Harvard Professors and TV Producers – Do They really Know Much About the Second Coming of Christ

In a world bent on acquiring ever more knowledge being referred to as being intelligent has supplanted the idea of a moral and decent life. I attended a funeral where the deceased was known for having been a cranky, ungodly, unloving man throughout his entire life. I thank God I wasn’t asked to give the eulogy. The person that had to deliver the eulogy was hard put to find a decent word to say about the deceased. I will never forget the single word he was able to find in praise for decedent. He said “he was as we all know, a very intelligent man.”
While being intelligent has never been a requirement for entering the kingdom of God it is also not required for interpreting the scriptures or the exposition of biblical prophecies. That does not mean that it is left to the ignorant to tell what is in the scripture. It is the believing and faithful alone that are allowed to see what the word of God is saying. Jesus said the Pharisees heard what he was saying but because they chose not to believe it, its truth was concealed from them regardless of their intelligence. Both the Pharisees and today’s scholars and scoffers are still making true the adage that “The worldly say let me see and then I’ll believe while the Godly say I believe and thus they see”
That revelation and understanding is kept from certain people has nothing to do with their intelligence or the lack of it. In fact it is God himself who promises to keep them in the dark because of their unbelief.
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. Matthew 13:11
And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Luke 8:10
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. Luke 10:21
The Apostle Paul scoffed at the scoffers especially those who fancied themselves men of letters and of science. O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:20,21
The learned have never understood the principle of revelation. It is not what we learn that shows what God is saying but it is what God reveals to us about what he has said that matters. This principle is seen in Christ’s answer to Peter when Peter told him that he knew Jesus was the Son of the Living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 16:17
When the history channel aired its review of the Christian view of the apocalypse they called on several prominent university professors to comment on the renewed interest in the doctrines of the second coming of Christ. Many allusions were also drawn from movies like “Left Behind and the Omen. After presenting what is commonly believed in the church today about the second coming, the remainder of the program was used to de-bunk or cast doubt on those views. Calling on the views and comments of unbelieving doctors of divinity and TV and Hollywood puppets, they managed to raise more questions than they answered. Although not a laughing matter it seemed as if they were getting their best answers from Dr. Twiddle D.D. and Rufus T. Firefly. I think it’s safe to say that the apostles, prophets and certified bible preachers in any generation are far more believable than those the history channel chose to speak for them.
Before Christ was born in Bethlehem King Herod wanted to know where he was to be born. He asked his scribes and priests who after checking the writings of the prophets they informed Herod that he would be born in Bethlehem of Ephrata. Two amazing things can be learned from this little bit of scripture. First, what could be known about Christ’s first coming was readily available through prophecies contained in scripture. The second was that this knowledge was used to perform one of the bloodiest child massacres in the history of the world.
Nothing much has changed over the years. All that can be known about Christ’s second coming can still be found in the scriptures. And for those who are unbelieving and evil that knowledge will be scoffed at or misused to conduct themselves and others to their own inevitable judgment.