Sunday
Law by Stealth (Mark of the Beast???)
By Pastor Hal Mayer
Welcome to Keep the Faith Ministry.
Today we are going to talk about a sobering development that I pray will
awaken you to the nearness of the Sunday Law crisis. The most important issue
facing God’s people today is their unreadiness for close of probation. The
crisis is nearly upon us. Secret
and stealthy movements are preparing to catch you in an almost overwhelming
surprise. I hope that the contents of this CD will open your eyes wide and that
you will wake up and trim your spiritual lamps. I pray that it will help you
realize that we have very little time left.
Our
hope is that you and your family will be awakened to the times in which we live.
You need to be aware of what is happening behind the scenes. Let your friends in
on this blessing by giving them a copy of this CD.
The
rumors were flying around the internet back in early November that a secret
meeting was scheduled between the Christian Coalition and the Vatican in
Washington DC. Rumor had it that there was to be discussion about the state of
the world, the moral condition of the United States, and most importantly the
need to protect the Lord’s day, or Sunday, as a day of rest. It was also
rumored that there would be key congressional lawmakers present, and a
high-level Vatican cardinal was to address the group.
I
had many people emailing me about it, asking whether it was true or not. I had
to be almost silent about it until now, because I believe that Keep the Faith
Ministry must only circulate facts, not conjecture, speculation, or assumptions.
But
today I am going to tell you the details as I have received from a personal
friend who was a credentialed participant in the secret meeting. I’m also
going to tell you what God says about the things going on behind the scenes to
bring you to the Sunday law crisis and show you how it is happening. You may
have heard criticism of God’s end-time inspired messenger or concerning the
prophetic truths of the Remnant Church, but I can tell you, every prophetic
detail in Holy Scripture and every detail in the Spirit of Prophecy will happen
with certainty. Our monthly CDs have been documenting this month after month
after month. But before we begin, let us bow our heads in prayer.
Our
Father in Heaven, we are concerned that our liberties are about to be swept
away. We are very concerned that we will soon face the great crisis of the ages,
and your people are not ready. We are not ready. I ask that today You will wake
us up! The moment that patriarchs and prophets longed to see has finally come.
We have been asleep like the ten virgins in Your parable. But Lord Jesus, we
want to have the oil of the Holy Spirit so that we will be able to go in with
the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Please help us to get ready. Help us to
watch and be sober. And may Your presence be with us today. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Let
me begin by sharing with you a very important scripture text. It is found in
Revelation 13:15-17.
“And
he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the
beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image
of the beast should be killed. And causeth all, both small and great, rich and
poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their
foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the
name of the beast, or the number of his name.”
Notice
that receiving the mark of the beast revolves around false worship. Those who
don’t go along with the new religious order will be prevented from buying and
selling and will be killed. This is serious, my friends. The time for this to
happen is near at hand. Forces are at work behind the scenes to force you to
worship the god of this world.
There
are some important things that must be in place for this to happen. First, there
has to be a general crisis that generates a good deal of fear, a crisis of
global proportions. Secondly, there must be a nearly unshakable cooperation
between the religious forces in the United States with the government, including
the Vatican, (perhaps even led by the Vatican at least behind the scenes), so
that they can cooperate together without fear of being thwarted. Thirdly, there
must be a secrecy about the matter so that it isn’t agitated widely until
there is nothing that can be done to stop the rolling freight train once it gets
on the open track. Our Lord has been holding back the winds of strife so that
God’s people can prepare. But the time to let them go is almost here.
As
watchmen on the walls of Zion, we must give the warning. We must open the issue
to God’s people as early as possible so that they can get ready and so that
they can do what they can under the power of God to stay the hand of oppression.
The issue is so vital that we dare not miss it. We dare not turn our faces from
it or relegate it into the distant future. We have been in the stealth phase for
many years now. But now, suddenly, it is looming out there just as prophecy
predicted. It is about to come out in the open. Listen to this statement from
the pen of inspiration.
“I lay down my pen and lift up my soul in prayer that the Lord would breathe
upon His backslidden people, who are as dry bones, that they may live. The end
is near, stealing upon us so stealthily, so imperceptibly, so noiselessly, like
the muffled tread of the thief in the night, to surprise the sleepers off guard
and unready. May the Lord grant to bring His Holy Spirit upon hearts that are
now at ease, that they may no longer sleep as do others, but watch and be
sober.” That is from the General
Conference Bulletin, 1893, pp. 132, 133. We live in a sober time. This is
not the time to place your children in front of the TV to watch cartoons, even
religious cartoons. This is not the time to go to the amusement park to fritter
your time away in cheap thrills. This is not the time to be gluttonously eating
and drinking things that are harmful to body and soul. My friends, this is not
the time to be living in luxury and excess. This is the time to plead for
Christ’s righteousness in your soul. This is the time to earnestly seek God to
send His Holy Spirit into your life so that you can overcome your sins and be
ready to meet the surprise crisis that is surely coming – and soon. This is
the time to weep for God’s people and plead with Him to spare them.
Here
is another statement dealing with the Sunday Law. It is from the book Great
Controversy, page 581. “God's word has given warning of the impending danger;
let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of
Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently
growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative
halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and
massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will
be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to
further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she
desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon
see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall
believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution.”
So
many ignore God’s warnings and live their lives in sin as if nothing is going
to happen any differently for 100 years. Others ridicule God’s last day
prophet and sneer at the warnings she gave us through the testimonies. But
God’s word is right on track. One right after the other, the very prophecies
that were given in the books of Daniel and Revelation and in the Spirit of
Prophecy are being fulfilled. All you have to do is look at the news media and
you will know that we are nearing the final crisis.
Unfortunately,
so many of God’s people don’t seem to care. Thousands upon hundreds of
thousands are sound asleep like the ten virgins in Jesus’ parable. They keep
watching their ungodly movies. They keep doing things God has forbidden. They
keep listening to music that makes the angel’s weep and invites Satan into
their hearts and homes. They continue eating things that becloud their minds so
that they cannot hear the still small voice. They forget that we are in the
antitypical solemn Day of Atonement.
Listen
to this important statement. It is from the book The
Great Controversy, page 488. “The subject of the sanctuary and the
investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God. All
need a knowledge for themselves of the position and work of their great High
Priest. Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is
essential at this time or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill.
Every individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at the
bar of God. Each must meet the great Judge face to face. How important, then,
that every mind contemplate often the solemn scene when the judgment shall sit
and the books shall be opened, when, with Daniel, every individual must stand in
his lot, at the end of the days.”
My
friend, this speaks to you and to me. As the danger creeps upon us like a thief
in the night, many think they are secure and that the things that have been
predicted in God’s word will not come to pass in their generation, but in
their children’s generation or in their grandchildren’s generation.
Often
we hear sermons on love, unity and the cross, but we don’t hear sermons on the
close of probation and the end of all things and the need to get our lives right
with God. We are told that we don’t have to deal with our sins now, for Jesus
will deal with them later. But this, my friends, is falsehood. It is a deception
designed to keep you from preparing your heart for the close of probation and to
meet the holy Jesus in peace.
We
are near the very end. It is finally here! We have known that the Sunday law
movement would come, but we have subconsciously at least, put it off in the
distance. We want to feel good. We don’t want to be depressed by so-called
“bad news.” So we have bathed ourselves in positive thinking and in
feel-good spirituality, a kind of superficiality and emotionalism. But this is
only superficial and empty. It doesn’t awaken us to our danger, but rather
puts us to sleep. It makes us spiritually lazy. Overcoming sin is not something
that we want to have to do because that means we have to give up our darling
sins. But now the Sunday law movement is right upon us. It has caught up to us
by surprise and most of us aren't ready. The blessing is that Jesus is giving us
warning before the close of probation so that we can still get ready. Oh my
friend, this is the time to make sure that you are living for Jesus. This is the
time to make sure that your calling and election is sure.
This
is not bad news at all. The approach of the Sunday law is very good news indeed,
at least for those who love Jesus with all their hearts. It shows us that the
coming of Jesus is very near. I hope this is very good news for you my friend.
If you don’t feel ready, this is the time to get serious with Jesus and take
the necessary steps.
Let
me show you something interesting from history that will help us put this into
perspective. In Luke 21:20, 21 Jesus said “When ye shall see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let
them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the
midst of it depart out.”
There
were two sieges of Jerusalem after Christ made this prediction, one under
Cestius in A.D. 66 and the other under Titus in A. D. 70. After the Romans under
Cestius had surrounded the city, they unexpectedly withdrew at the very moment
when the Jews were on the point of surrendering. This gave God’s true people,
the followers of Jesus, enough time to flee the city and move to a place called
Pella in the hill country. Then Titus came with his armies, surrounded the city
and eventually destroyed it. Please read the first chapter in the book Great
Controversy about the destruction of Jerusalem. It is shocking! It is a
warning about our times. The first siege warned Jesus’ followers of the coming
destruction so that they could flee. It was the signal. Most of the Jews were
triumphant, thinking that they were safe and that God would protect them. They
had even inflicted some damage on the Romans as they withdrew. The Jews went
back to their old ways and didn’t take the warning to flee Jerusalem. They
were caught unprepared when the second siege of Titus surrounded them.
Now
let us apply this to today. Back in the 1880s there was a Sunday law movement.
God’s church appeared as if surrounded by the siege forces of spiritual
Babylon. But then through the efforts of A. T. Jones and others, the hand of
oppression was stayed and God’s people were given time. The Sunday law
movement withdrew signaling the opportunity to leave the cities both physically
and spiritually. But what have God’s people done? They have gone back to their
old ways. They have gone back to their worldliness and their sins and they have
ignored the warnings to get out of the cities and prepare for the coming crisis;
just as the Jews of old did. Now, coming right upon us is the second siege, the
second Sunday law movement. This time there will be no reprieve. This is the
final siege of God’s people by spiritual Babylon. There is no time to lose my
friend. Please don’t think that you can delay.
There
was a man who for seven years warned Jerusalem, going up and down the streets of
the city declaring the woes that were to come upon it. He is quoted in the book
Great Controversy, page 30. Go there and read what he said about God’s church
just before her destruction. He was imprisoned and scourged, but he did not
complain. He was insulted and abused, but he only answered by saying “Woe, woe
to Jerusalem!” “woe, woe to the inhabitants thereof!” He was eventually
slain in the siege he had predicted. Perhaps the Lord is sending you a warning
today. How will you treat the unpopular message?
Do
you remember that statement in the 9th volume of the Testimonies for
the Church, page 11 that says, “the agencies of evil are combining their
forces and consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis.
Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will
be rapid ones.” You can't wait until you see that things are finally falling
into place. Most people will try to live a normal life, even though things
around them seem unsettled. They will not see the signs of the times. Everything
will seem like it is the same, day after day, except for some pretty big natural
disasters, some wars and other disturbances. But they expect their lives to
return to normal.
It
is just as it was before the flood. Nothing changed until the seventh day after
Noah went into the ark. Then things began to happen with great speed. But it was
too late. It was as if everything was going along at a slow pace, then all of a
sudden everything was in turmoil. It was as if a dam broke and a flash flood
blasted down the narrow canyon overtaking and destroying everything in its path.
Oh my friend, don’t delay the preparation. Your eternal destiny is at stake.
An overwhelming surprise is coming.
Now,
one more statement that astonishingly applies to our present situation. It is
from the Review and Herald December 24, 1889. “I have been much burdened in
regard to movements that are now in progress for the enforcement of Sunday
observance. It has been shown to me that Satan has been working earnestly to
carry out his designs to restrict religious liberty. Plans of serious import to
the people of God are advancing in an underhand manner among the clergymen of various denominations, and
the object of this secret maneuvering
is to win popular favor for the enforcement of Sunday sacredness. If the people
can be led to favor a Sunday law, then the clergy intend to exert their united
influence to obtain a religious amendment to the Constitution, and compel the
nation to keep Sunday.”
There
are those that are secretly working to enforce a Sunday Law right now, my
friends. We have been able to document some of it, but I suspect there is a lot
more going on. And since this is a secret and underhanded movement, we know that
it is trying to disguise itself and keep its real purpose away from public
scrutiny. Some of the things we will discuss today about the secret meeting in
Washington are not verifiable from public sources. What we have is the
first-hand testimony of one who was present. But once the ecumenical churches
and the Vatican openly discuss these things, the soup will already be cooked. It
is the Spirit of Prophecy that is the guidance system to show us what we can
accept and what is erroneous. When the Spirit of Prophecy says that there is a
secret and underhanded movement attempting to enforce Sunday as a day of rest,
we can rest assured that it is happening, though we cannot see or feel it yet.
But once in a while you can see it pop up on the surface, or God places
individuals in positions where they can see and give testimony to the truth of
what the Spirit of Prophecy has predicted. The message on this CD is about that
kind of testimony. What you will hear is the detail from the first-hand report
of the one man God has placed in the position to see behind the scenes and can
report to us from the inside what is happening in their secret planning
sessions.
There
are three religious organizations that were involved in the secret meeting in
Washington DC. They are the Christian Coalition of America (CC), Christian
Churches Together (CCT) and Catholic Campaign for American (CCA).
First
let me tell you about Pastor Allen Fine and the Christian Coalition. Pastor Fine
is the speaker and director of New Sound Inspiration Radio in West Virginia. He
has been a Seventh-day Adventist pastor for over 40 years and is now retired,
but perhaps more involved in God’s work than ever before. He has been at the
forefront of the battle for the Lord, lifting up the trumpet and proclaiming
God’s last message on radio and in the pulpit and continues to work for the
salvation of souls. He has taken criticism and abuse for his strong support of
the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy and is no stranger to the forces arrayed
against God’s people. I have spent quite a bit of time talking with Pastor
Fine and have learned the story of his involvement with the Christian Coalition.
Pastor
Fine began to attend the meetings of the Christian Coalition of America back in
1989. He wanted to see what they were doing and to get an idea of their plans.
Pat Robertson, their leader at the time, was gleeful that he had successfully
brought together so many different Christian churches. As he listened to their
ideas and plans, Pastor Fine thought of the warnings of the Spirit of Prophecy
and realized that the intentions of this group had been predicted and that
prophecy was being fulfilled exactly as it had been written.
On
March 29, 1994 The leaders of the Christian Coalition, including Pat Robertson,
Jerry Falwell, Gary Bower, James Dobson, Ralph Reed and others, including a
Jewish Rabbi stacked their hands all together and declared that they are one.
Pastor Fine and his wife Deanna witnessed this and believes that their intention
was to use Christian organizations to get control of state and federal
legislatures and thereby set up the image to the beast.
Then
in 2004 Pastor Fine received a memo from the new President of the Christian
Coalition, Roberta Combs. It was addressed to him as the “Leader, Christian
Coalition in West Virginia,” and it discussed plans for the upcoming
leadership meetings and legislative briefings in Washington, DC. Pastor Fine was
surprised. “I didn’t ask for this,” he thought, “but I’ll take it.”
When Roberta Combs, the president of the Christian Coalition lost her husband
suddenly to a heart attack, Pastor Fine was on hand to minister and pray with
the family over the phone. This brought them close together as friends. Roberta
Combs later asked him if he would be willing to serve as co-chairman of the
Christian Coalition alongside Jim Backlin. He accepted and this has put him in a
position to be credentialed to the leadership meetings with other Christian
organizations and for him to attend the important secret meeting with the
Vatican. Pastor Fine says that he believes God has a very important purpose for
him on the inside of this important organization.
The
Christian Coalition along with Christian Churches Together and Catholic Campaign
for America has developed a ten point agenda for America that they want to
implement at the federal and state levels by law. These ten amendments were
recently updated at the Fuller Theological Seminary on March 1, 2007. Most of
them are designed to uphold the principles that are important to Christian
people, such as marriage between one man and one woman, public prayer,
references to God in the pledge of allegiance and on coins and bills, judicial
integrity, limits on eminent domain, the right to bear arms, etc. But ironically
the seventh amendment on their list is a call for a national day of rest. This
day would no doubt be Sunday. Here is what number seven on the list of their
“ten amendments” says; “Throughout all the land a National Day of Rest
shall be honored by governments and industrial manufacturers and public shopping
facilities.”
A
much more recent organization known as Christian Churches Together (or the CCT)
is also involved in the secret Sunday law movement and was represented at the
secret meeting in Washington. This ecumenical organization has many churches
that are members and they are all made to feel as if they have equal say, but it
is organized in such a way that Rome’s representatives dominate the steering
committee and the direction of the organization. It is becoming more and more
powerful however, and is now working, among other things, to implement a
national day of rest in the United States.
Catholic
Campaign for America is another organization that is wanting to establish a
Sunday law. It was founded in 1989 by a man named Thomas V. Wykes, Jr. “who
wanted to address the moral crisis in American with a Catholic response,”
wrote Wikipedia. “In 1991 he
gathered together several notable Catholic leaders in Washington DC, who
constituted the first board of directors. They included William Bennett, Mary
Ellen Bork, Hugh Carey and Bishop Rene Gracida. According to the National
Catholic Register, the CCA was initiated to ‘bring a politically powerful and
distinctively Catholic voice to the U.S. political scene.” Their motto is as
follows, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a private opinion, a remote
spiritual idea, or a mere program for spiritual growth. The Gospel is the power
to transform the world.”
What
is meant, obviously, by “the power to transform the world,” is political
power. Jesus never tried to start a political movement or establish His power in
political circles, or He would have done what Roman Catholics try to do today
and have done for centuries, secretly work to get more power, and then force all
under their control to follow their dictates. But Jesus said, “My kingdom is
not of this world.” John 18.36.
This
background is important because you need to see that the Sunday law movement has
been stealthily working its way through the ecumenical organizations, just as
the Spirit of Prophecy predicted, and is preparing to mount itself and ride on
the momentum of the ecumenical movement. It is also going to become very
political and will use both governmental and non-government political
organizations. When church leaders are excited about their unity with other
churches, and when a large enough coalition of churches unite together, they
begin to feel very powerful, especially politically powerful and then naturally
attempt to use the political apparatus to accomplish their purposes. That is how
the image to the beast is being formed right now.
Now
we come to the meeting in November of 2007. The Sunday law movement as you will
see has top level government support, approval and security protection.
Originally
the meeting was to be held in the John Paul II cultural center in Washington DC.
When Pastor Fine’s commuter plane landed at Washington Dulles to meet with the
other leaders of the Christian Coalition and to have the designated meetings,
top government security agents from the National Security Agency (NSA) met his
plane and verified his identity right then and there. They told him that
“because this was such a provocative meeting, they would have to keep his
driver’s license until the meeting is over.” They escorted him to a taxicab
and told him that the driver already knew where to take him. Then apparently
they followed him to the Regency Hotel where the driver delivered him. He asked
the driver why he was being taken to the Regency Hotel and not the John Paul II
Cultural Center where the meeting was to be held. The driver only said that this
is where he was told to take him and that he should go in and await future
instructions.
After
sitting in the lobby for a few minutes he was approached by the same two agents,
who said to him, “one of your people will be here soon.” When one of the
leaders of the Christian Coalition met him, there were three more agents with
her and all five of them followed them to registration. In fact NSA trailed the
participants of these closed meetings constantly until the meetings were over.
Pastor
Fine asked one of the agents why they weren’t meeting at the John Paul II
Cultural Center. He said, it was ”decided, along with the Vatican that it
would not be appropriate to have this kind of meeting at the John Paul II
Cultural Center and that the meeting had been moved to the Regency Hotel.”
On
November 14, the day was spent in a conference on global warming. The speakers
included Al Gore, the former Vice-President of the United States, who has become
something of a climate change guru, and his liaison Davy Crocket, great grandson
of the famous Davey Crocket of the wild frontier, who does his research. There
was much frightening material presented concerning the effect of the changes in
climate as well as the speed at which the changes are taking place. It was
pointed out that global warming will create a crisis for America and the rest of
the world. It involves the loss of life on the planet including animals and
fish, etc. The ecosystems are all tied together. One thing affects another. It
was felt that responsible Christian leaders must tell their people how they can
help protect the environment.
Back
at least as far as 1990 the Vatican was promoting the connection between ecology
and world peace. John Paul II in his message for the World Day of Peace on
January 1 of that year wrote about protecting the environment as a grave moral
responsibility. Other statements have also been released by the Catholic Church.
Then more recently, as climate change has become a much more political issue,
the national Association of Evangelicals paralleled the Roman Catholic Church
and released its statement on the environment in a document called Climate
Change: an Evangelical Call to Action. Six months later, on August 27, 2006
Benedict XVI called for a commitment to care for creation once again. Now the
Independent on September 24, 2007 reported that the Pope is likely to make
action on climate change a moral issue when he makes his speck a the United
Nations in April. It is important to note that the mutual effort on climate
change between the evangelicals and Catholics has ratcheted up the issue as a
moral obligation for Christians to embrace. This is important because it means
that climate change has been elevated to the same or similar level as abortion,
euthanasia, stem cell research, etc. Their cooperation on climate change will
strengthen their political power and lead to other moral issues that they want
to enforce, such as observing the Lord’s day.
During
lunch on November 15, just before the meeting with the Vatican Cardinal one of
the NSA security agents came to the table and asked Roberta Combs the President
of the Christian Coalition, if she had told her people that they were not to
take any recording devices or cameras into the meeting, and that nothing will be
released for publication until the Vatican has approved it. This is important
because it reveals the concern that the Vatican has for loose elements that
might damage her position. It also reveals Rome’s manipulation. She wants
everything under her control and doesn’t want anything said or done that she
hasn’t approved.
There
were 13 people that met together, seven from the Christian Coalition, two from
Christian Churches Together, and two from Catholic Campaign for America, plus
Nancy Pelosi and the Cardinal. The
Cardinal was introduced as Cardinal Pizeroser from San Francisco, but that name
cannot be found on any official lists of Cardinals, which suggests that it was a
pseudonym. Remember that this secret meeting involves very sensitive matters in
relation to Sunday laws, hence it may well be that the Vatican does not want to
get its fingerprints on certain provocative activities.
Nancy
Pelosi, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a staunch Roman
Catholic entered the room and said a few words to the Vatican Cardinal. Nancy
was the only one who was permitted to be there from the U.S. Congress. She said
to the Cardinal, “I live my faith. I have been trained and directed by
Christian parents. I went to church school and also every Sunday I was faithful
in recognizing that it was very necessary to do the things that I knew that I
was supposed to do, and I have not changed one bit from that.”
During
the meeting the word “Sunday” was never used, but here the Vatican Cardinal
said, “We as Christian leaders must recognize that we have a responsibility to
do that which is in keeping with the Lord’s will, and if we don’t, we will
pay for it… As you all know, we must all work together for the betterment of
America, after all, America is the second Israel.
We must work with the state legislatures to appropriately help them to
understand that all the immorality and slime must be stopped and that we must
work together in unison to show our Lord that this must be stopped…
Then
with the “ten amendments” list in his hand, the Cardinal said that there
would be more said on this when “His Holiness” (Benedict XVI), would be here
in Washington in April to meet with President Bush and also to meet with some of
these same Christian leaders at the Senate Office Building on April 17th.
“Some of the things that we at the Vatican are concerned about” he said,
“is what is happening here (in America) to the Lord’s day, concerning
sporting events and all kind of calls for different things to be done. As you
know, the Lord’s day is used in a blatant way against our God, when the people
must be told that this day must be kept holy. You must work together as leaders
of this nation. As goes this nation, so goes the world.”
My
friends, the Cardinal’s words should remind us of the following statement from
the pen of inspiration taken from Maranatha, page 214.
“As America, the land of religious liberty shall unite with the papacy
in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the
people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example. Foreign
nations will follow the example of the United States. Though she leads out, yet
the same crisis will come upon our people in all parts of the world.”
This
idea about America as the second Israel is important. Most churches believe
this, though it is unbiblical. The scriptures teach that they that are
Christ’s are Abraham’s seed,”
Galatians 3:29 not they that are Americans. But as the churches have wanted to
take the finger of condemnation off the papacy, false interpretations of
prophecy have led them to come up with another explanation of the second beast
of Revelation 13, the United States of America. By making America the second
Israel rather than the second beast, Rome can participate with other churches in
addressing America’s problems with her own agenda. This fits her ecumenical
plans very well. The result has
been that America is now uniting with Rome to accomplish her purposes. We have
no time to lose, no time to waste in foolish, worldly behavior, my friends. Now
is the time to get ready and pray that you will be able to secure your soul.
When
Pope Benedict XVI lands in Washington on April 15th, he will meet with President
Bush. Then on the 16th he will spend his birthday with a gathering of
Cardinals at the John Paul II Cultural Center, I am told, as well as with
ecumenical leaders. Then on the 17th he will meet with selected
religious leaders including representatives of the three organizations that met
in November; the Christian Coalition, Christian Churches Together, and the
Catholic Campaign for America and perhaps others including a number of members
of Congress. The purpose of the meeting, among other things, is to motivate
Christian leaders and legislatures to bring to the forefront, in the Congress
and state by state, a national day of rest.
I
wonder what will be the real agenda of the meeting with the Cardinals. Will it
be about their role in bringing about a Sunday law in America? According to the
news reports there will also be an ecumenical meeting there with representatives
of other religions. Will this involve discussions about a national day of rest?
Senator
Robert Byrd, the oldest member of Congress, the president pro Tempore of the
Senate and a Baptist called Pastor Fine one day in January. “Pastor Fine,”
he said, “We’re going to be having a special occasion with the Pope when we
meet in the Senate Office Building, and the President wants to meet with us too.
He feels that it wouldn’t be honorable for the Pope to meet in another place
with the Christian Leadership of America.”
My
friends, when the President of the United States of America elevates this kind
of meeting with Christian leadership in America to the level where it wouldn’t
be honorable to do it in any other place than in the Senate Office Building, we
have come to a very important and significant moment in prophecy. When the
President of the United States can bring the Pope to the White House and to the
Senate Office Building to discuss a national day of rest, we have essentially
come to the point where the image of the beast is about to reveal itself. “I
will be there,” said Senator Byrd, “and so will Nancy (meaning Nancy Pelosi).
We want to hear firsthand what Benedict has to say.
Pastor
Fine also had the opportunity after the private meeting with the Vatican
Cardinal, to speak about the Sabbath to the Christian Leaders that were present.
He pointed to his name tag which identified him as a Seventh-day Adventist and
said, “Things haven’t changed. I’m a Seventh-day Adventist. I chose to
become a Seventh-day Adventist because the seventh-day is the only day that God
has ever blessed. God blessed three things, man, the animal kingdom and the
Sabbath. Sunday is not specially blessed the way God blessed the Sabbath. To
bless something means that it has divine empowering. God empowered the Sabbath,
not Sunday.
The
Christian Coalition and the other organizations present have developed a
communiqué following the meeting with the Vatican Cardinal. They had to have it
approved by the Vatican. The text of the communiqué is specifically designed to
stir Sunday agitation. Yet it opens with the express purpose of keeping its
authors secret. Let me read it to you word for word. The following statement
from the 5th Volume of the Testimonies for the Church, page 449, should remind us of the truth
about this. “Church and state are now making preparations for the future
conflict. Protestants are working in disguise to bring Sunday to the front, as
did the Romanists.” Here is the text of the communiqué.
OFFICIAL
COMMUNICATE RELEASE
“In this release NO person’s name is to be included in any part while
corresponding to another person. This is a summary as of 11/16/07.
“The Lord will destroy those who destroy the earth” (Revelation
11:18) along with the immoral slime of America. I call upon the C.C.A. (the
Catholic Campaign for America) and the C.C.O.A (Christian Coalition of America)
to help in our spiritual fight to help save America, the second Israel. We must
band together to stave off the crisis of gross neglect of Bible truths and help
America and the nations of the world to a realization for what is happening and
continues to worsen. These crises will increase on America, the second Israel of
Bible prophecy. The Lord will allow more terrorist attacks and these will
increase as it was in O. T. times of the first Israel. The Lord will allow the
enemies of the second Israel to awaken the people in an effective but unexpected
way. Now global warming – melting icebergs and icecaps – water shortages –
poor people starving and dying by the millions, the desecration of the Lord’s
Day by the mega malls and shopping centers – various sporting events – all
unnecessary frolicking on the Lord’s Day. Our government leaders and church
leaders who really care must protest all these immoral goings on. If we don’t,
it will be too late very soon. The Lord’s Day must be protected and supported
by responsible persons. If we do not care and understand, the crisis of great
magnitude no doubt will soon come. We must work and pray and support efforts to
protect the Lord’s Day. We need more than ever to work together to help stave
off God’s anger. We must show our Lord that we will work together to protect
His day of worship. Unless we work together to avert the crisis, it will surely
come.”
Notice
that the communiqué from the Christian Coalition uses the same words the
Cardinal used at the secret meeting, such as “immoral slime,” “America,
the second Israel,” “We must show our Lord that we will work together…”
etc. And also notice that the emphasis of the communiqué is the same as the
Cardinal’s emphasis – “Protect the Lord’s Day.” The evangelicals are
taking lessons from Rome as well as instructions. They copy her. They set up a
mirror image of her. Rome has nearly 2000 years of experience at this process of
uniting church and state and they are coaching non-Catholic religious leaders
and helping them build up their political power.
Pastor
Fine thinks that the communiqué will be publically released and that the urgent
need to protect the so-called Lord’s Day as a national day of rest will be
presented before Congress and the state governments some time following the
papal visit and the meeting in the Senate Office building April 17. So stay
tuned.
Rome
and the ecumenical churches know that fear will stir the people to action. They
are using fear of global climate change, fear of terrorism, fear of the
judgments of God, etc., to get people to agree that they must do something to
stem the tide of immorality in America and return it to the favor of God.
The
same thing will happen in other countries as well. As goes America, so goes the
world, said the Cardinal. While not all nations normally agree with the United
States in her agendas, in fact most don’t; on this point we know that all the
world will wonder after the beast, and that the United States will cause all to
worship the first beast that had the wound by the sword and did live.”
Revelation 13:14.
My
friends, we must study the book of Revelation along with the Spirit of Prophecy.
If you want to understand what it all means quickly, go to your copy of the book
Great Controversy and read the last
250 pages. You’ll find it very enlightening. Though the author is dead, she
still speaks powerfully to this generation. Pastor Fine says: “Church and
state must amalgamate in order to legislate that they may dominate.
But
here is a description of God’s people today from the 2nd volume of
Testimonies to Ministers, page 337. “Men and women are in the last hours of
probation, and yet are careless and stupid, and ministers have no power to
arouse them; they are asleep themselves. Sleeping preachers preaching to a
sleeping people!” This is amazing
my friends. Here we are at the very moment that prophecy has foretold, at the
very apex of history. Yet God’s people are not ready for the challenge. Oh, my
brothers and sisters, I need the power of God in my life, don’t you? You
don’t want to miss the latter rain. Now is the time to plead with God for
purity as never before. Now is the time to earnestly seek Jesus’ power. Cling
to Jesus Christ my friends. Your eternal destiny depends on it.
My
friends, the mark of the beast is soon to come. It is the observance of the
false Sabbath set up by Rome and copied in America by the religious leaders. The
end will come more quickly than we understand. The crisis will come as an
overwhelming surprise and it will be too late for many who are spiritually lazy
and asleep. It will be too late to make restitution or turn your life around.
Listen to this statement from the 8th volume of the Testimonies
for the Church, page 28. “Transgression has almost reached its limit.
Confusion fills the world, and a great terror is soon to come upon human beings.
The end is very near. We who know the truth should be preparing for what is soon
to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.”
And
here is how you make the necessary preparation. This is from Prophets and Kings,
page 626. “Christians should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the
world as an overwhelming surprise, and this preparation they should make by
diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives to its
precepts.”
Are
you conforming your life to the precepts of the Bible? Are you putting away
every sin so that you can overcome and live for Jesus every moment? Please,
please take the steps to prepare your mind and your character for the almost
overwhelming crisis.
My
friends, thank you for listening today. The Sunday movement is making its way in
darkness and stealth. Please don’t put off making certain of your salvation.
This is the time to move out of the cities into the country so that you can
prepare for the time of trouble. This is the time to get worldliness out of your
mind. Now is the time to learn how to have the Holy Spirit in your life every
moment. You can't learn that at the last minute. Now is the time to give you
heart and soul unreservedly to Jesus Christ so that He can mature your character
so that in the coming crisis you will have a savior.
Let
us bow our heads in prayer and ask Jesus to help us come fully under the Holy
Spirit’s control. Our Father in heaven, we thank You for giving us
probationary time. Thank You for warning us of what is coming upon this world.
Lord, we pray that You will send us Your Holy Spirit so that we can discern the
signs of the times and get ready for the coming crisis. I pray that you will
help us to learn how to prepare by diligent study of your holy word and by
earnest fervent prayer, gain power with God. We need victory in
our
lives over the devil’s temptations. Please enter our lives and change us into
Your image that we may live by Jesus power. In Jesus name, amen.