Address—Robert Boulard
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Let's open our meeting this afternoon with #5 in the appendix #5 in the appendix, and maybe someone will start it for us.
Every blessing.
In my heart.
To sing thy grace.
Dreams of mercy.
Never.
Ceasing.
Hope for sin.
Do you know God's name? But it was dead.
All day from.
All of God.
You may run danger.
In her home and pressure blood.
O2 rain, I'll pray about that.
I come straight to him. What a great one.
My daughter.
Find my one great heart building.
The word I did.
May I walk from earthquake?
Turn.
And.
Ask her off the phone.
I'm sure we ask the Lord's blessing on our meeting. Our loving God and our Father, we thank Thee for the sentiments of this little hymn sung as a prayer. And, uh, how we feel the need of grace this afternoon, the need of strength, and how prone our hearts are to wander in this scene. And uh, our God, we just, uh, would ask thee for Thy blessing as we open up the pages of Thy precious word that Thou hast lead by Thy Spirit.
As to the passages that are opened up and read, and that too that thou art guide, as to the words that are spoken, the comments that are made, and that, uh, Christ would be exalted, and that we might uh.
Just be encouraged and strengthened in our most holy faith that each one of us might, uh, cleave under the Lord with purpose of heart. And so we pray and ask thee for encouraging words from thyself and, uh.
Just, uh, those thoughts that would be consistent with what's had before us in these meetings. It's at the tenor of things for a holy life and a life consistent with the place that we're at. So we asked thee for this blessing, and we commend ourselves to thee and the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I'd like to turn to Romans chapter 13 just to read a couple of verses. Some of the verses that I'm going to read this afternoon have already been referred to.
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During these meetings, so it gives me a little bit of courage to take up a little bit of the subject that I have before my heart here. Romans chapter 13.
And verse 11.
And that knowing the time.
That now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation near than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. And then let's just turn on to another verse of Scripture in the Proverbs, the last well. Chapter 29 of the book of Proverbs.
Verse 11 uh 18. Proverbs chapter 29. Verse 18.
Where there is no vision, the people perish. But he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
So it says in the new translation. I'll I'll read it that way.
Where there is no vision that people cast off restraint in that solemn, where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint. And we read here in Romans knowing the time. And I just want to speak a little bit about the time that we live in. And we have the little expression that we often use. And sometimes I'm asked, and perhaps you're asked, is the Lord's coming? How soon is he coming? How soon do you think he's coming?
Do you ever get asked that question?
Maybe you have an answer. Have you searched the Scriptures to see why we think the Lord is coming so very near? That coming of the Lord is so near. I've been looking at some of the passages of Scripture in the Word of God that just give us to comfort because we know that the prophetic clock has not started yet. We're in a little interval of time. The day of grace, the dispensation of the day of grace, that was not told out in the Old Testament. It wasn't given to the Old Testament prophets. They didn't know about it.
They knew about it, perhaps obliquely, they could say, I think in the Hosea chapter one or chapter six, he says, umm, after two days he will revive us, and the third day he will take us up again. Oh, they're going to live in a sight it speaks of really two days in Scripture. We'll go over some of that. But umm, they didn't have a clearview of the church at all. It's not written in the Old Testament. But the church is just about to be removed from this scene. And I want to look at some of the passages of Scripture that might give us comfort in the day that we live in.
As we face the sorrow and the moral breakdown and the collapse of every, umm, institution that man has, uh, enjoyed in the Western free world, we might say, and as it becomes corrupt and as the violence increases and so on, why we ought to take courage as we recognize that we're living at the time here that we know the time that now it is high time to wake out of sleep. We've been put to sleep by.
Uh, prosperity, we've been put to sleep by, uh, pleasant circumstances. And generally speaking, in the places that we live, things haven't been too hard. But now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. What's he Speaking of is our salvation. Aren't you saved? You might say, yes, I'm saved. I know Christ is savior while he's Speaking of the saved, He wants to save your body. You're not perfectly saved, if I could put it that way. Mr. Brown used to say that Mister Chapter Brown, He said you're only partly saved.
You're going to be completely saved when your body is changed, the very same body that you have.
And you could read that in First Corinthians chapter 15. We're not going to go into that tonight or this afternoon, but, umm, your body is gonna be changed. You're gonna be found in the presence of the Lord Jesus, just like the Lord. Not a mark of sin. He's gonna bring you there and umm, he's gonna shower his love upon you while you're there in that, in his presence. And you're gonna be perfectly saved. Perfectly. Your body will be saved, redeemed. Well, I wanted to look at, say, first reason why we might think.
That the coming of the Lord is so near. And I want to just, uh, read in the last chapter of the book of the Bible because I want to focus a little bit on the love of the Lord Jesus because we believe that just like a bride and a bridegroom, there's umm, an affection between the bride and bridegroom. And I know that the bridegroom has a love for his bride. Christ has a love for his bride. We've already had some verses before us.
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In that connection you know John 17, verse 24 was quoted. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, For Thou lovest me before the foundation of the world.
You know the Lord loves this church. Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that He might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that he should present it to himself wholly without blemish. Oh, what a Savior we have. He's going to present to himself a perfect church without spot, without blemish, but in love He gave himself. But as we read in the last chapter of the word of God, I just read in verse 7.
Three times he says, here I come quickly. Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And then a little further on in verse 12, behold, I come quickly.
And my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be, and then a little bit later on.
He says in verse 17, the Spirit and the Bride say come, and let him that heareth say come and let him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely. And then a little further on verse 20, he which testifieth these things sayeth, surely I come quickly, Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen. Well, we have this prophetic book. The book of the Revelation is the only prophetic book that's given to the church.
All of the other prophetic books in the Old Testament were given to the Jews and for the Jews. Now we read them and we can enjoy them.
And we understand some of what God was giving us, speaking to His people and desiring to bring them into the knowledge of the future blessing of Israel.
And the heavenly scene in some sense is given to us in some of the Old Testament passages as well in the book of Daniel and so on, but really here in the book of Revelations to the church and the last thing in Word of God.
That the Lord Jesus says to the church his I'm coming, I'm coming quickly, I'm coming quickly. And we can look and we can read these words and we can say He is coming quickly.
And we know we have a sense that the coming of the Lord is drawing nigh. But it's because he loves his people. You know, he says in Isaiah chapter 53 was quoted verse 11, Mr. Darby's translation. He shall see of the fruit of the travail of his soul that should be satisfied. Oh dear brethren.
Every single one of us, he's going to see you in the glory. He's going to look upon your face and he's going to not remember the travail and the sorrow of what it cost really to re redeem you. He'll they'll always those things will always be before him. But what it'll be particularly before him is as he sees you there in that glorious scene, he'll say it was worth it all was worth it all to have gone to the cross to bore the bear the judgment for the sins.
Of each one of us, and he will be satisfied. His heart will be perfectly satisfied, because he loves us. Oh, are we reciprocating in that love. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of the compassions of God, that you present your bodies.
A living sacrifice, O the Lord has desired us to respond in our love to him. Well, we find in Exodus chapter 21 as well. Maybe might just, uh, read that, umm, just a little portion there. I'm reading these and connect just introductory little comments because what we want to read in some of the other passages perhaps is a little drier.
Exodus chapter 21.
And let's just for time's sake of time, read, uh, verse four. If his master have given him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, and the wife and her children shall be your masters, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, my children, I will not go out free.
Then a little bit further earlier on in the in Genesis.
I'd like to read just that little comment that Jacob makes in Or is it made of Jacob in chapter 29?
Genesis chapter 29, verse 20. Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed unto him but a few days for the love that he had to her. Well, you know, brethren, the Lord has been in in the glory now in heaven. He's on high in the Father's house. He's seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, and he's been interceding for his own. His heart is attached to his people in this team, and he cannot be divided from his people.
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Though what he finds in this scene that is most precious are each one of his people. He's intimately connected with everyone that belongs to him, and he longs for the blessing of each one of you, each one of us. He longed for our blessing. He longs for communion with us. Why? It's because He loves us. He loves us. He gave himself for us. There's nothing he wants out of this world more than this bride, and he's going to get his way very shortly. We could read it, but we know that passage in First Thessalonians chapter 4 and the Lord himself.
Shall descend from heaven with a shout, and he's going to come, and he's going to in the language of John's Gospel, chapter 14, it says, if I come again, I will, I will. If I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that there ye may be also own that the loveliness of Christ, to think of him coming for us himself. And the time is just about here. We know that the time is just about up.
The Lord's love is going to have his own way. He's going to have his way. He's going to get his bride. Now let's look at a couple of passages of Scripture.
In connection with why we might say the coming of the Lord is near and if we turn to Matthew's Gospel chapter 24.
We would read there about the parable of the fig tree.
Chapter 24 of Matthew, verse 32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves. Know ye that summer is nigh, so ye so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that is near even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away. Shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not.
Passed away? Well, this little passage of scripture is Speaking of the Jewish national resurrection, the resurrection of the nation of Israel.
And.
You know, I was very interested in reading and came across some more writings of the older writers. I love to read. You know what? These dear men of God, Mr. Dennett and Hamilton Smith and others, Mr. Darby, and how they had a debate. Perhaps you might say it that way at the time that they lived.
In the 1800s, late 1800s, and then into the beginning of the 1900s and the question was asked, would the church see?
Israel formed them back into their land as a nation before the church was called home, before the Lord came to take his bride home. And umm, the question went round and round and you can read it in some of the writings. I just ran upon it again and Mr. Hamilton Smith, some of his writings, and they really didn't expect that the church would still be here and Israel a nation. Isn't that something Mr. Dennett said?
He didn't think that the church would be here because it would be too clear of a signal to the church that the rapture was imminent.
Your brother. And that was 1948 that the nation of Israel was formed. I was just doing a little bit of math. I'm not a real mathematician, but it's going to be 70 years, 70 years since the nation of Israel was formed and has existed as an entity and a legal entity in this world in 2018. Seventy years.
The coming of the Lord is not near. It is not far off. It's very near. I don't want to put dates on things or anything like that, but I say it ought to be an encouragement to us as we see things developing in the Middle East and we think of what has taken place. Some of us that are a little bit older, we remember the Six Days War in 1967 when the Arab world rose up against, and I believe Egypt rose up against, the nation of Israel and sought to annihilate them. They had only been a nation.
On the re re established for 19 years and those six days, the Western Christian world, the world entirely stopped to listen to the news every day of what was taken place. And you know, Moshe Diane, the general of that time that was leading the armies of of Israel, he said at the time looking back on it and he was interviewed, he said, you know, it was just like we couldn't miss.
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When we were firing our guns and our cannons were going off on on the aircraft air, we couldn't miss. And it was like they couldn't hit anything. They couldn't hit anything. It didn't matter what they aimed at, they couldn't hit anything. God has preserved that little nation. But you know, this passage of Scripture says learn the parable. Learn it of the parable of the fig tree. And the fig tree in Scripture speaks of Israel, but it has a leaf. It shows a leaf and it's a profession of being God's people. It's a profession that they have. They've gone back in unbelief.
And apparently there are something like 8.3 million people living in the land of Israel now.
In 1900, there were a few nomads. There were a few. There were almost nobody living in the land of Israel. Now there's 8.3 million.
And approximately 6.2 or 8.2 million and then maybe 6.3 million that are Jews. They're going back in unbelief.
Brethren, it should be an encouragement to us.
The time of the coming of the Lord is not very far off and as we see the nations gathered against that little country, we should just take courage and the Lord said, you know, so that we wouldn't be surprised there was going to be a putting forth of leaves. It's really a profession and we're not speaking here of prophetic scriptures being.
Fulfilled. It's really in a future day, very shortly that they're going to.
Rise up and they're going to profess knowledge of God and they're going to profess that they have, uh, the Lord, the Messiah and so on. And so we're seeing the evidence of the beginnings of that movement. It ought to be an encouragement to us. We live in difficult times and we ought to take a little bit of a, an interest in the land of Israel. What's going on there? And recognize, I like this little language of Scripture here in verse 33. Know that it is near.
Isn't that nice?
No, that is near. You don't want things that characterizes Christianity that didn't characterize the nation of Israel was that we have intelligence as to what is God is doing. Well, that's just one little passage that we could turn to. Let's turn to another little passage of scripture that would tell us, umm, that things are near. Uh, Luke's or let's John's gospel Chapter 11.
John's Gospel Chapter 11 and UH.
Let's well, let's read chapter 10, verse 40.
Verse 39. Therefore they sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hand, and went away again beyond Jordan, into the place where John first baptized. And there he abode. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle. But all things that John speak of this man were true, and many believed on him there. Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, in the town of Mary and Martha, Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. Then verse six, when he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode 2 days still in the same place where he was. Well, we don't have a lot of time here, but you can study on your own. The two days in Scripture, all throughout the Scriptures I quoted, Hosea maybe didn't quote it quite right. Let's just turn to it, umm, because that's another one that they had in the Old Testament times. They didn't quite understand what it meant.
But we do.
Hosea chapter 6 verse one. Come and let us return unto the Lord, for ye hath torn, and he hath. He will heal us. He hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After 2 days He will revive us. In the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord. Well brethren, you know the Lord Jesus was crucified.
He was buried.
Rose again from among the dead, and 40 days later, after having showed himself to many witnesses, 500 brethren at one time, he rose. He ascended into the glory. There's a man seated at the right hand of the glory, the majesty on high.
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And that was approximately 8029, maybe 8030. And so it's not quite perhaps 2000 years, but umm, those 2000 years are almost up.
Those 2000 years are almost up and, uh, I don't wanna be seeking to be running a calculator and that sort of thing. But as a word of encouragement, I don't think the Lord will shorten the Millennium, his thousand year reign by allowing the, uh, tribulation to be a part of that period of time of the, of, of the Millennium. He's going to reign for 1000 years and glory and great honor and he's going to have subdued all.
Of the nations, he's going to have the honor and the dignity, the glory that is due to him.
For those thousand years, so that seven years, I wonder, is really a part of the church period. And God is going to judge the Lord. Jesus is going to judge the Western Christian world. And we have the details, some of those details given to us in the Book of Revelation.
Well, if we just subtract that out a little bit, we don't have very much time left.
If it was 802029 and back out seven years, well, we know that the time the, the, uh, calendar is all mixed up and so we're not quite sure what year it is. I just say, brethren, the two days are almost up. It should be an encouragement to your heart. And uh, I just say this to you young people, You don't have much time left in this scene. Use every day for the Lord. You only get something like 70,000 days.
In your life, is it 70,000? I can't remember what the exact figure is, but umm, you don't have very many days. Every day that goes by, never ever to be retrieved. But the Lord Jesus loves his people and he's not going to wait one more second beyond the time that the Lord has given him and he's going to come and to receive us unto himself. For those two days are almost up. Another one of those two days that I really enjoy my own soul and you can search out.
Different ones. Luke's gospel chapter 10, and he speaks there figuratively of the assembly of the Good Samaritan in uh chapter 10, verse 33.
But a Samaritan, a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him he had compassion on him and went to him or up to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, set him on his own beast and brought him to it should say, the inn.
And took care of him. And on the Morrow when he departed, he took out 2 Pence and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him. And whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee, O brethren.
You know the Samaritan, The Good Samaritan is a picture of the Lord Jesus. He was despised and rejected of man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
He came right to where we were, in the ditch of sin. He came and picked us up as those who were Gentiles.
And he picked us up and set us on his own beast. And there he brings us to the end, brings us to the assembly. Do you thank God for being brought by His grace into the assembly, being gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus? Oh, it was the work of the Lord to bring you here.
And what a privilege to be gathered by the Spirit of God to the precious name of the Lord Jesus. And so provision is made. 2 Pence, 2 Pennies. That's enough for 2000 years. One day is with the Lord is 1000 years and 1000 years is one day. The two pence are spent. If I could put it that way, that's almost up. But you know, it's lovely to see in this little passage of Scripture and I enjoy it in connection with what we've had in Romans chapter 12, he says whatsoever thou spend us more.
When I come again, I will repay thee. Now that's like having a blank check or somebody giving you the credit card and saying.
Here's my credit card, and you take care of the people of God. I don't care what you spend. They're worth every dime you spend it whatsoever. They'll spend us more. I will repay thee. Oh, and that lovely the Lord loves his people. And you can't expand the Lord. And if he gives you just a little something to do for himself and an affection for him that you seek to do it, oh, He'll reward you. He'll delight to tell you how much it meant to his heart of love. And as you cared for his people, those he redeemed with his own precious blood.
Well, those two days, as I say, are almost up. Let's turn to Hebrews chapter 10.
Another line of things.
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In this verse of scripture was quoted as well.
A little earlier.
Let's read from verse 22 to get a good in connection, a good connection here. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as a matter of some is but exhorting one another.
For encouraging one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
Well, brethren, it's no surprise. We come to this little conference and we see some faces that we haven't seen before. I'm so thankful. But we also see some that we, we wish that we saw here and, umm, some that haven't continued on in the things of God, some that haven't continued on, perhaps in the assembly, but some that haven't continued on even in the things of God. And we live in this whole characteristic of things in the day that we live in is a day of apostasy.
And you know what that means apostasy. It means the giving up of the knowledge of God. Do we live at a time when there's a giving up of the knowledge of God?
We we live in a day in an age where there is a giving up, a releasing and a turning away from the word of God in the government was mentioned earlier in the political system in the education system in all of the systems of men, but also really sadly the same in the Christian profession. There's a turning away from the truth and it says in I think it's second Peter gonna turn to it so that I don't misquote it here.
Chapter 2 and uh, verse one, there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privilege shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them.
And bring upon themselves swift destruction. Many shall follow their pernicious ways. By reason of whom the way of truth.
Shall be evil spoken of. Well, you know, there are unbelievers that creep in and perhaps mostly into the Christian profession and they gain a, a following, they gain a church and so on. And, uh, there are those doctrines that are not pure in connection with the doctrines, the connection with the Lord Jesus and even the coming of the Lord Jesus is denied. Haven't you run into somebody if you've perhaps in the habit of giving out a little gospel track here or there or of speaking to those that are believers?
Maybe you have a little gospel sticker on the back of your vehicle or something and somebody says something to you and then they say something and you say, well, the Lord is coming. Are you looking for the Lord is coming. Well, not quite. Umm, I think he's coming post tribulation and so on. And they, they're all mixed up. They don't know when he's coming. It's because you know, there's a giving up of the knowledge of the truth of God. There's a giving up of Paul's doctrine. And also here the evidence of it is.
That there is a forsaking of our approach, of our assembling to ourselves together. There's not the attendance at the assembly meetings as there once was. Am I speaking the truth?
I don't want to raise any.
Umm.
Well, I don't want to say anything out of line, but you know, I come from an assembly.
That everyone comes to the assembly meetings except for one person on a regular basis, the whole place, everyone's there. And it's not, I feel perhaps umm, because it's a, an assembly that's, uh, going on in the right way or anything like that. That's not the case. It's the, the case is that there's so few of us that there's a desire to labor together and there's a desire of the heart of different ones just to be in the presence of the Lord. And we live far from town. We don't, we live in the middle of nowhere and, uh, some don't even have really good Internet access and all that kind of stuff. And, you know, to come to the assembly meetings.
Is a precious privilege and the assembly meetings are well attended. I just say this to you young people perhaps, perhaps, and those that are older here and some of you that come to the conference, if you don't go to all of the assembly meetings, there's not going to be the growth in your soul that there ought to be. You know, chapter Brown used to quote and used to speak on Acts 242 very frequently. Maybe some of you heard them in person, but I'm not one of those people. But I listen to some of his recordings, they continued.
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Steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And he would emphasize, they continued.
They were there.
Are you missed at the local assembly meetings? Well, I just say this as evidence that there's a giving up and there's an apostasy. There's Mr. Lundeen used to say that this, uh, this day that it's approaching in Hebrews 10/25 is a day of apostasy. Yes, it can be applied to the coming of the Lord Jesus, the rapture. It can be applied even to the appearing. But really he said in the context here, and I believe it's right as you see the day approaching, the day of apostasy, the day of the nation giving up the whole of the knowledge of God. Are we close to that in America?
Is it close that the American government can say, could say we don't want in God we trust on our money?
It's close, isn't it? Oh, let's take courage, brethren. The coming of the Lord is very, very near. The government is giving up the knowledge of God, throwing it aside. And, uh, we see all kinds of error creeping into the church and the dignity and the glories of Christ being assailed on every, on every part. But let's hold fast as it says in verse 23 here. Hold fast the profession of faith without wavering. Now let's look, umm.
I don't want to.
Look at too many things that are.
The filing, if you could put it that way, but I just want let's look at Matthew 24, one more portion there.
Our time is almost up.
Matthew 24. Let's just read uh.
Verse 36 Now this is Speaking of the appearing of the Lord Jesus, not the rapture. There's the appearing is coming with us Saints, but then his coming for his Saints is Matthew chapter 25. And so from verse one and Matthew 25 down to verse 13 is the the rapture. He's Speaking of the rapture. And if you have a pencil there, I just put brackets behind verse 13. It says watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour.
And it shouldn't be there. We're in the Son of Man cometh the translators. Put that in there. It's not accurate. Watch therefore, for you know, neither the day nor the hour that's in connection with the rapture. We don't know the day of the hour nor the hour. But you know, the Old Testament Saints or the the Saints that are coming.
The, uh, masculine, those that are godly remnant in the land of Israel after the rapture, they're not gonna know when the appearing is going to take place. They'll have a pretty good idea. They'll read the scriptures and they'll say, you know, they just signed this agreement in Israel.
With Israel for seven years, the prophetic clock will start and they'll measure back. They'll read the scriptures, those masculine, they'll say, oh, he's going to come and it's be about right around here. They won't know the precisely the hour or the day specifically, but they'll know they're very close, just like we can do and read the scriptures. But here it says in chapter 24 and verse 36 in connection with the appearing but of that day, an hour of no man, no, not in angels of heaven.
But my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. See his title as a judge, the Son of Man for God's committed judgment into the hands of man, and the Lord Jesus as His man, His Judge.
For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered in the ark.
And knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be well. We know that this is going to take place after the Rapture. Mr.
Umm.
Mr. John Burton.
Some of you met him. It was in my home assembly in Pine Grove.
I thank God for having spent some time in his presence in his home had a real influence on my life. And umm, John Barton used to say, used to give a little illustration. You know, he say, you know, when we go up to Gordon's Cottage on Hwy. 69, there's no signs where really Gordon's Cottage and turn, you know, 20 miles or whatever. But we had signs to go to, to Parry Sound and we knew how long it was to go to Parry Sound.
And when you came to Hammer Bay, there's a sign now that says 30 kilometers, but back then it was 20 miles to Parry Sound on Hwy. 69, and you just subtracted about 5 miles. And you said I got 15 miles to go before I get to Gordon's cottage.
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And that's how we measured things in those days. And so we said it would be about 15 minutes before I'd be at Gordon's cottage.
And so, you know, the characteristics morally of this world, the corruption and the wickedness that's going on, similar to the days of NOAA, similar to days of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Precede judgment. And so we know that the coming of the Lord is very near because the corruption has increased and it's bold in the face corruption and wickedness. We don't have a lot of time. But I'll just say this that Mister Lundeen used to say, and I believe it's true, that umm, when a society became morally corrupt, there was oftentimes most times an overthrow of the government.
You know, Mr. Eisenhower, President Eisenhower, when he was in office, he was, he was saved part way through his second term. He took Christ as a savior and, umm, he, uh, his party, the Republican Party lost the election to the Democrats. And so Mr. John F Kennedy was.
Inaugurated to be the president of the United States and Mr. Eisenhower, President Eisenhower, former President Eisenhower, he wept. He wept and he wept not because he lost the election. He wept because he saw, he knew the moral character of President Kennedy.
He said to himself, and he said to those that were his nearest advisers, he said it's going to be the ruin of the country.
And he was right. And what happened during the 1960s, all the riots and so on that we went through and, uh, the race riots and the anti government, umm, Vietnam era protests and so on, There was almost an overthrow of government. It was serious business. But you know, we live in a day and a time when the Western governments are coming to a point of collapse and umm, I don't want to be an alarmist, but we're really been right at the end.
Of the day of grace, We are living right at the end of the time of prosperity and the time of the, umm, prominence of the time of the Gentiles. We're just about to hear the shout of the Lord to call us out of this scene. And then there's going to be 7 years of judgment and the Lord is going to destroy this place. He's going to say as it were. I will just mimic the language of love to the Lord. Do you ever think I wonder what the voice of the Lord will sound like and what he'll say when he comes?
When he gives the shout himself, arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. How do the corruption and the filth will be called away out of this scene? And what's going to be left is going to be dealt with in judgment. He'll cleanse by judgment. Well, you know, we're not, umm, very far off this. I'll just give you another example. In Daniel chapter 5, there was a wild feast, a wild party.
It was a last night.
That the Babylonish empire, God tells us in detail. He gives us a whole chapter, chapter 5, Daniel, you can read it. He gives us the detail of the collapse of the Babylonian empire and the moral corruption and the wickedness of that place. And there was a change of government. But do you know that in the Western world, the Western Christian world, there's going to be a dictator that arises up 3 1/2 years after the agreement is signed with Israel?
3 1/2 years later, there's going to be a dictator that seizes control of the Western Empire, the United States of Europe, and whoever is connected with it and sees Israel as a part of his conquest. And he'll rule as an absolute dictator. He'll demand worship and he'll impose idolatry upon the Western world. O beloved brethren, it's not far off. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and I just want to encourage you to read prophecy.
And if you don't have a little copy of Bruce Anstey's book on prophetic events or Walter Scott's future events, some of those books, get those books and read those books. Read the Book of Revelation. And those things are just about to take place. That should cheer our hearts. And so we have the love of the Lord Jesus as evidence that we're not here for very long. He wants his bride with him. He wants you to be where he is. He wants you to be in that clean place, never to be defiled ever again.
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And He wants you by his side forever. He's going to get his way, brethren. And so we have the encouragement of the Scriptures in connection with these things. Let's commend ourselves.
Our loving God and our Father, we thank thee for the certainty of the coming of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, the Bridegroom. And we would this afternoon say Even so come Lord Jesus, and so encourage our hearts. We pray these that none of us might be cast down and that we might have our eye upon the mark, the prize for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, and that we might look and act as those that are the sons of God, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ.
As we await thine imminent coming, blessed Savior, so we ask Thee for Thy blessing. Commend ourselves to Thee for the remainder this evening, in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.