Understanding End-time Prophecy - Peter Ayerakwah

Understanding End-time Prophecy - Peter Ayerakwah

End time prophecy spans both the Old and New Testaments. We know that God will never destroy the earth with water as He covenanted with Noah (Gen. 9:9-1 7). Certainly scripture affirms that die present earth will be melted, however, with fire (2Pet. 3:10). 

So, God has made major commitments to man's future by way of covenants. The promise to Adam in Genesis 3:15

 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. "(NKJ), 

 referred to the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ as a picture of the conflict between good and evil. After the fall of Adam in Eden, God predicted continued warfare between the Seed of the Woman, Jesus Christ [embodiment of godliness] (Galatians 4:4) and the seed of the Serpent [anything evil] (John 8:44). 

The phrase "he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel", indicates suffering on both sides, and there will be no peace (Genesis 3:15). 

In fact, Satan bruised the heel of Jesus Christ on the cross (Isaiah 53:5-10), but Jesus Christ also struck the deathblow to the serpent - the enemy of human kind 's soul, and the victory was sealed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. During the Millennium, however, Satan's head will be crushed when Satan is bound and cast into the bottomless pit. Finally, Satan will be defeated and cast into the lake of fire forever after the final battle on plant earth (Rev. 20:7). 

Therefore, the victory of Jesus Christ over Satan as promised many times beginning with Genesis 3: 15 will not be completed until the Second Coming. Further, God's promises to Israel in the covenant with Abraham, and confirmed to David and in the New Covenant, which relate to the land and the nation of Israel are yet to be absolutely fulfilled (see Gen. 12:1-7;15:18-21;17:7-12).  

GOD'S COVENANTS OF GOD - SUZERAINTY TREATIES 

It was common practice of the Ancient Near Eastern peoples to make international covenants - the type of covenant known as the suzerainty treaty. The ancient Hittite suzerainty treaties were thus a form of covenant. However, such treaties as these were not party treaties, treaties made between equals. 

They were called suzerainty treaties, treaties between a great nation/ king and a vassal or dependant nation. These treaties had common unique features. They signified a contractual agreement binding two parties together into relationship. 

Features of Suzerainty Treaties/Covenants 

In the first place they were blood covenants, and so had all the features of normal Blood Covenants. Some features of blood covenants were: 

1. Common language used, ‘cutting or making a covenant of peace' implied shedding blood to seal the covenant (refer Ezek. 34:25; 37:26). 

2. Employed certain phrases such as ”oat”, "stipulations", ” blessing and cursing” and "witnesses" on the covenant terms. With these the terms of covenant must: 

2.1 Never be broken (see Israel-Gibeon covenant in ]oshua 9; 10; 2Sam. 21:1-14) 

2.2 Be passed on with benefits to generations to come (2Sam. 9) 

3. Religious element of a covenant meal of animal sacrifice. From Genesis 15 and elsewhere we may deduce the following: ' 

3.1 The nature of such covenants (Gen. 15:1f; 1 Sam. 18:1-4): 

i. Between two parties or persons one of whom is higher. 

ii. The terms are written down; where the higher dictates the terms with promises; faithfulness and obedience are required to release the full blessing; but disobedience leads to a curse. 

iii. God-man suzerainty covenants are sometimes called ‘covenant of salt' because of God‘s faithfulness and ability to preserve covenant relationships (Numb. 18119; 2Chron. 13:5;1Cor. 1:7-9;1Thess. 5:23, 24).  

3.2 The process of these covenants included all or some of these (Gen. 15:10f): 

i. The desire to covenant begins the process. 

ii. Killing and dividing an animal into two and setting the halves apart. 

iii. Walking in between from one end to the other repeating the covenant terms with an oat. 

iv. Cutting the wrist and mixing the blood tof one another in blood covenant. 

 v. Partaking of a covenant meal. 

vi. Making a mark of remembrance on the palm or a sign of the covenant to remind the parties of the terms of the covenant. 

vii. Remembrance or renewal meal is eaten from time to time [for suzerainty treaties]. 

3.3 The results from such covenants are: 

i. The exchange of life, status, strength, authority, etc in a transfer or a sharing in inheritance (1Sam. 18:1-4; Rom. 8:16~18; 2Cor. 5:17-21; Heb. 2:9-18). 

ii. Generation blessing being passed on to their progeny (Gen. 17:7; 2Sam. 9; Gal. 3:13-16). 

4. Other features: In addition to characteristics of all normal treaties of blood covenants, four other unique characteristics are observed with suzerainty treaties. Other major features of Suzerainty Treaties were: 

4.1 First, the treaty made a distinction between those who were parties to the treaty an those who were not. Thus the Abraham covenant distinguished the Jew from the Gentile (Ex. 19:4-9). 

Similarly, the New Covenant in Christ distinguishes the believer from the unbeliever in the sight of God (1Pet. 2:9-12).

 4.2 Another characteristic of the suzerainty treaty is that the treaty or covenant implies the existence of a community to enjoy the benefits. The Church thus becomes the community of saints, the body and bride of Christ. It is only when God is through with the Church, will He again turn His redemptive attention to Israel(Rom. 9-11; esp. 11:25-27). Meanwhile, Israel will continue to see the faithfulness of God in preserving them as a people. 

4.3 The third characteristic of the suzerainty treaty is love. Love bound the coven ted together. God loved us and gave us Jesus Christ; so all be ' vers must reciprocate love to the Lord and serve Him faithfully (]ohn 3:16; Rom. 5:8; Rev. 115, 6). 

4.4 The fourth and last characteristic of the Ancient Near .Eastern suzerainty treaties is the provision for renewal. When a covenant was renewed, the stipulations were sometimes altered to fit the needs of the generation that was renewing the covenant. However, one covenant does not set aside another; one does not invalidate another so as to nullify its stipulations. Rather, it renews, expands, adapts, and updates (Deut. 29:1ff). Under the New Covenant, every believer can enjoy the eternal benefits in a fresh manner each day, due to His steadfast love (Lam. 3:23).

 THE GOD-ABRAHAM SUZERAIN TY COVENANT 

This is the primary Covenant upon which all other God-man suzerainty treaties would be built in the Bible. When God covenanted with Abraham from Genesis 12:1-3, 7, we discover seven great promises God made to Abram. 

"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed .... " "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him "KJV. 

In the Abrahamic covenant we observe these great promises of God: 

1. I will make thee a great nation; 

2. I will bless thee; 

3. I will makethy name great

4. Thou shalt be a blessing; 

5. Iwill bless them that bless thee; 

6. I will curse them that curse thee; 

7. All families of the earth shalt be blessed in thee.

 A shadow of all the above promises have been fulfilled in the Nation Israel, the literal seed of Abraham through the lineage of Isaac (Gen. 26:2-5) and the grandson Jacob (Gen. 28:13-15). They were later unified in the Mosaic Covenant.