Vince Lombardi, the famous Green Bay Packer coach of the 1960s, known for his draconian training regimen in preparing his players, said: “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” He put his observation to practical use against his opponents by making sure it was the opponents, not his team members, who were fatigued by game’s end. Each Packer player was totally spent at the end of each practice session; he left all he had on the field of preparation.

When strength was returned and fully pumped up on game day, there was more than enough to overpower those not as intensively conditioned. The result was a championship team that continues to be memorialized in sports lore all of these years later. There was no team that could match Lombardi’s Packers when the fatigue set in during the later stages of the games they played during the height of their power. There were teams that could match their natural athletic abilities, but none could match their endurance.

The game was won by the intensive time of preparation as much as it was won on the actual field of play.

The use of the above sports analogy is not far-fetched. Paul, the great champion for taking the gospel of Christ forth, used just such an analogy to describe his life, death, and glorious future in God’s kingdom: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:4-8).

Paul, it is obvious by studying his writings, was a sports fan. He used things like running a race, beating the air, finishing the course, and other terms that give us insight to the fact that he at least took interest in the society of his day. That society was one filled with sports activities, and would have been a natural area of subject matter for the great teacher to interject as he presented the gospel and matters of Bible doctrine.

The games of the day included Olympic-type events. The races in particular turned on the cheers of fans of the day. Crowns of laurels (formed from leaves) were placed upon the victors’ heads by the judges.

Paul made the linkage of the races of his time to the bema (judgment seat of  Christ), at which children of God will receive  crowns of victory based upon how they ran the race in Christ’s cause during their lifetimes. The very nature of such a race indicates the necessity of enduring–of persevering–through the long, sometimes uphill miles of living a life of righteousness.

Most often, Paul used such analogy to indicate, as in the verses above, the fact that the Christian should be willing to endure. In many places, he taught how to build endurance. That preparation most often was wrapped around prayer, Scripture study, and practical action–witnessing and teaching truth to others.

God’s Word telling us to endure is one topical area of Bible prophecy that has caused anxiety-ridden questions among some.  It seems to those who question that the command to endure, according to the language used, is a requirement in order to assure that salvation is achieved. One must “endure unto the end” to be saved–to win in the game of life, thus to secure one’s place in heaven for eternity.

Endurance is one of the things God requires of His children. As a matter of fact, He demands it. But, what does the term “endurance” used in the scriptures, causing anxieties among some believers, mean, exactly?

A close examination of the key verses involved is necessary to understand the term “endurance” in God’s prophetic lexicon. One such reference is found in the Apostle Paul’s foretelling about departure from Bible doctrine in the end of the Church Age:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry” (2 Tim. 4:3-5).

Paul was prophesying a time–indeed, I am convinced we are in that time—when many within the very heart of the Christian church will move away from preaching and teaching that man is lost and needs the Savior, who is Jesus Christ, alone (John 14: 6). This failure to endure the sound doctrine taught by Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles would, Paul indicated, be a fatigue that would make cowards of many, causing them and those they teach to turn to lies.

We see today this very thing. The gospel that man is lost in sin, thus must turn to the shedblood of Jesus Christ for remission of that deadly sin, has been changed to give the feel-good message that God is love and would never condemn those He knows to be less than perfect. The fable makers teach and preach the do-good message that we must go along with the world of philanthropists who preach a social gospel to feed, clothe, and, in general, show the have-nots that humanism is their savior.

Much of the Church today thus has failed to “endure until the end.”

Jesus pronounced, in strong language, the role “endurance” will play in the days leading up to His second advent:  “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matt. 24:11-13).

Jesus even asks in one instance whether He will find any faith on earth when He returns. And, this is where the anxiety comes in for some. Is Jesus saying that those who do not hold to absolute Bible truth until the very end won’t be “saved”? Must we–and those of the tribulation era—never slip-up and sin, thus departing from truth, or else suffer the eternal damnation of hellfire?

The answer is found within the character of the One who issued the solemn statement. Jesus, who said “It is finished” when He completed the redemption plan of God on the cross atCalvary, also said: “My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29).

Saints “endure” through Christ. We haven’t the ability to resist this fallen world apart from the strength found only in our Savior. The supernatural endurance required to “endure unto the end” is not in us, but in Jesus, who paid the full price for our eternal souls: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).

When we are “in” Christ, we will “endure,” because Christ “endures.” He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Now, this does not excuse the Christian from remaining faithful to God. In that sense, “endurance” is our responsibility. It is our responsibility to the very end–of our lives, or until the rapture of Christ’s body, the Church. We are to strengthen ourselves for spiritual battle in order to not become fatigued through prayer, Bible study, and through exercising our witness before our fellow man. We put on the whole armor of God as we are directed to do in Ephesians, Chapter 6.

God equips us. He doesn’t demand such a hard thing without providing the ability–even the absolute guarantee–of that sort of “endurance” that takes His child “unto the end.”

Those who fail to exercise their witness, in whatever way God directs, become flabby, ineffective ambassadors in Christ’s royal service. There is always a heavy price to pay for such sloth. Not loss of salvation for those who are truly in Christ’s grip, but a loss of position within the kingdom of God. Those who fail to endure in the center of God’s will will suffer loss of rewards when kneeling before their Savior at the judgment seat of Christ.

That is one primary reason we at Rapture Ready exhort Christians to join in our efforts in these closing days of the Age of Grace–the Church Age. There are many, many opportunities to labor, to “endure,” during these trying times that are presented by this dynamic website effort to reach the lost world for Christ.

Many are writing articles, many are writing encouraging emails, and some are giving in other ways to God’s work on raptureready.com.

One area we very much need help is in finances. Donations have dwindled, yet the ministry-associated needs of Christ in these closing days of the age have never been more pronounced. Enduring to the end also means supporting Christ-centered ministries with our financial offerings. If hundreds of millions can be contributed to the prosperity ministries who teach that false message of giving to get, why do not those who hold to Bible truth not support faithful ministries with greatly abundant offerings?

Jesus said: ”For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21).

Bill Keller of  Liveprayer.com recently presented a most relevant devotional about the believer and endurance:

“…Most people are so bound up in their own weaknesses, get so distracted each day by the blowing winds of life, or just won’t make the sacrifice to pay the price to ever get to a place where they can even understand this message. However, for those who do want more of God, do want all of God they can get, are willing to literally lay down their very life and give everything they have to the Lord, this word is for you today!

The word today is PERSEVERANCE. After serving the Lord for nearly 2 decades, I can tell you that it never gets any easier, the battles only intensify as time goes on, and the more you are doing for the Kingdom the more you will have to endure, and the more you will have to persevere. Why do you think so many opt out or take the easy road? Very few people enjoy pain, conflict, being a target and attacked constantly day after day, and run when confronted with these things. That is why most of the Lord’s work is done in the safety of the Christian subculture we have created, behind the 4 walls of the church. That is also why we are having very little influence, and very little impact on this world we live in!

Look at the life of Paul. It would have been easy for Paul to sit back in the comfort and safety of the churches he pioneered and take on that apostolic role and live a life of honor, ease, comfort, and luxury. While Paul did oversee the churches he founded, he never stopped or slowed down in fulfilling God’s mission for his life to take the Gospel to the lost and hurting outside the four walls of the church. He pressed forward, tirelessly, until the very end when he was martyred for his faith in Jesus Christ. Despite the great personal sacrifices, putting his life on the line each day, fighting all of the obstacles he had to face each step of the way, Paul PERSEVERED!

My word for you today is this. You are not going to ever fulfill God’s plan for your life in serving the Lord without being able to persevere. That is because the things of God don’t come easy, and won’t come without a fight. There is a very real enemy who will do all he can to stop you. As I share with you often, this is ultimately a battle for the souls of men, and sadly, Satan is willing to fight harder for souls than most of God’s people. You can’t persevere by giving God 25%. You can’t persevere by giving God 50%. You can’t persevere by giving God 80%. You can’t persevere by giving God even 95%. TO PERSEVERE, YOU HAVE TO BE SOLD OUT, 100% TO THE LORD!!!…(Bill Keller, Daily Devotion, 8/27/08,  www.liveprayer.com).

Scarcely a day goes by as of late that I don’t get at least one or two email messages predicting a particular date the rapture will occur. These are sometimes based upon personal heads-up the emailer claims the Lord gave to him or her. Sometimes these are predictions passed on to me by someone whose been sent a  newsletter that gives the date the Lord gave the newsletter’s sender. The rapture, if not predicted as to the precise hour, day, week, or month, is put within a time frame based upon convoluted massaging of special holy days involving Israel. Passover, Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, feasts of various sorts, etc., are manipulated to make them the likely rapture date.

Most recently, the date June 8 has been number crunched and calculated as being the time of Pentecost, and the focus of the predicted time of the rapture for some. Another date the rapture would supposedly occur was given as June 12 by a cult leader in Texas.

If you are reading this and millions of people haven’t just vanished, you know the predicted dates of June 8 and June 12, 2008 (calculated by some as the dates surrounding the anniversary of Pentecost this year) were not the time of Christ’s calling Church Age believers to be with Him as given in John 14:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

The most recent proof of the grievously flawed rapture prediction process is, as pointed out above, the failure of the June 8, 2008 “Pentecost” date.

How does one explain without profound embarrassment at the very least, after claiming the Lord gave him or her such a date, that the millions of Christians never vanished? Did God change His omniscient mind? Or, could the date be the product of human error, whether deliberate misinformation or because of genuine but overzealous desire to see the event take us all home?

No matter how sincerely believed by the would-be prophets, their predictions were–are—wrong. They are “false prophecies.” They failed to come true, and this does disservice to the God of heaven, the One who, in many cases, was said by the ones doing the predicting to have given them the precise time of rapture.

Time to recalibrate, reconfigure, withdraw and think again, for those who feel for some reason they must try to tell us the precise time of the stupendous event that we have come to call the rapture of the Church. Better yet, I would gently, kindly, in Christian love, suggest that you just don’t do that anymore. Such prognostications are always wrong. If one of these predictions were correct  as to the precise day, hour, etc., Jesus himself would be made a liar. He said: “But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36).

The Lord went on to reinforce the truth that man is not privileged to know the exact time: “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 24:44).

Such a declaration that we can’t know the exact day and hour will, I’m certain, bring protest that we are instructed to know the times and seasons that His return is near. No, I must disagree. Here’s what the Scriptures say about that often-misused claim: “And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power” (Act 1:7). And again: “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).

These Scriptures tell us that we will not know the exact time Jesus comes in the rapture. It will happen like a sudden, unannounced break-in on unaware earth-dwellers.

It is true that Christians shouldn’t be surprised, thus the rapture of the Church shouldn’t overtake the believer. But the event will nonetheless be as dramatic and as unanticipated as a thief breaking into a home. Jesus said that a good husband and father would not allow his home to be broken into because he would be ready. He would be ready because he would be watchful for signals that the break-in could happen at any moment.

Thus, the Lord said the following to each Christian of the Church Age (Age of Grace): “What I say unto one, I say unto all, watch” (Mark 13:37).

It is absolutely true that Church Age believers are expected to be ready–be expectant for Christ’s any-moment return for them. This is entirely different than in the case of tribulation saints who can know the time of His return at the conclusion of Armageddon (Rev. 19:11).  Being “ready, for in an hour ye think not the son of man cometh” (Matt. 24:44) is a far cry from trying to name the exact day and hour, or even time-frame based upon Jewish holy days or other past biblically reported event. These have always been wrong. Still, the date-setters insist on pinning down the exact time the Lord has determined to say “Come up hither!”

God’s Barometer
While we are not to know the exact time or season of Christ’s coming in the rapture,we are indeed commanded to be aware of the approach of His second coming back to earth. Jesus chided the pious Judaizers for wanting a precise sign rather than being spiritually attuned to conditions around them that proved the Messiah’s coming among them.

“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.

And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matt. 16:1-3).

God’s great eschatological clock is really more like a supernatural barometer that gives prophetic weather reports. Like in the case of the earthly barometers forewarning the approach of a massive hurricane by presenting predictive atmospheric pressures, God’s prophetic barometer presents the end-times issues and events that are the signs of the times for this late Church Age era. We know the birth pang-like times by the prophesied signs that press upon this generation. We know the rapture is near because the Great Tribulation storm approaches, and Christ will call His Church to be with Him before that storm begins (John 14:1-3; Rev. 4:1).

So, What Time Is It?
The signs of the times presented at this present hour are unmistakable to the Christian who is truly faithful to the Lord’s command, “What I say unto one, I say unto all, watch” (Mark 13:37). “When you see all these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your head, for your redemption draweth near” (Lk. 21:28).

We who feel it our commission to study God’s prophetic Word as our life’s work, as well as Bible prophecy students in general who study from a premillennial, pretribulation rapture position, are constantly amazed at the issues and events that are gushing upon our world today. Such a flood of turbulence was prophesied by Daniel the prophet: ”And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Dan. 9:26).

What a flood we are in these days!

Seas and Waves Roaring
No matter what network or channels we look to for weather, the meteorologists and news pundits time and time again use words like “worst ever,” “record-breaking,” “unprecedented,” “unbelievable,” and other phraseology to express astonishment at the weather-related matters they report.

Record numbers of tornadoes, floods, droughts, and fires have happened in record-breaking fury. They continue to occur simultaneously in America and around the world.

Nations in Distress with Perplexities
The economies of America and the world are in disarray while petroleum in the Middle East seems to be the catalyst pushing mankind toward the prophesied showdown at Armageddon. Meanwhile, prices per gallon for gasoline and the spin-off stresses that incubate conflicts within and between nations at every level continue to rise, and appear unstoppable.

Earthquakes, Famines, Pestilence
Most every day, earthquakes of increasing magnitudes are reported from all over the globe. The U.S. is suffering temblors from every section of the nation. Loss of life in the world’s major population centers mounts quickly with each new quake and aftershocks.

The United Nations has issued reports that project food shortages on a worldwide scale. That organization calls for immediate action that, if it does not come, might mean the death of entire nations for the most destitute peoples on the planet.

Plague-like diseases threaten to inundate these most afflicted regions because of lack of nutrition and safe water sources. It’s almost as if the third rider of the apocalypse is already galloping across earth’s surface upon his black horse.

God’s Timepiece
The hour of this Age of Grace is late. The child of God spiritually attuned to Christ’s exhortation to be watchful has a sure sign in these troubling though exciting times.

Israel is that supernatural timepiece by which we can know just what time it is on God’s prophetic timeline.

The tiny Jewish state has already become the “cup of trembling,” and the “burdensome stone” predicted by Zechariah 12:1-3. Most nations of the U.N. always look to blame Israel rather than its angry, blood-vowed enemy neighbors, whose concentric religion is Islam.

The analogy has been made that Israel is God’s prophetic clock, and Jerusalem is the minute hand.It is not much of a stretch to believe that the second hand of that prophetic clock might be the current Mid-East peace process.

Daniel’s end-of-days foretelling about a peace covenant that will be confirmed by the world’s last and most wicked tyrant, Antichrist, might well now be in view. The “Prince that shall come” who will confirm the seven-year peace covenant will set in motion the last seven years of human history immediately preceding the second advent of Jesus Christ. (Read Daniel 9:26-27.) Jesus said the following about that time: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21).

The “Roadmap to Peace” is on the table in the Middle East process of searching for how to avoid nuclear Armageddon. Few, even among Christianity, understand the profound importance of  this fact. The second hand of God’s prophetic clock is ticking.

What Time Is It?
It looks to be the closing seconds of this Church Age. The rapture can strike like a thief in the night with the next click of that second hand.