Monday 15 September 2014

Old Testament Prophecies About Israel

I'm unconvinced that a lot of Bible-prophecies about Israel remain unfulfilled.

There are at least three problems I see with the view that Bible-prophecies concerning Israel are still to be fulfilled.

One, if they are still to be fulfilled in future, then it means Israel and the nations must revert back to Moses' ritual ceremonies in future, including blood sacrifices - because those things are a theme of the prophecies. But God isn't interested in returning to shadows since Christ already came.

Two, if the prophecies are future, then it muddles up the order of events. The prophecies said Israel would be besieged, destroyed, Jews would be deported all around the world, then the Gospel will be preached to all nations, then the end will come. If the parts about Israel are still future, then so is the preaching of the Gospel to the nations. It means the Church would still have to be here, and it also means Christ's second coming would still be a long way off, even after those events take place in Israel.

Thirdly, if the prophecies are still future, then we lose our case for asserting that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah - because according to the prophecies, Messiah was to come at a time when the prophecies concerning Israel had also come true.

My understanding of the Apostles' doctrine is that with the exception of the general resurrection of the dead, which we are still looking forward to, they saw Old Testament Prophecy as fulfilled. That was their Gospel.

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