TONY BENSON

IT HAS ALWAYS been accepted in the Christadelphian community that much is prophesied in the Scriptures concerning the events that surround the return of Christ. During the nineteenth century the ideas of John Thomas, expounded particularly in Elpis Israel Part 3 and Eureka vol. 2 pages 533-585, were commonly accepted. However, the changing face of the world during the last hundred years, and a tendency to question the ideas of the past, have led to a considerable array of new interpretations. This article is an attempt to review interpretations old and new, critically and, if possible, in an unbiassed manner.

In the traditional view one great invasion of Israel is seen, and Ezekiel 38-39, Daniel 11, Zechariah 12 and 14, and Joel 3 are all stated to be prophesying of the same thing—the great day of Armageddon of Revelation 16:16. The invading power is a confederacy of all Europe dominated politically by Russia and spiritually by Rome. This presupposes a Russian conquest of Western Europe which is accepted by the Pope. At some time during this stage Christ returns and gathers the saints to judgement at Sinai so that they do not see the great invasion. After the judgement there is a period in which the unseen power of Christ and the accepted saints so influences Israel that they dwell safely and become prosperous, thus creating the setting of Ezekiel 38 prior to the Gogian invasion. However, Israel are still in unbelief and are therefore punished by the invading power, which is then destroyed by the intervention of Christ and the saints. The work of subduing the earth continues; a Roman Catholic confederacy opposes Christ, fulfilling Revelation 17, and is destroyed. A mercantile confederation of the English-speaking nations allies itself with the new power in the Middle East before Gog comes down, and provides the opposition to Gog of Ezekiel 38:13.

There is no doubt that John Thomas’s expositions of prophecy laid an invaluable foundation for those who followed. His identification of which Scriptures relate to the time of the end is seldom doubted, though additions have been made. His identification of part of the great confederacy of Ezekiel 38 with Russia, latter-day Babylon with Roman Catholic Europe, and the Tyre/Tarshish mercantile power with English-speaking nations have stood the test of time remarkably well despite being challenged by some in recent years. Yet a critical examination of his views does reveal flaws. His exposition naturally reflects the political arena of his day and he therefore exaggerates the importance of Britain compared with the USA, and of France compared with Germany. Other points may also be questioned. The differences between the three great Old Testament prophecies of the time of the end, Ezekiel 38-39, Daniel 11, and Zechariah 12-14, are at least as marked as the similarities. Do they really refer to one great event? The idea that Christ and the saints could be hidden in the desert quietly influencing Israel in alliance with Britain seems unrealistic in this age of instant communication. The greatest weakness which time has revealed in the traditional exposition is, ‘however, its total neglect of Arab nationalism. Passages concerning Edom, such as Obadiah, Ezekiel 34-35, and Isaiah 34 are applied in a general typical sense to Gentile opposition to Christ, although their fulfilment by the Arabs has now become obvious to all but those who are determined to stick to the traditional view at all costs.

It is very easy to criticise traditional views, it is less easy to provide a convincing alternative. Let us now examine critically these alternatives.

Many different expositions of prophecy concerning the last days have appeared in recent years. Some attempt to cover the whole spectrum, others deal with specific parts only. The only way in which these can be dealt with succinctly in the space available is to identify different areas in which alternative views may be found, and to review these expositions.

The difficulty of fitting this chapter with Ezekiel 38 has caused some to suggest that it was all fulfilled in the decline and fall of the Turkish power culminating in 1917. This makes Daniel 11 and 12 chronological. However Daniel 11 and Ezekiel 38 can be reconciled and the matter still remains unproven either way.

The idea that there are two separate invasions of the land with Christ coming in between has become popular. The first invasion is considered to be by a Russian host with assistance from Middle-East powers. This confederacy is destroyed by Christ aided either by the angels or the saints. A Western- European confederacy dominated by Germany politically and Roman Catholicism spiritually then invades Israel and is destroyed. The first invasion fulfils the Old Testament prophecies and the second invasion fulfils Revelation 16 and 17. The existence of the iron curtain, and the Common Market alliance which, if brought to political fruition, makes Russian domination of Europe less probable, makes this idea attractive today. It is not much at variance with the traditional view.

The weakness of this view is that Ezekiel 38, with the Jews dwelling safely, fits more naturally after Christ’s return. Neither does it help solve the differences between Ezekiel 38 and prophecies like Joel 3 and Zechariah 14, since it applies all the Old Testament invasions to Russia. An alternative therefore is to regard the first invasion as by Western Europe to secure their oil interests. This will only become feasible if Russia is involved in war with China. The European invader is then destroyed by Christ, and Russia invades. Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 are therefore parallel to Revelation 16 and 17 and the different setting of Ezekiel 38 is explained.

Time alone will tell if either of these expositions is correct. Yet the evidence for one or the other rather than the traditional view seems fairly strong.

The view that the invader of Ezekiel 38 is German-dominated naturally became popular during the two world wars, and a few still hold to it. It presupposes either Russia being conquered by Europe, which seems unlikely, or Russia being preoccupied elsewhere, which can only be with China. On the other hand China has been suggested as the fulfilment of Gog, which again presupposes Russia being out of action. These views on the whole are politically improbable and lack real Scriptural evidence. A third view, that Ezekiel 38 is fulfilled at the end of the millennium as a parallel to Revelation 20, does not accord with the details which Ezekiel gives. The application to Russia is by far the most satisfying. In contrast to the views stated, even the latterday Babylonian power of Revelation has been applied to Russia in place of the traditional Roman Catholic view; but can the traditional view really be thrown overboard so easily without ruining the continuous historical interpretation of Revelation ?

The uprise of Arab nationalism and their bitter hatred of Israel have led to much reappraisal of prophecy since the Second World War. The resulting expositions vary from one extreme to another. Adherents to traditional views see the Arab nations joining the great Russian-controlled confederacy, and apply only Psalm 83 to Arab hatred. Others apply such passages as Ezekiel 34-35, Obadiah and Zechariah 12 to the Arabs today, and foresee Israel gaining more and more ascendancy over the Arabs, until the intervention of Gog. This view explains how Israel dwells safely, the existence of great spoil in the land, and the absence of the Arab nations around Israel in the great confederacy, all puzzling features of Ezekiel 38; but is it feasible that Russia, or America for that matter, would allow such ascendancy ?

Other passages have been applied to the Arabs, notably Joel 3 and Zechariah 14, and also less-likely passages such as Daniel 2 and 7 and much of Revelation. In this view it is the Arabs who punish Israel for their ungodliness, and they are destroyed by Christ at his coming. Such a view concerning Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 provides a satisfactory explanation of Ezekiel 38, although the details of these chapters suggest a greater assembly of nations than the Arabs alone would provide. The idea of a Western European invasion assisted by the Arabs (see above) solves this problem and fits the type of the fall of Judah when Babylon was assisted by Edomites, but such an idea will present great problems politically unless the shape of world affairs alters drastically.

The blanket application of last-day prophecies to the Arabs is by no means convincing. It involves most prophecies of the last days being fulfilled in a short space of 3J years yet future, and within the confines of the land of Israel, with little being said of the rest of the world in which the saints are living.

Another extreme is the dismissal of any idea that Israel is to be punished, which involves the suggestion that prophecies such as Zechariah 12 and 14 are being fulfilled in Arab defeats by Israel. The evidence that Israel is to be punished is strong, however, and cannot be ignored.

The traditional view that the resurrection of the dead saints and their judgement, together with the judgement of those still alive, takes place before the northern invader has been destroyed has been challenged. It is envisaged that the saints will see the oppression of Israel (either by a northern invader or by the Arabs) and the return of Christ in power and glory to destroy the oppressor.

The great weakness of this view is that it is hardly credible that believers seeing such remarkable signs being fulfilled would not take great pains to prepare themselves for the judgement seat, which they would know must inevitably follow. Some get round this problem by envisaging a persecution by a power yet to arrive, the Beast of Revelation; and such a persecution, it is argued, would decide who was faithful. Such views involve a latterday rather than a continuous historical view of Revelation. Events have yet to show such a fulfilment, whilst the fulfilment of the continuous historical view can be seen in history. Another possibility is that materialism will dull the minds of many brethren and sisters so that they ignore even the most dramatic signs of the times, but indications now are that the materialistic society is in fact disintegrating.

The place of judgement is another controversial point. The traditional view is that it will take place secretly in Sinai, but can it be secret in our modern world? It could, of course, if God causes it to be so. The modern view is that it takes place at Jerusalem, but this involves accepting the idea of a call to judgement after the destruction of the northern invader, and the passages which are alleged to support it tend to speak of eternal life being at Zion, which is not quite the same thing (e.g. Psalm 87:5-6; Isa. 4:2-3). Yet the three passages (Deut. 33; Psa. 68; Hab. 3) alleged to support judgement at Sinai do so only by inference. By implication, the question of where the judgement seat is situated, and when it takes place, decides whether it is the angels who are with Christ when the northern host is destroyed, or the saints, and the appropriate Scriptures are interpreted accordingly.

Readers who may feel dissatisfied that no positive conclusions have been given are reminded that the purpose of the article is to review objectively various ideas of prophecy, not to put forward the writer’s own view. It should be noted that on occasions a particular view has been criticised as being politically unlikely. It should not be forgotten however that the hand of God is behind human affairs and dramatic changes are always possible in the fulfilling of His purpose. Although political factors are relevant in assessing an interpretation, they cannot be conclusive.

It is most desirable that brethren and sisters should study the Word, striving to understand the times in which they live, and to see the inevitable approach of that Divine intervention in human affairs which all true Christians look for. Many ideas are put forward, not all of them are based on sound exposition of Scripture; all expositions should be examined critically. However, no one is an inspired interpreter of Scripture, and it is always wise to acknowledge that mistakes will occur and be prepared to adopt another viewpoint.

The matters dealt with here are by no means all that need to be considered. For example, is the prophecy of Elijah’s coming in Malachi still to be finally fulfilled? If so, when? Could such a mission take place while Israel were in the grip of an invading power without him being arrested ? If it does not occur then, when does it occur? Christ prophesied of the coming of overwhelming troubles on the world, and the saints are clearly to see them (Luke 21:25-28). Can it honestly be said that such a situation has actually arrived today, rather than being clearly on its way? If not, can we say that Christ will come any day now? All these things deserve careful consideration, for by any scheme of prophetic interpretation, troubled times face us and we will need all the help we can get from the prophetic Scriptures in order to stand firm in the Truth.

How near our conjecture is bowled to the mark I know not, but hope the reader, before he knocks this away, will lay a better in the room thereof.

Thomas Fuller (1650)