Please turn to Ecclesiastes 9. We have the Psalms and the Proverbs; then we have Ecclesiastes. We read in Ecclesiastes 9:1-12:
For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. 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. This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: 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. For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Ecclesiastes is a very difficult book. I hope to God that I can just expound on these verses, maybe just the opening verses of this book, faithfully. The overriding theme in the book of Ecclesiastes is that God looks at and speaks of all of the vain pursuits of man in this life, all of the things that we covet, all of the good things that He has given us in this life; and He concludes over and over again that it is all vanity.
If we go to Ecclesiastes 12, God sums up everything. We read in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter…
This word “matter” is the Hebrew word dabar, which is often translated as “word” or “thing.” This is actually speaking of God’s Word to us. He says:
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
We could say that the bottom line of the Bible is that there will be a judgment.
Let us just go back to the beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes and just look at it a little bit, and then we will speak about a few of these verses in Ecclesiastes 9. Ecclesiastes 1:1 starts out:
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Certainly, we are to see Christ in this. This word “Preacher” has to do with one who assembles, and it is God who is assembling His people and gathering them together; but preaching is used in the New Testament especially to speak of bringing the Gospel.
Then he says in Ecclesiastes 1:2-4:
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Certainly, this cannot be speaking of this earth. This has to be speaking of the new heavens and the new earth, God’s Kingdom, because we know that this earth is going to be burned with fire.
He goes on to speak about how everything happens in circuits, as we read in Ecclesiastes 1:6:
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
Then he says in verse 7, Ecclesiastes 1:7:
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
Then starting in verse 12, let us read Ecclesiasts 1:12-15:
I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
Then he says in verse 17, Ecclesiastes 1:17:
And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
Then he says in verse 18, Ecclesiastes 1:18:
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
I believe that this is a Messianic verse. I believe that this is really speaking about the suffering of Christ, but we will not get into this now.
Going on to Ecclesiastes 2, we read in Ecclesiastes 2:1-2:
I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure…
He is speaking of laughter; he is going to give this a try. He continues:
…and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it?
He is examining all of the things of this life and coming to the conclusion over and over again that it is all vanity. It is a chasing after the wind.
He continues on to say in Ecclesiastes 2:4-5:
I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:
Then verse 8, Ecclesiastes 2:8-10:
I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.
Then he says again in verse 11, Ecclesiastes 2:11:
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
In Ecclesiastes 2:13, he says:
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
Then verse 14, Ecclesiastes 2:14:
The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
We just read of this twice in Ecclesiastes 9, did we not? What is this “one event”? We could say that this is physical death, because all mankind faces physical death. But I believe that we have to say this is Judgment Day more so than physical death, because all men are going to be judged, as we just read in the last couple of verses of Ecclesiastes 12.
This book also talks about time. If we just look at a couple of verses in Ecclesiastes 3, he begins to talk about time. In Ecclesiastes 3:16, he says:
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
This is speaking of the church, the place where righteousness and judgment should have been. God’s people had been given the Law of God and the Bible above all of the other peoples of the earth, and yet there is wickedness there.
Then he says in Ecclesiastes 3:17:
I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
Everything that happens in this life is according to God’s plan. There is “a time to every purpose under heaven.”
We read this in the beginning of Ecclesiastes 3. This is a well-known passage. We read in Ecclesiastes 3:1-2:
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
It goes on for several verses in this vein speaking of the mercy of God and of His judgment. All of these verses are contrasts of the mercy and the judgment of God.
In Ecclesiastes 3:18-20, he says:
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
This is the fate of all mankind. We return to the dust. We do not have any preeminence above an animal unless God has saved us.
He says in Ecclesiastes 3:21-22:
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
We have no preeminence above a beast. This is the fate of all of the unsaved. Their spirit goes downward. They go into the dust and there is nothing left of them forever.
Let us look a little bit at Ecclesiastes 5. Ecclesiastes 5:1 starts out:
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
He is talking about our mouths and what comes out of our mouths. He is actually referring to the foolishness that we speak as “the sacrifice of fools.” This is not necessarily speaking about going into a church or a house of God, but this is referring to anytime that we go into the presence of God or approach Him in our thoughts or in our fellowship.
He spends some time on this principle, as he continues in Ecclesiastes 5:2-3:
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business…
This “dream” that is spoken of here is actually speaking of the revelation of God and salvation. It comes through the “multitude of business.” I will not break this down at this time, but this is what this is speaking of.
It continues:
…and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
There are also other verses in the Bible that speak about how we sin with our mouths.
Then we read in Ecclesiastes 5:4-6:
When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
In Psalm 141:2, we read:
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Then Psalm 141:3 says:
Set a watch, O JEHOVAH, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
This is so that we might not sin with our mouths.
In Psalm 39, I believe that there is another similar verse. We read in Psalm 39:1:
I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.
This is Messianic also. He goes on to say in verse 2, Psalm 39:2:
I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred.
This should be the characteristic of a true believer. As he grows and matures in knowledge, he has less and less foolishness coming from his mouth. We read in the Epistles that we are to put away all foolish talking and jesting, and there are also other verses like this.
Let us go to Ecclesiastes 9 now and just look at a couple of these verses. Ecclesiastes 9:1 starts out:
For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
He is considering all of this now. It actually says literally that he “set his heart to declare all this,” and the sense of this word “declare” is digging or boring deep to bring out truth.
So we read in Ecclesiastes 9:1 again:
For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God…
The recurring theme from the book of Ecclesiastes is that everything is by the will of God and that nothing happens without His knowledge, nothing happens that is not within His plan.
Then he continues on to say:
…no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them.
This is actually speaking of the love or the hatred of God. What this is saying is that we cannot look at someone and say whether or not they are saved. If someone is particularly blessed in this life, we cannot say that they are saved. We also cannot say that because someone suffers misfortune all of their lives, they are under the wrath of God. Everything is by the will of God.
Look back at Ecclesiastes 8:14. It says:
There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there be just men…
This is referring to a saved person. It continues:
…that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity.
Look also at Ecclesiastes 7:15. He says there:
All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
So we do not judge by what we see according to the circumstances of the life of an individual. It is all in the hands and by the will of God.
We read next in Ecclesiastes 9:2:
All things come alike to all…
He is continuing with this same thought.
…there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked…
Again, in the first instance, we think of this “one event” as physical death, but this has to ultimately be referring to the judgment that is spoken of at the end of this book. It continues:
…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…
This is referring to the saved and the unsaved. It continues:
…as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Those who swear are those who curse; they are those who abuse an oath. The saved man, however, fears an oath.
Then in Ecclesiastes 9:3, we read:
This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: 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.
Man does not like to hear this. It is certainly not flattering to man to hear that “madness is in their heart.”
What God is saying here is that all mankind are insane unless they break down and acknowledge that there is a God, that there is a Creator God of the universe, and that we are all accountable to Him.
God uses this word “madness” several times in the book of Ecclesiastes. Look back at Ecclesiastes 1. In Ecclesiastes 1:17, it says:
And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
We have also read the next verse, but let us read it again. It says in Ecclesiastes 1:18:
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
Again, I believe that this is speaking of Christ. He gave His heart “to know wisdom” and “to know madness and folly” when He identified with man in their unregenerate state as He took the sins of all of the elect upon Himself when He suffered before the foundations of the world.
In Ecclesiastes 2, this is repeated. We read in Ecclesiastes 2:12-13:
And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
We read also in Ecclesiastes 7:25-26:
I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
This woman represents a false gospel.
In Ecclesiastes 10:12, we read:
The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious…
Certainly, the wise man is associated with all of the true believers. Ultimately, Christ is the wise man.
Continuing on, we read in Ecclesiastes 10:12-13:
The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
In the book of Mark when Christ healed the demoniac, we read that he was “clothed, and in his right mind,” which is a picture of salvation.
In 2 Timothy 1:7, we read:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
So God speaks of all mankind as being mad if they refuse to acknowledge that there is a God. No matter what their intellect and no matter what they have done in this life, they are mad. They are mad if they refuse to knuckle under and worship God.
Going back again to Ecclesiastes 9, we read in the second part of Ecclesiastes 9:3 the principle that there is simply death at the end of their lives:
…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.
Then Ecclesiastes 9:4 says:
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
This word “joined” is used a lot in the Bible. It is the same word for “chosen,” and it is speaking of being of the elect.
For to him that is joined to all the living…
This is speaking to all who have eternal life.
Turn to Psalm 65:4, which is a verse that most of us have heard before. We find there this same word:
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts…
This is the way it works. Salvation is entirely by the choosing of God and entirely by His work.
So, again, we read here in Ecclesiastes 9:4:
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
The Bible does not have anything good to say about dogs. They are about the lowest of the low on the animal scale, except for maybe pigs. But even a dog with life is better than a dead lion, a regal animal that is depicted in the Bible as an animal with strength; and we know that Christ is the Lion of Judah. But here we read that a dog with life or a “living dog” is better than a “dead lion.” This is because there is still a chance for him that he might become saved.
He goes on to expound on this in Ecclesiastes 9:5:
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
At least in the intellect or in the mind of a living person, he knows that one day he is going to die and that the possibility of salvation exists. God has put the evidence of His Being within this creation, so we are without excuse. We should see by this very creation that there is a God whom we are accountable to.
Continuing with this thought, we read again in Ecclesiastes 9:5:
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Now look at verse 6. We will see annihilation in this next verse. It says in Ecclesiastes 9:6:
Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
There is not going to be a place where unsaved man is going to suffer forever and be able to continue to blaspheme God. Unsaved man’s hatred and envy is simply going to perish at the end of his life.
Also, the word “reward” in Ecclesiastes 9:5, where we read:
…the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward…
This “reward” is actually salvation. Once man physically dies, that is it; there is no more possibility of salvation.
Turn now to Genesis 15. This is one of the places where God appeared to Abram. In Genesis 15:1, we read:
After these things the word of JEHOVAH came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
This is the same word. The reward of all of the true believers is eternal life. God, ultimately, is their reward.
Look at Proverbs 11:18. It says:
The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
Again, this is speaking of the reward of eternal life.
We read next in Ecclesiastes 9:7:
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
God only accepts the works of His people, but this is another recurring theme in the book of Ecclesiastes. We are to enjoy all of the good things that God has given us in this life.
Again, Ecclesiastes 9:7 says:
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
Man is blessed. Even unsaved man is blessed with all of the things that he can enjoy in this life. He has a beautiful world that he can look at and ponder and enjoy. He gives many riches to man: a good wife, children, prosperity, and good health. We are to enjoy these things in this life, but we are to acknowledge that it all came from God.
Then Ecclesiastes 9:8 says:
Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
If our garments are white, metaphorically, this is again speaking of salvation.
In Revelation 3:4, where God is speaking of the church of Sardis, we read:
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
We read in Ecclesiastes 9:8 again:
Let thy garments be always white…
Then we read:
…and let thy head lack no ointment.
This is the word “oil.” When God set up the tabernacle in the wilderness and gave the Israelites the ceremonial laws, from then on the priests had to be anointed with oil. This was a picture of the Holy Spirit coming upon a person.
If we look at Psalm 133:1-3, it says:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there JEHOVAH commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
As they anointed a priest or a king, this oil was a picture of the Holy Spirit coming upon them.
Again, as Ecclesiastes 9:8 says:
…let thy head lack no ointment.
All true believers are spoken of as kings and priests in the Bible, as if they had been anointed with this oil.
We read next in Ecclesiastes 9:9 of what we were just speaking of:
Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
Then he goes on to say in verse 10, Ecclesiastes 9:10:
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Once this life is over, that is it. For an unsaved person, there is nothing left but eternal death.
Then in Ecclesiastes 9:11, it says:
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill…
We also find this principle in the Epistles, where we read that “not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” There are other verses that talk about how when we are saved, it is entirely not by our strength.
Let me again read Ecclesiastes 9:11:
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
This word “chance” is used one other place. It is speaking of the occurrences in this life that seem random but are all within the plan of God because nothing happens without His knowledge.
Turn back to 1 Kings 5 where we read of Solomon speaking about his father David to Hiram. 1 Kings 5:2-4 says:
And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of JEHOVAH his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until JEHOVAH put them under the soles of his feet. But now JEHOVAH my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.
This is the same word that was translated as “chance” in Ecclesiastes 9:11, as time and chance or occurrent or happenstance happens to all mankind in this life; but it is all under the will and the knowledge of God.
Ecclesiastes 9:12 goes on to speak about judgment. It says:
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
All of these warnings are going out now by those who are connected to Family Radio—those who understand and see that Judgment Day has to begin on May 21st—because God has just given us so much information with proofs that come from several different directions.
There are also men who are working overtime to try to disprove this. One man is focusing on the date of Solomon’s death. Another one is looking at the genealogies and the way in which this calendar was opened up to Mr. Camping. They are working overtime, and yet they cannot disprove this. They just cannot do it. There are just too many proofs that this is going to happen. Sadly, this day is going to come suddenly upon them.
Look at Proverbs 16:4, which says:
JEHOVAH hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
This word “evil” is the same word as we read in Ecclesiastes 9:12:
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Again, with all of the warnings that are going out, we read in Matthew 24 that—for most of mankind—it is still going to be as in the days of Noah when judgment came suddenly upon them.
Then in Ecclesiastes 9:13, we read:
This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
Then he goes on to give a little parable that begins in Ecclesiastes 9:14:
There was a little city, and few men within it…
This is speaking of Christ and how He delivered that “little city.” We read in the Bible, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” The body of believers is spoken of as a “city” or “a little city” that was delivered by Christ, which the Bible refers to as a “poor man” in His wisdom.
We read about this in 2 Corinthians 8:9:
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
In Ecclesiastes 9:15, we also read of this “poor man” who delivered this “little city”:
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
His words have been forgotten by most of the world, especially by those whom He came to and blessed with His Word, as well as with other blessings in victory.
I would like to go back to this word “suddenly” and just leave you with this. Look at Proverbs 3. Proverbs 3:25-26 says:
Be not afraid of sudden fear…
“Sudden fear”; it is going to come suddenly. It continues:
Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For JEHOVAH shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
This judgment is coming suddenly. God has shown us that He is coming in May of next year through what the Bible refers to as many “infallible proofs.”
Over and over again, you will hear the men who speak at these fellowships say, “Turn to God. Cry out to God for His mercy. Repent of your sins.” We read in Amos, “It may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious”; and we read in Jonah, “Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?”
Why do we do this if salvation is entirely by the choosing of God and entirely by His work? It is because the Bible does this. This is the way that God presents this.
In Isaiah 45:22, we read:
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth…
In Isaiah 55:6-7, it says:
…call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way…
We are to call upon Him while it is still the day of salvation. In another place, He tells us, “Call upon me in the day of trouble.”
Again, this is why the men who speak in these fellowships continue to exhort people to call on God and to turn to Him as they warn them of judgment and as they continue to say that this is still the day of salvation by God’s mercy.
Let us stop here.