Awww….yeah. Starting a series on biblical prophecy…the prophecy that counts ya’ll.
How we interpret OT prophecy, and more specifically, how OT prophecy is interpreted in the NT, flavors our entire outlook concerning contemporary Christian goals and future Christian realities. A redemptive history gains momentum as Scripture progresses toward consumation of creation in the new heavens and new earth. This movement is catalyzed by God through his son Jesus Christ. I submit, that if we hold this focus when reading prophetic literature we will avoid distraction and ‘bogging down’. We will be comforted by the greater redemptive historical context of the Bible as opposed to our own ability to read contemporary signs which affirm prophetic prediction. Although some prophecy is clearly predictive, the weight of it is pedagogical. The OT prophets quoted each other. Jesus quoted the OT prophets. The NT writers quoted the OT prophets. The majority of Revelation correlates with passages in Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah. We will examine certain key passages in the gospels, epistles, and apocalyptic literature of the NT which directly quote the OT.
A question: Do you believe that OT prophecy finds fulfillment in specific current events of our time…such as hurricane Katrina, global warming, political leadership, etc.??
Nathaniel
OK, I’ll bite; but, I’ll specifically answer the examples you posed:
Hurricane Katrina: no, not specifically, but some may say the seemingly increasing turbulent weather is evident of Joel 2:30/Acts 2:19 coming to fulfillment.
Global Warming: no and yes — no because I do not believe there IS global warming; and, yes because it is being used as a ruse to enforce more “green” policy such as Cap and Trade plus the working proposal to tie world currency to a ‘carbon-based’ system which will help bring about a single world currency as in Rev 13:16-17 (see http://green-agenda.com/ and the quotes by Tim Wirth and Christine Stewart — #s 3 and 4)
Political leadership: yes — the mouth that the beast will give to utter blasphemous words in Rev 13:5 will be evident as fulfilled prophecy once it is fulfilled (of course, this matters little to premil, pretrib Rapture folks).
Jesus Himself told us we would know by the signs and to “keep watch” (Matthew 24:32, 42) even though we won’t know the specific day or hour (Matthew 24:44; 25:13). The Apostle Paul told us we would have an idea when end would near and admonishes us to remain alert and encourage one another (1 Thess 5:4-11).
Question: will you be presenting this from a particular eschatological perspective (pre-, post- or a- millennial) or will you be working toward that conclusion as you go?
I grew up in the End Time prophecy mania of the 70′s. Henry Kissinger was the antichrist, then Jimmy Carter. The UN was the one world government, etc. End Times evangelists took the daily newspaper and pointed out how the articles fulfilled specific biblical prophecies. By all accounts, we should have been in the Millenium by now.
Each generation has believed it was the final one from NT times until now. I think it is only natural to try to apply what we read to what we see around us. The problem is, we’re usually wrong. Those who claim to be experts on the subject have just as bad of a track record (If not worse) than those who claim to be modern-day prophets. Somehow though, this doesn’t seem to be a problem for many Christians, especially those who are cessationists. Definitely a double standard.
Prophecy is veiled language, and for some reason God has chosen to communicate it this way instead of being clear and direct. Does anyone else wonder why He did that? That’s a whole other subject. For me personally, I try to avoid speculation. Jesus will return when He is good and ready to. In the meantime, I need to make the best use of my time by loving God and others, and fulfilling the Great Commission.
Craig,
Interesting points. I am not going to tip my eschatological hand quite yet though. I would rather be judged according to the merits of my argumentation as opposed to the label of my hermeneutic (at least for now). The only OT passage that you use is Joel 2:30. If you go back and look there is OT prophetic cross-referencing for some of the NT warnings/apocalyptic literature that you quote. Regarding Joel: You must not be arguing from a literal interpretation of prophetic fulfillment in Joel to interpret 2:30 as referring to the weather. You are admitting that Joel is using metaphorical language in regard to future meteorological events.
Diane,
Sounds like you’ve gained some perspective since those early days. I appreciate that you use the qualifier ‘veiled’ to refer to prophetic language.
I am still at the place that
1) “…For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10)
This to me means that if it ain’t about the testamony of Jesus, something
is amiss. Anything else is propbably just added man made words.
2) Prophecy could very well mean “infalliable preaching” not so much fore-telling but forth-telling the “word of God” as in preaching the scriptures with even personal testamony.
3) As far as your question: I believe that the O.T prophets spoke the secret things of God with just enough to give us an idea of what is ahead, but not so much detail that we could pin point when it is about to happen. In other words as an e.g., we know that someday there will be an anti-christ that will appear but how and when that happens only so much was given so that we can be aware of it’s closeness. But when scripture is silent, why add to it? Most likely we are wrong to add to anymore of the prophetic scriptural word.
I’ll leave this previous stuff here… but simply put to your question… NO!
Nat,
I’m curious as to whether you will use as reference G K Beale’s works on this subject — his The Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts? and/or (with D A Carson) Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Either way, if you’ve read these, would you recommend them? Are they very, or strictly, academic and therefore a difficult read for an individual such as myself with no formal theological training?
Coincidentally, I just picked up the Baker Exegetical Commentary on Revelation by Grant Osbourne. In reading reviews, I figured it to be a good reference as he quotes from Beale and Aune on this subject — which I figure may make the purchase of these other works not as necessary.
Nat,
Some more questions: Have you investigated, or will you investigate Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphal works of the intertestamental period up through the Second Temple era including the Qumran community’s Dead Sea Scrolls? I’ve recently become fascinated with this era; and, I believe this work could have influenced the NT writers — the Qumran perhaps less so because of their isolationism.
Craig,
I will probably only be citing sources if challenged on certain points. The Qumran texts are invaluably helpful for interpreters.
Nat,
I don’t believe I was quite clear re: Qumran. I was referring to the specific writings of the Qumran and the pesharim (the commentaries of the Teacher of Righteousness) as these likely would not have been known to those outside the community. However, I’ve only read a little bit about the texts and even less of the texts themselves; so, perhaps I’m missing how these could aid in NT interpretation. I do realize the scrolls of OT fragments found in the DSS helped to correct/clarify some OT passages.
Also, regarding the Beale works above: I was only curious if you had read them as background; and, if so, if you found them applicable. If you’d rather not disclose sources unless challenged, I understand.
ok … just found out about this site so I will respond.
81% of Biblical prophecy has already been fulfilled. To the letter. So what about the other 19%? Well that is mainly to do with the return of Jesus. Although there are a few signs regarding the warnings of His coming.
Much of the Old Testament prophets was pointed towards Israel. During her rise under David, and her decline subsequently. Being taken from the land, Israel and Judah, and being restored to the land (Judah from Babylon).
None of the promises to Israel can come to the Church, albeit that the gentile believers have been grafted in (according to Paul). The promise of God (in chronicles) to heal the land is specific to the land of Israel. The promise about honouring the tithes brought into the storehouse in Malachi is all about God sending rain to Israel so that they would have an abundance of crops, and nothing to do with Church finances.
Tithing of money has nothing to do with the Old Covenant Tithe of food to the tribe of Levites. Christians are not bound by the law of Moses. Now, before someone points out that Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizadek and that Jacob tried to strike a bargain with God for 10% of everything God gave him … what Did Abraham do with the other 90% of the spoils of war? He gave it back to the King of Sodom.
Jacob tried to strike a bargain with God. Read on and see what God’s response was.
The old testament is important for Christians in order to understand God’s Character. But we need to be very careful to apply anything from the Old Testament to our present situation. We don’t need priests today, or altars or vestments or incense or any of these other things.
The main benefit of studying the prophets is to understand how God dealt with His people. It is very instructive for us, for we have been added to His people, albeit under the New Covenant rather than the Old.
Paul says to arrogant gentile believers in Rome “don’t be arrogant, but be afraid, for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either.”
Tough message huh?
If you think it’s bad in the USA, try living in the UK …
Shalom
“None of the promises to Israel can come to the Church, albeit that the gentile believers have been grafted in (according to Paul). The promise of God (in chronicles) to heal the land is specific to the land of Israel.”
Aren’t covenantal faithfulness (i.e. ‘I will be your God, and you will be my people’) and continual sovereign grace (i.e. the Exodus, the giving of the Law, and the remnant principle) the main promises which God made to his church in the Old Testament? These twin promises find actualization through faith in Christ in the New Testament. However, the substance of God’s promise to His church does not change. The question is…how far are you willing to separate OT Israel from NT ecclesia?
Have any of you read “End Time Delusions” by Steve Wohlberg? I honestly think it makes the most Biblical sense over all other views I’ve been exposed to.