MATTERS of KNOWLEDGE

Well, as God's called, as the call of God in matters of knowledge... And by the way, if you want to know what the subject is in a title, I'll give it to you right away. Three words, matters of knowledge. Because that's what I'm going to talk about today, matters of knowledge. As God's called is the call of God in matters of knowledge. And I'm talking about the call of God, the ones of us that, you know, say we're called of God and responding to God and all of that.

If you believe a falsehood, even if you don't know it's a falsehood, won't God give you the opportunity to correct it? Three scriptures I want to turn to first. James 1, 17. And if I go a little bit faster, somebody just jot them down. James 1, verse 17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom is no variable in this, neither shadow of turning. So to repeat what I said starting off, as God's call, as the call of God in matters of knowledge. If you believe a falsehood, even if you don't know it's a falsehood, won't God give you the opportunity to correct it? He is the Father of lights.

Okay, second scripture, 1 John 1, 5. God deals in light. And it says in 1 John 1, verse 5, This then is the measure which we have heard of him, and declare to you that God is light. And of course, just a little bit different way of saying it than the way James said it. Is light, and in him is no darkness at all. He's full of light.

And if you look at 1 John here, 1 John 2, verse 21, And this verse serves as part of our guiding light in how we put our lives together to serve and worship God. I have not written to you, John said, because you know not the truth, but because you know it. And that no lie is of the truth.

And of course, when we say no lie is of the truth, that's part of the mantra or driving principle or law, however you want to word it, that keeps us out of Christmas and other things that are lies. So we understand that. God is a God of light. He's a God of truth. Okay, let's step out at the carnal, on call level. At the carnal, on call level, what would block the light? What would block the light? Now, let's go to John 1, verse 5.

At the carnal, on call level, what would block the light? John 1, verse 5. This statement is made, and the light shines in darkness. And the darkness, in the King James, the way it's worded, the darkness comprehends it not. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not. Now, it doesn't get it.

It doesn't recognize it as light, let's say. But there's another aspect at the carnal, on call level, and you find it mentioned in John 3, verses 19 through 20. John 3, verses 19 through 20. And this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world, and men loved what? Darkness. They don't want to be in the light. There's just a natural carnality to it, as far as a desire to do the things that have to do with darkness.

Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. They've developed affections for what is evil. For everyone that does evil hates the light. Neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be discovered, as it should be rendered in the Greek, be discovered. You know, people put up security systems. They put up motion lights. They put up lights and systems so that if it's dark around their house and somebody invades their property, it triggers the light.

The light comes on and they flee back into the darkness. And we certainly understand what is being said here. And of course, the God of this world, the spirit of the power, the air of disobedience, we understand all of that. But let's go back to the called. Let's go back to the called. There are some false concepts that the called could hold.

And again, I'm talking about matters of knowledge. I'm talking about issues of knowledge among God's people. And how people respond or don't respond or what they let it do to them or not do to them, because it's crucial in regards to matters of knowledge that things are processed properly.

I think we all understand that. But we need to understand, too, that there can be some false concepts that the called could hold that might or might not affect their personal salvation. Case in point, John 21. John 21. This is by the seashore. This is the breakfast time. This is when Christ has asked Peter, you know, three different times, do you love me? And we're very familiar with the account, a very popular, famous account. And so in John 21, we come down to verse 21. Peter, seeing him, says to Jesus, Lord, what shall this man do?

Now he's referencing John. He's referencing John, and he wants to know what's going to happen to John. Now notice the answer that Christ gives in verse 22. Jesus said to him, if, very important word, if I will, that he tarry or wait, or that is live, till I come. What is that to you? What is that to you, Peter? What I've told you that pertains to you, that pertains to you, but what is it to you if I should choose, if I should say to it that John lives until I come?

What is that to you? You follow me. Peter, you do what you're supposed to do. You follow me. Now notice verse 23. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, among the called, the brethren, that, do you know, that disciple is not going to die, say, until Christ returns. That that disciple should not die until Christ returns is what they were saying. And it became a common belief in the church that John will live till Christ returns.

And yet John, who was writing this in his 90s, in the 90s A.D., 60-something years after the event, this incident, John, who is writing this, says, yet Jesus didn't say to him, he shall not die. John could have written, Jesus didn't say to Peter that I wouldn't die. That's what he could have written. It means the same thing. Jesus said not to him, he shall not die, but if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you?

I want you to think about something. At the time John is writing this in the 90s A.D., most, if not practically all, who had believed that Christ would come back before John died, or that John would live until Christ came back, most, if not practically all, who had believed that were dead.

When John writes this, most of them, the few that would still be alive would have to be pretty old, wouldn't they? And they may have died believing this because most of them, who were dead by that point, John was still alive. He was an old aged man, the last of the original Apostles.

And so if somebody died in 89 A.D., 90 A.D., 91 A.D., John is alive. He's an old aged man. They could have died. Many of them probably died, still believing, well, Christ will be back before John dies. Think about it. But I want you to understand something else about that. That misunderstanding on their part did not and will not block them from the resurrection and the kingdom of God, will it?

They're still signed, sealed, and ready to be delivered at the resurrection. But in matters of knowledge, more serious issues of falsehood can and will block. Notice in 2 Timothy 2, verses 16 through 18. 2 Timothy 2, 2 Timothy 2, verses 16 through 18.

Paul writes Timothy, and he tells Timothy, he says in verse 16, But shun, avoid, profane and vain babblings. For they will increase unto more ungodliness, and their word will eat as does a canker, or like gangrene, of whom is Hymenaeus and Phileas. 2 of the called, 2 of the brethren, who, concerning the truth, have erred, saying that the resurrection is passed already. Hang it up, folks. Pull it all in. It's over. Done. You missed it. The resurrection is passed. There's no resurrection for you. You may as well eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow we die, and no chance of resurrection. I don't know every aspect of it, but they were teaching that the resurrection is passed already. Notice what Paul said about it, that it's false knowledge, and it rises to a level of utmost seriousness. Notice, and overthrow the faith of Psalm. You can't be in the kingdom without faith. You can't please God without faith. You lose all faith. You have your faith busted, whatever. Okay, that's it. Overthrow the faith of Psalm. What role? Now, that happened then. Of course, nobody's faith in our day and time ever gets overthrown, does it? I wish I could say that that would be a true statement, that nobody's faith ever gets overthrown. But one of the sadnesses is, I see people's faith get overthrown. Sometimes I have to deal with people who have let their faith be overthrown. I have to deal sometimes with people who aberrate away from the truth in matters of knowledge, because they get caught up in false knowledge that is a salvation issue. But I might go on to say, what role do we often play in the issue of matters of knowledge, in terms of not having more light? I like the light. I want the light. I pray to God to give me more light. I pray for God's life and light in Christ Jesus to increase. I pray for that. I trust you do, too. We want the light to increase.

But what role do we often play in the issue of matters of knowledge, in terms of not having more light? Because sometimes, I sometimes deal with someone where the light is not growing brighter with them. It's growing dimmer. So sometimes, what can play into that? What can play into not seeing through certain falsehoods or inaccurate concepts?

Well, here in this chapter, chapter 2 of Timothy, I read 16 through 18. But look at what came before that statement by Paul. Look at verse 15. Study to show yourself approved to God a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. I can tell you for a fact that Hymenaeus and Philetus did not practice verse 15. They did not practice it. And I can tell you for a fact that those who listened to them and followed them in that aberration, and that serious apostasy issue who followed them, did not practice verse 15. Do we sometimes fail to properly connect the dots? Do people fail to do their part to properly connect the dots, so the light can grow brighter and brighter versus getting dimmer and dimmer or staying dim? Well, notice Isaiah 28, verses 10 through 13. Again, I'm going back to something that has been a part of my foundational, fundamental understanding ever since I was a very young man. Isaiah 28, verses 10 through 13. You know, we have understood this, haven't we? We've understood that God says in verse 10, for a precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line. Hear a little, hear a little, hear a little, hear a little, for with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people to whom He said, This is the rest wherein you may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing, yet they would not hear. Notice verse 13, But the word of the Lord was unto them, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line. Hear a little, hear a little, that they might go and fall backward and be broken and snared and taken. We understand it's not the day of salvation for the whole world, but for those few that God calls out that's called firstfruits. But I learned long ago that, okay, if you want to study the Sabbath or you want to study any other subject, you can't turn it to just one place in the Bible and that gives you the Psalm total on that subject. There's material on that subject over there and over there and over there and over there and you pull it together. And we know that if we go shopping, if your wife goes shopping and she goes to Kroger and Publix and Walmart and has three different receipts and come in and you say, Honey, how much did the groceries cost? And she gives you the Walmart receipt and says, Here it is. And you look and say, Well, that's not too bad, but it's false. Do you have a Kroger receipt? Do you have a Publix receipt? Oh, well, there are a whole lot more than I thought. You know, and that's the way it is when you search out the doctrines and all. Do we fail to properly connect the dots? Sometimes people do. They can fail or fall short of seeking, that is, working for the light. Then there's something else that can cause the light to dim or stay dim and not grow brighter. And that is, and when I say we, again, I'm talking about the called. I'm talking about those who are called to the truth, given opportunity to know the truth and the light.

We can think too highly of ourselves and our opinion. Now, read with me Romans 12 and verse 3. Because, again, I'm dealing with issues and matters of knowledge. And we are involved with knowledge. We're involved with opportunity for knowledge. And we are told to grow in knowledge.

But in Romans 12, and I know this applies so much to the fact that over the years, someone will think they found new truth and they will try to push it. Because I've got new truth. I'm seeing something nobody else sees and I've got to share it. Oh, you're not going to listen to me? You're not going to take it on you? You're not going to teach it? You're not going to believe it? You're not going to follow it? I'm out of here. I'll go start my own group or I'll be a congregation of one.

Notice verse 3, For I say through the grace given to me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, and to think soberly, seriously, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith, but not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.

Okay, what does it mean to think too highly of ourself? Thinking too highly of oneself automatically means that we think too highly of what we think.

You know, we think too highly of what we think. You know, we have these thoughts, maybe nobody else has them. We've got them. We've come up with this. We've come up with that. Or we think, oh, I'm the greatest think tank, so to speak, around, blah, blah, blah. Thinking too highly of ourself means we think too highly of what we think.

We think too highly of our own opinions. Well, this is the way I see it. This is the way it's got to be. Everybody's got to buy into this. I have this special insight. I have this special inspiration from God. So, you know, if you want to do what's right in Godly, you've got to buy into this with me. You know, the more this is the case, the less we're open to information that might alter our stance.

Think about that for a moment. The more that's the case... And folks, I'm talking from the pages of what I have to deal with a lot of times and have over the years in my ministry. And the more that's the case, the less the person is open to information that might alter their stance, because they don't want their stance altered. Notice 1 Corinthians 8, 1.

1 Corinthians 8 and verse 1. Paul says, now as touching things offered to idols, and we won't get into that today, he says we know that we all have knowledge. Well, obviously, if you're the called and your mind's been opened, you are positioned to be able to receive knowledge and to grow in knowledge. But notice the warning that Paul puts on it. Knowledge puffs up.

It's not that it has to. It's not that it's automatically said that it will do that. But it's a warning. Knowledge puffs up. And the more that is the case, the more that knowledge does puff up, the more that a person falls prey to letting the knowledge they have, whatever measure and amount it is, puff them up. The more that's the case, the less they will subject their views to others' input.

The less they will say, hey, I'd like to run something by you. I'd like to use you as a sounding board. I'd like to bounce this off you, off your head. I'd like to get your input. I'd like to say, you know, maybe I'm not seeing this exactly right, or maybe I'm overlooking something. Maybe I'm off base, but I would like you to look at this. If I'm off base, show me, help me, tell me, because I don't want to get off track.

The more the knowledge of whatever that they've come to or think they've come to, the more that they let even good knowledge, accurate knowledge, if they'll allow themselves to mishandle it and get puffed up, the less they will be subject to subjecting their views to others' input. 1 Peter 5, 5. Again, when Peter writes 1 and 2 Peter, he's on his death watch, so to speak. He knows that his martyrdom is close to hand. And he's writing the things he writes in these two little epistles, these letters, that are extremely important to him, to the church, to what needs to be done.

And he addresses the elders in 1 Peter 5. He's addressing the elders. And he says in verse 5, and he's addressing all the elders, all the way from the youngest to the oldest. And he says in verse 5 of 1 Peter 5, Likewise, you younger submit yourselves to the elder, to the older ones. Yes. And then notice what he says, All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility. See, that fits in. If that's practiced, that fits in with Proverbs 27 and 17.

Proverbs 27 and 17. Iron sharpens iron. So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Iron sharpens iron. And it fits in with the statement, and there's three places where it's stated in Proverbs. Proverbs 11.14. Proverbs 11 and verse 14. It fits in with the statement of setting yourself in the midst of a multitude of counselors. Proverbs 11.14. Where no counsel is, the people fall. But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety. Letting your knowledge, letting what you think you know, or let's say letting new knowledge you think you have, whatever, being willing to subject it to others' input.

But in the multitude of counselors, there is safety. And then chapter 15 and verse 22 says, without counsel, purposes are disappointed. But in the multitude of counselors, they are established. And of course, the third one in chapter 24 and verse 6. Chapter 24 and verse 6. For by wise counsel, you shall make your war. And I have emphasized in the past how we're all in war, a spiritual war. Just like our nation's in a war right now. A lot of people don't realize what's truly going on in our nation. It's at war. The remainder of what's left a moral compass and corruption at odds with each other and at war.

We ourselves, as the call, living in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation that gets worse every year. We are in a spiritual warfare. And we have a prime enemy that does not want us to succeed with God. And it wants to turn the light out. And he can't do it without our cooperation. And I don't intend to cooperate with him. But 24 and verse 6. Again, multitude of counselors.

You know, to the degree...and here's the bottom line on knowledge puffing up. Here's the bottom line on thinking too highly. And where these things lead to the degree that self will. To the degree that stubbornness. To the degree that pride are present. To that degree, they are in the way and they will block the light. To the degree that self will and stubbornness and pride are present. To that degree, the humility that's needed for growth and development, for learning, is not there. And it will turn the lights out.

See, a false concept may develop off of something that is not a lie. A false concept may develop off of something that is not a lie. If you look at that account in John 21 verses 21 through 23 that we read, there is no lie here with Christ. There is no lie. Christ simply deals with Peter's approach, with his attitude and his question, with one of the tactics that Christ always used, that is, with a question. He simply deals with Peter's approach, Peter's attitude, and Peter's question with a question.

If it's my will that John not die till I come, what's that to you, Peter? See, the brethren took it and they made something out of it that Christ did not say. The brethren generated a falsehood, a false concept, a perception, and an accurate idea. If the brethren generated that and believing such, guess what? If you lived at that time and you came into the church, you were new and it was 40 AD, and you came into the church, and into the Jerusalem church, let's say, started attending, you were called, you responded, it's 40 AD, you're attending the Jerusalem church, and John comes visiting, and a member says, John, the Apostle John, John right there.

Christ told him he wouldn't die until Christ had come back. That's false. It's a false concept that the brethren got started. And then the person who said that, five years later, you're attending their funeral, guess what? That belief in their mind won't keep them out of the resurrection. It's not a salvation deal breaker. It won't keep them out of the resurrection. And again, in fact, most who originally believed that died while John was still alive. Some would have died with that belief still in mind. And that belief, though it's not accurate, did not keep them from doing the right thing. Think of this.

It didn't keep them from worshiping God. It didn't keep them from obeying God. It didn't keep them from keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days and staying clean of paganism. It didn't keep them from doing a work. It didn't keep them from obeying and worshiping God. Because it did not rise to the level of a deal breaker. But this is totally different from false concepts, from false ideas, false understandings, lack of understandings, that one allows that causes one to cause division and to cause separation that scatters the fellowship.

That is a horse of a totally different color, we might say. See, false concepts can be deadly. Deceptive, divisive, and destructive. The two that said, resurrection is past, folks. Give it up. Hang it up. Just go have fun. Do what you want. It doesn't matter. You've lost out. That was a false concept that rose to the level of division and scattering. Paul doesn't say how many or how few there were. But that deception, that divided, that was destructive, that scattered.

And that caused some folks to go back into sin, to go back into whatever they had come out of. It caused them to leave. That led to disobedience and to go against God, maybe without fully realizing it. But definitely an absolute to go against God. See, the point is, and again, you're dealing with matters of knowledge. And in matters of knowledge, not all inaccuracies. You know, there are people, and again, you'd be surprised what I have to deal with sometimes.

There are some people that want every T crossed and every I dotted, and if every T is not crossed and I dotted, oh, we can't have that. If I said, look at that pine forest over there. And a person says, well, look, I've been in that pine forest. You can't just say a pine forest.

You've got to say, look at that pine forest with an oak tree in it. Because I've been in that forest, and there's an oak tree right out there in the middle of that. And, too, there's a sweet gum, and there's an elm, and there's an aspen. Well, it wouldn't be an aspen, but, you know, a willow. So you can't say, if you stand up and you say, well, look at that pine forest over there.

That's not exactly accurate. You can't say it that way. You've got to say, look at that pine forest with an oak tree in it, a sweet gum, and a elm. And there's some folks like that. And the problem with that is they can get very legalistic. They can get stressed out. They can major in the minors. And that's a small issue, yes. But it can also make them reject truth because you've not crossed that T. Just like if you got a letter from a dear friend, and you noticed in the letter they did not cross any of their Ts.

I'm not reading this letter. They didn't cross their Ts. I'm not reading this letter. You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't let the Ts not cross because you'd have to throw the letter away. But there are some people that would. Again, there are different and various issues in matters of knowledge. All of the apostles, including Paul, think about this, obviously believed initially that Christ was returning in their lifetime. All you've got to do is read the Gospels, read the Scriptures, read their writings, to see and realize that every single one of them believed that Christ was returning in their lifetime. Now, obviously, eventually, they realized that that was not so.

They held a concept that wasn't accurate. It wasn't a deal breaker. It wasn't a salvation issue. It was a timing thing, but they came to realize it wasn't accurate. Let me ask this. Do people tend to live with a greater sense of urgency when they feel times are imminent? Sure, they do. Have you felt a greater sense of urgency this year? I have. I've absolutely felt a greater sense of urgency.

I've come... I went to the feast with a sense of urgency. I've come back with a sense of urgency. Yeah, sure, that's just natural. Do people tend to slack off when it seems that times will go on? Sure, they do.

It is interesting. I went to Ambassador College in 1968, and my class was told we might be the first class that wouldn't graduate from the college, that we might be, quote, fleeing to a place of safety before we finished out that school year, you know, primarily in the spring of 72. That Christ might come back. It never said that this is what will happen.

It was this might be. But there was a very strong feeling, and those of you that have been in the church a long, long time know that there was a very, very strong feeling, that it could all wrap up in the 1970s. And, of course, from the time that the work went forth under Mr. Armstrong, the revitalizing of the church, the work, and all, there was a great sense of mission. There was a great sense of urgency. And it was push, push, push. We who've lived through it know what I'm talking about. Same thing happened with the early church in the New Testament.

Anyhow, my brother Gary was relating how a man that he knew, as they were coming into the 1990s, said, if such and such didn't happen by, like, 91 or 92, I'm out of here. When things didn't, when things, the church did not flee, then we also saw the effects of those who had come in on an escape mentality basis. The urgency was gone with some, and over the years of the 80s and into the 90s, and, of course, then with the apostasy in the 90s, and this also fed into it. But they just, oh, there's more time. It's not going to wrap up. It may even be beyond my lifetime, so I'm back out there, and I'll do what I want to, kind of, but I'll keep an eye.

Guess what's happening right now in some of our congregations across the land? We've got some people making contact with us, who were with us back in the years when they came, quote, in the church to escape the Great Tribulation. Guess what? They're checking us out again, because they're scared, and they're afraid, some of them are afraid, that maybe the Great Tribulation is about to begin, and they don't want to get caught in it.

But the mentality is still fear, escapism. Anyway, we understand how these things work on the carnal human level, but we can't be susceptible to that, or that is, we have to fight against that, and we have to overcome that. You know, I said, I grew up believing in the church that I'd never get old in this age. That Christ would be back before maybe even my kids would be college age. Well, it didn't happen. And now, I am getting older. And here, a few years ago, I began to accept the fact that, I mean, just thinking about it, that maybe Christ would, it might be past my lifetime when He would come back. And I still know that it could be past my lifetime before Christ comes back.

But after this year, I'm beginning to think again that it may not be past my lifetime, because things are moving, and they're moving with potential things to come into place now that couldn't have come into place in the 70s. But anyhow, go back to those years. Early church, New Testament, New Testament, early church. Did some fade away in their time? You betcha. When Christ didn't come back, as soon as some of them thought, they faded. Have some faded away in our time? Absolutely. Again, the early original apostles did not truly and fully understand everything, but it wasn't a deal breaker. It wasn't a salvation issue, because they stayed faithful to God.

But let me illustrate something else. The early original apostles did not truly and fully understand. Maybe you don't either. And I didn't for a time. I'll just share something with you, and it's a good example. The early original apostles did not truly and fully understand the comprehensive scope of Christ's statement in Matthew 24.34. This is a good illustration. And again, it goes back to, rightly divide the Bible. Line upon line, precept upon precept. Hear a little, there a little. Connect the dots. Connect the dots.

Okay, Matthew 24.34. Barely I say to you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.

Okay, it's the disciples. It's James, John, Peter. The disciples, the rest of them, they're addressing Christ. They're asking questions. They want to know about the end of the age. And Jesus is talking to them about the end of the age. And he makes this statement to them. He says, truly I say to you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Now, they automatically took it that he met them. This generation. Peter, James, John, they're standing there. We're this generation. He's saying, we won't pass.

Our generation won't pass until all these things are fulfilled. That's how they took it. But is that what he fully met? Or is that only what he met? Or did he mean that? Is that what he meant? Well, first of all, we know that prophecy oftentimes is dual. We know that there was a lesser or prior fulfillment or type of fulfillment with Judea, with the destruction of the temple, the ransacking of Jerusalem, the burning ransacking of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple, and all in 70 A.D. and the scattering of the church. We understand that, don't we?

And that's a type of what is coming. But I want you to look carefully. This generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled. And I want you to connect the dots by connecting the dot that connects with this, Psalm 22.30. Psalm 22. When Christ made that statement, He was very aware of what He had inspired to be written in Psalm 22 and verse 30.

A seed shall serve Him. If that seed shall be accounted to the Lord for what? A generation. That's what He's referencing. This generation, to the Lord, a seed shall serve Him. And if that seed shall be counted for a generation? What is that seed that serves Him? That's the church. That's the ecclesia. That's the called-out ones. That's the spiritual seed which is continuing to go on. You are spiritual seed. You carry God's spirit, you're spiritual seed.

You're the church. You're ecclesia. You're called-out ones, which is continuing to go on, which is still in process. It says, shall serve Him. And again, it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. The church is that seed. It's that spiritual seed. The church is that generation that shall not pass. You want another dot to connect with it? Matthew 16, 18. Matthew 16, verse 18. Christ said, And I say to you that you are Peter, Patreous, Littlestone, Little Rock, Pebble, and upon this rock, Petra, I will build my church.

And the gates of hell, or the grave, or that is death, shall not prevail against it. The church is that generation that shall not pass. He established it there in 31 A.D., the Pentecost. It's existed ever since. It is existing. It has existed through the prior fulfillments, lesser fulfillments, types, like the destruction of Jerusalem and all. It's existed ever since. It's existing now. It will exist right up, in and through. And in fact, there will be a very... I don't know what the size will be. How many? How few? I don't know. But there will be a section, a faithful section of the church, of the seed, the generation preserved in a place of safety during the Great Tribulation.

And there will be some of that seed in the Great Tribulation, having to come to truly deep repentance so they can be in the resurrection. But it exists. He says it shall not die or pass. And when Christ said in Matthew 28, 20, I am with you always to the end of the age, end of the world. It's another statement of continuity.

Now, his statement, this generation shall not pass, can it apply to that generation of Peter's name in terms of the application to the duality of a lesser fulfillment or a type of fulfillment that would occur in Judea and all? Sure. Sure, it can apply in that way. But is that exclusively the application? No. But again, connecting the dots. And frankly, Peter had to have known or should have known that the age would go past or outlast him. I mean, should he have known that the age was going to go past him? Well, go back to John 21. See, here's the thing.

There can be knowledge there that's overlooked. There can be knowledge that's not addressed. There can be understanding and light that is not seen for a variety of reasons. But in John 21, here's what Christ told Peter before Peter said, well, what about John? Christ tells him in verse 18, John 21. 18, "...truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and you walked where you wanted to. But when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, you're going to hold out your hands, and another's going to gird you, they're going to bind you, and they're going to carry you where you would rather not go.

This he spoke signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me. What he's telling him, Peter, you're going to be martyred. You're not going to die natural death. You're not going to die naturally in your bed. You're going to die a martyrdom death. So Peter obviously should have known, just for that alone, that the age was going to go on past him.

And they did not fully comprehend the full extent of what was involved in the prophecy of Matthew 24-14. And if you look at Matthew 24-14, this prophecy here, one that we, in a sense, cut our spiritual eye teeth on, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.

They didn't fully...I'm not saying they didn't comprehend, you know, sufficiently to be about their father's business. What I'm saying is they did not fully comprehend the full extent of what was involved with that. There had to be at least some measure of false or inaccurate perceptions. Obviously, if they believed Christ was coming back in their lifetime, which they did for a time, then they had to believe that they would fulfill this prophecy.

That makes sense. That's just logical. That's just adding 1 plus 1 and coming up with 2, because the end couldn't come. Christ couldn't return until the gospel had gone to the whole entire world as a witness, because they knew Amos 3, 7. The Lord would do nothing except He warned, makes it known through His prophets.

They understood that. They understood the spiritual principles. The reality is that in their day as well as ours, as well as all the time in between, going to the world in the fullness of what Matthew 24, 14 is talking about has not yet been fully done. There's going to be a while before it's fully done, and that is simply the simple, accurate reality. But here's the interesting thing, and this is maybe the most important. Their lack of understanding on certain aspects did not in any way adversely affect their worship of God and obedience to Him. Did it? It didn't generate any division. It didn't generate any scattering of the flock.

It did not weaken the church. It did not weaken its work. It did not block or diminish their chances for the resurrection. It did not adversely affect their salvation. There was no light-blocking issue of, again, pride, vanity, ego, arrogance, and self-righteousness. They're not having every T crossed or I dotted. Do you know that sometimes we have people leave the fellowship of the body because the T's aren't crossed, the I's aren't dotted, or they come up with their own idea, and it becomes such a major issue in their thinking, and they think so highly of their opinion and their thoughts and what they have discovered that their mind is closed to anything that you can add to try to help them and save them from scattering themselves from the flock.

And again, it's sad, but it gets into pride and vanity and ego and arrogance, and it does block salvation. See, when you talk about pride and arrogance and self-will, those are the things that get in the way of salvation. Those are the things that cause separation and scattering. And it'd be nice if I could say, oh, over the years, you know, with the church and with a congregation and with brethren, I've never seen any of that.

I've never had to deal with any of that. You know, I'm a stranger to that. No, I'm a veteran. I wish I weren't. I wish I didn't have to be. And sometimes you just simply can't save people from themselves. You know, these are the things that do cause division and loss of fellowship. These are the things that God hates. Notice Proverbs 6. Proverbs 6. You know, here in Proverbs 6, beginning in verse 16, 16 through 19, it says, These six things says, Lord, hate.

And let's add one more. He says, Yes, yea, seven. Or an abomination to Him, a proud look, because He can't work with that. A lying tongue, because, boy, the damage that lies will do. And hands that shed innocent blood. A heart that devises wicked imaginations. Feet that be swift and running to mischief, because they have an affinity for it. A false witness that speaks lies. And, boy, that's something. You know, false witness is something that does a tremendous amount of damage. And notice, He that sows discord among brethren. What happens when you sow discord among brethren?

You start putting wedges in. You start causing division. You start breaking people away from each other. You know, I take to heart Jeremiah 23.1, because I take it that this is a direct warning to me not to be guilty of this that God hates.

Jeremiah 23.1, woe be to the pastors. And I don't want my name put in there. I take it as a warning. I take it as something, don't do this. Don't be a part of that. Don't feed into that. Don't factor into that. Woe be to the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, says the Lord.

That's deadly ground to be on. And I look back over the years and I've seen divisions and I've seen scatterings and I've seen so much how they were the fruits and effects of pride and arrogance and self will. See, the Apostle Paul, James, Peter, John, they never had those fruits. They never generated those effects. Their understandings, or in some cases, maybe lack of understanding at the time, did not generate those facts.

It did not hurt. It did not diminish their personal spiritual functioning. And let me ask you this. Did Paul, did James, did John, did Peter, they all, at least from what we know and understand from the records that we can know from, they were basically all murdered and dead, with the exception of John, by the time that Jerusalem was destroyed. Maybe a couple of them were alive until after that point. But let's just say by somewhere around 70 A.D., they were gone. You know, Paul was martyred in the 60s. Peter evidently was. They were gone.

When did God give the book of Revelation to John to write down in the 90s A.D.? James, John, Peter, Paul. They didn't know about the book of Revelation. Now, the things that are in there, you find them in prophecies in the Old. Did they know about the things that were in there? Well, yeah. But did they have the same level of understanding of the things that were in there that John did, who was given to it?

But guess what? One of the things that's mentioned in the book of Revelation is how the final witness to the world will be given by the two witnesses in Revelation 11. It's the two witnesses that will give the grand finale of the witness before the day of the Lord begins. Now, Paul didn't know about the two witnesses from the writing of Revelation, because he was long dead by the time Revelation was written. But Paul did know Zechariah 4, 11-14, and he did know Malachi 4, verses 5 and 6, and he did know the prophecies of 2 to stand up, of an Elijah to come, and 2 to stand up before the whole world.

He did know that. So I'm not saying he wasn't aware of a witness that was coming, but I'm saying that John had additional information and knowledge that they would not have had to the same degree, because he outlived them by basically 30-something years. Here's a crucial point to keep in mind when you think about matters of knowledge. Here's a crucial point to keep in mind. This is a point that can be or become a salvation issue.

And that point is this. In matters of knowledge, never let what you don't know get in the way of what you do know.

Don't you think about that for a moment? Never allow what you don't yet know get in the way of what you do know.

To put it just slightly differently, never let what you don't yet know adversely affect what you do know.

And again, I'll reword it a little bit differently. Never let what you are currently wondering about and searching out keep you from applying, living, and obeying what you do know. That's how you keep progressing in the light. That's how you keep from dimming the lights or from turning them down. This is how you keep the light alive and you keep progressing in it. Never let what you are currently wondering about and searching out keep you from applying and living and obeying what you do know.

It's like, okay, is there anything ever that we wonder about? Well, what's the answer to this? What does this Scripture mean? Well, there's an area that I just don't know about. I'm trying to figure out. Fine. Do you always, always have all of your questions? Is there anybody at any given time who thinks, well, anything and everything that I would like to know, want to know, feel I should know, I know. No, we're all continuing to search and reach and study. But as we wonder about, well, what does this Scripture mean? Or how does God view this area? Or what does God expect of me here? While you are searching that out and thinking on it and studying, even if it's over a year or years, don't quit doing what you know to be doing in matters of knowledge and applying, because that way the light continues to burn and will burn brighter and God will lead you more and more. But any time one is generating or participating in division and scattering, that person is spiritually malfunctioning and that person is spiritually off base and the fruits of division and scattering. Testify and bear witness to that. Certain lackings of understanding, certain gaps in knowledge, certain questions and wonderings, again, if handled and processed properly, without adverse effect on personal spiritual operation, are not salvation issues. But pride is a wedge. Arrogance is a wedge. Stubborn self-will is a wedge. It splits. It divides. And sometimes there are those who purposely will use those things for that very purpose to wedge and split.

Pride was created by the devil. Pride is not part of God's makeup. There is no pride in God's makeup. There's no vainness. There's no egotism in God's makeup. It's just not there. It's not in Michael's makeup. It's not in Gabriel's makeup. But Satan created it and helped to generate it and use it as a wedge with the angels. And he's practiced that down through time with people, with the church. You know, I came to realize years ago I can have questions about some things.

And you know, have you ever gone to a circus and you're walking along and you're looking at the games they've got set up, a county fair, whatever? And here's a game where there's a board over there and they've got the prizes over there and you see what you have a chance to win. And there's hooks on this board and you've got rings and you throw the rings and try to hook one, you know? Well, when I've got a question about something, you know what a question mark looks like, don't you?

Reverse it, flip it, you make a hook out of it. When I've got a question about something, I just flip it and make a hook. And I file it there in the back of my mind. Sometimes a year goes by, sometimes six weeks, sometimes six years. And all of a sudden one day I realize what the answer is to that question. It gets hooked. God hooks the answer on that question mark that I've got flipped upside down to make a hook.

He hangs it on. I say, oh, that is... Oh, how did I miss... How did I not see that? And it's not a salvation issue and it won't keep you out of the resurrection. Is knowledge important? Is understanding important? Absolutely. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, it says in Hosea 4.6. We understand that. Peter said, signed off by saying, grow in the grace and knowledge. Knowledge, grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is important. Yeah, but what did Paul say? He said, I show you a more excellent way.

And of course, we know that more excellent way that he speaks of. He says, I show you a more excellent way. He says there in 1 Corinthians 12.31. And then he goes into what's called the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. And again, you connect the dots. You look at what's the more excellent way. You look at what really counts with God and what keeps you on the road to salvation. I myself personally accept the reality that in this life, I may never know all that I want to know. Now, I'll tell you this. I'm a seeker. I'm a seeker of knowledge. I'm a seeker of understanding. I'm a seeker of truth.

Every day, I pray to God to help me to learn, to realize, to live, to grow, to develop, to serve, to share, to relate, and to keep increasing. But I also accept at the same time that in this life, I may never know all that I want to know. But I've got eternity. I've got eternity. And as long as something doesn't become a deal breaker, a salvation deal breaker, then don't worry about it. Obviously, there are some issues like the two Paul talked about.

Those are salvation issues. But not everything is a salvation issue. And maybe I could be holding a false concept on something or a false premise. And if it's a salvation matter, in due time, the Father of the lights, through Christ, He will reveal it to me. And I say, oh, okay. I had a false idea there. I had a false concept.

Okay. Throw that one out. Put that one on the junk pile. That doesn't belong. But don't let me, I say to myself, don't let me fall into pride. Don't let me fall into self-will and stubbornness. Don't let me fall into self-righteousness. Don't let me fall into, oh, I have a special insight with God. And I know truth.

All the rest of you don't know. And you either buy into this with me, or you're going to be lost. Don't let me fall into that. Because those are the things that would separate me from the body and possibly affect others. And again, so many times over the years, sadly, I've seen too many rise up in pride and arrogance and cause division and splitting. And to this day, I'm thankful to God that He has given me the light to see what to practice, not to fall prey to that.

So far, I have not come under the condemnation of Jeremiah 23.1, and I want to do my best never to come under that condemnation.

Brethren, increase in knowledge, increase in light, and walk further and further into knowledge and understanding and light with a thankful heart and a humble heart. And use that light in the right way, with the right attitude, that knowledge the right way, and the right attitude to draw you closer to the light and closer to God. Now, let's increase in knowledge. Let's actively pursue knowledge. But again, let us most importantly evolve and pursue Godly, spiritually mature operation in all matters of knowledge.