For the article on this Page, and many additional subjects (a total of 80 as of August 13, 2022),
please visit the All-English site by Homer Dewayne Shappley

Spirit of Prophecies, Spirit of Truth

https://www.spiritofprophecies.com

 

Prophetical Lights

The Dilemmas of Mind, Heart and Spirit…

 


 

…of Mr. John Puzzle

An analogy highlighting the importance of authentic prophecies

In the head, a circular grill of interconnected, hardened steel
that obstructs the entrance of essential knowledge.

 

Greetings. With many Good wishes for you.

I am pleased to share with you this preamble to the series intitled “Prophetical Lights, Lamps, Torches that Shine in Dark Places of Mind, Heart and Soul.”

These Prophetical Lights cast much light, so I understand, on the subjects of: FAITH, DOUBTS, and INCREDULITY.

In the religious-spiritual environs of our world…

There are prophecies that are…

Authentic.     Fulfilled.     To be fulfilled.     And many that are false.

Regarding FAITH, different kinds are detected.

Genuine faith.     Distorted faith.     A pretended faith     Blind faith.     Weak faith.    Dead faith.     A self-serving, convenient faith.

With reference to DOUBTS, we observe…

1.   That a great many of them spring up where there is a dearth of knowledge due to a lack of interest and study.

2.  That questionings left unresolved may well debilitate, even kill, any kind of faith.

3.  And that negative concepts of the religious, and prejudices against any, and all religions, are not only the seedbed of a plethora of doubts, but also, of pure secularism and outright atheism.

With respect to Incredulity…

Some atheists appeal to arguments held to be valid, convinced their position is rational.

On the other hand, the subjective atheism of others is to be classified, logically, as irrational.

The unbelieving who do no more than ridicule, are bereft, by nature, of any credibility.

I have invited Mr. John Puzzle to this study. For him, life often turns into a real riddle, mystery, enigma.

His dilemmas of the mind and spirit I myself have also confronted, once and again, across the years of my youth and adulthood on the surface of this extraordinary blue planet, Earth, of the Solar system, in the Milky Way.  

Perhaps you have experienced them too, to some degree, just as I have.

I kindly ask you and Mr. Puzzle to not reject my invitation to this study on Prophetical Lights because of the principal emphasis, precisely, on “Prophecies.”

Personally, in my battles to overcome Doubts, isolate Incredulity, and have a robust Faith in which I could be confident and joyful, fulfilled Bible prophecies, and those presently being fulfilled, have played, and continue to play, a decisive roll!

Let me be perfectly clear: Prophecies found in the Bible, and not in other books, nor those proclaimed by the hordes of self-appointed “prophets and prophetesses” of these times.

As for me, I am not a prophet, but a student of prophecies.

Please take a little time to get to know Mr. John Puzzle, an intriguing personality with three alternating views of himself, so that you will not miss, as he has up to now, seeing the first Prophetical Light of this series. He has missed it, up to now, because of his real state of mind, ego, inner man.

About 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the business where John works, there is a wide, fertile field where wheat is sown. Now and then, he stops to contemplate, for a few moments, that beautiful, nature scene.

Thinking about how the earth produces such great quantities of grain for human and animal consumption, fascinated by the great, solitary tree barely visible on the horizon, and marveling at the vast, heavenly vault above, with its hues of blue and little white clouds, he says to himself:

“Truly, there are very strong reasons for believing in an Almighty Creator!”

In the image on the right that John Puzzle has of himself, he visualizes an enormous galaxy, projecting it, in his imagination, in the heavens above the tree, and his faith grows even more, as he is genuinely impressed by the enormity, design, and precision of the material universe.

This is John’s POSITIVE VIEW of himself.  

However, on other occasions, before the same scene, as in the image of himself on the left, few pieces of the puzzle of his life remain interconnected.

Flickering across his mind are disturbing visions of multitudes of malnourished men, women, and, especially, children, around the globe. Deeply troubling visions of the ceaseless injustices of life. Of widespread vices and criminal activities. Of civil, racial, and political violence, rampant in not a few areas. Of fearful plagues and devastating diseases that result in great suffering and premature death for millions. Of extremely violent weather systems that destroy crops, forests, buildings, houses, and lives. Other such visions from the dark side often swirl through his head and heart.

Thus ruminating, his mind and spirit become filled with thick, wispy tendrils of bleakness, doubts sap his intellect, heart, and soul, and his faith is whisked away by the cold winds of skepticism and incredulity!

In the center, John projects himself as he would like to be. With the puzzles of life harmoniously resolved in his mind-soul-spirit.

Every piece in its place. Well ordered. Logical. Zero dilemmas, conflicts, doubts. Peace and tranquility to the max. How exceedingly delightful and comforting!

But, the image of himself facing us represents his true “self,” his “ego,” his “inner man,” discovering, to be sure, an absolutely, fearful state.

The upper part is missing! Vital for an integral, intelligent being, completely formed, able to formulate correct conclusions regarding the great subjects of life.

Much key knowledge is lacking.

To top it off, Mr. John Puzzle has created, in his own head, a circular grill of interconnected, hardened steel that obstructs the entrance of such knowledge.

Steel circles such as: Preconceived ideas and philosophies that have hardened into dogmas. Calcified religious-spiritual prejudices. A steely resistance to new information. Intellectual inertia. Illogical reasonings, etcetera.

This grill keeps many pieces of the puzzle of life from falling into place.

Do you have a grill like that in your own head? Do I have a similar one in mine? If so, each of us needs to break it up and extract it, throwing the pieces in the RED waste can marked: DANGEROUS! Potentially FATAL!

In the image of that shocking head, only one glowing puzzle piece rest on that incongruous, dangerous grill. It represents a large group of interconnected pieces related to “Authentic Prophecies.”

A writing on the glowing puzzle piece constitutes a very important clue for deciphering and understanding the trajectories, often convoluted, intricate and unpredictable, of the peoples and nations of this world. To wit: the words…

“And we have more firm the prophetic word, to which we do well giving heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, till day may dawn, and a morning star may arise in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19 YLT

Perhaps you may now better appreciate the importance of getting to know Mr. John Puzzle, for he epitomizes the dilemmas of men, women and young people who have yet to see, in the dark regions of this world and their own hearts…

A picture containing light, object, star, traffic Description automatically generated The Powerful LIGHT of AUTHENTIC PROPHECIES glowing across years, decades, centuries.

As a LAMP for chambers of the mind and heart.

As a TORCH for the dark caves of the psyche-spirit.

 

 

 

 

PDF of this subject

 

The first “firm… prophetic word” whose “lamp shining” we wish to call attention to is that of Jesus’ Prophecy of the Destruction of the Jewish Temple and Jerusalem.

 

 

Studies in the Bible and related subjects. Articles, tracts, Bible class guides, sermons and slides. PDF's. By Homer Dewayne Shappley, teacher and evangelist.

Prophecies of the New Testament. LIST of studies available on this site.

 

 

  

¿Le gusta esta página? Por favor, ayúdenos a difundir la información por medio de compartirla automáticamente con sus amistades de Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, y Twitter pulsando en los botones arriba colocados.

Derechos reservados. Permiso concedido para hacer una copia, o múltiples copias pero ninguna para la venta.