Does the Bible really
speak about the
future?
“Soon Spring will end and people all over the country will be
graduating from college. Obviously, this crossroad in life
causes
us think about our own personal futures, but with all that has been
going on in the news lately, I also find myself wondering about the
future of the world in general. I have heard from Christians,
that the Bible has a lot to say about the culmination of human history
and that Jesus Himself is supposed to return some day to rule the
world. In fact, many Christians have told me that Jesus will return in
our generation! Does the Bible really speak of a second
coming? If so, what reason is there to believe that such
prophecies will really come to pass?”
I’ll begin with the Reader’s Digest answer: Yes,
there will
be a second coming of Jesus and that is a tremendous hope. How
wonderful to know that the day is coming when there will be no more
war, crime, bloodshed, racism etc. How exciting to know that God is
going to restore this fallen world to the paradise it once was. And for
those who choose now to turn from their sin, God will allow them to
live in this kingdom forever! Those who have already died are with
Christ right now, but the day is coming when God’s
reign
will not only be recognized in that other dimension called heaven, but
right here on earth as well! What is the kingdom of Christ
like?
Imagine the warmest love you ever experienced and the most beautiful
sunset, seashore or forest you ever saw. Then multiply this in your
mind over a thousand times and you will have only a microscopic taste
of what Christ’s kingdom will be.
I know. This sounds too good to be true. And it leads us to another
part of the question above. Were the prophets of the Bible to
be
trusted, and if so, how do we know they can be trusted? Well, for
starters, the Bible itself acknowledges the need to test prophecy. It
also warns us to beware of false prophets and tells us how to
distinguish a true prophet from a false one. A false prophet will be
hit and miss. Some of his/her prophecies may come to pass and others
may not. (Deut 13, 18) In such a case, we are to assume that the
spokesperson was not in fact sent from the one true God and is instead
a deceiver sent from another spiritual entity, Satan, (1 Kings 22, more
about Satan in a future article).
Of course, God did not always want a person to have to wait until a
prophet’s life was over before people came to a verdict, for
prophets talked more about the immediate situation than the far future
and God wanted people to benefit from the words of the
prophet
rather than being indefinitely bogged down trying to figure out his/her
authenticity. And so, there were ways to make a decision
early
on. Often times, along with the prophecy, some miracle was performed.
Unless false teaching accompanied the miracle (false teaching being
defined as words that contradicted previous prophets of Israel whose
credentials had already been established, Deut 13, Matt 24:24),
miracles could serve as a quick and dynamic verification. Jesus
himself, while speaking of the future, ultimate resurrection of human
beings, gave a sneak preview to his followers by raising his friend
Lazarus from the dead right at his own funeral! This was not
Lazarus’ ultimate resurrection in a new immortal body, but
such a
resurrection is promised to all who repent of their sins and seek
God’s forgiveness. When people saw Lazarus rise from the dead
(even in a continuing mortal state) it served as a kind of
down
payment, a foreshadowing of a future, eagerly awaited, event.
There were other immediate signs as well: Frequently a prophet would
give a long range prophecy followed by a short range
prophecy.
Samuel the prophet told a young man, Saul, that God had chosen him to
become the first King of Israel. Saul had never met Samuel personally
and ran into him while he was out searching for some of his
father’s missing donkeys. To verify that his prophecy about
being
king would come to pass, Samuel also prophesied about the donkeys.
“Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on
Saul's
head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over
his inheritance? When you leave me today, you will meet two
men
near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say
to you, `The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now
your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you.
He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?"' (1 Sam 10:1-2 NIV)
On his way home those events happened to Saul just exactly as Samuel
had predicted. This gave Saul assurance that the prophecy about his
becoming a king would also come to pass.
So, did the prophets of the Bible predict that the Messiah (Christ)
would some day rescue this world from catastrophe and rule in a
paradise kingdom of love? Absolutely. (example: Zech 14 ). Why are we
to believe what the prophets say about this future event?
Because
they also predicted an event that has already happened, an event that
can already be verified. This event also concerned the Messiah: Before
he delivered the world from evil, the Messiah would first die for the
sins of the world. This is described with detail in Isaiah
53,
written some 700 years before the first coming of Jesus!
Isaiah
talks about the Messiah dying for sins, raising from the dead, and
eventually ruling. Take a look at some sample quotations below and
note the highlighted sentences:
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we
considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he
was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we
are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned
to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
(Isa 53:4-6)
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression
of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with
the
wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and
though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his
offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper
in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of
life] and be satisfied, by his knowledge my righteous servant will
justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give
him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the
strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered
with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors. (Isa 53:8-12)
Because of the prophecy’s obvious association with Jesus,
some
(but not all) rabbis have tried to re-interpret this prophecy as a kind
of allegory about Israel suffering at the hands of the Gentiles. Israel
certainly has suffered at the hands of the Gentiles and this has been a
horrible, unjustified event of human history, but that is not what
Isaiah is talking about in Chapter 53 and ancient rabbinical literature
(the Talmud, Midrash and Zhor) all interpreted this prophecy to be
about the Messiah!
There were many such prophecies fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus,
including a special calendar. Daniel, as a captive in Babylon,
predicted to the day, the following events: 1) The Jewish slaves of
Babylon would be released to return to their homeland, rebuild the city
and restore the temple. 2) After another distinct period of time, the
Messiah would come but would be rejected and killed.
All of this happened. After the Persians conquered the Babylonians, the
Jewish captives lived under Persian rule. Later on, King Artexerxes
decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem on Nisan 1 (Persian
calendar) or March 5, 444BC (Julian Calendar) and Christ rode
into Jerusalem March 30, 33 AD, the day traditionally called Psalm
Sunday. Daniel gave the exact amount of years between the decree
of Artexerxes and the arrival of Christ long afterward. Since
we
know how many days were in a Hebrew year, we have from Daniel, a
prophecy accurate to the actual dates! (Daniel 9)
Speaking of the Jews, Isaiah the prophet predicted that there would be
at least three different nations of Israel (Isa 11). Israel is the only
nation to have ever been conquered and destroyed only to have its
people return to their homeland and rebuild the nation. It would have
been incredible to see that happen even once but with Israel, they were
restored twice. The first Israel existed under the reign of the Judges
and kings such as David and Solomon. The northern kingdom was destroyed
by the Assyrian commander Sargon. The southern kingdom
(Judah)
was conquered by King Nebuchadrezzar
of the Babylonians. Seventy years later, the Jews were allowed to
return to their homeland as indicated in Daniel’s prophecy.
The
second Israel existed for over 400 years and it was this Israel that
Jesus came to. After Christ’s death and resurrection (33AD),
the
Romans destroyed Israel again (70AD) and scattered the Jews all over
the world. (although a handful always remained in the Holy Land.) Then,
in the year 1948, following a European holocaust that wiped out some
seven million Jews, Israel became a nation again, against incredible
odds. So there have been three different Israels!
The very
fact that this happened at all is a fantastic phenomenon to behold. But
when we remember that it was all predicted by ancient prophets, it
becomes even more incredible.
That’s why we can trust these same prophets and this same
Jesus
as they speak of the second coming. It is not only in the book of
Revelation that the second coming is discussed. Jesus talked
about it constantly in the gospels. Likewise, His apostles
continued to speak of it in books such as First Corinthians,
First and Second Thessalonians, etc.
Now, does this mean that we know exactly when Jesus will be here?
Unfortunately an exact calendar was not given for the second coming,
but we are told of a few events that must precede it, most notably, the
re-building of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and a an evil, deceiving
man (known as the Anti-Christ or Son of Perdition) who will sit in the
temple’s Holy of Holies, set up a thrown and call himself
God.(2
Thess 2). This event will set a whole series of battles into motion
that will culminate in Jesus’ return as a warrior/king to rid
the
world of evil. Of course there is no temple right now and we simply do
not know whether it will be a few years or thousands of years before
there is another one, so we cannot say for sure that this is the last
generation before the second coming. Jesus himself said :
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven,
nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt 24:36)
If Jesus Himself said that even He didn’t know when he was
returning, we should be very suspicious of anyone else who claims that
they know.
Conclusion: Yes, He is coming. Yes, we have reason to trust in the
prophets who predicted it, but no, we are not sure exactly when it will
be. I’ll say this, however: Although you do not know what day
you
are going to die, you are going to die sometime in your lifetime. (I
know, kind of obvious but irrefutable logic) Whether Jesus returns to
the world before you die or whether you die first, He is coming for you
and he is coming for me at the end of our lifetimes, on a day
we
probably will not expect. I hope we will all be
ready. If
we are ready, we will experience life to its fullest extent and we will
love every minute of it.
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From the
column, "What About It, Bob?"
By Bob Siegel
© 2002 by Bob Siegel
This article is not to be reproduced without written permission from
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