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Sacrifice must become the watch–
word of every Briton. Belt-tightening
is no fun for anyone. But it will cer–
tainly be less devastating in the long
run-compared to the grim alterna–
tive of total economic collapse.
There
is
no easy way out.
Foretold Long Ago
Having examined sorne of the· many
factors contributing to Britain's de–
cline as a world power, the question
still remains: What is the underlying
root cause? Why
has Britain fallen
prey to the snares of economic folly,
wandering aimlessly in search of so–
lutions seemingly beyond her grasp?
Why is she unable to find her way
back on track?
Incredibly, the answers to these
questions can be found in the prophe–
cies of your Bible! Bible prophecy has
not ignored the greatest empire in
world history. Millennia ago, in–
spired prophets recorded exactly
what would happen to the British
Empire, its rise, decline- and
fall!
Those prophecies have been fulfilled
to the letter. (For an in-depth look at
the amazing prophecies about Brit–
ain, refer to Mr. Herbert W. Arm–
strong's
The United States and Brit–
ain in Prophecy
currently being ser–
ialized in this magazine, or watch for
his forthcoming book by the same
name.)
The answer to the British dilem–
ma- the largely ignored
root cause
of
her plunge from the pinnacles of
power-is surprisingly simple, yet
fraught with far-reaching implica–
tions:
Britain has forgotten its God!
Britain has forgotten its divinely or–
dained national purposeand destiny!
As Iongtime readers of this maga–
zine will know, Bible prophecy iden–
tifies the Anglo-Saxon peoples of
Britain and America as having de–
scended, respectively, from Ephraim
and Manasseh, the sons of the bíbli–
ca! Joseph . The national wealth and
greatness promised by God to the
patriarch Abraham has been realized
in the histories of the United States
and British Empire- the "nation and
company of nations" of Genesis
35:11.
But that never-before-equalled
power and greatness has now been
withdrawn from Britain-and is even
The
PLAIN TRUTH August 1979
now being taken away from the
United States. As it once followed
her in ascent to greatness, the United
States is now following Britain in na–
tional decline.
In Iosing sight of God and of its
national purpose, Britain's spiritual
and moral values have become hope–
lessly confused. Moral decay has set
in. The once-laudable British charac–
ter is being undermined and debased.
That is why the straight and narrow
path to national recovery remains un–
trodden. Britain has lost its way!
It
has lost its will to succeed.
The abandonment of the laws of
God and His way of life exacts an
inevitable penalty, a penalty which
even now is being meted out!
A Llon Grown Old
The future of the tribe of Ephraim
(Britain today) was addressed an–
ciently by numerous prophets. The
prophet Micah (c. 759 B.C.)-em–
ploying imagery remarkably similar
to modern symbolism-predicted
that Britain would be "in the midst of
many people as a
/ion
among the
beasts of the forest" (5:8)- a !ion
before whom other nations would be
like helpless sheep. The !ion has long
been the symbol of Britain's power
and majesty.
But that once-invincible lion has
grown old! As Micah goes on to pre–
dict, because of Britain's many na–
tional sins, her power and might
would be cut off and her strongholds
thrown down-and they have been!
The prophet Hosea (c. 790 B.C.)
asserts that Ephraim's "glory shall
fty away like a bird" (9:11). "Great' '
Britain is no longer great. The sun
has set on the British Empire. "Gray
hairs are here and there upon him,
yet he knoweth not" (7:9), Hosea
further observes. Britain has lost its
youthful vigor ; as a nation it has be–
come old and decadent, yet clings to
the memory of its glorious past. Al–
luding to its lack of resources and
inability to produce, Hosea declares:
"Ephraim is smitten, their root is
dried up, they shall bear no fruit ..."
(9: 16). And Britain's rate of econom–
ic growth today is so close to zero it's
hardly worth mentioning!
A reading of the entire prophecy of
Hosea wi ll produce numerous addi-
tional fu lfillments readily apparent
in the history of the British people.
Can Britain ever regain great–
power status? Is a national reviva!
possible?
The answer is
yes-but
only in the
wake of a deep national repentance, a
mass turning away from the national
sins which have blinded that nation
to the only real cure for its chronic
ailments.
But prophecy indicates that Brit–
ain- alóng with its "brother," the
United States-will most probably
have to learn its lesson through utter
humiliation and defeat at the hands of
its enemies. This is the prophesied
"time of Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah
30:7), called the "great tribulation" in
the NewTestament (Matthew 24:21 ).
Afterwards, however, " Israel shall
blossom and bud, and fill the face of
the world with fruit" (Isaiah 27:6).
Ephraim will be abundantly blessed
in the soon-coming millennium of
peace. Its glory then will far exceed
any it had previously known.
But a great lesson will have to be
learned first, a hard lesson it has yet
only begun to undergo.
o
That's
Gospel!?
Hundreds of religious denomina–
lions and sects profess lo preach
the "true gospel." Yet lheir various
versions ol the gospel may differ
widely. What was the original gospel
thal Jesus preached? ls anyone
now preaching thal same message?
To find out, why nol request lhe free
booklet
What
ls
the True
Gospel?
Jusi use the Llteralure Request card
in lhis issue, or wrile lo
The
Plain
Truth
'al lhe address nearest you.
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