Bible and Prophecy

I was inspired to begin writing a series for teens with a Christian worldview, one that would spark their interest in Biblical prophecy as well as encourage endurance and perseverance. In the House of Heaventree series, readers will see references to Scripture and to prophetic details, however, this being a work of fiction, the details are used merely as hints to prophecy. My hope is that readers will want to know more and will begin their own quest in searching the Scriptures for truth.

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I was teaching visual arts in a private Christian school in 2014 when I noticed how easily my students gave up. They didn't push through difficult things. As a believer and reader of God's Word, the Bible, I knew they would be called to perseverance and endurance through faith. It was then I decided to write a book for them, my students. I wrote Book 1 of the series, The Firstborn, but it remained unpublished until 2020. Just before the nation entered into lockdown, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and began treatment. (Today I am cancer free!) I picked up The Firstborn I had set aside years ago. It spoke to me. Endurance, facing hard things. And so I gave it away as an ebook online. Then I turned it into paperback.

Book 2, The Virus, was planned back in 2014. I’m no prophet, but I am fascinated by prophecy. Interestingly, I had titled Book 2 before anyone knew of the coming pandemic. Although the book doesn’t touch on an actual virus, it does explore the things I see spreading around me–specifically, fear, division and mistrust. The greatest risk I see to Christians everywhere is not the external battles waged but the internal ones that cause us to compromise our integrity and witness for Christ.

First things first. Biblical prophecy is not something to be afraid of. I used to feel afraid reading the imagery of the book of Revelation, so I would close it and ignore those parts. At some point I watched a video Bible study by Beth Moore on the book of Revelation. The way she described it helped me to understand a few basics. My fear was subsiding. I also had a writer friend who was brilliant and part of MENSA. He had written a book called Biblical Prophecy and the End Times and asked me to do the cover
illustration for it. This required a bit of reading and some understanding of what I was drawing.

Over time I began to learn the different approaches to studying prophecy…that some prophecies pertain to the past, some to the present, and some, to the future. I began to read the prophetic books in the Bible and see how many commonalities they have. For one, many of them, messianic prophecies, point directly to Jesus. Seeing Him so clearly foretold in the Old Testament made it all the more interesting and pertinent to me. And seeing the similarities between the Old Testament prophets and the book of Revelation eased the fear right out of me.

Today, I am not an expert or scholar of prophecy, but I am a lifeline student, eager to learn more. I want to know the heart and mind of God and what he has in store for us. His word and those he gave to the prophets have much to teach us about God, about the times we live in, and about ourselves as well. I do know this: as followers of Christ, God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us.

 

My hope is that in learning a bit about biblical prophecy, my readers might find their hope in Christ, understand that they may be called someday to endure trials in His name. Ultimately, an understanding of Biblical prophecy creates an urgency to love our neighbors and to spread the Good News, that God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, and that whoever shall believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Prophets were servants of God, men and women that God chose to speak to and through to His people. They were often mistreated or killed for speaking the truth. In Revelation 10:7, it reads, “There will be no more delay, but in the days when the seventh angel is to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, as he announced to his servants, the prophets.”
But there were also false prophets or people who claimed to speak a word of God without his Holy Spirit.
 

Jesus warns us about false prophets in the end times. In Matthew 24:24 Jesus says, “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” He also says in Matthew 24:36 that no one knows when the end is coming, so do not believe those who claim to know a date of the end. “About that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
 

Are we living in the end times? We’re certainly closer to Christ’s return than we’ve ever been. In educating ourselves in what God’s Word truly says about end times, we can be vigilant not to fall for false prophets who were there in the Old Testament, are here again now and will be in the future.