few verses further on: “Philip findeth Nathaniel, and saith unto him, We have found…” (v 45).

He hadn’t really. Jesus had found him instead. But the two processes are not to be separated. The disciple’s job is to go and “find” his fellow. But in his “looking” it is really God who does the “finding”!

Paul, the master preacher, had none of the modern devices of publicity that we lean on so heavily. His familiar simple recipe was: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17).

To be sure, we say, a man cannot receive the gospel without a Bible. Right enough! But that is not what Paul is saying there. His phrase means: “Hearing comes by the spoken word about God”, as the next verse plainly confirms. “How shall they hear without a preacher?” (v 14) They can hear without an advertisement or other clever modern eye-catcher. But not without a preacher. Sooner or later, someone has to do the talking, and the sooner the better.

Nor is there any picking and choosing as to who shall hear our good news. Who are we to discriminate and decide before for God who is and who is not fit for His blessing?

“In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good” (Ecc 11:6).

And because “thou knowest not”, thou shalt not make contemptuous pre-judgment as to which mode of preaching is the best. Agreed, some methods seem relatively less efficient than others, to the extent of appearing more wasteful of time or energy or resources. But none is to be despised, for at one time or another the grace of God has made use of them all.

So why don’t we bring our personal witness for the faith into daily life more than we do? Reason number one is: “Behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child” (Jer 1:6). There is a paralyzing feeling of incompetence. “I am not quick-witted enough to cope with the arguments people may fire at me, not sufficiently well-acquainted with the Bible to be able to go to the very passage that is needed, etc, etc.”

Such a poor attitude should be set right once and for all. With the more conscientious, it springs out of a pathetic line of reasoning of this kind: “The Truth must never be let down. I am not competent to start talking on the subject. Therefore I’d better not say anything.”

With many this way of thinking is quite probably an excuse, more than a reason.

There is a very simple way of coping with one’s inadequacy in discussion, and that is to admit it: “I can’t answer your argument right now, but I’m sure it can be answered. Next time I see you, I shall have an answer for you.” None except Christadelphians think it shameful not to be able to come up with a full explanation of every problem passage. Others are highly unlikely to think the worse of us for admitting ignorance on one point or another. Besides, that “next time I see you” leaves the door wide open for a point-blank return to the topic some time later! So that is a positive gain.

On the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, Philip did not wait for his new acquaintance to ask him: “Do you happen to know what Isaiah 53 is all about?” Instead, he was ready with his own question: “Can you make sense of what you are reading?” This is a fairly obvious example of what we are talking about. But every day a number of opportunities may come along, to speak the right word at the right time. We must learn to be alert to such openings. “Be instant, in season, out of season,” exhorts Paul. Be ready, on the alert, even in the most unlikely circumstances, for you never know!

Jesus sat by the well at Sychar, weary, hungry and thirsty. But when his disciples returned with the food they had bought, they found him alert and vigorous and not interested in food at all. While they were away he had a better meal than they could provide — the spiritual strengthening of an open, inquiring mind with which to hold communion.

He sent out his disciples in pairs, and they set off, one may be sure, nervous and ill at ease at the unaccustomed responsibility he had laid on them. But the men who returned were hardly to be recognized as the same persons. They bubbled over with excitement and pleasure. What was it that had made the difference?

Peter’s use of Psa 34

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The context of the apostle’s sustained quotation (Psa 34:12-16a = 1Pe 3:10-12) matches that of the psalm excellently. Instead of David and his outlaws, all of them the quarry of pursuers, there was, at the time when Peter wrote, a violent reproach of the name of Christ (1Pe 4:14), and of those who gave him loyalty. (1Pe, esp chs 4 and 5, is full of allusions to the Neronian persecution; see also Jam 2:7.) Thus, just as David exhorted his men to self-discipline and the expression of high ideals in their behavior to friend and foe alike, so also now Peter eloquently exhorts later believers to display in all circumstances a character worthy of the Leader to whom they have pledged loyalty.

Note the impressively abrupt cut-off of the quotation in the middle of a verse — Peter’s neat device for steering special attention to the words that follow: “to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth”. This very thing, which Nero sought to achieve, they would bring upon their own selves if, to avoid the rigors of persecution, they turned away from Christ. It needed only a pinch of incense on a pagan altar, only a misleading word dissociating oneself from the persecuted Christ, and — humanly speaking — all would be well. But no! “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile”, for there was “no guile found in his (Christ’s) mouth” (1Pe 2:22).

Was Psa 34:10b (“they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing”) the Lord’s warning to Peter, foreseeing his temptation in the court of the high priest’s palace? Yet the apostle did not keep his tongue from evil and from speaking guile.

An earlier allusion also makes attractive use of Psa 34:8 (= 1Pe 2:3): “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious”; the LXX, used by Peter, has “the Lord is chrestos (a pun on christos!)”. And this follows immediately on another exhortation to avoid “all guile and hypocrisies” (1Pe 2:1).

And how is one to taste that the Lord is gracious? By “desiring the sincere milk of the word (of Scripture)” and of “the Word ” (Jesus) — a typical double meaning. Accordingly, the exhortation: “Come, ye children…” (Psa 34:11) is echoed in Peter’s address to his “babes”: “To whom coming…” (1Pe 2:2,4).

As David’s outlaw band came to include many Gentiles along with Jews, so Peter (the Lord’s outlaw) was instrumental in bringing Gentiles (Act 10) as well as Jews (Act 2 and 3) into the Lord’s band. See the allusions to Psa 34 in this light (WAc 151).

Pride in Proverbs

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Pro 3:34 He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble. Pro 6:17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, Pro 8:13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Pro 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Pro 13:10 Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. Pro 15:25 The LORD tears down the proud man’s house but he keeps the widow’s boundaries intact. Pro 16:5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. Pro 16:18,19 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud. Pro 17:6,7 Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. Arrogant lips are unsuited to a fool — how much worse lying lips to a ruler! Pro 18:12 Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. Pro 21:4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin! Pro 21:24 The proud and arrogant man — “Mocker” is his name; he behaves with overweening pride. Pro 29:23 A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor. Pro 30:13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful.

Peter: The look

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He looked at me. Right at me.

It was not a look of disgust or anger or even rebuke. It was a look that just said, “I know.”

The hours and days after that are so painful that even today they are hard to talk about. The shame, the fear, the utter sadness that overwhelmed me then comes flooding back in the memory today.

In the days following, I thought about how he had looked me in the face and said, “When you are converted, strengthen your brethren.” At the time, I thought: ” ‘WHEN I’m converted?’ What does he think I have been doing the last three and a half years? I gave up my family, my house and my business. Could anyone be ‘converted’ if it wasn’t me? What more could I possibly do?”

When he told me I would deny him, I was so brash and self-confident. Others may do that, I said, but I never would. So sure was I that this was true. So sure I was that I was the greatest disciple. So sure I was that mine was the place at his right hand. So sure I was that I would even die for him!

It was only a matter of hours really when he gave me the look. It wasn’t long, just a glance really. But how that look has changed my life.

A few weeks later by the lake, he asked me if I loved him. Not the kind of love that we might have for friends, but completely devoted love. A love that meant I would do anything for him. Remembering that look, all I could speak of was my affection for him. I could not go down that path again unless I was sure… completely sure of my love.

Now he is gone. It has only been a little over a month since that night, but what a month. I have begun to understand much of what he said that I did not understand before. Most of all, I have discovered that all of this is not about me, but him. It is not my glory that is important, but his.

I was so afraid that night, but not today. Today, I feel his strength rising up within me. They can mock me, beat me and even kill me. But they cannot take from me my faith and conviction. In the end, they cannot take my life but for a time.

So today I must speak. It is the feast day, so the temple will be filled. I must do what I did not do that night. I must proclaim him to be the Son of God. I must tell people that the Kingdom is coming. I must tell them that I am his servant. I must depend on his strength to get me through this because I have learned so well that this strength does not come from me.

I must remember the look.

(Refs: Luk 22:32,61,62; Mar 9:33,34; Joh 21:15-17; Acts 2)

(KT)

Promises of God, the

The true hope of salvation in Jesus Christ, the hope of the gospel, is founded upon promises made by God in the Bible. These are described by the Apostle Peter as “great and precious promises”, by which we may share “the divine nature”, that is, eternal life (2Pe 1:4).

A promise is an undertaking from one person to another, guaranteeing to do or give something in the future. The promises of God are concerned with the future, both of mankind and of the world He has created. Unlike men’s promises, which can be and often are broken, God’s promises cannot fail. But to become effective for any individual, they must be believed; in Biblical terms, faith is the belief of God’s promises, centered in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The phrase ‘to give one’s word’ has the same sense as ‘to promise’. In the Scriptures, God gives His word concerning the future, with all the force of a promise. All of the prophecies in the Bible concerning the future are therefore, in a sense, promises. But those principal promises that constitute the gospel are linked to covenants, or binding agreements.

It is remarkable that the Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, should be prepared to enter into covenants with mortal men and women, and to affirm them by solemn oaths, but this is what the Bible records.

The beginning of the promises

The expression of God’s gracious intention to save sinful men and women begins in Scripture immediately after the Fall of Adam and Eve, in this pronouncement: “I will put enmity between thee [the serpent] and the woman [Eve], and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). Although enigmatic, these words foretell a conflict between good and evil that would be resolved by the victory of a Saviour provided by God, the promised seed (or descendant) of Eve. In the course of time, man’s wickedness drove God to bring the judgement of the Flood upon the earth. But in the aftermath, He made a second great promise to faithful Noah: “I will not again curse the ground any more… While the earth remaineth… summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen 8:21,22). This promise of the permanence of the earth was confirmed by a covenant, made by God with all flesh, and symbolized in the rainbow (Gen 9:11-13).

God’s promises to Abraham

The next great development in the unfolding of God’s promises for the future was made to Abraham (originally Abram). He was called by God, about 2000 BC, to leave his home in Mesopotamia to journey to Canaan, which was to become known as the Promised Land.

The promises God made to him were amazingly wide in scope:

“I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great… and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen 12:2,3);

“Lift up now thine eyes, and look… for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever” (Gen 13:14,15);

“Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be” (Gen 15:5).

Abraham’s belief in the last of these promises from God was “counted… to him for righteousness”, in other words, his sins were forgiven because of his faith (v 6; cf Rom 4:3; Gal 3:6; Jam 2:23).

These promises once again focused on the promised seed, descended from Abraham, eventually revealed as the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16). The multiplication of that seed “as the stars of heaven” refers to the multitude of people of all ages who would gain salvation through Jesus, by believing the same promises (Dan 12:3; Heb 11:12,13). God endorsed His promises to Abraham by covenants, first a covenant for the land of Israel (Gen 15:18) and then one with his seed, that He would be their God. This was marked in Abraham’s natural descendants, the nation of Israel, by the rite of circumcision (Gen 17:1-14). Finally God sealed all of His promises and covenants with a solemn oath: “By Myself have I sworn, saith the LORD… that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven… and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen 22:16-18). These promises, subsequently reiterated to Isaac and Jacob (Israel), are the very foundation of the gospel of salvation (Gal 3:8,9). They require that Abraham and all the faithful must rise from the dead, as Jesus did, in order to enjoy them (Acts 24:14,15; 26:6-8).

God’s promises to David

Nearly 1,000 years after Abraham, when his descendants, the nation of Israel, had become a kingdom in the land of promise, God made further momentous promises to David the king: “I will set up thy seed after thee… and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be My son” (2Sa 7:12-14). These promises too were affirmed by God by covenant and oath (Psa 89:3,4), and were reiterated by the angel Gabriel at the annunciation of Jesus’ birth (Luk 1:32,33).

God’s promises to Jesus

All of these promises are centered in Jesus, the Son of God (Acts 13:32,33; Rom 15:8,9; 2Co 1:19,20), and so the New Testament begins with the words: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Mat 1:1). But there are other promises in the Old Testament directed personally to him. For example, Jesus is personally promised rulership of God’s Kingdom: “Ask of Me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psa 2:8). Exalted to God’s throne in heaven, Jesus is affirmed by an oath to be a priest or mediator for all believers: “Sit thou at My right hand… The LORD hath sworn… Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psa 110:1,4; 1Ti 2:5; Heb 5:5-10).

God’s promises to us

While God’s promises cannot fail to be fulfilled, for us as individuals they are conditional upon our faith, our covenant with Jesus the Saviour through baptism, and a patient seeking for godliness: “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ… And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:27-29). By believing and acting upon God’s promises, we can obtain eternal life and share in the marvellous blessings of God’s Kingdom which is to come on this earth.

Phi, overview

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Author: Paul.

Time: Prob AD 60 or 61.

Origin, place of writing: Since Paul was a prisoner at the time Philippians was written (Phi 1:7,13,16), identification of this imprisonment would make possible the fixing of the date and place of origin of the Epistle. Three possibilities must be considered:

Caesarea. Paul was a prisoner in Caesarea for two years (57-59) and his friends had access to him (Acts 24:23,27). The fugitive slave Onesimus could have fled there (this assumes that the Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon came out of the same imprisonment as Philippians). The “praetorium” (Phi 1:13; NIV, “palace guard”) could [possibly] be understood of Herod’s palace at Caesarea (Acts 23:35). Furthermore, the warning and argument against Jewish teachers (Phi 3:1-16) fits well the period of Jewish-Gentile controversy. This theory has not been widely adopted, because there is no positive evidence favoring it. Paul expected prompt release (Phi 2:24), but there was little reason for optimism while he was at Caesarea, and this prospect was no longer possible after he had appealed to Caesar. Lack of any mention of the prominent Philip, who lived at Caesarea and had been Paul’s host (Acts 21:8-10), also makes this view doubtful.
Rome. The traditional view places the writing of Philippians during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome during 59-61 (Acts 28:30). This is the most natural understanding of “palace guard” (Phi 1:13) and “Caesar’s household” (Phi 4:22). Paul’s trial was evidently going on during the writing, and its outcome could bring either life or death. Apparently there could be no appeal from its verdict (Phi 1:19-24). This was not the situation at Caesarea, for there he could appeal to Caesar (Acts 25:10-12). His circumstances reflected in the letter fit the Roman imprisonment better than the one at Caesarea, since he had freedom to arrange travel plans for his associates and opportunity to carry on considerable correspondence. He hoped to visit Philippi soon (Phi 2:24); at Caesarea, however, his aim was to go to Rome, and his appeal to Caesar made a trip to Philippi out of the question. The Marcionite Prologue (c 170) states that Philippians was sent from Rome. This view is the one most widely held.
Ephesus. This view places the writing in 53-55 during Paul’s three-year stay in Ephesus (Acts 19). The problem that Acts mentions no imprisonment of Paul in Ephesus is met by explaining Rom 16:4,7; 1Co 15:32; 2Co 1:8-10; 11:23 as pointing to such an imprisonment. But this is by no means established, for it demands treating these passages in Corinthians with wooden literalness rather than as the dramatic figures they are. Furthermore, this view requires taking Rom 16 as written to Ephesus rather than to Rome, a conclusion not warranted by the documentary evidence.

Summary: Paul’s main purpose in writing this letter seems to have been to thank the Philippians for the gift they had sent him when they heard he had been imprisoned at Rome (Phi 1:5; 4:10-19). But Paul also discusses several other issues. He encourages the Philippians to stand firm in the face of persecution, and he exhorts them to humility and unity. He also commends Timothy and Epaphroditus to the church and warns the Philippians against people who encourage a return to the Jewish law. The letter is outstanding in its emphasis on joy; the word “joy” occurs 16 times.

Key verse: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phi 4:6,7).

Overview

Phi 1: Christ the Christian’s life. Phi 2: Christ the Christian’s pattern. Phi 3: Christ the Christian’s object. Phi 4: Christ the Christian’s strength.

Outline

1.	Greetings and thanksgiving: Phi 1:1-11

2.	Paul’s personal circumstances: Phi 1:12-26

3.	Exhortations: Phi 1:27 – 2:18
	a)	Living a life worthy of the gospel: Phi 1:27-30
	b)	Following the servant attitude of Christ: Phi 2:1-18

4.	Timothy and Epaphroditus: Phi 2:19-30

5.	Warnings against false teachers: Phi 3:1 – 4:1

6.	Final exhortations, thanks and conclusion: Phi 4:2-23
	a)	Exhortations: Phi 4:2-9
	b)	Thanks: Phi 4:10-20
	c)	Greetings and benediction: Phi 4:21-23

Prophecy: more than one fulfillment

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About one-third of the Bible is prophecy. Much of it has more than one fulfillment. Are there any principles which help us in seeing how a prophecy might be fulfilled more than once? Here are three ways in which Bible prophecies can be fulfilled more than once:

A typical fulfillment first: Some Bible prophecies have their complete fulfillment in the long term, but in the short term there is a partial fulfillment in events which are types of the complete fulfillment. Example: The promises to David are quoted with reference to Solomon; cp 1Ch 17:12,13 with 1Ch 22:9,10. This is because Solomon’s reign was a type of Christ’s Kingdom; cp 1Ki 4:25 with prophecies of the Kingdom in Jer 23:6 and Micah 4:4. However, their complete fulfillment comes with Christ; see Luke 1:32,33 and Acts 13:33. Other examples. Mic 4; 5 was initially fulfilled by Hezekiah in relation to the Assyrian invasion, but will be more completely fulfilled by Christ setting up the Kingdom. Some features of Psa 72 were fulfilled by Solomon’s kingdom, but the psalm will be completely fulfilled in the future reign of Christ.
A typical fulfillment later: Some Bible prophecies are fulfilled completely initially but this fulfillment is typical of something greater to come. Example: Isa 17 was fulfilled in the Assyrian invasion in Hezekiah’s time, culminating in the destruction of the Assyrian host (v 14). Yet this fulfillment is also typical of the host which invades the land at the time of Christ’s return, and is destroyed. Other examples: Jer 50; 51 are prophetic of the overthrow of the kingdom of Babylon, but the extensive use of the language of these chapters in Rev 17; 18 shows that this overthrow was typical of the overthrow of another Babylon at Christ’s return. Psa 41 (not strictly prophecy) is about David’s experiences in the revolt of Absalom, but his betrayal by Ahithophel is typical of Judas’s betrayal of Christ (v 9, quoted in John 13:18).
Prophecies fulfilled on a number of occasions: Some Bible prophecies are fulfilled on several occasions because of situations which keep occurring. Example: Deu 28:49 prophesies of “a nation… from far” which God would send against Israel if they forsook Him. Note how the terms of this verse were fulfilled by Assyria (Isa 5:26; 33:19; Hos 8:1) and Babylon (Jer 4:13; 5:15) as well as Rome (Mat 24:28). Other examples: Cannibalism, prophesied in Lev 26:29, is recorded in both 2Ki 6:26-31 and Lam 4:10, and according to Josephus occurred in AD 70. The opposition to Christ by rulers foretold in Psa 2:1-3 occurred at his birth (Mat 2) and his crucifixion (Acts 4:25-28), and will occur at his Second Coming (Rev 17:12-14) and at the end of the Millennium (Rev 20:7-10).

Examples of Bible prophecy with more than one fulfillment:

Isa 2:10-22: (a) earthquake in Uzziah’s day (Amo 1:1,2; Zec 14:5); (b) Last Days (2Th 1:9,19; Rev 6:16,19).

Isa 7:14: (a) birth of Hezekiah, son of Ahaz; (b) Mat 1:23.

Isa 34: (a) Edom and other nations hostile to Israel in Isaiah’s day; (b) Final judgment on the wicked (Rev 14:10,11).

Jer 50; 51: (a) Destruction of Babylon, the great enemy of Jeremiah’s day; (b) Destruction of “Babylon” in the Last Days (Rev 18; cp mg refs).

Hos 10:8 (and context): (a) Judgment on faithless Israel in Hosea’s time; (b) Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (Luk 23:30).

Mic 3:12: (a) Threatened fulfillment about 700 BC (Jer 26:18); (b) literal fulfillment in first century AD.

Psa 2: (a) David beset by enemies early in his reign (2Sa 8); (b) Hostility to Christ, the Son of David (Act 4:25-27; Rev 19:15).