Fantastic Theories and Interpretations

One of these theories, which is quite popu­lar today in the Fundamentalist branch of Protestantism, is the secret coming of Christ, commonly called "the rapture." This rapture, we are told, introduces a period of seven years, at the beginning of which a world prince, antichrist, or the "beast-king"—as one pro­phetic expositor calls him—will enter into a league with the Jews, guaranteeing to protect them during that seven-year period. As a direct result of this league, the magnificent temple which the prophet Ezekiel saw in vision will replace the mosque of Omar, now occupying the ancient temple site. This ,will be followed by resumption in the new temple of the ritual of the ancient sanctuary service.

In the midst of this seven-year period, the world prince, or antichrist, is to repudiate the covenant which he made with the Jews, and thereby cause the sacrifices and oblations to cease in the temple. The "beast-king" will then force the Jews, as well as the people of every nation, to worship him. The breaking of the league with the Jews by the beast-king in the midst of the seven years marks the beginning of the time of trouble of Daniel r2:1, and the tribulation of Matthew 24:21, which lasts three and one-half years, at the close of which Christ comes in power and great glory, destroys antichrist, or the beast-king who has taken his seat in the new temple of Jerusalem, and sits there Himself upon the literal throne of David which He restores. This event marks the beginning of the mil­lennium. The Jews en masse accept Christ as their Messiah and their King, and with the Jewish nation now restored as the people of God, Christ uses them as His special evange­listic agency in preaching His gospel to all the Gentile world. And since Satan is bound so that he cannot hinder, all the nations will be converted, with the possible exception of an incorrigible few.

What is the reason for all this unscriptural ^-hodgepodge"? It is the result of incorrect and fantastic private interpretation. It is agreed by the advocates of this theory that the seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy rep­resent a fixed number of years, that is, 490; and that they reach to the time of Christ's first corning. But then with no Scripture warrant the seventieth week is cut off from the 490 years, and goes a-flying down through the centuries of the Christian Era. Then in the very last days, after 2,000 years, it is dragged out and made to fit conjured-up theories of last-day events. One can at once see where they get "the midst of the week," ^-cause the sacrifices and oblations to cease," "the making of the covenant for one week," and "sitting in the temple of God." The restoration of the Jewish nation as God's na­tion is part and parcel of this man-made theory.

There are a few further samples of far­fetched interpretations of Scripture:

1. During the former World War the Turks surrendered Jerusalem to General Allenby on December 9, 1917, but he waited several days before taking possession of the city. Mean­while he warned the Turkish commander in chief that if there were any acts of sabotage on the part of the Turkish soldiers, the result would he an aerial bombardment. And to serve notice that he meant what he said, he sent several airplanes to fly over Jerusalem. On December II the British entered Jeru­salem while the airplanes were flying over­head, and thus Isaiah 31:5 was fulfilled, so it is claimed, "As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem."

I quote from A. U. Michelson, "The Jews and Palestine in the Light of Prophecy :"

"Think back thirty-four centuries. The wildest flight of the imagination in those days could not have foreseen what is now taking place. Yet the prophet was given to see that 'in the latter days men would fly like birds,'" and he then quotes Isaiah 6o:8 ; "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?"—Page 58.

1. Since 1917 many Jews have returned to Palestine. They have been draining swamps, planting orange groves and olive orchards, cultivating almond plantations, and turning portions of Palestine into a high state of cul­tivation. This is in fulfillment, we are told, of Isaiah 35:i: "The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose."

2. There are now thirty-three Hebrew peri­odicals in Palestine, including three daily papers and ten weeklies. In 1913, 800 books were published, and L000 were published in 1933. All this, the interpreters say, is in fulfillment of Daniel iz :4: ^-Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Does this bring forth a smile? How about our own stock interpretation that the increase of knowledge refers to scientific knowledge, and that the running to and fro refers to extensive travel on land and sea, by steamship, train, airplane. automobile, etc.? Is not the comment on this verse in "The Great Con­troversy," page 360, more true to the text?

3. For a long time, says one prophetic ex­positor, the land seemed to be cursed, and rains were withheld. But since the Jews have begun to return, under the favor of Great Britain, there has been an increase of rainfall year by year; and so the promise of Joel 2:23 regarding the early and latter rain is being fulfilled.

4. Recently a highway was completed, run­ning from Jerusalem to joppa, and was given-the name, ^-The Way of Holiness." This, it is said, is the fulfillment of Isaiah 35:8: "A highway shall be there, . . . and it shall be called The way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it," etc. But the fact that the unclean are still passing over this highway does not seem to perplex these interpreters.

5. In Isaiah 6o:9 we read: "Surely the isles shall wait for Me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee." A minister, regarded as the peer of prophetic expositors by the Fundamentalists, who is preaching that the Jews will be re­stored to God's favor as a nation, commenting on this, says:

"Did you notice that when the Jews move back home, they will take with them their money? What will 'little old New York' do then, with all its Jewish bankers and merchants missing, together with their silver and gold? The day is coming when the financial center of the world will be no longer in New York, nor in London, but in Jerusalem, the political and spiritual capital of world-wide empire, the city of the Great King, the joy of the whole earth."

Since this was written, our country has gone off the gold standard, and the President has called in all gold, from both Jews and Gen­tiles. Now if the Bible be interpreted in this fashion, it can be made to substantiate almost any doctrine anyone may wish to preach. A certain writer gave the scripture a double meaning—when there was no justification for it, either in the Bible, the Spirit of prophecy, or sanctified common sense—making every Old Testament incident a type which must be met by an antitype in these last days. As an example of the absurdity of this kind of inter­pretation, the seven-year famine in the land of Egypt was a type of the gospel age; Jacob was a type of Elder James White; Pharaoh a type of our educational leaders; the mid­wives a type of our church school teachers; the land of Goshen a type of the United States of America, etc.

We may smile at such absurdities, but as ministers, would it not be profitable to ask ourselves these questions : How am I inter­preting the Scriptures? Am I in any wise violating sound rules of Bible interpretation ? Do my interpretations of the Scriptures in­crease solid faith in the Bible as God's word?

A few samples of ill-conceived interpreta­tions, made by ministers, are as follows:

1. One Adventist preacher told a large con­gregation that the Gibeonites who deceived Joshua into making a league with them were a type of the 144,000 of Revelation 7; that the five kings who fled from Joshua's army were a type of the wicked at the second coming of Christ; that the cave in which they hid and were imprisoned when Joshua rolled great stones over the entrance was a type of the bottomless pit of Revelation 2o; that their being brought out and destroyed after­ward was a type of the destruction of the wicked at the end of the millennium.

2. Some of our ministers still teach that Nahum's chariots, mentioned in connection with the impending destruction of Nineveh, refer to modern railroad engines with their blazing headlights, and the automobiles of today; and that "he shall recount his worthies" of Nahum 2:5 refers to a conductor going through a passenger coach punching tickets. Is this not a questionable interpretation of a few verses to sustain which necessitates wrest­ing them from their context?

We object to the antinomians' taking one verse, like Romans 6:14, and using it to teach something entirely out of harmony with the context, simply because its wording seems to suit their theories. We charge them with wresting the Scriptures, and not rightly divid­ing the word of truth, but do we not some­times violate the same principle?

3. Another minister says that the expres­sions "the merchants of Harshish" and the "young lions" of Ezekiel 38:13 unquestionably refer to Great Britain.

4. Another, endeavoring to explain Revela­tion 14:20, "And blood came out . . . even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thou­sand and six hundred furlongs," stated that the 1,600 furlongs equaled 200 miles (which was correct), and said that he had ridden in an automobile from Jerusalem to Megiddo and was surprised to observe that the speedometer registered exactly 200 miles, and this showed that in the great Armageddon there would be a river of literal blood, 200 miles long, and between five and six feet deep. He did not explain how wide the river would be, or how far it would overflow.

5. Another told a large audience, many of whom were not of our faith, that the star of Bethlehem was a type of the falling stars of 1833; that the siege of Jerusalem under Cestius was a type of the great World War of 1914-1918, and that the final siege and fall of Jerusalem under Titus was a type of the last war, Armageddon, leaving the impression that there would be no war between the last World War and Armageddon.

6. A minister, not of our persuasion, en­deavoring to find some place in the New Tes­tament where the Sunday sabbath was men­tioned before the cross, when the new covenant was ratified, found it in Luke 6:1: "It came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first," etc. The second Sabbath was Sunday, he said, after the first Sabbath (the seventh-day Sabbath) was passing out. We smile at that ; but isn't it just as absurd for a Seventh-day Adventist minister to quote Isaiah 56 :rz, "Tomorrow shall be as this day and much more abundant," and then explain that the "tomor­row" refers to the Sunday sabbath, and "this day" refers to the seventh-day Sabbath?