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As we consider the Book of Revelation, we will take a break every now and then to discuss how to interpret Biblical prophecy. Today, we take a break to discuss: progressive understanding of prophecy.
Some prophecies become clear as predicted events draw closer. This shouldn’t be a surprise because we live our lives with “progressive understanding” while raising our children and grandchildren. I knew my children enough to understand what they could do early in their lives, but I didn’t know one would be a Physical Therapist, another a Certified Financial Analyst, and one a tri-lingual (who teaches English as a second language) missionary and school administrator, until they all graduated from college, and had jobs!
Did I say graduate and have jobs? Hallelujah and amen. We all rejoice when we see the end of progressive revelation!
God continues to reveal who we are and what we should be doing as we live our lives. His will isn’t provided in a sealed scroll at birth, to be opened on our 13th birthday and then followed meticulously throughout our days on earth.
We listen, obey, follow, and God continues to reveal. Paul writes in Galatians 5:25, “Let us … keep in step with the Spirit.”
God’s plan of salvation was gradually revealed in the Old Testament and finalized in the New Testament. The Apostle Peter writes…
Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things (1 Peter 1:10-12, NIV).
An angel described the “progression” principle of end-times prophecy to Daniel after Daniel asked him the meaning of the last prophecy given to him in the Book of Daniel…
He [the angel] replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand (Daniel 12:9-10).
Why does God use this step-by-step method of revealing His will for our lives and with end-times prophecy?
- Time hasn’t progressed enough to allow understanding. When I first became a Christian, could I have understood that I would travel on 100 short-term mission trips?
When God told Abraham that his offspring would number as the stars in the sky and sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17), could Abraham then envision the ancient Israelites, Jews at the time of Jesus, Israel today, and even “seed” as a prophecy of the church in the last 2000 years?
- We must learn to wait and trust God. We walk by faith in God, not by sight. By watching and not knowing the exact time of Jesus’ return, we stay faithful (Matthew 24:44).
- We learn by understanding and watching God’s providence in history and in our lives, which both prepare us for our future roles of serving Jesus now and in eternity.
Ultimately, prophecy serves the one purpose of revealing God’s will for all of us…
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! (Revelation 1:5b-6)
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
*Theological note: A type of theology known as “progressive theology” exists. I hesitated to use the word “progressive” in this blog post as I didn’t want “progressive revelation” to be confused with “progressive theology.” With progressive revelation, God reveals His will, rules, and principles that, while revealed over time, hold fast.
Progressive theology holds that our understanding of His will, rules, and principles evolves according to the needs and often the whims of culture — thus marriage becomes something other than the Biblical husband and wife, etc.