Do you remember a series of books called “Who’s Who?” I vaguely recall one popular version when I was in high school. You could purchase a volume of “Who’s Who Among High School Students” if your name was included. Wikipedia comments (probably accurately) that it was essentially a scam to make money from proud parents.  

1 Chronicles 11-12 could be called “Who’s Who in David’s New Kingdom.” Chapter 11 opens with all of Israel finally uniting under David’s reign and establishing Jerusalem as the capital from which he would rule. We are then given a detailed list of both the names and some of the exploits of his “mighty men”—thirty in all and ranked by their accomplishments. Two of his nephews, Abshai and Asahel, are included in this list; their brother Joab became chief and commander of all David’s armies. Chapter 12 continues with the names of the tribes that came out with a perfect heart and of one mind to make David king. They were fully committed and at peace with the transition of power from Saul’s allies to the man God had chosen to be their next king.

The list of tribes contains a mixture of descriptive words: mighty men of valor, famous in their fathers’ households, captains, men with shield and spear, equipped for war, men who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons, and men of undivided hearts. However, one descriptor stands out to me above all others.

1 Chronicles 12:32 – Of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred and all their kinsmen were at their command.

The tribe of Issachar understood the times. They recognized that God was actively moving to transition the kingdom from Saul’s reign to David’s. They knew enough about God to comprehend that their current circumstances and the unknown future were in His hands, and they willingly surrendered to His timetable. Like the rest of their fellow countrymen, they came with fully committed hearts, ready to unite the nation under God’s leader.

Now, before you think this is a political post and stop reading, give me a minute!

Could we, as followers of Jesus, be listed in God’s “Who’s Who” as people who understand the times and have the knowledge of what [God’s people] should do?

Do you understand what time it is?

Do you know what we should be doing?

Where does knowledge of the times exist? What is its source? First, we need to eliminate where it’s NOT.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 – There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you.

The KJV is even clearer: divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. An observer of times would be a fortune teller. You may think it’s fun to have a “reading” with a spiritist, or see what the tarot cards say, but God says seeking understanding of the times in this way is an abomination to Him.

God’s wisdom resides in His Word and is revealed in His Son, Jesus. You can be assured without doubt that any wisdom that appears “good and uplifting” but rejects Jesus as the only way of salvation—the only way to God—is deceptive and a lie from the enemy, Satan, who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy your life.

Paul prayed for the believers in Colossae and Laodicea that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument (Colossians 2:2-24). If ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge reside in Christ, what more could we need or learn from an ungodly, secular, humanistic world?

Daniel is a great example of a person who knew where to find wisdom about the times in which he lived. When God revealed the content and the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic dream, which described future Gentile nations, Daniel praised God as the One who changes the times and the epochs. Later, while studying the Old Testament prophecies of Jeremiah, he realizes Israel’s seventy years of captivity were coming to an end. He found wisdom about the times from God’s Word (Daniel 9).

The world is ticking away on God’s timeline, not man’s. We are not the captains of our destiny. We are highly loved, created beings who exist because of and for the glory of God.

But do you know what time it is?

Do you know what God’s people ought to be doing?

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees for their insincere desire for a “sign from heaven.” They wanted Him to perform like a circus act. They were not seeking further evidence to bolster a doubting faith. Instead, they aimed to discredit and humiliate Him, attempting to prove He was an impostor (Matthew 16:1-4).

Because Jesus knew their hearts, He refused to perform and told them the only sign they would get was the sign of Jonah. He had already told them this pointed to His coming death and resurrection (Matthew 12:39-41). But He also chides them for knowing how to read the signs of the weather in the sky yet cannot discern the signs of the times.

If we truly know Christ and have the Holy Spirit within us to help us understand Scripture, we should have an understanding of the times and recognize what we ought to be doing.

This post is long enough, and it’s not our focus today to elaborate on all the ways we see God’s prophetic timeline coming together. There are many Bible scholars and various resources that provide ample evidence and explanations pointing to the reality that God is winding up our human history. He has a plan in mind for the end of the age that will move us steadily and unwaveringly into eternity. It’s all there for us in scripture, but we must be people who understand the times.

For now, I’ll just leave a few verses for you to ponder and pray that God will give you wisdom and understanding regarding the status of His eternal clock. Time is ticking, and we have no time to waste. May we all make sure that our names are listed in the best book of all—the “Who’s Who of God’s Children”—the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Luke 17:26-30 – And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

(See also Matthew 24, 2 Peter 3, 2 Timothy 3, 2 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11).