Knowledge Will Increase

Ecclesiastes 8 points to the transformational nature of Godly wisdom, which is available to every believer in Christ, if we will set our hearts and minds to seek for it:
1 Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, And the sternness of his face is changed.

Wisdom comes as we take knowledge that we have acquired and apply it to the situations and decisions we face - true wisdom, Godly wisdom is informed by the Scriptures, by Biblical discernment.   We can gain information and purpose to know a lot of facts and even principles, but knowledge that is not enlightened by the presence of God, we are told, puffs up, and is really not useful as we face challenges in our lives.   Information alone cannot save or direct, and mere acquisition of information and memorization of facts leaves us short of God's best - it's only as we recognize that God's Word is alive and active, and applicable to our lives everyday that we can accurately process information and become wise in the Lord.

Daniel 12 shows us the importance of wisdom and the predicted increase of knowledge in the last days:
3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. 4 "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."  This passage reminds us of the importance of gaining wisdom - godly wisdom - wisdom that is based on a knowledge of the Scriptures, and the ability to apply Scriptural truth to the issues we face - individually and collectively.
Verse 4 seems to point to an increase of knowledge in the "time of the end" - what does that mean?  I don't know exactly, but it can cause us to ponder the explosion in information during these times.
Paul Laudicina in the Wall Street Journal, discusses this wealth of potential knowledge that is available. He writes:

With the relentless 24/7 information smog of always-on news, e-mail, and social media, most of us are not feeling smarter or wiser these days. Just consider: from the beginning of time until 2003 we generated 5 billion gigabytes of data...By next year we will generate that much data every ten minutes. Is it any wonder our ability to think and act with the future in mind has diminished with the daily assault on our over-stimulated brains?

The temptation is to tune out what you can’t control (which is pretty much everything), and focus entirely on the few things you can—from the comfort of your private cocoon. But unlike some, I think going on a media diet or fast is neither realistic nor productive. In today’s complex world, you need to be a talent scout and an information omnivore, and ideally a discerning omnivore.

He concludes by saying:

The future belongs not to those who turn down the volume, cancel their subscriptions, or unplug. Instead it will go to those who vary their information diets, listen for important but subtle “weak signals,” and go out into the world to discover remarkable people, ideas, places, products, and services for themselves. Take it all in, as the discerning omnivore you ought to be.

Just because we digest or download information, that doesn't mean we have acquired knowledge, and it certainly doesn't mean we have applied the discernment skills to apply that knowledge.  With the announcement of the new iPad, we find that there is just one more outlet through which we can access this information - and there are all sorts of information portals.   But, we have to take the information we receive, process it in the light of Scripture, and then take what has become knowledge to us and integrate it into the way we live our lives.

Knowledge is increasing, and I believe that could be a sign of the end.   And, it gives us an opportunity to walk in the knowledge of God, so that we become wise, and our wisdom becomes a light to a world that is desperately looking for answers.