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The Valley of Decision by Dene McGriff & Doug Krieger “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” (II Peter 3:4)
I remember in graduate school in 1972, the Club of Rome proved mathematically that the world could not sustain its population in the book “Limits to Growth.” We see whole groups started based upon their prophetic interpretation: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) – these all making dire predictions and timelines which have been missed time and again, resulting in multiple date setting (whoops, missed that one); secret Investigative Judgments in heaven (not on earth); and, of course, Temple Building to replace the Temple in Jerusalem and Joseph Smith claiming divine revelation in taking the verse in Malachi 3:1 … “And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant . . . Behold, He is coming” to mean we literally should be building temples! Then you have various psychics such as Nostradamus to the Mayan Calendar ending on December 21, 2012. Of course, Hollywood has glorified these speculations with movies about the end of days, Armageddon, Left Behind, 2012, etc. On a more serious note, you have prophetic predictions by Hal Lindsey who called for the end by 1987 (40 years after Israel became a nation – along with other outrageous predictions which never came about) to several missed and one upcoming call by Harold Camping whose pending Judgment Day is arriving in just a few days from now – May 21, 2012. And then we are all aware of the real crazies such as Jim Jones, David Koresh, and the Heaven’s Gate Hale-Bopp Comet suicide group. The late Dave Wilkerson also began to predict the coming judgment beginning with “The Vision” in 1974 followed by several others. Time has come and gone – WHERE IS THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING? BEWARE OF BIBLE PROPHECY – IT’S DISTRACTING! The fact is, very few pastors have much to say about the “end times” these days. Why unnecessarily scare people and damage your credibility at the same time? I mean, after all, there are so many opinions and it really doesn’t have anything to do with the “here and now” – does it? I have been attending a church for a year and haven’t heard a single message on prophecy. It is just way too dangerous, too controversial, potentially too terrifying for the flock. Why stir up a hornet’s nest of controversy if you don’t have to? Why cry wolf and discredit yourself as just another false prophet? Besides, doomsayers have been off for centuries – why believe these guys now?
Most people just don’t care and pastors just don’t want to go there. Even the Bible as quoted above in II Peter notes that people were mocking God because people were just plain tired of waiting – from the beginning of creation and now we add another two thousand years! Enough is enough! Let’s just get on with our lives! It seems that just as soon as the doomsayers convince us that the sky is falling, we seem to get another breath of fresh air and keep on going. After all, most of us think, the world doesn’t have to last forever – just as long as I’m here (and maybe a little longer for our kids’ sake). So is prophecy relevant? Which prophecy? Taught by whom? Is it relevant in my everyday life? Who should I listen to? Where should I get information? How do I determine which is right and which is wrong? Isn’t that just about impossible? Decisions, decisions – multitudes in the Valley of Decision – for the “day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision” – but you could have fooled me! Avoid Prophecy because it is Divisive Aren’t we told to keep the unity and avoid division? Can you think of a more controversial and divisive subject? We have always been taught that we are to keep the unity of the faith, which has to do with the essentials of the faith such as the person and work of Jesus Christ. We are taught: · In the essential beliefs we have unity. · In the nonessential beliefs we have liberty. · In all our beliefs we show love. In keeping with our “open society,” we are told we should be tolerant and loving, not intolerant, harsh and divisive. That really sounds great but is it really true? Prophecy may not be an essential element of the faith but our view of prophecy will determine what we do or don’t do. The greatest deception of all time will occur in the last days and if we don’t pay attention to the prophetic warnings and decode their meaning for us, we will be in all likelihood deceived. If we don’t think for ourselves and aren’t enlightened by the Spirit but accept what is commonly taught, we will be deceived. If we allow ourselves to be programmed by the media, we will be deceived. If we listen to Christian teachers steeped in tradition and outdated teachings, we will be deceived. If we are lazy and don’t care, we will be deceived. If 99 percent of the people are headed down the broad way and we don’t buck the tide, we will be deceived. Few will dare to strike out with the Lord outside the camp but nearly all will stay with the crowd. The problem is that “relationships” often trump truth. Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). I don’t think Jesus is telling us to hate our loved ones but to love Him more and be careful to not allow relationships draw us away from the truth. “Relationships” should never trump our relationship with Christ. Remember, in the last days, there will be a great persecution. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.” (Matthew 24:8-10). “But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles” (Matthew 19:16-18). Just as the religious establishment opposed Jesus, it will oppose true believers; yes, we will be brought up before them. The apostate church will find itself in the same position the Jewish establishment was with Christ – opposing Him to the point of killing Him. Do you think we will be worthy of any less? The deceived, those unwilling to give up the world and even their lives for Him, will be leading the charge against us. The question is: Which side will you and I be on? The receiving or giving end of persecution! This is no small matter. YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH
A good friend of mine used to always say when describing a brother who was obviously promoting false teaching, “…but he’s such a nice guy” - as if that makes up for the false teaching. I’m sure there are many “nice” people, but what do they really stand for? When it comes to prophecy, certainly one’s opinion of when the rapture occurs, the identity of the Antichrist or other fine points of prophecy have nothing to do with our salvation but they may have a lot to do with whether we are deceived or not. We are far too apathetic about these matters. Sure we can say, I’m not a pre-tribber or a post-tribber but a “pan” tribber (as in everything will “pan out”) but the fact of the matter is with any teaching there is only one truth. A false teaching will lead us and others astray. If we don’t have discernment, we will be deceived. Doug Krieger remembers going to a large “prophecy conference” held in Sacramento some years back. A very well-known preacher from Southern California got up and declared that he was a “pan-tribulationist” – everyone laughed . . . all but Doug (well, maybe a few others didn’t think it was that funny either). Doug felt that the brother’s remark trivialized the issue – an issue so important to the Lord’s purposes that he shared with several brethren: “The comment about ‘pan-tribbers’ that came out of that brother’s mouth discredited his whole presentation – I fear that this guy’s hurting somewhere else and doesn’t really embrace the urgency of His coming again and our preparation for that moment.” Within several months that brother “fell from grace” and his famous radio program was suspended right in the middle of a broadcast – he also was asked to step down from his pulpit. Our salvation is not at stake – the truth is at stake. What matters is whether we will be deceived or not in the midst of the greatest deception and tribulation the world has ever experienced. If you have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you know this didn’t come to you because you agreed to believe in a list of facts or teachings. Something happened deep within your heart. You realized how much you needed God’s solution, how sinful you felt. It came as an inward revelation that spread like the morning dawn growing ever brighter. Something happened deep inside your innermost being. In the same way prophecy is not a matter of just reading the Bible or someone’s books or articles (even ours!) but it is an inward revelation by the Spirit of God which confirms the urgency to live your life all-out for the Lord and to “warn everyone night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31) – and that warning had everything to do with Paul’s prophetic words regarding “savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock…also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking misleading things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-30). So, hey, wolves in sheep’s clothing – bearing gifts – beware; normally, the prophetic truth hurts. It hurts our comfortable lives and is considered rocking the boat and it certainly is not viewed by most within the “prosperity gospel” realms as positive reinforcement! Misleading the flock has among some become an art form. Deception is just that – it deceives. Most of us don’t know its coming until it’s too late. DANIEL AND REVELATION – TIMING IS EVERYTHING!
He took the most cryptic and important message in the Bible and concealed and sealed it up until the time of the end. The reason the study of prophecy is such a controversial mess has everything to do with people trying to make sense out of it before the time of the end. Of course, if you were a Seventeenth Century Christian, you would interpret prophecy in terms of your world view at the time. If you were a Christian in Hitler’s Germany, or after during the Cold War, you would see something else. You would develop a theological construct with hundreds of “proofs” for your position. One thing I want you to understand is that I am not here to disparage any of the wonderful saints that have gone before, just to say that they tried their best but the timing and interpretation was premature. They didn’t have the capacity to understand based on the current world situation; furthermore, God wasn’t ready to open up the secrets of the Book quite yet. Now this may blow your mind, but, if we are at the “time of the end” spoken of by Daniel, then God is ready to reveal these truths to His peoples (and I use the plural because this applies to Jews and Christians alike). God wants to open up the prophetic word to us like never before in history. Have you ever found a really interesting book and found yourself thumbing back and forth checking and double checking things (kind of like the Bible). That is exactly what this passage says, “many (not just your pastor or Doug and Dene) will thumb back and forth through the Bible” and God will illuminate their hearts and minds as to prophetic meaning that has been sealed up for thousands of years and knowledge will increase exponentially – the secrets revealed – but not until the end! What makes this time in history so unique and confirming that we are in the “end of days” has everything to do with Israel’s materiality, rebirth. Likewise, never has the world witnessed such extreme calamities, false christs and false prophets – the “great falling away from the faith” is in full sway and all the descriptions found in II Timothy 3:1-9 are in full bloom! Furthermore, Babylon the Great has reached the climax of her military, commercial and religious prowess – everything has lined up in the Middle East . . . we’re well into the “end of days” as we hear, louder and louder, the “footsteps of the Messiah” as found in Matthew 24. SIR ISAAC NEWTON AND THE BOOK OF DANIEL In the ancient Targum Sir Isaac Newton discovered that Daniel 12:4 had an additionally peculiar meaning which has recently come to light:
In other words, those who claim that the Almighty would never “hide the meaning” of the text for prophetical reasons, are just plain wrong. He purposefully had Daniel “obscure the matters and seal the book until the time of the End.” Therefore, “shutting up the words” were in and of themselves a “timing issue” insofar as “the time of the End” approached. “Some have concluded that Newton realized this prophetic charge and, consequently, used in his studies of Daniel, the mode of communication to a future audience . . . believing that his theological and chronological works would serve the investigations of scholars in the future, and that they addressed the same theme as the prophecies of Daniel, Newton recorded them in like manner . . . the information in these works (of Newton) extended far beneath the surface. Only those wise enough to discern the clues would be awarded the secret of understanding in the time of the end.” (Temple at the Center of Time, David Flynn, Official disclosure, A division of Anomalos Publishing House, Crane 65633, 2008, pp. 30-31). Rev. J. W. Brooks in 1840 mused: “About the time of the end, in all probability, a body of men will be raised up, who will turn their attention to the prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation in the midst of much clamor and opposition.” (The Literalism Elements of Prophetical Interpretation, Rev. J. W. Brooks, E. G. Dorsey, Printer, Philadelphia USA, 1840, V. Preface p. VI) We have been doing this for many years and love to hear from our readers. I can honestly say, no one has ever told us thanks for helping them see something new, but what we share confirms what the Lord has already shown the reader. This is not an issue of any person being special. No! Each one of us needs to get into the Book and go back and forth through it and let the Lord give them the revelation. This is not to say, we can’t learn from each other. In fact, we are part of a network of believers; and God is using our brothers and sisters in Christ to help us see ever more clearly the “end times’ truth” embedded in the prophetic Scriptures. Just as God revealed His Son Jesus Christ to you, He wants to reveal His grand and marvelous prophetic plan for you and your family. Remember the verses above say we are called to be a testimony to the world. Is Prophecy as taught in “Churches” relevant? I want to begin with a disclaimer. This is not meant to criticize anyone in particular, but it is critical of a system and a process which has led to where we are today. The question posed is: Is prophecy as taught in churches today relevant? My answer is, probably not. If you look at the curricula of Bible Schools and Seminaries (if they even teach much prophecy/eschatology), you will see that it is steeped in history and tradition. It perpetuates teachings that go back to the Nineteenth Century that were further developed in the last century. It used to be that the liberal Protestant and Roman Catholic churches refrained from the prophetic – even eschewing it – but now, the bastions of fundamentalism and evangelical enlightenment concerning the prophetic, have abandoned their original calling and fervency and handed most of their enthusiasm over to people like Harold Camping, the Seventh Day Adventists and the Jehovah Witnesses. Aside from a few Dispensationalists and the Tim LaHays and Hal Lindseys, most of the mighty prophets who heralded Israel’s rebirth and the Coming of the Lord during the 1800s and 1900s have folded up their tents and stole away into the night – WHERE IS THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING? Recently, the evangelical churches have been gradually separating into several different camps: the Preterists basically believe everything that was prophesied was fulfilled by 70 AD. This camp is growing. The larger part of the evangelical movement believes in the pre-tribulation rapture, a secret rapture of the church prior to the Tribulation (or the Seventieth Week of Daniel) followed by the second coming of the Lord at the end of the Tribulation. A smaller group is in a single coming at the end of the Tribulation when the Lord returns at the final trumpet. We’ll come back to the last one a bit later.
So, come on, let’s be practical. If you believe you are caught up and out of here before the Tribulation (i.e., the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy), do you really care about end times’ prophecy? The biggest problem isn’t just this. The biggest problem from our point of view is that you take one of God’s Two Witnesses out of the picture. Revelation 11 is the pivotal book of prophecy and brings it all together. There are two people groups, the Two Witnesses: two olive trees and two lampstands representing Israel (His chosen/earthly people who testify to the Gentile World Powers) and the Church (His heavenly people, whose testimony is to “principalities and powers” in heavenly places). These Two Witnesses represent God’s glory, His testimony on the earth and to the heavens in the final Week; the Church’s finest hour and Israel’s radiant testimony to Gentile World Powers. Unfortunately, the Bible view of most Christians is that their “blessed hope” is to escape by rapture rather than stand as a testimony loving not their lives even unto death (Revelation 12:11). This business where brothers and sisters embrace the pre-tribulational rapture of the Church are given to criticize post-tribbers by saying stuff like: You post-toasties are into the Antichrist – you look forward to Antichrist – whereas we pre-tribbers are looking forward to Jesus Christ – that’s what makes us different from you! Frankly, that’s balderdash! Those of us who see one resurrection of the just and one Bride, the Woman, the Lamb’s Wife, are enthused by the prophesied “witness and testimony” of the Two Witnesses. We look forward to the Church’s finest hour and the fulfillment of scores of Scripture from Daniel to Revelation! The fullness of what it means to be part of the “Commonwealth of Israel” (“At that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” – Ephesians 2:12) will occur when the Two Witnesses commence their collaborative prophesying . . . and that’s beginning to happen, even now! I don’t want to go into all the reasons here why the pre-tribulation rapture is a false hope and a false teaching because I have dealt with it extensively elsewhere, and Brother Tim Warner of the Last Trumpet and Oasis Christian Church has done a masterful job in advocating our position on this most critical subject. We have also dealt with the timing issue and why the Church is needed in the Tribulation. The idea of splitting the destinies of Israel and the Church is just plain wrong. They are intertwined throughout and into the Seventieth Week of Daniel’s prophecy. After all, who do you think are the “two” concerned about, “How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?” The response from the “man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river” to the “two others, one on the riverbank and the other on that riverbank” puts Israel and the Church smack dab in the middle of “time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished” (Daniel 12:5-7). There are these Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 and the two groups of 144,000 (Revelation 7 and 14 – the first one Israel and the second set of 144,000, obviously the Church) – the 12 tribes of Israel and those washed in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7 and 14). Also, there are those who “sing the song of Moses” and those who “sing the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3) – again, Israel and the Church…and in that order! Finally, we end with that beautiful corporate city, the New Jerusalem, the Woman, the Wife of the Lamb, with the twelve gates named after the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve foundations named after the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21). If that is not the consummation of God’s Masterpiece, I don’t know what is! If end times prophecy is even taught in the churches today, it certainly isn’t relevant because few, if any, of their pre-tribulational approaches ascribes any relevancy to us the latter days' Church – because the Church raptured out of here, prior to any significant prophetical happenings. Also, and sad to say, far too many post-tribulational adherents completely dismiss Israel’s final witness during Daniel’s Seventieth Week – yes, anything to separate the two of us! Furthermore, these teachings of the pre-tribulationists and many of the Historicists are based on hundreds of years of misconceptions and misinterpretations – perhaps not purposefully intended but based on wrong assumptions because the information was “sealed” as stated in Daniel 12 and the people lived in the wrong historical period. But even beyond that, prophecy has historically been the purview of the most hard core Biblical scholars, not the run of the mill saint. The saints historically sat in their pews and accepted what was taught them by the experts, rather than digging into what is arguably a difficult subject, since it has been “obscured until the time of the end” and purposefully so! Beware of False Prophets and their phony “Gospel of the Kingdom” lingo!
But we have to beware of false prophets as well. These are usually people who hang their hat on one or two isolated teachings that they take completely out of context. They insist they see something no one else sees and you had better see it their way or else you are toast. Beware of ministries that tell you in no uncertain terms what to do such as the one that tells you to flee America or suffer accordingly. If that were the case with Daniel – ever wonder why he stayed put in Babylon while many of the Jews returned to Jerusalem? I guess Daniel could preach a good game but couldn’t deliver – and, according the Scripture he was and stayed in Babylon even after the Persians ascended to power! Beware of ministries that constantly demand money in exchange for the wonderful revelation they constantly supply (please note we do not and never have accepted any contributions – DON’T EVEN GO THERE WITH US!). Beware of ministries that tell you there is a new and improved “gospel” making the eternal gospel – the “everlasting gospel” (i.e., “everlasting covenant”) of the grace of God (Revelation 14:6; Hebrews 13:20) - of salvation through Jesus – of lesser importance. Or, worse yet, that somehow at the close of this age the “meat of the word” involves this so-called “Gospel of the Kingdom” and the lesser gospel, the “Eternal Gospel” of Revelation 14:6 involves “the milk of the word.” This is an absolute insult to the “heavenly vision” and the gospel committed to the Apostle Paul! For one, C. I. Scofield attempted to separate out the “gospel of the kingdom” from the “eternal gospel” – why? Because his understanding of Dispensationalism demanded that the Church be raptured out at the beginning of the Tribulation – up to that point the Church’s commission was, in his eyes, the preaching of salvation through Christ – i.e., the “everlasting covenant” of Hebrews 13:20. But, after Scofield’s pre-tribulational rapture, the 144,000 Jewish Evangelists of both Revelation 7 and 14 (he sees only one group, we see two) would preach his “gospel of the kingdom” and the return of Messiah to set up His millenarian reign on the earth.
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be ACCURSED” (Galatians 1:6-9). The Church has but one commission and that is the preaching of the Gospel of the Grace of Christ until the end of the age – that there is no salvation apart from salvation as found in the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God who was “cut off” for our transgression, bruised for our iniquities and the upon Whom the chastisement of our peace was borne – THERE IS NO OTHER GOSPEL – THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU AND COMETH NOT BY OBSERVATION! “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you (lit. “in your midst”)” (Luke 17:20-21). Peter sliced off the ear of the High Priest’s guard – why? Because he was convinced that the “kingdom of God” had to come through “observation.” But Jesus rebuked Peter by healing the ear of the guard and later announcing to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world – if My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight” (John 18:36). Preaching the mantra of “Millenarian” socio-economic egalitarianism when the rich finally have to stop their money grubbing ways is NOT the commission of the Church. That’s the “gospel of economic interruptus” – a “false gospel” which exists only in the minds and pens of false prophets who play the role of Catholic-Evangelical Robinhood who delight in bashing the rich and yet “take from the poor” – or, as Judas who had the “money box” – “not that he cared for the poor.” The preaching of the “gospel to the poor” is the message that Christ has come to “seek and to save that which was lost” and to give His Life a ransom for many – anything less – anything competing with that gospel is pure nonsense and is another gospel – a gospel so debilitating and erroneous that those who preach it are ACCURSED! Likewise, if we’re supposed to be preaching a sort of “dual gospel,” then what “on earth” (no pun intended) was there this angelic herald “having the everlasting gospel” in Revelation 14:6 prior to the obvious judgment of Babylon which follows? Why was this gospel – the EVERLASTING GOSPEL – the same gospel committed to the early Church, and expanded upon by the Apostle Paul – why, why, why was this gospel being preached to “earthlings?” Yes, “to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (Revelation 14:6-7). I’ll tell you why – because this is the Church’s finest hour! That’s why – and we’re not heralding how great it will be when King Jesus sits on the throne of David – we’re sold out for the Everlasting Gospel that is able to “save to the uttermost!” We’re still involved in the “harvest of the earth” – we’ll let King Jesus set things right with the “earthlings” who’ve taken the Mark of the Beast and his number when “another angel (comes) out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle…and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.’ So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God” (Revelation 14:17-19). Some describe a new Gospel of the Kingdom and define it as class warfare between the rich and poor. We are certainly not on the side of the rich and we sympathize with the poor, but the Bible says that none of the social ills on this planet will be set right until the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ. To think otherwise is but another form of Dominion Theology – a vain and useless attempt in bringing the kingdom of God to earth to right all the wrongs. We are not called to class warfare or a type of liberation theology. This is something Jesus does when he sets up His kingdom on earth. The church should be about the eternal gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ and His shed blood. As an individual matter we should reach out to help those in need, and pour out our lives for one another. Yes, “the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.” Yes, Babylon is evil. But we are not here to change the world or rail on the governments or the rich. In my book on line titled, “In Search of Mystery Babylon,” and Doug Krieger’s book, “The Rise or Fall of American Empire;” neither of us pull any punches as to the identity and evil of Babylon, the great consumer nation which is dominated by the rich and powerful. It is our place to expose but not to change or incite readers to class warfare or the fleeing of what was once a “golden cup in the hand of the Lord.” Instead, we encourage Christians to stand and testify in the great city – not to flee it. (Revelation 11:2-9) Of course we believe that prophetic Babylon/America has an important place in end times’ prophecy and we have written about that extensively. Nothing we can say will change it. It has a role to play until the very end (Revelation 17-19). It is the seat of the Antichrist and the Antichrist will make a treaty with Israel setting off the final countdown – the beginning of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. Again, people desperately need revelation to understand this but all our complaining will not change it. Understanding Requires Illumination As I mentioned above, just as the
Reformation was accompanied by the printed Bible which allowed the average
believer to read and understand it, the Lord needs the believer to dig in and
let God open the prophetic mysteries to them. They need to learn how to open
their hearts so that the Lord will reveal long held secrets to them – and
believe me, they are there. One way of discovering the truth and confirming
its authenticity, is this…. Just as the Reformation and seeing the truth of
salvation by faith was not just something only Martin Luther saw – it was
revealed to many at the same time. We are finding saints across the world who
are seeing the same prophetic truths as we and we are in touch Not only are we finding individual saints all over the world, other ministries such as ours are also springing up – another sign that this is not just us but it is a move of God to reveal prophecy to His saints. The hits on our website after the U.S. and Canada come from Russia, Romania, the Ukraine, and places like Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa, Brazil, India, Israel and so forth. Our articles have been translated into French, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese and many other languages. This word is spreading even though it isn’t always popular – but God is opening hearts and minds around the world. Unfortunately, those steeped in Christian education and work, rarely make it out of the box – “bound” as they are to all the teachings they have been taught. These “truths” normally make the believer comfortable with the idea that everything that needs to be uncovered or discovered in the “Scripture of Truth” has been found long ago. Daniel’s paradigm of “end of time” discovery doesn’t fit into their Judaism or Christianity – it’s a done deal. Illumination means we need to be open and nimble in our hearts and minds, ready to hear the voice of the Lord, eager to be led down paths “to go where no man has gone before” (sorry, I couldn’t resist – I loved Star Trek)… but it really is true. Other translations of Daniel 12:4 say these prophecies have been “sealed and concealed” – “shut up” – until the end. This is not just a mind trip. “God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Spiritual knowledge comes from revelation in the spirit. It is revealed truth, not something you learn in a book or Bible School “at will.” Revealed truth changes you and spurs you to do something about it. Only the person who has this divine illumination will be ready to face the peril and deception of the last days. This comes from you opening your heart and thumbing back and forth through the Book – not from any man, including me. Our prayer is that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened. (Ephesians 1:18). Without that inner enlightenment of your inner man by the Living Word coming to life in you – you’ll never see it! These Scriptures in Daniel, as well as their counterparts in the New Testament, especially the Book of Revelation, were purposefully designed to be revealed at the “end of time” and not before. Those who frivolous denigrate the study of the prophetic do so at their own risk; and those who find false comfort in their indifference to the prophetic are likewise exposed to major deception at the close of this age. Brethren, this is it – we have no further excuses. You cannot exonerate your lack of prophetic studies because you claim there are too many opinions “out there.” You need to get “in there” and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you these most important passages of the Bible. Rare that Scripture is so disclosed as this. Too many signs point to the “end of the age” to dismiss what we are saying here as inconsequential – this is serious business and everyone reading this should take heed to the earnest study and understanding of these Scriptures – both to prepare your heart and to warn the nations and your neighbors of the consequences of these times. I’m not putting a “guilt trip” on you – God is! It’s called “conviction” – convicting you and me to “get with it” and allow the Holy Spirit to open the pages of the Scripture of Truth to us in these “latter years.” POOH-POOHING THE PROPHETIC – BY THE PROPHET, J. LEE GRADY
“There is certainly a place for symbolic numbers in the Bible. But many prophets today seem to think that every number they see on a clock or a billboard is a message from God. God is not cryptic with His sons and daughters—He wants to speak to us plainly. His will is not a secret code to be deciphered.” (Getting the Weirdness Out of the Prophetic Movement, J. Lee Grady, cir. April, 2011) Only thing is this – brother Grady’s cautionary note is exceedingly misleading. He’s thrown the baby out with the bath water. In point of Biblical fact when it comes to Daniel – the Almighty has PURPOSEFULLY designed the text to be shrouded in mystery until the end of days: “As for you, Daniel, OBSCURE the matters and SEAL the book until the time of the End” (Daniel 12:4 – Targum literal translation). Furthermore, if “He wants to speak to us plainly” then why did Peter say of Paul: “Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (II Peter 3:15-16). Don’t tell me the Book is a “piece of cake” – No! “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth” (II Tim. 2:15). Indeed, the book of Revelation is of similar “obscurity” – without going “to and fro” throughout the Scripture of Truth, understanding Revelation is a nightmare. Initially, Martin Luther was very critical of the Revelation (though later in life he became more accommodating to Revelation), but initially Luther said: “In no way [do I] detect that the Holy Spirit produced it” (Luther Bible, Wikipedia). RAY STEDMAN AND THE “SIGN-I-FIED” BOOK OF REVELATION
“The book [of Revelation] is called the ‘revelation of Jesus Christ,’ and John says that Jesus Himself ‘made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.’ The English phrase ‘made it known’ actually has a deeper meaning in the original Greek, where instead of three words there is just one Greek word, semaino. This word should be translated ‘signified’—or, if you want to really get the true sense of this word, pronounce it aloud: ‘sign-i-fied.’ In other words, Jesus made His revelation known to John by signs or symbols. Once you grasp the symbolic ‘sign-ificance’ of this book, you can begin to understand and apply the book of Revelation . . . Revelation is a book of symbols, and these symbols are important. Symbols help to simplify difficult concepts and to clarify things which are baffling or murky . . . the key to understanding the symbols of Revelation is recognizing that almost all of these symbols have been given to us elsewhere in the Bible. If you try to read Revelation without any understanding of the rest of the Bible, you are doomed to confusion. But if you use the rest of the Bible as a guide and interpreter of the symbols of Revelation, most of these symbols immediately become understandable.” (God’s Final Word, Understanding Revelation, Ray C. Stedman, Discovery House Publishers, Grand Rapids, 1991, pp. 3-4) The notion that the “plain and simple” is what the Bible is all about is absurd – it is the most profound compilation of writings the world has ever witnessed! To say, as J. Lee Grady, that God wants to speak “plainly” to us and that God is not cryptic, oversimplifies the intent of much of the Scripture (come on – Jesus spoke in parables); indeed – those “spiritually discerning” are the ones who will in the end of days have it over the skeptic think tanks big time; and, unfortunately, over those believers who trivialize the wisdom embedded in the Scripture of Truth: “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, BUT THE WISE SHALL UNDERSTAND” (Daniel 12:10). Then right after this we hear: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty five days” (Daniel 12:11-12). If you think these passages at the close of Daniel’s text are miscellaneous gibberish which will never be understood – just remember what Matthew and Mark said in the middle of quoting Jesus about these verses: “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand)” (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; and Daniel 9:23). That’s a command, soldier – LET HIM UNDERSTAND! And, we best understand what is going on in Daniel 12:11-12. And, as far as J. Lee Grady telling us that we’ve got to get on with the “important” things of God, such as world evangelism – listen to this: “Those that are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3) – so don’t tell me that world evangelism has nothing to do with “being wise” in the “end of days” and understanding these prophetic passages has little to do with evangelism…it not only does, it's prophesied that it would!
"For it was revealed to Daniel that the prophecies concerning the last times should be closed up and sealed until the time of the end: but then the wise should understand, and knowledge should be increased. Dan. 12.4, 9, 10. And therefore the longer they have continued in obscurity, the more hopes there is that the time is at hand in which they are to be made manifest. If they are never to be understood, to what end did God reveal them?...I suspect there are still more mysteries to be discovered. And as Mr. Mede laid the foundation and I have built upon it: so I hope others will proceed higher until the work be finished." (Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John, Isaac Newton, Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem, Yahuda Ms. 1.1 Transcribed by Shelley Innes summer 1998. The Newton Project--University of Sussex, East Sussex London: 2007 www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk - as found in Temple at the Center of Time, David Flynn, Official Disclosure, 2008, pp. 47-8) Neutrality is not an Option Prophecy is obscured. In order to understand it, you need illumination. At the end of time, God wants to reveal it to you and me. At the end of times, there are the wise who lead many to righteousness and the wicked who lead to death and deception. These issues are not trivial. We are in the valley of decision. We will either be for Him or against Him. There is no middle ground. We cannot have our cake and eat it too. If we want to follow the crowd and carry on with the good life thinking we can rock along year after year, plan our retirements and vacations, secure our investments and our future, we can try, but at our own risk. We are not telling anyone to take our word for it because we are nothing. Either God is trying to break through in time and space here on earth and gather a people to stand with Him throughout all eternity or He isn’t. Either God delivered the Bible into our hands, one quarter at least being last days’ prophecy because we now have a “need to know.” That is what God told Daniel. “Daniel this is obscured and sealed information until the end when my people have a ‘need to know.’ And when that happens, I will open their eyes and reveal it to them.” (My quotes) Already we and many others are finding that prophecy is becoming clearer every day as He unfolds His word to us. But we need to forget the “old ways of knowledge” and read it with an open mind and heart. Let Him reveal it to our heart and mind. Readers, this is not something we can even explain. It is something you have to get directly from God. He wants to reveal it to you and unless you have a personal revelation and confirmation deep within your being, there isn’t anything we can say or do to convince you. As a society and a church, we are lukewarm, wealthy, thinking we have need of nothing. We don’t care. We are caught up with our I-phones, I-pads, Facebook, Sitcoms, news networks. We are the most distracted, overworked, frightened generation the world has ever seen. Yet, God is calling His saints to a higher calling, to the Church’s finest hour. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of
decision! The sun and moon will be darkened,
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