Through a Glass Darkly: First and Second Messianic Advents

Day two of the Harmonic Concordance.

Sterling D. Allan's Message for November 9, 2003.

 

 

A letter to my friends in the LDS Church.  (Non-LDS friends are welcome too.)

 

You are familiar with the statement that says, "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first."

 

This has many applications, but there is one in particular, which is the quintessential application.  Israel, Gentiles, Gentiles, Israel.  The first anciently, Israel, among whom God performs his work, will be the last in the last days; and the last anciently, the Gentiles, were the first in these last days.

 

Anciently, the Lord began his work among the Israelites (also called Hebrews and Jews).  He established his covenant with them as a people, and led them to a promised land.  They rejected him over and over, and he chastened them time and again.  That is the story of the Old Testament.

 

Ultimately, he sent his Son, God Incarnate, among them, and they crucified him.  That marked the end of his ministry among the Israelites at that time, and from thence he then took his work to the Gentiles -- through the labors of a core of converted Israelites, his disciples.  Pentecost marked the beginning, in earnest, of that new era.  That is the story of the New Testament.

 

The Gentiles likewise eventually lapsed away from the truth, and the Dark Ages ensued.  Then the Lord established a land of freedom in the United States, and in the early 1800's the Lord raised up a young man, Joseph Smith, to restore the gospel, this time beginning among the Gentiles.  It was not just a restoration, but another move forward in spiritual advancement and covenants with the Lord of his people.  The Book of Mormon, brought forth by Joseph Smith, specifically calls him and the people among whom he was raised, "Gentiles."  It is a prophetic designation referring to them as the husbandmen of the Lord to whom the Lord turns because the Israelites rejected him.  Romans 11 prophetically addresses this phenomenon at length.  Indeed this theme is replete throughout prophecy.  I have detailed the various prophecies to this effect in my writings of a decade ago.

 

To whit, the book I wrote: The Vision of All: Our Past, Present, and Future as Foretold in Book of Mormon History; a couple of key essays: "Will the Gentiles Also Look Beyond the Mark," and "The Law and the Word of the Lord: Our Duty and Our Quest;" and scores of chiasms and parallels pulled from the text of the scriptures repeat this theme over and over.  These were followed later by alphabetics code discoveries that provide yet more evidence to the same.  Combined, these form a set of modern parables for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear -- kind of like a hidden picture, or one of those images that does not come into clear view unless you focus your eyes just a certain way.

 

Those prophecies also state that the Gentiles among whom the gospel would be restored, would likewise dwindle from the truth.  Arrogant in their thinking that they are impervious to error, they would do the very thing they said they would not do.  They reject the work of the Father.  As a result, the kingdom is taken once again to Israel, by a hearts core of Gentiles who have eyes to see and ears to hear.  Once again the work of the Lord moves another quantum leap forward, this time to the Church of the Firstborn level, in which God and angels mingle among men, not just via the Holy Ghost.  Adam-On-Diaman will mark the beginning of that new era, with the heavenly anointing of the 144,000.

 

The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.

 

With each transition comes a move forward of the work of God.  It began as a telestial institution among the Israelites, based on a carnal law of rote obedience backed by fear of retribution.  Then with Christ, it transformed to a terrestrial institution, born of the Spirit, the mighty change of heart.  It was then restored by Joseph Smith as a terrestrial institution; and will soon be transformed into a celestial institution in which all are prophets and walk and talk with God and angels.

 

That said, let's now hone in on where we are presently in this grand chiastic timeline.

 

We are sitting at that time when the Gentiles are in a state of stupor, believing they are on course, when in fact they are far off, and the heavenly anointing of the 144,000 has not yet taken place.  By way of parallel, it is analogous to the time of the Jews prior to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  The disciples are partly clued in, but they are yet veiled, not having had the anointing of the Holy Ghost, which came at Pentecost.  Today is the time spoken of by Isaiah and Paul that the Lord would send "strong delusion, that they would believe a lie." (Isa. 66; II Thes. 2.)

 

Why would God do this?  What is the delusion?  What is the lie?

 

First, the reason why God would do this.  It parallels the reason why he sent a stumbling block to the Israelites anciently.  He wanted to give them a higher law, and he strove with them, but they repeatedly refused, so he gave them a lower law, that they might stumble in it, and ultimately realize their blunder, and learn thereby.  (See Ezekiel 20, especially verse 25.  Compare Jacob 4:14, from the Book of Mormon describing this same time.)  There is a microcosm of this phenomenon in the story of Oliver Cowdery and the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon.  He asked, the Lord said "no."  He asked again, and again the Lord said "no."  He asked again, and finally, the Lord permitted, that they would see the folly of their way.  Yet his plan had a contingency for just this very thing, and his work continued notwithstanding.  Nevertheless, we are yet deprived of this document and its marvelous history and plain teachings.

 

What is the delusion?  What is the lie?

 

For the past dozen plus years of careful observation, study, introspection, and revelation, the Lord has given me the burden of understanding this phenomenon; and everything I have witnessed has only solidified that understanding.  I am convinced by the overwhelming volume of evidences to which I have been exposed, both in direct prophecy, and in veiled prophecy decoded, as well as by an analysis of current events, that the "lie" is socialism.

 

Lie = Socialism

 

Now, that said, let me briefly build the case as to why I believe this to be so.

 

One of the principles that the Lord has taught me through the scriptures, and which came most clearly into focus when I wrote "The Vision of All: Our Past, Present, and Future as Foretold in Book of Mormon History," is that there are two distinct elements to the kingdom of God:  a personal work with each individual, and a collective work with us as a society.  The personal work is centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which was brought to fruition through Jesus' ministry among the Jews anciently, and the atonement that he wrought.  The collective work is centered in the principles of freedom as focused upon in the establishment of the Constitution of the United States in modern times.  With it came a manifest destiny to spread those principles to all of mankind.  The Founders looked upon the United States as a New Jerusalem.  God's mission for this Gentile-Christian nation was to be an ambassador of freedom for all mankind.

 

The fact of these two major facets of the Lord's work -- (1) individual and (2) collective, (1) personal and (2) national -- are illustrated probably most clearly in one chapter in Alma 5.  The theme statement of scriptures, "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," is applied on one hand to an individual, and on the other to a group.  There is an individual mighty change of heart called for, to avoid personal spiritual destruction, and to bring a person to heaven; and there is a group mighty change of heart called for to avoid group destruction, and to bring heaven on earth -- Zion.

 

The government represents the male energy -- protective; and the church represents the female energy -- nurturing.  These are intended to work synergistically together, not divorced.

 

The government the Christians (including Mormons) should have sustained is one of freedom; and the Christians should have enacted sufficient volunteer programs, imparting of their substance freely, to take care of the various social needs, so that the government would not have excuse to step in to fill the void.  They didn't, and the government did, and the Christians went along with it and even helped to promote it.

 

While they should have fostered a government to promote freedom, they instead have promoted a government that forces people to do what they should do voluntarily -- take care of one another in times of need.

 

With socialism as the lie, what then is the delusion?

 

The delusion is best summarized by the statement in II Nephi 28: "I am no devil, for there is none."  Applied to socialism, it comes down to this:  "There is no conspiracy to establish world socialistic government;" when in fact, a secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries, has increased in its influence and control to the point that it permeates virtually every segment of our society, as pointed out by President Ezra Taft Benson throughout his life as an apostle and then president of the LDS Church.  His warning went largely unheeded.  He was nearly alone among the general authorities of the church in believing such things and in warning about them.  Yet his warnings are consistent with the prophecies in the Bible and Book of Mormon and their parallels to our day.

 

Our government is a mere puppet to the establishment of power and wealth who are the ones who pull the strings from behind the scenes.  The media is the vocal organ of the conspiracy, and any journalist who dares cross the media finds himself out of a job, marginalized, and called a "fringe fanatic."  Our education system has become an organ of brainwashing the upcoming generation to be good socialists -- though it is never called that.

 

Our churches go along with these mainstream sentiments and marginalize those members who dare speak out against the socialist establishment.

 

They are as salt that has lost its savor, according to prophecy.

 

They are rejecting the Lord when it comes to freedom, because they not only do not oppose socialism, but they quietly endorse it and allow it to prosper.  And the Lord's messengers who come among them to warn them of their blunder are cast out of their midst, excommunicated, and anathematized.

 

Hence the delusion.  Those church leaders, who people look to for light, "the brethren of the Church," instead are persecuting those who come forth to shed light on the situation.

 

And like the Israelites, this is what the Mormons asked for -- this strong delusion.

 

When Joseph Smith restored the gospel, at first it was "let every one be a prophet."  That was rejected and replaced by "just follow THE prophet."  Instead of each person attaining a direct relationship with the heavens, they said, "no, we want a prophet to tell us what God says, and we will follow the prophet" -- just as in the days of Moses.  Because of this choice to follow man rather than God, what they now have is shepherds who do not understand, watchdogs that do not bark, according to Isaiah 56, though they yet retain a thread of legitimacy and are not completely corrupt, hence God allows people to believe that their leaders are bona fide men of God.  This is perhaps the most ironic and biting part of the strong delusion that God is sending.

 

The reign of the beast is all but in full swing, and most of the Gentiles are nary aware that there will even be such a thing.  They don't make it a topic of study, and they certainly do not ask the question of what they can do to make a difference.  Indeed, it is their very indifference and even complicity that enables the beast to gain such power.  They are denying Christ in his second advent even while piously claiming to be his ultimate proponents of the first advent.

 

Enter people like me.  I was excommunicated from the LDS church for "apostasy," for teaching such things as I just said above.  The Mormons are taught that in order to reach the highest degree of the Celestial kingdom, they must be temple-worthy members.  In order to be temple worthy, one of the questions they must be able to answer is that they do not have sympathy with any apostates or apostate groups.  In order to even consider listening to me, they must realize that their spiritual relationship is ultimately between them and God, and none other (JST-Mark 9:40-48).  Otherwise, their training will have them ignore me and dismiss anything I might say.  Their very eternal salvation is at stake, so they think -- while ironically, they are being kept from performing their obligations that would keep them from rejecting the Lord in his second advent.

 

Hence the delusion is compounded.  Those who know are shut up.  The Church becomes an instrument of compliance to the socialist state, rather than a voice of freedom to spur the state to repentance.

 

Prophecies describe this corrupt society coming to sudden and massive destruction, to bring the consequences of their choices pounding down upon them.  So vivid will be the pain, and so bright the realization of their error, that they will finally learn their lesson and an era of 1000 years of peace will ensue -- because people (those remnant that are left, the rest having killed themselves off) finally realize that the ideal society is composed of two interacting factors: individual righteousness through the gospel of Jesus Christ, and collective protection of freedom through a limited government whose primary mission is to protect freedom.

 

Must it be so?  Must we crash so thoroughly before we learn our lesson as a civilization?  Must the "destruction" of the wicked be literal?

 

Or can the "destruction" of the wicked be through repentance and awakening?

 

I submit that the latter is by far the preferable route.  The more we can enact an awakening, and the more people we can stir to repentance, the greater will be our joy and the more sublime our peace.

 

Think about this on an individual level.  Some people are so calloused that they have to hit the wall hard, so to speak, before they come to their senses and choose to turn their life to the Lord and seek a better way of life.  Others can be stirred to seek a better life through much less violent mistakes.

 

So also, our civilization can either receive the full extent of the wrath of the consequences that are facing them before they learn their lesson, or they can come to their senses before going so far, and change course, and thus turn away many if not all the destructions that await them.

 

This is a choice we make collectively.  It need not be every last person either.  The more people who make such a choice, the more other people are impacted for good indirectly.  The ripple effect is very strong in this regard.  One of the primary reasons for this is because of the strong delusion under which we are laboring.  It takes such an act of will to push through that, that so doing reflects a massive accomplishment in the eyes of God and his angels.  One person making such a breakthrough goes a long way in telling God that maybe we don't deserve the full extent of the destruction after all.

 

It's not like God revels in destroying his children.  Yet his reverence for the right for his children to make choices, and the need for them to experience the consequences of their choices -- surpasses his desire to spare us from destruction when that is precisely what we need the most.  A son who does not receive the just punishment for his crimes is but a bastard and no son at all, as Paul says.  But of course, if we can change our disastrous path, God will be more than glad to alter the outcome accordingly.

 

Now, having said all that, I would like to bring the discussion to a follow-up to what I posted yesterday about the "Harmonic Concordance and the Gathering 'Without Hands.' "

 

I announced the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth via small groups of people (e.g. 5 -12 individuals or couples or families) gathering together under principles of (1) freedom and (2) uprightness (encompassing both the gospel and government aspect discussed above); and that as cells of such individuals are thus formed, and grow, that the prophecy in Daniel 2 begins to be fulfilled.

 

I provided scriptural grounds for this assertion, and invited anyone anywhere to embark on this, and that conceptually, millions such cells could be forming simultaneously, independent of one another, and then join together, until the whole earth is united as one body.  I showed how this paradigm is consistent with the original Hebrew words that form the prophecy in Daniel 2 -- that what is now translated "breaking to pieces" was not intended to be a violent act, but rather a segmenting into small units -- e.g. cells; and the what is now translated "consuming," was not intended to be violent either, but rather the first meaning of the word was more appropriate: "completion, fulfilling."  I asserted that one cell thus formed, inviting heaven's guidance, would indeed realize heaven on earth, despite what the rest of the world is doing.

 

I also spoke of the phrase "without hands" that Daniel uses to describe how this latter day kingdom would be established, never to be thrown down, and how it ties in with an opposite concept to the idea of the status quo electoral process in the United States.  This kingdom will not emerge as a reformation of any existing government on earth, but will come anew, one cell at a time, growing together until it fills the whole earth.

 

Per the usual, as I composed it, I hoped that maybe, just maybe, this treatise would strike a resonant chord with people, but instead the reply came back almost nil.  Even before there was time for a response, after sending it out, I had that sinking feeling that it would fall on deaf ears as so many things have before.  It was my "harmonic concordance message" and even on such a special day, it didn't seem to resonate.

 

Early this morning, I had a thought for a follow-up message, which is this current treatise, on day two of the harmonic concordance.  I suppose this one could have the same outcome of indifference.  I hope not.

 

The purpose for this treatise is to explain why such a message would be so hard to believe.  It is the "delusion" factor, that hangs over our civilization as a curse because we rejected the Lord in our calling to serve as ambassadors of freedom, having adopted socialism instead.

 

Perhaps as you realize what you are up against, and what a challenge it will be for you to break through that delusion, you might begin to appreciate the remedy that I have been presenting, and begin acting upon it, rather than ignoring it or spurning it or just winking at my "deluded sincerity," as so many of you seem to perceive me at this point.

 

In my treatise yesterday, I pointed out that the word from the original Greek New Testament that translates "without hands" is numbered 886 in most lexicons today, because most lexicons derive their numbering from James Strong who manually indexed and alphabetized every single word of the Old and New Testament in the early 1900's.  It is just two words prior to definition number 888, and 888 is the number of Jesus (for example, the numeric value of the letters that spell Iesous in Greek total 888).  I've done several write-ups on Jesus and 888.

 

The point of relevance for this current treatise is that the word definition between word 886 and word 888 is word 887, achlus, which means, "a thick mist."  The idea of a veil or covering comes to mind.  The idea of seeing "through a glass darkly" also comes to mind.  "Delusion" would likewise be a relevant synonym.

 

Word 888 in this context, might be thought of as most relevant to the first advent of the Lord, while word 886 is most relevant to the second advent, tying in to the prophecy in Daniel 2.  In between and juxtaposed right next to each of these is a word that means "a thick mist."

 

The Jews were blinded, and they crucified their Lord.  The Gentiles are blinded, and are rejecting the work of the Father in their midst.

 

Will you go on in blindness, or will you push through the delusion, awake, put on strength, and help turn away the destructions that are sure to come otherwise?

 

I don't believe I'm the only one who is "awake," but I am confident that the Lord has awaken me to these things, and that he has a particular mission for me to perform, and that my mission needs assistance from others for it to have more influence.

 

I realized that others who are "awake" are usually consumed with a mission of their own, that drives them day and night, to help bring about a great and marvelous work.  I honor them, and I am grateful for the influence they have in the world, as well as on me personally.  I'm also grateful to see the amount of support that some of these ministries are receiving, whether in students of the concept or in monetary support to help finance the expenses of the ministry.

 

I imagine there are a wide array of excuses as to why people don't help finance this Greater Things ministry more than they do.  Usually, those most willing to help, are themselves indigent financially.

 

If there were an award for the dichotomy between how much good a ministry was doing versus how much financing it received, I bet I would be in the top five or ten on the planet.  At least it feels that way.  On the other end of the spectrum would be the politicians who are breaking fundraising records, raking in millions upon millions, while they betray our country over to a socialist nation on the brink of collapse.

 

Delusion indeed.

 

In closing, I would like to put forth a plea to you who are reading this.  Please consider deeply what I have said about strong delusion.  Look inside your heart and realize that your reticence to help me may not be founded in true principles, but in the delusion that is now propagated on the planet, that paints me, and people like me, as quintessential crack pots who you must not support lest you jeopardize your soul or our standing in the community.

 

Once my own bare needs are covered, I would like to be able to administer to those who, like myself, have been marginalized by the mainstream, and are in need of assistance, and who refuse to accept handouts from our socialist government.

 

My talent and calling is in the ministry.  Part of that ministry includes bringing forth alternative energy technology, providing a voice for this underdog industry that has been suppressed for over a century.  At this time, there is not an income stream for me in that because the technology is not yet in the marketplace.

 

If you have resonated with what I have said, please know that you are a rare exception, and that I lean heavily on you to support this ministry.

 

Please consider an ongoing donation to Greater Things ministry.

 

This is a wonderful and challenging day in which we live.  Just a few people can greatly alter the direction of the world.  Thanks for taking the time and caring enough to read this.

 

Sincerely,

 

Sterling D. Allan