The Latest Message To World Leaders
So
much has been said about the end of this age and the Great Tribulation that
accompanies it, that few people want to hear about it anymore. But hear they will, because this is our job,
and because this awesome event is well on its way and it cannot be
stopped.
The events of
For us, it is that time of the year when we
normally inform people of the appearance of a new edition of The Christian Herald. This time however
we are doing more than that; we are informing them of an important new phase in
this work.
As most of you would know by now, the purpose of this work
has been to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to call people to repentance,
and to provide a service to world leaders with an analysis of world
developments from a spiritual perspective.
We have amply done that for more than twelve years now, during which
time we have painstakingly documented that the world was unmistakably heading
towards a catastrophic climax that would wipe out all life on earth if it were
not for the intervention of God Almighty to put an end to human madness. But He would not do so for the sake of a
world that does not believe in Him, but for the sake of His elect. Here are the famous words of Jesus Christ
that are being fulfilled before our very eyes.
"For then there will be great tribulation, such as has
not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall
be. And unless those days were
shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be
shortened.” (Mat 24:21-22).
In the last edition we unveiled the one prophecy
that portends the beginning of the countdown to the Great Tribulation. We refer of course to the prophecy of
Daniel’s chapter 12 that has never been revealed before. That countdown began when the “abomination of
desolation” profaned the
"Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also
will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to
test those who dwell on the earth.
"Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one
may take your crown.” (Rev 3:10-11).
There is an “hour of trial” that shall come
upon the whole world, and the way of escaping it is by persevering in the ways
of God, by being at peace with Him, with the world, and with oneself. One cannot be at peace with oneself and the
world if he is not at peace with God first.
And he cannot be at peace with God if he does not know Him, does not
obey Him, and does not follow His ways.
Only one Gospel teaches these things in full, the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Gospel of truth. You can find it detailed in The Christian Heralds.
Until now, these magazines have been
available mostly to national, religious and academic leaders, but now they are
accessible to the whole world through our web site: www.thechristianherald.info
The whole world
ought to know why religious, academic, and national leaders are determined to
keep our magazines from public knowledge, and especially out of the hands of
their followers. We strongly recommend The Christian Heralds Nos
We will no longer
send out hard copies of these magazines as we have done so far, unless they are
specifically requested. But all of them will be available on this site from now
on: www.thechristianherald.info
We mentioned at the beginning of this article
that we are moving to an important new phase in this work. That phase has to do with the success, or rather
lack of it, we have encountered in bringing the leaders of this world to the
wedding feast Jesus Christ. Having refused to answer the call of our God, He is
now sending us on “the streets, highways, lanes and hedges” to call the simple
people to His feast. Here is that
story.
"A certain man gave a great supper and
invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were
invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'
But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to
him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to
have me excused.' "And another
said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you
to have me excused.' Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore
I cannot come.'
"So that servant came and reported
these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to
his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring
in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' "And the servant said, 'Master, it is
done as you commanded, and still there is room.' "Then the master said to
the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in,
that my house may be filled.’For I say to you that none of those men who were
invited shall taste my supper.'" (Luke 14:16-24).
Now, how many times does God have to call on
people before they answer His call?
Once, twice, three times? How
about ten times? That is how many editions of The Christian Herald we
have sent to those who were invited, but the result has been the same: “Why, when I came, was there no man? Why,
when I called, was there none to answer?” (Isa 50:2). Does anyone still doubt that biblical
prophecies are coming alive in real time? You are witnesses to this fact. You can find out more about that prophecy in
Early in our work, we discovered that important spiritual
knowledge was missing from the vernacular of our leaders. That knowledge is the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
the Gospel of salvation. Without it, the
world was being led, unwarily but unmistakably, to catastrophe. But speaking about salvation to this “enlightened”
world proved to be a lost cause.
Certain religious leaders made capital of the fact that we
had no authority from today’s religious establishments to carry out this work,
and fiercely opposed us. But that put us in a good league, for that happened to
Jesus Christ and His Apostles too.
“Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests
and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said,
"By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this
authority?" (Mat
“And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers,
elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and
Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered
together at
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and
perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marvelled. And they
realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:5-13).
Jesus Christ and His Apostles were considered to be
“uneducated and untrained men” by the leaders of their time, when in truth they
had more knowledge about salvation and the ways of God than they all put
together. Now should we be surprised
that the same thing is happening to us now? The bona fides of our work is that
our message is different, that we follow the unadulterated Word of God, and
that we have done it all for free, just like the Apostles. No other people,
church, denomination, or religion in the world, can make a similar claim.
Since the beginning of the world, people who came in the
name of God, who brought important spiritual messages, were in conflict with
the religious establishments of their day.
Such had been the case with the prophets of the Old Testament time, with
Jesus Christ, and with His Apostles.
Therefore it should come as no surprise that God has followed the same
pattern to our day by using people who were not encumbered by religious dogma
to deliver His simple messages to the world.
We began our work by crying aloud the fact that this world
was in grave danger and that it could not be saved from oblivion if it did not
return to its Creator God in heartfelt repentance and worship. A decade ago we were the first to point out
that the world had entered the spasms associated with the end of this age, yet
not surprisingly no one took us seriously. What is surprising though is that
although by now the question of life’s survival on this planet is on many
peoples’ lips, and a common theme in the media, the true solution to this
problem is still out of their minds. Not
a single leader has turned to God and invoked spiritual principles in order to
save their people from impending catastrophe. None has called on their people
to return to the true Gospel, and none has lent us a helping hand or made a
contribution to this work.
We knew from prophecy that this would be the case and wrote
about it at the very beginning of this work, but found it hard to believe that
it would stay that way to the very end.
Unbelievably, it did.
The notion of salvation is simply out of the minds of our
leaders, yet nothing matters more in these troubled times than giving people
hope and certainty that God has the power to make a difference in their lives.
One of the imperatives of our time has been
the restoration of the true Gospel and the preaching of it as a witness to the
world. "And this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and
then the end will come” (Mat 24:14).
That work has been done!
Preaching the Gospel as a witness to the
nations did not mean preaching it to every human being; otherwise it would no
longer be a work of witness but one of full conversion. Leaders represent nations, and that is why
this work had been geared primarily for them.
But we have not done it in secret or in vacuum, for tens of thousands of
other people in this country and around the world have been made aware of it
too. Yet, unbelievably, just as the
Bible had predicted long ago, no one has accepted our witness.
Truth has no value in this world, and that is why the world
is coming to a crushing end. But there
is light at the end of the tunnel, for although The Christian Herald has
been a witness against an unbelieving world it is also a harbinger of good
news. A bright and wonderful new world
follows the Great Tribulation, but only for those who have turned to God when
they had their chance, for "many are called, but few are chosen."
(Mat
Now with all the signs of the time, and in spite of the
fact that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been restored and made available
to all, and people have been warned of what is to come several times, this
world will still be taken by surprise by the Great Tribulation. So said Jesus
Christ, and so it shall be.
"But as the days of Noah were, so also will the
coming of the Son of Man be. For as in
the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until
the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man
be. (Mat 24:37-38).
How could this be? It is because the world is full of false
gospels, and a myriad of preachers who lull people into a false sense of
security in the belief that the end of this age is still a long way off. That is why no one believes the true Gospel
anymore. One cannot be ready for the
return of his Saviour by believing a false gospel. The Christian Herald reveals to you
both the true Gospel and how close to these events we really are.
Nowhere else you can find this information. On the
contrary, all other publications steer people away from the belief that the end
is near. Why? Because they know that if we are right, all
those who have preached different gospels are doomed.
Contrary to what other churches and religions preach, there
are only one true God, one true Saviour, one true Holy Spirit, and one true
Gospel (Eph. 4:4-6). Everything else is
deception. The closer we get to the end of this age the worse it gets.
Complacency in these trying times and failure to see the difference are
deadly. As the Bible says, “Beloved, do
not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God;
because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1
The blessings and salvation of God Almighty are with those
who hear His call and do His will!
“And
men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who
has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and
give Him glory.”(Rev 16:9)
In the year 2000,
Ever since that time,
History and prophecy have provided ample
proofs that everything that happens in this world has a spiritual underlining
and a predetermined consequence to it. But because we live in a world of
pervading cynicism and unbridled materialism, talk about spiritual matters
renders one obsolete and out of touch with reality. Yet, without reference to
our Creator God, and His divine laws that keep the universe turning and
regulate our relationship with Him and with each other, life is a meaningless
chain of unrelated events, fraught with pitfalls and difficulties for the
unwary that choose the path of unbelief.
The term ‘natural disaster‘ is actually a
misnomer for this drought. First because
even in a country that is used to dry spells there is nothing natural about a
drought that covers almost an entire continent. NSW, the gay capital of
the world, is the worst hit State.
Second, because our Creator’s handbook – the Bible – tells us that
drought in agricultural areas is a consequence of national and personal sins.
“Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from
your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not
hear.” (Isa 59:1-2).
"Now it shall come to pass, if you
diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His
commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you
high above all nations of the earth.
“And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because
you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
"Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the
country. Blessed shall be the fruit of
your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the
increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. "Blessed shall be your basket and your
kneading bowl. “Blessed shall you be
when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
"The LORD will cause your enemies who
rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against
you one way and flee before you seven ways.” (Deu 28:1-7).
"The LORD will open to you His good
treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to
bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall
not borrow. And the LORD will make you
the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you
heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are
careful to observe them. "So you
shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the
right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
"But it shall come to pass, if you do
not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His
commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses
will come upon you and overtake you:
"Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the
country. Cursed shall be your basket and
your kneading bowl. "Cursed shall
be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your
cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
"Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when
you go out.
"The LORD will send on you cursing,
confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are
destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your
doings in which you have forsaken Me.
The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you
from the land which you are going to possess.
The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with
inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and
with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
“And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth
which is under you shall be iron. The
LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it
shall come down on you until you are destroyed.”(Deu 28:12-24).
Some people may wonder why we apply the
warnings that God gave to ancient
“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be
unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,
all were baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same
spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that
spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased,
for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
“Now these things became our examples,
to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also
lusted. And do not become idolaters as
were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and
drink, and rose up to play."
“Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day
twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as
some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain,
as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
“Now all these things happened to them as
examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the
ages have come.” (1 Cor
10:1 – 11).
These things happened to them as examples
for us, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Are we anywhere near the end of this
age? We are at the very door of it. If there ever was a generation upon whom
the ends of the ages have come, surely this is the one.
Apostle Paul went on to say: Do not
become idolaters, nor let us commit sexual immorality, nor let us tempt Christ,
nor complain. Normally, idolatry is
associated with worshiping statues and images, but in this case he associated
it with an inordinate desire for pleasures – eat, drink and play – the
very characteristics of the Gay and Lesbian Olympics. It was widely reported in the media at
that time that in the suburb of
Do these people take note of God’s warning
against sexual immorality? 'You shall not lie with a male as with a
woman. It is an abomination.” (Lev
No, sins are not good for the economy! They
are disastrous both for the economy and for the social fabric of society. The current national distress is only one
such obvious proof of it.
God does not mind when people enjoy
themselves appropriately and in moderation as along as they do not forget where
their blessings come from and render due credit to who credit is due. But when they step out of line, punishment is
never too far away.
Homosexuality is only one of the sins that
plague this country and the world at present.
With the disappearance of the concept of God from our educational
institutions, our youths grow up in a moral, ethical and spiritual vacuum,
surrounded by vice, unable to distinguish between right and wrong, good and
evil, true and false, and holy and profane anymore. No one is telling them that true happiness is
not achieved through sin, vulgarity, and rebelliousness, but through love,
decency, chastity, faithfulness, respect for elders and authorities, and above
all, reverence, love and worship for our Heavenly Father.
“'You shall rise before the gray headed and
honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD”. (Lev. 19:32).
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good.”
“Let every soul be subject to the governing
authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities
that exist are appointed by God.
Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God,
and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works,
but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and
you will have praise from the same. For
he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he
does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute
wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only
because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also
pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very
thing. Render therefore to all their
due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear,
honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything
except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
(Rom
"'You shall love the LORD your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the first and great
commandment. "And the second is
like it: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' "On these two commandments hang all the
Law and the Prophets." (Mat 22:37-40).
Two major events in the life of this nation
have shown how far our leaders have departed from God in recent times. Neither during the celebrations of the real
Olympics, nor during the memorials of the devastating terrorist attack in Bali
in October 2002 that killed nearly 200 people, most of them Australians, have
any of them mentioned God in their speeches.
No one remembered, or reminded people, of the promise of Jesus Christ:
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may
die, he shall live. And whoever lives
and believes in Me shall never die."(John 11:25-26).
The Premier of NSW went so far as to say
that those who died in
“Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long
will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over
“But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not
look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused
him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him
pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this
one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass
by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass
before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen
these."
“And
Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said,
"There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep."
And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down
till he comes here." So he sent and
brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the
LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" (1 Sam 16:1,6-12).
The majority of those who died in
If the biblical standard of moderation and
due care for the ‘temple of the living God’
is applied, it is doubtful that one could say they ‘were all good men’. That is not to say one should not lament the
deaths of so many people in such a violent manner, but let truth be truth and
not always be subject to political imperatives.
If there ever was a man who deserved to be
called good, by virtue of the fact that He had never sinned, it was
Jesus Christ. Yet when a young man
addressed Him by that epithet this is what He said:
“Now behold, one came and said to Him,
"Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me
good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life,
keep the commandments." He said to
Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You shall not murder,' 'You
shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false
witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.'" The young
man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I
still lack?"
“Jesus said to him, "If you want to be
perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he
had great possessions. Then Jesus said
to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of heaven.
"And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
When His disciples heard it, they were
greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them,
"With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
(Mat
There are many lessons that come out of this
passage, not the least that with God all things are possible. Why then did He not answer the nation’s
prayers to put an end to this disastrous drought before it devastated the
nation’s stock of grains and animals?
This is the Bible’s answer:
“Your iniquities have separated you from
your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not
hear.” (Isa 59:2).
“They do not say in their heart, "Let
us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter,
in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the
harvest." “Your iniquities have
turned these things away, And your sins have withheld good from you.” (Jer
And from the New Testament we have this.
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him,
because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His
sight.” (1
So what is the solution? Well, what was true of the young man, who
could not follow Jesus Christ and gain eternal life because of his greed, is
true of everyone today: KEEP THE
COMMANDMENTS, and share your wealth with the poor. Which Commandments? The same that Christ said
are essential for eternal life. Read
that passage again, and take note of it for it has some very important lessons
for today.
If this nation follows the example of other
nations that have received similar warnings and turned around (see Jonah
chapter 3 for example), not only will its fortunes turn around too, but those
who keep God’s Commandments would ensure themselves of eternal life as
well.
"If you love Me, keep My commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may
abide with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with
you and will be in you.
"I will not leave you orphans; I will
come to you”. "And whatever you ask
in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you
ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:15-18, 13-14).
Now do people love Jesus Christ and keep His
Commandments these days? They come up
with all sorts of excuses for not keeping the Commandments, yet Jesus Christ
clearly linked them with eternal life.
God is answering the prayers of those who keep His commandments, and
conversely, He does not answer them to those who do not keep them.
Now while
More than at any other time in history, the
world is experiencing major cataclysmic upheavals: droughts, floods, famines,
earthquakes, epidemics, devastating storms, killer tornadoes, crime,
unemployment, poverty, social upheavals – you name them, they are
everywhere. And now the latest:
worldwide terrorism.
These are abnormal times: it was not meant
to be this way. We would like to tell you
that all these things will be over soon, but we can’t because they won’t. Things will get worse before they get
better. The world is well and truly on
its last legs, having entered the last stages before it plunges itself into
what Jesus Christ called the Great Tribulation.
All that is left now is the final worldwide nuclear blow out, but the
world is blindly ignorant of its march towards that event, even though it has
been told about it several times.
Since 1990,
Admittedly, we never requested anything from
anyone and never will, for that would be contrary to our apostolic tradition, but
that should not have prevented them from voluntarily supporting a work that is
good for them and for the country.
The Apostles never begged, cajoled or
imposed themselves on the general public.
They only expected donations from church members and from those who
benefited from their work and were of a willing heart. The moment one solicits help from the general
public he ceases to be a Christian, for that is like begging from strangers,
and is contrary to the Scriptures.
“I have been young, and now am old; Yet I
have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.” (Psa 37:25).
“Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He
shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see
it.” (Psa 37:34).
It is easy to know those who do not follow
the Scriptures, for in general they are scriptural illiterates. They offer a
mumbo-jumbo type of preaching that they themselves do not understand and find
it hard to explain when pressed to do so.
Apostle Paul said that they are, “always learning and never able to come
to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim 3:7).
And it cannot be otherwise, for the Holy Spirit does not help those who
act contrary to the examples of Jesus Christ and His Apostles. And without the Holy Spirit one should never
open his mouth to preach in the name of Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS, and
tell your leaders to keep them too. In
so doing, you will both help the nation out of distress, and ensure eternal
life and a bright future for yourself in the
Most
Christians believe that before the return of Jesus Christ, one man would come,
in the spirit of Elijah, and restore “all things”. We say ‘most’ because some believe that he
had already come two thousand years ago in the form of John the Baptist and
fulfilled that prophecy. The problem is
there are several prophecies about Elijah that could not have been fulfilled at
that time. Here is one that was fulfilled
then.
Mat 11:7 “As they departed, Jesus began to say to the
multitudes concerning John: "What did you go out into the
Mat 11:8 wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the
wind? "But what did you go out to
see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are
in kings' houses.
Mat 11:9 "But what did you go
out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Mat
Here
we have a clear statement from Jesus Christ that John the Baptist was indeed
Elijah. He was the messenger that
prepared the way for the Lord. The problem is, Jesus Christ was destined to
come twice to this earth: first as a human being, a ‘Son of Man’, to offer a
beacon to the world and qualify for His eternal kingship, and a second time as
a triumphant Son of God, to save humanity from self-annihilation, take His
people to Himself, and take control of the kingdoms of this world. We have covered this subject at length in The
Christian Herald No 1. Here is just
a glimpse of these prophecies.
The Pharisees knew about these prophecies and
were waiting for the Messiah at the time of Jesus Christ, but when He made His
appearance, they rejected Him because He spoke of a different kind of Kingdom;
one based on righteousness, truth, justice and holiness that belonged to
another world. When they perceived that
they had little chance of entering that Kingdom they rejected Him and killed
Him, and decided that they would wait for another Messiah. They are still waiting for Him, but when He
comes this time He will make them an offer they can’t refuse anymore. They ignored the fact that the Messiah would
come first to suffer at the hands of the wicked and be cut off in the middle of
the week, and in so doing they became participants and executors of that
prophecy.
That was the first coming of the Messiah, and
here is the second.
Since John the Baptist came before the first
arrival of the Messiah, the question is will there be another ‘Elijah’ before
His second coming? When asked about his
role, John the Baptist said that he was not Elijah.
Now why did John deny that he was Elijah when
Jesus Christ clearly said that he was?
Because he knew that there would be another Elijah after him, one who
would serve a different purpose. Take a
careful look at this passage for it portrays some important developments prior
to the arrival of the second Elijah.
Three are three points of interest for us in
this passage.
1.
There
will be a Day, burning like an oven in which the proud and the wicked become
stubble and ashes under the feet of the righteous. It is appropriate to note here that the
wicked of our time have introduced the false doctrine that all human beings
will be saved, because ‘God is good and cannot destroy His own creation’. Instead of changing their life of sin and
turning to God in heartfelt repentance, they are finding escape in falsehood
and immersing themselves ever deeper in self-deluding doctrines. The second Elijah will fight these deceivers
prior to the Great Tribulation and the return of Jesus Christ.
2.
God
is sending His people to the Law, statutes and judgments that He gave to
Moses. This Law contains among other
things the Sabbaths, Holy Days and Commandments of God. Since John the Baptist did not accomplish
this restoration, it follows that the second Elijah must do it. One of the identifying signs of the second
Elijah then is the upholding and restoring the Law of Moses – the Law of God.
3.
Before
the ‘great and dreadful day of the Lord’, Elijah must turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. There never was a greater need of this kind
of love in the world than it is now.
Love of our parents and love of our heavenly Father and our Savior have
never been scarcer in the world. That
love is being restored through the Law of God – the Ten Commandments. Remember, the first four Commandments
regulate our relationship with God, and the last six with each other. Jesus Christ summarized the Ten Commandments
in this manner, but did not supplant them.
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