by Jon R. Welker

In the last Shepherdsfield Update (No. 63, Fall 2010), we were looking at the idea of "The Thief in the Night" from the perspective of the signs of the times – and why when Jesus was asked by the Pharisees for a sign, He responded:

"When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Matthew 16:2-3

There are 7 parables regarding "watching" in Matthew chapters 24 and 25; 7 parables dealing with watching within that brief time of Jesus' discoursing with His disciples:

"And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, `Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world [Gk. = age]?" Matthew 24:3

So, it would appear, then, that watching is very important.

"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:36

"And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Mark 13:37

I personally do not believe the Lord would tell us to watch if there wasn't something to watch for.

"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." I Thessalonians 5:5

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." Luke 21:34

We're going to look at some of those Scriptures, but what I want to share with you are two words in particular in the Scriptures that deal with time: one is kronos, dealing with chronological time; and one is kairos, dealing with the events within a period of time and what it appears to be like. For example, when you're in a dental office and you don't like being in the dental office, it appears the time goes a lot slower. Or, as we get older we say, "Time seems to be passing by a lot quicker." It isn't really passing by chronologically any quicker, but because of our mentality, how we view things, and what you know that you would so like to accomplish and might not be able to do, then it appears that that time is going by a lot faster.

Now, the Lord was speaking of the signs of the times. In Genesis it states that the sun and moon and the stars were given for signs and seasons and days and so forth.

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also." Genesis 1:14-16

That word "sign," in the Greek is semeion [say-mi'-on]. It is the idea of a man on a ship who is waving flags and giving signs or spelling out something.

So, the sun and moon and the stars were given for signs. And it states that the sun was given to rule the day, and the moon and the stars (the lesser lights) were given to rule the night, or the darkness. The thief is going to come in the night, and if we look out on the earth to discern the times, the kairos time, isn't it interesting to observe that the sun has been a symbol of the Lord, but also of the church and Christianity, through millennia. And it doesn't take any work at all to find out the international symbol for Islam is the moon or the crescent moon with a star. We see that symbol on the flags of Muslim nations, and on the top of the Kaaba in Mecca.

So, the moon and the stars, the lesser lights, rule the night, and the sun rules the day. Christianity for quite some time, but in the last several decades in particular, has been on a decline; the sun setting. Islam is ascending. And in world politics, and almost everywhere we look, we see that there is almost nothing that can be considered without having to take into account Islam. So, let's realize that we are in the night, with the moon ruling. And it is increasingly going that way.

There are many who have said that though we thought it would be the other way around, 9/11 was a time in which we actually began to see more of the intenseness and thickness of the "night" encroaching upon us – and the rule of Islam. We've been told that Islam now has surpassed Catholicism in numbers of adherents, and that mosques are being built in the United States and Europe at a rate greater than churches. So, Islam with its international symbol of the moon is on the rise; the moon is rising, the sun is setting....

And, I repeat – the thief comes in the night! So from the perspective of Scripture, we are to understand that it's the time when Islam is going to rule – Jesus was telling us to watch!

"'Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?' The watchman said, `The morning cometh, and also the night….'" Isaiah 21:11-12

It is something to alert us to the condition in which the thief comes. At midnight a cry went forth: "The Bridegroom comes!" (See Matt. 25:6.) So, the Lord asked, "Why is it that you cannot discern the signs?" Remember, signs spell out something. And His disciples also asked Him:

"...When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world [age]?" Matthew 24:3

The signs of His coming–this is something spelled out for us: the thief comes in the night, when the moon is ruling. "Night comes," the Lord says, "when no man can work" (see Jn. 9:4). It's an important time for us; there is something He wants us to seriously tune in to. We are so filled and inundated with information that we have become "information sick"! As Daniel the Prophet said,

"Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. ...And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
...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." Daniel 8:17, 27; 12:4

DO YOU KNOW THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOUR LIFE?

For example, we were told to take so much Vitamin E, and then later we were told not to take too much Vitamin E. Do this, do that – everybody's got their take on any subject. And that's infiltrated the churches and individual Christians. Many people are asking, "How do you know, how do we really know? How do we know what is the will of God? How do we know anything?" So we attend church and listen to the Word of God, but we choose to sit in our own way, do what we want, and think our own thoughts, because we don't really have it in ourselves to believe God's Word. And I have stated that for the most part, people are just considering. They'll consider thoughts, but they don't believe – like less get to the stage of faith.

"…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He THE find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8

There is a hardness, a callousness. Who do you serve? Who are you really serving? Are you serving the Lord, or are you serving the people? Why are you choosing to be so stubborn in your own way? You have gotten a thought, or you're going through some problem or some issue in your life, so you don't feel you need to do anything. You can just nurture wounds and do what you want, and yet the Lord in Heaven is still sitting on His Throne, forever the same, never changing. Maybe you're confused about Who they serve. They don't judge themselves either. That's the problem we have today. We have so much being fed to us, so many different ideas, that many have found a place to just park their car and let it idle for a while.

The Lord gave 7 parables within the 2 chapters of Matthew (24 and 25) concerning His coming. He was answering, "What shall be the signs of Thy coming and of the end of the age?" He said to "watch"! Luke records (17:23) that there shall be "two in one bed," sleeping–at night– "the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left." There's the Parable of the 10 Virgins who "went forth to meet the bridegroom," and some didn't have oil in their lamps (Matt. 25:1+). "The thief will come in the night." Many of those parables link with the night....

I want to share some more Scriptures regarding the night. I Thessalonians 5:1-8:
"But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation."

Now I want to focus in at this time on verse 7:
"For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night."

Of course we should not eliminate the physical, literal aspect of someone drinking alcohol of some sort and being drunken. But Scripture is self-interpreting. There are many places that tell us of being drunk or drunken not relating to drinking wine, alcohol or whatever.

"MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus....
For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies." Revelation 17:5-6, 18:3

"They grope in the dark without light, and He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man." Job 12:25

As I have often stated, "like unto" or "as it were" are phrases in the Scripture that we shouldn't gloss over, particularly when it comes to prophecy. In the Book of Revelation, it states there was "as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire" (Rev. 15:2). That's a little phrase, but important–to let us know that the Lord wasn't talking about it having to be exactly that. It's interpreting itself. "As it were." If you were a person in 1^st century A.D. trying to look into the 20^th century or into the 21^st century or beyond, trying to describe things that you saw, you would have to say, "Well, it was like," or "as it were" something. So, it's recorded in Job, "…He will make them to stagger like a drunken man."

Now, let's look at Isaiah 29:9+:
"Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath He covered.
And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?"

Many times we quote Scripture, but we don't see the context of it. How did this passage start out? "They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink."

Consider again the I Thessalonians 5 passage:
"For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night."

They can't see!

"…They say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?" Isaiah 29:15

People can be drunken. I think as we say that in different ways in our language: they can be "giddy"–they can get giddy with their own concepts of themselves and their knowledge and built up when they can't see; they're drunken. And as a result of that drunkenness, as it says in verse 10:

"…For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes…."

That's what it also says in verse 7 of I Thessalonians 5: "For they that sleep sleep in the night…."

I would suggest to you that there are many things that God is trying to tell us about the night, and believers now on the earth regarding the end-time. There are people who I have encountered in the ministry throughout the course of 38 years who I could see became giddy, as it were, "drunken," with their own ideas and concepts. They become asleep to the real issues and things of life. They cannot see that they have been given prophecy, the Word has become sealed to them. They can become arrogant and prideful in what they then begin to claim they know that they don't know (or is it that they know and they can't see?). Now, of course on a larger scale, this is true within the world in which we're living. It's been called the death of common sense. It's just craziness. People can't think along certain lines. And I'm amazed in talking with Christians of the concepts that I hear being thrown around – people just don't think!

The Lord tells us in verse 11:
"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed…."

It does not say that God sealed it, He says the vision of all is become unto you the words of a book that is sealed. All of a sudden a person comes to the place in which they're asleep, they're drunk, but not with wine. They can't see! Its closed! "I can't understand this." Wherefore the Lord says,

"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, `Read this, I pray thee': and he saith, `I cannot; for it is sealed': and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, `Read this, I pray thee': and he saith, `I am not learned.'" Isaiah 29:11-12

Basically the concept presented is, "Well, you can't understand," "Well if I don't, why can you?"

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work...." Isaiah 29:13-14

I think in some other translations you will see that it says a "wonderful" or "awesome thing."

"Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord..." Isaiah 29:15

What does that mean? Other translations state: "for them who would feign have been too deep for Yahweh by giving secret counsel" (Rotherham), "cursed are those who go deep to keep their designs secret from the Lord" (Bible in Basic English). We get into places that we design and feign things within and we think that the Lord doesn't really understand what we're trying to do.

"And they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay…." Isaiah 29:15-16

"…Your turning of things upside down…" Put this on the level of the world and our society today, and also on the level of individuals. "Mystery, Babylon...Mother of Harlots, abominations of the earth" _ she makes all the earth to drink of the wine of her fornications. Babylon links with confusion, and people being confused.

Now let us consider Jeremiah 25:27-28:
"Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink."

Now note Jeremiah 51:7-9:
"Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand [in the LORD's Hand] that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies…."

Keep in mind that this cup of Babylon is in the hand of the Lord. In other words, the Lord allows that. In Isaiah we read,
"I am the Lord…. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil…." Isaiah 45:6-7

Why? There are a lot of people who say, "If the Lord could change things, why does He put us through all this agony on earth? Why does He create evil?" If you read some of the other translations, a better way of looking at that is: "He makes room for the evil." But if we just take the King James Version, then consider that the evil is there to give us an opportunity to be tested and proven. And that's what's happening with the nations of the earth. He took the children of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years, to test them and to prove them and to see what was in their heart, whether they would keep His commandments or not (see Deut. 8:2). I have told people over the years that God is watching, He's watching you. This is true for the nations, for believers as a whole, and it's true for us as individuals. He's watching how we respond in times of trials.

Let's look at Lamentations chapter 3:15 –
"He hath filled me with bitterness, He hath made me drunken with wormwood."

Now consider. Isaiah 19:14 –
"The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit."

Egypt is a type of the world, and Pharaoh ("the great house") is a type of Satan, the ruler over this world; "the prince of this world" (Jn. 14:30). He said to Jesus:
"...All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me." Matthew 4:8-9

In the Isaiah 19:14 passage we have the idea that the Lord has mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof, and they have caused the world, Egypt, to err in every work, "as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit."

Now think about that for a moment. When Israel was brought out of Egypt for the purpose of being tested and proven, the Lord had mingled "a mixt multitude" (Num. 11:4) in their midst to cause them to err. Or, like the creating of evil, to make room for them to make those choices....

THE EYES OF HEAVEN ARE UPON YOU....

Now what I would like for you to grasp out of that is a principle–that in any group of people, in any time in history, God has that same principle at work: testing, proving. There are people who can become drunk, go to sleep, and the Book is sealed to them–they can't see because they're filtering things through this concept of their own giddiness. And this is in "the time of darkness." And the Great Tribulation, as its called, is to be that great test. But before that period and His taking of His Bride, there is a time that God will be looking and evaluating – just like in the principle in Jerusalem where the Lord sent angels (eyes) through, to check and to see who was righteous and to mark them on their head. (See Ezek. 9:4; II Chron. 16:9; Zech. 4:10.) The eyes of the Lord. He's looking upon all of you–put your name in there. Are you giddy in the thought that its someone else you can blame or cite for a problem? Have you become drunken with that?

"And the LORD said unto Samuel, …they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them." I Samuel 8:7

Samuel's sons weren't exactly what they should have been. King David was a king, and it was written that kings should not multiply unto themselves wives (see Deut. 17:17). He had many wives, and concubines. But, the Lord was dealing with David on a personal level: "...He's a man whose heart beats to My heart..." (Acts 13:22, The Message), he had "the sure mercies" that were given to him (see Isa. 55:3). God was dealing with him on an individual basis, but He was dealing with the people also. That principle is still active today, for God does not change (see Mal. 3:6).

Let's look at Isaiah 51, verse 17-19:
"Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.
There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.
These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?"

And Isaiah 63, verse 6:
"And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth."

Again, I'm keying off of the I Thessalonians chapter 5 passage: "…And they that sleep sleep in the night, for they that be drunken are drunken in the night."

I'm trying to give you the connection between night and drunkenness–the times in which we live, and that it's a type of darkness. It's not that God seals His Word, but something takes place in the night, and the darkness.

Micah 3:6-7:
"Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God."

That's speaking of a period when there's going to be, as it was historically, a time at the end of the age which will unfold that way: a time of darkness. WHY the darkness? Mikkel Dahl spoke of this as well–that as the time progressed and got closer to the midnight call there would be darkness! Not just physical darkness. Again, it could be that God will coordinate His coming for the Bride at midnight, at literal midnight. But as we know, when Jesus was on the cross it was in the middle of the day, and darkness covered the earth (see Lk. 23:44).

So drunk or drunken at night doesn't necessarily equate to the physical aspect of such terms, but speaks of something else. Let God interpret His Word. There's going to come a time when there is no vision. And why is there no vision or the ability to see? It is sealed up. Is it because God does it? Is His Word no longer valid? I want you to get a key right here. People get drunk, then they can't see, the Word is sealed up for them because they're giddy with their own selves–this is exactly what is happening internationally today. There is so much going on, even though the Word of God is being preached. Yet the Word of God is to be a lamp unto our feet, a light (see Ps. 119:105). God came into the world but men preferred darkness (see Jn. 3:19). People get into a particular frame of mind, probably often because of offense. It becomes a snare. It entraps people in a way of thinking and they cannot then see the Word of God as it is, and how it could be releasing and light-bringing to them.

WHAT IS THAT "CUP OF WATER"?

Jesus spoke, saying:
"…Whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in My Name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." Mark 9:41

Now, how common is it for people to think that by placing some money in a Salvation Army canister at Christmas, or by some other contribution, that they are living that Scripture? Yet many can't look to see the person right next to them, or maybe that the person is actually a leader needing a cup of cold water to drink. They can't see the Word of God in its clear vision, for they have limited it to somebody else or something else. They are blinded, its sealed to them; they're giddy with the kind of thinking and philosophy they've entered in to. They have begun to judge in other ways than God's Word makes it very clear. They are lifted up, prideful. I've seen some people who are the most quiet, "unassuming," who will probably never get up and share in a meeting, are often those who are thick in darkness in the sense of hardened in their ideas, and proud in their spirit, lacking in humility. And yet because others do get up, such people are quick to criticize, and are severe in their judgment. But what about you and your own thoughts? The word becomes closed to people because they're in darkness. Light has come into the world, but men prefer darkness (see Jn. 3:19).

My point is that when people get into such mind-sets, there's a darkness. The Word of God very clearly states, "Who are you to judge another?" (See Jms. 4:11.)

"…With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged…." Matthew 7:2

"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." Romans 14:4

Those are basic things there. People don't like the kind of personality you are, so they judge you. You're too strong, or its like Goldilocks – "This one's too strong, this one's too milquetoast, this one's just right." Take Moses, take Samuel, take Jeremiah, etc. Jeremiah went around saying, "Woe, woe, woe!"

And how about the description in Isaiah:
"...This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits...." Isaiah 30:10

If these stalwarts were to be judged on that Goldilocks factor, I don't think they would come out approved.

Consider again the concept of giving a cup of cold water to someone. The problem too often is there is judging who we're going to give the cold water to. "These are okay, because they're not being treated well. This one's okay…," etc. But what about the person who you're not drawn to or you have an issue with? Can you still give them a cup of cold water? What is that cold water? Something refreshing. Do you know some of the greatest refreshments you can give to someone?

THE DAY OF THE LORD

Let's look again at the conditions of the "day of the Lord."

Joel 2:1-2:
"Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations."

Similar to that passage is Amos 5:18-20:
"Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?"

There's no brightness in it because of something, yet the Apostle Paul stated:

"Ye are not children of the night, of darkness, that that day should overcome you. But ye are children of the day." I Thessalonians 5:5

A place of drunkenness or being giddy, prevents the Word of the Lord from giving you any light. It will not be brightness to you. You will continue to stagger like a drunken man in darkness thinking all along that you're okay. That's what the world is doing now, and does not discern the signs of the times.

When can the events perfect for the Lord's return happen like this again? A nation (Israel) being brought back from oblivion, speaking its own language, back into its own land, and armies surrounding them, in the time of Islam (the moon) ruling? Now is the time for the thief in the night!! We're just waiting for that cry at midnight to go forth.

I believe that there are serious warnings for us. Zephaniah 1:14-16:
"The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness...."

Now, as I pointed out, there is a stress upon the kind of darkness "desolation…gloominess… THICK darkness." If it's dark, its dark. But what do we think of when we think of thick darkness? Man–it's dark, I mean you don't even have starlight, you have nothing! Probably most of you have experienced being someplace where there wasn't even a clock-light on. Today it's hard to go through your house without the lights of the microwave, clocks, and little green lights shining here or red ones over there. It's hard to find any thick darkness. But if you've ever been in a situation in which there's not one glimmer of light, then you know what its like when it is thick darkness.

Gloominess, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, of CLOUDS. That tells us again the type of darkness, and the nature of the times when the "day of the Lord" arrives. Why can't you discern? Regarding the weather Jesus said,

"When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Matthew 16:2-3

Now we're in a time of clouds that are coming in, and gloominess, men's hearts failing them for fear, in perplexity. It's telling us: This is the night! And the moon is going to rule the night, and gloominess and desolation are coming in on the terrorism of Islam. That's one part of it. The rest of it is in reference to our own individual responses.

As Christian people now for a decade or a couple of decades or more, especially in the West in America, we've had televangelists, and lots of access to the Bible, etc., but many are skeptical or cynical. "I just read this man's statements on the Spirit," "I read this man's statements on how you should raise your family," "I read this man's statements about...," and, "I've heard this man...." We have so much information that's been given to us, but more people have become confused. "...Mystery, Babylon... Mother of Harlots..." (Rev. 17:3). "...She made all nations drink of the wine of the fury of her fornication" (Rev. 14:8). There's something that has infiltrated to the point that we're not any more like the little child who can believe. Many people who I talk to now seem to "listen," as though it's just a matter of something else to consider, rather than to believe or build faith.

WHO HAS "CALLING POWER" IN YOUR LIFE?

Who has calling power in your life anymore? Who is a mentor to you? Who has enough to say to you that you'll base your life upon it and move upon it? Those are questions that I think many Christians might have trouble with, because there are so many "choices" – almost unlimited choices–to the point that many people are left destitute in faith. It's basically the Mother of Harlots who made all the earth to drink of "the wine of the fury of her fornication" (see Rev. 18:3). People can feel like they've been used, just a used piece of flesh. People have taken advantage of those seeking. That's where I think a lot of people are, and I think many Christians too.

That's where we are! It's a shame! Like I said, we're basically like some young girl who may have gotten taken advantage of at a very early age. She reaches her 20s or early 30s, and she's just been used. Her trust in love, people, men, etc., is nothing. We're like that! Its very difficult for people to have a calling. I am very grateful that the internet did not exist at the time I came to the Lord, because I was on a search, and if I would have gotten into that, well, I already had enough thoughts, concerns, arguments and criticism of the church and Christians, that that would have put me over the top.

ARE YOU BEING "DISCIPLED" OR "WHAMMIED"?

But when I came across a few good men, though I was more educated from college than they were, I was willing to put myself at their feet, and I wanted to learn everything that they could give me and teach me. I doubt seriously today that there are very many people like that anymore. I'm not saying that to build myself up, but to convey that it is very difficult to have that kind of mentality in our era; to have that kind of trust. It's a shame. Mystery Babylon has caused all the nations and the peoples of earth to drink. I feel sorry for people, and Christians trying to come to the Lord. They are whammied, double whammied, triple whammied, with so much info. People are being taken-in to the point, as I said, that anything that might be shared is questionable. People are skeptical! I've seen that the Assemblies of God are listed as a cult. The Catholic Church is listed as a cult. There is no end to such on the internet. WHAT has happened?

"Where are you?" Are you prideful in your ability at this point to discern adequately and accurately for yourself? I see the darkness in the attitudes and the demeanor of many people. The world as a whole is arrogant and swaggering. We can see it among Christians, too. There's not a softness, nor a gleam of the Spirit in the eye – it has been darkened, it looks hard. Its difficult to get past that. It should be scary – because there is an attitude of certainness that's assumed; when the Word has become "sealed," they can't see it. It's dark, and a time of darkness. If you're children of the day, then "awake thou that sleepest...and Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. 5:14). Rouse from your stupor. That I believe is important.

Yet, how hard it is to believe anymore. As I stated, we've reached a place that all we do is consider. Maybe there's a better word for some of you. What I'm referring to is the ability to believe, the ability to be as a little child – it has been lost. Most things are just another word for you to consider. But who do you serve? What is the Lord doing? Is He willing to feed you? Is He looking over you? Do you trust Him? Have you become calloused and hardened? Are you staggering in your own vomit – in the night, as a drunken man?

The Apostle Peter states:
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." II Peter 3:10

It's a thief in the night. We also read from Paul: "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness" (I Thess. 5:5).

However, the Lord says:
"Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch!" Mark 13:35-37

WATCH!

Very clearly, when they asked Him when would be the sign of His coming, He gave the various times and He said a cry goes out at midnight. When does the thief come? Midnight. "Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh,… lest coming suddenly he find you…." But the Bridegroom comes at midnight. If you were watching, you would know that! If the word was there for you, and you were looking at the word, and the word was acceptable to you and you were given to it, you would know that God is not going to be someone who just puts out an unanswerable question or statement that you can't know, because it will be at midnight. He's made it clear throughout the Scriptures. "…Lest coming suddenly He find YOU sleeping." That's why you won't know whether it comes at even, or at midnight, or cockcrowing in the morning! Because you're sleeping, you're not watching what's going on or discerning the times.

We are in the night with the moon rising: Islam. We are in the night of kairos time; we're there, now. It's just a matter of seeing the rest of the pieces come together. And, if we're watching, we're going to be able to be alert and know. But in the meanwhile what does it tell us to do? Be sober, be watchful, be diligent, and not be in pursuit of the cares of this world.