The Power of Prophecy Conference Highlights (Part 1)

Our theme was The Power of Prophecy, A Voice Crying in the Wilderness. Over the course of the day, five different presentations focused on various aspects of that theme, demonstrating how God is at work in our midst today. He is certainly fulfilling His prophetic Word and offering evidence to those with eyes to see and ears to hear that Jesus is coming soon!

Today’s episode of Christ in Prophecy will feature excerpts of two of the presentations that were offered. Nathan Jones will share a message from the book of Micah that is as timely today as when that so-called minor prophet addressed the leaders of Judah. Then, Alan Franklin will offer insights into what is happening in Great Britain and the European Union, the political entity that many believe the Antichrist will emerge from.

Get ready to be blessed as these two cry into the wilderness of our modern age.

Portion of Nathan Jones’ Presentation on Micah

Nathan Jones: So, today I am going to bring you the message, the Prophet of Old, we are going to bring Micah.

How many of you are very familiar with the book of Micah? Crickets. Crickets. Good you are going to be experts on Micah by the time we are done.

Micah’s theme was having faith when government has failed. Now, that has nothing to do with society today, right?

Governments such as North Korea do not understand the purpose of government. What then is the purpose of government?

United States Founding Father Thomas Paine, in his pamphlet “Common Sense,” wrote that security is “the true design and end of government.”

And another Founding Father, John Adams, in his book, “Thoughts on Government,” believed the purpose of government was to be found “in the goal of happiness through virtue.”

Thomas Jefferson, in his writing titled “Political Economy,” declared “The most sacred of the duties of a government is to do equal and impartial justice to all of its citizens.”

Security instead of enslavement, justice instead of corruption, virtue instead of vice, and the preservation of the happiness of its people rather than the cause of their suffering—these were the godly ideals these men founded a nation upon. These ideals correspond to what the Bible says is the purpose of government—namely, to provide an atmosphere in which believers can live as 1 Timothy 2:2 teaches, “a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”

Are nations like North Korea merely bad apples, or do they demonstrate that government in and of itself is inherently evil? Because they were steeped in the Bible, the Founding Fathers thought very poorly of human government.

Thomas Paine wrote that “government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil, in its worst state an intolerable one.” The reason the Founding Fathers believed government was inherently evil was because they believed in the biblical teachings such as Romans 3 and 10 that mankind is inherently evil and in need of a Redeemer. In fact, the Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9 that there is nothing more corrupt than the human heart. The Bible therefore warns over and over not to trust in Man.

One of the strongest of these warnings is found in Psalm 118:8-9: “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes or its modern day equivalent politicians.”

As another Founding Father, Alexander Hamilton, confirmed: “Men are inherently evil, governed by greed and lust and love of power and a host of even less endearing passions.”

America’s first President, George Washington, put it this way: “Government is not reason. Government is not eloquence. It is a force. And, like a fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

The authors of the United States Constitution knew that while government is a necessary evil, it remains prone to falling into villainy and corruption. Therefore, in their writings they wisely taught that government must be limited. Government must constantly be checked by the population so that it can only extract the least amount of taxes in order to perform the most limited of functions, providing security for its people.

A government that isn’t constantly monitored will grow into a monster, one that in order to feed its endless thirst for power will consume its population’s money and trample on their God-given inalienable rights. In other words, the Founding Fathers knew that government is composed of people, and people are inherently fallen and evil. And the more corrupt and evil a government becomes, the greater the people will suffer.

As the former president of Fuller Theological Seminary, Dr. David Allan Hubbard, once remarked: “When the lawless, vicious men are the government, where do the people go to for help? They must feel like a child who flees from a bully into the arms of his father, only to have his father hold him while the bully beats him.”

Whom can we flee to when our own father, government, is also a bully? How can we then, like those Christians from the little village of GokSan, maintain our faith in God when government has utterly failed us, even to the point of death? The answers can be found in a seven chapter book found in the Old Testament, inspired by God, and authored by the Minor Prophet Micah.

So, let’s get to know this prophet of the poor. Let’s get to know him. And we are going to start with the time of the prophet.

“The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.” And that’s how Micah, the prophet of Yahweh God and the author of the sixth book in the order of the Minor Prophets, humbly began his message.

Now the name Micah means “who is like God.” And he tells us he was raised in the little town of Moresheth near Gath on the Philistine border some 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem. And along the great highway between Assyria and Egypt both traders and armies would pass through Moresheth. And the town was batted about by different nations who claimed it as their own territory or used their possession of it to barter favor with an enemy. And in Micah’s writings, it is clear that he loved his land and its poor, downtrodden people, and by God’s command sought to represent his hometown to the big city people of Jerusalem.

Now, the call of this prophet. You hear about the calling of a prophet. “But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.” What a calling. Micah 3:8 is the prophet’s business card, so to speak, authenticating his right and divine authority by Yahweh’s divine name to accuse even the highest of official of abusing their power.

In style, Micah is much like his predecessor Amos, unflinchingly using the power of words, fearlessly holding nothing back, as if his tongue were a whip. And like his contemporary, the big city prophet Isaiah, he also targeted the people of Judah as his audience. And, like his other contemporary, the prophet Hosea who ministered there up in the north, Micah softened each thundercloud outburst of prophetic utterances with sweet drops of mercy, hope and love that brought “sweet refreshing on a parched and blasted land.”

For a small town attorney, Micah exhibited an uncanny skill at courtroom exposition as he represented Yahweh God. He was a very eloquent communicator who stated God’s case using a wide variety of puns and poetry. He also rattled his adversaries by showing up nearly naked and howling like a wild animal. I’m not making that up. That is chapter 1, verse 8. And so caught off guard by this unconventional prophet who utilized both words and acting so effortlessly that his hearers were stunned into silence. Micah could work the courtroom with the best of them.

At a time when “the judges were venal, the priests were immoral and corrupt, the prophets were hirelings, and the nobles took peculiar pleasure in fleecing the poor, the entire group had built up a wall of enmity, and fear and hatred that made life miserable for all classes,” Micah proved to be a champion of justice. Micah’s writings demonstrate that he had ethical integrity, was of no ordinary courage, exhibited an unflinching truthfulness in speaking the whole counsel of God, and maintained a rock solid faith in God that was unwavering under the strain of a failed government.

So, let’s return to the courtroom. Let’s go back and pick up the story with the house of the wicked stands accused.

Now whether King Ahaz had officially called court into session or not, nobody there could recall. Ever since the Prophet Micah’s unorthodox entrance, it was abundantly clear to everyone present that Ahaz had gone from judge to defendant, the jurors from counselors to the accused, and even the court’s spectators were now on trial. God’s Lawyer was the only one truly running the proceedings as prosecutor, with Yahweh God Himself serving as Plaintiff on behalf of His people, primary Witness, and ultimately Judge.

Micah trumpeted out the introduction of their Accuser in 1:2-4, “Hear, all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.” And if there was going to be any objection to this upside-down switch in authority over who presided over this court, Micah crushed it with this terrifying imagery of the arrival of the Plaintiff: “For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will split like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.”

The cowed people of the courtroom listened, stomachs churning, as Micah presented five charges God had leveled against what He labeled as the “House of the Wicked.”

Charge #1 — Oppression of the Poor. “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, and you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice? They covet fields and take them by violence, also houses, and seize them. So, they oppress a man and his house, and a man and his inheritance.”

Charge #2 — The Unscrupulous Use of Power. The Prosecutor divulged the second of God’s charges in 3:9-10. “Now hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build up Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity.”

Charge #3 — A Lack of Integrity. Because the highest levels of government had utterly failed at promoting and preserving the integrity of God’s righteous law, the local levels were themselves descending into corruption. The bad apple was spoiling the whole bunch. Micah read his third charge from a laundry list of crimes the people were committing. “The prince asks for gifts, the judge seeks a bribe, and the great man utters his evil desire; and so they scheme together.”

Charge #4 — Greed in the Name of God. The fourth charge God’s Lawyer pronounced in chapter 3 and 5 was against the religious rulers, both priests and prophets. They committed a most terrible crime. They had committed great evil—and they did it all in the name of God!

So, it’s kind of easy to picture Micah grasping firmly the ceremonial robes of some plump priest with both hands, mouth set in a disgusted grimace, and accusing the entire priesthood of soothsaying, witchcraft, superstition, and idolatry. The priests might have acted all religious, but their true motives were the love of money, a life of ease, cheap popularity, and a craving after luxury. Instead of serving the people as mediators between God and Man, they served only themselves, thereby cutting the people off from their Heavenly Father. “Her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.'”

Charge #5 — Heeding False Prophets. The false prophet with that used donkey salesman smile oiled his way over to God’s Lawyer, a prophecy about Micah’s downfall ready on his lips. Before he could utter a false word, Micah launched, “‘Do not prattle,’ you say to those who prophesy. So, they shall not prophesy to you; they shall not return insult for insult.” The snake was dismissed like a hostile witness with the turn of Micah’s back. Micah then lofted up high a money sack that he’d ripped off the false prophet’s belt and charged God’s fifth accusation, “Jerusalem, her prophets divine for money. Who make My people stray; who chant ‘Peace’… but who prepare war—against Him who puts nothing in their mouths!”

And the true crime—the leaders, they ate it all up; every empty word that came out of the false prophets’ mouths. They had exchanged the truth of God for a lie. The people’s faith in God struggled as one prophecy after another that these false prophets had uttered never came to pass.

So, what is the verdict of this trial?

With the five charges laid at the feet of the king, officials, priests and false prophets, God’s Lawyer at last rested his case. The hills, mountains and strong foundations of the earth were then called to bring forth judgment. God wasn’t just the Plaintiff, He was the sovereign Judge of the Universe, and His verdict was already in.

For the charges of oppression of the poor, the unscrupulous use of power, a lack of integrity, greed in the name of God, and the heeding the false prophets: Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! With each pronouncement of “Guilty” that Micah boomed, the members of the court winced.

The sentence: “Exile!” Micah promised in 2:5 the rulers as punishment they would lose their own land allotments. “You will have no one to determine boundaries by lot in the assembly of the Lord.”

The Northern Kingdom of Israel led by Samaria would first go into exile. The Judge declared, “I will make Samaria a heap of ruins… all her pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire.” And by 722 BC, Samaria was destroyed, and Judah’s northern brethren were marched off in chains into exile to Assyria.

So, let’s skip down to the lessons for you. Let’s talk about you. How can we have mighty unflinching faith like those Christians from that little village in GokSan, North Korea who were being slaughtered by the hands of an oppressive government? We can only marvel at how they could be brave under the threat of death, and not just give in and deny Christ. After all, faith often flees in the face of fear. The answer is—they lived by Micah’s example.

Now, this is how he gave us the necessary fear smashing courage by living by two maxims:

Number 1 — live by this if you want to have fear smashing faith: Always Walk with God. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

And number 2 — Have Hope. “Therefore, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.”

Micah fled into the safe, strong arms of our Heavenly Father. He is the very Almighty One who is recorded in Psalm 2 as laughing and scoffing at frail human government.

The perfect love of God casts out fear.

So, when we seem to have doubts and our faith seems to wane by an oppressive government remember Micah’s advice. How do we have an unshakable faith when government has failed and has become the bully? Answer: Take comfort in knowing that the Righteous King of kings is coming soon to set up His Kingdom.

Portion of Alan Franklin’s Presentation on the Revived Roman Empire

Right. The UK, the United Kingdom has left the revived Roman Empire. I wonder will Antichrist soon be the leader of the EU? He is man who is certainly alive today.

The storm is gathering out there very quickly. Events are on fast forward. Prophecy is on fast forward. And Winston Churchill foresaw a great deal of what was coming, certainly the Second World War. He wrote a series of books with this title foreshadowing the second world war. No one listened. He was an outcast in parliament. People didn’t want to know they want cozy politics, you see, or words they want to hear, soft, soothing words. He wasn’t soft and soothing.

Two major prophetic events have happened in recent times the rebirth of Israel, and the rise of the revived Roman Empire, both prophesied around 2,500 years ago. The Bible gets it right. Satan is the author of confusion. We’ve got an enemy who wants to kill, steal, and destroy. Satan wants to build his own kingdom on God’s earth, that’s what we are building up to very, very fast. If there is confusion or mayhem in any situation, there is often a source of darkness at work. I’m very aware of the spiritual nature of conflict because I was a New Ager, I lived and worked with psychics. We were aiming it to bring in the New Age Antichrist, so I know exactly what they think, I know how they think, and I’ve got their measure basically. And that I think God arranged for me to do all of that, because it means I can talk with authority about it.

Satan prefers the opposite of freedom, which is bondage. Much of the world has now lost its freedoms, and it is a great joy to me to come to Texas where there is relative freedom. If this were in Britain you wouldn’t be allowed to be here anyway.

We can know the season of the Lord’s return, and this is it. The Bible says we cannot know the time, but we will know the season. That is in 1 Thessalonians 5:2. “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” This is when He comes for His Church. “While they are saying ‘Peace and safety,'” men will never achieve that, “then destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.” Signs are flashing like neon lights in the sky. They shout the good news of our Lord’s soon return.

The prerequisites for the Second Coming are, among other things technology to watch all people. Technology to control all people, in Revelation 13. Technology to control all commerce, that is Revelation 13:17 again. Technology to destroy all life on earth. We couldn’t have done any of those things 50 years ago, and much of it not even 10 or 20 years ago.

We are living today on the climax of world history. The return to earth of our Lord, as predicted many times in the Bible. We are going global. And global panic, which we’ve had instituted by the plandemic, means global government. A global problem needs a global solutions. So, we’ve got to save the planet. God can’t do it, so man is going to do it. You see this is their mindset and they’ll use any panic to bring in more onerous laws and restrictions on their happiness, in what we do, in what we buy, what we say.

It is seconds to midnight. It would be significant to see one major sign, but today there are multiple prophetic signs converging.

Although we live in times like those of the Days of Noah we are not to despair. It would be easy to see all this great big heap of bad news. But Psalm 32, verse 11 says this, “We should be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous; shout for joy all you upright in heart.” We would be singing now in church; it is wonderful because we know the end of the story.

Right, back to main theme I was supposed to be talking about. Five-thousand-years-ago, the Tower of Babel, this was a type of one world government. Since then, the world has mainly consisted of individual sovereign nations.

And here is Paul-Henri Spaak who was one of the early promoters of the EU. Over 60 years ago, he said, “We need a strong man,” we certainly have a bunch of buffoons leading Europe at the moment, so you can see why a strong leader would be very appealing to a lot of people actually. He said, “We do not want another committee, we’ve got too many already.” And anybody who has covered committee meetings as we did for years, knows that’s true. “What we want is a man, sufficient in stature to hold the allegiance of all people, and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking.” We certainly are now too. “Send us such a man, and be god, or the devil we will receive him.” They don’t care. They’ve got no belief system anyway. That strong man will be the man of sin, the Antichrist, prophesied throughout the Old and New Testaments from Genesis to Revelation.

We are on the countdown. Antichrist is coming. He will unite the whole world under one government. There will be a one world religion, and it will be based in Rome, it won’t just be Catholic. To match this political entity Antichrist will eventually head that also. The one world currency will follow rapidly. The Bible’s prophecies are coming true each day in the news, as the revised Roman Empire rises in Europe.

Today’s one world unity movement with its globalist agenda will create Antichrist brief empire on earth. It’s not going to be long, 3 ½ years with total control. Satan has no new tricks. He’s got no imagination nor originality because the old ones work so well. Europe is now preparing itself for the new Nimrod. They have the stars of Mary as the Union flag. The Virgin Mary with the halo of twelve stars is pictured here preparing to crown the next Holy Roman Emperor. Who will that be? He will be of Italian descent. And a stain glass window at Strasbourg Cathedral dedicated to the Council of Europe.

But the Lord is coming back, and all of this will be purged from the face of the earth. There won’t be any more vile statues, vile teaching, and vile things happening in churches. There will be peace and prosperity, and tranquility, and true teaching. And the world will be ruled by our Lord from Jerusalem.

Conclusion

Tim Moore: As you can see, both Nathan and Alan were passionate about their topic. Although we could only share highlights of their presentation with you on today’s episode, you can watch their entire message on-line through our website or YouTube channel.

We’re also glad to announce a DVD set with all of the presentations offered at our Conference, along with music by the Purple Hulls and tributes to Dr. Reagan on the occasion of his retirement. For a gift of $25 or more, we’ll send you the complete 3-DVD set that contains all five presentations by Nathan Jones, Alan Franklin, Dr. David Reagan, Bob Russell, and me, Tim Moore. Just visit our online store or call the number on the screen.

The theme verse for our 2021 Bible Conference was from Revelation 19:10, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The writer of Hebrews also recognized the relationship of prophecy to Jesus Christ, the Anointed One who fulfills the promises of God. He wrote, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in may portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” Foreshadowing the state of faith in the world today, that same writer also wrote, “We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.”

Some people study Bible prophecy for the sheer academic thrill of understanding God’s Word. Others ignore Bible prophecy, afraid of the terrors it portends or concerned that it will mire them in controversy or confusion. But prophecy is not meant to be a playground for fanatics or fodder for division. In addition to fore-telling coming events, Bible prophecy forth-tells truths about God and our relationship with Him. Even more important, because it testifies to Jesus Christ, it represents God’s most important revelations about Himself.

What about the prophets themselves? Peter wrote, “No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” So, the prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit to communicate what God wanted to reveal with supernatural insight.

You know, throughout human history God has called individuals to speak truth. When the whole world was steeped in sin, he called Noah, not just to build a boat but to be a preacher of righteousness. When Israel and Judah strayed from Him, He raised up prophet after prophet, calling the Jews to repent and turn back to Him. He even sent prophets like Jonah to warn pagan cities like Nineveh that their wickedness would lead to judgment and wrath.

Today, He continues to raise up prophetic voices, as we demonstrated in our God’s Prophetic Voices series over the past 10 weeks.

But what does He expect of you and of me? What if we are not a recognized prophetic voice?

Obviously, each and every believer is commanded to share the Gospel with those they come in contact with. We are called to “forth-tell” the good news about Jesus, that having been crucified, dead, and buried, He conquered death and has promised eternal life to everyone who trusts in Him.

Next week we’ll share highlights of the remaining three messages from our annual conference. Between now and then, I pray that you will “pay much closer attention to what you have heard,” and that “moved by the Holy Spirit” you will bear testimony to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Until next week, this is Tim Moore for Lamb & Lion Ministries saying, Godspeed!

End of Program