The Purpose of Prophecy (3 of 9) by Pastor Doug Batchelor The Purpose of Prophecy Yet I often get asked why prophecy can be so hard to understand. For one, I think God wants us to dig for truth, partly because you appreciate gold when you dig for it more than if its dropped in your lap. But more than that, God protects His message. Virtually all of the apocalyptic prophets, such as Ezekiel, Daniel, John the apostle, wrote as captives under a foreign power. Many of these prophecies addressed the destruction of those powers. Revelation talks about the fall of Rome, and Daniel details the fall of Babylon and Persia. The more we understand what these symbols represent, the easier it becomes to unlock the prophecies. God enfolded some prophetic truths in symbols to hide the messages from the enemy. Still, the honest searcher can discover the greater message. Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand (Mark 4:11, 12). But dont worry if you dont understand the mysterious symbols at first. In John 16:4, Jesus says, These things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you. Dr. Leslie Harding wrote, The better part of prophecy is better understood after it is fulfilled. We often want to study the prophecies so we can know the future - yet prophecy is best understood after it is fulfilled. Only rarely in the Bible does anybody benefit from prophecy in advance, as when Egypt prepared for the famine revealed through the prophetic dreams that Joseph interpreted. Most souls didnt take advantage of the prophecies of Jesus first coming. But others, like us, get the benefit after it is fulfilled. You sit back, take it in, and say, Ah ha! He is God. There is a big plan. It is not all just an accident. Another question I get is Why spend so much time looking at prophecy? Arent there other, more important things to talk about? Yes, there are. But prophecy is vital to our Christian experience, having the power to inspire others with confidence in Gods omniscient knowledge, and set those sailing off course back on track. Indeed, prophecy is more than just about knowing the future: We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19 NKJV). To be continued…
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 03:44:00 +0000
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