Session 3, Part 1 What in the World is God Doing - History is Not an Accident

Session 3 opens with a bold claim: history is not an accident, and neither is the future uncertain. We begin with Dr. Albert Schweitzer's haunting reflection on Jesus and "the wheel of the world," then turn to Scripture to show why Jesus, as part of the Godhead, truly does know the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:8–10, John 1:1–3). From there we contrast two very different "days" found in prophecy: the Year of the Lord's Favor and the Day of Vengeance (Isaiah 61:1–3). We look at why Jesus, reading this same passage in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4:16–21), stopped mid-sentence — quoting only "the year of the Lord's favor" and leaving "the day of vengeance of our God" unread. That pause, we argue, marks the gap between Christ's first and second comings. We then trace how Joel's prophecy of the outpoured Spirit (Joel 2:28–32) was partially fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2:17–21) — birthing the Church — while the accompanying cosmic signs and "the great and awesome day of the LORD" remain future. We close by returning to the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:29–31) and Jesus' description of His visible, sudden return in glory. 📖 Scriptures covered: Isaiah 46:8–10, Isaiah 61:1–3, Luke 4:16–21, Joel 2:28–32, Acts 2:17–21, Matthew 24:29–31 🔔 Subscribe to follow the rest of the series as we continue asking: What in the world is God doing?