Paul's Passing Thoughts

Regardless of label or stripe, no serious Christian would deny that God’s word is the primary instrument of the Holy Spirit in the sanctification process. Christ himself said: “ Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth [John 17:17].” Furthermore, no serious Christian would deny that the closed cannon as superintended by God is His truth in totality. Now consider the following facts in regard to the above backdrop:

[1] Only 4 books in the Bible [Ruth, Song of Solomon, Philemon, 3John] do not contain predictive information.

[2] There are 31,124 verses of scripture in the Bible; 8,352 Bible verses are predictive.

[3] 28.5% of the Old Testament is predictive; 21.5% of the New Testament is predictive.

[4] The book of Matthew, one of the four accounts of the gospel, has more predictive information than

the book of Revelation [Matt.-278 verses, Rev.- 256 verses].

[5] The book of Zephaniah is 89% predictive; The book of Hebrews is 45% predictive.

It would seem that God wants us to know the future. And since we are sanctified by his truth, predictive truth must play a major role in the sanctification process. To say that’s not where we are at today in our thinking would be a gargantuan understatement. Among evangelicals, end times study[eschatology] is deemed as entertainment and a nice break from the serious teachings that rule our life. In fact, the vast majority of evangelicals heartily agree that eschatology is a “secondary issue.” In the present day biblical counseling culture, eschatology is dead on arrival. Among all biblical counseling programs such as NANC and CCEF, eschatology is seen as completely irrelevant to change. I was even surprised to find that BCF, considered to be more of an in-depth discipleship approach, was also completely void of any end times teaching. The bottom line is really this, if God’s truth sanctifies [and it does] and 25% of it is deemed as “secondary” or irrelevant to change, we have a serious problem on our hands.

Let me drive this point further. The Apostles saw eschatology as extremely important. About half of what Peter taught was predictive. The Apostle Paul became entangled in serious warfare over end-time issues [ 2 Thess. 2:1-15, 1Tim. 1:17-20, 2Tim. 2:15-18]. In his counsel to the Corinthians, a sanctification nightmare, Paul sites future events at least 12 times as an incentive for Godly living [1Cor. 3:12-15, 4:5, 4:8, 6:3, 6:9, 9:24-27, 10:11, 11:23-33, 13:8-13, 15:12-28, 2Cor. 4:14, 5:10-11].

We often bemoan how evangelicals are so worldly focused and unfaithful to the furthering of God’s kingdom. But could it be lack of focus? Do we reflect the same emphasis on prophecy that scripture does? For example, when was the last time you observed a Lord’s Table that had an eschatological perspective? But yet, the ordinance has all kinds of future significance [Luke 22:15-20, Matt. 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, 1Cor. 11:23-26]. If you read the biblical accounts of this ordinance, it’s not about the gospel alone, but also a reminder that Christ will return for his assembly.

Think about it, compare the ho-hum attitude toward prophesy that is prevalent today with that of our Lord. “Weeeell brother, Jesus is coming back, that’s all we need to know.” Oh really? According to Matthew 24:1-3, Jesus uses the disciples enamoration with the temple to incite them to ask about end time prophesy. The major teaching that followed spans 2 chapters. But it is very striking how Jesus includes kingdom living in this discourse. 24:4-36 is what is going to happen. Verses 37-42 is a transition into how the truth of 24:4-36 should effect how we live as kingdom citizens. 24:43-25:46 is the overall description of how the consummation of the ages should effect how we live. Take note of how Jesus describes a final assessment of our lives that we should strive for according to the parable of the talents [verses 14-30]. Also in this same teaching, Jesus emphasizes being ready for his imminent return with the parable of the 10 virgins. Let me ask you a question: Is it important what we believe about the rapture of the Church? What you believe about the rapture of the Church interprets the parable of the 10 virgins as being imminent or non-imminent. Is the imminent aspect of this parable critical to what Jesus is teaching? I think it is.

Many ministries today pride themselves on a strong practical walk that focuses on the finer points of living from the scriptures, while avoiding “controversial and secondary” issues like biblical prophesy. While this may be deemed as wise by many, I don’t buy it. The importance of defined future hope, who we are as kingdom citizens, how we will be evaluated by God in the end, and many other subjects associated with prophecy are critical to present day living. Real hope always depends on a defined future, not something nebulous. Uncertainty is the ally of complacency and fear. If it is in the Scriptures, we need it. If it is in the Scriptures, we can understand it. If it is in the Scriptures, we need to use it.

paul