PROPHECY 101

                                                         MATTHEW 24                                                                Pastor Rick Jackson

 

I. THREE KINDS OF PROPHECY

1. Preceptive Prophecy- the proclaiming of the precepts of God- also known as "forth telling" [Neh. 9:14, Ps. 119:4, Jer. 35:14-19]

             - The man that preaches the precepts of God is a prophet in this broad sense even today.
 

2. Predictive Prophecy- the kind we generally think of when we hear the word “prophecy”-  also known as "foretelling" 2 types=

-Fulfilled prophecy-that which has already come to fruition [Is. 7:14, Mic. 5:2] It is a great testimony to the divine authorship of the Bible [Is. 46:9-10]

-Unfulfilled Prophecy- that which awaits fulfillment [2 Pet. 3:1-13]

3. Presumptuous Prophecy- not given by divine enablement but claimed to have been - also known as "false telling" [Deuteronomy 18:18-22]

 

II. THREE PRINCIPLES CONCERNING MT. 24

There are 3 king discourses given by Jesus in Mt. (1) The Principles of the Kingdom [Mt. 5-7], (2) The Parables of the Kingdom [Mt. 13], and (3) The Prophecies of the King [Mt. 24]. When we look at Mt. 24 we need to remember 3 things.

1. We are not looking for signs- We are looking for the Saviour [Titus 2:13]

2. The Rapture is Imminent- it could happen any moment [1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Th. 4:13-18]

3. The signs in Mt. 24 are Tribulation signs for Tribulation saints. They only hint to us.

We may see trends leading to the end but the signs are not for us now.

 

III. FOUR SIGNS OF THE END [24:1-3]

1. The Misleading Sign [v. 4-5, 11, 24] –unusual deceptions associated with religions and the name of Christ

               Since 1950 more than a score [Jim Jones, David Koresh, Sun Myung Moon, some politicians called Savior]

2. The Military Sign [v. 6-7] –in just the first 30 years after WW2 there were over 150 wars with over 25 million slain.

               There will be no peace until THE Prince of Peace comes [1 Th. 5:3]

3. The Moral Sign [v. 12]

4. The Missionary Sign [v. 14, rev. 11, 7, 14] There is only one true Gospel [Gal. 1:6-12] but there are many designations-

THE Gospel of God, the Gospel of Christ, “my Gospel” –Paul, the everlasting Gospel, the Gospel of the kingdom-all the same Gospel but the emphasis will be “the King is coming, get ready, trust Him now [Ps. 2:10-12]