Profiting From Prophesying?

This past weekend (my weekend is Friday-Saturday) I stopped following many people that I used to respect when I was younger and far more naïve. I unfollowed multiple people on X, though some of them might have been unintentional casualties of a trigger-happy clicking campaign. I have this unnerving feeling that many ministries and agents of those ministries are profiting from speculation in a way that I find sensational.

I’m not saying conspiracy theories and the like are always untrue, but that we should stick to what the Bible says alone, not endless speculation. Being someone who has dealt with conspiracy-minded individuals throughout my walk with Christ, I’m learning that sticking to what the text says alone is the healthy thing to do. Conspiracy theories do far more harm than good, damaging relationships and a grounded sense of what’s real.

Could the Nephilim be in view of Jesus’s words in Matthew 24? That’s possible, but He far more likely was referring to the fact that life will go on as normal before He returns.

Could an asteroid hit us between 2028 and 2068? Sure, but I doubt that. God is in control of all things, including the timing of the events at the end of the age.

These events might be decades away, perhaps even centuries (ouch, the horror) away.

If we stick to the text alone, we find that many of these events aren’t yet close to fulfillment. There are political structures, kingdoms, cities, and geographical changes that need to happen that will not happen in the next few decades.

There’s been a movie going around suggesting Jesus will return in 2030. There’s a few ministries out there claiming it will be two years before that. Yet they have the identity of Mystery Babylon completely off. My opinion is (not fact), the reason that the city has been so hard to identify is because it doesn’t yet exist. None of the candidates tick all the boxes, and that’s a problem if we’re saying the end has to be close in proximity.

Speculation can be fun, there’s no doubt about that.

But the world has been worse before, and we came out ‌fine.

I’m sure many people thought World War II was it, yet here we are.

I will admit the red heifers being the reason that Israel was invaded is interesting, but even if they sacrifice them, what if they don’t use the ashes for another fifty years?

Are we willing to put our pride aside and realize that when Jesus said “no man knows the day or hour” that He meant exactly that?

No, it’s not a euphemism for the Feast of Trumpets.

I have to speculate that Jesus will ‌return around the Fall Feasts. But there is zero historical evidence pointing to the Feast of Trumpets being the day that no man knows the day or hour. Especially considering that a biblical new moon was the conjunction dark moon, not the sliver. Those two witnesses to the moon sliver would be out of luck if there was cloud cover for a week.

Biblical evidence suggests David’s best friend Jonathan knew when the New Moon was before it ever came.

1 Samuel 20:18 “Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.”

Doesn’t bode well for the traditions of men that say the sliver is the correct start to the month.

Back to the topic at hand.

We need to stop with the over-speculation.

A biblical teacher that I follow has made multiple statements about some of the prophecy summits that he’s been to. To paraphrase: “Is this a Bible summit or a UFO summit?”

Are there UFOs? Sure, the military has said as much. My personal take is that they are angelic crafts, considering not all angels have wings with which to fly.

But should we base our entire End Times paradigm on them? No way.

What about the Christians who think there will be a one-world government?

On the surface, it appears that the Antichrist will one day control all nations.

But the problem with that is, the Bible mentions in many places, the Antichrist will lead a kingdom made up of ten kings, not the whole world.

In fact, in Daniel 11, he is shown at war with many nations.

Some one-world leader that is. He can’t even take over Jordan, let alone America or Australia.

The Bible gives us the names of each of the nations that Jesus judges upon His return. They are all neighboring nations of Israel, not the farthest reaches of the globe (yes, globe).

It’s fun to think there’s a secret society planning to control all aspects of everything, but ‌God laughs at man’s plans. I’m not saying that people don’t work together for nefarious ends, but that we need to be careful with the Bible.

It has much to say on the climate of the End Times, and we aren’t there yet.

There’s nothing wrong with making money from preaching the gospel. We all need to make money. But to make a system where everything is tax-free because you donate to receive products is ‌shrewd and not the best.

My point is, the Bible tells us all about the action and what will happen.

Sensationalism sells books and movies, but the correct understanding of eschatology keeps us practical and grounded in our faith walk.

The trumpets and bowls seem to occur AFTER Jesus returns, which lines up with His statement that the world will, barring the Great Tribulation, be ‌normal until He returns.

So many prophecy teachers want to glamorize the destruction of the end of the age. Or claim they had visions of Wormwood, volcanoes, and the list goes on.

But so-called prophecies of asteroids, diseases, the Antichrist being alive today, etc. aren’t at all congruent with a biblical understanding.

We must live out what it means to be a Christian, and while prophecy is important, that hungry, homeless man you drive past every day could really use a meal. Or some money. A kind word, even.

I have nothing against studying eschatology. It’s fascinating and shows God knows the future over thousands of years of our existence.

But profiting off speculation seems distasteful.

I can’t in good conscience support ministries like that.

I have nothing against watching the sky, but ‌the sky isn’t ‌red yet.

I’m done following ministries that use speculation to feed a machine built upon the shifting sand of speculation. It’s a self-serving thing that doesn’t quite click for me.

Jesus taught us to love people and occupy until He comes.

And He wants us to be aware of the events at the end of the age.

But He pointed us to the prophecies in the Book of Daniel, which aren’t ‌here yet.

I don’t see a temple, ten kings, Babylon the Great, the Kings of the North and South, etc.

What are we to do in the meantime?

We are to love the people in this world and serve them with our gifts.

Hey, if I’m mistaken, I’ll be the first to get my head cut off. I would never worship the Beast.

But, in the meantime, let’s worship the King of Kings, and let Him have full control over our lives.

If we submit to Him, He’ll show us the right way to go, being the light to illuminate our path, so we don’t have to speculate on which direction we should go or whether this is that.