Prophecy
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Pharaoh
and Nebuchadnezzar
When the
144,000 present the eternal gospel by
telling the world that Jesus is
Almighty God the Creator, billions of
people will be strongly
opposed. We can be sure that
the demand to worship Jesus by
resting on His Sabbath day will
inflame 99.9% of the world, but the
evidences of God’s wrath will
keep people subdued for a short time.
When
presented to the world, the eternal
gospel will produce an enormous
problem. This is to be
expected. When the Father
declared the eternal gospel in
Heaven, He tested each angel.
The angels had no doubt about
God’s will, for they heard the
Father’s voice with their own
ears. Similarly, each
person’s response to the eternal
gospel will reveal the true condition
of his heart. Keep in mind, the
eternal gospel will be clearly
presented, but the demand will not be
based on “ears”
alone. The Holy Spirit and the
two laws of love will bear witness
that the testimony of the 144,000 is
faithful and true! Those who
love God and are acquainted with the
Holy Spirit will obey once they
understand. Unfortunately,
billions will reject “a plain
thus saith the Lord” from
Scripture. They will also
reject the Holy Spirit.
Jesus
understands the cultural and
religious diversity of mankind.
In fact, Jesus is responsible for the
diversity of mankind. It all
began at the Tower of Babel when
Jesus divided the language of the
world.[54]
Jesus made the dispersion of mankind
permanent when He later divided the
Earth into continents.[55] Jesus
knew that after mankind was
separated, great spiritual darkness
would cover each nation. To
counteract this darkness, He chose
the descendants of Abraham to be a
light to the Gentiles.
Unfortunately, Israel failed.
Then, Jesus raised up the Christian
Church and later, a Protestant
movement within it, but they failed
too. The religious arrogance
and ignorance that plagues the world
today cannot be overcome by the will
of man. One man cannot prove to
another the superiority of his
religious thinking. Therefore,
the presentation of the eternal
gospel will require an unusual
display of divine power. A very
interesting experience awaits the
world.
The eternal
gospel will produce a confrontation
similar to the day that Moses and
Aaron went to the palace and
presented themselves before the king
of Egypt. Pharaoh was going
about his usual routines when
suddenly, “. . .
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and
said, ‘This is what the Lord,
the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my
people go, so that they may hold a
festival to me in the
desert.’ Pharaoh said,
‘Who is the Lord, that I should
obey him and let Israel go? I do not
know the Lord and I will not let
Israel go.”[56]
I am sure
that Pharaoh was stunned when he
heard two old men present the
Lord’s demand. Pharaoh
spoke the truth when he said that he
did not know the God of Israel.
Therefore, he naturally refused
to obey such a command. Jesus
respects the reasoning powers that He
gave to mankind. Jesus knew
that Pharaoh did not know Him.
Jesus also knew that from a practical
point of view, Pharaoh could not let
his slaves go free because they would
never come back! Jesus knew
from the beginning that Pharaoh would
reject His demand[57] because
the departure of Israel (cheap labor)
would ruin Egypt’s
economy! Pharaoh knew that if
he gave an inch, the Israelites would
take a mile. Therefore,
he reasonably refused
to obey God’s demand and let
Israel go. However, Pharaoh
made a huge mistake. After
watching ten plagues fall on his
kingdom, the king should have
realized (as Nebuchadnezzar finally
did) that there is a Most High God in
Heaven that overrules the will of
man.[58] It is
ironic that after suffering ten
destructive plagues, Pharaoh would
not recognize or acknowledge
God’s higher authority.
Therefore, God destroyed him in the
Red Sea.
In a sense,
sinners are kings like Pharaoh and
Nebuchadnezzar! Each person
rules over his own heart and
mind. When the people of Earth
hear the eternal gospel for the first
time, they will reject it because it
is foreign. Like Pharaoh, most
people do not know Jesus.
Initially, the eternal gospel will
make almost everyone angry.
However, the first four trumpets will
produce so much destruction that many
survivors will begin to listen.
This may sound strange, but
God’s wrath will enable Him to
save many people that would not
otherwise listen to Him! Moses
and Aaron called down plagues on
Egypt. God responded with dire
judgments to soften Pharaoh’s
heart, but Pharaoh refused to submit
to God’s sovereign power even
after there was unmistakable evidence
of God’s will. Pharaoh
made the fatal mistake of thinking
that his authority was greater than
the God of the Hebrews. King
Nebuchadnezzar also made the same
mistake, but after seven years of
eating grass like an animal, he
confessed there is a Most High God
who rules over the kingdoms of
men. Nebuchadnezzar finally
submitted to God’s authority and
gave Him glory!
Jesus
understands the rebellious nature of
the carnal heart very well and this
explains why the seven trumpets will
be redemptive judgments. This
is why the Two Witnesses will testify
for 1,260 days. The 144,000
will present the demand that everyone
worship the Creator who made the
Heavens, the Earth, the sea, and the
fountains of waters. By the
way, these four items are included in
the eternal gospel because the
Creator who made them will destroy
one-third of each of them! The
scope and sequence of these coming
judgments (plainly described in
Revelation 8) will prove to the
sincere in heart that the eternal
gospel is a demand from God.
Furthermore, the 144,000 will call
down all kinds of plagues on Earth
(just like Moses and Aaron did) as
often as they want[59] to
further demonstrate that their
testimony comes from God.”
Faith or
Works?
Propaganda is
a clever mixture of truth and
lies. As a political tool,
propaganda is highly effective
because most people do not have
access to the whole truth.
Therefore, propaganda is often used
to influence or determine the outcome
of a political race. Propaganda
is not concerned with “the whole
truth and nothing but the
truth,” so consequently,
propaganda enables evil minded people
to promote or believe whatever they
want. Propaganda is effective
because it creates or enhances bias
and prejudice. Lucifer is the creator
and master of propaganda.
Lucifer led a third of the angels
astray with propaganda and he will
use this tool to lead the wicked into
destruction. Ironically, during
the Great Tribulation Lucifer will
promote the same false
gospelthat he once accused God
of imposing on the angels.
Lucifer will make the eternal gospel
appear to say: “Obey and live,
disobey and die.”
Many people
do not properly understand the
relationship between faith and
works. How does faith in Christ
and the eternal gospel mix
together? Before Lucifer was
expelled from Heaven, he became a
liar.[60] He
became a master at misrepresenting
the actions of the Father and
Michael. Using propaganda, he
skillfully made the Godhead appear to
be evil minded and one-third of
Heaven’s holy angels believed
his lies! (Eve, in her sinless
state, also believed Lucifer’s
lies.) Lucifer’s cunning
and sophistry is beyond
measure. If the demands of the
eternal gospel were set before the
people of Earth at any other
time than during the Great
Tribulation, one could argue the
point that the eternal gospel boils
down to, “obey and live, disobey
and die!” To eliminate
this possibility, a presentation of
the eternal gospel requires
a special setting, a context
where God Himself clearly sets the
evidence of His will before people
and each person is informed in
advance about the consequences of his
decision. This is the way it
happened in Heaven and this is the
way it will happen on
Earth! Two-thirds of the
holy angels were saved by faith when
the eternal gospel was set before
them and a numberless multitude of
saints will be saved because of their
faith!
The Special
Setting
Sin has
physically separated human beings
from God’s presence, which
promotes endless confusion around the
world about the identity and will of
whatever is worshiped as God.
Because each of the world’s
religious systems are convinced that
their knowledge of God is truth and
all others are in error,
unimpeachable evidence must accompany
the eternal gospel to prove that the
144,000 speak truth while the rest of
the religious world speak lies.
What will prove that worshiping Jesus
on His seventh day Sabbath is the
will of God? This is a
profoundly important question that
will confront Muslims, Jews, Hindus,
Catholics, Atheists, Protestants, and
all others. How can religiously
diverse people make an intelligent
and informed decision about a gospel
that is unlike anything they believe
to be true?[61] The
solution is rather simple.
Jesus will
speak to each religious group through
the lips of the 144,000. Their
words will be invincible and the
144,000 will perform signs and
wonders as often as needed to confirm
their testimony.[62] Jesus
already knows each person on Earth,
He knows what to say to the honest in
heart in every nation and religious
system.[63] Jesus
is no respecter of persons.[64] He
loves everyone the same, He is the
Creator of all mankind.[65]
Therefore, to be fair and impartial
to people in all religious systems,
the eternal gospel will be attended
with “a plain thus saith the
Lord” from Scripture and on top
of this, everyone will feel the
internal prompting of the Holy Spirit
to do what is right. God’s
Two Witnesses will validate the
testimony of Jesus for 1,260 days.[66]
There is a
second element in this special
setting for the eternal gospel.
The eternal gospel must be presented
with inspiredwords.
Human argument will not be
sufficient. Spiritual things
are spiritually understood.[67]
Consider the current gridlock on
Earth. One religious man cannot
prove the superiority of his
religious beliefs to another
religious man. More people have
been killed on Earth because of
religion than for any other
reason. Therefore, the Holy
Spirit will give the testimony of
Jesus’ penetrating power.
Jesus will speak through the lips of
the 144,000. The honest in
heart will be troubled by the demand
of the eternal gospel and they will
be moved by the testimony of Jesus to
obey His commands.[68]
Worshiping the Creator will come with
consequences, but don’t forget,
defiance will also come with
consequences. Everyone will be
forced by circumstances to take a
side because the world will be fully
informed.[69] The
Holy Spirit will convict the world
of sin, righteousness, and
judgment.[70] The
honest in heart will be convicted
that defying the eternal gospel is
sin. They will worship Jesus as
the Creator because it is the
righteous thing to do (God’s
will). Finally, everyone on
Earth will be told that their eternal
reward will be determined by his
response to the eternal gospel.
If a person defies the conviction of
the Holy Spirit after hearing and
seeing the clearest evidences of
God’s will, there is nothing
further that God can do. The
sinner has chosen defiance and
committed the unpardonable sin.[71]
Babylon
Unwittingly Serves God’s Purpose
Babylon will
form when the leaders of the world
conclude that a unified response is
necessary to appease God’s
wrath. God will use
Babylon’s ignorance, arrogance,
and blasphemy to set the stage for a
huge conflict. Babylon will
create a series of
“sin-less” laws that will
produce unintended
consequences. When it becomes
clear that the 144,000 stand in
opposition to Babylon’s laws,
Babylon will persecute the 144,000
and all who embrace the eternal
gospel. Within the context of
persecution, sin, righteousness, and
judgment become very distinct and
clear to the honest in heart.
This is how the eternal gospel will
go throughout the Earth as a testing
truth. Everyone who puts his
faith in Christ will be saved, all
others will be destroyed at the
Second Coming.[72]
Faith and
obedience are brother and
sister. Salvation comes through
faith and Jesus will test
the faith of every person
on Earth during the Great
Tribulation.[73] Jesus
said, “If you love
me, you will obey what I
command.”[74] Revelation
12:17 identifies the
saints as “those
who obey God’s commandments and
hold to the testimony of
Jesus.” When
obeying God comes with a price,
obedience quickly becomes a matter of
faith and love for God.
There is a
critical difference between salvation
through works and salvation through
faith. When a person obeys
God’s command, thinking that his
obedience merits God’s favor and
salvation, salvation has become a
matter of works. In God’s
sight, obedient sinners are just as
guilty of sin as rebellious
sinners, “for the
wages of sin is death.”[75] On the
other hand, when obedience is
motivated by love to obey God and the
sinner understands that his obedience
does not merit God’s salvation,
this is salvation through
faith! Faith means obeying God
at all costs. Eternal life is
almost immaterial![76] Think
about Jesus. Because He loved
the Father and sinners, He submitted
to the will of the Father and He
perished without any hope of
resurrection. What a perfect
example of salvation through faith!
Faith in God
is tested when the price of obedience
becomes significant. This is
why persecution plays an important
role during the Great
Tribulation. When the people of
Earth hear the eternal gospel
proclaimed and when Babylon imposes
punishment on those who obey the
eternal gospel, faith will be
tested. Who will love the
Creator/Redeemer of mankind enough to
worship Him on His holy
day? Who will love the
Creator/Redeemer of mankind enough to
suffer persecution for His sake?[77]
Upon hearing
the eternal gospel, many Christians
will discover like Peter, that they
are initially unwilling to suffer for
Christ’s sake and they will find
a way to justify their
rebellion. Later on, these
people will repent. Other
Christians, like Judas, will remain
angry and rebellious. They will
not repent and will go to their death
cursing God. Judas loved the
gifts of the Giver instead of the
Giver of the gifts. Judas
became a predator and he betrayed
Jesus for thirty pieces of
silver. The eternal gospel will
separate the people of Earth.
The phrase, “obey and live,
disobey and die” does not
summarize the eternal gospel.
Lucifer used this sound bite in
Heaven to slander God’s
love. If a sound bite can
summarize the eternal gospel, it
could be, “When worship requires
a price, I am willing to
pay.” Faith and love
always submits to the will of God
regardless of cost whereas defiance
always justifies rebellion.
What Is
Worship?
When the word
worship is used as a verb, action is
involved. For example, John
fell at the angel’s feet to
worship him in Revelation
19:10. John bowed
before the angel to show submission
and loyalty, but the angel told John,
“Do not do it!” When
the angels in Heaven were tested with
the eternal gospel, the Father
required everyone to immediately bow
down and worship Michael. Those
believing that Michael was their
Creator obeyed the Father’s
command. Doing as commanded is
an act of
worship. Those loyal to Lucifer
remained standing; this was an act of
defiance. Abel’s obedience
was an act of worship. Abel did
as God commanded. He built an
altar and offered the required
lamb. God was pleased with his
worship. Cain, on the other
hand, built an altar and presented
fruit. He presumed to worship
God, but Cain insulted
God. A created being
cannot dictate the terms of worship
to his Creator! It must be
the other way around.
Worshiping Jesus means obeying His
commands and remaining loyal to Him.[78]
Consider the
creation of the Sabbath day for a
moment. Human beings did not
see Jesus create the Earth and all
that is in it. Therefore, to
commemorate His work, Jesus created a
memorial to Creation Week. This
memorial is the seventh day Sabbath.[79] To
ensure the perpetuity of this
memorial, Jesus declared the seventh
day holy.[80]
God’s Sabbath is unlike the
other six days of the week, it is
holy (set apart). This memorial
was created for the benefit of man.[81] Not
only is the Sabbath a day for
physical rest and spiritual renewal,
but it is also a reminder of our
origin. The Sabbath was created
to keep mankind from forgetting their
Creator and their accountability to
Him. It is interesting that
from the very beginning, God has
required human beings to honor
something they did not see.
Therefore, properly observing
God’s Sabbath is an act
that acknowledges the work of our
Creator.
Lucifer has
done everything possible to eliminate
all traces of God’s memorial to
creation. He has done this so
that all mankind would forget Jesus
and our accountability to Him.
It is interesting that Muslims
worship on Friday, Christians worship
on Sunday, and Jews, who deny that
Jesus is the Creator, worship on
Saturday. The devil knows all
about the eternal gospel (he lost his
place in Heaven because of it).
He knows that our faith in Christ
will be tested and that God’s
Sabbath rest will become the focus of
a great controversy all over the
world during the Great
Tribulation. He has been
preparing to make war on the remnant
of the woman for more than two
hundred years. When Babylon
rises to power, this war begins.[82]
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