KEYWORDS: god, time, egypt, lord, history

Course of History Must Go On, The

David Berg

ET#265/86DO 2190

1. THERE'S ONE THING THE LORD CANNOT DO OR WILL NOT DO, & THAT IS HE IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY & THE FUTURE which has to come to a head in order that His plan may be completed & He may finally take over! So He has to let man go his way, He has to let governments go Communist & He has to let the [ACs] do what they're doing, their thing, which is to deceive the World & produce the Antichrist & take over, in order that man's cup of iniquity may be filled & that the World will learn that the best of man's governments can be even the worst!—And that after all, God knows best, Papa knows best!

2. IT'S NOT AN EXPERIMENT BECAUSE HE KNOWS HOW IT'S GOING TO COME OUT, how He's designing it to come out, so it's a demonstration of His power & what the Lord's going to do!—But He has to do it! He's not going to change the course of history, because He has designed it, & it's going to go the way He wants it to run! That's the way the river's going to go!—And He's already foretold the future to tell you how it's going to go. He is not going to intervene against man's free will & choice!

3. PEOPLE USED TO SAY, "WHY DIDN'T GOD STOP HITLER?" (See ML #1325.) Well, Hitler was either a scourge on the World's sins‚ or a saviour to try to save them from the Communists, depending on how you look at it! And God didn't stop him until he'd done his part & his damage. … I don't doubt he was somewhat of a villain, as nearly all dictators are. They have to be partly tough & villainous & tyrannical in order to control the awful people they rule over!

4. I'VE ALWAYS SAID, "A WICKED PEOPLE DESERVE A WICKED KING!"—And that's what they get, that's what God gives them! If you don't believe it, just read the course of Israel's history‚ which was mostly wicked & mostly wicked kings, with a few rare exceptions! If you want to know what the Jews are like, just read the Bible!—Even their own Bible, the Old Testament. I don't know how they can even have the nerve to have the Old Testament published, much less the New Testament!

5. IT REMINDS ME OF DAVID Z'S OLD SONG, "O MY LORD‚ O MY LORD, HOW MUCH LONGER?—OH HOW LONG CAN THIS GO ON!" How much longer can You let this go on? Well, we know the future because it's all outlined in the Bible clearly & I don't have to go into that right now, we know how long He's going to let it go on. It's coming as near the End right now as possible & we feel like '86 is a significant year.

6. THE COMET CERTAINLY DIDN'T SHOW UP OR MAKE ANY DENT! Nobody could even see it without binoculars, which was a big surprise to everybody‚ including us! Maybe the dictator won't show up either this year as we thought! If the Comet didn't show up, then what was the use of having the Comet if it wasn't going to introduce the dictator?—So maybe he won't show up either! Does that shock your orthodoxy?—Ha! (Already in secret?)

7. BUT THE COURSE OF HISTORY AS GOD HAS DESIGNED IT IS GOING TO GO AHEAD!—Or as God is letting it go ahead & knowing how it's going, which is almost as good as designing it! He's letting it happen & He is not going to stop it! He didn't stop Hitler, He didn't stop the Communists, He didn't stop Caesar, He didn't stop Napoleon, He didn't stop Mohammed‚ each of those guys ran his course & did his job. Each of them had their purpose & in a sense were tools in God's hand. Whether you think they were blessings or cursings, God allowed them to happen!

8. AND HE'S NOT GOING TO STOP THE ANTICHRIST!—At least not till it's his time. He's not going to stop the Tribulation, & He hasn't stopped the U.S.A. for the 200 years that they've made a mess out of the World, & He hasn't stopped Russia & the Communists from taking it over, which they're about to do, if we read prophecy right!—The great Red Beast‚ inspired by the great Red Dragon, what could be any clearer than that?

9. AND IF THE WORLD IS TO GO COMMUNIST, AS IT'S GOING TO, except for Capitalist resistance, then nation after nation has to go Communist & has to become Communistic & enter the fold, one by one. Until they use their greatest propaganda & strategy of trying to persuade the whole World to follow the Beast, by his great Satanic superhuman wisdom in solving their problems, or seeming to.

10. IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT THERE WERE LOTS OF CHRISTIANS IN THE EARLY CHURCH IN THE DAYS OF ROME & that the Romans usually persecuted the Christians, the Lord allowed the Roman Empire to go on for 400 years! They had ten major persecutions by the Romans, all classified & codified & listed in history, but I don't think you have time to read it now. The days of having time to read history & study it like I did are over, I just have to try to simplify it for you.

11. GOD DIDN'T STAMP OUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE JUST BECAUSE HE HAD A LITTLE SUFFERING CHURCH OF CHRISTIANS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT IT! In fact, it even helped make the Christians' job easier, sometimes, by their Roman citizenship & the ease of travel. In those days the forms of travel were not very easy, but there weren't as many travel restrictions—no passports, no visas. Roman citizenship was like travelling in one country, instead of from one to the other.—No bag or immigration checks, customs, etc.! They had three languages. The legal enforced language for law & government was Latin, but the language of culture & art & philosophy & religion was Greek. And of course the language of the Jews was Hebrew, & most of them spoke all three, including some others. But it made it very easy to spread the Gospel when all the Roman Empire could speak the same languages, whether they spoke in Greek or Latin & at home in Hebrew.

12. BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE DEVIL INSPIRED THE ROMAN EMPIRE TO MAKE IT VERY TOUGH FOR THEM SOMETIMES, on occasion‚ probably to purify the Church, just like He says about the Antichrist!—Probably to refine & make them white & make them testimonies & examples! (Dan.11:35) Why in the World did the Lord let the Romans cast the Christians into the lions' den & into the arena? Why did He let them be burned at the stake like torches to light up the games, smeared with tar so they'd burn better? (Peter: As a witness!)—Exactly! It wasn't just what they said that really counted‚ because many more Romans turned to their message by the way they died & suffered & were willing to die for their faith, to die singing, smiling, even seeming happy & to feel no pain as their bodies burned! Why didn't the Lord stop that?—It's a witness!

13. GOD IS NOT GOING TO STOP THE COURSE OF WORLD HISTORY UNTIL IT'S TIME, NOT EVEN FOR THE SAKE OF HIS SAINTS! In fact, He even has a purpose for them to go through the Tribulation & suffering. He makes it very clear in the 11th Chapter of Daniel, "to purge them & make them white" & so that they'll be a great influence, a great testimony. "For the wise shall understand & they shall instruct many & do great exploits." (Dan.11:32-35) "And they shall instruct many!"

14. SO IF GOD IS NOT GOING TO STOP THE PRESENT FIENDISH, DEVILISH COURSE OF WORLD HISTORY toward its ultimate crash & abolition so that the Kingdom of God can take over, what makes you think He's going to stop the course of the history of the countries that our Family is in just to save them? There have been occasions when He did, but it was only temporary, to give His people a chance to escape sometimes. (Maria: Like in Heaven's Children, Marie's exposure of the Antichrist plot to overthrow the country was just to save them temporarily, but it wouldn't save them forever.)—Exactly!

15. HE LET THE JEWS SUFFER SLAVERY FOR 400 YEARS OR MORE IN EGYPT UNDER SOME OF THE WORST TYRANTS THAT EVER LIVED! Actually the whole 400 years was not slavery, only toward the end. But He let them suffer, in order to do what? (Maria: They were getting their punishment for one thing.) Yes, they probably deserved it…! But nevertheless He loved them, so although He let them suffer‚ they grew multitudinous & strong! And from a handful of 70-some souls that moved there originally, they grew to six or seven million under the Egyptians! They even prospered for a long time & grew strong. That's why the Egyptians got scared of them, they were getting too numerous & too strong & too prosperous & the Egyptians were getting jealous, so they began to persecute them. But why did the Lord let that happen?

16. WHAT WAS THE WORST THING THAT WAS GOING WRONG WITH THE JEWS IN EGYPT? (Peter: They were beginning to worship idols.) That was probably the worst thing, yes‚ but there was something else they were worshipping even more & were enjoying, & that they complained about when they left that they didn't have any more. (Peter: The leeks & the garlics!)—Onions & garlic! (Num.11:5) In other words, the luxuries & the comfort & the comparative security & safety they enjoyed in Egypt.

17. IF GOD HADN'T ALLOWED THEM TO BECOME PERSECUTED & SUFFER, THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE LEFT EGYPT! They never would have wanted to leave Egypt! God had a hard enough time getting them out as it was! Even when He did save them & get them out, they wanted to go back! They said at least they had leeks & garlics in Egypt, which they didn't have out on the desert, at least they had water!—And you have read the history of all their murmurings & complaints.—When God was trying to bring them into a land flowing with milk & honey & a land that would be their own & where they would rule & reign for many years in safety, more or less, at least in safety & independence & not be slaves under the tyranny of the idolatrous Egyptians!

18. SO WHY AT THE END OF THEIR 400–&-SOME YEARS STAY IN EGYPT DID GOD ALLOW THEM TO SUDDENLY BE SO PERSECUTED & ENSLAVED & SUFFER SO MUCH? (Peter: So He could get them to move.) I just told you! Why don't you speak up, Honey? (Maria: I thought the original question was why did the Lord allow them to be there in the first place?) I told you that already, I said they grew & became very strong & numerous. (Maria: But couldn't they have grown & become strong & numerous if they hadn't been brought into Egypt? Could you explain again why they were taken to Egypt in the first place & had to stay for 400 years?)

19. IN THE FIRST PLACE, THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THEIR OWN LAND, WHICH OBVIOUSLY THE LORD ALLOWED‚ & sent them down into Egypt‚ which became the strongest power on Earth‚ first of the seven World Empires, & where they also got a very good education in science, astronomy, astrology, everything! Dear Moses was skilled in everything, he was a smart guy! He was brought to the king's palace by the princess. Do I have to give all the reasons why they were brought into Egypt? (Maria: Yes, please!) Well, maybe it's good, because I'm drawing a parallel.

20. IT HAPPENED SO THAT THEY COULD BECOME STRONG & NUMEROUS, & ALSO THEY WERE SPREADING THEIR MESSAGE AT THE SAME TIME! They were a constant witness & testimony to Jehovah, even to the Egyptians. They were in a sense like the Lord says about us, not of this World, not of Egypt, but they were in Egypt. (Jn.15:19; 17:14) They had to be there as a witness to the one true God, & God gave Egypt its chance. They were His witnesses! Until they had done all the witnessing they could & saved all the souls they could, & then it was time for them to move & get out & go someplace where it was safer for them to be.

21. BUT WHEN THE TIME CAME, THEY DIDN'T WANT TO MOVE! They said of Moses when he came to deliver them, "Who made thee a king over us, anyhow? Who do you think you are? You're not the only prophet in the bunch, we are also prophets!" So when it came time to deliver them, they didn't even want to be delivered! So Pharaoh made it tougher & tougher on them, even made them make adobe blocks with little straw, which is very difficult to do because they'll hardly even hold together. But if he hadn't persecuted them & enslaved them & made their lot harder & harder, until finally he sent a whole army after them to slay them, they probably never would have left!

22. AND THEY EVEN COMPLAINED ABOUT IT FOR THE NEXT 40 YEARS THAT THEY HAD TO LEAVE EGYPT, & all the troubles they had in the desert‚ & all the troubles they had with Moses, & all the troubles they had without meat & without water & without onions & without garlic & all the rest! They didn't really want to leave‚ so God had to make it really tough on them to persuade them to leave.

23. BUT GOD WAS TRYING TO DO THEM A FAVOUR, DO SOMETHING FOR THEM! He was trying to take them into a land where they would have more liberty & have their own country, their own laws, their own religion, their own kings & independence & freedom, greater security, even greater prosperity, etc.

24. HE LET THEM STAY IN EGYPT FOR OVER 400 YEARS UNTIL THEY HAD SQUEEZED EVERYTHING OUT OF EGYPT THEY COULD GET!—And even when they finally ran off, they ran off with the Egyptians' jewelry! (Exo.12:35,36) It shows you how dumb [they were], that they would actually believe these Jews when they said they just wanted to borrow the jewelry! Well, the Egyptians never saw that jewelry again! …

25. IT ALWAYS TICKLED ME EVEN AS A LITTLE LAD THAT THE EGYPTIANS COULD HAVE BEEN SO DUMB AS TO BELIEVE THEM! The Jews ran off with all their wealth & the Lord destroyed their army & their power & all their firstborn & all kinds of things! But then all the Jews could do was complain about it, because they had to go through all this trouble & the 40 years in the wilderness & suffer a little bit in order to get to their own country & be able to have their own country & their own laws, their own religion, their own freedom, their own prosperity & even riches & wealth, etc.

26. THE LORD HAS ALLOWED OUR FAMILY TO STAY IN SOME COUNTRIES FOR A LONG TIME, where we have prospered & our Message has prospered & we have won souls & we have reaped a great harvest. Then when the Lord knew we had done all we could do & there wasn't much else to reap, then He made us move. Maybe there was a little gleaning to do, but it wasn't worth the while of the whole army to stay, the gleaning could be left to a few who stayed behind‚ then He made us move.

27. DON'T FORGET, WE AS A FAMILY DIDN'T JUST DECIDE WE WANTED TO GO ON A EUROPEAN TOUR JUST FOR THE PLEASURE OF IT! We were refugees…! And we got out of the U.S.A. just in time‚ both times, the first European tour & the second one too, when the going got too hot! …

28. … The Lord knew that we had accomplished pretty much about all we were going to accomplish in the U.S.A. & it was time to pioneer Europe & go on.—And that's been His process for a long time. Once we have pretty well reaped a harvest in one country, He's moved us to another where they were ripe & ready for harvest. And we have been in & out of countries more times than I can tell right now!

29. OUR SOJOURNS IN THE LANDS OF EGYPT HAVE NEVER AT THIS LATE HOUR BEEN AS LONG AS THAT OF THE JEWS! We've done pretty well to stick it out in some countries for a few years! At this late date, apparently the time is short & the days are evil & the Lord has to wind the job up in a hurry each time‚ each place!

30. AND WE HAVE NO REASON TO THINK OR BELIEVE THAT HE HAS CHANGED IN HIS POLICIES OR METHODS OR HIS WAYS OF WORKING, both to prosper us for awhile, like He did the Jews in Egypt, & to save us. Sometimes the process of salvation can get a little difficult. The method of rescue was not very pleasant for the Jews‚ they didn't like it. But in spite of them, God finally accomplished His purpose! He got fed up with the older generation, He let them rot in the desert‚ but He brought their children at least into the Land of Promise! Because the older ones had complained so much & really didn't want to leave & actually wanted to go back to Egypt‚ think of that! So He just brought their children into the Promised Land!

31. IN A WAY, THAT'S WHAT HE'S DONE WITH OUR FAMILY! The older generation, parents & churches, wanted to keep the status quo the way it was, they didn't want to change, they wanted their churchianity, they wanted their wealth, they wanted their so-called security in the U.S.A., they didn't want to be missionaries, so He has taken out their children & taken them into lands of milk & honey & prosperity & productiveness & fruitfulness, from one to the other!

32. SO IN A WAY I HATE TO TELL YOU THAT I DON'T THINK THE LORD'S CHANGED ANY ON THIS! It's been merely a matter of slight variation in time & place, but things are not really going to get any better, as we know, they're going to get worse!

33. SO DO WE AS A FAMILY STILL HAVE CONTINGENCY PLANS? Are you still ready with options? If you had to leave your present situation, where would you go & are you prepared to do so? And the next question is when? How bad does it have to get? What would you consider bad? What would you consider the limit? How long should you wait?

34. WELL, THE LORD ALWAYS SHOWS US THAT WHEN THE TIME COMES! He always gives us some pretty strong indications & signs & dew on the fleece that it's time to go. And almost always though we have planned ahead of time‚ made contingency plans as to where to go, He's even changed that sometimes at the last minute! But at least we had something planned, we weren't totally unprepared. Even in Portugal, at least we knew we were going someplace & we were packed up & we were ready to go! All we had to do was change the tickets & the reservations & the destination!