July/August 2002
God's Inside Information
by J. Michael Feazell
| The handwriting is on the wall, Bible prophecy declares. Let the sinner repent, let the faithful remain faithful. |
Bible prophecy is big business. It sells books, cassettes, videos and even whole ministries. It doesn't seem to matter whether the stuff people claim Bible prophecy says is consistent with the gospel, relies on sound principles of interpretation, or even whether it makes any sense. It sells, period. It's exciting. It's mysterious. And it makes people feel special and secure as possessors of what they believe to be God's own "inside information."
Every time there is a major disaster, you can bet that across the continent prophecy lovers' hearts are a-thumpin' as they scramble to grab their charts, their yellow highlighters and their world maps and start jamming Bible verses into the new happenings.
The path of Christian history is littered with the failed predictions and interpretations of those who have grossly mistaken Bible prophecy for secret details of end-time personalities and events they believe will show them when Christ will return.
Books like Daniel and Revelation, with their strange, many headed monsters and mystifying symbols, hold special interest for Christians. But having once suffered from the "end-time prophecy" brain fever myself, and having been given the grace to be healed of it, I would like to humbly offer a few words of caution to others who might be at risk of infection.
Jesus said we would not know when he would return (Acts 1:7). It's that simple. Believe him or don't believe him, but don't forget that is what he said. Which ought to tell us that he has a different reason for all that prophecy stuff in the Bible than to tell us exactly what he said we would not know.
Here is what I found out when I got over my prophecy disease: The books of Daniel and Revelation are first and foremost books of encouragement. They were written during times of great crisis and suffering for God's people, reminding them of God's gracious presence despite their persecution and pain. The books, throughout the centuries, continue to assure the faithful that God knows what they are going through, that he is very much with them, and that a new day is surely coming when they will reign with him and their evil oppressors will face their due judgment.
The encouraging messages of Daniel and Revelation are fully consistent with the rest of Scripture; that is to say, like the rest of Scripture, they declare the everlasting gospel. Their central figure is Jesus Christ. Their central theme is the salvation of the saints. In Daniel, Jesus Christ is the mysterious "Son of Man," who comes "on the clouds" with blessings for the faithful and in judgment against the enemies of God. In Revelation, Jesus is the slaughtered and raised Lamb of God, whose victory over everything that destroys humanity is overwhelming and whose grace and loving kindness extends unconditionally to every repentant heart.
Far from some "prophetic roadmap" of historical events and personalities, or some "book of clues" to reveal to us the time of Christ's return, these prophetic books are gospel-focused declarations of God's faithfulness and the certainty of his coming vindication of his people despite all the injustice, persecution and pain they may have to experience as they wait. Wickedness and injustice will not survive and thrive forever. That's good news.
The handwriting is on the wall, Bible prophecy declares. Let the sinner repent, let the faithful remain faithful. The self-sacrificial love of God, displayed pre-imminently in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, has utterly defeated all the powers of evil and destroyed the old order of things. The coming of the new creation, in which there is no more death, mourning, crying and pain, is certain.
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"
Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true"
(Revelation 21:5).
-- J. Michael Feazell