Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The Close of Probation (in Proverbs!?)

This passage (Proverbs 1:20-33, quoted below) explains a timeless principle about wisdom and folly.
Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
But then it also struck me as applicable to the soon coming close of probation and the seven last plagues of the wrath of GOD. This can be deduced from the "fear", "calamity", "desolation", "destruction", "distress," "anguish" (you get the picture) mentioned.  This will be the global condition during the plagues.

Consider also, "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you,"... That means "Repent and I will give you the Holy Spirit". That is another prediction of the promised Latter Rain outpouring of the Holy Spirit for the last generation prior to Christ's second coming.

Also, note in verse 28 that "then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:" it is a situation particular to the close of probation, the one time when prayers for repentance will not be heard any more because Christ will have finished His high priestly ministry preparatory to His second coming. It was foreshadowed by GOD Himself closing the door of Noah's ark seven days before the flood began so that none could enter who ridiculed his message.

Wisdom still "cries out" today calling us to repentance, but humanity must listen today, while grace remains, before it is too late to seek GOD.

I'm admittedly quite surprised to find this in Proverbs. GOD has hidden nuggets of prophetic truth all over the Bible.

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