Prophetic Warnings – Here We Go Again

By Daniel E. Harden

Robert E. Cruickshank, Jr. (Editor)

Copyright © Daniel E. Harden (May 16 , 2025)

All Rights Reserved

It seems like hardly a day passes without a modern writer on Biblical prophecies proclaiming doom and gloom. It has become so commonplace that many have become immune to it. It’s like living near a railroad track. When you first move in, you hear the trains all the time. But after you’ve been there a while, you become acclimated to it, and it fades into the background.

I remember when I was a teen, I devoured these works detailing just how the prophecies in the Bible were on the verge of coming to pass. The disasters from both Old Testament prophecies, like Ezekiel, and New Testament prophecies, such as Revelation, were happening right before our eyes. But that’s not all. What was really disturbing, looking at it in hindsight, was that as a teen they had me excited at the prospect of living in the age when Biblical prophecy was coming true. Excited! Despite the major catastrophes and atrocities that were (supposedly) about to become a reality, I was thrilled to be living in such a special time! That is the reaction that such works instilled on young Christians everywhere.

But nobody should ever be excited about such a prospect. Yet we see it going on still today – Christians who rely on those writers actually do their best to bring it about. They want to help Israel all they can – even though the result that they see in Revelation is that most of those in Israel would be annihilated. Some help that is! With friends like that…

It has been over 50 years since I read that we were living in the last days, and that within just a year or two, it would all escalate. Christians would be gone, and the seven-year tribulation would begin. And then – look out!

I’ve become immune. I’ve also become disgusted.

Why did I become impervious to such warnings of doom based on Scripture? Was it the constant barrage of the same message over and over again? Actually, no. I became immune for a completely different reason. I learned how to properly deal with Biblical prophecy.

Of course, that doesn’t stop the modern-day doomsayers from continuing their onslaught. But even this is nothing new. This proclamation of “living in the last days” has been going on since the early part of the Church. Even Ignatius of Antioch proclaimed that the last times had arrived back in AD 107.[1] The list of people suspected of being the Antichrist dates clear back to the first century, and continues on throughout history.[2] The doomsday predictions continue unabated. Only the story changes to match the headlines.

It is still going on. Now, according to Clark Barnes, we are (again? still?) on the cusp of Biblical history. All Americans will lose their home, income, and power by the end of May, 2025.[3] According to Barnes, this view that disastrous Biblical prophecies are being fulfilled in our day includes a “growing number of prophets”.

Perhaps by now we shouldn’t be amazed at the misuse of Biblical prophecies that such writers use. They are like journalists – they draw the reader in with the aid of sensationalism.

But sensationalism aside, the article starts with a major red flag. The first thing Barnes does is appeal to Isaiah 24:1. In fact, the article hinges largely on Isaiah 24, and uses the age-tested (and age-failed) method of applying statements in Isaiah 24 to modern events. But is that an accurate assessment of Isaiah 24?

Barnes gives no backup or context to Isaiah 24. He just assumes, as do many of those who write about Biblical prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes, that Isaiah 24-27 is a section that deals with the apocalyptic end of the world.

What they fail to mention is that Isaiah 24 is in the midst of a whole string of prophecies dealing with both Israel and the surrounding nations at the time of exile. Chapter 13, for example, deals with Babylon and Judah, and the chapters that follow (14-23) are about what would befall the nations with regard to what was occurring in Isaiah’s day – Babylon, Moab, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tyre, Damascus, etc. Chapter 28 gives a clear warning to both Israel (the Northern Tribes) and Judah in the time of Isaiah. Chapter 29 also gives a warning against Jerusalem. And it goes on. All these prophecies and warnings are about what was going on at the time.[4]

So why would Isaiah interrupt that flow mid-stream and jump forward over 2500 years, only to jump back into his prophetic stream about his day?[5] Such an “apocalyptic” assumption was developed by a liberal scholar in the early twentieth century, but has been called a “zombie theory” which has been debunked.[6]

Land Ho!

Barnes shows his belief for this faulty apocalyptic theory right from the start by making an invalid assumption. He grabs hold of the phrase in Isaiah 24:1 where Isaiah says “the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down” – and immediately he assumes a world-ending global catastrophe. Based on what, exactly, it’s hard to say, but it seems like it is because of the word “earth”. That sounds global, right?

No. The word for “earth” is the Hebrew word erets, which for Isaiah is generally used not of the whole world or globe, but of Israel in general, unless it is accompanied by another descriptor, such as the land of Assyria (Isa. 7:18; 11:16; 27:13), the land of Egypt (Isa. 19:18-20; 27:13), the land of Cyprus (Isa. 23:1), the land of the Chaldeans (Isa. 23:13), the land of Edom (Isa. 34:6). This is common for all the prophets – for example, when Jeremiah refers to the land of Babylon (Jer. 50:28; 51:29).

When no additional descriptor is used, it most generally refers to the Land – that is, the land of Israel/Judah, although erets can be simply referring to land in general. What it does not refer to is the globe, the Earth as a planet. For example, when Isaiah is commissioned by God, we find this reference to the coming exile:

Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
and the Lord removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land [erets]. (Isa. 6:11-12)

 

But does this hold in Isaiah 24:1? Take a look at two other words – words that are similar – used in that verse.

The first word is ‘empty’. This word (baqaq) is used elsewhere in connection with the coming events in Isaiah’s day. See Jeremiah 51:2, for example, which predicts the destruction of Babylon as a result of her having attacked Jerusalem.

and I will send to Babylon winnowers,
and they shall winnow her,
and they shall empty [baqaq] her land [erets],
when they come against her from every side
on the day of trouble. (Jer. 51:2 ESV)

 

Both the word ‘empty’ and the word ‘land’ appear here – the same two words that are used in Isaiah 24:1. Yet this reference by Jeremiah is not talking about global catastrophe. The “land” in question is identified as the land of Babylon.

In fact, Isaiah himself used the same word ‘empty’ just a few chapters earlier when speaking of Egypt, where the prophecy speaks of “emptying the spirits” of the Egyptians (Isa. 19:3). And he follows this up later by telling his people not to go down to Egypt, because its help had become “empty” (Isa. 30:7). Hosea calls Israel an “empty vine” (Hos. 10:1).

The next word is similar – ‘waste’ (balaq). The word is paired with ‘desolation’ in Nahum 2:10 and generally also refers to desolation. The idea that Israel will be laid waste or desolate is found throughout the Old Testament prophecies. For example, in Isaiah 6:11, Isaiah is told that the Land will be a “desolate waste”.

The words Isaiah uses in 24:1, poetically, are baqaq and balaq. But they both refer to the calamity that was about to befall both Isaiah and Judah because of their apostasy. It has nothing to do with the destruction of the entire globe.

In his article, Barnes goes on to refer to Isaiah 24:10 and 24:12 with regard to the catastrophe that he says is about to occur:

“‘The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in’ (Isaiah 24:10). The entire city is left desolate: ‘In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction’ (24:12).  All entrances and exits to the city are gone. The passage indicates that a fire has come, a blast that has shaken the very foundations of the earth (see 24:6).”

He then likens this to a pending nuclear destruction of a major city, possibly New York City.  But major cities today aren’t walled and don’t have gates that are regularly kept closed. Does he really think that every entrance to New York City or London or Los Angeles can be completely blocked?

What Barnes misses is that this reference by Isaiah is describing a specific city, and one that was the city in the Old Testament – Jerusalem. They were facing doom in Isaiah’s day due to their apostasy.

Barnes says that Isaiah 24:6 contains a description of a major “blast”. Actually, the word “scorched” is merely a description of fire, such as would occur with an invading army.

The next verse, verse 13, should put to rest any inclination that this is global.

For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth [erets]
among the nations,
as when an olive tree is beaten,
as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done. (Isa. 24:13 ESV)

 

Again, the word for ‘earth’ is erets, and should be read simply as Land. After all, how could the Earth be “among the nations”? And how can anything living be referred to as in the “midst (or middle) of the Earth”? But the language Isaiah used is clearly “in the midst of the Land among the nations”. And this ties in perfectly with Jerusalem, which was considered the center or middle of the Land, and was certainly “among the nations”.

Modern Events Cloaked in Ancient Language?

Throughout his article, Barnes makes the claim that we are living “in the last days”, which he clarifies as “our present time”. To support this claim, he appeals to the words of “many eminent Bible scholars”. Again, we could take a long side trip and travel through history to visit the “eminent Bible scholars” who have believed their “present age” was “the last days”. But when it comes down to it, appealing to present scholars who rely on newspaper sensationalism to interpret Scripture is, to put it bluntly, bad hermeneutics. It is not how the Bible or any ancient document should be interpreted.

This is vitally important. When dealing with any Old Testament prophecy, the first place to look – always – is the prophet himself. See what situation that prophet was dealing with. See who his target audience is. Old Testament prophets always had a calling, and were focused on a particular group of people, warning them of a particular event that was coming. So much so that the warnings of the prophets sometimes serve as a last-ditch effort for reform.

One of the key methods for understanding Scripture is audience relevance. In the case of Old Testament prophets, the proper approach is to ask simple questions: What was the prophet’s mission to his audience? What was he trying to warn his audience about? How would the audience have understood the prophecies? And remember, prophecies are somewhat poetic in nature, and are often given in hyperbolic terms to get the audience’s attention.

When a modern storyteller like Barnes refers to the scorching in Isaiah 24:6 as the result of atomic blasts, that’s when we need to take a major step back. Not only would the audience in Isaiah’s day have had no concept of an atomic blast, but neither would Isaiah. Nor would God have sent a warning through Isaiah to the people in Isaiah’s day about any atomic blast. That would be utter folly and nonsense. God always used the prophets in specific ways to get specific points across. The concern in Isaiah’s day wasn’t some atomic blast thousands of years in the future. It was for what was about to befall his countrymen if they didn’t turn back to the Lord.

How Can We Be Sure?

Barnes then asks a very poignant question: “How can we be sure we’re the generation this prophecy points to?” A valid question. A fair question. A pressing question. The very question we should ask.

His response? There are two reasons, he says…

His first reason is that there are a growing number of “prophets”, both Christian and secular, who point to a pending apocalyptic disaster.

This should hardly come as a surprise. The number of people in the world is growing at an alarming rate, so it only stands to reason that those predicting disaster would also be growing. Furthermore, with the world having a more global network and interconnectedness than ever before, more voices can be heard. And more events, large or small, local or global, come to the attention of people throughout the entire world.

People talk about how the political landscape in the United States is more divisive now than it ever was. The truth is, even as far back as the early nineteenth century, there were major political rifts. People are just more aware of it now, due to the “instant” world we live in. We get news and opinions immediately after anything happens. The internet keeps everybody informed. But it also gives everybody a platform.

Concerns about the economy are real. But they aren’t new. Concerns about wars are real. But they aren’t new, either.

But recognition of these concerns often also leads to correction. The fact that there are more people out there recognizing the possibility of economic collapse, for instance, leads to the fact that there are also more people out there doing what they can to correct the economy.

Barnes points to Isaiah 44:28 to show that God uses secular people to warn His people when need be. That’s fine. But then Barnes said that God does the same thing today. Just how does he support this claim that God is using them? He doesn’t. And he can’t.

You look at any point in history and you will find people, whether Christian or secular, arguing that things look bleak. Why? Because they get the attention. But that does not mean that God sent all those people to warn His people. In fact, it doesn’t even mean that what they are saying is true. Nor does it mean that there weren’t people out there taking the opposite opinion. If two secular “prophets” are out there, and one says we are on the verge of collapse, and the other says the economy is stabilizing or growing, can we really make the statement that God sent one and not the other? That He sent either? No, not really.

The idea that just because we have more voices in cyberspace today means that an Old Testament prophecy is coming true is fallacious thinking. It makes a false claim of knowledge about what the Old Testament prophecy is even referring to. And such it has been for 2000 years – or more. Barnes simply provides us with more of the same.

Barnes’s second reason as to how we can be sure we are living in the target generation? “Sudden destruction comes when the cup of violence overflows.” Sounds profound, doesn’t it? And yet all that really means is that God is in control, and when a nation is corrupt, He might take corrective measures, or He might wipe them out. But here’s the kicker: that is true of every nation of every time. Such a statement is actually self-defeating. It doesn’t in the least prove that Isaiah’s words are specifically being fulfilled today. It only shows that God is in control – at all times.

Barnes points to the many atrocities on children as an indication that Isaiah is being fulfilled now. The problem is, atrocities against children, sad as that is (and it is very sad), is not new either. We may be more aware of it now, but it is not in the least new. Some of the reports of atrocities on children in history are absolutely mind-boggling. But citing that there are such atrocities occurring today is not any kind of proof of the fulfillment of Isaiah 24. It is only proof that we, as God’s stewards, have more work to do.

Barnes admits that the picture he paints is “gloom and doom”. Yet in some ways, we have more knowledge at our fingertips than ever before, and more checks and balances in place. Is it perfect? No. Mankind always has a way of adjusting – in both positive and negative ways.

But Barnes’s appeal to Isaiah 24 and his appeal that the economy will shut down as a result is unfounded. He says “all buying and selling will cease”. That is extremely unlikely. But even if that were to happen, that does not mean that it is a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 24.

He appeals to Isaiah 24:7-9,11:

“All the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song…. The mirth of the land is gone”

But is this an appeal to today? Actually, not at all. The city in question was Jerusalem, and the reason joy ceased so suddenly was quite simple – God allowed them to be overrun and taken into captivity. Their joy vanished. Happiness turned into sadness. This is reflected in Lamentations 5:15:

The joy of our hearts has ceased;
our dancing has been turned to mourning. (Lam. 5:15 ESV)

The joy was turned to tears:

“All our enemies
open their mouths against us;
panic and pitfall have come upon us,
devastation and destruction;
my eyes flow with rivers of tears
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. (Lam. 3:46-48 ESV)

 

The very thing they took joy and pride in had been destroyed. And they were forced to leave the Land and go into exile. Ezekiel echoes this when God tells him:

“on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul’s desire, and also their sons and daughters” (Ezek. 24:25 ESV).

 

The theme of suddenly being taken into exile is equated with taking away their joy.

Is Isaiah 24 a warning? Absolutely. But it is a warning for the people of Isaiah’s day, not ours.

Barnes goes on to paint a world that is quite bleak, but also where God’s people emerge out of the disaster. All is not lost.  According to Barnes,

“this cataclysmic event will bring to naught every idol, purging iniquity and tearing down all false altars:
‘By this [the calamity] therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up [be left standing]’ (Isaiah 27:9).”

 

Yes, Barnes used Isaiah 27:9 to support what he envisions as a future revival. But the verse also makes an important distinction. The calamities and subsequent revival referred to in Isaiah 24-27 is summed up in this verse as purging “the iniquity of Jacob”. This is the key to understanding the context of this verse, and aids us in putting the entire section in perspective. What is this reference? The sins of “Jacob” – Israel, God’s chosen people in Isaiah’s time. Not the entire world as we understand it today.

The fact that Israel and Judah were apostate and that God was sending them into exile for their iniquities is a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament prophets. For example, Jeremiah 16 tells of exile (Jer. 16:10-13) because of iniquities, as well as eventual restoration (Jer. 16:14-17).

Once the exiles returned and were again resettled in the Land, Ezra reflects back on this very thing. Notice what he says:

“O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem.” (Ezra 9:6-9 ESV)

 

“And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this” (Ezra 9:13)

 

Ezra recognized that Israel and Judah had been sent into exile for their excessive iniquities, and that only by the hand of God were they brought back.

Does God punish us due to iniquities, both on an individual level and a national level? Certainly. There’s absolutely no question about that. But that doesn’t mean that this is what Isaiah is referring to. Isaiah was speaking to his people about their iniquities.

Barnes closes his article with an odd irony. He claims that just as Christ “warned Jerusalem of sudden devastation to come upon that city”, citing John 14:29, so too does Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5 warn us today of pending wrath and disaster. Why does Barnes say this? Because of the economy! He cites one person – one person – who had to sell his yacht and his mansion because his funds had dried up overnight. But Barnes doesn’t give us any details on what actually happened. It’s not like the economy or the stock market hit rock bottom. It’s not like this was a widespread occurrence. It was one instance. And there can be any number of reasons for this. Bad investments? Bad market strategies? Bad advisors? We just aren’t told.

Barnes cites Paul several times in 1 Thessalonians 5, indicating that we are at the end. But is economic fluctuation or even economic collapse an indication that the end is near? Not at all. Economic conditions are always getting better or getting worse. Sometimes with a normal ebb and flow, but sometimes more drastically. Did the crashing economy during the Great Depression from 1929 through 1939 mark the end of the world? No. Did it even mark the end of the country? No. But it was excessively severe, with the economy spiraling practically overnight in October 1929. People lost everything. Unemployment skyrocketed. Suicides were commonplace. Food was scarce. Children roamed the streets, often emaciated or extremely sick due to malnutrition. It was horrific.[7] But it was not the fulfillment of any Biblical prophecy.

Citing the possibility of economic disaster to point to the fulfillment of Scriptural prophecies is like spitting into the wind. It avails nothing, and ultimately leaves you in a mess. History is replete with times of plenty and times of hardship. There is nothing about today’s economy that is a firm pointer to the words of Paul or the world of Paul. We are called to be good stewards of the economy and the world. We are not called to just sit around proclaiming doomsday.

The references in Barnes’s article are indeed ironic. On the one hand, he is aware that Christ was addressing His contemporaries. On the other hand, he assumes that Paul was not addressing his Thessalonian audience, even though this was a personal letter from Paul to the Thessalonians, where Paul continually uses the personal pronouns.

Should we look at Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5 and immediately jump to the conclusion that there is no “peace and security” (1 Thess. 5:3)? If that were the case, then could there have been stability at any time in history? We must always be fiscally responsible. That includes, among other things, recognizing when things are good and when they are bad. But that doesn’t mean that we should overreact and transfer all our worldly possessions and assets into gold bricks and bury them in our backyard. It doesn’t mean that simply because Paul warned the Thessalonians of disaster, this means disaster is always imminent. The world is constantly in flux. But we shouldn’t be so taken in by every single fluctuation that we are like reeds in the wind, blowing this way and that. Being diligent is good. Being misled is not.

There was a story of a group of people 50 years ago that read the words of the doomsayers and were convinced that the end was near. They believed escalation was imminent. They sold or gave away all their possessions. Where did that leave them? Homeless and broke.

There is absolutely nothing in Barnes’s article that points to anything new. Doomsday prophets have been looking at the very same signs and proclaiming the very same end for 2000 years. Such proclamations are great for stirring up the fear of people. Sensationalism sells. But we shouldn’t read the Bible through the lens of modern news headlines. We should recognize that each passage in the Bible, including what Isaiah wrote in the Old Testament, as well as what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, was written to a specific audience. We can apply the lessons and the truth today. And we should. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because the economy is uncertain, the end is near. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because there is war somewhere in the world, we are within days of the end of history. Don’t make the mistake of reading today’s headlines into Scripture – and making the same mistake that so many have been making for 2000 years.

Don’t live your life quaking in your boots because each new headline is bad. Embrace the marvelous world that God created for us through His love. Make a positive difference. Oh, and help the children. They are our greatest joy and our greatest gifts. Plan for the future — because there will be one, and our kids are depending on us (2 Cor. 12:14). The future belongs to them.

You don’t need to be prophetic to recognize the warning not to confuse Biblical times with the sensationalism of today’s headlines.

Above all, remember: God is always in control.

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[1] Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians, 11.

[2] For a terrific look at how the idea of the “Last Days” and the Antichrist has been prevalent clear through Church history, see Francis X. Gumerlock, The Day and the Hour (2000), American Vision. Gumerlock traces the history of those believing they were living in the time when the events of Biblical prophecy were being fulfilled from the first century clear through to the modern age, with each writer or theologian applying modern events to Biblical prophecy.

[3] A Growing Number of Prophets Warn of an Apocalyptic Disaster at the Door https://bit.ly/43tHJlx

[4] From chapter 13 clear through chapter 35, the prophecies deal with exile and restoration, both with regard to Israel/Judah and with the surrounding nations with regard to their relationship or complicity with Israel/Judah.

[5] There are any number of very good books and commentaries that properly place the prophecies of Isaiah within the events during and shortly after the prophet’s day, with direct relevance to his immediate audience. See, for example, Dan G. Johnson, From Chaos to Restoration: An Integrative Reading of Isaiah 24-27, Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield, England (1988).

[6] Christopher B. Hays, The Origins of Isaiah 24-27: Josiah’s Festival Scroll for the Fall of Assyria (2019), 25: “It is increasingly accepted already that Isa 24–27 is not an apocalypse; a survey of the literature, however, shows that the term continues to be used. This tenacious theory was popularized, like so much in Isaiah scholarship, by Bernhard Duhm, but it has become a ‘zombie theory’: it continues to be widely repeated even as the brains that motivated it have been removed and devoured. Much of the field has already set this older theory aside, but a review of scholarship allows us to reflect on how it remains influential.”

[7] See Studs Terkel, Hard Times: An Oral Tradition of the Great Depression (1970) for first-hand accounts of just how devastating the economic collapse was.