How then do we obey at the beginning of our Christian walk? The same way we obey after 10, 20, 40, or 80 years of it. In the very same moment we call to God for help, He answers - no delay at all - and sends us the power with which to obey Him. Obedience is never the Christian's enemy, although you might think otherwise. So many today are bent on slaying the great dreaded dragon of legalism they imagine to be loose in the camp, while behind them roars a great conflagration, a wall of consuming fire, the flames of libertinism and open disobedience and denial of God's claims. They strain at a gnat while allowing the camel to ride through the camp!

While many Protestants scoff at interpretations of a prophetic nature, applying it to the history of the world, such is exactly what we see happening in the prophetic Book of Daniel. While these Protestants scoff at listening to the news and trying to find what may happen from the Bible, since, they may state, it preoccupies people with thinking of the antichrist while they leave out Christ, that notion represents a paradox, for it is these Protestants who do not understand the power and facets of the truth about God and His Word.[30] How so?

Because God is love He yearns for a loving response from human beings. He has promised eternal life to those who freely appreciate His love and who choose to obey His loving will for them. For we read:

"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man [40], and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."John 6:53-54. "Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." John 13:8.

Eternal life is promised to those who cheerfully forsake their sins and gladly cooperate with His Spirit in reconstructing their habit patterns so that they will spontaneously love others – the ultimate will of their loving Lord.

God will not play word games and "save" those who mentally say the right words but whose lives do not reflect, in some maturing fashion, the profession of their lips.

God has permitted the law of cause and effect to play out so that created intelligences throughout the universe, as well as human beings, can see the results of both obedience and disobedience to God's expressed will.

The redeemed will be composed of those who have cooperated with God in developing a habitual attitude of loving trust and cheerful obedience to His will; they have demonstrated that they can be trusted with eternal life, never again to put the security of the universe in jeopardy.

God's Fabric of Truth

`As one studies the history of the Christian church, he cannot help but see the destructive results of unraveling even one thread (one doctrine) of the coherent fabric of truth. The inner consistency of truth is one mark of its authenticity. When a person takes one doctrine - for instance, the nature of man - and imposes upon it an unscriptural definition such as the immortal soul notion, other doctrines are affected in some way. When one removes conditionallity from the plan of salvation, human responsibility is diminished and the sovereignty of God is misunderstood.

Truth is not the sum of paradoxes. Truth is a union of harmonious components. Its components interconnect in such a way that when one part is removed, something serious is missing because of that incompleteness. Truth is a whole - and it changes people as they respond in regard to it. The Spirit of God has a work to do within us to change us and prepare us for heaven; this is not an optional work. Truth has been given to meet our emergency and our necessity; while truth alone does not save us, it plays a crucial role in the inward motivations and attitudes that cause us to be saved by grace through faith. This is forgiving grace. We are changed by beholding, and so when we behold only a part of God's truth, we are only changed in part - and that part, being isolated, means the change is distorted. Distorted people present a distorted picture of God. A distorted picture of God lengthens the great controversy by lending the appearance of credence to Satan's claims about God.

The Great Controversy Theme ties together the plan of redemption, Bible truth, and the peril and triumph of Jesus' entry into humanity and His death upon the cross. It holds together Christ's death for us with the application of His power within us. It shows why God purposes to demonstrate through His end-time people the ultimate fruition of what His grace can do, and clarifies how Satan's charges will be finally negated. At the end of time God has called a people to understand, live out, and present to the universe God's love through our individual opportunities in the climax of the great controversy.' The final generation will have their sins canceled by forgiving grace in a final atonement.

What is the final atonement? It is Christ's final ministry of grace in the heavenly sanctuary, as He replaces forgiving grace with enabling grace in my heart. It is His final process of at-one-ment. I am partly at-one now. I don't sin as often as I used to, but I still sin. I still interrupt the continuous connection I could have with the Holy Spirit. I am not totally at-one yet. The universe is not yet completely safe. Christ must demonstrate that the process of at-one-ment can be completed, so that even if He would leave us here on this sin-cursed earth for another hundred years, we would never sin once. Only then will the universe be totally safe from another attack of sin. God will demonstrate, not state, this incredible fact which Satan says can never happen. The final atonement is Christ ministering His blood, no longer in forgiveness, but in enabling power - power for victory over sin - and it will be seen in our lives. [Dennis Priebe, "What is the Final Atonement?"][lkgc] -- Amen, Halleluja.

But resolving the sin problem does not end here. While Jesus died so we can live, sin has been with us even after calvary. Why? Didn't Jesus bruise the serpents head sufficiently? Ah, Paul under inspiration, what does he write? "And the grace of God shall bruise Satan under your feet." Rom. 16:20. Satan is trampled on by whom? According to Paul, he is being bruised after calvary by "your feet", the feet of God's faithful people. What does that mean? Let us read Rev. 7:13,14: "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." -- Wow. Here we are told that "they", God's faithful people, washed their robes - they washed them by doing what? Jesus is with them. His blood is the solvent which washes the stains of sin out of their robes as his forgiveness is extended toward them. The saints emerge from the testing and tribulation, like Job, purified and perfected because they maintained their faith under adversity. God is proven right in making high claims for what His gospel ["the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16)] can do, and for insisting upon holiness (Hebrews 12:14).

John echoes Paul's theology. We read, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife (God's faithful followers) hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints (the justness of the holy people)." Rev. 19:7,8. -- Like Moses sang a song after the double deliverance out of Egypt and the Red Sea (Ex. 15:1), so also in the end time, the mighty deliverance out of the time of trouble and out of Jacob's trouble will result in the redeemed singing a song only they can sing because of their unique experience, Rev. 7; 15:3. -- As God in Heaven hid Himself when Jesus hung on the cross, for Jesus had to drink the cup alone, so in the end too God hides himself as the saints cry for deliverance but the sanctuary is closed, probation is over, now their 100% commitment to God is being demonstrated. All those observing can tell, these truly trust God and their faith carries them through these trials. "They" is us friends. We are that generation who very likely will see these events take place. Resolve in your mind to remain true to God at all costs. Do not give in to the taunts and temptations of the wicked. As God's people pray for deliverance in the time of Jacob's trouble, all they perceive is deafening silence. Job's wife cried out, "... curse God and die." Don't do it friends. Do not listen to such `voices'. Redemption is just around the corner. As Jesus prayed all night without a reply, so must we have faith. This kind of faith we must learn to obtain now. All these words are meant to help us with it. Despite the silence, despite our eyes being shut to all the guardian angels around us, we know by faith it is so -- so that our deliverance will be the more glorious and we can sing that Song of Moses before the Throne of God, Prov. 4:18. -- Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Sayings we should ponder

Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and Washington, D.C., do not have a divine mandate to renew American spirituality; the church does.
It is high time for the church to recover her authentically prophetic voice and function - speaking truth to power instead of grasping for power.
A religion that seeks to destroy those who do not worship in the "right" way, is a false religion.
Prophetic Scripture warns against the reunion of church and state in the United States!
To understand where we are headed we need to look back (To here is quite instructive from another age). We need to study our history. The medieval union of church and state gave the world the Inquisition. This was an institution founded on the moral premise that the end justify the means. It was permissible to destroy the body in the hopes of saving the soul. Torture was justified to achieve a positive religious goal and therefore seen as moral. God's Law prohibits killing.
[See C. & A. Reinach, Politics & Prophecy, Pacific Press Publ., 2007.]

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-11

1) a great period of the presentation of the gospel, preaching of the First Angels Message [See below], in all the world.
2) accompanied by a great period of the grace of God upon His people everywhere

The `First Angels Message' is found in Revelation 14:6-7 and quotes from the law which is being changed. [See in red below][250]

"And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God..." Deuteronomy 26:10

"For I think that God has set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men." 1.Cor. 4:9.

Before presenting the judgment, the gospel must be championed. For Christians today it is important that we keep our attention on the reason for our faith; that we look outside of us to Christ, not inside of ourselves, for saving grace. Looking upon Jesus the righteous one we know that only through His righteousness can we have life. In the light of divine revelation, through the atoning Sacrifice, we may see the glorious plan of redemption whereby our sins are pardoned, and we drawn near to the heart of infinite love. We see how God can retain all his justice, and yet pardon the transgressor of his law. And we are not simply forgiven, but we are accepted of God through the Beloved. The plan of redemption is not merely a way of escape from the penalty of transgression, but through it the sinner is forgiven his sins, and will be finally received into heaven,--not as a forgiven culprit pardoned and released from captivity, yet looked upon with suspicion and not admitted to friendship and trust; but welcomed as a child, and taken back into fullest confidence. The sacrifice of our Saviour has made ample provision for every repenting, believing soul. We are saved because God loves the purchase of the blood of Christ; and not only will he pardon the repentant sinner, not only will he permit him to enter heaven, but he, the Father of mercies, will wait at the very gates of heaven to welcome us, to give us an abundant entrance to the mansions of the blest. Oh what love, what wondrous love the Father has shown in the gift of his beloved Son for this fallen race! And this Sacrifice is a channel for the outflow of his infinite love, that all who believe on Jesus Christ may, like the prodigal son, receive full and free restoration to the favor of Heaven. {RH, September 21, 1886 par. 12} We read, "Those who are so gloomy and desponding, gathering clouds of darkness about them, would find strength and encouragement if they would spend one hour of each day in searching the Scriptures for these precious promises, gathering and treasuring them like precious pearls (Mt. 13:46). Let them dwell especially upon the mercy of God (Ps. 52:8) and his willingness to forgive sins (Ps. 103:3). Many who have all their lives walked under a cloud, would be filled with amazement as they view the channels overflowing with mercies instead of dark clouds heavy with wrath and denunciations." {Matth. 28:20; RH, September 21, 1886 par. 7}

"... The sacrifice of our Saviour has made ample provision for every repenting, believing soul. We are saved because God loves the purchase of the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28); and not only will he pardon the repentant sinner, not only will he permit him to enter heaven, but he, the Father of mercies, will wait at the very gates of heaven to welcome us, to give us an abundant entrance to the mansions of the blest (Lk. 15:20). . . . Oh what love, what wondrous love the Father has shown in the gift of his beloved Son for this fallen race!" {RH, September 21, 1886 par. 12}

That is why the Bible says this,

"For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." Colossians 1:19-20.

You see here that things must be reconciled not only on earth but also those in heaven. Sin is a universal `mess' or problem. Any remaining doubts in the minds of angels must be cleared up. The devil had used very powerful arguments against the government of God. That is why he succeeded in seducing one in three angels to follow him, Rev. 12:4. For Satan, Lucifer, was once the covering angel before the throne of God, Eze. 28:12-19. The wicked, Baal worshipping king of Tyre is used as a role player for Lucifer.

Lucifer succeeded in his wicked plan by "... the multitude of thy merchandise ... the multitude of thy traffick ..." v. 16,18.

Satan was a slanderer, a tale bearer, Lev. 22:9 (Hebr). He sold his lies to the angels. They were deceived by his lies about God.

In order to find a solution, which can resolve the sin problem, there must be a court procedure, a universal judgment, - and this judgment is not a day long affair or event but a lengthy process. Records kept in heaven must be examined. All those written in the Book of Life, must be processed in that judgment. We should know that this judgment comes in three stages.

1. Stage - The Pre-Advent Investigative Judgment
We read about it as follows,

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Rev. 14:6-7.

Does it say, the hour of his judgment will come?

Does it say that?

No. It says the hour of his judgment is or `has' come - present time, starting after about the time of the great earthquake, the moon looks like blood and the meteor (stars) shower.

With the First Angel's Message begins the pre-advent judgment. Probation has not closed. The door to salvation is still open.

Where does the judgment take place?

Let us read about it:

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit (God Father), whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:9-10.

God Father opens up the great heavenly judgment and it says, the "books" - plural - were opened. Heaven keeps two types of books, `books' plural and the `book', singular. The book, singular, is the Book of Life. Only names are written in this book, the names of God's faithful people, his saints. The `books', plural, contain the lives record of all other people whose names are not written in the Book of Life.

Question: I was a great sinner and didn't care about God, now I found and accepted Christ as my Saviour. Which book am I written in?

What is the answer?

At birth your name is in the Book of Life. As you live, and when sin enters without conversion, and express desire to belong to God and exercise faith, your name is written in the `Books', plural.

After your conversion during which you repented and asked for forgiveness your sin was forgiven. However, forgiveness of sin does not automatically result in blotting out of sin in the heavenly record books (overcoming does, Rev.3:5 at end of life) but the fact that the sinner repented is also recorded. When a name of the Book of Life comes up and the record reveals that this person has been forgiven then his or her entry in the "Books of Record" is deleted or washed away by the precious blood of Jesus but it is retained in the Book of Life.

Is the judgment written about in Revelation the same as in Daniel 7?

Well, let us read it,

"Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come." Rev. 14:7.

Question: Is it talking about the same judgment?

Of course it is. The same sequence of prophetic nations are reported providing a link between Revelation and the Book of Daniel.

That is important. It lets us know that all the Bible is inspired by the same Spirit. That is why we can read anywhere in the Bible. If the content agrees with one another, and no obvious discrepancies result, such portions of scripture can explain each other.

Question: `Must all appear before the judment?'

Well, eventual, `Yes', 2.Cor. 5:10.

But not before the pre-advent judgment. This judgment decides only about those whose names are written in the Book of Life.

How do we know? Let us read the Bible again at a place where the verdict is pronounced.

"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev. 22:11.

So when the heavenly verdict is pronounced after the judgment, the sentence also still waits before it is executed.

In fact, the next verse tells us when the sentence is executed. We read,

"And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12.

How then could anyone before the time of the 4th beast get into heaven right after death?

Ah, that is why such believers came up with the idea that since we are not under judgment (John 5:24), all get into heaven.

Only trouble is, the Bible says also the following,

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John 3:17.

Because it is a word which has quite a number of different shades of meaning depending on the context it is used in. In both cases the translators agreed that `condemnation' was the better shade of meaning to use rather than the word `judgment' for the Greek word `krisis.'

In other words, because of a Christian's dependence on Jesus, he is not condemned but still must go through judgment so no one can say later, `This fellow's life was never properly examined before he got into heaven. He should not be here.'

Now, we might ask, while we are still here on earth, how can we be under judgment in heaven?

What is the answer to that question?

We appear in the heavenly courts at this stage by our records, not in body.

"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." Matthew 16:27.

"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1.Thess. 4:15-17.

"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2.Tim. 4:6-8.

Therefore, Paul did not believe he had innate immortality, only conditional immortality. Neither should we.

We are present in heaven only through the written records, not in the form of an immortal soul, bodily, or any other way.

The pre-advent judgment began at the end of the 2300 prophetic day/years, in 1844. That is also when the First Angels Message began.[260] God sends this world only these three messages before He comes again. We must react to them and accept them, if we want to be part of the first resurrection (if we should die before Jesus comes in the clouds), be in heaven. For the second resurrection is way too late ...

"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished...." Rev. 20:5.

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3.

This then is the pre-advent judgment. It began at the end of the 2300 year period in 1844 and is still in progress. When it is finished, Jesus comes again.

We find the information about this judgment here,

"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Rev. 20:4.

Actually Revelation 20:4 refers back to the 3rd Angels Message by mentioning `worshipping the beast and his image and the mark on their forehead.' This way the Bible augments and authenticates itself repeatedly.

We read,

"Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" 1.Cor. 6:1-3.

The redeemed will be in heaven for a thousand years - on a `working' vacation. Its judgment time for the wicked and the fallen angels. No one else in God's universe will make better judges than those who were intimately familiar with the reign of sin. God will open up the record books and the saints will inspect every case, sort of in an instant replay of the entire life of those who chose a life of disobedience, and did not want to be a part of God's family.

That way these questions, later on, will never come up ...

`Is there anyone up here who should be down there?'

And the answer will come up, `No, you got it right.'

Or

`Is there anyone down there, who should be up here?'

And the answer will come up, `No, you got it right.'

You see, the instant replay is not doctored. It shows exactly where everyone was and what they did or thought. It shows if the penalty, the fault, is called correctly.

The scene also clarifies that the resurrection of the wicked does not take place until after the 1000 years. We read,

"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls ... and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Rev. 20:4-5.

"This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Rev. 20:5c-6.

After the 1000 years are up and the judgment of the wicked is completed and the verdict determined, sentencing will take place after all the wicked and the evil angels have been shown why they are not part of those who were given eternal life. And all will acknowledge that God's judgments are right and they will suffer the second death. The first death of the wicked is their natural death which every human dies. For those wicked which are alive on the day of Christ's coming, the brightness of His Coming will slay them, which is their first death.

By now all God's people are convinced of the righteous judgments of God. But one work still remains, Satan and the evil angels need to be convinced that their sentence is just for evil not to rise again for ever more among all the beings of the universe.

"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [the graves] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Rev. 20:11-13.

We are in the time after the (1000 year) millennium. God's throne has come down from heaven on the earth and a loud voice calls and all the wicked rise up from their death sleep. They rise up minus their good deeds, with only their bad charcateristics since the judgment struck their good works from the books as indicated that they see that their names are not found in the Book of Life, Rev. 20:11-15. There they stand, talking and acting just the way they did when death took them. There is not a smidgen of repentance. Their eyes are furtive as they survey the scene. They realize its judgment time.

The saints look on them as they mill about, wondering what to do. Suddenly the books appear above them and they look and read the story of their life. Their blood pressure rises immediately as they discover everyone can read their hearts secrets. Not the least they did is hidden away anymore. The terrible deeds many of them committed are starkly spread across the sky. Their faces flushed, they begin to shake and to squirm. The husband's wife stands next to him as his sins are revealed. Sins he did not care to ask forgiveness for. His children stand aghast on what they read. There stands Cain, and so many mighty looking antediluvians. They shake their fists and cry aloud. One can see Pharaoh, his quivering lips try to say, `I didn't let them go.' There is the man who gathered sticks on Sabbath morning, now crying, `I didn't want to believe God.' King Saul is red in his face. He tries to cover it, but can't. There is a lot of commotion now. People bump into each other and utter muffled curses. Saul grins, spear in his hand. There is Jezebel. Everyone knows its her. They saw her statue in the history books. But she has no smile. Her face is frozen in ice and her neck bedeckt with pearls. Her arms and hands waive to the crowd but her eyes spit glaring fire. Baal's priests begin to gather around her. She hardly acknowledges them but utters short and sharp commands. They gather stones. Over yonder stands Emperor Nero. Shrunk into a pitiful man, he banters around, crouching and hiding for many soldiers are looking for him. They punch him when they get close and he aches already all over. One can also see someone who looks like a Hun, tall tribes man, medicine man, witch doctors, slave drivers, poisoners, shooters, stabbers, drunks, liars, profligates, falsifiers, haters, yellers, unloving people, thieves, rapists, proud builders counting their ill gotten gains, dishonest types of all sorts, Mullahs, false prophets, murderers, Hitler and Stalin, Maotsedung, and all those who acted likewise. A sea of wickedness waves back and forth. Then quiet. Satan steps up. All eyes on him. He twitches his nose and rubs his ears. He calls, `Attention.' Everyone stiffens up. `Forward, march.' The crowds form a unified army and walk, walk and walk around the city of God. ... They consult how they could take the city. Its the generals turn to sweat. They begin to feel the heat of God's fire. Some among them begin suddenly to dry up like a leaf and fall shrunk like dead wood to the ground.

In a corner stands Pilate, close by Herod and someone who looks like a Pharisee - hunched over, gritted, inclement, incorrigible, uncouth. A sad sight. They were so close, yet are so far.

All of them saw that their names were not in the Book of Life. They saw it instead in the Books of Record. The instant play-back said it all.

"It is when we are engaged in earnest work, working according to our several abilities, that God manifests Himself to us, and gives us grace for grace. A working church in travail for souls will be a praying church, a believing church, and a receiving church. A church whose members are found upon their knees before God, supplicating His mercy, seeking Him daily, is a church that is feeding upon the bread of life, and drinking of the waters of life. The promise, `Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you," will be verified to them.'" Mt. 21:22.

The whole universe, the inhabitants of all the planets throughout space, are observing with an intensity of interest that cannot be expressed in words, to see how we will relate ourselves to the momentous issues, of the Judgment of the Living, when it will begin. Please notice, firstly, this reveals that we will know when this court session will convene, otherwise there would be no ground for doing any different when this great tribunal goes into session, than at any other time. Secondly, the whole universe being so concerned in our welfare in this court trial, that it cannot be told in words, reveals the solemnity of this ordeal. They are not going to be judged, their interest is all in our behalf. Therefore, shouldn't we who are going to be judged for Life or Death, take an even greater interest in this judgment? Most surely we should!

We still have opportunity to prepare ourselves, but soon the judgment of the living will commence, the time of which is made known by the revealing of the tablets of the Ten Commandments, Ps. 50:6. Therefore we must make haste and `Be Ready'!

Since the judgment takes place in heaven while we are still here on earth. That is the reason why all the cooperation on our part has to be done by faith. This requires diligent study of all the light placed within reach of us on this subject, so that we can have an intelligent understanding of our precious High Priest's work for us in the court of heaven.

That is why Jesus said:

"Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is." Mark 13:33.

"If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." Rev. 3:3.

"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." 1.Thess. 5:4.

"If, however, you fail to rouse yourself, and keep (spritually) awake, I shall come upon you suddenly, like a thief, and you will certainly not know the hour at which I shall come to Judge You." Rev. 3:3.

God's Judgment of His people is good news for it does not take place to find reasons to keep us out of heaven but even the smallest reason to accept us into God's sinless universe.

Just like people may compare what they believe in with the scriptures to discover if they follow the will of the Lord, so could a nation, as the sum of its people, do the same. When Israel of old was true to the Lord, when they had faithful leaders, God would fight their wars for them. If a nation fights a war and is unfaithful, the blood of its soldiers will flow and perhaps God may not directly effect the outcome of the conflict. They are on their own. A nation harboring a multitude of sins against the Most High can hardly call upon the Lord to save them unless they repent.

In the religious world, one sign that the Second Coming is near is the Protestant disavowal of the separation of church and state.

We see that the three nations which were uprooted [300], the three horns, were the Heruli, Vandals and Ostrogoths.

As we read:

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."
Luke 21:25-26

But before the Lord comes again in might and glory, there are more events to take place we must know about.

As we get closer to the time when the intercessory ministry of Jesus' priestly service in the Most Holy of the heavenly sanctuary comes to an end, He will divest Himself of the priestly attire and put on the robes of His Kingship. Now His faithful people on earth will be without a mediator and Satan is allowed to commence with his destruction of those who chose him as their captain. When a sore appears among people in many parts of the world we may realize that the seven plagues have begun.[325] But we must understand that the High Priestly service of Christ in the Most Holy of the Heavenly Sanctuary is designed to prepare the last generation of a people for translation without experiencing death, Titus 2:11-14. This truth is tucked away in an obscure text of the Bible where we read, "Unto 2300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Dan. 8:14. These scriptures teach a special preparation of the heart for the return of Jesus Christ. When Jesus comes again the second time, he does no come as a babe but as a King to Conquer death and bring about the final end of the reign of sin. It is the task of all believers to cooperate in this work of preparation by having such a mind in which is found no guile. We are to stop hindering God's work for us. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men for God's grace is greater than our sin. No one is left out. If we accept this free gift and become committed to the Lord in truth for all things, we will be saved.

1) How to avoid being hypnotized. That is a subject we are repeatedly being asked about. Why should we have to worry about such a problem? Unfortunately we do. We should only have to be concerned about how to get to heaven and how to get others there. It is a tragedy that we also have to worry about involuntary hypnotism when we do not want it.

(Suggested Reading: MR 105, 1901.)

The Account of Dangerous Exposure

E. hypnosis and NLP (Neuro - Linguistic - Programming).

"The classical method used by Anton Mesmer in France and 1000's since then, had involved waving an object before the eyes and telling people to go to sleep. Then have them fall into a hypnotic trance, the subjects reason and feelings are overpowered. As he was told, certain things he was to believe are too, either during hypnosis or afterwards. He could also be told, that a certain action would be permanent and then he was brought out of hypnosis.

As you can tell, that is dangerous.

Eventually a hypnotist controls whether a person under his influence could be told whether to believe or do something which was against his prior moral convictions.

Men like Milton E., Richard B. and John G. started Modifications NLP in the 1960's.

NLP implants new feelings, believes, thoughts and standards. Its worse than hypnosis. {MedMin 110,111. }

Instructors are or were known as `Lead Consultants'.

2) How do they accomplish what they are trying to do?

One to one hypnosis. They use a variety interlocking techniques. (MR 154, 1889; MM 113,114.}

Hypnotists constructions focus on a soft, modulated voice. The giving of suggestions, the use of stories and similar things. E's hypnotises people by telling them boring stories. The mental exhaustion to listen to something not worth listening to, would cause them to become mentally disconnected and become dreamy like. Then he would use other techniques to imbed new memories, thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

Therefore, do not go where you are going to be bored. He puts your frontal lobes to sleep. This can be done by hypnosis or by suggesting incoherent or boring presentations. When the thought is imbedded it has been accepted by the mind, even though it is scriptural indefensible. The person holding it, may zealously defend it for years.

Such meetings are dangerous. {EW 59.}

3) You will note that many of the terms are merely synonyms for the process or state of hypnosis.

Attitude: the first of these specialized terms.

These are the viewpoints, the beliefs, the feelings, the goals, the outlook of the subject to be hypnotized. The Hypnotist overmasters in a subject this list of items in the previous sentence. They do it by the use of verbal and nonverbal suggestions we discuss later.

Representational systems:

5 senses: touch, taste, hearing, movement, smell plus #6 - digestive.

A subject is communicated with, motivated, controlled through manipulation of his senses leading to hypnosis.

Belief systems: Hypnosis bypasses a subjects set of principles, beliefs and morals by instilling new ones. By hypnotic manipulation these are incorporated with his present belief system with a proviso to override them.

Who decides which previous beliefs need to be eliminated and who decides which new beliefs shall take their place? It is not the subject. The operator decides that according to his own system of believes. Because he placed himself under a satanic influence because he made himself willing to dabble in hypnotic procedures and his own belief system is damaged. Anyone, who controls the mind of another, is himself under satanic control.

Tabeling: The operator gets his subject to temporarily shelf his belief system while the operator implants new ones.

Mechanized: Operators regard the subject as a machine to be manipulated or an animal to be trained - subconscious or unconsciously - the dream like state of one during ram sleep (occurs when a person is dreaming). They try to induce a state of wakefulness. During that time the logical mind tents to be lulled into an acquiescent state and it is easier to implant new feelings and thoughts.

Altered mental state: another name for being hypnotized or in a trance.

Relaxation techniques: this is a basic pre-condition to all hypnotic conductions. It may take the form of suggestive visualizations or so-called meditation. What is actually done is to turn your thoughts inward. So the operator can bring the subject into a hypnotized state and change his thinking.

Imbedding, implantation: This is the placing of new concepts, attitudes and belief systems in the mind of the subject. This is the goal of all Lab and NLP activity.

Induced state, a hypnotic state.
Induction, the act of inducing a hypnotic state.
Induction model. Used by E., and the other 2.

The professionals do not want people to know that they are hypnotizing people. So they call it by different names. The `theory of mind', controlling minds originates from Satan. He puts human philosophy where divine philosophy should be. {ED 288.}

Operators watch in subjects for:

1. non-verbal behavior, that is e.th. a subject does, not including what he says. That behavior is mimicked or induced by the operator in an effort to control him. If the subject does that, than the operator will do that in order to control the subject.
Verbal behavior: This is using the manner in which the subject responds verbally, as a means of checking on the progress of the mental take over.
Language patterns: This refers to the words themselves. That what the subject says, is an indication of his attitudes, his hopes, fears, belief systems - these are noted in order to find the best avenues to dominate and control the subject.
Accessing cues: verbal and nonverbal, synonyms for the state of hypnosis. They are: phrases, words, facial expressions, gestures, body language - which indicate when to proceed to the next step in order to overpower the mind and the will of the subject. Especially significant in the NPL system are eye-accessing cues. These are indications in the eyes of the subject which give the operator additional information.
Attitude: the 1st of specialized terms. They use them in a different sense than we usually do. These are the viewpoints, the feelings, believes, goals. The outlook of the subject to be hypnotized. Trainees are taught that these attitudes must be overmastered in order to control the subject and imbed new ones. This is done through selective verbal and non-verbal suggestions we discuss next.

4 key concepts:

1st verbal confusion. This is unclear terminology and dramatical structures used to induce confusion in the mind of the subject so he will be more pliable and easily affected by hypnotic suggestions. It is easier to control a confused person. - When scientists use big words to make you think they know more than you do. Watch out for people who try by one means or another to confuse you.
2nd Fogging: This is dampening earlier belief systems through verbal confusion during emotional cross-over. The objective is to get the subject mixed up so he cannot trust his own feelings, recollections, reality and prior beliefs.
3rd Fantasies: Fantasies are considered to be very important. It is easier to overcome a dreamy person. Operators can overcome a person easier, when they begin to think about other times and places. They tell you to meditate, to imaginatively think about another experience. These may be earlier than in one's life, in far away places. All of this is fine when you go to sleep at night. Then they are normal. But they are not normal when you are in the presence of a trained professional counselor who is being worked on by the devil.
4th Imaginative: Dream like representations are suggestive in order to more quickly move the subject into a hypnotized state. The subject is told to visualize particular situations, other places, earlier events in his life. He is instructed to imaginatively change situations and events. This puts him into a dream like condition of mind.
Then there is boring story telling. That is how people can be placed into a waking trance. Although they were disinterested, they sit there while their mind tended to wander and slip out of alertness into a quasi dream like condition. Do not place yourself into situations like that. {2SM 349, 350.}

4) Keywords: They appear to become like the subject, then they try to get the subject to be like the operator. An effort is made to change the subject from one person into another.

Patterning: They use all their systems to achieve this.
Feed back or Bio-Feedback: This is the operator's response to the subject while in the process of gradually overpowering his mind. This is done through mirroring, matching and pacing.

1st establish rapor: Get the subject to initially accept the operator's presence so he will accept his suggestions leading him into a hypnotic state. This is done by noting eye movements and other cues and responding appropriately to them by word or gesture to get the subject to respond and become like the operator.

A trained operator can also achieve much in the face of opposition. Do not think that he must have rapor. Do not think that just being willing and suggestible, that is the only way you can be hypnotized. They can overcome a person who resists, as long as that subject remains in the operator's presence. If you find that you are in the presence of a person of that type, get out right away.

Responding responses: These are the responses of the operator, not the subject. The operator initially responds to the subject by means of feedback, leading the subject closer to E.'s control. The plan here is to subtly tailor the feedback so that it moves the subject in a desired direction. When the subject says s.th. the operator feeds back that which will lead the subject in a certain direction.
Pacing, also called synchrony: This occurs when the operator imitates the rythm, speed and the movement of the subject. If the subject is talking very quickly, the operator also talks very quickly. The same if talking is slow in order to bring him more quickly under hypnotic control. Mirroring is reflecting, subtly mimicking the subjects attitude, in order to identify with him and lead him into an induced state.
Matching: Operator matches the behavior pattern of the subject and then suddenly induces changes in those patterns which the subject unknowingly copies. As they talk together, the operator copies the mannerism, unconscious behavior of the subject. Then he gets the subject to copy his.
Objective: to get the subject to copy his mannerism without thinking about it - such as yawning, putting the hands behind the head, and then increasing this non-thinking response to lead to other responses.
Reason for it: When the frontal lobes are at work, the subject is testing, observing, thinking, making choices based on his belief system. It is the work of the hypnotist to bypass those belief systems in order to get time to adopt new belief systems and new patters of living. He wants to lull to sleep the subjects reasoning and judgmental faculties and arouse a dream like - to whatever is suggested - new attitude.
1. operator mimics various actions or expressions - then he tries to induce/copy those of the operator.
Once the control is locked in, the suggested feeling or thought can be fixed in place.
In all of this, keep in mind that true power underlying all of hypnotic technique is the aid of devils. Because the operator wants to control another mind, the devil helps him do it and in the process the devil controls both minds. The deep secret underlying all hypnotic procedures is this: It is Satan who fixates the new feeling or thought into its place. The operator only offers what the devil suggested through his mind. It is the devils themselves who keep it there afterwards. Hypnosis allows devils to enter the mind - for both - operator and willing subject. {MM 114.}

The final transformation process:

1. Reframing - the words and the subjects are being repeated but stated in a somewhat different way in order to change a subjects thinking and gain control of him.
2. Renegotiation - the views, opinions, beliefs of the subject are re-negotiated into new ones. Subjects systems are set aside in order to adopt the ones from the operator.
Would you care to have your faith, your believes re-negotiated away?
3. Anchoring: During a hypnotic state, the operator touches the subjects shoulder and/or uses phrases to fix the implanted ideas so that they remain after the subject comes out of the semi-trance.
4. Utilization: The operator gets the subject to express the new feelings, goals, concepts and believes. Re-reading what we have so far it is obvious that more than human power cooperated in their development. Supernatural courses work with human minds. {MH 242.}

Spiritism and Celebration

[This topic has been replaced by the following.]

5) Hypnotism in meetings:

When are these hypnotic methods used? They are used in at least 5 settings.

1. they are used in sales approaches
2. they are (not always or everywhere, better, `they may be ...') used during lectures and sermons in some locations
3. political speakers
4. small group conferences (LOR meetings)
5. personal counseling sessions - one on one sessions

There are two types of hypnotic directed meetings:

a) the first seeks to overpower the mind with confusion and pressure, the speaker may not have been trained in hypnotic procedures but he is still using them effectively. Such men initially appear to be very friendly and to have a deep concern for your welfare but when the objective is not the discussion of truth, and you find instead a demand that you accept their new ideas, than we have to be on our guard. Beware of any man or woman who demands of you to accept his/her ideas. Beware of anyone who does not want to discuss truth, but tries to overpower, to bypass your judgmental faculties and processes so you will accept uncritically their new ideas. They usually begin by emphasizing points commonly held by everyone present. Ideas like, how wonderful Jesus is, salvation, they love to talk about righteousness by faith, but then these other things come in.
They launch into a presentation of a new view they want you to accept. A barrage of points is given without giving anyone opportunity to consider, examine and discuss each item separately. Assumptions, conclusions will be made which appear not to be correct. Then more will be piled on top of them. In such a situation you either settle back into a settled resistance or as the speaker prefers, into a generalized hopeful confusion. When you are in a meeting, and you feel confused, it is better to get out. The implication is, that if you were smarter, you would understand. In such an atmosphere many are willing to accept ideas, which they should never accept. They say, Well, I don't want to admit the fact that I don't really understand what the presenter is talking about. Scripture will be quoted, but so much speculation is piled around it, as to choke it to death. But very important, urgent statements are made that you accept their ideas. The most dangerous of these men are those who demand that you accept their ideas that very day. Be weary of men who want you to accept their ideas right now. It matters not who it is who says so. Be weary. Beware of men who imply that their theories are always right. Beware of men who cannot be reasoned with. Beware of men who get very excited or concerned when it appears that you may influence their followers or those they are in the process of taking control of. Beware of those who want your money and then say, unless you give, you will not be saved.

b) Relaxation meetings using imagery techniques. Such speakers try to impress on your mind one or more of 3 concepts. i) importance of relaxation, ii) imagry and iii) meditation.
They say, meditation is important in order to draw closer to God, meditate more. They say, because you have not been meditating in the proper manner your Christian experience is weaker than it should be. They advise that the speaker will show how to deepen the experience of meditation. They say, relax and sit back in your pew. They may say, he will tell you more in the weeks ahead and then begins his sermon for the day. Or he will go through the whole procedure right then with you. And astoundingly he will attempt to place the entire congregation into a wakeful trance. There are men who are either daring or ignorant and attempt such things. You can notice the different hypnotic elements used to focus the mind on a single point and then get it into the three above states. Keep that in mind. They try to focus the mind on a single point and then put it into a dream like state. The speaker will first instruct you to relax in your seat as much as possible.

We need to be much more careful and aware of what is happening in certain situations.

The foregoing is a warning not to let the spiritual to become the profane; the holy to become corrupted; the sanctified to become secular. How tragic are the consequences of these activities. And yet many blindly move forward saying that this is the leading of God to help our youth stay in the church. Is it any wonder that we in the Western world are losing three-quarters of our youth from the Adventist Church? Is it any wonder that we are finding our youth growing up into self-centered, pleasure seeking young people who know not the principles of the truth [329] and who are unready for the mighty work that God has called them to fulfill?

Now is surely a day to call our people back to true worship, the worship of the God of heaven, not the worship of the false god, Satan.

Based on the following references to the `earth', world wide problems will lead to

But the Bible says:

"I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. ..."
"Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way." Psalms 119:99,104

"Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead (spiritual death), and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly ... redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:14-16

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Revelation 14:6-7

"Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God ..." Ezekiel 28:2

The Biblical Account of the Image of the Beast

Openly disobeying God's Law constitutes rebellion against God. For this reason it is vital for all of us to understand these issues for there are consequences to it.

Could the `Mark of the Beast' be something as simple as professing the name of Jesus? Something like Christians proclaiming their allegiance to Jesus Chirst?

No, not really. The `Mark of the Beast' is represented as being the opposite to the `Seal of God'.

What is the `Seal of God' [400]? "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth ... Exodus 20:8,11.

Here we have the `Seal of God': the name ("the Lord"), his title (he "made" or Creator), his territory ("heaven and earth").

So, how does the `Seal of God' relate to the `Mark of the Beast'? Well, the `Mark of the Beast' ought to be something then which is a substitute for the `Seal of God'. Since the `Seal of God' is imbedded in the fourth commandment, the one which states to "Keep the Sabbath" day holy, what is a substitute for God's seventh day Sabbath? Do we need to be more descriptive? If so click here.

During the last 10 to 15 years Protestantism has changed to a significant degree. This change becomes noticeable when one, knowing their history, reads their creeds or browses what they claim to believe and preach today via Internet websites, radio, or television. Whereas in times past, doctrinal differences set them apart, today, they seem to emphasize all the same message. `Just love God and Jesus,' they say now. They present now a more united front emphasizing what they have in common rather than their differences. Their message dwells now on topics like

God, heaven, salvation, we are sinners, hell, Jesus, the Bible, the resurrection, tithing

While at first, such an approach may appear to be desirable, we must examine it a bit closer for pulling together to achieve a common goal may be a worthy cause, however, if the underlying reasons are suspect, we ought to listen up and exercise caution.

We find Protestantism to still engage in Evangelistic endeavors, they hold meetings to fire on their flock, they love to present topics on practical help for a Christian life, but there seems to be a deafening silence on doctrines. Speaking on doctrines, in some ways, seems to have become a matter to de-emphasize - except when it comes to directing attention to those who follow a faith outside of mainstream Protestant Christian persuasions. But among themselves, the Lutherans and Baptists, Congregationalists and Episcopalians, Pentecostals and Calvinists seem to get along better than ever before.

The first time economic hardships are mentioned in the Bible is when Abraham was forced to migrate into Egypt because of `raab' translated as famine in English which amazingly has no good, one word way, to express such a simple term as can be done in German with the word `Teuerung' or the adjective `teuer.' Now `Teuerung' is not famine, it indicates drastically or quickly rising prices, however, perhaps because of a famine. The same happened in the days of Joseph when Jacob migrated to Egypt because of such occurrences just like father Abraham did. (Gen. 12:10; 41:54; 42:1) The next time such events are mentioned in the Bible is in 2. Samuel 24:13; 1. Kings 18:2 and Psalm 33:19. - - In the New Testament Jesus used the word `Teuerung' in a parable, Lk. 15:14 and the last we read of it in Acts 11:28. - - But we are interested if `Teuerung' is something mentioned in connection with end time events. The other German word `teuer' occurs in a prophetic context in Matthew 24:7 where it says, "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." - - `In divers places', does that apply to all of these events or just earthquakes? Well, we may find out soon how this will occur in the days ahead under the specter of rising prices (especially oil and rice), and the specter of economic hardship for masses of people.?! - - More importantly, there may be a famine for the Word of God ahead of us too.

Actually the Bible supports the idea that, yes,

I) Doctrines are Necessary for Salvation

1.Timothy 4:16; 2.Tim. 4:2

II) Doctrines Protect us from Deceptions

Ephesians 4:11-16

III) Following Doctrines Shows God that We Love Him

Matthew 22:34ff.

What led to this?

A View on the Prophecy in Daniel Chapter 11

Many of you may agree that this world has changed greatly not for the better but for difficult times ahead. In looking at events today, we are reminded of the divine prophecy given to Daniel in the eleventh chapter of his book. We understand that much of the history that has already taken place in fulfillment of the sayings in this chapter, will be repeated. At first we read of the king of the south, followed by the king of the north. Looking at our world today, before unimaginable events play out before our eyes. The `king of the south', is it the Muslim world loosely united? The `king of the north', could that be the United States? Is there going to be a showdown in the Middle East between America and the Islamic world? With these thoughts in mind let us test what is written. To aid our interpretation we use red for references to the king of the south and blue for references to the king of the north. We read:

"And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over."
He shall also enter into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom ... He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape."
"But he shall have power over the treasure of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps."
"But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many."
"And he shall plant his tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."

One important point of this story is how the Bible identifies the kings of the north and south. By comparing recorded history with the testimony of Daniel 11, historians and anyone willing to listen discover that the king of the north was the kingdom which controlled the geographical area of Babylon. They discovered that the king of the south was the kingdom which controlled the geographical area of Egypt. This principal in Daniel 11 brings together the testimony of the Bible with the record of history. This geographical key is the rule which we shall apply when we study Daniel 11:40-45, verses which illustrate things happening today with the stark recognition that it is the lamb of Revelation 13:11 who speaks like a dragon (spiritualism) who today controls Babylon. This ought to give us pause on world events today.

Through the first 13 verses of Daniel 11 we find the ebb and flow of history described, as different kingdoms rose and fell. In verse 14, we see the primary subject of all of Daniel 11 identified for the first time in the vision by the phrase, "robbers of thy people." This verse states that these "robbers," will "establish the vision" and we recognize that those who historically said the following:

"`To establish the vision.' The Romans more than any other people are the subject of Daniel's prophecy. Their first interference in the affairs of these kingdoms is here referred to as being the establishment, or demonstration, of the truth of the vision which predicted the existence of such a power." [Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, p. 244.]

We agree with those who stated that primarily the Romans are referenced in Daniel 11:1-14. Their period is followed by either pagan or papal Rome. In Daniel 11:20 we find pagan Rome summoning Joseph to pay taxes in Bethlehem. In verse 22 pagan Rome breaks "the prince of the covenant", by crucifying Jesus Christ.

In verse 24 we see pagan Rome's time of dominion related within a biblical time prophecy. The last phrase of this verse sets forth 360 years as the time when pagan Rome would rule the world by the words, "even for a time." Daniel 11:30-36 marks a transition time for Rome. Pagan Rome was about to leave the scene of action as the ruler of the earth, and papal Rome was about to step into the vacuum. Daniel 7 addresses this very same transition.

As papal Rome rises to power, three horns, or three kingdoms, had to be removed to prepare the way. This was in itself a repetition of history, for as pagan Rome came into control of the world, it first had to conquer three areas. The south, east and pleasant land.

Soon we shall see that the king of the north also shall subdue three entities, before he can take control of the world.

In Daniel 11:30-36 we see that pagan Rome is waning in power. When threatened by other powers in the past, Rome prevailed. Not so at this time. As Rome went out to do battle it was grieved by its inability to prevail. At this time period the "three horns," which were waging war against pagan Rome, were also waging a theological war against Catholicism.

The Heruli, the Goths, and the Vandals, symbolized by the three horns, embraced the Arian faith. During this time period Justinian declared the bishop of Rome to be the head of the church, and the corrector of heretics, in an attempt to restrain the Arian faith from dominating Catholic doctrines. Justinian's efforts to uphold Catholic doctrines against the Arians opened the door for the Catholic Church to restrict certain books which threatened their man made doctrines. This restriction included the Bible, for they began to teach that only the church fathers could safely read it. This attack against the Bible was "the indignation against the holy covenant," and the appointment of the bishop of Rome to the head of the church was the "intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant," of verse 30.

Verse 31 records that "shall stand on his part." As history and prophecy move forward to the next step in the sequence to set papal Rome on the throne of the world, we find that Clovis, the king of France, dedicated his sword and his country to the Papacy. France became the first Catholic nation, the first of seven kingdoms found in Europe to renounce their pagan beliefs and embrace Catholicism, and also the first to submit the nation to the service of the Papacy. This alliance provided the ways and means to defeat the three Arian horns. Prophecy taught that these three horns would be removed before that Papacy assumed authority over the world, which happened exactly.

Not only did Clovis and the other horns of Europe bring their finances and arms to bear against the three horns, they also seized (took away) their pagan resistance against Catholicism. This fact is illustrated as the "take away the daily."

[Of course we remember that the word "sacrifice" which follows after `the daily' in Daniel 8:12 was supplied by man's wisdom and is not part of the original text.]

How was the `daily', or paganism, taken away? ... The conversion of Clovis [496 A.D.] is said to have been the occasion of bestowing upon the French monarch the titles `Most Christian Majesty' and `Eldest Son of the Church.' Between that time and 538 A.D., [the other horns of Europe] were brought into subjection.

From 508 A.D. on, the Papacy was triumphant so far as paganism was concerned ... When the prominent powers of Europe gave up their attachment to paganism, it was only to perpetuate its abominations in another form; for Christianity as exhibited in the RCC was, and is, only Paganism baptized.

The history of Daniel 11:31 is a description of the pagan royal powers of Europe coming to the aid of the Papacy to set it upon the throne of the world. The removing of the "daily," and the polluting of the "sanctuary of strength," is a description of their turning from open paganism, which previously was their confessed religion biblically symbolized as their "sanctuary of strength." The words "take away" carry a two-fold meaning as they not only teach a removal, but also a secondary definition which conveys the idea of lifting up. When paganism was set aside by the powers of Europe, through their submission to Catholicism, paganism was actually lifted up, for Catholicism embraced many of their religious ideas and incorporated them into their own religion thus making themselves into the greatest manifestation of paganism even into our days. Just one visit into the cathedral of Cologne, Germany, will underscore that.

In 508 A.D. the powers of Europe began to wage war against countries represented by the `three horns,' and by 538 A.D. the last of the three horns met defeat, and the Papacy ascended to the throne of the world. Then "the abomination which maketh desolate," symbolic of the Papacy, was set up.

In verses 32-35 we see the persecution of the `Dark Ages' illustrated, `dark' especially with respect to spiritual knowledge and lack of what the Bible teaches rather then Rome. The final phrase in verse 35 points to the end of the 1260 year period with the words, "even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed." This phrase takes us up to verse 40. But before Daniel gets to verse forty, verses 36-39, present the description of the main subject of Daniel - which is the Papacy.

"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous (in the sense of astounding) things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done." Daniel 11:36

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2.Thessalonians 2:3-4

As we continue the study of Daniel 11:40-45, we will see a historical sequence within these verses which closely parallels the history we have just reviewed. Next we shall be able to recognize that Daniel 11:40 contains a description of the spiritual war between the Papacy and atheism which began in 1798 subsequent to the French Revolution. France wore the crown of the king of the south in 1798, but in 1917 that crown was passed to its successor - the Soviet Union. In 1798 the king of the north was the Papacy which is still wearing that prophetic crown.

Verse 40 teaches that initially in the war between the king of the south and the king of the north, the king of the north was grieved in its ability to prevail against the southern kingdom. In fact, the war begins with the king of the north receiving the deadly wound, as his political kingdom was taken away.

Revelation 13 describes the Papacy as the head which receives a deadly wound. The deadly wound is a repetition of pagan Rome being grieved over her ability to maintain control of her former empire, Daniel 11:30. The war and the grieving of the Papacy is described when the king of the south would "push" at the king of the north in Daniel 11:40.

Not only that, to identify the power which was wounded correctly, this identifying mark occurred perhaps more than once as the following comparison shows (Rev. 17:11).

"And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space." Revelation 17:9-11

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Rev. 13:1,16

Who will be the last Pope?

The phrase `Here is wisdom' connects Rev.13:18 with Rev.17:9 already cited above. But we also read:

"And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." Rev. 13:3

"And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space." Rev. 17:10.

Since these kings belong in the time close to the end of time, we are interested to find out who this king is who received such a wound and we are reminded on the events of May 13, 1981. On this day the sixth of these seven kings was severely wounded by the bullets of an assassin. Even though the injury was severe and the `king' was near death for a time, he survived. The five kings who reigned before him cover the following period: 1. 1922-1938; 2. 1939-1958; 3. 1958-1963; 4. 1963-1978 and the fifth for only 33 days in 1978. The sixth reigned then between 1978-2005 and today the seventh king is ruling in the city of the seven hills.

But some may ask, why should we start these 7 kings with Pius XI? Why not some later pope?

One answer may be, while it is tempting to take the 6th pope as the starting point and let the remaining ones fall into the time slot before and after him, we may say this about the first pope: The first of these seven popes happens to be the pope during whose pontificate the Vatican became a state once again (ca. 1929) after the 1798 wounding. So, in a sense that is a pivotal starting point as far as the beginning of his rise to power is concerned.

The reader may find out who these kings were, but if this scenario holds true, it seems, we are indeed close to the end of time.

Continuing our study of Daniel chapter 11 we observed in verse 40 that a change will take place. In time, the king of the north would return and, through military and economic power, sweep away the king of the south. We will see that economic and military power are controlled by the king of the north in the same way that Clovis came to the aid of the Papacy in the past. We recognize that in fulfillment of this verse the Soviet Union, the modern king of the south, was swept away by the Papacy and we are reminded of the events in Poland and the voting with their feet of the people in the communistic controlled East Germany bringing down their Marxist government and demolishing the walls which separated the two Germanies since WWII.

For this to happen was greatly aided by the United States when President Reagan said, `Bring down this wall.'

Ever since the days of President Kennedy, the United States had followed a course of reapprochement of their largely Protestant land with the Papacy in Rome. This was not only supported by the new president but also by Protestant clergy and theologians who had forgotten where they were coming from. The Fall of East Germany also brought about the Fall of the Soviet Union or vice versa. Ever since that time the United States had some form of government contact with the man in Rome, a fact which does not pass unnoticed by the Papacy.

But in this new century, before unimagined events occurred which brought the new king of the north, the United States right into the heart of Babylon. No human before 2001 could have foreseen such a turn of events. What does it mean?

Christians everywhere are now looking for developments which may delineate the future as prophetically described in Daniel 11:40-45 and 12:1-4. There are still outstanding events which may come about even though today we cannot imagine how that would all occur. Many of these may be disasters brought about especially by environmental factors, wars and social problems (2.Tim. 3:1-5). All of these are to lead people to search the Word of God and discover how to serve Him. That is why we read, "The great I AM is vindicating his law. He is speaking to those who make it void in storms, in floods, in tempests, in earthquakes, in perils by land and by sea. Now is the time for his people to show themselves true to principle." [440] As we near the end we must keep our focus on Protestantism extending its hand to Rome for whatever reasons and thus bring about long predicted change. Much of the groundwork may take place behind the scenes - even in our time. We have little time left. As Satan sees his time is running out, all stops will be pulled and one disaster will hit upon another just before Jesus comes again in might and power. Therefore, students of Bible prophecy will continually check to see how things will proceed from here on out for our salvation is drawing nigh.

While we read and hear much about the love of God, redemption, salvation, and many similar concepts and terminology having to do with faith, few speak of probation and being sealed. For this reason we include a short explanation at this time.

The first analogy having to do with the finalization of a decision we read about in the Book of Genesis. There is Eve and there is Adam. Once Eve decided to listen to the snake and Adam decided to partake of the same mistake, the course of sin in this world was set (Gen. 3:6-7). Next we read of Abel that he offered animal sacrifices while Cain thought it was enough to offer bloodless plant sacrifices (Gen. 4:3-4). Their minds were made up on how to worship. Then we jump ahead to the time of Noah, and thank God we have what appear to be the actual remains of the mighty ship he built as a witness for the people living at the end of time so none shall have an excuse (but really all we need is the Bible itself) - Noah spent 120 years to build it. The findings of rivets and being able to make out where the rib timbers once stood, is truly amazing and shows that Noah was a thorough workman. Of the 120 years a good amount of time must have been spent in preparation, devising the plans, forging the tools and implements. But on that last day, after all those nearby watching saw the animals walk into the ark, and the door was shut, the fate of those outside and inside was sealed. Those on the outside had ridiculed Noah, those eight people inside believed and were saved. Each group had formed their decision. They joined one or the other group, like Jesus said,

"Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." Matth. 13:30.

"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." 2.Timothy 2:19

"And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" Zechariah 3:2

"... Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." 2.Timothy 2:19

While it is true that the brighter the light is which we shine on us, the more we realize the continual need of the Saviour's blood to cleanse us, we should show growth in the maturity in the faith. This process we should have started yesterday. We should turn off - completely - the sin besetting us. We must spend time with God and not the newspapers and television and in idle talk. Those don't save us. God is waiting for His people to fall in line. The disciples were to become more like Jesus, so should we - so nothing separates us from the love of God. It is `heart' work inside of us which we must accomplish.

Some imagine that during the time of trouble they will have been raptured safe into heaven and won't have to endure any hardship. Is that true? Should the Lord endure everything for us so we can get into heaven unscathed? Should our faith never be tested if it is truly genuine before God translates us into people fit to live in heaven? Who ever invented this doctrine of the rapture and the seven years at the end of time? People, study and think this over. There is something wrong here - a compilation of minor, misunderstood texts is put up as something major. There will be a period of testing for all the people who confess to be God's people. His church on earth. His remnant people.[460] The elect if you please. Those who follow Jesus all the way.

"This is intended as a warning to the people of God living in the last days. A people who know that righteousness is always a term that means holiness that has confronted temptation in sinful nature and has overcome. If they follow after righteousness and true holiness, if they keep all the commandments of God, Satan and his agents will not be permitted to overcome them. All the opposition of their bitterest foes will prove powerless to destroy or uproot the vine of God's own planting. Satan understands what Balaam learned by sad experience, that there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither divination against Israel, while iniquity is not cherished among them; therefore his power and influence will ever be employed to mar their unity and defile the purity of their characters. His snares are laid in a thousand ways to weaken their power for good." [5T, 599.]

God saves a purified people, purified while they were still living on earth, not in heaven. Our minds must be made up before we can show up in heaven. We must be sealed beforehand. We must say no to sin starting today. And if we fall we must keep on praying and believing. We must grow to maturity - quicker, the closer we get to that day - all of us, young and old.

Parents, like the mother and grandmother trained Timothy for Jesus, so train your children that they don't have to do the guilty things, the sin, the bad thing. We must know, we do not have to commit that sin which presents itself. We must train us to think, Jesus be the Lord in my life. We must die to self so that the looks and oblique comments of those who do not know Christ do not affect our decision. Thank God, the sealing time is of short duration.

"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." John 9:4