Bible Reading: 2 Kings 8; 1 Timothy 5; Daniel 12; Psalm 119:49-72
Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Several years ago I was at JFK airport in New York about to board an overseas flight to Nairobi, Kenya. I stood there looking at literally thousands of people in the international terminal who were all leaving the United States and heading for other countries. I thought to myself how it has become possible within just a few years to travel to the other side of the world within a day or two. In Daniel’s day it would have taken months to travel a thousand miles. Imagine what it would have been like to go from one continent to another! Instead of planes, trains and automobiles it would have been camels, ships and on foot!
Over 2500 years ago, an angel delivered a prophecy to Daniel living in the Persian Empire. He was told to shut up the words he had been told and seal the book because the time was not yet the end. You and I live MUCH CLOSER to the end than Daniel did and look at what is happening! Not only do people run to and fro but the increase of knowledge is unbelievable! If Daniel had wanted to learn something new, he would have had to find a book. He might have to travel thousands of miles to find a library where that book was. You can get online and through the World Wide Web we can instantly have knowledge of just about anything.
It has been estimated that the current store of knowledge in the world is doubling every eight years. 80% of all scientists that have ever lived are alive today and they are quickly adding to the knowledge base daily. These scientists produce about 2000 pages to our scientific knowledge base every minute. If a person were to sit down and read everything they have written in 24 hours it would take five years to read it all! Talk about an increase of knowledge! Almost five hundred thousand new books are published each year.
Can you see that we are very close to the time of the end? With that said, there is no cause for alarm. It is a call to be serious about our faith and our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a time to be serious about the church and proclaiming the gospel every time we have an opportunity.
The time of the end of the old creation means it is time for the beginning of the new! The Bible tells us how we should live since we know these things:
2 Peter 3:11-14 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
In Christ,
Rody
