“But can you not discern the signs of the times?”

        This title above is a partial reading of the text found in Mathew 16:1-3, in its entirety it reads: The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven.
² — He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
³ And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? Matthew 16:1-3.

        In this passage, Jesus criticized the leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  He brought to their attention their ability to predict the weather due to the signs in the sky, yet concerning Himself and the biblical signs of His advent and mission, they were completely ignorant.  The irony of Christ is not to be lost. While the leaders boasted of understanding the Torah, and its great prophecies, they displayed a total lack of understanding of its signs that clearly pointed to Him on whom the future of Israel lay. The Jewish nation was about to seal their destiny as the people of God, either they will continue to be God’s people or they will be disinherited. The great prophecies of Daniel 9 were about to be fulfilled and the leaders wilfully blinded themselves to these signs, while openly boasting to be able to predict the less important signs that governed the day-to-day weather that enabled them to perform their daily tasks!

        Momentous events were about to take place in a few short years; their temple was either to shine forever or be a source of sadness and shame for that precocious people, Mat. 24:2. Depending on their response to the Man that walked the dusty streets of Galilee and healed the blind, gave speech to the dumb and hearing to the deaf, the Jewish nation was either going to lead us into our modern age or would be a source of conflict with the new leaders who were to remove their diadem. I say that with a very heavy heart for I, myself, am a part of that unfortunate people.  What about God’s modern-day people, those who claim to follow the Bible as their first and foremost guide? Are there signs that God’s people are missing and are consequently making unfortunate decisions?  Will we go the way of the Jewish church and will God have to raise up another church to finish the work they and we omitted to do?

        We know that the church before the flood dwindled to 8 mouths (symbols for humans in Chinese ideogram used in writing a boat)[1] that were saved in the ark.  We know that the Patriarchal church merged into the Jewish nation through Abraham, Gen. 22:17, and that the Jewish church failed to accomplish the work given to it, Eze. 21:26, 27. This church failed to recognize the signs of fulfilling prophecy and was eventually rejected by God to be the keepers of the flame of truth, Mat. 23:37-39 puts it very succinctly when he writes: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!  ³⁸ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.  ³⁹ For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. Matthew 23:37-39.

        Then finally, we have come down to the seventh church as mentioned in Revelation 3:14, the Laodicean church. Is this church unscathed by the Lord? What is the future of this remnant church?  First of all, I would like for us to observe that there are only seven churches, not eight. So whatever happens to this church there will not be an 8^th church if we follow the Bible clearly.  In fact, this church is put on the judgement stool; it is told that if it does not reform it also will be rejected, Rev. 3:15-18. The letter to Laodicea closes with the assertion and appeal of Christ: “Behold I stand at the door and knock if you open I will come in and dine (fellowship) with you…”  All the other churches in their epochs that failed left a remnant that became the keepers of the flame of truth.  From Adam and Eve came Seth in whose days men began to call upon the name of the Lord. This church was eventually swamped by the women of the world and lost its mission, but this second church did not completely fail, there was a remnant that stood faithful, and that was Noah. Noah and his family were to be the keepers of the flame of truth, Gen. 6:8. In fact, in describing the wickedness of the antediluvians God singled out Noah and said, “but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” Gen. 6:8

        From the Noahic remnant came the Jewish church, and from the ashes of the Jewish church came a remnant that formed the Christian church. In Acts 13:2. God said, Separate Barnabas and Saul for the work I have called them to. Beginning with Peter, Acts. 15:7, then Paul and Barnabas, God gave to this remnant church the task of sharing the flame of truth with the Gentiles. But what made all of these churches fail when God had given such good and valuable information as to how to live a holy life?  The problem of course is sin. Sin is not something outside of us that we can avoid at will.  Sin is like a computer virus that takes over the entire hard drive.  Our minds are the hard drive and ‘sin’ is the virus. And this virus has taken over the entire mind and controls it against our wishes.  We may choose not to indulge in some wrong acts, but those choices do not free us from the capture of sin.  What is the solution, then?  Are we doomed to live in sin until God comes to remove it?

     In every case of the removal of sin from the individual, there are two necessary actions. The first act in sin’s removal is the act of God.  And this is the only way that sin can be removed.  Only God has the power to permanently remove sin; without God, sin can never be removed from humans.  In Rom. 5:8 we read that, because of God’s great love for us, and while we were in our sins, Jesus died for us. Sin brings permanent death, but the gift of God brings permanent dissolution of sin, Rom. 6:23. Paul goes on to say, “for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”  The death of Jesus, then, removes sin from us and keeps us secure in Him all our life. This is the only way sin can be removed from the universe. In the book of Hebrews we read, “Where the remission of sin is, there is no more offering for it.”

        But there is another act which is essential for man’s release of sin from himself. Without this act, there is no way that he can be made whole.  This is man’s part. Man, then, has to make the choice to give over his allegiance to God by confession and repentance.  Only then can God invade man’s space to enable him to resist temptation. Man cannot serve two masters, he has to choose one, God or Satan.  Luke 10:13 says, “You cannot serve two masters” because by serving one we are ‘locked-in’ to his service, either to sin and death or to obedience and righteousness’ Rom. 6:16. 

        Well, what are the signs that we are living right with God?  Are there any? For one, our ability to resist temptation is a good sign that we are walking with God; It’s only by abiding in Christ and He in us that we can bear fruit, if we are not knowledgeable of this then something is wrong.  We read in 1 Cor. 6:9, 10 ⁹ – “Don’t you know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revellers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” In 2 Cor. 13:5 Paul tells us to examine ourselves to know whether we are in the faith or not; only we can know ourselves.  Paul asks the pertinent question, what? Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost that is in you which you have of God and that you are not your own?

          If we find it difficult to know our spiritual status with God now, what will we do when strong persecution overtakes us?  If we are not aware of our actions if we are not now aware of how our actions impact others then something is missing and will need fixing immediately.  If we cannot run with the footmen what about the horsemen? Jer. 12:5. Yes, God wants us to recognize our actions and lifestyles so we can have a positive influence on those we come in contact with. If we do not live the truths in our lives, how can we impact others with the truths of the gospel­? Both we and they could end up losing eternal life.  For us in these modern times, it is essential that we can see the signs that  Jesus spoke about and know how to direct our lives for the momentous events ahead.  In part 2 of our next presentation, we will look at the additional signs that God has given to His people that they may be ready for the final closure of a sinful earth, opening a glorious future of a New Earth that will become the gem of the universe and the dwelling place of God.

        Concomitant with these signs that God has given to His church are the instructions given as to how to live a victorious Christian life here on earth. As you continue to live out 2023 may God prepare you and us for all the great events ahead. Blessings.

[1]  The pictogram on the left depicts a sailing vessel while on the right the top character is the number 8; beneath the 8 is the symbol for people.

If you have any comments or questions please contact Pr. Ron Henderson at ronhende@outlook.com.

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