PARTIAL KNOWLEDGE

I enjoy "competing" while watching the television shows which require knowledge. Depending upon the category, I am amazed at how much knowledge I have retained since going to school. And at my age, it is comforting to know that "half-timers" has not entered the picture. Of course, some categories get me every time. They are there to keep me humble. What I have discovered watching those shows is that most people are very knowledgeable about a few things, but everyone lacks knowledge in other areas. An appropriate Bible verse says, "... now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known" (1 Cor. 13:12).

I own a copy of The Great Pyramid Decoded by E. Raymond Capt, and it illustrates well what I believe is true of everyone: we are experts in some areas, while being totally ignorant in others. Capt is an expert on the Great Pyramid of Giza, but he lacks knowledge when it comes to interpreting Bible prophecy. It is a fascinating book loaded with mathematical details about the pyramid. For instance, he describes it as being geographically located at the exact position on Earth so that the angle of the main passage of the pyramid (26 degrees, 18 minutes, and 9.63 seconds) is exactly the same angle as a line drawn from it to the city of Bethlehem (p. 81). He says that the builders solved the mathematical problem of "squaring a circle." Using the height of the pyramid as the radius of a circle, the circumference of that circle is exactly the same as the circumference of the base of the pyramid (p. 52). There are hundreds of other details worthy of mention, but space does not permit me to present them.

Capt's Bible knowledge, on the other hand, is a mix between genius and ignorance. He presents the numerical equivalents of the Hebrew letters in Isaiah 19:19-20 to prove that the Great Pyramid is what the verses describe as a "sign and a witness unto the LORD." The total of the letter values of the Hebrew; the height of the pyramid and the length of its longest passage in pyramid inches, are all exactly the same number: 5, 449 (p. 58). Where he begins to show his limitations is in interpreting his data as prophecy. He suggests that the number of inches from one point to another, represent specific events in recorded history by date (p. 90). Written in 1970, his book vaguely predicts 1979 as the year of Christ's return (p.90). He also misinterprets Daniel 9:24-27 as being fulfilled during the earthly life of Jesus (pp. 82-86). He does not recognize that only sixty-nine of the seventy weeks have occurred, nor does he seem to understand that the future seven year Tribulation is Daniel's seventieth week.

Knowledge can only be taken as truth when it matches what God's Word teaches. Capt may have accurate measurements of the pyramid (a fact that I am not able to verify), but when it comes to his interpretation of the Bible, I believe he lacks understanding. Like Capt, we only have partial knowledge, and what we believe we know must line up with the Bible, the only reliable standard of truth.