Paul’s admonition to his protégé, Timothy, offers wise counsel to followers of Christ still today: rightly divide the Word of God. The challenge throughout the Church Age has been to remain true to God’s Word—contending earnestly for the Truth it reveals in order to hand down the faith once delivered to future generations of saints.
The key to applying that wisdom lies in approaching the Word with fear and trembling—and without preconceived ideas sprung from the mind of man. That is especially true regarding the End Times.
Without besmirching the position of those who hold non-Pre-Tribulational and Pre-Millennial viewpoints, my experience is that most of them were taught to come to the Bible with a framework already established. For the Amillennialists, that tends to be an expectation that any prophecy dealing with Jesus’ Second Coming should be spiritualized. Some go so far as to say that although the First Advent prophecies were fulfilled literally, none of the Second Coming prophecies will be fulfilled in the same manner.
The same is true of Post-Millennial advocates. They elevate the role of the Church to the point that they believe the Church will usher in a golden age of peace, righteousness, and holiness on the earth—forgetting that while those characteristics should mark individual Christians and the Bride of Christ as a whole, the still-unrestrained Devil will continue to deceive and devour until Christ commands that he be confined for 1,000 years.
At the heart of the disagreement between the various eschatological viewpoints lies the Millennium. We have addressed the theological variance in those perspectives many times, but suffice it to say that anyone who simply opens the Book and reads God’s prophetic revelations will tend to come to a Pre-Tribulation, Pre-Millennial understanding.
Plain Sense Meaning
The golden rule of Bible interpretation is this: If the plain sense makes sense, don’t look for any other sense, lest you end up with nonsense. This method of interpretation makes a few key presumptions:
1. God intended to communicate with mankind.
2. In addition to His revelations about Himself and His plan of salvation, He provides prophetic insights into what lies ahead in His plan for the Ages.
3. God wants everyone who opens the Bible to have access to His truth—regardless of their education level or pedigree.
Those presumptions play out in a clear pattern of understanding. Let’s explore each in turn and be encouraged by God’s lovingkindness and self-disclosure.
He Knows How to Communicate
Ours is the God who speaks. Unlike the mute gods of wood and stone, and the false demonic gods who cannot gaze into the future, the living God speaks authoritative words that convey His power and intentions: “For as the rain and the snow come down from Heaven, and do not return there without watering the Earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).
He revealed His intentions through His prophets. And, He sent His only Son to testify to the truth—namely, the Gospel of the Kingdom (John 18:37). Over 1,600 times in the Old Testament alone, the writers prefaced their God-ordained remarks with, “Thus saith the Lord.” Paul affirmed Him as the Source of the sacred writings handed down from on high: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
The question is not whether God communicates, but whether we hear His voice—and are listening.
He is Close, and Will be Found by All Who Seek
Too many Christians have been infected by the same insidious poison that infected the ancient Israelites, metastasized throughout the Catholic and Orthodox churches, and spreads like a cancer even today. People believe that only men with lofty titles or advanced degrees can understand the Word of God.
Things got so bad in the Medieval period that merely owning a Bible (especially one printed in a language the common people could read) was a capital offense. Priests lorded over their congregations—isolating them from their actual Lord and Savior. Bibles were chained to the altar of the church, lest some inquisitive parishioner dare to take and read for themselves.
In such an environment, biblical understanding was limited, and abuses abounded. That is one of the reasons Martin Luther and others instigated the Reformation. We can rejoice that today the Bible is the most-published book in human history. Over 5 billion copies have been printed and distributed, in virtually every language in the world. The message of the Gospel—foolishness to those who are perishing but the power of God to those who are saved (1 Corinthians 1:18)—can be understood by a child. It can be communicated to people who are illiterate. And it continues to be studied and pondered by men and women with multiple advanced degrees. In short, it is for every sheep who will hear the voice of the Shepherd and respond in believing faith.
He Reveals Things to Come
God seems to delight in revealing what lies ahead. This is not only a source of encouragement and blessing for us, it is also a clear demonstration of His omniscience and power.
We can be encouraged by the fact that none of the pathologies of this world are a surprise to God. He foreknew them, just as He foreknew the fact that mankind would require a Savior. That is why it was His intention from the foundation of the world to offer salvation through the shed blood of the Lamb—His only begotten Son (Revelation 13:8). So, even as the world grows darker around us, we can be assured that God is still in control and that He will orchestrate every stray thread into a beautiful tapestry to His own glory.
The LORD God rightfully boasts about His foresight and power. Contrasting Himself with the deaf, mute, blind, and dumb gods that mankind fashions and follows, He mockingly challenged the false gods, saying, “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell us the past events, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome, or tell us the future. Tell us the coming events, then we will know that you are gods. Indeed, do something good or bad, then we will be in awe when we see it. Look, you are nothing and your work is worthless. Anyone who chooses you is detestable” (Isaiah 41:23-25).
As Daniel said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “There is a God in Heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known… what will take place in the last days” Daniel 2:28).
In addition to revealing what will take place, God also chose to provide warning signs for those with eyes to see. I’m reminded of the rumble strips cut into a road as it is nearing an end, or the warning track at the edge of a baseball field that is designed to alert outfielders that they are approaching the wall before a dangerous collision. Woven into His prophetic Word are signs that can be recognized. It’s as if God was absolutely determined that there would be ample indications that His patience will not abide forever and His Son is coming soon.
Jesus expressed great disappointment that the supposedly religious Jews He encountered were oblivious to the Signs of the Times. Reminding them of age-old signs of nature evident in the color of the sky in morning or evening, He said: “Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:3).
Do You Know What You are Reading?
At Lamb & Lion Ministries, we are great advocates of simply opening the Book and studying for yourself. We believe the Holy Spirit is faithful to guide us into all truth. Jesus promised as much: “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you” (John 16:13-14).
I can attest that there is a great blessing in coming to the Word of God with no preconceived notions, no skeletal preformed “outlines” or man-made eschatological systems. When I began studying God’s prophetic Word, the basic outline of what lies ahead was plain enough to see: Jesus promised to return, reign upon the Earth, and institute a thousand years of peace, righteousness, and holiness.
Some nuances and details remain mysterious, but some of them have become more obvious over time— like the provision for the regathering of the House of Israel from the four corners of the world.
Having said that, there are points at which any student of Bible prophecy can be stumped. This too is recognized and recorded in Scripture.
For example, when the Ethiopian eunuch was returning to his home country after coming to Jerusalem to worship (marking him as a man loyal to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), he was reading from the book of Isaiah (Acts 8). The Bible does not clarify whether the man was Jewish or Gentile, but the lack of specificity (contrasting with the account of Cornelius in Acts 10) suggests that he was likely Jewish. Led by the Spirit, Philip had traveled from Jerusalem down the desert road toward Gaza. The Spirit then commanded him to approach the eunuch and ask, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The eunuch’s answer, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” offered an opening for Philip to share Jesus with him.
Because Philip was obedient to the Holy Spirit and willing to engage, the eunuch accepted his offer of illumination and was saved that day.
