PROPHECY
The Peril of Neglecting Prophecy
by Charles L. Feinberg prophecy is meaningless and makes fanatics. It is well to remember that they hold a similar position on the preaching of the cross. Unin formed conservatives ask, “Would we not be better off and our preach ing more beneficial if prophecy were not mentioned? Are there not enough other truths in the Bible without it? Can we not emphasize more practical truths that touch daily living? Is it not a lot of spec ulation anyhow, since there are so many diverse views?” There are many views on the death of Christ as well. Is that un necessary or surrounded by specu lation? If prophecy is useless, profit less and impractical, why did God include so much of it in the Word? When written, a large segment of the Bible was prophetic in the sense of predictive. Genesis 3:15 shows God was the first Prophet. Proph ecy is practical because it is joined with numerous exhortations for the life of the believer (cf. Bom. 11:25 and 2 Pet. 3:8). The neglect of Bible prophecy re sults, first of all, in disobedience to the Lord’s will. To neglect proph ecy is to neglect large portions of the Word of God which we are com manded to preach in its entirety. The charge to Timothy and us is: “Preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, re buke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2 [ASV]). In preaching Christ we must preach prophecy, for He is the exalted and majestic theme of all prophecy (Bev. 19:10). Prophetic tru th throws light on all other doctrines
A central passage of Scripture on the subject of prophecy is 2 Peter 1:12-21 (ASV): “Wherefore I shall he ready always to put you in re membrance of these things, though ye know them, and are established in the truth which is with you. And I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that the putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ signified unto me. Yea, I will give diligence that at every time ye may be able after my decease to call these things to remembrance. For we did not fol low cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there was borne such a voice to him by the Majestic Glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: and this voice we ourselves heard borne out of heav en, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we have the word of prophecy made more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpre tation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” Our day places less and less store by the prophetic portions of the Scriptures. The libera ls claim
of faith. Prophecy is part of the ministry of warning for difficult times (2 Tim. 3:15; 1 Thess. 5:1, 2), and of the ministry of comfort for times of bereavement (1 Thess. 4:13). The apostle Paul by precept and example commended such min istry to us (Acts 20:20-27). To ne glect prophecy is to fail to heed the charge to hearken to the prophetic Scriptures as a light in a dark place (2 Pet. 1:19). Luke 24:25 reveals that a prime cause, though not the only cause, of Israel’s rejection of their Messiah was their failure to heed the entire testimony of the prophetic Scriptures. To neglect prophecy is to disre gard proof of the Bible’s divine in spiration. Isaiah leaves no room for doubt here: “Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and declare unto us what shall hap pen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may con sider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come: Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together” (41:21-23); “Declare ye, and bring it forth; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath showed this from anc ien t time? who hath declared it of old? have not I, Jehovah? and there is' no God else besides me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none besides me” (45:21); “Bemember the for mer things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God,
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The King's Business/September 1958
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