From: Francis Harper
wbfrmsup@iowatelecom.net
Francis Harper Message for 3/27/2020
“Look Up; Lift Up Your Heads”
And then his disciples asked him, saying, “Master, tell us concerning thy coming? And he answered them . . . there shall be upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity . . . Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth . . . And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for the day of your redemption draweth nigh. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory” (Luke 21:24-28).
This scripture seems to be saying the present Corona virus is good news for those who know Jesus, because it is a sign that Jesus is coming soon.
For those who do not know Jesus this is bad news unless they quickly recognize “the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation [or damnation] nearer than when we believed [or disbelieved]. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantoness, not in strife and envying. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to gratify the lusts thereof”
(Romans 13: 11-14).
We, the followers of Jesus, need to be warning our friends and loved ones of the good news, bad news, scenarios immediately ahead of us. We are quite likely witnessing the fulfillment of the prophetic words of Jesus on our television screens, as we witness in living color the distress of nations with perplexity and men’s hearts failing them for fear, resulting from the Corona virus.
Those who know Jesus can lift up their heads and rejoice, when they see the fulfillment of his words, because they know their deliverance is nigh. But those who know not Jesus will be filled with fear at the sight of the things we are witnessing today, which will likely continue to come as birth pangs suddenly come upon a woman with increasing frequency and intensity.
“. . . for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty . . . And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light (due to smoke or ash?); the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity . . . I will be merciful unto my people, but the wicked shall perish” (Isaiah 13:6-11, 22).
“For as it was in the days of Noah; so shall it also be in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that day, the disciple who shall be on the house top, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away; and he who is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:26-32).
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Dear Ones,
Upon several occasions the Lord has given me evidences that his end-time prophesies are being, or soon will be, fulfilled. I selected the prophecy given by Jesus which is recorded in Luke 21:24-28 to quote at the beginning of this week’s message: “. . . his disciples asked him, saying Master, tell us concerning the time of thy coming? And he answered . . . there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity . . . men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. . . . And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for the day of your redemption draweth nigh.” Shortly after I had selected this scripture, a neighbor excitedly came to share the same passage of scripture with me! He was a second witness that this prophecy is being fulfilled today.
I had an unusual dream in the early morning hours of Sunday October 17, 2013. In my dream I was working on the farm with others, to accomplish a very necessary task, when it became dark, even though it was only midday. I believe this was a warning that the great day of the Lord is near. “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in a clear day” (Amos 8:9). “. . . the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine” (Isaiah 13:10). “The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble; the sun and moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining” (Joel 2:10, 31, 3:15).
The conditions described in the scriptures quoted above happened in the Western Hemisphere just before the appearance of Jesus in Meso-America: “And there was also a great and terrible tempest . . . insomuch that it did shake the whole earth . . . and it came to pass there was thick darkness . . . and there could be no light seen . . . great were the groanings of the people saying, O that we had repented before this great and terrible day” (3 Nephi 4:7-23). Similar conditions are likely to happen again before the Lord’s Second Coming.
On March 22, 2014, Brian Herren, Travis Clark and myself left on the 13th mission to Nepal and Northeast India. We departed in the late afternoon for an overnight flight to Paris arriving there after sunrise on March 23. Near noon we left Paris on a direct flight to New Delhi, India, arriving there near midnight of the same day. As we left Paris, the clouds were broken, and having a window seat, I caught glimpses of the Seine River and the City of Lights. Climbing higher, as we crossed Europe, the clouds thickened and the earth was quickly obscured from view. Being unable to see anything of interest below, I closed my eyes for a much needed rest.
A few hours later, I was suddenly awakened. The sky had cleared, and framed by the window at which I was seated, was a beautiful snow-capped mountain. It was Mount Ararat! It is easily identified by Little Ararat which stands nearby. I had first witnessed these mountains in the summer of 1991, when I traveled to Eastern Turkey to study the landing site of Noah’s Ark.
It was obvious the Lord had arranged this precious experience for me. There are three reasons for believing this: 1) the Lord had provided a window seat for me, which I had not requested, 2) the Lord had placed me on the side of the aircraft facing Ararat and 3) He had awakened me in precise timing to enjoy the sight of one of the most famous mountains in the world! I was anxious to share this experience with my fellow travelers. I rushed to their section of the aircraft to summon them to come and see. Both men were sleeping. I quickly aroused Brian, and he became a second witness of this sacred scene.
As I pondered upon this experience and its significance. I recalled that the Ark of Noah was designed as a type and shadow of the days in which we are living. We who live today are being warned that God “will not always strive with man” (2 Nephi 11:76), and we are being called to repent and change our ways lest we perish, as did the people in the days of Noah. Our Father in Heaven has prepared a way of deliverance for us as he did for Noah and his family. Jesus is our Ark. We have been reminded again: “As it was in the days of Noah; so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man” (Luke 17:26). His coming is near.
My Love to All,
High Priest Francis Harper
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