“We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it,” (2 Peter 1:19)
Why would Peter say that about prophecy? In fact, this is an important question when we consider the topic of end times prophecy.
It’s a message that’s over 2,000 years old. It was originally intended for the early church and speaks directly to prophecy about the end times. Today, it’s one of the most important messages coming out of God’s word.
It concerns something God has repeatedly revealed throughout Scripture: what is coming.
Well before John was given the book of Revelation to record, Peter emphasized the need to read, understand, and be able to interpret and share God’s plan for the future and how He’s going to deal with sin.
You will do well to pay attention to it. Those are Peter’s words—not mine.
But why would Peter place such importance on prophecy?
Why should Christians spend time studying Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Isaiah, the Olivet Discourse, and the other prophetic passages of Scripture?
And if prophetic end-times Scripture is so important, why is it so often neglected?
God Told Us What Is Coming
God wants us to know His plans for us. Look at the world today. Don’t you want to know what’s going to happen next?
He doesn’t tell us everything about the future, but He has revealed far more than many people realize.
Consider what God declared through Isaiah:
“Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 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 46:9-10)
Think about what that means.
God knows the end from the beginning.
Through His prophets, His Son Jesus, and the Apostles He declared all that He is going to do today and in the days to come.
All the words of prophecy that have occurred in the past have happened with precise and perfect accuracy. Shouldn’t that get our attention?
If a human being could accurately predict events centuries before they happened, we’d call it extraordinary.
When God does it, we should call it what it is:
His Word.
Prophecy was never given to us to satisfy our curiosity about what the future holds. It was not given to us to scare us, but to prepare us.
But there is one reason above all others that we should pay attention to prophetic Scripture. I’ll save that one for the end.
End Times Prophecy Cuts Through the Darkness
Peter continues:
“as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19)
At first, that may seem strange. How can prophecy about judgment, tribulation, deception, war, death, and God’s wrath be described as a light shining in a dark place?
Because prophecy doesn’t end with darkness. It ends with Jesus Christ.
Revelation reveals terrible judgments coming upon a rebellious world. But it also reveals the King who comes in the midst of that darkness. The King of kings and Lord of lords. His name is Jesus Christ.
Biblical prophecy doesn’t leave us staring into darkness. It shows us the light that is coming.
End Times Prophecy Reveals What Happens Next
The headlines are heavy. The earth is shaking. Nature is roaring. Deception is increasing. Moral confusion is spreading. Hearts are growing cold, and nations are raging.
And people are asking, “What in the world is going on?” Yet we often look everywhere for answers except the one place that has been telling us the truth all along.
The Bible.
The answers to many of today’s questions about what is happening in the world are addressed in the pages of scripture.
Jesus warned about deception, wars, earthquakes, persecution, lawlessness, and the spiritual conditions that would characterize the days leading toward His return.
Revelation goes even further.
It reveals events surrounding the rise of the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, worldwide economic control, devastating judgments, the return of Christ, the defeat of evil, and ultimately the establishment of God’s kingdom.
God has not told us the secret things but mysteries hav been revealed to us. But He has revealed enough for us to recognize the direction of His prophetic plan.
The only mysteries left are the timing of certain events. Some require an event to take place first. Others, such as the rapture are imminent and could occur before I finish this article.
As Deuteronomy reminds us:
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)
If those things that have been revealed belong to us. Then we should pay attention to them.
Prophecy Points Us To the Promise of Christ
The ultimate purpose of end-times prophecy isn’t simply to tell us what happens next. It points us to Someone.
Jesus Christ.
The prophetic sequence of today’s events points toward the coming rapture of the church, followed by the Tribulation, culminating in the glorious return of Christ to establish His kingdom.
The exact timing of these events remains in God’s hands. But the signs Jesus and the prophets described are not becoming less relevant. They are becoming increasingly recognizable. And they are getting louder by the day. They are not just occurring. They are converging all at once.
The table is being set. The pieces are moving into place. The prophetic stage is being prepared. The red carpet is being roled out for the Antichrist.
And Jesus warned us that these things would happen. The question isn’t whether God’s prophetic Word will come true.
The question is whether we are paying attention as they are coming true.
Prophecy Is God’s Word—Not Man’s
Peter gives us another reason we should take biblical prophecy seriously. It didn’t originate with human imagination.
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)
This is important. We must never assume because prophecy was recorded by men that it originated with them. I did not. It is God’s Word and His Word alone.
That doesn’t mean every prophetic passage is easy to understand. It means we should approach prophetic Scripture with humility, reverence, and a willingness to carefully examine what God has actually said.
Like the Bereans, we should test everything against Scripture.
God Promises a Blessing to Those Who Pay Attention
The last book of the Bible does not begin with a warning telling us to stay away from prophecy, In fact, it does the opposite.
The most prophetic book in all of the Bible, the one that brings all prophetic words together so we can make sense of it all comes with a blessing. Actually, not one blessing but two.
No other book of the Bible offers a blessing at the beginning of the chapter encouraging the reader to read, understand, and discern the times.
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)
Wait! There’s more. God even provides a blessing at the end of the book.
“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” (Revelation 22:7)
One extraordinary book. Two wonderful blessings. What more do we need to spend time in God’s prophetic word so that we can prepare for the days ahead?
Prophetic end times helps us to understand what’s happening next. Anticipate the soon arrival of our Lord and Savior to come and rescue us from the wrath to come. And share the Good News with those around us who are lost.
So Why Should We Pay Attention to Prophecy?
Peter said, “You will do well to pay attention to it.”
Not because prophecy is entertaining. Not because it gives us something interesting to debate or we can use it to predict the date of Christ’s return. And certainly not because we should become obsessed with trying to identify every headline with a verse in Revelation.
We pay attention because God told us to.
Prophetic Scripture gives us light in a dark world. It reminds us that God is still in control and shows us where history is going. He warns us about what is coming and points us toward Jesus.
It also gives us an opportunity to prepare ourselves—and to warn others.
The Most Important Reason
Remember the reason I promised to save until the end?
Here it is.
Prophecy matters because people matter.
There are people all around us who have no idea what the Bible says is coming.
Some are searching for answers desperately and are frightened by what they see happening in the world. Some don’t believe any of it. And some simply aren’t paying attention.
But God’s prophetic Word gives us an opportunity to tell them about Jesus Christ.
The coming judgment is real. But so is the salvation Jesus offers. The wrath to come is real. But so is the promise that those who belong to Christ will be saved and taken from it, not through it.
And the King who is coming in judgment is the same Savior who today extends His hand in mercy.
That’s why prophecy matters.
Not merely because it tells us what is coming. Because it tells us Who is coming. Jesus Christ is coming.
So Peter’s words deserve our attention:
“You will do well to pay attention to it.” (2 Peter 1:19)
Read it. Study it. Test it against Scripture. Take it seriously. And while there is still time, tell someone else.