26 Jun 2012

II Peter 3:2

Posted by joncooper

II Peter 3:2: “That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:”

Here Peter begins a fascinating discussion on the Second Coming. What I find particularly interesting is that Peter urges us to “be mindful” of these prophecies! This is in sharp contrast to many pastors today who teach that studying prophesy is (at best) a waste of time, or (at worst) a demonic distraction that draws us away from Christ. Modern pastors have a thousand reasons why we should not “be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets”. In the eyes of many (including some of the most prominent spokespeople for Christianity that are alive today) the field of prophesy is held in extremely low esteem. People are urged to not “be mindful”. And people are quite happy to do that; they become “pan-millennial”, believing that it will “all pan out in the end” so there’s no sense in studying the field. By and large, the church’s attitude toward these things is “Why bother? Who cares?”

Yet that is not what the Bible teaches. It clearly urges us to study what the prophets had to say, and to be mindful about it. This is a command, not a suggestion or word of advice. The whole reason God included these things in the Bible is because He wanted us to take heed to them and pay attention.

Revelation 1:3 says “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”, not “Please don’t read this book of prophecy; it is just a demonic distraction, and has no impact on your life. It will all pan out in the end anyway, so why should you care?”

The Bible itself emphasizes the study of prophecy. It is something we should understand, not something we should ignore.

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