The general assumption in many Bible-believing churches is that Bible prophecy is far too controversial and divisive to be taught. A few churches in my area openly state on their websites that the subject is “tertiary,” or less important than other matters of our faith.
Sadly, most pastors and believers agree that Bible prophecy is tertiary, which Merriam-Webster defines as “of third rank, importance, or value.” The underlying assumption is that Scripture is far less clear on this topic than other matters of the faith. Although most Christians accept this assertion as fact, it’s simply not true.
Beliefs about the Rapture, the seven-year Tribulation, Israel’s restoration, and the Millennium rest on how one interprets God’s Word rather than on the words of the Bible. This is not only true in matters related to eschatology, the study of future things, but also in all matters of our faith.
For example, we readily accept the unmistakable clarity of the Lord’s words in John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” Yet I know of many professing Christians who read this verse and yet claim that Jesus is not the only path to salvation. In some circles, the words of John 14:6 are more contentious than our belief in the pre-Tribulation Rapture. One popular writer in some Christian circles claims that Jesus only makes our salvation possible.
You see, even on the essentials of the gospel, many Christians do not accept the face-value meaning of the words, but rather interpret them differently.
The Unbiblical Basis of Replacement Theology
As for Israel’s place in Bible prophecy, what one believes is shaped by assumptions formed apart from the biblical text.
Augustine, an early church theologian, popularized Replacement Theology in the early fifth century AD. His belief that the church had replaced Israel in God’s prophetic program didn’t arise from the words of Scripture, but rather from his deep-seated antisemitism and acceptance of Platonism. He adhered to many of the beliefs of the ancient philosopher Plato, who taught that all matter was evil and only the unseen spiritual world was good. Hence, there could be no Millennium despite the clarity of Revelation 20:1-10 and many Old Testament passages.
To make God’s Word fit his errant beliefs, Augustine allegorized texts in which the Lord promised to restore a kingdom to Israel. He reinterpreted future Bible prophecy as allegory, a story with deeper hidden meanings whereby the characters, events, and settings in such narratives symbolize truths without stating them directly.
Augustine’s popular approach to Bible prophecy directly contradicts what God said long ago.
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, “My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose.” (Isaiah 46:9C-10).
Do those words sound like Someone who would reveal the future in allegories, which by their nature depend on human wisdom to understand?
When we allow the words of Scripture to mean what they meant when the authors recorded them, it confirms that the Lord will restore a kingdom to Israel, just as He repeatedly promised throughout His Word. It verifies that the church is not the fulfillment of God’s kingdom promises. Let me explain.
The Bible Is Clear About Israel’s Restoration
As for Israel’s future, Jeremiah 33:14-16 is just one example of well over a hundred Old Testament references that clearly and unmistakably prophesy Israel’s still-future restoration:
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”
If these words mean what they did when the Lord spoke them, they must refer to a future time of restoration for the nation of Israel. We know that since the days of Jeremiah to today, there has never been a time when they were true. The only other alternative to reading the above passage as prophetic of Israel’s future is to reinterpret it as part of a grand narrative in which God was actually talking about the church (which did not even exist at the time), not Israel. Or, possibly ignore that such texts exist.
Consider the Jews of Jeremiah’s day who responded positively to his message. Although a minority, they believed the Lord would someday raise them from the dead, at which time they would experience the promised blessings of Jeremiah 33:14-16. Are we to believe that the actions of those living during the time of Christ negated the clear promises God made to the Jews living centuries earlier whereby He replaced them with the church?
Is that not similar to saying that the rejection of the gospel by most churches today somehow negates the resurrection assurances that the apostles gave to the first-century saints?
The Bible Is Clear About the Rapture
God’s Word is also remarkably clear about the Rapture. Consider the following verses also from John 14, where Jesus said this about His return to take us home:
In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:2-3)
Based on all we know about the meaning of the above words and the Galilean marriage customs of the first century AD, of which the disciples were well aware, it’s clear that Jesus was prophesying of a time when He would come and take us to an actual physical location in His “Father’s house.” Paul later wrote that when Jesus appears, we go to glory (Colossians 3:4). Why do so many believers assign clarity to Jesus’ words in John 14:6 while denying His clear intent in 14:2-3?
Although widely ridiculed and dismissed as far too controversial to discuss in church, the New Testament says much about the event we call the “Rapture.” It is a sound biblical doctrine. Our hope does not rest in the Second Coming; our “blessed hope” is the Rapture. Why are so many pastors afraid to mention it?
Sadly, the assertion that Bible prophecy is tertiary has caused considerable damage within the body of Christ. Among other things, it has blinded believers to the abundance of signs signifying that we live in the last moments of the last days. Silence about eternal realities in churches today has shifted many believers' focus to temporary, earthbound aspirations that offer no hope for the perilous times we now live in and no comfort for the tribulations of life in this vale of tears.
Once a church declares that Bible prophecy is tertiary, the gospel proclamation ends with the forgiveness of our sins because everything else in the saving message of the cross is prophecy. Jesus’ promise to give believers immortal and incorruptible bodies at His appearing is Bible prophecy. Our receipt of eternal life is Bible prophecy. All that we believe about the eternal state is . . . Bible prophecy. Our hope of a day without suffering, death, pain, and tears (Revelation 21:4) is . . . Bible prophecy.
The Rapture is the resurrection of all believers. Once that’s eliminated from a church’s message, the “blessed hope” of all believers goes out the door with it.
In other words, Bible prophecy is of utmost importance to every believer, and the Bible is remarkably clear about what it says about our future.
My book, The Triumph of the Redeemed–An Eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is available on Amazon. This book provides strong biblical support for the restoration of a kingdom to Israel. It’s the basis of our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing to take us to the place that He’s preparing for us.
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