Were These Men Sinners Above All in Jerusalem?
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What Should Be Our Attitude Concerning Calamities
And Those On Whom They Fall?
Our brother, Dave Rogers, who is co- hosting this conference, posed this question to me recently, and I felt led to speak to you all concerning Dave’s question and what the scriptures reveal concerning what should be our attitude towards those who are affected by the calamitous events which transpire and of which we read hear daily in the news of the affairs of this age.
Here is Dave’s e- mail to me:
“There are several questions that have been on my mind and I don’t think you have addressed them in a while. It is very clear that many are suffering in the USA and around the world. Many people have made bad choices and have brought calamity upon themselves. Some people are experiencing the results of choices that other “evil men” have made, and many others are just trying to survive. I have seen some Christians delighting in the fact that others are getting their just rewards and some are saying “God is judging America for all its sins”. Could you comment on this, and I have two specific questions.
My first question is what should our attitude be towards anyone that “calamity” is coming upon, either individuals or nations? My second question is, what should we be praying about for these individuals and nations?”
How Did Christ Respond To The Calamities Of His Day?
In Luk 13 we are made aware of two, of what we would call, ‘news worthy events’ in Christ’s day. Both were calamitous in nature, and Christ’s reaction to these events is very revealing. Here is what the scriptures tell us about a couple of news worthy calamities in Christ’s day:
Luk 13:1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Luk 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Unlike you and me, Christ looks at everything that happens, as a lesson for each of us as individuals, and He tells us that we will “all likewise perish unless we all repent.” In other words, every outward physical calamity we either personally endure, or simply witness through the medium of our daily news, should move us, not to point our fingers at others, but to look within, and to “clean first the inside of the cup…” then those people and things without will be cleansed in “each in his own order.”
When 9-11 occurred 8 years ago the first thing I did was to put up a scathing article on the web page excoriating the United States for all the immorality and hypocrisy in our society. This was what we could look forward to for all the abortions we as a nation were performing, all the infidelity and pornography we as a nation were producing and exporting to the world while claiming to be a Christian nation. At that time, 8 years ago, I actually thought that God was judging the United States of America, for all of it’s sins. I thank God, that He has seen fit to open my own eyes to see that my own focus need to be on the inside of the cup, and on the inside of the platter, ‘that the outside may be clean also.’
It was in God’s mercy that I was made to see the truth of what Christ said here in these verses in Luk 13, and in 1Pe 4:17
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Here is what Christ had to say to those who thought that the Galileans who Herod killed, and those upon whom the tower of Siloam fell were sinners above all men:
Mat 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
It is true that God will judge all men, but God is not judging our nation, or wicked men of this world at this time. He is judging no one at this time but His own house.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
So our focus had better be within, and on our own judgment here and now, and not on what God is doing in the outward world, or the fact that God is going to one day judge the rest of mankind.
If we live these following words which have “proceeded out of the mouth of God,” and endure these words now, only then will we be granted to judge others later. Remember as we read these words that all the “they, them, and their’s” are “all hands, and every man’s heart.” Apply what you have been given to know about Biblical symbols to every one of these words “out of the mouth of God.”
Isa 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Isa 13:7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:
Isa 13:8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
Isa 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Isa 13:10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
Isa 13:11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Isa 13:12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Isa 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
Isa 13:14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every m an turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
Isa 13:15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.
Isa 13:16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
Who is supposed to “howl?” Is one single word of those words proceeding out of the mouth of God, ‘without’ you? Or are you able to “turn to your own people” and “into you own land?” Do you really believe that you will not be “thrust through” by the sword which is these words? Do you really think that you can somehow avoid having to fall by the sword of the Word Of God?
Here is the New Testament version of this event in our lives:
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Paul reiterates this event:
2Th 2:3 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;
2Th 2:4 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.
2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [ will let], until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
“Remember ye not that when I was with you I told you these things?” What had Paul told them when He was with them? Did Paul ever anywhere teach that someone, somewhere could avoid living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Did the apostle Paul ever teach anyone, anywhere that God was judging this world and was not judging His own house at this time? No, He never said any such thing. Here again is what He did teach them:
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
There are those who are given life first and so they are called “firstfruits.” But even firstfruit life comes only through death and judgment, and fire, and through first being destroyed for defiling the temple of God.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
What is completely missing in the minds of most Christians is the fact that in Mat 13, the entire parable of the sower, as well as all of Christ’s parables, is about the “mysteries of the kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God, in turn, is again completely misunderstood, in that Christ tells us that the kingdom of God, and all the parables which concern that kingdom, all take place within each of us, if we are His.
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mar 4:13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? [ of the sower] and how then will ye know all parables?
If we fail to understand, that we too do not at first understand Christ’s parables, then we are denying that we were ever in “the field,” or in “the multitudes,” or in “the world.” As Christ explains in this parable of the sower, His parables were all spoken for the express purpose of keeping “the mysteries of the kingdom of God,” hidden from the eyes of the multitudes who come to Christ. Until we acknowledge that we too were at one time part of that multitude, and that we live all of these words, then we do not really understand this, or any of Christ’s other parables. But there was a time when none of Christ’s parables showed us anything about the mysteries of the kingdom of God within us.
Christ’s parables were all concerning “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,” which kingdom, He plainly tells us is within us.
Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Now we can begin to understand why the Lord tells his servants to “Let the tares and the wheat grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest the tares will be gathered together and burned with fire.”
Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. [ Greek, age]
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom [ within] all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
“The harvest is the end of the world… there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth… this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” But upon whom has “the end of the world come? Has “the end of the world” come upon the nation in which you live, or has it come upon the nation within you? Which is it? What say the scriptures?
How many harvests are there?
Is there but one harvest? What say the scriptures:
Obviously there are two harvests. That is why there are two resurrections, when all of this will be repeated at each of these two harvests because:
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
“The kingdom of God is within you… the harvest is the end of the age,” the tares are then “gathered and burned in the fire,” and the “end comes” in “this generation.” When does all of this take place and upon whom is it coming first? Is this speaking of the judgment which will come upon the outside world? “The tares are the children of the wicked one.” Are “the children of the wicked one,” those who are in the world outside of you? Peter knew who and where were those “tares.” Peter knew who were first “the children of the wicked one,” and he knew exactly what Christ meant by “Wait until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest… gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them.” Here is “the time of the harvest [ of] the firstfruits … of that which ye have sown in the field.”
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
Should we pray for this world?
Dave’s second question was, “What should we be praying about for these individuals and nations?” The answer to that question is not what any of us might expect from a loving Savior. But all that proves is that our ways are not His ways and our thoughts are not His thoughts.”
Isa 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Whereas you and I want instant justice and immediate salvation for all, God has His own schedule already written out, and our lack of understanding, appreciation, or patience for His ways and His thoughts, just really does not affect God’s plan or His schedule. The script has already been written and all of our days will be lived exactly as written.
Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.
Having said all of that, how did our Lord pray for the families of those whose blood Herod mixed with their sacrifices, and the families of those upon whom the tower of Siloam fell? How did Christ pray for the nations and the leaders of the nations of His day? Can we receive His testimony? Here it is.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Joh 17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Five times in those few verses Christ repeats that He and His disciples are “not of this world, the world has hated them,” and Christ, “prays not for the world.” Christ prays only for those who the Lord has given Him. He does not ask His Father to take them out of the world or out of the fiery trials of this world, but that His Father will help them to preach the gospel to all the world within, “keep them from the evil” of this world, and give them the strength and patience to “endure to the end.”
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Luk 21:16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
Luk 21:17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.
Luk 21:18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
Christ’s prayers and all that He is doing at this time, is for “those you have given me” at this time. The story of Mary the sister of Martha and Lazaus, pouring and expensive ointment over Christ’s body, testifies to where are Christ’s thoughts and affections.
Mat 26:6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
Mat 26:7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat [ at meat].
Mat 26:8 But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
Mat 26:9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
Mat 26:10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.
Mat 26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
Mat 26:12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial.
Mat 26:13 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.
Christ’s focus what on His body, and not on the poor of this world. We find that self centered, but Christ tells us that is the proper spiritual balance and that is the proper spiritual focus. The body of Christ should always trump the needs of this world. Any thing less is nothing more than tares growing among the wheat, and those tare will be gathered first to be burned in the time of the harvest.
So “the harvest is the end of the age,” when “the tares are gathered and burned in the fire,” and it is then that “there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth…” Let’ read it again:
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom [ within, Luk 17:20- 21] all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire [ fiery trials, 1Pe 4:12]: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? [ Greek, aion, age]
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
When is “the end of the world? Is “the end of the world” the time when other’s get their just rewards? When does “the end come?” When are we judged? When do we all reap what we have sown? When do we all get our just rewards?
Both Christ and Paul answer this question. Christ tells us that the end comes when “this gospel is preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; … then shall the end come.” Exactly when is that? How does Christ answer that question? Here are His words:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
In Mat 13 “the reapers are the angels” who “gather the tares first and burn them.” In Mat 24 “He shall send His angels… and they… gather together His elect.” So both are done “in the time of the harvest… the end of the age… in the kingdom of God within you.” Just as Christ had said way back in chapter 13.
Who experiences this burning of the tares? Is it this present evil world? Or does this time of “burning the tares first… begin at the house of God?”
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, i nasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
We are to “rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” So the tares are gathered first, but both the wheat and the tares are gathered “at the time of the harvest.” What is the time of the harvest? It is the time when Christ say to the reapers, “Gather the tares first, and bind them in bundles to be burned.” It is the time when angels are sent forth to “gather out of his kingdom all things that offend.” So while both the tares and the wheat are gathered “at the time of the harvest,” the tares are actually gathered and bound in bundles and burned first. “Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Verse 41 is referring back to what Christ had said in verse 30.
Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
It is instructive that the tares do not become apparent within us until “fruit is brought forth. Only then do “the things that offend” become apparent to all. The “things that offend” in verse 41, are the “tares,” or “the children of the wicked one” which are also “in his kingdom.”
Mat 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
Mat 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39 T he enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Where is this kingdom of God out of which the things that offend are gathered? We have been conditioned to think of ‘the field’ and the kingdom and being in two entirely different places. But the Truth of the Word of God is that both are within us. If we lose sight of the Truth of where this kingdom is located, then we will completely miss the point of this parable, and of all of Christ’s parables, because all of Christ’s parables concern themselves with “the mysteries of the kingdom of God.” So let me ask again, Where is the kingdom of God in which these “tares,” these “children of the wicked one” take root and grow right along with the “good seed” which we are told are “the children of the kingdom.” Where are both growing? Where both are growing was at one time referred to as “the field,” but look at what that “field” has now become:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
What was once the world within us has now become “the kingdom of God is within you.” Compare these verses in Luk 17, with this statement which we read earlier:
Mat 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39 T he enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
The field out of which His angels “gather all that offends,” has now become “His kingdom” out of which “all things that offend” are now gathered. When we become knowlegable of what is the Biblical meaning of “the time of the harvest,” what is “heaven,” what are “the clouds of heavens,” what is “the field,” what are “the tares,” what is “the earth,” what is “all the world,” what are “all the tribes of the earth,” and what is “this generation,” then, and only then, can we see and understand that all of these “things of the spirit,” all pertain to “the mysteries of the kingdom of God… within you.”
Only then will we understand that God is not now judging this world without, but is rather beginning His judgment at His own house, gathering the tares out of His own field and purging all that offends within His own kingdom “within you.” All such Truth is, of course, “foolishness to the natural man.”
1Co 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
When do “all these things” come to pass? Who sees “the end of the world? Is it only those who are living when Christ sets up His millennial kingdom and rules over the kingdoms of this world through His elect? Is that what is meant by “the end of the world?” Absolutely not! Here is what is meant by “the end of the world:”
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Have you ever noticed that “He that endureth to s” immediately precedes “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, then shall the end come?”
Have you ever noticed that “then shall the end come is followed by “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled?” “All these things” means “ all these things.” Go back and read all of Mat. 24 and see what Christ has already discussed when He uses the phrase “all these things.” “All these things” includes “this gospel of the kingdom being preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come.” “All these things” culminates in “the shaking of the heavens,” and that is when “all the tribes of the earth mourn, [ when] they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” And remember, Christ is saying all of this in answer to his disciples question “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” Who sees and understands all of this? Upon who does the end of the age come? Let me repeat who it is who sees “the end of the age.”
If all of this was actually fulfilled in that generation, and it was, just as it has been being fulfilled in every generation that reads and understands these words since the death and resurrection of Christ, then the phrase “preached in all the world for a witness to all nations,” has nothing to do with world wide evangelism, or the judging of this world at this time, as it is taken and as it is understood in the world of Babylon. It does rather, have everything to do with all of the nations of the “field [ which] is the world” which becomes “the kingdom of God within” us.
Notice, for example what we are told in the book of Revelation, about the one single beast which is within us all.
Rev 17:10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, [ and] the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
Rev 17:11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
Rev 17:12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
“Seven kings… an eighth king… ten kings… all within one beast, all of which are also referred to as “the tares [ and] the children of the wicked one,” within the parable of the sower, which our Lord informs us is all about “the mysteries of the kingdom of God within you.”
The ends of the age are come upon us! The kingdom of God is within us! The good seed which are the children of the kingdom, and the tares which are the children of the wicked one, are within us! The seven heads and the ten horns are all kingdoms with kings and they are all within us! It is all within the kingdom of God, within us!
So then, the gathering of the tares to be burned in the furnace, and the gathering together of God’s elect, are both “at the time of the harvest… the end of the age… this generation.” All of this is concerned, at this time, with the first harvest of the firstfruits at the end of the firstfruit age. But there are two harvests, and there are two resurrections. Both are judgments, and judgment is always chastening, and the Lord chastens only those he loves.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
God is not at this time judging this world. This world will be judged at its appointed time, and we need not pray that that time be changed. Here is the order of God’s judgments:
Exo 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Exo 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Conclusion
What does all of this have to do with what should be our attitude towards those who are running the affairs of this world? What should be our attitude concerning those who do not know Christ and who hate and despise all that Christ represents? What should be our attitude toward those who have been destroyed or will be destroyed in coming calamities? Our attitude should be that we apply every lesson of every tragedy personally and within, and to our own judgment of our own lives.
Like Christ, we are not to spend our time in praying against the will of God for those in this world, but on the other hand we should never see the tragedies in the lives of those who died when Herod mingled their own blood with their sacrifices, or those on whom the tower of Siloam fell, or those thousands on whom the World Trade Towers fell, as Job’s miserable comforters perceived all tragedies. We should never see the tragedies and calamities of this age as God’s judgment upon those people who were personally involved, or as His judgment on this, or any nation as a whole. It is nothing of the kind. All who see it as such have forgotten that “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God,” and this world, and all the men of this world, will face their own judgment at a later date. They will be judged at the great white throne judgment.
Let us judge ourselves and leave the judging of those without, up to the Lord, as we are admonished.
1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Let us all remember the attitude of our Lord expressed concerning the tragedies of this age:
Luk 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luk 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
If we “cleanse first” what is within us, then that which is without, in this world, will be cleansed also, at the appointed time, through us.
Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
That is the blessing we have been given if we “clean first that which is within.”
Other related posts
- Were These Men Sinners Above All in Jerusalem? (July 22, 2009)