Isaiah 33:6 ‘And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure’

DAILY READING; Luke 24:1-12; Genesis 43; Psalm 34

The “Jonestown Massacre” occurred on November 18, 1978, when more than 900 members of an American cult called the Peoples Temple died in a mass suicide-murder under the direction of their leader Jim Jones.
Though Jim Jones had started out as a respected evangelical pastor, along the line he began to blend in teachings of New Age spirituality and radical social justice that attracted an enthusiastic following. He called his burgeoning church the Peoples Temple.
In 1977, following negative media attention, Jim Jones moved with some 1,000 of his followers from California to Guyana in South America, where they converted a dense jungle into a working agricultural commune, soon known as “Jonestown”.
However after some months, reports of abuse began to emerge from defecting members of the people’s temple.

On November 18, 1978, U.S. Representative Leo Ryan, travelled to Jonestown with some reporters for an investigation. But as he was leaving the town, Leo Ryan and four members of his delegation were murdered by men sent by Jones.
That same day, Jim Jones ordered his followers to drink poison which killed 900 of them. Prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the tragedy at Jonestown marked the single largest loss of U.S. civilian lives in a non-natural disaster.
A remarkable and noteworthy fact was that among Jim Jones’ followers were decent, hardworking, socially conscious people, who despite being highly educated, became deceived due to their lack of proper understanding of the Scriptures.

A personal understanding of the Scriptures is indeed crucial if we are to escape the deceptions of the end-times.
Spiritual things are slippery and anyone who lacks the stability of God’s Word will easily fall.

Isaiah 33:6 says, ‘And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times.’

Wisdom and knowledge from God’s Word is what will give us spiritual anchor and stability in these end-times.
Spiritual ignorance is the reason why many people are being tossed up and down by different doctrines from the pit of hell.

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

Jesus stated that deception will be one of the glaring signs of the last days. The word “deceive” in the Greek is Plunao, which means “to lead along the wrong path.”
The way to avoid walking on the wrong path is to walk in the light of God’s Word.
Indeed the security of our destiny lies with illumination from the word of God.
God’s Words are not mere stories but mysteries, that act as a lamp unto our feet and light to our path as we travel the road of destiny. [Ps119:105].

Like the Berean Christians, we need to constantly cross check everything we hear with the Scriptures.
To truly avoid the deceptions of this age, it is important for us to grow in knowledge of God’s Word. Indeed as we grow in spiritual maturity and discernment, we will be able to stand strong despite the perilous winds of the end-times.

PRAYER: Lord, please grant me the grace to grow in wisdom and knowledge through in-depth study of Your Word, so that my spiritual senses can be sharpened for discernment in these end-times in Jesus Name. ..

QUOTE
Nothing liberates like truth, the truth you know and act upon will set you free.- – WORDBITE 222.