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As I explain in my disclaimer on the Bill's Bible Basics website, everything that you read in the articles and series which are available on my website -- aside from the central message of Salvation through faith in the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ -- is subject to change. The reason why I intentionally make this disclaimer is really simple. Just like the rest of you, I am an imperfect human being. When it comes to the Holy Scriptures, despite the fact that I have invested huge amounts of time in studying the Bible over the past fifty-three years, I do not possess perfect knowledge. I do not understand -- and have never claimed to understand -- everything that is contained in God's Word. It is just too deep for our limited minds to fully grasp. I am reminded of verses such as the following where the authors came to a similar realization:

"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."


"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable."


"As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all."


"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding."


"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."


"Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number."


"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"


"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."


So because of this fact, because God's Word is so profound, similar to other honest Christians, I am forced to recognize my own limitations, and I am forced to stay on guard, and to maintain an attitude of humility, lest I begin to boast beyond my measure, or worse yet, become deceived as so many Christians have today due to their lack of due diligence in more carefully and prayerfully studying the Scriptures. As the Apostles Peter and Paul so wisely wrote:

"And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know."


"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"


"If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself."


"From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."


"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."


"Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."


"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of."


"And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."


In short, similar to many of my Christian brethren, when it comes to understanding God's Word, I am in a constant state of spiritual growth. As such, I embrace what I like to refer to as an "evolving theology". What this means is that as my understanding of God's Word continues to expand, through diligent study of the Scriptures, the doctrines and beliefs which I embrace must adapt to any new truths which the Lord may choose to reveal to me. Thus, as I explain in the series entitled "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?", this may in fact mean discarding ideas which are no longer valid, and which are not supported by the Scriptures; even if I have embraced said beliefs for many years.

My friends, this is a very important point which I hope you will take to heart. Are you willing to do the same? Are you willing to discard beliefs which are not validated by the Scriptures? It is imperative that we all remain flexible in our understanding. We cannot afford to become overly rigid, or else we will be just like the Scribes and the Pharisees of old, who placed tradition above the truth of God's Word. I discuss this topic in a number of articles, such as in "Are You Just a Baby Huey?" and "Tradition or Truth? Old Wine or New Wine?". Consider the following verses:

"Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."


"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."


"He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."


Clearly then, we must all be very careful that we are not overcome or deceived by the traditions and philosophies of men which negate God's Word. We must ask God for His wisdom, and we must diligently study and know His Word, so that we are not "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine". We must not be deceived by "seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." We must reject any and all "damnable heresies". Consider the following group of sample verses which further emphasize these points:

"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."


"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."


"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"


"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein."


"As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do."


As you can see, there has to be a balance. We have to hold on to the tried, proven and Biblically-sound doctrines of our faith -- such as Salvation through repentance and faith in the atoning Sacrifice of Christ -- while at the same time, we reject those doctrines which are contrary to the Scriptures. As if that is not already difficult enough in this day and age, we have to also remain open and flexible to anything new which the Lord may want to reveal to us.

As many of you will know, this is easier said that done. In today's climate, there are so many wild and crazy doctrines and beliefs out there; and having access to the Internet only makes it a lot worse. It can be downright confusing, and very difficult to wade through it all. No doubt one of the most difficult and confusing areas is Bible prophecy. What are we to believe? Who are we to believe? What is right and what is wrong? Ask one hundred different "experts", and you may get one hundred different answers.

As I explain in the aforementioned series "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?", a number of years ago I was forced to re-evaluate some of my own beliefs, when certain verses challenged my long-held understanding concerning the Lord's Return, and what we Christians refer to as "Endtime Prophecy". As I point out in that series, as well as in some of the other articles which are listed at the end of this current article, over a period of years, through a more diligent study of the Scriptures, I came to the conclusion that contrary to what many Futurist-leaning Christians now believe, a number of the prophetic things which both Jesus and the Apostles said and taught were not far future events. In other words, they were not for our present day. Rather, they were fulfilled during the latter portion of the First Century.

As I mentioned earlier, if there are two things that we all need when it comes to our understanding of the Bible, it is humility, as well as flexibility. It is for this reason that even though I make some rather profound and very challenging statements in that series, which I am convinced are strongly supported by the Scriptures, at the same time, I humbly note that my ideas are not bullet-proof. I cannot conclusively prove some of them beyond a shadow of a doubt.

There are two main reasons why this is so. The first of the two is simply that there's no clear, indisputable historical evidence to prove that said events occurred back then; at least none that I am currently aware of. I have my own ideas regarding this issue. Is there really no evidence because the events did not happen back then, and are yet to occur in our future? Or is it possible that the events I describe in that series did in fact happen back then, as I propose, but the evidence for them has been purposely covered up -- even to this very day -- by certain ecclesiastical powers who have their own agenda?

Personally, I lean towards the latter. While I cannot prove it, I suspect that a certain very powerful church possesses particular historical documents which it has purposely withheld from public view for centuries, because bringing those documents to light would destroy its power over the masses. I suspect that those documents may reveal in more detail exactly what happened during the First Jewish-Roman War; particularly during Roman general Titus' siege and conquest of Jerusalem around 70 AD.

I have often wondered what happened to some of the missing earlier works by noted Roman senator and historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus. I am of course referring to the missing volumes from his "Annals" and "Histories". Were those books truly lost, or is it possible that they are purposely hidden in some dark vault somewhere, never to see the light of day? I realize that I am being a bit cryptic here, but I know that the wise will understand what I am saying; particularly if you have read some of my other articles.

Now, the second thing which throws a monkey wrench into some of my personal musings regarding certain aspects of Bible prophecy, concerns some technological developments which are occurring in our very day. As many of you will know, I have written a substantial amount of material regarding the 666. That is, the infamous Mark of the Beast. You will find said articles listed at the end of this current article. All of those articles were written years before "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?". As such, they all have a Futurist bent to them; meaning that when I wrote them, I was of the opinion that the 666 was/is a near-future event, and not a past historical event.

The problem is this: While I am not currently aware of any information or historical or literary sources which can be used to prove that the Mark of the Beast actually occurred during the latter half of the First Century, as I explain in those articles, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the Mark of the Beast may almost be upon us in our present day. So as you can see, this issue has been quite the dilemma for me personally. When all is said and done, the only safe conclusion at which I can arrive is this: Time will reveal the truth. It will divide truth from error, and God will most certainly do all His pleasure, because He is not a man that He should lie. Regardless of whether or not we each fully and perfectly understand His Word, all of it will come to pass in His perfect time, and in His way, because forever His Word is settled in Heaven. Consider this closing group of verses:

". . . For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."


"We have also a MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:"


"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"


"Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever."


"The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations."


"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:"


"I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past."


"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."


"He is‭ the Rock, his work ‭is‭ perfect: for all his ways ‭are‭ judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right ‭is‭ he.‭"


"God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."


"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;"


With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

666: IBM's Cognitive Computers, DARPA and the Image of the Beast
666: Mondex and the Mark of the Beast!
666: More Proof of the Coming System
666: Obamacare and the Mark of the Beast: Fact or Fiction?
666: Precursors to the 666 and the Mark of the Beast
666: The Patience of the Saints
666: VeriChip, Somark and Microsoft Unmasked!
Abomination of Desolation: Explained!
Are You Just a Baby Huey?
Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word
In the Ages to Come
Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?
Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
Should Christians Engage in Doctrinal Debates?
Study, Work and Don't Be Ashamed
Tradition or Truth? Old Wine or New Wine?
When Was Satan Cast Out of Heaven?
Who Hindered the Antichrist?

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