I. We all know that there are fairly wild predictions concerning the future.<\/p>\n
A. The prophecies in the Bible are often used to support these off the wall claims.<\/p>\n B. One of the reasons why we have been studying Revelation is so you know what\nthe Bible actually says.\n
II. Consider this page from a web page by Jack Van Impe<\/p>\n
A. Dramatic stuff isn’t it?<\/p>\n
B. Captures your imagination, even when you know this can’t be right<\/p>\n C. Rather than pick this verse by verse, let me illustrate the overall error of Mr. Van\nImpe’s method by another example.\n
D. If you want, we can get other football teams:<\/p>\n 1. Hosea 13:7-8 “so I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lie in\nwait. I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs . . .”\n a. Let’s see – The Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears, and either the\nCarolina Panthers or the Jacksonville Jaguars\n
2. We have special warnings for Denver Bronco fans<\/p>\n
a. “A horse is a vain hope” – Psalms 33:17<\/p>\n
b. “Woe to those who . . . rely on horses” – Isaiah 31:1 <\/p>\n E. No, the Bible doesn’t talk about football, but you can make it seem like it does – at\nleast on the surface.\n
1. But look what I did, I took a series of unrelated passages.<\/p>\n
2. I ignored the context, both biblical and historical<\/p>\n 3. I came up with interpretations which were both fanciful and ignored the\nway prophetic language is used in the Bible.\n 4. This is exactly what Jack Van Impe, and Hal Lindsey, and the writer of the\nBible Code, and so many others are doing.\n
III. Now, let us go back and look at some of the passages Mr. Van Impe used.<\/p>\n A. Psalms 97:1-6 – The fire going forth is a metaphor describing the power of God’s\njudgments. It is not even prophetic!\n
B. Isaiah 66:10, 14-16 – Speaks of God’s judgement on the enemies of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n C. Ezekiel 20:44-49 – Ezekiel is speaking of the judgement of God against Israel. I\nam certain that God is not talking about His plans to drop nuclear bomb on the\nsouthern forests of Judah.\n D. Zephaniah 1:18 sounds ominous until you see that it is discussing Judah in\nZephaniah 1:4.\n E. The most flagrant misuse of scripture is Joel 2:30. Let us read the context – Joel\n2:28-32\n
1. Jack says Russian army engaging the army of modern Israel.<\/p>\n
2. The apostle Peter has a different explanation – Acts 2:1-7, 12, 14-21<\/p>\n
3. Who would you rather believe?<\/p>\nIV. Prophetic writings in the Bible take more work to understand than many of the plain\nteachings in the Bible, but it is not impossible.\n
A. Nor is it an excuse to twist passages to suit ones fancy – II Peter 3:14-18<\/p>\n B. Not that unprincipled men stick with twisting prophecy. They cannot even get the\nclear teachings of the Bible on salvation correct.\n
C. Do not be like them, but follow after the teachings of God.<\/p>\n\t
Everything<\/p>\n
you always wanted to know about<\/p>\n
PROPHECY<\/p>\n
but didn’t know who to ask<\/p>\n
So the Bible does teach that ther will be a nuclear war during the Tribulation?<\/font><\/p>\n Definitely! A third part of men [was] killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the birmstone (Revelation 9:18) (the exact effects of a nuclear blast). Again: A third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up (Revelation 8:7). These scriptures clearly reveal a judgment of fire taking place upon earth during the Tribulation. There’s more: A fire goeth before him (Psalm 97:3). For, behold, the Lord will come with fire isaiah 66:15). The flaming flame shall not be quenched (Ezekiel 20:47). A fire devoureth before them (Joel 2:3). Who? The northern army — the Russian army — that moves against Israel. When they are driven back, the prophet says, I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke (Joel 2:30). the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy (Zephaniah 1:18). For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven (Malachi 4:1).<\/p>\n Therefore, both the Old and New Testaments are in agreement concerning a nuclear holocaust.<\/p><\/font>\n [Reproduced from http:\/\/www.jvim.com\/cgi-bin\/FAQ.cgi?Question0303 on May 13, 1999. Typing mistakes as found on the original page.] <\/p>\n\t Everything<\/p>\n you always wanted to know about<\/p>\n Football<\/p>\n but didn’t know who to ask<\/p>\n I. We all know that there are fairly wild predictions concerning the future. A. The prophecies in the Bible are often used to support these off the wall claims. B. One of the reasons why we have been studying Revelation is so you know what the Bible actually says. II. Consider this page from a web page by Jack…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[478,344,169],"class_list":["post-18026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-false-teachers","tag-premillennialism","tag-prophecy"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18023,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-know-about-jack-van-impe\/","url_meta":{"origin":18026,"position":0},"title":"What do you know about Jack Van Impe?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My grandma is always talking about Jack Van Impe and how he is the man to listen to on TV.\u00a0 I know that he talks about the rapture and he uses Scripture to back it like when Elijah was taken up. He talks about the tribulation period and whatnot.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33192,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-give-me-a-personal-prophecy\/","url_meta":{"origin":18026,"position":1},"title":"Can you give me a personal prophecy?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day I would like to know if you can give me a personal prophecy as I feel so lost the past year and don't know my purpose in life anymore. I am the breadwinner in my family and none of my business deals are going through. Please advise.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9175,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/didnt-joel-say-that-young-men-would-dream-dreams\/","url_meta":{"origin":18026,"position":2},"title":"Didn’t Joel say that young men would dream dreams?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 31, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You said prophecies would cease, but it also says in the Bible young men will dream dreams and the older would have visions or something along those lines, so I'm really confused. Answer: God said, \"Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2214,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-prophecy-have-an-immediate-application-or-only-a-future-fulfillment\/","url_meta":{"origin":18026,"position":3},"title":"Did prophecy have an immediate application or only a future fulfillment?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, When a prophet was making a prophecy (e.g.\u00a0Isaiah 55:1, the invitation) did it have a solution or an answer for the listeners (Israel) at that time, or did they have to look at it only as something in the future? Answer: That would depend on what the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32607,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-may-we-know-the-bible-is-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":18026,"position":4},"title":"How May We Know the Bible is of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Abraham Smith Can you trust your Bible? Is the Bible a book of God or a book of man? If we doubt the Bible's trustworthiness, we lose it as: an infallible standard of truth; an authoritative basis for obedience or hope; \"living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/Bible-Reading-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":86714,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-preachers-prophets\/","url_meta":{"origin":18026,"position":5},"title":"Are preachers prophets?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good afternoon. My family and I are members of the Church of Christ, and I have been reading your articles on your church website for several years now, learning a great deal. If you don't mind responding to this email, I would greatly appreciate it. Recently, the preacher at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18026\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n \n
\n Q\n: Does the Bible foretell that the San Francisco 49ers\n will beat the New Orleans Saints in the Louisiana\n Superdome?\n A\n: Definitely! Daniel 11:40 says the king of the north shall come\n against the king of the south like a whirlwind and overwhelm\n them. Further, Daniel 11:15 says the forces of the north shall\n not withstand the king of the north. These scriptures reveal a\n conflict between two groups, one from the north and one from the south. \n But what kind of conflict? The battle will be accompanied by a\n tumultuous noise, like that of many people (Isaiah 13:4). This suggests\n a sporting event. Further, we are told that their foreheads are made like\n Adamant stone that is harder than flint (Ezekiel 3:8-9); obviously a\n reference to football helmets. We also learn that the sky, like a crystal,\n is stretched out over their heads (Ezekiel 1:22); what else, but a domed\n stadium? But who are the teams? The ones who are overcome are the \n saints (Revelation 13:7). Their apparel is red and the valiant men are in\n scarlet (Isaiah 63:2, Nahum 2:3). A child shall lead them (Isaiah 11:6).\n A child is a young person. What young person will lead the saints? Why\n Steve Young.\n <\/font>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"