From: Jan Griffith
The Church & Israel (Intro to 7-part series)
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many; he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true; wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.” (Daniel 8)
I believe this king “who understands dark sentences” will present himself some time in this generation. We may have another decade or two, but with the way things are going I doubt it. This king was foretold not only by the holy prophets (like Daniel) but by the unholy also (like Albert Pike). Pike’s plan for three world wars included a social cataclysm prior to his appearance, and right now the whole world is starting to feel that cataclysm.
A note to my Book of Mormon friends: We are not wrong to think that the “great and abominable church” refers to the Catholic institution (1 Ne 3:131). The reformers knew this before we did, and many of them lost their lives warning about the pope’s infallible position, not only for their day, but ours too. Many have likewise lost their lives and livelihoods trying to expose the Protocols of Zion which further reveals the plan—that the Catholic Church will suffer its own latter-day social cataclysm until “a different kind of pope” saves it from itself. What does that mean, a different kind of pope? According to the Protocols he will represent a Judaic or Kabbalist or Talmudic religion, one that satisfies all religions, including lukewarm Christianity.
But there are two beasts in Revelation chapter 13, and though scripture speaks of a mother, the great and abominable church is bigger than just one institution. The delusion is Masonic and Judaic after the order of King Solomon, and seeks to imitate and counterfeit the fullness of the gospel. For example, Occultists/Gnostics believe Adam was called Adam-Kadmon who was neither male nor female. Their “androgenous” interpretation counterfeits even the Old King James Version’s account of God’s spiritual creation (Genesis 1:27, 2:5, 5:2). In their interpretation of the Fall, Adam did not fall into sin, but was instead trapped into matter (flesh). In other words God (the bad guy) tricked him, and then Lucifer (the good co-creator guy) lured him to eat the forbidden fruit so he could live forever and return to his immortal state. So close yet so far. And somewhere out there is a “king” who understands these “dark sentences” and is waiting to “scripturally” impress us with them.
“Strange and mysterious name to give to the spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish souls? Doubt it not!” (Morals & Dogma, Albert Pike)
"We shall unleash the Nihilists and Atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will be from that moment without compass (direction), anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view, a manifestation which will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time." (Three World Wars, Albert Pike)
According to Masonry, the light of Lucifer (knowledge) is given one degree at a time. At its highest degrees (which rites of passage require wicked sacrifices—Ephesians 5:12), the initiate is endowed with certain keys, or knowledge, which awards him power even (so I’m told) along the lines of Harry Potter. Magic, miracles, signs, and wonders. Where have we heard that before?
“Yea, the Lord, even Jesus, whose coming is not until after there cometh a falling away, by the working of Satan with all power, and signs and lying wonders.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” (Revelation 13:14)
Several weeks ago I had a conversation with my long-time Baptist friend who mentioned the state of Israel and her hope for a rapture. Her comments made me think of a 7-part DVD series I’d purchased several years ago (but never had time to view) called The Church & Israel. Chuck Baldwin was the Baptist preacher who put the series together, and though I hadn’t yet watched it, I knew he had experienced a spiritual transformation which led him to record the sermon-series for others’ benefit. I also knew that his spiritual awakening was similar to my own, and that God had aroused him to the latter day delusions even to the extent he lost some of his congregation. Chuck Baldwin is a gifted speaker who knows scripture very well, and on top of that he was once the Constitution Party’s candidate for the President of the United States. In some ways he reminds me of Saul who became Paul, a man who knew the words of God, yet didn’t really know them until he was blinded on the road to Damascus. Like Saul who became Paul, God humbled Pastor Baldwin to the ground.
And I can relate.
Most of you have heard how God awakened me also, even to the same latter-day delusions, and gave me a strong testimony against them. As I said to my Baptist friend, this isn’t about a rapture, or even the timing of rapture, or what the rapture represents. This is about what all the prophets, including Jesus himself, foretold about the latter days, about the events that would precede his return, about the things we are witnessing right here, right now. Paul called it a time when the church would “fall away” meaning it would enter into apostasy. Apostasy means a defection, or in other words, an abandonment or departure from the true faith. The world cannot fall into apostasy because the world never had the true faith to begin with. According to Paul, and others, a strong delusion would deceive the church, right along with the rest of the world. And this deception would be far greater than just the preaching of “Love thy neighbor, get vaccinated!” though hearing this from the pulpits reveals the extent to which the churches have apostatized.
“And Jesus said unto them, ‘Take heed that no man deceive you.’” (Matthew 24:4)
“And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11)
“Take heed that ye be not deceived.” (Luke 21:8)
“Be not deceived.” (1 Corinthians 6:9; 15:33; Galatians 6:7)
“Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13)
“There shall be murders and robbing, and lying, and deceiving.” (Mormon 4:39)
“There should not any come, save it should be a false Messiah which should deceive the people. (2 Nephi 11:33)
“Wherefore be not deceived.” (Sec 49:4b)
After that conversation with my Baptist friend I went looking for the 7-part series and discovered it was no longer for sale on Chuck’s website. Because I didn’t want to send her my own DVDs without first previewing them, I took the time to hear them. And that’s when I realized they needed to be shared with more than just my Baptist friend. This was not a series about secret combinations. This was a Bible study with some deep looks into the books of Genesis, Hebrews, Acts, Galatians, Romans, and more. What a blessing as he has a gift of making even the hardest subjects simple and interesting. Through the years I have written many e-mails, and papers, and Word studies on these subjects and this series was like a summarization of my work. What God revealed to him is what God revealed to me also—every scripture, every verse, our understandings are the same. No one taught me these things, I was taught from on high. Thankfully, I was able to find his 7-part series on-line so I could share it, not just with my friend, but with all of you.
For my friends in the restoration, we are blessed to have even more witnesses of these truths, but our extra witnesses will avail us nothing if our interpretations are like those of the great and abominable church.
PREREQUISITE:
The following interview of Chuck Baldwin by Steve Ben-Nun from Israeli News Live is what I first sent to my Baptist friend. It is a must hear as Chuck bears his testimony in it, which sets the stage for his series.
Stay tuned for Part 1 of the 7-part series. I’ll share my notes also, so you can compare my thoughts with his. It will be a feast of fat things.
Love,
Jan
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