The art of allusion and the end of the age

Acknowledging differing interpretations of the end times

Peter Sammons reviews ‘Understanding Revelation’ by Paul Langham (CPI, 2005)

Clifford Denton draws his series to a close by offering his own perspective on 'the Rapture' and other hotly anticipated end times events.

Having written this short series with the primary purpose of encouraging each of us to study the end time scriptures for ourselves, individually and in groups, it would be unwise for me now to promote my own interpretations of these passages using details gleaned from my own studies.

Nevertheless, a few further ideas are worth sharing to bring the series to a conclusion and to illustrate the method of studying we have endorsed through it.

The Overall Framework is Vital

The end time scriptures should be read in the context of the whole of Scripture. God is completing his covenant plan – and so the end of time should be seen in the context of the whole of time. When we realise this, and no longer dip into the end time scriptures in isolation, not only will they become clearer but we will also be less prone to error caused by taking passages out of context.

The path to the future is a walk with the Holy Spirit, during which details previously obscured to us are made clearer as they become more relevant. Nevertheless, there are principles we can study – broader themes in which the detailed events of the end are embedded - which reassure us, protect us against deception and help us to prepare.

These include principles of covenant, God's plans and promises for Israel, the Feasts of the Lord, types and shadows of world history (especially the prominent empires of Bible times) and the centrality of Jesus. These are the main threads of the tapestry into which all time, including the end times, is set.

The end of time should be seen in the context of the whole of time – end time scriptures should not be dipped into in isolation.

From Shadows to Fulfilment

For example, the Feasts of the Lord are shadows of the main events of covenant history. Year after year, Israel was to observe these Feasts as a preparation for what was to come. The seven Feasts are Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Shavuot (Pentecost), Rosh HaShannah (Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Tabernacles).

We know that these Feasts are shadows of covenant history because of the way the first four were fulfilled by Jesus. Passover and Unleavened Bread pointed to his sacrificial death. Jesus was the Firstfuit of those being saved and the giving of his Holy Spirit fulfilled Pentecost.

Many scriptures in the Old Testament (Tanach) shed further light on how God begins with types and shadows and ends with fulfilment at the right time. Passover relates to the types and shadows of Israel's experience in Egypt and deliverance under Moses. Moses becomes a type and shadow of Jesus. Pentecost relates to the giving of the Law at Sinai and gives us a framework for understanding the relationship between Torah and the fulfilment of the New Covenant in the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Yet to Come

The last three Feasts are shadows pointing to Jesus' return. If many Jews did not recognise his fulfilment of the earlier Feasts, how much more must we take seriously the entirety of Scripture in preparation for his return? Indeed, his return is the central event of end time scriptures, completing God's chief aim throughout all history – the reversal of the Fall.

It has taken many centuries for this plan to be outworked. It is easy to get lost in the details of everyday life and forget this priority during the short span of our individual lives. All of history, especially the history of Israel, with so many types and shadows to teach us, is a preparation for the coming Kingdom.

The Feasts of the Lord are shadows of the main events of covenant history – the first four were fulfilled by Jesus.

God's Purposes for the Church...and Israel

For 2,000 years, a prominent emphasis has been the spread of the Gospel to the entire world. So prominent has this been, that it is sometimes mistakenly thought that God's purpose for the Christian Church in the Gentile world is the only focus of the end times. Some Christian theologies have taken the New Testament out of context of the Old Testament, neglecting God's continuing purposes for Israel and his bringing about of the One New Man of Ephesians 2.

Could the detaching of our concept of 'the Church' from the full picture of God's purposes be the reason for so much anticipation by many Christians for 'the Rapture'? Many are expecting to be taken, soon, out of these times. But is there not a journey to go yet which will be for further refining and for opportunities for witness in a world gravitating toward the time of a final one world system?

For this reason, I would like to make a brief comment on my own view of the times of tribulation and the timing for God's intervention on behalf of his own people.

Rapture?

I prefer not to use the term rapture. For one thing, different Christians mean different things by it. For another, though I understand the reason for the choice of the word rapture, it is not a biblical term.

The closest we can get in biblical terms to studying what this event may look like is the protection of the Israelites in Goshen during the plagues of Egypt, the protection from the angel of death at the first Passover and the protection of Noah's family at the Flood when God judged the entire world. Such comparisons illustrate the extreme circumstances that we expect the world to reach prior to the return of Jesus, and the time when we will need special protection when God's judgments begin to fall on the world.

All of history, especially the history of Israel, is a preparation for the coming Kingdom.

Scripture clearly indicates that the world will reach a point when some will be taken and some left (the event of Matthew 24:40-41). This is emphasised in a different way by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (the trumpet call and Jesus' disciples being caught up in the clouds, meeting the Lord in the air).

The nature and timing of this event must be considered with caution as the future unfolds. If we see this event outside of the principle of the One New Man of disciples from both Jewish and Gentile backgrounds, I believe an error is likely, especially the idea that 'the Church' will be 'raptured' to leave God to deal with the Jews.

My personal view is that there will be a distinction between the difficult days of the Anti-Christ (the Great Tribulation, described in the earlier chapters of Revelation) and the time of woes such as fell on Egypt (the bowls of judgment) beginning from Revelation 15. This is because of the "Immediately after" of Matthew 24:29, which leads me to consider the events described after this verse as fitting after the difficult days of the Anti-Christ.

My view is that we will need to persevere through the days of the Anti-Christ (called the Great Tribulation) and then expect God's intervention when he protects us from the days of wrath, taking us to a place of safety.

Jesus warned us not to listen to deceiving words about his coming so we must be careful what we listen to in these days, especially when interpreting the times prior to his return. Paul also warned about this when he wrote to the Thessalonians. He said that we must expect a great falling away prior to Jesus returning for his people and establishing his rule on earth (2 Thess 2).

Many Christians overly anticipate 'the Rapture' – have we detached our concept of 'the Church' from the full picture of God's purposes?

How We Read Scripture Determines How We Live

The way we read the end time scriptures influences the way we prepare for the days ahead and live our lives today. This is still an era for witness, for the strengthening of God's people through days of trial on the earth, for pure living, for watching and praying.

Too early an expectation of deliverance from the world system will lead us to passivity, unreality and poor preparation, possibly through lack of vigilance. When our views of a soon-to-come rapture remain unfulfilled, we may find ourselves more like the foolish virgins than the wise ones, giving up on active watching and waiting because we feel confused or let down.

144,000 from the Tribes of Israel

My own searching of the scriptures has also led me to ask questions about the 144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14, which are puzzling until one is given some keys of understanding. It is quite possible to resist the ideas of the Jehovah's Witnesses but still be left with a mystery! Are these literal numbers or figurative? Why is Israel singled out from the other 'tribes' of the world?

Surely God is reminding us that the Tribes of Israel will be retained in their pure (virgin) state, identifiable from the rest of the world, as a sign of God's faithfulness to his Covenant¹ - but what of the 144,000? With that question at the back of my mind I thought I had perceived a clue when I read about the 100,000 lambs that Mesha, King of Moab, gave to Jehoram (2 Kings 3:4). That is a large number of lambs, if taken literally, for a tribal King in Moab to give regularly to the King of Israel. However, a study of the Hebrew for one thousand, the word eleph shows that this can be a literal number or a large number of a more general kind – a word for a large group such as a flock.

This makes more sense - not 100,000 lambs, but 100 large flocks. If we take the English of Revelation 7 back through the Greek from which it came back again to the Hebrew foundations, could this not be true for Israel too, that the 12,000 of each tribe are 12 large groups from each tribe (clans, say)? The picture clarifies if this is so: God will gather Israel as a nation of tribes and clans, just as it was in the old days. Our literal mind-set finds such figurative language hard, but this picture is compelling and reasonable.

The way we read the end time scriptures influences the way we prepare for the days ahead and live our lives today.

Yet the question still lingers at the back of the mind and one comes to another notable parallel. The times of Messiah in Isaiah 9 are likened to the times of Midian's defeat (Isa 9:4-5). This takes us back to Numbers 31, where Moses (a shadow of Messiah) was told to take revenge on Midian for what they did through the seduction of Balaam to cause Israel to intermarry with the Midianites. Such an act had the potential of assimilating Israel into the world. 1,000 warriors from each of Israel's 12 tribes was chosen to administer God's judgment on Midian.

This too echoes into the 12,000 from each tribe mentioned in Revelation 7 and 14, giving yet another emphasis on the imagery used by God. God will choose 12,000 from each of the Tribes of Israel as witnesses to his Covenant faithfulness. This time the victory is not over Midian but over the powers of satan, so that many will be redeemed through the shed blood of Jesus.

Perhaps both the above interpretations will prove true – and perhaps there is still more to see. My point is to illustrate that the whole of Scripture has light to shed on the topic of the end times – indeed, on whichever theme we are studying.

Finally...

If I were to select one final principle to have in mind as we proceed with our studies of the end times it comes from the very last chapter of the Book of Isaiah. In the context of proclamations concerning the end times, God said:

...on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word. (Isa 66:2)

The days we are entering will fulfil the final prophecies of the Bible. It is not a time for the headstrong. Let us listen to one another as we walk with the Lord, let us watch and pray according to Jesus' command, and let us test everything - being students of the whole of Scripture (more so than of the books being written by others today). Let us be those who tremble at his word.

Notes

1 There is a puzzle about the fact that Dan is not mentioned. I am still pondering on this, but it may be related to the situation right back in the days of the Judges, when the Tribe of Dan turned to idolatry (Judg 18) and so became treated by God like other idolatrous nations. This does not mean that the descendants of Dan are completely lost, but that they will hear the Gospel from a position of being mixed among the peoples of the world. Of course there may be other things as yet unseen that will shed light on this - or perhaps we must simply leave it in God's hands.