WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD STUDY BIBLE PROPHECY

PROPHECY ACQUAINTS US WITH THE MOST IMPORTANT SUBJECT OF THE AGES, GOD’S PLAN FOR MAN We are not isolated creatures living in a vacuum without a cause or purpose (as secular thinkers who attribute man’s existence to the accident of evolution would have us believe).

We were created body, soul and spirit by a loving God who has a detailed plan for our future, which is revealed only in the Bible. Not knowing that prophetic plan makes all people – even Christians- vulnerable to false teachings about our present day and the future. The only way to answer the convincing arguments of false teachers is to be armed with the truth about God’s plan for the future.

STUDYING BIBLE PROPHECY CONVINCES US THAT THERE REALLY IS A GOD Only God can reveal the future! And that is what prophecy is – history written in advance. In this book, we will affirm that many specific prophecies in the Bible have already been fulfilled.

In fact, every prophecy that has been fulfilled was fulfilled at its proper time. What’s more, the Bible (Deut 18:22). No other book has ever predicted the future with perfect accuracy. The fact that God alone can do so is an affirmation that He is all that He claims to be.

THE LITERAL FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY TEACHES US THAT PROPHECY SHOULD BE INTERPRETED LITERALLY Many teachers today are confusing Christians by teaching that scripture never intended to be interpreted literally. Instead they call for a spiritualizing or allegorizing of the Bible’s prophecies.

This only leads to confusion! Did God mean what He said and say what He meant? The study of fulfilled prophecy says a resounding yes. Our study of already fulfilled prophecy inspires us to trust God to fulfill the prophecies that will be fulfilled in the future.

THE STUDY OF PROPHECY PREPARES THE CHRISTIAN TO AVOID THE DECEPTIONS OF THE MANY FALSE PROPHETS THAT ARE ARISING IN OUR DAY. While there have always been false teachers, as we approach the end times there will be an increase in the numbers of those who lead people astray with their erroneous teachings.

The best defense is to “put on the full armour of God so that you can stand against the devil’s schemes” (Eph 6:11). Our Lord predicted that false christs and false prophets will appear in the end times, some of whom will be able to perform great signs and miracles and will deceive those who do not know the scriptures – particularly Bible passages that relate to future things. The best way to avoid being deceived by the false teachers is to know the prophetic teachings of God’s word.

THE STUDY OF PROPHECY PROMOTES AN EVANGELISTIC CHURCH. The most evangelistic periods of church history have been the times when the church actively studied prophecy. The early church as a whole was evangelistic.

From the time that our Lord said “I will come again, and receive you to myself” (John14:3) all the way through most of the next three centuries, the early church had an evangelistic fire. It may seem the church’s enthusiasm resulted from being a persecuted church, but part of the reason it was persecuted was because of its evangelistic fire - and that, in turn, was due to the fact that our Lord’s soon return was a prominent part of the church’s teachings.

THE STUDY OF PROPHECY TENDS TO PURIFY THE BELIEVER It is no secret that we live in an unholy age. Unfortunately, too much of that unholiness is found even in the church.

One tool the Holy Spirit uses to motivate believers to live holy lives is the study of prophecy, particularly those passages that relate to our Lord’s soon return. The apostle John said this about those who hold to the promise of the Lord’s second coming in their hearts: “Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).

PROPHECIES OFFERS CONFIDENT HOPE IN A HOPELESS AGE Human beings can absorb many pressures in life, but a lack of hope is not one of them. The world in which we live has no hope. Looking back, we see an unending history of war, hatred, and cruelty, all of which reveals the inhumanness of mankind.

The very study of history is a study of war and man’s inhumanity to his fellow man. The whole world yearns for peace, but knows no peace. Mankind’s problems continually worsen, leaving many people without hope.

The more we know about God’s prophetic promises, the more convinced we will become of their fulfillment. Those who are familiar with Bible prophecy are the only ones who can face what seems to be an uncertain future with peaceful confidence.