Time and Judgment

A wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.

There is nothing that is quite as controversial in the Bible as the matter of time, and specifically, the question of where we are presently in terms of time. The Bible lays down a fundamental principle that we may not shy away from in Ecclesiastes 8

⁴ Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou? ⁵ Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment. ⁶ Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. ⁷ For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?

Here God is laying down a fundamental principle. A “wise man” is referring to Christ, who indwells each and every believer in the person of the Holy Spirit. 

We also have another fundamental principle laid down in Daniel 12:1-4

¹ And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. ² And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ³ And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 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.

In verse 4, God declares, But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Already there is an implication that the believers must know something about time, for how else shall we know that we are at the time of the end?

When we turn to Matthew 24, the setting for the entire chapter is set forth in verse 3 when the disciples asked Jesus, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Later in the chapter God declares in verses 32-33

³² Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: ³³ So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

This is an important calendar time reference, because the Biblical fig tree is national Israel, which is the nation that Jesus came out of according to the flesh. It is the nation that Jesus ministered to very personally for three-and-a-half years by the sea of Galilee. And yet, there were very few who believed on him during that time, so much so, that Jesus declared the following in Matthew 11

²⁰ Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: ²¹ Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²² But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. ²³ And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ²⁴ But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

This underscores that when Jesus cursed the fig tree, he was in fact referring to national Israel.

Matthew 21:19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

This verse relates directly to Matthew 24:32, because this verse is saying there were leaves only, that is, there was no fruit. In the Bible, fruit relates to salvation. We also read in Luke 13:7

Luke 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

Despite Jesus ministering personally to the nation of Israel for approximately three years, healing the sick and raising the dead, very few believed on him. Fact is, the spiritual rulers wanted him crucified because he dared to make himself equal with God. Therefore, Jesus cursed the fig tree, saying, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.  This curse extends to the very present day, more than seventy years since Israel was officially reconstituted as a nation in May of 1948. That event of Israel being reconstituted as a nation identifies with the fig tree putting forth leaves in Matthew 24:32, and please note, there is nothing said about fruit, only leaves. 

Note that the verse says, “When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh.” Summer in the Bible identifies with harvest, which implies there is going to be some great activity of salvation taking place. Then in the next verse, God declares, “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” By that statement God is declaring that we are presently in the end-time scenario described in Matthew 24. This is because a wise man’s heart shall discern both time and judgment, and because we are at that time in history when God is taking the seals off of those truths that have been kept sealed during the church age.

When we couple these two things together, namely the inference that there is some kind of end-time salvation activity that is to take place, together with the fact that the great tribulation is a time when judgment has begun in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17) and shall remain so until the very end, we realize that both of these activities are happening simultaneously, and that the mechanism by which God is separating the wheat from the tares in our day is the command to depart out of the local congregations. 

That brings us back to the timeline. The late Harold Camping and a number of other Bible students have a done a great amount of research in this area, showing that the great tribulation began in May of the year 1988, which was also the 13,000^th anniversary of the history of the world, and that the church age officially ended in September 1994, at which time God began the period called the Latter Rain during which a great harvest of souls is being gathered from every corner of the world using sources outside the local congregations. The year 1994 is an auspicious year in that it is a jubilee year that occurs every 50th year beginning back in 1407 B.C. when the children of Israel entered the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land typifying the kingdom of God. The jubilee is characterized by the blowing of the ram’s horn proclaiming liberty (from sin) throughout the land, and every man returning unto his possession, who is God himself (Leviticus 25:8-10). The evidence of the Bible is that Jesus was born in 7 B.C. which was also a jubilee year. The year 1994 A.D. happens to be the first jubilee year after the fig tree (national Israel) put forth leaves in 1948, and thus, fits very well with the prophecy of Matthew 24:32 that when the fig tree puts forth leaves, ye know that summer, that is, harvest, is nigh. 

We find that the unfolding of God’s salvation plan is in no sense haphazard or random, but that every aspect of that plan is worked out in time. We can’t separate time from the law, they are inextricably linked together. Galatians 4:4 declares

⁴ But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, ⁵ To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

With regard to the timing of Christ’s return, Mr. Camping and others predicted that Christ would return on May 21, 2011. There was a great amount of Biblical evidence that seemed to support that conclusion. However, when May 21 and then October 21 (five months later, Revelation 9:5,10) came and went without any evidence of that happening, Mr. Camping and others retracted the previous statement that salvation had ended on May 21, and began to say that salvation would continue until the last day when we see Christ visibly returning in great power and glory. This should be kept in mind when reading the book, Time Has An End, or listening to the Jeremiah series of audio studies in which May 21, 2011 is being declared as the end of salvation.

Today there are a number of people who are saying they know the timing of Christ’s return. Whether God shall reveal the timing remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Christ’s return is imminent, and the time to make our calling and election sure is now.

Hebrews 2

³ How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; ⁴ God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Romans 9: 

²⁷ Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: ²⁸ For he will finish the [Greek: logos, proclamation of the gospel], and cut it short in righteousness: because a short [Greek: logos, proclamation of the gospel] will the Lord make upon the earth.

The following Bible studies are offered on these topics:

• The End of The Church Age and After (edited)
• Time Has an End