Volume 44 | Number 4 | July–August 2016

Inglés Español

“But the Wise Shall Understand”—Daniel 12:10d


By Dr. H. T. Spence

As we near the coming presidential election in the United States, we find our nation at its worst diabolical condition in its history. The public death-of-God ideology in a country that once knew the true God has brought us to an epidemic proportion of lawlessness of living, to an official abandonment of all morality, to oppressive violence filling our cities, to a runaway economy (with absolutely no discipline and the expectation of a greater economic collapse than the recession of 2008), to a public education system that while failing to educate succeeds in cloning children for elite political correctness, and lastly, to the aggressive rise and religious influence of Islam which is being methodically and intelligently transplanted by our Islamic president into every remote community of America. Yet, when professing Christians think that we have finally reached the bottom of the mire of our nation’s debauchery and sin, behold, another depth is found, explored, and inculcated into the already overwhelming national cesspool. America has entered the dark, bottomless pit of Romans 1:21–32. The collapse of society in judgment from God is already evident. The Lord only needs to leave us to ourselves and we will commit national suicide. Death and destruction are the inevitable of fallen humanity. Our only hope is for Christ to return and set up His kingdom in order to save humanity from its imploding destruction.

A Nation Given to Wickedness

The world is reeling like a drunken madman, and the waves of the sea of humanity are roaring, longing to release a beast out of its sea. The perplexed governments of the world are looking for a man to usher in the hopeful utopia of a world without God. Secular humanism believes that global chaos must come before a global cosmos; the world must come to disorder before it can evolve into order. Thus we are witnessing the intelligent dismantling of anything and everything that has law, order, design, substance, or stability.

Over the centuries the Devil through his human representatives has overthrown nations either through skillful deception or through chaotic terrorism. In the twentieth century, communism conquered nations like Russia through deception and China through the violence of terrorism. More and more in the twenty-first century, Islamic terrorism is forcing all nations to fear, destruction, and chaos as it arrogantly presses onward with its global domination. Simultaneously, Islam is plying its antichrist doctrine through deception. There is not a day that passes but what we are bombarded by a sympathetic media promoting Islamic religious knowledge and damage-control rhetoric to cover Islam’s diabolical evils.

Contributing to the deception is the enigmatic Pope Francis. While methodically dismantling traditional Roman Catholicism and conforming it to an interfaith religion, he has carefully minimized any negative perspective of Islam (just like Obama) within the Romanist religious world. Francis is the prima donna of postmodernism, acclimating Rome to a non-principled religion that will make Catholicism easier to be assimilated into a one-world religion. This pope may play a major role in the final amalgamation of world religions. As a powerful friend to the new world order, he equally has close relationships with the sodomite community of Rome and the world while simultaneously outwardly sympathizing with the Muslim world. His time as pope may simply be for a transitional season because he seems to have been chosen for another role of facilitating the uniting of world religions. The pope is of the same mindset as President Obama in the demand for globalization of the increased powers of the United Nations. This pope has proved to be the most deceptive of the recent papacy, an archenemy to truth and surprisingly even to the beliefs of Rome.

At the writing of this article, our country stands in exceeding fierce times as we witness the diabolical powers of two political parties with their front-running candidates. One candidate stands as an aggressive empathizer of the lesbian/homosexual lifestyle from the feminine perspective, eagerly willing to sell her very soul to the Devil to gain the presidency. Only God and the prince power of the air know the depth of the covenant she has made with the underworld of darkness in anticipation of gaining this prestigious office (Luke 4:6). Is it now possible for someone to become president of these United States without being demonically possessed? For the White House has truly become a haven for the cohorts of the prince of darkness. This woman of ill repute and her husband have lived for years in the very iniquitous den of promiscuity. Rumors now abound that Bill Clinton is in the advancing stages of AIDS and side effects from other sexually transmitted diseases such as dementia. Only providence has kept her alive in spite of the mini-strokes she has had, including the damage to her brain from a fall in 2012. These troubles coupled with her drug and alcohol addiction have caused further brain damage, producing visible contortions and uncontrollable laughter at times. The media works hard at “damage control” in her public appearances. In that she has become the personification of “The Lie,” it apparently does not seem to bother the populace.

As Clinton Foundation coffers reach nearly a billion dollars fed by Muslim countries, the strange, “accidental” deaths of many individuals surrounding her and her husband continue to escalate in number. Just in the months of June, July, and August five men writing or preparing to testify against the Clintons have mysteriously died: Mike Flynn (editor), John Ashe (UN official), Seth Conrad Rich (Democratic staffer), Victor Thorn (Clinton author), and Shawn Lucas (Sanders supporter).

For the past twenty years Hillary Clinton has been surrounded by her “body woman” Huma Mahmood Abedin, a female Muslim who has become the controlling power in all aspects of Hillary’s life and political career. In addition to all this, there is now the concern for her running mate Tim Kaine, a politician who has received large donations from various Muslim groups such as the Islamic PAC (Political Action Committee), the Muslim Brotherhood (he has spoken at their gatherings), and even donations from the radicals at CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations). If Hillary lives long enough to become President (the Clintons refuse to reveal their medical records to the public), the former governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, could step into office and, though what may be an enigma now, may in the future reveal the key to a Muslim takeover of our government. Hillary Clinton may be the candidate that God will give as a foolish shepherd to lead this nation to its final destruction.

Within the other political party, a dark horse arose last year from the rank and file of the business world, claiming to be a political outsider. He has stepped forward in disturbing prominence as a man of immense wealth with financial holdings literally around the world, a man with families from three marriages (and yet, children who have become business associates with their father), a man who had his own successful TV program, and a man who has financially contributed pragmatically to both sides of the political fence. Donald Trump is a man of the contemporary but has become the enigma to both sides of that ideological fence. Is he the other side of the same global coin? Will we find him to be the delay in the final judgment of this nation? Is he real, or is he the carefully prepared image to be the decoy within this melting pot of candidates? He promises to make America great again, but the only way this will ever be true is for the nation to turn back to God through deep repentance. This understanding is not part of the rhetoric of the remaining candidates.

The media tries to persuade the country to vote a certain way by writing and declaring their positive or negative remarks concerning this man or that woman, but even their polls are part of “The Lie.” At present, the polls declare Hillary out in front by a large margin. However, the polls may be announcing literally what the powers-that-be want us to believe; the truth of the matter could be the opposite.

Corruption continues to rule and reign in our society in every aspect. The wise know there is only one voice that is true and that is the voice of God’s Word. True voting is a thing of the past in our country; voting today is often resolved by the Venezuelan machines secured for the voting booths linked with the corruption of the dictator of that country, as well as the overwhelming tactics of the politically correct, as we saw with Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in the previous presidential elections. The hatred between the two candidates proves there is great division within the Kingdom of Darkness, demons vying against one another to rule through men and women.

God is giving the world over to the finality of the “Day of Man,” and we are witnessing the intensity of hatred, pride, anger, and debauchery at its greatest hour. It all will birth the “Man of Sin,” the “Son of Perdition,” the “Antichrist.” The world is roaring for this man to arise! And God’s people are being given wisdom to see what is happening, refusing to be taken by the rhetoric, and knowing full well only the coming of the Lord is the hope for the saving of mankind from his destruction. We must remember that above all the mess, the mud, the corruption, the deception, the lying, the swarming of demonic Islam, there stands God and His plan. Even the wrath of man will ultimately rise to praise Him. Though God is not the author of confusion, He will work through it and in spite of it in the history of mankind. The rhetoric flowing from the mouths of presidential candidates and the media certainly is filled with the powers of darkness, yet God is still on His Throne.

Amidst the voices of complexity and confusion, the true saints hear the voice of God’s Word as to the End Time with its signs and powers. Some may be praying for a delay of the collapse of this nation, while others may be praying for God to speed up the destruction to bring us closer to the Tribulation Period and then to the coming of Christ to set up His Kingdom. As the wicked will do more wickedly and shall not understand all that is happening, the wise will understand through the light of God’s precious Word.

The Wise Shall Understand

We have come to our theme statement in Daniel 12:10 concluding the verse, “but the wise shall understand.” Back in Daniel 12:3 we read, “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.” In the End Time of Daniel’s Last Week and the time of intense trouble that is mentioned in 12:1, the prophet is now told about the remnant. The remnant are designated as wise, in that they were able to see through the unbelief and wickedness, both religiously and politically, of their generation. The wise actively have been living for God in their generation, and thus God has given them an ear to hear and an eye to see what is happening.

Revelation 7 mentions 144,000 Jewish evangelists who will rise during the Tribulation Period having the seal of God in their forehead. In Revelation 14 a multitude which no man could number rises in the last half of Daniel’s Last Week. These will be the wise during that End-time period. They will behave themselves wisely in their obedience to God. Their words coming from their wisdom will turn many to righteousness. They will influence others to the faith. The wise will be the contrast to the world in that End-time season. For many will try to understand what is happening but will not come to know the insight of 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” (Dan. 12:4). These words express concern that the prophecies revealed unto Daniel were to have clear understanding to those living in the time of the end. The words of prophecy will be especially designed to help those seeking to trust in the Lord in their affliction at the climax of the age.

The closing phrase of 12:4 “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” is difficult to translate, leading to various interpretations. A familiar interpretation includes the increased travel of our modern society; certainly there has never been in the history of the world more advanced travel than today. However, in this context the search for knowledge seems to be the main idea. Amos 8:11, 12 gives a similar prophecy:

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.”

The Hebrew word in Daniel 12 for knowledge is literally, “The Knowledge,” making knowledge the understanding of this long prophecy. The implication is that attempts to understand the truth will require considerable effort. As to be found in Amos 8:12, there will be a vain traveling about in order to discover “the knowledge.” Amos implies that the search for knowledge by men will often go unrewarded either because they do not look in the right place, or because their time and circumstances do not justify their understanding of prophecy that does not immediately concern them. Those living in the time of the end will have far greater understanding of these truths than was possible to see in years gone by. There may be truths that even we at this present time do not see in the Scriptures that God will reveal to those in Daniel’s Last Week. There are prophecies in which insight will be given by God, knowing that such truths will be needed for that particular time in history. God’s men in all ages have desired to be wise, to know God’s Word for their time, their season, the dispensation in which they found themselves.

Note 1 Peter 1:10, 11:

Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

Even in the next verse in Peter’s words concerning “things the angels desire to look into,” he goes on to declare, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” God’s men have wanted “The Knowledge” for the time in which they lived; but is it to be revealed to them? Daniel wanted to know but was bidden to content himself and quietly go his way; the prophecies would be revealed only at the proper time. Men through the centuries have struggled in wanting to know, such as Daniel on several occasions, but it was not the time, yea, it was not the “end time.”

The End Time of the Church Ages

We believe we are in the time of the end of the Church Age. Many prophecies (especially within Daniel and Revelation) began to be opened around the mid-part of the 1800s. Several of God’s men became the wise ones through the Holy Spirit to grant God’s people insight concerning these books for their time. This understanding deepened following the height of the Awakenings and Revivalist periods.

One of the prophetic passages that brought companion insight was the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1–13). In 25:1 the virgins come out to meet the Bridegroom. This anticipation truly was the early hope of the first-century Church in the light of the second coming of Christ. They “took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” But then we read of the sad plight of Church history in verse 5: “While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.” This verse gives us various views of spiritual sleeping. The first word slumbered has the understanding of “nodding,” “in and out of sleep,” or “dozing off.” The second term slept has the meaning of “full sleep.” In the light of Church history, there may be several contextual meanings of these two terms. It certainly indicates there was much spiritual sleeping through the Church ages that brought great fallings away. There have been a number of seasons in the past two thousand years when there was little light and the Word of God was not an open vision. Nevertheless, there was enough light for men and women to know the Gospel of salvation for their souls. This was especially found in remnant groups, although they did not always see the “fullness of Truth” revealed through those centuries. The Reformation certainly brought the great revelation of the supreme authority of Scripture, justification by faith, the universal priesthood of all believers, the reviving of the truth concerning the supreme sacrifice of Christ above the works of the institutional Church, and salvation of the soul through grace alone. It was God’s timing for these truths to be seen for His people in greater detail in the 1500s and 1600s.

Additionally, in God’s timing the great Revivalist period brought deeper insights from the Word of God about how to “live” the Christian life. The Reformation had brought to the forefront the fundamentals of the Christian Faith needed to become a Christian. Now there was needed deeper truth for the living, the embellishing truths of an inward life with God. Yes, there was first needed the spiritual sight of the objective Christ as our Justification, our High Priest, our Mediator, and our Righteousness before the Father; all of this was brought forth by the Holy Spirit during the season of the Reformation in the public church. But during the Revivalist movement the Holy Spirit brought forth deeper insights because the times now demanded deeper truth. Though Christ my righteousness stands before the Father as my imputed righteousness, there was the desired Righteousness of Christ within, an imparted righteousness.

During the Revivalist period of the 1700s, there was a movement throughout Europe for perfection: perfection in art, perfection in music, perfection in architecture, perfection in drama and poetry. This desire to bring different aspects of life and art to perfection in principle and beauty paralleled God’s men crying out for a Christian perfection. There was a longing for the principles of God’s working within to bring about the “beauty of holiness.” Yea, a “pure heart,” with pure motives, with pure desires, and with a pure will and mind. They called it “Christian perfection.”

We must carefully acknowledge what they meant by it. Christian perfection was not “sinless” perfection as many have tried to attach to the term. The clear definition of Christian perfection by these men of God was simply the greatest commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and strength.” Could it be possible for a Christian to experience and know this? Yes, this was their longing within the great redemptive work of Christ. Who could be against such a longing and hope? These men began to see deeper insight to the Gospel and its power for man. It was now the time for the Holy Spirit to reveal these principles that were already within the Scriptures but had not been opened fully as yet to the Church. Before certain truths can be known, other truths must first be seen.

It is interesting to note that coming out of these “heart” redemptive truths were insights on the second coming of Christ. The Second Coming has always been believed by the people of God, but its details were not seen as yet out of the Scriptures. But between 1840 and 1860 this fundamental now was seen with greater insight; the Holy Spirit began to move upon the hearts of His men to give the needed sight for the Scriptures that now brought the urgency of being ready for the coming of the Lord. In Matthew 25:6 we read, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” This cry that He is coming brought a greater consciousness to the preparation of the self, the heart, and the living of the Christian. It brought a greater understanding as to the walk with God, communion with God, and the relationship of the self with God. It drew the sight upward, after the burden of preparing one’s self for Christ and in Christ. This cry rent the air. The original Greek is very clear that it was a loud, piercing sound that continued to linger with these virgins. Yes, the sound-cry of “Behold the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.”

We must keep in mind it was a “midnight” cry; it was the darkest of the night. We believe the Lord will come in the darkest hour of history with humanity’s sea waves roaring and the hearts of men failing because of fear. The political spectrum of governments will be at its lowest ebb; the church will be at the darkest hour of its own apostasy. At this hour of the cry, we find the virgins sleeping and slumbering. It was a sound that awakened them, a sound that influenced them to do something about preparing themselves to meet Him. This was the burden that flowed out of the Philadelphia Church Age, the last age before the apostate Laodicean Church Age.

It has now been over 165 years since the sound-cry came with great force to the Remnant, and this cry is still echoing. The Remnant preachers are still crying out to “prepare” to meet Him. We will “go” to meet Him! I have observed over the forty-six years in the ministry that those who do not believe in an imminent coming of Christ tend not to be as urgent in their living for Christ; they have no driving heart and motive to live the Christian life. They tend to be worldly, carnal, compromising, and apathetic in their professing-Christian daily living. There seems to be no “blessed hope” purifying them and motivating and provoking their heart to be ready to meet Him. For the Scriptures reveal, “And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Heb. 9:28). This statement could not be referring to the open coming of Christ at the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19 and Zechariah 14. At that time everyone, whether they are looking for Him or not, shall see Him appear.

Several spiritual movements came at the time of this “cry,” including the birth of the Fundamentalist movement. It was the call through preaching to get back to the Scriptures and prepare the heart and life for the Lord’s Second Coming. The lamp, the life of the Christian, was to be trimmed, put in order, and made ready. The wick, which drew the oil up to the light, was to be trimmed, fine-tuned in living in order to make the light brighter and more beneficial. (Surprisingly, the virgins did not simply light the wick; they trimmed it in order to give the burning pattern greater clarity.) Yes, the five wise virgins, in hearing the cry, trimmed their lamps, poured in fresh oil from another container, and lit the wick. Oh, the midnight hour! The hour when the sleep is the deepest and awakening is most unwelcomed. The Lord will come in a time of history as a thief in the night, to steal us away. Preparation of heart is most unwelcomed in this time period of history.

Wise and Foolish Virgins

I remember in my younger years when prayers of God’s people were fervent, hearts were broken, and altars were not only for saving the unconverted but also for helping Christians to trim their lamps (removing the charred portion of their wick-life to sustain the burning of the light of Christ). These years witnessed much preaching about a life being readied; conversations were often marked with the blessed hope of Christ’s Coming. God’s saints spoke often about the oil of the Holy Spirit, the need of a deepening life with Him, that spiritual replenishing of the life in the Holy Spirit. But sad to say, such preaching, such conversations, and such hunger are conspicuously lacking in our generation.

Back then, while reform and change were seen as needed, God’s saints discerned that the life must have the oil in order to burn for Christ. The trimming of the wick without the oil is of no benefit. Repentance without godly sorrow had no power; only through the godly sorrow was repentance granted by God. “Give us of your oil” was often the cry from one to another in those days. “How did you come to victory over sin?” “How did you come to know communion with God?” “Why is your love for Him so deep and earnest?” Yes, these were questions asked in church, on the telephone, and around the altar. It seemed that the righteous daily life and walk of individuals with Christ could almost supply another’s spiritual lack; thus, some Christians believed they could ask for such oil from deeper-living Christians. Just being around deeper Christians seemed to some to be a store of grace from which they could draw without personal preparation.

O dear reader, we must see here the warning of delay concerning the soul and of trusting in others in the hope of getting ready at the end. Although God may give time to certain individuals to get ready, when the Rapture takes place, there will be no time for preparation. The Rapture will be in a moment: the soul and the spirit of life in Christ must be ready. What was the response of these wise virgins? The spirit and mood was this: “I see the times in which I live; I cannot afford to give away one day of what I have gained from Christ in my walk. My heart is always saying, ‘I must have more.’”

In Matthew 24 the wise sent the foolish to the sellers of the oil. They that sell are ministers and stewards of Christ’s mysteries, who dispense the means of grace in preaching and teaching. “Go ye and buy for yourselves!” Oh, the urgency of the declaration! Everyone must bear his own burden; the grace must be their own grace. Personal faith, personal holiness, personal preparation, and personal anointing must be for the individual; it cannot be provided from other lives. A husband cannot provide it for the wife, or the wife for the husband. The parents cannot provide for the children, or vice versa. Everyone must receive the oil on his or her own. Either the sinner at the White Throne judgment or the Christian at the Bematos judgment shall be judged individually.

While the foolish went to buy, the Bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with Him (Matt. 25:10). This is our burden as we live on the eve of such days. “But the wise shall understand.” As a pastor and teacher, I must be ready to preach and teach the procuring of this biblical oil, as well as how to reserve this oil. The term in Daniel 12:10 for the wise is a term implying that of a “teacher,” or one who causes others to understand. What are the truths that I must see in the Matthew 25 parable? I must have a concern about how I am living in what seems to be a time of delay in Christ’s coming; I must be pure, spiritual, a virgin in this present age; I must have oil; I must be awake and watching; I must be trimming the wick of my life for the burning flame of Christ; yes, I personally must be ready. The five foolish virgins did not have a burning and living relationship with the Bridegroom. They failed at the end. Certainly there was not a conscious need of care and forethought for preparation in the light of His coming.

Although wise men are mentioned frequently in the first five chapters of Daniel, these wise men of that day did not understand, nor could they interpret. There are many professing wise men today in all fields of science, medicine, education, politics, and even in religion. Yet they do not know what is needed to be understood for this hour in history. There is no true insight to the problems of our times; they have no working remedy.

Conclusion

In the light of the imperative need of wisdom, we close this article with this important observation concerning End-time wisdom. There are two classic terms for wisdom in the Greek that draw us to the needed insight about it.

The first term sophia is the concept of wisdom that reveals insight into the true nature of things. We must pray that God will grant us insight to what is happening in our country, the true nature of our country, and what will take place in the months ahead. We must see the falling away even within Fundamentalism, within the Fundamentalist schools of our times, for there is no spiritual nature of God found in them now. More and more we will need to be careful with our associations. We must see beyond what appears to be fair, as the nature of it may not be of God.

The second term phronesis is an important word for the practical use of sophia. We are told in 1 Chronicles that the tribe of Issachar (who came to David when he was in flight from Saul) “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” They brought with them this twofold wisdom: (1) an understanding of the times with insight to the nature of what was happening, as well as (2) the knowledge or practical wisdom to know what Israel ought to do. Many even within conservative churches do not know what is happening in these crucial days, although they may acknowledge it is a troubled time. They have no consciousness that God is resolving history, yea, even the history of the Church. In the falling away of Fundamentalism, they do not see the nature behind this falling away nor the problems that the apostasy has created; they continue to blindly remain without any understanding of what they ought to do.

May we not be so ignorant. May we not be so unwise. May we be a people being readied in the wisdom of God’s Word, being prepared to meet the Lord.