Why aren't we supposed to know the day or the hour?
That's why I don't believe in the Bible any more. It's too unspecific! It's like the prophecies of Nostradamus. Intangible. Difficult to fathom. Yeah, maybe it means that, but maybe it means this...
If the Bible really was the word of God, don't you think Jesus would have said, "You've got 37 years to get your shit together and then Jerusalem is toast! Get out when you see the Romans pull back. For the greater fulfillment in the 21st Century, you better have your bags pack on May 17th of the Year 2019!" ???
If God thought it was important enough to tell Noah exactly what dimensions to build his ark, the Israelites how to build not only the temple, but the ark of the covenant, then why doesn't he give us more specific instructions about the greatest war he will ever wage on humankind? Instead John talks about dragons, seven headed wild beasts, harlots, and horsemen like he just had a dinner of really rank mushrooms. Ezekiel describes this wheel thingy, but there are hundreds of possible interpretations, including ol Zeke had one too many goatskins of wine that evening.
Why is the Bible so specific about some relatively unimportant things, but when it comes to matters that may mean something to us, we are left in the dark?
That's why I think it is just a collection of ancient writings by a bunch of different men, and includes a lot of here-say, myths, hallucinations, and few factual details thrown in just to make it appear legit. It's ambiguousness is what makes it so popular, so mysterious. It offers great opportunity to any charlatan who comes along and claims to know the future based on its passages.
Why are some books like Ruth and Esther included and other books like Judith or Enoch left out? I have read them all and don't understand why some are balderdash and others are inspired by God.
If a loving God really cared about people, if Jesus was the son of God, then why didn't either of them use the Bible to tell us some really important things. Like these:
"Hey, you idiots! The sun is a great big ball of fire and you travel around it once a year. The sun does not travel around the earth. The earth spins, so it only looks like the sun is moving. And when the sun or the moon looks like it is being swallowed, get a clue! It's either the moon, or your own shadow that you're seeing, not some demonic phenomenon!"
"If a man comes to you with great bleeding, boil the needle and thread in water, and wash your hands with wine before sewing him up. Wash the wound with wine as well."
"If you want to have fewer demon possessed people walking around talking to themselves, don't have intercourse with your mother or aunt, like we told you back in Numbers or something, but also stay away from your sister and cousin! By the way, it isn't demons. It's bad genetics!"
"Watch out for fleas and the rats they ride around on. They transmit disease; little bugs so small you can't see them. They suck your blood, they suck other people's blood. Not good."
"If your brother eats some meat and it gets caught in his throat, put your hands together into a fist, get behind him, and push hard up under his ribs. That will cause the meat to pop out. If he still isn't breathing, I give you permission this one time to hold his nose and breathe into his mouth to get his lungs going again. You can do this same thing if he falls into the water and you fish him out after he has just drowned. Don't worry, it doesn't mean you're gay!"
Some of these things may have been briefly touch on, in the Bible, but not in any great detail, because ignorant people wrote the Bible. They didn't know about the things we take for granted today. So why didn't God warn people about some of this stuff if he inspired the scriptures? He could have saved centuries of heartache and misery, especially the atrocities committed in his name.
Maybe someone can answer that for me. Why aren't we supposed to know the day or the hour? Does God even know? I sincerely doubt it.
Tammy
