Yesterday, the congregation of Kilskeery Free Presbyterian Church, marked its 52nd anniversary with messages by the minister, Rev Samuel Fitton, and a special season of prayer in the afternoon.
You may listen to Rev Fitton’s messages here:
Here are pictures from that event 52 years ago, on August 17th, 1974, and published in a previous marking of the anniversary.
The crowd that attended the opening service.
The men involved in the start of the witness. (L to R) Mr George Somerville, the late Mr Robert Edwards, who gifted the site, the late Mr Hugh Gallagher, Mr Ivan Morrison [holding a book], Mr Jackie Neville, the late Mr George Morrison.It is soul-stirring to look back and rejoice in the labours of so many who raised the hall who are now in glory.
‘One by one their seats were empty, One by one they went away.’
We are thankful to the Lord that He has maintained the witness of the hall, which in 1977 was constituted as a Free Presbyterian Church congregation.
In February 1978 I became the pastor of the small flock.
The following year, Kilskeery Independent Christian School was commenced under the principalship of Mrs Ann Foster BA, now too in glory since June 8th, 2024.
Mrs Foster (nee Beattie) when I first met her in a Young People’s Fellowship meeting in Ravenhill Free Presbyterian Church, September 11th 1964 — soon to be 62 years ago.
May the Lord answer the prayers offered yesterday, and on many previous occasions, for ‘showers of blessing’ to fall upon the whole Kilskeery district and far beyond.
So reads the headline in an article in today’s ‘Belfast Telegraph’. (15.8.26).
As to whether the report of the Queen’s words is true, I would need more evidence before I would accept the word of arch-hater of Ulster Protestants, Mary McAleese.
Nazis
I made this comment regarding her in 2010.
‘The Irish Republic is more clearly reflected in the 2005 speech by President Mary McAleese at the sixtieth anniversary of Auschwitz concentration camp’s liberation when she likened Ulster Protestants to Nazis for, she claimed, some Protestants taught their children to hate Roman Catholics just as the Nazis taught their offspring to hate Jews. The Irish Republic is no haven for Protestants as its dwindling Protestant population demonstrates.’
I wonder what the Queen thought of those comments, more vicious and untrue than anything attributed, unfairly, to Dr Ian Paisley by his enemies!
Thousands of those Protestant ‘Nazis’ responded to the call to arms in World War II, in common with their fellow citizens of the United Kingdom from England, Scotland and Wales, along with allies from across the world. The Irish Republic, of which Mary McAleese later became President, remained neutral and even officially ‘mourned’ the death of Hitler!
As an Irish Republican, she will happily use lies and slander against those she hates, believing, as her church teaches her, that when used in a ‘good cause’, untruths and falsehoods are legitimate!
Anything that Dr Paisley ever said by way of criticism of the activities of the late Queen Elizabeth II, was factual and scriptural.
Her ignoring of the teaching of the Bible, that she would have publicly spoken of in an honouring fashion, has reaped a sad harvest amongst her offspring.
The present king is married to the woman who was his mistress for many years and the cause of the breaking up of his marriage to the late Princess Diane.
Sadly, the late Queen failed to express in a tangible fashion, any abhorrence of the wickedness of her son as did the Church of England of which she was the titular head, now the position occupied by her ungodly son. In fact she endorsed his wickedness.
I fear that the Lord had words she would have found more dreadful than anything of Ian Paisley’s words, that were reported to her!
“And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire,” Jeremiah 21:8-10.
“But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein. I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live,” Jeremiah 27:11-12.
WHAT PROPHECY SAYS OF US HERE IN THE BRITISH ISLES?
I believe we can find the mind of God in the Bible for these ‘British Isles’.
The territories of the ancient Roman Empire will be assembled again as a political and religious unit in the days before Christ’s return.
We are specifically told that in the interpretation Daniel gave to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, of the dream that he had.
Great Image
“Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth,” Daniel 2:31-35.
Daniel went on to explain the dream.
“This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure,” verses 36-45.
We must note that “the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure”. This will most certainly come to pass.
These four great kingdoms are Babylon, the Medes and the Persians, the Grecian Kingdom and finally, the Empire of Rome.
The fourth kingdom
The Millennial Kingdom that the Lord will set up, is manifested in the closing days of the final of these four earthly kingdoms. (more…)
