Ray Brubaker's Prophecies
By David Mathews
Ray Brubaker is a well known prophecy minister, having devoted a majority of his life to preaching using both radio and television. His radio ministry is over fifty years old, during which time Ray Brubaker has attained respect among followers of prophecy. He has also written many booklets devoted to specific prophecy subjects, and several on social and religious issues of importance to evangelicals.
How successful a prophet is Ray Brubaker? Having spent fifty years publicly proclaiming a prophetic message, there is a tremendous amount of material to choose from when evaluating Ray Brubaker's success as a prophet. I have chosen to study a booklet written by Ray Brubaker in detail, quoting each of the predictions found in it, and follow each quote with comments about the success or failure of the prediction. The booklet which I will by studying is titled:
What's Ahead: 2000 A.D.?
Given that it is almost the middle of 1998, this tract is of particular importance. What events were foretold to occur by this time or in the near future?"The year 2000 A.D., according to two professional science writers, will probably find $20 battery-run TV sets on the market, along with three dimensional films. There will be home computers available, and for the working family, a four-day work week"
Comments: The first paragraph of the tract contains several predictions which have come true: Low-cost battery-operated TVs and home computers. Another prediction which is technically possible but was not successfully marketed is the three-dimensional movies. The public has not demanded 3D movies except in theme parks. The final prediction, the four-day work week ... if only that were true!
"By A.D. 2000, the world population will be around 6 or 7 billion, and in the United States around 330 million, with 9 out of 10 Americans living in supercities or the suburbs. One forecaster sees the possibility of many people staying at home, doing their work via countrywide telecommunications."
Comments: These population figures are very close to accurate. A significant number of Americans are working at home, telecommuting, and that number will increase in the future. This paragraph is accurate.
"TIME magazine observes: 'Nearly all experts agree that bacterial and viral diseases will have been virtually wiped out' ... by the year 2000. And drug control of personality will be widely accepted."
Comments: Time magazine is responsible for these two failed predictions. Bacterial and viral diseases remain dangerous threats to humankind, and the medicines and vaccines used against them are becoming less effective. The battle against disease will continue well into the future because disease germs evolve in response to human intervention. Drug use has not attained societal or governmental acceptance, except in instances where an individual is suffering from medical or psychological afflictions.
"The computer, we're informed, will play a major role in both home and business by the year 2000. A housewife may make out her menu for the week, put the necessary food into the proper storage space, and feed her program into a small computer."
Comments: The computer now plays a crucial role in business and it is growing in importance in the home. Housewives may keep menus on their home computer, but the computer does not prepare and cook meals. The technology might exist to do so, but the costs are prohibitive and the advantages are minimal. If you want a prepared meal, you can buy a frozen dinner or go to a restaurant.
"According to one estimate, by the year 2000 only ten percent of the population will be working and the rest, in effect, have to be paid to be idle.
By 1984, it is estimated that man will spend the first third of his life, or 25 years, getting an education. He will spend the next third of his life working, and the last third enjoying the fruits of his labors."
Comments: There is no immediate prospect for an employment rate of only 10%, at the present moment the very opposite is true. Unemployment is extremely low. Ray Brubaker is expecting that employment will decline to such low levels because of technology taking over tasks formerly done by humans. Technology has altered the manner that employees perform these tasks, but it has not removed the necessity for human employment because people have to design, engineer, build, program, operate and monitor the technology.
Ray Brubaker expected that life could be divided into three stages in the year 2000: 25 years for education, 25 for work, and 25 for retirement. He did not anticipate that people would live longer today, nor that education would become an ongoing process made necessary by the swiftness of change in the market and society.
"Machinery will take over much of labor, so everyone in the United States will be abundantly wealthy. Even non-working families, with government help, will have an estimated annual income of from $30,000 to $40,000 a year."
Comments: Everybody in the United States is "abundantly wealthy" when compared with much of the rest of the world. Poverty still exists, however, and will continue to exist. Poverty occurs whenever their is a disparity of income within a society. The people most lacking in income are always considered poor, even when the poor are vastly more wealthy than the wealthy citizens of developing nations and third world nations. Government assistance to the poor is substantial, though I doubt that it would average $30,000 to $40,000 per family.
"Herbert Kahn ... foresees a pleasure-oriented society full of what he calls 'wholesome degeneracy.'"
Comments: Herbert Kahn did not predict the future, he was describing the present (1970's America). Descriptions of the present are much more accurate than predictions of the future.
"In the third century, Bishop Hippolytus wrote a treatise 'On the End of the World!' in which he predicted 'envy and hatred, and strife shall be rife among mankind. The children shall lay hands on their parents, the wife shall be cruel to their servants, and servants shall be disobedient to their masters. None shall reverence the gray hairs of the ancients, or pity the beauty of youth. Churches shall be despised, and profane songs shall be sung everywhere. The rich shall be unmerciful to the poor; great men shall cast off all compassion; magistrates shall be unjust, and for bribes shall pervert the truth.'"
Comments: Bishop Hippolytus is guilty of the same fault as Herbert Kahn. He was merely describing the behavior of the worldly culture of his present day. Similar behavior occurs today among the worldly. In Abraham's day, the description of the sinful would have been the same.
"Quite a forecast by a third century sage, an perhaps we are already seeing much of the prophecy coming to pass in our own age of secularism and materialism."
Comments: Ray Brubaker mistakes a description for a prediction and therefore concludes that Bishop Hippolytus' prophecies are fulfilled.
"Our Lord when asked, 'What shall be the sign of they coming, and of the end of the world', replied: 'Take heed that no man deceive you!' He then went on to forecast 'wars and rumours of war ... famines and pestilence ... earthquakes in divers places' noting 'these are the beginnings of sorrow.
In Pakistan, following the horrible hurricane-like devastation that may have claimed a half-million victims, a survivor remarked: 'It was like the end of the world.' The Bay of Bengal became a sea of bodies in what might be described as 'the worst natural disaster in modern history.'
But for the future we predict worst disasters -- some coming to our own shores."
Comments: Natural disasters are highly significant to prophecy ministers because they are a source of fear for the listener because they are so unpredictable and threaten almost everybody. For people in coastal areas and in the drainage basins of rivers, floods pose an ever-present threat to people's homes, lives and lifestyles. Hurricanes pose a danger particularly to the Southeastern United States. Tornadoes are most powerful and dangerous in the central United States. Fault zones underlying the west coast states, especially California, have demonstrated the ability to devastate cities. Volcanoes pose a similar threat, a threat made real by Mount St. Helens.
Natural disasters are a convenient tool for prophecy ministers because the terrible consequences of these events lead them to suggest that the listener may suffer the same or a similar fate, and that the listener is merely lucky in having avoiding these events for so far. By combining the reporting of terrible events with the suggestion that these occurrences are on the increase, the prophecy minister creates a fear in the listener that experience of a disaster is unavoidable.
Disasters are not on the increase. Because of the increase in human population, a larger number of people live in disaster danger zones, such as the coastal areas for Hurricanes, flood plains for floods, and fault zones for earthquakes. Civilization's tools have also made the destruction caused by disasters more dramatic and noteworthy. When Hurricane Andrew crossed Florida several years ago, it demolished several cities and flattened trees in the Everglades in the areas directly hit by the eye of the storm. If a similar storm had followed an identical path several centuries ago, the hurricane would have troubled only trees and animals. On the positive side, science and the government have studied the causes of natural disasters and have used detection and warning technologies to reduce the loss of life and property created by these disasters.
"Intercontinental travel by rockets. Decision-making by computer. Decline of U.S. and Soviet ability to control world events. Rise of Japan as an industrial power. Farming in the oceans. Mining on the moon. Abundant thermonuclear energy.
These are some of the predictions already being made by scholars, scientists and government officials concerned about the future."
Comments: Scholars are not very effective prophets. Among the predictions mentioned above, Intercontinental travel by rockets, mining on the moon and abundant thermonuclear energy have failed completely because they are either impractical or too dangerous. Decision making by computers was already present at the time of the "prediction", although it is more common now than ever before. The genius who predicted that U.S. and Soviet control would diminish really was not making a prediction, because the idea that the superpowers controlled world events was a delusion from the beginning. America could not control events in Vietnam, much less the whole world; the Soviet Union could not control Afghanistan, much less the whole world. The U.N. has little control over troubled regions, and no one has a handle on worldwide changes.
"... Dr. Michael DeBakey, noted heart-transplant surgeon, sees the life span increasing. Says DeBakey: 'There is no reason why a person can't live to be 100 or 150 years old.' Glenn T. Seaborg, as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, likewise sees the day coming when there will be artificial 'spare parts' to replace weakened organs in the human body -- an artificial heart running on electricity, controlled by the brain."
Comments: Human life spans are increasing, with troublesome consequences for Social Security and Medicaid. No human presently alive is 150 years old. More people are living to 100 now, though not everyone can expect to reach that age. Medical technology has allowed the transplant of organs, however artificial organs are much less common and less successful than transplanted organs.
"There will also be hypersonic planes making it possible to fly from New York to London in less than an hour. ... A teleprinter will print the morning newspaper."
Comments: Hypersonic transport is not a reality yet, though the technology for hypersonic travel exist today and bold people continue to design hypersonic planes. Fortunately, no one uses a teleprinter to print the morning newspaper (it is less expensive and more efficient for Newspapers to publish their print editions). However, the Internet has allowed real-time access to newspapers all across the globe, including the local papers and the national papers of distinction. Any article may be printed from these papers if the reader decided that it is important enough to print.
"Most notable will be a decline of the family and woman's place in the home -- except for those couples designated to breed children. Liberal-minded anthropologist Margaret Mead predicts that the test-tube would eventually take the place of natural pregnancy. She also sees the husband-wife relationship no longer basic to human relationships. People, she notes, could together in any combination they like."
Comments: I wish that these predictions were false. The family has declined, marriages relationships are weakening and declining in importance, out-of-wedlock pregnancies have reached worrisome levels, and alternative lifestyles are more accepted today than ever before. The only prediction which is not accurate is that the test-tube would replace natural pregnancy. Most people prefer the natural method over test tube pregnancies. Today, the test-tube method is used predominantly by medical necessity, especially for infertile couples.
"By the year 2000, the business of certain cities in America will be education ... just as the business of Detroit is cars, and Washington's is government. Architect Buckminster Fuller visualizes mile-high cities in a day of advanced technology when we will also be colonizing other planets."
Comments: What is the "business" of a city? If it is the primary employer in the city, then the only cities whose "business" is education are those small cities which are dominated by a college or University. Mile High cities are currently beyond today's technology, mile high skyscrapers are theoretically possible but prohibitively expensive to build. Colonization of space is taking much longer than formerly expected. Some day in the future, perhaps, humans will colonize the moon and Mars.
"Well, its interesting, isn't it, to hear these observations from those who make no pretense at knowing the Bible, basing their predictions on facts rather than faith."
Comments: I have selected this non-predictive quote because it highlights the challenge facing the modern day prophets who seek to discern the future. The predictions by scientists and futurists were partially successful when they were anticipating the growing use of technologies present in their own time but not yet developed and perfected. For example, the use of computers has increased dramatically, and home computers are becoming more common. Predictions which failed were based upon projected technologies which were expected in the near future. For example, intercontinental rocket travel appeared promising in the past, but it has proven too impractical for everyone except nuclear bombs and astronauts. Another class of failure is the lack of anticipation for highly significant future technologies. For example, these scientists and futurists did not predict that by the year 2000, an Internet would exist, linking people worldwide with data, text, pictures, sounds and video. The closest anyone came to this idea was the prediction that the newspaper would be printed on a teletype machine. With the power of the Internet, newspapers may be accessed worldwide and articles of interest may be printed or saved. Scientists and futurists failed in their predictions even with the facts. How well did prophecy ministers perform with their faith?
"Not long ago a group of scientists in Great Britain were discussing the question on a TV forum -- what sort of world will we have by the year 2000? With only a single exception, all answered, 'The world won't be here.'
Men of the world seem to feel that time is running out. For example, Sean ACACIA, Irish playwright, says: 'By 2000, either out lovely earth will be a charred lump of rubble circling the sun, or we shall be on the way to universal peace.'
Quite a forecast, isn't it?
If we might comment, we see the possibility of this age ending in catastrophic judgments to be followed by an era of peace when Christ shall return to reign for a thousand years."
Comments: Now that the scientists and futurists have completed their predominantly positive predictions about the state of the world in the year 2000, Ray Brubaker focuses attention again on the question. The answers now have become suddenly pessimistic, as man is awaiting a dreadful fate by the year 2000. These terrible events are predicted by (some) scientists and futurists, and they serve Ray Brubaker's purpose. Modern day prophets are very much aware of positive predictions about the future, but they as a group prefer negative predictions. Knowledge of terrors motivate more sales among the prophet's followers, and create more stress which might lead these people to teach their neighbors the same dismal message.
"Eric Fromm, psychoanalyst, similarly expressed his concern for the future as we approach the year 2000. He writes, 'I foresee two possibilities: the survivors of a thermonuclear war will have to organize a world dictatorship, or a renaissance of united humanity will have begun.'
Again, this is somewhat in keeping with the Scriptural forecast of a super dictator called the Antichrist, who is seen rising in the awful period known as the Great Tribulation ..."
Comments: Eric Fromm might be a qualified psychoanalyst and an incompetent prophet. Thermonuclear war did not occur and no super dictatorship has seized power over the world. Nuclear war and dictatorships are anticipated by modern day prophets, in contrast to actual events which are that nations are extremely reluctant to use nuclear bombs, and the oppressed peoples have overthrown the socialists and communists governments of the world (excepting Cuba, China, and North Korea). These positive events are no comfort to modern day prophets, as they find new threats in the free nations of the former Soviet Union, and imagine threats when no real ones are available.
"Norman Thomas, the Socialist leader in the United States, expressed his view, saying, 'Unless all nations end the arms race in the age of weapons of absolute destruction, unless people better apply the novel truth that above all nations or races is humanity, there will be no year 2000.'
Again, you see the future of this world is dismal and dark when measured in the light of such statements. Surely our Lord was right when he declared men's hearts would fail them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth."
Comments: Norman Thomas was mistaken about the future, for the arms race would continue without pause until the end of the 1980's when the Soviet Union and Eastern Block collapsed without world war or direct intervention from their enemies in the West. The peoples in these nations exercised their right to self government, which they were prevented from doing before, by removing the obstacle to that freedom -- socialism and communism. A dark and dismal future was in reality a positive and hopeful future, which is one lesson that modern students of prophecy ought to learn.
"Marquis Childs, Washington columnist, said: 'I hope that in a system of controlled disarmament with widespread inspection, the terrible threat of nuclear annihilation will have been removed ...'
Indeed, this again expresses the hope of mankind that a way out will be found to prevent atomic holocaust. But disregard for God leaves man without hope and at the mercy of his own violence and recklessness."
Comments: Marquis Childs is an unfavored prophet in this group of doom and gloom futurists. Too bad that the expression of hope is much closer to reality than Sean ACACIA, Eric Fromm, and Norman Thomas. Limitations upon nuclear weapons were a subject of negotiation between the U.S. and the Soviets and became a reality once the collapse of communism reduced the Russian government's ability to finance its huge war machine. Once that threat was removed, the U.S. has reduced military spending and real progress in arms reduction has occurred. Nuclear weapons still remain, and will continue to remain forever.
"William Saroyan, author and playright, looking ahead to 2000 A.D., writes -- 'In the future, I cannot see how anything at all concerning man on this earth can change for the better!'
What a conclusion! We had better wake up quickly to the realization that Christ's coming alone is the only hope of the world. For his coming will bring an era of peace."
Comments: Ray Brubaker returns to pessimism in William Saroyan after the single optimistic futurist, Marquis Childs, was criticized for her optimism. Nothing would get better for mankind, according to William Saroyan, and Ray Brubaker quickly agrees with him. Since that time, mankind has gotten better -- technologies are connecting the world together, allowing worldwide communication between strangers united only their similar hobbies, interests and beliefs. America emerged from decades of doubt about its military with a resounding victory in Kuwait against the Iraqi military. The struggle between the Superpowers ended with the collapse of the Soviets, and now the two countries are cooperating on scientific endeavors (such as the International Space Station). The world is not perfect, many problems remain. Pessimism is not justified against the many good things which have happened and continue to happen.
"Clare Booth Luce, former ambassador to Italy, in her assessment of the year 2000, sees a choice between either 'the systematic liquidation' of the weaker, more defenseless people of the earth, or a virtual annihilation of mankind by nuclear war.
She notes: 'The demographers say that if long-range preventive measures are not taken soon to deal with the population explosion, by the end of the century men will literally be squashing one another to death in the fearsome scramble for land, shelter, water and food. Legalized birth control, abortion, euthanasia, sterilization, must then become part of every nation's domestic policy.'"
Comments: Clare Booth Luce is not opposed to the systematic liquidation of the weaker as her warnings are political justifications for abortion, euthanasia and sterilization. Nuclear war has not happened and mankind is not "squashing" each other to death because of lack of space. Her ominous predictions are not yet finished ...
Clare Booth Luce continues her evaluation of the future, stating: 'Pessimists say that mankind itself could perish in a nuclear war. Optimists limit the losses to about a billion people, unless 100 megaton bombs are used. Everyone agrees that of the few who survive the subsequent fallout, some would be sterile, and the rest might give birth to misshapen monsters.' She adds, 'No gift of prophecy permits me to see which of these two horrendous threats is the more real. But I venture to predict one thing: The men who pray as though everything depended on God, while they work as though everything depended on themselves, will have the best chance to master both threats.'"
Comments: Clare Booth Luce is at least honest in acknowledging that she has no gift of prophecy. Her predictions (both optimistic and pessimistic) are sufficient to demonstrate that she is not a prophet. Ray Brubaker failed to anticipate her failure, as he commented glowingly: " What a tremendous evaluation ." He then moves on to another futurist, Adenhaur of West Germany.
"The late Adenhaur of West Germany, in searching hopefully for the future of mankind, noted: 'The coming years will be marked by the striving for personal freedom ... world communism,' he says, 'will indeed continue to stand in our way, (but) will fail to accomplish its aims, because the future belongs not to slavery but to freedom.' He sees one of the tasks to be achieved is that of a United Europe.
Comments: Adenhaur of West Germany was a truly gifted man when speaking these prophecies, all of which have come to pass. Communism failed because the oppressed people of the communists countries chose freedom over slavery. Totalitarian regimes can succeed, for a time, in limiting the choices of its citizens. But a time must come when the government no longer has either the will or the ability to oppress. These changes occurred within the time allowed, and verify that hopeful visions are not futile. How did Ray Brubaker respond to Adenhaur's hopeful vision?
"Bible scholars know the Scriptures forecast a United States of Europe in both a political as well as a religious federation.
As Gavin Hamilton observes:'It is a quite evident that the great Communistic Confederacy demands a Western Confederacy.' Ten nations have formed an economic community known as the Common Market, with a view to political union. The Bible seems to indicate that when ten nations, presided over by one called Antichrist, is in evidence, then the time of the Gentiles is at an end and Christ's Kingdom is verily at hand. This may well occur before 2000 A.D. the way the world is going."
Comments: Out of an entirely hopeful vision of the future, Ray Brubaker finds a potential threat, the United States of Europe. The Common Market, originally formed as a countermeasure against the Communist Eastern regimes must suddenly become an ever greater threat than the communism. Ten nations would compose the union foretold in prophecy. Modern prophets would spend much time in the twenty years following this tract counting the nations in the Common Market, anticipating great events once the magic number 10 was reached. A day would come when that magic number was reached, and an inscrutable thing occurred: Another nation was added, placing the Common Market in excess of its prophesied size. Prophets scrambled to find an explanation that would account for the unexpected event, and invented various schemes to account for the reality. Some prophets found that the magic number was actually 13 based upon new calculations and a new interpretation of prophecy. That number would also come and then the Common Market again grew beyond the wildest dreams of the prophets. Currently the prophets are searching for another scheme to account for the fulfillment, some already abandoning the European fulfillment in the Common Market.
"Evangelist Billy Graham, when asked about future events, replied: 'The Bible indicates there will be a period of history when Satanic forces will be unleashed upon the world on a scale without parallel in human history.' Graham goes on to say, 'I cannot accurately predict what the world will be like, but this I confidently know: Whatever grief we may be called upon to endure, God is working out His purpose.'"
Comments: Billy Graham's vision of the future is hampered by a lack of time scale. Without knowing how soon into the future he expected this great unleashing of Satan's power, there exist no way of determining whether or not his predictions have succeeded or failed. From time to time, however, Satan's power does exert itself extraordinarily. An example of such a time is World War II, when nations were bent upon the subjugation, destruction and annihilation of other nations. The intoxication of blood polluted armies on both sides, and victory brought the grim realization that Germany was systematically exterminating the Jews.
"The late David Ben Gurion, ex-prime minister of Israel, had the most optimistic forecast of the future. By 2000 A.D. he said, 'All armies will be abolished, and there will be no more wars.' Ben Gurion saw, 'In Jerusalem ... the Supreme Court of Mankind, to settle all controversies among the federated continents, as prophesied by Isaiah. And, (he notes) by 2000, the average life-span of men will reach one hundred years.'"
Comments: David Ben Gurion's vision is refreshing compared to the gloom and doom prospects envisioned by the other futurists. His vision of peaceful coexistence has not materialized, and does not promise immediate fulfillment. Armies will not cease to exist because they serve a peaceful function in discouraging war. If all nations disbanded their armies, the International government (such as the United Nations) would have to organize its own army to function as a guarantee of freedom from war and a threat of punishment to any nation that would threaten or attack its neighbor. The United Nations is already in possession of a rudimentary army, though its military might is weak and its implementation is usually indecisive. Strong and decisive United Nations action presently is dependent upon strong and decisive support by the United States.
"In 1869, a French Scientist, Pierre Berchelot, stated, 'Inside of 100 years of physical and chemical science, man will know what the atom is. It is my belief that when science reaches this stage, God will come down to earth with His big ring of keys and say to humanity, "Gentleman, it is closing time!"'"
Comments: At the time that Ray Brubaker wrote this booklet, the 100 year period had already ended. Understanding of the atom has increased dramatically since Pierre Berchelot's time. Comprehension is still an elusive goal, because new discoveries and new understandings have led to even deeper mysteries about the nature of subatomic matter. It is difficult to understand why he assumed that God would return once man achieve understanding of the atom.
"Dr. Oswald J. Smith. former pastor and missionary statesman, writes: 'The age from Adam to the flood was about 2,000 years. From the flood to Christ was about 2,000 years. And from Christ to the end of this third age will probably be about 2,000 years. After that will come the Sabbath age of 1,000 years -- the Millennium, making some 7,000 years altogether. This may, therefore, be the end of the present age!'
Now think with me for just a moment. Throughout history there have been those who have advanced this theory that God's plan for this Age is patterned after Creation -- that as God has created the world in six days and rested the seventh day, so the world would endure for a period of 6000 years followed by the millennial day when Christ would rule the earth for a thousand years. (Rev. 20:5) "
Comments: Modern day prophets have attached great importance to the argument that the creation account prefigured the future of the Universe. The argument is quite old: Each day of creation is equivalent to 1000 years; there are six days of creation so that would mean that the universe will exist for six thousand years; there was one day of rest which symbolizes the millennial rest in Christ's earthly kingdom. Prophets have struggled with the exact timing of the end because Biblical chronology is complicated and controversial. Many different dates for the conclusion of the 6000 years were proposed over the last century, all of which have passed without incident. Even granting the youngest possible date for creation, 4004 B.C., the latest possible date, 1996 A.D., for the conclusion of 6000 years has passed. For that reason it is safe to conclude that Dr. Oswald J. Smith was mistaken.
Ray Brubaker quotes several sources, ancient and modern, to support the 6000-year theory, including Barbatus, Lactantius, Bishop Lattimer, Encyclopedia of Jewish Knowledge , Dr. A. Biram, and Bishop John Newton. Concluding this section is a very significant statement by Ray Brubaker, "In closing, we might ask -- how close are we to the end of 6,000 years of history? Actually, we do not know because accurate records have not been kept since the beginning of creation." I suppose that the failure of 6,000 year calculations may be explained in that manner prior to the latest possible date for the Universe to reach that age. Presently, in 1998, the Universe has undoubtedly exceeded that age, and all arguments based upon the 6,000 year theory have now failed.
"Religious writer Louis Cassels, in an article titled WHERE WILL THE CHURCH BE IN 2000 A.D.?, sees hard years ahead. And, he notes, 'Between now and the year 2000, it is likely to suffer a sharp decline in membership and influence.' But he concludes, 'It can emerge from the ordeal purified and strengthened!'" "
Comments: The decline of the church never materialized. Several religious movements have revitalized the religious world and led to greater emphasis upon religion.
"William Hamilton, one of the 'Death of God' theologians, believes by the year 2000, institutionalized religion will be dying out. The Universities (he notes) will have taken over as ethical and religious centers of society."
Comments: William Hamilton's predictions were less accurate than Louis Cassels'. Institutionalized religion remains a powerful force in society even as alternative religions have become more prominent. Universities have not become ethical and religious centers of society, in spite of the great efforts of some to make them ethical and religious authorities.
"Thus, the Bible forecasts for the endtime merger of religions into what is described as an ecclesiastical Babylon. The world BABYLON means 'confusion,' so what will result from merger of religious denominations will be a watered down, anemic form of confusion."
Comments: What is a watered-down form of confusion? Ecclesiastical movements have failed to unite all of the world's religions or even all of the denominations. That does not stop Ray Brubaker from attaching great importance to the effort, as he states, " O, hear me today. We are approaching the time of the end. As we witness the various mergers of denominations we see the day coming when this ecclesiastical Babylon will be a reality. What a sad day for the world when it happens." Why are prophets saddened by these events? John Walvoord explains, " The very evidence of an ecumenical movement in the world, and the existence of the United Nations in the political scene, are signs to us of the lateness of the hour." They should never have troubled themselves over the ecumenical movement because it has failed.
"Did you ever stop to think, 'Why did Jesus rise on the third day?' Did you ever stop and ponder that question? Why didn't he rise the fourth day or the fifth day? I believe there is a reason.
We read about the very first miracle that Jesus performed in the second chapter of John: 'And the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee.'
Why on the third day? What does that have to do with it?
I'll tell you. There's more significance to that than you realize. The Bible says that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. Since Jesus has gone back to Heaven, He's been up there two days. Did you know that? As far as He's concerned, just about two days have gone by."
Comments: Besides the arguments which relate the six days of creation to thousand year periods of the Universe's history, another argument uses the same reasoning to set a date for the end: Jesus rose on the third day, and hence must return at the beginning of the third millennium following His resurrection. The two thousand years separating the resurrection from the return relate directly to the two days that Jesus was dead. The millennial kingdom must then relate to the resurrection, and it must commence at the beginning of the third millennium. Ray Brubaker says as much, " Not until 2000 years of human history have gone by and on that third millennial day Christ will be united with His own forever."
"We're living in the 1980's as far as our calendar is concerned. But did you know that when Jesus was born and the calendar was conceived, they changed the calendar years? According to the Bible, a year is 360 days and our calendar is 365 1/4 days, so instead of being the 1980's, we're really living in the 21st century. Did you know that?"
Comments: Calendars predated the birth of Jesus, preceding even the birth of Abraham. Even if the Israelites had a calendar of 360 days, the use of 365 1/4 day calendars today was not an arbitrary decision. Reality dictates the calendar, and that reality is the actual time it takes for the Earth to travel around the sun. 360 day calendars are not accurate, which had made necessary the adoption of more refined measurements of the length of a year. If Ray Brubaker's reasoning is conceded, however, it would absolutely overturn the arguments which predict the end 6000 years following the creation and also the prediction that the end would occur 2000 years after Jesus' resurrection. Both dates were passed long ago and are therefore false.
"A student at Guilford Technical College fed into a computer all the equations of our present existence in an effort to try and discover the date the world will end. Six hundred equations -- such as our present food reserves, oil and coal stocks, fresh water supplies, together with the population explosion -- and the computer came up with a clear answer ... twenty-five years."
Comments: All equations which seek to predict the end of the world by accounting for population growth, consumption of resources and other relevant factors are built upon assumptions. These assumptions are often wrong, and the terrible consequences of food depletion, exhaustion of water supply and human extinction never materialize.
"A United Press dispatch quotes diplomatic sources in London which says the Soviet Union has already 'massed thousands of tanks, armoured cars and artillery pieces in Libya.' Sources say 'the weapons and hardware massed by Russia in the Libyan desert were enough to equip a 60,000-man army.'
So this invasion could already be in preparation. A listener sent an article which indicates that for years Russia has been buying up horses. And they have weapons made out of wood known as lignostone which is said to be tougher than steel but which can be burned like coal. You may recall that following this battle it is stated that Israel shall go forth and burn the weapons, both the 'shields and the bucklers, the bows and arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years.' (Ezek. 38:9)"
Comments: Ray Brubaker is here attempting to find a fulfillment of the Ezekial 38 prophecy of a nation of the north invading Israel. This particular prophecy is a challenge to prophecy literalists, since they seek to see an exact fulfillment of the prophecy in modern-time events. An exact fulfillment of the prophecy would require that the Soviets (or Russians, or Turkish, depending on which prophet is speaking) adopt ancient warfare methods and technologies. If the invading army were to do so, they would send horses, chariots, spears, and arrows against Israel's modern tanks, aircrafts and artillery. Such an army would face certain annihilation.
The absurdity of such an army attacking Israel has created a dilemma for the prophets. They must either formulate some situation in which modern nations must adopt ancient warfare technologies, or they must seek a partially literal fulfillment of the prophecy. Ray Brubaker opts for this latter strategy by making the Soviets amass horses in Libya and use tanks made out of Lignostone (a wood product stronger than steel which will burn like coal). If you wonder what would compel the Soviets to build tanks which would burn like coal, you should realize that prophetic logic is not equivalent to common sense logic.
I know of know Soviet (or Russian) military equipment manufactured out of wood or Lignostone. Lignostone does exist, however, and you may learn of its technical specifications by visiting Röchling Machined Plastics , which is a plastic composite manufacturer.
Students of history may also realize that the Soviets never invaded Israel. Such failures are common in prophets, although the imminent threat of the Soviet invention was useful to produce stress and fear in the followers of Ray Brubaker. When actual events are not sufficient to produce this fear, prophets use their imagination to create dangerous scenarios.
"Whatever happens, this battle will result in the destruction of Russia and nations allied with her, along with nations that may become involved in the fighting. No doubt the United States will meet its destruction from nuclear missiles and bombs which heretofore have never been dropped on American cities."
Comments: Now comes the apex of fear-mongering by Ray Brubaker. An unsubstantiated rumour of massed Soviet troops in Libya leads to speculation of an upcoming invasion of Israel, and then leads to certainty that nuclear destruction is awaiting America. The whole chain of reasoning is flawed and utterly false. The failure of the prediction is sufficient indeed to verify that ray Brubaker hasn't a clue about what will happen in the future.
Conclusion
Ray Brubaker did not succeed in predicting the events which would occur prior to 2000 A.D. His description of the future was pessimistic. The booklet concludes with a scenario of Soviet invasion of Israel which failed to materialize and is no longer possible. He failed to predict the most significant event, which is the downfall of the Soviet Union into independent republics and the peaceful dissolution of the Eastern Bloc into independent nations. The downfall of the United States of America is predicted, and quite the opposite has occurred. All of these evidences are sufficient to demonstrate that this prophet in particular was unsuccessful in predicting the future.© 1997 david_mathews@geocities.com
