The 5 Bible Verses Missed or Misunderstood by 99% of ChristiansSample

29:11 - That Famous Verse!

Continuing on the theme of Jeremiah, we find one of the most famous Bible verses of all time right there in the book of Jeremiah:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." – Jeremiah 29:11

You see this verse on posters, greeting cards, even the t-shirt worn by the praise singer in your church! "29:11" is so popular, it’s almost a brand of its own!

And no wonder… who doesn't want the plans of the Lord to prosper them? We all want that, right?

Well, as much as we may all want that, it’s also one of the more misunderstood verses in the Bible.

To properly understand the Bible, we need to always read the context. Just like the context of Day 6 was important when reading Genesis 1:24, so too is context important when reading Jeremiah 29:11. Check the verse before it:

"When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place." – Jeremiah 29:10

And the verse after:

"I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you … and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." – Jeremiah 29:14

Taken in context, we can clearly see that 29:11 was written for the Israelites as part of God’s promise to restore them to their homeland – and that He would bless them and prosper them once again, even though they now had to endure a 70-year period of captivity.

Still now, though, you might be thinking, "How can this be? I’ve heard this promise for so long that it must surely be true and apply to us today too, no?"

But that’s not what the Bible says. In the Bible, all of the promises for prosperity and wealth occur ONLY in the OLD Testament.

That was a surprise to me, and it may be a shock to you as well. But search results for the words, “prosper/prosperity,” “wealth,” “success,” and even the word “blessed” in the Bible return hundreds of promises related to prosperity, but none are in the New Testament, and none are promised for our success today!

Really, it’s true! Check for yourself if you don’t believe it.

Jesus reinforced the law and many Old Testament teachings as still being applicable for us today, but He never once referenced any of the promises of prosperity given in the Old Testament to us at all.

Instead, Jesus taught that prosperity and wealth make it difficult to enter the Kingdom of God, and He even goes out of His way to draw a distinction between Old and New Testament times:

"Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in." — Luke 16:16 (NLT)

Yes, God may pour out wealth and prosperity on us today, and yes, He does have a plan for you also, but we must be careful to assess the words of the Bible, especially in relation to our expectations of material blessing from God.

29:11 is not quite what it seems.

Be careful with this verse and every other verse from the Bible!