A principle of interpretation is to reduce data to its simplest form and then add the details.
Truth is absolute - perspective is relative!
The whole of the Biblical narrative marches unto the epoch of the ages when Messiah will come and aright all wrongs and satisfy the full measure of His justice! In fact, there is more written about Messiah's Second Coming than His First Coming, with over 150 chapters dedicated to the end time narrative. And there is a repeated theme over and over, and that is Israel is God's clock and He has attached the validity of His Name and the entire legitimacy of the His Word to the fate of Israel! The final redemption of the Jewish people is His next big move! Within those repeated scenarios, there is a role for Jew and a role for Gentiles during this time.
With that said, end time prophecies suffer greatly at the whims of speculation and conjecture that are not rooted in patterns. Our “artistic interpretations” adrift from the deeply rooted prophetic architecture patterned in Scripture, fails to illustrate clear projections and has created an abyss of confusion.
My effort unto this point has been to provide a foundational understanding that helps to see both our presence and role during the end times. My effort forward will be to provide tools that will aid in Understanding Biblical Timing, the wire-frame of Prophet Architecture, End-time Passage Summaries. Hopefully, we can gain confidence in discerning the various end time variables at play in our world today and anticipate that which is to come.
There are two opposite spectrums when approaching end times – there are those who consider it unfruitful to give focused energy to the study and teaching on the topic, and the opposite, those who obsess endlessly about the end time narrative. To be sure, it is less than brilliant not to talk about the end times during the end times!
However, from the get go, let's have the aim in site, as the Apostle Paul said,
And though I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am' Cor 13:2
Paul's strong admonishment is couched in the New Testament's description of true love as the manifest fruit of knowing and abiding in The Lord! There is no substitute to knowing God personally and His nature being expressed through us! In fact, the entire topic of end times is written as a loving full disclosure, that informs the world, through His Word, of what is coming upon the earth. We get to choose how we will respond.
With that said, Jesus gives the most thorough, succinct, and distilled description of the timeline leading up to end times in all of Scripture. But He also immediately provides a series of parables in how to respond to being informed -- being smart about the matter is not what qualifies us, but being faithful to Him! His point is to keep the main thing the main thing -- let's keep ourselves in the love of God!
My effort will be to provide you with tools to aid in your own study of the end times through three categories: Understanding Biblical Timing, Prophetic Architecture, and Seeing the Big Picture. Hopefully, it will help us see both our presence and purposeful role in and the end times.
Regardless of our views, a fundamental compass in objective learning is that truth is an absolute, but perspective is relative! In an age that demands that our opinions and perspectives be regarded as "the truth," we need to know the difference between truth, revealed in the written Word of God, and opinionated perspectives. Also, we can employ a principle of interpretation that will help aid in any topic or discussion and that is, reduce data to its simplest form and then add details.
One last encouragement, like in all life, we are not called to manage the outcomes, but ourselves. As we calibrate our site and steps to His plumb-line of truth during these end-times -- our work is to be found faithful at His coming!