One of the things I don’t remember hearing while growing up Southern Baptist is the distinction between prophetic and apocalyptic writing. Israel’s prophets were concerned with the events of their own time and place. One example from Jeremiah: Jeremiah said to King Zedeki'ah, “Thus says the Lord . . . If you will surrender to the princes of  . . . Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. But if you do not surrender . . . then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chalde'ans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.”[1] He did not surrender. He tried to escape but was caught. He watched his sons be executed. Then he was blinded, put in chains, and taken in fetters to Babylon. Jerusalem was emptied of its people; its temple, palace, great houses, and walls were torn down.[2]
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