Pastor Frank DeFusco
The first reason for why prophecy matters, is found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. That all scripture (including prophecy) is inspired by God, profitable for doctrine, tests us, corrects us, and instructs us how to live righteously; perfects us and equips us thoroughly unto all good works. Paul then goes on to say in 2 Timothy 4, that when Jesus returns, He shall judge both the living and the dead, thus it is extremely important for us to immediately preach the “whole Word.” Secondly, 27-30% of the Bible contains prophecy, which means that by not teaching prophecy, close to one-third of what scripture teaches, becomes unprofitable for doctrine, for testing, for correction, for instruction, and for equipping us to good works. This will then lead people to deny sound doctrine, to follow their own lusts, aided and abetted by false teachers, who turn the truth of God’s Word into fables. We are now living in that age of deception, where many teachers skip over, or purposely avoid exploring the prophecies set forth in the Bible, and for various reasons. One major reason is that several schools of theology graduate future pastors and ministers of God’s Word, receiving doctoral degrees costing them six figures, without having offered them Eschatology courses: that being the study of Biblical prophecy and “end times” events.
Our Lord, Jesus, considered prophecy to be so important, that on the day of His resurrection, He spent time walking with some of the disciples that had spent up to three years of their lives following Him. He found them sad and defeated, suffering from heartache, as they traveled from the holy city of Jerusalem to Emmaus. Though they didn’t recognize Him at that moment, Jesus went on to teach them all the prophecies that spoke of Him: that He must suffer and die but was then to be glorified. So, starting with Moses, most likely in Genesis 3 verse 15, we find the first prophecy that reveals God’s plan for mankind’s salvation which was later revealed in His Son, Jesus. Then, after accepting their invitation to dine with them, He broke bread with them, and their eyes were opened, as He revealed Himself to them. Then their hearts were filled with such overwhelming, burning joy, they raced back to Jerusalem with the good news.
So, we have a choice to make. We can go through the scriptures, only to skip or avoid the prophecies, which many refer to as the “meat” of scripture, and end up travelling the sorrowful, defeatist’s road to Emmaus. Or, choose to proclaim the whole body of scripture, especially that from God’s prophetic Word, thus inspired, and equipped with hinds’ feet, we instantly leave defeated Emmaus for victorious Jerusalem filled with a heart burning with joy, with promise, and victory loudly and proudly proclaiming to all the Gospel of peace, that indeed, Christ is risen! All who seek answers are welcome to our Tuesday Bible lessons, taught as an “Apologetic.” Grace and peace!
Pastor Frank teaches Bible Study on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. in the Pima/Toltec rooms in the Sports Club building. Call Ellen at 610-428-7244 for any questions.