Zephaniah - Written in the days of Josiah, son of Amon, king of Judah.
There will be judgment on Judah because of their sin and apostasy.
Prophecy is not all about telling the future like a seer. You prophesy when you tell someone sin will lead them to destruction and tell them the truth to lead them back to God.
During Liturgy, how can we "remember the 2nd Coming?" Because the Liturgy is outside of time. God sees the whole thing and sees all of human history.
Already, not yet perspective needs to be taken into account with prophecies. From God's perspective, it is all done. The victory has already been won.
There is now in Zephaniah's time no more northern kingdom. Israel is gone. Judah is also being oppressed by the Assyrians because they let them in to be spared by Assyria.
[Chapter 1] He shall punish Judah for worshipping false gods because they are acting like they all did before the Flood as a comparison. He is "preparing a sacrifice" (1.7). IT was thought that all the Gentiles and Jews would burn and make a sacrifice to God and that evil was to be destroyed. However, this isn't an offering God would want. The Early Church saw it clearly that these verses were about the Messiah offering Himself as this sacrifice. The Jews and Gentiles, in a sense, did actually sacrifice Jesus. Rome and Jews worked together to do so to Christ and God prepared for this. Judah is compared to the Caananites.
[Chapter 2] Other nations will also be judged and the Remnant will claim their lands. God will destroy them and their gods. Moab will end up like Sodom and etc. who God judges ultimately (Babylon included later in the future). They will also all end up following Yahweh (the Gentile nations) after the Restoration of the Remnant begins.
"Islands of the nations" is mentioned here. As far as they knew of the known world, the Gibraltar Islands were their known knowledge of the world. However, this clearly is all of their world both known and unknown lands.
[Chapter 3] Desolate. Doves are mentioned. They are seen as a dumb animal. Jerusalem is judged.
3:9-20 - Restoration and people of all nations are to come in.
v.9 - Pentacost gets prophesied here.
v. 15-20 - Messiah reference. The sacrifice will be given and later St. Paul will show us that the Exile and Captivity is ending because of Christ.
This will be done through Christ and His Church, one people in Christ (Jew and Gentile). Christ will reign over evil once and for all in the 2nd Coming. To be one of Abraham's people, you must have faith. Caleb and Rahab and etc were Gentiles who became Israel by their faith. This is even truer in the New Covenant thanks to Christ.
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Haggai - 520 BC. About when the first Jews start to return to Jerusalem under Cyrus' successor Darius. God says to speak to Zerubabbel, the current leader.
[Chapter 1]
They wonder if they should rebuild and Haggai says they are rebuked for neglecting the Temple. Nothing is going good because they haven't built a new temple, His house. He says essentially to build His house before they build theirs or they will not be blessed. Zerubabbel heeds the words and begins to do it.
[Chapter 2]
"I am with you". They have a lot of issues to deal with but they become encouraged by the words of the prophet. Haggai tells them to get to work and that when they do, God will care for them. This is all reliant on them to be faithful for All is His and All belongs to Yahweh.
2:10-19 - God reiterates to them they are not great people. He brought them back and he could easily have them go straight back to exile again for unfaithfulness. Tells them not to forget Him like they did before.
2:20-23 - Zerubabbel is chosen to be their leader. God says to fear not.
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