Church of God News

Assisi, Italy (Roberto Ferrari)

COGwriter

German Chancellor Merkel spoke at a Catholic conference in Muenster, Germany this week (see Angela Merkel and Pope Francis speak at Muenster Conference: What are the prophetic ramifications for the USA and the world? ) and today received a Catholic award in Assisi, Italy:

Merkel receives Franciscan ‘Lamp of Peace’ in Assisi, Italy

Chancellor Angela Merkel has received the “Lamp of Peace,” a Catholic award for seeking the peaceful coexistence of peoples.

12 May 2018

Referring to strains in a supposedly united 28-nation EU, Merkel said it was necessary to look beyond the national rim, adding it must again be possible “to give Europe a soul.” …

The Franciscan “Lamp of Peace” is a replica of a local glass oil lamp that glows at the monastic grave of Saint Francis of Assisi who lived until 1226 and whose observations of wildlife inspired environmental ethics.

The award was first made in 1981 to the Polish trade union leader Lech Walesa. Subsequent recipients include Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama, Saint Teresa of Calcutta and Russia’s political leader Mikhail Gorbachev. …

Friar Thomas Freidel told Dom Radio based in Cologne, Germany, that the award was symbolized by a “very simple small lamp” traditionally used in Italy’s central Umbria region, which includes Assisi.

“The olive oil [inside] is a precious product of the oil trees of Umbria, which are similarly a symbol for peace,” Freidel said.

Light, he said, was also a “symbol that is understood across religious boundaries” and a reminder of what “underpins and sustains us here in Europe.”

Merkel was widely regarded in Italy as an important “shaper” of a Europe beset by problems but also a common future. So, she had been chosen by the monastery as an “important representative” of Europe, Freidel concluded. http://www.dw.com/en/merkel-receives-franciscan-lamp-of-peace-in-assisi-italy/a-43752482

May 12, 2018

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal has increased tensions in the Middle East.

“We are following the events between Iran and Israel, bearing in mind that Israel’s security” is important to Germany, Merkel said on Saturday in comments reported by the Ansa newswire. She spoke after receiving the Lamp of Peace of St. Francis award in Assisi, Italy.

Introduced by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, a former Nobel Peace Price winner and recipient of the Assisi honor last year, Merkel said that Europe needs to remember and strengthen its values if it wants to protect its own peace and security. “If we don’t not know how to give Europe a soul, we will lose this game,” she said, quoting former European Commission President Romano Prodi. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-12/merkel-says-u-s-exit-from-iran-accord-has-increased-tensions

Irreligious Europe is going to become more religious.

Notice also the following:

Viktor Orbán has said the main task of his new government will be to preserve Hungary’s security and Christian culture.

The hardline rightwinger was re-elected for a third successive term as prime minister in April after a strong anti-immigration message secured a landslide victory. …

Orbán said his government was building a “Christian democracy”.

“We are working on building an old-school Christian democracy, rooted in European traditions … We believe in the importance of the nation and in Hungary we do not want to yield ground to any supranational business or political empire,” he said. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/07/viktor-orban-hungary-preserve-christian-culture

The Bible tells of governments in the world temporarily aligning with the church of the city of seven hills:

1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. …

18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:1-9, 18)

A type of church-state alliance will come. Though it will not be permanent (Revelation 17:16).

The old Worldwide Church of God (WCG) wrote about unity between the Europeans and the Vatican:

Elusive Unity

Over the past few decades the authority and unity of the Roman Catholic Church have been severely shaken. The festering issues of birth control, abortion, divorce, celibacy, homosexuality, women in the priesthood, political activism of priests and distribution of ecclesiastical power have greatly troubled the Church. Many even in the upper echelons of the Vatican hierarchy have expressed apprehension over the Church’s future.

At the same time, the continent of Europe itself stands at an historic crossroads. Divided ideologically between East and West and beset with serious economic and military concerns, Europe faces crucial decisions on its future. Like the Catholic Church, Europe has been weakened by division.

And both prelates and politicians alike realize that a house divided against itself cannot stand.

In the face of this division, voices within both European political circles and the Catholic Church are appealing for UNITY. But how, many ask, is that elusive unity to be achieved? How are the rifts to be healed — both within the Church and within Europe itself? …

Likewise, the Catholic Church within remains philosophically divided between liberal and conservative, despite the best efforts of unity-minded churchmen. Confronted with these realities, leading European politicians and Catholic clergymen have come to an important realization. There is only one possible course for the future, they believe.

Common Cause

If they are to solve their respective problems, Europe and the Catholic Church need each other’s help. Their common need for unity can be achieved only by working together. Once again, the past points the way to the future.

Influential churchmen inside the Vatican have come to believe that the only way to inspire unity and bring new life to the Church is to plunge it into a cause larger than itself. That cause, many believe, is the unification of Europe!

In turn, many of Europe’s political leaders see a role for the Church in their efforts. They believe the Church might once again exercise its powerful cohesive effect on Europe, providing the glue — the tie of common religion — to hold Europe together politically. Again, as in centuries past, Europeans are beginning to appreciate that religion and politics are interdependent. In essence, they are envisioning a reconstitution of the whole of classic Europe, along the lines of the old Holy Roman Empire, under Catholic aegis.

The dream of the Holy Roman Empire yet lives! …

Paul VI called the Catholic faith “the secret of Europe’s identity.” In discovering this secret, he said, Europe could then go on to perform “the providential service to which God is still calling it.”

Europe and the Cross

The Popes’ calls for the spiritual unity of Europe have been echoed by influential spokesmen In the political arena. Prominent among these is Dr. Otto von Habsburg, a key figure in the movement for European unification. Dr. Habsburg is the eldest son of the last Austro-Hungarian Emperor and a member of the European Parliament. (See “Otto von Habsburg — Man With a Mission,” March 1984 Plain Truth.)

Inter-European unity has long been a quest of the Habsburgs, as we have seen. Dr. Habsburg often speaks of the similarities between the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and his view of a coming “United States of Europe.” Dr. Habsburg has long advocated a strong religious role in any future united Europe. He regards the Roman Catholic Church as Europe’s ultimate bulwark. “The cross doesn’t need Europe,” he once stated, “but Europe needs the cross.”

Europeans, he believes, must be reawakened to their historical religious heritage. “If we take Christianity out of the European development, there is nothing left,” he declares. “The soul is gone.” …

Final Revival

Forces already have been set in motion that will revolutionize the face of Europe — and the role of the Roman Catholic Church. …

This confederated Europe will be an immense political, military and economic power — a great Third Force in world affairs, a superpower in its own right. Prophecy further reveals that this powerful church-state union will be composed of “ten horns” — meaning 10 nations or groups of nations (Rev. l7:3) — under the overall leadership of a single political figure (verse 13). Europe will again have a single political head of state!

Moreover, prophecy foretells that a religious figure of unprecedented power and authority will sit astride the “empire,” directing it as a rider guides a horse (Rev. 17:3). To counter the ongoing spread of atheism, secularism and consumerism, the Vatican — as in centuries past — will be forced to become a major power in the international arena. The political muscle of the Papacy will be reinvigorated. …

Two Legs

Now notice further: In the second chapter of the Old Testament book of Daniel, the Roman Empire and its predecessors are pictured as a giant human figure. The figure’s 10 toes correspond to the 10 end-time national units also described (as “horns “) in Revelation 17. The prophecy of Daniel reveals that these 10 entities will constitute a political system that will exist at the return of Jesus Christ to establish the kingdom of God on this earth (Dan. 2:44, 45).

The original Roman Empire was broken into two “legs,” as pictured in the human image of Daniel’s prophecy — the Eastern Empire centered at Byzantium (Constantinople) and the Empire of the West centered at Rome. Thus it is very possible that the coming reconstituted Roman Empire will be composed of two distinct yet cooperative parts: one comprising nations of Western Europe, the other incorporating nations freed from Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe. Given the fact of five toes on each foot of the human image, possibly five entities will come from the West and five from the East. …

A united Europe is inevitable. Europe awaits a modern Charlemagne, another Otto the Great, a second Charles V — a champion to resurrect the tradition of imperial unity. The coming Renovatio imperii Romanorum — restoration of the Empire of the Romans — will astound the world! Europe — and the Church of Rome — will again be powers to reckon with. (Stump K. THE HISTORY OF EUROPE & THE CHURCH Part Ten THE FINAL UNION. Plain Truth, June 1984)

So, European unity has been pushed by the Vatican for a long time and politicians have essentially called for Europe to be given “a soul,” in this context meaning religion. In particular, a religion that the Vatican will endorse. Since that WCG article was published, Eastern Europe did depart from being part of the old Soviet Union and much of Eastern Europe is now part of the European Union.

The Bible says that this revived European power will be militaristic (Revelation 13:1-4), dominate the economy (Revelation 13:16-18; Revelation 18), and destroy the USA (Daniel 11:39) and its Anglo-Saxon allies (cf. Daniel 8:24-25), and it will also destroy a power to rise up in the Middle East and North Africa (Daniel 11:40-43).

Notice these warnings from the old WCG:

An Ecclesiastical Counterpart

Like Daniel’s fourth beast, this many-headed creature of Revelation 13 also has close ties with a priestly potentate. According to John: “Then I saw another beast which rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon [reminiscent of a wolf in sheep’s clothing]. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast . . .” (verses 11-12).

Here we see what amounts to a state-supported church using authoritarian methods in order to force people into religious idolatry. To facilitate the process, the second beast has an image of the initial state system erected (verse 14). An autocratic state organization becomes an effective model for an ecclesiastical hierarchy bent on maintaining an iron grip on the religious thoughts of its subjects.

This particular pattern of church and state authority was put to use during the Middle Ages. The medieval church was organized along patterns previously established by Imperial Rome and effectively maintained an exclusive religious monopoly throughout the Western world. Men feared the power of – the church more than virtually anything else in their lives. In that sense, the church operated by using its own structure as an object of worship. Under the Nazi Third Reich the pattern was reversed, as political party modeled itself after the church hierarchy in order to maintain control over the minds of men.

An End-Time Fulfillment

This type of church-state totalitarianism as described by John has raised its ugly head in successive revivals throughout most of Western history. And while the book of Revelation does have an ongoing historical fulfillment, its main emphasis is on events that will occur during the climactic end time just prior to the return of Christ.

In the 17th chapter of Revelation, John went on to describe a fallen woman (symbolizing a church) sitting astride a supranational state system (consisting of ten kings, see verses 10-14). Throughout most of this calamitous period, this revitalized church-state system will be operating in a high-handed fashion (verse 4). Living under its jurisdiction may be the closest thing to hell on earth that will ever occur. Religious deception during this time will be at an all-time high. According to John: “Men worshiped the dragon [Satan the Devil], for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?'” (Rev. 13:4.)

Not only will people be taken in by the beast power’s religious sleight of hand, but they will idolize its military exploits as well. In such an atmosphere it’s no surprise that the other three horsemen of the apocalypse war, famine and pestilence will be riding at full gallop.

Religious Martyrdom

During this tumultuous period of time, there will be a few stubborn souls, known as the “elect ” (Matt. 24:24), who will not be taken in by this marvelous church-state mega machine. As we have already seen, this can and will be extremely .dangerous to life and health. The resurrected church-state system, like its predecessors, will not tolerate dissension in the ranks. Under the circumstances, its actions will be very predictable. Religious persecution will be at an all-time high. As John wrote: I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Rev. 17:6).

Jeremiah describes this future dark age as “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30: 7, KJV). Daniel calls it “a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time” (Dan. 12:1). One reason for this unprecedented world tumult will be the hyperactive involvement of Satan the devil. According to John: “Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” (Rev. 12:12.)

Using the resurrected church-state system, Satan will direct much of his vengeful attack against God’s people – especially those doing His Work (see Rev. 11; 12:13-17; Matt. 24:9). Satan and his military and ecclesiastical minions will be so effective that the world will be brought perilously close to the brink of global cosmocide. Christ said that unless He intervened to cut short the carnage, “no human being would be saved” (Matt. 24:22). But even when He does, people will be so religiously mixed up, deceived and bamboozled that they will actually gather to fight and resist the “King of kings” when He returns to the earth (see Rev. 19:19-20; 17:14). (Ritter GP. 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse – The White Horse – False Religion. WCG booklet, 1976)

This European power will involve religion (cf. Revelation 13:4,8, 16:13). Persecution, signs, and wonders will persuade nearly all to support that (Revelation 13:11-18; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). This will not end well for Europe (cf. Revelation 17:14).

What Europeans need to do is repent (Acts 2:38) and to “contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

But that is not something that many there understand. Details on the history and doctrines of the true Christian church can be found in the booklet: Continuing History of the Church of God.

Those who will not embrace the teachings and practices of the original and true Christian church will be deceived (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

The end time final Mystery Babylon is in the process of forming (watch also Do You Know That Babylon is Forming?).

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This entry was posted on Saturday, May 12th, 2018 at 7:45 am and is filed under Religious News, WCG News.

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