All in Good Time

by Maurice Pujol
Published July 20, 2006

Again a message came to me from the LORD: “Son of man, what is that proverb they quote in Israel: `Time passes, making a liar of every prophet'? Give the people this message from the Sovereign LORD: I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it. Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: `The time has come for every prophecy to be fulfilled! (Ezekiel 12:21-23)

Several years ago, I was a participant in a Bible study on the Book of Revelation, the third time in my life I had gone through a structured study of this final book in the Bible.

We had a well-balanced group in the study, about an equal number of men and women, believers at a variety of levels in their faith. As we started the study, chapter by chapter, the discussions were lively and interesting, the insights offered sometimes quite profound.

But then we got to the sticky part. You know, all that stuff about seals being broken on a scroll and God’s wrath being poured out on the earth. We hadn’t really scratched the surface of the prophecies about judgment; there were still trumpets and bowls to come later in the study. Just the mere mention of “bad” things to happen to mankind for its sins cost us a member of the class.

The lady who left us said she had heard enough of that malarkey about the end of the world. She pointed out, in her parting comments, that people in every age predicted doom and gloom whenever things looked bad and that all these so-called prophecies never came true.

Of course, there is a basic human tendency to avoid bad news, especially when the news is about eternal things, such as death, judgment and hell. Most people would prefer not to think about these topics, while some prefer never to think beyond the world they can see, feel, hear, taste and touch.

In addition, there have been false prophecies and mistaken predictions made over the centuries, sometimes by well meaning people, often by charlatans seeking to benefit in some way. One group was left waiting on a mountaintop for the return of Jesus. Many others have been disappointed over the wrong predictions made throughout history.

The prophet Ezekiel lived at a particularly tumultuous time in Israel’s history. The Northern Kingdom had fallen to the Assyrians long before, and the new world power, Babylonia, was taking over. Ezekiel was sent into exile in Babylon with an early wave of Judean captives. He issued his prophecies while Jerusalem was still standing, but Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar was determined to bring it down.

Ezekiel was blessed with visions of what was going to happen in Jerusalem’s near future, and he also issued prophecies that didn’t apply to his era, but to a time in the distant future. That “distant future” is drawing nearer to us every day, as evidenced by world events, especially those in the Middle East. We know this because some of his prophecies applied specifically to the people of Judah, while others did not, especially the great war in chapters 38-39 that may just be unfolding today in that Biblically significant region.

Many Christians today are like the Jews of Ezekiel’s time, either avoiding prophecy or ridiculing those who give it. The lady who walked out of our Bible study is one of those who would say, “Time passes, making a liar of every prophet.”

Believers should neither fear nor avoid the study of prophecy, nor should we dread the fulfilling of it. Studying God’s Word enables us to put current events into a much bigger perspective. Though we may see things imperfectly, God’s own predictions bring today’s headlines into a much sharper focus. We see the larger patterns in seemingly unrelated, or loosely related, events.

Though there is nothing pleasant about war or its attendant deaths, there is a very clear silver lining to the storm clouds now gathering around Israel. It is the sure promise, the certain promise, of Christ’s return. Judgment will fall upon those who reject God, and deliverance will be granted to those who accept Him.

If our truant lady were to read this, she would probably say that today’s wars are just a few among many in the great march of history. They will end, and things will go on as before.

But the Bible tells a different story. God has something to say about that. At some point, in a way and at a time only He will determine, every prophecy will be fulfilled. That’s not a vague statement. It’s clear. It’s precise.

And it’s going to happen.

Viewed 352 times