Lesson I
During the month of October,
for as many years as I can remember, our Western World has been occupied with
Baseball’s “World
Series”. Such names as Babe Ruth,
Carl Hubble and School-Boy Rowe come to mind as I write. However, there is another World Series of
far greater importance.
The Scriptures teach that
there is a coming World-Tribulation. So
serious will this period of time be that it will demand a World Government to endeavour to control the problems that will arise. Such a World Government will need and demand
a World
Leader. And in order to produce
the unity that will be needed there must arise a
WORLD
TRIBULATION
Deuteronomy 4:30
(30) When thou
art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, [even] in the
latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt
be obedient unto his voice;
In Deuteronomy 4:30, Moses
was the first to write that Israel would be in “tribulation in the latter
days”.
Daniel 12:1
(1) And at that
time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth
for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as
never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time
thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the
book.
Daniel 12:1 says to and of
Israel, “A time of trouble such as was not since there was a
nation.”
Matthew 24:21-22
(21) For then
shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to
this time, no, nor ever shall be.
(22) And except
those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the
elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Then in Matthew 24:21 Jesus
said, “For there shall be great tribulation such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be.” Matthew 24:22 Jesus also said, “Except those
days should be shortened no flesh should be saved.”
Matthew 24:29-30
(29) Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers
of the heavens shall be shaken:
(30) And then
shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son
of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And then in Matthew
24:29-30, Jesus stated, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,”
He would return in power and great glory.
Therefore, this tribulation is not yet a part of history.
We believe that the shadows
of such a time of trouble are appearing.
By way of example, in 1979 the world’s population was only 3
billion. In 1999, the population reached
some 6 billion. The greater the
population: the more rapid the increase.
And this one example alone spells out great trouble ahead. “As population increases, problems
increase.” It does not take much faith
to believe that World Tribulation is coming.
WORLD
GOVERNMENT
Twenty-five years ago a
paper headline stated, “World Government is needed. Our irrational greed will lead to world
crisis. World Government is the answer to this senseless chaos”. Said Arthur Campton: “World Government has become inevitable”.
Another, “The only alternative to world war is world law. We can only get world law by establishing
world government.” Albert Einstein said,
“I believe that world government is certain to come in time.”
The Image described in
Daniel chapter two was a prediction of five world governments. Four of these
have already come and gone. Only one
remains to appear. In modern history men
like Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin have attempted to establish world government
but have failed. What they did was but a
shadow of what is ahead. According to the Scriptures, World Government will come.
WORLD
LEADER
A world government will
demand a world leader. The Bible calls
this one Anti-Christ. He is fully described in Revelation chapter 13. In 1 John 2:18, John writes “Little children,
it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come,
even now there are many antichrists; whereby we know it is the last time.”
By the Coming of Christ the
first time, the announcement was made to the world that the last time was soon
to come. And although there were and are
many antichrists the Scriptures are clear, the antichrist will be here to be
destroyed by the Second Coming of Christ (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
2 Thessalonians
2:8
(8) And then
shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
WORLD
CHURCH
Revelation 17:1,5
(1) And there
came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me,
saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee
the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon
many waters:
(5) And upon her
forehead was a name written, MYSTERY,
The world is, and will
increasingly be, crying for peace.
Having been deceived into believing that all wars have been caused by
“religion” and chiefly by “Christianity”, a move towards a world religion will
be looked upon as a necessity for peace.
And as the true Church is described in the Bible as the “Bride of
Christ”, the false church is described as the “great whore” (Revelation 17:1)
and “MYSTERY,
Revelation 17: 9,18
(9) And here [is]
the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the
woman sitteth.
(18) And the
woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
Anyone who is observing the
current trends should be able to see that Churchianity
is rapidly moving to one Church for one world.
Revelation 17: 9,18 reveal this universal
church will be located in
WORLD
WAR
Revelation 16:14,16
(14) For they are
the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the
earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of
God Almighty.
(16) And he
gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
But this World Church will
not be the answer to the world’s problems.
The Prophets declare and John in the Revelation describes the war of all
wars that is yet to come. Revelation
WORLD
PEACE
Zechariah 14:1-9
(1) Behold, the
day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
(2) For I will
gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken,
and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go
forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from
the city.
(3) Then shall
the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the
day of battle.
(4)And his feet
shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on
the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the
east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of
the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
(5) And ye shall
flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall
reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled
from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king
of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
(6) And it shall
come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor
dark:
(7) But it shall
be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall
come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
(8) And it shall
be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them
toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in
winter shall it be.
(9) And the LORD
shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his
name one.
Revelation 11:15
(15) And the
seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our
Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever
and ever.
Zechariah 9:9
(9) Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of
(10) And I will
cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle
bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his
dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of
the earth.
The Prophet Zechariah fills
in the picture in chapter 14:1-9. The
Nations gather against the Jews in Jerusalem and about to be destroyed, the
Lord comes to their rescue and to “fight against those nations.” And at that time His feet will again touch
the Mount of Olives. “And the Lord shall
be king over all the earth” (verse 9).
Then, the peace, for which the world has longed, will come when “the
kingdoms of this world become the Kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ”
(Revelation 11:15). Zechariah 9:9 speaks
of the One who rode into Jerusalem on an ass and in verse 10 continues, “And I
will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the
battle bow shall be cut off: and He shall speak peace unto the heathen:
and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even unto
the ends of the earth”.
Even so come, Lord Jesus!