February, 2005

Fred R. Coulter, Minister

February 9, 2005

Dear Brethren,

Many momentous things are happening on the world stage to fulfill prophecies in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ.  After successful elections in Afghanistan and Palestine, coupled with the historical election last week in Iraq, the Arab World has been changed forever.  It must be changed in order to bring the region into the coming New World Order.

When I was in Monrovia, California on November 13, 2004, a man made the statement, “At this time I can see no indication that ‘the king of the south’ is ready to come on the scene.”  I told him that he was right, but the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were undoubtedly major steps in setting the stage for the coming king of the south.

Bible prophecies show there must be a king of the south as well as a king of the north, as the prophet Daniel clearly tells us: “And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over” (Dan 11:40, KJV).

King of the North: In past years the focus of prophetic interpretation was mainly on Europe and the Israeli/Palestinian problems.  Little attention was paid to the rest of the Middle East.  As prophetic events unfold, it is clear that the expansion of the European Union to twenty-five nations is setting the stage for the coming king of the north. During the next two years those nations will ratify a new EU constitution.  Afterwards, united Europe will begin to act as a single, sovereign nation and will eventually surpass the USA in power and world authority.  Out of this expanded and fully empowered EU, the anti-Christ will arise.  There is little doubt that the EU will be in close alliance with the UN.  Furthermore, the man who will be the final beast will probably be head of the UN.  He will be the one who will proclaim himself to be God—the false savior who will be ordained by the false prophet (Rev. 13).

As Satan’s personally chosen man, he will arise out of the religious political system called the “mystery of lawlessness,” as the apostle Paul foretold: “Do not let anyone deceive you by any means because that day will not come unless the apostasy shall come first, and the man of sin shall be revealed—the son of perdition, the one who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is an object of worship; so that he comes into the temple of God and sits down as God, proclaiming that he himself is God [the abomination of desolation Matt. 24:15]. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things?  And now you understand what is holding him back in order for him to be revealed in his own set time.

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already working; only there is one Who is restraining at the present time until it arises out of the midst.  And then the lawless one will be revealed (whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth, and will destroy with the brightness of His coming); even the one whose coming is according to the inner working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in those who are perishing because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they might be saved.

“And for this cause, God will send upon them a powerful deception that will cause them to believe the lie, so that all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but who took pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thes. 2:1-12).  This man will be the king of the north, who makes war against the king of the south.  He will also go into Jerusalem and sit in the coming temple of God (Rev. 11:1-2) and be worshiped as “God,” and the people of the world will also worship Satan the devil himself (Rev. 13:2-8).

The King of the South: The war against terrorism, which was begun in Afghanistan after 9/11, was the beginning of a series of events that will finally culminate in the rise of the king of the south.  The war in Iraq was the next in this series.  The third phase will bring democracy to the other Arab nations and a peace accord between Palestinians and Jews.

The fourth phase will be economic expansion and development.  An economic union, ultimately consisting of the twenty-two Arab nations that comprise the Arab League, has been in the works for some time.  Great strides have been taken toward this end with  Jordan and ten other Arab nations first implementing it in 1988.  The basis for an Arab Free Trade Zone is to be in place in 2008 and will lead to an Arab Union patterned after the European Union.

In the January/February issue of Foreign Affairs, the Chief Executive Officer of the Arab Bank, Abdel Hamid A. M. Shoman, writes concerning the coming Arab Economic Union in an article titled, A Banker’s View: Charting a New Economic Course for the Arab World:

“The Arab world has long wrestled with its politics—both its own and those imposed upon it.  I believe the time has come to adjust the focus.  More than ever before, the future of the region will be decisively influenced by economic developments.  Indeed, only by building a strong and integrated regional economic base can we hope to address our long-standing political issues.

“And there is no time to lose.  The Arab world stands at a crossroads.  Arab countries now have among the highest birth rates in the world.  In Saudi Arabia, 50 percent of the population is less than 16 years old.  The extraordinary wealth of the oil-producing states is juxtaposed against a vital need for development elsewhere in the region.  At the same time, low-cost telecommunications technology is having a significant cultural impact.  Everyone now has access to Al-Jazeera, not to mention BBC, HBO and MTV.

“The mission is clear.  We must create jobs.  We must educate our growing numbers of children.  We must foster economic opportunity and growth.  Above all, we must build hope.

“It can be done.  Imagine an integrated and harmonized region stretching from Morocco’s shores on the Atlantic to Oman’s beaches on the Gulf.  A trading bloc composed of 22 nations and 220 million people.  A region ripe for foreign investment and world trade, and fully prepared to join the world community as a unified economic entity … Banks can play an important role in helping make this vision a reality.” (Foreign Affairs, p. 60a).

Toward the end of his article, Shoman writes of coming “new regional currencies” that would make this plan a reality:

“The Gulf Cooperative Council (CGC), which consists of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Oman, is currently studying the possibility of adopting a single regional currency … Regional currencies would help foster unity and facilitate the free flow of goods, capital and people.  By lowering the costs and increasing the efficiencies of cross-border trade, such currencies would play a vital role in building and enhancing the coherency of the region as a fully functional global player and trade bloc … We recognize better than most that these are challenging goals.  But impossible?  We at Arab Bank do not believe so … And we are committing our support to private-sector development in the region.

“In 2005, Arab Bank will mark its 75^th anniversary, making us by far the oldest bank in the Arab world.  We also have the largest branch network in the region, hence the name “Arab Bank” truly applies.  Over the history of the bank, governments have come and gone, borders have been drawn and redrawn, and wars won and lost.  Indeed, the bank has survived and prospered against all odds … Given the volatility of the region, Arab Bank had always maintained unusually large liquid reserves, as measured by Western standards.  The practice has saved the day for both the bank and its depositors on more than a few occasions.  To this day, Arab Bank remains the region’s ‘flight to safety’ institution when trouble flares.

“We look forward to our next 75 years and the opportunity to serve as a bridge to economic development by helping to finance trade flows, facilitating investments and serving as a reliable partner for those who believe, as we do, in the promise and prospects for the Arab region in the 21^st century” (p. 60d).

Brethren, as I pointed out in a recent sermon on the fourteen prophetic events that must happen before the return of Jesus Christ, a “king of the south” must come on the scene.  Moreover, the Arab nations must be brought into the New World Order.  That is what the recent wars in the Middle East are all about.  Revelation 13:1 shows that this final world system arises “out of the sea,” which means that the people will be given a voice in its development – hence the push for democracy worldwide.  We find added details in Revelation 17: “And one of the seven angels who had the seven vials came and spoke with me, saying to me, ‘Come here; I will show you the judgment of the great whore who sits upon many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication’ … Then he said to me, ‘The waters that you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages’ ” (verses 1-2, 15).

Other prophecies reveal that the whole world will be involved in this satanic end time New World Order as depicted in Revelation 13 and 17.  The prophet Jeremiah names all the nations that will drink of this cup of fornication: “To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day; Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; and all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the utmost corners, and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the desert, and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach [the coming beast himself] shall drink after them. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; drink ye, and be drunken [Rev. 17:1-2], and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink” (Jer. 25:18-28, KJV).

The cup that the nations of the world are to drink and become drunken from is the same cup that is in the hands of the great whore in Revelation 17.  Thus all nations become drunk on the wine of Babylon the Great—the coming political, religious and economic New World Order.  The NWO will be man’s greatest achievement under Satan.  The number three is a number of completion, and six is the number of man.   The best of man’s government, religion and economics = 666. (Rev. 13:18).  It will come to pass, “For God has put into their hearts to do His will, and to act with one accord, and to give their kingdom to the beast until the words of God have been fulfilled” (Rev. 17:17).

Right now, we are seeing the pieces being fitted together one by one.  The Kingdom of the North, a United Europe, is nearing completion. The Kingdom of the South is beginning to be developed, and its development will likely be quite rapid.  Yet, we must not forget about the rest of the world. Remember that the kings of the north and east—Russia, China, Japan, India and Southeast Asia—will be uniting at the same time as the Middle East. All of these world events fit into the plan of God and must take place in order to fulfill the prophecies of the Bible as Jesus said, “The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My Words shall never pass away.  But concerning that day, and the hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matt. 24:35-36).

Everything will be done according to God the Father’s time schedule.  We do not know how much time is left until the return of Jesus Christ.  Will it be ten years, fifteen years?  We don’t know.  However, as we watch these events unfold, God will give us the understanding that we need, when we need it.   Daniel recorded God’s promise to those who would  live in the time of the end: “And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand” (Dan. 12:9-10).  The wise are those who love God, the true and faithful saints.

In order to remain faithful, we must always be zealous:  praying, studying, and living God’s way of life.  Jesus gave this admonition: “Take heed, be watching and praying.  For you do not know when the time is coming.  It is like a man journeying to a far country, leaving his house and giving authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and commanding the doorkeeper to watch.  Be watching, therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming: at evening, or at midnight, or at the cock’s crowing, or in the morning; lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping.  And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:33-37.)

The apostle Paul also gave this prophetic warning: “Now consider this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour that we should be roused out of sleep; because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost over, and the day is drawing near; therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk decently, as in the day: not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and emulation.  But let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and not make any allowance for the flesh to fulfill its lusts” (Rom 13:11-14).

This past year has been a banner year in every way. We have sent out more literature and books than ever before: The New Testament- 10,000 printed; 6,000 distributed.  Day Jesus Died- 16,000 printed; nearly 10,000 distributed. In addition, we distributed over 3,500 Harmony of the Gospels.  We truly thank God the Father and Jesus Christ for their blessings that make it possible to serve the brethren and to preach the Gospel to the world through our Websites, literature and books. The books and literature that we have sent out is having an effect.  We continue to have a record number of visitors coming to the Website, and they are staying longer to download information and sermons.

Once again thank you for your love, prayers and continued support.  May God bless you with His love, grace and understanding so that you may grow in godly character.

With love in Christ Jesus,

Fred R. Coulter

FRC