The revelation
of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take
place. He made it known by sending his
angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw -- that is, the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed
are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time
is near. Rev. 1: 1 – 3
If any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it
will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not
doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the
wind. That man should not think he will
receive anything from the Lord; James
1: 5 – 7
All Scripture is
God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man
of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 16 - 17
Can we know when the end is near?
Now learn
this lesson from the fig tree: As soon
as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is
near. Even so, when you see all
these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Matt. 24:
32 - 33
For when
they shall say, peace & safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them,
as travail upon a woman with child; & they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness,
that that day should overtake you as a thief. I Thes. 5: 3 – 4
In the
last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters
will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream
dreams. Even on my servants, both men
and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will
prophesy. I will show wonders in the
heaven above and signs on the earth
below, blood and fire and billows of
smoke. The sun will be turned to
darkness and the moon to blood before
the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved. Acts 2: 17 – 21
(See also: Joel 2: 28 – 32)
Then the
voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: "Go, take the
scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and
on the land." So I went to the
angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your
stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's
hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as
honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, "You must prophesy
again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." Revelation 10: 8 – 10
And we have
the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay
attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and
the morning star rises in your hearts. Above
all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the
prophet's own interpretation. For
prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as
they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
II Peter 1: 19 - 21
You want
something but don't get it. You kill
and covet, but you cannot have what you want.
You quarrel and fight. You do
not have, because you do not ask God.
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives,
that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4: 2 - 3
For the foolishness of
God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than
man's strength. I Cor. 1: 25
This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. I Cor. 2: 13 – 14
Do not
deceive yourselves. If any one of
you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a
"fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise
in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of
the wise are futile. I Cor. 3: 18 – 20