Predictions Are Educated Guesses; Prophecies Are God-Given Certainties

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(20) Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. (21) For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.’ (2 Peter 1:20-21); ‘Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.’ (Amos 3:7); ‘(15) <Jesus warned His followers in His Sermon on the Mount,> “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves… (20) Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”’ (Matthew 7:15, 20)

I often provide possible warnings in current events that are occurring in how they could play out to my Life Group.  Often things do not play out as predicted, though some (like hurricanes) can be pretty predictable in terms of what they bring, due to past experiences.  Loss of power, no gas at the stations, yard debris, and street flooding are usually ‘givens’, with home and car damage and downed trees are possibilities. 

I also provide awareness on world events that could go awry, such as possible escalations of war, episodes internal to the US that could cause civil unrest, and other issues that could cause havoc.  Not all of my ‘warnings’ come to fruition, fortunately.  World War III or Civil War II have not occurred – yet, and prayerfully they do not in our lifetime (or our children’s lifetime).  The possibilities are there, though, and we need to be aware and prepared as the Lord would want us to be.

I am not a prophet by any stretch of the imagination, but more of a prognosticator.  I perceive and predict, based on the data given, but that is not prophecy.  The Lord provided the Old Testament Jews (and us) the prophets who gave the ‘head’s up’ of upcoming events in a form of ‘BE PREPARED, BE AWARE, PLAN ACCORDINGLY’ for those who would listen to the warnings the prophets gave out.  Isaiah gave the prophecies of the coming Messiah; Jeremiah gave the warnings of the impending Babylonian invasion, the fall of Jerusalem, and the exile of the Jews to Babylon.  Nathan gave David God’s instructions and consequences of David’s actions based on him not coming to God for direction. 

The prophets were God’s messengers to the Old Testament Jews of His plans, to allow those who worshipped Him to be aware and prepare for events that were upcoming.  God did not necessarily provide all the minute details or schedule of what would happen; He gave Noah the insight that He was going to flood the world and to build the Ark, but it is not exactly known the span of time between when the Ark was completed and when the rains came, or where the Ark was going to eventually come aground, for example.  (He did give Noah seven days to get seven (or seven pair, depending on the translation) of each ‘clean’ animal onto the Ark and move in before He would close up the Ark and bring the flood.)

By giving His people a head’s up on events, and things to look to, they were able to prepare themselves physically, mentally, and Spiritually when the signs given in prophecy began to be seen. One had to be in tune with God through their worship of Him to comprehend and understand the signs the prophets gave, to see what was happening was not simply random chance but part of God’s plan unfolding in front of them. 

God did not spare those who listened the despair these events caused; the exile took both the Righteous and the unrighteous away from Judah, but those who could comprehend what was occurring – listening to the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah – likely had a less of a stressful or anxious reaction as they knew this was all going to transpire.  Those of us who have endured previous hurricanes, for example, should know what to expect and while having stress our preparations should have eased that stress. 

The prophecies are to prepare us, not always to protect us.  We have the best of the prophets in New Testament, Jesus Himself.  Through His Word, we know the coming of the End Times will not be pleasant but neither for the Christian should they be surprising.  In the coming of prophecies yet to be fulfilled, we can see in Faith the truth of God’s Word in their fulfillment and the promise of Jesus’ return to reign as the Eternal King. 

Jesus Himself warns us to be on guard against those who spread false prophecies, or to try to prophesize in their own powers.  The false prophets do not ‘prophesize’ or attempt to predict events to warn but to provide lies to achieve a result that is beneficial to them while denying the Truth, often for their own benefit. 

We have many who believe in is good to ‘never let a crisis go to waste’, to create havoc to drive people, in their fear, to react in a way favorable to them but bad for the people as a whole.  The lie against the Jews in Germany created a frenzy of antisemitism that led to World War II, the destruction of much of Europe including Germany itself, and the Holocaust of six million Jews and many millions of others.  The stain of the Holocaust continues to portray Germany as evil even as eighty years has past.

It is one thing to perceive, another to prophesize.  A meteorologist uses tools, education, and experience to provide a weather forecast based on the perceptions of the data given.  While the forecasting of weather has improved, not all are correct.  They are good for making aware possibilities but the caveat that they could be slightly off is understood.  We can see events and provide perceptions, but it must be understood perceptions can have variables that can throw off predictions.  Godly prophecies have no such variables; they are inerrant and will occur as they are stated. 

Like in Noah’s case, we don’t know the details when Jesus will return or exactly what events will lead to a global one-world government and the rise of the Antichrist to usher in the Tribulation.  We do know the signs of End Times, the ‘birthing pains’ that Jesus provided us.  We as Christians should be prepared physically, mentally, and Spiritually for these events as we have the Holy Spirit to provide us what is needed to get us through these events.  Through the Spirit, we also need to aware of false prophecies that will derail our Faith or the ability for others to receive Salvation.  It’s OK to heed the warnings of those who provide predictions, but do not mistake those as prophecies – only God provides prophesies!