AND then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God's commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday Sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favour and temporal prosperity.
The miracle-working power manifested through Spiritualism will exert its influence against those who choose to obey God rather than men. Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world and second the testimony of religious teachers that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will be the indignation excited against all who refuse to accept their testimony.
AS the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour's advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1:13-15. The glory that surrounds him is unsurpassed by anything that mortal eyes have yet beheld.
The shout of triumph rings out upon the air: "Christ has come! Christ has come!" The people prostrate themselves in adoration before him, while he lifts up his hands and pronounces a blessing upon them, as Christ blessed His disciples when He was upon the earth. His voice is soft and subdued, yet full of melody. In gentle, compassionate tones he presents some of the same gracious, heavenly truths which the Saviour uttered; he heals the diseases of the people, and then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed.
He declares that those who persist in keeping holy the seventh day are blaspheming his name by refusing to listen to his angels sent to them with light and truth. This is the strong, almost overmastering delusion. Like the Samaritans who were deceived by Simon Magus, the multitudes, from the least to the greatest, give heed to these sorceries, saying: This is "the great power of God." Acts 8:1 0.
It took the Papacy and its institutional organization, the Roman Catholic Church, almost the whole of 2,000 years to attain its status and condition as a georeligion.... With a political goal and structure? Yes, with a geopolitical goal and structure. For, in the final analysis, John Paul II as claimant Vicar of Christ does claim to be the ultimate court of judgment on the society of states as a society" Keys of This Blood, M. Martin, pages 374-375.
BUT the people of God will not be misled. The teachings of this false Christ are not in accordance with the Scriptures. His blessing is pronounced upon the worshippers of the beast and his image, the very class upon whom the Bible declares that God's unmingled wrath shall be poured out.
And, furthermore, Satan is not permitted to counterfeit the manner of Christ's advent. The Saviour has warned His people against deception upon this point, and has clearly foretold the manner of His second coming. "There shall arise false Christ's, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect... Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth; behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matthew 24:24-27, 31: 25:31; Revelation 1: 7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. This coming there is no possibility of counterfeiting. It will be universally known- witnessed by the whole world.
ONLY those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all the testing time will come. By the sifting of temptation the genuine Christian will be revealed. Are the people of God now so firmly established upon His Word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible and the Bible only? Satan will, if possible, prevent them from obtaining a preparation to stand in that day. He will so arrange affairs as to hedge up their way, entangle them with earthly treasures, cause them to carry a heavy, wearisome burden, that their hearts may be overcharged with the cares of this life and the day of trial may come upon them as a thief.
"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment asendeth up for ever: and ever they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." Rev. 14:9-11.
AT this point let us change our focus from the past history, and the crisis that lies just ahead, and consider the heart of the matter. You can be God's child just now-this very minute-if you will. God has already done all that a God can do, until you accept what He has done. God loved you so much "that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
HAVE you received that gift? All who receive Him are given power to be God's children. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." John 1:12. You belong to God. He made you. So you are also His by creation. He redeemed you. So you are His by redemption. But He will not take you by force; you must choose to be His; you must acknowledge His rights, and your relationship. When you yield to Him, then you are His. See Romans 6:16. Just the minute that you surrender your life to His guidance, that minute He takes control. Then it is a minute-by minute walk with God. Led by Him, you are His child. "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Romans 8:14.
Do you know that sin is the transgression of God's law? "Whosoever commiteth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. See also Romans 5:13 and 7:7.
Do you know that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord? "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all the work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Genesis 2:2-3. See also Exodus 20:8-1 1.
WITH an earthly friend we make connection with a look or a touch. With Jesus we make union with our thoughts. You believe God's Word. You believe with the heart. See Romans 10:10. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17. Then the faith of Jesus comes by studying God's Word. See Revelation 14:12. We must study to show ourselves approved unto God, and then obey
present truth. See 2 Timothy 2:1,5. the milk of the Word, and so, "grow Then that Word (in our heart) begins See 1 Peter 2:2. Do not wait for so the new life, which is the "new birth." feeling. Take God at His Word, See 1 Peter 1:23. Then, keep drinking matter how you feel.
"The editor of The Catholic Mirror of Baltimore, MD, published a series of four editorials, which appeared in that paper, September 2, 9, 16 and 23, 1893.... These articles, therefore, although not written by the Cardinal's (Gibbons) own hand, appear under his official sanction, and are the expression of the Papacy on this subject, are the open challenge of the Papacy to Protestantism, and the demand of the Papacy that Protestants shall render to the Papacy an account of why they keep Sunday....
"The Adventists are the only body of Christians with the Bible as their teacher, who can find no warrant in its pages for the change of the day from the seventh to the first. Hence their appellation, 'Seventh-day Adventists'. Protestants... have rejected the day named for His worship by God, and assumed in apparent contradiction of His command, a day for His worship never once referred to for that purpose, in the pages of that Sacred Volume....
"But the truth, fact, and right, a strict sense of justice forbids the condemnation of this little sect [Seventh-day Adventists today number over 9 million] without a calm unbiased investigation....
"The Protestant world has been, from its infancy, in the 16th century, in thorough accord with the Catholic Church, in keeping 'holy' not Saturday, but Sunday."
"If... on the other hand, the latter (Israelites and Adventists) furnish arguments, incontrovertible by the great body of Protestants... [Protestants] .... have no other resource left than the admission that they have been teaching and practising what is Scripturally false for 'Over three centuries.... To add to the intensity of this Scriptural and unpardonable blunder, it involves one of the most positive and emphatic commands of God to His servant, man: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.' (the 7th day) No Protestant (except for the Adventists and a few others) living today has ever yet obeyed that command, preferring to follow the apostate church referred to than his teacher, the Bible, which, from Genesis to Revelation, teaches no other doctrine...." Rome's Challenge, 1-5.
"Hence the conclusion is inevitable; that is, that of those who follow the Bible as their guide, the Israelites and Seventh-day Adventists have the exclusive weight of evidence on their side, whilst the Biblical Protestant has not a word in self-defence for his substitution of Sunday for Saturday."
BY loving obedience to God's commandments, our love for Him is expressed. "And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we
are in him." 1 John 2:3-5. Whatever you want, ask God for it, then thank God for it. Now it is yours. See Mark 11:24. Of course you must ask according to God's will. See 1 John 5:14-15.
God says, "I will cleanse you." "I will give you a new heart." "I will put my Spirit in you." Ezekiel 36:25-27. Ask Him to do it. Thank Him that it is done, because He promised. Confess your sins to Him. Ask Him to forgive you. Thank Him that He has done it. 1 John 1:9; Matthew 7:7, 11; Phillippines 4:6, 19. The Bible is full of promises-all yours, regarding this simple plan.
DOES God want you, dear reader, to be His child? The answer is, Yes, Yes, Yes! Now the question is, Do you, dear reader, want to be God's child? If your answer is Yes, then by the authority of God's Word, you are a child of God. Put your hand into His and stay with Him. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." Isaiah 26:3-4.
How many superpowers are left?
PEACE on earth" is a theme popularized once each year by the Christian world as they celebrate Christmas. In truth, good men everywhere desire nothing greater than have peace on earth in order that they might savour the joys of family, with, friends, and the fruits of honest toil. But how elusive world peace is proving to be!
The earth has in the past experienced varying periods of political and social rest during such world empires as the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greece, and Roman. History has well documented that at the fall of the Roman empire, Europe fragmented to ten separate nations. Over the many centuries, thousands and even millions of persons have perished as different strongmen have attempted without success to put the broken fragments back together again.
World War I was fought with the purported purpose "to put an end to war." The futility of that claim was clearly made evident by the conflagration of World War 11. This truly global war came to an end only with the discovery and use of the mind-boggling power of nuclear fission. With the dawning of the atomic era mankind developed weapons of destruction so powerful and so fearful that we have been afraid that any conflict might lead to a nuclear holocaust with the strong probability of destruction of life on this planet.
Peace as the result of fear of mutual destruction has also proved to be less than ideal. Even with the threat of nuclear annihilation the earth has witnessed a multitude of minor armed
conflicts and several major wars, such as those in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. Both major powers Russia and the United States-have pulled out in frustration from wars they could not win with conventional weapons alone but in which they were afraid to unleash the nuclear genie.
Into this frustrating struggle to bring some form of unity and hope to this earth strode a personage and power offering a solution to the felt needs of mankind for peace and stability. in October of 1978, an obscure Polish archbishop, Karol WojMa, was elected as both religious head of the Catholic Church and civil head of the Vatican City. This present pope is apparently utilizing his dual role of leadership in an effort to implement his conviction that he is the pope who will return to the throne of the world, the throne the popes were forced to vacate in 1798 at the end of the Dark Ages. Many consider him to be the first modern-day pope possessing the potential of accomplishing such a goal.
The subtitle to the recently published book The Keys of This Blood (paperback edition) announced a series of events destined to change the world forever. it pointed out the main players in these events and their ultimate goal. The book's subtitle reads thus: "Pope John Paul 11 versus Russia and the West for control of the New World Order."
The author, Malachi Martin, a Jesuit and Vatican insider, takes a pro-papal view of this battle for control of the world. The book makes certain prophecies about the future of the world, and defines much of the Vatican's strategy to take control of it.
One of the prophecies delineates the pope's strategy to eliminate the USSR. The fulfilment of that prophecy is now well-documented history. The presses of the world have correctly identified the pope's active role in the disintegration of Communism as symbolized by the downfall of the Berlin Wall November 9, 1989.
Now that the former Soviet Union is just a part of history, the players who remain in this battle to influence and to even control the future of mankind are the United States of America, the United Nations and Pope John Paul 11. it is yet to be seen whether Communist China will develop or manifest a geopolitical agenda.
Just because one Jesuit author predicts that the New World Order is imminent is not enough to warrant undue alarm. The alarming factor about the issues raised in the book The Keys of This Blood is that they so closely parallel the prophecies written in the Bible over 2000 years ago.
To what lengths will the pope, the United States and/or the United Nations feel compelled to go to bring calm to the seemingly endless conflicts in the world today? What paths will be taken in attempts to bring peace amid the world's present social, political, and religious unrest? Will a New World Order or government be established in our day in an attempt to regain the relative stability of bygone world empires? We are not left to mere guesswork regarding these vital questions. History and prophecy combine to provide some most startling and sobering insights into the earth-shaking events which lie just before us and the whole world.
Editors comments. This article was given to me by a colleague at work and the only bit that we have left out is the bit inferring that the USA is the beast of revelations. We understand why it was said, because of the enormous power that the Americans have but we still believe that the beast will rise up in Europe.
The complete article can be got from:
and it is called "Earth's Final Warning A New World Order Is Coming!"
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That same night brought the first big air raid over England and though there has never be agreement about precisely when the Battle of Britain commence, this seems as good a date as any. For with that unforgettable oration, amplifying the equally memorable one after Dunkirk ("we shall fight on the beaches") and hurling defiance at Hitler, the die was cast. There could be no compromise now, no negotiated peace that was not also surrender, Was Lloyd George waiting in the wings to become "the Marshal Petain of Britain"? Chamberlain had asked Churchill that question shortly before he spoke. "Yes, he might, but there won't be any opportunity, " the prime minister replied. He could not, however, be sure. After the speech he reflected that "rhetoric was no guarantee of survival". Perhaps not by itself, but it certainly made all the difference.
The enemy saw immediate what Churchill was about, but they grossly underestimated his support in the country. On June 23 Joseph Goebbels told the German press in his daily secret conference: "Well, this week things will come to a head in England. Churchill cannot hold on, of course. A compromise government will be formed. We are very close to the end of the war." The Nazi leaders did not believe a Battle of Britain needed to be fought.
They expected British morale to collapse, just as French morale had collapsed. Thanks to Churchill, it did not, Goebbels, of all people, misjudged the power of propaganda.
It was, however, more than propaganda, and certainly more than what John Charmley calls "sublime nonsense". What is most striking about the "finest hour" speech is the way in which Churchill places the unfolding struggle for the skies in the grandest possible historical context. He deliberately raises the stakes with destiny.
The British find themselves cast in the role of the saviours of Christian civilisation, as God's people of the Covenant, worthy successors to the ancient Israelites.
This is a powerful theme, one which has endured for almost as long as the nation itself. We find already in the eighth century, in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which treats the gens Anglorum as God's missionaries This providential sense of our history lay dormant throughout medieval and modern times, but always resurfaced at moments of great national crisis.
It was a bold claim for Churchill to make: even in 1940 many Britons were not Christians, nor did the invocation of the deity necessarily appeal to those who were. Yet Churchill was surely right to draw on the deepest well springs of patriotism in such an emergency: and the roots of national identity are, at least in part, religious. Churchill knew he needed God, so he reminded the British that God needed them, too.
By depicting the struggle with Nazi Germany in apocalyptic terms Churchill reinforced his sublime transfiguration of secular into providential history. The United States too, is reminded that its salvation as another branch of the English speaking family, is at stake. A new dark age, not unlike that which immediately preceded Bede's is threatened: again, a trope of historical and eschatological significance
The reference to "perverted science" sounds doubly prophetic today: it evokes not only the industrialised slaughterhouse of Europe, but also the fact that eugenics, euthanasia, genocide and echoes of that perverted science are still with us.
The extraordinary resonance of the phrase "This was their finest hour" is due, not only to its biblical, echoes ("mine hour is not yet come"), but to the fact that it to seen at the time, not as Churchillian bombast, but as the literal truth test Richard Overy's excellent new potted history, The Battle, confirms that at the height of the conflict in August 1940, RAF fighter pilots were being killed faster than they could be replaced, even though aircraft production was just keeping pace. Overy does not accept the myth of British technical superiority: the Messerschmidt 109, not the Spitfire or Hurricane, was in his view "the world's best all-round fighter". It was a battle of men, not machines.
Churchill knew this; he was "never more moved" than on August 16, when he watched the entire strength of Fighter Command in the air from RAF Uxbridge. On the way home he made the remark which, repeated four days later in the Commons, became immortal,. "Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few." These words elevate the heroic self-sacrifice of the airmen to the, transcendental: not only the British, but all mankind', present and future, are in their debt. Yet the nation accepted this tribute, to the pilots, not as hyperbole or panegyric, but as fact.
This was the moment when the Battle of Britain not only entered into the national consciousness, but became constitutive of it: part of our heritage, our identity, of what it means to he British. And it is that sense of nationhood which now seems so problematic.
Continental Europeans nowadays rarely refer to the Battle of Britain, though when Adenauer first met Churchill, he acknowledged the Germans' debt to their form adversaries. It is no reproach to out partners to say that their debt to the British is incommensurate with any thing that we owe them. We must give their silence the benefit of the doubt and assume that it denotes gratitude.
That is not the case with our own Government. Its silence denotes embarrassment. It regards the British as hopelessly nostalgic. It blames our pride in the past. Mayor Livingstone even blames Bede. The Government blames the Battle of Britain most of all. In his WI speech, Tony Blair claimed that he loved history. But he doesn't know much about it. He does not dare to offend Europe by celebrating what was our finest hour and their most shameful one. Thus the Few grow fewer, the many forget, and MP Blair does not care.
From the Daily Telegraph Saturday June 24, 2000 Daniel Johnson
Ed. Emphasis has been added. Tony was clapped out of his WI speach. He had bungled it.
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