Georgetown Prophecy Conference, 2002
Studies in Prophecy

Why the Confusion?

Question: Why Is the Prophetic Scenario So Confused Today?

Thesis: There are three reasons for the confusion of the prophetic scenario today: the Adversary and his knowledge of the power of prophetic understanding; the world and its understanding of the profitability of marketing prophecy; and the flesh and its willingness to exalt temporal concerns over the pursuit of the knowledge of the Word of God.

Introductory Remarks: I am a pastor by gift and calling, so I am going to take this final session to address some pastoral issues regarding the prophetic word. The canon of divine revelation has been around for 2000 years, give or take a hundred years or so. The Church has been actively involved in her divine mandate for that entire period. Within the pages of the divine revelation to His Church, God has commanded, demanded, insisted, exhorted, summoned, and otherwise attempted to get His people to be people of His Word. So, why is there so much confusion today about biblical prophecy? There are three fundamental reasons. In this last session together, for our edification and encouragement we are going to look into these reasons.

1. I. The Understanding Our Adversary Has.
   1. A. Our adversary knows how unstable is our faith.
   2. B. Our adversary knows the power of inalterably established Truth.
   3. C. Our adversary knows that as long as we do not draw any firm conclusions, we cannot operate by faith.
2. II. The Understanding Our World Has.
   1. A. Our world knows how inordinately curious people are about the future.
   2. B. Our world knows how profitable it is to feed into that curiosity.
   3. C. Our world doesn't care whether the stuff that sells is true and helpful.
3. III. The Understanding Our Flesh Has.
   1. A. Our flesh knows that Christianity is fundamentally a delayed-gratification relationship to a determined and persistently immutable God.
   2. B. Our flesh knows the pleasures of simply blowing off responsibilities toward others in order to immediately gratify us...a bird in the hand is worth two in the bushes.
   3. C. Our flesh knows that the price of fidelity to a delayed-gratification-deity is seriously high and getting higher every day the mystery of iniquity is permitted to develop.
4. IV. The Understanding We Need to Have.
   1. A. First, God is absolutely for us.
   2. B. Second, the delayed-gratification issues in our relationship are not absolute...there is a reality to the fruit of the Spirit.
   3. C. Third, the long-term fruit is qualitatively superior to anything that demands to be dominant right this instant.