"And
except
those days should
be shortened,
there should
no flesh be saved;
but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened."
Matthew 24:22 |
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Christ will be
the General
of Jehovah.
|
God has
established
certain laws
in harmony
with which
He operates. |
The "time of trouble"
will be
the natural consequence of unrighteousness.
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| The world
has disregarded God’s counsel.
The "voice of avarice"
--Get all you can...
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 |
The selfish, stony heart
of man
will become
a heart
of flesh. |
How did the
change from God-like love
to selfishness
come about? |
Sustenance
became the principal aim
and interest
of life. |
| The veil
of ignorance
and superstition
is now
being lifted. |
Wealth brings
many evils
and some
blessings.
|
As people
take advantage
of educational facilities, they
begin to think
for themselves. |
Hospitals
Libraries
|
There has been
a growing
opposition between
the wealthy
and labor. |
Capital vs. Labor
|
The increase of
knowledge and
liberty brings
discontent. |
|
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Destruction of
Jerusalem -
70 A.D.
A picture of trouble
upon Christendom |
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Egypt = World
To receive plagues |
Babylon = Nominal Church
To be overthrown and destroyed
|
Israel = Justified World
To receive blessings of reconciliation
with God
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"Behold,
the hire
of the laborers
who have reaped down your fields,
which is of you
kept back
by fraud, crieth; "And
the cries
of them
which
have reaped
are entered
unto the ears
of the Lord
of Sabaoth."
James 5:4 |
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1930
Bread Line NYC |
1931
4 Million Jobless |
1933
Soup Line
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"They
shall cast
their silver
in the streets,
and their gold
shall be
removed;
"Their
silver
and their gold
shall not be able
to deliver them
in the day
of the wrath
of the LORD..."
Ezekiel 7:19 |
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The trouble involves
all classes. |
March 1917
Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates
|
November 1917
Bolshevik
Revolution
|
|
 |
November 10, 1989
Berlin Wall,
symbol of Communist
oppression,
comes down
|
December 25, 1989
Communist Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu executed
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"For
then will I turn to the people
a pure language,
that they may
all call upon the name of the LORD,
to serve him with one consent."
Zephaniah 3:9 |
|
 |
The fire
of God’s zeal
is symbolic,
not
a literal fire. |
Other
symbols
in Scripture. |
Mountains = Kingdoms |
|
Heavens =
Spiritual Powers |
Earth =
Society |
Seas =
Restless
Masses of People |
Fire =
Destruction
Brimstone = Deadly Destruction
|
|
"World
That Was"
=
Social Order
before the Flood |
Temple of God
=
True Church |
Noah's Ark
=
Christ |
Present
Heavens
and Earth
=
Present Ecclesiastical and Social Order |
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The symbolic
heavens
and earth
will pass away
in the great trouble.
|
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"...the earth
abideth
for ever."
Ecclesiastes 1:4 |
|
"Nevertheless
we,
according
to his promise,
look for
new heavens
and
a new earth,
wherein
dwelleth
righteousness."
II Peter 3:13 |
|
Haughtiness
and oppression
will be entirely consumed. |
Symbolic fire
will utterly destroy every error. |
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|
Gold, Silver and
Precious Gems symbolize Divine Truths and Corresponding Character
      
|
A storm
symbolizes
the trouble
of the Day
of the Lord.
 
|
A dark night
of trouble
will precede the glorious brightness of the kingdom
of righteousness. |
|
The Psalmist
David vividly describes
this Day
of Trouble. |
|
"God is our refuge and
strength,
a
very present
help
in trouble. 
Therefore will not we
fear,
though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains
be carried into the midst of
the sea;
Though the waters thereof
roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake
with the swelling thereof. Selah."
Psalms 46:1-3
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The Book of Revelation is
a symbolical prophecy. |
Two-edged
Sword
out of
His Mouth
|
Kings
of Earth
Make War
|
Beast cast into
a lake of fire.
|
The variety of symbols helps us appreciate
the various features
of the
Day of the Lord. |
Pride
on the
one side-- Ignorance
and bigotry
on the other
|
The two rival
parties --
wealth
and poverty
The wealthy
feel a right
to the fruit
of their efforts. |
Artisan and
the laborer
All
should be
useful
to others.
|
Both labor
and capital
have benefited
from increased
knowledge and
inventions.
The organization
of labor.
|
|
|
One invention has followed another
very rapidly. |
Supply
outruns
demand. |
 |
Machinery enables
one man to accomplish
as much as many did formerly |
|
Over-production and
unemployment |
"Boom"
and
inflation --
Reaction
and
recession |
Labor
demands
Management proposes |
 |
|
The great
railroad
systems
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
Wage
Workers organize for reform.
What causes
the great trouble
of the "Day of Jehovah"? |
The melting
of society |
A government
which will enforce the principles
of righteousness |
Those who
seek righteousness will suffer less
from fear
and foreboding. |
Society weakens
with each new spasm of trouble. |
Labor pangs
in the birth
of a new era |
The Day of Trouble
is right on time -- God’s due time. |
Had the
knowledge come sooner,
the trouble
would have come sooner. |
Society
is unable
to adjust
to new
circumstances. |
|
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|
Dissatisfaction
is widespread.
 |
"In the sweat
of thy face shalt thou eat bread,
till thou return unto the ground."
Genesis 3:19
|
Emancipation
of the world
at the hands
of one
greater than
Moses.
|
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"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
Psalms 91:1
|
|
"He shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under
his wings
shalt thou trust:
his truth
shall be
thy shield
and buckler."
Psalms 91:4 |
Provide things decent
and needful,
with
contentment.
The saints
should take
no part
in the
struggle.
|
"Let your
conversation
be without
covetousness;
and be content
with
such things
as ye have..."
Hebrews 13:5
|
|
Heralds
of the Kingdom -- Ambassadors
of Peace |
|
The Kingdom
at hand
is the only
remedy
and hope.
The eminent
Kingdom... |
|
"Be still, and know
that I am God:
I will be exalted
among the heathen,
I will be exalted
in the earth."
Psalms 46:10
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