The late David DuPlessis told of a traveling "prophecy preacher" whose ministry featured a platform-wide time line chart of prophetic events. Some time following the preacher's death, DuPlessis chanced to encounter his widow. During the ensuing conversation, mention was made of her late husband's chart. "Oh," she replied, "he eventually put it away because every time he got a good Antichrist somebody shot him."
For those cognizant of such matters, little need be said concerning the conjectures and assumptions commonly attendant prophetic interests. Many will recall, for example, a popular author whose prophetically related books sold in the millions during the latter part of the last century. In time, however, no small difficulty surfaced in that, contrary to his calculations, Christ did not return nor did the Antichrist and Great Tribulation appear in the 'eighties as predicted.
Again, some will remember another "expert" who, not too many years afterward, authored a volume entitled, "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Prophecy, But Didn't Know Who to ask" - the author abviously being the one to ask. (Apart from the title's tasteless "take off" on the then popular, albeit offensive, book and movie entitled, "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex, but Were Afraid to Ask," little more perhaps need be stated here.
That an ongoing market exists for speculative endeavors of such nature may be seen as indicating the apparent inability of some to grasp certain biblically defined essentials - in this instance the fact that all is not yet known or fully undersood. While observing in his Olivet Discourse that "I have foretold you all things" (i.e., in a sense of generalized outline, Mark 13:23 - both Paul and John, for example, adding additional detail), Jesus also emphasized that some concerns remain known only to the Father (e.g., Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7). Yet again, while there are points of stated specificity in terms of times and time related sequence, other realities will be understood only within the context of fulfillment itself (e.g., Matt. 24:33; I Cor. 13:12; I John 3:2, etc.).
We accordingly do well to frequently remind ourselves of the Lord's words to Jeremiah concerning the prophecies he himself was being moved upon to share: "In the latter days [i.e., time of fulfillment] you shall understand it clearly" (Jer. 23:20; 30:24). Cognizance of this fact will help us in avoiding the confusions that have oftentimes attended prophetic pursuit.
Burl Ratzsch
