Daily Devotional, Year 4 – January 17 (The First Shall Be Last! Part 3: “The Tragic Tale of Europe’s Apostasy” CONTINUED)

By admin On March 24th, 2021

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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – January 17

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The First Shall Be Last!

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Part 3:

“The Tragic Tale of Europe’s Apostasy”

CONTINUED

To Read Part 1, click here…September 5th (The First Shall Be Last!)

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**In yesterday’s devotional (click here to read), it was lamenting the greatest tragedy ever witnessed by mankind: how Europe turned its back on the Gospel of Jesus, for the most part.**

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And it was mentioned that these nations which once lovingly embraced the Christian Reformation finally became secular societies, to now allowing themselves to be filled with false religions, and how it is evident that God’s judgment has fallen upon those once-highly-favored nations.

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Martin Luther – 95 Theses – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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BLOODY HISTORY OF ROME’S RULE OVER EUROPE

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And an American can only imagine how absolutely fed-up Europeans were with the apostate, corrupt, and even tyrannical churches, which ruled Europe for so many centuries, during the Dark Ages.

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Torture devices – The Wheel – Calas Chapbook – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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NO EXCUSE FOR TURNING AWAY FROM REFORMATION

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On the other hand, Europe had no excuse for their turning their backs on Christianity.

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No, with the Reformation bringing in true Christianity, the people of Europe now could see what true Christianity looked like. And they did see. And they could hear those joyful hymns echoing through their villages each Sabbath. And they could rejoice that the true Gospel was being faithfully preached from the pulpits. And they could realize that Christians were meek and lowly of heart, and did not oppress others as did the apostate churches.

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And God gave these nations Reformation heroes to whom they could look up to and even read their writings. It was a time of victory for Christ and His Church in Europe!

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John Wesley preaching – cropped and colored picture – Wellcome – the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

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“GIVE ME NEITHER POVERTY NOR RICHES”

Proverbs 30:8

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Now, instead of famine and disease and governmental oppression, Satan would flood the Reformation nations with excess and humanism with all its fleshly lusts. Formerly, the oppressive church-state system had received its deadly wound by a sword (the “sword of the Spirit”, the Bible, via the printing press).

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But now, this new system thrives by means of opulence.

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And so, both Europe and America began to go through a great transformation. This new oppressive system was now rising to power, causing the Christian community to once again become apostate, because of all the materialism and hedonistic pleasures and ambitious pursuits made possible by the industrial revolution along with the high-tech revolution.

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Now these two forms of oppression which this website describes as the 1st and 2nd beasts of Revelation 13, with their various heads and horns can be quite confusing to newcomers of this website. But there are many articles to read which can clear of all this confusion, such as…March 23rd (1st Beast of Revelation 13)

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People on Times Square – cropped image – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License

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ATHEISM: MANKIND IS GOD!

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And simultaneous to this, Charles Darwin absolutely shook both continents with his theory of evolution.

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And Freud also shook the world with his ideology of “mental illness” which replaced the biblical truth of demon possession.

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In other words, atheism was gradually gaining power over the world and even over Christianity.

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Charles Darwin – by John Collier (artist) – www.wikigallery.com – Public Domain

Sigmund Freud – LIFE – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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THE TWO BEASTS OF REVELATION 13

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Well, this rather complicated subject of history of Europe and America can be further explored by reading many daily devotional articles on this website, such as March 23rd (1st Beast of Revelation 13), and also…March 24th (2nd BEAST of REVELATION 13)

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ABOVE ENGRAVING: Whore – Babylon – Burgkmair – 1523 AD – this old engraving shows that the Church once realized that the Babylon Mother of Harlots was actually the apostate churches – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who now in these last days destroys the churches via a world-loving prosperity-driven false gospel – www.signsofheaven.org

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Give me the strength and resolve to shun the excesses which prevail in this opulent and hedonistic society, and run the race to the top of heavenly Zion…

Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

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THE THIRD MOUNTAIN…CHOICE ‘C’…

“Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.” Jeremiah 51:25

These three mountains are called “The Valley of Decision Constellation Group”. The first two mountains on the left in this sketch are known are the Mounts of Blessing and Cursing, as found in Deuteronomy 27:11-26 & Chapter 28. The valley between these two mountains is called the Valley of Decision, as is written… “Multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the Valley of Decision.” Joel 3:14. The Valley of Decision is not a physical place, but a spiritual valley in which each person of the world will make up his or her mind, as to just whom they will serve: God or Satan; God’s kingdom or this world (Satan’s kingdom). From the Mount of Blessing are heard all the blessings which result from serving God. From the Mount of Cursing are heard all the curses which result from disobedience to God’s will. And those in the valley will listen to both sides, and make up their minds, just who will they serve. A very simple choice, right? Wrong!

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TOMORROW:

January 18 (“Roger Williams & The Two Horns of the False Prophet Beast”)

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THE GREAT CONTROVERSY BY ELLEN G. WHITE

ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this 44 chapter audio book, a brief history of the Church, from the Cross of Christ forward to the Return of Christ.

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Chapter 15 – The Bible And The French Revolution

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