Biblical Interpretation: The proper foundation for interpretation of Scripture, or of any written or spoken statement for that matter, is exegesis. That is, drawing out from the text what its author intended to be there, rather than eisegesis, which is putting into the text our own thoughts or biases. The need to do this is especially acute regarding the Word of God, as our primary focus must be to determine what message God intended to send through the human authors he inspired. If we ignore the intended message, and replace it with an interpretation that is derived from what we want the text to say, we not only disrespect the Scriptures, but are functionally denying the doctrine of inspiration as well.
The danger of eisegesis is very present when seeking to interpret prophetic texts whose prophecies we believe to have not yet been fulfilled. The reason is simple: every generation is tempted to see these prophecies as being fulfilled in their own lifetimes through the set of circumstances they are living through. We need only look at the period of history before the life of Jesus to see this in action. Numerous false Messiahs rose to prominence, exciting the people's expectations that the messianic prophecies were being fulfilled in their midst, only to have those expectations amount to nothing when the 'signs' turned out to be falsely interpreted. Part of the problem revolved around this reality: There could be only one Messiah to fulfills God's promises, all others must needs be false alarms, either willing or unwitting charlatans.
So it is with the prophecies concerning the End Times. Since they were given, an unknown but sizable number of those who believe in the validity of the prophecies in question have thought themselves to be living in the times in question. There is evidence that some of the Apostles themselves believed that Jesus would return in their own lifetimes (John 21:22-24 for example), but they were wrong, the desire of God to further spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth continued beyond them. When Rome fell, it was interpreted as the beginning of the End, but it was not. And so on throughout Church History, as crisis after crisis and unexpected event after unexpected event were viewed through the lens of the End Times, and would-be Antichrists were 'identified', all to no avail. The End had not yet arrived, the various interpretations of Scripture that claimed it had was faulty. Only one generation can be correct on this matter, each and every preceding one will be wrong.
What differentiates this pandemic from the Spanish Flu or Black Death as being a 'sign of the End Times'? What makes this government response a plot of the Antichrist as compared to previous government actions? The only answer can be an act of eisegetical interpretation. "Because I say so" is not a stable foundation upon which to understand and apply the Word of God.
In the end the words of Jesus must be authoritative. I will be scoffed at by those who claim to 'see' what is going on, called a fool or a patsy perhaps as well. But there is no way possible to get around the explicit statements of Jesus on this topic, the only workaround is to ignore them. Immediately AFTER a detailed series of signs about the beginning of the end, Jesus says, "But about that day our hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36) And then the very next statements of Jesus are multiple instances of warning about being in a constant state of readiness, no matter what, precisely because nobody knows when The End will come. Hear this: It was not Jesus' purpose that one specific future generation would hear his words, interpret them correctly, and thus guess what "only the Father" knows. How could they? Rather, Jesus' purpose throughout the passage in question is that EVERY generation to come who would walk by faith would do so knowing that The End will one day come, as a surprise, and that each and every generation must live as if it will be interrupted by these cataclysmic events, and as if they will live out their days to a natural conclusion. It is the tension of not knowing for sure when, but still knowing for sure, that we as disciples of Jesus are to embrace.
History: When looking back on history, we are not remotely living in times that justify a, "how could things get much worse?" attitude. During the Middle Ages, the Church endured countless invasions of murdering barbarians intent upon taking women and children into slavery, who also regularly desecrated churches and slaughtered priests, as well as the unprecedented horrors of the Black Plague. But these in time faded, with missionaries converting many of the pagans, and life improved. At the end of World War I, with the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires crumbling, Russia in the throes of Revolution, and four years of bloodshed on a scale unimaginable previously fresh in the collective nightmares of much of the world, Spanish Influenza swept the globe killing more than the war had. And yet, it was not The End. In those generations, there were many who 'saw the signs' and yearned for the Second Coming, but such was not the will of God.
One popular interpretation of the Apocalyptic literature in Scripture revolves around the notion of a One World Government (referred to these days as the New World Order). In a previous generation, the United Nations was the sign of the One World Government, but the UN has sadly proven unable to prevent either war or genocide, let alone bring the world's nations together. The European Union was supposed to be the harbinger of this, but now that unity is fracturing and far more likely to weaken than strengthen. Nationalism is on the rise once more, not cooperation. And yet, the response to COVID-19 will usher in a New World Order? This is not the direction that the world is heading in, and even if it was, the interpretation of Scripture that sets forth this One World Government/New World Order as a 'sign' reflects the political/philosophical views of those promoting it (what they fear), not an exegetical interpretation of the relevant prophecies. Remember, that the writers of the New Testament lived in an Empire spanning the entire Mediterranean world, and that our concepts of civil rights, personal freedoms, and constitutional liberties are foreign to their frame of mind, as is the fear of a government spanning multiple peoples/ethnic groups. The history of the Ancient Near East was a history of multi-ethnic empires. Therefore, when the interpretation of Apocalyptic literature in Scripture supplied by post-modern American Protestants happens to focus heavily on the this very fear, with a strong Isolationist and Libertarian element, how is it that this is supposed to reflect the original intent of authors to whom these concepts would be foreign? How is this interpretation supposed to be one that could have been understood by the original audience?
Long story short, if the current interpretation of Scripture is more reflective of our own worldview than that of the authors, how can any 'signs' that we may see, even if they're seen correctly, be valid? In other words, the 'sign' that you think you see is no sign at all if it has nothing to do with what the Word of God was actually predicting. History has shown that even great theologians of the Church are not immune to reading God's Word through their own perspective and coming to erroneous conclusions because of that bias. In the case of COVID-19, those who proclaim certainty regarding the End Times are guilty of both a recency bias (where current events outshine past ones in our minds) and the interpretation of Scripture through a post-modern American lens.
Evangelism: What, in the end is the danger of shouting, "The sky is falling!" prematurely? We know The End is coming, what's the harm if we jump the gun? The most immediate impact will be a distrust of our own government (not exactly a commodity with room to spare), as well as international medical associations, treatments, and vaccines that will lead people to, erroneously, balk at safety measures that they now view as tools of the Antichrist to institute the One World Government. If this leads to violence, it will be doubly dangerous, but it will almost certainly lead to unnecessary deaths from this pandemic, especially if a vaccine is developed and refused by millions. As dangerous as the implications may be in the public health/political sphere, they extend further. What danger does it pose to the reputation of the Church and the sharing of the Gospel?
You don't want to be the next Millerites. Who were they you ask? The baptist lay preacher William Miller used calculations of Daniel's 2,300 Day prophecy to determine that the Second Coming of Jesus would occur on October 22nd, 1844. When that day passed, those who had believed Miller's prediction suffered The Great Disappointment, and while most returned to their lives as they had been before, some sought explanations as to why Miller's calculations were slightly off, offering new dates in the near future. Miller had tapped into a feeling of expectation that would be continued by the Adventists (whose doctrine of the Investigative Judgement is an attempt to explain the delay), the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Mormons. While one of those three retains orthodox trinitarian beliefs, the Witnesses and Mormons have left behind the teaching of the Apostles. Church History has shown that 'certainty' about the date of the Second Coming is NOT a positive for the people of God, but a danger.
1 Peter 3:15 New International Version (NIV)
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect
We are called upon to offer a explanation for the faith that we have. That explanation becomes less comprehensible to those outside of the Church if they witness those acting in the name of Christ repeatedly proclaiming that they see 'signs' of the End, only to have the crisis pass and life return to some semblance of normal. When the boy cried, "Wolf!" the villagers at first rushed to assist. After several more false alarms, they ignored his final call. The message of the Gospel is far too important for us to place an unnecessary barrier between ourselves and those with whom we hope to share the joy of faith in Christ.
The danger of eisegesis is very present when seeking to interpret prophetic texts whose prophecies we believe to have not yet been fulfilled. The reason is simple: every generation is tempted to see these prophecies as being fulfilled in their own lifetimes through the set of circumstances they are living through. We need only look at the period of history before the life of Jesus to see this in action. Numerous false Messiahs rose to prominence, exciting the people's expectations that the messianic prophecies were being fulfilled in their midst, only to have those expectations amount to nothing when the 'signs' turned out to be falsely interpreted. Part of the problem revolved around this reality: There could be only one Messiah to fulfills God's promises, all others must needs be false alarms, either willing or unwitting charlatans.
So it is with the prophecies concerning the End Times. Since they were given, an unknown but sizable number of those who believe in the validity of the prophecies in question have thought themselves to be living in the times in question. There is evidence that some of the Apostles themselves believed that Jesus would return in their own lifetimes (John 21:22-24 for example), but they were wrong, the desire of God to further spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth continued beyond them. When Rome fell, it was interpreted as the beginning of the End, but it was not. And so on throughout Church History, as crisis after crisis and unexpected event after unexpected event were viewed through the lens of the End Times, and would-be Antichrists were 'identified', all to no avail. The End had not yet arrived, the various interpretations of Scripture that claimed it had was faulty. Only one generation can be correct on this matter, each and every preceding one will be wrong.
What differentiates this pandemic from the Spanish Flu or Black Death as being a 'sign of the End Times'? What makes this government response a plot of the Antichrist as compared to previous government actions? The only answer can be an act of eisegetical interpretation. "Because I say so" is not a stable foundation upon which to understand and apply the Word of God.
In the end the words of Jesus must be authoritative. I will be scoffed at by those who claim to 'see' what is going on, called a fool or a patsy perhaps as well. But there is no way possible to get around the explicit statements of Jesus on this topic, the only workaround is to ignore them. Immediately AFTER a detailed series of signs about the beginning of the end, Jesus says, "But about that day our hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36) And then the very next statements of Jesus are multiple instances of warning about being in a constant state of readiness, no matter what, precisely because nobody knows when The End will come. Hear this: It was not Jesus' purpose that one specific future generation would hear his words, interpret them correctly, and thus guess what "only the Father" knows. How could they? Rather, Jesus' purpose throughout the passage in question is that EVERY generation to come who would walk by faith would do so knowing that The End will one day come, as a surprise, and that each and every generation must live as if it will be interrupted by these cataclysmic events, and as if they will live out their days to a natural conclusion. It is the tension of not knowing for sure when, but still knowing for sure, that we as disciples of Jesus are to embrace.
History: When looking back on history, we are not remotely living in times that justify a, "how could things get much worse?" attitude. During the Middle Ages, the Church endured countless invasions of murdering barbarians intent upon taking women and children into slavery, who also regularly desecrated churches and slaughtered priests, as well as the unprecedented horrors of the Black Plague. But these in time faded, with missionaries converting many of the pagans, and life improved. At the end of World War I, with the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires crumbling, Russia in the throes of Revolution, and four years of bloodshed on a scale unimaginable previously fresh in the collective nightmares of much of the world, Spanish Influenza swept the globe killing more than the war had. And yet, it was not The End. In those generations, there were many who 'saw the signs' and yearned for the Second Coming, but such was not the will of God.
One popular interpretation of the Apocalyptic literature in Scripture revolves around the notion of a One World Government (referred to these days as the New World Order). In a previous generation, the United Nations was the sign of the One World Government, but the UN has sadly proven unable to prevent either war or genocide, let alone bring the world's nations together. The European Union was supposed to be the harbinger of this, but now that unity is fracturing and far more likely to weaken than strengthen. Nationalism is on the rise once more, not cooperation. And yet, the response to COVID-19 will usher in a New World Order? This is not the direction that the world is heading in, and even if it was, the interpretation of Scripture that sets forth this One World Government/New World Order as a 'sign' reflects the political/philosophical views of those promoting it (what they fear), not an exegetical interpretation of the relevant prophecies. Remember, that the writers of the New Testament lived in an Empire spanning the entire Mediterranean world, and that our concepts of civil rights, personal freedoms, and constitutional liberties are foreign to their frame of mind, as is the fear of a government spanning multiple peoples/ethnic groups. The history of the Ancient Near East was a history of multi-ethnic empires. Therefore, when the interpretation of Apocalyptic literature in Scripture supplied by post-modern American Protestants happens to focus heavily on the this very fear, with a strong Isolationist and Libertarian element, how is it that this is supposed to reflect the original intent of authors to whom these concepts would be foreign? How is this interpretation supposed to be one that could have been understood by the original audience?
Long story short, if the current interpretation of Scripture is more reflective of our own worldview than that of the authors, how can any 'signs' that we may see, even if they're seen correctly, be valid? In other words, the 'sign' that you think you see is no sign at all if it has nothing to do with what the Word of God was actually predicting. History has shown that even great theologians of the Church are not immune to reading God's Word through their own perspective and coming to erroneous conclusions because of that bias. In the case of COVID-19, those who proclaim certainty regarding the End Times are guilty of both a recency bias (where current events outshine past ones in our minds) and the interpretation of Scripture through a post-modern American lens.
Evangelism: What, in the end is the danger of shouting, "The sky is falling!" prematurely? We know The End is coming, what's the harm if we jump the gun? The most immediate impact will be a distrust of our own government (not exactly a commodity with room to spare), as well as international medical associations, treatments, and vaccines that will lead people to, erroneously, balk at safety measures that they now view as tools of the Antichrist to institute the One World Government. If this leads to violence, it will be doubly dangerous, but it will almost certainly lead to unnecessary deaths from this pandemic, especially if a vaccine is developed and refused by millions. As dangerous as the implications may be in the public health/political sphere, they extend further. What danger does it pose to the reputation of the Church and the sharing of the Gospel?
You don't want to be the next Millerites. Who were they you ask? The baptist lay preacher William Miller used calculations of Daniel's 2,300 Day prophecy to determine that the Second Coming of Jesus would occur on October 22nd, 1844. When that day passed, those who had believed Miller's prediction suffered The Great Disappointment, and while most returned to their lives as they had been before, some sought explanations as to why Miller's calculations were slightly off, offering new dates in the near future. Miller had tapped into a feeling of expectation that would be continued by the Adventists (whose doctrine of the Investigative Judgement is an attempt to explain the delay), the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Mormons. While one of those three retains orthodox trinitarian beliefs, the Witnesses and Mormons have left behind the teaching of the Apostles. Church History has shown that 'certainty' about the date of the Second Coming is NOT a positive for the people of God, but a danger.
1 Peter 3:15 New International Version (NIV)
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect
We are called upon to offer a explanation for the faith that we have. That explanation becomes less comprehensible to those outside of the Church if they witness those acting in the name of Christ repeatedly proclaiming that they see 'signs' of the End, only to have the crisis pass and life return to some semblance of normal. When the boy cried, "Wolf!" the villagers at first rushed to assist. After several more false alarms, they ignored his final call. The message of the Gospel is far too important for us to place an unnecessary barrier between ourselves and those with whom we hope to share the joy of faith in Christ.
