| PART 1 -
INTRODUCTION
BIBLICAL
PROPHECY
The subject of our Lord’s
second advent occupies very many passages of Scripture. Before
embarking on this study, it is important that we understand
something of the nature and purpose of biblical prophecy;
prophecy, that is, in the sense of foretelling future events.
God has revealed coming events
for at least three reasons:
First, that when the events
happen, people of the day will be able to recognize them and to
act in accordance with the instructions He has given; see for
example, Matt. 24. 15-16.
Second, that when the events
happen, they will provide confirmation that God both knows the
end from the beginning and infallibly fulfills His purposes.
See, for example, Isaiah 41. 22-24; 44. 7; 46. 9-11; Ezekiel 2.
5; 17. 21; 33. 33; John 13. 19; 14. 29; 16. 4. Meanwhile,
biblical prophecy serves to inspire us with confidence that He
does indeed know the future and that He has clearly defined
purposes which, notwithstanding all opposition and appearances
to the contrary, will surely ‘come to pass‘. We are assured
of the certainty of His triumph.
Third, that in advance of the
fulfilment, God’s people can learn practical lessons which
fashion and mould their attitudes and behaviour towards present
day events and tendencies. In other words, that the true
character of principles at work in the present can be identified
by reference to the fully developed versions of the future, and
our attitude to the principles now at work be determined
accordingly. See, for example, Rev. 1. 3; 18. 4-5.
The point is that Bible
prophecies are not given primarily to enable us to map out a
precise and detailed programme of future events. Nor, indeed,
have we any hope of doing sowith any great certainty.
THE PROBLEMS
When considering a subject such
as the second advent, we face three main problems. Take the
following illustration. Imagine that we are confronted for the
first time with a large number of jigsaw pieces on a board. The
jigsaw pieces are scattered randomly and there is no picture
available to guide us as to how they fit together - if they do
at all. Our three problems are as follows:
1 We cannot be sure that all
the pieces on the board belong to the same jigsaw. In the
context of the second advent, there is the danger that, because
of our ignorance, we will try to fit in passages of Scripture
which do not have anything to do with the subject. The verses in
question may relate to some other future event or even,
particularly in the case of passages in the Old Testament, to
events which have already taken place.
2 We cannot be sure that the
pieces on the board are sufficient to complete the whole jigsaw.
For all we know, many pieces (even important pieces) may be
missing. In the context of the second advent, this is almost
certainly so. Many of the difficulties which we have in piecing
together the various biblical passages would no doubt disappear
if we only possessed all the facts. But we don’t; only the
events themselves will reveal many of the connecting links
between the pieces which we do have.
3 Always assuming that the
pieces on the board do fit together, we cannot be absolutely
sure how or where. In the context of the second advent, we have
no alternative but, having sought the Lord’s help, to attempt
to construct a likely sequence of events on the basis of those
passages which appear to be relevant.
We can be consoled by the
knowledge that both the Old Testament prophets and the Jewish
saints in the period leading up to our Lord’s first advent
were in at least as difficult, if not a more difficult,
situation. After all, they had jigsaw pieces on their board
which related to both advents - and had no way of knowing that
there would be two separate advents; cf. 1 Pet. 1. 11-12.
We wonder how we would have
fared had we been confronted with prophecies which clearly
indicated that, when He came, Christ would: enter Jerusalem on
the foal of an ass, be born of a virgin, bring light to Galilee
of the Gentiles, have His hands and feet pierced, be consumed
with zeal for God’s house, come out of Bethlehem, be sold for
30 pieces of silver, be called out of Egypt, be brought as a
lamb to the slaughter, preach the acceptable year of the Lord
(and the day of God’s vengeance!), see no corruption in death,
be called a Nazarene, etc., etc., – not to speak of passages
which we now know still await fulfilment; such as coming with
blood-sprinkled garments from Edom, sitting as King on God’s
holy hill of Zion, slaying the wicked with the breath of His
lips, splitting the mount of Olives, coming with the clouds of
heaven, etc., etc.
The mind reels. But we have the
benefit of hindsight. The fulfilment of those prophecies which
related to the Lord’s first advent, as recorded for us in the
New Testament, has made plain all the details of that advent. We
know how the various pieces fitted together so wonderfully. And
one day the Lord’s second advent will equally be history.
Then, and only then, will all be clear.
To repeat, ‘in the context of
the second advent, we have no alternative but, having sought the
Lord’s help, to attempt to construct a likely sequence of
events on the basis of those passages which appear to be
relevant’. The later articles in this series represent one
such attempt.
Whereas the general shape of
events seems clear enough to me, many of the details do not. I
am aware that many godly and well-read students of biblical
prophecy would disagree over not a few details in these
articles. I make no pretence of being right and simply submit
the outline in the forthcoming articles as one possible
construction.
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