Revelation 10:2-4---He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down."

    The seven stars, the seven golden lampstands, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven plagues, the seven bowls of wrath, lots and lots of sevens in the Book of the Revelation. From all of the prophecies and all the sevens, many 'scholars' have arranged and outlined the exact sequence of events that will come at the end times. All of it written down, explained and affirmed as truth.

    Except for those seven thunders that John was not allowed to write about. The Book of the Revelation is vibrant and scary and exhilarating and heart stopping. But is not actually complete because there is the issue of the thunders. 

    Most writers ignore the thunders when they write their narratives. It is only three verses. Hardly there at all. But without the thunders it is impossible to put together a complete timeline. That does not take away from the truth of the rest of the Book, but it does leave, in its wake, a mystery. Given the scope of the other sevens, the lack of knowledge of the thunders leaves a BIG mystery. 

    And that is OK.

    For those of us who are believers, all things will eventually be revealed. There are mysteries in the Word and those mysteries spice things up a little more than they already are.

    We know the things we need to know. We know how to share the Gospel. We know how to share God's love. We know how to live Godly lives. We know how to share the Gospel, but we mostly don't. We know how to share God's love, but we mostly want to see the cost first. We know how to live Godly lives, but we are mostly too deep in the world to do so. Yet we want all the answers to the mysteries. 

    The mysteries of our Bible set it apart from other bibles of other faiths. Other faith books were written to explain everything. Our Bible holds back some things. They are held back because they have no bearing on our one job. On the Mount of Transfiguration, how did it actually happen? We know why, but how did it come about? All kinds of mysteries surround Moses. The plagues, the burning bush, the parting of the sea. Did God send all the crocodiles to the other side of the Nile when the baby Moses was set into that river? Why did bad things happen to good people in the Bible? Why did Paul suffer as he did? If you just look, you will find all kinds of mysteries.

    And mysteries are fun.

    Years ago, at a pastor's retreat, an older pastor came up to me. He looked to be in his 60s, deep lines creased his face, he looked haggard and worn. He asked a series of Bible type questions, but they were of the type I mentioned above. Then, without taking much of a breath, he started presenting hypothetical questions about possible situations in a church. He was actually frantic. 

    When I could break in, I said, "Whoa, guy, there are no answers to most of the Bible questions and the church situations depend on a lot of variables. What is the problem? What's going on." His eyes were big and he was shaking. I was thinking he was on the verge of a breakdown or had already had it. Later, it occurred to me that he might have been on a drug of some type. But he looked at me with those big, desperate eyes and said, "If I don't have the answers when they ask, they are gonna fire me!" Then he turned and shuffled off to someone else. 

    I felt a huge sadness for that man. I found it hard to believe that the church would fire him, but you never know. 

    This I do know; never feel you know everything about the Bible, because you don't. And never think you have the Book of the Revelation all figured out, because you don't. And that is fun.

    We are told to study to show ourselves approved, a workman who doesn't need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. The search is fun, the discovery is enthralling and the mystery is amazing.

    Read the Word daily!     

               

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