Chapter 10: Knowing the Times

The names of the Judges give us the hope of the Deliverer who comes to set us free from captivity on every level. The most basic need that we have is to be delivered from the captivity caused by Adam’s sin. Every other captivity is a subset of the original, including the long captivity to the four beasts in the seventh chapter of Daniel.

The final chapters in the book of Judges show us our need for this deliverance, for it is clear that when everyone does what is right in his own eyes, the world can be a lawless place. Those who do not yet know the Savior of the World try to cope with their situations but are left with little hope of change.

We who know our Deliverer are motivated daily to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. If we understand the law and its judgments and prophecy, we have even greater hope, for we know that all judgment has limits and will run its course in due time.

We live at the end of the time of beast dominion, so this is good news to those who understand this. The deliverance from sin and mortality is now drawing near for the overcomers, who qualify for the first resurrection. Those who do not yet qualify will have to wait for a later time, but even they can have hope for the future.

The immediate result of knowing the divine plan is that we are able to conduct our respective ministries and callings in the manner that suits the time in which we live, for each age and each century calls for different applications of the age-old principles of Scripture. It is important that, like the sons of Issachar, we would understand the times in which we live, so that we would know what the nation should do (1 Chron. 12:32).