It Should NOT Be an Industry
Audio for this article here: SermonAudio.com/StudyGrowKnow
Quick Note: Our last recording of our ongoing class on Revelation (11), did not turn out so I will be doing a write-up on that class instead. My apologies for anyone looking forward to the video.
During the 1970’s, as a young adult Christian (segueing from my late teens to my early twenties), something came to Christendom that changed the way many Christians looked at the world and the Bible: the study of and discussion of prophecy. It gave rise to certain individuals in the 1970’s who became the go-to “experts” in the area of biblical prophecy (or Eschatology), likening much of what was happening throughout society as instances of prophetic fulfillment.
Books dealing with prophecy began to take their place on store shelves and End Times/Prophecy conferences sprang up throughout America dealing with subjects like:
- When will Jesus return?
- Who is the Antichrist?
- Who is the False Prophet?
- Is the Tribulation 3 ½ or 7 years long?
- What happens after the Rapture?
- When will the Rapture occur?
- The Tribulation Temple: when is it being built?
- Who is Gog and what is Magog?
- What is the actual covenant that Antichrist confirms with Israel?
- Exactly who are the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11?
In other words, it wasn’t simply a focus on what God’s Word taught about future events. People often went well beyond the parameters of Scripture offering viewpoints about things that no one was really privy to then.
However, the good thing of course, is that Bible books like Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation and others came to the fore and many pastors started teaching from these books. Knowledge increased greatly because of prophecy study and hence, the Prophecy Industry was officially born in the 70’s.
Though knowledge certainly seemed to increase, many Christians became hyper-focused on aspects of prophecy to the exclusion of just about everything else related to their Christian growth and walk. They were literally so focused on the expectation of Jesus returning any moment (“imminent” [1]), that they weren’t happy unless around other people who were interested in prophecy to the same degree.
Some 50 years later, the Lord has still not yet physically returned. All the excitement surrounding prophetic Bible study during the 70’s caused people to pin their hopes on the Rapture. When that event did not occur, interest in prophecy waned. By the way, this does not mean that belief in a PreTrib Rapture is flawed. It is either taught in Scripture or it is not. It is what people focus on and how they focus on it that can create problems. The same can occur with the doctrine of salvation by grace and other doctrines.
By the 1980’s, people had simply lost interest in the prophetic industry as a whole because none of the prophetic highlights panned out. Few, except diehards wanted to hear anymore of “Jesus was coming back soon!” or anyone’s guess about who the Antichrist would be. They turned their thoughts from prophecy and moved on to living; families, jobs, school, marriages, kids, vacations and everything else connected with simply being human. This led to a common belief among Christians and pastors, that the end times events will “just pan out” and take care of itself.
There is one big difference between the prophetic industry of the 1970’s and the current industry, however. During the 1970’s, there were no authors/speakers who were heralded as “prophets” (although within the Charismatic Movement there were people who were constantly giving a “word from the Lord”).
Today, we are seeing a proliferation of people labeled “prophets of God,” like Perry Stone, Kim Clement, Jonathan Cahn, and many others. These people from the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), movement are deeply involved in the supernatural and are always highlighting things they say as information directly from God to us. It always circumvents the Bible and a number of these people, like Perry Stone, have “prophesied” falsely and have things in their past that are very questionable from the early years of their ministry. Yet, they persist. All I can do is warn readers to avoid those who claim to have a word of knowledge from God.
Regarding the last days and the last generation that will live just prior to Christ’s physical return, Daniel 12:4 is where Daniel is given final instructions for that final generation.
But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.
From Hole’s Commentary on Daniel.
Daniel was told to ensure that all he had learned from angels and visions would be written down and kept safe so that the final generation would have access to it. This has occurred at least to now. Are we the final generation? I tend to think so, but that is merely a guess. It could be five, twenty, fifty or more years before the Tribulation begins. In that case, many alive today may not be here and so we are then speaking of another generation that will be.
The second part of the verse simply means that as time progresses toward the end, people will “run to and fro” or “go here and there” in an effort to increase their knowledge and I believe that this “knowledge” is specifically referencing the understanding of how all the events will work out prior to the physical return of our Lord. It’s also possible that it means people will wear themselves out trying to find information but since the timing isn’t here yet, it cannot be found.
The people of the last generation living during the Tribulation will be in the best position because they will literally watch events unfold. They won’t be guessing. They’ll actually see things happen.
From our vantage point now prior to the Tribulation, we cannot truly understand these things. Many prophecy industry speakers try to flesh things out by constantly speaking of this “sign” or that one that’s occurring in society. I don’t think that’s helpful and in fact, can be detrimental.
Can we know who the Antichrist is now? How about the False Prophet? How about the identity of Gog of Magog? How about exactly when the Tribulation Temple will be built? What about the exact day and hour of His return? No, to all these questions. There are a plethora of things we cannot know now. We need to be content with what we can know now.
Along those lines, a reader sent me a link to a video that is very well done. [1] The author of the video provides numerous warnings about looking at society and placing events or people over Scripture. Well done.
The content of the 19 minute video deals with a young Jewish man whom older rabbis have given the label Yanuka. They say he has performed miracles, has tremendous wisdom and a perfect knowledge of the Torah. In fact, they say he “knows everything.” Is he the coming Antichrist? Who knows and the author of the video does not try to guess. He simply points out the facts concerning this man. However, in one sense this young Jewish man fulfills what Jesus says in Matthew 24:24, “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”
Many Jews who know of this young Jewish man believe him to be the Messiah. But he clearly cannot be the Messiah because Jesus was and is the only Messiah. The Jews who believe this young man to be the Messiah are absolutely deceived.
So here in 2022, we have the resurrected prophetic industry with a vengeance. The current prophetic scholars are today’s experts in prophecy and their You Tube videos, books and articles are devoured often instead of Scripture. It’s as though people cannot get enough of what these individuals have to say. May I respectfully suggest that you lock up your wallets? (I’m not talking about good Bible commentaries. I’m talking about books and videos that presume to know what the Bible does not reveal about future things.)
My concern is that with this prophecy industry, some (not all), Christians are focusing so much on prophetic discourse that it has pushed everything else related to their Christian walk off to the side. Are we concerned to the same degree about living for Jesus? Do we desperately want God to cultivate within us a healthy fear of offending Him to avoid sinning? Are we striving to submit ourselves to Him so that His will in and through us is accomplished? Are we increasingly concerned about the lost people of this world?
I do believe God wants us “looking up” for his return to an extent. We should always be mindful that our lives here are but a vapor. But prophetic discourse should not be all-consuming. There’s much more to His Word.
During the Olivet Discourse, Jesus warned, “When you see these things happening, look up, for your redemption draws near,” (Luke 21:28). I believe it is clear He was specifically talking about those people who will be living during the Tribulation and would actually see Him returning physically at the end of the Tribulation because verse 27 states, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” When those folks actually see the clouds parting and Jesus returning, it is then that they should look up and know that they are about to be saved. Today, many Christians are too focused on the Rapture and are doing little to nothing to prepare for what may be coming down the pike in the form of a trashed economy. The Rapture will occur exactly when it is supposed to occur and there are no signs that will signal it, as far as I understand.
The folks living during the Tribulation/Great Tribulation will also be able to see other events of prophetic significance happening during their lives and will understand things far better than we can now. It will be those folks whose actual knowledge will increase dramatically during those seven years because they will actually see events unfolding as they happen, and Scripture will literally be their guide.
Before I end this, I want to be very clear in what I’m saying. Studying prophecy is actually a good thing because it is part of God’s holy Word. It is something we should want to do because He gave us those sections of Scripture and they are just as important as the rest of His holy Word. To ignore them is to miss out on much of what God says about His plans.
Studying prophecy provides understanding of God’s program. But we always need to realize that the temptation to interpret prophecy in light of today’s world can be somewhat dangerous. I fully believe the final kingdom to be headed by Antichrist is being built now, but it’s been in-process for numerous decades. It may be five, twenty, fifty or hundred years away before it fully comes to fruition. For me to make a prediction that by this time next year, everything will be in place and the Antichrist will rise is absurd and I’m walking on very thin ice.
It is far easier for me to note what is actually happening in society right now and know beyond doubt that things are going to get progressively worse economically, unless something is done to stop it. Gas prices will rise after midterms, more pandemics will occur, more people will die as a result of the mRNA jab and new diseases. Food shortages are likely to occur. There’s too much happening in society for globalists to not be able to gain control over all of us. However, none of this means with any certainty that the final kingdom will take shape in a few weeks or months.
When studying biblical prophecy, we need to remember that we are always looking into the future from the present. That future is not here yet. We should always avoid bringing future events that have not occurred into our current timeline now. One example of this is when the CV jab became available. Many on social networks were convinced that it was the mark of the beast and if you took it, you were condemned to hell. These folks ignored everything in Revelation up to Revelation 13 when the mark is made to be mandatory. They skipped over all seven seals, seven trumpets and other events to get directly to the mark. The CV jab is not the mark of the beast. I believe it can cause severe health problems for people based on VAERS and other known documentation, but it is not the mark. Will mRNA be part of the coming mark? I have no idea. No one does at this point.
In the meantime, we wait, we watch and we must always WORK to evangelize the lost of this world. If we don’t do this, who will?
Think clearly. Prepare accordingly. Live for Him in all possible ways.
[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/imminent-return-Christ.html
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl96f1QIOaE
[2] https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/markets-by-sector/energy/energy-rationing-arrives-in-america/
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