Download Tag: Scripture

THE UNFOLDING OF HISTORY HOLDS NO SURPRISES FOR YAHWEH, He wrote history before it happened in the prophecies of the Bible. The events occurring this year, which astonish the many people who are so wilfully blind to the causes of these things, were all told centuries ago. Isaiah 40:21 reminds us, “Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood it from the foundations of the earth?” Then in Isaiah 42:9 Yahweh tells us, “Behold, the former things are come to pass and the new things do I declare before they spring forth, I tell you of them.” All who have paid attention to the Bible prophecies will admit that Yahweh has warned us that the end of the present evil age will come in the course of a great war. There have been wars, even great wars, in every century since the dawn of history, how are we to know when the time is here?

There are certain clues, many of which were completely meaningless as late as 50 years ago, but which are now very clear and tell us the time is at hand. One set of these clues consists of the identification of the new weapons, only developed in the last few decades. These will mark the next Great War as the final one. These are the atom bomb, the hydrogen bomb and the great long-range rockets, which carry them. No previous war could have been the final one, because none was marked by the use of all these weapons. The next one, when Russia strikes by treachery, will be marked by the use of all of these and is thereby marked as the last war.
Artillery shells cause relatively little destruction.

Many a house has received several direct hits, yet much of it remained standing. The puff of smoke drifted away and dissolved. The heavy bombs used in World War II caused more damage. Yet, even the great blockbuster bombs raised a puff of smoke that rose a few hundred feet, drifted a few hundred yards, then vanished. Not until the coming of the atom bomb did certain prophecies suddenly make sense.

AS CHRISTIANS, WE ALL LOOK FORWARD TO ANOTHER LIFE: the doctrine of resurrection is fundamental in Christianity. But this is not the final answer to our questions: it is only the starting point for many questions. What sort of life will this be? Are there different grades or levels in that life? How can you know what your own place in that life will be?

The only “gospel” preached in our churches today is the Gospel of Personal Salvation. Is this the all inclusive answer? No: for some churches regard if salvation” as a temporary, changing thing: they say that you can be “saved” today and lose your salvation tomorrow and, I presume, regain it on the day after-tomorrow. (If that be true, you d better be very careful as to just which day you die). Other churches teach that once you have salvation r, you have it forever. Which churches are right? Let’s find out just what “salva­tion” is, and what benefits it implies.

In the Old Testament, three Hebrew words are commonly translated “Salva­tion : these are YESHUAH (yesh-oo-aw), YESHAH (yeh-shah), and rarely–­TESHUAH (tesh-oo-aw). The root meaning of all three is basically “safety”, varying through “rescue” to “health”. In short deliverance from danger. In the New Testament, two Greek words are trpslated “salvation” these are SOTERIA (so-tay-ree-ah) and SOTERION (so-tay-ree-on)—and their meaning is identical with the three Hebrew words I mentioned.

THE PROPHET JOEL LEFT A MESSAGE WRITTEN FOR OUR DAY—a warning which, If we had heeded it, would have kept us out of the troubles we now face, both within our nation and from outside. Like all men of his century, he was familiar with war and trouble, for war was almost the normal condition of the kingdom of that day; and conquerors then did not help their defeated victims back to prosperity, as we do — if the losers were not exterminated, they were either enslaved or put under heavy tribute taxes, after first being thorough­ly looted by the conqueror. Therefore, it took a startling vision, indeed, to arouse Joel to the excitement he displays in this short book: It is some­thing unlike anything previously seen.

He begins, “The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel: “Hear this, ye elders, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” There had been nothing like it In the past; neither was It for the near future, but the prophecy was to be preserved for many genera­tions. His prophecy deals with the Day of the Lord”—something which has not yet come, but which all the signs of both prophecy and current history prove to be just a short time ahead of us, today.

THE VARIOUS BIBLE PROPHECIES DEAL WITH MANY EVENTS, occurring at different times. Some of these have been completely fulfilled in the past. Others are on such a grand scale they seem to have a double fulfilment, a partial fulfilment in the past and a greater one in the future. Yet others deal only with events still in the future.

Which of these speak of our own times? The only ones still awaiting fulfilment are those, which deal with the end of the present age and the coming of the kingdom of Yahweh. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Nahum, Zechariah, Matthew, Mark, Luke and Revelation, all contain major prophecies concerning our own times.

These prophets make it clear that the present age will end in terrific violence. Look about you and see why. Despite the good intentions of the few, despite the general acceptance of Christianity by the white nations of the world, yet the present world order is satanic in its major outlines. Even the white Christian nations have been infiltrated and corrupted by the anti Christians. To seek coexistence with evil, to pray for peace on terms acceptable to Satan, is to turn our backs on Yahshua, the only source of real peace.

The coming attack by Russia under anti Christian leadership is clearly foretold in the Bible. More than a century and a half ago, when Russia was too weak to be a menace, Bible students identified Russia as the great enemy in Ezekiel chapters 38 & 39.

When will this happen? The prophecies are not dated, but they state warning signs that the time is at hand. One of these is given by the prophet Nahum. In a strangely penetrating vision he says in Nahum 2:1, “He that dasheth in pieces is come up before thy face: keep the munitions, watch the way make thy loins strong, fortify thy power mightily”.

THE ENTIRE BIBLE, BOTH OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, is written about and addressed to a race whom Yahweh calls My people Israel, they are not and never were Jews. All of Yahweh’s promises in the Bible were made to Israel. Either Yahweh has failed miserably to carry out His promises, or else Israel, His people, are still to be found in the world today, receiving the blessings which Yahweh promised to them. If they are here, who are they and where have they been residing?

From the time of the exodus from Egypt, the people Israel were organized into a nation of 12 tribes, just like the United States of 50 states. After they entered the promised land of Palestine, Israel continued as this 12 tribed nation until the death of Solomon. Then they split into two nations, the ten northern tribes keeping the name Israel, while the two southern tribes took the name Judah. The northern kingdom Israel, was later conquered by Assyria and by 715 B.C., they were all deported and resettled around the southern end of the Caspian Sea. By 713 B.C., the Assyrians also invaded Judah and deported a large part of this population to the same Caspian Sea area.

From this time on, Bible history does not trace the further progress of Israel, except that the Apocrypha, II Esdras 13:40-45 traces their movements as far as ar-Sareth, valley of the Sereth river, which still bears that name in Romania. For many centuries, after the nation Israel disappeared from Bible history, Bible prophecy still promises the nation a magnificent future, recognizing their continued existence. Not only the Old Testament, but also all the books in the New Testament are addressed to Israel as I have shown you from time to time. Since Israel’s Assyrian captivity, under what camouflage have they been hidden from our eyes during these intervening centuries?

MANY PEOPLE ARE BEING GREATLY MISLED by sadly mistaken religious propaganda dealing with the Jewish nation which has been created, by violence, in Palestine.  Clergymen who have never studied the subject are bubbling over with enthusiasm over what they regard as a great fulfilment of Bible prophecy.  “The Budding of the Fig Tree”, they say.  “Israel being restored to its place!”  You who listen to this program already know that no Jew is an Israelite and no Israelite is a Jew.  The Jews nation, in Palestine, has nothing to do with the real Israel at all.

That is too big a subject to repeat here, but you have heard it and those of you who have written in for our literature have seen the proof of it.  The establishment of the Jewish nation in Palestine is the fulfilment of certain Bible prophecies but, far different ones than these ignorant and misguided clergymen have in mind.  Let’s look them over.

Nearly all Bible students agree on one thing, that the Fig Tree is the symbol of the Jewish nation, not Israel.  Therefore, let’s see what the Bible has to say about THE BUDDING OF THE FIG TREE.  Jesus Christ Himself told us about this one.  It was so important, that He not only told a parable about it, but in order to emphasize it, He also acted out the parable.  We find the parable in Luke 13:6-9.  “He spake also this parable: a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none.

Then he said to the dresser of his vineyard, ‘Behold, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth the ground?’  And he answering unto him, ‘Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig around it and fertilize it: and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.'”

USUALLY, I HAVE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THE THINGS that belong in your Bible, but which didn’t get there because the translators changed them or left them out. Now I am going to reverse that: I am going to talk to you about something they left in your Bible which doesn’t belong there: and that is the Book of Esther.

Those of you who have read it have been puzzled by it, I know; it is a very curious thing to find in the Bible. In the entire Book of Esther, it not only does not mention the name of God once, it doesn’t even use the mere title, God, once. It never mentions prayer to God for help or thanksgiving to God for deliverance. It is completely and brutally materialistic story of murder and robbery and how did that get in your Bible?

Well, let us look at this a bit. First of all, let us summarize what it says in the Book of Esther. The scene is laid in the Persian Empire, after the overthrow of Babylon by the Medo‑Persian Empire: Persia swallowed up Media and it became just the Persian Empire.

It opens with the statement that Ahasuerus gave a six month long feast, or more properly a debauch, for his nobles. Now, Ahasuerus is not the name of any person; literally, it means the mighty one, and in English usage it would correspond to “his majesty.” You could apply it to any king of any kingdom in all world history, and it would apply as well to one as to another.

SO OFTEN WE HEAR SOMEONE MAKE THE FOOLISH STATEMENT that “Modern science has disproved the Bible — or some part of it.” Nothing can be further from the truth. There is no conflict between a correct transla­tion of the Bible and that which is true science. Remember that many theories have been put forth as “science”—and have been believed by many —only to be proven false by more careful study, a few years later. I will admit that there is great conflict between what many ministers preach and what we know to be true science: but there is an even greater conflict between what these preachers say and what is really in the Bible.

The Bible has its own purpose, and it sticks to that purpose. (It does not purport to be a manual of instructions for the use and repair of an IBM computer, nor a textbook from which to teach schoolboys their mathematics. Its purpose is so much greater than any of these, that it has no time to waste on them.) Aside from the various laws governing Agriculture, diet, economics, etc.—about which I will speak some other time — the Bible’s principle purpose in going into scientific matters is to prove the divine inspiration of the Book by stating scientific matters which were not known by the best scientists of the day in which it was written, and which therefore could not be a display of merely human wisdom and knowledge. Let us look at some examples of science in the Bible.