The Importance Of Knowing Prophecy

Q

While the prophets were 100% accurate when predicting the Messiah’s first advent and the situations surrounding it, the people of the day were more than likely thinking that the event and the Man and the circumstances were not much like they were described to be by the saints of old. By the same token, why are we to believe that the circumstances surrounding the second advent are going to be anything different?

A

You say the people likely thought things were not much like the prophets described. How could that be? In Psalm 22 David described a crucifixion hundreds of years before it was used as a method of execution including what it feels like, the words Jesus spoke from the cross, and what the soldiers did with His clothing. In Isaiah 53 His life and death were described in detail right down to His burial place. In Micah 5:2 the place of His birth was revealed. In Daniel 9:24-26 the day of His execution was given. In Zechariah 9:9 His entry into Jerusalem was described, and Zechariah 11:12-13 tells us how much the priests paid for His betrayal and who the money ultimately went to. There are many more examples, and all of them were part of the public record hundreds of years before the fact.

The problem was not that events were perceived as being different from what the prophets described. The problem was that people no longer believed in the prophecies, didn’t know what they said, and therefore didn’t know what to look for. In that sense, the 2nd Coming will be the same. The prophets have described in detail how it will happen, but the world no longer believes in the prophecies, doesn’t know what they say, and won’t know what to look for.