Are There Bible Prophecies about Contemporary Events?

"Gaza will writhe in agony.”

“Gaza shall be abandoned.”

These are two ominous prophecies about Gaza found in the Old Testament (in Zechariah 9:5 and Zephaniah 2:4). Some claim that what has happened in Gaza over the past ten years, or last year, was a fulfillment of those prophecies.

But those who make such claims disregard what else is found in those two verses. Zechariah 9:5 also says, “Ashkelon won’t be inhabited.” And Zephaniah 2:4 declares, “. . . and Ashkelon [will certainly be] destroyed.”

As I wrote in my previous blog article, on the way to the Gaza Strip last month I passed through the outskirts of Ashkelon. While there was some rather minimal damage from Hamas-fired rockets last summer, it still seems to be a thriving city. Here is a picture of Ashkelon used by Reuters this month:

The prophecies mentioned above were fulfilled long, long ago. It is not in the least legitimate to see the destruction of modern Gaza as fulfillment of Biblical prophecies—or as military action that should be supported by the U.S.

Those who claim that biblical prophecies are being fulfilled at the present time are very selective in the verses they use and they tend to completely ignore the historical context of when and where the words were first spoken or written.

Earlier this month a friend sent me an email with the words “The Most Disturbing Documentary of 2015” on the subject line. It was a link to a video, which you can access here. (The transcript and some pictures are found at SurviveTheEndDays.com/tl/.)

The “documentary” begins with these words:

. . . Obama and the leaders of our church have a secret sinister pact to hide from the public the most terrible warning encrypted inside our Holy Bible . . . . because according to the final chapters of the Bible Obama will not finish his second term. He is the 44^th and last President of the US.

Based on Daniel 11:36-40, the video asserts, “Vladimir Putin is undoubtedly the king of the north that will guide Russia in the end times.” Further, President Obama, “was born either in Hawaii or Kenya,” south of Jerusalem. That and other clues “prove that Obama is the king of the south as the prophecies foretold.” And these two kings will fight it out before January 2017.

But just as I predicted that the world was not going to end in May 2011 (see here), I now predict that the prophecy about the demise of the U.S. before the next presidential Inauguration Day is mistaken. (If I am wrong, send me an email any time after Jan. 20, 2017.)

Well, this video/transcript and many similar Bible prophesies that can be found on Internet might well be the work of what some people might call the “crazies.” But some Christian authors and politicians who are more “mainstream” hold similar views.

Joel Rosenberg, a New York Times bestselling author of ten novels (whom I referred to in the 5/2011 article), has long linked Iran to end-of-the-world prophecies. It is noteworthy that he has influenced some national politicians. In March of last year Rosenberg and Rick Santorum co-authored a piece about Iran for CNN.com.

Tony Perkins, head of Family Research Council and an ardent supporter of Israel, has announced that FRC will be conducting a tour of Israel this fall, and it will include Rosenberg, Santorum, and Bobby Jindal.

But here is a word to the wise: beware of linking Biblical prophecies to contemporary events.

Is Tomorrow (May 21) Judgment Day?

Judgment Day  May 21 was the emblazoned message on the billboard I saw the other day driving down I-70. Such pronouncements have appeared on billboards and elsewhere across the country for several months now.

Harold Camping (b. 1921), president of Family Radio, is the main one who has caused the stir (in some circles) about May 21 being Judgment Day. According to his interpretation of the Bible, the Rapture will also start tomorrow, which will be the beginning of five months of tribulation that will culminate with the End of the World on October 21.

Here is my prediction: Judgment Day (and the Rapture) will not be tomorrow (May 21). By Sunday morning (May 22) I guess we will know which prediction was correct.

Camping is just the latest in a long line of Christians who have (foolishly) set dates for the end times on the basis of “biblical prophecy.” Obviously, those who have predicted the end for past dates have all been wrong. And I am predicting that will be the case with Camping’s 5/21/11 prediction also.

There are others who talk about this being the end times, but don’t set a date. Still, they think the end is definitely near. One such person is Joel C. Rosenberg (b. 1967), who is a bestselling author of six novels about terrorism and how it relates to Bible prophecy. One of those books, The Ezekiel Option, was the 2006 Christian Book Award winner for fiction.

Recently I was talking with an intelligent Christian who was reading Rosenberg’s latest book, The Twelfth Imam (Oct. 2010). She had been impressed with how a number of Rosenberg’s predictions have come true, and she seemed to think that he was probably right in saying we are now living in the end times. She mentioned that his predictions were based partly on Ezekiel.

“He probably referred to Gog and Magog,” I said, not having read any of Rosenberg’s books or his website. She said, “Yes, I had never heard of that before!” But, as I told her, I heard revival preachers talking about Gog and Magog in the 1950s. They declared that the prophecy in Ezekiel 38-39 was a clear reference to Russia (the Soviet Union). Thus, it was quite certain, they proclaimed, that the end of the world was at hand.

But, alas, the Cold War ended, the Soviet Union broke up, and here it is nearly sixty years later and the end has not yet come. So Gog and Magog had to be reinterpreted, just as they have been for more than two millennia. Some early Christians thought “Gog from the country of Magog” surely referred to someone in the Roman Empire. They were wrong. Next, and for a long time, Magog was identified with the Goths. That and subsequent identifications also proved to be erroneous.

Here’s the advice I gave to the Christian woman I was talking with about Rosenberg: whenever you hear someone prophesying the imminent end of the world on the basis of Bible prophecy, assume they are wrong. They all have been up until now, and there is no good reason to think that current prophecies will be any more accurate.

So, go ahead and make your weekend plans. Judgment Day is not going to be tomorrow, and we Christians have more important things to do than to become entangled in spurious prophecies.