{"id":39635,"date":"2013-07-07T21:34:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-08T02:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=39635"},"modified":"2021-11-18T21:35:56","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T03:35:56","slug":"how-can-the-bible-be-complete-when-all-prophecies-have-not-been-fulfilled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-the-bible-be-complete-when-all-prophecies-have-not-been-fulfilled\/","title":{"rendered":"How can the Bible be complete when all prophecies have not been fulfilled?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;m a member of the church of Christ and I had a discussion with the gentlemen concerning the gifts as described in I Corinthians 13:8-10 and of course, we disagreed if we have the completed scripture or if it still hasn&#8217;t been fulfilled. I believe it&#8217;s been fulfilled, but he raised a point I don&#8217;t know how to respond to. He mentioned that the second coming hasn&#8217;t happened yet, which I can&#8217;t deny. When Jesus comes it&#8217;ll be like a thief in the night and the earth will be burned with fire and brimstone. How can I defend the scripture is complete when we are waiting for the second coming of Christ? The final judgment.<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>The two of you are using &#8220;complete&#8221; to refer to different things. Genesis was completed by Moses 1,500 years before Christ, but the prophecies in the book, such as Genesis 3:15, were not fulfilled or completed until Christ came.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible is complete. All that God wanted to be said has been said. &#8220;<em>Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints<\/em>&#8221; (Jude 3). But this is not the same as saying all the things prophesied in the New Testament are fulfilled.<\/p>\n<p>Paul said, &#8220;<em>Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love<\/em>&#8221; (I Corinthians 13:8-13). The New Testament is perfect or complete &#8212; nothing more needs to be added to it. This is why James said, &#8220;<em>But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does<\/em>&#8221; (James 1:25). The Bible doesn&#8217;t need its prophecies fulfilled before it is perfect, it is already perfect.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: I&#8217;m a member of the church of Christ and I had a discussion with the gentlemen concerning the gifts as described in I Corinthians 13:8-10 and of course, we disagreed if we have the completed scripture or if it still hasn&#8217;t been fulfilled. I believe it&#8217;s been fulfilled, but he raised a point I&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[219,169],"class_list":["post-39635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-bible","tag-prophecy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60790,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-think-its-bizarre-that-people-do-not-think-prophecy-has-been-fulfilled\/","url_meta":{"origin":39635,"position":0},"title":"I think it&#8217;s bizarre that people do NOT think prophecy has been fulfilled","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Just read your article on AD 70 Doctrine. I think it's bizarre that people do not think prophecy has been fulfilled. I mean, our Lord clearly said \"this generation\" will not pass until \"all\" is fulfilled. I do not understand why people can't accept this. The Bible nowhere teaches\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37439,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/christ-and-fulfilled-prophecy\/","url_meta":{"origin":39635,"position":1},"title":"Christ and Fulfilled Prophecy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant God has not left us without proof. There are many ways to authenticate the truthfulness and accuracy of the Bible, which firmly establish the fact that the Old and New Testaments are not the product of the mind of man. There had to be some higher\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2369,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-many-prophecies-being-fulfilled-in-recent-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":39635,"position":2},"title":"Are many prophecies being fulfilled in recent years?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good Evening, I have been reading a lot on prophecies that have supposedly been fulfilled in recent years or months. I am not entirely sure how to handle this information. Much of it seems like grasping at straws, while some of it seems startlingly clear. I would like your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14927,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-jesuits-develop-preterism-and-futurism\/","url_meta":{"origin":39635,"position":3},"title":"Did the Jesuits develop preterism and futurism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true that 'preterism' and 'futurism' were Jesuit interpretations of prophecy that were contrived during the counter-reformation? I've read that in a couple of places and wondered what your study has led you to about that. Thank you. Answer: Preterism is the view that the prophecies concerning destruction,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7430,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-all-prophecies-be-seen-as-fulfilled-in-the-past-preterism\/","url_meta":{"origin":39635,"position":4},"title":"Should all prophecies be seen as fulfilled in the past (preterism)?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I appreciate your view, whatever it may be. I am not a \"full preterist\" at this point in time. I presume that you must have some interaction with others in your circle who do hold to the preterist view. At least we can say, that in this particular instance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86259,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/that-which-is-perfect-does-not-refer-to-the-second-coming-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":39635,"position":5},"title":"&#8220;That Which Is Perfect&#8221; Does Not Refer to the Second Coming of Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dylan Steward via\u00a0Unmasking Sophistry, Vol. 5 No. 2, April-June 2025 Almost all Bible believers agree that 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 teaches that miraculous spiritual gifts will cease \"when that which is perfect is come.\" The problem, however, is disagreement over what is meant by \"that which is perfect.\" Many claim\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39635\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}