VALUE OF PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES
by Dr. Charles L. Feinberg
I T was D r . A. J. G ordon who re ported th a t approximately one- fourth of the Word of God deals with predictive truth relating to events which were to transpire in the future of the time in which the por tion was inspired of God. It is sad to see the great neglect people have allowed to happen in their lives in turning aside from such profitable understandings (I Peter 1:12-21). There are those who have not a very high view of Scripture who claim that the prophetic Scriptures are meaningless, and that those who be come so involved are merely fanatics. (They hold, incidentally, the same position on the preaching of the cross.) U n in fo rm ed others ask, “Would our preaching be more bene ficial if prophecy were omitted? Aren’t there enough other truths in the Bible without it? Can’t we em phasize more practical truths touch ing daily living?” God made no mis take in including so much of proph ecy in the Word. Reading Genesis 3:15 correctly will ilústrate that God was the first prophet. It is a fact that neglect of Bible prophecy has some very serious re sults. One of the consequences is dis obedience to the Lord’s will. Large segments of the Word of God from which we are commanded to preach in its entirety, will be set aside. In declaring Christ to others, we must preach prophecy. The witness going out concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is the motivating force and the very essence of prophecy (Rev. 19:10). Prophetic truth throws light on all the other doctrines of the faith. Paul’s own example, spoken to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, gives us his pointed testimony in that he did 8
not shun to declare unto them the whole counsel of God. He spoke of things yet to come in the history of the Church on earth. It is a fact that a prime cause for Israel’s rejection of Christ was that they were not fully aware of proph ecy (Luke 24:25). They had failed to see that Christ was supposed to suffer before entering into His glory. God’s prophetic truth is sufficient to light our pathway home to glory. Neglect of the prophetic Scripture is serious. It is a disregard of the proof of the Bible’s divine inspira tion. You need only to read chapters 40-48 of Isaiah, especially 41:21-43 and 45:21 and 46:9-13. Couple these with a passage like Daniel two. These portions tell us that there’s only One personality in all the universe, in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, who can foretell things to come. God alone can predict. Prediction proph ecy is a confirmation of divine omni science and omnipotence. God not only predicts; He also performs. We see this repeatedly throughout the Old Testament. There has been no movement of world importance but what the Word of God has predicted it long beforehand. World conflicts, spiritual declension, rise of dictator ships, widespread fears and calamity, all are in this blessed book. Neglect of prophetic study will re sult in the alteration of the church’s preaching. A church setting aside prophecy will invariably fail to con form to God’s revealed plan. Think of the effort expended to bring about world peace! God’s purpose is found in Acts 15: to call out a people for His name. The Lordship of Christ must be preached or man will try to be that lord himself. When proph
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