Intro
INTRODUCTION
This Series of 4 Books aims to provide a systematic introduction to Bible Prophecy, describing future events in their chronological order, and showing
how God is working out His Purposes and fulfilling His Promises and Covenants.
“Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10). It is my prayer that as you study Bible Prophecy, you will receive an exciting revelation of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bible-Prophecy gives us a firm assurance and a certain hope that God is sovereignly establishing His Kingdom. Whereas knowing the prophecies that have already been fulfilled authenticates scripture and builds our faith; knowing prophecy that is as yet unfulfilled builds our hope, giving us an anchor for our soul, that holds us steady for life in our troubled times. “Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28).
Bible Prophecy is important. If it were not so, God would not have devoted one third of His Bible to prophecy! It must be important to God as shown by the large amount of scripture given to it. God has much to tells us about the future, for He wants us to understand His plans and purposes, so that we can guide our lives by them. If we ignore it or dismiss it as unimportant then we are dismissing a large portion of God’s Word. If we do not understand Bible Prophecy we are ignorant of a third of the Bible. As a result we will be the losers, for all scripture is given for our benefit, to enable us to live in God’s plans and purposes.
The study of Bible Prophecy has many purposes:
It glorifies God, revealing His wisdom, power and sovereignty in fulfilling His purposes. He is the Alpha and Omega. He knows the end from the beginning.
Bible Prophecy glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ as it reveals His past work of salvation and His future dominion. Prophecy is Christ-centred for it is all about Him: “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). Therefore it exalts Christ and keeps Him in the centre of our vision.
Prophecy gives us comfort and hope for the future, especially for believers suffering hard times. The 3 things that are of eternal value that we gain through God’s Word are FAITH, HOPE and LOVE. It is through the study of the prophetic scriptures that HOPE is imparted to our hearts and minds. If we do not know Bible Prophecy, we are spiritually lacking in one of the big three areas of life. It puts the helmet of the HOPE of salvation firmly on our heads, covering our minds and protecting our thoughts, so that we can see through the present problems of this evil age to the victorious conclusion, for it reminds us that God is ultimately in control and working His purposes out. Therefore it stabilises and encourages us as we live through dangerous times. Knowing our future and the future of the world gives us wisdom, peace and focus for living our lives now in God’s plan and purpose. Without a knowledge of Bible Prophecy our hearts and minds do not have the protection that God wants us to have and that He has provided for us in His Word. As we study Bible-Prophecy we are putting on our Helmet of Hope (confident expectancy of future Salvation) over our minds.
Knowing Bible Prophecy is good for our mental health, for it gives us the big picture, the panaoramic view of God’s Purposes. We can get so caught up in our own small world, and as a result lose the big picture along with the inspiration, focus and balance it provides. It is healthy to see our problems in perspective and that is what Bible Prophecy provides. God is magnified and our problems don’t seem so great, when we see the grand scheme of things. If God is sovereignly bringing His purposes to pass and will usher in an eternal age of glory, then surely He is able to work all things in our life for our good.Prophecy provides strong warnings for those who persist in unbelief. It therefore stimulates us to serve the Lord and witness to Him, knowing that He is coming soon to judge the lost, and then it will be too late for them to repent.
Bible Prophecy alerts us and gets up ready for the Coming of the Lord. It makes us conscious that He is coming soon to judge and reward believers for our faithfulness in serving Him. This was a major motivation for the first believers to live lives of holiness and fruitful service and so it is for us who live in the last days of the Church Age. It will cause us to live each day in the light and excitement of His imminant Appearing, knowing that anytime soon we will stand before Him and give an account. So many believers are asleep and unprepared. To a large extent this is because they are ignorant of the prophetic scriptures.
This Book also demonstrates that we are now living in the Close of this Age, in the last generation before Christ’s Return!
This series of 4 Books form a comprehensive guide to End-Time Prophecy that will serve as a useful reference, as world-events continue to unfold before our eyes as the world moves towards the climax revealed in the Bible. Therefore it is hoped that the reader will gain understanding of the times he lives in and motivation to live his life pleasing to God and to make it count for the Lord
Just as in building a House, in order to understand Bible-Prophecy, we must first lay the Foundation and put up the basic overall Framework, and then fill in the rest. After establishing the Framework in this Book (Part One of the Series), we will then fill in the substance of the House, using the abundant prophetic material provided in the Bible. I leave it to the reader’s judgement, how well these pieces have been fitted together into their correct place.
Therefore, this Book (Part One) gives the foundational principles (keys) for understanding the prophetic scriptures, and establishes the overall Framework of Bible Prophecy. These principles are essential to understanding the rest.
Part Two (Book 2) covers the Church Age and the Rapture.
Part Three (Book 3) covers the events of the Tribulation (which comes after the Church Age) as described particularly in the Book of Revelation.
Part Four (Book 4) describes the Battle of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to judge and rule the world. Then it brings the story to its glorious conclusion with Christ’s Millennial Reign and the Eternal State.