Prophecy Matters
I routinely have conversations with friends of mine in the Bible prophecy community, and many of us are virtually shocked at the speed with which prophecies are being fulfilled. You know that too, as well as we do. The feedback I get each week from readers shows that they are savvy, engaged, and well aware of where we are on God’s timeline.
The sheer scope of issues is dizzying: of course, Israel is no. 1, by a long shot. Then you have the absolutely astonishing apostasy that is casting a dark shadow over the American church. Behind that we have wars and rumors of wars, plagues, natural disasters, geopolitical disasters, and economic woes. Most of these problems are man’s self-inflicted idiocy.
Through it all, though, we have the Blessed Hope. We are a people not without hope. That is our great opportunity for evangelism, for sharing the Gospel one-by-one. I’d like to share from my heart.
I am 52, born and raised in evangelicalism. In my Southern Baptist upbringing, there was a heightened sense of anticipation about the fulfillment of prophecy. In many ways it was an idyllic upbringing, sort of like Opie Taylor. In those days (really, I think, until about the year 2000), prophecy conferences were all the rage; the topic was taught from the pulpits, and the folks in the pews were engaged.
All that has changed. I want to be clear that I am speaking generally, and at the national leadership level. There are still many tens of thousands of wonderful churches and pastors who contend earnestly for the faith. There are still many thousands of believers who look for our Blessed Hope, the return of the Lord. There are still ministries dedicated to teaching these things, and still some well-known leaders who are prophecy proponents.
Yet the national scene has given rise to the likes of Rick Warren, who can stand before the Southern Baptist Convention and encourage pastors to downplay prophecy teaching. Failed and disgraced leaders like Mark Driscoll (who, incredibly, was reinventing himself even before the ink was dry on his resignation from Mars Hill) can mock prophecy teachers and students, calling us wingnuts. Even — and this is perhaps the most difficult to understand — heretofore friendly sources can twist and spin their own biases against prophecy teaching (http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-growth/1980-what-if-jesus-doesnt-come-back-this-year).
Today, the landscape has changed. As I prepare to go speak at the Prophecy in the News conference in Orlando, I am buoyed by the fact that I’ll see dear friends like Don Perkins, Gary Frazier, Terry James, and Tommy Ice, to name a few. Another friend, Kevin Clarkson, has become the face of PITN, and that is frankly thrilling. These men are champions of sharing the Gospel, through the teaching of Bible prophecy.
And that’s the point of it, that’s why “prophecy matters.” It isn’t so we can name the antichrist, or predict the date of the Rapture. It’s to show people clearly, through the divine revelation of Scripture, that God is alive, well, and acting in the world today. That is Good News for every man, woman, and child, literally. No matter their backgrounds or worldviews, the message of predictive prophecy is thrilling, and highly relevant.
It is profoundly sad, to me, that there are forces within the American church dedicated to extinguishing that message. Oh, they don’t say it in so many words, but their actions speak very loudly. In fact, speaking of relevant, the magazine of the same name, published by Millennial influencer Cameron Strang, is another that likes to mock prophecy. Just check out the magazine.
Allow me to digress for a minute, and show you in a tangible way how sources like Relevant are changing American culture (part of the fallout of their center-left approach is the marginalizing of Bible prophecy teaching). A tweet from February 25 reads thusly:
“Everyone says they want diversity, but what many really want is for minorities to assimilate to the dominant culture.”
Now, do you see what the magazine’s editors are doing here? The tweet then has a link to the article, which invokes such leftist language as “collective guilt” and favorably quotes leftists like Desmond Tutu (who is anti-Israel, by the way).
I use that example — many others pop up daily — to show how this liberal/leftist mindset is changing the American church. Again, it shouldn’t surprise that a magazine like Relevant also never misses an opportunity to mock Bible prophecy teachers; they devoted precious space to gleefully poke fun at the new “Left Behind” film, starring Nicholas Cage. Relevant’s editors want readers to jettison old traditions and traditional teachings, including Bible prophecy. Why? Because they believe this old school approach is harming our capacity to see our own brilliance in “changing the world.”
There is no room in this worldview for a genuine hope in, even a dependency, on the soon return of Christ.
That’s one reason it’s critical that we redouble our efforts to promote and teach Bible prophecy. It’s why I’ve made a commitment this year to advance Prophecy Matters as never before.
You can help by subscribing to our newsletter, at $5 per month. You can also contact us about hosting a Prophecy Matters seminar in your church or community center, or living room if you so choose. We’ll go anywhere, anytime.
One of my topics at the PITN conference will be “The War on Bible Prophecy,” and I want to make people aware of those who would try to extinguish what some of us fervently pray for, as Tommy Ice would say, Maranatha!
The examples I’ve cited of our ideological opponents within the evangelical community are truly the tip of an enormous iceberg. Almost all national leaders and celebrity pastors are so deep into the poison model of the “Church Growth” movement that they are militant against the teaching of prophecy. It doesn’t fit the Kingdom Now perspective. Many, like Warren, believe our job is to “change the world” and create a church so powerful that we can then triumphantly hand it off to Jesus.
That worldview doesn’t square with Scripture, particularly the New Testament, where we see upon Christ’s return that “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).
But the highest-profile national evangelical leaders are embarrassed by, and dislike prophecy teaching. It isn’t difficult at all to see that Warren, Andy Stanley, and Bill Hybels are leading the charge to fundamentally remake the American Church. In my view, they have done it by stealth, and I want to be clear about that. The move to the left on social issues is part of the Great Apostasy foretold by Jesus and the apostles.
I recently asked Dave Reagan for some examples of Christian leaders who actively work against the teaching of Bible prophecy; my entire article on this subject will be posted soon at Prophecy Matters, but here are two:
•“Tony Compolo: In his book, Speaking My Mind, he attacks believers in Bible prophecy with these words:
‘Rigid Christians who believe in the possibility of Jesus’ soon return are a real problem for the whole world.’
“He then proceeds to blame them (us!) For wars and a host of other evils.”
•”Bill Moyers: The PBS journalist, who is a Baptist seminary graduate, gave a speech in 2004 in which he denounced Tim LaHaye as a ‘religious warrior who subscribes to a fantastical theology.’
“He added that those who agree with Tim LaHaye’s viewpoint desire environmental disaster ‘as a sign of the coming apocalypse.’”
These men are bearing false witness against us, and deceiving millions with their messages. The larger problem is, their views are no longer confined to mainline churches and dusty seminaries. Their anti-Bible prophecy messages are becoming mainstream within evangelicalism.
This is tragic.
Recently, I spoke in a church, and the theme was the miraculous modern state of Israel. I pointed out that God’s provision for the Jewish people is perhaps the greatest sign to us today that He is fully engaged with bringing His divine plan to fulfillment.
After the service, a 30-ish father, holding his little girl, approached me and said that he had been running from God for 10 years, but now he understood. He was turning back to his faith.
This, you see, is the great message of Bible prophecy, and it has been my privilege to see great men of God like Don Perkins articulate this to many.
It’s why I want to step-up my own efforts to do so, for the time is truly short. There’s no datesetting in that statement, either, for we have only to look at Israel’s current situation, and the growing departure from the faith by American church leaders, to grasp the truth of it.
My own particular brand of prophecy teaching relies very heavily on pointing out the divine nature of Israel’s past, present, and future. I use scores of examples to show that the Bible is wholly true, and that God cares for each individual. If He can bring back a people from 2,000 years of exile, in such dramatic and public fashion, don’t you think he can solve your problems?
He can and He will. We must trust Him. We must acknowledge Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
This is the profound message that the prophecy haters cannot begin to pass on to their followers, for the simple reason that they relegate so much of Scripture to myth.
We don’t do that. We teach the opposite.
If you feel lead, consider partnering with us at Prophecy Matters, in the ways I’ve listed above. For all the darkness in this tired old world, we have the ultimate hope. As Charles Spurgeon said:
“Little children, whatever you have not got, you have a God in whom you may greatly glory. Let the times roll on; they cannot affect our God.”
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