PROPH'ECY, noun [Gr. to foretell, before and to tell. This ought to be written prophesy.]
1. A foretelling; prediction; a declaration of something to come. As God only knows future events with certainty, no being but God or some person informed by him, can utter a real prophecy. The prophecies recorded in Scripture, when fulfilled, afford most convincing evidence of the divine original of the Scriptures, as those who uttered the prophecies could not have foreknown the events predicted without supernatural instruction. .
2. In Scripture, a book of prophecies; a history; as the prophecy of Ahijah. .
3. Preaching; public interpretation of Scripture; exhortation or instruction. .[32]
Since almost 30% of the Bible is prophecy, one cannot study scripture without studying God's plan for the future. That was not unintentional, and God tells us that prophecy is there to prove the Bible's authenticity, and to prove that He is indeed the God of the universe:
That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together (Isaiah 41:20-23).
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (Isaiah 46:9-10).
And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe (John 14:29)
God used the Old Testament prophets to warn His people about their sins, and their consequences for disregarding His law. There are prophecies about nations and cities, about Israel and her future, of the coming Messiah, and the signs of the last days. There are over 300 prophecies regarding the first coming of the Messiah; very detailed predictions pertaining to His birth, life, and death. All of these messianic prophecies were fulfilled, in every detail, in the person of Jesus Christ.
Most of the New Testament prophecy pertains to the end times, and the second coming of the Messiah. The only subject mentioned more frequently in the New Testament than the second coming of Christ is the subject of salvation.
Certainly, the subject of prophecy is important to God, or why else would there be so much of it in His Word? It also makes the Bible unique when compared with all the books of other religions, which only contain a few vague predictions while dealing primarily with the past.
Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and other religions have their sacred books and writings, but they don't include prophecy. Only the Bible does that, and it does so with 100% accuracy. No other book would dare to authenticate its word by telling you the future. The Bible stands alone; it transcends time.
WHY STUDY BIBLE PROPHECY
There are many reasons why we should study Bible prophecy:
Fulfilled prophecy validates the Bible and its claims.
Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth (Isaiah 43:9).
YOU ARE READING
The Gospel Truth and Bible Prophecy
EspiritualThis book examines the evidence of the Bible being the true Word of God, and gives details of some of its many prophecies - past and future.
