God's Plan for the World
God already knows the entire story – and He told us!
Some of the events in His plan have already taken place, and some have yet to happen. But the whole plan is revealed to us through the prophecies, and I want to talk about just twelve of these prophecies today.
ONE: A HERO WOULD COME!
The first prophecy that God gave us was in Genesis, when Adam and Eve sinned and the whole world was put under a curse. God punished the devil and he promised him this:
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15 KJV)
I love this. The word “bruise” in Hebrew means to “snap at” or “to break” (Strong 1983). It’s like God was saying, “devil, look… you may have won this little victory, but one day, a child is going to be born and you’re going to snap at His feet but He’s going to break your head!”
From this prophecy, we learn a few things about God’s plan for the world. First, we learn that a hero would one day come. This hero would be a human child (from the seed of Eve). The devil would strike at him in some way, but this hero would totally defeat the devil.
TWO: YOU’LL SEE A STAR WHEN HE COMES
The 2nd prophecy I want to look at was given by Balaam around 1407 BC:
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. (Numbers 24:17 NIV)
THREE: OUR HERO WOULD SUFFER
The 3rd part of the great plan is that our Hero would suffer many things.
According to various Old Testament verses, we learn that, although He would come to rescue us, He would be rejected, betrayed by a friend, mocked, beaten, spit upon, and pierced:
Psalm 41:9: Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me. (NIV)
Is 50:6: I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. (NIV)
Ps 22:7-18: All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him…”
… Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. (NIV)
FOUR: OUR HERO WOULD DIE, BUT NOT STAY DEAD
The 4th part of God’s great plan was that although our hero would be rejected and killed, He would not stay dead for very long:
you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. (Psalm 16:10 NIV)
FIVE: OUR HERO WOULD COME FROM BETHLEHEM
Micah, around 750 BC, told us that our hero would be from the tiny town of Bethlehem:
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little … yet out of thee shall he come forth … (a) ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2 KJV)
This prophecy from Micah also adds an interesting twist: not only is our hero a human, from the seed of Eve, He is also from old, from everlasting.
SIX: OUR HERO IS GOD
The 6th prophecy I want to look at is in Isaiah 9. Although Micah hinted at this, Isaiah just came out and tells us. The Hero would actually be God Himself:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 KJV)
So, now we learn that our hero would not only be a human, the seed of Eve, but He would also be The Mighty God Himself.
SEVEN: HIS MOM WOULD BE A VIRGIN
725 years before Christ was born, Isaiah told us that our hero’s mother would be a virgin:
… Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14 KJV)
So, 725 before Jesus was born, the world was already told that
A Hero was coming to defeat the devil
A special star would appear when He came
He would suffer
He would die but not stay dead
He would be born in Bethlehem
He would be God
His Mom would be a virgin
Those are the first 7 parts of God’s great plan to rescue us. We know, of course, that these first seven parts of the plan have already taken place. In the first four books of the New Testament, we read how our Hero, Jesus…
was a man
was God (John 1:1 and 1:18, 1 Timothy 3:16)
was from the town of Bethlehem in Israel
was born of a virgin (Luke 1:34)
was rejected, betrayed, mocked, beaten, spit upon, pierced
and has risen from the dead!!
Amazing!! As I mentioned earlier, there are some more prophecies that have not yet happened: They tell the rest of the story!
EIGHT: OUR HERO WILL COME AGAIN
Jesus, our hero, is coming again!! 1 Thessalonians 4:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 NIV)
Jesus is coming again - He’s coming back for His children. He won’t come all the way to the earth to get us; He’ll wait in the air and call us with a shout, and a trumpet blast, and we’ll just lift off the ground and we will rise up and meet Him in the air!!
This event is called the “Rapture.” Nobody knows exactly when it will happen- Jesus says nobody knows the day or hour (Matthew 24:36). The only thing we know for sure is that God will not allow us to handle more than we can bear, and at some point, He will come for us.
NINE: THE GREAT TRIBULATION
The Ninth part of the plan is called the Great Tribulation, and we find a lot of the prophecies on this in the book of Revelation.
The Tribulation will last for 7 years. Beginning in Revelation chapter 6, we read how there will be famines, wars, and plagues all over the world.
Small Creatures will appear that will sting like scorpions:
… On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. (Revelation 9:7-10 NIV)
Many people will die during the 7 years of the Great Tribulation.
God’s doesn’t want one person to end up in Hell (see 2 Peter 3:9). He gives us chance after chance after chance, even in the Tribulation. It’s encouraging to know that even people who miss the rapture can still be saved. All they have to do is turn to Jesus.
In chapter 14, we read more details about this seven-year tribulation. We read how two evil leaders will rise to power who can perform supernatural signs.
They will force people to worship them, and they will force people to receive a mark on their hands or foreheads. Anyone who refuses this mark will not be allowed to buy or sell anything, so most likely they will starve.
You’ve probably heard that Christians are forbidden to get this mark, and that’s true. The Bible is very clear on this:
“If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand… They will be tormented with burning sulfur…
This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. (Revelation 14:9-12 NIV)
Finally, in chapter 19, we see the seven-year Tribulation coming to an end. The two evil leaders eventually gather a huge army and go to a place called Armageddon (very close to the Sea of Galilee) for a huge battle against Jesus Himself.
But the battle will never take place. Before it even begins, both evil leaders will be captured and thrown alive into the lake of burning sulpher. At the same time, the devil will also be captured by an angel and thrown into a prison for 1,000 years.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. (Revelation 20:1-3 NIV)
That’s the end of the seven-year Tribulation, and now the world will enter into the next part of the plan.
TEN: THE 1,000 YEAR REIGN
After the Tribulation is over, Jesus will rule on the earth for 1,000 years. Chapter 20 tells us that at the end of the thousand years, the devil will be released from prison. He will be very angry and will form an army to fight Jesus. He and his army will surround Jerusalem.
But just like at Armageddon, the battle will never happen. Before the battle even begins, fire will fall from Heaven and destroy the entire army. Then the devil will be thrown into the lake of fire forever and ever.
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10 NIV)
ELEVEN: GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT
The 11th part of the plan is called the Great White Throne Judgement. In chapter 20, we read:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.
Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books…
… Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire… Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-14 NIV)
After the Great White Throne Judgement, we come to the twelfth and last part of the plan.
TWELVE: NEW JERUSALEM
This is the most exciting part of this story. This is where the New Jerusalem, our eternal home, will come down from Heaven. Chapter 21 says:
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away…
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels… (Revelation 21:3-12 KJV)
… And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life… and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And there shall be no more curse (Revelation 22:1-3 KJV)
In Revelation 22, Jesus says this:
Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14 NIV)
Jesus says to wash your robe so that you can come through the gates of Heaven. Do you see that? You are the one who decides your eternity.
That’s an interesting choice of words- wash your robe.
When he says wash your robe it’s because He knows you’re going to get it dirty.
But don’t beat yourself up… Just – wash – your – robe!!
I say this because I know how the devil works. The devil will tell you…
Jesus won’t forgive you
You blew it
You don’t deserve Jesus.
The thing is- we all feel like we don’t deserve Heaven. We don’t deserve to have Jesus wash away our sins with His blood. You know what?
None of us deserve it, but praise God - He knows that!! And you don’t get into Heaven by deserving it!!! If we could get into Heaven by deserving it then Jesus would not have had to die!!!
Jesus knows we will get our robes dirty!! That’s why He died- to give us His blood. He just wants us to come to Him to be washed!!
Jesus didn’t come to condemn us. He’s our Hero - He came to rescue us! He came to save us! To give us His own blood to wash away our sins.
No matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been, who you are, or where you are, Jesus is standing right here.
His arms are open wide; He’s knocking at your door, calling your name…
“Let me wash your robe…Let me wash your sins away with my blood.”
Just say “yes, please!” That’s how you wash your robe.
You just hold up your dirty filthy robe up to Jesus and say, “yes, please!!”
And then the decision has been made. And one day, those Heavenly Gates will open wide for you to enter in.
I’ll see you there!!
Strong, James. Strongs Exhaustive Concordance: Showing Every Word of the Text of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order, Together with Dictionaries of the Hebrew and Greek Words of the Original, with References to the English Words. Baker Book House, 1983.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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