"The Future History of the Church, Part 1"

by James Jacob Prasch

A typological and midrashic examination of what will happen in the future of the church by seeing how the past history of the church is recapitulated eschatologically; how past events happen again in the Last Days. What to expect, and what to prepare for.

Go to Part 2 || Go to Part 3

Download or email Part 1 (~186k)

Download or email Part 2 (~176k)

Download or email Part 3 (~201k)

This sermon was transcribed from a recording and edited as appropriate for presentation in a published text format more suitable for reading. Purchase the audio version or the video version of this sermon from the Moriel online store.

Switching from the Present to the Future

Nonetheless, let us return to the basic problem: In Matthew 10 Jesus sends the apostles out, warns that these things will happen, but then they do not come to pass. Look at Matthew 24; Jesus begins by talking about the Temple in verses one through four. Jesus speaks about the prophecies of Daniel 9, that the Messiah would have to come and die before the second Temple was destroyed. However, He then speaks of events which happen in the lifetimes of some of the apostles and the destruction of the Temple. Jesus does here once again what He did in Matthew 10 – He changes the timeframe in the middle of a conversation. Matthew 24 is the same way – He begins talking about 70 AD, but then He changes timeframe and talks about the end of the world.

The same thing happens in Acts chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit is outpoured and Peter explains it. Peter quotes from Joel chapter 2 in Acts 2:15:

"'For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
and they shall prophesy.'"

Were there any prophecies made on the day of Pentecost? No. Verse 19:

"I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.'"

Was there any great sign in heaven or on earth, any blood, fire, or vapor of smoke on the day of Pentecost? No. Did the sun then turn to darkness or the moon to blood? No. Remember that the sun is a type of Jesus, who is the Son. As it says in Isaiah,

“Arise and shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the risen Lord is brighter than the sun”. (Is. 60:1)

All four gospels tell us that the resurrection of Jesus happened at sunrise. The rising of the sun is a metaphor for the rising of the Son. The moon, on the other hand, has no light of its own; it only reflects the light of the sun, just as the church has no light of its own but reflects the light of Jesus. I am not denying that these astral phenomena will happen; I am simply saying that if and when they happen, they will simply be a reflection of something deeper. The light of Jesus will no longer be reflected by the church onto the earth and the church will have blood on it – will be persecuted. I don't say that the literal astral events will not occur, only that we must understand the meaning of the metaphors. Verse 21:

"'And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'"

This is called Peter's “charigma”, and in Greek it literally states, “This is like that”.

So in Matthew 10, Jesus sends the apostles out in pairs, telling them that some things will happen that don't happen to them. In Matthew 24, He tells the church about something that will happen, which does not happen to them fully, but only partially. Then, in Acts 2, Peter describes what is happening, but none of it actually happens.

But let us take another look at Matthew 10: To whom do these things happen? Jesus sends out the apostles in pairs, telling them they will be brought before governors and kings, they will be persecuted, the Holy Spirit will give them utterance, and they will be betrayed by their families, but to persevere to the end and they will be saved. That didn't happen to the apostles in Matthew 10; but to whom did it happen? Every one of those things happened to Jesus. What happened to Him in His last days will happen also to the church in our last days. Betrayed, brought before governors and kings, people selling each other down the river and stabbing one another in the back, but the ones who persevere will be saved; it will happen to us as it happened to Him.

Return to the Previous Page • Continue to the Next Page

This is Page 9 of 15 of PART 1