Help on General Prophacy...

[Guest]

I have started a servey in our church about prophecy, a couple of questions have come up in the process that I want our Wedg theologians to help with, please feel free to answer and help.

·To what extent would a first century person look at future events?
·Looking at the above question consider also, with what degree of specificity?
·Does examining those events take us the wrong road?


How would you guys answer this?

[N1095A]

Re: Help on General Prophacy...

General Prophecy was promoted from Bird Colonel Prophecy during the last round of officer promotions...8)

Seriously, 1st century would have thought it immediate. However, Jesus told them Jerusalem would be trodden under foot by Gentiles until the Times of the Gentiles was finished. So there was a definite sign there. I agree with Dave Hunt that they were left with imminency but now that we look down through time, we can see that imminency, with regard to the Church, has lasted a lot longer than they would have ever imagined. There is still personal imminency that's active all the time. I.e., many pass from the Earth before the final events take place.

IMHO, one has to be careful with day-to-day stuff. Many wars with Israel were amazing, but they were not the final battle. Had we been old enough to witness the 1967 or 1973 wars with the knowledge we have now, we would have been very sure this was "it". That's why I'm cautious on the storms, earthquakes.

But in 1917, the Jews had been coming back for 20 years or so, and the Russian revolution, the Ottoman Turks, etc. all probably looked like Ezekiel 38 was about to happen.

The first and foremost goal of prophecy should be to convince people that God is real, the Bible is true, and the logical conclusion is to be Saved. Again this is why I'm cautious on the weather, earthquakes thing as I think it is Great Tribulation stuff (from the Gospels), and we are definitely *not* in the Great Tribulation. Not by a long shot (not meaning time).

We have to have a Temple. And a sacrifice. And the Antichrist, etc. These things have not come to pass but they will. So we tell people as much as we can before those days.