I make known the end from the beginning,  from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say: My purpose will stand,  and I will do all that I please. (Isaiah 46:10)

Here’s a question I’m often asked and it’s a good one. If we believe the Rapture will take us away before all the End Times events occur, then why do we need to study prophecy?

There are several good answers to this question. One of the clearest comes from the Olivet Discourse, specifically Matthew 24:15-16. “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel–let the reader understand– then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Even though the Lord was speaking primarily to Israel here, He directed everyone who reads Matthew’s gospel to understand Daniel 9:24-27, a prophecy given to Israel, and the key to understanding End Times prophecy.

Another good reason is that Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians are chock full of End Times prophecy. Every chapter of both letters contains a reference to the 2nd Coming for an average of one every 13 verses. Paul went to such lengths even though it’s pretty clear he had taught them that the rapture would take place before the anti-Christ is revealed.  If the Bible really is the inspired Word of God, why did He have Paul describe events on Earth after the rapture if He didn’t think we needed to know them?

And then there’s the Book of Revelation. John shows the Rapture occurring in chapter 4 but then goes on for another 15 chapters, mostly describing conditions on Earth, before re-introducing the Church in Rev. 19. Same question. Why describe events on Earth after the rapture if He didn’t think we needed to know them?

Some say it’s so those left behind at the Rapture can read Revelation and the Thessalonian letters and find out what’s going on to help them endure the End Times. That may be OK for the middle of Revelation, but John’s book begins and ends with the Church in view, and the Thessalonian letters were written specifically to the Church. For some reason, we’re supposed to know how End Times events unfold.

And Here’s The Best One
And that leads me to what I think is the biggest reason. For that we’ll go first to Isaiah 44:6-8.

This is what the LORD says- Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: “I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come- yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Here is the two-part test for anyone who would be God. Part one: Accurately recall every event of the past. Part two: Accurately predict every event of the future. Of all the so-called holy writings, only the Bible answers this challenge. Other “gods” require that you take them at face value, offering neither evidence of their existence, nor proof of their trustworthiness. But ours says, “I’ll prove that I’m real and that you should trust me.”  He tells us our past (sometimes as personally as Jesus did with the woman at the well in John 4:17-18) and gives us detail about the future that only someone who has already seen it can know. “I make known the end from the beginning,” He proclaims, “From ancient times, what is still to come.” (Isaiah 46:10)  He’s chosen this way to authenticate Himself to us because He’s the only One who can do it and be right every time.

This is so we need never be in the position of having zeal without knowledge, (Prov. 19:2) believing passionately but unable to defend our position. When we share the Gospel with someone, and they respond with, “That’s just something you believe,” it’s good to be able to justify our beliefs with a summary of God’s 4000-year track record for truth-telling (the Old Testament) and to explain that someone who’s been that truthful about the past is likely to also be truthful about the future (the New Testament).

Some Personal Experience
When I was a kid in upstate New York, nearly every family went to church on Sunday and ours was no different.  We belonged to one of the main line denominational congregations in town.  With a few lapses here and there, this habit carried me into adulthood and though I lived in several different places, on most Sunday mornings you could find me in the local version of that same denominational church.  But then,  two important but unrelated pieces of information came to my attention at about the same time.

The first was from a man who was one of the most influential public speakers of his time and a life long student of human behavior.  We happened to share one evening together and over dinner he asked, “Did you know that if you were to devote just one hour each day to the study of any subject that interests you, within 5 years you could be one of the world’s leading experts on that subject.”

The other piece of information came in the form of 3 cassette tapes that were given to me by a friend.  It was a series on Bible Prophecy, a compilation of research done over the years by various scholars.  Its purpose was to demonstrate that through out the 4,000 years of the Old Testament God had maintained a perfect record of predicting the future to Israel.  No matter what set of standards you apply, statistical analysis, rules of evidence, forensic science or whatever, you’ll find that this could not have happened by chance.  It could only have been done by someone who can see the end from the beginning, an ability unique to God.

I decided to apply the action step from the first piece of information to the subject matter of the second.  Over the next several years I spent hours every day learning all I could about Bible Prophecy. In addition to studying the Bible, I read every view by nearly every respected scholar before forming my own opinion that the pre-trib, pre-millennial view is the one most consistent with a strict literal, historical, grammatical interpretation of Scripture.

If What You Believe Doesn’t Result In Action …
Even though I’ve spent a lot more than one hour a day for a lot longer than 5 years, I don’t claim to be a leading expert on prophecy.  But as I studied, the logic of God’s claim from Isaiah 44:6-8 became indisputable. The history of Israel is replete with events first predicted and then performed with faultless accuracy.   And when it came to the Messiah, over 300 specific prophecies, given over a span of several thousand years, were fulfilled in detail within one generation, the one in which He lived.   And so after nearly 40 years of sitting in church every Sunday, I finally opened my Bible and became born again.  I also became convinced that through the study of prophecy He can prove Himself to any reasonable person beyond a shadow of doubt. That’s when I began teaching what I was learning.

No rush of emotion for me, no gushing of tears while I stumbled blindly down the sawdust trail as a choir sang “Just as I am,” but a dead certainty that God has to be Who He says He is, He has to have done what He said He did, and the Bible has to be His inerrant Word.  I called it a rush of logic, but the certainty I felt drove me every bit as humbly to the foot of the cross as a teary eyed confession would have, and yet it gave me a staying power that’s often missing in more emotional conversions.  I knew what I believed and why I believed it and could explain it clearly to anyone who cared to listen.

As often happens to people who undertake a serious study of prophecy, I concluded that if the 40% of the Bible that’s prophecy can be trusted then the rest of it can be trusted as well, so I began studying it too.  I discovered that God made a whole bunch of promises to us, such as His promises to see us through the tough times we can now see coming, and to take us to be with Him before He judges the world.  These promises have more meaning because they’re backed up by His proven track record in prophecy.

If you’re not every bit as certain as I am about God, then try a study in prophecy. I bet it’ll galvanize you into action just as it did me, especially as you begin to understand how little time is left. And even if you’re already sure you know who God is, you still have a great reason to study prophecy.  But it’s not just so you’ll be better informed about what’s coming.  It’s so you’ll feel the urgency to tell your friends about it while there’s still time.  Because if you listen carefully, you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

Birth of a Tradition
Abraham was getting old and Sarah had died, so he sent his chief servant to the land of his brother to get a wife for Isaac. The servant loaded up 10 camels with gifts and set off. After some time he arrived in the village of Abraham’s brother Nahor. Approaching a young woman near a well, he asked for a drink, in accordance with a plan he had devised with the Lord.  When she offered to draw water for his camels as well, he recognized the confirming sign he had asked for and accompanied her to her home.

That evening he asked her family for permission to take the young woman, whose name was Rebekah, back home to be the bride of his master’s son Isaac. Using the gifts to reward her and compensate the family for the loss of their daughter, he said he wanted to leave immediately. When Rebekah’s father turned to her for final approval, she agreed and they set off the next morning. After several days travel during which the servant told her all about her betrothed, they arrived at Isaac’s home where she met him for the first time.  That very evening Isaac and Rebekah were married.

That’s The Way It Goes
Members of royalty often followed a procedure very similar to this in obtaining brides for their sons, sometimes arranging them years in advance of the actual event. Common people also adopted this method, but of course with them the prospective groom acted on his own behalf rather than sending someone in his stead.

Even today in some Middle Eastern cultures arranged marriages are common, with the groom’s mother selecting a bride for her son. The logic here is that a young man’s mother knows her son and his temperament better than anyone and can most accurately predict what kind of woman would please him. On one of our trips to Israel and Jordan, our Jordanian guide told us that his marriage had been arranged in this way and he was very happy with his mother’s selection.

Back To Biblical Times
In those days when a man took a liking to a young woman, he approached her father to ask for her hand in marriage.  Due to the prevailing economic conditions back then,  it took a long time for a man to become financially stable enough to think about starting a family.  When he did, he looked for a bride young enough to bear him many children.  So while the man in these cases could be in his thirties, the potential bride would often still be a teenager and would need her father’s permission to marry.

Inviting the man into their home, the young woman’s parents sat down with him around a table while she brought wine and four cups. After she had poured each of them (but not herself) a cup of wine, she listened while this man, who she was meeting for the very first time, described his assets, skills and other qualities that made him a desirable mate. A brief negotiation followed where the price he would have to pay as compensation for the family’s loss of their daughter was determined. It was called the bride price.

If the two men reached an agreeable amount all eyes turned to the daughter who had been listening intently to the entire discussion. She now had to decide if she would take this man to be her husband. If she turned her empty cup upside down, the man went away never to return. But if she filled her cup and took a sip of the wine, she was agreeing to become his wife.

At that point they signed a betrothal agreement, wherein the man promised on oath to return for the young woman when all the wedding preparations were complete. Now they were officially engaged and the relationship could only be terminated by a divorce.  He went away to build a home for them on family property next to his father’s house. This could take some time, and the couple rarely met again until the father of the groom pronounced the newly built home fit for habitation.  Only then was the wedding date set, and the man given permission by his father to go collect his bride for the wedding.

During this time the young woman was to watch and wait at her parents’ home. She and her bridesmaids had to maintain a constant state of preparedness, since the wedding date would not be revealed to her until the bridegroom actually appeared at her door to take her to their new home.

Surprise, Surprise
For his part, the groom would try to show up unexpectedly to surprise her, carrying her off suddenly “like a thief in the night” when no one would see them. The only advance warning she would get was the sound of his voice shouting her name and the blast of a ram’s horn.

When the bridesmaids discovered that the bride had been “spirited away” they would organize a great torch-lit procession, going throughout the whole town announcing that the wedding banquet was soon to begin. The banquet typically capped off a seven-day celebration during which the bride and groom were hidden away in their private rooms while the whole town made merry. Then they reappeared at the banquet to receive the congratulations of their friends and family, and their married life officially began.  The father of the groom picked up the tab for all the festivities.

Maybe you’re beginning to see the similarities. The Lord Jesus, being royalty, does not come directly seeking His bride. His Father sends an unnamed servant on His behalf, just like Abraham did. This servant of course is the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, Who beckons us.  Interestingly, the name of Abraham’s servant was Eliezer, which translates “God is my Comforter.” And even more so, in Genesis 24 Eliezer’s name is never mentioned, as if he’s serving as a model of the Holy Spirit, Whose name is also withheld from us.

The role of the Holy Spirit is to extol the virtues of the Son of God, Who when told that the Bride price was nothing less than His own shed blood, agreed to die for us, and for the joy set before Him endured the cross. (Hebr. 12:2).  His last word from the cross, recorded in John 19:30, was tetelesti, a Greek word that’s been translated “It is finished.”  In the Lord’s time it was a legal term that literally meant, “Paid in full”,  It was written across paid invoices and prison documents upon release of prisoners who had served their full terms, and had therefore paid their debt to society. With His death Jesus paid the price in full for His bride.

Who Loves You?
At the Last Supper Jesus had hoisted His cup and said,  “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor. 11:25).  When we first “take the cup” we’re signifying that we’re officially betrothed,  and we’re rewarded with gifts from the Holy Spirit, Who is sealed within us as a guarantee of our inheritance (Ephe. 1:13-14). We then begin our journey, the balance of our life on Earth, while the Holy Spirit continues to teach us about our betrothed and helps us develop  behavioral standards that are pleasing to Him.

As He does, we learn to our utter amazement that we have always been our Lord’s consuming desire,

That He lived so that we might come into existence and be set apart,

That He has longed for us to know how much He loves us,

That His every word and action were designed to bring us honor and express His devotion to us,

That He has dedicated Himself to us and covered all of our imperfections with His love, and

That He gave His life for us.

For His part the Lord is even now building a house for us. “You trust in God; trust also in me,“ He said. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3) He has sworn on oath to return for us when the wedding preparations are complete and take us to His Father’s house, to the place He’s been preparing for us.

Soon And Very Soon
One day when we least expect it, He’ll come like a thief in the night and spirit us away to our new home.  For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so will we be with the Lord forever. (1 Thes. 4:16-17).

In Heaven  the King and His Bride will be hidden away in our rooms, while on Earth the last seven years of human history unfold. (Isa. 26:19-20) At the end, following the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9), we’ll return to Earth together to rule and reign for 1000 years, and then it’s off to our eternal life with Him.  Praise the Lord.