March 24, 2000.
The Bible contains enough prophecy to keep our minds busy for countless years. There is no need to take non-prophetic texts and force them into a prophetic mold. But that is exactly what futurists do in several cases. They fabricate prophecy.
For example, futurists claim that the second and third chapters of Revelation are a prophetic outline of church history. They say the letters foretell the leading characteristics of the universal church from John’s time until the return of Christ. There is simply nothing to support this claim. The letters to the seven churches were obviously written to seven churches then in existence. Any Bible-times’ map of the area of today’s Turkey will show their locations. Each letter speaks of the current conditions which the Lord found in each church. There is not the slightest hint in the text that the letters are prophetic visions of supposed “church ages.”
In fact, there is positive proof against the claim. In Revelation 1:19, Jesus gives the three-fold outline of the book: “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.” Then in 4:1, the Spirit says, “Come up hither, and I will show you things which must be hereafter.” Since “hereafter” begins in 4:1, we are forced to take chapter 1 as “the things which you have seen,” and chapters 2 and 3 as “the things which are.” This is proof positive that the letters to the seven churches are messages regarding the conditions in each of them at the time John wrote.
Let us not be guilty of fabricating prophecy where there is no prophecy. The Bible contains enough prophecy to keep us occupied for a lifetime. We do not need to invent more.