Tim LaHaye - Understanding Bible Prophecy for Yourself

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota

Cover photosDigital Stock; Gazelle Technologies

TIM LAHAYE PROPHECY LIBRARY is a series trademark of Tim F. LaHaye and Beverly J. LaHaye. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the trademark TIM LAHAYE PROPHECY LIBRARY.

UNDERSTANDING BIBLE PROPHECY FOR YOURSELF
Copyright 2002/2009 by Tim LaHaye
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

LaHaye, Tim F.

[How to study Bible prophecy for yourself]

Understanding Bible Prophecy for Yourself / Tim LaHaye.

p. cm.(Tim LaHaye prophecy library)

Originally published: How to study Bible prophecy for yourself. 1990.

ISBN: 978-0-7369-2538-9

1. BibleProphecies. 2. BibleStudy and teaching. I.Title.

BS647.3.L34 2002

22.15071dc21

2001038511

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 / ML-SK / 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedicated to
the memory of Margaret LaHaye,
Bible student, soulwinner,
Child Evangelism director in
Lansing, Michigan, for 23 years,
and my mother.

Her love for Bible prophecy
sparked my own. She has been
with her Lord for 23 years
and now all her questions
are answered, for she knows
even as she is known.

T he phenomenal response to the LEFT BEHIND series of prophetic novels that I coauthored with Jerry B. Jenkins beginning in 1995 has proven people have a deep fascination for knowing about the future. A single book I had hoped would sell 100,000 copies or so has now become a series with sales of over 70 million and climbing. The success of the spinoff childrens series has already broken all publishing records and proves that the younger generation also yearns to know about the future.

The outrageous terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001 caused prophecy books of all stripes to sell off the charts as people tried to find some insight into the future. Such curiosity, whether fueled by the LEFT BEHIND series or cataclysmic events, is understandable for man was created by God as an eternal soul, and thus he has always wondered where and how he will spend his eternal future. And apocalyptic-type events such as those that took place in New York City and Washington, D.C. spur millions more people to search for answers.

The good news is that God has given answers to us in His prophetic Word. In fact, 28 percent of the Bible was prophetic when it was first written. In all, there are over 1,000 passages of Scripture that were prophecies at the time they were written, and more than half of them have already been fulfilled. This track record of fulfillment is our assurance that the prophecies not yet fulfilled will come to pass when the proper time comes.

I am convinced that their time is rapidly approaching. Of one thing I am certain: There has never been a more urgent time when Gods people have needed to know His wonderful plan for the future, and it can be found in the one book that tells us the truththe Bible. Our generation has witnessed more fulfilled prophecy about the end times than any before us. This book will confront you with many of these signs.

Our Lord Himself warned His disciples seven times in the Olivet Discoursewhich is His description of the end timesthat there would be deceivers, false Christs, false teachers, and false prophets in the last days. That is an important reason we as Gods people should study the prophetic Word. If we are indeed the generation that is seeing the signs of the times, then we need to know what to expect so that we will not be deceived. Not only must we protect ourselves from falling into the error of these false teachers, but we can know with certainty Gods wonderful plan for the future.

Jesus Christ is coming again! Even many people who are not Christians believe that fact, according to a recent Gallup poll on religion. We cant know the day or the hour (Matthew 25:13), but we can know the season or general period of time. And we should all be prepared for Christ when He comes.

Thats what this book is all aboutto acquaint you with Gods plan for the future so you wont be deceived by false teachers and charlatans who come in sheeps clothing and lead many astray. You will see that the best days for mankind are yet ahead.

Prophecy is not so difficult that we cant understand it, or else God would not have put it into Scripture. This book is written to help you find out for yourself what God has in store for you in both your earthly and your eternal future. You will find it both exciting and inspiring, and I pray that it will motivate you to live every day as if your Lord could return to this earth at any moment as He promised and take you to be with Him, permitting you to become an eyewitness and participant in His exciting plan for the future of mankind.

A special feature of this book is that you will not only read about Bible prophecy, but youll have the opportunity to study it as well. This book can help you find out for yourself what prophecy teaches. It is a companion to my other study book by Harvest House Publishers, How to Study the Bible for Yourself.

This book is designed to give you a working knowledge of the basics of Bible prophecy and the study of future things. It will equip you to answer the false teachers who are popping up everywhere. Even more important, it will help you straighten out the thinking of the many people you meet who are being deceived by these false teachers.

The Bible challenges us to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). This book will help you rightly divide the truths of prophecy!

Y ou are about to embark on an exciting but sometimes controversial area of Bible studyone that could change your life. Prophecy sometimes becomes controversial because there are so many different opinions about it. Most of the controversies have to do with the timing of the Lords return or the interpretation of the signs related to His return. Rather than risk being labeled controversial, some Bible teachers rarely or never teach prophecy, even though it occupies nearly one-third of all Scripture.

A popular Bible teacher taught his congregation the entire New Testament book by book, from Matthew to Jude. After he finished, he started again at the book of Matthew. One of his students interrupted him and said, You have forgotten the book of Revelation (an entire book of prophecy). The teacher responded, Oh, its too controversial and too difficult to understand. Nonsense! Revelation 1:3 promises a blessing to those who read and obey the book of Revelation. And how can you get a blessing out of it if you cant understand it? God in His graciousness has given us prophecy, which is essentially history written in advance. The study of the end times, or eschatology as its referred to, will not only inspire us but prepare us for the events of the last days.