We Are of the Day

This transcript was generated automatically. Its accuracy may vary

Short Summary
The discourse emphasizes the importance of spiritual watchfulness and readiness during the harvest period, grounded in the prophetic understanding of scriptures like 1 Thessalonians 5 and Revelation. It highlights the ongoing nature of the “plagues,” the significance of historical prophetic events such as Israel’s return, and the necessity of putting on the whole armor of God to stand firm. Additionally, it stresses the value of local, personal fellowship over remote meetings for strengthening faith and unity among believers as the church prepares for Christ’s return.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse: “Our Times and Seasons, or Why Are We of the Day?” based on 1 Thessalonians 5:6,8

Theme Text and Context:
– The discourse centers on 1 Thessalonians 5:6,8:
> “So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober,
for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night.
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love,
and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”
– The key theme is spiritual alertness and sobriety because believers “belong to the day”—they live in the light of Christ’s presence, unlike those in spiritual darkness.
– The broader context is the day of the Lord coming like a thief in the night, sudden destruction likened to labor pains, and the call for believers to be children of the light (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8).

Outline of the Discourse:
1. Context of 1 Thessalonians 5:6,8 and the day of the Lord.
2. Structure during the harvest period.
3. Prophetic and practical application.
4. Meeting remotely and Christian fellowship.
5. Conclusion.

Day of the Lord and Sudden Destruction:
– The “day of the Lord” is described as sudden and unexpected, like a thief at night.
– Sudden destruction is not a single event but a process—compared to labor pains leading to birth.
– Example given: sinking of the Titanic is often seen as one event, but it involved multiple causes and a process leading to the event.
– Similarly, prophetic fulfillment unfolds over time with various world events culminating in final outcomes.

Prophetic Understanding and the Harvest Period:
– The invisible presence of Jesus began in 1874 (second advent).
– The Lord’s return involves a period of feeding the church (Luke 12:37), not just a one-time event.
– Believers must be spiritually awake and watchful, discerning world events through Scripture.
– Scriptural contrast between night (spiritual sleep or drunkenness) and day (spiritual sobriety and alertness).

Spiritual Readiness and the Armor of God:
– Ephesians 6:10-17 is emphasized to show the full armor of God:
– Belt of truth
– Breastplate of righteousness (faith and love)
– Shoes of readiness to proclaim the gospel of peace
– Shield of faith
– Helmet of salvation (hope)
– Sword of the Spirit (the word of God)
– This armor is essential to stand firm against spiritual adversaries.
– Faith is cultivated through experience and fellowship; the sword (Scripture) must be kept “finely honed” through continual use.
– Witnessing tactics include understanding others’ views and gently guiding conversations toward the gospel message.

Prophecy as a Guide and Signposts:
– Prophecy helps believers know where the Lord is leading and to follow Him more effectively.
– Significant prophetic markers include:
– Israel’s return to the land (1878) and nationhood (1948) — Ezekiel 37 (Valley of dry bones).
– Surrounding Arab nations attacking Israel (Psalm 83) in various wars.
– Partial blindness of Israel to Jesus as Messiah until the full number of Gentiles come in (Romans 11:25).
– Revelation 17’s symbolism of the Roman empire and its heads.
– The plagues in Exodus 7-12 and Revelation 16 as ongoing judgments during the harvest.
– Ezekiel 38’s alignment of nations (noting current conflicts like Iran vs. Sunni countries).
– Covenant boundaries promised to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21) involving the Euphrates River, with modern geopolitical implications.
– Revelation 16:12 predicts the drying up of the Euphrates, with both literal and spiritual significance.

Numbers and Biblical Patterns:
– The number 14 (double seven) appears repeatedly in Scripture:
– Creation days in Genesis (two sets of seven).
– The 14 miracles of Elijah and Elisha.
– The 14 judges including Eli and Samuel.
– The 14-day Passover pattern in Exodus.
– These numerical patterns have prophetic and symbolic importance.

The Plagues as Structure During the Harvest:
– The plagues are seen as ongoing from 1874 onward during the harvest period.
– The first six plagues affect the earth (water, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock disease, boils).
– The last four plagues are “heavenly” or from the air (hail, locusts, darkness, death of the firstborn).
– Plagues correspond symbolically to the Ten Commandments (first four relate to God; last six relate to man), paralleling earthly and heavenly judgments.

Practical Application for Believers:
– Christians are called to put on the whole armor of God without missing any piece.
– Second Peter 1:5-7 outlines a progression of virtues building a spiritual “wall”:
> Faith → Goodness → Knowledge → Self-control → Endurance → Godliness → Mutual affection → Love
– Faith and love are the two bookends supporting the entire structure.
– Spiritual growth requires experience—Christianity is outward and active, not monastic or isolated.
– Personal walk with Jesus is strengthened by fellowship, encouragement, and regular meetings with brethren.

Meeting Remotely and Fellowship:
– COVID-19 expanded remote meetings (Zoom), which have been a blessing for isolated brethren.
– However, the discourse encourages returning to local, embodied, and sacrificial fellowship, where believers can physically bear one another’s burdens and maintain unity.
– Hebrews 10:25 warns against neglecting to meet together; physical presence fosters stronger Christian unity.
– The strength of the body of Christ is measured by local love and fellowship, starting with neighbors.

Conclusion and Final Encouragement:
– The Christian group is diminishing numerically but must continue steadfast in faith and fellowship.
– The wise virgins (Matthew 25) have been sharing their oil (faith and experiences) for 2000 years, while foolish virgins have withheld it.
– Wearing the armor of God must be tested in real-life circumstances to be effective.
– Testimonies are shared, but personal experience is crucial for genuine spiritual growth.
– Apostle Paul’s final ministry in Acts 28:30-31 is highlighted:
> “He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”
– Believers are exhorted to “be of the day” — spiritually awake and active — so they may look back on life without regrets.

—

Key Bible Verses Cited in the Discourse:

– 1 Thessalonians 5:6,8
– 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8 (context)
– Luke 12:37 (“Blessed are those slaves whom the Master finds alert…”)
– Luke 17:26-30 (days of Noah and Lot comparison)
– Ephesians 6:10-17 (armor of God)
– 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (Adam and Christ resurrection)
– Romans 11:25 (Israel’s partial blindness)
– Psalm 83 (attacks on Israel)
– Ezekiel 37:7-9 (dry bones prophecy)
– Genesis 15:18-21 (Abrahamic covenant boundaries)
– Revelation 16:12 (drying up of Euphrates)
– Revelation 18:4 (“Come out of her, my people…”)
– Second Peter 1:5-7 (virtue progression)
– Hebrews 10:25 (“Not neglecting to meet together…”)
– Matthew 25 (wise and foolish virgins)
– Acts 28:30-31 (Paul’s ministry)

—

This discourse encourages Christians to be spiritually vigilant, to study prophecy as a guide during the harvest period (since 1874), to live actively in faith and love, to maintain local Christian fellowship, and to prepare themselves for the final events of the gospel age with practical faith and mutual encouragement.

Transcript

So our thoughts this afternoon, our times and seasons, or why are we of the day? And our theme text comes from 1st Thessalonians 5, 6, 8. So let’s read that. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober, for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober and put on the breastplate of faith and love and for a helmet of Hope, of salvation.

First Thessalonians 5, 6, 8.

This is an outline of what we’ll be going through. So the context of First Thessalonians 5, 6, 8, the structure during the harvest, the prophetic practical application meeting remotely our responsibility, and then a conclusion at the end. So the context of First Thessalonians 5, 6, 8 is the day of the Lord specifically as a thief in the night. Then it talks about sudden destruction as labor pains. So let’s read the whole context of that once again.

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you, for you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say there is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape. But you, beloved, are not in darkness for that day to surprise you like a thief, for you are all children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

For those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober and put on the breastplate of faith and the love and for a helmet the hope of salvation for God has destined us for wrath. Not for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing as a thief in the night is the invisible presence of Jesus at His second advent in 1874. As important as this date is, we are not going to lay the groundwork for it.

We are presuming all have studied this out and are satisfied with their conclusion. There was a talk given in Chicago to titled the Lord’s Second Presence 26 April 2020. If you want to know more details about that, then it talks about sudden destruction as labor pains. When we think about sudden destruction, we as human beings think about one singular event. Example, the sinking of the Titanic as a single event.

It was more than that. It had to do with the construction of the ship, the metallurgy, the ship’s encounter with the iceberg. Then the time it took for water to enter the ship to decrease its buoyancy for its ultimate demise by sinking into the depths of the sea. Then you have those who perished and those who survived because they were rescued to tell the story. So then when we think about the sinking of the Titanic, we think about one event, but we do not think about what led up to it.

Its cause and the event and the aftermath, the effect. We kind of lump all these events together into the ship being swallowed up by the sea. As we can see, there is much more to the story. When failures happen, what do we do? We go back to see how the item failed and review how it was engineered.

Then we look at the circumstances to determine if improvements can be made to mitigate the same failure. Thus we learn from the failure mode, and it is the same process that autonomous automobile manufacturers are doing today. They’re not going to get it right the first time, but eventually they will. This is the scriptural idea behind the sudden destruction as labor pains.

As 1st Thessalonians 5, verse 3 states. It is a feature that takes place over time, but eventually culminates with the destruction. We as children of the light should be able to discern world events through the study of God’s word.

Then there is another important point that we need to understand. When our Lord returns, that is our upon his return, he will be feeding his church, as Luke 12:37 states. So let’s read that. Luke 12:37. This shows a time frame.

Blessed are those slaves whom the Master finds alert when he comes. Truly, I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he’ll come and serve them. It doesn’t tell you how long this takes place, but it tells you it is a time period. We all agree this is a period of length of time talked about in Luke 12:37. It is talking about the harvest and the feeding of the meat and due season.

We as the church, will be ready. The question is, how will the church be ready? It is through the prophetic understanding of the Scriptures. The point is, a number of events need to take place. First, you need to be born during the harvest.

Then you have to be one who is reading the Scriptures and seeing how Scripture applies to historic events. That are taking place and then you need to be inquiring in order to assemble the pieces. This is the physical site along with your mental insight or understanding. Then we are called to live in light, watchfulness and spiritual readiness. Most would think this applies to a one time event like the Rapture.

This is not the case as the Scriptures point out to us in Luke 12:37 that our Lord would be feeding his church while they are still on earth in the flesh. What is the contrast between night and day? We all know the difference between physical night and day. Day is when you are awake and work. Night is when you rest and sleep.

Spiritually speaking, night refers to those who are not watching and are unawares of applying world events to our Lord’s return, the meat in due season and the corresponding momentous world events that are taking place during this time. It is interesting that those who are sleeping are also pictured as drunk. This would depict those who have indulged in the world and the cares of this world have overwhelmed them.

So let’s read we already read that. So let’s let’s read Luke 17:26 through 30. Luke 17:26 Just is this is used to show that life for the general public seems to go on and no one will notice any difference. Thus they are not prepared for the harvest of the Gospel age when our Lord returns and a new and a unique set of world events and start taking place that have never happened in the history of mankind. So let’s read Luke 17:26 30 just as as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man.

They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed all of them. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting and building. But on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them. It will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

We need to be watchers and sober, putting on the whole armor of God as Ephesians 6:10 through 17 states. So let’s read that Ephesians 6:10 17 there’s been plenty of talks on this and so this is the only slide we’re going to talk about with this scripture. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil for our Struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh and but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day.

And having done everything to stand firm. Stand therefore and fasten the belt of truth around your waist and put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all these, take the shield of faith, which is with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

This is quite a laundry list, isn’t it? Of apparel that needs to be put on the whole armor of God. Notice it is the whole armor of God and all the vital pieces that you need to be dressed with. Fasten the belt of truth around your waist. The harvest message put on the breastplate of righteousness.

Your life needs to be a sermon in itself, and as they say, I would rather see a sermon than hear one. As the shoes for your feet so you can be active, make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. The shield of faith. Faith is something that you cultivate.

This convention is a great venue to increase your faith if you have questions or as they say in India, if you have doubts. The helmet of salvation. Believing in Jesus as the ransom and the approaching kingdom. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We have to keep our sword finely honed.

How do we do this? The same way you keep water in a calendar, by immersing it in water. So you keep keeping your sword honed by continually using it. What is our success rate when witnessing? Well, me personally, it’s pretty dismal.

It’s not because of our message. We know the Bible to be true and God’s plans will come to naught. When we talk to someone about the scriptures, we need to understand their needs and where they’re coming from. If they are not interested in and what we are saying, then we need to shift to a simpler message or a conversation concerning the incoming kingdom when sin, sickness and sorrow will be all done away. So let me tell you a tactic I use when you debating somebody or talking to somebody on the street, like Jehovah Witnesses, you don’t just lay out your argument, but you need to include an answer to their argument before they have a chance to introduce their point.

For example, when talking with Jehovah Witnesses, we like to start out with we too believe Adam was a willful sinner, and that is why Jesus as a willful sacrifice, took the place, so that all mankind will have an opportunity. Jesus’s body stays in the grave unanimated, so that Adam’s body receives a resurrection. If Father Adam does not receive a resurrection, then no one will have a resurrection. This is God’s justice. A perfect man for a perfect man.

As First Corinthians 15, 21 and 22 states. Yes, we do believe Adam was a willful sinner and Jesus was the perfect ransom for Adam, the willful sinner.

What gives us structure during the harvest? Or are we just on autopilot waiting for the establishment of the Messianic kingdom? Some have asked the question, why do we study prophecy? And of course, I think the simple answer is it is easier to follow the Lord when you know where he is going. If you look at the writings of Brother Russell in the volumes, you notice an important theme of prophecy.

How much of the writings of the volumes deal with prophecy? Much or most of the volumes. At least half of the first volume is prophecy. All of the second, third and fourth volume is prophecy. None of the fifth volume is prophecy.

And you know, just a side point, if none of us believed in the fifth volume, we wouldn’t be here today. We’re all here because we believe really in all the concepts of the fifth volume, the atonement between God and man, and then volume six is a study I think a lot of us review every year is the Passover, and of course that’s a prophetic study also. The point is a large portion of the harvest message is based on a prophetic understanding.

So we have a number of prophetic indicators pointing us to where we are in the stream of time today. The first one is Israel returning to the land in 1878, nationhood in 1948. We use Ezekiel 37 as a progressive picture of the Jews returning to their land. Right? The valley of dry bones, Ezekiel 37, seven through nine.

The bones come together, 1878. Then you have the sinew, the flesh, the skin, and then the breath, I believe is yet future. Then we also have Psalm 83, the surrounding Arab nations attacking Israel, 1948, 1967, 1973, and then what is our big stake in the ground that we know that the church is not complete yet is Romans 11, verse 25. It talks about Israel’s blindness to the Messiah.

So let’s, let’s quote that for I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery. Least you should be wise in your own conceits. That blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles come in. What’s Israel’s blindness? Partial blindness.

It’s really blindness to Jesus, isn’t it? The Scripture gives us confidence that the Jews will not accept Jesus until the church is complete. In other words, the door to the high calling is still open because Israel has not been converted to seeing Jesus as their Messiah. Then we have Revelation 17 showing us that the empire’s ruling over Rome. The heads of the beasts, number three is the plagues in Exodus chapter seven through 12, and Revelation chapter 16, Ezekiel 38.

The aligning of the nations and eastern block versus the western block, and I think it’s critical kind of to keep track of this today since there is a war going on with Iran. They’re the Shia group, and then there’s the Sunni, which is Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Yemen, and of course, this is Islam that we’re talking about. So it’s good to keep those two in our mind.

They’re not just all Muslims, but there’s two different groups there, and then I think the other important thing that we see today is the covenant God made with Abraham concerning the boundaries of the land in Genesis 15, 18, 21.

Let me read that. I don’t think I have a slide for that. It says, this is Genesis 15, and it’s really verse 18. On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying to your descendants, I give this land from the river of Egypt. We believe that’s the Wadi El Arish to the great river, the river Euphrates.

And I do believe that is the great river Euphrates that’s talked about there, and then it goes on and talks about the nations there. Here’s the whole point in this. That is the boundaries that God gave Abraham. So the east boundary and the west boundary, you have the Mediterranean Sea and.

And the Jordan river or the Jordan, the country of Jordan, that’s the east boundary, and then we have what is north of the southern boundary is good. That’s the Wadi Al Arish, and then what is happening today, that’s another thing to keep our eyes on, is Lebanon and Syria, and we know there’s these group called the Dru z e Druze in the Golan Heights and they’re sympathetic toward Israel.

And why do we look at that? Because we have the three Kings. We have King Saul, he represents the Jewish age. Then we have King David representing The gospel age, and then we have King Solomon representing the Messianic age.

So at the end of King David’s reign, the beginning of Solomon’s reign, there was peace in that portion up there. It’s not that they occupied that land, but they had peace with their neighbors up there, and so I think that’s a good thing to kind of look at and see what’s happening there.

And then there’s the scripture, another scripture. In Revelation 16:12, it talks about the river Euphrates being dried up. Is anybody familiar with what’s happening in the news with the Euphrates? They’re saying by the year 2040, if things continue the way they’re going today, that the Euphrates river will be dried up. So there’s, I think, two, maybe two applications to that scripture, an actual application, and then there’s going to be a spiritual application of that also.

And we can kind of connect that to Zechariah 14, verse 17, when it talks about no rain. Moving on outline, and this is a very busy slide, I know, and this could, you know, we could spend the rest of the time and more just discussing this, and we don’t want to do do that.

But what I want to show you in this is that this outline historic events during the harvest. The focus of this slide is the plagues and its entire study. It could be an entire study on its own. We believe the plagues in Exodus and Revelation help us give structure during the harvest. You know, there are those that think the plagues maybe are all in the past or all in the future, or like I do, and other brethren think they’re ongoing from 1874 onward.

And so this gives to me, this gives us structure of where we are in the harvest and what is ahead of us.

Viewing the plagues from the point of view that they are ongoing during the harvest, what are the three reasons we would use to show that the plagues are during the harvest period? So the three are the venerable tradition, Joshua, the sixth chapter, where Jericho is taken and destroyed, and then Revelation 18, 4, 4 where it says, come out of her, my people. So let’s just take each one of these and look at them individually. So the creative days are venerable tradition. The creative days represented epochs or periods of time.

So we have seven creative days or seven epochs. The last day is divided into 7,000 years. So we have a witness of the 6,000 years of sin and death which we’re in today, and then the last thousand years is the Messianic age, which would be a total of 7,000 years, and of course this is talked about in volume two, page 39.

Once again, our venerable tradition, and then we have Joshua the sixth chapter, which has the same pattern. Once again, verse 12 says, Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and then on verse 15 it says on the seventh day they, they rose at dawn and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. So previously they marched around the city one day for six days straight.

And then on the seventh day they get up early in the morning and march around seven times. So Joshua is the Hebrew word and the Greek word is Jesus. Joshua rose early in the morning, that would be 8 at his first advent, 33 AD and then they rose early in the morning would be 1878, the raising of the sleeping saints, and so from 33 AD to 2026, we’re roughly 1993 years from our Lord rising, and then we have the Scripture.

In Revelation 18:4. The last or third proof seems to me the most obvious, that the plagues start when our Lord returns at a second advent. We’ve always applied Revelation 18:4 to our Lord’s second advent. Why would this scripture be included at the beginning of the harvest if all the plagues are still in the future? Because I don’t know anybody that’s still alive today from 1874.

So the point would be, why would you come out of Babylon? And it talks right here that, that you receive not of her plagues. Well, let’s just read it. Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her my people, so that you do not partake of her sins and so that you do not share in her plagues.

The plagues of Exodus and Revelation are in civil and ecclesiastical cause and effect. Additionally, during the harvest, what gives us structure? The harvest has been going on for 152 years. So the question once again, are we on autopilot, just waiting for the Messianic kingdom? Are we studying and looking at world events to see how they apply to our prophetic understanding?

And that’s why we kind of meet together so we can bounce these ideas off of our brethren to see if we’re on the right track to see if they’re coming to the same conclusions or not? Not so much with dates. I’m, I, I like dates, but I’m not so much with dates. I look at events first and put the events in there and then you can kind of put the dates in. What gives me structure during the harvest is the plagues in Revelation and the book of Exodus, their Prophetic understanding gives me structure and as to where we are in the stream of time, Once again, we have that same slide.

Again we notice the number 14, not 10 and 7, and the question is, why is this? How many are aware that there are numbers of 14s in the Bible? It’s the double seven. I think brother David talked about that earlier.

If you’re not aware, the Double 7 is something to look at when you see at least one seven. So the creative days, that’s Genesis, the first chapter, verses five through Genesis two three. That’s the first seven, and then it’s repeated again in Genesis two four through two 25. That’s the second seven.

You know, I’ve come across many atheists and agnostics that can’t get past the first two chapters of Genesis because to them this is very confusing to them why he talks about the seven and then he talks about it again. But for us, I think it’s, it’s, you know, something that’s a lot clearer. You know, the second seven is really more pointed toward man. The Passover picture outlined for us. Brother David talked about that.

We have the 14 days, and in Exodus, the 12th chapter, verses 16 and 17, and then on the first day, and then on the seventh day, it talks about the seventh day on 1:10. The tenth of the month is Exodus 12, 2 and 3, and then Exodus 12, 6 and 7 on the 14th day once again, and you know, it seems interesting that we’re the spring feast and autumn feast.

Brother David talked about that. We’ll skip that. We just talked about Jericho. Here’s two that we haven’t covered, the numbers and Judges. So a lot of brethren think that the Judges are just 12 stopping with Samson.

I think Eli and Samuel also are judges. So there you have your 14 again, and then the miracles and the career of Elijah are 14, and of course, Elijah represents the church during the Gospel age, and then we have the 14 miracles of Elisha, which would represent the ancient worthies during the kingdom.

So just a side note for everybody here, once again, I talk about. We look for.

Things that look similar. We look, you know, things that. That numbers.

What’s the word I’m looking for? Anyway, I’ll think of it in a minute. So when we look at what we want to look at here is the Exodus and the ten Commandments. The first four ten commandments are God’s, man’s relationship to God, and the last six commandments are man’s relationship to man.

When we look at the first six plagues, they have to do with the earth we have. The first plague is water turned to blood. The second plague, the frogs jump out of the water because they can’t take it anymore. They come into the houses or cool places, then they die, and you get gnats.

And then from the gnats you get flies, and the flies carry diseases that infect the livestock and the livestock die, and then the flies also are infected, and when they bite you, they give you boils, and then you have boils on yourself. That’s the first six, mostly earthly.

So if you inverse the Ten Commandments, the last six are earthly and these plagues are earthly. It’s a pattern. That’s the word I’m looking for. Then the last four plagues are really heavenly, or they’re from the air. The last, the seventh plague is the thunder and hail.

The eighth plague is locusts. You don’t really see locusts until they swarm and they come on your crops, and the only thing you can do as a farmer is hope that the wind blows them away before they land. Then you have the ninth plague of darkness once again from the air, and then the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, which is the deliverance of the Church.

Prophetic practical application. Now that we’ve looked at the prophetic, let’s look at the practical, because that’s really where the rubber meets the road, right? What does this mean to me and how can I personally ready myself? So we don’t want to read this slide. This is Ephesians 6, 10 through 17.

We want to put on the whole armor of God and avoid any missing pieces. The vesture and second, the virtues in second Peter 1, 5, 7 seem to me out to outline this work. We see the first is faith and the last is love. So let’s read that.

So let’s just read verses 5, 6 and 7. For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness and goodness with knowledge and knowledge with self control and self control with endurance and endurance with godliness and godliness with mutual affection and mutual affection with love. We see how the first is faith and the last is love. I look at these as individual bricks that build a wall. The two bookends are faith and love.

As you put on the first row of bricks, you put those down, you have all of these in a measure, as a new Christian. Then as you proceed in your Christian career or walk, you put on another layer of the same bricks down. After you have had additional experiences, you keep on building that impenetrable wall. Remember, Christianity is an outward religion and you can only build this wall with experiences. It cannot be built in a monastic cloister.

So second Peter 3:1 11, the Christians call to election. So we read what we needed to. Let’s talk about meeting remotely. Let’s discuss remote meeting with the brethren. Before COVID brethren had a had meetings where brethren could join remotely.

This now seems to be the rule and not the the exception. During COVID most brethren switched to meeting on Zoom. This to me was a tremendous overruling and it showed me the determination of the brethren to follow what they have cultivated in their hearts. In Hebrews 10, verse 25, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching. So then let us be clear.

This is not a call to close the Zoom browser. It is a call to open our doors to those who are near in proximity to us. It is not a condemnation of technology. Zoom has been a lifeline for those isolated and those seeking additional fellowship. We do believe technology, rightly used, is a blessing from God.

But every gift can become a God if we let it replace obedience. This is a call to return to the pattern of Christ and to the apostles. Local, embodied, sacrificial, holy and United States fellowship. The kind where iron sharpens iron, where we bear one another’s burdens because we are close enough to see them, where we are diligent to maintain the unity of the Spirit because we eat at the same table. My prayer is simple, that the unity we display at conventions would be the same unity we practice at home for those who have children or young adults still at home.

Or maybe those young adults have moved out but are observing you from a far distance. Don’t you want them to see your example as one love and one family, not just at conventions, but a lifestyle that they observe as a weekly routine. If this discourse makes you feel uneasy, then let that uneasy feeling draw us nearer to Christ and those brethren in your immediate area where you live. If these words encourage you, you then let it move you to action. Our strength as brethren is not on how many Zoom meetings we can attend online.

No, that’s not the point. The Christian strength will be measured and how faithfully we love the brother God placed five streets away from us as we fellowship and are blessed at conventions with many. Let us think about the fellowship we have back home. One love, one family, starting with the brother next door. In conclusion, we are a diminishing group.

No doubt about it. We need to continue Our personal walk with Jesus by fellowshipping, encouraging one another, and meeting with the brethren. What is the difference between the wise and the foolish virgins in Matthew the 25th chapter? The wise have been trying to give their oil away for the past 2000 years while the foolish have held back. See, you can only obtain your experiences by putting on the whole armor of God and testing it in the battlefield of life.

All the pieces need to work together in harmony. This is only happens when you are out in the field. If you just put on the armor and never test it to see how it works, then you might look good, but you will not. You, but you will be lacking in the skill needed to make all the parts perform harmoniously with one another.

The other thing that’s interesting, you know, we have testimony meetings and we do testify to one another and we learn from each other. I can’t give you my experiences and you can’t really give me yours either. We really need to go out in the field and have our own experience and that’s how we share them. So let me end with a scripture and a thought. Acts 28, 30 and 31.

This is the Apostle Paul. Really, this is. This is his last idea on earth. Here this is. This is where he was.

He and I think this really represents the last 2,000 years. He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him. We noticed the number two was talked about there. I think this takes us the whole 2000 years. The whole period from the death of our Lord till the culmination of the church.

And verse 31, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ was without boldness and without hindrance. So let us be of the day, because a time will come when our day will be over. We want to look back at our lives with minimum regrets, and now we’ll turn the meeting over to our chairman.

Click Here for the PDF transcript.