Consider your Christian life now. You need wisdom now to walk the narrow path. Where do you get your wisdom now, From whom? And your faithfulness and your steadfastness, how are you able without abiding in Him. You can DO NOTHING without Him and so your faithfulness is based on your yielding to the Lord and allowing Him to do His work in you and through you. If you are dependent upon your Father now for wisdom and faithfulness, why then do some teach that, at the end of the time, we must acquire wisdom by our own means and be faithful without the Lord’s very present help?
The wicked servant figured out that his master was delayed. He found out at what part of the night the thief was coming and decided he had time to abuse to his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunken. Those who strive to know when He is coming are not getting their wisdom from God and they are not being faithful in the true sense because their faithfulness and the works that they do , do not proceed from their abiding in the love of the Father but from their trust in their religion about God. Jesus promises to come on a day when they do not expect Him. I said in the other writing, if Jesus doesn’t know the day or the hour of His own coming, how can He promise to come on a day that the wicked servant does not expect Him? Because preparing for his coming does not mean knowing when He is coming but rather living every day abiding in Him as though He has already come and is with you and in you. We will be ready in our relationship in Him. We will not be ready in our religion about Him.
For us then the “being ready” is important. What will be Jesus’ words to those who prophesied in His name and did many mighty works in His name? “I never knew you.” This is what God has been impressing upon me. We must abide in Him. The scriptures show this. How many scriptures in the Old Testament can we remember where the Father says, “then they will know, that I am the Lord” ? You find most of these in Ezekiel. God does mighty things and demonstrates Himself to the people so that they would Know Him and turn to Him. All the scriptures of Jesus identifying himself and making clear the connection between knowing Him, knowing who He really is, and how by believing in Him we have eternal life is a demonstrating of Him being in the Father and the Father in Him. The “works” that we are to do have their proper context in our Christian life when we first have relationship with Jesus. Jesus told the disciples not to marvel that the demons were subject to them but that there names were written in heaven. Works are prepared beforehand for those who are His workmanship first, to then walk in them.
Knowing God, Knowing Jesus, and the word “reveal.” Look at these verses:
25 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; 26 yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. 27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
This is a profound passage. The Father is able to conceal knowledge from the wise and understanding and “reveal” this knowledge to whomever He wills. So much for figuring things out. And look at the next part, “no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to “reveal” him. We cannot know God unless Jesus reveals Him to us. Think now, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Knowing Him depends God draws us to Him and revealing Himself to us Through His Son. Then He pours His Spirit into us, and we are called to continue in Him, knowing Him, obeying Him. But it starts with God choosing to reveal Himself to those whom He wills. Now look at this scripture:
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
God revealed Jesus to Peter. Peter did not use earthly means to understand who Jesus was/is. We cannot know Him, unless the Father reveals Him to us. Our salvation, our very life depends upon the Father’s love. “You did not choose me, but I chose you”….works were not meant to save us. Our “wisdom” to figure out his coming is meaningless if the Father chooses not to reveal His Son to us.
1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." "Knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If any one imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if one loves God, one is known by him.
To me this scripture speaks to what true knowledge is or the difference between useless knowledge and love, between knowing a thing, and being known by God. Knowing about God(religion) and knowing God(relationship) is the different between life with Him and death without Him. The verse says, “if anyone loves God, one is known by Him” which is to say the opposite of “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Loving God gets you known by Him, and He saves the ones He knows.
Gal 1: 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood,…”
11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not man's gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Gal 2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up by revelation; and I laid before them (but privately before those who were of repute) the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain.
We are Christians because God revealed His Son to us. God reveals His Son to us by the Spirit. Paul’s relationship with God began with revelation and continued in revelation. Only later did Paul test himself and see if he had been running in vain or had been laboring in vain. It is God who reveals the Son to us and we begin our relationship with Him. We continue to be taught by God in the Spirit. We do have shepherds and teachers to help guide us to God but our relationship and our personal responsibility to Him is vital. It is in our prayer and time with Him that we show ourselves to Him and He reveals Himself to us. Teachers teach sound doctrine and guide, but God reveals and shows us and we know him in this abiding.
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." 32 And John bore witness, "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." 35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
This scripture is hard to understand. I would point out that John says he did not know Jesus but came baptizing with water, “that he might be revealed to Israel. John then bears witness to Jesus. He identifies him. Philip and Andrew follow Jesus after this.
The scripture in Luke 24 when the two on the road to Emaas. “But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.” Jesus then broke bread and their eyes were opened. God can hide Himself, conceal himself. We are utterly dependent upon Him to reveal himself to us.
37 Though he had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in him; 38 it was that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" 39 Therefore they could not believe. For Isaiah again said, 40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and turn for me to heal them." 41 Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
Is this not a direct scripture that shows God’s complete authority over who knows Him and who does not?
Rom 1:18 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth.
Rom 2:5 - But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
The coming of the Lord is a day when His glory is revealed, His wrath is revealed.
1Co 2:10 - God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
Prayer is so important, what we learn from God and how we know Him, Prayer is the most intimate time we have with our Father.
Eph 3:5 - which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Understanding, the revealing of the Son of God to those whom He chose.
Php 3:15 -Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you.
We are completely dependent upon God to reveal what is needed for our life with Him.
Mt 10:26 - "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
Revealed when? When will all be revealed? When He comes
1Pe 1:12 - It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things which have now been announced to you by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
Only God can reveal what He Himself is doing.
Re 15:4 - Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord? For thou alone art holy. All nations shall come and worship thee, for thy judgments have been revealed."
The Future
As for God revealing what is to come, show His followers what must soon take place, noting that having wisdom for the end comes from God:
Joseph was shown the meaning of dreams: Gen 40: 8 They said to him, "We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, I pray you..."
God showed Joseph the meaning of Pharaoh’s dream but note the language:
Gen 41: 15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it." 16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer."
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dream of Pharaoh is one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. …” 28 It is as I told Pharaoh, God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. …” “doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.Our understanding of anything is up to God and His will, to reveal to us what we need to know about the future. Daniel understood mysteries, things were revealed to him. God gave him a revelation similar to that which was given to John. God is in charge of what we know and understand. He gave wisdom to Solomon. He gave interpretation to Joseph. He reveals the truth to those whom He wills. More importantly, it is up to God to reveal Himself to us that we might KNOW Him and be known by Him when He comes. We cannot work our way to God. We cannot fake a relationship with Him based on works or knowledge about Him.
Look at this passage:
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21 nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." 22 And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, 'Lo, there!' or 'Lo, here!' Do not go, do not follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was in the days of Lot--they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all-- 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of man is REVEALED.
The end times, “On that Day” the Son of Man will be revealed. “The Kingdom of God will not come with signs to be observed.” Jesus will be revealed and the day will only surprise those who are not in Him.
2nd Thes. 1: 7 and to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 inflicting vengeance upon Those Who Do Not Know God and upon those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” I will add here not to distract but to comment: that the man of sin, the lawless one, the man of lawlessness will also be “revealed.” God is able to conceal Himself from those whom He wills “not to know” and He will reveal the identity of the man of lawlessness. I am guessing that God will reveal this only to those who are in Him, who the antichrist is.:
2nd Thes 2: 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, 12 so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Jesus told us to take heed that we are not led astray. We are watchful, ready, prepared, faithful, wise; we are all these things in Christ, when we are in Him, when we abide in Him. If we put security in a pastor or teacher, in a group, or a doctrine that in them we will get wisdom for the end or understanding or be counted faithful, then we are not loving the truth, we are not loving God, we are not abiding in Him.
Job 28:
12 "But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13 Man does not know the way to it, and it is not found in the land of the living.14 The deep says, 'It is not in me,' and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' 15 It cannot be gotten for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. 16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. 17 Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. 18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. 20 "Whence then comes wisdom? And where is the place of understanding? 21 It is hid from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air. 22 Abaddon and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' 23 "God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. 24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. 25 When he gave to the wind its weight, and meted out the waters by measure; 26 when he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder; 27 then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. 28 And he said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.'"
Look at this from Paul:
6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him," 10 God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For what person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit. 14 The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
We will only be wise if we fear the Lord. We will only have understanding if we depart from evil. How can we fear the Lord? How can we depart from evil? By abiding in Him. I must tell you beloved brothers and sisters, I am convinced that our abiding in Him begins and continues, with and in, prayer. We seek God’s face in prayer. We draw near to God in prayer. John 17 and 1st John: our abiding, Jesus in the Father, I am in Him, He in me, this is our time in prayer. Our honesty, our total and complete surrender of ourselves to God the Father begins in prayer, in His presence. We are then in Him and we strive everyday to remain in Him. When God receives you and restores you, you will have a strong desire to protect and value this relationship with Him. You will depart from evil because it separates you from Him. You will walk wisely because you fear Him, because you believe He exists and that “The eyes of the Lord are on every place…” We live differently when we walk by the Spirit of God.
The Revealing of Ourselves and our Works
11 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- 13 each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
What we have done will be revealed by fire. What we have done, whether it was of durable quality or not, it will be revealed on that Day.
”Beloved it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.”
Who we really are will be revealed on that Day and He will be revealed from Heaven.1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 4 : 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
1 Peter 5: 1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed. 2 Tend the flock of God that is your charge, not by constraint but willingly, not for shameful gain but eagerly, 3 not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd is manifested you will obtain the unfading crown of glory.
Romans 8 : 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God;
There is a glory that will be revealed. We who are with Him in Him are partakers of this glory. This glory will be revealed when Jesus is revealed on that Day. John says,
”Beloved it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.
We will share in his revealed glory. We are in Him, we will suffer for His name and partake of the glory that will be revealed.
Job 38:17 - Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
Only God knows, and those whom He chooses to reveal it
Ps 98:2 - The LORD has made known his victory, he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
Isa 22:14 - The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears: "Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you till you die," says the Lord GOD of hosts.
Isa 40:5 - And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
Isa 53:1 - Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
Isa 56:1 - Thus says the LORD: "Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.
Da 2:19 - Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Da 2:30 - But as for me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living has this mystery been revealed to me, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.
Da 10:1 - In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshaz'zar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision.
1Ch 17:25 - For thou, my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build a house for him; therefore thy servant has found courage to pray before thee.
Wisdom builds her house
1Sa 3:7 - Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
1Sa 3:21 - And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
1Sa 9:15 - Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to Samuel:
Ge 35:7 - and there he built an altar, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.
De 29:29 - "The secret things belong to the LORD our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
1Sa 2:27 - And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, "Thus the LORD has said, 'I revealed myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh.
I urge you to pray and increase your time with the Father. Please do not rely on a man or a group or a doctrine to do what only God can and will do. If you do not know Him, it will be because you did not seek Him. His promises are true and He will be found by you. None of us will have an excuse at the end. We cannot blame ST or cobu for not knowing the Father, not knowing Jesus. We need to repent of putting anything in the place of God and following anyone’s word and not learning directly from Him. He does teach us in the Spirit. He loves us and wants us in Jesus as Jesus is in the Father. Jesus prayed this in John 17. Go to the Father and draw all the more closer to Him and really live only for Him, and then you will see what idolatry and wretched darkness you settled for when you gave up your first love for a false teacher.