Thursday, 16 February 2012
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Isaiah and the End Times
Throughout history, the eschatalogical beliefs of apocalyptic communities have affected the way they interpret older prophecies because they believe that, in some way, God had revealed a hidden message in the older prophecies to their particular community. Each of these communities believe that they are special and that God is using their community to communicate to the world that they are in the last days. This, of course, often times leads these "special" communities to forget that the older prophecies being reinterpreted had an original meaning that fit the situation and the context of the particular period of time in which the prophesy was written.
An example of this taking place in the New Testament can be found in Matthew 1:18-25. In this passage, Joseph, the "father" of Jesus had a dream where an angel explained to him the significance of the child that he would raise. The angel quoted Isaiah 7, which states, "Look, the 'virgin' shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him 'Emmanuel' which means 'God with us'."
This verse had it's own meaning in the time Isaiah spoke this word. In that day, the Syro-Ephraimite war posed a threat to Ahaz, king of Judah because Israel and Aram had allied with each other and tried attacking Jerusalem. This eventually led Isaiah to console the king by speaking a word from the Lord, which is now referred to as the "Immanuel" prophecy, found in Isaiah 7:10-17."Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 'Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.' But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.’"
Here, Isaiah comforts Ahaz with the idea that "God is with them".
The prophecy was originally meant to be taken by Ahaz, in his situation at his time, but the prophecy had later been reinterpreted by the writer of Matthew to refer to Jesus as "Emmanuel", the Messiah.This is not saying that the prophecy concerning "Emmanuel" is meaningless. In fact, I believe it shows that scripture is full of meaning. Another important facet it teaches us, too, is that we shouldn't get too hung up on "End Times" timelines. The fact is, throughout the history of Judaism and Christianity, believers have been trying to predict when the end will come. Many people tend to believe they are in the last days because the world couldn't possibly get any worse.
We see signs all around us -- earthquakes and other natural disasters, wars, ungodliness all around -- we look at these and forget that these have been going on since the beginning of time as we know it. We want to believe we are a special people that God has revealed a secret to, and only through us, can the world be saved from Armageddon. And to a certain extent, that's correct. The problem is not in thinking that God made Christians to be a special people, but rather in the idea that we often get too caught up in the "end times" theology that we forget our identity as a special people.
I believe the answer to this is in the way we live. The church in Acts 2 is a great example. They literally believed (as many do today) that they were in the last days and that Jesus Christ would return at any moment. Because of this, their grudges, their possessions, their money, anything they had, meant nothing to them. They were able to sell everything and live peacefully with one another, in a prayerful attitude of thanksgiving and charity. This is a utopia of sorts. A "Heaven on Earth", if you will. And it is this that should be on our minds as Christians; that we join with God in His Kingdom coming on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Our Christian religion isn't about waiting for heaven. It's about waiting for Christ as Heaven is being manifested on Earth. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. It's the joy of being a Christian. And it is this that makes the Christians a special people -- not in what is hidden in scripture, but what is bluntly before us: a very sick and desperate world in need of atonement with God.
Do you think we get too caught up in end-times theology that we forget who we are and who we are ministering to? Is there a balance we can reach between forward thinking and present day ministry?
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jmallory@xanga - Name: Jimmy
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Comments (12)
No, I do not feel we get too caught up in the teaching of End Times Prophecy. In fact we do not teach enough of this teaching. Three fourths of the entire bible is teaching about our time we live in today, the Last Generation. We know we are in the last generation according to the fulfillment of The Fig Tree Prophecy which became fulfilled when Israel became a nation again 1948-1949.
If 3/4ths of the bible is of that time, the last generation, then 3/4ths of the teaching ministers do should be on the prophecies and their fulfillment in that same time Christ spoke of. Prophecy is everywhere in the bible both old and new testament yet preachers constantly ignore this teaching because they wish to teach something other then what God is actually saying.
Everywhere Christ went he taught prophecy and the meaning of those prophecys and what was coming. We should do the same as Pastors and Teachers of God's words, the bible.
Actually our time on earth is about waiting for the coming Kingdom of Heaven, for no onne could say it better then Christ when he spoke that [We] are not citizens of this world but citezens of a much greater world, the kingdom of heaven.
Actually the desciples were correct in saying we are in the last days for according to 2nd Peter 3:8-10 Peter himself states that a day in the eyes of God are like a 1000 years. According to this it has only been about two days since Christ rose again to sit at the right hand of the Father. As Christ rose on the 3rd day so the Christ-followers will also rise on the 3rd day. This same principal happened to Adam and Eve who were told they would die the very day they ate of the forbidden fruit, Genesis 2:17; old and new KJV. Genesis 5:5 says Adam died at 930 years, that day according to 2nd Peter 3:8-10.
God speaks to mankind through prophecy. To ignore prophecy or the teaching of ignores the very character of God. for when God speaks there is no time for time does not exist to him. whenGod speaks it is in the past, present and future all aat the same time. This is why many times there is a dual fulfillment of prophecy. Most of teh time when God spoke through the prophets they had no idea what soever God even meant. They only knew the words were from God. I really doubt if isaiah understood all the things he prophesied of just like the Pharisees and Sadducees had no idea the Messiah would be born as a baby. They thought the Messiah was coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, only two thousand years ahead of their time. So some of those scriptures were interpretated right but maany were not. Who could know the mind of God anyway!
You know Christ forewarned us after many of the kingdom of heaven is like parables that to escape the coming tribulation as the five virgins did we are to pray and watch for the 2nd Coming of Christ alwayspraying that we are counted worthy to escape these things. We cannot escape if we are not watching, we cannot watch if we are not reading and studying these important prophecys.
The book of revelation is the only book in the bible that states a matter of fact "By reading Revelation we are blessed," Revelation 1:3. Christ taught that those that did not understand the parables of the bibles were those in darkness. the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven are for the Christ followers. we are the Christ follwers. Let us teach and preach prophecy just as Christ did every where He went for we are followers of Christ.
As a teacher or preacher you are to teach or preach what teh bible clearly says. If you do not do this you are a false prophet. Please do not misunderstand me. i am not saying you are. i am only saying that it isn't up to, up to some theologian or any other teacher. If you are a Christ-follower you must teach the bible, the entire bible and nothing different whether you understand it or not.
If you cannot do this there are serious consequences. Acording to Revelation 22:18-19 we teachers and Preachers are not to add or subtract even a word, for we then are held accountable. So I would not reccomend you to skip teaching on prophecy since at least 3/4th if not 100% of the entire bible is about fulfillment or shadows of coming prophecy.
This is my two cents.
I tend to agree with the person above in that most of the Bible is prophecy and most of Christians don't have a clue what the prophecies are or what they mean.
By the way, all of these cults come about because of the lack of knowledge and teaching on prophecy.
Christians don't study anything enough. One of the reasons (not the main one) I ditched Christianity and became a Christian (western) hater was because I could not find any intelligent Christians to have an intellectual conversation with. Reformed Presbyterians being an exception.
@TheTheologiansCafe@xanga - @RobertLeeRE@xanga -
I completely disagree with both the original post, and the first comment. The Bible says that no man will know the day or the hour of Christ's return. therefore, if no one will know it, studying and trying to figure it out is pointless and a waste of our time The Bible says in Corinthians, that we are ambassadors for Christ, and have been given the ministry of reconciliation. We are told to reconcile others to God, not reconcile prophecy with other prophecy. Why are we so focused on what God said we could never figure out, and neglecting our duty to bring others to Christ? My local 7th day adventist church, goes door to door every year, passing out brochures for an end times class. They have never gone door to door advertising a class on how to witness.
Are people really suggesting on this site, that we should spend more time on end times, than on the great commission?
The full name for the last book of the Bible, is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" not "The Revelation of the End Times" But "The Revelation Of Jesus Christ. Why is this important? Because I don't believe that the book has anything to do with end times and the return of Christ. It simply reveals who Christ is, and what Christ will do. Jesus is and always has been the focus of the Bible. The Bible is ALL about Jesus. not the end times, not the return of Christ. But it is about Christ himself, who He is, What He has done, Why He has done it, and What we are supposed to be doing.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - I liked your comment a lot, which shows a great deal of my entire point. But, I'm a bit confused on how you completely disagree with my post. Can you go into that a bit?
@jmallory@xanga - Yeah sorry about that, it comes from reading things at 4am in the morning. I had originally planned to post a paragraph, about end times. But then I figured since most of my comment was complaining about people focusing on end times, that such a paragraph would work against me. That was the paragraph, where I disagreed with you. If you want me to go into it, I can, Or, you can look up information on Preterism because that is more or less my position on end times. I am actually a partial preterist, but looking up preterism will get you started, if you are unfamiliar with the term.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga -
If what you say is what you do then you are in violation of the last 5 verses of the bible. You are not preaching or teaching the entire gospel. So when you get to prophecy you just skip over that part for that is not important. Why did god put it there if it is not important? You are skipping three fourths of the bible when you teach people about God. There is so much prophecy in the bible it is impossible to seperate it from the rest of scripture. If this is what you do you are a false prophet. Don't believe me? See the last five verses in Revelation, that is you. For many want to teach but few are worthy the calling.
I also want to point out that I think you should not mix the gospel with politics as I noticed you do on your blog. Jesus didn't do it and neither should you. You end up offending the very ones your trying to win over to Christ. No-offense. If you want to talk politics you should have a seperate blog all together. There are good Christians in all political partys.
@RobertLeeRE@xanga - reread my comment. I never said prophecy was unimportant. I said focusing on endtimes was not what we are told to be doing. We are told to witness and share the gospel. that is what we are to be doing. We will never figure out when Christ is going to return, so why spend 3/4 of our time figuring it out? Today is the day of salvation, go out and witness.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - you said, "I completely disagree with both the original
post, and the first comment. The Bible says that no man will know the
day or the hour of Christ's return. therefore, if no one will know it,
studying and trying to figure it out is pointless and a waste of our
time"
Anyone who has read the Bible would see a great struggle in avoiding the prophecies. So you should study it all equally.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga -
100% of prophecy in the bibly is about two things, the first coming of Christ and the 2nd Coming of Christ. The amount of the bible this takes up is at least 3/4ths of the bible, probably much more if you consider all the historical accounts are shadows of things to come. Now here is what I do not understand. How do you teach the word of God without teaching prophecy? I know you said you should not set dates or predictions of the second coming. I agree with that partially. But you can still teach on the 2nd Coming without setting dates ecetra. Consider this: Entire books are on the 2nd Coming; i.e. Revelation, many large parts of Paul's Epistles, all the Minor & Major prophets. This doesn't even include all the historical books and Psalms with Prophecy in them.
btw how do you teach Revelation, the minor and major prophets without teaching on End Times?
No I am not suggesting you should teach prophecy only, seperate from the great commission. What I am saying is this. They should not be seperate at all. When a person teaches the bible it should be systematic theology like J.vernon McGee on Thru the Bible. No skipping around ignoring whole books of the bible which changes the message. If as a Pastor you do not know the meaning of certain passages in Revelation then have open discussions and commentary reviews of prior theologians and "Pray," for Holy Spirit to give interpretations.
By not teaching on prophecy you are opening your congregants to attacks from cults that do teach on prophecy that can confuse the sheep. That is what people do you know. When you do not give them balanced teaching the sheep will go elsewhere. What is wrong with just reading the prophetic books to the congregation with minor breaks for discussion? Why is it just so dangerous for the sheep to actually hear completly unfiltered biblical truth?
Teaching on prophecy is not ignoring the great commission, it is the great commission!
Are you actually saying you can teach from the book of Revelation without teaching on "End Times??" That is the silliest thing I have ever heard. The entire bible is about the return of Christ! I think you need to go back and re-read your bible.
I think this is related to spiritual growth. If you never actually read your bible you would not be so ignorant as to what is in it, which is all prophecy about the birth of Christ and the 2nd Coming. You know you and the Pharisees and Sadducees have a lot in common. You pick and choose what is truth rather then realizing it is all equally important for spiritual growth and descipling.
You remind me of someone who cuts out huge sections of the bible, like the old testament and says we don't need the old testament because everything is about Jesus now. Or others that never read the Pauline Epistles because they are post ressurrection Jesus so not important-Wrong! The entire bible is equally important, not just certain sections you pick an choose.
Well, all I have to say is this. This is why large parts of teh church and certain denominations are losing their congregants to cults, things of the world. because they refuse to just read the bible without editing portions out.
God Bless
Brother Robert
@RobertLeeRE@xanga - I may not have been clear, with my original post, and if I was, I apoligize. I do not have a problem with prophecy. I do not have a problem with talking about the return of Christ. What I do have a problem with, is spending more time with what time Christ is coming back, than about going out and telling people they need Christ.
As I said before, the Bible says that we have been given a ministry of reconciliation. We are told to reconcile others to God. I can witness to a stranger, or a friend and share with them about sin and Christ's sacrifice without ever Christ's return coming up.
I have discussed "end times" theology with people and on my site before. But it is not my main focus. My main focus is sharing Christ and the forgiveness of sins. Once they are saved, they can learn about other things. But salvation should be most important. Without Christ and salvation, no one can understand any part of the Bible.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga -
I think part of the issues causing conflict here are definitions. When evangelising there is no need for teaching of prophecy or large portions of the bible for that matter. I think this is what your talking of possibly? Because you keep using the phrase spreading the gospel and similar such statments. I would call this evangelising like what a Billy Graham would do. I.E. baptising the the name of the Father, Son & Holy Ghost. When speaking of these things there is very little need for teaching on prophecy.
But after someone is saved there is a very long process called disciplship or descipling someone. this job typically is done by a church Pastor. This is a long process of teaching from every book of the bible, teaching bible history, how the bible came to be, the beginnings in Genesis, how to pray ecetra.
Could it be we got caught up in some semantics here so to speak? For they are two very different processes, one very in depth and the other focusing on the basics of the gospel.