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Bible prophecy

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Bible prophecy is the concept held by various people that many Bible verses contain prophecies. These are passages which either explicitly claim to foretell events, or are interpreted as foretelling events. These passages are widely distributed within the Bible, though the passages which are clearly prophetic in nature are much less prevalent.

Bible prophecy can be categorized into either declarations of actions God will take, or predictions of events that will occur. Some prophetic passages are depicted as direct statements of God, while others are described 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 warning the Israelites to repent of their sins and idolatries with the threat of punishment as a consequence, and sometimes promises of rewards as an incentive. 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 as having been fulfilled within later Bible passages.

A second prophetic theme establishes the promise that a Messiah will be sent to deliver them from the penalty of their sins, but only if they choose to receive God's forgiveness and offer of reconciliation. Most modern Christians believe that some of these Messianic prophecies have been fulfilled by Jesus and the remainder will be fulfilled in his Second Coming. In fact, it is the primary definitive doctrine of Christianity. Most people of the Jewish faith believe the Messiah will not arrive until Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt for its third standing.

Yet another major theme occurs in the New Testament book of Revelation, in addition to many other passages such as in Daniel. This theme concerns a period referred to as the "End Times", or "Last Days". These passages are commonly interpreted to predict a final world-wide dictator who will bring unparalleled destruction, culminating in the battle of Armageddon. Following these events the world is to continue for a thousand years of peace under Messianic rule. The Biblical teachings of these issues form one basis of study in regard to the general study of "last things", or eschatology.

Views of Bible prophecy

There has never been a consensus in either Judaism or Christianity as to which verses of the Bible held God given predictions of future events. Some religious groups are certain that a given passage is a prediction of the future, while other groups within the same religion hold that the same passage should be understood metaphorically.

However, many Jews and Christians believe that prophetic detail is quite literal. Some prophecy interpreters uphold this principle of the literal view by 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 separate 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 prophecies which have foretold the future, and see this as a verification of Biblical inspiration. In this view it is usually 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.

Some scholars and historians who read the Bible today hold that it contains no accurate predictions of the future at all. Instead, it is the readers of the Bible who are creating what they see as "prophecy". This common psychological tendency is known as postdiction--retroactive clairvoyance, or prediction after the fact. In the last century this view has been accepted by many in Judaism, Catholic Christianity, in theologically liberal branches of Protestant Christianity, and in Unitarian Universalism. However, this view is totally rejected by Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians.

Critics of Bible prophecy 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 millennia ago makes scientific proof of specific prophecies problematic.

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 remarkable, 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 (a view now shared by many modern scholars). 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, others consider the failure of the Tyre prophecy to be self-evident [1] (as Tyre still exists, contrary to the prophecy), and 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. 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 [2]. 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, depending on how convincing or compelling the prophecies are, how well contemporary evidence appears to support it, and how one's interpretation of faith instructs.

Modern perspectives by evangelicals

It is clear that many shifts have occurred in the world in recent years. These explosive changes over just the past century in world population, technology, warfare, and moral attitudes are indeed awesome. These shifts inspire belief systems among both the secular and the religious that the world cannot continue on its path without major changes.

Among many Christian religions the prophecy that Jesus will return to Earth (second coming) is highly important. Since 32 AD, many specific timeframes for this prediction have been declared by individuals and groups (such as Jehovah's Witnesses), although many of these dates have expired without the occurrences predicted - (see "Timeline of unfulfilled Christian Prophecy"). Evidence suggests that more than ever modern evangelicals believe the current generation will see this 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 commonly held by many 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
  • A strong and united European state (United States of Europe), (revived Roman Empire): Daniel 2
  • Various tribulation events: Matt.24:4, Mark13:5, Luke21:5
  • War in Iraq -> Jeremiah 50 "Concerning Babylon, A nation from the north will capture her" -- It is important to note that Iraq has been conquered several times by Ottoman Turks, British, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, etc. (although maybe only captured specifically and not conquered by the British, there is a distinct difference)

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
  • Involvement by a Europe as a strong and united state in Middle East peace -> Antichrist & peace treaty, Dan.9:27,11:21, Rev.13
  • The new Sanhedrin, plans for new Temple (Many end-time 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 enormously greater than chance. The code reportedly predicted the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, a year in advance. A comprehensive explanation of how this phenomenon can occur naturally was later published [3] in 1999 by Brendan McKay et. al., although the Bible code continues to be explored and debated. (For more complete information see Bible Code.)

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 deal with various places and people.
  • Eschatology — The prophecies concerning the last things.
  • Millennialism — 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.

See also

References

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