One-Third Of The Bible Tells Us The Future In Advance

Why God Dedicated Over One-Third Of The Bible To Telling Us The Future In Advance

Jonathan Brentner

The Bible is a book of prophecy. Over one-third of its verses predict the future, with every fulfillment happening with one hundred percent accuracy down to the smallest of details.The Old Testament contains forty-eight specific prophecies related to Jesus’ first coming, which happened precisely as the prophets of old foretold. The odds that one person could fulfill all of them stagger the imagination, and together, they verify that He was truly the promised Messiah, the Christ.

During His earthly ministry, the Lord prepared His disciples for what was coming by repeatedly telling them about His future death and resurrection. In the Upper Room, the Savior again told them what was to happen so as to calm their troubled hearts concerning the news that He would soon leave them. His words on this occasion provide us with a key for understanding the purpose of Bible prophecy: “And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe” (John 14:29).

Although His followers already believed that He was indeed the Christ, the Son of God, He warned them about His arrest, death, and soon departure so they wouldn’t give into doubt but would instead remain confident in spite of what they would see in the coming hours and days.

During that same evening, the Lord also promised His disciples, and us, that He would prepare a place for us in Heaven and take us to His “Father’s house” (John 14:1-3). The apostles later expounded upon this assurance by adding many details about it. They told us He would someday:

• Resurrect the dead in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:47-55; I Thessalonians 4:16).
• Transform living saints into the same immortal and resurrection bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-55; Philippians 3:20-21; Romans 8:23-24; 1 John 3:1-3).
• Catch living believers up to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
• Take His Church to Heaven, to the place He’s preparing for us (John 14:2-3; Colossians 3:4).

Why did Jesus provide us with so many precious promises of our future? He did so for the purpose of providing a means of mutual encouragement among believers (1 Thessalonians 4:18-5:11). While Paul was in Thessalonica, he emphasized future things, perhaps sensing that the Jews living there would persecute the new believers. Amid severe and painful opposition to their faith, the Thessalonians saints remained faithful as they held on to the hope of Jesus’ imminent appearing.

The World We Live In

Amid growing opposition to and, in many cases, persecution for our faith Bible amid daily warnings of nuclear WWIII, prophecy comforts us today in at least two ways. First, it assures us of a glorious future after the end of this life. The pre-Tribulation Rapture is biblically sound and most definitely a very “blessed hope” (Titus 2:11-14) that fills us with joyous anticipation regardless of what we face in this life.

Second, it calms our hearts by assuring us that our world today precisely resembles what Scripture foretold about the last days. The Lord revealed these things long ago so that we might remain confident in our faith as everything falls apart around us. We recognize the buildup to the blasphemous kingdom of the beast and know that regardless of the wait, Jesus is coming for us in the near future.

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