Habakkuk's Warning

“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.” (Hab 2:4 AV)

 

The prophet is speaking of those who do not wish to keep their minds and hearts on the promise of Christ’s coming.  He is speaking to those, who assume a delay means a cancellation, do not set their hearts on a promise.  As a result, those who do not live in the reality of prophecy become lifted up in their own pride, and consequently, fall into sin.  The delay is stated in the previous verse.   “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Hab 2:3 AV)  The actions of those who do not wait for it follows verse four.  Primarily, falling into fleshly vices.  Herein is the point.  If we live as though Christ could return at any minute, then our lives would be completely different.  If we live as though Christ’s return is generations away, then we will not take heed to our actions or choices.

When I attended Bible College, there was a fella who knew all there was to know about prophecy.  That was before the internet age.  Whatever knowledge he had come from hard work.  He read and studied for countless hours.  Today, prophecy news or opinion can be found just about anywhere.  IT doesn’t take an expert to be relatively well informed of coming events on the prophetic timetable.  This, of course, opens the door to conspiracy ideas or far-out biblical ideas that have no basis in scripture, but for the most part, general knowledge of prophetical events is consistent.  To say we are in the last days would be obvious.  We most certainly are.  There is not too much left to occur before the Messiah returns.  It used to bother me when I met someone who was all about prophecy.  I thought they were excessive and not all that useful in the ministry of the church.  I always saw them as someone who wanted to argue all the time about things we cannot fully know.  There are some of those left.  However, for the most part, those in tune with prophecy are not argumentative anymore, but rather encouraging.  To live in the reality of the rapture and second coming is what Jesus had intended for us all along.

Habakkuk is clearly warning us to live in the reality of pending prophecy.  The first battle of God and Magog is shaping up.  The possibility of invasion of Israel grows ever more possible the more we inch down the calendar.  As Israel perfects their Iron Dome, her neighbors will not be too pleased.  As China shores up the market on precious metals, it will not be too much of a stretch for Israel’s neighbors to realize the precious metals hidden in the Dead Sea.  With an anemic government sympathetic to the enemies of Israel in the United States, her enemies will be emboldened to try something in the near future.  All the events of the past are pointing to events in the future.  If we have no interest in the pending return of Christ, then we may become a bit relaxed in our testimony today.  That is Habakkuk’s warning.