How does this short life compare with eternity, and what should man be getting ready for?
This present life—seventy, eighty, or ninety years—is not even a split second compared with eternity. God has left His Word with us to prepare us for eternity, and that is the only reason we are here. Man is therefore supposed to be getting ready for eternity.
Les teaches that the whole purpose of teaching is to help folk understand what the Bible is really all about. He reminds listeners that this is God's Word, and God has left it with us to prepare us for eternity; that is the only reason we are here. Les emphasizes that this life of 70, 80, 90 years is just not even a split second compared with eternity, and so this is what man is supposed to be getting ready for. In the surrounding context, he then turns to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and the doctrine of the resurrection, which he calls basic to the Christian faith, explaining that the resurrections take place in order: Christ the First Fruits, then those who are Christ's at His coming.