Time is Running Out!

CONTAINMENT! II

(Time is Running Out!)



In the book Omega by Lewis R.Walton is presented the mystery of the Alpha and Omega symbols which have enraptured many Adventists. They wanted to figure out what was the mystery behind the Omega symbol which represents what will happen to the world and church at the end of time. That book delved into the issues that took place at the turn of the century in the Adventist Church and in the world at large with the object to show how that basic history is mysteriously being repeated today as the end draws near.

The author first points out that the turn of the century was one of the most prosperous times our nation has ever had. He demonstrated how people were able to travel almost anywhere with scarcely the need of a passport. Both Russia and China were open to the Gospel with the special messages of Adventism. The author then quoted important and influential people who were remarking about the great peace and prosperity that existed during that time, but then had to center upon a shocker:

"One of the few dissenting voices came from a little 72-year-old lady who happened, this January 1, to be in New South Wales, Australia. For several years Ellen White had been speaking more and more pointedly about some great catastrophe soon to befall the world, and though her remarks seemed generally out of fashion with her times, she held to them with a persistence that demanded notice.

"Soon there will be death and destruction, increasing crime, and cruel evil working against the rich who have exalted themselves against the poor. Those who are without God's protection will find no safety in any place or position. Human agents are being trained and are using their inventive power to put in operation the most powerful machinery to wound and to kill. . . . Let the means and the workers be scattered." -- 8T p. 50.

"No one could possibly have known it that New Year's morning (1900), but Mrs. White's predictions were on the threshold of fulfillment. That very month Lenin would be released from Siberian detention and would race across Russia toward the safety of Western Europe. England, France, and Russia, concerned about the emerging German alliance, were bolstering something called the Triple entente. And in Zurich, a young college student named Albert Einstein was already writing strange formulas and wondering about the possibility of turning matter into energy. - Omega, p. 9, 10.


The whole essence of what was being brought out was that while they were enjoying the peace and prosperity, things were happening behind closed doors that they did not realize. He was portraying that there was a race to spread their message before things would close up. In the meantime people were planning war and amassing to themselves power with weapons of destruction. The stakes were the lives of human beings. Here is a portion of what was stated:

"Fourteen years had passed since that bright January morning at the dawn of a new century, when the world stood ready and the Advent message had a chance to go in the sunlight. Now the day was over, its last shadows about to be drawn tight by a 19-year-old Serbian nationalist with a pistol. In the Bosnian town of Sarajevo, a confused chauffeur made a wrong turn and drove his open limousine down a crowded street. Behind him, sheltered by a parasol from the intense summer sun, sat a royal couple whose life had been a classic love story and for whom this day was their fourteenth anniversary. For a moment the chauffeur hesitated, then tried to turn the car around, and as he did so, two shots rang out. Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife slumped in the seat; and the long day of opportunity was over. The first shots of World War I had been fired. From now on the church would have to work in a world descending into darkness." - Omega, p. 88.

The omega: a mysterious danger that waits for the church at the end of time. Ellen White saw it and "trembled for our people." And she left behind for us a legacy of hope to carry into that great challenge. - Omega, p. 86.

In all of this, the implications went beyond the church into governments and the military. The ending was great destruction to seal off those who did not receive the message or heed the warnings: those who lived in countries that then became Communist. The author continues:

"Nineteen fourteen. God's people have lived for fourteen years in the sunlight of earth's last summer day. Now the sky darkens with the first of autumn's storms. Across the vulnerable plains of Belgium comes the rumble of heavy artillery being moved, a sweeping cloud of dust, an endless line of gray uniforms that identifies General Karl von Bulow's Second Army. In Berlin exuberant troops parade for the last time down the brick streets; and young woman in a frilly white blouse breaks into their ranks, locks arms with a soldier, and marches with them. A few steps behind, a well-dressed businessman does the same, carrying a soldier's gun-smiling faces headed sightlessly into the terrible midnight of the Marne and Verdun, into a nightmare never seen before except by a little lady who, years before, had pleaded with her church for action." - Omega p. 92, 93. Then read her warning again above from 8T p. 50.

The church did not get the message out it in time, and soon a great portion of the world became closed to the Gospel by becoming Communist nations. The eternal lives of millions of people living in these countries were sacrificed in consequence. The church delayed until their very messages were closed down and could not reach anyone in those vital areas. During those times of peace, weapons of destruction were being prepared. We are being told that the same thing will be repeated, but with far more frightening consequences that will effect THE ENTIRE GLOBE!

Are you observing events related to Communist China? Are you understanding the great cooperation she is receiving from even our national leaders with the military secrets she is receiving, the vital land and property she is acquiring and all? Are you watching the course of events being covered over by the supposed economic prosperity we are presently enjoying? They have our nuclear secrets now! Just what was the meaning then of that crucial statement by Ellen White which said:

"Last Friday morning, just before I awoke, a very impressive scene was presented before me. I seemed to awake from sleep, but was not in my home. From the windows I could behold a terrible conflagration. Great balls of fire were falling upon houses, and from these balls fiery arrows were flying in every direction. It was impossible to check the fires that were kindled, and many places were being destroyed. The terror of the people was indescribable." -- Evangelism, p. 29 (1906)

The first chapter of The Great Controversy is mind boggling! That chapter deals specifically with what Jesus said about the destruction that was to befall Jerusalem in Matthew 24, AND THEN SHOWS ITS FULFILLMENT IN A MUCH MORE HORRIFYING MANNER UPON US AND OUR MAJOR CITIES IN OUR DAY! Ellen White goes graphically into what took place in A.D. 70. She showed the horror, the famine, the violence, the sorrow and carnage that destroyed Jerusalem. In that chapter is given us symbols and more than whispered suggestions dealing with the flight we MUST make, and how the early Christians were already prepared to flee to a place specially prepared before hand where they would find safety. That is what we are supposed to be doing. Although this place of safety we must prepare will ultimately be temporary, it will still do its work and many will be blessed because of our example.


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