Even the Simpsons can’t avoid the temptation to make fun of Christians when it comes to the end times. One of my favorite episodes is called “Left Below”, and it parodies the attempt to predict the return of Jesus Christ. Of course, since it is the Simpsons, there are highly sacrilegious parts, but I feel we need to watch it so we understand how we are often perceived. If we can’t take the humor, then it will be even more difficult to read about real life tradgedies that occur because of Christians’ views on the end times. Cult suicides, the events in Waco, Texas, and all the Y2K hysteria should wake us up to the fact that we simply can’t avoid this topic in our Bible studies.
Where do we start with this enormous issue? Oddly enough, we need to start with some Bible nerd territory: dealing with fulfillments of predictive prophecy (doesn’t that sound exciting???). The fact is that most of the Bible’s predictions have already been fulfilled in history. Many were centered either on Israel in Old Testament times (judgment, return) or were about Jesus 1st coming and the church. The few remaining predictions are the ones in question (Jesus 2nd coming, final judgment, etc…). If we could nail down how we deal with these and choose fulfillments, it should guide us in our quest to understand the end times, and to know if we are in them or not. Sounds easy, right? Wrong!
There are two main ways that predictions are fulfilled: 1) literal- the prophecy is fulfilled in the exact, literal way that we would expect by reading the passage in a straight forward way. For example, in Micah 5:2, God says that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. Lo and behold, in Matthew 2:5-6, we are told that is exactly what happens. Most people today assume that this is how all prophecies are fulfilled as it fits well with our Western, scientific minds. The problem is that sometimes prophecies are fulfilled in another fashion: 2) figurative (sometimes called spiritual)- the prophecy is fulfilled in a way that we wouldn’t have expected because it is predicted in a figurative fashion. For example, in Amos 9:11-12, God says that the booth of David (Jerusalem) will be restored, the walls repaired, and that they will possess the remnant of Edom. We would think that this was fulfilled in the physical return of the Jews in 538 B.C. However, James quotes this passage in Acts 15:16-17 and says it has a figurative fulfillment in the inclusion of the Gentiles in the church. Wow!
How do we know when a prediction will have a literal fulfillment and when a prediction will have a figurative fulfillment? Unless the New Testament quotes it and gives the fulfillment, we can’t be 100 % sure. The Bible creates this situation, not Bible scholars. Two quick things to remember: first, saying that it has a figurative fulfillment doesn’t mean that there isn’t something that literally happens. It means you have to look below the figurative symbol or imagery used, to find the literal event underneath (like the Amos passage which predicted a literal event in Gentiles becoming part of God’s people). Second, the sound, conservative rule of Biblical prophecy is to not use the concept of double or multiple fulfillments. It may seem attractive to say a prediction has both literal and figurative fulfillments, but it is a slippery slope. Once you have double fulfillments, why not three or four or fifteen? The best guideline is to use the New Testament as the authority and example that there are only single fulfillments.
What does any of this have to do with the end times? I am glad you asked (or actually I asked for you). People who only think that the predictions still left to be fulfilled will be fulfilled literally are those we call futurists (also known as premillennial dispensationalists). This is a predominant view in the evangelical church and is the theology behind the popular Left Behind book and movie series. People who think that most of the predictions still left to be fulfilled will be fulfilled in a figurative way are known as either historicists or symbolic view (also known as amillenialists or idealists). Amillenialism was the predominant view in most of church history, and is still the view in many mainstream denominations. There are a multitude of end times views out there to be sure, but a key decision that determines where you will end up is this decision about literal or figurative fulfillments. If you believe that all the end times events will happen literally, you place a big emphasis on the modern nation of Israel, events in the Middle East, and future war with the Anti-Christ. If you believe that all end times events will happen figuratively, you generally believe that when Jesus returns, He will judge all evil doers, reward the righteous, and there are not as many world events that will happen that would tell us that we are definitely in the end times.
In the next few posts, we will look at some key passages like Revelation 20, discuss the main views and their implications, and try to come to a conclusion about what we can really know about the end times. In the midst of this, we need to have the words of Revelation 22:20 firmly in our minds, “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Jesus’ return is a good thing! It is something that we as Christians look forward to, and have no fear about. Often the end times can turn into a thing of fear for believers, and that should never be. If Satan can’t turn it into an argument, he is quite happy to turn it into something we fear and dread. I say, Come Lord Jesus!
The Bible Nerd 