The Prophetic Word Confirmed
It is interesting to note that many of the recent developments taking place globally have been anticipated by God’s church for a long time. We made mistakes by allowing ourselves to get excited about world events to the point of discussing datelines. However, the essence of prophetic understanding was in fact solid.
Take these quotes regarding the relationship between the U.S. and Europe:
“The verbal cross fire in Brussels adds yet more substance to the dangerous feeling, on both sides of the Atlantic, of ‘let’s go our separate ways’”.
The generally pro-American columnist for the Sunday Telegraph in Britain, Peregrine Worsthorne, wondered whether the time might not be ripe for Western Europe to consider an amicable “early divorce” from the United States.
Influential circles in the United States as well are wondering out loud whether there should not be a new order of things.
“The lesson,” fumed New York Times columnist William Satire, “is that our NATO partners are interested exclusively in… [being] protected by American troops and America’s nuclear umbrella while reserving the right to undermine American security everywhere else. That removes the ‘mutual’ from mutual defense….”
“If that is the case,” continued Mr. Satire with a surprising proposal, “the time is coming for an independent European defense…”
This is not a surprising proposal to those who have been around for a while. The above quotes were assembled by the then News Bureau chief, Gene Hogberg, for the Plain Truth and published in the May 1984 issue.
So many of us do not consider this a “surprising proposal”. The reason is that we have been looking to Europe, anticipating unification and a dominant Germany for many years.
Why that expectation? Because of what the Bible reveals to us by way of prophecy. The word of God reveals the rise of a resurrected Holy Roman Empire (Romans 17). This prophecy has a clear end-time factor and is yet ahead of us. The Church has been watching and waiting for some kind of a 10-nation configuration to arise in Europe.
It should also be noted that there is a major trap in knowing the general outline of future events. The human proclivity is to put the timing of events into play.
However, because we have been wrong in the past, there has been a tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water. We have many in the church who were either too young or not yet born when Mr. Armstrong died. Their memory of him and his work is either dim, tainted or nonexistent. From the point of his death, there began a movement to discredit him and his work.
This took root in this generation who had little relevant knowledge of what he understood. It’s true, he did make predictions that did not come to pass. So, dismissing the church’s stand on prophecy was not difficult to do. It is important that we learn the lessons from the past, but don’t lose the significance of revealed prophecy.
The Apostle Peter informs us that we have a more sure word of prophecy:
“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripure is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19-21).
What is happening in Europe right now is a wakeup call to the Church. As prophecy is a light in a dark place, so our lives are to be a light in this dark world. By our lives, we are to uphold and glorify God’s name.
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1 John 2:28).
“Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matthew 24:44).
Brian Orchard
P.S. You may find this an interesting read given the above: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2er9j83x0zo
