NOTES FROM THE DESK OF A MODERN CIRCUIT RIDER – PART III: THE POWER OF THE PAROUSIA

1. In The Fullness of Time
2. The Nature of the Coming Judgment
3. THE POWER OF THE PAROUSIA

SCRIPTURE. “But you, believers, [all you who believe in Christ as Savior and acknowledge Him as God’s Son] are not in spiritual darkness [nor held by its power], that the day [of judgment] would overtake you [by surprise] like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We do not belong to the night nor to darkness. So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us KEEP WIDE AWAKE [alert and cautious] AND let us BE SOBER [self-controlled, calm, and wise].” – 1 THESSALONIANS 5:4-6, AMP; emphasis my own

QUOTATIONS

“Is God present or is He absent? Maybe we can say now that in the center of our sadness for His Absence we can find the first signs of His Presence. And that in the middle of our longings we discover the footprints of the One who has created them. It is in the faithful waiting for the Loved One that we know how much He has filled our lives already. Just as the love of a mother for her son can grow while she is waiting for his return, and just as lovers can rediscover each other during long periods of absence, so also our intimate relationship with God can become deeper and more mature while we wait patiently in Expectation for His Return.” – HENRI J.M. NOUWEN, ‘Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life,’ 2004; edited

“The Second Coming of Christ will be so revolutionary that it will change every aspect of life on this planet. Christ will reign in righteousness. Disease will be arrested. Death will be modified. War will be abolished. Nature will be changed. Man will live as it was originally intended he should live.” – BILLY GRAHAM, ‘Billy Graham in Quotes,’ 2011; edited

“So here is the Day of God’s Wrath unleashed for truly the first time, making the days of Lot and Noah pale in their respective intensity. Thus my argument, that ‘The Sixth Seal’ is the shattering of the Natural Order into literal and symbolic pieces, indeed, ‘the very End of History as we have known it,’ when all with which we are familiar is brought to utter Ruin. And yet, for the peoples of God and all the peoples of the earth who read this in time, there is a providential, blazing ‘Shaft of Light’ in the midst of this darkened tunnel. There shall be one group who indeed will not only be able to Stand, but even to ‘Rise’ out of this cascading blood and fire and smoke – but only one.” – CLIFFORD W. KELLY, ‘The Sixth Seal: A Pre-Wrath Commentary on the End of History As We Know It,’ 2017, pp. 111-112; edited

Selah.

1. FIRST THOUGHTS

Waiting is often the hardest part.

We all know the agony of a Promise Unfulfilled – whether of a job offer, or the healing of a loved one or one’s own return to health, perhaps waiting for a response to a text that was stronger than you intended. That sort of thing.

So it comes as no surprise that ‘Waiting on the Lord’ is possibly one of the higher disciplines God calls a human being to experience. Former missionary to Berlin and published author KRISTI WALKER even wrote a book with a riveting title that warns of the impact of too much waiting: ‘Disappointment: A Subtle Path Away from God,’ published in 2015.

She writes this.

“Disappointment and discouragement can ravage our souls down to the core of who we are. It can unhinge our faith, destroy our reason for living, and suffocate our energy and determination to continue. But it also comes to us as an awful gift, a clarifying tool the Surgeon employs to ply open and dig into the recesses of our hearts…the parts that we ourselves do not even understand. This is when Suffering turns to Grace.”

So yes, Waiting is often the hardest part, but arguably the most important part of our ministry to Christ, since it ‘Proves’ us to be the real deal – or not. So do the OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS write profoundly of this Discipline. Rendered in the Amplified Classic Edition.

• PSALM 27:13-14. “[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.”

• ISAIAH 40:31. “But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.”

• HABBAKUK 2:3-4. “For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day. Look at the proud; his soul is not straight or right within him, but the [rigidly] just and the [uncompromisingly] righteous man shall live by his faith and in his faithfulness.”

CHRISTINA’S SAGA. Some of you already know this, but my now 32-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at age 8, some 24 years ago. She is still not fully healed. As a result of her great, long-term suffering, she has been unable to work consistently, maintain a relationship, or to be frank, make the best decisions about how to deal with all her pain.

But God spoke to her nearly audibly when she was about 12 years old, and filled with the Spirit: “Christina, I am going to heal you, but you will have to wait for it. Read PSALM 27:14.”

That was nearly 20 years ago. But still she waits. Living with us till she gains financial and physical traction, she presses on – some days better than other days, as all of us do. Mostly, she just wants ‘a normal life’ working in the medical field that she has come to know so intimately.

THE GOOD NEWS. The powerful point is this: God Rewards those who Wait upon Him, but He cannot reward those who choose to leave the sheepfold because the journey is too difficult. I have written much of ‘The Winnowing’ going on among us so insistently these days: The Discipline of Waiting is a core element of that Grand Sifting. – cf. Matthew 3:12

More to our present message, we must understand why JESUS HIMSELF spoke this to the disciples that day so long ago, as they inquired about the End of the Age in His magnificent Olivet Discourse.

Quoted at length, as usual, for its rich detail and power.

THE PRICE. “Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. For many will come in My name [misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, ‘I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ and they will mislead many. You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age]. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are merely ‘the beginning of birth pangs’ [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].

Then they will hand you over to [endure] tribulation, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another. Many false prophets will appear and mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold. ‘But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.’” – MATTHEW 24:4-13, AMPC; emphasis my own

Selah. Consider all this ever so carefully.

1. THE POWER OF ENDURANCE

THE STORY. It was sometime during the year, 1988 or so, after Suzette and I had moved into our then-new home in Chesapeake, Virginia when I was serving as director of the new Public Affairs Journalism program at Regent University. To the best of my recollection, this is what went down.

Got out of the shower on an otherwise uneventful day, and was frankly startled to see on the steamed-up mirror, a Word dressed out by ‘Someone,’ in letters that were about 12 inches high:

“ENDURE!”

Yeah, I know. Pretty much a first (and a last) for me that morning. I told Suzette about it, though she did not see it, and I went on to work. As is my pattern, I had forgotten it as I ran through my mind all that I had to do that day. So I arrived, settled in and began to review the day calendar, when my then editor in chief of our monthly tabloid, ‘The Standard,’ MARK O’KEEFE, ran into my officed excitedly and declared:

“Dr. Kelly! I just got a Word from the Lord! Can we talk about what it means?”

Or words to that effect. I said of course, and he related to me how he had heard, nearly audibly, the word, “PERSEVERE!” As I recalled the Mirror Word earlier, I was disappointed – it wasn’t ‘my’ Word!

Thankfully, I have long had the habit of looking up Origins of Meanings, so I said to Mark, ‘Let’s look up both words!” At the time I was using the New American Standard translation exclusively, thus went to that Concordance for some answers, first looking up the Greek word for “Endure,” then the one for “Persevere.”

Some of you already know where this is going. The very same Greek term is used for both terms, to the effervescent delight of the two boys feeling like they were on a treasure hunt:

‘HUPOMONÉ’ [ὑπομονή]: Translation: “Patience, endurance as to things or circumstances; associated with hope; refers to the quality that does not surrender to difficult conditions or succumb under trial; a remaining behind, a patient steadfastness, patient waiting for; properly, remaining under [obedience], especially as God enables the believer to ‘remain (endure) under’ the challenges He allots in life.”

We nearly exploded with this joyful insight. Now as I look back on that stupendous Word, straight from the Father’s Divine hand, I have an equal excitement, since it relates powerfully to our subject today: ‘THE PAROUSIA,’ or the Second Advent of our King.

From this we derive a vital Theological Principle:

THE DOCTRINE: Only those who ‘Remain with Christ’ as part of THE REMNANT, and Resist with their very lives The Great Apostasy Jesus referenced, will be included in the Rapture of the Church at the End of the Age.

These, beloved of God, and only these, are the ones ‘Who get to Go.’

1. THE TEACHING

“But you, believers, [all you who believe in Christ as Savior and acknowledge Him as God’s Son] are not in spiritual darkness [nor held by its power], that the day [of judgment] would overtake you [by surprise] like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We do not belong to the night nor to darkness. So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us KEEP WIDE AWAKE [alert and cautious] AND let us BE SOBER [self-controlled, calm, and wise].” – 1 THESSALONIANS 5:4-6, AMP; emphasis my own

Now that we have established that those who ‘Endure’ (or Persevere in Christ) can look forward to the Rapture of the True Church – the Remnant – the Question becomes:

What is the BEST PREPARATION for remaining true to Christ?

• STAY AWAKE! In the context of an American Church very nearly, completely sedated by Francis Schaeffer’s ‘World Spirit,’ we see the terrible importance of this idea. From the Greek, ‘Grégoreó’ [γρηγορέω]: “To be awake, to watch, stay vigilant; Usage: I am awake (in the night), to watch; I am on the alert, vigilant; to be responsible [to one’s call of duty]; give strict attention to, be cautious, active; a mindfulness of threatening danger which keeps from all drowsiness and slackening in one’s faith; ‘the caution needed against the anxiety resulting from the fear of the loss of one’s salvation;’ in His eschatological discourses, the Lord in His Word demands constant watching in ‘preparing’ for the decisive Day of His Appearing, or ‘Parousia.’”

• BE SOBER! Since we are all ‘On watch’ 24/7, we cannot indulge useless incapacity, period. From the Greek word, ‘Néphó’ [νήφω]. Meaning: “To be sober, literally; to abstain from wine; to be calm, alert (vigilant), circumspect; properly, to be sober (not drunk), not intoxicated; (figuratively) free from illusion or delusion, i.e., from the intoxicating influences of sin (like the impact of selfish passion, greed, etc.) [or false doctrines]; refers to having presence of mind (clear judgment), enabling someone to be temperate (self-controlled); ‘uninfluenced by intoxicants’ means to have ‘one’s wits (faculties) about them,’ which is the opposite of being irrational.”

COMMENTARY. “The metaphor here expresses not so much actual sin (Ephesians 5:14) as ‘Carelessness’ in spiritual and moral things. ‘Let us not say, “Peace and safety,” and resign ourselves to Indifference about Christ’s Coming.’ St. Paul (as always) indicates that it was possible for ‘Children of Light’ to be converted back into ‘Children of Darkness’ … The comparison of night now suggests to the writer another thought besides that of sloth, namely, that of dissipation. Christians are not to turn day into night by debauchery any more than by sleep.” – CHARLES ELLICOTT, ‘Commentary on the Whole Bible,’ 1878-1897; edited

Did you hear that, beloved? Sustained Debauchery of any kind – including sloth or mere indifference – can cause one to Apostatize. Selah.

This is so sharply pertinent to our Present Hour, beloved. The American Church appears much more interested in Continuing as they have always been, rather than reassessing the Times by the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, to discern the Nature of the Era, and respond to it in richly and courageously Biblical ways.

I know I keep coming back to this passage, but if the shoe fits:

“And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Laodicea write: ‘These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God’s creation: I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot!So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!’” – REVELATION 3:14-16, AMPC

CHURCH! Are you listening to your King, Pastors? Do you hear His unmistakable Voice here? He is growing severe, and the last thing y’all need to do is remain soft and indeterminate on these grave issues.

He would that you would be ‘cold’ (i.e., a refreshment) or ‘hot’ (zealous). His Punishment is unmistakable, and quite final:

• SPEW YOU. From ‘Emeó’ [ἐμέω], meaning: “Vomit you forth from His mouth, repulsed, showing utter rejection (desiring total separation); “to reject with extreme disgust; o puke; to eject from the stomach; to eject; to cast forth; cast out with abhorrence; to puke; to eject from the stomach; to eject with violence from any hollow place.”

• INTERPRETATION. “The idea is, that they would be utterly Rejected and cast off as a church – a threatening of which there has been an abundant fulfillment in subsequent times. It may be remarked, also, that what was threatened to that church may be expected to occur to all churches, if they are in the same condition; and that all professing Christians, and Christian churches, that are Lukewarm, have special reason to dread the Indignation of the Saviour.” – ALBERT BARNES, ‘Commentaries on the Whole Bible,’ 14 vols., 1870-1879; edited

LAMPSTANDS. I have said it before more than once, at His Behest: Lampstands shall be removed beginning this year, 2021, without a full-throated, public Repentance from His shepherds.

“Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent (change the inner man to meet God’s will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord], or else I will visit you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you change your mind and repent.” – REVELATION 2:5, AMP

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

1. THE POWER OF THE PAROUSIA

‘PAROUSIA’ [παρουσία]. A Greek Word meaning: “A presence, a coming; an advent, arrival; especially of the Second Coming of Jesus the Christ (Messiah); properly, coming, especially the arrival of the owner who alone can deal with a situation; a ‘technical term with reference to the visit of a king or some other official, as with a royal visit of an emperor;’ corresponds therefore with ‘The Apokalupsis’ [Uncovering or Revelation] of the Son of Man.”

There has been a Myth propagated for generations that The Rapture will somehow be “hidden,” or “silent,” that is, somehow ‘Secret.’ Such a view suffocates Orthodoxy concerning what both Old Testament Jews and New Testament Christians understand to be, the stunning, reality shattering, Divine Power displayed on the Day of the Lord.

The following graphic description by JOHN THE REVELATOR begins, but only begins, to capture its immensity.

THE TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD. “I looked when He (the Lamb) broke open the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth [made] of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree shedding its late [summer] figs when shaken by a strong wind. The sky was split [separated from the land] and rolled up like a scroll, and every mountain and island were dislodged and moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the military commanders and the wealthy and the strong and everyone, [whether] slave or free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the [righteous] wrath and indignation of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath and vengeance and retribution has come, and who is able to [face God and] stand [before the wrath of the Lamb]?’” – REVELATION 6:12-17, AMP

From this we begin to grasp that this Day of days shall Commence with what I attempt to describe in my book, the following, EPOCHAL SCENARIO.

“As the people of the earth reel to and fro under the combined ravages of the earth and its entire crust splitting, cracking, folding and shaking beneath them, comets and meteors crashing to the ground causing fiery devastation everywhere, and what appears to be a ripping apart of the skies above, they begin to cascade into what would conceivably become a world-wide, cacophonous, ear and mind-shattering ‘Chaotic Panic.’ Thus do the leaders (kings and great men and women), the rich and the poor alike, those in places of strength and security alongside those who are weak, penniless and even under various forms of oppression, literally and frantically look for places to hide. They even run for any caves or underground shelter carved from rocks to escape what is occurring (v. 15).” – CLIFFORD W. KELLY, ‘The Sixth Seal: A Pre-Wrath Commentary on the End of History As We Know It,’ 2017, pp. 108-109; edited

This is how just TWO OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS, vastly more skilled than I, describe this unfolding Mega-Event. All rendered in the Amplified Classic Edition of the Text.

• JOEL 2:1-2, 31. “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand—A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick mists and darkness, like the morning dawn spread upon the mountains; so there comes a [heathen, hostile] people numerous and mighty, the like of which has never been before and shall not be again even to the years of many generations.”

• ISAIAH 13:9-11. “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming! — fierce, with wrath and raging anger — to make the land and the [whole] earth a desolation and to destroy out of it its sinners. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened at its rising and the moon will not shed its light. And I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their guilt and iniquity; I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible and the boasting of the violent and ruthless.”

THE TWO-STAGE ‘PAROUSIA.’ I trust I have your attention, beloved. Or rather, that He does. And now for the debut of a ‘Proposed Resolution’ of an issue that theologians have been hotly debating for centuries:

How does the passage in Thessalonians synchronize with that of Matthew 24, since they seem to describe two different Timelines?

After my own 40-year struggle, this what I now believe takes place – in Two Grand Phases – of the same Event.

• STAGE I. “For we say this to you by the Lord’s [own] word, that we who are still alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede [into His presence] those [believers] who have fallen asleep [in death]. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will simultaneously be caught up (raptured) together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord! Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died].” – 1 THESSALONIANS 4:15-18

• STAGE II.  “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not provide its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor]. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God’s chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” – MATTHEW 24:29-31

GRAND INTERREGNUM. For me at least, I now believe that Something Grand indeed occurs‘Between’ these Two Stages. A couple of ancillary arguments to support this refined view of a rather Traditional Model of The Rapture – and why I call my approach, ‘Pre-Wrath’ – to which Wrath true Christians are NOT appointed. Ever. – cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:9

1. STAGE I. In my careful opinion, this is clearly a detailed description of what the Old Testament Prophets wrote, and is the literal ‘Onset’ of the ‘Great Tribulation of Seven Years’ (cf. Daniel 9:27). This Event takes place as the Divine Mechanism whereby ‘The Restrainer’ (Holy Spirit) is removed from the earth in the Rapture of the Church. This in turn allows ‘The Mystery of Lawlessness’ to fully engage, as ‘the Lawless One’ is now clearly revealed to all, who rapidly now begins to consolidate his power and take control of the nations. – cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7

• STAGE II. Now this is a linguistic detail that I have not been able to overlook for some 40 years of study, a phrase used in virtually every single Bible translation: “And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God’s chosen ones) ‘from the four winds,’ from one end of the heavens to the other.” MY POINT: Jesus now gathers us ‘from ‘the air,’ and no longer from the graves of the dead nor the inhabitants of the earth. This is a massive distinction, beloved, huge. Crucially, this takes place, “Immediately ‘after’ the tribulation of those days.” 

IN SUM. Whether I am right or I am wrong in this Proposal, it achieves the vital goal of Harmonizing virtually all Old and New Testament passages that describe these monumental Mega-Events taking place on the earth over a roughly 7-Year Period. Significantly, the “Birth Pangs” of Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 have no discernible time frame, according to the entirety of the Canon and leading Bible scholars.

Selah.

• LAST THOUGHTS

What all this is describing, my dear friends, is the very Reason I walk most days in the true Security, Peace and fullness of Joy of the Lord. Take this ‘Blessed Hope’ away – surely thousands of theologians have tried over the Millennia and still do try – and we have nothing.

No hope. No order. No real purpose, save for kicking around in the dust of the earth for 70 or 80 years, maybe having a little fun and a great deal of pain along the way. And then Oblivion.

Terrific.

Stupendously, beloved, nearly indescribably, that is NOT our destiny! I tried to find one author who could capture this incandescent, shining Future awaiting us, and found one that describes our ‘First Transformation,’ if you will, that we shall experience.

THE FIRST TRANSFORMATION. Here we have MATT PERMAN, aided and abetted by respected theologian Wayne Grudem, shedding magnificent light on the very start of our quite literally ‘Brilliant Future.’

“So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.” – 1 THESSALONIANS 15:42-44, AMP

Perman interprets.

“In what sense will our bodies be transformed? Paul tells us in verse 42-44. He says that our current bodies are weak, perishable, unglorified, and natural. But in the Resurrection State they will be powerful, imperishable, glorious, and spiritual. Our bodies will be powerful–they will not be subject to stress or fatigue or weakness. Our bodies will be imperishable–they will not get sick, die, age, or become injured. Our bodies will be spiritual–they will be fully oriented to and filled with the Holy Spirit. And our bodies will be glorious.

WAYNE GRUDEM comments on the wonder of this Truth:

‘Because the word “Glory” is so frequently used in Scripture of the bright shining radiance that surrounds the presence of God Himself, this term suggests that there will also be a kind of brightness or radiance surrounding our bodies that will be an appropriate outward evidence of the position of exaltation and rule over all creation that God has given us. This is also suggested in Matthew 13:43, where Jesus says, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Similarly, we read in Daniel’s vision, “And 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” (Daniel 12:3 – ‘Systematic Theology,’ 1994, p. 833).’” – “Do We Receive the Same Body?” ‘Desiring God,’ January 23, 2006; edited

CODA. I can hardly suppress my own sense of Wonder at what awaits us, beloved. Words cannot even scratch the surface of its Supernatural Power. Not even God’s Words! But I thought to give you at least some Introduction to it all. For I tell you the Truth:

If He were to tell us all, we could not contain it.

Therefore, sons and daughters of the King of the Universe, consider the eloquence of Luke the Physician, who describes some of its Grand Sweep toward OUR BLESSED HOPE that we all so eagerly await.

“There will be signs (attesting miracles) in the sun and moon and stars; and on the earth [there will be] distress and anguish among nations, in perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea and the waves, people fainting from fear and expectation of the [dreadful] things coming on the world; for the [very] powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with [transcendent, overwhelming] power [subduing the nations] and with great glory. Now when these things begin to occur, stand tall and lift up your heads [in joy], because [suffering ends as] YOUR REDEMPTION IS DRAWING NEAR.” – LUKE 21:25-28, AMP; emphasis my own

So choose well, beloved. The Time for Compromise is effectively over. “¡Se acabó!” – cf. EZEKIEL 43:9 – For Next Time.

Ever your servant, DK