|
Interpreting
OT Prophecies
Matthew summarizes the message
of John, the harbinger of Christ, with these words:
(Matt
3:1-2) Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the
wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand."
After John was arrested by Herod and Jesus
withdrew into Galilee He “began to preach and say, 'Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'” (Matt 4:17) In
Mark's record a bit more information is given:
(Mark
1:14-15) Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and
believe in the gospel.
Later, as Jesus sent forth the twelve on their
limited commission He told them: “And as you go, preach,
saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'” (Matt 10:7)
In each of these instances the
message was “the kingdom ... is at hand,”
or more literally “the kingdom ... has come near.”
How near had it come? According to Jesus (Mark 9:1) it was so near
that it would come during the lifetime of some who heard Him speak.
(Mark
9:1) And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there
are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death
until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
Prompted by this message certain
Pharisees asked the Lord: (Luke 17:20a) “... as to when the
kingdom of God was coming.” In response Jesus said: (vss.
20b-21) “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be
observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!'
For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” As H. Leo
Boles observed...
...
the progress of the kingdom could not be determined by visible marks
like that of an earthly kingdom; its approach could not be observed
by the senses, or its progress watched by its outward manifestations.
This spiritual kingdom is not to be judged by outward show, political
and military triumphs, or the glory of an external and conquering
kingdom. This kingdom is not of such a nature that they could, with
the fleshly senses, locate it either here or there. (Commentary on
Luke, 333-334)
This was not the first time Jesus taught that His
kingdom would be unlike any other; in His conversation with Nicodemus
He said that it would a spiritual kingdom; one that one that born
into – not through a physical birth, but a spiritual birth –
“of the water and Spirit” (John 3:3ff). When
Pilate questioned Jesus about the nature of His kingdom, He once
again taught that it was a spiritual kingdom, as opposed to one “of
this world.”
(John
18:36) ... “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were
of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not
be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this
realm.”
After His resurrection the
apostles asked the Lord: (Acts 1:6) “... is it at this time
You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" From this two
things are clear: 1) The apostles believed the Messianic kingdom
would be an earthly kingdom and 2) The kingdom of Christ had yet to
be established. It would, in fact, not be established until Jesus was
crowned – made – king. That this happened before the
close of the apostolic age is clear from a number of things written
not only in the gospels, but in the epistles. For example, concerning
the Messiah, the Psalmist prophesied: (110:1) “The LORD says
to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a
footstool for Your feet.'” In Hebrews 12:2 we are told in
no uncertain terms that Jesus has taken his seat “at the
right hand of the throne of God.” This prophecy of Psa
110:1 has been fulfilled! Also in Hebrews, the prophet says: (2:9)
“we see ... Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned
with glory and honor.” Christ has been
crowned! Furthermore, He “must reign” (sitting at
the Father's right hand) “until He has put all His enemies
under His feet” and the “last enemy that will be
abolished is death.” (1 Cor 15:25-26). Those who have
obeyed the gospel – who have been born again “of the
water and Spirit” – have been (Col 1:13) “delivered
... from the domain of darkness, and transferred ... to [His]
kingdom....”
The kingdom that was “at
hand” during the ministries of John and Jesus, became a
reality after Jesus ascended to take His seat at the right hand of
God. Those who obey the gospel are transferred from the kingdom of
Satan (John 12:31; 14:30; Eph 2:1-2) into the kingdom of the Son of
God. But since this is so, why do many religious people still teach
that the kingdom of the Messiah has never come – that it is
still future? A major reason is because they believe prophecies must
be literally fulfilled; they reject what they call the
spiritualization of prophecy. We are told that unless
prophecies are literally fulfilled one has the right to ask: Why
did God give men such a misleading Book? Is there anything He has
ever said that can be depended upon (cf., James D. Bales,
Prophecy and Premillennialism, p. 16). But in saying this they
overlook the fact that God Himself says that when He spoke it was not
always in the same way, but in “many ways” (Heb
1:1).
God has not spoken in one manner
but in modes varying with the message, the messenger, and those to
whom the word is sent. Sometimes God spoke by an institution (the
priesthood, the sacrifices), sometimes by parable, sometimes in a
psalm, sometimes in an act of righteous indignation. Sometimes the
message took the form of law or prophecy, of history or poetry.
Sometimes it was given in in signs; at other times it was given in
plain language. Thus because all prophecies were not spoken alike
they cannot be interpreted alike! So the Bible student should expect
to find that some prophecies have a literal fulfillment while others
are fulfilled in a figurative or symbolic fashion. But in either
case, they are both fulfilled.
It is unscriptural to believe
that all the prophecies must be interpreted literally for the
scriptures teach that God did not always speak in the same way! He
spoke in “many ways”! Therefore...
No one has the right to except all prophecies
to be literally fulfilled any more than no one has the right to
expect all prophecies to be fulfilled in a symbolic way.
No one should deny a certain manner of
interpretation by reasoning as if there were only one manner to
interpret the prophecies.
No one should accuse another of not believing
God’s word when he maintains that a prophecy may be
figurative.
J.
D. Bales tells of a time when he was asked “if
Jesus said what He meant, and if He meant what He said, when He said
'this is my body.'”
His response was that Jesus said also that He was the door. He then
asked the questioner if he had ever walked through Jesus. “The
reply was: 'Anybody ought to know that expression is figurative.' In
other words, he granted that sometimes figurative language is used.
Jesus said what He meant, when He said 'I am the door,' and He meant
what He said. But He did not have to express Himself literally in
order to say what He meant.”
(28) Since figurative language is sometimes used by the Lord, one
cannot automatically rule out the possibility that “this
is my body”
was a figurative description of the bread. And indeed it was
figurative. Had it been otherwise then it “would
not only be detected as flesh by the physical senses, but Paul could
not have said that we eat bread (1 Cor 11:26, 27, 28).”
(Bales, 28)
When
one maintains that a prophecy of scripture may be figurative, he is
not doubting God's word, but raising the question: In what manner was
this particular prophecy spoken? “Although God's word is true
(John 17:17; Rom 3:4), it is not true that God expressed Himself only
in a literal manner ... When we listen to what God has said in the
Bible we learn that although He always meant what He said, He did not
always say it in the same manner.” (Bales, 29)
God
Spoke in Types & Shadows
When God spoke in OT times
through the prophets He spoke words of comfort, of encouragement, of
instruction; and at other times He spoke words of rebuke and of
judgment. When God so willed, the prophet not only spoke to his own
generation, but to future generations. At times God spoke through the
ordinances and institutions commanded under the Law. In his letter to
the Colossians Paul, speaking about the various dietary laws and holy
days, says that they were “a shadow of what is to come”
(Col 2:17). In the letter to the Hebrews (8:4-5) the Spirit speaks of
the tabernacle and the gifts offered under the law in the same way –
they were “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.”
Later (10:1) the whole Law is spoken of as “a shadow of the
good things to come and not the very form of things.”
As a shadow the law offers “but
a faint outline, a mere adumbration of the good things of the Kingdom
of Christ.” (Robert Milligan, Epistle to the Hebrews, .
p. 267). Shadows can't tell us much. In fact, they may not make much
sense at all until we actually see the substance or form that they
represent. The form (Heb 10:1) is that which cast the shadow.
In the Gospel we have the form and the substance (Col
2:17); “but in the Law we have nothing more than a mere
unsubstantial shadow.” (Milligan, 267).
Here is the significance of this
information: In the interpretation of the Old Testament writings,
including the Messianic prophesies, Bible believers should not study
these writings as if they were still living in the shadows – as
if they do not have inspired guidance in the New Testament writings.
Instead, they should study them in the light of what Jesus did and
taught in His earthly ministry and through what he continued to do
and teach after His ascension through the apostles. Those who do not
take this advice are foolish and leaving themselves open to many
foolish and unscriptural interpretations of Old Testament passages.
The mystery was proclaimed in OT
times by the prophets in the Spirit, but not “as it has now
been revealed to [the] ... holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit”
(Eph 3:5). The OT prophets revealed, for example, that salvation was
in store for the Gentiles (cf., Isa 11:10; 49:5-7) but they did not
know the details. With regard to this Peter wrote...
(1
Peter 1:10-12) As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of
the grace that would come to you made careful search and
inquiry, {11} seeking to know what person or time the Spirit
of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings
of Christ and the glories to follow. {12} It was revealed to
them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things
which now have been announced to you through those who preached the
gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-- things into which
angels long to look.
An example of what Peter spoke of is found in
Daniel 12 where the prophets sees a vision and wonders what it meant.
In response the messenger of God said
(Daniel
12:9) And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for these
words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.
At the risk of being repeating
myself let me again state NT saints ought not to study Old Testament
prophecy as if they had no inspired guidance in the New Testament on
the subject of the prophecy.
To Be Continued
| 
