February 11th, 2025
by Leah Farster
by Leah Farster
Law Of Double Reference
Gather together, yes, gather, O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord. For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.…. 2:1-15
What’s the deal? I hear some people say Zephaniah was fulfilled in its prophecy of Gaza, which was the land of the Philistines when Babylon took Israel. Not sure that view is quite right, for Gaza has been taken over many times and eventually the Philistines were absorbed into different cultures to be a people no more, further adding to the miracle of Israel surviving as a people for 2,000 years! But now in modernity, we see once again the destruction of Gaza and I hear others say that Zephaniah is the fulfillment of this event noted in Zephaniah. So I don’t know about you, but these conflicting views are hard for me to understand. So, here is my take, I think Zephaniah prophesied both events, or possibly many events, involving Gaza’s destruction. Easy for me to say I know, but really, just as the Bible is divided into Old Covenant and New Covenant, much of the Word is also divided between “before Israel became a nation” and “after Israel became nation”. There is a law called the *“law of double reference”, which tells us that a prophetic scripture may refer to two events separated by a period of time. Both prophesied events blend into one picture, masking the intervening time period between them. While the time gap may not be clear in the text, it becomes evident in consultation with other verses.
Zephaniah did NOT say Gaza would never be built again, like it says of Damascus, a prophecy awaiting fulfillment, (Isaiah 17). Therefore, I think the Bible teachers are both right. It did happen eons of time ago, and it did happen again in 2024 after the horrible attack on Israel.
Hope this helps!!!!
Blessings
*40 Days Through the Bible by Ron Rhodes
Gather together, yes, gather, O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord. For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; Ashdod's people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.…. 2:1-15
What’s the deal? I hear some people say Zephaniah was fulfilled in its prophecy of Gaza, which was the land of the Philistines when Babylon took Israel. Not sure that view is quite right, for Gaza has been taken over many times and eventually the Philistines were absorbed into different cultures to be a people no more, further adding to the miracle of Israel surviving as a people for 2,000 years! But now in modernity, we see once again the destruction of Gaza and I hear others say that Zephaniah is the fulfillment of this event noted in Zephaniah. So I don’t know about you, but these conflicting views are hard for me to understand. So, here is my take, I think Zephaniah prophesied both events, or possibly many events, involving Gaza’s destruction. Easy for me to say I know, but really, just as the Bible is divided into Old Covenant and New Covenant, much of the Word is also divided between “before Israel became a nation” and “after Israel became nation”. There is a law called the *“law of double reference”, which tells us that a prophetic scripture may refer to two events separated by a period of time. Both prophesied events blend into one picture, masking the intervening time period between them. While the time gap may not be clear in the text, it becomes evident in consultation with other verses.
Zephaniah did NOT say Gaza would never be built again, like it says of Damascus, a prophecy awaiting fulfillment, (Isaiah 17). Therefore, I think the Bible teachers are both right. It did happen eons of time ago, and it did happen again in 2024 after the horrible attack on Israel.
Hope this helps!!!!
Blessings
*40 Days Through the Bible by Ron Rhodes
Recent
Archive
2025
January
February
The HoneymoonAbraham‘s BosomAre You Looking?Dare To DreamDARE TO LOOK AHEADCracked FoundationDo You Want To Pay?The Law of Double ReferenceSecret KnowledgeWhy The OT Saints Are Not The Bride?ASKI’m LookingRULES OF INTERPRETATIONRule of interpretation Rule #2Rules of Interpretation # 3Rules of Interpretation # 4Rule of Interpretation #5
2024
January
He Always AnswersDo You Know?He PromisedThe Blessing of AbrahamGo Tell ItThe MirrorHow LongShine Your LightGiving AccountWhat"s In A NameThe OfferingThey Shall Call Evil Good and Good EvilReady?One Of ThoseWord PictureHow Was Your Week?Unworldly SmartThe OxThe Secrets ContinueThe CamelDaley - The DoorHey - BeholdQuantity or Quality
February
The Highest Form of ServiceThe WatchmanLove Is All You NeedDaniel DecidedDoes Jesus Accept Us As We Are?AmazedWhy Won't He Answer?Why 3 Lords?Is It A Tesseract?Unholy WarAuthorityAre You Willing?The Great Falling AwayJesus All Mixed UpIt's SpiritualWho's To Blame?Woke IdentityMy DaddyYou ChooseThe OneThe New PentecostGiants In Your LifeWhat A LifeDoes The Holy Spirit Have You
March
Outworking of the SpiritYada Intimately KnownYada Intimately Known Part 2Yada Intimate Knowing Part 3Yada Part 4Yada ContinuedYada (last one)A Genie or A DaddyAwesomeDo You Want To Hear?Your Blood LineThe PurseHe Who Is Without SinObeyTwo SidesSpeaking of the SpiritualWho Could Believe It?Able To RestPress OnLaughDealing With DivisionThe Sign Of The Red HeifersGod HATES Death
Categories
Tags
no tags
No Comments