Prophecy is from God. Prophecy is important. Prophecy affects everyday life. Prophecy is written for us. We should read prophecy. Prophecy is meant to be understood. I am so thankful for the solid prophecy teachers. And, by that, I mean those who do not try to sensationalize it. I may disagree with some, but that does not make them incompetent. I still listen. However, prophecy is not written for Hollywood movies. Neither is it written for some Netflix series.
My morning usually begins with me fixing breakfast while listening to a prophecy podcast of some kind. Unfortunately, by the time the podcaster quits talking about himself or his quest, my bacon is done and I’m ready to fry my eggs. Too often I miss the end of the podcast because of the wasted time of either bad background music or ping pong flattery between the host and the guest. And that time for the moment has expired because of other daily rituals. Nevertheless, I usually repeat the same routine the next morning.
Golf is an amazing game to some. It can be both relaxing and highly competitive. Either way, if someone wants to play golf…well, good for them. But I listen to prophecy podcasts for prophecy, not golf updates. Too often, I hear this while I am frying my bacon… “So, how is your golf game?” Or “I talked to so-and-so at the last conference and he said that he can beat you at your game.” Or “Yes, travelling to my many speaking engagements at conferences has kept me off the course. So, I need to get back on it.” There is a golf channel on television. Of the few times that I have watched it, not once did I hear the announcers talking about Bible prophecy. Yet, too many Bible prophecy guys like to talk about golf. What’s the deal with that? And then following that sport’s update, we have to listen to the host tell everybody how smart the guest is, and how much education he has, and how many college degrees he has, and how many conferences he speaks at, and how many times both the guest and host have spoken together at conferences, and how many future conferences they will be speaking at together and then naming the other conference speakers they have spoken with or will be speaking with… By then, I have eaten my eggs, and I am almost through eating my grits. Now, do not get me wrong, education is great. But I would rather someone have the Bible in their heart than to hear anyone boast about their college degrees hanging on the wall behind their elaborate desks or show-rooms, especially if there is annoying music playing in the background. And what’s with the long slide show introductions, with annoying music? And then we have the conference speaker who (almost) seems to want more attention to his attire than to his prophecy knowledge. And he has been known to pass out Liberace-style jackets to his peers, as if that is a secret sign to club membership. Can we just talk about the subject at hand? That being biblical prophecy as we see it unfolding today. That is too important to trivialize with distracting non-essentials, i.e. golf updates, annoying music, bad taste in jackets.
Yet, I am thankful for the good prophecy teachers. And I will continue to listen to some (not all).
“See y’all at the next conference! Don’t forget your jacket! Fooooorrrrre!”
