Understanding the Times

As God slowly increased David’s rule in Israel, men from all 12 tribes began gathering themselves around him. The Chronicler tells us one of those tribes was “Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do . . . .” (1 Chronicles 12:32)

I have heard it said many times that we cannot understand the times in which we live without understanding the Bible. Nor can we understand history itself without understanding the Bible.

Why is that?

When we understand God’s holiness and His sovereignty as described in the Scriptures, when we understand His justice and His judgment as revealed throughout the Scriptures, then the undeniable spiritual blindness that has descended on America, Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world makes perfect sense. What seems to be incomprehensible folly becomes quite comprehensible.

If what we are witnessing with our eyes was presented to publishers as a plot for a fiction movie, it would be brusquely rejected by every one of them for its implausible story line. No sane population would do the things we see being done every day across the once-free world.

So, what does Scripture tell us about God who, when His patience is gone, sends spiritual blindness on sane and intelligent men and women?

For example, Proverbs 1: “Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; And you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof; I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. “They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices. “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. “But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.” (Proverbs 1:24-33)

Then there is this warning in the prophet Isaiah “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:8-10)

And regarding the last days before the return of Christ, St. Paul writes of those who reject God’s truths: “God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

Christian – and those who are not yet a Christian – please hear this. God is not one to be mocked. He STILL calls men and women to repentance. He STILL receives men and women who call on His name in obedience to His laws.

But those who do not sense His voice, those who do not see the evil descending on the world – they ought to consider their dim eyes and their dull ears a dangerous thing for their eternal destiny. And may God lead them to sincere repentance before it is too late.