Blood moons. Red heifers. Bar codes and RFIDs. The buzzwords surrounding Bible prophecy are numerous and scintillating. Every so often the excitement around them wells up to a fever pitch as one prognosticator or another rallies their flock in anticipation of some significant event on their prophetic timeline. Time and time again, however, disappointments have followed. One such disappointment stemmed from failed predictions in a best-selling book on Bible prophecy released in 1970. Another disappointment occurred when judgment day did not occur on May 21, 2011. Yet again, disappointment will arise when the events depicted in a 16-volume series of novels that debuted in 1995 fail to materialize.
The tragedy of all this disappointment is that, even though Jesus has given us Bible prophecy to know in advance what will happen in this world (see Matt. 24:25), people experience disillusionment from failed predictions, causing their faith to suffer. History is filled with the shells of those who once believed but were disappointed one too many times and ultimately walked away.
Where to Start?
The question is: How do we guard against making the same mistakes that many people make? How do we protect ourselves from the all-too-common cycle of hysteria followed by disappointment and disillusionment? It should come as no surprise that we need to know how to study Bible prophecy. That way we can (at least largely) avoid the pitfalls and pratfalls that have long surrounded the study of this subject.
This quarter we are doing exactly that. Pastor Shawn Boonstra takes us on a 13-week journey through this fascinating subject. In Allusions, Images, Symbols: How to Study Bible Prophecy we will begin by exploring some principles of studying Bible prophecy. We will then examine the foundations of prophecy and trace them through Genesis, the Psalms, Ruth, Esther, Revelation, and more. In the end we will have a robust framework upon which we can attach our understanding of Bible prophecy—a framework that has withstood the test of time and weathered the storms of countless theological challenges.
If we want to understand Bible prophecy correctly, we probably ought to start on the correct foot, and that begins with looking at what Jesus had to say about it. In Matthew 24:15 Jesus said, “ ‘Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (whoever reads, let him understand).” In a nutshell this verse tells us that Jesus recognized Daniel as a prophet, and He also wished for His followers to understand what Daniel wrote.
God Wants to Be Understood
Don’t miss this: God wants to be understood. If He didn’t, He wouldn’t have given us the Bible to begin with. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” What are the takeaways from this verse? First of all, it says that all Scripture is inspired by God. Second, what He has inspired is profitable for a great many things. The trouble many people have is that even though they want to understand the Bible, they don’t know how, and it isn’t very profitable for them. It’s kind of like being in a foreign country and wanting to communicate with the people there but not knowing the language. It’s not impossible to communicate in such a situation, but you need to learn how to communicate with them.
God wants to be understood. If He didn’t, He wouldn’t have given us the Bible to begin with.
I remember once being in Mongolia and trying to communicate with a group of locals. I’ll be honest: my ability to speak Mongolian is virtually nonexistent, so I faced a formidable roadblock. But I could manage to communicate in several other languages, so I began to try them in turn. When I tried German, the eyes of one Mongolian gentleman in the crowd lit up! He also spoke German! So I spoke to him in German, and he translated into Mongolian for the rest of the group. I share this story simply to illustrate this: It’s not that it is impossible to understand God and His Word. We just have to learn how to understand Him.
If you spend much time at all reading the Bible, you will find one subject about which God is very passionate; one subject upon which He dwells more frequently than just about any other subject: the plan of salvation. Shawn Boonstra observes in Monday’s lesson: “When the apostles explained the gospel to their audiences, they frequently referred to fulfilled prophecy, from which we can deduce that one of the key purposes of prophecy is to illustrate the plan of salvation.” In other words: God wants us to understand the plan of salvation. And He uses Bible prophecy as one tool to accomplish His desires.
If you look at the mission statement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, you will find this:
“Make disciples of Jesus Christ who live as His loving witnesses and proclaim to all people the everlasting gospel of the Three Angels’ Messages in preparation for His soon return (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Rev 14:6-12).”
To provide a CliffsNotes version of the statement above, the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who share the gospel within the context of the three angels’ messages. This is a Christ-centered, gospel-focused message presented in a prophetic framework.
Which is precisely what we have been sharing for the past 162 years. And since Jesus has not yet returned, it will continue to be our mission until He does.
Taking the Bible as a Whole
As time has marched inexorably on, so too has an understanding of the prophecies of the Bible. In Daniel 12:4 the angel says, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
Our movement has its roots in this message. As we gain an increased understanding of the book of Daniel (and others), we can be even more confident that our interpretation of prophetic events is on course.
Sadly, there are groups around us (and sometimes even within our ranks) that fail to rightly divide the word of truth. It should not surprise us that these groups manage to come to some very unbiblical interpretations of the Sacred Script. Misunderstandings have led to an elevation of Sunday over the Sabbath, the belief in the eternal torment of the lost instead of annihilation, and a secret rapture of the saints rather than the glorious second coming of Jesus. The list goes on and on.
To avoid these misunderstandings, we must take the Bible as a whole and see how Daniel, Revelation, and the other prophetic books of the Bible (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, for instance) link together. In fact, we must see how all the biblical pieces fit together.
Unfortunately, many popular interpretations of Bible prophecy fail to do this and have to be reinterpreted every few years as they consider new developments in world events. I am encouraged that we do not need to resort to such an approach. The prophecies will stand, and we can take that to the bank.
The Certainty of Prophecy
I am reminded of a story from World War II that nicely demonstrates the solidity of our position. After Dunkirk and the fall of France, hope was dim for Western Europe. At that time Arthur S. Maxwell, the editor of Signs of the Times, was writing editorials in the magazine about Hitler’s future defeat. To anyone lacking unshakable faith in the prophecies of the Bible, however, it did not seem as though Hitler was slowing down anytime soon. Yet Maxwell based his editorials on the certainty of the prophecy in Daniel 2, which states, regarding the nations of Western Europe, “they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay” (verse 43). As the clamor increased for Maxwell to stop writing about Hitler’s defeat (because, after all, it might lead to embarrassment for the magazine if he was wrong!), he chose to double down and dedicate not just another editorial but the entire issue of July 2, 1940, to the interpretation of Daniel 2, inviting his readers to preserve their copies. Well, they say hindsight is 20/20, and history has borne witness to the accuracy of the prophecy of Daniel 2 and the bravery of Arthur S. Maxwell as he chose to stand for what he knew was right. Today I have in my collection a rather brittle and slightly yellowed copy of the magazine that he challenged one of his readers to preserve. I, for one, am glad that someone did. That magazine reminds me that if we know how to study Bible prophecy, “its interpretation is sure” (verse 45).
Fasten your seat belt. This is going to be an exciting quarter!
