Belief versus Understanding

As the world approaches the commencement of the end times events, it is just as prophesied; Scoffers say: When will these things happen? Everything goes on exactly as it always has done. 2 Peter 3:4. Paul says in Acts 13:41 Look you scoffers, marvel and begone, for the Lord will act in your time, doing a deed which you will never believe when you are told of it. Deuteronomy 29:4, Isaiah 28:21, Isaiah 56:10-11

But the verse that most clearly explains why there is so much misinterpretation and false teaching is: Matthew 11:25-26 Jesus prophesied: Father you hide these things from the learned and reveal them to the simple. Yes Father, for that is Your good will.

‘the learned’, those taught in the Seminaries and Bible colleges. 1 Timothy 1:7.

‘the simple’, those who rely only on the truth of the Word. John 8:31-32]

No wonder there is such confusion! 2 Timothy 3:1-7

Isaiah 29:9-12 If you confuse yourself, you will stay confused…the prophetic vision of it all is like a sealed book to you.

This passage tells us that those who have believed a false teaching, are made incapable of understanding the truth. I often encounter this problem; I present a plainly written Bible prophesy and people say: ‘I just can’t see it’. Or they say: ‘that is past history’, which it obviously isn’t. So the reality is; no amount of truth presented will change the beliefs of someone who has chosen to believe a false theory or doctrine.


Those who promote the truth of the Prophetic Word, are also up against sheer apathy and a straight out desire of some to NOT know what will happen.

Daniel 12:9-10 …the Words are to be kept secret until the time of the end… Therefore all commentaries, teachings, doctrines, books, etc, up until now have some degree of error. God does not want many to know His plans.

Then:…only the wise leaders will understand. It seems that ‘wise’ is used here in the sense of a person willing to put aside all man’s ideas, theories and non-Biblical teachings. There can be some difficulty with the prophesies as to the right meaning of allegories and metaphors and also translators bias can be a problem. Logic and common sense, along with a careful study of all the Prophetic Word, must be the way to understand correctly.

If a literal fulfilment is possible, we should take the prophesies literally and then it is just a matter of getting the sequence correct. The Seals, Trumpets and Bowls of Revelation are undoubtedly a sequence of events, as the Scroll is opened, unrolled and read. It is patently obvious that the first five Seals have been opened, perhaps as John looked on, in 95 CE. All the martyred saints from then until Jesus Returns, still await their vindication. Revelation 6:9-11

Next to come is the world changer: the Sixth Seal, the great and terrible Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath. That literal Day will be a sudden and shocking worldwide fiery devastation. Isaiah 30:26, Malachi 4:1, Zephaniah 3:8, Rev 6:12-17.
Millions will die, but all those true believers in the Creator God and who call out to Jesus, their Saviour and Redeemer – will be protected. Joel 3:32, Proverbs 3:25-26, Acts 2:21

I believe the story of the three men in the furnace of Daniel 3:24-27 is the example that shows how the Lord will save and protect His people on that Day.
Isaiah 43:2b…when you pass through fire you will not be scorched, through flames and they will not burn you. Psalm 23:4, Psalm 91:11, Proverbs 3:25, Isaiah 51:6, Isaiah 54:16-17, Jeremiah 30:7, Joel 3:16, Zechariah 9:16, 2 Peter 3:7, 1 Thess. 5:9, Romans 9:22-25, Revelation 7:3

dysert said:

The words *were* to be kept secret in the OT. Now that Christ's first coming has occurred we have the "unveiling" (Revelation), so I think God is fine with us knowing His plans.

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Yes we have Revelation and all the Prophets. Why then, is there so much confusion and different beliefs among us Christians? Daniel 12:8-10 says; in the time of the end, only a few will understand. Pray to be one of them!

dysert said:

It's not "patently obvious", otherwise I'd agree with you. To me it's patently obvious that those seals are still in the future. After all, was a fourth of the earth killed (Seal 4) in AD 95? I don't think so.

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The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were released in the first century. The world has experienced almost continuous war, famines, plagues and economic disasters from then until now. A fourth of the worlds population +, HAS been killed by these terrible things.
But the clincher is the Fifth Seal, where the souls of the martyrs, since Stephen are kept under the Altar in heaven.

brian57 said:

I have atheist friends and even they are not scoffing about the world ending , they know the science and what's happening NOW.

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Sure; sensible people do not scoff about the very real threat of a worldwide disaster. But many people do, including some on this forum.
My point is that we Christians should know what it is that God is planning to do to correct the world, which is once again 'as in the days of Noah'.
He does tell us in over 100 vividly described prophesies, about a forthcoming Day of fire, that will destroy His enemies and set the scene for all that must happen before Jesus Returns for His Millennium reign.
Be aware and be prepared, physically and spiritually.

It is a very sad fact that some people in the church, including the leadership, no longer accept the authority of the Bible. When we pick and choose the Scriptures, it means we miss out on the whole plan of God for this world. In our blindness, we no longer see the deceptions that surround us on every side. We do not see the ultimate aim of Islam, nor do we realize that the world is headed for a battle between God and the forces of evil.

Many people remain ignorant of the Word of God because they have turned instead to human wisdom and the traditions of mankind. Mark 7:13 Among many Christians, the prophetic Scriptures have been labelled “best left alone”, consequently the Church generally has a very incomplete and often incorrect picture of things to come.

Unfortunately, many Christians live almost exclusively by the New Testament and they spiritualize nearly everything in the Old. The whole world of the Middle East with its Jews and Muslims, has become shrouded in mystery – remote and out of mind. The idea that God has a plan, still uncompleted for His people and the Land, is incomprehensible. Based on the teachings of many of the early church leaders, there is a widespread belief within Christendom that God is finished with Israel and the Israelites. Faulty exegesis of the Biblical promises concerning all the descendants of Abraham, has led many Christians astray. Having had little teaching on the prophetic Scriptures, they are extremely confused about God’s dealings with the Jews: the House of Judah, currently in the holy Land. The House of Israel: the 10 tribes, taken into captivity by the Assyrians and lost to world knowledge, but who now are the Western, Christian peoples, and the descendants of Ishmael: the Arab and related peoples.


God promised to Abraham that Ishmael would become a great people and receive blessings and He kept that promise. Genesis 17:20 [The Arab nations and their oil wealth]

Sadly, Ishmael’s descendants did not remain faithful to Abraham’s God, instead they went their own way and by the time of Mohammad, they had 365 “gods”. Mohammad chose one of these, Allah, to be the ‘one true god’, whom he considered to be the giver of the promises to Ishmael.


Church preaching and teaching that does not see the restoration of ALL of the faithful Israelites; now every born again Christian, back into all of the Promised Land, causes uncertainty and confusion about the future. Just as traditional theology prevented the Jews in 30AD from recognizing their Messiah, so much doctrine today obscures the signs of our times. God clearly says that He has not forgotten His people, now the Christian Israelites of God and over forty prophecies detail their gathering and return into all that area that He gave to Abraham, so long ago. That this return and settling happens before the Return of Jesus, to commence His Millennium reign, is clear by the tasks that they are given in order to prepare themselves and the world for that event. The prophet Daniel, tells us that God’s Holy people are present in the Land at the time the Anti Christ comes to Israel and places his image in the Third Temple. Daniel 11:30-35, Daniel 7:25, Revelation 13:7, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
Ref: Islam and Israel, E Davidson.