History keeps on repeating itself
NOW and then, we hear some people say that “history repeats itself.” Not many of us know that this saying has actually Biblical basis, namely Ecclesiastes 1:9 and Ecclesiastes 3:15. Let me share with you what these Biblical verses say:
Ecclesiastes 1:9 – The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be: and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 3:15 – That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
*** One may ask: Why is the message in Ecclesiastes 1:9 being repeated in Ecclesiastes 3:15? One simple and clear explanation is the fact that God is in complete and perfect control of everything – included the time and the events of life. Otherwise stated, God can keep on repeating events in life and can bring into the present what happened in the past, and/or God can make what is happening right now, events that already happened in the past, and God can likewise make what will happen in the future that which already happened in the past. As if the past, present, and future events are bound together like one whole event.
*** Let me share with you an example of a series of events in history that keeps on repeating itself. The example was presented by Perry Stone, a 48-year-old Christian preacher and a prolific Christian writer (authored over 40 books and booklets, and produced over 100 videos and DVDs); and one of America’s foremost experts on Bible prophecy. Perry Stone is one of my favorite preachers on Bible prophecy.
Perry Stone presented the parallelism of the life and death of the late President Abraham Lincoln (16th US president) and the late President John F. Kennedy (35th US President) in his television program (Manna-Fest) shown in https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=zbCQrRKwB50, as follows:
1. “Both were elected to the House of Representatives – 1846 and 1946.
2. “Both lost a bid for the vice presidency by their party – 1856 and 1956.
3. “Lincoln was elected president in 1860 – Kennedy was elected in 1960.
4. “Both had bodyguards named William – William Crook and William Greer.
5. “Lincoln sat in Box 7 at the Theater – Kennedy was in car Number 7 in the motorcade.
6. “Both attending doctors were named Charles – Charles Leale and Charles Crenshaw.
7. “Both died in places with the initials P.H – Peterson House and Parkland Hospital.
8. “Both bodyguards died within 48 hours of each other at age 75.
9. “Both vice presidents were named Johnson and were Southern Democrats.
10. “Both vice presidents were replaced by Republicans whose mothers name was Hannah.
11. “Vice President Andrew Johnson was born in 1808; Vice President Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908.
12. “Both conferred with Black leaders concerning Civil Rights.
13. “Both quoted Shakespeare and the Bible in their speeches and were known for their eloquence.
14. “John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839; Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939.
15. “Lincoln and Kennedy both have seven letters in their names.
16. “John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald have 15 letters in their names.
17. “Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson have 13 letters in their names.
18. “Both vice presidents were Southern Democratic senators before being elected.
19. “Both presidents had their election contested.
20. “Both presidents were involved in the Civil Rights of the Black Community.
21. “Both presidents were congressmen before becoming president.
22. “Both foresaw their deaths before it occurred. 23. “Both were shot on a Friday. 24. “Both were shot in the back of the head.
25. “Both were shot in the presence of their wives.
26. “Both assassins were shot and killed before going to trial.
27. “Both assassins were in their twenties when they shot the presidents.
28. “Both assassins were killed by men who changed their names and were from the North.
29. “Both presidents suffered the death of a child while in the White House.
30. “Secretaries to both presidents warned them not to go to the places where they were killed.
31. “Both Presidents were shot by a Southerner.
32. “Lincoln was shot in a theater and his assassin hid in a storage barn; Kennedy was shot from a book depository and the assassin hid in a theatre.
33. “Both assassins were killed before they stood trial.
34. “Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theater; and Kennedy was shot in a Ford Lincoln Limousine.”
*** God is in control of all things, including time and events. God is sovereign in the universe over all nations and in control of human destinies. With God, there are no such things as coincidences or occurrences by chance or random. Everything happens by divine providence. ***
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Be joyful and forgiving!