Church of God News

Protestant Reformer Martin Luther 

COGwriter 

This morning, WCG sent out an email linking to the following written by its Joseph Tkach (bolding his):

The Apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the church in Rome nearly 2000 years ago. The letter is only a few pages long, less than 10,000 words, but its impact has been profound. At least three times in the history of the Christian Church this epistle has produced an upheaval that forever changed the church for the better.

One was in the early 1500s when an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther was trying to ease his conscience through living what he called a “life without reproach.” Yet in spite of obeying all the rituals and prescribed ordinances of his priestly order, Luther still felt alienated from God.

Then, as a university lecturer on the book of Romans, Luther found himself drawn to Paul’s declaration in Romans 1:17:

 “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (NIV).

The truth of this powerful passage finally struck Luther for what it was. He wrote:

“There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God…namely the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith…Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.”

I think you know what happened next. Luther could not keep quiet about his rediscovery of the pure and simple gospel. The Protestant Reformation was a result.

As typical of many Protestants, Martin Luther’s writings are normally “sanitized” when quoted lest people really understand what Martin Luther really stood for.

The truth is that Martin Luther CHANGED a slightly later verse in Romans to justify a rallying cry he invented for the Protestant Reformation. 

Martin Luther, in his German translation of the Bible, specifically added the word “allein” (English ‘alone’) to Romans 3:28-a word that is not in the original Greek. Notice what a Protestant scholar has admitted:

…Martin Luther would once again emphasize…that we are “justified by faith alone”, apart from the works of the Law” (Rom. 3:28), adding the German word allein (“alone”) in his translation of the Greek text. There is certainly a trace of Marcion in Luther’s move (Brown HOJ. Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church. Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody (MA), 1988, pp. 64-65).

Furthermore, Martin Luther himself reportedly said,

You tell me what a great fuss the Papists are making because the word alone in not in the text of Paul…say right out to him: ‘Dr. Martin Luther will have it so,’…I will have it so, and I order it to be so, and my will is reason enough. I know very well that the word ‘alone’ is not in the Latin or the Greek text (Stoddard J. Rebuilding a Lost Faith. 1922, pp. 101-102; see also Luther M. Amic. Discussion, 1, 127).

This passage strongly suggests that Martin Luther viewed his opinions, and not the actual Bible as the primary authority–a concept which this author will name prima Luther. By “papists” he is condemning Roman Catholics, but is needs to be understood that Protestant scholars (like HOJ Brown) also realize that Martin Luther changed that scripture.

So how could WCG’s J. Tkach actually write, “The truth of this powerful passage finally struck Luther for what it was“?

The truth of that passage was NEVER understood by Martin Luther because Martin Luther CHANGED THE BIBLE so he could promote lawlessness and justify his killings and hatreds.

Notice the following written by a Protestant theologian:

Alan Dershowitz opined, “’It is shocking that Luther’s ignoble name is still honored rather than forever cursed by mainstream Protestant churches.’”[1]  This sad state of affairs led the late Reformation historian Heiko Oberman to lament that many would have us choose between “two Luthers” – one, the “bold Reformer, the liberating theologian, the powerfully eloquent German”; the other, an “anti-Semite” who “wrote mainly about Jews,” and “preached hatred.”[2]  Such a choice is, of course, unnecessary.

Sadly, the history of Christianity has indeed been riddled by varying degrees of antisemitism, leading to oppression, marginalization, and – as in the Crusades and the Holocaust – even murder of Jews.[3]  While Luther certainly did not invent antisemitism, one cannot discuss the question of Christian antisemitism without reference to him.  He wrote at least five treatises on the subject of “the Jews” [4].  One in particular has fueled the greatest discussion of the reformer’s attitude toward Jews…

If Protestant Christians are to sincerely proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all peoples, including Jews, such an enterprise must be entered into with full knowledge of the horrendous mistakes – indeed sins – of Christian forebears, including Luther’s (Probst C. Martin Luther and “The Jews” A Reprisal. The Theologian, UK (undated)  viewed 04/04/08 http://www.theologian.org.uk/churchhistory/lutherandthejews.html

The truth is worse than even portrayed above.   Martin Luther was NOT a true Christian, nor sadly are his Protestant followers.

Notice that Martin Luther advised his followers,

…to burn down Jewish schools and synagogues, and to throw pitch and sulphur into the flames; to destroy their homes; to confiscate their ready money in gold and silver; to take from them their sacred books, even the whole Bible; and if that did not help matters, to hunt them of the country like mad dogs (Luther’s Works, vol. Xx, pp. 2230-2632 as quoted in Stoddard JL. Rebuilding a Lost Faith, 1922, p.99).

Accordingly, it must and dare not be considered a trifling matter but a most serious one to seek counsel against this and to save our souls from the Jews, that is, from the devil and from eternal death. My advice, as I said earlier, is: First, that their synagogues be burned down, and that all who are able toss in sulphur and pitch (Martin Luther (1483-1546): On the Jews and Their Lies, 1543 as quoted from Luther’s Works, Volume 47: The Christian in Society IV, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971). pp 268­, 293). 

The fact is that Martin Luther, while correctly pointing out some of the flaws of the Roman Catholic Church, simply was not a real Christian.  Real Christians do not advocate racial hatred, nor do they kill (see also Military Service and the Churches of God: Do Real Christians Participate in Carnal Warfare?).

And people like WCG’s J. Tkach should know better than to promote Martin Luther.

Articles of related interest may include:

Sola Scriptura or Prima Luther? What Did Martin Luther Really Believe About the Bible? Though he is known for his public sola Scriptura teaching, did Martin Luther’s writings about the Bible suggest he felt that prima Luther was his ultimate authority? Statements from him changing and/or discounting 18 books of the Bible are included. Do you really want to know the truth?
Hope of Salvation: How the Living Church of God differ from most Protestants How the Living Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background.
The Similarities and Dissimilarities between Martin Luther and Herbert W. Armstrong This article clearly shows some of the doctrinal differences between in the two. At this time of doctrinal variety and a tendency by many to accept certain aspects of Protestantism, the article should help clarify why the Living Church of God is NOT Protestant. Do you really know what the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther taught and should you follow his doctrinal example?
The History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church? Is your faith really based upon the truth or compromise?

Which Book Do You Think Christians Should Rely On?

vs.
Ronald Weinland Says His Books Are What He Wants Potential Supporters to Closely Study. The COGwriter Site Instead Urges Those Interested in Him and End-Time Prophecies to Spend More Time Checking His Writings with the Bible.

COGwriter

Today, Ronald Weinland posted (any bolding mine):

April 3, 2008

My wife and I, as well as Johnny and Myrtle Harrell, will be visiting Israel from April 14th through April 21st. We will be in Jerusalem on April 17th which is the day the First Trumpet of the Seventh Seal sounds. The process of all that will occur, with the sounding of the First Trumpet, will begin on April 17th and continue to increase in destructive power (consequences) for the following seven weeks. The Second Trumpet will not sound until after the Day of Pentecost. This does not mean it is near that date, but it means it cannot happen until after that day.

The actual beginning of the specific job God has for His two end-time witnesses (two end-time prophets) begins to unfold on April 17th. As I have already stated, I am one of those witnesses and the spokesman of both. While in Israel, I plan to reveal publicly the identity of the second witness in the sermon to be given on the Sabbath of April 19th from Jerusalem.

The reality is that unlike what Jesus taught would happen, people have not been fleeing from Jerusalem and it is not surrounded by armies (see Matthew 24:15-21), hence more and more biblical accounts show that Ronald Weinland is not one of God’s two witnesses (for one example, see Ronald Weinland Should Realize that the 1290 Days of Daniel Did Not Begin Today).

The first trumpet will NOT sound on April 17th. And the events that the Bible says should have happened first if Ronald Weinland’s earlier pronouncements were correct, simply have not happened. But will most likely happen is that Ronald Weinland will falsely declare one of the people with them the other of the two witnesses, and then do it publicly in two days.

Although he is now giving himself a couple of more months, notice what he wrote in November 2007:

Beginning in February, those thunders will increase dramatically, and by April this world will begin to be shaken to its foundations.

Everything I am doing, and everything the Church of God – PKG is doing is geared towards these realities. There is no wavering and there is no hesitation!…

February will be here soon! Don’t squander the time that is in front of you. Use it wisely! (Weinland R. YEAR NEARLY OVER. November 24, 2007. http://www.ronaldweinland.com/ viewed 01/15/08).

The “thunders” did not increase dramatically in February and the world has not yet been shaken to its foundations as he declared it would in writing.

Sadly, even though Ronald Weinland is wrong about the start of the Great Tribulation and many other prophetic events, people are still being drawn to his false message.

People need to check out what he says and compare that to the Bible and actual world events.

A few articles of possibly related interest may include:

Concerns About Ronald Weinland’s Church of God-Preparing for the Kingdom of God Ronald Weinland falsely claims to be one of the two witnesses God is raising up and that the end will come in 2008. Is he a false prophet? He has at least one other view that suggests that he is not part of the COG.
Who Are The Two Witnesses? What is their job? What does the Bible reveal? What has the Church of God taught on this subject? Might even Roman Catholic prophecies give some clues here?
Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? There have been many false leaders–here is some of why you should be concerned about them.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin?
End of Mayan Calendar 2012–Might 2012 Mean Something? There is a Mayan calendar prediction for change in 2012. 2012 changes were also centuries ago predicted by the Hopi Native Americans and the Hindu Indians (who were not even on the same continent). Do these Mayan/Hindu/Hopi prophecies have any value? Why might Satan have inspired this date? Can the great tribulation start before 2012?
There are Many COGs: Why Support the Living Church of God? This is an article for those who wish to easily sort out the different COGs. It really should be a MUST READ for current and former WCG members or any interested in supporting the faithful church. It also explains a lot of what the COGs are all about.

 
Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock

COGwriter 

The following news item was of interest:

Mock Passover Sacrifice Slammed by Pro-Animal Group

Israel National News – April 2, 2008

Animal rights group “Tnoo Lachayot Lichyot” (“Let the Animals Live”) is threatening to take legal action to prevent the Jewish Temple movement from carrying out an educational demonstration of the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice next week.

The group’s chairman, Attorney Reuven Ladiansky, sent a letter to Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski and to Temple Institute Director Yehuda Glick, urging them to cancel the planned event or face legal action. The group sees the planned sacrifice as an act of illegal cruelty to an animal.

The demonstration of the Paschal sacrifice is part of a study day scheduled to take place on Sunday, the First of Nissan (April 6), at the Kotel Yeshiva in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. The study day is a joint project of the Temple Institute, the Sanhedrin and the King David Museum. It was originally planned to take place one week later, but the organizers decided to dedicate it to the memory of the eight yeshiva boys murdered in Jerusalem recently, and to hold it on the 30th day after their death.

The study day is to include a public sacrifice which is being termed a “general rehearsal” for the actual Pesach sacrifice on the Temple Mount, a ritual prescribed by the Torah but currently forbidden by the Israel government and courts.

Public sacrifices are allowed

Glick told Ynet Monday that according to Jewish law, abstaining from performing the sacrifice is an extremely serious offense, comparable in its severity to avoiding a brit (circumcision ceremony) for one’s newborn boy. He explained that although Jewish law forbids Jews in an impure state (which all Jews are in as long as the Temple rites are not renewed) from entering the Temple area, an exception is made for public sacrifices like the Pesach sacrifice. 

The Temple movement recently sent a formal request to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Minister of Public Security Avi Dichter, to allow them to conduct the sacrifice on the Temple Mount. “Making the Paschal sacrifice is part of the religious freedom which is a basic human right and a cornerstone of democracy,” they wrote.Glick said, however, that the organizers “have no intention of trying to ascend to the Mount without permission from the police.” …

The Temple movement has conducted several Paschal sacrifices in recent years. The ceremonies took place in front of the Temple Mount, on a hill which is called the Hill of Hananyah, and on the Mount of Olives. These sacrifices, however, bore a symbolic nature and were seen as memorials to the real Pesach sacrifice, because Biblical law stipulates that the Pesach sacrifice can only be performed on the Temple Mount.

Court cited ‘Special feelings’

In Biblical times, pilgrims came to Jerusalem from all parts of the Land of Israel, each family bringing with it a lamb, which was sacrificed in the Temple. The family then took the lamb and roasted it according to the Bible’s instructions, making sure it did not touch the oven or the ground during the roasting. Then each family sat together and ate the sacrifice.

In 2007, the Temple Mount Faithful and the Sanhedrin rabbis purchased a herd of sheep and petitioned the Supreme Court to allow a Pesach sacrifice to be offered on the Temple Mount. However, the government and legal advisors to the police asked the Supreme Court to reject the plea. The act of bringing a sacrifice could threaten the general public’s safety, they said, citing the Muslim public’s “special feelings” for the Temple Mount and the possibility of a violent outbreak.

Besides the planned Pesach sacrifice demonstration, next week’s study day will include discussions regarding the possibility of using an electrical oven or a ceramic skewer for roasting the Pesach sacrifice. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125769

And while it is true that God’s calendar year begins on April 6, 2008 (see Holy Day Calendar) and Christians do not need to sacrifice animals as a sin offering (see Hebrews 9:19-26), it is also true that some type of sacrifices must start, before they can be stopped.

Last year an attempt to perform an animal sacrifice by certain Jews near the Dome of the Rock was stopped by Israeli authorities, and I suspect that they will not allow them to be started this year.  But sometime, relatively soon, this will change. 

Because Israel has a parliamentary system of governance and is normally governed by a coalition of parties, I believe that at some point in time a coalition party that insists on animal sacrifices will become part of the top governance and the sacrifices will then begin–though they may last only a very short period of time–but long enough for the King of the North to stop them per Daniel 11:31.

And since animal sacrifices have not yet started, it should be obvious to any one who will look into their Bibles that the 1290 days of Daniel 12:11 did not begin on March 18, 2008 as CGPFK’s Ronald Weinland stated it did as the daily sacrifices were not taken away as they have never started.

However, Bible prophecy does show that these sacrifices will be stopped and the “abomination of desolation set up” (Daniel 9:29; 11:31; Matthew 24),  so the fact that some in Israel keep trying to have some type of sacrifice shows that this one aspect of prophecy is on the way of being fulfilled.

And since the Pope is opposed to it, he and his supporters will most likely be involved with stopping those sacrifices and setting up their own religious “abomination” as prophecy indicates.

Two articles of possibly related interest may include: 

Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin?

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, painting by John Martin, 1832.

COGwriter

The following news item was of interest:

The Times – March 31, 2008

A clay tablet that has baffled scientists for 150 years has been identified as a witness’s account of the asteroid suspected of being behind the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Researchers who cracked the cuneiform symbols on the Planisphere tablet believe that it recorded an asteroid thought to have been more than half a mile across.

The tablet, found by Henry Layard in the remains of the library in the royal place at Nineveh in the mid-19th century, is thought to be a 700BC copy of notes made by a Sumerian astronomer watching the night sky.

He referred to the asteroid as “white stone bowl approaching” and recorded it as it “vigorously swept along”…

About half the symbols on the tablet have survived and half of those refer to the asteroid. The other symbols record the positions of clouds and constellations. In the past 150 years scientists have made five unsuccessful attempts to translate the tablet.

Mark Hempsell, one of the researchers from Bristol University who cracked the tablet’s code, said: “It’s a wonderful piece of observation, an absolutely perfect piece of science.”

He said the size and route of the asteroid meant that it was likely to have crashed into the Austrian Alps at Köfels. As it travelled close to the ground it would have left a trail of destruction from supersonic shock waves and then slammed into the Earth with a cataclysmic impact.

Debris consisting of up to two thirds of the asteroid would have been hurled back along its route and a flash reaching temperatures of 400C (752F) would have been created, killing anyone in its path. About one million sq km (386,000 sq miles) would have been devastated and the impact would have been equivalent to more than 1,000 tonnes of TNT exploding.

Dr Hempsall said that at least 20 ancient myths record devastation of the type and on the scale of the asteroid’s impact, including the Old Testament tale of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Ancient Greek myth of how Phaeton, son of Helios, fell into the River Eridanus after losing control of his father’s sun chariot…

 Tale of devastation

Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven; and he overthrew those cities and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities . . . [Abraham] looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.  Source: Genesis 19:24-28   http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3649054.ece

While I do not know if the clay tablet is pointing to the destruction specifically of Sodom and Gomorrah or not, I do know that there is evidence of the destruction of those ancient towns in the Middle East. 

One thing that many miss is that the New Testament shows that those killed in Sodom and Gomorrah will still have an opportunity for salvation (please see Hope of Salvation: How the Living Church of God differ from most Protestants ).

And it also shows that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as an example:

6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 6-7).

People everywhere need to repent.  But God is a merciful God of love and wants none to perish, but all to repent:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

Some articles of related interest may include:

Universal Offer of Salvation: There Are Hundreds of Verses in the Bible Supporting the Doctrine of True Apocatastasis Do you believe what the Bible actually teaches on this? Will all good things be restored? Does God’s plan of salvation take rebellion and spiritual blindness into account? Did you know that three books of the New Testament, plus one in the Old Testament indicate that salvation will be offered to those of Sodom?
Hope of Salvation: How the Living Church of God differ from most Protestants How the Living Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a Church of God background.
What is the Meaning of Life? Who does God say is happy? What is your ultimate destiny? Do you really know?

“Bas relief decorating the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, dated circa 1150, depicting a demon performing an abortion upon a woman by pounding a mallet into her belly”

COGwriter

LCG recently put together the following world news item:

Record Rates of British Abortions. This past year, more than 3,000 “late term” abortions were performed in Britain—a 44 percent increase in the last 10 years. Late-term abortions are performed during or after the 20th week of pregnancy—well into the 2nd term. One-third of women seeking late-term abortions last year had already had a previous abortion. Additionally, the most likely age for a mother to have an abortion performed was 19 (The Sunday Telegraph, March 9, 2008). God warned Israel of impending judgment because of their hedonistic behavior… “and I pronounced them unclean because of their ritual gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn to pass through the fire, that I might make them desolate and that they might know that I am the LORD…. Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your fathers, and committing harlotry according to their abominations?” (Ezekiel 20:26, 30). Today’s society lusts and follows after detestable things. It calls evil good and good evil and endorses a woman’s “right to choose” to terminate her own child’s life. Nations that have led the world in greatness are now leading the world in sin. But the time is coming when Christ will return, and sinful nations will repent of their sinful ways, and God will once again pour out His blessings on them (Zephaniah 3:20). 

It is sad that abortion is used at all.  It is also sad that abortion seems to be acceptable to more and more in the world today. 

Of course, promiscuity has been increasing in the “Protestant” countries (see, for example the news item New Zealand Promiscuity).  And promiscuity and other sins lead to increased tendencies for even more sins, such as abortion.

Also notice this news item also put together by LCG:

More Than 25 Percent of American Teen Girls Carry STDs. Only about half of teenage girls surveyed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention [CDC] say that they have not had sex. Of those who have had sex, about half are infected with at least one sexually transmitted disease (Reuters, March 11, 2008). Twenty-six percent of girls age 14-19 reported having an STD; 15 percent of those infected have more than one STD. Twenty percent of those reporting just one sexual experience had at least one STD, according to Dr. John Douglas, director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention. “Therefore, any given sex act with any given partner, a person who’s not infected has a greater risk of coming into contact with infection and getting infected.”  The actual STD rate may be even higher than reported, as the study did not survey syphilis, gonorrhea or HIV infection.  Infections found in the study included Chlamydia (which damages female reproductive organs), Trichomoniasis (caused by a parasite) and genital herpes. God wants us to teach His children, “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints…. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them” (Ephesians 5:3-7).

So 1/2 of sexually active teens in the USA have an STD.   

As far as a woman’s right to choose, the following article may be of interest, appropriately titled Abortion, the Bible, and a Woman’s Right to Choose.

COGwriter 

The February 29, 2008 edition of Dixon Cartwright’s The Journal is now out.

The main stories include a symposium of independents including Art Mokarow & some CG7 leaders like Tom Robertson (CG7-Meridian), the Big Sandy Board problem (covered earlier here, see Church of God Big Sandy Reports Board Problem), Ronald Weinland (often covered here, the last time was the news item Ronald Weinland Prophesied Millions & Is Spending to Accomplish That), UCG on “bloc voting” (covered earlier here, see United Church of God COE on Bloc Voting, Finances, and Doctrinal Changes), and David Havir wrote another article against hierarchical governance and discussed “apostolic succession” (those interested in what really happened in the first two centuries may wish to read the article Apostolic Succession).

The front and back page of The Journal are available in pdf format.

Regarding UCG and “bloc voting”, Dixon Cartwright (a former UCG affiliate) observed:

Regarding “bloc voting” it really seems that UCG is worried that people that may wish to change its administration could actually win if its elders conferred with one another, and that is that REAL reason I understand that UCG is concerned about this.

Especially since UCG has an election for a couple of Council of Elders’ seats coming up next month. 

Here is some additional information on the Big Sandy problem:

Church splits happen, but it is sad that they do. David Havir often opposes hierarchical governance in his articles in The Journal (for a different view, please see the article Herbert W. Armstrong and Roderick C. Meredith on Church Government).

In addition to quoting a lot of inaccurate prophecies from Ronald Weinland, The Journal continues to run letters from another one who, like Ronald Weinland, falsely keeps teaching that certain events of Daniel 11 have been fulfilled in 2008.  Here is the latest one:

There are at least four that I have reported on that falsely claim/indicate that the Great Tribulation will begin in 2008 and Daniel 11:40 still awaits final fulfillment.  (The other two are the Russian group that claims May 2008–see article Great Tribulation Will Not Begin in 2008; and James Malm who believes it starts in the Fall of 2008–please see At Least Two Wrongly Claim Great Tribulation Will Begin in 2008.)

As I have been saying for a long time, the Great Tribulation, while relatively soon, cannot happen in 2008.

The biblically REQUIRED events are simply not far enough along for it to be possible.

Several articles of related interest may include:

End of Mayan Calendar 2012–Might 2012 Mean Something? There is a Mayan calendar prediction for change in 2012. 2012 changes were also centuries ago predicted by the Hopi Native Americans and the Hindu Indians (who were not even on the same continent). Do these Mayan/Hindu/Hopi prophecies have any value? Why might Satan have inspired this date? Can the great tribulation start before 2012?
Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 This article explains how the LCG views this, and compares this to Ellen White.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”?
Why Be Concerned About False and Heretical Leaders? There have been many false leaders–here is some of why you should be concerned about them.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin?
Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? What does the Bible say?

COGwriter 

Today is April 1, 2008.  Some people call the first day of April, “April Fools’ Day”.

Do you know why?

Here are a couple of accounts:

The origins of April Fools’ Day are shrouded in mystery, experts say.

The most popular theory is that France changed its calendar in the 1500s so that the New Year would begin in January to match the Roman calendar instead of the start of spring in late March or early April.

However word of the change traveled slowly, and many people in rural areas continued to celebrate the New Year in the spring. These country dwellers became known as “April fools.”

Boese, who has studied the holiday’s origin, disagrees with that interpretation.

“[The French] theory is completely wrong, because the day that the French celebrated the beginning of the year legally was Easter day, so it never really was associated with April first,” he said… http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080328-april-fools.html“April Fool’s Day. The first mention of this custom is a curt note in Aubrey: ‘Fooles holy day. We observe it on ye first of April. And so it is kept in Germany everywhere.’ ( Aubrey, 1686, 1880: 10). It must have reached England from Germany or France in the mid-17th century, and quickly became very popular under the name All Fools’ Day; 18th-century writers call it ‘universal’.”                                               [English writer John Aubrey ?]                                                  – Oxford University Press 2000  http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O71-AprilFoolsDay.html   

“There are several explanations for the origin of April Fools’ Day, but here is the most plausible one. April 1st was once New Year’s Day in France. In 1582, Pope Gregory declared the adoption of his Gregorian calendar to replace the Julian calendar and New Year’s Day was officially changed to January 1st. It took awhile for everyone in France to hear the news of this major change and others obstinately refused to accept the new calendar, so a lot of people continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on the first of April – earning them the name April fools. The April fools were subjected to ridicule and practical jokes and the tradition was born. The butts of these pranks were first called poisson d’avril or April fish because a young naive fish is easily caught. A common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke. This evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing continues on the first day of April.” – Dictionary.com by Lexico Publishing Group  http://dictionary.reference.com/features/aprilfools.html

So there are a few theories about where “April Fools’ Day” originated.

But, basically because the Roman calendar was adopted, some who had accepted the more traditional (and biblical) notion that the year began in the Spring, they were made fun of.

Notice what God teaches in the Bible:

This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you…On this day you are going out, in the month Abib (Exodus 12:2;13:4).

Most of the time the first day of the year that God is referring to comes in April in modern calendars (in other years it is towards the end of March).

This year the first day of Abib is April 6, 2008.

Because people do not realize this, they also tend not to realize when Passover is (Passover is observed the early evening of the 14th day of Abib, which will be April 18, 2008 after sunset).

And historically calling people fools because they did not change the biblical beginning of the year from Spring to January 1st, apparently did not help people realize when the BIBLE teaches that the year is supposed to begin.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Is There “An Annual Worship Calendar” In the Bible? This paper provides a biblical and historical critique of several articles, including one by WCG which states that this should be a local decision. What do the Holy Days mean? Also you can click here for the calendar of Holy Days.
Is January 1st a Date for Christians Celebrate? Historical and biblical answers to this question about the world’s New Year’s day.
Passover and the Early Church Did the early Christians observe Passover? What did Jesus and Paul teach? Why did Jesus die for our sins? 
Holy Day Calendar This is a listing of the biblical holy days through 2012, with their Roman calendar dates. They are really hard to observe if you do not know when they occur 🙂