Why Study Bible Prophecy?

Chris

Chris

Administrator
Staff member
Why Study Bible Prophecy?
By Dr. Nathan E. Jones

(Note: Our guest contributor, Dr. Robert Jeffress, is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Dallas. His “Pathway to Victory” television program impacts lives around the world for Christ.)

Why should we study Bible prophecy? Many people think prophecy is not relevant today. They prefer to talk about topics like how to improve your marriage or how to have a better prayer life. Let me share three reasons why it’s important for us to understand Bible prophecy.

Prophecy Is a Major Theme of the Bible​

First of all, prophecy is a major theme of the Bible. One way to know what’s important to God is to know what subjects are covered the most in His Word. And prophecy is a major theme. For example, did you know there are 1,800 references in the Bible to the Second Coming of Christ? In the New Testament, one in every 30 verses has to do with the return of Jesus Christ. In fact, 23 of the 27 books of the New Testament deal with the subject of Christ’s return.

And in the Old Testament, for every prophecy about the first coming of the Messiah, there are eight verses about the second coming. Clearly, the return of Jesus Christ is a major theme in the Bible, which is why we need to understand it.

Prophecy Helps Us Interpret and Apply the Bible​

Second, Bible prophecy helps us interpret and apply the Bible accurately. You cannot fully understand the Old Testament prophets, the teachings of Jesus, or the epistles without understanding prophecy. Prophecy is the framework on which we hang the rest of the Bible. Let’s look at two illustrations of that, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

The first example is Isaiah 65:20,

“No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his days; for the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred will be thought accursed.”

Isaiah is talking about a time when infants won’t die and the average life span will be one hundred years. What time is Isaiah talking about? He obviously isn’t talking about now. Even with our advances in medicine, babies still die, and few people reach the age of one hundred. Was Isaiah talking about heaven? No, Revelation 12:4 says there won’t be any death in heaven.

So what time was Isaiah talking about? He was talking about a future period called the Millennium when Jesus will reign on earth for a thousand years. During that time, the curse of sin will be partially removed. You can’t understand that without knowing Bible prophecy.

The second example is Matthew 25:35-40 where Jesus said:

“I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

You cannot fully understand the Old Testament Prophets, the teachings of Jesus, or the Epistles without understanding prophecy. Prophecy is the framework on which we hang the rest of the Bible.

I once heard somebody say, “I’m a Matthew 25 kind of Christian. My faith is centered around taking care of the least of these.” Now, we should be merciful to those who are in need. That’s certainly the fruit, the evidence of being a Christian. But is that the core of the Christian faith? Is doing good things for the least of these the heart of Christianity? Is that what the apostles proclaimed and gave their lives for? No, doing good for others is the evidence of Christianity, but the core of Christianity is repentance from sin and the forgiveness of God through the blood of Jesus Christ.

When Peter preached that great sermon on Pentecost that resulted in more than three thousand people being saved, what was his message? Feed the hungry and you shall be saved! Clothe the naked and you shall be saved! Visit those in prison and you shall be saved! No. Acts 2:38 tells us his message: “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”

If that’s the heart of Christianity, then what was Jesus talking about in Matthew 25? In this passage, Jesus was teaching about the end times. The disciples asked Him, “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). In Matthew 25:35-40, Jesus was referring to the 144,000 Jewish witnesses who are saved during the Tribulation. Even though those witnesses are protected by God, they suffer, they are imprisoned, and they are denied food and drink. Jesus was saying to that future age: “How you treat these witnesses of Mine reveals whether you are truly saved. When you feed them, clothe them, and take them in, it is a sign of your love for Me.”

You can’t understand that teaching of Jesus if you don’t understand how it fits into Bible prophecy. Prophecy is the key to interpreting and applying the Bible correctly.

Prophecy Motivates Us Toward Godly Living​

Third, Bible prophecy motivates us toward godly living. The reason God tells us about the end times is not to satisfy our curiosity; it is to increase our obedience to Him. Realizing that everything around us is coming to an end ought to motivate us to live godly lives.

Revelation 22:7 says, “Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” Understanding Bible prophecy should motivate us to obey God. That’s why we study prophecy.

https://www.raptureforums.com/bible-prophecy/why-study-bible-prophecy/
 
usoutpost31

usoutpost31

Well-Known Member
Chris said:
The second example is Matthew 25:35-40 where Jesus said:

“I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”

You can’t understand that teaching of Jesus if you don’t understand how it fits into Bible prophecy.
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I disagree. You can understand the sheep and the goats by looking at the other stories He told.

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

Does this not sound like the story of the rich man and Lazarus?

Lazarus was hungry, the rich man would not feed him. He was lying at the man's gate, he would not let him in. He was sick, covered in sores, the rich man would not help him. It seems clear to me, the rich man is one of these goats.

This is what judgment day would look like for people like him.
 
daygo

daygo

Well-Known Member
I disagree too, in the millennium you'll live to be well above 100, and sheep and goats imo are not about the 144,000 witnesses. So am afraid it's a thumbs down for this one. One of those rare occasions I'm afraid I normally love his articles.
 
DelmaLeon

DelmaLeon

Member
usoutpost31 said:
I disagree. You can understand the sheep and the goats by looking at the other stories He told.

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

Does this not sound like the story of the rich man and Lazarus?

Lazarus was hungry, the rich man would not feed him. He was lying at the man's gate, he would not let him in. He was sick, covered in sores, the rich man would not help him. It seems clear to me, the rich man is one of these goats.

This is what judgment day would look like for people like him.
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The sheep and goat judgement happens after the Great Tribulation and determines who that is left on earth will enter into the Millennium kingdom. I’m not trying to be argumentative but the parable of Lazarus and the rich man has nothing to do with either the sheep/goat judgement or the scriptures referenced in the article. The article is speaking about the importance of prophecy in interpreting scripture. The scriptures above are used as an example of scripture being miss interpreted.
 
usoutpost31

usoutpost31

Well-Known Member
DelmaLeon said:
I’m not trying to be argumentative but the parable of Lazarus and the rich man has nothing to do with either the sheep/goat judgement or the scriptures referenced in the article.
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What I'm saying is, there is strong parallels between the behaviour of the rich man of Luke 16, and the goats of Matthew 25. Like them, he did not lift a finger to help someone in need. He can be considered an example of a "goat".

He will be judged in the same way, even though he did not live in the Tribulation.

So then the lesson to be taken from Matthew 25 is not just meant for the last generation. Jesus wanted the listeners of his time and every subsequent generation to hear and learn from Him.

You do not have to be a dispensationalist to understand what Jesus is saying.
 
athenasius

athenasius

Well-Known Member
The study of prophecy, like that of the whole Bible equips us, matures our faith and walk with the Lord and enables us to turn around and help and comfort others who are struggling.

Biblical literacy is a major problem nowadays. You don't have to look far to find people being led astray from the basic principles in the Word-- the enemy uses misunderstandings to drive people into weird theology. Satan has always worked at misquoting God to the untaught and unwary. Often thru others seen as Christian leaders. I'm not just referring to Joel Osteen, Rick Warren and Kenneth Copeland.

It startled me when Rick Warren said something to the effect that it was best not to focus on prophecy teaching in church because it divides people. That sealed it that he was a false teacher.

The best defence against the lies and subtle twists of the enemy coming out of the mouths of presumed Christians, is always knowing the Word of God, and growing in that knowledge daily.

In fact I was looking at this passage recently in Deuteronomy 13: 1-4

13 1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’

3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

and I was thinking about the rise in date setters who find ways to wiggle out of the clear passages that say that nobody but God the Father knows the day or hour (I recognize that Jesus was in his earthly human body at that point, but we humans certainly don't know) and Jesus also said He would return at a time no one knows Matthew 24:36, 44 among many others.

It occurred to me that we SHOULD know that basic concept-- that nobody will know the day or hour. We are to be looking up, aware of the season of the Lord's return-- I'm not saying that we shouldn't be aware of the season, but as for the date, definitely not.

But so many get so set on a feast day or a particular mathematical formula, and then the masses follow them out of sheer hunger for the Lord and are led astray to sometimes crushing disappointment.

That verse- Deuteronomy 13: 3 struck me that it was like failing a basic test of Scripture knowledge.

If we studied Bible prophecy, for ourselves we would know when these teachers stepped out of line.

If these teachers taught people to dig into Scripture instead of spoon feeding cherry picked verses, the people would know.

If they were open like Paul to being critiqued by people who are reading the Word, then the people would know the Word and grow.

Paul said the Bereans were more noble because they searched the Scriptures daily to see if the things Paul taught were indeed found in Scripture.

If there was a Berean test going on amongst the date setting crowd, very few seem to be able to pass it.

It seems that Satan has effectively divided a lot of people into 2 camps, both ignorant of Scripture

The ones who avoid prophecy like the plague

and the ones who twist and distort it.

The flock get torn up by the enemy on both extremes.
 
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