THANK GOD FOR THE GOOD!          DFO1492          30/4/83

         1. SOMETIMES I MAY MAKE A LITTLE MISTAKE BECAUSE OF MY FORGETFULNESS OF HISTORY & THE EXACT TIME & DATES, or I say somebody's name, when I meant somebody else. Maybe some historian in the past gave me the wrong dope on history or events.
         2. BUT THE THING THAT AMAZES ME IN GOING OVER ALL THESE OLD PROPHECY LETTERS, is not how many mistakes I found, in these millions of words & thousands of pages; but how few mistakes I've found! That's what amazes me! There are very few minor little slips of the tongue or slips of the memory about some minor little insignificant detail, nothing major.
         3. SOMETIMES IT'S DIFFICULT TO TELL WHAT A BIBLE PROPHET IS TALKING ABOUT IN SOME OF THESE EVENTS THAT ARE VERY SIMILAR--the various wars, judgements of God, periods of His wrath etc. There were many different prophets describing many different events, some of them describing the same event, but in some cases they wouldn't have really known whether they were describing the same events or different events! It remained for the Lord to show us in these Last Days which events they were talking about & which Scriptures describe which event, & even yet, that's still not always too clear.
         4. BUT THE LORD, I THINK, HAS GIVEN US AN AMAZING CLARIFICATION & INTERPRETATION OF THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS TO WHERE THEY'VE NOW SETTLED DOWN. I thank God, two great turning points came.--First with the "Warning Prophecy" which Grandmother gave (No.655), which made some things very clear & very specific. Then He had to shake me loose from the shackles of the past & my Jewishism & my pro-Israel stance, which was as major a change to me personally as it was to Paul in his breakaway from the Law & tradition & his Judaism! (See "Breakdown", No.66.) Those are major milestones which helped to clarify the whole picture of Bible prophecy.
         5. SO THE AMAZING THING TO ME IS HOW CONSISTENT THE LORD HAS BEEN in showing me these truths & facts & getting them strung in proper sequence & chronological order & in greater clarity! He's cut some of the diamonds & polished them up to where I can see them much more clearly, whereas in the early days they were just rough stones!--And He's getting the beads lined up on the string in proper order! It's amazing how unchanged the major facts & events & sequence have been & all the rest, & how He has just been gradually developing each of these areas in our own minds & hearts & revealing more details & showing us more clearly the events & characteristics than before.
         6. THAT'S THE WONDERFUL THING TO ME, IS HOW ACCURATE IT HAS BEEN & HOW FEW MISTAKES WE HAVE MADE! Thank God for that! In a multitude of words there are bound to be a few mistakes! He says, "In the multitude of words there lacketh not sin!" (Prov.10:19) I'm bound to say a few things wrong, not purposely, but accidentally--slips of the tongue or confusion of a couple of ancient historical characters & dates.
         7. BUT THESE VERY TINY LITTLE MINOR INFINITESIMAL CONFUSIONS ARE SO FEW & FAR BETWEEN & so understandable, that people should be charitable enough to realise that it's just taken a long time developing! The Lord has taken a long time in showing me all these things that I didn't know at the beginning. They should be thankful now that I know the difference, & that now I can see some of my slight mistakes & confusions of the past. But thank God we've had so little confusion & we've had so few mistakes or misinterpretation! Thank God that about 99% of the time we have been right & accurate, & what God is showing us now is no different from what He showed us before, except more & clearer & more definite.
         8. THERE ARE MANY THINGS THE LORD DID NOT SHOW ME UNTIL RECENTLY & I DIDN'T NEED TO KNOW. They should be thankful that He's showing me more! They should be thankful that I'm smarter today than I was yesterday! They should be thankful that I'm wiser today than I was yesterday! Instead of accusing me of changing my mind, they should be thankful that the Lord has showed me more clearly now than I knew in the past!
         9. THEY SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR THE 99% OF THE THINGS THAT HE HAS SHOWN ME, INSTEAD OF QUIBBLING OVER THE 1%! (Maria: Yes, I think they have to learn to take it more as a whole instead of picking out every little tiny piece & putting it in the puzzle & making sure it fits.--To just take the general overall picture, & if they don't understand something, like you've always said, wrap it up in a little bundle of faith, set it aside for now & just go on!) Yes!--Wait & see! Maybe the Lord will show'm later.
         10. (MARIA: SOMETIMES IT'S A MATTER OF MISINTERPRETATION ON THE PART OF THE FAMILY.) You've got to look at it in the right light, the right context & the right interpretation! It's just like somebody has said, that you can prove anything by the Bible!--That the Bible even says "there is no God"! That's a Scripture! But they've taken it out of context, out of its relationship with the whole, which says, "the fool hath said in his heart, There is no God!" (Ps.14:1)
         11. THEY SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT I'VE SAID THAT ARE RIGHT! They should be thankful for all the things that jive, all the things that are synchronised, all the things that are true! "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are good, whatsoever things are of good report, think on these things!" (Ph.4:8) They should be thankful for the fact that the Lord has been developing these things gradually to where I understand better now than I used to yesterday! I'm wiser now than I was years ago & I know better now than I did then!
         12. YOU DON'T SCOLD A GROWN ADULT FOR THE MISTAKES HE MADE IN KINDERGARTEN! Something I said back 15 years ago in the Light Club was for a different day, a different time, a different audience! Everything was different!--But the major things haven't changed! Jesus hasn't changed, God hasn't changed, His Word hasn't changed, Salvation hasn't changed, our Commission to "go into all the World & preach the Gospel to every creature" hasn't changed, even our major prophetic teachings have not changed!--Just a few little minor specks of dust here & there that somehow we didn't shoo away & somebody's discovered'm, so they want to bring it to our attention.
         13. IT'S LIKE THE BUTTON OFF OF MUTT'S VEST! Mutt wanted to show off his nice bright red necktie & how well-dressed he was & everything, & all Jeff could see was that he was minus a button! (Maria: But it's good, because we want them to ask if they don't understand. I don't think most of our Family do it in a critical manner at all!) You're right, Jeff should have called it to his attention! And Mutt shouldn't have had his feelings hurt just because Jeff said, "Hey Mutt, you're minus a button off your vest!"
         14. LET'S "FORGET THE THINGS THAT ARE BEHIND & PRESS FORWARD TO THE THINGS THAT ARE BEFORE!" (Ph.3:13,14) The Lord is giving us so many marvellous revelations about the near Future & more details on the events that are soon to come & our lives in the very near Future so we can have something to look forward to! They say 50% of enjoyment is anticipation, so we're getting to enjoy the Future already!
         15. THIS IS WHAT KEPT MOSES & SOME OF THE OLD PROPHETS & PATRIARCHS ALIVE: "Looking unto Jesus, the Author & the Finisher of their faith!" (Heb.12:2.) Look beyond the difficulties of the present to the marvellous Future the Lord has stored up for us, beside which these present sufferings are not to even be compared! (Ro.8:18) That's what I think the Lord's doing now, He's beginning to reveal to us--we who are getting so close to it--the marvels & the wonders of the future!
         16. (MARIA: IF THERE'S SOMETHING THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND OR YOU HAVEN'T COVERED, I WANT THEM TO STILL WRITE IN, BECAUSE THEIR QUESTIONS HAVE EVEN INSPIRED LETTERS!) Amen! We may not know the answers, but there's no reason why you shouldn't ask! If it really puzzles you & you can't understand it--ask! The answer may be very simple! You may have overlooked it very easily. And if I've overlooked it, I want to know!
         17. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, THANK THE LORD FOR ALL THE GOOD THINGS! Don't dwell on the mistakes & the errors, or what you think may be errors. A lot of people do that with the Bible--they dwell on all of its supposed contradictions & errors. Apparently the Lord has allowed a few little mistakes & stumblingblocks over which people can stumble if they choose to.
         18. I CERTAINLY DON'T WANT YOU TO HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS IF THEY'RE SINCERE HONEST QUESTIONS & NOT JUST TRYING TO FIND FAULT. The motive is what is important! Are you sincere? Do you really want to know the Truth? Do you want to know the answers?--Or are you just trying to be difficult & pester & find fault & be accusers of the saints like the Devil! That's the difference!
         19. I'M GOING TO FORGET THE PAST & GO ON TO THE FUTURE! Thank You Jesus for the future! I've got enough to worry about today without worrying about the past or the future! PTL! GBY!--But keep asking--even if I don't always know!--Someday we'll know!--Even as we're known! (1Cor.13:12) Meanwhile, thank God for all we do know!--Amen? GBAKY wanting to know! TYJ!--In Jesus' name, amen. In the meantime, thank God for all the good!--Amen?--ILY!

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