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Then God raised up ONE MAN, Samuel, specially prepared from childhood, by
which
GOD ruled the nation (I Sam. 8:7). The people wanted a KING like other nations
(verse 6).
God allowed them to have Saul as king. Then God chose ONE MAN, David, to lead
His people.
He was followed by Solomon, who turned to women and their false gods in later
life. With
worldly kings, both Israel and Judah eventually went into national captivity,
removal from
the promised land and slavery.
In Jesus' time the Jews descended from the colony headed by Zerubbabel who
built the
second temple (to which Christ came the first time). The Jews were a vassal
people under
the Roman Empire government.
For His Church, at first, Jesus chose ONE MAN, Simon, whom He surnamed
"Peter,"
meaning a title such as "leader" (John 1:42, Mark 3:16). When Peter and the
original twelve
had gone to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:6, 15:24) God
raised up the
apostle Paul, who had supervision over all the churches (II Cor. 11:28).
The apostasy and falling away from God's basic original TRUTH started
about A.D. 54,
near the time Paul wrote of the Galatians turning to a counterfeit gospel (Gal.
1:6-7). That
spirit of iniquity, contrary to God's Law, was already working when Paul wrote
to the
Thessalonians (II Thess. 2:7).
The Church continued, often meeting secretly "underground," often fleeing,
many being
tortured and martyred. By 1926 when I first came among that fledgling Church, it
was
spiritually dead (Rev. 3:1). They still clung to the truth of the Sabbath, the
Law of God and
the true name. But much original truth had been lost, though it was all recorded
in the
Scriptures. But, even late in the first century, Jude pleaded for God's people
to "earnestly
contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).
But by 1926 we had come to the VERY GENERATION of the END TIME--coming
close
to the time of Christ's return as all-conquering, world-ruling KING of kings in
supreme POWER
and GLORY.
What had God FORETOLD for this very time?
Look at significant prophecies. Look at WHAT HAS HAPPENED! Ask yourself,
HAVE
THESE PROPHECIES BEEN FULFILLED before our very eyes and ears?