besieged Jerusalem. When good King Hezekiah heard how his people were intimidated and paralyzed with fear, he pled with Isaiah to pray for deliverance. Isaiah did one better. He predicted that Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, would hear a rumour of trouble back home—a rumour that would cause him to return to Assyria without attacking Jerusalem. You guessed it. That’s exactly what happened (Isaiah 37:5-7, 3638). And when Isaiah talked about “a virgin” someday being “with child” and calling this child’s name “Immanuel,” it was no fluke (Isaiah 7:14). Eight hundred years later, in a feeding trough in Bethlehem, the incredible reached zenith proportions. For the first time in the history of the world, God’s actual voice could be heard coming from tiny human vocal chords. Now that’s prophetic momentum, folks. Today, however, that same kind of prophetic precision falls flat. In fact, many have undertaken what I call “the dating game”—a half-baked attempt to pinpoint the day Christ will return. All of these predictions are made, mind you, in spite of the
fact that Jesus Himself said that only the Father knows when that event will occur (Matthew 24:36). Guard against setting dates and don’t follow those who do. Remember Y2K? We were told all the computers would crash and burn. Everything would grind to a halt. Nothing happened. I know people who based their ministry on that false prediction. Some even wrote books about it. I confess…I was tempted to write the authors and say, “Hey, how’s your book selling…now that it’s January 2?” Don’t set dates. Don’t think someone’s teaching is “deep” because he or she predicts the exact time of Christ’s coming. Jesus said, “It is not for you to know” (Acts 1:7). Only the Father knows. Never forget that! Prophets like Isaiah were not rookies who carried out hit-or-miss pre-game chapel programs for a few teams in Judah. No, they were the real deal, sent and anointed by God to be trusted and revered. They had prophetic momentum. Photograph of Chuck Swindoll © 2010 by David Edmonson
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