I did not have anything to do with organizing this conference, but I am sure that the number one purpose of those who organized this conference was to glorify God in all of this. Another purpose was that we might speak of the Word and that we might bring it forth faithfully.
When Paul was before Felix, we read in Acts 24:24-25:
And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he [Paul] reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
We would hope that whenever we speak of the Bible or whenever we try to witness to someone, we would bring the whole counsel of God. We speak of the righteousness of Christ, we speak of temperance, which probably speaks to self-control and how Christ kept the Law perfectly, and we never omit judgment. We always want to speak of judgment.
In Proverbs 19:28, we read:
An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity.
It is so important, especially in these days, to never omit judgment. We do not want to continuously look at the churches and find fault, but this is one of the things that is not happening within the churches. They are omitting judgment.
Another purpose for this conference would be to encourage each other. There are those among this EBible Fellowship who are working in so many different ways to get the Gospel out. You see these guys with their vans lettered up. These guys are just working so hard to get tracts out. There are others who are giving. As God has blessed them financially in this life, they are giving of their wherewithal now simply to get the Gospel out at the end. There are those who are working for Family Radio to get all of their literature out. There are those who are translating and those who are working in the International Department of Family Radio or in their Shortwave Department. There are those who simply pray. We refer to them as “prayer warriors.” This is a very important thing, as God works through the prayers of His people. Those who are not blessed with financial wealth can pray. Again, God hears the prayers of His people and He works through them; the Bible teaches this. There are also those who are getting the billboards out. There are those who are attempting to reach the media to get this message out. In all of this, we are to encourage each other.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, it says:
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
There are those among the true believers who are weaker or who have different problems.
Where He says:
…comfort the feebleminded…
I do not know if this necessarily means those who are mentally impaired. Generally, I think that this is just referring to those who do not as yet have the “mind of Christ” or who are new in the faith and need to grow in their knowledge. But, again, Christians work together as a body and they have all of these different functions and roles; and this is what we would hope to see happen at this conference.
I will get to my message here in a second; but in recent years, we have seen the importance of this verse in Ecclesiastes 8:5, which says:
…a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.
We will speak about this; but first, I would just like to speak from a few verses in Psalm 73.
There are people who have favorite Bible verses or favorite passages in the Bible. For me, one of my favorite passages is in Lamentations 3 where it talks about, “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed.” It ends up with, “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”
But as I was doing a word study on Psalm 73, I came across this passage here that is just an absolutely beautiful passage. Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the writer of this Psalm starts out speaking about how he had almost slipped because he was “envious at the foolish,” at those who prosper in this world. He says in Psalm 73:4:
For there are no bands in their death…
They have no difficulty. We read in the next verse, Psalm 73:5:
They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.
But then he began to realize his error.
As this goes on, we will start in Psalm 73:15:
If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.
He had said in verse 13, Psalm 73:13:
Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.
In other words, he has been trying to do things the Lord’s way and he believes that it has been in vain as he sees how the wicked of this world seem to prosper and that they have no troubles.
But here he is realizing his error and says in verse 15, Psalm 73:15:
If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.
If he said this, he would offend against the children of God. He realizes his error.
So we go on in Psalm 73:16-22 to read:
When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
These next three verses are what I think are so beautiful. He says in Psalm 73:23-25:
Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
Then it says in Psalm 73:26-28:
My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord JEHOVAH, that I may declare all thy works.
He said back in verse 16, Psalm 73:16-17:
When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
In the Interlinear, they used the word “discern” for the word “understood.” The word “perceive” is also suggested there. I like these words; they seem to have a deeper sense of revelation.
But when we go into the “sanctuary of God,” we do not necessarily go into a building. Whenever we turn to the Lord or whenever we go into the Bible to read the Bible, we are going into His sanctuary, into His presence.
Look at Isaiah 8. In Isaiah 8:13-14, we read:
Sanctify JEHOVAH of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
God is our sanctuary. He is where we turn. He is the only place where we can turn. There is nowhere else where we can go. There are a lot of verses in the Bible that talk about how God is our sanctuary.
Turning back to Psalm 73, we are now going to read several expressions here that have to do with eternal damnation. He says in Psalm 73:18-20:
Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.
Or look at verse 27, Psalm 73:27-28:
For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord JEHOVAH, that I may declare all thy works.
We read again back here in verse 19, Psalm 73:19:
How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!…
Why does He say, “as in a moment”? He is speaking of the suddenness that judgment is going to come with, even though this message is going out all over the world. Tracts are going out by the millions. On just the tract trip to Moscow, they handed out over one million tracts. Millions of tracts are going out and this message is getting into the media, but we still read in Matthew 24 that this day, May 21st of 2011, is going to come like the flood of Noah’s day because they will be “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” and most of the world is not going to be prepared for this. This is going to come as a horrible and terrifying shock. The horribleness of this is incomprehensible to us.
Look at Job 34. It says in Job 34:18-19:
Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly? How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes…
This is referring to God. It continues:
How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.
Then it says in verse 20, Job 34:20:
In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.
There are many verses in the Bible that talk about the swiftness and the suddenness of judgment.
Turn to Psalm 6. In Psalm 6:9-10, it says:
JEHOVAH hath heard my supplication; JEHOVAH will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.
Again, these words, “as in a moment” or “suddenly,” are in many places throughout the Bible as we read of judgment.
Turn now to Numbers 16 and let us look at this account of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the sons of Reuben and some of these others who rebelled against Moses in the wilderness, which is looking right at our day. We can relate the rebellion of these people to what is happening in our day.
Again, we do not want to keep finding fault with the church, but we have to see these errors and how God is showing us what is happening in the church of our day; but we cannot be proud. We must be humbled and grieved, especially for those of us who were in the church for many years of our lives.
In Numbers 16:1-5, we read:
Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and JEHOVAH is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of JEHOVAH? And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow JEHOVAH will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.
Only the chosen of God “come near unto him.”
Then we read in verse 6, Numbers 16:6-10:
This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; And put fire therein, and put incense in them before JEHOVAH to morrow: and it shall be that the man whom JEHOVAH doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. And Moses said unto Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of JEHOVAH, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them? And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also?
These men were Levites. They were in the service of the Lord, but it was not enough. They wanted the priesthood also.
Then we read in verse 11, Numbers 16:11-35:
For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against JEHOVAH: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him? And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: which said, We will not come up: Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. And Moses was very wroth, and said unto JEHOVAH, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before JEHOVAH, thou, and they, and Aaron, to morrow: And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before JEHOVAH every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each of you his censer. And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of JEHOVAH appeared unto all the congregation. And JEHOVAH spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? And JEHOVAH spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. So they gat up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that JEHOVAH hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then JEHOVAH hath not sent me. But if JEHOVAH make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick [or alive] into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked JEHOVAH. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them: And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from JEHOVAH, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
This was a long passage, but I wanted to read this whole thing because still they rebelled, as we read in verse 41, Numbers 16:41:
But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of JEHOVAH.
Then we read again in Numbers 16:42-45:
And it came to pass, when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of JEHOVAH appeared. And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. And JEHOVAH spake unto Moses, saying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces.
He says it here again and He is talking about the swiftness of judgment that is going to come upon them. But again, I believe that we are to see in this what is happening today, because He talks twice about how they were taken alive down into the pit.
Turn to Psalm 55. Psalm 55 is about Judas and we can relate the corporate church of our day to Judas. They flatter the Lord and claim to be the people of God, and yet they are in rebellion. We read in Psalm 55:12-14:
For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
These words “equal” and “guide” have to do with those in the church. They have the Word of God. They are a guide and they are equal to Christ in this sense. It says that they:
…walked unto the house of God in company.
But He says in Psalm 55:15:
Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick…
Again, this is that same word “alive.”
…let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
Look at Revelation 19. In Revelation 19:19-20, we read:
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
I believe these accounts in Numbers 16 and these verses in Psalm 55, which speak of how the worst enemies of the truth are those who claim to be the people of God, are looking at our day, particularly when judgment is going to fall suddenly and come upon those who will be living at this time; wickedness is greatest at this time. The wickedness of those who claim to be the people of God is at its greatest. It is greater than it has ever been in the history of the world.
Returning back to Psalm 73, let us look at this a little bit more. In Psalm 73:21-22, we read:
Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
Again, the Psalmist sees his error as he envies the wicked in this life. When he goes into the sanctuary of the Lord, then he perceives or discerns the end of the wicked.
This beautiful passage begins next in verse 23, Psalm 73:23:
Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
This is the testimony of every true believer, which is made possible entirely by the grace of God. You are only a child of God because He chose you from before the foundations of the world and atoned for your sins through the suffering of the Lord Jesus before the foundations of the world. We have learned this recently. God is opening up to us “time and judgment” as never before.
Then it says in verse 24, Psalm 73:24:
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
What is His counsel? It is the Bible.
In Psalm 119:24, we read:
Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.
This is just another form of the same word. God guides us with His Word.
Look at Psalm 119:130. It says:
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
This is an integral part of our salvation. We must hear the Word in order to be saved.
Look also at Psalm 119:50:
This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.
The Word is what brings us to life. It is what saves and brings to life.
Psalm 119:93 says the same thing. It says:
I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
There is an utter importance for the Word of God. A true believer understands that there is nothing else that can compare to it. There is no book written by man that can compare to the Bible. When we read from the Bible and we ponder it, we are sitting at the feet of God.
We just stand amazed at a verse that we find in Psalm 138:2. It says at the end of this verse:
…for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
It is incomprehensible that God has magnified His Word above all His name. It makes us realize the utter importance of the Word of God.
Returning back to Psalm 73:24-26, we read:
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
We have no strength in ourself. It is God who is our strength.
Then He speaks of judgment again in verse 27, Psalm 73:27:
For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
And then we read in verse 28, Psalm 73:28:
But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord JEHOVAH, that I may declare all thy works.
This is what His true believers do. As soon as we are saved, we begin to serve. We are saved to serve. We go out and we declare all of His works.
This is what these men and women are doing who are getting these tracts out and all of this other ministry work. It is simply to be a witness and to testify of God and of His works, of His salvation and of His impending judgment.
Again, this verse in Ecclesiastes 8:5 says:
…a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment.
This has come to mean so much to us.
Noah was shown some things about time and judgment. He was told that man’s days “shall be an hundred and twenty years” when he was first told to begin building the ark. We know that Noah was a figure of Christ. He was “a preacher of righteousness.” As “a preacher of righteousness,” he would have been preaching this message of judgment, “God is going to destroy this world in 120 years. This is why I am building this ark.” Then he gave them a more specific time reference when he was told, “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain.”
Isaiah also understood some things about “time and judgment.” I know that in one place in Isaiah, he prophesied, “Within threescore and five years [65 years] shall Ephraim be broken,” and this happened.
Jeremiah understood some things about “time and judgment.” He had been told by the Lord to prophecy the destruction of Jerusalem and to speak to them of all their idol worship, how they had fallen away and how God was going to bring judgment on them. He told them that they would “serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”
Daniel understood some things about “time and judgment.” In Daniel 9, we read that he “understood by books” the seventy years that had been written of by Jeremiah.
Now, some 45-50 years ago, God came to this man, Harold Camping, a man with a very fine mind, a man trained as an engineer, and inclined his heart to just study the Bible intensely and diligently. Many of us have heard Mr. Camping’s testimony about this. He studied the Bible intensely for a period of about five years, at which time he worked on the chronologies of Genesis 5 and Genesis 11.
Theologians had always known that there was a Biblical calendar, but they could never figure it out. It was finally revealed to Mr. Camping how a progenitor did not necessarily have to be an immediate father when it says that so-and-so begat so-and-so. Finally, Mr. Camping came up with this date of 11,013 B.C. for creation. He then came up with the date of the flood, which was 4990 B.C. and he saw that the flood was exactly 6,023 years after creation. He began to see that God used certain numbers in the Bible in certain ways. He noticed that the number 13 seemed to be used of God in different places to speak of the extent of this creation.
For one example, look at Deuteronomy 32:8. We read here:
When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
How many “sons of Israel” were there? There were twelve; however, the tribe of Joseph was counted as two. So there were thirteen tribes in all.
Could it be that there were thirteen tribes and this verse is speaking of 13,000 years? Could it be that this is what this verse is saying in relation to the duration of the world?
Look also at the story of Jericho. It is a very involved story. There is a lot to this story, but it is also speaking of the end. They marched around Jericho for six days. Then on the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times; and so they marched around this city a total of thirteen times.
How many months are in a year? There are twelve months in a year; however, occasionally, the Jews had to insert a thirteenth month. This was because their months were 30-day months, and so they would have to make an adjustment once every couple of years to insert a thirteenth month.
God really hid this, but this number thirteen speaks to the duration of this world, and Mr. Camping began to see these things. He also began to see the number 23. He noticed that the flood had been exactly 6,023 years after creation.
When we finally understood what it was saying in 2 Peter where we read “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,” which is that “one day” represents “a thousand years,” and that when God came to Noah with the warning that there would only be seven more days, it was like He was telling us that judgment would again come worldwide exactly seven thousand years after the flood.
Again, Mr. Camping understood this. There had to be one person that these things were revealed to at first. But then as others saw them, they would come together, which is like what we do in this fellowship, and add and build upon this understanding.
But we also know that Mr. Camping made errors. He had thought that since the world was exactly 13,000 years old in 1988, this period of 2300 days that is spoken of in the book of Daniel made it look like there would be a shortened period for the Great Tribulation. This is how he came up with the date of 1994, but he made a mistake because God had not shown us everything yet.
This is just the way that it is. There is no direct revelation from God since the Bible was completed. This is the way we learn and this is the way that God works in us. He humbles us also, because we fall on our faces. It was finally opened up to us that the period of Great Tribulation was in two parts: 2300 days and then 6100 days.
As Mr. Camping continued in this Biblical chronology, he had to come to a point where he could make it correspond to a trustworthy secular date. He finally came down to 967 B.C. because of what we read in 1 Kings where it states that it was exactly 480 years after the children came out of Egypt that the temple was begun in Solomon’s day.
We now find people working overtime to find fault with Mr. Camping’s chronology. I know of one man in Australia who is really working on this date. It is interesting, however, that in 1994, many people did not catch this but Israel celebrated the 3,000th year of David’s ascension to the throne. If you go backwards 3,000 years from the year 1994, it falls on 1007 B.C., and this was Mr. Camping’s date for David’s ascension to the throne. David was on the throne for 40 years and then he died. His death would have been in 967 B.C. Solomon reigned with David for four years, and so Solomon’s reign would have started in 971 B.C. Solomon also reigned for 40 years and then he died, which would have been in 931 B.C. And this is the date for the division of the kingdoms.
Again, there are men working overtime to disprove these dates, but there is just too much other evidence that corresponds and affirms this. For example, if we look at the date of 33 A.D. for the crucifixion of Christ, there could not have been any other year. When Christ was crucified, it was the only year anywhere near this time when the 14th day of the 1st month would have fallen on this particular Friday, from the period of Thursday evening to Friday evening. Also, from the “seventy weeks” of Daniel 9, we can work back from this date to the date of 458 B.C.
So God is bringing these proofs to us from different directions. He is bringing us all of this proof to where we just cannot say that this is not going to happen. Again, there are others fighting this tooth and nail because they do not want this to happen; that is the bottom line.
We could go on and talk about these time paths, but we have all seen these on the Internet and in these tracts. These different time paths are just amazing, and yet there are others who are really working against this. However, there are just too many “infallible proofs,” as Family Radio’s tract says.
This is going to happen, and so this should be the mindset of all of us. The urgency is there and we should be just concentrating all of our efforts on, number one, getting this message out if we know that we are a child of God. If we are not certain, we simply must make our “calling and election sure.” The Bible tells us to “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith.”
Just continue to call on God for His salvation. There is no other place that we can go. He has shown us within the very creation, not only that He exists but He has also shown us within creation things about the Godhead, as to which god is the true God. He has also told us in Romans 1 that we are “without excuse” if we deny that there is a God.
In Ecclesiastes 9:3, which we looked at last week, we read:
This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all…
There is “one event.” Is this speaking of physical death or final judgment? Either one can apply.
It says in verse 2, Ecclesiasts 9:2:
All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Again, Ecclesiastes 9:3 says:
This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all…
He has doubled up on this.
…yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
This is God’s assessment of man. No matter how intelligent he is, no matter how much he has done or has accomplished in his life, he is not in his right mind if he refuses to bow the knee to God.
Let me just read these last few verses of Psalm 73:23-25 again:
Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
These are just beautiful and comforting verses.
Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel…
He will guide us with His Word.
…and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
There is no one else. There is only one God whom we can go to.
Again, make your “calling and election sure.” Call on the Lord, which is a commandment. We are commanded in the Bible to be saved.
He says in Isaiah 45:22:
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth…
In Isaiah 55:6, He says:
…call ye upon him while he is near:
In another place, He tells us, “Call upon me in the day of trouble.” We are commanded to be saved, and yet we will not unless it is God who is first inclining our hearts to do so.
But the men who speak in these fellowships, as well as Mr. Camping and the men from Family Radio, you will hear them over and over again say, “Cry out to God for His mercy. Call upon Him. Even though salvation is entirely by His choosing, it is not our business to know if we are elect or not.”
Have you ever heard Mr. Camping say this? We have to think about this. It is not our business whether we are elect or not. We are simply to call upon God for His salvation. In His mercy, it is still “the day of salvation.”
Let us close.