Understanding the times we are living in and knowing what to do accordingly

Knowing the times and knowing what to do

September 7, 2014

[1Ch 12:32 KJV] And of the children of Issachar, [which were men] that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them [were] two hundred; and all their brethren [were] at their commandment.

To understand the times we are living in, and to know what to do, one must understand just what the “times” and the “seasons” are.

[Lev 23:1 NKJV] And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

[Lev 23:2 NKJV] "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, these [are] My feasts.

i.                Mowed - sacred season, set feast, appointed season, a set appointed time

[Lev 23:3 NKJV] 'Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day [is] a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work [on it]; it [is] the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

Miqra - convocation, sacred assembly

[Lev 23:4 NKJV] 'These [are] the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.

To the Jew, “times and seasons” meant the Feasts of the Lord.

Now Paul, addressing believing Jews, responded when asked about the timing of the catching away of the saints of God (1 Thes 13-18):

[1Th 5:1 HCSB] About the times and the seasons: Brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you.  (about the Feasts of the Lord)

(Here we need to ask ourselves, do we know about the Feast? Do we have no need of anything to be written to us? Or are we part of the “they” who do not know and for who the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night?)

[1Th 5:2 HCSB] For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

[1Th 5:3 HCSB] When they say, "Peace and security," then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains come on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

[1Th 5:4 HCSB] But you, brothers, are not in the dark, for this day to overtake you like a thief.

 [1Th 5:11 HCSB] Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.

On Aug. 27^th we entered into the beginning of the fall festivals on the Jewish, lunar calendar. The times of Teshuvah or repentance began on this day and will run for 40 days until the Feast of the Day of Atonement. The theme of the first 30 days is to prepare oneself for the feast of the blowing of the trumpets by finding God’s righteousness before the trumpet blast of the Feast of Trumpets. After the Feast of Trumpets, one has 10 more days to repent and find righteousness before the final judgment at the Day of Atonement. Often the Jews blow a trumpet each night and read Ezek 33 and Psa 27 to remind themselves that the days of judgment are coming.

During these days of repentance, what do you suppose we are to do? Might this be a good time to repent, to make sure we are “tight” with the one who is Righteousness, Jesus? Might this be a good time to comfort and encourage one another and build each other up? Might this be a good time to be “watchmen” as we see “the day” approaching (Ezek 33)?

Here is some more good advice about what to do in times such as these.

 [1Th 5:8 HCSB] But since we belong to the day, we must be serious and put the armor of faith and love on our chests, and put on a helmet of the hope of salvation.

These are days of great spiritual warfare. We must be ready to fight the good fight. To war against the spiritual evil that is so present in our world today. We must take up our armor and weapons of spiritual warfare and become spiritual warriors to take down the enemy and destroy the works and strongholds that he has built in the lives of so many people (Eph 6:10-18).

[Eph 6:10 NASB] Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

We need to note that Sept. 11, will occur this Thursday right in the middle of these days of repentance. Since there is speculation that terrorist activity might occur on this day, it would be well for us to be on the alert and ready to deal with the trauma that people would suffer if an attack occurred, especially if it occurred where it affected people near us. We need to be ready with words of hope, comfort, and encouragement. We will need to be points of light in a very dark world.

Then on Wed. Sept. 24 at sundown in Jerusalem (about 10am in the morning Colorado time) ram horn trumpets will be blown to start the Feast of Trumpets. The blowing of the trumpets can mean several things to a traditional Jew. It can be a call to meeting, a call to war, or a call to come into the Temple for worship to begin the two-day Feast of Trumpets.

For me, one of these years this blast of the trumpet will be the Lord coming for His bride to take us home.

[1Th 4:15 HCSB] For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord's coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep.

[1Th 4:16 HCSB] For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel's voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

[1Th 4:17 HCSB] Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord.

[1Th 4:18 HCSB] Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Could it be this year? Perhaps, but it could also be a call to war for Israel. Dramatic events are occurring daily in Israel and the Middle East. Surely, war is in the air!

With the rise of the ISIS (or ISIL) and the Caliphate, the war of Psa 83 and perhaps the fulfillment of Isa 17 is very close. Events and the situations in Russia, the Ukraine, Iran, Syria, Iraq and in fact all over the Middle East bring us ever closer to the fulfillment of last day’s Biblical prophecy.

Further when we look around the world we see wars and rumors of wars (Matt 24:6, Rev 6:4). We see famine and shortages of food and even water shortages in various parts of our world (Rev 6:5-6). We see death by sword, famine, plagues, and by pestilences, “critters” of the earth like locus, other insects, bacteria, and rats (Rev 6:8). We are also seeing martyrs like never before in history (Rev 6:9). What we have not seen yet is the violent earthquake of Rev 6:12, but we are seeing very significant earthquake and volcanic activity around the world.

What can all of this mean but that the Day of the Lord is very close, “right at the door”.

[Mar 13:29 NASB] "Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.

[Joe 2:1 HCSB] Blow the horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the residents of the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; in fact, it is near –

The scriptures I have been given to pray out for this season are: Ezek 33:1-20, Psa 27,  Joel 2, Hab 3, Mal 4, Eph 6:10-18, and Rev 22.

If you are interested in more information about the Feasts of the Lord, see the post on Understanding the Feast of the Lord