“Cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished [ended].” What “warfare”? Israel’s punishment, her “appointed time” (KJV margin), her “time of service” (RSV footnote). In other words, Israel’s “warfare” is not merely a date but a period of time that terminates with a date.

The “appointed time,” or “time of service,” is the “double”; that is, it is the time period of Israel’s punishment, or sentence. A “double” is a fixed period of time having a beginning and an ending that correspond to a previous beginning and ending. The first part of the double was a period of favor of 1,845 years, and the second part of the double was a period of disfavor of equal length, or 1,845 years. The turning point in the double was the year AD 33, the middle of the 70th week. (Messiah was cut off in the midst of the last week of the 70-week prophecy in Daniel.) The 1,845-year period of favor began with the death of Jacob, for at that time, God began to deal with Jacob’s 12 sons as a nation (of 12 tribes). The blessing that had previously been on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob passed on to the 12 sons of Jacob. From Jacob’s death through AD 33 was the period of favor when God dealt directly with Israel and only with Israel out of all nations (Amos 3:2).

During the permission of evil, God has been exercising His great power of the universe with the one exception of planet Earth, where His power is exercised only within certain limits. For example, not one of the consecrated can die before it is his or her time. With regard to the public at large, God’s will is not recognized as being done on earth, yet He is aware of all that happens. When He reigns forever and ever, the exercise of His will on earth will be recognized.

It is profitable to think of this verse in two ways: despise not prophecy and despise not teachings. Especially here in this epistle, which contains a lot about prophecy, that thought should be included in the admonition. “Despise not instruction” is another way of expressing this verse, and the instruction includes heeding times and things in season for the end time. We should be particularly interested in prophecy about the end of the age because of the day in which we are living.

We should not neglect study or hearing the thoughts of elders. Since those who are given to works might neglect study, there is a danger in putting too much emphasis on works.

WHATEVER the character of the watching, and whatever the thing to be looked for, there can be no question that the exhortation to watch for an event whose precise time is not stated, implies that when the event does take place, the watching ones will know it. Watch, because ye know not, in order that at the proper time ye may know, is the thought; and the intimation clearly is, that those who do not watch will not know: that the events which are to be known in due time to the Watchers, will be recognized by them, and not recognized by others, at the time of accomplishment.

This, then, is the import of the days of Noah. As life continues its hectic pace with its eating and drinking, with its marrying and giving in marriage, it is a temptation for the Christian to be swept along in this current of events. Yet, Paul assures us in 1 Thessalonians 5:4, “But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” Continuing in verse 6, “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others but let us watch and be sober.”

Strong evidences around us of the fulfilling of many of the “end time” scriptures should keep us awake to the righteousness and the service of the Lord, for they indicate the fact of His presence and the imminence of his kingdom. Let us join with others to confirm our faith and let us be ever more alert to the work and activity of the greater-than Noah who is operating amongst us today.

WHOEVER fails to see that Moses and Israel and the Law were types fails of getting the real lesson out of them. Moses was not merely a type of Jesus; but as St. Peter explains, he was a type of the entire Church of Christ, of which Jesus is the Head—the Church of Glory. St. Peter’s words are, “Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me.”— Acts 3:22,23

It is because Christendom as a whole –though nominally a wheat field, is practically a tare field with a scattering of wheat intermingled, that there is to be such a commotion in connection with the separation of the wheat and the tares. True, the Lord who knoweth the heart, who knoweth them that are His, could easily separate them from the others, but He has chosen to make a separation publicly to demonstrate His own justice in the matter. Hence in this harvest time–at the proper time to separate the wheat from the tares–the Lord not only sends the sickle of Truth to gather the wheat, but He also sends the strong delusions to gather the tares.

Matthew 24 is called the “Lord’s Great Prophecy.” The chapter is jam packed with pertinent prophetic information for the Christian living in our day. His disciples asked him, what would be the sign of his coming [parousia--presence], and the end of the age. The answer he gives is far deeper and broader than even they could understand.