All Hands on Deck
In regard to the Passover, God requires full participation. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, there was a clear difference between God’s people and the peoples of the world. That difference was demonstrated by the obedience of those who put blood on their doorposts and were “passed over,” while those who didn’t suffered the destroyer’s vengeance.
All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. (Exodus 12:47)
Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: (Deuteronomy 16:16)
The Passover was so important that God gave Moses a special rule requiring them to keep the Passover in the second month if there were a special reason they were not able to keep it in the first month.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. (Numbers 9:9-12)
A New Reign
There were a couple of times in Bible history when the second-month Passover rule was put into effect. One story in particular is a vivid example for us.
Ahaz was a wicked king and led the kingdom into apostasy. He represents the current leaders of the Church organization, and indeed the Church has reached total apostasy. His son Hezekiah was a good king, and we can see that by his first actions:
He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. (2 Chronicles 29:3-5)
This is our story. In the first part of this article, we showed how we had received the candlestick of authority from God the Father. The Ahaz of Adventism is spiritually DEAD! We (represented by Hezekiah) have been authorized as the new leaders of the church, and we are doing the same good work Hezekiah did at the beginning of his reign.
Just like Hezekiah opened the doors of the temple, we published The Vessel of Time so the abominations in the Church can be seen for what they really are, and corrected. Each one who reads it while looking at the nail prints in Orion will have an opportunity to come to terms with these issues in his own heart, and repent.
And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. (2 Chronicles 29:15-16)
Kidron was the brook where they ground up idols into dust.
And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly. (2 Chronicles 29:36)
We have no more time to lose than Hezekiah did! Has God been preparing your heart for this?
Take note of the day when the temple sanctification was completed:
Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eight day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. (2 Chronicles 29:17)
It took until Nissan 16 to make an end of the cleaning. This is already past time to observe Passover, and they even had to organize and sanctify the rest of the people too. They were in such an apostate state of affairs, they could not get cleaned up and ready fast enough to observe Passover in the first month.
In our group here in Paraguay we were worshipping early Easter Sunday morning and realized that we had not made a conscious effort to humble ourselves and confess our faults one to another. Of course, we were in harmony during all our activities surrounding the Lord’s Supper, but a special time of deliberate confession and forgiveness amongst ourselves was lacking. It wasn’t until that Sunday morning that we actually “finished” all our cleansing, and what day do you suppose that was on the Hebrew calendar? It was Nissan 16, the Easter Sunday after our Lord’s Supper on Nissan 14 (Passover).
If we, the leaders (or priests) of the Church finished the cleansing too late, there was certainly not time to sanctify the rest of the Church for that Lord’s Supper!
The Call
Friends, do you understand that we are in an emergency situation? The Church is in total apostasy and the enemies of God are far in advance! What did Hezekiah do to meet his emergency?
And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover unto the LORD God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. (2 Chronicles 30:1-5)
We also took counsel together in study and prayer. A few days after our Lord’s Supper here in Paraguay, after one of our leaders had returned to his distant home, we saw the Holy Spirit working with us wonderfully. In answer to our prayers for understanding, we received on the same day, at the same time, in different parts of the world, the same inspiration from this story of Hezekiah!
We realized from the above verses that our duty is to “send letters” to all Israel to keep the Lord’s Supper in the second month the proper way at the proper time. That is the purpose of this three-part warning: to gather together the remnant who will yet serve the Lord, to dedicate themselves to Him anew. These articles need to go to the entire population of the Church (from Beersheba even to Dan) for them to come together to observe the Lord’s Supper at the correct time. This is for people of all denominations, not just Adventists!
The second-month Passover is the key confirmation of the beginning of the 1260 days: since the church was not properly prepared, God’s grace allowed these last 30 days past the beginning of the 1290. This second-month Passover is now the time when those in God’s Church whose hearts God has been preparing should receive the body and blood of the Lord. Those who don’t have His blood on the doorposts of their heart will not be protected from the destroyer.
Grace, Grace, Grace!
How long will God’s patience last? Is there no end to His grace?
The men of that generation were not all, in the fullest acceptation of the term, idolaters. Many professed to be worshipers of God. They claimed that their idols were representations of the Deity, and that through them the people could obtain a clearer conception of the divine Being. This class were foremost in rejecting the preaching of Noah. As they endeavored to represent God by material objects, their minds were blinded to His majesty and power; they ceased to realize the holiness of His character, or the sacred, unchanging nature of His requirements. As sin became general, it appeared less and less sinful, and they finally declared that the divine law was no longer in force; that it was contrary to the character of God to punish transgression; and they denied that His judgments were to be visited upon the earth. Had the men of that generation obeyed the divine law, they would have recognized the voice of God in the warning of His servant; but their minds had become so blinded by rejection of light that they really believed Noah’s message to be a delusion. {PP 95.3}
This is our third warning! Will you mock and ridicule again, when our earlier errors were really God’s grace to you?
Many at first appeared to receive the warning; yet they did not turn to God with true repentance. They were unwilling to renounce their sins. During the time that elapsed before the coming of the Flood, their faith was tested, and they failed to endure the trial. Overcome by the prevailing unbelief, they finally joined their former associates in rejecting the solemn message. Some were deeply convicted, and would have heeded the words of warning; but there were so many to jest and ridicule, that they partook of the same spirit, resisted the invitations of mercy, and were soon among the boldest and most defiant scoffers; for none are so reckless and go to such lengths in sin as do those who have once had light, but have resisted the convicting Spirit of God. {PP 95.2}
Will you take part with the scoffers and gainsayers?
Or will you follow the counseled course with us: to renounce our sin, heed the invitations of mercy, heed the words of warning, and endure the trial before us. We need to obey the divine law and realize that God does punish transgression! (He often does it using our enemies as His agents.)
From the Cross to the Slaughter
In AD 31, Jesus entered Jerusalem to a king’s welcome, but the chosen people did not want him. The disciples held a very special Passover with their Lord that year, and the same day He was crucified. After that time there was a short space for repentance, and then the gospel went to the Gentiles and Israel was forsaken. They did not know that their fate had been sealed. At another Passover a few years later, while bursting with people the city was besieged and eventually destroyed. The pre-condition for the abomination of desolation was fulfilled by Jesus in AD 31, they sealed their fate in AD 34 with the stoning of Stephen, and the massive slaughter finally came in AD 70.
On April 5, 2012 the new leaders of the Church participated in a very special Lord’s Supper, too. In our own way, we went through the experiences of our Lord. This warning is Stephen’s last sermon to Israel, and its reception will seal fates. Will you stone us, like they stoned Stephen? Or consent to it like Saul? Or will you repent and cry out “What must I do to be saved?” At the second Lord’s Supper on May 5, 2012 the anti-typical “Jerusalem” will seal its fate. This is the beginning of the 1260 days.
And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. (Daniel 12:7)
A time (360) + times (360 + 360) + an half (180) = 1260 days.
They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions. (Hosea 5:7)
The above verse from Hosea confirms what we already learned from Hezekiah that the 1260 days would begin exactly a month (or 30 days) after the 1290 began, at the close of Sabbath, May 5, 2012.
That is a High Sabbath (the fourth Omer Sabbath leading up to Pentecost) and it would be a good day to make confessions of faults one to another, study, and pray earnestly for God’s acceptance so that the destroyer will PASS-OVER our lives. The Lord’s Supper should be held that evening. The next three days should be made a time of watchful prayer.
Our Experience
This year, the Passover feasts landed on the same days of the week as they did the year of the crucifixion. (In the second month Passover, however, the days of the week will be different.) On Thursday evening we gathered in the house and prepared our hearts in anticipation. We expected disaster to strike that night during our Lord’s Supper. Each of us took a few moments to re-affirm the vows we made some weeks prior in our private study group. Here is an example declaration of intent before God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit:
I, ______________________, believe that I have to the best of my knowledge and consciousness ordered my life in a way that I want to ask the Father for permission to testify for Him. I am the husband/wife of one believing wife/husband (or unmarried, etc.) and not living in adultery, and I order my house by the standards of the Bible and the way it was explained to us by the Spirit of Prophecy. The first priority in my life is God, and not even my love for my spouse or family is greater than my obligation that I recognize from the light that I have experienced through the Holy Spirit. I am aware that I could be tried in all things, as it has happened to Job. I know that because of the things that have to happen now it would be better to be laid to the grave and that the survivors will envy the dead. Still, I want to face my responsibilities and follow the example that my Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ, has given me, and show other people and the entire universe the wonderful and righteous character of God and His Law.
I declare irrevocably that I consider the Law of God to be just and that I want to keep it. I ask from my intercessor Jesus the strength to achieve this, and I ask from the Father the strength to endure the time of the plagues without an intercessor. I pray for my people, the individual Seventh-day Adventists, that we will still be able to find a great number of them, who will join us, that the many martyrs on the long road to these last days will not have died in vain, but above all that my personal Savior Jesus Christ will not have lived, died, and risen on the third day in vain. I pray also for that part of God’s people which still live in Babylon, that they might hear the loud cry which will be sounded by the 144,000 soon and that we may be granted the grace to comfort these people with hope for their final journey. I pray to the Father for the grace of the latter rain, so that we can perform this task and I am ready to be shown by him each hidden or open sin, which might still be making it impossible for me to become a truly pure vessel. I believe that with God’s help, I will be able to stand in the time of plagues without an intercessor, because I believe that God’s power for salvation is unlimited. This I testify and declare in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
In our group, both men and women have given their vows. God’s original plan in Eden was for both the man and woman to be his witnesses, but because of sin God placed the woman under the man’s rule. As we approach Eden Restored in the judgment of the living and after the judgment of the dead, when the 144000 will have been completely sanctified (purged of sin), there is no longer any reason for the woman to be under the rule of the man. Each stands individually at the witness stand.
Prior to dividing men and women for foot-washing, we read some verses and discussed what the real lesson is that none of us (whether leaders or otherwise) are higher or lower. The servant is not greater than his master, and since Jesus, the highest, made himself the lowest of all there is no room whatsoever for any of us to see ourselves higher or lower than one another. This applies not only among ourselves as leaders, but also as we go out to teach the 144000, and they in turn as they encourage others. We are all equal benefactors of the grace of Jesus.
After washing each other’s feet, we gathered at the table for the supper. The atmosphere was sacred, as if Jesus was there at the table with us. Prayers were said, hymns were sung, and verses were read. Brother John broke the unleavened bread into substantial pieces, and we enjoyed a full glass of grape juice. It was a meal together enjoyed with dearest friends.
Afterward, seeing that “nothing happened” yet, we read sections from “Desire of Ages” to help us think on what took place that night after Jesus ate supper with his disciples. It was a very trying time for us as we went through this first disappointment of the weekend. Some of our group stayed up in continuous study and prayer until better understanding came as to when the event was to be expected. At last, rays of light strengthened us like the angel Gabriel that appeared to Jesus to strengthen him:
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day: And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. (Amos 8:9-10)
The above verse gave us evidence that the big event would be synchronous with the earthquake and darkness that surrounded the crucifixion. This gave us a little hope, and we slept.
The next morning, Friday, we received many mocking and scorning e-mails, like the jeering crowd that ridiculed our Lord at his trial that same morning. Did these gainsayers not know that they were slighting the last dying drops of Mercy from a God of Justice and Vengeance? Despite all that, we remained committed to our cause and were even willing to lay down our very lives in the fire-ball event if that is what was necessary to fulfill our commission.
Again, after “nothing happened” at the crucifixion hour, we were in the throes of disappointment and confusion all over again. This was our second disappointment for the weekend. Brother John shut down the website, and we all went back into prayer for more light. The following Sabbath morning, we worshipped in our chapel. Brother John’s sermon recapped our disappointments, then transitioned into new light, grand and glorious indeed. His sermons are “led by the Spirit” not pre-written, and the Holy Spirit truly blessed us with a High Sabbath’s blessing that day.
The Mightiest of the Heavenly Host
The angel Gabriel that strengthened Jesus in Gethsemane is the same angel that returned on Sunday morning to call Him from the grave. Jesus is our example or “type.” If the 144,000 are His pure and spotless antitype, what could be the antitype of Gabriel? Let us read a fascinating quote from Sister White on the subject:
“And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven.” Clothed with the panoply of God, this angel left the heavenly courts. The bright beams of God’s glory went before him, and illuminated his pathway. “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.” {DA 779.2}
The next paragraph goes on to describe this angel as the “mightiest” of the Lord’s host. Let’s compare that with the angel that strengthens the 144,000 for their witness:
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. (Revelation 18:1)
Do you see the connection? The outpouring of the Holy Spirit without measure is represented by the angel in Revelation 18, which is the antitype to the “mightiest” of the Lord’s host that called Jesus from death back to life.
And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. (Revelation 18:2)
The angel decries the fall of Babylon double, because we are making the second cry in like manner as William Miller and his company made the first cry.
We feasted on this new understanding and met early before dawn on Sunday morning to await the fire balls for the third time. We sang, we confessed, we prayed, we peeked out the windows, we sang. Dawn came. We worshipped a little more, and then waited a long while in morbid silence until one-by-one we quietly left the sanctuary.
This third disappointment was almost unbearable. We were beside ourselves. That day passed with difficulty, until rays of light slowly began to shine on our path again. As we discussed in Part 2, we realized that we were looking for the wrong event again, and we had to give the warning one more time. The website was turned on with a new countdown and a new warning.
Three times we were tried with disappointment. Three times Jesus hesitated to drink the cup. If Jesus had failed during just one of those hesitations, we would have been forever lost. If we had given up at any of those three disappointments, we would have failed in our mission.
This is an experience that we as leaders had to go through, but gladly the 144,000 will not have to go through it. Sister White, speaking not so much to the leaders as to the 144,000 says:
Time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never again be a test. {EW 74.2}
If we had failed in any one of our disappointments, this final warning would not have been given. Like Jesus, we reconciled to go through with our purpose, no matter the cost. This is the kind of faith that the 144000 and the martyrs will need in order to witness faithfully for the Father.
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)
The Orion Message comprise one witness, and the Vessel of Time comprise the other. The power given to those who proclaim those messages is the Holy Spirit, the mightiest of the Lord’s host.
The end of the 1260 days would be on the same day that the 1290 ends, and the same day the 144,000 sealed ones will figuratively enter the “ark” seven days before the plagues fall upon the earth. These periods end on that day because it is the plagues that bring a final end to Babylon, and to the weary efforts of the witnesses “clothed in sackcloth.”
What Will Actually Happen?
We are not prophets, but here are some clues for consideration as to what to expect.
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. (Revelation 13:13-14)
From the above verse, we see that the fire comes down from heaven first, before the Sunday law is pressed by the people. In fact, it is what drives the people to want a Sunday law. Therefore, the first event we could reasonably expect on the evening of Saturday, May 5 is a world-wide disaster involving fire from heaven (fire balls). This could begin with or involve earthquakes, volcanoes, or other phenomena. During the destruction, it seems likely that there would be three days of darkness (perhaps from ash clouds and severed communications) after which the world would emerge with the headlines calling for Sunday laws, just like how after 9/11 the churches were packed. The next Sunday just happens to be the 13th of May, a favorite day for Marian apparitions to appear in past years and could probably be used again this year to bolster the desired Sunday law. The Sunday after that, the 20th of May, 2012, was marked symbolically in crop circles and could probably be the first legally mandated worship day. Of course, I don’t really know how events will transpire, but we do know one thing for sure: it will be worse than we can imagine.
The “time of trouble, such as never was,” is soon to open upon us; and we shall need an experience which we do not now possess and which many are too indolent to obtain. It is often the case that trouble is greater in anticipation than in reality; but this is not true of the crisis before us. The most vivid presentation cannot reach the magnitude of the ordeal. In that time of trial, every soul must stand for himself before God. “Though Noah, Daniel, and Job” were in the land, “as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.” Ezekiel 14:20. {GC 622.4}
Many of us have already had to take a stand without even the support of family members or friends, let alone the support of saints like Job or Daniel. As you face your own trials, remember that others have gone before you. And there is One who was the Forerunner for all of us.
Conclusion
Although we are being led by the Holy Spirit, we are still just human. If nothing visible happens at the beginning of the 1260 days, we will have to reevaluate this study, as there simply aren’t any days left according to The Clock of God in Orion and The Vessel of Time! But the safe course is to give the warning.
So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. (2 Chronicles 30:10)
We know the response to expect already. But remember, those who don’t heed the warning will perish whether they are warned or not, but if we don’t warn them, their blood will be on our hands. More importantly, there are a few that will take heed:
Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 30:11)
Will you be among the laughers and scorners, or among those that humbled themselves and came?
“I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:1, 2, 4. …. Of Babylon, at the time brought to view in this prophecy, it is declared: “Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” Revelation 18:5. She has filled up the measure of her guilt, and destruction is about to fall upon her. But God still has a people in Babylon; and before the visitation of His judgments these faithful ones must be called out, that they partake not of her sins and “receive not of her plagues.” Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from heaven, lightening the earth with his glory and crying mightily with a strong voice, announcing the sins of Babylon [the voice of God like many waters, announcing the sins of all the churches in Orion]. In connection with his message the call is heard: “Come out of her, My people.” These announcements, uniting with the third angel’s message, constitute the final warning to be given to the inhabitants of the earth. {GC 604.1}
Will you heed this final warning and pledge your life to God’s service for these last days? There is nothing more important or more urgent than the crisis we face.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. (Acts 1:8-9)
In the above verse, we find power (the Holy Spirit) is given to the witnesses (the 144000 and the martyrs) and they will demonstrate the gospel in all the earth. One of the witnesses will testify with their sanctified life, while the other will testify with their blood. After their days of prophesying are over, their next sight will be the coming of Jesus on October 24, 2016.
It is the prayer of the Last Countdown ministry that as you follow the Lamb during this second-month Lord’s Supper, you will fulfill your high calling and the very purpose of your existence which is to testify for the Father in His trial, and that you will receive the power of the Holy Ghost to give a solid defense of His Character and His Law, no matter the cost.
Babylon is fallen!
Figure 1: The Start of the 1260 Days
Figure 2: The End of the 1260 Days
