PODCAST TRANSCRIPT | EPISODE 182: FIVE NECESSARY QUALITIES FOR END TIME LIVING - PT 4

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 182: Five Necessary Qualities for End Time Living – Part 4

Today we talk about THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS. A quality of character that does not allow one to surrender. William Barclay says: "Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to TURN IT INTO GLORY."

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. We’re now up to session four in our series, “Five Qualities We Need for the End Times.” Now, I’m not saying that we are in the end, end times. I don’t know when that time will be. It may be in our lifetime, or it may be in our children’s lifetime.

But we don’t wait until we are facing the end to have these qualities in our lives. We must get them part of our lives now. They must be habitual in our lives now so that whenever we may face these more difficult times, and the things that we read about in the book of Revelation that are to come upon the earth, that we will be ready.

Now, if they don’t come in our lifetime, we are preparing our children to have these qualities in them so that if it comes in their lifetime, they will be ready, or they will pass it on to their children. This is what we’re talking about. These are powerful qualities that we want to establish now in our lives.

The five points are F F P P and K. We’re now starting the first P. We’re going to find that in Revelation 13:10: “He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.”

PERSEVERANCE

In the King James Version, it says “patience.” OK, P for “patience.” But most translations of the Bible translate it with the word “perseverance.” So, this is the word that I’m taking, P for “perseverance.”

The Berean Study Bible, The New Revised Standard Version, and the English Standard Version, and many others say: “Here is the call for the perseverance and faith of the saints.”

The Holman Translation says, “THIS DEMANDS THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS.”

Now, this Scripture is in the context of the time when people will face the mark of the beast. That, if they take the mark of the beast, well, that’s the end for eternal salvation for them. But if they don’t take it, they will not be able to buy or sell. I think many will end up being martyred.

So that will be a pretty trying time. It says: “This demands,” or “This calls for the perseverance of the saints.”

It also is repeated again in Revelation 14:12. It says again: “This demands the perseverance of the saints, to keep God’s commands, and their faith in Jesus.”

Now, what is this word, “perseverance”? We’re going to look at it. The Greek word is hupomone. It comes from two Greek words:

hupo, which means “under,”

meno, which means “to remain.”

It literally means “to remain under trials with a cheerful and hopeful endurance.”

Spiros Zodhiates, in his Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament, says this about this word:

“It is a quality of character that does not allow one to surrender.”

Do you like that? That’s powerful, isn’t it?

Spiros Zodhiates is the editor of the Bible that I use. I use the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible. I love this Bible! I keep wearing these Bibles out. I just had to order another one because this one, even the first few pages are missing!

But it’s such a wonderful Bible. If you’re looking for a good study Bible, I can’t recommend one more than I recommend this one. It has the Strong’s Concordance in the back. But I rarely refer to that. It also has the Strong’s numbers. If they are in bold, you can go to the LEXICON in the back which gives a fuller understanding of each Hebrew or Greek word.

So, it’s a wonderful way, just as you’re reading the Word, and oh, you want to know what does it really mean? You can look it up and find out just a greater understanding and meaning. I love it.

Let me give you his definition again of “perseverance.” “A quality of character that does not allow one to surrender.” We certainly need to get this quality, this character quality into our lives now. To me, it is very sad that I see many people, and even Christians, caving into take this current mandated vaccination, which is, or could be, a death shot. So many people have died already. They predict that many yet could die.

I read some time back, a letter, not a letter that’s published over the housetops, but I found this letter in some writings. A letter written by Bill Gates, writing to one of the vaccination people who are doing the vaccinations, I forget which one. It may have been Johnson and Johnson. But I’m not sure.

Writing in there, this was a number of years ago, because they have been planning this for many years, how that they did not want people to die immediately from this vaccination, although many have. But that it must come later, so people will not put it together that deaths really don’t relate to the vaccination.

It is so sad, because this thing is not about health. It’s about tyranny. It’s amazing how many have caved in. Well, of course, in the natural, they feel they have reason to. They’ll lose their job if they don’t, or they have other things that they’ll face if they don’t.

But, you see, we’re practicing now for a time where we cannot give in, where we cannot surrender, for when that time does come when we face the mark of the beast, we dare not surrender, we dare not cave in. The Bible clearly warns us that we must never take the mark of the beast, or we will be siding with Satan.

But you see, this is preparing us now to not surrender, to not cave in, to stand even in the face of persecution. There are many who have lost their jobs. But I believe that God honors those who honor Him. He will provide a way. I do believe it. Even if we are facing difficult things, we have still got to stand on the side of right.

Well, other meanings of this word of perseverance: it means “endurance, continuance, not giving up, steadfastness, courageously enduring,” and also “cheerfully enduring.” That’s an interesting one, isn’t it? “Remaining faithful to God and His purposes for you through trials and through suffering.”

You see, precious ladies, we can endure in either of two ways: we can endure cheerfully. That’s part of the meaning, the Greek meaning of this word, “to endure cheerfully, trusting in God, and to endure courageously.”

But we can also endure with groanings and complainings and bitterness. It’s so easy to do that, isn’t it? We’re going through a trial, and we do nothing but complain and groan about it. “Poor me!” We’re full of self-pity. We even get bitter through the trial. It is sad that many people come through trials with bitterness. You see it all over their face. It destroys their lives and the lives of their children.

Yet others can come through incredible trials cheerfully enduring, because they trusted in God. They’re looking to Jesus, and they come through without the smell of that fiery trial upon them. That’s what happened to those three young men there in Babylon, wasn’t it? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They would not bow down to the image. They were the only ones who would not bow. They were threatened with being thrown into the fiery furnace. Well, they trusted God. They said, “God will deliver us. But even if He doesn’t, we’ll trust him!”

They kept bowing. The king, you know the story, how he was so mad that they would defy him, that he got the fire to be heated seven times hotter, and even the people who threw them into the fire were burned to death.

But then, God did deliver them. And God, Jesus Christ, obviously it was a Christophany of Christ Himself being with them in the fire, the fourth man in the fire. And He did deliver them. But their confession was, "Even if He doesn’t deliver us, even if we die, even if we’re burned to death, we will not cave in!”

They came out from that fire, and the Bible says they didn’t even have the smell of the fire upon them. Isn’t that amazing?

As we go through our trials and difficulties and hurtful experiences, let’s seek to trust the Lord, and to come through cheerfully without the smell of the fire upon us. Because that’s such a horrible thing, to smell the fire on people, and see bitterness and hurt over their lives.

Other translations: The New English Translation says: “This requires steadfast endurance.”

The Complete Jewish Bible says: “This is when God’s holy people must persevere and trust.”

God’s Word Translation: “In this situation, God’s holy people need endurance and confidence.”

Even The Message Bible, which is a paraphrase, is very good. It says: “Meanwhile, God’s holy people passionately and faithfully stand their ground.” Yes, that is the meaning of the quality of not surrendering.

And then, there’s that famous quote by William Barclay, an expositor of the Word of God. He says:

“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.”

Isn’t that amazing? That would be a good quote to pin up on your wall, don’t you think? “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.”

That’s what Paul did. Remember how he said, “I glory in my tribulations” (Romans 5:3). I often read that and think, “Oh, help! How do you actually do that? How do you make it glory?” But it was possible. He made it into glory.

So, we need to seek to do these things in our lives when we’re facing something so tough. But we’re going to turn it into glory because we’re going to trust God! We’re going to trust Him, no matter what! Yes, because we believe God that He is faithful.

I know some of you, maybe you’re in this position. Your husband’s lost his job because he wouldn’t take the jab. But don’t get bitter. Don’t get into self-pity. Don’t think, “Oh, what will we do? How will we survive?” No, look to God. Trust Him. Turn it into glory.

I believe in these times that so many amazing, incredible people have lost jobs. Some of the best people. But I believe that because of who they are, God can give them ideas, incentives, inventions, things to begin other things. From these hard times, greater things can even come.

This last weekend, we had the Hartman family staying with us for over Thanksgiving. We had a glorious Thanksgiving as usual, packed out, a sit-down meal for over 80 people or so. It was such a glorious time. But Allison Hartman (I hoped to do a podcast with her while she was here, but we never got time. We were just so busy. Everything was happening from one minute to the next).

But she was sharing how that down in Pensacola where they are, she is friends with a doctor at Sacred Heart hospital. He’s perhaps the head doctor there. His picture is all over the city. He was given the mandate that he had to leave if he didn’t take the jab. This doctor actually does vaccinate all his children, but because he is seeing so many negative things happen, coming into the hospital, that he is so against this vaccination. Refused to take it, and even though he was the head doctor, he was fired.

It was a very sad thing for this man who’s given his life to his work for all these years and years and years. As his wife and children and grandchildren came to be with him as he was fired, they wouldn’t even let them come over to him at the hospital. They said they had to stay on the other side of the road.

But God worked on his behalf and the governor of Florida, DeSantis, called a meeting. And he turned all those mandates around and said that organizations and hospitals would be fired for firing their people. Miraculously, after that, he was reinstated. Isn’t that wonderful? Praise the Lord! Yes.

Also, this word includes conviction with perseverance. You can’t really endure if you don’t have conviction about the truth. That’s such an important thing. We’ve got to have convictions. If our convictions are not strong, we won’t persevere. We’ll cave in so easily. I think that’s why so many people do cave in, because their convictions are not strong.

Now, in persevering, I think we’ve got to even practice, even in the little nitty-gritties of life, even in the daily activities of life. There are many things we face that are boring and mundane, but we persevere. We keep on. Also, even in our marriages, we persevere. Sometimes a marriage can go through a difficult time.

THE TIDE ALWAYS COMES IN AGAIN

I never forget. Years and years ago, a dear friend of mine shared this thought. She was talking about marriage, and she said, “You know, we must take this eternal principle that although the tide goes out, it always comes in again.”

If you’ve been to the beach, as I love to go to the beach, you see the tide go out. Sometimes when the tide goes out, you see all the stuff, if there’s been a storm, all the junk that the waves bring in on the beach. I’ve been to the beach sometimes, and it brings in all the seaweed. The whole beach is filled with seaweed, and you can hardly walk.

Sometimes it brings in poisonous things and poison jelly fish, and they’re all on the beach. You can hardly walk either. Sometimes it brings all kinds of junk and stuff. You see all the horrible junk on the beach when the tide goes out. But there is an eternal law. God stated it. The tide always comes in again.

When the tide comes in again, it washes all that junk away again. It’s a beautiful thing. We can take that principle in our marriage. You may be going through a difficult season, a difficult time. Persevere. Don’t surrender to giving up. You may be looking at all the awful things, and oooh, you don’t like it at all. It’s too tough.

But think, remember. The tide comes in again. And wait for that tide to come in again. Trust God. Release the spirit of forgiveness and love and wait for that tide to come in again. It will wash away all that horrible junk.

I have seen that happen in many marriages. I have a very dear friend, a contemporary of mine. Of course, we’re all in our 80’s now. But I remember in the early days of her marriage. It was very tough. They went through a very, very difficult time. But they did not believe in divorce, and they did not give up. Even though it wasn’t very “enjoyable,” we need a worse word for that.

But they stuck it out. And as the years went on, the tide came in again. Now today, goodness, they have been for the last many, many years, many years, they’ve just had a beautiful life together. They’re just so happy, just loving one another together. What a sad thing it would be if they were separated. They wouldn’t be living the beautiful enjoyable life that they are living now.

So, we see there are many, many Scriptures with this word in, but I won’t give them all to you today. Just a couple here, maybe two or three.

Matthew 10:22: “And ye shall be hated of all men for My Name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

Matthew 24:11-13: “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.”

And then we see this word again in this passage, Hebrews 10:32-36. I’ll read it from the English Standard Version this time: “But remember the former days when you endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened (when “you endured”). At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and affliction. And at other times, you came to share with others who were treated in that way. For in fact, you shared the sufferings of those in prison, and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy.”

Wow. That’s a pretty tough thing, isn’t it? Even though their belongings were taken away, they accepted it with joy. “Because you knew that you certainly had a better and lasting possession. So do not throw away your confidence, because it has great reward. For you need endurance (there’s the word perseverance, steadfastness) in order to do God’s will, and so receive what is promised.” Amen?

One more Scripture: Hebrews 12:1: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.” Now it’s interesting, ladies, that that word “witnesses” is martus, which means “martyrs.” Do you remember we talked about that last podcast; I think? So, here we are.

We are compassed about, ladies, with this great cloud of martyrs who are up there in Heaven already waiting for us. And they’re watching on, they’re cheering us on. “Come on, persevere! You’ve got a great reward awaiting! No matter what you go through, this life is so fleeting! It’s just a blink of an eye. It’s just a vapor and it’s gone! And you’re preparing, you’re persevering for the eternal world, which is the real world, which is forever!”

And even if one day, if we face the real end time, and we’re martyred, wow. It’s worth it for the eternal realm. And yet, all over the world today, there are more martyrs for the faith than there ever has been in the history of the world. In so many Muslim countries, and North Korea, and places all over the world, Christians are being persecuted. They are suffering. They are being martyred, even now for their faith.

But we have this great cloud of martyrs watching us. And it says: “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience (there’s the word again, hupomone, and it’s the word “perseverance, endurance, never giving up. So, we run with perseverance the race that is set before us).

And how do we do it? Hebrews 12:2: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith: who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.” That’s the word again, enduring, persevering. “Endured the cross.” How did He endure it? With joy. “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” So, precious lovely ladies, we are getting in practice now to persevere. Amen?

All right, we are getting to the end of our time, and I’m ready for our second P. We’ll start it today, and we’ll finish it next week. We won’t get it all done today.

PRAYER

But the next P is “prayer.” This is also a very important character quality we must have operating in our lives. Let’s go and see what it says, because it’s all in Revelation for the end times. So, we’re going to go to Revelation 5:8: “And when he had taken the book,” (this is, well, I should just give a little bit of understanding of where we’re reading).

It is John, the apostle John, who is looking into the eternal world. God is giving him visions of Heaven and also visions of many things that are going to take place on the earth in the end time. But in this passage in chapter 5, we should go back.

It says here, in Revelation 5:4, how he was weeping because nobody was found worthy to open the book. But one of the elders said: “Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”

And we come down to Revelation 5:8: “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors.” Or it really means “full of incense.” I think your modern translation will say “incense.” Yes, in my margin of my King James Bible, it says “incense.”

So, they were holding “golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of saints.” OK, incense always speaks of prayer in the Bible. We are seeing prayer here.

We go over to Revelation 8. John is looking into heaven again.

Revelation 8:1: “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar.”

Now, some commentators believe that this angel was actually Christ Himself, who is now our high priest, interceding before the Father for us, 24 hours a day, continually. The Bible says that He is continually interceding for us.

So, “another angel,” it wasn’t one of the seven angels that we read about in Revelation. But it was “another angel,” most probably Jesus Christ Himself. “And He stood at the altar.” Now, this was the altar of incense. “Having a golden censer; and there was given unto Him much incense, that He should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. And the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.”

And so now we’re reading again about this altar of incense. Now we first read about the altar of incense way back in the Old Testament, way back in Exodus. And there in Exodus, God is speaking to Moses and telling him that He wants him to establish this tabernacle. In this tabernacle there would be all these special pieces of furniture. One of the pieces of furniture was called “the altar of incense.”

MORNING AND EVENING

It’s also called “the golden altar.” It’s also called “the altar of sweet incense” because God also gives the recipe for the incense. It was made up of sweet spices. The incense was to give off this glorious, beautiful, sweet perfume that filled the holy place of the tabernacle. God wanted it filled with this beautiful, sweet aroma, night and day. Yes, night and day!

That’s why they had to light the incense every morning and every evening. When they lit it in the morning, it would fill the holy place. As the day was coming to an end, it would begin to dissipate. So, the priest would come again and light it again so it would be all night. It would be filled with that beautiful, sweet aroma.

Now, here in Revelation, it’s called “the golden altar which was before the throne.” The amazing thing, ladies, is that we read about this altar of incense back in Exodus. As we read about the tabernacle there, (many people don’t know very much about the tabernacle) but it’s something we should know, because, oh my, it’s not some bit of history a way back there in the beginning of the Bible.

No! It is something that is alive and real, right now! And when John looked into the heavenly realm, he wasn’t seeing some altar of incense back in the tabernacle. He was seeing Heaven, and he was seeing the altar of incense right there in heaven itself! And where was the altar? It was before the throne of God, right before the throne of God.

Where was the altar of incense in the tabernacle? It was right next to the Holy of Holies. It was the last piece of furniture before you went into the Holy of Holies. It was right next to it! Next to the glory of God.

This altar of incense, we’ll get to speak about it more next time. Because this is something that needs to be part of our lives in our homes. It’s not just something, “Oh, well, that was something I read about in the Bible.” No, this is reality that needs to be part of our lives now. Also, part of our lives as we prepare to be those who can face whatever happens to us in life, whatever comes into our lives, and whatever difficult times will come, or if we will face end times in our lifetime, or in our children’s children’s time. Whatever.

But we are going to be people who will be prepared. We are going to be people who have these qualities in our lives now, for these are the qualities that we’re meant to have, to even face life, right now. And prayer is a very big part of it.

Oh, I have some exciting things to tell you about it for next week. So, don’t miss out! Come in again next week. Don’t miss out. Let’s pray.

“Dear loving Father, we thank You so much for the way You teach us from Your Word. And we pray that You will help us to be those who know how to persevere, who never cave in, who never surrender, who never give in. But Lord, that we will go through and endure and persevere with joy, with cheerfulness, with courage. We ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell * www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.