The Revelations And Warnings Of Jesus To His Church

Albert Heaney

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781642580457
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Bibles

Given that Jesus has issued a warning that in the end-times the church will be infiltrated with false prophets that will "mislead many, " and given that the book of Revelation was given to reveal future events in the end-times, and given that various interpretations of prophesies in the book are given by present-day biblical scholars, this book attempts to clarify an understanding of the revelations provided in the book by closely adhering to the messages given and avoiding giving interpretations that are not explicitly provided in scripture. It is important that the church becomes aware of the messages God has given to the church of our day so that it can be prepared to face the future and be ready to endure "to the end." The author believes that the book of Revelation was not given as a puzzle to be decoded by scholars but, rather, as a series of messages that can be understood by ordinary people, so as to open their eyes as to all that God has prepared for those who love Him.

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God’s Warnings Concerning False Prophets

False Prophets

God speaks through prophets so as to reveal truths that could not be understood otherwise. Some of these truths reveal events that will occur in the future.

The false prophet gives messages that do not come from God. Jesus warns us, “Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” (Matt 7:15, 7:16). “And many false prophets will arise and will mislead many” (Matt 24:11). “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you who will secretly introduce destructive heresies . . .” (2 Pet. 2:1).

“Beloved do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

Of the false prophets the Lord has said, “I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied” (Jer. 23:21). “Do not let your prophets who are in your midst … deceive you … For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD” (Jer. 29:8, 29:9).

Hence false prophets have always been in the “midst” of God’s people, were among the people of God in Peter’s day and will be among God’s people “in the last days.” Jesus prophesied that in the last days, false prophets would arise and “if possible” would deceive “the very elect” (Matt. 24:24).

We are admonished to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1), and “you will know them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:16). One clear “test” of a false prophet is whether their teaching conflicts with scripture as well as whether they have made a prediction that has never been realized. An additional indication of a false prophet are claims that are pure speculation. Such claims are often an attempt to interpret a prophecy of scripture based on their insight as to the meaning of the symbols whose interpretations are not provided in scripture. The fact that the “teacher” is using speculation becomes clear when several prominent teachers each have their own interpretation of the meaning of the symbols. This fact becomes one test that can be used to identify a false prophet (2 Pet. 2:1) since there can only be one valid interpretation.

We are told that “no prophesy is of private interpretation” (2 Pet. 1:20). If this is the case, no single person can claim that they have found the “key” to the understanding of a prophecy. Such claims are not uncommon in these last days. Given that these claims come from a “false teacher,” scripture has warned us to beware of such individuals who come to us “in sheep’s clothing” (Matt. 7:16).

Our Understanding of Scripture

In general, scripture was given originally in the language of the common people and was to be understood by the common person. It was much later that clerics claimed that scripture could be understood only by the clerics. As a result, access to the scriptures was kept from the common person, even to the point that such access was forbidden. When, in these last days, false teachers claim that an understanding of some prophetic messages can only be understood with the use of a “key” and only the teacher has that key, we know that we are dealing with a claim of a “private interpretation,” and therefore dealing with a “false teacher”.

Some prophesies were given with the intent that they would not be understood for many generations. Daniel said after hearing a prophecy, “I heard but could not understand” (Dan. 12:8). The angel told him “these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time” (Dan. 12:4). Hence, we are told in scripture that some prophesies are not to be understood until a later time. God chooses when.

It has been observed that no prophecy was fully understood until after its fulfillment. For example, the mission of John the Baptist was to explain the messianic prophesies that were not understood until his time. That is, the time of the arrival of the Messiah, His identity, and His mission were revealed in the prophesies of Old Testament scripture but not understood until it was explained by John the Baptist at the time of their fulfillment. Even then, the expectation and the understanding of the sacrifice of Christ was not understood until after the death of Christ. Christ Himself explained the prophesies of scripture concerning Himself to two of His disciples after His resurrection (Luke 24:25–27). God has His reasons for “concealing” (Dan. 12:9) the meaning of His prophesies, and it is futile for anyone to doubt His intentions.

The Hidden Messages of God’s Prophesies

The fact that prophesies are not understood is not a result of a lack of wisdom but is the intention of God. If there are two or more outstanding interpretations of a prophecy, no more than one could be correct, and the rest must be labeled false interpretations given by false teachers.

Prophesies are not understood because they are often given with the use of symbols. We may call these “symbolic prophesies.” Today we would call the prophecy a coded message. False prophets often claim that they have broken the code—that is, they will tell you the meaning of the symbols even though we are told “no prophesy of scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation” (2 Pet. 1:20, ESV). The false prophet would have you believe that it’s their deeper intellect that enabled them to “break” the code. But remember what Jesus said concerning the wise, namely, “Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes” (Matt. 11:25). This passage suggests that scriptural truth is not understood by intellect but by divine revelation.

Note that if a message is given in coded (symbolic) form in which the meaning of the symbols are not given, the meaning of the message has been intentionally hidden. An attempt to break the code is an attempt to circumspect the intention of God. Such interpretations would be better described as “speculations.” The prophecy of Dan. 12 is an example of a prophecy given in which God intentionally hid its meaning until “the end time”. Daniel said after hearing the prophecy, “I heard but could not understand” (Dan. 12:8). The angel told him, “seal up the book until the end time” (Dan. 12:4) and “these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time” (Dan. 12:9).

The fact that a divinely given prophecy can be understood only after a divinely given interpretation is given is illustrated with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan. 2). All the “wise” men of the day could neither tell the dream or its interpretation. Hence the King “gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon” (Dan. 2:12). Even Daniel could not un...

Table of contents

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6