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Understanding the Times
BY SMITH, JEFF,
Their clothing, speech and knowledge are usually all wrong.
It’s almost like seeing an Amish wagon clattering down a highway
as sports cars and tractor trailers zip past. Clearly, somebody doesn’t
understand the times.
In 1 Chronicles 12, the armies of Israel are
described according to their tribes and abilities – some are armed for war,
others are mighty men of valor, and some are even famous men.
It is the men of Issachar, however, who are
described as having “understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought
to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).
Besides possessing strength in might and numbers, it is necessary,
then, to count the cost of making war, lest you go down to quick and decisive
defeat because of ignorance or failure to plan (see Luke 14:25-35).
We want to understand the times in which we live, so that we can
do battle with the forces that oppose truth and obtain lasting victory.
The Last Days
Usually, the phrase “last days” is used to describe the
final few moments before the return of Jesus Christ.
The phrase “last days” first appears in the New Testament
on the Day of Pentecost (Acts
2:1-4, 12-17), an
allusion to the prophet Joel, who had used a word that really only meant
“afterward” or “hereafter” in the text cited by Peter.
The apostle, then, was speaking interpretively when he specified
that this fulfillment of prophecy began the “last days” (Lenski 73).
The last days began when the church began and the sun has risen
and set more than 700,000 times since – the last days is the age of the
reigning Messiah.
The kingdom has come and its law has gone forth as the gospel from
Jerusalem to the ends of the Earth (Isaiah 2:2-5).
Micah also used almost the same language in describing the kingdom age
of the Messiah (Micah 4:1-3).
We and our parents and grandparents and their
grandparents have lived in the last days, but that gives us no specific
indication that Judgment Day is necessarily imminent, for “concerning that
day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the
Father only” (Matthew
24:36).
On Pentecost, the business of completing God’s
revelation to mankind began, as the Lord poured out his Holy Spirit on the
apostles and then distributed abilities of prophecy and knowledge to others as
well, including the other part of “all flesh,” Gentiles like those in
Acts 10.
The Holy Spirit’s mission was to remind the apostles of what Jesus
had taught them on Earth and to guide them into even more truths that they had
not been prepared to receive then (see John 14:26).
By the time the last apostle died, all truth that God wanted man
to receive was in circulation, so that we live in age of completed revelation,
governed according to a perfect law of liberty (James 1:25), guided
by a faith once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3) and
blessed with all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
Troublesome Times Are Here
These, however, are still dangerous times in that a form of
godliness exists among a majority of people, but it is a perverted form that
conceals real degeneration inside a pious costume (2 Timothy 3:1-9).
Great evil is committed in the name of service to God by those who
have a form of godliness but deny its power through disrespecting God’s word
and his authority (Titus
1:15-16).
They purposely stop short of his will or go beyond it, but in any
event, they refuse to speak only as the oracles of God and subscribe to their
own creeds, opinions and fallacies.
This makes for difficult times as the church tries to convert the
lost because opposition sadly appears both within and without through perverted
faiths.
Furthermore, the god of materialism has added to his power in the
last 2000 years, so that greed and covetousness appear to be much more potent
idols than Molech or Baal ever were (James 5:1-6).
James assails the greedy who hoard their blessings, who take
advantage of the worker, who lived in luxury while others suffer and who care
nothing for the plight of the innocent and helpless.
The commercial culture that expands around us every year is
continual evidence that these last days are just as God promised and that evil
men do indeed wax worse and worse, but the allure of materialism is so strong
that even many saints submit to it.
In the last two centuries, we have seen more and more that the
last days are within an era of gathering doubt and even disdain for matters of
faith (2 Peter 3:1-4).
The very notion of a Judgment Day is cause for mockery among many
who simply no longer believe they are in any danger of facing God for their
deeds, good and evil.
That doubt expands so that men question, not only their Redeemer,
but also their Creator, and their immoral behavior reflects that creeping
doubt.
In spite of all that negative news, this remains the age of Christ
and he continues to reign over a church that he can perfectly number and
protect and govern (Hebrews
1:1-4).
God has spoken to us by the very Savior whom the builders rejected
and at whom moderns sneer in their hasty pursuit of things that perish instead
with the using.
Fruitful Last Days
The Hebrew writer promises that there remains a rest for the
people of God, but that it is found nowhere in this life or within the uneasy
boundaries of these last days (see
Hebrews 4:1-10).
Our rest is for when we cease from all our works and take our
place in Heaven with God’s son; for now we must remain busy like true servants
and faithful stewards (Luke
12:35-43).
Indefatigable diligence is the order of the day (Hebrews 4:11-13).
The influence of so many, even who are religious, in these last
days, causes us to let down our guard and indulge small doses of wicked things,
so that we gradually lose our edge (1 Thessalonians 5:1-10).
For this reason, Paul urges older women to teach younger women
discretion and he demands that all men be exhorted toward sober-mindedness (see Titus 2:1-9).
Sober-mindedness is clarity of thought, unimpaired by the
deceptiveness of temptation and the leaven of hypocrisy (First Peter 5:6-9).
There is no time to waste on doing the wrong things in the
expectation that someday you will somehow grow out of the habit; now is the
time to shed your ignorance and choose holiness (1 Peter 1:13-16).
As the last days wear on, participate in transformation and refuse
conformity to the ways and lusts of this world that bring such despair and
doom.
By way of being prepared for Jesus to return, we make ourselves
ready also to share our convictions with lost people who need to own them and
with struggling brethren who need to grow in them (1 Peter 3:13-17).
If we are aware that these are the last days and that our own
lives are terribly brief, we have to make the business of winning souls a
higher priority (Colossians
1:27-29).
One of the best ways to keep your faith from shrinking it to make
certain that it is always growing.
Too many spend the year in an ugly cycle of taking one step
forward and then two steps back, spinning their wheels and making no real
progress in terms of devotion, knowledge, ability or effort.
Grow in grace and knowledge – study harder and apply more
frequently.
Conclusion
Like the sons of Issachar, we are intent upon understanding the
times and knowing what to do, even beyond any power or might we may possess.
"So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman
for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn
them for Me" (Ezekiel33:7)
Watchman Magazine was created by, and is the sole property of Stan
Cox, owner, editor and publisher. In its initial iteration (1998-2005), Stan
served as publisher and editor. Tom Roberts and Larry Fain served as
associate editors.
In its present iteration,
(January 2010 – present), Stan Cox serves again as publisher/webmaster.
The magazine has a new slate
of writers. The writers (for the most part) self edit, and publish on
their own schedule. In his present work as editor, Stan reads each
article after it is published, to determine if the article passes three
standards: 1) Doctrinal accuracy; 2) Moral integrity; 3) Writing
proficiency. Stan has reserved the right to answer any material he deems
to fail the first two standards, and to rescind the invitation to write for the
paper if he believes circumstances necessitate the decision. Each writer
understands and has agreed to these conditions.
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