INTRODUCTION TO END TIMES PROPHECY

I am using (NKJV) -Blue Letter Bible (a free bible resource tools)

Genesis 3:15 is the first block in the foundation of all end‑times prophecy. You may ask why I should go to the Old Testament. Why not just jump into Revelation? If you were building a house, you wouldn’t begin with the roof, would you? You would start by laying a solid foundation. Scripture does the same thing. Before Revelation, before Daniel, before Isaiah, before Jesus speaks of the last days, God places a single prophetic seed in the soil of human history:

The promise of a coming Deliverer and the final defeat of the serpent.

This verse is the Protoevangelium — the “first gospel (good news).” It is the earliest announcement of:

• A coming Messiah,

• A future conflict,

• A final victory,

• And the ultimate crushing of evil.

Every later prophecy — from the plagues in Exodus, to the feasts in Leviticus, to Balaam’s star in Numbers, to the suffering Servant in Isaiah, to the Son of Man in Daniel, to the Lamb in Revelation — grows out of this single seed. Genesis 3:15 is not merely an origin story. It is the architectural blueprint for the entire eschatological (end times) structure.

Below you will see the format I will be using for this study. Whereas the blue underline are links. I begin in the Old Testament to give you a foundation on end-times prophecy. The pages that follow will show the link between Old Testament and New Testament prophecies.

Genesis 3:15 NJKV— Blue Letter Bible

Summarized: God announces a future conflict between the woman’s Seed and the serpent, revealing the first prophecy of the coming Messiah and Satan's ultimate defeat.

Commentary:

The “enmity” God establishes introduces a long-running conflict between the serpent and humanity. The “Seed” ultimately points to Christ, whose victory over sin and death fulfills this earliest prophecy.¹

Theologian (detailed commentary):
Many theologians identify Genesis 3:15 as the Protoevangelium, the “first gospel.” The singular pronoun “He” points to a specific Deliverer. Early church fathers such as Irenaeus and Justin Martyr taught that the phrase “he shall bruise your head” refers to Christ’s decisive victory over Satan, while “you shall bruise His heel” refers to Christ’s suffering at Calvary.^A
The Hebrew verb shuph (“bruise”) can mean crush, overwhelm, or strike decisively, suggesting a fatal blow to the serpent’s authority.²
This conflict anticipates Satan’s eventual confinement (Revelation 20:1–3) and final judgment (Revelation 20:10).^B

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Numeric Footnotes

1. “Seed” is singular, indicating a specific individual.
2. Shuph can mean bruise, crush, overwhelm, or strike decisively.

Alpha Footnotes (Sources + Short Bios)

• A. Irenaeus — 2nd‑century bishop; wrote extensively against heresies and taught that Christ is the promised Seed of Genesis 3:15.
  Justin Martyr — 2nd‑century Christian apologist; connected Old Testament prophecy directly to Christ’s suffering and victory.
• B. Matthew Henry — 17th‑century Bible commentator known for devotional yet doctrinally rich exposition; identifies Genesis 3:15 as the first gospel promise.
• C. Blue Letter Bible — Genesis 3:15 (NKJV)
• D. Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon — Entry for shuph, defining the verb as bruise/crush.
• E. NKJV Copyright Notice: Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.