An Hour and An End - Pt. 5 (Prophetic Signs)

Could we be living in the VERY last years, months, days?

From a Biblical point of view, it would appear so. However, God's time is much different than ours. Things transpire, changing other things, all the time. The children of Israel were supposed to be freed from Egypt and go directly to the promised land and yet…

Heb 3:16  For who, when they heard, did provoke? nay, did not all they that came out of Egypt by Moses?

Heb 3:17  And with whom was he displeased forty years? was it not with them that sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

Heb 3:18  And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that were disobedient?

Heb 3:19  And we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.

They didn't all go directly into the promised land, did they? No, they did not.

Again, Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his family were taken out and given a chance to live and yet, Lot's wife looked back. She could have been saved too, but she looked back.

The flood, Noah didn't have to have the only family saved and yet none other believed, none other found grace in God's eyes.

Jonah going to Nineveh, Nineveh was going to be destroyed and yet...they repented and were saved.

Do you see, things happen and things change.

God has a plan and has given prophetic signs. Every one of those signs will have come to pass before Christ comes.  When the signs come to pass and the results of those signs take place are all done according as God plans AS things happen. 

Could Christ have come sooner? 

Could the children of Israel freed from Egypt have gone into the promised land before forty years?

Could Nineveh have not repented?

Could Lot's wife not looked back?

Could more of those families before the flood have found grace in God's eyes?

If we say NO, then we are saying that there truly is NO power of choice.

We all have that power of choosing, and the power of collective choice as a group as well. 

Consequences for actions take place all the time… so when we understand that things happen as we are told, but not necessarily how we imagine, we have to know that all these signs will be fulfilled and we must watch - understanding that our personal probation could be up at any moment, and the entire world's probation could be up very, very soon.

Let's read more from 'An Hour and An End' by Elder William Grotheer and by the grace of our LORD understand more of His truth. 

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p 19 -- Chapter V11 -- Data of History and 1980

The prophecy of Jesus recorded in Luke 21:24 indicates that the ending of the times of the Gentiles or nations is a brief but definable period of time.

Luke used the idiom - achri hou - translated by our word, "until." (See p. 8) We have focused on events which marked the beginning of the brief period in 1967; now we turn our attention to an event in 1980 which marked the CLOSE OF THIS PERIOD, and some other events which preceded this date that are also interrelated in the overall picture of prophecy.

There was no way to tell in 1967 just how long this period of time would be, since we are not dealing with a time prophecy which foretells in advance how much time must elapse till the next event, such as the 1260 days or the 2300 days.

This prophecy concerns events, and when the event does occur, we can say - "This is it!"

In 1967 a man had a religious experience which had an effect on the course of history in 1979. Jeffrey Hart in a syndicated column dated May 7, 1976 (Oroville, California, Mercury Register), writing on "Carter and Religion" stated: -       ' " In 1967, ' says Carter, 'I had a profound religious experience that changed my life."'

This obscure, mediocre Governor of Georgia had by 1979 been catapulted into the White House. There on October 6, 1979, President Jimmy Carter welcomed Pope John Paul II with these words: -       I welcome you to the White House the symbolic home of all our people. On behalf of every American of every faith I also welcome you into our nation's heart. God bless you for coming to our country. We are proud to have you here. - (RNS, Oct. 8, 1979, p. 1)

Here was a man, a Southern Baptist by confession, whose religious devotion was such that he taught Sunday school while serving as President of the United States, who in 1967 had such a "profound religious experience" that his life was changed, who now twelve years later as head of the American government reaches across the gulf and clasps hands with the reigning head of the Papacy. (See Exhibit #6) This was done on behalf of "every American of every faith."

Religious News Service (RNS) observes that the reception for the Pope was possibly the largest ever held in the White House. Over 10,000 invitations were issued. At this reception were gathered representatives of all three branches of the American government - executive, legislative, and judicial. "At the conclusion of the reception the pope surprised the audience by saying, 'the pope wants to bless you -- with the permission of the president of the United States."' (Ibid., p.2) Carter made no objections, neither did any other officially appointed or elected leader of government. Ellen White had declared in 1891: -       It is at the time of national apostasy, when, acting on the policy of Satan, the rulers of the land will rank themselves on the side of the man of sin - it is then the measure of guilt is full; the national apostasy is the signal for national ruin. (GC Bulletin, Vol. 4, #19, p. 259)

You will observe that when "the rulers of the land" - not just the president - rank themselves on "the side of the man of sin," in accordance with "the policy of Satan," that God marks it as "national apostasy." Within weeks, American prestige suffered the most humiliating defeat of its 200 year history - the insult at Teheran - and

p 20 -- Carter could do nothing to alter the situation; he was completely ineffective. The blessing of the pope had turned into a curse.

Another series of events were taking place during the final year of the Carter administration. These events involved Jerusalem.

As early as the second session of the United Nations (Nov. 29, 1947), the General Assembly had approved a resolution on Palestine.

This resolution was re-affirmed in two following sessions (Dec. 11, 1948; Dec. 9, 1949). On April 14, 1950, the Trusteeship Council approved a "special statute" based on the General Assembly's decisions. This envisaged a setting up of a "corpus separatum" for Jerusalem and the surrounding area to be administered by the Council.

This "territorial internationalization" of Jerusalem was never put into effect due to the 1948 conflict when Israel was reborn as a nation with the division of the city, the Arabs retaining control of "old" Jerusalem. 1967 changed this picture; still the capital of Israel remained at Tel Aviv.

On June 30, 1980, the Charge d'Affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See asked that a Text of the Papal position on Jerusalem as published in Osservatore Romano be circulated as a document of the Security Council. This was duly done on the orders of the President of Council as document S/14032. (See Exhibit #7) The Papal position called for putting into effect the "special statute" formulated by the Trustee Council in 1950.

Three months earlier, the Egyptian parliament called for the establishment of Jerusalem as the seat of the Palestine autonomous authority. The government of Israel considered this as a "flagrant, unprovoked interference" in their internal affairs. The Israeli parliament - the Knesset - responded by adopting a Private Member's Bill - Basic Law: Jerusalem - on July 30, 1980. This law declared - "Jerusalem united in its entirety is the capital of Israel." It is to be "the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court." (See Exhibit #8)

This action on the part of the Knesset set the limiting date required by the idiomatic expression used in Luke 21:24. In 1967, the Israeli armies reoccupied Jerusalem - the Jerusalem of which Jesus spoke, the "old" city - and the end of the period of the times of the Gentiles began.

In 1980, the entire government of Israel was transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem declared by law as "united in its entirety."

This completed the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles or nations.

If the prophecy of Jesus means anything, it means at least, the nations of earth are no longer under the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit, and Satan is now permitted to work his will in gathering them together for the final confrontation at the place called in the Hebrew tongue - Har-Magedon (Har Mo'ed) - Mount of the Congregation. (Rev. 16:16 RV; Isa. 14:13)

Since 1980, events have moved swiftly toward "the battle of the great day of God Almighty."

Carter was followed by Ronald Reagan. During his administration, the United States officially recognized the Vatican and exchanged ambassadors.

This was done with the aid and counsel of "the voice of Protestantism" - Billy Graham. Church and State noted based on a report in the Chicago Sun-Times "that evangelist Billy Graham helped to lay the political groundwork for the U.S.-Holy See diplomatic exchange." The article continued: -        The evangelist was asked by former National Security Advisor William Clark [a Catholic] to assess the reaction of evangelicals to the diplomatic adventure. Graham contacted such leaders as Jerry Falwell of the Moral Majority, the Rev. Pat Robinson of the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Rev. Billy Melvin of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Rev. David Hubbard, president of Fuller Theological Seminary, and the Rev. Gilbert Beers of Christianity Today.

In a seven-page letter last spring, Graham advised that moderate evangelicals would present few problems, especially if the Vatican were recognized purely in a political way and without religious

p 21 -- implications. Graham predicted that Falwell would be in a difficult position because his Moral Majority constituency reportedly includes both Catholics and conservative Protestants. The evangelist noted, however, that "some people (like Jerry Falwell) could be persuaded to keep quiet on the issue."

"I honestly don't know what I personally would recommend that the president do," Graham wrote. He added that Reagan "would need to cover his political bases" and bring into the picture "people who might cause him trouble - Jews, Catholic Bishop's Committee, National Council (of churches), etc." (March, 1984, p. 7)

It should be observed Graham suggested the plan be put as a "political" recognition of Vatican State rather than a "religious" recognition of the Holy See. This was to suggest a deception to accomplish a desired end. Less than 110 acres of land is hardly justification for diplomatic recognition by the United States.

It was the Papacy which the United States recognized!

Both the legislative and executive branches of the government affirmed the action.

The way in which this issue was put through Congress - the almost total and callous disregard for the opposition by both the legislative and executive branches of the United States government - should tell us something. No longer are the "angels" holding "the four winds" as was done in every previous confrontation. The times of the nations are fulfilled.

The Papacy has again expressed its policy toward Jerusalem. On Good Friday, April 20, 1984, Pope John Paul II issued an Apostolic Letter called, "Redemptionis Anno." In this letter, he stated - "Jerusalem stands out as a symbol of coming together, or union, and of universal peace for the human family."

He called for peace as the fruit of redemption, and because of this peace, it -       makes Jerusalem the living sign of the great ideal of unity, of brotherhood and of agreements among peoples according to the illuminating words of the Book of Isaiah: "Many peoples shall come and say: Come let us go up to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." (Is. 2:3) (See Exhibit #9)

There remains but ONE more prophetic sign involving Jerusalem before the end.

It reads:       And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain (Jerusalem, Dan. 9:16); yet he shall come to his end and none shall help him. (Daniel 11:45)

Papal policy indicates that this is its objective and desire.

The Word of God indicates that when this happens, THE NEXT MAJOR EVENT is the close of all human probation: "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people." (Daniel 12:1)

We have arrived at the end. This generation shall not pass away till all things are fulfilled.

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More on this tomorrow, all by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

In HIS LOVE!