The thoughts / problems of unfulfilled prophecies had been running around in my mind (as well as the more general sludge that swirls around inside my head). Prophecy, whether fulfilled or unfulfilled is an interesting pastime for many. What would it like to be able to tell the future?
It could be for gain,
to know the stock-market, or the results of horseracing, or out of curiosity
about one’s own life (not a good idea in my opinion). Even if not taken
seriously, it is a way of passing some time around the dinner table. There is a whole industry of horoscope
telling, fairground fortune tellers, astrologers and others with which I am not
familiar or knowledgeable, except to ignore or steer clear of them. (Is Mystic Meg
still around?)
I could also imagine a
sense of power over others in knowing the future, especially when it concerns
disaster. The image of the windswept Prophet in the desert, announcing doom and
destruction, is a powerful one. (Have you noticed that they are never skinny
weedy types and normally very hairy, so no chance for me here).
The Bible has its own
history of prophecy, quite naturally. Well, what would you expect? God uses his
prophets to speak to His people and to other nations of the consequences of
their actions. On occasions, specific events are foretold (Isaiah and Cyrus). In
other cases, passages in the Old Testament are used to demonstrate general prophecies
about the life and nature of Christ.
In the New Testament, Christ
talks about his Second Coming, a time when He comes again, to call His people
and when all men will see Him. After this comes the end of earth and the end of
time.
Christ told his
disciples that they would see this happen in their lifetime. The letters
written by Paul and other apostles reinforce this same point. This was
something they should expect and for which they should prepare before they die.
Christ describes some of the events that will occur in the Last Days.
Throughout the last
two thousand years, books have been written interpreting historical events,
past and present, to show how the Second Coming is imminent. The Church teaches
that these events are about to happen. Furthermore, we are to act in accordance
with this and Christ himself taught his followers to live as though He were
about to come again.
So have the Christians
of the last two thousand years been living under a deception? We are instructed
to believe something that is not going to happen, in order to have a reason to
behave in a particular way. This certainly seems like a deception, even if it
is for good reason. And most Christians do not seem to worry about this, because
it is believed that this time it really is going to happen. The political
“Signs of the Times” and general world chaos are seen as pointing this way.
So as you might have guessed
that this blog puts forward an alternative proposition on prophecies and leans
in a different direction (But of course, in keeping with Grumpy’s brother’s
general policy, without conviction). It is not the thought of whether it really
is going to happen this time that occupies me. It is rather that if Christ (or a
prophet in another part of the Bible) makes a prophecy which did not come true
for a particular generation, then what is the purpose of that part of the Bible?
If Christ’s prophecy about
His second coming has been valid for every generation of the last 2,000 years, then
these stories could have an alternative and direct meaning, unless it was
always Christ’s intention that people should believe something that was not
going to happen in their lifetime.
To put it another way,
a part of the New Testament might look like a prophecy about the last days.
These events might or might not happen in my lifetime, but if they do not, then
the passage must have some other meaning, an alternative meaning for me, to use
in my lifetime. Perhaps it is about the immediate future or even the present.
Christ often misled his
listeners, even his own disciples. “Beware the leaven of the Pharisees”, he
said, leaving his listeners reeling in confusion about the subject matter, and
making them feel ignorant for not understanding what he meant. I will not
repeat here what I wrote in the Blog “Changing the conversation” [click forlink]
So what are we to make
of Jesus’ prophecies on end of the world?
Matthew 24, 25 [click for link] It hasn’t happened, but the passage has some
relevance. Assuming that we are not intended to act on a deception, the story
of Christ coming again with his angels (for example) must have some current
meaning for us.
What that meaning is,
is for us to find out. Perhaps He has already
come and we were just looking in the wrong direction?
