Interpreting Prophecy Correctly

Biblegems # 280

Question: Zechariah 14:4 says that “the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west”. Is this to be understood literally, or is there a more symbolic meaning intended?

Using Zechariah 14:4, here are four basic principles for interpreting prophecy correctly:

Context

The immediate context, Zechariah 14:1-10, places the mountain-splitting event amidst other “Day of the Lord” events (v.1), including: Jerusalem overrun by “all the nations,” (vv. 1-2); half of Jerusalem’s survivors taken into exile (v. 3); the LORD appearing and “all the holy ones with him” to attack the nations formed against Israel (vv. 1, 3, 5); the LORD descending on the Mount of Olives, causing the mountain to “split in two from east to west” (v.4). Jewish survivors left in Jerusalem escape the city through the valley created by the earthquake (v.5). A bright, warm light accompanies the LORD’s appearing, continuing day and night (v. 6). A new river will flow east and west from Jerusalem’s greatly elevated mountain, the surrounding region leveled like the Arabah wilderness (vv.8, 10). The Lord will reign from Jerusalem as king over the entire earth (v.9).

The context describes very specific future events in a very specific timeline intended be understood at face value, not symbolically.

Language

The fundamental rule of interpretation, prophetic or not, is to take Scripture literally (at face value, straightforward) unless the text itself dictates otherwise. Key words, such as “like”, or “as” can indicate comparison or metaphor. To interpret Zechariah 14:4 symbolically it needs to be worded something like this:

“…the Mount of Olives will shake [as if it were about to] be split in two from east to west…”

Instead, the language is precise and definitive, indicating these events are to be understood at face value, not symbolically.

Consistency

Consistency in interpretation means we do not have the liberty to pick and choose which details we think should be symbolic, exaggeration, or literal. No matter how extreme or how scientifically unlikely the mountain-splitting earthquake might seem to us, either we take the entire passage as literal, or not at all. Consistency demands one or the other.

Scripture Interprets Scripture

In the book of Acts, Jesus gathered His disciples one last time on the Mount of Olives to give them final instructions (Acts 1:12). But He did more than that.

         Acts 1:9-11  After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Jesus ascended to heaven visibly and physically from the Mount of Olives; and He will descend to earth in power and great glory, visibly and physically (Matt. 24:30), with all His holy ones (1Thess. 3:13), upon the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12), as the Scripture foretold in Zechariah 14:4. Jesus’ ascension verifies the literal interpretation of Zechariah 14:4 and its entire context.

Will There Be Two Raptures?

Biblegems #226

Question: I have heard that some think there will be two raptures, a pre-tribulation & a post-tribulation. What is your understanding of that?

There will be only one Rapture of the Church. Here’s why.

What the Rapture Is

The Rapture refers to an event the Bible speaks of where the followers of Jesus, dead and alive, will be “caught up” to “meet the Lord in the air,” and from then on “be with the Lord forever” (1Thess. 4:17). That is the moment when, “in the twinkling of an eye,” we will be transformed and receive our glorified, resurrection bodies (1Cor. 15:52).

When The Rapture Takes Place

The two passages referred to above, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, contain the key information about the timing of the Rapture that the rest of Scripture agrees with.

• The Rapture Takes Place At Jesus’ Return (i.e., the Second Coming):

         1Thess. 4:14 God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.  

In other words, when Jesus Returns He will be accompanied by His followers who have already died and gone to heaven. At the same time, Jesus’ followers who are still alive on the earth at His Return will be “caught up together with them in the clouds (i.e., ‘raptured’) to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess 4:17).

• The Rapture and Second Coming take place at “the last trumpet:”

         1Thess. 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

The Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus are inseparable. They are each part of the same event, and that event occurs only once, at “the last trumpet:”  

1Cor. 15:51b-52 …we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 

This “last trumpet” is mentioned in both passages as a key to the timing of the Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus. It refers to the Old Testament prophecies in which a warning is given to the peoples of the earth that the Lord is about to pour out His wrath. The “last trumpet” announces “the Day of the Lord” the prophets foretold:

         Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming.

Both 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians place the Rapture and Second Coming “at the last trumpet” (1Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16). Since there is only one “last trumpet,” there is also only one Second Coming and only one Rapture.

And here is the really good news in all of this: those who are “caught up” to meet the Lord in the at His Second Coming will not experience the judgment of God’s wrath on the Day of the Lord.

         1Thes. 5:9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The “Shortened” Last Days, Part 2

Biblegems #220

Question: If the Bible predicts a 3 1/2 year tribulation then how can Jesus say the days will be shortened? Wouldn't that mean less than 3 1/2 years, thus nullifying the prophecy?

This is a great question, and it helps us dive deeper into God’s revealed Word concerning His timetable for the Lord’s Return. We will see how prophecy is not only fulfilled but also brought into sharper focus. Let’s take a look at the key events concluding The Last Days:

The Last Days conclude with a 7-year period known as Daniel’s 70^th Week (See Dan. 11:36-45; 12:1-2, 11-12). This 7-year period is then divided into three major segments.

Jesus described the first 31/2 years of this 7-year period as “the beginning of birth pains”—or “beginning of sorrows” (KJV)—(Matt. 24:5-8; Rev. 6:1-8). Following this comes “The Great Tribulation” (Matth 24:21). Concluding the third segment of this 7-year period is “the Day of the Lord,” also called the Day of God’s Wrath (Joel 1:15).

Let’s break this down a little more for clarity.

The term “the Day of the Lord” in Scripture always refers to God’s judgment and wrath upon rebellious, unrepentant mankind (Rev. 6:16-17; Is. 2:19). It is never used as a synonym for the Tribulation. It is described in the book of Revelation with the opening of the 7^th seal (Rev. 6:17). The Bible also teaches that a great cosmic upheaval will take place immediately before the Day of the Lord (Joel 2:11, 30-3), at the opening of the 6^th seal (Rev. 6:12-14).

Jesus taught that the Day of the Lord takes place at “the end of the age” (Matt. 24:14)—i.e., with the opening of the 7^th seal—and that the Rapture of the church also takes place at “the end of the age” (Matt. 13:39-40; 28:20). In fact, Jesus taught that the Day of the Lord begins the “same day” the rapture of the Church takes place (Lk. 17:26-30). That places these events in the final days of the 7-year period of Daniel’s 70^th Week.

This is why Paul writes that believers will not experience God’s wrath on the Day of the Lord:

         1Thess. 5:2 …for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. …9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s clear then that the onset of the Day of the Lord takes place somewhere in the final days of the last 31/2 years of Daniel’s 70^th Week. The only thing “shortened,” according to Jesus, is the Great Tribulation itself, not the final 31/2 years of Daniel’s prophecy.

The “Shortened” Last Days

Biblegems #219

Question: What is meant in Matthew 24 where Jesus says “those days will be shortened for the sake of the elect”? Is this a reference to the seasonally shorter days of Autumn / Winter, or something else?

In Jesus’ description of His Return in power and glory in Matthew 24, verse 22 records these words: “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”

If, as the question suggests, these shortened days refer to the annual shortening of days known as the Winter Solstice, wouldn’t that give us an approximate timing of Jesus’ Return in terms of the season?

This is not the case, however. The shorter days of winter, when the North Pole’s tilt away from the sun reaches its peak (23.5 degrees) also puts earth’s southern hemisphere that much closer to the sun. Consequently, the shorter winter days in the north are also the longest summer days in the south. Jesus describes days that are “shortened” simultaneously for the entire planet.

When Jesus says “those days will be shortened,” He is talking about “the Great Tribulation” in the preceding verse:

         Matt. 24:21 For then there will be great distress [i.e. “great tribulation” -KJV], unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

Jesus said this “Great Tribulation” will be triggered by the Antichrist setting up the “abomination that causes desolation” prophesied by Daniel, referring to the prophecy in Dan. 9:27.  

Matt. 24:15 So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand…

According to Daniel 9:24ff., a period of seven years at the end of history as we know it—known as Daniels’s 70^th Week—will conclude with this final 31/2 year period Jesus calls “the Great Tribulation.” Many have incorrectly assumed that the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord are the same thing. That is not the case. The Tribulation decribes the wrath of the Antichrist against God and the Church. The Day of the Lord is the wrath of God against the Antichrist and all rebellious mankind.

Jesus taught in Matthew 24:22 that the Great Tribulation period of 3 ½ years would be shortened “for the sake of the elect”—His Church. Those days of great persecution against the Church will be so brutal that “no one would survive” if Jesus did not shorten this 31/2 year period of horror. Jesus goes on to teach in Matthew 24 that the Great Tribulation is cut short by the appearing of Jesus at His Return and the rapture of the Church:

         Matt. 24:30-31 At that time [i.e., cutting short the Great Tribulation, v. 22] the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory [i.e, the Second Coming of Jesus]. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect [i.e., the Rapture] from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.