SUMMARY OF GOD’S PROPHETIC PROMISES: HIS BATTING AVERAGE SO FAR IS 100%

WHAT IS REVELATION ALL ABOUT?
I find that Revelation is all about God fulfilling promises that he has made to man over several thousand years of the history recorded in the Bible. These promises begin in the early parts of Genesis and continue through the last writings of the New Testament in the late first century. Many of God’s promises have already been fulfilled and many others are still awaiting fulfillment. What are these promises that God has made to man? We will list some of them and whether or not they have been fulfilled. God’s batting average in fulfilling his promises is 100% so we need to pay heed to those that are yet to be fulfilled. They will happen with certainty. I placed check marks by those that have already been fulfilled:

√♦ God revealed himself to Abraham in a very special way over 4000 years ago. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation. This was fulfilled when Abraham became the father of the Jewish nation of Israel.

♦ God promised Abraham a certain land, called the Promised Land in the Bible, with its boundaries well defined. This has only been partly fulfilled as Israel has never to this day owned all of the land that God promised to them.

√♦ Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, and God made promises concerning both of them. He promised that Isaac would be the father of a great nation; that promise was fulfilled when he became the father of Israel. He promised Ishmael that he would be the father of a great nation and would have twelve sons who would also be leaders of nations; this was fulfilled when they became leaders of the Arabic nations.

♦ God promised to bless those who bless Israel and to curse those who curst Israel. This has been partly fulfilled in the blessing that is coming to America and Britain today. However, its ultimate fulfillment is still in the future. Those who curse Israel will be dealt with extremely severely by God in the end times.

√♦ Israel and Judah eventually turned to idol worship and abandoned God. God promised them that if they did not return to him that he would let them be conquered and carried away into captivity in another nation for 70 years during the sixth century BC. He told them that this punishment would be exacted in three separate ways, one involving the nation, one the city and the other their temple. This was miraculously fulfilled in each of the three ways.

√♦ Once the 70 years of punishment was over for the nation, Israel was permitted to return to their land. However, they were told if they did not obey God after their three initial 70 year punishments were completed, that he would multiply the number of years that they had been involved in idol worship by seven and continue their punishment. Unfortunately God had to continue their punishment. Two of the three periods of punishment have been completed; that involving the nation was completed in 1948 when Israel became a nation again while that involving the city was fulfilled in 1967 when Jerusalem again became a part of the nation. That involving the temple remains to be fulfilled, and the Old Testament formula may possibly be pointing to 2040 as the year for completion of a new temple in Jerusalem. That would mean that the tribulation period could start as soon as 2035-36 if this understanding of the prophecy is correct. There has been a lot of interesting discussion in the news about an asteroid that will make a very close pass to earth in about the year 2035. Could it be? Prophecies must always be viewed in hindsight in order to be dogmatic about them.

√♦ God promised Israel over and over that they would live many years without a nation or a homeland. However, he also promised them that their nation would be reborn in one day and that their scattered people would be reassembled from all over the world. This promise is repeated over and over in the Old Testament. It was fulfilled exactly as promised; they became a nation again in one day in 1948 after being exiled all over the world since 135 AD.

√♦ God promised that he would send a Savior to the Jewish people and the world, but that the world would reject him and kill him. The Bible prophesized in the sixth century BC that this would happen and even the year and day that it would happen. It was fulfilled to the very day.

♦ God promised that in spite of Israel originally rejecting the Savior that they would one day accept him and they would be returned to his good graces. God further promised them a period of 1000 years of peace on earth during which they will be blessed in every way. The earth will be returned to a near paradise state, the evil one will not be here to tempt mankind, people will again live to be hundreds of years old, and the earth will be a garden paradise. But best of all Jesus will live on earth with man as King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus talked of this time over and over in his parables and referred to that day as the “kingdom of heaven” on earth. Of course this is yet to be fulfilled.

√♦ God promised that he would send the Savior to the world as a merciful servant who would remove the sins of the world in a day. Of course we know that happened as Jesus died for the sins of the world and bought our pardon when he died on the cross and was resurrected.

♦ Before Jesus returned to heaven after his resurrection he promised that he would go to heaven to prepare a place for those who believe in him and that he would one day return for his followers to take them to heaven to be with him for ever. Jesus’ return is called the rapture and will involve both the living who are believers in him as well as all of those who have died as believers. We are promised that when we die as believers our spirits immediately go to heaven to be with God. When Jesus returns for us at the rapture he will bring our spirits back with him and give us new resurrected, glorified bodies at that time that will live forever without ever wearing out. Those still living as believers will have their bodies instantaneously changed into glorified bodies. Again this is yet future.

♦ God promised that soon after the rapture he would bring a time of trouble to the earth unequaled in the history of the world, including the great flood. How could that be when everyone on the earth was killed in the flood except for eight people? I guess it is because the death in the flood was merciful in that it happened very quickly while that in the period of great tribulation will be extremely slow, frightening and painful. This also is still in the future.

♦ God promised that those who are believers will not have to endure this period of great wrath; that he will take them to heaven before it begins. Thus there will be no believers in God on earth as the period of tribulation starts. This is yet to be fulfilled.