THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH

COME AND WORSHIP JESUS CHRIST


 

The Time Is Near


"The watchman replies, 'Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again'" (Is.21: 12).

1. The uniqueness of times

2. Times are laid down for mankind

3. Man should understand the times and act accordingly

4. The proclamation of the watchman

"You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you can not interpret the signs of the times" (Mat.16: 3). The demons cried out: "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" (Mat.8: 29). God enters into the time dimension and rules its events. The belief of some people that human history evolves from unconnected events is wrong. The other extreme belief of some that whatever happens is in accordance with the will of God, is also wrong. The truth is that God uses the happenings to fulfil His will.

God called darkness 'night' (Gen.1:5). Night and day is the same to God. The children of God will have light even in darkness (night) (Ps.139: 12,11). Others stumble even at midday (Is.59:10). If a man walks by night, he will stumble (John 11:10). Do not sleep and do not get drunk (I Thes.5:7). Night means darkness. Darkness means rule of satan. The rule of satan has been upon mankind for several centuries. However when Jesus Christ came into this world as its light, the rule of satan is being removed little by little. Light has come into this world. The children of God who walk in light day and night are present in this world everywhere. However once again spiritual darkness will envelop this world. The children of light will vanish from this world along with the light.

The dawn, the time of happiness is approaching the children of God. Night also is coming. The world will undergo severe hardship. The night wherein no one can find light will come. Dear children of God, you should not be trapped in the night (darkness). How long will you long for the darkness? Come out of darkness and come into the light. Join the children of light. The light of the world is present now. Jesus Christ: 'I am the light of the world' (John 8:12; 9:5).

Don't hate light. You will not be blessed if you hate light. The Scripture says that so long as people hate light they will be condemned (John 3:19,20). Not as much for their sins as for their hatred of light will they be condemned. The god you worship, the religion and the principles, which you have embraced, did not deliver you from darkness; instead led you on to more of stumbling and darkness. Why do you follow your religion if it can not deliver you from your sins, from undesirable habits such as hating others, slighting others, stealing others' goods, defrauding others, forcing others against their will and cheating others? Come to Jesus. Come to the straight path. Because darkness approaches and the night arrives! "Night is coming when no one can work" (John 9:4). The night is not day and it has no light. The night is not dawn but is filled with darkness. Yes, the night comes!

God called the darkness "night" (Gen.1:5).The darkness is the darkness of nescience. "Someone calls to me from Seir, 'Watchman, what is left of the night?' ... The watchmen replies, 'Morning is coming, but also the night'". ( Is.21:12).

Time:

1. We know about time by the activity of the sun. The sun was made to stand still over Gibeon by Joshua. Can we say therefore that the time did not pass? There are other factors relating to time. Some people determine time by the movement of the moon, which would limit the days of the month to 28 only. There are 24 hours to a day and there are ten divisions from dawn to dusk. The sun and the moon are only instruments of determining the time and by themselves are not the causal factors.

We divide the time into past, present and future. But we should not give strict definitions to these divisions. We call the time in which we live as the present and the time, which we have lived as the past, and the time in which we are going to live as the future. If that is so, what is time? As we live in the time, we realize that the various events happen one after the other. The early Greeks and the Hindus were having an opinion that time was like a wheel. Hinduism views time as a wheel having four 'yugas'(ages) followed by a deluge.

This argument projects two ideas about time.

(i) Time is meaningless. (ii) Time is capable of functioning independently. That is, if the wheel of time operates like a machine, the events will happen with unfailing regularity. As the appropriate time comes, it will generate events on its own and at a particular point of time the same events shall reoccur. This means that events happen by the volition of time alone unfluenced by anyone's will, control or promise. This idea is baseless.

2. In the Bible the Jews determined time by the events that occured. Events like morning, evening, birth, death, food, marriage, harvest, rain, war etc., adorned time. The time which was void of events was empty. When events occured at appointed time, the time was known by those events. Time is under the control of God. Though human beings perform their deeds within the time, it is God who accomplishes His will through the time and sends day and night one after the other for the good of mankind. Man should perform his duty complying with the order set by God regarding time. Examples are: waking up in morning, eating, drinking, working, resting during night etc.

Apart from the general order, God enters and rules time through specific acts and through the power of the words of His prophets. Some believe wrongly that human history evolves from a combination of happenings unrelated to one another. The idea of some others that whatever happens is the will of God, also is a wrong idea. The truth is that God makes use of the happenings to accomplish His will. Though the Old Testament relates numerous rebellions of the Israelites, the Scripture says that finally God would intervene in history and redeem the Israelites (Amos 9:11,12; Micah 4:6; Zeph. 3:16).

3. The Scripture said that this was going to be the most important event. Jesus Christ read the 61st chapter of Isaiah and said, "Today This Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). Jesus Christ began His ministry saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15). As the most important event of God has been fulfilled, there is a difference between the former period and the latter period with respect to that event. To show this difference, the word 'henceforth', 'from now on' have been used frequently in the New Testament. Example IICor.5: 15,16. Thus a new order had entered an empty time. Though this event occurred in an ordinary time frame where every one lives, this does not belong to the present but to the future when everything shall happen according to the will of God completely. Therefore the old order and a new order are together at work in this empty time frame. Therefore Ap.Paul has said that we live at the meeting point of two ages (I Cor.10:11).

4. The new age belongs to the future. The kingdom of God came in Jesus Christ. The most important event of history had come to pass. It is true that the kingdom of God has successfully come in Jesus Christ. But there is still opposition to the kingdom of God. We anticipate the completion, the fulfilment of the new age. The beginning is one thing and the completion is another thing. The completion too will come.

Matt.13:39:- "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels".

Matt.13:40:- "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age"

Matt.13:49:- "So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just"

Matt.13:50:- " and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth"

The end of this age is nearing.

"You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you can not discern the signs of the times" (Matt.16:3).

This article was published by Chief Pastor N. Lazar, New Jerusalem Church

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