We all would like to know the future, If we did it would give us guidance on how to live our lives now. Knowledge of the future would help us plan and prepare and give a sense of direction to our lives.
But can we know the future?
Yes in broad outline and in important specifics – through a study of Bible Prophecy! And though the outline is not specific to an individual life, the study of prophecy does provide principles and guidelines by which we can obtain a sense of direction for our individual lives.
There are many reasons why the study of prophecy is important:
Through prophecy God declares the end from the beginning proving that He is the unique Sovereign God of eternity:
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying,`My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure (Isaiah 46:9,10).
Thus first of all Prophecy glorifies God.
Moreover, if we judge the importance of a subject by the amount of coverage it is given in the Bible, then we would have to admit that Prophecy is one of the most important areas of study for a Christian, one that will greatly impact and improve his life. Yet, the Church today generally has a different opinion, relegating the study of prophecy to an optional extra, a side-issue, and as a result many neglect vast portions of the Word of God. The Book of Revelation, a book composed almost entirely of prophecy, is uniquely stamped by God as having great importance. Unlike any of the other books it starts with a pronouncement of blessing upon all those who read and accept it:
“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
Moreover, it is the only book that ends with a curse on those who do not accept it in its entirety: “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18,19). If anyone should doubt the importance that God gives to Prophecy, those doubts should now be settled! In particular, this is a command to interpret the Book literally, so that we accept it fully as written and don’t make of it what we want it to mean.
We are warned against changing the meaning of the Book, just because we don’t like it. We are not to add or take away from the plain meaning of this Book of Prophecy. Yet this is exactly what people do, who do not interpret Prophecy literally. Thus the only safe method of prophetic interpretation is to take its plain (literal) sense.
Christians need to know what the Bible says about the future, the end purpose towards which history and current events are moving, because it affects how we live today and the life goals we adopt.. It helps us flow with God’s goals for this time and not to be disturbed by events because we know where those events are leading.
Next: Putting together the Prophetic Jigsaw
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