In Genesis 6:3, Scripture recalls “And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man . . .” There may be several possible interpretations to this passage, but there are two points that seem to favor the argument that it should be taken at face value and literally. First of all, the verses that follow in Genesis 6 speak of a judgment, where Noah builds his ark and then the doors of the ark are shut. At that point, it is too late for people to escape what follows. Secondly is that even though II Peter 3:8-9 says: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” God’s patience does not seem to be infinite, as we can see immediately above. However, in many cases, however, it doesn’t reach that point. We ignore God’s voice calling us to Him to the point that we can no longer hear it, we no longer wish to hear it. At some point, there needs to be a reset–for whatever reason. Meanwhile, this could be the last roundup partner!
The Olivet Discourse
Jesus, in His Olivet Discourse to his disciples (Matthew 24:1-14), spoke about the end times, because He wanted his disciples to be able to “observe the seasons.” As you can see from the hyperlinks below, many of his qualifications have been or are being met. Here is what He said:
“…Watch out that no one deceives you.
For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
However, we have had countless wars, famines, false prophets, persecution and so forth througout the ages, and many different generations have fancied themselves to be the last. For example, Martin Luther called Pope Leo X the Anti-Christ, suggesting the Apocalypse might be near (though he didn’t act any differently if he did.)
When the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765, some Americans saw King George III as the Beast of Revelation, and the stamp as the mark of the beast, because one could not buy nor sell without that mark (stamp.). Twenty five years ago, a charismatic young man in a Kinkos late one night tried to convince me that UPC codes were the mark of the Beast. Today, some people claim it is the COVID-19 vaccine or cryptocurrencies.
Scripture tells us that at some point, God will gather the last of those people faithful to him, as well as others perhaps who are open to His love and redemption (the elect.) In the days of Noah, the ark doors were wide open until the very last moment, and then with a great groan and shutter they closed, humanly impossible to open until the new world was reached. There will never be another flood, but the curtain will surely fall at some point in the future. This could be the last roundup partner!
A parable from the Old West
Let me use the metaphor of a trail drive to explain the last days and the final harvest.
Cattle drives thrived in the U.S. from the mid-1860’s for about twelve years before being shut down by fences and replaced by railroads. There were a number of famous trails, including the Goodnight-Loving Trail, the Sedalia Trail, the Western Trail, the Dodge City Trail, the Chihuahua Trail, and the famous Chisolm Trail (I lived for twenty five years about twenty miles away from the Chisolm Trail and drove over it almost daily for part of that time.) A large cattle drive might have two thousand head of cattle from maybe three to four dozen small ranches, each of which had their own brand burned into the hide of the steer so the drovers knew which cattle came from which ranch. Drovers were contract workers who moved the beeves northward from Texas to the railheads in Kansas. You would have a trail boss (honcho) for each drive. The trail boss would have an assistant called a ramrod. Each drive would have a scout to ride ahead and check for water or signs of trouble. You’d also have a cook and his “louse” (i.e., assistant.) There would be drovers riding on the flanks of the herd (flankers) and others riding in the back of the herd (“drag.”) The flankers would also look for stray cattle which broke off from the herd. Someone also rode point, at the head of the herd. Those drovers who watched the herd after dark when the cattle and drovers rested were called nighthawks. Finally, you’d have a person called a wrangler who was responsible for the drive’s remuda, or string of horses.
There were many hazzards to the cattle and drovers on a drive. Rustlers would try to separate cattle from the herd and drive them into a ravine or clump of trees where they would change the cattle’s brand to their own. Indians might steal some cattle as well. Cattle were also fair game to Indians. Or, the herd might stampede in a lightning storm, or be flooded out or cattle would die from some disease such as anthrax. Each lost head cost the trail boss money.
Today, drovers use All Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s) and helicopters as well as horses to chase after cattle and horses that wander up to rocky heights or other hard to reach places during the summer months.
Meaning of the parable
In this parable, the horses and cattle represent the people of God, and other strays who are mixed within the herd. In real life, these “fellow-travelers” appear to be Christian, perhaps attend church, but they’ve never accepted Jesus in their hearts and regardless of how nice they might be, they are spiritually unregenerate. They may come to faith eventually, however. Or, they may fall away. The drovers are those who labor for God and they man be pastors, deacons, teachers (i.e. men or women) evangelists, or they may be angels who minister to the heirs of salvation in this life (Hebrews 1:14.). They keep the people of God from being led astray, losing their way, and so on. The rustlers are those people (or demons) who try to poach from the herd and turn the people of God from the truth and the way. The trail does not represent miles as much as it represents time, and that is the time between when a person comes to faith and when they die, or when the Rapture occurs. So, a Christian plods along through the hills and valleys, and the ups and downs of life. Through drought, floods and snow, through fair weather or foul, the Christian moves ahead in their faith prodded gently by fellow Christians or those to whom he or she is accountable to.
This could be the last roundup partner
But in this parable, the world is starting to shut down. We’re reaching the end of the trail. Roundups will soon be a thing of the past, and the traildrives are becomming few and far between, so this is the time to make every moment count.
With this present darkness descending, rustlers will be out in full force. Some of them may be army deserters or just cowpokes, themselves. Others are drifters. All are wanted men. Some are particularly dangerous though, and fortunately they are in jail–for now. You’d best keep your distance from any of these hombres. There is often safety in numbers, so the more the cattle keep bunched together and surrounded by the drovers, the better off everyone is.
There are multitudes of the faithful in every state of the nation moving through the trail of time, and if you feel fearful, cut off, preyed on, lost and unloved, then I invite you to join a herd. God will mark you with His own brand (Revelation 7:3) and no one will be able to steal you away (John 10:28.) But remember, God’s Spirit will not always strive with us, so if you hear God’s voice calling, don’t put it off. In II Corinthians 6:2 the apostle Paul writes “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”