“Proclamation, Not Prognostication”
Luke 21:5-28 & 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
11-16-2025
In the name of Him who is coming again with power and great glory, dear friends in Christ. Of all the ideal jobs available, I think there’s one that ranks at the top pf my list. Can you guess what it is? It’s the person who announces the Powerball results. Shoot, I’d wear a tuxedo to stand there and proclaim the numbers as they come up. Since that’s probably not a long-term gig, my second favorite is weather forecaster. Why, you may ask, would I like to be a weatherman? Well, it’s about the only job where you can be wrong more than half the time and still get paid. I can’t get away with that in this profession and I bet that the great majority of you can’t either. Seriously, though, when it comes to the preaching of God’s Word you rightfully expect accuracy. I may occasionally tell you my opinion on peripheral matters, but when it comes to the Inspired Word of God, I have no business messing around with its purity. That’s why when I step into this pulpit to preach a sermon, it is proclamation, not prognostication.
Okay, wait a minute. What’s prognostication? No, it’s not when you keep putting things off. That’s procrastination. Prognostication is when someone predicts things that are to come. So, a weatherman is a prognosticator because he predicts the weather. My calling as a Pastor is not to prognosticate, that is, predict things that are to come in the future. Rather, I am called to proclaim the Word of God to you. Christian preaching is to be proclamation, not prognostication.
That’s fine Pastor, but what’s your point? Well, in our world today there is no small amount of confusion about this issue. Maybe I’m exposed to it more than you, but I regularly come across ministries in the Christian Church that are focused on prognostication. Oh, that’s not the name they use. Rather they call it “prophecy.” As if applying that word somehow sanctifies what they say. Sadly, that term is being abused in many cases. A pretty crass example of this happened back in 1987 when evangelist Oral Roberts claimed to have had a prophetic dream. Supposedly the Lord told him that if he didn’t raise $8 million by a certain time, God would cause him to die. He didn’t, by the way. He lived for 22 more years even though he didn’t raise all the money. Others have prophesied that there would be earthquakes in places like California. Now there’s a safe bet for you!
One of my favorite “prophecies” is one my daughter Rebekah got in the mail years ago. This “prophet” sent her a little vial of water taken from a spring near the Chernobyl in Russia. After the nuclear accident there, supposedly people drank from this water and didn’t die. Anyway, she was to “anoint” herself with this water so that the blessings of his prophecy for her would come true. He then promised to share with her 7 prophetic events that he would reveal just for her. Actually, he only shared 4 of them. One of them was that she’d receive between $1,700 and $17,000 from an unexpected source. A year went by and the money didn’t show up. Color me surprised! However, if she’d send in just 17 measly dollars he promised to tell her the other 3 prophecies. Considering that the first 4 were doozies, it might have been worth the 17 bucks. But she decided to skip the offer.
Some of these examples are pretty harmless. And some are downright shameful attempts at separating people from their money. My whole point is that just because someone uses the term “prophecy” that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s from the Lord. Besides, you need to know that prophecy and prognostication are not the same thing. To be sure, there certainly were prophets in the Bible. And they were inspired by God to say what they said. Sometimes they predicted future events, but the great majority of their ministry was proclamation. Check it out for yourself. Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others spent the great majority of their time proclaiming the already revealed Word of God. They warned Israel that they were straying from God’s holy will. They called Israel to repentance. They also spoke God’s Word of mercy and the comfort that He would send a Savior.
Yes, sometimes these prophets spoke about future events. By the inspiration of God, they foretold the defeat of Israel and their captivity. They also foretold the coming of Jesus Christ. And a select few in both the Old and New Testament gave us some inspired words about the end of the world. Jesus Himself spoke about that. In verse 7 of our text the disciples asked Him about when it would happen and what the signs of the end would be. Christ gave them some general information about wars, earthquakes, famines and pestilence. Those have been occurring regularly ever since. But He gave no specific dates. In Matthew 24 Jesus says, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So, it’s useless to prognosticate about the Last Day. Instead, the Bible tells us to be prepared for when it does come.
But c’mon, what’s so bad about prognostication? Well, listen again to what Jesus says in verse 8: “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.” The real problem with diddling around with prognostication is that it can distract us from what Christ has called Christians to do while we wait for His return. If we get sidetracked with “prophetic prognostication” we can go off the path into one of two dangerous ditches. First, as we see the signs of the end all around us, we can become frozen in fear. But Jesus tells us that when you see all these things, “Do not be terrified.” Instead, He says to raise up your heads because “your redemption is drawing near.” As odd as it may sound, we ought to rejoice as we see our world coming apart at the seams. Not because it’s fun and certainly not because it’ll be an easy ride for Christians. Trouble is in our future. But we can rejoice because it means the fulfillment of Christ’s promised return is soon to arrive. And we know that when He returns, He will take all believers home to heaven with Him.
The other ditch we can swerve off into is that of laziness. St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about such a problem in the Epistle. Some of those folks decided that since Jesus was returning soon, they’d quit work and sit around waiting. They were relying on the generosity of other believers to support them. Sure, we’re supposed to be watching and waiting with anticipation for Christ’s return, but we are not supposed to be idle. It might come in a day, a year, or a thousand years. Believers are to be busy at their God-given vocations while also busily spreading the good news of salvation.
Think back to what Jesus said in verse 7 about wars, earthquakes, famines and pestilence. Those predictions are enough to scare a person about the impending end of the world. Yes, time is short, and now is the time of salvation. There won’t be any second chances. But does Jesus wants us to use those things to scare lost souls into believing? I think not, and I’ve got the Bible and Christ’s own words to back that up. Imagine what the Christian Church could do with all the time, money, and energy that goes into these prognostications. Predicting the next earthquake or tsunami or hurricane is about as useful as a solar-powered flashlight. (Don’t worry, you’ll get it later.) Jesus says these disasters in nature are going to happen anyway. That is not our focus. Rather, we are to concentrate on what God has already revealed in His Word.
Back in 1987, the LSU basketball team was playing Indiana for the regional finals. LSU was leading by 8 points with only a few minutes left in the game. Then, something strange happened. The LSU players began watching the clock more than concentrating on playing basketball. Indiana closed the gap and ended up winning by 1 point. That’s a perfect illustration for what we’re talking about with prophetic prognostication. As we see the signs of the end it’s like a clock ticking off the final days of this earth. We too can get distracted with watching the clock instead of concentrating on being faithful and active followers of Jesus. He bids us to stay focused on Him. And that is precisely why we are to be busy with proclamation, not prognostication. God has already said everything He needs to say about His plan of salvation in the Holy Bible. We don’t need any “new” revelations. Hebrews chapter 1 puts it this way, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...”
Does God-inspired prophecy still occur today? You bet! You’re listening to it right now. I don’t say that for self-aggrandizement. Just like the prophets of old, God calls me to proclaim to you the already revealed Word of God. Prophecy in the sermon involves pointing out our sinful disobedience of God’s Law. It involves a call to repentance. And prophecy in the sermon also involves proclaiming the Gospel of God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ, His Son. So, you see, in a real sense I am a modern-day prophet! As tempting as it may be, I’m not going to ask you to send me money to keep this prophecy flowing. It’s free of charge. And no, I’m not going to predict who’s going to win the next football game, or the next earthquake, or your next hangnail for that matter. Instead, I have the joy of proclaiming the Gospel, not prognosticating about what’s yet to come. Christ is returning in the future and that you can be sure of. Rather than busying ourselves with trying to figure out when, He wants us to be busy with doing the tasks He has laid before. May we be busy then with proclaiming the good news of salvation through Jesus alone. That way the Lord will find us active and faithful when He does return to this earth on the Last Day. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!