Part I
THE Bible student, when he first takes an interest in prophecy, is rather puzzled by the apparently arbitrary manner in which the exponents or, shall we say, the interpreters of prophecy, speak of “a day for a year”, figurative heavens and earth, and so on. Let us ,therefore, look at some of the basic principles which guide the students of prophecy.
Prophets And Seers
A seer, strictly speaking, is one who sees visions, usually of the future ; whereas a prophet is one who speaks on behalf of somebody else. Thus Aaron1 was appointed to be the prophet or mouthpiece of Moses. Again, the seventy elders2 selected to assist Moses, were given a measure of the “spirit”, with the result that they too “prophesied” — which simply means that they spoke on God’s behalf, not necessarily foretelling the future. Abraham3 is the first prophet mentioned in the Scripture, but we do not think of him as foretelling the future, although he was the friend of God.
However, as the messages which the prophets brought from God so often deal with future events, we generally assume that prophets and prophecy deal with the future. We get the true sense of the word in Paul’s advice to the Corinthians4, where he says that the purpose of prophecy is for edification, exhortation and comfort. In the strict sense of the word, Daniel was both a prophet (God’s messenger) and a seer (one who saw visions).
The Signs Of A Prophet
God, through Moses5, told the people that they would know that a man who claimed to be a prophet would be able to prove his Divine authority by giving them a sign—usually a short term prophecy, which, by its early fulfilment, would show that he was indeed speaking God’s word. Thus the Jews6 asked Jesus for a sign, but the only prophecy he would give was the sign of the prophet Jonah, namely, that on the third day he would rise. This prophecy was not given so that they could predict His resurrection, but that, after he had in fact risen, they would be sure that the other prophecies would also ultimately be fulfilled.
This idea suggests to us that sometimes we think a prophecy was not adequately fulfilled, when in fact it was only a token fulfilment. Thus, although Peter7 asserted that the events on the day of Pentecost were in fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy, it is fairly clear that it was very incomplete. We can safely assume, therefore, that the complete fulfilment is yet future. It is possible that some prophecies have a two-fold or even three-fold fulfilment.
The Purpose Of Prophecy
Prophecy was not given so that we can predict the future, and then, when we have been proved right, say to everybody, “I told you so”. Prophecy appears to have been given, for example, as a warning to Israel (or other nations) that misfortune will befall them if they wander away from God’s path ; and, on the other hand, that they will be blessed if they adhere to it. Deuteronomy 28 is an example of both of these. Sometimes prophecy is given as a short term encouragement : such are the various prophecies of Ezekiel, foretelling the doom of Israel’s oppressors—Egypt, Ed om, Moab, Tyre, etc. ; or it may be a short term warning to Israel, followed by hope—such as the forecast that Israel would be 70 years in captivity in Babylon8.
Then there are the long-range prophecies not yet fulfilled, such as the future Kingdom which gives the ultimate hope to us all. We look back at the short-range prophecies about Egypt, Babylon, etc., and so we have will also be fulfilled. We will later look at the assurance that the long-range forecasts will also be fulfiled. We will later look at the long-range forecasts and see that they all form part of a general pattern in which God has revealed his programme in more or less detail.
It seems to the writer that these details are given us (as we have already said), not so that we can predict the future, but rather so that, from time to time, we can look back and realize that another step has been fulfilled, and that God’s plan is definitely making progress.
Some years ago, the writer and others climbed a high mountain, and, as we climbed, looking forward we could not see the top for the trees ; but every now and then we would pause for breath, turn around and look back. We could then estimate how high we had come, and so have a very rough idea of how far we had to go.
Unfortunately, brethren are not content to look back and be satisfied that prophecy has been fulfilled in our time. Wishful thinking causes us to guess the meaning of prophecies—especially symbolic ones—yet unfulfilled, and do some prophesying of our own. Christadelphian history includes a long line of brethren who have confidently predicted the future, much to the disappointment of their followers when time proved them wrong. The present writer learnt his lesson forty-five years ago, when, in a burst of enthusiasm, he let his imagination go in a then current ecclesial magazine. Alas! time proved him a “false prophet”
There have been brethren in the past who have been so sure of their calculations that, when they have been proved false, they have accused the Bible of being wrong, and, losing faith have left the Truth, not realizing that it was their interpretation, not the Scripture, that was wrong. Calculation of dates is always hazardous. First, our knowledge of ancient history does not enable us to fix dates of historic events accurately, and, secondly, we can never be sure what really will happen at the end of the specified period.
Brethren, let us be content to anticipate the future along well established lines, but be watchful for the occasions when time reveals a fulfilment of something on unexpected lines. Who would have predicted that Britain would have deserted Israel in 1948 ? Yet how spectacular was the result !
“Day For A Year”
Let us now look at some of the accepted interpretations of prophetic symbols.
The spies of Israel were 40 days exploring the land, and God sentenced the people to wander in the wilderness forty years, “each day for a year”9.
In Ezekiel Chapter 4 the prophet was told to lie on his left side for 390 days for the iniquity of Israel and on his right side 40 days for the iniquity of Judah. God said (v. 6.), “I have appointed each day for a year”. Dr. Thomas, in Elpis Israel (Chronology Appendix), explains this as 430 years from the foundation of Solomon’s Temple to its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. He gives the dates as BC 1022 and BC 592 ; but we need not concern ourselves with the exact dates : we are interested primarily in the principle which is established.
So also Daniel10 was told that 70 weeks would elapse from the commandment to restore Jerusalem at the end of the Babylonian captivity to the time when the Messiah will be “cut off”. Without worrying about the details, we can say that 490 years from the end of the captivity takes us to the period when the Messiah was crucified.
There is, of course, the difficulty of being sure whether a prophetic period is literal, or to be interpreted on the day-for-a-year principle, but, while we have seen some doubtful cases, we have also seen some striking successes.
Dr. Thomas, in Elpis Israel, identified the 42 months (1 260 days)11 as extending from AD 538, when Emperor Justinian estblished the Bishop of Rome as the head of the churches, to 1793, the period of the French Revolution. He also recognized 608 AD as the date when the power of the Pope was firmly established by the Emperor Phocas, and, therefore, he anticipated its end in 1868. His speculations as to what would happen in 1868 were incorrect ; nevertheless, we, looking back, recognize 1868 as a milestone fulfilment of prophecy ,for it was then that the Italian revolutionaries deprived the Pope of his estates and severely restricted his political power.
“Times”
In addition to simple days, or weeks, we have periods referred to as “times”. Here we have some difficulty. The generally accepted interpretation is that a time was 360 days. It is difficult to say how long a ‘year’ is. Our year of 365 1/4 days is relatively modern. The Jewish year was based on 12 months, i.e the period from one new moon to the next, which is about 29* days. Hence the year was about 354 days ; to make this keep pace with the sun, it was necessary to add an additional month every now and then, so that a Jewish year was hardly a suitable prophetic period.
Without elaborating on the reasons why 360 days was a “time” we note that seven “times” would be 2520 days. Forty-two months”, each of 30 days, would be 1260 days, or half of seven “times”.
In Leviticus 26, Israel were warned that for their wickedness they would be punished “seven times”, which is sometimes taken to mean 2520 years. Grattan Guiness, who wrote “Light for the Last Days” and the “Approaching End of the Age” 80 years ago, noting that Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar about 602 or 603 BC, counted forward 2520 years and suggested that Jerusalem might be freed about 1917 AD, when, as we know it was, in fact, taken by Allenby.
Referring again to the problem of whether the “days” are literal days or “years” :—usually we will find that literal days give too short a period and cannot be correct. If we accept the idea that the days are literal, we also adopt a system of interpretation which leads to the conclusion that they were all fulfilled many years ago, in which case they do not help us much, or else they have not started yet ; in which case the nature of the events which will mark both the beginning and end become matters for, speculation lacking in certainty.
Lunar Or Solar ?
Grattan Guiness12, and many of our brethren, have wondered whether the ‘year” for which the day stands is indeed 360 days, or is it 365 1/4, or is it a shorter period of 12 lunar months each 294 days : that is, 354 of our years ? Applying these to 1260 “days”, we have the choice of 1241, 1260, and 1222 of our years. The problems involved are somewhat too difficult for the beginner, so we will leave them aside.
Let us accept the “Day for Year” principle as having been established, before we proceed to other “principles”.
1—Exodus 7. 1
2—Numbers 11. 25
3—Genesis 20. 7
4-1 Corinthians 14. 3-4
5—Deut. 18. 21-22
6—Matt. 12. 38
7—Acts 2. 16
8—Jeremiah 25. 11
9—Num. 14. 34
10—Dan. 9. 24-26
11—Rev. 11. 2
12—”Approaching End of Age”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One