Expert: Tom Smith - 12/22/2008

Question
Tom
I have been interested in bible prophecy,speciifucally the end days,since the 70's when I became a fan of Ted Armstrong.
Its now almost 40 years later,I am watching Jack Van Impe,and it just occurred to me that these guys are just recycling the same stuff.
European union/antichrist/russis-rus china invasion bla bla bla
I was hopeing for Jesus to come but he is taking a long time.The signs are there but they havent changed for many years. Now I am getting suspicious the whole thing is just a buisness.
Your comments respectfully appreciated.
BTW I would appreciate your own thoughts and not falling back quoting scripture.
Merry Christmas,
Gordie.

Answer
Gordie,

Prophecy is an interesting topic, but it is one that we must be very carefully to study carefully to avoid getting off on the wrong tangent.

First, be careful of who the men are who are teaching this - Garner Ted Armstrong was a cult leader who was off base in many areas of doctrine, including many of the basic essentials of Christianity. In fact his doctrines were based upon his father's (Herbert W. Armstrong) false teachings,which were a variant of the British-Israelite heresy. Herbert Armstrong went so far as to claim to have died and come back to live on the third day, and to have claimed the he would not die until Jesus returned. Clearly he was both a false teacher and a false prophet. Another cult which teaches a lot about prophecy, and which has come out with many false prophecies over the decades is the Watchtower Society (Jehovah's witnesses).

Jack Van Impe looks to the pope as a spiritual teacher and leader, so once again we have a man looking to a man who teaches extra-Biblical and non-Biblical doctrines, therefore his teachings can be discounted or least be treated with caution.

There are many others also, men who claim to be prophets but whose prophecies have been proven false. A major source of false prophets is what is called the New Apostolic Reformation led by C. peter Wagner. This site is a good source of information regarding this movement:

http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/newapostolic.html

So there are indeed many false prophets, and no doubt for some it is a source of income. I cannot say if these men are deceived, or just in it for the money - that is for God to judge, but what we do know is what they teach is not Biblical.

There are others who teachings are sound, and whose teaching on Biblical prophecy is sound but who failed to note the Biblical warning about trying to set dates:

Matt 24:36
36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
NKJV

And thus, though they may have reflected well what scripture says about the last days, their timing was off. Does that mean that they are false prophets? Typically no, because the ones that I am thinking of did not claim that their dates were prophetic revelation from God, but rather something that they had guesstimated from the signs.

However we do know when we are close:

Matt 24:32-35
32 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near--at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
NKJV

Contrary to your request, I did indeed quote scripture. If you ask me to answer a question regarding Christianity, then the Bible is our standard. The problem with many of the men who you have concerns about is that they went to extra-Biblical sources rather than remaining grounded in the word of God.

Does the fact that many men missed the mark mean that we should ignore or discount Biblical prophecy? Absolutely not. We do know that the last days are close because so many signs are appearing. One which is most significant was the re-establishment of the state of Israel and the calling back of Jews from around the world to return Israel.

So the message is that if Biblical prophecy is an area that you wish to study, then take the time to study the prophecy found in the Bible. Using sound Bible teachers to help guide you is a good idea, but be careful to use discernment. One good source that i can recommend is Jacob Prasch (http://www.moriel.org), and you may also find some material to interest you on the Last Days Bible Conference website at http://ldbc.ca

I hope that this helps

Tom
http://discern.ca