Near-Term and Far-Term Fulfillment of Prophecy - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Chronicles 17:11,

"When your [David's] days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I [the Lord] will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom."

David wanted to build a temple for God in Jerusalem, but the Lord decided it would be David's son, Solomon who would build a temple. As the Lord told this to David through the prophet Nathan, the Lord told David that the Lord himself would build a "house" for David.

"I [the Lord] declare to you [David] that the Lord will build a house for you: When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever." 1 Chronicles 17:10-14.

Here we see both a near-term and a far-term fulfillment of prophecy. Through Nathan the Lord said he would raise up a son of David and establish his kingdom - this is a reference to Solomon, "one of your own sons." But further, "I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever." This is a reference to David's descendant, Jesus Christ.

Prophecy in the Scriptures often has both a near-term and a far-term fulfillment. Often (not always) we see a near term prophecy that is fulfilled to confirm a broader and bigger prophecy whose fulfillment is yet to come. In this case the far-term is currently under development and headed our way.

Fascinating, isn't it?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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