More Prophecies

I hear the book, THE RAPTURE, has become a best-seller, competing with even the popular fiction novels. Good! The Bible has been on the best seller lists year after year. It might seem strange that the liberals who claim to be so learned, including the college professors, hardly know anything about the Bible. The first law of understanding the human mind is that man believes what he wants to believe and is blind when he wants to be. This applies to brilliant minds who lack wisdom but have not the understanding nor humility to confess their wormlike limitations before the infinite Lord of Creation.

To the willfully prejudiced we do not address this Bible study, but to the believers who love God's Word.

I got the Rapture book on Talking Book records. One discovers that much of the book is really on Revelations, not so much a superficial once over lightly, but surprisingly, a serious commentary with many cross references. Those who have had my commentary will wonder if our views agree. Those who have not, sorry, my book is out of print.... Back some years ago, I made a serious study of not only the Biblical book, but the many other commentaries and was surprised at the wide divergences and differences. There were especially two groups, one that showed the Revelations foretold things through the succeeding centuries and the other that discounted all those 1900 years to explain Revelation treats almost exceptionally on the final Tribulation. This new book on the Rapture and Revelation is in that latter class.

What I believe the Lord gave me so wondrously was an insight into the multiple fulfillments of most of the great Biblical prophecies. Besides that, I offered little that was new. I received a great number of words and letters then saying that the Book had come open in a way of light, joy and understanding. So, just study both the old orthodox Holiness Commentaries as well as the modern Baptist and it will be a blessing to you too, to see how wondrously God writes His books, the prophecies and visions to have several distinctive meanings and fulfillments.

The modern book on the Rapture and Revelations is a very good treatment of events during the final Tribulation,but it is limited only to that.

How could the early Christians and Apostles exhort to make every sacrifice? It is because they repeatedly added, FOR THE TIME IS SHORT, The Day of the Lord is at hand...Maranatha...The Lord is at hand.,etc. The skeptics explain that if the Apostles were so mistaken and the Lord had not come yet, they need never bother with the problem. But, great crises and destruction came upon various localities in succeeding years. The prophecies of the last chapters of Matthew were fulfilled in Jerusalem within a few years, about 70 A>D> They are going to be fulfilled again in these last times. Most of the prophecies of Revelations have been fulfilled in specific localities repeatedly through the centuries, famines, wars, and plagues. Avenging armies have wiped out whole towns, plagues have fallen on cities in medieval times taking more than were left. They are going to be visited on the earth in a greater, more complete was in the final Tribulation. For untold thousands their time was short. A day of the Lord came suddenly upon the people of many regions through the centuries. John said there were already anti-Christs, but that there would be another great, final one. Even so, God's Word of the imminence of the Day has been fulfilled for many individuals and for many times over the centuries. The Word was written for them to be ready, watching and waiting with their spiritual lamps trimmed and shining for their time was already almost at hand. Then suddenly it came as unexpectedly as a thief in the night upon them. Those who were prepared were taken to be with the Lord in glory. Those who were not went to their doom without another chance. For them the door was closed. The Bible does not want us to try to calculate the final Day as being still a long time in the future. THAT Day may not be important to you or me if our personal Day is tomorrow or next year. Let us put our attention and exert our will to keep as free of this world as possible and as alive unto Christ, in tune with His voice, and in communion with His Spirit.

A certain class of people are very susceptible to things that sound dramatic. They keep talking over the meaning of 666 and say the invention of the computer is related. They believe in each rumor of little green men from Mars landing and causing trouble or bringing more order or something. These speculations should not occupy the minds of Christians. There can be temptations and diversions from preaching and living the Word, leaving dramatic details to the Lord. Every year one hears speculations that the new Soviet dictator is the Anti-Christ, or a few years ago at Watergate, Nixon. Before that, such a Israel's Moshe Dyan, or PLO's Arafat, etc.. Any number of sinful or especially cruel leaders is an Anti-Christ to the suffering believers. Mao put to death tens of thousands of Chinese whose only crime was that they were good Christians. There may be more agents of Satan in one country or another, but they should not be confused with the Anti-Christ that is to come.

Some time ago I explained to a believer that the way to understand that "the time is at hand" was to realize that it was short for him and short for me, certainly not more than a short lifetime. Others came to ask if it was true I did not believe in the coming of the Lord. What a misunderstanding! My point was that the prophetic phrase had double significance, two interpretations and both were Biblical. It was God's way to exhort believers of all generations to be ready, watching and waiting, dedicating ourselves continually to the Gospel and the salvation of souls.