"May the Grace, Mercy and Peace of our Lord Jesus..."

Dear Christian Friend,

May the grace, mercy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ abide with you, now and forever. It is no new revelation to say that we are in the last days, that time is short and we should draw ever closer to our Lord and be watching, occupied in His work, making our call and election sure. May the Lord guide your steps and thoughts as you strive to do just this according to His will.

In several open air meetings recently various of the preachers participation mentioned there were widows they were calling on, who have material needs as well as spiritual. We were able to send help to them without cutting back on the work for the children. In fact, the quantity of milk being bought has steadily been increased. We thank the Lord, and we thank you for your extra and sacrificial love offerings. Blessed are those that care for the widows and orphans.  [Dear Reader: Would you like to make a donation for the continuing needs in Guatemala? Through Brother Orland has gone on to his heavenly reward, faithful supporters are still seeing to the needs of widows and orphans and to the spread of the Gospel in his beloved Guatemala. Follow this link.]

There are some aged widows who never come asking directly for food or money, but who bravely try to support themselves as much as possible. I have a great respect for them, holding them in high regard. For instance, one comes by selling jams or jelly. She is bent way, way over, can carry very few jars at a time but keeps trying. She picks up at the market whatever fruit is in season and may be bought most economically, picks up used jars and fills them. She then takes them door to door in her neighborhood to sell. I tell our people never to buy any commercial jelly, but buy from worthy people such as she. The product is better than the commercial and she asks a lower price, but I tell our people to give her more than she asks, buy all she has left, and have some to pass around to our open air evangelists.

Some months I was impressed by the comparison of the dramatic failing of our Space Shuttle, and the way the Titanic was a graphic prophecy of what was going to befall the whole British Empire in World War I. Good preachers saw the handwriting on the wall when the Titanic tragedy happened, although at the time the British Empire was the main and only superpower, its dominions reaching around the world. No presidents, kings or college presidents foresaw anything but increase and prosperity, science and culture. They belittled the Bible people and their warnings. They unanimously orated that a great world war was impossible. But, it came.

God's servants gave their warning before World War II. Now God's warnings come thick, fast and frequent. There are catastrophes in every country. Mexico's earthquake was really major, but was soon swept off the front pages by other events more alarming in other countries in steady spiral.

The latest, the Russian Nuclear Power Plant explosion [Chernobyl] is one more, but let us note this: the British Empire had its warning and then dismemberment; Germany also had her turn in World War II; now it is the new Superpower's turn in God's calendar and plan. There are many passages in Daniel 7 that indicate the chapter relates to both an ancient fulfillment and a modern one, namely, the U.S. and Russia.

The Communists had confessed to only two deaths in the initial explosion. During Stalin's "readjustments" of the small farmers. they never confessed to killing but about twenty, but the best research shows that the Communists killed 20,000,000, not enemy invaders, but 20 million of their own people. Without any doubt before the radiation count is gone, there will be hundreds dead and thousands seriously affected.

It is not pleasant to think of adjustments. We all prefer to dwell on the "God is Love" passages, but the Bible is full of warning how to be prepared to escape the coming judgments.

Jude in the Bible is an interesting character. Some disciples were always talking to the Lord. Some have not a word or question recorded. Jude speaks out once in that special chapter, John 14. When Jesus is explaining some of His special spiritual insights in depth, Jude asks, "Why is it that you reveal this to us, but not to the world?" Now, was this Jude the same as the author of the Epistle? Jude, the brother of James, wrote the Epistle, but very interestingly, Jude, the one of the original twelve, had a brother James, also one of the original twelve; but Jude, the brother of the Lord, also had a brother James. I have the Bible records which I listen to daily at great length. but I do not have commentaries on records. [This was written at a time when Bro. Orland had been afflicted with blindness from a terrorist bombing.] So, what I do is write to you all, and any who like to study Bible questions and commentaries, can write me your conclusions.

Is there some relation between Jude's question and Jesus revealing things to him, or them, and the various interesting passages in the Epistle that are nowhere else mentioned in the Bible?

The Epistles had a harder line than some of the lovelier passages. Jesus preached both. When He spoke of eating His flesh and drinking His blood, some disciples said it was a hard saying and left Jesus, not just because of an unpleasant metaphor, but because it was all too clear that the Lord was saying that true believers should participate in His suffering, enduring the shame and reproach of all around, while being faithful even unto death.

Jude was an old-fashioned hell-fire preacher whose messages should be heeded more in our desperate times than ever before.

As we keep consecrated, keeping free from undue worldly preoccupation, keep looking up, for our redemption draweth nigh. Talking about "looking up" reminds me that you very kindly keep asking about my eyesight. Thanks for your interest, love and prayers. I had thought the sight was all gone for a while, then it came back a little. Perhaps it will be a delayed miracle like God's promise to Abraham, but when it came, it was doubly miraculous.

Thanks... and God bless you.

Yours in the Lord

O. Wolfram