Prophecy Out line 1
1. Prophecy is Evidence that the Bible is the Word of God
Hundreds of prophecies about Christ, including those about His birth time, birth place, family; ministry, death, resurrection and ascension (e.g. Ps 22:11-18; Mic 5:2)
Prophecies about world events (e.g. Dan 2)
2. Prophecy Demonstrates God's Sovereignty Mt 27:46 - Christ's quoting of Ps 22:1 on the cross proved that He was still in control of events (Ac 2:23)
Dan 4:17 - "This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers, and the decision is a command of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind"
Israel's continued existence in spite of all human effort to the contrary.
3. Prophecy Inspires Holy Living 1 Jn 3:3 - the hope of the rapture will cause us to "purify" ourselves 2 Pe 3:11 - the impending destruction of the world will keep us from living for it
4. Prophecy is for Edification, Exhortation and Consolation - 1 Cor 14:3
Edification (building up) - e.g. Ezr 5:2; 6:14 - the building of the temple was successful through the prophesy of Haggai and Zerubbabel
Exhortation (encouragement) - 2 Chr 15:1-8 - Asa took courage because of prophecy Consolation (comfort) - Job 19:25
5. The Main Point of Prophecy: Christ Rev 1:1 - it's called the revelation (singular) of Jesus Christ, not of future events or even of God's purposes Rev 19:10b - testimony about Christ is the essence of prophecy
Prophecy is not an end in and of itself; it is meant to reveal Christ to us Christ is The Prophet (Dt 18:15-18; Jn 6:14;7:40)
Prophecy and Speculation
Speculation is a serious problem that must be avoided when considering biblical prophecy.
We have 66 books which are words from heaven. We ought not to feel the need to "liven them up" with speculation or sensationalism.
WWe should avoid speculation and sensationalism for at least the following reasons: 1 Peter 2:2 tells us that we should crave the pure milk of the word, not speculation.
2 Peter 1:19 tells us that as wonderful as Peter's experience on the
Mount of Transfiguration was, the prophetic word was more sure. Biblical prophecy is sure, speculation is unsure.
Lots of people have brought ridicule upon Christianity and Christ by speculation.
Speculation undermines our confidence in God's word. We have lots of fulfilled prophecy in the Bible to show us that God's word is trustworthy; speculation produces the opposite result.