Understand That Prophecy is "Like a Lamp
Shining in a Dark Place." (2 Peter 1:19 NLT)
Prophecy is God's Way of Lighting the Darkness
God has given us a timeless window to expose the future darkness which awaits mankind by having his prophets write extremely detailed predictions about what is going to happen to our planet. Keep in mind that 25 percent of the Bible is prophecy, so it is unlike any other book, ancient or modern in that regard. There is no other religion (except Judaism) that offers so much up-to-date information about the future of the world. It really contains history pre-written.
This article will show you why Bible prophecy is a unique source of information and it also gives several rules of interpretation that Christian scholars apply to confirm that a prediction is valid. If you know the rules of scriptural interpretation you will be much less likely to make mistakes when you read, interpret and follow biblical prophecies. This is very important so that you don't go off with some half-baked interpretation.
In Second Peter chapter one we have a passage which explains some of how prophecy works:
"We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:19-21 NIV). Now let's break down six things that passages states:
1. Prophecy messages are completely reliable. Over the centuries many have claimed that they could foretell the future. But when you're wondering and worrying about the future, it's important to pay attention to a proven source that is accurate. There are no cases of false prophecies found in the Bible that are attributed to God. This is totally NOT the case with the predictions made from anyone other than biblical prophets. God's prophets were 100 percent accurate or they were to be put to death. So false prophets didn't last long.
But most gullible people would rather check out the local market tabloids with their attention grabbing headlines about what will happen next. The so-called seers and the bogus prophets who loudly proclaim their crazy predictions are never around when none of them comes true. For years I clipped the predictions offered in the National Enquirer and proved to myself that about one percent of those predictions actually came true. You could do better if you just guessed!
2. You are smart to pay attention to what Bible prophecy says. You are wise if you pay attention to what the Bible predicts, because it is your future and the future of your world. If you know what's coming you will be so much more likely to survive and spend eternity together with Christ and other Christian believers.
3. Bible prophecy will be a light shining in a dark place until the Lord returns. When you can't see, it's really nice to have a light. And that's exactly what God's Word does for us all. It illuminates our pathway and shows us the proper way to go.
4. Understand that no prophecy found in the Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. So these prophets weren't just guessing like so many of the modern day seers do. People today make a living at dispensing false information. It is nice to understand that God is the one behind all of these predictions because he has a purpose in everything that he writes to us.
5. Biblical prophecy never had its origin in the human will. These men didn't say what they wanted to say. They spoke what God told them to say. That's important because we all have our human motives, but God's motives are pure (where ours almost never are).
6. Even though prophets were human, they spoke what God told them to speak through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is so important to grasp that these prophecies were meant to give us a future messages that the prophet couldn't have possibly have known the meaning of when the Holy Spirit moved him to speak and write. That's why it is so important for us to listen up...
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Check out the other pages in the Last Times Section. Also, you might want to check out 8 Signs of the Last Times.
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