Introduction to Prophecy - Church of God - NEO

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So NowWhat?Prophecy is not given just to provideus with intellectual stimulation-asort of inspired crossword puzzle. It is amessage from God.The more you learn, the more you beginto gain a new perspective about thepast, the present, and the future. You understandthat the great events are beingguided along a predetermined path by aGod who is concerned about the destinyof all nations and individuals. What mayonce have seemed like isolated episodesof history are now understood to be stagesof the plan. God really has known "theend from the beginning, and declaredfrom ancient times things that are notyet done," as Isaiah said (Isaiah 46:10).When we take a look at our modernworld in the light of prophecy, we mustseriously consider if we are approachingthe "end of the age." The key players forthe final act may not be on stage yet, butare they waiting in the wings? Is the curtainabout to go up on the last terribleresurrection of the Roman Empire, withall that that implies?When we look.at our world inthe light ofprophecy-wemust ask 1115this the end ofthe age?"20If so, then we havereached a critical point inworld history.God sent his prophets toancient nations to draw attentionto their sins. Godsaw the injustice, lying,cheating, brutality, greed,licentiousness and religioushypocrisy of thoseancient societies. Hewarned them that he wasabout to do somethingabout it, unless theyheeded the words of hisprophets and changedtheir ways. But what about us?Do we think God has not noticed theway we live today? Do we think that he isgoing to put up with it forever? Whywould he intervene in the affairs of ancientIsrael and Judah and not do anythingabout today? Our societies are makingthe same kind of mistakes they made.If we won't learn the lessons of prophecy,why should we not reap the consequencesas they did?It doesn't have to be this way. Prophecyis conditional. God told Jeremiah, "Theinstant I speak concerning a nationand concerning a kingdom, to pluckup, to pull down, and to destroy it, ifthat nation against whom I have spokenturns from its evil, I willrelent of the disaster that Ithought to bring upon it ....Return now everyone fromhis evil way, and make yourways and your doings good"Qeremiah 18:7-8, 11) .Learning the Lessonnforrunately, very few peopletake this seriously. One nationdid-the people of Nineveh, capitalof ancient Assyria. After Godhad ent a prophet to warn them,they temp orarily turned fromtheir wrongdoings and averted anational calamity. You can readthat tory in the book of Jonah. Itshow u that a prophecy doesn'thave to be fulfi lled- but the overallIe on of history is that it almostcertainly will be. Most peopledo not rum at God's reproof ... eventhose who claim to know him best. AsIsaiah wrote. "These people draw nearto Me with their mouths and honorMe with their lips but have removedtheir hearts far from Me .... I willagain do a marvelous work amongthis people' (I aiah 29:13-14).Jesus i ued the ame challenge to peoplewho claimed to be hi followers butdid not obey him: 'Why do you call Me'Lord, Lord' and do not do the thingswhich I say?' (Luke 6:-!6) . Tho e whothink of them eh-e as Chri tian houldthink vel) eriou ly about thi .On the day the _-ew Te tament Churchbegan, the a'po tIe Peter preached a stirringsermon in Jeru alem. Many of thosewho heard him had been among the mobwho had urged Pontius Pilate to crucifyJesus Chri t. Peter showed them, from theprophecies, that the one they had so cruellyexecuted was their long-awaited Messiah.The people were struck with fear andremorse, as they understood these scripturesfor the first time. They asked,"What shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). This isthe question all people should ask whenthey begin to understand the implicationsof prophecy. Peter gave the answer inverse 38, "Repent," and in verse 40, "besaved from this perverse generation."You, too, must consider this as you be-
gin to understand the words of theprophets. God expects some action-ithould be more than just an interestingintellectual exercise. Repentmay seem likea threatening, religious-sounding word,the sort of thing you would expect from aPETER PREACHING ON DAY OF PENTECOSTprophet. But it is just another way of saying,"Stop doing the things that God says arewrong, and start doing what is right."That is how you show God that youhave learned the lesson of prophecy. Orof course, you can close the book nowand do nothing.Where Are We Now in Prophecy?ing shape in the news today. Our days areas much "Bible times" as the days ofIsaiah, Daniel, and the apostle John.Many of us alive now will live to see theclimactic events of the end of the age.There has never been a time when it is soimportant to understandworld events in the lightof Bible prophecy.The prophecieswill befulfilledwhetherweheed themor not.You can't do it all byyourself.One Final LessonAbout nineteen and ahalf centuries ago, a highofficial of the Ethiopiangovernment was taking abreak while returninghome from an official visitThe prophecies will be fulfilled sooneror later whether we heed them or not.Probably sooner. Not every detail is infocus yet, but they are becoming clearer,and as we approach the time of fulfillment,they will become clearer still.Have you ever gotten up early in anunfamiliar place to watch the sunrise?While it is still dark all you can see arevague shadows and shapes. As the skybegins to lighten, the details becomeclearer until what before was an indistinctshadowy scene becomes vivid reality.Prophecy is like that. Daniel, lookingacross the ages, began to grasp the broadoutline, but it became much clearer as thetime of fulfillment approached.After it has happened, ourun derstanding ofprophecy is like20-20 vision-buttoo late.Much of whatDaniel foresaw is already history. We areseeing other long-prophesied events taktoJerusalem. He sat in hischariot and began readingthe prophecies of Isaiah.He was looking at one ofthe famous propheciesabout the Messiah, but hedidn't understand it (Acts8:26-35) . God saw he was asincere man and sent Philipto help."Do you understand what you arereading?" Philip asked the puzzled man(verse 30). "How can I, unless someoneguides me?" he replied (verse 31) .You, too, need someone to help you understand.That is why we published thisbooklet, and it is why we have availableseveral other free booklets on prophecy.Like all the publications of the WorldwideChurch of God, these booklets will be sentto you free of charge, and we will neverpressure you to do anything, or join anything.That is a personal matter betweenyou and God.We have appreciatedthis opportunityto "sit in your chariot"and share what weknow. We hope thisbooklet has helpedyou see that an understandingof Bibleprophecy will becomemore and moresignificant as the events of the nextfew years unfold. As the prophecies arefulfilled, you will be faced with some importantdecisions.May God guide you to make the rightones. 21
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Introduction to Prophecy - Church of God - NEO

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