The Accurate Timetable of God

Matt 24:37-39, Luke 17:26-30

For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

(Matt 24:37-39)

And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

(Luke 17:26-30)

From the time the universe was created through God’s redemptive administration to the time God’s only son Jesus Christ came to open up a new chapter in history, all has been planned by God’s providence. Time does not flow indefinitely. It flows with a definite purpose and a precise direction toward the appointed time of God. The Bible is accurate and honest. God withholds no help and eternal blessings from those who believe in His honest Word and walk upright with the Word (Ps 112:1-2, Ps 84:11).

The accurate timetable of God is only rushing toward the accomplishment of His redemptive administration. This timetable is scheduled to accomplish His Words to send forth “her seed” (Gen 3:15). When the fullness of the time came, Jesus came according the plan (Gal 4:4, Mark 1:15). God is ready to reveal His providence to the world His plan to redeem mankind. Thus, Ephesians 1:9 says, “He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him.”

In the Common Translation Bible, it is written as, “according to His predetermined plan,” and in the Modern Bible, it translates as, “a mystery predetermined in Christ”. The mystery has been kept secret and finally has been made known to all the nations through Jesus Christ (Rom 16:25-26, Col 1:26-27). It is now up to us whether to believe it.

When we yearn for, make known, and believe in the Word, the Holy Spirit works so that we become awakened to it, as it is the administration “hidden from the past ages and generations” (Col 1:26). This is because we can only know the Word through God’s revelation (Eph 3:3-5, 1 Pet 1:12). However, when we have no interest in the Word and do not cry out and pray, the meaning of the Word is not revealed to us.

Hebrews 1:1-2 states, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” The first coming of Christ was already called the end times. This end refers to the time before Jesus had come as well as the time He came, yet people could not distinguish the timetable. This is why Apostle Paul said, “He will bring about at the proper time” (1 Tim 6:15), referring to the appearing of Jesus Christ. When the proper time comes, that is, the time of God Himself (His good time that He has ordained), God’s mystery of the Word will be testified through evangelism (1 Tim 2:6).

From the moment Adam fell, God repeatedly said that He would send the seed of the woman (that is, Jesus Christ) to this earth to save mankind. At last, when Jesus was born, the magi saw the star and traveled several months to come to the land of Judea. After they had asked King Herod, “Where is He who has been born the King of the Jews?” King Herod cause a commotion throughout Jerusalem (Matt 2:3). Millions of people heard this, but no one realized that the seed of the woman whom God had foreordained had come. At that moment, although BC (Before Christ) had reached its end, and AD (Anno Domini) had begun, no one ? high priest, scribe, Pharisee, elder, layman ? had realized the times. Only the gentile magi, who had followed the star’s lead and saw where it stood still, realized who the baby Jesus was.

It is the same today. The coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. They were marrying, giving in marriage, building homes, buying, selling, eating and drinking; they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away. They casually say, “If I can’t go to the assembly this year, I can always go next year. I need get my son/daughter married and I have a lot to do, so I have no time.”

In Luke chapter 2 there are others who receive the angel’s revelation when Jesus is born. They were the shepherds watching over flock. The angel said to them, “for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:11-12). The shepherds were awake and found the baby Jesus after receiving the revelation, but the rest of the whole world was asleep. The religious world was rotting away. The religious leaders were busy lying, exploiting the saints, and whisking away the family property of widows. It will be the same in the final days.

Dear saints: I request that you do not take the History of Redemption series lightly. You should be able to hear the Word about the high priest as if you are hearing the sound of bullets flying to your head. I do not indecisively believe the words about when the end will come. The Word of God is exact. Just like the shepherds who went after hearing the angel’s words and saw the baby wrapped in cloth laying in the trough, in the last days, the Pyungkang saints must know that they will really stand before God. Let us look at the verse in the (Korean) Common Translation. “And this will be a sign for you by which you will recognize Him: you will find after searching a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). The AD period had already started, but tens of millions who still believed it to be BC were reduced to nothing but duck eggs by the Nakdong River. The Bible says, “Be awake, prepare, get ready, your Lord will come just like the days of Noah and the days of Lot.”

It is meaningless to live on this earth for 70-80 years. God’s Word is eternal. I pray this blessing upon you in the name of the Lord, that our church saints would acknowledge, hold onto, take responsibility for and become people of the Word. The fact that all of Israel could not realize, and that only the gentile magi believed, serves as an example for us. It is my wish that you will would not to lose your faith to the gentiles, but store it to the end. Because I love you all fervently in my heart and deep in my bones, it is my last appeal to you in the name of the Lord. Today’s two texts from the scripture is what I was awakened to, through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, while praying on Mt. Jiri for three years and six months.

Through these verses, may you think deeply once again. When reading the Bible, may there be the work of being awakened. I pray this blessing upon you in the name of the Lord.

Father God,

Even though this world is like that of the days of Noah, when the wickedness of man was great and the earth was filled with violence; when people followed the former manner of life and the world that is to rot away, allow the saints of our church, who were specially sanctified and predestined before the beginning of time, to deeply understand Your Word, just like how the wisemen and shepherds did. Engrave it in our minds and have us believe it with fearful hearts. We wish to live eternally like You. Please allow us the blessing of eternal life through Your Word just as we were created, to not live temporarily but eternally.

I offer up thanksgiving for Your grace and blessing that allowed me to meet the saints healthily in 21 days after my surgery and recovery.

Please guard the families, workplaces and businesses of Pyungkang Church with a wall of fire, so that we may not meet darkness. May we be strong physically and spiritually, faithful to Your work and to what we are responsible for in the world, and may our days be fruitful and filled with thanksgiving before You. All these things I pray with thanksgiving in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev. Abraham Park’s sermon on June 16, 2011 Thanksgiving Service for the returning of the publishing of the History of Redemption Series