Bible prophecy

Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy comprises the passages of the Bible that claim to be communications from God to humans through prophets. The Biblical prophets are usually considered by Jews and Christians to have received revelations from God, subsequently recording them in the relevant writings. Such passages are widely distributed throughout the Bible, but those most often cited appear in Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew 24, Matthew 25, and Revelation.

Some prophecies in the Bible are conditional, with either the conditions implicitly assumed or explicitly stated. Some prophetic passages are depicted as direct statements from God, while other statements are expressed as the privileged perspective of the biblical author considered to be a prophet.

Believers in biblical prophecy engage in exegesis and hermeneutics of scriptures which they believe contain descriptions of global politics, natural disasters, the future of the nation of Israel, the coming of a Messiah and a Messianic Kingdom — as well as the ultimate destiny of humankind.

Bible

The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía, "the books") is a collection of texts sacred in Judaism and Christianity. It is a collection of scriptures written at different times by different authors in different locations. Jews and Christians consider the books of the Bible to be a product of divine inspiration or an authoritative record of the relationship between God and humans.

There is no single canonical "Bible"; many Bibles have evolved, with overlapping and diverging contents. The Christian Old Testament overlaps with the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Septuagint; the Hebrew Bible is known in Judaism as the Tanakh. The New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians, consisting of narratives, letters and apocalyptic writings. Among Christian denominations there is some disagreement about the contents of the canon, primarily in the Apocrypha, a list of works that are regarded with varying levels of respect.

Attitudes towards the Bible also vary amongst Christian groups. Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox Christians stress the harmony and importance of the Bible and sacred tradition, while Protestant churches focus on the idea of sola scriptura, or scripture alone. This concept arose during the Protestant Reformation, and many denominations today continue to support the use of the Bible as the only source of Christian teaching.

End time

The end time (also called end times, end of time, end of days, last days, final days, or eschaton) is a future time-period described variously in the eschatologies of several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), where world events achieve a final climax.

The Abrahamic faiths maintain a linear cosmology, with end-time scenarios containing themes of transformation and redemption. In Judaism, the term "end of days" makes reference to the Messianic Age, and includes an in-gathering of the exiled Jewish diaspora, the coming of the Messiah, the resurrection of the righteous and the world to come. Some sects of Christianity depict the end time as a period of tribulation that precedes the second coming of Christ, who will face the Antichrist along with his power structure and usher in the Kingdom of God. However, other Christians believe that the end time represents the personal tribulation experienced before they become enlightened with the Word of God. In Islam, the Day of Judgement is preceded by the appearance of the Mahdi mounted on a white stallion. With the help of Isa (Jesus), the Mahdi will triumph over Masih ad-Dajjal (the false messiah).

Prophecy

Prophecy involves a process in which one or more messages allegedly communicated to a prophet are then communicated to other people. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of events to come (compare divine knowledge). Historically, clairvoyance has been used as an adjunct to prophecy.

Etymology

The English word "prophecy" (noun) in the sense of "function of a prophet" appeared in Europe from about 1225, from Old French profecie (12th century), and from Late Latin prophetia, Greek prophetia "gift of interpreting the will of God", from Greek prophetes (see prophet). The related meaning "thing spoken or written by a prophet" is from c. 1300, while the verb "to prophesy" is recorded by 1377.

The word prophecy comes from the Greek verb, προφημι (prophemi), which means “to say beforehand, foretell”; it is a combination of the Greek words, προ and φημι. The Greek prefix προ also means "before," "in front of," so etymologically προφημι means to speak in front of, as a spokesperson.

Olivet Discourse

The Olivet Discourse or Olivet prophecy is a biblical passage found in the Synoptic Gospels in Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 21. It is also known as the "Little Apocalypse" because it includes the use of apocalyptic language, and it includes Jesus' warning to his followers that they will suffer tribulation and persecution before the ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God. The Olivet discourse is the last of the Five Discourses of Matthew and occurs just before the narrative of Jesus' passion beginning with the Anointing of Jesus. In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus spoke this discourse to his disciples privately on the Mount of Olives, opposite the Temple. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus taught over a period of time in the Temple and stayed at night on the Mount of Olives.

The discourse is widely believed by scholars to contain material delivered on a variety of occasions.

Some believe the passage largely refers to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the events leading up to it, although there are also references to events following this. This is one reason why scholars date the Gospel of Mark to the period just before, or just after, the events of the year 70.