January 4: THE TIME OF THE END

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: ....A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones.” Ecclesiastes 3:1,5a

Unity is good if it is in Truth. God confused the languages at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) because the people were uniting in apostasy. Their best chance to be saved was to be separated, that they might seek the LORD. The scattering was in their best interest.

God will unite His people in Truth. All along the way there have been detours, captivities, and scatterings because of sin: rebellion, backsliding, and doubt. You can hear how He longs to gather His beloved people together, calling out:

“and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.” Deuteronomy 30:2-4

Current events display more intense divisions—and confederacies—as we near the return of Jesus. We are living at the time of the end (Daniel 8:17). Our enemy works relentlessly to divide God’s true followers and also to unite, by deception, all of the unprepared under a centralized ecumenical movement. Pieces are coming together the world over for the largest scale apostasy in history. As this ecumenical movement makes headway, Jesus is being betrayed with “a kiss”—just as Judas, known as a close insider, betrayed Him.

It is impossible to over-emphasize the urgent nature of our need for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. His supernatural power will illumine our studies in the written word, bestow us with spiritual discernment, and comfort us as we prepare for the tribulations coming upon the world. The Spirit of Jesus has promised to guide us into all truth (John 16:13), but we must be willing to accept the guidance and believe the truth. False prophets—and there are many, themselves deceived—twist and misrepresent the Bible. No one sets out to become a false prophet. We must each, very intentionally, compare every contrasting doctrine that we hear and measure it by the written word. We are laboring in the field for our Master who says the harvest will be soon. Oh! What a gathering that will be!

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” John 10:16

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. Mark 13:26-27