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States into positions of power and
influence. Subsequent deve lopment
of farming implements did result in
" fewer hands attending to agricul–
ture;" but in complete contrast to
Nostradamus' statement, resultant
vast supplies of food and better liv–
ing conditions spawned incredible
leaps in population.
Nostradamus, in short, is a very
poor prophet-if indeed he
could
be called a prophet!
REAL Prophecy
But back to our other question.
l s
there prophecy that can be under–
stood before the event? ls there
prophecy that is rational and able
to be fully comprehended?
The answer is an unequivocal
VES.
You will find that only the
prophecies contained in the Holy
Bible emerge as rational, unde r–
standable prophecies
that ring
true!
Knowing first that there
is
an
awesome Creator God , note what
this Being s lates in his ancient
revealed word: "Remember lhe
former lhings of old, for
l
am God,
and lhe re is no other;
1
am God, .
and the re is
none
like Me,
declar–
ing the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times
things that
are not yet done.
...
lndeed
1
have
spoken il;
1 wi/1 also bring it to
pass
... " (
lsa. 46:9-1
1,
RAV).
How refreshingly
far removed
is
lhis clea r l a nguage from lhe
crabbed, obscure writings that
appear in Nostradamus' and othe r
so-called prophet ic writings.
Unde rs t anding the Bible
Many individuals- who want lo
understand the Bible- usuall y
make two fundamental errors thal
prevenl their full understanding.
The first error is to overlook or
ignore the overall purpose and
framework of God's plan that is so
brilliantly laid out in the Bible.
The second error involves trying
to explain the Bible
without
under–
standing it!
Few realize that the Bible was
written so that it could be c learly
underslood by those called of God
to receive his Holy Spirit, yet could
not
be easily understood by those
who are not being called of God
and who want their own way.
36
Shocking? Read that last state–
ment again!
A wealthy financial officer of a
major ancient nation admitted his
inability to understand plain Scrip–
ture (Acts 8:30-31 ). He, as millions
since, did not then understand that
to comprehend the Bible, "precept
must be upon precept ... line upon
line ... here a li ttle, there a little"
(lsa. 28:10, RAV).
I n plain modero words, the Bible
is similar to a large puzzle. One
must sort through and put together
all the pieces to be able to see the
whole.
But the ability to see and under–
stand the intent of the whole of
Scripture is barred unless one
has or is seeking a single specific
key.
The only way to "crack the
code" of the Bible-to be able to
accurately place "line upon line"–
is to have or be seeking God's Holy
Spirit!
And we would not be inaccurate
in saying that God's Holy Spirit is
normally
not
applied when inter–
preting the prophecies revealed in
the Bible.
The revealed means of receiving
God's Spirit is found in Acts 2:38,
" R epent
...
be baptized ... and
you shall receive the gift of t he
Holy Spirit" (RAY).
But very few fully understand
what " repent" means. To repent
means to
change t he way one
Ji
ves.
What must one change? One
must simply stop sinning. What
is
sin?
"Sin is the transgression of the
law"
(1
Jobn 3:4, AV). The law is
summarized in the Ten Command–
ments (Ex. 20:
1-17).
So to repent, one must stop
breaking God's law and begin to
practice the way that
ful.fills
the
purpose of t he law (Rom.
13: 10)–
a way of !ove. This way of life
God himself s pe ll s out in the
Bible.
Once one starts keeping God's
law througb faith and fu lfills the
conditions of baplism and belief
(Mark 1: 15), God freely gives his
H oly Spirit, which
unlocks
the
mysteries of the Bible. One then is
able to unde rstand what God has
written- inc luding prophecy,
which comprises aboul one full
third
of the written word!
When one reads and understands
God's word, he or she will see and
agree with the apost le Peter, who
wrote that
"no
prophecy of Scrip–
lure is of any prívate interpreta–
tion" ( JJ Pet. 1:20, RAV) .
God alone
reveals the meaning
of biblical prophecy: "For prophecy
never carne by the will of man, but
holy men of God s poke as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit"
(verse 21 ).
That is part of the message you
read in
The Plain Truth.
It is not a
human message conjured up by
mortal writers.
This magazine simply amplifies a
prophetic message (lsa. 40:9-1
O)
revealed thousands of years ago
that God demands be authoritative–
ly announced " in a ll the world as a
witness lo all the nations, and
then
the end [of the age of man] will
come" (Malt. 24:14, RAV).
This message is one of hope, of
the reestablishment over the earth
of a perfect divine authority to
bring world pcace.
God's word specifically warns
this generation to beware individu–
als "performing miraculous signs"
(Rev. 16:14, N IV) who will claim
even to be of God but who don'l
look to "the law and to the testímo–
ny"!
"If
they
do not
speak accord–
ing to this word [God's revealed
law], it is because there is no light
[ understanding] in them" ( lsa.
8:20, RAV).
Evcn if nations as a whole don't
respond lo this message and call to
repentance (Ezek. 33:11 ), God
respecls lhe efforts of those few
individuals who do: " The Lord is
not s lack concerning H is promise
[of eternal life] ... but is longsuf–
fering toward us,
not willing that
any should perish
but that
al/
shou ld come to repentance"
( 11 Pet. 3:9, RAV).
As a public service, without cost
or obligation, we offer a free, full–
length book that authoritatively
explains lhe events to come.
If
you' re interested- and you ought
to be-in learning for the first time
the
real
how and why of world
events, write for your free personal
copy of
The United States and
Britain in Prophecy.
You will be
surprised a t what true prophecy
reveals.
o
The PLAIN TRUTH