Bible Is Prophecy
Intro:
Revelation 12:11 “And they have defeated him by the blood of
the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that
they were afraid to die.”
In America today there is a common agreement that prophecy
does not need to be studied because it is "divisive" and does not promote “Good
Christian Living.” Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve been even been
asked to not preach about prophecy. The fact is, the early Christians pointed
to fulfilled and future prophecy as a call to Christian living.
Lesser context and
Greater Context –
The Greater Context is the story of Jesus – What is fascinating about
the story of Jesus is that it is a 3 Part Play: Act I – the Messiah before the
Incarnation, Act II - Jesus during the Incarnation, and Act III - Christ our
Coming King
If the Bible was a tapestry, prophecy is the main threads God used to
weave it with. Prophecy is the truth about what God is going to do that
validates who He is.
Prophecy is the proof that God provided to demonstrate His power to
those who watch for His involvement in the world.
1. When you study the Bible you cannot avoid
Prophecy
a.
If you think you can avoid prophecy, you are
sadly mistaken…
i. Genesis
– 3:13 and following a prophecy of Jesus, Genesis 12:3-7 Abraham, Joseph’s bones
ii. Exodus
– is the story of Moses, a prophet, 12:46 no bone broken on Messiah, Joseph’s
bones fulfilled
iii. Leviticus
– 26:44 people of Israel will never be completely destroyed
iv. Numbers
– Serpent 21:8-9, Star out of Jacob 24:17-19
v. Deuteronomy
– Cursed on a Tree 21:23, a veiled prophecy pointing to Jesus
1.
In fact Moses is called the “Greatest Prophet
who ever lived” by Deuteronomy 34:10, so we must reject everything he wrote.
2. Now remember there are people who believe
we should not study prophecy, but we need to be reminded that Prophecy is very
important.
vi. Joshua
– Joshua going into the land was a fulfillment of prophecy, can’t preach this!
vii. Judges
– whole bunch of Prophets like Deborah,
Judges 6:8 “the Lord sent a prophet to remind Israel…”
viii.
Ruth – Is prophetic because it is important to
understand the coming of David, and also the coming of the Messiah the “son of
David”, Kinsman redeemer is a prophetic picture of Christ.
ix. I
Samuel – Samuel is a prophet
x. II
Samuel – Throne of David Established Forever 7:12-13, 16, 25-29
xi. I
Kings – Elijah the prophet, can’t talk about him
xii. II
Kings – Elisha the prophet, can’t talk
about him
xiii.
I Chronicles – 17:11-14 throne of David
established forever
xiv. II
Chronicles – 21:7 Throne of David messiah, son of Obed the prophet 15,
prophecies of the exile into Babylon
xv. Ezra
– Fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy in chapter 1, Zechariah son of Edo ch5,
Haggai ch 6
xvi. Nehemiah
– Fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy
xvii.
Esther – Setting the prophetic fulfillment of
Jeremiah’s prophecy and “for such a time as this” is a prophetic statement
1. We made it through the historical books,
but couldn’t avoid prophecy. Believe it or not, there are people who believe we
should not study prophecy, but again we need to be reminded that Prophecy is
very important. We’re about to find out that we can’t even get through the
Wisdom literature without running into prophecy. Here are a couple examples:
xviii.
Job – Promised redeemer 19:25-27
xix. Psalms
– Soldiers cast lots and hands and feet pierced and mocked 22:7-18, over 30
other psalms that are prophetic about Jesus
xx. Proverbs
– 29:18 where there is no revelation (prophetic vision) the people perish, in
fact the proverbs are a type of minor prophecy about what comes from living a
godly life.
xxi. Ecclesiastes
– There is nothing new under the sun is a prophetic statement, 12:13-14
prophecy of the coming judgment
1. Now we’ve made it to a section of the Bible
that is called the Prophets. But if we were to follow the advice of modern
Americans, we would have to skip all of these guys, so I guess we won’t talk
about them.
xxii.
Isaiah – Malachi – All Prophets can’t preach on
them, let’s not read that he was going to be flogged and spit on, a meek
servant in Isaiah 40, 42 and 50 and 53, gotta skip that stuff, even though that
is how we witness to Jews. So we’ve just covered the entire OT and every single
bit of it is tinted with prophecy.
1. Thank God, for the most part there is very
little prophecy in the New Testament! Well, that isn’t true. For those who want
to avoid Prophecy, they will be hard pressed to dodge it in the New Testament
as well.
xxiii.
Matthew – 1:18, 1:22 prophecy fulfilled, 3 (John
prophecies His coming) of course there are all of the prophetic parables, and
then there is Matthew 24, and we’re not even going to address the fact that the
parables of Matthew 25 are Entirely Prophetic in nature. First two parables he
prefaces with “the kingdom of Heaven is like” what is that? Oh yeah, Christ’s
kingdom, which is established in the millennial reign when He returns. Then the
final parable in many Bibles expressly says something like “The Final Judgment”
again a very prophetic event. Finally, Matthew even ends with “I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.” A prophetic statement if there ever was one.
xxiv.
Mark – 1:2 – “It began just as the Prophet
Isaiah had written…” Hmmm. Prophecy. 8:31 Prophecy about His own death. Mark 13
– Jesus Foretells the Future, 14:27 prophecy of Jesus predicting Peter’s denial
before it happened. 16:18 a possible prophecy about Paul and Luke
xxv. Luke
– Luke chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 are all prophetic in nature. In fact, Luke defers
to prophecy again and again to validate Jesus’ ministry. So we have to throw
Luke out. Luke 6:24 prophecy, Luke chapters 9 and 10 both contain prophetic
passages, Luke 11 refers back to the prophet Jonah. Luke 12 second coming, Luke
17:20 and following is prophetic, Luke 19, 20, 21 and 22 prophetic, Luke 24
references the prophets
xxvi.
John – John 1 again begins with Prophecy. John
3:16 OUR FAVORITE MEMORY VERSE is prophetic, because He hadn’t died yet! Can’t
preach John 3:16. John 4:21 prophecy, John 5:24-25 prophecy, John 5:39 (all of
the scriptures OT point to Jesus) well we already established that but here you
see Jesus say it outright, chapters 6, 7, 8 and 10 all hinge on prophecy. 11:25
another prophecy, in fact chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 are all
prophetic in nature. 18, 19 and 20 are all fulfillments of prophecy of the
prophets. Even in 21 we have a prophecy to Peter.
1. We’ve gone through all of the Gospels, and
you cannot separate prophecy from the gospels. I’m sorry for those who do not
want to study prophecy, but we’ll have to not study the Gospels either.
xxvii.
Acts – Acts 1 starts with 2 prophecies, and
establishes that the Kingdom of Heaven Jesus talked about is not just a
spiritual kingdom in our hearts, but a physical kingdom that will one day be
established on earth. 1:16 “the scriptures had to be fulfilled”, Acts 2
fulfillment of prophecy, chapter 3 expounds on OT prophets, chapter 4
prophetic, chapter 5 power of prophecy, chapter 7 preaches through the
prophets, chapter 8 fulfillment of prophecy of Jesus, chapter 10 another
fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy, chapter 12 more fulfillment of prophecy, 13:23
prophecy deferred to, 13:40-41 prophecy “Look you mockers! Be amazed and die!”
they did not want people to scoff at prophecy. Acts 18:10 a direct prophecy to
Paul, 28 snakebite prophecy of Jesus, Acts even ends with a prophecy from the
OT.
1. I know you’ve heard people tell you
Prophecy isn’t important. But aren’t they even reading their Bibles? How can
you avoid it? I know, let’s just stick to the Epistles, they have so very
little prophecy we can safely hang out there to avoid prophecy. But wait…
xxviii.
Romans – Chapter 1 sets up this info comes from
the prophets who spoke long ago and then he spend the rest of the book
expounding on what the prophets established. Romans 2:5 “because of your
stubbornness and your unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself
when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” This is the world Apokalypsios
which we get the world Apocalypse from. And is another name for the book of
Revelation. Because it is Christ who is revealed. This word is also used as another way of saying “a prophecy” in other
parts of the Epistles. But again, 2:5 is a prophetic statement. Later, we
have Abraham, we have the future glory, we have Israel’s selection all of these
are prophetic events that Paul is expounding on. Salvation in chapter 10 was
prophesied. Chapter 15 Paul uses the prophecies to establish the authority of
his teaching on these matters. Verse 26 the second to the last verse in Romans
appeals to the prophecies to prove his point.
xxix.
I Corinthians – A big chunk of this book is
prophetic about the 2nd coming of Christ and the resurrection of the
dead. Chapter 1 opens with an appeal to the prophecy of the 2nd
coming and how we must be strong to endure persecution until that day comes!
Chapter 10 appeals to prophecy, Chapter 14 is about the continuation of
prophecy for the Church, Chapter 15 is all about prophecy, Paul even concludes
the letter with an appeal to the second coming
xxx. II
Corinthians – Opens with the suffering that was prophesied by Jesus and the
Prophets, chapters 2-5 are an exposition on the Prophecies of the Old Testament
and how they are fulfilled in Christ. 12 shows that Paul had prophetic visions
xxxi.
Galatians – 1:3 “Just as the Father has
planned,” an appeal to prophecy. Chapter
3 appeals to both the law and the prophets, chapter 4 is an appeal to Isaiah to
strengthen his case 6:8 a prophecy of what comes from living a sinful life
xxxii.
Ephesians – 1:4 even before the world, God chose
us…” a type of prophecy. 1:17 may God give you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation (that’s that apocalypse word again, in other words, a spirit of
prophecy). 3:5 plan revealed to the prophets. Chapter 5 quoting the prophets.
xxxiii.
Philippians –
1:6 Return of Jesus is when the good work is finished , Chapter 2 long
quote from the prophets, Chapter 3 prophecies that we will be changed when
Jesus Returns to place all under His control (pretty strong proof of a Post
Trib rapture).
xxxiv.
Colossians – First two chapters hinge on the
fulfillment of the prophecies, ends with the fulfillment of prophecies as they
are in prison.
xxxv.
I Thessalonians – chapters 4 and 5 are all prophecy
xxxvi.
II Thessalonians – chapters 1 and 2 are all
prophecy and no the theory that people were quitting their jobs and waiting for
Jesus is not true. The Church Fathers taught that the Thessalonians were
surprised by the persecution they were beginning to endure and thought that
they had perhaps missed the rapture and were really worried because they
thought Jesus had “left them behind!” So Paul had to give them specific
instructions that proved they had not been “left behind,” and in fact wouldn’t
be because the Tribulation of the Saints had to come before the Return of the
Lord.
xxxvii.
I Timothy – 1:18 Timothy’s entire ministry was
predicated by Prophecy. Guess we have to throw his books out.
xxxviii.
II Timothy – 1:9 pointing to God’s plan, a plan
revealed by the prophets and accomplished in Jesus Christ. Again a prophetic
statement. Chapter 3 is a warning about the Last Days. Chapter 4 is about the 2nd
Coming.
xxxix.
Titus – 1:2 a prophecy fulfilled 1:3 points to
the fulfillment of God’s plans. You cannot extricate prophecy from the message
of the Gospel, they are intertwined.
xl. Philemon
– not really prophecy, but it does speak of persecution in Verse 13 which was
prophesied by both the prophets and Jesus. So even an innocuous book like
Philemon is a fulfillment of prophecy.
xli. Hebrews
– Drips with prophecy. Chapter 1 is quote after quote from the prophets and the
Psalms. Chapters 2 – 8 uses the prophecies of the OT to validate the teaching
about Jesus, chapter 9 expands on this. Chapter 10 appeals to the prophets too,
and chapter 11 is entirely about the lives of faith. Faith is demonstrated as
acting on a promise made by God before the promise is even fulfilled, that
takes prophecy in order for that to even happen.
xlii.
James – 1:12 James appeals to the prophecy of
the coming reward to set up his entire teaching on Christian living. All
Biblical truth is predicated and founded on the proclamation of one of God’s
prophets. “Do I do anything without
telling one of my prophets first?” Amos 3:7, James is an example of this. James
gives his own prophecy in 3:18 of what will come from living a godly life. He
ends his book by using a prophet’s prayer life as an example of faith.
xliii.
I Peter – This book is all about living a
Christian life because the Day of Judgment is coming! Peter starts with
prophecy, uses prophetic passages from the OT and then ends with prophecy all
to make the point that we need to be living a godly life.
xliv.
II Peter – Peter continues his prophetic theme
by expounding on true prophets and false prophets and then warns again of the
coming judgment.
xlv. I
John – Gives us one of the most powerful passages to understand the coming
Antichrist, and even coins the term Antichrist. He even goes on in chapter 4 to
discuss how to discern false prophets. This is a very prophetic book.
xlvi.
II John – 2 John is a powerful warning about the
spirit of the antichrist and about continuing in the truth. This is a prophetic
warning because he gives the familiar prophetic “if…then…” arguments. Even
though it is a small book, it is still tainted with prophecy.
xlvii.
III John – Again John is fulfilling the role of
a prophet here by correcting bad behavior that is going on in some of the
churches. He also speaks of the brothers who were traveling teachers who were
prophesied by Jesus and commissioned by Him. Not entirely prophetic, but still
colored by the prophetic message.
xlviii.
Jude – Then we have Jude which quotes from the
apocalyptic book of Enoch 1 in the opening section, and the entire book is a
warning about the end to come. All prophecy.
xlix.
Revelation - All Prophecy Can’t Read This –
Notice that the Book of Revelation is an expansion of the Matthew Chapter 24.
Notice also that Jesus came to John, the last living disciple in a long vision
unlike anything else we see in the New Testament, but which mimics how God visited
the prophets of the Old Testament. This book/vision was apparently so important
that Jesus, after His ascension into heaven, and nearly 60 years after
Pentecost. So when you tell me to move on to Matthew 25, perhaps you need to go
to Jesus and tell Him to move onto Matthew 25.
Matthew 24 is the
book end of the Bible – to move on past that is to reject the power that proves
the Gospel message is true.
It is even more important to study
prophecy today, because many of the events that we have been warned about as
being prophetic markers are starting to see fulfillment within our day, and it
shows us that the time is nearer than we want to admit. Here are a few:
Israel becoming a Nation
Damascus under attack
Euphrates drying up after thousands
of years flowing freely
Animals dying off
Rise of lawlessness all over the
globe
The increase of knowledge
The increase of travel that Daniel
spoke about
Scientist talking a lot about
Marking people via a chip or a tattoo of some type
One world currency being studied
and almost being attained by the internet
Muslim world calling for a
caliphate, which mimics the Biblical antichrist in many ways
Jews calling for a temple – which
Paul prophesied would be there
Sanhedrin and Holy Priesthood is in
waiting to be part of that temple
Global scope of sinfulness
Increase of disease and famine
False Christs – In my book Hard
Rain, I mentioned that over the last 2,000 years 70 people have claimed to be
Jesus – but of that list of 70 people over 35 of them have been during my
lifetime!
Apostasy of the Church – people in
the church will not endure sound doctrine
Finally, they will scoff at
prophecy
1
Thess. 5:20 – do not scoff at prophecies
2 Peter 3:3 - Most importantly, I
want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth
and following their own desires.
Jude 1:18 - They told you that in
the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy
their ungodly desires.
It is very dangerous to reject prophecy, because when you
scoff at prophecy, you reject the work of the Holy Spirit of God – Revelation 19:10 the testimony of Jesus is
the Spirit of Prophecy.
Please be careful about scoffing at prophecy and about
avoiding the study of Prophecy. It is vital, and only getting more and more
vital as time ticks on.
