Pastor's Comments

The trumpet was used to sound the ALARM OF IMPENDING WAR! And this is the manner in which it is used here in this warning of impending calamity coming first on Israel, martyrdom on many of the members of God's Church at the same time, and then a little later the world at Armageddon.

God's Law Before Solomon --

King Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived (outside of Jesus Christ Himself), yet he FORSOOK God, worshipped Molech, Ashtoreth, and other gods, with his pagan wives when all the time he had in his view on a daily basis the very TEMPLE OF GOD that represented His holy presence! The Temple which he himself himself had been used by God to build and then dedicated it to Him. The Temple that represented not only God's presence but also His holy righteous laws! Laws that forbad the idolatrous worship, the sacrificing of little children to Molech, and forbad sodomy (I Kings 11:1-8).

God then became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from Him though He had appeared to him twice and had commanded him not to go after other gods. Therefore God took away the kingdom from him and gave it to his servant (verses 9-12). But before God finalized this He raised up adversaries against Solomon as corrective punishment. Scripture does not make known whether Solomon ever repented before his died (verses 14-26).

God's Law Before the Lawmakers Daily --

As it was with Solomon, so it is today with the lawmakers of government in Washington, D.C. Though there is NO TEMPLE that represents His holy presence, His laws are engraved on many of the buildings that are before the congressmen, and the Judiciary on a daily basis. What is engraved there is A WITNESS against them, just as it was with Solomon. Consider the following:

DID YOU KNOW?

As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view .. it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!

DID YOU KNOW?

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.

DID YOU KNOW?

As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!

DID YOU KNOW?

There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.

DID YOU KNOW?

James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement:

"We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

DID YOU KNOW?

Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said:

"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".

DID YOU KNOW?

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.

DID YOU KNOW?

Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law, an oligarchy ... the rule of few over many.

DID YOU KNOW?

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said:

"Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

The question is then asked:

"How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional?"

The answer: The leaders of today are no different than was Solomon in his time. They see, if they see at all, without seeing! As the result this nation and the other nations of Israel are facing desolation!

The REJECTION of God and His Laws ---

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). God further says, "I do not change!" (Malachi 3:6) God is NO respecter of persons or of leaders of the governments of the nations of Israel today anymore than He was during the reign of Solomon over Israel at that time.

Because of Solomon rejecting God and His laws, God brought adversaries against Solomon and Israel with the hope that Solomon would see his sin and repent!. God did this before He took away the kingdom from him.

Please consider the adversaries that have risen up against us in the past few years and only getting worse. Not only are we bogged down in war with Iraq as we were in Korea and after that in Viet Nam. There are the continued problems in in the country of Afghanistan as well.

There are also the threatening nations with nuclear capability and others are developing it. We have been living with the threat of terrorists striking at anytime and anywhere since 9-11-01! It only gets worse! The following quote is regarding the fairly easy steps of building a nuclear bomb once one has the material in place:

U.S. News & WORLD REPORT, 9-27-04, Editorial by Mortimer B. Zuckerman, 'Stopping a Nuclear Nightmare'

"... That’s why it is so critical to secure, without further delay, the vast stockpiles of fissionable material that remain dangerously insecure. Even finished weapons are barely protected. A 99 percent success rate would not do; a 1 percent would mean there would be some 200 nuclear weapons out of control in Russia. And make no mistake about it -- once the terrorists got hold of these materials, there is every reason to believe they could use it against America, for smuggling across porous borders is virtually impossible unstoppable. ..." My emphasis

Adnkronos International, November 12-The ability to produce and enrich uranium to make nuclear bombs is no longer the prerogative of the world's "tyrannical crusaders", a statement signed by the the al-Qaeda terror network and published on a new Islamic 'Jihad Lion's Den Forum' website claimed this week. "Our attempts to make small nuclear bombs with great potential for destruction have succeeded", said the statement, which its authors said was targeted at the American people. "Al-Qaeda will respond harshly to your refusal to heed sheikh Osama bin Laden's warning not to re-elect the foolish Bush in the presidential elections. We tell you that this refusal will bring Allah's divine wrath upon you. He will make you the the prime target of an attack that will strike at the heart of America", the statement continued

OUR ECONOMY -- is very fragile to say the least! With the added money that is being borrowed by the government our national debt is being increased to a record level:

The Record, Friday, November 19, 2004 WASHINGTON (AP)"... With the government facing imminent default because it has depleted its authority to borrow money, the debt-limit would pump up the federal borrowing cap to $8.18 trillion. .."

The cost of gasoline, natural gas, propane, and the accelerating cost in the housing market is spurring inflation. There seems to be no end to the spiraling costs and is making it very difficult for the people in the lower income brackets.

The DOLLAR is decreasing in value on the world market while the EURO is increasing in value. Note the following new article:

Associated Press
Update 6: Greenspan Warns of Trade-Deficit Risk
11.19.2004, 03:09 PM

Swollen trade deficits eventually could threaten the economy by souring foreign appetites to invest in the United States, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned Friday. The dollar, already sliding, took another nosedive after his remarks.

Greenspan's remarks, to a banking conference in Frankfurt, Germany, referred to the broadest measure of U.S. trade, the current account deficit. That swelled to a record $166.2 billion in the second quarter of this year, the most recent figure available.

This deficit is considered the best measure of a country's international economic standing because it tracks not only goods and services but investment flows between countries as well. For all of 2003, the current account deficit mushroomed to an all-time high of more than $500 billion.

So far, foreigners are willing to lend the United States money to finance its current account imbalances, Greenspan said. The worry is that at some point foreigners might suddenly lose interest in holding dollar-denominated investments.

That could cause them to unload investments in U.S. stocks and bonds, which would send prices of the stocks and bonds plunging and interest rates soaring. Japan, followed by China and then Britain are the biggest holders of U.S. Treasury securities.

The sinking value of the U.S. dollar, which reflects in part investors' fears about the big U.S. trade and budget deficits, has some private economists more worried about this potential risk.

"It seems persuasive that, given the size of the U.S. current account deficit, a diminished appetite for adding to dollar balances must occur at some point," Greenspan said. That, in turn, could elevate the cost of financing the deficit, he said.

On Wall Street, Greenspan's warning sent stocks down. The Dow Jones industrials were off more than 100 points in afternoon trading.

The U.S. dollar has been sagging against the euro, the currency used by France, Germany and 10 other European countries. After Greenspan's remarks, which spurred traders to dump more dollars, the dollar fell again, flirting with a record low against the euro. The value of the greenback dropped to a 4 1/2-year low against Japan's yen.

MAD COW DISEASE -- I read in this mornings newspaper where there is another case of possible MAD COW disease and it is creating real concern with the cattlemen who are still being hurt financially due to the last one they found sometime ago. Is it possible we may yet end up like the UK a few short years ago?

DIVISION IN AMERICA --- As I have written in the past two Pastor's Comments the nation is very much divided due to the way the presidential election turned out. Many are looking forward to the next one that is scheduled to take place four years from now. And those who are so angry and bitter about it are determined they won't lose the next one.

One editorial worded it this way: "Survival for Four More Years"

In this context it would be well to consider the opening of the library of former president Clinton that took place yesterday. Though it rained hard it was a gala affair with thousands in attendance and the news media from all the networks were there to televise it.

One talk show host labeled it, the launching of Senator Hillary Clinton for the presidency. It seems everyone I listen to on the news channels indicate she will get the nomination and will be the next president.

This talk show host was very saddened to see and hear what was taking place during the opening of the library. He said that when he reached a low level like this he would turn to the Bible. He then actually read from the writings of the prophet Isaiah with the very real possibility in mind that she would win the election and become the next president of this country.

The following are some of the Scriptures he read while lamenting over the speeches that were given applauding president Clinton by past and present presidents, while he was thinking about, and even itemizing a number of the bad things he did while in office as president. At the same time as he said this was the launching pad for Mrs. Clinton to be elected to that high office:

"The look on their countenance witnesses against them. And they declare their sin as Sodom; they do NOT hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves. Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be done to him. As for My people, children are their oppressors, and WOMEN RULE OVER THEM. O My people! Those who LEAD you lead you astray (margin); and DESTROY the way of your paths" (Isaiah 3:9-12

Please do not be locked in to the belief that we will have four more years! Anything can happen sooner than that -- depending on God's time-table.

Destruction Coming From Within ---

Please note the very sobering, and yet very truthful, statement by one of the greatest presidents this country has ever had. A WARNING that would be well for all of our leaders to read and soberly and seriously think about before it comes to be too late:

"Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step over the ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never! -- All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a Thousand years. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide."

-- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 16th US President, 1838

The Listing of Problems ---

The listing of our internal problems are barely touched on here in these comments, but should be enough to make known we are in serious trouble as the leading nation in Israel and the world.

Hearing the Sound of the Trumpet ---

The TRUMPET for the end-time began sounding in the early 1930s, and has since been intensifying in sound, growing louder, and louder!

The end-time is now virtually on top of us and the sound of the trumpet is almost deafening for those who have the ears to hear the sound of it. Even the talk show host, Michael Savage, is seeing it! Are we?

"Also, I set WATCHMEN (prophets of old, and Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong here in the end-time) over you, saying,

'LISTEN TO THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET!'

But they said, 'We WILL NOT LISTEN!' Therefore HEAR, you nations, AND KNOW O CONGREGATION, WHAT IS AMONG THEM. HEAR, O EARTH! Behold, I will certainly BRING CALAMITY ON THIS PEOPLE, even the FRUITS of their thoughts, BECAUSE they have NOT HEEDED MY WORDS, NOR MY LAW, BUT REJECTED IT (Jeremiah 6:17-19).

The Church of God ---

Brethren, if you will notice God is also speaking to the CONGREGATION! We must remain awake, vigilant and keenly observing what continues to unfold before us here in this nation, especially in Jerusalem and in Europe! There is not much time left for Israel, the world, the members of God's Church who are sleeping, and for us as His faithful people.

Let us pray for and continue to encourage one another to faithfully endure unto the soon to come end of this present evil age and our deliverance and our change.

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Don Billingsley