Maybe Prophecy Isn’t Being Fulfilled—And That’s OK

On apocalyptic timelines and eschatological sign-watching

Photo by Victor Kallenbach on Unsplash

(A six-minute read.)

“Amid all this confusion and uncertainty there are still some things we can be certain about. There are some things about which we may be so sure that nothing can alter our conviction. We may know that we are living in the last days of this world’s history. We may know that Jesus is soon coming again. This certainty is based upon the unfailing prophetic word of God, which is being fulfilled before our eyes.”

I came across the above quote recently. It reflects a sentiment I hear expressed quite frequently within many circles in my faith community. It’s a refrain I’ve heard for the four decades (plus!) that I’ve been alive.

It generally goes like this: something catastrophic, cataclysmic, or religiously significant happens in the world. Planes crash into the Twin Towers. The Pope addresses a joint session of Congress. The world is shut down because of a global pandemic. The US bombs Iran.

Like clockwork, I hear people—both publicly and privately—declare: “Look! The Bible predicted this! Prophecy is being fulfilled! Jesus is coming really, really soon!”

The funny thing about the quote above is that it was written in 1942—in the context of World War II. And this short phrase—“being fulfilled” (usually in reference to some biblical “prophecy”)—comes up over and over again in Seventh-day Adventist literature.

Three years later, for example, as the War was all but over, another Adventist writer reflected on a movement that was afoot to establish a “peace table,” which was designed to “assist in establishing a permanent reign of peace upon this earth.” The writer noted that there was great momentum among Christians to have the Pope serve as the representative of worldwide Christianity.

This move, of course, was viewed through a prophetic lens:

It is very evident that the prophetic word of God is being fulfilled. The deadly wound which the Papacy received in 1798 is being healed and the head of the Roman church is gaining back his former influence and prestige among the nations of earth. The final steps in the development of papal restoration to power will be rapid ones. The time is to come when the Roman church is to boast “in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” That day is fast approaching.

In many ways, you could basically copy and paste the above paragraph and use it as a boiler plate response by many Adventists to any major thing the Pope does.

It reminds me of a brief conversation I had with a guy at the Istanbul airport a few months back during a long layover. I was trying to get some sleep in one of the lounges, when a few older couples—obviously American—came and sat down next to me.

Within short order I had struck up a conversation with one of the gentlemen, who revealed they were starting a “Footsteps of Paul” tour through Turkey and Greece. When I shared with him that I was also a Christian—a pastor—his eyes got big and he asked, “Did you hear that plans are underway to start rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem?”

He was surprised when I responded with ambivalence.

To him, this was clearly a fulfillment of prophecy—and he seemed to assume that all Christians obviously believed the same thing when it came to end-of-times scenarios (in this case, he was a Pentecostal who was fully committed to Dispensationalism).

That conversation brought to mind a time I heard a pastor say the exact same thing during a visit to an evangelical church in Scotland. That was 25 years ago.

I don’t mean to make light of “signs watching,” nor am I implying that prophecy is never fulfilled (I believe it is)—nor that it’s irrelevant.

It’s just that I seemingly have a different attitude toward this stuff than many of my premillennialist sisters and brothers (to be clear, I’m not saying my attitude is right and theirs is wrong).

For a lot of people, the “fulfillment of prophecy” seems to serve as the oxygen they require to fuel their faith. It motivates them, assures them, helps them feel secure in their commitment to the Bible.

Honestly—and I honestly don’t say this with any condescension—I don’t get it at all.

There are, no doubt, other things going on—some of them genuine and Spirit-prompted. But the first sentence of the quote I started with seems to reveal a lot: “Amid all this confusion and uncertainty there are still some things we can be certain about.”

Usually, when people turn to prophecy, it’s in response to some major upheaval, confusion, and uncertainty. They feel disoriented and adrift. They feel insecure and fearful. They thus want something to feel “certain about.”

For them, “prophecy being fulfilled” provides that certainty and grounding. It gives them peace, comfort, and hope—assuring them that the Bible is true, that God is “in control,” that everything will turn out all right.

For my part, I don’t understand how allegedly “fulfilled prophecy” can provide that comfort and sense of security—partly because it always feels like a moving target. After all, how many times can I proclaim that this action—no, this action—is a “fulfillment of prophecy” without eventually becoming jaded by my constant (and failed) predictions?

Indeed, it seems like there’s only so many times that I can say that the actions of various Popes or the actions of Israel are the fulfillment of prophecy before I start to gaslight myself.

Again, I’m not trying to undermine the idea that Scripture seemingly provides an outline of how the story unfolds and where history is heading. But I believe it presents it in very broad strokes, not wanting us to get distracted by and enamored with the details and trying to find some sort of “sign” in every event that happens.

Indeed, it strikes me as funny that many of the so-called “signs” that Jesus pointed to, in reference to the “end of the world,” are signs that have always been present in the world.

For example, he said in Matthew 24 that there will be “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:16).

When has that not been true in the world’s history?

It almost feels like saying, “Prophecy is being fulfilled: it’s snowing in Alaska and raining in Seattle.”

It’s as if Jesus presents these signs in an ironic way. He cites common, everyday things when talking about the end—almost as if to say, “Don’t get caught up in all this sign-watching. The world is going to keep moving along like it always has.”

After all, as Jesus talks about these various upheavals and events—wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines and fake messiahs—he very explicitly says that “the end is not yet” (Matthew 24:6).

I think what Jesus is doing, among other things, is inviting us to find our security in the right place. Our security doesn’t come through being certain about where we are in earth’s history. It doesn’t come through being certain about our prophetic interpretations—and how any and every event validates our interpretations.

Our security comes through Christ. It comes through being grounded in his love and our identity as the daughters and sons of God.

So is prophecy being fulfilled? Maybe. Maybe not.

But either way, it’s OK.

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Postscript: as happens a lot in the summer, I have a lot of travel coming up, which may lead to a lull in my writing. So don’t be surprised if I go a week or two (or three) without publishing anything in this space. But fear not: if I do miss any time, I will be back.

Also, as a part of my travels, I will be speaking for a church event that may be somewhat local for some of you. I will be speaking for the Alberta Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Camp Meeting at the Foothills Camp and Retreat Centre, in Red Deer County, Alberta, on July 18-19. So if you’re in the area, stop on by!

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Shawn is a pastor and church planter in Portland, Maine, whose life, ministry, and writing focus on incarnational and embodied expressions of faith. The author of four books and a columnist for Adventist Review, he is also a DPhil (PhD) candidate at the University of Oxford, focusing on nineteenth-century American Christianity. You can follow him on Instagram, and listen to his podcast Mission Lab.