Prophecy Update Newsletter
IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding of Prophecy - Pastor Mike Taylor - http://pastormiketaylor.blogspot.com/2018/03/knowledge-wisdom-and-understanding-of.html 6 "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:6-8) Everyone that is alive in this hour of the last days of man-kinds last gasp of ruling themselves, can see the chaos that is virtually enveloping this world. If it hasn't hit you directly, you may know someone who has felt the upheaval that is coming upon this world, and the neighborhood around you. Be it either natural environmental disasters, flooding, earthquakes, volcanoes that have come awake all up and down the Pacific coastlines and elsewhere, raging fires that are out of control in California or other states in the western section of the USA, or see the wars that have broken out in the Middle East and the threat of wars that could effect every man and women on this planet. But with all this surrounding us and many that are in fear of what is coming upon the earth, it is good to step back and survey the surrounding landscape of historical details along with current events that can only be related to Bible prophecy that is being fulfilled in these last days. Let us, for a moment, consider the awesomeness of this big picture that is coming quickly into clearer view. UNDERSTANDING WHERE WE ARE IN PROPHECY For two thousand years, since the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ to the right hand of God our Father, mankind or the generations of those who put their faith in our Savior, have looked expectantly at the clouds and believed that they would see the coming of our Lord in their generation. There have been so many signs that points to the nearness of the Jesus return for His church, that people have become almost complacent with the routine they have seen down through times past. Many disbelieving people who scoffed at the very idea of the Lord's return came to believe He wasn't coming at all. 2 "That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." (2nd Peter 3:2-4) Those of us who are living in this generation of the last days are eyewitnesses to events for which the ancient prophets had no words to describe, but can only be decipherable to that generation that lives in it. To the prophets, to them it was "somewhere in time". DANIEL'S VISION OF THE FUTURE For example, the prophet Daniel was so confused by what he witnessed, and so unsure of how to describe it in words that made sense, that he actually complained to God's Messenger about it: "8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand."(Daniel 12:8-10) Just try and see it from Daniel's perspective. He had just absorbed a vision of Israel's future, divided into seventy weeks of years. God revealed to Daniel the rise and fall of four successive world empires; Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Much of Daniel's vision would have been somewhat familiar; the mechanics of government and technology of war didn't change that much from the 5th century BC to the 1st century AD. But Daniel's vision took a hard right turn following the 'cutting off of the Messiah.' 26 "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined."(Daniel 9:26) The Messenger of God jumped from the first century AD to somewhere in the 21st Century when Jerusalem would be sacked and the temple destroyed in 70AD by Titus and then jumping forward near 2000 years to the confirmation of a seven year treaty between the many nations and the coming Anti-Christ and the start of the Tribulation period of 7 years, or Daniel's 70th week. Daniel had seen things that staggered him so much he didn't know where to begin. Consider the angel's reply carefully: "And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." (Daniel 12:8-9) There is a principle in Bible scriptures that dictates that God doesn't repeat Himself unnecessarily, but has a purpose if He does. If God tells you something twice, then it is really important and those who read it should really take notice, as God wants you to get what He is saying. That is the case here. Earlier, Daniel had voiced a similar complaint, and the angel had already told him: "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end," but in more detail, adding that, 'in the time of the end', "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." (Daniel 12:4) The visions were so complex that the prophet was left near speechless to understand what it was he was being shown. This is the same man, who was so in tune with the Mind of God that he could divine and interpret dreams, but this vision was designed only for the generation that would actually live it and see its fulfillment. As mentioned, each generations has watched for signs of the times that pointed to the imminent return of our Lord, but they all lacked one thing. That one thing will be mentioned further in this message. Take for example, the Church at Thessalonica that was so convinced that the Day of the Lord was upon them, and that they had missed the rapture of the Church and were sore afraid. Paul had to comfort them and tell them what the signs would be before the coming Day of the Lord, and they were not living in it yet. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?" (2nd Thessalonians 2:1-5) But the angel that came to Daniel said that the signs of the times would only be understandable to those who were actually living in that particular time of the generation of the end. KNOWLEDGE VS. WISDOM There is a world of difference between 'knowledge' and 'wisdom'. One can have great wisdom without much knowledge. Some of the wisest men I ever knew had little or no education. But it is equally true that you can have a tremendous am |