hnelson59

and for further reading (i guess i could have linked it, but wanted to make it easier - please forgive)

OVERVIEW OF PROPHECY
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PROPHECY PRIMER
by Ron Graff
Prophecy is fore-telling what is going to happen. A large percentage of the Bible (between 1/4th and 1/3rd of it) is devoted to prophecy. Some of the prophecy has already been fulfilled. The rest of it is still waiting for fulfillment. Biblical prophecies are different from other prophecies in that all of them do come to pass, and they are fulfilled exactly as foretold. In fact, the Bible's own standard is that if a person is known to have given a false prophecy, he should be put to death (Deuteronomy 13:5).

Fulfilled prophecy is one of the most powerful proofs that the Bible truly is the Word of God. Since all of the prophecies that should have been fulfilled in the first coming of Christ were fulfilled to the finest detail, we can be sure that the Bible itself is God's revelation to man since no human writer could be 100% accurate. 2 Peter 1:21 says "For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (NIV)

There were over 300 Old Testament prophecies about Messiah that were fulfilled by the life of Jesus Christ. Josh McDowell separates these into 61 different categories, and, following the argument of an older writer, Peter Stoner (Science Speaks), he says that if you just took 8 of these prophecies, the odds of a person coincidentally fulfilling all eight of these would be one in 10 to the 17th power. Since we can't easily picture what that means, he gave this illustration: Suppose you took the state of Texas and spread silver dollars two feet deep across the whole state, then marked just one of them and buried it somewhere in the state. Then, if you chose one person, blindfolded him, and told him to pick just one silver dollar, his chances of getting the marked one on his first try would be one in 10 to the 17th power! (Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Vol. 1, pp. 144, 167)

Prophecies which have not yet been fulfilled yet are of great interest to Christians, and especially so today, because we see many of them beginning to come to pass in our own generation! Jesus said that the generation that sees these things start to be fulfilled will also see their completion because once the events of these "last days" begins, matters will escalate quickly. "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened."(Matthew 24:32-34) (NIV)

The thing that makes the study of prophecy challenging is that there are so many different trends to watch. In this site, we list more than 50 "Study Topics!" A few of these point to prophecies already fulfilled, but most of them are about things which are yet to be fulfilled (or are actually being fulfilled right now!). Some of these have other significant subdivisions also. "Signs of the Times" groups together six other topics which we will consider below.

So how do all these "pieces" fit together? We will give the broad outline of Biblical Prophecy now, and once you see "The Big Picture," it will make more sense to investigate various parts of the subject in detail.

We should also point out that not all Bible scholars agree on how future prophecy will be fulfilled. Do not let this disturb you, because as interesting and important as the subject is, people can have very different views about prophecy and still agree on the most important aspects of Christianity, especially on the Life and Work of Jesus Christ and on the salvation He provides for all who believe. There are some who think that future prophecies will not be fulfilled literally, but that they merely have spiritual meaning. Most of these consider themselves "Amillennial" (meaning "no Millennial Kingdom" in the future.) Others, who do expect a literal fulfillment of all these things in the future, sometimes disagree on issues such as the timing of the Rapture, or the "catching away" of the Church. Those who believe the Rapture will take place soon, before the events of the Tribulation (which we will explain below), are known as "Pre-Trib," while those who think the Rapture will take place in the middle or at the end of the Tribulation are known as "Mid-Trib," or "Post-Trib." Some even think the Rapture will take place toward the very end of The Tribulation. They consider themselves "Pre-Wrath." There are other variations too, but it would be too confusing to follow this any further. The point is, that these people may all be equally committed to Christ even though they see future things differently. We should love one another anyway, and, if those who disagree with us are truly "born again," we should still consider them our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our position is "Pre-Trib." We agree with Bible teachers like Chuck Missler, Chuck Smith, Hal Lindsey, Paul and Peter Lalonde, J.R. Church, Jack Van Impe and a host of other popular and scholarly teachers who believe that we are living in "The Last Days," and can expect to see Christ return in our generation. We don't believe in setting dates for His return, but believe it will be soon.

Jesus' own teaching about the future is found in His sermon on The Mount of Olives. He indicated that there would be four phases of the future. The rest of this article will follow His outline from The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24.

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Harold Nelson, USN, ETC(SS), retired
"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." - Horace Mann :approve:

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away" - George Carlin