Prophets and Apocalypse

If the primary purpose of Prophets is to reveal God's will, to condemn our sins (especially false worship and injustice) and to provide warnings of judgment (when we sin) and provide words of hope (to the faithful who suffer and to those under the rod of wrath), then the next question is what part does the predictive play in their message? And what about Messiah Jesus, is He foretold in their words?

As we have discussed in the last ten posts, Jesus fully-fills-up the words of the ancient texts. NT writers frequently take the words of the OT (usually taken out of context) to connect the Jesus story with the OT story of salvation. As I hope is clear, this connecting is not to show a prediction is fulfilled, rather it is to show the saving power of God in the humanity of Jesus. He takes up all our lives (past, present, future) and in Him the fullness of God is present.

Yet there are places where an "ideal" King or "model" savior echoes in the texts of SS. Once more the multivalence is evident (this king may be Hezekiah, for example). But Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of our aspirations for the True Ruler. So the holy longing of the prophets really does point beyond to the greater horizon encompassed by Jesus the Messiah. And in every age, the prophet's and our own, there are false rulers and anti-Messiahs (anti-Christ) who align with the dark forces of fallen man, fallen nature and the demonic. Such people and institutions are pseudo-gods, demanding our worship and wealth, doling out largesse as they see fit. And always demanding that we take on some outward sign of comformity to their agenda and cause. Be it big business or labor, sports or recreational groups, social, or even church, communities there is always a proclivity to make the finite and limited into something more than it is. To turn a sacrament (in and through) into an idol (worship the thing). I pledge allegiance to the flag and at times the powers behind the flag set themselves up as superior to God and His Christ. And that is life on a fallen earth, populated with folks who don't get it much of the time. And no corner of our world is safe from this.

In prophetic literature, one popular theme is "The Day of the Lord." This is a designation of the time when the Creator God will save His creatures, when the God of Heaven comes to rule on earth. It is the day for which Israel longed, deliverance from her foes and glorification by her God. Yet, the prophets twisted this concept on its head. That exact phrase occurs two dozen times in the Bible, about half in prophets.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=day+of+the+Lord&t=NKJV

Is 13 is an oracle against Babylon, the nation which overwelmed and destroyed God's people. We know that this invasion was called God's judgment on His people. Yet the sin of Babylon was also great and Isaiah saw this oracle "...wail for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almigty...every human heart will melt...pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman....See the day of the Lord comes cruel, with wrath and fierce anger...For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising , and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil....therefore I will make the heaven tremble and the earth will be shaken out of its place."

Obviously, there is much judgment here, but the judgment is against Israel's enemies. Notice too the use of the "dark sun and stars" image. This refers to a time of judgment long ago, Babylon did fall after all. The use of the image, which is adopted and magnified in apocalyptic, is just that, an image. It reveals with a word picture the depth and power and meaning of what takes place. Remember, the heavens are the divine realm in ancient times. The powers rule from there! [see also Joel, "the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood"]

As I said, however, the prophets turn this on its head. Amos 5:18 ("woe to you who desire the day of the Lord. For what good is the day of the Lord for you? It is darkness and not light") makes clear that some will be surprised that they are on the wrong side of God's day. Much like Jesus' parables on the judgment, people who think they are "in" end up "out" and vice-versa.

What apocalyptic writers do is convey a similar prophet message (judgment for and judgment against; wrath and hope) to a people. Their audiences are usually on the wrong end of oppression, often times under severe persecution. The imagery of the prophets (sun darkened) is intensified and the actors are identified in symbols and images. Babylon, for example, later becomes a symbol of Rome, or any nation state set against the God of Israel, the God and Father of Jesus Christ. There are also symbolic animals (eagles, monsters, lambs/rams) which can be applied to myriad individuals or groups. But the key is understanding that it is based in prophecy, and prophecy is not about a secret message to be decoded to foretell the future. It is clear as this: repent, believe, turn from sin, turn from the wrath to come.