History Interprets Prophecy

When it comes to interpreting last days prophecy you could describe it one word. Confusion. Or maybe two words. Massive confusion. Everyone has their opinion, their theory, most all of it built upon presumption and conjecture. But God did not give to us the prophecies of Revelation to merely predict and foretell, and certainly not to confuse. He tells mankind what He is going to do so that when it happens, we can know, without a doubt, that His providence has brought it to pass. Amos, the shepherd-prophet from Tekoa, wrote this, “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.” 

Most prophecy, down through the ages, is not able to be understood until the event happens. History is the best interpreter of prophecy. When current events match up with what God has prophesied, then the wise and the faithful can know that God is definitely fulfilling His purpose and plan. 

Joseph had a dream of his brother’s sheaves bowing down to him. It wasn’t clear what it meant until the time it was fulfilled. His brothers and his father denied that the dream could have any truth to it, and Joseph himself must have doubted it as he spent time in an Egyptian prison. 

Daniel’s dream of four beasts (Dan. 7), each representing a different nation, could only be partially interpreted. Yes, they represented nations, but exactly what nations was not made clear until history unfolded. And there is a fifth beast, “another beast”, represented by one horn rising up in the midst of ten horns and overthrowing three of them. That nation will be interpreted by the fulfillment, just like the previous four. And that interpretation has recently been fulfilled in history. Do we see it? 

The prophecies of the birth and ministry of Jesus were the same. They were not able to be interpreted predictively, but when history interpreted those prophecies then the wise should have been able to recognize their long-awaited Messiah. As it was, only some shepherds, some Magi from the east, Anna, and Simeon recognized the fulfillment of prophecy. Later on, the Pharisees insisted that Jesus was an imposter, not the Christ, saying, “Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family, and from Bethlehem?” (Jn 7:42). They could have gone to the county courthouse to confirm the birthplace and genealogy of Jesus, like Matthew and Luke did, but they preferred to stick with their presumptions about the Messianic prophecies. Jesus later wept over Jerusalem, as he approached the city, saying, “They will not leave one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” (Lk 19:44). Another time Jesus said to the crowd, “How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?” (Lk 12:56). 

Now, what about those prophecies of Revelation, the ones about the end of the age and the second coming of Jesus. The accurate interpretation of those prophecies, once again, will come from history. It is not the privilege of interpreters to become a “prophet” and predict the meaning of God’s prophecies. Prophecy is God speaking, and when it is fulfilled, it will be interpreted by history, proving His purpose, plan and providence. But will the wise and faithful see the fulfillment of Revelation in current events, or will they miss it, or deny it, holding on to their cherished conjectures and presumptions? That question is very, very relevant. Why? Because Revelation is happening, now. Five of the seven trumpet warnings have already occurred, in just the last 100 years. When trumpet #6 is unleashed, then the tumultuous events of the end of the age will unfold. We must be prepared, alert, and ready to stand strong. History is interpreting God’ prophecies and it is not what most Christians, especially in America, are expecting. And the resulting dismay and disillusionment may cause many to fall away. 

“However, when the Son of Man comes, 

will He find faith on the earth?” (Lk 18:8)

 

Ears That Do Not Hear

The hearing specialist came out to call the next patient, “Stephen”. I looked around the waiting room, but there was no one else but me. So, I asked her, do you mean “David”? She said “yes, that’s who I just said.”

She was helping me decide about getting hearing aids. We looked over the results of the first hearing test. My left ear dropped off so badly in the high frequencies that they insisted I get an MRI on my inner ear canal to rule out a physiological cause. But one test result really stood out. One of the tests had been word recognition. With my left ear I scored only 52%. I got 13 right and 12 wrong. The other ear was 80%. The funny thing is this. I remembered doing that word recognition test. I didn’t miss a single word, I thought. Certainly, I don’t need hearing aids.

My dear, wonderful wife, Carol, is the one who insisted that I get my hearing checked. So, I did, just to prove to her that I could hear just fine, thank you. She also insisted I get my vision checked. I went to the optometrist to see if I needed glasses, something a bit more prescriptive than the reading glasses I had been buying from the Dollar Store. After the vision test the optometrist started looking into my eyeballs with some special scope. He told me that glasses would do me no good, because I had cataracts that were clouding my vision so much.

I had recognized that one eye was getting more and more blurry, or cloudy, so I wasn’t surprised. When I went to see the Ophthalmologist to discuss cataract surgery she looked into my eyeballs as well. Her comment was simple, “I don’t know how you can even see.”

The morning after surgery to remove the cataract in my right eye is a vivid memory. I got up like usual and went to the sink to wash my face and wake up. I was startled and stepped back from the mirror, hardly recognizing the guy looking back at me. He had spots, scars, wrinkles and whiskers, a face I had not seen in years, I reckon. After a few days I began to realize that the left eye, the one that was my good eye, was now very cloudy. What I thought was a good eye was almost as bad as my bad eye. The doctor said, “I told you so. I have reserved another surgery date for you.”

I am amazed at how bad my hearing and my eyesight was and I did not even have a clue. It reminds me of statements in Scripture. “They have eyes but do not see, ears but do not hear” (Jer 5:21). After telling a parable Jesus often challenged his listeners, saying, “He who has ears let him hear” (Mt 11:15). And at the close of each of the assessments of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 Jesus said the same, “He who has ears let him hear”.

The Jews of OT times were dull and blind to the truth of the prophets. Hard hearts, molded by the cultures around them, defiantly insisting that God should conform to their lifestyle. The Jews of NT times were dull and blind to the teaching of Jesus about the New Kingdom. They thought they had God all figured out. You can’t change a mind that is smarter than God. And the church, full of believers, is pictured by the Lord of the Church as being dull and blind to its condition. A happy, going concern, but off the mark.  All of these, having ears and eyes, are totally unaware that they do not hear the voice of God. Clueless. Just like me, with my ears and my eyes.

I wanted to understand this phenomenon. Why do so many people have ears but do not hear God, eyes but not see Him. Even those who seem to be otherwise spiritually inclined. The answer could be summed up in one word. Bias. We tend to hear God (or not hear Him), interpret His truth, and incorporate it into our life, based on the bias of our heart. The bias to accept the lifestyle of the world about us. The bias to accept long-standing theological beliefs that rule out any other understanding. The bias to be carefree and easygoing about surrendering all to the amazing love of God. In the parable of the four soils, there is one who hears the word of God, receives it, and bears fruit. That person is “noble and good” (Mt 13:13-23).