All We Do Not Understand

June 21

"Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.

"Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.

"And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate." Daniel 9:24-27

End time prophecy tends to be confusing. Oh, yes, there are ardent scholars who scrupulously apply themselves to the study of all relevant scriptures and to ancient historical documents from non-Christian sources who have come to viable conclusions (note, the word is plural) and they are convinced that they have complete understanding as to how the end times shall unfold.

Many faithful believers, however, are not in that category of diligent students of ancient documents. They do believe that every word of scripture in the matter shall be fulfilled, as have been the countless prophecies of Christ’s first appearing, but they have not entangled themselves in the intricacies of end times revelation.

As Paul tells us in II Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” so we certainly cannot dismiss any portion of prophecy as being irrelevant to our study; however, if our focus is on the veiled truth of revelation, perhaps we shall overlook evident truth.

Perhaps it is safe to say that as the signs of the times become more conclusive, the meaning of God’s revealed truth shall become clear. Perhaps He intends that we appropriate to ourselves the scriptures that have clear meaning—that we are to receive Christ as Savior as Paul implores to his young disciple in I Timothy 2:4, “It is God’s Will that All Men Be Saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

That we seek to “make disciples of all men,” Matthew 28:19, as Jesus admonished that we do. How can we further the interests of the Lord through our mortal efforts? Perhaps the most definitive way is as Paul stated in I Corinthians 13:8, through lavishing those around us with the “love of God that never fails.”

As we do all we understand of how we are to live our lives and to share our faith, we can trust all we do not understand to the One who “will never fail or forsake us,” Hebrews 13:5.