21 December | Youth
«Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.» Revelation 1:3
Have you ever heard of the most incomprehensible book in the world? It is the Voynich Manuscript, dating from the 15 century, which contains strange drawings and words written in an unknown language. To this day, cryptographers around the world have not been able to decipher even a single word of this work.
Made on parchment, the book contains 204 pages, written from left to right, without punctuation. In total, there are around 170,000 characters. The manuscript owes its name to Wilfrid Michael Voynich, an American book dealer who acquired it at a Jesuit college in Rome in 1912.
Over the centuries, scholars have tried to make sense of the book's mysterious pages. The most significant research was carried out in 1976 by Professor William Bennett, who carried out casuistic and statistical studies with letters and words in the text. He concluded that the book has an extremely limited and repeated vocabulary, resembling the Hawaiian language, which only has twelve letters. For Bennett, the book seems more like satire.
Unlike the Voynich Manuscript, the Bible is not a “closed” book that is impossible to understand. For those who have a sincere heart and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit, the text of the Scriptures becomes food for the soul, a source of life and wisdom (Jer 15:16).
Not even the book of Revelation, which has predominantly symbolic language, is an indecipherable work. “Apocalypse” means “revelation,” which, in turn, means “taking away the veil.” In this fantastic book, God reveals before us His love, His dominion and His actions throughout history. In masterful scenes from the heavenly sanctuary, the Lord reveals that He is in control of the universe and also of our lives.
If you have difficulty understanding apocalyptic prophecies, remember that the Bible is its own interpreter. All the books of Scripture “flow into” Revelation and provide us with the key to understanding its content. With prayer, dedication and good biblical commentaries, you will understand the beautiful plans that God has for your life.