BIBLE PROPHECY 101 by Rick Lange

When football fans go to a ball game, there are some who go along just for fun while there are others who are avid sports fans. They know all of the stats, the players, the rules, the refs, the political intrigues and the rivalries. I’m sure that the ones, who know the most, also get the most out of the game. 
But aside from all of that knowledge about the ins and outs of the game, football can be watched and enjoyed without most of that information. You can enjoy the game if you simply understand that the goal of the game is to get the ball over the goal line and the team that gets the most goals wins the game. In other words all they have to do is to keep their eye on the ball and they can understand the game at its most basic level.

Bible prophecy is pretty much the same to a certain extent. For instance, the book of Revelation is one of the key play books for last day events and the first thing John tells us is that Jesus is the “Ball.” We may not understand all of the issues and events to take place, but if we keep our eyes on the “Ball” we will understand the focus and the goal of the game.

That being said, we have to ask ourselves why God even bothered to tell us the details if all we need to do is to keep our eye on the Ball? And you will find it to be true that most Christians will tell you they just want to keep their eyes on Jesus and let the chips fall where they will. So, obviously, just as in football, there are those who are casual observers and then there are those who virtually live for the game.
This being the case then we have to ask ourselves once again why God saw fit to give us all of the stats, the rules and refs and details of all the players in such prophetic detail. Why do we need to know and understand all of that stuff if we can just keep our eye on the Ball, (Jesus) and enjoy the game?

The reason is that we are in training, not just to observe the game but to be in the game and the more we know about it the better off we will be. God as our loving Father and Jesus as our elder Brother want us to understand that we are in the playoffs and in fact we may be entering the Super Bowl and as such we need to know the rules and the details of the game. There are warnings about coming out of Satan’s kingdom (Babylon) and about not taking the Mark of the Beast and so on. In other words we need to understand the issues or we might be deceived and end up playing for the wrong team.

What Jesus is telling us is that there is going to be a transfer of authority as the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. He wants us to understand that this transfer is going to be heavily contested. Satan and his people are not going to give up easily. Satan has been the ruler of this world for 6000 years and he still thinks he can win the game somehow.

Now, God could just end the whole thing with a flick of His wrist and in fact that is what He will do at the final battle of Armageddon, but He has a problem in doing it that way initially. The problem is many of His people are not really in the game… many don’t know which side they are playing for and many of those that call themselves Christians are actually joined to the ranks of the enemy.
Like I said, if it was strictly up to Jesus, He could just destroy the lost and be done with it, but it isn’t just up to Him. It is up to us and while we are halting between opinions, He is unwilling that any should perish and so He is pleading with many by His Holy Spirit to come fully out of Satan’s Kingdom and step fully into His kingdom. We can’t play for both teams.

Just like you can’t go out and play a professional game of football with no training, neither can you overcome as a Christian if you are only a casual observer. Becoming a Christian is even more intense than joining a football team. There is no such thing as being a halfway Christian. In fact, the only way to get into this game is to die to Satan’s kingdom and to be born again into Christ’s kingdom. This transition from observer to player only takes place through death and resurrection and there are millions who claim to be players on the team that have never entered either Jesus’ death, or His resurrection power. I call them CINOs (Christians in name only). These are the ones who most desperately need to understand the game and to make their final choices. They are in no way ready for the “Super Bowl.”
The problem is most Christians are firmly tied to the world system. Their security is in it. Their world view is wrapped up in it. Their sense of safety and security is found in it. Their eye is not on the “Ball” most of the time and their goals are not centered in Christ. They presume to enter eternity with nothing of eternity in themselves. They have no idea how to live by this treasure in earthen vessels. They have only lived in the flesh. They have heard that their body is a temple of the Holy Spirit but they have never made use of that resurrection power in their lives. They are self-made and self-dependent and in need of nothing.
This is why God has to remove our safety, our security and our wealth. It is only after all of those things have been taken away that we will prove whether we will look to God or whether we will side with the antichrist. We think we know, but we don’t know and our daily choices speak louder than our good intentions. The bible tells us that if possible even the very elect will be deceived and that we are not going to get out of here without some life and death choices.

For starters, we really need to know exactly who Jesus is, or we might lose sight of Him in the heat of the game. The Bible reveals to us that Jesus is the Word of God and as such He created everything that exists in the heavens and on the earth. Then it tells us that this same Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He came to die in our place and to offer us His eternal life so that all that choose Him as their Team Captain might be saved. Then thirdly the Bible tells us that this same Jesus who was caught up into heaven after His death and resurrection, will come again and receive us unto Himself so that where He is, there we might be also.

This is what makes Jesus the Alpha and Omega, the Aleph and Tav, the beginning and the end. 

Everything in this 6000 year game is wrapped up in Him.

But now, with those broad brush strokes in place, let us give similar meaning to the book of Revelation. People avoid eh book of Revelation because they say they can’t understand it. And admittedly there is a great deal of symbolism and complex detail, but we need to remember one thing: The book of Revelation is a revelation of Jesus. We get lost in the details because we fail to keep our eyes on the “Ball.” Jesus is the Ball and if we can keep that foremost in our minds, then we can enjoy the game even if we don’t understand every stat and rule and symbol.

The basic premise of the game is that Jesus has allowed humanity, ever since the fall of Adam, to choose which team we will play on. We go through life winning some games and losing some, but we are now at the end of that 6000 years and we are thusly entering a very turbulent time when there will be a transfer of power and authority. We are entering the Super Bowl of history and only one team can win.
John the Revelator tells us that there is a big announcement made in heaven at the time of the seventh angel in Revelation 11:15-19. Just after the two witnesses have finished their ministry and after they have been killed and resurrected a mighty shout goes up in heaven and everybody there including the 24 elders fall on their faces in worship before the throne.

But what has happened? Well, think of a football game. Your team is three goals ahead of the other team and there are only two minutes left in the game. Technically the game is not over, but there is no way the other team can make 3 touchdowns in 2 minutes and so the crowd begins to shout a cry of victory. This is what happens in heaven as they shout a shout for team Jesus saying: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”

Then Revelation 12 tells us about the birth of the man child and in order to understand this, we need to understand what Jesus said in John 12:24 that unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die it cannot produce many more grains after its kind. This is what Jesus did in dying for us so that He rose again as the first fruits of the resurrection. He is now bringing many sons to glory and so in the final end here in Revelation 12 we see the birthing of the sons of God and the forming of the Remnant of the seed of Christ who keep the commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. This is the final birthing of the sons of God for which all creation eagerly wait. (Romans 8:19) Jesus has died and risen to bring many sons to glory. Jesus is the team captain and we are His team and we are going to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony and we will not love our own lives even to the death. We are in this game for keeps because we love our Captain and we know that the rewards far outweigh the battle we must face.

Revelation 13 tells us about the great Beast system that will seek to control the world even as Nimrod did and every pagan kingdom after him sought to do. Revelation 14 tells us about a final call out of Babylon (Satan’s Kingdom) followed by the rapture of the church and the outpouring of God’s wrath upon the opposing team. Revelation 15 describes the saints in heaven on the sea of glass singing the song of Moses and the Lamb even as God’s wrath is being poured out upon the earth. Revelation 156 describes the wrath of God in all of its fury. Revelation 17 describes the false one world religion as headed up by the mother of harlots which has always been a mixture of paganism and Christianity and a conglomerate of other religions that will make up the world religion of the beast. Revelation shows us one final call out of Babylon of those who made their decision after the rapture who have not taken the mark of eth Beast and then the rest of the chapter describes the destruction of Satan’s kingdom.
Revelation 19 describes Jesus and the saints returning from heaven to earth to defeat the battle of Armageddon and to and to take up His millennial reign from Jerusalem where He will rule the nations with a rod of iron for 1000 years. Revelation 20 includes those beheaded saints in the first resurrection and then points to the 1000 year reign of Christ upon the earth followed by the release of Satan for one last deception. He convinces the finally impenitent that they can still take the city and the saints and fire comes down from God out of heaven and finally destroys them and the Beast and the false prophet are cast alive into the lake of fire.

Chapter 21 describes the new heavens and the new earth and the Holy City the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven to make earth the new capital of the universe in which God will be all in all and we will reign with Him forever. Verse 22 describes the eternal kingdom and gives a final invitation for all to come and to eat from the tree of life.

So if we have kept our eye on the ”Ball” (Jesus) we will see that He has transitioned from Creator, to suffering servant/Lamb of God, to our High Priest and then in the book of Revelation there is a great transfer once again as Jesus transitions from High Priest, to Judge and then to King of Kings and Lord of lords.

Does it not help to see the broad strokes and to realize the Jesus is the “Ball” that we must keep our eye on at all times? 

Hebrews 12:1, 2 says: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and let us run with endurance the race that is before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We have this assurance do we not; that the One who created all things including Satan Himself will also win the battle in the end. He is the Alpha and Omega. Long after Satan and his beast system are dead and gone, Jesus will still be King of kings and Lord of lords and we who have chosen to play on His team will be with Him.

But we are not mere spectators in this final Super Bowl. We are His team here on earth. WE are destined to overcome even as He overcame and we will do it by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. We are temples of the living God, His Spirit dwells in us. His resurrection power upholds us. We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. It is time to get off the bench and into the game.

Until next time, 

Rick