Prophecy's Twisted Tales
Intro The Great Wall of China is the only man made object that can be seen from the moon, or is it? I’ll be back in a moment with the prophetic perspective on Prophecy’s Twisted Tales. Message Hello, this is Cody Francis with Prophetic Perspectives. This claim made about the Great Wall has been around for a long time, and there is no doubt the Great Wall stretching for some 1500 miles is an impressive human achievement, but can it really be seen from the moon? This story was first told in 1938, before a satellite or person had ever been launched into space. In reality according to astronauts, the Great Wall is barely visible from a low earth orbit because of its similar coloration to the terrain around it. From these low orbits many other man made objects such as small airport runways are visible, but from the moon no man made object is visible. All that can be seen are the colors of white, blue, yellow and green respectively being clouds, oceans, deserts and vegetation. This twisted tale has survived for decades and even been placed in textbooks and still persists today. This and many other twisted tales have been classified into what is now called “urban legends.” Passed on from one person to another, thought to be fact, but either totally fictitious or so distorted from the original facts as to become totally unreliable. This twisted tales have been given an even greater lease on life with the forward button of emails circling the globe in a matter of hours. But even more disturbing are the twisted tales of Bible prophecy that have been passed on from one preacher to another and one church member to another, but having no basis is solid Biblical fact. What are some of these twisted tales of Bible prophecy and how can we be shielded from tangling with and twisting the holy Scriptures? Let us turn to the Lord in prayer as we look at the subject of Prophecy’s Twisted Tales. Outline I. Twisting the Scriptures A. Peter warns of twisting the Scriptures – 2 Pet. 3:16 B. Last days even more prevalent – 1 Tim. 4:1 C. Devil quoted w/Jesus – Matt. 4:6 D. False apostles – 2 Cor. 11:13-15 II. Rightly dividing the Word of Truth A. Must rightly divide – 2 Tim. 2:15 B. Principles for Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth 1. Context a. What author’s intent? What full passage? b. Adage – A text without a context is a pretext. 2. Weight of Evidence a. Isaiah 28:9, 10 b. Luther – “The best interpreter of Scripture is other Scripture.” III. Common Scripture twistings A. Thief on the Cross – Luke 23:42, 43 1. Jesus didn’t go to paradise that day a. John 20:17 – have not ascended b. Paradise is at God’s throne – Rev. 2:7; 22:1-3 2. Comma misplaced a. Punctuation not inspired – Acts 19:12 b. Only way fits into context B. Absent from the body; present with the Lord – II Cor. 5:8 1. Did not want death – II Cor. 5:4 a. Second coming – I Cor. 15:52, 53 b. Redemption of body – Rom. 8:23 c. Longs for translation – II Cor. 5:8 2. Most important is judgment – II Cor. 5:9, 10 3. Does not say death, immediately, etc. C. Rich man & Lazarus – Luke 16:19-31 1. Parable – not an actual scenario or event a. In a string of parables 1) Lost sheep – Luke 15:3-7 2) Lost coin – Luke 15:8-10 3) Prodigal son – Luke 15:11-32 4) Unjust steward – Luke 16:1-9 b. Details prove just parable, would not actually happen 1) All in Abraham’s bosom? (16:22) 2) One drop of water help? (16:24) 3) Communication between heaven & hell forever? (16:25-27) c. Without a parable didn’t speak to multitude 2. Parables only understood by other revealed light a. Multitude not to understand – Matt. 13:10, 11 b. Only understood by those who already had – Matt. 13:12 c. We “have” by understand the rest of the Bible – Is. 28:9, 10 d. Parable only confuse those who do not “have” – Matt. 13:13-15 3. Every detail in a parable cannot be taken literally. a. Never weed a garden – Matt. 13:24-30 b. God is an unjust judge – Luke 18:1-8 c. Dishonesty is commendable – Luke 16:1-8 d. Jesus rebuked for taking parables literally 1) Parable of leaven – Matt. 16:5-12 2) Parable of destroying this temple – John 2:18-22 4. Parables are not always “real to life.” a. Parable of the trees – Judges 9:7-15 b. Parable of the thistle & cedar – II Kings 14:9 5. Truth taught is what is significant. a. Rich not favored above the poor b. No 2nd probation c. Bible is the supreme authority
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