Losing It!
We've probably all heard it said of someone elderly who is forgetting things, "He's starting to lose it".
Unfortunately, this phrase can also be applied to former FR listeners and "true believers" who in the past were blessed to hear the true gospel of the Bible and to give intellectual assent and belief of it-as well as giving much outward appearance of following it.
I've been around for a while now. I remember my family and I attending Philadelphia/NJ area Bible studies in the days leading up to September 1994 – in jam packed homes where it was hard to find a seat.
I also remember packed Bible conferences at Tuscarora and Towson. FR Banquets and Days in the Word where the room was full of people. And especially the last few years leading up to the date of May 21, 2011. Delco fellowship was also jammed packed.
During these 30+ years I've also seen a lot of people go away from the same gospel that they were once attracted to and professed to believe. At times I was stunned that people who I had talked to and was sure they were "true believers" not only went away from the truths the Lord had graciously opened up to the understanding of His people at the time of the end-but actually became hostile towards them.
Why is this? Why did these who in agreement we walked together with go in a backwards direction? Why did they go back to the world? Or why did they return to the church-the same church that they themselves had long witnessed was a dead church and under the judgment of God? Why did they return to former doctrines? What was happening? How was it possible they were losing the truth they once seemed to have?
These things disturbed me for a while. Until I saw the reason for them in the Bible.
The Bible reveals that in the time of God's judgment one of the judgments upon unsaved people who clung by flatteries to the name of Christian or who associated themselves so closely with the true gospel that they became identified with the title of a "true believer" was-God taking away the truths from them which they seemingly once understood:
Matthew 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be TAKEN AWAY even that he hath.
The context of the verse above makes it absolutely clear that the thing taken away from them is understanding of the mysteries or parables of the Bible. That is, right understanding of the hidden things of God are taken from them. And since God opened the Scriptures at the time of the end and revealed the things that had been sealed to that point – it is not surprising that it is this information of the Bible's deep things that these dear poor people are losing.
The verse in Matthew 13:12 does not indicate a time when the taking away of understanding parables will happen. But other Scriptures do tell us when this takes place:
Matthew 25:19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
Of course, this verse is telling us of Christ's second coming. And the reckoning with the servants is a reference to Judgment Day itself.
Matthew 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be TAKEN AWAY even that which he hath.
The talent represents the understanding of the right and deep things of the Bible. It is in the time of the final judgment that the proper understanding of truth is removed from the sinner.
We should also note that the elect (the one with ten talents) was given the talent which increased his total-also in the time of the final judgment. This ties in with the people of God continuing to learn more and more (the revelation) of God's righteous judgment program in these days after May 21, 2011.
In the gospel of Luke we read another account wherein a nobleman (Christ) goes into a far country (heaven) to receive a kingdom (all the elect) and then returns once He received it.
Upon the return of the nobleman he also requires his servants to give account of their stewardship regarding the pounds (understanding of the parables) entrusted to them:
Luke 19:20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin:
21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.
22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow:
23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)
26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be TAKEN AWAY from him.
We see once again the taking away of the pound ties in with what Jesus said in Matthew 13:12 "but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath". And to reiterate once more, the context of Matthew 13's statement was Jesus answering the question "Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?"
The taking away of the talent is the taking away that which "he hath" we were told. But if the man had it – how could it be taken away from him? How could he lose it?
We know that once God saved a sinner that man is eternally saved. And you cannot lose a new born again soul because it has been made alive and the gift of eternal life has been bestowed upon you. In other words, it is impossible for a man to lose salvation (eternal life) because if he did lose it then he never would have had eternal life. Eternal life means just that – to live forever. Once received by the grace of God through the faith of Christ (Ephesians 2:8,9) it can never be lost.
Well then, what are we to make of those who once "had" understanding but now have it no longer? Right understanding is gone from them. Does God take away truth from those truly saved? Does He take away proper understanding of the deeper spiritual things of the Bible from His elect people?
No – not at all. Although, we would say it is possible for a very aged man to lose memory and lose understanding of certain doctrinal matters due to advanced age-or dementia.
But the things we have been seeing with fairly sizeable numbers of former "true believers" is not due to old age or dementia. All, or mostly all, of them have their minds working the same as in the past. The turning from truth we have seen is not a matter of forgetfulness or old age –
it is a spiritual matter related primarily to deep truths of the Bible opened up at the time of the end.
The conclusion we must come to concerning this loss of right understanding – is that these dear poor people had never become saved. They possessed intellectual understanding of the true gospel. They acknowledged its truthfulness in their minds and were attracted to it for various reasons that only God knows and understands.
The Lord used these people at the time for various purposes to accomplish His will in getting the gospel out to all the world in order that the great multitude be saved. So, men and women in intellectual agreement gave of their time and resources to the effort. Some very zealously.
But all the while they were never saved. They went to Bible studies, and Days in the Word, FR banquets, Bible conferences – along with God's elect.
They gave their money to support the getting out of the gospel. They went on overseas tract trips. They went on project caravan travelling the country. Etc., etc.
And when the day finally came. They started returning back to former doctrines. Former places (church/world). They went back as Orpah returned from Naomi (Ruth 1:14). They looked back forgetting God's admonition of Lot's wife (Luke 17:28-32). They went back to Egypt as the Israelites had done in their hearts (Acts 7:39). Mindful of that country from which they came out-they seized upon the opportunity to return (Hebrews 11:15).
In the Bible, backward is most always (if not always) the wrong way to go. God's elect press on. We go forward through the Red sea. We press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The backward direction is for reprobates unfit for God's kingdom:
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
In the gospel of Luke, in a parallel chapter to Matthew 13, we read:
Luke 8:17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
We can see that secret things (mysteries – i.e., parables) are in view. We also see that God is warning once again to the one who "hath not" that what he had been given in understanding the parables (1 talent/pound) or spiritual meanings or hidden truths of the Bible would be TAKEN from him despite the fact that he seemed ("seemeth") to have possessed it.
The Greek word translated as "seemeth" is dokeo. It is Strong's #1380. This same Greek word is translated as "thinkest" in Matthew 17:25 "What thinkest thou Simon?"
It is also translated as "think" in John 16:2 "...whosoever killeth you will think he doeth God service."
And, in Galatians chapter 6 we find it in this verse:
Galatians 6:3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
Sorrowfully, the dear poor people who have gone back have thought themselves to be something – a Christian. A true child of God. They seemed to possess right understanding of the truth. They were "true believers". Yes, for a time they gave every appearance of being a true believer.
However, when it comes to living the Christian life, running half a race doesn't cut it. Going seemingly "faithfully" all the way to the end of the Great Tribulation is fine, but when the Bible reveals that that's only the first stage of a twofold tribulation period at the time of the end then stopping to run means you failed to endure to the end. And it is he who endures to the end that is saved (Matthew 24:13).
God's elect do sorrow for you and miss you as we continue on – forward to the prize we seek and will soon obtain – only by God's mercy and grace.