NOTES ON THE HEAVENLY VISION: REFLECTIONS ON THE LAST BOOK OF REVELATION – PART VII: ‘I AM COMING QUICKLY!’

SCRIPTURE. He Who gives this warning and affirms and testifies to these things says, Yes (it is true). ‘[Surely] I am coming quickly (swiftly, speedily).’ Amen (so let it be)! Yes, come, Lord Jesus! The grace (blessing and favor) of the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with all the saints (God’s holy people, those set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively His). Amen (so let it be)!” – REVELATION 22:20-21, AMPC

QUOTATIONS

RUTHERFORD. “The figure of the Passing-Away World (1 Cor. 7:31) is like an old man’s face, full of wrinkles, and foul with weeping: We are waiting when Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven and shall come and wipe the old man’s face.” ― Samuel Rutherford,  ‘Christ Dying and Drawing Sinners to Himself,’ 1647; edited

WHISPER. “I close my eyes, gripping the empty clothes closer to me, shaking my head against the Truth. I try to block out the words…Try to stop them…But they come, nonetheless, until finally I just stand here—not running, not even trying to escape. ‘You my dear, will suffer seven years of Tribulation. You will be left behind.” – Willowy Whisper, ‘Angel Gate,’ 2019; edited

LOUNSBROUGH. “The events in our world are a Wake-up Call. And if the gravity of these events are such that they don’t wake us up, we were probably never asleep in the first place. What we were was in Denial.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough, author of ‘In the Footsteps of the Few,’ 2022; edited

1. FIRST THOUGHTS

I have for these last five tumultuous years that the nation and world have experienced, comfortably presumed and argued that the American Church has been largely ‘asleep at the switch,’ as we used to say it as kids. A loose reference to the term “SLUMBER” as: “A state of careless inattention or the temporary suspension of focused consciousness.”

But I have changed my mind after reading Lounsbrough’s observation. I now believe the Church’s Great Sin is much graver and perilous than mere Sleepiness. Here’s why.

DENIAL. “An affirmation to the contrary; an assertion that a declaration or fact stated is not true; negation; contradiction. It is often expressed by no or not, simply. A rejection or refusing to acknowledge; a disowning [a rejection]; as with a ‘Denial of God’: or a refusing to receive or embrace; as a Denial of the Faith or the Truth.” – NOAH WEBSTER, ‘American Dictionary of the English Language,’ 1828; edited

Let’s break this down a bit for some proof of my proposal.

• AFFIRMATION TO THE CONTRARY. This means in the simplest, and most self-indicting way, that the Church is ‘Lying’ – to itself, but far worse, to God! It has clearly seen the mountain of evidence that Donald Trump’s White Nationalism and Covid Denial are seriously destructive to Christian ends, but still remains silent, or worse, ‘affirming to the contrary.’ This in full Defiance of the Truth.

• REFUSAL TO ACKNOWLEDGE ITS ERROR. This is in its most insidious possible form, ‘Collective Hubris’ on a scale never before witnessed in the American Christian Story, with perhaps our early policies toward Africans and Native Americans being the brutal exceptions. Why so I level this charge? Because it ‘blocks all recourse to Repentance,’ the very one path that could lead us away from the Road to Apocalypse that is now appearing on the next Horizon.

• DENIAL OF THE CHRIST. In its final, foundational exhibition to the entire world, it is a brazen, reckless and spiritually violent Rejection of the Messiah Himself, sustained over the last five years, nearly without interruption or reversal. It dares to hang Him on that bloody Cross again, beloved, breathtaking in scope and weight and consequence, the very ignitions of what God promised for the Last Days: ‘The Wrath of God!’

JESUS SPEAKS CLEAR. “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna) … Therefore, everyone who acknowledges Me before men and confesses Me [‘out of a state of oneness with Me’], I will also acknowledge him before My Father Who is in heaven and confess [that I am abiding in] him. But ‘whoever denies and disowns Me before men,’ I also will deny and disown him before My Father Who is in heaven.” – MATTHEW 10:27-28, 32-33, AMPC

Just as lucid and sharply cut a Commentary is offered by ALBERT BARNES.

“‘Whosoever therefore shall confess Me’ – The same word in the original is translated ‘confess’ and ‘profess’ (1 Timothy 6:12-13; 2 John 1:7; Romans 10:10). It means to ‘acknowledge’ the Lord Jesus Christ, and our dependence on Him for salvation, and our attachment to Him, ‘in every proper manner.’ This profession may be made in uniting with a church, at the communion, in conversation, and in conduct. The Scriptures mean, by a profession of religion, an exhibition of it ‘in every circumstance of the life and before all people.’ It is not merely in one act that we must do it, but in every act. We must be ashamed neither of the Person, the Character, the Doctrines, nor the Requirements of Christ. If we are; ‘if we Deny Him’ in these things before people; if we are unwilling to express our attachment to Him in every way possible, then it is right that He should ‘Disown all connection with us,’ or Deny us before God, and He will do it!” – ‘Notes on the Old and New Testaments,’ 1884; edited

I tell you all still again, the American Church has been, for all the reasons we have reviewed together for months now, operated from a ‘Position of Fear.’ But not the fear of God, but of Man! Lounsbrough was right: She is not merely asleep. Rather, she has seditiously become an active or passive-aggressive ‘Accomplice’ to the Deception of the very spirit of Antichrist that the Law and the Prophets and the Apostles and the Messiah Himself foretold would capture the whole world in the Last Times. – cf. Dan. 7:25; Mt. 24:24; 2 Thess. 2:3-4; 1 Jn. 4:1-6

And that is why, beloved of God, America and the whole world are catapulting toward The Abyss. It is primarily the Sin of the Christian Church that has led us here. To Trump. To the Insurrection. To Covid Denial. To Divisions. And very possibly to the Final Tyranny should the White Nationalists regain political power in 2024, as I now fully expect them to do.

Selah.

1. THE SIGNS

The very good news midst all the bad is that God remains loving even in His anger toward His people, desiring that none should perish but that all would be saved to eternal life (2 Pet. 3:9). So as some Last Resorts, He sends ‘Last Signs’ of His Son’s soon Return. But first a couple of disclaimers.

One, I simply don’t know how many Signs of the Parousia God has sent us; I am sure someone has counted them but not this old man. Second, I have read hundreds of articles on this in the past 40 years, so it is a challenge to narrow the field of study to a manageable one. Nonetheless, I have done so.

OZZIE ROLDAN. Founder and current administrator of a site called, ‘End Time Prophecy Watch’ (2012-2022), his Statement of Beliefs are on paper at least, pure and orthodox. Nor has he seemed to roll over for the Trump Infection of Doctrines or new interpretations of the Canon.

So first to some PRELIMINARY DEFINITIONS to get us started straight from Christ’s Olivet Discourse, as His disciples asked Him ‘The Question’ of all questions to get all this moving.

“While Jesus was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, and said, ‘Tell us, when will this [destruction of the temple] take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end (completion, consummation) of the age?’” – MATTHEW 24:3, AMP

• SIGNS. The key concept here is defined by the Greek word, ‘Sémeion’ [σημεῖον], or: “A miracle, indication, mark, token; has an ethical end and purpose [to ‘signal’ Divine activity]; given especially to confirm, corroborate or authenticate; ‘finger posts of God’ to indicate the grace and power of the Doer of them; glorious, admirable or terrifying works; a distinguishing mark, portent to separate from false signs and teachers.”

• BIRTHPANGS. These constitute the very ‘First Signs’ or early warning signal flares of the Lord Return (cf. Matt. 24:8). From the key term, ‘Ódin’ [ὠδίν]: “The [beginning of] the pain of childbirth, acute pain, severe agony, or ‘sorrows;’ labor, distress, woe (to come upon the whole earth); experienced as the ‘cords or snares of death;’ travail; (figuratively) the pain necessary to open up (introduce) something new, i.e. to bring in more; a pang or throe to give rise to something [wonderous].”

ROLDAN’S TEN BIRTHPANGS. He subjectively lists them in order of least to most significant in his estimation; I do not disagree strongly with this listing, though again, the order is somewhat arbitrary. All Ten Pangs however are doctrinally sound and are presented in the New King James translation of the Scriptures.

10. SUN, MOON & STARS. “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring” (Luke 21:25). DK: Here we have such astronomical phenomena as record setting weather extremes and oceanic shifts worldwide (e.g., “El Niño Southern Oscillation” or ENSO); comets and asteroids that will increasingly fall to the earth; changes in solar and lunar eclipses; both oceanic and solar storms as the one just reported by Nature Astronomy emitting waves three times as fast as anything known before, that will intensify and impact earth’s telecommunications; blood moons appearing in unprecedented frequency and alignment with Jewish Festival Days; and geomagnetic anomalies such as earth wobble and migration of the North Pole axis 30 miles a day toward Siberia.

9. VIOLENCE UPON THE WHOLE EARTH. “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence … And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man” (Gen. 6:11; Lk. 17:26). DK: The Epicenter of the Last Times is described as “Lawlessness” as we have discussed before. Translated from the Greek, ‘Anomia’ [ἀνομία], it refers to unprecedented, “widespread disobedience, iniquity, sin, as with a world literally ‘Without Law;’ contempt and violation of God’s Ordinances [thereby leading to unregulated levels of violence and corruption].” One recent report from Crime in America showed a 30% increase in violent crime from 2020 to 2021, and it continues to rise in 2022. This seismic wave shall ultimately dwarf the “Days of Noah and Lot,” when God determined to destroy nearly all human culture. My dozens of death threats and two daytime assaults is anecdotal, yet unprecedented evidence for a rapidly degrading culture.

8. FAMINES, PESTILENCE, EARTHQUAKES. “And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11). DK: I document copious evidence for all this in my book, ‘The Sixth Seal’ (2017), updated for the new edition release this Summer 2022. But for now, Permian Basin oil producers were rattled, literally, in January by swarms of quakes in their Southwestern region. The National Earthquake Information Center now locates about 20,000 earthquakes around the globe each year, or approximately 55 per day. Disrupted supply lines are now in evidence with store shelves emptying, and volcanic activity is spiking for reasons experts at Wovo.org are not yet clear about. Finally, while COVID-19 is waning, sharp outbreaks of the new Delta-Omicron BA.2 strain are in evidence in Western Europe and several American states).

7. NATIONS IN DISTRESS WITH PERPLEXITY. “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring” (Luke 21:25). DK: Here I will just cut to the present hour’s bloodiest chase in Ukraine, as Vladimir Putin’s brutal genocide is taking place as I write these words. “Perplexity” is the operant term here as the NATO leaders and President Biden wrestle with how to give aid to Ukraine, without igniting a World War III nuclear conflagration, a threat made by Putin on March 3, with two Russian warplanes violating Sweden’s airspace carrying nuclear weapons the day before. The Greek word for that condition is, ‘Aporia’ [ἀπορία], meaning: “A state of quandary, doubt, confusion, having no way out; to be at a loss mentally, producing great anxiety; entangled, complex, too difficult to resolve.” The resultant “distress of nations” including record hurricane seasons (30 named storms in 2020) needs little elaboration as the balance of international power is shaken by the nuclear threat and, in the background, machinations in China to take strategic advantage of the turmoil in the South China Sea.

6. FALSE PROPHETS, FALSE TEACHERS. “And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive man’” (Matthew 24:4-5). DK: We have been over this ground many times, so I will not belabor it much here. Except to remind of what I raised in the last installment about the massive movement of ‘The Emergent Church’ as the chief collective purveyor of what the Apostle Paul described as “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). You will recall that it is a Movement that was spawned by the Postmodernist antagonism against Christ and Canon, and was described recently by the Berean Research group as given to Mysticism, plus this: “Emergent Church leaders usually adopt the principles of social justice, liberation theology and collective salvation. Some leaders also incorporate elements of Universalism, the Seeker-Friendly Movement, and even New Age Spirituality.” Think ‘Neo-

Gnosticism’ about here, beloved.

5. END TIME TECHNOLOGY. “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4). DK: The best term I can think of to describe this worldwide phenomenon is ‘Information Explosion’ and the concomitant, radical shift to ‘Science’ as ultimate authority and problem solver for all things, both practical and moral. Significantly, many observers agree with what one essayist described as an ‘Information Paradox’ – “The More Information We Have, the Less We Know” (C. Roosen, May 21, 2022). In real time critical terms, that means America’s largely Trump-fueled regurgitation of Joseph Goebbels’ Propaganda mechanism to deny all news as essentially “fake” – ‘Lügenpresse’ (“lying press”) – has filled the Information Urns of the nation with oceans full of what Scripture would call ‘leaven,’ or in more simple terms, Lies. Thus, the massive dilution of Truth and the cataclysmic proliferation of Chaos and Confusion at every level. In just four years!

4. REALIGNMENT OF NATIONS. “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us” (Psalm 2:1-3). DK: Where do we even begin, beloved? I mentioned earlier that there is a new power flux taking place even now in Eastern Europe with NATO consolidation, and more evidence of Russia defining herself in the role and posture of God-Magog with her allies of Ezekiel 38-39, which shall at some soon point turn her attention from Eastern Europe toward the northern hills of Israel. There she will be utterly destroyed by Jehovah Himself (39:1-8). In addition, causing further realignments including China’s further rise. ‘The Abraham Accords’ are still in force, realigning several Arab nations in cooperative union with the Jewish State for the first time since her rebirth on May 14, 1948. If this become the Seven Year Peace Agreement struck by the Antichrist (Donald Trump and Jared Kushner drafter the Accord), then we are truly close to Final Things.

3. APOSTASY & ANTICHRIST. “‘And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold’ … Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition” (Matthew 24:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3). DK: Still another Last Days phenomenon we have discussed in detail in past weeks, this if the Prophecy of the Great Falling Away. Defined by the Greek term, ‘Apostasia’ [ἀποστασία], or: “A great betrayal or defection from the faith; a revolt; to depart from a previous standing; a forsaking of the truth; an abandonment of what one has professed; a total desertion, or departure from one’s faith or religion.” And, beloved, once fully apostatized, it is final; there is no recourse to grace from it. That is why JUDE most severely warned: “These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever … And on some have compassion, ‘making a distinction’; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (1:12, 22). This is precisely why I shout, beloved.

2. ONE WORLD SYSTEM. “Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority … He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666” (Revelation 13:1-2, 16-18). DK: It is then, in the very final analysis, the Antichrist’s World System of both political hegemony and absolute economic tyranny that constitutes the Last Days New World Order. However, He shall be challenged by the Kings of the East and South (cf. Daniel 11), which I take to mean, respectively, China and an Arabic Confederation, Russia having been fully dispatched by Divine retribution for her insolence to attack The Beautiful Land.

1. ISRAEL. “‘A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies. Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb?’ saith thy God” (Isaiah 66:6-9, KJV). DK: And what shall I possibly add to this? Israel, the very North Star of all the history of Mankind, the birthplace and future abode of God Himself. It shall have begun here in the dim recesses of a mysterious King named Melchizedek, high priest and lord over a place called Salem, who conferred sacred blessing upon Abraham so very long ago.

THE LAST SIGNS. From the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24, Lk. 21, Mark 13) we turn to the more intense, FINAL SIX SIGNS from the Book of Revelation, Chapter 6. I have treated them in detail before, just here mere reminder to look for these as we get very, very near to The Day.

• THE FIRST SEAL. The Rise of Antichrist as political  maneuverer to consolidate power by lying, intimidation and intrigue more than direct resort to violence. He shall be characterized by a demonic zeal for raw power. – Rev. 6:1-2

• THE SECOND SEAL. Wars move from mere rumors to actual international conflict, with the threat of  nuclear weapons being deployed for the first time since at least the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. – Rev. 6:3-4

• THE THIRD SEAL. Economic Instability, scarcity of resources and services, moving rapidly toward increasing hyperinflation, world market destabilization and final collapse. Ultimately leads to a controlled economy, famine and starvation, even cannibalism. – Rev. 6:5-6

• THE FOURTH SEAL. A cumulative effect of the first three seals results in global Pestilence, widespread Death and a spike in the use of Violence both domestically and internationally, as competing parties fight over basic survival needs. Even the beasts of the field, also in acute deprivation, begin attacking humans. – Rev. 6:7-8

• THE FIFTH SEAL. As world conditions and chaos and terror proliferate in the earth, the world begins to look for a Scapegoat: The Christians, of course. This will not lead to wholesale slaughter as in the Great Tribulation, but to intensified Persecution of the Saints via marginalization, imprisonment and a limited number of martyrs. – Rev. 6:9-11

• THE SIXTH SEAL. To go straight to the point: The Rapture of the true Church explodes in the midst of all the Lights of Heaven going out (more on that at the conclusion); immediately followed by the initial spilling forth of God’s fiery Wrath, wherethe very sky rips open, comets fly to the earth, a worldwide earthquake shakes all the mountains and islands and a global whirlwind is implied. As the very foundations of the world and firmament are shaken, people run screaming for cover in caves and among rocks, all the more after they catch a glimpse of God’s Angry Presence. Thus commences the 7 Years of ‘Great Tribulation.’ – Rev. 6:12-17

THE REST OF THE STORY. And yet, this is only ‘The Beginning of Sorrows,’ the full  and terrible expression of which are felt in the following Seven Years and 14 searing Judgments (Trumpets and Bowls). The Evangelists of this Age will be the 144,000 Jews from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. – Rev. 7-8

And not a Word of this from today’s American Church. Selah.

1. THE TEACHING

SCRIPTURE. He Who gives this warning and affirms and testifies to these things says, Yes (it is true). [Surely] I am coming quickly (swiftly, speedily). Amen (so let it be)! Yes, come, Lord Jesus! The grace (blessing and favor) of the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with all the saints (God’s holy people, those set apart for God, to be, as it were, exclusively His). Amen (so let it be)!” – REVELATION 22:20-21, AMPC

THIS UNIQUE MOMENT. Again, this cannot be emphasized enough for the Christians dwelling on the earth in this momentous Last Hour: These are CHRIST’S FINAL WORDS to His Church, before returning to Heaven to prepare for His Second Coming.

The Church Fathers record that that Jesus appeared in glorified form to JOHN THE APOSTLE on the Island of Patmos toward the end of Domitian’s bloody reign (around 96 AD). Having come to the end of His stupendous Revelation of the Last Days of History, He now closes the Book – but not to us who believe. On the contrary!

• DANIEL 12:4 (AMP). “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the scroll ‘until the end of time.’ Many will go back and forth and search anxiously [through the scroll], and knowledge [of the purpose of God as revealed by His prophets] will [greatly] increase.”   

• JOSEPH BENSON. “‘Till the time of the end’ — Or, the Appointed Time; till the things here foretold, begin to come to pass; that then Thy Prophecies may be compared with the events, and it may be seen how exactly they are fulfilled; and men may be struck with astonishment at the wisdom and knowledge of that God who could, so long beforehand, reveal such a variety of things to thee so fully and clearly. ‘Many shall run to and fro’ — Many shall diligently search into these Prophecies and make use of all the means in their power to arrive at a true knowledge of them; shall improve all opportunities of getting their mistakes rectified, their doubts resolved, and their acquaintance with Divine things in general, and with these and the other Prophecies of God’s Word in particular, improved and perfected. ‘And knowledge shall be increased’ — By these means great Light shall be thrown on every part of Divine Revelation, and especially on the parts that are prophetic: The more the predictions are accomplished, the better will they be understood.” – ‘Notes on the Holy Bible,’ 5 vols., 1811-1815; edited

TIME TO GROW UP! Now is the time we should be deep diving into the Prophecies of the Last Days, making all spiritual and practical preparations for the Arrival of the Holy One of Israel. Instead, we are seeing ‘Play Church’ continuing everywhere, alongside Nation Worship.

Very much like “The days of Noah and Lot,” when folks were just having a great time enjoying life, though the signs and warnings were everywhere. – cf. Luke 17:26-30

Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews is among the most severe Teachings ever recorded, but I cannot recall hearing this presented in any church for the full 40 years of my matriculation in Christ. Hear now the Word of God, in full detail, for the Final Days Church.

“Therefore let us get past the elementary stage in the teachings about the Christ, advancing on to maturity and perfection and spiritual completeness, [doing this] without laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of teaching about washings (ritual purifications), the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [These are all important matters in which you should have been proficient long ago.]

And we will do this [that is, proceed to maturity], if God permits. For [it is impossible to restore to repentance] those who have once been enlightened [spiritually] and who have tasted and consciously experienced the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit and have tasted and consciously experienced the good word of God and the powers of the age (world) to come, and then have fallen away—it is impossible to bring them back again to repentance, since they again nail the Son of God on the cross [for as far as they are concerned, they are treating the death of Christ as if they were not saved by it], and are holding Him up again to public disgrace.” – HEBREWS 6:1-6, AMP

TRUE DOCTRINE. “‘For it is impossible’ – It is needless to say that the passage here Hebrews 6:4-6, has given occasion to much controversy, and that the opinions of commentators and of the Christian world are yet greatly divided in regard to its meaning. On the one hand, it is held that the passage is not intended to describe those who are true Christians, but only those who have been awakened and enlightened, and who then fall back; and on the other it is maintained that it refers to those who are true Christians, and who then apostatize. The contending parties have been ‘Calvinists and Arminians;’ each party, in general, interpreting it according to the views which are held on the question about falling from grace.

I shall endeavor, as well as I may be able, to state the true meaningof the passage by an examination of the words and phrases in detail, observing here, in general, that it seems to me that ‘it refers to true Christians;’ that the object is to keep them from Apostasy, and that it teaches that if they should apostatize, it would be impossible to renew them again or to save them. That it refers to true Christians will be apparent from these considerations.” – BENSON, 1811-1815; edited

THE CAVEAT. Now to comfort those of you who may be entering apoplectic spiritual shock, if you still sense that you are in the slightest danger of Apostasy, you still have opportunity to repent. But for those who are fully Apostate, who once were believers and haven’t the slightest whisper of any need for repentance, you are eternally lost, and there is nothing more to be done for you, till The Judgment.

The Word of the Lord, thanks be to God.

KEY TERMS. Now for a brief consideration of the Last Word of the Messiah to us, before He Returns to mete out Justice, both as ‘reward and punishment,’ to the Church and the whole earth.

• HE WHO TESTIFIES. Now then, first and foremost, let us not for one moment forget “Who” testifies here: The Living Christ, the King of the Universe, whose Words are like a hammer and a fire, inviolate and impervious to any force in opposition to it (cf. Isa. 55:11; Jer. 23:29). From the Greek, ‘Martureó’ [μαρτυρέω]: “To be a witness, bear witness, give evidence, testify, give a good report from a position of strong character; to implore, beseech or charge; to utter honorable testimony of The Christ.”

• ‘I AM COMING QUICKLY!’ “‘He which testifieth these things’ — Even all that is contained in this Book; saith — For the encouragement of the Church in all her afflictions, and the warning of all her opposers and persecutors; ‘Surely I come quickly’ — To Judge and Punish all My enemies, and the enemies of My cause and people; and to establish My Church in a state of perfect and everlasting happiness. The Apostle expresses his earnest desire and hope of this, by answering, ‘Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus’ — Accomplish Thy promises in order: And finally crown the faith, patience, and constancy of Thy servants with Eternal Life.” – BENSON, 1811-1815; edited

Selah. Selah.

1. FINAL THOUGHTS

I have said what I have said, and it is enough. Therefore, I will be brief in closing our Seven Part Series on this most important topic of this Last Chapter of the Last Book of the entire Canon, with Jesus’ Final Command to us.

WHAT NOW? As Dr. Schaeffer inquired in 1976, ‘How Should We Then Live?’ in anticipation of His soon Arrival, with the world exploding all around us each and every day, beloved? Where do we begin to respond to His Final Commands to us to be effective Last Day Witnesses of Him?

Jesus speaks it plainer and brighter than the noonday sun.

• MARK 13:32-37 (AMPC). “But of that day or that hour not a [single] person knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on your guard [constantly alert], and ‘watch and pray’; for you do not know when the time will come.It is like a man [already] going on a journey; when he leaves home, he puts his servants in charge, each with his particular task, and he gives orders to the doorkeeper to be constantly alert and on the watch. Therefore watch (give strict attention, be cautious and alert), for you do not know when the Master of the house is coming—in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning—[Watch, I say] lest He come suddenly and unexpectedly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to everybody: Watch (give strict attention, be cautious, active, and alert)!”

• WATCH! A single Word from the Mouth of our King says all of it. From the Greek, ‘Agrupneó’ [ἀγρυπνέω]: “Not asleep, awake; especially: to be watchful, careful; properly, staying vigilant, alert, attentive [to the times]; to be circumspect, attentive, ready;  signifies a state untouched by any slumberous or beclouding influences, and thence, one that is guarded against advances of drowsiness or bewilderment. Thus it becomes a term for wariness against spiritual dangers and beguilements.”

THE MEANING. “‘Take ye heed’ — Of every thing that would unfit you for your Master’s Coming, that might lull you into a ‘fatal [false] security,’ and render you negligent and slothful: ‘Watch and pray’ — Let your minds be always awake to a sense of your danger, and be on your guard against it: ‘Watch for the Coming of your Lord,’ that it may not surprise you, ‘and pray’ for that grace which is necessary to qualify you for it, by enabling you to fulfil His will in all things. ‘For ye know not when the time is’ — And ought to be ready every day for that which may come any day … 

His coming will indeed be a sudden coming; it will be a great surprise and terror to those that are careless and asleep: it will come upon them ‘as a thief in the night.’ It is therefore, 4th, the indispensable duty of all Christ’s disciples to watch, to be awake, and keep awake. ‘What I say unto you’ twelve, ‘I say unto all’ — My disciples and followers; what I say to you of this generation, I say to all that shall believe in me through your word: ‘Watch’ — Expect My Second Coming, and prepare for it, that you ‘may be found in peace, without spot and blameless.’” BENSON, 1811-1815; edited

CODA. Beloved, is the American Church being obedient to this Royal Charge today, and remaining discerning and watchful and vigilant about the Master’s Return? We already know. But YOU be diligent and alert and keep your lamps trimmed full, to be a Watchman on the Wall, looking for His Signal Flares day and night.

To be greeted by Him on that Day of days, thus: “Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your Master enjoys.” – MATTHEW 25:23, AMPC

And all of God’s true, persevering disciples said together with the entire Host of Heaven: “Even so, come Lord Jesus! And quickly, Lord! Quickly!”

SPECIAL NOTE ON IMAGE. The spectacular picture by Slovenian storm chaser artist Marko Korošec using his favorite DSLR camera, was selected due to its subtle but stunning hint of The Rapture at the bottom of the image. Long time Christian friend Jessica Walker shared with me in 2015 her detailed night vision the Lord showed her of that Stupendous Event. Take special note of the four points of light at the bottoms. SELAH.

Ever your servant, DK

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