A study on acceptable time periods and the importance of prayer (Part 1):

I love the fall. It’s my favorite time of year. Although everything is dying there is something strangely wonderful about pumpkins, brightly colored falling leaves and chilly northern breezes. Here in Alaska the mountains get their first dust of snow leading to a snow line that steadily moves down the mountain, until one morning you wake up to a magical wonderland (and of course squeals from your children as they tear the house apart looking for their snowsuits). But as dazzling as this time of year is, here in the northland, autumn quickly disappears and we are reminded that seasons don’t last forever – there is an appointed time for everything.

A very wise king long ago said:

~“To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up [that which is] planted; …Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A good friend the other day shared with me her experience in such words that they could have only been inspired by the Almighty:

~“May the wind (Spirit) blow off the dead leaves and prepare me for a new season (winter – a time of reflection, breaking down strong holds, study, and understanding) that will bring new life in the Spring.”

God definitely uses nature to speak to us. And Jesus used the seasons to teach us some vital truths.

~ ³²Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer [is] nigh:  ³³So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, [even] at the doors. Matthew 24:32,33

~ ²…When it is evening, ye say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red. ³And in the morning, [It will be] foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O [ye] hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not [discern] the signs of the times? Matthew 16:2,3

Just as we can understand what season we are in, Jesus is saying that we can also know the times in which we are living! And it is crucial to know the time in which we live, because “seasons,” or these “appointed time periods” (also called “acceptable time periods” in scripture) DO NOT LAST FOREVER! Scripture makes this very clear:

~Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near:  Isaiah 55:6

~Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me:  Proverbs 1:28

~ ¹¹Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: ¹²And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find [it].  Amos 8:11,12

And consider the following passage.

~The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. Jeremiah 8:20 

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found; call ye upon Him while He is near.” This plainly suggests a time when the Lord may not be found even though He is sought for, and when He will not be near even though He be called upon.

Men may talk eloquently about the gospel continuing forever; about the entire world becoming converted; and all such imaginary things. But the angel of God “sware by Him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein,” that “the mystery of God should be finished.” Rev. 10:5-7.

Christ declared repeatedly that this world will end, and that it will end in wickedness, such as was in the days of Noah. In all of the Bible, the end of the world is spoken of in no other way than as ending in wickedness. And the doctrine of the conversion of the world is only an invention of Satan to blind the eyes of the children of men, that they may not see the dangers and duties of the last days as they are portrayed in the faithful word. There is to be a “day of vengeance of our God,” and that day of vengeance begins when the “day of salvation,” the “acceptable year of the Lord,” ends.

~ ¹The spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound; ²to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; Isaiah 61:1,2

Among other things, God’s people are called “TO PROCLAIM THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD AND THE DAY OF VENGEANCE OF OUR GOD.” Concerning these people it also says that:

~…they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. Isaiah 61:4

What does all this mean?

In the studies that follow we will take a deeper look into “acceptable time periods,” the absolute necessity of prayer during these times and how all of this affects us personally, right now!