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A correct understanding of Old Testament prophecies of the
coming Messiah was critical to knowing what His mission will be when He comes.
And so it is with every other prophecy.
Prophecy sets up
expectations, and expectation leads to a certain kind of anticipation.
Therefore, if your interpretation of prophecy is unsound, it
will lead you to a false expectation of its fulfillment. And if your expectation
is a delusion, your anticipation (or preparation) would be an exercise in
futility, since it is inspired by false information about a future event.
As students of prophecy we have a responsibility to ourselves
to ensure that we do not fall into a similar theological trap to that into
which the Jews have fallen. We need to study to show ourselves approve unto
God, rightly extracting the truth from what appears to be difficult and
confusing (2Tim. 2:15).
Before we start to jump on the Jews for their errors in misinterpretation
of Bible prophecy, let us be honest with them and with ourselves. Due to the
nature of many of these prophecies anybody could have easily misinterpreted
them. In my opinion the chance of those texts being misunderstood is about 8
out of 10! So I wouldn't want to be too hard on my Jewish brothers for their
lack of understanding. However, I cannot excuse them for the attitude with
which they have treated the issue before and after the facts.
We will take a brief look at what the Jewish rabbis could
have done to ensure a proper understanding of the messianic prophecies and what
they should have done to correct their mistakes in light of Christ's arrival on
the scene.
Ok, so they have those prophecies before them telling them
about the coming Messiah and coming King in the same breath. The question they
needed to have asked themselves is how do we ensure a thorough and
comprehensive understanding of the messianic predictions? In order for them to
understand those prophecies as they aught, they could have done a total search
of the scrolls of the prophets and carefully compare the testimonies of one prophet
with that of the other (scripture comparison of parallel prophecies).
It would be seen that the scripture passages that seem to teach
the initial setting up of an earthly kingdom are not the only testimonies. What
about Isaiah 53, which clearly teaches about the crucifixion of Christ in great
detail! What about Zechariah 13:6, 7 that speaks about the smiting of the
Shepherd and the scattering of His sheep. How do we deal with Psalms 22, which
is similar to Isaiah 53 in detail description?
This particular chapter in the Psalms is very interesting
because it not only speaks of Christ's crucifixion but also his coming kingdom!
And if the Jewish leaders wanted to see independent texts from the Old
Testament that speak exclusively of the coming kingdom of Christ, you can find
them in Psalms 50:1-6, ch.110, and Isaiah 25! With the help of these scripture
references the rabbis would not have been disappointed the way they did. And
these crucifixion texts were well known!
I don't know how true this is but an experienced church
brother of mine told me that it was a matter of protocol among the Jews that these
crucifixion texts should be treated as sealed portions of the messianic
prophecy; they should not be quoted before the congregation at no time, because
it does not fall in line with their expectations of the Messiah.
But let us say that they did not know how to treat those
texts and that they are completely ignorant of their meanings. The fact that Christ
performed such marvelous miracles (like raising the dead) should be enough for
them to at least reexamine those crucifixion texts to see if those are the
prophecies that are to be fulfilled, even though they feel disappointed with
how things are turning out.
And even if those who participated in the crucifixion of
Christ should realize and acknowledge that they have played a part in fulfilling
the prophecy and repent, God would have pardoned them and save them from their
sins because that was His purpose for sending Christ! But, instead, the chosen
people of God hardened their hearts against the prophecy truth and maintained
the same disposition that led them to shout: crucify Him, crucify Him, crucify
Him!
And so Israel remained in that same spiritual condition until
they were visited with the wrath of God in the destruction of Jerusalem (Matt.
24:1, 2).
We who are living in the last days need to exercise greater responsibility
in the way we arrive at our conclusions on Bible prophecy. It is a matter of
life and death! Unlike the situation with the Jews where there was still the
opportunity to repent and turn to God, the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation
do not offer any such room for similar mistakes.
For instance, if after you have sold your 'birthright', by
taking the mark of the beast, you realize that you have been deceived, there
will be no chance for repentance (Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26, 27)! Neither will there be
the desire nor the inclination to repent (Heb. 12:16, 17)! However, if upon
seeing the initial fulfilment of those prophecies you realize that you were not
taught the truth and decided to repent and accept those prophecy truths you
were rejecting for years, you will be saved.
In the prophecy e-course scripture comparison is king! I have
included ample proof in the form of scripture references and quotations that
will ensure that you are kept out of ignorance on end-time events predicted in
Daniel and Revelation. The good thing about this simple and basic method of
understanding Bible prophecy is that even if you have your own views you just
cannot ignore the compelling weight of evidence.
About the Author: Steve Sterling is a
veteran Bible student and prophecy researcher who has been studying the
prophecies of Daniel and Revelation for over 26 years. He served as Sabbath
School Teacher and Lay Activities Secretary in a local church in Kingston, Jamaica.
His most significant contribution to the discussion on end-time prophecy is the
End-time Prophecy E-Course which is
now available at: www.prophecyecourse.com.
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