The Biblical Source
of Eschatology
(2 Pet. 1:20), means prophecy which is Scripture. From the opening word of Genesis to the closing word of Revelation all is prophecy. The word means essentially speaking for God. Hence there are two kinds of prophecy in the Bible: historical, which deals with things already come to pass; and predictive, which deals with things that are yet to come to pass.
Predictive prophecy constitutes the great body of material from which the doctrines of eschatology come. God alone knows the future. As encouragement and instruction for His people the Lord declared through Isaiah, His prophet, "I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isa. 46:9-10). Almost one third of the Bible is given over to the predictive element. This is clear indication that God intended that His people should be properly informed of the future. In comparing the proportion of emphasis given to the two comings of Christ, it is interesting to note that for every prophecy concerning Christ's first coming, there are eight for His second. Yet the emphasis given in theological teaching and preaching to eschatology is wholly out of balance with the word of God.
Historical prophecy, covering the other two thirds of the Bible, also provides a storehouse of information concerning the future. The reason for this is twofold. On the one hand there is implicit within the facts of commencement and continuation the destiny and outcome of things. On the other hand prediction of the future grew out of historical situations. Therefore it was logical for the predictive elements to be woven very naturally into the fabric of the word of God for the sake of conditioning present life with the truth about the future. It is therefore to be understood that the entire Bible becomes the source material from which the doctrines of eschatology may be formulated.
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