Why Is It Important To Recognize The Fulfillment Of Biblical Prophecies?

By Jake:

I thought that this may be a good time to put some thoughts down on this subject that may, if nothing else give us some pause.  For many, the subject of prophecy is a subject that consumes them.  For others, it is something that is avoided, nearly at all costs for some.  There is a third option which is a balance between the two.

For me, prophecy is something that I have kept an eye on since I was a teenager.  I am now 63 and am blown away with all that has happened in the last 50 years.  Those of you that know me, know that I am an avid reader, usually reading more than one book at a time.  I’m flabbergasted at how fast everything is coming together in this generation.   As I watch world news, I can find Biblical prophecy being fulfilled on a daily basis now.  That was not the case 25 years ago.

I ran into some interesting comments made in a book I am reading which is authored by Rabbi Menachem Kohen.  I would like to use a couple quotes from my reading as a jumping off point for this subject.

“…purpose of prophecies being provided to us?  Prophecy is to be a wake-up call to remind us of our responsibilities.  The Almighty is urging us to comprehend events and history in order to meet current challenges…not only do prophecies provide us with material to help us prepare for life,  prophecies guide us to recognize that the world has a Creator—we actually see the Almighty at work.”

It is important for us as created beings to realize that we are not the top rung of the ladder.  Humans are may the top of the food chain, but we’re barely a speck when see how massive the universe is that we have been put into.  It wasn’t that long ago that we knew nothing beyond the three dimensions that we see with our eyes.  Scientists know of eleven dimensions.  There is evidence that parallel universes are not just science fiction.  Our Creator is much greater than any of us even can imagine, yet mankind has a very difficult time bowing his knee to anyone or anything.  There is a pride within us that wars against submission to anyone, even God.

Of all the multiplied millions, or maybe even billions of books that have been put into print since the beginning of recorded history, there is only one that never misses in its prophecies.  Much is made of Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce and a host of others that head up a pack of self-proclaimed prophets.  Yet, there is not one that has been flawless in his or her predictions, unless they are one of God’s handpicked prophets.  Neither is there a book that has ever been written which has proven to be flawless in its predictions as the Bible has.  Not even one!

I believe we have a great responsibility to recognize what this book is, that God has given us.  It is comprised of many things, including history, poetry, laws for living, life stories of a great many people that filled a crucial spot in history, and so much more.  The Book also has the only accurate accounting of how our world came about.  It really was created—out of nothing.  Even though science does not like to accept the validity of the Bible, it is fining it impossible not to prove the Bible to be true more and more every day.  The Bible also has the story of Jesus; the only one that was totally the “son of man”, and yet every bit God in the flesh.  The Bible also gives detailed instructions for living life as it was designed to be lived.  Those that follow these instructions, and especially in tandem with a living relationship with God, find themselves well prepared for what we were all really created for, and that is an eternity that never ends.

Yet, there is another subject that is of great importance in God’s Word.  Prophecy.  Near 1/3 of Biblical content is prophetic in one form or another.  God made a point of filling His Word that was left for us as a roadmap, with what is going to come to pass—before it happens.  He did it on purpose.  Our world is full of phony prophets.  Even a prophet that has a higher than 50% accuracy rate is not a true prophet.  He (or she) is nothing more than a phony.  The world is full of them, and unfortunately, so is the Church.  The Bible however, has a very long list of true prophets whose words have been recorded.  These people have a 100% record of being correct.  This is because the God that called them to their difficult task lives outside of time, seeing the past, present, and future all at the same time.  He cannot miss—ever!

Our world now has a population of 7 billion souls.  Most of the world is an absolute mess.  There is chaos everywhere.  The things that Jesus predicted are in motion today.  It is important for us to know what He said, what His prophets said, and how it applies to the dying world that we live in.  Too many American churches are content to provide a good program and not touch anything controversial.  Unfortunately, Biblical prophecy is seen as something that becomes too controversial.  I’m afraid we insult the God who saw to it that we had so much of this very subject put into His Word.  Like Rabbi Kohen said, we are actually seeing the Almighty at work!  That gives us the responsibility to point out how this is the case to a world that is desperate to know.  If we don’t tell them, where are they supposed to get the real truth?

Here is another quote by Rabbi Kohen that I found worth some thought:

“…when we begin to experience the fulfillment of prophecies, it means that the Messianic era has already been launched.  We are living in spectacular times, the dawn of the Messianic era, when Bible prophecies are being fulfilled.  We see evidence of the Almighty’s existence and direct involvement.  Consequently, certain behaviors are expected of us.  In fact, one of the purposes of the Almighty’s writing of prophecies is so that we, the people on the sidelines, can become motivated to lead proactive and meaningful lives.”

Several things struck a chord in me when I read this, but I’ll just mention them briefly in passing, knowing that you will do considerable thinking on your own.

The year 1948 is worth a long article on its own.  Books have been written about it.  Most people don’t realize that almost nothing of great significance prophetically was happening that had anything to do with the end times that Jesus spoke about until that momentous year.  There was a very important clock that began ticking on May 15, 1948.  As Menachem Kohen said in his quote, “the Messianic era was launched when Biblical prophecies began to be fulfilled.”  What he is referring to is specifically the prophecies that have to do with the Jewish people being brought back to their ancient land and being established as a sovereign nation once again.

A great many more significant events happened in 1948, but none of them as important as the re-establishment of the nation of Israel.  This became doubly so when Israel took control of the entire city of Jerusalem once again in 1967.  God’s foreign policy works from Jerusalem out.  I’ve heard it said that Jerusalem is the navel of the earth, and I believe it.  When the nation of Israel was re-established, one prophecy after another began to be fulfilled; incredible things, great things; totally impossible without God’s involvement.  The prophecies given in the Bible having to do with world events from the re-establishment of Israel as a nation until Jesus sets His foot on the Mount of Olives when He returns, are numerous and come in fairly rapid order.  Jesus said that the generation of people that sees the re-establishment of the nation of Israel would also see His literal return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That is you and I!

For those of us that are aware of this, it really should change how we live our lives.  This is where there is sometimes an uncomfortable rub.  No generation of people likes to think that they may be the terminal generation.  That of course depends on your view of life and eternity.  It is of course easier for an older person like myself to accept this as fact because I have no need to develop a career anymore.  I am not a young person that is hoping to get married and have children.  It is a difficult balance to find when raising kids.  We should always be expecting the Lord’s return.  Yet, none of us should stop living.  We do not know the day or hour when the Lord returns and so the Bible tells us to keep right on with what God has put on our plate until He takes us home.

Yet, the Bible does tell us that we will know the season of His return.  In fact, Jesus was rather critical of the religious leaders because they could predict the weather for the next day but could not discern the times they were in.  Jesus did not call them hypocrites for a lack of understanding as much as not recognizing the times they were living in.  It is the same today.  In much of western society there is little yearning for heaven; in fact it is hardly ever even talked about.  Could it be that we have it so good that heaven doesn’t seem like such a big deal?  I’m afraid life has a way of changing that.  It only takes a bit of serious trouble knocking on our door to give us a whole different perspective on what’s really important and worth living for.

We should be motivated to live the kind of lives that are just enough attached to this world to function as God intends us to.  When we get so hyped on all the successes we can find on this earth, we lose the ability to be a good representative of what a true God-follower is.  All one needs to do is read through the Beatitudes and we can see how easily we get ourselves distracted with this very temporal world.  So, is success wrong?  Is having money wrong?  Is having a nice house wrong?  No, and no, and no.  It is all a matter of priorities.  Our priorities need to be in order, and then everything else will follow suite.

Here is one last quote from the Rabbi’s book that I would like to use for this article:

“…seeing prophecies fulfilled carries heavy responsibilities.  The world has a Creator and a Judge and we are ultimately held accountable for our daily activities and behaviors.  We must be concerned—after all, we see the fulfillment of Bible prophecies; we see that the Eternal Judge does exist.  The Judge will review the manner in which we conducted our lives—when we enter the Heavenly Court…”

Neither you, nor I are on this earth by accident.  We were born precisely when God intended us to be born.  We were also born where it was meant for us to be born.  Nothing is by accident.  God really is in total control of all things.  Just because there is evil operating around us does not mean that God is not in control.  Everything will come out in the end as was intended.  Evil will ultimately be totally defeated and contained where it can never again touch or infect God’s universe.

Because none of us is an accident, we should not live accidental lives.  Life is a gift and we should not take it for granted.  So, what should we do?  Here are some suggestions:

• Make sure that you have a true relationship with your Creator God.
• Recognize Him not only as your Creator, but also as your Savior.  Jesus was not just a good man; he was much more than just some great prophet.  He was, and is GOD..
• We are the terminal generation, and we are hurtling into the fulfillment of all things that the Bible tells us about.
• Recognize that Biblical prophecy is not something to avoid, but rather something to embrace!  God is real, and He is in absolute control.  He has commanded us to be watching for this very time we are in.
• Never forget there is nothing on this earth worth losing your eternal soul over.
• Live life to the fullest, yet be prepared to stand before God at any given moment in time.  None of us has a guarantee of tomorrow.

I just wanted to get a few thoughts out before leaving for early tomorrow morning.  I hope to be back in a week with some interesting things to share about the trip.

Keep Looking Up

Jake