Bible prophecy, what about soon don't we understand?
Do the soon time statements of Bible prophecy mean anything or are they to be ignored?
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What about soon don't we understand? When we read the prophets of the Old Testament and they said something was soon to happen or about to occur, we understand these words. We understand that the prophet back then was writing to people back then about events that were soon to occur back then. Our back then hindsight is 20/20. No problem. However, when we come to the New Testament, all of a sudden we are taught that soon or any other time statement can mean 2000 years and more. It is amazing that the God who inspired the Old Testament writers knew what soon meant but now the same God who has also inspired the New Testament writers supposedly no longer understands the meaning of the word soon. Now, according to many theologians, the soon to the first century writers and the soon of the first century readers now means at least 2000 years and counting. They attempt to stretch out the word soon to mean millenniums in order to fit their futuristic doctrines. This is so unfortunate! I was recently asked by a very religious person to do a task soon. I asked him if 2000 years would do. I just received a frown, as he understood exactly what I meant. Soon means to us exactly what soon meant to the first century writers and readers. It was something imminent and certainly within their lifetime. Anything that was not within their lifetime was not soon to them. It is easy to understand the Bible if we will but observe its time statements. If the time statements do not agree with our doctrines, then is it not better to change our doctrines rather than to attempt to change the meaning of God's Word? Words such as soon, 'at hand', 'must shortly take place', 'this generation', and many others were describing events that were to take place during the lifetimes of the first century readers. What was soon for them is now long past history for us. Our hindsight of the New Testament can also be 20/20. God's Old Testament began with the record of the fall of mankind from his presence. God's New Testament ended with the record of the restoration of mankind back to his presence. This was accomplished through the sacrifice of Christ and his completed work of salvation in the first century. We are so blessed today because Christ completed his work, he did not fail. We can have salvation today only if Christ completed his work. He said, during his lifetime, that he would bring about all these events soon, did he? Gene Fadeley
Bible prophecy, what about soon don't we understand? Many Prophecy Links |
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