57: Interpreting End-Time Prophecy Is Futile

Why did God make end-time prophecy so cryptic? In this episode, we explore how even the prophets didn’t fully understand what they were recording—and how angels longed to understand it. Prophecy wasn’t given to help us decode headlines. It was meant to build faith, give hope, and remind us who’s really in control. Instead of speculation, let’s choose trust.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
(Music)
Welcome to the Ready for Eternity
podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to
inquisitive Bible students exploring
biblical truths that might not be fully
explored in typical sermons or Bible
studies. My name is Eddie Lawrence. There

(00:23):
are unfulfilled prophecies in the Bible
about the end of time. Can we know
exactly what's going to happen or is
interpreting end-time
prophecies a futile endeavor?
(Music)
Jesus fulfilled many Old Testament
prophecies, but some Bible prophecies

(00:46):
still await their fulfillment. He secured
the ultimate victory, but the enemy still
resists. The powers of darkness continue
to fight, and God has not yet revealed
His final move. So we still wait for
prophecies about the last days, Christ's

(01:06):
return, and the final
defeat of evil to unfold.
Some prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. No
one, not humans, angels, or the devil,
unraveled the mystery of the Messiah's
first coming. I think end-time prophecy
works the same way. God continues to

(01:30):
conceal His plan. He doesn't tip His hand
to the enemy. He kept His purpose hidden
before Jesus came, and He still keeps it
hidden. Some Christians obsess over
eschatology, that is, the study of end
times. They track every global event,

(01:51):
especially those in the Middle East, as
if each one fulfills Bible prophecy. In
their view, no detail is too small to
matter. I have a friend who puts it this
way. He said, "If you ask the end-times
prophecy nerds what the latest news from
the Middle East means, the one thing

(02:12):
they'll never say is it doesn't mean
anything." In our last episode, we talked
about how God made
prophecy cryptic for a reason.
Paul said it was to prevent the powers of
darkness from gaining an advantage.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets

(02:32):
who foretold the grace to come to you
searched and investigated carefully,
trying to determine the time and setting
to which the Spirit of Christ in them was
pointing when He predicted the sufferings
of Christ and the glories to follow. It
was revealed to them that they were not
serving themselves but you, when they
foretold the things now announced by

(02:54):
those who preached the Gospel to you by
the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even
angels long to look into these things. 1
Peter 1, 10 to 12. Then, as now, God
didn't intend for the mystery to be
understood until after the prophecies
were fulfilled. The secret things

(03:17):
belonged to the Lord our God, but the
things revealed belonged to us and to our
children forever so that we may follow
all the words of this law. Deuteronomy
29, 29. So why did God give us these
mysterious prophecies at all? Well, even

(03:37):
if we can't crack them in advance, they
still serve profound purposes. Here's
five reasons. 1. Prophecy proves God is
in control. 2. After the events happen,
the fulfilled prophecies become evidence
that God was directing the story all

(03:59):
along. It's retrospective confirmation
that history didn't happen by chance. God
didn't react to events. He orchestrated
them. Isaiah 46, 10 puts it like this. 2.
I declare the end from the beginning, and
ancient times from what is still to come.

(04:21):
I say, "My purpose will stand, and all my
good pleasure I will accomplish."
Prophecy isn't just about prediction.
It's about providence.
Reason number two. Fulfilled prophecy
builds faith. When we look back and see

(04:41):
that God said what would happen, and then
it did, it strengthens trust. Jesus told
his disciples things ahead of time so
that they would believe afterward. And
now I have told you before it happens, so
that when it does happen, you will

(05:01):
believe. John 14, 29. 2. It's not about
decoding the future. It's about
recognizing God's hand
when it becomes clear.
3. Prophecy gives hope. Even
if we don't understand the how,
prophecy assures us that God has a plan.

(05:24):
He's not winging it.
We may not know the path,
but we know the destination.
Christ wins, and God is hands-on in this
world. That's a huge
comfort in a chaotic world.
4. Prophecy invites humility.

(05:45):
God reveals just enough to remind us He's
working, but not so much that we think we
can take control. It humbles both the
wise and the powerful. Even the prophets
didn't fully understand what they were
writing, according to 1 Peter 1, verses
10-12. It keeps us watchful, dependent,

(06:06):
and focused on obedience
instead of speculation.
Reason number 5. Clues protect freedom
without spoiling the plan. God drops
hints not so people can game the system,
but so that those who want to trust Him
can recognize His fingerprints. Prophecy

(06:29):
gives breadcrumbs, not so we can skip to
the end, but so that we'll follow the
author through the story. Prophecy
invites us into the mystery, not to solve
it ahead of time, but to trust the one
who wrote it. We walk by faith, not
foresight. We interpret in hindsight,

(06:54):
not by speculation. Prophecy is only
clear after its fulfillment.
If prophecy only becomes clear in
hindsight, we should approach end-times
prophecy with caution and humility. God
who once concealed His plan from the
prophets, angels, and spiritual powers

(07:16):
still follows the same strategy. So we
need to ask, could we be just as blind to
the big picture concerning the end times
as they were before Christ came? I think
the answer to that is almost certainly
yes. We shouldn't try to decode every

(07:37):
headline. Instead, we should live in
readiness, trusting that God will reveal
what's hidden at the right time. Until
then, our role isn't to
speculate, but to stay faithful.

(08:10):
That's the word "ready," the number four,
and the word "eternity."
Readyforeternity.com. Be sure and leave a
comment on the Ready for Eternity
Facebook page or reach out on Twitter.
That's all for now. Keep studying your
Bible, growing closer to God, and getting
ready for eternity. See you next time.