Courage and Biblical Fortitude in the Last Days

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Short Summary
The discourse discusses the closing period of the Gospel age, emphasizing the significance of the Lord’s second presence marked by key scriptural events such as the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the call for God’s people to separate from Babylon. It highlights the fulfillment of prophetic judgments against Babylon beginning around 1874, the ongoing spiritual vigilance required during perilous last days, and the future rise of an empowered papal system before the establishment of God’s kingdom. The message urges believers to remain watchful, steadfast in faith, and prepared for the imminent fulfillment of God’s promises.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on Courage and Biblical Fortitude in the Last Days

Context and Theme
– The discourse focuses on courage and biblical fortitude during the “last days” of the Gospel age, specifically the closing period of the church era known as Laodicea.
– It highlights that the work of the Holy Spirit in developing the heavenly seed (the faithful church members) is rapidly concluding.
– The speaker raises the question of readiness and proper conduct as these significant changes approach, emphasizing the need for vigilance.

Key Scriptures on the Time Period
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 describes the Lord’s second presence:
> “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air…”
– This event marks the beginning of the harvest of the Gospel age when all faithful dead (the sleeping saints) from Stephen and the apostles onward are resurrected together. The living faithful will then be transformed and caught up individually.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 clarifies that this occurs at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when all believers will be changed “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.”
Revelation 18:1-4 parallels this event with the descent of a mighty angel (identified as Christ) illuminating the earth and proclaiming Babylon’s fall, calling God’s people to come out of her to avoid sharing in her sins and plagues.

Interpretation of Babylon’s Fall and Its Timing
– Babylon represents the apostate religious system that has lost God’s favor starting at Christ’s second presence (post-1874).
– The plagues described in Revelation are poured out after 1874, not before, correlating to the judgment upon Babylon.
– Jeremiah 51 supports this timeline, describing Babylon as a “golden cup in the Lord’s hand” (used for God’s purposes) but now cast off and destined for destruction because it refused healing despite the Reformation’s efforts.
– The call to “come out of her, my people” signals the need for separation from Babylon to avoid divine judgment.

Seals and Their Symbolism in Revelation
– The seven seals represent the experiences of the Lord’s people through the Gospel age, with Jesus overseeing their unfolding (Revelation 5 and 1).
– The fifth seal (Revelation 6:9-11) depicts the souls of martyrs crying for justice, symbolizing faithful brethren slain for their testimony who await resurrection and vindication.
– Their question, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood?” is answered in Revelation 19:1-2, which declares God has judged the great harlot (papacy) and avenged His servants.
– This aligns with the timing of the harvest and judgment events.

The “Deadly Wound” and the Eighth Head of Revelation
– The “deadly wound” inflicted on papacy in 1799 (when Napoleon took the Pope prisoner) is not permanent and will be healed, enabling the rise of an eighth head (Revelation 17:11) — a revived form of the papal system.
– The healing is linked to the 1929 Lateran Treaty, restoring power and territory to the Vatican.
– The prophecy foresees ten kings (nations) giving authority to the beast (papacy) for a brief period (“one hour”) to rule jointly, which is a future event not yet fulfilled.
– This future alliance would be significant and obvious, affecting global political and religious structures.

The Need for Awareness and Vigilance
– The discourse stresses the importance of being alert and watchful during these perilous last days.
2 Peter 3:10-13 speaks of the day of the Lord coming “as a thief in the night,” with the passing away of the current ecclesiastical order and the promise of new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells.
Luke 21:34-36 warns against being weighed down by worldly cares and urges continuous prayer and watchfulness to be accounted worthy to stand before the Son of Man.
– The day spoken of is before the kingdom’s establishment and is a time of trial, not deliverance.

Old Testament Lesson from Gideon (Judges 7)
– Gideon’s selection of 300 men who drank water with vigilance (eyes open) versus those who lost focus illustrates the need for spiritual alertness.
– Believers must “drink” the water of truth carefully—absorbing God’s word while maintaining keen awareness of surrounding spiritual and worldly conditions.
– Losing focus leads to vulnerability to traps and deception.

Conclusion with Instruction from Romans 13:11-14
– Paul urges believers to “know the time” and “awake out of sleep,” recognizing that salvation is nearer than when first believed.
– Christians are exhorted to cast off works of darkness and put on the “armor of light,” living soberly and righteously as in the daytime.
– The passage encourages putting on Christ and resisting fleshly lusts, emphasizing preparedness and holy conduct as the night ends and the day approaches.

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Summary of Key Bible Verses Cited

– 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
– 1 Corinthians 15:51-52
– Revelation 18:1-4, 18:21
– Jeremiah 51:6, 7, 9-10
– Revelation 5:1-7
– Revelation 6:9-11 (Fifth seal)
– Revelation 19:1-2
– Revelation 17:11-13
– 2 Peter 3:10-13
– Luke 21:34-36
– Judges 7 (Gideon’s selection)
– Romans 13:11-14

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Overall Message

The discourse calls for courage, biblical fortitude, and spiritual vigilance as the Gospel age closes. It underscores the prophetic fulfillment of Christ’s second presence, the resurrection of the faithful dead, the judgment and downfall of Babylon, and the impending tribulation involving the papal system’s brief resurgence. Believers are encouraged to watch, pray, remain focused on the truth, and live holy lives, fully aware of the times and the nearness of their salvation.

Transcript

So the topic is courage and biblical fortitude in the last days. Okay, in the last days of what? Well, the last days of this gospel age. Gospel age is coming to a close, right? The harvest of the Gospel age and our church period, Laodicea.

So we’re really coming to the end of the. The work of the Holy Spirit on behalf of developing the heavenly seed, right? This is swiftly coming to an end. Some point, there will be no more conventions. This will end no more Ecclesiastes.

So are we ready for that? Are we anticipating these changes? And what should our conduct be? So we want to look at some scriptures first of all, that tell us where we are in the stream of time.

Two sets of scriptures that I always look at together. First Thessalonians 4, Verses 16 and 17, First Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17, and Revelation 18:1 4. Those two sets of scriptures, I think, really coincide beautifully because they both describe the same singular event, which is our Lord’s second presence and Jesus descent from heaven back to earth and its atmosphere, its environs. Okay, so let’s read first Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17 for the Lord himself. This is Paul speaking.

Paul is very descriptive here, very descriptive. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet them with the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

So in verse 17, the word then can also be translated after that. Right? So after the sleeping saints are raised. Right. Then we individually will be caught up to be with the Lord in the air.

So the last part of verse 16, those seven words, the dead in Christ shall rise first. What does that mark? That marks the beginning of the harvest of the Gospel age. Right. That’s when all of the sleeping saints from Stephen, the apostles, all the brethren down through the Gospel age, slept in death until this moment, until our Lord returned.

So that’s very, very dramatic, and they were all raised in one large group.

Then we which are who are alive individually, we experience our individual transformation from death to life.

Now, in verse 16, Paul does not identify which trumpet, but he does in 1st Corinthians 15. So let’s read that real quick.

I think we all know which one it is, but let’s read this.

First Corinthians 15:51. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed so our brethren, from Stephen all the way down, up until our Lord’s return, they did sleep in death. But now, going forward, we will not sleep in death. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at or during the last trumpet.

For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. So here Paul identifies which trumpet he’s referring to. There are seven trumpets, and this is the seventh one. So it’s the same trumpet that he’s referring to in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. So that trumpet in 1 Thessalonians 416 is the seventh trumpet.

Now let’s go to Revelation 18:1 through 4.

And again, I, I, when I look at one set of Scriptures, I look at this other one too. First, Thessalonians 4:16 and Revelation 18:1:4 together. After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory, and he cried mightily with a loud voice saying, babylon the great is fallen.

Is fallen and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. The kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury, and I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins and lest you receive of her plagues. Okay, so in verse one, the mighty angel coming down from heaven is Our Lord.

In 1 Thessalonians, Paul was more specific. He says, the Lord himself shall descend. But here the Apostle John, I think, is telling us the same thing. This is our Lord in verse one, and the whole earth was illuminated with his glory.

The increase of knowledge running to and fro from Daniel 12:4, I think that ties in. That ties in with this time period, and he cried mightily with a loud voice saying, babylon the Great is fallen. Is fallen. Well, fallen from what?

What did Babylon fall from? Babylon fell from God’s favor. Right? Babylon fell from divine favor.

And we’ll read some other scriptures on that, and you know, Babylon did not fall instantly in 1874, but with our Lord’s return, that was the first event that set in motion other events that will eventually lead to Babylon’s full destruction in the future.

And so we have here, in verse four, I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her my people. So this again is another verse describing the harvest, the harvest time prior to our Lord’s second presence. There was no call for the brethren to leave Babylon. That’s where the Lord wanted his people to stay. But now, since our Lord has returned, the call is going out.

Come out of her people so that you don’t partake of her sins and receive of her plagues. Okay, Another interesting note from my perspective is that Jesus identifies his people. He says, they’re my people while they are still in Babylon. He doesn’t say come out of her in order to become my people, but they are my people, and so he wants them now to separate from Babylon so that they can fully develop as new creatures and not receive of her plagues.

So this tells us something else that that the seven plagues of Revelation are poured out. Are they poured out pre1874 or post 1874? And they’re poured out post 1874. They’re poured out at enduring our Lord’s second presence during the harvest, which is at the present time, and they’re poured upon Babylon.

Another way of you could ask yourself the question, why would the Lord pour out the plagues on Babylon at a time when Babylon was still the golden cup in the hand of God? We have that prophecy. We’re going to read it. There was a time when Babylon was a golden cup in God’s hand. So why would God pour out the plagues on Babylon when it was still a golden cup?

Well, the Lord would not do that, and he does not do that. But with our Lord’s return, Babylon. Now this is the beginning of her disfavor, and so now the plagues can be poured upon Babylon. Let’s go to Jeremiah 51.

I think you’re all familiar with this prophecy, And we’ll see how the wording here really dovetails nicely with what we just read in Revelation 18 Jeremiah 51:6, 10 verse 6 flee from the midst of Babylon, and everyone save his life, do not be cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance he shall recompense her. Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations drunk her wine, therefore the nations are deranged. Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Well, for her take balm for her pain, perhaps she may be healed.

Verse 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her and let us go, everyone to his own country, for her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies, and verse 10, the Lord has revealed our righteousness. Come and let us declare in Zion the work of the Lord our God. Right, so who is prophetically speaking in verse nine, we would have healed Babylon, but she would not be healed.

We feel that refers to the Reformers. Right. The Reformers did not want for Babylon to be destroyed. They wanted Babylon to change. Hence we have the phrase the Reformation.

Right. They wanted the church to change, not to be destroyed. We would have healed Babylon, but she would not be healed, and so prophetically, the time now has come for Babylon to be cast off and eventually destroyed.

And so here in verse seven, it says, babylon hath been a golden cup in the hand of God, and beginning with our Lord’s second presence, that golden cup position is now over. Right. With our Lord’s second presence, that’s the start of Babylon’s period of disfavor. She will be eventually destroyed.

Okay, so that’s Jeremiah 51. Now we have another picture, I think, of this. Oh, so the other. The other point that we can understand is from this we can see that the seven plague angels are not the same as the seven messenger angels. We don’t want to confuse those two.

So in other words, for example, plague number six does not correspond to the Philadelphia church. Okay. Or Martin Luther, because that was prior to our Lord’s second presence. All the plagues are poured out post 1874.

The other picture that we have of this I think is interesting is to consider the experiences and the prophetic utterance of our brethren under the fifth seal, and we have that in Revelation 6, Revelation 6, 9, 11. First of all, what do the seals represent to me? My opinion is the seals represent the experiences of the Lord’s people down through the Gospel age, the experiences that they went through to set the stage. Let’s go to Revelation 5.

Let’s back up to Revelation 5, verse 1, and John says, I saw on the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back sealed with seven seals. So this scroll with the seven seals was in the hand of God. Right. That’s God sitting on the throne.

Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who was worthy to open the scroll and to loose the seals, and no one was found worthy. Verse 4, verse 5. But one of the elders said to me, do not weep. Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah. The root of David has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.

Well, that’s Jesus. That’s our Lord Jesus. In verse five, he prevailed, and he is the one who is now capable of opening that scroll.

Verse 7. Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne.

Okay, thank you. Is that better? That’s good. Okay. So Jesus takes the scroll, the scroll out of God’s right hand.

By doing that, what is Jesus doing? He’s taking charge of this scroll. He’s going to control this operation. He’s saying to the Heavenly Father, I will oversee this. Okay.

And so as these seals, as the scroll is unrolled and the seven seals are explained, Jesus is supervising the experiences of all of his body members from Ephesus all the way down through Laodicea. He’s in charge of this operation.

Yeah. We have another picture of that in Revelation 1.

Let’s read that. In verses starting with verse 10. John says, I was in spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet, and then verse 12.

Then I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. So if John was taken by vision into the kingdom, and he turns around and looks back, what is he looking back into? The history of the Gospel age. So he’s taken forward.

He’s taken forward into the kingdom. He turns around and looks backward to see the history of the Lord’s people down through the Gospel age, and he doesn’t see one lampstand. He sees seven. Seven lampstands.

Right. One for each stage of the church, and who’s walking in Amongst these lampstands? One like unto the Son of Man. Verse 13.

In the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. So this is our Lord supervising. He’s supervising the experiences of his body members from Ephesus, Pentecost, all the way down to Laodicea. Jesus is in charge of the unrolling of this scroll and the revealing of the seals.

So let’s go back to chapter six, the fifth seal. Now, some like to. Some brethren like to say, well, I think this. The seal started this year and ended in that year. That’s fine.

I don’t have a problem with that. These seals, you know, cover centuries, periods of time. Each seal, it’s not just one year. So the fifth seal in my mind corresponds roughly to the church of Sardis, the fifth church, perhaps the ending of Thyatira Sardis, and Beginning of Philadelphia, the experiences of our brethren during that period of time.

And it says here, when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. Right. So these are our brethren who were put to death. Some of them physically were killed for their testimony, and they cried symbolically.

They cried with a loud voice saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth? Then a white robe was given to each of them, and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would be killed as they were, was completed. Okay, so their blood is crying out for vengeance, for justice. What does that remind us of? Who else is blood called out for?

Just Abel reminds us of Cain and Abel, Right? So, you know, the innocent blood of Abel was crying out for vengeance, and we know, we feel that was requited in around AD 70, and then more injustices against the Lord’s people, against the saints, beginning at that time, down through the. Through the Gospel age.

So their blood is symbolically crying out for justice, for vengeance. Okay, and to avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth, then a white robe was given to each one of them. But when did they receive their white robes? Not when they died, but when they were resurrected.

Like we just read in 1st Thessalonians 4:16, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Right. That’s when Stephen, all the apostles and these are brethren under the fifth seal, received their white robes when they were resurrected, and they’re told to wait. So that brings us to 1878.

Right.

So this gives us a timing as to when these. This judgment and the plagues will be poured out on Babylon. Right? Shortly after our Lord’s return.

So that’s the third, the third example that we can use to show the timing of the plagues. The first is what Jesus says in Revelation 18:4, come out of for my people that you don’t receive of those plagues? And Jeremiah 51, and now this one here, our brethren under the fifth seal.

Now, what is the answer to their question in verse 10? How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? The answer to that is given in Revelation 19, Revelation 19:1 and 2.

And after these things, I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, hallelujah. Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God, for true and righteous are his judgments, because he hath judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants shed by her. Okay, so that seems to me to be the answer to the question that our brethren here under the fifth seal, are posing. When will our blood be avenged? And I think the answer is here in Revelation 19:2, and it identifies the culprit.

It says, he has avenged our blood on the great harlot papacy, the papal system.

So let me draw something here.

It.

So can you see that? Probably not too well, huh?

19 29, the eighth head.

Ascending. Plus it contains.

So one of our objectives here is what do we expect to come? What do we think is coming? And will there be any sort of problems for the brethren during these closing days of the Gospel age? Okay, in Revelation 18, verses 21, it says, then a mighty angel took up a stone, like a great millstone, and threw it into the sea. Okay, if you pick up a big boulder and you throw it into the ocean, will that boulder ever float back to the surface?

No. No, it won’t. So this description in Revelation 18:21 and on, in my opinion, does not apply to 1799. 1799, you know, when Napoleon took the Pope prisoner, that broke papacy’s power to persecute for that period of time, for 12, 60 years. But I don’t think it broke papacy’s power to persecute forever, because Jesus tells us that that deadly wound would be healed.

In Revelation 17, the deadly wound will be healed, and as a result of the healing of the deadly wound, what happens? An eighth head arises after the seven heads of all run their course. The healing of the deadly wound permits an eighth head to ascend out of the pit, and Jesus says the eighth head is one of the previous seven.

Well, which one? So that’s why I have here.

Connected with the year 1929.

What happened in 1929?

Something called the Lateran Treaty. Right, the Lateran Council, when Victor Emmanuel and Mussolini gave power, gave lands back to the Vatican, the Catholic Church. To me, that is the healing of the deadly wound that was inflicted in 1799. That deadly wound is now healed, which permits this eighth head to ascend. Jesus said, it will ascend and it will receive power from 10 kings.

Let’s read that in chapter Revelation 10.

Now, I. I realize this might be the minority opinion. I’m not sure how you feel. You can certainly tell me, but in Revelation, see here.

Revelation 1711. The beast that was and is not is himself also the eighth. So after the seven heads, there’s another one. There’s an eighth head and is of the seven. So it’s one of the previous seven.

Well, which one? I think it’s the one that went down in 1799, that had persecuting power.

The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. Verse 13. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb and the Lamb will overcome them. For he is lord of lords and king of kings.

And those who are with him are called, chosen and faithful, and he said to me, the waters which you saw where the harlot sits are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues, and the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill his purpose to be of one mind and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. So for 10 nations to willingly, it says here in verse 13, they are of one mind.

10 kings, 10 nations will willingly turn over their power and authority to this beast, and they will reign for one hour. What’s another way of thinking of that phrase, turning over their power and authority? To me it’s they’re willing to give up their sovereign authority, their national sovereignty to the beast for power.

To me, that’s a future event. I don’t see that happened yet.

Maybe you do, but I don’t see where that has happened. You know, we are not the only watchers on Earth, brethren. We’re the only ones watching who also have the hope of the kingdom. But there are many other people, smart men and women on earth who are watching what’s going on on this earth. What are the four basic segments of society, whether it’s this country or Canada or France.

Right. Religious, political, social and economic, and there are many smart people who are watching the things that are happening and wondering what is going on, what is happening. So for 10 nations to have relinquish their power and authority to a church organization, to the beast, certainly someone should have noticed that.

And I don’t see where that has happened for that to happen, for 10 nations to give over their authority to the to papacy, that would rock the eu, the European Union, NATO, and the United nations in New York City, that would shake that would really shake things up, and they rule for one hour.

So it’s somewhere in here.

They ruled for one hour, not for 12, 60 years.

That came to an end in 1799.

So I’m just suggesting. That’s my suggestion. Think about it. I don’t know what you think, but, you know, there are two people, two men who are both historians, that I try to check in with every now and then to see what their observations are. One is Newt Gingrich.

Have you ever heard of him? He was the former speaker of the House under Ronald Reagan. He’s a historian by profession. He’s very astute. The other one is a farmer from California, Victor Davis Hanson.

You know that name. He’s also a historian by profession, and these two men, plus many others, they’re watching these things, right? Hence we have the scripture, men’s hearts failing them for fear, for the things they see coming on the earth. We’re watching these things with the hope of the kingdom, but these people are watching these things with fear, but they are watching.

And for these two guys in particular to be, you know, very astute historians, and for something like this to have happened where 10 nations give their power and authority over to religious organization and even they did not notice it, I don’t. I don’t think that’s possible.

So that’s why I think this Revelation 17:12 and 13 and 14 depict a future event.

And again, you know, I say this might be the minority opinion. I don’t know. But it is out there. So.

And again, the rain would be brief for one hour, not for 12, 60 years like we had in the past when that ended in 1799. Okay, So how should we view these things and what should be our conduct? Let’s go to second Peter three.

We’re all familiar with these verses, 2nd Peter 3, 10, 13. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise. The ecclesiastical heavens, not the real heavens where God dwells, but the ecclesiastical false heavens, will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all of these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat.

Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new Earth in which righteousness dwells.

So the new heavens and new earth that we are looking for is also called the third heavens, the kingdom. Right. Right. Now we’re in the second heaven and earth arrangement. The first heaven and earth arrangement passed away at the flood.

Now we’re in heaven and earth arrangement number two, which will pass away in the future and be replaced by the new heaven and earth arrangement of the kingdom.

Do the apostles and our Lord give us warnings of this time? And of course, I would say yes. Let’s go to Luke 21, Luke 21:34, 36, Luke 21:34.

But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and cares of this life and that day come upon you unexpectedly. For it will come upon it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the whole face of the earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of man. So Jesus is speaking to his disciples, and he’s telling us to watch and be vigilant and to be careful, to be alert as to the things that are coming. Jesus is saying, he’s giving us a very correct statement.

He says in verse 35, this day will come as a snare upon the whole earth. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when, and then he says, but I don’t want that day to come upon you as a trap. Right. What is that day?

It’s not the kingdom day, because the kingdom will not be a trap for the world. The kingdom will be a time for the world to be released from traps, not to be entrapped. Right. So he’s referring to a period of time that will come prior to the establishment of the kingdom, which I think we’re in that day. Now, how does Paul describe this period of time in which we’re in.

In second Timothy, in the latter days, in the last days. What does he.

I think it’s. Let me find it here.

Second Timothy 3, 1. Thank you, Derek. But know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come. Right. Earlier in Timothy, he says to Timothy, in later times, things will happen.

Well, the apostle Paul lived and wrote during the first century. So when he’s saying to Timothy in later times, he’s referring to centuries subsequent to the first century. But when he says, in the last days, perilous times will come. That’s the last days of the Gospel age, which is where we are presently.

And Brother Russell’s comments on that, second Timothy three. One, are very, very interesting and very, I think, very good. In other words, we need to be aware of what’s going on around us, right? And to not get sucked into different ideas or things that we see happening.

And so in order to avoid that, we need to be very alert and very diligent and watching, and that’s the whole purpose of Jesus giving us this warning in Luke 21, The importance of watching.

See, we feel that there’s a. A lesson in the Old Testament on this, and remember, that’s with Gideon. Let’s go to Judges, chapter seven, and we’ll just sort of paraphrase the situation Gideon was facing. The Midianites, right?

He ended up with only 300 to go against about 135,000 Midianites, right? He started off with 32,000, and the Lord said, that’s too many. So the Lord said, tell the people whoever is afraid, if they’re not up to this fight, then they can go home, right? 22,000 left.

So he was left with only 10,000, and God said, that’s still too many. 10,000 to go against 140,000 is still too many. So God said, we have to reduce it even more. Take him down to the brook, right?

And see how they drink the water from the brook. 9,700 were sent home because they didn’t drink the water from the brook properly, right? They were so thirsty, the 9,700 ran to the water. They got down and put their face in the water to refresh themselves because they were so desperately thirsty. But by doing that, they were unaware of what was going on around them.

The Midianites could have come upon them all of a sudden. They would have been caught in a trap. So the problem with the 9,700 is that they lost their focus, and we don’t want to lose our focus, right? What did the 300 do?

They stooped down, they got the. They cupped their hands, right? They put the water in their hands and they brought it up to their face to drink, and as they. Like a dog drinks water.

When the dog drinks water, his eyes are looking forward. So the point is, is as we’re imbibing the water of truth, the harvest message, the meat and due season, we need to be aware, looking at our surroundings at all times to see what is happening, what is coming and where we are, what things are shaping up. That’s the lesson. So 9,700 were sent home because they lost their focus, and we don’t want to do that.

We want to maintain our focus on the Lord and the truth and the brethren, and one way we can do that is by meeting together like we are here today at this convention.

I want to. Let’s see.

I said I thought you. Here comes the chairman. I want to close with Romans 13, Romans 13:11, and do this knowing the time. Knowing the time.

Paul wants us to understand what time we’re living in. Okay. Do this knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand.

Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, or lust or strife or envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. We need to be aware of the time we’re living in.

For now, brethren, our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Amen.

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