5 Fallacies of Prophecy

Mt. 24:3-4  The first rule of thumb Jesus gives concerning prophecy:  Take heed no one ______________ you.

• v.23  There will be deliberate deception—even the ______ of God are not exempt 
• Hos. 4:6  There will be unintentional deception

1 Thes. 5:20 We can not ________ prophecy

• Rev. 1:3—A blessing on those who hear the words of prophecy
• Amos 3:7—The Lord does __________ unless He reveals it to His prophets first
• Prophecy prepares us for the future
• Prophecy helps us understand current events
• Prophecy gives us ______

Today:  5 Errors That Just Don’t Go Away

1. The Bible has a numerical ______ within It
1. Book written in 1997 and sequel in 2002—both were bestsellers
2. Claims they can see real names and events that have happened
3. Many ___________ have bought into this “Code”
4. Problem:

• According to this Code, the end of times was in ______
• Written by an unbeliever who remained an unbeliever
• The premise was the Bible was delivered to us by ________
• Made up vowels to fit the need
• Could only be used to see what had already happened

5. Heb. 8:10  God puts His Words in our _________—not in code
6. Mk. 4:11—to us has been given the knowledge of His mystery

 

2. The ______ the Antichrist Game
1. Hitler, Stalin, Bill Gates, Barrack Obama
2. 1 John 4:3—the spirit of antichrist is already in the world
3. The Antichrist vs. the spirit of antichrist
4. Currently:  Barrack Obama:  Luke 10:18
5. The problems with this:

• The boy who cried wolf
• The __________ loses credibility
• Our spiritual senses get dulled
• Not fair to Bill Gates or Barrack Obama

3. Predicting When __________ is Coming Back
1. 1980’s—88 Reasons Jesus is coming back in 1988

• 5 million copies
• Edgar Whisenant:  Only if the _______ is in error that I am wrong
• Continued to revise his dates
• Based on the time Israel became a nation again (1948)

2. Currently a lot of talk about ______
3. Mt. 24:36—No one knows the day or hour—Not even ________!!!
4. We need to use wisdom!

• Be _______ as He were to come today
• Be prepared to live your whole life

5. Most of us yearn for Jesus to come back
6. And that yearning can open us up to be deceived
7. The problem with this error

• People get worked up for nothing
• The church loses credibility
• People don’t __________ to live out their days

 

4. Prophetic ___________  1 Cor. 13:2
1. Putting the majority of Christian emphasis on prophecy
2. Looking for that “new, ____ revelation”
3. “____ based” Christianity
4. There are a lot more principles in God’s Word for living our lives here on earth than in heaven
5. Problem with this

• Un_____________
• Eventually gets of the proven track of The ______
• “God revealed to me” vs. “It’s in the Bible”
• 2 Pet. 1:20  No prophecy is of any private interpretation
• Very susceptible to being deceived or extremism

5. Thinking You Can Not _________________ Prophecy
1. It has been used and abused
2. Biblical prophecy is definitely ____________ in a different manner
3. The temptation is to ignore it
4. Rev. 1:3 / 1 Thes. 5:20
5. We can be protected from _____________

• John 16:12-15  We have the Holy Spirit leading us
• 1 John 5:6-8  The Spirit bears witness in us

6. God desires for His mysteries to be made known to us

• Col. 1:25-27
• ____ times in N.T.—“God makes known to us His mysteries”
• The only reference to people who don’t know God’s mysteries are “Those who are _____________” (Mk. 4:11)

7. We need to study diligently 2 Tim. 2:14-15

 

Conclusion:  We need prophecy. . .However, there is a lot of garbage out there!
The best way:
1.  ___________ the Bible

2. Have an up-to-date relationship with Jesus Christ
3. Sit under a loving  __________
4. Rely on your inward witness of the Holy Spirit