Here are some of the worst predictions in history:
1. In 1773, King George II of England said, “The American colonies have little stomach for revolution.”
2. In the early 1800’s, an English astronomy professor said that air travel at high speed would be impossible because passengers would suffocate.
3. In 1911, Marshal Ferdinand Foch said, “Airplanes are interesting toys, but they have no military value.”
4. In 1912, an official of the White Star Line, speaking of the firm’s newly built flagship, the Titanic, declared that the ship was unsinkable.
5. In 1926, Lee de Forest, inventor of the cathode ray tube said, “Theoretically, television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility—a development which we should waste little time dreaming about.
6. On October 16, 1929, Economist Irving Fisher announced: “Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.”
7. In 1939, The New York Times said, “The problem of TV was that people had to glue their eyes to a screen, and that the average American wouldn’t have time for it.”
8. On December 4, 1941, Frank Knox, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, announced: “Whatever happens, the U.S. Navy is not going to be caught napping.”
9. In 1943, Thomas J. Watson, Chairman of IBM said, “I think there is a world market for about five computers.”
10. In 1958, Business Week Magazine said, “With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn’t likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market.”
11. In 1962, a recording company expert said, “We don’t think the Beatles will do anything in their market. Guitar groups are on their way out.”
12. In 2011, radio preacher Harold Camping predicted that the world would end on May 21st, and when it didn’t happen, he predicted that the world would end on October 21st.
13. And finally, on the morning of November 27, 2011, the Rev. Jason R. McConnell predicted that he would be getting his wife a diamond ring for Christmas this year!
Like I said, these are some of the worst predictions in history! Making predictions is risky business! If you make a prediction and it comes to pass, you look like a genius and become revered as a prophet. But if you make a prediction and it does not come to pass, you appear foolish, become a laughingstock, and even worse, lose people’s trust.
The two Bible passages that I just read to you are both predictions. But unlike the others that I just shared with you, these are two of the greatest predictions in history. They are both predictions of advent. We must remember that the Latin word “Advent” simply means “coming.” Typically we associate the advent season in the church calendar with the coming with Jesus’ first coming at Christmas, but advent or “coming” also calls us to look beyond Christ’s First Coming in Bethlehem and think about his second coming, for which we are still waiting. Jeremiah 33:14-16 is a prediction of the First Advent of Christ and Luke 21:25-36 is a prediction of his Second Advent. This morning, I would like to show you how both advents have deep significance for our lives today. Therefore, let us take a look at two of the greatest predictions in the history of the world!
Predicting the First Advent (Jeremiah 33:14-16)
In the sixth century B.C., Jeremiah was one of the prophets that predicted that Judah would be besieged and the Israelites would be taken into Babylonian captivity for 70 years and then God would deliver his people from exile and bring restoration to their nation. It is in the midst of this prediction of restoration that he predicts the first advent of the Christ. In Jeremiah 33:14-16, he says, “The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.”
Through Jeremiah, God declared that he would fulfill his gracious promise to his people and send a Messiah to deliver them. He declared that the monarchy and the priesthood, which had been interrupted by the exile, will be restored in the person of the Messiah. Notice the details about this predicted Messiah. First, it says that this “branch” would “sprout from David’s line.” The words “branch” and “sprout” are images from a family tree and they mean that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David.
Second, notice that the prophecy qualifies this Messiah as righteous—he will do what is just and right in the land. This king would be different from all of the other kings. Unlike all of the other kings, this king would be righteous. He wouldn’t be arrogant and selfish like King Saul. He wouldn’t be an adultery and murderer like King David. He wouldn’t be a womanizer and shyster like King Solomon. He wouldn’t lead the people into idolatry like all of the other kings did. This king would be called: “The Lord Our Righteousness.”
Third, notice the purpose of the Messiah—to bring salvation to Judah and safety to Jerusalem. His mission would be to deliver his people from exile and bring restoration.
Think about how this prediction was fulfilled at the first advent of Jesus Christ! Jesus was, in fact, a descendant of King David. Both Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies trace Jesus’ family lineage back to David and even back to Abraham. Also, not only was Jesus a royal descendant of David, but he was also born in Bethlehem, the same town in which David was born. Jesus is the restoration of the Davidic monarchy!
Second, the prophecy of the righteous Messiah was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Even though he took on human flesh through the incarnation, he maintained all of his divine attributes which enabled him to be born without a sinful nature and maintain moral perfection throughout his life. Although he faced every form of temptation, he never sinned; not even once! Jesus lived a perfectly holy life and did what was just and right in the land.
Both Jesus’ divine nature, revealed through his righteous life, and his human nature, revealed through his royal lineage, allowed him to accomplish his mission of bringing salvation and safety to his people. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he grew up and was crucified, buried, and resurrected on the third day. Since he was perfectly righteous man, he was an acceptable sacrifice and could make atonement for the sins of the human race. In one sense, Jesus has already fulfilled his mission; in another sense, he is still fulfilling his mission today. Since his first advent, he has offered people forgiveness for sins, freedom from judgment, and the hope of everlasting life. Have you received the benefits of the first advent?
Jeremiah was predicting so much more than national restoration after 70 years of Babylonian exile. He was predicting the restoration of human souls from spiritual exile. Predictions are indeed risky business; Jeremiah’s prediction of the first advent was made 600 years before it came to pass, but it did! And this is why we are thankful on Thanksgiving Day! This is why we have hope during the season of Advent! This is why we are filled with joy at Christmas!
Predicting the Second Advent (Luke 21:25-36)
For a prediction of the Second Advent (or the second coming of Christ), we focus our attention on Jesus own words in Luke 21:25-36. This passage is called the Olivet Discourse because Jesus was sitting with his disciples on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple when he delivered it. In this last section of the discourse, he gives an explanation, tells a parable, and announces a warning about his the Second Advent.
An Explanation of the Second Advent (Luke 21:25-28)
First, he explains the signs that will appear just prior to his return. There will be strange disturbances in the heavenly bodies: the sun, moon, and stars. There will also be strange signs on earth: nations will be in anguish and the sea will roar and toss like never before. These cosmic and catastrophic events will be so perplexing and terrifying that people will faint from fear.
A Parable about the Second Advent (Luke 21:29-33)
After Jesus explains these signs, he tells them a parable about the timing of the events. Jesus here teaches what we might call a “seasonal” approach to prophecy, rather than a “specific” approach. Jesus never encourages the setting of dates, just as he refused to indicate a single sign which would accompany his coming. How, then, were His disciples to recognize that His return was near? Not by a single sign, but by a combination of events which indicated that the “season” of his return was at hand.
This is an agricultural analogy, the discerning of the season by observing the signs of its arrival. When the fig tree begins to put out leaves, we know that it is spring, and that summer cannot be too far off. The farmer recognizes the season by noting those evidences of its arrival. Jesus has likewise just informed his disciples (of all ages) of the evidences of the “season” of His second coming. Those who would like to know the exact time of His arrival will not be happy with our Lord’s answer. The nearness of his return will be sensed by those who are alert to the evidences of its arrival.
A Warning for the Second Advent (Luke 21:34-36)
Since his disciples would only know the signs of the season of his Second Coming, he warns them to always be alert and ready. He warns them about getting caught up in dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, because the Second Coming will come upon them unexpectedly. They should avoid selfish and self-indulgent attitudes and behavior and be spiritually ready for Jesus’ return at any moment.
During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives: On May 19th, 1780 the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought.” Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we’re to be lights as we watch and wait.
Are you ready for the Second Advent? Is your soul prepared for the return of Christ or is your heart weighed down with selfishness, indulgence, and the anxieties of life? If you are not ready, I pray that you would heed Christ’s warning and put your faith in him today. You may say, “The world has been waiting on this prediction to be fulfilled for 2000 years
The focus of the entire Advent season is the celebration of Christ’s First Advent and the anticipation of Christ’s Second Advent. In this double focus on past and future, Advent symbolizes our spiritual journey as we affirm that Christ has come, that he is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for Kingdom ethics, for holy living arising from a profound sense that we live “between the times” and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people.
Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, anticipation, preparation, and longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliverance by a God who has heard the cries of oppressed and brought deliverance!
It is that hope, however faint at times, which brings to the world the anticipation of a King who will rule with truth and justice and righteousness over his people and in his creation. It is that hope that once anticipated, and now anticipates anew, the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah, who will bring peace and justice and righteousness to the world.
Part of the expectation also anticipates a judgment on sin and a calling of the world to accountability before God. We long for God to come and set the world right! So, let us celebrate God’s breaking into history in the Incarnation, and may we always be ready for the future consummation to that history.