BIBLE PROPHECY

'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 prophet. The relevant scripture generally imbues the Biblical prophets with the ability to receive messages from God.
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.

Understanding the prophetic process

Ancient Hebrew law and our current legal system to a large extent make use of precedent in deciding cases. The same is true in understanding the themes that constitute the many undercurrents of biblical revelation. For most situations, current law will suffice in order to decide a case. For special cases, legal precedent can be used. That is, a related cases' ruling can be used in order to decide a case. Another aspect of this process is that a case under appeal can be decided by a higher court where the spirit of the law can be used to provide insight into how to interpret a situation and finally make a ruling which in itself can be used as precedent. This implies that prophecy is the projection of precedent into the present and future.
Prophetic events are situations that demonstrate divine attributes, not only for the given situation, but to be followed as precedent. The following situations are good examples of prophetic events;

★ In Genesis there is a dialog between God and Abraham, where God, in the absence of the just, is left free to execute judgement on the wicked.

★ Immediately afterward, two angels are attacked, provoking the judgement to follow.

★ Lot is then taken out to a safe distance, whereupon the judgement takes place, establishing a precedent for the just to be delivered from the judgement of the wicked.
Prophetic process is a functional insight into everything that happens between proclaiming judgement and the judgement itself.
The best example is that of Elijah, where the following events lead up to the revelation of prophetical process;

1. Elijah proclaims God's judgement.

2. Elijah, through the intervention of an angel and an approaching storm takes refuge in a cave that just so happens to be in front of the mountain of God, is actually guided through the desert.

3. The quiet whisper denotes intimacy, in other words, a secret is about to be revealed. God then reveals the details behind the approaching judgements, and in the process, provides guidance for the rest of his ministry.

The following events are a description of prophetic process;
4. Elijah anoints Elisha. The ordained judgement will take several generations to take place.

5. Elisha then anoints Hazael who, as in the case of the neighboring nations, is placed to punish Israel.

6. Elisha finalizes his participation by having a subordinate anoint Jehu who will destroy Achab's dynasty and the pagan priesthood. Unfortunately, he himself would have his own dynasty destroyed after four generations.

Here you have not only the introduction of a new concept, you also have a working model that in today's world is necessary for acceptance first by peers and then in general.

Scientific process

In our modern age, statements are judged by content and methodology. The same can be said of the Bible in general and of biblical prophecy in particular. Whereas novel observations and the establishment of hypotheses is the basis of scientific process, the same standard can be applied to the interpretation of the bible and biblical prophecy. An example of this would be the analysis of a prophetic event on the basis of literal detail that will help to understand the given situation. This process follows the scientific model in that details constitute an observation that has to be explained. Here you have a situation where a new methodology is introduced, complying with the stipulation that a working methodological process can be adopted and used.
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. 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.
However, 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, 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^[1] 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: see Book of Daniel). Another example, would be that Arthur C. Custance maintained that the Ezekiel Tyre prophecy (Ezek. 26: 1-11; 29:17-20) was very remarkable.^[2] On the other hand, others consider the failure of the Tyre prophecy to be self-evident as Tyre still exists, contrary to the prophecy,^[3]^[4] 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.^[5] 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.

Josephus and Daniel

The current focus in theological circles is to cite a cause/effect relationship in dating prophecies such as Daniel. The argument being that the altar was profaned by a gentile prince in the 2d century BC. This example is cited as the abomination that causes desolation. The assumption being that a gentile profaned the altar and the result was desolation. There are two details that have to be addressed; first of all, there was no desolation. The precedent was actually set by Manassah who profaned the temple with pagan altars. In spite of his repentance, the Bible states twice that the upcoming judgement would be because of Mannassah. Now, this establishes that following the example of Manassah, his abomination caused God's desolation. It also means that in the future it will be a Hebrew ruler that defiles the temple.
The next issue is that of Josephus and Daniel. Josephus states that when Alexander the Great approached Jerusalem he was met by a small party that told him that his presence was foretold in prophecy. Now, we have a problem that is a question of deciding who to believe. Josephus has been cited as being a unique body of work that provides insight into the history of Judea, to include the priesthood, Herod, and the text cited by Jesus in which the phrase " a son will be against his father..."is cited in the context of the civil war that divided every community in greater Palestine prior to the destruction of Jerusalem. Josephus is one author that really goes out of his way to defend his sources and establish his credentials as a historian. Now, if you accept the argument that biblical prophecy is reactionary, you have to discredit Josephus.

Examples

The following examples illustrate the creation of a prophetic ministry;

# Isaiah due to the context of many of his prophecies, is thought to be a well-placed member of the royal family.
# Jeremiah, a child who witnessed the last revival under Josiah and the rapid decline of the next generation just prior to the exile, had his levitical background to serve as a basis for his public pronouncements. This is a case where the prophet is a keeper of the flame. Whereas the state-sponsored rites are observed, Jeremiah advocates God's perspective on the real issues # Ezekiel is part of the first exile who maintains contact with Judah. His visions are based on priestly imagery which he understands because of his levitical background. Among other things, he makes it clear that Jerusalem will be destroyed, that in spite of the future absence of a temple, God still envisions a future for Judah, and finally follows the example of both Moses and David where a model is revealed, revealing details to the overall vision.
# Daniel, also a member of the first exile, is also well-placed at a royal court. In spite of his early participation in key events, his status as a prophet comes late in life. His reputation is based on prior events and his geopolitical perspective helps to introduce a key aspect of biblical prophecy, that is the age of the gentiles.
# Nehemiah is more of a judge. Here is a third case of being a part of a royal court. His perspective as part of the court required him to go everywhere the king went, in the process acquiring a good appreciation for the need for infrastructure in the economic recovery of Judea. While there is no denying the role of the prophet as a person who provides insight into God's design, the prophet, as in the case of the many judges in Israel's history, is also a leader, qualifying Nehemiah as a judge and prophet.

Dating of scripture and prophecy

Establishing a date for the recording of prophecy is problematic at best. Theological orientation will often cloud the objectivity of those that try to establish an approximate date for a given narrative. One way to settle this matter is to establish the facts. The first issue is that Genesis. There is no doubt that it had to be based on oral tradition. The mention of books as early as Leviticus can be debated, however, there is no doubting the evidence of Hebraic writings in the Sinai. The book of Judges is another period where the widespread isolation of Hebrew communities would have slowed the process of recording the many situations described. Samuel describes a situation where the recording of scripture starts to accelerate, this being due to the many details included in the narrative. On the basis of the many details provided in Samuel, its obvious that this is now a historical period. Chronicles is just that, the official history of the Hebrew nations from the perspective of the court. This is a time where scripture had to be available, the temple could not have been built without it. Jeremiah reveals a situation related to the actual recording of scripture takes place, meaning that this is the first situation that establishes the real-time recording and distribution of prophetic writing. Another example is that of many minor prophets, while the product may be small in size, a closer look will reveal through the endless repetition of prophetic themes, it is established that these were all recorded and served to confirm the content which in turn resulted in the collective recognition as prophets.
The New Testament provides an example of the contemporary recording and quick dissemination of scripture. The many examples of the recording of scripture, the shear weight of references should at least cause a closer look at the criteria for prophecy.

Utterance

Contrary to the accepted emphasis on the foretelling of events, there are numerous examples within scripture of prophetic utterance that is anything but foretelling. One example is that of Judges like Deborah who besides revealing the word of God, inspired the Israelites into defending themselves against their many enemies. Another example is that of the prophet that arrived at David's stronghold in the desert. In this case his words were of a more practical nature, namely that of the benefits of not being a stationary target.
The basis for the utterance of prophecy is based on scripture, both the old and new testamente have established criteria for the acceptance of prophecy. In the law it is required that a prophets' words be fulfilled, and that a prophet that advocates idol worship is not to be accepted. In the new testament, the criteria is based on the basis of the following; no one who prophesizes can curse Christ, the word and the spirit are one, and that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Taking into account all the established criteria, the conclusion is that prophecy cannot contradict scripture.

Modern perspectives by evangelicals

Evidence of the end times

Main articles: End times

It is clear that paradigm shifts have occurred in the world in recent years. The phenomenal changes over just the past century in world population, technology, warfare, and moral attitudes are indeed awesome. These changes, along with growing awareness of global issues such as ecological problems and the general nuclear threat inspire belief systems among both the secular and the religious that the world system cannot continue on its path without major changes. Conflict regarding the path of society is further fueled by controversial social issues such as the roles of religion and spirituality in society, human abortion and genetic manipulation, and the introduction of scientific theories such as the big bang origin of the universe and evolutionary theory in the form given by Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley, and Herbert Spencer. All of the modern issues mentioned are typically referred to as evidence of being in the end times by many evangelists who preach Bible prophecy.
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.^[6] An official statement of the Vatican asserts, "we are already in the last hour".^[7]
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, or United States of Europe, (revived Roman Empire): ''Daniel 2''

★ Various tribulation events, (signs of the times): ''Matt.24:4, Mark 13:5, Luke 21:5''
Additionally, some popular conjectures on the progression of currently existing situations into prophecy fulfilment include:

★ Implantable microchip identification -> ''Mark of the beast, Rev.13:16''

★ Role of the EU 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'')

★ 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, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, etc., and perhaps counting British capture)

Bible Code

Main articles: Bible Code

In the 1990s, a new way to prophetically interpret the Bible was instigated. Proposed by Eliyahu Rips, it was said 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, though mathematicians with formal training in statistical analysis place this figure at 1:2. A comprehensive explanation of how this phenomenon can occur naturally was later published in 1999 by Brendan McKay ''et al.'', although the Bible code continues to be explored and debated.^[8]

Classifications

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.

★ Christian eschatology — Christian viewpoint of final events.

★ 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.

References

1. http://www.geocities.com/stonerdon/science_speaks.html#c8
2. http://custance.org/old/hidden/3ch3.html
3. http://www.infidels.org/library/magazines/tsr/1999/2/992tyre.html
4. http://www.cresourcei.org/ezekieltyre.html
5. http://www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/theological-dictionary/TD1001W4.htm
6. see Timeline of unfulfilled Christian Prophecy
7. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c2a7.htm (statement 670)
8. http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/dilugim/StatSci/

Sources

★ D. Witztum, E. Rips and Y. Rosenberg, "Equidistant letter sequences in the Book of Genesis", ''Statistical Science'', 9 (1994) 429-438

★ B. McKay, D. Bar-Natan, M. Bar-Hillel, G. Kalai, "Solving the Bible Code Puzzle", ''Statistical Science'', 9 (1999) 150-173

★ Jeffrey, Grant R., ''Armageddon:Appointment With Destiny'', Bantam (1988)

Bibliography

★ N. Geisler, "Nostradamus", www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/theological-dictionary/TD1001W4.htm

★ Custance, Arthur, "Prophetic Fulfillments That Are Irrefutable: Or, A Tale of Two Cities"

★ Stoner, Peter, ''Science Speaks'', Chapter 2: Prophetic Accuracy, Chicago, Moody Press, 1963 (online version available)

★ Pratt, Richard L. Jr. "Historical Contingencies and Biblical Predictions" - An essay on the importance of conditionality in Bible prophecy

★ Taylor, Hawley O., "Mathematics and Prophecy," Modern Science and Christian Faith, Wheaton,: Van Kampen, 1948, pp.175-183.

★ ''Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia'', (Prophecy, p.1410, Book of Ezekiel, p.580), Moody Bible Press, Chicago, 1986

★ Nabion-- the House of the Prophets of Modern Israel (online) at nabion.org 2006

★ Kathryn, John ben (son of), Book of Jachanan ben Kathryn, Nabion.org, 2006.

★ De Jesus, John A. "Introduction to biblical prophecy"(http://prophecy101.freeservers.com)

★ The latest in Bible Prophecy interpretation (http://www.bibleprophecyrevealed.us)

Biblical references to the Last Days

★ The Old Testament prophet Isaiah prophesied that in the Last Days the Kingdom of God would be established in Jerusalem, as chief among the nations.

★ The Old Testament prophet Hosea indicated that in the Last Days Israel would return to their land and seek the Lord their God.

★ The Apostle Peter said that in the Last Days, God would pour out His spirit on all people and show signs in the heaven and on the earth before the coming great and dreadful Day of the Lord.

★ The Apostle Paul wrote that there would be terrible times in the Last Days. People would have a form of godliness but denying its power.

★ The author of Hebrews wrote that the world was already in the Last Days.

★ James wrote that people would hoard wealth in the Last Days to their destruction.

★ The Apostle Peter indicated that in the Last Days even religious people would dismiss the idea of Christ's return.

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BIBLE PROPHECY

Understanding the prophetic process

Scientific process

Josephus and Daniel

Examples

Dating of scripture and prophecy

Utterance

Modern perspectives by evangelicals

Evidence of the end times

Bible Code

Classifications

See also

References

Sources

Bibliography

Biblical references to the Last Days

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