By John Claevs 

In a Peanuts cartoon, Peppermint Patty reminds Charlie Brown, "You heard what that speaker said, Chuck. He said we're in the last days!" Charlie Brown responds with: "I know. I heard him say the world is coming to an end." In the third frame, Peppermint Patty continues with: "Marcie said the world can't end today because it's already tomorrow in Australia." In the final frame, we see this final interaction, as Charlie Brown begins with: "Maybe we should go to Australia." Finally, Peppermint Patty retorts: "Don't make jokes, Chuck."

For many, Bible prophecy is understood no better than it seems to be by Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty. It is like the definition of eschatology (the study of future things) given by a confused student who wrote: "It is the study of eschats."

Bible prophecy buffs do not seem to help the clarity of this study when they are all over the map with their "understandings" of the issue. Neither do they help people take Bible prophecy seriously due to some of the embarrassing predictions that have been proclaimed in recent years.

As a result, most do not see the importance of understanding Bible prophecy. This is a tragedy, because God assigns it much importance for us. How do we know that? One-fourth of God's written communication to us-the Bible-deals with the future. Clearly, the massive amount of material God has given to us about the future broadcasts importance.

But there are also other important reasons why Christians should seek to understand Bible prophecy. For example... Continue Reading Here