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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.
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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 GOD by the Spirit.
We are God’s house!
God Is a Father to Solomon and Jesus
2 Samuel 7:14a I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.
Is God saying He will be a Father to Solomon or Jesus? Yes! It looks like God is saying He would be a Father to Solomon, and that’s true, but this verse is quoted in Hebrews 1:5 and applied to Jesus:
Hebrews 1:5 For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I WILL BE TO HIM A FATHER, AND HE SHALL BE TO ME A SON”?
God was a father to Solomon, but He’s a Father to Jesus in a true and greater way.
2 Samuel 7:14b When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
We understand how this applies to Solomon who sinned and was disciplined, but how does it apply to Jesus who never committed iniquity? The verse sounds like a combination of parts of Isaiah 53. Listen to parts of it:
(NKJV) Isaiah 53:5 He was BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES…by HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED. 6…the Lord has laid on Him THE INIQUITY OF US ALL.
This is the same language as 2 Samuel 7:14. It would be better to understand the verse as: “Jesus suffered for iniquity and was disciplined with the rod and stripes due to men.” Adam Clarke wrote, “The words commits iniquity can be better translated as suffer for iniquity.” J. Vernon McGee wrote something similar: “But if he committed iniquity, that is, when iniquity is laid upon him—when your sin and my sin were put upon him—it is with his stripes that we are healed. He died on the cross for you and me.”
When Jesus was on the cross, He was imputed with the sin of all believers throughout history:
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 He became sin.
- 1 Peter 2:24 He bore our sins in His body on the cross.
When Jesus received our sin, it became His sin. We say Jesus died for our sins, and that’s true, but we could equally say He died for His sins because our sins became His.
As Matthew 12:42 says, “Jesus is greater than Solomon,” and the complete fulfillment of all that was promised to David was found in Him.
There’s a Dual Fulfillment with Isaiah’s Prophecy of the Virgin Birth
Ahaz, King of Judah, was afraid of the kings of Israel and Aram. God sent the prophet Isaiah to Ahaz to give him a sign that these two kings would be defeated. Look at Isaiah 7:14 to see the sign.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (which means God With Us).
Notice the word “behold” in the middle of the verse. This is always used to draw attention to something significant that God doesn’t want us to miss: in this case, the sign of Immanuel.
In Isaiah’s day, there was a virgin who was unmarried and had not had a relationship with a man. Although she is unnamed in the account, I suspect Ahaz knew her. Maybe she was in the royal court. She would get married, cease being a virgin, have a child, and name that child Immanuel. To be clear, there is nothing miraculous about this child’s birth other than God’s prophecy. When Ahaz saw this child named Immanuel, he would think of Isiah’s words and be convinced God would deliver Judah. That’s how the child would serve as a sign.
This is the near partial fulfillment. I say partial for two reasons: First, the young girl didn’t remain a virgin, and second, the child wasn’t literally “God With Us.” But 700 years later, there would be a complete fulfillment: a young woman named Mary would have a Child as a virgin, and the Child would literally be Immanuel, or God With Us. Listen to Isaiah 7:14 quoted in the New Testament:
Matthew 1:21 [Mary] will bear a son, and you SHALL CALL HIS NAME JESUS, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet [Isaiah]: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL” (which means, God with us).
So, which is it: He’s called Jesus or Immanuel? He’s Jesus in name and Immanuel in fulfillment.
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE.
This is another famous prophecy associated with Jesus’s birth. Jesus didn’t get all these names. Instead, they’re titles He fulfilled. He would be each of these things.
Jeremiah 23:6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And (referring to Jesus) THIS IS THE NAME BY WHICH HE WILL BE CALLED: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
Jesus was never called the Lord is our Righteousness, but He became our righteousness:
1 Corinthians 1:30 You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us…righteousness
2 Corinthians 5:21 [God] made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus can be called Immanuel because He was God with us, literally and physically. He is the future complete fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
There’s a Dual Fulfillment with Joel’s Prophecy of the Day of the Lord
Fifty days after Easter Sunday, Jesus’s resurrection, and ten days after His ascension, the apostles and other believers gathered together in Jerusalem because Jesus told them to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit arrived with a sound like a rushing, mighty wind filling the house. Tongues of fire appeared and rested above each of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different known languages or tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
This happened during the spring feast of Pentecost, so Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims from various regions, each speaking different languages. They were amazed to hear the apostles speaking in their native tongues, leading them to proclaim the wonders of God. But there was also confusion about what was happening, with some people thinking the apostles were drunk. Look at Acts 2:14 to see Peter explain the situation:
Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
Everything Peter explained up to this point happened in Acts 2 or will happen in the following chapters:
- God poured out His Spirit on the people
- There were visions:
- Peter had a vision of the sheet containing unclean animals
- Paul had a vision of the man from Macedonia
- Stephen had a vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God
- There were prophecies:
- Agabus prophesied of a severe famine and then prophesied of Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem
- In Antioch, prophets directed the believers to set apart Barnabas and Paul for missionary work
- Philip the evangelist had four unmarried daughters who prophesied
But now look what Peter says as he continues quoting Joel:
Acts 2:19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Now, let me ask you something: when you’ve read these verses, haven’t you wondered when they were fulfilled? That’s the thing: they haven’t been…yet. Not only do we not see any of these signs and wonders in the book of Acts, but we also have not seen them throughout the church age. These are the signs and wonders that precede Jesus’s Second Coming. So, the dual fulfillment is the near partial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy occurred at Pentecost, and the future, complete fulfillment will occur during the end times.
There’s a Dual Fulfillment with Jesus’s Prophecy of Jerusalem’s Destruction
The challenge with the Olivet Discourse is that Jesus describes events in the near future, in particular in 70 A.D. when Rome attacked Jerusalem, and in the far future He describes His return and the events preceding it. Up to this point, it has been clear whether Jesus was talking about the near or far future. But we have reached the verses about Jerusalem’s destruction, which are challenging because Jerusalem was attacked in 70 A.D. and will be attacked again during the Great Tribulation.
You could say, “Why don’t you just look at a commentary and see what the really smart people say?” The problem is that many commentaries, perhaps to appeal to people with different views of the end times, are unclear about whether the verses refer to 70 A.D. or the tribulation.
So you say, “You are a premillennialist. Why don’t you look at premillennialists’ commentaries?” I did—many of them. And the more I looked at, the more evident, it became that even premillennialists are divided. Let me give you three examples, but I could give you more:
The Moody Bible Commentary says, “The description here and in parallel texts…make it unlikely that this is a description of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D.”1 The Moody Commentary says these verses describe Jerusalem’s destruction in the tribulation.
Warren Wiersbe wrote in his commentary, “Luke’s account refers not to a distant event to occur during the tribulation but to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and the Roman army in 70 A.D.”2 Warren Wiersbe says these verses describe Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 A.D.
In John MacArthur’s sermon on these verses he said, “Was [Jesus] talking about 70 A.D. here? I don’t think so…That language does not lend itself to a 70 A.D. interpretation. These are not the days of vengeance. These are not the events that cause things that have been written to all be fulfilled.” John MacArthur says these verses describe Jerusalem’s destruction in the Tribulation.
So, in these verses, is Jesus talking about Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 A.D. or during the tribulation? The answer is, “Yes!”
Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
Jesus tells people to do the opposite of what they typically do when an enemy army attacks: they’re supposed to run into the city for protection, but Jesus told them to flee Jerusalem because He knew it would fall. The only hope of survival was getting as far away from the city as possible.
Luke 21:23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people.
Jesus is simply stating that it’s going to be tough on pregnant women or women with babies. This declaration is born out of compassion. Listen to what Jesus described when He wept over Jerusalem after His Triumphal Entry:
Luke 19:44 [Enemies Will] tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you.”
He described pregnant women and their babies being slaughtered.
How Does Jesus’s Prophecy Look Beyond 70 A.D.?
In Luke 21:22, Jesus said this judgment would “fulfill all that is written.” We know 70 A.D. did not “fulfill all that is written,” which is to say, fulfill all Old Testament prophecy about Jerusalem’s destruction.
In Luke 21:23, Jesus said, “For there will be great distress upon the earth.” 70 A.D. affected Jerusalem, but it didn’t affect the whole earth. Jesus is describing the great tribulation, and this is clearer in the parallel account in Matthew:
Matthew 24:21 There will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
Jesus said there will be tribulation like never before and never again. This can’t be about 70 A.D. Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 A.D. was terrible, but it wasn’t worse than anything that had ever happened or would ever happen.
Luke 21:24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Times of the Gentiles is synonymous with the Church Age, so now Jesus is back to 70 A.D., describing the diaspora or dispersion of the Jews throughout the world after Jerusalem was conquered.
We will examine the following verses in detail in our next sermon, but I want you to briefly look at them to see Jesus move far beyond 70 A.D.:
Luke 21:25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
These verses resemble Peter’s words on Pentecost when he quoted Joel because they also describe the signs in the heavens preceding Jesus’s Second Coming.
The only way these verses make sense is if they have a dual fulfillment: there’s a near, partial fulfillment by the Romans in 70 A.D., and a future, complete fulfillment by the antichrist in the tribulation.
God Declares the End from the Beginning
Isaiah 46:8 “Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, 9 remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
These verses are not about God’s foreknowledge or knowledge of what will happen in the future. They would say that God sees the end from the beginning if they were. Instead, the verses say God declares the end from the beginning. They are about His omnipotence, or power to do what He desires. That’s why He says, “I will accomplish all my purpose.”
Prophecy’s dual fulfillment is a great example of this. God determines what will happen in the future and uses the near future to prefigure or foreshadow what will He will do in the far future. Isaiah 46:8 says what this means for us: “Remember this and stand firm.” Our confidence in God’s omnipotence, His power to determine the near and far future, should help us trust the Lord. I hope this sermon doesn’t just give you an important tool in understanding prophecy. I hope it also gives you the courage to stand firm in your faith because we serve a God who declares the end from the beginning.
