February 13: OH, BELOVED, HEAR THE PROPHETS!

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7

All of the judgements that were threatened upon the northern kingdom of Israel came to be, but certainly not without plenty of warning. The mercy of God is consistently evident. The presence of those who did not believe the warnings did not make the merciful words of warning any less true. Not only did they fail to believe them, they did not even want to hear them, for they commanded the prophets not to prophesy (2:12 – see also Isaiah 30:9-11).

Some may view the warnings of God in a negative light. But even the “negative” side of the prophecies are given to bless. This reveals the conditional aspect of many prophecies, allowing the dear soul who hears and heeds to avoid being a part of the problem. The blessings and privileges associated with the study of the prophetic writings are incalculable.

Contained therein are the details revealing the coming of Christ. The time specified for His anointing by the Holy Spirit corresponds flawlessly with the launching of His earthly ministry onto the scene: His baptism (Matthew 3:16). Based on this, the Gentile Wise Men understood the time of His birth. God confirmed their sincere interest by providing His star in the east (Matthew 2:2). The time of His sacrificial death, and the time that the gospel would explode among the Gentiles is more confirmation of the fulfillment of the mission of Jesus. In preparation for His second coming, as well as clarity for posterity’s sake, Jesus urged His disciples to study the book of Daniel (Matthew 24:15). But wait…there’s more!

Following His resurrection, He patiently explained to the disciples that in all the prophets were the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27). The Savior, in implementing the Plan of Salvation, has generously spread the information to all generations. He has spoken through all of the prophets. Beloved, how privileged we are that we can so efficiently go to and fro (Daniel 12:4) in search of divine truth. The wide availability of His word at the time of the end (Daniel 12:4) is part of the Plan. GLORY TO GOD!

Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, of what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 1 Peter 1:10-11

Further study: Exodus 19:5-6; Jeremiah 4:1; Ezekiel 18:21-25; John 13:19; 14:29; Revelation 1:3; 14:6-12; 22:17