Where are we on the time-table of Prophecy?

Far too many proponents of disbelief in the prophecies of the bible are rolling their eyes or showing a smirk as they think the rest are just living in a make-believe world of fantasy. How many people in the days of Noah were just that as this crazy man began to build a boat in an area where there was no water. (Gn 6: 5 - 8). Or how about those who watched David, this young sheep-herder, standing before Golath just tantalizing this giant of warriors. (1 Sm 17). His was not a prophecy but was a giant himself about to change the history of the Hebrews by following the God who chose Israel as his favorite nation because of their allegiance to their God.

As we open the annals of the Old Testament and read book after book of how the Lord gave future occurrences of his plan, through chosen prophets, to redeem man from their sins by the Incarnation of his Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill his promise of opening the door to an eternal existence with himself.

In the beginning God makes himself known: “God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, provides men with constant evidence of himself in created realities. And furthermore, wishing to open up the way to heavenly salvation, he manifested himself to our first parents from the very beginning.” He invited them to intimate communion with himself and clothed them with resplendent grace and justice. (CCC 54).

Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their hearts. The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations. Above all, the poor and humble of the Lord will bear this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Hannah, Judith, and Esther kept alive the hope of Israel’s salvation. The purest figure among them is Mary. (CCC 64).

From the beginning until “the fullness of time,” the joint mission of the Father’s Word and Spirit remains hidden, but it is at work. God’s Spirit prepares for the time of the Messiah. Neither is fully revealed but both are already promised, to be watched for and welcomed at their manifestation So, for this reason, when the Church reads the Old Testament, she searches there for what the Spirit, “who has spoken through the prophets.” wants to tell us about Christ. (CCC 702).

The people of the “poor” - those who, humble and meek, rely solely on their God’s mysterious plans, who await the justice, not of men bur of the Messiah - are in the end the the great achievement of the Holy Spirit’s hidden mission during the promises that prepare for Christ’s coming. It is this quality of heart, purified and enlightened by the Spirit, which is expressed in the Psalms. In these poor, the Spirit is making ready “a people prepared for the Lord.” (CCC 716).

Where do we think that current prophecies of Christ’s return will be fulfilled by what is beginning to occur in our 21st century? Are we actually living in the days foretold in Revelation? The future of the eschatology events that Jesus spoke of, and noted in Matthew chapter 24, paints a grim picture for anyone who does not believe in prophecy. But for the rest of us, the signs of end-time prophecies are increasing more rapidly, more intense, and more of an opening to our minds that the truth is upon us. (Mt 24: 1 ff).

All that was prophesied before the Incarnation of Christ has occurred. What is prophesied since Christ came and suffered death and rose from the dead have also been fulfilled. What is about to unfold before our eyes, and perhaps many of us reading this, is closer than many want to believe. Keep your faith and do not shrink from fear. We are the remnant of God’s redeeming quality of eternal life that all will find as we wait for our Christ to return to take us home forever.

Ralph B. Hathaway