Another Gameshow? Nope Its the Future

For at least twenty years I have tried to solve a puzzle. It's contained in the Bible.

Given the times we live in, the idea of the end of the age of man is not as far fetched a thought as it was, say in the 1960's. That golden decade was still some twenty or so years removed from the first two uses of the atom bomb (versus Japan). That decade also included history's next brush with conflagration, the United States versus the Soviet Union masquerading as Cuba in 1963. No fallout resulted from that one, no duck and cover response for real. But certainly a close call.

With the increase in technology in recent years, cable channels have included much more religious broadcasting. All kinds of formats, all kinds of churches. Prophecy is a frequent subject. Where would Bible prophecy be without the end of the age of man? The forties had Japan, the sixties had the Soviets, the eighties had something of a void with Reagan tearing down East Germany's wall, and now to the 21st century with 9/11 and all its tentacles.

Within the Bible there are many prophetic statements. Unraveling them is a huge intellectual task. But one stands out. Does the Bible accurately predict the rebirth of Israel on May 14, 1948? The chain of logic starts with the original nation of Israel going in to captivity in Babylon. The book of Ezekiel predicts 430 years of punishment for Israel. The book of Leviticus contains a rule saying the punishment will be 7 times that for specific reasons. When adjusted for the change from lunar to Gregorian calendar (360 day years to 365.24 day years) and the passage from BC to AD (no year zero)the calculation brings us from the aforementioned captivity in Babylon to May 14, 1948.

Why is this a big deal? Haven't all generations wonder if this is it? Likely so. I first heard about this news over 20 years ago and it has stuck in my mind ever since. First as an intellectual challenge, a sort of unmade bed of the mind. Then as a serious consideration our circumstances.

The truth is, the advance of technology has occurred in warfare as well as medicine. It has advanced our capacity to communicate so that catastrophes are seem closer to us than a scratchy far away radio voice from the European front sixty years ago. We are closer to the triumph and disaster that ever, which personalizes those things more.

The Bible that seems to predict the 1948 restoration of Israel also has other, more sinister things to say about the "End of the Age of Man". Hal Lindsey wrote his widely read book "The Late Great Planet Earth" in 1970. Man has always watched history unfold before his eyes. Our ability to make warfare has been on an ever upward technological trend over the same time span. It would be well to watch current events with a Bible close by. Not to evangelize so much as to exactly how divinely inspired it has always been.