Dear Brethren and Co-Workers with Christ,
Greetings from Charlotte, NC! I am truly excited about the speeding up of prophetic events! As one involved in the Work of God for more than 56 years, I realize that nearly all the “dominos”—the key events preceding the Great Tribulation—are now being swiftly put in place. We may have just a comparatively few more years to finish this Work. Then, the lives of the British-descended and American peoples will be drastically changed forever. Then, our citizens will not be so concerned about “what other people think.” They will learn to be deeply concerned with what God thinks!
In yesterday’s paper appeared the following headline: Bird flu in Western Europe by Maria Sanminiatelli, “Italy and Greece announced Saturday they had detected the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus in dead swans, marking the first known occurrence of the disease in Western Europe…. Also Saturday, authorities in Nigeria said they were investigating whether the deadly strain, which was discovered in the country last week, had spread to humans after at least two children were reported ill. No human infections were reported in the three European countries. But the U.N.’s chief bird flu expert said the spread of bird flu, which has been ravaging poultry stocks across Asia since 2003, increased the chance that the virus would mutate into a form transmitted between humans and set off a pandemic” (Charlotte Observer, February 12, 2006).
How many weeks or months before this bird flu appears in the U.S., Canada and Britain? How long before it becomes a pandemic?
Only God knows whether it is now His time to bring about a truly major disease epidemic to help shake our peoples to their senses. But, even apart from this potential pandemic, event after event is occurring in the prophetic sequence which God’s Word clearly outlines. In Palestine, an absolute terrorist organization, Hamas, surprised even themselves by clearly winning the “democratic” elections there. With Prime Minister Ariel Sharon near death and Israel in trauma, the Middle East “peace process” is in shambles. And in Palestine, “democracy” has backfired on the Bush administration. For democracy will not spread through the Middle East! Only the coming of Jesus Christ as King of kings will bring genuine peace to that very troubled region.
Meanwhile, consider the new President of Iran, Dr. Ahmadinejad. He has a Ph.D. in engineering and is a former Revolutionary Guardsman. He is also a member of an obscure Shiite sect that eagerly anticipates the return of the 12th Imam or the Mahdi. His religious sect believes the “righteous descendant” of Muhammad will soon return and usher in universal peace, but that his return will be preceded by cosmic signs, plagues, pestilence and war. President Ahmadinejad apparently believes the return of this Muslim Messiah can be hastened by “the creation of chaos on earth”—something he and other religious zealots may be able to facilitate through their actions and influence (Washington Times online, Feb. 6, 2006).
As the prophesied European Empire rises up, as the Muslim nations turn more and more against Europe and America and therefore bring about the prophesied “King of the South,” we will begin to experience more of the events prophesied to occur at the end of this age. The “great” earthquakes Jesus predicted in Luke 21 and Matthew 24, plus the continuing wars all over the world, the drought and alternating storms, fires and floods, the coming severe famines and the horrifying disease epidemics will all begin to accelerate over the next several years and will certainly “shake” the complacency of all who understand. Brethren, our God will get the attention of humanity through His mighty intervention! We need to do all we can to “reach out” to a confused humanity with the message of Christ’s coming Kingdom, of the true way of life which will bring ultimate peace and joy to the world, and of the purpose God has in giving all of us life and making every single human being in His image. We in God’s Church have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to do all of this—and certainly to powerfully warn our Israelitish brethren of the very-soon-coming Great Tribulation and traumatic events at the end of this age, so they may act ahead of time and be protected.
Dear brethren and co-workers, please be zealous in obeying Jesus’ command to “watch” world events! Watch especially the Middle East and Jerusalem—as we have often encouraged you to do. For remarkable events, which the Church of God has prophesied for decades, are truly beginning to occur. A recent article in the Washington Post gives this insight into the situation there:
“The goal of reuniting Muslims under a single flag stands at the heart of the radical Islamic ideology Bush has warned of repeatedly in recent major speeches on terrorism. In language evoking the Cold War, Bush has cast the conflict in Iraq as the pivotal battleground in a larger contest between advocates of freedom and those who seek to establish ‘a totalitarian Islamic empire reaching from Spain to Indonesia.’
The enthusiasm of the extremists for that vision is not disputed. However unlikely its realization, the ambition may help explain terrorist acts that often appear beyond understanding. When Osama bin Laden called the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon ‘a very small thing compared to this humiliation and contempt for more than 80 years,’ the reference was to the aftermath of World War I, when the last caliphate was suspended as European powers divided up the Middle East. Al Qaeda named its Internet newscast, which debuted in September, ‘The Voice of the Caliphate.’
Yet the caliphate is also esteemed by many ordinary Muslims. For most, its revival is not an urgent concern. Public opinion polls show immediate issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and discrimination rank as more pressing. But Muslims regard themselves as members of the umma, or community of believers, that forms the heart of Islam. And as earthly head of that community, the caliph is cherished both as memory and ideal, interviews indicate.
That reservoir of respect represents a risk for the Bush administration as it addresses an issue closely watched by a global Islamic population estimated at 1.2 billion. Already, many surveys show that since the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, Muslims almost universally have seen the war against terrorism as a war on Islam.
‘Why do you keep invading Muslim countries?’ asked Kerem Acar, a tailor in central Istanbul. ‘I won't live to see it, and my children won’t, but one day maybe my children’s children will see someone declare himself the caliph, like the pope, and have an impact’” (January 14, 2006).
Indeed, as you can see, the coming “Mahdi”—or “King of the South” (Dan. 11:40-45)—will soon arise and have a dramatic impact on world events. He will unite many of the more than one billion Muslims. He will be a genuine menace to the coming European Empire, and they will have to crush this threat in order to continue gaining the Middle East oil for their own military ambitions.
Dear friends and brethren, I tell you in Jesus’ name that we are very near to the prophesied end of this age! If you take the Bible seriously, you must be genuinely excited about these swiftly moving prophetic events—as I am. And you must realize that this is the Work of the living Christ which God is using to give you “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). For we give you a real understanding not only of end-time prophecies, but of genuine Apostolic Christianity and the way to prepare yourself to become a king and priest, under Christ, in His soon-coming world government. “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father” (Rev. 2:26-27).
But I must now tell you that God’s Work is in serious need right now! One would think that with a virtual cascade of prophetic events occurring, God’s people would be “on fire.” However, God Himself predicted that the primary attitude of His people at the end of this age would be “Laodicean.” And He directly speaks to the Laodiceans, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Rev. 3:16).
Dear brethren and co-workers, for your own sake—and the sake of Christ’s Work on earth—please stir yourselves! Do everything you can to help move God’s Work forward at this critical time. This confused world desperately needs the true Message we are preaching through television, the Internet and the printing press. May the Great God of creation help you to understand and to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matt. 6:20-21) by zealously participating in the very Work of Christ at the end of this age.
With Christian love,
—Roderick C. Meredith