“I TOLD YOU SO AND YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE ME”
The power of prophecy is not being recognised and therefore not being taught and preached. The Old Testament was constantly preparing Israel for the future and what the outcome would be depending on their obedience to God, and most importantly foretelling the birth of Christ, and how His being will change Israel and the world for ever. When we read the Old Testament Christians believe in the one true God Our Heavenly Father the creator of the universe, the history of Israel – God’s chosen people, the laws and all prophecy. The undeniable facts are there for all to believe, because we know all things are possible when we put our trust in the Lord; the stories and events are all plausible and true and how incredible it all becomes when we consider the faith in God shown by Noah, Abraham, Israel, Moses, David, Hezekiah, Daniel and many more; so how can we not believe?
The New Testament tells us Christ himself often referred to the Old Testament; take for example the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24 v 13 – 29, when Christ explains to them the things that happen to Him which were prophesied by Moses and all of the Prophets. John is divinely inspired in writing the book of Revelation, which constitutes twenty two chapters of prophecy; admittedly not the easiest of books to comprehend, but with prayerful study understanding will begin to surface. A wonderful verse in Revelation is found in chapter 22:6:-
‘And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angels to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.’
As we read in Daniel from chapter seven onwards receiving prophecy concerning the captivity in Babylon, The Messiah and the end times. A couple of verses I found particularly poignant in Daniel chapter 12 v 1:-
‘And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince that standeth for thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even till that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book.’
Then we read in verse 9 – 10:-
‘And he said, go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.’
Is this prophecy for today?
Biblical prophecy is God given and Peter best sums it up in 2 Peter 1 v 19-21:-
‘We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark, place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your heart: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’
 It is so important for us as Christians to accept and believe that which is God given, and the prophetic occurrence of signs and events foretold in the Bible are a testament to His omniscience as they come to fruition and more reason why we must adhere to all prophecy which is still promised.
Christians believe the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Israel, the kings, the building and destruction of the temple, captivity in Babylon and the great promise of the coming of Christ. Then we move onto the New Testament where Christ often refers to the Scriptures (Old Testament) and also reaffirms prophecy as in, Matthew 26 v 54 – 56, and again in, Matthew 27 v 9 – 10, and Christ also foretells His death and resurrection then the destruction of the temple which happened in AD 70, but all the other prophecies made by our Lord, Paul, John and Peter we pay no attention to in fact we ignore. What was our Lord talking about in, Luke 21 v 5 – 28, if this time isn’t upon us right now??? There is so much vital and valuable information covering Israel, the Jews, the throne of David, the great commission and most importantly the chaos this world will be in preceding Christ’s return; which I firmly believe is imminent; all this is virtually ignored, miss-interpreted or of no consequence to the Church of today. May be if many of our churchmen from the very top down were to stand up like the martyrs of old and defend the Word of God by telling the whole truth of the Bible then we definitely wouldn’t be involved in this shocking devilish system we’re experiencing today! I read in 2 Timothy 3 v 1 – 5, exactly what is happening right now, and if it isn’t bad enough the thing that really sticks in my throat is ‘having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof’ – Yes, DENYING the power of God. ‘Take note you leaders for dare I say, Ezekiel 3 v 16 – 21, comes to mind and ‘if the cap fits you certainly won’t want to be caught wearing it when standing in front of our Lord!’
Understanding the past is a lesson for today and preparation for the future. Yes, our Christian duty is to serve the Lord daily, to show a Christian example to all around us and to reach out to others who know not of the love of our Lord; but that is not all. We don’t know of the powers of evil in this world only the Lord knows and only the Lord can protect us and prepare us for what lies ahead and what we must endure. God gives us an insight into what to expect and what we must do in the times of trouble and temptation, this preparation is not only for the present day it is also for the future so it doesn’t come upon us with total shock and surprise.
As the future unravels itself before our very eyes the experience is ours to behold, we are involved, but how we manage our circumstances depends on our faith in the Lord. That Christian ‘suit of armour’ Paul tells us about in Ephesians is going to take a fair old battering but it’s not going to fall to bits, it’s there to protect us, and it will.
Prophecy is there to prepare us for the dark days that lie ahead and the glorious days that will follow thereafter. As they say, ‘forewarned is forearmed’. You could say it’s a sequence of events that are gradually being played out before the final curtain comes down.
The Bible makes it clear what that sequence is.
The Bible makes it clear who the chief protagonists are.
The Bible makes it clear what to expect.
The Bible makes it clear what is expected of us.
The Bible makes it clear what the outcomes will be.
Prophecy isn’t constrained within any specific time period, this can vary depending upon the nature and circumstance of what is happening and what will happen and the resulting factors and when this will be as so often demonstrated in the Bible these periods could be tomorrow or in six months, 15 years, 40 years, 70 years 1,000 years etc.
Prophecy does not change, we can’t look back and say, ‘well they made a mistake, they got it wrong and times have changed so let’s move on, just grin and bear it!’ Of course times have changed, that’s the whole idea about prophecy, are we ever going to learn and take it seriously, because if we don’t, we’re in big trouble!
I believe the Bible is saying to us right now in this present dilemma as we witness the chaos, confusion, violence and suffering the world is experiencing that the time is nearly up, everything is set in place and the return of the Lord is imminent!
The Lord could well say, ‘I told you so and you wouldn’t believe me.’
 But He won’t because He loves us and cares for us. We are human and with that comes all the frailties of mere mortals that’s why He prepares us for what is to come and what we must do. Through prophecy our faith can become stronger, and others may also come to believe. What a powerful combination: prophecy- fruition- belief. It sounds so easy to say, but we are living in the world where the Devil is the temporary master and all Christians are at the top of his destruction list. When it comes to confronting Christians; the Devil’s mode of attack is wrapped up in confusion, doubt, disbelief, lies and misinformation and these are but a few of the tactics he will use to derail our trust in the Lord and unfortunately many so called Christians will fall by the wayside because their faith and trust is not built on the Rock of Christ. So be prepared.
Prophecy is not for our convenience but a proof to what has happened in the past 3,000 years and this is played out when we start to examine the Bible and what the Bible is telling us. More to the point we should be prayerfully studying God’s word and accepting in faith that which is still to be revealed- to put it in the words of Ronald Reagan, ‘you ain’t seen nothing yet’; because yet is virtually upon us. I guess we can all shrug our shoulders and say, ‘what will be, will be’, just lay back and think of England. So come on we’ve got to get real here, wake up and smell the coffee, we can’t be caught wanting, for it’s our duty to be ready, it may not all be pleasant reading but the Bible is making it clear to us what’s to be expected…it’s called Prophecy, so believe it!
I’m not attempting to scare monger; No, I’m a positive person full of life, and accepting the realities of life by taking strength and encouragement from what the Bible tells me. I have to be humble as a servant of our Lord, accepting His love in my heart and reflecting that love to all around me. Yes, I stand before the Lord in filthy rags (that’s the best I deserve) but when He expects me to do His will, I must obey. I live in the now as a Christian and He prepares me for the future to step out into the unknown with faith, so let us not think we are entering a dark void where we can only play guessing games because, we aren’t; through faith we believe, and prophecy is part of that belief and being aware makes us prepared for what lies ahead.
Life is a challenge set out before us so grasp it and live it – there will be trials and tribulations, happy and sad times, but we’re not alone because the Lord is constantly with us; supporting us and sometimes carrying us, because He is our Loving Heavenly Father and our Dear Friend.
In our Lord’s words the greatest prophet of them all was John the Baptist. He was sent by God to prepare Israel and the world for Christ, and we read in John chapter 1 v 10 – 12:
‘He (Christ) was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.’
 The Lord gives:-
Unconditional Love – Trust – Belief – Prophesy- Faith
:- Christians receive
