Tobit's End Time Prophecy

The story of Tobit fills in the gaps between the invasion of Israel by the Assyrians, whose capital is Nineveh, and the times when the Assyrians themselves is defeated by the Babylonians - whose king Nebuchadnez′zar is mentioned here.

Tobit lived to 158 years old and he warned his descendents to leave Nineveh because he believed Jonah's prophecy from God about the destruction of Nineveh is true. Tobias, son of Tobit, lived to 127 years old and heard of the destruction of Nineveh. So Tobias had obeyed his father and left Nineveh with is family, and settled in his father-in-laws place.

There was mention of alms giving and how effective of alms giving is, though this would be challenged by the Protestants. There was a story between the father and adopted son Nadab and Ahikar, where one led another into darkness, but in the end one was saved while the other fell.

Tobit also prophesied about the diaspora and the return of the Israelites. He also mentioned the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple in glory and the future era when all gentiles in the world would abandon their idols and come to worship at Jerusalem. These prophecies perhaps span across different time periods, including the rebuilding of the Temple, and later on the reign of our Lord Jesus on earth where every nation will gather in worship.





14 Tobit’s Final Counsel
 Here Tobit ended his words of praise. 2 He was fifty-eight years old when he lost his sight, and after eight years he regained it. He gave alms, and he continued to fear the Lord God and to praise him. 3 When he had grown very old he called his son and grandsons, and said to him, “My son, take your sons; behold, I have grown old and am about to depart this life. 4 Go to Media, my son, for I fully believe what Jonah the prophet said about Nin′eveh, that it will be overthrown. But in Media there will be peace for a time. Our brethren will be scattered over the earth from the good land, and Jerusalem will be desolate. The house of God in it will be burned down and will be in ruins for a time. 5 But God will again have mercy on them, and bring them back into their land; and they will rebuild the house of God,[a] though it will not be like the former one until the times of the age are completed. After this they will return from the places of their captivity, and will rebuild Jerusalem in splendor. And the house of God will be rebuilt there with a glorious building for all generations for ever, just as the prophets said of it. 6 Then all the Gentiles will turn to fear the Lord God in truth, and will bury their idols. 7 All the Gentiles will praise the Lord, and his people will give thanks to God, and the Lord will exalt his people. And all who love the Lord God in truth and righteousness will rejoice, showing mercy to our brethren.

8 “So now, my son, leave Nin′eveh, because what the prophet Jonah said will surely happen. 9 But keep the law and the commandments, and be merciful and just, so that it may be well with you. 10 Bury me properly, and your mother with me. And do not live in Nin′eveh any longer. See, my son, what Nadab[b] did to Ahi′kar who had reared him, how he brought him from light into darkness, and with what he repaid him. But Ahi′kar was saved, and the other received repayment as he himself went down into the darkness. Ahi′kar[c] gave alms and escaped the deathtrap which Nadab[d] had set for him; but Nadab[e] fell into the trap and perished. 11 So now, my children, consider what almsgiving accomplishes and how righteousness delivers.” As he said this he died in his bed. He was a hundred and fifty-eight years old; and Tobi′as[f] gave him a magnificent funeral. 12 And when Anna died he buried her with his father.

Death of Tobit and Anna
Then Tobi′as returned with his wife and his sons to Ecbat′ana, to Rag′uel his father-in-law. 13 He grew old with honor, and he gave his father-in-law and mother-in-law magnificent funerals. He inherited their property and that of his father Tobit. 14 He died in Ecbat′ana of Media at the age of a hundred and twenty-seven years. 15 But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nin′eveh, which Nebuchadnez′zar and Ahasu-e′rus had captured. Before his death he rejoiced over Nin′eveh.

Tobit's Thanksgiving and Prophetic Jerusalem

After realizing the great magnitude of blessings that God had endowed upon him and his family, Tobit wrote the prayer of Thanksgiving below. The words of praise are consistent with many of the praise of other Israelites from the Old Testament. Perhaps one thing that stood out is the description of the extravagance of Jerusalem. Although Jerusalem would have been quite magnificent in the times of Solomon, the description of Jerusalem using precious stones, gold and jewels suggest this may be a prophetic view of Jerusalem and not too different from the eternal Jerusalem described in Revelation.


Tobit 13: Tobit’s Thanksgiving to God
Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said:
“Blessed is God who lives for ever,
    and blessed is his kingdom.
2 For he afflicts, and he shows mercy;
    he leads down to Hades, and brings up again,
    and there is no one who can escape his hand.
3 Acknowledge him before the nations, O sons of Israel;
    for he has scattered us among them.
4 Make his greatness known there,
    and exalt him in the presence of all the living;
because he is our Lord and God,
    he is our Father for ever.
5 He will afflict us for our iniquities;
    and again he will show mercy,
and will gather us from all the nations
    among whom you[a] have been scattered.
6 If you turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul,
    to do what is true before him,
then he will turn to you
    and will not hide his face from you.
But see what he will do with you;
    give thanks to him with your full voice.
Praise the Lord of righteousness,
    and exalt the King of the ages.
I give him thanks in the land of my captivity,
    and I show his power and majesty to a nation of sinners.
Turn back, you sinners, and do right before him;
    who knows if he will accept you and have mercy on you?
7 I exalt my God;
    my soul exalts the King of heaven,
    and will rejoice in his majesty.
8 Let all men speak,
    and give him thanks in Jerusalem.
9 O Jerusalem, the holy city,
    he will afflict you for the deeds of your sons,
    but again he will show mercy to the sons of the righteous.
10 Give thanks worthily to the Lord,
    and praise the King of the ages,
    that his tent may be raised for you again with joy.
May he cheer those within you who are captives,
    and love those within you who are distressed,
    to all generations for ever.
11 Many nations will come from afar to the name of the Lord God,
    bearing gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven.
Generations of generations will give you joyful praise.
12 Cursed are all who hate you;
    blessed for ever will be all who love you.
13 Rejoice and be glad for the sons of the righteous;
    for they will be gathered together,
    and will praise the Lord of the righteous.
14 How blessed are those who love you!
    They will rejoice in your peace.
Blessed are those who grieved over all your afflictions;
    for they will rejoice for you upon seeing all your glory,
    and they will be made glad for ever.
15 Let my soul praise God the great King.
16 For Jerusalem will be built with sapphires and emeralds,
    her[b] walls with precious stones,
    and her towers and battlements with pure gold.
17 The streets of Jerusalem will be paved[c] with beryl and ruby and stones of Ophir;
18     all her lanes will cry ‘Hallelujah!’ and will give praise,
    saying, ‘Blessed is God, who has exalted you for ever.’”

Raphael reveals himself as one of God's seven angels

In this chapter, Raphael finally revealed that he is an angel of God. Before that, Tobit and Tobias thought he was a man whom they hired to journey with Tobias on his mission. During this mission, Raphael had fulfilled the main goal of helping recover the trust money, as well a many other things like showing how to cast out the demons around Sarah, healing Tobit and more. So they decided to give him half the treasures brought back by Tobias.

The angel revealed his identity and gave them advise to continue to praise God in all things. There is also some mention of almsgiving - that it is good to give alms than to hoard treasure for oneself. Jesus and the Old Testament have also taught about being generous. This chapter goes a bit further and says "almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin". Perhaps this is the controversial part that resulted in this book not being canonized. For it is our Lord Jesus himself that can deliver us from death and purge away every sin by his sacrifice on the cross.

A lot more is also revealed about Raphael in this chapter. He is one of seven of God's angels who presents the prayers from people to God. Raphael mentions that he heard the prayers of Tobit and Sarah, and also recognize the good deeds such as Tobit burying the dead without hesitation, at the beginning of this book.






Tobit 12:  Raph′ael’s Wages
Tobit then called his son Tobi′as and said to him, “My son, see to the wages of the man who went with you; and he must also be given more.” 2 He replied, “Father, it would do me no harm to give him half of what I have brought back. 3 For he has led me back to you safely, he cured my wife, he obtained the money for me, and he also healed you.” 4 The old man said, “He deserves it.” 5 So he called the angel and said to him, “Take half of all that you two have brought back.”

Raph′ael’s Exhortation
6 Then the angel[a] called the two of them privately and said to them: “Praise God and give thanks to him; exalt him and give thanks to him in the presence of all the living for what he has done for you. It is good to praise God and to exalt his name, worthily declaring the works of God. Do not be slow to give him thanks. 7 It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God. Do good, and evil will not overtake you. 8 Prayer is good when accompanied by fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. 9 For almsgiving delivers from death, and it will purge away every sin. Those who perform deeds of charity[b] and of righteousness will have fulness of life; 10 but those who commit sin are the enemies of their own lives.

Raph′ael Discloses His Identity
11 “I will not conceal anything from you. I have said, ‘It is good to guard the secret of a king, but gloriously to reveal the works of God.’ 12 And so, when you and your daughter-in-law Sarah prayed, I brought a reminder of your prayer before the Holy One; and when you buried the dead, I was likewise present with you. 13 When you did not hesitate to rise and leave your dinner in order to go and lay out the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me, but I was with you. 14 So now God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. 15 I am Raph′ael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One.”

16 They were both alarmed; and they fell upon their faces, for they were afraid. 17 But he said to them, “Do not be afraid; you will be safe. But praise God for ever. 18 For I did not come as a favor on my part, but by the will of our God. Therefore praise him for ever. 19 All these days I merely appeared to you and did not eat or drink, but you were seeing a vision. 20 And now give thanks to God, for I am ascending to him who sent me. Write in a book everything that has happened.” 21 Then they stood up; but they saw him no more. 22 So they confessed the great and wonderful works of God, and acknowledged that the angel of the Lord had appeared to them.

Tobias returns home; Tobit's eyesight restored

Tobias finally arrived home, and we are reminded that they live in Nineveh, most probably as the captives from the kingdom of Israel resettled in Nineveh after the Assyrians defeated them. It also shows the Israelites obedience to God in submitting to God's will and trying to make a peaceful living, even as they were relocated to a different country.

The passage is a joyous account of the reunion of Tobias and his parents, and in addition, introducing his new wife. There was great celebration of the marriage, reflecting the family's thankfulness for God's greatness, mercy and blessings. There is also the account that Tobit's sight was miraculously restored. They seemingly used a 'method' of using the fish gall to sprinkle on their eyes, and Jesus also used a 'method' of spitting in the mud, mixing it and applying to the man's eyes. Despite these physical 'methods', there was no doubt to everyone involved there, that the healing came directly from God, and not the rituals.



Tobit 11 - Homeward Journey
After this Tobi′as went on his way, praising God because he had made his journey a success. And he blessed Rag′uel and his wife Edna.

So he continued on his way until they came near to Nin′eveh. 2 Then Raph′ael said to Tobi′as, “Are you not aware, brother, of how you left your father? 3 Let us run ahead of your wife and prepare the house. 4 And take the gall of the fish with you.” So they went their way, and the dog went along behind them.

5 Now Anna sat looking intently down the road for her son. 6 And she caught sight of him coming, and said to his father, “Behold, your son is coming, and so is the man who went with him!”

Tobit’s Sight Restored
7 Raph′ael said, “I know, Tobi′as, that your father will open his eyes. 8 You therefore must anoint his eyes with the gall; and when they smart he will rub them, and will cause the white films to fall away, and he will see you.”

9 Then Anna ran to meet them, and embraced her son, and said to him, “I have seen you, my child; now I am ready to die.” And they both wept. 10 Tobit started toward the door, and stumbled. But his son ran to him 11 and took hold of his father, and he sprinkled the gall upon his father’s eyes, saying, “Be of good cheer, father.” 12 And when his eyes began to smart he rubbed them, 13 and the white films scaled off from the corners of his eyes. 14 Then he saw his son and embraced him, and he wept and said, “Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all thy holy angels. 15 For thou hast afflicted me, but thou hast had mercy upon me; here I see my son Tobi′as!” And his son went in rejoicing, and he reported to his father the great things that had happened to him in Media.

16 Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gate of Nin′eveh, rejoicing and praising God. Those who saw him as he went were amazed because he could see. 17 And Tobit gave thanks before them that God had been merciful to him. When Tobit came near to Sarah his daughter-in-law, he blessed her, saying, “Welcome, daughter! Blessed is God who has brought you to us, and blessed are your father and your mother.” So there was rejoicing among all his brethren in Nin′eveh. 18 Ahi′kar and his nephew Nadab[a] came, 19 and Tobi′as’ marriage was celebrated for seven days with great festivity.