In the latter half of the first century AD, Peter sent a second letter to the Church of God located in Northern Galatia.
To these members, Peter gave important advice about Bible Prophecy: (2 Peter 1:19)
“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
Peter urged his readers to heed words spoken by the Holy Prophets. Biblical prophecies provide a guide to the future, their revelation being more relevant as the events unfold. He also explained the Prophets did not provide personal interpretation. They were moved by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, speaking exactly as they were moved by God.
All of us would do well to heed them as a light in a world of darkness – guiding, encouraging, inspiring us prior to Christ’s return.
If you are reading this report, you very likely believe in God’s revelation of the future. You believe that Bible Prophecy is a proof of God’s existence.
Much of Prophecy is still to be fulfilled. Jesus warned His disciples of one of the most important trends of end time Bible Prophecy — Deception! In His famous “Olivet Prophecy” came the warning of worldwide subterfuge. “Take heed that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:4) “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” (Matthew 24:11) “For false Christ’s and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonder to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24) In the grandest overview of the events leading up to Jesus return, He outlined the grave warning of a dark cloud obscuring truth. For those who are aware, the prophetic words of the Holy Prophets help us understand one of the greatest dangers of the “latter,” or “end” times — being deceived.
No one wants to be deceived. To help evaluate what is happening in a world that is rapidly moving to the condition of deception, lets examine the future through the perspective of advice given to one of the Apostle Paul’s most trusted students; Timothy. Paul wrote 2 letters to Timothy, with several prophetic references; 1 Timothy 4:1-5, 2 Timothy 3:1-5.
Paul’s admonition and encouragement to a young minister is applicable to those of us who live in the “latter times.” Following are 3 points to help you evaluate the world and the events that you are living in.
- Abnormal Conditions: End time Bible Prophecy alerts us to conditions in the world that are far from the ordinary. Prophecy helps us understand the abnormal from the norm that we have experienced all our lives,
Bible Prophecy reveals the future as extraordinary. It may seem so far from the ordinary, the Biblical outcome seems highly questionable.
2. Projection: Projection is a term that modern psychology uses to describe how we tend to attribute our own tendencies to others. We may very well be observant of events in the news and what is happening in the world. But “good” people may find it difficult to understand the world as it really is. People that frame the world with the foundation of law and order are used to accountability. But the world is changing, and you should be careful in projecting your “goodness” or expectation that things will “work out.”
In YOUR case, projection may be a good thing because it identifies you as a good person. You obey the law. You love the law. You play by the rules. You like fairness, and for many of our readers, this is the American ideal. So, it may be difficult for you to grasp how evil the world really is.
As a good person, you want rational, logical explanations to the events of the world. To understand Bible Prophecy you need to comprehend the illogic of abnormal human behavior. As deception grows in the world it means you MUST begin to think differently, if you haven’t already started.
As a good person, you may project your good, Godly nature to others. Could your “goodness” make understanding the vile, abnormal aspect of evil difficult? Maybe.
There is an antidote and help for “good projection” which is covered below. But in order for the antidote to be effective you need to be aware of your own skepticism, or failure to see evil and wrong – especially when it does not seem to affect you in a personal way. You may not have any interaction with world leaders. Nonetheless, their actions do affect you. It is essential to evaluate leaders in the world. There are hundreds of references to the harmful motivation and ambitions of worldly leaders in the Bible, especially as it relates to future events.
For you to react properly to the unfolding events of Bible Prophecy, you must evaluate events as God does — understand things the way they really are – even if they do not seem affect you personally.
There is another side of projection you should be aware of. Evil people impugn their wrong motives to the lives of the people they hate. They have no problem believing their opponents are filled with wrong motivation because that reflects their own vicious evil ways and lives. They suspect and accuse innocent people of their wrong motives. You need to understand the motivation of evil people in the “time of the end.”
Evil people assume their own evil motives onto the lives of their foes, their enemies, especially when their foes are righteous.
3. Moral Relativity: A dangerous assumption is the assignment of “moral relativity” to those you see in public life. In its simplest form, it is the assumption that “both sides are wrong.” In the American 2 party political system, there is an increasing distinction between right and wrong, freedom of speech and censorship and individual rights versus the “common good.” Look for these distinctions because it helps understand the rapidly changing world. In the future, Paul explained to Timothy that evil would gain the upper hand — a huge departure from the history of the United States; “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13) When evil men are the only leaders in government, media and business, prophetic events will quickly cascade. Isaiah the Prophet was inspired to see this very time — when men or honor would be replaced by vile and unrighteous leadership. (Isaiah 3:3-1-5, 9:14-16)
Are there many people and leaders who believe in law, order and decency? Of course! It is up to you to discern the difference. Isaiah and Paul both warned of those in leadership positions who could wield enough influence to become modern day change agents for evil!
Let’s review:
- Bible Prophecy reveals abnormal conditions.
- Understand Projection – both ways in evaluating the world around you.
- Be careful in assigning moral relativity to opposing points of view. Logically, if one side opposes law and order and one protects freedom, law and order, there is no moral relativity.
A Prophecy of the New Testament that incorporates these elements is found in Paul’s first letter to Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
What could be more abnormal than this? As fantastic as it sounds, Paul’s prophecy warned that some would leave the truth, the faith of God, and instead pursue teachings and doctrines of demonic beings. Remember Christ’s admonition that the “elect of God,” would be targeted for deception. (Matthew 24:24)
Paul referred to the mechanism by which these false teachings and doctrines would be inspired in the minds of men — by the “prince of the power of the air,” — Satan — in attitudes that are broadcast as emotional impulses. Even as we cannot see the air we breathe, these attitudes are invisible — spiritual in nature — and share the commonality of hating good, law, order and decency. (Ephesians 2:2)
Paul continued, in 1 Timothy 4:2: “speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,”
Although the passage can apply to religious leaders, it is clear from the writings of Isaiah, and many other Prophets, that any who hold leadership positions in a society can lead others astray. In recent months we have seen many leaders have issue edicts and mandates to their citizens that they ignore. They impose emergency declarations under the guise of protecting those they are to serve, but they have no intention of being obedient to their own mandates! They are lying hypocrites!
The projection of the unrighteous and their vile, scheming ways are clearly visible to anyone who is paying attention.
Your parents may have jokingly said; “do as I say, not as I do,” but those that believe that the “end justifies the means,” tell you to behave in a certain way, but their motivation is to control not protect.
Paul then went on to explain several other abnormal, hard to believe prophecies.
1 Timothy 4:3: “forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
In the first century, this may have been fulfilled by the introduction of Gnostic philosophy, specifically the subset of Asceticism or, denial. Marriage is good. Will there come a time in which some forbid it? Abnormal and hard to believe, but when you see it, you’ll remember Paul’s prophecy.
Timothy knew that meat was good — if it was clean, as defined by Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. Timothy’s mother was Jewish, his father was Greek, but he knew which foods were to be received with thanksgiving in prayer. As this article was being written, former Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, proclaimed that Americans must change their dietary preferences to “synthetic meat,” in order to fight “climate change.”
WN&PR has no personal animus toward Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest people in the world, but when did he become an expert on virtually every aspect of modern life? Why should his opinion on diet, vaccines, modern industry be listened to? Yet he wields, by the power of his fabulous wealth, incredible influence on the world scene. He lectures and provides financing for various vaccinations in the 3rd world, yet many of them have failed and many have died or been maimed by his vaccination programs. Should we listen to gurus who lecture us on our eating habits, and climate change while they deem it necessary to flit around the world in private jets, ignoring their own calls for the elimination of fossil fuels?
Of course, Bill Gates is not alone as a secular prophet of gloom and doom — there are many others. The Bible warns us to beware of these and to highly question and examine their motivation.
The Antidote
Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
It is very likely that we are in an age where “wolves” will dominate. It is not God’s purpose that you attack the wolves. But you must be aware of them. You must be WISE. Study the Bible to understand wisdom. (Proverbs 1:2) Ask God for the wisdom to know the difference and He will give it to you! (James 1:5-6)
Do not be innocent sheep projecting your goodness onto evil men and women.
Bible Prophecy does reveal the abnormal conditions of the world at the end of the age. Read and study the verses quoted in this report. Ask God for the wisdom to understand the Bible, and the age in which we live, and He will give it to you!
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