As a hook, prophecy works well, but as a staple in our spiritual diet, it produces deficiencies in spiritual health. These booklets were most often requested by those hearing the radio broadcast or seeing the television broadcast for the first time because the program itself frequently dealt with prophetic subjects. and Britain in Prophecy,' 'The Book of Revelation Unveiled at Last,' 'Who or What Is the Beast?' etc. For years, the Worldwide Church of God's most-requested literature had prophetic themes: 'The U.S. Beyond all this, many prophecy buffs believe that the preponderance of the Bible's predictions will come about soon, heightening the excitement.įor evangelists, prophecy makes a wonderful hook to get people interested in God's Word.

There are enigmatic numbers to ponder and riddles and word plays to solve. It is infused with a sense of mystery and expectation. Its imagery and symbolism are fascinating with its strange beasts, lurid women, armies and battles, plagues and destruction, conquering kings, and even a red dragon. Doctrine is just not very stimulating studying it brings up visions of long and involved passages in dusty commentaries written by long-dead theologians, intricate studies of unpronounceable words in ancient languages, and saccharine devotional passages with little application in the real world. Jones' tenth-grade history class as a collection of names and dates and boring lectures on various monarchs and wars. History, of course, gets short shrift from most, who remember Mrs. The Bible divides itself neatly into thirds: one-third doctrine, one-third history, and one-third prophecy.

With some people, though, prophecy is their Bible study, and that, frankly, is a shame. Bible students know that Scripture is about thirty percent prophecy, and preachers have cautioned that prophecy should take no more than the equivalent percentage of our study time.

Approaching the heart of prophecy