What was that old folk tale of Hansel and Gretel about? They dropped bread crumbs along the trail the wicked witch was taking them, and their rescuers were able to find them. Has there been a trail of “crumbs” declared openly and the “hush-hush” has been so well placed that no one is willing to connect the dots? Has the “wicked witch” so closed off commentary, or is most of the population totally unaware, uncaring, or a willing part of it?

Recently I prepared an article that connected the dots from the confirmation of the covenant in Daniel 9:26-27 to the wrap-up in Revelation 19 of that key figure who is the dominant person in that whole scenario. That scenario is still future but apparently very near. It brings up a question of what are the parallel dots that can be connected of things that have happened in secular history and now in current events. Let the “crumbs” of evidence lead us forward on the trail.

In this exercise we are attempting to identify and track the development of the opposition to God’s actual existence and secondly, His plan for Man’s redemption. It’s a dot-connecting endeavor that should illuminate the “whys” and “whats” of all  that has gone on in the world for all these centuries.

· The beginning would have to be the identification of God’s true opposition throughout the ages:

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven,I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation,  on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15).

· A fast-forward dot connection will give insight into the following series of dots and their underlying connection. The following passage is from Revelation 13:2b where the context tells of John’s vision of the seven-headed beast, whose heads are, as Daniel’s prophecy  first identified them, representing kingdoms which have dominated the civilized world since the time of the Tower of Babel, certainly, and even from the beginning of nations, if the reference in Isaiah 14 above—“You who weakened the nations”—is considered:

“The dragon gave him [the beast] his power, his throne, and great authority.” [The dragon is identified in Revelation 12 as Satan.]

· Those kingdoms or heads of the beast, that John saw included a seventh that was not yet formed, but would be in the future. John was living in the time of the sixth head, the Holy Roman Empire. Those five prior heads were past history—Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. John saw that one head suffered a mortal wound and the wound was healed. The only head that was currently present then was that sixth head, the Roman Empire. It is the old Roman Empire which faded away and now comes back to life as the seventh head or kingdom. This seventh head “was and is not, yet will be” in John’s vision. To bring the picture full-circle, from the Isaiah 14 passage, above, to the future, here is Revelation 17:11:

“The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition.” [The beast is personified in the Satan-indwelt Antichrist and is the final eighth head or the final world ruler before Jesus returns and destroys his kingdom rule.]

· This seventh head’s formation is what has been developing since its predecessor was mortally wounded. The former Roman Empire had two parts; the western half crumbled within from moral decay, while the eastern part continued for several centuries before its demise with the rise of Napoleon’s power.

· Out of the ashes of that Empire, European nation states began to rise, marked by the birth of banking systems.

· Control of international money systems evolved with the influence and control of the Rothschild family, gradually reaching into the whole world, especially America. One Rothschild spokesman is alleged to have said, “Give me control of a nation’s money supply, and I will not care what its laws are!”

· Formation of the Federal Reserve System to control America’s money supply was secretly accomplished in 1910 and passed into law in 1913. It basically provides that all federal funding of the United States not offset by taxes will be provided by loans from the Federal Reserve, which is neither federal nor a reserve of real money. [Thus, the income tax also became law then.]

· It is not difficult, now, to connect the dots to some presidential assassinations, especially when they have defied the central bank or the Federal Reserve by printing currency backed by the U. S. Treasury instead of borrowing from the banking system. I refer to Lincoln’s “greenback dollars” and Kennedy’s silver certificates. [1][Notice that you will not find any Kennedy-issued five and ten dollar bills imprinted with “silver certificate” on them anywhere; they all read “Federal Reserve Note” now.]

· Over a hundred years ago President Woodrow Wilson made this statement that speaks volumes of the seriousness of the intentions of those who would control the world for their own purposes. [Remember that the prince of this world, as the Bible calls him, is also the empowering energizer of that seventh head  as it is being formed]:

“Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men’s views confided to me privately. Some of the biggest men in the United States in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere, so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.” (Woodrow Wilson, The New Freedom, 1913)

· Birth of the United Nations after World War II out of the ashes of the failed League of Nations after World War I provided a framework for development of a One World Government, but it could not come about as long as the sovereignty of the United States remained intact.

· In light of that anticipated need to destroy the sovereignty of the United States, the following admission, openly made in his memoirs, this quote from David Rockefeller, a long-time banking official and founder of the Trilateral Commission that is tied to the Bilderberg global group, is far-reaching in its startling intent:

Some even believe we (the Rockefeller family) are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as ‘internationalists’ and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure—one world, if you will. If that’s the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it. (David Rockefeller, Memoirs, page 405)

· About 1954 a spokesman for the United Nations is alleged to have made this astounding statement, or plea: “What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the alliances of all people and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man, and be he god or devil, we will receive him.”

· In the search for that man, Kennedy failed them, as did Lyndon Johnson, Jimmie Carter and Bill Clinton. One from the opposite side of the aisle, however, openly spoke of a vision in his departing speech, as he finished his term as president: He was looking forward to a “New World Order.” [2]

· Then, along came a man in 2008 who vowed to “fundamentally change America forever,” [3] and a prominent spokesperson exclaimed, after the election, “He was primed to lead us into a New World Order!” [4]

· Is this the man they were hoping for back in 1954? On October 31, 2008, (Hallowe’en), two prominent news commentators—Tom Brokaw and Charley Rose—were sharing their excitement for the expected coming election results five days later when one of them suddenly asked the other, rather soberly, “What do we really know about him?” The other had no conclusive answer. [5]

At this point I will cease the attempt to connect dots, except that I want to list some characteristics of the person Daniel’s forward-looking pronouncements identified, just in Daniel 9:26b-27:

· This person who is to come will be a “prince” or leader of people, thus one who is in place already.

· He will  be in a position of high level recognition, for he is prominent in confirming a covenant  with many which allows Israel to rebuild its temple and re-establish its sanctuary activities;

· He will have centralized power in the world into his own hands, for he will abort the covenant half-way through its term of seven years and will position himself as God in the Jewish temple, demanding that all people worship him.

Now consider the alignment of current events within this framework:

· The scramble for a peace solution in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians, with other Islamic nations, has  been an ongoing scenario for decades and is now front and center in negotiations;

· The nation whose administration is looked to for putting together a workable solution is America;

· The leader of America has become decisively independent and dictatorial in his leadership role;

· The subtle movement toward a New World Order and one world government continues its shadowy progress as America’s Constitutional government staggers under the onslaughts of opposition hammering it, under the guise of “fundamentally transforming America forever.” So, what is on the horizon? [6]

Is there need for more to be said? Who will be the one who will reveal himself by stepping forward to confirm a covenant with many others?

While the sovereignty of nations may come and go, the sovereignty of the God of the universe will never cease. He says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Mark 13:31).

Endnotes

[1]  http://www.xat.org/xat/usury.html

[2]  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MADYzQstpsU

[3]  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrefKCaV8m4

[4]  http://www.wnd.com/2009/01/85442/

[5]  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzMas1bVidw

Also:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlEUMjowLDE

[6]  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaezqfUZBI0

This article is written for old folks, like me. I have just marked off my 81stbirthday, yet people give me a fifteen-year break on appearance. I attribute that to lack of mileage and some might say that means, experience. Perhaps so, but I also have just checked my 59th year as a believer. That is to say, I didn’t just fall off a turnip truck as it came through town, with a gospel tract in my hand and a message for the natives of the city.

So what are old-timers good for?

Years ago, in 1964, I attended a Bible conference in Columbus, Ohio, where the main speaker had been reading a book by Guy de Maupassant. He quoted from that book something I have never forgotten: “…And when these old folks died, it was as if they had never been!” The speaker’s challenge, no doubt, was about making a difference as a Christian disciple. Are we doing that?

I can think of at least five possible areas where those of us in the senior status can make a difference:

· Knowledge and command of the Word.

· Praying with confidence and conviction.

· Possession of a true concept of God.

· Living a life with a positive testimony.

· Sharing our faith in simple confidence.

Before he died on June 18, 1956, I had the opportunity to hear Dawson Trotman, founder of The Navigators mission organization. He told of a time that he was asked by a group of elderly women, “What can we do?” He gave them a simple Bible study booklet, saying, “Do this Bible study, and you’ll have something to share with others.”

Dawson came to know the Lord in the early 1930s when he took the challenge from a youth group Bible class leader to memorize a verse of Scripture by the next week’s study time. It was John 5:24, and the next week Dawson showed up with the verse memorized—and now he was a saved young man! None of the others in the group had bothered to memorize the verse.

He had much to share, then, and it started him on a 30-year-plus journey of winning people to Christ and discipling them to follow the Lord. Arising out of that Bible memory experience came the Topical Memory System and other multiple basic Bible helps for growing in Christ and helping others. He was only fifty years old when he died. It is said that his daily habit was to review a thousand verses a day, which he had memorized, as well as learning additional verses. It surely was a life-changing moment when he learned that first verse.

Once in the mid-1960s a lady spoke at a prayer meeting, sharing her convictions and commitment to a life of prayer. This lady, Pearl Goode, was in her late 60s, I think, and lived in Pasadena, California. Her home was near the Fuller Theological Seminary location, and she had developed a habit of praying for those young and aspiring preacher-students studying there.

However, as the Billy Graham Crusades began to grow in effectiveness andfrequency, she thought of the idea to go to the city of each crusade, rent a motel room, and spend her time during the crusade in prayer for its success. She told us that her motivation to do this came from Psalm 92:13-15:

“Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there isno unrighteousness in Him.”

Yet, the interesting thing is that it is unlikely that she saw much of the fruit of her efforts (until she entered the presence of the Lord).

These two personalities illustrate two of the five areas for making a difference—the life-changing Word of God and a commitment to prayer. But let’s go a bit further with them, in regard to a couple of difficulties I have observed over the years.

If your life during the week, between Sundays, is caught-up in uncertainty and worry that you might not really be saved, there are probably a couple of things that are causing you to think that:

· You are relying on your feelings for assurance and not on what God has said, the promises He has made to you; [1]

· And, you have not overcome the indulgence of your old nature in self-condemnation. [2]

The endnote references are for links to two articles that deal with those two issues, in detail. But for now, and briefly, look at 1 John 5:11-13:

“And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue tobelieve in the name of the Son of God.”

Only believers in Jesus Christ can know that they have eternal life. No other religion can make that claim, and their consciences will not give them the peace of God that comes with the certainty of knowing for sure.

If you have invited Him into your life, in sincerity and honest repentance, He will not fail to enter your life and live in you. The other point to master is believing God has forgiven you for your sins, past, present and future, because He says so in 1 John 1:9 (and other places), even though you may not feel like they are forgiven. Self-condemnation cannot refute the promises of God!

Now, a continuation of that context in 1 John, above, bears upon that second point of the five listed earlier. Read again 1 John 5:11-13, then go on to these next verses, 1 John 5:14-15:

“Now, this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

If we know that we have eternal life because we believe that God said so, then our confidence is emboldened to know He will answer our prayers that are according to His will. The two principles are inseparable—to know that you know that you know; that He is true to His Word which automatically carries over to your prayer life. It is not a principle that becomes a part of our lives “right out of the box,” however. And that is where that third principle comes in.

Having a true concept of God is foundational. We have to discard all false concepts that are rooted in our sub-conscience minds from non-biblical theories we have heard or what we have concluded because of those “impossible” laws of God — things we think we have to do or we will go to hell. That is exactly why Jesus came into the world, to be our Savior! Here is another verse that may clarify the issue:

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

That little two-letter word, “is” has a double meaning—that God exists, and that God is everything we would ever need. At the burning bush episode in Exodus 3, God told Moses to tell the Israelites His name is “I AM.” Ever-present and all that anyone would ever need, the source of all things—that is the God who IS!

Add to that, then, the latter part of the verse—He rewards those who follow Him in His righteousness and fellowship. God is a good God, and even the self-improvement gurus, who do not necessarily proclaim Jesus Christ as God, make that the first principle of maintaining a positive attitude.

At a weekend retreat back in those days, an Air Force Academy cadet asked me for some tips on witnessing the gospel to others. For some strange reason, I began to share what a relationship with the Lord had to do with witnessing to others, how, like the vine and branches relationship Jesus spoke of in John 15 was important, for “without Him we can do nothing.” And I talked about how our fellowship with the Lord can overflow to others, as 1 John 1:3 indicates:

“That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

Afterward, he thanked me for telling him how to have a quiet time with the Lord! As I thought about it later, it seemed that the Lord was giving me the main ingredient for effective witnessing, and he was looking for a three or four point strategy of key verses to use for introducing the Good News to someone.

Obviously those are needed at some point, but witnessing effectively cannot involve giving a military-like command and expecting the listener to salute it—in most cases. (But then, how would I know how God chooses to work?)

It’s easy to Monday morning quarterback the games of life, but the process of growing in Christ is an ongoing matter, and each of us has his own place in the body that generally differs from others. As Lorne Sanny, the successor to Mr. Trotman, has said, “You never get too old for the basics.” Realizing that may well be the key to that positive testimony we must have to make a difference!

Endnotes

[1] https://www.raptureready.com/featured/lawley/lawley22.html

[2] https://www.raptureready.com/featured/lawley/lawley16.html

Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com