Handout - Western Christadelphian Bible School

Introduction: On Dogmatism - Laying a Foundation
It is often said that we ought not to be dogmatic about prophecy. There are at least three
common reasons for this view:
(a) Many brethren have only a tenuous grasp of the subject - to the point that further
reading or discussion only confuses and unsettles them.
(b) It is rare for any two expositions to reach the same conclusion and this only adds to the
confusion.
(c) Sometimes, firm conclusions about prophecy lead to conflict. Some brethren would
rather put aside a search for truth than risk vigorous debate, which they find
distressing. They believe that arguing about prophecy (or anything, really) is
inconsistent with the spirit of Christ.
Holders of such views have a point. Our world is full of every kind of voice stridently
pontificating about things to come. The effect is most unseemly. And it may be
presumptuous to add to the babble. In the end it really doesn’t matter what we think is going
to happen. God is not bound by our understanding of His word. He will do exactly as He
pleases. What we think about future events may even turn out to be profoundly irrelevant.
Yet the Bible is full of prophecy, and disciples have always wished to know, at least in
outline, what is to happen. A little prior knowledge should turn out to be immensely helpful.
For example, there are very few who can sail through a searching university examination
without at least some idea of what they are likely to face in the exam room. Even an
elementary understanding of the framework of prophecy should somewhat prepare us for the
return of the Lord.
And there are several Biblical examples that validate prophetic enquiry. The Olivet
prophecy arose out of the disciples’ need to understand Jesus’ prediction about the
destruction of the temple; 1 Paul wrote to the Thessalonians implying that they knew at least a
little about “the times and seasons”; 2 Jesus gave us the book of Revelation so as “to shew
unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass”, 3 etc. So we have every reason to
look into the subject.
Yet we must guard against dogmatism. One dictionary 4 defines it as “unwarranted
stubbornness of opinion” or “a viewpoint based on insufficiently examined premises”.
Most of our difficulties with prophecy arise out of the subjective nature of our thinking, a
problem of which we mostly seem to be blissfully unaware. Although he doesn’t realise that
his methodology is questionable, a student proposes what he thinks is a solid and reasonable
interpretation and, naturally, he strongly commits to it. But his notions usually turn out to be
impossible to reconcile with the views of others - who are just as strongly committed to their
ways of looking at things. Difficulties arise when strong views lead to conflict. Regrettably,
stubbornness of opinion is usually associated with insufficiently examined premises. We
must lay a foundation that helps us to at least recognise subjective elements in our
arguments, even if we cannot entirely eliminate them from the discussion.
1 Matthew 24:1-3, etc.
2 1 Thessalonians 5:1.
3 Revelation 1:1.
4 Merriam-Webster.
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