Prophecy

The class I am currently in, is a class on exegesis and application of Prophetic Literature in the Bible. During this class we have had to translate passages in Isaiah, exegetical outline passages from Daniel, and teach and apply passages from Micah, among others. This class has been rewarding, fulfilling, and taught me much about God and His Word. One of the biggest takeaways from the class is a realization that prophecy is fun and still very important for the church today. 

Many Christians find prophecy to be scary and they never enter it becasue of fear. This type of literature in the Bible can be hard to understand. There are many different images, poetic symbols, and figures of speech that can be daunting. Combine the use of language with the prophetic nature and apocalyptic thoughts, most Christians avoid books in the Bible like Isaiah, Daniel, and Joel. In fear, many Christians barely read, let alone spend time in, the Prophetic Books of the Bible.

Then there are other Christians who go to Prophetic Literature and think everything, every symbol, word, picture, and image, is important. These Christians chase after every fulfillment, every relevant picture, and think that most of the prophetic literature is still going to be fulfilled. These Christians take the newspaper and the TV news program and compare it to their Bible, thinking this is the end times we are living in now. These Christians love prophecy, not for what it says about their heart for God, but becasue they treat it like a road-map or a timeline of the future. Sadly, these Christians also deal with Prophetic Literature out of fear, just fear of the future and the unknown. 

I have found very few Christians that live in the middle ground. Very few Christians live in the Bible and understand the Prophets as they are intended by God to be understood. The Prophets are still very relevant and useful today becasue they are God's messengers to His sinful people. The Prophets preached messages of repentance, idolatry, social action, and future hope. The Prophets came to God's people to point out their sin, tell them to stop living like the world, and point them to a God that will solve all of their problems. The Prophets need to be heard today, not becasue of the fulfillment they might bring, but becasue of the heart of God's people they are confronting. 

This class has taught me; I need to understand, drink deeply, and apply the prophetic message to my life, so that I can live for the glory of God and repent of the sin that grabs my heart. Understanding the need of the Prophets, here are 3 important stats about the prophets to keep in mind. 2% of Old Testament prophecy is messianic. 5% of prophecy specifically describes the new-covenant age. 1% of prophecy concern events yet to come in our time. All three of these percentages make clear. The Prophets exist to deal with the heart of God's people in lives of repentance and obedience to Him. We still need to here the Prophets today and apply them to our lives becasue we are still idolatrous and sinful people of God.