The Bible: a Book of Prophecy

By Dennis Edwards --

Chapter One

I was listening to a sermon by Bill Salus entitled “The Future of America in Bible Prophecy.”[1] Bill starts off by quoting Isaiah,

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.[2]

We can know the future, because God can reveal it. The prophet Amos said, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he reveals his secrets unto his servants the prophets.”[3]

Here, Amos is making a conditional statement. God is going to reveal his secrets unto his servants the prophets. The prophets were chosen of God, because of their love and obedience to Him. They were tested by God and had shown their faithfulness to Him. They desired to serve God, rather than man. They chose God over material things, over comfort and conformity.

The prophets preferred to live and die for the truth than to live a life of compromise. Therefore, because of their dedication to God, to truth, to righteousness, God revealed His secrets to them. Their job was to give the word of God to the people, to follow God’s instructions in spite of opposition by family, friends or community. Many of them bemoaned their fate as God’s mouth pieces, because they were ill received. In Chronicles we read,

And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.[4]

In Jeremiah we read, “Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth. I have not lent on usury, neither have men lent to me on usury; yet everyone of them doth curse me.”[5] Later he said, “Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not that day wherein my mother bear me be blessed.”[6]

Being a prophet was not something the prophets enjoyed. It isolated them from others. They were ill received. They were too serious. Like Jeremiah said, “I sat not in the assembly with them that make merry, nor rejoiced: I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation.”[7]Google gives some synonyms for indignation: anger, distress, unhappiness, dissatisfaction, displeasure, hurt, pain, and upset; especially at injustices or wrong doing.[8]

Because God had revealed to Jeremiah the judgments which Jerusalem would suffer, he could not make merry. Because the politicians would not listen to him and change their ways, he could not make merry. The wife of Bill Salis, a speaker on Bible prophecy, bemoans the fact that they have few friends. Her husband’s life is so entwined with Bible prophecy and discovering its meaning, it isolates them. The job of a prophet is not a pleasant one.

In this book, I will try to reveal to you where America stands in Bible prophecy. You may not like my conclusions. Yes, I am filled with indignation at the situation in the world today; with the wars, the hatred, the fears, the injustices, the corruption, the inhumanity of man with man.

I am going to share with you what God has shown me through a life of serving Him, a life of studying His Word, a life of sharing His love and His Word with others. I may not get it all right. In fact, I am going to get some things wrong. I am a fallible man just like you are. I have limited understanding, just like you have.

But God has put this burden on my heart to share my understanding with you. I am an American citizen although I have lived most of my adult life in Europe. Because of having distanced myself from America and American churches, my slant on Bible prophecy will be different from much of that which you may have read or heard in church or in books written by American church leaders. I will not interpret Bible prophecy through the eyes of an American patriot. Because of that, you may very well find my conclusions troubling or label them incorrect or even communistic. You may be right.

Some of the statements I make are merely my speculation and can surely be wrong. But I beseech you to not dismiss them all as the whims of a madman. Rather, dig into God’s word yourself. Do not take my word for it, or the words of others, but search these things out for yourself. God has said he has given unto us the Spirit of truth that would lead us into all truth.[9] But truth has its sacrifices.

God’s word says, “Ye shall seek me and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.”[10] Finding the truth is conditional. It is not just something you will read on the front page of a journal or even in your local church bulletin. You must make diligent search. You must be desperate and refuse the compromises offered. You must be willing to live and die for that true knowledge or understanding that you seek. You will have opposition if you take this journey seriously.

Recently, I have joined a trailblazers club. I have gone on three mountain walks in the past two months. Each one was difficult. One consisted of nearly eleven hours of walking. Walking in the mountains is different from walking on the boardwalk or road. Our guide told us that the twenty kilometers we walked in the mountains was equivalent to forty or fifty on a paved road. The mountain walks cost you something. I got blisters on that second walk as my shoes were too small. My muscles were sore afterwards because you use different muscles on the mountain than when you jog or run along the beach. Like one of the trailblazer’s told me, “The mountain always takes something from you.” But it gives you something back. The views on the mountain are marvelous. You see and feel God’s presence. Life is on the mountain!

Just so, the views on the mountain of truth are breathe-taking, exhilarating and worth all the effort. Jesus gave one of his most famous sermons on a mountain, the Sermon on the Mount, where he spoke the beatitudes, such as “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” [11]On the mountain, Jesus prayed alone to his Father for strength. Peter, James and John followed Jesus up a mountain and saw him transfigured and heard the voice of God. Jesus gave his message about the End of the World to his disciples on the Mount of Olives. Finally, he climbed his last mountain, Mount Golgotha, where he died for you and me and the redemption of all mankind. But earlier he had admonished his followers, “If you continue in my words, then are you my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”[12]

Come with me, up the mountain of truth. Let us see what we find. Once we find it, let it move us and cause us to bring His love and His life to this dying world by whatever means possible and at our disposal. May God bless you as you read. May my words and thoughts draw you closer to Him, Who is the fountain of all truth, goodness and love. May you hunger and thirst after righteousness. May your desire be to search and to seek for Him with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength; for that is His first commandment. In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Footnotes:

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKOKqCk5vuo
[2] Isaiah 46:9-10
[3] Amos 3:7
[4] 2Chronicles 36:15-16
[5] Jeremiah 15:10
[6] Jeremiah 20:14
[7] Jeremiah 15:17
[8] https://www.google.pt/#q=indignation+meaning
[9] John 16:13
[10] Jeremiah 29:13
[11] Matthew 5:6
[12] John 8:31,32

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