Why Study Prophecy? A 6-Day Study by Dr. Tony EvansSample

When you go to a movie theater, the first twenty minutes will be spent viewing previews of upcoming attractions. These include the hot clips of what’s to come. At the end of each preview, you will often see the month or the year that the new show will air. Sometimes, though, you will only see “Coming soon.”

Studying prophecy can be a lot like previews of upcoming attractions. We aren’t given the whole show, but we do get glimpses into the highlights. Sometimes prophecy gives an exact date, like in the case of Daniel’s dream interpretation, but most of the time it just says, “Coming soon.” One thing that is always consistent is that prophecy involves the study of the future. It lifts our thoughts from the midst of the ticking clock of time and allows us to peek into the future.

Tomorrow is as real to God as today or yesterday because God is an eternal Being. God is not bound by time like we are. In fact, time designations have no meaning to Him. That’s why God identified Himself to Moses as the great “I AM” (Ex. 3:14). He is forever in the present tense, the now.

But because the eternal God has chosen to unfurl His plan for creation in time, prophecy—the study of future things—is very important.

Most of us have a natural desire to know the future, to try to find out what tomorrow will bring. That’s why so many people turn to psychics or horoscopes. The people who sell you supposed knowledge on the future are preying on people’s desire to put together the jigsaw puzzle of life, whether it’s the collective history of a nation or an individual life. People want to know how things are going to unfold.

As we start our study of the wonderful and complex revelation of God concerning prophecy, I want to help you see how important prophecy is. The last chapter of the Bible says:

I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. (Rev. 22:18–19)

Prophecy is very serious business with God. Mess with His prophetic Word, and it will mess you up as well. God’s prophetic message is so important that He announced a curse on anyone who tampers with it.

Let me say right up front that I know everybody does not agree on every interpretation of God’s prophetic program. There are various views within the Christian community about exactly when Jesus will come back and the shape His kingdom will take. But these varieties of interpretations, if they remain within the sphere of orthodoxy, do not have to hamper us from gaining a broad understanding of what God has in store for His people.

So let’s get started on this fascinating, awe-inspiring subject by considering the importance of prophecy.