Sunday, May 29, 2022

John Tvedtnes on the Language of "Imminent Fulfillment" in Prophecy

  

The Bible has a number of prophecies of things which the prophets said would happen "soon" but which did not, in fact, occur for a century or more. E.g., Isaiah, in his prophecy concerning the destruction of Babylon (Isa. 13:1, 19-20) wrote that "the day of the Lord is at hand" (Isa. 13:6). Yet Babylon was not even conquered until 539 BC, a century and a half after Isaiah, while its destruction came even later.

 

Isaiah had also prophesied concerning the actions of Assyria against Israel and Judah: "Be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For yet a little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction." (Isa. 10:24-25) Israel was taken captive by Assyria in 722 BC and the Assyrian king Sennacherib attacked Judah in 701 BC. But it was not until 605 BC - a century later - that Assyria was defeated by a coalition of the Babylonians and Medes. I.e., the prophet's "little while" meant more than a century!

 

Zephaniah, writing of the destruction of Judah, wrote that "the day of the Lord is at hand" (1:7) and that "the great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and it hasteth greatly" (1:14). This was written in the days of King Josiah (1:1), nearly a century before Judah was taken captive by the Babylonians. Joel used similar words, saying, "the day of the Lord is at hand" (1:15) and "the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand" (2:1).

 

The New Testament Apostles used similar terminology. Jesus showed John "things which must shortly come to pass" (Rev. 1:1; cf. 22:6 and note 22:7 which says, "Behold, I come quickly."). After nearly two millennia, most of the things which John saw in the vision have not come to pass despite the fact that Jesus said they would occur "shortly." (Note also Rev. 12:12, where John wrote that the devil has "but a short time" until he is bound when the millennium begins: cf. Rom. 16:20.)

 

James wrote, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord... Be ye also patient...for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh...behold, the judge standeth before the door." (James 5:7-9) Yet Jesus has not yet come to judge and reign. Peter was even stronger than James when he wrote, "But the end of all things is at hand." (1 Pet. 4:7) Obviously, "all things" have not yet ended, despite the two millennia which have passed since these words were written. . . . 148 years is not "a little season" according to Mr. Baer. But it is a very little season by the Lord's reckoning of time. Moreover, the term is actually a quote from the Bible, specifically from Rev. 6:11, where the martyrs are told that they will "rest yet for a little season." The statement is made after the opening of the fifth seal and prior to the occurrence of the many events scheduled for the sixth and seventh seals before the promise is fulfilled. (John A. Tvedtnes, A Reply to Dick Baer)

 

Further Reading:


Resources on Joseph Smith's Prophecies