“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:19-21, ESV)
Peter
Several times while teaching on the subject of prophecy, I have been asked am I ready? Knowing where this conversation is typically heading, my usual retort is “for what?” Depending on the person they usually reply with either, “For Jesus to return” or “For the Rapture.” Then before I answer, I ask them if they are ready. Most of the time their response is ‘yes’, which then leads to my next question of how are they ready. Sadly, many have told me that they are either doing nothing or that they are just waiting. That is not the purpose of prophecy, especially end-times prophecy. We are not called to sit and wait!
The title of this book “Everything a Christian Should Know About Prophecy,” is not a proclamation that I know everything about prophecy (quite the opposite), nor am I pretending to know what every believer should know on the subject. The purpose is to heighten the importance and awareness of prophecy for believers to help them see that God is very real, that He indeed has a plan for their salvation, and that they all have a role in their lives to benefit His kingdom.
In what is commonly referred to as the “Great Commission,” Jesus tells all believers to “Go!” That after accepting Jesus as our Savior, every Christian is told in this ‘commission’ to be proactive in being ambassadors for Him and His kingdom. Jesus did all the work for our salvation, there is nothing more required from us to be saved other than accepting the gift. Which, in the simplest of terms means, our focus and priority in life is on doing what Jesus tells us to do, to obey Him and serve others, helping others find Jesus too. Regardless of what is going on in the world or what seems to be ‘prophecy’ coming to life around us, that job never ends until we are with Him in heaven.
God loves us so much that He gave us His Word (the Bible) to reveal who He is and to see that He plans to restore creation to the beauty and pureness it was intended to be (including humanity). Jesus once told several Jews listening to Him, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (John 5:39) The Bible clearly points to Jesus and His ‘mission’ of salvation, leading to the last book identified as the revealing of Jesus (also known as the book of Revelation), which tells us what to look forward to. Since the book of Revelation indeed revels Jesus and is also critical to understand Biblical end-time prophecy, this book includes an expositional study of that book.
Know, Grow, and Go In His Name,
Dave Heywood
Rediscover the Bible Ministries, Inc.
Everything a Christian Should Know About Prophecy (Including a Commentary on the Book of Revelation) © 2024 by David A. Heywood. All rights reserved.
Verses marked ESV, Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2016 Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
Verses marked GW or God’s Word are taken from GOD’S WORD. Copyright © 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved worldwide.
Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Verses marked The Message are taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 19996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
All sections and chapter of this book were written using the following reverse interlinears as the primary source of the original Scriptural texts:
Old Testament
McDaniel, C. (2009). The English-Hebrew Reverse Interlinear Old Testament English Standard Version. Lexham Press. This reverse interlinear aligns the ESV Old Testament with the Lexham Hebrew Bible. Copyright 2009 Lexham Press.
New Testament
Schwandt, J. (2009). The English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament English Standard Version. Lexham Press. This reverse interlinear aligns with the ESV New Testament with the SBL Greek New Testament. Copyright 2009 Lexham Press.
What Makes the Bible Different?
In Search of the Proper Interpretation of Prophecy
Prediction Verses Confirmation
Chapter Two - The Prophets of the Bible
The People God Chose to Be Prophets
Chapter Three - Primary Subjects of Prophecy
A People Group Known as the Hebrews
The Body of Christ - The Church
After the End Times - Eternity
Chapter Four - An Examination of the End Times
Other End-Times Prophecies from Jesus
Introduction · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14
15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22
Chapter Six - Probable Timeline