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11/07/06 a.m. The following story demonstrates that prophetic changes are occurring:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2438040,00.html

Cooperation between the Vatican and those of other professing Christian religions is prophesied to increase (Europa and the Beast).

Yesterday, CEM's Ron Dart posted:

I suspect that if the Democrats fail to capture either or both houses of congress tomorrow, a lot of the blame will be laid at the feet of one John Kerry.

11/06/06 a.m. COGaic had the following news item:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Nov 5 (Reuters) - Disgraced U.S. evangelist Ted Haggard, a vocal opponent of gay marriage and poster boy for conservative causes, admitted that he was guilty of "sexual immorality."

The following has been at the CG7 home page for a while:

If you or someone you know struggles with homosexual tendencies, order Out of the Closet, the latest Light for Life tract available through the Bible Advocate Press.

Obviously they did not plan this to coincide with the Ted Haggard matter, but obviously he should have studied the Bible more about that sexual immorality.

11/05/06 a.m. LCG's RC Meredith wrote:

Greetings fellow ministers! Many thanks to all of you for your help and inspiration to the brethren through the Feast! From all reports it was an outstanding Feast this year—and the vast majority of the brethren are still greatly encouraged as I hear from talking to many of you—plus reports coming in here. 

However, a few of our brethren have expressed concern about the recent visit to Charlotte from two of the leaders of the United Church of God. As you know, both Jim Franks and Clyde Kilough recently visited us here—after talking with Dr. Winnail about making just a “social” visit with us to strengthen our friendship and to explore ideas in a few areas where we could cooperate. Let me say immediately that they did not—in any way—try to talk about a coming “merger” or anything of the kind! We certainly did not bring that up. In fact, I kind of “squashed” even speculation on such a thing by pointing out early on that we each have totally separate agendas, different forms of government—which I expressed were very important to God—and different approaches to doing the Work.  

However, we did explore areas where, as “separated brethren,” we could still cooperate and express the Christian love to one another as we ought to do. We discussed—briefly in each case—how if an actual sex pervert were to be disfellowshipped or put out of our ministry or membership, we should let them know—and vice versa. Anything like that should be “shared” so that we can at least not, unwittingly, have this type of individual just “slip over” from one church to another. We all agreed enthusiastically with this.  

Also, we agreed to share information with each other and pray about outside attacks on the Churches of God. As during the “Receivership” crisis of 1979, when even the Catholic Church filed an “amicus brief” [friend of the court brief] showing their support for the privacy of churches from government intervention and regulation, we all should be mutually concerned about outside attacks on our peoples from the government or from any other source. As fellow Christians—even though we have different perspectives on government and doing the Work—we should constantly “love one another” as Jesus commanded us to do toward all men!  

You need to realize, some of you “stricter” brethren, we are not dealing with communists or Buddhists. We are dealing with others who believe many of the same things we do—though they have a different approach to government, to certain doctrines and to the zealous approach we wish to have in preaching the full Truth to the world. Yet, understanding these differences and not weakening our own agenda in that regard, we should and must love one another and try to help all men—and especially those who understand much of the Truth we do.  

So let us go forward with a balanced approach to this matter. And please be assured that Christ is guiding us here in Charlotte to maintain our doctrinal and corporate integrity and continue doing the Work which Christ has called us to do!

As I wrote before, the meeting was not for the purposes of merging. The above is consistent with what I had been told previously about the meeting. There will be no merger. There are many differences between LCG and UCG.

A CGG member passed on the following article from Catholic Online (bolding mine):

It should be noted that Halloween is a Catholic holiday. Pope Gregory IV in 835 made it the universal practice in the Roman Catholic Church to celebrate All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1. All Souls' Day follows the next day as the commemoration of all of the faithful who have departed.

“All Hallows’ Even” as the evening before All Hallows’ Day — All Saints’ Day – eventually became shortened to Halloween. Hallow, as in “hallowed be thy name” in the Lord’s Prayer, is an older form of the word “holy.”

It was the Protestant Reformation that rejected the universal practice of devotion to the dead (Martin Luther dropped any references to praying for the dead from his Bible). This Catholic holiday was attacked, much like the church as a whole, for being pagan and evil. Hence I wouldn’t be surprised if this cloud of suspicion hovering over Halloween originated from the spirit of anti-Catholicism.

But Nov. 1st was the day of the Celtic Summer’s End feast of Samhain, the day when the dead returned to the earth. We have retained some of these pagan elements to Halloween, as is true of Christmas and Easter.

Why would a pope put the Catholic celebration of the dead on top of the pagans’ celebrations of the dead? Because the Catholic feasts are in continuity and fulfill the meaning of the pagan ones. This is why C.S. Lewis said that Christianity was the fulfillment of paganism.

So we don’t reject the use of trees at Christmas time because they were pagan, we continue to use them, because as symbols of life they now point to Christ. (Killian Brian. Halloween, as autumn celebration, reminder God’s name is hallowed. Catholic Online International News. 10/31/06. http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=21818).

The Bible teaches:

Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not (Jeremiah 10:2-4, KJV).

When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' "You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods..." (Deuteronomy 12:29-31).

I am planning on an article about why the COG is not Roman Catholic and the above is part of the reason. In the meantime, so may be interested in the articles Is Halloween Holy Time for Christians?, Did Early Christians Observe the Fall Holy Days?, and What Does Rome Actually Teach About Early Church History?

On other matters, yesterday's sermonette, is also today's latest article at the COGwriter website: China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 3: China in Prophecy. It discussed what is ahead for China and what will happen to nearly all the Chinese.

11/04/06 a.m. Last night, ICG's Mark Armstrong reported:

On the world scene… Dare I broach it?  This political season has been at least as disgusting as any in recent memory.  And what follows may be even harder to swallow.  America is distrusted and despised by a solid majority in countries that have been our traditional allies, including Great Britain, Canada, and most European nations.  American popularity is reportedly plummeting even in Israel, which never could have survived this long without U.S. support.  Of course you could say the same thing of all western Europe.  A long-standing reluctance or refusal to exert the might of the U.S. military has emboldened our enemies and led to a near universal loss of respect among former friends.  What lies just ahead may propel this sick scenario dramatically.   

            This nation needs our prayers, and God’s direction as never before.  I believe we are at a crucial time in our history.  If the U.S. continues to project weakness and lack of resolve, as looks assured, we will surely be run over by all manner of enemies.

On other matters, why don't Protestant realize that Jesus was NOT FULLY GOD while on earth? Well, they like the Roman Catholics and others consider various aspects of Christ's incarnation a mystery. But the way they understand this seems full of contradictions of logic. Notice the following:

Don't Trinitarians Notice That the Bible Makes it Clear that Logically Speaking, Jesus Could Not Have Been Fully God?

By now, you may have asked yourself, if the Bible makes it clear that logically speaking, Jesus could not have been fully God, how do trinitarians justify this?

Well, they do it basically by claiming that the God the trinitarians worship is a mystery.

This section will include are some admissions from Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant scholars.

Let's start with the Roman Catholic Encyclopedia:

IV. THE TRINITY AS A MYSTERY The Vatican Council has explained the meaning to be attributed to the term mystery in theology. It lays down that a mystery is a truth which we are not merely incapable of discovering apart from Divine Revelation, but which, even when revealed, remains "hidden by the veil of faith and enveloped, so to speak, by a kind of darkness" (Const., "De fide. cath.", iv). In other words, our understanding of it remains only partial, even after we have accepted it as part of the Divine messege {sic} (Joyce G. H. The Blessed Trinity. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XV. Copyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton Company. Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight. Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).

Notice these admissions from the Eastern Orthodox:

Orthodoxy professes its faith in a simple trinity...If we speak of a simple Trinity, this self-contradictory expression means the distinctions...God is unknowable about what he is (Clendenin D.B. ed. Eastern Orthodox Theology, 2nd ed. Baker Academic, 2003, pp. 175,177).

Notice what one Protestant scholar (who is himself a trinitarian) wrote:

For Luther, as for the German mystics, God is Deus absconditus, the "hidden God," inaccessible to human reason...

By emphasizing the sole authority of Scripture and downgrading the work of the church fathers and the decisions of the ecumenical councils, Luther created a problem for his followers. One the one hand, Luther wanted to affirm traditional theology with respect to the doctrine of the Trinity and Christ, but on the other those doctrines are not explicit in Scripture. They are the product of church fathers and the councils (Brown HOJ. Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church. Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody (MA), 1988, p. 314).

Another trinitarian writer (S.C. Nair) goes so far as to list many reasons that are in conflict with the “Jesus was fully human and fully God” belief he has, and yet simply rationalizes them by referring to this situation as a "mystery”. Notice the following:

How can we understand this mystery? To put this in simple words, if at all this possible we could affirm the following:

1. God is the subject of the Incarnation. The word became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn.1.14). But the humanity in Him had no existence apart from His deity. At the same time the humanity is elevated and glorified by its union with the deity in the person of the Son of God.

2. In Incarnation Jesus took upon him sinless, perfect humanity. The Holy One born was the Son of God (Lk.1.35).

3. The Divine and the human in Jesus Christ were never in conflict but acted as one. He always identified Himself as "I" and not as "we".

4. He was tired and asleep in the boat but he is the omnipotent God

5. He gives water of life freely, but he said "I thirst". It is God who gives life, but it is man who is thirsty.

6. He is the Light of the World, but He hung in darkness. It is God who is light, but the man who is in darkness

7. God cannot be tempted, but Jesus Christ was tempted of the devil

8. He is God who cannot die, but He died

9. He dwells in unapproachable light, but calls us to himself

10. He is God who is a consuming fire, but his touch heals

Yet in all these it is the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who is the subject (Nair, Silas C. Christology. Indus School of Apologetics and Theology Resource 108A1, 2006 available edition).

The truth is that several of the above statements are not mysteries, but are contradictions with the basic trinitarian contention that Jesus was fully God and fully human while on earth, prior to the resurrection.

Trinitarians understand that their God cannot be truly understood and that their position about Jesus being both fully human and fully God while on earth is in logical conflict. The real mystery is why people who claim to be logical accept that rules of logic do not apply in their concept of God.

11/03/06 a.m. Earlier this week, I visited the Herbert W. Armstrong.org website. The site has made MAJOR strides in improving the visual quality of the literature there. The documents are clearer and the ones that were originally in color are now in color. This site is a useful resource for those of us interested in certain aspects of historical and doctrinal research.

This morning, UCG posted the following in its update yesterday. The first is from its president, C. Kilough:

Last week we had two other important meetings here. The first centered on media and planning for next year's Beyond Today television programs. We now have nearly a year's experience in this endeavor, and this meeting provided us an opportunity to collectively review and evaluate our product, and then to plan the changes, which ranged from format to content, to make improvements. Again, it is appropriate to thank Steve Myers, Darris McNeely and Gary Petty for all the work they have put into hosting the programs, Howard Davis for the advertisements he creates, and all of those here at the office (too many to be named here) who are involved with the production. You can read elsewhere in Peter Eddington's report the latest statistics indicating the continually upward trend of Beyond Today responses, which are bound to continue to grow...

Despite how focused we've been on the jobs at hand, we are all still riding on the inspiration of the Feast of Tabernacles. This year we had a total Festival attendance from our 58 sites of 20,436 – up from 19,756 last year.

UCG's Jim Franks reported:

The regional conference for pastors in the Central Region was held on Monday and Tuesday (October 30 and 31) in St. Louis, Missouri. Clyde Kilough, Richard Pinelli, Richard Thompson and Jim Franks participated from the home office and Ministerial Services Team. This round of conferences for pastors focuses on the need to develop leadership for the future of the Church. The theme of the conference was "Find—Train—Ordain." We attempted to answer the following questions: Where do we find the ministers for the future, how do we train them and when do we ordain them? Scripture identifies the ministry as a special calling. The apostle Paul states in the Pastoral Epistles that Christ is the One who places a man into the ministry. Our job is to locate those who are being called to the ministry, to train them for future responsibilities of leadership and to ordain them. This requires a great deal of effort and coordination on the part of the pastors and the administration.

Other COGs also have various programs to locate, train, and ordain ministers.

11/02/06 a.m. In two separate articles at its website, COGaic posted,

Some describe the time we live in as the democratic age. They point out that through the evolution of government and the rise of democratic principles in politics and institutions, the world stands at the brink of a positive era. Indeed, compared with the rule of feudal lords, tyrant kings and despotic dictators, who would argue that government based on the needs and desires of ordinary people isn’t a significant step forward? Will democracy therefore continue to spread through the world system, gradually subduing all other forms of government and bringing peace and well-being to all?...

WASHINGTON - Democrats are ahead in races for 12 of 15 key Republican-held seats in the U.S. House one week before the Nov. 7 elections, placing them within striking range of winning control of the chamber, according to Reuters/Zogby polls.

I have noticed that the media keeps making a huge deal about the US elections set for November 7th. An article of related interest may be Should a Christian Vote?

Yesterday, I added the following to the article Some Doctrines of Antichrist:

Rome?

Here is John's mention in the Bible of the number six hundred sixty six:

Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666 (Revelation 13:18).

But who or what is that? (An article of possible interest may be SDA/COG Differences: Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666).

It is interesting to note that the Roman Catholic Church does believe that there are references in John's writings to Rome, and that they are negative. Specifically, John warned about Babylon throughout the Book of Revelation, called the Book of the Apocalypse in Roman Catholic writings.

Here is some of what John wrote (Catholic Rheims translation):

4. And the woman was clothed round about with purple and scarlet, and gilded with gold, and precious stone, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of the abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
5. And in her forehead a name written, "Mystery": Babylon the great, mother of the fornications and the abominations of the earth.
6. And I saw the woman drunken of the blood of the Saints, and of the blood of the martyrs of JESUS. And I marveled when I had seen her, with great admiration.
7. And the Angel said to me, Why doest thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.
8. The beast which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the bottomless depth, and go into destruction: and the inhabitants on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the making of the world) shall marvel, seeing the beast that was, and is not.
9. And here is understanding, that hath wisdom. The seven heads: are seven hills, upon which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings (Apocalypse 17:4-9).

Of course, Rome is the most famous city of seven hills in the entire earth. And John is writing that this woman has some influence over worldly kings.

Catholic scholars teach:

Nor must we look for order in the Apocalypse; but we must follow the meaning of those things which are prophesied. Therefore in the trumpets and phials is signified either the desolation of the plagues that are sent upon the earth, or the madness of Antichrist himself, or the cutting off of the peoples, or the diversity of the plagues, or the hope in the kingdom of the saints, or the ruin of states, or the great overthrow of Babylon, that is, the Roman state (Victorinus. Commentary on the Apocalypse, Chapter 7, Verse 8. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1886. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

The author of the Commentaries upon the Apocalypse set forth in St. Ambrose name, writeth thus: This...sometime signifieth Rome, specially which at that time when the Apostle wrote this, did persecute the Church of God. But otherwise it signifieth the whole city of the Devil, that is, the universal corps of the reprobate. Tertullian also taketh it for Rome, thus, Babylon (saith he) in St. John is a figure of the city of Rome, being so great, so proud of the Empire, and the destroyer of the saints. Which is plainly spoken of that city, when it was heathen, the head of the terrene dominion of the world, the persecutor of the Apostles and their successors, the seat of Nero, Domitian, and the like, Christ's special enemies, the sink of idolatry, and false worship of the Pagan gods (Annotations on Chapter 17 of the Apocalypse. The Original And True Rheims New Testament Of Anno Domini 1582. Prepared and Edited by Dr. William G. von Peters. Ph.D. 2004, copyright assigned to VSC Corp. Page 583).

The Roman Catholics suggest that by mentioning Babylon, that John is only referring to the Roman state or those that are reprobate (Victorinus is consider a "Church Father" by Roman Catholics). However, it appears clear that even the Catholics admit that John is referring to a reprobate church (he used the analogy of a woman) as Babylon. A reprobate church would seem to be one that incorporates non-biblical practices (such as certain traditions) as superior to biblical ones.

But irrespective of these passages, John (the last living original apostle) never writes anything positive about Rome or the church there.

John's most famous disciple was probably Polycarp of Smyrna.

Polycarp or his associate Papias (Holmes, p. 560) is credited for being Irenaeus' source for items such as that the term 666 may mean Roman man. (Irenaeus himself says he did the calculation based on what those who knew John said). Irenaeus wrote:

Lateinos (Lateinos) has the number six hundred and sixty-six; and it is a very probable [solution], this being the name of the last kingdom" (Irenaeus. Against Heresies. Book V, Chapter XXX, verse 3).

It should be noted that there is no record that either Polycarp or Papias wrote positive things about Rome.

Furthermore, notice the following from The Catholic Encyclopedia:

The Papal-Antichrist theory was gradually developed by three historical bodies: the Albigenses, the Waldenses, and the Fraticelli, between the eleventh and the sixteenth centuries: are these the expositors from whom the Church of Christ is to receive the true interpretation of the prophecies?" (Maas AJ. Antichrist. In The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I Copyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight Nihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).

Since some of those called the Albigenses, the Waldenses, etc. were part of the true church, they probably did not originate the idea, but simply expounded it more publicly once the Roman bishops began becoming more prominent.

There have been conflicts between Rome and those who accept her teachings (which includes, to some degree, nearly all Protestants) and the true Church of God (please see the articles The Churches of Revelation 2 & 3 and Europa and the Beast). The Albigenses, the Waldenses, and others were apparently associated with the Pergamos Church and into the Thyatira Church.

Information about Roman Catholic history can be found in the article What Does Rome Actually Teach About Early Church History? Information of the history of the true church can be in the articles Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome and The Churches of Revelation 2 & 3.

11/01/06 a.m. Below are the top ten accessed articles (excludes news pages) at the COGwriter site for October 2006:

1. Why Not the Restored Church of God? This group, led by David Pack, claims to be the most faithful. The information in this article suggests otherwise.
2. History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church?
3. Justin Martyr: Saint, Heretic, or Apostate? Justin is considered one of the first Christian theologians and scholars. But did he support a Gnostic version of Christianity? Do you know what he taught about souls going to heaven upon death?
4. Is Halloween Holy Time for Christians? This article provides some historical and biblical insight on this question.
5. What Does Rome Actually Teach About Early Church History? Although most believe that the Roman Catholic Church history teaches an unbroken line of succession of bishops beginning with Peter, with stories about most of them, Roman Catholic scholars know the truth of this matter. This eye-opening article is a must-read for any who really wants to know what Roman Catholic history actually admits about the early church.
6. Differences between the Living Church of God and United Church of God This article provides quotes information from the two largest groups which had their origins in WCG as well as commentary.
7. Teachings Unique to the Philadelphia Church of God Simply calling oneself 'Philadelphia' does not make one so (see Revelation 3:7-9). This article provides quotes from this group which claims to be faithful.
8. Polycarp of Smyrna Polycarp was the successor of the Apostle John and a major leader in Asia Minor.
9. Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Churches of God Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are?
10. The Day of Atonement--Its Christian Significance The Jews call it Yom Kippur, Christians "The Day of Atonement". Does it have any relevance for Christians today?

Number 11 was the Binitarian View article. As usual, I happened to have updated many of those articles also this month. More updates are expected for the article on the Eastern Orthodox church in November.

October was a much more popular month for this site than expected for two reasons. 1) Although viewership dropped during the FOT, it did not drop as much as it has in prior years. 2) Certain news items increased the site's popularity. The amount of persons without a COG background coming to the site has apparently increased because of the articles at or associated with the History of Early Christianity page.

10/31/06 a.m. Tonight is is the pagan observance of Halloween. According to various reports, it is becoming a more important commercial holiday:

Americans will spend almost $5 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), a jump of more than a billion dollars over last year. 

More grown-up participation in spooky festivities is a big contributor to the holiday's growth, experts say.

"Consumers see Halloween as a seasonal celebration to bridge the gap between the end of summer and the winter holidays," said Tracy Mullin, president and CEO of the NRF, in a company statement. "Halloween offers a little something for everyone and, this year, people of all ages will be joining in the fun."

Nearly 80 percent of 25-34 year-olds will dress up in costume, according to an NRF survey, which lists witches, pirates and vampires as its top adult get-ups for 2006. The holiday is the only time during the year that grown-ups can really let loose, act silly and get away with it, say retailers, who've had to adjust to the demand for outfits in much larger sizes and racier cuts. One shop owner in Charlotte, North Carolina, boosted his order of sexy nurse and secretary costumes to $3.5 million this year, up from $250,000 just five years ago, he told The Charlotte Observer.   http://www.livescience.com/othernews/061026_halloween_popular.html

An article of possible interest may be Is Halloween Holy Time for Christians? This article provides some historical and biblical insight on this question.

The role of Islam and the King of the South is perhaps its most important aspect for those of us in the COGs.

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Volume 10, issue 25 COG writer B. Thiel (c) 2006