Missiles, drones, and war planes fill the skies of the Middle East as Iran and Hezbollah aggressively attack Israel with ferocity. Does this signal coming end time events? Is it prophetically significant? People’s interest in prophecy piques at such a time. And that is good. It is important to try and view events through the lens of Scripture. It is important to go to the Bible to see what it says about the end times. But all too often, these events calm down and depart from the top of the news cycle, and people very often go back to life and cease to give much thought about prophecy. Prophecy is very important beyond a sudden, but evaporating interest in it.
The Continuing Decline in Prophetic Teaching
The problem faced by the church these days is that so many in the church have not been taught about biblical prophecy. There are some churches where the believers are faithfully taught biblical prophecy which is woven throughout the Scriptures. But too many pastors and teachers these days do not do such teaching. These, who ought to have been instructing their flocks about the truths of the Bible simply do not do so. But why? There are several reasons for this silence from the pulpit. First, many pastors feel that prophecy is far too difficult and too divisive. They think that prophecy is hard to understand and there are so many opinions, so they stay away from it. They are convinced that church attenders will exit the church if prophecy is taught. These pastors seem to forget that their primary task is to teach the whole counsel of God. And some of these churches have removed almost completely any reference to eschatology in their doctrinal statements. Second, the feeling is that prophecy is just a lot of speculation and they need to be talking about the “real world” and not about things which may or may not happen. Third, there is the belief that prophetic teachers are simply involved in a lot of wild speculation. After all, how many times can you declare that the Rapture is going to take place very shortly and it has not. How often can you point to some world leader and suggest that he is the prophesied antichrist? It is true, unfortunately, that some teachers are heavily into speculation and do diminish prophetic importance as a result. But nevertheless, prophetic truths are found everywhere in the Scriptures and must be taught. Fourth, I have discovered that many men attended seminaries where they simply were not instructed in this theological subject. Apparently the school they attended had a low view of the prophetic word.
The Critical Importance of Biblical Prophecy in the Life of the Believer
BIBLICAL PROPHECY IS ESSENTIAL IN ESTABLISHING A “TWO-WORLDVIEW.
The Apostle Paul had a two-world view (Phil. 3:13-21); that is, he lived well in this world because he always had an eye on the world to come. Biblical prophecy sharpens our view of the world to come and this is a tremendous help in how we live in this world; how we prioritize life and make decisions. Without an understanding of what lies ahead, it is nearly impossible to view life as the Apostle Paul did.
BIBLICAL PROPHECY GIVES US HOPE (Confident assurance).
If there is anyone who ought to live in this world with confidence, it is the child of God (cf. Titus 2:13). If there is anyone who ought not live under the load of defeat, fear, and depression, it is the child of God. While none of us are exempt from painful situations in life, we should not live hopeless, negative, defeated lives because we understand where all of life is headed and that we have an amazing future that is ours as believers. “Let us rejoice and be glad” (Rev. 19:7) will be the prevailing sentiment for the redeemed. This attitude of hope is not wishful thinking because it is grounded in the commitment of God to restore what was lost in the Garden of Eden. Man’s willful disobedience brought about the loss of paradise, of fellowship with God and of the privileged position of ruling the earth. When Adam and Eve sinned, God could have wiped everything out and started over again. (After all, what would He have lost but two people and six days of work!). But instead, He promised that there would be restoration and reconciliation through the “seed of the woman.”
Prophecy informs us that those three things that were lost will be fully regained because of the Cross and the powerful working of our Creator God. Unhindered fellowship with God, a wonderful paradise and the opportunity of ruling with our Messiah will again be the experience of people. Biblical prophecy lets us in on this marvelous ending and gives us the confident expectation which assists us in living well for Christ right now. Biblical prophecy provides us with a clear, comprehensive worldview which in turn generates biblical hope because we are dealing with a God who is faithful to His promises.
BIBLICAL PROPHECY HELPS BELIEVERS IN THEIR STRUGGLE AGAINST SIN.
Serious believers are very aware of the “sin that so easily entangles us” (Heb. 12:1) and wish for victory over sin. When we keep future events fresh in our thinking, that we are going to see Christ and appear before His judgment seat, we are apt to not allow sin to take up residence in our lives. We can say “no” to sin much easier. This was the point the Apostle John made.
“And now little children abide in Him (keep in fellowship), so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming...And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 2:28; 3:3)
It is when we cease thinking that Jesus could appear at any moment and bring to pass the end times as described in the Bible, that we get careless in the way we live. Remember Jesus’ powerful statement that it is the evil slave who says “my Lord delays his coming” (Matt. 24:48). The believer’s struggle against sin will never stop in this life, but that believer is fortified in the inner person by the truths of what may soon take place.
(4) BIBLICAL PROPHECY PROVIDES A VALUABLE MINDSET IN TIMES OF TRIALS.
The fact that believers are faced with some burdensome and painful trials in this life is not a new revelation. We know that God has not exempted believers from the sudden death of a loved one or the arrival of a debilitating disease or the appearance of great financial loss. And even if such “major tragedies” do not enter the believer’s life, the child of God still experiences scores of “minor” pressures, griefs, disappointments, and setbacks.
James, and others, observed that believers can respond well or they can respond poorly to these painful times in life. For trials to be successfully endured, James says that the believer must possess God’s wisdom, which is seeing life from God’s perspective. An integral part of God’s perspective is the future that lies ahead. This is how Jesus faced the trial of His crucifixion. The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:2). Jesus looked beyond those six hours on the cross to that time in His glorious kingdom when He would be with those that He would redeem and restore.
The believer who is focused on this world will likely not do well in trials when things go terribly wrong in this world. Without a working knowledge of things to come, he will have to fall back on the “stiff upper lip” approach or to wishful thinking. The truth is that our best life is not now. But the believer who anticipates the glorious age to come will be better positioned to deal well with the pain and disappointments that accompany trials in this world.
After speaking about the universality of trials and the need for God’s wisdom, James references the future (James 1:12). The “crown of life”, also mentioned in Revelation 2:10, does seem to focus on the future reward given to the believer who loves the Lord so much that he does not resent what the Lord has allowed into his life. An incentive for enduring in trials is the understanding that there is future reward for the enduring believer.
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12)
As James’ letter ends, it returns to the matter of the trials of life and the need to patiently endure like Job and the prophets of old. And here James again appeals to the future to give strength to his friends.
“Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord....You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.” (James 5:7-9)
What believers need in times of trial and difficulty is not positive thinking, but prophetic thinking!
(5) PROPHECY GIVES AN IMPORTANT REMINDER OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY.
The prophet Isaiah powerfully declared that God is sovereign over all men and nations (Isaiah 40). No person, no nation or combination of nations can for one second thwart the plans and purposes of God. And while we might be impressed, or even intimidated, by the authority of those in Washington DC, Moscow, Beijing or Tehran, God is not. Bible prophecy reveals that our sovereign God will bring to pass everything that He said He would do. He is sovereign. And biblical prophecy reinforces that significant reality.
Biblical prophecy must have an important place in the life and thinking of the believer for that one to live well here and now for the Lord Jesus. Perhaps the average believer, whether in the pew or the halls of the academy, need to give serious reflection to the Word of God on the strategic role of prophecy in our theology and our living.
It is a good thing, when Iran and Hezbollah attacks Israel, that we think seriously about the significance of such events. But we really need to go beyond a temporary interest in prophecy. Pastors, teachers and all believers need to immerse themselves in the Scriptures and observe what they have to say about the upcoming prophetic events. Prophecy is life changing.
