In this lesson and the next, we look at four ideas about the Bible. These four ideas are important to the premillennial view of "end times". One might almost say that on these four views hang all the premillennial teaching. I call these four ideas:

• Newspaper Bible
• Jigsaw Puzzle Bible
• Second Coming Bible
• Literal Bible

We will look at the first three ideas in this lesson, and the fourth idea will take up all of our next lesson.

Newspaper Bible

Some interpreters of the Bible believe that Bible prophecy and our daily newspapers are both talking about the same events. They say that the major world events reported in our daily newspapers are also predicted in the Bible. "One only has to read a newspaper or listen to a newscast in order to see Bible prophecies being fulfilled" they will say.

To these interpreters, the 20th Century (and now the 21st) is the focus of Bible prophecy. They claim that there have been more prophecies fulfilled in the twentieth century than in any other time.

The Failure of Newspaper Bible Interpretation

When the 20th century still had some decades to go, a paperback "The Late Great Planet Earth" appeared on the bookstands and sold by the millions. The second chapter said...

"The astonishing thing to those of us who have studied the prophetic scriptures is that we are watching the fulfillment of these prophecies in our time. Some of the future events that were predicted hundreds of years ago read like today’s newspaper."
Hal Lindsey, 'The Late Great Planet Earth' 1970

Hal Lindsey’s claim, and his application of scripture to the daily press of his time, proved to be wrong. Things did not turn out anything like Hal said they would. But his claims were not recognised as discredited; they were simply replaced by a new set of interpretations to fit another generation’s newspaper stories.

Before Hal Lindsey there were many other teachers with the same approach, and all had proved to be wrong.

Today, in the 21st century and a new millennium, a similar claim is being made. Only the newspapers and events have changed. Today’s claims too will turn out to be wrong. In the future, people likewise will claim that their daily newscasts are telling the fulfillment of Bible Prophecy, and that the end of the world will come in their time.

The repeated failure of this approach to the Bible should make everyone reject the "newspaper Bible" idea. By now people should have realised that the Bible is not a "newspaper Bible" at all, and people ought to be looking for a more sensible way to interpret prophecy.

The Bible Itself Indicates the Times

The Bible itself indicates the times to which words of the prophets apply.

Matthew 24:44-49 Jesus said that his disciples were witnessing the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy in their time, not we who read our daily newspapers or watch the news on telly.

Matthew 11:13-14 says, "All the prophets and the law prophesied until John". This suggests that the people who heard John would witness the fulfillment of the prophets. The world did not have to wait until the printing presses disgorged our daily newspapers.

Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that God "spoke in times past to the patriarchs through the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son". This suggests that the prophets do not speak to us as they did to the fathers. What they predicted came true in Christ at the appointed time, so their predictions have, in these last days, become proofs of Christ, not expectations about him that only now are beginning to come true.

1Peter 1:9-12 clearly indicates that the prophets' time-focus was the time of Christ and of the first Christians. They were not predicting specific events in our daily newspapers.

Now I know that there are certain prophecies about things that would continually or repeatedly happen from the time of Christ onwards. There are even a very few prophecies about events to occur on the world’s very last day, such as the resurrection of the dead and the judgment of all mankind. However this does not change the basic fact: most of what the prophets have said in the Bible has long ago come to pass, and our daily newspapers are not the place to look. The "newspaper Bible" concept is wrong, and has proven itself wrong over and over again as people in each decade made assertions which the passing of time showed to be mistaken.

Jigsaw Puzzle Bible

Related to this "newspaper" idea of the Bible is the view that scripture is like a jigsaw puzzle. Again Hal lindsey Is representative (same book chapter 4)...

"The prophecies can be pieced together to make a coherent picture, even though the pieces are scattered in small bits throughout the Old and New Testaments."
Hal Lindsey, 'The Late Great Planet Earth' 1970

Notice the assumption that the Bible’s prophetic message is garbled, and we need to unscramble it --with perhaps just a hint that we need to enlist the services of a prophecy guru.

Here a Little, There a Little

To justify this jigsaw puzzle approach to the Bible, premillennialists often quote Isaiah 26:10, "Here a little, there a little..." But this verse does not mean to say God’s revelation is all mixed up, but simply that it is progressive over a long period of history. It has come down to us piece by piece over a long period of history. But the pieces were not jumbled. The picture unfolded much as you might unroll a poster, or watch an image loading on a web page. The picture is revealed bit by bit but forming a coherent image in what is unfolded.

In New Testament times, the unfolding was very far advanced. Paul claimed that he and his fellow apostles understood by clear revelation the mystery which was not fully understood by previous generations (Eph 3:5). Even if we conceded that the Old Testament prophecies were given as a jigsaw puzzle, then we would still have to say that in the New Testament they became a completely revealed and put-together picture.

So we do not need latter day teachers to assemble the picture for us. The New Testament writers did it long ago.

Second Coming Bible

A third aspect of premillennial interpretation is the claim that the Bible dwells more on Christ’s second coming than on his first coming.

To quote the representative Hal Lindsey again (Same book chapter 13)...

"One out of every twenty-five verses in the New Testament is related to the second coming of Christ, and the survival of mankind as well as the fulfillment of hundreds of unconditional promises especially made to the unbelieving remnant of the Jewish race are dependent an the second coming of Christ to this earth . As a matter of fact in the Old Testament there were more than 300 prophecies regarding Christ’s first coming (all of which were literally fulfilled) but more than 500 relating to His second coming. Many of these two different themes of prophecy were disclosed in the same sentence."
Hal Lindsey, 'The Late Great Planet Earth' 1970

New Testament Writers Apply Most Old Testament Prophecies to Christ’s First Coming

New Testament writers are prophecy gurus whom we can trust. They take an opposite approach to the above. The New Testament writers interpret most Old Testament prophecies as applicable to Christ’s first coming, and, in most cases, do not extend their interpretations to the second coming.

Note these two examples...

Acts 4:26-31 quotes Psalm 2:2. "Why are the nations in an uproar and the people devising vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers gathered together against the Lord and his Anointed." This was applied to the persecution of Jesus when he came the first time, not to a future war or the time of his second coming.

Acts 2:30-36, quotes Peter referring to 2nd Samuel 7:12-14. God tells David, "I will raise up your descendant after you, and establish the throne of his kingdom for ever." Peter applied this promise to Christ’s resurrection and ascension after his first coming. Peter even claims that David himself "being a prophet looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ". Peter did not say that the world must wait for this prophecy’s fulfillment until a future millennium after Christ’s second coming.

It’s true that New Testament writers do apply some Old Testament prophecies to the second coming of Christ. For example Acts 24:14-15; 1Co 15:54-55; 2Pet 3:2-4; Heb 10:37. But only some, not most. In the New Testament, the application of Old Testament prophecy is weighted heavily toward the first coming of Christ, to the time of his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, not to the time of his second advent.

Scripture Chain

How New Testament Writers Apply Old Testament Prophecies

To apply Old Testament prophecies correctly, we should go first to the New Testament writers, and see how they interpret prophecy for us. We should regard the prophecies they quote as the core prophecies, and use their method of interpretation as a guide or paradigm for understanding other prophecies. Study the examples below.

The above scripture chain is by no means complete. There are many other places where New Testament writers apply Old Testament scriptures including key prophecies. Yet modern prophecy gurus seem to ignore this treasure trove of the Bible’s own interpretation of itself. The Book of Hebrews alone is rich with examples.

Footnote (Year 2000)

During the year 2000, just months before the new millennium began, I wrote this:

"In this year 2000, we watch the second millenium pass and give way to a new millenium. 2000 is really just a number on the calendar, and not very accurate at that. However the roundness of the figure has captured people’s imagination. It has not only seriously depleted the world’s supply of fireworks, but has given renewed impetus to the very old idea that prophecy is being fulfilled in our times and the end is near. The truth is that the Lord is no more likely to come in the year 2000 than he is in any other year. To him a thousand years is as one day. Let’s just be ready for him anytime."

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