Aunty, do other Christians interpret the prophecies the same way we do?
16 June 2025 |
Dear Aunt Sevvy,
Are there other denominations that interpret Daniel and Revelation in similar ways to Adventists?.
Signed, Curious About Prophecy
Dear Curious
Daniel and Revelation, with its numbers and metaphorical beasts, have always been a rich field for speculation about the end times. One of the most famous works exploring all of these interpretations was written by Seventh-day Adventist LeRoy Froom—and it fills four dense and lengthy volumes!
Some of the prophetic interpretations of other Christians have been similar to ours. For example, Luther and other reformers identified some of the figures in these books as the papacy, like Adventists did. Others have agreed that Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of various metals, and the succession of beasts that Daniel saw, described the history of great nations.
Key interpretations, though, are unique to us. Among them:
- The 2300 day prophecy in Daniel ending in 1844 with the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary.
- The beast from the earth in Revelation 13 as the persecuting United States of America.
- Various texts used to identify Sabbath-keepers, and opposition to the Sabbath in the end times.
- Revelation 12:17 and 19:10 used in tandem to identify Seventh-day Adventism as the remnant church of Bible prophecy.
Right now, the predominant eschatology of conservative Protestantism is called dispensationalism and it is even more speculative than ours is. You have probably heard the notion of a “secret rapture” when suddenly the saved are snatched away, leaving the rest of us here to carry on with life.
Aunty wants to believe Jesus when he says he’s coming again. But unlike many Adventists, she takes Jesus seriously when he says, “No one knows the time of my return—not the angels, not even me, but only my Father.”
In other words, we should limit our speculation, and just be faithful to Jesus.
Aunt Sevvy
Sevvy has collected her answers into a book! You can get it from Amazon by clicking here.
You can write to Aunt Sevvy at DearAuntSevvy@gmail.com. Your real identity will never be revealed.
