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POSTED
15 JULY, 1999
Millennium
Madness or Prophecy Awareness?
by
J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net
As we move further
into the Twenty-First Century, three categories
of Believers are rising to the surface. Each has
a definitive view of end-time Bible prophecy and
many in each category unfortunately criticize or
slander the other. The first are those who
believe that major events will happen at
literally “any moment.” The second are those who
believe prophetic events can happen. The third
are those who believe nothing will occur.
It is a definite possibility that
end-time events foretold in Scripture may occur
in our lifetimes, but there is a difference
between looking for events and speaking
presumptuously. There is a distinction between
those being aware of our times, and phenomena
such as “millennial madness” or “Jerusalem
syndrome.” There must be a clear Scriptural
approach to these issues, so that we not be led
astray by the presumptuous teachings or
sensationalism of a person and damage our
testimonies to the secular world.
It is not our intention to
criticize anyone, but this is a serious
problem—especially for some coming into an
“understanding,” perhaps limited, of the
Messianic movement and Torah observance. Many
have lost credibility and believability because
of statements or rash decisions they have made,
and it should be noted that some of the same are
“Messianic” in some way. Unfortunately, a few
individuals can do much damage on the Body of
Messiah at large. They can affect how a
relatively new move of God is viewed by secular
society and the larger Christian world. We must
consider what kind of testimony we have to the
world and remain true to our convictions, but at
the same time be tactful in what we say in
regard to eschatology.
Let us examine each school of
thought and analyze the various viewpoints
mentioned, seeing what the Bible says about
certain actions or belief systems. We have
appropriately listed each category by a
statement that is common with it.
J.K. McKee
(B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury
Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN
Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic
apologist.
He is a 2009 recipient of the Zondervan Biblical
Languages Award for Greek.
He
is author of
numerous books, dealing with a wide range of
topics that are important for today’s
Messianic Believers. He has also written many articles on
theological issues,
and is presently focusing his attention on Messianic commentaries
of various books of the Bible. |
