There are several ways to look at prophecy. Some safe, some not so much.
I tend to take the "safe" route, but I do not like to completely squelch ideas that may seem "far out."
First of all, the Bible is the ultimate authority. The question of Biblical authority is a battle that must be fought in your mind if you haven't already thought it through.
When you accept that the Bible IS the authority, you can go on with the next perception of interpretation. Remember these things:
1. The Word of God is really His word. It stands, unchanged.
2. Consider the super-human codes that lie within the texts. Rabbis found these decades ago, and they are proven, clearly written by the finger of the Almighty. Accept that He is the only one that could possibly have put them there, as they are mathematically infeasible.
3. Consider the translation, the nuances of tense and meaning. Most of us do not know Biblical Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic. To some extent we must trust the translators. The reliability and historicity of the text is virtually unshakeable, however, and a study of these things is far too vast to cover here.
4. Visions and dreams are always the LAST source of information to be reliable. I do not discount them, but they are always to be tested or "tried," they are always to be seen in light of the Biblical canon. We must have the previous authoritative conditions to interpret them.
5. Church tradition: Because the Church is made up of sinful people it has a tendency toward error. Always check church "authority" against the Bible. The Bible warns about the "Church" and deception within it, apostasy, and false teaching. Be aware of this, and never put church tradition first. Always put it second to the Word of God itself.
The Bible is full of prophecy. About a third of it is prophecy, fulfilled or not yet. On Sunday I was able to listen to a sermon by Stephen Lawson about Psalm 22, the "Fifth Gospel." Take a minute today and read it. It is an example of fulfilled prophecy, written 1,000 years before it happened. If you haven't read it yet, you will immediately see the fulfillment.
Prophecy fulfilled is always the ultimate test. God Himself put that standard on His own prophets. If someone prophesies something and it doesn't come to pass, that prophet is discounted. For always.
I read a book called "When" a few years ago. The author put forth a convincing argument for Christ's return in 2011. I don't have a big problem with date setting, but since his "prophecy" about 2011 didn't happen, his entire ministry is called into question, simply because of God's mandates on unfulfilled prophecies. I have not read anything about him since, so I don't know if he repented from his error. You could easily put him in a "false prophet" category. This has happened countless times. Ho-hum, yawn.
People have set dates for Christ's return since he left the earth at the Ascension. The disciples themselves expected Him to return. There is something called the doctrine of Imminence, which states that Christ can return at any time, always. I think this applies mostly to the Rapture of the church, but even that must come when certain events have already begun to unfold.
Because I have such a respect for prophetic events foretold (but not yet fulfilled) in the Scripture, I have a little trouble with that doctrine. I do think certain conditions must be in place before Christ returns. I do think the State of Israel has had to exist before the End of Time. Theologians who were Bible believers throughout the centuries also believed in the Ezekiel prophecy of the dry bones (Israel) coming back to life.
Well, that's happened.
Prophecy watchers always refer to Israel. Israel, the bride of Yahweh, is the prophetic jewel. We can look at Israel and be assured that the Word of God is true, is whole, is trustworthy, even through millennia. It's extremely exciting to see this, and we who live now have a special opportunity and perspective that no one until now has had! We are seeing prophecy being fulfilled!
There is a teaching that says "No one knows the day or hour." This is a short phrase that has been repeated over and over by the teachers of imminent rapture. There is a Greek verb that has several declensions in this verse. "Until Now" is part of that meaning conveyed in that phrase. One could say that when things come to fruition, fulfilling certain prophecies, we CAN indeed see a time frame, a likely date for fulfillment.
That is what is happening in the world of the "watchmen" right now. Certain events are unfolding, giving more plausibility to the coming of other more major events! Are you still with me? This is prophecy watching!
We are seeing things that no one has ever seen before, on the Biblical scale.
Therefore, I do watch, I do see things wrapping up, I do take into consideration all of the things I mentioned above and I believe that we MAY see Jesus this year.
I believe that Jesus, Yeshua, kept the feasts that God ordained, and the Feast of Trumpets is a significant feast yet to be fulfilled, the feast that is next on the timeline of fulfillment.
So I watch. I think we all should watch! If you haven't done a study of the Biblical feasts and their prophetic significance you should!
God is not trying to keep us in the dark! We are children of light! We are given the privilege of knowing His Word, understanding the meanings and walking through our lives with full confidence of His care and promises made to us. We are His children. He tells us not to fear, and gives us the means to completely obliterate fear from our lives. He lets us know the whole story, tells us what is going to happen, gives us His strength and Spirit to face all of it and promises us the most beautiful ending.
He's not scaring us! He's comforting us!
So, here we come, 2015. Signs in the heavens, signs everywhere, prophesied events are literally taking shape. How could we NOT see these things?
Look up. Your redemption draws nigh!
For those of you who do not know Christ yet, or who have left "their first love," please get right with Him today. Repent from your sin, believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. It's one of those promises in the Word. You will be filled with His Holy Spirit, you will be forgiven, you will have eternal hope.
Remember, this life is a small dot compared to eternity. Time is truly short. Pull out that Bible and start reading the Gospel of John, the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus. Ask Elohim to forgive you. Ask Him to be your Father, to be filled with His Ruach (Spirit), and to know Truth as you've never known before.
Forsake the ways of the devil, the rebellion and the continual idolatry of self. Come to Jesus Christ before it is too late.
Be honest. You know that everything will one day be exposed----all the secrets of your heart. The dirt, the bad, the lies, the deceit. Get rid of it now, and ask the Lord to forgive you. If you do it now you never have to worry about it again! Your sin is erased, and you become a loved child of the Heavenly Father.
What else would you want to be?
If the Holy Spirit is "knocking" at your soul's door right now, "open" it. Don't wait. You are being asked to come alive spiritually. Experience life on a whole different level. Ask the Lord to be born again, of the spirit.
I truly believe time is short. You don't have years to come around to this. Months maybe, but perhaps even days or minutes! Once Time ends we are eternally destined.
Make things right.
I tend to take the "safe" route, but I do not like to completely squelch ideas that may seem "far out."
First of all, the Bible is the ultimate authority. The question of Biblical authority is a battle that must be fought in your mind if you haven't already thought it through.
When you accept that the Bible IS the authority, you can go on with the next perception of interpretation. Remember these things:
1. The Word of God is really His word. It stands, unchanged.
2. Consider the super-human codes that lie within the texts. Rabbis found these decades ago, and they are proven, clearly written by the finger of the Almighty. Accept that He is the only one that could possibly have put them there, as they are mathematically infeasible.
3. Consider the translation, the nuances of tense and meaning. Most of us do not know Biblical Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic. To some extent we must trust the translators. The reliability and historicity of the text is virtually unshakeable, however, and a study of these things is far too vast to cover here.
4. Visions and dreams are always the LAST source of information to be reliable. I do not discount them, but they are always to be tested or "tried," they are always to be seen in light of the Biblical canon. We must have the previous authoritative conditions to interpret them.
5. Church tradition: Because the Church is made up of sinful people it has a tendency toward error. Always check church "authority" against the Bible. The Bible warns about the "Church" and deception within it, apostasy, and false teaching. Be aware of this, and never put church tradition first. Always put it second to the Word of God itself.
The Bible is full of prophecy. About a third of it is prophecy, fulfilled or not yet. On Sunday I was able to listen to a sermon by Stephen Lawson about Psalm 22, the "Fifth Gospel." Take a minute today and read it. It is an example of fulfilled prophecy, written 1,000 years before it happened. If you haven't read it yet, you will immediately see the fulfillment.
Prophecy fulfilled is always the ultimate test. God Himself put that standard on His own prophets. If someone prophesies something and it doesn't come to pass, that prophet is discounted. For always.
I read a book called "When" a few years ago. The author put forth a convincing argument for Christ's return in 2011. I don't have a big problem with date setting, but since his "prophecy" about 2011 didn't happen, his entire ministry is called into question, simply because of God's mandates on unfulfilled prophecies. I have not read anything about him since, so I don't know if he repented from his error. You could easily put him in a "false prophet" category. This has happened countless times. Ho-hum, yawn.
People have set dates for Christ's return since he left the earth at the Ascension. The disciples themselves expected Him to return. There is something called the doctrine of Imminence, which states that Christ can return at any time, always. I think this applies mostly to the Rapture of the church, but even that must come when certain events have already begun to unfold.
Because I have such a respect for prophetic events foretold (but not yet fulfilled) in the Scripture, I have a little trouble with that doctrine. I do think certain conditions must be in place before Christ returns. I do think the State of Israel has had to exist before the End of Time. Theologians who were Bible believers throughout the centuries also believed in the Ezekiel prophecy of the dry bones (Israel) coming back to life.
Well, that's happened.
Prophecy watchers always refer to Israel. Israel, the bride of Yahweh, is the prophetic jewel. We can look at Israel and be assured that the Word of God is true, is whole, is trustworthy, even through millennia. It's extremely exciting to see this, and we who live now have a special opportunity and perspective that no one until now has had! We are seeing prophecy being fulfilled!
There is a teaching that says "No one knows the day or hour." This is a short phrase that has been repeated over and over by the teachers of imminent rapture. There is a Greek verb that has several declensions in this verse. "Until Now" is part of that meaning conveyed in that phrase. One could say that when things come to fruition, fulfilling certain prophecies, we CAN indeed see a time frame, a likely date for fulfillment.
That is what is happening in the world of the "watchmen" right now. Certain events are unfolding, giving more plausibility to the coming of other more major events! Are you still with me? This is prophecy watching!
We are seeing things that no one has ever seen before, on the Biblical scale.
Therefore, I do watch, I do see things wrapping up, I do take into consideration all of the things I mentioned above and I believe that we MAY see Jesus this year.
I believe that Jesus, Yeshua, kept the feasts that God ordained, and the Feast of Trumpets is a significant feast yet to be fulfilled, the feast that is next on the timeline of fulfillment.
So I watch. I think we all should watch! If you haven't done a study of the Biblical feasts and their prophetic significance you should!
God is not trying to keep us in the dark! We are children of light! We are given the privilege of knowing His Word, understanding the meanings and walking through our lives with full confidence of His care and promises made to us. We are His children. He tells us not to fear, and gives us the means to completely obliterate fear from our lives. He lets us know the whole story, tells us what is going to happen, gives us His strength and Spirit to face all of it and promises us the most beautiful ending.
He's not scaring us! He's comforting us!
So, here we come, 2015. Signs in the heavens, signs everywhere, prophesied events are literally taking shape. How could we NOT see these things?
Look up. Your redemption draws nigh!
For those of you who do not know Christ yet, or who have left "their first love," please get right with Him today. Repent from your sin, believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. It's one of those promises in the Word. You will be filled with His Holy Spirit, you will be forgiven, you will have eternal hope.
Remember, this life is a small dot compared to eternity. Time is truly short. Pull out that Bible and start reading the Gospel of John, the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus. Ask Elohim to forgive you. Ask Him to be your Father, to be filled with His Ruach (Spirit), and to know Truth as you've never known before.
Forsake the ways of the devil, the rebellion and the continual idolatry of self. Come to Jesus Christ before it is too late.
Be honest. You know that everything will one day be exposed----all the secrets of your heart. The dirt, the bad, the lies, the deceit. Get rid of it now, and ask the Lord to forgive you. If you do it now you never have to worry about it again! Your sin is erased, and you become a loved child of the Heavenly Father.
What else would you want to be?
If the Holy Spirit is "knocking" at your soul's door right now, "open" it. Don't wait. You are being asked to come alive spiritually. Experience life on a whole different level. Ask the Lord to be born again, of the spirit.
I truly believe time is short. You don't have years to come around to this. Months maybe, but perhaps even days or minutes! Once Time ends we are eternally destined.
Make things right.
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