Bible prophecy

Categories: Prophecy

Roughly one quarter of the Bible is widely regarded to contain passages which claim to foretell events and mandate conditions on future activities, focused primarily on the people and nations of the Middle East, and on the Messiah. This foretelling, or prophecy, is widely distributed within the King James Version for example, including the Torah and New Testament. Bible prophecy can be catagorized into either declarations of actions God will take, or predictions of events that will occur.

Some prophetic scripture of the Bible was recorded in the form of direct statements of God, while other content is from the point of view of the original writers. In the sense that such Bible authors expressed this privileged perspective, they can be considered as prophets. The relevant scripture generally imbues the Biblical prophets with the ability to communicate with, or receive/interpret messages from God. - (see Prophet).

The books of the Old Testament (OT) prophets (typically Isaiah through Malachi) are largely characterized by God's warning to the Isrealites to repent of their sins and idolatries with the threat of destruction, captivity and desolation. There are many retributions conferred against a variety of specific regions of the Middle East: blessings, ruinations, and amalgams of both. According to how the books are dated, many of these prophecies can be viewed to have been fulfilled within yet other passages of the Bible. A second prophetic theme establishes the promise that a savior, or Messiah will be sent with the mission, among other things, to reign with absolute rightousness. Roman Catholics and Christians, among other denominations, believe part of the Messianic prophecy to have been fulfilled by Jesus. Most people of the Jewish faith believe Messiah will not arrive until Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt for it's third standing.

Yet another major theme occurs in the New Testament book of Revelation, in addition to many other passages such as in Daniel. The theme concerns a period of the world referred to as the "End Times", or "Last Days". These passages present the scenario of how, during such period, a final world-wide dictator will usher in destruction and tribulation which are unparalleled in history, culminating in the largest military gathering for the battle of Armageddon, after which the world is said to continue for a thousand years of peace under Messianic rule. The Biblical teachings of these issues form one basis of study in regards to the general study of "last things", or eschatology.


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Views of Bible Prophecy

There is a spectrum of belief among Biblical scholars, clergy, and religious authorities as to the nature of prophesy in the Bible. At one end, there is the rather secular notion that the warnings and assertions of Biblical prophesy are metaphorical - that they serve to force us to re-examine our perspective and relation to God, and to confront what the Bible is intended to teach. As such, the philosophy of the goodness embodied by the commandments, which is deemed beneficial for the peaceful co-existence of humanity, is maintained. At the other end of the spectrum is the belief that prophetic detail is quite literal, except for passages which are clearly symbolic. Some prophecy interpreters embelish this principle of the literal view in providing detailed analysis of how prophecies were fulfilled accurately to the day[3]. These interperative issues are related to the more general idea of how passages should be read or interpreted - a concept known as Biblical hermeneutics.

A seperate issue concerns the source of the prophetic verse. Those who hold to the doctrine of Biblical inspiration assert that the God of the Bible spoke through the Biblical prophets in order to provide moral teaching, guidance, comfort, warning, or to foretell important events. They typically maintain that the Bible has detailed and remarkable prophecies that have fortold the future, and see this as a sign and verification of Biblical inspiration. In this view it is usually also maintained that no Bible prophecy has ever failed, or ever will. Bible prophecy is an area which is often discussed in regard to Christian apologetics.

Critics of Bible prophecy often state that prophetic verses are largely vague, and are ambiguous enough to allow an excessive flexibility of interpretation. Others claim that there are prophecies which either were not, or could not be fulfilled within certain time frames which have already expired. The remaining prophecies which do appear to have been fulfilled are attributed to coincidence, or to being written after the fact. The establishment of facts related to events two millenia ago makes scientific proof of specific prophecies problematic. A more general criticism of prophecy purports the lack of definitive scientific evidence of precognition.

Over the centuries there have been many proponents and detractors of Bible prophecy. For example, Professor Peter Stoner (weblink) and Dr. Hawley O. Taylor believed the Bible prophecies were credible, sufficiently detailed and did not occur by mere chance. On the other hand, neo-Platonist philosopher Porphyry of Tyros argued for example that the eleventh chapter of Daniel was written around 165 B.C. rather than at the time of the Babylonian exile period of 6th century B.C. when the book was purported to have been written. Another example, would be that Arthur C. Custance (weblink) maintained that the Ezekiel Tyre prophecy (Ezek. 26: 1-11; 29:17-20) was very remarkable. On the other hand, scholar Gustave Holscher maintained that certain passages of the book of Ezekiel were not written by a pre-Exilic prophet of Israel but were later added in the Persian period.

Generally speaking those who have a high view of the Bible and believe it is supported by good evidence are more likely to take a Biblical inerrancy view or have conservative theological views. On the other side of the aisle are those who believe the Bible is supported by some or very poor evidence and they take a more theologically liberal view. How one views Bible prophecy is ultimately personal, dependending on how convincing or compelling the prophecies are, how well contemporary evidence appears to support it, and how one's interpretation of faith instructs. For example, Bible scholars like Dr. Norman Geisler would tend to believe in the integrity of the Bible and its prophecies and that non-Bible prophets and psychics are not comparable[4]. On the other hand, Barton and Muddiman editors of the Oxford Bible Commentary say they take a "chastened historical criticism" approach - which is to say that the Bible's critics, while not inerrant, have made some fair criticisms of the Bible and its claims.

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Modern Perspectives

It is clear that many shifts have occured in the world in recent years. These explosive changes over just the past century in world population, technology, warfare, and moral attitudes (which may include drug use and crime) are indeed awesome. These aspects inspire belief systems among both the secular and the religious that the world cannot continue on it's path without major changes.

Among many religions the prophecy that Jesus will return to earth (second coming) is highly important. Since 32 CE, many specific timeframes of this prediction and others have been declared by individuals and groups (such as Jehovah's Witnesses), although many of these dates have expired without the occurances predicted - (see "Timeline of unfulfilled Christian Prophecy"). Evidence suggests that more than ever, evangelists and groups today believe the generation alive today will see such a monumentous event. -(see External Links). An official statement of the Vatican asserts, "we are already in the last hour" (statement 670).

Although there are many variations in perspective among religious believers, a few specific events which are common to many of the modern Bible prophecy fullfilment views of dispensationalist inclination have been attributed to Bible passages:

  • The revival of Israel as a nation, (last generation before Christ): Parable of the fig tree, Matt.24:32, Mark 13:28, Luke 21:29
  • The European Union, (revived Roman Empire): Daniel 2
  • Various tribulation events: Matt.24:4, Mark13:5, Luke21:5

Additionally, some popular conjectures on the progression of currently existing situations into prophecy fulfillment include:

  • Implantable microchip identification -> Mark of the beast, Rev.13:16
  • E.U. involvement in Middle East peace -> Antichrist & peace treaty, Dan.9:27,11:21, Rev.13
  • The new Sanhedrin, plans for new Temple (Many passages require Temple to exist)

In the 1990's, a new way to prophetically interpret the Bible was instigated. Proposed by Eliyahu Rips, it was said[1] that words and short phrases were hidden in the Hebrew Bible as skip-letter sequences (every 30th letter, for example). The mathematical probability for several coded words which are related to occur within the same area of the Bible was calculated to be enourmously greater than chance. The code reportedly predicted the assasination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a year in advance. A comprehensive explanation of how this phenomenon can occur naturally was later published[2] in 1999 by Brendan McKay et. al., although the Bible code continues to be progressively explored and debated. (For more complete story see Bible Code.)

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Classifications of Biblical Prophecy

Bible Prophecy can be broken down into several groups of related prophecies sharing a central theme. Some prophecies can share multiple themes, and may occur in more than one list. As with many other Biblical topics, viewpoints often divide along Christian and Jewish denominational lines.

  • General — Bible Prophecies that are difficult to categorize.
  • Eschatology — The prophecies concerning the last things.
  • Millenialism — Belief in a thousand year reign of Christ on earth
  • Israelology — Prophecies concerning Israel, the nation, the people, and the man.
  • Messianic — The prophecies concerning the Messiah.
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References

[1] D. Witztum, E. Rips and Y. Rosenberg, "Equidistant letter sequences in the Book of Genesis", Statistical Science, 9 (1994) 429-438

[2] B. McKay, D. Bar-Natan, M. Bar-Hillel, G. Kalai, "Solving the Bible Code Puzzle", Statistical Science, 9 (1999) 150-173

[3] Jeffrey, Grant R., Armageddon:Appointment With Destiny, Bantam (1988)

[4] N. Geisler, "Nostradamus", www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/theological-dictionary/TD1001W4.htm

  • Oxford Bible Commentary, John Barton and John Muddiman, Oxford University Press, NY, 2001
  • Taylor, Hawley O., "Mathematics and Prophecy," Modern Science and Christian Faith, Wheaton,: Van Kampen, 1948, pp.175-183.
  • Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, (Prophecy, p.1410, Book of Ezekiel, p.580), Moody Bible Press, Chicago, 1986
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See also

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External links