In this episode of the Live Free podcast, Philip Anthony Mitchell delivers a fervent, sermon‑like exposition on Christian eschatology, arguing that a divine "clock" began ticking at Christ’s ascension and that humanity is rapidly approaching the Second Coming. He emphasizes that each passing day brings believers closer to the millennial kingdom, creating a sense of urgency for evangelism and personal holiness. Mitchell interprets contemporary global trends—such as the rapid rise of Islam, moves toward a unified digital currency, and the development of identity‑chip technologies—as modern "leaves falling" that signal the approaching "winter" of end‑times judgment. He warns against spiritual complacency, false security, and the danger of being judged unprepared, drawing vivid biblical parallels to Noah’s Ark and the prophetic warnings of Jesus. Throughout, he calls Christians to preach boldly, confront cultural opposition, and avoid the “blood on their hands” that comes from cowardice, urging listeners to be active witnesses before the final day arrives.
Chapters
From the time Christ ascended back to the Father, a clock was put on humanity. Why? Because he promised that he will return, right? And so because he promised he will return, every day that passes, we are just closer to that return. The scripture says we do not know the day nor the hour, but what we do know for a fact is that Jesus did say he will return at some time in the near future to establish his millennial kingdom here on earth. And so, Josh, tomorrow when you and I get up tomorrow, by God's grace, we'll be one day closer to the return of Christ. Amen. And then if we get up next week, we'll be one day closer to the return of Christ. If you and I live 5 years from now, we'll be 5 years closer to the return of Christ. So just the simple, the simple psychology of the fact that Jesus said, I will return, from the time he made that promise about himself, a clock was set on humanity. Mm-hmm. And so for me, I'm saying that biblically, that time is running out. And when I say time is running out, I'm talking about the time we have between the church age that we live in right now And the return of Christ to establish that millennial kingdom. This is important to me because I preach like a man running out of time. I pray like a man running out of time. I lead our staff like a man running out of time. I engage the unbeliever like a man running out of time because we literally do not know when that day will come. And so for me, I want to do everything I can to to increase the number of virgins with oil. Mm. You see where I'm going with this, Josh? I want to do everything I can to increase the number of virgins with oil so that I could say I did my part to make sure a lot of people were not caught with their skirt up, uh, whenever that day comes. And so for me, um, this is not just like a Philip Anthony Mitchell thing. This is a biblical thing because Christ is going to return at an undisclosed time in the future. Every day that passed, we're closer to time. Therefore, clock is running backwards. It will hit zero, but by that time, for a lot of people, it would be too late. The person that they reject now will become their ultimate judge. And you know, in the end, Josh, death is the ultimate equalizer because there's a lot of people that may disagree with you and may disagree with me about some of the things we talked about on this podcast. But you know what? In death, we all will have perfect agreement around theology. Mm-hmm. When we all die, there will be no more disagreements about theology. Everybody would know that Christ was the the Son of God, right? They will know that he is the ultimate authority. But by that time, for too many people, it would be too late. There will be no purgatory. There will be no pray people out of hell. There will be no, um, paying penance to get out. No, no, all that will be over. And at that point in time, everybody's fate will be sealed. And so I'm gonna keep warning America and everywhere I travel around the world that time is running out, um, that it would— Here's my hope, Josh. It would My words and my cries will shake as many people as possible out of apathy, out of lethargy, out of indifference, out of compromise, to get off the sideline and get into this war that we're in right now, to be faithful witnesses for Christ in every sphere of influence while it is still daylight and it's time for us to work. What are the things, like, biblically that you look at the world and you're like, that right there, that's a sign that we're near? Okay. I'm from New York, right? And in New York, we get all 4 seasons. Like, I don't know if it really gets cold in Texas. I mean, does it get cold in Texas? Yeah. It's Texas, right? 40s. 40s, okay. Um, I'm from New York, and in the fall, the leaves start falling off the tree. And when the leaves start falling off the tree in New York, we know a brutal winter's coming. So people in New York, they start preparing. They go buying boots and they start buying big jackets. We start gearing up for the fact that the winter's coming. We know snow is coming. We make sure we got our shovels. We prepare because we know snow is coming, right? In the same way, although Jesus said no man know the day nor the hour, um, I think there are certain things that are happening in the earth that to me, they're like leaves falling off the tree. And I'll name just a few. Um, The rapid rise of Islam. Okay, that's number one. The talks of nations wanting to come together around currency. That's another one. The fact that I don't remember when was the last time I've been in a store and seen anybody pay cash for anything. Right now, you either pull out plastic or you tap, right? The more we tap and the more we swipe, the more it makes it easier for one world currency. Mm-hmm. It's hard to have one world currency when you have paper. So the fact that you see society drifting away from paper, that to me is a sign that we're close to the end. There are talks right now about a 10-nation confederacy, right? So I think about things like that. There are talks right now in other nations trying to do what's called like an identity chip. There are nations right now talking about enforcing on their people— Facts. A chip for identity that would allow you to watch, buy, sell, and have commerce. And that without that identity chip, you will live like a nomad in society. There are talks about that right now as you are sitting, you and I sitting at this table, right? So when I think about things like that, that, things that are clearly written in scripture, things that are going to unfold in the end times, eschatological scriptures that are in there. Josh, when I look at the news in the United States and when I look at the global headlines, to me these are like leaves falling off the tree. The winter is coming. Mm-hmm. The question I have for the body of Christ is, are we prepared for the winter? And are we preparing people for what is coming? And, uh, and that's what I'm trying to do with my book, and that's what I'm trying to do with my voice. The winter is coming, Josh. Are we preparing people for what is coming? And we could prepare more people if we would preach the Bible. We would exalt the person of Jesus Christ. We would do what you're doing right now, taking a stand for biblical truth, even if it offends people that don't understand what we're saying. All of this right here is preparing people for the winter. Talking about the rise of Islam and radical ideologies, all of this, Josh, is preparing people for the winter. And people will scorn and they will mock. Mm-hmm. Until the snow starts falling and they're not prepared. This is the same thing that— this ain't new, bro. This is the same thing that happened when a man spent 100 years to build a ship on dry ground, who the scripture called a preacher of righteousness. I want to put myself in the text and believe every time they walked by him, like, what are you building? We never seen no torrential rain. Why are you preaching to us about righteousness? Scorn. Mock, ridicule, until the day he closed that ark door. Mm. And the first drop of rain hit them on their forehead, and then it rose to their kneecaps, and then it rose to their waists, and then it rose to their throat. And now they're probably banging on the door of the ark, let us in, let us in. But by that time, Josh, it was too late. Mm. Right? And that's what's gonna happen again. As it was in the days of Noah, Jesus said, so shall it be in the end. Men are gonna be marrying and given in marriage. Let's interpret the text. In essence, people will be going about their daily life, paying attention to the fact that you're so close to the end until the door shuts. And then people are banging, looking for Jesus, but it'll be too late. And the most dreadful thing people are gonna hear— many are gonna come to him in that day, say, Lord, Lord, did we not do podcasts in your name and did conferences in your name? And we did all these things in your name and wrote books in your name. We did all the stuff in your name. And he's gonna say the most dreadful words that any human being is ever gonna hear. What's that? Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. Like, people worried about the atheists, bro. Man, when I was in the world, I wasn't looking for God, man. I am deeply concerned not only for the atheists, I'm concerned for the people that's gonna sit in your services on Sunday and mine with a false sense of security, right? That's right. Who thinking that they have a right relationship with God and they don't. They, they have no idea what's coming. They have no idea the tsunami of eschatological events that is coming. They're gonna die and stand before the Lord and think they're gonna get in, and they're gonna hear those dreadful words, bro. And I'm concerned about them. And so somebody gotta take a stand. Somebody gotta contend. Somebody gotta stand up and lift up their voice, even if it comes at the expense of persecution. Man, I just wanna be one of those somebodies, bro. Mm. I just, I don't wanna die judged. And, and you've read this because you're a man of the word like Ezekiel and said, I got all this blood on my hands because I was afraid to preach the truth of God's word, or I was afraid to have conversations like this and then stand before God with all that blood on my hands. I don't want that blood on my hands, bro. You know, the only blood I want on my hands is the one that came from the cross, but not the one that comes from being a coward. I don't want that blood on my hands. Yeah. Yeah.
