The Apostle John tells us there are three types of believers. The old, the young and the ugly. Concerning the first two, John says:

I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:14 New American Standard Bible).

About the last type, John says this:

But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes (1 John 2: 11).

Yesterday, it suddenly dawned on me which category I was in. And, to be honest, it kind of hurt my ego. I won't say more. This much I will say; At least I'm not in that last group.

What started me thinking about this subject was our book shelf. It has six shelves and is stuffed with books two deep. If we average 25 books across per shelf, at two deep, we come up with approximately 300 books. And, this is just our religious book shelf.

Of course, many are about my favorite subject, Bible prophecy. Some date back to the early fifties. A few go back even farther, such as Larkin's Dispensational Truth.

So, if we were to apply John's three categories to students of Bible prophecy, you know where you would find me.

Perhaps we could break it up this way. The old would be those who were first influenced by books dated from Hal Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth and before. The young would be those influenced by Tim Lahay's Left Behind series and after.

How about that last category? Well, the way I see it, that would be those students, from any group, who can't debate the subject of prophecy in genuine love.

Why break down the old from the young with the Left Behind series. Because, it was at this point there was a change in the popular view -- both in teaching and emphasis.

With respect to the change in teaching, before the Left Behind series, the majority of us students of prophecy were expecting some kind of 10 nation alliance to appear in Western Europe. After the Left Behind series, we began expecting 10 global regions to appear.

In regard to emphasis, before the Left Behind series, we were emphasizing the importance of the actual geo-political realties. After Left Behind, we began emphezing the importance of the pre-tribulation view of the rapture. That's not to say both camps didn't believe in the pre-tribulation view. It's just that the first camp understood that the view was just a theory.

So, I'm speaking to you fathers. I'm asking you to remember. And, I'm asking you to consider the facts on the ground in Israel and Europe. No, we can't say for sure. But, you must admit, the recent events that I've been reporting appear to be exactly what we were expecting. The only difference is, they may not be happening in the expected order.

Now, I'm speaking to you young. Consider the wisdom of the fathers. Keep your mind and eyes open. The subject of Bible prophecy has been around and debated for generations. And, many generations have been wrong.

To you ugly?

I've nothing to say.