Study – Grow – Know

Predictive Prophecy

July 31, 2023 at 11:02 AM 4 comments

We are back from our vacation and in many ways, it’s good to be home. We enjoyed our time away though, seeing family we haven’t seen in months or even a few years. While away, I tried to just focus on the time we had with family and push out everything else.

Now that I’m back in the saddle so to speak, I wanted to talk briefly about a topic called Predictive Prophecy. The Scriptures are filled with this type of prophetic discourse. Even though from our perspective in 2023, much of what was revealed as Predictive Prophecy in Scriptures has already occurred, but when it was first given, it was every bit predictive. God explains very clearly in books like Isaiah for instance, why He took the time to utter Predictive Prophecy through His prophets.

3 “I have declared the former things from the beginning;
They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it.
Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that you were obstinate,
And your neck was an iron sinew,
And your brow bronze,
5 Even from the beginning I have declared it to you;
Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you,
Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my molded image
Have commanded them.’

The above Scripture from Isaiah 48:3-5 clearly explains why God took the time to provide Israel with knowledge of what He had planned. God didn’t have to do that but He did because He knew that Israel was extremely obstinate and hard hearted. Verse 5 states that God proclaimed what He proclaimed before it happened so that Israel could not say, “My idol has done them…” Isn’t that sad? Israel, the very nation God created in order to bring salvation into this world through Jesus, was constantly being unfaithful to God and ready to give glory due Him to man-made idols. I wonder if we Christians have that same tendency at times?

But there is something else here that I’ve alluded to several times with respect to the industry that has risen up related to prophetic discourse or future things. While there is certainly merit in endeavoring to understand His Word when it comes to future events, I wonder if I have a tendency to want to know them for the purpose of trusting in my own knowledge, rather than simply leaving things to God Himself? The image I’ve included highlights a question that we all need to ask ourselves, especially with the tremendous resurgence of the End Times industry.

Do we really need to know everything about the end times – what it entails, when things will occur, what effect they will have on us and this world? As the commentator states (Dr. Thomas Constable), God provides predictive prophecy as “…confirmatory evidence that we can and should trust God.” This is an extremely important point. He finalizes that point by stating, “To use it for the purpose of knowing the future and thus making ourselves secure is only another form of idolatry.”

If we stop to consider it, that is completely true. Just yesterday, my wife and I were talking about the future, not from a predictive prophecy perspective, but from the understanding of what is actually occurring with our economy. In a recent article by Michael Snyder called, “10 Signs that the Mainstream Media is Not Telling You the Truth About the Economy,” [1] he presents those 10 points briefly, highlighting actual problems in our economy that the media is completely ignoring. We can ask why all day long, but Snyder seems to think the media is artificially puffing up the economy by telling us all is well, even though it’s not well at all and he believes they are doing this because of the election in November of 2024, when Biden will come up for re-election. If the economy is shown for what it is, this will undoubtedly harm Biden’s re-election chances.

I noticed while we were away, not only did fuel prices rise by roughly thirty cents or so, but many food items in stores increased massively. My wife and I are going grocery shopping today so I’ll be able to determine the prices in our area, but gas prices rose in our area while we were away. This will certainly affect the wallets of everyone though those who are in the upper class will not be as seriously affected as those who are in the lower middle class to the poor.

But while discussing the contents of the Snyder article with my wife, my first question was, “I can only wonder what the economy will be like this time next year and what does that mean for us?” In essence, I was stating that I wanted to be able to see into the future to prepare for what may well become reality. The problem with that though is that it is not what God wants us to do. Yes, He wants us to understand the times, realize the potential issues but then throw ourselves more completely on Him.

We can only do so much thinking, planning and discerning with respect to the future. I’m not sure God wants us inordinately focused on it. I think the wise person will see things and understand the import of those situations, but not allow it to weaken or crush us with fear. God wants us more than anything to rely on Him and His grace for situations that come up on us.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I am seeing the exact same “prophetic industry” that occurred in the 1970’s, happening now. In general, these folks – as well-meaning as they may be – are really not offering us anything new. In fact, they often make guesses that actually may seem appropriate at the time, but don’t come to fruition and then adjustments need to be made.

No one can predict the future, especially where biblical facts are concerned and if we go beyond what God has revealed. It should be enough to say that things will worsen as time progresses, but that will give us more opportunities to trust the Lord for His provision. We all want to know the ins and outs of prophetic discourse and yes, the Bible tells us that in the end times, people will run to and fro doing everything they can to grasp new awareness and knowledge (Daniel 12:4), but many commentators do not believe it means it’s a good thing. In other words, there is reason to believe that the people who do this type of thing are constantly “flipping pages” so to speak and are not quite sure where to land. Instead of focusing on the Creator, they focus their energies on ascertaining meaning of everything as they think it applies to the world today.

I’ve been guilty of that. Maybe you have too. The truth is that we cannot possibly know everything about the end times events. We cannot know the timing. God told us ahead of time to prepare us but the most important reason He told us anything is because He did it to glorify Himself, so that people will be forced to give Him glory and cannot say that “they” or their “idol” provided the information.

Someone has said that future events are best understood after they happen and that is true. Instead, we spend inordinate amounts of energy trying to figure out all the events before they occur. How does that help us in reality when our focus is not on God, but events?

While my wife and I were talking about these things and I voiced my concerns, her response was that understanding what may well be coming gives her more reason to trust God. To that I say “Amen!” My tendency, however, is to focus on what I can do to mitigate the effects of a staggering economy. To an extent, that’s fine, but there are so many things totally beyond my control. I cannot predict our employment status in 10 to 12 months. I cannot predict if we will need another vehicle and when. I cannot predetermine whether or not some major catastrophe will occur in our life. In fact, God does not want me to be focused on those things and if any of them do occur, He wants me to turn to Him in full trust, knowing that even though a situation may take me fully by surprise, it did not take Him by surprise. He has it covered.

I want to be clear here. There is nothing wrong with weighing options, trying to determine the best course of action to take and how to prepare against what may well be on the way. However, when we’ve done everything we can (and even in the midst of it), there comes a time when we should be looking full into His face and trusting that though we may not know all the ins and outs of anything that is yet future, He does. Because of this, He will provide if we trust Him. If catastrophes occur, He is directing them for our growth and His glory.

Predictive Prophecy is not given to make us smarter or more knowledgeable about the future (though it can and does certainly provide information related to the future). Ultimately, God stooped to provide Predictive Prophecy mainly to prove that He is God and knows the end from the beginning.

We cannot possibly know all aspects of the End Times events and timing and I’m beginning to wonder if much of that pursuit is a fruitless use of energy. God’s primary purpose in telling us ahead of time is not to cause us to focus all of our energies into trying to figure out everything but to shout hallelujahs to Him when those things occur because their fulfillment proves once again that He and He alone is God!

Thoughts? Comments?

[1] https://michaeltsnyder.substack.com/p/10-signs-that-the-mainstream-media

Entry filed under: agenda 2030, Agenda 21, alienology, christianity, Religious - Christian - Prophecy.