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Prophecy Interpretation Is A
Rubik's Cube
Being
totally intellectually honest here (and I always try to be that on this
website, which could get me in trouble with the denomination I attend, just
kidding J), I have to admit
that each major doctrinal interpretation about the prophecies concerning Jesus
Christ's 2nd coming, which I have tried to honestly document on this
website (there may have been a few I missed), has merit, and each has its own
set of fatal flaws. What is the answer? Which doctrinal
interpretation by which denomination or theologian is correct? I don't
know, and I suspect that none of them are totally correct. But I am not a
theologian. I try to accurately record on this website what some
theologians and denominational leaders have taught on the subject, often in my
own words. And make no mistake, I have striven to figure out the truth on
the matter myself. But taking an honest look at what all the differing
theologians and denominations have said on the subject, I find some truth and
some fatal flaws in all of their interpretations. I honestly believe all
the prophecies in the Bible are true and inspired to be written in the Bible by
God himself, sometimes directly spoken to a prophet, sometimes inspired by
God's Holy Spirit. It is our human interpretations, often influenced by
our own worldview, which has proven to be flawed, each and every one of
them. But the problem with theologians and denominational leaders alike is
that most of them are or were (the deceased ones) part of a particular
denomination, and thus feel compelled to favour or back up their own
denomination's version for end-time/2nd coming prophecy, often to
the exclusion of all others, thus objectivity is lost. Prophecy, if I
might be allowed to make an analogy, is like that terribly frustrating (for
most of us) Rubik's Cube (for those of you who don't know what it is, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubik's_Cube). So I am
throwing the gauntlet down in front of all you theologians and denominational
leaders to drop your biases and pride, come together in prayer, and solve this
Rubik's Cube of a problem on what the proper interpretation of end-time
prophecies and the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ are exactly.
What I see from the interpretations and difficult Scriptures I'll list below is
that the differing theologians and denominations have tended to be like some of
us who couldn't solve the Rubik's Cube once it had been scrambled, and so we'd
peel off the coloured sticker that we couldn't get to match, and swap it for
another that didn't match, thus aligning all the colours alike for each face of
the six-sided cube. I don't know what God thinks of those who do this,
but we must stop doing that, and find the proper solution, otherwise we as
Christians in our various denominations look like idiots to the unbelieving
world around us that we are attempting to witness to. Why, because the
unbelieving world lumps us all together, for the most part, simply as being ׂChristians׃, without putting the
various denominational tags on us. Our central message, regardless of our
individual denominational prophetic interpretational beliefs, should be the
promotion of the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ.
We all should be agreed on what that Gospel is. What is it? I think
I've pretty well defined it in an article I wrote, based on the Scriptures [see
http://www.unityinchrist.com/misc/WhatIsTheGospel%20.htm]. But if we
could stop looking so much like idiots to the unbelieving world in our
prophetic warning message to them, that would be a real plus, and help us to
fulfill the job Jesus gave all of us to do (cf. Matthew 24:14; Matthew
28:18-20).
Scriptures That Conflict With
Various Interpretations
1.
The pre-trib Rapture/1st Resurrection to Immortality doesn't take
into account the hundreds of thousands to millions of tribulation-saints who
will die, and thus have to have their own separate װRapture/Resurrection' to
immortality during of after the tribulation (post-tribulation).
2.
Those that teach the pre-trib Rapture/1st Resurrection to
immortality say that the trumpet blown in 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18
is not the 7th Trumpet or Last Trumpet of Revelation 11:15-18, but
is a separate trumpet that has nothing to do with being ׂthe last Trump׃ or 7th
Trumpet. But the companion Scripture passage, even used as a companion
Scripture by those promoting a pre-trib Rapture of the Church, is found in 1st
Corinthians 15:49-56, where in verse 52 it states, ׂIn a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.׃ This doesn't
square with a pre-trib Rapture/1st Resurrection to immortality
interpretation. And Revelation 11:15-18 indicates the 1st
Resurrection to immortality takes place at the time of the blowing of the 7th
Trumpet (just before the 7 Last Plagues), backing up 1st Corinthians
15:52.
3.
There are a number of Scriptures that indicate that the Church (or a part of
the Church) will be taken to a place of Safety during the tribulation period,
somewhere on earth.
4.
Matthew 24 could indicate or point to a mid-trib Rapture or Place of Safety
preservation of the Church.
5.
Revelation 3 (if taken to represent the successive era's of the Church from
100AD to present) indicates that two era's of the Church exist side-by-side,
and that one goes into the tribulation whilst the other is afforded protection
(without specifying how, cf. Revelation 3:10).
6.
Revelation 5:9-10 (taken in proper context with Revelation chapters 4 through
6) clearly points to the Church being in heaven singing a hymn to God before
his throne, before the scroll with Seven Seals (with the four
horsemen) is opened, initiating the great tribulation.
7.
Revelation 12 points to the Church (or part of it, fitting Revelation 3, the
last two era's) being taken to a place of safety on earth.
This
is the tip of the iceberg, but I think it proves my point. As to what I
personally believe, I don't know anymore, your guess is as good as mine
(actually, I hope we all stop guessing and ask for God's inspiration through
his Holy Spirit on the matter). We'll all have the solution to this Rubik's
Cube problem after we have attended the Wedding Feast on the Sea of Glass and
returned with Christ to rule the world. But for the sake of the
unbelieving world we're supposed to witness to, we need the solution now. I'm
making this challenge directly to the various theologians and denominational
leaders. The best some of us local members of the various denominations
can do is to pass this challenge on to them. They may not like you for doing
so, but they, as well as all of us, answer ultimately to Jesus Christ and no
man. And hey look, I'm just a local member of a denomination myself, and
I don't even pretend to have the answers. If you're tired of the mess,
pass the challenge on. Below are some links going to some of the various
interpretations, as I've tried to accurately as possible convey them.
1.
Pre-Tribulation Rapture explanation (a good one, has merit): http://www.unityinchrist.com/1thes/1stThessalonians4-16-18.htm http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/prophchart.htm 2.
Commentary study on Revelation, pertinent sections: http://www.unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation3-1-22.html http://www.unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation4-10.html http://www.unityinchrist.com/revelation/Revelation%2018-20.htm 3.
Historic Pre-Millennial interpretation of the 2nd coming: http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming.htm http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/Biblical%20Prophecy.htm 4.
Place of Safety Scriptures: http://www.unityinchrist.com/romans/print/Petra-ThePlaceofSafetyprt.htm 5.
A recent Post-Tribulation Rapture/1st Resurrection interpretation: http://www.unityinchrist.com/revelation/Pentecost-Revetion1.htm A
Command From Jesus Christ To The Body of Christ Is
there a good reason Jesus Christ wants us to be more unified in our
presentation of this part of the Gospel? You bet there is. Jesus
gave the entire Body of Christ that would be living in the end-times a direct
and powerful command. If I were some of you theologians and/or leaders of
the various denominations or parts of the Body of Christ, I'd take this command
of Jesus Christ very seriously. Ignore it at your own peril.
This direct command of Jesus to the Body of Christ is given in Zephaniah 2:1-3,
and you can read about it at: http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zephaniah/Zephaniah1.htm For
all the rest of us ordinary believer guys and gals, here's a very good sermon
transcript showing a proper perspective on how to apply end-time prophecy, see:
http://www.ucg.org/sermon/prophecy-prepare-end-time/
Prophets
& Prophecy Site Map
Prophecies
of Jesus Christ’s 1st Coming https://unityinchrist.com/prophecies/1stcoming.htm Prophecies
of Jesus Christ’s 2nd Coming https://unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming.htm Millennial
Kingdom of God https://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/MillennialKingdomofGod.pdf
Book
of Isaiah (whole
book is in one pdf file) https://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/Book%20of%20Isaiah.pdf Book
of Jeremiah (whole book daisy-chained together by links at the bottom of each file)
Jeremiah
1-2 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer1.html
Jeremiah
3-5 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer2.html Jeremiah
6-8 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer3.html Jeremiah
9-11 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer4.html Jeremiah
12-16 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer5.html Jeremiah
17-19 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer6.html Jeremiah
20-26 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer7.html Jeremiah
27-31 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer8.html
Jeremiah
32 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer9.html Jeremiah
33-36 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer10.html Jeremiah
37-41 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer11.html Jeremiah
42-52 https://www.unityinchrist.com/jeremiah/jer12.html
Book
of Ezekiel
Ezekiel
chapters 1-12 https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/ezek1.html Ezekiel
chapters 13-16 https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/ezek2.html Ezekiel
chapters 17-24 https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/ezek3.html Ezekiel
chapters 25-27 https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/ezekielpt2-1.html Ezekiel
chapters 28-29 https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/ezekielpt2-2.html Ezekiel
chapters 30-33 https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/ezekielpt2-3.html Ezekiel
chapters 34-35 https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/Ezekiel%20pt3-1.htm Ezekiel
35-39 https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/Ezekiel%20pt3-2.htm Ezekiel
40-48 https://unityinchrist.com/ezek/ezekiel40.html
Book
of Revelation
Revelation
chapter 1:1-20 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation1.html Revelation 2:1-11 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation2-1-11.html Revelation
2:12-17 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation2-12-17.html Revelation
2:18-29 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation2-18-29.html Revelation
3:1-22 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation3-1-22.html Revelation
chapters 4-10 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation4-10.html
Revelations chapters 11-12 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation11-12.html Revelation
chapters 13-17 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/revelation13-17.html Revelation
chapters 14-16 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/Revelation%2014-16.htm Revelation
chapters 18-20 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/Revelation%2018-20.htm Revelation
chapters 21-22 https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/Revelation%20%2021-22.htm Revelation
charts https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/Revelation%20Charts.htm Matthew
24:1-31 https://unityinchrist.com/mathew/Matthew24-1-31.htm
Pentecost-Revelation
Scenario on the Book of Revelation (featuring
the Wedding Feast of the Lamb) https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/Pentecost-Revetion1.htm
https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/Pentecost-Revetion2.htm Book
of Daniel https://unityinchrist.com/Daniel/daniel.htm
https://unityinchrist.com/Daniel/neb1.htm
https://unityinchrist.com/Daniel/daniel1.htm
https://unityinchrist.com/End%20time%20temple/End-Time%20TempleI.htm UCG Book of Daniel Commentary https://www.ucg.org/tags/daniel-bible-commentary
Minor
Prophets
Nahum https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Nahum.htm
Hosea
Hosea
chapters 1-3 https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Hosea/Hosea1.htm Hosea
chapters 4-5 https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Hosea/Hosea2.htm Hosea
chapters 6-14 https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Hosea/Hosea3.htm Joel
https://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Joel.htm
Amos https://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Amos/Amos1-4.htm
Jonah https://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Jonah.htm
Micah https://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Micah.html
Habakkuk https://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Habakkuk.htm
Haggai https://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Haggai.html
Edom-Obediah
https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/edom/Edom%20in%20Prophecy%201.html
https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/edom/Edom%20in%20Prophecy%202.html Zephaniah
https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zephaniah/Zephaniah2.htm
Church
Revival Articles https://unityinchrist.com//prophets/Zephaniah/REVIVAL.html
https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zephaniah/RestorationAndRevival.htm
https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zephaniah/Ezra-REVIVALa.htm
https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zephaniah/Christs%20Kingdom%20of%20God%20Fishing%20Net.htm
Zechariah
Zechariah
chapters 1-3 https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zechariah/Zechariah1.htm Zechariah
chapters 4-6 https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zechariah/Zechariah2.htm Zechariah
chapter 7-9 https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zechariah/Zechariah3.htm Zechariah
10-14 https://unityinchrist.com/prophets/Zechariah/Zechariah4.htm Malachi https://www.unityinchrist.com/prophets/Malachi.html
The
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