God is love, and every portion of His Word proclaims that love. None of the Lord’s actions or words could possibly be independent of His love. But this glorious fact has not always been appreciated as it should be and, consequently, some prophecies have been interpreted incorrectly. When the love of God is not recognized as the motivating principle which has prompted Him to inspire His servants the prophets, it naturally follows that these messages are not always understood, and erroneous interpretations conceived.We need to remember the purpose for which the sacred Scriptures were given. This purpose is clearly stated: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). “All Scripture” has been given by “God, and is profitable” for “the man of God” regarding “doctrine”, “reproof”, “correction”, for instruction in righteousness. That is, as well as other portions of Holy Writ, the prophecies were sent by God for -instruction in righteousness - not merely as “milestones” leading to the kingdom of God or to the end of the world. They were not given to satisfy human curiosity concerning what or what may not occur among the nations; they were given to “the man of God” for “instruction in righteousness”.
Obviously the enemy of all righteousness would bend all the energies of his malevolence to prevent these portions of God’s Word from accomplishing the purpose for which they have been sent. He succeeds when he persuades people to misread the prophecies and fail to discern that the solution to the enigmas of prophecy lies in the love of God for His people. This is the great truth Satan has ever sought to hide from the eyes of those who love the Lord and who seek to do His blessed will.
Read very carefully the following statements from the pen of the Lord’s servant:
“The central theme of the Bible, the theme about which every other in the whole book clusters, is the redemption plan, the restoration in the human soul of the image of God. From the first intimation of hope in the sentence pronounced in Eden to the last glorious promise of the Revelation ‘They shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads’, the burden of every book and every passage of the Bible is the unfolding of this wondrous theme - man’s uplifting - the power of God, ‘which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’. He who grasps this thought has before him an infinite field for study. He has the key that will unlock to him the whole treasure-house of God’s Word” (Education, pp. 125, 126).
“Every jot and tittle of the word of God is to be brought into the daily practice” (C.O.L. 314).
These statements declare that "every passage of the Bible” deals with salvation, with God’s love for man and His plan for man’s redemption, with the thought of providing mankind with power for victory over sin. And we are informed that when we grasp this thought we have “the key that will unlock the whole treasure-house of God’s Word”; which includes the prophecies, which too often are read without applying this “key” - God’s love and care for the creatures whom He seeks to save and for whose sake those prophetic words were given.
Every jot and tittle of the word of God - including the prophecies which seem to deal with future events only - when rightly interpreted, will be found to be of practical use in "the daily practice" of the Christian life. When an interpretation of the prophecies fails in this essential feature we may be sure that that interpretation is wrong. Failing to read in certain prophetic statements the message of God’s love for His people, some have understood these love messages as revelations concerning military, political, racial or geographical matters, and have concluded that they are not important, or refer to events to be fulfilled after probation closes and that therefore they need not be carefully studied.
Some who have uttered these misguided statements, because they have not read these prophecies in the light of God’s love, would shudder if they realized that they merely echo the subtle whisperings of the serpent.
A cursory glance at the prophecies shows that they have been given because of God’s love. In
It will be observed that this very first prophecy was prompted by the love of God for His erring earthly children. That prophecy not only foretold the coming of future events, but it made the revelation concerning the future of practical use in the daily living of the guilty but repentant pair. This, the initial prophecy, sets the standard of them all: they reveal God’s love and are of practical value each day, when rightly understood.
From that time down through the millenniums the hope of the coming Savior and the eventual result of His work, was ever held before the people of God. It formed the basis of every promise or prophecy, and like that first prophecy, every prophecy, while pointing into the future for the ultimate fulfillment, provided a stimulus and power for the present.
