Why should we expect the policy of God to change, and the Pattern of God's dealing with humanity to be any different today than in the time of Christ? Why should we imagine the prophecies and the interpreters of prophecies today to be any less confused, perplexed, and subject to erroneous understanding in this time of Christ's Second Coming that at the time of His First Coming? If all Christians did agree on the meaning of prophecy, then certainly things would be different. But they do not agree. Might not this suggest that the purpose of these prophecies really hasn't changed? (89:2)

The Pattern is quite clear at least in one respect: the ways of God and the prophecies of God will continue to surpass and confound the wisdom and understanding of men. Only the humble and pure in heart find any Right Understanding in the Path leading to the Presence of the Promised One (89:3)

PROPHECIES and EVERLASTING LIFE-
At His First Coming, the prophecies did not play the role of leading people to Christ, but rather the same role that they play in this day: that of confirming the faith of those who believe in Him. Prophecies did not lead souls to the Christ because of their very nature: they can appear misleading; their tone can be either literal or symbolic or both with no clue to the seeker as to which instance is operative; they can seemingly state that certain things will surely come to pass when they do not actually come to pass; and they can seem to rule out things which, nevertheless, actually do come to pass. They are expressed in only a few words with little detail, but the mind of man takes the opportunity, often erroneously, to add details. Of course, in all cases, they speak the truth, the absolute truth. Before fulfillment, however, what that truth is, is simply not revealed. A knowledge of the prophecies do not, and can not lead, to the Christ (89:4)

Of course, if the prophecies appear misleading, it is the seeker who is actually misleading himself. If they appear to rule out, or "rule in" certain things, it is nothing but the seeker's assumptions regarding those holy words that has done the "ruling". If the details of the seeker's vision are wrong, the seeker has simply chosen the wrong details. And if, even to this day, the whole manner in which the true meaning of prophecy is revealed seems backwards, then certainly we have simply illuminated a characteristic of the human mind in attempting to understand the Mind of God: it is our thinking that is backwards, not His (89:5)

The Bible begins: "In the beginning God .. " God is first, and all things come afterward. The Bible does not state "In the beginning man .. " Whenever we place ourselves first, place our trust in our own understanding first, or place our own desires first, etc., we have placed ourselves in opposition to the divine order of things. We are not first. We should not wonder therefore, that the meaning of prophecies has been revealed in a way that is diametrically opposed to that which we would like it to be: namely that we can understand it ourselves without divine assistance (89:6)

Get Next Page