May 6, 2006
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). These are truths which are strictly a matter of faith. They will be fulfilled within the coming 6 years that remain of Man's rule of this Earth. While much of what is written is of indescribable horror about to break loose on this Earth, it is the much hoped for method that God will bring about his Kingdom. It is the only way that mankind will be humbled and made capable of accepting God's way of life, and also the final proof he will give to show he is God and who his people are. By believing these things and their necessity we condemn the world with God, just as Noah did when he built the ark as Hebrews 11 states.
These things are truth, and it is the truth that sets apart God's people. It is our choice to believe God.It is unknown whether these individuals will be reawakened before or after the opening of the 7th seal. Ezekiel 5 prophesizes the scattering of Israel, both physically (in the coming few years) and spiritually (which has already occurred). Ezekiel 20:33-38 describes God bringing Israel 'back together,' but only a tithe will remain. This will happen both spiritually and physically. The past several years has been a time of tribulation on the Church, but it is nearly over and the physical tribulation is about to begin. At the end of these tribulations is when God will fulfill Ezekiel 20. Presently the remnant is like 'a tithe of the tithe,' only 10% of those who will comprise the remnant. These are the ones "bound in the skirts," protected as stated in Ezekiel 5:3.
This has come into greater light as the remnant of God's Church learned that the Seals of Revelation were about the Church and not the world. Revelation 6:9-11 describes those who will be a part of the 144,000; not a literal physical matrydom occurring in that timeframe. "How long?" has been a common plea of all of God's people throughout the ages and it is announced at the 5th Seal that there is not much longer till Christ returns. We all have been persecuted, tried, and murdered spiritually (Romans 8:36) to become a part of God's family.
All who will be a part of the God family need many years to grow spiritually and be refined so they can be trusted with the power of God. Young people who are not ready will live on into the Millennial period as a continuation of the Church.
God has always worked through a hierarchical method, especially at this end time. There was one end-time apostle who led the Worldwide Church of God, which was God's only organization during Philadelphia. Likewise, there is one prophet who leads God's Church today. It is one organization contrary to what many believe, and God is about to prove this mightily. The Church is not a physical organization, however it is where and how God works.
There has always been speculation concerning the prophetic Day of the Lord. Many still believe that God cannot or will not unleash such destruction on the Earth in one single day. In one single day God will destroy all that remains in resistance to his son and his way of life, it will not be a period of 30 days or any other length of time but 24 hours.
While their identities have been revealed to the remnant God has reawakened, they are not yet known to the rest of the scattered Church or the world. Soon now this will change, being made evident by things that are prophesied and occur. Many in the scattered Church will reject them because these individuals will not be who they expect or want them to be, and so will fight against them even after their prophecies begin to be fulfilled.
This is in allusion to the passage in Revelation 10:1-7. Some of these things have occurred and will continue to occur even before the second book written by Ron Weinland will be published. There is nothing in scripture that even hints at the meaning behind these thunders, nevertheless God has revealed what they mean to his prophets the two witnesses as proof of who they are. These events set the stage for the Great Tribulation, shaping world events and the minds of people, and when they have taken place the Tribulation will begin with the opening of the seventh seal. The seventh seal will be opened in approximately two to three years. The unveiling of the seven thunders is the last thing to be revealed before great climatic events happen on this earth.
The events of September 11th marked the opening of the sixth seal of Revelation. It announced a time of transition from the ongoing spiritual tribulation to the physical tribulation. This event and those that followed (such as the war against Iraq) changed the world and began to shape the minds of world leaders and peoples firmly against the United States. While terrorism has always existed, now it is center stage. America now fights a war it cannot win, a war against ideas and a culture willing to sacrifice itself to see America's destruction. Protection has been taken away from the scattered nations of Israel and the repercussions of September 11th will have a great part in the downfall of America and the British Commonwealth.
This is something we've long known would happen at the end time. According to the US Geological Survey the frequency of significant earthquakes, ranging from a magnitude of 3.0 and up, was nearly quadrupled in the period of 2002 to 2005 (193 earthquakes) compared to that of 1991-2001 (53 earthquakes). There have been 400,000 deaths in the past 2 years due to earthquakes and related occurrences, and this is only going to continue with greater magnitude.
This too is something we have always known would occur at the end, and we are living through it now. Last hurricane season was the worst on record and scientists predict this one will be equal to or worse than the year before. There have already been more tornados this year than in the typical spring. There will be abnormal and untimely rainfalls in certain areas of the world while droughts in others. The destructive power of nature will continue to be unleashed upon the whole world in greater and greater ways as we near closer to the seventh seal.
This will be a direct result of the previous three. Right now there are many who believe (or teach, to avoid panic) that the stock market and global economy are flourishing, yet soon it will be decimated and America's economy being the first to crash. Many nations, including Russia and China, are already changing their foreign reserves to Euros from US Dollars due to its instability, and more countries will follow suit. Some have predicted that the global economy itself is so weak that the current crisis with Iran and its oil could topple it. Dollars will soon be worthless and there will be great chaos as this occurs.
The first four thunders serve as a warning to all that we are in the end time, however many have predicted these things. The following will serve primarily to prove who are God's two witnesses who foretold these events. This can be divided into three categories: Death in the organizations professing to be the Church of God, death of prominent world figures, and death from pandemics.
The first category has already begun with an event that shook the Church- the March 12th 2005 shooting in Wisconsin. This was an announcement that protection has been removed from those that have not repented of their Laodicean spirit, including the ministry, and more death will follow. The deaths of John Ogwyn, prominent evangelist of the Living Church of God, and Dave Burson from staph infections were also a part of this phase in God's chastening and trying of the Church that refuses to hear his voice. God is about to prove who is his minister at this time to the Church, and it is not the prominent ministers who are in the various organizations or those that are on television and radio. The most notable among the leaders of the scattered church will be those who die toward the beginning; however every minister who was scattered, who fails to repent early on and return to God will die in the final 3 ½ yrs of the Great Tribulation. The most notable of those who die will be the two remaining television presenters in the Living Church of God. The sound of this thunder will be intensified by the early deaths of the leadership of the Philadelphia Church of God, the Restored Church of God and the Church of The Great God. Most of these are individuals who profess directly or indirectly to be one of the two witnesses, the Elijah to Come, or one who will train the two witnesses. Deaths of many in the United Church of God will follow this because of their pride, thinking they are the ones through whom God is working through after seeing the deaths of the other leaders. Only approximately 3,000 individuals in the various organizations today will survive this and the Great Tribulation. This is all that will repent.
There is a parallel that can be drawn from the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:19-40 and these events. The prophets of Baal tried with all their might to prove they were representatives of the true God, and they failed. Rod Meredith has frequently called upon the Church to fast for him to be given the power of healing so it'll be evident once and for all that they are God's Church. This has not happened and will not happen, this is not a time of healing but a time of suffering. Other ministers have made similar claims and requests, a trend that will continue and they will all be shown false. God made it abundantly clear to the confused Children of Israel who was his prophet, and he is about to do so again. The question is, will their hearts be too hardened with pride to listen?
The first category will go unnoticed for the most part by the world however the second will not even though it overlaps with the first. There will be many sudden deaths of prominent religious, political, and entertainment figures around the world. One individual, however, will be spared- the Pope.
The final category will also not go unnoticed by the world or the Church. The fifth thunder will be marked by the rise of epidemics of various diseases, notably bird flu, that will kill many.
This has also already begun as of Summer 2004 with the release of the first book by Ron Weinland and the interviews that followed. As the above events transpire there will be more radio and television interviews where it will be declared that Ron Weinland is one of the two witnesses. It will be known to the world that God has sent a prophet for the last time to declare judgment upon Israel and the whole world. The destructive forces being unleashed on the Earth will be foretold even moreso on these interviews, providing evidence that Ron Weinland is one of two witnesses.
Now is the time that God will make known his way of life to the whole world, and it will not be done by telecasts or magazines but by destruction and declaration by his remnant, primarily the two witnesses. God has only revealed himself to 144,000 throughout all of history, but as a new age is beginning to dawn he will begin to work with all who repent, preparing them for the Millennial period ruled over by Jesus Christ and the 144,000. It will be a progressive process, growing in magnitude all the way to the end of the 3 1/2 years of Great Tribulation. This process has already begun in a minute way on the Earth, but it will also occur in the Scattered Church that thought they knew God. It was at the Feast of Tabernacles in 2005 that God finally revealed to the Church that his son has not always existed as previously taught. This knowledge was kept from even Herbert W. Armstrong, reserved for the end-time just before mankind is brought face to face with Jesus Christ. All who will be a part of the remnant that lives through the Great Tribulation will have to humble themselves to admit they were wrong on this very foundational level.
The fulfillment of all that is written here is on the horizon. The entire world will begin feeling these thunders and their aftermath in a greater way within six months. It is advised to all who read these words to begin taking steps to ensure self-sufficiency for two to three months, however it is impossible to live through all that is coming without the grace and mercy of God. It is he who you should put your trust in, as it is he who has allowed all these things to come to pass on this world. Begin changing your life and seeking out his truth, only a repentant and contrite spirit will God bring into his new age.