The purpose of prophecy in the Bible is to teach us how to live
today. That’s a very practical purpose. Satisfying our curiosity about the
future or giving us advance knowledge of how things are going to turn out isn’t
its purpose—even though it’s often portrayed that way. Its primary purpose
is to keep our eyes fixed on the accountability that is coming; that everything
we do—both good and bad—is of everlasting significance. It is in the awareness of where things are heading that our lives today find
meaning and purpose.
For
example, in Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Jesus gives an outline of things that
are future. He tells the disciples about things they will face, but ends with
six parables expressing why He’s given that information. He sums it all up in
one word—watch.
Then
comes the parables of the talents, the wise and foolish virgins, the sheep and
the goats and so on. All are saying, “Since you know these things are coming,
here’s how you’re to live now.”
So
the bottom line of prophecy and knowing the future is how we treat others
today. It is to encourage us to treat people the way Jesus treated us—with
grace, kindness and a willingness to accept us, even with our mistakes.
As
humans, we’re motivated by the future. We’re motivated by its possibilities, by
the things that are likely to happen and how to get ready for those activities.
But prophecy is only one of several ways God motivates people to become what He
designed them to be.
Much
of Bible prophecy is contained in obscure language and symbolism, making it
hard to understand. However, in earlier days, it wasn’t as obscure as now. The
language, for example, was part of a living genre.
The
book of Revelation was written when its imagery would’ve made a lot of sense to
its readers. They would readily have drawn appropriate lessons for their lives,
even though they might not have understood or seen some of the historical
references.
So
today, to make sense of Bible prophecy—Revelation, for example—begin by reading
all of it through. An English Standard Version (ESV) reads easily and is very
accurate to the original text. Next, retell what you’ve read in your own words
without reference to the book. Finally, ask
yourself... “What do I see there? How did it feel?” After that simple exercise,
begin to comb through the detail.
Bible
prophecy doesn’t make sense if you ignore its details. At the same time, you
can’t make sense of the details until you know the whole. Once you’ve got the
big picture, then work through the details before coming back and putting the
whole back together again.
Scholars
once thought that analyzing the parts and knowing what all the details meant
was the key to understanding it. These days the book is first considered as a
whole in the way the original readers would have read it. Interpreting prophecy
in conjunction with current events is a mistake. A glance at the history of
interpretation shows people have always looked for their current situation in
Revelation. Nearly all such interpretations appear laughable in retrospect.
Such
an approach doesn’t respect the reality of Revelation, seeking, rather, to use
Revelation to promote an agenda of the interpreter’s design. Beginning with
current events and going to Revelation is interesting, but it’s also dangerous
from the perspective of attempting to understand the
book itself. By beginning with the story of the book, you develop a sense of
what’s going on. Only
after that can one ask if there is anything going on that it might refer to.
So
if the purpose of prophecy is to guide us in the best way to live, it certainly
shows that God cares about us. It shows that He has a plan for the big picture
and that we’re not just drifting out of control. It’s about a caring God whose
control of events isn’t coercive, but is designed for
the good of His people and the universe.
That’s
a big assignment, since balancing the whole and the individual is a tough task
of any government. And God’s government is no exception.
