In Times Past
Eli
http://www.pastorrandyshupe.com
The following was taken from http://www.babylonthegreatisfalling.net
In Times Past
2003-10-01
Last year as America was preparing itself for the showdown with Saddam
Hussein, I wrote that America's prophets would be counseling the
President regarding Bible prophecy. Most of these men would be advising
the President that the heralded Antichrist would rise out of the
European Union. So, they will make it plain and simple to the President
that he must not let the Europeans take the helm in Middle East peace-
making, in order to restrain the coming of the Antichrist, whose number
one claim to fame is..."I have brought peace to the Middle East." When
I started writing my book in 1980, which is what my web site is based
upon, many of these same prophets were predicting the fall of America
and the rise of Europe to rule the world. The following is what I wrote
then: Chapter 2, The Antichrist, A Closer Look at the West:
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"In Daniel 7:20, another characteristic of the antichrist and his
nation is illuminated "...his look was more stout than its fellows."
The real muscle and might behind the American-European confederacy
rests in the superiority of America. For the little horn is
politically, economically, and militarily more stout than the others.
Isn´t that the situation today? For years, many Bible teachers, who
think the antichrist will emerge from Europe, have taught that America
would fall as a world power. They must be scratching their heads today,
for America´s influence and power is getting stronger.
This strengthening will intensify because the deceived church in
America is prophesying to the political leaders that the antichrist
will arise in Europe. Believing this lie, the last American President,
himself a professing Christian, will work to keep Europe inferior to
America, thinking this will hold back the antichrist. But in reality he
will emerge to be the antichrist when he brings peace to the Middle
East. Because he has been told by Christian leaders that the
peace-making antichrist will arise in Europe, he will not think he is,
and neither will the deceived religious leaders."
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I have been reluctant to publicly use the names of men I think are
fellow Christians who have fallen and consider this to be proper in
most instances. However, in my last article, "Accursed from Christ", I
was very clear in stating that some prophecy teachers were abandoning
the faith by uniting with false health and wealth teachers who preach
"another" Jesus, who should always be exposed publicly. So then, this
is one occasion when I must openly use someone's name. For when
Christians fall away from truth and go public in proclaiming error
about the teachings of Jesus Christ, and refuse to repent after private
brotherly rebuke, those who know the truth must also come out publicly.
But this must be done with meekness of wisdom, knowing that all of us
are capable of being led astray if we turn from the love and power of
Jesus Christ. On the August 4th and September 8th, 2003 TBN telecasts
of Jack Van Impe's prophecy program, he announced to the whole world
that the White House and Condoleezza Rice had requested his advice and
opinion on the now famous and currently stalled "Roadmap" for peace in
the Middle East. I was stunned as Van Impe then verified that he told
them things just like I said above in my book and also last year in my
article, "Showdown at Babylon." I have heard reports that other
prominent and well- placed prophecy teachers have also advised this
administration on Bible prophecy.
My friends this is another sign that we are rapidly approaching the
time of God's judgment on this Earth. These prophets are deceived, and
they are deceiving the White House by saying the Antichrist is from the
E.U. or anywhere else other than from the Oval Office itself. This is
where the Antichrist will sit thinking he is a blessed son of God
because he is a peacemaker, Matthew 5:9. These same Bible teachers, who
have distorted the meaning of that verse, will tell him so. Does anyone
really believe this historic position of strength and military power
America now enjoys has not been planned by powers greater than mere
men?
Jack Van Impe knows better or at least at one time he did. He has
authored many books on Bible prophecy and no one in the world has
memorized the scriptures more than he has. Many in the churches
respectfully refer to him as the "Walking Bible." He knows that America
is Babylon the Great of Revelation 18 and Jeremiah 50,51, which is the
home base of the Antichrist, and which is to be destroyed by God
himself at the end of the Great Tribulation. I met him briefly back in
1979, just after becoming a Christian. I was overwhelmed by the thought
of our Lord Jesus Christ returning to this Earth and making right all
the horrible wrongs in this world. I had for over ten years walked in
the darkness of a die hard atheist, and now the idea of a resurrected
King of Kings returning again fascinated me. I studied the Bible as if
my very life was on the line. Jack Van Impe seemed to have it all
together back in those days. His memory of the scriptures is admirable
and I will always respect him for that. Our brief encounter lasted all
of five minutes, after one of his speaking engagements. He was standing
behind a table filled with his books, when I introduced myself to him
as new believer, who was looking and longing for the Lord Jesus Christ
to return. I told him I believed that America was the Little Horn of
Daniel 7, the Beast of the Sea in Revelation 13, and Babylon the Great
of Revelation 18. He agreed. I asked him point blank where the
Antichrist would come from. He looked me in the eyes and said..."it
could be Jimmy Carter," clearly implying that the Presidency would
produce the Antichrist.
Some time later, as I was putting the finishing touches on my book, I
sent Jack a manuscript copy, hoping he would review it, even though I
knew he was a very busy man and probably had hundreds of people seeking
his time. I had great love and respect for him then, even though I had
met him for only five minutes. Surprisingly, he did review it and sent
me a kind and gracious letter stating he agreed with everything in it
with the exception of my views on "once saved, always saved." If you
have read my online book and all of the subsequent articles you know
that I believe the "last" American President will be the Antichrist,
and only God the Father knows who and when this will be! So why is Jack
Van Impe now advising what could be the last President something he
knows is not true? Only Jack knows the answer, but I believe that it
coincides with his new faith and admiration toward the Catholic Church
and Pope John Paul, for whom he has great respect and high regards. Did
Jack at one time think the last Pope would be the False Prophet and
Beast of the Earth of Revelation 13? He agreed with me in 1980 that it
would be so. With great sorrow and regret, it appears to me that
militant patriotism, the prosperity preachers, and his compromise with
Catholic doctrines have blinded Jack to the truth he once stood for.
I have sent Jack copies of all my articles for over two years now,
hoping he would respond and change his mind. So I now openly plead with
him and others to remember where they once were in the truth of the
scriptures and return with the renewing of their minds and hearts. If
they fail to do so, are they destined to fulfill the words of Jesus
Christ in Revelation 2:22...."Behold, I will cast her (Jezebel the
Great Harlot) into a bed, and "them" that commit adultery with her into
great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds?" The Great Harlot
is led by the Pope, who is daily seducing many back into the delusions
of Catholic doctrines. Are Jack Van Impe and many who have fallen with
him the "them" that our Lord Jesus Christ is referring to, who will be
spit up by the Lord when he returns to remove from the Earth his
followers as a thief in the night? I say this with tremendous sorrow,
and as always, remembering the ease at which my old carnal nature, that
yet resides in my body, rises to tempt me to follow the masses down the
broad, comfortable road that leads to destruction and eternal death in
Hell.
These prophetic events such as the "Roadmap" should inspire all of us
to examine our lives carefully. Are we ready to stand before the Lord
Jesus Christ, for the prophecies I've described point to his imminent
return to deliver and remove his faithful ones and then plunge the sons
of disobedience into the darkness of the Great Tribulation coming upon
the Earth. The Apostle Paul knew these days were coming and warned the
church in Ephesus to remember what the Lord had saved them from. Read
carefully the following from God's word:
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Ephesians 2: (1) "And you hath he made alive, who were dead in
trespasses and sins; (2) Wherein "in times past" ye walked according to
the course of this world, according the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the "sons of disobedience"; (3) Among
whom also we "all" had our manner of life "in times past" in the lusts
of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and
were by nature the "children of wrath," even as others. (4) But God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5)
Even when we were dead in sins hath made us alive together with Christ,
(by grace are you saved); (6) And hath raised us up together, and made
us to "sit together" in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7) That in
the "ages to come" he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in
his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus......(11) Wherefore,
"remember" that ye being "in time past" Gentiles in the flesh, who are
called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the
flesh made by hands; (12) That "at that time" ye were without Christ,
being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
(13) But now in Christ Jesus ye who once were far off are made near by
the blood of Christ.....Ephesians 5: (5) For this ye know, that no
fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater,
hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. (6) Let no
man deceive you with vain words; for because of these things "cometh"
the wrath of God upon the "sons of disobedience."
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Obviously, if you are reading this and have never asked the Lord Jesus
to forgive you and be your Lord, then you are still part of the
uncircumcised Gentile world. If you are Jewish and you continue to
reject Jesus as your promised Messiah, you are just as lost as the
Gentiles, even though the Jewish Jesus came to Israel fulfilling the
promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You can clearly see
from Paul's letter that anyone outside of the grace and power of Jesus
Christ is considered by God as one of the sons of disobedience, all of
whom are unwitting followers of Satan, the prince of today's
political-religious world system. The sons of disobedience are also
identified as the children of wrath, always warring and fighting among
themselves due to pompous pride and patriotism, having missed the peace
with God that Jesus Christ provides to all those who come to him by
faith. You can see that Paul makes a sharp contrast between the sons of
disobedience and those sons who desire with all their heart to obey him
and his teachings, because he their Lord and Master.
When I first read Paul's letter to Ephesus admonishing them to
remember, to look back at the old course of their life, I was ashamed
to even think about the times past, with all the terrible, wretched
things I said and did on a daily basis. But the Lord instructed me from
his word to remember that old life not from an attitude of renewed
guilt or condemnation, but from one of thankfulness that he had mercy
on me and forgave all of my many sins. Moreover, the Holy Spirit within
me has changed the course and practices of my life. I have found that
it is possible, with the Lord's help, to generally remember my times
past without all those sordid details of sinful experiences causing me
to be tempted into the carnal pleasures of sin again. When I think of
that old life of continual daily sin, I now see the bloody cross of
Jesus Christ and my sins that nailed him there. Knowing that helps me
not to obey the tempting desires to practice sin again. For I now know
that sin separates me from a loving God who truly wants to fellowship
with me.
Paul's words of truth are as real and alive today as they were to the
Ephesians. Just because two thousand years has past does not make them
irrelevant. Listen carefully, is it not true today that the human race,
as God sees it, is still divided between the Gentiles and Jews? Is it
not true also that God is still calling them both to the Jewish
Messiah, Jesus Christ, and that only through him can true peace be
established between these ancient enemies? The very fact there are
still Jews on the Earth, and there is now a nation of Israel again, who
have survived through centuries of persecution and holocausts from us
Gentiles, should encourage you all to take the Bible as the living word
from God, and study it for your very lives.
As Paul earlier said to the Ephesians, God the Father wants us to know
what is the "hope of his calling," Ephesians 1:18. He wants us to know
the inheritance that can be ours in Heaven. I decided long ago that the
only way to have eternal life was to be "in" Christ, which comes when
one is born again by the Holy Spirit. When that truly happens to
someone he will immediately have an inner desire for Jesus to return
one day in glory. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the hope
he calls us to, which includes the inheritance of a new sinless,
perfect, and immortal body that is fashioned after his own glorified
body that rose from the dead. This glorious day of resurrection is
imminent my friends. There is coming a day that will leave Tom Brokaw
and Peter Jennings of the news media completely speechless and beside
themselves. Without a doubt it will be the most thrilling "breaking
news" event of all time. The graves of the righteous will be opened and
emptied, and living people will be reported as missing. For the Lord
Jesus will descend from Heaven with the souls and spirits of the dead,
to the atmosphere of the Earth and in one voice as a trumpet blast,
call every dead body of those "in" him who have died the last two
thousand years, to rise again. Then those of us who happen to be alive
on that historic day, who are also "in" him, will hear our name being
called and instantly we will join them in the clouds to be taken to
Heaven, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 4. At last, our aging and
sinful bodies will be changed from corruption to incorruption, 1
Corinthians 15:51-57.
Even though there exists only a small remnant of followers on Earth
today, there will be multitudes who meet in the air, for most of the
Lord's people are already in Heaven awaiting the call to return for the
resurrection of their bodies. In the days following this spectacular
event, the questions about what just happened will begin to fill the
airways.... "Was it really Jesus? If so, why are the Pope, President
and Preachers still here? If so, why is my dead grandmother's grave
left unopened, for she was a good person and went to Mass every Sunday?
Was it UFO's? If so, what is their purpose and where are they from?
What is going to happen now?" People will be glued to their television
screens waiting for the answer that will calm all their fears!
I know that to some of you this sounds like a sensational plot and
script for a science fiction movie, but rest assured, this day of
resurrection is coming, for Jesus will remove his people to Heaven and
then the lights will go out on this war torn, demon infested planet.
His followers, the sons of obedience by faith, will be in Heaven
awaiting their return trip to the Earth with Jesus Christ at the Battle
of Armageddon, Revelation 19. It remains mind boggling to me how anyone
who hears or reads this awesome truth of eternal, resurrection life can
then turn their back on Jesus Christ and return to their lustful
pursuit of the American dream of worldly prosperity. How can you even
compare the riches of the love and mercy of Jesus to the riches of
money?
Once the lights are turned off on this planet, and Satan's Antichrist
is allowed to bring an imitation peace to the Holy Land, God's angels
will prepare themselves to bring down the wrath of God upon the sons of
disobedience, Revelation 6-18. It will all come down to one climactic
battle in the land of Israel. Jesus Christ will appear in the darkened
sky as the lightning flashes from the east to the west, and all eyes
shall behold him, Matthew 24:27-31. He will descend to the Earth to
destroy the Antichrist and False Prophet, who have gathered all the
remaining armies of the Earth to the Middle East, to make war against
Jesus Christ and his heavenly armies that are with him, Revelation
17:14, 19:19. As a result of God's permitting both good and fallen
angels to publicly appear and speak directly to the people, while they
at the same time bring thundering destruction to the Earth itself, the
Antichrist will have convinced the unrepentant Kings and Presidents
that instead of Jesus returning, aliens from other worlds are coming
down for one final battle, Revelation 16:13-14. Please read my
articles, "The Angelic Intervention, The Battle of the White Horsemen,
The Wrath of the Lamb, When Angels Appear" for further details of what
is to take place on this planet.
I would like to end this article with another call for all who read
this, including myself, to examine ourselves before the Lord Jesus
Christ. Are you a Gentile, apart from God, without hope in this world,
perhaps even following one of the demonic religions of this world? This
list of religions includes most of Christendom who have fallen into a
deeper demonic delusion than all the others. Or are you like me, a
Gentile who found the forgiveness and grace of God, who walked in
obedience and faith, and then later became lukewarm and very carnal
again, only to be driven back to the bloody cross for refreshing and
the renewing of my mind? Or are you Jewish, and still listening to all
the mixed up Rabbis, who see Jesus Christ as a false prophet, who deny
his resurrection from the dead? Or are you a Jew who has believed that
Jesus is the Messiah, who once knew that salvation is by grace through
repentance and faith in the Holy Spirit's indwelling power to obey the
laws of Christ, only to find yourself trying again to obey the Torah
through your own power or righteousness? It is one thing to observe and
honor the law of God as it points us to Jesus Christ, his blood
sacrifice, his power to obey, and quite another thing when one thinks
he has the power within himself to earn God's grace or favor. Finally,
are you one of the few in this present world who have washed themselves
in the blood of Jesus and have been kept pure by the power of the Holy
Spirit, and have overcome evil by faith? Everyone of you who are
reading this falls under one of these definitions, so there is no
excuse when you stand before the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ. As
for me, I desire to hear the Lord say to me on that day...."well done,
good and faithful servant" and not.... "I never knew you; depart from
me, ye that work iniquity."