Myths About Studying Bible Prophecy
People that study end-times Bible prophecy (a.k.a. "eschatology") know that there is an overwhelming amount of evidence suggesting it should be studiedand that it is very relevant for us today. Yet we also encounter people that do not appreciate that concept for a variety of reasons. I hope the following information will help people that already understand the importance of prophecy to better defend their understanding of that matter, and that it will dispel a few common myths that some people believe so they too will fully grasp all that God's Word has to say about Bible prophecy.
- The first discussion addresses the misconception that prophecy has little relevance.
- The second discussion helps dispel the myth that prophecy is too complex to study.
- The third and final myth refuted is that prophecy has already been fulfilled historically. (Therein is the bulk of this article since that myth requires substantial discussion to be addressed thoroughly.)
MYTH #1 Bible Prophecy Has Little Relevance
Bible prophecy is found throughout scripture and many experts note that over 25% of the Bible is devoted to the topic. It is easy to find core concepts of every theological issue linked to prophecy. Prophecy concerning the first coming of Christ (a.k.a. "Messianic Prophecy") is found in many places in the Old Testament, and end-times prophecy is found throughout the Bible.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the apostles Paul, Peter, and others give end-times prophecy specific attention. Jesus Himself explained the end-times scenario in the Olivet Discourse, (recorded in Matthew 24 and in parallel passages of Mark 13 and Luke 21). Of course, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book of the Bible is aptly named Revelation and obviously denotes the importance of prophecy. Bible prophecy about the end times can also be found in Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Romans, Hebrews, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, and many other places in scripture.
Moreover, we know that God does everything according to His divine plan and purpose and, thus, it would be contradictory to God's nature for Him to have had the prophetic words recorded if it had no purpose. God even tells us it is important with specific verses:
- Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)
- "See, I have told you ahead of time." (Matthew 24:25) And "So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time." (Mark 13:23)
- Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21)
- And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (2 Peter 1:19)
- Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)
- Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it. (Revelation 1:3)
MYTH #2 Bible Prophecy is Too Complex to Study
In the past it could have been said the prophecy was a complex subject; and, therefore, it was not that well understood. Only recently has end-times Bible prophecy become as understood as it today. To acknowledge that concept is actually a tremendous encouragement to people who study end-times Bible prophecy. Why is that? Because of what God Himself told Daniel. Daniel wrote, "I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?' He replied, Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end'"(Daniel 12:8-9).
As you can see, Daniel did not understand what God was asking him to record. When he asked the Lord what the outcome would be, God replied that the words were not meant for Daniel to understand and, in fact, they were to be "closed up and sealed until the time of the end." Consequently, if it can be demonstrated that now, due to relatively recent events, we are able to understand prophecy more than ever, then the logical conclusion is that we are now living in "the time of the end" that God mentioned!
Today Bible prophecy scholars are able to understand so much more than could have been understood even a few decades ago. We now understand that historical events and modern technological advances make the fulfillment of prophecy something that only a few decades ago could not have been achieved. I'll discuss some of those issues while addressing the last myth that requires more study to fully understand.
MYTH #3 Bible Prophecy Was Fulfilled Historically
This myth is widely accepted, as it has been propagated by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. Unfortunately that viewpoint has also been adopted by many protestant denominations that would otherwise shudder at the thought of accepting false doctrine originating from Catholicism. The viewpoint existed in a mild form for centuries, but it progressed in the 17th Century when a Jesuit priest named Luis de Alcazar (1554-1613) gave it new life.
The Reformation was a time when the Bible was being made available to read by anyone, which presented a lot of potential problems for the Roman Catholic Church because people could then begin to understand the Book of Revelation was discussing the apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church. Alcazar developed a sophisticated theory to refute that conclusion by claiming that Revelation was about the Church's struggles during its early years. To support that theory, he suggested an allegorical method of interpreting Revelation to help the text of scripture align with historical events.
Unfortunately, during the Reformation that theory took hold and spilled over into some protestant groups that otherwise had shed many other false doctrines of Catholicism. People that believe prophecy was fulfilled in the past are called "preterists", whereas people that understand end-times Bible prophecy is future to us are called "futurists". The preterist interpretation is very clever; therefore, to the unsuspecting person that may be taught that viewpoint, it can appear to be quite valid.
Many fine Christians that believe in preterism are intelligent people that maintain sound doctrine on other fundamental issues. However, as I'll demonstrate further in this article, the logic and interpretation methods used to conclude that the prophecies were all fulfilled in the past require substantial inconsistencies to make it all fit; and, most importantly, the theory falls apart when the facts of history are closely scrutinized with the text of the Bible.
We read in 2 Peter 3:2-4 an interesting prophecy, "I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this coming' he promised?'" Then, just a few verses later (2 Peter 3:8) we find these important words to explain that the Lord is not going to return immediately, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
What makes those words in 2 Peter interesting, yet disappointing, is that while we can imagine people outside the church questioning the return of our Lord, it will also be people within the Church scoffing at those that stand upon God's Word and point to Christ's return for the Church via the Rapture (an event clearly explained in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which I'll address later in this article).
I believe if someone that holds the preterist position is willing to honestly explore the matter, they will realize that trying to make prophetic biblical passages align with historic events requires too much imagination and manipulation of the Bible; and that there is too much evidence pointing us to the fact prophecy is for our future. Interpreting the Bible literally, on the other hand, provides us with an appreciation that God said what He meant, and meant what He said. Dr. D.L. Cooper's explanation of the best way to interpret the Bible is commonly referred to as the Golden Rule of Interpretation:
When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.
Interestingly preterists often take literally all passages that refer to repenting from sins and being baptized. They also interpret the Bible literally at most other places, even if it requires faith to accept that what was said was absolutely true (e.g. creationism, the great flood of Noah's day, Daniel in the lion's den, the virgin birth, all of the miracles Jesus performed, the resurrection, etc.). Yet when it comes to understanding that Jesus will return for His Church and that Christians will be taken into the clouds via the Rapture, they consider those passages nonsensical to the rational mind. If they would, however, question why they are taught to allegorized only the topic of end-times prophecy and then consider it could be the viewpoint came from false teachings that originating from Roman Catholic Church, then they could begin to understand the issue is not a matter of what makes sense to our finite minds; but, rather, what makes sense in light of the inerrant Word of our omnipotent Creator.
Put another way, we must accept God's Word is inerrant and that it has to be taken literally for us to understand God existed before time and created everything; or how the entire earth was consumed in a flood (but not before God warned one man and his family to first build an ark). We must interpret the Bible literally to stand upon God's Word that Jesus was born of a virgin; or how He healed the blind and the crippled, how He walked on water, and how He instantly calmed a raging storm by speaking to it. We must not compromise to understand Lazarus was raised from the dead; and especially how Jesus literally died and then rose again three days later. The list could go on and on.
I hope this article will encourage people to explore the topic of end-times prophecy alongside God's Word as they remain intellectually open and spiritually sensitive. There is no disgrace in reevaluating what one has been taught and then adjusting that in light of new knowledge. Thanks be to God that the Apostle Paul did just that when he turned from persecuting Christians to being arguably the most influential person, except Christ Himself, in Christianity! The only disgrace is if one ignores the facts and entrenches themselves deeper into misunderstanding God's Word. (I myself, from time to time, have had to rethink how I thought about particular verses and certain topics once new information was provided to me. Often it was after a lot of prayer, wherein I also asked the Lord for wisdom and discernment. I have found that sometimes as we study God's Word more and learn new facts from inspired teachers, we gain a better understanding after all the pieces are put together.)
As we return to the topic at hand, even a common sense understanding of God's Word and it's application for us today would have one ask, "Why is so much written about prophecy if, in the end, it was really only meant for the early Church, and then from that point forward it has no real application for future generations?" There are many examples of how not expecting Christ to return unexpectedly via the Rapture undermines God's Word, such as 2 Peter 3:9-10 or Titus 2:11-14. As noted earlier, one would also have to seriously marginalize a substantial amount of the Bible where prophecy is discussed, such as 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Romans chapters 9-11, 2 Peter, and the Book of Revelation (to name a few major places).
As we examine the preterist position, we must also consider why this false viewpoint has been allowed to succeed. First, we have to recognize the obvious, which is that many of the events that happened in A.D. 70 did fit, at least to some extent, some of the text. Also, because Israel ceased to be a nation for so long, it only helped support the position. I'll address both of those issues in much more detail further below.
I believe we also have to consider that Satan, who is the master of lies and deception and a devious enemy to Jews and Christians alike, has had his hand in the matter as well. He knows scripture and understands that if he can deceive people into believing lies, he gains a substantial advantage. In this case, a belief that God is essentially done with the nation of Israel helps promote anti-Semitism, which clearly fits Satan's strategya plan witnessed time and time again throughout history.
It is clear that Satan believes that if he can derail God's plan, he can change the outcome. We need only look at how the Egyptians, Babylonians, Syrians, and Romans were used to persecute the Jews; how Satan motivated King Herod to kill all the male babies at the time of Christ's birth; and how the Nazi Holocaust was an attempt to exterminate all the Jewish people. Today we see much of the same thing, except it is in the likes of Islamic nations (particularly Iran) and terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. These are people openly bent on destroying the Jewish people and taking land the size of New Jersey away from them, despite so much other land that they could have.
Satan knows that if he can, once again, lull Christians into turning their backs upon the Jewish people, then he will gain strategic ground for yet another assault on the Jews. If he can show that God does not honor His promise made centuries ago to Abraham and his descendants that the land of Israel would be theirs and without any preconditions (Genesis 15:18-21), then a case could be made that God could also dishonor His covenant with sinners. Of course, we serve a God that keeps His unconditional promises. He is also a God that has proven, and will continue to prove, that He is clearly superior to Satan's schemes. He will, once again, use the Jewish people and Bible prophecy to prove His perfect character and omniscience.
The viewpoint that it all already happened also will help the real future events to take many people by surprise. In particular, if people are not expecting any of the end times events to happen, such as the real Antichrist to rise onto the world scene, then that will make it all the more easy for him to do so without being recognized for who he is. Also, a one world banking system, one world government, etc. will make logical sense to everyone except those sensitive to the fact that those conditions will precede the Antichrist's rule and reign of terror. An apostate religious system can also more easily flourish when Christians are unaware of its coming.
Now I am not saying that people that believe in preterism are Satanic, in alliance with the Antichrist, nor are they necessarily Anti-Semitic; however, often the viewpoint they hold leads to a loss of appreciation for what God's Word says about His chosen people, the Jews, and the land of Israel. Also, while one's viewpoint on the matter is not a salvation issue, it can have far-reaching implications as we approach the last days in light of what scripture says will happen. It is, therefore, the reason I write this part of this article, as I hope to help people that are willing to be intellectually honest and consider that a preterist viewpoint of prophecy may be wrong in light of scriptural analysis of the subject.
As alluded to earlier, what clouds the issue is that some of what is described in the Bible did happen in the past; thus, the theory has just enough credibility to seem very plausible without further study. The most notable events that did happen was the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 and the persecution of the early Church. However, when one diligently studies the matter, they learn that many of the prophetic events Jesus foretold did not happen; and it requires a substantial manipulation of the Bible to make it fit when examined closer.
