How Often Have People Misapplied Prophecy?

Dan Vander Lugt
Bible, Contemporary Issuesfalse prophecy, false prophets, fulfillment of prophecy, future events, 

interpretation of Scripture, prophecy, prophets, Scripture

 

There has been a long history of people misunderstanding and misapplying biblical prophecy. The Jews preceded the church in misapplying prophecy. Convinced that a God-anointed King (Messiah) would lead them to military victory over the Romans and establish a dynasty that would bring Israel’s story to fulfillment, they ignored the warnings of both John the Baptist and Jesus that national repentance and purification would have to precede national restoration. Consequently they supported numerous military leaders and false messiahs

¹ during the first and early second centuries, leading to the disastrous wars of AD 70 and 135.
In the second century, a Christian sect believed itself gifted with new revelation from the Holy Spirit. Montanism claimed that the end of the world was at hand and that the heavenly Jerusalem would be established in Phrygia (the base of the movement). Believing that the end of the world had almost arrived, this sect practiced extreme asceticism and became a serious threat to the life of the church.
As time continued, Christians repeatedly mistook the conditions of their day as the fulfillment of endtime prophecy and this continues to this day. Every generation of Christians rightfully thinks of itself as significant to God’s plan, and when unusual conditions arrive—especially periods of warfare, calamity, or any major cultural change or social upheaval—they usually see circumstances and individuals of their day fitting remarkably well with the symbols and images of biblical prophecy.
In the late Roman period, Attila’s Huns and the Germanic Goths were viewed by terrified Christians as “Gog and Magog,” and after the great defeat of the Roman Army at Adrianople, Bishop Ambrose of Milan declared: “The end of the world is coming upon us.”
The Crusades were a period of great eschatological expectation. The Encyclopedia Britannica states:

The eschatological strain of the Crusades can be noted in the Crusade sermons of Bernard of Clairvaux in 1147, who kindled enthusiasm to liberate Jerusalem with reference to the pressing terminal dates of the endtime.

During the Crusade period, many believed that Frederick II (who conquered Jerusalem in 1229) would usher in the millennium. Even after his death, people continued to believe he would return from the dead to establish the kingdom of righteousness (Frederick redivivus). Historian Paul S. Boyer writes that during this time period:

Manuscripts . . . complete with illustrations and elaborate charts (a staple of later prophecy writers as well), circulated through Europe and England, stimulating apocalyptic speculation. Further, . . . the material . . . linking the Jews explicitly to Antichrist helped to fuel an upsurge of anti-Semitism in late-medieval Europe (When Time Shall Be No More, p. 53).

During the early Reformation, large groups of Taborites in Bohemia and Anabaptists in Germany and the Low Countries held fanatical views of the imminence of the endtimes that resulted in armed rebellion against the religious and secular authorities, and some of the most horrible episodes of violence in Western history.
The major reformers too perceived themselves as standing on the verge of the apocalypse. They viewed the pope as an “internal antichrist” established in the temple at the holy place and the marauding Turkish Muslims as the “external antichrist.” During the 17th century, England was awash with prophetic speculation.²The English colonies in North America were also preoccupied with the endtime:

Puritans who traveled to America in the 17th century and Quakers, Baptists, and Methodists in the 18th century believed that America was the “wilderness” promised in the Revelation to John. William Penn gave the name Philadelphia to the capital of the woodland areas ceded to him (1681) because he took up the idea of establishing the true church of the end time, represented by the Philadelphia community of the Revelation to John. A great number of the attempts undertaken to found radical Christian communities in North America may be viewed as anticipations of the coming Jerusalem (Britannica, vol. 16, p. 301).

A cluster of radical apocalyptic movements appeared in the United States and England in the early to mid-19th century, leading to the rise of the Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Mormons, along with other cultic groups that are still large and growing today. Also in the mid-19th century, a heretical Christian cult took root in China, resulting in the Taiping Rebellion (1845­–1864). The prophet/leader of this movement, Hong Xiuquan, combined social reforms with authoritarian, visionary leadership to create the largest uprising in human history, creating an army of over a million and directly bringing about the deaths of approximately 20 million people.
A large number of political, religious, and military circumstances in the early to mid-20th century made it appear almost certain to many premillennial observers that all the circumstances were in place for the imminent rise of the Antichrist, the false prophet, the rapture, and the beginning of the 7-year tribulation period. However, from the vantage point of the beginning of the 21st century, it is obvious that many of the boldly projected prophetic scenarios didn’t occur.
Evangelicals who have lived through these changes have learned through several generations of experience how misleading it can be to reach sweeping conclusions through prophetic interpretation of current events and how important it is to avoid dogmatism and undue speculation while remaining open to the possibilities. Today, the astonishing power of international bankers and corporations, the unprecedented rapidity of technological development, and the international tendency towards a world government offer many opportunities to speculate about the relationship of current events to biblical prophecy. Yet, given the mistakes made by Christians in the past, we would be wise to dedicate our time and energy to Christian witness rather than eschatological speculation.

1. “In my name (epi toe onomati mou). They will arrogate to themselves false claims of Messiahship in (on the basis of) the name of Christ himself. Josephus (Wars of the Jews VI, 54) gives their false Christs as one of the reasons for the explosion against Rome that led to the city’s destruction. Each new hero was welcomed by the masses including Barcochba. ‘I am the Messiah,’ each would say.” (Robertson’s Word Pictures, Matthew 24:4-5) Back to Article
2. From 1642 to 1660, as England experienced civil war, regicide, a commonwealth, and military dictatorship, end-time anticipation ran rife. John Milton, the poet of Puritanism, was but one of many who invested these events with high eschatological significance, viewing them as the prelude to the moment when “the Eternall and shortly-expected King shall open the Clouds to judge the severall Kingdomes of the World.” The urgent apocalyptism of these years can scarcely be overstated. One William Sedgwick, drunk on the Millennium, predicted the end in two weeks, a rash venture in date setting that earned him the lifelong nickname “Doomsday Sedgwick.” The coming “day of doom,” reported an observer in 1647, was “the common talk about London.”
   
   The career of Milton’s teacher Joseph Mede (1586–1638), a prophecy scholar and fellow of Christ College, Cambridge, illustrates the ubiquity of prophetic interest in these years. While he sometimes indulged in the prevailing tendency to interpret current events apocalyptically, Mede’s larger objective was to integrate the Bible’s various prophetic and apocalyptic sections into a single, synchronous end-time narrative. So impressive did English Puritans find his 1627 work, Clavis Apocalyptica (Key to the Revelation), that the House of Commons ordered it translated and reprinted posthumously in 1643. This and Mede’s other prophecy writings, collected in Works of the Pious and Profoundly Learned Joseph Mede (1672), circulated widely in England and America. Influenced by Alsted’s eschatology, Mede embedded a future Millennium firmly in his prophetic scheme, stimulating a revival of this doctrine in the English-speaking world.
   
   With the defeat of Charles I in 1646 and his beheading in 1649, apocalyptic speculation surged among English radicals, largely drawn from society’s lower ranks, who saw an egalitarian new order on the horizon. Like the Taborites and early Anabaptists, they invoked Bible prophecy to validate their expectations. (Paul S. Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More, pp. 64-65)
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4. HOW SERIOUS IS FALSE SPECULATION ABOUT PROPHECY?
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   Evangelical Christians agree that the biblical canon has been established. Anyone who claims to have a prophetic word must demonstrate its validity from Scripture. According to 1 Corinthians 14, any supposedly prophetic statement must pass two tests. First, verse 29 states that after two or three speak a prophetic message, the others are to “judge.” In other words, the prophetic message must not disagree with the knowledge of God’s Word and of truth held by other members of the assembly. Second, verses 37 and 38 demonstrate that just as the apostle Paul submitted his words to the examination of the Corinthians upon the basis of their knowledge of the Word of God, any prophecy that is given must be judged by the standard of the truth already known to the church of Christ. In other words, no completely new truth will be revealed, but rather the prophet will expound and explain truths already accepted and recognized by God’s people. Any “prophecy” that conflicts with Scripture is assumed to be false.

   
   

   Evangelicals also know how seriously the Old Testament viewed false prophecy. It provided two tests to determine whether prophets were true or false. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 states the first.  If a prophet calls upon the people to “go after other gods,” he is to be considered false, even if his prophecy is fulfilled.

   
   

   If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, “Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul (nasb).

   
   

   The second test has to do with the prophet’s accuracy:

   
   

   When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him (18:22).

   
   

   Deuteronomy 13:5 and Deuteronomy 18:20 explicitly state the punishment for false prophets: They shall be put to death.

   
   

   Yet although many evangelicals are wary of anyone claiming to be a prophet, some are dangerously naive about prophetic speculation. Many of those who would never claim to be a “prophet” (See the ATQ article, Do the Same Kinds of Prophets Exist Today as in Biblical Times?) don’t hesitate to claim authoritative insight into the meaning of prophecy. While they would never say, “Thus saith the Lord,” they seem to imply that they know what God was saying through the prophet.

   
   

   The purpose of all prophecy—including prophecy about future events—is to encourage us to examine ourselves, repent, and turn from our evil ways. Sometimes prophecy describes a future event to give hope, sometimes it warns of judgment, but in every case the goal of prophecy is spiritual renewal.  Prophetic speculation, on the other hand, is mostly concerned with linking contemporary events to biblical prophecy.

   
   

   To say this contemporary event is a fulfillment of that prophecy is to claim a kind of prophetic authority. It is a form of “speaking in the name of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 18:22), and just as in the case of false prophecy, it has serious consequences. Scripture and history show that prophecy pertaining to future events is ambiguous before the events occur. (See the ATQ article Can We Know if Current Events are Fulfillment of Prophecy?) Previous historical attempts to predict future events on the basis of biblical prophecy have been disastrous. (See the ATQ article How often in the History of the Church have People Mistakenly Believed They Were Acting in Fulfillment, or Observing the Fulfillment of Prophecy?)

   
   

   Believing we belong to a small group that understands how prophetic events are unfolding can lead to unintended results, including pride, isolation, and diminishing concern with truth and reality. It can transform one’s interpretation of prophecy into an idol, a false god. If enough people are influenced, false speculation can lead to its own “fulfillment”—the satanic opposite of legitimate prophecy–accompanied by self-righteousness, fanaticism, and violence.

   
   

   This is what happened in Israel in 70 and 135 AD. False prophecy and false prophetic speculation about Messiah led to the destruction of Jerusalem by Roman armies. The fact that many Jews were convinced that Messiah would free Israel from the Roman yoke made them vulnerable to the influence of fanatics. (See the ATQ article How often in the History of the Church have People Mistakenly Believed They Were Acting in Fulfillment, or Observing the Fulfillment of Prophecy?) The same tendency can be seen in those today whose interpretation of prophecy allows them to ignore basic issues of justice and morality while calling for unqualified support for Israel in the modern Middle East, military action, the initiation of new wars, and even the use of nuclear weapons.

   
   

   It is no wonder that the New Testament discourages speculation about when Jesus Christ will return and specifically states that He will return at a time no one expects (Matthew 24:36-50;25:13; Acts 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10).

   
   

   Jesus Christ and other inspired writers not only warn us against speculation concerning the hour of His return, but they imply such speculation prevents serious preparation for His return (Matthew 24:43-44; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Revelation 3:3).

   
   

   Whether it manifests itself in apathy or fanatic violence, false prophecy and false speculation about prophecy is dangerous. Those of us who get caught up in the destructive practice of prophetic speculation not only lend support to the principalities and powers of evil, but also sow seeds of disillusionment and rebellion against the gospel and biblical revelation. Mark 9:42declares: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea” (nkjv).
    
   
6. Can We Know If Current Events Are Fulfilling Prophecy?
   
   
   The prophets were known for their "forth-telling" and their "foretelling." "Forth-telling" involved warning, admonishing, advising, and encouraging. They called on their people to repent from their evil ways. They promised blessings that would result from repentance, and punishments that would result from sin and rebellion. "Foretelling" involved predicting or describing what would occur in the future-sometimes in the near future, sometimes much later.
   
   Because in retrospect the fulfillment of prophecy can be striking, it is easy for people to assume that they can have the same clarity of vision about prophecy that hasn't yet been fulfilled. This misunderstanding often has tragic results. Many times there has been widespread obsession with prophetic speculation along with outbreaks of fanaticism resulting from the conclusion that the endtime had arrived and that God was on the verge of supernaturally intervening in world events. When this happens, people become fatalistic and cultic. Rather than working constructively to face the problems of their day, they withdraw into fanatic enclaves of "true believers," considering everyone outside their circle as unbelievers and enemies. In the worst cases, they give themselves over to violence. (See the ATQ article How Often Have People Misapplied Prophecy?)
   
   It is easy to overlook how ambiguous prophecy appears before its fulfillment. A prime example would be the messianic expectations of first-century Judaism. Prophecy about the Messiah was not a sideline issue. It was of the greatest importance to the Jews. The advent of the Messiah was integral to the fulfillment of their hopes as a people. The greatest rabbis pored over passages considered to apply to the Messiah. From a Christian perspective, it is striking-and should be instructive-to see how poorly the Jews anticipated the manner of Messiah's coming. All Jews, whether Jesus' followers or His enemies, expected Messiah to be a miracle-working military hero who would establish Jewish authority over the world and inaugurate a universal reign of peace and justice. The idea of Messiah suffering and dying without achieving their expectations of national glory wasn't considered. It would be inconceivable for Messiah to be killed by His enemies, much less nailed to a cross in shame. Jesus' disciples held this view right up to His arrest and execution (when they fled in panic and disappointment). To unbelieving Jews (including Saul of Tarsus prior to his encounter with the risen Messiah on the Damascus road), the crucifixion of Jesus provided conclusive evidence that He was an imposter.
   
   There have been many occasions in the history of Christianity when large groups boldly but mistakenly associated specific biblical prophecies with contemporary events in their world. Almost invariably they had good reasons for their associations. There were usually vivid parallels between the prophecies they cited and contemporary events. But they were ignoring Jesus' pointed warnings against making prophetic speculation the basis for action (Matthew 24:36-39,50; Matthew 25:13; Luke 12:46; 21:8; Acts 1:6-8). There was good reason for Jesus' warnings. He saw how easily the interpretation of prophecy could be directed by an unconscious agenda-just as His contemporary Jews used prophecy as a basis for taking up arms in nationalistic action against Rome.
   
   Jesus in his teaching, and his challenge to Israel, aimed precisely at telling Israel to repent of her militaristic nationalism. Her aspirations for national liberation from Rome, to be won through a great actual battle, were themselves the telltale symptoms of her basic disease, and had to be rooted out. Jesus was offering a different way of liberation, a way which affirmed the humanness of the national enemy as well as the destiny of Israel, and hence also affirmed the destiny of Israel as the bringer of light to the world, not as the one who would crush the world with military zeal (N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God, p. 450).
   
   The tragedy of massive violence fueled by false prophetic interpretation has occurred many times since the Jewish Roman Wars of the first and second centuries. Today, as in other time periods, aspects of contemporary events are distinctive enough to be viewed by many as a basis for believing they know beyond a doubt that they are witnessing the final unfolding of endtime prophecy and that this unfolding requires their support of a number of political and military actions. This is tragic error, and plays exactly into the hands of the Evil One.
   
   The ambiguity of Messianic prophecy prior to fulfillment illustrates vividly why we should beware of trying to circumvent Jesus' words-"The Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Matthew 24:44; Luke 12:40)-with ingenious interpretative schemes. Prophecy contains patterns, themes, and "types" that are present in every age, thus some people in every period of history conclude that they are living in the endtime. It is the nature of prophecy to be understood only after its fulfillment, and even then only by those who have "eyes to see," that is, believers (Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2; Matthew 13:15-16; Romans 11:5-10). (See the ATQ article Why Aren't Unbelievers Amazed by the Many Prophecies Jesus Fulfilled?)
   
   It is true that there is potential today for the most powerful Antichrist and empire the world has ever seen (1 John 2:18). We have also witnessed the reestablishment of a powerful Jewish state in the ancestral homeland of Israel. However, to conclude that these circumstances prove we are entering the final stage of earthly history before the tribulation and millennium disregards Jesus' warnings and makes us vulnerable to the same fanaticism that caused every apocalyptic disaster of the past 2,000 years.
   
   We have no way of knowing whether the next Antichrist figure, however powerful, will be the last. We have no way of knowing whether the next empire, however great, will be the last. We have no way of knowing for sure that today's Israel represents the final struggle for Jewish independence before endtime events unfold.
   
   The Bible offers no reason to believe God will protect an unrepentant Israel as it attempts to secure by its own strength a Jewish homeland. The most advanced weapons systems will never bring peace and security to a nation established by force of arms and unwilling to heed the exhortations of its own prophets to seek justice and walk humbly with its God (1 Samuel 15:22; Proverbs 21:3;Isaiah 1:16-19;Jeremiah 7:3-6; Micah 6:8; Zephaniah 2:3).
   
   Speculation about the "foretelling" aspect of prophecy should never outweigh the clear "forth-telling" aspect. Belief that a particular prophecy is perhaps being fulfilled never relieves us of the responsibility to act justly in the light of New Testament teaching. The prophets, Christ, and the apostles place the gospel above the law, character above "religiosity," and justice above eschatological speculation. Christians today ought to avoid eschatological speculation and focus on issues of the heart in response to the gospel message.