You Are To Know And Discern That From The Issuing Of A Decree To Restore And Rebuild Jerusalem [1948]

You are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem [1948] until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. ... Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off [die].

Daniel 9:25-26

The testimony of Jesus is the [holy] spirit of prophecy.

Book of Revelation 19:10 Conclusion: the biblical account of Jesus is prophetic, not historical!

God ... summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.

Romans 4:17, NET Bible Conclusion: Prophecy Written As History! In the Bible, God prophesies the entire history of time (not just past history) from the beginning. (Compare Isaiah 46:10)!

The Gospels: History or Fiction?

By Author Eli of Kittim

As modern readers, we always have to determine whether we’re reading fiction or non-fiction, right? Modern writers tell us right up front, for example, that what you’re about to read is a novel—so that we don’t confuse it with actual history. Even when actual historical figures are sometimes inserted within a fictional story—as in a Dan Brown book, for instance—we are still well-aware that we are reading a novel. But what about ancient writings where such a preamble is not given by the authors? In this case, we, the readers, have to make that determination as to whether or not they are accurate accounts of the subject in question.

Literary theory, of course, has made great strides in the study of the gospels. We already know that in such topics as mythology and religion beliefs in certain fantastic phenomena do not necessarily reflect physical reality. The four gospels of the New Testament (NT) present such a dilemma. Prompted by an age-long habit of reading the gospels as if they are newspapers reporting historical facts, believers falsely conclude that they’re nonfiction accounts about the life and times of Jesus. But if we investigate these proposals, we will find that a great deal of the material in the gospel texts is actually borrowed from the Old Testament (OT) so as to present Jesus as the Messianic fulfillment of Jewish Scripture. On the other hand, the Epistles (or the “letters” of the NT)—which are not theological stories but rather comprise principles and teachings—give us a very different Jesus, a different chronology of his coming, and, at times, they seemingly neglect or ignore, even contradict, some of the gospel material. It is my opinion that the Epistles and the Book of Revelation give us the real, authentic Jesus—as well as the correct timing of his one and only visitation, which is said to occur “once in the end of the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2, 9:26)—whereas the gospels simply foretell the messianic prophecy through non-historical stories that are, to a large extent, borrowed from the Old Testament!

The problem in the quest for the historical Jesus is that everything seems to be centered on the gospels without many cross-references between the gospels and the epistles, not to mention the book of Revelation. This means that many scholars, many of whom are Christ’s followers, begin their biblical investigation with the preconceived assumption that the gospels are historical, and they therefore entirely miss the point of the gospels as well as the overall context of the New Testament. And this is done unashamedly and without even the slightest thought that the gospels might turn out to be prophetic stories rather than histories! For example, why does Jesus enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey? This is a story that is borrowed from the OT book of Zechariah: “Behold, your king is coming to you; … humble, and mounted on a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9). Even the miracles of Jesus are modeled after Elisha & Moses. For instance, in the story of Elisha, the foremost disciple and protégé of the prophet Elijah, Elisha raises the dead (2 Kings 4:32-37), a miracle often associated with Jesus (John 11:43-44). Elisha is also capable of feeding the hungry multitude. In fact, we are told that they “eat and have some left over” (2 Kings 4:43), almost the exact words used in the gospels to describe Jesus’ miracle: Christ feeds a great multitude and instructs his disciples to “gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost” (John 6:12). Moreover, Elisha is given the divine power to heal leprosy (2 Kings 5:14), a miracle which the Messiah himself performs in the NT gospels. This analogy would strongly suggest that Jesus’ miracles of healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and healing lepers, are borrowed from the OT and modeled after Elisha.

The same holds true for Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine, which would suggest Moses’ miracle of turning water into blood (in Egypt), thereby presenting Jesus as the new Moses! Or, take the story concerning the slaughter of the innocents, which many scholars and historians don’t consider as historical. In fact, Matthew shows us that it is indeed borrowed from the OT prophet Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 15 when he writes: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." (Matthew 2:18). It is the same with the rest of the gospel themes. It doesn’t mean that Jesus LITERALLY went to Egypt, but that this story serves the function of depicting Jesus as the new Moses, who also went to Egypt. That’s why Jesus is depicted in the gospel story as dying during the Jewish Passover—in order to signify that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb of the Jews, as prescribed in the Torah. This doesn’t mean that Jesus LITERALLY rides a donkey or that he LITERALLY dies during the Jewish Passover any more than the story of Balaam indicates that his donkey LITERALLY speaks. Obviously, these are mytho-prophetic themes borrowed from the OT to make the connection that Jesus is the Messianic fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures: how else could the gospels depict Jesus as the Messiah without constantly reverting to OT texts? That’s why Jesus is called a Nazarite (Nazarene), presumably borrowed from the OT tale of Samson the Nazarite (Matthew 2:23). A Nazarite is a person said to be devoted to God from the womb.

And was Jesus actually born in Bethlehem? Scholars dispute this, and what is more, this is also borrowed from the OT prophecy of Micah 5:2 where “Bethlehem” itself represents the city of David, the great king of the Jews. Where have we heard that before? “The King of the Jews”—another idiom applied to Jesus to show that he is the New David, the new ruler or the King of the Jews, as prophesied in the OT. But if Jesus was really born in Bethlehem of a virgin, why is it that the “letters” of the NT never once mention Bethlehem or the virgin birth? Well, because these theological themes are once again BORROWED from the OT to show that this prophesied Jesus is the foretold Messiah—but it’s just a prophetic reworking of the story, re-written or revamped—and for that reason, as well as the aforementioned reasons, we know it can’t possibly be historical. For example, Isaiah writes: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14). Lo and behold, Matthew borrows this and inserts it in his gospel. This is why biblical scholars apply to these themes the literary term, “intertextuality,” the borrowing of material from one text to another.

And what about the tale of the Magi: history or fiction? Actually, the star of Bethlehem is a composite image borrowed from the book of Numbers 24:17, Psalms 72:10, and Isaiah 60:6. For instance, the book of Numbers writes: “A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” (Numbers 24:17) Psalm 72:10 says: “May the kings … of distant shores bring tribute to him. May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts.” Isaiah 60:6 similarly says: “Vast caravans of camels will converge on you, the camels of Midian and Ephah. The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense and will come worshiping the LORD.” So, as you can clearly see, these are theological themes borrowed from the OT, NOT historical events that happened 2,000 years ago. Why is there no mention of the Magi in the NT epistles? Because they never existed! We’re simply reading these borrowed and theological gospel stories as if they were nonfiction accounts! And why are there 12 apostles, and not 6 or 15 or 35? Because they represent the 12 tribes of Israel—they are not meant to represent twelve LITERAL men!

Moreover, why is Jesus depicted as being lifted on a pole—on a cross? Well, again, this is yet another theme borrowed from the OT book of Numbers chapter 21 and verses 8-9 and carried forward into the NT gospel stories (John 3:14) to show that Jesus is the Messiah as prophesied in the Torah: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.’ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”

All these scattered OT stories are reorganized and presented as if they are a collection of new stories about the foretold Messiah—but, upon further scrutiny, they are clearly not new, and they are certainly non-historical because they’re borrowed from Hebrew Scripture! Even the theme concerning the resurrection of the dead in Matthew’s gospel is borrowed from the OT book of Daniel chapter 12 and verses 1-2:

“At that time Michael [which means, “Who is like God,” and refers to the Messiah], the great prince who protects your people, will arise [meaning, from the dead]. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”

For this reason Matthew writes that in the aftermath of Jesus’ death, the “tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.” (Matthew 27:52). Obviously not a historical event, but a prophetic narrative borrowed from the OT to show that the dead will rise again after the death & resurrection of the Messiah! Incidentally, Paul contributes to this discussion by saying: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all WILL be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ [will be resurrected first] the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s [will be resurrected] … then comes the end.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23, emphasis added)! Sadly, we have confused biblical literature with history, and turned prophecy into biography. In the end, the theological gospels appear to be non-historical stories—borrowed to a large extent from the OT—giving us the Messianic prophecy through an apocalyptic narrative, whereas the Epistles and the book of Revelation, which are NOT stories, reveal the real Jesus. And, unlike the gospels, they say the following:

“Once IN THE END OF THE WORLD hath he [Jesus] APPEARED to put away sin by the sacrifice [death] of himself” — Hebrews 9:26, King James, emphasis added.

“Repent ye therefore … and he [God] shall send Jesus Christ, which BEFORE was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive [or cannot receive] until the times of restitution of all things [meaning, until the end of the world], which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” — Acts 3:19-21, King James, emphasis added.

CONCLUSION: THE PREACHING OF JESUS PRECEDES HIS ARRIVAL

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these LAST DAYS has spoken to us in His Son” — Hebrews 1:1-2, emphasis added.

"You greatly rejoice … that the proof of your faith … may be found … at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice. … As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He [the Holy Spirit] PREDICTED the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow." (1 Peter 1:6-11, emphasis added).

“For the testimony to Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10, NRSV), NOT history! No wonder there is a prophecy of Christ's birth in the prophetic book of Revelation chapter 12. But this does not mean that the gospels are “manufactured.” It simply means that they are rehashed OT stories that foreshadow the Messianic prophecy. And they are inspired by God! That’s why many scholars view the gospels as myths and refuse to see them as historical: because the gospels are giving us sacred history, not history proper. Hence the saying, “blessed are those who have not [yet] seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29).

According to many scholars, none of the gospel authors ever met Jesus in the flesh. This would explain why the gospels were written many decades after Christ’s so-called “death,” and why there is silence concerning the historical Jesus outside the Bible in the first century AD: because he is not a firmly established figure in human history. And yet, paradoxically, nothing really changes about the Jesus of our faith, and those of us who are reborn in Jesus are saved indeed through faith in Christ’s death and resurrection—whether past or future makes no difference—because Peter says:

"In the foresight of God the Father … who in his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope … through faith until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the final point of time." (1 Pet. 1:2-5, New Jerusalem Bible).

But let’s get the story straight: if we fail to understand the biblical story of Jesus, we will compromise our prophetic interpretations of the end-times. And that's exactly what we've done!

Men will go into caves of the rocks, and into holes of the ground before the terror of the LORD, and before the splendor of His majesty, when He arises [translated as 'αναστη' by the Septuagint, meaning 'resurrects'] to make the earth tremble.

Isaiah 2:19

The Little Book of Revelation: The First Coming of Jesus at the End of Days - Kindle edition by Eli of Kittim. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Little Book of Revelation: The First Coming of Jesus at the End of Days.