Prophecy can help us in dealing with our problems in life. It can give us patience and endurance which we can obtain no other way.
An audio lesson.
Jewish Chronicles describes how the Jews came to be sidetracked from following, and how when they are converted to their own Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, it will be a world-wide game changer.
If you know that judgment is coming, and believe it, it will clearly change your ethics and behavior.
An audio lesson.
Revelation is a series of parallel visions that give us an overview of our age, and the big players during our age. Revealing the Christian Age is available from your bookseller.
What we anticipate about the weather, or whether a thief may visit our house, are examples of how what we think is about to changes our behavior. Further, Bible Prophecy is indeed supposed to change/modify our behavior for the good.
An audio lesson
Many make Revelation more mysterious than it should be. The information you need to reconsider the book of Revelation is included in Revealing the Christian Age. Available from your bookseller.
Many despise prophecy, treat it as inconsequential. But prophecy is part of that whole armor of God which helps us to acts as we should. It is an ethical matter. Take for example the stories of Noah and Abraham.
An audio lesson.
The basics of how Bible prophecy works is discussed in detail in Prophecy Principles. Available from you bookseller.
An audio lesson.
Another look at a subject which unnecessarily befuddles so many people in studying prophecy: the use of time in prophecy.
However, no matter how you look at it, our views of the future do affect our actions in the present!
An audio lesson.
Yes, Micah speaks of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, and of the coming of the gospel, and of heaven and hell. Also Micah clearly speaks of Israel’s former dominion in the Middle East as to be restored.
No! This is not about any so-called “millennium.” Rather of things yet to happen in history.
Also Micah clearly speaks of two gigantic assemblies of ALL nations against the Jews, neither of which has happened YET!. Both of these are preceded by world-wide persecution of Christians. The first is during that great time of stress in which the Jews turn to their own Messiah, Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth. The second is at the end of time.
An audio lesson.
Micah talks about good things which are coming, both the coming the gospel, the good news of salvation to all the nations of the earth, AND the ending of all wars.
Then goes on to show how prophecy typically relates the immediate subject under discussion related to ultimate destinies of all things. This is something which throws many people off, but it should not. Also, once understood, it makes the reading of many other prophecies both more readable and more understandable.
Also we begin to address in this lesson the fact that there are prophecies in Scripture of the gospel coming, and of heaven and hell, and also there are still UNFULFILLED prophecies about the Jews as a nation. And no! We are not talking about the so-called “millennium,” but rather of things which are still happen in history before the end of this universe.
Jewish Chronicles deals with how the Jews came to where they are today in history, and where all these things are leading.
This is a short intermission in the relatively short history of our present heavens and earth, and a short time of amnesty from all of our wrongs, before Jesus brings this disintegrating universe to a close. Jesus now has all authority in both heaven and earth, Mtt 28:18. He is now working to put down all opposition.
“25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”
1Cor 15:25-26
This short time just before Jesus comes again, is time for us to repent, and come to our senses.
“The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with US, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
2Pe 3:9
Paul speaks of these things in a general sense in his letter to Timothy.
“But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons”
1Tim 4:1
“But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come.”
2Tim 3:1
The details are given in both the Old and the New Testaments. A war will come by “the little horn,” “the abomination of desolation,” the living corpse, “the man of lawlessness,” “the beast,” against all righteousness and goodness and holiness in the entire world.
Moses tells us both when the Jews will turn to Jesus of Nazareth, and when Jesus will come again.
“For Yahweh will judge his people,
Repent himself for his servants;
When he sees that their power is gone,
There is none remaining, shut up or left at large.”
Deut 32:36
When all is lost and there is no hope, and strength to oppose evil, THEN Jesus will come
“25 There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves; 26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near.”
Lk 21:25-28
Prophecy is pertinent to our lives throughout all history. We are truly on the edge of forever.
If you believe this, you will try to be ready for this. It will change how you live, it will change your ethics. Prophecy is NOT an optional extra. Believing what God says in prophecy does matter! It is an ethical matter.
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
Time after time Jesus speaks with certainty of the fact of coming Judgment of all men for their sins. Of those who will not listen Jesus says,
“Most assuredly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”
Mtt 10:15
Jesus points out that men of ALL generations will stand before the Lord to answer for their sins, and that they will also see and comment on the answers of others.
Jon 3:3 says that Nineveh “was an exceedingly great city,” and that it took three days to just to walk across it. The prophet Jonah with perhaps a bleached acid washed look to him, as it has been with other men through history who have been swallowed by “a great fish,” began his preaching.
“Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried out, and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ”
Jon 3:4
Then a strange thing happened.
“and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”
Jon 3:4
Even the king heard and fasted and prayed, Jon 3:6. The King proclaimed,
“8 … Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who knows whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?”
Jon 3:8-9
“The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here.”
Mtt 12:41
This is prophecy which even some twenty-seven-hundred years later has not been fulfilled, yet! So it is pertinent to those Jews of the first century who were hearing these words of Jesus, and is also pertinent to you and I ! Knowing and believing these prophecies should change our behavior, and if we truly believe these things, it will change our behavior.
They are prophetic statements by the greatest prophet of all times. The prophet who was to be like Moses, Deut 18:15. His name is Jesus of Nazareth.
It is an ethical matter. We should seek to know what will happen. These things are of eternal importance to us all. As Paul says,
“Don’t despise prophesies.”
1Thes 5:20
It seems to be a common failing of fleshly men to despise what he cannot immediately see. However, if we are walking after the Spirit,
“Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.”
2Cor 5:16
Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
In the context of of knowing about when Jesus the Christ will come again, Jesus tells all of us,
“But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.”
Mtt 24:43
In this case we are indeed the homeowner, knowing things will happen but not knowing when. There are great many things that are unknown to us. There are for sure things which we are not told.
“The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
Deut 29:29
What is revealed to us in prophecy is for the purpose of our being able to act as we should, respond to coming events in intelligent and responsible ways.
Additionally, we are told His grand plans, so that we can act in line with them … if we will. We are not just slaves in the house, but we friends, and were born to rule with Him
“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for EVERYTHING that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.”
Jn 15:15 nf
And the Greeks word used here is “slave” (doulos), not just one of the many words for a servant. We should remember that we are dealing with recurring patterns of actions and reactions during the Christian age. Mystery Babylon the Great is described in Revelation and in the prophets as a religio-commercial entity which dominates the governments. It is implied (but not clearly stated), that she is already in existence during the first century of our age. Still, it is clear that she only reaches the height of her power toward the end of our age, and that she is fully active until very near the end of the Christian age (see Revelation chapters 17 and 18).
Similarly, the “mystery of lawlessness already works,” in the very first century of our age, 2Thes 2:7. These mysteries are to some extent restrained during most of our age, so that they “may be revealed” at the right time, 2Thes 2:6.
So these allied but opposing mystery religions have been seeking for over two thousand years to set in place their ultimate “fixes,” but with failure after failure, despite their seeming dominance in history. We do not know which of the cycles and events will produce the results which are prophesied. We are merely told what to look for.
Prophecy is NOT an optional extra. Believing what God says in prophecy does matter! It is an ethical matter. Or to put another way,
“Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:”
Lk 24:25 KJV
KJV is the King James Version, 1611.
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
nf is my own translation based on the WEB.