Why Preach Biblical Prophecy?...Continued from page 1

Putting it bluntly, really preaching Bible prophecy necessitates more work and study than many are willing to give it. Mastery of Daniel and Zechariah, the Olivet Discourse, 2 Thessalonians and the Revelation and their intertextual relationships is formidible. But is it worth it? We are helped here by awareness of our system ? which is also true of every other major theological entry we bring into discourse.

Preaching Biblical prophecy is distasteful to some because there is so much controversy and difference of opinion. But controversy attends all doctrinal preaching. Adhering to basic and sound hermeneutical principles drastically reduces our options. “Grasp the thistle firmly. . .”

The Heights Which Should Be Scaled

A more positive and regular utilization of these resources is imperative and important for several reasons:

The sheer bulk of prophetic material requires our coming to terms with it because it is part of the “all Scripture” which is profitable and “the whole will of God” (Acts 20:27) which is essential for the Christian life. One verse out of four in the New Testament has to do with the eschaton. We must deal with them.

The return of Jesus Christ and the complex of events in connection with it is a critical part of what Christianity is. In the eight chapters of the Thessalonian correspondence Paul refers to the return of the Lord in seven of them. In his short-time in that locale, he dealt with matters of the anti-Christ and what restrains his denouement (2 Thess. 2:5). The essence of the Christian life is clearly “turning from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait up for his Son from heaven” (1 Thess. 1:9-10). The past, present and future perspectives are all critical.

In Hebrews 9 the inspired writer delineates three appearings of Christ ? He has appeared to put away sin, He now appears in heaven for us, and to those who look for Him He will appear a second time (9:26, 24, 28). The ultimate assurance of His completing the work He has begun provides an indispensable encouragement for all Christians (Phil. 1:6).

Fulfilled prophecy is of inestimable significance in an apologetic sense, as with Israel’s sojourn in Egypt, her captivity in Babylon and Persia, the prophecy of the seventy sevens in Daniel 9, the massive prophecies of our Lord Jesus, His life and ministry and the 25 specific prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Hippolytus is already expostulating about the detached seventieth week of Daniel 9 in the early third century. The Bible is uniquely a book of predictive prophecy. Fulfilled prophecy also provides us the key to future fulfillment inasmuch as all of these prophecies were fulfilled literally, historically and most accurately.

The Christian hope is part of the powerful ethical dynamic of the Christian life ? “Everyone who has this hope in him, purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). The early church lived in the constant expectation of the Savior’s return ? Paul anticipated being alive at the parousia (1 Thess. 4:17, Heb. 10:37, James 5:8,1 Pet. 4:7, I John 3:18, etc.). Eugene Peterson has well insisted that, “Everything in the New Testament is written under the pressure of the end. Christ is coming back...this is an urgent time” (Subversive Christianity, 242). Perhaps some of our torpor and lassitude in the church today derives from our de-eschatologization.