What’s the proper Christian soldier’s mindset? And do we have any hope of a reward for our sufferings?
Nathan Jones: It was my great pleasure to run into Lee Brainard of the ministry Soothkeep at the Solid Bread prophecy conference held in Fort Collins, Colorado. Lee and I were both speakers and as always, it’s a blessing to minister with Lee there and all over the country. Lee addressed these questions in his two presentations at the conference: “The Soldier’s Mindset” and “The Soldier’s Reward.” Lee, tell us what the Christian soldier’s mindset should be and what our reward will be.
Lee Brainard: The soldier’s mindset is what dwells inside a soldier that keeps them going in times of difficulty, hardship, and disappointment. It’s a matter of having the proper perspective. We have to realize that as Christians we are not down here on earth to be acting like kids on a playground. Rather, we are soldiers waging war on a battlefield. War is ugly! I find many Christians cannot reconcile this reality.
Nathan Jones: That mindset reminds me of the 19th-century English hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers.” As Christians, we are indeed soldiers, and yet, we long for the coming age of peace Jesus promised He’d bring to the world. It’s that promised time of rest known as the Millennial Kingdom. But, while we’re in the here and now of this Church Age, we are called to fight in the spiritual war as soldiers for Christ.
Lee Brainard: Yes, and that coming kingdom would be the soldier’s reward. Christians have a glorious future awaiting us! We have been given this knowledge about the coming kingdom to help us while we are fighting the good fight. And, we must remember that we are fighting on behalf of the glory of the Lord for the salvation of lost souls.
Nathan Jones: To be better equipped as Christian soldiers, what then should we be thinking about and focusing on?
Lee Brainard: We first must understand that we are living on a battlefield. There comes a cost to what we are fighting for. When circumstances get bad, we must not blame God. After all, we are at war, and war has its casualties. But, the reward is that God Himself will be coming back! We have the honor of standing on God’s side. We’re like young David standing up against Goliath, but our side stands with the Almighty.
Can Good Prevail?
Nathan Jones: Maybe you’re thinking like I have as of late that evil seems to be winning every round. Everywhere we look around, we witness the evils of Leftism or Wokism, Islam, Atheism, Communism, and other godless “isms” making terrible strides in claiming our culture. What hope can we have then that good will prevail in the end?
Lee Brainard: We stand on the firm promises of God. Our God is a God who makes promises, and He keeps them, and that’s a true blessing. Judging based on what we see, and knowing what the Bible says is going to happen in the future, we know that the world will inevitably become engulfed in evil. But, God still has His remnant fighting. We will not bend our knees to Baal, meaning Satan. The Lord Jesus is going to come from the clouds of the sky and deliver these Church Age remnant out of this world. Christ will do this before He rains down upon the evil of this world His wrath for seven long years of judgment. During this coming Tribulation, God will also reap a final harvest of lost souls unto salvation. Even in wrath God provides blessings.
Ultimately, when Christ sets His feet upon the earth once more, having come down from Heaven, He will bring an end to the ungodliness and the ungodly, and the death of Satan’s Antichrist and his henchmen, and the banishment of Satan from this world. Christ’s kingdom will then be established on earth forevermore.
Anticipating Victory!
Nathan Jones: For those of us soldiers who are getting tired of fighting and are looking forward to the great peace the Prince of Peace will bring to this world, do we have any idea when we can be expecting this day to arrive? Of course, Jesus in Matthew 24 stated that we cannot know the day or hour of His return, but Jesus did leave us with signs we can be looking out for that point to His return. Is there any hope that you can give us, Lee, that we are getting close to that blessed day when the Lord calls His children home to Heaven in the event called the Rapture? Then later we will return with Christ at the end of the Tribulation to watch Jesus defeat evil and set up His kingdom.
Lee Brainard: Absolutely! Just like we know that Thanksgiving is quickly approaching because people are putting up their Christmas decorations, so too can we know that the Rapture is coming soon because the stage is being rapidly set for the coming of the Tribulation. We are watching the Gog-Magog coalition of Russia, Iran, and Turkey being formed. We are watching the European nations unify under the flag of the European Union as the initial stage in the re-emergence of the Roman Empire. We are seeing technological progress that will make it possible for a one-world, Big Brother government to rule the entire world. So many signs like these are coming to a head, and these signs are accelerating in their frequency and intensity, just as prophesied in the Bible.
Nathan Jones: Just this fall of 2024, the United Nations met to pressure their member states to declare fealty to the UN as a global government. The UN wants the World Health Organization in power over the health and welfare of all the nations. All across the world, we are seeing this global government coming together. And, we’re also seeing Israel being attacked on every side, which could possibly be the beginnings of the Psalm 83 War.
So, yes, I agree, the signs of the end times point to the fact that Jesus Christ is coming soon to catch up—to Rapture—His Church up to Heaven. In the meantime, we Christians must battle on behalf of the Lord for the souls of the lost. In what ways can we better serve as soldiers for Christ?
Lee Brainard: The main method is to always stay sharp by walking in the Holy Spirit. Stay in prayer. Regularly read the Word of God. And, keep accountable to God when you make mistakes and sin.
Nathan Jones: Excellent, Lee! I hope that advice gives our readers some hope that as Christian soldiers marching on the spiritual battlefield, we can continue to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the short time that we have left. Jesus Christ is indeed coming soon to rapture the Church up to Heaven. Only then will our battle be over at last. Then, after the Tribulation, we’ll watch the King of Kings return and defeat evil all on His own. We will receive a heaven-eye view of Christ’s victory. The soldier’s reward should provide us with great encouragement for the battle in the here and now.
