The Emerging 5th Trumpet

Ron Weinland

September 24, 2011

A lot going on in the news. It’s really incredible what’s taking place right now.  So from the very beginning of this sermon today we’re going to focus on what the sermon is entitled, which is: The Emerging 5th Trumpet.  It’s coming quickly upon this earth far sooner than you really want.  I say that because sometimes in an eagerness to ‘get on with things’ we may think that we want to jump right into this or that we’re ready to jump into the horrors that will be associated with the Trumpets which are yet to sound.

I need to make a comment...don’t be too quick in that.  Don’t be too quick in that because it’s coming soon enough, it really is.  I thank God for His mercy.  Thank God for the timing of events and how things are transpiring, unlike how many years before when we had felt and believed that things would be very different toward the end-time, and thankfully we have a great amount of time of mercy here where we haven’t had things in a real difficult manner.  Maybe some are struggling because of jobs and the cost of things increasing like they are, but this is nothing.  This is minor, minor, minor, minor stuff if that’s taking place, and thank God you’ve been able to live as you have, that we’re able to meet in a room like this today and that things are going so well for us in comparison to what they otherwise could have been and otherwise will be before too long.

So those Trumpets will sound within - and that is within - within the next few months, not next few years as we look back to the final countdown that began in 2008.  So at some point within this period of time things will begin happening in a very powerful way.  You are watching.  You are witnessing some of the most incredible events of prophecy being moulded, fashioned, right now in front of you before your very eyes in news articles and reports on TV and so forth on a continuing basis here.  And over the past couple of weeks the speed and frequency of this process has taken on an awesome leap forward.

Now, you can know this and you can be attuned to this and the world isn’t.  They don’t understand what’s going on.  Their hope, their belief –which I understand – is that in time things are going to get back to a norm, that they’re going to be able to recuperate from what’s been happening, that countries are going to get their houses in order, that people are going to begin working and factories and companies are going to begin hiring again and there’s going to be productivity and buying again.  It’s just not going to happen this time.  There are some incredible things taking place where the reality of where we really are, of something that began in 2008, is starting to seep into the minds of a lot of people now finally, that this isn’t going to be a couple year turn-around like people had hoped.  On the contrary, they realize that we’re going to take another downward spiral.

Right now there are people in government, in corporations, in banking, who know...who know that’s exactly what’s taking place right now and they’re trying to prepare for it.  It’s not a matter of a guessing game now as to whether it’s going to happen – they know that they’re going to have to tighten the belt, they know they have some very tough decisions ahead of them.  They just don’t know how bad it really is and how bad it’s really going to get.  They really have no comprehension.

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Trumpet will simply catch the world off guard when they occur.  They can take place at a moments notice – tomorrow, Thursday on Trumpets, in two weeks, or in two months, or in three, and they could even happen in one day when they happen.  Please understand the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Trumpets can take place in a single day.  Those prophecies concerning all three Trumpets can take place in a single day.  The timing is in God’s hands and the timing has not been given to me in the sense of when it will commence.  I am a witness of what God is doing to fulfill the prophecies He has given me through His Son Jesus Christ.  That is my job.  And you are witnesses along with that, of what’s taking place as well.

So today we’re going to focus on some of the news as we look at the outline of some of the prophecies that are being put into place very quickly now, being moulded and fashioned in order to soon be fulfilled – how ever ‘soon’ soon is, is in God’s hands.  As I mentioned, there are things that can happen very quickly now and as it gets narrower and narrower, obviously, that time comes closing in on us any way you look at it.

So today we’re going to begin with something that people aren’t as a whole seeing as much of something that’s in the forefront.  We’re going to get to other news that you are watching, some awesome things take place.  I am dumbfounded with the news that’s come out in the last few weeks, last two weeks especially with the economies of the world, with governments and what they’re saying, and the tide that’s beginning to change a little bit here and there, and in some places a lot.  It is an awesome thing!  I am really dumbfounded to watch this come together, to watch it transpire, and things to take place in the way they are.

But today at the beginning of the sermon we’re going to begin with the most unexpected as far as the world is concerned because they’re totally oblivious to it; that which moves behind the scenes without real recognition as to motives and mainly covered in the news in a ‘good light’.  Twisted a little bit on the words there because that’s how it comes across.

Let’s turn to Revelation 9.  There is a being that puts himself forward in a ‘good light’.  Revelation 9:1 – And the fifth angel sounded, we referred to this in the last sermon here, the fifth angel sounded, that which this sermon is about today, about the 5th Trumpet, that there are events taking place in the news in a very powerful way that is moulding and fashioning and preparing for that event.  There’s a lot of work, there’s a lot of things that have to be done to prepare for some things that take place.  This is a very powerful one.  There are a lot of things behind the scenes that go on to prepare for some things that eventually take place.

The 1st Seal of the book of Revelation that was opened, there were a lot of things that went on behind the scenes and some things out in the open that took a lot of time to get into place before the Seal was actually opened.  As with Trumpets.  There are some things that take time to get into place before the Trumpet is actually blown.  It’s that way with what takes place in the 6th Trumpet, if you will; for some time now they have already been preparing to do some of the things they’re going to do when it talks about those three demonic beings spewed out... talked about the frogs and so forth here in Revelation, when all this takes place and they go off to do what they’re going to do as far as Asia and some other areas of the world are concerned.  What they do starts long before the actual announcement of the event.  They start their work ahead of time.

And so there are some things that don’t just happen overnight, they take time.  That’s why you’re witnessing some awesome things taking place here, because it should be clearer and clearer, something that Mr. Armstrong came to see that God gave him many years ago: 10 nations.  The talk that’s going on right now amongst leaders and others, giving their advice about the euro, giving their advice about the European Union – what can and cannot be done, how things must be worked out and so forth.  It’s all quite incredible because it’s working to a certain end, to move individuals to certain decisions at a quick time, at a quick moment, to finally come to an agreement to do something that’s been prophesied for over 2,000 years, or close to 2,000 years now.  Awesome!

And so it says, The fifth angel sounded, when this finally takes place there are things that happen, obviously, in advance, I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: like the word ‘Babylon has “fallen”, has “fallen”’.  It’s a fall, and it has to do with being brought down.  This is about a being. This is about a very powerful being, as is mentioned in the book, and that being is Satan; ‘stars’ always being used  prophetically about angelic beings.  Like Christmas and they talk about a star over Bethlehem, and you think, “It wasn’t a star!  You couldn’t follow the lights and all of a sudden you get right underneath it and the light is so bright it’s coming down.  There are no stars like that.”  It’s about an angelic being that told them where to go, that led them the way.  But the world doesn’t understand that.

And so it goes on to say about this being ...and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. Very interesting how this is phrased. As many times as I’ve gone through this it’s amazing as God continues to open up more and more to be able to see things that are written here when it’s time.  ...and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.  He’s had that at different times.  He’s had the ability to do things in different times that’s been given to him, power to accomplish and do certain things on the earth and yet at other times the power has been restrained, kept from him (perhaps another sermon for another time).

Verse 2 - And he opened the abyss/the deep pit; says ‘bottomless pit’ here, that’s how it’s phrased, translated, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. So again, language here that’s not meant to be easily understood, that shows something that is typical here of something that’s going to take place in time, of something that’s going to take place literally, something that’s going to happen literally, and things that are going to affect the ability to see the sun, the stars and so forth, the light in the atmosphere, and having to do with what transpires in time here.  But again, indicative of this being and how he functions and how he works as well.

Verse 3 - And there came up out of the smoke locusts, again, ‘locust’ used over and over again here as armies, prophetically, upon the earth.  So it’s talking about that which has to do with war, the emergence of war, the beginning of those kinds of things that begin to take place on the earth.

... and to him was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. When it’s his time he will have that power, when God allows him to do the things that he’s preparing to do already.

And let’s notice over in verse 11 where it makes it very clear who is behind all this, who it’s about, speaking of the armies, speaking of this power that’s on the earth - And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, that spirit being of the abyss, of his domain.  It’s his domain, it’s what he has, it’s what’s indicative of, if you will, his domain, of that being and what he is like; whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, and in the Greek tongue his name is Apollyon. A destroyer, that’s what it means; the destroyer, Satan the devil.

He’s a very powerful being.  He manipulates, he moulds and fashions and he prepares things and he is working desperately right now to do things because he has lost a lot of his power.  God has taken much power from him through time.  Much power was taken from him when he rebelled against God.  He was cast to the earth, still had a great deal of power, did a lot of things on this earth.  Had a great deal of power when he rebelled in a very powerful way even when God first put him here to rule, to have government when he still hadn’t sinned, but when he sinned in a very powerful way, doing the things that he did on this earth, creating the kinds of things he did in the sense of absolute darkness on the face of the earth where the sunlight couldn’t get through to the earth any longer.  The earth was here; God had to come along later on, remould and refashion everything, set the earth in it’s proper orbit, separate the firmament as it says in Genesis 1, and began to put life on the earth once again; life that would intend in time to be able to have that which He’d done in the sixth day in creating mankind.

And this being toward the end here has had some periods of time...even if you look at history.  What an awesome thing to look at what this being did in being behind the rise and fall of various kingdoms on the earth and the power that he’s had in influencing human beings and then the revivals of the Roman Empire, what took place during and before as well, but WWI and WWII and how the earth was shaken by those kinds of things that took place and what he did at that particular time, which was the 5th and 6th revival of the ‘Holy’ Roman Empire, the power that was unweilded at that particular moment in time.  And there’s one revival more to come.

But he has more power now because of technology that is available; because he doesn’t have as much power.  But because of the world and because of technology he is able to manipulate and use what power he has in a unique way and he’s going to be given great ability to do some incredible things here as we go forward.

And so some things behind the scenes that people really didn’t take note of as a whole in the world.  Thursday, September 22, one week before Trumpet’s begins, a BBC headline:

BBC

22 September 2011

Pope Benedict making first official visit to Germany [1]

People don’t put a whole lot of weight on that.  Germany’s been in trouble, they’ve lost more Catholics in Germany in the last year than the Church of God ever had in attendance at any moment in time in history, and when it was the largest it was during Philadelphia.  They lost more in Germany one year!  That’s why we’re called a sect, a cult; because we’re small.  And yet even when we were as large as we were, 150,000 people on the earth, still puny!  Puny, puny, puny as far as religions in the world because they’re in the millions!  Billions!  1.2 billion people?!  Incredible!  So to lose 181,000...?! C’est la vie.  It’s a big thing for them, especially in that part of the world, but what he’s saying and what he’s doing is very powerful.  And if you look at it through normal eyes you wouldn’t think a thing about it.

I want to go on here and read some of this:

...Benedict XVI, the German head of the Roman Catholic Church, has begun his first official visit to his home country as Pope.

In a visit to Germany's parliament he urged politicians to seek justice, not just power, and to hold on to the Christian tradition.

This is awesome what’s taking place, because our concept in times past - because that’s all that we could come to at that point in time and because of history of what’s happened in times past - to know when wars occur, when people do horrifying things, when leaders are despots, when leaders have the kind of mind they do – like Hitler, Mussolini and others did, and we see some of those kinds of people that are even in the world today. Europe is not like that today though, and yet in times past we have felt that in order for Europe to have come to pass what must come to pass, that it would surely have some of that kind of reflection again.  It’s not going to be that way at all.  It’s not going to be that way at all, and that’s an incredible thing to understand.

What comes about this time is fashioned totally differently with people who have totally different minds, with people who really have a strong aversion to ever seeing anything ever repeated again like what happened during WWII, people who are trying to still live down some of the things that are there in their past, people who don’t want anything reflected like that!

Incredible what’s taking place today that will include some of the Israelite nations.  Incredible indeed!

In a visit to Germany's parliament he urged politicians to seek justice, not just power, and to hold on to the Christian tradition.

He received a standing ovation from MPs - though some boycotted the event.

The visit may be one of his most difficult to date, with strong protests expected against his teachings.

Don’t let any of those things fool you as to the power of what’s taking place.  You see, what people don’t understand as a whole and what you need to keep in mind and understand is it’s a matter of a spirit.  There is power.  When something works by power of the spirit in the mind and communicating in the mind there are things that transpire, that go beyond (if you will) normal communication.  I think of some of the rally’s that sometimes you can see from times past that were recorded earlier on that took place in Germany and the spirit, the response of people to words being spoken, the movement in the air, the air was charged.  You see that from time to time.

I think of religious meetings sometimes, especially huge meetings in stadiums where there are thousands and thousands of people and individuals get up and speak and they preach various things, and people get into a spirit, an air.  There is an overwhelming and a very powerful sense of response to things that are being said and they respond in kind to that, as though a wave goes through and things take place.  What most people do not comprehend is it isn’t because the people speaking are such great speakers; it isn’t because they have such an incredible reputation in the sense of causing people to respond and get excited, it’s a spirit and spirit beings who are at work.  And that’s a totally different matter.  And that’s why you see sometimes the responses that take place something that people don’t even understand why they’re responding in the way that they are.  It can go so far as being, becoming so much more powerful in individual lives that they are Pentecostal.  There are Pentecostal movements where people are moved by their bodies, people are moved up and down their spine, people are moved in their body and in their speech and so forth to where they’re not even in control of what they do.  They don’t even have a choice in the matter!  Spirit!  There is tremendous power, especially if people yield themselves to it. And the more they yield themselves to it the worse it becomes.

And so at the end of this age you’re going to witness some of those kinds of things take place again.  But again, please understand; sometimes when you see certain things take place it’s not just a matter of something verbally being communicated.  There is a sense of something else going on in the minds of others, of why they’re drawn to this message, of why they’re responding to this message in the way that they do.  Why are they so moved by it?  Why are they so moved by the presence of a man?  Is it just to get votes?  Is it just because if you are there that somehow you might get the Catholic vote?

Going on in the article....

...Several thousand protesters gathered in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz bearing messages such as "Pope, go home!"

Before arriving, the Pope said he did not object to such protests, saying: "It is part of our freedom and we must acknowledge that secularism and opposition to Catholicism in our societies is strong."

Even in the statement there is that which is masterful.

After being greeted at Berlin's Tegel airport by an artillery salute and a guard of honour, the pontiff was welcomed by Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Christian Wulff.

Visiting Mr Wulff's residence in the city, Pope Benedict said: "I am not here first and foremost... to follow particular political, or economic aims but to meet the people and to speak to them about God."....

At parliament, the Pope told MPs that it was Christianity which provided the basis of Europe's legal and political systems, and their focus on "the inviolability of human rights".

A little farther in the article...

...The 84-year-old pontiff will travel widely across the country, where there are officially 25 million Catholics - one in three of the population. ....

In Erfurt on Friday, Pope Benedict will meet members of Germany's Lutheran Church in the monastery where Luther studied as a monk in the early 16th Century, before breaking with Rome and launching the Protestant Reformation.

Masterful move!

After arriving in Berlin, he called on Catholics disgusted by priestly abuse of children not to abandon the Church.

A record 181,000 German Catholics officially quit the Church last year, Reuters news agency reports.

I guess that’s what they reported.

Disgust at the Church's handling of child sex abuse by clergy was one factor.

"I can understand that in the face of such reports, people, especially those close to victims, would say 'this isn't my Church any more'," the Pope said in an interview on his plane before arriving.  But he added: "The Church is a net of the Lord that pulls in good fish and bad fish.  "We have to learn to live with the scandals and work against the scandals from inside the great net of the Church."....

One of the highlights of the visit is a Mass to be held on Thursday evening at the Olympic Stadium.  The stadium, where Hitler hosted the 1936 games, is now a popular sporting and entertainment venue, and some 70,000 people are expected to attend the Mass.

Well, what has taken place, as a whole most people in the world... they have no idea anyway, but even within the Church, there are reasons why the timing is what it is.  There are things that have been said with leaders, with individuals, that have to do with a mentality, with a mindset of what is going to lead them to justify what they do in the future.  Other things were said that you can read on your own if you want.  I’ll just go on and read some things I’ve written down here.

Again, there are some other interesting articles floating around out there about what Ratzinger is saying and doing, but understand it is in language that is masterfully orchestrated to lead, influence and move people along a deceived course to a specific purpose that is not good.  He is right now working to justify any future action taken by leaders in Europe as long as they are formulated (and he used these words a lot) ‘in the light for the purpose of defeating the darkness.’  If you believe you are on the side of the ‘light’ and you’re doing what is ‘right’ because you have the church’s backing, telling you it is right, you can do a lot of things and a lot of things have been done in history in that ‘light’.

So again, wanted to mention that up front here, of something that as a whole people aren’t going to take any notice of whatsoever.  Things are happening right before you (as stated earlier), but what happens with that church and its spiritual leader are not as evident in the news.  But at the beginning of this sermon it was stated, “You are watching. You are witnessing some of the most incredible events of prophecy being moulded and fashioned right now in articles and news articles.  And over the past couple of weeks, again, the speed and frequency of that process has taken on an awesome leap forward.

Let’s turn over to Revelation 17.  Things are so prevalent out there right now, things are so close to being in place right now that it’s as the Old Testament prophecy and the minor prophets talks about; it’s as though when some people speak, even when newscasters speak about certain headlines, it’s like the expression, “Who can but prophecy?”  Because that’s what they’re living in.  They don’t even know that what’s taking place and what they’re reporting on fits this book so closely, so well, and getting closer and closer all the time.  “Who can help but prophecy?”  They’re speaking what has already been written.

Revelation 17:9 it goes through and talks about Babylon, Mystery Babylon the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth in verse 5, and then verse 9 it says - And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. Now it’s talking about ‘mountains’; always, again here, different things used prophetically, ‘governments’.  It’s like, and we’ve talked about this in so many different sermons of things that are used out there, but again, Mount Zion – the Kingdom of God – things that are used out there that have to do with things that are prophetic.  Here seven mountains, seven governments, if you will, on which the woman sits. Actually having to do with the revivals of those governments, talking about the end-time, of what would take place.

And there are seven kings: so in these governments there are seven kings, there are different times of revival for the Holy Roman Empire.  This here is an awesome verse because this is the one that Mr. Armstrong came to understand at a point in time that he realized that was for his time.  It’s not a scripture that is fulfilled today, it was fulfilled many years ago and it was fulfilled at a time when God gave it to him to understand that was his time, it was for him to understand this at this moment in time.  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and there was only one period of time when the one still was, and that was during WWII when Hitler was in control and doing the things that he was doing and God gave Mr. Armstrong understanding of prophecy and things that were going to happen at the end, especially with the nations of Israel and knowing who they were and knowing what would happen with the revivals of the Holy Roman Empire.  And so he knew that was taking place at that moment in time and that verse 10 was taking place right then and there.  So it’s in a past tense today because it was fulfilled in Mr. Armstrong’s day.

There are seven kings: five have fallen, and one is, speaking of Mussolini and Hitler, and the other has not yet come; speaking of another revival that was to happen later that would not happen in Mr. Armstrong’s time but later on; and when he comes, he’ll continue a short space. It’s not going to last very long.  It’s going to be very short lived, thankfully, but with the kind of power that militaries have today, the arsenal that’s out there, it doesn’t take a lot to do far more destruction than all the other wars ever put together.

Verse 11 – And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, unique language that’s used here over and over again, the beast that was, and is not, at different times having the power, different times to reign over this power.  He had various moments in time whenever the revivals had taken place, whenever they were doing the destroying that they were doing, the destruction they were doing – Apollyon, Abaddon – when he was doing his destruction on the earth during those moments in time he was that power that was there and the beast that had power, and the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth; and is of the seven, and goes into perdition. Because he’s really over it all, he’s been over all that were before.  All the other seven kingdoms that were there, he is the power that has existed during all of them, that’s lived through it all – Satan.

And then it goes on to say, verse 12 - And the ten horns which you saw are the ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. So thankfully it’s a very short lived thing, but it’s getting closer and closer and closer.  Mr. Armstrong taught so long ago, God gave to him understanding so long ago that in time there would be ten nations in Europe that would come together, that would be the power that would be used toward the end to chasten Israel; Assyria leading it once again.  God used Assyria before to chasten Israel and prophetically in the scriptures in the Old Testament and especially Ezekiel and other places... you know, Ezekiel was mocked and laughed at because he talked about the captivity of Israel after they had already been captured.  How would you like to write that?  Come along and here you are to write a book and here they’ve already been taken into captivity and then you’re going to be mocked and made fun of by anyone who reads it, “There’s Ezekiel... writing about the captivity of Israel.  They’re already gone captive and he’s writing all these things about the captivity of Israel?!”  Amazing!  Because it wasn’t for that time, it wasn’t for what was taking place; it was for the future, it was for this time.  Many things have been written like that through time.

And so God gave to Mr. Armstrong understanding so very long ago that Assyria would once again be the power, the primary force – Germany - the Germanic peoples would once again be those who would be used, just as in WWI and WWII, who would rise again, who would be the head of it, who would be those who are the primary head of it.  And they are and they will be the primary head of it, and as much as Sarkozy and others give nod and give agreement at times and come up with their own ideas and plans the primary force behind it is still Germany.  And Germany is being given greater and greater power all the time because of what’s taking place and because of what was instituted as far as the euro is concerned.

Had an interesting conversation with an individual in a taxi ride over in Dublin, and we were talking just a little bit about them being a part of the European system and having the euro there in Ireland.  And he was talking about how that they had voted concerning (it was not too long ago here if my memory serves me right), and they rejected. They were not going to cooperate with the rest of the European Union.  And his take on this was, “You what?!  You’re not going to what?!  Vote again!”  That’s his take being over there, that, “You’re going to vote again!  Because if you don’t ‘this’ and ‘this’ and ‘this’ is going to happen to you!”  And they felt that pressure, that all of a sudden they weren’t independent anymore, or not as independent as they maybe thought they were going to be, and all of a sudden they took a vote and it was a different vote this time around because they’re scared.  He said, “We’re scared.”  He said, “We can’t even...our fishermen, they can’t even fish out of our own waters and they can come over from Spain and fish in our waters because of this system that’s set up out there, but we can’t do anything about it!”  It’s like they’re caught in a catch-22.  What do you do?  That’s the European system, and who’s the head of it?  Interesting.  A lot of power there to manipulate countries to do what you want them to do.

But things are fast changing because something has to be done about Greece.  Something has to be done about Italy.  Something has to be done about Spain and Portugal and Ireland.  And who’s going to suffer?  ...and how are they going to suffer before this is over with?  ...and what decisions are they going to make?  Ten nations are being pushed so quickly here that it almost makes your head spin.  It’s an awesome thing to watch it come together; and the power – the power – that’s behind it all is not Germany.  There’s another power at work in the midst of all this and it’s spiritual, just as what eventually happened with the Worldwide Church of God.  What happened there was on a spiritual plane to people who had God’s spirit. The world, Europe, doesn’t have God’s spirit.  They cannot resist!  And look at what happened to us with God’s spirit over time.

What Satan can do in Europe is happening much faster and much more powerfully with far greater influence.

There are too many articles to read and mention here, but the news every day is about the struggle of nations of the world, corporations, banks, stock markets, and on and on, that are plagued with problems - plagued with problems! And people are getting wiser. They’re getting tired of politicians fighting and accusing each other:

“It’s your fault!”

“No, it’s yours!”

Back and forth, back and forth, and it’s like if everyone could just get along we could resolve this.  No, they can’t.  They can’t resolve it even if they get along.

All this stress and pressure on governments, institutions, and people, is what is pushing the formation of ten nations of Europe closer and closer and closer together.  It’s giving more power to what is inevitability going to come to pass.  That is what is pushing events in the Middle East, in Russia and China into place very quickly so that events will erupt upon the world and shock mankind by the magnitude of its violence.

Here are some headlines from the past couple of weeks that are very telling in themselves.  It’s just awesome!  I have a whole page of nothing but headlines here.  I don’t have time to go into all the articles and I haven’t even put all the headlines here that I’ve seen at different times that say a lot in themselves.  I’ve picked out certain headlines because they say a great deal themselves, but the articles, over and over again, the resounding power that’s coming out of that is quite awesome.

Bloomberg: ‘China as Euro’s Savior’

Spiegal Online: ‘Europe and China bound by mutual fears’

And some of these are a progression.

The Telegraph: ‘Debt Crisis: EU refusing to recognize China as a Market Economy’

The Telegraph: ‘China states price for Italian Rescue’

Oh, there’s always something in there for someone.  You do this, I’ll do that.  Nobody’s getting along today.

Business Standard/Bloomberg: ‘World must cut deficits, not rely on China: Wen’[2]

‘Chinese Premier Wen says,’ (in this article here) ‘World must cut deficits, not rely on China.’

A default by Greece would be a “doomsday” scenario, Rhee Chang Yong, chief economist of the Asian Development Bank, said in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Amazing some of the language.  “Who can help but prophecy.”  And do you think that a default on Greece is coming about?  Amazing!  You know, you have something out there long enough, you post-pone it and it kind of seems to mentally dampen the intensity of it and you kind of get used to it after a while and it’s just the ‘same old, same old’ and after a while it doesn’t have the same kind of impact and fear.  People get adjusted to that kind of fear and they move on....  amazing!

EU Observer: ‘Russia says euro-crisis could 'detonate' in neighbouring countries.

EU Observer: ‘Slovak refusenik: 'EU bailout fund is greatest threat to euro'’

So all these people are coming up with different ideas here.  How do we get out of the euro? ...or how do we get other countries out of the euro?  All of the decisions they’re going to have to make pushing them closer and closer to ten finally saying they are alone, they’re going to do this and the rest are put by the sidelines, if you will.

EU Observer:  ‘Spanish Commissioner lashes out at core eurozone states’

Wonder why....  Some of these are almost humorous sometimes when you read some of them.  The problems they have and they’re not getting what they want and yet they’ve been given so much.  Incredible!  There are scores of articles about the Greek bailout and about Greek default and so forth.

Here’s another one, another twist in events in the world....

The New York Times: ‘Turkey predicts partnership with Egypt as Regional Anchors’

This is a powerful one and this is prophecy that’s just starting to emerge.  Esau – maybe I don’t have that right – maybe it’s Edom.  I have to go back and look myself, sometimes.  Turkey?  Anyway, it is about Turkey.  (...and I have to refresh myself on things just like you do.)

Haaretz.com: ‘Erdogan: Israel's mentality is a barrier to Mideast peace’[3]

Turkish PM, speaking before Arab League meeting in Cairo, attacks Israeli government's policies, says recognition of Palestinian state is 'an obligation.'

If you watch what he’s saying right now and doing, that man is stirred up.  That man has an objective and he wants to get things done quickly.  He’s threatening right now to send along part of their military, part of their warships to ensure the next time ships are sent to help out the Palestinians that it’s going to be protected.  How do you think that’s going to go over?  He’s saying things and doing things with Syria right now, threatening them, some things that we heard about from the Middle East a couple weeks ago that weren’t even being reported in the news.  Now, all of a sudden they are starting to come out in the news – things between Syria and Turkey, let alone Turkey and Israel and how Erdogan is being heralded as a great leader; and people are excited, moved in that part of the world by him.

Anyway, something to watch because it’s coming together very rapidly as well, things he’s going to be doing, and I’ll read part of an article a little bit later.  But you know what a lot of his motive is about as well?  Money, oil, and gas; they found all these things now along the coast there and they want to prevent Israel from having what some of the other Arab nations have with all the oil and gas that comes along with the wealth.  They don’t want Israel to have that wealth and so they’re trying to do things to prevent that from happening.  So, I hope you see that in the news.  I hope you’ve seen some of those kinds of articles in the news because they have everything to do with what’s happening in the Middle East.  Things that are taking place right now in the United Nations this past week, are powerful as things are coming together like they are.  It would be one thing if it was just one place in the world, but all these things that are taking place all over...powerfully coordinated indeed.

Here’s one:

Financial Times: ‘Geithner warns EU of catastrophic risk’[4]

I wonder how that went over.

The US Treasury secretary told Europe’s leaders to stop bickering...

There is an expression we have in the states, ‘The pot calling the kettle black.’

The US Treasury secretary told Europe’s leaders to stop bickering and take control of the debt crisis that has brought “catastrophic risk” to financial markets.

And what about printing dollars?  What about just rolling them out of the presses?  Warm up the presses, let’s print a whole bunch more!  What has that done to financial markets?  Amazing!  People are amazing!  Human nature is an amazing thing!

Casey Research: ‘Is the US Monetary System on the Verge of Collapse?’

Another one.

Financial Times: ‘Moody’s downgrades three US Banks’

CNBC: Stock Market and Investing section: ‘Global Markets meltdown on Recession Fears’

Washington Times: ‘IMF Warns World about Dangerous Phase of Decline’

They’re starting to use language they haven’t used before.  They haven’t wanted to use harsh language that would cause fear or panic, but now you’re going to see this kind of thing coming out more and more.  They are starting to throw warnings out because they know exactly where things are headed.  They know exactly what’s coming.

CNBC (NYSE News): Global Meltdown: ‘Investors are Dumping Nearly Everything’

Gold, usually a safety play, was sold into the maelstrom as investors raised cash.  Investors are flocking to US Treasury’s.

When I read something like that I want to slap myself.  Paper, US Treasury’s, dumping gold....  Do you know why they’re dumping gold?  They have to have cash.  They have to have it quickly.  That’s why gold has gone down so much recently, because there are peoples and nations who need cash and they’re dumping their gold in order to get it so they have the markets flooded, so the price goes down somewhat at a time when it should be going up even more.

Zero Hedge: ‘EU Report states Eurocrisis contagion has spread and is now systemic.’

Der Spiegel: ‘Berlin and Paris Battle Contagion’

Over and over....

The New York Times: ‘German Leader Faces Key Choice on Rescuing Euro’

Reuters: ‘Moody’s cuts French Banks, Eurobond talk lifts markets’

Back and forth....

EconomicPolicyJournal.com: ‘EZ Crisis Spreads to French Banks’

And the French banks come back and say, “We’re in good shape.  We’re okay.”  I’ll read some more to you here in a little bit showing that they’re not okay.

Financial Times: (This is amazing!) ‘Siemans moved deposits from French Bank to the EU Central Bank’

That’s a large corporation in Germany and they moved them out of France.  I wonder why?  What do you think they know?  Why do you think they would take such a drastic step?  I’ll tell you what, this is something to watch. Central Banks are hurting big time right now and the other banks underneath have tried to keep going and they are hardly hanging on right now.  It’s getting worse quite quickly.

That’s reminds me to mention: if you’re able to have some cash on hand you should have some cash on hand.  Some day you’re going to wake up and there’s going to be a run on banks and you’re not going to be able to get in...and it’s coming soon.  That’s how close we are!  If you’re able to have some cash out it’s wise to do so, put some aside, hide it someplace, because one day very soon now you are not going to be able to get through the bank door and get your money out if you have some there.  That’s where we are.  How good is that?  Well, it’s going to help you for a little while.

Stratfor Global Intelligence: ‘The Crisis of Europe and European Nationalism’

See, people are beginning to recognize something’s taking place here.  People are starting to turn inward; they’re starting to protect themselves, looking at ways of protecting themselves.

Manchester Evening News: ‘Footsie (UK Exchange) in biggest fall since 2008’

Hasn’t seen anything yet.

The DAX in Germany dropped 5 percent (I believe this was on Thursday) while France’s CAC-40 fell 5.3%....

Again, up and down, back and forth, volatility.

Associated Press: ‘Markets Slump Amid Bernake’s Warning’

Usually he just talks in smooth terms so to now give stronger warnings is not a small thing.

Other reports state: The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank have announced they are going to make available an ‘unlimited’ amount of money to European commercial banks in October, November and December.

Hmmm, wonder what all that means....

This year in Italy the largest bank has lost fifty percent of its value and the second has lost forty-four percent of its value.

That’s just Italy alone.  I think I have some on some French banks here in a moment if I didn’t toss it away.  French banks aren’t in good shape either.

A year ago the debt to GDP ratio of Greece was 115%. Today it’s a 160%.

Italy’s ratio is at 120% and its economy is much greater than Greece.

Here’s another interesting tidbit: Israel has dumped 46% of its US Treasury’s. That’s a big move!  Russia has dumped 95%.  That’s not surprising that they would do it.  But Russia’s dumped 95% of its US Treasury’s and I’m sure China wished they could have done that a long time ago.

I mention all these articles because maybe they don’t mean a whole lot to you, maybe because I’ve read them, maybe because the articles and the headlines themselves scream out – but if you read some of the articles that go along with some of these things, if you’re keeping up to date with a few of the things that are going on you should be dumbfounded by what you see coming to place here, because these are the things that are forcing nations to make the kinds of choices and decisions that they are.  And they’re not pleasant!  Things that they otherwise would never do!  And you hear this on the news on a regular basis, of things that leaders would have not said a year ago and instead said the opposite a year ago, now they’re singing a different song because the conditions have forced them into it.  The same conditions that are forcing them into having to make the decisions they do – ten nations not too long from now – when they finally come together for the short time that they do.

Let’s turn back to Revelation 17.  So again, are you really ready for what’s coming?  Because I’ll tell you what, just this last couple of weeks, the sense of where we are, the sense of what is happening is incredibly powerful and it’s closing in around us quickly.  How many more times are we going to have opportunities like this to meet together?  I don’t know.  But they are indeed limited so enjoy them while you can and don’t be too quick to get on with it.  Because this is not going to be a pleasant time, brethren.  Sometimes we talk in those terms, “Let’s just get on with it!  Let’s get this over with!”  Again, don’t be so quick for the bad things to happen because they are going to be a lot worse than what you think.  You may think you’re prepared, but you’re not.  The longer God can grant His mercy, the longer God can grant us opportunities to meet together then the more you’re awesomely blessed indeed.  The longer this world doesn’t have to suffer in physical ways the better off it is.

There is so much in prophecy that can be fulfilled so quickly in a short length of time and hope to God that’s what’s going to take place, but time will tell.

I thought it would be good to just go through Revelation 17 because it’s quite awesome, quite powerful what’s taking place, a spirit that’s in the world that’s working in the world to bring events together.

And it won’t be too long and we’ll be going through chapter 9; we only read the first three verses and verse 11.  There is so much here!  There is so much here that God has yet to reveal to us, of timing of events, of how they’re going to take place, and that will come in its time, but today we’re going to begin through chapter 17 which is very much about this same thing, leads to the same thing in time as we just read a moment ago when we read through some of these verses.

Before we do that I do have an article here.  I just received this this morning, wanted to mention it.  This is from here in the UK, some statements from George Osborne, the Chancellor here.  He’s referred to as, very much I guess as the exchequer, much like Geithner in the US, like the US Treasurer.  Anyway, George Osborne here in the UK making some comments here:

Six weeks to save the euro: Chancellor's warning after another day of financial turmoil[5]

By James Chapman

Last updated at 12:25 AM on 24th September 2011

World leaders were warned last night that they have just six weeks to save the euro from collapse.

If he believes that and he’s very much in Europe and sees things I’m sure a lot better than what people do from the United States, and he’s in the midst of all this and trying to finagle things with the pound and with your economy here and with things that are going on... because things are not real keen here as in every place else around the world, of what’s taking place as far as the economy is concerned, and he is in a pretty tough spot.  A part of the union but not, a part of the system but not, separate in some regards and then not, and having to balance things, trying to work things out – it’s quite a challenge.  It’s really one that isn’t going to work out that well, is it.

But if he feels this way and you know that others in Europe feel the way that they do and there is the kind of talk that there is now (I’ll get to that in a moment here about Greece).  Greece is just one little problem, it isn’t even a big problem!  They’re treating it like a big problem and in some regards it is because of the fears and everything else that follow, when they are separated one way or another from the system, of things that have to take place and others that are going to follow suit.  At some point there are going to be others who follow suit. They can’t be a part of the system. They can’t be a part of the European Union.  Others have to decide that for their own survival, for their own well-being.  They’re going to turn on others.  It’s not going to be a pretty time.

On another day of gathering economic gloom, George Osborne savaged eurozone leaders for failing to get a grip on their towering debts.

Always someone to blame when we can’t even get our own house in order.  Spend, spend, spend.... Geithner blaming Europe.  Amazing!

The Chancellor set a deadline of six weeks – when leaders of the G20 group of leading countries will meet for crunch talks in France – for action.

What can they do?  What will all the talk in the world do, and just how well do all twenty of those get along?  What a horrible, horrible situation the world is in!

He said (interesting): 'Patience is running out in the international community. There is a sense from across the leading lights of the eurozone that time is running out for them.

Interesting.

In other developments:

- IMF chief Christine Lagarde said the challenge facing the world 'could not be more urgent';

Massively understated.

- World markets remained dangerously volatile, with Britain's leading firms seeing £78billion wiped off their value this week;

Here’s one...

- Debt-laden Greece admitted for the first time that an 'orderly default' was an option;

They don’t have a choice.  They’re being told.  You have to understand that behind the scenes some are telling them what’s coming to pass, that there is really no other option out.  Because they know in Europe, Germany understands, they’re not going to take them out of this situation.  They’re not going to pay for this.  It’s not going to work; it’s not going to happen.  They play these games back and forth for a while to give some time and concessions, it sounds like, here and there, and pass these things, and supposedly a few weeks ago, at least from our perspective in the United States, it’s like this has all been resolved; they’ve already decided in Europe, it’s all taken care of.  Greece’ situation now... it’s going to be paid for now, it’s not a problem.  And then you find out a little bit later, well, there were some other stipulations in all that.  Interesting!  And now they’re talking about they’re not going to follow through with all those other little stipulations.  Amazing!

I got a charge out of this one:

America has lost patience with Europe

BY ALEX BRUMMER

The veteran U.S. monetary official did not mince his words in a private conversation over dinner. 'America is very, very angry over what has been going on in the eurozone.'

As the markets went into freefall over the last few days, the deterioration in relations between the U.S. and the countries of the single currency has become frightening.

The Americans believe that if the world were to tumble back into recession or a prolonged depression, as looks increasingly likely, it would be the euro area to blame.

That really helps things, doesn’t it?  I say these things sometimes with tongue in cheek because you have to be astounded at the audacity of people sometimes and how people think and how people reason and some of the things they come up with to blame others, to shift blame.  And just so you know that most places are now talking at least 10 years of financial pain.  Most economists, most people who really grasp the things that are taking place, it’s not just another dip here but it’s something that’s not going to be a two-year turnaround, they’re tightening things up here for what looks like a ten-year turnaround now.  So it was two, now it’s ten, but it’s not going to happen.

Revelation 17:11 - And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me saying; now, this is the very end.  This is talking about those individuals because it’s jumping ahead to the 3rd Woe which is when the 7th Trumpet is blown on the beginning of May 27 Jerusalem time, and all that begins to happen on that particular day when Jesus Christ begins His return on the Day of Pentecost when the 144,000 are resurrected, at that moment in time, and what follows that has to do with the 7 Vials that are poured out upon Europe and upon Asia and so forth when God says...and this is what God does, this is not something that Satan does.  This is not something that Satan has influenced and brought about through Europe and through China and through Russia and the war that takes place in the 5th and the 6th Trumpets that are blown.  This is something separate.  This is something that God Almighty does; and it says on that day when He does this... powerful what He talks about here and what He says.

It says He’s going to ‘destroy those who are destroying the earth.’  Because if this didn’t happen over a very short period of time, if it were not contained and God undoubtedly... don’t know, it doesn’t say how, what, when, exactly what takes place, but somehow because of all that transpires, with all that Russia and China do alone, with all the nuclear activity that has to take place – because for them to destroy a third of the earth – that’s what it says during the 6th Trumpet – they destroy one-third of all the earth.  That’s one-third of all mankind!  Something unfathomable to think about!  ...for the mind to grasp and we don’t nearly, really need to grasp that in reality, it’ll happen soon enough, but for that to happen - if it happens in the last week, so be it!  It doesn’t take long to destroy one-third of all the earth if that’s what they’re going to do.  But if it happens at that particular moment in time for God to contain some of those things, the radiation alone, the things that would continue around the earth, the destruction that would be ongoing for decades – again, something we can’t comprehend. But God says on that last day He’s going to ‘destroy those who are destroying the earth.’ It doesn’t say the number, but on that one day He can bring about more, in the sense of the number He destroys, the number who are brought to their end, than what takes place through the rest of the period of time.  Because God is going to bring down Asia and parts of Europe for what they’re doing.

When they come together on that last day to do battle and they find out what’s happening in their homeland and their countries, that there’s no capital, that there are no people - that’s why they turn and try to fight what they see in the atmosphere, thinking they’re being invaded or whatever it is.  They certainly don’t recognize it as being King of kings, as Jesus Christ returning in power to take control of the earth.  And so it’s these that it’s referring to here in this verse. And there came one of the seven angels who have the seven vials, the 7 Last Plagues that are poured out in that one single day, and talked with me saying unto me, come here and I will show you the judgment of the great whore who sits upon many waters: through time.  And that which is depicted as a system, that which has deceived people, led people away, that which has led governments and people away, kept people blinded, has manipulated and distorted things through time, kept mankind blinded, religions blinded of God and God’s ways, and that which epitomizes, if you will, everything that God condemns.

There’s only one way of life.  There’s only one way to live life – it’s God’s way, and Mr. Armstrong continually spoke of it as being one of outgoing concern for others, not selfish, not inward like we are as human beings but the opposite of that, of being outward, caring, loving, giving.  And there are ways that bring that about and that’s why we have 10 Commandments to show selfish human beings how that can be brought about. If you want a right relationship with God there’s certain things you have to do in the way you respond to your God, in the way you react and speak to God and think about God and so forth, whether you honour Him in your mind and to what degree you honour Him in your mind has to do with whether you love Him or not, or how to love Him, and so forth.  And one of the most basic of all of them is that you do exactly what He says in the way you worship Him, on the day He says to worship Him.  Something that should be so simple and so basic for mankind but one that people want to do away with – the seventh day Sabbath as a whole!  ...which pictures, if man would obey it, their God, the one who put them on the earth, that gave them the purpose of their being on earth in the first place.

It was in six days that He put everything here in the sense of what we have, put life here, put man here, and He said on the seventh day He rested and He gave that to mankind and it’s to be remembered so that every Sabbath day, when you have a Sabbath day come around you never forget God!  You realize this day, it was this day...every seven days...that God had that particular amount of time He set aside to love us – because that’s what He does.  He tells us about Himself.  He shares Himself with us.  He shares His goals, His desires, His will with us, on this day more than any other day.  He spends time to teach us, to mould and fashion us, to help us to learn about Him – if that’s what we want – if we love Him, if we obey Him, if we follow the way of life He’s shown that man should live.  But man doesn’t want to live that way!  He doesn’t want to live that way!  He’d rather go down and bow down on a blanket on Friday pointed toward Mecca!  Mecca!  Mecca! ...say more about that at the Feast of Tabernacles, of people that are going to have to humble themselves mightily because of what they’re doing and what they have done through time.  Incredible what’s taken place!

And then another group who want to build these great big buildings, massive buildings, HUGE buildings and call them churches  so that today people think that to go to church means you go to a building.  It has nothing to do with the people who constitute the church, who make up the church; it’s about where you go.  And so they put swimming pools in them, they put gymnasiums in them, they put all kinds of things in them so more people will come to the ‘church’...of their choice.  And which one do you choose?  Oh, the one that’s the newest, the biggest gym, the nicest facilities, the nicest things to go along with what I believe.  And they build them to face the east.  The east!

Do you know as a whole that churches are built in a certain way?  You don’t go out the door facing north.  Almost all churches are set on a plot of land facing a specific direction.  Just like when people are plopped into the ground when they die – they’re usually facing a certain direction (if you can be facing a certain direction).  But the idea is when you come up you’re facing a certain direction and that direction just happens to be east.  So graveyards are set that way, so that at the resurrection you’re.... I’m not sure why you need that if you’re already in heaven, but hey, that’s how you’re buried, like it or not.  Sick, sick world we live in!  It truly is a sick, sick, filthy, ugly, hideous world that Satan has masterfully put together for mankind, to deceive mankind.

...I will show you the judgment of the whore... that’s what he is.  That’s what he has done.  His system is one of a whore who sells herself to get a following, to get business; and boy does she have business today.  It’s a world economy of business.  It’s a system that stinks.  It’s a system that takes advantage of others.  It’s a system that steals and lies and connives and manipulates and does some more lying to do some more cheating and some more stealing from you.  That’s how it works.  No wonder, in some regard, that some people on the earth got upset with the system because they saw that it wasn’t good and it wasn’t based on right principles, so they bounced to the other side of the wall and become communist in belief. Marxist, because they hate a system that they see, but they don’t have the right system either because they don’t know God and they don’t know the laws of God and how God says they’re to be done.

So ‘whore’ is a great word that’s used for this system and the one behind it...whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; because they love whoredom.  It’s what they love.  You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.  Its politics, politics fits into here, fornication. It’s not because of principle.  It’s not because of standing up for principle, for something because something is right, of taking a stand on something that’s right.  On the contrary, oftentimes today it’s about whether you’re going to get re-elected or not and how you’re going to get there and who you’re going to get into bed with to get there, with lobbyists and so forth.

I hope you hate the system that’s in this world.  I hope you hate the evil of it.  I hate politics. I hate it more – not because I ever saw it in the world and saw it for what it was in the world – because I saw it in God’s Church and I learned firsthand how evil politics is amongst God’s people.  It’s evil when people sell themselves for principle or better said, for truth, for what is true.  Of all things, if you don’t stand up for what you believe in, what are you?  Who are you?  How can you sleep?  What is a human being...?

We were just up in Scotland...  When we left Worldwide there was a movie that came out at that time that for my wife and I was difficult because of what we’d just experienced in an apostasy that had taken place in God’s Church.  ‘Braveheart’ – all I can see are their blue faces.  But you think of... what moved us was the lack in the world of people taking a stand for what they believed in, even if it means your life.  Principle, truth; and if others don’t like that and they want to live by their conniving, twisted, lying ways, then so be it, but you are not going to do that.  And so watching that movie had a great deal of meaning at that particular time because of all the lying and the deceit and the treachery and the politics that we saw finally come to an abrupt head like it did and the devastation that followed.  The hurt and the pain and the suffering amongst God’s people was gut wrenching beyond belief, horrifying times to live through because it’s of the mind and it’s also of the spirit, which cuts far, far deeper.  And so that taught a very powerful thing, and indeed began to mould and fashion something within me in a greater way, in that respect, and that is the importance of truth, principle, living by it, and dying by it.  So be it.  And the only truth is with God, to live what is right before God, to live by what you know, by what you see, by what you’ve been given.  To do anything less – what kind of a life is that?  I really don’t get it, and yet that’s the way of the world and it’s the way of a scattered Church today.  Sad.

That’s the kind of resolve you want to have in your life.  No matter what anyone else around you does or says – because you see, that is so often your battle!  When people come into God’s Church that is your battle.  It may be the battle because of your mate!  It may be the battle because of your children, or your parents, or your boss, or whatever it might be; but YOU DO WHAT IS RIGHT BECAUSE IT IS RIGHT BEFORE GOD AND YOU DO NOT GIVE ONE IOTA, because if you do you sear your conscience and you sear your mind.  And if you don’t live by principle and what is true and stand high for it then what are we?  Who are we?  We are God’s and you have none greater on your side than God, do you?  How much more could you ask for?  And you win in this, you see!  The world doesn’t!  And in time, and in a short time, those who are deceived, who don’t get it, who have given you a hard time, some of them – believe it or not – believe it or not, not too long from now are going to admire you with admiration that you would have never dreamed possible, because you stood for what was right.

Don’t underestimate sometimes the example, and the opportunity to grow in that.  Because you see, we’re talking about something of the mind and of the spirit that only God can mould and fashion within you.  And it’s by those things that sometimes we have opportunity to grow and we don’t see them for the growth value that’s there.  And if we give in, if we falter, unlike the show ‘Braveheart’, because he didn’t all the way to the end.  I know it’s a movie, but there are people through time indeed who have stood up for certain principle, for what they saw as being truth at their particular time.

I loathe compromise, politics, lying, cheating and so forth because that’s the way of the great whore that took peace away from the realm of God Almighty.  Led a third of the angelic realm with him, of minds that decided they wanted something different than what God Almighty had so graciously and powerfully placed before them.

...I will show you the judgment of the great whore who sits upon many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication... poetically written to describe something so incredibly awesome... ‘drunk with the wine’...intoxicating... just like I mentioned a while ago – there is a spirit that works in this world, that people can’t grasp, really, and you’ve been given opportunity to grasp it, to begin to see it.  It’s like people who are deceived by religion – they’re deceived.  They’re deceived!  They don’t know it; they don’t grasp what is true.  They can’t even begin to see the glimmer of light of what is true.  They’re going to have that opportunity before long.  But they get pulled into things and they get stirred up by things that they don’t understand.  They get moved by things sometimes that they don’t grasp why they’re so moved by it.  How can they be so moved by it?

‘...drunk with the wine of her fornication’, you see, because even in the false beliefs, and because of the spirit associated with it, there is that which the mind can receive that is pleasing and soothing and intoxicating in a very perverted and sick manner though it be, to the human mind.  To where people... if people went to Sunday service and they came out and felt, “I just feel sick after that!  That was so disgusting!  I am nauseated by what I heard!  That’s a pack of lies!”...they’d never go back.  That’s not the way people feel.  They can’t even put in words sometimes what it is they feel.  Amazing!

It’s in the world, it’s in the stock market, it’s the way a system functions, it’s babble (Babel), it’s confusion, and it’s moved and motivated by spirit - not God’s - but a spirit that exists in the world around that is more powerful than the human mind of and by itself, that can sway a human mind.  Thank God you’ve been freed from that.  How much do you value that?  How often do you thank God, “Thank you God for freeing me from that, that they have no influence over me whatsoever anymore,” save what we give them time to time because of sin and we repent of that quickly and ask God for His protection and blessings and He gives that to us and we are protected and blessed from those things.

...with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.  So he carried me away; every mixture of doctrines and so forth in the world, when people mix themselves with it they become intoxicated with it.  It’s a spirit... because it’s describing something on a spiritual plane here, people who feel good about themselves in it, things that give people the ability to change their mood...they feel bad during the week, they can feel bad about what happened during the week but they go to some service or they go to this thing and they bow down, or they bow and bob their head against the wall.  I’m sorry, but sometimes you see people get in these things and they’re bowing back and forth and they get into a rhythm and they don’t even know what’s going on – but they feel better afterwards and it’s a soothing thing that takes all their problems away.  They don’t know what they’re messing with.

The truth takes your problems away.  Dealing with what is true in life will take your problems away.  Dealing with reality will help take your problems away as you begin to obey God and live God’s way of life and learn to live properly and do right things and as you begin that a healing process begins in your mind because you begin to think right about the world and about others and begin to speak right toward others – that will give a healing process that will make you feel whole and better in time.  It’s something you grow in in God’s Church to where it comes to a point in time where you will never have animosity of any measure, of any kind, toward anyone EVER in God’s Church. Until you attain to that you keep battling until you have, because that is God’s requirement in life.  It’s His command and He says you can grow in that.  Will there be problems and difficulties at times? Yes, but you better resolve them and do them God’s way and think right toward others God’s way and judge rightly God’s way.

That’s why I love the example Jesus Christ gave about judgment, how He judges.  Makes it sound like contradictory statements in scriptures if you read them.  I love it, the way He speaks when He tells about judging, ‘and if I judge My judgment is just because...’  Yeah, He judged.  We all judge.  But He judged only one particular way; never by sight, never by emotion, never by His perspective on things - only God’s.  What an awesome thing!

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. This takes us through time.  It’s not just about a whore through 6,000 years, now it takes us up to the whore in the last seven revivals of the Holy Roman Empire, falsely called ‘holy’ because of the catholic church, it’s referred to as, and that influence.

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, and so the woman begins to take on appearance of something.  It’s kind of akin to and so there are types through here and much said through time, but it zeros in more on a specific period of time.  It’s kind of like what I reference sometime ago of that which epitomizes Satan now in the world, in a way that if you were to pick out a day of the year, there is one that’s his day, it’s his hallmark, it’s his mark.  If you want to pick a day of the year, the mass of Christ, from the Catholic church – that’s why it’s ‘mass’ – it got its name from the mass.  The Protestants didn’t come up with it; they owe their allegiance to all the popes through time – all the Protestants - but they don’t like that.  They would hate that one but that’s the truth.  All a part of a whore and the daughters, the harlots who are a part of it, but the same false, lying, conniving system, making God seem like (supposedly) the three musketeers spiritually – one in three and three in one. Perverted and sick; Satan’s done a masterful number.

People go down and cut down a tree, put it up in a room and put lights on it and have presents underneath it and it’s good to give gifts to kids, to children, isn’t it?  It’s a good thing to do, it’s a nice warm fuzzy feeling.  He’s got people on that day filled with, ‘drunk with the wine of her fornication’ on that day more than any other day of the year, who practice it.  And it’s one of the harder ones sometimes for people in God’s Church to leave and to abandon and to do away with and say, “No, I’m not a part of that any longer and I can’t accept your gift because I don’t believe that way anymore.  I can’t do it.”

And so the woman is decked out quite well here, great riches, powerful riches.  It’s what attracts people.  Doesn’t matter whether it’s the Catholic church or the Protestant churches, it still works the same way.  It’s just like the big buildings.  That’s what’s popular in the States right now.  “Build it and they will come.”  Anyway... they do!  It’s amazing!  The bigger the building... if you can put two to five thousand people in it, build it, make enough things inside of it, they’ll come.  I heard of a great big mall open up here recently.  “Build it and they will come.”  Yeah, people will come, people want to see a new mall.  They want to see the new, they like the new.  New is nice, new is pretty, new is not dirty, new is not run down, new is roomy, it’s nice!  I like new malls!  If I’m going to a mall I’d rather go to a new one than a really old one.  I’d rather eat in a new one than an old one if I’m going to eat there.  It’s the same way with churches in the world.  Build a great big one and it’s new – people would rather go to that than that old run down thing over there; and hardly anybody’s going anymore because they don’t even... the guy they’ve got up there now, who wants to sit there and listen to him for 15 minutes.  Would blow their minds to think they are going to have to listen for two hours.

Please understand, I’m not mocking people, I’m not making fun of people.  It’s the system!  It’s the facade!  It’s the lie!  It’s what draws!  It’s what draws human nature, it’s the spirit behind it, it’s the way he works.  He knows how to work!  He didn’t make you go out and get a cactus and try to hang things on the stickers of it; you know the bigger the cactus the greater it is.  That’s why people have trees!  That’s what they do in Washington and New York – get the biggest tree – man, your name’s going to be mentioned on nationwide news when they cut that tree and bring it up to the White House, or to Rockefeller Center and they bring that great big tree up there.  They bring these huge trees and people’s names are mentioned, “It came out of ‘so and so’s’ field.”  They looked for this and this is the one they got this year and they deck it with all these lights and it looks nice!  It’s decked with purple and scarlet and that’s what we’re talking about here!  It looks nice!  You know, all those colourful lights?  I like colourful lights! Hey, I’m sorry!  I hate the fact that it’s a Christmas tree, but you know what, it’s not ugly.  There are things that are made to be attractive, and they are in their own right as something physically attractive.  It’s not an ugly thing.  Satan didn’t get people to believing you have to go out and get something ugly and put it up in your house.  No, you’ve got a nice green tree there; for a little while it’s green.

What an awesome mind!  ...that used it in a wrong way.  The power of the mind that was there and yet used it in such a horrible, wrong way, and has done so much evil with it.  ...and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls; you’ll never see the pope in blue jeans. (Now, I probably shouldn’t have said that.)  What do you see him in?  How’s he decked out? ...especially if he’s going to have an audience – wow - and people are dumbfounded by it.

...having a golden cup in her hand full of the abominations and the filthiness of her fornication: that’s what’s left, and the mixture of religions and what’s taken place, the filthiness of it.  Because when you look at God’s truth and you see what they have, the doctrines, the lies – it turns your stomach! And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON... Confusion, confusion.  The more confusing the more power he has.  The more splinters there are the more you can deceive.  You know why?  Because as time has gone on this freedom that has hit the world in a sense of communication especially, there’s going to be something out there for somebody.  There are so many ideas; even in the scattered Church today, even in the one true Church, that when it came to an apostasy and it broke up – some 600 splinter groups came out of it, onesie’s, twosie’s and tensie’s, twenties, of hundreds, of thousands, not too many of those, few and then a few few thousand ones – all with different ideas.  People can go different places.  If they don’t agree with one thing they can go someplace else if they’re picking and choosing in that regard. If they have a slant in a certain direction they can find something out there that has some of the truths of the past and some teachings. I think of one person that left that didn’t like the idea that he wasn’t going to be able to be one of the 144,000!  “I’m going to go to a Church that teaches I can be one of the 144,000!”  Think, “Boy, that’s a great reason to do something!”  I’m sorry, I don’t usually get a little animated like this on some things, but I’ll tell you what, there are some things that are so disgusting and despicable and sickening, and they have a sense of perverted humour in them, they  truly do, as to human nature and what people do.

And so, that’s what we’re talking about when we talk about ‘fornication’ here and all the different ideas that are out there.  There are so many different religious ideas in the world today. That’s what Satan does.  He’ll get them.  He’ll get them in the one that their mind is closest to and draw them to it, influence them by it.  Powerful!

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. Now this is true, if you want to go back to the woman at the very beginning through time, and even after the flood through time, and all the different ideas in religion.  That’s true, she’s always been there, that’s where it comes from, but toward the end it takes on a unique look because of that which has the ability to have greater deception in it because of what it depicts, because it claims to be ‘Christian’.  Because now we’ve gone beyond Judaism, and we’ve gone into a time that says it accepts Jesus Christ and now it pulls in the Old and the New Testament and it foists itself off as being that.  This is bringing us up to the end of the age, the 7 revivals of the Holy Roman Empire.  So it begins to paint a picture here of something that is seen today epitomizing more so his work than any other time.  But understand, Buddhism, Hinduism, every other religion out there is his, it came from him.  He has influenced everything that exists in false religions in the world, moves them to this day, but there is the one that he’s been the most interested in because it’s the one in which he seeks to mock and fight against God the most – Traditional Christianity.

And so this begins to take on a picture of that system, MYSTERY, BABYLON, that which finally came through a few thousand years of time toward the end-time, and now what we see is this incredibly great church – 1.2 billion followers and another billions of those that follow the same in the sense of the mass of Christ and Easter and the Trinity and all these things here, but they’re called harlots in scripture; her daughters, if you will, those who came from her and practice and teach the same thing.

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, amazing; especially in the beginning she is the one that fought against God’s people more than any other, to rub out, just as Satan thought - and I don’t comprehend it, don’t even try to - to do away with Christ, to somehow get rid of Him.  He didn’t understand the prophecies about Christ and so his desire to have Him killed off – he didn’t know what was going to happen on the third day.  Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!  The one you think you’ve finally defeated, the one you think you have finally killed...He is now with God Almighty in heaven.  Incredible!

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great amazement; just kind of dumbfounded.  Just like I was mentioning a while ago, to think what’s been done, the magnitude of it, worldwide, is so incredible.  And my Bible actually says ‘admiration’; it’s not admiration as in looking up to it and thinking, “Oh this is beautiful, this is good.”  That’s not what the word means.  It’s more of a matter of amazement, dumbfoundment, if you will, of what took place.

And the angel said unto me, why do you marvel?  I will tell you the mystery of the woman and the beast who carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.  So here is this system, this being, this which he has brought about, masterfully so, through time, and that which he gets to work with more at the end of the age, because he has been given the power, the ability to know that within this system, the Roman system, because there were other things happening within the Roman Empire before what began to take place with the church as a mixture in it as well.  He worked with all those things through time and this is what develops through time then, that which finally injects the church into the system and seven revivals of something that will take place then in time, because now it’s injected the church, real strong injection if you will, of something that is spiritual in nature, a Catholic church and the power that it has within this system of government on the earth.

It’s kind of interesting...  There is a letter written with the title ‘The Declaration of Arbroath 1320’ – it’s from Scotland, back in the 1320’s, sent to the Catholic church.  My wife was reading it and talking to me about parts of it as she was going through it and talking about how that it’s almost written in a - and that’s 1320’s - basically that was the church.  This is before the Protestant Reformation began. This is before Luther did his tacking on the door.  We go back in time here and the problems between what we would refer to as the North and the South in the states, still the north and the south here in the UK ...and the problems going on between England, basically, and Scotland at that time, and she talked about the terminology.  She said, “It’s almost as though it’s written that they’re talking to God.”  Because that’s how the pope was treated.  It’s almost with that kind of awe and respect – some awesome things that were written there – but still written in those kinds of terms, as something that’s hard for us to grasp; but written in the terms because a pope is what?  The victor of Christ?  ...stands in the place of God, basically, on earth, I guess?  ...is basically how he’s supposed to be treated and respected and so forth.  Anyway here, that power then was in this Roman system.  Awesome what took place!  And this working of what he worked for for so long to accomplish, to fight against God, to work against God, because he hasn’t understood what God was doing.

Satan hasn’t understood about the 144,000 until recent time.  He hasn’t understood.  He knows what’s written here but he doesn’t understand it!  There are theologians who study this inside and out and they don’t get it, they don’t understand it, and they can believe their twisted ideas and work them into what they’re reading!  God has allowed for that in scripture!  And the same thing is true here.  This being hasn’t comprehended so much of what God is doing even for the Church.

Understand that his battle has always been to fight against God, to fight against God’s purpose. He has known about the Family, what God’s purpose is and what God has said, and he has fought against that.  And so feeling he’s winning some great victories through time... the Holy Roman Empire, he has this church now and it’s doing what it’s doing, and even killing, martyring (if you will), people who do have some of this belief in different areas of the world.  Things are going great for him in his mind.  He’s got a perverted, distorted mind in these things all the way up to the end-time here.  Incredible what has taken place.  And so that’s what it’s been referring to here.

....the beast that carried her, which has the seven heads... So again, it’s this whole system that he’s brought about in time.

Verse 8 - The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, out of this abyss again, going back to what we read earlier in chapter 9, the same abyss.  It’s his home, it’s his place of restraint.  It depicts in God’s terms his confinement, but he has those times he’s able to come out of it and do the damage he’s going to do when it’s given to him to do so, when he is allowed, given the power to do what he is going to do and must accomplish.  Just like this last time; some of the work has already begun.  He hasn’t done his greatest part yet until these ten nations come together in agreement, then that’s some of his greatest right there, and then what he’s doing and already working with out of China and Russia, and then when he accomplishes that to destroy parts of the earth like he’s going to do through technology this time.  He’s never been able to destroy the earth like he did that one time, but he’s working toward it one more time.  He’d like to see a world war.  He’d like to see mankind annihilate himself, and so he’s going all out for as much as he can accomplish while he can.  It’s his mind.  And if God didn’t cut it short that’s what would happen, a different way this time but all life wiped off the earth – if God didn’t intervene.  That’s what God says.

The beast that you saw, was – he’s always been around the earth. He’s always been here.  The system is there now, and speaking more of that if you will now too because it’s a system that’s set up there so it’s really prophetically more about that as far as the end-time and the seven revivals.  The beast that you saw, was and is not; so it’s had its revivals, but at this point now it says, ‘and is not’, and shall ascend, because it’s leading up to the end-time, it’s leading up to telling a story here about those ten nations and so forth and when it comes on the scene one more time.  So right at this point it is not.

... and go into perdition:...shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition/into destruction: that’s what’s awaiting him and he goes out to destroy as well, but that’s what’s awaiting him; and they who dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they beheld the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

And so we picked up on verse 9 there and we’ll probably come back and finish up some more of this but I’m going to go ahead and conclude here today; maybe come back to some more of this later on here, the rest of what it says here in the chapter.

But again, awesome what’s taking place here because of everything you see coming together – put this together with what we talked about earlier – this is what you’re seeing in the news.  And I truly am dumbfounded by what I’ve seen in the last two weeks, and actually a little bit longer. Almost everything you hear now, everything you listen to, almost every day you can hear things that have to do with these nations, and especially in Europe here, especially maybe by being here, hearing the news happening at this particular time has even meant more because of different ones who actually oppose some of the things that are taking place, who don’t want to be a part of it and are saying things. When it’s all said and done it can easily become a part of it.

Awesome what you’re able to watch and witness come together, to realize indeed time marches on and we’re drawing so much closer to the time we’ve been talking about.  I encourage you to pray that God continue to grant you mercy and grant you time as to ever how much time you can have to continue on the way we are now.  But when it’s time it will take place regardless.

~~~end

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15016554

2. http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/world-must-cut-deficits-not-relychina-wen/449211/

3. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/erdogan-israel-s-mentality-is-a-barrier-to-mideast-peace-1.384222

4. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6006de50-e061-11e0-ba12-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Z09i53pP

5. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2041201/George-Osbornes-eurozone-crisis-warning-6-weeks-save-euro.html

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