For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of
soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Heb 4.12
In coming as the living 'word’ (1.1-2), Christ was the ultimate prophet warning Israel of judgment after the nation had rejected previous ones. Sent to deliver a message not only in words but by His exemplary life and the many miracles confirming His testimony. Unfortunately, the nation (as a whole) refused to respond in repentance to this unprecedented declaration of the will of God and divine judgment ensued. Yet none could claim there was an 'apostolic' witness from the lips of Christ but also from John the Baptist and the apostles with much the same miraculous testimony (Heb 2.4). All heard them announce a new spiritual Kingdom and the warning of judgment if they failed to repent.
To hear this message of salvation, the nation did not even have to stand before Mt Sinai as their forefathers did. That is, terrified, begging the 'trumpet sounds' to cease (12.19). The
'voice of words’ (12.18) they heard were those of the promised Messiah (12.22) from ‘Mount Zion’. Spoken not to make them afraid but in mercy to commence the fulfillment of the ‘Feast of Trumpets’. And there is no better metaphor than the
'trumpet' for this mission Christ had to sound the alarm and wake up a backslidden nation. What I found out when a boy scout; the piercing tone of the bugle sounding early morning reveille would wake me up no matter how deep a sleep I was in.
Let's now recap the details of this Feast of Tabernacles. It began when two silver trumpets were blown on the first day of
the last month (seventh) in Israel’s ‘sacred year’ (summer months); to announce the beginning of a new civil year (winter months) and signal the nation to prepare for the ‘Day of Atonement’ ten days later. Every fifty years, extra blasts sounded on these trumpets to herald the ‘Year of Jubilee’, a year of reparations and the release of slaves. It is why Christ
‘trumpeted’, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me…He has anointed Me to proclaim the Gospel to the poor…to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and new sight to the blind, to set at liberty those having been crushed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19). In announcing the ‘acceptable year of the Lord’ (i.e. the Jubilee), Christ offered the nation not only escape from judgment by the Roman forces some forty years later but also deliverance at the divine ‘judgment seat’. Sadly, Israel and its leaders (overall) ignored what was spoken in mercy, and one million souls perished in the apocalyptic judgment upon Jerusalem.
The church, through its history, has heard similar ‘alarms’; sounded either to rouse it when asleep or nearly at 'death's door'.
These ‘wake up’ calls trumpeting the word of God were heard from the lips of chosen vessels like Wycliffe, Hus, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Wesley, and Booth. As Heaven seeks to rouse the modern church from sleepy torpor, these alarms, beginning in the 20th century, are being heard once again. Those with
‘ears to hear’ recognize them as the ‘voice of the bridegroom’
calling out to His beloved bride (Cf. Jhn 3.29). As the end draws closer, vessels anointed with the ‘spirit of Elijah’ will sound even louder ‘alarms’ with more urgency. To declare the words able to, ‘turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord’ (Lk1.17). On the fateful day of judgment, no believer will be able to claim they were not given full warning.
Several 'alarms' over the past century have been notable.
Including the call to receive the ‘Baptism in the Holy Spirit’, the call to praise and worship, the call for the ‘five-fold’ to equip the saints for ministry (Eph 4.1-12), and the call to prayer for revival and the final harvest of souls. Before this age ends, no doubt other ‘alarms’ will be heard; especially one calling the church to unity and love for all brethren and the final one alerting them to the extreme lateness of the hour.
Sounded louder and with greater urgency to give the disobedient (in particular) the final warning of the danger of not repenting. Before sending judgment, Heaven has always sought to rouse those slumbering or ‘hard of hearing’; it is why the trumpets sounded ten days before the ‘Day of Atonement’
alerting the Israelites to 'afflict their soul'.
These final ‘alarms’ will also challenge believers to ‘have an ear that hears what the Spirit says’ (Rev 2.11); this means punishment awaits those who refuse to listen and obey what is declared. (Heaven rarely overrules to save from the consequences of the bad choices we make as free agents.) To the very end, then, prophets, preachers, and teachers will ‘blow the trumpet in Zion’ to wake up those apathetic or backslidden.
If this relates, please listen carefully to what these voices relay as deafness to the ‘voice of the Lord’ invites this judgment. Do not close your ears and stubbornly refuse to heed the warnings.
True, false prophets will also be heard; but the sheep know the voice of the ‘Good Shepherd’.
If wanting further confirmation punishment awaits those failing to heed what Heaven speaks, it is spelled out here, ‘ For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?' (2.2, 3
NIV). The import of these words is unmistakable, Hardening the heart to the voice of God not only incurs the penalty of
martyrdom in the ‘Great Tribulation’, it can even result in the loss of one’s salvation. (See Ps 81.11, Jer 7.14, Zech 7.11) THE WORD OF GOD AND TRIALS
In times of trial, the ‘word of God’ should become more precious, not less so; for these times are when the divine promises become burnt into the soul. As Peter reminds us, the
‘great and precious promises’ that ‘through these you may be partakers of the divine nature’ (2Pet 1.4). Promises. often largely theoretical and dormant until the catalyst of tribulation activates them. Surely, it is not hard to recognize trials are often the divine goads making you desperate to take hold of these ‘life-buoys’ and find them to be 'spirit and life' (Jhn 6.63).
It matters not if the trial is disappointment, grief, deprivation, opposition, or rejection; the 'word of God' in such times is a rich source of encouragement, strength, and peace. A
‘well’ of fresh life but also the sharp 'two-edged sword' able to pierce the 'thoughts and intents of the heart' (4.12). Hence, the instrument used by Heaven to plant fresh ‘seeds’ deep within (Cf.Jam 1.21). Yet, when the heart is deceitful, its state unknowable (Jer 17.9), it is the sharp ‘scalpel’ able to expose the carnal cravings, bad attitudes, and rotten reactions needing removal. Sharp enough, thankfully, to cut out the ‘cancers’ it finds.
Rejoice in your trials, then, and allow the living word of God to perform the ‘surgery’ it alone can do. To have a facade of ‘loveliness and sweetness’ may be popular but God is not interested in His children remaining ‘nice’. He desires ‘truth in the inward parts' (Ps 51.6) and genuine authenticity son any
‘fruits of the Spirit’ manifested are not the plastic imitations often seen on display. We are 'naked before him' (4.13) anyway, so wise up and submit to these divine ‘dealings’.
NOT A TIME TO DRAW BACK
Tribulation makes a believer either better or bitter. The pain and distress (especially from persecution) should spur them to draw closer to God to find 'grace to help in time of need' (4.16).
But it can do the opposite, making the temptation stronger to
‘draw back’ (10.39) from full commitment to the Lord. These Jewish believers were tempted to desert Christ and the way of the Cross to be ‘safe’ from persecution, and why Hebrews addresses the sin of apostasy in a major way. These warnings about the temptation to 'draw back' (10.38-39) are an important sub-theme of the book.
Now, as to apostasy being a feature of the endtimes, there is strong evidence for this in Christ’s Olivet discourse. He indicates this several times, specifically in saying, ‘ because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold’
(Matt 24.12) and His rhetorical question of, ‘ when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth’ (Lk 18.8).
The confirmation for this in the apostle Paul declaring Christ cannot return until there is a 'falling away first' (2Thes 2.3). In fact, almost all the last nine books of the canon indicate, either directly or indirectly, a disastrous lapse in faith at the end of the age. Peter the apostle even states it will be akin to a, ' dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire’ ( 2Pet 2.22 ). Sadly, many professing to follow the Lord now will not do so necessarily at the close of the age. In my view, this number will not be small, leaving little support for the doctrinal position many hold of ‘once saved always saved’.
This, then, is the reality: suffering and trials at the end will severely test the commitment and faithfulness of every believer.
Almost certainly, leaving more than a few fearful, hurt, and discouraged, with some in disgrace. Believers ruled by a craving for pleasure, comfort, and acceptance will find these trials extra hard to accept, especially when there is no escaping
the deprivation and persecution. And once carnal appetites are thwarted, then resentment can easily set in, particularly when demonic forces will, with flawed reasoning, influence such troubled thoughts. It will not be hard to imagine God has abandoned them, or worse still, He is unjust and merciless.
Making it easy in such a state of mind to withdraw allegiance to Christ.
HARDENING THE HEART
Others, angry and resentful but afraid to deny the Lord in ways attracting attention, will be tempted to ‘close their ears’
to the voice of God. But, like the Israelites, will become
‘hardened in…their hearts’ (3.15) and ‘ because of (the) unbelief' (3.19) which follows, struggle thereafter to remain faithful to the Lord. If you have a problem with ‘hearing’, please don’t do as Israel did. Or then gain, what many children do, that is, develop a sudden ‘deafness’ to ‘tune out’ the voice of their parents. Of course, they claim it's not rebellion, just inattentiveness!
To sum up: before the unbelief and inability to trust God, rebellion lurked in the hearts of Israel. And when faith comes from 'hearing the...word of God' (Rom 10.17), this stubborn refusal to listen to the ‘voice of God’ undermined any existing faith. Deafness starves faith of the nourishment it needs; making it not only unwise but dangerous to resist any ‘word’
God speaks. What is heard either in a time of private bible reading and prayer, or when delivered by a prophet, preacher, or teacher. If unbelief is a problem, ask yourself if disobedience is the root issue, and if so, turn away from it.
Otherwise, it will be that much more difficult to trust when it really counts.
Now, if you imagine resistance to the voice of God cannot take hold, think again. When the 'days of Noah' (Lk 17.26) and
‘Lot’ (Lk 17.28) resurface as Jesus predicted, rebellion against
God’s voice will become an attractive option. The resulting decay in morals and restraint as the world once more becomes,
‘ corrupt and filled with violence’ (Gen 6.11 -13), will challenge all, believers included. Especially when the reality is both the ungodly and godly have to endure this earlier
'perilous' (2Tim 3.1) time Jesus identified as the ‘beginning of the birth pangs’ (Matt 24.8 NIV) for the new age. And when the greek for ‘perilous’ is the word also for the ‘fierceness’
(Matt 8.28) the demoniacs demonstrated, this suggests psychotic violence and indecency will resurface.
Expect, then, to see more and not less violence, especially as the dark kingdom commissions stronger demons to wreak havoc upon the earth. What is witnessed now could seem tame to what evil will eventually ‘metastasize’ into—leaving many fearful, even terrified at what they behold. Of course, these same dark forces will then seek to take advantage of the chaos as they did with Peter and the other apostles during the dark
‘hour’ of Christ’s passion (Lk 22.31). Believers unable to cope with this time known as the ‘distress of the nations' (Lk 21.25), could well end up seriously disappointed and bitter, sufficiently disillusioned even to ‘drawback’ into apostasy.
Some lukewarm believers may listen to what God is saying in this time of upheaval, but their attempts to obey the ‘word of the Lord’ are likely to be feeble, at best. If the suffering continues or is severe, their slide into serious disenchantment will be much easier. ‘Half-hearted’ commitment is dangerous when it leads to carelessness in responding to what God says through His servants—in particular, words of correction. And if disenchantment spirals downward into the rejection of what Heaven is saying, now their eternal destiny is under threat.
Even more so if it leads to plummeting commitment to godly moral standards, followed by disobedience to other biblical commands. As to the number who go further to regard themselves as agnostic and discard all adherence to Christ’s
commands, this is unknown. As is the number who fully
‘drawback’ to end up antagonistic to the cause of Christ, with some ending up in the occult or religious cults.
The coming trials, then, will test every believer, especially if the trial is the bitter 'waters of Marah’ (Ex 15.23). It will require eternal vigilance to stop this ‘hardness of heart’ from taking root after drinking those ‘waters’. Bitterness and lawlessness—two reactions to suffering—are always a threat to the eternal destiny of believers, especially if they struggle with these already. Believers pursuing fame, fortune, and pleasure may not descend into outright apostasy but will certainly be tempted (like Esau) to settle for a ‘morsel of meat’ (12.15-16), often in the immoral escapades (possibly to relieve distress and unhappiness) believers are dabbling in already. This current
‘ love of pleasure’ (2Tim 3.4) has hooked many; yet whatever the reason, seeking to numb the pain in decadent pleasure only entraps. Now, not only the self-indulgent will struggle to remain faithful; so will those seeing as harsh and unjust the need to 'suffer affliction with the people of God' (11.25).
Finally, if anyone is in doubt about such a scenario, then the author’s warning not to ‘fail’ to take hold of ‘grace’ (12.15) to counter the threat bitterness poses should remove it. A warning that has this caveat; if not overcome, it can then infect children and other descendants. (12.15). '
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith...let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering' (10.22-23). This temptation to turn away from the Lord does not have to entrap if believers will ‘draw near’ to the throne of grace for the wounds suffered during this time of trial. Indeed, this must be the first line of defense, especially when it is clear tribulation works positive traits in the heart as nothing else can. In particular, the settled determination to hold on in faith.