For Susan: CWV Understanding the Times

This is my 4th Post in my For Susan Series.  The first three; For Susan: Christian World View ,

For Susan: Developing a Christian World View, and For Susan: CWV Holy Spirit can be found at their respective links.  Each post is written to stand on its own and can be read in any order.  Reading them all in order may prove to be helpful. I define a Christian World View as seeing events through a Biblical perspective.  What exactly does that mean?  In a sense it means seeing things the way God sees them.  Hold on.  Before you start throwing rocks at your PC in an effort to stone me, I realize that God's insight is infinite and beyond our ability to discern.  However, God has given us insight into His thoughts by having them written down and preserved for us.  Getting into and seeing things from that perspective is the point of a CWV.   I don't know if it has occurred to anyone, but I am making at least two major assumptions with the Christian World View (CWV).  The first assumption is that it is possible to, as I have claimed earlier, to have mature Christian discernment and the ability to apply it, in real time, today.  The second is that, I am claiming that any Christian can have a CWV.  Notice I'm not saying that all Christians have a CWV.  I don't believe they do.  Every Christian is on their own tract with God and some are farther down the path in this area than others.    Let's deal with my first assumption, that a CWV is possible.  Is it possible to understand events today from God's POV?  Has it ever been possible, historically?  Fortunately we have a verse for that: 1 Chron 12:31-32 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. NASU This passage is found in a long listing of factual data concerning the supporters at the beginning of King David's reign.  There are literally thousands of men and their contributions listed in the surrounding verses.  Then there are these 200 men listed and reference to their family members who helped them.  Most importantly they have their qualification listed.  They "understood the times" and knew what they should do.   When David's son Solomon came to the throne after his father, God offered to grant him a request.  In that famous passage found it: 1 Kings 3:10-13  It was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, 12 behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. NASU It's not just Old Testament Kings and their advisors that have wisdom.  The oldest book chronologically speaking in the Bible is Job.  In the first recorded accusation of spiritual superiority one of Job's friends says: Job 15:8-9 "Do you hear the secret counsel of God, And limit wisdom to yourself?" What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not? NASU The assumption being made by the speaker is that man can know the counsel of God and that Job is claiming to have a greater understanding than those around him.  Later in the book, God will affirm that Job is correct and his friends are not.   The Psalms and Proverbs contain several examples of seeking understanding and divine perspective.  Such as: PS 14:2, PS 119:27, PS 119:100, PR 14:8, PR 20:24, PR 28:5.   Towards the end of the Old Testament we see two prophets that are given amazing visions of future events.  In the case of Ezekiel and Daniel each man was given immense understanding of what was going on around them in their day and age, as well as a look into the future.   Historic examples of mankind having access to God's perspective on events are found through out the Old Testament.  I have included some of what would be considered "positive" examples.  The majority of the Biblical examples are not positive.  Throughout scripture man is rebuked and sometimes out right condemned and sentenced to punishment for not understand and/or acting according to what I am calling a CWV.    Harsh? From one perceptive maybe.  God it seems expects mankind to understand and act on what He tells us to do.  According to Rom 2:15 man will be judged according to his understanding of God's requirements.   I'll deal with the possibility of individual CWV in a latter post.