PROPHECY
Introduction
What Prophecy Reveals
Prophecy provides the Testimony of Jesus.
Prophecy provides objective demonstrable historical proof of the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of God’s Word.
Prophecy authenticates the Word of God and reveals the mind and plans of God.
Prophecy increases faith and perpetuates hope and consolation as the believer. (1Thess 4:18) looks to future fulfillment.
Prophecy compels us to look at the affairs of humanity and the world around us with a great deal more of a Biblical focus as it relates to future fulfillment.
Unfortunately key iconic pastors are on record for discouraging the study of Biblical prophecy by saying that Jesus discourage the study of prophecy
about his second coming.[1] A popular radio talk show apologist has said on several occasions during his talk show, "There are no more Biblical signs to be fulfilled" "...there has always been times of debauchery such as we are see today".[2]Others are saying that prophecy is obscure and no one can be sure as to its fulfillment still others have relegated prophecy as irrelevant. While some have sensationalize every news event claiming its the fulfillment of prophetic scripture.
Within the church there is a smorgasbord of confusion surrounding end-time teaching among pastors. (see Lifeway studies on
'Pastor views on the return of Jesus Chris and end times')
Such attitudes and lack of teaching on end time prophecy have hindered the understanding of believers and have played a role in causing the teaching of Biblical prophecy to be under-developed in local churches. It has also enabled many false sects and cults to exploit the prophetic word for the purpose of forwarding their own peculiar views and tenets. It also puts the church in danger of being deceived, by incorrect eschatological (our view of the end times) views regarding the end times. Some of the eschatology systems such as ‘Replacement Theology’ which teaches that the church has replaced Israel, and Preterism is null and void of any reference to the world we live in today, and the end-time scripture references to the nation of Israel’s return to the land and the subsequent future Tribulation. This deception is intensified as the church age approaches it's end. Do the scriptures support such and attitude toward prophecy?
Based on the following it would be impossible to justify such an attitude. Scripture is approximately 27%-30% prophecy. According to 'Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy', the late Professor J. Barton Payne stated that, "the Bible contains 1,817 prophecies which encompasses 8,352 predictive verses.”
All fulfilled prophetic events had foreshadowing events that where directly tied to their ultimate fulfillment. This will be true of future prophecies that will also have fore shadowing events leading to their fulfillment.
There will be and some believe now are Christian believers that will be living upon the earth that will be the final group to experience the events of history prior to Christ’s second coming. For these believers, the attitude of those who do not consider prophecy an essential part of Bible study will no doubt not think to highly of those who maintain such a position. It is time we get real as to what is happening in the world today as it relates to the prophetic scriptures. Today’s global events are pushing the world toward specific scriptural prophetic conclusions. This alone should give pause and cause one to revisit their eschatology position to ensure their interpretation is aligning up with the reality of what is occurring in the world.
Does God provide signs as to where we are on his prophetic time table or has he left it up to the believer to guess? Is there biblical instruction given to the believer to be aware of prophetic signs? Are there Biblical examples where a person has used the prophetic scripture to ascertain where they where on God's prophetic agenda and oriented their actions according?. The answer to these questions are a simple yes. (Dan 9:2; Matt 24:3-4) The Bible is replete with signs indicating where we are on God's prophetic calendar and the command to watch out for them.
the commands to be alert and sober (Matt 22:42-44; 1Thess 5:4-6) as world events unfold, resulting in a consummation of prophetic fulfillment.
1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. ,
2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’
3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. (Mt 16:1–3).
The following news stories provide an assessment as to where we are on God's prophectic time line in the areas of Geo-Politically, cultral violence.
4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up,just as you are doing.
(1 Th 5:4–11).
Pictorial layout showing were we are on God's Geo-Political program
What the Bble says about the culture prior to and during the Great Tribulationt
A look at where the Institutional Church is and where it's heading
A Biblical look at what is happening to Christians today who carry the testimony of Christ, and what does the future hold for them
This is a test
A biblical look at the role of Israel at the end of the age
RELATED MEDIA
The following videos / audios have been chosen and reviewed by the ministry of
"end time discernment". In the opinion of the website owner
these videos provide a balanced and biblical understanding of our current world for the category of creation. Therefore, they are not
chosen according to popularity or large number of views but according to how they align with the biblical world view. The intent of
focusing on these videos is to provide an aid to the Christian as they obey the Biblical mandate of “be sober and alert (1Thess 5:6)” as
we approach the end of the church age. As in all things, remember, “prove all things (1Thess 5:21)” and be discerning as you watch the
videos, using the Bible as the primary source of truth.
Disclaimer: Listing these videos doesn’t imply universal agreement to all points
within tList of Related Articleshe videos but a general agreement as to their overall message.
Foot Notes
"[1]Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, op. cit., p. 285
[2] Hank Hanegraaff, of The Bible Answer Man Show has
said, "there are no more Biblical prophesies to be fulfilled prior to Christ' second coming...no sign to look forward
to". Listen to audio below: