Discover the profound mystery of dual fulfillment in Bible prophecy. Explore its layered meanings and relevance in Scripture. Examine key prophecies, including Samuel’s Son of David, Isaiah’s Virgin Birth, Joel’s Day of the Lord, and Jesus’s prediction of Jerusalem’s destruction. Learn how these prophecies reveal God’s plan and clarify Luke 21:20-24.

https://youtu.be/gQvnG8huMz8

Table of contentsThere’s a Dual Fulfillment with Samuel’s Prophecy of the Son of DavidSolomon and Jesus Built the Houses of GodGod Is a Father to Solomon and JesusThere’s a Dual Fulfillment with Isaiah’s Prophecy of the Virgin BirthThere’s a Dual Fulfillment with Joel’s Prophecy of the Day of the LordThere’s a Dual Fulfillment with Jesus’s Prophecy of Jerusalem’s DestructionHow Does Jesus's Prophecy Look Beyond 70 A.D.?God Declares the End from the Beginning

Economist Dan Ariely wrote a book called Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. Here’s one example from his book. When people are offered a Hershey’s Kiss for one cent or a much higher-quality truffle for 15 cents, 73% choose the pricier truffle. But when the price of the Hershey’s Kiss is changed from one cent to free, 69% of people, almost the same percentage, now choose the Hershey’s Kiss.

Why? All because of the attraction to the word “free.” I was a business major in college, and I took marketing. This is the logic behind a common marketing tactic: two-for-one deals. Convince people that they get something extra for free, and they’re much more interested.

Some prophecies in Scripture are like two-for-one deals. They have dual fulfillment: a partial fulfillment in the near future and a complete fulfillment in the far future. I titled the sermon “Mystery of Dual Fulfillment” because it is a mystery that there’s two fulfillments.

There’s a Dual Fulfillment with Samuel’s Prophecy of the Son of David

Let me ask a simple question: Who is the Son of David? You could say Solomon or Jesus. Consider whether the verses describe Solomon or Jesus. God tells David:

2 Samuel 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He (the Son of David) shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

One reason we know this looks past Solomon to Jesus is the use of the word “forever,” which occurs three times in the verses. Solomon didn’t live—or reign—“forever.”

Here’s another question: which Son of David built a house for God? Solomon or David? Yes! Solomon built the earthly, physical temple, and Jesus built the true and greater heavenly, spiritual temple known as the church.

Solomon and Jesus Built the Houses of God

Zechariah was a prophet to the Jews when they were rebuilding the temple after they returned from exile…

Zechariah 6:12 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch (referring to Jesus): for he shall branch out from his place (referring to him branching out from heaven to earth), and he shall build the temple of the lord.

The Branch, or Jesus, would build the temple. This doesn’t refer to the earthly temple because Zerubbabel would complete it. This refers to the spiritual temple, or house, Christ built. Think of Jesus’s words to Peter:

Matthew 16:18b I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The beauty of this is that we are part of the house Christ built. Listen to how Paul describes us:

Ephesians 2:19 You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD. 22 In him you also are being built together into A DWELLING PLACE FOR GO...