February 19, 2023: 1 Peter 1:20-21 - Jesus was There at the Beginning

“He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” - 1 Peter 1:20-21

Jesus wasn’t an afterthought, a backup plan, or anything like that because of the Jews’ rejection of Him as their prophesied Messiah; rather, He was there from the very beginning of creation. As written by John the baptist, through the Holy Spirit:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5)

Genesis 1:26 states:

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

God knows the end from the beginning. He knew that Adam and Eve would disobey the only command that He gave them - not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and still He created them. He knew that from the moment they ate from the fruit of that tree, sin would enter them, that they would die, and they would pass on that sin through their children for all generations to come. With the sin would come strife, pain, and suffering, for sin does not lead to life but to destruction. And yet, a plan of redemption was waiting, waiting to be revealed.

God had chosen a Gentile named Abraham to be the father of the future nation of Israel. This nation would be set apart from the rest of humanity and would be a blessing to all families of the earth (Genesis 12:1-3). God knew when he chose Abraham that his descendants would not keep His commandments, would turn to false gods and worship false idols. God knew long before it happened that because of their disobedience to Him, He would split their nation into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, for sin causes division. Oh, do we see that now in our own nation of the “United” States. In their disobedience, God had a plan of redemption of mankind through the nation of Judah, even when it was conquered by Babylon and the majority of its people who survived were carted off to Babylon. But there was hope: as foretold by the prophet Jeremiah, the remaining Jews would return to their land 70 years later. Two prophets of God - Ezekiel and Daniel - were both exiled to Babylon. Daniel was still in Babylon after the Medo-Persian empire had defeated Babylon and remembered Jeremiah’s prophecy. During the first year of reign of King Darius the Mede, Daniel made this statement:

“…in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.” (Daniel 9:2)

Daniel prayed to God and acknowledged the iniquity and sin of himself and of his people:

“O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day - to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets” (Daniel 9:7-10)

Daniel prayed that God would hear his prayer:

“Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, My God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” (Daniel 9:17-19)

While Daniel was praying and confessing his sins and the sins of his people to God, the angel Gabriel, who had previously given Daniel a vision, gave Daniel a great prophecy, which we know now as the 70-weeks prophecy. I encourage you to access this link to gotquestions.org to learn more about this amazing prophecy. (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/seventy-weeks.html).

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.

“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” (Daniel 9:24-27)

This prophecy starts with the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. This was fulfilled by the commandment of King Artaxerxes of Persia, which is written about in the book of Nehemiah (see Nehemiah 2:1-8).

The prophecy gives a timeline in terms of 70 weeks, where each week represents a 7-year period, for a total of 490 years. The first seven weeks, a period of 49 years (7 x 7) would be the time when the people of Judah, who had returned from exile, would restore and build Jerusalem. The second Jewish temple had already been built and was completed in 516 BC. This would be followed by 62 weeks, a period of 434 years (62 x 7). Messiah the Prince would come during this period, and at the end of the 62 weeks, He would be cut off, meaning He would die. It is very interesting that the prophecy says,“Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself.” (Daniel 9:26) We know that Messiah came not for Himself but for us, to offer all of us the way of salvation from all our sins: belief in Him as the Savior. Jesus did come to the earth and died by crucifixion in approximately 33 AD, fulfilling the prophecy.

The prophecy goes on to tell of the people of the prince who is to come who will destroy the city and the sanctuary, which is Jerusalem and the temple. That is exactly what happened when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. Thus, 69 of the 70 weeks of the prophecy have already occurred, leaving one week, a final period of seven years. Many Christians believe that the period between 69 and 70 weeks is the time for people to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, before the final week of seven years begins. We are waiting for that final seven years of the prophecy to be fulfilled, but before it is fulfilled, the antichrist must step on the scene.

This final week, a period of seven years, is when the prince who is to come - antichrist - will confirm a covenant with many for seven years. After the confirmation of the covenant, many Christians believe that the third Jewish temple will be rebuilt shortly thereafter. We are already hearing about the Jews’ readiness and desire to build this third temple and to resume sacrificing animals even before it is built.

This 7-year period is known as the “tribulation period.” It is spoken of by Jesus, and it is written about in the book of Revelation. The last 3-1/2 years is known as the “great tribulation.” It is at the 3-1/2 year mark of the tribulation period that the antichrist will end the Jewish sacrifices in the temple and will set up an abomination that causes desolation. Whatever this abomination is, it will cause the Jews to flee in fear from where they are. Jesus Himself prophesied of this in Matthew 24:15, “‘Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place.’ (whoever reads, let him understand), ‘then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.’” Jesus told them to flee immediately and not go back to their houses to retrieve anything. Clearly, this will be a time of great trouble for the Jews living at that time in human history, a time which Jesus referred to as the great tribulation period, the last 3-1/2 years in Matthew 24:21-22:

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

The last book of the Bible is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, or “Revelation.” This book describes the events that will happen during the last seven years, the final week, of the 70-weeks’ prophecy. At the end of the seven-year tribulation period, Jesus will return to earth at His second coming. Before Jesus was crucified, He foretold to His disciples of His second coming at the end of the great tribulation:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:29-31)

The prophet Zechariah also prophesied of Jesus’ second coming:

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced, Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.” (Zechariah 12:10-11)

It is at this point when the remaining Jews on the earth will realize that Jesus is their Messiah and will realize with mourning that they had pierced and rejected Him, and will finally turn to Him in belief and will be saved.

For the rest of the world alive at His second coming, Jesus will return as a Lion, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, to defeat the antichrist, known as the “Beast” in Revelation, the false prophet, the rulers and their armies who will be gathered at Megiddo against Jesus and His armies He brought with Him from heaven. All, including those gathered against Him, who chose to reject His free gift of salvation in order to worship Satan and his antichrist and who hated good and loved evil, will receive their due penalty: death by the sword of His mouth, and eternal separation from Him in a place called hell, where they will be eternally tormented. Satan will then be bound for 1,000 years.

Jesus will then reign with His saints on the earth for 1,000 years, which is referred to as the Millennial Kingdom. At the end, Satan will be released for a short time, deceiving many, only to have their rebellion crushed and cast into the lake of fire and brimstone forever and ever.

Jesus will the destroy the earth by fire and create a new heaven, a new earth, and a new holy city - a new Jerusalem. Only His children, those who have been saved by His blood, will be there. Sin will be no more, and death will have been defeated; the 70-weeks prophecy will be completed. Jesus will have finished the transgression, made an end of all sins and reconciliation for iniquity, brought in everlasting righteousness, sealed up vision and prophecy, for they will no longer be needed, and Jesus, God’s anointed, will reign forever and ever:

“Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me [the apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation through the Holy Spirit], ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.’” (Revelation 21:5-6)

“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:3-5)

The curse of sin will be gone, for you see, God always had a plan of redemption of sins for all of mankind for all who would believe, and His name is Jesus. ✝️