Part 1 Why Study About Prophecy

What do the terms The Rapture, The Second Coming of Christ, The Book of Revelation, The Great Tribulation, The Battle of Armageddon, The Apostasy, The Millennium, The Antichrist, The Day of the Lord, 666, The Mark of the Beast and the New World Order all have in common? They are all related to the study of BIBLE PROPHECY.

Never in recent years have Christians and non-Christians alike had more questions about the future.  Since 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, there has been a dramatic increase in the interest of Bible Prophecy and eschatology or the end times.

On radio, television, the World Wide Web, and in countless other places, Christians are now talking about the Left Behind series which is all about Bible prophecy, the rise of the Antichrist, and the end of the world. Barnes & Noble called Left Behind "one of the top ten best-selling books of the 20th century."  The novels have even been labeled "……the most successful Christian fiction series ever" by Publishers Weekly.  Desecration (Book 9 in the series), was the #1 best-selling fiction book for 2001 in all markets - both Christian and secular.

Also, the recent terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon seem to have generated a great amount of interest in end-time events.

Within each of us is an insatiable curiosity to know the future.  We want to know what is going to happen to the economy.  If our children will grow up healthy.  Will I still have a job next year?

Our curiosity over the future is God-given.  God created each one of us with a hunger to know about the future.

(Everyone Read)  Ecclesiastes 3:11, “God has also given us a desire to know the future.” (ICB)

An example of this can be seen in the lives of the disciples.

Matthew 24:3, “What events will signal your return and the end of the world?” (TLB)

Have you ever heard someone ask, "Why study prophecy, what good will it do?" Some people seem to think that it’s not necessary to study prophecy because it deals with things that are way off into the future.  Let me say that the future may not be as far away as some people may think it is.  A little boy loved to sit in front of a grandfather clock in his living room and listen to it strike twelve.  One day, however, the clock broke and continued to strike - thirteen, fourteen, fifteen at which time the boy ran out into the kitchen yelling, "Mommy! Mommy! It's later than it's ever been before!"  In terms of Bible prophecy, it's later than it has ever been before.

So, why should we study Bible prophecy?