Monthly Archives: June 2020

Common Pitfalls in Interpretation, Part 1

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There are many ways to get sidetracked in life, and in studying the Bible, and in studying Bible prophecy. Some of these pitfalls, stumbling-blocks the Scriptures often calls them, overlap, and are well worth looking at.

Failing to Use Scripture as a whole

Scripture is not a pick and choose buffet. Unfortunately we as men often tend to try to use the Bible in such ways. Sometimes it is because we simply like certain parts of the Scripture more than others, which is natural, and some part for sure are more important than others. And last but not least it can come from our just being too lazy to do our homework! However:

Scripture is adamant: We need to use
the whole thing!

Moses said it first.

“You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.”
Deut 4:2 WEB

He reemphasized it again later.

“Whatever thing I command you, that shall you observe to do: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”
Deut 12:32 WEB

It is true that we are under “the law of Christ” 1Cor 9:21 rather than Moses’s law, which has been nailed to the cross, Col 2:14. Even so, the Bible is a unity from Genesis to Revealtion, and “ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, …” 2Tim 3:16 KJV.
We need to use the whole thing as a unit, to be able to understand what we need to know and do.

In other words, use the whole thing. Now Moses did emphasize that whatever the Messiah commanded, everyone had to do.

“It shall happen, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
Deut 18:19 WEB

And Paul says the same thing.

“ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
2Tim 3:16 KJV (emphasis added)

It is true that we use different parts
of Scripture differently.

We are not under the law of Moses, which has been nailed to the cross, Col 2:14. Instead we are under the “law of Christ,” 1Cor 9:21. So we don’t offer animal sacrifices, we have the sacrifice of Christ. And we observe the Lord’s Day (the first day of the week, Acts 20:7 Rev 1:10), not the seventh day, the Sabbath. Even so, the law of Moses is still profitable for “doctrine” (which is really just teaching, didaskalos is the Greek word). An example would be Paul in 1Corinthians 9 using an regulation from Moses law about an ox (Deut 25:3), to prove that ministers of the gospel should be paid. Paul says,

“9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it for the oxen that God cares, 10 or does he say it assuredly for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake,”
1Cor 9:9-10 WEB

Still, failing to use “all scripture” for doctrine
often distorts our vision,

and our understanding of many things, including prophecy. If you really want to distort your understanding of Revelation or Isaiah, do what the liberal seminaries consistently try to do: study those books in isolation from the rest of Scripture. They use fine phrases like, “seeing how a book stands on its own,” but it is can be fatal to real understanding.

KJV is the King James Version, 1611.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Not everyone has Protection. Even from Covid-19.

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There is protection from overwhelming temptation.

“No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
1Cor 10:13

However you can lose that protection, so Paul says,

“Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;”
Rom 1:24

You can have protection and lose it, and be turned over to your sins. So how should we think about these things? If we need protection, we should ask for it, however,

First, if you ask, not believing, you won’t get it!

“6 But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. 7 For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. 8 He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Jas 1:6-8

Also at times all of us need correction.

Hard things may come to wake us up, to make us whole at last.

“It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn’t discipline?”
Heb 12:7

Plainly we can throw away God’s protection!

In Abram’s day, the sins of the Canaanites were still being tolerated by the Lord. Only later would their land be given to others, Gen 15:16. Later Joshua argued with Israel.

“8 If Yahweh delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; … 9 … for they are bread for us: their defense is removed from over them, and Yahweh is with us: don’t fear them.”
Num 14:8-9

Further, if God does not protect us, everything
else is for nothing.

“1 Unless Yahweh builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it.
Unless Yahweh watches over the city,
The watchman guards it in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To stay up late, Eating the bread of toil;
For he gives sleep to his loved ones.”
Psa 127:1-2

And when the righteous are protected
in Psalm 91, who is it that dies?

“7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes,
And see the recompense of the wicked. ”
Psa 91:7-8

Or what would happen if the Jews abandoned God?

“20 Yahweh will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke, … because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me. 21 Yahweh will make the pestilence cleave to you, until he have consumed you from off the land, where you go in to possess it.”
Deut 28:20-21

“Pestilence”! Like a corona-virus!

Ah! We can indeed lose our protection!

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

You Cannot Die by “Accident.” Even from Covid-19!

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The prophet David says.

“5 I laid myself down and slept.
I awakened; for Yahweh sustains me.
6 I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people
Who have set themselves against me on every side.”
Psa 3:5-6

Again he says,

“1 Yahweh is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
Yahweh is the strength of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil-doers came at me to eat up my flesh,
Even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host should encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear.
Though war should rise against me,
Even then I will be confident. ”
Psa 27:1-3

Not even a bird can die apart from
the Father’s will.

Jesus argues we should not fear those who can kill the body, but after that can do nothing. Rather, fear God who can kill the body and after that throw us into hell itself. Sparrows are sold for next to nothing, yet,

“… Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father’s will, 30 but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.”
Mtt 10:29-31

It is NOT that you cannot die.

Jesus spoke of many things, including that special time of persecution just before the end of the age, which will be worse than all persecutions up to that point. Some will be put to death.

“16 You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. Some of you they will cause to be put to death. 17 You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake.”
Lk 21:16-17

Now “hated by all men” has never happened so far. Many have had compassion for the sufferings of Christians throughout history. At times the saying was that “the blood of the saints was the seed of the church.” But not at that end time! However even of those special persecutions at the end, even if you die … Jesus says of those who even suffer death in verse 17,

“18 And not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will win your lives.”
Lk 21:18

You will be saved entirely, wholly! God’s protection is beyond even the grave. Like Jesus we will be saved, not FROM death, but IN SPITE OF death!

Jesus was “protected,” but yet he died. How is that? Peter put it this way:

“27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.”
Acts 4:27-28

So this was all planned by God. Things may be out of your control or my control, but they are not out of God’s control. No one or thing can snatch you out of God’s hands, Jn 10:29. Do not walk in constant fear! Not even for a corona-virus.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Protection from Harm? Even from Covid-19?

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Psalm 91 talks about being protected from the hazards of war and life and deadly pestilence.Verse 1 says that if you live with God, you will also be able to rest with Him. God will be your fortress, verse 2. It seems to be speaking in general terms of the righteous.

“For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler,
And from the deadly pestilence. ”
Psa 91:3

It goes on to say that God will cover you with His wings. His faithfulness will be “your shield and rampart.” You will not need to be afraid.

“5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.”
Psa 91:5-6

A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand. You will only look at the people getting their dues, because you have trusted in God and not in men, verse 9.

“No evil shall happen to you,
Neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.”
Psa 91:10

Angels will guard you!

“For he will give his angels charge over you,
To guard you in all your ways.”
Psa 91:11

This breath of description surely includes things like virus, corona-viruse, and bacteria. Verse 2 says, “I will say of Yahweh,” but it does not tell us who the author is. Then it says in verse 3, “For he will deliver you,” “He will cover you,” and so on. Is this speaking of a particular person? Who is this “you”?

Then we see that the devil quotes
this psalm of the Christ.

“5 Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge concerning you.’ and,
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
So that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’””
Mtt 4:5-6

When the devil is wrong in Mtt 3:3, Jesus corrects him. Here He seems to acknowledge this truth, but says,

“Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”
Mtt 3:7

So Jesus answers the devil as it was true, but that men should not put God to the test, as it says in Deut 6:16.

Is this only about Jesus?

That would be an easy thing to argue. Then on the other hand look at many other Scriptures which argue for God’s care for believers, both in the Old and New Testaments. I am not talking about unqualified safety, but God’s care for His faithful ones. Notice what David says:

“The angel of Yahweh encamps round about those who fear him,
And delivers them.”
Psa 34:7

Is that a lie? A Scripture that failed? (cf Jn 10:35) Jesus says that children’s angels always have access to God to plead their cause, Mtt 18:10. And Heb 1:13-14 says looking after Christians is the job of angels.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Keys to Prophecy: Trust God, Not Your Own Insight

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King Zedekiah about halfway trusted
the prophecies of God.

There were several encounters recorded in Jeremiah. He finally approached Jeremiah privately in Jeremiah 38 while Jerusalem was under siege from the Babylonians. He wanted to hear what he had to say. Jeremiah told him what God said would happen.

“Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you shall live, and your house..”
Jer 38:17

He was willing to think it might be right, but still had reservations about counsel of the Lord, and expressed these reservations.

“… I am afraid of the Jews who are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.”
Jer 38:19

Jeremiah assured him these fears were without foundation.

“ … They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the voice of Yahweh, in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.”
Jer 38:20

Then Jeremiah told him, again accurately, what would happen if he did not do what God told, Jer 38:23. King Zedekiah was not all powerful, but he did have important decisions to make. But he was not fully persuaded. So the terrible alternative came upon him.

“They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.”
2Kgs 25:7.

So the last sight Zedekiah saw was his sons being slaughtered before his eyes. And he went to Babylon as a blind man.

This is not to say that we do not have great potential.

Ah! Human potential. But the greatest of this is in the Lord. As Jesus said,

“5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.”
Jn 15:5-7 WEB

We should trust His advice, His foresight

even if we think it violates what we are “sure” is “right” or “safe.”

“5 Trust in Yahweh with all your heart,
And don’t lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
And he will direct your paths.
7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes.
Fear Yahweh, and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your body,
And nourishment to your bones.”
Prov 3:5-8 WEB

“One who trusts in himself is a fool;
But one who walks in wisdom, he is kept safe. ”
Prov 28:26 WEB

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Keys to Prophecy: God Can And Does Often Direct Our Thinking

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We are but creatures and are by no means omnipotent. I have heard many preachers say that God would never violate our “free will” as they put it. He will never “make us” do something. What foolishness. The truth is that He makes us do or say or think things everyday, that we had no intention of doing or saying. God often overrules us.

Actually many may manipulate our thinking.

Including moms and dads, and “friends,” and announcers and ads. Because of the limitations on our earthly life and our knowledge, we from time to time become the victims of counsel that at best misguided, or at worst is manipulative. Sometimes even from those we love, and who also love us. And Satan! He can do such things,

“After supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,”
Jn 13:2

And of Mystery Babylon the Great, it says

“… for with your sorcery all the nations were deceived.”
Rev 18:23

So here is a human entity, which by “sorcery,” can alter the thinking, manipulate/deceive the entire world at some future time. (You don’t suppose God actually foresaw modern mass media do you? I jest!).

So do you suppose that “many” can and do “manipulate” our thinking: mom, dad, friend, announcer, ad, movie, Satan … and God could not, would not?

God can and does influence the thinking of men.

It is both and little things and big things. God speaks of what He will do to His people in foreign lands, if they are not faithful to Him.

““‘As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies: and the sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword; and they will fall when no one pursues.””
Lev 26:36

God can help us, or if we oppose God, He can harden us in bad thinking.

“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Yahweh your God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as at this day.”
Deut 2:30

And so it will be even with God’s enemies
(Rev 17:13-14) near the end.

Mystery Babylon the Great has near the end deceived the nations and come to commercially dominate the world, ruining the nations with wars and sexual immorality in order to better exploit men (Revelation 18). She deserves to be punished, but she is too powerful to resist.

So God puts together a coalition of ten kings (“horns,” see for instance Dan 8:20-21), who for “one hour” had the resources to destroy Mystery Babylon all the way down the ground.

“For God has put in their hearts to do what he has in mind, and to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished.”
Rev 17:17

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Keys to Prophecy: Human Insight is Very Limited

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Jeremiah knows full well to weakness and insufficiency of man on his own. He comments on these things in various places.

“Yahweh, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.”
Jer 10:23

Or again, from Proverbs.

“A man’s steps are from Yahweh;
How then can man understand his way?”
Prov 20:24

Jeremiah knows that evil men need to be
brought to account.

For those who do not, will not, call on His name, and ruin the righteous, Jeremiah knows they deserve to be punished and calls on God to do it,

“Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, and on the families that don’t call on your name: for they have devoured Jacob, yes, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.”
Jer 10:25

But also Jeremiah knows that we need much instruction and mercy to even survive. Jeremiah is an inspired prophet of God, following in faith, and tenaciously holding to the Lord even when none will follow him. Still he is aware of how vulnerable he is.

“Yahweh, correct me, but in measure: not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.”
Jer 10:24

James, the half-brother of Jesus, likewise
knows these things.

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.””
Jas 4:13

He goes on to say that we do not even know what our very lives will be like tomorrow! If we have any insight, and foresight, it is not of ourselves but of God. James goes on to say that we are but vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes. He does NOT say we are LIKE a vapor! He says WE ARE A VAPOR! We need to listen to God.

Yes, we can plan and think and “want” and ”will”
to do things.

“The plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from Yahweh.”
Prov 16:1

But we are not omnipotent, all powerful.

So often we cannot always carry out what we “will.” We are often overcome in even our day to day intentions to do or to seek.

“There are many plans in a man’s heart,
But Yahweh’s counsel will prevail.”
Prov 19:21

“For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills,

“we will both live, and do this or that.””
Jas 4:15

He is the One who is really in control. That is the sober truth of the matter. Though we may strut and swagger and boast, at the end of the day, Yahweh, He is God, and you and I are merely men. Men who very much need the support and advice and the foresight of the One and Only Living God, and who should never put our own understanding before that of God’s.

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Keys to Prophecy: A Proper Mindset, Part III

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Realizing We Need to Use ALL of Scripture

It is a simple statement, but one that many, even in the church, do not really believe.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
2Tim 3:16 KJV

That word doctrine is the Greek word didaskalia and means a teaching, and that is the way it is translated most of the time. This means that the Bible needs to be taken as a whole in order to get what we need, for “All scripture is … profitable for doctrine.” Yes, it is true that the law of Moses has been taken out of the way (Col 2:14), nailed to the cross, and we are under the law of Christ (1Cor 9:21). Still even Moses’ law is profitable for doctrine, for teaching, and we need it to be,

“ … complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2Tim 3:17 KJV

Some do no believe all of the Bible, often
without realizing it!

Sometimes what we really believe is a human narrative about Scripture, and not really Scripture itself. So what is a “narrative”?

“a representation of a particular situation or process in such a way as to reflect or conform to an overarching set of aims or values: the coalition’s carefully constructed narrative about its sensitivity to recession victims.”
New Oxford American Dictionary

Often the “narrative” we have believed is the words of some honored men of old, or pioneers in the faith. If we are doing this, and we read a Scripture which is in accord with the narrative, then we will believe it. On the other hand, if we read a Scripture which contradicts the narratives we have been taught, then we will often openly doubt the Scripture. Often without realizing it, our standard of doctrine is a human narrative, and not Scripture. But Jesus said,

“And in vain do they worship me,
Teaching as doctrine rules made by men.”
Mtt 15:9 WEB

We need to teach “the whole counsel of God,”
Acts 20:27 WEB

A rough estimate is that 30% of Scripture is prophecy. Some want to leave prophecy out of their teaching, and that’s what they do! But you cannot leave 30% of God’s word out of out preaching and still be teaching “the whole counsel of God.”

We hear God’s plans for the future, then we
either we believe and lineup
with them or,

we disbelieve, and stand aside or oppose them.

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.”
Mtt 12:30 WEB

And prophecy is something to do.

 “Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Rev 22:7 WEB

Who can keep these words, if they do not understand them?

Peter says it is good to pay attention to these things.

“We have the more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the day star arises in your hearts:”
2Pe 1:19 WEB.

None of this is meant to imply that prophecy is ALL we need, but it is an important part of the whole.

KJV is the King James Version, 1611.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Keys to Prophecy: A Proper Mindset, Part II

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In Genesis 19 Lot had been told a prophecy that Sodom was to be destroyed. He was getting his family ready to leave, and it says,

“Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up! Get out of this place, for Yahweh will destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be joking.”
Gen 19:14 WEB

They could not see how this could be, so they did not believe Lot’s warnings, and so were destroyed with the city. We need to have an eternal focus if we are comprehend and believe what we need to in prophecy.

We Need Focus on Jesus and a Future World.

“looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Heb 12:2 WEB

We need to absorb that eternal perspective which Jesus exemplified in his life here on earth. Often our worldly perspective comes from the world, which does even recognize God working in the world, so the things taught in prophecy seem so outlandish that we cannot conceive such a thing as happening, so we reject the correct answers out of hand.

We need to focus on the “world to come,” Heb 2:5.

“1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. ”
Col 3:1-14 WEB

These things are necessary to “get it.”

Also, prophecy is much like learning math.

If we do not learn the first principles, or even outright reject them, we will never get the right answers on more involved prophecies. Many do this on Bible prophecy, both inside and outside of the faith.

The Angle of Entry is important.

Whether we see what we need to see often depend on the angle at which we approach a subject. To whatever extent we have rejected the many basic premises of Scripture, to that extent we are less likely to see, or to understand what we need to see. Often even believers do these things with even realizing it. If we come from false perspectives we are less likely to see or understand, or if the answer is too foreign to our worldly view, we may simply say, how can that be? and reject what is said. That sadly is often the case. We understand what is siad and reject it as impossible to ever be!

It is important to be willing to be open to anything which God says, and to assume that God is right and that He indeed foresees what will actually happen.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Keys to Prophecy: A Proper Mindset, Part I

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Of course, if we outright do not believe there is no such thing as prophecy it will hurt our understanding. Actually many have such an outlook, even of those who consider themselves sincere Bible believers. Many have listened to so many opposing interpretations of the same prophecy that they do not consider it possible to understand what these things mean.

For some that is true of Scripture generally.

Satan tries to make sure that hundreds of bogus
interpretations are floating around
just to confuse us.

This often works. Even scholars often are so dazzled by the excess of interpretations, that even they often think that there is no for sure way to understand these things. That is a basic strategy that Satan uses in seminaries and in life, to disillusion us.

The truth is that Scripture IS rational and consistent,
although it may at times use thought
patterns with which we
are not familiar.

At times we may want to put the blame on Scripture, but the real blame may be with false perspectives which we have often unconsciously absorbed. Satan, and the mystery of lawlessness, and Mystery Babylon the Great try to continually seed us with false ideas (Mtt 13:24-30, 36-39). Intellectual mine fields and snares and traps lie all around us. Literally.

The Bible is rational and consistent, and also it IS inspired of God, and can give us the right answers, IF we will use it correctly. That takes some study and some practice. If we have absorbed some false ideas, and all of us have at times, we can sort them out by patiently and carefully using Scripture.

None of us EVER understand everything
perfectly.

“But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn’t yet know as he ought to know.”
1Cor 8:2 WEB

Abraham was a faithful man of God. He definitely believed anything God said. So of course when he was commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah (later know as Mount Zion), then he proceeded to comply (Genesis 22). Of course, God was just testing him, and stopped Abraham before he went to kill the son though whom God had promised him rich and great promises. Scripture tells us that Abraham was,

“accounting that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead.”
Heb 11:19 WEB

That is some insight into how true faith really works. Even if we are misunderstanding some things, faith always gives God the benefit of the doubt, always assumes God is right in what He says.

Focusing on ourselves or the interests of the
world will always blind us.

Peter was trying to talk Jesus out getting ready to die in Matthew 16.

“But he turned, and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.””
Mtt 16:23

Not setting our mind on the things of God will blind us to prophecy, and many other things.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901