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Dear Brethren,
By now most of you have returned from observing the Feast. And as far as I know all have returned home safely for which I am very thankful. Many positive comments have been made regarding God's Feast in Tucson. The final number was 117 in attendance. A number of those were with us for the first time. It was delightful meeting new members with like minds and hearts. A real blessing. As all of you know who were with us in Tucson, God blessed us with beautiful weather all the time we were there. He first blessed us with a very nice rain the Thursday night before the Feast began. Not only was the air cleared, but it made possible the beautiful weather that followed. Sunny days that never went over 100 degrees. I did not hear of anyone complaining about the heat as a number did last year. The sermons and sermonettes revolved around the meaning of the Feast and the preparation we need to be making to become a part of that new coming world. A most helpful and solidifying help for all of us were three taped sermons by Mr. Armstrong; one of them was a video tape, entitled: "More Than a Monarch."
This Feast will be
remembered as one of the better Feast of
Tabernacles.
Members
Connected with Us —
Below are the places and
numbers of those in other places:
There were 24 in India who
listened to our taped sermons from the
previous Feast. There were 24 tied in with
us via the computer from Clearwater,
Florida, plus a few others from other
places. I believe there were 42 at the
Feast in the UK with Mr. Jon Bowles. There
were also a number of brethren who were
hooked up via a computer link in Nigeria
with Mr. Bowles. I think there was a
breakdown with the line going into South
Africa.
Troublesome
Trying Trials —
Brethren, I well realize
any number of you are experiencing some
real problems. These problems, though very
hard, should be realized as a refining
process in the final preparation for the
return of Jesus Christ, and our change.
Satan well knows who the real chosen ones
are of God's people and he is going to
focus on us more than the others who are
sleeping or in a state of rebellion.
If we are going to be accounted worthy to escape the Great Tribulation then we have to expect the harder trials for us. Though they are sometimes real hard, they are easy compared to what we would have to suffer if we were to have to endure the horrors of the Great Tribulation. At the same time the purifying test that Daniel tells us is taking place with all of us will become even more difficult as we come into the actual hard time of the persecution from religion and the political arena along with the public at large (Daniel 12:10). He tells us in the same Scripture the wise will understand. Even so, there is a need for a reminder now and then.
Prophecy makes known this
is what we should expect. But please
realize, regardless however hard the
trials are, or will come to be, Jesus
Christ will be right there with us --
never leaving of forsaking us (Matthew
28:20; Hebrews 13:5-6).
Sometimes deliverance comes soon and sometimes at the last moment as it did with Abraham when he offered Isaac (Genesis 22). Deliverance came to him, and we can expect it in our lives as well. At the same time there is the need of realizing that during the trials we will not always come through them unscathed, but sometimes beat up some. But even if we have to go the limit, know God is waiting on the other side. The coming of Christ is not all that far away. It would be just a nap so to speak, not a long sleep. A very comforting Scripture we need to keep in our minds at all times when undergoing any and all trials:
I Corinthians 10:13 “No
temptation (trial) has over taken you
except such as common to man; BUT GOD IS
FAITHFUL, WHO WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BE
TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU ARE ABLE, but with
the temptation will ALSO make the way of
escape, THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO BEAR
IT.”
The Return of
Christ is at Hand —
Brethren, we do not have
all that far to go anymore.
Christ’s coming is at hand! We
must remain faithful and trusting in our
God to see us through whatever is before
us.
Look at the world around us
– especially the continuation of the
buildup in Jerusalem and in Europe.
The preparation is coming in place very
rapidly for the very end-time prophetic
events to take place! Can we not see these
prophesied events coming together?
I wondered whether God
would let the pope live long enough to
finalize putting the new cardinals in
place. My thoughts were whether God
would want the new ones there or not
regarding the selection of the new pope
who will soon take the place of this
present one. As most everyone knows
he is almost on his deathbed.
It is now plain to see that
God did want him to live that long.
He handpicked each new cardinal to make
sure they would be of the same mind and
select one from among them further his
plans for Rome to clear the path for the
unification of Europe. He well
knows, as Satan will also put into their
minds, that only the pope will be able to
bring it all about. And when it is time,
and whether it will be the new replacement
or another one, Satan will empower him to
bring it fully together.
Do not be discouraged if
the replacement is not the one.
Remember some newly established popes did
not live all that long – a very brief
tenure in office. It will happen!
This current pope has been
working very hard all during his 25 year
tenure to restore the emerging “Holy
Roman Empire” back into life again.
He was exactly the man who was needed to
not only bring down the iron curtain, but
to put into place all the necessary
preparation for the prophesied pope to
finalize it as well as establishing the
prophesied leader, the Beast, to head it!
Famine and
Disease Epidemics —
We could be in a state of
famine overnight to begin the weakening of
the House of Joseph. All it will
take is a real food shortage scare for the
shelves in the grocery stores to be
emptied! A small type of this was
the Cuban episode back in the early 60s.
There are also the diseases
waiting in the wings ready to come on
stage. They are expected by medical
science and they will be unable to cope
with them. These two combined will
be sufficient to bring the House of Joseph
to her knees.
Jerusalem and
Sacrifices —
The buildup in Jerusalem is
leading to the soon-coming time of the
prophesied sacrificial offerings again by
the Levitical priesthood. Then the
countdown will really begin!
By seriously considering
these things we are now rapidly seeing
taking place on the world stage, do we not
realize how close we really are?
Though it often hard to
smile through the tears while undergoing
weighty trails we should be encouraged to
know we are not going to have to endure
trials and tests a whole lot longer. We
should be encouraged by what our Savior
said when He spoke of this very end-time:
Luke 21:28 “Now
when these things begin to happen, LOOK UP
AND LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, because your
redemption DRAWS NEAR!”
The Work Before
Us —
Brethren, I am trying very
hard to reach our scattered brethren who
are yet in other places where they should
not be. I have just completed and mailed
another article to be published in the
“Journal” – the Big Sandy Church
Newspaper.
And please know – God is
using me to do these writings! It is
not in me, of myself, to write these
articles. Sometimes I sit here before the
computer and do not know what to write.
I pray and ask God to use me – and then
the thoughts begin to develop and to flow.
Never a perfect writing, but the message
is there. And God USED me to write
them.
Mr. Armstrong told the
ministry gathered before him before his
death that we should pray and ASK GOD TO
USE US. And this is what I do before
each sermon is prepared and given as well
as what I write in the comments and the
Journal.
Please pray that God will
lead all of His chosen people out to where
they can find real shelter. I write,
but your responsibility is to pray for all
of these dear members, as well as for me.
We want to keep a helping hand extended to
give any help we possibly can to help
them.
A Trip to Wales
—
This coming Thursday my
family and I are scheduled to take a
direct flight from San Francisco to
Heathrow Airport in London, England.
We are going there at the invitation of
Mr. Jonathan Bowles. I hope to spend
some time with him in discussions
regarding what we can further do in trying
to reach and help God’s scattered
people.
Since our plans are to be
there for two Sabbaths, he has me
scheduled to speak in each of the two
Churches he pastors. Please realize, as I
well do, all of these plans are subject to
the will of our wonderful and caring God.
Please remember to pray for us.
What I am writing today
will probably be the last until after I
return. I say, probably, because I
had only intended to write you a small
letter, but it turned out to be another
"Pastor's Comments."
I praise and thank God that He sees fit to
use me in spite of myself to try and help
all of you. I feel humbled because
of it.
Please take care.
Our love and daily prayers
are for all of you,
Don Billingsley
Please frequently
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