"Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first He lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations." Isaiah 9:1

"The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles." Matthew 4:15

"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only." Matthew 24:35-36

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." Luke 21:34-35

This time I greet you in the Name of Christ our Lord, with a very special message from our returning King, even from the glorified and ascended Lord Jesus. Hear His Word: "I am returning speedily on the wings of the morning (Rev. 22:12); the time is almost at hand that the whole world shall be snared (Lk. 21:35). Arise and pray throughout this day lest you slumber into death (Lk. 21:36)!"

Isn't it wonderful news that our time of waiting is almost ended? What a joyous expectation to await the King of righteousness, Who will establish peace throughout the earth, and a government for the people founded in love and righteousness. Think not that my words are merely words invented by man, for I have a glorious testimony by the Lord Jesus Himself as recorded in the 21st chapter of Luke's Gospel. Some of these I shall read to you shortly, and will then show you how there is prophecy with a definite time measure attached covering our era of waiting; that era of waiting is now running its last grains of sand.

In this 21st chapter of Luke's Gospel, we find the Lord sitting upon the Mount of Olives with His twelve disciples, speaking to them of events which should take place; and especially of those events which should immediately precede His return to earth. First, great distress should come upon the nations with increasing perplexity (Lk. 21:25). Then in verse 27, we read of His return to earth in these words: "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." That is what Christendom has awaited over 19 centuries, but now – thank God – the days of awaiting are almost ended.

Don't let anyone kid you that we cannot know the time. It is correct that we shall not know the "hour," but we shall certainly know the approximate time. Usually people who believe that no one can know the time, quote the words of our Lord when He said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only" (Matt. 24:36). However, in this case, as in so many another, our theologians have interpreted the Word of God so that it makes no sense whatever. When we turn to Matthew 24, verses 35 and 36, we find that when He spoke those words, He had just been speaking about heaven and earth, which should eventually pass away; and in that selfsame breath, speaking of identically that same event, did He say that no one knew the day and the hour except the Heavenly Father.

The heavens and our earth shall vanish away some time (II Pet. 3:7,10-12); when, we do not know. But according to the prophecies, there are at least many thousands of years yet to go for other events to fulfill which must come to pass before the earth passes away. And it was of that day and hour He spoke when He said that no one, no, not even the angels of heaven, but the Father only, knew that time. So in the future when you hear someone referring to this passage which says that no one can know, that will give you a good chance to quote the previous verse, and to show that they are definitely linked together with that one word "But." We have well over 100 prophecies all agreeing that these very years are to be the closing moments of our era, which shall be climaxed by the heavens lighting up with the glory of the returning Son of God! In all sincerity I ask, what better news is it possible to bring you?

So when the Lord has spoken of all these things which were to take place before the conclusion of the age, He uttered this special warning as we find it in Luke 21, verses 34 through 36:
"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."

Did I say prophecy? Yes, indeed! It is only the blind world and brainwashed ministers of Christ – brainwashed in the universities of Lucifer – who are not able to discern prophecy in nearly every utterance spoken by the Son of God. In fact, the closing book of our Bible tells us that "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10). That "testimony of Jesus" referred to the words He spoke while He was on earth. How is it possible to see prophecy in nearly every one of His statements?

But before I go into detailing the prophecy that our Lord set forth here, I want to set before you the great joy to which He gave voice, as we find it in verse 36 wherein He said, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."

How is it possible to always be praying? I believe that the most devout among us fall far short of that. Of course, we could interpret His Word to mean that we should pray often. But I have confidence that our Lord had both the intelligence and honesty to have used the word "often" or "frequently" or "repeatedly" or any number of other expressions which could properly have conveyed that thought; so why didn't He? For the simple reason, He meant precisely what He said. On this occasion, the word which has been rendered "pray" in the original Greek texts, is not the same word which is commonly rendered "to pray." The radical meaning of the word means `to bind or tie,' while in a less radical sense it is used to imply an urgent request. This, then, was what our Lord referred to – precisely the same happy message I am trying to put over to you. That is, that we must get so tied or bound to our Lord that Christ becomes our very life; not just while we are in church or in deep prayer, but every moment of the time. It is the same as what in other places He referred to as "believing into Him" (Matt. 18:6; Jn. 6:29, 14:1, 17:20).

When we have been born into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, and have learned to live as sons and daughters of the Son of God, then does our being so fill with the Spirit of our Lord that we are perpetually conscious of His unceasing Presence. That is what He referred to as having become tied or bound to Him with that unbreakable bond, by which He is a vital and a joyous part of our moment-by-moment existence! You need not be preaching the Gospel or healing the sick in order to live in the consciousness of His Presence. You may be washing the dishes, mowing the lawn, or buying the groceries; still the joy of His Spirit and the power of His Presence can and should so fill your being as to make you sing at the top of your voice! (Perhaps circumstances would not make that prudent, but if so, you can still be effervescing with the joy of His Spirit.)

Now observe His words: "...that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things...." I am aware how the average Christian thinks of that as referring to some very special troubles in the very last days, and that is quite correct – yet only a portion of the truth. For, His expression "...all these things that shall come to pass...." takes in the entire range of difficulties, troubles, distress and sorrows, and whatsoever comes within the catalogue of human adversities. Those are what our Lord said we would be accounted worthy to escape, if in the proper spirit we got "bound" to Him. The trouble is that the world has been taken in the net of Lucifer; we have been brought up in his universities, we have been schooled in his lies, we have been taught his illusions, and we have eaten so much of the tareseed which he planted while men slept (Matt. 13:25), that we have become blind and sick, and hallucinated to the extent of believing we were born unto sorrow, unending troubles and eventual death. But from all of this came the very Son of God from heaven to fully set us free! And that He did!

Perhaps it is a mystery to you just how the crucifixion of our Lord could fully set us free, but so what? It is not so important that you understand that socalled mystery; what is important is the fact that it works. Our best medical scientists tell us that they can in no way explain how the simple matter of going to sleep can restore our energies and give us a feeling of freshness and fitness for the day. They admit their absolute ignorance when it comes to the simple matter of sleep. But so what? How many of us are concerned over that mystery? Is it not sufficient for all of us that we can happily go to sleep, knowing that we shall awaken rested and fit for another day? From experience we know that sleep possesses that almost magical power: that is what counts! So similarly with the power of the Son of God to set us fully free through His atoning work on Calvary. If you don't understand, just forget it – even as we do the mystery of sleep. But like sleep, it works if you give Him a chance!

So if you have been born into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, then in spirit get yourself so tied or bound to the Lord that you are perpetually aware of His Presence, and unceasingly you rejoice in the joy of His Spirit. Then will you come to know that the Atonement for you was fully accomplished, to that glorious end that you are now accounted worthy to escape every possible calamity in the catalogue of man's adversities. That is the even more marvelously happy news I have for you, that we can have heaven on earth here and now!