The Signs of Jesus' Coming
...largely missed by a world that has rejected Him
AUG 4
Recently, the nation celebrated Independence Day. This is a time when the citizens pause to commemorate the birth of the greatest experiment in human civilization. Here’s how the birth certificate of that experiment partially reads: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ” (Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776).
But we are witnessing, just as the Bible predicted, the unravelling of the fabric of that experiment. As the foundation of western civilization, the Bible not only foretold the rise of the American Experiment; but also prophesied of it’s role in salvation history and its ultimate demise. The idea of America has attracted millions from around the world and has impacted more lives than any other system of government ever existed in the annals of human history. But, even as we celebrate that great idea, perhaps half of the population are advocating for its demise.
One obvious sign of the dissipation of the American Experiment is the recent ruling of the US Supreme Court making the president immune from prosecution for any criminal acts committed while in office. That ruling was in response to former president Donald Trump’s appeal to the highest court in the land claiming immunity from criminal prosecution for attempting to unlawfully and violently overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election which he knew he lost.
One of the dissenting justices concluded that the majority opinion has made the office of the presidency a seat of unbridled corruption. Justice Sotomayor, in her blazing dissent, declared: “The court effectively creates a law-free zone around the president, upsetting the status quo that has existed since the founding”. She concluded: “Today’s decision to grant former Presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the Presidency…It makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law.” The peaceful transfer of power after a presidential election and the idea that no man is above the law are foundational cornerstones of the American Experiment.
Highly respected Constitutional scholar and former federal judge, J. Michael Luttig, echoed Sotomayor’s cries: “This is indeed an historic day in constitutional history as well as for the nation and represents the unsouling of America…America’s democracy and rule of law are this country’s heart and soul”. He added: “Our democracy and the rule of law are what had made America the envy of the world and the beacon of freedom to the world for almost 250 years now. Today, the Supreme Court cut that heart and soul out of America…No longer can it be said that in America no man is above the law” (J. Michael Luttig, Huffington Post, July 2, 2024).
Quite interesting is that there is virtually no mention of the fact that the entirety of the justices making that preposterous ruling are Roman Catholics. Perhaps it’s not politically correct to report the obvious. The question to this writer’s mind is, was this ruling made for the advancement of Rome’s agenda which is antagonistic to the ideals of the American Republic?
Equally frightening as the high court’s decision is the advancement of Project 2025. This initiative is an extremely comprehensive collection of policy proposals compiled by over one hundred conservative, right wing organizations, including far right religious groups, designed exclusively as it clearly states, for the destruction of the Administrative state. Simply put, it is the game plan for elimination of the American Experiment as we know it. Talking about Project 2025, Roman Catholic Kevin Roberts, Opus Dei acolyte and president of the Heritage Foundation which spearheads the frontal attack on American Democracy, remarked: "In spite of all this nonsense from the left, we are going to win. We're in the process of taking this country back…We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless, if the left allows it to be." The question is, ‘taking us back to where?
These are very threatening words which seem to indicate that regardless of the official outcome of the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump [or his Roman Catholic successor, JD Vance] will be installed as the next president and first dictator of the land of the free and home of the brave; even if blood has to be spilled on the streets of America. That is truly revolutionary. It must be noted that this is the same Heritage Foundation which provided the six Roman Catholic Supreme Court Justices who eviscerated the nations birth certificate by paving the way for America to become persecuting autocracy. Roberts is also the one who led the charge for Vance to become Trump’s VP.
Deceptions Abound
These are very threatening words which seem to indicate that regardless of the official outcome of the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump [or his Roman Catholic successor, JD Vance] will be installed as the next president and first dictator of the land of the free and home of the brave; even if blood has to be spilled on the streets of America. That is truly revolutionary. It must be noted that this is the same Heritage Foundation which provided the six Roman Catholic Supreme Court Justices who eviscerated the nations birth certificate by paving the way for America to become persecuting autocracy. Roberts is also the one who led the charge for Vance to become Trump’s VP.
Deceptions Abound
When asked about the signs that would precede His return to planet earth, Jesus responded: “Take heed that no man deceive you” (Matthew 24:5). He went on: “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11). It was as if He wanted to impress upon their minds and ours today the magnanimous impact of deception that would engulf earth’s final generation.
Jesus reiterated: “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many…For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect: (Matthew 24: 24). The apostle Paul echoed his Savior’s sentiments: “ For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14).
Also, no one can deny that there is tremendous chaos and confusion in our country and in the world today. Just as Jesus had prophesied some two thousand years ago, there are wars and rumors of wars, cultural conflicts, natural disasters and incurable diseases. In a world characterized by uncertainty and disappointment, everyone is wondering: ‘Is there anyone or anything I can trust? The politicians are ever making promises that they never keep. The pastors and preachers continue to exhort theories and opinions that are totally contrary to, and absolutely refute the word of Almighty God, thereby deceiving their followers. This is not surprising since we were warned that the greatest sign of the end of the world would be deception.
One of the greatest deceptions widely promulgated by popular false prophets is that America is not in Bible prophecy. Indeed, that is the passionate cry of leading ministers and so-called apostles and prophets. Nevertheless, from those same lips come the fervent cries and aggressive efforts to return the nation back to its Christian roots. The reality, however, is that America was established as a secular republic of the people, by the people and for the people in which the majority rules with respect for minority rights. More importantly, it was established as a nation where religious practice was separate from state powers. The founders knew well of that poisonous concoction of church /state union.
Says one of the founders and recognized architect of the Bill of Rights: "In the Papal System, Government and Religion are in a manner consolidated, & that is found to be the worst of Govts. In most of the Govts. of the old world, the legal establishment of a particular religion and without or with very little toleration of others makes a part of the Political and Civil organization and there are few of the most enlightened judges who will maintain that the system has been favorable either to Religion or to Govt." (James Madison, Letter to Jasper Adams). Consequently, nowhere in the nation’s birth certificate nor its other founding documents can be found any notion of the establishment of a Christian nation. Christian Nationalism, just as the Bible predicted, will become a deadly deception that will lead only to national ruin.
The proponents of this dangerously deceptive construct of church/state union have mobilized into a mighty army of religious, political, military and financial regiments advocating for votes and bullets to bring the nation back to God. Though claiming that America is not in Bible prophecy, the generals of this movement fervently claim that their mandate is from God. The question is, however, if America is not mentioned in Bible prophecy, as they claim, then from whence come their mandate and fervent efforts to return it back to God?
Contrary to their fervent beliefs, impassioned political activism, and idolization of a human being as their savior, their efforts will ultimately come to naught. In fact, it will lead to unimaginable tyranny and horror such as not been seen in the corridors of human history. A highly respected Bible commentator warned more than one hundred years ago: “When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the State to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result” (The Great Controversy, p. 445).
We have already been told by Donald Trump, the undisputed leader of this cabal, that one of his first acts, as also is prescribed in the Project 2025 manifesto, will be to round up and deport fifteen to twenty million immigrants back to their native lands. Regardless of the secret plans to accomplish such a task, the results will be inhumane, economic displacement and social upheaval.
Additionally, the equally passionate and fervent push by Trump and his emissaries is to eliminate the long-held principle of separation of church and state as is embodied in the first amendment of the US Constitution. The result will be catastrophic; for it is the bulwark and major plank upon which the American Republic was erected.
Founding father Benjamin Franklin emphasized: “When religion is good, it will take care of itself. When it is not able to take care of itself, and God does not see fit to take care of it, so that it has to appeal to the civil power for support, it is evidence to my mind that its cause is a bad one" (Letter to Dr. Richard Price, October 19th, 1790).
This great deception of soliciting state powers to establish a Godlier society is dangerous and deadly. What the world needs are not laws to compel the conscience; but a demonstration of the character of Jesus Christ in the lives of those who call Him their Lord and Savior. This is not achieved by state fiat nor political force, but by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the heart. Says the prophet Zechariah: “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).
Truly, Jesus never asked the state to assist Him in accomplishing the mission for which He came to planet earth; and neither should His followers. It was by reaching one heart at a time with compassionate humility and the indescribable power of God’s love that the work of transformation in human hearts is accomplished. It should be no different today. Says the apostle Paul: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The religious/political behemoth advocating for this new America is referred to in the Bible as the Image of the Beast. The books of Daniel and the Revelation identify the prophetic role and significance of the American Experiment. We can trust God’s word for He is the Only One that knows the future, can predict it and allow us to see it come to pass just as He prophesied: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure” (Isaiah 46:9-10).
It is from that unique position that He declared the rise, rulership, and demise of world empires, including the American Experiment. But what has He foretold about the moment in which we live?
History of the nations
Creator God builds His fool-proof case of identifying America and its role on the sands of salvation history. The prophet Daniel, from his captive abode in the Babylonian empire, was given a vision in which the history of the nations was revealed to him. The dream spanned the time from his Babylonian captivity to the second coming of Jesus. The prophet writes: “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth” (Daniel 7:17).
Babylon was portrayed as a lion with eagles wings (Daniel 7:4).The lion was devoured by a lop-sided bear with three ribs in its mouth, representing the Medes and the Persians (Daniel 7:5). Next Daniel sees a leopard with four heads and four wings upon his back. This aptly describes the Grecian empire which moved with swiftness to conquer the then known world; but was divided into four parts after the death of its fearless leader, Alexander the Great at the tender age of 31 years of age.
Continuing his prophetic insight, Daniel chronicled: “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” (Daniel 7:6-7). The prophet aptly described the pagan Roman empire. It was not conquered by another military giant; but instead disintegrated under the incursions of the barbarian tribes resulting into what is known today as Western Europe.
Daniel continued to give his audience a deeper look into the future as he detailed not only the divisions of the Roman empire, but the subsequent rise of an entity that would unite and dominate the empire: “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings”. He then highlighted its relationship to the people of God: “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, 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” (Daniel 7:25).
John the Revelator picks up the story: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast” (Revelation 13:1-3).
History testifies to the rise of the Roman Papacy out of the ashes of a dying pagan Roman Empire: “Whatever Roman elements the barbarians and Arians left ... [came] under the protection of the Bishop of Rome, who was the chief person there after the emperor’s disappearance. ... The Roman church ... pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation” (Adolf Harnack, What is Christianity? (New York: Putnam, second edition, revised, 1901), 269, 270).
After discussing the rule of Rome’s Ecclesiastical monarchy up to its time of seemingly demise at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, John portrayed the emergence of a new nation: “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, (Revelation 13:11-13).
There is but one nation that arrived on the world stage and rose to prominence as the papacy was losing hold on the peoples of the earth. That nation is the United States of America. The struggle of the American colonies for independence began in 1775. In 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1777 the Articles of Confederation were adopted. In 1787 the U.S. constitution was framed. On July 26, 1798 it was ratified by the original 13 states. On the 1st of March 1789 the U.S. constitution went into effect.
However, God’s word declared that this nation, born out of the ideas of Republicanism and Protestantism [the two horns], will indeed not only reject those foundational principles, but will join forces with a revived papacy to institute a regime of despotism never before seen in the corridors of human history.
Historian and Jesuit priest, E. Boyd Barrett confirmed: “Her [papacy] strength has grown apace under the remarkably able leadership of the present Pope, Pius XI. He has given the best of his singular ability to the supervision and direction of the Catholic campaign in America. For him our country is a battlefield on which is being waged the greatest struggle of the Church's history. The conquest of America is the supreme objective at which he aims. He despairs of the Old World with its interminable outbreaks against the Church and the multiplicity of divisions between peoples that entail internecine strife among his children. Besides, the Old World is in receivership. Pius is well aware that the Catholic Church can never hope again to dominate the civilized world until America kneels, beaten and penitent, at her feet” (Rome Stoops to Conquer, pg. 3-4).
Ellen G. White, 19th century Bible commentator, whom the Smithsonian rates as one of the most read Bible writers, describes the church’s modus operandi to achieve that end: “Under various disguises the Jesuits worked their way into offices of state, climbing up to be the counselors of kings, and shaping the policy of nations. They became servants to act as spies upon their masters. They established colleges for the sons of princes and nobles, and schools for the common people; and the children of Protestant parents were drawn into an observance of popish rites (Great Controversy, pg. 235.1).
She elaborates: “When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5 p. 451).
In commenting on the changing of America, one contemporary historian observed: “We can watch carefully the messaging that comes out of the Trump campaign in the next weeks, and realize that, far from becoming more moderate, the strongman always renews his calls for vengeance after threats on his power or his life” (The Trump Attack and Authoritarian History, Ruth Ben Ghiat, Lucid, July 18th, 2024).
Ben Ghiat’s observations, perhaps quite unknown to her, speaks directly to the Biblical forecast about the United States of America. This is the moment in which we live; a sure Biblical sign that Jesus Christ is soon to come. Whether the Right’s Project 2025 or the current pope’s nefarious agenda for the institution of Sunday sacredness in order to mitigate the climate crisis, fervently promoted by the Left, America is fulfilling her prophetic destiny.
Regardless of who wins the upcoming presidential election, God’s prophetic word will come to pass. America will move from a position of religious freedom and political openness to one of forced worship and political suppression. This drama of apocalyptic proportions which is being played out in real time before our eyes will result in the ruin of the American Experiment and ensuing tyranny.
Jesus is still the Only Escape Route.
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