The Comfort Of
Prophecy
By Matt Leasher
When one is first
presented with the
specifics and
details of
eschatological Bible
prophecy the
individual is left
with one of two
reactions providing
that the person
hasn’t rejected it
completely. They are
either comforted by
it or frightened by
it. If they are a
saved believer that
has fully put their
trust in Jesus
Christ they can find
comfort knowing that
the Lord God has
lovingly informed
them of things to
come so that they
may know how to
conduct their lives
and properly assert
themselves into His
plan while preparing
for the future.
Then there
are those that view
the Biblical end
time prophecies in a
negative light. They
may feel threatened
or terrorized by the
prophecies of the
Lord’s Judgment Day
that all of the
Lord’s prophets have
declared is sure to
come. The people in
this view want to
hold their hands
over their ears and
put their heads in
the sand when Bible
prophecy is even
mentioned.
It is this
group of people that
consider prophecy
nothing but doom and
gloom but it is much
more than that.
Sadly this
group does not just
consist of
unbelievers either.
There are many
professing
Christians and even
pastors and church
leaders that
disregard and shun
Bible prophecy and
only focus on the
cheery feel good
messages of the
gospel not realizing
that they are
extracting God’s
most protective
warnings to mankind.
The irony of
these people is that
they do not realize
that you cannot
extract prophecy
from the Bible
because it is ALL
prophetic in one way
or another.
The more one
studies the Bible
the more one will
see prophecy unveil
itself all
throughout the
Scriptures and that
it is not just
reserved in the
books of the
prophets or the Book
of Revelation.
If a
professing Christian
views Bible prophecy
as nothing but gloom
and doom then they
are missing out on
one of the most
divine blessings
that the Lord
provides in His
Word.
The Book of
Revelation begins
and ends with a
blessing for those
that “hear
and keep the words
of the prophecy”,
(Revelation 1:3 &
22:7). Prophecy is a
blessing!
THE PURPOSE OF THE
O.T. PROPHETS
Prophecy is a means
by which God has
used to communicate
to His people that
dates back for many
centuries.
God raised up
prophets from among
His people Israel
and Judah during the
days of the kings
approximately
between 850 BC – 400
BC to warn the
nation that
impending judgment
was about to come
upon them for their
many long going sins
that they were
committing against
God. They were
entrusted to
represent God to the
other nations and
instead they
embraced the heathen
idolatrous ways of
the pagan nations
around them. These
prophets spoke on
behalf of God to the
heart and conscience
of
Israel
and
Judah.
The prophetic
messages of the
prophets had a
twofold character.
The first being that
which was local and
immediate to the
prophet’s time and
the second being
that which was
predictive to the
divine purpose of
all of time
culminating into the
last days. There was
also an underlying
message of the
coming of the
Messiah throughout
the prophetic word
as well.
The prophets
saw and foretold
both the first and
second advents of
the Messiah.
The purpose
of the prophets of
Old Testament times
was not only to
expose sin and
announce judgment
but also to provide
consolation and hope
for those that would
receive their
message and turn to
God.
They consoled
the people to repent
and receive God’s
forgiveness or else
be subjected to
God’s wrath.
Jesus
consoles us of the
same message, (John
3:18 & 3:36).
Consolation
without the offer of
true repentance
would only be giving
a false hope. That
is why the prophets
often screamed for
repentance.
The false
prophets of their
time were telling
the people that God
wouldn’t chastise
them because they
were God’s people
and spoke nothing of
repentance. They
claimed “peace,
peace, when there is
no peace”, (Jeremiah
6:14 & 8:11).
John the
Baptist was the last
of the Old Testament
prophets, even
though he is found
in the beginning of
the New Testament,
for he cried out for
repentance, baptized
in repentance and
prepared the way for
the Messiah.
Almost all of the
Old Testament
prophets always
ended their
prophecies with a
glimpse into the
future of the
glorious one
thousand year
kingdom age where
the Lord will reign
out of Jerusalem in true righteousness and there will
be true peace and
harmony on earth.
They always provided
hope with their
consolation because
consolation without
hope only creates
hopelessness and God
is certainly not
about hopelessness.
THE JUDGMENT OF GOD
When we read about
God’s judgment in
the Bible we must
remember that it is
not God’s desire to
bring down His
mighty hammer on
lowly mortal man.
The Lord God loves
us more than we can
possibly imagine.
However, He hates
sin and sin is what
has to be judged or
else God wouldn’t be
a just and fair God.
Because we
are all under the
curse of sin He has
provided a
deliverance from His
judgment. That is
the sacrifice of His
Son Jesus Christ in
our place.
Since sin is
a supernatural curse
it requires a
supernatural cure
and that is Jesus
Christ - God in the
flesh.
He is the
only One that is
possible to free us
from the bondage of
sin. God’s anger
against our sin was
laid upon His Son
Jesus Christ.
This reveals
two great truths.
God really despises
sin but really loves
us, so much so, that
He would turn His
back on His only Son
so they we all could
be set free.
This is the
ultimate proof that
sin absolutely has
to be dealt with.
All sin has to be
judged one way or
another.
God does not
cause judgment, He
is simply the Judge.
Human sin causes the
judgment but God has
given us the means
to avoid His
judgment and it is
within our free will
to accept it.
“He who believes in
Him is not
condemned; but he
who does not believe
is condemned
already, because he
has not believed in
the name of the only
begotten Son of
God.” (John 3:18)
For those that have
never had a chance
to hear the gospel
of Jesus Christ, God
is just and fair and
they will then be
held accountable to
what they do know,
(see Romans 1:18 –
2:16), but it is far
better to have been
graced by God to
have heard, received
and accepted the
gospel and salvation
of Jesus Christ.
“There is therefore
now no condemnation
to those who are in
Christ Jesus, who do
not walk according
to the flesh, but
according to the
Spirit.” (Romans
8:1)
God is ever so
merciful and
“mercy triumphs over
judgment”,
(James 2:13).
God’s
judgment isn’t
always about
condemnation either,
especially when it
is in reference to
His redeemed
children.
For instance,
believers will stand
before the Judgment
Seat of Christ to
receive rewards for
the things they have
done in the body, (2
Corinthians 5:10).
This is very
much like the
judgment we see
during the Olympic
games. The judgment
is not of
condemnation or even
disqualification but
is an award ceremony
of placement. The
Judgment Seat of
Christ will be our
award ceremony for
our placement in the
kingdom of heaven.
This is based
on everything we’ve
done in His name
after we
got saved by grace
through faith.
We currently live in
a dispensation known
as the Age of Grace
where God’s grace of
forgiveness is
available to
everyone at anytime
through faith in
Christ, but this era
of grace will soon
end someday and then
history will enter
into the appointed
time known as “The
Day of the Lord”.
THE DAY OF THE LORD
The Biblical term
"Day of the Lord" is
not referring to a
24 hour day but
rather a period of
time in which God
will personally and
abruptly intervene
into the history of
man's affairs to
directly orchestrate
the climax of His
overall plan for
planet earth and
fulfill all that He
has promised He
would do in His
written Word. While
God individually
intervenes with each
of us today on a
personal basis
through the work of
His Holy Spirit,
this "Day of the
Lord" will be a much
different type of
intervention as it
will be on a global
scale. Most of the
details about what
will transpire
during this period
are recorded in the
book of Revelation,
particularly in
chapters 4 through
19. This period is
also known as
Daniel’s 70th
week or “the time of
Jacob’s trouble”,
(Jeremiah 30:7), in
which all the
nations left in the
world will come
against Israel and
the Lord will
physically return to
deliver Israel from
her enemies and the
from the
anti-christ.
He will
destroy them and
then judge the
remaining world. All
of
Israel
will come to know
Jesus Christ as
their Messiah during
this period as well.
Throughout it all
this will be a
period of God’s
wrath upon a sinful
Christ rejecting
world. It will first
be inaugurated with
the Rapture of the
Church. That is why
certain Scriptures
refer to the "Day of
the Lord" as coming
suddenly like a
thief in the night,
(Zephaniah 1:14-15,
Luke 21:34, & 1
Thessalonians 5:2),
for the Rapture can
happen at any given
moment.
WE ARE NOT APPOINTED
TO WRATH
In the apostle
Paul's first letter
to the Thessalonians
he is addressing the
issue that the
believers in
Thessalonica thought
they had missed the
return of Christ.
Right after Paul
reveals to them (and
us), the mystery of
the Rapture in
chapter 4:13-18 he
then goes on in
chapter 5 to confirm
that those of us who
are in Christ are
NOT appointed to
wrath and therefore
we should "comfort
one another"!
“For God
did not
appoint us to wrath,
but to obtain
salvation through
our Lord Jesus
Christ, who died for
us, that whether we
wake or sleep, we
should live together
with Him. Therefore
comfort
each other and edify
one another, just as
you also are doing.”
(1 Thessalonians
5:9-11)
This is the comfort
of prophecy! Paul
through the
inspiration of the
Holy Spirit is
telling us that we
who are redeemed by
Christ are not going
to be subjected to
His wrath when He
judges the world in
the coming Day of
the Lord.
It is
important to note
that Paul revealed
the Rapture first,
then the message
that we are not
appointed to wrath
second. Paul is also
revealing to us the
sequence of events,
the removal of the
redeemed and then
the administering of
God's wrath
afterwards.
Furthermore,
Paul tells us in his
letter to the
Ephesians that we
are sealed with the
Holy Spirit for the
Day of redemption,
(Ephesians 4:30).
That "Day" of
redemption is none
other than the Day
of the Rapture. To
redeem something is
to receive something
that has previously
been paid for.
Christ is the
one doing the
redeeming on the Day
of redemption and He
is receiving those
that He died for at
Calvary.
How do we receive
this "seal" of the
Holy Spirit so that
we know we are among
the redeemed?
Paul tells us
in Ephesians
1:13-14:
“In Him you also
trusted, after you
heard the word of
truth, the gospel of
your salvation; in
whom also, having
believed, you were
sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise,
who is the guarantee
of our inheritance
until the redemption
of the purchased
possession, to the
praise of His
glory.”
That verse says it
all! Notice it says
that in Him whom you
trusted after
hearing the word and
believed.
It is at the
moment that you put
all your heartfelt
honest faith and
trust in Jesus
Christ that you
become "sealed" with
the Holy Spirit. It
is all through
faith.
There are no
works involved in
being sealed.
Then there
are some very
comforting words
about
His part of
the deal. Notice
they are - promise,
guarantee, and
redemption.
These are
indeed words of
great comfort.
THE PURPOSE OF
REVELATION
The book of
Revelation is the
revealing of the
things that are to
come in the last
days given to us by
Jesus Christ through
the visions that He
revealed to the
apostle John so that
we may know. Just as
we raise our
children with
warnings of how to
avoid the snares and
evils of the world,
our heavenly Father
reveals how the
sinful world will
endure His judgment
in the last days so
that we may know how
to be exempt from
His wrath that is to
come.
This is a
message of love and
protection. Could
you imagine if the
Lord did not inform
us of these things
and they came to
pass upon a
completely
unsuspecting world?
Unfortunately
there will be a
great number of
people to whom it
will come
unexpectedly because
they choose to
disregard the book
of Revelation and
the prophets or they
just don’t take it
seriously.
To them that
Day will come upon
them like a snare.
To those that
revere God’s word
and have embraced
His promises with
faith then they can
actually look
forward to
that blessed hope
and glorious
appearing of our
great God and Savior
Jesus Christ,
(Titus 2:13),
because we know that
we have an
inheritance in His
coming kingdom.
Many look
upon the book of
Revelation with
terror and fear but
Jesus is always
telling us to fear
not.
As Bible
scholar Ed Hindson
often quotes,
“prophecy is not
meant to scare us
but to prepare us”.
Are you
scared or are you
prepared?
If you have
an open and honest
relationship with
Jesus Christ and
you’re living your
life with Him as
your personal Savior
then you are
prepared. You have
nothing to fear and
you can look forward
to His coming.
“Finally, there is
laid up for me the
crown of
righteousness, which
the Lord, the
righteous Judge,
will give to me on
that Day, and not to
me only but also to
all who have loved
His appearing.” (2
Timothy 4:8)