Does God Allow People to be Mistaken or Even Misled? 

Prophets, Apostles, and other Followers of Christ do not receive a comprehensive download of all knowledge when led and guided by the Holy Spirit. Truth is progressive, and God sometimes allows people to come to the wrong conclusions while using it for their benefit. 

Biblical Examples:

1. The Disciples’ Expectations of the Messiah: The disciples initially expected a conquering, political Messiah rather than one who would suffer and die – Luke 24:13–32

• Their preconceived notions about the Messiah’s role blinded them to the scriptures pointing to a suffering Savior, leading to a misdirected expectation that Jesus had to correct through post-resurrection teaching. This also caused a great initial disappointment, followed by yet another when Jesus ascended to heaven. Hence, the “comforter” to comfort them. 

2. Jesus Deliberately Taught in Parables: This was a means of making His teachings difficult for the wrong people to grasp – Matthew 13:13

• The parables veiled truth from those not spiritually receptive, while revealing it to those with “ears to hear,” thus guiding understanding selectively.

3. The Fall of Jerusalem: The disciples asked about the destruction of the temple and the end times in a single context, assuming the two must be the same. – Matthew 24:1–3, Luke 21:5–7

• Jesus’ discourse in these passages is often interpreted as addressing both the fall of Jerusalem and end-time events, conflating them without correction, leading to overlapping meanings that allowed early believers to believe His coming was sooner.

4. Road to Emmaeus: The disciples did not recognize Jesus who intentionally hid His identity. – Luke 24:16, Luke 24:31

• Jesus’ purposeful concealment of His identity and then revealing Himself misdirected them so that they would come to a deeper faith based on understanding Scripture, rather than prioritizing sight and emotion.

5. The test of Abraham’s Faith: the near-sacrifice of Isaac – Genesis 22

• God’s command to sacrifice Isaac, only to stop him at the last moment, was a profound test and temporary “misdirection.” It seemed to contradict God’s promise through Isaac, creating immense confusion and anguish for Abraham. It ultimately served to demonstrate and strengthen his faith.

6. The Lying Spirit Sent to Ahab: During Ahab’s decision-making, God sent a lying spirit to deceive Ahab’s prophets – 1 Kings 22:20–23

• This is a direct divine misdirection where God actively uses deception to execute judgment on Ahab. By allowing Ahab to be misled by false prophecies, God ensured Ahab’s downfall as a consequence of his wickedness.

7. Stumbling to Provoke Jealousy: God allowed Israel to stumble in accepting gospel to provoke them to jealousy as the Gentiles accepted salvation ahead of them. – Romans 11:8–12
   • God’s plan involved a temporary “stumbling” of Israel, which might appear as a misstep or failure in their calling, but was actually a divine strategy to redirect the flow of salvation to both include Gentiles and ultimately bring Israel back in through jealousy.
8. Strong Delusion in the End Times: In the end times God will send a strong delusion to those who have rejected the truth, causing them to believe a lie. – 2 Thessalonians 2:11–12

• As a judicial act, God will permit a pervasive deception to overcome those who have consistently refused to love and accept the truth. This functions to reduce cuplability, and therefore, punishment in cases where God knows repentance wasn’t going to happen.

9. Daniel’s Misinterpretation of the 2300-Day Prophecy:

• Daniel 8:14, 27 presents the 2300-day prophecy, which Daniel initially misinterpreted as revision of a shorter 70-year exile from Jeremiah 25:10-14.
• 13 years later, Daniel 9:2, Daniel 9:24 recounts Daniel’s prayer and God’s response via the angel Gabriel, who explained that “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people” (Daniel 9:24), referencing the 70 years of desolations (Daniel 9:2). The root meaning of the Hebrew word for “determined” here is “cut.” The 70 weeks (490 years) were actually the first part cut off from the 2300 years.
• Daniel’s initial understanding was misdirected by his focus on the immediate 70-year exile, causing him to think it was expanded to 2300 years, making him sick in Daniel 8:27, and leading to the intercession in Daniel 9 which brought the explanation. Though 13 years later, God redirected his understanding through Gabriel’s explanation.
  • Idea sourced from Merlin Burt, CHIS 674: Development of Seventh-day Adventist Theology (Berrien Springs, MI: Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University, 2019), 107.

10. The Apostles Misunderstood their Work: The apostles held incorrect ideas about God’s plan for the conversion of non-Jews. Peter even required a special vision to make him willing to go to eat with and preach to gentiles. Acts 10:28 illustrates Peter’s subsequent recognition of God’s impartiality toward the Gentiles. – Burt, 107–108
11. Job’s Misunderstanding of Divine Justice: Job’s initial prosperity and sudden calamities led to questioning of God’s agency in the process, and His justice – Job 1:1–2:10, Job 42:1–6
    • Job’s suffering and the initial silence of God created a misunderstanding of divine justice, with accusations that maybe secret unrighteousness caused his suffering. This was a trial that ultimately led Job to a more profound and nuanced understanding of God’s sovereignty and wisdom beyond simplistic retributive justice.
12. Paul the Persecutor’s Zeal: Paul’s zealous persecution of Christians persisted and he believed he was serving God until the road to Damascus – Acts 9:1-9, 1 Timothy 1:12-14
    • Paul’s sincere but misguided zeal in persecuting the church was allowed for a period of time. He acted on a deeply held, yet erroneous understanding of God’s will. God eventually intervened dramatically to redirect his path, transforming him from persecutor to apostle, revealing that true zeal must be based on accurate understanding of divine truth.

Post-Biblical Examples:

1. The Prophecy of Daniel and the Sealing of Knowledge – Daniel 12:4, 9–10 cf. Revelation 10:8–11

• Sealed Prophecy: Daniel’s 2300-day prophecy (e.g., Daniel 8:14) is sealed until the time of the end (Daniel 12:4), awaiting its proper unveiling.
• Progressive Unveiling: Revelation10’s presentation of the “little book” as open (Revelation 10:8–11) reflects the unsealing of Daniel’s prophecy in the end times.
• Sweet to Bitter Transition: The act of eating the little book—with sweetness turning bitter—mirrors the initial exultation over the 2300-day prophecy and the subsequent disappointment, as experienced in the Millerite movement.
• Unified Message: Revelation 12 further develops the prophetic timeline that incorporates the 2300-day period, demonstrating a unified eschatological message throughout Daniel and Revelation.

2. Keeping the Sabbath with Wrong Times: Sabbatarian Adventists initially kept Sabbath from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. between 1846 and 1855.
   • After J. N. Andrews’ studied and presented his findings with Biblical and historical arguments for a sundown time, the Church changed its position.
   • Joseph Bates and Ellen White thought that her visions had confirmed the 6:00 p.m. time. 
   • In Ellen White’s November 20, 1855, vision, the angel showed her they had inferred 6:00 p.m. when the vision had only taught “even” from Leviticus 23:32.
     • This demonstrates that sometimes the prophet can misunderstand some aspects of a vision.
   • God waited nine years before correcting this mistake so Adventists would adopt the practice based on Bible arguments rather than on visions. – Burt, p.114

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