We Need Prophecy

Did you know that Bible prophecy is crucial to being a Christian? Is it a matter of merely predicting the future? No, it goes to the very heart of God. You see He loves us enough to let us know the future so it doesn’t surprise or scare us. And it also tests how much we trust Him and His Word. So all in all, when we don’t have a proper view of prophecy we really don’t have a proper view of God. As we approach the end of the end times and the last of the last days it is critical that we don’t dismiss prophecy, belittle it, or ignore it altogether. The Apostle Paul said this to the Thessalonians who no doubt were losing their faith in prophecy:

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. (1 Thess 5:19-21, NKJV)

The word for “despise” is exoutheneó (ex-oo-then-eh'-o) and it means despise, contemptible, despised, no account, regard with contempt, rejected.

We live in a time when God is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh:

After I have poured out my rains again, I will pour out my Spirit upon all of you! Your sons and daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams, and your young men see visions. 29 And I will pour out my Spirit even on your slaves, men and women alike… (Joel 2:28-29, TLB)

And at the same time it is no accident that we have the technology to spread these prophecies literally around the world in an instant. So God wants us to hear what He’s telling them now more than ever. Unfortunately there is a growing contingent of critics who are despising prophecy when His words are needed the most.

A Great Gift

In an article by Breanna Claussen, the Founder, President, and Editor-in-Chief of Harbinger’s Daily we see there are three ways or approaches that Bible prophecy is being belittled or cast aside:

Bible prophecy is an exceptional gift given to us by God. The Creator of the universe, in His sovereignty and authority, provides us with an astonishing glimpse into the future. Sadly, instead of reading these prophecies with hopeful anticipation, discernment, and assurance, vast segments of the church are spiraling down a dangerous road, failing to recognize the disastrous consequences of three incorrect approaches to Biblical prophecy.

The first way is eliminating it completely:

Removing — In the first category are those who ignore Biblical prophecy as a whole; unfortunately, they make up a considerable portion of the church. In this case, over one-third of Scripture is disregarded entirely, often branded as confusing, divisive, impractical, disruptive, or a stumbling block scaring away new believers. Each of these accusations misrepresents God’s prophetic Word and its powerful impact.

She then correctly asserts that prophecy is critical to evangelism and being blessed:

The apostles not only used Bible prophecy as a witnessing tool to showcase the authenticity of Jesus Christ, but they also considered the topic to be essential to a Christian’s understanding from the very beginning of their walk with the Lord. Equipped with knowledge about the future from Scripture, Christians are encouraged (1 Thess. 4:18, Luke 21:28, 2 Peter 1:19), filled with hope (Titus 2:13, Phil. 3:20), receive special blessings (Rev. 1:3), and are promised rewards in eternity (2 Tim. 4:8).

Claussen then connects the dots to how dismissing Bible prophecy then erodes believing the rest of God’s Word:

Considering that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10) and Christ frequently urged the church to “watch” for the season of His return (Matt. 24:42), the position of rejecting Biblical prophecy is an untenable position for any believer to take. It is also deeply damaging, leaving us with an incomplete picture of God’s plan of redemption, and having a ripple effect through our understanding of Scripture.

Not What God Said

The article then shows the opposite extreme of eliminating all prophecy:

Adding — The second incorrect approach to Biblical prophecy comes at the other end of the spectrum and is related to those who add to the text—sensationalizing or making predictions that go beyond what God’s Word has expressly stated. While this can also arise from those who declare themselves to be prophets and apostles in the modern day, I would like to focus on those who apply considerable conjecture when examining what God’s Word has to say about the future.

The author gives one example of adding to what the Bible actually says:

For example, in Ezekiel 38 we read about a future war, where a coalition of countries—including Russia, Iran, and Turkey—will attack the nation of Israel. The prophecy references the death of the Russian leader during this war. The challenge, however, arises when Christians make statements declaring: “According to Bible prophecy, Russian President Vladimir Putin will face his ultimate demise on the mountains of Israel.” Now wait just a moment! The text doesn’t explicitly say that. The leadership in Russia could change tomorrow, and then, in the eyes of all those who heard this declaration, God is viewed as the liar!

And then she mentions a particular pet peeve of mine, especially when it comes to the Rapture:

This also applies to date-setting and other assumptions added to the text, and it happens routinely among many popular prophecy commentators.

Claussen sums up this error succinctly:

The danger is obvious. When we say, “thus saith the Lord” based on our own conjecture, we damage how others view the authenticity of God’s Word, and consequently, we significantly damage our witness.

I know there are those who add the phrases that God said this or that and I understand why they do that. The problem arises when it isn’t Biblically sound or doesn’t happen. One person had a vision of President Trump being hit in the ear by a bullet before the assassination attempt in 2024. It was heralded far and wide, but the more this person described it the details kept changing. I advise those who have visions and dreams to apply the KISS rule – keep it simple saints.

A Game Of Twister

If you’ve ever played the game of Twister, which is inherently only for the younger folks who can still play it and not see a chiropractor immediately afterwards, you know how contortion is a key element of it. However when it comes to Bible prophecy, stretching it to fit one’s own views is not a good practice as Claussen informs us:

Twisting — The third incorrect approach to Bible prophecy surrounds those who twist the text. As the late Dr. Chuck Missler would routinely warn: “Torture the data long enough, and it will confess to anything.” This “torture of the data” is precisely what is occurring among the groups who spiritualize Bible prophecy. When the plain/literal meaning is abandoned, a verse can mean anything under the sun!

An increasingly common illustration involves God’s chosen people, the Jews:

One of the most prominent examples surrounds the nation of Israel. Through a significant spiritualization of the text, replacement theology emerged, and God’s future plans and promises to Israel were distorted. Suddenly, the Jewish people were branded as perpetually forsaken, and God’s everlasting covenants were bestowed upon the church. Under this view, Jews were no longer beloved by God, and the modern re-established state of Israel—an awe-inspiring fulfillment of ancient prophesies—was disregarded and demonized.

As somebody who did daily podcasts on the war in Israel until recently, I know all too well how dangerous it is to say that God replaced Israel with Christians. But it doesn’t stop there:

The spiritualization of God’s prophetic Word didn’t stop with robbing the Jews of their promised future; it has also been used to rob Jesus Christ Himself of His future millennial kingdom, with many distorting His ruling and reigning on the earth as merely symbolic. Once again, these promises were stolen and given to another, as many claim the church is spiritually ruling the earth as we speak!

It’s called Preterism and it could not be more dangerous to embrace as I detail in a previous podcast. The author notes the danger of scripture twisting:

While a great deal more could be mentioned, it is not difficult to see why “torturing” the text is a treacherous trail to go down.

The Right Stuff

We could spend much more time on how Bible prophecy is being distorted, degraded, and dismissed, but we need to hold to it as we also test it:

Rightly Dividing — All three of these approaches to Bible prophecy are monumentally dangerous (Rev. 22:19). God means what He says, and says what He means. While many venture into these positions out of ignorance, or the blind trust in a particular denomination, we must all understand our responsibility to rightly divide God’s Word, examining it with clarity and discernment.

As I mentioned at the top, God’s love is at the heart of prophecy:

Bible Prophecy was lovingly given by God for a purpose. When we remove it, add to it, and twist it, we are making a significant mistake—one that not only affects our personal understanding, rewards in eternity, and walk with the Lord, but also our witness to the unsaved world.

Yes, there are grifters out there. Yes, there are people who are sincere, but are sincerely wrong. And yes, there are those who must make prophecy fit their views rather than God’s views. But at its core, God loves us enough to prepare us for the future so we can stay balanced and steady as we use the future to reach those in the present for the Gospel of Christ. Let’s seek God and pray that we constantly examine Bible prophecy and the prophets He is using now to lead us into His truth more and more. If we ask for wisdom He will give it to us without limits.