The Relevance of Understanding Our Times in Light of Bible Prophecy

Posted by: Richard Stevens on Jan 31, 2012

What are “strategic trends“ and why should we study and discuss them with other Christians?

The term “strategic trends” describes the long-term, tactical analysis of current events through the “lens of Scripture.” In other words, it’s evaluating the general direction of our current times and their potential fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Tracking trends involves knowing what the Bible says prophetically and assessing how current events align with it.

Jews were given over 300 prophecies in their Tenach (the Old Testament) that Jesus fulfilled in His lifetime. Even though they knew and studied these prophecies, they were unable to discern the times or recognize the events related to them. Jesus wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19:42-44 as He lamented over their blindness and coming destruction “because you didn’t recognize the time when God came to help you.”

In Matthew 24, Jesus warns of another time when all men will be deceived (even the elect), a time when we will carelessly go about our lives without discernment or concern for the coming proverbial “flood,” like the days of Noah. Understanding the Biblical relevance of our juncture not only gives us hope, it also helps us love those around us by warning of God’s pending wrath and His desire that no one should go through it or perish (1 Thes 5:9, Jhn 3:16).

Discerning strategic trends isn’t new. I Chronicles 3:12 describes the “sons of Issachar” (one of the twelve Jewish tribes) who “kept up-to-date in their understanding of the times and knew what to do” (ISV). These were 200 leaders, along with ALL their relatives under their command, who purposefully devoted themselves to the “so what factor” of their times and put together plans of action based on their assessments.

As Christians in the Church, we experience the Greek word “koinonia” (fellowship) through sharing our common union through Jesus. We gather to celebrate what God is doing in our lives, collectively listen to what He’s telling us through His Word, study doctrinem sharpen one another and pray together. Through the process of deliberating current events with other Christians, we can help each see through the “deceit” Jesus warned of and how to address specific situations with Biblical action (including our attitudes and intentions).

In addition to responsibly discerning Biblical prophecy, it’s also important to evaluate and discern our news sources n this “information age.” We we are constantly bombarded with biased and even false news from both conservative and liberal sources, network and independent. It’s vital for Christians to recognize hidden agendas, false doctrines, false flags, bread-and-circus tactics, facts vs. opinions, reports vs. commentary, etc. in the communication of “news.”

Each member of our study group is identifying individual areas of interest to track and ways we communicate what we learn with others. We encourage our fellow Christian brothers and sisters to consider these same things.

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