There has always been a human interest in how the world will end. During my lifetime, I can remember Y2K and the Mayan Calendar’s prediction of a new world in December 2012. Movies like Day after tomorrow, I am Legend, and Independence Day provide a minor glimpse of people’s fascination with how the world might end. The rise and spread of Covid-19 worldwide, combined with an intense election year in the U.S., gave birth to much fear, confusion, and division inside and outside the church. When we didn’t think it was possible to spend more time on our devices, we were given the opportunity during lockdowns and those months of a slower pace of life.
At best, we have binge-watched on channels that bring us joy, that helped us learn a hobby or interest more fully, or that helped us mature as a follower of Jesus. However, I’m afraid many have found themselves down rabbit holes. Many have found themselves deep into channels of political rhetoric, conspiracy theories, teaching not in line with the Bible, or fear caused by world events.
When combining all the above, it is no wonder that people with some knowledge and understanding of the Bible begin to have their interest in the end times heightened. After all, didn’t Jesus himself say that there would be worldwide sickness, earthquakes or natural disasters, wars and rumors of wars, and persecution of his people in the end times? It seems like we could check all his boxes!
Then if we consider the book of Revelation, we know that there is to be a one-world economic system. Cryptocurrency could easily be controlled and exchanged worldwide. What about a one-world government? Covid, could at the very least bring us closer to that reality as governments try to work together to overcome this virus and determine travel guidelines for the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Global warming (regardless of one’s view about the subject) seems to be another way for nations to work on a worldwide crisis together and bring us closer to globalism. I’ll say this here and possibly speak more on these two thoughts later. Everything that happens adds one more piece on the stage in which Jesus will act out his return. How significant the two subjects just mentioned are, if any, will have to be determined in the future in their own time.
It is here that I must apologize for such a lengthy introduction and yet here are many more things that I could list or mention. Undoubtedly some recent event during the past 18 months has caused the genuine believer longing for Jesus to return to ask, “Is his coming near?” or “Are we living in the end times?” These or similar questions lead us to our first reason to study prophecy or eschatology (the study of last things).
We should study what the Bible tells us about the future because so much of the Bible’s contents tell us about the future!
Did you know that 27% of the Bible is prophetic? More than one of four verses deal with something in the future that hadn’t happened at the time of its writing. Some of these things have come to pass, and more await their fulfillment. Since the Bible gives so much attention to prophecy, we would also be wise to do so.
Read Luke 2:21-40.
Two godly examples in Luke challenge us to study biblical prophecy. Simeon and Anna eagerly expected the Messiah (the Anointed One) to come and rescue Israel. Why did they have such confidence in Jesus’ arrival?While we are not sure about Anna, we know that the Holy Spirit had promised Simeon he wouldn’t die before seeing Israel’s salvation. While the text doesn’t say for sure, I wonder if the Spirit gave him this promise of seeing the Messiah before his death when he was studying Daniel 2 at some point in time. Did Simeon realize that the Roman Empire would be the world power during whose reign the Messiah would come, as indicated in the prophecy of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-26)? Either way, we know that Simeon had studied prophecy concerning the coming Messiah, as evidenced in him quoting Isaiah concerning the Christ as he praised God.
We should study prophecy because it makes up more than a quarter of the Bible’s contents. The better we understand this large section of our Bibles, the less likely we are of being led astray by false (or at the very least bad) teaching, allowing world events to paralyze us with fear, or of the enemy being able to rob us of our joy and peace in Jesus due to the fog of confusion which is dispelled by the clear teaching of God’s Word.
Our Ministry Life 
Leave a comment