|
|
|
|
DIVINE ENCOUNTER (RENEWAL FELLOWSHIP) P.
O. TOPIC:
THE SIGNS OF THE LAST DAYS TEXT: II TIM. 3:1 PART
9A,
B RUE
KNOWLEDGE AS A SIGN OF THE END TIME
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times shall
come" 2Tim.3:1 KJV.
Jesus when predicting the fall of
Now I have quoted the above passage in Luke, especially verse 26 to prove
one point. Firstly, in His words, these things must come to pass, but there is
no room for fear. Now the consequences of looking at these negative things
happening on the earth is that men shall not only be fainting but shall be
expiring, all because their attention is on a wrong direction. The painful thing
about it all is that, men (Ministers of God) have so capitalized on these
happenings and declaring them to be the signs of the end time. But the Scripture
just quoted in Heb.12:27-28 shows clearly that while the negatives are taking
place it is only resulting in the positive. Better put, the negative lives out
itself with time for the positive to be revealed for there cannot be a night
without a day, for... "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in
the morning" Ps. 30:5b. Amen. So what is the trouble? It may be too early
to comment on the happenings of the new millennium, but the fact remains that
all those who cherished the hope of a rapture in order to escape the supposed
tribulations of the end times shall be disappointed. It will be seen later that
the closer we really are to the end of the age the brighter the light of those
who know their God will shine. For it takes a thick darkness to reveal a better
and greater light. The thick darkness (Isa.60:2) only helps to give prominence
to the light. So the greater the activities of demons and the philosophy and
perplexities of men, the better for the anointing and the unveiling of the
wisdom of Christ. INCREASE
IN KNOWLEDGE AT THE ENDTIME
Let us backup this thought from the Scriptures. When Daniel was writing
about the time of the end as it relates to the Jews (12:1) which could be
prophetic he said "...And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness
of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever
and ever. "But thou O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to
the time of the end; many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be
increased" Dan. 12:3-4.
Now what knowledge is going to increase at the end time? Certainly it is
going to be the knowledge of both God and wickedness even as the word says
"...Since they (men) did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him
or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned
mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome ...slanderers, hateful and
hating God, ...inventors of new forms of evil,..." Rom.1:28-30 AMP. Can you
see that? As we are running out of man's time, they shall not only be hateful
and slanderers even of God and His people, they shall also be `inventors of new
forms of evil'. In other words, the knowledge of the invention of evil things
shall increase because they also lack the knowledge of God. You may want to ask
what the evil things are. It is simply anything ranging from simple dress
patterns to the most sophisticated electronic/ engineering devices that do not
bring glory to God and uphold the dignity of mankind. It is that thing that does music,
books, video films, etc. It is that which stands to oppose, suppress and violate
the divinity in and of man, that is the evil thing. That which will not make
Christ to be known even in foul, dirty languages (Eph.5:4,
But in the midst of this ugliness that shall be going on around the
world, hear the word of the prophet who has the picture of the end time in mind
unlike the false prophets of doom of our days. "...Many shall purify
themselves, and make themselves white (in the blood of the Lamb) and be tried
(by their faith) smelted and refined; (by the Lord (Mal.3:1-4) and through
persecution (3Tim.3:12). But the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the
wicked shall understand, but the teachers and those who are wise shall
understand" Dan.12:9-10 AMP. So here we can see that, though there shall be
increase in wickedness and the knowledge of evil, there shall also be a people
who shall have understanding of the true events of the end time and shall speak
according to the light in them as they instruct others. "And they who are
wise and understand among the people shall instruct many and make them
understand, though some (of them and their followers) shall fall by the sword
and by the flame, by the captivity and plunder, for many days. (Speaking of the
captivity of SEARCH
FOR TRUE KNOWLEDGE
In Dan. 12:4 we are told that at the time of the end "many shall run
to and fro". What knowledge will they eventually be seeking for?. "But
you O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book "till the time of the
end. Then many shall run to and fro and search anxiously (through the Book) and
knowledge (of God's purposes as revealed by His prophets) shall be increased and
become great". For "...the people shall wander from sea to sea, and
from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of
the Lord - inquiring for and requiring it (as one requires food) - but shall not
find it" Amos 8:12 AMP. Are we then surprised at the numerous crusades,
Campaigns, conventions, seminars and retreats etc that is going on and the
upsurge of people to these meetings? But in the midst of it truth is not
prevailing, why? Because most are not truly seeking the word of the lord, but
the welfare, protection and increase in finance plus miracles instead of seeking
the source. Most of them are hypocrites and cheats. THE
TRUE SONS SHALL SHINE
However people of God, there is a great light coming to be revealed by a
people who are wise. "And the teachers and those who are wise shall shine
like the brightness of the firmament: and those who turn many to righteousness -
to uprightness and right standing with God (shall give forth light) like the
stars for ever and ever (Dan 12:3 AMP) How will this come to be? "The son
of man will send forth His angels, (angels of death as in THE
ADVANCEMENT OF GOD'S KNOWLEDGE AT THE LAST DAYS
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times shall
come" 2Tim.3:1 KJV.
Merely looking around us, we can see that there are basically two sets of
people existing on earth, which can be traced to two people as well - Adam and
Christ. "The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord
from heaven" ICor.15:47. Man's association with either of these men results
in what can be classified as one being either an "unbeliever" or
"a believer" "earthy" or "heavenly"
"unsaved" or "saved". Also we found that one's perception of
life and the way a man lives, the things he likes what he says is completely
influenced by the one (out of the two men) you are in. That is you are either in
Adam or in Christ (ICor.15:48-49). Therefore we can see that these two men are
controlling a people and as such they have a realm of life which can be termed
"a Kingdom". These kingdoms have principles that guide the individuals
existing therein even in their knowledge. Jesus made this kingdom division clear
when answering the question of Pilate when he was asked as to whether He was a
King. "...Jesus answered, my kingdom (kingship, royal power) belongs not to
this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my followers would have been
fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom
is not from (this world) - has no such origin or source" Jn.18:33-36Amp.
This is clear enough that we have a kingdom that has its source from this world
and that, which is heavenly in origin - the Christ kingdom. As Jesus prayed to
the father for His disciples, He said, "I have given them (disciples) your
commands. And the world hates them because they don't fit in with it, just as I
don't". Jn.17:14 TLB. Did you get that? That the true disciples of Christ
cannot fit into the pattern of this world though they are existing in this
world? People of God there ought to be a big difference between the life style
we lived before we came into the Lord and the one we should be living now even
in concept and otherwise. Why? Because "...He has rescued us out of the
darkness and gloom of Satan's kingdom (the world and the power therein) and
brought us into the kingdom of His dear Son" Col. 13: TLB. All though the
sacrifice of Jesus (V.14). So we cannot truly fit into their thinking and ways
of doing things. Therefore if you are truly IN CHRIST "...you won't be
spending the rest of your life chasing after evil desires, but will be anxious
to do the will of God (for) you have had enough in the past of the evil things
the godless enjoy - sex sin and the worship of idols - other terrible sins. Of
course, your former friends will be very surprised when you don't eagerly join
them any more in the wicked things they do, and they will laugh at you in
contempt and scorn" 1Pet. 4:1 -4 HB. But again we have come to the place in
the church with socialization whereby the world can no longer laugh at our
behavior: the world is one with the church. BUT
WHAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DIFFERENCE IN ATTITUDE?
The Bible says "- there are many whose ways of life make them the
enemies of the cross of Christ ... appetite is their god, and they glory in
their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things. WE, BY CONTRAST, ARE
CITIZENS OF HEAVEN..." Phil 3:18-20 NEB. In other words our ways of life is
heavenly even now, because as He is, so are we in this World" (1Jn.4:17b
KJV). So "if our gospel is "veiled", the veil must be in the
minds of those who are spiritually dying. The spirit (god) of this world,
(passing age) has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, and prevents
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, the image of God, from shining on
them" (2Cor.4:3-4 PHILIPS). "Therefore the world knoweth us not
because it knew Him not" IJn.3:16. So what is responsible for the
differences in man's life style is the type of knowledge that one has acquired
and he is perhaps acquiring, which is directly connected to the kingdom you
belong to. THE
ADVANCEMENT OF GOD'S KINGDOM AT THE LAST DAYS
Now we have already seen in Dan. 12:3-4 that "...knowledge shall be
increased" at the end times. We also discovered from part 9A that there
will be a search for the true knowledge of God which can only be revealed in the
How will God bring this to pass? In Isa.25:6-8, we are told "And He
will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and
the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces: and the rebuke of His
people shall He take away from off all the earth". In other words, the veil
that is spread over the mind of people that makes it impossible for them to
receive the glorious Gospel of Christ shall be destroyed, and they will begin to
respond to the call of the Lord that is coming forth out of His holy Mountain
and the Church. And as they begin to turn to the Lord (3000 came up to the
mountain when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost Acts 2:41), the death,
sorrow and tears which mankind inherited in Adam, because of the curse that was
placed on man as a result of Adam's disobedience (Gen.3:17-19) will be swallowed
up in the victory of the Christ's life. For "...many people shall go and
say come ye, and let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God
of Jacob: and He will teach is of His ways, and we will walk in His path: for
out of Zion the realm of kingship shall go forth the law, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem (the realms of priesthood). For while the kings make and
rule the people with the law, the priest offers the sacrifices on behalf of the
people. Therefore by His blood, He "has made us (the redeemed from amongst
men) unto our God kings and priest: and we shall reign on the earth"
Rev.5:10. So we find that, the Church-in-Christ "...shall judge among the
nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into
plow shares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isa.2:4). Let me
quote this from the Living Bible "The Lord will settle international
disputes: all the nations will convert their weapons of war into implements of
peace. Then at the last all wars will stop and all military training will
end". So we are talking f the "age of peace" which has already
been inaugurated by the coming of the prince of peace (Isa.9:6) the Holy Ghost
on the day of Pentecost as earlier stated. The law coming forth out of To
be continued OGAGA O. DAVID |
Send mail to ministry@notibutchrist.org with
questions or comments about this web site.
|