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We used to be called The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As a people, we used to believe that we were living in the Latter Days. We still might believe in this part, but is there Scripture to support this belief? Have prophecies been given to us in the past, to help us understand this today. Especially at a time when the manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit are seemingly lacking in Christ's Church today. Do we know that these times truly are the Latter days? The answer is emphatically, YES! Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, until he revealeth the
secret unto his servants the prophets. II Nephi 11:15 And as one generation hath been destroyed among the Jews, because of iniquity, even so have they been destroyed from generation to generation, according to their iniquities; And never hath any of them been destroyed, save it were foretold them by the prophets of the Lord. But one could foolishly argue, God didn't speak to people in the past about today's event. Otherwise God would have warned the Jewish people about the Holocaust, and they would have been saved. My reply would still remain the same: II Nephi 11:15 And as one generation hath been destroyed among the Jews, because of iniquity, even so have they been destroyed from generation to generation, according to their iniquities; And never hath any of them been destroyed, save it were foretold them by the prophets of the Lord. God did warn the Jewish people about the up coming Holocaust, just as He has told us today about the times we are living in ourselves. God gives us warnings today. The question placed before us today is: will we heed His warnings that He has given unto us today? Or, will we live our lives in arrogance by remaining in our sinful state, as did the House of Israel, and be destroyed in the days that lie ahead? There is still time to save us, if we will but return to God and repent. How do we know that these truly are the latter days? And, how did God warn the Jews about the Holocaust? Deuteronomy 31:27-29 For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck; behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death? Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands. Jeremiah 30:6-7 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with
child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in
travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so
that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be
saved out of it. My grandfather's testimony to me throughout all of my life has been that the Jewish Holocaust fulfilled the Abomination of Desolation of Daniel. Why should we care about the Abomination of Desolation of Daniel? This sign is important to understand, and to accurately recognize. For, it is the sign given by God, for us to know when the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would be. Read completely the following: 24th Chapter of Matthew, the 13th Chapter of Mark, and the 21st Chapter of the Book of Luke. But, briefly consider the following verses: Daniel 7:11,13 I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Mark 13:14 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoked of by Daniel the prophet concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, then ye shall stand in the holy place. (Whoso readeth let him understand.) -gathering will be see also 13:31 Mark 13:20-23 For then, in those days, shall be great tribulation on the Jews, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; such as was not before sent upon Israel, of God, since the beginning of their kingdom, (for it is written their enemies shall scatter them,) until this time; no, nor ever shall be sent again upon Israel.All these things are the beginnings of sorrows.And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake, according to the covenant, those days shall be shortened. Behold these things I have spoken unto you concerning the Jews. Mark 13:36 And again this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in
all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come, or
the destruction of the wicked. Mark 13:37-43 And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled. And immediately after the
tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven
shall be shaken. Verily I say unto you, This generation in which these things
shall be shown forth, shall not pass away till all I have told you shall be
fulfilled. Although the days will come that heaven and earth shall pass away,
yet my words shall not pass away, but all shall be fulfilled. And as I said
before, After the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall
be shaken, 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 whoso treasureth up my word shall not be
deceived. So, where is the prophecy of the Holocaust in the Bible? You'll find it primarily in the Eleventh Chapter of the Book of Daniel, beginning at the 21st verse. But consider the following excerpts from the 7th, 8th , and 11th Chapters of Daniel: Daniel 11:21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom; but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. (The rise of Adolf Hitler.) Daniel 11:24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; (retaking of the Saar basin) Daniel 11:30-31 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant; so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. (Chittim is an archaic term for Cyprus; a British air and naval base in WW II.) Daniel 11:36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that that is determined shall be done. (The indignation of God against the covenant people for breaking the covenant.) Daniel 11:38 But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Daniel 11:41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. (Hitler had political allies in the land of Palestine, the "glorious land," during WW II.) Daniel 11:42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape (Rommell came within 60 miles of the Nile in his conquest of North Africa.). Daniel 11:43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. (The countries of Libya and Ethiopia, had been previously conquered by the Italians in the previous 30 years. They did not need to be conquered. They were already on his side, as being part of the Tri-Partite Pact - "They were at his steps!") Daniel 11:44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. (The trouble for Hitler that came out of the Russian front - east and north of Germany.) Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people (King Michael of Rumania led a coup and retook control of the government in August 1944; stooping the further exportation of Jews to the death camps. And, changing the countries allegiance from the Tripartite Pact, with the Nazis, to join the Romanian forces with the Allies.) Daniel 12:1 and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time (there was never a greater trouble in world history from the time of D-day in June 1944, until the time that Japan surrendered August 1945) ; and at that time thy people shall be delivered (The Jews were freed from the death camps - read the 30th through 32nd Chapters of Jeremiah, and Zecharaih 13:8-9.) Daniel 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots (See the discussion of the ten kings); and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. Daniel 7:11-13 I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. (Recall the death of Hitler. He committed suicide, and his body was burned in a bomb crater. Remember Daniel 8:25 "broken without hand.") Daniel 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. ( See also: Daniel 7:25) Daniel 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. (December 19, 1941 to June 30, 1945) Daniel 12:12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. (December 19, 1941 through August 14, 1945 - the day that Japan surrendered signifying the end of WW II) Daniel 8:13-14 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. (December 19, 1941 through May 7, 1948 - the day that Israel celebrates their independence as a nation) Daniel 8:17 So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face; but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for at the time of the end shall be the vision. (The vision would take place in the latter days) Daniel 7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. Daniel 7:13-14 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of
the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall
serve and obey him. But, some of you may be already Daniel "experts" and you say: "But what about those Ten Kingdoms who come out of the fourth Beast, what do they represent?" These Ten Kingdoms are important, for they give us a confirmation that the above is true. And, understanding the identity of these Ten Kingdoms gives us understanding of God's purpose for us in these the latter days. Daniel, in Chapter Seven, saw four great beasts come in succession out of the great sea. These four beasts indicate the four great world-power kingdoms, that would prospectively arise, that were each to have dominion over Israel. The separate beasts demonstrate four completely separate geographic regions of the world wherein each kingdom was to reside. They were Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The fourth beast - the Roman Empire - was very different from the first three beasts, and it had ten horns. Daniel 7:7-8 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots; and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. Because of this, Daniel kept watching till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. The other three beasts continued living for a while, but lost all authority. [The authority or dominion that these world-power nations lost, was not their ability to physically exist, for these regions of the world are still in existence today. But rather, they lost their God given dominion over the covenant people of God, whereby the Gentiles had placed the Jewish people into bondage and captivity.] During his vision, Daniel asked a personage near by while it all proceeded: "What does all of this mean?" So the personage explained it all to Daniel. The four beasts would represent four kings [or kingdoms] who would arise - but God's people would inherit earth's kingdom, and keep possession of it forever. The reference here being to the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, which occurs after the end of Gentile dominion. Ezekiel 37:21-25 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither
they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own
land; And I will make them one
nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to
them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided
into two kingdoms anymore at all; Neither
shall they defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable
things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all
their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them; so shall
they be my people, and I will be their God. And
David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd;
they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I
have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they
shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's
children forever; and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Micah 4:6-8 In that
day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her
that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that
halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation; and the Lord
shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. And thou, O
tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it
come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of
Jerusalem. Then Daniel asked: "But what about the fourth beast, and the ten horns, and the other which came up, and before whom three fell, and which made war with the saints, and overcame them?" The personage replied as follows: "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth. It shall be very different and shall conquer the whole earth. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be different from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against God, and shall wear out God's saints, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall taken away his dominion, to consume and destroy it unto the end. And God's kingdom shall be given to His people forever!" Daniel was greatly worried about it but told no one. Historically, the Roman Empire, prior to the fall of Rome in 476 AD, was divided into two portions by the Adriatic Sea: the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Western Roman Empire. In the years from 1933 to 1945, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler welded an empire in Europe and North Africa, part of which consists of the same territory comprised by the true extent of the Roman Empire [not including all it's territories]. Ten modern-day countries [at the time of W.W.II] comprised the same territory as did the true extent of the Roman Empire. Five of these countries were located in the Western Roman Empire: France, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Italy. Five were in the Eastern part of the original Roman Empire: Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Hungary. Thereby also thus fulfilling Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a statue, which has ten toes at the bottom of that "man made" image, which has ten toes! Five toes belong to one leg, one half of the Roman Empire; and five toes belong to the other half. The French in Paris and the northern part of France resisted the Nazi conquest of France, despite the setting up by the Nazis of the Vichy Government of France [in Vichy] under Marshal Henri Philipp Petain on June 21, 1940. Southern Yugoslavia, especially the Serbs, resisted as the Nazis conquered their country, and despite the fact that the Nazis set up the Independent Government of Croatia on April 17, 1941, under Fascist Utasi Leader Ante Pavelic, at Zagreb. The Italian Government, after Mussolini was deposed, resisted, and the Nazis then conquered Italy, was set up the Fascist Republican Government of Italy on September 15, 1943 under Il Duce Benito Mussolini at Salo. The conquest of France brought Hitler and the Nazis France's North African colonies of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Italy's conquest yielded Albania, through the additional exploits of Mussolini. So the conquest of three nations: France, Italy, and Yugoslavia.yielded a total of seven nations: France, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Italy, Albania, and Yugoslavia. The remaining three nations [of the total of ten modern-day nations comprising the territorial extent of the Roman Empire] voluntarily joined the Tripartite Pact, which already included Germany, Italy, and Japan as follows: Hungary on November 20, 1940, Rumania on November 22, 1940, and Bulgaria on March 1, 1941, Thus, Adolf Hitler (the Third Reich), is shown to be as a little horn, who comes up amongst the ten countries [Austria/Germany existing amongst the other ten European/North African nations], before whom three fell [France, Italy, and Yugoslavia] and the ten horns [countries] were used by Hitler to weld Europe's successor to the Roman Empire, the ten toe Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar's image. These Ten Kingdoms become the seventh head of the beast in Revelation 17. Revelation 17:10 And there are seven kings; five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. Revelation 17:12-13 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. Revelation 17:17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. These ten countries gave their power to the "little horn" described in Daniel 7:8 and 8:9-11, 23-25. Which "little horn" John described in Revelation 13:1 as being the "beast of the sea." Adolf Hitler and the German Third Reich were then the eighth beast seen by John in The Revelation, who is of the seventh, as the ten country kingdoms yielded-up their resources, to allow Hitler to exterminate the covenant people of God in the Holocaust [war against the Saints]. This kingdom then became the fifth world-empire, following Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. The Ten Kingdom Empire was symbolized in Nebuchadnezzar's dream by the ten toes of miry clay and iron that don't mix. It is a completely different world-power kingdom, as symbolized by different mineral content of the toes, just as gold, silver, brass, and iron designate different kingdoms in the rest of the statue. Yet, occurring in the same geographic region of the Roman Empire, since these same ten horns arise out of the fourth beast, that comes from the sea in Daniel's dream (Daniel 7:7). Therefore, it would not be expected to see that any of these ten countries would arise out of any other world-power kingdom; i.e., Babylon, Persia, or Greece. They must come out of the remnant of the Roman empire. Revelation
17:10-13 "And there are
seven kings, five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and
when he cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is
not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And
the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as
yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These shall have one
mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast." But how does knowledge of these facts help us
understand, that these are the latter days? Mark 13:39 "…this generation shall not pass
away…" - "this" (found in verse 30 in the KJV), comes from SC 3778 meaning this "self-same
generation" in which the abomination of desolation is made manifest. In
other words, there will be people who were born during the Holocaust, who will
be alive on the face of the earth, at the time of the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ. Consider the following Scriptural references as to the length of a
generation: Genesis 15:17; Psalm 90:10; Helaman 5:10-12; III Nephi 13:14. Daniel 2:34-35, 44 "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without
hands, which smote the image upon his feet…and the stone that smote the image
became a great mountain…And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed…and [it shall] consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." Only after the days of the Ten Kingdoms can God bring forth the
fullness of Zion (the mountain), which occurs after the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ (the rock - see Genesis 49:24, Exodus 15:16-18, and Deuteronomy 32:1-4).
But Zion doesn't come forth by the Gentiles. Zion is brought forth by the House
of Israel, only after Gentile dominion has ended, and dominion has returned back
unto the House of Israel. (Read again the Parable of the Olive tree in the 3rd
Chapter of Jacob from The Book of Mormon,
and the 11th Chapter of Romans.) This
church was never called to bring forth Zion in the past. Read carefully D&C
58:5a-c, and 64:6c. We were given the honor to "bear testimony of things
which are to come…laying the foundation, and of bearing record of the land
upon which the Zion of God shall stand…" Zion will be soon. The
destruction of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream by the stone, is symbolic of: §
The destruction of the Gentiles at
the Second Coming of Jesus Christ §
The end of physical Gentile
dominion - Jesus Christ isn't going to come back to this earth, and share his
power and glory with any earthly power or authority §
The fall of Babylon, after the
woman (the transformed Church) aligns herself with the beast (prophetic for
today), and is then ripe for destruction. Read carefully the following sections:
the 17th and 18th Chapters of Revelation, the 13th
and 47th Chapters of Isaiah, the 47th Chapter of Jeremiah. The
28th Chapter of Isaiah is prophetic for us today - "Woe to the
crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim…" Verse 5 "in that day
shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty unto
the residue of his people." The coming forth of the kingdom. Verse 21 - "For the Lord shall rise up as in mount
Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work,
his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act." What is this
strange act? It is: §
Gentile spiritual dominion coming
to an end, with the Lord coming as a thief in the night (See: Luke 21:23, Micah
4:6-8, Daniel 2:44, Luke 12:40-57). §
Fall of Babylon ( See again: Daniel
2:35, Jeremiah 51, Isaiah 13 and 47, Revelation 18) §
The gathering of all scattered
Israel and Judah - when God
remembers the covenant He made with Abraham §
The fulfillment of the Feast of
tabernacles with the coming forth of the Kingdom of God, Zion, here on the earth §
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
in His glory, to establish His Kingdom here on earth forever. Isaiah
refers to us as being both "Ephraim" and the "daughter of
Zion" today. Read again the desolation that will come upon the
"daughter of Zion" in Isaiah 3:16-27, and the captivity of the people
that dwell in Zion by the Assyrian in Isaiah 10:24-25. Recall why Israel
received desolation and destruction from the hand of the Lord. It was Israel's
idolatry and sin that brought upon her such destruction from the Lord. Then
consider why our church is in the state we're in today, and remember the words
of Christ in: III Nephi 7:34-38 … At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fullness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth… behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fullness of my gospel from among them; And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them; And I will shew unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you, but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fullness of my gospel. But if the Gentiles will repent, and return unto me, saith the Father, behold, they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel; |
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