I find it interesting that even though about one third of the Bible is prophetic, the importance of prophecy itself is undervalued by those who say it has no practicable importance.

Somebody gave me a copy of Rick Warren's, "A Purpose Driven Life" for Christmas a couple of years ago. I haven't read it, but I did leaf through it to a passage in the back of the book which talks about prophecy. He wrote I believe, that whenever disciples of Jesus asked him about things prophetic, that the Lord always caused the subject to be changed. Author Rick Warren wrote that Jesus doesn't want believers to be thinking about the prophetic future because it distracts them from the job at hand, God's work.

Revelation 19:10 says that, "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." So, if prophecy is properly taught, I don't see any reason for it to distract the believer's attention from Jesus. If anything, it should only serve to draw attention to the centrality of Jesus, and in point of fact, Jesus devoted a fair amount of sermon and in-depth teaching about things future. He answered His followers questions while they sat and listened to Him on the Mount of Olives. The Mount Olivet Discourse was important enough to Him to see that it was included in three Gospel books, comprising four full chapters. It's in Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

Jesus also gave the Book of Revelation to John, whom God's Word calls, "most beloved." He's in pretty good company. Daniel was also told he was beloved of God. So is the study of prophecy just an impractical, distractive trend in Christian circles? Don't all of the New Testament writers testify to the fact that studying prophecy will motivate holy living? I think that in itself is practical.

The study of prophecy should not be "trendy." It shouldn't be other-worldly or strange if taught properly. Everybody who teaches it isn't Joe Bob Weenie and his cousin Dukie. It can and should be a rich and rewarding area of study for believers and a genuine source of growth in one's walk with the Lord.

Prophecy can be a useful tool for evangelism too. It validates scripture. Fulfilled prophecy is one of the best evidences you can use to show someone that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Phillip used Isaiah 53 to teach the Ethiopian Eunuch that Jesus was Who He was. I witnessed friend of mine discuss it with an unbeliever recently and the man told him, "You've given me a lot to think about." That is real impact.

Prophecy also validates Jesus. In all there are more than three hundred prophecies about his first coming. Every one was literally fulfilled. All of His life was prophesied. Where He was born, how He was born, His ministry, the purpose of His life and ministry and His cruel and agonizing death on the Cross.

God gives us prophetic glimpses of the future to give us a dynamic hope, assuring us that Jesus is coming back, that He will resurrect us to live forever with Him and God the Father. This encourages patient waiting and thus can produce spiritual growth. It should inspire us to live holy lives and enhance the hope we have in Him.

In 2 Tim 3:16-17, Paul states:"16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. "

"All scripture," includes prophetic scripture. It isn't to be ignored if one wants to be "thoroughly equipped for every good work." In 1 Thessalonians 5:20, Paul makes a plea for his readers to treat the prophecies of the Bible with respect, but today some of the loudest scoffers who ridicule the return of the Lord are those who seat themselves in a place of supposed religious scholarship. Look at the type of apostasy being passed off as fact by the Jesus Seminar for instance. When they voted on the words of Jesus in relation to His Second Coming, they voted and agreed that every one of His sayings were bogus, that likely they had all been "made up" by Jesus' disciples. Sure. How do they explain fulfilled prophecy? Same way. They just write it off and inject what they make up.

God's prophetic Word is there for us to feast upon and draw nourishment from for spiritual growth. It shouldn't be ignored, and I don't believe the Lord necessarily wants the subject changed every time someone asks us about it. Psalm 119 is all about how God's Word is designed to bless us spiritually. That includes His prophetic Word. In 2 Peter 1:19, Peter equates the prophetic Word with, " a light that shines in a dark place,".

In 2 Corinthians 2:9, Paul makes essentially the same point when he quotes Isaiah by saying, "no eye had seen, nor ear has heard, nor has the mind of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him. But" he says in the very next verse, "God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God."

The words, "revealed....to us" are in the emphatic position in Greek. This shows us what a great privilege it is for us to be made recipients of things revealed to us by God. I believe that there is a rich treasure of God's revealed truth that has been made available to the mature believer, to grow and enhance our walk with Him.

You don't have to be a "prophecy weirdo" to study prophetic passages. You simply have to apply yourself through prayer, through reading and through putting in the time. I guarantee that it's beneficial it you leave your opinion out of it and like all scriptural studies, let the Bible speak to your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The study of God's prophetic Word does not have to mean constant "speculation" about what a particular unfulfilled prophecy means. It doesn't have to be a distraction from the work of God either. Remember, the best commentary on the Bible is.......the Bible itself. What you can see by the revelation of the Holy Spirit through prayer and study, rejoice in. What God has not chosen to reveal to us at this time, let it wait upon Him.