Herod

Herod the Great has passed before us on Matthew’s pages (Matt 2:1–23). We revolted at his “murder of the innocents” (here). His was a cowardly action based on fear of the King born in Bethlehem. Now, we encounter Herod Antipas (Matt 14:1–12). This member of the Jewish dynasty also performs…

We are applying our proposed prophetic model—inmillennialism—to the gospel of Matthew. The second chapter of that book shows the fulfillment of four prophecies. All were “last days” prophecies. And, Herod played a major role in their fulfillment. These facts led us to look for Herod in Old Testament prophecies. Our…

Two facts from our last “Meditation in Matthew” (here) combine to suggest our present topic. First, God fulfilled the four prophecies in Matthew 2:1–23 in the “last days” of the Mosaic Age. Second, Herod played a key role in each of them. Few commentators see Herod as a major figure…

Announcement A 17-page summary of our prophetic framework is now available. It shows how inmillennialism arises out of a natural reading of two New Testament passages. Please click the “Free” menu item above to download the PDF. The concept of the “last days” plays a unique role in inmillennialism. (We…

Our application of inmillennialism to this section of Revelation (Rev. 14:1–5) introduces the sixth mystic figure in this vision—the Lamb on Mount Zion (Rev. 14:1). The Dragon (Satan) has attempted to destroy the Man-Child (Christ) at his birth (Rev. 12:4; cp. Matt. 2:16). When the Man-Child ascended to heaven (Rev.…

We now come face-to-face with an evil triad. The Seven Mystic Figures vision has already revealed the Dragon (Rev. 12:3–17) and the Sea Beast (Rev. 13:1–10). Now John introduces us to the Land Beast (Rev. 13:11–18). “This second beast completes the triumvirate of evil—the dragon, the sea beast, and the…

Only once in world history has an entire generation served as a picture of a future generation. The apostle Paul said this was true for the generation alive during Israel’s Exodus from Egypt (1 Cor. 10:6, 11). The events of that generation were “types” (or pictures) of events during the…

The Seven Mystic Figures vision makes a slight change to the timeframe of the first two judgment visions. They concentrated on the “great tribulation” Jesus predicted in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:1–3, 21, 34; Rev. 7:14). This vision focuses on the entire generation of Jesus’s life on earth. It begins with…

This post examines one of the most interesting signs Jesus gave for the destruction of the Temple—”the abomination of desolation” (Matthew 24:15). If you have not read our previous posts, we recommend you begin with our “Start Reading Here” page. We are developing an improved (we trust) model for interpreting biblical…