Mark 13: 33 Take heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house comes, at evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning. 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
The Bible study for this evening can be condensed in the following brief statement: The close of human probation is approaching. It is scheduled to occur in the, not too distant future, for the characteristics of history are being aligned with the here and now.
In the Bible we read of nations and populations and peoples whose probation came to a close, and what transpired, in the run up to the expiration of their allotted time, is now taking place across the globe, especially here in the United States.
One of the sure signs that probation is drawing to a close, is the deliberate destruction of one’s ability to reason rationally, because whenever the intellectual powers of the mind become permanently damaged through one’s choice to believe a lie, there is very little else God can do to save persons, and therefore it then becomes futile to try and reach such.
Therefore, there is one word, and one word alone that will form the basis of our study today. Here it is:
Reason
Whenever nations and individuals lose the ability to reason properly, the work of God’s Spirit upon the human heart is greatly retarded, and because God’s Spirit speaks to us through the seat of intelligence, the gateway to the conscience becomes shuttered, after prolonged and deliberate rejection of truth.
And for this reason, efforts to reach human beings become severely restricted. When this is the case, history teaches us that the close of probation for such nations and individuals is just a stone’s throw away.
There is a valid reason why the people of God are to be sealed in their foreheads, for this is where things like judgement, reason, intelligence, discretion, and decision-making take place.
That is the reason why the seal of God will never be given in the hand, like the mark of the beast is, for some persons, because satan couldn’t care less if he bypasses one’s intellect, to have his way. In the book of Revelation we observe that persons will receive the mark of the beast in their foreheads or in their hands.
Receiving it in the forehead means that there will be many persons who would make an intellectual, and deliberate decision to do so. But for those who may not be thoroughly convinced, satan would make it available in the hand. In other words, persons would not necessarily have to understand it or believe it.
They can just take it to retain all of their economic privileges, such as working, doing regular business, and purchasing goods and services, all the while the intellectual aspect is avoided or circumvented.
Not so with God. A person or nation will need to be deliberate in their decisions, and if the powers of the mind, if the powers of reasoning are poisoned through deliberate choice, God may still be speaking but persons would not be listening, and this signals the time to wrap up the work of trying to save the persons in question.
This is the reason why the prophet Isaiah warns us against deliberately distorting truth in any manner, for doing so is known to have a crippling effect on one’s ability to reason rationally.
In other words, when a person deliberately chooses to reject truth and facts, the mind is then trained to interpret truth as error and vice-versa, to the point where one can become permanently embroiled in a frozen intellect, which could no longer distinguish between right and wrong, good or evil. Let’s read:
Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Thus, it’s an indisputable fact that the powers of the mind, such as reasoning, judgement, discretion, and choice, are all engaged whenever The Holy Spirit is doing His work, and as such God always appeals to our intelligence wherever salvation, and the Gospel are being presented to the mind.
As we study the following examples of what is being spoken of, let us look diligently for the word reason, or reasoned, so that we might understand why any damage to one’s reasoning powers could produce a debilitating effect on their ability to either recognize or accept truth. Let’s read:
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.
20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Daniel 4:34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most-High, and I praised and honored him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
8 Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
Matthew 21:24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.
Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures.
Acts 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
Acts 24: 24 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
It becomes obvious that a person’s ability to reason rationally, weighing the facts presented, is of critical importance to the acceptance of truth, and thus, if one’s reasoning powers become distorted it can and will eventually lead to a point of no return.
The following examples from the scriptures give us clear evidence of the perversion of reason, just prior to the close of probation for the nations and people in question. For instance, in the case of the people in Noah’s day, God gave irrefutable evidence which was intended to appeal to their reasoning powers.
They may have had their questions about Noah, and the message he was preaching, since it was contrary to precedent. And since science could not support it with any research, they could have been forgiven for indulging their unbelief.
But when the animals began marching into the ark in an orderly manner, when the male and female of birds and beasts, walked calmly, and without any apparent interference into the vessel, that singular providence was intended to arouse the reasoning powers of the antediluvians but alas, it fell on deaf ears.
That’s because over a period of many years the folks back then had trained their minds to reject the most convincing evidences of the truth, and now, because practice makes perfect, they became utterly unable to shake that state of mind which had consistently rejected the clearest evidence provided.
And, as history has it, not long after, their probation came to and end. They had long put bitter for sweet and had habitually exchanged light for darkness and error for truth, and now they are trapped in a mind that distorts any, and everything God may throw at it. Let’s read:
Genesis 7: 8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean and of fowls and of everything that creeps upon the earth;
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God commanded Noah.
Pay very close attention to what we’re going to read and observe carefully the crippled state of the mind that has been trained to habitually reject truth. The reason for this is that history is soon to be repeated. Let’s read:
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 97] The period of their probation was about to expire. And now the servant of God made his last solemn appeal to the people.
With an agony of desire that words cannot express, he entreated them to seek a refuge while it might be found. Again, they rejected his words, and raised their voices in jest and scoffing.
Suddenly a silence fell upon the mocking throng. Beasts of every description, the fiercest as well as the most-gentle, were seen coming from mountain and forest and quietly making their way toward the ark.
A noise as of a rushing wind was heard, and lo, birds were flocking from all directions, their numbers darkening the heavens, and in perfect order they passed to the ark. Animals obeyed the command of God, while men were disobedient. The world looked on in wonder, some in fear.
Philosophers were called upon to account for the singular occurrence, but in vain. It was a mystery which they could not fathom. But men had become so hardened by their persistent rejection of light that even this scene produced but a momentary impression.
As the doomed race beheld the sun shining in its glory, and the earth clad in almost Eden beauty, they banished their rising fears by boisterous merriment, and by their deeds of violence they seemed to invite upon themselves the visitation of the already awakened wrath of God.
Unless we are missing something, we cannot see what’s so funny about animals walking calmly into Noah’s ark that the antediluvians should be laughing and making merry at the scene. But they had for so long exchanged truth for error that their reasoning powers had become utterly dismantled.
Something similar took place with the children of Israel who were backing three losers in the form of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. These three amigos had formed a confederacy to overthrow the government God had ordained, and they began spreading a host of conspiracy theories and lies to garner support.
They continued their diabolical work, knowing full well that what they were doing was based on false narratives, yet, when confronted with the truth they dug in their heels and continued repeating the lies they had concocted. Let’s read:
Numbers 16:1 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men.
2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown. (Allegory)
3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?
This false claim the co-conspirators knew to be not true, for God Himself had ordained Moses and his brother Aaron, in the most public manner, at mount Sinai and then later on, when Aaron, and two of his sons were anointed to the ministry of sacrifices.
Yet, Korah and his cohorts continued to push the lies and as is always the case one lie often spawns many others, because it becomes necessary, to shore up the first lie with other falsehoods, in order to fill out the narrative. There is never one lie, just as there is never one cockroach.
This is what was developing in real time as the 3 amigos sought more reasons in favor of their first allegation. And since the father of lies is never in short supply, they were fed additional falsehoods to try and give structural integrity to the first one. Here are the additional allegations. Let’s read:
Numbers 16: 12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up.
13 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that flows with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us?
So now they are referring to Egypt, the land of their former bondage, in which pharaoh’s officers beat them up on numerous occasions, and where they had to make bricks without straw; they are referring to it now as a land of milk and honey. That is how lies often morph over time, into something very far removed from the original script.
Therefore, God who is rich in mercy, is going to do just as He once did with the antediluvians; He would give them the unmistakable evidence they need, so that they could use their reasoning powers, and not go over the cliff of unbelief, thereby, closing their off probation. Let’s read:
Numbers 16:16 And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, tomorrow.
17 And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the Lord every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer.
18 And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron.
19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the congregation.
20 And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
24 Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
25 And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 And he spoke unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
28 And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
29 If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me.
30 But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.
31 And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them.
32 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
33 They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
34 And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
35 And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
These multiple evidences coming from God should have been sufficient to now permanently settle the matter beyond the shadow of a doubt, but the mind that has been damaged by the deliberate imbibing of falsehood, can and will reach a point of no return, where there is nothing else God can do, but to close off probation for such persons. Let’s read:
Numbers 16:41 But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the Lord.
42 And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.
Here comes trouble, because their probation is now going to close real soon, for there is nothing left for God to do. To put it in a nutshell, they could not be retrieved from the self-inflicted deception, for their minds had been deliberately barricaded against any evidences of truth.
They had been given time that night to roll over the matter in their minds. They could, if they so desired, recall with clarity what they saw, and heard and just maybe, there might be a chink in the armor of lies they had been taking refuge in.
But no; the disposition to choose lies over truth had taken so deep root in the conscience, that there was nothing God could do to save them from going over the cliff permanently. The servant of The Lord puts it this way. Let’s read:
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 402] Jesus, the Angel who went before the Hebrews, sought to save them from destruction. Forgiveness was lingering for them. The judgment of God had come very near, and appealed to them to repent.
A special, irresistible interference from heaven had arrested their rebellion. Now, if they would respond to the interposition of God's providence, they might be saved. But while they fled from the judgments, through fear of destruction, their rebellion was not cured.
They returned to their tents that night terrified, but not repentant. They had been flattered by Korah and his company until they really believed themselves to be very good people, and that they had been wronged and abused by Moses.
Basically, the same thing occurred, prior to the close of probation for the Jewish nation. God had sent His own Son to appeal to the Jews. Numerous prophets were sent over and over again, but every evidence of truth was beaten back until there was no remedy.
When Lazarus was raised from the dead, this should have forever settled any question pertaining to the Divinity of Christ, but instead of humbly bowing out to the truth, we read a completely opposite reaction which tells us that their reasoning powers were just about evaporated. Let’s read:
John 12:10 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death.
37 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:
39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
Yet God who is rich in mercy, The Lord, who keeps on trying and trying, even when He knows that His efforts will be futile, continues to send evidences of truth to His people, for He cannot stand the thought of giving up on persons whom He died to redeem.
He then finally sends Stephen who gave his very last sermon to the Jews, but instead of embracing truth, they dug in their heels even deeper than before, as they rushed upon Stephen and started to bite him.
When the reasoning powers of the mind become so severely damaged by the habitual rejection of truth and facts in any form, the situation reaches a tipping point as it did with the Jewish nation, because their probation also came to an end just a few years later. Let’s read:
Acts 7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
The servant of The Lord in commenting on the close of probation for the Hebrews writes the following, and we must of necessity observe carefully what is being said concerning the state of mind that gripped the nation. We will see that with the demise of their reasoning powers the close of their probation is also closely linked. Let’s read:
[The Great Controversy pp 88] The long-suffering of God toward Jerusalem only confirmed the Jews in their stubborn impenitence. Satan aroused the fiercest and most debased passions of the soul. Men did not reason; they were beyond reason.
The same situation obtained with the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah whose close of probation was closely associated with the utter dissolution of their reasoning powers.
For instance, when the angels smote the crowd that was gathered at Lot’s front door with blindness, that singular providence should have been sufficient to arrest any reasonable thinking person in their tracks but because the damage to their minds was already done, they had now crossed over into never land, and the rest is history. Let’s read:
Genesis 19: 11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
As it is currently, millions upon millions of persons across America still believe that the 2020 election was stolen, even after ballots have been recounted on numerous occasions. Several investigations into election fraud have yielded no significant evidence of widespread forgery and yet, in spite of the facts very many people still refuse to believe.
The issue has consumed the news cycles, so that it hasn’t left any breathing room for other important issues to be addressed, and even as multiple legal woes are revealed from day to day, millions of folks still would not believe. It has now reached a tipping point, where, if three angels flying in the midst of heaven were to declare that the election was not stolen, some people still would not believe.
While there is no political affiliation on Omegatruth, we must declare a grim revelation, coming from the historical precedents we’ve observed. According to what we have studied this evening, persons are now doing irreparable damage to their reasoning powers which is the only way that The Holy Ghost can reach us.
And if persons who insist on believing a lie were to continue down this path, it will reach a point of no return, when other momentous issues come to the forefront, because their minds would have already been trained to interpret truth as error and error as truth.
When this becomes the case, persons would not be able suddenly change course, because it would be a mode of thought that has been adopted, cultivated and groomed, and it can reach a stage, where any type of truth, even those written in the Bible, will be rejected.
Self-deception is the very worst kind, for it is one thing to be lying to others, but when persons begin to lie to themselves, and believe it, they would have crossed over into satan’s territory, and when this is done, the damage done to the mind could become incurable, for there is no way for God, angels, men or even demons to reach that person.
This is what took place with pharaoh of old who dug himself deeper and deeper into an abyss of lies and self-deception, until not only God or Moses, but also his personal magicians could not reach him. He did to himself irreparable harm and the rest is history. Let’s read:
Exodus 8: 19 Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
If pharaoh wouldn’t listen to God, the very least he could do is listen to satan. But what do you do with a person who will not listen to either God or a devil. It then signaled the close of probation for pharaoh, and those under his influence, as took place not too long after in Egypt.
It won’t be possible to suddenly switch gears, when other vital truths are presented, because the mind would have already been trained to reject the most indisputable facts. Pharoah couldn’t switch, the men of Sodom could not switch, the antediluvians could not switch, and the Jews could not switch, for there comes a time when the habitual rejection of truth can never be reversed.
This, more than anything else is the very grave, and serious danger the nation is facing, for whenever or wherever truth goes out the window, freedoms and liberties and the rule of law follow soon after. When the Bible, with the truths of God’s word was burned publicly in France, the rapid deterioration of society, and the nation as a whole followed not long after.
But there is still hope. The way to reverse course is to be honest with ourselves and not pick or choose what we prefer to hear. We are now living in an age where deep fake concepts have taken root, and the satellite strands of delusion in various forms are on the rise in many minds.
When studying the word of God, when dealing with temporal matters, when taking an introspect look at ourselves, let’s deal in the currency of truth always, and if this is done habitually, a love for the truth and nothing but the truth will develop as it is nourished.
God stands willing, ready, and able to help America, and individuals who have been adversely affected by the tsunami of lies that has engulfed the nation, yet there are concrete steps that must be taken in order to reverse course. Confession is a must, and a turning away from that which is false is necessary, as well a deliberate and firm decision by persons, to appropriate truth and facts in an unbiased manner.
As with anything else that is good and upright, the love for truth, and facts is something that has to be cultivated, and with God’s help, the dark cloud that hangs over the nation can be dissipated. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which will help us to navigate that which has gripped the nation, because, it is needful that we deal in the currency of heaven at all times, which is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Let’s read:
John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed;
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
God Bless!