This purpose of this letter is to answer one simple question. What is prophecy? It is the neglected first question that should be asked when anyone begins the study of prophesy, and especially when anyone begins a book on prophecy. Without a proper definition, it will be impossible for you to have a valid belief about the reason for prophecy and the nature of prophetic events.
It is amazing how the writers of books about prophecy launch into their projects, and never stop to ask this basic first question. It is as if they assume that the understanding of the idea is a given, and that the given knowledge is correct. The end result is that theologians with extensive knowledge about the details of various systems of prophecy have themselves, only a layman’s comprehension of what prophecy actually is.
This is a near fatal weakness. Without the right answer to the basic question, insight into prophetic events is so disjointed that significant new ideas about end times events are virtually unheard of. Even when a writer does take the time to give a definition of prophecy, it is touched on the idea in a cursive explanation, as if the definition is a formality that has to be gotten out of the way, so the writer can continue with the task at hand.
Most all writers consider the seventieth week of Jacob to be the tribulation, and they consider the tribulation to be the center of end times events. Both assumptions exist because of an inadequate definition of prophecy, and both assumptions are wrong.
The heart of the end times is not the tribulation. The heart of the end times is the goal of the end times. The goal of the end times is the purpose of all the events. The goal of the end times is the second coming of Christ.
I have yet to see any definition that gets to the heart of the idea of prophecy. This is catastrophic for reasons you will soon understand. The problem is about to be remedied. If I accomplish my goal, your understanding of prophecy will be transformed, and your whole view of heaven and earth will undergo a change.
Your understanding of the extent of the end times struggle will be transformed. Satan’s goal is to seize the throne of God at Jerusalem. This is because the new definition will enable you to begin seeing the events of prophecy from an eternal perspective, instead of seeing them as seemingly disjointed events, that God has chosen for His own good pleasure to reveal.
If you want to build an understanding of prophecy, the first question must be answered, and it must be answered deep in your heart. If you do not ask and answer the question, you will not be able to lay a real foundation for understanding prophesy.
You will not be able to understand prophecy because you will not understand the reason for the origin of prophecy. You will not be able to understand the greater significance of prophecy.
Prophecy is not the normal way God relates to men or angels. After the events of the fall are brought to a conclusion, and there is a new heaven and a new earth, there will be no more prophecy for all of eternity. God will not use prophecy as a means to relate to His creation after the restoration.
Conquering through violence always involves risk. Unforeseen events can sabotage even the most carefully planned campaign. All battlefields are strewn with accident, and Satan does not want to let the success of his attempt at overthrow rest solely on battle. If Satan can conquer God by a means other than violence, he will. What would be a means to conquer God by other than violence? It is the way men and their organizations are conquered every day. It is the court.
Satan long ago filed charges against God in an attempt to remove Him from His office. Satan’s hardest, and most sustained attack has, and continues to be, in the courts of heaven. If he wins in the courts, he not only wins a military victory, he wins a moral victory. He will proclaim himself legally justified in his rebellion.
If you apply what can be learned from this letter it will change your view of everything. You will first gain a prophetic view of events, then a prophetic view of world history, and progress to a prophetic view of the cosmic. The realm of prophecy is far greater than foretelling discrete future events, it is at the heart of the cosmic struggle.
It is at the heart of all fallen histories, both in heaven and on earth. More than a prophet view of events, even more than a prophetic view of redemptive history. A prophetic view of the spirit of Jesus, for the spirit of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Prophecy is the testimony of a pure and open heart, which is submissive to all that is just. All prophecy was created while God was in submission to the heavenly courts. Prophecy is answers to questions of the adversary, who is the accuser of the Most High God, as well as the brethren.
Prophecy makes God more vulnerable to planned attack by the adversary. Prophecy is an offensive gold mine for the adversary. Satan has no foreknowledge of himself, but by skillful cross-examination he has obtained extensive knowledge of future events that could be key to the success of his rebellion against God.
Satan has obtained extensive intelligence, which is unprecedented in all warfare. He knows the strengths and weaknesses of his enemies forces on a scale never achieved by any intelligence organization. More significantly, he even knows details about future events and future battles that are important to his success.
He laughs at God’s meekness before the bar. Satan reasons that he will use God’s own self-sense of integrity as the means to bring His downfall. Satan reasons, “No king can stand against this level and quality of intelligence work.” Prophecy is Satan’s hope for overcoming God. He believes it has to be God’s weakest point.
Prophecy is the testimony of God. It is His legal testimony given in response to questions ask in the court of heaven. Although God’s motive for giving prophecy is multi-faceted, it is first of all, the product of His submission to the principles of justice and the requirements of His giving testimony to questions presented in the court.
God has given testimony to the future despite the fact that He has reserved certain attributes for Himself—one of those attributes is foreknowledge. With good and wise reasons, God has reserved the knowledge of tomorrow for Himself. The reasons are pure in motive. He is just in not wanting us to have the knowledge of the future.
Yet, while God was honoring the court and in obedient compliance to its requirements, He was interrogated along a path, and in such a way, that key future events in the fallen histories of angels and men were made known, events of great strategic importance for any adversary. Events now know because of the humbleness and holiness of God, but yielding open flanks—even a holy unprotected underbelly—to a viscous adversary.
Three events of human history were at the center of the questioning: Breaking and dispersing Israel, the first coming of Christ, the second coming of Christ. Satan obtained information about the entire generation surrounding each event. God’s open and honest testimony gave Satan unprecedented intelligence with which to attack God. He can attack God on several fronts with the information. These fronts include legal attack, subversive attack, and militarily attack.
In contrast, God is using the testimony as a way of completely vindicating his holy and just motives. In the end, it will be a demonstration of God’s trustworthiness, and the total inability of even the most powerful and scheming to contravene that worthiness. The Father is worthy, because His testimony will stand, and the Lamb is worthy, because he has purchased people with his blood to be God’s own.
At the end, we will all see that God is trustworthy and, just as importantly, His trustworthiness can not be broken. Not even when under the most wicked and sustained attack that could ever be launched. An attack guided by the most intelligent and powerful adversary there ever will be. He is an adversary that has unprecedented inside information, having been God’s closest aid. He is an adversary whose ability and opportunity at espionage will never be matched. He is an adversary who has been able to use the highest courts of heaven to question God and gain extensive information about critical events central for his rebellion.
Satan thinks to himself. “No one could ever withstand such an attack. No leader, no army, and no nation, not even God himself.” He thinks, “God has ‘naively and foolishly’ let me stack the cards so that I can easily break Him. God’s own holiness will be His downfall.”
Satan has formulated an incredibly simple plan for victory. He thinks, “All I have to do is change a scheduled event, and I will have broken God’s testimony.” First, I will work to prevent each event from happening. Second, If I see that circumstances are headed in such a way that I can’t prevent an event, I will try to accelerate the event and have it occur early. If I can’t cause the event to occur ahead of time then I will delay it. If I can’t delay the event I will change the structure of the event so it can’t occur as described in the testimony.
This gives Satan four separate times and methods with which to attack each prophesied event. There are one thousand prophetic events in the Bible. Multiply one thousand by four and all you have to do is succeed in one out of four thousand attacks. Since Satan knows the exact time of many of these events he can challenge the event with multiple attacks.
All in all, Satan will have at least a thousand specific opportunities to break the Lord’s testimony, and he only has to succeed one time. However, this is not all that is on his side. He has the opportunity of centuries and centuries to sidetrack the non-prophesied flow of history. Sidetrack history and the Lord’s testimony will disintegrate. It should be a cakewalk. Satan understands probabilities and he knows how positive the odds are for him and how negative they are for God. If he can’t break God, no one can.
This is why demons would give the appearance of praising God by shouting out to the crowds that Jesus was the Messiah. They were trying to get the people to proclaim the Messiah before the prophesied time. This is also why Jesus would tell the people He healed to not say who He was.
He thinks to himself. This will be my point of victory and everything else will be down hill. Overthrow the testimony and I will even have legal justification for my actions.” But problems are growing for Satan. He was not able to overcome even one prophetic event during Christ’s first trip to earth. A hundred events and five hundred opportunities at breaking the testimony, and he was not able to do it. God’s testimony withstood the assault. It is proving that He is worthy of our eternal allegiance, and that no one else ever will be worthy.
Instead as serving as the downfall for God, prophecy is serving as a testimony of sure hope for the redeemed, and sure judgment for the rebellious ones.
When these events have all taken place, prophecy will be sealed and it will cease. Prophecy will not be exercised in the new heaven and new earth. We will live by faith alone and forever. We will trust in God, without wavering. It will be faith that is holy and pure, and it will sustain us forever.
Prophecy is central to the battle between Satan’s realm and the kingdom of God. Without understanding what prophecy really is you cannot understand the scope of events described by prophecy. The enemy has made exhaustive use of prophecy. It is central to his hope of overthrowing God’s reign.
A true warrior must know the scope of the war he is in. Otherwise, he cannot rightly plan for the battles ahead of him. He will be blind-sided by his enemy and made a victim of ambush. The enemy will run right over him. (Which the enemy is getting ready to do right now.)
You are a Christian living in the last days. Ask God to show you the scope of the spiritual battle that is engulfing heaven and earth. You should know this as clearly as possible. Only then can you be an effective and faithful bondservant and warrior. There is much more behind the events of prophecy than you realize. God wants you to have this knowledge, and He will reveal these things to anyone who is willing to dig and build. But you must dig and build. Now we are ready for the riddle.
We are building a building. It is the building of the knowledge of things. It is the building of the knowledge of spiritual things. We are seeking after the knowledge of the realm of prophecy. First, we must lay the foundation. So we must dig and dig. We must dig until we find the rock on which to set the foundation. What rock are we seeking? It is the rock of the foundation of the realm of prophecy.
We have found a rock. But it is not the rock of the foundation. It is the rock of the mystery of prophecy. The workers have cleaned off the rock, and there is a question written on it. It is a great mystery. Here is the question: What is prophecy?
One of the workers calls out “I know the answer, it’s foretelling.” Another worker responds, “Prophecy is more than foretelling, it is also forth-telling.” One cries out “ It’s history in advance.” Another worker says, “This is true. But prophecy is more than history in advance, it is also a warning of judgment.” Several answers are called out this way, but no one can give the rock bottom answer to the question.
The building inspector arrives at the sight. He checks our work and makes a decision—construction plans are halted. We cannot pour a foundation until the mystery is answered. He wants it answered correctly. We must have the foundation right. He says we have to get the site in much better condition than it is, or we will never get to the answer. So we dig and clean, dig and clean. We cannot build. We cannot build until we have done our job right.
We have found another rock. It is not the foundation rock. It is a rock of the clues. It has a clue written on it, given by the guiding angel. It is the guiding angel who asked, “Do you not see?” The clue reads: “Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
The workers begin asking questions. What does this mean? Does it mean that the testimony of Jesus is the same thing as the spirit of prophecy? What is meant by “the testimony of Jesus?” “What is meant by “the spirit of prophecy?” We are told to worship God. Is it because of the testimony of Jesus? Is it because of the spirit of prophecy? So the workers dig and clean, dig and clean.
We have found another rock. It has another clue written on it. This clue is on a rock from a rock. It from the one who is called the rock. Who is he? He is the rock of the apostles. The clue says, “First, you must understand this: No prophecy recorded in scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God.” First, we learned that Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Now we are told that prophecy is from the Holy Spirit. Though this passage is familiar to the workers, questions abound.
There is another rock. It is the third rock with a clue. It is from one who was untimely born. He is an apostle. The clue on the rock says, “All scripture is inspired by God. All is useful for teaching, . . . and equipping . . .” The workers understand this passage. It is one they know in their hearts because they are all people of the rock.
The fourth rock with a clue is found. The writing on this rock is very old. It is from the meekest man on earth. The clue reads: “The mercy seat is over the arc of the testimony.” Questions pour from the workers. They are learning that it is fun to push the boundaries of their understanding. They are expanding their faith by pushing boundaries.
More questions pour forth. “Is the arc of the testimony the same thing as the arc of the covenant?” “Is the testimony of the Lord the same thing as the covenant of the Lord?” “ Does the mercy seat have anything to do with the testimony of Jesus?” “Does this mean that the testimony of God and the testimony of Jesus are the same thing?”
What does the arc of the testimony have to do with prophecy? Is the mercy seat a seat of justice? Is it a throne? Is it the throne of a judge? Is it the throne of a Prophet? Is the throne of a judge in the heart of the temple? What does this mean about legal issues? Is it the great throne of the Great Judge? What could the throne of a judge have to do with prophecy? Are justice and prophecy related to each other in any way?
The last rock that is found is from the apostle of love. He is the one who reclined at Jesus’ breast. It says, “And the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.” The workers asked more questions. Is there a tabernacle of the testimony in heaven as well as on earth? Is it God’s testimony? Do the two tabernacles serve the same purpose? How are these temples related to prophecy? Is testimony related to prophecy? Does the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven contain God’s prophecies?
After the last rock is found, the building inspector returns. The engineer is with him. They have decided to let us pour the foundation if we crush all the rocks, and mix them with prayers and cement that he provides.
We ask the engineer, “What kind of cement is it?” He answers, “It is the cement of the meaning of prophecy. The workers follow the building inspector’s instructions exactly as given. Praying, and crushing, and mixing. Then, at the right moment, the foundation is poured. The cement hardens.
Great excitement explodes among the workers. There is writing on the foundation floor! It reads: Prophecy is the testimony of God.
The building inspector is pleased.
He gives permission to build, floor by floor. As the workers go about their work they discuss the meaning of
the writing. They ask, “Does this
writing have the same meaning as the rock from the guiding angel who asked, “Do
you not see?”
When the concrete on the first floor hardens, there is writing on it. The excitement builds. It reads: “Prophecy is the privilege of God.” The workers discuss the meaning. “Does it mean that only God can prophecy?” “Or does it mean that God allows no one other than Himself to prophecy?” “Does it mean that prophecy is an ability unique to God?” “Does it mean that God is the only one with foreknowledge?” “Does it mean that God is all-knowing?” “Does it mean that no one besides God knows tomorrow?”
The building inspector returns; he has more instructions. The workers are to pray and pour all their questions into the mix for the second floor concrete. They follow his instructions. They pray, asking all their questions in their prayers, then they mix them into the concrete and pour it. The concrete hardens, and as it dries, writing appears. It reads, “Testimony is given in the court.”
The workers ask what court is involved. And does this mean that prophecy takes place in a court? Does this mean that prophecy is a legal act? Prophecy is testimony? They ask more questions. Who gives the testimony? They believe that they already know this answer. They believe that it is the Lord who gives the testimony. Now the building inspector allows them to continue work, following the same instructions.
The third floor is poured and hardens. The writing reads, “The court clerk is the custodian of the written Testimony.” The workers ask their questions. Is the testimony of God really testimony before a court? Is giving testimony a legal act? Is the court a heavenly court? Which books are these? If God gave testimony, was it given under oath?
At this point the workers discuss earlier clues to increase their understanding. Two clues (one testimony from the meekest man, and one testimony from the friend who reclined at Jesus’ breast) indicate that the testimony is kept in temples. These testimonies encompass the Bible, one at the beginning and one at the end. Are the temples where records are kept? Are these records the books that are opened at the end when the courts convene? Do temples have legal as well as spiritual meaning? Are legal and spiritual matters merged in heaven? Are courts actually temples? Are temples actually courts?
The fourth floor is poured and hardens. The writing is read. “Prophecy fulfilled is testimony confirmed.” The workers ask more questions. They sense there is great meaning to this statement. How can testimony be confirmed by the fulfillment of prophecy? Is the prophecy also the testimony? Is prophecy fundamentally a court matter? Is prophecy fundamentally testimony before the court? But prophecy has to be given by God?
Would God submit to courts on earth? If He submits to courts on earth, does that mean that He submits to courts in heaven? Why would God submit to courts? Why would he give testimony? Why would he give testimony about the future? If God is giving testimony, who is His judge? Who is His jury? Is it possible that the host of angels are the jury? Is it possible that the host of mortals are the jury? Do we judge for ourselves if God’s testimony is trustworthy?
The fifth floor is poured, hardened and the writing is read. “Beware! Prophecy broken is testimony broken.” This causes questions to flow from the workers. How can prophecy be broken? If prophecy is testimony in a court, what would happen if it were broken? Is it essential that all prophecy be fulfilled? Is it essential that it be fulfilled exactly as given? How important is the time given? If prophecy must be filled perfectly, why? Is broken prophecy the same as false testimony? Is one who gives false testimony unworthy of office?
The sixth floor is poured. It hardens and the writing appears. It reads, “He speaks against the Most High God, . . . and plans to change the times and events.” Questions abound. Who speaks against the Most High God? What does he say against God? Why does he plan to change times and events? Does it have something to do with his speaking against God? Does it have something to do with prophecy?
The seventh floor is poured, it hardens and the writing appears. It reads, “The Radical’s goal is the office of God.” The workers ask their questions. Is the office of God his throne? Is Satan trying to use prophecy to obtain God’s office? How is the office of God related to prophecy? Could broken prophecy give a legal basis for Satan’s challenge to God’s office? Is Satan seeking a legal avenue to the throne? Is this another war front against God? Why would Satan need a legal avenue? If he is pursuing the throne legally, how is he doing it?
Excitement, hope, and fear all three grow in the workers as they pour the eighth floor. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Conceptual foundations are essential when wrestling with the realms of ideas, including the things of the Lord. Laying a proper foundation may take a long time, but the structure shoots up afterwards.
By better explaining what prophecy is, you will be provided with a definition of prophecy that, when applied, should broaden your understanding of the scope and nature of end times events, and of the scriptures that describe them. The result should be that many of the great cosmic events in prophecy that seem disjointed, will begin to fit together into a mosaic. This is a thrilling process if you hunger to know the ways of God.
Your understanding about the origin, the purpose, the scope, and the significance of prophecy will be changed. Seeing these features of prophecy will result in a greater understanding of what scripture really is, and what the role of scripture is in the great events in heaven and on earth.
Known reasons of prophecy will not be challenged, but expanded. However, the definition of prophecy will be changed from the popular definitions given today. Bear with me, and given time as the explanation of prophecy is built. Then see how it will affect your view of the cosmic events. Prophecy will be defined in a way that is in harmony with the grand scheme of events it describes, and with scripture. The definition will even enhance your understanding of what scripture is.
Prophecy is the testimony of God. This is a very simple definition, but soon you will see how comprehensive it is and how it will affect your understand of end times, and event the scriptures themselves.
The testimony of God was created in a court. This is not an allegorical statement. The court was in heaven, not on earth. Testimony was given by God in the court of heaven. It was dutifully recorded in heaven and portions were recorded on earth.
Since prophecy is testimony, its first purpose is to provide truthful answers to questions asked in the court of heaven. These questions were asked by the adversary, Satan. The testimony is concerned with strategic events in the future of the earth that relate to the direct interests of angels, both fallen and non-fallen.
The bible is the portion of the testimony of God that relates to his goal for bringing the kingdom to earth in all its glory. After God pronounces His judgment and curse in the first set of prophecies in the book of Genesis, He then prophetically states His goal:
“I will put
enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall
bruise his heel.” (Gen. 3:15)
This is why so much of prophecy was concerned with the first time of Christ’s appearance on the earth. Most of the detailed prophecy, however is concerned with the events related to the second coming of Christ.
The second purpose of prophecy is to provide hope for the redeemed on earth. But its original creation was not for this reason. God has provided sufficient hope without the detailed and confusing description of events we do not understand.
Satan originally obtained this testimony from God to maximize his potential for breaking the throne free from God. He used deposition to obtain significant knowledge about critical times and events in the future. His intent is to use this knowledge as an important tool in his arsenal to overthrow God. Instead, the testimony of God will serve to demonstrate that God is worthy to set on the throne. It will also demonstrate that no one else is worthy.
There is a popular belief among Christians that God allows no sin in heaven. Basic to this belief is the notion that God cannot look on sin, because holiness demands total separation from sin. In actuality, God cannot look with approval on sin, but He has had to look on sin in heaven (and on earth) continually for thousands of years. Regretfully, the offense of sin is in God’s presence. It is true that an unredeemed human sinner will not be allowed to dwell in heaven, but heaven has been under siege by angelic sinners much longer than the earth.
The great rebellions of these two worlds began in heaven, and both are lead by the Radical, whose name is Satan. He is the first rebel. He has gained many followers, charging God with being unworthy of His office, and consequently, unworthy of our allegiance. Remember the Radical covets God’s office more than anything. He has filed papers of impeachment, and his hope is that the impeachment will succeed when he proves that God is untrustworthy, and therefore unjust.
To obtain God’s office, the Radical has launched a multipronged attack. He has carried his rebellion to the earth. He has launched an overt effort at military overthrow in heaven, and soon he will launch his global offensive on earth. But there is another front of which we are less cognizant. It is the legal front.
The legal attack is very important, because it is the means of vindicating the rebellion, or at least, by which the Radical hopes to vindicate it. Legal vindication is validation of the rebellion. The Radical’s charges against God have carried weight in heaven, and he has managed to persuade one third of the angels in the justness of his cause. The Radical hopes that in the courts God will be declared unworthy, and in turn, vindicate the rebellion before all the heavenly hosts.
The Radical has aimed the legal attack on God at His weakest point. The Radical claims that God is not worthy of His office, and therefore not worthy of our allegiance. The problem is that the Radical can not show that God is unjust by attacking God’s actions, which is the most common way of showing guilt. However, the charges against God’s actions were defeated at the cross, leaving the Radical to attack the trustworthiness of God’s words. So, he has charged God with being a liar. Now comes the hard part; the Radical must prove his charges against God.
War is one of the gravest outcomes of sin. It occurs after sin has ripened, and is the harvest of iniquity, and the wrath of judgment. There is war in heaven. Unlike on earth, all war in heaven is consciously directed against God. This means the least intense wars in heaven are as driven as the most intense war on earth. Sin has entered heaven and wracked great havoc, just as it has on the earth.
In keeping with the spirit behind the wars, charges that God is unjust pour forth. In heaven, the legal attack is centered on the strategy of proving that God is unjust.
On earth the charges are centered on identifying Christ as an imposter. The charges on earth were filed in the courts of Jerusalem against God. He was tried, found innocent on all charges, then executed. His certificate of execution declared that he was ‘The King of the Jews.’
As fallen humans, we do not fully comprehend what went on that dark day at Calvary, for we see through the clouded glass. As of yet, we have a limited sense of the breadth of the events of the cross. We do not yet comprehend that it was both God and man on trial that day. The most important of legal matters of the day were being settled in heaven as well as on earth that day. The spiritual war being fought entailed much more than just the hope of the redeemed.
In heaven, the trial process is working a bit differently than on earth. The assault on God is more direct. The battle lines are more clearly drawn. All the angels know that the ultimate ‘Defendant’ in heaven is God, not the Radical. The charges brought against God have far more significance than the charges against Satan.
The culmination of the Radical’s charges is that God is not trustworthy. Just as on earth, sinners in heaven have filed multiple charges against God. Although the court trials on earth took place in one day, the trials in heaven are spread out for millennia. In heaven there are no shady trials, and no execution before rectitude.
Is it right for the King of Kings to have charges filed against Him in heaven? No; it is no more right than it is for an innocent person on earth to have charges filed against him. But isn’t God too holy and righteous to allow this to happen to Him? No, precisely the opposite—He is too holy and righteous not to submit to the courts of heaven and transparently answer the charges with holy and righteous procedure. He is justly submitting, in a spirit of holiness and righteousness, to judicious procedure.
There is precedence for God’s submission to the courts. Jesus submitted to the courts on earth, yet He is just as holy, and righteous, and just as is the Father. Jesus is as much God as is the Father. The act of the Father submitting to the courts in heaven is no different than the act of the Son submitting to the courts on earth. Both submissions are just as startling.
Both submissions are the ultimate acts of transparent holiness, righteousness, and humility. In the courts of earth, God vindicated man in heaven. In the courts of heaven, God’s words will vindicate God. In the end, holy God and fallen man are both vindicated. God is providing our justification, and proving the rightness of the legal avenue by which He is making us just.
Why does God not claim His prerogative? He is sovereign. He does not have to submit to the charges. Why is He allowing Himself to be demeaned in the courts? Why has God chosen to submit to the courts? When earthly princes have been challenged in the courts, they claimed the prerogative of a ‘divine right of kings’ and refused to submit to the courts.
In contrast to God, the claim of divine right has been used by the kings of the earth to protect themselves from accountability in the courts. For an earthly king, a subpoena from a court was considered an insult, and the king did not submit. After all, the king wrote the laws, how could he be subject to the laws? This Satanic doctrine was used to justify all manner of oppression and wickedness. It was so pernicious that it shaped the nature of international relations, and the growth and characteristics of empires throughout the world.
Unlike kings on earth, the King of Heaven submits to the bar. By so doing, God has established that there is no right to do wrong—divine or earthly. No one is above the court, not if you are a common mortal, an earthly king, a prince of angels, or even heaven’s King of Kings. If God submits to the court, then no one else can justly claim the title of nobility, or the prerogative of office, as a means of avoiding the bar of justice. By doing so, He will ultimately shut the mouths of all.
The King of Kings has not hidden behind a title or office to protect Himself, even though he is completely innocent. Unlike earthly nobility, He does not feign righteous indignation toward the charges against Him. Unlike earthly nobility, the Heavenly Nobility does not consider Himself above, or outside of, accountability. He has submitted to the court, and is protecting Himself by another means.
God’s means of defense in the heavenly courts is basic to all prophecy. This is why such an indirect explanation of prophecy will not be indirect at all. Soon, you will see how it is the ultimate reason that prophecy exists. This does not negate that prophecy gives genuine, and essential hope to man, nor does it lessen the significance of that hope. It magnifies the significance of prophecy.
God’s protection is His testimony. This is because His testimony is the highest expression of His trustworthiness. It is the truthful testimony of the pure and innocent God who is transparent in Spirit, who has wronged no one in heaven or on earth, and is just in all His ways. His word is His bond and it is our salvation.
God is holy, righteous, and merciful. He does not delight in the death of the wicked, but practices lovingkindness and mercy, forgiving and cleansing all mortals who abandon the rebellion and submit to Him. He is creating an eternal kingdom for the pure and innocent He has cleansed.
We know all these wonderful things because of His testimony, and only because of His testimony. The ways of God are revealed to us in His testimony. It is His word. It is His bond. God’s testimony will ultimately be the means by which He vindicates Himself before the courts, shows that He is innocent of all charges, and most importantly, that He is worthy of our eternal allegiance.
For reasons I do not yet comprehend, the court trials of heaven have also been expanded to include the earth. This means that the struggles in the spiritual realm are far more comprehensive than we mortals imagine. The thread of angelic history and the thread of human history have become inextricably intertwined. The end times are a time in when they are virtually merged. For some reason, the spiritual wars of heaven are now being fought out, and will be concluded, here on earth.
The dark prosecutor is now attacking God’s testimony on earth. Incredibly, the truthfulness of the heavenly testimony is being put to the test here on earth. In heaven, just as on earth, God will be found innocent on all charges, but unlike on the earth, He will be glorified. The trials of God will conclude when His testimony has been completely and exactly fulfilled. Which is soon.
Contrary to popular thought, there is sin in heaven, and the struggle there is on a greater scale than the struggle on earth. On earth, most of fallen mankind is not consciously trying to overthrow God. In contrast, all the fallen angels are trying as hard as they can to overthrow God. The extreme intensity of the angelic struggle to overthrow God is what set the stage for the creation of prophecy. This means the struggles of heaven are the basis of prophecy on earth. They are even the original reason for the existence of prophecy. Prophet events include both angels and mankind.
To understand prophecy properly, we have to have a minimal grasp of its overall bearing. This is the goal of the process of ‘definition.’ To define clearly is to think clearly.
A definition that clarifies understanding must be as simple as possible, it must be as comprehensive as possible, and it must be exclusive, eliminating everything else.
Simplicity without comprehensiveness and exclusivity will leave the subject ill-defined, resulting in misconception. Misconceptions will prevent you from placing ideas, events, and their importance in perspective. Misconception is one of the basic problems for Christian thought today. It is one of the great hindrances to the expansion of a Christian awareness. The inadequate definition of prophecy is a prime example of this weakness.
Comprehensiveness, and exclusivity can be easily achieved by identifying the essence, or essential core attribute, of the subject. One popular definition of is that: prophecy is forth-telling. In itself, this definition is true, and it does meet the simplicity test. However, it is neither exclusive nor comprehensive.
All prophecy is forth-telling, but not all forth-telling is prophecy. This means the definition fails the exclusivity test. We do not know who is doing the forth-telling, or if it is important to know who. Neither do we know what is being forth-told, nor if it is significant to know. This means the definition also fails the comprehensiveness test.
Now we are ready to attempt a definition of prophecy that meets the three requirements. First, the definition will be stated. Then it will be defended in these three dimensions.
Our working definition of prophecy: Prophecy is the testimony of God. This is the essential definition we have been working toward since the beginning of the letter.
A good definition should be simple, and remove confusion, or misconception about the subject. Second, it should identify the essential attribute of the subject. The definition should ‘go for the essence or heart’ of the subject. Third, the definition should be inherently comprehensive to the subject.
It is at this point ‘inherent comprehensiveness’ that most definitions of prophecy break down. They are not inclusive to all the major attributes of the subject of prophecy. Fourth, the definition is exclusive. Other subjects cannot fit under the umbrella created by the definition. The goal is isolation, purification, and comprehension of the subject at hand.
God’s testimony includes God’s the revelation of motives, as well as God’s perspective on events—past, present, and future—in heaven and on earth.
Prophecy is God’s prerogative. No one can give prophecy but God. It is things as He sees them. It is the transparent explanations of a pure and innocent heart. This means prophecy is the product of a holy and righteous God. It is testimony about His motives, and about things He, and only He knows. No one has knowledge of God’s motives or knowledge of the future, unless He reveals it to us. All that we do know about tomorrow has been revealed by Him.
Prophecy is legal testimony. In a sense, it is legal deposition. It is God telling the court of heaven His motives and actions—past, current, and future—related to the issues at question. Consider that much of the scripture was originally written as legal text. The books of the Torah formed the constitution and much of the statute law of Israel.
Prophecy is not just about future events. Although prophecy includes forth-telling this does not describe its essence. Prophecy was not written just to reveal the future. Because of what prophecy is, it is serving to vindicate a just and holy God who is worthy of our eternal allegiance.
The Radical’s hope it that prophecy will do just the opposite. He hopes that it will be the means by which He will topple God’s government, and establish his own. How can prophecy serve Satan for this purpose?
If one prophetic event does not happen just as described and when described, the absolute reliability of prophecy, and therefore God’s testimony, is broken. If the reliability of God’s testimony can be broken, then doubt can be cast on the truthfulness, and therefore worthiness of God’s rule.
This is why Daniel prophesied (which was God testifying) that the man of lawlessness, who is the Radical, would try to change the set times and the decreed events. This means that the Radical has already been reduced to trying to controvert prophetic events as a means of overthrowing God’s kingdom.
The Radical realizes that if he fails at preventing a testified event from occurring, he can still break its credibility by four attacks. First, he can prevent its occurrence. Second, he can accelerate its occurrence. Third, he can delay its occurrence. Fourth, He can change the details.
This attempt to overthrow prophecy explains several puzzling events in the Gospels. Jesus was not scheduled to be proclaimed as the Messiah until Palm Sunday, 33 AD. The time of the proclamation was given to Daniel in the revelation of the seventy weeks that had been given to Israel to accomplish its purposes.
When Jesus healed many people, he instructed them not to tell who He was because Jesus did not want to be taken by force and proclaimed the Messiah before it was time.
Demons would also shout out Jesus’ status before time. They were not glorifying Jesus by identifying Him; they were trying to overthrow Him! If they could get the crowds to exalt Jesus before time they would have controverted prophecy, and this was their goal.
This explains why the demons asked if Jesus had come to judge them before their time. They did not ask to go into the swine to prevent early imprisonment. Their goal was to throw off scheduled events. Since the swine were kept in disobedience to the law, they rushed into the sea and were drowned. But instead of the people marveling at what happened, and declaring him the Messiah, they wanted Jesus out of there. The demon’s motives backfired.
Then on the day of proclamation, which had been testified to by God in the heavenly courts and recorded on earth, Jesus was challenged to shut up the children to prevent them from proclaiming His glory. But now it was the time to testify, and Jesus replied that, if the voices were quieted, the stones would shout out who He was.
These attempts at controversion of prophecy encompassed the entire life and ministry of Jesus. They ran from the time King Herod tried to slay Jesus as an infant, to the time the tomb was sealed to keep Him from rising, and the money that was paid to the guard to lie after His resurrection.
Prophecy is the testimony of God. There are four significant attributes to this definition. First, it is a simple, clear definition. It reduces words to only the essential. To define well is to see clearly.
Second, this definition identifies the essential attribute of the subject. It probes to the heart of the matter; identifying the core idea, or essential essence, of prophecy—God’s testimony. The definition allows for nothing but the subject.
Third, this definition is comprehensive. The failure of many definitions is that they do not allow for the scope of the subject, only identifying one dimension of the subject. The definition is nothing less than comprehensive.
Fourth, this definition is exclusive: Nothing other than the testimony of God can be called prophecy. It excludes all other realms of thought, including false prophecy. This definition allows for nothing more than the subject.
The greatest value of a good definition is that it can help complete your understanding of a subject. It can enable you to begin filling in blank area, or attributes you were unaware of, about a subject.
What we can derive from this definition of prophecy. As this definition is applied while reading scripture we can begin to identify key aspects of prophecy not seen before.
Prophecy is a response to Satan’s charge that God’s way is ruthless and cruel.
One of the most important attributes of prophecy is that: Prophecy fulfilled is testimony confirmed. This means that redemptive history is confirming the testimony of God. It gives glory to God in ways not yet comprehended on earth, but comprehend by the angels in heaven.
Prophecy is a response to Satan’s charge that God’s way is ruthless and cruel.
Daniel and John were chosen to be human witnesses to the legal proceedings in heaven. Since the testimony was of such wide scope that it included significant human events. They observed testimony in the heavenly courts that was relevant to both earth and heaven. The testimony was by the Lord.
Satan is focusing his attacks in the courts of heaven because they are where the final judgments are pronounced. He is attacking God’s testimony in the courts. He is attacking the Testifier in the courts. He is attacking those who will be the replenishing the ministries of heaven. Finally, he will attack the courts themselves and attempt to destroy them.
The Lord’s testimony is under the seal of the court and kept in the tabernacle, which is the temple, of the testimony. The testimony will not and cannot be changed. Events must happen exactly as the testimony said they would. This is the situation at the basis of Satan’s strategy, and the motive behind many of his actions. His goal is to break that testimony by changing times and events.
Prophecy has given Satan unprecedented foreknowledge about key events at key times in angelic and human history affording him unparalleled offensive opportunity. He knows thousands of years ahead about key events he must controvert.
To place this foreknowledge in perspective we will look at an event of World War II. What if Rommel had received one day’s notice of the allied invasion. What is he had foreknowledge only one day prior to the invasion? Even if Rommel had known only the day of the invasion, and did not even know that the invasion was to be at Normandy, he still would have been ready to respond and break the massive military invasion.
Even with no foreknowledge he almost broke the invasion. Historians agree that with only one day’s notice he would have broken the western front and driven it back into the sea. This is what only one limited piece of intelligence, obtained one day of ahead of time, would have accomplished in World War II.
What if Hitler had the foreknowledge that Moscow would survive the siege that first winter? What if Hitler had the knowledge of Einstein’s letter to Roosevelt about the possibility of a Nazi nuclear program? The whole world would be under the rule of the twisted cross today. These two pieces of information would have been priceless for the Nazis. Hitler would have known key events that he would have acted on. This kind of intelligence changes the outcome of global wars and the entire flow of history.
This is why so much prophecy is keyed around the last two weeks of Israel that were identified in the revelation to Daniel. They are the two most significant weeks in all of angelic and human history. This may be why there is so little detail in prophecy about the church age. Satan may not have been aware that the two weeks would be separated by the two thousand year church age.
Satan asked most of his questions about the time of the final battles. This gave him an incredible strategic advantage above any other warrior in the histories of heaven and earth, and for eternity in the future. No other warrior could ever have the strategic advantage that he obtained in the testimony of God.
No one will be able to obtain this grade of strategic information ever again. No one will be able to obtain this volume of strategic information ever again. Deposing God was a once in eternity opportunity, never again to be accomplished in heaven and on earth. Satan has relished his role, and put all the council he could in to the examination at the bar.
No one will lay charges against God again. Satan’s attack has been systematic and exhaustive. It is so complete in scope that when God survives the attack, no one will ever be able to bring charges against God again. God will have already been vindicated of anything he could ever be charged of again.
This means that God will never have to give defensive testimony in court again. This also means that once the events in the books are closed, prophecy will cease.
The description of the end times events is the testimony of Jesus. Prophecy is also the testimony of Jesus.
The war being waged by Satan is much more than an offensive against mankind to gain control over the world, and by so doing, cause the damnation of mortals. His goal is not to put your soul in hell. He wants to break hell. His war is first of all a full-blown offensive to overthrow the heavenly testimony of God, and by so doing win the battle in the courts of heaven.
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This revision is dated
9-12-00
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