'Knowing' is Everything

By Lane Palmer, Christian Post Guest Columnist Saturday, March 21, 2009

Pretty awesome idea for an action adventure flick, wouldn't you say? A time capsule from 1958 is opened 50 years later and a mysterious piece of paper turns out to have a numerical code that predicted every major disaster down to the death toll.

Whoa!

But wait - there's more. There are several predicted catastrophes that haven't yet occurred. So it's the always-awesome Nic Cage in a race against time and people's skepticism to try and save as many lives as possible before... (cue the exciting adventure music), it's TOO LATE!!!

Well I'd have to say that I'd be a little more than freeeeeaked out if I found a paper like that. Yet of course we all know that information about the future is impossible...right? I mean, how could anyone be able to see in the future and lay out exact details of major events?

Unless...the God who created time and space in the first place pulled back the curtain of our limited knowledge and showed us an incredible look into the future.

And you know what? He did! The plot for "Knowing" is also the truth about the Bible. Literally hundreds of extremely specific prophecies are right there on the pages of Scripture and they have all come true exactly as predicted!

Check this out -

In 600 B.C., the prophet Daniel wrote about four major kingdoms that would rule over Israel. Over the next 600 years, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome (that makes four) ruled over the Jewish people. Coincidence? Don't think so.

Oh, and the Old Testament makes over 300 prophecies about Jesus Christ that all came to pass exactly as they were foreseen. Experts have estimated that the odds of that happening are 1 in 10 to 157th power*! In other words, that's one chance in 10 with 157 zeros after it!

Put simply, this knowledge is impossible unless God intended for us to 'know' it so that we could trust His word and believe Him when He talks about things to come.

And here is where I want you to experience a knowing moment, because just like the movie, there are several prophecies written in the pages of the Bible that have not yet occurred, and they are more catastrophic than anything Hollywood could ever put together.

So imagine opening a time capsule from 2000 years ago that makes these predictions:

The sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world - from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. – Jesus (Matthew 24:29-31)

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. – The Apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:10)

Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don't really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, "Everything is peaceful and secure," then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman's labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. – The Apostle Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3)

If you're like me, these predictions are just a bit unnerving. I know that they will come true because every other prophecy given in the Bible has come true, so why would we doubt these? And, like Nicholas Cage, we should be desperate about letting people know (with a loving attitude) that Judgment Day is no joke. Rather, it is an unavoidable date with destiny.

At the same time, we can take comfort in the fact that God is ultimately in control, and there is one more prophecy that can give us peace even in the midst of upcoming calamities and catastrophes: For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. –Jesus (John 3:16)

True, the world will end one day. But equally true is the fact that there is another life after this life that is eternal. If there is anything you should *know* about the future, it is this -

God made you. God loves you. Jesus died for you. Eternal life in heaven is yours forever if you simply put your faith in Jesus as your only hope of salvation. No matter how bad it gets, your place in the paradise in heaven is safe and secure.

See? Didn't I tell you that knowing is everything?

*Source: Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell.

Flashpoint: Ignite Into Action
The Bible has hundreds of fulfilled prophecies (check out www.100prophecies.org) so when it talks about things that have not yet taken place, we should definitely pay attention. This week, talk to your friends about the movie Knowing and pray for opportunities to bring up the subject of Biblical prophecies that concern the future. The goal would be to share the best prophecy of all, which is John 3:16!

Accelerant: Feed the Flames
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:36-37). Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:1-9).

For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened (Matthew 24:21-22).