Nov-Dec-12

"LET THERE BE LIGHT" Ministries

November - December, 2012

"There are many precious truths contained in the Word of God, but it is 'PRESENT TRUTH' that the flock needs now." Early Writings, p 63.

Elder: robert sessler

THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES

(Note: As this is the last Newsletter of the year, we felt it best to focus on how near the second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is. We will resume the next part in our series on the temptations of Christ in the new year.)

Is there anyone who can tell the exact time when the second coming of Jesus will occur? No, because “of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32). As this is true, then how can we tell just how soon the second coming of our Lord will be? Jesus Christ Himself has plainly told all of us when His coming would take place, and it would only happen after certain prophesied events had occurred. This means that the fulfilling of these particular events would be as signs of the very times in which we were living, and these signs of the times would be as true guideposts and signals letting us all know how soon our Lord and Saviour’s return would be.

So all we need to do is to find out what these prophetic events would be, and then determine if any or all of these signs have been or are currently being fulfilled. And in merciful kindness Jesus plainly told us in Matthew 24:3-31 all the events or signs that would occur just before He is seen coming in the clouds of heaven. So let us read these verses and pay particular notice to these different signs.

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

“But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.

“Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

Now some of these verses depicting these signs and events were purposely meant by Christ to be dual in nature – meaning that some of these events and signs which have already occurred would be found again repeating themselves again in our day (Desire of Ages, p 628-634; Testimonies, vol 5, p 753; Last Day Events, p 18). So then let us go through some of these signs and events and see if they are indeed occurring in this world in our day.

Are people being deceived? Yes!

And those being deceived are not just found in the political arena, but especially are they found in the various churches around the world. The winds of false doctrines are indeed blowing with fierce intensity, and affecting millions – especially coming from the pulpits! Falsehoods and lies are becoming common place, such as people being told that God’s true Sabbath is not on Saturday; or all of mankind will be saved in the end regardless of their character; or even the personal lies being told to others on all kinds of subjects. All of these falsehoods are deceiving and leading millions astray.

Are many claiming to be Christ? Yes!

There are 1000's of different individuals who all claim to be the Christ! Syracuse University estimated that there are over 2,000 different people calling themselves Christ during our generation alone (See http://falseprophetsteachers.blogspot.com/2011/04/people-claiming-to-be-christ-in-our.html, accessed 11-18-12).

Now the vast majority of these false Christs do not have a huge following, are not in the public notice, and thus are relatively obscure. But there are at least 30 others who claim to be the Christ or the Messiah who have gained publicity (see the names listed at Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, under List of People Claimed to be Jesus, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_claimed_to_be_Jesus, accessed 11-18-12, and Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, under List of Messiah Claimants, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_messiah_claimants, accessed 11-18-12). These include Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church; David Koresh of the Branch Dividians; the Maitreya; and this list will just continue to grow.

Are there wars and rumors of wars taking place among the Nations? Yes!

One of the latest in the news is the warfare between Israel and Palestine. But did you know that there are literally hundreds of other wars and armed conflicts taking place today among and within various Nations?

-- On the Continent of Africa, there are currently 106 different militias or guerrillas, separatist groups and anarchic groups involved in warfare among 24 different African countries.

-- On the Continent of Asia, there are currently 87 such groups involved in warfare among 15 different Asian countries.

-- On the Continent of Europe, there are currently 57 such groups involved in warfare among 8 different European countries.

-- In the Middle East, there are currently 92 such groups involved in warfare among 8 different Middle Eastern countries.

-- In the Americas, there are currently 24 such groups, including different drug cartels, involved in warfare among 5 different countries of the Americas.

So around the world today, there are a total of 60 different Countries currently involved in warfare against 365 different enemy groups! (Wars in the World website, at http://www.warsintheworld.com/?page=static1258254223, accessed 11-20-12.)

Are there famines? Yes!

From 1958 - 1999 (covering some 42 years) there were 15 major famines which occurred worldwide. But in just the last 13 years – from 2000 - 2012 – there have been 54 declared famines occurring worldwide! (World Famine Timeline, at http://www.mapreport.com/subtopics/d/0.html#m0, accessed 11-20-12; also Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, under Lists of Famines, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famines, accessed 11-20-12.)

Are there pestilence or diseases spreading? Yes!

There are currently at least 23 different infectious diseases in the world today which are afflicting an estimated 411,160,000 people, and of these some 72,255,000 will die from these diseases. In addition to this, there are some 2,410,000,000 other people who are currently living with other highly infectious diseases which do not kill them outright, but they may never get cured from. (Common Infectious Diseases Worldwide, article published at Info Please website, at http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0903696.html, accessed 11-20-12.)

Are there earthquakes in many places? Yes! and the number of quakes continues to grow as each year passes.

-- From 1980 - 1989 there were a total of 1,085 earthquakes larger than 6.0 on the Richter Scale (Article on Are Christians Being Caught, Afflicted and Killed?, published at Number of Earthquakes by Year from Johnston’s Archive website, at http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/other/quake1.html, accessed 11-20-12).

-- From 1990-1999 there were a total of 1,492 earthquakes larger than 6.0 (United States Geological Survey, at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/info_1990s.php, accessed 11-20-12).

-- In just the last 10 years, from 2003 - 2012, there have been 1,655 earthquakes larger than 6.0 (US Geological Survey, at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/year/eqstats.php, accessed 11-20-12).

In these statistics, you will discover that one of the biggest increases in earthquakes has been in the range above 8.0 magnitude. There were only 4 earthquakes of this magnitude in the 1980's, 6 in the 1990's, but there have already been 16 such tremendous quakes in just the last 10 years!

Are supposed brothers and sisters in the faith betraying and hating one another? Oh yes! And what is so very sad is that many of us reading this today know some of these supposed brethren by name! Dear ones, it will only continue to get worse.

Are there false prophets arising and deceiving many? Yes!

There are many, many false prophets today. Aside from the self-proclaimed Psychics like Jean Dixon, Edgar Cayce, Ruth Montgomery and Elizabeth Clair Prophet, the TV is full of false prophets, especially in the Christian arena. These Christian false prophets include Pat Robertson, Hal Lindsey, Chuck Smith, Jerry Falwell, Tim LaHaye, Benny Hinn, and also Harold Camping (see Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, under List of Dates Predicted for Apocalyptic Events, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dates_predicted_for_apocalyptic_events, accessed 11-21-12; also see The Big List of False Prophets, published on The Preterist Website, at http://www.preteristarchive.com/StudyArchive/f/false-prophets.html, accessed 11-21-12).

But it is not just on TV where people are being deceived by false prophets, but especially on the Internet. Over the last 9 years, from 2004 - 2012, there have been at least 400 different individuals spreading false predictions on the web, ranging from the start of the Rapture and the returning of Christ, to the beginning of the third world war. And 256 of these false predictions – or more than ½ – have occurred in just this year of 2012! (see Article on List of False Prophets and Failed Predictions, by Sergman, published on Godlike Productions website, at http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1661189/pg1, accessed 11-21-12.)

Is the love of many waxing cold for one another? Yes!

-- There were over 466,000 intentional murders committed worldwide in just this last year (Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, under List of Countries by International Homicide Rate, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate, accessed 11-24-12).

-- There were over 7.1 million cars reported stolen worldwide in just this last year alone (Interpol Database Statistics, under Stolen Motor Vehicle, at http://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Vehicle-crime/Database-statistics, accessed 11-24-12).

-- There are estimated to currently be 27 million human trafficking victims worldwide (mainly being those forced into slavery in the commercial sex industry or into forced labor), and what is really sad is that a good portion of these victims are minors (see Human Trafficking Statistics - Polaris Project, at http://www.handsacrosstheworldmn.org/resources/Human+Trafficking+Statistics.pdf, accessed 11-24-12, and The A-21 Campaign website, article titled The Problem, at http://www.thea21campaign.org/the-problem.php, accessed 11-24-12).

But love for one another waxing cold is not just limited to non-Christians, but again what is so very sad is that many of us have experienced this coldness and lack of Christian love from some of our supposed brethren!

Has the Abomination of Desolation been planted? Yes!

Historically it occurred when the abominable banner or flag of Pagan Rome was planted within the holy ground of Jerusalem in 66 AD under Roman general Cestius.

But did you know that the Abomination of Desolation has been literally repeated and planted again when the SDA church leadership willingly allowed the flag of the Vatican of Roman Catholicism to be planted within the holy ground of the SDA church during their General Conference Session of 1995 (to see proof of this, please go to this link on our website: http://www.lightministries.com/SDA/Booklets/id254.htm#vatican_flag). And in addition to this, the Abomination of Desolation has also been spiritually repeated and planted again when Sunday worship – or the abominable banner of Rome – was and is still being allowed to repeatedly occur within SDA churches (to find proof for this, please go to this link on our website: http://www.lightministries.com/SDA/Booklets/id254.htm. Or for more in-depth research go to this link: http://www.lightministries.com/SDA/Books/id94.htm).

Are there being shown great signs and wonders from false Christs and prophets? Yes!

TV false prophets and evangelists claim to be able to heal all kinds of diseases. While many such healings are nothing more than trickery, or if the sufferer’s symptoms do miraculously disappear, they only reappear a short time later causing greater suffering than before. But there are indeed times when actual healings appear to take place, and there is left no doubt that the person was totally healed!

But how is it possible that a false prophet or evangelist can really use the power of God to heal someone? It is not possible at all. So then how do these actual healings occur? What happens is that the devil uses his power to afflict the body of someone under his control, and then at the appropriate time he removes his power and the affliction immediately leaves. Thus to all intents and purposes the sufferer is indeed totally relieved of his affliction, but God was not involved in the healing at all!

This means that we cannot trust to actual healings as proof that the prophet, minister, evangelist, healer or any other person is indeed from God, because God may not have been involve at all! So then how will God’s followers be able to keep from being deceived in this area of supposed miraculous healings? Christ has told us very plainly what His people are to do to keep from being deceived:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15-16.

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20.

This means that we must – WE MUST – be fruit-inspectors and take nothing for granted – even in what may appear to be miraculous. Fruits do not lie, because they are a true indication of what is hidden beneath the outer appearance. So look at these individuals claiming to be from God and carefully examine their lives and see if any unrepentant sins are manifested, and especially examine what they preach. If you see that they are continuing to repeat the same sins without repentance, or are continuing to preach false doctrines, then you know by their fruits that they are not of God – no matter how high and holy a profession they make, or how well they may speak and entertain.

So then “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1.

Has the sun been darkened yet? Yes!

The sun did not shine during the dark day of May 19, 1780. At noon-time it was just as black as midnight!

Has the moon not yet given her light? Yes!

On the night of May 19, 1780, the moon did not shine either – even though the night before, it happened to be a full moon. And it was so dark that a sheet of white paper held just a few inches away could not be seen at all. When the moon finally did appear sometime after midnight on May 20, it looked like blood.

Have the stars fallen from heaven yet? Yes!

On November 13, 1833, there were over 240,000 meteors or falling stars that could be seen at any one moment, and it continued in this fashion for over 3 straight hours! The amount of light generated from all these falling stars made it bright enough to read a newspaper! (For more historical information about the sun and moon being darkened, and the stars falling, see our website under the 6th Seal at http://www.lightministries.com/id217.htm.)

Has the powers of the heavens been shaken yet? No, not yet!

The powers of heaven are not shaken until the voice of God occurs in the 7th plague (Revelation 16:17-21), which is just before Christ is seen coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

You will notice that all of the events and signs given by Christ have been or are currently being fulfilled except just one, the powers of heaven being shaken, and this last sign will not take place until after probation has closed and the 7th plague has begun! So then where we are in the stream of time? We are right at the end, just before probation closes, and just before the plagues fall! So then how soon will Christ’s coming be?

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:32-34.

So the return of our Lord is “even at the doors”! Dear ones, this is the generation Christ’s spoke of that will not die away before we see our Saviour coming to take His elect home and to destroy all the wicked “with the brightness of His coming”! (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

With this being true, then the ultimate question is: Are you individually prepared to meet your Lord and God? Have you accepted the truth you believe because of your own personal study into God’s inspired word? Or have you accepted the truth you believe because someone else has told you that it is the truth? Is your faith today grounded in the word of God to the point that God’s divine power would hold you steadfast under all test, trial and persecution? Or is your faith grounded in the word of men – which is pure weakness, and thus is worthless to help you maintain your faith under all test, trial and persecution?

One of my most important duties as an ordained minister of God is to make sure people know the truth for themselves so that they are prepared to meet their God. You need to know exactly why you believe the truths that you do because you have personally seen it plainly revealed in God’s inspired word. Once you have examined your faith and know why you believe it, then you will not need to look to me or to any other minister or worker for what is the truth, because you yourself will have looked to God and have found the truth plainly revealed in His word. That way you would know how to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).

So we have discovered that all of the signs Christ predicted would occur before probation for the world closes and the plagues begin to fall have or are currently being fulfilled now. So it’s time to “prepare to meet thy God” (Amos 4:12), because “your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).

May God help us all to wake up, understand the time of night in which we are living, become serious about our faith and walk with our Lord, and then do all we can to enlarge and fill the kingdom of our God with precious souls snatched away from the bondage of the prince of darkness, while probation still lingers!

NEW ONLINE HOME CHURCH: We are inviting you to come and join with us in our new Let There Be Light Ministries Online Home Church! This will be a live church service, with interactive chatting software.

Our weekly Home Church meeting schedule is:

Midweek church services on Wednesdays beginning at 6:00 pm (Pacific Time)

Friday night church services beginning at 6:00 pm (PT)

Sabbath church services

– Sabbath School for Children begins at 9:30 am (PT)

– Sabbath School for Youth and Adults begins at 10:00 am (PT)

– Sabbath Church Service begins at 11:00 am (PT)

If you are able to join with us, please click this link for easy steps on how to do so: http://www.lightministries.com/id947.htm. These steps are simple, and most will be quickly connected. But please do this ASAP, so that any problems connecting with our conference software can be quickly solved now before trying to enter the meeting.

For those who have no or limited internet capabilities, you can also join with our live Church Services over your telephone. Simply dial 1-559-726-1200, and then after being prompted enter the access code 740570. You will then be automatically connected to listen to our live Church Service.

We thank you for your prayers and support, and we look forward to being able to see, fellowship and worship with you in Spirit and truth in the near future.

TRUE CHURCH WEBSITE: The Lord is continuing to bless our TrueChurchofGod.info website. In the month of September we had 11,723 hits, which were generated by 2,389 visitors. In these Visitor Sessions, 4,753 documents of Present Truth were viewed, and over 637 million bytes of information were downloaded.

In the month of October we had 12,596 hits, which were generated by 2,364 visitors. In these Visitor Sessions, 5,348 documents of Present Truth were viewed, and over 681 million bytes of information were downloaded.

So for these past 2 months, over 1.31 billion bytes of information were downloaded from our Gospel Truth website by over 4,700 visitors!

LTBL MINISTRIES WEBSITE: The Lord is also abundantly blessing our LightMinistries.com website! In the month of September we had 136,272 hits, which were generated by 23,776 visitors. In these Visitor Sessions, 40,179 documents of Present Truth were viewed, and over 25.63 billion bytes of information were downloaded.

In the month of October we had one of our best month’s yet! We had 169,471 hits, which were generated by 24, 673 visitors. In these Visitor Sessions, 45,679 documents of Present Truth were viewed, and over 22.92 billion bytes of information were downloaded.

So for these past 2 months, over 48.55 billion bytes of information were downloaded from our Gospel Truth website by over 48,400 visitors! MAY GOD'S HOLY NAME BE INDEED PRAISED!!

TO OUR SUPPORTERS: Please know that "Let There Be Light" Ministries is not using your support to build itself up into a kingdom, nor are we trying to acquire expensive video, TV or shortwave facilities. But we are trying to spread the truth as quickly and economically as possible. Please also know that you have played an important part in helping spread the Present Truth into various parts of this world, including through the printed page, through the living full-time workers and ministers we sponsor, and also through our Web Sites on the internet. This is how the Loud Cry of the third angel will be spread, and is now being spread! If the Lord impresses you to help in these endeavors, your donations and prayers will be greatly appreciated, and not just by this Ministry. MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU!

"Let There Be Light" Ministries is committed to the spreading of the full present truth gospel message worldwide, and has been doing so since 1986. This Ministry has operating expenses covering the areas of: printing, publishing, and writing of present truth books, booklets, tracts, and other literature; DVD, video and audio taping, production, and distribution; supporting several ministers and workers in foreign Countries; mail order – both domestic and foreign; traveling to hold meetings – both locally, nationally, and internationally; answering correspondence and questions regarding the message of truth; offering National and International Bible studies; sending free present truth literature to contacts in many poor Countries; etc.

Your gracious prayers and support is greatly appreciated and needed. Without the Lord's guidance, blessings, and your support, this Ministry could not continue to reach out worldwide with the precious message of Revelation 14:6-12 & 18:1-5.

May our God and Saviour continue to lead and guide all those who have helped us reach souls who sit in darkness with the precious light of gospel truth. May our supporters remember that they share in each and every soul who has been reached by this Ministry and converted to the Lord and His present truth!

GENERAL FOREIGN MISSION WORK NEEDS

We are currently supporting several workers in many different Countries on a monthly basis. We check into the economy of each area and supply a base support which is adequate depending on their situation, but not extravagant. This base support is to ensure that the monthly needs of each worker and family is met for that month so that the worker may devote full time to the ministry work. In addition to this, we are sending extra materials for evangelism, and money for printing, publishing, holding meetings, traveling, and other necessary areas in spreading the Present Truth in their Country. And as the work extends, especially will the expenses for evangelism expand. Whatever you can send to help in this necessary and vital area is greatly appreciated.

The work of spreading God's present truth is not to be limited, but must extend world-wide to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people before our Saviour can come (Matthew 24:14). What better way of spreading the Present Truth Gospel than by having workers who speak the native language, who reside in that particular Country, who can live and preach the truth, visit the interests in their homes, and spread the printed truth translated into their native language!

"Our publications should be printed in other languages, that foreign nations may be reached. Much can be done through the medium of the press, but still more can be accomplished if the influence of the living preacher goes with our publications....The Lord has moved upon men of other tongues and has brought them under the influence of the truth, that they might be qualified to labor in His cause." Testimonies, vol 3, p 204-205.

Please financially help us to continue supporting our current ministers and workers on a consistent basis, so that the spreading of the truth will not be interrupted but can quickly lighten this dark world with the glory of God.

"Every opportunity should be improved to extend the truth to other nations. This will be attended with considerable expense, but expense should in no case hinder the performance of this work. Means are of value only as they are used to advance the interest of the kingdom of God. The Lord has lent men means for this very purpose, to use in sending the truth to their fellow men." Testimonies, vol 3, p 208.

SPECIFIC MONTHLY FOREIGN MISSION WORK NEEDS

M Printing and mailing expenses for booklets and tracts to Fiji.

M Printing of booklets and tracts in Fiji.