Prophecy

Ephesians 4:11-13 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

 

My Tuesday Bible Study group at the Senior Living Center is finishing our current series on the biblical Rapture of the Church with a session on prophecy. Pastor Jeremiah states that some church-going people are apt to ignore the prophetic parts of Holy Scripture in favor of more “practical passages about living the Christian life. Pastor Mackie explained to me that many local Christian churches in America separated the spiritual roles of apostles, prophets and evangelists from the ministry and delegated as parachurch organizations as they focused on pastors and teaching; preaching and teaching, worship, social events and small groups. Secular philosophy deals with the here and now, that which was useful or applicable to “real life” and interpersonal relationships while living in a material world.    

 

The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “prophecy” as: A foretelling; prediction; a declaration of something to come. As God only knows future events with certainty, no being but God or some God-ordained prophet informed by Him, can utter a real prophecy. A prophet is a foreteller. In Scripture, a person illuminated, inspired or instructed by God to announce future events. The prophecies recorded in Scripture, when fulfilled, afford most convincing evidence of the divine original of the Scriptures, as those who uttered the prophecies could not have foreknown the events predicted without supernatural instruction. 

 

Yet, prophecy is equated to driving a car at night on a strange dark road, every minute wishing you could see beyond the headlight; longing to see ahead and know. In the uncertain storm of the days in which we live today, all of us yearn to see beyond the headlights. The fact remains that biblical prophecy is our only reliable source of information about tomorrow. Pastor Jeremiah points out that prophecy is pervasive throughout all of Scripture; Sixth-two of the bible’s 66 books contain predictive information. A total of 31,124 verses in Scripture. Twenty-seven percent of those verses (8352) refer to prophetic issues. 

 

Isaiah 46:9-11 “Remember the former things of old; for 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 not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.”

 

The reality is that God is the all-powerful Creator of Heaven and earth. Our heavenly Father is sovereign and in control of time, space, matter He created and history (past, present and future). Supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; as a sovereign ruler of the universe. superior to all others. God is the sovereign good of all who love and obey him. Almighty God is ever-present, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-providing, and all-sustaining. He declares the end from the beginning  is never surprised. The prophecies are He telling us beforehand that we may trust Him, have blessed assurance in Him and His have faith in His holy Word. 

 

In Christ, Brian