Monday, December 21, 2009

End-Time Prophecies Aren't Simple Things

Many people struggle with the concept of end-time prophecies - especially those that appear to have occurred already in a day and time that was not "the end of the world". There are two important things to consider with these prophecies.

1) Many end-time prophecies simply are prophecies of the end-time for that particular culture and /or people. In other words, a prophecy that the end is near and the world will be destroyed doesn't have to have global application for it to be inspired and accurate. The Jews were destroyed from time to time in a very real way, even though each time was not the "final" end - or the final destruction, for that matter. If all one's known world is destroyed, it is as if "the whole world" has been destroyed.

2) If someone believes the original (or initial) meaning of the prophecy has been fulfilled, but there is a modern application of that prophecy that can be made (or that was included in an original dual meaning), does it really matter what the “fulfilled” meaning was? It’s past and done. What matters now is the “new” or “second” meaning.

There are many examples of end-time prophecies that have been fulfilled in one way or another already - but that still can be seen as awaiting fulfillment or as waiting for fulfillment again. It doesn't have to be a one-time-only thing.

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