found in Him, not having our own righteousness but His. How can we live our lives without giving any at tention to the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again ? Prophecy is the work of the Holy Spirit, protecting us from false fears and giving us the right perspective on the future. It is true that there are certain keys which unlock the truths of God’s own precious Word. Man may guess but he can never testify with assurance as to what tomorrow may bring. We can’t see, even dimly, the events of tomorrow or the next hour, for that matter. Scripture was writ ten by men of God who were motivat ed by the Holy Spirit. Basically, biblical prophecy is the Holy Spirit using the Word of God to testify beforehand events which have not yet taken place. The main theme is always the Lord Jesus Christ. Old Testament prophets saw first of all the sufferings of the Mes siah, and then they saw the glory that should follow (I Peter 1:11). It is as though they were viewing two mountain peaks or ranges. They were not fully aware of the valley in between. They knew that the coming Lord would endure pain and anguish, but there was also the assurance of future restoration and glory. While the first phase of course, has been completed, the second has not. It is the age of the New Testament church. Very often these two themes are not clearly distinguished in the Old Testament prophecies because the interval of the Church age was not revealed to the prophets. Christ did talk about the Church in Mat thew 16:18. This was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came. As an example of these two peaks, Isaiah 61, verses 1 and 2 show that the sufferings and the glo ry are separated only by a comma. Jesus Himself quoted this prophecy (Luke 4:18, 19). As surely as our Lord suffered, He will also be glori fied on this earth. We’re living today
His own heel was bruised at Calvary. Did you know that 260 New Tes tament chapters refer to the second coming of Jesus Christ over 300 times? It’s an evident fact that the entire broad expanse of Scripture becomes clearer when one studies biblical prophecy. This is what gives us an impregnable foundation for an unshakable faith in such troublous and tumultuous times which are dark politically, economically, materially, morally and spiritually. Man is grop ing desperately for some kind of light. Prophecy protects us from false teaching. It was Dr. R. A. Torrey who ex plained, “The prophetic Word of God guards against expecting universal lasting peace until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to establish it. It pro tects against expecting a universal righteousness while Jesus Christ, the Righteous, is absent from this world. It guards against expecting the world to get better when it can only get worse and worse, ending in the greatest judgment of all. It guards against expecting the church to bring in and establish Christ’s kingdom on the earth apart from His own per sonal return to do so.” Yes, prophecy protects us from fearfulness in which we would be enveloped if we did not study its truths. God’s people are assured of pro tection, deliverance and life eternal. We’re looking forward to a tremen dous day! To see the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing what He’s done for us, will be glorious. We praise God for all that Christ has been willing to do in our lives for time and throughout everlasting life! P art III QROPHECY IS NOT meant to confuse l but rather to enlighten. We have mentioned that the age of the Church is going to close when Christ comes in the air to receive His own to be with Himself. How wonderful to be 18
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