or the hour of Christ’s return at the Rapture. But one day billions of people will suddenly vanish from the face of the earth. Are you ready?
- Dr. David Jeremiah
Perhaps the main reason why we should study biblical prophecy is that there wouldn’t be much of the Bible left if we tried to ignore its predictive passages. Prophecy is pervasive throughout all of Scripture.
In the book Christ’s Prophetic Plans, John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue have done excellent work in identifying just how much of the Bible is prophetic. Here are a few examples of what they found:
If you value the Bible, then you need to value biblical prophecy.
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Have you ever wished you could prove that God is who He says He is? That His Word is relevant and meaningful for our lives today?
You can! The prophetic passages of Scripture offer direct evidence that God knows everything and is in charge of everything. He is never surprised by anything, and whatever He says He will do, He does. He is sovereign, and He further proves that sovereignty every time His prophecies are fulfilled.
God Himself encouraged us to bank on the reliability of biblical prophecy in the book of Isaiah: “Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. . . . I have said what I would do, and I will do it” (46:9–11 NLT).
When we know the One who declares the beginning from the end, we can live every day with confidence.
If you believe in Jesus, you’ll be saved during the Rapture. But what about the young kids in your life, like your children or the neighbor’s child? Are they safe if they’re too young to decide about eternity?
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All prophecy is by definition focused on the future. Yet it would be a mistake to conclude that biblical prophecy has no value for the present. Quite the opposite is true!
In the opening chapters of Revelation, one sentence appears seven times: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).
In other words, “Listen up! I have something to say, and it’s important.” Prophecy contains practical instruction for every Christian, every day.
In his book World News and Bible Prophecy, prophetic scholar Charles Dyer reminds us that “God gave prophecy to change our hearts, not to fill our heads with knowledge. God never predicted future events just to satisfy our curiosity about the future. He includes with His predictions practical applications to life. God’s pronouncements about the future carry with them specific advice for the ‘here and now.’ ”2
It would not be an exaggeration to say biblical prophecy drives evangelism and righteous living. Knowing what’s coming encourages us to be ministry oriented, reaching out to the lost.
Not only that, living with an awareness of Christ’s imminent return increases our desire to share the Gospel. Prophecy elevates our perspective and energizes our walk with the Lord. God gave us prophecy to help us anticipate what is coming and to equip us for living in the world of the end.
Did you know the book of Revelation is the only book in the Bible that promises a reward to its readers? This promise is found not just once but twice:
The Bible forms a guidebook that teaches us the sequence of events leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. Biblical prophecy can seem complex, but it doesn’t have to be confusing if we understand what Scripture’s predictions mean for our lives here and now.
John O’Neill worked for years as a counter-terrorism specialist for the FBI. He investigated many terrorist attacks, including a 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and various bombings throughout the Middle East.
In the late 1990s, O’Neill developed serious concerns about the growing threat of Al Qaeda as an organization and of Osama bin Laden as its leader. O’Neill even prevented an Al Qaeda attack against the Los Angeles International Airport in 2000.
O’Neill shared his deeper worries with US officials. He even told the Associated Press in 1997, “A lot of these groups now have the capability and the support infrastructure in the United States to attack us here if they choose to do so.”
Sadly, his warnings were heard but not heeded. After retiring in August 2001, O’Neill accepted another position as chief of security at the World Trade Center. He was killed while attempting to help people evacuate the South Tower on September 11.3
The lesson from that story is that warnings are only helpful when they are acted upon. Knowledge of what’s to come will benefit us only when we study it and allow it to influence our choices for today.
May that be the case for you and me. Let us never neglect the incredible gift we have received through the prophetic passages of God’s Word.
Specifically, let us never neglect the key lesson of the Rapture: Christ is coming soon! We are servants tasked with critical work in our Master’s house; at any moment He may walk through the door. We are like young people awaiting the great Groom and His heavenly
procession; when He comes, will He find us living wisely or foolishly?The Rapture is both a warning and a promise—an admonition and a blessing. Each breath you take brings you one moment closer to the shout of Christ, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God.
Whoever has ears, let them hear!
Who will be raptured?
When will it happen?
What will believers experience when they are taken to heaven?
Discover the answers to these questions and many more in Dr. Jeremiah’s new book, The Great Disappearance: 31 Ways to Be Rapture Ready.
1 Richard Mayhue, “Introduction: Why Study Prophecy?,” in Christ’s Prophetic Plans: A Futuristic Premillennial Primer (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2012), 14.
2 Charles Dyer, World News and Bible Prophecy (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1995), 270.
3 “John O’Neill’s FBI Jacket and Passport Embody His Enduring Fight Against Terrorism,” 9/11 Memorial and Museum, accessed May 5, 2023, https://www.911memorial.org/connect/blog/john-oneills-fbi-jacket-and-passport-embody-his-enduring-fight-against-terrorism.
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