By Sam Oliveira
When it comes to prophesy, some might think of the mysterious beastly creatures mentioned in Revelations with many eyes. We might also envision the in-depth end times depictions we have been taught since childhood.
This week, I had the privilege of interviewing my boyfriend Jonathan Shephard on how he grew up in the Adventist church and what prophecy meant to him then and now.
“My situation is a bit unique because my dad, who doesn’t like having silence in the house, would have the late C.D. Brooks pastor [playing] in the background…and that’s really where I started listening to some sermons because he did a lot of [them] about end-time events,” stated Jonathan.
Throughout his childhood, he was surrounded by this constant end time knowledge that he had no idea what it meant.
“I started actually listening when I was about 5 or 6 years old, but I started interpreting, and finally getting it in my head around [when] I was 14 years old,” he continued.
Having to constantly listen to end-time sermons from such a young age instilled immediate fear into him. He felt that he wasn’t doing enough, and if it wasn’t doing enough, was he really going to be saved?
It’s interesting how when I think about the end times, my childhood also had fear instilled into the way I dealt with prophecy. I felt that if I didn’t do exactly what my parents said about Jesus or anything else regarding religion. And then I’d automatically be persecuted and not go to Heaven. I find it quite intriguing how Jonathan’s childhood experience and mine are not very far off from each other.
“After you start gaining a relationship with Christ, it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m just a pilgrim here. I’m just passing. The fear factor gets removed when you realize that the hardest part has already been done for you,” Jonathan stated. “And I think it’s always been interesting to me [how] we’re in a rush to teach people the end times, but we’re not in a rush to teach them about God? How are you going to enjoy heaven if you don’t even know who is in heaven?”