Distinguishing Between Christ's Second and First Coming

Distinguishing between fulfilled and unfulfilled prophecy in the Bible becomes quite important when we're dealing with Messianic prophecy. Because confusing the two obscures some of the clarity of the Gospel message.

For example, while Israel was in captivity in Babylon, the prophets declared that Mosaic worship would be restored in Jerusalem and that people out of many nations would go up to Jerusalem to offer burnt sacrifices on the altar and keep the feasts in the Temple. Jeremiah said the captivity would last 70 years. The prophecy was fulfilled within the exact timeframe.

The same prophecy also predicted people looking on Messiah whom they pierced; and Messiah being smitten and the sheep scattered. So according to the prophecy, Christ was to come and this was to happen to Him during the time when the Mosaic and Temple worship had been resumed and were still happening in Jerusalem.

And Messiah did come in that exact timeframe. He even came to the Temple. The New Testament quotes the same verses and says they were fulfilled at the crucifixion. The Temple and Jerusalem were later destroyed in AD70, so if Christ hadn't come before then, the prophecy would have been a failure. But He came right on time.

So the prophecy won't happen in future. Because the circumstances in which Messiah was to come changed forever. And because Messiah will only be crucified once.

If we don't recognise that this is now fulfilled prophecy, then we'll think it's talking about Christ's second-coming instead of His first coming. And if it's about His second-coming, then we'll think God will require the nations to go back to Old Covenant worship in future. Or we'll miss that Jesus was the Messiah altogether. There are many people who believe some of this today, because they fail to recognise it as fulfilled prophecy. The effect is that it can obscure somewhat the true power of the Gospel message.

But understanding it correctly as fulfilled prophecy, brings Christ, the message of the Gospel, our freedom from Judaism, and our focus, all into sharp clarity. And that's powerful because the Gospel which the Apostles preached, and nothing else, is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe, both to Jew and Gentile.