THE FOCUS OF BIBLICAL PROPHECY

At the beginning of the pandemic a charismatic teacher prophetically claimed to blow away the scourge of the coronavirus. He illustrated it by blowing the seeds off of a dandelion with a single breath. It has proven to be a SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW blow! In other words, it was a FALSE prophecy. Just another false prophet blowing in the wind. The NATURE of what passes for prophecy today is consistently contrary to the nature of what the Bible presents as true valid prophecy.

What is prophecy? A. Direct revelation from God: “Thus saith the LORD”. There are two aspects of Biblical prophecy: a. Forthtelling (Declaration from God), and
b. Foretelling (Prediction from God).

When it comes to Biblical prophecy the Bible needs to be read comprehensively instead of just selectively picking out a verse here and a verse there with no consideration of the greater context. When it comes to prophecy, we don’t find it being given out willy nilly. Consistently it fits into a progressive BIG SCHEME of things in terms of God’s redemptive plan for history. Where did we ever get the idea that prophecy is about me and my little plans that center in me? That completely misses the thrust of Biblical prophecy.

There is what I call the HUB of Biblical prophecy, the spokes, and then the wheel. The HUB is the central part on which everything turns. It is the catalyst around which everything revolves. The great core HUB of all Biblical prophecy is Jesus Christ. He is the most central player in all of prophecy. After His resurrection Jesus beginning at Moses and all the OT prophets expounded to the two disciples on the Emmaus Road “in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (cf. Lk. 24:27). Jesus connected all the prophetic dots showing that they connect ultimately to Him and find fulfillment in Him.

Revelation 19:10 (ESV)
10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The purpose and nature of prophecy is to testify of Christ. The “spirit” of essentially all prophecy ultimately points to Christ. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. It is all about Him! Thus, Jesus is the central HUB in all of Biblical prophecy. In the main, the core message of the OT prophets can pretty well be boiled down to two things: 1) A call to repentance; and 2) The prediction of a coming Messiah. John the Baptist summed it up well in his time of questioning when he said to Jesus: “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Lk. 7:19-20). This was the bulk of OT prophecy – it looked forward to this COMING ONE.

Closely related to Christ (the innermost hub) is the next layer of the hub which is Israel. And then on the outer layer of the prophetic hub is the subject of the nations. Finally, rounding out the hub of Biblical prophecy is that which was not even seen in the OT, which is prophetic truth related to the Church. So, this is the GREAT HUB of Bible prophecy: The Messiah, Israel, the Nations, and the Church. This is essentially what dominates as Biblical prophecy.

Allow me to flesh out this illustration a bit. Connected to the HUB are the spokes which make up the various specific strands of Bible prophecy. The wheel itself is the fulfillment of these prophecies on which history turns. It is the realm in which it is carried out in redemptive history.

The reason Israel is such a central player is because of her close part in relation to the Messiah. The reason the various specific nations are significant in prophecy is because of how they relate to Israel in the outworking of God’s plan. And the way the Church fits in is because of how it relates to Israel and her rejection of the Messiah. So, note the HUB of prophecy on which the wheel of history turns is all vitally connected. This is really not about our story, but rather about God’s story. And it is a story for the ages. It is a story for all eternity.

Prophecy in the Bible does not stand alone! It builds, connects, and intersects with the BIGGER STORY that God is telling. Consistently the essence of prophecy was NOT merely about “self” and personal direction for someone’s individual life. It was consistently about the BIGGER picture. New Testament prophecy may have been personal at times, but it was never merely personal – but rather had in view a larger BODY life perspective (cf. Acts 11:28-29; 13:1-2). Paul had incredible amounts of revelation given to him, but it was bigger than him. It consistently had application for the entire Church.

The apostles had a WHOLE Church or what we might call a UNIVERSAL Church ministry. Before NT revelation was complete God gave prophets to the various local churches who helped give out prophetic truth related to the Church. Again, this ministry was not merely about personal direction for individuals but had the HUB of Church truth consistently in view. God gave ALL prophetic New Testament truth through the apostles and their close associates the prophets. Jesus told the apostles that the Spirit would guide them "into ALL the truth" (Jn. 16:13). He did! The Church is built upon the revelatory FOUNDATION given through the apostles and their contemporaries - the prophets (Eph. 2:20; 3:5-6).

Once we understand the emphasis of Scripture it will keep us from thinking that God is going to give me a personal prophecy about who I should marry or what my next job will be. God does providentially guide us, He does open and close doors; but prophecy in the Bible consistently has a very narrow HUB as I have described. It's not all about ME! Rather it's ALL ABOUT HIM! Worship God! ” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.