Prophetic Perspective

In Wednesday’s post, I mentioned that seventy years is given as a typical expected life span for people living on earth. Now, history shows us plenty of epochs and cultures where life expectancy was much lower, but taken overall, David’s statement seems to be a general truism since the worldwide flood of Noah’s day. 70, or even 80, is pretty normal, even in our age of medical technology.

Partly because of our current study at church, on dispensationalism, and partly because of Advent, I was reminded of another 70-year period in history. 70 years was the time the tribes of Benjamin and Judah were held in Babylonian captivity. This sentence was prophesied before it came to pass, and it was rediscovered by Daniel shortly before it ended.

Putting this in a perspective that is easier for me to fathom, I return to the memorial of Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, my own father, now absent from the body but present with the Lord, was yet a lad of 14. Seventy years later, my eldest son is 15. And my dad would have been 84 (85, in January).

So in Israel, there was likely an entire generation, like me, that never knew, experientially, the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, nor, on the other hand, the glories of the temple. Another generation was coming of age that could be given hope for the future. It is apparent, from what we read in Ezra and Nehemiah, however, some were still alive at the dedication of the new temple that had also known the glories of the temple built by Solomon, for they wept at seeing the lesser glory of the rebuilt temple.

If you’re still with me on this meander, let me ask you to consider one other facet of prophetic perspective. One day, the people of God will see One  in greater glory than any victory or building or person the world has ever known. Indeed, according to Second Thessalonians 1:5-12, it seems evident the whole world will see the glory and vengeance of the Lord.

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