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Uncovering a
2500
Year
Old
TIME CAPSULE
ERICA'S BICENTENNI AL
in
976 saw dozens of time
capsules buried in virtual–
ly every state across the nation.
A time capsule is a metallic
container into which records and
mementos of one generation are
placed for safekeeping, later to be
opened and studied by a succeed–
ing generation anxious to know
how it was "back then."
Magazi nes, newspapers, coins
and currency, tape recordings,
articles of clothing, photographs
and other items of contemporary
society are carefully selected and
lodged inside the capsule. The
capsule is then sealed. Finally it is
buried, never to see the light of
day until , at the proper future
time, it is dug up and its sea!
broken- 100 years, 500 years or
even 1,000 years hence.
Momentous F ind!
Few realize that in recent times a
2,500-year-old
time capsule has
been uncovered and opened to
view!
It
was not unearthed by the
spade of an archaeologist along
the Euphrates River. Nor was it
discovered in the tomb of an
ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
It
was,
in fact, never
physically
lost to
begin with!
The identity of that time cap–
sule? Bible prophecy!
Few realize that a signiñcant
portion of the Bible is, in effect, a
time capsule. But a truly unique
type of time capsule!
Nearly one third of the Bible
consists of prophecy. The majori–
ty of those ancient prophecies are
yet unfulfilled!
Notice, as an illustration, the
inst ructions given long ago to the
February 1981
by
Keith W. Stump
prophet Daniel regarding the
prophecies he had received from
God:
"But thou, O Daniel , shut up
the words, and seal the book, even
to the time of the end ..." (Dan–
iel 12:4).
Daniel's prophecies were to be
sealed from human understand–
ing until the end times, the last
days of this present human civili–
zation. T he actual words, of
course, would remain through the
centuries for all to see, but men's
eyes would be blinded to their
true meaning and intent.
Even Daniel himself did not
fully understand the prophecies
he had recorded. He was simply
told: "Go thy way, Daniel: for the
words are closed up and sealed till
the time of the end" ( Daniel
12:9). When that future time
finally arrived, however, then
"the wise [would] understand "
(verse 10).
The vast majority of the proph–
ecies of the Bible were sealed and
shut up. like a time capsule, for
the last days.
Those days are now!
The prophetic biblical time
capsules are now open for full
view. Moreover, the messages
contained therein are not j ust
dusty records of past events and
forgotten civilizations- but vivid
pictures of things to come, events
just ahead!
Time Setting
Let us see the works of just one of
the many prophets of the Bible,
the prophet Ezekiel. Let us see
the proof that these prophecies
were
not
intended-as most theo–
logians and Bible scholars con-
tend-simply for the peoples of
Ezekiel's t ime, the 6th century
B.C. We shall discover that these
living prophecies are instead
vitally important messages for
today- the latter 20th century!
Few understand this vital
truth. And few today are heeding
Ezekiel 's warnings. Yet no mes–
sage is more timely or more
urgen
t.
To begin, it is imperative to
properly understand the time set–
ting of Ezekiel's prophecy. ft is
one of the vital keys unlocking a
true understanding of the mes–
sage and intent of the book of
Ezekiel.
Ezekiel Ieaves nothing to the
imagination . The time factor is
spelled out in unmistakable detail
in Ezekiel 1: 1-2. Ezekiel records
that his first vis ion occurred in
the fifth year of the captivity of
king J ehoiachin of the ancient
nation of Judah.
Remember, King Nebuchad–
nezzar of Babylon had bes ieged
J erusalem on more than one occa–
s ion dur ing the reign of J ehoia–
chin's predecessor, King Jehoa–
kim. Nebuchadnezzar had taken
many captíves back to Babylon .
Among them had been a young
man named Daniel. That captivi–
ty
is
recounted in 1f Kings 24:1-
7.
Later, King J ehoiachin was
taken into captivity by the armies
of Babylon. The record of Jehoia–
chin's captivity can be read in
11 Kings 24: 10- 16. It was in that
captivity that Ezekiel was taken
prisoner.
lt
was in the ñfth year of King
J ehoiachin's captivity (594-593
s.c.) that Ezekiel experienced his
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