Those Who Are Pure Shall Understand

“Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:10.

“But as to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know well that he day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, ‘there is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape. But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4. “Beloved, we are God’s children now; 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. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3.

“Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:17-18.

It is quite clear from these verses that we cannot study our way to light and understanding. We must be in communion with God so that He can reveal the times, the seasons, and the Scriptures to us. “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21.

Worldly education will not help us here, because we cannot study our way to an understanding of the Scriptures. Then what are we to do with all these hundreds of bible schools? Every religious denomination has its own system of interpretation and set of doctrines, and often its own Bible school or theological seminary. All this leads to contention and division. They don’t understand the simplest words of Jesus in His prayer: “And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee, Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou has given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in they name, which thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled.” John 17:11-12.

Even our human reason tells us that when they gather in different names, they cannot be one even as the Father and the Son are one. So we must ask: “Why, then, do they do it?” Actually, it is easy to understand why. To begin with they want to be leaders, and they think their lofty thoughts represent ‘correct thinking.” But they aren’t thinking in terms of leading people to sanctification and divine nature. For them it is solely a question of “What do you teach?” They never ask you, “How do you live?” They like to sit on a high platform; and if they can’t be the leader, then perhaps they can be elected as an elder. This is why there is so much competition among them. It is quite clear that they are being led by, or are defiled by, the spirit of Antichrist, as Paul writes in Philippians 3:18-19.

This passage shows how far things had developed in the spirit of Antichrist even while the apostles were still living. It is also an apt description of the religious situation in our own day. But who would have imagined that things could have developed to such an extent while the apostles were still alive!

When God sent His Son, who was born in Bethlehem, He revealed Himself to the shepherds in the fields. They received revelation. The wise men from the East went to Herod, from whom they thought they could find out where the King was born. Herod, in turn sent for the scribes. They knew that he was to be born in Bethlehem, and yet they were in the dark about everything else. They did not have the kind of fellowship with God so that He could reveal Himself to them. This is how it was in the days of Noah; all they did was eat and drink, marry, and give in marriage. The day came upon them like a thief. And then we read about Enoch: he lived in faith; he lived a life that pleased God. I suspect that no one saw him being raptured. No doubt, God came like a thief and took him away.

And so it is today. Many people write books and try to calculate the day of Jesus’ return. I have seen this a number of times. When their predictions fail, they simply cannot see that they need to acknowledge that they did not have revelation from God. God could not reveal Himself to them. It is just the same today as it was in the days of old. People want the honor of being regarded as true prophets, and yet they have no revelation from God. Read Jeremiah 23:14-21 and you will see further what they wold have done had they stood in God’s secret counsels.

Things are just the same today. You see in the newspaper advertisements what really interests people. Just about the only thing that matters to them is entertainment. This is the spirit of Antichrist. Religious workers want to gather many people, and everything has to be done on a large scale. We see that Paul’s prophecy has been fulfilled, as it says in 2 Timothy 4:1-4. Follow the exhortation in verse 5! We could go on giving examples. For instance, read the seven letters to the churches in Revelation. The important thing for us is to be in that group of whom it is written, “[Let] the righteous still do right, and the holy continue to be sanctified.” Revelation 22:11. This is written in connection with Jesus’ soon return. He is not coming like a thief for those who cleanse themselves. God’s wrath has not been appointed for them. (Read 1 Thessalonians 5:8-11.)

It is important that we heed the exhortations in 1 Thessalonians 5:11. “therefore exhort one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” Then Jesus will not come like a thief for us. We will be ready as Jesus’ bride when the trumpet sounds, just as Enoch, Noah, and Elijah were in their day. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.