Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Reading)
The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact
(Book Installment 50)
Part Three – The Nature of the Second Coming
Chapter 8 – How the Old Testament Prophets Set the Stage
The Language of the Prophets (continued)
Let’s consider one other example of prophetic language that is relevant to our study, and that will help us appreciate the speaking and writing style of the prophets, and Jesus’ appropriation of it. This example and ones like it are found in several places in the Old Testament as well as being quoted in several places in the New Testament. In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus said,
The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky Matthew 24:29
You’ll recognize from the book and chapter reference that Jesus spoke these words as He was describing His Second Coming. But if someone quoted you these verses apart from their context and told you that they were a physical description of the end of the universe as we know it, you might believe them. And if you did, then every time you came across these verses your mind would translate a physical interpretation. You would be reading something into the Bible because of what you were taught…and it would be very hard to break free from that thinking. This is what has happened with so much of the teaching about the Second Coming. We have had verses lifted out of their contexts and given new meaning that they never originally had. We saw an example of this phenomenon in the previous part of this book with the phrase “But of that day or hour no one knows.” That phrase has been separated from the rest of what Jesus said, and impressed on people’s minds that the time of the Second Coming cannot be known. Thereafter, when this verse is read, the listener relies upon the previous erroneous understanding. He is perhaps confused by the context, but most people just don’t have the time or inclination to sit down and sift out what they’ve heard for so many years.
For those who do have the time and inclination, one way to correct such
misunderstandings is to locate the respective passages in the Bible and to read what comes before it and after it. And not just the immediate context, but their place in the Bible as a whole. The phrase above from Matthew 24 – “The sun will be darkened, and the moon…” – appears first not in Matthew but in the Old Testament prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Therefore, we note that this phrase was not coined by Jesus, but by the prophets before Him. Therefore, it makes sense to look at how these prophets used the term, for Jesus would expect His hearers – fellow citizens of Israel – to recognize that He was quoting Israel’s prophets.
(This section of the chapter to be continued tomorrow)
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