"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." (Prov. 25:2)
God has lots of secrets. One of which is that He is happy to reveal His secrets, but only to those with strong enough desire to seek diligently, determinedly, to discover them in God ~ and to do so on God's terms. It gives God pleasure both to conceal from the many, and to reveal to the few. Why is that so?
Because, God truly wants individuals to take Him seriously and to seek Him with their whole heart:
Without faith it is impossible to please [God]: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)Why is it impossible to please God, without faith? Because, to have "faith" means to take God seriously. Those who do not take God seriously will not seek God earnestly.
Point #2: What is the "reward" God gives to those who "diligently seek Him"? Well, think of it this way: If you were diligently seeking to find gold in some abandoned mine, what reward would you expect to receive for your efforts? Why, gold, of course. God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek ~ HIM. Seek God. Find God. Seek hidden knowledge in God. Find just that.
Now, all of that is very important. But it is only a prelude to the main message, as follows.
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I have somewhat to say about the mysteries of Bible prophecy. I'll get right to the point. I believe I understand a great deal about Bible prophecy. Yet, I unhesitatingly confess I do not know all there is to know. Why does there appear to be so many pieces of the puzzle left out of the Biblical picture? God told us a lot about the future, in His Word. Why didn't He just make it very plain and easy to understand by filling in all the blanks?
I think I know the reason ~ or, at least, a reason: I believe God, in His Word, purposively left out a lot of details regarding how everything is going to play out in the future, because God wanted to leave room for you and for me ~ to act. Think about that.
Of course, God knows everything that everyone is going to do. But that doesn't mean that God WANTS everyone to do everything they will in fact do. Certainly it does not mean that MAKES everyone act certain ways in order that God's foreknowledge may thus come to pass. Sadly, a lot of people suppose God works that way. They call it "predestination". But that wrongheaded idea is easily refuted. For, if individuals do not have free will; and if therefore individuals only do whatsoever God predestined them to do; in that case, one would have to say that God makes rapists to rape, and murderers to murder, and thieves to steal. Such an idea were ludicrous, repugnant, and blasphemous.
God knows what is GOING to happen in the future. And, yes, of course, God is wise enough and powerful enough to work THROUGH THE ACTIONS OF ALL MEN in such ways that will bring about God's OWN purposes and designs for the future. But if men were not responsible for their own actions, then HOW COULD GOD JUDGE ANYONE?
Your life is a gift from God. What you do with that gift is how you either honor God or dishonor Him, as the case may be. God made you to be a part of His kingdom, to be an active participant, a creator, a doer, and not merely a spectator.
Bible prophecy serves at least the following four important purposes, namely:
- Bible prophecy (with its long record of perfect fulfillment) serves to prove that the Bible is a divinely inspired book, unlike any other book.
- Bible prophecy glorifies God as it magnifies His omniscience and omnipotence.
- Bible prophecy serves to warn those who do not take God seriously, of their impending doom.
- Bible prophecy serves to comfort and encourage those who love God in truth.
As the title of this essay suggests, God has secrets. Many of those secrets are actually hidden within the Bible; some more deeply than others. Above, I mentioned "four, important purposes" of Bible prophecy. There is a fifth purpose I now want to discuss: It has to do with reward and incentive.
Bible prophecy is a kind of treasure map. Like every good treasure map, it includes symbols and coded messages. Likewise, every good treasure map is supposed to provide enough information to lead to a hidden treasure. Finally, every good treasure map is designed to be obscure enough to conceal the treasure's location, in the case that the map may fall into the wrong hands. Bible prophecy thus is very much like a good treasure map: It's symbols and coded messages both reveal and conceal at the same time, all the while providing sufficient information that leads to real treasure.
Revival is a real treasure, one well worth seeking. But where? how? shall we seek for such a treasure? To be sure, it must be sought in prayer. Yet, prayer ~ in order that one may pray in faith, needs for its foundation strong support in the Word. Not only is it imperative to know what is God's will concerning any matter we bring unto Him in prayer. We must also know how we are to receive the sought-for blessing from God. There are no formulae that we can follow. God is not mechanical. Revival (for example) is not something that if I do A, B, and C, then God is obliged to pour down power ~ because, that's the way He did it for so-and-so.
Moreover, the Bible is not divided, as it were, into topical sections. There is no "prophecy" section; no "history" section; no moral instruction section. The Bible is a unified revelation. But I digress....
There are seemingly gaping holes in Bible prophecy. Though there are not so many holes that it is impossible to perceive the basic form and substance of the prophetic picture portrayed in Scripture. Those "holes," as it were, leave lots of room for us to act. It is 100% certain that our several actions will, after all is said and done, fill in all the blanks. Only, God is not dictating to any of us what our actions will be. He's left that up to each of us to choose.
My Dad loved Bible prophecy. But we didn't see eye to eye on everything. He often tried to tell me that since the Bible says such-and-such is going to happen: therefore, there's nothing I or anyone else could do that would prevent or change those prophecies. "Dad," I said, "I have to answer to God for my own choices and actions ~ not anybody else's. God is going to inquire what I did to try to win souls for Christ's sake. What shall I then say? That since I knew Antichrist was coming, I figured there was little hope that anyone would get saved?"
If I'm reading the Map correctly, I believe there is a hidden treasure consisting of Revival power and blessing just waiting to be discovered. I sincerely believe I am digging right on top of it, as it were. The past few days, I've heard some very distinctive-sounding "chunks" when digging. My shovel has struck something solid. I just know it....
Seriously. God is moving. Do not doubt it. And do not hold back anything from God. That is, if you want to get on board this train to glory.
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