Issues in Bible Prophecy: Timing and Historical Context
Introduction This is the first in a series of posts on Bible prophecy. In particular, prophecies that are widely thought to refer to the last days (or the end times). In this first post, we’ll consider two issues that are closely related to each other. These are timing and historical context. Timing If we want to understand the prophecies of the Bible correctly, we must pay close attention to the “time texts.” The prophecies of the Bible often contain information indicating when the prophecy in question will be fulfilled. They don’t always do this, of course. For instance, the famous prophecy of Micah concerning the birth of Messiah: But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. ( Micah 5:2) There is no indication in the verse itself, or in the surrounding context as to w...