Hello All,
(Just a general disclaimer that I must insert here at the beginning. I am but a lay person, like most of you. And these weekly “thoughts” are but my own. Not the definitive word on this or any topic. Just my own conclusions derived from my own study and faith in God. The greatest hope I have for these weekly “thoughts” is to have them be a springboard for further study on your part. Not to be a weekly treatise to be blindly accepted. So, please read them with this intent, this motive in mind).
The sadness of losing my son can be almost debilitating. But it comes and goes. And our God of love sustains us. Assures us He will do what is right for all. A most wonderful and gracious promise.
This week’s lesson from “The Adult Sabbath School Guide” is titled “The Bible and Prophecy”. The accuracy of Bible prophecy has captivated so many over the centuries. History is replete with converts to Christianity who started their individual walk of faith based squarely on this initial revelation. God even uses this ability to prophesy the future as an attribute of His that sets Him apart from all false gods:
“’Present your case,’ says the Lord. ‘Bring forth your strong reasons,’ says the King of Jacob. ‘Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, that we may be dismayed and see it together. Indeed you are nothing, and your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination’.” (Isaiah 41: 21-24).
The danger with being captivated by prophecy, is that we can substitute knowing the facts apart from knowing the God of the facts. It is part of our sinful human condition. Which underscores the major difference between Christianity and all other religions. All other religions are focused on their theology or philosophy… a certain way of thinking… a correct thinking. Christianity is focused on a Person. A relationship with a Person. And if we miss this, all our knowledge of future events will be a curse to us and not a blessing.
God has shown us the facts of the future, not to have us enamored by the knowing. Not to have us rely on the knowing. But as Jesus stated, “… I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He” (John 13:19). God tells us the future so that we will trust the God who knows the future. Not so we will hold to our knowledge of the future.
I bring this up because we Adventists are known for our interpretation of future events. It’s part of our heritage. It’s what the Millerite movement was founded upon. That, and saving your own self from God’s judgment. Both, I’m sorry to say, are inferior motivations for anyone. How far we’ve needed to come to learn the truth about our God and ourselves. We started with an infatuation with predicting the future and saving ourselves… to learning the true meaning of love and the true nature of our relationship with our God of love. It’s been a long and arduous journey to come back to what every child understands. That it’s a matter of simple faith and trust in the One who loves us. And following that One. The One who knows the future? Yes. But the One who loves supremely and tells us the future so that we can know that He knows… so we can trust Him with all our future days/ weeks/ months/ years. The God who knows the future knows our personal futures. And holds them all.
In our unique position in the world, of knowing the prophetic future, we Adventists must not be the ones who hold to this distinctiveness as what makes us of value to our neighbors, friends, and to the world. What makes a true Christian and an Adventist of value to this world and to our God is to live lives of truth and love… lives that do honor to our God of truth and love. Knowing the prophetic future only has value to those who know and love the God of the prophetic future. Because the future, is when the God we love comes back. And if we love Him not, knowing the day of the Lord will avail us nothing.
“Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him! Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?” (Amos 5:18-20)
With brotherly love,
Jim