Excerpt
MEN ARE CURIOUS ABOUT THE FUTURE
Most people are intensely curious to know what the future holds. We all want to know something about what will happen to our world and to us. The popularity of science fiction in recent years is an example of man’s desire to understand the future. Many people in the world seek answers to the future in a variety of ways, all of which are condemned by the God of the Bible; some turn to astrology, palm reading, taro cards, séances, witchcraft, and worship of assorted false gods or idols. They turn to every source except to the one true source, The Holy Word Of God, the Bible. Everyone in our modern society has access to the Word Of God these days, but only a handful of people avail themselves of the truths therein. A diligent study of the Bible reveals to us many of the future events in remarkable detail. However, it requires an intense pursuit of the scriptures to uncover what the Bible actually teaches about the future.
GOD WANTS PEOPLE TO KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
Approximately 25 percent of the scripture concerns prophecy. The book of Revelation is entirely about prophecy. It is the only Book in the Bible where God specifically promises to bless those who read this prophecy, and those who listen to it and obey it:
God blesses the one who reads this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to it and obey what it says. For the time is near when these things will happen. (Rev 1:3, NLT, emphasis added)
Everything that God plans is revealed to His prophets for our enlightenment:
The Sovereign LORD never does anything without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets. (Amos 3:7, TEV, emphasis added).
God has always revealed His plans and His mysteries to His servants the prophets, and they in turn revealed God’s plans to us through the scripture. For example, God used the prophet Daniel to reveal His mysteries of coming future events to King Nebuchadnezzar, and even this arrogant King recognized that God was indeed the revealer of mysteries:
The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery." (Dan 2:47, TNIV, emphasis added)
Peter, in his second epistle, tells us how important prophecy is to us. They are true messages to us from God and not something thought up by the prophets themselves. Their words help us to understand many things that we could not understand otherwise:
So we have seen and proved that what the prophets said came true. You will do well to pay close attention to everything they have written, for, like lights shining into dark corners, their words help us to understand many things that otherwise would be dark and difficult. But when you consider the wonderful truth of the prophets' words, then the light will dawn in your souls and Christ the Morning Star will shine in your hearts. 20 For no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God. (2 Peter 1:19-20, TLB, emphasis added)
In the book of Isaiah God has this to say about himself:
Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (Isa 46:9-10, KJV, emphasis added)
We learn ten things from these few scriptures: 1. God blesses those who read and study His prophecies. 2. God never does anything without revealing His plan to the prophets. 3. God is the revealer of mysteries. 4. God declares the end from the beginning. 5. God reveals from ancient times (the past) the things that are not yet done. 6. Whatever God determines shall stand, i.e. shall be fulfilled. 7. God will do whatever pleases Himself. 8. You will do well to pay close attention to everything the prophets have written. 9. No prophecy recorded in scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. 10. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God.
If you are curious to know what God has revealed to the prophets about THE LATTER DAYS, AT THE TIME OF THE END, hopefully this book will prove to be a blessing to you. As you work your way through the labyrinth of Bible prophecy you will find that there are many misconceptions about the end times and the resurrection/rapture. For instance, many Christians say, “we can’t know when the rapture will take place because Jesus said, ‘ . . . of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father,’” (Mark 13:32, KJV, emphasis added). Now this verse is absolutely true, but, it simply states that the very day and the very hour of Christ’s return is unknown to anyone even to Christ. That means the date and time, for example such as, October 2, 2010 at 10:00 AM cannot be known by anyone. This verse taken alone would close the issue of the time of Christ’s coming, end of story! However, other statements that Jesus made prove that we can know when His return is eminent; He said:
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