Church of God News

Roderick C. Meredith

COGwriter

In his latest semi-annual letter, LCG’s R.C. Meredith reported:

Now for some specific news about our recent activities and growth in this Work: For all of you who are able receive television from the ION and CW-Plus networks, we have great news! These two networks, along with our other TV stations, will enable our Tomorrow’s World television coverage to reach into more than 100 million homes, or 88 percent of all U.S. TV households. We are scheduled to begin airing on the CW-Plus Network beginning on Sunday, May 31, at 8:00 am Eastern/Pacific Time, on more than 80 TV stations across the continent. On June 17, Thursday morning at 12:30 am Eastern/Pacific Time, we will begin airing the Tomorrow’s World television program on the entire ION Network, which includes 55 of ION’s owned and operated TV stations and 200 cable systems. However, because of the worldwide economic slump, in order to make way for more than 140 brand-new TV stations across the United States, we will have to prune some of our existing stations. Adding these two networks is a significant advance for Tomorrow’s World television! For the first time we will be able to reach more than 100 million U.S. homes with the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For the first time we will be able to have local, commercial-grade TV stations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Portland, Spokane and Seattle; plus many cities in and around Los Angeles. We will also be able to go on local television in Salt Lake City and Denver—major breakthroughs for the Tomorrow’s World program. We will be on new stations in Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Around the Great Lakes area we will be able to cover all of Minneapolis, Milwaukee, the entire south-central area of Michigan, Fort Wayne and Cleveland. Local coverage will extend up to Erie, Syracuse, Buffalo and further into the Northeast states. Down south, we will be able to cover Miami and southern Florida, and virtually all of eastern North and South Carolina with local television. We will have our first local coverage in the city of Philadelphia, and have the capability to directly reach the leaders and their families in Washington, DC. We are very grateful for these God-given blessings in these very tough times.

National viewer statistics indicate that the Tomorrow’s World television program has now been viewed at least once by more than 18 million households. Each week—on a regular basis—the Tomorrow’s World telecast is reaching upwards of a half-million people in North America, plus many more thousands and tens of thousands in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, South Africa, Australasia, the Philippines and the Caribbean Islands. Additional millions around the world are now being reached through the Tomorrow’s World website. Our ministry is reaching out on Spanish radio throughout Mexico and South America, in French in France and in the French-speaking Caribbean Islands.

LCG has a tremendous impact via electronic media.  An impact disproportionately high considering its relatively small size.  You can click here for the complete letter which also discusses print media outreach as well.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

There are Many COGs: Why Support the Living Church of God? This is an article for those who wish to more 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.
Getting the Gospel Out is More than a Local Job Discusses Biblical rationale for doing an international, and not just a local, work.
How Much Did You Cost? Some have complained that the total costs spent to proclaim the gospel as a witness is too high since it does not (in their opinion) result in enough conversions. Is that how God sees it?
The Temple and the Work This article discusses the two temples of the Old Testament and gives insight as to their possible relevance to the situation which has impacted the Church during this past decade or so.
Parable of the Mustard Seed Jesus told many parables. Why? What might this one mean?
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?

COGwriter

China has given several reasons why it wants to see a stronger and more militaristic European Union:

Why China sees the EU as a counterweight to America

Europe’s World By Dingli Shen

China is keeping a careful watch on EU integration and the development of its security and defence policy. Dingli Shen says the ESDP is already earning Beijing’s general approval, and explains that because China seeks a multipolar world rather than one dominated by the United States it views the EU as a means to achieve it.

China sees the European Union as a possible balance to the United States.

The last rival superpower to the US, the Soviet Union, collapsed at the end of the Cold War, and quite apart from its military strength, was in any case never powerful enough in other ways to counterbalance US influence. Japan had in the late 1980s seemed capable of challenging America’s industrial leadership, but by the 1990s it had lost its competitive edge.

China might itself wish to be a major force in a multipolar world, but has been plagued by its lack of overall strength. Given these realities, Beijing sees the expanding EU as a likely counter to United States’ unchecked power.

In terms of total economic output, the EU of 27 member states today generates the same amount of wealth as the United States. In recent decades the EU has made tremendous efforts to integrate its legal, economic and monetary systems. It is the first continent-wide inter-state system based on political and legal cognition.

It continues to grow while retaining its quality because the Union insists on a minimum economic standing by an applicant state before it can be admitted. But the EU has yet to build a strong integrated defence system that can respond promptly and effectively either to a regional contingency or to global needs. What would be the strength of such a system when developed, and how would it compare with that of the United States?In assessing the current strength of the United States, Beijing follows with keen interest the debate in Washington on the merits of a unipolar or a multipolar world. Some Americans obviously favour a unipolar system in which the US dominates. Such a Pax Americana system would surely cost the country less to sustain, but the world would worry if America adapts a wrong course, as has been the case with the US-led intrusion into Iraq…

The notion of a European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) was first formulated in 1999 at an EU summit in Cologne. The EU formed a Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) and various police missions, to carry out operations involving humanitarian rescue, crisis management and peacekeeping, as well as to restore peace in areas of conflict. The EU has made it clear that its ESDP will operate under the auspices of both the UN and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).In China, the concept of an independent European defence is generally seen to suit its preferred notion of a multipolar world rather than a unipolar one dominated by the United States. China accepts that on most security matters, the ESDP will in the near future coincide with American security interests because they share fundamental values of human rights and democracy. A number of EU member states have at the same time pledged their defence capabilities to NATO, which has been led by the United States since its creation at the outset of the Cold War, and it continues to operate under strong American influence. The US was the prime mover of NATO’s activity in Kosovo in 1999 and it has shouldered some 80% of the operational work. In Afghanistan, Americans and Europeans are together in the NATO coalition of forces fighting the Taliban.

But an independent European security and defence policy, once it is fully developed, will not necessarily equate with that of the United States, especially if American policy significantly deviates from the norm of international law, as was the case of the Iraq war. The Europeans are, as a result of acquiring a pan-European defensive capacity, likely to play a more independent role than at present in managing intra-European security relations and carrying out its missions globally.

Beijing welcomes an expanded security role for the EU. Although it may be still wary of international intervention by the EU, the substances and pattern of ESDP operations are likely to win Beijing’s respect…

There are good reasons to expect Beijing’s acceptance of an independent European security mechanism. There is little concern, if any, about the ESDP affecting Chinese internal affairs, such as the Taiwan problem. In any case, the temperature across the Taiwan Strait is cooling. Beijing can see the constructive ramification of a strong and independent Europe, and from that vantage point it is not too early for China to envisage a multipolar global system as already on the horizon.  http://www.europesworld.org/NewEnglish/Home/Article/tabid/191/ArticleType/articleview/ArticleID/21260/Default.aspx

USA President Barack Obama also wants a stronger EU, but the USA will regret this in the future.

To find out why, please read the following:

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”? What is ahead for Europe?
Persecutions by Church and State This article documents some that have occurred against those associated with the COGs and some prophesied to occur. Will those with the cross be the persecutors or the persecuted–this article has the shocking answer.
Two Horned Beast of Revelation and 666 This article explains how the LCG views this, and compares this to Ellen White.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? When does the six thousand years of human rule end?
Prophecies of Barack Obama? Eight reasons why Barack Obama is apocalyptic and eight reasons why Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. Here are there biblical and non-biblical prophecies, from around the world, that seem to discuss Barack Obama. Did Nostradamus predict Barack Obama dealing with the Antichrist? Might Barack Obama set the stage for the kings of the North and South as at least one Shiite prophecy suggests? This is the longest and most complete article on this page on Barack Obama prophecies.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States Some claim that Barack Obama is the prophesied “son of Kenya”, based up an early 20th century writing.
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon?

An engraving allegedly of Irenaeus, in Gaul (now Lyons, France)

COGwriter

The Tkach Worldwide Church of God which now calls itself GCI, sponsors a website that yesterday posted the following:

The Surprising God Blog

A forum for discussing Christ-centered, trinitarian theology

6.09.2009

Irenaeus on the Trinity

In about A.D. 180, Irenaeus … wrote the following important statement concerning the triune God (quoted from “The Christian Theology Reader” by Alister McGrath, p. 93).

We find here the basic elements of the doctrine of the trinity…

GCI then quotes some passages from A. McGrath’s book.  GCI apparently concluded that Irenaeus supported the trinity.

But perhaps it should have included comments from other scholars on the same passages.

For example, commenting on the above passages from Irenaeus, scholar F. R. Montgomery Hitchcock, M.A. D.D. (Formerly University Student, Fellowship Prizeman and Donnellan Lecturer of Trinity College, Dublin) wrote:

We now come to a rather complicated problem, in
which it is difficult to mark the exact positions of
Irenaeus the relation of the Divine Persons of the
Godhead to one another. In some passages the Persons
are coordinated ; while in others there seems to be a
subordination in the relations of the Son to the Father.
and of the Spirit to the Son.

Thus, I am not the only scholar who realize that the passages in question do not clearly support the trinity.

Furthermore, GCI and others seem to overlooked the following writing from Irenaeus:

…there is none other called God by the Scriptures except the Father of all, and the Son, and those who possess the adoption (Irenaeus. Adversus haereses, Book IV, Preface, Verse 4. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

Notice that Irenaeus states that only the Father, the Son, and those who possess the adoption (Christians) are God. This is a binitarian, not a trinitarian view.

While we in the Living Church of God do believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that does not mean that we believe in the Greco-Roman trinity that was adopted at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D.

Even though he was a heretic, nor did Irenaeus espouse what became adopted as the Greco-Roman trinity.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Binitarian View: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning Is binitarianism the correct position? What about unitarianism or trinitarianism?
Is The Father God? What is the view of the Bible? What was the view of the early church?
Jesus is God, But Was Made Man Was Jesus fully human and fully God or what?
Virgin Birth: Does the Bible Teach It? What does the Bible teach? What is claimed in The Da Vinci Code?
Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity? Or did they have a different view?
Did the True Church Ever Teach a Trinity? Most act like this is so, but is it?
Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church? Many, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, claim it was, but was it?
Binitarianism: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning This is a shorter article than the Binitarian View article, but has a little more information on binitarianism.
Irenaeus: The Most Dangerous Heretic? Was Irenaeus a faithful peacemaker or was he possibly the most dangerous of the early heretics?
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?

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev

COGwriter

Russia is heavily involved in putting together a military confederation of several of the former states of the old Soviet Republic.  Here is another story that happened while I was in Italy:

Russia wants CSTO to be as strong as NATO

RIA Novosti – May 29, 2009

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) – Russia is planning to build a strong military contingent in Central Asia within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) comparable to NATO forces in Europe, a Russian business daily said on Friday.

The CSTO, a post-Soviet regional security bloc comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, has already agreed to create a joint rapid-reaction force, but Russia is preparing a new, larger-scale project.

“The work is being conducted in all areas, and a number of documents have been adopted,” the Kommersant newspaper quoted an unidentified source in the Foreign Ministry as saying.

“It will be a purely military structure, built to ensure security in Central Asia in case of an act of aggression,” the source said.

Russia already has joint military contingents with Belarus and Armenia in the CSTO framework.

The new force will comprise large military units from five countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

“It will include armored and artillery units, and a naval flotilla in the Caspian Sea,” CSTO press secretary Vitaly Strugovets said earlier.

The creation of a powerful military contingent in Central Asia reflects Moscow’s drive to make the CSTO a pro-Russian military bloc, rivaling NATO forces in Europe.

Russia’s security strategy until 2020, recently approved by President Dmitry Medvedev, envisions the CSTO as “a key mechanism to counter regional military challenges and threats.”

CSTO leaders are scheduled to gather for a summit in Moscow on June 14 to sign an agreement on the creation of a joint rapid-reaction force as an interim step toward the creation of a larger military grouping.

The rapid-reaction force will include an airborne division and an air assault brigade from Russia, and an air assault brigade from Kazakhstan. The remaining members will contribute a battalion-size force each, although Uzbekistan would “delegate” its detachments to take part in operations on an ad hoc basis. http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090529/155118377.html

Russia is destined to be a major military power again in the future.

I believe that Bible prophecy indicates that at some point in time, NATO will collapse as it shows that the Europeans will ultimately turn against the American and the British-descended peoples.

However, the same Bible suggests that Russia will (almost 3 1/2 years later) deal with the Europeans.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Russia: Its Origins and Prophesied Future Where do the Russians come from? What is prophesied for Russia? What will it do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end?
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”? What is ahead for Europe?
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for China? Is it a “King of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon?
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? When does the six thousand years of human rule end?

Wheat

COGwriter

Grain concerns have been reported in South America and Canada:

South American grain production falls drastically

Southeast Farm Press – June 8, 2009

Farmers in Argentina and Brazil are expected to harvest 675 million fewer bushels of corn and 711 million fewer bushels of soybeans than they did in 2007-08.

Robert Wisner says he’s never seen the kind of drop that occurred in grain production in South America this spring.

Farmers in Argentina and Brazil are expected to harvest 675 million fewer bushels of corn and 711 million fewer bushels of soybeans than they did in 2007-08.

The decrease, which could prove to be even greater when USDA issues a new forecast on June 12, was not good news for pork producers attending the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa. Those producers, struggling with higher feed costs for months, have been hoping for some relief in the corn and soybean markets.

“I’ve been analyzing grain markets for almost 43 years, and I’ve never seen anything close to the decline we’re looking at in South America this year,” said Wisner, an agricultural economist with Iowa State University, who spoke at a marketing seminar at the Expo…

Some grain analysts are expecting USDA to lower its forecast for Argentina’s soybean production by another 36 million to 72 million bushels when it issues its June world supply and demand outlook estimates (June 12).

“They could also reduce the soybean crop estimate for Paraguay,” said Wisner, who works with Iowa State’s Ag Marketing Resource Center. “Those numbers won’t be anywhere near as large as in Argentina, but it’s part of a trend of decreased South American production…

• Meanwhile, dry conditions are causing concerns in northeast China, where most of the country’s corn and soybeans are grown, and in western Canada. Officials in the Ukraine have said wheat production in that country could be down 200 million to 240 million bushels due to weather problems last year. http://southeastfarmpress.com/grains/soybean-acreage-0608/

Cold puts Western Canada crops behind schedule

Reuters – June 8, 2009

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Cool weather has pushed growth of Western Canada’s wheat and barley crop at least 10 days behind schedule, the Canadian Wheat Board said on Monday.

“You’re pushing development into a period with better likelihood of getting a (pre-harvest) frost,” said Bruce Burnett, director of weather and market analysis for the Canadian Wheat Board. “It’s not particularly what we need at this moment. It’s just too cool.”

There’s little relief in forecasts for the Prairie region. Southern Manitoba, parts of which are still seeding, will have cool, wet weather through Wednesday, according to Environment Canada. Daily low temperatures of just above freezing are also forecast for much of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The Wheat Board, which has a government-granted marketing monopoly on Western Canada’s wheat and barley, releases its planting and production estimates on Thursday.  http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE55749420090608

Previously, I reported about concerns regarding wheat in China (see Drought, Wheat, & China), the USA (see Weather & Wheat), and Argentina (see (Argentina, Drought, & Wheat).

While I am not saying that massive famine is an immediate certainty, the Bible contains many warnings about future famines.  Massive disruptions in grain supplies would be expected to be necessary for some of these biblically-predicted famines to come-to-pass.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Physical Preparation Scriptures for Christians. We all know the Bible prophecies famines. Should we do something?
Mexico, Central America, South America, and Brazil in Prophecy [Español: México, America Central, Suramérica, y el Brasil en profecíal] [Português: México, América Central, Ámérica do Sul, e Brasil na profecia] What will happen to those of Latin America? Will they have prosperity? Will they cooperate with Europe? Will they suffer in the future? What rule might the various Caribbean nations/territories play?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
Prophecies of Barack Obama? Are there biblical and non-biblical prophecies about Barack Obama. Did Nostradamus predict Barack Obama dealing with the Antichrist?  Might Barack Obama set the stage for the kings of the North and South as his timing and at least one Shiite prophecy suggests?  This is the longest and most detailed of the articles here at COGwriter related to prophecy and Barack Obama.
Barack Obama, Prophecy, and the Destruction of the United States Some claim that Barack Obama is the prophesied “son of Kenya”. Might Bible prophecy be fulfilled since he is to be the USA president?
Can the Great Tribulation Begin in 2009, 2010, or 2011? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What is the “beginning of sorrows”?  When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord?

French President Nicolas Sarkozy

COGwriter

While I was in Italy, the following was announced:

French President Sarkozy opens UAE base

BBC – May 26, 2009

President Nicolas Sarkozy has formally opened a French military base in the United Arab Emirates, France’s first permanent base in the Gulf.

The flags of France and the UAE were raised at a ceremony at the so-called “Peace Camp” in the Abu Dhabi emirate.

France is a leading military supplier to the Gulf state, and signed a nuclear co-operation agreement last year.

Its new base will host up to 500 French troops and include a navy base, air base, and training camp…

But our correspondent says the base will provide all-important reassurance to the Emirates, which, along with many of its Arab neighbours, is concerned about the nuclear threat posed by Iran.

“Be assured that France is on your side in the event your security is at risk,” Mr Sarkozy said in an interview with the UAE’s official news agency.

“Through this base – the first in the Middle East – France is ready to shoulder its responsibilities to ensure stability in this strategic region.”

An aide to Mr Sarkozy is quoted by AFP news agency linking the base to an alleged Iranian threat: “We are deliberately taking a deterrent stance. If Iran were to attack, we would effectively be attacked also.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8067600.stm

This is an important development for several reasons.

The first is that it shows that the UAE is looking beyond the USA for its defense.

The second is that it shows that France (and probably by extension, the EU) wants to have a military presence in the Middle East.

The third is that last year, some in the nation of Israel began calling for Israel to look to the Europeans and not just the USA for support of its defense.  The fact that the French are now in the Middle East in a “moderate” Arab nation would seem to provide more reasons for Israel to be interested in increased cooperation with the Europeans.

The Bible indicates that the time will come when the nations of Israel will be part of a deal brokered by the future King of the North, while he is still not quite in charge of Europe (Daniel 9:26-27).

And the fourth reason that I wish to mention is that the Bible tells of a time when the future kings of the North and South make a deceptive deal with one another (Daniel 11:27).  Having a European military presence in the Middle East would seem to be a reason that the two sides would cooperate.

Prophetic events continue to line up and move ahead.

Some 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”? What is ahead for Europe?
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?
The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam?

Palace of Westminster in London

COGwriter

Recent election results suggest that those opposed to participation in the European Union are gaining ground:

Eurosceptics score major win in Britain

EUobserver – June 8, 2009

ELITSA VUCHEVA

BRUSSELS – The European elections in Britain saw the UK Independence Party (UKIP), advocating withdrawal from the EU, scoring its best result ever and coming second to only the opposition Conservatives, while the ruling Labour party slipped to the third place.With a turnout of 34.3 percent, the Conservatives obtained 27.7 percent of the votes cast in the elections in Britain on 4 June. The Tories will get 25 seats in the newly elected European Parliament, up from 24 so far, final results showed on Monday (8 June).UKIP had been expecting to do well in the election but the extent of its win was surprising, as it came second with 16.5 percent and obtained 13 seats, one more than in the last parliament…

Lisbon referendum?

The prospect of a snap general election and a potential Tory victory spells turbulence for Brussels, with its leader David Cameron having promised to hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty if he comes in power before it is ratified in all EU states, as well as to call for the EU to return powers to London.

“We have pledged that if the constitution [the Lisbon Treaty] is not in force in the event of the election of a Conservative government this year or next, we will hold a referendum on it, urge a No vote, and – if successful – reverse Britain’s ratification,” Mr Cameron said in April…

The UK parliament has already ratified the Lisbon Treaty, but as Britain has no written constitution, the Tory leader would in fact not be breaching any rules if he proceeded to reversing the ratification, British liberal MEP Graham Watson explained on Monday…

“I am very worried by the position adopted by David Cameron on the Lisbon Treaty. It’s almost incredible, unbelievable for a country which was a full part of the negotiations for this treaty… This party is now trying to reopen the debate,” he said.

“I would hate to think what would be the impact on the relations [between the UK and the EU]… if a government would come in office and rip out a treaty that its predecessors signed and ratified,” he added. http://euobserver.com/9/28266

There will be turbulence in world politics, but somehow the UK will be on the outs with the Europeans according to Bible prophecy.  Bible prophecy also shows the destruction of the UK and its American allies by the upcoming European Beast power, also known as the final King of the North.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
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”? What is ahead for Europe?
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? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States?

جامعة الدول العربية
Jāmaʻat ad-Duwwal al-ʻArabiyya Arab League Flag

COGwriter

Certain Arab nations, while having certain problems of unity, have apparently taken a major step:

The Associated Press June 8, 2009, 8:05AM ET

Gulf states take plunge to monetary union

By TAREK EL-TABLAWY

CAIRO

The signing of a monetary union agreement by just four of the six Gulf Arab states may result in delays for the establishment of a single currency, but the oil-rich region will need to overcome its political infighting to truly achieve its long-elusive goal of economic integration, analysts said Monday.

In a major step toward setting up a Gulf equivalent of the European Union, foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar on Sunday night signed a monetary pact aimed at setting up a central bank and a unified currency.

The move came despite the decision by the United Arab Emirates, the second largest and most diversified of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council’s economies, to withdraw from the plan. Analysts had voiced concerns that the UAE’s pullout would doom the integration plans, but officials in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy and home to the world’s biggest proven reserves of oil, were determined to push ahead.

“This is a good indication that the remaining states will move ahead,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist with SABB, the HSBC Holdings PLC affiliate formerly known as Saudi British Bank. And, while “there is no doubt that the monetary union will be pushed back a few years” Sfakianakis said this delay should not be interpreted as a setback.

“It must be remembered that the European Monetary Union was a project that was 20 years in the making. Hence we should not conclude that because the date is being pushed back that the currency union will not happen,” he said. “Obstacles and delays are common.”

GCC officials had said they wanted to shift to the common currency by 2010, but that deadline has quickly fallen by the wayside amid logistical problems, including the lack of necessary regional institutions. The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat recently quoted an unidentified senior GCC official as saying that the deadline had now been pushed back to 2013. http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D98MFT5G0.htm

The Bible tells of a time of the emergence of a powerful leader known as the King of the South.  This leader will apparently lead most Arabs Muslims as well as others in their general geographic region.

The agreement yesterday will probably make the rise of this future King easier to take place.  Prophetic events continue to line up.

Two articles of possibly related interest may include:

The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam?
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?

Chinese Soldiers

COGwriter

China now is only second to the USA in its military spending:

China is now world No. 2 arms spender, report says

By MALIN RISING – 5 hours ago

STOCKHOLM (AP) — China has become the world’s second biggest military spender behind the United States, a Swedish peace research group said Monday.

Global arms spending rose 4 percent last year, but China increased its spending by 10 percent to an estimated $84.9 billion last year, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its annual report on world arms transfers.

“China is continuing to acquire both domestic and foreign arms as it seeks to equip its armed forces for conditions of modern ‘informationalized’ warfare,” it said. Such warfare involves the use of precision weapons and high-tech information and communications technology.

Sam Perlo-Freeman, a researcher for the peace institute, said China had previously spent relatively little on its military…”…they are certainly seeking to increase their regional and global influence … ” he said…

France narrowly overtook Britain — last year’s No. 2 — for third place. Russia climbed to fifth place from seventh in 2007. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h9vyZCoFpWK24-IY_yXaTkiPIkgAD98MHC400

This will be a worrisome development, not just for its neighbors like South Korea and Japan, but also for nations throughout the world.

There is apparently coming of a time of a joint Asian military force that will probably include Russia, China, India, and many of the remaining nations of the Orient.

This concept of joint Asian military involvement is confirmed in the Book of Revelation. Notice the following:

13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed–by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths(Revelation 9:13-18).

Only China, and possibly India and others in Asia (which may align themselves with China and Russia against the European Empire), are capable of fielding a two hundred million man army. Thus, Revelation appears to be discussing an Asian role in the end-time prophecies.

Spending more on its military will allow China to fulfill its role in that and other prophecies.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Genesis and Chinese Characters This article provides information showing that the Chinese peoples must have known about various accounts in the Book of Genesis up until their dispersion after the Tower of Babel.
China, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: The Sabbath and Some of God’s Witness in China When did Christianity first come to China? And is there early evidence that they observed the seventh day sabbath?
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for China? Is it a “King of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where?
Japan, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 1: Any Witness? This is a draft of an in-process article about Japan. Have they had any witness?
Japan, Its Biblical Past and Future, Part 2: Prophecy Japan in prophecy. What is prophesied for Japan? Will God save the Japanese?
Russia: Its Origins and Prophesied Future Where do the Russians come from? What is prophesied for Russia? What will it do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end?
Islands and Bible Prophecy What’s ahead for islands? What does the Bible prophesy about them?

Gerald Flurry

COGwriter

As part of a lawsuit settlement with WCG years ago, Gerald Flurry’s so-called Philadelphia Church of God acquired rights to reproduce certain documents written by the late Herbert W. Armstrong.

For years, I have reported that PCG had altered some parts of at least one (specifically The Mystery of the Ages).  This morning, the Living Armstrongism site pointed out another altered document Who or What is the Prophetic Beast? :

This is how the paragraph in question was written in the original version. Note the bolding:

This coming great martyrdom is THE GREAT TRIBULATION (Matthew 24:9, 21-22). This tribulation is not the wrath of God — the last plagues. It is the wrath of Satan (Rev. 12:12), inflicted at the behest of HIS apostate church by the coming “United States of EUROPE” and against the true people of GOD! It is a persecution — a torturing — a martyring of the saints of God — the very elect who cannot be deceived (Matt. 24:24). Except those days of Great Tribulation be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But, for THE SAKE OF GOD’S PERSECUTED SAINTS those days shall be shortened.

This is the same section in PCG’s version:

This coming great martyrdom is THE GREAT TRIBULATION (Matt. 24:9, 21-22). This tribulation is not the wrath of God—the last plagues. It is the wrath of Satan (Rev. 12:12), inflicted at the behest of HIS apostate church by the coming “United States of EUROPE” and against the people of GOD! It is a persecution—a torturing—a martyring of the saints of God who have become lukewarm and lost God’s protection. Except those days of Great Tribulation be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But, for THE SAKE OF GOD’S PERSECUTED SAINTS, those days shall be shortened.

I checked the links and verified that this is another change.

Now some with PCG will conclude that the change is accurate and so that this is not a big deal.

They, however, would be wrong for at least two reasons.

The first is that this is another proof that PCG is NOT faithful to what it claims that it is:

The PCG is the only Church that holds onto ALL of what Christ established through Mr. Armstrong (Flurry, Gerald and Leap, Dennis. Ezra and Nehemiah: Building God’s Temple. Booklet. 1997. p.29).

And secondly, because the change is NOT completely accurate.  While it is true that the lukewarm Laodiceans will not receive protection that is promised to the Philadelphians (the real ones, not the false ones like PCG who claim the name, cf. Revelation 3:9), the truth is that many people will be converted through the preaching of the two witnesses and apparently the third angel’s message during the time of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.

These converts are NOT likely to be “lukewarm”.  They will likely help the two witnesses and many of these converts will be martyred during the time of the Beast and the Antichrist.

PCG has repeatedly adjusted (in a negative manner in most cases) the biblical truths that the late Herbert W. Armstrong taught.

The change to Who or What is the Prophetic Beast? is just the latest.  Hopefully, those associated with PCG will wake up and realize that it is NOT the faithful remnant of the Philadelphia portion of the Church of God.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Teachings Unique to the Philadelphia Church of God Simply calling oneself ‘Philadelphia’ does not make one so (see Revelation 3:7-9), nor does Gerald Flurry calling himself “that prophet” make it so. This article provides many quotes from this group which tries to look faithful.
What is a True Philadelphian? Many claim to be part of the Philadelphia era of the Church, but is claiming enough? This article has biblical and historical evidence about who really are the Philadelphians.
Are the Laodiceans the Modern Sadducees and Pharisees? Discusses similarities of the Sadducees and Pharisees to various COGs in this end-time.
Samaritans: Old and New Who were the Samaritans? Do the represent true Christianity or something else?
There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory.
The Philadelphia Church Era was predominant circa 1933 A.D. to 1986 A.D. The old Radio Church of God and old Worldwide Church of God, now essentially the Living Church of God.
The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. These are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG.
Can the Great Tribulation Begin in 2009, 2010, or 2011? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before in the “beginning of sorrows”?  What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord?