Main Reference: Mt 24
What are deception, test, famine, and food at the proper time mentioned in the main reference?
To be deceived means to be misled by deceiving words and fall and be trapped in a state of confusion. To be tested means to be disappointed and discouraged from words and actions that should not be taken into heart. Famine refers to a time of bad crop, a time of little or no harvest due to lack of rain.
What we should first understand is that Jesus spoke of these things figuratively (Mt 13:34-35) according to a prophecy in the Old Testament (Ps 78). While Jesus was on the Mount of Olives by the temple of Jerusalem, the disciples asked him regarding the fall of the temple, the coming of the Lord, and the signs of the end of the age. The first things Jesus said was, “Watch out that no one deceives you.” (*Apostle Paul said in 2 Thes 2 that Jesus, the savior, will come after the events of betrayal and destruction.) This means that a war will take place and many will come to deceive others.
Who deceives whom? How do they deceive and what do they use to deceive? It says in Rv 2 that Satan, the Nicolaitans enter God’s tabernacle and feed the congregation members the food sacrificed to idols, which are teachings of Satan. It also says that Jesus’ servants will be misled into committing adultery with the god of the Nicolaitans, which is the spirit of Satan. Those who deceive are the false pastors who belong to Satan, and those who become deceived are the ones who belong to God.
What do they use to deceive? The false pastor will proclaim himself to be Christ, deceiving the congregation members in the name of Jesus and making them believe in him (refer to 2 Thes 2:4). At that time, two nations and kingdoms, meaning two different denominations, will fight and both sides will claim to be the truth. As a result, the people will be deceived. These words are not given to the non-believers (non-Christians) and the people of the world. The war mentioned here is not a physical war that takes place between two countries in the world but a religious war—a war between the spirits (gods). To be tested means that a person with faith who once earnestly carried out a life of faith in peace, loses heart. He experiences struggles and events that he never imagined before that he becomes disappointed in the things he used to know and believe in. He becomes disappointed and falls into despair.
A famine refers to a time of bad crop. A time of bad crop is caused by the lack of rain or an untimely rain, thus resulting in a bad harvest. However, religious problems, such as the “wars between kingdoms, deception, testing, and famines,” are different than those of the world. Let us read Amos 8:11-13 which speaks of this famine.
(Am8:11~13)
"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign LORD, "when I will send a famine through the land--not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. *Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it. *"In that day "the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst.
This does not refer to a literal famine in the world, but a spiritual famine where the hearts of the people become dry. They become dry because the revealed word from the heavens does not come like the rain from the skies. This means that the spirits of men become thirsty as God closes up the heavens at that time of war and does not give the Word.
When the prophecies recorded in Mt 24 fulfill in flesh, how many people in the world will be able to see, perceive, and believe in that fulfillment? At that time, the destroyers bring destruction upon the holy temple of Jerusalem and stand there. The ones who are saved at that time are those who flee to the mountains. Did you flee? Those who are destroyed are the people of Spiritual Israel who follow mere traditions. Their destruction is like the sun and the moon that no longer give their light and the stars that fall from the heavens to the earth. This is the end of the religious world, the end of the Church. It is the end of age (the last days).
After the tabernacle of the chosen people is destroyed in this way, the Lord returns to harvest the wheat, the fruits. Someone who gives the food at the proper time also comes. The Lord finds him doing so and puts him in charge of all of the Lord’s possessions (Mt 24:45-47). What is the “food at the proper time” that is given at such a time?
Apostle Paul was once a loyal follower of Judaism and defended the Law. However, he began to testify to the revelation after he received it from Jesus (Gal 1 ~ 3). In the same way, the prophecy about John’s receiving, eating, and testifying the open scroll (revelation) in Rv 10 is a prophecy that was meant to fulfill. Its fulfillment is the fulfillment of Mt 24 and the Book of Revelation. Therefore, at the time of the fulfillment of Mt 24, the “food at the proper time” is the prophecy of Mt 24 and their fulfillment (physical entities). At the time of the fulfillment of Revelation, the “food at the proper time” is the prophecies of the Book of Revelation and their fulfillment.
Anyone who does not know the prophecies, their meanings, and when the prophecies are fulfilled will see that his end result is destruction. At the time of the Old Testament’s fulfillment, Jesus spoke of two different types of food in John 6. He differentiated the two types—one was physical food and another was spiritual food. This spiritual food, food for eternal life, was Jesus himself. And as Jesus was the tree of life (refer to Jn 14:6, 15:1, 5), eating Jesus was eternal life.
Man is a sinner. God is the Most Holy, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. One should know that God’s matters are much greater than personal matters. God is working to take back and govern over what belongs to Him, which He lost when Adam sinned. Therefore, one cannot give up on God’s great will because of man’s personal matters. God re-creates the family and the nation of the new kingdom through those who keep God’s will and commandments. The New Testament is the blue print of all this, and God’s new kingdom is created according to this blue print (refer to Gn 1:26-27). More so than a non-believer, the one who does not know the will of the Bible (New Testament) will be considered as a transgressor who goes against God. Anyone who knows God’s will act according to His will.
No one must be deceived at the time of the end, the time of the Lord’s second coming. He must not fall into temptation or perish from hunger during a famine. Instead, he must eat the food at the proper time which is prepared at the time of the end. All things will now take place according to God’s will. Just like those at the First Coming, the people who have the habit of persecuting and not believing the one Jesus sent, will not change at the Second Coming when he returns. This is why judgment takes place.
Instead of carrying out a life of faith apart from the Bible, I wish for everyone from now on to delve into God, the Word, live a true life of faith, perceive, and be saved.
Amen!
SHINCHEONJI Healing All Nations
http://cafe.daum.net/scjschool/E3qZ/703
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