Episode 65: Recapping the Moscow Eschatology Event

Bible Prophecy Under the Microscope-Episode 65

Gary shares his takeaways and summary of the recent discussion/debate he had with Douglas Wilson in Moscow, Idaho.

Does Isaiah 11:11-12 refer to a distant return of Israel back to their land, or did it have a past fulfillment in view? No Jew reading Isaiah 11 in Isaiah’s day, during the time of the exile, and the return under the decree of Cyrus (2 Chron. 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4), would ever have considered such an interpretation given that the chapter mentions Assyria, Shinar, the Philistines, Edom, Moab, “and the sons of Ammon” (vv. 11, 14). These people groups existed at the time when the prophecy was given, and the fulfillment was expected when those people groups would still exist. New Testament scholar William Hendriksen writes:

“[T]hose who believe that now, in the twentieth century AD [and 21st century], these Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites must still be destroyed or plundered or subjected will have a hard time even finding them!”

This prophecy was fulfilled when the people of Israel returned to their land, rebuilt the temple, and reestablished the priesthood and the sacrificial system after their 70-year exile.

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:2-3; cp. Ezek. 38:13).

Why do dispensationalists skip over this history and claim that the prophecies regarding Israel’s return to the land were only fulfilled in the 20th century, specifically in 1948? Israel became a nation again after Isaiah’s prophecy when the Jews returned to the land as God had promised they would after 70 years (Dan. 9:1-2; 2 Chron. 36:21-22; Ezra 1:1-4; Jer. 25:11-12; 29:10; Zech. 7:5).

Note what Isaiah 11:1 states: “Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people….” If what was revealed to Isaiah was to be the “second time,” then when was the first time? Futurists argue that the first time was when the Jews returned after the captivity, and the second time is when Israel became a nation again in 1948.

Isaiah tells us in the same chapter something about the first time:

And there will be a highway from Assyria
For the remnant of His people who will be left,
Just as there was for Israel
In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt (11:16).

If the second gathering of the remnant back to the land comes by way of Assyria, and Assyria does not exist today, the first return was when Israel “came up out of the land of Egypt.”

Prophecy Wars: The Biblical Battle Over the End Times

In his 2008 debate with Douglas Wilson, Christopher Hitchens charged that Jesus was wrong because He predicted that His coming would take place within the time span of their generation (Matt. 24:34). This, of course, would make Jesus a false prophet and the New Testament unreliable if Hitchens’ claim was true. If Jesus was wrong about what generation would be alive when the destruction of Jerusalem was to take place, then why should anyone trust Him on anything He said? In just a few sentences in his response, Wilson showed that Jesus was referring to a more near-term judgment that in fact did take place before that first-century generation passed away. It’s the only way to properly read the Olivet Discourse. Hitchens did not know how to answer Wilson.

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Gary shares his takeaways and summary of the recent discussion/debate he had with Douglas Wilson in Moscow, Idaho. It was a rare occasion for honest discussion on a topic that remains hotly contested among Christians of all types. Hopefully, it can be the first of many of such events to help the Church work through the biblical teaching on eschatology.

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