The sooner a person learns, “Don’t ask why, just do as you’re told,” in basic training the better. I was the only one in our group told to report to this specific room. When the sergeant shut the door, it was all business. He told us to fill out the forms of everywhere we had lived since birth. “Gentlemen it better be complete & correct as you will be signing under oath when you leave that everything is true & complete.” We were told there was a Zip Code book in the back, but no one was allowed to leave the room or call home. Oh, and cell phones had not been invented in 1965. After a year I had the privilege & honor of receiving a Top-Secret Clearance in the Air Force.

During my four years in the service, I came to know & use a lot of classified information. Access to the secrets of the government has a hard & fast rule, a go to jail Principle known as “Need-To-Know.” Being curious about information without the Need-To-Know will create serious trouble. I accepted the phrase, “Lose lips sink ships.” I guess the indoctrination from my clearance shaped how I approach the mysteries in my Bible Study Fellowship study of Revelation.

This week in our BSF discussion group of Revelation 10 we covered verses 3 & 4, “When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.” God has secrets.

There is probably no other portion of the Bible that creates so many opinions than Revelation. I can’t help but smile as people get lost in the weeds of opinion and even argue over what they “believe” God’s Secrets mean. So where do we go to know? Where do we go to learn about Him and His Ways? Only Scripture is fact, everything else is opinion. 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”. In this day & time of so much information, it is paramount for Believers to personally know God’s Word, not depending on someone to tell you about God’s Word.

In Matthew 24 Jesus told His Disciples, and us, why we must personally know Him. “Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?” Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.” Matthew 24:3-8. Be prepared.

What does God’s Word have to say about His mysteries & secrets?

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that He has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.” Good News! There are no “Gotcha’s with God.

Ephesians 1:9 “He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ.” The world does not understand the mystery of the Power of the Blood of Christ. It’s the “Good News” of the Gospel.

Matthew 24:36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” Fact, if Jesus does not know when He will return to earth…no one knows.

What are Believers to do? How are we to know? Jesus made it crystal clear. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27. It is the daily desire…a hunger to know Him intimately by prayer & study of His Word. It is then, when the storms of life come, and they will, you confidently claim the Promise of Jesus, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:28. Hope can only be found in Jesus, the “Good Shepherd”!